#the stupidest part is that I opened the form like two months ago but I just couldn’t come up with a decent fic prompt??

[yuurionviktor]

bone nun harrow

[blouisparadise]

Today we have the fourth part of our hurt/comfort rec list for you! There are tons of amazing fics on this list that we hope you'll show some love to. If you missed the previous parts, you can find part one here, part two here, and part three here. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Wanna Feel the Edges Start to Burn | Explicit | 6,111 words

Harry gives him a gentle smile. “Feeling a little bit better?” Louis nods tentatively. “I think so yeah. Thank you so much for being so kind, but you really didn’t need to do this.” He lifts his unfortunately still shaky hand and runs it haphazardly through his hair. “It was just a spilled tea, I totally overreacted. I’m a bit embarrassed to be honest.” Harry scoffs. “Are you kidding me? Don’t be. I saw the whole thing, that guy was way out of line. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Louis gives him what he’s sure is a watery smile. “Erm thank you. I wouldn’t normally admit this to a stranger, but you’ve already seen me cry today so what the hell?” He forces himself to let out a weak laugh. “The thing is, my period is due any day now and sometimes the birth control pills make my emotions go a little haywire. I think that’s what happened.”

2) To Love Without Reason | Explicit | 8,894 words

“Come on in, soldier,” Louis pats Harry’s chest and walks away, leaving Harry to follow behind. Harry stands in the living room, looking around at Louis’ dwelling. Family pictures placed high on a shelf, certificates of Louis’ practice, and other trinkets that make Harry entirely too nostalgic. “I have to warn you,” Louis says as he puts the kettle on, the water droplets from his hair trickling down the golden skin of his back. “The door jams if you lock it so you'll have to leave it ajar.” Harry acknowledges with a soft hum, too entranced by Louis’ glistening skin to form a coherent reply.

3) Wanna Do Nothing With You | Explicit | 9,606 words

The accident happens in the stupidest way possible. One minute Louis is demonstrating a skateboard trick he’d just learned for Lottie, the next he’s waking up in a hospital. He’s told that he wasn’t unconscious the entire ride, but he has absolutely no recollection of it. One second he’s fucking around in his own garden and the next he’s being assaulted with the strong sterile scent of a hospital. So. There’s that.

4) Let Me Be Your Good Night | Explicit | 10,520 words

Louis goes on a shit Valentines date and Harry's the cute waiter who takes him home

5) For The Love Of Biscuits | Mature | 16,574 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

The thing about hybrids is that their animal instincts make them jumpy. And quite often lends them to being owned. Harry Styles wasn't looking to purchase a half-breed. But sometimes things just happen. And owning a fox/human hybrid was something that happened.

6) Works Like A Charm | Explicit | 18,088 words

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone. One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts. Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts. Three: They do not get along. So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git.

7) Soup Of The Day | Explicit | 19,958 words

It had been the single minded goal for them since college and seemed simple enough. 1. Study hard. 2. Open their dream restaurant. 3. Take the culinary world by storm. What could possibly go wrong?

8) Under The Rain Or Under The Snow | Explicit | 20,667 words

Christmas AU where they broke up a month ago but Harry shows up at Louis’ childhood home for the holidays. Louis didn’t tell his mum about their breakup so staying with them is not ideal. Harry stays.

9) Heart Eyes | Explicit | 21,467 words

Harry is a dedicated sentinel with a strong aversion to demons, and Louis is the lovesick incubus who will go to any lengths to win Harry's heart.

10) It Was All By Design (‘Cause I’m A Mastermind) | Explicit | 21,986 words

“You can’t be serious. You think I would be so awful to work for - you would rather quit?” “Don’t be all high and mighty about it,” Harry scoffs. “Surely you would do the same.” “I’m not being high and mighty. It’s called being professional.” “Really?” Harry pushes. “You’d work diligently under me with no complaints? You’d do whatever I asked of you?” “That would be my job, so yeah.” Harry shakes his head. “I’d work you so fucking hard,” he says slowly, “that you’d have to quit.”

11) Thrown To The Wolves | Explicit | 21,681 words

Louis is a human living in the Styles' wolf pack who can't stop getting into trouble, and Harry is the soon-to-be alpha who thinks keeping Louis at arm's length is the safest option.

12) Letters To June | Mature | 41,150 words

It's 1915, Europe is in the middle of the Great War. Omega Louis decides to join the Letter Home Project to become someone’s penfriend. Through this he meets a lovely soldier who hasn't got anyone else to send a letter to. Along with his letter, comes a picture of the most handsome alpha Louis has ever seen.

13) Catch Me If I Fall | Explicit | 47,099 words

Lovers when on the stage but bitter rivals as soon as they step off, Harry and Louis have butted heads from the moment they first met. Locked in a stalemate that they hope to ride out until graduation, things take a turn when Harry learns that Louis is hiding a secret.

14) As We Are | Explicit | 48,268 words

Louis doesn't think much when he's asked to meet up with the alpha of the pack two hours from his own - he figures it's business as usual. But Harry Styles is anything but usual.

15) Once Burnt, Twice Shy | Explicit | 52,644 words

Louis and Harry are polar opposites in every way. Where Louis is a bestselling author from the city, Harry is a small-town firefighter who’s never left his home. Where Louis is spontaneous and spirited, Harry is introverted and calm, never straying from routine. When an ill-fated accident and an exceptionally intelligent tabby bring them together, they are forced to confront their pasts and forge a better beginning for themselves. Will sparks fly, or will it all go up in flames?

16) Of Lost Things | Explicit | 57,890 words

Louis comes with a familiarity Harry has never felt with anyone else before. After their fateful meeting, their chemistry became undeniable, and soon after, Harry had felt like he hit the jackpot when it came to finding the person he would spend the rest of his life with. But all relationships come with their own unique problems, and Harry soon realizes that their relationship is no different. When their problems go from unordinary to nearly bizarre in nature, he takes it upon himself to find an answer to their troubles. What he stumbles upon are terrifying coincidences between his and Louis’ story, and the ill-fated mythological couple, Orpheus and Eury. But it’s all they are; just coincidences, ones that feel as frighteningly familiar as Louis. Except… what if none of this is a coincidence? What if everything Harry has always seen as fiction is true, and myth—or rather, history, is about to repeat itself?

17) Sink Into Your Sunlight | Explicit | 79,562 words

In the grand scheme of things Louis did believe in love, what he didn’t believe was that he would ever find it in his life time for himself. Low and behold he would find it with someone he didn’t anticipate, now it was just a matter of having it work out the way he dreamed of.

18) Invisible String | Explicit | 84,726 words

Louis swears on his life that that man came out of literal nowhere and he thanks each lucky star for having good breaks in his car. This strange alpha also happens to be the most beautiful being Louis has laid his eyes on. For some unknown reason, the omega feels safe around the alpha. It might seem strange, but you can't always explain why or how things are the way they are. All you can really be sure of is that they happen for a reason. There's a higher power (call it what you want) that knows better and definitely knows more than you do.

19) Wind Beneath My Wings | Explicit | 93,131 words

As an omega carer that works at a rescue and rehabilitation centre for feral alphas and omegas, Louis has experienced all sides of ferality. So Harry- a cold, near mute, non-receptive alpha- was a challenging case for everyone at Phoenix Rehab Centre. Louis wasn’t expecting to feel drawn towards an aloof Harry, or to form a slow bond with him. He certainly was not expecting for his entire life to change in unforeseen ways.

20) You Were My Because | Explicit | 109,089 words

Note: Please be sure to read the tags and any warnings.

Louis has battled the demons of his past for years now and has little hope of finding happiness for himself. Especially now that a school reunion is taking place and the memories of his school days are suddenly coming back with full force. But after rain always comes sunshine, in Louis’ case in the form of his old schoolmate Harry. A story about healing, friendship, finding trust and love.

21) Drops of Jupiter | Mature | 121,826 words

In a small, sleepy town ruled by prejudice, Louis Tomlinson runs his grandmothers shop for the occult. He finds comfort in his tarot cards, his friends, and a dog that he doesn't have room for. He thought the worst he'd have to deal with would be bigotry, until a new sheriff arrives with a headstrong little girl that's impossible not to fall in love with. But what happens when a string of break-ins leads to a brutal attack, and the towns' darling is murdered right under their Sunday hats? A murder that just so happens to bear the same modus operandi as similar homicides in neighbouring states. Has the killer been circling Virginia, or is he a local of Lavender Hills? And what will Louis do when the charming Sheriff Styles starts to suspect him of such a heinous crime?

22) Sewn Into You | Explicit | 167,485 words | Sequel

Harry Styles thinks soulmates are a fairytale, or in other words-a lie. He has no interest in entertaining anything that has anything to do with the very name that had been etched along his collarbone since his eighteenth birthday. Louis Tomlinson won't be answering to another alpha for the rest of his life if he can help it. Fuck happy endings, his soul mate can choke on it. Problem is, Harry needs a personal assistant to save his family's business, Louis needs the cash to officially move off of his childhood best-friend's couch. They can manage. Surely, nothing will go wrong.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[givemea-dam-break]

because of her (locklyle)

a/n: i promise part 2 for that funny feeling is coming out soon by @portlandrowismyhome inspired this and i needed to get it out of my system before i imploded. hope you enjoy my loves <3

warnings: big sad - LISTEN THIS TIME GUYS, spoilers for the end of the hollow boy taglist: @neewtmas @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @waitingforthesunrise @aayeroace @introvertedbookwormsstuff @toburnmykruge

Lucy Carlyle was in dire need of a new pen.

She'd nicked this one from the Fittes furnaces during a source drop-off a month or two ago after the last one ran out, but already it was at its unfortunate end. She scribbled and scribbled but nothing would come out except pathetic little scratches of faded black ink.

Angrily, she tossed the pen away, narrowly missing her overflowing bin. She really needed to take that out soon.

"What's got you in a toss?"

She scowled. "None of your business."

The skull in her silverglass jar remained stuck to the bottom, but the glowing spectral green light formed a horrific face with bulging, curious eyes. She couldn't be fussed with Skull today, and, really, she should've closed the latch on the top of his jar, but it felt like she was rooted to her bed, and he was too far away to just twist it shut.

"Of course it is! We're Skull and Co, remember? Skull and Lucy!"

"We're not anything," she insisted.

"Still hung up on Lockwood, then. Nothing's changed. But why would you still be so sad about him when I'm right here, offering you the best company you could ever hope for?"

"I'm not hung up on Lockwood," Lucy said.

But she was.

She missed Portland Row with every fibre of her being and she longed to go back, but she couldn't. Not after last November, after what the Fetch had told her. She couldn't risk Lockwood's life simply because she missed him.

And, oh, how she missed him.

She looked down at the notebook in her lap, at the scrawling handwriting littering so many of the pages. Every page held something she wanted to tell him, words that would never leave the lined paper and cross into the world of spoken words. She wrote of the things she would so excitedly tell him and George after running errands, or something funny she found in the newspaper. Now... well, she didn't live with them anymore. There was only a mouldy old skull and Lucy, now.

The first entry had been the worst. It had been the morning after one of her first cases as an independent agent, hired for a job by Rotwell's, and she'd been heading out to grab some food. On her way, she'd bought the latest newspaper to give her something to do instead of wallowing in her sadness, because sometimes they had those little crossword puzzles in them. And right there, front and centre was the stupidest picture of Quill Kipps she had ever seen! He was captured mid-sentence, mouth wide open and eyes squinting, his hip jutting out to the side and looking like an idiot. She had rushed home as quickly as she could after getting her food, excited to show Lockwood the picture she knew he would find hilarious and -

He wasn't there. He never would be. For this was her flat, not 35 Portland Row, and there was Skull leering at her.

Holly would've picked up a newspaper on her way to Portland Row, Lucy realised, and she would be the one to show Lockwood.

It left a horrible bitterness in her mouth, and she couldn't shut her front door quick enough. But, all day, the thought ran amock through her head. She needed to write it down, get it out.

And so she did. For months. The notebook was almost full of her ramblings and little newspaper clippings. Sometimes, she cut up the magazines she would accidentally buy for him, sticking in a segment with the kind of gossip he would find particularly interesting and writing her little notes at the side. Other times, she'd read them before ripping them apart in a fit of rage mixed with regret. The worst ones were the ones with his face in them, but she never ripped those. Ever.

She often wondered if he did the same for her. If there were things he saw that reminded him of her, things so profound that he had to write them down to simply get it out of his mind for a moment. It was unlikely. After how things had ended, what with him storming off and leaving her at that café, and her early morning disappearance while they all slept, she couldn't imagine he would think of her often. If anything, it was entirely likely that he was forgetting about her. The recent newspapers were an indication of that.

The pain was worth it, or so she tried to convince herself. No amount of missing Portland Row or its inhabitants was worth his life.

"Ha! That's a sour face if I've ever seen one."

She turned angrily to look at Skull. "What are you jabbering on about now, you horrid thing?"

Skull's face morphed into something grotesque. "Horrid thing, eh? And here I was thinking we were finally getting along."

"You're a skull!" she cried.

"And you're a pathetic, lovesick girl who can't keep her flat clean for the life of her!"

"Oh, if you weren't a ghost I would strangle you."

"You could damn well try. You and I are the same, you forget! Both lonely, both with only one person to truly understand us. You're alone; you need me."

And though she hated to admit it, she did. What would she do without Skull's incessant jibes? It would give her far too much time to dwell on her decision, and she was already doing enough of that.

She looked down at today's entry, fingers skimming over the shape of his name as if it were his face. Each loop a curve of his cheek or chin, every line the shape of his nose. Saw a rapier in the corner bit with agency equipment, it looked like something Lockwood would buy. All fancy and bejewelled. Pretentious prick.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine he was there with her. She could hear his laugh at something George had said, feel his very presence so strongly it was as if he was really there next to her, reading the entries in the notebook. He'd be correcting the grammar mistakes in his annoyingly pretty handwriting.

You've gone soft, he'd say. Where are the insults? You used to mock me.

No, she thought. No, she thought the world of him. He may have a far-too-high opinion of himself. He may be reckless and infuriating and so damned secretive, but, god, he was so much more than that. He was the boy who gave her a home, who would make her tea in the morning and hand her a plate of biscuits when she was in a bad mood. He was the first person she felt truly appreciated by for something other than her Talents. Lucy would give him everything if he so much as asked for it.

But she couldn't go home.

That was the one thing she could never give him. Her. Because she would be the thing that killed him, the reason for his recklessness. She couldn't live with herself if he died for her.

"Oh, stop moping! You've got things to do!"

Lucy was sick of Skull. She flung the notebook aside and stormed over to the kitchen counter, which was all but five steps away, and twisted the latch at the top of the silverglass jar. Skull was still speaking, more angrily now, and she could imagine the obscene things he was saying to her, but she didn't care. She needed the quiet.

She could do this. She could live on her own, making her own money. She'd be able to forget about Lockwood and his warm, bronze-and-copper eyes; Lockwood and his charming smile that sent butterflies down into her stomach; Lockwood and his affirmations and brief touches and...

"Shut up!" she told herself.

If he were here, Lockwood would tell her to cheer up, to not think about things too hard. He'd make her a brew, hand her the Digestives, and give her complete control of the TV remote, much to George's dismay. He'd flash that wonderful grin of his, tell her that she was Lucy Carlyle and had nothing to worry about, not as long as they were together. They were a team after all.

Were.

Because they never would be again.

Because of her.

Because of Lucy.

[2-sleepy-for-this]

Our little brother pt.2

It’s finally done! Here is the winner of the poll Our little brother pt.2! I tried getting this out asap but because of life stuff the next part of something to remember will take a bit longer.

tw ~ dehumanization (calling a person ‘it’), minor injury (talk of bruises), cages, unintentional fearplay

Word count ~ 1.5 k

The brothers looked down at the small creature shivering in Techno’s hand. 

It seemed so scared of them, but who knows what could’ve happened if they hadn’t gotten it out of the cold? They were able to get a closer look at it now in the lights of their shared apartment. 

It looked so small, not just in size but in age, too. It almost looked like a child, a human one. It seemed to wear clothes as well. Well, if you could even call those red rags' clothes. What kind of creature was this?

“We should set up a cage for it so it doesn’t get lost while we’re gone.”

“We can’t just leave it alone!”

“well what else are we supposed to do, wil? We both have our exams in the morning. It’s not like we could just bring it into class.”

The pinkette twin looked at his brother unamused, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Wilbur, you are not taking that thing to school.”

Techno didn’t like the smile that spread across his brother’s face.

“Thats the stupidest idea you’ve ever had.”

“You said it, not me.”

Techno sent a glare towards his brother but said nothing. He couldn’t be annoyed at Wilbur when they had bigger issues to deal with.

“Fine, fine, I won’t do it. But only if I can decorate its cage.”

It wasn’t like Wilbur to resign so fast. If techno wasn’t so occupied holding a small life in his hands, he may have been suspicious. But at that moment, the two brothers began forming a plan for the little creature's cage.

In order to set the cage up, the small being had to be put in a temporary container, a jar that had previously held Wilbur’s pencils on his desk. The lid of the jar wasn’t needed. The creature seemed too small and weak to climb out. 

It had taken way too much effort to put it in the jar. Once it saw the jar in Wilbur’s hand, it started struggling again, scratching at techno's hand and clinging to the rim as it was lowered into the jar.

When the boys deemed the cage complete, techno carefully set the tiny creature into it and locked the opening. He took a step back so both brothers could watch the thing, see its new home for the first time, wondering what it’ll do first.

The inside of the cage was a simple layout. It was just an old terrarium a friend had dropped off in their apartment a few months ago when they didn’t want it thrown away. The inside had some food and water and there was a small blanket formed into a fabric nest. 

As techno's hand placed the small creature in the cage, it immediately darted away. The twins watched as it slammed forcefully into the size of the cage wall. It made a pained noise as it got up and tried again. Wilbur looked at his brother in confusion before opening the cage and putting his hand, much more cautiously this time, around the creature.

Wilbur could feel its small fluttering heartbeat against his fingers, wheezing gasps for air raised its chest slightly. He tried not to grip too tightly since it was already in pain. He could tell from the way its right arm wasn’t moving as much as its left. It must’ve bruised it badly from slamming into the wall those few times.

He lifted the shaking creature up to look more closely at it. A large bruise would take up the thing's arm soon. But after looking at the injury, something made him pause. The thing, stone still in his hand now, was staring at him. That wasn’t a surprise, but as Wilbur stared into its eyes back, it seemed different.

Wilbur’s stared at animals before, and they’ve stared back, but this felt new, like it was actually searching for something in him. It seemed to search his eyes for… kindness, maybe? Malice? He wasn’t sure.

Its eyes were a bright blue that seemed to go perfectly with its blonde hair. It seemed so familiar. It was almost funny how similar it looked to his dad. This thing looks like it could be his brother if they were the same species.

“Hello there.”

Wilbur didn’t know why he was trying to talk to the creature, but something in his mind screamed at him that it was right. It looked too human to be kept in a cage. Too much like a child. 

The creature opened its… their? Mouth and took a breath, like they were about to speak.

“Wilbur? Is the thing okay or not?”

Wilbur jumped, making the small life in his hand flinch and clamp its mouth shut once again. Right, he forgot techno was next to him the whole time, probably wondering why he was being so weird.

“Uh, yeah… yeah, it looks fine, just some bruises.”

“Good, now come on, it’s way too late to be standing around. Put it back in the cage so we can go to bed.”

Wilbur spared one last look at the thing cowering in his hand before slowly putting it down on the little nest of blankets he’d made. He locked the cage tight and turned to his brother.

“Alright let's go, I’m too tired to deal with this right now.”

Wilbur dramatically slumped on his brother’s shoulder, earning a grunt from the shorter of the two.

Both brothers walked to their rooms, closing their doors behind them.

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

Wilbur’s alarm blared as he groggily slumped out of bed. Shutting off his alarm, he looked at the time, 6:30am; he had some time before leaving for his exam. 

Wilbur got dressed and made his way to the kitchen, but he paused in front of the cage from the night before. Right now, he could only see the tuft of fur at the end of its tail. The rest was under a blanket. Judging from how much the tail was twitching, it seemed to be having a nightmare.

He reached his hand in the cage with the intention of comforting it, but as soon as his hand got close, its body tensed and it darted away. Even though it was just sleeping, it was wide awake now. Wilbur felt bad for scaring it so much.

He looked at his phone to check the time again, 6:45am. He needed to leave soon if he wanted to get to his exam on time. 

Suddenly, he remembered the conversation he’d had with techno.

“Wilbur, you are not taking that thing to school.”

Well… maybe it would be best if he had the creature. Being locked up all day sounds so boring. All he would have to do was hide it in his hoodie pocket and it would be safe and hidden, then after he could let it play in the grass or something.

What techno doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He had left before Wilbur woke up and he won’t be back until after Wilbur gets home. It was perfect. 

Wilbur quickly picked up the creature and placed it in his pocket, luckily he was wearing a hoodie that had a pocket that zipped up. He payed no mind to the squirming against his abdomen as he zipped the pocket closed and started walking to the door.

“Let’s go, sunshine!”

Hm, sunshine… not a bad name.

With his Newley named sunshine he left his apartment building and walked to campus.

Once he got there, he went to the exam room and sat in his seat; the exams were passed out and just like that he had done it, he’d snuck sunshine into school with him. Take that techno.

The test itself seemed more challenging with a small being moving around in his pocket, but eventually sunshine settled down. Within the second hour of the test, Wilbur realized he had opened his pocket and started petting sunshine lightly at some point. Sunshine had probably fallen asleep during that.

The last hour of the exam was a blur of information and pen marks once Wilbur realized that he’d barely gotten anything done while petting sunshine. He’d taken his hand out of the pocket and kept writing until the professor said time was up.

Luckily, he was able to finish all the questions, and he slouched in his chair with a sigh of relief. That was a close call. 

The musician stood up and stretched, back cracking. Now all he had to do was a few more of those, and then he’d be able to enjoy his vacation with his friends. 

As Wilbur walked out of the room, he reached a hand into his hoodie pocket to check on sunshine. 

Sunshine?

He felt around but couldn’t find it anywhere. How could he lose sunshine? It was right there… how long ago was that? He couldn’t remember. 

Oh no

He lost sunshine. It could be hurt and scared somewhere, all because he wanted company for his test. Oh prime, techno’s gonna kill him.

Wilbur jogged back to the exam room and looked around on the floor. Nothing. No glimpse of golden hair, red rags or blue eyes anywhere. 

Who knows how far it could’ve gotten while he wasn’t paying attention? It could be in the vents, or another room, or even outside! 

But he needs to calm down before he can look. He needs to think here, where would a little creature like his sunshine go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ hope you enjoyed! I’ve got some stuff planned for this au >:)

[cherryatiny]

𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲! 𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭

GIFs are not mine, credit goes to their respective owner

❁ 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠

It was no secret that your sugar daddy Hongjoong is a born aristocrat, as his rich taste in everything showed up a lot. Ever since a young age, he was taught to love art in all its forms. When his grandparents passed away sadly, he was the chosen one to inherit the prestigious art gallery their family ran for more than 7 decades.

Although he wasn't an artist of the top level, his love to express himself through art never died. So the very first day he took over the gallery, the first thing he ordered his subordinates to do, was to clear out the smaller room in the back of the director's office.

Soon after, he designed the space to an art studio of his liking, where he could freely spend his free time painting, reconstructing clothes, or just rest while stimulating his brain to function more creatively.

Soon after he met you and you two got into the sugar daddy relationship, he found his muse in you. At first, it started by him just taking pics of you at the moments he deemed to be artsy, not long after that he however started calling you to his little studio in the gallery he ran. Always making you sit or lay down on the old valuable settee, that looked like the ones from Renaissance paintings.

Taking you by your hand, he showed you the paintings of the new exhibition he was preparing. The paintings harmonized well, all of them tuned in a dark abstract setting. Loosening your hand out of his grip, you grasped his wrist the same he did with your often, dragging him to the office. He was slightly taken by surprise as he did not expect you to drag him there since you haven't agreed on him painting you today. „Lay down, for today, you'll be my muse Joongie.“

He was laying on the settee, looking up at the ceiling, so his side-profile was fully visible to you, as you painted him on the canvas. Mixing colours to your liking, you made the portrait of your Hongjoong look abstract, as it matched the art style he often used.

After hours of painting, when you did the last line with your paintbrush, you sighed out tiredly, wiping the sweat off your forehead as you observed your creation. „My muse, you can come here and admire yourself on the canvas.“ Standing up swiftly, he came over to you, leaning forward, his arm wrapping around the shoulder of your sitting self as he was all eyes on the painting.

„It's... spectacular. I- I'm at a loss of words, why did you never tell me you had a talent for painting my darling? If I added this painting to the exhibition there, I can guarantee you, that this will be the most favoured painting in my gallery.“

❁ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

You don't even know why you applied to become Seonghwa's secretary a few months ago, considering you've never worked in this type of branch. But it was probably the best decision of your life because if you wouldn't have applied for the secretary position, you wouldn't have met your sugar daddy Seonghwa.

At first, the work was a disaster as your relationship with your boss didn't start off very well. He was giving you tons of work to do, the stupidest arrangements that were completely unnecessary to make, or the most boring workshops and meetings to take you to with him.

But after the one night at a business conference in Milan when you two got closer than one would expect you to and got into the sugar daddy relationship, his attitude to you drastically changed.

Your secret relationship also made him give you easier and different tasks to do, he as well deemed you to be more reliable than before, which resulted in him giving you free hand in literally everything. He was actually taken aback by how competent you were at your tasks. Doing everything you were told to do, ten times better than he would have probably done.

One night, as you two were cuddling on the couch in his place while looking out of the large glass wall with the sighting of the whole town, he spoke out, „Y/N why didn't you tell me you had such talent for scheduling, strategic planning and business stuff? I should have made you the director of strategic planning or something like that. But then... I get to be closer to you when you're my secretary, my beautiful baby.“

❁ 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨

„Ah, shit! The actress who was supposed to play the walk-on in the hospital scene with Yunho, can't get here as something happened to her. What do we do now?“ yelled the director out of frustration as the actress announced she can't arrive just a few minutes before they were supposed to shoot.

You were just finishing your sugar daddy Yunho's outfit for the shoot as you were the main costumer for this k-drama. Yunho stood up from his seat as you finished his stylist, bending down to plant a kiss on your lips, before going over to the director with a worried look on his usually joyful face.

You were clearing off the stuff you used on him back to where it belonged to. Eyeing Yunho talk with the director from distance, the two of them occasionally flashing looks at you. When they stopped talking, Yunho jogged to you with the beaming smile you knew that well on his face. His puppy-like features always flashed out when he had any good news, giving him the look that was asking him what he wanted to say.

„Get changed. You've got the role of the girl who's missing.“ you raised your eyebrows at what he just said, taken aback as you did not really understand what he was talking about. You and acting? „Come on, get dressed, we don't have much time. Here's the script.“ handing you the bunch of papers and the outfit the girl was supposed to wear, he motioned for you to go to the changing room.

You wiped the sweat off your forehead as you went away from the shooting site. „Wow, ms. Y/N, are you sure you didn't study acting? Although it was supposedly your first time acting, it was so natural. Wow, I'm glad Yunho showed you to me, you are for real like a hidden gem. Would you... maybe be interested in any more acting in future?“ asked the director with a glance of hope in his eyes after you finished shooting the small part in the k-drama your sugar daddy was starred in. Looking at him, wondering what Yunho's opinion was, the proud and encouraging smile on his face hinting that he really wanted you to accept the offer made by his boss.

„I'm so proud of you princess. My little talented actress, I love you.“

❁ 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠

Groaning softly, you rubbed your eyes as you sat up, looking at the empty spot beside you. You were sleeping at Yeosang's home, but as you could see, he didn't seem to be sleeping. Slipping your feet into the fluffy slippers with rabbit eyes, you wrapped your body tighter in Yeosang's shirt you were sleeping in, as the air was rather cool.

Opening the door of his bedroom, you went down the stairs of his apartment, down to the living room where a small table lamp was lit. Your sleepy sugar daddy sitting by the desk covered in many papers that seemed to be related to his prosecutor work.

Approaching him, you caressed his shoulder, which woke him up from his quick nap, „Mhm, Y/N. You can go back to sleep, I'll be there soon, I just have to finish this.“ You knew well that that wasn't the case and he won't be there soon. Sighing, you wrapped your arms around his neck, sitting down on his lap, his hand caressing your exposed thighs. „What are you working on, Yeo?“

„I'm treading through the case files, but I just can't take the next step. The police want me to indict him of murder, but the defendant is justifying himself saying that it was an accident and that he should be only indicted of manslaughter.“ Taking the case files from his hand, you read through them since your unbiased opinion might be of help to him.

Taking a pen from his desk, you underlined the facts you thought were important in your lay opinion. Handing it to him, he read focused on the underlined sentences, his eyes lighting up in hope. „Oh my god, Y/N. You're the saviour of my life, this is the core issue but it hasn't even struck up to me. I love you so much, my little prosecutor.“

❁ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧

„Sannie, could you please tie my swimsuit?“ you held your hair in a ponytail so it did not get into the way as San tied the ribbon on the back of your swimsuit. You smiled at him as a way to say thank you, leaving the hotel suite your sugar daddy San reserved for you two to enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

San took your hand in his, your fingers intertwining as you walked down the hotel's luxurious corridors to the private beach. „Now, what does my beautiful baby plan on doing today?“ questioned san as he pulled you to him as close as possible. „Hm, I don't know, I'll probably do nothing all day long, just lay on the beach and sunbathe.“

„Then I'll keep you company while you do your nothing.“ giggles were leaving you two as you talked more while on the way to the sea. But as you started nearing the beach, loud dance music coming from the speakers. „What's that...?“ As you got to the beach, a group of people was doing dance work-outs there to the rhythm of the music.

„I have no idea what they are doing, but let's try Y/N“ and without giving you a chance to protest, San tugged you there by your wrist, right to the centre of the imaginary dance floor. He started dancing just as the instructor did, gesturing you to do the same.

Soon after you submitted to his nagging, doing the same as him to the rhythm of the energetic music. „Y/N, you're doing so well. Would I have known about your talent to dance, I would have taken you to some studio a long ago.“

❁ 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢

After that one ball, you two met together at, you got invited to countless more balls to keep your boss company. Over that many times you two spent together, you get to know each other more and more until eventually, he somehow became your sugar daddy and boyfriend in one.

