#there will at the very least be a reunion fic set after this and hair colors

[incorrectpizza]

Hah. So. The one-shot I posted the first day of @sabezraweek? It's uh. Not a one-shot anymore. Behold, the sequel, in which Sabine discovers a record of Ezra's time on Peridea:

Story also down below for anyone who wants to read here.

Ezra’s pod is small, but as Sabine explores it, it almost feels cavernous. There’s things everywhere.

A stockpile of dried and cured foods that the Noti taught him to preserve. Weapons he made from whatever he could salvage: stormtrooper blasters and rifles, wood, a strange metal that the Noti used that never grew cold , even on the rare days when the weather grew sour. And there are books. Made from some sort of animal skin, if her hunch is correct. Stitched together with thin, sinewy thread, pages surprisingly sturdy. 

The first one she finds, sitting on a ledge next to the pod’s tiny, Noti-sized second bed, is  a book of Noti bedtime stories. 

“Youongling’s Fables, A Collection of Noti stories as transcribed by Ezra Bridger.”

There’s a total of three charming little tales, each one accompanied by a symbol - some small splash of color signaling the beginning of a new story. Sabine studies them carefully. One is a simple  green circle with uneven splotches throughout - a planet? Another, a silhouette of a Howler, deep navy blue, just a hint brighter and more saturated than Ezra’s hair. The third, though, catches her breath. It’s a Jedi symbol. She reads this story first. 

It’s about the first Jedi to meet the Noti - not Ezra, but some old man in the distant past. The man died protecting the Noti from The Great Mother, a corrupted Force being the Jedi sentenced to ten thousand years of captivity in the mountains. Did this have anything to do with Baylan’s search? His quest for power? Sabine wonders, setting aside the book. She’ll show it to Ahsoka when she gets back from the hunt.

On Ezra’s little workbench, she finds three more books: all blank, waiting for words to fill them. Near the hatch, alongside a few odd “pots” and “pans,” she finds a “cookbook.” It has a dozen recipes, from “Noti Stew DO NOT EAT” to “Peridean Loth-Pie” to “Actually Edible Noti Soup.” She chuckles a bit and makes a mental note to show Ahsoka this one, too. Maybe they can find something that they can stomach once their ration bars are finished. 

And then, as she’s straightening up the other side of the sleeping quarters, she finds two books sitting by Ezra’s bed. The first one she picks up is a “journal.” Each entry is printed in small Aurebesh - so small Sabine puts on her helmet to magnify the words. Ezra must’ve learned quickly that books are harder to make than they look, Sabine muses.

The first page proclaims the book “Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger’s Journal of A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Volume Five. Noti Nomadic Village, Peridea. Approximately 10 years after the Liberation of Lothal.”

Each page has multiple entries, almost but not quite daily. Most are mundane, ordinary. Sabine reads every single word of every single entry.

“Day 3,547. Jynt and I came up with a new way to attach the ropes to the pods today. Moving them is going to be a lot easier now.” Always ingenious.

“Day 3,574. I discovered a new species today. A little purple and orange caterpillar. I hereby dub it Sabineus Wrennius .” Sabine laughs and flips the page. 

“Day 3,631. I got to scare two night troopers today.” Still a prankster.

“Day 3,650. I really want to go home.” Sabine closes her eyes and sighs. He’s home now, she knows. She should be happy. And yet-

She wishes he were with her. Here. Or home. She misses him deeply, and it’s only been seventeen cycles. She finishes the book, which breaks off mid-entry. 

“Day 3,674. Nothing excitin-”

Was that when he heard my Howler in the distance? Sensed me in the Force? Or was he interrupted on another day and just never bothered to finish?

She closes the book, vowing to ask him one day about that last entry.

Then she opens the second book, the one tucked underneath. It’s tied shut with a thick cord.

She unties it and flips it open. The first page declares in bold orange letters “PROPERTY OF EZRA BRIDGER.”

“Do not look unless you are Ezra.”

Then, underneath, in small scrawl she can hardly read: “Or Sabine.”

Or Sabine? She furrows her brow, wondering what could be so important that Ezra didn’t want anyone reading it, and why she was the exception. Gently, her fingers grasp the edge of the page. 

It’s full of… starbirds?

A dozen of her symbols lie in front of her. Some sketches, others paintings. Their colors vary brilliantly, from blue to purple to green to (yes, of course ) orange. She flips the page again. More starbirds. But not just starbirds. This page also has a Jedi symbol, more crude than the one Sabine had found earlier, and an Imperial crest - crossed out with red, of course. 

As the pages go on, there’s less and less starbirds and more other symbols. Kanan’s Jaig-eyed mask. The patterns from Hera’s lekku. Zeb’s Bo-Rifle. Her helmet.

His drawings grow more detailed, more artistic as the book goes on until, by the middle, he’s got a definite, recognizable style. In the second half, he grows brave enough to try sketching them, their little family, as he remembered them. Hera and Kanan holding hands. Zeb scowling. Sabine flying around Mandalore, broad smile as she shows off her jetpack. Chopper arguing with AP-5. There are a few details off here and there - in one group sketch, her hair is too long and Ezra himself is not wearing orange, an unforgivable creative liberty, especially considering just how shockingly accurate and real the painting looks. 

It’s the very last image of the book, though, that nearly takes Sabine’s breath away. It’s them, hugging, foreheads pressed together in a keldabe kiss. The background - he painted a background? - has some vague, abstract Noti pods. The Ghost hangs in the sky, and Sabine thinks she might even spot Ahsoka’s ship on the ground. In the distance, a white Loth-Wolf looks on. Her fingers hover, desperate to trace the lines, but not wanting to risk damaging the precious painting. Underneath, there’s a title.

Someday Soon .

The next page has no art. Just words. 

Sabine, I hope you never have to read this. I hope I’m here when you come. But just in case, I want to thank you. For always being there for me. For teaching me about life, and art, and how to be a good friend. I couldn’t have made it this long without you. Even more than I ever realized, I love you.

Sabine hurriedly shuts the book before her tears can mar the pages. 

[aziraphales-library]

Hi there!!! I was wondering if you happened to have any fics where Crowley calls Aziraphale ‘sweetheart’? Any other pet names are amazing (including angel of course) but I’m just very in love with the idea of Crowley calling Aziraphale sweetheart

Thank you so much for all you hard work!! This blog is a lifesaver <3

Hello! We have a #pet names tag you might enjoy, but here are some fics in which Crowley calls Aziraphale sweetheart...

Four times Crowley called Aziraphale "sweetheart" without noticing (and One time he did) by TheLadyZephyr (NR)

"Sweetheart" (1290) - A person who is very dear to another; one who is loved. From sweet (adj.) + heart (n.) Over the years, Crowley has called Aziraphale "sweetheart" on at least four different occasions. He just hasn't actually noticed himself saying it.

In love, I am, with everything you do by 2ambiace (G)

Following the phone call with Crowley during lockdown, Aziraphale contemplates the letter he wrote and whether he should've taken Crowley up on his offer to 'slither over' and watch him eat cake. Aziraphale finds the courage in his love for Crowley to invite the demon over and cake and love confessions and kisses are shared.

Let Our Epilogue Be Soft And Sweet by Tenoko1 (T)

Crowley hit his palm against the steering wheel. “Of course I’d get upset, angel! Those bastards have tried to kill you twice, Aziraphale! Twice! I spend every damn day worried they might try again! Now-- Now-- your conveniently found and rescued angel is on the loose,” the road forked, and they veered off to a smaller country road, flying past a sign Aziraphale didn’t need to see to recognize, though Crowley gestured wildly to it, “in a god-forsaken national park? Well outside of London where no one can hear you scream? This mystery angel that just so happens to be leaking grace and emoting a distress signal so loud you can still sense it?” Crowley dragged a hand down his face. “Angel, sweetheart. Wake up and smell the trap.”

Waking Up Married by Caedmon (E)

"So you’re telling me that my options are either to convince this man I just met and drunkenly married to stay married to me for six months or lose two thirds of a billion pounds?” “That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Fergus said. “Fucking shit,” Crowley spat. He hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment before rubbing his eyes with his fists. Now his job would be twice as hard. He needed to talk Aziraphale into staying married for six months. Should he try begging or bribing? This was a huge ask, and Aziraphale would be well within his rights to tell Crowley to fuck off. But Crowley was prepared to offer him pretty much anything, up to half of the trust, if that’s what it took. He didn’t care. But that was only part of his concern. Even if he got insanely lucky and Aziraphale agreed to stay legally married to him for the next six months, how the hell was he going to talk Aziraphale into dating him during that time? And was it foolish to even try? One thing at a time, he decided. First, he needed to convince Aziraphale to stay legally married to him. Then he could set about wooing his husband. He hoped.

flightless by viperinz (T)

Crowley finds Aziraphale injured and without his wings long after he stops the Second Coming all on his own. He just didn't expect their reunion to be so morose, and so final.

Sugar And Spice by ladydragona, SylWritesStuff (E)

Queer technology giant Anthony J. Crowley is just about ready to throw in the towel after relationship after relationship has failed, but there's a new barista at the company coffee shop and he's cute and sweet and Crowley's never been able to resist blond hair and blue eyes. The tabloids will have a field day, they always do, but his assistant is getting married and a temp is needed. A temp who really isn't very good at making complicated coffees, has past experience in reception, and absolutely no idea that the latest complicated coffee order came from the owner himself. Aziraphale only knows that he's handsome, patient, and was the first person who told him he was doing well. How could he refuse the temp position? Or, he soon discovers, more.

- Mod D

[edvinroyals]

Hey! Could you recommend some good Wilmon fanfics that are both romantic and a little smutty, please? Thanks in advance!

Hey, of course, if there is one thing I love its recommending fic! - here are some of my all time favourites that hopefully fit what you are looking for! 

hej (honey), kan vi snacka? - Series by disruptedthesky.

Simon knows Swedish is his second language, but he's pretty certain 'Kan vi snacka?' roughly translates to 'Can we chat?' And does not, as Wilhelm would have him believe, actually mean 'Can you follow me into this empty classroom?' or 'Can you follow the traced line of my tongue down your body?' or 'Can you follow me, right over the edge? Can you do that for me, baby?'

(Wilhelm is Simon's honey. Simon is Wilhelm's everything.)

Ex - By stretchoutandwait.

Sweden has become a republic and ex-Prince Wilhelm is out of a job and trying to find some direction in his life. A holiday with his old school friends might be just what he needs to set him on the right path. And if one of those friends turns out to be the boy on whom he used to harbour an unrequited crush, so much the better.

Summer of Love - by embracedthevoid

Family and tradition are the two most essential things Wilhelm must uphold in his adult life, which he takes very seriously. When he was younger, however... not so much.

Through flashes to the past, follow the story of Simon and Wilhelm's summer of love as they reconnect years later, having moved on with their lives despite always wondering what could have been. For the second time in Wilhelm's life, his duty and burden to uphold a legacy are challenged when matched against love, and what is meant to be.

The Boy and the Bartender - by Spidaya.

Simon is a bartender at a local bar with a sunny smile and confident attitude that hide the darker side of his life he wishes to keep hidden. Wilhelm, the prince of Sweden, is a lonely boy with too much love to give and not getting much love in return.

After they meet at a bar in not the most Prince-Charming way, their hearts are forever intertwined with each other, but not before going through the hurt, trials, and love that come with both of their lives.

This is Everything - WIP - by paspeurpasseul.

Wilhelm is twelve years old the very first time he lays eyes on Simon Erikkson and his world is flipped completely upside down.

And this is it. The feeling Wille has been searching for his whole life: a feeling of newness, passion, and friendship like he’s never felt before.

This is it.

This is everything.

Until it isn’t.

Or: a childhood friends au nobody asked for where Simon makes Wille question everything. But their love is just as strong.

That's What I Really Want - by yr_bb.

“How do you want to do this?” Simon asked. “I know you need someone to go to this fundraiser... I need someone to come with me to my parents’ anniversary party... I’d like to propose that we pretend that this—” Wilhelm gestured between them, “is a thing until at least then.” They sipped their coffees in silence for a moment. Simon hoped he was imagining the tension.

Inspired by 'Boyfriend Material' by Alexis Hall, with characters from Young Royals. A classic slow burn fake boyfriends story with plenty of soft boys, angst and fluff.

how long i've loved you - Series - by waitingstar

He tells himself he’s not searching for a head of floppy golden hair and sighs as he turns back to the bar. And, naturally, because Simon’s life is one big cosmic joke, that’s where he comes face to face with his ex-boyfriend/ex-lover/ex-undefined-partner-in-a-tragic-love-story/the Crown Prince of motherfucking Sweden. ~ Simon attends his ten-year reunion at Hillerska. That means it’s been ten years since he and Wilhelm have spoken, but it’s going to be fine. Absolutely, totally, completely fine.

this is the golden age of something good and right and real (Painter AU) - by paintersong

(this series is quite possibly the most beautiful body of work I have ever encountered) 

He painted and painted and painted and Wille held him and watched, shared Simon’s perspective, watched the whole thing happen, and Simon felt like a fucking miracle worker, creating a world in front of both of their eyes, a world of color and light, saturated with gratitude and love and affection, a documentation of Simon’s search for joy, his desire to grasp onto it, cling onto it, make it permanent.

[somekindofadeviant]

Darla and Spike, the rarest pair in the polycule. The wonderfully caustic blondes. I think this might be one of the rarest non-crack pairs in the fandom, honestly, though they lived together for at least 20 years. We might not see them interact much with each other on-screen but we know they absolutely DID away from our view. There's so much room to fill in there in that negative space, and with two characters who have such compelling forces of personality.

Here's some of my favourites from what exists.

Warning: Some of these fics are hosted on old archives, warnings may be absent or non-exhaustive. They may contain, amongst other things, noncon and torture and oodles of murders. If you want detailed or specific warnings for a fic, please DM me or ask in the notes.

Sinews of the Heart by icemink - After Angel refuses to turn Darla, she goes looking for another member of her family to save her from the illness that is killing her. Gorgeous. Beautiful characterisation. I would happily read 5 million words more of this if it existed. Rating: Explicit, Era: A:tS Season 2/BtVS Season 5 Fearful Symmetry by icemink - Oh hey more DOES exist. This is the continuation of Sinews of the Heart. Sadly it seems to be a perma-WiP at 15 chapters, but it's still very worth reading. While Sinews is pure Spike/Darla, this one's working towards a Spike/Darla/Angel pairing. Rating: Explicit, Era: A:tS Season 2, Incomplete Lessons on a Ledge by icemink - A fun little smutty romp. Spike's troublemaking leaves Darla and him stranded, however will they pass the time? Rating: Explicit, Era: 1880

Family Reunion by Glassdarkly - Darla was afraid that without a soul she wouldn't be able to love her son. What if she was wrong? Or right, depending on your perspective. I'm beginning to think I'm unable to do a rec list without at least one Glassdarkly fic. Family Reunion is brutal, dark, and enthralling. When this author warns you it's one of their darkfics, you better listen to them, they're a master of the craft, it's a horror tale that will stab you in the gut then twist the blade. The location setting in this tale is one of my absolute favourites, it's so perfectly detailed you feel present there with every sense, it's as much a character as any of the humans or demons. Rating: Explicit, Era: 2007 (mostly) Paternity Suit by Glassdarkly - Did I at least one? Make that a few. This one sees Darla tracking Spike down after The Gift/Heartthrob with a task in mind and hoo boy does it hit right in the soft places. Darla at her ruthlessly cunning bestworst, and Spike at his broken apart inside crumpled up bestworst. Rating: Mature, Era: AU Post-BtVS Season 5 Brief Encounter by Glassdarkly - At a time of change and a final parting of the ways, a long-kept family secret comes to light. A post-war piece that, among other things, answers why Spike was so suspicious of Angel in School Hard in contrast to their time on the submarine. Vividly evocative descriptions and atmosphere as always, fantastic historical detail too. Rating: Mature, Era: 1947

Revenge by DeborahMM - Darla grows tired of Angelus's attentions to Drusilla and decides to take her revenge. Exquisitely naughty and a bit bloody. Rating: Explicit, Era: 1880 or 1881

Giving Him The Moon by Peasant - Okay so this is actually a Fanged Four piece, and the primary ships in it are Angelus/Spike and probably Darla/Angelus, but damn if it doesn't have some of my absolute favourite Darla and fledgling Spike interactions, and it's a lovely take on Darla in particular. It's Spike being forced to learn Fyarl and a nice take on the frustrations of struggling to learn a new language. Rating: Explicit, Era: 1887

Triangles Are Falling by lillianmorgan - A delicious messed up encounter between punk Spike and Farrah-hair Darla that has some gorgeous character voices and a sneaky lil sting in the tail. Rating: Explicit, Era: 1977 Entertainment and Spectacle by lillianmorgan - A double drabble. What Darla sees in William, and what William sees in Darla. There's something so vividly intense about the dynamic Lillian crafts between these two. Rating: Teen+, Era: Victorian Cracking the Code by lillianmorgan - A lovely little moment on the way to the theatre. The language here is just a delight, derring-do indeed! Rating: Teen+, Era: Victorian Raging Against the Dying Light by lillianmorgan - Ah, poor dumb Spike all hopped up and out of his head on Slayer blood and on his most gloriously dumb shit vs Darla at one of her worst moments bound up in loss. Rating: Mature, Era: 1900

Cold Comfort by ash_carpenter - Spike recognises that he and Darla are alike in envy and the craving of attention/affection from the other two, and gives her a little comfort or something akin to it. Bittersweet and beautiful. Rating: Mature, Era: Victorian

Idle Threats Does Not A Greatgrandsire Make by FemailoftheSpecies - Just working something out. Conflict resolution. A lil bit of brutal fun. Rating: Explicit, Era: Victorian Creative Differences by FemailoftheSpecies - William and Darla don't see eye to eye. Darla and Angelus, but it's all about William. A funny lil ficlet, with poetry. Of a sort. Rating: Mature (after a fashion), Era: Victorian

Waiting Room by loraineee - A liminal encounter. Just a conversation in the space between. Brief yet intriguing. Rating: Teen+, Era: Post-B:tVS Season 7, Pre-A:tS Season 5

Decadent by Kate Bolin - Darla deserves worship. Spike is barely worthy. A gorgeous fragment of reverence. Ecstasy and agony. Rating: Mature, Era: Unclear

Static by Foxinator - Another between-seasons piece in the summer following Season 5 of BtVS. Darla's looking for Dru to get some insight into what's happening to her body, but she runs into a grieving Spike instead. Just a moment, a conversation, but it captures the characters at a time so strange and pivotal for each of them. Rating: G, Era: Post-BtVS Season 5, Pre-BtVS Season 6

The Queen by aliceinsunnydale - The Illustrated A to Z Guide of Sex Positions for Women explains The Queen as: Get your subject to kneel at your feet and don't give them permission to rise until they've earned either a knighthood or your royal approval to stay for the night. A delicious pwp in a tailor's shop. Rating: Explicit, Era: Victorian

Sitting Together, Simply Observing by aliceinsunnydale - 'More often than not, when in court, Darla and Spike could be found sitting together, simply observing.' A quiet moment of bonding, quite sweet. Rating: G, Era: Victorian Spike/Darla - Five Times Kissed by aliceinsunnydale - Just as the title says. A nice series of snapshots mapping the changing ways the two see each other. Rating: Mature, Era: Pre-Series (Victorian through 1970s)

Home Sweet Home by Rebcake - When Spike is introduced in School Hard, it's clear he's been in Sunnydale before. Rebcake is a master of drabbles, and this is no exception. Rating: Teen+, Era: 1950s

Lessons from the Lady of the House by joycometh - Darla gives William a sorely needed education in a certain subject. Both delightful and amusing. Poor clueless Will or, rather, poor Drusilla. Rating: Explicit, Era: 1880

A Brighter Shade of Darkness by brutti ma buoni - Spike can learn a lot from Darla. He doesn't always enjoy it. A rather illuminating lil ficlet. Rating: Teen+, Era: 1893

Bloody Unnatural by snickfic - A missing scene, a moment of connection. Warm and caring and quite lovely, in a bittersweet way. Rating: Teen+, Era: BtVS Season 6 A Right Sorry Couple of Vamps by snickfic - Alive and human again, all Darla wants is the brief illusion of freedom, and maybe a beer. Naturally, she's just thrilled when she finds Spike, too...Another one that's quite sweet and caring, in an odd way. Rating: Teen+, Era: AtS Season 2

I'm Not Supposed To Be Like This by spuffyduds - Another missing scene in the summer of Buffy's death and Darla's pregnancy. This one may not be so warm and caring, but dang if it doesn't have some brilliant and funny moments instead. Features the Buffybot, too. Rating: Maure, Era: Post-BtVS Season 5, Pre-BtVS Season 6

The Point by carlyinrome - A neat little drabble. What is the point in William? Rating: Mature, Era: Victorian

Waiting For Alice by thawrecka - He is not afraid. She is not bothered. It is not real. When Spike is dragged over and over to that place, she is there. They cling to each other. Beautiful and bleakly arresting. Rating: Teen+, Era: A:tS Season 5

Vantage Ground by _-SuN-_ - Vivid imagery and lush lyrical language. Darla in the aftermath of her loss, spiralling, as she travels with the two children of the family. Rating: Mature, Era: Victorian

Adult Education by Vampire_Penguin - Darla teaches both her boys a lesson. Darla/Spike with Angelus kinda in the mix or, at least, very much adjacent. Wantonly wicked in the best kind of way. Rating: Mature (pushing Explicit), Era: Victorian

Darla: The Series by dessert_first - Okay but what if Angel Investigations but it was Darla's show instead of Angels, post-NFA instead of an AU, key roles gender-flipped, and yer dead favourites got screen time. Sadly this is a WiP last updated in 2005, but it's worth a read for some awesome moments and a brilliant set-up. Mostly ensemble with a lil Sparla in there. Rating: Explicit (in ch5), Era: Post-A:tS Season 5

[thegettingbyp2]

I know I'm not the only one thinking this... but can we get a Clay Barber fic? Smut or fluff idc.

You Felt It

A/N: So I loved writing this and if people are interested, I might write a part 2? possibly with some smut

It felt strange to be back on the Step Right Up set, you hadn’t been there for at least ten years, hadn’t seen any of the cast since then either. You were excited to film the reunion and to see everyone again; everyone except Clay. When it came to thinking about seeing Clay again, you had a nervous excitement settle in your stomach. Back when you were filming Step Right Up, you and Clay had had a bit of a will-they won’t-they kind of relationship; you would flirt with each other and occasionally hook up and everyone else would tell you to date but it never happened for the two of you, something you still thought about to this day.

‘Hey, (Y/N)!’ Zack said loudly as he popped up in front of you and you gave him a tight smile. You liked Zack, you did but you remembered from when he was a kid, he could get to be a bit too much and judging by the volume of his greeting, nothing had changed in that department.

‘Hi, Zack, how are you?’ you asked as you carried on walking towards the sound stage, Zack falling into step beside you.

‘I’m good, did you see the other movies I did after the show finished? Did you like them?’ The questions came out as a continuous stream, only needing you to hum in approval when it was appropriate. ‘Have you seen Clay yet?’

‘What? Why would I have seen Clay yet, I haven’t seen him since the show finished.’ You stuttered, his question stopping you in your tracks. When Zack noticed that you had stopped walking, he turned around and walked back over to you.

‘I was just asking because you said you’d seen everyone else so I was wondering if you’d seen Clay. I saw him earlier, he’s got grey hair now,’ Zack said very matter of fact. You smiled at him in response when you realised that he was simply asking and not actually insinuating anything.

‘No, I haven’t seen him yet. I’ll probably see him when we go inside.’

‘Yeah. Just don’t let me walk in on you two kissing again, I’m older now but I still don’t want to see my TV dad kissing anyone,’ he said before turning around and walking off onto the soundstage, leaving you standing on your own, confused. You had had no idea that Zack had seen the two of you and even though it was ten years ago, you couldn’t help the blush that grew on your cheeks. You breathed out, shook your head and just walked onto the set, accepting that you were going to bump into Clay sooner or later.

As soon as you stepped onto the set, you were hit by a wave of nostalgia because everything was exactly the same as it was when you left. You made your way over to the table with the food and drinks on, grabbing a bottle of water. When you turned around, you bumped straight into a broad, muscular chest and your nose was hit with the scent of a familiar aftershave. ‘Careful, sweetheart,’ an all too familiar voice said and you slowly looked up into the eyes of the one and only Clay Barber. He hadn’t changed much aside from the silver hair which you had to admit suited him really well. His hands had come out to rest on your upper arms to steady you when you turned around and you could feel his touch burning through the layers of your jacket and t-shirt.

‘Clay, hi!’ You exclaimed, trying your best not to sound too nervous. You smiled up at him and was met with a wide grin stretching across his lips. ‘How have you been?’

‘Hiya, (Y/N), I’ve been alright, had a couple of run ins with the police a few years back but now I’m getting back into my stand-up stuff. What about you, how have you been, it’s been what? 10 years since I last saw you?’

‘It’s good to see you too! I’ve been okay, couple of TV shows, a bit of theatre, nothing too big.’ You replied, shrugging your shoulders lightly.

‘Well it’s real good to see you,’ Clay said, pulling you in for a tight hug that lingered perhaps a little longer than normal. The call for the table read is what pulled the two of you apart and you both headed over to the table, only to find yourselves sitting next to each other.

You were relieved as you were heading back to your trailer after the table read that everyone had seemed to slip back into old times and it was if no time had passed and you found that you absolutely loved the new script. The only thing that left you uneasy was the tension that you felt between you and Clay. Sitting next to each other for the past couple of hours had proved a lot more difficult than you had thought; you kept feeling Clay’s shoulder brush against yours and the small chuckle that would escape his lips at the odd funny line would send you right back to ten years ago when you would make him laugh, making a comment about one of your co-stars who had annoyed you that day.

You closed the door to your trailer behind you and threw yourself onto the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh as you stretched out, feeling your back click. A short while later, you were still laying on the sofa, reading a book when you heard a soft knock. ‘It’s open,’ you called out, not having the energy to get up and answer the door yourself.

