#the strings of fate brought me back to this moment

[blizzardstarx]

yknow whats funny

i watched dead meat’s countdown kill count three years ago and saw elizabeth lail and was like HOLY SHIT HOT WOMAN

and now three years later ive got a hyperfixation on her

[hyunebunx]

˖˙ ᰋ ── pies and cuddles can fix anyone

﹙ʚɞ˚﹚. genre: fluff

﹙ʚɞ˚﹚. a/n: happy lix day!! this is a reupload but rewritten so it's better. enjoy <3

There was nothing Felix loved more in the world than moments like these. Sure, traveling was nice, getting to see sights he’s only ever dreamed of but his favorite destination would always be here with you, in your cozy little apartment he knew like the back of his hand. Home, his favorite place to come back to would always be home to you. Back to being surrounded by your specific smell that he couldn’t fall asleep without and your comforting touch, he longed for 24/7 – nothing could ever come close to that for him. Especially when you were both engaged in his favorite hobby and dressed in matching pajamas.

“Felix, come here.”

Your sweet voice had him complying instantly, abandoning the hot chocolate to be by your side in a heartbeat. Turning to face him with the biggest smile, Felix felt himself falling in love all over again as you brought the wooden spoon to his lips while stepping closer.

“Taste this and tell me if it needs anything else. And be honest!”

With a nod, he opened his mouth to do as told, eyes closing briefly to savor the taste. Apples, caramelized apples for your pie to be exact. Nothing could feel more like autumn than that.

He had a child-like smile on his freckled face once he opened his eyes again, visibly pleased, “I think it’s delicious as always, Y/n. It doesn’t need anything else.”

The way your eyes lit up at his praise had him chuckling, your happiness contagious. That’s why he couldn’t contain himself as he moved to engulf your form in a warm hug from behind, squeezing tightly while his chin rested on your shoulder.

“Okay, thanks.” You nodded, one of your hands moving to intertwine your fingers on your stomach where his rested, “To the oven it goes then.”

But you didn’t make any attempt to move – on the contrary, you leaned back to melt into his warm embrace as he started to pepper innocent kisses all over your cheek and neck. That continued for a minute more before Felix swiftly turned your body around to face him, successfully caging you between the counter and himself.

Leaning in, he rubbed his nose against yours affectionately, “You know, the pie won’t bake by itself, my love.”

“Just five more minutes.” Your voice came out whispered as you stood there, basking in the love your boyfriend was currently showering you with. A deep laugh escaped him at your response, placing a kiss on both of your cheeks and forehead before pulling away slightly.

“You only say that when I dare wake you up without giving you cuddles first. We’re baking right now, Y/n.”

You nodded again and moved to wrap your arms around his middle, resting your head against his chest right where his heart was, “Yes so don’t wake me up. I don’t want you to disappear.”

His eyes softened at the double meaning behind your words, a pang of guilt suddenly hitting him in full force. No matter how far away he was, Felix was never going to leave nor forget you, not when his heart always brought him back to the only place that felt like home. The red string of fate that connected you could never allow that.

“This isn’t a dream, baby,” he placed a kiss on the crown of your head, words murmured against your hair, “I’m right here and I'll always be.”

You were well aware of that but some reassurance never hurt anybody.

“I know. I’m just afraid of you disappearing because you’re way too good to be true. Like an angel without its wings, trapped on this planet to make things more bearable.”

Felix laughed, the sound causing you to do so as well as he buried his face in your hair to hide his embarrassment. Flustering your boyfriend was always so fulfilling. Making an angel laugh must count for something, right? There must a gauge that once filled will grant you eternal happiness.

Not like you were too interested, you already had that with Felix by your side.

“Shut up.” He murmured against your neck, the gesture causing goosebumps to appear all over your skin. “Put the pie in the oven and let’s go cuddle already. Even the hot chocolate is cold by now.”

[gay-dorito-dust]

I just read your demon fan fic where the reader used to work for bill and honestly that would make for a good x reader with ford. where they teach him things bill didn’t with no strings attached and just enjoying life with the pines family. Some wholesome ass shit

I personally imagine demon! Reader eyes to look like gambit from x-men’s if that makes sense, I just think they are pretty.

‘Great demonic auntie/uncle y/n you’re back!’ Mabel exclaimed as she saw you appear in front of the mystery shack in a puff of purple smoke.

‘Indeed I am kiddo, just had to pay an old friend a visit.’ You said as you playfully ruffled her hair, feeling the dark void of where your soul once was warm at the sound of her laughing. it was still something you weren’t use to after spending countless decades driving humanity into fits of madness and misery, but it was something that you were beginning to favour especially when it comes to the human family you’ve come to love as your own; even if demons couldn’t exactly love or feel it necessarily.

‘He didn’t try anything on you did he?’ Ford asked concerned as he looked into your eyes.

‘Nope, well actually he did try to make me remember the good old days, tempt me into falling into old habits but I stayed strong and remembered yours words about how there are some fates worse then death.’ You replied as you held Ford’s face, watching fondly as he relaxed under your cold hands a little, smiling. ‘I’m glad.’ Ford said as he reached up to hold his hands over your own. ‘I’m really proud of you my dear.’ He adds and you could’ve sworn you felt your cheeks heat up at his praise but decided to smile mischievously instead. ‘All in a days work for the chaos demon of insanity!’ You reminded him boastfully before pecking him on the nose.

‘Okay love birds tone it down there are kids on the premises, that and it’s getting dark, so you either get your asses inside now or get locked out.’ Stanley called from the doorway, behind the twins, keys in hand and you couldn’t help but think of a reality where you didn’t decided to redeem yourself and where you would be without the Pines Family.

‘Probably in Theraprism with that triangular freak is.’ You thought to yourself but quickly waved it off when you felt yourself being watched, only to see that it was Ford and you sighed. You knew that he was still a little on edge with being close to another demon and you didn’t blame him, bill was…well bill and he was psychotic on a whole other level who’ll do anything and everything to get what he wants while disregarding everything else; so while you wanted to help ease his distrust towards other demons, you couldn’t help but agree that not every demon was worth the deals they made.

‘Are you sure you’re okay my dear?’ Ford asked in a low tone when he saw the conflicting array of emotions you were internally fighting with. You smiled at him, stroking his cheeks.

‘I’m fine Fordy, let’s go inside before Stan locks us out.’ You told him as you both walked into towards the shack, another thing you were growing found of doing over the likes of floating and flying or as mabel would say that it was “overrated.”

‘Even if he did lock us out, you’d just teleport us inside and scaring him in the process.’ Ford brought up casually and you couldn’t help but smile at him as you nudge his side. ‘You usually condemn me for teleporting anywhere, have you finally gotten soft on me smart guy? I’m flattered.’ You teased as you saw Ford’s cheeks becoming more and more flustered, it was adorable and you couldn’t help but take advantage of any and every moment given to watch Ford slowly loose his composure.

Ford cleared his throat as he pushed his glasses further up his face. ‘I merely stated as well known fact about you, nothing more.’ He says but his burning cheeks and tips of his ears told a different story that you couldn’t help but hum and lean yourself against him, resting your head on his arm. ‘How sweet of you to notice things about me, it’s enough to make a demon like me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.’ You chuckled as you saw his cheeks look about as red as ripe cherry tomatoes, or the way his eyes went wide that you felt the need to kiss his cheek, and that exactly what you did.

‘You’re too easy to make flustered Pines, but that’s okay, I enjoy seeing your cheeks go cherry red and become all skittish under my gaze.’ You purred, kissing his cheek again as Ford could only smile dopey as you did but the moment was ruined when Stan sprayed you both with a water bottle from his chair.

‘There. Are. Young. Impressionable, kids, here!’ He emphasised with each time he sprayed you with water, making Mabel and dipper laugh as you hissed like an angered cat before snapping your fingers, which made Stan’s spray bottle grow legs and run away into the forest outside. ‘Hey! My spray bottle!’ Stan cried as he glared playfully at you as you smirked triumphant. ‘Oops.’ You said as you sprawled yourself comfortable on a lounge chair.

Ford couldn’t help but smile at yours and Stans antics, you acted like the best of friends who had known each other since nappies, and it warmed his heart because not only two months ago did he think you and Stanley would get along like ever. However you both managed to surpass his expectations when he saw you both trash a boys house after he was being disrespectful towards Mabel, arms thrown over each other as you laughed maniacally, only for the laughter to die down when you heard cops and quickly grabbed Stanley close as you teleported the pair of you back to the shack.

Ever since then you and Stanley would casually commit crimes together and teleporting away before the cops could ever get to you, sure it wasn’t ideal for Ford but then he remembered who he was scolding; you a literal chaos demon from the insanity realm and Stanley, his twin brother who was a professional conman who could tell his way out of a tight situation. So he just left you both be for the sake having to scold you both for doing something somehow even worse that petty theft and vandalism.

‘Fordy, come sit with me!’ You cheered, waving from your lounge chair that Stanley stole for you.

‘Where else is he going to sit? it’s not the floor because if he’s anything like me, then he’ll take hours getting up from it.’ Stanley said as you only made a face at him as Ford made himself comfortable next to you, just for you to cuddle up to his side, smile in content, and begin to do something akin to a cat purring when his hand rubbed up and down your back soothingly. Nobody but Mabel cooed at the adorable sound you made.

‘You sound just like a kitten great aunt/uncle y/n!’ She cried as her eyes became wide with awe at your cat like purring.

You smiled as you ruffled her hair once more, making her giggle as she swatted your hand away. ‘I do not, do I?’ You asked Ford who offered you an apologetic look. ‘I’m afraid you do my dear.’ He said as you then looked at dipper for a secondary opinion.

‘You kinda do.’ He said as he lowered his hat over his face.

Stanley laughed. ‘Ha! Who knew the chaos demon could purr like a kitten! That should be my next attraction! How about it y/n?’

‘No. Go find some other purring demon for your tourist shop.’ You deadpanned as you pouted, Stanley only laughed harder as he clapped you on the leg that draped over the armrest, squeezing it. ‘I’m joking!’ He said with a smile.

‘Sure you are.’ You drawled but couldn’t help but replicate his smile as you felt Ford laugh before nuzzling yourself into his warmth, breathing him in as you thanked whoever for this second chance at life.

‘Everybody shut up the movie is starting!.’ Mabel exclaimed as you all focused on the television and as you looked to each member of the Pines family, you found yourself wanting to do nothing but watch movies with this wacky but endearing family for a long, long time.

[hardly-an-escape]

for @bucktommypositivityweek Thursday 8/22: soulmates/string of fate | meant to be | 870 words | rated T

“I hate it when people talk about twists of fate,” Anna liked to say. “When it comes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up is really, in fact, where we always intended to be.” —Julia Glass, Three Junes

“Do you ever think…” Evan said idly, and then seemed to get distracted, following the path of a droplet of sweat with one fingertip as it wound its way down Tommy's temple toward his jaw.

It was a lazy Sunday morning, and they were still catching their breath, sticky and satisfied and gloriously naked together. Tommy had just been starting to think longingly about the coffee machine downstairs.

“Do I ever think what?” he asked.

“Hmm?” Evan said. He'd already replaced his finger with his mouth, dropping a line of light kisses down the side of Tommy's face.

“You started to ask me something. Do I ever think what?” Tommy prompted.

“Oh. Yeah. Do you ever think, like, what would it have been like? If we had met each other before. When I first joined the 118, I mean.”

“I don't think you would have liked me very much,” Tommy said.

“I know you wouldn't have liked me very much,” Evan chuckled. “I was kind of a dipshit.”

“Was?” Tommy said dryly, and Evan pushed ineffectively at the side of his face.

“Shut up,” he said. “I'm in my Buck 5.0 era.”

“I don't even know what that means.”

Evan snorted, and rolled on top of Tommy, and for another long minute got distracted again, rubbing a stubbled cheek against his neck and collarbone until Tommy’s skin was tingling pleasantly.

“I mean it, though,” Evan said thoughtfully, kissing the cleft in Tommy's chin. “You know, if you think about it, we – we came so close to meeting. So many times. Even me joining the 118 was like, such a near miss.”

“Right, because you came in as my replacement.”

“That's the thing,” Evan said, finally pushing off Tommy's chest to sit upright, and oh, Tommy realized, he'd really been thinking about this. “I don't think I did? Bobby mentioned once that he meant to hire me to fill the spot left by someone named... Deluca? I never met him.”

Tommy pushed himself up on one elbow. “Wait, what? Sal Deluca?”

“Yeah, I was supposed to come in to replace him, but then you transferred, too. So A shift was a man short for a while, which I actually didn’t even realize at the time? And then when Bobby brought Eddie on we were finally at full strength.”

“So what you’re saying,” Tommy said slowly, “is that you and I were supposed to work together?”

“Yeah!” Evan said excitedly. “I think so! Isn’t that wild? But then you decided you wanted to fly again, and so we didn’t even overlap.”

“Wow. That’s… kind of crazy.”

“I've kind of been realizing there's a whole bunch of moments like that. Like, these little things that were connecting us way before we ever met. Like how Chimney called you in for the water drop that time and I was on the ground. I, uh,” he smiled shyly. “I really like to think about that.”

“I like it, too,” Tommy said.

He rubbed absently at Evan's knee and let his mind wander. He'd seen pictures of Evan back then, when he was fresh out of the academy and still a probie. He looked slender and lanky like a colt. And so young. For all the ego that radiated from him, the Evan in those photos had a raw, unfinished quality to him. Like he hadn’t quite finished cooking yet.

“It explains something I overheard Bobby say last week,” Evan said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, at the barbecue. I, uh, I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear,” he said, and Tommy made an incredulous noise. “Really! I was getting us drinks, and Bobby and Athena were just inside, and he – he said something about how he knew we would work well together, and she was like, Really, all skeptical like she gets, and he was like, Maybe not the way I originally thought, and then they both kind of laughed.” Evan grinned down at him and laughed a little. “So maybe we were. You know. Meant to be.”

He sounded a little facetious, as though he was expecting Tommy to make fun of him. But Tommy found himself humming thoughtfully instead, running one hand up the unfairly long line of Evan’s thigh from his knee to his hip. Gripping him there, at the opposite shoulder, gently, and even more gently pushing him back against the pillows and insinuating himself between his legs.

Evan was still laughing, a little breathlessly now, and when Tommy kissed him, sweet and slow, he almost thought he could taste Evan’s smile on his lips.

“I don’t know if I really believe in soulmates, Evan,” he said, eventually. “But it does feel like there’s something there, doesn’t it? Some kind of string tying us together.”

They kissed again, and Tommy ground down a little against Evan’s pelvis, just for the pleasure of skin on skin, for the pleasure of a good kiss with absolutely nothing between them.

“I don’t know if I believe in soulmates either,” said Evan, still a little breathless. “But if I had one, I – I think it would be you, Tommy.”

“Yeah?” asked Tommy. He felt his heart stutter a little in his chest.

“Yeah,” said Evan. And kissed him again.

this has been languishing in my drafts for weeks and I finally finished it for Positivity Week! based on this post by @unfuckablebogtroll

[vinyldreamsfuckup]

So High School

A: this was a random thing I came up with. I hope it’s cute

Warnings: fluff, drinking, smoking weed, smut, oral (female receiving), unprotected p in v, Kirk x fem

You and Kirk had been together since your sophomore year of high school. You were both the "weird" kids in high school. So when you got sat next to each other in third period history it almost felt like fate. You talked to each other nearly everyday since then. You always loved how much Kirk loved his comic books and horror movies. You could listen to him go on and on for hours and never get bored of him talking. You’d been in love with him since the moment you met him. When he joined Metallica you quickly became friends with all of the guys. You’d loved watching him play and being around him. There was simply just nothing better than being with him.

Though, one thing you never did was go to prom. It felt stupid and it seemed like a dumb thing to think about, but when you looked back at pictures from high school you’d always wished you had a picture in some stupid dress standing next to him. He knew this. He hated high school dances and didn’t really care, but he knew it was important to you, so when he surprised you with a “prom” at your old high school you were over the moon. It was just you, Kirk, James, Cliff, and Lars but it was going to be perfect regardless. Because you had him.