Tonight was very special, Mingi as the chairman of one of the biggest conglomerates in the country, got invited to the ball held by the president for the most influential people in the country. And when he stopped by your apartment with a beautiful night-robe, a pair of brand-new heels and a golden envelope with the letter of invitation in it, you almost fainted from the delight you felt.

Sometimes he couldn’t help but watch you like a movie on nights like this. Because you seemed so interested in these events, that it truly amazed him how you could act so interested in the talk of the attendants when it bore him to death. You just seemed so natural at attending events like this, you could dance, you knew all the protocol rules, you could pretend interest or know how to answer to the business talk others often held with you. He just couldn’t help but admire the talent you had for the formal events.

Excusing you from their speech, Mingi wrapped his arms around your waist, taking you to the middle of the dance floor as your favourite dance song was playing. Moving slowly, you melted into his touch as you enjoyed each other’s presence dancing the slow dances. „I'm amazed my dear Y/N, I can't bring myself to be interested in talking to these egoistic geezers for more than 5 minutes. Thank god I have you, my talented princess.“

❁ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

When you spent the night at your sugar daddy Wooyoung’s place, you usually weren’t allowed to even be near the kitchen as he insisted “he treats his princess food and she shouldn’t cook, because what if she cuts herself?” so today, as he had to rush to the work early in the morning because of some urgent, leaving you in his immense mansion alone.

And that meant you had a free pass to cook something in his kitchen. But seeing how emptied his fridge was, you opted for something more simple in a form of stir-fried tofu with vegetables. Washing the fresh vegetables thoroughly, you dried them, placing them on the breadboard, to cut them. All of his knives were sharp as Wooyoung was doing his best to keep his kitchen in the best state.

Throwing the tofu cubes onto the pan with a heated droplet of olive oil, you stirred them until they roasted into golden colour, adding the cut vegetables and cooking rice in the meanwhile. Not at all realizing that there was a pair of eyes watching you from the doorframe.

Leaving you like that, Wooyoung in the meanwhile went to change into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, maybe a quick shower. And so when he came back, you were already turning off the stove. „Well, well, well, what do I see? Looks like someone used my kitchen behind my back.“

You jumped in your place lightly, your breathing heavy at how startled you were upon Wooyoung talking to you out of nowhere. „Jung Wooyoung, for how long have you been there?“ he put on a grimace, pretending to be pondering over it. „Probably ever since you added the veggies to eat and started singing to those annoying songs.“

„They’re not annoying, you’re just too old to understand them. Anyway, if you want to nag at me for using your kitchen, do it after you taste my delicious meal. Seems like you were in rush this morning, so you probably haven’t eaten anything“ Placing the plate in front of him, you sat opposite of him, waiting to see what his reaction would be as he had never tasted your cookings before.

„Mhmm, are you sure you’ve cooked it yourself? If so... why have I never let you in my kitchen, when this is so delicious? Gosh, my princess is such a good cook.“ Your smile was full of delight at his compliment as you watched him stuff his mouth full of your food.

❁ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

„Y/N, I’m going to the restroom, you’ll wait for me, right?“ you nodded, watching your sugar daddy Jongho leave the studio. Standing up, you sat down on the now-emptied armchair in front of the PC screens, your eyes scanning the colourful music segments on the screen.

You picked up the sheaf of papers with the notes to his newest song, along with the lyrics he’s written himself. Your eyes ran over the notes and the lyrics and as you were re-reading the text for the 3rd time, you started humming to it, trying to get the right melody Jongho was intending on having in the song.

Opening the door to the studio, Jongho noticed you sitting on the chair, your back turned to him and that resulted in you still being oblivious to his presence. And he didn’t dare to make a move, standing in the door-frame and watching you humming to the song in amazement that you weren’t tone-deaf like most non-musical people were, as you hit all the tones.

„Woah Y/N, are you a trained singer or something? Why didn’t you tell me you were good at music? I would have taken you here long time ago...“

❁ taglist : @galaxteez @gyubaby @bobateastay @tinytinyblogs @ateezinmymind @chososchaos @cvtiehoon @a-soft-hornytiny

[livexdolan]

40 & 70 with gray? :)

40. "Thought I told you to stay by my side, eh?"  & 70. “You know what? Never-mind, you’ll know I’m lying to you anyway.” 

Masterlist

Whenever people found out who your best friend was- you knew they were trying to keep from laughing in your face. If he weren’t standing right next to you when you told people, sometimes they would think you were lying.

You’ve been friends with Grayson Dolan for more than a decade, knowing each other since elementary school. By high school, you drifted apart socially but you still hung out at each other’s houses, played video games, helped him with projects, even decided to go to the same college.

You handled Grayson’s popularity in high school well and he handled your lack of popularity well. All you prayed was college would be different.

It wasn’t.

Grayson decided to join Theta Xi, known to be the biggest pothead frat but also the best partiers. You told Grayson that maybe your friendship wasn’t going to work out, this was the sign. Grayson argued with you and spent weeks proving the frat would never change him.

Three years and a presidency later, he had changed. Yet for some reason, she stayed.

Well, she knew the reason, she’s been in love with him since the first time they kissed. It was on a rock in the forest behind his house, they were 16 and 17 and he had just learned no one had ever kissed her before.

After that, she knew she had to stay in his life even though she wasn’t his type at all and he had never given her any reason to believe he was interested in her as more than a friend.

Now, she’s cursing at the way she always get blindsided when it comes to Grayson. He talks her into the stupidest shit because he asks her in ways that she doesn’t realize what she’s getting into but by the time she finally realizes, it’s too late to back out.

Like right now, leaning against the counter in one of the kitchens. The frat house was split into four quads downstairs and two quads upstairs. Each quad has two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small living space, which all lead out into the main, large room of the house where the main part of the party is happening.

She could still hear the music thumping beneath her feet, she was upstairs in the ‘off-limits’ quad. It was Grayson, Ethan, Ryan, and Mando’s rooms up here.

Grayson’s the president, E’s vp, Ryan’s in charge of everything grayson doesn’t want to deal with but his official title is treasurer, and Mando’s in charge of all things social media for the frat.

I’m in Ethan and Grayson’s kitchen, the cleanliness not surprising seeing as Ethans girlfriend pretty much lives with them at this point. I always try to clean up Grayson’s room and bathroom when I’m over, the OCD type A freak in me hates seeing his books everywhere, trash cans full of bottles, laundry piled in the corner.

It’s not like that most of the time though, that only happens on his bad weeks. Those are the weeks when he falls into this funk and only talks to me and Ethan. We all give him space because we know why it’s happening, they started right after their dad died.

Mr. Dolan dying was so hard on everyone. My family included. My dad wasn’t a very stand-up guy, and Mr. Dolan always made me feel welcome and was the kind of dad I always imagined my dad to be.

“Thought I told you to stay by my side, eh?" I jump at the deep voice, turning to see Grayson standing in the doorway, looking like an angel committing a sin by looking so hot.

He has on a pair of slacks and a loose, silk shirt, the pattern almost matching Ethans. The theme for the night was Coachella. Even if we were many states away and most of the people here couldn’t afford to even look at Coachella tickets.

I let him talk me into coming, wearing a knit triangle bralette top and off-white shorts Grayson picked out, I just realized my shorts match his pants perfectly.

I quirk my eyebrow at him and cross my arms, “I’m sorry, did I leave you to play beer pong?”

He smiles at me and I want to slap it off his face- or kiss it off- either is fine with me, “I’m sorry, angel. Just come back down and enjoy the rest of the party with me, I won’t ditch you again, I promise.”

Grayson’s always done his hardest to keep ever promise he’s told me, so I push off the counter, my entire hard-ass demeanor falling away and my normal, shy and reserved self takes it’s place. He grabs my hand and I try to ignore the pleasure I get from feeling his warmth on mine.

He pulls me towards the stairs and then we walk down together, me slightly behind him. He abruptly stops and I bump into him, cursing at him but he squeezes my hand, silently telling me to shut up.

I look over in time to see Dylan here, with McKenna. Dylan was my first boyfriend, though we’re only kissed and cuddled, I thought we were serious. Until I found out he had been sleeping with my dorm mate the entire time. That was freshman year, I should be over it. I am over it, but the look Grayson gives me tells me I don’t look as though I’m over it.

“C’mon.” Grayson pushes us through the crowd, keeping us out of the line of sight of my ex.

We duck into one of the quads and I realize too late- it’s the pot quad. The rooms filled with a thick haze, the slight soundproofing making the vibes much more calm and relaxing. There’s only a dozen or so people but I feel much better in here than out there. Even if I don’t smoke.

Someone passes Grayson a blunt and he takes a quick hit, “I feel like I should stay sober to make sure that asshole doesn’t even look at you,” I smile at Grayson’s protectiveness.

“I’m fine. It was a while ago, Gray. I’m over it,” I shrug. Maybe it would’ve hurt more if my heart didn’t belong to someone else.

I make a quick decision and go to take the blunt. Grayson pulls back, the weed out in the air where I can’t reach it, “What do you think you’re doing?”

He raises his brow and I scoff, rolling my eyes, “Give it to me, Grayson. I just want one hit.” He pulls back again when I try to reach out.

He just shakes his head and it feels like his patronizing a child, “this shits strong, angel. You can’t handle it.”

Something about the way he said it sends me back to a memory I forgot ever happened. After Dylan took me out for our five month, we went back to his place and we started making out. I tried to reach for his belt but he pulled away, telling me I wasn’t ready. Couldn’t handle it. That I was too immature and if I wanted it to be great, I should lose a little weight, because skinny girls have the best sex.

I snatch the blunt from Grayson, taking a hit before he can stop me. Fuck men. Fuck all men who think they know what I can and can’t handle. I think I inhaled to much because when I exhale I feel a heavy burn and a dry cough comes up my throat.

Grayson pats my back, “Angel-“

“Don’t.” I push his hand off me. Taking a deep breath, I see Grayson watching me closely. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it. What is wrong with you tonight?” He asks me and I roll my eyes.

“You know what?” He looks at me expectantly and I sigh, “Never-mind, you’ll know I’m lying to you anyway.”

He grabs my hand and takes me out of the small room, moving us through the crowd to the back porch- a large, glassed in room. There’s only a few people out here.

He grabs my arms, “what’s wrong, y/n? Is it Dylan? I’ll kick him out if you want. ”

I look up into his eyes, the sincerity there surprising me. Grayson’s always been so honest with me. It’s time I’m honest with him. I don’t know if weed works this fast or if it’s the beer I downed earlier but I decide to be honest with him, “No, it’s not Dylan. I wasn’t even that hurt when we broke up. That’s because- I uh- I like you, Gray. I’ve had a crush on you since eleventh grade. I want to be with you. I mean- with you with you. I want to wake up next to you and hold hands and kiss and hug and- I want you to love me as much as I love you.” I rant.

His hands fall off my arms and my eyes well up, knowing the thing I’ve always feared is about to happen. He’s rejecting me. “Y/n I- I care about you. So much. But I- this isn’t a good idea.”

His words break my heart and I keep my gaze on the ground, “Um- okay. Well, I’m gonna- I have to go.” I say, looking up at him and biting my lip to hold back tears.

I turn on my heel and practically run back into the main room, trying to get out of this house as quickly as possible, “Y/n! Come back! Wait!” I hear Grayson’s voice and the tears start to fall, I push through the crowd faster, when someone grabs my arm, stopping me.

“Y/n?” I look up at Dylan, standing with McKenna. His eyebrows furrow when he sees me crying.

“Let me go,” I state, trying to get my arm out of his tight grip.

“What’s wrong? Who-“ he stops when he sees someone behind me, “Of course it was you. You’re such an asshole. What did you do to her?” He demands and I finally get my arm away from him.

Turning to see Grayson with rage in his eyes. He never got over Dylan cheating on me, “I didn’t do anything to her. You’re the piece of shit who cheated on y/n. How dare you come into my house and accuse me of hurting my best friend?” Grayson spits and I grab his arm out of instinct as he lurches forward.

“Gray, stop.” I say, he looks away from Dylan’s smirk to make eye contact with me for only a second before shrugging my hand off him.

“Yeah, Gray. Listen to your girlfriend. Don’t wanna embarrass you in your house, right?” Dylan mocks and I roll my eyes, knowing he’s just trying to rile Grayson up.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” the words are out of his mouth so quick, I don’t even realize what he said at first. I scoff and roll my eyes.

Because this is the time to correct him. You know what, “Fuck you.” I spit at Grayson and push my way out of the small circle forming around us. I make it to the front door when I hear a loud crack, looking back to see Dylan on the ground holding his nose and Grayson looking for me in the crowd.

We make eye contact and I shake my head, knowing this is the end of us. I open the door and slip out, running down the road, passing all the other fraternity houses. I can feel my heart pounding in my ears but I keep pushing myself until I get to my apartment, knowing it’s only a mile or so.

Once I get inside I slide down the door, leaning against it as I realize that happy ever afters are fake. The person you love isn’t always going to love you back. Fuck fairytales.

It’s not like I can hate Grayson- he didn’t know. I can hate him for not chasing me. He probably realized I’m not worth it. Best friends don’t run after each other, right? If he loved me, he wouldn’t have let Dylan get to him. He would’ve grabbed me and made me stay.

Tears fall down my face unrestrained as my heart clenches at the thought of never being friends with Grayson again. We’ve gone through death, high school, years of people trying to pull us apart, and I was able to ruin our friendship with three words.

If it was meant to be, he would’ve fought for me. Figuratively, not physically, seeing as he already punched someone tonight. I drag myself to my room and fell into the blankets, closing my eyes. I pray I will forget this night ever happened.

Next Part...

A/n: For all my people who didn’t get their fairy tale ending ❤️

[onewholikesthings]

A Part of Me

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: spoilers for basically all the Captain America movies (occurs in between civil war and infinity war), descriptions of wounds, talks of ptsd

Summary: Bucky and the reader have a history of helping each other, so Bucky wants to show his appreciation.

IM SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG but I really hope you like it!!!

Masterlist

~

The open, grassy plains of Wakanda stretched before you. The contrasting green mountains on your sides made the landscape look like it came straight out of a painting; except for the monstrous black panther jutting from the dark rock.

Hearing of this places’ magnificence was nothing compared to experiencing it first hand. The sounds of the flourishing city nearby grounded you before your thoughts wandered too far.

Of course, it was a struggle to take it all in while your mind was somewhere else. With someone else.

You weren’t there for the confrontation. Three old men battling it out for personal reasons. Egos getting in the way of the true enemy. That’s all you gathered after helping Bucky onto the jet and tending to the cuts strewn across his face; the look of regret clear in his eyes.

Seeking help from the Wakandans sounded like the stupidest idea ever created, but it was your only option. Being fugitives didn’t come with many luxuries, and complete safety wasn’t one of them.

“I know you don’t like it, but it’s the best option for everyone involved."

"I just don't see how its' necessary, you wouldn't hurt any-"

"We don't know that."

"I do."

Bucky shook his head at your stubbornness and loyalty to him. A flinch cut his next thought off as Shuri began to slice the torn metal from his skin. Her hands were gentle with the foreign-looking device as she concentrated, making sure to sever the rest of his arm cleanly.

“He is right,” she spoke as she placed the remaining metal into a box, “until we come up with a plan to rewire his brain, Mr. Dark and Brooding has to go under.” Bucky smiled in disdain at his new nickname while you silently nodded in agreement.

"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head... I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody.”

That was just a few months ago. A few months without seeing Bucky. You asked Shuri to update you whenever there was anything to update, and she did. Of course that wasn’t for a while; luckily other things occupied the void left by Buckys’ absence. Being on the run meant creating false identities, covert missions, and a hell of a lot of paranoia. Leaving little room for emotions and contemplation.

“He’s a good man yknow. Good enough to make this choice for himself.” You said to Shuri as you surveyed the device Bucky would call home for a while. She looked up from her screen displays with a sigh, “I believe you. We just have to make him believe it too.” The screens faded with a swipe of her fingers, “Acknowledging the good is the best medicine.”

The chamber hissed as white smoke poured from it, bringing a chill to the humid air. Two men clad in white waited until the panel fully opened before detaching the seemingly lifeless form from the restraints and onto a sterile table nearby.

You hesitantly approached the table as the men stepped aside for Shuri to examine Bucky before he awoke. Last minute checks apparently.

Looking down at the man before you caused your stomach to drop. It had felt like a lifetime since you last saw him, talked with him, touched him-

Things had been left unchecked when he went under. There had been no time to admit feelings and act like lovestruck teenagers in your current climate. Those peaceful moments alone with him in Vienna were all you had left now. The quiet mornings in that dingy apartment were far away now, and probably never returning.

“James? James can you hear me?” Shuri pressed softly into the dip of his right arm in search of a vein as she called for him again. You stood at the end of the table and watched as Bucky’s eyes snapped open and his eyebrows knit together in fear.

Scrambling over to his left side, you placed a hand on his cheek as his chest began to heave with quick breaths. Shuri said his name a few more times and reminded him of where he was while you continued to cup his face. His eyes darted to yours while you placed your other hand on his chest, feeling his bouncing heart beat.

The tension in his body began to ease as you muttered how safe he was here, how he was not going to be hurt, how you were there for him. “I’m sorry I...didn’t know where...” he began before you cut him off with your nods of understanding. “Just breathe with me alright? Welcome back Buck.” You said with a slight smile before guiding him through a breathing exercise.

They ordered him to take it easy and directed you to where he would be staying for the first few nights. At first you declined the offer to stay with him, but a silent look from Bucky changed your mind.

An IV remained in his arm, an extra precaution which probably wasn’t needed. Hydra never treated him this well after thawing him out, he told you this one night in the sterile room. You both bit back tears.

The attachment in his arm meant he was forced to sleep in the provided bed, leaving a writhing Bucky every night; unable to find comfort. That’s when he first asked you to talk to him, about anything really, so you did. You told him about the good times to avoid the bad, and he always showed interest.

When they released him to start rehabilitating his mind you took that as your sign to go back to your old life. Your last day was spent with Bucky settling into his new abode.

“Your dog tags are right here,” you said as your wrist rotated to flash the chain, “told you I kept them safe.” He got up from his position on the floor to gingerly grab them from you.

He twisted the necklace in his hands while you continued to rummage through the box of things you’d brought for him. Things you had kept and wanted to show him while he was back on ice. A Polaroid here, a charm there, little things to commemorate each event.

You could tell he was saddened by missing out on new memories, new triumphs you had gotten through without him. It only made that negative voice in his head grow louder. He silently dropped a keychain you picked up in Florida into your palm.

“Don’t forget about me while you’re out kicking more ass ya hear?” He said with a somber smile, “And stay out of trouble, you don’t need more bad people like me to hold you back.”

Your eyebrows nuzzled together at his last statement, “What do you mean bad people like you?” You asked while making room for yourself next to him on his bed.

“You know exactly what I mean. Dangerous killers.”

“Im surrounded by those everyday.”

“Im saying don’t befriend them like you did me.”

“Bad people don’t worry about being good, Buck,” you moved a loose strand of hair from his face as he looked up at you, “did you ever think about that?” He lowered his head again and shook it lightly. 

“You didn’t have a choice, no blame should fall on you. From anyone.” He chuckled, “Steve said the same thing.”

You tilted his face towards yours with a small tug on his chin, “Well he’s right, we know you’re a good person.” A small kiss to the forehead was placed on you before he quickly stood.

“It may take time to believe in that statement, but I’ve gotta start making amends somewhere right? So I, well I might have made you something.” He said shyly with his back turned to you and his head rummaging through his pack.

He carefully pulled out a small drawstring bag and handed it to you eagerly, “Since when are you all crafty? And sentimental?” You laughed and he joined in, a good sound.

“I don’t know, it just seemed right.” A small chain necklace plopped into your palm and you drew a gasp in. The silver metal felt light in your hands as you flipped over the dangling charm. It was a small imperfect circle of polished metal with a star etched into the front. 

“Its okay if you don't like it honestly, its pretty shit I kn-”

“I love it.”

“Really?”

“Yes really! When did you have time to make this?”

“When you weren't hounding me to make sure I wouldn't crack at the slightest movement I convinced Shuri to give me the leftover metal from my arm.” He gestured to the missing attachment, “I was able to melt it down and...yeah.” His eyes focused on the wall in front of him to dismiss the sentimentality of his gesture as you continued to stare at the object in awe. 

Conflicted feelings arose as you turned the charm to see another etched item, a B, assumedly for Bucky. This hunk of metal was apart of something that ruined his life. Why the hell would he want you to have some of it? You turned to see Bucky’s continued stare at the wall, unsure how to frame your thoughts. 

“Bucky I...this was really sweet but, why?” You asked, bringing his full attention back to you. He furrowed his brows slightly, considering his words. 

“I know it may come off a bit weird but, you're the good in my life and that arm was part of the bad. You looked past the bad and became the best thing in my life.” He said as his face contorted a bit in unease. 

“It’s a reminder of the good you gave me as you took away the bad. Finding me when I was lost and helping me find my head again. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

You stay there for a few seconds as you processed his words. Soaking in their meaning.

Bucky continues to stare at you, his eyes searching your face for a reaction. Tears started to swell in your eyes as you turned to him, “I guess we make each other whole.” You chuckled a bit and shook your head.

Bucky touched your chin with his fingertips and gently pulled you towards him. You both hovered just centimeters from each other before capturing each other in a gentle kiss. Your heads danced as the kisses grew in passion, leaving you breathless as he pulled away.

“Well, help me put it on then?” You share a smile as he grabs the small clasps in his calloused hands to drape around your neck. You feel the chain settle on your neck as he plants a few kisses down your shoulders.

“Beautiful.”

[yourmidnightlover]

Babe can i request for your celebration of 1k followers: Smut 11 with angst 4 and happy ending

Also ‼congrats‼ babe ❤️🎉😏

of course! thank you so much, sweetie :,)

angst 4 just GETS TO ME. it’s very angst but very addictive. it also turned into an actual fic, kinda?

if anyone wants to request another blurb, the prompts are found here.

angst #4: “i can’t... you’re engaged.”

smut #11: “please, just let me please you.”

CW: kinda angsty, reader thinks he’s such eating when he kisses her (he’s not-it’ll make more sense once you read it), fingering, cream pie, nicknames (good boy, princess), kinda switch!reader and spencer, overstimulation, slight cum play ig?, unprotected penetrative sex. *let me know if i missed anything*

you never thought you’d actually lose spencer. okay, you didn’t lose him. he’s not dead. but he can’t be yours anymore. you don’t really know how it happened. they had just gotten into the relationship. max, is her name. and she was wonderful, which might be the worst part.

she was beautiful and kind and great with children and probably perfect for spencer. but you wouldn’t let yourself believe that they were actually together. you refused. until he came into the office one morning looking... concerned? he was biting his bottom lip gently and didn’t speak a word as he entered. there was no ‘random fact of the day’ or smart quip. it was just rush.

“spence? are you alright?” you walked over to his desk.

“what?” he looked up at you. “of course i’m fine. why wouldn’t i be fine?”

“you just look... bothered,” you pressed as you leaned on his desk, your hand accidentally touching his as you tried to get comfortable. that’s when you looked down and saw it. “sorr...y.”

a gold wedding ring on his left ring finger.

they had only been together for four months. four months. you had known him for four years. and he was no longer gone. he was no longer yours, although he never really was to begin with. there was a beat of silence, a rather long one at that. you just stared at the band of metal for what felt like a decade before looking back at his face. he looked like he was sorry, like maybe he could tell what that meant for you.

in the months of his new relationship he came to you during their issues. when he felt as though she was moving a bit too quickly, when he thought he should end it, when he felt too insecure around her... everything. he came to you. it’s like he had all of these seeds of doubt planted in his mind. you had more than one opportunity to squander their relationship.

but instead you were a good friend. you helped him resolve the conflict and you mended their already failing relationship. and here all of those moments were, mended together in the form of a ring that was supposed to represent the bond of forever, biting you in the ass.

“um,” you cleared your throat before removing yourself from his desk, metaphorically from his life. “congratulations,” you said curtly before scurrying back to your own desk.

you thought you still had a chance. he still gave you the look that had given you hope for all of these years. his eyes would say, ‘i want you,’ but clearly, all he wanted was a life without you. the two of you had been teetering on the edge of being in a relationship and being strictly friends. maybe you had been imagining the glances he would send you and the lingering stares and the way his hand would touch yours so delicately when you needed the reassurance. maybe you just needed a break from him to organize your feelings.

that’s what you would do. a little distance would do you some good. and maybe, just maybe, you could finally get over your little crush love for him.

so when you would normally go on a lunch break with him, you worked through it. when he asked what you wanted to eat, you gave him a simple shrug and a, “i’m not hungry,” with a tight-lipped smile, which was the best you could muster up.

when you would normally take a coffee break with him to stretch your legs, you stayed put and opted to continue the case file you were on. as it turns out, taking no breaks from your work really helps everything go on much quicker. you finished your workload by 4:30, so hitch let you go home.

you didn’t tell spencer goodbye.

the next day was the same. and the next. and the next. the days turned into weeks and then eventually a month and then two.

it was hard to not talk to him. it was as if a piece of you were missing. but he was never a part of you, so why did you feel so empty? he seemed perfectly fine without you.

but he wasn’t. he wasn’t fine without you. he knew that him getting engaged in such a short amount of time hurt you - and it hurt him too. truth be told, he didn’t want to marry maxine. he intended on breaking up with her on the date she proposed, she just beat him to it. and he couldn’t bring himself to embarrass her like that. she seemed so excited and happy. but he was so worried about you and what you’d think the entire time he had the ring on his finger.

and when you stopped talking to him altogether he swore he might not make it. but it seemed as though that’s how you needed to cope. so he gave you your space. once the two month mark of you not talking to him and avoiding him hit, he knew he couldn’t last like that.

he couldn’t live without you. it’s been ages since he’s heard your laugh and he’s having withdrawals. so he did something that was extremely hard for him.

when you saw him enter the office with a bouquet of flowers before anyone was even here you rolled your eyes. did she give those to him, too? did she just want to rub it in? no, you wouldn’t think bad of her just because she’s with the man you’re in love with. you avoided his gaze and turned your attention back to your case files, trying to avoid spencer at all costs. then you felt a presence at your desk. a shadow was cast over your papers and you looked up to see him standing above you. you gave him the same tight-lipped smile as two months ago and went back to your work.

“y/n,” he whispered, you looked up to see him biting his lip.

“what, spencer?” you answered with an edge to your voice.

“i want to talk to you,” he looked around at the still empty office. “in private, please.”

“spencer, i can’t... you’re engaged,” you sighed, trying to lower the tears that threatened to pool in your eyes.

“please, let me explain-“

“what more is there to explain?” you scoffed as you rose from your seat. “clearly you want to be with her for the rest of your life. so have fun, spencer. i just... i can’t.”

spencer watched you walk away. away from him and away from the flowers with a card that told you what had happened. the card that would’ve explained everything. and the card that would’ve explained how he had cut things off with maxine.

that very night, however, he decided he’d had enough. he drove to your apartment and banged on your door, without the flowers since they were dead now. when you opened the door to reveal spencer reid standing outside of your apartment, you fought the urge to both cry and slam the door in his face.

“what?” you asked, pleading with your eyes for him to give you some sort of peace whether it be from him leaving or telling you what you wanted needed to hear.

“please...” he asked, “just let me explain.”

you moved out of the doorway so he could come into the room. you closed the door, your back pressed against it, and crossed your arms over your chest defensively.

“explain,” you ordered, deciding to not be sad but instead be angry with him.

be angry with the fact that he chose her. be angry that he didn’t tell you in the first place. be angry that he showed up to your apartment right as soon as you had finally finished crying - again.

“i-i...” he couldn’t find the right words.

he couldn’t figure out how to tell you the right way how much he loved you. how he wanted you. how he needed you.

“for christ sakes, spencer!” you laughed. “you come here late at night, when your fiancé is probably waiting to see you, and what for?! to stand there and just look at me like some dumb, broken fucking puppy?! i’ve never been one to doubt my intelligence but maybe i am dumb. maybe i’m dumb because i let you break me. i never should’ve let myself fall in love with you, you- you asshole,” you were seething. you didn’t even realize you had been crying until he looked at the tears streaming down your face. “how could you? how could you hurt me like that? you lead me on and then... just get engaged so easily. what am i to you, spencer? because i thought i meant more to you than that.”

“you do. you do!” he interrupted. “you mean so, so much to me. more than i know how to describe,” he walked closer to you and tried to take your hands in his, you reluctantly allowed it. “i love you. i love you, y/n. i love you so much it makes me idiotic. i have been chasing my tail trying to figure out how to get you to talk to me again, and if the only way you’ll talk to me is by yelling then so be it. i just need to hear your voice and i need to hear your laugh.”

“leave, spencer,” you tried to pull your hands from his. “you’re engaged. you’re going to get married. i won’t be a home-wrecker, spence. i don’t know what kind of game you’re getting at but telling me you love me isn’t going to make me forget that you’re in love with someone else. you’re marrying someone else, spencer. i can’t-“

and his lips were on yours, his hands now cupping your face. the stupidest thing you allowed yourself to do - you let him in. you let his tongue enter your mouth slowly. you let yourself indulge in his lips on yours, the soft pillowy flesh you’ve dreamt of kissing since you had met him.

his hands trailed down your face and to your waist, pulling your body flush against his own. you whimpered into his mouth, obviously spurring him on as his hands trailed further around and squeezed your ass. your breathing picked up as his lips traveled down your neck.

you had forgotten all about his engagement and how much he hurt you. just this one time, you would give in.

he sucked a dark mark on your neck before sliding his hands underneath your shirt, palming gently at your breasts.

“spencer,” you sighed softly from his touch.

“please,” he muttered. “please, just let me please you.”

“okay,” you agreed, your hands pulling at his shoulders.

“thank, fuck,” he groaned before you helped him toss your shirt on the couch, leaving your bare chest on display for him. “you’re beautiful.”

“shut up,” you pulled his lips back to yours to silence him.

“no,” he mumbled with a smile on his lips. “you truly are, y/n,” he tried to tell you between kisses.

