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ja3yun · 9 months

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Stitch Me Up | L.HS

underground fighter!heeseung x nurse!reader

warnings: smut (mdni), ex heeseung, unprotected sex, cream pie, weapon and blood mention, if i missed anything lmk!

wc: 4.5k+

synopsis: after a tough shift in the hospital all you wanted was to rid yourself of the tension and your ex turns up just in time

a/n: hi! hope you're all doing well. a quick one shot from me so i hope you like it. not much to say on this one <3 ilysm

Dragging your feet behind you, you unlock your door. Everything that went wrong today could have gone wrong; first, you caught your fingers in the mobile hoist, a patient spat in your face, and you spent the last 30 minutes of your shift cleaning shit from the toilets.

No one ever said being a nurse was a glamorous job, but on days like these, you wish you picked something a little more dignifying.

You kick your shoes off and head to your bedroom to grab some pajamas. Every bit of you is emotionally and physically drained, this past month has been exhausting. Working 70-hour weeks and being underpaid for it was starting to take its toll on your fragile body.

Nights like these you miss Heeseung, you shouldn’t but you do.

Picking up scattered clothes that made a mess of your bedroom floor, you groan when your lower back aches. Someone in their 20s shouldn’t be in this much pain. They should be living their best life, staying up late, going out at the weekend, and having a healthy social life.

You love your job, it’s rewarding and you love to take care of people. Seeing people who are in your ward get better makes your heart feel full like your life is actually worth something and doing some good in this shitty world.

You used to have balance. Heeseung was your balance.

Sifting through your drawers you find some pink shorts with white love hearts and a cropped white tank top. Usually, you would settle for a set of sweats and a baggy t-shirt but after practically spending 3 days straight in unflattering scrubs you wanted something pretty.

When you walk you can feel the pain in your feet, and blisters start to form. You needed this shower asap. Luckily the bathroom is less than 5 steps away from your bedroom door so you can keep your hobbling to a minimum. The shower is so enticing as you switch the button on and set the temperature just right, or in your case, scolding hot.

A roasting hot shower is what you need to forget today. You need Heeseung’s hands to melt away the pain.

You miss him.

Heeseung and you have been broken up for precisely 1 month and 13 days. For some reason today you can’t shake him off your mind.

The water cascades down your skin, tiny droplets sit on your face as you wash your hair. The smell of coconut fills the tiny box bathroom and for the first time today, you feel content.

After you rinse the conditioner from your hair and wash your body with a matching scented soap, you pull the shower curtain back and step out carefully - the last thing you need is to fall and break a bone.

Wiping the mirror to rid it of the steam you stare at yourself. The dark circles under your eyes and the redness of your cheeks showcase just how tired your body is. Nothing an overpriced and overrated skincare routine can’t fix. You grab the cleanser and start your regime. It reminds you of him, how he used to always help you, the pads of his fingers gently rubbing the product into your skin, and when he had any left over he would use it on himself. He looked so cute and sweet during those times.

What is with you today? Why do you keep thinking about him?

Quickly, you dry your hair and body with the towel and get ready for bed. Typically, you would sit up and watch an episode or two of Brooklyn 99 but honestly, you’re too burnt out to enjoy it.

As you leave the bathroom there is a knock at the door and you freeze on sight. It’s late and none of your friends would come over, so your brain goes into panic mode. Being a girl alone in her flat was scary enough these days never mind taking in the factor of the time. All the lights are off so hopefully if you just stay still, they’ll leave.

Another knock.

Grabbing a coat hanger from the clothesline in the bathroom you arm yourself with it, it would do enough damage to the person on the other side of the door if you had to escape.

So you couldn’t second guess yourself, you briskly tiptoed to the door and swung it open, hanger tightly in your grip ready to swing.

The figure turns around and jumps, backing up when they see the coathanger ready to be lobbed at their face.

“Woah, Y/N. It’s just me.” He puts his hands in front of him in defense.

Heeseung.

You breathe out and relax, dropping your arms to your side. Although your exterior seems to have gotten over the fright, your heart is thumping still. That could be because when you look him in the eyes finally you register who he is.

“Heeseung it’s past midnight, what are you doing here?”

He steps forward and you see his face battered and bruised, his lip has been bust open and a black eye forming on the left side of his face, he was a mess. There have been countless times he’s looked like this, it’s how you two met.

A year ago there was a knock on your door, not unlike tonight, except that time your friend Jongseong was carrying a half-to-life version of Heeseung. The boy couldn’t stand on his own two feet.

“Y/N, sorry, I didn’t know where to go, he didn’t want to go to the hospital,” Jongseong explained, although it didn’t clear anything up.

“What the fuck, Jongie, who is this?” You grab the other side of the spent boy and sit him down on the couch, “What happened to him?” Looking at the guy in front of you, you see the blood on his t-shirt, slash marks on his arms, and his face is blown out.

Jongseong rushes to get the first aid kit from your bathroom, “He was fighting tonight and some arsehole pulled a knife on him, and got him in the stomach a few times,” You lift the fabric covering his torso and see wounds bleeding, “I tried to pull him out of the fight but he wasn’t having it.”

You don’t know a lot about Jongseong’s work life, all you know is that by day he’s a simple office body, filling, paperwork, a pen pusher of sorts. But when night came he was an underground fighter, all of it illegal, but he fell into it with some guys at the gym. From what you hear he is pretty good at it.

“Heeseung, buddy?” Jongseong slaps the boy's face a few times, “Stay awake, this is Y/N, she’s a nurse.” So his name was Heeseung.

“Jongie, these are pretty serious, he needs to go to the hospital.”

“No hospital.” Heeseung coughs out. You suppose if you take him to A&E how could any of them explain what happened?

You rub his legs to soothe him, “Okay, no hospital.”

That night you stitched his wounds and cleaned him up. Obviously, he survived, and you took him in like an injured winged bird. Let him stay at yours for 2 weeks, and by the time he was ready to fly away back into the world, you wanted him to stay forever.

You look him up and down to take in his outfit, he wasn’t wearing sweats so this wasn’t a scheduled fight, instead, he was clad in jeans, a White Stripes t-shirt, and a loose-fitting leather jacket, “What the fuck happened, Heeseung?”

“Is it lame if I say you should see the other guy?” He laughs but nothing is funny.

Stepping aside you let him into your flat which he does like second nature, his shoes left exactly where they used to go, “Heeseung you can’t just come here looking like this and not tell me what happened.” On autopilot, you go to get the first aid kit.

He takes a seat on your kitchen counter and looks around, “Nothing much happened, some guys being dicks.”

You come back from the bathroom and see him atop your kitchen, “Eh, get down from there. Now.” He always perched himself on anything but a seat. It didn’t bother you too much but right now after your shift, you couldn’t be arsed to pander to it, “Try and treat my place with a bit of respect please.”

Heeseung jumps off and walks to take a seat on the edge of your couch. It might be wrong of you to think it but he does look beautiful like this. You blame Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil for your attraction to busted up men.

As you open the first aid kit you feel his eyes on you, “Why did you come here, Heeseung? You could have treated this yourself.”

“I missed you.” He confesses and it’s true he did miss you.

For the past month he’s been throwing himself into fights he knows he won’t win just to feel something other than heartache. In spite of his cold attitude and reckless behaviour, he held your love so gently in his heart that he couldn’t even act tough around you. From the first day he laid eyes on you, he knew you had to be his, and if that meant opening up his heart, that’s what he did.

A first he thought it was because you were fixing his wounds and he owed you something but that thought quickly vanished when you fixed more than that.

“Heeseung, we broke up. It’s done.” You say coldly. With the thoughts of missing him earlier still fresh in your brain, you had to nip this in the bud.

When you broke up with Heeseung it wasn’t exactly because you wanted to, it was to protect yourself. His lifestyle and yours don’t mix, he was always getting into trouble and you were trying to avoid it at all costs. But more importantly than that, you couldn’t see the man you love come home every night exactly how he is now, broken and beaten.

The deeper into the fight circuit Heeseung got, the more dangerous it was. People were pulling knives, guns, and bringing back up, all for the sake of making sure their bosses won the bets. Your ex-boyfriend was a great fighter - or so you’ve heard, he never let you come to any of the fights - but these other guys played dirty and it was a threat to his life.

So when you asked him to stop and he said no, you did what you had to and called it off. You lost sleep, precious never to be taken for granted sleep, every night he fought and it was taking its toll on you. You tried to compromise with him and pleaded with him to go back to the regulated (if you could even call them that) fights, the ones where the stakes are lower.

However, Heeseung was above that now, too much of a hot commodity.

“Baby, I’m making us enough money so you don’t have to do so much overtime.”

“Seungie, I’m a nurse, all we do is overtime. Plus, this shouldn’t be about the money, it’s about your safety.” Your voice is cracking with every sentence you have uttered tonight, but he still won’t listen, “I’m not asking you to give it up, but please stop taking these high-stakes fights, you’re going to get killed.”

Heeseung scoffs and places a hand on your shoulder, “I won’t die, I’ve got you to stitch me up.”

“No, Seungie, you don’t. I can’t do this anymore.”

It was a brutal way to end it, none of you walked into that conversation expecting that outcome, but for you, it was the only thing you could do.

Soaking a cotton pad with some anti-septic, you place it gently on his lip, a hiss from him following your action, “Sorry.” You whisper. A sorry for the pain but also for breaking up with him. No matter how much you knew it was right for you, you knew it was hard on him. Opening himself up to love you wasn’t easy for Heeseung.

“I’m used to it, baby.” Your heart cries as he calls you baby, it always sounded so perfect coming from him.

“What did the guys do?” You ask and he looks at you with those beautiful eyes, masked behind purple and blue, “You said guys were being dicks, so what did they do?”

He didn’t want to waste energy on it, the fight being over in a flash anyway, “Just stuff. They got a jump on me hence the mess.” He moves his hand to gesture to his face but while his hand is already there, it engulfs yours, the one that’s cleaning the blood from his mouth, “Baby, I didn’t start it.”

“I know, Seungie.” You feel yourself falling back into how it used to be, his thumb running circles into your hand.

Once you finish up, you place a skin closure strip on his mouth, your thumb rubbing gently to secure it in place. He takes the opportunity to take your thumb into his mouth and you nearly moan at the intimate act.

But this isn’t how it is now.

“Heeseung.” You warn him.

He releases your thumb and sighs, “Habit.” He was a man of few words, you knew that, so there was no need to say anything more.

“You should go. Keep it clean, and put some ointment on that black eye.”

“I miss you so fucking much, Y/N.” Ignoring him, you walk into the bathroom to return the first aid kit, “Don’t you miss me?”

It almost makes you laugh. You missed him more than anything, so much so that after the shitshow that was today all you could think about was him. All you wanted was for him to wrap you in his arms and tell you everything is fine, but that is a wish that can’t be a reality anymore.

“It’s not about missing you Heese-”

“I’ll quit.”

You turn the bathroom light off and brush past him, “No, you won’t. We both know it so don’t lie to me, don’t start that now.”

Heeseung is a beat behind you when you walk into your bedroom, “Y/N, believe me.” He knew you didn’t need to believe him, there wasn’t even a reason to believe him because he had said this before. But this time is different, “If you just listen to me,”

“No, I don’t think I will.” The stare you have on him is angry, “I offered you a solution for all of this, and honestly? I am so tired of this conversation now. I need you to go.”

Hurt flickers in his eyes, “Baby, I’m miserable without you.”

Agitation builds up inside you. He’s acting like this is solely your fault, like you were the one that caused all this. Granted, you broke up with him but it was after giving him every solution to stop it, “This is not my doing, Seungie, okay?” He wants to retaliate but you snip in before he gets the chance, “You love fighting those losers more than you ever did me, you made that clear.”

He sees red at your allegation. How dare you even think for a second you weren’t his number one. Sure, he didn’t want to give up fighting, it was who he was, but he also didn’t want to lose you, he sees that now. He has to prove to you just how much you mean to him.

Heeseung takes two long strides to you and kisses you hungrily. It’s been so long since he felt your lips in his. The stinging from his wound is dull compared to how he feels to have you like this again, he has a whole month of kisses and fucking to catch up on and nothing will stop him.

“I love you so much don’t you dare fucking say that.” It was a rarity for him to say that he loves you out loud. You knew he did, it was his actions that showed his love more than words, but hearing it made your eyes well with tears. Because he didn’t say it much, you cherished every single time he did.

You fall onto the bed behind you, his weight crashing onto you as you both lose yourselves in the kiss, all that anger and hurt dissipated each of his kisses.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders you try and deepen the kiss but he pulls away. He takes off his jacket and t-shirt and that’s when you see the bruises dispersed along his chest and torso. This fight must have been a lot more brutal than he let on.

Sitting up you kiss each bruise while he straddles your lap, gently showing love for each one. The nurse in you wants to tend to them right away, they really did a number on his stomach and you’re slightly concerned about the damage done to his insides. But right now all he needs is a few kisses to make it better.

“They don’t hurt, promise.” He assures you, but if you kiss him too hard, which isn’t hard at all, he winces. To fixate on something other than the pain he whips off your tank top and just the sight of your breasts has him feeling a-okay, “Missed you so much.”

You could laugh at his obvious ogling but with your burnt out body and his just the same, you just needed to feel him, “Seungie, please,” You whine into his right peck as you kiss him over his darkest bruise again.

Heeseung understands your pleas and pushes you flat against the bed before undoing his jeans and not so gracefully kicking them off, “What do you want, baby? I’ll do it all.”

To quit fighting. That’s what you want to say, but you can’t risk the idea of an argument, not when you’re so close to having him inside you again, “Fuck me, Heeseung. Please.”

This is all he’s been dreaming about since you told him to go. Your love wasn’t the only thing he craved.

Dipping his head down to yours he kisses you again, his hands dipping into your cute pajama shorts to pull them down, “Can I eat your pussy baby?”

You would love nothing more than to feel his tongue all over you but you are truly exhausted, “I have had such a hard shift Seungie, just need your cock to make me feel better.” You’re lifting your hips into his as you say this, staring into his eyes to let him know he has to do this soon or you’ll crash.

“Okay, baby.” He brings two of his fingers to your folds to assess how easy you could take him. You’re wet but you could be wetter for him. Heeseung is an average size but if you’ve been without sex for a month like he had hoped you’d need a little more.

He clambers over you to reach the top drawer and grab some lube. His cock is basically in your face so who were you to not have a taste of it? You sit up on your elbows and your mouth engulfs his member. He's so shocked by the sudden action he nearly drops the bottle, “Shit, baby.” His free hand finds its way into your hair as you bob up and down his shaft, “Missed that mouth of yours.” He breathes out, “Missed it sucking me off, missed it saying my name, fuck I even missed it bossing me around.”

Pulling back you look at him with an unamused look but he uses it as an excuse to kiss you once again.

Slithering down to his previous position he coats his cock with some of the lube, sparing some for your hole, slipping a finger into you to slick your inner walls with it. You turn into a moaning mess as you feel his fingers for the first time in so long, your hips involuntarily buck up.

“I’ll only be a minute, baby.” Once he feels satisfied you won’t feel any pain, he slides his finger out and rubs the head of his cock on your pussy. He isn’t even teasing you but you feel like he is with how long he is taking.

Abruptly, he pushes into your heat, the feeling of you around him makes his head spin. No one will ever feel as good as you, that’s why he’s willing to do anything to have you, “So good,” he exhales, “So fucking good, baby.” Bottoming out, he can’t stop a loud groan from erupting out his mouth. You’ve missed the sound so much.

He starts to thrust into you at a fast pace once he knows your walls have settled, each hit making the room fill with sounds of skin slapping and curses. With the way he’s fucking you, you would think you hadn’t seen each other in years, but he craves you so much that even one day without the option of you around his cock was unbearable.

“Shit, Seungie please go faster.” He listens to you and picks up the pace, knowing how tired you are he needs to get you off quickly.