‘Hey, I was just wondering if we could have a chat?’ Clay asked, stepping into your trailer and closing the door behind him. It was the sound of the lock clicking shut that grabbed your attention and made you sit up, putting your book to the side as your eyes refused to leave Clay.

‘Yeah, sure, what’s up?’ you replied, sounding a bit too high pitched to pass as normal as you scooted over and made space for him to sit next to you. He walked over and sat down, making sure to keep a bit of a distance from you.

‘I know it’s been ten years but I know you felt it at the table read earlier.’ He said bluntly, his eyes burning into yours.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ you replied, looking away from his gaze to look down at your lap, fiddling with your hands slightly.

‘Bullshit,’ he said, moving closer to you on the sofa until his leg was brushing against yours, something you were incredibly aware of. ‘You felt it.’ Your breath hitched as Clay’s head leaned closer to yours until you could feel his breath brushing across your neck. ‘It’s been ten years and I’ve thought about you every day. So, what do you say we finally give this a try?’

‘Clay,’ you breathed out when his lips attached themselves to your neck. It was taking everything in you in that moment not to just give in and not to let him crawl on top of you. No matter how much you wanted it, you knew Clay which meant that there was a very good chance that he was saying all of this just to get you underneath him, no matter if you might hope otherwise. ‘Clay, come on, we can’t. You don’t mean it, you just want to get laid again,’ you laughed lightly, trying to diffuse some of the tension in the room; it didn’t work.

‘Not with you.’ He muttered against your skin, not taking his lips away from your neck. His hands had made their way around your waist and he was gently tugging you towards him as he spoke. ‘I wouldn’t lie about something like that with you,’ he pulled his lips away from your neck to look at you and you didn’t know what it was, but something about the way he was looking at you made you believe that he was telling the truth so you did the one thing you’d been holding back from all day; you finally let your lips crash onto his.

[rivkae-winters]

‘Ello!! Hope you’re having a lovely day!!! ❤️

4 and 9 for asks plz?? <33

Thank you for the ask! My day has been a roller coaster but I have gotten things done.

Refers to this snippet ask set.

4. With dialogue I’m proud of:

This is from the wip stash- it’s a post canon fic for a very awesome person and one of my favorite WIPs of late 💜

The static grew louder around him. It buzzed and rang out in chittering calls incessant and infantile in its desire to bombard him with noise. One voice cleaved through the rest of them and pushed its poison into his ears.

“It’s such a shame,” The older woman directly in front of him crooned as she turned to the person beside her. “We don’t even know what date he died.” The other woman hissed at her to quiet down with a shove.

“He was a young thing,” The muted whisper passed through the second woman's near still lips. “And ShinRa was always so controlling,” The words were said like some sort of heretical secret, Genesis supposed to the general public they might as well have been. His body was only just starting to fall directly under his mind's sway of shock and horror. The pitying sigh that fell from the second woman’s lips was a dagger in his already bloody wounds. “It could have been seven months or more before they announced it.”

Genesis’s heart stood still. His breath did not move in his lungs. His body sat there frozen behind a schooled expression as the world moved on around him.

9. With characters I love:

This is from Interstitial, my Reunion bond mind link fic, which is on Ao3;

This had the unfortunate side effect of alerting the people monitoring Genesis that he, their glass walled oddity, was in fact awake.

Oh joys.

He had little patience for scientists right now.

Turns out he is smiled upon by the Goddess once more since she has deigned he wake. Cloud, who made the all black look work with light hair in an eerily familiar way, strode into the room and stood next to one of the few men not in coats. It takes Genesis a second to recognize the aged man Cloud stood by as Reeve Tuesti . Someone sane in this mess at least and Genesis knows at the very least he's not in ShinRa now. Or not in what's left of ShinRa... His time in the waking world again was very limited but he's nothing if not good at gathering information when he needed to.

Cloud looked down at him and Genesis nudged at his mind far more gently than before in a peace offering. Comfort, safety, you are free to choose all slowly and gently wept down the link. Cloud's eyes widened and Genesis inclined his head to illustrate that this is him and his doing to the not-SOLDIER’s inexperienced mind. Privacy - knowledge - not here all slide across in vague impressions. Cloud’s presence twitched in response, clearly he had expected Genesis to mentally garrotte or gouge at him and had been left unsure when the blow never arrived. Genesis pulls the thread of himself from where it was wound around Cloud’s own and backed off slow and careful.

Is it not Genesis’s lot in life to be left with things broken and bleeding long after the damage is done? Is it not his lot in life to be left with the ugliness of the recovery with no control over the cause? The amount of cases and situations piling up had long been damning in that regard.

No one had decided to approach him yet so Genesis let himself get lost in his thoughts, eyes drifting shut with one ear on the room. Appearances to keep and all of that.

[btsmosphere]

autumn with: hobi

~pairing: hobi x reader ~word count: 2.5k (bullet fic!) ~genre: fluff fluff and more fluff, college au, friends to lovers ~rating: g (no warnings:))

a look at autumn and halloween with our beloved hobi! since I’m feeling very fall lately, I went on a hunt and found some lovely prompt lists from @crockettmarcel @flufftober and @lavenderotpprompts 💜I shook them all together to make a snippet of autumn for each of the boys- at the end, I’ll include the list I put together for hobi!

also a thank you to @moccahobi​ and @ssaboala​ for reading this and helping keep me in the autumn spirit!! I really appreciate it🥰

autumn with: masterlist

Everyone moves back into the dorm for the start of term in September

It’s not the dramatic reunion some might think, everyone turns up in dribs and drabs instead of all arriving at once

You chose to head back pretty early

In fact, so early that you aren’t sure anyone else is here yet

Well, someone has to be the first, right?

It feels a bit barren, but it’s quiet and there’s something nice in that too. You stop for a bit in the hallway between all the rooms, where there are big windows and you can see the trees, the ends of the leaves starting to curl and brown

A huge cacophony of what sounds like the kitchen falling down shakes you

After a moment frozen, you turn towards the sound

It definitely came from the kitchen

But the door is still standing there as if nothing happens

Is there a ghost in your dorm? Should you have stayed back and waited until there was safety in numbers? Is this the beginning of your very own horror movie??

A loud curse echoes from the kitchen and you laugh instead

Hobi.

When you enter the kitchen, you find flour splatted on the floor, upturned bowl and one Jung Hoseok with his hair sticking up- you’re pretty sure he’s run his floury fingers through it, unless he’s going for some reverse Guy Fieri look

Unable to control your laughter, you set to work together

Hobi wants to make cookies

Shouldn’t be too hard

He has a goal this year, he says. He’s going to take up baking as a hobby so he can feed everyone nice things

You have to admit, when he lists off the cinnamon buns, apple pies and chocolate brownies he wants to make, you find your mouth watering. So you’re going to help him make those darn cookies

Your intervention might be the only thing that gets them out alive, to be honest

But Hobi is grinning so widely when you finally get to bite into them that you encourage him to bake something else soon

It’s been a long time away, and the plate of cookies doesn’t make it to the morning, having been slowly eaten by you two as you stayed curled up over the kitchen table cradling hot chocolates and laughing at each other

The kitchen lights were warm while it was dark outside. Now the morning light is the opposite, cold and pale as it wakes to frostbitten lawns

Hobi crawls out of bed while you’re blearily snacking on cereal

The moment he sees you, he yells and pulls back, hiding behind the door with just his face and fluffy hair visible

Oh. He’s topless

“I got flour on my only top,” he complains, “I haven’t unpacked anything yet.”

You call him a lazybones, but still go to fish something out of your wardrobe

It’s on the bigger side, but cropped, and he looks a little funny wearing it. Your style is so different from his, but he doesn’t complain

He eats toast and looks thoroughly adorable, dammit

It’s October before he completely unpacks

It’s chaotic, but you turn a blind eye. At least he’s done it now, and won’t have to go rooting through a suitcase every time he wants something

You should have foreseen, though, that with one victory, that only leaves something else weird to happen instead

You can never escape the weird

Not with Hobi

Which is why you’re staring at him now, stuck between shock and laughter

He’s in the kitchen, having forcibly sat you down to watch his fashion show, and right now you don’t think he could physically be wearing any more jumpers

You fend off the laughter and go straight for incredulity

“What are you doing?”

“It’s sweater season!” he defends himself

“It’s not even that cold out! And we’re not even out!”

“Let’s change that, then”

He clearly ignored the first part of your argument, but here you are outside, winding between the trees away from your dorm

Okay, so maybe it is a little chilly out

But there’s no way you’ll give that to Hobi. He’s still wearing entirely too many sweaters, even after you made him take some off

Anyway, you bite your lip. He’s having fun- his cheeks are round and a bit red as he smiles, looking around. He breathes in, rubbing his hands together and looking like all is right with the world now autumn in on its way

Then a leaf smacks him in the face

He flails around for a split second, blowing little raspberries as a defense mechanism against the onslaught of the leaf

All the while, you howl with laughter until he turns to you with a pout

It only makes you laugh more

“Autumn loves you as much as you love it!” you giggle

Hobi folds his arms, as far as the sweater bundle will let him

“I bet you can’t catch a leaf”

So now you’re running around like a lunatic

How did it end up this way, with Hobi laughing at you?? He’s the weird one

Your weird friend is lying back on a leafy carpet when you skip over, triumphantly holding a bright red leaf above your head

He struggles to sit up, but claps and woops for you

He has to clap with his arms straight

To save him the trouble, you flop down next to him, panting little gusts into the air

They show up in front of your nose, ghostly and lingering in the air; is it really that cold already?

It probably has something to do with the fact it’s also getting dark now, but neither of you move

Clouds drift over, just as lazy as you

You’ve been there a while, and you aren’t out of breath any more. The air is cool as it fills your lungs

Whispering leaves announce Hobi rolling over to face you

“Are you cold?”

And you’ve been so busy feeling warm inside at the afternoon filled with giggles and the prospect of autumn setting in that you hadn’t noticed

But cold is a side effect of the season

You were only shivering a bit

He smothers your protests and denial, knowing it’s only a bid to keep up your disdain at his outfit

His smug grin won’t let you forget about it when he finally thrusts a woolly cardigan over you, practically lying on top of you now, the result of your scrambling playfight that, admittedly, may have defeated the need of a warm jumper

Now that you have it though, it’s not bad, though no substitute for his warmth which leaves as he slides off to sit on the ground beside you

You cuddle into the material like Hobi had earlier, and he glows

The rest of the day is warm, even as light leaks from the sky

You’re back in the warm kitchen with warm food and warm laughter

And all the way until Halloween you’re caught up in the whirlwind of Hobi

It’s a budget Halloween, of course. You’re students, after all

Luckily, as Hobi puts it, some of the trees nearby are apple trees, and he’s hell-bent on apple bobbing on Halloween

“It’s only right,” he’ll say

And of course you’ll go along with it. One look at his hopeful grin is always enough to get you agreeing to his hairbrained schemes

No one knows if it’s legal to take or eat the apples, being on public property

Or if they’re edible

But surely all apples are edible?

You hope so, you think gingerly as you place another one in your bag

It may have looked more picture-perfect with those cute baskets, or if you were in a meadow, but instead your friends are all clustered under a line of apple trees that grow along the road, putting the apples into your backpacks like it’s something shady, underhand

Just as you reach for another, Hobi shrieks, and from your position sitting on his shoulders you wobble perilously

Looking around in alarm, you grab at his bobble hat for stability, feeling him clutch tighter to your legs

Somehow, you both stay upright as Tae runs off giggling, being shooed by Jin

“What if yn dropped an apple on his head, you punk!” he was yelling, “we don’t need to re-discover the theory of gravity!”

“Got enough?” Hobi asks

Confirming, you let him crouch to put you down

You’re both a little breathless

“Let’s see”

He bends closer, pulling your backpack open to see the shining apples nestled there

“I’ll make a good pie with these,” he promises

You give him a look

“I really will this time!” he exclaims at that, “the brownies were an exception!”

Chuckling, you acquiesce

“Alright,” this is how it always goes, “I trust you”

In the end, the home-made Halloween is great

Everyone has decorated their doorway – though you wonder how many Hobi actually helped with – and you take turns rushing up and down, calling ‘trick or treat’ like little kids

Of course, you all have costumes, as well as little bags for sweets, which are only plastic bags from the supermarket, but Hobi glued little paper fangs onto the top

Hobi’s a witch, and his black cloak swooshes out behind him

Of course this means he won’t stop running up and down the hall even after the lot of you have squished together in a pile to eat sweets in the kitchen

“I’ll eat all of yours!” Jimin threatens

This brings Hobi dashing back again

The evening is fun and full of you and Hobi feeding each other sweets, pretending you aren’t giving him the ones you know he likes the most

“ugh, another one of these, I don’t like them that much”

You’re not sure if he believes you

The others certainly don’t, but you ignore the way they look at you as you hold another up to Hobi’s lips

Hobi swears off the horror film later, but you follow him to the kitchen

Honestly, it’s out of fear for the apple pie

And nothing else at all

You laugh together and steal some of the leftover sweets as he makes it through one failed batch of dough

Namjoon goes to bed

You’re pretty sure the others have fallen asleep in the living room

They can have some pie tomorrow, if it ever gets made. Or if it does, then if it isn’t all eaten before they can get to it

This time around, Hobi deems the batch successful and finally it’s in the oven, complete with strawberry jam leaking out of the sides

“It has to look spooky!”

Hobi falls into a chair beside you, covered in flour and fruit and looking much better than he has any right to

“Let’s go outside, the pie has to bake for a while”

You don’t question your enthusiasm to go with him

At this point, you get excited along with him, and after seeing how brilliant the stars look, you can only half concentrate

Staring at him instead is just as tempting

You know the joy you’ll find there

It’s darker as you pass under the trees, further from the building

Still you don’t look away

Did you see that?”

Hobi gasps, a hand flying out to catch your own

His fingers around soft around your wrist, and slip down to grasp your hand

Eventually, he brings his gaze back to earth, frowning around at you

Blinking, you realise he asked you something

“See what?”

Your voice is no more than a breath in the air

All he says is “look”

There are other things you would rather look at, but you turn your head to the sky

You’ve stopped walking at this point, just standing still among the leaves

The tree branches stretch into the sky, much thinner than they used to look

You breathe

Hobi’s hand is still holding yours, calling you back to earth, but you force your eyes to search the heavens a bit more

You’re about the ask Hobi what he’s on about when you see it, at last

A flicker, quick enough that you could have missed it in a blink

Satisfied, Hobi turns to you

This time, it’s his turn to admire your face as it transforms, disbelief to wonder

“Was that-?”

“A shooting star!”

You wonder if he really was a witch, and if so what kind of spell he cast to make this Halloween work out so well

He holds his hand out

Doesn’t even ask

Without knowing, you realise your trust has grown well enough, so firm within your chest, that you take it without a second thought

And now you’re dancing

He really loves this cape, and spins you around as an excuse to make it fly behind him

Almost losing your balance, you grab him harder, laughing

And he pulls you closer once you stand up

Your feet are scuffling in the broken leaves like so many times before as you messed around

You trip and lose the rhythm, and spin too many times that you should stop, but you end up dizzy with a wide grin

When he kisses you, it’s like you had done it a hundred times before

No questions in your mind, you lean in more, hands sliding into the warmth under his silly cloak. And you wonder if you’re really just dizzy from spinning

The apple pie burns

You and Hobi still eat it, and the inside is really very nice

Like you would have before, you share spoonfuls, eating the whole thing over gossip and laughter

Only this time, you curl in his lap, and then he in yours because it gets uncomfy

In the morning, Namjoon finds everyone out of bed, sleeping on the sofas or the kitchen table, as is your case

And no one is surprised, or seems to bat an eye beyond smiling at the two of you

You wrap up in each other’s clothes, and walk under the trees, and dance, and suffer the results of baking- which will get better, he promises every single time

And you trust him

Thank you for reading!! this was made with the following prompts: baking - back to school/university – “I bet you can’t catch a leaf” - wearing someone else’s clothes - trick or treating - apple picking – warmth - “it’s sweater season!” - “are you cold?” - “I trust you” - shooting stars - first dance

If you enjoyed this, a comment would be so appreciated, it makes it all worth it🥰🥰 find my other autumn drabbles here

taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine​ send me a message if you want to be tagged in my “autumn with” updates!!

[worstloki]

Fic gift for you

Variants come and go at the TVA, and the Judge rarely remembers the faces, so often does she have to prune annoying miscreants who risk ruining the Sacred Timeline. Almost all who come before the judge are guilty, and for those who are innocent, their timeline is still doomed – and them along with it. Is it fair? Perhaps not. But this is the job the Judge has been bestowed, and she has no memory or desire to carry out any other purpose, content to decree a death sentence to all.

There is one name however, that sticks in her mind, despite the fact that she wishes otherwise. Loki Laufeyson; Loki Odinson; Loki, God of Mischief; Loki, Prince of Asgard; Loki, Heir of Jotunheim – no matter the title or surname, the first name remains the same, and the parade of Loki variants who inevitably find themselves before the Judge bring with them their own versions of chaos. It would be exhausting, if the Judge could feel exhaustion.

There are Loki variants of all shapes and sizes, genders and abilities, and the unpredictable nature of Loki means the Judge presides over the pruning of their variants more than any other living soul in her career. The most frustrating variants however, are those who are so close to the Sacred Timeline – so close to perfecting the role set out by the Time Keepers – who then make one poor decision and ruin the natural order. The Judge hates these ones most of all.

-

L6128 is a version of Loki that falls under this category. The Judge is currently staring at a small boy, with pale skin, dark hair and slightly trembling knees.

‘Laufeyson, Variant L6128, you are charged with Sequence Violation 7-84-29. How do you plead?’

The boy before the Judge squeaks slightly, stumbling backwards in shock.

‘I’m Odinson, not Laufeyson,’ he mutters, chin stuck out stubbornly despite his shaking voice. ‘My father will come and destroy you for stealing me.’

The Judge leans forwards slightly on her desk, and peers downwards.

‘As you have just learnt, in your extremely ill-advised adventure into your weapons chamber, you are not an Asgardian, and Odin is not your father. Learning your true heritage at this point has caused a Nexus event. I find you guilty.’

The hammer slams down on the gavel, and the small boy is led away for pruning. Compassion is not instilled in the Judge, but look the boy gives her remains in her mind for a long time.

-

‘Laufeyson, Variant L3524, you are charged with Sequence Violation 7-28-59. How do you plead?’

L3524 stares back at her with a slightly haunted expression, which hardens when he hears the name.

‘Don’t call me that,’ he snarls, struggling against the guards holding him in place. This version seems to be more physically combatant than the last few, and the Judge eyes him warily.

‘You did not deploy the Destroyer against your brother on Earth,’ she announces. ‘I find you guilty.’

‘So what?’ snaps L3524. ‘I showed compassion for my brother and didn’t murder him, and for this I am condemned? Who the hell are you to determine what I should or should not have done?’

The Judge sighs. ‘By not deploying the Destroyer, you did not set the scene for your brother’s development,’ she drones, shuffling some paperwork. ‘You caused a Nexus event. Guilty.’

-

‘Laufeyson, Variant L9173, you are charged with Sequence Violation 7-46-39. How do you plead?’

Another court case, another Loki. L9173 can barely stand, covered in bruising and burn marks. He might drop dead before the Judge can issue a verdict, which would be efficient but unsatisfactory.

‘I don’t think my brother is very impressed that you stole me away,’ L9173 grunts out, an amused expression on his face despite everything. ‘Didn’t you hear, we had a very touching reunion when I managed to shake off a little bit of mind control? He’s not going to be happy he’s lost me yet again.’

The Judge gazes back with a bland expression. ‘Mister Odinson is not a concern to us. You were the one who violated the sequence and caused a Nexus event by choosing to fight the Chitauri instead of leading the invasion. The Avengers cannot continue down the Sacred Timeline if this happens. Guilty.’

-

‘Laufeyson, Variant L3372, you are charged with Sequence Violation 7-59-41. How do you plead?’

L3372 is being held up by two Minutemen, his face ashen and one hand attempting to staunch the flow of blood that is spreading across his chest.

‘I’d say interminable legalese is not my highest priority right now,’ he says, attempting to sound proud and strong despite slowly dying as they all stand in the court. ‘Perhaps we could discuss random allegations after I’ve taken a moment.’

The Judge doesn’t need a moment to determine guilt, however. This variant has not faked his own death for Thor Odinson, and was therefore not on the pathway to pretend to be King of Asgard. The events of Ragnarok had been moving further away; the Sacred Timeline must be preserved.

‘Guilty,’ the Judge announces, a bored wave of her hand. She can’t be bothered to even give an explanation this time – and L3372 is leaving an annoyingly large pool of blood on the floor.

-

The Judge is performing deskwork rather than court duties when the whispers and rumours begin to trickle around the office. A Loki variant, who escaped the Minutemen and is now set free in the timeline. It’s a concerning accident, but the Judge is sure the TVA will resolve it in an appropriate manner. It is not the Judge’s problem to deal with, however, and so she pushes the thought aside. There is more pruning to be done.

-

‘Laufeyson, Variant L6742, you are charged with Sequence Violation 7-93-19. How do you plead?’

After the last few variants, it’s almost surprising for the Judge to see such a strong and triumphant looking Loki, despite a heavy layer of annoyance displayed across his face, and bruises littering his cheek. He’s still clutching a blue, glowing box.

‘What right have you to bring me here?’ L6742 snaps, clutching the box tighter. ‘I demand you release me and take me back to Thor at once.’

The Judge reads out loud from the paperwork. ‘You have violated the Sacred Timeline and caused a Nexus event through using the Tesseract to save yourself and Thor Odinson from Thanos the Titan. You are guilty, and sentenced to pruning.’

L6742 fights back against the Minutemen at this, managing to kill one with his own weapon before more Minutemen burst in and surround him.

‘Whatever it is, you’re wrong about me,’ L6742 says desperately. ‘I was making a difference.’

‘Exactly,’ the Judge feels compelled to interject. ‘You were making the wrong difference. Stop fighting the inevitable. You were born to cause pain and suffering and death. That’s how it is, that’s how it was, that’s how it will be. All so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves. Stop trying to stray from your path. Guilty.’

The hammer bangs on the gavel with finality, and L6742 is led away for his sentence.

-

There’s another Loki variant at the TVA not long after – L1130. The Judge doesn’t meet this version – Ravonna Renslayer herself oversaw his sentencing. But she is surprised to hear that the variant is allowed to keep existing, at least whilst helping on a case. Mobius always was a bit pathetic. The Judge doesn’t waste any more time reflecting on L1130 however – she has too many other important duties to be concerned about.

Indeed, she doesn’t think of him again until the TVA is burning around them. All of the Judge’s purpose in existence, going up in flames and she simply stares, for once truly feeling the shock. L1130 rounds the corner, followed by Mobius and a small man in bland office attire. They are all carrying weapons. There is no history between the Judge and L1130, but she swears she can see hatred in the Variant’s eyes before they open fire.

The Judge is disintegrated in an instant.

[nsheetee]

For Life (109 Steps to You Epilogue)

read “109 Steps to You” here!

Genre: epilogue, angst, fluff, soulmate AU Length: 5.4k Summary: Donghyuck and Y/N meet again one year after their last encounter, back at the place where it all started.

a/n: this is for everyone who asked for a part 2, I hope you all enjoy ♡

this is the epilogue for “109 Steps to You,” please read that fic before continuing!

Haechan walks into the cafe, the scent of espresso hitting him square in the face. He doesn’t have to walk far into the shop to find his two best friends sitting at one of the tables. Silence falls over the table once Haechan orders a drink and the waitress walks away. The three men sit mutely for a bit, looking at their phones or outside the big windows at the people walking by outside, until Haechan draws their attention.

“Huang Renjun, you invited me here and you won’t even say hi when I sit down.” At his ice breaker, Renjun lets out a shy laugh and turns in his seat to pay attention to his friend.

“Hi.” He says.

“Hi.” Haechan says back sarcastically.

“Hi.” Jaemin pipes up from across the table.

Somehow, conversation became a lot easier after that.

Haechan never thought it would be awkward with his longtime friends, especially since it has been only a year since the three of them graduated college and moved on. Jaemin works as an elementary school music teacher (just an assistant, for now) and he shows the guys some pictures of his students, commenting about how so many of them have natural talent. Renjun decided to do the graduate program and stayed on campus.

“What about you, Haechan, what have you been up to?” Jaemin asks and takes a sip of his iced americano.

“Oh… Nothing special. I work at SM Entertainment.” The guys’ eyes widen at the “not so special” news and Renjun almost chokes on his bagel.

“As an artist?” Renjun coughs out.

“No, god no, I write music for them, and they liked me enough to let me produce songs in the future, so they have me a full time job.” Haechan explains.

“Dude, that’s insane. Congrats, that’s what you always wanted to do, right?” Jaemin asks, still looking a bit amazed by his friend’s accomplishments.

“Yeah.. I guess.” Haechan trails off, laughing afterwards and praying someone will have something to say to get the attention off of him.

“Actually, there’s a reason I wanted to meet you guys here…” Renjun sits up straighter, making Haechan and Jaemin glance at each other. “I’m going to marry Mya.”

“Renjun…” Jaemin turns soft, his eyes turning rounder and his bottom lip pouting at the news, making Renjun roll his eyes and laugh. His joy is just at the thought of marrying his soulmate, the one he has spent the past five years with.

Haechan has to swallow down the lump in his throat to congratulate his friend, ruffling his blonde hair and saying something about how he can’t believe Renjun is the first to get married out of the three of them. When Haechan was with you, they were all sure that he would be the one to get married first. Oh, how easily things can change.

“I was hoping you guys would help me? I want to ask her under the bell tower, the same place I asked her to be my girlfriend, but I want to do it at night. I need help setting things up.”

“Of course we’ll help, right, Haechan?” Jaemin asks, looking over at his other friend. Haechan knew that by coming to this small reunion, he would have to face a part of his past, but he decided to come anyway. The past year has been tough, but Renjun has been Haechan’s friend for longer than he can remember, so this is the least he could do.