“what did i say, spencer?” you pulled back with an angry look on your face.

“before i actually do shut up, i need to tell you something,” his hands on your waist began stroking circles into your soft skin. “i ended things with maxine.”

“why the fuck didn’t you lead with that?!” you questioned.

“i saw you and i just-“

“god, i don’t care,” you muttered before pulling his lips to yours once more. “do something, spence,” you rolled your hips into his as you began to undo the buttons on his shirt. “i need you.”

he let his hand trail to the front of your body and enter your shorts once he looked at you for permission. his fingers danced over your underwear and found your clit quickly, rubbing gentle circles.

“stop teasing,” your hips bucked into his hand before you pulled his hair, he moaned into your mouth.

his fingers finally entered your panties, and he gathered the wetness that had been collecting before going back up to your clit, circling the bundle of nerves moderately slow.

“fuck,” you groaned, making him eager to please you. he picked up his speed on your clit before letting his fingers travel back to your entrance, slowly pushing to fingers in. “g-good boy, baby.”

his hips rutted up into your own upon the praise. he curled his fingers, trying to find that spongey tissue inside of you that would drive you mad. once he found it, he began thrusting his fingers into you, allowing his palm to hit your clit just right each time he slammed them inside of you.

“fuck, i’m so close,” you whined, sucking on his bottom lip before pressing a kiss to it. “keep going, baby.”

and boy did he go. he loved watching you come undone on his fingers, it would probably definitely become his favorite sight in the time to come. the way your lips hovered over his own, your eyes became hooded, and your moans wanton. when he let his lips travel to your neck and find the soft spot he somehow knew drove you crazy, he also let the one hand on your waist travel up and palm your breast, tweaking the nipple gently between his fingers and sending you over the edge.

he pulled back swiftly to watch you as you came undone. a sheen of sweat littered the high points of your face, your chest was heaving for air as your hips continued to fit into his hand as you came down.

“i need you inside me,” you muttered softly, almost afraid of his rejection.

“good,” he breathed out before grabbing your face and connecting your lips once more, you led the both of you to your bedroom.

you crawled onto the bed, and he undid his pants, throwing them aside and carefully navigating up to you once more.

“hi,” you smiled, your hands stroking his cheekbones.

“hi,” he whispered back, admiring the softness of the situation. “are you ready?”

“yes, please,” you nodded your head as he spread your legs, taking his place between them and lining himself up with your entrance.

“so tight, princess,” he groaned once he barely entered you.

“princess?” you quirked a brow at the nickname.

“yea, princess,” he chuckled before giving you another chaste kiss that you deepened, clenching around his dick once he was fully sheathed inside of you. “shit, do that again,” and you did. “fuck, you’re so good, baby.”

“please,” you pawed at his back as if that would push him to start thrusting. “fuck me.”

“you want me to fuck you, princess?” you nodded eagerly.

he slowly began thrusting in you before he rapidly snapped his hips. ever thrust of his hips meeting yours caused the sound of skin on skin clapping echo inside of your room. he brought his hand up to your face, gently cupping it and tracing your bottom lip before you took his thumb into your mouth. you sucked on his thumb, your tongue tracing his fingerprint. maybe that way you’d become a part of him forever, right on the tip of his fingers.

“fuck,” he moaned before he sped up even quicker. “touch yourself, princess. make yourself cum on my dick.”

you were already close - spencer could feel it. it only took a couple more seconds before you were clenching and unclenching around him, the fluttering of your pussy sending him over the edge. his hot cum spread into your stomach, filling you with a sense of warmth and satisfaction you hadn’t known you needed.

“so good, spence,” you muttered as he fucked his cum back into you, you hissed at the overstimulation.

“your mine, princess,” he pressed a soft kiss to your neck before pulling himself out of you.

“wrong,” you corrected. “you’re mine.”

“whatever you say,” he smiled, turning his head to look at you. “i’m sorry,” he said sincerely.

“yea, me too,” you sighed before sitting up, not looking at him.

“here,” he jumped up out of the bed. “let me,” he ran into your bathroom, not missing the chuckle that emitted from your lips. he returned with a damp, warm washcloth and got between your legs once more, this time eye level to your pussy. “fuck,” he whispered.

he used his fingers to spread your pussy open, admiring the way his cum was dripping out of your entrance, you pussy seemingly clenching around nothing. suddenly, his tongue was on your entrance and lapping up the both of yours arousal. your hand shot into his hair, gently tugging at it as he ate you out.

“so good, spence,” you ground your hips into his face. “please don’t stop-don’t stop!” you knew he wouldn’t stop as he pushed you over the edge for the third time that night. “god-fuck, yes!” you looked down to admire the man beneath you, smiling when you saw that his eyes were still on your face, watching you come undone.

“such a pretty pussy,” he squeezed your thigh before rising back up to give you a belated kiss. “now i can clean you up,” you both laughed.

for the first night in two months, neither of you worried about what was to come - even if you probably should’ve worried about work. you both were guarded by each other’s presence; nothing threatened to breach the security you had with one another. because, now, he was yours. and you were his.

[holylulusworld]

Her decision

Summary: Consequences are something the mobsters never experienced. Bucky and Steve will learn they will get more than they bargained for...

Pairing: Mobster!Bucky x Reader x Mobster!Steve

Characters: Peter Parker, Dr. Helen Cho

Warnings: angst, pregnant reader, threats, mentions of violence, angry reader, I use the word rape & non-consensual (nothing happens but I mention it just in case), mentions of groping, bratty reader

Ours to keep masterlist

Divider by @firefly-graphics​

“How did it go?” Bucky smirks, watching his friend press a hand against his bleeding forehead. “Great I assume,” the lamp hitting the closed-door answers the mobsters’ question.

“She’s angry, pissed, and demanding,” Steve huffs, looking at the door. “I will not enter that room again. Not today or like ever.”

“Let me tame this wild little kitten,” self-confident Bucky opens the door to poke his head in. “Look at her, Steve. She sleeps peacefully.”

“I wouldn’t count on her being calm and nice. I can tell, she’s ready to murder you, me, and the whole organization. If not for Peter, I bet she would get a gun to shoot us all,” Steve winces feeling blood run down his neck.

“What did you do, Rogers?” Bucky blinks seeing Steve’s cheeks flush pink. “You couldn’t keep your dirty hands to yourself. No wonder she wanted to kill you with a lamp.”

“A Tiffany lamp, the one my mother gifted to me,” grumbling Steve points toward you on the bed. “Y/N Y/L/N is an angry mother bear, ready to attack when you get to close.”

“Rather when you try to touch her goods,” pissed Steve storms off, not caring if you kill his friend and partner in crime.

“Doll?” sneaking toward the bed, eying the lamp on the bed warily Bucky calls your name. “Y/N, darling I need to talk to you about a few rules. Can you not throw a lamp at me?”

“He deserved getting hurt!” You grumble, hiding underneath the blanket. “Bastard tried to touch my private parts,” snickering Bucky crawls onto the bed, aware you grasp for the lamp.

“He tried to touch our girl, doll. Don’t be such a prude. We both know you came so hard on our cocks that night,” Bucky purrs, glancing at your ass sticking out of the blanket. “I could fill you so good.”

“Is that what you want? Coming to this room to rape me?” Dumbfounded Bucky gasps when you wield the lamp in front of his face. “I agreed to come here to save Peter’s life, not to let you touch me.”

“I thought you know we want our girl back, including nakedness,” not giving in the mobster moves closer to touch your cheek but the lamp hitting his shoulder is not what he imagined would happen. “Doll, we just want you to be ours.”

“I don’t care,” you poke Bucky’s chest with the lamp, angrily clenching your jaw. “I wanted to give my innocence to someone loving and adoring me. Not to two guys who used me, took turns only to kick me out of their house like a random whore they can use. The only thing you forgot to do was paying me for my service.”

“We never pay for sex but you’ve got a point there, doll,” Bucky admits. “Listen, we are bad guys, okay. Bad attitude. Bad reputation. Rotten to the core.”

“You could’ve just left me alone. I had a nice life, you know. No one was paying attention to me but that was fine. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone,” you sniff, hiding your face in the cushions.

“Doll, I must admit at first, we liked the chase. But after the first rush subsided, I didn’t feel good for the first time. I kinda missed you,” you snort, closing your eyes. “We didn’t send Peter to have an eye on you for no reason. We wanted to know how you are doing and if he can find a weak spot to make you fall for us again.”

“Fuck off, Barnes,” you want to hit him with the lamp again, but Bucky is faster. Taking it out of your hand he throws it over his shoulder. “That was granny Roger's second Tiffany lamp.”

“I’ll take the blame,” Bucky smirks when you nod eagerly. “I know you do not have any reason to believe me, us, but we tried to win you over by using Peter.”

“…that’s the reason you wanted to fuck my colleagues. This must be the stupidest and lamest lie I ever heard. Call my parents, they can give you advice on how to lie to me,” voice thin now you sit on the bed, covering your bump.

“I heard about your parents, doll,” the mobster sits next to you, glancing at the bump you try to hide. “I promise, none one will touch you against your will. Steve and I are bastards, but we are not the kind of guys forcing ourselves on a girl.”

“What do you want from me? I’m no one special to you or anyone else. Can’t you just let me go back to my apartment?” Pleadingly looking at Bucky you sigh deeply. “Please?”

“We got a deal, doll,” Steve clears his throat, warily watching your hands ball into fists. “I’m sorry for touching you but the babies, they are ours, just like you. If one of our enemies gets to know you are our girl, they will hurt you.”

“I hate you,” a huff later Steve sits onto the bed, handing you a manila folder. “What’s that?”

“Pictures of Peter and his treatment. He’s doing better, his arm is fine,” you don’t like the way Steve looks at the pictures. “For now.”

“Can you for once not threaten someone? I like Peter, stop hurting him to get to me,” sniffling you close the folder, clutching it to your chest. “He’s a nice guy.”

“Did you fuck him?” Bucky’s voice raises when he must watch you hold the pictures to your chest. “The boy is dead.”

“Unlike you, I do not fuck anyone coming to my path. Peter is a friend and a boy. Jesus, I don’t think he’s at age. The boy is like my broth…,” your eyes water at the memory of your little brother.

Steve nods at his friend, not missing the way you cling to the pictures. “You miss your little brother.”

“I guess I like Peter as I imagined my little brother would be like him one day. A bit shy, but smart. Strong if he needs to and protective. He tries to make the best out of a bad situation,” Bucky nods, understanding how you feel.

“I had a younger sister,” the mobster moves closer to place one hand onto your belly, slowly rubbing it. “Rebecca, but everyone called her Becca.”

Bucky’s eyes sadden when you try to shove his hands off your baby bump. “Where is she?”

“Died years ago. It’s been ages since I talked about her,” you can see tears form in Bucky’s eyes and for the first time, you wonder if he can love someone. “My father, he was a notorious mobster, hard, unforgiving. When he crossed another line, my mother and sister paid the price.”

You gasp, clasping one hand over your mouth. Suddenly too aware of what could happen to your babies you look at Steve. “He’s telling the truth, Y/N. One day after his mother and Becca left church on Sunday they got shot. A drive-by.”

“That’s awful. Did they ever find the murderer?” Bucky nods, giving your thigh a tight squeeze. “Your father, he killed them.”

“It was a massacre. People still talk about it behind closed doors. After my father was done, Steve’s father, Joseph had to stop him. This is how we ended up uniting the empires our grandfathers founded.”

“Bucky’s father, he didn’t stop until his bloodthirst was satisfied. My father stepped in as George, Bucky’s dad was close to starting another killing spree,” you're horrified at Steve’s explanations. Your hands tremble and you feel like you are going to pass out any minute.

“Doll you need to take deep breaths,” Bucky brings you into his arms before you can fall out of the bed. “No more horror stories, Steven. Our girl just passed out,” Steve hums, moving his hand to your belly. “No touching without her consent.”

“I wanted to feel my baby…”

“Prenatal what?” Steve looks at the brochure the doctor hands to him. “I got no clue about this stuff, Dr. Cho. Can you explain it to us?”

“It means we will find out who the father is before Y/N gives birth,” Helen Cho, explains. “I can explain the whole procedure if you want me to.”

“Is it dangerous?” Bucky looks at your belly, not wanting anything to happen to his heir. “We will not risk anything. Y/N must agree too.”

“There is no risk, Mr. Barnes,” you chuckle, watching Steve turn pale when the doctor gets a syringe out. 

“You will not put that into my girl,” protesting Steve tries to grasp for the syringe. “I will not allow you to poke her,” Peter snickers silently glancing at you now and then, or rather anytime none of the mobsters is paying attention to him.

“Mr. Rogers, I need to collect DNA from the mother with a simple blood draw. Later we will gather you and Mr. Barnes DNA using a cheek swab. I will not hurt Y/N or her babies,” the mobster eyes Dr. Cho warily, not trusting her with his baby.

“Gosh, don’t get your panties in a twist, Rogers. Months ago, you treated me like trash, tossed me onto the street, and never looked back. Do not act as if I mean anything to you. I’m a breeder to you and your friend, nothing else,” you don’t hide your anger, even purse your lips when Steve tries to argue. 

“She could hurt you with that syringe or the babies. What if she tries to kill you?” you roll your eyes in an attempt to stop Steve from saying more stupid things in front of your doctor.

“I’m the mother ans got three votes, you only got one. I have the saying,” looking at Dr. Cho you nod. “Do it doctor. I trust you.”

“I have a vote too,” Bucky grumbles, stepping closer to you. “This makes two against three.”

“Yeah, I’m glad you can count, Barnes but I’m still the mother and got three votes. Now shush and let me handle this,” the mobsters do not like you start acting like a brat, but you are determined to show them you are in charge.

“How long will you keep it to yourself? I want to know about the results too,” Steve grasps for the envelope but you slap his hand away. “Doll, let me have a look.”

“I want to talk about a few rules,” Bucky grunts, tugging at the envelope you hold in your hands. “Y/N, give me the goddamn envelope.”

“First, Peter will be my personal bodyguard. No more threats or I’ll be gone, just like my babies,” jaw tense Steve looks at you, close to just taking the envelope out of your hands.

“Fine. One false step and he’s dead,” you narrow your eyes, at Bucky who suddenly starts to sweat. “No more threats got it.”

“Next, no touching or groping. I’m not your toy,” Steve sighs, ogling your growing cleavage longingly. “I would kill to suckle at those tits.”

“I don’t care and …gross,” you slowly open the envelope, checking on the results. “So, if you want to know who will become a father in five months you’ll give me your word that I will be safe here, just like my kids.”

“Promised, no tricks,” Bucky points toward the piece of paper in your hands, licking his lips. “Tell us now doll.”

“I’m not done,” grinning you stuff the letter into your bra, not caring Steve starts to growl. “You will not play your sick games with any girl again. You are mine now, which means no sex with other women.”

“Wait…you don’t want us to touch you,” Steve points out, hating you grin devilish. “You can’t be serious!”

“No sex for you at all,” both mobsters do not like your conditions but threatening a pregnant girl is not their style. “I want enough money for me and my children. Peter will not do anything illegal again. You will not go out with other chicks, this includes sex.” 

Whilst both men crowd you like lions ready to pounce on their prey you hold their gaze. “We have a few rules too.” Steve purrs, dipping one knee into the mattress.

“You will stay here. We will sleep in the bedroom we prepared, together. No other guys, no sex with other guys. The babies are ours, just like you. No leaving us,” you pinch the bridge of your nose, a frown on your face.

“No sex,” you cross your arms over your chest. “I mean it…”

“Negotiable, doll,” Bucky joins his friend onto the bed, looking at you hungrily. “Now be good and give me the letter.”

“I don’t think so, Barnes,” you scramble away, squealing when Bucky flips your over, covering your body to slip his hand into your bra. 

“Where is the letter?” Bucky grunts. “Doll, I’m losing my patience here.”

“I will tell you the results if you sign the contract Peter prepared for me,” you smirk at Steve. “I told you he’s shy but smart. Now be good little daddies and sign it. If you do so, I’ll stay and tell you about the results…”

“I fucking hate you,” Bucky mutters, pacing around the new bedroom. You are unimpressed. Legs crossed you relax on the soft mattress a smug grin on your lips. “You’ll get half of my money if I dare to cheat on you?”

“Correct.”

“Same goes for me, Buck,” Steve is still fuming. He had to sign a contract handing you his balls on a silver plate. 

“As you were such good daddies,” you coo, lips curved into a grin. “I’ll tell you about the results.” Both men sit onto the bed, leaning closer to glance at your belly.

“Tell us…” Bucky places one hand onto your belly, rubbing it slowly. “Please, doll. Stop torturing us.”

“According to Doctor Cho I’m going to be a mother,” you snicker, turning around to close your eyes. “I’m too tired now. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell you more. Now be good and stop moping. You’ll learn your place…”

“Learn our place?” Bucky chokes out, looking at Steve. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh-pretty mobster,” you open your eyes, grinning wickedly. “Did no one ever tell you to never underestimate a pregnant girl? You’ll do anything I want you to do when I want you to do so…”

>> Part 3

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[bobowho]

baking with strawberries and sunshine (m)

→ pairing: byun baekhyun x reader

→ word count: 21k

→ genre: bakery au, pastry chef!baekhyun, college student!y/n, fluff, angst, smut

→ warnings: smut, slight angst, mentions of toxic relationships

→ playlist

→ summary: y/n started working at a small bakery stocked with sugary items, but never expected the sweetest thing in the world to be her boss’s smile.

→ link to ao3

The sugary aroma of freshly baked lemon macaroons was first of all, too sweet for y/n’s taste, and so overwhelming that y/n could barely focus on the paper she was trying to finish. She was sitting at a small table in a secluded corner of the bakery. y/n had been a regular ever since she discovered the place, one and a half months ago at the beginning of the semester. The interior had soft tones of ivory with gold accents, matching the warm mood of the store.

Eyebrows furrowing in frustration, she closed her laptop and pulled out her headphones from her ears, loud music quickly dimming away, and instead gentle notes of smooth jazz played in the background of the store. The struggle with writer’s block was painstakingly real.

y/n approached the counter for some coffee to help her focus. She stood about two feet away to examine the menu while the part timer working the register awkwardly waited for her to finish. From freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to a warm cup of cappuccino, the menu listed a slew of options.

“Sehun! Can you watch the oven for me?” A frantic voice came out from the back of the store, and a face popped out from the doorway between the kitchen and the counter.

y/n eyes shot towards the source of the noise and saw a man with a dark brown fringe, puppy eyes, and a slight pout begging Sehun to watch whatever he was baking at the moment. 

His eyes wandered to y/n for a moment before realizing Sehun was about to receive an order, and he made a small O with his mouth in an endearing way before pulling his head back into the kitchen. 

“What can I get for you?” Sehun asked. 

Thinking about the quick interaction between Sehun and the other guy, y/n turned her eyes to Sehun and ordered an iced americano with an extra shot — something to wake her up. 

The next day, y/n returned to the bakery, inhaled sweet fumes of pastries and bread, and sat at her usual corner so she could type away while constantly checking her word count to see how close she was to finishing her paper. She went to go order a coffee like always, but a sign caught her eye this time. 

Now hiring!

Part-time 

If interested, please call for the manager.

y/n was in need of a job. She was a college student terribly in debt and had almost missed the deadline for last month’s rent. The offer seemed enticing.

“Are you interested?” Someone interrupted. y/n looked up and saw the same guy yesterday with the puppy eyes, except this time he was smiling and they were in crescents. 

y/n, startled by his sudden presence, stammered out the only answer that seemed adequate. “Yes..? I—“

The man’s eyes lit up at the answer and he clapped in excitement.

“Great! We’ve been looking for someone to work the shifts Sehun can’t. Oh, I’m Baekhyun, by the way.” He introduced himself to y/n cheerily. “I own this bakery! I do the managing and most of the baking. Sehun helps me here and there… Here! Here’s the application.” Baekhyun pulled out a piece of paper from behind the counter and shoved it into y/n’s hands as if she would change her mind if he didn't act fast enough.

y/n, still recovering from the quick turn of events, nodded and quickly said, “Nice to meet you Baekhyun. I’m y/n. But can I order a coffee?”

“Oh, of course, y/n. What would you like?” Baekhyun lightly grinned and waited for y/n’s answer.

Only if y/n knew she would meet the love of her life at a bakery with a boss who had the personality of sunshine and a loving pair of hands that made everything he touched sweet.

“Holy fuck, y/n.” Sehun lightly exclaimed as he watched a plume of white smoke come out of the oven as soon as y/n opened it. 

y/n let out a cough before running out of the kitchen to get fresher air. Her first day at work had started off with a great first impression. 

Sehun followed y/n out of the store and let out a sigh. “All you had to do was watch. The. Damn. Cookies.”

y/n shamefully looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry. I got distracted checking to make sure I counted the stock of french brioche correctly and—“

y/n saw Baekhyun walk towards them from down the street, hands full of paper bags. The bakery needed extra flour and powdered sugar, so Baekhyun had gone out earlier to get some from the grocery store. 

“Guys, don’t just stand there and help me take these bags! My arms feel like they’re going to fall out!” Baekhyun yelled from afar. 

Sehun and y/n hurried towards Baekhyun and each grabbed the items from his arms. Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief as he let go of a few of the bags. 

“Hey Baekhyun, the batch of chocolate chips—” Sehun started to explain the situation, but Baekhyun stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air as they got closer to the bakery. 

“Do I smell burnt cookies?” Baekhyun asked.

y/n cringed. “Yeah, I was supposed to be checking on them but they ended up burning…” She waited for Baekhyun to scold her for doing so poorly on her first day of work, but Baekhyun just nodded and walked into the bakery, no longer smelling sweet like it used to. A heavy scent of bitterly burnt cookies hit everyone’s noses, making them scrunch up.

Baekhyun and y/n went into the kitchen while Sehun went to keep the store’s door open to let in some fresh air. 

Baekhyun saw neatly round, black circles on the baking tray and closed his eyes in disappointment. y/n was usually not the type to cry but she couldn’t help the tears forming in her eyes. She hated disappointing people, especially not her new boss, Baekhyun. 

“I’m so sorry.” y/n sincerely apologized. “If you need any help baking these again, let me know. I promise not to make the same mistake.”

Baekhyun turned away from the ugly batch of cookies to look at y/n, only to be surprised to see her teary eyed and clearly upset at the situation. Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the sight of tears rolling down y/n’s face.

“y/n, it’s fine.” Baekhyun assured her. “We all make mistakes. And it’s only your first day! I promise you’ll get better over time.”

y/n still didn’t feel any better about the fact that Baekhyun would have to bake a whole new batch just because she couldn’t watch the time. It was the stupidest mistake she could’ve made.

Baekhyun reached out a hand to wipe away a tear on y/n’s cheek with the back of his finger. “Here, let me get you some tissues.” He quickly fetched a box of tissues and handed it to y/n, who was calming down now. 

“How about you start setting up the tables in the store once you feel ready, okay? Again, y/n, it’s no big deal. I can just bake it again in no time! Bam! It’ll be ready to go once the store opens for the day. Other than the cookies, you’re doing a great job for your first day.” Baekhyun lightly smiled at y/n and gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder as if it could cheer her up. 

y/n nodded. She didn’t understand why she felt so upset at messing up. Maybe, she just wanted to be perfect on her first day,

The rest of her shift went smoothly, and when y/n returned home after classes there was a text from Baekhyun: 

[good job today! sehun and i are both happy to have you working with us. see you tomorrow!!] 

y/n couldn’t help but smile at the cheeriness in the text. It made her evening slightly better.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” y/n asked the guy anxiously fidgeting in front of the counter.

He stared at y/n for a few moments before saying, “Can I have a…latte.” He wore a tattered dark hoodie and nervously bit at his lip. y/n noticed he had been coming quite often to the bakery lately. 

y/n wondered what he was so nervous for but she smiled and said, “Sure thing. I’ll have it out in a few moments.”

The guy grabbed his drink and stiffly sat down at a nearby table. y/n could feel his eyes glancing up to catch a glimpse of her once every few minutes. She didn’t appreciate him checking her out which made her a bit uncomfortable — but a customer was a customer.

It was only y/n’s fifth day at work, but she already felt like it had been weeks. She’d already become strangely used to the morning sunlight streaming in through the windows, the addicting smell of cookies and pastries, and Baekhyun’s quiet humming as he busily worked in the kitchen. She breathed in the scent of freshly-baked brownies, the scent getting stronger and stronger as Baekhyun carried the tray out towards the counter.

Baekhyun. He was almost painfully adorable-looking today, with his dark hair neatly combed against his forehead and his cheeks slightly flushed from the heat of the oven. He was wearing a neat white button-down and navy blue slacks, complemented with his baker’s apron.

“Want to try one?” Baekhyun asked, placing the brownies out on the display shelf.

y/n had eaten breakfast before coming in for her shift, but she didn’t know if it could be possible to say no to Baekhyun with his puppy-like eyes. “Sure,” she replied.

He handed her a brownie, and y/n took a bite. The chewy texture and taste of warm chocolate was perfect. It was quite literally one of the best brownies she had ever tasted.

“Holy shit, that’s so good.” she blurted out, before mentally scolding herself. She wasn’t sure if Baekhyun thought it was entirely professional to swear at work.

She was pleased to hear Baekhyun’s soft chuckle. “Thank you, I’ve been perfecting that recipe ever since I opened this bakery.”

y/n looked over to see Baekhyun smiling down at her. She found herself suddenly wondering how old this man was. He looked barely older than her, and she was still a college student. He definitely looked like he could even be younger than some of the boys she’d seen on campus. Most of the boys her age acted like they could barely iron their own clothes, let alone own their own business.

“I hope this doesn’t come across as weird,” she said carefully, “but you look awfully young to be owning your own business.”

Baekhyun let out another light laugh, his puppy eyes crinkling at the corners. “Don’t worry, I get that a lot.”

“I don’t really think of myself as young, I’m twenty-five. I actually dropped out of college halfway through my second year,” he explained. “I had a huge fight with my family over it. I come from a not super well-off family, and they always wanted me to study something like finance or accounting, so I could get a stable job after I graduated — but it was always my dream to open my own bakery.”

y/n was taken aback by his response. She didn’t expect him to open up about his personal reasons for opening the bakery. She couldn’t help but admire that Baekhyun chased after his dream in exchange with stability.

“I worked multiple jobs for a few years after I dropped out, so I could save up to start this bakery. It was a bit rough at first, but the last year has been amazing. I even have some regulars now. Plus, It's been great to work with Sehun. And you now, of course.” He nudged at her side with a wink.

y/n couldn’t imagine being so passionate about something that she’d be willing to risk so much for it. She liked her psychology major at school, but not so much that she felt like it was her dream. “I wish I had something I was passionate about like that.”

Baekhyun gave her a grim smile. “I’ve learned that most people don’t find it. I see my friends from college sometimes, and some aren’t completely satisfied with their office jobs. I guess I’m just lucky that I get to do what I love for a living.”

y/n watched Baekhyun’s warm brown eyes shift through uncertainty, rejection, and accomplishment after years of hard work. She knew he’d been through pain and desolation that she could not even begin to understand. y/n wished she could’ve been there for him, supported him through all his highs and lows.

Baekhyun soon left her to bake another batch of brownies. She examined the bakery closely and saw how dear the small shop was to Baekhyun. Every inch, every corner came from countless hours working day and night to afford this place. The bakery was his everything. 

A week passed, and y/n had somehow managed to not set the entire bakery on fire. There was a lot to learn, and by the end of the week y/n’s head was aching with the number of drinks and pastry recipes she’d had to memorize. y/n was in the fall semester of her last year at university and soon found herself running from class to class, only to rush to work right after. The only thing that kept her from completely exploding of stress and exhaustion was that she got to see Baekhyun and his energizing smile every time she went in for her shift.

It was a chilly Thursday morning in October. The bakery was having a lull in the usual morning rush of customers. y/n stared outside the window at the leaves in shades of red and brown clinging onto their branches, as a gust of wind flew through the streets. The air around her smelled like fall — pumpkin spice and pecan pies. Cliché, but there wasn’t any other way to describe it.

“You know, Baekhyun’s kinda weird around you,” Sehun blurted suddenly while drying espresso cups with a dishcloth. He sent a quick glance in y/n’s direction, a smirk on his face. 

“What?”

“I’ve been friends with Baekhyun for a long time, and I’ve worked here for almost a year. Trust me, if I had burnt an entire batch of cookies on my first day, Baekhyun would’ve yelled at me for sure,” Sehun said confidently, turning to look y/n with a pointed look on his face. y/n nervously wiped her palm on her apron.

y/n didn’t know what to say. Baekhyun had been extremely nice to her all week, giving her only smiles and encouragement at every mistake. She had just assumed that Baekhyun was a naturally nice and patient person.

“I’m sure that’s just because you’re friends with him.” y/n managed, avoiding Sehun’s gaze.

Sehun cocked his head to the side as if in deep thought. “Maybe,” he conceded, “I do wonder why he’s so nice to you, though. He isn’t usually like this around other people. I guess the last time he acted this way was when he met his ex.”

“I—” y/n started to say, only to be interrupted by the chime of the door as it opened. Baekhyun walked in, carrying bags of coffee beans. His dark hair gleamed in the late morning light. He offered a puppy dog smile at the both of them.

“Good morning!” he said brightly, setting an armful of coffee bags down on the counter. Sehun suddenly bolted upright at the sight of his boss. Baekhyun’s appearance on a late Thursday morning usually meant that Sehun’s opening shift was over.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Sehun announced, taking off his apron and gathering his things.

“You’re not even going to say hi to me?” Baekhyun placed his hand on his chest, feigning hurt.

“I’ve got class in ten minutes!” Sehun yelled, running out the door. The door chimed again as Sehun slammed it behind him. Baekhyun stared after him, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I swear that kid thinks I’m just his friend, not his boss.”

y/n found a flush suddenly rising to her cheeks, thinking of what Sehun had said earlier. Baekhyun had been nice — maybe too nice — to her for the past week. He hadn’t said a single mean thing after she repeatedly messed up coffee orders and pastry recipes. That had been the only reason why working in this bakery had been bearable for her, when her schedule was jam-packed and exams were drawing uncomfortably close.