Between your thighs, his hand finds your clit as he starts to rub it harshly. You look unreal right now, with your mouth open and head thrown back into the mattress.

Lifting your right leg over your shoulder he reaches a deeper spot, his cock pounding into you with ferocity it makes you squeeze around him, “Oh fuck, baby, do that again.” You squeeze his shaft with your walls again, “Fucking pussy feels like heaven.” He whispers to himself.

His hips keep a harsh rhythm, the sharpness of each thrust sending you more and more over the edge, “Close.” Is all you say.

“Yeah? Gonna cum for me, baby?” he smirks, happy knowing that he’s about to feel your ecstasy around him, “Cum for me, Y/N.”

And just like that your pussy comes undone on his dick that is still mercilessly pummeling into you. A loud mewl draws out your mouth and your hands grab onto the duvet under you, he’s making you feel bliss right now.

Heeseung can feel himself getting closer and if he wants full satisfaction he needs to cum now while your walls are contracting thoughtlessly, he needs you to milk his cock dry.

Feeling him lose his rhythm a little you know he just needs a little something to bring him over the edge, “Seungie, need your cum so bad.” He loved it when you begged for his seed.

“Yeah? How bad?”

“I’m starving for it.”

The last few words have his hips stuttering and ropes of his cum shooting into you, filling you up just how you like it.

You’ve finally regained composure from your own high and just in time to see his slack jaw and eyes screwed shut. He was one of the few people that looked good when they orgasmed and you loved when you got to see him in all his glory.

Heeseung falls onto you briefly to catch his breath, the pain from his stomach coming back slowly but that doesn’t matter right now, “Let me clean you up.” He slides out of you and goes to get supplies to look after you.

Because your job requires you to look after everyone around you, it was nice how Heeseung would do aftercare so well, making sure you’re okay.

He takes a while but as he comes back he’s holding a damp cloth and bottle of water in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, “Sit up for me baby.”

After placing the tea and water on the bedside table he starts to run the cloth along your sensitve area. He loved to see you full of his cum, every time the white substance would leak from you he felt a bit of pride so washing it away like this was mourningful.

“I have quit.” He says lowly, “Fighting, I mean. I quit this morning.”

“But you only said you would quit earlier?” You question, recalling the previous conversation.

“I wanted to see if you would believe me.”

You’re dubious, not understanding what he’s saying, “You can’t just quit like that, Seungie. You told me it wasn’t that easy.”

And it wasn’t. It’s not like you can hand in a two week notice and call it a day, there are too many stakeholders involved, too much money being thrown around to just up and off.

“Yeah, you can see it wasn’t so painless.” He finishes cleaning you off and goes to place the rag in the washing basket.

“What do you mean?” As he walks into the room you see his bruises again and it all hits you at once, “The guys being dicks…”

Heeseung nods and jumps back into his boxers but not anything else with the hopes you want him to stay, “Told them I wasn’t doing it anymore and next thing I know I’m on the floor.” He laughs embarrassed at the memory.

This was technically your fault, you asked him to stop the high stake fights and this is what happened.

Seeing your face, Heeseung sits on the bed next to you and cups your cheek, “Hey, no, I know what you’re thinking but you didn’t make me quit. I chose too. This is my doing”

“But I asked you to.” You look down and trace over his bruises lightly.

“Yeah, but I said no at first.” His hand runs into your damp hair, “I decided to quit this morning because losing you isn’t worth it. I meant it when I said i’m fucking miserable.”

Sighing you fear this happiness in your chest is going to disappear at any moment, “It’s what you love though, Seungie.”

“I love you.” He hates that you have this preconceived notion that somehow he loves fighting more than you, “And I know I should have said it more when we were together but, baby, give me another chance so I can keep saying it.”

You want to cry again, “Have you actually quit? No more fights?”

He places his hand on his heart, “I quit, promise. The only fights now will be with guys who stare at you too long.”

Laughing, you remember a time he clocked two guys out for even offering you a drink. Heeseung has always been protective of you, that’s why you missed him so much today. Coming home after a grueling shift made you want nothing more than for him to hold you.

He’s offering you that chance again and you can’t turn it down, “I love you, Heeseung.”

“Fuck, baby, I love you too.” His lips are on yours again as he pours his love into you, his devotion.

Heeseung wasn’t letting you go again. Not for any fight in the world.

#enha smut #enhypen smut #heeseung #heeseung smut #enha x reader #enhypen x reader #heeseung x reader #aj writes #posted it early bc i'm feeling generous #enhypen angst

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planetkiimchi · 2 months

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sixth time's the charm | w.jh

no. 1 of my 100 followers event (requested)

featuring: coworker!jun x gn!reader

word count: 8832 words

summary — your coworker jun is naturally friendly and a little chaotic, but he also mistakenly thinks you like his crush. this love rivalry persists despite the two of you being friends, at least until he realises that the one he likes is you.

author’s note: thank you to @fairyhaos for beta-ing this, your comments are so appreciated. especially knowing now that you have such high standards for fics, i’m so honoured to receive any sort of compliment from you <3 thank you ara for the request and i hope you enjoy!

Your first day of work was in January, at the tail end of winter. People were trading their thick winter coats for thinner wool sweaters and cotton hoodies, slowly switching back to sneakers instead of the chunky boots they donned in the winter.

The temperature was still cold in the mornings, especially when people were heading to work. The streets were filled with people walking briskly, as staying idle for too long would let the chill seep into one’s bones.

You were no different, a long coat wrapped tightly around your work attire, the most formal you could get. You cracked your knuckles nervously as you came to a hesitant stop in front of an office building, indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings save for the large “JH Corporations” displayed across the front.

Inhaling deeply, you stepped inside.

You were greeted by the warm air of the heated building, and you took in your surroundings as subtly as you could, taking small steps towards the reception desk while your gaze wandered about.

Everyone there seemed to be in a hurry, impatiently bustling past with briefcases, holding onto their laptop cases and thick folders. The constant clicking sound of high heels against the floor seemed to match your heart rate, going tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

You made your way over to the reception desk.

“Good morning!” A cheery voice broke your train of thought, interrupting your anxiously racing thoughts and preventing you from spiralling.

Turning around to face the owner of the voice, you came face to face with a familiar face.

“Wen Junhui?”

The man in question grinned back at you. “Hi!”

So it was him. Junhui—”Call me Jun,” he’d said—had been there at your job interview, which had been done in a group, so both of you were probably starting at a similar level. Logically speaking, that day should also be his first day at work. However, unlike you, he looked a lot more at ease in this large building.

“Excuse me?” The receptionist tried to get your attention, and you blinked quickly before nodding.

“Yes, hi.”

You gave her your name and waited as she searched for your employee pass, before handing it to you, along with directions on how to get to your level.

You thanked her and turned to leave.

“I’m going to level three too, would you like me to show you there?”

Your heart, which had been beating painfully fast ever since you stepped foot into the building, slowed to a reasonable pace as you forced yourself to take a deep breath. Then, turning to face Jun, you smiled slightly.

“That would be great.”

Jun didn’t shut up the entire way to your desk. He looked tidy and well-kept, brown hair parted slightly off-centre, a tie around his neck. His smart black shoes clicked against the floor as he walked, and you noticed his fingernails were trimmed when he reached out to press the lift button.

“Y/n, right?” You nodded absently as Jun talked about this job, how his boss was rather friendly and how excited he was to be able to work in this team setting. Everyone was welcoming so far, and no one had belittled him as of yet.

During the elevator ride, you didn’t manage to get a single word in. Jun just kept on talking, somehow finding ways to fill the silence without you having to say a single thing. When he finally took a breath, you seized the opportunity to ask, “When did you start?”

“Last week! They asked me to come at the beginning of the new year, but I requested to start a week earlier instead, just after the winter solstice, so I could get acquainted a little earlier.”

Oh. That made sense. You briefly wondered why you hadn’t thought to do that yourself, stepping out of the elevator as the door opened onto the third floor.

You followed Jun through what felt like a winding maze of desks, all grey with some attempts at personalisation in the form of white mugs with “I ❤️ DAD” and “This is my fifth cup of coffee” printed across them, and cushions propped up on chairs for comfort.

“... And here’s your desk! Mine’s right across, so you can come over and ask me for help at any time. Just wave, and I’ll come over!” Jun smiled at you expectantly.

“Thanks?” you replied hesitantly.

“No problem!”

Smiling cheerily at you, Jun walked over and took a seat at his desk.

Breathe. You inhaled deeply, taking in your surroundings once more. This time, it felt a lot less scary. Each team had a semi-secluded area, with partitions sectioning off different teams, and your section was a little quiet but very conducive for working in.

The other people in the office had looked up briefly when you walked in, disrupted by Jun’s voice, waving politely at you before looking back down at their computers.

It didn’t seem like much, but you weren’t quite sure what you had been expecting in the first place. Setting your things down, you went over to find your team manager so you could officially start working.

—

Time passed too quickly. Soon enough, the project that the team had just undertaken was already almost half completed, and your working hours grew longer as the daylight stretched longer as well.

The sun set just after six, and you often got off work before then, so you would be home in time for dinner. Upon graduating from university, one of the first things you’d done was rent a house on the outskirts of the central business district.

It wasn’t the cheapest option, but luck was on your side, and the marketing job you had secured was enough to pay your rent.

Life wasn’t particularly luxurious; your flat was small and your meals were simple, but it was comfortable enough. On top of that, your transport fees were lower, since the office was located very close to where you lived.

That day, you were staying in the office a bit longer, staring blankly at the design drawn up on your computer and trying to figure out exactly what was off about it.

There was something about the design that didn’t work, and you intuitively knew that it had to do with the layout and the contrast in the colours of the background and the elements, but you couldn’t put your finger on what it was.

As the graphic designer on the marketing team, your workload was manageable, so this was your first time staying in the office past your stipulated working hours.

You rolled your neck around, hearing it crack, and fought the urge to rub your eyes. You turned the computer off and got up from your seat to take a bathroom break.

When you returned, there was a box of fried rice next to your keyboard.

Picking the box up, you looked around the section to see who had gotten the food. There were three people in the team still present; besides you and Jun, Yueyue was also working overtime that evening.

Yueyue had a reusable lunchbox by her side, and she took a mouthful of noodles into her mouth every once in a while, in between typing furiously on her keyboard.

Her clicks and the sound of her slurping the noodles were the only things disrupting the silence.

Jun was sitting directly opposite you, and he too had an open lunchbox beside him, along with a spoon, and he shovelled rice into his mouth every ten seconds or so. It was a bit strange that both of them had brought food from home, and yet there was takeout on your desk. It was especially strange because you knew you hadn’t ordered it.

As if sensing your confusion—or perhaps due to the fact that you had been standing in front of him for a good few minutes—Jun looked up.

He raised an eyebrow at you. “Are you planning to sit down soon? You’re kind of putting me off by just standing there.”

Oh. Embarrassed, you hurriedly sat down, but not before leaning over and asking, “Do you know who bought this?”, pointing at your own food.

“I did.” He looked back at his screen for a few moments, typed something out quickly, then moved his chair over so his view of you was no longer blocked by the screen.

“Minghao usually buys us food when we work overtime, but his mother’s health isn’t the best, so he took leave today to visit her in the hospital. Yueyue brings her own food, and I’ve started that habit too, but I noticed you hadn’t eaten so I got you something. I hope you don’t mind?”

You shook your head quickly. “No, I don’t. Thanks. I’ll pay you back, how much was it?”

Jun reached over to push your phone away. “It’s on me. Minghao even sent me money earlier on to make sure everyone in the team was fed, look.”

He showed you his screen, as if he felt the need to prove it to you, and you scanned Minghao’s texts.

Minghao (Team Manager): Make sure everyone eats well. Minghao (Team Manager): Tell them to go home before 7, it’s dark and cold outside, don’t want anyone falling sick. Minghao (Team Manager): Oh, also, tell Y/n to send me the draft of the advertisement by tonight. Minghao (Team Manager): Thanks.

“Say thank you to Minghao for me.”

Jun shrugged and put his phone away, “Already did.”

As you ate the fried rice, wrist cramping up from drawing the animations for the advertisement on your tablet, your heart felt extremely warm.

—

Becoming more comfortable with the members in your team also translated to becoming careless, it seemed.

One fine spring day, you awoke at eight-thirty to the sound of your ringtone blaring obnoxiously loudly in your ear.

"Please pick up, please pick up–"

"Hello?" you mumbled, voice a little raspy.

"Y/n! We have a meeting in an hour, where are you?"

Shit. You'd completely forgotten to set your alarm for that morning, having turned it off the day before for the Qingming Festival. You hadn't wanted it to ring while you were visiting the cemetery, which coincided with the time you normally woke up at.

To top it all off, after the long day, you'd had to take a long ride back to your flat from your hometown, which was a long way from Beijing.

You must have been so tired that night that you had forgotten to set your alarm.

"I'm still at home, is Minghao there?"

"Yes, and he's getting ready for the meeting already. He looks a bit pissed, you might want to hurry."

"Shit, yeah, okay. If he starts the meeting early, help me stall or come up with an excuse," you said.

Jun muttered something in acknowledgement.

"I'll hang up first, I've got to get ready and hopefully I'll reach on time."

"Hurry!" was the last word you heard Jun say before you hung up the call.

By some miracle, you ended up reaching the office 5 minutes before the meeting, wisps of hair falling into your eyes. You irritatedly pushed them away, taking the time to catch your breath as you turned your laptop on and tried to pull up your documents.

"Come into the meeting room now," Minghao ordered, and the team filed into the meeting room and took their respective seats.

You glared at the loading screen on your laptop, willing it to work more quickly. As Minghao said something about following the timeline and how the team was lagging behind and the client was beginning to get impatient, you did your best to listen and pull up the designs you'd done over the past couple of weeks.

However, luck was not on your side, because Minghao called upon you to present what you had done the moment he finished speaking.

You stood up hesitantly, eyes scanning your screen in a hurry, breathing still a little uneven. “Well…”

Jun let out a soft snort. You stole a glance at him, just in time to see him rolling his eyes before angling his laptop screen towards you.

“This is our advertisement video.”

Minghao took your cue to start playing the video, and you watched as your hard work came to life before your eyes. You’d watched it so many times, rewinding the animations over and over again until it was perfect, that it was no longer shocking to you how smooth the transitions were.

But seeing the video play in its entirety, not stopping every two seconds for you to fix something, you realised that you’d actually done well.

As the video came to an end, you launched into your spiel behind the technical aspect of the design elements, and Jun nodded attentively from his seat. Satisfied with your presentation, Minghao went on to the next person.

“Junhui, since you’re already prepared, tell us about the rest of the campaign and how you plan to manage the small budget we’re working with for this project.”

When Jun finished, Minghao raised an eyebrow, impressed. “Not bad, the two of you are a real match. Always good at thinking on your feet,” he said softly, just loud enough for the two of you to hear.

“A good match?” Jun fought to keep his volume down.

“I’m just saying, you’ve never called me when I was late.”

“Hao, when have you ever arrived any later than 8.30am?”

“It’s just a comparison.”

“I-” Jun threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Minghao shrugged and pointed at Jing Xuan, motioning for her to go next. You squinted at your team manager, then back at Jun, trying to figure out what their exchange could possibly have meant.

Yueyue went last, looking for you for help when she couldn’t recall the right word in Mandarin, and a couple of times you had to correct her pronunciation softly. She took it all in her stride, successfully completing her presentation of the segment she was in charge of.

Minghao ended the meeting with a short briefing on the development of the project and the client’s requirements, and gave updated instructions to each individual on the team.

Once he had finished speaking, the meeting was adjourned. Without hesitation, Jun grabbed Minghao’s hand and all but dragged him out of the meeting room, muttering something that sounded like “We seriously need to talk” as he strode away.

Curious, you did your best to subtly close your laptop and place it on your desk, before walking to the coffee lounge in what you hoped was an innocuous manner and casually inching closer towards the duo.