You wore a long, mint green, satin dress. It was a corset like dress that helped extenuate your body while still trying to look nice. There were laces up the back that showed your freshly tanned skin. Kirk wore a white shirt that was only halfway buttoned and black jeans with his black converse. He never cared for school dances in high school but he knew this was important to you and he wanted to do this to surprise you. So if you could only get jeans and a nice shirt then you’d take it. It being mostly unbuttoned was just a plus. You were standing in your backyard waiting for him to walk out with your corsage.

"You look beautiful," Kirk said as he walked out of the house. A smile spread across your face.

"Thank you, baby. You don't look too bad yourself," You giggled. Kirk chuckled and grabbed the corsage and wrapped it on your wrist. James and Lars giggled as they were snapping picture after picture as the two of you got ready. Kirk leaned in, his lips touching your ear.

"We should just ditch the whole thing. I can take you to the hotel and we can have a good time," Kirk whispered. You playfully hit his shoulder.

"Pose for the damn picture," You laughed out. He rolled his eyes and put his hand around your waist and looked at the camera. The two of you smiled taking a couple nice pictures before you both broke out into silly faces. Kirk ushered me to his car and we got in.

"You sure you wanna go to the dance and not just back to the hotel?" Kirk asked as he started the car. You laughed.

"I'm sure. Now lets go try to have a good time," You responded.

That's what the two of you did. You went and danced and ate some food. You both drank and smoked weed, getting undeniably high as fuck. You talked all night long, not even worrying about anything else. James, Lars, and Cliff all brought random girls to keep them company. They were all dressed up and getting shitfaced. You couldn’t help but smile at how sweet the whole thing was, but mostly you were just focused on Kirk and how happy he made you. You grabbed his hand and lead him out into the hallway and to your old locker. He pushed you against them just like he used to and connected your lips in a feverish kiss. The taste of weed and beer still on his you.

“Can we go back to the hotel now?” Kirk mumbled against your lips, his hand traveled up the strings of your dress, grazing the skin.

“Mhm…” You mumbled back with a nod. Kirk smiled and lifted you up bridal style before running back toward his car. You giggled as he ran.

You quickly arrived at the hotel and he lead you into the room and sat you on the edge of the bed. Your heart was full everything feeling so heightened. You two had sex all the time but for some reason this felt so much more intimate. He sat next to you on the bed and carefully undid the ties of your dress. He helped you out of it before pressing his lips to yours.

“You’re beautiful,” Kirk breathed out as he pushed you down on the bed. He trailed kisses down your chest and torso. His hands hooked around the lace of your thong before carefully pulling it off. A small groan left his lips as he stared at you, “so beautiful.”

He gently kissed down your thigh before settling between your legs. He licked between your folds groaning as he did so. Your hand tangled in his hair as a moan left your lips. He started to fuck you with his tongue, his thumb rolling against your clit.

“Fuck…Kirk…” You moaned out as your hand tangled into his hair. Kirk’s tongue quickly pumped in lapping up every last molecule. He groaned as he moved feeling you spasm beneath him.

“You’re so good,” Kirk mumbled, “So wet. So good.”

Your hips bucked against his tongue. He pressed your waist down on the bed and started to move his tongue quickly. His thumb spreading up against your clit. You were soon moaning out and finishing all over his tongue. He licked up your slick before standing up.

Your hands went to his shirt and quickly undid the rest of the buttons while he pulled himself out of his jeans. He was now standing in front of you naked, his dick standing tall and ready for you. He quickly pushed into you a loud moan leaving your lips as you adjusted.

“You’re so beautiful.” He groaned, “you’re so fucking wet.”

His hips started to rock and long moans left your mouth. Your hands gripped his back and your nails slowly raked down his back. He moaned out in a mix of pleasure and pain. He slowly picked up his pace ramming into you harder. He picked up your thigh and he lit by his stomach adjusting the angle. He fell in deeper hitting every spot perfectly.

“Kirk…oh my god,” you moaned out.

“That’s it, baby,” Kirk breathed out. He moved slightly faster.

“Don’t stop. That’s it. Yes…” you moaned out. He nodded and kept his pace ramming into you over and over. Your body started to shake and you loudly came, his name falling from your mouth

“Fuck…” Kirk groaned out. His hips still moving quickly chasing his orgasm. Your moans turned into loud whimpers as he kept going. Overstimulated and sensitive as he kept moving against you.

“Come on baby,” you whined. His head fell back and a loud moan left his mouth. He pulled out and came all over your stomach.

“Fuck…” Kirk said breathlessly. You nodded in agreement.

“Was this a good prom night?” Kirk chuckled out as he pulled away for a moment.

You nodded and smiled, “wouldn’t imagine it any other way, my love.”

[dotster001]

Hi! May I request the reaction of the twst boys, if they already have an S/O but they meet their soulmate? What would they choose between, their S/O or their soulmate?

Summary: Ace/Rook/Sebek/Sam/Leona x. Gn! Reader

A/N: this got long, but I had souch fun thinking about this. So feel free to request other boys for me to look at!

3k followers masterlist

Ace knew just as well as anyone that in modern day society, it was common to not end up with your soulmate. Some people never met their soulmate, some people's soulmates were just not a good match, some people seemingly didn't even have a soulmate. It was fine. Nothing to get butt hurt about. 

Ace's soulmate mark on the palm of his hand had never even sparkled, let alone lit up. And he'd found someone that he had fun with. He wasn't sure if it was really love, but that was fine since he couldn't be sure if he was even capable of love.

He probably wasn't. His only other relationship, he'd ghosted them once he got bored. So a fun relationship, with no love, was probably all he deserved.

Until the day the you'd poofed into the mirror chamber, and his soulmate mark had glowed for the first time in his life. He saw you looking around in confusion, and at the time, he had assumed you were looking for him. Later he would realize you were too scared to even notice your mark. He was so god damn selfish.

He quietly slipped a glove on that was supplied with his uniform, and decided to wait and scope you out.

….

You'd both just defeated a monster of some kind, and you, Deuce, and the cat monster were laughing together, but he was just thinking of you.

You. You were too good.

He couldn't do this with you. You'd be hurt at first, but it would be better than knowing your soulmate was a heartless asshole who would leave you when he got bored.

You never had to know. He'd take solace in what he had, and give you your best chance for happiness. 

His string of fate had finally become a natural color. And during the SDC auditions, he'd found it belonged to you. 

He'd told you the truth. That he'd been seeing many people, believing that you were dead, or he'd never been destined to meet you. He was practically pleading with you to forgive him for the crimes he'd committed against you, but you told him you'd done the same thing once you'd realized your string wasn't the correct color.

He fought back a wave of intense jealousy, by kissing you, and telling you he'd break up with the one he'd been dating immediately. Hell, he'd be doing it right this moment, if you hadn't told him it'd be cruel for him to do it over a call.

How could he even care about cruel when you were right in front of him? Ready to help him find his happily ever after! 

Lilia had always told him about soulmates, and how they would change your life. When you saw them, your world would literally expand, the otherworldly "colors" flooding your vision, but all you'd be able to focus on is their eyes.

He'd started at NRC, and Riddle Rosehearts had brought up the fact that a marriage of convenience would help Malleus more than being with his soulmate would. Silver had stepped in, repeating what master Lilia had always repeated. But Rosehearts was one that his lord respected dearly. There was no harm in trying it.

And one date with the rich merchant's kid had turned into two, had turned into three, had turned into a full relationship. For Sebek, the connections were very helpful to his king. For his partner, connections to the fae court, which were normally hard to come by, were completely open to them. 

While Lilia often gave the disappointed dad look,  and Silver wanted no part in the relationship, Sebek saw no reason to end it.

At least until the two of you made eye contact, and he finally got to experience color. 

You were ecstatic! But he was torn… could he give up this boon he had for his master, just for his own happiness.

He told you he needed time. You looked disappointed. Perhaps you had your own Lilia back home who had filled you with beautiful promises. But you told him you understood. Albeit with tears glimmering in the corners of your eyes.

He spent three days straight training. He didn't think to stop, even with the sweat streaming into his eyes, causing them  to burn more than they already were. 

It wasn't until he felt his Lord's calming presence entering his periphery, a steaming mug of hot cocoa, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream floating in it, in his hands.

"It would be foolish to work yourself to death."

Sebek halted his moves, sheathing his sword, and quietly grabbing the mug.

"It is not often you are rendered speechless," Malleus smirked,but Sebek could barely nod.

Malleus sighed. "Humans do not live very long. To have one for your soulmate is a blessing few get to share. You will have centuries to be bound to someone you do not love.Do not lose your chance to hold them while you have them."

Malleus vanished as quickly as he appeared. Sebek stared at his hot cocoa, before running to find you, while he still had the chance.

He was always so cold. No matter where he was, he never could find the warmth of his soulmate. He'd ask his friends every once in a while to see if there was a soul that was destined to truly belong to him. The answer was always no. So he lived in eternal winter.

Those trapped in the cold seek warmth. And he'd found solace in a simple witch. There was no love. The relationship was purely to bring warmth to one another.

Then one day, he felt a moment of relief, as his friends came running for him, all of them speaking over one another. The only word he could consistently catch was , "Soulmate". The worst part was that he was literally in the arms of his little witch.

It wasn't that he didn't want you. He desperately did. Especially when Everytime you walked into the room, the cold numbing his fingertips dissipate, and he'd feel like he was in a warm embrace.

But you never pushed him, because of the conversation he had with you the moment you walked into his shop for the first time.

"I can't."

"Huh?"

"Not yet. I have someone relying on me. I'm their only source of warmth. Can you wait for me?"

You truly were perfect for him, because you never brought it up. And if you were anything like him, you desperately wanted the warmth you would feel if you held him close to you. But you were so patient. Pretending everything was fine, while he searched tirelessly for a soulmate that might not exist, for a potion that would simulate the warmth. 

One day though. He promises that one day, he'll have it figured out. And then both of your patience will have paid off.

no one could ever love him. Which is why he wasn't bothered that no one's name was scrawled on his arm. And why he wasn't bothered when his brother had nervously asked if he'd be opposed to a betrothal to someone from another country. It's not like anyone was waiting for him.

It was a comfortable relationship. They definitely didn't love each other. But at least there was someone who had to at least pretend they cared when you complained about something. Comfortable. That's all he could ask for.

Until he'd felt pain on his arm, and found a name scrawled onto it for the first time. In a sea of new freshmen, he could pretend he didn't notice. He could pretend he didn't see.

And he hadn't run into the person the name belonged to, until you stepped on his tail in the greenhouse.

And after that, you were trying. You were trying so damn hard. It was endearing, and he almost let you in.

But deep down, he knew you'd one day seem him for who he was.

So one day, on edge from you asking him questions about himself, he snapped and told you to stop wasting your time, and get out of his life. Stop lying. No one could ever love him.

You glared at him. You called him a coward. And he growled back at you.

"I don't need you!"

For a moment, you seemed startled. Then you glared at him, and held your head high as you told him you wished him the best but doubted he'd find it.

And as he watched you storm off, a part of him knew you were right.

[floylia]

# MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾

04. I’m so wet tonight 💌

Destiny and fate are liken to strings you can’t untangle with ease. Two simple words with inexplainable concepts. A belief split into millions of definition.

But this might be fate—a doomed fate.

Cerulean eyes meet yours upon striding inside the store. The contact lasts longer than necessary. But within those few seconds, recognition is acknowledged on both sides.

That fateful day when a guy embarrassed himself and you watched it unfold.

You thought that was the last of it. Perhaps not.

You scan the small dairy isle, searching for an energy drink and a bucket of ice cream, while ignoring the pleads in the back of your head—constantly screeching about the humiliating past.

But who are you to feel embarrassed for him?

Why do you feel shame in the first place?

“Cash or card?”

“Cash.” You pass him the total amount, grabbing the wrinkled change you had in your wallet.

He takes it hesitantly, “By the way, about last time...”

Here we go.

“There was a rat in the locker room so I ran out like that. As for what I said… I don’t remember why I did that. But I promise, I’m not… a pervert,” The last phrase was faint as he whispers it in a breath.

You chuckle, “It made me laugh, don’t worry.”

One moment ago he was a grey cutout, now colors are back in his face as a grin reaches the wrinkles of his eyes, “So we’re cool?”

He looks like a dog wagging his tail after seeing a treat.

You nod, “Was that bothering you for a while?”

He breathes a sigh of relief—staring at you as if he had been derived of oxygen, “Yes! I was tossing my body back and forth that night, because my head refused to stop replaying the scene every time I closed my eyes. Can you imagine yourself doing that? Here I thought I was being mysterious.”

Not a single bone in his body was mysterious.

“People remember their own embarrassing moments more than other people’s, don’t stress about it.”

He shows his paper white teeth, “You have a way with words.”

“And you don’t,” You blurt out, recalling that moment.

Laughter engulfs the tense atmosphere.

“Fair enough. Fair enough. I’ll never live that down. My friends tease me enough already,” he hands you your change and the plastic bag worth of snacks.

The pit-a-patter outside makes your head swerve towards the window. Rain droplets fall from the heavens, gearing up as you spend minutes inside the establishment.

Checking the weather today slipped your mind, otherwise you would have brought an umbrella. Even though your dorm is nearby, running through the heavy downpour is not something you enjoy doing on a school night.

Navia would jerk her head in disapproval.

The ginger must have realized your conundrum.

“Here,” He offers you a small black umbrella, “You can use this.”

“No, no it’s alright. You might need to use that later.”

He shakes his head, “The store owns it. We have extra. Just borrow it for tonight. Then you can come back and return it. Think of this as an apology.”

“Thank you. I didn’t want to be drenched today. I’ll return this, I promise!”

A gentle smile pervades his face as he waves a goodbye. He observes you, crossing the street from the foggy window until your silhouette fades with the night sky.

In truth, the store didn’t own the umbrella. They don’t have an extra. It was his — but that is his little secret.

No harm done with a white lie.

NOTES:

kinda rushed (wrote the written parts in one night, i dont usually finish fics in one sitting)

ig he gained aura points?

was gonna post this later but fuck it 🤷‍♀️

SYNOPSIS: There’s a line Childe knows he shouldn’t cross; A line built on years of friendship; A line that happens to cross you, his best friend’s younger sister, grieving her first love; A line where he plays savior, wears a halo, then feign ignorance, because love is a game for fools—and he happens to be the biggest idiot when it comes to love.

When a new stranger invades your life and an old poet writes back.

CHILDE x FEM!READER

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[starfinss]

𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 — 𝘑𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘶𝘢𝘯

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮: Honkai Star Rail

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: Jing Yuan + Reader

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: NSFW 

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 9,818

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: And as you stood there, confused and fuming and utterly scarlet in the face, you decided to do something stupid. Like, really, cosmically stupid. But really, you couldn’t think of anything to do at that moment besides that terribly stupid thing.

Without saying anything, you crossed to his side of the desk, leaning to grab at the front of his clothing and yanking him up to meet your mouth in a kiss, effectively shutting him up and showing just how comfortable you were. 

You had a headache.

You’d had it since you woke up that morning, persisting even after you downed a couple of painkillers, and even still after your first cup of strong tea. And finally, to your chagrin, it only grew worse as you walked to work. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was simple dumb luck. Things like this always seemed to happen to you right before you had something important to do. 

For the umpteenth time, you rubbed at your throbbing temples. On a normal day, you’d call in sick and spend the day at home, and the General wouldn’t mind. He was good like that. But today, you couldn’t afford to bail. Incidents like the Sanctus Medicus debacle came with a lot of red tape, even after all the heavy lifting and clashing of blades was finished. Incident reports, statements, casualty reports, and more bureaucratic nonsense that was of no help to the bereaved families of the fallen Cloud Knights. It was a web of all sorts of complicated, and if you weren’t careful, it was easy to get lost in the nearly endless amount of work to be done, especially as an advisor to the General of the Cloud Knights.

But you had an idea. It had come to you when you were combing through the incident reports; brought about by the footnote left by Jing Yuan regarding those very stragglers of the cult-like group. A solution to capture the remaining disciples of the Sanctus Medicus. Your notes on that were tucked away in the folder in your arms, all ready to be passed off to the General. 