She spared a glance in his direction. Baekhyun was opening a bag of coffee beans, pouring the coffee beans into the espresso machine. He is awfully adorable, y/n mused. His hair was slightly ruffled from the wind outside, his eyes concentrated on the coffee bag as he carefully tipped it into the espresso machine. If she looked closer, she could see a tiny mole above the corner of his mouth. She wondered what it would be like to kiss—

Stop, he’s your boss, y/n mentally scolded herself. This job was important to her, and she didn’t want to jeopardize it by forming a stupid crush on her boss. Besides, everyone knew what a terrible idea it was to date someone you work with, let alone your boss.

“You’re being quiet today,” Baekhyun commented.

“Huh?” y/n turned to see Baekhyun standing right next to her by the counter. He was staring at her with a curious look in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips. He was awfully close to her. She prayed he hadn’t noticed the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

“I guess I’m a little tired. I’ve been really busy this week,” y/n said awkwardly. 

The door chimed as a customer walked in. y/n silently thanked the gods as the customer ordered a cappuccino.

y/n made her way over to the fridge, pouring a cup of milk before absentmindedly placing the cup under the milk steamer, turning it on. She didn’t notice when Baekhyun strode over to the milk steamer to stand beside her and looked down at the cup.

“Uh,” Baekhyun said, “that’s not how you foam milk.”

y/n felt herself flush again. She couldn’t believe she had made another mistake over something so simple. After working at this bakery for a week, she couldn’t even foam milk properly. y/n really must be the worst employee any bakery has ever seen. 

Before y/n could apologize, Baekhyun spoke. “Don’t apologize. It’s my fault for not teaching you properly. I thought I had gone over everything with the drinks already, but I forgot I didn’t teach you how to use the steamer.”

He reached out his hand to rest over y/n’s hand that was holding the cup. He guided her hand slightly downwards, so that the tip of the steaming wand was submerged in the milk. He murmured instructions, his face inches away from hers. She stared at the steamer as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, trying desperately not to think of the softness of his hand against hers, or the feel of his breath against her ear. She could feel her heart pound against her ribcage. Get it together, she told herself, he’s your boss.

“See how fluffy the milk became? That’s some quality foam you can use in a cappuccino,” Baekhyun declared, seemingly unaware of y/n’s panic beside him.

His hand lingered on hers for just a second after the milk finished frothing, his thumb softly grazing the back of her hand like a feather. He pulled away reluctantly.

“Now you’ll be able to make any drink that needs foamed milk!” Baekhyun said with a smile. She wondered how he managed to be so cheery all the time, despite her utter incompetence at her job. 

“Thank you,” she managed. “I know I haven’t, uh, been the best at this job. You’ve been so supportive and nice to me, even though I don’t probably deserve it. I just want to say thank you for that.”

“You don’t have to thank me. There’s a lot on your plate right now. Trust me, I know how hard it is to work a job as a student. You’ll know everything by heart soon, don’t worry. I believe in you!” Baekhyun looked at her sincerely. From this close, she could see his soft brown eyes speckled with darker shades of brown. They were like a warm pool of hot chocolate in the soft morning light.

y/n and Baekhyun were interrupted in their little moment by the bakery’s door chiming open again.

As Baekhyun walked over to take the order, y/n found her mind wandering back to what Sehun had said earlier.

He was right. Baekhyun was nice to her — to the point that it made her feel a little guilty. No guy had ever treated her this well, lest a guy who was supposed to be her boss. The last time he acted like this was when he met his ex, Sehun had said. y/n suspected that Sehun had been messing around, but she couldn’t help but wonder. 

For a second, she let herself think of a universe where this sweet, adorable pastry chef could ever have feelings for her. She knew it was probably impossible — these fairytale, rom-com type romances were unrealistic and tended to never happen to her. She also knew that she should be trying hard to not develop an irreversible crush on her boss right now. It was hard not to, but for just a second, she could risk falling into a daydream.

Later that day, y/n rushed from one end of the counter to another, busily getting the bakery ready for closing. Baekhyun had left a few hours ago, giving y/n a thumbs-up and smile, saying that he trusted her to do a great job. The bakery was quiet except for the sound of giant coffee jugs emptying into the sink and the soft jazz music playing in the background as y/n worked. There was only one customer still remaining in the bakery, a man sitting at a table, staring down at his phone.

y/n glanced up out of the big window that looked out onto the dark streets. The sun had started setting earlier as the weather turned colder, and the sky was deepening from a shade of navy blue into pitch black. She freely hummed to the music playing in the background as she wiped down the counter. She looked up at the clock behind the counter, marking 9PM. It was closing time.

The man sitting at the table was still hunched down, looking at his phone. y/n awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Um, excuse me…but the bakery is closing right now.”

The man turned his head. He looked slightly older than y/n, but still young. His overgrown dark hair fell slightly into his eyes as he blinked at her with a slight blush on his cheeks. He wore an oversized black hoodie and black skinny jeans. She recognized him as the guy who had been visiting the bakery so often.

“Oh, okay. I’ll leave, then.” he said, barely a whisper. He got up, pushed the chair in, and left.

As the door closed shut, y/n let out the breath she had been holding in unknowingly. She was always a bit nervous when she was by herself during a night shift, with a single customer in the bakery. Especially if the customer was a man sitting by himself.

y/n finished up her job, double checking everything before she gathered her things and locked the bakery door behind her. The sun had completely set, the sky black and only lit by the streetlamps lining the narrow street. The bakery was on a small street near the main campus of her university, only a few blocks away from her apartment.

She clutched her canvas bag to her side as she began making her way down the street. She walked about a block or so before she noticed a man following behind her. She slightly turned her head and saw the same man who had just left the bakery.

A panic rose in her stomach. The man had left the bakery several minutes before, long enough that he should’ve been long gone from this street. He must’ve waited outside until I was done, she thought. She felt another bubble of fear rise up inside her. She was reminded of countless stories about her friends, being followed by men late at night in the city streets, having to call someone to pick them up out of fear or even call the cops.

She looked back again as she turned a corner. The man was still following her. He looked terrifying in the dark, his face completely hidden under the shadow of his hoodie and his fast strides threatening to catch up to her any second. 

y/n reached for her phone in her bag, frantically thinking of people she could call. Most of her friends lived on the other side of campus, and they would take at least fifteen minutes to walk over to her. She helplessly raked through her brain, thinking of people she knew that lived near her. Then she remembered Baekhyun three days ago, mentioning that he lived a block away from the bakery and didn’t need to take the bus when Sehun complained about the crowded bus ride from his apartment.

She dialed his number without thinking twice.

“y/n?” Baekhyun’s voice rang out after a few moments. “Are you heading home now? How was your closing shift? You probably did great, so don’t even—”

“Where are you right now? Are you close yet?” y/n spoke louder than usual, making sure the man trailing behind her could clearly hear. She wondered if her voice sounded as nervous on the phone as she was feeling on the inside. She spared another glance backwards to see the man still walking behind her, less than half a block away from her.

“y/n? What do you mean? I’m—”

“It’s like, so dark out. Please don’t be late picking me up like last time.”

“...where are you, y/n?” Baekhyun’s voice, deep in concern, answered over the phone.

“Our usual spot. Like a block away from the bakery.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in two minutes.”

Two minutes? y/n was sure he was at least five minutes away if he was lucky. She stopped underneath a streetlamp and heard the footsteps from behind cease. She crossed her arms and thought about the pepper spray she had left back in a drawer in her bedroom. She remembered her dad giving it to her before leaving for college and making her promise him that she would carry it. Never did y/n think something like this would actually happen. 

A minute had passed. The footsteps resumed unexpectedly and began to approach her. y/n’s heart raced even faster. She didn’t dare look behind her. Instead, she reached inside her pocket to fish out her apartment key. She recalled reading somewhere that keys could be wedged between the fingers and used for self defense.

“y/n!” Before she could pull a move on her stalker, she heard Baekhyun call out her name and looked down the street, watching him running as fast as he could, strands of hair flopping against his forehead. She barely recognized him in his hoodie and sweatpants, his hair damp as if he had just stepped out of the shower.

The stalker was clearly surprised by the sudden interference. y/n could see him slowly back away in her peripheral vision.

As Baekhyun approached, y/n couldn’t help but feel relieved to see his face. His features became clearer when he arrived under the yellow toned streetlamp. He grabbed y/n by the arms as soon as he was close enough to reach for her.

“Baby, did you wait long? I’m so sorry.” Baekhyun leaned down to look at y/n’s face and pouted his lips to express how bad he felt about being late when in fact, it had taken him only a few minutes to get to y/n from his apartment.

Baekhyun then put his arms around her, squeezing her body close against his, and y/n could feel his heart pounding against his chest. The smell of fabric softener mixed with strawberry-scented body wash engulfed y/n as half of her face got buried in Baekhyun’s hoodie.

Was Baekhyun trying to act like her boyfriend?

“Baekhyun, you don’t have to—”

Baekhyun lowered his face next to y/n’s and quietly whispered just for them to hear. “I called the police. They’re going to be here any minute.”

He raised his voice again. “Let’s get you home. I missed you all day! I’ll give you a lot of kisses to make up for it.”

y/n turned her head a little to the side to look at the street behind her. The stalker was walking away from them quickly, disappearing behind a corner. y/n felt her body relax a little when she could no longer see him anymore.

Baekhyun’s arms remained tight around her, even as the street became silent and they could no longer hear the footsteps of the stalker behind them. y/n could feel the brush of his hands against her back as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Now y/n’s heartbeat was louder than Baekhyun’s. It was thrumming in her ears and she became worried that Baekhyun could hear it too. 

“I think you can let me go now.” y/n muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric of Baekhyun’s hoodie.

“I can feel you shaking, y/n.” Baekhyun quietly said. 

y/n raised her hand that had been hanging limply by her side. She saw it tremble against the dim glow of the streetlamps beside her.

Cue the police, sirens came blaring down the street, but y/n was sure the sound of her heartbeat was louder.

After a short interrogation by the police on the incident, y/n and Baekhyun silently climbed up the stairs of her three-story walkup. He had insisted that he at least walk her home, seeing how pale and shaky she had been after the incident.

When y/n and Baekhyun arrived at her door, y/n awkwardly pulled out her apartment key. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Baekhyun carefully asked.

y/n nodded hesitantly to assure him, “It’s late. You should head home too.”, but she wasn’t actually okay. She was scared. Her hand was still shaking and she could barely manage to fit her key through the keyhole.

“Okay,” he said hesitantly, “if you need anything, let me know.” He pulled his lips into a slight grin and waited for y/n to get into her apartment.

She stepped in and lingered for a moment before turning back around. “Actually…can you stay for a little bit? I don’t think I can handle being alone right now.” 

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of heart. He nodded and said, “Of course.”

y/n instantly regretted her decision as soon as they both stepped into her apartment. She saw a million things in disarray. She quickly snatched up a stray bra on the couch before throwing it under a pillow before Baekhyun could see. 

Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice the state of her apartment. His gaze remained on her pale face as he reached over and grabbed a knitted blanket, haphazardly thrown over her couch. He walked over and wrapped it around her shoulders like a shawl.

“I’ll stay in your living room. Is that okay?” Baekhyun sat down on the floor at the base of the couch. 

“Yeah.” y/n answered before heading into her bedroom to get ready to wash and take a shower. 

y/n stepped out of the shower and changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. She could smell something sweet wafting down the hallway leading to the living room. It reminded her of the bakery, but not quite.

“I hope you don’t mind that I used your kettle. I saw a pack of hot chocolate lying on your counter and I figured you could use a cup.” Baekhyun held up a mug, steam rolling off into the air. The air filled with her favorite chocolate scent.

y/n sat down on the opposite side and relished the warmth of the cup of hot chocolate in her palms. She sipped on the warm, sugary drink. 

“Thank you so much, for everything.” she said after a long, comfortable silence. She glanced over the mug at his face, still scrunched up with concern.

He waited until y/n fished her cup. “You should sleep now.”

y/n nodded in agreement. “You can go home if you would like.”

Baekhyun just lightly smiled and waved at her to go sleep in her bedroom. “I can sleep on the couch. Goodnight, y/n.”

y/n climbed into bed and pulled her covers up to her chin. There was no way y/n was sleeping with Baekhyun in her living room. As comfortable as Baekhyun made y/n feel, his presence made her nervous, but not in a bad way. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to sleep. Finally, after much contemplation, y/n pulled out her phone and called Baekhyun for the second time that night.

He answered after a few seconds. “Hello?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Baekhyun hummed before saying, “Okay, what do you need. A lullaby?”

y/n thought he was joking, but Baekhyun patiently waited for her response.

“Sure..? You aren’t joking, are you.”

“It’s up to you.” Baekhyun answered.

“Do you want to come in?” y/n heard a knock on the door shortly and watched Baekhyun walk in. She took a hand and patted the empty space next to her on the bed, indicating for Baekhyun to sit down. She felt the side of the bed sink as he settled on top of the blanket.

Baekhyun had a beautifully soft voice that waved through the air like the smell of freshly made brownies. Something about it made y/n’s heart swell. He effortlessly made y/n start to feel sleepy with the gentle tone of his voice. y/n clung onto every note as she fell deeper into sleep, Baekhyun’s sweet lullaby dimming into a distant melody in the background. y/n couldn’t remember if she felt a hand, just as soft as his song, delicately stroking her hair until she fell asleep. 

y/n woke up with a start. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the sunlight pouring in through her curtains. Her head swarmed with the memories of the previous night, of Baekhyun’s arm around hers, of Baekhyun’s presence in her bedroom. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. She craned her head up at the side of the bed Baekhyun had been laying on the night before. It was empty. He must’ve left after she fell asleep.

Then she wondered why she had woken up without the sound of her alarm blaring in her ear.

Crap, crap, I slept through my alarm, she thought in panic. She had worked the closing shift the night before, so it must be Friday. Shit, my morning shift.

She flailed her arms out of the mound of blankets she was buried under and grabbed her phone on the nightstand. It was 7:30AM, thirty minutes after the beginning of her usual morning shift. She let out a curse again as she scrolled through her messages, expecting a series of texts from Baekhyun demanding of her whereabouts. She was only met with a single text from him:

[are you coming in for your shift today? if not, i got it covered.]

y/n was not about to miss her shift, especially when she had inconvenienced Baekhyun so much the night before. She hurriedly hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. She shoved a toothbrush in her mouth, washed her face, and ungracefully pulled on a pair of jeans. She decided the worn down white t-shirt she had on overnight was good enough for work. 

As she opened the door to bolt down to the bakery, she remembered she still had her toothbrush wedged between her teeth. She ran back inside with her shoes still on her feet and quickly washed the foamy toothpaste out of her mouth. 

y/n arrived at the bakery two minutes before the clock hit 8:00 AM, the opening time. Heavy breaths left her lungs from speed walking down the street and trying not to run into busy pedestrians at the same time. 

“...you stayed?! Baekhyun, are you kidding me.” Sehun’s aggravated voice could be heard as soon as y/n entered the store.

“Listen, Sehun. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I left as soon as—” Baekhyun was seemingly trying to calm Sehun down.

y/n interrupted their conversation with a greeting, “Good morning! I’m so sorry I’m late. I got here as fast as I could.”

Sehun glared at y/n. On the other hand, Baekhyun looked happy to see her. 

“y/n! So glad you could make it. Did you sleep well?” Baekhyun asked while y/n grabbed her apron from behind the counter. 

With a hushed voice, y/n responded, “Yeah, thank you so much. I’ll make last night up to you somehow.” She was scared Sehun might overhear their conversation. 

She waited for Baekhyun’s response, but he just stared at her, a slight frown forming on his face. 

“Baekhyun? Is something wrong?”

“Hold on,” Baekhyun murmured. He then reached out a hand towards her, y/n flinching slightly at the motion. He rubbed his thumb across the corner of her mouth, wiping away a streak of dry toothpaste. 

“You got toothpaste right there.” Baekhyun held up his hand for y/n to see and smiled mischievously. 

“Oh.” y/n couldn’t help but slightly get red in embarrassment. 

She glanced behind Baekhyun to see Sehun standing behind them. Sehun met her eyes and pretended to gag.

Her day went by surprisingly quickly. Her mind occasionally wandered from the stalker to the thought of Baekhyun’s hand in her hair last night and on her mouth this morning, but she was able to push it out of the way as she tied her hair and greeted a customer walking into the bakery. 

At the end of her shift, y/n quickly headed back home. She sat down at her desk to get a little bit of studying done for her upcoming exams. She was walking over to her kitchen for her second cup of coffee of the day when she took a look outside her apartment window. The sun was already setting over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of bright pink and orange. 

It was her friend’s birthday, and she was planning to go out tonight, finally a break from school and work. y/n changed into a mini skirt and a warm navy sweater, so that she wouldn’t freeze to death on a fall night. 

y/n arrived at the bar where her friend had booked a room for a party and was met with an excited harmony of greetings and a slam of a hug from the birthday girl, Joohyun. 

“y/n! You finally escaped from work!” Joohyun exclaimed. 

y/n smiled and took in a shot of tequila someone just handed her. The bitter tang made her wince, but Joohyun was right. She decided to let loose for the night. 

After a few more shots in, y/n was ready to go home. She could not pay any attention to any of the conversations that were going on during the party. The music was too loud in her eardrums and the lighting made everything harder to see. y/n’s senses were failing her. 

Suddenly, someone called for her.

She turned towards Joohyun who eagerly opened her mouth, “How is your love life? Seulgi over here got cheated on last month. Yerim just started dating like yesterday. Seungwan is getting fucked left and right. I’m…single as fuck!” Joohyun giggled, clearly drunk. “What about you, y/n? Let me in on the tea.”

y/n wondered if she had any romantic interests right now. She was too high on the alcohol to think before she spoke.

“Hmmm, I think…I find this one guy kinda cute,” y/n felt her face flush, as if it wasn’t red enough already. 

“Oh my, who is it?!” Joohyun nearly squealed and brought the attention of others.

y/n didn’t know if it was okay to talk about how she was lowkey hitting on her boss, but it was too late now. “My boss.”

A hushed gasp left Joohyun’s lips. “The guy at the bakery? With the cutest fucking eyes? Oh my goodness, you do realize, like, half the girls on campus think he’s cute too, right?”

y/n was slightly shocked at the news, but after all, the bakery was just right outside campus so most of their customers were college students.  

“I didn’t realize…” y/n stopped for a few seconds before asking, “Do you think he has a girlfriend right now?” y/n doubted it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if he did. 

Joohyun shrugged and let out another set of giggles. “Please get with him. You guys would be so cute together. Maybe you can convince him to give me free brownies. They’re so good.”

y/n blushed at the thought and downed a shot of lemon flavored vodka that bit at the back of her throat. 

Later that night, y/n was startled by the sound of her doorbell. She stumbled towards the door, puzzled. Her friends usually didn’t randomly pop into her apartment without earlier notice, and she wasn’t expecting any packages this late into the night. Each step got harder and harder to balance on — she was not in the right state of mind to greet guests at the moment.

She stood on tiptoes to look out the peephole. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized it was Baekhyun.

She quickly shimmied her skirt to its original position so she wouldn’t scare Baekhyun by flashing him, and combed through her hair with her hands a few times. She opened the door to reveal a concerned Baekhyun shifting anxiously on his feet. A look of relief washed over his face when he saw y/n, but returned to looking worried when he saw how disheveled she was. 

“Baekhyun? What are you doing here?” y/n asked groggily, although she was more than happy in his presence. She noticed he was hugging a large picnic basket. 

Baekhyun looked at y/n with puppy eyes. Cute, cute, cute., y/n thought.

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely, but you weren’t answering your phone.”

y/n’s heart stupidly fluttered at the fact that Baekhyun was worried for her. “I just went out for the night. Friend’s birthday.” 

She pointed at the picnic basket Baekhyun was holding so dearly. “What’s that?”

Baekhyun grinned shyly. “I…I didn’t want to come empty handed if you were home, so I brought a few things.” His smile widened when she met his eyes, his eyes crinkling into endearing crescent shapes again. Even though she was surprised by his sudden appearance, she couldn’t help but return his smile.

“I figured you might miss being around so many pastries tomorrow, since you have the day off.” Baekhyun said. He opened the picnic basket to reveal an arrangement of cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and every other pastry y/n could ever dream of.

y/n gasped. “Baekhyun, you didn’t have to—”

“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to.” Baekhyun said firmly. “Can I come in?”

“O-of course.” y/n opened the door wider, taking the picnic basket from him to set down on her dining table. y/n could still feel the booze making her feel like she was floating, but at this point she wasn’t sure if it was Baekhyun or alcohol that was making her head feel dizzy and heart rate elevated. 

Baekhyun walked into her living room, standing in the space he had been in less than 24 hours ago. He looked strangely at home, standing in the middle of her still-messy apartment. 

“I’m going to miss having you around tomorrow.” he said.

“Oh, it’s only a day. I’m sure Sehun will keep you company.” Of course, y/n knew that wasn’t the real reason he’d showed up to her house with a picnic basket. He was worried about her. She had been in bad shape last night, pale and shaking in Baekhyun’s arms even as the police crowded around them. She had barely managed to fall asleep, only able to drift off to the sound of Baekhyun’s soft singing voice.

y/n still couldn’t fathom why anyone, especially someone as attractive as Baekhyun, would care so much about her. She’d never had a guy treat her so well, to the point he would show up at her door with a giant basket full of sweet pastries just to cheer her up. The thought of Baekhyun, carefully gathering each pastry at his bakery to pack into this picnic basket, made her heart ache. She suddenly felt a sting in her eyes and an urge to tear up. Don’t, she warned herself. She had cried in front of him once, and that was already far too many times.

Unfazed by y/n’s sudden silence, Baekhyun casually started talking about what had happened at the bakery after her shift.

“You won’t believe what happened after you left today. Sehun completely messed up the ingredients for the pound cake recipe. I told him it’s three cups of flour, like, five times, but guess what he did. He only added one! I swear, he does it on purpose to spite me sometimes. Then he has the audacity to blame the whole thing on me…”

Baekhyun’s voice faded out into a soft hum in y/n’s ears as she was suddenly overcome with thoughts of Baekhyun that she had pushed to the back of her mind all day. Thoughts of the soft touch of his hand against her back as he held her close to him, the gentle pressure of his fingers as they stroked her hair, his impossibly sweet voice, lulling her to sleep, rushed to the forefront of her mind. The scent of fresh laundry and strawberries that waved through the air with Baekhyun’s every movement didn’t help, either.

“...and then, if that hadn’t been enough, he has the nerve to accidentally spill the bowl of egg yolk on the floor. I almost slipped on it and fell straight on my face in front of everyone. I’m this close to firing this kid, I swear. I would’ve fired him a long time ago if he wasn’t such a good friend.” Baekhyun continued to speak, oblivious to y/n getting more and more flustered by the second.

“Anyways, enough about me and Sehun. How was your day? I see you’ve been studying.” Baekhyun gestured at the huge pile of notebooks and papers that had gathered on top of her small desk by the window.

He looked so lovable in that moment, standing there in her apartment with his hair casually ruffled. His eyes glimmered as he gazed down at her, his lips twisting up to form another smile that made y/n’s stomach fill with butterflies. He was so close, close enough that she could see the tiny mole in the corner of his mouth once again. If she looked closer, she could see another one on the apple of his cheek. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. 

Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she was reaching up on her tiptoes, placing her palms on the sides of his cheeks. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Baekhyun made a surprised noise in response. The comforting scent of fabric softener and strawberries became even stronger when she kissed him, but she could smell something sharp and sweeter…was it cinnamon? y/n kissed Baekhyun for a moment longer to make sure, and he let her, holding her arms to keep her there.

When y/n realized what she was doing, she pulled back, breaking their kiss. 

“Shit, shit, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that—” she stammered. She couldn’t believe she had the balls to kiss her boss out of pure impulse. She kept her eyes fixated on her feet in embarrassment. When she gathered the courage to look at Baekhyun, she was surprised to find that his face was shaded in a bright shade of pink, the color that she was expecting her own face to be. He was looking at y/n with a confused look on his face. 

“Uh, I should probably head home,” he said nervously. y/n could see his gaze slightly waver. “I hope you like the pastries…I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Baekhyun rushed across her living room before she could say anything. He shut the door behind him and he was gone.

y/n cringed as she heard her door close shut. Guilt and shame built inside her. She had thought her feelings for Baekhyun had been just a harmless crush, something that she could get over in a few weeks if she tried. She hadn’t expected herself to actually make a move, let alone try to kiss him. How was she going to face him on Monday?

She trudged to her bedroom, flopped down on her bed, and buried her head in her pillow. y/n couldn’t stop her mind from thinking about her lips eagerly pressed against Baekhyun's. She let out a groan. The lingering scent of fabric softener, strawberries, and pastries…Baekhyun was making her feel lightheaded.

A week had gone by, with neither Baekhyun nor y/n willing to talk about the kiss. Only short, formal conversations were exchanged between the two. In fact, Baekhyun seemed to avoid her at all costs, his face turning scarlet whenever she was around and refusing to make eye contact. He shied away from every possible interaction with her. 

Baekhyun also seemed to be making an unusually large amount of mistakes around the bakery in the past week. Spilling drinks all over himself had become a daily occurrence, to the point where Sehun stood by with a mop in his hand every time Baekhyun received a drink order. A few days ago, he had knocked over an entire tray of freshly made eclairs onto the ground. Sehun walked on to the scene and saw a horrifying mess of custard and pastries. He shook his head in disappointment.

“Baekhyun. You’re making rookie mistakes I don’t even make anymore.” Sehun harshly commented. “Is something up? Last time you were this unfocused was when Mina broke up with you.” 

y/n was pretty sure the mistakes he’d been making all week had something to do with the fact that she had kissed him. She felt extreme guilt in the pit of her stomach. He probably felt so uncomfortable around her, but he was too nice to fire her or even say a single word about it. 

One afternoon, as she reached the bakery, she could hear Sehun’s incredulous voice ringing out from the propped open door. “She kissed you?”

y/n flushed. They were talking about her. She heard a furious shushing noise from Baekhyun.

“What the fuck, Baekhyun? When did this happen?”

“Like, a week ago?”

“And you didn’t think to tell me? I fucking knew something happened between you guys! You’ve been acting like a complete idiot around her all week. You know how nauseating it is for me to watch you guys make heart eyes at each other all day, only for you to not make a single move?” Sehun sounded exasperated. “I swear to god, if you spill another drink because you’re too busy staring at her, I’m going to quit—”

Sehun stopped talking once he saw y/n walk through the door. Baekhyun looked up, his face turning the usual shade of pink when he saw her.

“Hi,” she said nervously.

“Good afternoon.” Baekhyun said, his hair falling slightly into his eyes as he looked back down at his hands. Sehun took a look at y/n, then at Baekhyun, before letting out an annoyed groan.

“y/n, get your ass over here. I need help in the kitchen.” Sehun announced, making his way into the kitchen without another word.

y/n gave Baekhyun an awkward smile before she followed Sehun into the kitchen. Sehun was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a frown on his face.

“What do you need help with?” she asked.

“Our boss is in love with you, fix it.” Sehun said too casually.

“What?”

“I’m just kidding, I don’t actually know if he’s in love with you yet. He definitely likes you, though.” Sehun said, sparing a glance out the kitchen door to look at Baekhyun. “He’s been acting like a dumbass all week. Because of you.” Sehun pointed a finger at her.

y/n’s head spun. She doubted that Baekhyun even had an ounce of feelings for her, but she remembered that Sehun had known Baekhyun for far longer than she had. If Baekhyun had feelings for her, even by a slim chance, then surely Sehun would know. She felt a sliver of hope rise in her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” she muttered, but Sehun gave her an incredulous look.

“I pretend I don’t give a shit ninety percent of the time, but Baekhyun is one of my oldest friends. He had a really bad breakup a couple years ago, and he hasn’t been the same ever since. I don’t think he’s had a single girlfriend since then. I just—” Sehun trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. “I care about him, okay? I want him to find someone, so if you’re the one he’s into, then I wish you would give him a chance. That’s all. Not that you have to, of course. I completely understand if you don't. He can be a shithead sometimes.” 

“What are you guys doing in there?” Baekhyun’s voice sounded from the counter.

“Just think about it.” Sehun sighed before walking over to the register, leaving her standing in the middle of the kitchen, more confused than ever.

The rest of the shift went by swimmingly. Sehun left a couple hours later to head to class, giving her a knowing look before heading out. y/n felt both anticipation and nervousness at the thought of being alone with Baekhyun. The bakery was completely empty, save for a couple sitting in a secluded booth in the back.

Baekhyun was in the kitchen, staring at a batch of cookies that was almost ready to come out of the oven. You should at least talk to him, y/n told herself words of encouragement. Despite what Sehun had said, y/n wasn’t entirely sure that Baekhyun actually liked her romantically. After all, he hadn’t kissed her back that night. That’s because you pulled away before he could even do anything, reasoned a small voice in her mind. She shook the thought away. She couldn’t make any assumptions before she talked to him. The last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

She slowly made her way into the kitchen. “Um, can I talk to you?” she asked.

Baekhyun looked up and nodded. He looked absolutely adorable, as he usually did, with his hair slightly ruffled right above his dark eyebrows and his light blue button-down slightly wrinkled under his apron.

“Hey, I realized we haven’t been able to talk to each other recently.” y/n cringed as she said. “And I bet it’s because I, uh, kissed you that night when you came to my apartment. I just wanted to say sorry again, that was so unprofessional of me, and I shouldn’t have done that. I really like working here, so I hope you don’t fire me or anything, but if you want to, I completely understand.” 

Baekhyun looked completely dumbfounded. He stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open a little.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been avoiding me all week! You barely talk to me, even when it’s only the two of us here, and you wouldn’t even look at me! I…I just feel like I’ve made you feel so uncomfortable, with, you know, what I did. I’m so sorry. If you want to pretend it never happened, that’s fine with me. I just wanted to apologize—” y/n nervously kept rambling on and on, fearing what was to come next. Her face was a bright red by now, she was sure of it. She wiped her palm on her jeans, wondering if the rising heat of the room was because of the oven, or if it was just her imagination.

Baekhyun shifted a few steps closer to her. y/n could barely manage to look up at him. 