“Of course,” He nods. “Anything for Renjunie.” He adds a pat on the head with the pet name and Renjun slaps his hand away, giving him a scowl. The two guys would have continued with their play fighting if it wasn’t for Jaemin suddenly standing up, his chair skidding back along the tile floor loudly.

Haechan and Renjun glance up at him, but his eyes are glued to the entrance of the cafe. They turn around just in time to catch a girl stopping in her steps, her eyes focused on Jaemin. It’s been years; her hair is longer than before and she definitely grew up since the last time they saw her, but it’s no doubt Yeji, Jaemin’s soulmate and the one who rejected him when they were teenagers in high school.

“Jaemin.” She clears her throat, looking at the three guys, “You’re all here. Why am I not surprised your friendship lasted this long?” She laughs lightly as she recognizes the group of friends.

“Do you want to sit?” Jaemin points at the fourth chair at their table that has yet to be occupied. Yeji nods slowly and makes her way to the seat, gently sitting down and smiling shyly at the three guys. There’s a silence that falls over the table as everyone sips on their drinks, but the world around them continues on living loudly.

“So, what have you been up to recently?” Jaemin asks and turns to face her.

“Oh, I’m finishing college this year. I go to UOS.” She proudly smiles.

“Oh? We all went there too, we never saw you?” Renjun asks.

“I took a leap year, so I started college after you guys. You probably didn’t see me around because of that.”

“What did you do during your leap year?” Haechan asks, leaning back in his seat.

“I was in the hospital.” When three pairs of wide, serious eyes stare back at her, she laughs and waves her hand at them, “Oh no, it wasn’t anything bad. I found out my immune system is weak and spent some time figuring out what medicine to take and making my body stronger so I don’t get sick easily. That’s why I was gone for part our last year of school, too.” She explains and the three guys unstiffen and nod.

“Is that why you rejected me?” With Jaemin’s sudden question, Renjun and Haechan felt like they shouldn’t be sitting at the table anymore. They glance at each other, both wondering the same thing: should we leave?

“No,” She looks over at her soulmate, and then glances at Renjun and Haechan, “I guess I should explain myself now, huh?”

“Please.” Since Yeji rejected Jaemin, he turned into a different person. His affectionate and compassionate side is still present, but he tended to keep a calm and neutral front during most of his time in college that made some people think he’s a mean and scary person. Haechan and Renjun are very curious as to why Yeji dumped Jaemin all of a sudden, for the sake of their friend, and stay seated to hear what Yeji has to say..

“I only have one mark.” She explains. Jaemin looks at her a bit dumbfounded.

“What do you mean? Where’s the other one?” He asks and glances over her as if trying to find her other mark. Yeji laughs a bit at the question.

“I mean, I was only born with one. I will only have one mark my whole life.”

“There are people like that? What does it mean?” Renjun asks, stirring the melting ice in his drink with his straw.

“It means that your soulmate is also the person who will hurt you the most in life.” Yeji’s sharp eyes glance over to Jaemin, “That’s why I rejected you so quickly. I’m sorry if I caused you pain. I was just young and only thinking about myself.” She explains.

“No, I understand. I think I would’ve done the same thing.” Jaemin nods, and the two of them fix their eyes down and away from each other, Jaemin now knowing the reason for their separation makes him think about the decisions he made over the past few years.

Haechan, however, starts thinking about you. His palms get clammy and his heart beats faster, his mind running through the years and years of memories he has of you.

Where is your second mark?

Has it just been so long that Haechan doesn’t remember anymore, or did he never see it in the first place? Could it be… that you’re like Yeji? One mark, destined to be hurt the most by the person who’s supposed to love you the most. Haechan feels sick. It can’t be.

“It’s rare, right? For people to be born with one mark?” Haechan asks Yeji, and she purses her lips.

“Not really, no. Most people just don’t admit it out loud, since it’s not the norm to only have one mark. If you think about it, the people you love have the most power to hurt you. It’s not that uncommon.” She shrugs, and the table settles into another silence as the three guys think about her words.

Haechan refuses to believe it. You told him everything, you trusted him to the very end. You would’ve told him if you only had one mark, right? On the other hand, Haechan cannot remember ever seeing a second mark on your body— ever.

He begins to feel pain, for you and for what you must’ve gone through while you were with Haechan if this is true. He also begins to feel fear. Fear that his actions in the past are the end-all, be-all to your relationship. Haechan always had hope that you two might be able to work out your problems in the future, until now.

Haechan really hopes he’s wrong. He really hopes there’s a chance, a small sliver of promise of a future left for the two of you.

“Oh, hey, you got here quick.” You say as you open the door, Mya stepping in through the threshold and into your home. “I’m sorry we had to change plans so quickly. It’s just Mirae got a fever and wouldn’t stop crying…” You trail off as you lead your friend into the kitchen.

“It’s alright, I understand.” Mya smiles, watching you pull two mugs out of your cabinet and pour hot water, the savory aroma of coffee immediately filling the room. Mya takes a good look at you; you have some hair falling out of your ponytail around your face, there’s some sort of stain on your sweater, and you can’t stop playing with the diamond ring on your left hand; you look just like any new mom would.

“So, what’s going on? You don’t usually call me up like this out of nowhere…” You ask once you sit down, mugs on the table between you and your old friend. During your college days, you guys got to be pretty close, but after you graduated it became harder to get in touch due to your busy lives.

“Well, you remember Renjun, right?” Mya begins, nervously sipping on her coffee. You pretend to not notice how her hands shake.

“Of course,” You smile at the memory of Mya and Renjun, “Are you guys doing good?” At the question, Mya sets down her mug and stares into the creamer that swirls through the coffee, her shoulders sagging and eyes dull.

“I think… he’s going to propose to me.” You freeze, your heart suddenly beginning to hammer in your chest. Not because you’re excited by the news, but because your friend looks miserable.

“Why does the look on your face say that’s a bad thing?” Your heart begins to break when Mya lifts her head to show the tears surfacing to the edge of her eyes. You reach your hand over the table to capture Mya’s, trying to comfort her in any way.

“You know you can tell me anything. I won’t judge.” You nudge her to open up. After a moment, she takes a deep breath and squeezes your hand.

“I don’t think I’m Renjun’s soulmate. I think… I’m the opposite.” She admits, biting into her bottom lip. “I think I fell out of love. Soulmates can’t do that, right?” When you shake your head, she sighs and continues, “I think it happened a while ago actually, but I was too afraid to say anything because I still care about him, like a friend. We share a mark, so it could mean I’m the one who’s meant to hurt him the most, but, this is going to sound insane…” She lets some tears fall down her cheeks as she talks, and you can only grip her hand tighter to encourage her to speak.

“I don’t want to. I think I’m supposed to hurt him, but I don’t want to— not at all. How does any of this make sense?” The tears start to fall as she thinks more and more about the situation, why did fate have to be so unfair to her?

You always thought about how unfair it is that there’s going to be a person who hurts you and gets to walk away from the situation without a care. When it comes to Mya and your own story of how you got hurt, you realize hurt is a two way street sometimes. It’s not always malicious and spiteful, hurt can be just as much of a shared emotion as love.

“Hey, everything happens for a reason. Even if it hurts, it’s supposed to hurt for a reason. Or else, why would fate exist in the first place?” You’re not sure if these are the most comforting words you can give Mya at the moment, but she finds some comfort in your logic and nods her head.

“I should go talk to him, shouldn’t I?” When you nod your head, Mya sighs. She dreads having this conversation, even thinking about it makes her scared of how Renjun will react.

“When you have your thoughts in order, go to him and tell him how you feel. No matter what kind of relationship fate assigns you, it doesn’t take away all the time you spent together. It’ll be okay.”

Mya has a lot on her mind as she stands up and makes her way to your door, denying your request of walking her home or calling a cab. As she slides her shoes on, the bedroom door opens and closes quietly. Mya smiles at the man who walks up to you, some bags under his eyes and his light brown hair tousled, not surprising Mya the slightest.

“Is she okay?” You ask as he comes forward, worry lacing your words. The man nods and lovingly pats your head, telling you not to worry before turning to Mya.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t come out earlier to say hi, Mirae was sleeping on me and I didn’t want to wake her up.” He explains while his arm comes around your shoulders and he tiredly sets his chin against your head.

“It’s okay, Xiaojun, I’m the one who intruded. You guys should focus on Mirae, and maybe get some sleep.” Mya manages to smile as she glances at her phone, a message from Renjun reading “Where are you? Come home, I miss you” making her nerves from earlier arise.

“We’ll try,” You comment, “And hey, call me anytime. I’ll always be here for you.” Mya nods, sending a wave and walking out of the front door to walk the long way home. When the door closes, Xiaojun sighs and moves his head to your shoulder, snaking his other arm around your waist to pull you closer to him.

“Y/N… I’m so tired.” He whines, laughing through his words a bit. It sends chills down your spine when his lips brush against your bare skin and his breath tickles your neck. You tug on his shirt, pulling him closer and resting your head against him.

“That’s what happens when a baby is sick.” You sigh, and Xiaojun can already guess the question that’s about to leave your lips. “You don’t regret this, do you?”

Around the same time that Donghyuck left you, Xiaojun found his soulmate. She came into Xiaojun’s life as quickly as she left it, something about backpacking through Central America. Not sharing the same goals and dreams as his soulmate, it left Xiaojun heart broken and lost without the person who’s supposed to be his home.

He needed someone and you needed someone, too. And then it turned from needing the other’s presence to understanding each other in a different way than friends do, and then you realized… You’re in love.

When he decided to love Mirae as if she’s his own, that’s when you knew Xiaojun is the right choice for you. However, that didn’t stop you from wondering if Xiaojun ever regrets his decision.

“You ask that question all the time,” He leans back, his gentle hands cupping your jaw as you make eye contact, “You know I’ll always answer the same way. I never regret picking you.”

Xiaojun waits for the anxiety to leave your eyes before giving you a smile, brushing his thumb over your soft cheek. He wonders how he hasn’t fallen in love with you sooner, you being his childhood friend and all. He knows it’s probably because he has always been waiting for his soulmate and it blinded him from seeing the one he truly loves: you.

When he feels you fully relax into him, he leans in and softly presses his lips to yours. You melt into him instantly, letting him hold onto you as his lips move slowly against yours. The hand on your waist pulls you closer and you hear Xiaojun whine when your nails scratch on his back over his shirt.

You pull away before anything else can happen, and Xiaojun stares back at you with a pout that makes you giggle a bit.

“Maybe we really should go to sleep?” You ask, and Xiaojun nods. He takes one more look at you, that look full of adoration that always makes your heart jump and your face heat up no matter what, and then he leads you to your bedroom for, hopefully, a restful night of sleep.

The next time you hear from Mya, it’s when you’re walking home from work one evening.

Your phone rings loudly and kills whatever train of thought you were on, pulling you to your electronic device and pressing the answer button.

“Hey, hun, what’s up?” You hum into the phone, stepping over cracks in the sidewalk.

“I think it’s today. I think Renjun is going to propose to me today.” Her words make you stop in your tracks, making some people around you throw a glare at the sudden obstacle in the middle of the sidewalk.

“What? What happened?” You ask.

“He just called me and told me to go to campus, to the bell tower. I just know he’s going to propose.” You can hear the panicky tone rising in Mya’s voice and you feel her anxiety all the way through the phone.

“Didn’t you talk to him about it?” You try to make sense of the situation.

“I was going to when I planned out what I needed to say, but I’m not ready yet. Oh, my god, I can’t go see him. I can’t.” You can practically hear her shaking her head by the sound of her wavering voice. “Please, Y/N, help me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Mya, it’ll be okay. I’ll meet you in the front of the campus and we’ll go in together, okay?” You turn around abruptly, already planning the quickest way to get to the university in your head.

“Wait, what? I just said I can’t go there.”

“Think about it, if you don’t show up then Renjun will know something is wrong and bring it up first. If you do show up, then you can say what you need to first before anything else happens.” You explain as you weave through people on the sidewalk going home. “I don’t think you should drag this out any longer.”

“... Okay, okay, I’ll meet you there.” After saying goodbyes, you end the phone call and send a text to Xiaojun telling him you’ll be late tonight and saying you’ll explain later. You put your phone into your bag and quickly make your way to campus, playing with the ring on your finger out of worry for Mya.

When you arrive, Mya is already at the front gates, pacing back and forth as college students pass by and send her glances. You walk up to her, scooping her arm into yours and looping them together, calmly walking onto campus and towards the bell tower. You clutch your bag closer to your side, thinking about the one place you want to visit before leaving tonight.

“Have you thought about what you’ll say?” You ask quietly, but your voice still startles Mya and she jumps a bit in your hold.

“I can’t even think straight right now, I have no idea.” She grips your arm tighter.

“I believe in you. One way or another, you and Renjun are connected somehow. I think you already know what you have to say.” You ponder out loud.

“How?”

“Because it’s your fate, even if it’s a bad one. Some things in life are hard, but that’s why we can say we live.” Mya doesn’t look any more  relaxed at your words, and you don’t blame her.

After walking for some time, you reach the bell tower. You can already see a figure of someone standing underneath it. The sun is setting behind the clock, and when you walk closer, you can see balloons and some candles lighting up the dimming area. Right before you reach the tower, you stop and let go of Mya’s arm. Giving her one last look of reassurance, you gently push her to Renjun.

You don’t hear exactly what happens next, since you’re standing too far away. But if you had to guess, Renjun noticed Mya and greeted her with the flowers he was holding. For a split second, you felt deja vu. Back when you were just a college student, you saw this exact same scene through a video— same people and same proposal.

There was a point when Renjun’s face changed that you know Mya broke the news. He looked confused and agitated, but most of all hurt. True pain breaks over his face, you can even see it from where you’re standing. You’ve never seen someone hurt by the one who is fated to bring them pain until now. Renjun looks like he could crumble into the asphalt and roll away with the wind, and it would still hurt less than standing there, hearing the words of betrayal from the one he thought was his soulmate.

You sympathize with him. It’s almost like you can feel that same feeling, like muscle memory in your heart forcing you to remember what it feels like to be hurt that way.

When Mya turns and walks away, you see the pain on her face too. When she passes you, she moves quicker than you and you aren’t able to stop her, only watching her walk towards the entrance of the campus.

You turn to look at Renjun, your heart seizing in surprise when you see two other familiar faces: Jaemin and Donghyuck.

He looks like he hasn’t changed one bit, but at the same time he isn’t who you remember. His hair is still that golden shade of brown, falling over his ears and down the back of his neck. His clothes look the same, his posture is still a bit hunched as always, but his eyes and his gaze look different as he stares back at you.

You aren’t sure why you’re still standing there, you don’t have anything to say to your three old college friends, so you politely nod at them and turn around, walking further into campus. You walk next to the buildings you used to know so well, your feet guiding you to the place your heart wants to go to the most.

You pull out your phone and start calling Mya. Once, twice, and after the third time, you send a text asking her to pick up the phone. There are so many places she could’ve gone, and you could probably catch up to her if you turn around and run, but your feet don’t listen to your brain and carry you to the place you’ve been yearning to see again since the second you stepped into campus.

The staircase looks the same as it did 5 years ago. You have changed, so has Donghyuck, but this staircase remains stagnant in time. The trees on the left side still sway over the stairs peacefully and the cracks in the stone wall on the right seem to not have changed either. You immediately feel comfort upon seeing this steep set of stairs, slowly starting to walk up while putting your phone into your bag.

One, two, three, four, the fifth step a little longer, then repeat.

When you reach the top, the air feels slightly cooler and you close your eyes for a moment. Not for too long, though, because you hear your name being called from the bottom of the staircase.

Donghyuck manages to catch your attention with his loud voice, his figure looking small. You stand in your spots for a bit longer, the sun setting behind the trees and the wind nipping at your nose. Until, suddenly, Donghyuck starts climbing the stairs.

One, two, three, four, every fifth stride a little longer, one hundred and nine times until he’s on the step right before yours, glancing at you through his hopeful eyes.

“I knew you would be here.” He’s slightly out of breath, but the cheekiness in his voice is still evident.

“I knew you would find me.” You say back, making him smile a bit, “But, I’m not sure what for. If it’s about what Mya did to Renjun, I don’t think that’s my place to explain.”

“No, there’s something I’m curious about. Actually, there’s so many things I want to know about you, but I have a feeling you won’t tell me everything I want to hear.” He bites his chapped lip, shoving his hands into the pockets of his oversized jacket. “Will you let me ask you a question?” The look on your face tells him to go on.

“Do you only have one mark?”

You cock an eyebrow, “It took you this long to figure out?”

He laughs, not out of humor but out of disbelief, and looks at his shoes. “I can’t believe it. All this time…” he mumbles and kicks the step he’s standing on. When he lifts his head to look at you, you’re surprised by the tears lining his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” Your heart still hurts to see him in pain, even after everything, your soulmate connection is still strong.

“For hurting you. You knew what would happen all along, you knew how we would end up, but you still stayed with me. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t do anything to save us.” He sniffs, one tear falling down his eye. He tries to wipe it away quickly, but you still see it. Something in you pulls you towards him, something telling you to comfort him, but you hold back.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past now.” You bite your lip in thought as he nods, “Where did you find out about single-marked people?”

“I ran into an old classmate. When she explained it, I realized it sounded just like what happened to us—”

“What you did to me.” You quickly correct him, making the pain on his face fade away and a cold look present itself on his features.

“Hey, I know you understand why I did what I did.” He rebuttals.

“Just because I understand doesn’t mean I’ll forgive and forget.” You taunt back, feeling anger and irritation rise. You decide now is the time to walk away, talking the first step down the stairs where Donghyuck is standing. He stops you with a strong grasp on your left wrist, turning you to him and looking you straight in the eye.

“One more question. Whose ring is this?” He holds up your left hand to his face, eyeing the diamond that shines as he tilts your hand back and forth. His thumb rolls over the dragonfly that paints your hand, his identical mark peeking out of his sleeve and touching yours as he examines the ring.

“Xiaojun gave it to me.” Donghyuck flinches at the name, looking between you and your hand.

“Xiaojun…” He repeats, the name feeling heavy on his tongue, “Good. He’s a good guy.” You can tell how hard it is for him to get those words out of his mouth, as if he’s saying the words out loud to convince himself rather than just commenting. You gently try to take your hand away, but Donghyuck grips onto it more, dropping your hands down between you two.

“Wait, one more question.”

You sigh restlessly, “You said that about the last question.”

“No, seriously, this is the last one.” You pause for a moment to compose yourself before nodding slowly, signaling him to go ahead and ask.

“Will you ever be able to do it? To forgive me, and to forget what I did?” His voice holds so much hope you’re almost afraid of talking, since you know your words will break whatever last piece of expectation he has left. You gently take his hand, stepping closer to him to slide it into his jacket pocket. You wipe some pollen off of his shoulder, looking him in the eyes afterwards.

“One day, when we’ve found our place in this world and the pain we gave each other is just a distant memory, I will forgive you. But I’ll never be able to forget how you left me when I needed you most. In this world where love is chosen for you, I turned my back on fate and I chose love. It’ll never be the same as when I was with you, but that’s not what I need. I need someone who will love me— someone who will stay when things go good or bad. Someone who will stay for life.” You explain, “And actually, I’ll start forgiving you now.”

You dig into your bag, finding your wallet and producing a photo from one of the slots that’s supposed to be for a card.

“This is Mirae. I can already tell she’s going to have your eyes and your hair when she grows older,” You can’t help but smile, watching Donghyuck’s every emotion as they move through his face. Surprise, fondness, instant love. “We’re always going to be tied together from now on. Not because of this,” You point to the dragonfly that’s imprinted on his hand, “But because of her.” You point to the picture that he’s gripping tightly.

Donghyuck looks at the photo for what seems like hours. The little girl in the photo is laughing at someone behind the camera, holding a rubber duck in her small hands. She's a perfect mixture between you and Donghyuck, and you’re right, she does have his eyes.

Donghyuck has never felt this much regret in his whole life.

“I have to go,” You say, pulling out your phone when you hear it buzz in your bag to see Mya calling you, “But don’t be a stranger. I never changed my phone number.” And with that, you walk down the stairs. When you get to the bottom, Donghyuck watches you turn and wave to him before disappearing behind the stone wall.

He grips the picture in his hand, not able to look away from his daughter who stares back at him with the same eyes. The sunset has ended and Donghyuck eventually makes the slow walk back down the stairs to find Renjun and Jaemin.

He keeps looking at the picture the entire walk back, thinking about the choices he made when he was younger. He realized he cared a lot about what his marks made him; the sunflower on his knee made him a stranger to his father, and the dragonfly on his left hand made him a stranger to his daughter.

Even though he thought he took the cautionary steps, in the end, he ended up exactly the way he never wanted to be— like his dad

The marks on bodies help guide people to their fate, but there is more to life than fate. Sometimes, you have to take destiny by the reigns and pull it your way. And with this picture— with this new chance to begin again, Donghyuck will do just that.

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

Part 1 of ?????

Started writing this fic a while ago and then lost faith in it. Should I continue? Feel bad for not posting much lately so I thought I'd share this. Read on and weigh in.

COME OUT TONIGHT

NO

You don't have to fucking shout?

Said the pot to the kettle?

Oh you grandmother The caps were an accidental by-product of voice-to-text Blame Siri if you're going to blame anyone

You have a Samsung Galaxy S20.

HAD. It got smashed. Worst luck. Listen, come out with me tonight.

Urghhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm tired!

https://www.boots.com/wellness/vitaminsandsupplements/vitamins-supplements-shop-by-ingredient/echinacea

Hah (indifferent)

Just come out with me! Isaac has to go see some godawful student performance of the Antigone in wherever the fuck Chichester is and it's Sirius's flatmate's birthday party so I have to go and I don't know any of his weird mates

You don't HAVE to go.

Have to/want to Semantics

I'm not in a birthday party mood. I'm having a stressful week. My arse has been tense since Tuesday.

I will wade into the deep and massage your arse if I have to, just come It's a swank pad in Belgravia! I bet they'll have all sorts of expensive nibbles!

I read that as expensive nipples.

Those too!

Partying it up with the children of wealthy Tories. Sounds super fun.

Just come out with me, for fuck I'll pick you up at 7 and we can steal their silverware if it's boring as the grave

URGH I'll go but I'm NOT dressing up!

You don't have to dress up!

FINE!

*

take the drawings down please i'm begging you i'm actually begging you

Nah mate

siriusssssssss pleeeeeease

Nah

PLEASE

Nah

PLEASE ffs it's MY birthday!!!! there are going to be PEOPLE there! standing around! AT EYE LEVEL

I don't see what the problem is.

EVERYONE will see what the problem is! they literally will not be able to IGNORE what the problem is!

Sounds like a recipe for lively discussion to me tbh

that is NOT what i want people talking about at my birthday!

If I take them down, I'll have to take all the nails out and that'll leave nail marks all over the walls. It would be unsightly.

MORE UNSIGHTLY THAN YOUR DICK, SIRIUS?

My dick is bewitching.

DIE

*

She walks in expecting to find herself the infiltrator of a Made in Chelsea/Royal Ascot/Henley Regatta netherworld, filled with a gaggle of giggling, SW-postcode socialites wielding suspiciously powder-edged Harrods Amex cards in the place of horses and boats, but that's not what actually greets her on the other side of the lacquered front door.

What greets her is really quite ordinary.

Aside from the naked drawings of Kingsley's mate, which aren't.

Otherwise, the whole affair is pretty relaxed. People her age are clustered in their small groups, swigging beers. There's a table of oven-heated party foods, salty snacks and rapidly depleting ramekins of guac. She spies more band shirts than there are dress shirts. There's a round of Fortnite in full swing on the TV.

It's all just...startlingly normal. A normal birthday party.

And that's sort of embarrassing, really.

Where are all the visible Tory toffs, she wonders? Where is the braying laughter? The Eton alumni reunion? The glimpse of hunting-happy tweed and shotgun barrels as a coat cupboard door swings shut? Where's the indelible air of sneering superiority, of "we're richer and more privileged and better than you, so fuck the NHS and death to foxes!" that she'd been expecting? There's a fucking Henry Hoover in the corner of the hall, for Christ's sake. Lily came here to smile through her teeth at them all, to listen to the champagne problems privilege that bubbled from their lips and tell herself that she was the one who knew better, who thought better. Her plain white tee and skinny jeans and scuff-toed, high-top trainers were supposed to be a statement, a subtle setting-apart, but she's not even the most underdressed person in the room.

She pre-judged a house full of people. What's that about?

There's a lesson to be found in this. Perhaps.

*

James covered all of the dicks in Paw Patrol stickers that he bought from the newsagent on his way home from his mum's, but Sirius peeled them all off while he was taking a soothing lavender bath, so what's the bloody point in birthdays anyway?

It's early in the evening, and he's wedged—against his will—between the dining room bar and Shane Ruttle, who has just pointed at one of the many lamentable dicks and asked, "Is this one of yours?" which James kind of wants to thump him for. It's bad enough that he looks like a madman who stuffed his house with naked drawings of his brother, now people are actually assuming that he drew the damn things, even though most of the compositions are appallingly far beneath his skill level. He's a professional illustrator, for the love of god, and Shane is really standing before him like the posturing prick he is, asking him if he's the one who drew Sirius with one arm disproportionately longer than the other.

He knows that he should cheer up.

It is his birthday. There is cake.

Good cake, too, not the kind that gets buried in too-thick fondant that he has to pick off before he can eat what's underneath.

The problem is, there's also a party, and his friends are his friends, Peter and Sirius included, and Peter and Sirius can both get drunk much faster than James can. When Peter and Sirius get drunk, serious injuries tend to follow, Remus tends to fuck off in a flash and James tends to be the one who calls for an ambulance or mothers them back to health—physical, mental or otherwise. He has just turned twenty-six, and these repeated, drunkenly dramatic medical emergency scenes are starting to wear a little thin.

Can't a man get comfortably drunk and have a laugh at his own birthday party?