Head still throbbing, you gave your identification to the guards at the door and pushed into the meeting room, taking your seat near the General’s chair. He had yet to arrive, but that was fine with you. It gave you time to review what you were going to say. You placed your folder on the table in front of you, scanning through the lines of text, typed up the night previous, and accompanied by your own notes in the margins. It wasn’t a complicated plan, not as much as you were making it out to be in your own head. It was simple enough, but you were confident it could work. 

The General trusted you. Your strategies had worked before, and you’d been instrumental in helping orchestrate successful battle formations, not to mention that you were responsible for the plan that had stopped a string of robberies in the Central Starskiff Haven, something you’d actually received an award for. You knew Jing Yuan would back you up to the other upper echelons of the Cloud Knights, as he had in the past. 

It wasn’t long before people began to file into the room, and low chatter began as the pain in your head settled behind your eyes, but gradually began to lessen. You thanked the Aeons for that. You also thanked the Aeons that Fu Xuan was the one who called the meeting to order, recounting facts you already knew from the incident report, so you didn’t actually have to follow what she was saying. Tea was passed out, and you took a slow sip of the liquid. It smelled distinctly herbal, and was undoubtedly picked by the General himself. He always had good taste in teas. 

“And that brings me to my next point,” Fu Xuan said, “what are we to do about the remaining members of the Sanctus Medicus who remain in hiding?”

You let yourself prepare what you were going to say, letting a few other people toss ideas around before you raised your hand. When you did, the Master Diviner’s gaze shifted to you, and she nodded, signaling you to speak. Jing Yuan shifted in his seat beside you, leaning on his closed fist, amber eyes expectant. All eyes were on you.

“Yes, what is it?” The Diviner asked. 

“I have a proposal,” you said, and Fu Xuan nodded meaningfully.

“Then let’s hear it.”

Gathering your thoughts, you rose to your feet with a sigh. 

“In the incident report, transcripts were recorded of the firsthand accounts given by the passengers of the Astral Express. Please, if you will, turn to page nine, where Mr Welt Yang’s statement is attached.”

A rustling of paper followed, and once it had quieted, you picked up where you left off. 

“If you see, written in line twelve, Mr Yang recounts an interaction with a captured member of the group. The defeat of Phantylia the Undying was more than likely enough to send the doubters away, but if Mr Yang’s statement is to be believed, even despite their defeat, some of these people still hold a strong degree of loyalty for the Abundance. Which makes them all the more dangerous.”

“I see,” Jing Yuan interjected, clearly interested, “you’re saying that what we have left are the fanatics. The ones most likely to cause problems, yes?”

You nodded. “Yes, correct. I propose we send an agent to infiltrate them. Gather information, cut them off at the root.”

“I’m afraid we tried that,” Qingzu said, “and while we did garner some important information, it was ultimately a failure. Dan Shu escaped, and things ended up escalating to the current level.”

“Yes,” you said, “I’m well aware of that. That was something I advised you on, Miss Qingzu. You approached me for help, if you recall.”

Qingzu folded her hands in her lap, sitting back in her chair. “I do. Your point being?”

“My point being,” you said, “I learned that I needed to reflect on what went wrong, and so I have. And, as it stands, the situation is more dire than it was before. These people have proven themselves to be dangerous, and it is paramount—”

“They were dangerous before,” Qingzu said, “and, it was paramount before. They have always been enemies of the Hunt. If we try to infiltrate again, don’t you think they’d be suspicious?”

“I thought of that,” you said, “which is why I propose we use an ex-member. We have a number of them on record, arrested after the incident, who express resentment towards the group. The Disciples of the Sanctus Medicus bear many strong resemblances to an insular cult, and it would be incredibly useful to have an agent who already knows the ins and outs of such an organization. We’ve done what we can with the information gathered from interrogation, but the fact remains that these fanatics are still out there. We need to utterly destroy whatever is left, and this is the most efficient way to do so.”

“Interesting,” Fu Xuan said, “but there is always the chance of betrayal. How do you account for that?”

You made a rueful face. “Can it not be argued that there is always a chance of betrayal? Though, you could always see the outcome for yourself, Master Diviner. Your divinations are never wrong.”

“What you suggest is reckless,” Qingzu said, “if this ex-member has any sort of loyalty at all left over, it puts us at risk.”

“I accounted for that,” you said, “I propose that—”

“It is simply too risky,” she said, “thank you for your input, though.”

Annoyance flared in your veins, and you tried hard not to let it show on your face. You knew Qingzu well enough to know that she wasn’t shutting you down out of malice, she was simply thinking about efficiency. But she hadn’t let you finish. 

“Wait,” you said, “I said, I accounted for that. If you’ll allow me—”

“Allow me to be clear,” Qingzu said, “you acknowledge the risks, yes?”

You paused. “Of course, but I said that I—”

“You acknowledge that if we take this gamble and it fails, it could put the Cloud Knights at risk, correct? If our infiltrator switches sides, we’ll be left wide open. They will have information about us, the acquisition of which might lead to even bigger problems. Do you acknowledge this?”

Discontent and anger peppered across your thoughts as you shifted where you stood, your words stuck in your throat. You glanced down to where Jing Yuan sat beside you, to take in the expectant, almost nonchalant expression on his face. His eyes met your own, briefly, meaningfully, before he fixed his gaze on Qingzu. 

“Well?” Qingzu said, “do you, or do you not?”

“Yes, I do,” you said, “and that is why we would send that agent in with one of our own. Say this agent is someone new, a recruit for the cause. It would minimize suspicion, and give us some wiggle room if things were to go south. We have one of our own keeping them in line.”

“I see,” Jung Yuan said, “please, elaborate. How would we orchestrate this? How would we pick the candidates for this operation?”

“General,” Qingzu said, “you know that this is—”

But he held up a hand, silencing her. “Let the woman speak. I can see you are interested in what she has to say as well, Lady Fu Xuan.”

“Correct,” Fu Xuan said, “the idea is intriguing, and could very well lead to the eradication of the Disciples of the Sanctus Medicus. But Lady Qingzu’s worry is not unfounded. If the plan is found out, our agents would likely be killed, and we would be left with bereaved families and nothing to show for the loss. If you can assuage both her fears, and my own, then I believe that your strategy is plausible.”

Ah. And you’d been doing so well before. But the second Fu Xuan fixed you with that look, expecting something great, you could feel your confidence draining out through the soles of your shoes. She seemed to have that effect on everyone, though. Despite her small stature, she could be incredibly intimidating. Regardless, you took a deep breath. You could do this. 

“Well,” you said, “I believe that no strategy is without risks. Of course, we’d need to make sure these agents are well briefed and prepared for the operation, so there is little room left for error. We’d need to be careful in our selection process, and I propose that you assist in overseeing this portion of the plan, Master Diviner. That way, you can see for yourself who will be involved and how it will be done. Does that assuage your worry?”

That was a weak answer and you knew it, but you hadn’t accounted for Fu Xuan picking your idea apart like she was. So when her eyes narrowed, you knew she wasn’t satisfied.

“And how exactly will we prepare these operatives?”

You bit your lip. This was the kind of thing, the fine moving parts, that was what you thought about after presenting the actual idea. That did well enough for when you were working with Jing Yuan, and when you presented strategies to others like you were now, he’d often back you up, or at least say something to help you. You looked at him sidelong, and he looked back, as calm and collected as ever. A small, almost bemused smile tugged at his lips, a challenge in his eyes. 

“Do you have an answer for me?” Fu Xuan said, canting her head, expectant, “if you don’t, I am sure the General has something to add.”

“I do,” you said, “I have an answer.”

Fu Xuan shifted in her chair. From her expression, you were beginning to figure that your time was up. “Be that as it may, I’d like to hear what the General is thinking. If you’re really confident in your strategy, send me a draft of it and I will review it in full. Thank you.”

You sank down into your chair again, trying not  to let your embarrassment show on your face. Jing Yuan proposed an idea similar to yours, but involving sneakier tactics, such as tailing known members of the group and such. Fu Xuan seemed much more complimentary of that than she had of yours, clearly satisfied by the lower risk factor.

But you knew yours would work. It would get more answers, and it could spell the demise of what remained of the Disciples of the Sanctus Medicus. 

After the meeting drew itself to a close, you gathered your things, ready to go to the Seat of Divine Foresight to draft up the proposal Fu Xuan asked for. You just hoped she’d actually listen this time. It was as you were circling around the table to go to the door that you heard Jing Yuan call your name, prompting you to turn around, eyebrows raised.

“Walk with me back to the Seat, alright?”

You sighed inwardly. “Yes, General. I was already on my way there.”

“Ah,” he said, smiling, “then it works in both of our favors, doesn’t it?”

He held the door for you as you left the room, and you thanked him politely as he retook his place beside you. You had to walk quickly, the General was a tall man, and his stride was much longer than yours was. It always made you a little breathless, walking alongside him, but then again, most things did when it came to him.

“My idea could work,” you said, and you saw Jing Yuan smile again, thoughtfully.

“Yes,” he said, “it could. I’m confident it could. It was a well thought out plan, as your plans always are.”

You blinked, not expecting the praise, especially not after he’d stayed quiet during the meeting. 

“Huh?”

A soft laugh. “You weren’t finished talking when the Master Diviner cut you off, were you? Lady Fu Xuan is… an intense woman. But she is more open to the ideas of others than you’d expect her to be. She just prefers when a person speaks up about what they’re really thinking.”

You frowned. “So you’re saying you support my plan?”

Jing Yuan pushed open the doors to the Seat of Divine Foresight as you rounded upon them, and as you entered, he gestured for those inside to leave the room, which they did, leaving the two of you alone. 

“Of course I support your plan,” he said, “you know I’ve always respected your inputs, they’ve served me and the Luofu well in the past. But you lack conviction.”

You let his words settle as the two of you crossed the room, making your way to the desk, where you set down the folder you were still carrying.

“How do I lack conviction?” You asked, “I believe firmly in my own ability. I am good at what I do, and you know that, else you wouldn’t have picked me as your advisor. In all the time we’ve worked together, when have I ever lacked conviction in anything I’ve done?”

“That isn’t what I mean,” Jing Yuan said, “I mean in your own ideas. You clearly had more to say to the Master Diviner, but when she stopped you, that was the end of it. You clearly had it thought out, as demonstrated when Miss Qingzu brought up her concerns, but you didn’t fight for it.”

He had a point, but you weren’t about to admit that. You chewed your lip, eyes flicking to where the folder you’d just set down was laying. 

“What are you getting at?” You asked, finally, “that I need to be more confident? I know that. I didn’t account for… several things. I suppose I should have.”

Jing Yuan laughed; a lovely, low sound. “Lady Fu Xuan is something few people can really account for. She’s confident to nearly a fault in her abilities of divination, but even she cannot see every angle of a matter by herself. So she tends to pick apart things that would ordinarily require a bit of a gamble. Experience breeds caution, something that rings especially true with someone like the Master Diviner.”

You snorted. “A little warning would have been nice.”

Another laugh. “My apologies. But really, I was interested in seeing how you’d rise to the challenge. You had a good idea, as I knew you would, and I wanted to see you fight for it.”

Something uncomfortable twisted in your gut, and you turned away from him, studying a spot on the floor. 

“Well, I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

“Disappointing me? Nonsense. You merely need an extra push. Now, would you care for a game of chess?”

You turned back, looking at him quizzically. “Chess? General, I don’t think now is the time.”

He smiled playfully. “There’s always time for a game of chess. Now, I’ve received this exquisite set, a gift from the Nameless on the Astral Express. I was told it was bought in a city called Belobog. I’m very eager to break it in. As we play, we can discuss further.”

Exasperated, you pulled a chair up to the desk, sinking down into it as Jing Yuan set up the board. The set really was lovely, you noted. It was made of carved wood, the pieces and board both showing fine craftsmanship and detail. You turned over the rook in your hands, admiring the way the wood shone gently under the light. 

Jing Yuan chose white, as he usually did when the two of you played chess, and you chose black. He moved first, setting one of his pawns two spaces out from where it was originally, and you followed his example. 

“Chess is much like life, no?” 

You watched his hands, intent, as he moved his pawn forward once more. 

“In some instances,” you said, “strategy is certainly something the two have in common. Or the fact that both require you to think outside the box, especially when figuring out said strategies.”

A good-natured chuckle as you moved a second pawn further, freeing your knight. Jing Yuan moved his own pawn ever closer, but he hadn’t moved any of his more powerful pieces. You narrowed your eyes, trying to figure out what he was planning. 

“There’s that sharp intellect I know so well,” Jing Yuan said, “but you’re missing one thing.”

Leaning forward, you rested your elbow against the desk, propping your chin on your folded hand. 

“And what would that be?”

A smile, playful and knowing. His eyes sparked with mirth. “You know very well what I mean.”

It was your turn to smile, maybe playing a little dumb. “I assure you, I don’t.”

“Let me give you a hint, then,” the General said, eyes fixed on your hands, watching as you shifted your knight out and onto the board, towards his closest pawn, “purpose, focus, planning. All are vital for a successful gambit, am I right?”

You watched as he moved his pawn again. This was surely a trap, for the rook waiting beyond the pawn, poised to take your knight after the pawn was captured. But you doubted Jing Yuan would do something so obvious. You moved your knight away, clearing it from danger. You needed to back up the piece with another one. 

You supposed he was right. Purpose, focus, planning. But there was also sacrifice. Any good plan required gambles, and that rang true on the chessboard as well. You moved your pawn closer to Jing Yuan’s, near ready to capture the piece. Two could play at that game. You could make sacrifices, too.

“Yes,” you said, “but the Master Diviner doesn’t seem to understand it the same way we do. She doesn’t want to take risks.”

Amusement sparked in his golden eyes, electrifying as the air around you. You twisted your fingers around the top of your pawn, adjusting it more squarely into its spot. 

“She is a careful woman. She wants everything to be accounted for. You believe in this strategy, yes? That it could work?”

You nodded, a smile tugging at your lips. “Naturally.”

“Then make her believe that. A firm belief in one's self commands a room. Make her see that you will handle whatever unexpected circumstances befall us.”

“Oh?” You said, heart thrumming in your chest, “me, alone? I’m just one person, General. Won’t you be helping me?”

His smile broadened, turning into a lazy grin, and when he spoke, he echoed your words from before. 

“Naturally.”

That stupid smile sent butterflies into your stomach, their wingbeats gale force strength as they battered against your lungs. It was always like this with him, something unspoken hanging in the air between you, undisturbed by years of friendship, but ever present. So you did what you always did when it reared its ugly head. You stepped aside to leave it ample room to fester. 

“I should be going,” you said, rising from your seat, “we’ll have to finish our game later. I need to finish writing the details I left out for the Master Diviner.”

“You will remain here.”

You blinked. He didn’t say it with any sort of authority, as if he was simply discussing the weather. But the firmness in his eyes told you that it wasn’t up for discussion. 

“Excuse me?” You said, voice much weaker than you’d have liked. 

“You heard me well. I have more to say, if that’s alright with you. Sit. It’s your turn.”

And so you sat.

“Really, it’s just the two of us,” Jing Yuan said, “we can speak with candor. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to discuss the details you did not get to share earlier. Leave nothing out.”

You narrowed your eyes, absently moving your pawn. “Fu Xuan is already backing your strategy, not mine. My conviction in my plan does not change, but if you were this confident in what I had already, why didn’t you speak up?”

“You know why,” Jing Yuan said, “I wanted you to fight for it. We’re only talking in circles, my dear. How will we guarantee the safety of our agents in this operation?”

Your answer was automatic, despite the rush the diminutive sent through your already electrified system.

“There is no definitive way to ensure that nothing goes wrong aside from preventative measures and ample training,” you said, voice as steady as you could keep it, “any way you slice it, it’s always going to be a bit of a gamble. What I’m suggesting is an infiltration. That kind of operation is unpredictable. You know that. In order to avoid problems, we have to be ready for anything.”

A smile. The rook took your pawn, but you expected that. Without blinking, you took the rook with your knight. Jing Yuan’s eyes flashed with excitement, a contagious grin spreading across his face.

“Excellent answer. But tell me, how will we be ready for anything if we don’t even know what that could be?”

You shrugged. “There’s no perfect way to be ready for absolutely everything. We’ll just have to try and account for what is most likely to happen if things go awry.”

“And the unlikely?”