They were speaking in hushed tones, Jun’s brows furrowed and his tone of voice anxious, while Minghao was as relaxed as ever. In times like that, it was difficult to believe that Jun was a year older than Minghao.

You were a couple of years younger than Minghao, but you had changed jobs a few times, just like Jun, so Minghao was more senior than both of you.

However, Jun never really treated Minghao like a senior, although you could tell Minghao definitely treated Jun like a junior.

“What do you mean we’re a good match?” Jun hissed.

“I mean what I said,” Minghao replied, sipping his coffee.

“They like the girl I like, how could we be a good match?”

Too stunned to process Minghao’s reply, your mind blanked out as you heard Jun’s whispered words. In fact, you were lucky the cup in your hand didn’t shatter to the ground with how shocked you were feeling.

He liked Yueyue?

Yueyue’s English name was Luna, and she had joined the team at the same time that spring began. With her limited Mandarin, she struggled to communicate with the others, mostly electing to keep to herself and using Google Translate to send emails.

Having come from Singapore, your English was as good as Yueyue’s, and you were able to communicate effectively in Mandarin after your four years at university.

As such, for the time being, you basically acted as Yueyue’s translator, often helping her with her conversational Mandarin. Yueyue was a fast learner, and though sometimes she struggled with active recall, she was able to understand most conversations now without having to look the words up.

You hadn’t realised Jun liked her, but thinking back on it, you did remember Jun often looking at her while working, casting her glances when he thought no one else was looking. You recalled the way Jun hesitated before speaking to her, as if he had to gather his courage before speaking to her.

At the time, you’d simply thought it was because Jun’s English was extremely subpar, and the same could be said of Yueyue’s Mandarin, but now you knew it was more than that.

Even that time that Jun bought you dinner, you were fairly certain that he had gotten it for Yueyue, because it had come with a post-it note that was coming off the side, saying, “Enjoy your meal :)”. Jun must have been unsuccessful in removing it after he realised that Yueyue had brought her own food.

The puzzle pieces were all clicking in place, and your mouth invariably formed an ‘O’ shape as it all started to make sense.

Minghao elbowed Jun, jerking his head slightly in your direction. “Y/n’s staring.”

“Can you stop it, please, I—” Jun’s voice cut off as he turned to look at you. You were still deep in thought, and your unfocused gaze just happened to be facing Jun’s direction. “Oh.”

Minghao nodded. “Go on.” Then, as an afterthought, he added, “And remember what I said.”

Jun glared at him before standing up straight, leaving Minghao leaning against the counter with his mug of forgotten coffee, walking towards you.

He called your name, and you jerked your hand in surprise, spilling coffee on a stunned Jun.

He looked down at his white shirt in shock, frozen to the spot, and you covered your hand with your mouth. You hurriedly set the mug down, grabbing a bunch of tissue paper and pressing it against his shirt to dry it.

“I’m so sorry, you shocked me, I didn’t mean to stain your shirt. You can pass it to me, I’ll wash it, I’m really sorry—”

Jun called your name again, effectively stopping the flow of words that would have otherwise continued to stream from your mouth.

“Stop, it’s fine. It’s just a shirt, I can wash it myself.”

You opened your mouth in protest, and Jun’s eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. “Didn’t know this shirt mattered so much to you. If you want to wash it so badly, I’ll pass it to you after I’ve changed out of it.”

You could only stare in shock at his retreating back as he turned and left, mouth agape. What had Minghao said to him? It felt like the tectonic plates of your dynamics had shifted, but you wouldn’t quite be able to understand it until much, much later.

The first time.

There was a work party coming up, and you originally intended to ask Yueyue to go with you, if not as your date then as your friend.

Lo and behold, just as you opened your mouth to say “Yue”, Jun beat you to it.

“Y/n, would you do me a favour and be my work spouse for a night?” You furrowed your brows at his strange wording, glancing at Yueyue. The latter looked up, caught your eye, and shrugged helplessly.

“No,” you replied flatly. “Yueyue—”

“Pretty please?” Jun latched onto your wrist, tugging onto it like a little child would.

“No!” You pulled your hand away, shaking it in irritation. “Yueyue, will you please—” Before you could finish your sentence, Jun slapped his hand over your mouth, his other hand clutching your wrist again, preventing you from moving away or speaking.

When you finally struggled out of his grasp, you glared at him, beckoning him closer. As he leaned in, you stood on your tiptoes and hissed into his ear, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want you to go to the party with Yueyue,” he said simply.

“Who I go with is none of your business.”

“Well, both you and Yueyue are my coworkers, so it kind of is.” Then, before you could reply, he said loudly, “Anyway, we’re going together and that’s the end of it. If any of you try to steal my plus-one, you’ll never hear the end of it from me.”

You whipped your head around to see Yueyue’s reaction, and saw her sinking into her chair, the smile on her face dissipating faster than you could blink. Jing Xuan hid her smile behind her hand, calming herself before removing her hand and continuing to work. Minghao had no visible reaction, but his deliberate ignorance was enough.

You were well and truly alone in this struggle with Jun. You took one glance at your gleeful colleague, sighing in defeat.

—

By the time the work party rolled around, it was already summer. You decided to pack your outfit, leaving it hanging by your desk throughout the workday. Sometime early in the afternoon, Jun got up from his seat, collected the suit he’d hung next to the coffee machine, and glanced at Yueyue.

She was too absorbed in her work to notice. Jun scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and you subtly cleared your throat. “Yueyue,” you called softly.

She finally looked up, raising both her eyebrows at you. “Yes?”

You looked pointedly at Jun and jerked your head slightly in his direction. “He’s trying to talk to you.”

“Oh,” she replied, sounding surprised.

Jun smiled hesitantly at Yueyue, “Do you want to go get changed? Then we can take a taxi to the hotel together.” As he spoke, he moved his hands, pointing first at himself, then at Yueyue. His limbs felt longer than they usually seemed, and he looked like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.

Before Yueyue could reply, you cleared your throat again, causing both of them to turn towards you.

“Are you not inviting me to hitch a ride?”

Jun’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Then, he and Yueyue spoke at the same time:

“No.”

“Yes.”

The two glanced at each other, and turned back to you.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Jun caved first, hissing in irritation, saying, “Whatever. As long as Yueyue’s fine with it.”

The person in question smiled warmly at you, and nodded in reassurance. “Sure, you can come with us.”

As Yueyue stood up, you locked gazes with Jun, smiling triumphantly at him.

—

The ride there was tense. Not entirely because you’d figuratively shoved your way into the car, although you suspected that might be a big part of the reason. No, for some reason unbeknownst to you, the typically outspoken Jun had turned silent, nervously glancing at Yueyue from time to time.

Seated in the passenger seat, you couldn’t help but steal a glance at the two behind you from time to time, and yet nothing changed throughout the entire ride.

Jun kept looking down at his hands, playing with his fingers, and Yueyue stared out the window mindlessly.

You debated trying to strike up a conversation, but just as you opened your mouth to speak, the taxi came to a halt. Looking out the window, you noticed that the hotel that had been booked for this party was much, much fancier than you had imagined.

The imposing building stood apart from the plain buildings around it, the stairs leading up to the entrance all lit up. The evening had just begun, and the sun was beginning to set, and the lights drew attention to the hotel.

Inwardly, you sighed in relief that you had chosen one of the more elegant items of clothing in your wardrobe to wear that night, because you were sure that being underdressed would have ruined your whole night.

Too caught up in admiring the grandness of the hotel, you didn’t make a move to step out of the car until Jun opened the door for you, and you stepped out. It seemed only natural to take his hand, although the moment your hand was in Jun’s, you realised that it might be overstepping slightly.

Jun’s hand was warm, enveloping your smaller hand in it completely. Yueyue came to stand behind you, amazed by the scale of the event.

“Let’s go in,” Jun suggested, and you nodded dumbly, following him inside.

Seeing Minghao eased everyone’s nerves a little, and soon there was a small congregation of five near the entrance, all keeping a close watch on the rest of your colleagues.

Since you often came to work in a sectioned-off area, and only worked closely with your teammates, you didn’t recognise any of your other colleagues. However, you couldn’t say the same for Jun.

As an elaborately-dressed young man walked past you, Jun seemed to recognise him, waving hello. Minghao could see that Jun was itching to socialise, and urged the rest of you to find people to talk to as well, leaving with a reassuring smile and a pat on your back.

You stuck to Yueyue like glue, the two of you acting like outsiders in this unfamiliar environment that was far out of your comfort zone, until someone Yueyue knew walked by and struck up a conversation with her. Not wishing to be the third wheel, you watched them walk off, standing awkwardly by the side and wishing the time would pass faster.

Fortunately for you, a kind soul noticed you standing on your own and came over, casually asking for your name and which team you were in. The man, Kun, had a warm face and a comforting voice, easily calming you down.

Halfway through a rather engaging conversation about stocks, you felt the need to visit the restroom, and looked around for someone to help you hold your things.

You would have gone to one of your teammates, but Yueyue and Minghao were having a heated discussion with a group of unfamiliar people, and Jing Xuan was nowhere to be found. Of course, there was Jun, but he flitted from group to group without giving you a chance to catch up to him.

You excused yourself to go to the bathroom, clutching your purse. Before you could leave, Kun reached out and offered to help you hold your things, and you thanked him with an embarrassed smile.

When you came out of the bathroom, you were greeted by an unhappy Jun.

He was standing in the corridor in front of the bathroom, not even on his phone, simply holding your purse and staring at the doorway, waiting for you to emerge.

You had been expecting to see Kun waiting there, prepared to thank him once more. Instead, the person awaiting you was Jun, and the lack of a smile on his face was disconcerting to say the least.

You couldn’t remember a time you hadn’t seen Jun smile. He had a pleasant disposition and a happy-go-lucky attitude, so seeing him with a poker face was a rare sight.

You reached to take your purse from him without a word, but his grasp on it only tightened as your fingers brushed against his.

“Why didn’t you come find me to help you hold your things?” he asked, volume soft but tone threatening.

You shrugged. “Kun offered to help me before I could go to find you.”

“We’re here together,” Jun insisted. “You’re acting like you hate me.”

You raised your eyebrows, slowly appraising him. “Oh, really? Funny, that’s exactly the same sentiment I received earlier, when you outright refused to let me take the same fucking taxi as you. Is being in my presence such a horrifying thought that you would refuse to take the same car as me after asking me to be your plus-one, deliberately preventing me from getting the date I wanted?”

Stunned, Jun’s grip on your purse loosened, and you shouldered your purse and turned to leave. He grabbed your wrist, and you whipped your head around to glare at him, causing him to immediately let go.

“I’m sorry.”

You stood there, not speaking, but the fact that you weren’t leaving was enough for Jun to continue, “I didn’t mean to upset you. Yes, I wanted to go with Yueyue alone, and yes, I ruined your chance to ask her, and yes, it’s hypocritical of me to expect you to act nicely towards me when I’ve been nothing but an asshole this evening.”

“You left the team first, so anxious to talk to that friend of yours that you didn’t even spare the rest of us a second glance,” you accused.

Jun shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “I’m sorry.”

You nodded curtly in acknowledgement, ready to leave, but Jun called out your name before you could take a single step.

“You can join me for the rest of the evening if you want. Since we’re supposed to be together for the night.”

You looked at him slowly, taking in his pose, rocking on his feet, thumbs stashed into his pockets. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, and some sadistic part of you felt glad you were making him feel that way.

After a long moment of deliberation, you nodded. “Sure.”

The second time.

Jun introduced you as his work spouse for the rest of the night. The first few times, you raised your eyebrows in shock, meeting his mischievous gaze, and his disarming grin told you to leave it be.

So you did, not even batting an eyelash when he proudly showed you off for the rest of the night, your heated conversation from earlier almost forgotten.

You supposed that was one of his charm points, that he didn’t hold grudges. Jun had a forgiving personality, and it made interacting with him comfortable and easy.

As the night passed, your eyelids started drooping, and it became increasingly difficult to pay attention to the conversation topic at hand. Bidding goodbye to a few of your colleagues, you took some time to stand by the side, hiding your yawn behind your hand.

“Tired?” Jun asked, accompanied by a soft laugh.

You nodded. “I think I’ll head home soon.”

“I’ll send you home.”

You cocked your head at him, then shook your head. “There’s no need, you should stay if you want to.”

At that, Jun scoffed, then shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I’d rather not. Besides, it’s not like I would understand what they’re saying without you to translate; their use of technical jargon is way out of my vocabulary range. This entire night, I’ve been piecing together the meaning of their words from your replies.”

You laughed to yourself. “Really?”

Jun nodded. “I’m serious. Anyway, it’s dark outside; you shouldn’t go home alone.”

The corners of your lips lifted, “Didn’t know Wen Junhui was such a gentleman.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

You elected to ignore that sentence, turning on your heel to leave, and Jun chased after you, matching your long strides. Outside, you hailed a car, and Jun rushed to open the door for you.

You hesitated just a second before stepping into the car. Earlier that evening, you’d assumed that Jun had opened the door for you out of formality, because Yueyue was present and he was getting into character for having to spend a night with you.

However, with a night so bleak and the dim glow of the streetlights barely lighting up the roads, there was no one to see his actions then, and everything he was doing was just between the two of you.

Perhaps he really was a gentleman, and it was out of habit that he opened the door for you. You wouldn’t know.

Because Jun was right. There was a lot you didn’t know about him.

The third time.

That incident remained at the back of your mind as concerns about the project wrapping up took priority, especially when finishing the tail-end of the promotions. You were often busy working, and had little time to spare to think about other things.

By then it was summer, and it often rained in the afternoons. Sometimes it only drizzled lightly, and sometimes the thunderstorms were so loud that you could feel your eardrums vibrating.

That day it started out drizzling lightly in the morning. At first, you thought nothing of it, expecting it to stop raining by evening. However, an hour or so before you got off work, it was still pouring outside. The rain didn’t seem like it will stop soon, and you sighed in resignation. You'd foolishly hoped that the rain would have stopped after pouring the whole afternoon, so you'd be able to get home without getting soaked.

However, you were almost about to leave, and yet the rain was still pouring ceaselessly down. You rummaged through your bag for an umbrella.

Even though your hands were occupied, something at the back of your mind told you that you'd forgotten to put the umbrella in your bag this morning. Your search proved futile, and you recalled seeing the umbrella resting on the shoe rack that morning, but you had no memory of putting it into your bag.

You ran through the options in your mind. You could make a dash for it—the building wasn’t too far away from the bus stop—but you didn’t particularly feel like taking the bus home while soaking wet. The other option was waiting it out, but you hadn’t had dinner yet and you were absolutely famished.

You inhaled through gritted teeth, mentally preparing yourself to run through the rain, when a voice cut through your thoughts.

"Are you walking to the bus stop?"

You locked eyes with Jun, who'd just asked the question, and nodded.

"I'm walking there too, shall we go together? We could share an umbrella," he said.

Oh. You felt a ripple of warmth spreading through your body. He'd noticed. You swallowed and nodded. "That would be great. Thanks."

To be honest, you weren’t sure what to think of the gesture. Jun was nicer to you lately, and whatever odd tension between the two of you that had laced your interactions had died down too. You still talked to Yueyue, but more for work than any other reason. Jun, too, seemed to be taking it easy, reducing his attempts at chasing her.

Jun stood up, closing his laptop, and you kept your things as well. He came over to you, umbrella in hand, which caused Minghao to look up from his seat.

“Leaving so early?” This sentence was directed at Jun.

“Yeah. Gotta send my work spouse home, they forgot to bring an umbrella.”

You rolled your eyes at the term, but Minghao didn’t even flinch. “Okay, don’t get too wet.”

Tilting his head, Jun gestured for you to follow him out.

It was a silent walk to the bus stop, both of you all too aware of your proximity to each other, trying not to step too far out of the umbrella for fear of getting soaked. The sky was dark, covered by clouds, and the floor was slippery, so you had to take great care not to slip.