No, he can't, because Peter's already halfway to trashed, wobbling unsteadily towards the French doors that lead to the terrace, wearing that look on his face that says I'm definitely going to vomit or maybe even shit myself like I did on that one night we all spent in Munich with the Belgian handball team and the creepy tour guide who couldn't keep his sleazy hands to himself. For the sake of sparing the lawn such a punishment, James hastily removes himself from Shane, grabs Peter by the collar, shoves him in the direction of the downstairs loo and retreats to the safety of the living room, where there are, at least, no naked drawings of Sirius gracing the walls.

Most of the people in here are transfixed by Saffy Stephens, who is down to the last three in her Fortnite game and cursing like a sailor, but there are a small pile of birthday cards on the end table where James and Sirius normally keep their keys. He perches on the sofa arm, sets his half-drunk beer bottle on the carpet, pushes his dark, disheveled hair away from his forehead and begins leafing through them. It's a necessity when one lives with Sirius, who thinks nothing of swiping gift cards when the mood strikes him and he's had enough to drink.

They're mostly from his female friends, and all pretty standard, until he reaches the middle of the pile and finds a card bearing a picture of a moustached tabby and the caption: Have a Purr-fect Birthday!

The inscription inside is written in a lovely, swirling hand.

To Jasper/Jack/Jason/maybe Ja Rule?/J-something idk

(see above: everything I've learned about you from the friend* I came here with, verbatim)

(*who can't remember your name)

Happy Birthday! Thank you for (not) specifically inviting me, a stranger, to your party to celebrate this momentous event in your life. Please enjoy this festive card/social nicety/convention from me to you. My friend brought rum which you may prefer.

I'll be around. Not that you'll know.

LE

James lowers the card and twists on the sofa arm at once, eyes darting around the room in search of its author, as if they might be laying in wait to watch him read it and see how he reacts. Nobody appears to have ducked behind the couch, however, so the situation merits further scrutiny.

Obviously, he needs to meet this person.

A mystery! At his birthday party!

He perks right up after that.

*

She's coming out of the downstairs loo when a short, blonde man in a garish Hawaiian shirt barrels past her and pukes all over the chequerboard tiled floor, narrowly missing her jeans.

"Oh no," he moans into his wet hands. "Oh no—"

"There there, mate," says Lily consolingly, never one to judge somebody for getting drunk early at a party. She pats him on the back before squeezing past him and rejoining Kingsley, who is standing in one of this meandering Georgian house's many hallways, chatting to a bloke in a houndstooth sweater vest and holding two glasses of something very, very sparkly that she must try at once.

"It's like...it's like everything and nothing at the same time," Houndstooth Bloke is saying when Lily draws close, gesturing to a huge canvas painting of a rain-soaked fairground at night.

"Is it?" Kingsley asks.

"Mmm. Very." Houndstooth shakes his shoulders like he's slipping out of a robe. "Meant to be esoteric, I suppose."

That sounds suspiciously like pretentious bullshit to Lily, who doesn't find the concept of a merry looking fairground all that difficult to absorb. Kingsley knows more about the art world than she does, but he must agree with her assessment because he grunts and shoves her glass into her hand when she stops beside him, and more roughly than she deserves, as if she's the one who landed him in this mess of a conversation to begin with.

Trust him to find himself stuck with the only dick (not etched by a 4B Steadtler graphite pencil) in the building, and trust her to be stuck with the person who got himself stuck with King.

"What are we talking about?" she asks brightly, just to fuck with him.

"Drink your champagne, there's a good little hen," King mutters, his teeth clenched together, hallway lights bouncing off the smoothly waxed dome of his bald head.

"We've been discussing this piece." Houndstooth nods to the painting, but his limpid eyes narrow on Lily's face. "Christ, you're very redheaded, aren't you?"

It's decided. She'll wait 'til Houndstooth is drunk and trip him up with Henry Hoover's hose.

"Ergo soulless, yes," she agrees.

"And you...enjoy that?" he asks, as if being redheaded is her profession.

"Very much, thanks."

"Hmmp. Well. I came here with Saffron," he announces, pronouncing it Sef-ron. As if Lily is supposed to know who that is. "Platonically, of course. Actually, we're some sort of cousins, I think. What do you think the artist is trying to convey?"

He's very pointedly asking her, so Lily blinks at the painting, her eyes on the outstretched arm of a child on the carousel.

"I like the pretty colours," she decides aloud.

"Right," says Houndstooth, "but that's not—"

"And the lights, too. The lights are really pretty."

"But—"

"I love funfairs, actually," she brightly continues, finding a strange satisfaction in playing dumb in front of Houndstooth and his overbleached fade. Although she does really like the colours. "Haven't been to one in years!"

"Yes, good, whatever, but what is the artist trying to convey?"

"What artist?" comes a voice from behind them.

Lily glances over her shoulder and finds herself looking up at the man whose penis she's spent the past thirty minutes avoiding eye contact with, though he is taller, better proportioned and infinitely more beautiful than any of those crudely drawn depictions could possibly convey. He is also beplumed and bejewelled like a pirate, wearing a sumptuous velvet jacket over a loose white shirt, numerous rings on his fingers and an assortment of silver chains around his slender neck, while his grey eyes and elegantly high-set cheekbones are framed by a tumble of black hair that genuinely looks like silk.

The man is so beautiful, in fact, that Lily immediately wonders why he's been taking sketches home from the life drawing class that he and Kingsley pose for—hence their acquaintance and Lily's presence at this party—when nothing she's seen tonight has done him any justice.

Most happily, his penis is tucked safely out of sight.

"Alright, Sirius?" says King.

"Alright, Marvel?" Sirius claps a hand to the taller man's massive shoulder. Kingley's muscles bulge in a way that cannot be hidden by modern habiliments. "What are we talking about?"

"Not much." Houndstooth looks put out by the arrival of yet another person. "We were just mesmerised by this piece."

Lily refrains from gesturing to the painting with both hands and a "ta-dah!" choosing instead to sip her champagne.

It's very good champagne. Mmm. Yes.

"Oh, yeah, it's really something," Sirius agrees. He brushes past Kingsley and runs a finger over the illegible squiggle of a signature on the canvas. His nails are beautifully manicured. "Local guy, young up-and-comer. I assume you've heard of Algernon?" he asks Houndstooth, fixing him with a steely-eyed stare.

"Er, yes." Houndstooth's gaze slides from Sirius to the painting. "I know him."

Sirius's eyebrows lift. "Know him personally?"

"Well—"

"That's so weird, I heard he never speaks to people."

Houndstooth chews on the inside of his cheek, weighing up the challenge. "How…funny."

"Funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just, I know I've spoken to him before, and since you've bought his painting I assumed that you'd have—"

"That is funny, actually," Sirius interrupts, "because the artist is my brother, and Algernon is the name of his cat."

Kingsley has been tugging on his earring and almost rips it out of his ear as his body convulses, champagne spraying from his nostrils, while an alarming red flush sweeps across Houndstooth's face and he begins to sputter on his own self-importance. Sirius has clearly decided that he's done with all of that noise, however, because he turns back to Lily instead, looking her up and down with great and sudden interest.

"Who's this then?" he asks Kingsley, cocking his head to one side. "James's present?"

The champagne glass swings down and Lily fixes him with a deadpan stare. "Excuse me?"

Sirius slants a grin at Kingsley, a quick flash of teeth. "This one's queenly, isn't she?"

Kingsley wipes his nose with the back of his hand and laughs again. "Hardly."

"This is Primark, mate," Lily retorts, tugging on her t-shirt.

"Queenliness is a state of mind," says Sirius, "not a state of wardrobe."

"You had me marked down as a prostitute not ten seconds ago."

"Oh, that. I was only joking," he sighs, and grips her arm at the elbow, his long fingers cool against her skin. "But still, you're far too attractive to stand here talking to this clown. Come with me and I'll find you someone better."

*

James's friends are useless.

And drunk. Useless and drunk—or sort of drunk, in Saffy's case. Remus is certainly already pissed, but Remus is on meds so often that he drinks but once in a blue moon. One cocktail is usually enough to set him off, and he's been hard at the gin since he turned up with Peter at six.

"I don't know anyone with those initials," Saffy declares, once she has read, examined and even sniffed the birthday card for clues. "Except for Lisa Edelstein."

"Who's Lisa Edelstein?"

"Cuddy from House," says Remus, lowering the negroni from which he has been drinking deeply.

James pulls a face. "What the fuck is a Cuddy?"

"Oh, actually, it could mean le?" Remus suggests.

"Yes!" Saffy points at him like he might be onto something. "Like the French word for the?"

"Exactly, like—"

"It doesn't mean that!" James interrupts, unwilling to allow such profanity in his home. "That doesn't make sense, why would somebody sign their name as the?"

"Now you're asking me to explain how French people think?" says Saffy derisively, adjusting her bra strap beneath that burnt orange waistcoat she loves, the one that makes her look like she's directing a pornographic movie in the 70s when she pairs it with her tortoiseshell-framed aviators. It clashes wildly with her electric blue buzz-cut. "Am nooooo drunk enough for that."

"They could be one of those one word moniker pop stars, I suppose," Remus pipes up, smiling slyly. "You know, like Madonna?"

They think James doesn't realise that they're taking the piss out of him, but neither of them are sober enough to attempt their gambit with any kind of subtlety or grace.

"You know that's actually her real Christian name?" says Saffy.

Remus turns towards her with interest. "What, Madonna?"

"Yeah!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Saffy repeats. "I thought it couldn't possibly be her real name because, I mean, Madonna, yeah? But then I looked it up and apparently that's the name her mummy gave her, just goes to show—"

"I'm sorry," James interrupts, "but is Madonna relevant to this conversation?"

"Yes, always," says Saffy.

"She's an international pop megastar," Remus seconds.

James stares at his friend incredulously. "Drinking really chips away at your wit, y'know?"

"Does it?" Remus grins lazily and jiggles his cocktail in the air. "Oh, well, I'm negronly joking."

Saffy does a spit-take without the spit and clings helplessly to Remus's shoulder as she laughs, knees buckling, bangles tinkling, but James fights his own urge to start snickering.

"It's not that funny," he lies, and Remus eyes him with an alarmingly teacher-like shrewdness, despite the tellingly intoxicated flush that has crept into his thin, freckled face.

James's love of puns is tragically well known.

"You didn't get it." Remus points at his drink. His speech is starting to slur. "This is a negroni, what I said was—"

"Yeah, I got that part, I just—"

"Jesus fuck, look at her!" Saffy suddenly hisses, staggering sideways into Remus and sending him into the wall in a flurry of giggles—Remus giggling?—her voice hushed and urgent. "Who the hell is that?!"

James does look, following the direction of Saffy's gaze. Sirius has just entered the living room, casually clutching the elbow of a……

……goddess.

An actual. Like. Goddess.

A goddess. In James's house. In his living room. In the place where he eats his chocolate boulder cereal and rewatches Scrubs (even season 9, which is hilarious, and very unfairly disparaged by Joe Public) on Saturday mornings.

She's a goddess. A real one, and cleverly disguised as a mortal, sure, with her slouchy white t-shirt and her big hoop earrings and her light blue jeans that are torn at the knees, wearing her shoulder-length red hair half up, half down and slightly messy, but that doesn't hide what she is.

"Oh my god," he murmurs. His heart is pounding all of a sudden, which is so...utterly bloody stupid, but Saffy's right, bloody look at her, Jesus fuck.

"Surely she can't be with Sirius?" Saffy murmurs back.

"No, she—" He watches Sirius lean down to mutter something in the redhead's ear. A ghost of a laugh flits across her beautiful face. "She's not his—he isn't—"

"D'you think—"

"No, I—"

"Good," says Saffy firmly. She lets go of Remus and rises, lengthening her spine. It is a battle stance of some sort, presumably. "Because I saw her first."

"No!" James cries, wounded, and the redhead shoots him a curious look with a pair of eyes that are startlingly emerald green, even from all the bloody way over here. He spins to face Saffy and lowers his voice, face burning. "It's my house!"

"What are you arguing here, ownership rights?"

"No but it—it's my birthday!" James retorts, jabbing at his own chest. "And, actually, and—"

"It's in the bloody post!"

"—you didn't get me a present!" he finishes in triumph, not that he knows what he's arguing for, because the likelihood is that his tongue will glue itself to the roof of his mouth if he even dares to look in her direction one more time. "Plus I set you up with Vanya Petrich, with whom, as I recall, you enjoyed four years—"

"Stop throwing that in my face!"

"—four blissful years—"

"Is it my fault that you've never fancied any girl I've set you up with?!"

"—promised me an Easter ham for setting you up with her and I never got it—"

"So now you'll trade a woman for a ham?" Saffy accuses, though her face is too lit up, her brown eyes too crinkled at the corners—she's having fun with this and she isn't going to fool him and she knows it. "That's so low, even—"

"Don't start with that," James scathingly cuts in. "You offered me Sean Connery's autograph for Bonnie Grogan's number—"

"Which you never gave me!"

"Because you forged the bloody signature!"

"And now she's bloody married!"

"Yeah, well, Isabella wouldn't give me a counterfeit present, would she?" he retorts, and Saffy lets her shoulders drop, smirking. "This is pointless, Saf, we can't—"

"She's just left with Sirius," Remus informs them, and burps.

[jjungkookislife]

Quarterly Fic Recs 2021 #2

Hello! I’m back with another rec list! Here are fics I’ve read, loved and thoroughly enjoyed in the second quarter of 2021! They are all very wonderful fics! Each story has its own genre, warnings (and are mostly 18+), so please take that into consideration before reading. If any authors would like me to untag them, please let me know. Enjoy!

Yoongi

before i leave you @hollyhomburg

summary: Yoongi Disappears- leaving behind a shattered pack. 8 months later, Jimin finds Yoongi in an H-mart of all places.

Hoseok

heart-on @junghelioseok

summary: my boss is always telling me how perfect her son would be for me and she promises he’s coming to the next holiday party and don’t worry he’s heard all about me too and ALSO there’s this dude i slept with once a couple of months ago and sometimes he still sends me dick pics when i ask him to at 3 in the morning cause seriously dude’s got a good dick

Jungkook

charmolypi @njssi

summary: Work and pleasure should never be combined — or so the saying goes. But you were never really one to follow the rules in their entirety and neither were the ones around you. Love, lust, interest. Five people. In the workplace. What could go wrong? Everyone just wants to get something, after all.

when you least expect it @johobi

summary: You’re in love with your childhood friend, Taehyung. The problem is, you treasure your friendship with him far too much to ever risk losing it. Oh, and he’s quite the Casanova. At your wits’ end with feelings you can no longer hide as diligently as you once did, you ask him to set you up with someone, anyone, in a last ditch attempt to avoid a heartbreaking conversation.

wherever there is you @jeonstudios

summary: you’ve been drinking, haven’t you?

instant gratification @dovechim

fuckboi@jungkook x cheerleader!reader

haze @yyooni

summary: So you’ve fucked the biggest fuck boy on campus. It’s a one and done. One night stand. A wham bam thank you ma’am. So why does it happen again?

OT7/Multiple Members

because i’m yours @minniepetals

summary: you should have known they’d never let you go after gathering the courage to ask for a kiss

blazed @ironicarmy

summary: Your friends try to cheer you up during Christmastime, but things go south once Hoseok appears with a mysterious brown bag.

Seokjin

one step @cutechim

summary:  attending an ex’s wedding is never easy, but you might just have the perfect remedy—if you can pluck up the courage to take it.

platonic @joheunsaram

summary: Finding a new method for stress relief, you rope in your bestfriend/fwb to try it out with you.

show me yours and i’ll show you mine @ktheist

summary: you’re a horny bunny yet kim seokjin always seems to manage to slide out of your grasps like a fox every time.

Yoongi

before i leave you pt. 7 @/hollyhomburg

summary: Pack omega kim Seokjin knows how to handle things when they go south (or alternatively you get triggered, Yoongi has a panic attack, and it’s a good thing the pack is there to help)

Hoseok

risky business @yoonjinkooked

summary: The person who invented smart glass office walls knew what they were doing. Your secretary fucks you stupid in the office.

snapshot @xjoonchildx

summary: after a day at the beach, hoseok has some surprises in store for his longtime love

keep me warm @ppersonna

summary: camping is always a great time when you’re with your friends, but even better with your boyfriend, hoseok.

it’s you @jinpanman

summary: An accidental confession throws your years-long friendship with Hoseok into disarray.

Namjoon

love bytes @stutterfly

summary: It’s been a year since you first met Kim Namjoon, the passionate, talented English professor at the local campus. He’s always been clumsy and aloof, but he’s on a whole new level in terms of “technologically incapable.” One call to IT was all it took to pull you into his life, and with it a whole string of friendships full of flirtatious banter and undying support.

Your dating situation has been drier than the Sahara for years now, and you’ve wasted too many lonely nights drinking alone, so you try your hand at Tinder. But you’re not getting any bites. When the group finds out, they are more than willing to help–even Namjoon, though he finds it increasingly difficult to deny that he’s hopelessly smitten. You consider their opinions on potential Tinder dates while fighting off feelings you never knew were brewing for the caring soul who becomes the home you never had.

out of my league @/ppersona

summary: Kim Namjoon was never supposed to find out about your years-long hopeless crush on him. And he most definitely was not supposed to find out about it in front of all your coworkers in a company-wide meeting.

so this is love @jinpanman

summary: “So this is the miracle that I’ve been dreaming of. So this is love.”

problem solved @sugasbabiie

summary: Namjoon helps you with more than math problems tonight.

love is @hxseok-honee

summary: they say that love is supposed to transcend time and space and that it knows no limits. but putting an ocean and thousands of miles between two people won’t make things any easier, will it? 

Jimin

potent pink @dntaewithluv

summary: The first time you see Park Jimin you’re instantly entranced by him. And it turns out he lives in the apartment next to the one you’re moving into, so even better he’s your hot neighbor. When the previous tenant confesses to you that he was the best hook up she ever had, you’re that much more intrigued. The first time you meet him, however, you’re deciding immediately that you hate him and want to stay as far away from him as possible. Jimin is determined to be a constant in your life though, and he definitely is that. Both a constant flirt and a constant pain in your ass. Is a ruined second impression enough to prevent you from ever giving him a second chance?

Taehyung

hush, yeah? @kithtaehyung

summary: the innocent accident that started it all

unfinished business @/dntaewithluv

summary: Besides wanting to catch up with some old friends, there’s only one reason you found yourself agreeing to attend your 10 year high school reunion. The boy you were in love with back then is going to be there, and you’re determined to finally make your move. Except, unfortunately, it turns out that Kim Seokjin is very much happily married. Kim Taehyung, however, is very much single and feels like he has something to prove to you after you turned him down all those years ago. One night is all it takes to make you realize you made the biggest mistake of your life.

under the covers @jessikahathaway

spy!au

darling @bloomsuga

summary: “go to sleep, darling.”

as endless as the stars ^

summary: he waited 160 years to meet you again, and now that he has, he’s not letting go. or: “i love you as deep as the ocean and as endless as the stars”

dirty dishes @jaysdimples

summary: when your boyfriend can’t seem to keep his hands to himself so he stirs up a little trouble in the kitchen while everyone else is a few feet away in the next room

devotion @/sweetbunnykook

summary: You and Taehyung were inseparable once. When you come back to your hometown after three years, fate pulls you back to him. And this time, Taehyung won’t ever keep his eyes off of you.

Jungkook

commercial break; twelve @1kook

summary: Anyway, if it was up to Jungkook, Kim Doyeon would not be a member of the Engagement Ring Committee.

tease @adonis-koo

summary:You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

jock!jk @angelguk

summary: going raw with jock jk

evolution of a lover’s heart @jeonstudios

summary: the rules are simple: first one to take the virginity wins.

euphoria @btssavedmylifeblr

summary: At the end of your life, you are given one day to live again with the man you loved. A lifetime’s love story told in a single day.

idealizations concerning real life relations @venusiangguk

summary: jungkook loves to be loved, but he doesn’t love in return.

relax @itsbuffsanta

summary: jk is antsy after the concert, so you help him relax.

employee of the month @/dntaewithluv

summary: Sometimes it truly amazes you how much of an idiot your boyfriend can be. But you also find it impossible to say no to him. Even when it involves letting him fuck you at his work on the same day that he gets awarded employee of the month…

ego 08 @suga-kookiemonster

summary: what’s a girl to do when her sweet, innocent baby lab partner isn’t quite so sweet and innocent? well, he’s a grown-ass man, and you’re about to learn that the hard way.

only you 10 @sweetbunnykook 

summary: Jeon Jungkook, your wedding photographer, helps you escape on your big day upon learning about a secret your groom-to-be kept hidden. You soon fall for this young, passionate photographer. However, you underestimated just how much he was willing to reciprocate that love. Maybe, you think, he’s loving you just a little too much.  

lunchbox lovers @jiminrings

stem major!koo x cold senior!y/n

crunchyroll & rail @/1kook

summary: Never mind the fact you really like Sailor Moon, or that you really want to pay attention to every little detail; the moment becomes Jungkook and his big smile and his red cheeks and the tiny box he produces from within his pocket.

only for you @jikookiekosmos

summary: It’s the night before your wedding and you should be happy…but a fight with your fiancé leaves you second guessing everything. A visit from the blue-haired boy of your dreams is just what you need to make it right.

lillies @dewykth

summary: “… white lines, pretty baby, tattoos, don’t know what they mean, they’re special just for you…”

bluekooberry @kimtaehyunq

summary: Your adoring boyfriend, Jungkook, surprises you with a brand new hairstyle before your trip to visit him for the weekend. He’s excited to see you, feed you, and give you exactly what you want.

bad reputation @noteguk

summary: in which you have to deal with some strange emotions for the first time.

not yet @bratkook

summary: jungkook feels the pang of guilt in his gut when you spot your recent ex out with his new girl, and what better way to make the jerk hurt than to have him believe you were now dating him, the neighbor he had been insecure about your whole relationship

incoming: elite chatboy @kookingtae

summary: welcome to Elite Chatroom, a sex chat company with a wide variety of services such as text messaging, phone call, and video chat. you signed up online for the most basic text service plan not knowing what to expect, but you certainly didn’t think you’d end up actually liking the man behind the screen.

ineffable @euphoria-vmin7

summary: your best friend Jeon Jeongguk has always been amazing and deserved the best, so you’ve hid your love for him. But unbeknowsnt to you, there may be feelings that could change everything between you two…

touch @gardentulips

summary: when you tease and please one another

Multiple Members

friendly fire @kpopfanfictrash

summary: The dynamic: Hoseok; your friend and previous fuck buddy. Jungkook; Hoseok’s roommate and subject of your massive crush. The scene: determined not to drunk-gush about your crush any more (to his face), you decide to seclude yourself from all campus parties. Until, of course, Hoseok guilts you into a favor. Things spiral from there.

the boys are back in town @/dntaewithluv

summary: Getting stood up by your date definitely hadn’t been on your agenda for the evening. Also definitely not on your agenda: bumping into Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook. Together. On the same exact night. It’s been a while since you’ve seen your two best friends, as well as lovers on multiple occasions, from your high school and college days. A chance meeting, some drinks, and a trip down memory lane is all it takes to reignite the attraction between the three of you. Old habits die hard, but these two? They just might be the death of you.

ruin you @taegularities

summary: “His eyes hold unfathomable darkness that lures you in, captures your very soul, steals any air you are trying to draw. And you know without a doubt that you’re on the path to utter and irrevocable ruination.”

ruin you (once more) ^

summary: Taehyung and Jungkook can’t keep their hands off you. Not even in the elevator.

Seokjin

kairos @luffles424

summary: When your financial aid falls through for your last year of school, you fear you’ll have to drop out and postpone your degree. Until Taehyung gives you a suggestion to make a lot of money, quick. His idea can’t possibly end well, can it?

appetence @luffles424

summary: appetence (n.) - an eager desire, an instinctive inclination; an attraction or a natural bondIt’s time for Seokjin’s rut. Are either of you prepared for this step?

tiny lights, tiny lies @ggukcangetit

summary: you aren’t sure when exactly your best friend’s brother went from being an oddly annoying set of broad shoulders to the shoulders you frequently fell asleep against.

Yoongi

the little things @kimtaehyunq

summary: When the present isn’t exactly enough for you right now, Yoongi is here for you through it all. He makes sure you know you aren’t alone and that it’s ok to feel alone.

cyberslut @kimnjss

summary:  he has no idea who you are… up front, you’re sweet and innocent - but in reality you’re the exact opposite. running your own nsfw account, where your favorite topic is his hands.

yoongi drabble @joonsgalore

life guard au

Hoseok

benefits @cutechim

summary: you and hoseok have taken the ‘friends’ out of friends with benefits, but exclusivity has its own perks.

Namjoon

namjoon drabble @lovetrivia

summary: You’re a hot girl on Twitch and Namjoon is an absolute simp.

Jimin

baby fever @writtenwhalien

summary: Jimin wants another baby, and much to your delight, he’s determined to give you one.

jimin drabble @/1kook

best friend au

small hands jimin drabble @lavishedinjimin

established relationship au

silk and lace @sunshyngal

summary: Min Nara is the newly dumped fiance to the Crown prince of Korea, Park Jimin. She’s not overtly upset , because at least now she can live her life without the pressure of the monarchy hanging over her head. Besides , Nara has a very dirty little secret. While she spends the day as the perfect high society girl with an impeccable pedigree , her nights are filled with lacy lingerie and webcams.  Ignored by the man she’s meant to marry, she revels in the greedy lust of strangers on the internet. It’s her way of saying ‘fuck you’ to a system that sees her as nothing but a toy, molded for the future King. Park Jimin doesn’t know the first thing about his supposed fiancee. And he has no intention of learning either. He knows just what debutante girls are like and he has no patience for the kind. Besides, his girlfriend of three years, the elegant and independent Irene is everything he would ever want in a wife . Or is she?Because in the secrecy of his office , after the day’s work is done , Park Jimin has a very scintillating vice that he likes to indulge in : the beautiful camgirl who calls herself the Temptress. Jimin can’t get enough of the girl’s lush thighs wrapped in silk, the pretty pink of her nipples in see through bralettes and the glittering temptation of the jeweled plugs she likes to stuff herself full with.Jimin thinks she embodies  everything he can never allow himself to have as a Prince : filth, sin and decadence , all wrapped up in Silk and Lace.