You knew he was testing you, trying to get under your skin. You looked up at his face and away from the chessboard, the nonchalance in his expression utterly infuriating. You tried your best to remain just as nonplussed.

“I mentioned training, didn’t I?” You said, “we have to trust the operatives will know what to do in the unexpected.”

His smile broadened. “Excellent. See, if you were able to say to her what you just said to me, then we’d be getting somewhere.”

You twisted in your seat. “What makes you so sure of that?”

Another easy smile. “Am I wrong to trust the judgment of a trusted friend and advisor, especially when she’s yet to steer me wrong? I value your opinion. You know that.”

“I do,” you said, “and I value yours as well.”

“I’m hardly worthy of such an honor, I’m sure,” Jing Yuan replied, his smile growing, eyes warm.

For some reason, his words sent those aforementioned butterflies present in your stomach shooting through your bloodstream in an intoxicating rush. Shit. Those feelings were back, the complicated ones you tried to run away from earlier. The way he was smiling at you wasn’t helping in the slightest, and mortifyingly, you could feel your cheeks heating up. Why was that of all things flustering you like this? 

Aeons, you had to get out of there. You cleared your throat, expelling any improper or amorous thoughts about your superior from your mind as you straightened in your chair. 

“I really should be going, General,” you said, voice a little louder than you’d have liked, “if you’ll excuse me, I—”

“Is something the matter, _____?”

You blinked, staring at him.

You should have said something intelligent, or something to assuage his worries, but instead, all you managed was; “what?”

You cleared your throat for the second time, smoothing down the fabric of your uniform. 

“Let me rephrase,” you said, “what do you mean? What would make you think something was the matter?”

Jing Yuan leaned back in his chair, almost lazily, eyes remaining fixed on you as he did so. 

“Well,” he said, “you keep trying to excuse yourself, to start. Additionally, your face is very red. Do you feel ill?”

You latched onto that. “I woke up with a headache this morning,” you said, “I’ve been all out of sorts since then, I’m afraid.”

A soft hum, then an understanding nod. “I see,” Jing Yuan said,  do you have any other symptoms?”

You shook your head. “Just a headache.”

That was a total lie, your headache had diminished to nothing more than an annoyance during the meeting, and had vanished altogether in the time you had been talking with Jing Yuan. But he didn’t have to know that. He didn’t have to know that situations like this always made you need to excuse yourself to rethink your entire working relationship with him, or that you often thought about how lovely he looked when he smiled. 

But then, he was leaning across the table, hand outstretched, and he was pressing his palm to your forehead, the skin cool against your own. It did nothing to calm your racing heart, nor the incandescent blush on your face. The butterflies in your stomach were doing an entire floor routine at this point. 

“You do not appear to have a fever,” he said, as he pulled back, “but your face is still very flushed. Are you too warm?”

You tugged at the high collar of your uniform, fingers absently catching on one of the buttons. 

“I suppose it is a little warm in here.”

Another lie. You were actually a little bit cold. Another thing he didn’t have to know. YOu had to change the subject, and fast. 

“Why is it that you value my input so much—”

“Are you embarrassed?”

The question came so suddenly it stunned you for a moment. 

“What would I be embarrassed about?” You finally managed.

“I value your opinion,” he said, “I believe that is what I said that set you out of sorts, yes? The fact that I value your input flusters you? Do you fear that that is all I value? I assure you, I not only treasure your ideas, but your presence as well. You need not feel uncomfortable here, I very much enjoy your company.”

This was not going the way you envisioned at all. You were a professional for Aeons’ sake. You straightened yourself, rising from your chair, just to put some distance between the two of you, just to catch your breath. What was he doing? It almost felt like…

“You’re teasing me,” you said finally.

You turned when he laughed, your expression a mix of emotions, but he was as cool and collected as ever. It almost made you want to slap him. Or kiss him, Aeons forbid. You shoved that thought to the deepest corner of your mind.

“I was concerned at first,” he said, “though I realized after I felt your forehead that you were not ill. I apologize for my behavior, but I’m afraid I just couldn’t help myself.”

You felt like you were going to burst into flames. “So— what you said, about— huh?”

Another laugh. “I meant every word of that. Come now, lying about such things would be unbecoming. Please, would you sit with me some more? I would very much like to finish our game.”

“No,” you said, “the game can wait. Do you not take me seriously?”

He looked briefly surprised before he answered.

“I take you very seriously, I assure you. I cannot see why you would think I wouldn’t. I apologize if I led you to think otherwise.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Then why tease me?”

“I admit,” he said, “I found your reactions to be… endearing. I did not mean to offend you.”

Your heart sputtered under the new load that had been put upon it like a backfiring starskiff. You’d only ever seen hints of this before, in offhanded compliments and veiled praises, but the General had never been so overt before. Hell, you’d always been certain you were imagining it. But that single revelation brought you to a realization. 

“You weren’t just teasing me,” you said, “you were flirting with me.”

The smile grew, and you could have sworn your heart was beating in your ears. He canted his head, regarding you with a playful gaze as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk in front of him.

“And what if I was?”

You coughed, trying to clear your head as confusing emotions swam laps in your bloodstream. Damn him, making you feel like this. Did he not even realize the impropriety of all of this? Did he just not care? How stupid and blind had you been not to realize this was happening? 

“If you were,” you said, carefully, “then what does that mean, exactly?”

“You’re a smart woman” he rebuffed, “you know what it means.” 

Your brain wasn’t catching up with what he was saying as quickly as you wanted it to, which infuriated you. He was staring at you, waiting for you to say anything at all, and you turned to face him when he said your name. 

Damn it. Damn him. Damn everything. The way he was looking at you, like you put the stars in the sky, it made you feel like every cell in your body was screaming. All these years of pining for someone you thought was so unattainable was an arms reach away all along, and that not only made you feel silly, it made you feel a certain degree of strange, misdirected anger.

And as you stood there, confused and fuming and utterly scarlet in the face, you decided to do something stupid. Like, really, cosmically stupid. But really, you couldn’t think of anything to do at that moment besides that terribly stupid thing. 

“Of course,” he said, mild panic in his voice, “if you’re uncomfortable with this, it will never be spoken of again—”

Without saying anything, you crossed to his side of the desk, leaning to grab at the front of his clothing and yanking him up to meet your mouth in a kiss, effectively shutting him up and showing just how comfortable you were. 

He made a sound of surprise when your mouths met, a sound that snapped you from whatever impulsive haze that had settled over your brain. You were about to yank yourself back and apologize until you were unable to do so anymore, but then his hands found your shoulders, holding you in place, and your own fell from his clothing to catch his cheeks in your palms.

He was much taller than you, something especially evident as he rose to his full height, forcing you to stand on your tip-toes, arms slinging around his neck. His own wound around your waist, as not to let you slip away, his body quickly pulled flush against your own. 

He tasted of herbal tea and almond cookies, warm against your mouth as he deepened the kiss. It was all-consuming and passionate, and you felt Jing Yuan pull back for a mere moment, just once, before diving back in, his teeth grazing your lower lip, sending sparks dancing down your spine. Your actions were rapidly growing frenzied, almost fierce, and you could feel yourself moving, your backside making contact with the desk behind you.

You knew this was moving fast, but you couldn’t even begin to care, not when you ran your hands through his hair, drawing a soft gasp from his lips, feather soft against your own, and especially not when his hands shifted to brace on the desk, effectively caging you in. Kissing him was intense , and almost completely overwhelming. The scent of him engulfed you; orange blossom and sandalwood, as well as something earthy and herbal and him.  

He was the first one to pull back, face tinged pink as he caught his breath, eyes hooded as he watched you through lashes the color of moonlight. Aeons, he was pretty. Too pretty for his own good. Your eyes fixed to his mouth, watching as his tongue darted out, running briefly over his unfairly full lower lip. 

“I see the matter of your comfort isn’t a concern.”

You could only shake your head.

He smiled, and you felt your heartbeat flutter in your chest. 

“If it’s all the same to you,” he said, tucking a lock of your hair behind your ear, “I’d like to do that again.”

You answered him by pulling him into another kiss. 

You could feel his hands on your waist, warm even through the fabric of your uniform. Gooseflesh raised on your skin as he paused, dangerously close to your hips, and your own hands laced into his hair, your fingers combing through thick, silver locks. The action drew a soft, low sound that made your blood sing with energy. It was embarrassing how quickly he got you like this, so pliable and willing, but as he nibbled at your lower lip, any thoughts of embarrassment were ejected from your mind.

His tongue slid along the seam of your lips, and you parted them, allowing him to press it against your own. Your fingers tangled into his hair, catching at the tie that held it back, and you flirted with the idea of undoing it before he was tugging you backward, away from the desk and onto the bench behind him, gathering you into his lap. The buzz of excitement took its place beneath your skin, and you shifted forward, bumping your hips against his. 

You could feel his hands trailing down your body, catching in the bend of your waist, and you wanted so badly to shift down, pressing your bodies flush together, just to see what he would do. Fuck, he’d pulled you into his lap, and the provocativity of such an action only put you more out of sorts than you already were.

Breathless, you broke the kiss, meeting his hooded gaze with your own as you rolled your hips down, and oh, the way his eyes fluttered closed, the way his grip grew tighter on your body, it sent any remaining rational thought you had right out the nearest window.  

You squeezed your thighs around his hips as you pressed yourself down again, and his jaw tightened, fingers pressing into your flesh through the fabric of your uniform. His gaze was dark as he regarded you, amber eyes sweeping across your body, seemingly hungry for what he was seeing. It thrilled you more than you thought it would. Overwhelmed, you dove forward to catch his mouth in another kiss, and he sighed into you, his lips moving languidly against your, almost indulgent as he pressed closer.

He pulled back suddenly, forehead against yours, breath heavy, and you tried to move to catch his mouth with yours again. He allowed you the impulse for a few frenzied seconds before he moved away, and for a horrible moment, you thought you’d done something wrong.

“Is this alright?” He asked, and the way his voice had deepened to a baritone rumble sent your head off into space, “you and I both know the direction this is taking us.”

You did. If you continued at this pace, you knew exactly what would happen. Anyone with common sense would know. This was something out of a dirty fantasy, something you’d shamefully thought of on lonely nights, something out of one of those silly erotic web novels you found yourself reading on boring days off. It was exciting and sexy, and you didn’t want it to stop. Here he was, the object of your pining, of your recently thought to be unrequited affections, asking what you wanted at that moment. Who were you to refuse?

“Yes,” you said, after you’d found your own voice, high and breathy in contrast to his, “I’m okay with this. I want this.”

A soft hum, and you felt your heart jump into your throat as his head dipped, mouth dragging along the bit of your throat left exposed by your uniform. You couldn’t help but gasp, almost embarrassed at your own sensitivity. 

“Aeons, you’re lovely,” he breathed, enraptured, “I am left in awe every day I see you.”

You felt your face warm, your voice lost as he peppered kisses along your jaw. His hands slid down your body to find your thighs, calloused palms pressing against the skin, left exposed by the shorts attached to your uniform. He used the grip to tug you closer, firmly pressing your pelvis against his, an action that caused both of you to gasp aloud. 

He held you in place as he rolled his hips, slow and easy, the friction making you gasp. He was already halfway hard, evident through his trousers, and the thought that you’d been the one to make him that way made intoxicating arousal flood into your bloodstream. 

His fingers caught the buttons at your collar, fumbling to push them through the buttonholes. Once that was done, you reached to the front of your waist to unfasten your belt, which was holding the top of your uniform in place. After it was loose, you slipped the garments from your body, discarding them to the floor.

You barely had time to think before Jing Yuan was exploring the newly exposed parts of you, his mouth latching onto the bend of your shoulder, the column of your throat, the underside of your chin. His hands, warm and calloused against your naked waist, made you shudder, breath leaving your lips in a shaky sigh as his tongue passed over your pulse point. 

You had trouble finding exactly where his armor ended and he began, but you eventually found the buckles necessary to unfasten the thick plating from his body. He helped you with this endeavor, eventually shedding his wrist guards and shirt, as well as the armor at his waist, leaving him bare chested beneath you. 

He was built powerfully, like the Aeons themselves had sculpted him by hand. Muscles rippled under the flat press of your palm, his perfect pale skin only marred by the threads of countless battle scars. Broad, strong shoulders and arms, a well-built chest, all tapering off into a trim waist. You ran your fingers down his body, feeling his muscles tense, quivering, breath catching as your thumb caught the jut of his hip bone, settling into the groove of muscle at his navel. 

His gaze was riveted to your hand as you explored his body, only dropping away when your mouth attached to his neck, teeth grazing his collarbone, making him sigh with shuddering breath. Your fingers mapped their way across his scars, and you absently wondered what the cause of each one was. You kissed the one closest to you, a thick, pale stripe of skin cutting across his left shoulder, ending just above his pectoral. You felt his nose press into your hair, and for a moment, you simply rested your cheek against his shoulder in a little bubble of intimacy that settled so perfectly into your comfort zone that you almost had trouble breaking away. 

“You’re beautiful,” you said, softly, and you heard him chuckle, the sound like a roll of thunder beneath your ear. 

“Oh, my darling,” he whispered, “that word is reserved for you.”

He drew you close and into another fierce kiss, stealing your breath from your lungs, and you could feel his hands on your back as he unfastened your bra, pushing the straps down your shoulders. You took the bra off the rest of the way, dropping it behind you as you rolled your hips against him, an action that caused him to grip at your body, and oh , you could feel him, hardness pressing neatly against your clothed cunt. Teeth clicked together as he rocked his hips, holding you against him, the friction drawing a soft, breathy moan. 

His palm slid along your body, cupping your breast, and when his thumb swiped over your nipple, you let out an embarrassingly loud gasp, burying your face in the crook of his neck as he squeezed the nipple between two fingers. You were so unexpectedly sensitive, just from this alone, a fact that would have embarrassed you if your head wasn’t so full of clouds and fluff and other emptiness, drunk on his touch.

His mouth found your pulse point again, tracing down to your collarbone, then to the valley of your breasts, and your back bowed as his hand smoothed along your spine to rest between your shoulder blades, breath and body shuddering as his lips passed over a nipple. His breath was hot as it misted over your skin, and when his lips finally caught a nipple between them, you let your head fall back, gasping and breathless. 

Jing Yuan’s tongue passed over the sensitive flesh, rolling your nipple beneath it, and he caught your opposite breast in his free hand, gently squeezing, making you whine, soft and low. The pleasure of it all felt like fire beneath your skin, burning you from the inside out, but not one part of you cared, not when he was touching you like that. 

You pushed yourself against him harder, because feeling him through clothing was rapidly becoming not nearly enough, a sentiment he clearly shared from the way you felt him groan against your skin.

“Can I touch you?” He rasped, and you nodded quickly, shifting to unfasten the tie holding your shorts closed, briefly standing to slip them off, as well as your panties, before you were moving back into his lap, completely bare. 

“You’re incredible,” he rumbled, “a goddess. I hope you know that. I am a very lucky man.”

His hand pressed against your hip, making your shift back, and your face flushed in embarrassment as he took in your naked form, gaze famished and punch drunk in love as it roved over you. 

“I want to touch you, too,” you said, and he simply smiled.

“I’m yours to do with as you please.”

His hand slipped from your hip to your thigh, and you shifted your hips back, allowing him room to maneuver as he pressed a broad palm to the apex of your thighs, causing you to gasp, hips unconsciously pressing down. His middle finger ran along the length of your entrance, aided by the soak of your arousal, slow as he pleased, leaving your head full of fog. You pressed your hips down against his hand, lip catching between your teeth as he picked up his pace, free hand gripping your hip to still you as one finger slowly sunk inside of you.

He began to move at an agonizingly slow pace, and you moaned lowly as his finger curled inside of you, hitting a spot that made stars burst across your vision. He touched you in a way that stole your breath from your lungs, and when he added another finger, his name slipped from your lips, soft and pleading.

You reached forward to fumble with the front of his trousers, managing to unsnap and unzip them after a few seconds. He hissed between his teeth as you pushed his underwear down, pulling him free, and shit, you weren’t sure what you’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been this. Jing Yuan wasn’t a small man, so you supposed this shouldn’t have come as a shock, but he was big. He was thick, and long enough to make you nervous, and when you reached forward and wrapped your hand around him, your fingers barely even met.  