Jun maintained a small gap between the two of you, tilting the umbrella slightly to your side, but when you finally reached the bus stop, both of you were dry.

“Thanks.”

Jun looked up from the umbrella, smirking when he saw the grudging expression on your face. “No problem.”

The fourth time.

When Minghao said you would be going on a trip together as a team, you weren’t expecting that to entail camping in the middle of the woods—”Nature reserve, Y/n, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said that already”—and definitely not when you realised you’d have to put up your tents by yourselves.

Not that you were incapable of putting up a tent, but you weren’t keen on the idea of sleeping without a mattress. With your terrible posture and the way you kicked in the night, you could already foresee the backache that would result from this wonderful idea.

At least it was summertime, so you wouldn’t have to worry so much about freezing to death. Minghao and Jun were sharing a tent, of course, because there had never been much to debate about that. Yueyue and Jingxuan were sharing the other 2-person tent, which meant you were left with the smallest tent to yourself. Fortunately, you didn’t mind.

Putting up the tents was a two-person job, and you were embarrassed to admit that you needed help doing it. Obviously, stubborn as you were, you’d tried to set it up by yourself, but trying to place the groundsheet on the ground with only two hands was difficult. You could only hold two corners at a time, and the material of the groundsheet made it such that it kept creasing in ways you didn’t expect, so after a few minutes of trying, you eventually gave up.

You helped Yueyue and Jingxuan fit the tent poles through the loops of the tent, the three of you cheering when the tent started to take shape. Once the tent and flysheet were secured, you asked them to help you set up your tent, only to realise Minghao was the only one setting up his and Jun’s tent. Jun was standing behind you, watching the three of you awkwardly, grinning crookedly at Yueyue when she turned to face him.

Rolling your eyes, you went over to help Minghao.

Minghao raised his eyebrows when you came over, starting to speak before your hands even touched the pegs.

“I’m extremely particular about these sorts of things, by the way. That’s why Jun’s not helping me. So if you do something that I don’t like, there’s a high chance I’ll just undo it and redo it myself.”

You shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Also, please put the pegs in well, because I’d prefer to not have to wake up in the middle of the night to find my entire tent blown away.”

You nodded. “Sure.”

After a moment of silence, you tugged at the loops at the bottom of the tent, wiggling the tent pegs deeper into the ground. You packed the soil into the holes you’d made, shaking the pegs to check that they were secure, and stood up with a triumphant smile.

Minghao made his rounds, adjusting the flysheet. Hands on his hips, he walked one round around the tent, inspecting every small bit, using his shoes to check that the pegs were secure. Satisfied, he looked to you with grudging approval.

“Not bad.”

You smiled to yourself, knowing that in Minghao’s dictionary, that was a high-level compliment. Turning back to your own tent, you noticed that Jun and Yueyue were almost done setting it up.

You would have gone over to help, but you didn’t want to interrupt. You turned back to Minghao, who was already climbing into his tent and unpacking his luggage.

“Need help?” you asked Yueyue, deliberately choosing to use English because you knew Jun wouldn’t understand.

She shook her head. “We’re good, I think.”

You glanced at Jun, who was biting his lip in concentration as he slotted the bendy tent pole ends into each other until the tent began to take shape.

“Jun? I can take over from here, you should go ahead and unpack.”

Jun’s head whipped up, and he glared at you for a moment before realising Yueyue was watching him. “I don’t have much to unpack,” he replied simply.

“You sure? I saw how big your luggage is.”

“It’s fine, I can help Yueyue for a little longer.”

“Actually…” The two of you turned your attention to Yueyue, who continued, “I think I need to unpack. I’ll leave the two of you to it?”

You smiled warmly at her. “Go ahead.”

“Yue…” Jun’s voice trailed off as she walked away, glaring at you fiercely.

You pretended not to notice as you focused only on getting your tent up, and once it was set up, you finally paid attention to the way Jun was staring at you. He stood on his tiptoes to tie the knot that secured the tent poles to the flysheet, then stalked over to you.

“Y/n, what the fuck—” The moment the curse word left his lips, Jun looked almost apologetic. He pressed his lips together, silent for a moment, before deciding to continue. “Why would you purposely ask her to leave? We were doing fine, we’re literally helping you set up your tent, I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what? I just reminded her that she still had to unpack.”

“It won’t take that long, don’t play dumb. It’s still bright, and we both know Minghao always gives enough time for everything. It wouldn’t kill her to start unpacking later.”

You shrugged, your gaze slanting towards the other tent. “Tell her that yourself, it’s not like I told her to leave.”

“Cut the crap, Y/n. Why are you acting like this? I thought we were friends.”

“Why am I sabotaging your attempts to hit on her, you mean? I'm not trying to. I’d just prefer it if you didn’t do it while setting up my tent.”

“I-” Just then, Minghao tapped both of your shoulders, jerking his head towards the centre of all the tents. He looked pointedly at Jun for a few moments, then left without saying anything.

“I’m going to set up a fire,” Jun said. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Maybe,” you muttered unhappily under your breath.

—

After dinner, which was cooked over the fire—definitely an experience—the five of you sat by the fire, admiring the orange-red sunset. As the sun disappeared on the horizon, the temperature grew colder, and everyone subconsciously shifted their chairs closer to the crackling fire, jackets wrapped tightly around themselves as they extended their fingers towards the glowing flame.

When all the conversation topics had been exhausted, so was Jingxuan, as evidenced by her sudden yawn. Claiming that it was time for her to turn in, she got up. Not wanting to leave her alone, Yueyue took her leave as well. That left you, Minghao and Jun by the fire, moving your chairs so each had a warm spot.

“Y/n?” You glanced at Jun, bracing yourself for the argument you felt was sure to follow. You were naturally argumentative, there was no denying it, and though Jun wasn’t one to start an argument, he always wanted to win them.

You jerked your head in acknowledgement, waiting for him to continue.

“Are we friends?”

You frowned. That wasn’t what you’d been expecting at all. “Yes?” you replied tentatively, unsure where this was heading.

“Do you like Yueyue?”

You almost laughed. “No.” You didn’t and would never like her that way, probably. She was nice enough, but not exactly your type. You weren’t sure where Jun had got that notion from, but he seemed to be clinging on to that thought since you first joined the company all of 8 months before.

“Then what’s your deal? It feels like you’re doing this on purpose, trying to keep me away from her. If you like her, and she likes you back, fine. I’ll stop pursuing her. But you don’t even like her, so I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

You pursed your lips together, trying to identify the feelings messing up your head, like water after a dirty paintbrush was dipped into it.

Jun looked at you earnestly, eyes wide as he awaited your reply. After a moment of silence, you shrugged helplessly. “I can’t say what it is. But you’re right, I’m being unreasonable. So, how about this: I’ll leave the two of you be if you don’t flirt right in front of my face, deal?”

Jun stuck out his hand, adding, “You’re still my work spouse, right?”

Taking his hand, you nodded. “Sure.”

Just then, an ear-piercing shriek sounded in the otherwise quiet camping place, and the three of you gathered around the fire stood up simultaneously. Minghao was the fastest to get to Jingxuan and Yueyue’s tent, and the two of them ran out of the tent, Jingxuan’s face white with fear.

“There was a rat!” she cried out. “I swear it bit my fucking toe.”

Upon hearing this, Jun looked rather faint. You moved to help Jingxuan get her shoes, bringing her to the campfire to take a seat first. Yueyue helped Jun to sit down, and you left the three of them to get jackets for Yueyue and Jingxuan.

Meanwhile, Minghao took his phone and turned the flashlight on, inspecting the tent and the area around it.

He came back a couple of minutes later, having ascertained that the rat was gone, but by then everyone had grown comfortable and too tired to move. Jingxuan and Jun were fast asleep, heads propped up on their fists, and you watched Yueyue carefully.

Her hands were shoved into the depths of her pockets, her lips forming a pout absentmindedly, hair tucked behind her ears.

Yueyue tapped Jun’s shoulder to rouse him, and the two of you guided your half-asleep colleagues into their tents before everyone finally fell asleep.

The fifth time.

By then it was autumn, and September was drawing to a close. It was an ordinary work day, a couple of hours before lunch, and Jun suddenly stood up, rummaged through his bag, before procuring a card from his wallet and stalking over to Minghao’s desk.

“You busy?” Minghao nodded without looking up. Jun placed the card on his desk, saying, “I’m using this.” Minghao barely spared the card a second glance before saving his progress and getting up from his seat, gesturing for Jun to follow.

The two of them entered the meeting room, your gaze following them curiously. You met Jingxuan’s eyes, both of you just as confused as each other.

You stood up, walking over to Minghao’s desk, examining the card left behind on the desk. It said, in Minghao’s neat handwriting, “15 minutes of my time. Use whenever.”

You furrowed your brows, placing the card carefully back to where it had been before, heading back to your seat.

Jun and Minghao exited the room not long after, Jun looking conflicted. You followed him with your eyes as subtly as you could, watching as Minghao sat in his seat, looking at the card on the table and furrowing his brows. Looking up, he met your gaze, tilting his head.

Shit. Had you not put the card back properly? How did Minghao know? But to your surprise, your team manager didn’t speak, smirking before returning the card to Jun.

“Team drinks later after work,” he announced, not as a question. The other members of the team looked up briefly, nodded, then returned to their work. You continued to watch Jun sit at his desk, bury his head in his hands, then mess up his hair in frustration.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he opened his laptop and began to work.

—

That evening, the five of you sat at the front of the bar, talking between drinks. After Jingxuan’s story about her landlord drastically inflating the rent when he found out that Jingxuan and her roommate were splitting the costs, you recalled an incident you had just had.

A couple of weeks ago, you’d seen a stray cat on the streets, and decided to take it in. You’d since taken it to the vet for a proper check-up, and had made an appointment for it to get spayed. The only issue was that your landlord didn’t allow tenants to keep pets, and you weren’t sure you could keep it a secret when she came over to check.

“Come stay with me,” Jun said. His tone was teasing, but when you looked at him, his gaze seemed earnest, burning into you with his sincerity. The way he said it, it wasn’t really a question.

“I mean it. If you need a place to stay, come stay with me.”

Normally you would tease him for how serious he was being, but something about the fraught silence and the surrounding atmosphere stopped you from making fun of him. Instead, you watched him carefully, never breaking eye contact, and nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

“Lighten up, my work spouse. You’re acting like we haven’t known each other for a year already,” he said, already back to his old self. You only nodded in reply.

Bonus: the time where he leaves out the “work”.

When you first joined the company, little did you expect that three years down the road, you’d end up waking up next to the man you’d met at your interview, the one with brown hair and dark eyes and a sharp smile.

It had started out with him liking your friend, with tensions here and there due to both of your stubborn tendencies. Your personalities clashed often, resulting in disagreements that turned everyone’s moods sour.

However, you were still mature adults, and after a period of working together, you learned to be more accommodating of his differing opinions and habits and vice versa. Through the shared bonding over working overtime and walking home in the rain, you grew from mere colleagues into friends, growing close enough to talk about more than just the latest project you were working on.

Of course, growing from friends into lovers was slightly more complicated, and you had Minghao to thank for helping you along.

You never realised, but Minghao was the first to notice that you were starting to like Jun. If it weren’t for Minghao subtly helping Jun to grow closer to you, the rivalry may have extended for a far longer period of time than just a few months. Especially with the misguided notion that you liked his crush, Jun would not have been as willing to be your friend without Minghao’s constant nudging.

Almost a year after you had met, before getting drinks together and Jun’s fateful statement that led to the two of you moving in together, Jun had realised that he liked you.

He liked you, not Yueyue. The realisation had been startling, and in a daze, he’d used the card Minghao had given him for his birthday to ask for Minghao’s attention. In those 15 minutes in the meeting room, Jun had voiced out his concerns and desperately asked Minghao for some form of advice.

Jun later told you that Minghao’s answer then had been a simple, “I think you like Y/n.”

Having been in denial for so long, it took Jun a while to realise that his feelings for Yueyue had slowly dissipated over time, and that the lingering sentiments were only platonic, whereas his feelings for you had only grown.

Minghao had offered a simple solution to ease Jun’s heavy heart—drinks with the team. Unbeknownst to him, this action had led to Jun’s implied confession and indirectly caused the two of you to finally get together.

Jun snuggled into your embrace, interrupting your thoughts, nuzzling the underside of your chin and burying his face in the crook of your neck.

”Good morning,” you whispered softly, fingers running through his soft hair. He looked up at you briefly, as if checking over every feature of your face, before nodding in satisfaction and shutting his eyes again.

A peaceful smile came over his face, the blissful expression on his face causing you to smile as well.

”You should marry me,” he mumbled, hands tightening around your waist.

”That’s sudden. Where’s the ring?” You teased.

”Haven’t bought it yet,” he frowned. “But if you don’t say yes, then I wouldn’t have to return it.”

You let out a little laugh. Practical as always. “And if I say yes?”

Eyes still closed, he reached over you to the bedside table, fingertips trailing to the first drawer. He pulled it open, and you turned your head to look. There, sitting on top of your favourite books was a nondescript black velvet box. “Pass it to me,” he said, blinking his eyes slowly open.

You passed it to him without a word and he scrambled to sit up in the bed, both knees tucked under him in a kneeling fashion, opening the box to reveal a ring with a silver band, with a small jewel atop it.

”You said you don’t like fancy things, right?”

Struck speechless, you didn’t protest as he gently took your left hand, slipping the ring onto your fourth finger. He pulled your head in towards his chest, kissing the top of your head.

Just like that, Jun’s proposal to you was as simple and direct as the time when he asked you to move in, less of a question than a request, one that you would gladly agree to.

#k-labels #🪁 — my works #📸 — the media #jun #jun x gn!reader #jun x reader #jun x yn #jun x y/n #jun x you #seventeen x reader #seventeen x yn #seventeen x y/n #seventeen x gn!reader #kpop fanfic #seventeen fanfic #svt x you #svt x yn #svt x gn!reader #svt x y/n

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savnofilter · 1 year

Text

Text Me Back | Katsuki Bakugo

Pro Hero!Katsuki Bakugo x [FEM]Reader

CONTENT WARNING(S): sexual content, sexting, sending nudes, crude jokes, mention of myspace™, p.o.v switches, established relationship.

WORD COUNT: 4k words [15 mins].

READ MORE: masterlist + [student masterlist].

A/N: gosh i wish i couldve done more with this but... i'll figure it out later. may revamp or do a part 2 but it depends on how motivated. anyways, enjoy. 🥹 also i just realized that reader did nothing the whole day LMAOOOO so ignore that pls omg. thank you, anon!

As spring rolled around, the air had a certain chill to it.

It was a crisp scent with sharp edges, the smell of growing plants clinging onto the molecules within the vicinity. As a result of the coolness in your room, you probably should turn on the heater in your apartment. Usually, you wouldn't have to worry about doing it yourself, but due to maintenance delaying another day later to fix the issue, you now find yourself in an internal battle to get up out of your bed for your comfort.

Of course, you didn't hate the spring atmosphere. You liked it. The nostalgic and tender feel it gave your body and mind gave a fake sense of comfort that you desired. But you would desperately love it more if you could bask in such ideals while in the comfort of your lukewarm sheets, temperature heightened by the air of the room.

You groan in disdain at the fact you had to get out of your bed. You begrudgingly roll onto your side and feel around for your phone on your nightstand. Once finding your device you click the button on the side to partially unlock it to see what you have missed from being asleep. Of course, regular things like Twitter notifications were present, Snapchat, Instagram, MySpace, etc… until a message stuck out the most amid your roll call.

Bakugo 🤭💕

Light schedule today, museum date?

I know you will wake up late, so I'll decide for you. Pick-up is at 7 p.m.

[✓] Sent 8:42 A.M.

You immediately perk up at the notification, a goofy smile spreading onto your lips.