“Why in the world would I fire you? I love having you here, you never have to worry about that.” he said sincerely. “And besides, I don’t want to pretend it never happened.”

“W-what?” she could only manage to say.

Baekhyun was getting noticeably red. “I said, I don’t want to pretend it never happened.” 

y/n’s brain ceased to work. They stood in silence as she struggled to comprehend what Baekhyun had just said.

“Can we kiss again, or was that a one time thing?” he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper. 

Baekhyun nervously bit the bottom of his lip, his mole more apparent above his mouth now, reminding y/n of that night again. y/n’s heart was doing jumping jacks in her chest. No, she wouldn’t mind kissing Baekhyun a few more times. 

“Yes,” she answered, “we can kiss again.”

He closed the gap between them in seconds. He reached out to gently cup her face in his hands, his brown eyes boring into hers. He craned his head down to lightly brush his lips against hers. y/n held her breath as Baekhyun shifted slightly to fit her lips better. His hands trailed down from her face, coming to rest on her sides. She felt herself sigh against his mouth as she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck, feeling his soft lips against her.

He tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping across her lips and parting her mouth. She thought she heard something ring in the background, but she forgot about it instantly when she lightly bit at Baekhyun’s bottom lip, and he let out a quiet moan in the back of his throat.

“I think the cookies are burning,” y/n managed to say between a mess of their lips when the room started to fill up with smoke. Baekhyun reluctantly pulled back, his hands still gently gripping her sides.

“Oh, no.” he groaned, burying his face in the nook where y/n’s neck and shoulder met. He opened the oven, letting a gush of smoke blow out. 

“Reminds me of your first day here.” Baekhyun commented playfully.

“I was surprised you didn’t fire me on the spot.” y/n cringed.

“You were too cute to fire over some burnt cookies.” He gave her a shy smile before taking the cookies out. They were burnt to a crisp once again. At least this time it wasn’t all her fault.

y/n had just plopped down onto her couch after a long day at school when her phone started ringing. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies when she saw the name Baekhyun flashing on her phone screen.

“Hi, Baekhyun,” y/n answered.

“y/n, are you free this weekend?” Baekhyun asked.

y/n thought about her schedule for a few seconds before answering. “Hm, I don’t have a whole lot to do. I just finished this big assignment today, thank god.”

“Great! Well…” Baekhyun hesitated. “Would you like to come over? I can make us dinner, maybe watch a movie…”

“I would love to!” y/n said a little too enthusiastically, a silly smile taking over her face.

“Does Saturday at seven sound good?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, trying to imagine Baekhyun with the same goofy smile on his face. Her heart warmed at the thought.

“It’s a date.” he added before hanging up. y/n’s breath caught in her throat. She tried her very best to not squeal with excitement like a teenager.

The rest of the week seemed to pass by in a blur as she counted the days to her date with Baekhyun. Before she knew it, she was nervously standing in front of Baekhyun’s door, waiting for him to answer. It’s only Baekhyun, she told herself reassuringly, you literally see him every other day.

y/n’s heart still did flips in her chest when Baekhyun answered the door, inviting her in with a sunny smile. He looked handsome as usual, with his hair styled and a baby blue sweater comfortably hugging his lean figure. His apartment was small but cozy, not much bigger than hers. Soft browns and blues adorned parts of the apartment. She could see touches of his personality around the place, from a framed photo of him with Sehun and two other guys, to a colorful apron hanging on a hook by the kitchen. y/n hadn’t realized that Baekhyun’s apartment would smell exactly how he did, except the fragrance of strawberries stood out more intensely over the smell of fresh laundry.

She walked in a little further to be met with a table with two plates of roasted steak and vegetables, softly lit by candlelights.

“I hope you like the menu.” Baekhyun commented. There was no way y/n wasn’t going to like the menu — she already knew she was going to love everything Baekhyun cooked.

“Wow, Baekhyun. This looks really good.” y/n complimented him as he pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, admiring not only the food, but also the beautifully set table with a small floral centerpiece. 

“I would make an amazing house-husband.” Baekhyun said with a wink, making her chuckle.

“Shall we dig in?” y/n asked, fork and knife ready in her hands. 

Baekhyun nodded. He waited for y/n to cut a small piece of her steak and put it in her mouth. 

“Is it good?” Baekhyun looked at y/n, anxiously waiting for an answer.

“I haven’t even started chewing,” y/n said, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Oh.” Baekhyun’s face reddened as he realized hadn’t given her the chance to fully taste her food before asking. 

After a few moments, y/n’s eyes widened at the tenderness of the steak. It was seasoned perfectly, too. “It’s delicious,” she complemented, “maybe you should’ve opened a restaurant instead of a bakery.”

“I learned how to cook from my grandma,” Baekhyun explained, “she lives in Gangwon-do! I visit her every now and then.”

This was y/n’s first time hearing about Baekhyun’s family. She listened with curiosity. 

“She makes amazing Korean dishes, but I swear she can cook the best steak. She can do Chinese, Japanese, Italian…the list goes on. My personal favorite is her soybean paste stew.” 

y/n watched Baekhyun get lost in the thought of his grandmother and her cooking. It was sort of endearing and y/n could imagine Baekhyun adorably waiting at the dinner table for his grandmother to bring out delicious plates of his favorite food. “Wow, I can only imagine.”

“You should come with me to visit her sometime.” Baekhyun commented casually.

y/n’s heart stirred as she wondered what that could mean for them. 

The meal went by pleasantly, filled with soft laughter and conversation. Baekhyun fondly mentioned how he had known Sehun for years, and y/n’s eyes sparkled in interest; she had always wondered how he and Sehun had become so close.

“You and Sehun seem really close — close considering you guys work together, I mean.”

Baekhyun nodded. “We grew up together back when I lived with my grandma. My parents were busy working 24/7, so they thought it would be better to have her take care of me. Sehun lived next door to our place until I had to move out for college, so I guess it was natural that we grew close.”

y/n had no clue that their relationship went far back. “What about now? How is he working for you?”

Baekhyun grinned as he reminisced about the past. “Ah, I visited my grandma one year and he was still living next door, freshly out of high school. He was about to head off to college in the city, so I asked him to come work in my bakery as a part timer. He said no at first, of course, but he caved in after I bribed him with a few cups of his favorite chocolate bubble tea.”

y/n giggled at the image of Sehun grumpily agreeing to work for Baekhyun as he sipped on the drink. 

“What about you, y/n?” Baekhyun asked as he forked a piece of asparagus.

“Me?”

“I feel like I’ve been only talking about myself.” Baekhyun pointed out. “Do you have any close friends?”

Joohyun’s face immediately surfaced to y/n’s mind. “Joohyun! We’ve been friends since high school. We ended up at the same college together, although I don’t see her that often. She’s an art history major, and I’m studying psychology, so we don’t have that many chances to see each other on campus. We’re both so busy these days.”

“I know how that feels,” Baekhyun said wistfully, “my two best friends from high school — Chanyeol and Kyungsoo — work in different cities, so I find that it’s hard to see them. I should call them to catch up sometime…they might tell me to fuck off, though.”

As Baekhyun and y/n worked through their meal, y/n found out that Baekhyun’s ultimate goal was to open a chain of bakeries across the country.

“It’s unrealistic — the bakery only started doing well about a year ago, so I don’t want to jinx it or anything. Not a lot of people make it in this business. But it’s my dream.” Baekhyun said, looking a bit flustered. 

y/n reached out and placed her hand over his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, I know you can do it.” she told him. 

Baekhyun gave her a warm look, his eyes gleaming in the soft glow of the candles.

They conversed non-stop through the rest of their dinner, discussing what the best dessert at the bakery was, how Sehun never trusted her with the oven anymore, and whether y/n was ever going to manage to learn the meticulous task of latte art. When their plates emptied and stomachs were satisfied, they made their way over to the blue velvet couch in his living room. 

“Rom-com? Or horror?” Baekhyun held up two DVD cases for y/n to see.

“Who uses DVDs these days?” y/n jokingly remarked. “Doesn’t everyone use Netflix? Or Hulu?”

Baekhyun grumbled that he liked the manual labor of playing a DVD. He inserted the rom-com into his DVD player and settled on the couch beside her. He scooted closer to drape his arm around y/n’s shoulders. She fit perfectly in his embrace and snuggled into him, tucking her face into the side of his chest. His hands started playing with her hair and she giggled softly. Cuddling with Baekhyun was nice. She indulged in the scent of him, the usual aroma of fresh laundry and strawberries. 

“I’m so glad you started working for us at the bakery.” Baekhyun said in a tentative tone.

The following gap of silence told y/n that Baekhyun had something more to say, but was careful with being too upfront about his feelings. y/n craned her neck and kissed Baekhyun boldly on the lips. His eyes widened slightly and his cheeks flushed at her assertiveness. “I’m glad that I met you.” she told him.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that…I like you,” Baekhyun mumbled, face still red, “this sounds selfish, but I like having you in my life. I keep getting a bit flustered when you’re around — you make me feel like I’m having a crush, like I’m in high school again.”

Baekhyun buried his face in his hand in embarrassment. y/n’s lips tugged into a heartwarming smile at Baekhyun’s confession.

y/n felt an urge to tease him for being so straightforward with her. “Is that all?” she asked.

Baekhyun lifted his head out of his hand to see y/n eagerly waiting for a response. “I-I’ve been feeling this way ever since you started working at the bakery. I just can’t seem to take my eyes off of you. At first, I thought it was because I was worried that you might make a mistake and hurt yourself — but then I started searching for you even when it wasn’t your shift. It’s okay if you don’t feel as strongly as I do, but I just wanted to make my feelings clear—”

y/n stopped his words with another kiss, this time longer. “I feel the same way, Baekhyun.”

y/n could’ve sworn that Baekhyun’s smile when she pulled away was bright enough to rival the sun.

The next morning, y/n walked to the bakery with an elated bounce in her step. The sun shone down beamingly onto the pretty autumn day, bright foliage lining the sidewalk. Whether the world actually looked beautiful that day, or if it just looked extra beautiful to her because of her happy mood, she did not know.

“Hi, y/n.” Baekhyun beamed and waved when y/n walked in, his face a light shade of pink. She saw Sehun standing besides him, rolling his eyes.

“Good morning!” y/n waved back with a smile on her face. Baekhyun seemed to be in a sunny mood today. He was softly humming along to a pop song playing in the background as he expertly made a caramel macchiato. Thankfully, he didn’t spill it this time, even with y/n around. 

“You guys seem cheery today.” Sehun noted, raising his eyebrows suspiciously. Baekhyun gave him an innocent smile as he handed the drink to a customer.

y/n’s shift passed by normally, everything the same as usual save for Baekhyun’s occasional glances and crescent-shaped smiles in her direction. Due to the upcoming midterms week, there were more students than usual pouring through the door of the bakery, grabbing a cup of coffee before they headed off to the nearby library.

There was finally a little break around lunchtime, when the flow of customers seemed to cease. The bakery was empty for the first time that day. y/n and Baekhyun stood by the register while Sehun went in the kitchen to ice a cake in chocolate ganache.

She turned to her right to see Baekhyun standing next to her, his head cocked to the side to look at y/n. He grinned and proceeded to plant a kiss on her cheek. “How’s your day going, love?” 

y/n blushed and shared a wide smile with Baekhyun. “I’m a little tired, but everything is going well! I managed to serve an iced latte in under three minutes today. Are you proud of me?”

Baekhyun booped y/n’s nose with his forefinger. “Yes, I am so proud.”

y/n let out a yawn. She had stayed up nearly all night after her date, trying to finish her assignments and study for her exam. The memory of Baekhyun had kept her in a good mood all morning despite her tiredness, but she felt the exhaustion finally settling into her body after the rush of customers.

“I’ll make you a coffee,” Baekhyun said, noticing her yawn. He made his way over to the espresso machine.

He was about to press the button on the machine when she walked over to wrap her arms around his waist from behind. She buried her face in his broad back, his frame lean but firm against her. She gently tickled his stomach and he let out a quiet laugh.

“Thank you,” she said softly, breathing in his scent.

“Oh my god, can you guys stop having sex in front of me?!” Sehun exclaimed. y/n and Baekhyun sprang apart, their faces scarlet. Sehun had just come out of the kitchen cautiously carrying a three-layer chocolate cake.

“We were just—” Baekhyun began, but Sehun interrupted.

“I will not stand being the third wheel of this bakery.” Sehun huffed, placing the cake down on the counter. He glared at them.

Baekhyun gave Sehun an annoyed look. “You know I’m the owner of this bakery, right? I make the rules.”

“Oh, so when I decide to wear sandals to work, I’m being unprofessional, but you guys can have a makeout session behind the register and it’s completely fine?” Sehun said angrily. 

y/n couldn’t help but giggle at Sehun’s reaction. He gave off the vibe of a little kid being annoyed at his parents for being affectionate to each other. 

“Aw, Sehun, are you sad that we don’t give you hugs?” y/n pouted, walking over to Sehun with her arms outstretched.

“No way. We are coworkers.” Sehun said coldly, running away to avoid her. y/n and Baekhyun laughed.

Their laughter was cut short when the door chimed and a young woman walked in. Baekhyun’s lips turned into a flat line.

She was tall, a couple inches taller than y/n maybe, and thin. Her hair was long and bleached blonde, tumbling down her shoulders in loose waves. She took no time to stride straight over to the register, where Baekhyun was standing, frozen in place. Her high heels clicked noisily against the wood flooring of the bakery. She looked at Baekhyun with an unreadable look on her face.

Sehun quietly cursed under his breath.

“Hi, Baekhyun.” she finally said after a prolonged silence, her voice hesitant.

“Mina,” Baekhyun breathed, “what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” she said, glancing over at y/n and Sehun, “maybe in private.”

Baekhyun stood, unblinking, still as a statue. His face was blank as he silently walked over to Mina. They sat down in a booth near the back of the bakery.

Once they were out of earshot, y/n turned to Sehun. He looked just as frozen as Baekhyun had been.

“Who’s that?” she asked, but she felt she already knew the answer.

“That’s Baekhyun’s ex, Mina, the one I told you about.” Sehun explained, eyes ladened in worry. “They met in college and dated for a little over two years. They went through a really bad breakup a few years ago and no one knows why. All I know is that he gets extremely agitated whenever someone brings her up. I have no idea why she’s here, he hasn’t seen her for years. She moved to another city not long after they broke up. For all I know, she’s a cold-hearted bitch.”

y/n nodded. She looked over at the booth where Baekhyun and Mina were talking in hushed voices. They sat across from each other, deep in conversation. Baekhyun had a bitter, almost chilling look on his face. 

“They were really serious. I remember they were even talking about getting married at one point. She better not be here trying to get back together with him or anything. He was heartbroken after they broke up.” Sehun followed y/n’s gaze to look suspiciously at Mina. It was times like this when y/n realized that beneath Sehun’s bratty persona, he actually cared about Baekhyun a lot. “She left him to be miserable on his own. If she’s trying to get him back, she better watch her back.”

Mina left after about twenty minutes. Baekhyun came back to the register, running his hand through his hair distractedly. He had a pained look on his face.

“What did she want?” Sehun asked, his arms crossed disapprovingly.

“I-it’s nothing for you to worry about.” Baekhyun said, barely making eye contact. “Sehun, can you take the closing shift today?”

“What? Why?”

“Something came up.” Baekhyun gave Sehun a look that seemed to mean something to Sehun. Sehun’s eyes softened. “Please?”

“Fine.” Sehun grumbled. y/n was surprised that Sehun agreed with little convincing. Sehun would’ve normally put up a fight, requiring Baekhyun to bribe him in some way.

Baekhyun was silent for the rest of the shift. y/n and Sehun walked on eggshells around him, careful not to say anything about Mina. They could tell her visit had put a lot on his mind. Baekhyun merely nodded or shook his head whenever he was asked something, and repeatedly stared out the window, deep in thought. 

“Hey Baekhyun, is everything okay?” y/n asked hesitantly.

Baekhyun looked at y/n and weakly smiled. “Yeah.”

y/n waited for Baekhyun to start talking about what was on his mind. “Mina, the girl that just came here, is my ex, if you couldn’t already tell.” He let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “We were pretty serious. Almost got married…but it didn’t work out. I don’t know why she suddenly showed up today. I really don’t want anything to do with her anymore.”

y/n appreciated his honesty, but didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll tell you more later if you want.” Baekhyun shared another smile with y/n when he sensed a bit of awkwardness between them. 

y/n tried not to think too much about what had happened with Baekhyun and Mina. She found it unsettling that Mina had visited him out of the blue, but she figured that Baekhyun would talk to her about it when he was ready. Still unnerved from the incident with Mina, y/n left the bakery around midafternoon, heading to the library to get a little studying done before her evening class.

Baekhyun had no idea why Mina had randomly popped into his bakery without warning, and asked him to meet her at a Italian restaurant with three Michelin stars halfway across town. He let out an annoyed sigh as he turned the steering wheel of his car to pull into a small parking lot. He would’ve much preferred to be back at his bakery at that moment. He already felt bad about forcing Sehun to work the closing shift.

Mina was already sitting down at a table by the window. Her face lit up when she saw him. Baekhyun internally groaned, and made his way over to the table.

“I was surprised you said yes to this dinner,” Mina chirped.

Baekhyun pulled out his chair and sat down hastily. “I’m not going to stay for long. Ten minutes and I have to go back to work.”

Mina raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you have two people working for you now?”

“What do you want?” Baekhyun was not going to entertain her.

Conveniently for Mina, a waiter interrupted them with two plates of carbonara. Mina gave the waiter a small thank you when he placed the plates in front of her and Baekhyun.

“I got carbonara, your favorite.”

Baekhyun stared at Mina in disbelief. “Can you please tell me why you invited me to dinner so we can part ways?” 

Mina sighed. “I’m getting married, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun held his breath. He did not expect to hear that at all. 

“Congratulations. I bet he will treat you well.” Baekhyun said flatly.

Mina took a sip of her wine and eyed the ring on her left hand. She held it up for Baekhyun to see, a perfectly cut diamond glimmering in all angles. “Quite frankly, I don’t want this.”

“It’s a pretty ring.” Baekhyun commented.

Mina let out a dry laugh. “I missed you, Baekhyun.”

As if the night wasn’t already a series of surprising events, this comment was by far the worst one yet. Baekhyun deeply sighed in agony. Mina had left him to be lonely and heartbroken when he was in one of his darkest times. He couldn’t possibly understand how she managed to shamelessly act like nothing had happened between them.

“What the fuck are you saying, Mina? We broke up a long time ago. You’re getting married.” Baekhyun’s voice rose. “I’m also taken.” 

Mina grabbed Baekhyun’s hand across the table. “I won’t marry him if you’re willing to give us another chance. I can break the engagement if we get back together, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s jaw clenched at the offer. Mina hadn’t been like this when they first started dating. She was selfless, kind, and did what was best for those she loved. He saw nothing but a shell of her former self in front of him now. 

He ripped his hand out from under hers. “Look, we were over once you decided I wasn’t good enough for you.” He took a moment before continuing to say, “I’m sorry that you’ve gotten yourself in a loveless marriage and you had to stoop this low. You weren’t like this before. What happened?”

“I love Junmyeon, I really do. It’s just…it’s just that I can’t marry him, without knowing what things could’ve been like between us if we had never broken up.” she said, her voice slightly trembling.

Baekhyun let out a bitter, humorless laugh. “You wanted nothing to do with me back when I was just a broke college dropout, remember? Now you see that my bakery is doing well, and all the sudden, you want back in my life?”

Baekhyun immediately worried that he was being a bit too harsh when he saw how Mina looked taken aback by his words.

“I regret how things ended between us more than anything in my life, Baekhyun—” she started to say.

Then his phone started ringing. Baekhyun gave a quick glance to the caller ID before answering. “Hello?”

His eyes widened and shot out of his chair. “I’m on my way.”

Without a single word to Mina, Baekhyun rushed out of the restaurant. 

y/n had called Baekhyun, telling him that the stalker showed up again. She had been surprised by Baekhyun’s response over the phone; she hadn’t expected him to drop everything he was doing and make his way to her immediately. y/n fidgeted nervously as she waited for him to show up.

By the time y/n saw Baekhyun running into the lobby of the building, the police had already gotten there and dragged the stalker away. A small crowd gathered around the police and y/n, who was being asked questions by a police officer. Baekhyun looked panicked when he saw an ambulance and a few paramedics on the scene. He pushed past the crowd and rushed to y/n, taking her hand into his. His eyes searched her face, desperate to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you okay?” He was panting a little from having run across campus. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, really. I just got a little bit scratched on my wrists. An ambulance was called just in case.” y/n was quick to assure Baekhyun, but at y/n’s words, Baekhyun gently lifted her hand to examine her wrists, slightly red and bruised. His eyes looked worried and a little glassy, like he was about to tear up. 

“What happened exactly?” he asked.

y/n slowly explained what had happened. She had noticed someone following her after class. When she turned the corner into an empty hallway, the stalker grabbed her by the wrists, slamming her onto the wall. y/n fought back, trying to escape his grip, but before she could scream for help, he pressed his palm over her mouth. Thankfully, after a few moments of kicking and yelling into the stalker’s hand, a student passing by noticed the scene and immediately called the police.

“Apparently he’s actually in my class, but he’s been following me around campus and to the bakery. The police arrested him.” she explained, squeezing Baekhyun into a hug. She didn’t want him to be so concerned when he didn’t have to be. She was just glad that the police had finally caught the stalker.

Baekhyun, one hand on the back of y/n’s head, tightened his other arm around her back and mumbled, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if…if he had…”

“Shh,” y/n shushed Baekhyun who was trembling more than she was now. “I’m fine, Baekhyun.” She pulled back to look at Baekhyun's eyes to reassure him and stood her tiptoes to give him a small kiss on the lips. She didn’t feel him relax against her as he usually did. His expression was still stiff, even stiffer than it had been back at the bakery.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, confused. Was he still upset about what had happened with Mina? 

Baekhyun scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Let’s talk about this in the car.” he said.

Baekhyun led her to the police officer that had been talking to y/n to make sure they could leave. They walked in silence with their hands intertwined to where Baekhyun’s car had been parked across campus.

She climbed into the passenger seat. Baekhyun placed his hands on the steering wheel without turning on the ignition. She could see a deep frown creasing his forehead. His fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” y/n asked carefully.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one that just got attacked, y/n. Don’t worry about me,” he replied, but his shaky voice and white knuckles said otherwise.

“Can I ask you something?” 

Baekhyun nodded without looking at her. 

“Why did you ask Sehun to take the closing shift?” she asked. She could hear Baekhyun draw in a sharp breath and shift his grip on the steering wheel.

Before he could reply, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket, and the screen briefly flashed in her direction. Mina, it was hard to ignore the four white letters stark against it’s dark background. y/n’s stomach churned uncomfortably.

“Hello?” he answered curtly. She could hear Mina’s voice on the other line. She sounded worried.

“Something came up and I had to leave,” he said, “everything’s fine. No, there’s no need to stop by my place. I’m fine. Please, I don’t want to see you again, okay?”

Baekhyun hung up after a few moments. He let out a heavy sigh, leaning his head back against the headrest of his car. Neither of them spoke for a while.

“Was that Mina?” y/n asked, her voice barely audible. Baekhyun flinched at the sound of her name.

“Yes.” he said darkly.

“Oh,” was all that y/n could manage to say.

Something came up and I had to leave, he had said. y/n couldn’t help but feel a worrying question gnawing at the back of her head. She knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she knew the answer. “Were you with her when I called you?”

Baekhyun looked blankly at his hands on the steering wheel. “Yes,” he finally said after a moment of hesitation. “I was having dinner with her.”

y/n felt an unbearable sting in her chest as her suspicion proved to be true. She knew Mina had wanted to talk to him back at the bakery. She had gotten the impression that Baekhyun wasn’t pleased about her visit, but she didn’t think that Baekhyun would want to see Mina again.

“I…I wish you would’ve told me,” she said quietly. She didn’t want to start a fight, she really didn’t. Besides, it wasn’t like she and Baekhyun had agreed to become exclusive or anything. But she couldn’t help but be a little upset at the fact that he had agreed to have dinner with Mina without telling her.

“I’m sorry.” he apologized, meeting her eyes for the first time in a while. They were still a bit glassy and red, staring at her sadly.

y/n wasn’t only upset with Baekhyun, but she was also upset at herself for getting involved in this situation in the first place. She didn’t want to be stuck in the middle between them, between a relationship that had lasted far longer than the amount of time she’d even known Baekhyun.

Baekhyun studied her face. “I should tell you about what happened in the past.” he said. y/n nodded, and he started to tell the history between him and Mina.

“I met Mina in my first year of college. She was a few years older than me. She had everything already figured out — what kind of job she wanted to have, what kind of life she wanted for herself — and I was just lost. I found some comfort in that she was so secure with herself because I wasn’t at the time. Everything seemed great at first. I’d never dated anyone seriously until that point, so I had no idea what to even expect out of a relationship, but I thought I was in love with her.

“Then right before our two-year anniversary, she started talking about marriage. Dropping hints about wedding dresses and engagement rings and all that. I definitely wasn’t ready to get married, I had no idea what I was even doing with my life. She was so disappointed when I didn’t propose on our anniversary.

“That was when I told her that I was going to drop out of college. I had felt like I was living a lie during my entire time there. I didn’t care about my major at all, and the thought of working in an office made me miserable. The only dream I’ve ever had in my life was to open my own bakery. I had expected her to at least be supportive of my dream. I thought she at least loved me that much.” Baekhyun hung his head and looked down at his lap bitterly. y/n’s heart ached at the look on his face. Baekhyun let out a sigh and continued on.

“She basically told me that my dream would never come true, that I would never save enough money to even come close to opening a bakery. She said even if I somehow managed to open a bakery, it would go out of business in months. She begged me to stay in college and study finance, said her family would never accept a husband with an unrealistic dream and no security blanket. She said we could get married when I graduated and got a job.

“I refused. I had already lost sight of my dream for twenty years. I wasn’t going to do it any longer. When she realized I wasn’t going to change my mind, she broke up with me. She got a job offer in a different city and moved away. I hadn’t seen her again since then…until today.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were full of tears now. y/n’s heart broke for him as a drop escaped, streaking down his cheek. She automatically reached out to take his hand in hers. The soft sound of his sniffle and the tremble of his hands told her only a fraction of the heartbreak that Baekhyun had experienced. There was nothing she could say that could undo what had happened to him. All she could do was hold his hand, and be there for him.

Baekhyun’s shoulders shook as he let out a quiet sob. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry…you’ve been through enough today. Watching me cry is probably the last thing you want to do.”

“Don’t ever apologize for showing your emotions.” y/n told him, gripping his hand tighter.

y/n finally understood why Baekhyun had been so shaken by Mina’s sudden appearance. Mina had taken his heart, smashed it, and left before he could even pick up the broken pieces. For her to show up out of the blue, acting like nothing had happened, y/n could tell why Baekhyun had been so upset. 

“She asked me to have dinner with her when she came to the bakery. I said yes, thinking I would finally get closure. I thought she would finally apologize for the terrible things she’d said. I should’ve told you then, I’m sorry.” he said through his quiet whimpers. “Instead, she told me she’s getting married. She asked me to take her back. She told me she wouldn’t marry her fiancé if I gave her another chance.”

y/n sat, frozen in shock. She couldn’t quite believe her ears. Anger rose in her chest. How could Mina be so selfish?

“I said no, of course, but I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that she thinks so little of me, that she would think I’d jump at the chance to get back together with her, after all that she did…”

y/n leaned across the console of the car to wrap her arms around his shoulders. He buried his face against her neck, letting his tears freely fall now. y/n didn’t mind that her shirt was wet with his tears, she just wanted to take away all the pain in his heart. She brushed her hands against the broad expanse of his back, rubbing gentle circles. Her heart broke for him again at the sound of his broken sobs.

y/n couldn’t help but feel an uneasiness rising from the pit of her stomach. She thought that she had found what she had been looking for the past twenty-two years of her life, in Baekhyun — but the doubts that the appearance of Mina had sowed in her grew after listening to Baekhyun. She couldn’t tell if he still had feelings for Mina or not. More importantly, y/n didn’t know if she could be there for Baekhyun. She had no idea if she could be the one to fix what Mina had broken in him.

y/n wondered if she was just being selfish. Yes, she liked Baekhyun a lot, but she wasn’t sure if now was the best time to jump into a relationship with him when he was still healing from his last heartbreak. Everything about it felt overwhelming now. y/n genuinely appreciated Baekhyun’s honesty, but at the same time, she felt distant from him. Baekhyun’s story had made her realize how little she actually knew about him. She had no idea of who he was in the past, and hearing the truth felt like a burden. Could she be the one to fix his heart? 

y/n wasn’t sure if Baekhyun was what she was looking for in a relationship anymore.

She slowly pulled back from Baekhyun’s arms when his sobs died down, replaced by soft sniffles. “I-I need some time to process this.” she said tentatively.

Baekhyun blinked, his eyes swollen red and his cheeks tear streaked. “What?” The sight of Baekhyun in tears made y/n’s heart ache.

“I’m sorry…I really hate to do this, Baekhyun. But I don’t know if I can do whatever this is between us. I need time to think, and I think you do, too.” Her own eyes stung, filling up with tears of their own. She couldn’t bear to look at him. She felt sick. What she was doing was selfish; she was trying to protect herself because she feared commitment to Baekhyun.

When she finally braced herself to look up at him, his eyes were red-rimmed, shimmering with tears. “...I understand.” he said in a breathy voice. 

Eventually, y/n silently got out of the car and ignored how much she regretted her decision to leave Baekhyun all alone. She hurriedly ran across campus and back to her apartment. She only managed to fall asleep that night when her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

y/n requested the rest of the week off, claiming that she needed time to study for her exams. She hadn’t been entirely lying; she desperately needed to study. But that reason paled in comparison to her compulsive need to avoid Baekhyun at all costs.

Thinking of Baekhyun clouded her heart with so many emotions that she couldn’t even begin to process. She had felt so cruel, leaving him behind in his car with tears falling down his cheeks, when he had poured his heart out in front of her just moments before. It was as if he had taken his heart out of its carefully guarded cage and handed it to her, only for her to abandon it. Her chest filled with guilt just thinking about it. The reasonable, practical side of her heart, however, told her that they both needed time on their own to collect their thoughts before making rash decisions.