His breath hitched sharply when you touched him, and you felt him twitch against your palm, throbbing. When his fingers curled inside of you, you squeezed him, making him cry out. You touched him in slow, even strokes as your hips ground down on his hand, and when his thumb found your clit, you picked up the pace. 

His head fell against the back of the bench as you squeezed his tip, circling your thumb around him, making him groan, low and long, hips bucking into your touch. He was leaking precum, and you used it to aid in your motions, smearing it around the head of his dick, making his own motions falter for a moment.

You wanted him so badly at that moment, as you watched his pretty face twist with pleasure, with need. You could feel your climax building, winding tighter under your skin, driving a high, breathless wine from between your gritted teeth as you ground your hips down harder. When he sped up his pace to aid you, your hips jumped, heartbeat pounding in your ears, and you were grinding down on his hand like a bitch in heat. 

You really weren’t going to last, not when he knew exactly where to touch you, fingers practiced and sure, and fuck, you felt like you were melting into him, fingers slipping from his cock to grip at his shoulders, your ability to focus rapidly draining away. 

Your head dropped back in pleasure as he worked you even closer to your high, allowing him room to latch his mouth onto your throat, surely leaving marks as his teeth dragged against your skin, but you hardly had the wherewithal to even begin to care about that, not as your thoughts and senses devolved into complete delirium. 

With a final press of his thumb, you tumbled over the edge with a broken cry, nails digging into Jing Yuan’s skin as you came. He worked you through it with whispered filth and an unfaltering pace, making you sob with rapture, squirming helplessly as he worked you into overstimulation, dangerously close to a second climax before he pulled away.

You collapsed, boneless and panting against his chest, and he drew you close, mouth hot as it molded to yours, and as you shifted forward, you could feel him, pressed against your bare stomach. 

The friction made him groan, hands on your hips, blunt nails digging into your skin, but you needed more, and you knew he wouldn’t protest giving you just that. 

“How do you want me?” Jing Yuan rasped, “do you want to be on top? It may be more comfortable for you to adjust that way. I’m afraid I don’t have protection, though. That does not tend to be something I keep here in my office.”

“I’m on birth control,” you said, “it will be okay.”

After a moment of consideration, you shifted forward to press yourself against him, an action that earned a breathless groan. He felt hot against you, almost searing, and as you slowly rolled your hips, you felt his grip grow tighter, almost impatient. A spike of arousal shot through you as his jaw tightened, his restraint clearly being tested by your teasing. 

Slowly, you began to sink down. You were met with some resistance, even just the tip was a stretch, and you had to pause for a moment, just to catch your breath, which was escaping your lips in quick bursts. 

“Relax,” he urged, voice low; tone taught and fraying, “breathe. You can take it.”

A quick nod as you tried to do as he said, resting your forehead against his shoulder. You pushed down further, drawing a hushed groan, his hands slipping from your hips to your waist, gently urging you downwards. It took another few moments of adjusting before you were able to take all of him, and you sat there for a few moments, breathless and stuffed completely full. 

His head lolled back against the bench, expression stricken and lips parted, and you pulled him into a kiss, which he returned with vigor. You stayed still as you adjusted to the size, something that clearly wasn’t helping with keeping his restraint in place, evident from the way he was gripping your body, tight enough to bruise. 

Just to test the waters, you shifted forward in a slow, easy grind, and he groaned, long and low and aching. You whined into his mouth, toes curling as you rolled your hips again, just to hear that wonderful sound again. 

His hands drifted back to your hips, squeezing as you moved again, this time lifting yourself halfway up, only to take him again, and he was surely leaving bruises, absolutely holding back, especially as you thrust back down again.

“Tight,” he whispered, “it’s— fuck— it’s so tight.”

That did it for you. You put your hands on his shoulders as you picked up the pace, forcing the breath from your own lungs, rendering him speechless as he watched you, eyes fixed to where the two of you were connected, watching his thick cock disappear inside of you. 

The stretch of him made you feel like your mind had emptied itself out, and you let out a thin, breathy moan as his hips bucked up, stuffing you full as your nails dug into his shoulders. You yanked him into a messy kiss, hands lacing into his hair, and he growled against your mouth, a sound that sent shockwaves down your spine. 

Another tug at his hair, and you were moving, your back suddenly against the desk, chess pieces scattering around you as he rucked your legs up, pulling them against his hips as he pressed close. You cried out, the new angle making the tip of his cock rub just right against spots inside of you that you didn’t even know existed. 

You lifted your hips from the desk to meet him, propping yourself up on bent elbows as he leaned over you to join your lips to his. The pace he set was slow, but the strong impact of each thrust made it impossible for you to think , or to even speak as his hands slid along your thighs to the bend of your knees, holding you in place for him as he fucked you. 

The kiss was broken, and he rested his forehead against yours, just for a spell, before he was drawing back a little, hips pressing forward, and one of his hands was moving between your bodies, clit under his thumb, forcing you to tighten around him, forcing broken gasps from both of you. 

“Deeper,” you found yourself blurting, and he chuckled darkly against your skin.

“If that’s what pleases you.”

Your head fell back in bliss as he changed the angle, the speed picking up as well, and you could do nothing else but gasp his name, sprawling back over the desk as he reduced you to a mess, beginning to wind tighter once more, thighs trembling in his grip.

You were still sensitive from your last climax, something he was undoubtedly aware of as he touched you in all the right places, as his mouth found your breast, tongue passing over your nipple and making your back arch into his touch. It was too much, but also not nearly enough, something that was as oxymoronic as it was maddening. 

Your hands scrambled across the smooth surface of the desk before finally curling around the edge, nails digging into the wood, and you watched Jing Yuan above you with hazy eyes; watched the way his face twisted and pinched in bliss. He was thick and heavy and hot inside of you, and you were not going to last, not like this, not when he was whispering filth and praises and fucking you so deep that you could barely tell where he started and you ended. 

The pressure of his thumb on your clit picked up, and you squirmed in his hold, the back of your head knocking against the surface of the desk underneath it, your eyes squeezing closed, the delirious, desperate feeling that comes before a climax bleeding into your system, threading its way through you, leaving you utterly helpless to its pull. 

You were barely aware of what you were even saying, but you knew his name was on your lips, and you were so close that you could hardly take it, but he wasn’t slowing down, not even as you bucked and squirmed and shook under his touch. 

The edge came quicker than you’d have pleased, and your back bowed up as you came undone, trying and failing to stray quiet as your high washed over you with tidal wave force. You were throbbing around him, squeezing him tight, and you could hear him growling in pleasure, feel him twitch inside of you, only driving you higher as your eyes rolled back behind closed lids, lips parted, cheeks flushed pink. 

But he wasn’t letting up, not even as you squirmed with overstimulation, clamping a hand over your mouth to try and quiet yourself, barely able to handle the continued stimulation. The stretch of him inside of you and the feel of his thumb on your clit was making you feel like you were losing yourself, and if he knew that, he was only encouraging it. 

You wanted him to cum, to feel him lose himself too, to see it on his face as he spilled himself inside of you, just as drunk on bliss as you were. You locked your ankles together behind his body, pushing him deeper, and you got the privilege of listening to him groan.

Your second climax knocked the wind out of you, and it was only then that he was pulling his hand away, fucking you through the aftershocks of the climax, but the base of his cock was rubbing against your oversensitive clit, prolonging your high, and building you towards another one. 

His hand found your hip, holding you down as his pace picked up to something almost punishing as he chased his own climax, and you found yourself scrambling forward to grab onto him, kissing him hard and deep, hips moving with his and making him moan into your mouth, grip tightening on your body as he pushed you back onto your back, one hand flattening on your lower stomach to hold you down as he thrust all the way in, staying close as he rolled his hips in slow, deep rocks that made you feel like you were burning alive, but you could do no more than lay there and take it as he worked you into another dizzying climax.

It hit you with a force that made you scream, forcing you to clamp a hand over your mouth, the tears that had caught in your lashes leaking down your cheeks, and his thrusts were growing uneven, breath unsteady. You felt him shudder, hips twitching, sending jolts of almost painful pleasure through your spent body, making you whine. 

With a low, unrestrained moan, he was thrusting deep as he could go, and you could feel him trembling , grip iron tight on your body as he spilled inside of you, and you pulled him down into a fierce kiss, bucking your hips to work him through his climax. He moaned against your mouth, gasping your name when you deliberately squeezed around him, breaking the kiss to sink his teeth into your shoulder to muffle his unrestrained cries.

You felt him begin to soften inside of you, though he remained close, arms wrapped around your body as you gasped for breath. It was with almost palpable reluctance that he pulled out, and after gathering you into his arms, he was falling back to sit on the bench behind him, chest heaving, eyes closed.

A few moments passed of just laying together before he was moving for a drawer in his desk, and you realized he was reaching for a package of tissues, which he used to wipe your thighs clean, depositing the tissue in the trash can tucked beneath the desk. You grabbed your panties from the floor, tugging them back on before settling beside him once again.

“I didn’t picture that happening for the first time here,” he said, after a few moments of comfortable silence, “though I can’t say I’m complaining.”

Despite everything, you felt your cheeks warm. It was definitely comical that you were blushing at that of all things after he’d just fucked your brains out, but you supposed it couldn’t be helped.

“Where did you picture it?” You asked, settling closer to him, smiling as he wrapped his arms around your body.

“Preferably my bedroom,” he said, “or yours. I wanted to at least take you out first. Call me old fashioned, but I’m quite fond of the act of courtship.”

You smiled. “We can still do that.”

A chuckle. “Yes. You’re quite right.”

For as long as possible (and until you started to get cold), the two of you sat curled up together on the bench before Jing Yuan suggested getting dressed, which didn’t sound like a bad idea. But it wasn’t until you tried to stand that you realized that might be a problem. 

“This is your fault,” you said, as he helped you put your shorts back on, and he smiled, as calm as ever.

“And I’d do it again.”

That, you weren’t ashamed to say, made you blush. From the smirk on his face, that was exactly his intention. You shot him a glare, but it was short lived when he pressed a kiss to your forehead, offering you a hand to help you up.

Your legs were still wobbly, but with his support, you were able to stand. 

“Well, love,” he said, “since we’re doing things in reverse order, how about lunch? We can take the rest of the day off, go back to my home?”

You leaned closer to him, lacing your fingers tight with his. “I’d like that.”

He kissed you, slow and gentle, before he led you from the Seat of Divine Foresight, leaving the mess of forgotten chess pieces scattered across the floor, chatting happily about what restaurants he thought you’d like. 

You never did finish that game.

Though, of course, there would be others in the future. 

[featguler]

held my bluff this time ────── a confession long due.

♡ ────── pairing : kylian mbappé x reader ♡ ────── tags : reader's gender, ethnicity, nationality, and appearance is not specified. reader works @ nike and meets kylian there, they also live in paris. set in a bar, OPEN ENDING!!!!!! ♡ ────── wordcount : 1,041 ♡ ────── notes : it seems like all i write for is kylian omfg...... idk he's my muse (LMAO). another good luck post: good luck for tonight, boys... i trust that you won't disappoint me and that i'll see you in the semi-finals. i have morning shift so i wont be watching... the french nt is not paying my bills. title is from garden gate by mon rovîa ♡ masterlist.

“Spain?”

Just as he sees you settle in on the bar with a glass in your hand, Kylian decides to put on a brave face and approach you. Assigned to him a few months ago, you have been the one he turns to most in his Nike sponsorship shenanigans—business meetings, merchandise design, shooting locations; everything he could think of, you were there for him.

“Spain,” You confirm with a light chuckle, drinking a bit of the beverage in your hand. “Barcelona, to be precise.”

Damn it, Kylian thinks, fuck Nike.

“If the transfer were to Madrid, I’d invite you out to brunch every other day.”

You laugh, a melodic titter that leaves your throat so freely like angels on their off days. “Used to the Madrid life already, Kylian?”

He blows a breath, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not France, but I’ll make do.”

“You’ve got to,” you sigh, crossing your legs as you lean your back behind to the bar. “Real Madrid, huh? Viní Jr, Bellingham, Tchouaméni…”

“Kylian Mbappé,” he adds softly, drawing another laugh from you.

“You’ve had a hard season,” you turn to him with a gentle smile, patting his knees—and Kylian stiffens, the contact sharpening the air he was breathing in, but he prays to god that you don’t notice. “I’m happy for you.”

“It’s a new chapter,” he nods, clearing his throat, still facing you. “Funny that fate both brings us to Spain.”

“Should’ve brought me to Madrid, huh?” You joke, “Not sure if you’d settle for any Barcelona clubs.”

Kylian shakes his head. “Real Madrid is more than a dream,” he mutters, “It’s a destination. One I dreamt of since I was a boy.”

Your smile scrutinises him. “Well, Madrid is, what? Two hours away? Three hours?” You take another sip of your drink. “We’ll visit each other.”

“We will,” Kylian agrees. “Leaving Paris, huh?”

For a moment, Kylian raises his eyes and gazes across the crowded room—a kind of revel where everyone knows everyone, and yet no one really knows anyone at the same time. A part of Kylian does not believe in the stars; fate is not written in them, fate is written in what you do.

But tonight, he is feeling romantic.

What is it, but fate, that brings you together?

What is it, but destiny, to have you both be transferred down south?

He has felt this before. The churning feeling in his stomach, reminding him of his adolescent days, holding hands with the victim of his puppy love—the excitement in his veins whenever your name pops out in conversations. Though now, he’s not sure that he is able to declare his love to you like he used to do in school.

Kylian, still, is unapologetically thunderous. His face does not hide his heart, and his heart is definitely plastered on his sleeves. But he has to thread on this gently. You are not vulnerable, by any means, but he fears that the string connecting the two of you is.

“I have to confess,” Kylian has never seen his voice to be this vulnerable, full of hope, full of that certain kind of craving to be also known, not just loved.

You looked tender under the bar’s dim lighting; in your hand is a glass of neat whiskey, room temperature, and you tilt your head as the background voices in the bar loudened, prompting you to glance away from him, leaning in closer to listen in.

He takes in a deep breath—which turns out to be a big mistake, because the scent of your faded perfume mixed with beer that another colleague had spilled on you earlier into the night instantly spun his head around.

“I have to confess,” he repeats, this time a bit more groggily. Kylian gulps in, and you nod to encourage him. “Over the months, I have grown to care for you…”

You lift your head, looking at him with both eyebrows raised, and fear rushes into Kylian. But he charges in, headfirst. He doesn’t hold back. If he sees an opportunity, he would walk straight into it; if he sees an open space between the goalkeeper’s hand and the goalpost, he would kick the ball straight in.

“I’ve grown to care for you,” he repeats again, “And I have grown fond of you.”

He is sure you heard him, despite the loud stereos and conversations around you. He stares deep into your eyes, and fights the overwhelming urge to look away.

“Fond…” You mutter; Kylian watches as you ponder about his choice of word. For a second, your gaze wanders to the bottles of wine lined up neatly stacked on fancy shelves. He watches as you inhale.

“What I’m trying to say is—” When he sees you struggle to come up with a response, Kylian tries to interrupt, but you cut him off.

“What you’re trying to say is,” you straighten your back, placing your drink on the bar, swallowing in your own hesitance it seems, “that you developed an interest in me.”

“Developed an interest?” He chuckles, his shoulders relaxing. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”

He sees you think and decides to correct himself.

“Well, rather than an interest in you, I would say that I developed an interest in pursuing a relationship with you.”

The business lingo tickles his throat, but all the same, he finds the situation amusing. His heart races under his ribs—he feels them hardening as he waits the eternity you take to gather your thoughts and answer him.

“A relationship where—,” you hesitate, and he sees only now how flustered your expression looks, “—where we act as lovers.”

“Where we become lovers,” he murmurs, agitated, now feeling the youth and naivety crawling up his words. “But that takes time.”

“That does take time,” you whisper.

“I guess,” he begins, “what I’m asking you to do is… give me a try.”

Kylian presses his lips against each other, leaning towards you the way you leaned towards him earlier.

“Us, if that makes it easier. Give us a try.”

You clear your throat, and Kylian does not move from where he was sitting.

“Trying us on,” you mutter over his words, facing your lap.

Kylian inhales. He holds back his tongue.

