#which is total bullshit but poor girl’s been through it

[livwritesstuff]

Steve is up past his bedtime.

(Because he's in his mid-fifties and needs one of those now).

It's 2:30 in the morning and he's awake, sitting in bed with a book and doing his best to ignore the dull ache of exhaustion because his oldest daughter, Moe, hasn't come home yet.

He keeps glancing at his phone, waiting for the screen to light up with a notification from the Ring doorbell they've had up and running for a few years.

Steve had been on the fence about getting it installed, but Eddie wanted it (and it was that or the touch screen toaster, and Steve didn't think he'd be able to take his kitchen seriously with a touch screen toaster).

The late-2000s had turned Eddie into a tech guy. Steve isn't sure if it should have come as a surprise to him or not, but it's true either way. Their kids are 1000x more proficient with it, for sure, but they also grew up with it. The last time the girls were really impressed was when their local Pizza Hut got one of those big touch screen soda machines, but Eddie is pretty much guaranteed to be into anything with a touch screen, anything he can control on his phone.

Steve, on the other hand, reached his capacity for technology with the 2nd gen iPad, which is still up and running even in the 2020s and he still uses it to play Hay Day with Hazel despite being practically the last people on Earth doing it. He’s not interested in any of the new stuff.

The one thing Steve was totally game for was getting a Ring doorbell, because with the girls old enough to come and go mostly as they please, it’s nice to have a better sense of those comings and goings.

It wasn't easy for Steve – relinquishing some control to give their daughters the independence that they'd be chasing whether they had permission or not, but the girls have called their dads to get them out of sticky situations enough times for Steve to know they're making the right decision, even if he doesn't like it.

Ridiculous as it feels, that silly smart doorbell does actually provide him with a small sense of relief.

As is proven yet again when his phone lights up with the long-awaited Ring notification.

"Jesus Christ, finally," Steve mutters, and Eddie, who'd been dozing off by his side, lifts his head.

"She's back?" he asks.

Steve nods.

The notification opens in time for them to see Moe stumbling up the porch steps. There's a boy her age – unfamiliar to Steve even up close – watching her warily from a few paces back. She's wrapped in a big sweatshirt and cradling a greasy Domino's bag like she'd used to hold her stuffed animals.

Moe grapples for the door before pausing and leaning towards the camera.

"Sorry Papa," she mumbles, shaking her wrecked bangs out of her eyes.

"Oh, look at her, hitting you with the Papa because she knows it makes you go soft," Eddie says with a smirk, "No apology for me though, that's kind of bullshit."

Steve shakes his head with a snort.

Moe finally gets the door open and makes her way inside. They hear the sound of the door closing downstairs a split second before it comes through the phone. The boy waits until she's inside before waving weakly at the camera.

"Uh...I'm Nate," Nate says, looking completely exhausted and sounding as if he regrets addressing the camera to begin with, "I'm sober. I drove her home. There’s, uh…I gotta get other people home."

Steve snorts as he watches the boy turn and walk back down the porch steps.

"Poor kid. Long night – closest Dominos is, like, thirty minutes from here."

"Jesus," Eddie shakes his head, "Think Moe would be totally mortified if we tracked him down to say thank you?"

"Yes."

"Sweet, sounds like a plan.”

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

Clone wars headcanons that took me forever to edit

I feel like my last couple of headcanons have been mushy so I’ve decided to write some shit Ahsoka and Anakin do that piss each other off 

Ahsoka bites the skin around her nails all the time and most of the time she won't stop till they’re bleeding 

Anakin’s tried literally everything in the book to get her to stop 

He tried putting spices on her hands forgetting that she likes spicy food, he’s tried painting her nails (like that’ll do anything) but she keeps picking the paint off, now he just uses the force to remove them from her mouth 

That’s gotten a few growls from her but at least it makes her aware she’s doing it but it doesn’t stop her from bitting them a couple of seconds later

Honestly he’s given up and just sits in silence while she complains about the pain

Anakin paces whenever he’s even slightly nervous and she can tell how nervous he is depending on how fast he moves 

If he’s just kinda anxious he moves pretty slow but if he’s like one shirt caught on a door handle away from a panic attack he’s teleporting 

When Padme told him he was gonna be a dad he was ecstatic for about 24 hours but after that some invisible timer went off in his head he booked it to Ahsoka’s house (she lives down the street cause of course she does)

Walked into her room and woke her poor sleepy butt up with all his pacing 

Girl swears to this day he broke the damn sound barrier with how fast he was moving 

She just wordlessly sat up and patted her bed cause she knew she wasn’t gonna get any sleep until he did 

She sat by him and listened as he rattled off all his worries and only really stepped in when the darker thoughts surfaced when it was all said and done she turned to him and said “Now let me kriffing sleep” 

Should he have probably left the room yeah but he got a total of 30 minutes of “sleep” that night so it’s not surprising that he knocked the fuck out of

Padme was a little bit alarmed to wake up without Anakin but was quickly soothed when she read Ahsoka’s message “Your nerf herders with me” 

She knew the pregnancy would dredge up some unhappy feelings and she also knew Anakin can’t think clearly if he doesn’t have Ahsoka to sort through the bullshit in his head 

She just got ready for brunch with her two favorite people and smiled cause she knew Obi-Wan and Rex would join them for dinner with or without an invitation 

When Anakin and Ahsoka were living together they would kick each other out of their own bathrooms 

Why? Well Ahsoka said Anakin’s had better lighting and water pressure and Anakin would do it to spite Ahsoka because he knew it would piss her off  

Slowly but surely their stuff gets moved into each other's bathrooms and it’s a weird amalgamation of crap 

Also when they were living together Anakin would ask Ahsoka if she was hungry before cooking and she’d often say no because she didn’t want to impose but his cooking always looked and smelled good 

So half the time girl would just end up eating some of his food when she thought he wasn’t looking 