Taehyung

nip it in the bud @opaljm

summary: You’re not sure how you ended up here, but maybe a shitty ex and a horrible breakup had a hand in what placed you in front of the tattoo parlor. It was already a nerve-wracking experience, but what you never expected was seeing that the owner and artist giving you nipple piercings was your older brother’s best friend you hadn’t seen in ages. to make things even worse, he got fucking hotter.

taehyung drabble @joonsgalore

sugar daddy au

peanut @jungxk

summary: the making of peanut.

Jungkook

pretty kitty @venusiangguk

summary: you’re jk’s baby, his toy, and now his pretty little pet.

heavy metal @hisunshiine

summary: You come home from a trip to find your fuckbuddy has a… hole-y surprise.

devour @bloomsuga

summary: my sweet angel… i am going to devour you

grain of sand @jungkookiebus

summary: Blind since the age of 18 from a genetic disorder, Jungkook walked through life as if he never lost it, but on one fateful day seven years ago he literally almost runs into you. He fell in love nearly immediately. Fast forward to the present and it’s just another day in your quiet life with him by your side.

under the oak tree @mingoyeob

summary: as the eldest daughter of a duke, it’s your duty to marry at your father’s will. yet you didn’t expect to be marrying jeon jungkook, a knight of low status, especially when he departs for an expedition without another word after your first night. when he comes back three years later, this time as a renowned hero, how will you be able to face him and how will things change between you and your new husband?

jungkook drabble @1kook

dilf!jk

commercial break: thirteen ^

summary: Because for as much shit as you let him get away with, Jungkook is certain you’ll draw the line today.

sh. @wwilloww

summary: How could you say no to a month away in the mountains with your friends after six months of grueling quarantine?

jungkook drabble @lavishedinjimin

daddy!jk

OT7/Multiple Members

the end @jimlingss

summary: It’s been a habit of yours to vent in the form of love letters. There’s six in total. They’re kept secret, hidden in your closet. But on your 30th birthday, what you least expect is for each letter to become reality. All done by the whacky ghost of Christmas future trying to grant your birthday wish.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Go Go Karauno: An Old Rival (Pt. 3 smut)

THIS FIC IS 18+

Warnings: swearing, light teasing, slight angst (maybe?), car sex, hand jobs, unprotected sex (reader is on birth control and clean), breeding kink without the breeding, me living my dreams 

Word Count: 7,000 +

You get ready for the date.

Was it really a date though? Let's call it a reunion.

You get ready for the reunion with Keishin as you slip on some comfortable jeans, a nice top and flats to match. Keishin asked you to meet him at his families store. An odd choice for a reunion you thought but you weren't going to fault him.

You were going into this with an open mind. You were ready to be friendly but also ready to lay down the law if so happened to come to that point. You walked down the streets as you approached the store. Keishin was outside smoking. He looked nice you thought.

You smile as you approach "those things are going to kill you you know." You say grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and stomping it out with your foot.

More like you're going to kill him babe

Keishin smiles as he looks at you "well if you worked with a bunch of hormonal high school boys you'd do the same" he said smugly "by the way you look really nice"

You smile "thanks so do you."

He’s looking at you. Why is he looking at you like that? It's awkward.

"So... your families store huh" you say breaking the silence.

"Uhm yeah my mother's families. I just help out" he smiles as he opens the door for you.

"I hope you don't mind meeting me here. I had to work late so closing up was way easier" he smiles as he locks the door behind you.

"It's not a problem. Actually kind of nice to see domestic Keishin. Never thought I'd see the day" you chuckle as he laughs rubbing the back of his head

"Yeah a lots happened since high school" he says as he leads you to a secluded table in the corner.

"Coffee, tea, water?" He says with a smile

"Beer?" You question

Keishin smiles "coming right up!"

He brings two beers back to the table as you both sit in silence for a few moments. It's awkward and you can sense some tension.

"Keis-" you begin only to be interrupted

"Y/N, listen I know what your going to say" keishin interjected.

You lean back. "Ok hit me" you say as you await his response

"Y/N I was a fucking jerk back back high school. A smug asshole. I know that now. Hell I knew it back then. I just thought you'd like me more if I acted that way" he says looking down at the table picking at a spot.

Your eyes widen "like me more? You think picking on me and messing up my serves would get me to like you more? Keishin I legit wanted to punch your lights out!"

"And I would have deserved it Y/N. Please just hear me out ok" he says as you recline in your chair with a huff.

"Y/N this is going to sound so weird and out of left field but I was so jealous of you and honestly, I had the biggest crush on you" Keishin manages to squeak out hoping you won't flee the scene.

"Excuse me?" you say sharply as your eyes bulge from your head.

"Y/N-" Keishin starts to speak before you interject this time.

"So you invited me here to confess to me? To tell me that the years of torment and annoyance you caused me were because you were too big of a fucking idiot to tell me how you felt?" You say loudly.

Keishins eyes widen as he can see your anger grow.

"Listen Keishin, I don't know what the goal was here-" you say as you start to stand preparing to leave.

"Y/N please just hear me out ok" Keishin grabs your hand as you look at him.

 His face looking the most sincere you've ever seen "I know I was stupid. I know you don't have to forgive me. You shouldn't. I was a complete jerk. I messed up the only good thing I had going on in my life."

"Wait-" you start to speak only to be cut off yet again.

"Y/N I wanted to confess to you for years. All through high school! You'd date those stupid basketball players or those baseball players and I'd be left watching. So I dated girls just to try and make you angry. I knew it never did but I tried to forget about you" he spoke softly.

"The only time I could spend with you was when we were playing volleyball and by that point I felt like you just saw me as a complete ass. Which I'm not denying I was but I didn't want to be" he sighed "I forced myself to be that so I could try and push you away."

You're shocked to say the least. Mad, shocked and very overwhelmed.

"Keishin I- I don't know what to say right now" you speak softly and kindly.

"If you don't believe me ask Shimada" Keishin sighed "he unfortunately knows way more about the whole thing than he should. He spent years trying to get me to move on from you."

It was honestly overwhelming to hear. You took another sip of your drink and just shook your head.

"Y/N I don't expect you to forgive me or go out on a date with me or anything. I just needed to get this out" he says ducking his head down "it's been bothering me since high school. I think about you often and I really do feel bad for what I did."

Now you're starting to feel bad. Had you really thought so lowly of Keishin? You knew you'd been an ass yourself to him.

"Keishin I'm sorry too" you say with a small smile. He looks up at you.

"I was so driven to beat you I just got so upset. It was stupid. The whole thing was stupid" you laugh.

"Listen Y/N, Kageyama and Hinata could use some extra help with their sets. Since your in town for a while and nationals are coming up, would you mind observing them?" Keishin says.

You smile as you nod.

"Honestly I just need another adult" he laughs "they really are something else on and off the court."

"I seem to remember a certain setter who was very similar" you smile as Keishin smiles back at you.

The night continues as you catch up and laugh. You're still not sure how to feel about Keishin but you have to admit, this is a good starting place.

Keishin smiled as he picked you up the next day for practice. You were excited to work with the boys especially with Kageyama and Hinata.

You entered the gym as you heard the sound of balls hitting the floor.

"Y/N!" you hear your name being screamed loudly as a young bright orange haired boy comes bounding up to you.

"Ginger!" Keishin screams as you laugh.

"Oh Keishin stop! The boy is excited! I see to remember a certain somebody who was the same way" you smile softly as Keishin blushes.

"Hello Y/N, coach" Kageyama bows to you both.

"Well I’m here to observe and help anyway I can" you say as you clap your hands together making a loud smacking noise.

You stand by Keishin as you watch the boys repeatedly hit and then miss the falling toss.

It's not entirely that easy of a ball to hit you think to yourself. 

Kageyama clearly has more technical skills then Hinata but Hinata really seems to be a natural spiker. The pair is odd but they do so well together. Hinata is able to keep up with Kageyama’s quicks.

"Hinata you don't always have to hit the ball with such force you know" you say as you walk up to the young boy.

"Y/N it's fun to hit it hard. The smack of the ball and the whoosh whoosh ka plow" he says as he makes jerking movements with his body.

Kageyama is heating up "you idiot she's talking!" He says kicking Hinata in the back of the legs.

"You're going to have opponents that expect you to hit it hard and if you come into contact with a team who is lightening quick with receives, they will adapt" you say smiling.

You look back at Keishin as his eyes widen

"Nekoma?" he says

"Nekoma" you nod.

"Nekoma has always been amazing at their receives. It's why they are a powerhouse. They use them in all aspects of the game. So why don't you try some faints, maybe shooting the ball straight down as well. Heck you could probably pick up line shots pretty quickly as well. That speed is a weapon but you can't only bring one weapon to a war" you say smiling.

Keishin watches as you interact with the boys. You talk to them and show them moves for what seems like hours. Hinata is improving and doing really well. Kageyama is already spectacular but adapting to Hinata proved to be a bit hard.

"It's nice you have a variety of spikers Keishin" you smile as you watch the duo practice in front of you.

"You remind me a lot of the Kageyama and Hinata combined" you giggle.

He huffs "Y/N I was never that insane"

"I beg to differ Keishin. You always drove me nuts with your wild moves! You were always showing off" you laugh.

Before you know it, the boys clean up the gym and you bid your farewells. You and Keishin head to his car as you both get in.

"Y/N you remember the hill we always use to run up when we did joint practices?" He said

"Of course that hill was the bane of my existence because you'd always want to race" you sneer.

He laughs. "Well what would you say to visiting it now?" He smiles

"Keishin my heart isn't up the race" you giggle.

"Nah I'm driving up it. I smoke too much to run up that hill now" he laughs.

You both buckle up as you Keishin drives to the top of the hill.

It's nightfall and the air is calm. It's almost too quiet. The lights from the city burn below as you and Keishin sit in silence.

"Y/N" he says as he looks over to you "Thank you"

You smile. 

 You don't know what this feeling is but you feel like you need to kiss him. It's just feels so out of place. But why do you want to so badly!

"Y/N-" he begins to speak as you cut him off pulling him in for a heated kiss. He doesn't resist at all to your surprise. You pull away staring at him with wide eyes.

"Fuck Keishin I'm so sorry I should have ask-" you say as he grabs the back of your neck, pulling you in once again in for kiss your lips both part as you tilt your head to get a better angle.

Cars definitely aren't ideal for making out you think in the back of your head.

After a few minutes of kissing and felling yourself getting heated you break the kiss, staring at the man next to you.

"Fuck it" he says as he grabs you pulling you into his lap to straddle him.

You staddle Keishin in the driver's seat as you reach over pulling the level of the seat back moving the driver's seat back.

"W-what are you doing Y/N?" Keishin stutters

"If you don't want this, tell me and I'll stop instantly" you say grabbing his face.

You kiss him slowly as his eyes close. His places his hands on your thighs as he rubs them up and down.

You feel your panties getting wet as you leave his lips to kiss his jaw.

"Fuck Y/N" Keishin says as he tilts his neck back allowing better access to his neck column.

"Does that feel good Keishin?" You smirk as you continue to kiss his neck.

"Soo good babe, fuck so good" he whines.

You return to his lips, hungry for more. You quickly gain access to his wet muscle as you both battle for dominance. He massages your tongue with his as you groan and he's able to establish dominance. He leaves you lips to to start kissing your neck. He gropes at your title through your dress as you slowly begin to work up your dress to your hips.

Keishin is hot. Fuck this is actually happening. He's so lost in the moment he nearly forgets he doesn't have a condom on him.

"Y/N baby we can't do this anymore. I don't have a condom. I'm sorry baby" he says as he pulls alway, upset from the loss of your another skin.

You start kissing him again as you lightly grind on the now visible bulge growing in this pants.

"Keishin it's fine. I'm clean and on birth control.  I haven’t had sex in months" you smile as you pull back grinding harder.

He can feel a wet spot growing on his pants.

"You're OK with that Y/N- Fuck yes I need you" he cries as he starts to probe two fingers down by your clit. You gasp as you frantically loosen his belt. You lower his underwear as he finds you clit.

You stroke his hardened cock as he rubs your clit, moving aside your panties.

He looks at you with half lidded eyes "Baby I've wanted to fuck you for so long you have no idea" he says as he increases his pace

Your pussy is dripping strings of cum at this point.  You throw your head back as the unbearable knot in your stomach becomes too much to handle.

You whisper in his ear as you feel the knot tighten.

"Wanna cum on you cock Keishin" you say sweetly as you moan his name. 

"Fuck OK.. OK baby" he says as he helps you line up on his cock, pushing your panties to the side further and your dress up to your stomach. You both groan as his thick head enters your wet cunt.

"Holy shit baby your pussy is wet and so tight- fuck" Keishin growls as you feel his cock begin to stretch you out further and futher

You lower yourself and begin going slowly glide up and down, taking a little more of him with each movement.

Keishin is in heaven. He's trying so hard not to cum but your pussy is so perfect.

"Oh god Keishin, fuck you feel so good" you start grinding and bouncing on his cock.

“mmhmm baby- fuck I can’s believe I finally get to fuck you.  I’m a lucky bastard” he groans. 

"God I feel like I'm being ripped in half" you scream ad you throw your head back

"Aw fuck baby. Let me pound up into you ya? I need to fuck you good" he says as you raise your hips.

Keishin thrusts into you quickly and deeply. You're both losing it. Your pussy is throbbing as you await your impending orgasm. Suddenly Keishin reaches down and starts to toy with your hardened clit.

"Oh shit baby I'm going to cum" you cry pit as the band in your lower stomach snaps and you throw your head back in utter bliss. You can feel the car shake as Keishin thrusts become faster and harder.

"Baby can I please come inside? I need to fill you" he cries as you know he's close.

"Come inside of me Keishin. Fill my pussy with your cum" you screams as Keishin starts moaning loudly as he cums deep inside of you.

You both pant heavily as you come down from your highs. You smile as you both look at each other.

"Still hate me Y/N?" He says with a smirk

"A little less now" you say as you chuckle, leaning into kiss him.

*3 months later*

"Oh hell yeah Y/N you made it" Shimada screams at you as he frantically waves you to the front of the bleacher seats.

"I wouldn't miss the boys going to nationals for anything" you smile as you watched the boys warm up for their first match.

Keishin spots you as you smile and wave.

You had been taking your relationship slow with Keishin. You told him you hadn't desired to leave Tokyo just yet and he supported you. You did come visit often and worked remotely when you could. Your long distance relationship was working well. Plus the sex was phenomenal.

"Hinata looks strange" you say as you tilt your head to the side, observing the boy running strangely around the stadium floor.

“Yeah he lost is shoes at the bus station but Kiyoko is on her way with them” you laugh as you put your head in your hands.

Kageyama and Hinata both see you as Hinata frantically waves and Kageyama bows.

Keishin watches their interaction with you as he smiles to them and back you.

“I’m so proud of you Keishin” you whisper to yourself as you smile softly. 

[missallsundaes]

Usopp is my favorite character! And I was so excited to see that you love him too 🥰 there aren’t many stories about him and I was wondering if I could ask that you write another when you found the time? Maybe something smutty? Or fluffy? Or both after he and reader reunite again after the time skip? Where he’s confident now that reader will notice him but obvi they already did ♥️

UHM I love Usopp so fucking much you are so valid he's one of my fav characters of all time.

SO rereading your request after I got an idea, I realized that you asked for… a hook up post time skip but like. I couldn’t not do a big fluffy “i missed you so much” reunion after two years so they have a prev relationship but returned with Usopp being more confident and reader learning things about themself haha.

This is so fluffy and so gushy but also nsfw. It’s cringe worthy sweet because I’m a fucking sucker for Usopp and I want him to be happy.

This turned out so much longer than I meant for it to, bc I was just going to do a drabble but here’s this 1900 word fic, haha.

TLDR: MUSHY fic bc Usopp deserves happiness.

NSFW undercut but it's just like.. Very loving emotional sex. No real kinks but there is crying during sex, but not written to be kinky.

______________________

“USOPP!” You screamed, running at top speed, past all of your other crew mates and straight into the arms of your boyfriend. Sure you were happy to see the other Straw Hats, but there was only one man who your heart beat for, and finally after two years apart, here he was.

He braced himself for your hug and you felt him lift you up and spin you around in his arms, “[y/n] oh my god I missed you!” He was all smiles, kissing across your face and holding you as close as he could, your feet still far from the ground.

His arms were more defined, muscles you weren’t used to feeling, flexing against your body to hold you up. “Wow you’ve been busy,” You smiled, kissing him back, hands finding their way to his strong arms. “Are you sure this is my Usopp?”

He laughed, setting you down, smiling the bright smile you missed so much, “What, you don’t remember all of this?” He joked, flexing both of his arms for you, acting out mock scenes of strength and showing off the rippling muscles that you didn’t quite know that you were into until well, just now.

You touched his exposed chest, fingers lingering over hard abs, “Well maybe I just forgot how absolutely strong my brave warrior was..”

You smiled at him, raising your chin to kiss his soft lips. Your words causing him to blush a bit, clearly melting at your praise, before returning your kiss, his arms wrapping around you again, hands in the small of your back to hold you close to him as he deepened the kiss passionately, clearly he had missed you just as much, ached for you just as much. These past two years had been hell, but finally everyone was back together.

“Get a room you two,” You heard someone laugh from behind you, and you suddenly realized how handsy you were being, how absolutely embarrassingly clingy you were being, causing you to flush a beet red.

The party the first night back on the Sunny was, no contest, one of the most fun nights you had ever had with your crew. Sanji had prepared a feast so big that even Luffy was having trouble by the end of the night, everyone catching each other up on the years apart and enjoying being with their family again. Everyone had grown so much in two years, both in visibly noticeable differences and emotionally. Everyone was still who you remembered, but matured. You supposed the same thing could be said about yourself, even though you couldn’t point out in yourself what had changed.

Drinks had flowed freely, Brook providing the most excellent of tunes, laughter and familiarity unbounded. How you had missed this. More than you realized. Just being together, being a family and feeling comfortable.

It was getting late now, and your head swam a bit from the drinks in you, despite how much you had eaten to soak it up. Cuddled up under the tangerine trees on the deck you were wrapped in Usopp’s arms, sitting between his thighs, his face pressed between your neck and collarbone comfortably, occasionally leaving kisses. He hummed in tune to the music on the deck below, Brook playing the piano and singing, Luffy and Sanji had drunkenly joined in singing along, not keeping the tune nearly as well.

“I missed you so much,” He said, arms squeezing you tightly, like he couldn’t get close enough, “I was so worried about you, I wish I could have just heard your voice.”

“C’mon, Uso,” You smiled, leaning against him and holding his arms under yours sweetly, “I’m a big girl, you know I can hold my own.”

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you,” He said, the tone in his voice so honest and clear with you, even tinged with the slur of his drink. “I must be the luckiest man sailing the seas.”

Your face was flushed, thankful for the darkening sky hiding it, “Shush you, it’s just the drink talking.” You patted his arm with your hand, as if to shush him.

“I mean it, you’re so gorgeous, you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed about my whole life,” His voice broke a little and you felt hot tears on your shoulder, “I was worried you wouldn’t wait for me the two years, I’d die if you realized how much better you were than me.”

“No no, none of that!” You said, spinning around suddenly, bumping noses with him as you turned, “You’re so much more than what you think of yourself.” You locked lips with the marksman, kissing deeper and more brazen than you meant, the passion getting to you.

His lips parted, and you took the opportunity to slip your tongue between them, his hands finding your hips as he deepened the kiss. Has he always been this good at kissing? Or was it the drink? Or how much you had missed each other's bodies?

“If we snuck off to the rooms, no one would notice,” You whispered, lips still touching his lips as you spoke. You smiled as you watched the blush spread across his cheeks, one thing hadn’t changed at least, he was so easy to fluster.

Your hand trailed down his chest, lingering on his waist, teasing at the last section of exposed skin before his trousers.

He tried to stutter out a reply, but ended up just nodding his head quickly as a response, lifting you up in a quick motion, carrying you bridal style down to the cabins below deck.

He set you down gently on the bed, treating you like a princess, kissing you and trailing those kisses down to your neck and chest, unbuttoning your blouse and kissing your breasts gently, always using such a soft touch with you.

“You’re so gorgeous,” He whispered against your skin, “So perfect.”

He climbed into bed next to you, hands slipping under your trousers, touching your body over your undergarments, his lips finding yours again, kissing you as you found your hands exploring his body. It would take some getting used to the new terrain under your fingers, where he was such a beanpole before, he had obviously trained so hard over the last two years, and his body was so familiar but so different.

Kissing and fondling quickly becoming more heated between you, he unbuttoned his coveralls, kicking them off his legs to the ground below the bed. You followed suit in quick succession, tossing your blouse aside and kicking off trousers to join his on the floor. His hands wrapped around your back to unhook your bra without breaking the kiss, you slipping your arms free of the straps and letting him toss it away.

His strong hand, more rough than you remembered, found its way to your heat again, slipping his hand under your panties, fumbling a bit in the moment before finding your clit with a gasp from you, some things hadn’t changed, really. His fingers slipped down your slit to find the moistening of your opening, dragging your slick back up to your clit to make his movements smoother, rolling your clit in circles under his fingers.

His mouth left yours, to trail kisses to your neck, leaving gentle marks against your skin, adjusting his weight on the bed until his mouth was at your breasts, his other hand cupping a breast to his mouth, a flash of tongue against your nipple before he sucked it into his mouth, kneading the soft flesh in his calloused hand.

“Usopp, please,” You moaned under his ministrations on your body, “I want you.”

You felt him freeze a bit, always easy to fluster, always easy to shy away. You stifled a laugh, “C’mon Uso~” you purred, arching your back and adjusting your legs to press your thigh against his member through his boxers, feeling the damp of his precum even through his underwear. “Please?”

“W-well I can’t very well deny such a request from a Goddess, can I?” He said masking a stutter and sliding your underwear from your hips before pulling his off and adjusting.

You looked down, eyes widening, “Usopp I know.. I keep saying you’ve grown but.. Did your dick.. Get bigger?” There was no doubt to you that there was at least another inch on your boyfriend’s length.

He looked down, having not thought about it before, “Uh.. oh.. Maybe?” He laughed, “Not too scary for you I hope.”

“No,” You said, wrapping your hands around his neck and pulling him down on top of you, “Just be gentle with me, it’s been a while even without the extra size..”

“Always,” He said, kissing you again as he slid his length into your waiting sex, letting you adjust to his cock as he did. Fully inside of you he gave you a moment to adjust, “Ready?” He said, and you nodded, eyes half lidded and biting your lip.

He started thrusting against you, a steady pace, his hands firmly gripping your hips to piston his hips against you. The air between you was hot and heavy, full of your desperate breath, your mouths barely separating except to let moans slip between your lips. Your hands found his hair, slipping your hands to the back of his head, fingers threaded through his thick curls, gripping him closer to you as his pace quickened from the passion between you.

It wasn’t long before you felt the familiar feeling of an orgasm building within you, taut like a rubberband, ready to snap with each pump of his hips into you, his pace steady but getting sloppier as he neared his own orgasm.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, holding him closer to you, his pumping action now more shallow but hitting you deeper, rubbing that sweet spot inside you that you swear he wasn’t long enough to hit the last time you were together, and god it was driving you crazy.

“I’m going to cum, Usopp,” You moaned against his lips, arching your back against his chest and pressing your sex into him desperately.

“Come for me, baby,” He moaned, pulling you into him rhythmically, “I’m close too.” His confidence in telling you to come for him was all it took to push you to that edge, feeling your orgasm take over your body you moaned his name loudly, fingers gripping in his hair for dear life.

Your body tightening on his cock was all it took for him to release his own orgasm, pumping inside you until your own orgasm had subsided, then pulling out to splash his slick jizz across your stomach, secondary pumps splashing lower, covering your body in his seed.

His lips met yours again and you felt tears splash your cheeks as he let his body fall into yours, curling up next to you to hold you close to him. “I love you so much, so so much,” he cried, huge tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

You felt your own tears pooling, threatening to spill over your lids. “Shuush, don’t cry Usopp,” you trailed your hand across his cheek lovingly, “I love you so much, you’re my everything.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” He said, looking into your eyes with all the love and devotion in his heart.

“I could say the same thing, my darling.” You said, kissing his nose, “We’ll never be apart again.”

[raincappuccino]

Venti remembers the man in the alleyway, lit almost ablaze in the lamplight. The gold in his eyes. The meteor orbiting his shoulders. His hands had been as steady as the earth, and when he held Venti, he had called him— —a name he hadn’t heard in a long, long time. After hearing news of Morax’s death, Venti travels to Liyue to honor a tradition that the Original Seven had long held: each time one of them passed on, those that remained would gather to drink a toast and say their final goodbyes. He figures Morax deserves this, at the least, even if it’s a party of one. He didn’t think it would be so hard to do it alone. Drunk, lonely, and despairing, Venti takes to wandering the streets of Liyue and stumbles upon a well-dressed stranger by the name of Zhongli, who reminds him far too much of what he’s just lost.

pairing: venti/zhongli rating: T word count: 10.8k tags: fluff and angst, love confessions, misunderstandings, reunion, idiots in love

hi hi i wrote a zhongven fic and i figured i'd post it on tumblr too so please check it out! it involves venti thinking morax is dead and not recognizing zhongli at all, zhongli rescuing an extremely drunk venti, zhongven going on a cute date, and all hell breaking loose when venti finds out. there's a lot of both of them being very, very bad at handling emotions <3

Preview under the cut! The whole thing's pretty long, so check it out over on ao3!

Venti wakes up to a room that’s way too bright for his piercing headache. The curtains are drawn, but light filters through the gaps between them, painting a zigzag across the dull blue blanket covering him. The air is still and quiet, and the shadow of a waving tree branch flutters outside the window.