Bakugo has been your boyfriend for about three years now. You had originally met years prior when you both were in school. Him being an intern for superhero-ing and you were an intern for hands-on training within the superhero management world. You were a little shit and he was an even more of a little shit… and that's what made you two click. Even with his calloused way of showing his emotions, he had still been pretty evident about his feelings towards you when you two were merely friends. In the same way, you two could work and piss each other off to no end, there was a great sense of duality showcased by empathy, love, and compassion toward each other. When you needed someone or something, you could always count on your boyfriend, Katsuki.

You chewed the inside of your lip as your brain racked your head at the things you needed to do today. Today was Friday so you were sure you wouldn't have anything on your schedule. But because you tended to let things slip your head, you still had to double-check to make sure. You light up once again as you realize today was only a busy day for yourself—chores, errands, and minimum job-related things you could finish at home. Nothing dire; just adulting.

You

and what if I said no????

how'd y'know i'd wake up late lol

[✓] 13:01 P.M.

After quickly adjusting your noise settings from silent to vibrate, you bring your phone back down onto the nightstand and properly sit up to avoid your back from aching at an uncomfortable angle. You stretch in delight, arms brought over your head and your eyes shut exerting all of the drowsiness within you. You coil back into yourself once the cold air you had forgotten about hits your skin as a rude reminder. You glare at the thermostat before swiftly throwing your covers off and trudge your way to the small dial and fix the dilemma yourself.

While fiddling with the switch, you hear your buzz behind you. Your brows scrunch in frustration as you can feel yourself start to get agitated at how it's acting, finally getting the stupid little compartment to work before walking off. You nearly trip on your way back to bed in an effort to get back to the warmth of your bed.

Bakugo 🤭💕

You always wake up in the evening, dumbass.

& you have a free schedule today.

[✓] Sent 13:08 P.M.

You scoff.

Your chat bubbles float up on the screen on his end as you try to think of something more annoying to combat him with. You fall short.

You

Damn.

[✓] Sent 13:11 P.M.

You think to yourself before pausing and sending another text.

You

shouldn't you be at work? why are you texting me

a kid is probably drowning rn bc Lord Explosion Murder Dynamight is sexting his girlfriend instead of doing his job.

did you change your name to your hero name AGAIN???

[✓] Sent 13:15 P.M.

If loving this kind of banter was something that you enjoyed, may the devil take you away. You couldn't help the grin mischievously as you waited for his correspondence. You were practically on the edge of your bed waiting for his reply.

A few minutes go by and he hasn't replied. There's a pang of hurt following your spiraling thoughts. Who cared if a kid was really drowning-

Bakugo 🤭💕

↳{replied to your text: shouldn't you be at work? why are you texting me}

Is work in the room with us?

[✓] Sent 13:25 P.M.

You're almost quick to reply before seeing his speech bubbles pop up again, eyes watching in interest. You can't help but feel nervicited seeing it disappear and reappear, proud to have stunned him. What you didn't know is what he was fixing himself to say.

Bakugo 🤭💕

↳{replied and highlighted: … Dynamight is SEXTING HIS GIRLFRIEND instead of doing his job.}

No pic, no proof

[✓] Sent 13:27 P.M.

You squint at your phone and pause. Did he just quote the way you talk AND send you a musty and memefied reply all in one go? You huff at his bravery, rolling your eyes but feeling a deep blush creep up on your cheeks. Your phone vibrates.

Bakugo 🤭💕

Don't tell me you folded that fast, babe.

[✓] Sent 13:31 P.M.

Oh, but you did. You weren't expecting him to fire back at you like this. Often when you made an innuendo of some sort he'd whine and brush it off as if he hasn't beaten your doonies down multiple times—sometimes all in one night. But you refused to let him win this. You need to think fast.

Again, the cool air caresses your exposed hand, the stroke of the uncomfortable chill making you hiss. You position yourself on your back where you can safely cover the backs of your hands as you held your phone. A few more minutes had passed than you had noticed, your screen growing dim as you were forced to look at your newly awakened and chilled state.

That's when it hit you.

No pic, no proof, right?

As you shiver feeling a stroke of air pass over again, a sign that the temperature in the room is actively changing, you look down at your chest. In your defense, they looked at you first. Your nipples are profoundly erect and poking at your shirt begging for attention. You purse your lips before looking back at your screen, contemplating your next moves. Sucking in a small breath you quickly awaken your phone and swipe your screen over to take a photo of yourself.

You angle the electronic to show your chest, your other hand dragging up some of your shirt to show little skin of your stomach. Your nipples were still very much the prominent part of the image. After realistically struggling a bit, you snap the picture and quickly hum in surprise at how good it is. If you were in any other state than your current one, you would've retaken it but you couldn't feel yourself to care knowing he's an ass anyway.

You decide to say something after the image as you bring up the chat and send in the picture.

You

(IMAGE)

is this proof?

[✓] Sent 13:40 P.M.

After setting your phone down and interlocking your fingers together, you stare up at the sky: now that you think about it, what possessed you to send such a scandalous picture all of a sudden? The hormone monster? When was the last time you sent him a proper nude? You rub your face and groan as you now really think about it.

No matter how many times you have sent spicy images, it was the mock post nut clarity after sending it off. Debating if the pic was good enough or hoping that it somehow didn't change sender at the last second. The vulnerable feeling starts to claw its way into your body… and yet you refuse to let it get to you. Just like how everything with Bakugo is, all the nervous feelings always filled you with excitement. You couldn't wait to see his response because you knew damn well he was your munch.

You hear your phone buzz once before turning your head to see it fade to black again. Deciding to not look at it straight away, you get up for the second time today. Fortunately, your room was starting to warm up which meant it was the perfect time to start your day (yes, nearing the second hour of the evening). Your phone buzzes again and you choose to ignore it.

Running through your routine is clockwork. Use the bathroom, brush your teeth, shower, facial, and the last part you hadn't reached yet was to get dressed. You had honestly forgotten about teasing your long-term boyfriend as you freshened up for the day. Typically, you did this as a way to relieve stress and rejuvenate yourself. You hum as you lotion up yourself, welcoming back the feelings of giddiness back to your body. There was no need to rush this; it was almost as though the teasing was for your enjoyment more than his. Again you wrap yourself in your robe and finally sit on your bed to go on your phone. His message reads:

Bakugo 🤭💕

↳Loved your message.

Fuck.

Is this how we're playing today?

[✓] Sent 13:41 P.M.

You bite the inside of your lip before a smirk pulls at the corners of your mouth as you type up a reply.

You

you don't want more? okay… ;( 💔

[✓] Sent 14:39 P.M.

He immediately opens your message and his speech bubbles become afloat.

Bakugo 🤭💕

You know damn well that's not what I meant, brat.

Another form of confirmation would be suitable.

[✓] Sent 14:39 P.M.

There's a pause before he sends his next text.

Bakugo 🤭💕

Please.

[✓] Sent 14:39 P.M.

You

I guess you can since you asked nicely…

[✓] Sent 14:41

He was a good boy you had to admit. When he wanted you, he certainly knew how to play the rules until he could be on top. You admired that about him.

You slightly turn your head to the mirror of your bed. You were currently out of sight in the reflection but had an idea of how you could use it. You scooch up to the edge of your bed, sitting with your legs on each side of the corner closest to the body mirror. Before you could even think about sending off a photo you pull your hair back and neaten it up whether it was with a bonnet or messy bun. Regardless you knew he wouldn't give a fuck but this surge in arousal made you want to look sexy in your most natural state. Skin glowing and thriving, you felt like a goddess.

Blessed that the room is warm enough for you to be naked, you partially undress; eyes watch your irresistible figure come to reveal itself. Of course, even with how much you loved yourself, you couldn't show all of yourself just yet. You pull your robe open enough to expose your chest, a small huff of discontent leaving as the air hits your naked skin again. A hum leaves your chest as you admire yourself a bit more, before positioning the camera in a way to show off your chest. You knew this would drive him insane. After a few awkward angles and shots, you deemed your favorite one and opened back up the messages app once again.

You waste no time uploading the pictures but grow a bit hesitant as you can’t help but feel nervous. You’d think after doing this with a trusted partner it’d be a breeze at this stage. You fidget on the edge of the bed as you type up, delete, then retype, decide to delete and then the process continues. ‘Why was this so hard?? Just send the damn pic!’ You sigh and type up your final draft, ready to send the first proper nude for the evening.

With a final decision, you decide to go with something simple.

You

how’s this?

(IMAGE)

[✓] Sent 14:57

You immediately close out the app once you send it off and fall back onto your bed. There’s a giddy smile on your face as you could only imagine what his reaction would be to see the photo. That was the whole exciting thing about this: the teasing that transpires and the adrenaline rush you receive from it. You don’t bother to check if he’s seen it yet as you think it would be best to let your heart rest. Luckily, it’s not long before you need to wait as your phone buzzes beside you.

After a few moments of waiting you sit up on your side to look at the message, your eyes immediately going for Bakugo’s text. You freeze upon seeing two messages in the same format as yours, a regular text followed by a photo to compliment the exchange. You raise your eyebrows as you prop yourself up on your hand now, tapping his notification and swiping up to look at what he has sent you.

You softly gasp as you open the image, something you were not expecting but will gladly accept. “More than perfect.” You read aloud and scrolled further down to look at the whole image. You grin upon seeing a picture of him palming his hard-on through his pants. It appeared by his scenery and clothing that he truly wasn’t out on patrol today, instead probably filming content to build his likability with his fanbase. Not only that, he was in a dressing room, by himself. He had more than enough time to do what he pleases.

Bakugo was more than ready to up the ante and your slow correspondence was killing him. He knew that this was a frequent way that you liked to tease and play dirty with him. He had been up since 5 a.m. and he was basically waiting impatiently for you to wake up.

It had been about a week or so since you two have seen each other and he was missing you badly. Your dumb jokes, your antics, the “arguments” and especially your touch. Apparently, the pre-planned date for tonight was the type of outing you needed as well. Bakugo sucks his teeth as he starts to feel a blush arise on his cheeks as he can’t help but think about you. And you weren’t making it better with how willing you are to toy with him.

Now it was the blonde-haired male's turn to be nervous awaiting your reply. He watched in expectancy to see your response, sitting up from his slouched position on the couch in his dressing room to read your reply.

#1 Brat

not too bad yourself, honey~

[✓] Sent 15:21

Katsuki is quick to start typing again, pausing when he sees your chat bubbles pop up on his phone.

#1 Brat

mind sending another one more… revealing?

(IMAGE)

[✓] Sent 15:23

He chuckles at your proposition. The laugh subsides as he takes in the new image, revealing more of your body in your lying down position practically mimicking the first photo you had sent for the day. The robe artfully covers but also shows your body and he can’t but groan as he longs to touch you. Your breasts, legs, and tummy are so fucking attractive to him. The fact that you have a pretty face tops it all off makes him feel as though he’s won the jackpot being in love with you. But there was one part that he was longing to see as well, the piece of heaven between your legs. The blonde-haired hero grunts as he starts to type up his message.

Bakugo 🤭💕

I could ask the same from you, beautiful.

[✓] Sent 15:26

You

ah-ah, you first!

[✓] Sent 15:27

“This…” Katsuki mumbles to himself but doesn’t stop from unbuckling his pants anyways. With how hard his length appeared in the earlier photo, it is no surprise at how confined it was pressing against his underwear. With a simple tug, he releases his cock from his briefs, a soft groan leaving his lips as he strokes his cock. The warmth of his hand certainly did not compare to yours at all.

He imagines your hot hands caressing every bit of his skin, your warm mouth that’s skilled with playing with his sweet spots, your plush thighs that wrap around his waist or squish his face. The way he could watch how your chest jiggle with each thrust, the way that your pussy never fails to take him in like it was made for him. Everything about you was cursing him and he needed you badly.

Bakugo tilts his head back against the top of the couch as he starts to speed up his thrusts, now fully getting into the thought of what he’d do to you if you were right next to him right now. How he could easily pick you up and pin you onto the couch as he pounds into you like no tomorrow, not giving a fuck if your moans were too loud and anyone passing by could hear the lewd noises coming from within the room. The way he could watch your face contort into the most erotic expressions all because of him, his touch, his mouth, and his dick most importantly. The moment his hips buck to meet his own stroking hand makes him realize he had distracted himself from his main task.

He fumbles around for his phone before setting it up the way you like the most when watching his videos. The angle is perfectly angled to showcase his impressive length, not tew much balls but enough to show the goodies. He made sure to be vocal as well, letting the camera show his stroking and his thumb rubbing his tip every so often to increase the pleasure. A few times you could hear his soft grunts of your name or an exploitive to release the building-up tension from his masturbation session.

He breathes out as he speeds up his strokes. It seems as though with his jerking that he's getting closer and closer to his climax, the only thing clouding his mind is only you. He softly pants and starts to collect perspiration of sweat on his forehead as he works up to his orgasm. He clenches his jaw as he finally finishes and continues to stroke, showing how much cum he can milk from himself. He hums in mere satisfaction and ends the video to clean up. Unfortunately, that in itself did not rid himself of the boner; a new one was already starting to grow once again.

When he processes the video through the messaging app, there is no cheeky remark or commentary. He is officially worked up and cannot wait any longer.

Bzzz Bzzz

Your eyes widen as you finally get your reply back. You tilt your head in curiosity and feel your heart skip a beat. It is a video. Katsuki sent a fucking video. You bite your lower lip and open the message. There was no other text to accompany it but you already knew what you were in for.

Your breath hitches as the video is straight to the point. You watched his perfectly manicured and clean nails skillfully play with his cock, his large hand almost struggling to wrap around his own length. You hear a small moan and you quickly raise the volume, your heart skipping a beat as you realize that you can hear the erotic noises come from him.

Your hand immediately shoots down to untie your robe, slick already starting to increase and your clit pulsing. You shamelessly moan as your deft fingers stroke at your vulva, your mouth in the shape of an, “o” as you use your fluid to play with your bundle of nerves.

“Shit!” You close your eyes with the image of him stroking his cock deeply ingrained in your mind. The noises he made were enough for you to get off on your own. Your middle finger rubs heavy circles into your clit while your other hand busies itself playing with your nipple, the feeling making you lightly shiver. The sounds of his heavy breathing and the silkiness of his hand rubbing his shaft were driving you crazy, and soon enough your petting wasn’t doing the job. You opt for fingering yourself instead, huffing out a whimper as your fingers barely fill your cunt but make up for it by finding your g-spot at the roof of your pussy.

You weakly open your eyes to watch the screen, your breath growing short and light as you meet your fingering with Katsuki’s stroking hand. Another buzz from your phone makes you sit up a little. Your confused and dazed attention span manages to catch the notification that rolls at the top of the screen.

Bakugo 🤭💕 — 15:45

You better not be finishing yourself off without . . .

You groan in annoyance as you remember why you were even diddling yourself in the first place. You slow your strokes down to properly set up your phone, hastily trying to find a proper angle that shows off your body in its entirety (which wasn’t that hard to do as you were in your bed). You spread your legs for the camera and look into the front camera lens as you insert both fingers into your cunt once again. You tilt your head to the side as you look down at your fingers and work a third finger into yourself.

You moan out his name as you work your right hand's fingers into you, building up to the same pace that you had before with the extra digit inside. “Need you so bad, baby--” You groan, looking back up at the screen. Your left-hand comes up to play with your tits again, the robe that still adorned you slipping off your shoulder as you got closer to your climax.

You whimper, finishing off with your fingers, your eyes looking at your cunt taking in your fingers before glancing back at the camera in lust. You repeated, “fuck” as if in a mantra, your eyes closing and your hips bucking to ride yourself to release. You smile as you slowly take out your fingers, your slick sticking to your fingers and your cunt glistening in juices. Your cunt was puffy and warm with arousal pumping through it and it was clear that you wanted him as bad as he wanted you. You scoot a bit closer to show off your sticky fingers, spreading them for him. You hit stop recording with your clean hand after your finished, wasting no time uploading it into the messenger app.