At first he was like “Snips you said you weren’t hungry” to which she would respond “Yeah I wasn’t hungry then but I am now” after that he starts making more food on instinct cause damn that girl can eat 

Anakin gets back at her pretty easily tho by taking the first bite of her food whenever they go out to eat his excuse is that he’s “making sure it’s not poisoned” he never does this to Padme cause he respects her too damn much 

And he can’t use that trick on Obi-Wan and Rex cause the former taught him the trick and the latter has a bullshit detecter built-in 

Both Anakin and Ahsoka pull that trick on the twins tho (which gets them a quick scolding from Padme) 

Speaking of the twins it’s not surprising that as they grow up they realize that their auntie isn’t human so of course like any normal child they have questions and Anakin being the little shit that he is spots an opportunity for some laughs 

So he turns to the twins all serious-like and goes “Well my loves we actually found your auntie in a dumpster we have no idea where she came from” the twins are distraught and go to the nearest adult who just so happens to be their uncle Rex 

And Rex also being a little shit backs up Anakin’s story with so much sincerity that even Anakin believed it a little bit 

The twins being the angels they are apologize to their auntie for her terrible origin story with tears in their eyes and her reaction more than made up for the swift ass-kicking the boys got  

When Anakin was taller than Ahsoka he made her life hell by making fun of her every time something was even slightly out of her reach

He would make a big deal about grabbing it for her while commenting about how the temple’s architecture wasn’t made with the “young ones” in mind 

Obi-Wan has turned multiple blind eyes when Ahsoka socked the shit out of his arm when he tells one too many jokes some days

When she finally grows taller than him she makes the biggest deal about it and no one can blame her 

While Anakin is the pilot Ahsoka is easily the navigator she often jokes that Anakin wouldn’t find his way out of bed without help 

Which is funny cause he often acts like a herding dog with her putting his hand on her back or holding her arm to guide her 

But he’s wrong 9/10 times so it’s not uncommon to see Anakin guiding her in one direction and then see him get dragged in the opposite direction a couple of minutes later  

[ohbo-ohno]

Literal man hunt!!

Ghost and Soap who are protective of their land like they're Americans, literally guns everywhere and shooting anyone suspicious on sight because they have many enemies and a lot of people would love to kill them once they're retired.

But our girl literally just...got lost. She stumbled across their cabin like a baby deer because she is either got lost or was running from someone. It was the first time ever when Ghost missed a shot...and he is happy he did because now they have an adorable injured darling!!

Her leg is no good so they help her, get her treatment from a real doctor even but of course you have to stay with them, you're cold and hurt and delusional because you're their soulmate and their perfect little pet who can't even resist because they are providing food and shelter. Living cottagecore life with your two murderous husbands but you really don't want to be here.

And you want to ran away but you physically can't. Soap is constantly doting on poor us, supports us when we have to make food because they are horrible at it, Ghost is adoring the sight. Retirement is nice when you have a little pet near you.

Eventually they even force us help them with other victims!! Like cleaning the blood from Ghost and Soap in the shower, listen to their various hunting stories, hold the ammo for them once we can escort them in the forest.....the possibilities are endless. Other victims think we can help them, but we just cry and apologize over and over as Soap bashes their brains with an axe

being forced to help with their other victims... my guy you should read Brother by Ania Ahlborn, man is forced to help his serial killer family dispose of their victims

also below the cut i kinda barely touched on the concept you sent but it's so good and i had nothing to add im sorry :(

cw below for like... very light gore? description of murder fitting of a horror movie

wandering around lost through the woods and randomly getting fucking shot, only for someone to come running out of the trees and asking if you're ok??? has me going bonkers

also this is totally giving the most dangerous game so i present you: soap and ghost kidnap groups of people and hunt them for sport, but when you wake up they realize that they want you to stay alive. maybe soap pretends to be one of the victims, teams up with you to help you (help keep you alive) and herds you in the direction of their cabin without you knowing

you only realize what's going on when he slaughters another person, someone who wants to team up with you two. sure the way the new guy looked at you made you uncomfortable... but johnny split his head open with an axe when he reaches for you, splits him right down the middle and leaves you staring up at him, both of you covered in blood

and now what, right?

you learn you've been kidnapped to be prey in some sick bastard's idea of fun, and now the one man you thought might help you through this turns out to be that sick bastard?

and johnny's pretty pissed, he'd wanted to play along with you for a little longer :/ but that other motherfucker had forced his hand, had tried to touch you, and he couldn't just let that happen. and now you're screaming and crawling away from him, which is bullshit because he was literally protecting you

so now you've got pissy serial killer johnny, grabbing you by the elbow and dragging you behind him despite your best struggles, grunting and asking can you just fuckin' relax for a minute while you stare up at him like ?!?!!?!?!?!

anyway he drags you to where simon's been hunting the others, drops you at his feet and crosses his arms all angrily. ghost just raises an eyebrow, "i thought you wanted to play along with them this time?"

and johnny's pouty about it, damn near tapping his foot in complaint. "wanted to play along with her, but some bastard got touchy."

you manage to scramble away, get up and fucking sprint through the forest because oh my god the guy johnny took you to had a fucking crossbow, only to trip over a wire and end up locked in a net, six feet off the ground

and here comes johnny and ghost, sauntering out of the woods and looking up at you in the air. johnny laughs at you, and you're crying so hard you can hardly even see them

anyways, they leave you in the net while they deal with their other prey <3 come back for you at the end of the night and take you home with them

[themattress]

The 30 WORST Sailor Moon Episodes

Leaving off Sailor Stars altogether, because that whole series would fit here.

"Learn How to Be Skinny from Usagi"

Sukehiro Tomita. Great head writer, usually fantastic script writer. What the fuck, man? This is the second episode you penned? While it has a great climax with Usagi kicking a bunch of mind-controlled bodybuilders' asses and Jadeite actually succeeding in his energy gathering mission, but that doesn't excuse all of the body-shaming bullshit that came before, portraying all girls and women as caring about fitness to stay beautiful rather than to stay healthy. It also kind of sabotages the following episode, as it's difficult to give a shit about Shingo after this.