He looks around, trying to remember where he is. Everything is unfamiliar. The architecture of the room is traditionally Liyue, with a polished lacquer folding screen standing by the large trunk at the foot of the bed, inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl, simple but elegant. It reminds him of Morax’s taste, but the room itself is completely foreign to him, as is any knowledge of how he’d arrived here.

To be fair, this was far from the first time he’d woken up after a night of drinking in a stranger’s bed with zero memory of how he’d gotten there, but usually he was unclothed, which at least gave some hint as to what might have transpired. Instead, he was still clad in his undershirt, with an embroidered silk robe he’d never seen before draped over his shoulders.

He hears footsteps, and sits up quickly as he hears a door open. The fast movement makes his head spin. “I see you’re awake.” Venti looks up, meeting the eyes of a well-dressed stranger. It was the man from last night, he remembers vaguely, though only fuzzy images come to mind. In the mid-morning light, his hair is a softer brown than Venti had previously thought, and the lines of his face seem less stern and more thoughtful. His eyes, now looking a dull amber in the daylight, regard Venti curiously.

“Um,” Venti mumbles, trying to remember how to speak. His tongue feels awkward in his mouth, and his way with words that usually gifted him onstage and at taverns vanishes as he fumbles for what to say. “Yes. Hi.”

“Good morning, although it’s nearly noon.” The man sets down a towel and a tray by the bedside. “I’ve brewed you some tea. It should help with your headache.”

“Uh, thanks.” Venti wonders if he sounds as confused as he is. “Do I… Are you… What did…?” He can’t seem to form a coherent sentence.

Ignoring this, the man continues speaking. “You should be more careful. The townsfolk here are not quite as free-spirited as what you’re used to in Mondstadt. If you wander the streets drunk and incoherent, someone might take advantage of you.”

Flashes of last night come back to Venti, and he clears his throat, trying to regain the ability to speak. “Oh please. Thanks for your concern, but I assure you—Wait, how did you know where I’m from?”

“It is obvious from the flower in your hat,” the stranger responds smoothly, pulling said hat off a coat rack in the entryway and throwing it at his face. The rest of his clothes, Venti notices, are folded and stacked in a neat pile nearby, and the thought of the man removing them from his body the night before sends heat rushing through his cheeks again.

He blinks, trying to clear his head. “Anyway, like I was saying, I assure you, I’ve got plenty of practice lately getting wasted and sleeping with strangers, so you can spare me the lecture. Thanks for your hospitality, though, and I’ll be taking off—”

A look passes over the stranger’s eyes. Judgment, perhaps—Venti wouldn’t be shocked; it isn’t as if he’s never been scolded for his fast-and-loose way of living—but then the man’s eyes narrow, dark with something akin to anger, and Venti wonders if there’s something he’s missing, something he’s not understanding.

“You should rest,” the man says shortly. “You’re in no shape to travel.”

Perhaps against his better judgment, Venti obeys, leaning back into the headboard. He studies the other man with interest, watching the way his fingers wrap around the handle of the teapot, slowly and with immense care, as though he were cradling a fragile creature. It makes Venti think of the way Morax held him the very first time, and he has to choke back a noise that very nearly makes it out of his throat.

The stranger hands him a cup of warm, dark liquid, smelling of spices and something domestic, and Venti sips it. It tastes exactly like the sobering tea Morax used to make him drink if he got too wild, and the nostalgia almost brings tears. He breathes in sharply. He has to stop connecting every little thing here to Morax, from the tea to the decor to the man himself, but how can he, when all of Liyue may as well be suffused with his breath, as if he were still living?

Read the rest on ao3!!! >>> https://archiveofourown.org/works/31732375

[clubyukhei]

in the mood for love (m)

pairing: wong yukhei x (f) reader

genre: fluff, smut, slice of life, some angst

summary: distance makes the heart grow fonder. in yukhei’s case, it makes him reminisce on all the firsts of your relationship and realise you’re the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. (or: a long-distance relationship au where yukhei savours every moment of your short reunion.)

warnings: unprotected sex, language

tags: established relationship, flashbacks, set in hk, hendery and kunten appear, drunk texting, flirty dialogue, love letters, talks of marriage, pining, a bittersweet ending

word count: 14.6k

a/n: wow, it feels weird to be finally posting this because i’ve been working on this for months. this took way longer than expected and for that i wanna thank my sweet mutuals and anons who have been so patient and encouraging :’) i hope you’re in the mood for fluff and domesticity because this fic is full of it! enjoy! (reposting again bc the original one wouldn’t show up in the tags. tysm if you’ve interacted with that post btw <3)

--

heaven is in your eyes

bright as the stars we're under

oh, is it any wonder

i'm in the mood for love?

-

why stop to think of whether

this little dream might fade?

we've put our hearts together

now we are one, i'm not afraid

-

if there's a cloud above

if it should rain we'll let it

but for tonight, forget it

i'm in the mood for love

-- 

mornings like this are hard to come by for yukhei.

when the only sounds he can hear are the ticking of a clock and your soft exhalations. when you’re cuddled up to him, your face tucked into the crook of his neck where you breathe warm puffs of air onto his skin every few seconds. 

it’s probably just another one of those dreams that yukhei gets every now and then. the kind he never wants to wake up from, because when he opens his eyes, all he sees is the dull grey ceiling of his dormitory before his bunkmates’ noisy snores snap him back into reality. 

those mornings were the worst. yukhei would give up on going back to sleep. instead, he’d force himself out of bed to wash up and head to the canteen for an early breakfast, all while annoyed that his mind had once again translated his yearning for you into his dreams. he couldn’t help but feel like he was being mocked by his own self. 

but this time, it feels different. 

his back is resting on a bed that’s much comfier than the thin mattress he’s used to back at camp, and he’s awfully snug and cosy under what feels like a thick fleece blanket.

yukhei peels his eyelids open, ready to be met with disappointment again.

the first thing he sees is the sunrise peeking through the curtains, greeting him good morning with a dark orange glow — which is weird, because he’s always up before the sun is. even though his mind is still fuzzy, yukhei has an inkling that he’s not back at camp. so he lifts his head off the pillow and looks around. 

there’s a messy work desk between two huge potted plants; a wall fully plastered with polaroids and pictures; and a clothing rack with clothes that clearly aren’t his but it’s the bra hanging over an armchair that finally tells yukhei that he’s in your bedroom.

he looks down and sighs in relief seeing you in deep slumber next to him. you’re sleeping on your side with a hand absentmindedly resting on his waist, your head tilted as if you fell asleep while gazing at him. your eyes are closed and the look on your face is so peaceful — it’s an image that yukhei wants to keep in his mind forever. 

wrapping an arm around your hips, yukhei gently tugs you closer to him. your eyebrow scrunches in reaction and he panics a little, freezing when your hand lands on top of his. but you turn on your other side and snuggle back against his chest instead, and his lips curl into a lopsided smile at this tiny movement.

yukhei hugs you from behind, nuzzling into your hair and sighing when he gets a whiff of your apple-scented shampoo that he has missed so much. 

just like that, the warmth of your bodies wrapped around each other and the thought of getting to spend the next few days with you — in real life, not just in his dreams — lulls him back to sleep. 

-- 

yukhei would never forget the day he first met you. 

or the sight of you sitting at the back of his mum’s restaurant, sipping on a glass of iced tea as you stared out of the window and silently observed the hustle and bustle of shatin plaza. 

the fact that his usual seat was occupied and that a pretty girl was sitting in it left him speechless, but not annoyed at all. sure, it was his favourite spot. it also unofficially belonged to him, seeing how he sat there nearly everyday doing his homework — but that was years ago. 

yukhei felt like the universe had something up its sleeve when it presented him with such a scenario on a day where he finally managed to pop by his mum’s restaurant and pay her a visit. he rarely popped by on weekdays anymore because of how hectic his academic life was becoming.

“look who it is! our yukhei who keeps growing taller and taller!” 

yukhei smiled shyly as he stepped behind the counter and greeted the longtime staff — aunties who never failed to shower him with all sorts of compliments — and rushed into the kitchen looking for his mum. 

mrs wong was less than pleased when she saw her son, to say the least. the smile on her face lasted for a good minute before she started nagging about how he should’ve gone home to study instead.

“i am going to study! right after i eat.” he whined, shocked that his presence had irritated her so much.

“you always say that, yukhei. but you just play games on your phone!” mrs wong retorted, not looking away from the refrigerator.

yukhei gulped at that statement, unwilling to admit that it was quite true.

“mum, who’s that girl outside? sitting at my table?”

“your table?” she chuckled before looking up at him. 

yukhei watched her make her way towards the kitchen entrance to peek at the stranger outside.

“ah, that’s _____. she comes here often.” she said with a bright smile that even yukhei himself rarely received. “she helped us understand what the tourists were saying, talked to them in english for us a few times now. a very sweet and smart girl.”

if anything, yukhei became more attracted to you at that moment. 

maybe it’s the thought of you helping his mum out while he’s not around — he knew how rude and impatient some tourists could be with language barriers, having personally dealt with them several times — or maybe it’s just the way you entered his life that, for some reason, felt like an important moment to him. 

either way, he already made up his mind about one thing. 

yukhei ended up serving you the pad thai you had been waiting for, warmly introducing himself as the lady boss’ first and older son and striking up a conversation with you that went on longer than he had expected. 

he thought it was bad that he had to control his excitement when you suggested he take the seat opposite yours, but it only got worse as you both began to talk about everything and nothing.

when you smiled, he lost his train of thought.  when you laughed or so much as even chuckled, his chest squeezed around his heart and he wanted to keep hearing the sound of it. and when you listened to him, he had to look away because your attentive gaze on him was truly too much. 

by the time you were done with your meal, yukhei had your number saved in his phone. he offered to walk you out, opening the glass doors for you all gentlemanly as if you had just dined at a five-star hotel restaurant.

“it was nice talking to you, yukhei.” you turned to smile at him just before you stepped outside. “see you again, i guess?” 

“yeah, let’s—um. yeah, see you around.” yukhei stuttered pathetically.

you giggled and waved goodbye to him and mrs wong before heading off. the lady boss had been subtly keeping an eye on you two after her son insisted on waiting your table.

once you were out of view, yukhei sighed, cringing at how nervous he sounded. before you, he had never in his life felt that self-conscious in front of anyone.

“my dear, what was that?” his mum asked with a sly look of amusement on her face. 

yukhei wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

“i don’t know, mum.”

all he could think about was seeing you again. 

-- 

when yukhei wakes up again, he’s alone in bed. 

the midday sunlight glares into the room and shines on the empty spot next to him, prompting him to roll away and further into the shade. 

he lies on his side, watching some plant-shaped shadows sway across the wall for a minute before forcing himself out of bed. those extra hours of sleep did wonders for his circadian rhythm and for once he doesn’t feel tired to be awake at all — just bummed that he woke up with you not in his arms.

something in the air shifted after last night. yukhei couldn’t get over the way you jumped into his arms when he appeared at your doorstep, or how you got emotional at his shaky confession as he presented you with the promise ring he had been keeping for so long. 

he had been craving for your presence so much over the past few months that seeing you reciprocate those feelings made him relieved and somewhat clingy. all he wants is to stick by your side every second he has with you before he leaves again. 

so he gets out of bed immediately, walking into your tiny living room where he hears the sound of running water and finds you leaning against the kitchen counter with your back facing him, busily tending to the roses he had gifted you last night. 

yukhei makes his way to you fast. his hands sneak beneath your oversized t-shirt and around your waist, pulling your frame against his front as he places a kiss on your temple. 

“morning,” you say, relaxing into his touch and reaching for the nape of his neck with one hand to tug his face closer to yours. 

yukhei hums in satisfaction when you angle your face perfectly to lock your lips with his in a tender kiss and whines when you attempt to pull away. he wants to taste your lips for a little longer, he’s far from done and you know it too. 

you turn around to face him properly, abandoning the stalks of roses that had your attention earlier. a gasp escapes you when he slides his hands down to your bum and swiftly lifts you onto the counter.

“missed my baby so much,” he mumbles against the juncture of your jaw and neck, relishing in your soft sighs by his ear. 

he doesn’t miss the way your legs hook around his waist to pull him closer or the way your fingertips lightly scratch his scalp as he busily sucks at your skin, determined to leave a trail of love marks for his own appreciation. 

the doorbell rings just as he’s licking over his masterpiece, rudely interrupting the moment. 

“yukhei.” you squeeze his shoulders and yukhei forces himself to pull away.

“who’s that?” he asks, unable to hide the tone of disappointment in his voice. his hands refuse to leave your skin, his thumb gently caressing the curve of your underboob.

you giggle at his pouty lips before adjusting the short bangs hanging over his forehead that he hated despite the many times you told him he looked cute.

“i ordered brunch for us.” 

dumbfounded and still in a half-asleep state, yukhei helps you off the counter. he watches you look into the peephole before opening the door and picking up a large paper bag that had been sitting on your doormat.

“i thought you’d be hungry after waking up.” you say, setting the bag into your small dining table for two. “i hope you don’t mind, bub. i didn’t want to cook anything because, well—i can’t. i haven’t been to the grocery store this week. but we can always head there later and get stuff for the next few days.”

yukhei lets out a huff of disbelief. “baby.” 

but you don’t hear him. you’re so busy unpacking the small food boxes onto the table as you ramble on and on, oblivious to the way he was staring at you in adoration.

“i got you your favourite stuff. spring rolls, shu mai—what?” 

at last you notice how quiet he has been and you freeze, looking at him with your eyes wide in concern. 

“sit down and let me do the work, please.” yukhei pleads, dragging a chair out. “you did all that while i did nothing and slept like a log!” 

you laugh, shaking your head as you sit down. “i just dialed a number and asked for some food. and i know you really needed that sleep.”

once all the food boxes are arranged neatly on the table, yukhei takes his seat next to you. you’re in the midst of reaching for a pair of chopsticks when his hand grabs onto yours, halting your movements.

there’s a moment of silence as you curiously watch him readjust his thumb below the joints of your fingers, bringing the back of your hand towards his lips.

“thank you, baby. i love you.” he tells you with a dazed smile, placing a kiss just above where the promise ring hugs your finger. 

“you’re welcome.” 

you tell him you love him too before you bite back a huge smile — the kind that satisfies yukhei so much because he knows he’s the reason behind it.

--

yukhei couldn’t put into words how elated he was when you texted him back a few days after your slightly awkward first meeting, agreeing to hang out with him that upcoming friday night.

truth be told, there weren’t any concrete plans for your first date. it was amusing to him really, how the conversation ended right after you both settled on a meeting place, with no discussions of what to do or where to eat.

maybe you were simply excited to see him again and didn’t really care about what the plan was — because that was exactly how yukhei felt. 

the bus ride to the shopping mall felt longer than usual. yukhei found himself staring at his reflection in the window a few times, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket and making sure he looked good.

he had rushed home straight after javelin practice and taken the quickest shower of his life before spending a good amount of time styling his hair. it was not the wisest idea — choosing a late school day when there were six other days in a week where he wouldn’t have to rush — but he had been merely trying his luck when he sent that message asking if you were free. he wasn’t expecting you to actually say yes. 

so when he spotted you waiting all by yourself from afar, he quickened his footsteps amidst the crowd, never taking his eyes off of you. 

your face lit up as soon as you saw him and you waved, the crop top you wore lifting a little. yukhei’s gaze flew to the sliver of skin exposed and the nervousness that had been bubbling in his tummy earlier instantly melted into nothing.

the night went quite smoothly. yukhei could not have enjoyed himself more, from dinner at the sushi bar you had recommended to the impromptu movie session that had the both of you sharing the only available seat left: a couple seat. 

he was falling harder as he got to know you more and it scared him just how fast it was happening.

“do you watch superhero movies a lot?” you asked as the two of you turned into another alley of food stalls. 

yukhei had insisted on accompanying you back to the train station after the movie as it was getting late. he was not going to leave you alone when nightlife in the city was just starting, not when the streets were bound to get rowdy. 

“not really. i mean blockbusters are nice but i love old dramas and action flicks, you know?” yukhei answered, turning to look at you in his jacket that had been on you since he noticed you shivering in the cinema. he couldn’t help but smile at how your fingertips were peeking beneath the long sleeves.

“wait, me too!” you gasped, turning to look at him with a huge smile. “why didn’t you stop us from watching iron man?” 

“well you suggested it so i thought you really wanted to watch it!” yukhei laughed as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “i’m sorry.” 

“no, that’s my bad. i didn’t know what you liked so i just picked something popular.” you rolled your eyes playfully. “maybe we can watch the great gatsby next time. i think we might enjoy that.” 

next time?

it took yukhei a few seconds to acknowledge the idea of a second date that you had brought up so casually.

“r-really?” he cringed as the single word fumbled through his lips.

“yeah?” you replied, the blank look on his face amusing you a little. “we can watch something else too, if you want.”

“no!” he perked up. “let’s watch gatsby.”

eventually the two of you arrived at the train station, where goodbyes were exchanged rather reluctantly and awkwardly. yukhei watched as you took a few steps away from him before abruptly turning back around. 

“what’s wrong?” 

“your jacket!” you ran a hand through your hair abashedly. “i almost forgot! i mean i did, but.”

yukhei’s hands flew to yours before he could stop himself, stopping you from taking his black denim jacket off. 

“it gets cold in the train. you should have it.” his hands flew to his sides awkwardly. “you can give it back to me next time, it’s okay.”

“oh.” you said so softly that yukhei almost missed it. your eyes fell onto the short sleeves hugging his arms and he read your mind right away. 

“i’ll be fine. my bus ride home is pretty quick.” he reassured you. it was a lie. the weather had started getting cooler and that’s why he brought a jacket out in the first place, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

yukhei noticed that your cheeks had reddened a little. why were you so cute?

“okay then,” you said with a tiny smile. “thanks again, yukhei.”

yukhei landed on his bed face flat after a warm shower, absolutely exhausted and ready to hit the sack. to be fair, it had been a long day for him and it was close to midnight. 

if it was any other weekday night, he would be snoring already. but he had just sent you a text asking if you reached home already and was eagerly waiting for your reply. 

at last, after a long five minutes, yukhei’s phone buzzed a few times in a row. 

[from: _____][sent at 11:57PM] 

hey

i just got out of the shower

thx for checking in :)

and thx for tonight again, i had a good time :)

wait it’s almost 12!! 

you’re still awake? 

yukhei didn’t realise a bunch of alphabets and symbols could make him so happy. his thumb hovered over his phone screen as he began to type out a reply, but a more texts came flying in.

[from: _____][sent at 11:59PM]

well

in case you’re already sleeping..

goodnight and sweet dreams~

just minutes ago, he had been so ready to fall asleep. but the rush of happiness he experienced as he read your texts over again made that impossible now. yukhei couldn’t put away his phone, couldn’t stop himself from grinning. 

he was screwed. he knew he was, when that was the effect you had on him after only days of knowing each other.

--

“well, well, well. if it isn’t my favourite couple.” 

“sorry,” you sigh while yukhei simply shoots an apologetic smile at kunhang as he slips into the booth after you. “you know how bad traffic is at this hour.”

“it’s okay.” says ten who’s sitting next to kunhang and shoving his nintendo switch into his bag. “but we ordered some stuff first because i’m starving my ass off.”

“oh that’s great!” yukhei cheers. “i’m hungry too.”

“already? weren’t you guys just at your mum’s restaurant?” ten chuckles as he looks up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

kunhang snorts. “he’s hungry all the time, remember? you should see his snack stash back at our dorms.” 

just before they parted ways at camp at the start of their vacation, kunhang had suggested to yukhei that they have a get-together meal with ten — the oldest of the trio who recently scored a job at a renown art gallery in town and decided to stay for good, instead of flying back to his hometown.

yukhei agreed to it, not just because he missed his friend dearly, but also because it’s been a while since all of you had a meal together. when he brought it up to you, you were thrilled at the idea of catching up with them, even if that meant giving up some of his already limited time with you. that’s how you and him ended up sitting across from his two best friends at a hot pot restaurant tonight. 

as food arrives and gradually takes up every inch of space on the table, everyone takes turns giving updates on their lives. yukhei shares memorable incidents at camp and kunhang adds on to his stories with funny anecdotes that make you and ten laugh, while ten announces that his longtime boyfriend, kun, has moved into his apartment. 

“so how’s it like living with kun so far?” you ask, ladling soup from the simmering pot in the center of the table for everyone. 

“i’m getting used to my fridge having food and my kitchen actually being used.” ten replies with a shy smile that yukhei rarely got to see. “it’s only been a week and it’s getting messy in there, but i’m not complaining.” 

“aw.” 

yukhei hears you coo, and he can practically see the look of endearment on your face even though he’s focused on all the meat you’ve put on his plate earlier. 

“and when are the two of you planning to tell us that you’re getting married?” the long-haired boy smirks, squinting at the gold band hugging your ring finger. 

the question stunts you and yukhei and kunhang nearly chokes on his sprite. the innocent smile that was on ten’s face just seconds ago was now long gone and replaced with a mischievous one.

“married?” kunhang exclaims, his voice so loud that the couple in the next booth turns over to look. thoroughly embarrassed, he presses the front of his cap down to hide his eyes. “how am i not the first person to know this, yukhei?”

yukhei sighs. where, and how, should he begin? 

as he glares at ten who’s enjoying this a bit too much, you set your chopsticks down and hold your hand out to an eager kunhang, who marvels at the piece of jewellery on your ring finger up close.

“so?” ten lets out a cheeky, high-pitched giggle at the look yukhei gives him. “did you guys just come back from telling your fam the good news or…?”

yukhei grins devilishly as he picks up a bean sprout with his chopsticks, ready to fling it at ten, but you’re faster than him. 

“we’re not—i mean, we’re getting married. eventually! not now, obviously.” you chuckle in a flustered manner.

we’re getting married. 

yukhei’s heart flutters at that sentence. he wants to hear you say that again, wants to be the one to tell his friends that. 

“you’ll be the first to know when we do.” yukhei adds, nudging kunhang’s foot underneath the table, earning an eye-roll from ten.

“well, you better.” kunhang quipped. “we’ve been talking about this for years now. it’s time you two quit playing and actually get it done.” 

“ah, so this is a promise ring?” ten cuts in excitedly. it’s now his turn to examine the ring as kunhang gets back to his food. “it’s so pretty. it definitely suits you.”

“thanks,” you beam as you pull your hand back. “yukhei got it years ago but won’t tell me when or where. says it’s a secret.”

the two boys gawk at yukhei right away and he sighs, bracing himself for what’s to come. 

“oh xuxi, you romantic baby!” ten teases, clearly having the time of his life making yukhei blush tonight. 

“so this is what you were nervous about!” kunhang scoffs in disbelief before looking between you and ten. “we were on the train back to the city and he wouldn’t shut up about being nervous for some surprise plan. and he just wouldn’t tell me what!” 

“oh my god, you guys are so cute. it’s gross.” ten shakes his head. “you’re lucky i love you both!”

yukhei smiles bashfully. he was a little embarrassed at first, but of course ten and kunhang had to make it worse. he wanted to pull his beanie over his entire face and ignore everything.

you’re awfully silent next to him as you glance between your food and your lap shyly, your hair shielding your face from everyone else. a warm rush of adoration washes over yukhei and he finds himself gently adjusting your hair, tugging a loose strand behind your ear.

“okay, that’s it.” kunhang groans, grabbing his bag and pretending to leave the table. “thanks for the meal, you guys.” 

“you can’t just leave!” ten exclaims, reaching for his cup of tea. “you haven’t asked _____ for her friends’ numbers yet.” 

kunhang stares at ten, his eyes widening and jaw dropping in horror before he starts bickering with him — a scene that has you bursting into laughter and yukhei reminiscing the good old days where the four of you would hang out at the mall for hours after class. kunhang was always so starstruck by the popular girls at your all-girls school though you weren’t close with any of them. nothing has really changed since you entered university. 

“you told me to remind you!” ten retorts. 

“not in front of everyone!” kunhang cries dramatically.

“dude. it’s literally just the four of us.” ten deadpans. “always has been.”

“anyway,” kunhang rolls his eyes as he turns to face you. “so, _____. any of your friends single again?” 

you do your best to look sympathetic before shaking your head. yukhei splutters out a laugh while ten pats kunhang’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. 

“this would be a lot easier if you were, you know, into guys.” 

--

yukhei’s first kiss with you was, for him, a long time coming. 

it happened at the end of your fifth date, after a day spent at the park. 

summer had fully transitioned into fall and the weather was cool enough for the two of you to set up a picnic at a sunny spot. everything was perfect — from the calming sounds of nature to the desserts you both brought to the cute dress you wore underneath your sweater that matched the greenery around you.

more than a month had passed since yukhei first met you. with every date, the urge to hold your hands when you walked around in public and to kiss you and finally know what your lips tasted like kept growing. 

yukhei smiled as he watched you talk about your week even though he already heard these stories since you text each other so much. your words went in and out of his ears and it was hard for him to concentrate because all he could think of was whether you liked him too.

there were moments that made him consider it a possibility, like how you surprised him with his favourite snacks after one of his javelin practice sessions or the way you would smile when you caught him staring at your face.

he was torn between over-romanticising those moments and acknowledging them as the plain and simple fact that you liked him too.

he felt it again as the two of you watched the sun set and slowly sink into the horizon across the river, the sky dissolving into hues of orange. 

the scene in front of him was majestic, but yukhei could only concentrate on how close to him you and him were. so close that your arms were brushing against each other’s, so close that you could rest your head on his shoulder if you leaned a little. 

“i like this a lot.” you said out of the blue, your eyes still fixed on the sunset in the distance. you leaned back, anchoring your palms against the mat to make yourself comfortable.

“i like you a lot.” 

yukhei couldn’t stop himself. those words had been kept inside him for too long. 

silence hung in the air as your proximity grew tense. yukhei couldn’t see your face and he was starting to think that maybe it was for his own good. when he felt you sitting up straight and he held his breath, expecting the worst.

“i like you too.” your voice was barely audible and you sounded just as nervous as he did, but yukhei heard you loud and clear.

his eyes widened as he turned to you at the speed of light. you had been looking at him nervously but as soon as your eyes met, your gaze quickly flickered towards your hands that were fidgeting with the sleeve of your sweater. 