You

of course not, only for you~

(VIDEO)

[✓] Sent 15:55

As soon as you send it in, a text from him follows. You hop up from your bed as you read, heading back to your bathroom to clean yourself up even though the inevitable would have you in the same state as before.

Bakugo 🤭💕

000-0000 Tokyo-to

Be here in 10 minutes.

[✓] Sent 15:56

Hopefully, your newly scheduled meeting won’t delay his filming.

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha smut #mha smut #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki x reader #pro hero!bakugo katsuki x reader #pro hero!bakugo x reader #bnha oneshots #bnha imagines #bnha scenarios #mha oneshots #mha imagines #mha scenarios #n/sfw #sav's saucin'

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jpitha · 2 years

Text

If Humans tolerate a greater amount of ambiguity than other Sapients, their risk tolerance is off the charts. Even a baseline human's risk tolerance would make any non-deathworlder sapient excrete themselves with fear and run the other way.

Timothy the human is with his friend Selleg, who he has offered to take to Earth for a week to "see the sights." They are at the spaceport, having just disembarked.

Selleg struggles with his new wheeled luggage. "Ugh, it's so heavy here."

"I'm sorry. I forget that you're not used to Earth gravity. Do you need me to wheel your luggage?" Timothy looks on with genuine concern for his friend.

"I'll be fine. I just hope we don't have to walk too far."

"Nah, the car-rental booth is right here, I'll get us a car and we can drive to my parents."

At the rental booth, Selleg is fascinated with the whole process. Timothy and the clerk go through the options and different kinds of vehicles available. Timothy is asked if he wants "the extra insurance" and he agrees immediately. He exchanges payment and with keys in hand, they walk to the lot.

"I had no idea there were so many different cars to choose from." Selleg remarks. Back home, everyone takes mass transit. Personally owned vehicles don't really exist."

"Really? Huh. I'd love to check it out someday!" They approach a red, low slung vehicle. It has that look that most human machines do of being alive and ready to pounce. Leave it to a predator species to make everything look like it's also a predator. "Okay! Here, I'll put your suitcase in the trunk and we'll set off."

They get in, and Timothy shows Selleg how the seatbelts work. "Just across your body like this and then click the silver part into the slot with the red button there. With a satisfying clunk, the seatbelt is secured. Selleg stares at all the buttons and dials and screens and switches. "Why are there so many displays?"

"What? Oh. Some tell me things about the car, and it's speed, temperature, mileage, things like that, others are for the entertainment system, and still others are for the heating and cooling."

Selleg stopped "The operation of the car is not automatic?"

Timothy shook his head "Nah, it's all manual. Don't worry, I know how to drive."

"You. Operate. This. Vehicle?" Selleg was clearly nervous.

"Sure! I've been doing it since I was 16. Only had one bad accident that whole time." Timothy pushed the start/stop button and the car roared to life. It settled down into a burbling idle. "I sprung for the sports car. It's been a while since I've driven, and I probably won't get another chance for a long time, so I decided to treat myself!"

"You haven't driven in a long time and decided to get a more powerful car anyway?"

"I'll be careful." Timothy promised. Let's go!" He put it in gear and pulled out into traffic.

****

"THAT WAS INSANE! YOU ARE INSANE!" Selleg was yelling.

"That was a perfectly normal drive!" Timothy pleaded. "Selleg, there was nothing unusual about it."

"You were driving less than two meters from the other cars!"

"It was heavy traffic."

"You were going over 100kph!?!"

"All the other cars were too" Timothy answered weakly.

"We passed three crashed cars!!"

"Yeah? Cars crash. Usually it's the drivers fault. I didn't see any ambulances, so everyone was probably all right."

"DON'T YOU THINK THEN THAT MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T ALL BE DRIVING???" Selleg's fur was bristled and he was pacing.

"I'm sorry you were worried Selleg, it was a perfectly normal drive. I thought you'd be nervous about your first car ride so I drove carefully."

"That was carefully?" This is normal for humans?"

"Driving? Yes. that was by all accounts a perfectly normal drive. Some humans even like it"

In the high gravity of Earth, Selleg sat down heavily. "What have I signed up for?"

Timothy looked at his friend. "I'll just go ahead and cancel the skydiving tickets." he said sadly.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans take risks #it's normal for us right?#I like driving anyway #sci fi writing #writing

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eastbubble · 4 months

Note

plsss i need a continuation of that quickie with !09 ghost fic 😭 like i need angst, ghost immediately ignoring reader after getting caught out of sheer embarrassment and a need to “protect” reader from himself I NEED IT

jk its up to u if u want to write it, its okay if not 👨‍🦲

oh my god yes ! i see this ! thanks for the idea love ! press the button for the angsty (no comfort ……..) sequel to this fic ! ><

roach stood there in the doorstep, the usb stick almost falling out of his hand because of how much his fingers were starting to shake. his brain refused to take in the fact that he had caught his lieutenant and a fellow sergeant basically doing the deed when they were supposed to be working. his head went dizzy and he looked down in shame, cheeks lighting up with a bright shade of pink — though nobody could see that because he pulled his mask up.

simon looked at you in the eyes, shaking his head in disappointment. you two stayed like that for a few seconds, his pants pulled down to the middle of his thighs and you just pressed against the wall. you could feel him grip your hips a little tighter, his touch becoming a little shaky as he eventually set you down to the floor, your back sliding along the rough wooden wall.

you didn’t know what to think of the situation. why was simon shaking his head like you were the only one guilty in performing this little stunt? why was the look in his eyes so full of disappointment and not guilt or embarrassment? it was like this whole thing didn’t even faze him at all — it had the same effect as a knife being stabbed right into your heart, and just for some more dramatic outcome, even twisted two or three times.

the shaking sergeant’s boots made a small little sound as he turned around and quickly walked down the stairs in silence. great. ghost quickly pulled up his pants, buckling his belt as fast as he could and zipping his gray wool pullover as quick as possible. he seemed mad and angry but you couldn’t really get why it was all directed towards you. yeah, sure, you’re neck deep in this pile of shit as well but it takes two people to kiss! and it takes two to have sex! and it takes three to get caught!

“we’re fucked..” you muttered under your breath, not exactly knowing what to do right now. you wanted to ease the tension somehow but the air was thick and warm and it was suffocating because of the weight it put on your shoulders.

“only you are.” he said lowly.

“great pun. what now-“

“it was not a pun.” he hissed. then why would you be the only one who’s in the mud right now? you looked at him with a confused expression on your face, the traces of your previously apparent dark red blush slowly fading away as your body temperature was finally cooling. it was a quick switch.. “you’re gonna be the one stuck with the title lieutenant-fucker.”

“oh come on. sanderson’s probably not going to talk for like a week now anyways. and it’s not like he’s going to tell on you, he’s practically your little brother, no-“

silence struck the rotten room once simon’s radio went off, a few slurred words and some incredibly deafening static echoing from the walkie talkie. it sounded like roach was on the other end of the line (who else would it be?) and just like you predicted, he was struggling to form his sentences, brain fuzzy as he was desperately asking for help through half-words. you managed to catch a word about general shepherd, your brain immediately ‘sobering’ up — the mission was still very much going. it did not end. you were the only one that was stuck on this point of getting caught in the middle of some quickie.

and without saying a word, ghost was already running down the stairs with his rifle in his hand, leaving you behind like you weren’t just as important (according to ranks..) as sanderson was.

it seems like that day became thin air to your lieutenant.

#call of duty #cod #ghost x you #simon ghost riley x reader #09 ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley #ghost cod #ghost call of duty #simon riley #roach cod #gary roach sanderson

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miyuhpapayuh · 2 years

Text

parkin' lot lovin'

"Pull over." She purrs, rubbing the inside of his thigh, feeling him twitch underneath her fingertips.

A soft growl rumbles in his chest as he quickly switches to the far-right lane, getting off the highway. She leans closer to him and begins kissing his neck.

"Hold on, baby." He grunts. Her wandering hand lands on his hardening length, lightly squeezing.

She purrs in his ear, hand nearing the waistband of his sweats, as he whips into an empty parking lot, immediately turning the car off.

Giggling as he damn near rips his seatbelt off and reclines the seat a bit, she continues her teasing.

"You're so eager, baby," her hands tuck back into his waistband, pulling his sweats down.

"You dangerous," he mumbles.

"I learned from the best." She kisses him and pulls away, giggling as he follows her lips.

Her mouth is watering as she stares at his dick, hard and ready to go. She turns completely sideways in her seat.

"Mm mm mm,"

Staring at him as she licks the palm of her hand, she wraps it around his length, reveling in the grunt that leaves his mouth.

Leaning closer to him, she kisses his bottom lip. "Mmm... you're so sexy," she tugs on it, watching it pop back into place. Her hand slowly sliding up and down his shaft, she can feel him throbbing under her fingertips.

Sinking down into his lap, her lethal arch adds to his visual aid. Her short skirt enticing him.

His eyes flicker back to her, watching her glide her tongue over him. His bottom lip hangs as she lowers her mouth onto him, starting off slow.

"Oh shit," pulling her hair away from her face, he gathers it into a makeshift ponytail, staring at her in awe.

Reaching out to palm her ass, his fingers slightly dig into her flesh. She moans against him, sending his head back against the headrest.

"Fuuuck, baby," he grunts, sliding her wet thong to the side, the pads of his index and middle finger rub her slit, gathering her slick.

"Mmmm," she moans, picking up the pace. Rod's bottom lip is pulled between his teeth as his grip on her hair tightens.

Sliding her lips off of him with a pop, she stares up at him, she drags her tongue all over him.

Over her teasing, he grips her jaw, pulling her face to his. Smirking at him, she throws her leg over his thigh and slowly slides his dick into her.

Stevie's eyes roll back, her hands gripping his shoulders as he thrusts upward into her, setting the pace. His lap already sticky from her juices. His hands dropping to her sides.

"Fuuuck," she moans, catching his rhythm. "You make me so wet." She stares at him, biting her lip.

The look on his face, priceless. Eyes shut so tight. Mouth open so wide. Making those sounds that make her thighs quiver.

"Shit....," he grunts, "pussy so good."

His appreciation adding fuel to her fire, as she completely takes over with a slow grind, squeezing her walls against him.

His hands find the front of her blouse, pop the two buttons to free her naked chest. His eyes fixated.

"I feel you, baby..."

"Fuck, squeeze it, baby." Her walls suck him up as she slides up and down.

"You like that, baby?" He nods, gripping her hips tight.

"Fuuck, bounce on it, babe." He pleads, hands full of her ass as she fulfills his wish.

"Shit," she moans, biting the hell out of her lip and poppin' her ass in his lap, their peaks steady climbing like the temperature.

"God dammit, baby..." he grumbles, hugging her body closer to his own, his mouth latching on her hardening nipple as she cradles his head.

"I'm cumming!" Her hand hitting the roof of the car as her body shakes. His mouth sliding across her chest adds to her sensory overload as she powers through, still bouncing in his lap.

"Fuuck, baby..." hands desperately gripping her waist, trying to slow her down. "Shitttt," his body tensing up as she keeps going, milking him dry.

"Ooh shit!", she moans.

"Fuck, vie." His mouth wide, his wild, low moans roaming free. Lifting her up, he slips out of her, effectively slowing her down.

Her lips are quickly on his, as he releases her hips, groaning as she grinds against him.

"Damn, girl." He rasps.

"Sorry," she softly laughs, "I got a little carried away." He joins in the laughter.

"We made a mess, baby."

@soufcakmistress @ibeoutchea @thegifstories @chaneajoyyy @sheabuttahwrites @supersizemeplz @nayaxwrites @cecereads209 @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @killmongerdispussy @ghostfacekill-monger @blowmymbackout @quietstorm-thundathighs @twistedcharismaaa @uzumaki-rebellion @daddy-killmonger @hearteyes-for-killmonger @l-auteuse @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @headcannonxgalore

Enjoy!

#black fanfic writer #miyuhpapayuh #smut #poc writers #black writers

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bunting27 · 1 year

Note

❛ i was scared. i thought you had lost your way. ❜🪐 for jamie?

worry and anger ✏︎ j. drysdale

bunting27's 100 follower celly !

a/n: work has decided that i'm actually their only employee so these are coming out slower than i would like

prompts: "i was scared. i thought you had lost your way" mentions of alcoholism and relapse

wc: 0.9k

taglist: @kenanlotus0 @puckbunnyforsway @whourfeyrac

✏︎

jamie was worried sick. she’d told him she was coming over after dinner with friends, since she missed him. he’d just gotten back from his first road trip since healing from an injury, so it’d been a while since they’d seen each other. however, it was almost two in the morning and she hadn’t shown.

she came through the door loudly at two thirty, apologizing to the door sincerely once she got herself upright. jamie shot up at the noise, making his way over to the front door and hugging her tight.

“holy shit, where have you been, it’s almost three in the morning” she furrowed her eyebrows and took her phone out of her back pocket, pouting with a noise of disapproval when she pressed the power button and realized it was dead

“my friend wanted to get drinks, so we got drinks” she leaned on him to take her shoes off, nearly falling on her face before he caught her and held her arm up.

“you’ve been drinking? what the hell, baby, i thought you were done with that” she rolled her eyes and switched legs, eventually getting her shoe off so she could give him her full attention.

she kissed him, grabbing his hands and moving them to her ass. he could taste the alcohol on her lips, and he pulled away as fast as she initiated it, pulling his arms away from her.

“jesus, you’re wasted” he scoffed, sitting her on the bed, but the second he had walked away she made her way to his ensuite and stripped, messing with the faucet on his tub until the water started running.

he sighed to himself but peeked over, gently asking her if she wanted a bath and she nodded, getting in but jumping at the temperature of the thin layer of water.

he set the clothes he grabbed for her on the sink counter and changed the temperature of the water, kissing her on the head.

“when did you start drinking again? i thought you were getting better, baby, i thought you felt okay without it” he kneeled next to the tub, stopping the water once it was full and using a cup to wet her hair.

she just shook her head, nestling her face into his shoulder and burying her hands into his hair. “i don’t want to talk about it”

it was quiet and muffled, and he frowned at it, moving her head back slightly so he could look at her properly. “we have to, baby. we’ll talk in the morning, yeah? i want to help you feel better” she nodded.

she woke up tangled with him, her head as far into his neck as she could possibly get it, her hands in his hair, his arms around her and their legs an entwined mess. her head was pounding and she felt dry and overheated.

he was already awake, just staring at the wall behind her with a frown on his face.

“jame?” she wasn’t drunk anymore, he wasn’t worried anymore, he didn’t need to take care of her, so the only thing left for him to feel was anger.

“when did you start drinking again? you told me you were fine before i left. you fucking relapsed” she groaned, taking her hands out of his hair to rub her face and cover her ears.

“it was just a one or two time thing. jesus, jamie” he scoffed, pulling away from her and sitting up against the headboard, as far as he could get from her. he’d always told her that if she felt like she needed to drink again, he was there, he would help her out of it, but it felt like she didn’t even bother reaching out.

“don’t ‘jesus, jamie’ me, i was scared. i thought you had lost your way.” she clenched her jaw, her eyes watering as she sat up as well.

“maybe i did. but i tried, jamie, and you pushed me away before i could even start talking, so fuck you for being angry cause i can’t just become a different person in two seconds, i need time” he furrowed his eyebrows, thinking back on what she could possibly have been talking about

“i have a job, i can’t just not go on roadies because you can’t get yourself to let go of drinking” it was harsh, and he knew it, but he had never felt worried like he did the night before and he was truly under the impression that she did this carelessly.

she took a deep breath, holding back her tears.

“i know that you have a job, jamie. but i called you. before i resorted to a fucking drink, i called you, and before i could even explain that i felt numb and overwhelmed at the same time and that i couldn’t fucking handle myself and i just needed to hear your voice for two god damned seconds, you hung up on me”

his face fell from angry to devastated, and then disappointed.