The week passed by uneventfully with y/n spending most of her time in either class or the library. She tried her very best to push away every thought of Baekhyun. She was walking to class one day when she received a text from Joohyun, asking her if she wanted to have dinner. She brightened at the chance to see her friend. She was desperately in need of a distraction.

y/n walked into a dimly lit restaurant that apparently served the best gourmet burgers in town. Joohyun animatedly waved her over to their table.

“Joohyun, how’s it going?” y/n asked as she hung her coat on the chair. 

Joohyun rubbed her stomach and complained, “I’m so goddamn hungry. Let’s order.”

By the time their food was served, they were deep into conversation about their lives. y/n had expected Joohyun, who loved to gossip, to hit her with the relationship question — and she wasn’t wrong.

“So…any updates about you and the cute baker boss?” Joohyun smiled slyly and wiggled her eyebrows.

y/n nearly choked on her food. “W-we aren’t together.”

Disappointment took over Joohyun’s face. “Are you serious? I told you guys would make a cute couple! Really, nothing happened?” Joohyun pressed for answers.

“We did kiss.” y/n finally admitted. 

Joohyun giggled in excitement. “Oh my, tell me all the details! Just once? There's no way you only managed to kiss that cute boy only once.”

y/n explained to her a rough sketch of what had happened, but wasn’t sure if she should include the detail about their time away from each other. “We…aren’t exactly on good terms right now.”

Joohyun, who was listening attentively, slammed her palm on the table. Her mug of beer made a little splash at the force. “What? How could you not be on good terms right now?” 

y/n internally cringed. “I know. Everything seemed to be going well until his ex showed up.”

“His ex?” Joohyun’s eyes widened. “I hate a man with a messy past.”

“It’s not that messy.” y/n wondered. Was it really?

Joohyun shook her head in disapproval. “So, you guys are on a break right now?”

y/n nodded bitterly and sipped on her mug of beer, halfway empty now. 

“You shied away from commitment, right,” Joohyun said almost conclusively. “I know you.”

y/n nodded again, but this time hung her head and said, “I don’t know what to do. I really like him, but do I have it in me to commit to all sides of him? He seemed like he’s so bright and easy-going all the time. I had no idea about his past and how heartbroken he was. I don’t know if I can be the one to support him, even through all his dark times. What if I hurt him too? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I broke his heart, even just a little bit.”

“Aw, y/n.” Joohyun picked up y/n’s hand and made y/n meet eyes with her. “You have a good heart. You should know that. I’m sure your relationship with him will have its ups and downs — as all relationships do.”

y/n felt her eyes tear up. Joohyun’s assurance was exactly what she had been looking for. She needed the courage to commit to Baekhyun, give her all to him and promise to love him with her whole heart. 

“I’m usually not the one to say cheesy shit like this — but follow your heart, y/n. You overthink sometimes.” Joohyun smiled warmly at y/n. “I’ve never heard you talk about someone like this before, y/n. It sounds like you care about him a lot.”

y/n thanked Joohyun for her advice and gave her a long hug before they parted ways. y/n stared emptily after Joohyun as her friend rushed to the nearby subway station.

y/n clutched her coat tighter around herself in the cold nighttime air. She was in a part of town that she rarely frequented, surrounded by shops and restaurants she’d never seen before. She walked around aimlessly until her feet came to rest before a small bakery sandwiched between a Chinese restaurant and a bookstore. 

It was late, but there were still cookies, cakes and different pastries displayed on the shelf. y/n could smell the addicting, sweet scent of baked goods when she stepped closer. The inside of the bakery seemed so warm and inviting; y/n desperately wanted to go inside.

An employee popped out of the back room and jogged over to the register. y/n felt a bitter pang in her chest when she realized he wasn’t Baekhyun. She had strangely expected him to be Baekhyun, despite the fact that this wasn’t his bakery, plus she was in a completely different part of the city. She realized that she had come to permanently associate the concept of bakeries with Baekhyun.

A group of customers walked in and the employee greeted them with a welcoming smile. y/n quickly walked away before his smile could remind her of Baekhyun, too.

y/n was sitting on her couch on a lazy evening, sipping a cup of earl grey tea as she watched dry leaves fall off the branches outside in a slow transition from fall to winter. After a long day at school, she was about to turn on the TV when her doorbell rang.

She considered who could be visiting her this late. Something in the back of her mind wished it was Baekhyun behind the door, all smiles and sunshine, but she remembered a package that she had ordered earlier in the week. She looked out her peephole expecting a delivery man and nearly gasped. Baekhyun was fidgeting nervously on her doormat. 

She opened her door to reveal a slightly disheveled Baekhyun, wearing a rumpled sweater and light-wash jeans. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn’t help but be glad to see him. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, tense, “I-I wanted to talk to you. Is that okay? If you’re not ready, I can leave—”

“It’s okay, Baekhyun. Come in.” She opened the door wider so he could walk in.

Baekhyun awkwardly shuffled to her living room to stand in front of her TV. 

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked as she closed the door behind her. 

Baekhyun chewed on his bottom lip nervously. “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more honest with you, and I definitely should’ve figured everything out before I started anything with you.” he said, scratching the back of his neck. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Baekhyun.”

“I thought I had gotten over the whole Mina thing a long time ago, but obviously I was wrong. I know this now; Mina didn’t want me. She wanted the nostalgia, the life that she thinks she could’ve had with me if we hadn’t broken up. But I don’t even want to think about that, because I wouldn’t have met you.”

“I wasn’t upset about you getting over Mina.” y/n clarified. “Now that I think of it, you made it quite clear that you didn’t have feelings for her anymore. I’ve thought about us a lot in the past week, and I want to apologize. I was scared of commitment—”

“I scared you off, didn’t I,” Baekhyun murmured. “I can’t promise you that I’m completely healed from what happened all those years ago. I understand if you don’t want to be with me because of that — but I would regret it forever if I didn’t at least tell you how I feel. I want to be with you. You’ve been on my mind all week, and it drove me crazy that I wasn’t seeing you everyday at the bakery. I missed you.”

Baekhyun’s eyes desperately searched for hers. The bright, sincere look in his eyes was asking her to say something, anything at all. 

“I want to be with you, too.” y/n said, her voice clear and sure.

Baekhyun let out a huge sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but smile at his quick change in expression.

“I missed you too, Baekhyun,” y/n confessed. “I’m so sorry I left you all alone in the car. I really should’ve been there for you. I-I was being selfish. I can’t imagine not having you in my life anymore, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun nodded. “It’s okay. I understand how you could have felt that way. I can handle my own emotions, too. I don’t want to burden you.”

“No, no, you’re never a burden to me, Baekhyun,” y/n shook her head. “I’m going to be here for you from now on.”

Baekhyun’s face flushed and broke into a radiant smile. y/n’s heart soared.

He crossed the small space between them and cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to press his lips against hers. She let out a soft noise in surprise, and melted into the kiss. It had been far too long since he had kissed her like this. She gently placed her hands on his back, pulling him closer to her. She could feel him smile against her lips.

“You have no idea how much I’ve been waiting to hear that.” he mumbled, pulling back a little bit.

She shut him up by kissing him again.

Two months later

It was already the season to dress in thick woolen coats with pockets deep enough for Baekhyun to hide dessert to surprise y/n with. He occasionally pulled out carefully packaged brownies or sugar cookies and watched y/n’s delighted reaction in satisfaction. His gifts didn’t stop with the baked goods; Baekhyun once showed up in a blue knitted scarf and gifted an identical pair for y/n to match with him. 

y/n gripped Baekhyun’s hand tightly and half-dragged him towards the snow-covered cabin. Snowflakes were falling around them softly, resting on the tops of their heads and shoulders before quickly melting away. 

y/n suppressed a laugh when Baekhyun let out another whine. “I told you I didn’t want to go!” he complained, flailing his other arm as y/n dragged him away. He pouted when she looked back at him — she almost gave in at his puppy-like eyes. 

“We came all this way, Baekhyun,” she said firmly, “now let’s go inside, I’m freezing.”

When Baekhyun received the official invitation to Mina’s wedding two months ago, he had been strongly against going. He crossed his arms, claiming that he never wanted to see her face again. Strangely enough, y/n found herself convincing Baekhyun to attend the wedding with her. 

“You’ll finally get the closure you’ve wanted if you go and congratulate her, Baekhyun.” y/n had said to Baekhyun, who was fuming at the notion of seeing Mina again.

“It’s fine if you really don’t want to go. But I won’t be able to show her that you’re mine.” y/n had said with a wink. This seemed to cheer Baekhyun up a little bit, a mischievous glint returning to his eyes.

y/n and Baekhyun entered the cabin, handing their coats to the coat checker. y/n was wearing a light pink silk dress that stopped a few inches below her knees, her hair falling down her back in soft waves. She had made sure to look presentable and had spent hours deciding on her dress. Baekhyun looked at her appreciatively, blushing when she met his eyes.

The cabin was completely decked out in Christmas decorations, every wall space covered in wreaths and fairy lights. Even the air smelled like Christmas — the aroma of gingerbread cookies and pine cones filling the entire venue. Huge A-framed windows looked out at the snowy mountains around them.

y/n clapped excitedly. “I love Christmas weddings!” She shot Baekhyun a warning glance before he could let out another grumble.

The ceremony was breathtaking, y/n admitted. The wedding hall was decorated in a flourish of pink toned flowers. The window behind the altar gave a clear view into the open sky as the sun set beautifully behind the mountains. Mina wore an elegant white gown decorated with lace flowers and crystals that made the dress twinkle as she walked down the aisle to her soon-to-be husband. The groom, Junmyeon, looked just as elegant in his tuxedo. He stood at the altar in a perfect posture, beaming at his bride. 

y/n glanced over at Baekhyun when Mina and Junmyeon began exchanging vows. She had felt a twinge of worry that Baekhyun might not actually enjoy the wedding. However, he was smiling lightly, eyes content at the sight of the newlywed couple. He looked genuinely happy for them.

The banquet hall on the other end of the cabin slowly filled up with people for the reception. Thousands of fairy lights hung across the walls, twinkling like stars that whimsically complemented the darkening sky outside. Baekhyun’s eyes lit up when he saw two twenty-something year old men walking towards them. y/n recognized them as the guys from the framed photo in Baekhyun’s apartment.

“Is that Byun Baekhyun I see?” a tall, gangly man with noticeably pointy ears yelled, approaching them with a big grin on his face.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaimed animatedly. Chanyeol captured Baekhyun in a bear hug, squeezing him as tight as he could. Baekhyun tapped his friend’s back. “Chanyeol, my dude, I can’t breathe.”

Chanyeol released him with a deep, rumbling laugh. A shorter man with big round eyes and heart-shaped lips approached Baekhyun, giving Baekhyun a hug as well. He gave y/n a much calmer impression compared to Chanyeol, who was shaking with laughter.

“It’s so good to see you, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said as the shorter man let go. Kyungsoo’s eyes moved to y/n, who had been standing next to Baekhyun. He gave her a curious look.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, y/n. y/n, these are my friends, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun introduced, a proud smile on his face. y/n felt warmth rise in her stomach at the phrase my girlfriend. It had already been over a month since they'd made their relationship official, but she still felt butterflies whenever he said those words.

“You’re y/n? The y/n? The girl Baekhyun has been talking nonstop about for the past two months?” Chanyeol teased. Baekhyun groaned and covered his face in his hands, his face flushed red.

“Chanyeol, please. Make a good first impression for y/n.” Baekhyun complained.

“Yes, I’m y/n. It’s so nice to meet you guys.” y/n said, smiling at Baekhyun’s embarrassment. His rosy cheeks were beyond cute when he was embarrassed.

“We’re both so glad that Baekhyun finally found someone. You guys make a cute couple, I must say.” Kyungsoo sincerely commented.

“Get ready, y/n, because I’m going to tell you so many embarrassing stories about Baekhyun. Has he told you about the time he got stuck—” Chanyeol started, but Baekhyun made a strangled noise and punched Chanyeol lightly on the arm. Chanyeol overreacted by grabbing himself and scrunching his face in feigned pain.

“Oh, stop it. I didn’t even punch you that hard.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“He got stuck inside a porta potty once,” Kyungsoo quietly whispered to y/n while Chanyeol and Baekhyun quarreled over who had started ‘it’.

The four of them enjoyed their food at a banquet table together. Chanyeol was in the middle of telling a story about the time Baekhyun accidentally shaved off his eyebrows in middle school. Baekhyun had given up on trying to make Chanyeol shut up.

“I had no idea the blade was double sided!” Baekhyun objected, causing Chanyeol to snort and double over the table. y/n laughed as she imagined a younger Baekhyun without eyebrows.

Guests began to walk up to Mina and Junmyeon one by one to congratulate them one last time before heading out. Baekhyun eyed the happy couple who stood across the room hand in hand. Mina was standing with Junmyeon, a bright smile on her face. She chuckled when Junmyeon leaned down to whisper something to her.

“Do you want to go talk to her?” y/n asked quietly in Baekhyun’s ear.

“Only if you come with me,” he murmured.

y/n and Baekhyun excused themselves, saying their goodbyes to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. y/n wrapped her arm around Baekhyun’s and made their way towards Mina and Junmyeon. 

Mina’s smile faded ever so slightly when she saw Baekhyun and y/n approaching them. She said something to Junmyeon, prompting him to walk away and give them some privacy.

“Congratulations, Mina.” Baekhyun greeted her with a genuine smile.

“Baekhyun, I didn’t think you would come,” Mina said, looking flustered. She glanced at y/n standing next to him. “I-isn’t she the girl that works for you at the bakery?”

“Yes, she’s also my girlfriend.” Baekhyun replied. y/n felt an arm wrap around her waist. Mina showed little to no reaction other than a slight widening of the eyes. y/n felt satisfaction settle inside her as she heard the phrase again. My girlfriend. 

“I do remember you saying that you were taken,” Mina said, an awkward smile lingering on her lips. She turned her eyes to y/n. “It’s nice to meet you, y/n. I assume you know who I am.”

y/n nodded once wordlessly.

Baekhyun cleared his throat once and said, “Despite everything that’s happened between us, I still want you to be happy. I hope you are, with Junmyeon.”

“I am,” she said quietly, “thank you, Baekhyun.”

“Goodbye, Mina.” Baekhyun gave her a curt nod before moving to walk away. 

“Wait, Baekhyun—” Mina blurted, stopping Baekhyun in his tracks. He turned to look at her.

“I-I’m sorry. For how I treated you all those years ago. You didn’t deserve that, and I know it’s too late to apologize now — but I still want you to know.” Mina looked down at the hem of her dress before continuing her apology. “You’re a great guy. I hope you find happiness, too.” 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun said, “I found happiness with her.” His arm tightened around y/n’s waist, pulling her closer to his side.

y/n watched Baekhyun smile at Mina, his face the most peaceful y/n had ever seen. He slid his hand into y/n’s and pulled them away. All Mina could do was stare after the couple as they walked out of the venue until they were out of sight.

y/n comfortably settled into the white sheets of the bed, relaxing after a long day of hauling herself around on a pair of high heels. She soon felt the pressure of Baekhyun sinking down beside her. It was too late for them to make the three-hour drive back to their city after the reception, so Baekhyun had booked a hotel room for the two of them. She rolled over on her side to look at Baekhyun, who was laying on his back, his face at ease. y/n blushed slightly at the sight of his bare chest; he was only dressed in a pair of sweatpants.

Shifting through the crack of the curtains, moonlight illuminated Baekhyun’s skin into a healthy glow. 

“Thank you.” Baekhyun softly whispered. He met his eyes with y/n.

“For what?” y/n asked. 

“For everything. I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time.” Baekhyun moved closer to kiss her briefly on the lips. “And I’m so glad you’re the one to make me feel this way.”

y/n gave him a small smile and raised a hand to stroke his hair. Without saying a word, she lovingly kissed him again in response, silently letting him know that she felt the same way. Everything he did, from his endearing smiles to little pouts whenever he messed up the icing, and every way he looked, from a neatly dressed pastry chef to a mess of soft brown hair and dark puppy eyes — all of Baekhyun made y/n fall harder for him.

She deepened the kiss, pressing her lips harder against Baekhyun’s mouth. She felt warmth gather in the pit of her stomach. Baekhyun swiped his tongue against her lips, allowing him to push his tongue inside to meet hers. Baekhyun placed his hand on the back of her neck, pulling their bodies as close as possible. She could feel the heat of his body firm against hers. 

Their breaths became heavier as they continued kissing. She let out a moan when she felt Baekhyun instinctively grind his hips against hers. His hands gripped her waist and moved her so that she was straddling his hips. She bent down to capture his lips again in a messy kiss, their tongues moving against each other sloppily. She rolled her hips against him as they kissed, searching for friction that sent chills down her back. 

She felt his hand slide up the hem of her pajama shirt, gently brushing the soft skin of her stomach. A shiver ran down her entire body. She reached down to pull her shirt over her head. Baekhyun pulled back slightly to stare at her, his breaths shallow and his pupils dilated. His hands wandered down her sides. The way Baekhyun touched her, like she was the most precious thing in the world, made her a million times more sensitive. Every time his hands traveled to a new place, she had to cut back a gasp. 

Baekhyun kissed the side of her jaw, and down the column of her neck. He harshly sucked on a tender point at the base of her throat, his mouth leaving angry, red marks all over her neck. Baekhyun’s hands started kneading her breasts, and she let out another moan. Pleased with her reaction, he ducked his head to take her breast into his mouth. She lightly moaned as she felt his tongue flick against her nipple.

“B-Baekhyun,” she called out shakily.

“Mmm?” he replied, his voice muffled against her skin.

“I need you.”

Baekhyun’s mouth released her breast with a pop, and the sudden onset of cold air made her shudder. He looked to meet her lustful eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she breathed out.

Baekhyun kissed her lips again, exhaling a soft moan as he did. His hand slowly trailed down from her chest to rest between her thighs, brushing against her stomach on the way. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin as he gently shoved his hand inside her pajama shorts to rub her against her underwear. y/n let out a sudden moan, surprised at the pressure in which Baekhyun began rubbing her. His index and middle fingers began moving in a languid back and forth motion. y/n rested her forehead against Baekhyun’s shoulder as she whimpered, already getting lightheaded. Baekhyun let out a soft sigh in response and pushed her underwear down. Baekhyun slid a finger across y/n’s wetness before he started rubbing her clit in circular motions. He eased his two fingers inside her and started to slowly pump them back and forth.

At the direct contact of Baekhyun’s fingers inside her heat, y/n lost control of her moans. She felt embarrassed at the sounds that came out from her lips and rang across the small hotel room. She closed her eyes and bit her lip.

“Look at me, love.” Baekhyun demanded. y/n forced her eyes open and saw Baekhyun, who had a dark look in his eyes, craving for more.

Baekhyun’s hand moved faster in and out of y/n. “Does that feel good?” he asked, voice hoarse. 

“Oh my god, yes,” she managed to say between her moans.

Baekhyun gently flipped them over so that he was leaning above her, his arms resting on either side of her face. As he leaned down to kiss her, he slid off his sweatpants leaving only his underwear on. y/n broke from the kiss, staring at the hardness in his underwear, painfully straining against the fabric. She slowly let her hand wander down from his shoulder and splayed it against his stomach. She played with the hem of his underwear before pulling it down and wrapping her hand around his hardened cock. y/n moved her hand in a steady up and down motion, adding more pressure at the tip. She watched Baekhyun come undone by her touch.

“Go a little faster, sweetheart.” Baekhyun said in a hurried whisper. 

y/n responded by moving her hand faster in a circular motion. Baekhyun let out a quiet noise in the back of his throat, further igniting the flame that was burning inside her stomach.

“I need you inside me,” she said, her voice unsteady.

Baekhyun reached for his wallet on the side table next to the bed and fished out a condom with one hand. He ripped the plastic open and rolled the condom onto his length. He took no time to gently move her hand away from his cock and line himself up at her entrance, pausing for a moment before looking into her desperate eyes. He sank down into her, letting out a soft moan. Her head leaned back into the pillow in pleasure, making space for Baekhyun to tilt his head down and suck on her neck. She let out high-pitched moans as he started to move faster, his hand reaching out to hold onto the headboard of the bed.

“Fuck, Baekhyun.” y/n cried out. Baekhyun thrusted harder into her at the sound of his name rolling off her tongue. He pounded in and out of her, gaining a moan from y/n with each thrust. She brought her hands to his shoulders and raked her fingernails down his broad back.

Baekhyun’s decreasing steadiness and grunts indicated that he was close. y/n felt like she was going to explode, but it wasn’t enough. She took Baekhyun’s hand to her clit and looked into his eyes, begging him for more. Baekhyun got the message and started rubbing intensely, causing y/n to melt into a puddle under his hand. Even as Baekhyun moved roughly, there was an undeniable sense of affection from him, his eyes gazing at her lovingly. 

“Baby, you feel so good,” he murmured.

A few moments later, there was a sudden burst of pent up energy, her back arching off the bed and legs shaking as she came. Her vision blurred as she clenched her eyes and loud moans spilled out of her lips. She called out for Baekhyun, barely making out her own words through her release. He slammed her into a few more times before reaching his own climax.

They collapsed down onto the bed together, chests rising and falling from their harsh breaths. She turned to the side to look at Baekhyun. His skin glistened with sweat, and he looked back at her, dazed. 

The world seemed to stop when Baekhyun said the next words. “I love you,” Baekhyun whispered softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind y/n’s ear. The soft brown in his eyes glimmered for a moment before he leaned in to close his lips around hers.

When they broke apart, y/n whispered back, “I love you too, Baekhyun.” making his face break out into a sweet smile that reminded her of nothing but sunshine, and strangely, strawberries, too.

The cold December air hurt y/n’s lungs as she skipped down the snowy sidewalk that led to the bakery. She ducked her head through the door, inhaling a mixed aroma of cookies, cakes, and macaroons. A smile sprung on her face as she made eye contact with Sehun, who was working the register.

“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to work today.” Sehun asked, surprised to see her.

“I just wanted to visit my favorite bakery employee,” she said innocently, walking over to ruffle Sehun’s hair. Sehun rolled his eyes.

“You’re here to visit your goddamn boyfriend, and you know it.” Sehun deadpanned.

y/n laughed brightly. “I’m here to see you too, Sehun!” She scanned the bakery — it was unusually empty today with most college students having left for winter break. “Where’s Baekhyun?”

Sehun rolled his eyes again. “He’s in the kitchen.”

y/n walked into the kitchen and was met with Baekhyun bent over a tray of cookies. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, his teeth gently digging into his bottom lip as he carefully squeezed icing onto a cookie. He looked up and beamed when he saw y/n walk in.

“Hi, love,” he said, placing the icing bag down on the counter, “what are you doing here?”

“Hi,” she replied, walking over to give him a hug, “I got bored sitting around the apartment so I decided to come visit.”

Baekhyun leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Good. I was getting bored with icing these cookies, too.”

y/n looked down at what he had been working on and gasped. “You know sugar cookies are my favorite.” she said, a blissful smile on her face.

Baekhyun picked up the cookie he’d been icing and tipped it into y/n’s mouth. She chewed, delighting in the sweet flavor of her favorite dessert.

“It’s delicious,” she complimented, “you should try some.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, this time more eagerly. His lips curved against the slope of her mouth, his tongue moving past her lips. She suppressed a moan into a soft sigh and gripped his shoulder as he pressed harder against her mouth.

“Mm, but I’d rather have you for dessert.” Baekhyun broke off from her lips and shamelessly murmured into y/n’s ear, making her face heat up instantly.

They reluctantly pulled back when they heard Sehun’s grumpy yell from outside.

“You guys better not be having sex in there!”

[huntertales]

Part Two: Watch Your Tone With Me, Boy. (Bad Boys S09E07)

Episode Summary: When an old friend of Dean’s asks for help to solve a murder, Sam and the reader discover that the older Winchester as a secret past—one that will help solve the hunt. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Word Count: 4,533.

Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

You slipped the knife back into the waistband of your jeans and adjusted your jacket when you saw Ruth visibly relax a little bit to see that it was just you. And not some ghost that was supposedly haunting this place. You were an avid believer in the fact that every home had its own set of spirits and secrets. Eventually they struck without warning, but never without reason. It was your job to find out and put a stop to it before someone else could get hurt. Lucky for you, Ruth was more than a local. She knew the ins and outs of this farm since she was little. And even better, the tragic history from the previous owners and how Jack was tangled up in all of this mess. 

"I grew up in this town. I used to come up here as a little girl. The Wasserlaufs—Howard and Doreen—they used to own this farm back then. My co-worker, Jack, may he rest in peace," Ruth began to give you a bit of backstory to help explain things a little better. Ever the religious woman, she made a swift quick sign of the cross in hope he might be at peace after suffering his time on earth. "He worked here as a farmhand. Howard was a nice man, but…” 

Ruth never liked to talk ill of the dead. You could tell from the hesitation in her voice and how she trailed off for a second before going back to the story. “Well, he’d get into that corn liquor. And one night he got it into this thick skull that Jack and his wife, Doreen, were rolling around in the hay. It wasn’t true—but Howard’s paranoia got the best of him. He tried to kill the both of them. Jack got away, but Doreen…” 

“He killed her?” You asked, taking a guess of how this story ended.   

“With a meat cleaver.” Ruth whispered, nodding her head. You psychically winced at the gruesome details of a life cut short. “Which for Howard ended a year ago. He always swore he’d get his revenge on poor, old Jack, and...it looks like he finally got it.” 

A year was plenty of time for a spirit to grow powerful enough to seek his revenge that he wasn't able to get while still alive. The pieces were starting to come together. You thought there was no one else to blame, there was no need to. Ruth had been nothing but helpful to you. Still, there was one more question you wanted to ask her. An odd one that made her look at you with a confused expression. "Is Howard buried in town?"

+ + +

You and the boys headed to the cemetery during the usual time when the sky was pitch black and everyone was asleep in this little town. Easy access with no chance of anyone disrupting you form the several laws you were about to break. While you stood over the grave with sore arms from doing your share of digging, the brothers continued with the rest of the work under the light from the small lamp you brought out here. Most of the digging had been in complete silence with the occasional sigh and grunt from shoveling down six feet beneath the earth. You found yourself leaning against your own shovel and drifting to your own thoughts.

Ever since you left Sonny's home, you kept wondering why Dean kept this place a secret for so many years. He wasn't much of a talkative person about his past unless it was for a funny story or if he was feeling particularly vulnerable, which happened rarely for you. Sam was finding himself caught up with his own personal questions. He had been lied to for years about a story that didn't seem like such a big deal just to tell the truth. He wanted to know why his brother kept up this lie for so long. You had a sneaking suspicion there was more to this story than Dean was admitting to, or wanted.

"So...Dad didn't want you to tell me." Sam decided to strike up a conversation when he threw another pile of dirt into the growing one just a few feet from where you stood. His growing curiosity was hard to ignore anymore. Sam decided it was the best time to strike now before all of you headed back home. He needed to know the truth. "How come? was this place really so bad?"

"I don't really remember." Dean said. At first it sounded like another little lie to get himself out from talking about this any further. He felt the need to give you and his brother a peace of mind to keep from dragging this out more than it needed to. "I mean, look, nobody bad touched me. Nobody burned me with their smokes, or beat me with a metal hanger. I call that a win." 

You furrowed your brows slightly from his examples. You peered down into the grave where Dean caught your concerned expression when the both of you made eye contact for a second when he threw another shovel of dirt into the pile. "I'm afraid to ask if anyone actually ever did that to you."

"No." Dean mumbled without much of a thought, hoping you'd drop it. Only the same expression remained on your face as you wondered if he was telling the truth. "No! No, Y/N. No one beat me. I was kidding. Besides, if anyone tried to lay a hand on me back in the day, it'd be the last thing they ever did." 

Sam chuckled when he caught your eye roll at his brother's attitude that hadn't changed much since his teenage years. Dean felt his shovel hit something hard from the thunking sound he heard when trying to dig up another pile of dirt. You leaned over the grave a little more to see the boys had finally found the coffin. Sam did the honors of lifting open the lid to reveal a corpse that was well past the decomposition stage. You grabbed the supplies you needed while the boys made their way out of the grave for you to complete the final step. 

Your favorite part of burning a body was pouring the lighter fluid and salt over the body, a strange cocktail mix you had grown accustomed to doing as your part of the hunt when spirits were involved. The easiest part of a salt and burn while the boys were stuck with the manual labor. You mumbled a thanks to Dean when he handed you a book of matches and his lighter, the last thing you needed to wrap up this hunt. 

"All right." Dean said. "Let's barbecue old McDonland here, get the hell out of Dodge."

You flicked the lighter and watched as a small flame ignited from doing such, allowing you to catch fire to the book of matches. You threw them into the grave when you saw the orange hues grow enough for you to be confident the body would catch fire as well. Like the dozens of times you had done this before, you watched from a safe distance as the corpse quickly burst into flames from the fluid. If you ignored the several laws you were breaking and the smell of human flesh, the fire during a cold night like this was refreshing. You placed your hands over the fire and rubbed your hands together, smiling in amusement when Dean rolled his eyes at your behavior.

+ + +

The next morning you hoped to be back on the road and halfway to the bunker already, instead Dean wanted to stick around for breakfast at some local diner. You were a little bit annoyed at the change of plans he made without telling you or Sam. His brother didn't oppose the idea of having a warm meal for a change. You were tired from being up all night burning the damn corpse, Dean seemed a bit too cheerful. It wasn’t like him. Normally the trick took a few cups of coffee and an hour of being up for him to stop using grunts as forms of words. 

You scanned the menu to see if there was anything decent here you might want. To you, it seemed like every family run diner you’ve been to, and you’ve been to a lot from the years you spent on the road. Dean had a deeper connection to this place, it was the spot where Sonny took him after a month of staying at the farm. A tradition for every boy. For some reason it felt more special to the older Winchester than he realized until coming back here. 