"A Girl's Dream: Usagi Becomes a Bride"

There was some shakiness in Nephrite's first five episodes, but nothing outright bad save for this middle one. It's got the same, clueless "this is what women are like, amirite?" attitude as the previous episode on the list, but in this case it may be even worse because it's the lone woman writer on the staff, Megumi Sugihara, who wrote it! Man, it was bad enough for poor Rei's character to start dating Mamoru in the previous episode; this does her even dirtier.

"Usagi's Confusion: Is Tuxedo Mask Evil?"

That title sure makes this episode sound exciting, doesn't it? Well, if you believe that, then you were swindled. The majority of this episode is about a bizarre Dark Kingdom barbershop ploy to find Sailor Moon, which fails because their machine somehow picks out a stray hair of hers that got on Minako over all of Minako's actual hair, so they think she's Sailor Moon! When Evil Tuxedo Mask does show up, he's kind of underwhelming and the characters seem to brush off the supposed seriousness of the situation at the end, which is a far cry from how things were in the manga. It's the start of the worst stretch of episodes in the original show.

"Let's Become a Princess: Usagi's Bizarre Training"

This episode is a perfect example of an Idiot Plot: the Dark Kingdom are idiots by putting together an expensive princess seminar in the hopes that Sailor Moon will attend just because she knows she was a princess in the past life, Sailor Moon is an idiot who does attend even though being a princess has no bearing on her present day life, her friends are idiots by attending as well for no reason, Evil Tuxedo Mask is an idiot for interfering because he thinks it should be done a different way, Kunzite is an idiot for just squabbling with him over it instead of asserting his authority, and the Monster-of-the-Week is an idiot for letting the squabble distract her and allow Sailor Moon to just waltz right up and purify her. Idiots!

"The Snow, the Mountains, Friendship and Monsters"

First off, how dare this title rip off the far superior "The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts", making one think it might be another fun breather episode like that when instead it's another asinine Dark Kingdom plan to expose Sailor Moon's identity, this time assuming she'll win a ski race for a "princess" title just because she's a princess, forgetting that Sailor Moon's clumsiness was a big factor in determining who she might be in the previous episode. But even worse than that is how some legit good bonding between Usagi and Rei is totally thrown out by the ending, where Rei reaches peak Adaptational Jerkass mode even when it no longer makes the remotest of sense given all they've been through and what they now know!

"Paired with a Monster: Mako, the Ice Skating Queen"

Didn't we just have an ice sport-based episode? And didn't we just have a Dark Kingdom plan that stupidly forgot the whole "Sailor Moon is clumsy" fact? Add to this Makoto beginning the Flanderization of her character just being about "sempai!", the Monsters-of-the-Week reaching new levels of unfitting campiness, and Evil Tuxedo Mask teaming up with the Sailor Senshi despite insisting he's so totally evil now, and you have a lame, forgettable episode.

"The Legendary Lake Yokai: The Bond of Usagi's Family"

This episode hurts because it has a great set-up with Usagi and her family taking a camping trip, and the Autumn forest they camp in is a beautiful location. Even the myth of the lake monster is great and holds some interesting parallels to what Sailor Moon is going through. But guess who shows up and ruins it: "Evil" Endymion, who teams up with the Sailor Senshi yet again because of his own stupidity, all while Kunzite floats around watching and doing nothing because the writers have just given up on him, I guess. It's just such a damn waste!

"Usagi Devastated: Mamoru Declares a Break-Up"

One of the most notorious episodes in the anime. Mamoru has dreams of disaster befalling Usagi and a voice telling him this is the future if he stays with her, so he just breaks up with her without explaining his reasons. Worse still is that the excuse he gives, that being lovers in a past life doesn't mean they should be lovers now, is a fair point and could have been interesting to explore if it was said with any validity. But as it stands, it's the first of several episodes where we have the "joy" of watching Usagi cry and grovel before Mamoru as he acts cold and heartless toward her while inwardly bemoaning that he has to do so but it's for her own good. It's the subplot that understandably killed the Usagi/Mamoru ship for many.

"The Beach, the Island and a Vacation: The Guardians' Break"

Once again the title suggests something along the lines of "The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts", and this time the writers do actually make that attempt. But then we get three major strikes: the fact that more time is spent showing off the girls in bikinis than doing any story or character work, the main plot centering around Chibiusa befriending a baby dinosaur which just feels out of place for this series, and the battle the Sailor Senshi end up fighting being against....a volcano. Yes, a mundane, non-sentient, lava-spewing volcano. Yeesh!

"Awaken the Sleeping Beauty: Mamoru's Distress"

The break-up subplot returns to the forefront, and this might just be the worst episode to feature it, since Mamoru reaches new levels of douchiness by taking Motoki's younger sister for a ride on his motorcycle and actively trying to make Usagi believe that they're now a couple. His behavior toward Usagi has been bad enough, but actively using an innocent like Unazuki in an attempt to hurt Usagi ("for her own good", of course) is scummy beyond belief. And it poisons the following episode by depicting this kind of behavior as remotely justified.

"Magic of Darkness: Esmeraude's Invasion"

That image kind of says it all. Once again the writing staff's lone women turns out an astonishingly sexist episode, one where Esmeraude, the big badass villainess taking over from Rubeus, is treated as if she were one of the Ayakashi Sisters: setting up a hair-brained scheme on Earth, wearing a gaudy disguise, pigging out on sweets and getting publicly embarrassed over it, hitting on Tuxedo Mask even when that makes zero sense for her to do given her fixation on Prince Demande, and having her over-the-top laughter treated as something legit damaging to the Sailor Senshi as a gag. On her behalf, I am offended.

