#there was a mishap with repeated text

[baronessblixen]

A Ring and a Promise

Today's the first day of the Eight Nights of Mulder. We're starting with: gold.

I snuck in a 24 Days of X-Mas Files Challenge prompt: family heirloom

Summary: Mulder has a very special gift for Scully. (Fluff, set in season 7; wc: 1,097)

Tagging @today-in-fic @eightnightsofmulder

With the last snow melting and Spring tiptoeing in, Mulder decides it's time for a change in his life, too. For weeks, he's been trying to find the right moment. Seeing Scully lift her face to the sun, a small smile playing on her lips, he can't wait any longer.

"I have something for you," he says.

"What did you say?" Scully turns to him, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"A gift. For you. Maybe... consider it a very late or very early Christmas gift."

"Is that becoming a pattern with you?" He loves her teasing. Lately, she's been doing it more often. And she's smiling more. A sight Mulder can't get enough of. "Christmas was months ago. I've had a birthday since then." She gently nudges his side.

"My present wasn't ready then."

"I admit I'm curious," she admits. "Where is this present?"

"In my pocket." It's been there for months. A few years ago, he considered giving it to her for the first time, afraid he was going to lose her. This time he's not afraid. He's not going to lose her. This is just to show her that she's his choice. That no matter what, he wants to be by her side. Wants her with him. For always. His smile is as shaky as his hand as he reaches into his pocket to take out the small box. Scully looks at it, then back at him.

"Mulder, I'm not sure that-"

"Relax," he says, "I'm not asking you to marry me. Unless you want me to." His wink is met with an amused eye roll.

"But I want you to have this." He puts the small box into her palm and closes her fingers over it.

"Can I look?" she asks him.

"Of course." He waits, watches her as the box comes open with a soft squeak. Scully gasps and stares at him open-mouthed.

"This is a- I can't accept this."

"It's yours."

"Mulder, this is a ring."

"Oh, is it? I thought it was sunflower seeds."

"This isn't funny."

"No, it isn't. I- Scully, I meant what I said. I want you to have this ring. After last year and the whole thing with Diana, with us doing IVF and- I found this again after my mom's death. Have I ever told you about my grandmother?" Scully, still staring at the ring, shakes her head.

"Let's sit down on that bench over there." His hand lands on the small of her back and they walk the small distance together, the golden ring catching a ray of sunshine as they do.

"My grandmother on my mother's side was Jewish. She and my dad never got along and after Samantha... I didn't see her often. The last time I did was shortly before I went to Oxford. She was old by then and sick. I was too young, or too much in denial, to understand that she was dying. She gave me this ring, making me promise that I wouldn't sell it, and would never let my dad have it. I thought she was crazy." He chuckles softly.

"She said this ring has been in her family for ages. I wasn't listening. You know me. I just wanted to get away from everything, even her. She'd always been good to me but I was young and dumb. What I remember is that she wanted me to give it to someone special. Someone I consider my family. I took the ring with me that day, barely looking at it. I left it with my mom. She asked me once if I wanted it back."

"Diana?" Scully asks, reading between the lines.

"Yes," Mulder admits. "But I laughed it off. I never wanted Diana to have it. My mom gave it to me after her stroke. Said it was time. Said that maybe I'd need the ring soon. And I almost did." Tears shimmer Scully's eyes when he glances at her face.

"I almost gave it to you back then." His voice cracks. "I would stare at this ring, thinking I should give it to you. But I was scared, Scully. I wasn't ready to admit it. I wasn't ready to stop fighting. It seemed too final. I could have - maybe should have - given it to you after you beat your cancer. But I- I didn't. But it's time, isn't it?"

"You said this wasn't a proposal." Scully sniffs and he puts his arm around her, pulling her into his side.

"It isn't, it's... a promise." Scully laughs and when their eyes meet, all he sees is love. It's no surprise to him. They don't need to speak the words to know they both feel it. Though he has said it. Even if Scully never says them, and he never dares to repeat the sentiment, it's there in everything they do. And he wants her to have something tangible to remind her.

"A promise to never ditch me again?" There she is again, teasing him.

"A promise to always come back if I do?" he offers in return.

"If I wear this, people will notice," Scully says, taking the ring out of its box. "I still can't believe it, Mulder." When she tries it on, she gasps, realizing it fits perfectly.

"I had it fitted. But I don't expect you to wear it. I just want you to have it. No matter how we define this - us -, you're my best friend, Scully. You're my family. There's no one else I can imagine giving this to. I don't want to either. It's you." Forever, he adds in his mind.

"I did not expect this," she says. "But- I love it, Mulder. The ring is beautiful and I appreciate the thought."

"Do I hear a but?"

"No buts, Mulder," she says, observing the ring on her finger. He does, too. It looks good. More than that, it looks right. His grandmother was right. There was a special person waiting for him all along.

"Thank you." She touches the side of his face and presses a long, lingering kiss to his cheek.

"No kiss on the mouth for a ring?" he jokes, grinning.

"Not in public."

"Does that mean I'll get another one later when we're alone?"

She gets up, the ring still on her finger. She offers him her hand and he takes it. Neither lets go as they start walking.

"You'll get another thank you later," she promises him, and he can't wait. For later, for tomorrow, and for every day he gets to spend with her.

[owtt]

oh i got so lucky i have both reflections really early on….

[no-144444]

mishaps online- o.piastri (81)

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summary: oscar accidentally posts a nude online the night before your big concert and launch. oops.

pairing: oscar piastri (no.81) x singer! fem! reader

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As you stared at the screen in front of you, your eyes filled with horror. Oscar Jack Piastri, your boyfriend of 3 years, had just posted a nude to his instagram story. 

What the fuck. 

You immediately sprung into action, calling him since you were in Berlin for a concert. He didn’t pick up.

You called Lando next, knowing they were in the same hotel, especially since it was 3am in the fucking morning. You were already getting bombed by tweets and messages, from friends and fans, all asking if you’d seen it. 

“What?” he groaned, groggy from being woken up.

“Lando! Go into Oscar’s room right now please,” you pleaded, happy that you had gotten ahold of someone. 

“What?- Why?” he asked, but obliged all the same, getting out of bed. “You know we're supposed to be on vacation right? He can go to sleep.”

“Is he awake?” You asked, ignoring his complaining. 

“Osc?” he called as he knocked. “Y/n’s on the phone, she wants to talk to you!” 

“Huh?” you heard a yawn from Oscar, then shuffling as he got up. Of course Oscar would send you a nude, then immediately fall asleep. For fuck’s sake. “Baby?” He took the phone out of Lando’s hand and held it to his ear. “You alright?”

“You posted a nude on instagram, please go delete it now,” you blurted out.

He stood still for a moment. “W-what?” 

Lando laughed so hard he fell over. “There’s no way!” 

“I-I didn’t,” he panicked then lowered his voice. “I sent it to you.”

“Well, you sent it to me and your instagram story,” you explained. 

Lando was on the floor, cackling as Oscar almost tripped over him to get to his phone and delete the photo. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” he repeated as he went through his phone, taking down the photo. 

“You are such a muppet!” Lando cried, breathless from laughing. 

“Shut up!” Oscar replied. “This is your fucking fault! You told me to send the picture!”

“To Y/n, not the fucking world Osc!” he chuckled.

To be fair, you understood where Lando was coming from, this was objectively funny. You’d probably be laughing if you weren;t his girlfriend, and if you wouldn’t have to explain this entire situation to your family, including your parents. God, just thinking about it made you sick.

“Is the photo down?” you asked.

“Yeah, it’s down,” he sighed. “I’m so sorry baby I just-”

“Let’s not have this conversation with Lando in the room,” you stopped him and he chuckled. 

“Good idea.”

“Zak’s probably going to call you, and I’m going to go call Margaret now. I love you Osc, talk later?”

“I love you too,” he sighed. “Talk later.”

You hung up the phone and let yourself scream into your pillow for a few seconds, then dialled the number of your manager, Margaret. 

“Y/n? What’s wrong?”

“Oscar posted a nude on instagram by accident,” you sighed. “He’s sorry.”

She took a deep breath. “You know how I love you, right?”

“Yeah?” You answered hesitantly. 

“And how I love you and Oscar and how happy he makes you?”

“Yes?”

“Well right now, I fucking hate him and want him dead. Please give me a few hours to work on this before I can properly face you again, alright?”

You smiled, happy she was taking care of it. “Thank you, and sorry- again.”

She hung up the phone with a groan of frustration. 

Next, someone else called. Oscar’s mom. 

“Hey Nicole,” you tried to keep calm as you spam-texted Oscar about the situation. No way his mother was calling you about this. 

“Hey Y/n,” she smiled. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” you nodded. 

“Is my son really stupid enough to accidentally post a nude picture of himself to his instagram and leave it up for a whole 5 minutes?”

“Apparently so,” you shrugged, slightly laughing. 

Nicole chuckled. “Are you laughing?”

“If I don’t laugh I’ll probably cry, so, yeah.”

She laughed at that. “I’m logging off the internet for a while, tell Osc to text me, yeah?” 

“Of course,” you smiled. “Sorry about this.”

“Jesus, it’s not your fault, don’t worry. How are you?”

“Shocked,” you answered truthfully. “And a bit scared of what’s coming next.”

“I just hope you two are ok,” she added. “I need you as my daughter-in-law.”

You smiled a genuine smile. Nicole was always so welcoming and lovely. “We’re all good, don ‘t worry.”

“Good,” she smiled. “I’ll leave you to it, love you, talk soon.”

“Talk soon,” you smiled and she hung up. 

Immediately, Lando called you.

“I thought you’d be back in bed,” you teased. 

“Trust me, being in the room for Zak and Oscar’s call was worth the missed sleep,” he chuckled and you heard Oscar sigh in the background. “He’s gotten his phone taken off him!” You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, they’ve given me a fucking flip phone instead,” he revealed. “How’d it go with my mum?”

“She’s not ecstatic with your choices, but she’s alright. She mostly wanted to know if we were alright, which we are, in case you were wondering,” you explained. “She wants you to call her.”

“Now?"

“Nah, maybe tomorrow.”

“How are you?” He asked, worried about what you’d say.

“Not an ideal situation, but I’m not mad at you. It was an honest mistake, seriously darling,” you reassured him. “Plus now the internet knows why I constantly have a bruised cervix,” you added, wanting him to loosen up and relax. It was a mistake, an honest mistake. 

You heard Lando laughing, and you got a chuckle out of Oscar, which was enough for you. You stayed on call with them for a while, then turned off your phone to get some rest.

-------------------------

You woke up to about a million messages from hundred of different people. Family and friends teasing on the various groupchats, management and your record label freaking out, and Oscar just being upset.

Osc <3: I feel like such an idiot. I cannot believe I did that, especially the night before the start of your tour, and the night of the launch. I'm so sorry baby.

You: It's alright Oscar, I promise. Margaret is already sorting something out right now. It's ok, I swear.

Osc <3: I still feel awful. I'm so sorry.

You: It's alright. Did you at least get your phone back?

Osc <3: Yeah but no social media on it anymore. I can't even look at your instagram :(

You: I think you'll survive lol :) I love you

Osc <3: I love you too.

You got up and out of bed, tired from the stressful night. The concert tonight, the launch tonight. What were your fans going to say?

comments:

ynsbff: something as big as oscar's d-

-> user12: GIRL

user56: girl is bouncing back fast from the shocker last night was

-> user29: fr i'd still be shook my boyfriend posted THAT

landonorris: legend 💙

pierregasly: 💙💙💙

logansargeant: can't wait 💙💙💙

lewishamilton: burning it down and shining on 💙

-> user58: ????? what does this mean????

-> user80: the return of XNDA????

russellgeorge: 💙

valterribottas: 💙

mclaren: 💙🧡

user23: why is the entire grid in the comments with blue hearts?

-> user82: literally? like what do yall know?

danielriccardo: don't know what's gonna hit 'em 💙💙

mercedes: 💙

user13: why is oscar the only one with pink hearts?

-> landonorris: he's not allowed his phone, it's his publicist 😁

-> user90: DAMN. exposing ur bro like that is crazy

-> landonorris: so is posting a nude 🤷🤷🤷🤷

kmag: 💙

charlesleclerc: 💙💙💙

maxverstappen: can't wait 💙

fernandoalonso: Mi favorita💙

lancestroll: it's going to be a wild one 💙

alexalbon: legendary 💙💙💙

lilymhe: my girl 💙💙💙

-> alexalbon: *cough* i'm ur boyfriend? *cough*

-> y/ny/l/n: bless you? do I need to call u a doctor?

zhouguanyu: 💙💙💙

carlossainz: 💙

nicohulkenburg: 💙

estebanocon: 💙

-> landonorris: plz don't crash into this bro 🙌

-> y/ny/l/n: HAHHAHHAHHA

---------------

You stepped onto the stage and the crowd went crazy. This was it, your first world tour. You were living your dream.

"Hello!" you cheered into your microphone. "I am so happy to be here, thank you all for coming!"

The crowd went wild again.

"Now, before we start, I have a pretty special announcement to make..." you paused for dramatic affect. "My next album 'Curious' drops tonight at midnight! And a very special feature from one of my very good friends, XNDA!"

As the crowd screamed over you and Lewis, who just came on stage, the opening of 'Save your tears' played. You two danced around the stage as you sang, excited with the reception from fans. For the rest of the concert, Lewis stayed on (since he was on another song, but also because he helped produce the album) and you two had so much fun. The concert ended at exactly midnight, and you came off stage on such a high. And there he was. Your Oscar, with a wide smile on his face and his arms open for you to jump into. Which you did, happily.

"Congratulations," he smiled, holding you close.

"Congratulations to you too," you smiled.

He pulled back, a confused look on his face. "What for?"

"Listen to 'Stargirl Interlude'," you shrugged, a smirk on your face. "And tell your mom not to listen to it, yeah?"

He smirked. "Whatever you say baby," and with that, he kissed you. His large hands holding your cheeks as you kissed him back, happy to be in his arms again.

---------------

comments

user15: OMFG 'STARLGIRL INTERLUDE' WHAT IS GOING ON

user12: wishing i was y/n rn....

landonorris: being horny on main? cringe.

-> y/ny/l/n: not winning for 6 years? cringe.

-> maxfewtrell: HA

lewishamilton: we told yall 🤷🤷🤷

pierregasly: kika has not stopped playing this 💙💙💙

-> user51: as she should.

danielriccardo: since when was my back replaced with oscar's y/n???

-> oscarpiastri: sorry mate, just better 🤷🤷🤷

-> y/ny/l/n: at least daniel's better at keeping his pants on online 😁

-> oscarpiastri: ok I deserved that.

-> landonorris: HAHAHHAHAH

alexalbon: RELAX I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT UR SEX LIFE.

-> y/ny/l/n: bitch ik all about urs too. lily tells me everything.

-> alexalbon: brb, having a breakdown.

logansargeant: @ oscarpiastri first i had to see your dick and now this? mate leave us alone.

-> oscarpiastri: SHUT UP I APOLOGISED.

-> logansargeant: NOT ENOUGH.

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comments

lewishamilton: mr. stargirl interlude? mr. billie boss nova? mr. the diner? mr. chihiro? is that you?

-> oscarpiastri: hush

logansargeant: @ oscarpiastri hate club leader

-> landonorris: can I join?

-> y/ny/l/n: lando you've been singing chihiro all day. stfu.

-> landonorris: ...

-> user37: were you silent or silenced?

y/ny/l/n: MY BEAUTIFUL BOYFRIEND

-> y/nsbff: thirsting on the main?

-> y/ny/l/n: what have i become?😥

user89: ok, but who is 'i didn't change my number' about?

-> y/ny/l/n: @ logansargeant actually wrote it about williams 😥😥😥

-> logansargeant: Y/N. TOO FAR.