He remembered the conversation shared with the older man over the best pancakes he ever tasted. Both of them discussed things that felt like something Dean should've been able to do with his own father. The littlest of things that were normal for most people, but to Dean, the topic of conversations like how he was doing in school and how he was overall, were strange and new territory. They were the stupidest things that made Dean feel like a teenager for the first time in his life—and not some kid who was forced to watch his brother for weeks at a time. Who spent days worrying if his parental figure was going to make it back alive. Sonny even opened up a bit about himself and the life he had back in the day. 

"Dean, you know I'm fine just grabbing a burger to go somewhere, right?" You turned the menu around to see if there was anything that you wanted, but for some reason you just weren't in the mood for anything offered. "Besides, I wanted to get home sooner than later. I'm tired. I miss my own bed.” 

"What, and miss out on the best banana pancakes you ever had? Come on, sweetheart. Live a little." Dean's infectious behavior didn't seem to rub off on you like he'd hoped. You glanced up from the menu to see his eyes weren't focused on you like you thought, instead they were wandering over to the busy counter. A frown stretched across your lips when you saw him eyeing one of the waitresses. "You can take a nap in the car." 

"Mmhm. I'm sure that's the reason." You muttered to yourself. 

The waitress seemed to be more than just a pretty face that caught Dean’s eye, on the rare occasion that it happened. She appeared to be about your age and overly friendly among her customers, as if she’d been doing this her whole life. After passing by a few tables and checking up on things to make sure everything was all right, she headed her way over to your direction, greeting the three of you with a welcoming smile, pen and pad ready to take your breakfast order. It took you a second to realize Dean must’ve known her from back in the day before he could say something. 

"Hi. Welcome to Cus's.” She greeted all of you. “What can I get you three?"

"Bet you've never thought you'd see me here, huh?" Dean offered the woman a little too friendly of a smile he’d flashed her plenty of times during their teenage years. You remained quiet as you watched the interaction unfold, curious as to how this was going to play out. 

Robin, from what gold name tag pinned to her shirt read, didn't return the overly friendly smile. She merely stared at him, wondering if she was supposed to remember him. "Uh, look, I'm a little bit slammed right now." She said. "Do you guys want to hear the specials?"

"Robin...Dean Winchester." He introduced himself to the woman, hoping it might spark a memory in her. You and Sam looked over at one another for a brief moment from the awkward interaction before focusing your attention back to the unraveling conversation that wasn’t heading in the direction Dean hoped for. "I used to live up at Sonny's farm." 

"Oh, oh. Uh, look, sorry. There's just so many boys that pass through there, it's hard to remember every name and face." Robin apologized for failing to remember someone from well over a decade ago. You bit the inside of your cheek from the way Dean's face immediately dropped in embarrassment from the way he was acting.

"Yeah. Uh, no. Sorry, I just—I remember you coming up there with your mom. She'd give us guitar lessons. It's uh," Dean shifted around in his seat as he told of a memory that you'd never heard of before. You perked up at hearing how Dean learned guitar. He never told you that. You were suddenly intrigued to hear more, curious even more now of how Robin played into all of this. And how well he knew her from the way he was suddenly acting. "It was a long time ago." 

"Yeah. Mom—she loved helping out the boys." Robin said, a small smile crossing her lips at the mention of the woman. You offered one yourself when she looked around at the table, retelling of a fond memory at least shared between the both of them. "I guess that's why I kept giving lessons after she passed." 

The conversation slowly veered into another pause of awkward silence as Robin and Dean's eyes darted back and forth between one another, not sure if full eye contact was appropriate. You bit the inside of your cheek from how the atmosphere was changing. Dean felt as if he'd made a fool of himself, Robin was embarrassed at the fact she didn't remember him. Luckily before things could get worse, Robin heard her name being called by another person on staff, needing help somewhere else. The woman excused herself with a polite smile before dashing off elsewhere. 

“Dude…” 

“Let’s go.” 

Dean didn’t want to waste another second here after a simple conversation nosedived into something mortifying. He didn’t know why he felt like such an idiot. You and Sam followed after the man when he snatched his jacket from the back of his chair and beelined for the door without saying anything else. So much for having those pancakes. 

You slipped on your jacket as you picked up the pace to try and catch up with Dean, wanting to know why he was suddenly acting so upset. You could put the pieces together on your own, but you wanted to be sure what you were about to say was the right thing. And you always liked to dig a little deeper into things that never quite concerned you. It was in your nature. 

"What was that all about?" You asked. Dean rolled his eyes from your pestering, shooting it down with a one worded answer that he hoped would make you drop the conversation once and for all. Of course it didn’t, for it only fueled your curiosity even more. “And don’t tell me it's ‘nothing.’ Because it was obviously something.” 

“Who was that waitress?” Sam questioned his brother, deciding to join in for himself. 

“Is she an ex-girlfriend of yours or something?” You pressed for more when a teasing smile crept on the ends lips at the way Dean stiffened at the mention. “Come on. I’m not jealous.”

"I said it was nothing, Y/N, all right? Drop it."You could tell by the tone of Dean's voice he wasn't in the mood to play this childish game anymore with you. It was your turn to roll your eyes from the way he was acting. You reached out to open up the backseat door as Dean's phone continued ringing. Finally answering it, you heard the familiar name of Sonny come out of the older Winchester's mouth, followed by a reaction from a call that wasn’t to congratulate you on a job well done. "What?!"

+ + +

You and the boys headed back to the farm after hearing the disheartening news of Ruth's strange passing. You thought the case was wrapped up for good, but it seemed the person whom you thought was to blame for all of this was the wrong target. Someone else was to blame. You watched as the coroner's van pulled away with Ruth's body after they took a look around the scene for themselves to figure out what happened. You overheard the hushed conversation among the officers who suspected it was most likely an accidental drowning. She probably fell asleep in the bathtub. While the cause of death might have been correct, their hypothesis of how it happened was wrong. There was nothing accidental about this. 

You crossed your arms tightly over your chest in frustration. Whenever someone else fell victim to the creature you were trying to hunt, it was the worst feeling of all. You let another innocent person die. You had been so sure. Ruth told you herself. She was set on the fact that Howard would get his revenge. And if he was to blame for this, it didn’t make sense of how she died this morning when you burned the man’s bones last night. Someone else was to blame for this. And you needed to find out quickly before another person suffered a terrible fate. 

“I tried to get in to save her, but the damn door wouldn’t open.” Sonny told you the story himself about what happened this morning, finding it all a bit strange from an invisible force that wouldn’t let him in. Sam wondered if it was because the door happened to be locked. A woman must’ve wanted privacy while she took a bath, but locks weren't a privacy the boys on his farm were allowed to have. Which made things even stranger. “There’s no locks on the farm.” 

Dean let out a sigh from the situation that was only growing crappier. “That means our little field trip to the cemetery was a bust.” He muttered. Sonny gave a slightly confused look as to what the hell you were doing there in the first place. He decided it was best not to ask. “Sonny, is there anything else weird you can remember?” 

“What, ‘cause we’re not already chest-deep in weird already, kids?” Sonny asked. 

“I know, I know.” Dean said. “I mean anything—really.” 

“There was one thing.” Sonny suddenly remembered now, feeling it might be important for you to know, and hoping it might help. “Ruth always had her rosary beads with her, but now I can’t find them anywhere.” 

"All right. Let's start with the vics, okay? I mean, both lived in the house. They both worked closely with the boys." Sam listed off a few similarities between Ruth and Jack that might tie in the reason why they were targeted in the first place. It wasn’t much of a solid thread, but you had to admit a small lead was better than nothing. 

“Why don’t Y/N and I go have a chat with the rugrats, see what’s up?” Dean suggested. You nodded your head in agreement. “Play bad cop, worse cop.” 

The both of you headed off to go search around the grounds to see if you might be able to find any of the boys to ask them a few questions. You figured most of them weren't doing their daily responsibilities Sonny gave them from all the commotion that went down earlier. It wasn't hard to find a few boys when you heard a set of voices echoing not too far from where you and Dean were standing, and from how the conversation was unfolding, it was anything but playful banter between friends. 

“Come on, whatcha gonna do about it? You gonna cry?”

“Timmy, you’re such a little weirdo.” 

Dean picked up the pace when he heard a familiar name dropped, making him realize who the two older kids were tormenting. You followed right behind to see the older man come to the rescue of a young boy who was cornered by two older and larger ones, making for an unfair fight to protect himself. Dean shoved the two boys away from who you guessed was Timmy before they could try and inflict anymore harm. 

“Timmy, what’s going on?” Dean asked the young boy, hoping for some kind of answer. The kid remained where he stood, cowering in his spot against the house, as if he was too afraid to speak in front of the bullies. The older man decided he’d get back to the kid in a minute, for now he focused his attention on the others. “All right, you two. Where were you this morning when Ruth had her accident?”

“Unless you’re a cop, we don’t need to tell you anything.” The taller one of the two bullies thought he was funny when he replied with a sarcastic comeback. You chuckled in amusement from how tough the kid thought he was. He was about to be in for a rude awakening. 

“Rude and smart. Well, guess what.” You took it upon yourself to pull out your fake badge from your pocket and flashed it to them, Dean doing the same in a more aggressive fashion when he got dangerously close. As if he was proving a point that he wasn’t fooling around. He was the worst cop in this situation. “Now, since you two obviously love running your mouths, why don't you answer our questions?"

“We weren’t even here this morning. Sonny sent us into town to get some chicken feed—we swear.” The kid said, making sure to add the last part when you gave them both a glaring expression their parents lacked to give from their foul behavior. 

“What about Ruth?” You asked them. “What can you tell us about her?”

“We used to call her the warden.” The shorter, skinner bully answered. “She was a real bible thumping hard-ass.”

“Obviously. What else?” Dean pressed for more information that might be useful. “Anything different or weird you can think of?”

“You mean besides Timmy?” You rolled your eyes when one of the bullies thought it was funny to try and go for a jab when you and Dean were standing right here, you had enough of their juvenile behavior. So did Dean from the reaction they were able to get out of him. 

“Hey. Either one of you touch him again, I’m gonna go all Guantanamo on you. Understand me? Now get the hell out of here.” Dean’s threat made the smile on the bullie’s face quickly drop from how serious he sounded. “Go on! Get!” It didn't take much else for the two boys to go running off somewhere else where they'd be useful. You let out a sigh before turning your attention over to Timmy. The poor kid was able to finally step out from the corner he was backed into and pick up his action figure. Dean made his way over to the kid, wanting to make sure he was all right. "Hey. You and Bruce okay?"

 “Yeah.” Timmy was soft spoken, obviously still shaken up about what just unfolded. 

"I want you and Bruce to meet someone." Dean said. You realized this Burce was the action figure Timmy was holding. You felt a smile grow on your lips at how natural Dean was around Timmy, they must've shared a moment together when you were here last. "This is Y/N. She's helping me find out what's going on around here."

“Very nice to meet you both.” You greeted the kid with a warm smile. You stretched out your hand for Timmy to take it, not expecting much. Most his age either would ignore you or give a limp shake. But the kid did it properly, even better than most. Firm and exactly like how Dean taught him. The older man smiled to himself at how the lesson paid off. 

“Listen to me. I wanna tell you something important.” Dean crouched down so he was at eye level with the kid, wanting to make sure he felt like he was being treated like an equal. Not looked down upon. “Guys like that—they’re cowards, okay? All you got to do is stand up to them one time and they’ll stop, I promise.” 

"You can trust this guy." You reassured Timmy, softly nudging Dean to help further prove his point. "You don't have to be big and strong to defend yourself, kid. All it takes is guts. And I bet you have lots of them." 

Timmy seemed to have started feeling better from the smallest of smiles that crept across his lips at your kind words. You were happy to see the kid was able to brush off the situation and go back to his daily chores. While Dean went to find the rest of the kids, what few of them were left, you decided to head back to the house to help Sam with the files to cut down on time. You needed to find out who was behind this before someone else got hurt. 

As you made your way back to the house, the layout of the farm started to grow a little bit familiar to you, you looked around to see the chaos of this morning was starting to slowly drift away. The boys were getting back to their chores and life picked back up again. You found yourself slowing down to take in more of the sights around this place, how many things that needed to be done in order to keep this place properly running. Not to mention little things around the house that made it personal. For some reason you must've overlooked the wall of awards and trophies hanging by the stairs. 

“Looks like you found our hall of fame.” You turned your head away from examining all the different sorts of awards that ranged from academic achievements to sports trophies from countless boys over the years to see Sonny had spotted you. He came up and stood next to you, looking over the achievements the kids he looked after got. “We had some pretty great athletes come through here, including Dean.” 

“Wait, really?” You followed the direction Sonny’s finger was pointing to find out what Dean had won an award for. You broke out into a smile at learning something else about the man you never would’ve guessed might have been an interest of his. 

“He was Sullivan County hundred and thirty-five pound wresting champion.” Sonny said. 

Hearing the accomplishment Dean was able to make on his own during his stay here made you happy, but at the same time, overwhelmed with sadness. Sonny sounded so proud of the kid for what he was able to do. But all you could think about was how John handled the news. Did Dean ever tell all of his adventures to his father, only to be brushed off as things that were nice—but not logical. It didn't fit the narrative of what John wanted for his boys. The reality of how he thought things needed to be. You were starting to slowly understand why Dean wanted to keep this place a secret, and not his father.

[Next Part]

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[sunflowerhae]

Snowflakes ✧･ﾟ:* ♡ *:･ﾟ✧

♡ requested by @ty0ngf

♡ Mark x gn!reader ft. Jaemin

♡ angst, character death, mentions of holidays but nothing specific

♡a.n// ty for the request, I didn’t do Taeyong, as I have a story coming out for him with angst, sometime this summer. If you would like to be tagged, lmk.

♡Requests are open! Request 🧸here🧸

You wanted to make this work. God, more than anything did you want to make this work.

If you could magically brush away the pain, distrust, and anger in yours and Marks relationship, you would do it with no hesitation. You’ll hear from people that the best way to deal with trauma in a relationship is to face it head on; communication is the key to any functioning couple. It’s not like you didn’t know this, it’s not like you didn’t try. Hell, you even moved halfway across the world to make it work. However, you’re soon coming to realize it might take more than a move and a talk to breathe love back into your comfortable-turned-quiet relationship.

It’s become a challenge for you - a task, one might call it - to try and remember the lasts in your relationship. The last kiss, the last hug, the last movie night, the last ‘i love you’, etc, etc. While it was a sad thing, at least it gave you something to do while your boyfriend ignored you and brushed off your attempted affection.

‘It’s been three weeks since the last time we kissed. Or has it been four? I mean, it wasn’t even a kiss, really. Just a peck on the cheek. I’m sure it’s been four. A month ago, righ-“ The harsh sound of a plastic cup you were washing, banging off the counter and onto the floor, pulled you out of your thoughts. With a sigh, you picked up the cup from its displaced spot on the ground and placed it on the drying rack - not even bothering to wash again. Like many times before, you looked around your cold and silent apartment, lost in space. It seemed that lately your thoughts had been your only best friend, but even those turned sour eventually. Everything in your life, it seemed, turned sour.

Just then, the sound of the door opening and the quick beep that usually followed, filled the empty sounds of your home. You walked out of the kitchen and to the foyer, where Mark had already taken off his shoes, and was hanging his jacket up.

“cold out there?” you asked, startling the blank expression on Marks face.

“I suppose, I got a taxi home.” Shanghai was in the middle of winter now, and the snow that graced the ground around your apartment complex was just as cold as what winter generally felt like to you.

You used to love winter. You loved the snow, and cuddling by the fire. You loved hot chocolate, and sweaters, and holiday movies on hallmark. It was cheesy, but winter really was your favorite season.

Was.

Nothing more was said to you. Mark, not expecting anything else, started his trek to the bedroom, where you assumed he would spend the rest of his night.

“I was thinking,” your voice stopped Mark in his tracks, and he turned around with an expecting look, “maybe...we could watch a movie tonight? I saw they’ll be playing How the Grinch Stole Christmas on hallmark, and I don’t know about you, but i’m craving takeout and I thought we could turn on the fire an-“

“I have work.” your small smile dropped, and Mark said nothing else, but instead turned and continued down the hallway.

It angered you, really.

It was Marks idea to move to Shanghai. He said that what your dying relationship needed was a fresh start; somewhere to heal from what happened. You had agreed then, but now you wished you had just let your relationship go. Then, at least, you could be surrounded by people who love and care about you, and you could heal. But now, you’re in a foreign country where you don’t even speak the language, and you’re alone. Even with Mark, you still truly, really alone.

What hurt the most, out of everything, was that you and Mark never even talked about it. You never even yelled, or fought, or cried together.

You were over it.

Following Mark, you paced into the bedroom to find him sitting on the bed, on his phone. He looked at you when you came in, but didn’t keep his attention on you for long; not until you grabbed the phone out of his hand and threw it onto the bed, next to him.

“Y/n, he-“

“Yell at me.” Mark was confused at your words.

“what?”

“Yell at me, Mark. Scream, cry, get red, do anything instead of pushing me away and pretending that what happened didn’t,” the tears came before you let them, and Mark stood up with wide eyes, “I’m tired of playing house and ignoring it! I’m tired of living somewhere that I don’t even speak the language, I’m tired of being alone! If you don’t love me, if you hate me, then okay, i’ll hate me too, more than I do now. But i’ll let you go! Please, tell me if you hate me and let me go. Let me go home! That way, I can at least try to heal, o-or something! Please!”

Mark stood there, contemplating his next move. The silence felt deafening, but in it you realized something. You’re relationship truly was over. You didn’t know what Mark was going to say, but it didn’t really matter. Even if he didn’t hate you, he certainly didn’t love you. This was it.

“I can’t.” He finally whispered.

“...you can’t what?”

“I can’t...bring myself to hate you. I look at you, every day, and I want to hate you. I want to blame you, and despise you, but I know doing that, will only let me pretend for a little longer that what happened wasn’t my fault. That it wasn’t me who...” He trailed off, keeping his eyes to the ground.

“Mark, you’re not completely to blame. We both played a part in it. And you might not hate me, but you certainly don’t love me. I think we’re past trying to, heal whatever this is.” Mark nodded in agreement, and plopped back onto the bed. You slowly walked to where he was, and took a seat next to him.

“do you believe in heaven?” Mark finally asked after minutes of silence. You knew Mark was religious, but, you had never talked about it before. And right now, you didn’t think that anything you could say would make him feel better, so instead you stared out the window to your left. You stared at the snowflakes softly hitting the ground, and as the tears continued to flow, you finally let yourself remember that night.

One Year Ago.

Mark was pissing you off. It wasn’t anything new, but it didn’t mean it bothered you any less. You loved the holidays, and the thing that you loved the most about it, was holiday parties. Something about a group of loved ones gathered in good spirits to celebrate each other, really made you giddy. This one in particular was great, because it was an ugly sweater party, and as a gag gift for your third anniversary, you got Mark and yourself matching ugly sweaters. They were to die for, he had a bright red “ketchup” sweater, and yours was a piss yellow “mustard”. You were so excited to show them off - Mark, however, not so much.

“I just don’t understand why you’re so upset about it!” Another sigh came from your mouth as you continued to stare out the car window and to the snow filled streets. The weather was particularly bad this time of year, and you couldn’t even see anything besides the road in front of you and the hazy glow from street lights. It would make someone nervous, had they not grown up around it like you had.

“I’m upset, because I bought ugly sweaters and it’s an ugly sweater party! I don’t get why you’re so embarrassed!” You reasoned with Mark, who refused to wear his ketchup sweater, opting instead for a normal patterned one.

“I don’t even like ketchup! Why’d you give that one to me?”

“Because it’s funny! Right Jaemin?” You turned to look at your friend who currently occupied the backseat of your car. Mark and you only lived across the street from Jaemin, so it made sense to carpool to a party you were all attending. Jaemin, however, began to regret it when you and Mark began to argue.

“No, no, no, don’t bring him into this! Keep my friends out of our business!” You huffed Marks way with an eyeroll as you situated yourself back into your seat.

“Our friends” You corrected Mark under your breath.

“what?”

“I said OUR friends. I hate when you gatekeep the guys.” It was Marks turn to roll his eyes.

“I’m not gatekeeping, i’m just saying.”

“saying what?”

“Well, I mean look at it like this - if we broke up, I would get the guys.”

You looked at Mark in surprise, and even Jaemin could tell this wouldn’t end well.

“If we broke up, huh? You think we’ll break up?”

“What? No-“

“-Over ugly sweaters -“

“ -Y/n, what are you talking about no -“ Mark turned to look at you, as you both started talking over the other in the stupidest fight Jaemin had ever encountered. He could tell one of you struck a chord with the other, and he looked on in horror as he saw what was about to happen while the two of you fought.

Mark had swerved just a bit, he promised up and down that he only took his eyes off the road for maybe a couple seconds. Unfortunately, that’s all the time it needed.

“MARK, WATCH OUT-“

The car had been T-boned on the drivers side, right where Jaemin had been sitting.

He never stood a chance.

You dragged your eyes away from the snow, trying again to forget, and to the side of your partners face, where you found that he was already looking at you with tears forming in his eyes. Wordlessly, you pulled him into a hug, and let his sobs stain your shoulder as yours did his.

Mark was running. He was running from Jaemins death, someone younger than him who had so much life left to live. He was running from dealing with the truth that he was somewhat to blame, and more importantly - Mark was running from what you thought of him. He didn’t want to know, he wanted to pretend that you two hated each other, so that it would be easier to let go.

But you were right, it wasn’t just him that killed Jaemin, and it wasn’t just you. The sooner you two learned that, the sooner you could begin to move on. It wouldn’t be easy, and you know at this point that the most you could get out of Mark is a friendship through shared trauma, but that was okay with you. You were tired of fighting, and tired of wanting to make this work. You just wanted to move on, god, did you want to move on.

[musinglymuse]

This recommendation list focuses on the main pairing, the hottest couple in Check Please: Eric “Bitty” Bittle and Jack Zimmerman or more affectionately known as Zimbits. They’ve come a long way since the beginning of Check Please!

I’ve compiled some of what I consider excellent fanfics that feature this couple although it does not contain all of my recommendations. They are in no particular order. I plan on creating more recommendation lists down the line, especially for other pairings in this fandom.

As a reminder, please make sure to check the tags and any warnings before reading. Take care of yourself!

Hold It All At Bay by psocoptera Psychic Bond AU // ~50k // R

The theory of extrapolative synchronization of the mirror neurons was debunked back when he was still in his teens, so Jack is reluctant to mention that he can smell Bitty's pies baking from across campus.

Easy P-Z by ebjameston HGTV AU // ~21k // PG-13

Jack and Kent are the ridiculously handsome house-renovating married retired hockey players that’ve been making HGTV an absolutely stupid amount of money with their new show.

And Eric Bittle just got hired to be their show’s caterer.

Eric Bittle, NBC 10 by foryouandbits Journalist AU // ~82k // NC-17

In 2009, Jack Zimmermann was drafted 2nd overall to the Providence Falconers. After a tumultuous first season in the minors, Jack returns to the NHL and is named captain within a year. Known to the media as the "hockey robot," no one seems to be able to break through the polite barrier that Jack has built — no one until Eric Bittle, newest intern at NBC 10. Bitty, interning as a requirement for his journalism degree at nearby Samwell University, forms an instant connection with Jack. Throughout the rest of the season, and the rest of Bitty's junior year at Samwell, the two grow closer while learning how to both trust each other and succeed in their respective careers.

What I want to feel, I want to feel it now by RabbitRunnah Bakery AU // ~28k // PG-13

Eric Bittle knows the way his life is supposed to go: According to an old family curse, the love of his life will take one bite of his famous apple pie and fall madly in love with him. And they'll live happily ever after.

There's only one problem: Jack Zimmermann doesn't like pie.

Back to You by PorcupineGirl Canon Divergence // ~15k // PG-13

When Jack kissed him at graduation over a year and a half ago, Eric had been too shocked to really think about what it might mean, long-term. They'd talked constantly over the next six weeks, enough for him to feel confident that Jack felt the same way he did, and to start to imagine what those far-off futures might look like together.

And then Jack came to Madison for the Fourth of July, and Eric made the stupidest mistake of his life: He let himself and Jack talk themselves out of it.

he will take you by hockeydyke Camp Counselor AU // ~55k // PG-13

Jack Zimmermann has been a part of Camp Samwell for the majority of his life-- first as a camper when his parents spent summers in nearby at a lake house in scenic upstate New York, then as a counselor, and now as the program director of the entire camp. The problem now is that the camp is attracting bad luck left and right, and they’re losing campers and staff at an alarming rate. Enter Eric Bittle, Jack’s new co-director. He’s young, enthusiastic, and maybe he’ll have what it takes to get the situation turned around.

Unfortunately, something powerful is in control of Camp Samwell, and it wants Bitty to get out.

<lj-cut text="you see who I am and what I did"> by tomato_greens Rock Band AU // ~11k // PG-13

Rolling Stone

No Jack Zimmermann Is An Island by Jennifer S. Harada

After avoiding me for a week, Jack Zimmermann calls to ask me to meet him at a bakery. Or maybe a diner; he’s not sure what to call it. A brunch place, although they make great pies, too.

“Sure,” I say, “whatever you want, Mr. Zimmermann.”

“Jack,” says Zimmermann. His voice is higher than I expect it to be, and his Québécois accent more pronounced. “I’ll see you there.”

someone to count on (and other cheesy idioms about finding your soulmate) by heyfightme & omgpieplease Soulmate AU // ~9k // PG-13

Eric’s counter reads 1. That’s all. Just 1. He’s eighteen years old, has not left the state of Georgia in his entire life, and his counter reads 1.

He has spent many mindless afternoons and worn out many pens in tracing it over into a 0. If the counter did read 0, the morning wouldn’t be looming like the black rainclouds that Mama used to call “omens.”

Eric is leaving for college in the morning. When he passes the state line from Georgia to North Carolina in the passenger seat of his Mama’s sedan, he’ll also be passing the last chance he has for the counter to make it to 2.

Calendar Boy by darter_blue Canon Divergence // ~15k // R

It was supposed to be totally innocent. A friend of Lardo’s was putting together a little project, compiling a calendar of some of the openly gay athletes on campus, fundraising for the LGBTQ+ community outreach programs at Samwell.

Bitty hadn't really even been reluctant. Excited about the prospect of a fun photo shoot and a chance to dress up a bit, do something glamorous.

And he thinks it's a great photo (if not a bit more revealing than what he was expecting…). And when the calendar comes out it’s nerve racking but exciting. Until one by one the team finds a copy (Jack may be hiding one under his mattress), and then it's pandemonium.

is it too late now to say sorry by magneticwave AU // ~5K // PG-13

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS, Eric types furiously into Twitter. THIS IS LIKE RENAMING LAKE WOEBEGONE “LAKE SCOTT WALKER.” // Or, the only person in the entirety of Canada who is upset about Jack Zimmermann’s first Stanley Cup is Eric Bittle, and by God is every single one of Eric’s 160,000 Twitter followers going to hear about it.

I Can Feel the Storm Inside You by Effyeahzimbits AU // ~15k // NC-17

Life is going good for Eric Bittle. It's summer, he has an exciting new job with the Providence Falconers, he's in a club celebrating with his friends, and he currently has a Canadian Adonis grinding up against his ass. Life is good.

Until said Canadian Adonis flees the morning after some mind-blowing sex, leaving behind a rubbish note. Bitty tries hard to forget about him and his huge, pert ass and focus on his new job, but then Canadian Adonis and the Falc's grumpy, anti-social captain turn out to be one and the same. And Bitty really couldn't forget about that huge, pert ass.

three words that became hard to say by the_one_that_fell Canon Divergence // Series // ~35k // R

Ten years after Samwell, Eric Bittle and Jack Zimmermann find each other again.

Flight Check by edgarallanrose Flight Attendant AU // ~15k // NC-17

Flight attendant Eric “Bitty” Bittle has been working his way up at Samwell Airlines for the past four years, and his new promotion has provided him the opportunity to work with a brand-new crew. Unfortunately for Bitty, that crew includes an incredibly handsome but equally grumpy pilot, Captain Jack Zimmermann, who seems to want nothing to do with Bitty. Even worse, Jack refuses to eat any of Bitty's baked goods. Will Bitty be able to win the captain over? Or is there another reason Jack has been avoiding Bitty?

Bits of Heaven by WrathoftheStag Older / Bakery AU // ~22k // R

At age 44, NHL legend, Jack Zimmermann, knows three things for sure: retirement is boring, love is probably not in the cards for him, and his aging father makes a pretty good roommate. When the bakery "Bits of Heaven" opens up down the street, Jack finds that a happily ever after is possible—even late in the game.

A Tolerance for Pain by uniqueinalltheworld Soulmate AU // ~3k // R

It makes sense, his mother tells him when he's nine: Jack's such a physical person, of course his indicator would be his soulmate's pain. Jack doesn't have anything to say about it, really, he just scowls and winces as his soulmate falls down again. Alicia Zimmermann, whose heterochromia reversed itself upon laying eyes on Bob for the first time, because she’s more passionate about visual media, pats him on the shoulder with a completely insufficient amount of sympathy. Jack's backside is sore for months as the falls keep happening, and he can only think that somewhere, his soulmate must be learning how to skate.

[katherinewilliams221b]

For A Greater Good 7/18

gif not mine just the text

Summary: Kate Williams, young healer and member of the Order, joins Durmstrang's staff at Dumbledore's request. Her mission? Find a Death Eater and survive long enough to tell the story. Set in 1996.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[Part 6]

--

Charlie adjusted the collar of his shirt while staring at his reflection in the bathroom’s mirror. Poking his head out of the door that connected to the bedroom, he checked the clock and hurried back into the bathroom to dry his hands with a towel.

He heard a soft bell coming his way and found Grimoire, Kate’s beloved cat, by his feet.

“I know, I know. I still have a few minutes…”

Grimoire hissed in disappointment and disappeared again.

Charlie cleaned the remains of the shaving cream that were left on his jaw and nodded at his work before heading to the fireplace in the living room, where Grimoire was pacing.

He chuckled at the invisible circles that the cat was making. 

With the floo powder in hand, he kneeled next to Grimoire and tried to concentrate on the words that Kate indicated him to say.

Durmstrang’s chimneys were not connected to their home in Romania, but she said to give her two weeks and, in that time, true to her words, found a way to connect them.

“Doorm-strang.” He pronounced, throwing the powder to the logs. The green flames appeared, and he waited for her face to pop out of them.