"Shared Feelings: Usagi and Mamoru in Love Once Again"

This episode at least finally ends the break-up subplot, but the subplot is still bad regardless of how it resolves itself and the fact that it's been allowed to go on this long is a testament to how badly series director Kunihiko Ikuhara wanted to taint Mamoru's character and his relationship with Usagi in the eyes of viewers since he personally didn't care for either.

"Venus Minako's Nurse Mayhem"

This episode is the start of Minako's Flanderization, and while it's far from the worst case of it, it's not the best either. She feels like she's her Codename Sailor V self and not her Sailor Venus self. It doesn't help that the episode continues degrading Esmeraude for laughs.

"Artemis' Adventure: The Monster Animal Kingdom"

See the above, but swap out "Minako" with "Artemis". These back-to-back episodes sucked.

"I Want to Quit Being a Sailor Guardian: Minako's Dilemma"

An even worse case of Minako regressing as a character. Struggling with her position as one of the Sailor Senshi and falling head over heels for a handsome teen volleyball star feels like it would come straight out of Codename Sailor V, but not out of Sailor Moon where Minako is the most firmly committed to the cause. It does her character such an incredible disservice.

"Shadow of Silence: The Pale Glimmer of a Firefly"

It's not your fault, Hotaru - it's the writers and director. Their decision to hold off on one of the Infinity arc's most pivotal characters, if not the most pivotal, until the back half and squeeze as much as they can into those episodes really hurts this one. As nice as Hotaru is, we still barely know her after only two episodes and all of a sudden the show is throwing all this shit about her at us and demanding that we be invested. Mimete is also starting to grate as an antagonist, as her shenanigans are completely out of tone with the rest of the episode.

"Sunny Skies After a Storm: A Friendship Dedicated to Hotaru"

Much like the episode with the Lake Yokai, this one has a good premise: a trip with Usagi, Mamoru and Chibiusa sounds fantastic since the three of them work well off each other. But Hotaru gets shoehorned in for no good reason because she's taken over the show due to its bad pacing, and then Mimete shows up with a scheme utilizing a plant-based Daimon. Hmmm, I dunno, don't we have another Witches 5 member who would be better suited for this plot? One who is all about plants? Remind me: why are we still stuck with Mimete!?

"Higher and Stronger: A Cheer from Usagi"

More shoving of Hotaru to the forefront, more of Mimete being an incompetent villain. Sigh.

"The Messiah of Silence Awakens? Stars of Destiny"

So we've known for some time now that Hotaru is the Messiah of Silence and now the characters learn it, but it's also discovered that she's Sailor Saturn too! That seems...backwards from how it was in the manga. But far worse than that is the Outer Senshi trying to murder Hotaru because...it's easier than just extracting the Messiah of Silence from her innocent host, and because they've heard spooky things about Sailor Saturn that have caused them bad dreams. Yeah, that's it. In the manga, the Outer Senshi seeking to kill Hotaru was nuanced and based upon valid reasoning. Here, they're just being assholes.

"A Heart-Snatching Demon Flower: Tellu, the Third Witch"

Oh look, there's Tellu! .......Well, bye! It was nice barely knowing you, I guess!

Seriously, this post sums it up better than I could.

"A New Life: Parting of the Stars of Destiny"

Here it is: Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune's big send-off. And how do they spend it? By attacking Usagi because even though she saved the world, she risked it to begin with....even though her risking it was literally the only reason it was saved. But they claim she's not "strong" enough to be a princess and leader because of her idealism...but once she kicks their asses, they say it was all just a test, even though they also seem to know she is the Messiah. The only way I can make sense of it is that they went in knowing full well how this would end, but did it anyway because they were that pissed off at Usagi and her idealism proving them and their edgelord cynicism blatantly wrong and wanted to let out steam by attacking her, with the whole "it was just a test, brah!" as their pre-prepared excuse to save face afterward. It's amazing how two characters I started out adoring get a send-off where all I can think is "finally; good fucking riddance". It's such shameful character assassination.

"A Guardian’s Realization: Strength Lies Within a Pure Heart"

This is the final episode of S and Sukehiro Tomita's last written episode, having already stepped down from the head writer position midway through S, and it's....the ending to the Black Moon arc of the manga. There's a Daimon thrown in for no good reason, but otherwise it's adapting the previous arc's conclusion at the end of this arc, and it just does not work. It only gets worse in hindsight: such a big emotional deal made out of Chibiusa "saying goodbye" except not really because she immediately comes back, only for her real goodbye to end up happening entirely off-screen. It makes one wish she really had been sent off here!

"The Perfect Couple: Usagi and Mamoru's Love"

A contender for perhaps the biggest lie of an episode title ever; we ain't forgetting that break-up arc, Ikuhara. But this episode doesn't harm Usagi or Mamoru...it's Chibiusa who is ruined here! Mamoru starts hanging out with a "mature woman" friend from college and while Usagi is unconcerned (don't worry, she'll backtrack on this attitude two episodes down this list!), Chibiusa becomes convinced Mamoru will choose her over the "immature" Usagi and thus she'll never be born, leading to a scene where she just viciously goes off on Usagi on how inferior she is to the other woman, to the point of even saying she wishes the other woman was her mother instead! Chibiusa would never fucking say this. Ugh, it's episodes like this in this series where I can totally get the hate she's historically received. Its only saving grace is of course the villains: French!Tiger's Eye and the unforgettable Phuku the Balloon Lady.

"Artemis is Cheating? Enter the Mysterious Kitten"

We spend the whole episode dealing with unfunny misunderstandings about Artemis being in love with a human woman or having fathered a child in an affair with another cat, with the end result being the introduction of their future child Diana...who should have been introduced back in the Black Moon arc and whose appearance here in the present is nonsensical. Look, writers, you missed your chance. Just accept that and don't even bother with Diana at all.