---------------

navigation for my blog :) (masterlist)

[starillusion13]

Poisoned Love

Pairing: bff! Renjun x f!reader x bff! Haechan

W.C: 10.5k

Genre: Yandere, Friends to lovers, SMUT

Warnings: Pervert! Hyuckren, Dom! Haechan, Dom! Renjun, manhandling, toxic ex, possessive, restraining acts, obsession, anonymous messages, calls, texts, gifts, threats, crying, scared, privacy invasion, gaslighting(?), pwp (don't do it sillies), oral(f. Rec.), fingering, nipply play, cum as lube, praising, sucking, biting, double-penetration, lots of kissing, anal sex, finger sucking, multiple sex scene, forgot to add anything? maybe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVE @renjunnnaaa

Network: @kvanity-main

MINORS DONT INTERACT UNDER THE POST 🔞

"I told you not to put those choco chips now. Those were supposed to be the last step." The older boy grumbled and placed the bottles on the countertop, before glaring at the younger one who started laughing all of a sudden.

"you think I have put those in the mixture?" the younger one smirked and took away a bottle from the row. The other one cursed him in his head for disturbing him at every step.

The younger leaned against the counter and pulled out his phone with a smile. He seemed too excited about what he was about to do. The older one hit his bicep and glared, "then where is it?"

"in my tummy." He said but didn't glance at the furious boy who was about to kill him with the knife beside him.

He stared at him in disbelief, "seriously?" The younger one nodded and smiled at the small screen in his hand and this made the boy beside him to snatch away his phone and was about to throw it away when they heard their house bell ringing.

It was not like usual but someone was desperately pressing the switch as if they got attacked by someone or being chased by a mad dog. Haechan, who was near the kitchen door, quickly stepped towards the grand living room and then walked towards the door. He didn't hesitate to waste any time to open the door because if the person outside was a possible threat, then the guard must have informed him about it but without any commotion from anyone, he opened the door.

Two arms wrapped around him and someone's face was pressed against his chest. The familiar touch and the soft voice calling out his name, "Haechan...." was enough to make him realize the person who was hugging him. He raised a hand and stroked her hairs while the other hand pulled her inside the door, before locking it behind him.

Renjun was standing in a distance from both of them and when he noticed the figure in his hold, his eyes went wide and quickly stepped forward, "what happened?" he patted her back and caressed her to calm her down because she was too scared of something and clutching the younger male's shirt tightly in her hold.

"y/n...tell me what happened?" Haechan whispered the words, not wanting to raise his voice higher than that volume. You didn't pull apart when he tried to look at your face so he guided you to the sofa and made you sit with him. Renjun stood in front of you with folded hands. When he noticed a maid passing by the stairs, he called her and asked her to prepare the cake from where they had left. She obligingly nodded and went towards the kitchen and his attention was again brought back to you when you spoke up.

Pulling yourself away from Haechan, you took deep breaths and bit your lip. He brushed your hairs back and pulled your face up by your chin and noticed your tear strained cheek and red eyes with red plump lips because of your habit of biting lips in nervousness, "tell me, y/n. Is it the same reason?"

He knew. Both of them knew. Renjun scoffed as soon as you nodded. The way you were scared and nervous, they were more furious. It's getting too much. They can't let you live like this with the same thing repeating without any trace of stop from the other end of causing this mishap.

"Heachan, we need to stop this. She has already been through so much and now..." the younger one nodded at his words and smiled at you while patting your head, "how about you freshen up? You look like a mess. You already have so many things, even a room for yourself so go upstairs. We will be there soon."

Renjun extended his palm for you to grab and you did it. Looking at his face, he was smiling all the way when you stood up and turned towards Haechan and exchanged soft smiling goodbyes, just to leave for your supposed room. Renjun was holding your hand as if you were the fragile doll, well to him you were, his precious angel. He always reminds you that even if your status doesn't match with his and Haechan, you will always be their bestfriend, his angel.

Leaving you inside the room, he jogged to where Haechan was.

Looking around the room, you felt like you were at home. Well, you feel safer here than being at your apartment all alone. They have asked you to move in with them so many times but your common phrase that you don't want to be a burden to them makes them irritated. Well, not really. They appreciate your choices and decisions but not when you are living out there scared of the shit going on in your life recently.

Taking the necessary things from the drawer for a shower and then when you opened the closet, you were surprised. There were a lot of dresses, each of them being your favorites but there were only a few last time. It must be because they bought all of these because of your nearing birthday. You shook your head, chuckled and stepped inside the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the two boys were preparing everything to take along with them to your room. For the dinner, they opt to have it with you in your room and their maids arrange it in the way to their liking.

Renjun didn't allow anyone to enter your room so he took the trays and entered the door. Haechan was carrying other necessary stuff like extra pillows and water bottles.

"Hey! Are you fine?" He greeted you with a warm hug after putting all the stuff on the couch. Renjun placed the tray on the center table and turned towards you two. "So, what should we do now? What about movies?"

You pulled apart from the hug to reply to the standing male beside the table, "um...I don't want to bother you two if you have something to do but......thanks for letting me come here."

"y/n, we have said this before. You are our best-friend and it's natural for you to come here. Even we asked you to stay here to move in but you are the one not listening to us." Renjun stepped towards you before saying those words and cupped your face to plant a kiss on your forehead. "Come on. Hop on the bed."

"Let's have our time, forgetting all those negativities. Just let it be how you are feeling with us." Haechan said and brought a spoonful of cake to your lips.

"I can eat." You chuckled but he shook his head and urged you to open your mouth, "no, tell me how is the cake? I made it for you."

"you knew I was coming?" you were surprised.

Renjun shook his head, "No. we would have sent you the cake as a surprise and I made the batter for the whole process and he had just put it in the microwave without choco chips."

Haechan glared at him when he continued spilling what the younger one was doing since evening. Your laughter filled the room with their giggles while moving from one topic to another.

For a moment, you forgot what was the reason you came knocking at their door.

Their actions were too sweet. Always, they treat you tenderly. As if you are a porcelain doll to them, making you feel like one of the sophisticated items from their household. Skinship is very normal between you three, not in a weird way but hugging, cuddling with each other or kissing the other one for reassurance regarding a thing is common. Mainly, you are the one who receives kisses from both of them a lot. You are the one who kisses when you are joking with them a lot and also, they are missing your funny side when you are so quiet today.

Scooting towards the bed frame, you sit in between them and notice the double toned hair boy to place the tray in front of you. Haechan pulled you to his side when he noticed you zoning out and rubbed your arms, "do you want to talk about it?"

You blinked and turned towards him, "why is he doing this?"

He hummed and nodded to himself, "knew he was crazy for you. You thought of him as the perfect boyfriend but look when you found out his real intention, he is pulling off this shit." He hugged you and kissed the side of your head, "but it's okay. We are here to keep you safe."

"I know. You are here, both of you but what if he does something more? What if he tries to harm both of you." You clutched his wrist which was around your collarbone.

Renjun sat in his place beside you and smiled while patting your legs, "he won't. you know, no one can do anything to us, so stop thinking about that shithead and let's enjoy our time."

Yeah. Why are you still thinking about him? it's just going to make you feel more stressed and then scared to be alone. Well, should you say something that's been bugging your mind since afternoon. You wanted to say this for the last few days but your hesitation and what if... you don't know what to think more but you just want to stay closer to someone who feels like family.

"I want to move in with you here."

>>>><<<<

You once had a family, a nice one but the sudden storm in your life snatched everything from you. Your teenage life and your happiness, everything was gone but these two met you at the park in the colony changed your life. Of course, it was nowhere near your mediocre environment but that day after having your part time job, you were strolling around the streets when you stumbled to the grand exposure to the park with a huge garden. The place belongs to all the luxurious apartments and their wealthy owners.

You were just crying to yourself when a boy extended a handkerchief towards you. "Haechan." That was the only introduction he had with you. When you hesitated and tried to stand up and look away, the one named Renjun pushed you down lightly and held your hands, "hey...what happened?"

Their soothing voices, warm lingering touches and soft smiles made you let your heart out to them. Since that day, you somehow bumped into each other a lot. Them arriving at your café, or pulling up in front of the university in a luxury car. Everything was surprising to you. You didn't want so much attention on you or never wanted to live like a wealthy person but you wanted to stay with people who will be close to you.

Honestly, the apartment where you stay is the one these two helped you to buy so that you don't have to stay in that previous old and rusted area. You were so happy that, with an affordable rent and two friends supporting you was enough to motivate you to move forward. They were literally a blessing in your life and your gloomy days were soon turning into the bright ones.

Not long enough after having those happy days with your two new best friends, comes your school crush, rather your childhood best friend, Wooyoung. The way your eyes went wide when you noticed him standing at your university gate with Bouquet of red roses and him dressed up in a black leather fit. You instantly ran up to him and hugged around his neck whispering, "I missed you, woo."

"I missed you too, baby."

And then you shared your whole life story with each other at a restaurant where he invited you for his success. He finally got his father's business position and now moving to this new city, he got to know about you from a common friend.

The daily meetups and the reunion of the friendship blooms into a new stage of bonding. The kindle of love. He was the first one to approach you with the proposal and to both of your surprises, you accepted it quickly. Why not? He was always the one to care for you, to be there for you and now, to love you. You are more than blessed to have three of them with you in your life.

But, as we know, the happy days don't last long enough. It's been six months you were dating Wooyoung, and once, Renjun suddenly told you that your boyfriend seems a bit unusual to him. you let him be assured that you know your boyfriend for too long and he can't be bad. He just nodded and smiled at you.

It was early in the morning that you woke up, all smiles and in a terribly good mood. You didn't have your university classes to attain so it was not a big deal to spend your day as a lazy one. You were in the middle of making yourself lunch when the doorbell rang. You quickly rinsed your hands and wiped them on your apron before going to open the door.

There was no one but when you were about to close it, there was a gift box and a rose Bouquet with a letter attached to it. You were hesitating to pick it up and noticed your name written on the red card with a silver glittery ink. Closing the door behind you, you placed yourself on the sofa with the gifts.

'Dear y/n,

You seem so happy and lively every day. Is it because of me? I think so. Well, I am sure it must be the reason. Who else is going to keep you happy like me?

Let's not talk about this surprise when we meet. I want to see you blushing while remembering my gifts. You can do this for me, right?

I love you so much.

From unknown (your love)'

"Unknown? Wooyoung is really weird sometimes and I love you too." You kissed the letter before sliding it on the table top and inhaled the sweet smell which was already spreading across your room from the flowers in your hold. Deciding a nice place for them, you picked it up and put it in the vase. The gift box had a ring inside it with one more letter telling you how perfect and beautiful you would look with it.

As he told you, you kept it a secret from him. Every day, you received many gifts from him and never for once, you raised the topic about the gifts.

. .

One day when you were holding hands and returning to your apartment, you suddenly blurted out, "Thank you, Woo."

he was surprised, "for what?"

oh, you almost mentioned the gifts, "for...for everything, Woo. Thank you."

He turned you around to face him and kissed your lips, "Thanks to you too for accepting my love."

Who knew after that day, your life was about to change.

He texted you the next day that he was going for some business programs with his dad to a different country and he won't be able to meet you for how long he doesn't know and even though you were sad, you texted him back with enthusiasm and being a supportive girlfriend, you appreciated his work.

It was afternoon and you knew the timing, his gifts. But he was not there, then?

You opened the door, greeting with a teddy bear and chocolates.

'Sorry, y/n. I know you are missing me but for the compensation. Here, a gift for you.'

You smiled while happily taking the teddy bear to your room.

But later in the day, you got more letters and more flowers and these ones were not the usual ones like other days. Now, everyday your excitement for the gifts were turning into a nightmare. It was about pure obsession.

The letters were all about questions related to why you were wearing the dress to the restaurant, why you are not going to the university or why you are still in your bed and not eating properly. How the hell does he know about this? You were scared and the closest person to share this was your two best friends.

"Are you sure, that's him?" Renjun asked you the question for the third time and exchanged looks with Haechan who was equally stressed like you. They were so annoyed with the fact that someone or rather your boyfriend was invading your privacy. Even when you were throwing away some letters without reading, he dared to threaten you. He even sent pictures of you doing your chores in your apartment.

"Who else would do that? It's clear that he is the one who knows everything about me. He is my boyfriend and it clearly mentions that whatever the person is telling or doing is for the lover. In some he even mentioned himself as my boyfriend and who else will know that he is out of town?"

Haechan patted your back, "it's okay, y/n. calm down for me. we will find a solution to it. We won't allow him to do anything anymore."

"I'm scared...what if he tries to do something more."

"You should break up." You looked up quickly towards Renjun hearing his words. He was staring at you as if he expected your sudden gaze on him. He raised a brow at you and you felt defeated when you didn't know what to reply to him. you should break up then what else is holding you back.

Well, the idea of breaking up was the only option that seemed right when after a few days, you got a call from Wooyoung, "y/n! have you received my gift?"

Gift. The word was so endearing and loving from his mouth but to you it was a curse. You nodded as if he could see you, well all those pictures, then he might see you right? You have searched for the hidden cameras and all with your best friends, but nothing you could find, then how?

"I want words, y/n. don't just nod."

Your eyes went wide and quickly you cut the call and threw it on the bed. How?

He called you again and again but you didn't pick up, you kept staring at the phone.

A message popped up in your phone,

'hey! I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you were nodding because I got the mail it had delivered.'

'I'm sorry, love.'

'Please tell me. Do you like it?'

Didn't mean to scare you......

You stared at the gift box in front of you. Didn't bother to open it but you texted him like usual 'yes' with emojis. He was too happy because of the way his next messages were flooding in your inbox.

.

.

.

It started to feel suffocated and exposed in your own apartment and your two best friends repeatedly inviting you to stay at their place. Yes, you gladly accepted it and started to spend most of the days at their house. Sometimes, having sleepovers and movie nights or you all going together for short trips for half of the day. Renjun showed you his recent paintings dedicated to you. You couldn't really decipher the meanings behind each of his paintings but still you liked it because his hard work behind it was showing.

Haechan learned some new recipes to cook for you and honestly, most of the time, he made a mess of them. Still, the love for you was showing in the work.

These two were actively keeping your mind off from the incidents happening back at your apartment.

Renjun was driving you to your apartment when he offered you again, "why don't you move in with us? It will be safe and easier for you."

"no. I don't want to be a bother. I should talk with him. Why is he doing this with me?  Hope, it can solve the problem." you looked down on your lap.

"and you think he will? Will he leave you after that? He is obsessed with you. His obsessions are clearly showing. A healthy relationship is not like this. when there's still time. Come out of it."

He pulled the car in front of your apartment and you nodded, "I will think about this. Thank you, Jun."

He nodded and patted your head, planting a kiss to the side, "take care and be safe. Call me or Haechan if it's too much."

You exited his car with a smile but your smile soon disappeared when you reached your doorstep. Again, those flowers and letters.

And this time a message popped up in your phone from an unknown id,

'How was the trip, love? Did you enjoy it? Are you missing me?'

You were so scared that you quickly dialed Renjun's number and he was quick enough to reach your location and engulfed you in a hug.

"It's okay. I am here. Don't be scared."

When he asked you for the keys, you shook your head. You didn't want to enter the door and whispered to him to take you somewhere else. And he did. He listened to your pleading, he himself didn't want to leave you there alone. So, he drove you to a cliff where you love the most to spend time talking about your life. This is the place where only three of you come often.

When you reached the place, you were surprised to see Haechan with a white leather jacket and Black jeans standing, leaning against his bike and you exited the car, only to run towards him, "Haechan..."

"Baby...are you okay?" his voice was soothing just like other times. His tone becomes sweeter when he speaks to you. He really treats you like a baby.

And the next day how you ended up at their doorstep, finally having too much of the threats and scared that he might pull up something more crazy.

They blocked his number and shifted all your things from the apartment to their house. Even, they managed to change your university classes to online. Haechan even bought you a new phone with a new number so that you don't have to feel scared of him texting you again.

Was it all over? Or something more crazy was supposed to happen?

>>>><<<<

It's been over six months, you are staying with them in their house, which they make you feel assured to think of yours too. But something, you did notice. Their skinship with you. The tension between you when either of them is too close to you. Why? You have a boyfriend. Well, maybe you had.

Then, what's this they are trying to show you? Trying to make you feel.