“really?” yukhei placed his hand over yours, gently circling the back of it with his thumb. “you like me… in that way?” 

“yeah.” you mumbled, resting your head in the nook between his neck and shoulder exactly how he had pictured in his mind earlier. “i like you. a lot.”

relief flooded yukhei’s veins and he could finally breathe hearing you say the words he had so badly wanted to hear. nothing else mattered in that moment, because all he could think of was you seeing him in the same light he saw you in. 

and suddenly, everything made sense to him. how could he be so stupid, after all that had happened in the past few weeks? the way you’d remember the little details of things he told you and how you’d blush at his terrible pick-up lines? of course you liked him too. 

“what are you thinking about?” you squeezed his hand as you pulled back to look at him. 

your face had never been so close to his. yukhei could count your eyelashes and have a proper look at your lips that looked soft and velvety. everything about this moment made it impossible for him to ignore what he had been dreaming of doing.

“can i kiss you?” yukhei asked.

all he could remember was how your eyes lit up instantly, every trace of worry fading away as an innocent smile graced your face. then you leaned in and closed your eyes just as he did, your lips meeting in a long awaited kiss. 

yukhei cupped the side of your face with one hand, his thumb drawing soothing circles over your cheekbones. he felt himself sink into the feeling of your fluffy lips moving languidly against his, the way they tasted sweet like the strawberry shortcakes you shared earlier. 

it took everything in yukhei to not whine when you pulled away to catch your breath, even though the kiss was probably longer than it should have been. he could still feel the butterflies in stomach as you pressed your forehead against his and he didn’t want them to fade away so soon, so he spoiled you with a few chaste kisses in a row that left both your lips tingling by the end.

“been wanting to do that for a long time.” yukhei beamed. 

he reached for your hand that had been on his knee and interlocked your fingers — a small gesture he could now make anytime he wanted, and that made him a very happy boy. 

the sun was almost gone but even under the dim fluorescent lighting from the street lamps, yukhei could tell that you were flushing and giddy with affection like him. the golden hour casted a warm orange glow onto your skin and you couldn’t look more like the girl of his dreams. 

“i know. me too.”

the butterflies in yukhei’s stomach fluttered wildly at the sound of your airy chuckle. there was nothing that could take away the smile on his face.

-- 

yukhei did not expect to wake up to the sight of you in nothing but his camo jacket.

the lack of body heat woke him up and he found himself once again lying alone in bed and wondering where you were — but all his thoughts flew out of the window when he heard the bedroom door creak and saw you stepping back in. 

he had to blink a few times to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him and that you were indeed, dressed only in his camo army jacket.

you’re standing beforeyour dresser to examine the love mark yukhei branded on your neck the night before, oblivious to how he’s silently observing you and getting hard again. 

there’s something about the way his jacket reaches your midthigh and teasingly moves upwards to offer him a glimpse of your ass each time you lifted your hands to run over your skin that turns him on so much. and he has seen you in his t-shirts and muscle tanks many times before, but none of that could compare to how you looked right now and he has no clue why so.

maybe it’s the consecutive months of being deprived of your touch and having to picture your body as he took cold showers to relieve himself on some mornings. but he doesn’t have to rely on his imagination now that you’re here, in front of him, like a present waiting to be unwrapped and appreciated.

yukhei lets out a whine that gets muffled into the pillow, but you hear it immediately and whirl around in surprise.

“hey.” you smile lazily as you make your way back to bed, landing on your knees and crawling towards him. 

yukhei’s eyes are glued to the gap between his unbuttoned jacket, which hangs loose enough on your body to bless him with the sight of your cleavage, the smooth expanse of your body, and as he lowers his gaze — your core between your parted thighs. 

he’s visibly infatuated, and you clearly don’t entertain that as you sit on where his crotch is beneath the sheets, lying down on him to give him a quick smooch. your lips are warm and taste like lemon, which tells yukhei you just had your morning mug of tea.

“morning,” yukhei mumbles, slipping a hand beneath his jacket to rest on your back. your skin is smooth and warm under his touch as always. “this looks so much better on you.” 

“yeah?” you chuckle softly. “hope you don’t mind, it was cold.”

“i don’t mind it at all,” yukhei smiles, raising his other hand to cup your cheek affectionately. “but i need you.”

“need you to warm me up, baby.” he says, his voice deepening with the next sentence. “want you to ride me in this.” 

you’re looking down at him in a hazy gaze when your breathing pauses. you don’t answer him with words — instead, you slot your lips between his, never pulling away as you get on your knees and pull the covers off. 

yukhei sighs into the kiss at the feeling of his cock standing tall and unrestrained, desperately begging for your attention. he lets out a heavier sigh as your hand wraps around his hard length and starts stroking him with purpose.

“just like that.” he groans, his eyebrows furrowed in pleasure as his hips start thrusting into your grip. you line his jaw with kisses, making him feel pampered and content. 

“want you too.” you purr.

yukhei hears how needy you are and tightens his grip on your ass, but you’re already one step ahead of him. repositioning yourself, you let your slick folds slide against the length of his cock as you continue pumping him, lubricating him with your own arousal. 

the room is filled with desperate sighs. you’re grinding your clit over his tip when it becomes all too much for yukhei, who wants to be deep inside you already.

“baby,” yukhei mutters, squeezing your ass cheeks which elicits a loud gasp from you. “need to be in you now. please.”

the urgency in his voice prompts you to lean forward and stable yourself with a hand pressed to his chest. yukhei watches you guide his cock towards your opening before sinking onto him in one go. 

“fuck.” his throat goes dry at the feeling of your soaking walls enveloping all of him and his jaw slackens as he takes a few moments to appreciate how it feels to be buried in you.

“yukhei,” you whine. “it’s hot.”

he watches you shrug his jacket off, letting it hang past your shoulders in a teasing manner. at this point, he just wants to rip it off you. but all he manages is a guttural groan before running his hands up and down your thighs.

“you’re driving me insane, baby.”

you giggle softly at his words, the sound ringing in his ears and going straight to his cock.

“i love you.” you tell him sweetly and kiss him again. then you plant your hands flat against his lower abdomen where his abs are, lifting yourself off him until only his head is left stretching you open.

yukhei grunts when you drop back down slowly and start riding him at a hypnotic rhythm. he’s too overwhelmed to say a word, too entranced by your breathy moans and the lewd image of your chest rising and falling. 

you’re clenching around him in such a delicious way that all he can do is knead your asscheeks with his large hands and let out deep “uh-uh-uh”s. 

“fuck,” yukhei hisses as he watches you arch your back, moving you hips differently to get the perfect angle. 

“let me take over, baby.”

yukhei plants his feet flat on the mattress just as he feels a familiar tight feeling in his balls. you oblige right away and collapse against him, ready for him to fuck you senseless.

pressed chest to chest, he grips onto your ass firmly as he starts pounding into you from below. 

the scent of passion and desire wafted through the air. his cock leaves and enters you at a brutal pace, the sound of skin slapping only getting more erratic with your cries for his name right by his ear.

“yukhei…” you cry weakly as his tip nudges your sweet spot again and again. 

“i’m here, baby. gonna come inside you, you want that?” 

“y-yes. miss you filling me up.”

yukhei curses, and you reach your high just seconds before he does. your entire body shakes in pleasure before he comes into you, flooding your insides with his warm release. he groans as you ride out your high and roll your hips, the feeling of you being warm and full all too heavenly.

after a short while of nothing but heavy breathing as the both of you succumb to a blissful state, yukhei removes the jacket hanging off your elbows and rolls you over with his softening cock still snug in you. he hums in satisfaction, nuzzling his face against your neck as your fingers comb through his hair. 

“i love you.” yukhei sighs contentedly. “didn’t get to say it back just now.”

he hears you hum softly and feels a peck on his forehead. when he gains the energy to pull back and look at you, he finds your eyes already on him, half-open in adoration. 

“i’ll clean us up, okay?” yukhei asks softly, his elbows pressing against the mattress as he moves to get up. he’s sure there’s already a mess on your sheets. 

“no, don’t go.” you murmured, tightening your thighs around his hips in an attempt to lock him in place. you end up pushing him deeper into you instead, making him hiss. “stay like this for a bit.” 

yukhei notes the clinginess in your voice and the way your hands trace love patterns along the curves of his back. he lies back down, joining your lips in a deep kiss. 

“i’m not going anywhere.”

it’s so easy for him to do whatever you say, he realises. you have him wrapped around your finger because you’re just as clingy as he is — and only he gets to see that side of you.

--

yukhei had sex with you for the first time in a hotel overlooking the ocean. 

it had been his first holiday with you. every december, yukhei would fly back to his mum’s hometown in thailand with his family to visit his relatives — that wasn’t anything new. what was new though, was you tagging along after his mum had enthusiastically asked you to join them. 

the week-long trip was the most fun yukhei had in years. minus the shy introductions and teasing from his relatives who were overjoyed to finally meet his pretty girlfriend whom they’ve heard much about over phone calls, it was like a mini honeymoon for the two of you. 

after catching up with his cousins in the first half of the trip, yukhei spent all the other days ‘having fun by yourselves’ as his mum had insisted. you ended up exploring the coastal town, hanging out at the beach, and eating the local food to your heart’s content.

the highlight of the trip for yukhei though, was finally being able to make love to you. the resort stay was a godsend opportunity after the many interruptions during your steamy makeout sessions in yukhei’s tiny bedroom. it was the perfect time and place that you both needed.

yukhei swore you were a goddess as you laid on the bed with your legs spread out, your hair fanned out against the pillows, patiently waiting for him to put the condom on. 

it was his first time seeing all of you, your curves and body marks displayed to him like a work of art in a museum. he couldn’t look away, couldn’t ignore how rosy your face was from coming apart on his fingers just minutes earlier.

“is this okay?” yukhei asked tenderly, pausing when he stretched you out halfway. “can i go deeper, baby?” 

you nodded fervently though the tense look on your face made yukhei unsure. he really wanted you to enjoy this too. sensing his hesitation, you pulled him down for a deep kiss. 

“so tight, fuck—” yukhei mumbles against your lips as he pushed himself further into you, his hands caressing the underside of your thighs.

yukhei sighed, the pressure to not come quickly making him slightly nervous. it was difficult not to when your walls were warm and hugging his cock like a glove, letting him experience euphoria like never before. 

“beautiful.” his voice gentle as he gave you an open-mouthed kiss. “all mine.” 

as soon as you signalled for him to move, yukhei took charge, thrusting into you slowly as he gauged your reaction. his pace quickened after a while a combination of sighs and moans spilled from your mouth. your neck arched against the pillows, presenting him with the perfect location for a love mark. 

but yukhei was distracted. he couldn’t take his eyes off your soaking core, couldn’t get over the way you stretched open to welcome him each time his cock slid all the way back in. he had seen his fingers disappear in you before so many times, but this image was incomparable. 

“so deep,” you said breathlessly, your fingernails digging crescent moons into his back. 

yukhei looked at you. from the hair that stuck to the side of your neck to your lashes fluttered shut in pleasure, you were a sight to behold. 

“yeah?” he kissed you sloppily. “does it feel good?”

“yes—oh!” you whimpered just as yukhei’s fingertips landed on the sensitive bundle of nerves right above where you and him were connected. 

he drew circles on it with his thumb, groaning when you clenched around him. “you feel so good around me too, baby. you’re doing so well.”

yukhei’s thrusts grew uneven as he coaxed you into your orgasm. by the time he shot his release into the rubber, you came undone beneath him too, crying out in rapture one last time as your thighs shook intensely. 

a moment of silence hung in the air as your pants slowly faded into deep and slow inhalations. seeing you come all over him, because of him, gave yukhei’s ego a huge boost. it didn’t help that you were trembling in sensitivity while he cleaned you up as gently as he could and muttered praises into your ear.

“yukhei,” you called him softly and he halted his movements, worried that he had accidentally hurt you. 

“i don’t know if i can go out tomorrow.” you mumbled, covering your eyes with the back of your hand. 

yukhei instantly relaxed, a smirk taking over his face as he threw the wet wipes aside.  “we don’t have to go out, but i can carry you wherever you like.”

when you didn’t respond, he crawled over you and pulled your hand away. you avoided his gaze, looking at his chest instead. 

“i’m serious, baby.” yukhei tilted your chin up and looked into your eyes as genuinely as he could. “we can stay in all day if you want.”

“okay. sounds nice.” your hand quickly hovered over your face again. 

the smirk on yukhei’s face softened into a smile. it was amusing and adorable to him, how you could still be this shy after the night’s events. he felt as if he was in heaven and within the next second, he was placing kisses everywhere on your face but your lips. when you broke into a fit of giggles, yukhei couldn’t help but keep going. he finally stopped when your hands framed his jaw, guiding his plump lips back to yours for a short, innocent kiss. 

“thank you for being so patient with me tonight.” you paused, swallowing a lump down your throat. “it was nice even though i’m a little sore now.”

yukhei’s heart grew three times at your words.

“is that all? just nice?” he smirked. 

you pinched his bicep playfully and hid your face again, muttering something about him being so annoying. 

“i’m playing with you,” yukhei giggled, pretty sure he had hearts in his eyes as he looked at you. “love seeing you get all shy for me like this.” and with that, he pulled your hands apart and trapped them against the pillows. 

just as he was about to kiss away the pout on your lips, the sound of a door slamming shut thundered down the hallway and echoed in the room, sending both of you into speechlessness. 

yukhei put his boxers on hurriedly, rushing to the balcony and sighing in relief when he noticed the lights in the next room a distance away had just turned on — a sign that his parents, who had been out the entire evening, have just gotten back. at that moment, he couldn’t be more thankful that his plans for the night turned out well. he wouldn’t know how to face his parents if they overheard him and you, and just the sheer thought of it brought goosebumps to his arms.

“are they back?” you asked nervously, pulling the covers up to your chin.

yukhei nodded, turning the bedside lamp off before cuddling up to you. “we have to be quiet.”

“oh, we will be.” you yawned, making him smile and hug you more tightly. you responded by wiggling around in his embrace. “yukhei, i’m sticky.” 

“don’t care.” he whispered against your skin. “just wanna hold my baby like this.” 

after a few more indulgent kisses and sweet nothings were exchanged under the moonlight, you dozed off in each other’s arms.

the next morning, yukhei woke up to the sound of waves crashing onto the shore. you were already awake and sitting up with the covers wrapped around you as you silently admired the swaying palm trees outside. yukhei sat up sluggishly, planting a kiss on your shoulder. 

you turned around to return a kiss to his lips, eyes still closed when you pulled away, the intimacy of last night clearly still in the air. you opened your eyes, looking completely lost in him just like he was in you.

“good morning to you too.”

the rest of the day was slow and relaxed. you both agreed to stay in the resort, and so the afternoon flew by as you lounged by the pool and dined at the restaurant next to the beach. safe to say, the sight of you in a bikini all day led to another intimate, even raunchier night. 

--

yukhei thinks he’s ready to move in with you.

maybe it sounds a little impulsive. but that’s because there haven’t been a lot of opportunities for the two of you to live together, with yukhei studying at another university and you living in a shared apartment over the past few years. 

but staying at your apartment over these few days has given yukhei a sneak peek of life under the same roof as you, and he loves it so much that he wants to be done with his enlistment duties and fast forward to the part where he gets to share a home with you already.

yukhei wants to wake up past noon on weekends and whip up a hearty brunch with you, wants to spend the rest of the day helping you with mundane tasks like laundry and watering all your plants.

yukhei wants to be there for you on days where you’re exhausted from grad school life, when you turn down his pleas for you to take a break despite being drained from staring at your laptop screen. but he’ll massage your tensed shoulders, take your glasses off, and pull you to bed where you doze off to his soothing back rubs and soft praises of how proud of you he is and how well you’re doing.

he craves that kind of domesticity even right now as you lay on top of him, your limbs entangled comfortably and your cheek squished against his chest while your eyes are glued to the great gatsby playing on the tv.

there aren’t any plans to go out today due to the simple fact that you were both too lazy to get dressed and leave the house unless it’s for food. and probably because, though you wouldn’t admit it openly, you want him all to yourself — which is fine because yukhei feels the exact same towards you. 

the living room is hushed as you and him watch a drenched gatsby reunite with daisy in a lavishly decorated flower-filled cottage. you sit up just as the scene ends, elbowing the couch as you rest your chin on your palm.

“why are you looking at me like that?” yukhei asks. there’s an unsure look on your face that he can’t quite read.

“i think i remember.” you hold your other hand up, flashing the ring that has been making you so happy. “thailand?”

yukhei grins brightly, the top row of his teeth showing. he nods proudly, taking your hand in his to look at the ring — a thin gold band with a pale blue sapphire — and admire the way it gleams in the afternoon sunlight. 

it’s just as beautiful as the first time he saw it in that gift shop in thailand. 

yukhei remembers that day vividly. it was the last day of the trip, and both of you were shopping around for souvenirs for your friends back home. he caught you admiring a few vintage jewellery pieces by yourself as he stood in the corner of one of the many shops you stepped into that day, pretending to be interested in some touristy postcards. though it didn’t seem like much to him at first, he later noticed that you picked up the same ring a few times, looking back at it even as you walked away. 

eventually, thanks to what he could say in his broken thai, he managed to charm the shop owner into reserving that very ring for him. yukhei secretly returned for them while you thought you were waiting for him to be done in the bathroom at a cafe. he felt a little bad at first, but he knew it had to be done or else he’d regret it so much in the years to come. 

yukhei always imagined what the ring would look like on your finger. its design enthralled him when he first examined it up close and he quickly understood why you took such a liking to it — after all, anything vintage was right up your alley. little did he know it would look even more beautiful sitting on your ring finger. 

“oh my god.” you let out a huff of disbelief as soon as he finishes explaining everything. 

you’re speechless as your eyes flick back and forth between the ring and the coy look on yukhei’s face. this is the reaction he has been waiting for. 

“yukhei.” your voice is fragile, like you’re about to cry any moment. 

the smirk on yukhei’s face drops immediately. he does not like hearing his name from you like that. 

“what’s wrong?” 

“nothing,” you smile weakly, quickly brushing away the tears that escaped your eyes with the back of your hand. “i just love you so much.”

“and i’m going to miss you. a lot.” you continue before he gets to reply. “every day. all over again. i miss you already.” 

“oh, baby.” yukhei croons as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you down for a tight hug. he rubs your back, feeling helpless at the sound of your sniffles. 

yukhei knew this would happen. of course he did. he’s struggling just as much as you are to ignore the impending distance you’ll both have to deal with again — maybe that’s why he was clinging onto the idea of a future with you so tightly. 

“we’ve talked about this. the sooner the better, right? ” yukhei says sadly, finding it hard to agree with himself.

“i know, i’m just being emotional again. i’m sorry.” you chuckle unhumorously. “i didn’t think i’d get to see you before the year ends, you know? but you came back. you’re actually here and i’m so happy.” 

“and,” you prop your arm up on his chest, the promise ring once again in yukhei’s view. a moment passes as the two of you stare at it — the symbol of your love and future.

“i love you so much. i want to live the rest of my life with you, like the past few days.” you say resolutely.

yukhei is overwhelmed with happiness, love, and nostalgia all at once. suddenly he’s transported back to that park where you first kissed as teenagers, where he first found out that you liked him too. but loving someone and knowing that they love you back so much so that they want to be with you forever is something so much more special. it’s a privilege yukhei never thought he’d have. 

and now, he does. as he looks into your eyes, he realises that you’ve blessed him with that privilege, and that you’re truly the best thing that has ever happened to him. 

yukhei finds himself unable to express in words just how he feels at this moment. so he shifts your bodies around until you’re lying side by side, until all he sees is your face up close. he cups your tear-streaked cheeks before softly brushing his lips against yours, sinking in the warmth that blossoms in his chest. 

“i love you.” he says delicately when he pulls away, tugging a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “i’m so glad the universe chose you for me.” 

the fond smile on your face falters as a tear rolls down your cheek and your bottom lip begin to quiver, the violins playing in the long-forgotten movie adding more melancholy than needed to this moment. 

yukhei’s heart breaks as he watches you avoid his gaze and desperately blink away the tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. but he knows that you two will make it, that the distance is merely temporary. and he knows you know it too. what you and him have is so strong. 

“hey, look at me.” he whispers.

you turn towards him, your eyes curiously examining his face.

“i’m gonna come home. to you.” yukhei places a kiss on your forehead. “and it won’t be long. think about it baby, i’ll be out this time next year and we could be living together by then.”

“i can’t wait for that.”

“me too. you’ll get to wake up next to me everyday, but you’ll have to teach me how to not burn our pancakes for breakfast until they’re perfect.”

at last, the corners of your lips twitch and you chuckle into the sleeve of your sweater. 

“how does that sound?”

“waking up to you everyday or the pancakes?”

“me coming home. and us living together.”

“like a dream come true.”

a moment passes as you smile at each other in a placid silence. 

yukhei cups the side of your face with one hand, brushing over your cheekbone and memorising every little detail that adorned your face and made him feel at home no matter where he is. you lean into his touch, reveling in the warmth of his palm. 

the fact that he only has one more day until he will have to wait months before he gets to be with you like this again makes his heart swell in longing. so he holds you close, enjoying the moment while he still can. 

-- 

the first time yukhei told you he loved you, it was an accident — not really. 

that morning, he was awoken by a ball of fur nuzzling against his bare shoulder.

he opened his eyes, looking around the room for a good minute before spotting a familiar siamese cat that was perched at the foot of the bed and observing him with its soft gloomy eyes like it had been waiting for him to wake up for the longest time. 

“good morning, louis.” 

the cat meowed once as if announcing its disappointment in yukhei before hopping off the bed and making its grand exit by squeezing through the slim door gap.

yukhei shrugged, reaching for his phone that had been charging on the nightstand right by the bed. a quick look at the time and date on his lock screen refreshed his memory, vaguely reminding him of the events of the night before. 

he crashed against the mattress and let out a muffled groan into the pillows, shuddering at the thought of how much alcohol he had downed. he was absolutely regretting his idea of not having a birthday party, but instead an entire night of drinking to celebrate turning his legal age. 

his final hours of being seventeen were fun, though. ten, kunhang, and a couple of other friends brought him to an upscale steakhouse located in the city’s nightlife district. but like every other boys’ night out, the night eventually descended into borderline chaos. in last night’s case, they went through too many rounds of drinking games and yukhei soon came to the realisation that he was the type to get all giggly and sappy when intoxicated. 

yukhei threw the covers over himself and ignored the dryness in his throat, ready to slip back into slumber but he couldn’t. something felt off. he grabbed his phone again and there you were, smiling back at him in his lockscreen wallpaper. 

oh no.

flashbacks of how he had asked for you last night and proudly claimed that you were “the one” for him came running back to him. he quickly unlocked his phone, checking his text messages. 

[to: ♥][sent at 1:55AM]

hey baaby

baby

i miss u ;(

ii'm still with ten and. kunhang

he mahde me drink so muhch hheheehe

babyy reply me plz 

i can seee u readin all of thiks :(

i miss You

[from: ♥][sent at 1:56AM]

oh my god yukhei

are you okay?

wru now???

[to: ♥][sent at 1:58AM]

hi bab

im OK

at tens place now…

he has 2 catss. theyre so Cute 

anyway 

i need to tell u sometxhing

its rneally imbportant

and that is i love u 

u make me so happi

u r so pretttyjf n soooo smart

ur alsoreally kind.. lwiterally an angel

hdeheheheheheee

im so lucky to be youre boyfrjend

becayuse i get to see Ur smile everyyday. hold your hand whenegver i want

onlyi can call u Baby

did u know ? 

i bet u djd not ;)

i l o v e LOVE you 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[incoming call from: ♥] 

declined.

[incoming call from: ♥] 

declined.

[from: ♥][sent at 2:00AM]

why aren’t you picking up yukhei

you’re making me worried now

are you okay :( 

[to: ♥][sent at 2:15AM]

hey _____, ten here. don’t worry about xuxi! he just passed out on my couch. 

[attachment: 1 image]

i’m just gonna let him crash here tonight since my parents aren’t back anyway. feel free to pop by in the morning btw, i think he would be really happy. and sorry for texting you at this hour!! goodnight :D

yukhei stared at his phone screen blankly, the jumbled letters of his drunk texts burning into his eyes. there was also that picture of him sprawled across the leather couch in ten’s living room in deep slumber, with his shirt completely unbuttoned and a party hat strapped to his forehead like a unicorn.

“morning, birthday boy.” 

yukhei’s heart jumped. he jammed his thumb against the button on the side of his phone, turning around to find ten’s head poking out of the door. 

“how are you feeling?” ten asked. yukhei sat up immediately when he saw a glass of water in his friend’s hand. “like shit, i’m guessing.”

ten sat himself down at the foot of the bed, handing the water to an eager yukhei who gulps it all at one go.

“close enough. i feel like i’ve been run over by a bus.” yukhei replied, coughing to clear the raspiness in his voice. 

ten hummed. “well, your girl came over with a lot of food. i think you’ll feel better after eating.” 

yukhei’s eyes widened, his voice lowering into a whisper. “she’s here? now?”

“sort of. she went out to get coffee with guanheng but they should be back soon.” ten narrowed his eyes at yukhei, trying to read the look on his face. “what’s wrong?” 

“nothing.” 

“uh huh.” ten snorted. “you suck at lying.” 

“okay, fine. i might have spammed her with some texts last night while i was wasted.”

“oh yeah, i saw those. you were crying for her for at least thirty minutes last night by the way.”

“fuck.” yukhei let out a groan. “let’s not talk about that. not now please, ten-ge.” 

“okay, okay.” ten smirked. “only because it’s your birthday. now, continue.”

“i told her i love her. like, love love her.” 

“oh.” ten paused, his expression fading into one of confusion. “wait, i don’t get it. is that a bad thing?” 

“no, no. it’s not.” yukhei cut in quickly, glancing at the door every few seconds nervously. “it’s just—i haven’t told her that before!” he whisper-shouted. 