[kuromochimi]

Of weddings and what ifs

sakusa kiyoomi x wedding organizer f!reader

♡ You loved your job and the joy of being able to bring to life the weddings that couples could only dream of, before they had met you. The only downside to it was that your job sometimes reminded you of a certain ex fiancé. Fortunately, he hasn’t made an appearance in your life since you broke the engagement off. But with the red string of fate connecting you and your ex fiancé not being totally severed yet, it was only a matter of time before it brought you back into each other’s lives. Only this time, he’s tied to another.

Content Warnings: ONE SHOT, angst, little fluff and comfort, no closure break ups, not proof read, a small hint for an open ending, lmk if I missed any!

With the final arrangements settled, you finally felt free enough to take a breath and appreciate the (once again) perfect event you’d managed to organize. It was exhausting to say the least, but the happy couples who would often tear up out of joy while thanking you? Yes, it was definitely worth it. And it was a job that paid fairly well too. Moments after you’ve had the time to look around the venue, a notification from your phone caught your attention. It was a notice from your secretary about new clients. She reminded you that you had to meet them the following day. You then made sure to set up alarms and reminders as you were sure you would oversleep otherwise, after all, the current event would definitely last til the late hours. And that it did.

The following day, you tried your best to make yourself look freshened up and awake. You arrived at the meeting place quite early. You double checked all the files and documents which you might need. Thankfully, not long after you finished fixing your papers, the client arrived. She approached gently before speaking “Hi! I’m keiko. You’re yn, right? I saw your picture on the pamphlet” she smiled shyly. You noticed just how soft spoken and beautiful this lady was. She definitely has that “soon to be married” glow. “Hello, yes! It’s me. I’m glad to finally meet you, keiko!” You stood up to shake her hand. You both settled down after the introductions. “Will it be just you for today?” You asked her before you started discussing anything. “Oh my fiancé will be here soon. He just suddenly had to run an errand for his mom. He’s..” she grabbed her phone to check on something, probably a message. “Oh he’s just parking his car now” you gave a nod of acknowledgment at that. With your seat facing the entrance, you could clearly see the people who walked in and out of the cafe. Which meant that when sakusa kiyoomi walked in, your eyes immediately gravitated towards him. He started looking around, eyes landing on you. Or at least you thought they did, before keiko looked back from her seat, immediately getting up to hug sakusa once she was made aware of his presence. She guided the man back to your table. You tried your best to mask whatever feeling was forcing its way out of you. “Yn, this is my fiancé. You can just call him k-“ . “sakusa, you can call me sakusa” he cut her off. Keiko was a bit taken aback by her fiancé’s interruption but she was quick to ward off the confusion. While the discussion went on, you couldn’t help but feel anxious and even more tired. You weren’t sure if it was because of last night’s event execution or if it was because in front of you was your ex-fiancé, asking you to organize his wedding. The fiancé who was too busy for wedding planning. The fiancé who thought he couldn’t give you what you deserved. The fiancé who left.

The world felt like it was nothing but air. You couldn’t feel much at all and you were probably only functioning out of pure muscle memory acquired from all the times you’ve done this pre-planning orientation for engaged couples. Your consciousness was jolted awake when keiko stood up. “Yn I’m really sorry but I’m being called in for work. One of my patients had an emergency. Please just settle the rest with kiyoomi, I’ll see you again soon!” She hurriedly left. Her absence immediately making way for the awkward silence filled with all of the unspoken thoughts you and sakusa tried to keep in for the last hour or so.

“I’m sorry”. The words felt unreal. They felt empty, and fake though you were sure kiyoomi would never say something he didn’t mean. “What are you sorry for, sakusa?” He visibly flinched at the name he suggested you called him by, not even an hour ago. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be.. all this for you” the moment made your ring finger feel heavy despite the absence of the ring that used to wrap itself around it.

His words brought you back to the day he left after he’d had enough of your complaints about having to plan the wedding all by yourself. He was starting off as a doctor back then, a new resident who wanted to do all that he could to establish his career. You were both fairly young back then, which was probably why you both thought getting married at that point of your lives was surreal. For some, maybe it was so. But for you two? Apparently not. Because not long after he proposed, he soon found that the demands of being a surgical resident wasn’t something to take lightly. While you were also working, you never failed to make time for wedding planning. Of course, you knew that his schedule was much more taxing than yours but it still pained you to make invitations on your own, taste test cakes by yourself. “I want whatever you want” was what he’d said as compensation for his absence. But when you were trying on dresses and you looked at yourself in the mirror gown and all, the weight of keeping everything in came crashing down because “he should be here” was all you could think. Sakusa wasn’t superstitious so he certainly wouldn’t give a fuck about seeing you in your wedding dress before the wedding day. Heck, he even said he’d love to pick one out with you. But he wasn’t with you. So when he came home from work, tired and not thinking straight, he was met with your equally tired looking figure, sitting on the couch, crying. He didn’t even get a word out before you spoke your mind and while he did understand, he didn’t have the energy to argue further. Because in his head, you should’ve understood why he couldn’t be there. And even when you both reconciled that night, nothing had changed. The same cycle continued until neither of you found enough reason to keep the promise of getting married. Though you wished he would’ve at least said goodbye instead of leaving a shitty sorry note on top of your counter, along with the apartment keys.

“It’s fine. Let’s just forget about it” you tried your best to sound sincere but you couldn’t exactly lie your way out of a confrontation with someone with whom you literally intended to spend the rest of your life with at some point in time. “Do you.. do you want me to find another planner? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was gonna be you, yn. I promise I never intended to-“ he stops as you held your hand up to signal your request for silence. “Sakusa, it’s fine. Like I said, let’s just forget about it. I promise not to let what happened get in the way of your wedding planning.” The day went by very slowly, both you and kiyoomi moving and speaking like virtual characters merely accomplishing tasks assigned to them. “Well, that’s about it. Please let your fiancé know about the details she missed and… congratulations for the engagement” you chimed before briskly walking out of the cafe where sakusa was left dumbfounded and extremely confused as to how he was going to address this wild turn of events.

Throughout the planning, you’ve come to learn that keiko was an amazing person. She was passionate about her work advocacies, she was kind and soft spoken, extremely understanding, and though you didn’t mean to have such thoughts, whenever she spoke of kiyoomi, you never seem to miss the times she’d tell stories about how busy the man was and that she understood him anyway. Because she loved him. Because she was the same way sometimes. Something you weren’t able to do for him during such a challenging time in his life. It caused conflict in your heart to learn all of those things. Because it warmed your heart to see such a happy bride to be. She radiated happiness and everything in between whenever she was with kiyoomi and kiyoomi looked at ease whenever he was with her and that’s something because kiyoomi rarely looked at ease. They were happy but as much as you wanted to take that happiness as a sign to let your hurt go, it just didn’t work that way. To be quite frank, until now, you still harbored a little (or more) hurt from the fact that someone you had initially agreed to marry, was capable of leaving you without even saying it to your face. Before you came home to an empty apartment with his goodbye note, you were even going to propose the idea that maybe you guys should just postpone the wedding and maybe wait for things to settle in before you resume planning. Instead, you were met with your ex-fiancé’s absence. His clothes missing from the closet, medical books out of the shelves, even his favorite mug was nowhere to be found. It was as if only the note he left behind could serve as proof that you were once in a relationship with him. You tried contacting his family and closest friends but most of them ignored your calls and those of them who answered obviously tried their best to dodge answering your questions. You were at your lowest then. You took a long leave from work, barely ate, barely showered, was often sick, and would constantly wonder how things could have been had you just kept your mouth shut instead of nagging a tired kiyoomi.

It wasn’t helping that you were thinking about all of this a few minutes before the couple’s consultation with you. The wedding was moving closer and closer and you’ve been spending more and more time with them and it still honestly feels like the world is caving in every single time. It’s an unexplainable feeling. You wanted nothing more than to see them get married, sincerely congratulate the couple, let go of all that’s been bugging you in the past, and finally move on with your life, something you haven’t been able to do since you and kiyoomi broke things off. Your thoughts were cut short when someone entered your office. It was keiko and she was alone. “Yn? Hi, I just wanted to talk to you real quick” “quick? but we have so much to do” she smiles gently before taking a seat across your desk. “I don’t know how else to put it but… I know about you and kiyoomi. I didn’t know when I first met you but he told me everything and I just want to tell you that it’s okay if you want to talk to him about it. You both need it, yn. I know it’s none of my business but I hope you think about it. Don’t worry, I understand.” Ah. You see it. This is the woman he fell in love with. This was the woman worth the change and this was the woman able to match him perfectly. There’s no fighting that. “Keiko I don’t know, you don’t have to” she softly reached for your hand to hold it in both of hers. “You deserve an explanation, yn. Kiyoomi might have changed since then but I’m not about to marry someone who’s able to leave someone just like that. If you feel like you don’t need to speak with him, I respect that. But if you want to talk to him, let him know, it’s okay, don’t worry about me.”

You took up the offer. Maybe if keiko didn’t come up to you to say that it was okay to look for closure, you would have spent the rest of your life swallowing your need for an explanation from your ex.

“Thank you for agreeing to talk, yn.” You only gave him a light nod as you looked far into the expanse of trees ahead. View from where you were seated at a nice private little cafe. “Kiyoomi I just want to know. Why did you leave like that?” With fidgety hands, you tried to calm down. “I just felt like I didn’t deserve you anymore. I hurt you after I asked you to marry me. I didn’t deserve that ‘yes’ anymore” after a nod, you responded “So you just? Wrote a note then dipped? Kiyoomi I still wanted to marry you then. I was going to postpone it but I still wanted to marry you.” He knew that. “It’s exactly why I left. Because you still wanted to marry me even after what I did. I didn’t deserve you anymore.” “Kiyoomi, for the longest time, I wanted to tell you that I was willing to wait for you and that I was sorry for nagging you that day. Then I was obsessed with trying to find out which one of us was at fault. I wanted someone to be at fault because how does it happen that two people love each other so much but still end up separating just like that? But it’s been a while now and I think… I think maybe we should forgive each other now. I honestly felt bitter lots of times even til only recently but seeing you with keiko.. she’s a great girl and she deserves all the happiness. We should close this part of our lives now, shouldn’t we?” Kiyoomi stood up and you thought he was about to walk out but he pulled your arm to get you to stand up before he gave you a tight, warm, and sincere hug. One unlike any other he had given before. It wasn’t an I missed you hug but not a goodbye one either. It was one of acceptance and peace. Though it didn’t feel familiar, none of his embraces have felt as warm as this one. After pulling away from the hug, you grabbed your purse, as you got ready to leave. “Omi, I sincerely wish you and keiko the best” this time, you said it with utmost sincerity.

Wedding day

With flowers and good food and genuine smiles, the wedding went by without a hitch. Much to your relief. You decided to stay a little but longer for the reception, snack on a fee things before leaving. With a glass of champagne in one hand and your purse in the other, you walked around the venue, checking on things here and there. Well, not until someone bumped into you knocking the glass of champagne off your hand, spilling champagne on your dress, shattering the glass on the pavement, and causing you to fall on your bum all at once. “Hey, you okay? Come here” the tall man gently guided you to stand up. He immediately removed his coat to wrap it around your frame to hide at least a little bit of the stain. “You hurt anywhere?” It took a while for you to respond. “Oh- oh yeah I’m okay, no worries, sir” “it’s Suna. Suna Rintaro”

[hornyfor-redacted-onmain]

Perfect Surprise

Pieces of My Heart - Chapter 2 Stray Kids OT8 x reader, Soulmate AU

Masterlist | Next Part

A sharp ringing noise brought you out of your little pocket of comfort. Jeongin pulled away just enough to grab his phone out and he answered immediately, one arm still holding onto you. You heard someone ask something from the other end, mostly likely a ‘where are you’ if you heard right, and Jeongin started babbling away in Korean to whoever was on the other end, no doubt filling them in at the events of the past few minutes.

Or, as a quick check of your phone informed you, the past 20 minutes. You hadn’t even been aware at the passing of time, most likely the hugs you had let yourself get lost in.

Suddenly you weren’t so judgmental of the dopey smiles and love drunk actions of tv or movie characters after they met their soulmates because you were sure you sported a stupid smile of your own right now.

You pulled away from Jeongin, reassuringly patting his arm as he suddenly reacted to your actions. You grabbed your now cold and long forgotten drinks and headed over to a trash can you had spotted, skipping back over to him. It seemed like he had finished his conversation, and he was practically vibrating with energy.

“I have to go back,”  he explained, pausing as he considered his words. “Do you …want come with me?”

You bit your lip. “To meet the others?”

He nodded, and you swallowed at the thought. Meeting your soulmate was one thing, it put you on the same level. But meeting the rest of Stray Kids? At this point they were still your idols, and even being the soulmate of one of them didn’t change how much you were fangirling at this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Although, it wasn’t a once in a lifetime opportunity, was it?

You reached out to grab Jeongin’s hand, and he let you so easily that you were suddenly hit with the realization that this man was your soulmate. Someone who would be your best friend, a constant source of comfort, the yin to your yang, possibly even a future lover.

You were going to meet the rest of Stray Kids one way or another. Why not now?

Later on, you might regret your decision, but in the moment the dopamine from meeting your soulmate gave you the confidence you needed to nod your head enthusiastically, letting out a laugh as Jeongin eagerly pulled you along with him. You continued to laugh even harder as you realized you were heading in the direction of your hotel, wondering just how long fate had been spinning its web to get you two to meet.

Your amusement sobered up pretty quickly as you reached the lobby, Jeongin letting go of your hand to pull his cap down farther as he hurried to the elevators. The red string that tied you two together still followed him as he moved, the color somehow shining brighter than before.

And 5 similar red strings curled around each other as they left your chest, shooting straight up into the ceiling.

For a second you hesitated, taking a few steps around in random directions just to be sure, but they were definitely pointing up into the floors above you. Jeongin noticed your sudden hesitation, returning to your side with a questioning look.

“Okay?”

You nodded and forced your eyes away from the other 5 strings. The other 5 of your soulmates are currently residing in the very hotel you were in.

What were the odds?

“My soulmate bond, it’s red strings. You aren’t the only one I have,” You explained to Jeongin as you both entered the elevator. “The others are here too.”

He nodded his head in understanding. “How many?”

“In total? 8, including you.”

And at the look he gave you, you let yourself accept the reality that you had slowly been realizing all along.

What were the odds?

When you arrived at the 6th floor, you didn’t even wait for Jeongin to lead you. You followed the red strings that all resided on the same floor, stopping at the first door that a string disappeared into. One look back at your soulmate confirmed your suspicions, and he let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Wow, this is …“ He said something else in Korean before repeating a ‘wow’.

You moved along the corridor, pointing out the next door to the left where two strings were, and then to one door on the right side where the last two strings remained. Jeongin was shaking his head in disbelief, and then he was pulling you back from the doors, into his arms again.

“Don’t meet them. Be my Stay,” He whined, his smile reassuring you that he was somewhat joking.

You weren’t sure when he had taken off his mask, but you were able to actually see his entire face now, and you couldn’t help but stare. His grip on you tightened and his smile turned into a smirk as he realized. You forced yourself to keep his gaze, even as you felt your cheeks begin to heat up.

“I’ll always be yours, Jeongin.”

It was the first time you said his name out loud, and he seemed to like it. He gave you one last squeeze, before he pulled you to the last door in the corridor. This one didn’t have any red strings leading into it, so you weren’t surprised when Jeongin scanned the door open and led you into an empty room. He pulled out his phone and started to text something while you looked around.

There was a still full suitcase that was half zipped up, a hoodie thrown over the chair it resided on. The other suitcase was on the bed, completely open and only slightly disturbed as it seems its owner simply pulled out the clothes on top to use. Jeongin noticed the suitcase and immediately jumped over to grab it, moving it from the bed over to the desk as he apologized in both Korean and English.

“It’s okay,” You reassured him, only sitting down on the bed when he gestured for you to do so. You didn’t want to accidentally sit on another member’s bed without their permission. “Did you tell the others?”

The nerves from before were back, the once peaceful calm you had felt now melting away at the prospect of meeting not only Stray Kids, but your soulmates as well.

Jeongin noticed your anxiety, and he reached over to grab your hand. “I told them to come to my room. Is it okay?”