"Protect Mamoru: Ninja Usagi's Jealousy"

Remember how in the first series, Rei's antagonism toward Usagi could be carried too far? Oh how the tables have turned. Mamoru ends up forced to crash at Rei's temple for a few days, and Usagi goes absolutely ballistic, losing all faith in her boyfriend and best friend by being convinced Rei will try to steal Mamoru back since they dated a long time ago. She thus becomes "the Red Ninja of Love" who won't leave poor Rei alone. How am I supposed to buy into these relationships when Usagi is like this even after all they've been through together?

"Aiming for the Top: The Pretty Swordswoman's Dilemma"

Sometimes, child abuse can be justified!

Yeah, that's it. That's the episode. Moving on...

"Believe in Pegasus: The Four Guardians' Super Transformation"

One of SuperS' biggest problems is that all of the Sailor Senshi's powers have been stripped away from them and, rather than get them back on their own like in the manga, they have to rely on Pegasus to dole them out. This episode is just rubbing the viewer's face in this fact, showing how the Senshi are useless unless they "believe" in this goddamn horse. Once again the villains manage to make something out of what is otherwise an infuriating episode.

"Become a Prima: Usagi's Ballet"

At first glance, there isn't much separating this episode from any of the other formulaic episodes in SuperS. But there is one major problem with this one: Fish Eye gets robbed. We're supposed to be happy about the conclusion the characters-of-the-day arrive at, but every word of what Fish Eye says about it is true! Fish Eye is clearly the better dancer, the guy was using her if he insisted on personally practicing with her all while "neglecting to mention" that he never intended on casting anyone but his love interest in the lead role, and the logic behind his decision making is a bunch of pretentious garbage simply used to justify his personal bias and favoritism. Fish Eye did nothing wrong here, but we're supposed to cheer her unjust personal defeat because she's the villain. Yeah, no. Fuck that asshole!

"Clash of Dreams: Minako and Makoto's Broken Friendship"

An episode about Minako and Makoto clashing was already done and done better back in R. That they're clashing so childishly now is once again showing how much of a disservice is being done to the characters and the relationships they've built. It's particularly bad here because it's not over differing philosophies like before, but over a guy. No...just no. Once again the villains, in this case the Amazoness Quartet, are the only thing that's worthwhile.

"Pegasus Disappears: Wavering Friendship"

So it's bad enough that the Senshi can't get by without Pegasus in SuperS. But now we have Chibiusa confronting him on how he's needlessly not given much information about himself and his situation, and rather than depict Pegasus as in the wrong for this, Chibiusa is shamed for "not believing" in him, as if friendship that's a one-way street is totally fine and that she should just let this guy keep his secrets while remaining an open book to him emotionally. This is such a bad and downright creepy message to send. Helios, the anime did you dirty.

[thedawningofthehour]

Welp, at least it's reassuring to know that when the can of worms is opened Tigerclaw will take Donnie's side.

Baron Draxum and the audacity of that bitch is my new favorite band.

I really hope this encounter pays off and helps cass realize the truth later on, but considering we're talking about the same girl who agreed to release a demon to enslave humanity.... I think we'd better sit tight and wait.

Speaking of which, way to call the kettle black, cass.

I must admit, I'm scared, I have no idea what Galois plans to do, and I'm scared. On the other hand, Galois setting up listening devices to spy on the fam is something I've been thinking about since literally the first kidnapping attempt. I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. On the other hand, I wonder if this is how the bitches faction will figure out that Bella is working with the fam.

I've been thinking a lot about why Cass would decide to do something like that, and I'm split on a few things. My first assumption was that she just fucking hates people. Cass hasn't exactly had a lot of good role models throughout her life, her mom cared more about getting high than taking care of her and her dad has his own host of issues. And there's the whole systemic thing in play as well, she grew up impoverished in a poor area with a ton of crime, and all the bullshit that comes with being poor. I think I cut this but I had a line where she mentions her dad's mom being a really stabilizing presence in her life, and her dad had his shit mostly together until she died when Cass was eleven. (which is when she started getting taken away by CPS and stuck in foster homes while he got his act together) There could have totally been an event there, maybe her nana received extremely poor medical care and Cass believes that she would have lived if they'd been wealthy? I think about what a teenage girl her age with her background could be going through and I feel like she'd be incredibly disillusioned. She's realizing that society sucks, and she's mad. She wants to tear it down, and maybe she doesn't care what goes up in its place.

But I also think about the fact like...she's seventeen at the start of the show. A seventeen-year-old in a gang, who's been training in martial arts for a decade and sees this as the cumulation of her skills and efforts. She would be incredibly easy to manipulate. This is even before you factor in any daddy issues and longings for parental approval; the foot husbands could have told her to jump off a cliff and she would have done it. I mean, she would have done it anyway because she's Cass, but you know what I mean.

Oh, no, Gale found the bug on Cass. Was that not clear? I can go back and edit it if it was confusing, lol.

[damelucyjo]

Possibly my favourite episode of the season. But could that be because it feels like they just remembered this show is really about Rebecca Welton and is just named after her boyfriend?? Not at all!!

Let’s go!!

Episode 10 - International Break

Woah! What a way for reveal Nate left West Ham! 🫢

Shut up, George!! You’re just bitter you were shut at your job and it’s showing now

Ted! We want to spend every weekend with you! Please never leave

Is this really how they find out who got chosen?? Seems like something they’d personally get told first. I think the boys knew, but the coaches didn’t!! Hmm

‘Wait, hold on. Bumbercatch, you’re Swiss?’ ‘Yeah. Look at me’ this boy really is a man of mystery!! 😂

Poor Sam 🙁

But God love Jamie though! He’s come so far!! 🥰🥰

‘I am not your bro. We are now enemies, and soon, you will be my bitch’ woah, Mexico Dani is a whole other breed of dog, huh!! I’ll stick with Richmond puppy Dani, thanks 😂

YYEEEAAAHHHH!!