“you said you were tired, and you hung up on me. which just made me feel a million times fucking worse because you made it seem like talking to me would somehow make you more tired, like you were too drained to put up with me. i felt selfish and like a burden, so yeah. i had a couple drinks and i made it better by myself,”

realization hit him hard. he wasn’t moving, just looking down at his lap with tears pricking the corners of his eyes. she nodded, figuring she wasn’t going to get any reaction from him. she pulled the blanket back over herself and got onto her side, closing her eyes again.

“i’m sorry, baby” his voice sounded raw, and she knew then that he was trying his hardest not to cry.

“it’s okay, jame. please just give me time. we both need to get used to some things”

#jamie drysdale #jamie drysdale x reader #j drysdale #nhl blurb #hockey blurb #anaheim ducks #bunting27's 100 follower celly

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firewolf-pyro · 1 year

Text

CAPTIVES

Scene: title fades to the front view of the crescent ship. The lighting shimmers off of the curved wings as the ship approaches the camera- the camera staying centered on the cockpit of the vessel as it approaches. Camera fades through the visor of the crescent ship and we see the pilot's command room. The cockpit of the ship is silver and black in tone with walls of computing systems around the walls - flashing green, red and yellow lights- and at the center a wall of screens and control panels which we see the back of. Behind the screens stands still a familiar blue and silver casing of a Dalek. The eyestalk it staring dead center at the camera as it pauses there to see behind the Dalek. The door directly behind the Dalek is rattling and being shaken as if someone is slamming into it. We hear muffled yelling from behind the closed steel sliding doors.

BT122- “Location mark 008, coordinates of last known planetary system has been synced to local star maps.”

Camera- moves from the front view of the Dalek and back view of the computers around to the side to see a partial view of the computers. Olesia, hidden by the computers now revealed via the turn of the camera, leans against the shelf which the control panels are set into.

Scene- computers show many different star maps - most are realistic representations while on other screens there are blue lit up and connected by lines maps. We see Dalek text scrolling across the bottom of some of them showing readings of the star maps such as coordinates and time frames of getting to certain stars estimated in rels. The control panels are a mix of flat flashing yellow and green buttons which look like keys where Olesia is leaning and solid white half orbs which the Dalek’s manipulator arm is attached to.

Olesia- she is dressed in the same blue button up as before though the white coat has been tied around her waist to suggest the temperature in the pilot’s room is rather warm. Her pants are black jeans and her hair is in a messy bun. She looks disgruntled with some blood dried on her forehead.

Olesia- “where are we going, Blue? Why won’t you just drop us back home?”

Actions- asks in a soft tone, almost hopeless as if she had been asking over and over again without getting any form of an answer. She is looking back and forth from the screens without looking at the Dalek besides her.

BT122- “Abandoned planetary systems located, estimations of closest possible destinations in progress.”

Olesia- “You can’t just take us, take them away from their homes. From their friends and family, Blueton. You can’t just run from what you did on Earth.”

Actions- she sits up standing away from the shelf. She crosses her arms across her chest but still does not look at the Dalek.

Camera- switches to a view just behind Olesia and Blueton being at the shoulders of them both and between the two. We see the star maps more clearly and we focus on the blue lights with lines map. Dalek writing blinks up on one of the stars saying something about coordinates and time estimation.

BT122- “Locked on, system jump has been programmed. System jump in five, four, three-“

Camera- switches to out of the crescent ship so we see the back curve of the ship.

Scene- the lights along each wing of the crescent ship pulse slowly as the ship slowly begins to tilt upwards. The space around the ship is filled with pink and red fog like clouds and white stars. A deep blue mark far in front of the ship intensifies with each pulse of the ship’s wing lights.

Camera- switches back to between Olesia and Blueton. The star that is marked on the blue map has cross sections over it and is blinking white.

Simultaneously

BT122- “two, one- system jump engaged.”

Olesia- “Why don’t you care that you are taking them away from everything they know? Is the technology running through their veins really that important to you? Why are they still alive, why am I still alive?”

Actions- she turned to stare at the Dalek besides her. She moves so she is looking into the neck grills of the Dalek casing.

Camera- moves away from the two to the front so we can see the busts of the two.

Scene- the eyestalk of the Dalek’s lifts up and turns to the side to stare at Olesia. She backs away from the sudden movement, looking from the grills to the eyestalk as she teeters from foot to foot in a nervous sort of way.

BT122- “Yes.”

Olesia-“ Yes? Yes what- yes you don’t care?”

Actions- she drops her hands to her hips as she moves closer to the Dalek. She looks into the eyestalk.

BT122- “Yes, the technology you bear in your bloodstream and have born whiteness to is more important to me than their relationships with the inferior life forms on the planet’s surface.”

Actions- the gunstick of the Dalek’s lifts and turns in its socket while the lights flash at each word. Their casing seems to shake as they speak.

Olesia- “Why…”

Actions- she stands up away from the staring eyestalk of the Dalek’s. Her arms return to being crossed over her chest to show her sudden nervousness in this situation.

BT122- “Dalek technology has been noted on the planet’s surface. I have identified backwards engineered blueprints of Dalek gun sticks in the Torchwood’s files. No other Dalek technology will be permitted to be stolen by your inferior people’s.”

Actions- eyestalk flicks up and turns away to look back at the screens

Scene- while they are speeding fades to the screen of an old computer with a screen flickering a few images of the Dalek’s lasers and blueprints and comparisons to hand held gun sticks and heavy weapons rifles made from them. Fades back to looking at the two of them.

Camera- moves back behind the computers to look over the two as they talk.

Olesia- “So then why are we still alive? Wouldn’t it make more sense to destroy all evidence that you and your people even exist?”

BT122- “All evidence has been destroyed.”

Actions- gunstick lowers back into a resting position and continues to turn in its socket.

Scene- we see Olesia throw up her hands in a defeated gesture as she turns to leave the Dalek in the cockpit of the ship. We see her walk in a frustrated way to the still shaking doors. She presses a sphere at the side of the doors and they slide open. We see both Kendra and Henry frantically try and walk past Olesia but she pushes them both out of the area to let the two doors close behind her.

Camera- fades to end scene

Scene- enters a room that could be a recharging station, there are two old Dalek recharge stations that look bare bones within it. One is covered partially with clothes objects that looks to be a sort of nest situation. Other personal items of the Torchwood crew are strewn around in the room. The rechargers are on the left to the door while there are level controls and more computing systems on the right. There is a short wall separating the two charging stations. Kendra is pacing back and forth at the open side of the room to the right while Henry is sat on the floor leaning against the wall as he watches Kendra pace. The scene seems tense with a wave of relief going through both as the door opens and Olesia steps into the room.

Camera- top left overview so we can see the messy state of the room and the messy state of the three humanoids.

Kendra- “It has been nearly a month up here- I can’t take it Olesia I just can’t take any more of this!”

Actions- desperate shooting as she stops pacing to walk up to Olesia. Can see clearly she has been crying on and off.

Olesia- “It’s okay, we aren’t far from the planet now. Have you eaten your rations today? Have you eaten at all?”

Actions- she reaches out offering to pull Kendra into a hug. Kendra steps from side to side as if debating on taking the comforting action.

Henry- “She ate a little, but after the rewiring work Blue had us due I don’t think either of us will be getting any of that protein mix tomorrow.”

Actions- gestures vaguely to the door with his hand while staying seated on the nest of laundry.

Olesia- “Why? Didn’t you finish it? Please tell me you finished that task-“

Actions- looks over Kendra as she takes hold of her upper arms to stop her from pacing.

Kendra-

Actions- she stares at the ground away from Olesia as she rocks from left to right of her feat.

Henry- “I did.”

Actions- stands up from the ground and walks over to the door past them.

Henry- “She broke down in the middle of it, we… found something in the storage room when looking for extra wires to patch the ones in the hallway…”

Actions- waves for the two of them to follow him.

Kendra- “No I’m not coming.”

Actions- pulls away from Olesia and resumes her pacing.

Camera- changes to the pair’s level to watch Olesia watch her pace for a moment before leaving the room with Henry.

Scene- the hallway is a clean silvery white- near platinum walls with dark gray flooring. Circular imprints are along the walls that emanate light. The interior is similar to old Dalek ship interiors. There are a few visible doors all closed from the left and right curved hall. A single floating orb with blue glowing lights floats past the both of them.

Henry- “Have you been in the bio-lab recently?”

Actions- gestures with his hand down the hallway towards the laboratory’s door.

Olesia- “No- you know I’m not allowed in there after last week.”

Actions- she whispers in a slightly annoyed tone.

Henry- “I’m just- we were looking for more scrap materials to use and stumbled into the lab… Well- maybe it’s better you just see what most of our scrap is being used for.”

Actions- pushes the button to the bio-lab. The clear white turns red for a moment but Henry jostles it a little and it turns green letting the doors slide open.

Camera- sits between the two at shoulder height to see into the lab’s room

Scene- the small lab room is rectangular in floor plan with space enough around a central medical table for a Dalek’s casing to move freely around. Shelves around the sides of the wall are covered in medical devices and a wall at the far end has many tanks set together with mesh separators. Tiny things seems to be moving around within the yellowed water.

Olesia- “this room is more complete than any of the others.”

Actions- steps into the lab and around the table towards the tanks at the back wall.

Camera- moves to across the medical table to look over and watch Olesia walk towards the tanks.

Scene- we can see that the medical table is pristinely clean, the counter beside Olesia had jars of scavenged medical materials like gauze and wrappings but most of the other jars are empty glassware. Meaning beakers of ferrying types and so on.

Henry- “Didn’t he mention something about being a scientist at one point? Maybe he’s biased towards the sciences then?”

Actions- follows Olesia across the lab to the back of the room to stare into the tank.

Camera- moves to the left of the tanks to stare into the tanks. We can see one of the hands pressed against the glass to compare size of the moving things within the yellowed water.

Scene- the white mesh separating out the tanks gives a clear backdrop to many half inch sized moving creatures that are flitting about the open space. They look to be octopus in nature with a dark blue coloration. Tiny black dots for eyes can be seen vaguely as they continue to flit around the tank.

Olesia- “What… Are these?”

Actions- sinks down to examine the tiny creatures in the tank giving us a visual of wonder.

Henry- “Come on, isn’t it obvious? He’s going to replace us. We’re completely replaceable.”

Actions- taps the glass in a harsh way sending many of the tiny things flitting away from the tap.

Camera- moves to look back at the pair's busts.

Olesia- “No… No I don’t think we are.”

Actions- looks up from the tank into a disappointed looking Henry.

Camera- fades to end scene

Scene- shows the storage room for scrap material, it is a rounded triangular shaped room with silver walls and bear floors. Rapidly we see the room filling with scrap materials, broken pieces of alien technology, bins, sheets of metals and so on. It’s a fast forwards with Dalek writing in green on the top right showing an increase in time and a translated writing in black to the right of the screen showing the same increase in time. We see that a full year and a half has passed to fill this room nearly completely full as some items are removed to be used then quickly replaced.

Narrated by Olesia while the time is fastforwarded-

“Torn away from everything we knew, the only way to keep ourselves from falling into depression was to throw ourselves into work. The Dalek, Blueton, never had an end to the list of work we would need to do. From repairs to upgrades to modifications our hands rarely had a moment to rest.”

Camera- fades into credits

#script #doctor’s Dalek #torchwood’s Dalek #doctor who #Dalek #Torchwood #fanfiction #doctor who fanfiction

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cricutmaker3 · 1 year

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How to Set Up Cricut Mug Press? [A Complete Guide]

With a vision to make pro mugs at home, all the DIYers are introduced to how to set up Cricut Mug Press. Through this masterpiece, one can make custom-designed sublimation mugs with compatible Ceramic Mugs & Infusible Ink. Moreover, one needs to design, attach & insert the mug blank, and the press will do the rest of the work. The crafter can simply draw their design from the Design Space app/software.

Other than that, the Infusible Ink system gives smooth, pro-quality transfers, becoming one with a mug and making it long-lasting. This Cricut press allows the user to discover their creative side by creating various mugs for different occasions. Besides, the crafter needs to buy a Mug Press along with the bundle and other supplies to create the custom mug.

Let us help you out by showing in-depth Cricut setup Mug Press primary details in the coming section.

How to Set Up Cricut Mug Press on a Device?

Before getting the personal mug, all the users need to set up/activate their Mug Press. To complete the machine activation process, read the steps given below:

First, go to the Cricut setup official page and download Design Space on your system.

Following this, create your Cricut ID or sign in with your Cricut ID and Password.

After getting connected to the Cricut Setup page, choose Heat Press > Mug Press.

Next, plug into the Mug Press and Power on the wall outlet switch.

Following this, take the provided USB code and put it inside your device and the machine port.

After doing these steps, tick the Activate option and start reading the Terms & Conditions.

Lastly, choose Get Started and start creating your first project on Mug Press.

After finishing up the Cricut setup Mug Press process, take a step forward by knowing how to use it for crafting purposes.

How to Use Cricut Mug Press?

After setting up the Cricut Mug Press, the user can easily create custom mugs in minutes with simple and one-touch settings. Get to know about the steps given below:

Start the process by creating your design on the Cricut app by using a mug template or any pre-made mug design.

Next, spread the Infusible Ink sheet on the purchased cutting mat with color side up & shiny side down.

Following this, cover up the mug with the design using the transfer sheet to avoid any bubbles.

Now, preheat the machine by turning it on and pressing the Power button.

After the heating process is complete, it will start beeping, and the Power button will turn green.

Next, place the mug inside into the press and close the lid available on the right-hand side.

Now, you are suggested to wait till the heating process is going down.

After the mug cools down, remove the sheet without damaging the design.

Here you go; making a custom mug with this press is so much fun.

How to Change Cricut Mug Press Temperature Settings?

For top-quality custom mug results, all the users should be aware of the process by which they can modify the machine temperature settings. Get to know about the steps below:

First, enter the Temperature Setting mode, whether the press is switched on or off.

Next, select and hold the power button for 10 seconds.

After that, you will hear two chimes, and all the LEDs will start flashing at once.

Now, you will get to see that the power button will be flashing orange during the Temperature Setting mode.

Afterward, the LED row will start displaying the present setting. You have to push the Power button to cycle through the 3 settings options:

Following this, hold on the Power button for 3 seconds to select the settings after getting the desired LED setting on the display.

After that, a chime will be heard with an LED display, and a Power button will be flashed.

Next, your Mug Press will turn off, exiting the Temperature Setting mode.

Lastly, the new settings will come into action when the press is switched on.

Summing up the above-said section of the blog, we hope that you have understood how to set up Cricut Mug Press with Windows/Mac systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Update the Cricut Mug Press Firmware?

The firmware ensures that the machine has the latest and greatest feature enhancements. However, to get those updates, they need to follow the steps given below:

Begin the process by putting the machine into connection mode and opening the app.

After signing in to the app, go to Mug Press and follow the on-screen steps.

Wait till the software scans the available firmware and will automatically begin it.

Once the update comes to an end, disconnect the USB coder from the press.

How Much Time Does It Take to Completely Heat up the Mug?

The Cricut Mug Press takes almost five minutes to completely get heated up. After inserting the mug blank inside the space, the user is supposed to wait six minutes during the process. The press will send a *ding” sound indicating that the press has completed its work. Take the mug out of the place and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before removing the transfer sheet.

How Can I Prepare the Mug Blank for Pressing?

To get the flawless result, press only the smooth, straight area of the mug. Other than that, it ensures that the design is completely flat against the mug surface. Align the design so it stops before the beveled or chiseled edge begins to ignore blurred transfer results. Other than that, flip over the mug upside-down and use the straight edge of the trip rum as a reference to get it on the right spot.