You were standing beside Haechan who was beside you cutting vegetables because last night, he decided to learn to make you a new meal which a lover should try to impress their crush.

"So, am I your crush?" you asked him and raised your brow when he blushed and turned away.

He shook his head while washing the knife, "keep quiet. I am doing something important. Don't distract me."

"So, am I your distraction?" you neared him and stepped beside him, leaning against the counter. "Tell me."

He glanced at you before placing the knife to the side and with a quick move, he caged you between his arms, trapping you between the counter and his body.

"Haechan..." you gasped because of his sudden action.

"Ask me the question again." his breath was near you, fanning your lips. His soft voice yet a tone of demanding was enough to make your breaths heavy. You averted your eyes away when he grabbed your jaw, "look at me and ask the question."

His lips were almost touching yours and the only thing that was crossing your mind was to kiss him. Why? You don't know. But you wanted to.

"Kiss me." you whispered the words, your mind going blank and your hands clutching the marble edge of the counter, nails colliding against the slippery surface and you bit your lower lip.

"Fuck, I would've never thought you wanted me in the same way I wanted you," he took your hand and pulled you towards him so your bodies were pressed together more. "So you are attracted to me too?" He whispers low in your ear, making your breath hitch.

"Well, I guess-"

"A direct one word answer is what I want." he cut you off, nibbling on your earlobe. "Are you enjoying this, y/n?"

"Yes," you answered him, finally relaxing in his arms. you held onto his shoulder to prevent yourself from collapsing, your knees feeling weak at his touch. "I love you."

He continued peppering your neck with soft wet kisses, his breaths fanning over it. You tilted your head to allow him more access. You placed a hand on his chest, then began to untuck his black shirt, both hands starting to roam under it.

His lips pulled your lips into a kiss, a soft sensual one. Never in a while, you thought to be like this with him and even going further into it.

At the same time, he was busy moving his hands up and down your sides, still moving his lips with the rhythm of yours. He grunted when your soft hands met his bare skin, his heart beating erratically. Tongues intertwining and hands roaming each other's bodies. You tugged his shirt eagerly and he helped you to take it off before throwing it away, he stopped you when you were pulling your shirt.

He wanted to do it on his own. He wanted to see you on his own.

He separated his mouth for a few seconds so he could take your shirt off. You admired his bare tanned chest and abs, not being able to keep your hands off him. He went to pull your pants off.

"Fuck...you are driving me crazy." He smirked and you were nervously looking at the door to see if anyone would accidentally see you in that position with him."don't worry, no one is at home. Not even Renjun."

Before you could say a word, he again dominated your mouth once again, making your mind go blank. His hands traveled to your ass, squeezing it. You moaned into the kiss, grinding against his still clothed hard-on. "Fuck, you're so hot," he grunted, gripping your ass harder. "He had this all to himself. Lucky bastard."

"I didn't fuck him." You whispered.

"Then am I the first one?" He smirked and held your chin upward. You nodded and shyly looked at him. "Words y/n.." he pecked your lips.

"Yes, Haechan. You are the first one. Please do something."

He lifted you by your thighs and placed you on the counter. You gasped when your lower half came in contact with the cold surface. He crouched down to kiss your belly. Your chest heaved up and down in anticipation as you felt his touch, trailing kisses starting from your ankle and going higher. you began squirming when the soft lingering touch of his lips reached your inner thigh. "Hae-Haechan..." your breathing labored.

He poked his tongue out to trace the edges of your underwear, dangerously close to your heat, but avoided the spot on purpose just to tease you a little longer. He is a tease and he is even proving it to you in this situation.

your hand grabs at his hair, the other gripping the edge of the counter. "please, stop teasing me," you whined, getting more and more frustrated.

He removed your panties with his teeth, staring up at your face, twisted in frustration. "God, I can't get enough of your look. You are perfect, y/n."

Your knuckles start hurting from the tight grip you had on the counter but it's the only thing that's keeping your grip strong because your grip on all other senses has been lost completely. Is it right to do this with your best-friend? But your body betrays you with the excitement building inside. You feel yourself attracted to him but...

You were distracted when you didn't notice that he parted your heated lips and inserted his index finger inside your lips, making you let out a choked up moan. It glided in easily, emitting a squelching sound as wetness surrounds it.

"Haechan, we should stop this. This is not right." you breathed out, sounding almost as if you were in pain.

Haechan, too preoccupied with his task, didn't even acknowledge your plea; he adds a second finger, watching how they get swallowed up by your heat. He began a scissoring motion, feeling your walls pulse around them.

" Fuck, Haechan...that- that's...more please" you cried out when you felt his thumb press on your sensitive clit. you breathe heavily, your skin sticky with sweat, legs shaking and fingers going numb from the grip on the marbled counter-top.

"I will give you more, baby." he kissed your belly and  nuzzled his face, his breath tingling against your hot skin. "Let's have the fun. I will give you everything, I promise."

When he couldn't take the insistent throbbing of his cock anymore, he stood and made quick work of lowering his pants and boxers. you whimpered at the loss of his fingers. He held your thigh with one hand and grabbed his length with the other, rubbing the tip against your wetness. "Tell me how much you want it, baby," he demanded and slid his cock against your clit.

"Want it so bad, need it, Haechan, please fill me up," you panted, swerving your hips.

"I want you too. So bad. My filthy girl. My princess is going to be mine." he unclasped your bra and quickly plopped a nipple in his mouth. You moaned out his name and grabbed his hair, his grunts vibrating against your skin. When he heard your plea to stop again, he chuckled against your chest while still licking and sucking your nipples, "don't fight yourself, princess. You know you want this. I know you want this. He couldn't have given you this like me." he bit your skin near the collarbone, "fuck...he should not have come into our life. I would have gotten you sooner."

your back arched off the countertop when the tip slipped in and he simultaneously groaned in delight. He pushed the rest in slowly, filling you up as promised. He leaned over your body to press his lips to your neck and leave wet kisses.

Both of your hands were buried into his hair, making it messier than it already was. He pulled away and pulled you a little closer to the edge by your thighs. you gasped and grabbed at the edge again to stabilize yourself. He pulled you in for a passionate kiss and he moaned into the kiss feeling you clenching around him. Your tears strained your face and this time, it made him smile because you were not crying because of that shit and his threats but because of him and his sweet tortures on your sensitive parts.

He gave you no warning before he pulled out, only leaving the tip in, and pushing back in.

he grunted, feeling the squeeze of those tight warm walls around him. "Shit," he swore, staring at your figure. His hands went up to squeeze your breasts and fickle your nipples, igniting your senses and making your body react to his touches more.

"You," Haechan praised, pushing in, "are...so...sexy" Each word was punctured with a powerful thrust, knocking the breath out of you beneath him.

His movements gradually started to get faster, his hands gripping your hips. He slowed down to put your legs over his shoulders and held on to your thighs instead, thrusting harder, reaching deep inside your warmth. "Haechan!" you clawed at his back, letting out lewd moans that mix with the sound of skin slapping on skin. he pecked your lips and smirked.

"Ah- Yeah, baby, scream my name! Let me hear you who's fucking you this good," He said in between thrusts.

"Haechan, yes, fuck me!" you repeated his name insistently, overcome with ecstasy.

he rolled his hips, grunting in pleasure each time. His tongue glided across his lower lip as he watched you with hooded eyes. Haechan moaned when your walls clamped down on his cock, pulsing around him, tightening and squeezing."Fuck!"

"y/n, so, so good, you are doing so good I'm so close, fuck!" your vision went white as you hit your high, body spasming with aftershocks and toes curling while your hips keep moving against his.

your orgasm along with your blissful facial expression triggered his own, causing him to release hot, sticky spurts of cum. He pulls out and jerks off over you, more coming out to paint your lower stomach.

he pressed an affectionate kiss on your leg that was still over his shoulder. "God, that was awesome," he breathed, running a hand through his sweaty black hair.

He helped you sit up comfortably before pulling you in for a heated kiss, your arms going around his broad shoulders. you sighed in satisfaction, softly dragging your nails down his naked back.

He bit your bottom lip in return, hands roaming your thighs. "Good?" Haechan asked you after pulling away. you nod in agreement, "all good."

He pulled his pants back up and stepped back to collect your disposed dress. He carefully dressed you back in your clothes, leaving the inner wears still on the floor. You didn't bother to wear it as you were going to shower anyways.

He kissed your cheek and you blushed, "I can't believe we just did that on my kitchen counter..." you hid your face in the crook of his neck. "but..I...it feels so wrong."

"Why?" He hugged your body and kissed your head. You murmured against his bare skin, "we are best friends and this feels so wrong...we are not even dating..."

"Will you let me be your boyfriend?" he pulled back to look at your face. Your surprised expression earned a chuckle and a kiss on your tip of the nose from him. You asked him softly, "are you serious?"

He nodded and pressed his forehead to yours, "yes. I am. Will you?"

"Y-yes. I can try."

He pressed his lips to you and whispered, "I promise I will treat you better than him. I love you."

."I love you too, Haechan."

.

.

The sun shone brightly on the two figures lying comfortably in bed. Haechan blinked his eyes open and stretched, accidentally waking you up. you gently placed your hand on his cheek, caressing it slowly. You were still in disbelief after the last event.

"Good morning," he greeted in a gruff sleepy voice. The sound of his low voice made your cheeks heat up slightly as you smiled back at him with a greet. you both giggled and cuddled closer; your activities from the last evening had you both glowing in happiness and excitement.

"Sleep well, baby?" Haechan, stroking your hair. "hm, best sleep I've had in a while." you offered a small smile but he frowned. "What do you mean 'in a while'? Have you not been sleeping well?" He asked, concerned.

"It's not that... I just slept better since you were next to me," you buried your face in his chest in order to hide your embarrassment.

.

.

.

Well that was not the end, even though you started dating Haechan. You could see Renjun was in a bit of a sour mood recently. Snapping at Haechan every now and then and sometimes, he even glares at you for no reason.

"Y/n...are you busy?" Renjun was standing at your doorstep, you plugged out your earphones and sat up properly and patted the place beside you. You shook your head and smiled, "no. I'm just chilling. Haechan said he will be coming home late. Why, do you need something?"

He stepped forward and locked the door behind him. Your eyes went wide in surprise, "Renjun?"

He chuckled and noticed a photo frame on a shelf beside him, you and Haechan smiling brightly at the camera. He himself clicked that picture for you two. He had also clicked a picture with you but why not he is there as well? Oh, beside it there is another picture but all three of you smiling, you in between staring at the camera and them staring at you.

"How are you and Haechan doing?" His slow steps made your heart beat fast. Your breath heaving with his low voice and chuckles in between his questions. You gulped and scooted towards the bed frame.

You managed to smile, "we are fine."

He placed himself beside you and scanned your body, in shorts and a short tee. You are really a tease. He thought to himself and his gaze darkened with the thought that you are dating his step-brother. You tried to move away from him when he held your wrist and pulled you in front, "where are you going?"

"no..I'm not going anywhere."

"Am I not good for you?" his dark voice and the tight grip on your wrist didn't let you avert your eyes away. He curled a lock of yours between his fingers and traced your face, "speak...angel. I know you can use your words." he kissed the tip of your nose and smiled.

"Yes, you are good." you breathed out the words. He pulled your ankles and wrist together towards him, a slow tug upwards made you sit on his thigh. Your legs folded by your knees and resting on either side of his leg.

"You know, haechan is not the only one who loves you in the way you are attracted to him." he leaned and whispered in your ears, "you don't know how bad I want you angel. I want to ruin the innocence of you." his breath tickling your earlobe and his teeth grazing over your back of the ears, where he pressed a kiss and trails down wet and sloppy kiss downwards to your neck and throat.

"R-Renjun...stop.."

He darkly chuckled in your ears and pulled apart to stare at your scared face, the look he is used to seeing because of the past incident of your obsessive boyfriend. He grabbed your wrist to bring your hand to his chest and leaned forward, "you didn't tell him to stop. And, look, do you feel the heart? That's beating for you my love."

"What do you mean?"

"I love you, y/n...please...I love you so much."

he pulled down the straps of your red tee, slipping them off your shoulders, unclipping the bra with one swift click and kissing the skin there. He moved lower to nip at your collarbones and you curled your hands above his chest, arching forward. He helped you slip your arms out, then proceeded to pull the fabric low enough along with your bra to expose your breasts. His head descended down to take a nipple into his mouth, making it harden as he swirled his tongue around it, gently toying with the other between two fingers. you squirmed, your chest rising and falling with every breath you took.

"Renjun, please..."

"It doesn't take much to have you begging, huh?" He teases, making you whine in response, "I'll have you begging even more in a minute, love."

Renjun kissed his way down your stomach, using his hands to pull down your shorts to reveal your panties. He pushed your knees apart, causing you to gasp in surprise. He pushed you down on the bed, your head hitting softly against the mattress. He traced his lips at the edge of your underwear, staring up at you with desire in his eyes; your reactions will never cease to entrance him. Them.

Your hands tightened in his hair, tugging at it softly as Renjun continued to tease you, softly nibbling at your thighs near the edges of your panties. he hooked his fingers through it and pulled it down your legs, taking it off and dropping it to the floor, leaving you bare apart for the tee bunched up at your waist.

your hands slipped out of his hair as Renjun scooted further down the bed, placing your legs over his shoulders. He kissed your inner thighs, tracing his tongue along your sweet skin before going even lower. you let out a loud gasp and your fingers twisted into the sheets when he licked at your heat. legs trembling with every contact of his tongue made with your clit. He held tightly onto your thighs, pressing his pointed tongue against your swollen clit in a teasing manner and flicking the little bud.

You were practically crying when Renjun pressed his tongue inside of you, slightly parting your walls. He looked up, seeing your face twisted in pleasure, panting and moaning as he thrusted his tongue inside your heat. He used one of his hands to rub your clit with his thumb and you whined loudly, trying to push your hips back against him.

"I want to cum," you stutter out, thrashing your head from side to side.

Renjun stopped all his movements to look up at you, "What's the magic word, baby?"

"Please," you begged, your hands pushing his head down. you couldn't take it anymore. you were so fucking close to the edge, you barely needed a push to reach your peak.

"You are so perfect, y/n."

He chuckled before diving back down to accomplish his task: he slurped and licked vigorously, swirling his tongue and flicking your most sensitive nerve. He pinned your hips to the bed to keep you from moving too much as he worked closer to orgasm. Renjun knew you wanted to cum before it even happened: the legs on his shoulders tighten around him and shake with the force of your climax, sending you crashing down.you pulled hard at his duo toned hair.

Soon after, your body turns slack, as if melted into a puddle. He kissed your inner thigh then your belly button and continued all the way up to your chest. He didn't waste any time removing the pant, throwing it to the side, he slowly pulled up his shirt above his head and your eyes locked at his chest, Renjun softly nips at the soft and supple skin of your neck, tasting the sweetness of it, inhaling the scent.

your hands held onto his broad shoulders and your nails dragged down his back when he finally pushed inside you, burying himself in your tight heat. He rolled his hips gently, enjoying the burning pleasure you brought to him.

"Y/n." He moaned in a low voice. you held onto him tighter, pushing back against him, trying to meet his gentle movements.

Renjun's hands roamed your body, caressing every curve of your form, leaving goosebumps in their wake. your breathing was erratic, heartbeat beating fast and loud in your own ears.

you could barely handle the way he was holding you close and making those erotic sounds right next to your ear. sweat slick bodies move in harmony, pushing and pulling, biting and scratching, lost in a flame of passion.

Renjun nipped softly at your throat then at your chin and finally your lips. He rubs your noses together affectionately and giggle at the sweet gesture.

No words were exchanged as you stared into each other's eyes, in the middle of your own little world, the only important thing being one another.

Renjun lowered your legs to around his waist and accelerated the cadence of his movements, already sensing you were close by the way you were gripping him even tighter.

The rhythm turned sloppy as you both chased pleasure, rocking against each other, holding on before finally letting go, flying high before spiraling down together and drowning in pure bliss. The heavy breathing fills the otherwise silent room and sweet kisses were exchanged along with soft touches.