We love a convo that sounds like it’s about periods but is actually about wine 🫡

MADELINE KAHN REFERENCE!!! 😍😍 this alone could make this episode my favourite!!

Totally tracks though that Ted doesn’t like gossip

As much as I always want scenes of Ted & Rebecca alone, that reveal to Trent was brilliant. And of course he’s good at girl talk 😂

Please, they way Rebecca reacts to Ted is such married behaviour. AND TRENT IS SEEING IT ALL FIRST HAND!! I’m so excited

Oh, Ted. You’re cute. You knew exactly what they meant. You just wanted to make your wife smile. It’s okay, we get it 🥰

AND AGAIN WITH THE DEVIL BIT. Boy…

I’ll continue to say it; Nate & Jade are cute!

Fully expected her to flip them all off, not gonna lie

Omg I totally saw this coming, and yet it’s still heartbreaking 🥺

Keeley’s not stupid. She knows it’s not the board, Barbra

JUNO TEMPLE!!! 😢😢😢 (first time I got teary this episode)

Scary Mexico Dani 🤘🏼 You just know Cristo had a blast with this episode!! (Peep the guy in the back with the huge smile😂)

Slutty Ted in red with his arms out 🥵

‘It’s hard to see the ball when your eyes are full if tears’ fucking savage 😂

The Wunder Turd. Nice

Fuck Jane though

I think Trent’s next book should just be about Beard. That is an interesting man, for sure! Like, why do you need so many axes, my guy?!

Well that was awkward… but also a little sweet 🫣

‘The creepy old man that lives in the sewers’ Renee, you’ll always be famous to us

Okay, I could go on and on about this, but I think this is a great, subtle way to begin showing Rupert falling apart.

‘When they used to play by candlelight’ YES, REBECCA! FUCK THAT OLD MAN UP!! 😂

‘Some people just are t ready when they get their shot’ That is not at all what happened, Rupert

Oop she knows that’s bullshit, too

HAPPY UNCLE DAY, ROY!! 🎉🎉

Okay, I love Roy’s sister. And also the subtle call back to her actually being the doctor that treated Sharon last season 👍🏼 Nice

Of course that’s the order of Phoebe’s favourite holidays. Uncle Roy is number 1! (&2😉)

Uh oh, secrets out boys! 😂😂

How fucking cute though that Jamie gets a call (probably from Phoebe herself) inviting him to this party and he actually turns up with a really thoughtful gift 🥹 THE GROWTH IN THIS BOY IS GORGEOUS!!

Omg Eloide’s face journey in this scene is perfection. Phoebe has been grossly underused this show!

Also the cutest fucking present. She’s knows your inside is so bright and colourful, Roy! You shouldn’t hide it!

‘Your sister is fit’ ‘I will cut your eyes out’ 😂 okay, but like… I would 100% be behind these two being brother-in-laws, just saying 😂

SAM RICHARDSON!!! 😍 always a blast when he shows up!

And you just know from Toheeb himself that these scenes are a struggle to get through once Sam gets on a roll

But poor Sam, though. Edwin is such a dick

Poor Nate, too. He’s so lost right now 🥺

Yeah, Lloyd, shut up (which is what she meant to say)

Seeing her signs blocked off 🥺🥺 heartbreaking

Since when does her lady ship enter a room like that?? 😂 but I’m glad it means we get to see more physical comedy from Jeremy 👍🏼 Always a bonus!

So her order is Keeley, Ted, Sassy, Leslie and never her mother 😂 I love that actually

‘I hate to break it to you, Rebecca, but those children are dead’ made me laugh just as much as it did the first time! 😂

We love a protective Papa Higgins in this house 🥰 but boy seems traumatised by that story 😂

Oh don’t suck your tie, Leslie 🤦🏻‍♀️

So that photo has shown up on both Keeley & Ted’s phone, but whose did she take it on?? 🤔

That is a bullshit text, Jack. Absolutely no excuse. I knew I was right to not trust you from the start! 😡

‘Everything? Fuck no’ another great call back

Also hell yeah to a Keeley & Mae scene!! (Do have some thoughts about what I’ve seen some people say about this scene, though…)

Whether she’s drunk or making a joke, Keeley actually going with Mae’s full name being Maybe is genius!😂

I really need a Mae in my life. I feel like I could actually get my life in order after a conversation with this woman

Everyone not knowing what to do or how to react to him wearing this t-shirt is brilliant

(Also Red Right Hand playing over this is maybe the last little push I need to finally start Peaky Blinders once this show is done)

Beard trying to get Ted’s attention- amazing. But what was he doing on his phone that he was so focused on??

‘Okay, now I’m worried. Are you alive? Text ‘no’ if dead’ living for silly, real Rebecca! 🥰

The boys all getting together to watch all the games is beautiful 🥹 they’re all so supportive!!

Also genius work casting Colin & Ryan as the commentators for this match 👌🏼

Savage Dani!!

What are you decorating, Rebecca, that you have a ‘decorating made easy’ pdf on your laptop?? 🤔

📢 THE ARMY MAN IS BACK!! 📢

Yo, Rupert is really struggling atm, huh!

Yes I gasped when he threw it on the floor, but had no doubt he’d bake back for it!

Rebecca is a gif sender. Of course she is

Rebecca has anxiety confirmed?? 🤔

Okay this scene with little Rebecca is absolutely gorgeous!! And did make me tear up a little, not gonna lie.

(As I’ve also said, I choose to believe Paul taught her to do that when she was little)

That is going to become his new favourite t-shirt, I can see it already. Something will eventually happen to it and he’s going to be devastated!!

Again, who the fuck is Leann?! Your name is Ruth, woman! 😂 it’s times like this that fanfic really screws with you 😂

‘I teach kids. I don’t mind cleaning up a mess’ tell him like it is, RuthLeann 😂

Aannndd it’s all falling into place finally. Took your time, Roy!!