He rubbed his suddenly sweating hands on his thighs while staring impatiently at the fire. Grimoire had time to spin several times around him, making him consider locking the tedious animal inside his closet. Giving it a second thought, the idea of having to deal with him after that seemed equally, and even more horrible.

“Hey, you” Kate’s voice dragged him back to reality.

He knew he had the stupidest grin all over his face and prayed for the green fire to distortion it a bit. He observed her features: her forehead, her nose, her impossibly long eyelashes, those thin but very well-shaped lips, back again to her moderately thick eyebrows and the gorgeous honey eyes that gazed at him. He couldn’t see her ears, or her neck, probably covered in all of those tangled waves he loved spending hours combing with his fingers. 

His eyes darted back to her lips, now moving again, but he couldn’t identify what they said.

“Charlie? Is there something wrong with your side of the floo? Can you hear me?”

The crinkle between her eyes formed like many times before, and he smiled at it.

“I can hear you, love, loud and clear.”

“How have you been? How are you?” Not even the flames could hide the concern.

“I’ve been better. It’s ah... somehow more difficult being away after living together than... you know.”

He heard how she shifted in her place and tried to get more comfortable.

“I know…”

“I have been busy, though, working, writing, I did some cooking, but it’s infinitely more satisfying doing that for two rather than one.”

Her face lit up with the flames and expanded a little as she leaned in. If he concentrated enough, he could imagine that she got closer to him.

“Did you finish your papers?”

“Not yet, the text is there in my nightstand and I stare at it daily, waiting for it to write itself. Wait, someone wants to see you.”

Kate chuckled, and the flames danced around her when she shook her head.

“That’s not writing.”

“It’s not? Well, maybe I’ll have to plan another strategy, then.” He said equally amused. He lifted Grimoire to the fire level, and the cat mewled in delight, seeing his master for the first time in months. He mewled again, and Charlie had the impression he was telling her his version of the story.

“Hello, Grimoire, is that ginger over there being rude to you? Want me to give him a lesson?”

Charlie huffed and practically threw Grimoire out of his arms, before brushing the hairs out of his sleeves.

“Bloody demon, that poor excuse of a cat of yours.”

“What happened? You’ve never had problems before?” She said with a chuckle.

“It appears we are a tad territorial with your things. I wanted to sleep on your side of the bed these days, and I tried to trick him and put your favourite blanket on the couch, but he won’t have it. He always returns and curls up in your pillow, mocking me.”

“I miss you both, too.”

The light atmosphere evaporated and was replaced by a way too familiar sadness. They had walked this road before, and yet it seemed that it would never end.

Kate gave a sharp inhalation, holding back something that could have been words, tears or both. 

“How did you, ah... get rid of the smoke? Of the fire you said…” Charlie cleared his throat, holding back something that could have been words, tears or both.

“I’m holding my wand up the chimney, vanishing it. Do you know how hard it is to practise ‘evanesco’ on actual smoke?” She chuckled, barely believing how she managed to perfect the spell in just two weeks. “What’s the physical form of... smoke? I have no idea.”

She was just rambling, now. Not wanting to end the conversation, but guilty about not having anything to talk about, or better said, anything safe to talk about.

Charlie puffed out a disbelieving and proud huff at her brightness, and out of pure instinct he stretched his arm to caress her face, immediately regretting his dumb behaviour.

Kate grinned when he brought his fingertip to his mouth to soothe the pain.

“I see some things don’t change, then. Always attracted to the fire.”

Catching her eyes, he was captivated by their sudden shimmer that had nothing to do with the floo powder.

“I like the warm feeling of it.” he whispered.

“You want to be cautious; you might burn.” her voice sounding equally low, and in the silence of the night, it resembled a purr. But it might have been the floo interferences. He chose his words very carefully, selected them to have the desired effect.

“I would happily let the flames consume me.”

Grimoire’s angry hiss covered Kate’s shuddering breath, and she thanked Merlin when Charlie turned around at the cat and didn’t see her face.

She looked up, probably checking her spell, and then behind her before focusing on Charlie again.

“You must go already?” He intended to sound as disappointed as he felt, selfishly wanting her to stay at least one more minute.

“I have a bit of time. There’s plenty of healers here, and night-shifts are relaxed. They will survive without me. Now tell me, are you putting on enough sunscreen?”

Charlie’s entire face brightened at the question and proceeded to tell her the amount of work he’d been putting on the sanctuary.

“Some of my teammates have been asking about you, you know?”

“Really? What did you tell them?”

“That you were on a trip around Europe. I don’t think they believe that. They think we broke up.”

“Stick to the Europe story. It’s pretty accurate, anyway. By the way, are you familiar with the book... uh... The Tales of Beedle the Bard?” Her voice above a whisper.

Charlie was taken aback by the question and answered full of curiosity.

“Sure thing, love. Mum used to read it to us when we were kids. Why the sudden urge to read bedtime stories?”

“Someone recommended it...”

“Wait... you’ve never read it? It’s very famous.”

“I don’t remember there being any children’s stories in my house. Arithmancy books, yes.” As the conversation came to a halt, Kate settled down on the floor, adjusting her arm.

“I hope you’ve been watering my plants...” she threatened after she settled.

“Each and every one.”

“And have you been moving Ypsilon? He likes the sun at all times, otherwise his leaves close up and then he gets mad at me.”

“Plants can’t get angry, Katie,” he let out with a laugh, “and yes, every day; in the morning I put him by the window with white curtains and in the evening on the chairs on the other side.”

“That they can’t get angry, he says. You paid little attention in herbology and it shows.”

“You left me an endless list of instructions for each pot and I’m following them to the letter. If you think I’m not doing a good job, come home and see for yourself.”

The smirk that had planted itself on her face deflated to leave only a sad smile.

“I would love to...”

Charlie’s expression suddenly darkened. He adjusted on the carpet to be more comfortable, but Kate noticed the agitation.  She gave him time to say what he had to say and after a long sigh he spoke again.

“Katie, you’ve been receiving letters... letters from your father.”

“Have you opened them?”

“Of course not. But there’s three of them now…”

“But... Oh, shit.” Charlie frowned and leaned into the fire. “A few weeks ago someone from the ministry came looking for Igor Karkarov,” Charlie’s eyes opened like plates “He must have recognised me. I know he was from my father’s department.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Me? Nothing. Well, my job. The important thing is what you do. Open the letters. Probably he’s just asking why I don’t respond. Send an owl saying I have a lot of work.”

“What if he comes here?” Kate snorted.

“Joseph Williams? Getting his trousers dirty to go to a cabin? Don’t worry, he won’t bother.”

“I’m worried, Kate. What if something happened?”

“All the more reason to read them. Don’t tell me anything, don’t send me anything, I don’t want to know anything. The less traceable, the better.”

“Katie, we’ve been sending each other letters for over a month.”

“I know...” They were silent for a few moments, listening to the crackling of the flames. Kate adjusted her arm again, moving the fire, and inhaled to speak.

“Don’t tell me we should stop because I’ll have a heart attack,” Charlie rushed before she could say anything.

“No, it’s just... things can get ugly real fast and I don’t... I don’t want them to get to you.”

“I’m not the one who can’t go home. Besides, if someone intercepts our letters, what will they find? Dumb words of love?”  He managed to get a laugh out of her for the first time in two months.

“Hey! They’re not dumb!” Charlie rested his head on the palm of his hand. “No, they’re not...”

“One question.” Charlie started out of nowhere, “What do you know about giants?” Kate arched her eyebrows before pursing her lips, pensive.

“They’re usually big...”

“Yes, thank you very much. You remember that Hagrid…”

“Yes.”

“Dumbledore asked me to fix it...”

“No. Absolutely not. No way...”

“Katie, I already went.”

“Damn you, Charles! Giants, are you mad?” She looked behind her shoulder and murmured, “What were you thinking?”

“About you, and on how useless I was feeling by keeping a low profile.” She tsked and shook her head. “It didn’t go well, but it was worth a try.”

“What made you think it would work, if Hagrid failed?”

“My charm.” He threw a proud smirk at her, trying to tease her a bit. She shook her head again, this time trying to keep the corners of her mouth from curving.

“Are you all right?” She asked in a completely different tone.

“A little bruised, but fine. Though I would have preferred you being the one who healed me.”

“Sweet talker.” She accused. He flashed her a grin again, attempting to make her forget his little adventure.

“So they’re on His side, irrevocably, right?” Charlie slowly nodded.

Asking her to wait, he reached for the flu-powder bowl, and threw a handful into the fire, rekindling the green flames.

He looked at her again, without saying anything. The fire was the only thing that lit up the little room in his home, and if he concentrated enough, he could imagine that she was there with him; reading or writing, both of them in silence, enjoying a quiet night.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered.

“Nothing, just looking at you. Lovely views.”

Kate’s face contorted in worry all of a sudden. She ordered him to be quiet with her finger against her lips and turned around. He saw the back of her head for one solid minute before she faced him again.

“Someone’s outside,” she whispered, “I need to go now. I promise we’ll talk like this again.”

“Katie... Kate!” She looked at him with fear of being caught and with a pointed look, hurried him to talk.

“I love you.”

She softened, and a hint of a sad smile appeared on her face. He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath.

I love you, too

He barely heard her, but her lips didn’t move at all, and he had to blink several times to register what was happening. It felt like she was there, right next to him, and in his head, and everywhere.

“How…”

“A connection. An unbreakable bond lets the mind do wonderful things. And the vanishing spell isn't the only thing I've been practising.” She checked her back again and returned to him once more before grinning. “You look handsome, by the way, as always.”

And with a wink and a smile she left him staring at the now cooling logs, touching his recently shaved face and with a devastated expression that would stay with him for the next months.

“Thanks…” he whispered into the night.

She glanced around to make her eyes adjust to the darkness and picked up the heavy skirts of her uniform so that she could stand up. Groping around, she approached headmistress Rhode’s desk and opened the top drawer. Feeling only papers and parchment, she closed it and opened the next.

 Kate made the remaining smoke disappear quickly, as well as the burned logs. She raised her hand to her necklace and then pressed it against stomach, thinking that perhaps, if she put enough pressure, she would make the horrible feeling in her body disappear.

Something cold touched her hand. Bingo.

She lifted the bottle and extended her arms before pressing the valve at the end of the tube. The characteristic smell of the headmistress’ office flooded the room, making all traces of the smoke disappear.

She grimaced at the new fragrance and quickly returned the bottle to the drawer. Just as she was closing it, a new set of voices echoed through the door.

She stood very still, at first, hearing them closer and clearer.

She hurried to her feet, and at her haste, the corner of the desk collided with her hip. Taking her hand to her mouth, she pressed her eyes so hard that she began to see stars.

When the pain became tolerable, she went on her way to the door and bent over the doorknob. Moving the flap that covered the lock, she dared to look.

“You can’t get very far, Marek.”

She could make out Libor Marek’s legs, limping rapidly out of reach of his pursuer. Another pair of legs appeared beside him and Marek halted.

“You’re a lunatic. All those weird herbs of yours can’t be doing you any good.” He lowered the volume of his voice as he stood in front of the door, yet the irritation was evident in his tone.

“I’m only going to ask you once...”

“You mean, ‘once more’...”

“I’m just saying, if you need painkillers for your leg, don’t steal ingredients. You can ask for them. I didn’t say anything the first time, but it’s getting repetitive.”

“Don’t get amiable with me, Jorgensen. I didn’t take anything from your stinking office. Maybe you should ask yourself who decided that poisoning teachers is the order of the day in entertainment.”

“Well, that would be perfect, wouldn’t it? You’d kill two birds with one stone. You never liked her."

Marek didn’t respond. His legs turned away from the potion teacher. Although he said one last sentence, Kate could only make out the word “cretin”.

Jorgensen stood in front of the door before turning around and walking away in the opposite direction.

Kate let out a long sigh and squeezed her wand more tightly. With a grimace, she lifted the latch of the door and pulled. She tiptoed out of the room, trying to avoid the heels of her boots to touch the floor, and slipped through the shadows. To the rest of the world, she had never been there.

She walked through the halls calmly and quietly. The floating candlesticks barely lit the way, enough to keep from tripping.

Darkness had never been a problem for her. In fact, it was preferable. Everything was different; the people seemed good, the problems insignificant, and the world was at peace.

However, everything was out of the ordinary now. Even the night could not avoid that feeling of being watched. There weren’t too many pictures on the walls, but if the stone had eyes, Kate was sure it would squint as she walked.

I’m not very good at this spy stuff, she thought. Suddenly the question she had asked Astrid Rhode on her first day echoed in her mind.

Why me?

I’d never get a clear answer from Dumbledore, that was clear. She could only resign herself to accepting her mission.

Before entering the infirmary, she sniffed the inside of her elbow and shirt collar, and when she saw that Astrid’s potion to eliminate odours had worked, she plastered her healing face on and opened the hospital wing’s doors.

 With the events of the past two weeks related to the herbology professor in mind, she went over to Flavia Hodges’ bed to review her status report. Just a few days before, Flavia suffered another accident; she rolled down the stairs in, what appeared to be, a moment of distraction on her part.

Poisoning. Unknown. Possible Weedosoros. (Symptoms: convulsions, foaming at mouth) - Antidote for common poisons. Effective.

Anxiety attack. - Calming draught. Effective.

Hip fracture- 3-4 days, Skele-gro. Effective.

Looking up from the paper, she observed how the teacher moved in a restless sleep. As she approached to blow out the candle on her bedside table, a hand grabbed her tightly at the wrist.

Professor Hodges took a deep breath; her eyes were wide open, and they looked at Kate with a horrified expression. With her free hand she gestured frantically, and her mouth opened and closed, trying to pronounce the words she so desperately wanted to convey.

“Professor Hodges, breathe with me.” Kate tried to get Flavia to compose herself, but she was getting more and more agitated.

Some sounds came out of her mouth, and Kate sat down on the bed.

“What do you want to tell me?” She put her hand on her forehead and didn’t need a thermometer to know that her temperature was not normal.

“I need help! Fever-reducing potion and... and more antidote!” She screamed over her shoulder, not caring if she woke up other patients.

Two mediwizards rushed to the cabinets to provide the necessary potions. Kate reached out her hand that wasn’t being squeezed by the teacher and flew a cloth hanging from a chair on the other side of the room.

“Aguamenti.” She mumbled. The cloth became wet in her hand, causing several drops of water to travel to her elbow. She placed the cloth on the teacher’s forehead, who winced at the contact.

The promised potions arrived quickly, and the three mediwizards set about healing their patient. Flavia resisted, squirming and holding Kate tighter and tighter.

“Ig...” She put her index finger just below her eye for a second before dropping her hand.

“You saw something. What did you see?” Kate insisted.

“Ig... ov...”

“I’ll give you what’s left of the calming draught.” Kate heard her partner say.

“There’s nothing left but that?”

“Don’t give her anything yet!” Kate interrupted. “Professor. Professor Hodges. Look at me. Do you mean that...”

Before she could finish the question, one of her companions raised Flavia’s head and made her drink from the bottle of the potion that would take effect in a few seconds.

Kate stood up and as she watched Flavia Hodges go into a deep sleep, two dots connected in her mind. It was possible, and almost certain, that Professor Hodges had had an encounter with the Death Eater Igor Karkarov, and that he was roaming the castle at that very moment.

--

[Part 8]

A/N. I took the liberty of writing the floo net system as I pleased. Did it sound like they were facetiming? Perhaps

[onlyyyariii]

Death note 2

*******

“Light wait for me!” I say, running up to my best friend and jumping on his back.

“Ow, Chi you are a lot heavier than you look.”

I gasp and jump off, “That’s not funny Light Yagami!”

“Sorry,” he sends me a small glance with a little smile before leaning over and kissing my forehead.

I blush a deep red and look down at the ground, “Are you going to headquarters today?”

“Yeah, Ryuga wanted to go over some more things.”

“Ryuga? Is that another alias of his?”

“Yes, L has quite a few. If only we could learn his real name...”

I glance up at him, confused, “Why would it matter? Neither of us are Kira, plus I think it’s smart that he chooses to use an alias.”

“Chinami, it’s not about being Kira. If he completely trusts me than he should have no problem whatsoever with me knowing his real name.”

“Light, Ryuzaki is just being careful. No one else on the task force knows his real name. I think using an alias would be the best way to go, I know with being a very valuable detective and all, I would use an alias too, if I were in the same situation that is.”

He looks very taken aback, “Who’s side are you on in this Chi? I’ve been your best friend for years and you just met this guy a week ago. You two haven’t spoken a word to one another besides that one day and now all of a sudden you’re in love with the guy!

I gasp and cover my face, I am not in love with Ryuzaki! How could he say such an outrageous thing?

“I am not in love with Ryuzaki! Why would you say something stupid like that you big oaf?!” I yell, slapping his shoulder many times.

“You wouldn’t be acting like this if I said you were in love with Matsuda.”

“I’m not ‘in love’ with anyone! You know you’re such a jerk sometimes! I’m going back to my place. I’ll see you at headquarters.”

As I run the opposite way we were walking I hear Light shouting from behind me, “Chinami, you don’t even know if you’re allowed to be there!”

Once I arrive at my apartment, I run in and shut the door behind me. I’m seventeen and living on my own. My mother was killed in a car accident when I was a baby and my father left for America a few years ago. He told me not to worry, he’d be back. When I came home from school the next day, he was gone. I’ve been on my own since I was twelve. There’s no problem with it, I can take care of myself. I get a check every month that is supposed from my father but I don’t buy it. I don’t think he’s actually sending the money. But the money pays for the rent and all the utilities. I have some left over to buy food and after that a little for myself. I used to use it to buy clothes and things but I’ve been saving it.

“Stupid, stupid Light. He always says the stupidest things. I am not in love with Ryuzaki! I just met him. Of course I could hold a conversation with him but what would say if I did? I’d just make a fool out of myself.”

I walk into my bathroom intending to take a shower. I glance at the clock on my desk, 5:37 pm. Perfect. I have about half an hour to get ready before jumping on a bus to headquarters. I smile and proceed with my shower. I make sure to clean everywhere and shave. When I get out of the shower I smile at my reflection. Having self care days are what allow me to feel good about myself all of the time. Feeling good about myself, is my key to happy living. Especially when I’m by myself most of the time.

I get dressed in my usual black dress and stockings and I’m off to catch the 6:15 bus to headquarters. I smile at the driver as the bus doors open.

“Here’s my pass sir.”

“Thank you miss. You may sit anywhere you’d like.”

“Thank you sir.”

I sit in one of the front seats seeing as my drop off is one of the first ones. It takes about twenty minutes to get there. Once the bus arrives I stand up, ready to make my departure.

I turn towards the driver before stepping off the last step, “Thank you for the ride sir.”

“Of course, have a nice night young lady.”

“You too sir! Don’t push yourself too hard.”

I smile and wave as the bus driver pulls away. Turning around, I smile at the building before walking up to the doors. I pull on one of the handles but the door stays closed. Huh? I pull on it again, it doesn’t budge. I push and once again, no movement. I glance inside and notice an old man walking past the door.

“Hey! Hey wait! Sir could you let me in?” I knock on the door twice to get his attention.

He glances up at me, and walks towards the door. As he opens it, he speaks to me, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else was supposed to be showing up tonight.”

“No no it’s quite alright. Is Light inside?”

“Yes, but-“

“How rude of me! I’m sorry I never properly introduced myself. I’m Chinami Misora, and you are?”

He glances at me, “Watari.”

“Well it’s very nice to meet you Watari. I’m actually looking for the Kira Task Force. Would you happen to know where they are?”

“Why, yes. I could take you to them.”

“I would very much appreciate that.”

I follow the old man down a set of hallways.

“You shouldn’t introduce yourself to everybody. Real names and faces are dangerous right now.”

I glance at the man, “Huh?”

“Kira, he needs a name and a face. That’s all. They figured that out last meeting. I just want you to be careful. You seem like such a nice girl.”

“Thank you very much Watari. Are you saying I should use an alias?”

“I wouldn’t say a complete alias. A shortened version of your name will do.”

“Chi? Hm Chi Misoni?”

I hear him hum, I suppose that’s a sound of approval.

“Chi?”

“Yes Watari?”

“Would you help me with this tray of sweets?”

I turn towards the man to see him grabbing a tray off of a cart. The tray has many chocolate covered strawberries along with cupcakes on it.

“Are those for Ryuzaki?”

He nods his head.

“Could I- could I try one?”

“Of course.”

I smile and grab a strawberry from the corner of the tray. As I bite the tip of the strawberry a mixture of sweet chocolate and strawberry juice fills my mouth. Strawberries just so happen to be my absolute favorite.

“Mmm these are really good. I think Ryuzaki will love them.”

“Yes, he does have a particular taste for strawberries.”

“So do I! They’re my favorite.”

I see Watari form a small smile, “Alright let’s bring these to L.”

We walk down a few more hallways before Watari opens a door. I peek around him to see Light, L, Chief Yagami, Matsuda, Aizawa, and a few others from the task force.

“Ryuzaki, you have a visitor.” Watari says, stopping.

“Huh?” Ryuzaki turns to look as us, “Oh hello, you’re back.”

“Um,” I walk towards L and set the tray of strawberries in front of him, “These are for you. Watari said to bring them to you.”

He looks up at me and gives me a small smile, “Yes thank you, I quite enjoy strawberries.”

“Chinami! What are you doing here? I told you that you weren’t allowed to come!” Light says, pushing me away from L and standing between us.

“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude I just-“

“Light,” starts Ryuzaki, “move aside please.”

Light looks behind him at Ryuzaki and glares but steps aside none the less.

“Chinami, come closer.”

I take a deep breath and step towards L, “Yes Ryuzaki?”

“What do you think about the Kira case? I’d love to see how you feel about this whole thing. I will stay here and go over the notes that we have with you. Than I will ask you for your thoughts and I want you to be honest about everything.”

I nod my head and give him a small smile.

“Alright, Matsuda grab a chair for her, you are all dismissed. You may all go home.”

“No way!”

I turn around to look at Light.

“No way in hell am I letting her stay here with you Ryuzaki! For all I know you’ll question her about me and then she’ll feel uncomfortable here. I don’t trust you with her.”

“Light I’ll be fine, Ryuzaki doesn’t scare me. I promise I’ll be okay.” I say, walking up to Light and hugging him. As I move away I feel him kiss my forehead.

“Are you sure? I’ll stay I don’t-“

“No Light, I’ll be fine,” I lean up to kiss his cheek, “thank you though.”

I see a light blush form on his cheeks. He nods and let’s go of me. Most of the other team members have left. I wave to Light and his father as they walk out. Turning back to L, I find him already looking at me.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I say, hurrying to sit in the chair beside him.

“No need to apologize, I was just thinking.”

“Thinking? About what?”

“Your relationship with Light. Is he usually like this? Very protective of you. How deep are your feelings for each other?”

“Oh,” I glance at the floor, my face turning a bright red, “um Light is just my best friend. I did sort of have a crush on him a while ago but I don’t feel anything like that anymore. I’m not sure about Light though, every time I say your name he gets mad at me and-“

“You two talk about me?”

I look up, my cheeks even hotter, “No that’s not what I meant! I-“

“Hey,” he touches my chin, “that’s alright. Calm down. How about we begin going over the case?”

“Mhm.”

I see Watari smile out of the corner of my eye.

“Um L?”

He turns his head towards me, “Yes?”

“Can I- can I have one of the strawberries? I’m sorry to ask but they are my favorite treat.”

I look over at rhe half eaten tray and wonder when he ate all of those. He smiles before picking one up and handing it to me.

“Thank you.” I say, sucking on the chocolate.

“Alright, so about Kira...”

*******

This is part two of my little DeathNote series. I wanted to let you guys know that I will be writing the twins still but I’m taking a little break seeing as they have announced their “retirement” so to speak of posting YouTube videos.

Taglist: @grantzarrr @dolan-habits @blindedbythelightt

[ateez-ly]

As Always

For challenge 4 of the @daybreakx writing challenge || challenge 1 | challenge 2 | challenge 3 ||

Pairing: Yunho x reader

Prompt: write something using the words storm, stranger and heartbreak.

Summary: Things are always weird after a breakup, yet some things? They never change

Word count: 1,530

Yunho never thought that his first love would end in heartbreak. And it didn't, not quite. Sure, things were weird for a while, after all, what did you say to your ex? 'Hey, nice weather outside isn't it?' No, no that would have just made things more awkward than they were. Yunho and Y/N had been together for the best part of four years and 3 months. They had met in book club. Y/N loved books, so it was only natural that they joined the school's book club. Any genre, any length, they had probably read the book at least once. In fact, it was rare to see them without a book back in those days, and book club gave them a chance to share their favourite books and find new friends. Yunho joined the book club a little later, bursting into the room one day, where the members were sitting in a circle on colourful bean bags, each holding the same book. He expected them to shush him, complain about how late he was, and that he was interrupting them. But they didn't. Instead, one of them who he knew as Y/N waved him over with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Y/N scooted closer to him, sharing their book with his. That's how he knew that 1) joining the book club was the best decision he'd ever made and 2) he was well and truly whipped. He did well to get as far as he did, as it was only during his third week that he was asked his dreaded question. Yunho really should have at least googled the book he was supposed to read.

He had no idea what his favourite part was, or which character he liked best. He didn't even know a vague plot, or any of the characters' names. All Yunho could do right then was give the vaguest answer he could, and surprisingly the others all believed him. Or at least, everyone except Y/N. "Not a fan of reading?" He remembered how he felt at that moment, as if he was a deer in the middle of a road and they were an oncoming car. Y/N was a little disappointed that the cute boy in book club didn't share their love for books. But what was frustrating was that someone who didn't care about books joined the club. Why would someone who didn't like reading purposely join a club based around reading? Y/N just didn't understand it. It was only really when, after a few months, Yunho actually expressed interest in a book. Not just any book, however, it was their favourite. They had talked about it for hours and hours, so they were surprised that anyone, especially Yunho, actually paid attention. It soon made sense as to why, when a few weeks later Yunho asked them out on a date. As it turned out, they were the reason he joined book club in the first place. Perhaps he could learn to love reading as much as he loved them.

Their relationship, to anyone on the outside, seemed absolutely perfect. But inside, there were cracks that were beginning to show. It was a perfect storm of stress and tiredness that led to the end of their relationship. Endless conversations consisting of sweet words slowly turned into constant bickering over the stupidest of things. Sooner or later they would break, and that's exactly what happened. After weeks of constant arguing, the two of them had ended up tired of it all. Both of them were crying, sitting side by side. Neither of them knew what they'd been fighting about, and they didn't really care. That's when they knew it was better to call time on their relationship than to try and keep it alive when it was already dead. Things were painfully awkward for a while. Two people who were once inseparable only spoke to each other if needed. They went from spending every weekend together to living two separate lives. New friends, new responsibilities.

Eventually, it seemed as though both of them had completely cut all ties with one another. At that point, they were as good as two people walking down a street who had never met. They would meet maybe for a split second, maybe say "hey", maybe bump into one another, maybe even share nothing but a fleeting glance. After all, strangers do as strangers do, they weave in and out of people's lives. Some strangers you meet once and never again, others you bump into now and then. But Y/N wasn't a stranger. Maybe once. An unreachable stranger, one that you wanted to be more than a stranger but were never sure if that's what fate wanted. Y/N, even when they were a stranger, hardly felt like one. Yunho felt as though he always knew them even before they spoke. He knew as early as then that this wasn't a stranger passing through.

After some time and a lot of reflection, Yunho decided to try his luck and reach out to them. After all, they were close friends before. Why couldn't they go there again? Of course he knew that things would be different. Things seldom were the same after a breakup. But he didn't expect things to be quite so familiar. He was just passing by, something inside him drawing him to a nearby library. Now, to say he had grown fond of reading since the breakup would be a lie, but he noticed that he didn't find it as dull as he once had done. It was only a small library, which had opened just several months ago, and Yunho had never had the chance (not that he cared much) to visit, but now it seemed as though he had a very good reason to, at least on occasion. Some things really didn't change. It wasn't like a favourite song or a haircut, which could change from week to week. It was them. That's the only way he could possibly describe it. Y/N looked up from the book they were reading after hearing a commotion. It turned out that some of the children they were reading to had taken a particular liking to Yunho and were crowding around him. "Kids! Leave the poor man alone." They called out, and they all responded, plopping themselves back onto their coloured beanbags, arranged in a circle.

"I had no idea you ran a kid's book club here." He said, whilst Y/N was rearranging the beanbags. They looked up at him, a twinkle in their eye. It's as if right then, they were back in their school days. "These remind me of the book club we went to." Yunho smiled fondly, settling himself on one of them. Y/N plopped down on the one next to him, humming in agreement. There was a brief silence between them, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Neither of them felt the need to fill it, both felt the need to enjoy it, letting themselves reminisce about times gone by.

"If I must be honest, they are the ones we had in school." Y/N admitted, looking over at Yunho. He looked back at them, mouth forming an 'o' shape. "Yeah, they were getting rid of them. Putting in some new swanky ones that probably look like they're from the 70s." They joked. "They were good times, I miss them." Yunho nodded. He missed those times too. Times when they used to talk and laugh for hours on end. Times when things were easy. Times before the arguments and the keeping scores. He wanted to go back. Not to the times they used to lie in each other's arms and kiss until their mouths were sore. Not to the times when they used to go on random dates in the middle of the night because they were bored and madly in love. No, he just wanted his best friend back. "Have a new found love of reading, hmm?" Y/N stared at Yunho in amusement, one eyebrow raised. He laughed, shaking his head. That's another thing that hadn't changed. "I miss us, Yunho. I miss just hanging out with you like this. I miss calling you over on a Saturday afternoon just because I wanted to bake cookies. I miss calling you up at 2am because I couldn't sleep and I just wanted to talk to someone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should… y'know…" they gestured with their hands. He knew.

"Get back together?" He finished for them. They smiled, nodding. "That's not what I want either. You were amazing and I'm glad we had that, but I think we know we're better off as friends. For my sanity and yours." They laughed, staring at each other for a few moments before embracing each other in a tight hug. Neither of them thought that their first love would end in a platonic relationship much stronger than their romantic relationship had ever been. But both of them were glad that they had it, and they were never letting it go.