Renjun hid his flushed face in the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent and letting his body relax but not resting his weight on you. He couldn't get his heart to slow down; the proximity and your delicate touch were almost too much for him to handle.

"Angel," he called breathlessly, snuggling into you underneath him, "I love you," he finally said. Laying on his side, he traced your face with his index finger, from your closed eyelids to your cheek to the bridge of your nose, admiring every detail of your angelic face.

The only response he got was your soft breathing.

Renjun smiled to himself, closing his eyes and drifting into a deep sleep beside you, holding onto you tightly in his embrace.

>>>><<<<

"I'm sorry, Haechan." you were practically crying while hugging the boy in front of you and no matter how many times he did ask you about the reason, you were just clinging onto him and crying because of what you did last night.

He pulled you on his lap and rocked you in his embrace, "shh...baby tell me, what happened?" he kissed your head, "did he contact you again?" you shook your head and buried your head into his chest. "Then is it about, Renjun?"

You quickly looked up to him. Does he know what you did last night? He really answered your question as if he could read your mind.

"I know what happened yesterday." he combed your hair back and traced the purple and red marks on your skin around the neck and the exposed body parts. "If you are thinking, I'm angry with you. No, I'm not."

"Haechan?"

He smiled and pressed his lips to your temple, "I love you, princess. He loves you too. We both know our weakness for you. Because of this, we decided to have you as ours. But we were doubtful about you. How you will react and after yesterday. I'm sure you don't have a problem accepting him." he pecked your lips, and whispered into it, "Do you have a problem with this?"

"But this is wrong."

He chuckled and grabbed your neck softly, yanking your head back soft enough not to hurt you, his gaze darkened but quickly vanished with a smile appearing on his face, "you are doing no wrong, baby. This is what you want."

You were staring at his face. His words and his actions were more dominant than other days. As if he was punishing you for your deeds with his brother but also, holding back himself because that's the thing he wanted too. Or rather agreed to.

"I promised you. I would keep you safe and would protect you from everything then, why are you so afraid?" he leaned to your ear and said in a low voice, "Be brave, be strong, but take it easy. No rush baby. I know you got this."

"I love you, Haechan." you murmured and he kissed your earlobe, humming in satisfaction before returning to your lips. " You know I love you so much, right princess?" he pressed his lips to you and pulled your hair back to kiss your throat and left behind sucking on the spots.

You nodded and he asked you softly, "you will let Renjun join now?" you nodded and your mind was going blank under his sweet tortures of his mouth and hands roaming around your body. Your groans when he was pulling your hair earned chuckles from him.

He took his time teasing you, biting and nibbling and licking every sensitive part of your body, teasing you relentlessly until you were a hot whimpering mess.

You heard the door creaked open and noticed Renjun walking in, his eyes filled with lust and hunger for you. His each slow and cautious step made you squirm under Haechan's hold. He reached near the bed and pulled his belt around from the waist and tied your hands together to prevent you from moving them. your hands were by the top of your head.

"Renjun...why?" your voice was not recognisable, whether you were asking or pleading to him. He leaned forward, placing his palm on the mattress and smirked, "I haven't touched you yet but still you are begging."

Haechan pushed your top upwards revealing your body bare underneath. He quickly leaned down to trail wet kisses on your stomach, chest and flicking the nipples with his fingers and swirling the other one with tongue. Most of your body was already littered in little dark marks left by him. you squirmed as he continued his slow tortures, claiming you with love bites.

"I want you to do exactly as I say. Got it?" Haechan said in between kisses, looking at you expectantly afterwards. You nodded and when you tried to bring your hands down, Renjun caught them and glared, "did I tell you to move them?"

You shook your head frantically and whined, "No." Renjun discarded his pants and shirt, only in his boxers placed himself on the other side of you to claim your lips, holding your tied up wrist in place and other hand twirling the hardened nipples.

Haechan sat on his knees and palmed himself over the sweatpants and stared at you both. "Good girl. Now, spread your legs for me."

You did as told, spreading your legs with little resistance. He bit his lip at the sight, getting turned on. "Damn, that's hot," he gets on top of you, pressing himself against you. Your breathing stopped for a split second when both of them were right in front of you.

"You are ours, y/n. No one can take you away from us." Renjun said and kissed your cheek.

Haechan placed a light kiss on your nose, cheek then chin before descending lower.

"Please..." Upon hearing you beg, Haechan wasted no more time before diving into your heat, slipping in one finger and then followed by another. He made sure you were enjoying yourself by watching your facial expressions, grinding against the mattress at the same time to relieve his erection.

Your fingers clenched, twisting and crumpling the sheets when Renjun suddenly intertwined your pinned hands with his, your thighs squeezing around Haechan's hand involuntarily, the pleasure driving you almost wild. your breathing comes out in little gasps and your chest heaves up and down as Renjun continues flicking your most sensitive bud in hard circles, his tongue gliding easily across it. you could feel the familiar fire in the pit of your lower stomach blazing up. Just as it's about to explode, Haechan comes to an abrupt stop.

"Why?" you managed to whine through your heavy breathing.

"I like teasing you, baby. I like seeing you desperate and begging for my touch. Princess, you look so hot tied up like this, under my control. God, I wish you could see yourself from my eyes." you rubbed and squeezed your thighs together to ease the throbbing between the legs.

Haechan's dirty words, Renjun's manhandling, their rough voices and the animalistic looks in their eyes were making you feel things you never felt before. They were going crazy for you. The girl they dreamt of having for themselves was under their watch, their control, squirming and begging for them.

"I could just watch you all day." Renjun said and inhaled your scent from the crook of your neck and Haechan pulled down his boxers and took his erection in his hand, staring at you as he slowly moved his hand along his length.

Renjun continued whispering to you, he was enjoying watching you squirm and beg under his hold, "yes, angel. You are doing so good for us."

"Please, I can't! Make me cum..." you could hear the sound of him jerking off and making you even more desperate; they were free to do whatever they wanted while you had to take whatever they gave you.

"Aww, is my baby getting impatient?" The male above you smirked as he sees this and intentionally lets out loud groans, "Fuck..." He could hear you whining and the face you made looked like you were in pain. Renjun starts thrusting into his tight first, dangerously close to the edge. He bit his lower lip and forced himself to stop.

"Tell him what you want, angel."

"Fuck me. Ruin me, make me cum," you begged. you had never been more desperate in your entire life than in this very moment.

Haechan leaned over your body to leave more hickeys on your neck. "Mmh, baby is so wet for me," he said, running his fingers through your folds. He aligned himself with your heat and rubbed his length on your clit. You trembled at the sensation, trying to get him closer to you by wrapping your legs around his waist.

Haechan held onto your thighs to bring you closer and easily inserted himself inside your heat. You both moaned in unison as he pushed in slowly and dragged his cock back out before pushing back in and repeating. "Fuck."

None of your senses seemed to be working as you continued whining loudly and thrashing your head with your eyes closed, paying no attention to the almost crazed look on their faces.

"Baby, so good. Fuck, You are a poison to my mind. A sweet poison." He pronounced every word with a hard thrust, making it difficult for you to speak; you couldn't focus on anything around you, too overwhelmed by all the different sensations taking over your body. you pulled at the leather belt, nails digging into the palms of Renjun's hands.

The said man cursed in your ear, he quickly held himself up and spread his cum on your chest.

The man above you slowed down to a complete stop, making your eyes shot open. "Stop doing that, damn it!" you yell out in frustration.

you suddenly gasped in surprise when Haechan spanked your asscheek. "I'm in control here so I do as I please. Disrespect me again and I will leave you on the edge." With wide eyes, you nod frantically at the seriousness in his voice. "Answer me."

You swallow hard, flustered, "Yes."

"Behave, y/n." Renjun said beside you and pulled you in a deep kiss, muffling your noises. Haechan slowly starts thrusting again, making you choke on a moan. "God, that feels so good."

"Good. keep making those noises while I fuck you." Haechan didn't waste any time before he resumed thrusting inside at a fast pace, making you let out loud surprised moans. your hips clashed as he pounds into your wet heat, orgasms drawing closer.

" yes" you chant, followed by a series of moans. The noises made him lose control, letting out deep growls as he held onto your thighs for support and rams into you without mercy.

The bed squeaks in time with his rhythm, the sound being accompanied by the labored breathing, moans and grunts. Haechan slowed his pace but went deeper, one hand going to rub your clit to finish you off.

He grinds against you as your walls pulse around him, triggering his own climax. He quickly pulls out and releases his thick load all over your lower belly.

"Mhm, fuck yeah," Haechan leaned forward to kiss you shoulders, sticking his chest to you and nuzzling into the nape of your neck. When you try to speak something, he pulls you in for a kiss. The slow, lazy and affectionate kiss and you smiled in between.

Haechan pulled away from you, leaving your body feeling slightly cold under the touch of his brother, "Lay on the bed and spread those beautiful legs for me," Renjun ordered, licking his lips.

you, as always, followed the orders given to you but not without feeling a little embarrassed; Renjun liked the way you were complying to his orders and he smirked seeing your movements under his control.

As soon as you were lying comfortably on the bed, he went to situate himself between your legs at the foot of the bed and pulled you closer by thighs, kneading them. "Look at me," he continued giving orders, the authority in his voice making you shiver.

you lifted your upper body with the support of Haechan in order to see him, Haechan untied the belt from the wrists and your eyes widened as you watched him lift his middle and ring finger to his mouth, coating them thoroughly in saliva. your chest rises and falls rapidly as you keep watching him, while he just stares back at you with that wild hunger in his eyes, moving his tongue teasingly. He then pushes the two slick digits inside you, easing them into your wet entrance. you gasp and throw your head back into Haechan's chest, unable to control your body's response, and Renjun stops halfway, "Keep watching."

Haechan laughed and his laugh vibrated on your back. He held you down on your place, pinning your body against his chest, his length poking behind your lower back and the pleasure in front was driving you crazy. "She will be gone soon. My baby is loving this." Haechan said and laughed at your weak body in his hold.

Forcing yourself to not succumb to the pleasure Renjun was making you feel, you look at him again, licking your suddenly dry lips. Renjun's eyes flicker downwards to watch his fingers get sucked up all the way to the knuckles, his dick throbbing in want. He starts moving them in and out, scissoring them and stretching the tight walls.

you watch with hooded eyes the way his tongue pokes out from in between his teeth as he concentrates on his task, fingering her expertly.

"I want you to hold it in if you are near. Think you can do that?" you nod with furrowed eyebrows, whimpering in pleasure as his long fingers continue working their magic; they glide easily thanks to how wet you were, aroused by his dominant behavior. Haechan was trailing kisses along your neck and throat, often turning your mouth to kiss your lips.

Once your thighs start squeezing around him and you buck your hips, Renjun knew you were close to the edge. He moved his hand to replace it with his length and started to move a little faster, his warm breath hitting close to your nipples, when he sucked on them afterwards.

His hand left your thigh to go towards his mouth and he sucked on his fingers to taste you, tongue swirling around it before pulling it out and pressing it against your neglected clit. You were so into it that you didn't notice Haechan collected some of your arousal and started spreading it to your hole from the back and when you whined, he pushed himself from behind you. Renjun holding your body close to him and caressing your back. "Shh...that's it. You are doing so good for us."

Haechan groaned and held you still, the other male also stopping a bit to make you adjust, "relax. You are taking us so well. Good, baby." He caressed your sides. He planted a kiss on your shoulder and the other one who was still holding you close, kissed on your crown of the head. They started moving again, each cautiously looking at your expression, alert for your discomfort and they will stop. Haechan grabbed your breasts and squeezed them and Renjun grabbed your hips, you were clutching onto both of them for dear life.

your arms give out simultaneously as your legs begin to shake almost violently, white flashing behind your tightly closed eyelids, a loud and obscene moan leaving your lips. your back arches off the chest behind you as you are brought to the highway to heaven., tears spilling from her eyes and hands gripping him, nails digging into his skin.

"Please!" you cried out, whining loudly afterwards. your body wanted to scoot away and get closer at the same time, torn between the two. you panted in exhaustion and your body relaxes once they had stopped. they placed soft kisses all over your body, pulling out slowly. 

They lay you down between them and Haechan's hands comb through your hair while you stare at the ceiling absentmindedly, catching your breath. He whispered, "Happy birthday, Princess. I love you the most."

Before you could reply to him, Renjun turned your face towards him and kissed your lips, "Happy Birthday, Angel. I love you so much."

You glanced at the clock and it was 12' o clock, your birthday. "Thank you. I love both of you" you smiled sweetly at both of them.

"So, how was that? Feel good?" Haechan asks, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Of course it did... but " you trail off, making Haechan's smile fade into worry, "But?"

"But is it okay for us three to be together?" you asked, your face becoming warmer as you confess.

you had never done anything like this before, so you felt as if you were doing something wrong or must have gone crazy that you were liking all these things

."Don't worry, y/n, we'll be perfect with each other, promise. we'll show you all kinds of things in the future," Renjun reassured, squeezing her thigh, and giving her a sweet kiss before getting up, leaving you with Haechan.

"I'm gonna shower now. Haechan, can you freshen her up?" He asks and you whine, "don't leave me with him. Let's shower together. It's my birthday and you both have to listen to me now."

Before you could complain even more, Renjun scooped you in arms and laughed, "whatever you order, maam." you hit his chest playfully, his laugh becoming louder followed by Haechan who even started teasing you how heavy you look in his arms. Both of you glared at him and entered the bathroom.

You are glad that you are no longer in the past relationship with Wooyoung. You are out of his obsession and listened to your two best friends who stayed by your side, protected you and loved you. You are out of the toxic love. You are in a pure and innocent love.

Are you really, though?

Before Haechan could enter the bathroom, he heard a notification pop up on your phone. He stepped towards the table and unlocked to see it. He smirked at the screen, placing it back on the table top and he jogged towards the bathroom  when Renjun called out his name.

'Happy Birthday, y/n!'

        -Unknown (your love)

Love is poisoned by your innocence.

Note: please I want to thanks to people for reading and reblogging. Reviews are always appreciated. Spread love not hate. If my favoritism is showing with any of the members then please try to understand coz Hyuck is my twin🎀

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @anyamaris @yeoobin @icchyi @jwnghyuns @piratequeen-queenofgames @dinonuguaegi @oreharuuu @hwanring @sanwifesstuff @kiwiisnthereoops @kiwiraccoon @hyuukah @kazscara @aceofspadesbiofalltrades @nvdhrzn @meowmeeps @vtyb23 @haechansbbg

[open!]

[danielfuckingricciardo]

oh fun! 27 & fernando alonso?

Hi Anon! Thank you for the request!!

This is the last of the OG requests, from now all the rest will be from today! I’m sorry for the wait!

This one is very much inspired by the lyrics I’ve quoted, and also by my recent trip to London and how much I hate being so close to random strangers on the tube! I hope you enjoy it!

(Translations from Spanish to English can be found at the bottom of the fic!)

Song 27 - All The Small Things // Blink-182

Pairing - Fernando Alonso x Reader

Word Count - 1.6k

Content Warnings - Swearing, blood mention, injury mention (very minor)

Late night, come home Work sucks, I know She left me roses by the stairs Surprises let me know she cares

You knew from the start that being in a long distance relationship would never be easy, but somehow, you and Fernando managed to make it work despite all of the hardships that came with it. It wasn’t the fear of infidelity that made it hard for you, you trusted him completely, and for you, there could be no one else but him, but instead just being apart made your heart hurt.

The sun had long since set, and as you descended into the tube station you found your breathing becoming shaky as you struggled to hold back the tears that had been brewing since you had left your office.

Your day had been hell. From 8am you had found yourself inundated with emails from snarky clients, impatient supervisors and lazy co-workers. When the brief respite that is your lunch hour rolled around, you found that someone else in the office had eaten your lunch, causing you to go hungry for the rest of the day as you were far too busy to go and pick something up. And to top it all off, your boss had called you into his office before your shift had ended to let you know that you had to participate in ‘company-wide downsizing’ and lay off two of your staff.