‘I like clothes that tell the truth’ BARBARA!! You juicy minx 😂 I love you, please never leave!!

I’ve absolutely loved watching these two together 🥹

She’s so awkward, maybe a little bit autistic 🤷🏻‍♀️ makes sense!

Rupert’s being nice. Makes me feel weird…

‘How could I resist the chance of having a bunch of old men speak directly to my chest?’ Don’t try so hard, man. She’s not that funny!!

His assistant is called Bread. A play on Beard perhaps?? 🤔

Okay, what has he said about Rebecca to get a reaction from her like that??

Also this is deliciously awkward. I hope it comes out that Nathan told everyone he was sleeping with his assistant, as well as others, and that’s why he left. And that Bex left him too. You must suffer

Your ex-wife is also not stupid. She knows exactly what happened with your old assistant.

He introduced her as an owner, not his ex. HE’S TRYING SO HARD!!

I’ve had this exact exchange with many an older gentleman in my time. This is too real 🤢

This man and his obsession with Chicago-style hot dogs knows no bounds! 😂

Okay, these baby pictures are cute

Sam pulling the most out of a tiny little thing is wonderful 😂 wonder how long that actually went on for??

‘An untried dream’. Eww.

So Keeley does know how to text back! 🫢

I love how they bring things in from the actors themselves, assuming this really is Nick playing

‘Is this a fucking joke?’ FUCK THEM UP, GIRLIE!!

And Sam’s face 😂

They really just said let’s surround Hannah with kids this episode, huh 😂

Love her talking to a bunch of old men like they’re children, too

Jamie wearing 24 for Sam 🥹🥹🥹 yes, I have to pause until the tears go away

Roy, your handwriting is atrocious

How dare this show make me have a feeling towards Rupert 😡

I agree with you, Edwin, what a lovely speech indeed. Rebecca, you have come so far from the bitter ex-wife who just wanted to destroy something your ex-husband loved. You truly care and love the sport and your boys now and it’s delicious to witness 🥰🥰🥰

Omg that reveal with amazing!! (Although I will say, on my first watch I though initially the food on Tony’s head was because he’d been punched 🫣😂)

Those giggles were purely Hannah & Tony

Nick is absolutely killing in this season. This scene is a great showcase of exactly how these types of families are. It’s beautiful to witness

Also shoutout to the actor playing his dad. He’s done an amazing job too!!

I’m feeling so many emotions watching this scene. Tony is showcasing beautifully exactly how charming Rupert can be. Reminiscing about old times, getting food out of her hair. Doing his ‘Rupert act’ that likely always works for him. But not with her. Not anymore. She’s the strong one now and he’s lost 🥹 Good for you, Rebecca!

She has to look now, Roy, because nobody can read your handwriting 😂

Brett & Juno kill me. His letter is just beautiful and made me tear up every time I’ve listened to it 🥹 AND HE TOLD HER HE STILL LOVES HER!! 🥰

‘Sincerely yours, Roy Kent. XOXO’ 😂😂 never change, please

They really are beautiful and I can’t wait to see them coming back together!

Keeley opening that door and screaming at Rebecca was *chefs kiss* 😂 Juno Temple, comedy queen!

And I want what they have!! I love how she can share her good news, ask for a hug, then tell her she’s cross with her friend. And her friend completely understands. It’s wonderful

Again, being accountable for you actions. Rebecca doesn’t even have to say anything to her

I’ve seen people against Rebecca funding KJPR, but I think it makes perfect sense. Rebecca has the money and she wants to do something within her means to help her friend reach her full potential. Why wouldn’t she help?!

Keely’s disgust is all of us 😂

Baby girl is finally at the top of her mountain! Now just needs her lightening 😉

I love that the salute has become Rebecca & Roy’s thing 🥰

Wilk is shocked! Bit what a beautiful gesture!

Barbara left Jack and wants to stay with Keeley, as she should! I’ve said from the beginning she knew what Jack was like, but I think the difference is she actually likes Keeley…

I THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP 🩷🎉🥰

Puppy Dani is back!!

Roy wears a colour other than black (or charcoal heather grey) and Beard learns he can share bits of himself with people. Yes, we’re coming to an end, guys…

She didn’t get rid of the painting!!

Also doesn’t need saying, but how fucking gorgeous is Hannah in this scene! That dress & colour on her are delightful. She’s so fucking soft now!!

She didn’t open the biscuits right away! 👀 and she shuffled closer to Ted 👀 is this it, girls? Is it happening?? I’m not ready! What do I do?!! 🫠

The little smile after she says so no longer cares about beating Rupert 🫣 He’s so proud of her!!

The heart eyes 😍 Ted, she is still your boss! She’s not your wife yet!!

OMFG!! 😂😂 how many times do you think she had to do that before she could do it without laughing?? 😂

‘As long as none of that tree piss gets in my mouth, I’m actually okay with it’ Okay, Ted. We get it!!

Well that episode was absolutely beautiful! On so many fronts!!

I do have more thoughts about a few points which I may elaborate on at some point, but I do feel like it’s showing we’re on the home stretch now 😢

Looks like we’re getting Mumma Lasso next episode, too!! 🫣 Kinda vibrating with excitement, but at the same time telling myself not to expect too much! But she’s in Richmond so it’s only right to assume there’d be a scene between her & Rebecca, right??

Only 2 more left babes!! 🫡

[marvellousinternethideout]

Buffy the vampire Slayer.

Season 2

Ep 7 - Lie to me

Please don't kill the kid, I hate it. Leave the kids alone

Drusilla and angel... Do they have a past? Interesting.

Oh for fuck sake! Not again! Why does buffy walks in the worst time ever. Now its angel and Drusilla. Great.

Sometimes Cordelia needs to shut up. Girl, just don't.

A new guy, billy ford, buffy's giant 5th-grade crush. Welp he's either gonna be our new fav guy or die in this episode.

Lmao Xander, you are funny. Also, willow that song is not about fat guys.