“i don’t know how she reacted to it! what if she doesn’t feel the same?”

ten burst into laughter right away, his eyes squinting into crescents. “oh, xuxi. you’re so cute when you’re in love, you know?” 

“i really don’t think you have to worry about her not feeling the same. but i do think you should go tell her in person soon.” 

yukhei blinked, relaxing a little when he realised that ten was probably right. the older male grinned, ruffling yukhei’s bed hair playfully before leaving the room. 

in less than five minutes the door swung open again, and yukhei tensed a little when he saw you, almost as if he had seen a ghost. he didn’t realise you were back already and had been planning to sit in anxiety by himself for thirty more minutes.

“you okay?” you chuckled as you walked over and sat next to him. 

yukhei hummed as you cradled the side of his face with one hand, your thumb smoothing away the drool crust on the corner of his lips that he didn’t even realise had been there. 

“someone clearly had a lot of fun last night.”

yukhei’s lips curled into a silly, crooked smile as you crossed your arms and pouted. your attempt at guilt-tripping him had failed completely, it endeared you instead and suddenly he felt like his drunk self bombarding you with all those confessions last night. 

your lips eventually cracked into a huge grin. you threw your arms around his shoulders, doing your best to engulf his big frame in a tight hug which made yukhei chuckle. he loved it whenever you hugged him like that or let him be the small spoon when you cuddled.

“happy birthday bub.” you coo dearly, giving each of his cheeks a loud smooch which made his face scrunch up adorably. “are you sure you’re okay?” 

“thank you, baby.” yukhei smiled, his mind completely free from his worries already. “i’m okay, just a little hungry.”

“well, it just so happens that there are loads of yummy things waiting outside. maybe even some of your favourite desserts.” you smirked enticingly as you grabbed his hand and stood up. “c’mon, let’s go eat.” 

“wait.” yukhei’s breathing stuttered, pulling you back quickly. “i need to tell you something.”

you moved into the spot between his legs, waiting for him to say something as your hands hung in the air intertwined.

“what is it?” you asked.

yukhei looked up at you, taking in the curious smile on your face. it brought so much joy and warmth to his life and he could never get tired of seeing that.

“i love you.” yukhei said, each word rolling off his tongue so naturally. “all those texts i sent you last night? i meant every single word. i love you, _____.” 

your eyes were glossy as you relaxed a little, sinking into his touch when he clasped his arms around your thighs to pull you closer. yukhei could tell you were recalling all those cheesy texts as you bit your lip shyly.

he closed his eyes just as you bent down to slot your lips against his in the most delicate way possible before whispering those three words back, as if they were only for him to hear. 

“i love you too, yukhei. you make me so happy.” 

“say it again.” yukhei asked, his voice laced with desperation even though he knew it was the first of many ‘i love you’s to come. 

your cheek was soft and warm in the palm of his hand. you grinned, closing the distance between your lips once more.

“i love you.”

it was the best birthday gift yukhei had ever received.

--

as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. 

in yukhei’s case, the past five days have flown by quickly and alas, it is the penultimate day of his short vacation. 

but he’s more than satisfied with how the week has gone by despite how short it felt. he managed to visit his family, catch up with his closest friends, recover all the hours of sleep he had lost while on duty, and most importantly, be around you literally every day of this vacation so far. he woke up and slept next to you, cooked and ate all his favourite foods with you, and interrupted every other activity with sex and cuddling sessions — and he wouldn’t have it any other way. just looking back on those moments brought a smile to his face. 

his thoughts are interrupted when the door to your bedroom opens and you walk in with a small stack of laundry in one hand. 

”thank you baby.” he says, taking the clothes he had worn in the past few days, that are now clean, from you. they’re still warm from being fresh out of the dryer, and he gets a whiff of roses when he holds them under his nose. 

“you’re very welcome.” you plop down right next to where he had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, packing his belongings. 

as yukhei stuffs his sneakers deep into the bottom of his haversack, you look at all his other things that have been laid out neatly, side-by-side, on your bedroom rug. he doesn’t pay much attention as you pick up his wallet and entertain yourself with its contents.

“is this what i think it is?” 

you ask, pulling out a small folded piece of paper that was stuffed into one of the card compartments. the look of curiosity on your face morphs into one of surprise as soon as you unfold it completely and realise what it is.

“you keep this in your wallet?”

it’s one of the few handwritten letters you mailed to him during his first month in camp when he, like every one of his teammates, had zero access to their phones and gadgets. 

yukhei still remembers how tough that period of time was. being thrown into a whole new environment and expected to adjust to a lifestyle that was the complete opposite of university life was not easy at all. not only was his freedom snatched away, he had to deal with a long list of strict rules and responsibilities dumped onto him. and as if all that wasn’t enough, he had to witness his newly-made friends live through the countless military break-up horror stories he heard from his seniors.

it was a lot, but he got through each day thanks to the camaraderie he shared with his team and those letters you had mailed him, since they were the only form of communication he had with you. 

“yeah. it got me through some tough times, you know.” yukhei admits, watching you read through your own words. 

each letter was detailed with updates on your life and things his mum told you to convey to him. they all ended with a short paragraph of best wishes and sweet words which yukhei appreciated very much because he was absolutely sick of hearing about duty and honour.

yukhei had no idea he was so sentimental. he’d reread those letters in your voice, stare at your handwriting, and hold it up to his nose to get the faint scent of your perfume. it was like a piece of you — which was what he needed to fight the homesickness gnawing at him. 

“maybe you should write to me.” you mumble, refusing to look at him as you slid the letter back into his wallet. “i mean, if you’re not too busy. i would love getting mail from you even though we can text and facetime now.”

“i’ll try to, baby.” yukhei smirks. “my good morning and goodnight texts not enough for you?” 

“no,” you drawl, rolling your eyes playfully. “i love waking up to a bunch of heart and rose emojis.” 

yukhei laughs, going back to packing his things while you roll his clothes into bundles that would help him save space. after a short while of teamwork between you two, his haversack is stuffed and he’s done.

“don’t forget these,” you hand him his leather glasses case that had been sitting on your bedside table. then you’re on your feet, pacing around the room as your eyes scan every inch of the space, looking out for anything he might’ve missed. 

“i’ve looked everywhere earlier.” yukhei tells you before getting on his feet too. he stretches his arms high above him and lets out a silent yawn. “i think that’s it.”

“okay.” you answer in a small voice. 

now that you’re done helping him pack, there’s just one last thing left to do and it just happens to be the hardest task of all — you’ll have to say goodbye to him this time, tomorrow, at the train station.

that realisation settles between the two of you, once again compelling yukhei to make the most out of the time he has left. with a sad smile he holds his arms out, instantly drawing you into his embrace like a moth of a flame. you squish your cheek against him, hands locked behind his back as he hugs you warm and securely. 

“you need to stop working out so much, your abs are hard enough.” your voice comes out slightly muffled. “by the time you’re out, i’m gonna be hugging a rock.” 

yukhei grins at your words, bursting into full-blown giggles when your fingers poke into his sides and smooth across his tummy. the faint muscle lines that were there before he enlisted were now more defined, some even visible through the cotton fabric of his t-shirt. 

“you say that like i have a choice, baby.” he replies. “i can’t just sit aside while everyone else does seventy push-ups and ten laps around the field.”

you let out a disgruntled noise and hugged him even tighter, as if you were trying to mold your body into his. 

“and you like it. admit it.” yukhei teases. 

“i do.” you murmur. “you smell so good, by the way.” 

yukhei giggles at how quickly you switched the topic.

“it’s that detergent you’re using. i wish my clothes smelled this nice when i’m there.” 

“i’m talking about you, bub. the way you smell. my hoodie doesn’t smell like that anymore.” 

“the way i smell?” yukhei laughs. “and i think you mean my hoodie.” 

“it’s been mine for a while now.”

“well, wanna give it back to me? since it lost its purpose.” 

“okay. i’ll trade it for this shirt.” 

you tug on the hem of his shirt as you look up at him, eagerly waiting for his response. it’s moments like this where yukhei wonders if you know you have him in the palm of your hand.

“whatever you want, baby. i’ll give it to you.”

the lovestruck smile on his face widens as he places a kiss on your forehead, drawing circles on your back. 

“can i have it now then?” you ask innocently, but yukhei’s ears pick up the hint of playfulness in your tone. 

“right now?” he asks.

“yeah. what’s stopping you?”

“oh, i’ll give it to you now.” yukhei tells you lowly.

the cheeky smile on your face morphs into an ‘o’ shape as his grip on your waist tightens, guiding you towards the bed where you both crash against the mattress. there’s a moment of silence as he hovers over you, suavely tugging his shirt off with one hand and dropping the crumpled fabric next to your face. 

“thanks.” you whisper.

it’s hard to ignore the way your core is perfectly aligned with his when you’re lying underneath him in a hoodie and a pair of grey boyshorts that have been testing his patience for a while now.

yukhei runs his hands up your thighs to your sides, bunching the hoodie up to your chest. wet open-mouthed kisses are left all over the smooth expanse of your tummy and he takes delight in how hard you’re breathing.

“it’s no problem, baby.” he replies nonchalantly, his fingers pulling at the waistband of your boyshorts. “anything else you want before i take this off?”

you shake your head and shoot him a silly smile, and it’s all yukhei can remember before he embarks on yet another mission to please you with his mouth. then he makes love to you again, his warm touch roaming every inch of your body which he memorises to perfection. 

later, when you’re both sated and holding onto each other like two long-lost lovers, yukhei dreams of you again. this time, he’s hiding another velvet box in an even bigger bouquet of roses as he sits nervously in a dimly lit living room, waiting to surprise you when you get home. 

the thought of you being his forever is enough to make him smile in reality, enough to push him through the upcoming months of separation. yukhei was more than ready to be done with that. 

--

it’s only been a minute since you’ve gotten home but the place already feels too big for one person — which is laughable because your apartment isn’t even that huge to begin with. now that yukhei is gone, it feels as if life has been sucked out of these four walls. it has reverted back to nothing more than a roof over your head and a living space for one.

after hanging your coat up and stepping out of your shoes, you stroll to the kitchen and lean against the counter, staring into thin air with the refrigerator whirring softly behind you.

even though it’s only three in the afternoon, it has been an awfully long day for you. the few hours you spent outside drained you and all you did was sit at a restaurant with yukhei and his family for one last meal before sending him off at the train terminal. 

the meal was nice and the send-off was not as bad as you thought it would be. but it was still an emotional farewell and you shed a few tears despite it being nowhere as difficult as the first time he had to leave you. 

you and yukhei stood at the train platform hand in hand until the train finally arrived and came to a stop in front of everyone. 

you let ten and kun attack your boyfriend with their bro hugs first, followed by mrs wong who affectionately caressed her son’s face and repeated her fifth “take care of yourself, my little soldier boy” of the day, and lastly, a less-emotional mr wong who gave his son a few encouraging pats on the back.

looking around, you were filled with dread as you watched the same thing happen with every other soldier who was hugging their loved ones and waving goodbye to them.

when everyone left and when it was just you and him again, yukhei instantly pulled you into his arms, clearly just as reluctant as you are to face this moment.

this was it.

he pulled back, cupping your cheeks and smiling at you forlornly. you stared back at him, taking in how smart he looked in his uniform and the beret framing his beautifully sunkissed face, and mustered all the strength in you to not cry. 

it was impossible. tears swelled in your eyes within seconds and you couldn’t help it, the harder you tried to force them away, the more they wanted to spill out. you silently chided yourself for how naive you were to have wished for a tear-free farewell.

“don’t cry, baby.” yukhei pleaded softly, his big eyes looking watery too. “remember what i said?”

you swiped your tears away with the sleeve of your turtleneck and nodded frantically, not trusting your voice at the moment. 

“i’m gonna come home to you. we’re going to live our lives together.”

his voice was soft yet grounded with conviction, calming you down instantly and offering you the consolation you needed. 

“i’ll be waiting for you.” your voice croaked and you rolled your eyes at how pathetic it sounded.

“i know you’ll be.” yukhei smiled, gently stroking your back. “and you’ll be getting your first letter really soon, i promise.” 

“something else i get to look forward to.” 

you tightened your arms around him, closing your eyes to really savour what it felt like to be in his arms one last time before forcing yourself to let go. 

yukhei interlocked your hand with his, pressing a kiss to the back of it and stealing a glance at your favourite ring.

“i love you so much.” you said, adjusting the collar of his uniform thoughtfully. “eat well and be safe, okay? don’t worry about me. you know you can call me—”

he intercepted you with a long kiss to your lips, letting go only when you pinched his arm. unlike him, you weren’t bold enough to be this affectionate in public. 

“i will.” yukhei answered breathlessly. “promise me you’ll sleep early and not overwork yourself while i’m away. i need you to take care of yourself too.” 

“i promise.” you mumbled, locking your pinky with his as you looked around anxiously. “you should get going now. don’t want you missing your train.” 

he squeezed your hand to bring your attention back to him. “i love you.” 

“love you too.”

and with a final kiss to your lips, his hand loosened from yours, reaching for his haversack on the ground and swinging it over his shoulder in one go. 

“text me once you’ve settled down?”  

“i will, baby.” 

after one last peck to your forehead, he turned around and trudged towards the edge of the train platform, where kunhang had been taking pictures with his sisters while waiting. you stood rooted to the ground as you watched your boyfriend’s figure become smaller, waving at him when he turned around to look at you one final time before getting onto the train. 

ten and kun kindly gave you a lift home afterwards. you nearly teared up again when you walked past the parking lot and spotted the two of them patiently waiting for you in the comfort of their heated car. on the way home, they even made dinner plans and insisted you didn’t spend the rest of the day alone — which you were extremely grateful for. 

you still have a few hours to yourself before meeting them, and it dawns on you that you should probably take a short nap after the sad amount of sleep you got last night. so you force yourself to stop moping and drag yourself to your bedroom to find a comfy set of clothes.

you spend what feels like hours under the hot shower that by the time you step out of the steamy bathroom, the skin of your fingers are wrinkly. just as you start combing your hair, your phone buzzes, its screen lighting up to show you a single notification. 

you whisk it off the table, gaping at the sight of yukhei’s name staring back at you. 

[from: yukhei][sent at 4:10PM]

hey baby i miss you ♥

[to: yukhei][sent at 4:10PM]

miss you too :(

you guys back there already?

[from: yukhei][sent at 4:11PM]

we’re still on the train

i didn’t get to nap. kunhang snored so loudly :(

[to: yukhei][sent at 4:11PM]

poor baby… 

[from: yukhei][sent at 4:11PM] 

it’s fine

your boyfriend is a strong man. a day without a nap is nothing :D

you snort at his reply. the typing icon appears next to his name so you wait for his next text. 

[from: yukhei][sent as 4:12PM]

anyway, i left a surprise in your desk drawer for you

i think you already know what it is ;)

you don’t. 

[from: yukhei][sent at 4:12PM]

i hope you like it baby ♥ 

you never know what to expect from yukhei because he’s always surprising you with the sweetest, most meaningful gestures. even the story behind your promise ring has you in wonder still. when you pull open the drawer and realise just what he had left for you, a huge grin spreads across your face and you take a second to appreciate the sight of it. he was truly something else.

there, carefully placed on top of the paperwork you had kept in the drawer, is an envelope with your name on it.

“yeah. you’ll be getting your first letter really soon, i promise.” 

you reach for it, immediately peeping inside when you notice it’s unsealed. there was indeed a letter as yukhei had promised. you recognize the lined paper that he clearly tore off from one of your notebooks and assume he wrote this secretly while you were sleeping. the mental image of that melts your heart. 

to _____, my favourite girl in the world.

i have been staring at this blank piece of paper for ten minutes now while you’re sleeping so peacefully. i still don’t know what i should write for my first letter, so here’s an old-fashioned love letter from your admirer for life, your boyfriend, and your future husband: me <3 

you giggle to yourself like an idiot. it’s funny how a single paragraph could switch your mood instantly, how yukhei manages to make you happy even though he’s so far away now. 

was that too cheesy? i’m sorry. you know i’m not a poetic person even though i wish i am. you’ll probably laugh as you read on but that’s okay, because i want you to be happy whenever you read this. 

so where should i begin? 

how about the first time we met? when i saw you sitting at the back of mum’s restaurant, i had butterflies in my stomach (is this how that phrase goes?) and quickly hid in the kitchen. do you remember? 

the smile on your face grew as you continued reading yukhei’s letter. it spoke of the vivid details of all your firsts in your relationship, of the little habits you have that he adores. of the warmth and safeness he feels when he’s around you, of how in awe and inspired he is by you — and how lucky he is to get to experience all that for the past few years and hopefully, the rest of his life. 

by the time you reach the end, you’re laughing and crying. you miss him so much.

i love you, _____. nothing else matters. you’re the light of my life and i hope i can keep making you feel the way you make me feel: safe, happy, and loved. 

until we meet again,

wong yukhei

p.s. i hope you’re not crying. and if you are i really hope it’s because i made you laugh too much. 

you reread the letter again, letting his voice linger in your head for a bit because you’re not ready to let it go yet. then you laid on the bed for a good fifteen minutes as you stared at the ceiling with his letter clasped to your chest, yearning for his presence all over again. 

it’s going to be fine, you tell yourself. you can handle a few months without him. after all, you already have. and he’s never completely away from you, you realise, as you hold your hand up and admire the gorgeous ring shining in the afternoon sunlight. 

for now, that’ll do. 

--

[wellbafineline]

a very styles christmas

a/n Im aware this is the most cheesy title that i could’ve picked for this fic but pls forgive me this is the only thing i could think of 

I don’t really have much to say about this one but I want to wish a happy holidays and a merry christmas to everyone who celebrates - hope you enjoy this fiancé  harry one shot 

word count: 2.4k - ish

It felt as if you and Harry had only just gotten home when you started to pull the luggage out of the hallway cupboard again, you're not exactly excited to start packing for another trip, you always complained to Harry when you were trudging around your shared room that it was the worst part of any trip, to which he always chuckles and calls you dramatic but your point still stands in your eyes. 

You placed the two suitcases neatly next to each other at the foot of your and Harry’s shared bed, deciding to wait for him to get home before tackling that challenge of what to pack for the two weeks that you both were spending up north in Cheshire at his mums for Christmas. 

Just as you sat on the bed, reaching to check your phone Harry trudged back into your shared room still wrapped up in his coat and hat having just been loading the car in the cold London winter with the various gifts for family you needed to bring with you, the last of what needed to be loaded into the car staring back at you from the foot of the bed. 

‘No gonna pack themselves are they?’ Harry sighed, shrugging off his coat and throwing it on the chair that you so fondly had named the ‘chaos chair’ which usually housed a pile of washing that neither of you ever really put away just taking items of clothing till it reappeared after the next laundry cycle.

‘Wish they would, hate this bit, never know what to pack to take to your mums.’ Harry had now started to move around the room picking up some jumpers and sweatpants to put into his case. 

‘’M only bringing comfy stuff, if this weather keeps up doubt we’ll make it much further than the pub round the corner from mums’ He nodded towards your bedroom window where in true English Christmas weather the rain was bucketing down and wasn't looking like it was giving up any time soon. 

‘Now come on,’ he twists the t-shirt he was holding trying to swat at your bum where you were now standing by the window ‘want to make a move soon, hopefully get there before mum and Gem have broken into the Christmas wine supply, so we need to get a move on.’ 

•··°　• ·*　　·　·　★　.　✦　　　*　*　　.　 

It was about an hour and a half in your three hour drive from London to cheshire. You and Harry had just finished loading up his range rover with all of the presents and luggage that you two would need for two weeks up north in time that you could get the worst parts of the drive over with without there being too much of a traffic jam. 

‘Love,’ Harry shakes your shoulder lightly as he pulls the car to a halt into the car park, ‘dozed off on me there been out for about the last half an hour’

‘Mmm, no, was jus’ resting my eyes promise, want me to run in get some bits’ nodding your head towards the service station in front of you. You and Harry had driven up to his mums more times than you could count in the three years that you’d been together, always taking the same route, Harry insisting that it was the quickest but you joked that it was the only way that he could take where he wouldn’t get lost on the winding country roads. But either way you had become quite fond of the small service station that was just outside of Birmingham on the M6.

‘Yeah, can just get us a coffee please.’ He asks leaning over to put a kiss on your cheek before you grabbed your bag and made your way out of the car, pulling your coat tight around you, the weather having not gotten much better since the two of you left London earlier in the day. 

Although the service was pretty quiet with only two or three people lined up at the Costa Coffee and a woman browsing the WHSmith in the corner, you knew that it was Harry’s time off, so you always volunteered to go for the two of you. Not that he didn't love meeting people but driving up to his mums for christmas seemed like something he prefers to keep private, especially with you news, the two of you didnt want it plastered across social media before you had the chance to tell those closest to you.

Having gotten everything you think you’ll need for the remainder of your drive, just waiting for the barista to call your name to collect the coffee that you feel as though you desperately need now, even if you insist you weren’t asleep, as you wait you twist the new ring on your left hand, a habit that you picked up relatively quickly after getting the piece of jewellery.

It hadn’t been a flashy proposal, no room full of a thousand candles, no plane flying over head asking the big question, it was just you and Harry in your home, if he was being honest it wasn't even planned, Harry saw you making tea for the both of you after returning from a day of interviews and couldn’t describe anything that he was feeling except he felt calm and he knew he wanted to feel like that, with you, forever. And so the ring that had been burning a hole in his handbag now resided on your ring finger and had for the past week unbeknownst to any of his family members. You had caved and face-timed your mum that night but Harry had insisted on surprising his mum with her future daughter-in-law for Christmas, telling you ‘you’ll be the best present she could've asked for this year. You’ll well beat the spa weekend Gem’s got her.’

Your name being called pulled you from your reminiscent day dream as you collected your two coffees and made your way back to Harry waiting in the car.

‘Mum said Gem hasn’t even left yet so we’ve got loads of time, think we’ll be the first ones there.’ He tells you as you pass him his coffee and get settled back into the car for the rest of the drive. 

•··°　• ·*　　·　·　★　.　✦　　　*　*　　.　 

Harry was right, you were the first ones there, a stark change from previous years where you two were pulling into Anne’s driveway when the only lights on the street were the occasional decorative light and Anne's living room where she was waiting up for you two. But this year you were the only car in the drive as Harry pulled off the main road to pull into the space next to his mum’s car. 

As soon as she heard your car, Anne was swinging the front door open to welcome you, no doubt she’d been up all day preparing for you and the others to arrive, her favourite time of year being when she gets all her babies under the same roof again. 

 Harry parked the car, and you were quick to jump out going to help unload the ridiculous amount of stuff that you’d brought with you for the two weeks you were staying up north. You took the two suitcases wobbling slightly as you hauled them into the entry way as Anne helped Harry with the bags of presents.

 As they made their way toward you into the house Anne drops her bag of presents at the door pulling you into a tight hug. 

‘You two can’t stay away for so long next time, even if you have to drag my son up here by his hair.’ she told you pulling away from the tight embrace. 

‘Right you two go get settled upstairs, all the rooms are set up, and I'll sort these out by the tree’ She says motioning to the bags of presents that had been abandoned on the floor during your reunion embrace.  

•··°　• ·*　　·　·　★　.　✦　　　*　*　　.　 

Anne had moved since Harry was a child, but she had made sure that both her kids still had their own rooms no matter how old they were or how long they’d been out of the house. Harrys being in the corner of the second floor of the house, looking out into the garden which in typical english fashion was sort of frozen over from rain and frost and sort of coated in snow. The walls of Harry’s room were a dark navy blue with the bed pushed to the window where Harry had already laid himself across.

‘Get up lazy bones.’ You teased throwing a sweatshirt from the case open in front of you at him. 

‘M up ‘m up, promise.’ he groaned sitting up on the bed looking at you now. ‘Have we decided how we’re gonna tell her yet.’ He asks referencing the rock on your left hand. 

‘Thought that was your thing to plan, haven't done your homework Styles’ you teased ‘Guess i thought i’d take my chances, Styles.’ He threw back at you ‘’sides she's gonna flip anyway we tell her, been on me for months to do it.’

‘I’m not a Styles yet, not for another few months anyway.’ 

‘Good as one now, unless you're planning on running away at the altar on me? Are ya?’

‘Course not.’ You assure him. ‘Now come here, need to help unpack.’

‘No, you c’mere don't need to pack, need to lay down, at least till Gem gets here an’ then we can tell ‘em together’ His hands grabbing for you to join him on the bed where he's now positioned himself closest to the wall, perfect for you to slide in.

You cave, making your way over to him on the bed, placing his arm over your waist and keeping hold of his hand. Harry sighs into your hair from where his chin now rests on you head, you know you shouldn’t really be napping but when you start to hear Harry’s quiet snores you start to close your eyes too. 

•··°　• ·*　　·　·　★　.　✦　　　*　*　　.　 

You’re both awoken to the sound of who you presume is Gemma pulling into the driveway and talking to Anne in the entryway as you and Harry had hours before. Harry is the first to move, prompting you to sit up too, both of you taking a moment to rub your eyes but eventually silently moving to go downstairs to greet the rest of the family. 

Gemma and Anne were both sat at the kitchen table having a cup of tea when you and Harry joined them. 

‘There you are! Both of you were dead to the world when I went up before to check how the unpacking was going’ Anne laughed as Harry gave his sister a hug and went to sit next to Anne and you sat next to Gemma. Anne getting up to get you both a drink, knowing that Harry wouldn’t drink his but getting him one anyway, too while you caught up with Gemma. 

So far no one had noticed the ring on your finger, when Anne returns to the table with your two mugs and a plate of Christmas themed biscuits, you place your elbow on the table and lean your head onto your left hand, now this catches Anne’s attention almost shouting ‘Is this what I think it is’ as she grabs your hand to have a closer look. 

You and Harry don't really have the words so just nod while both grinning and Anne and Gemma, still both squealing over the ring and repeating congratulations as you hold your hand out to show them both a closer look at the ring. 

You sat back in your seat as Gemma turned to Harry finally pressing him for details of how he popped the question as you know he’ll talk about it for hours if given the chance, so you let him repeat the story this time just smiling and occasionally adding your perspective to it.