Right now, you wanted nothing more than to collapse into the strong arms of your boyfriend, to bury your head in his neck and sob into the soft material of his shirt. But you couldn’t. He wasn’t there.

Your train arrives and you cram yourself into the tightly packed carriage, just barely finding the time to grab the handrail before it begins to move. You stumble forward and your phone slips from your hands, hitting the ground with a crack.

‘Please don’t be broken! Please don’t be broken!’ You repeat to yourself in your head as you reach down to retrieve it.

You flip your phone over to reveal a small crack in the corner of the screen. Luckily, it still works, and you unlock it and immediately search for Fernando’s contact, typing him a quick message before hitting send;

Work was fucking awful. I wish I was with you right now &lt;3

You lock your phone and stash it away in your pocket, hoping to avoid any other possible mishaps on a day that, frankly, seemed to have been cursed by satan himself.

As the train arrives at your station, you push through the horde of commuters and jump onto the platform. You sigh deeply in relief, thankful that your head is no longer in proximity to a stranger’s sweaty armpit, and retrieve your headphones from your pocket. You jam them in your ears and grab your phone to shuffle your favourite playlist.

You press play, and the perfect song begins to blast in your ears, grounding you as you begin your walk home into the night.

Your phone buzzes in your pocket and you hurriedly retrieve it, hoping it was Fernando replying to your earlier message. You weren’t sure what time it was wherever he was in the world, it could be the middle of the night right now and you weren’t to receive a text until the next morning, but part of you hoped and prayed that it was him and not some stupid spam email or your shitty boss not understanding the concept of a healthy work/life balance.

A pain shoots through your thumb where you had grabbed the screen of your phone, and you notice a small splinter of glass from your broken screen buried in the sensitive skin.

“Fuck!” You say to no one in particular as you remove the splinter and bring your thumb up to your mouth to clean away the blood.

Annoyed but not deterred, you unlock your phone and see the first good thing to happen to you that day - Fernando had replied.

Oh no hermosa! I wish I was with you too. Te amo mi corazón <3 We will be together soon

You can’t help but grin like an idiot at your phone screen as you make the final turn onto your street. The only thing getting you through the long, dull days at work was the promise that the two of you would be reunited the following week. You’d actually have the chance to be a real couple, to do normal things that you rarely had the chance to do. You could vent to him about the stresses of work as you lay your head in his lap, and he’d run his fingers through your hair the way you always liked, allowing the stresses of the day to just melt away.

As you put your key in the front door, you hear Tina, the old woman who lives next door, tap on the window beside you. You jump, and she chuckles at you behind the glass.

She disappears for a moment, before emerging from her own front door, a smile playing on her lips.

“Looks like you have a secret admirer, dear. The postie brought these for you this morning, but since you weren’t in I had to sign for them.” She says, and she retrieves an ornate bouquet of deep red roses from behind the door.

You take them in your arms and open the attached note.

A rose for every day we have been apart, mi corazón. Te amo.

You fold the note in half and take a deep breath, before promptly bursting into tears.

“Are you okay, love?” Tina asks, and you nod your head.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just had a really bad day at work and I’ve been feeling terrible, but I have the best boyfriend in the world. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve him. He’s away working and yet he still thinks about all these little things.” You say between sobs, and your neighbour wraps her arm around your shoulders.

“Is he gorgeous as well as kind? A stunner like you must have a hunky boyfriend.” She says, and you chuckle, wiping away your tears with your free hand.

“This was us on holiday in Cancun back in December, does he pass the Tina test?” You ask, showing her the photo of the two of you on the beach you had set as your Lock Screen following the trip.

“Crikey! He’s gorgeous. A bit older, I didn’t expect that, but good on you. Does he live with you? I haven’t seen him about.” Tina asks.

“No, no he doesn’t. He travels a lot, for work, so I only get to see him when our schedules align. I hate it, I wish I could be with him all the time but… it’s hard.” You say, and Tina gives you a sympathetic smile.

“He travels a lot, you say, does this job pay a lot?” She asks, and you chuckle. Oh, if only she knew.

“You could say that, yeah.” You say, and Tina gives you a confused look.

“Then why haven’t you given up your terrible job that makes you miserable to travel with him?” She asks, and you pause for a moment.

“I guess, when we first got together, I didn’t want him to think that I was just in it for the money. I wanted to keep my own life too, I didn’t just want to be his accessory.” You say, and Tina shakes her head.

“But if work makes you miserable, and being with him makes you happy, then I see only one option, love. Life’s too short to waste it doing things that make you sad.” She says, and you nod, feeling the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle fall into place.

“By the way, he doesn’t happen to have an older brother… or a single father maybe?” Tina asks, and you laugh.

“Tina! I know for a fact your husband of fifty years is sat watching TV in the front room right now!” You say, and Tina chuckles.

“It’s always good to have a back-up plan.” She says, and you shake your head at her while laughing.

“Well, you and Fernando have certainly cheered me up this evening. Thanks for signing for the flowers.” You say, and Tina steps back behind the door.

“Any time, dear.” She responds, before closing the door.

You make your way over your own front door where your key still sat in the lock, the cogs of your brain turning at a record pace as Tina’s words play over and over again in your mind.

Dumping your work things in a pile on the kitchen counter, you immediately open your email app and add your boss’ address to the top;

You wanted the downsize, then allow me to make things easier for you.

This email is my official resignation from the company, and, as per my contract, comes into place with immediate effect.

Thanks, (Y/n) (Y/l/n)

You press send and the whoosh of the notification instantly lifts a weight off of your shoulders that you were completely unaware you were carrying. You were free. After this weekend there would be no horrible boss, no crappy coworkers who steal your lunch, no germ-ridden commutes and no more emails. It would just be you, and Fernando, and the world.

Translations:

Hermosa - Beautiful

Te amo - I love you

Mi corazón- My heart (like my love or my dear)

[alexblakeisgay]

Dating App Mishaps (Ch. 6)

Ship: Alex Blake/Reader

Summary: Alex didn't have Tinder by choice...but that doesn't mean it isn't going to come in handy.

Word Count: 1076

"Why did you make me come with you?" you whined, trudging along behind Quinn, "You know I think this place is elitist and snobby and brainwashing young adults into..."

Quinn interrupted your spiel with a 'yak yak yak' hand gesture. "God, do you ever shut up?"

"Do you?" you retorted, wishing you had something more clever to fire back with.

Quinn just rolled her eyes, but didn't dignify your retort with a verbal reply. "I need you to carry all my textbooks," she said as if that should be obvious.

"Umm, did you break both your arms?" you scoffed.

Rolling her eyes harder, Quinn replied, "I just got a manicure and you have horny lesbian nails, so you're not going to risk damaging a hundred dollars worth of acrylics."

"How the fuck do you afford tuition and still piss away money on spa days?" you asked, fully anticipating her to give you the finger in reply.

She surprised you then by seeming surprised. "You didn't know?" she said at length.

"Know what?" You hated her smug grin, the superiority in her smirk.

"My sugar daddy pays for everything... I thought you knew that."

Your brows leapt up your forehead. "Excuse me?"

Quinn shot you a look that seemed to suggest you'd said something intentionally obtuse. "You do not get to judge me, Miss Milf Horny," she said, surprisingly intimidating for her smaller stature.

You held up your hands in self-defence. "I wasn't judging!" you insisted. "I just...didn't know." You shrugged.

She seemed like she would have liked to say more on the subject, but before she could, she got a text message. "Speak of the devil..." she said with a waggle of her brows. "I'll be right back."

You rolled your eyes, leaning back against the wall to wait.

__________

You were typing on your phone (admittedly waxing poetic to your best friend about how you hadn't heard from your almost-hookup in nearly a week) and not paying attention to the pile of books you'd left on the floor...

And by the time you looked up from your phone, you realized a moment too late that said books were exactly far enough into the hallway that they were going to cause someone to trip.

You had exactly enough time to catch the victim of your inadvertent trap as she fell...bringing you face to face with Alex. Immediately, you felt your face heat up with embarrassment as you flashed back to grinding your bare cunt on her thigh.

"Al-Alex, I umm..." you stammered. "It's... It's umm...nice to see you again." You winced, hating how awkward your greeting sounded.

"Y/N," Alex said, sounding mildly surprised as well, but hiding it better.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, collecting the books that had been scattered when Alex tripped over them.

She watched you for a moment before responding, "I teach here. Are you a student here?"

Glancing up at from where you were kneeling on the floor, you were quick to insist, "Oh, no!"

"Those are the standard textbooks for a first year kinesiology student," she pointed out.

You looked from Alex to the textbooks and back. "They're my sister's," you said, "I'm just her pack mule." You watched as something that looked a lot like relief washed over her face. A few seconds later, your brain caught up to the situation. "What could possibly have been a 'work emergency' for a college professor?" you blurted out without stopping to wonder if there was a reasonable explanation.

For a brief moment, surprise flickered across Alex's face. "You didn't Google me," she said, unsure if it was a sentence or a question.

You shook your head. "Was I supposed to?"

"I just assumed," she admitted. "The work emergency was for my other job." A beat. "With the FBI."

"Does... Does that mean you aren't ghosting me?" you asked awkwardly.

"Ghosting you?" Alex repeated. "Heavens no!"

Of course, that was the answer you'd been hoping for. "Really?" you couldn't help asking, needing to be certain.

Rather than directly answer, Alex instead said, "Have dinner with me."

"Really?" you said again.

She couldn't help the soft little laugh that bubbled up. "Please?" she added. "It would be my pleasure."

Before you had a chance to reply, Quinn came flouncing back...and the moment she caught sight of Alex, a wickedly mischievous smirk crossed her lips. "Wellllll," she said, drawing out the syllable. "What have we here?"

"Get lost, Quinn," you hissed from between your teeth, attempting to convey with your eyes alone that if she didn't, you couldn't be held responsible for what you might do to her.

Quinn, of course, ignored you. Still grinning like the cat that got the cream, she turned to Alex and knowingly said, "Have you asked her out yet?"

"Quinn!" you squeaked, scandalized. You whipped your head around to fix Alex with an apologetic grimace. Turning back to Quinn, you attempted to be polite as you said, "Kindly go away."

She ignored you. "Don't get me wrong, Y/N is great and everything, but she really needs to get laid. Like the situation is critical..."

You had no idea what to say or do in this situation. The best you had to offer was swivelling your gaze from Quinn to Alex and back, mouth hanging open a little.

Alex, at least, seemed to find the situation amusing. "Is that so?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Quinn, knowing full well what she was doing, nodded. "The last time I stayed at her place, she was in the shower for like forty minutes, if you know what I mean..." She winked, just in case her double entendre was unclear.

"Good to know," Alex remarked. She was clearly doing her best to quash a grin that threatened to break free.

"Oh-kay," you said slowly with an expression that quite clearly said you were going to murder Quinn, "That's more than enough sharing." You dug your fingers into Quinn's shoulders as you forcefully turned her around. Over your shoulder, you shot Alex an apologetic smile, half convinced you'd never hear from her again.

You were frog-marching Quinn down the hall when Alex's voice rang out, reminding, "You forgot the textbooks..."

[tobegiggledat]

To the One I Greatly Cherish

18+ CONTENT AHEAD MDNI

✦pairings: Nemuri Kayama (Midnight) x afab!reader, Emi Fukukado (Ms. Joke) x afab!reader

✦word count: 4.7k (this part only), 9.4k (total)

✦summary: A series of anonymous love letters fill your inbox days before the world's most notable romantic holiday, but who could possibly be your secret admirer? Will you be able to find out their identity in time for Valentine's Day?

✦warnings: slight angst, guilt, kissing, massages, mutual fingering, oral sex, clit-leashing, vaginal sex, dildos, praise, begging, pet names (angel)

✦a/n: A special fic for the folks that only got love from fictional characters this year (me)

This fic has different endings depending on who you think wrote the letters (you’ll have to choose a link at the bottom), but I’d recommend reading both for the full context.

To the one I greatly cherish,

If you’re captivating eyes manage to stumble upon this message, then you must know how often you cross my mind.

And how there isn't a breath I take that isn't fueled by my desire to be with you one day.

Even from a distance, your presence will continue to consume me, although I'm afraid you won't understand.

Longing for you always,

Your Secret Admirer

It’s only been a day since you’ve discovered that someone wants to pursue you from afar.

The first message from this unknown sender was delivered with an eye-catching header to your school email address, one which you clicked with an urgency, zipping across the romantic lines before your cursor could keep up with you. The thought of it still sends a fresh rush of warm fervor through your system at the possibility of who it may be.

When was the last time someone yearned for you, let alone expressed it in such a heartfelt way?

A blaring bell chimes to interrupt your reminiscence. It's a signal for another day's work at U.A. High School, and as the Heroics Department’s Journalism teacher you mustn’t spend your time idly.

Dozens of students flock to their seats, some bright-eyed and eager to learn, while others give distant, dull gazes you’re certain wouldn’t falter even if the sky were to somehow collapse into your very classroom.

No matter, you’ll teach the subject with utmost enthusiasm as it’s one you’ve been passionate about since youth. Many of your teenage years were spent gathering first hand sources on heroic symbolism, the faults/benefits of quirk regulation, and more. You managed to garner a following for yourself on all socials—though whether you’re a good journalist or not has always been…up for debate.

Today’s lesson goes by swiftly, with you discussing privacy rights and the importance of examining a source’s background and potential interests. It's a lesson you could've used many years ago, nonetheless, you believe you'll shape your students into promising reporters even as you grow from your past mishaps.

The next period gives you an opportunity to collect your thoughts; an empty classroom makes for an empty mind, although your fingers itch to finally text your best friend about the whole “secret admirer” ordeal.

You: Gained a potential love interest today👀

Emi: Right, and it's not that one loser from the bar again is it?

You: Hmm, maybe. They're a secret admirer after all

Emi: So, secretly the loser from the bar?

You: I’d hope not, but the secret part does make that sound a bit more alluring.

You: Let's grab coffee later so I can tell you more.

Your phone slides from your hands and onto the desk in exchange for the stack of papers you were meant to grade. Your pointy, red pen taps against your bottom lip as you scan over the neat arrangement of letters at the top of the stack, checking and ticking along the margins then repeating this for the next page or until class ends.

The lunch bell inevitably releases you from your dreary task, and you're quick to align the correct stacks in their designated corners before gathering your lunch box and taking off toward your usual secluded spot.

Students line the walls in minimally chaotic rows, something you've come to appreciate as order is always upheld in U.A. despite how small.

You turn the corner into an empty hall, but your heart plunges into your ass upon looking to the very end of it to discover the long, violet strands and crimson lenses of Nemuri Kayama.

In an instant, you think to escape before she makes out your presence, but just when you turn on your heels to do so she gives you a condescending smirk while raising a palm to give a curt wave.

The controversy of your past always seems to linger.

“Afternoon, Kayama”, you keep your introduction brief upon clashing with her stark center amidst the path.

“Professor Kayama”, she corrects snobbishly. “Remember, this is a school environment, not one of your trashy articles.” Her shapely brows frown as she grits her teeth.

You give her a faux grin to appease her ridiculous standards of professionalism. “Trashy or blunt truths you chose to avoid?”

Her eyes nearly roll back into their sockets. “If you're the source of truth, then maybe the world is too incapable to seek it themselves.” Kayama whips her hair away with a pale hand, the click-clack of her heels echoing against the tile as she storms off.

You're just glad the whole thing is over with.

You stumble upon your destination; a quiet gated area outside the back of the school. The trees around it are ample of life, leaving shadowy freckles of shade across your skin as you sit beneath its thick heads of leaves.

Your head turns to and fro while you attempt to spot the signature dark wardrobe of your occasional accompanier, but it seems he hasn't arrived today.

Besides you and Aizawa, no one else has noticed this area's unusual privacy, but it makes things all the more peaceful.

You chow down on leftovers from yesterday's dinner then depart to begin teaching the last two classes; stringing together repetitions from the lesson earlier except with more exaggeration on the privacy aspect.

You head out to meet Emi minutes before the final bell rings, giving your class an early dismissal as long as they agree to go about it quietly.