I didn’t get to answer before there was a knock on the door, a loud voice outside yelling something in Korean. You recognized the voice, and you gave Jeongin a wide-eyed look.

He was uncharacteristically serious as his grip on your hand tightened. “You okay? I- I can tell them leave if you want.”

“Do they know?” You asked again.

He shook his head. “I want it to be … a surprise.”

You stared into his eyes, licking your lips and taking a deep breath. You looked over at the door as the knock came once again, and then back at your soulmate. You gave a small nod.

“I’m okay.”

Jeongin squeezed your hand once and then let go, giving you a reassuring smile. And then he went to open the door.

The hotel room was positioned in such a way that from your spot on the bed you couldn’t see the door, but from the yells earlier you knew it was at least Changbin on the other side. You weren’t quite expecting to see Chan round the corner first, nor were you ready for the smile that lit up his face at the sight of you.

“Oh, hey! You must be Jeongin’s soulmate. It’s so nice to meet you. My name’s Christopher, you can call me Chris.” He held out his hand to shake, but you were a bit hesitant to grab it.

Would he know immediately? Would you have to explain it to him?

His face furrowed in confusion, so you quickly reacted, grabbing his hand. “Chris, right. I know, um, I’m actually kind of a Stay?” You let out a nervous laugh, and then introduced yourself in return.

“Yeah, Jeongin was very happy to point that out. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him that excited,” Chan said, and he glanced down.

You were still shaking his hand.

With a quick apology, you let go and immediately ducked your hand. You wondered if he felt it, the spark, the energy, the same thing you had felt when you had hugged Jeongin for the first time. Or maybe you needed to be closer? Maybe he needed to realize it?

Chan was frowning again when you raised your gaze, his eyes staring deep into yours, but Changbin rounding the corner distracted both of you from your questions.

“Ah, Jeongin’s soulmate!” He didn’t even hesitate to pull you into a hug, and you couldn’t help the squeak that left your mouth as you were pulled off the bed, your feet barely touching the ground from where he dangled in his embrace.

Jeongin said something in an exasperated tone, and Changbin put you down.

“Sorry, sorry. I got too excited,” He said, smiling widely as he gave you a once over. He then turned around and said something in Korean that had both Jeongin and Chan yelling at him, to which he raised his hands in mock defense.

Jeongin must have left the hotel door room open, because there was a yell from out in the hall and suddenly someone was running in, babbling something in Korean. When Han Jisung spotted you, he pointed at you in surprise.

“Ah, it’s true! Jeongin really found his soulmate?!”

“Hey, be quiet. Do you want the whole world to hear?”

And right behind him, were the last two strings on this floor. Felix and Hyunjin both walked in and gave you a bow each, although Felix was quick to bounce past Jisung to pull you into a hug.

“I can’t believe he was the first one to find his soulmate,” he said to the group as a whole, and then whispering in your ear, “I’m glad. He deserves it.”

You were frozen, not just from the sudden appearance of some of the most beautiful men you had ever laid your eyes on, but from the sudden onslaught of emotions that washed over you. The red strings burned your chest, and you couldn’t find your voice, struggling with the happiness and love and excitement that mixed with your past anxiety and nervousness into a bundle of ‘what the fuck’.

And when Felix pulled away in worry at your lack of reaction, his eyes met yours.

The second puzzle piece clicked into place.

He gasped, his grip on your shoulders falling as he stumbled back, his eyes darting around the room before landing on Jeongin. The youngest began to say something, possibly trying to explain, but when he noticed your face, he paused. The others all turned to look at you in confusion as he pushed his way past to get to you, but a hand on your shoulder beat him to it.

“Breathe, sweetheart. Breathe.”

You inhaled so suddenly that your vision went blurry, not having realized you were holding your breath to begin with. Felix started crying, saying something to Jeongin, and you suddenly felt panicked. The hand on your shoulder moved up and placed itself against your cheeks, turning your face, and you were forced to stare into the eyes of Chan.

“Don’t worry about them, okay? Take another deep breath. You’re okay.”

The third puzzle piece slid into place slowly, like the hands that from your shoulders, down your arms, and squeezed your hands. Jeongin was apologizing, Felix was apologizing back, meanwhile Changbin, Hyunjin and Jisung were asking questions and looked confused. But Chan was calm, helping you catch you breath.

Jeongin kneeled down in front of you, next to Chan, and he gave your knee a squeeze. “I’m sorry. This was too much.”

Felix pushed past the two of them and practically tackled you with his hug, his face burrowing into your neck as he let out a sniffle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to steal you away from him.”

You let out a laugh, your own eyes welling up with tears. “Please don’t apologize. You’re not stealing me away from anyone. It’s not your fault.”

“Ah, please don’t cry. I can’t stand it when people cry.”

“You’re crying too!”

“It’s normal to cry when you meet your soulmate!” Felix argued.

There was a gasp from one of the remaining three who were still standing off to the side. You looked over and gave them a hesitant smile.

“Surprise?”

[dead-boys-club]

†  red string : astarion.

❥ project: soulmate - red string of fate. ❥ a little menacing, but soft enough. ( pls ignore my tiny plothole, im exhausted. ) ❥ no triggers unless you hate how i write him, tbh. i am dabbling with how he speaks. ❥ for: @blibblubblub - i apologize in advance. ( if i mess up numbers, please let me know - the dyscalculia will absolutely do the jig and fuck me up. )

the trek through the dense forest had been long and tiring, the group barely even taking a moment to breathe as they pushed onward, wanting to cover as much ground as possible. it was only when the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the trees, that you all deciding it was finally time to make camp and rest aching bones. as the others busied themselves amongst their own things, setting up tents and collecting firewood, you found yourself standing near the edge, staring down at your hand in agitation.

there it was - a thin, crimson thread tied neatly around your pinky, glowing faintly with the attachment to your soul. you'd heard of the red string of fate as a child, a myth about a string connecting you to your soulmate, but you'd never imagined you'd actually see it, let alone feel it. the moment you discovered it and just who happened to be on the end of it, you'd kept it to yourself. he seemed to do the same.

the realization had hit you like a tidal wave. this wasn't a myth; it was real, and it was connecting you to astarion. a part of you was beyond thrilled, but another part - one that won in dominance and brought worry and doubt - feared what it may mean for the group, and astarion himself.

you shook off the thoughts and clenched your hand into a fist, the string fading from view, and reached for your gloves. slipping them on, you sighed and shook your head, knowing it was going to be a pain keeping it under wraps but it would have to do for now. the last thing you wanted was to disrupt the already fragile balance of your party or make astarion uncomfortable, especially given his complicated past - you accepted that as his reasoning for not speaking up.

as you walked back and towards the fire, you kept your hand tucked close to your side, forcing up a smile when others glanced your way. astarion raised an eyebrow, expression curious but not overly concerned. you managed to navigate the rest of the evening without any attention, thought you could feel the weight of the string continuing to grow heavier.

days passed, and you continued keeping your little secret hidden, always pulling on gloves or tucking your hands away when he was too close. you tried to convince yourself that it was for the best, for everyone, and the safest way to handle the situation. the more you avoided it, however, the more it gnawed at you. you began to wonder if he had other reasons for denying it - had he already ruled you out on being his soulmate? maybe a rejection would make it easier.

it wasn't long before he started to notice your strange behavior. he was nothing if not observant, and the way you seemed to avoid him didn't escape his attention - of course it didn't. he didn't need to catch the glimpses of the string to know it was there, but you were so quick to cover it up, always some excuse about the cold or an old injury.

one evening, as the two of you sat apart from the group, he finally decided it was time to confront you about your recent change. the firelight flickered across his features as he turned to you, eyes narrowing slightly. 'you've been acting.. different,' he remarked, voice carrying a hint of suspicion, 'what are you hiding?'

you tensed at the forward way of asking, knowing you couldn't just keep avoiding the truth anymore. you took a deep breath and sighed in defeat, lifting your hand to show the string that connected you both by the pinky. his eyes flickered as he glanced to your hand then back at you, confused but also showing something darker, more pained.

'so, you have been hiding it,' he murmured, nodding slowly as if he was simply accepting it all as a cruel joke. the hurt in his eyes was impossible to miss. 'and, you've been hiding it.. because you don't want it. correct?'

'no, that's not-' you began, but the falter in your voice wasn't making it too believable. he cut you off, tone sharp with bitterness.

'you didn't want me to see it because you hate the idea of being bound to a monster, is that it? i'm not exactly what you imagined for a soulmate, it is?' his words were laced with self loathing and distaste, his usual bravado stepped out by the deep insecurities that burned too deeply to ignore, the ones he tried so hard to hide.

you reached out to him, desperate to make him understand, but stopped yourself, not wanting to cross more lines than you already had. 'that's not why i did it. i was.. afraid. i didn't want this to cause trouble for the group, or you. i didn't want to.. force anything on you or be the reason you felt obligated to something.'

astarion's expression softened only slightly, but the pain remained evident. 'so you were protecting me from the truth? or, perhaps, you were protecting yourself from the idea.'

the question hung heavy in the air, and you could see how deeply the possibility of rejection hurt him. so much so that he wasn't giving you a chance to explain. he was used to being treated a certain way, as less than worth it, and the thought the person made for him might feel the same way cut deep to the core.

you shook your head and stepped closer to him. 'i was scared of how it would change things, scared of what it might mean. it's not because i don't want you. i'm not afraid of being with you.'

he searched your gaze, looking for any sign of deception, but was surprised to find none at all. he looked away, eyebrows briefly pulling together before he let himself have the smallest sliver of faith in the words, letting the tension ease from his shoulders slightly.

'then why?' he asked quietly, 'why did you hide it? you knew i would be able to see it.'

'because i didn't want you to feel trapped,' you explained, having a little trouble making eye contact due to admitting something out loud that sounded so.. stupid. 'i know how much you value your freedom, how much you've been through. i wasn't going to be part of a something the world decided you have no choice in.'

the bitterness in his eyes and expression seemed to gradually melt away as you spoke, giving way to something more vulnerable. he glanced down at the string once more, then back up, emotions no longer readable. 'you're a fool,' he said, though without malice, only a strange kind of affection. 'a well-meaning fool.'

you let a out a breath you didn't know you were holding, relief washing over you. you hadn't realized how deep your own fear of rejection seemed to burrow. 'maybe i am' you chuckled weakly, 'but, i meant what i said.. about being with you. i care about you, adore you, more than you know.'

he stared at you for a long moment, gaze intense, as if he were trying to see directly into your soul, wherever that link settled. then, he reached out and collected your hand in his, the red string binding you together growing brighter than before.

'i suppose.. it's not the worst fate in the world,' he said softly, thumb brushing over your knuckles. 'being bound to someone who actually cares.'

looking to him, you couldn't help the soft smile that played on your lips. 'so.. you like me, then?'

his eyes widened slightly at the question, a brief flicker of surprise crossing his face. he recovered rather quickly and squeezed your hand, his usual smirk returning, a hint of something more genuine behind it.

'well, aren't you a perceptive one,' he replied, tone playful but edged with sincerity. 'i suppose i've not made that too obvious. who knows? perhaps i just enjoy the company of someone who can tolerate my presence.'

he paused, softening one more as he looks over you, the teasing tone fading off. 'but, yes.. i do. more than i've shown, it seems.' his smirk is next to fade, allowing something more serious to form. 'it's not easy to trust, let alone care for someone. but you, you're different.. and maybe, just maybe, that scares me more than i'd like to admit.'

'you're afraid of me, then?' it's a light tease, something you say as an attempt to ease the seriousness of everything. reassurance, in your own way.

he lets out a small, self deprecating laugh. 'you can say that,' he answered, shaking his head slightly, 'but, i do like you. and if this string is any indication, it seems we're bound together in more ways than one.'

'we'll figure it out together,' you promised, lifting your pinky to wave it a little.

astarion nodded, a faint smile breaking through the sadness that had clouded his thoughts over the idea. 'together,' he echoed, and for the first time in a very long time, he allowed himself to believe that the connection was something worth embracing.

[iovetecchou]

If I Can't Have You... ⧸ Jouno Saigiku

༞ Part 1.

༞ Contains...! angst, dark themes, detailed descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, gaslighting, mind-breaking, slight!physical abuse, very toxic relationship, asshole!jouno, just absolute pain and suffering. use of pet names (darling, princess)

༞ GN Reader.

༞ 1,557 words.

Everything after that fateful encounter with Jouno was a blur. You have no idea how you even made it back to your shared apartment in one piece. His venom-laced words rang through your mind— over and over again.

You were in shock. This whole time you were nothing but an “Easy fuck.” to Jouno. The man you loved more than yourself. The man who took over your every thought, every action, every semblance of happiness.

You gave everything up for him, and for what? All you could focus on was the ringing of your heartbeat in your ears. Your fingertips going numb from all the anxiety coursing through your body.

“Ah… it’s six already? I need to start making dinner.”

You thought out loud. Your body moving on its own, as though you weren’t controlling your actions. Even now, Jouno held the strings. Present or not… he owned you.

Your brain couldn’t possibly comprehend that this was your reality. All that echoed in your mind was,

“If you so much as think of leaving me… I will know, and I will kill you.”

You knew you were screwed. Even if you began packing your things now, leaving and never looking back. Jouno would find you; and kill you. As promised.

Your mind played out constant scenarios of how you could escape and run away without a trace. But it was futile; Jouno would use everything in his arsenal to hunt you down.

Tears blinded your vision as you continued to prepare supper. Your shaky hands placing two plates atop the dining room table; an act that once brought a smile to your face now tainted.

Meals always brought you two together. You always valued those times spent with Jouno. Laughing over stories about his ‘idiotic’ colleagues from the day as his lips curled up into a soft smile. Complimenting you on your meal, telling you, “No one could compare.”

So all of that was a show? Just an act he maintained to keep you complacent? Did all of your cherished moments truly mean nothing?

The door swung open just as you finished up. Causing fear to course through your entire being. You froze as Jouno's words rang through your shared apartment.

“Princess, I’m home! I knew that divine smell from the hallway was coming from our place. Nothing compares to your cooking, darling.”

You physically could not speak. The words were trapped in your throat as you turned to face Jouno. He was smiling sweetly your way, walking over toward the table and taking his seat.

“Well? Aren’t you going to give me a kiss hello? I did just get home from a hard day of work, you know.”

Why was he acting as though nothing was wrong? You were more than certain that everything that went down today was real… right?

“O-Oh… right, I’m sorry.”

You managed to squeak out. Shaky legs made their way toward an awaiting Jouno. You placed your clammy hand atop the table for support. Leaning in closely toward him, even though every fiber of your being was screaming at you to pull away.

The second your lips captured his, you felt sick. No longer did his embrace feel safe; quite the opposite. Jouno smirked within the kiss at your physical reaction. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, your body trembling in place.

You pulled back as fast as you could. Noticing the lipstick stains on Jouno's collar as you stood upright. You felt nauseous, your stomach turning in knots from the sight alone.

"What's wrong, princess? You seem shaken up."

Jouno quirked a brow, reaching a hand out to soothe your hip. You took a quick step back, dodging his embrace completely. Jouno looked stunned for a split second before his expression twisted into something sinister.

His lips were curved into a nasty frown, eyebrows knitted where they lay. Jouno's whole expression became shaded, and his body became tense too. Your eyes widened as you watched his hands ball into fists from where they rested beside him.

"Oh… so there is a problem then, hm?"

His voice was razor sharp, not even a trace of Jouno's usual witty tone could be found. All you could do was shake your head in disagreement as you took a few more steps backward. Startling yourself as the cold countertop grazed your lower back.

Jouno rose to his feet slowly, making his way to stand before you. He towered over you, his hand grasped your chin firmly. Tugging your face up toward his own before he spoke up once more. "What… did you go mute? Use your fucking words."

"Yes..?"

His fingers dug into your cheeks as he forcefully shook your head in agreement. Pulling a small yelp from your lips.

Jouno smirked at your painful cry, making your heart ache even further. You scored your bottom lip with your teeth, not letting him get that gratification off your pain again today.

"Or no..?"

His grip got even harsher as he shook your head in disagreement this time. A shit-eating grin etched into his features, immensely enjoying the way you shook in his grasp.