For more information visit: Cricut.com/setup

Cricut EasyPress 3 Setup

Cricut Design Space Login

Cricut Heat App

Cricut Machine Set up

#Cricut.com/setup #Cricut EasyPress 3 Setup #Cricut Design Space Login #Cricut Heat App #Cricut Machine Set up #Cricut.com setup mac

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isleofdarkness · 1 year

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Chaos has been waiting his entire life for this exact moment.

"This is my old wheelchair. It has three settings- manual, electric, or the one in between where you move it by leaning the way you want to go. You switch between the three with this little lever, and don't worry, you can lock the lever so you don't accidentally bump it and change the settings. The seat is pressure-relieving and it has both heating and cooling, and the top part of the back can be taken off and put back on when you want. If you press this button, it can climb stairs. The wheels are heavy-duty and the electric setting it powerful enough to get you through mud, grass, and other stuff. If you press this button on the wristband, it'll come over to you as long as you're in the same room. It has cupholders, a hanger for bags, two temperature-controlled compartments for food, and it can go up to twenty miles an hour if you press this button. Also, the armrests can be removed and you can adjust how far back the rear wheels are. It's very manoeuvrable while also being super hard to knock over."

"And you built this all out of junk?"

"What, like it's hard? Now take it to Boradon and tell them exactly who made it and what I worked with."

#callisto olympian #agony and chaos

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warningsine · 3 months

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Dir/scr: Jorge Cuchi. Mexico. 2023. 129mins

Young Mexican actors Sandra (Fiona Palomo) and Daniel (Alfonso Dosal) share a warm friendship both on and off the set of their latest film, a thriller that casts them as illicit lovers. But when, a boundary is crossed during the shooting of an intimate scene, trust is shattered and a devastating chain of events is set in motion. The second feature from Jorge Cuchi.

Bad Actor is an ever-tightening chokehold of a film, both an uncomfortable exploration of consent and sexual misconduct and an indictment of mob justice in the face of social media.

Cuchi’s debut picture, 50 Or Two Whales Meet On A Beach, also screened at Tallinn in 2020, where it won a youth prize, following a premiere in Venice’s Critics Week. With its propulsive thriller pacing and hot-button topicality, Bad Actor is not an easy watch but it should be a conversation starter at further festivals. Interest from arthouse distributors and bespoke streamers is not out of the question, although a final act swerve into sensationalism may be a turn-off for some.

The picture opens in the interior of a car. Sandra and Daniel discuss their affair, with Sandra revealing that every time her husband goes away on business she secretly prays that he will die. But what seems to be a bombshell revelation is then shown to be a scene from the film that they are shooting together, and the tension of the moment is punctured when the sound woman, concealed in the back seat, complains that she is desperate for the toilet. It’s a bait-and-switch technique that Cuchi uses on several occasions throughout the film, causing us to shift our perspectives and even question our assumptions.

Cuchi takes an unvarnished, documentary-style approach, with an agile hand-held camera used to impressive effect, tuning into the tensions and the shifts in emotional temperature in the unremarkable hotel room where the drama unfolds. It’s here that Sandra and Daniel are filming a sex scene; after asking for her consent and mistaking her lack of a response to be approval, Daniel betrays his co-star’s trust. The initial shock paralyses Sandra. Her facial expression reveals that something is wrong, but it’s not until a few minutes later, accompanied by the female assistant director Regina (Karla Coronado) and the costume designer, Ximena (Patricia Soto), that Sandra breaks down and reveals what has happened. Daniel, when confronted by the film’s director, denies her accusations.

Conflicting motivations within the supporting characters add to the picture’s uneasy atmosphere – the director and producer go through the motions of support, but are keen to stress that Sandra need not take the nuclear option and press charges against Daniel. Ximena, meanwhile, feels that the legal route to bring Daniel to justice will be too lenient and her actions trigger the film’s explosive and shocking climax. Here, the film walks into profoundly uncomfortable territory, using an indefensible and barbaric act to force us to find empathy for Daniel.

Indeed, Bad Actor is so far from an audience’s comfort zone, that it might as well be from a different planet. It’s fortunate, then, that it is grounded by an exceptionally high quality of performance, in particular from the remarkable Palomo.

#Jorge Cuchi #bad actor #cinema

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maitusmartwatch · 4 months

Video

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#youtube

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havnblog · 5 months

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Why Smart Bulbs > Smart Switches

(I’m having some issues with galleries, which I’m trying to fix at the moment. So if you look at this post now, it might miss some images.)

I really like my smart light setup — and later I will write a guide on how I set it up. (I promise!) But in this post, I want to explain why I think smart light sources are a better option than smart switches (with regular light sources).

Some notes on costs

Smart lights ain’t cheap. And while I will argue that I don’t think going for smart switches is that much cheaper than smart light sources — my main focus is on what gives the best smart light experience. And then it’s up to each person to evaluate what feels “worth it”, or even possible, to them and their budgets.

I also think the experience is way better if you get the consistency of having (more or less) every light in your home be smart — so keep that in mind as well. I’m not arguing against those who say “Yeah, I only wanted these four lights to be smart, and then it was cheaper to go for a couple of smart switches”. What I am arguing against is those who say going for smart switches is better than smart light sources — and hopefully giving some valuable insights to those who haven’t decided yet.

Why smart lights at all, though?

Images from Philips.

To me, there are three main reasons (in no particular order):

In my apartment, I have some light switches that are in idiotically placed. I also have several lights I wish had more than one switch. So the fact that I can easily place switches wherever I want, by just sticking a little button to the wall (or whatever), is very nice. And so is the fact that it’s trivial to have one switch control several lights, or have several switches controlling one light.

I want nothing to only be controllable by my phone. But I do think it’s nice that I can use it to control my lights — even when I’m not home. I also like that I can create automations, like turning off the lights when I leave.

I really, really like to vary the colour temperature of my lights throughout the day.

The two approaches to smart lights

When you hit a regular light switch, it cuts power to the bulb (or reduces it if it’s a dimmer). And one way to get smart lights, is to replace your regular switches with smart switches, like Caseta by Lutron. These also cut power to the bulbs, but the cutting can be controlled “smartly” — so you can add automation, one switch controlling several lights, etc.

As these switches only work on things that powered through the wall, you probably need some smart plugs as well, like this from Aqara:

The plug is the circle around the lamp's adapter into the wall there.

The other option, is to make the light source itself smart — smart bulbs and the like. You never cut the power to these — but they can, based on wireless signals, turn on/off, dim, change colour, etc. So light switches for these, can just be simple buttons like the ones in the photo up top. I’ll call these smart buttons from now on, to distinguish from smart switches. 1

So to be clear: When I say “smart switches”, I’m thinking of a setup primarily with regular light sources, but made smart by switches and plugs. And when I say “smart light sources”, I’m talking about a setup where, primarily, the bulbs etc. are smart, and are controlled by smart buttons.

Listening to tech podcasts, it seems like smart switches, is the most popular solution — but I firmly believe it’s not the best solution. However, there are still some good reasons to consider it:

You can use regular, cheaper light bulbs.

The switches are wired into the grid, and the plugs plugged into the wall, so nothing can run out of batteries.

It’s even more fool-proof, as hitting the switch itself doesn’t involve any wireless technology etc.

So it’s absolutely a viable option! You also don’t have to deal with 2

… the dreaded old light switches.

A classic problem if you’re running smart light sources, and not changing the regular switches, is the following: Now you have a bunch of bulbs that you don’t want to cut the power to, while also having your walls littered with switches that do just that!

I think this is the least optimal part of my preferred setup — but it’s far from a deal-breaker in my opinion.

If you want to make it a bit nice,

… you can just replace the seesaw on the switches with covers. Here’s an example from a Norwegian forum:

"Vindu" and "Hjørne" means "Window" and "Corner", and aren't relevant. But "Alltid på!" means "Always on!", hehe.

This is very cheap, and you can just add back the seesaw if you want to dumb it down later! I assume there are similar options for the switches where you live.

You can also place a smart button on top of the cover, if you want to, like here. (The bottom part shows what some Norwegian switches look like in-between seesaw and cover.)

Or, if you’re lazy like me,

… you just add some tape or something. 🤷🏻‍♂️ If I was moving into a new home, I would go the nice route — but here’s an image from my current bedroom:

It's not as pretty, of course - but it works! The square buttons are for the smart blinds, by the way.

So, I’m not saying it’s not an issue. But I don’t think it’s a big issue, and that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

A crucial point regarding any smart home setup:

Be very mindful of those who have to use your smart stuff, that don’t know the ins and outs — be it an overbearing partner, or a visiting family member. I’m not perfect here — but I try my best to design it like this:

Every “feature” you expect from a regular, dumb setup, should be at least as intuitive to find,

and then hide the extra features.

In the image above, the dial controls the Sonos system, and clicking the buttons toggles the corresponding lights on and off. 3 I refuse to accept that this is problematically less intuitive than two blank switches you had to guess the purpose of.

If you go for smart light sources, as opposed to smart switches, you have to think a bit more about how to make it intuitive. But it’s far from impossible — so this shouldn’t be a heavy argument for not going for what I, for the following reasons, think is the best solution.

Why I vastly prefer smart light sources:

I will go way more into my specific setup in a guide later — but a side note: I recommend building the system around a hub that can connect different brands. I used Homey previously, which wasn’t bad, and now I use HomeKit. I could’ve used even more brands, but I now seamlessly mix stuff from Flic, IKEA, Sonos, Aqara and Philips. 4

Firstly, smart switches completely eliminate my reason #3 for wanting smart lights in the first place — as you straight up can’t change colour temperature without smart bulbs. So even in the application where smart switches are at their best, they provide a sub-par experience compared to smart light sources. I know this might not be important to everyone, but to me, it’s a big deal. Oh, and smart bulbs can also be bought in RGB if you’re so inclined! (Which you probably shouldn’t be, to be fair.) 5

Secondly, replacing the regular switches with smart ones, is a relatively complicated job that, at least in Norway, you are required to hire an electrician to do. This eats up most (if not all) of the savings you get from being able to use regular bulbs. 6

Here's an image, from Reddit, of someone installing Lutron Caseta. It's probably not too hard - but we can't discount the cost (in stress, or money to an electrician) when evaluating these options.

Simpler setup and more use cases

The process for finding a solution for a smart light source, is pretty simple:

Pick the light source/bulb you need. (There’s way more stuff available now than previously: decorative bulbs, spots, chains, etc. I’ve never not found what I required. There are also lamps, from Philips, for instance, that are smart in and off itself.)

Pick your preferred button for the specific application, and just stick it wherever.

And then you’re done! And if you later want to change, swap or add something, it’s relatively easy. However, if you don’t want the light source itself to be smart, you have to figure out a way to toggle it remotely.

OK, the smart switches work fine for the ceiling lamp, as it gets power through the walls — but what about the reading light near the couch?

You can go for a smart plug — but the cost of a regular bulb + a smart plug isn’t cheaper than just a smart bulb. And you lose dimming, in addition to the colour temperature you’ve already lost.

And what if you want a switch that’s not the place the people who built the house wanted one? Or not on a wall at all?

No, it’s fine — you just add some smart buttons to control the smart switches! And maybe that one lamp can have a smart bulb… And suddenly, you’re running both systems! 7

Running several systems isn’t just about needing more hubs and apps and stuff — it’s also about differing logic. Like, what we want is to control the lights. And to me, at least, doing this through controlling the switch is less intuitive than controlling the light directly.

Neither system works in every situation, and could benefit from using the other to fill in the blanks. But I’d absolutely go for the system with the fewest blanks as the default.

Smart plugs can absolutely be useful in a system based on smart light sources as well! I use them for this globe, in addition to some Christmas lights. But I hope we can all agree that smart bulb + smart button is strictly better than regular bulb + smart plug + smart button. 8

More flexibility

Having smart buttons, rather than light switches tethered to the wall, feels like going from wired headphones to wireless earbuds. It’s hard to explain — but harder to go back.

Here are some of the button options from the brands I’m using:

The Philips buttons. You can use the backplate to cover the regular switches if you want, but you don't need them. As they're battery powered, they can be detached!

I mostly have these, the Flic 2.

Flic recently released the Twist, that has a light to show "the amount". You can single and double click the middle portion, and both twist and twist+click.

Somrig from IKEA is a bit larger than the others. But you can program single click, double click and hold for both the top and the bottom, and it takes regular AAA batteries (that can be bought rechargeable!). The last image is of Rodret, which instead turns on at the top, off at the bottom, and dims by holding.

Aqara has options for the simple buttons above - but they also have this cool thing! You can program it to what you want while turning it do the different sides. Oh, the possibilities!

It’s not that there aren’t options for wall-mounted switches — but you kind of have to decide once and for all. And none of them are detachable, or possible to just stick wherever you want. 9

Furthermore, both Philips, IKEA and Aqara offer smart plugs — so integrating these in a system based on these systems is trivial. 10

Some utilisations of this flexibility

In my home office, I have a button for the ceiling lights near the door. But one day I thought: “Hmm, it would’ve been nice to also have a button I can reach from my desk!” I had one lying around, and literally five minutes later I had stuck it on the wall next to me, ready to go.

Another day, I was sitting on the couch, and thought: “Hmm, it would be neat if double-clicking the button for the living room lights toggled the kitchen lights” (which are visible from the couch). And again, five minutes later, it was up and running.

This is my bedside light — and my wife has the same on the other side. It’s a smart bulb toggled by clicking the little black button. (Double-clicking the button toggles the light on the other side, and holding it turns off all lights in the bedroom.) However, the light is also part of my favourite automation:

Hitting the button with the sleeping emoji, turns off all the lights in the apartment (and lowers the blinds if they aren’t lowered already), and then lights my bedside lamp on 1% brightness. Double-clicking the button does the same, but lights the lamp on my wife’s side instead. 11

I hope it’s possible to see how several parts of this would be impossible without smart light sources — and that it has value.

To sum it up…

I’m not saying there aren’t cases where smart switches are the right choice. But personally (!) I think the true value of smart lights reveals itself when all your lights are smart — and in this situation I think smart light sources are superior.

Some negatives of smart light sources:

Might be more expensive.

You should do something about the regular light switches, and be more mindful about making the system intuitive.

**The buttons are battery powered — and these needs to be changed. **(Might be a reason to go for something rechargeable, like AAA. Having spares lying in a charger, would eliminate much of this annoyance.)

And some positives:

The flip side of the buttons being battery powered, is that they’re much more flexible — both for detaching, and general placement.

You can get bulbs that change colour (temperature), and it’s easier to make freestanding lights dimmable.

You don’t have to do (or pay someone else to do) any wiring in the walls. This also makes the whole thing more reversible.

If you’re going for (more or less) “full smart coverage”, and don’t want to litter your home with smart plugs + buttons, you probably can’t avoid some smart light sources anyway. And then it’s just nicer to have everything on the same system, using the same logic.

What have I missed? There should probably be something, as I feel like I’m in the minority! Would love to hear your feedback, or questions/ideas for my guide for setting up a system based on smart light sources.

You could run this without the buttons, and just control the lights from your phone, with your voice etc. But why would anyone do something like that to themselves and those around them? ↩︎

You do with the smart plugs, though! ↩︎

And double clicking toggles a different light - but they don’t need to know that! ↩︎

I don’t mind the “lock-in” by using HomeKit, as every piece of kit can be moves elsewhere if needed. ↩︎

One use I’ve heard, is having a little light near your desk lighting up with the colour of the current Focus Mode! You can also sync it with your Philips Ambilight TV. ↩︎

Also, bulbs lasts for a really long time these days, so you don’t have to buy the “more expensive bulbs” that often. ↩︎

Again, you might be perfectly content with just having a couple of your ceiling lamps smart, and skipping the rest - and that’s fine! ↩︎

About the same price, but more parts and less features. ↩︎

I will go more into the different types, and when to use them, in the guide! ↩︎

Aqara also offers smart switches for the wall! Might be something to look into for that one light. ↩︎

You know, for the two times a year she goes to bed after me. ↩︎

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