You've known Emi since high school, although you ultimately decided to teach at U.A. for more newsgathering opportunities. Emi never lets you hear the end of it as she jokingly calls you the traitor of Ketsubutsu whenever you'd mention your experiences there.

While you weren't in the heroics program back when you were a student, you made notable achievements as an intern for a national website by investigating scandals of corrupt heroes and crafting opinion pieces on the ethics of hero society.

You met Emi at the beginning of your first-year orientation, with the two of you sitting beside each other at the assembly hall, playing off of each other's jokes in whispers and concealed giggles to keep yourselves entertained.

You could never bring yourself to admit that she's the funniest of the two of you, but you've always spoken of how you admire her approach to heroism as she brings smiles to civilian's faces even without the use of her quirk.

Sweet aromas of vanilla and herbs waft through the coffee shop air, with dim lights illuminating the rustic interior and dark wooden tables placed in all corners.

Emi’s seated near the end of the cafe and has already ordered you and her drinks. You make your way to her table, teeth gleaming and eyes bright while meeting her own eager, chartreuse ones.

“Hey, what’s the news?”Emi chirps, sliding a cup to your end of the table.

You hold the drink firmly before releasing a small sigh. “Not much to tell. I still don’t have the slightest clue as to who they might be.”

“I’m excited!” Her smile grows wider as she twists side to side with glee. “What’ll you do once you find out?”

“Probably marry them or something. I mean, no one has ever gone through this much effort for me”, you jape despite the depressing reality of your words, then take a sip of your drink, savoring the familiar flavors with each gulp.

She puckers her lips to give a playful pout. “Does this mean you’ll replace me?” She asks with fake weariness. “Does what we have mean so little to you?”

You reassure her teasingly, “Don’t worry, I’ll marry you next if things don’t work out this time.”

She taps her lips with her straw as if considering. “With such a good offer, I’m not sure if I want to help you with this anymore.”

“Oh, come on, Emi. You know I’ll always love you.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll help you”, she relents. “Maybe you should try picking a person close to you and observing them.”

“Hmm…funnily enough, I’m not that close to any of my coworkers. It’s weird I received a love letter through my school email at all.” You reach down to take another hefty sip.

“But there’s gotta be someone you know at least a little more than the others.”

You take a moment to ponder. “Sometimes, I sit with Aizawa during lunch, although we don’t talk often so we just enjoy each other’s silences.”

Emi’s brows raise noticeably. “Yikes…if anything I’d think he’s your least likely candidate.”

“I know, but there aren’t many options to choose from. Kayama hates me, I hardly get a chance to speak to Mic or Vlad outside of meetings, and All Might is…All Might.”

“Well, if Aizawa is your best bet there shouldn’t be harm in looking into him anyways, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so...”

You and Emi’s talk concludes with exchanged hugs before you take your train home, contemplating Emi’s suggestion and how to go about your approach.

When you arrive, you hastily discard your work clothes before putting on something more comfortable and lounging on your bed to reread the email you received.

Is this really something Aizawa would write, you hesitantly contemplate to yourself, scanning over the flowery words and recoiling at the idea of him putting them together—you ultimately decide it’s tomorrow's problem.

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

To the one I greatly cherish,

I hope you’re pleased reading my messages as much as I am while writing them.

As the time passes, I find my days to be progressively trivial without you.

My most profitable successes are worthless as they’re void of your companionship. My biggest fear overlaps with my inability to have you.

Will we ever be united? It’s up to fate to decide.

Continuing to be blessed by you,

Your Secret Admirer

Today’s letter creates new waves of violent jitters along your spine, coupling with the preexisting dread that’s already palpitating through your system at the thought of approaching Aizawa about it.

You’re unsure how you’d feel if you found out he truly had feelings for you, and while you told Emi you’d probably reciprocate them, you can’t say that for certain.

You've grown to respect Aizawa to some degree after investigating his days as the underground hero, Eraserhead, but nothing more as of yet.

Only time will tell, for now you’d just like to get to the bottom of who’s been plotting to romance you, once and for all.

The lunch bell eventually stirs to life, and with your steeled resolve, you hurriedly pace along the halls, toward the back of the school.

The dark blue doors feel heavy against your palms as you press on them to finally arrive at the shaded area. Its lulling atmosphere is as undisturbed as you expected, you spot Aizawa’s rugged form on a bench, faced away and gazing at the limited scenery of the campus.

“Hey, is it okay if I sit here?” You ask upon approaching him while awkwardly hovering outside his range of sight.

He nods slightly but makes no effort to turn your direction.

You take a seat beside him, picking at the prints of your fingers to occupy yourself and the silence. “It’s beautiful weather for February, isn’t it? I honestly expected a little more snow”, you finally attempt to break the tension.

He hums softly in agreement but nothing more.

“Valentine’s day is right around the corner, but I’m not one to usually celebrate it”, you pause, clenching your peeling fingers into a snug fist. “What about you—”

“You’re awfully chatty today”, Aizawa interrupts, his voice gruff with irritation as his hands hook along the sides of his scarf.

Your words are nearly caught on your tongue. “I’m sorry?”

“If this is for one of your news columns or something, I have no interest in gossiping.”

You sneer, turning fully to face him, but only his stoic, disinterested profile can be seen. “That’s not my field of work and you know it. Haven’t you read any of my reports?”

“Possibly, but it’s not like I’d remember those kinds of things.”

Ouch.

“Whatever, it’s nothing. Sorry to have bothered you.” You defeatedly rise from your seat, throat and eyes stinging from the heat that grows with each step you take toward the door.

This isn’t the first time your work has been reduced to pandering nonsense, but for some reason it hurts way more than usual.

“Fuck”, you mutter quietly, sniffling away in the nearest bathroom stall as you try to collect yourself.

Has it really been that long since you’ve written something that deconstructed the masses view on heroics? You must’ve grown too complacent at this school—in fact, this is where it all went wrong.

Choosing to become a teacher instead of risking your comfort to uncover hidden truths wasn’t what you initially planned.

But is it so wrong to change paths even when your prior choice was deemed more impactful?

Is it so wrong to write proposals about a hopeful, nonexistent future than to expose more darkness of a knowingly ineffective society? You’ve long realized the corruption runs deeper than you ever could’ve hoped to shed light on. You journal about the new era of quirks, searching for an ability that’ll make the old way of things seem outdated.

Is that too foolish to look forward to?

Your phone vibrates along your clothes’ seams, and you swiftly remove it from your pocket as you swipe away the last of your tears.

Emi: Soo, is Aizawa dying to be with you or what???

A small smile creeps up your cheeks at her overwhelming interest.

You: Nope. It was a complete shut down.

Emi: It’s okay. I’ve been there too, Aizawa’s tough.❤️

A hefty exhale escapes you before you finally make yourself presentable enough to return to your classroom and finish teaching for the rest of the day.

Once classes end, Mic summons all of the heroics teachers into the teacher’s lounge to invite everyone out for drinks in celebration of his podcast’s growing success.

You: I was invited to go to a club with my coworkers tomorrow night, should I go?

Emi: Yes!! How else will you find your true love?!

You: Yeah, but with Aizawa and Kayama it'll be awkward :(

Emi: Aizawa doesn't go out on school days so you should be down at least one problem

You: Fair enough, I’ll just try to avoid Kayama the whole night🥲

Now, the only thing left to do is prepare yourself for another long day of hardships…

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

To the one I greatly cherish,

Come find me on Valentine’s Day so that I'll be rightfully yours. Let your heart guide you to the correct choice if you feel the same as I.

Thinking of you fondly,

Your Secret Admirer

Unlike the emails from before, today's love letter arrives a half hour after school ends rather than before it starts, and is much briefer in length.

You’re expected to somehow discover the identity of your admirer within a few days and without much to go off of.

It’s almost like they never wanted to be discovered in the first place.

Sharp pin-pricks zip through palms and into your twitching fingertips as the nervous chill that’s pervaded your body attempts to find an outlet through your skin.

If only they knew their longing is being reciprocated…

You aid your shudders with disordered breaths, mentally counting each dry pant before drafting a text to update Emi on the state of your situation.

To pass the time before meeting with your coworkers and to get your mind off the whole letter ordeal, you spend the rest of the evening formulating your lesson plans for the next week.

It’s tedious but necessary work as you ultimately decide on journalism ethics and informed opinions for the topics.

Emi still hasn’t responded to your texts since before classes ended, although you know she’ll want you to persist with going out anyways.

Nighttime arrives and you promptly put together a casual yet tasteful look then exit your home with the weight of the world seemingly trapped in your chest. The ride there is even more disorienting with clammy passengers cramming all corners of the train and bracing themselves for each turn with the lack of space.

Luckily, the trip is short as you find yourself standing before the glowing green lights of the club’s name etched in neon, with purple hues also trailing the rim of it and leading down to the snowy glass doors.

You tug at the elongated handles, breath caught in your throat as you take your first steps toward the source of your unease.

Ambient music sweeps through your ears, its vibrations jolting enough to stir the hairs on your skin and rattle the depths of your bones. Your eyes drift across the arrangement of floundering civilians to spot the bright yellow of Mic’s hair as he’s seated on a stool closest to the front of the bar.

His hands flail outwardly to make exuberant gestures while he speaks to a hooded man beside him. Kayama also sits near Mic, slender fingers cupped around a glass with a salted rim and lemon. Her glossy lips meet the edge of it as her gaze passes between Mic and the unfamiliar man as they speak.

How long will you continue to watch from a distance?

Your hands cup the sides of your arms for comfort—but suddenly, as if Kayama could feel the force of your stare, her intense blue irises spot you in her periphery before promptly shifting away.

Your body moves backward mechanically to leave until you feel your phone chime against you.

Call me, the message from Emi reads, and you take off toward a dark, empty hallway at the end of the club to do just that.

Thankfully, the area is quiet and private enough for you to make the call.

“Hey, have you reached the bar yet?” Emi cheerfully answers after the first ring.

You press the phone tightly to your ear. “Yeah, but I’m not sure if I can do this anymore. I feel so out of place here”, your voice drifts as you speak, tone shaky and uncertain.

“I get what you mean. It must be exhausting to perform in front of people you’re not really familiar with.”

“Right. I just never expected having a secret admirer to be so…stressful.” Your head falls back against the wall as you shut your eyes gently. “How will I ever find out who they are if they never plan to reveal themselves?”

“I’m not sure, but if you really want to find out this may be your only chance.”

“Yeah, then I should probably get back to it... Thanks, Emi.” You take a last sigh of relief before reluctantly hanging up to go back to the rest of the group.

As you turn the corner to retreat, a dizzying force crashes into you and sends your heels tumbling backward, scrambling for a tidbit of balance.

Before an apology could form on your tongue, you recognize the passerby as no one other than Kayama and begin to pull yourself away.

“ ‘m sorry, just came to check up on you”, Kayama’s words are slightly slurred as she speaks. She clumsily swipes her purple wisps from her deeply stained cheeks. Her eyes are glassy, pupils blown as they examine you with an intrigue you’ve never witnessed from her.

“Are you drunk?” You ask hesitantly, but she only blinks at you slowly.

“Just tipsy, but come on.” Her hand locks around your wrist as she pulls you along the halls to lead you back to the bar, and for some reason you don’t pull away. You opt to be dictated by her impulse despite the conflict that’s always existed between you.

Mic and the stranger have gone off somewhere by the time you both return. Kayama pulls herself to the counter and orders another round of shots after awkwardly pointing along the lengthy menu provided to her.

Three clear glasses are slid in front of you with a smirk passing over Kayama’s lips.

You question if her actions are a drunken whim or a genuine attempt to mend your strained dynamic, but you don’t think it matters much.

This’ll make things easier, right?

Fuck it. You gulp down all three shots consecutively, jaw tightening as the burning liquid courses down your throat and through your chest. Heat seeps into your nerves while the alcohol begins to conquer your judgment.

Kayama’s smile grows wider, a giddy hum passing through her lips. “Let’s have some fun!” She redirects you once more, except to the dance floor as the next song begins to play.

Her body begins to sway delicately to the thrums of each beat, a series of synchronized yet hypnotic movements possessing her limbs as her piercing eyes remain on yours.

She shuffles a little closer then places a soft palm on your shoulder, trailing down along your sleeves then grasping your hand again tightly. She twirls away on the tips of her feet, free hand extended outward, before pulling into you and pressing her back firmly against your chest, while her hips curve into your own.

As quickly as she spins into you, she turns back to face you with her features no more than a breath away from yours. She stills for a moment, quietly taking in each ridge across your cheeks and the delicate shape of your lips.

“You’re really hot, y’know that?” She speaks tenderly against you, although there’s an underlying sadness as she utters it, one her facial expression seems to mimic as well.

“Buut…I still haven’t forgiven you”, she winks without any trace of her earlier gloom present. The heat of her closeness disappears to leave you cold and aching as she turns away to leave the club without another word.

Her words still echo across your synapses while the clarity of her silhouette slowly fades until gone completely.

You've wronged her but have yet to atone even though the guilt of your actions continue to fester and swell in your chest to engrave rotten, pus-filled holes in the walls of your heart. It oozes and drips into your veins as it spoils you, body and mind.

Would she ever accept your pleas of forgiveness if you were to give them to her? Does she too believe that the tight-walk around the conversation has gone on for too long?

You anxiously text Emi on the way home.

You: I think I may have found my secret admirer

Maybe the letters were a ruse to finally address things once and for all…

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

The very next morning Emi sends a message to your school email.

Hey

No service right now but email me back if you need anything :)

Emi

A wave of relief washes over you now that you’ve been given the reasoning for Emi’s lack of responses.

You’re eager to give her more juicy details on your valentine, but you’d rather discuss with her in person once classes end.

Today is a typical Friday, with students excitedly whispering discussions of their weekend plans, and teachers assigning the appropriate amount of coursework for the next two days off.

Despite the upcoming weekend, you won’t be at ease as Valentine’s Day will be on the approaching Monday and you’re still dissatisfied with your “investigation”.

You’ve yet to see Midnight, even after intentionally passing her classroom, but other than that classes go by swimmingly.

Emi receives your email begging her to let you come over to her apartment so that the two of you can chat and she obliges.

Still dressed in your work attire, you give a few taps on the beige door to Emi’s apartment, which opens the moment your knuckles retreat from its smooth wood.

"Hey, come on in”, Emi greets, swiftly turning so that you'd follow her into her lavish living room, adorned with patterned wallpaper and two lime-green suede sofas at the center.

She sits on the farthest end of one of the couches and you join right beside her. The small coffee table before you is already decorated with snacks and drinks, you smile at the thought of having another movie night or sleepover with her.

“So tell me about it already”, Emi says, eyes wide and fingers clasped together as if she’s pleading.

“Emi, you're not going to believe me when I tell you who it is”, you begin as you reach passively for a bottle of water to occupy your hands.

She gasps. “No way, is it Kayama?”

You nod with a smug grin. “I think so, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure yet.”

“What makes you think it's her? She totally hates you.”

“That's what I thought too, until she started dancing with me at the club the other night.”

Emi claps her palms over her mouth as you continue, her emerald brows nearly touching the soft hairs of her hairline.

“We were both a bit drunk but I still think it was odd she tried to initiate anything with me at all.”

“Did you get a chance to talk with Mic or the others?” Emi asks with undeviating attention.

“No, not once. I doubt they had anything to do with this otherwise they would've made an attempt to reach out to me.” You focus on the feeling of the cool condensation on your fingers as you speak, rolling the thin plastic bottle between each hand.

Emi hums in agreement. “Good point. And going by the emails, this person must really-really like you. They're not just someone who passed you by and thought you were cute.”

“Yeah, putting it that way means Midnight is the only one I’ve had a history with, even though we’ve…drifted apart.” You let out a deep sigh before finally taking a few gulps of water. “Emi, things would’ve been so much easier if you were the one behind this.” Your pouty eyes meet hers, and for a second her expression is unreadable.

“What if I actually was?” She asks softly, but her features are stern as she awaits your reply. Her body unconsciously shifts closer to you while yours goes rigid.