To say you were fed up at this point was an understatement. Your fear subsided for a moment, being replaced by rage. You brought your hands up to grasp Jouno's hand. Yanking his digits away from your face and pushing him backward with everything you had in you.

"Of course— yes! There's a fucking problem. Why are you acting like nothing happened today? I walked in on you practically fucking another person— and you told me if I try to leave, you'll kill me. So of course there's a fucking problem, darling."

Jouno's smirk only grew wider at your words. His maniacal laughter filled the room, fueling your irritation even further.

"What? What's so fucking funny, Sai? Hm..? Tell me, was all of this— our whole relationship just a cruel joke to you? I gave up everything for you, everything. My family, friends— hell, I gave my whole life for you! And all you can do is fucking laugh in my face?"

His laughter only picked up the more you spoke. His hands grasped the edge of the dining table as he leaned back for support. Throwing his head back, reveling in his own amusement.

You couldn't think clearly. Your whole world was turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours. The person you loved more than anything was now nothing more than a stranger to you. But the worst part of it all; was that you still loved him— at least, a specific version of him. The one he showed to you, and you alone.

You reached out to him, balling the front of his uniform in your fists. You shook Jouno with all your might. Tears of frustration rolled down your cheeks as you cried out,

"Stop laughing— stop fucking laughing! I hate you, I fucking hate you…"

"No… you don't, princess. And we both know it. I bet the day I asked you to be mine was the greatest day of your life, hm? But to me… it was just another Friday. It meant nothing to me— you mean nothing to me. Accept that this is your life now, Y/N."

His words rattled through your whole being. Cutting you up from the inside out. Jouno was right… that was the happiest day of your life.

Was it so wrong of you to assume he felt the same way? That your relationship, the time you spent together, held any comprehensible significance to him?

You were too exhausted to fight with him further. Too shocked to even process that this was your life now. In that moment of realization, you didn't feel anything anymore. The tears still flowed freely, blurring your vision; but you couldn't care less.

"Accept that this is your life now, Y/N."

"This is your life now, Y/N."

Those words played through your mind like a record that endlessly skipped. You knew you couldn't escape; Jouno would kill you. Your family had no clue where you were and you didn't have friends anymore.

This was the end of the line for you. So were you going to accept it, or fight it?

Your body froze; your hands released the front of Jouno's uniform and went limp at your sides.

All of a sudden, your head snapped up. Jouno listened to your every move, trying to anticipate how you would react next.

"Darling, your dinner is getting cold. Why don't we eat before it all goes bad, hm?"

Your voice was eerily calm as you walked around the table. Making up his plate; as if nothing was awry. Jouno couldn't help the chuckle that slipped past his lips as he took his seat.

He didn't say a word, simply just honing in on your reactions. Sensing for anything out of place, he couldn't find such things. Your heartbeat was regular, body temperature was back to normal. And he couldn't hear any wavering in your voice.

He had broken you; completely. There was no fight, no drive left inside you. All that was left was a shell of the person you once were. An altered version of yourself, one that Jouno molded you to be.

"Same time tomorrow for dinner, Sai?"

"Indeed, same time tomorrow."

[that-one-p00k1e]

Coincidence?

Muichiro x Fem!Reader, lil High school AU

Warnings: none just fluff Ig Idk bro

Note: Wowzers!!😱😱 I'm still alive!!😱😱 This was a bit rushed because I wanted to post something after so long and bcs IT'S MY BIRTHDAY WHAATT🤯🤯 crazy amirite anw pls forgive the grammar and how boring this is

Nothing felt better than hearing the last bell of a school day ring, knowing that the days after were the end of the week. The heavenly images in your head of finally being able to lay in bed, cuddled up in a warm blanket after taking a good relaxing shower.

However, instead of immediately going home, you decided to head to the park near the school to have a breath of fresh air. Fortunately, it seems to be vacant with no one on sight occupying it.

The rustling of leaves blown by the wind, the smell of fresh grass and dirt, and the silence that brought the feel of peace and tranquility. But the one thing that had always caught your attention, was the cherry blossom tree planted at the center of the park. For you, it was the most beautiful sight in the park. Almost never has its beauty failed to captivate passersby.

As you decided to take a seat underneath the tree, you noticed a familiar backpack laid on the ground. Thinking it could be anyone's and not just the specific familiar person you know who owns that exact same object, you reluctantly and carefully looked to the back of the tree to see who the mystery owner was. ‘Probably a random stranger’ you easily thought. But oh how wrong you were as your heart dropped the moment your eyes settled on the known figure.

Under the falling petals of cherry blossom he sat; beautiful mint-green eyes fixated on the strings of his guitar, fingers carefully strumming a melody that could soothe one's nerves. His long black hair gently swayed in the wind, coloured ends that matched his  irises. You've always admired him since the first day of high school; managing to get a few interactions here and there through group work. As much as you wanted to get to know him better, the charming and attractive classmate had his own walls built when it comes to the social environment. Not even the guys in your class could make him crack a bit of a smile. Thus, you've accepted such defeat ever since.

But seeing him being so peaceful right now, enjoying himself in his own world, made it hard for you to bat your eyes away from him. You couldn't help but just gaze in awe at the sight of such beauty.

Until his fingers suddenly stopped playing through the guitar strings.

The moment he perked his head up, you immediately hid yourself behind the other side of the tree; heart almost stopped working. You hear him getting up, walking closer and closer to where you once stood. As your breath hitched, you tried to act cool in case the both of you went face-to-face. You hoped you wouldn't, but fate unfortunately had its own plan.

“Y/N?” a deep yet gentle voice called out to you from the side of the tree, making your heart race faster than it already had been. He looked at you with a gaze oh-so empty; making it difficult to look through that stoic disposition of his.

“Oh! Uhh… yeah, it's me. Fancy seeing you here,” you greeted awkwardly, fidgeting the hem of your shirt from the embarrassment you felt deep down.

You thought he would be reluctant to engage further in the conversation, but to your surprise, he proceeded to ask another question.

“It's your birthday today, isn't it?”

The moment his words entered your hearing, it felt as if your organs were rearranged.

“I- uhh… How did you know?”

“Heard your friends mentioning about it. Forgot to give you this.”

He rummaged through his bag, before pulling out a box wrapped in gift paper and handing it to you with that blank stare maintained.

“For you. In addition to your birthday,” he said reluctantly.

You hesitantly took the gift from his hand, internally debating if this was a dream or not. Before you could word out your gratitude, he quickly picked up his belongings and threw a short “My bus is here, gotta go,” leaving you on your own with your thoughts; trying to process what just happened. You looked down at the gift he had given you, then pinched yourself to double check reality. Yet there was one thing you didn't put your mind into.

If he recently knew about your birthday from your friends today… How did he forget a gift regarding something he had never known about in the first place?

[d1ana-m0nd]

╭─► ❝My Mona Lisa❞

Fem! Trafalgar D. Water Law × GN! Reader || Written by Diana (d1ana-m0nd) || Inspired by Mona Lisa

➢ Fluff && Not Proofread , Oneshot && Word Count 1,500

➢ The valedictorian and the salutatorian of Grand Line High have been academic rivals ever since they stepped into the same school. As they transitioned to college and into adulthood, they thought they would never have to see each other again, oh how wrong they were. To add more salt to the wound, the next thing that occurred was not just a coincidence; when they turned 18 the red string of fate showed itself to their hosts and the string happened to be tied to their academic rival’s pinkie finger.

You were late, like later than usual… you blame your stupid brother, Kid, for holding you back in the library because he needed a favor from you. At the moment, you were hurrying to get to your building silently praying the instructors were late before you could present your artwork, you were running down the hallway with your backpack on your back, your poster case barely hanging onto your shoulder, and your other materials jumping in your art container as you ran for your life, er, grades in this instance. At this point, you couldn't bring yourself to care about other people, you were so focused on yourself and the artwork that you just kept loudly apologizing for every person you caused inconvenience to.

“Watch it Eustass!”

“Sorry!”

“Ow-”

“I’m sorry!”

You were about to take a turn but, you bumped into someone’s chest, which ended up with you landing on your butt whilst dropping your art materials and your poster case rolling on the floor.

Disregarding the pain that your pelvis went through, you were quick to apologize. “I’m so, so, so sorry! I was in a hurry- I mean I still am but, like I didn’t see you and-”

As you looked up you were met with the familiar amber eyes that narrowed upon your clumsy self, the person you bumped into was Law. She was the last person you wanted to see. You were tempted to glare at her (an old habit you haven't gotten rid of) but, you ended up going silent as you stared at her. Why did she have to be taller and very blessed around the right departments?

The dark-haired woman crouched down to gather the books she borrowed from the library and the stack of notes she was carrying. The medical student wore a cold expression that you were used to seeing since high school. However, throughout those years you could never tell what she was feeling behind that cold expression. Oddly enough, even though she was cold she attracted a lot of attention though, you could never tell if it was because of her intelligence or her violent nature. Speaking of violent nature, why did Grand Line High allow a delinquent to be a valedictorian student!?

"Hey Y/N,” Her voice brought you back to reality, as she offered her hand to her soulmate as assistance. “Be careful when you walk.”

“To be fair, I didn’t know you’d be here, I assumed you were at the other building around this time.” You sighed, took her hand, and stood up with Law’s help. With her help, you managed to gather your art materials and poster case quickly.

The tanned woman wore a small smile and said, “So you memorized my schedule, huh? Well, aren’t you a good stalker?”

You groaned and lightly smacked her forearm, “Bepo told me! Don’t make it seem like I’m a creep here.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Why are you running in the hallway anyway?”

“I have to present my final artwork for this semester and I happened to be lucky that my ass of a brother was distracting me in the library. Which is why I'm in a hurry.” You huffed exasperated by Kid’s shenanigans.

Law chuckled, which was cut short as you glared at her, “Sorry, I’m still not used to seeing my academic rival become an art student and, well… discover that they're my soulmate as well.” She admitted scratching her nape.

“You aren’t the only one.” You sighed, silently agreeing with her woes.

You won’t say it out loud but, talking to her as though you were both friends felt weird, weird in a good way. Well, to begin with, interacting with her without the squabbles or taunting her like you used to do during high school was weird altogether. It doesn't help either that you discovered she was your soulmate, you didn't know what to feel… were you supposed to be mad, happy, or sad?

When you first discovered the whole conundrum you were both in, you were mad. The sad part was you couldn't even be mad at her since it was out of her control!

You recalled the night you turned 18, you and your friends were quick to get wasted, with your brother's permission and supervision. Even though you didn't usually drink, you gave in just this once because 18 is usually the age when the red rope around one's pinky showed up. You weren't sure if yours was going to show up or not so you felt like it would be a good idea to get drunk a little to relax yourself.

You, Quincy, Hip, Killer, Cierra, Heat, Kid, Astrid, and Dijoh were taking turns taking shots till one of them spoke up.

“Imagine if your soulmate was Law." Astrid jokingly brought up causing the others to howl with laughter while you groaned. Why did Astrid have to bring that up right now?

Everyone knew about you and Law's academic rivalry. It didn't help either that Kid used to challenge her for more influence among delinquents, so it eventually became an inside joke that one of the Eustass siblings was going to date Law. Since Kid celebrated his birthday and revealed who his soulmate was, it was your turn and you were dreading the results.

The next day, you entered the New World University thinking that nothing interesting would happen. Throughout the whole day, you couldn't stop staring at the red ribbon tied around your pinkie. You tried your best to ignore it but, you felt a random tug from time to time indicating that your soulmate was nearby.

Your curiosity got the best of you and you ended up following the red string, which led you to a familiar dark-haired girl.

“Crap.”

“Shit,” the medical student saw the string tied around your pinkie as well which ended with a stare down between you guys.

It took a lot of convincing from both your friends and Law's friends but, you guys ended up giving each other a chance even if you were both hesitant. Which then ended up in your current very awkward predicament.

“Thanks for helping me out, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you with this." You murmured, scratching your nape.

The medical student reassured you with a small smile, “I'm in study hall, it's not a big deal.”

“So, what's the theme for your artwork?"

“So far the assignments were focused on trying different art mediums and mixing non-art mediums with our art pieces for practice. There was no real theme so it was up to us on what to make so I just made an art piece based on… someone.” You trailed off, embarrassment engraved into your facial features.

"Someone?” Law was intrigued, she never heard you speak to someone so highly. Even with your brother; You never looked up to him, she knows you just respect Kid at most. So hearing you say that was new, she didn't even expect you to look up to someone.

You fidgeted with your fingers, "It's embarrassing, but it's someone who inspires me.”

“So your own Mona Lisa huh?" The dark-haired girl teased, you couldn't tell if she was catching on.

You smiled and confirmed it with a nod, “Yeah."

You were too ashamed to say it out loud to Law but, you made an artwork based on her, she was your Mona Lisa. You never realized it back in high school but you did look up to her; the competition between you and Law is the reason you kept doing your best.

People who knew about you from high school would be shocked by the fact you took art, instead of STEM-related courses. Because they knew a renowned student like yourself, had the grades and the attitude for it. Despite that, you picked up a course that took them by surprise, art.

Many have asked why you chose art as a course and you always replied vaguely. However, the truth is you picked art because you were terrible at speaking the truth. It may be stupid but, the main reason you chose art was to express your true self, words always fail and get stuck in your throat, so you could never express your true self.

After all, art is a medium where you speak your truth, because art doesn't lie.

“One day, I hope to say my love for you in words, my Mona Lisa."

➢ "Reblog to support your favorite writer" belong to @/benkeibear

[melonteee]

I've seen many people complain that Oda in Post Time skip One Piece spends a lot of time worldbuilding and making up side characters on every island that distract from the main ones and the plot. While I can see where some people are coming from, as someone who reads comics from Marvel, I WISH the wordbuilding and side characters were that developed because most of the time, unless it's about space or magic or directly related to the plot, the world feels genuinely dead. Even the main setting of a story sometimes feels so dead, like for comparison

Around 2 years ago, they had an event where, at some point, an inhabited island got pretty much nuked. We spent 3 real life years on that island and the writers really couldn't make any readers care less about all the civilians (men, women, children and babies) dying as they wrote them as a single minded entity who didn't mind that fate if their government told them to do it so they used two of the "main characters" (the most selfish pricks imaginable who never even cared about the island and the people there as they are long-established villains + due to plot, were made part of the people who rule over the place and get the most privilege and best life there compared to everyone else), to pull the heartstrings of fans on how terrible it is for them to die this way and how tragic that these two had to die in this event... All because the plot hyperfocused on the island's government (not even interesting to read and full of what felt like highschool drama) instead of the people the government looks after and who would be the greatest casualty here. All of this didn't matter either because everyone on that island was brought back to life (that plot device was present even before the event so caring about anything was going to be hard from the get go) including the "main characters" that died.. Guess who got to come back to life first while many others were on a waiting list years down the line still ?

Now compare this to Oda and what he did with Lulusia. All things related to this island were mostly cover stories, many cuts back and forth in a "meanwhile in...", ... But once Chapter 1060 hits, we feel the tragedy and horror, we are at awe at how much destruction was unleashed on these people. That scene was made even more horrifying and sad when it was animated in Episode 1089...and then we learn the reason the island was obliterated had nothing to do with Sabo being there. Any island we knew who partook in a revolution could have been a target. We find out that even that was an excuse because the main goal was to test a weapon and nothing more. Oda is using a tool here called "less is more" for this island and it was sincerely enough for me to care A WHOLE LOT about Lulusia even if the main characters never set a single foot there and it wasn't part of the main plot. There wasn't even a main character who "died" there either to pull on our heart strings. We just saw these people triumphantly come out of a political crisis and enjoy their first hours of freedom after lord knows how long and then

They were all gone. Erased. And even if they didn't all see what was about to happen to them, they felt it. They died in fear

Oda is very very good at his world building, because he makes sure these islands are LIVED in, not just that they EXIST. It's all well and good to wipe out an island to show the political and immoral powers that be, but we don't feel the impact unless we SEE the people and culture existing on the island.

It's why now, with Vegapunk explaining the state of the world, we are getting reactions from EVERY corner of the globe. We are being reminded how big this world is, how lived in this world is, and how many people are suffering under the world gov. We CARE about this world, we care about the PEOPLE in this world, and Oda's spent years building his world up for THIS moment. It's really spectacular.