“You mean, you’re my secret admirer?”

“Mhmm.” Her stare slowly trails to your lips and lingers there for what feels like an eternity.

You swear your cheeks are searing to the touch as warmth spreads beneath your skin from the intensity of her look.

“I’m just kidding!” Emi suddenly beams then playfully taps your shoulder. “You should’ve seen the look on your face.”

“Don’t joke like that Emi. My heart was racing.” You can’t bring yourself to look her in the eyes.

“Good, that means you’ve fallen for me.”

Shortly after talking with Emi, she puts on a romcom that she's been wanting to see for ages, but you can hardly pay any attention to it.

Are you overthinking what she said earlier?

It feels like you’ve known Emi forever, but it’s still hard to tell when she’s being serious at times.

Maybe you shouldn’t brush off the possibility of there being some truth to what she suggested, after all, she could’ve easily sent you those emails at any moment.

You decide not to sleepover at Emi’s house that night due to the unusual nervousness that accompanies you at the thought of sharing a bed with her.

Under the comfort of your duvet, you look into the pitch-black darkness of your room, silently meditating on what you’ve gathered while looking into your admirer's identity.

You vividly recall Kayama’s fleeting interest in spending time with you and how it correlates with the sudden letters. Do her feelings for you remain despite all that’s happened?

You also begin to ruminate the feel of Emi’s harsh stare as she spoke with you earlier. When she entertained your misled thoughts about the emails, was it merely façade?

After deliberating, only one conclusion seems most sensical to you. The orchestrator of it all has to be

Emi ✦ Kayama

[seobstarr]

ON THE COURT— 011; Tickle his feet

smau + written!

more pics at the end

—

A soft breeze floated around the 4 friends as they strolled through the campus streets, joking about the funny mishaps they witnessed in their respective classes. Spring had just gotten the chance to spread its familiar grassy smell around in the cool mid-afternoon light and the pollen from the flowers made its way through the wind.

Beomgyu sneezed “Jesus I hate Spring,” His eyes rolled with a certain annoyance, grabbing a tissue from his bag and wipping his nose “Shouldn’t you be like, wearing a mask or something if you’re allergic?” Yunjin nudges, throwing Beomgyu a snarky look as his eyes trailed Beomgyu’s actions. “Yeah, i forgot it at my dorms though” He snarks back. Yunjin just laughs at his stupidity.

Hyunsuk greets them at the entrance of the cafe, holding the door open as they continued bickering their way inside. Y/n takes in a deep inhale of the smell. Fresh coffee, as humiliating and stupid as it might sound The scent felt comforting to Y/n, it gave her a sense of warmth that you would only get from something you deeply cherish. “Hey Hanbin,” She speaks giddily, smiling widely at the boy behind the counter “I haven’t seen you in a while” Hanbin plays back, the rag in his hand repeating the circular motions on the counter. Hanbin was one of Y/n and Yunjins friends from highschool, a Striaght A student with the record of student council every year in every class. He was apart of their inner circle but as time went on and they all became busy with their college life. The friends they once called their inner circle were now the ones they seldom ran into, a hi or bye was the most often exchanged.

Even with knowing that they were not as close as they were Hanbin had always treated both girls with respect, how he would treat his other friends “How’s Matthew and the others?” She questions. “He’s Okay, sometimes he works here for a little extra cash” Hanbin chuckles “Oh, And Gyuvin just enrolled here! I think he’s trying out for the volleyball team” He recalls, more to himself than outloud. “Wait, the volleyball team?” Y/n leans a bit more over the counter, only a slight change in her stance but Hanbin had still caught on “Yeah…” He sees her face light up, somewhat with joy somewhat with nervousness “I’m the manager! I’ll look forward to his tryout” A silent laugh comes out of her as Hanbin lets out a sigh of relief.

“What’s this i hear about tryouts?” A familiar voice stalks behind Y/n, and an arm slings around her shoulder in a playful way. Her head whips to the direction of the person and she smiles “Intak? What are you doing here?” She asks, the dark brown haired guy gives her a greeting smile before nodding his head to the door. Her eyes follow, resting to see the rest of the team piling in “Who’s this?” Hanbin finally speaks up “Oh! This Is Intak, The teams Outside Hitter!” She exclaims hand pointing out to the talk man beside her “Hanbins friend was thinking about trying out next week” Quickly but simply she explains to Intak, who smile fades into a thin polite one, eyebrows knoting into a serious expression “Oh, Well tell them i’ll be looking forward to seeing them at tryout” His voice was dry, hitched into a deeper tone than normal “Well, I gotta go Miss. Manager, see you at practice today” His hand goes into the ‘okay’ motion as he skips backwards waiting for her to respond. With a simple nod he gives a smug smile and hops into his own group to order for himself.

As Y/n watched Intak playfully tease Jongseob her eyes couldn’t help but divert its attention to the dimly muted blonde that was picking out his card from his wallet, she felt her heart skip “If you’d like,” Her attention breaks its daydream t look at hanbin passing the final set of drinks to her “I could invite you over and you can meet the rest of my friends, not just gyuvin and matthew” His lips tug into a small smile, looking up at Y/n through his brown bangs “Sure, Just text me when you’re free” She agrees and takes the final two drinks in both hands before spinning around.

She expected nobody to be there, nobody to be in her line of walk as she spun but when she hits somebody’s chest and stumbles abit back she all too ready to curse them out, especially since some of the liquid spilled onto her hand “Oh shit, Sorry…” The rustling of napkins catches her attention and she looks up from her hand, a familiar face is flailing about, clumsily trying to take out some of the napkin from the dispenser and hurriedly give them to her. A small smile floats upon y/n’s lips at the cartoonish motions Theo performed. Finally his hands put the brown paper towels on the mess, she’s left speechless.

Right about now or sooner she would already be giving him a death glare, would already be taking out her phone to bash him on twitter but this time, her eyes dialated with something but loathe. Something had gotten lodged in her throat unabling her from shouting anything that isn’t nice “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you—“ His hands go up to shake them in a profoundly positive way “It’s alright it was my fault—“

“Watch where you’re going” A clear sarcastic voice came from behind y/n, Yunjin stood a couple inches taller than Y/n, only ever going over the shortest head in size “Let’s go y/n” And with a forceful yank of her arm y/n is being pulled away from Theo, who stood just as confused, towels in hand

“I had that” Y/n whispered to her best friend, the girl chuckling at her exclaiment “You were literally standing there like a deer caught in headlights, you were nowhere near got it” Shoving Yunjin playfully as she snickered into the seat she took her own, passing out the drinks to the boys in front of her “You okay?” Hyunsuk asked curiously and she nodded again.

—

“I’d rate that interaction a 4 out of 10, you get points off for almost burning her.” Jongseob gives his older friend a thumbs up for mock reassurance. “You’re so lucky that she ordered an ice coffee” Again Jongseob says, His hand goes to pat Theo shoulder before moving up to pick up his own drink with a slight snicker.

Intak’s eyes take another roll around his skull, witnessing the whole fiasco go down and being disappointed with the outcome. His brain was working over drive, As the self-appointed wingman of the group his job was clear and simple.

Make Y/n and Theo go from Arch-nemisis to Lovers

but right about now he was having trouble, real bad. They still hated eachother, Heck, if they were alone in a room together they wouldn’t kiss, they would just rip each others heads off. His foot tapped along with the slow beats of the cafe’s music, trying to think of a way to get them together, his head spun with thoughts “Intak!” Keeho shouted, waving a hand in front of Intaks face finally getting his attention “Here, What were you thinking about?” Keeho hands Intak the coffee and they follow behind Theo and the rest to another booth to sit at “Nothing, Just worried about practice that’s all” with an agreed hum Keeho pats him on the back, acknowledging his “woes”.

His eyes still wonder to make this last desperate encounter work, to make a final reach to get the pair together. And then he sees it, a chance. He scoots up next to Theo, talking to him about tomorrows practice to stall time. Running his mouth about the tryouts and the lineup trying to fish out any distractions he could before completing his rushed plan. Then as Theo was explaining to him that the only person who has the tryout lineups was Y/n and how he needed to talk to her if he wanted to know who was coming, Intaks foot seemingly slid quickly to Theos pathway, making him fall forward.

The taller goes flying and fortunately catches himself on the nearest table he could balance himself on. His breath stills and he finally looks up from the tumble “Y/n, Are you alright?” His eyes open wide at the sight, his hot drink had spilled on Y/n, fear and horror makes its way into Theo’s eyes as he helplessly looks in shock as Yunjin and Hyunsuk frantically try to help the crying girl

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tags🍰: @inthesunnn @captivq @nini-04 @hopeless-romantic-mentality @222brainrot

keb notes!: omg guys i hope y’all don’t mind the zb1 cameo cuz they might be important to the plot 😮😮😮 i’m joking lol (or am i…) anyway this writing had me in a chokehold like it was so boring until my pookie helped me fix it everybody praise her🙏

[weirdcultstuff]

It’s like my skin has hardened around me now. If I focus on the bills, on my work, on lunch, on going for a walk, on watching a scary movie, on not thinking about it all, then I’m fine. I used to be hyper vigilant, couldn’t sit with my back to a door, couldn’t talk to men, had to wear this one specific hoodie and hat if I left the house. I felt strong joy often, and intense pain and shame and grief.

I’m not like that anymore. Now I’m a normal automaton. I feel good for a few hours at least, most days. Mornings are good usually, about ten am maybe? When I’m right in the thick of things at work. I’m having trouble sleeping again, I’ll wake up at midnight, then three am, then four thirty, then five. When my alarm goes off at six I’m not awake, it’s like I’m lazy and don’t want to get up but I also just don’t care that I want to stay in bed, so I don’t. I get up, get dressed, drink water, go to work.

I worry about normal things, and it is worry. I feel that anxious feeling in my chest when I think about bills, my career, fixing the car, going to the doctor. It’s like a micro dose of dread every few hours. I try not to think about it. And mostly I’m fine. I can think to myself, “my heart rate sped up, it’s probably the coffee. Just wait it out. Play a different podcast, take some breaths, it’ll pass.” And it does.

I get angry now, which is frickin weird. I have a short temper, not on the outside-I don’t act angry, I’m not mean to my coworkers or anything, but I feel anger in my head every few days when something happens that really slows me down or gets in my way, annoys me. My vision does that little skippy thing and I always want to roll my eyes at myself for being such a child about things.

And the rest of the time I’m fine. Normal. I’m not depressed. I eat my vegetables, I watch shows with my girlfriend, I go to work every single day except the weekends and on the weekends I rest and do chores around the house.

I worry about my parents now, they’re getting older. I can see it in their texts in the family chat. More health issues, more mishaps. My grandparents are getting too old, maybe I’ll never see them again? I teared up just typing that. Mostly I don’t think about them all, and that’s very intentional. I’ll sob cry if I do, and it won’t stop for a long time. It never resolves, I don’t feel better afterwards, I’ve done the therapy things and I’ve written it out and I’ve tried just crying until I wear out but those things don’t work. There’s no way to fix it, so I just don’t go there. I text them back about once a week, and that’s about it. Just send cropped photos of my life. Here’s some food I ate, here’s a picture of a tree, what’s the weather like there? (Please don’t die.)

Enough thinking about that.

Mostly I’m very normal now. It’s weird when I run into people who are Christian or one of my siblings says something super fundamentalist Christian online. It’s like, “oh yeah, people still believe that stuff. They actually believe it, it’s not just a story or a game. Weird.” And then I feel disconnected from them. I used to feel connected, like I understood where they were coming from and could relate to them even if I was somewhere else. Now I just feel somewhere else. I’m like, “that’s weird of you to praise god that you didn’t get more hurt than you just did. Also very weird to be talking seriously about having children before you’re even twenty. But okay. Couldn’t be me lol.” But like it was me once, I was like that. It just doesn’t feel like it anymore. If I go there in my mind, I probably won’t function anymore. And functioning is all there is, in the end. So I function.

I’m always functioning and it feels like each day is just a repeat. It’s fall though, time passes. Wild. Anyway, this whole post looks kind of bleak but I promise most of the time I don’t feel bleak. Most of the time I feel good, some of the time I feel anxious, every few days I get impatient over something which makes me feel angry, and occasionally I have a crying spell because I think too much about my family. That’s pretty much all that happens. And I’ve been doing a lot of listening to horror podcasts and not texting my friends back. So that’s fun.

[clairegregoryau]

First line meme

post the first line from the last 10 fics you posted (and are there any patterns?) - I got tagged by the lovely @spirker! Thank you for thinking of me ❤️

(I cheated a little bit. If the first sentence was five words or less, I grabbed the whole first physical line, through to the end of the second sentence).

~

Wants To Be Caught (rated E, modern AU, Love Beyond Borders Olympic diving series)

Ed’s got that look on his face when Stede walks into the aquatic centre office—the one that makes him raise his brow immediately.

~

Handle With Care (rated E, modern AU, sex toy mishap x mailman)

Stede’s had a hard month. It’s been a hard year, honestly, ever since that whole you think our lives are monotonous? argument with Mary had bloomed and burst into a million stinging shards of yes and don’t you? and is this all there is? Seriously?

~

'Til We See the Sunlight (rated E, modern AU, collab with @ghostalservice and @mossgroves, Olympic figure skating AU (we're aiming to get the last chapter of this one to you all soon!)

The text pops up on Ed’s phone as he’s walking by the river, trying to kick some feeling into his bad knee that isn’t just fuck that hurts.

~

Parallel Placement (rated E, modern AU, Love Beyond Borders Olympic diving series- first line of the last chapter since it was a long-running fic)

Finally, finally, the last of these seemingly endless days rush past, and all at once it goes from a mind-numbing wait to fucking panic stations.

~

Naughty Office Guy (rated E, modern AU, Ed gets caught out by IT guy Stede watching spicy videos at work...)

Mondays suck, all right? It’s just a fact, and everyone in Ed’s office has different ways of dealing with it.

~

The Treasure Trove (rated E, modern AU, reality TV AU)

Ed Teach is a man of good taste and professional cultural brilliance.

~

These Golden Days (rated E, historical AU, WWII/ London Blitz-set- mind the tags and notes!)

Ed Teach stands at the edge of the Underground platform, freshly shined boots lined up all neat, staring down at the gleaming rails.

~

Tree Change (rated E, modern AU, ecological mystery x FWB x Kinktober-inspired- by complicated deduction process I decided to post the last line of the second-last chapter, since it was a long-running fic and the last chapter's one is a little spoilery :P)

Ed knows there’s something wrong before his eyes are even open.

~

Rinse and Repeat (rated E, modern AU, Grindr buddies with Cinderella vibes)

“Yes,” Stede moans, perched on Ed’s lap, that broad freckled back of his shining with sweat, Ed’s fingers tangled in his curls. “Oh god, yes, right there—”

~

Shadow and Shine (rated E, magical/fantasy canon-alternative AU)

Ed wakes up with solid ground under his back for the first time in years.

~

(There are definitely patterns and I will continue to ignore them all and write the same five kinds of opening lines to many very different fics 😂)

I never know who to tag for these so throwing it wide open to anyone who'd like to play ❤️

[circusislife]

Palmtree and papyrus

Xoxo

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

Uhhh.... Does ganon count? I mean, he Is Simply and a** in most games, but... In windwaker for example we can see a bit more. He Just wanted something Better for his people and tried to take It in the only way he knew of, by force. He Is cruel an mercyless in oot, but he WAS the king, traditions or not he wouldn't have lasted long if he didn't have his people's loyalty, he must have done something to earn It, right? :)

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with? (Shuffled the playlist where I dump every single Song I even mildly tolerate and hit jackpot) The One that came out Is a female cover of "To the other side" from the musical The greatest show, and let me tell you, I can't listen to or sing It without feeling empowered. I think I discovered It by chance a Little before covid struck, and saved It because I liked the tunes, It had a cool animatic and the voice register was something I could reach if I ever wanted to learn It. Good thing I did, because now it's One of my favorites. It basically describes my emotional development during highschool. At first I Just wanted to be the best of the class, manage to do well and determined to stomp on my Hyperactivity (and personality) to adhere to what I thought was an Ideal student. Was quite the loner, got enough human interactions from passively existing in class and training (yup, circus;)).

"Ain't in a Cage, so I don't Need to take the Key. Oh, damn! Can't you see I'm doing fine? I don't Need the other side!" "If i were mixed up with you I'd be the talk of the Town. Disgraced and disowned, another One of the clowns"

Then covid struck. And with It lockdown. At First It was fine. Bit bored, but otherwise fine. Started to allow myself to become a bit more relaxed about studying even. But then i became restless: I wanted interactions. The only way to do that was WhatsApp, but the screen Is a pretty detached way to comunicate, so , in order to express myself I put a bit more of "hyper" in the texts. It only grew from there. When we were finally allowed back in the classroom I could have put that behind me and tried to adhere once again to the mold, but...

"but you would finally live a little, finally laugh a Little. Just let me give you the freedom to dream and It Will wake you up and cure your aching. Take your walls and start 'em breaking. Now that's a deal that seems worth taking?! But I Guess I'll leave that up to you"

I took that deal. Dignity and embarrassement be damned, they're Just social constructs and anyway, the only one to remember any mishap After two or three weeks would be me. Might as well try to enjoy socialising while I could. And if I became too much... Well, if i bothered someone then they could either tell me, I would tone It Down, or they could suck It up and suffer in silence like idiots. If they wanted someone calm and propper then too bad, I have learned to respect other people's boundaries even when loosening up and that's all I'm willing to concede.

"forget the Cage 'cause we know how to make the key. Oh, damn! Suddenly you're free to fly we're going to the other side"

Turned out for the best. Nobody had a problem with that, if they did they told me before It got too much and I adapted. i couldn't bottle It up any longer, nor did I want to. It was amazing.

"we're going to the other side"

I am still a bit socially awkward, and realizing that I even have social skills Is still a bit of a surprise. But being able to relax more often is well worth the occasional embarrassement. I'm not really an extrovert except for when I'm with people I like and trusth, but I am much less closed off and happier for It. "Take your walls and start 'em breaking" Indeed ;)

[fearyandear]

BooBoo the 'Bad Apple'

Welcome Home is trending again and my guilt over making, but never posting, my Puppetsona took over 😢I quickly finished this enough to be able to put it up! I've also got some pencil sketches of shenanigans with BooBoo and my friends' Puppetsonas that I can post later, lol.

Because the text is so tiny, to save your eyeballs, there's a typed version under the ReadMore!

"The town's 'bad apple', will this pup ever learn to do things right? Barnaby's cousin, BooBoo, has a knack for showing up at the right time to do something wrong! Through their many mishaps, Neighbors are learning how to be polite and how to do things SAFELY!

BooBoo the DevilDog was originally a characterfrom the baby-version of the show, 'Baby, Welcome Home!' Viewers knew that when the pup was on screen, it was time for a PSA on safety or manners. BooBoo would often do the opposite of what their Neighbors did, and so, they would have to face many consequences in comical ways. The phrase, 'No-No, BooBoo!' became a staple; enough that children grew up repeating it whenever mistakes were being made.

BooBoo was so popular that their design was aged up and brought to live in a small dog-house just behind Wally's Home. Despite their misfortune, BooBoo's personality was consistently easy-going, relaxed and surprisingly daring. To the casual viewer, it lookedlike BooBoo was only a nuisance to their Neighbors, but episodes like 'No Bullies Allowed' (where BooBoo saved the day against a visiting antagonist) and 'BooBoo's B-Day' (where the town got together to make a surprise party for the pup) showed that both sides really cared for the other.

However, it was a common observation in the show's later years that BooBoo's favorite Neighbor was Wally. Through many background shots, viewers could see the two hanging out. During the Christmas Special, 'Warm Feelings', it could be seen that the gift BooBoo was embarrassed about was for Wally. It is also of note that BooBoo never misbehaved when Wally was around.

Template by @fetusmeme !

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

🍳Hello Hero, I have some questions for you to answer! The 🧡 and 💜 asks!

Also! Tell me a little more about your relationship with Alexa! What do you guys like to do for fun? And how is it being best friends? :D

- Right-o! Thank you for coming, these are really fun to entertain!

🧡 who worries more about the other?

- Ah... that would definitely be me. Mari, Alexa and I are around the same age range, but I will never leave the big brother title ever. Alexa is like my brother, Kel. She gets herself into accidents or silly mishaps, but at least she owns up to it and tries to fix it. She just scares me sometimes and I feel the need to monitor her at times... weird I know, but it just happens. But I don't have to worry about her when it comes to emotions because it's her who would worry about that, and it's towards me. She's very sweet and will always make room for others to talk it out.

💜 what is something you would like to say to Alexa right now?

- Hi, 'Lexa.

You're the best. All of my friends are the reason why I'm still here, but I want to personally let you know that I am forever indebt to you, you're an incredibly strong-minded person and I'm thankful that you're the one to help me cope from past events when I needed it. I don't know what would happen to me if we didn't cross paths at that day. I'm positive she thinks the same.

You talk about how you want to be the best at everything, a jack of all trades you say. It sounds far-fetched to me, but you're good at everything, and you're incredibly good at being such a great buddy, hahah! Smile for me! (⁠´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠)⁠ 

• Tell me a little more about your relationship with Alexa! What do you guys like do to for fun? And how is it being best friends?

- If it's only her and I, we tend to indulge in each other's hobbies since it's fun to learn from each other! I taught her how to cook simple dishes since she's actually ... not too good in cooking. But she's gotten better actually! She once cried over the phone with me, realizing she could make her own lunch and telling me how she didn't need anyone to help or even order outside and it was all thanks to me. I laughed and told her good job, because I knew she'd be a little hopeless outside once she starts going to college by herself.

She taught me computer programming, because she'd like to be a part of the video game industry. I was admittedly a little... confused. It's all numbers and strings of text but, just like her — I was able to program a little game of just walking and jumping. It's not much, but it's interesting!

We also like to go out together, it could be anything really. It's just that sense of bonding that makes me feel close with her. We can even go a day without talking much and we knew we'd have fun anyways.

Being best friends with her, it's wonderful. That's all I can really say. I feel like I'd be repeating myself explaining why she's the best, but it's true. I love her a lot, and I hope she understands that ... I know she does, but hahah, you know. ( ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)

- 🍳

[dankusner]

Pope Francis repeats gay slur just weeks after apologizing for using it

Pope Francis repeated a homophobic slur just weeks after he was forced to apologize for using it while suggesting gay men shouldn’t be ordained priests, according to reports.

The pope is accused of saying “there is an air of frociaggine in the Vatican” — a disparaging Italian term roughly translating as “f—–ness” — during a closed-door meeting with roughly 200 priests at Rome’s Salesian Pontifical University on Tuesday, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.

The 87-year-old Argentine also allegedly suggested that it was better that young men with a homosexual tendency not be allowed to enter the seminary, the reports say.

It comes less than a month after Francis sparked widespread outrage when he apparently used the same offensive term while speaking in Italian in a private meeting with a group of bishops back on May 20.

In that instance, unnamed bishops who were in the room suggested that the pope, as an Argentine, might not have realized that the Italian term he used was offensive, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported at the time.

After the initial firestorm, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement saying Francis — who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy — has long insisted there was “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.

“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” the spokesperson said at the time.

The Vatican’s press office didn’t directly address the latest alleged faux paus.

Instead, they pointed to a statement the Vatican had released earlier Tuesday about the meeting with the priests, in which the pope reiterated the need to welcome gay people into the Church and the need for caution regarding them becoming seminarians.

Francis has been credited in the past with making substantial overtures towards the LGBT community during his 11-year papacy.

Some observers of the Vatican, though, have argued his recent mishaps undermine his authority and raise questions about path he has in mind for the Catholic Church.

ANTIQUITY

Ancient text tells of Jesus as a child

Decoded papyrus piece appears to depict story from ‘hidden’ gospel

For decades, a clumsily written document sat unnoticed at a university library in Germany, believed to be nothing more than a very old, everyday note, such as a private letter or a shopping list.

Now, more than a millennium and a half after it was written, researchers believe the papyrus fragment is no ordinary memo but the oldest surviving written copy of a gospel detailing Jesus’ childhood.

Lajos Berkes from Humboldt University of Berlin and Gabriel Nocchi Macedo from the University of Liège in Belgium, two papyrologists, date it to the 4th or 5th century, according to a news release.

They deciphered the fragment and identified it as a passage from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a biblical apocrypha — or a work from outside the accepted canon of scripture — that is believed to have been originally written in the 2nd century A.D.

That makes it the oldest extant copy of that particular gospel.

The fragment is “of extraordinary interest for research,” Berkes said in the statement, noting it offers “new insights into the transmission of the text.”

Nocchi Macedo said it confirms assessments that the Infancy Gospel of Thomas was originally written in Greek.

After researchers noticed the word “Jesus” in the document, they decoded it “letter by letter and quickly realized that it could not be an everyday document,” Berkes said.

Biblical apocrypha, from the Greek apokryphos, or “hidden,” are stories that did not make it into the Bible but were read widely in antiquity and the Middle Ages, the statement notes.

While Christian sects disagree over the status and extent of the apocrypha, they have long been studied, providing context to understanding the backdrop to the New Testament, according to the Centre for Christian Apologetics, Scholarship and Education in Australia.

Michael Zellmann-Rohrer, a papyrologist at Macquarie University in Sydney who studies ancient religion and magic, called the fragment’s decoding an “exciting find.”

The words on the fragment are believed to be part of a story in which a 5-year-old Jesus is playing near a stream and molding clay that he finds in the mud into sparrows.

When Joseph scolds him and asks him why he is doing this on the Sabbath, or the day of rest, Jesus claps his hands and the figures come to life.

[mariacallous]

For all the bluster about generative artificial intelligence upending the world, the technology has yet to meaningfully transform white-collar work. Workers are dabbling with chatbots for tasks such as drafting emails, and companies are launching countless experiments, but office work hasn’t undergone a major AI reboot.

Perhaps that’s only because we haven’t given chatbots like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT the right tools for the job yet; they’re generally restricted to taking in and spitting out text via a chat interface. Things might get more interesting in business settings as AI companies start deploying so-called “AI agents,” which can take action by operating other software on a computer or via the internet.

Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI, announced a major new product today that attempts to prove the thesis that tool use is needed for AI’s next leap in usefulness. The startup is allowing developers to direct its chatbot Claude to access outside services and software in order to perform more useful tasks. Claude can, for instance, use a calculator to solve the kinds of math problems that vex large language models; be required to access a database containing customer information; or be compelled to make use of other programs on a user’s computer when it would help.

I’ve written before about how important AI agents that can take action may prove to be, both for the drive to make AI more useful and the quest to create more intelligent machines. Claude’s tool use is a small step toward the goal of developing these more useful AI helpers being launched into the world right now.

Anthropic has been working with several companies to help them build Claude-based helpers for their workers. Online tutoring company Study Fetch, for instance, has developed a way for Claude to use different features of its platform to modify the user interface and syllabus content a student is shown.

Other companies are also entering the AI Stone Age. Google demonstrated a handful of prototype AI agents at its I/O developer conference earlier this month, among many other new AI doodads. One of the agents was designed to handle online shopping returns, by hunting for the receipt in a person’s Gmail account, filling out the return form, and scheduling a package pickup.

Google has yet to launch its return-bot for use by the masses, and other companies are also moving cautiously. This is probably in part because getting AI agents to behave is tricky. LLMs do not always correctly identify what they are being asked to achieve, and can make incorrect guesses that break the chain of steps needed to successfully complete a task.

Restricting early AI agents to a particular task or role in a company’s workflow may prove a canny way to make the technology useful. Just as physical robots are typically deployed in carefully controlled environments that minimize the chances they will mess up, keeping AI agents on a tight leash could reduce the potential for mishaps.

Even those early use cases could prove extremely lucrative. Some big companies already automate common office tasks through what’s known as robotic process automation, or RPA. It often involves recording human workers’ onscreen actions and breaking them into steps that can be repeated by software. AI agents built on the broad capabilities of LLMs could allow a lot more work to be automated. IDC, an analyst firm, says that the RPA market is already worth a tidy $29 billion, but expects an infusion of AI to more than double that to around $65 billion by 2027.

Adept AI, a company cofounded by David Luan, formerly VP of engineering at OpenAI, has been honing AI agents for office work for more than a year. Adept is cagey about who it works with and what its agents do, but the strategy is clear.

“Our agents are already in the 90s [percent] for reliability for our enterprise customers,” Luan says. “The way we did that was to limit the scope of deployment a bit. All the new research we do is to improve reliability for new use cases that we don't yet do well on."

A key part of Adept’s plan is to train its AI agents to be better at understanding the goal at hand and the steps required to achieve it. The company hopes that will make the technology flexible enough to help out in all kinds of workplaces. “They need to understand the reward of the actual task at hand,” Luan says. “Not just have the ability to copy existing human behavior.”

The core capabilities needed to make AI agents more useful are also necessary to advance on the grander vision of making machine intelligence more powerful. Right now, the ability to make plans to achieve specific goals is a hallmark of natural intelligence that is notably lacking in LLMs.

It may be an extremely long time before machines attain humanlike intelligence, but the concept of tool use being crucial is evocative given the evolutionary path of Homo sapiens. In the natural world, prehuman hominids began handling crude stone tools for tasks such as cutting animal hides. The fossil record shows how increasingly sophisticated tool use blossomed alongside advancing intelligence, as humans’ dexterity, bipedalism, vision, and brain size progressed. Maybe now it’s time for one of humankind’s most sophisticated tools to develop tool use of its own.

[proofessor]

What to Watch Out for During the Writing Process

There are many different variables that authors have to consider when creating a piece of writing. This, unfortunately, means that many things can also go wrong, which is where an editing service or book proofreading services UK can come to the rescue.

An editing service or book proofreading services UK will prepare the text for the final stage of its process, be it publication, peer review or whatever the author envisions. Editors thus read over the manuscript and identify and fix or remove any errors they encounter. These mishaps can range from issues such as spelling mistakes to more wide-ranging and potentially harmful unclear themes or arguments.

This article will focus on areas that will be checked and corrected by an editing service or book proofreading services UK:

●          Syntax

●          Homophones

●          Repetitions

 Syntax

Syntax refers to arranging words and phrases in a set order to construct coherent, readable sentences. This area of English can often confound ESL writers because different grammar rules can apply in their native language or dialect; such difficulties are compounded because changing a single word, or even a letter, can alter a sentence’s meaning.

Poor syntax occurs if the content is in the wrong order or there may be a missing word. This is the kind of situation where a second reader, perhaps from an editing service or book proofreading services UK, prove extra useful because they can notice a syntax error; if the writer reads their own work, they might not notice the mishap because a poorly written sentence can still make sense.

Homophones

This is a recurring issue for all authors, from the beginner to the widely published and mega-successful professional. In short, homophones are words that have the same sound but not the same meaning: brake/break, rite/right/, complement/compliment and so on.

You can normally classify homophone issues as spelling errors or typos because they tend to appear not through a lack of knowledge but during a writing session when the author is concentrating on committing their thoughts to paper. A further problem arises because the wrong word is usually spelt correctly, so a quick scan by the writer may not reveal any issues. If anything, homophones demonstrate how important it is to carefully and patiently edit the text before proceeding to the next stage.

This is the kind of error an editing service or book proofreading services UK will pick up on, either because of the spelling or the compromised context due to the miswritten word.

 Repetitions

This is usually an unthinking error and occurs when an author repeats their content. It does not necessarily apply to the themes and arguments. Instead, it can often mean repeated keywords: an author of a book about mindfulness, for example, may duplicate the word “calm” or “joy” numerous times throughout a paragraph or in subsequent sentences.

Here, editors will make suggestions for alternative words or phrases. A more diverse vocabulary reflects well on the author and gives their work more punch and a smoother flow.

Read More:

Errors & Tone of Voice: How Can Proofreaders & Editors Help Writers All Writers Should Look Out for These Issues