Jealousy jealousy all around. Tension all around here. Angel jealous, love it.

Ford knows everything. What do you mean you know about vampire and that she's the slayer!? WTF MAN!

He's a bad guy, I am sure of it. He's a vampire, maybe...? Or he wants to be one...?

Awww, angel is jealous. I love men get jealous in shows or books.

I love awkward mess willow. She's me and I love it.

Dont trust the ford guy. I know he's cute buffy but cute guys are trouble. Stick to women.

Spike and drusilla/drusilla's relationship is creepy .

This ford guy is totally crazy and dumb. Wanna be a vampire, just die.

Jesus Angel is dramatic, "Do you love me?", "maybe you shouldn't ", just shut up.

Jesus fucking Christ, Angel. What he did to Drusilla is pure evil. Poor girl. I hope she gets to torture and kill him. Wtf man.

Xander: "Angel was in your room?", Willow:- "Ours is a forbidden love". God I love willow. She's my favorite .

Man, buffy really has the worst taste in men. None of them are good. Angel(his fucked up past), billy ford, the creepy cemetery guy, the college guy who was a reptile worshipper and in sacrifice cult. Girl, maybe get some therapy at this point,.

Spike is kinda hot and I think I need some therapy now.

Oh OH, this ford guy is max from Rosewell(or whatever it's called), the one with insane chemistry between him and Liz. Lmao, never watched the show but I've watched gif's of them making out, which are...something 🤤🙈

Buffy for the win again.

Spike is gonna kill ford isn't he? Poor guy should've stayed in the Rosewell universe.

I kinda feel bad that ford he died. Poor guy was crazy.

I like this little moment between buffy and giles. It's emotional, raw and real.

B:- "does it get easy", G:- "what, life", B:- "yes", G:- "what do you want me to say", B:- "lie to me". Damn, I don't know why but it got me.

The last scene between giles and buffy, in the end, got me. I mean this show is pretty heavy and emotional at the times but I feel like it's gonna get much more from here.

Also, the "lie to me", episode title. Perfect for this episode. The theme of this episode was literally "lie to me", the conflict, the delusions, denials, characters lying to themselves. Ford, buffy, Giles, angel, all of them lying to themselves in different ways. Their pain and turmoil. Perfect.

Alright, another solid episode. Honestly, other than one or maybe two episodes, I've been pretty much invested in the show and haven't got bored at all.

I loved this episode. Little more sneek peek in angel's past, and drusilla and damn her past broke me, poor girl. Honestly she can go on a killing spree and I wouldn't blame her, the girl has been through hell. Angel ruined her life because he became obsessed with her? Fuck you angel.

Not sure how I feel about ford, he was a one episode guy so no attachment but like dude just die. It's kinda sad he spiralled that far away.

I really need more angel, I am not gonna lie, he doesn't even feel like a character to me anymore. It's weird how little or Barely he is in the show. I know he has his own show but I don't wanna watch that because ain't no way I am putting myself through cordelia and angel bullshit.

A really great ending to the episode, really liked that they touched on Buffy's emotional turmoil, even if it's briefly.

I guess that's all, loved the episode. Not much xander in it, it was more buffy and angel focus and angels past which included drusilla. Someone needs to get her justice because poor girl.

Anyway, see ya in the next one. Cheers 🥂

[asoulofatlantis]

- We literally all died. Who on earth activated the Genesis?

- Seriously, that Cao... I watched the stream yesterday while I was stuck in bed and this guy is really annoying. He is never on the side you believe him to be on. So I can’t even take him seriously anymore when he joins the enemy... or us, for that matter.

- Gee, I guess the vacation ended before it was over this time ^^’ Shit is going down before they even leave for once.

- I have honestly no idea what we died off this time. We just entered a room in a dungeon with Walter, Lucrecia and Renne and Renne suddenly panicked and then boom. We’re dead ^^’

- We weren’t dead yet, Renne actually gave us the final blow, controlled by someoen or something. Ouch.

- Appearantly not every dead end is supposed to happen. Some of them are caused by you doing things “the wrong way”. Which explains while people were complaining that at some parts of the gane they were running into one dead end after another. Here, this is our second dead end BUT we could have been killed another two times if Inferno hadn’t done a few things right.

- It looks like skipping the side-missions can also lead to bad ends. Now that means I am kind of fucked XD

- Appearantly some brainwashing stuff is happening here...

- Pleroma-grass is in a tank. No idea why. 

- My poor Renne has to go through hell and back here. They better give her a good and proper happy ending when Kuro is completly finished. My girl deserves that.

- Its Quatres turn to suffer now, it seems. It was about time. He was fairly in the background for far too long.

- Ellroy did something to Quatre. Can we really not kill that damn Oathbreaker already?

- Quatre turned into an Angel or something.

- Did we just get blasted into oblivion by an angel? WTF?!

- The chat said Quatre was a failed experiement. He was supposed to be what KeA was or something. This story is going crazy at this point.

- Its really complicadet as Quatre is both male and female. But all in all, things turn finde iwth some sort of friendship-speech - just like we are used to.

- Stream 4 ends with the team deciding to follow Elroyd as he appearantly is still planing something worse. So lets get over to part 5.

(By the way, this is an intermisson-chapter. And one hell of an intermission chapter, I tell you.)

- fighting the twins is one of the first things we do in Stream number 5. They have one of those bombs at the ready.

- And I guess we died again. I can totally see why people say it got annyoing at some point. We’ve missed at least two bad endings and I feel already tired of that shit. PLUS if no one is screaming, who activates the Genesis?

- The Twins are Gerards Children. Okay...

- I am so damn glad I didn’t chose to work with the Oathbreaker in Kuro one. At this point, I hate this man so much I would have hated myself for ever working with him.

- So basically Elroy alowed us to die like 5 times or so... with the excuse of wanting to help Renne to move on from her previous trauma that he was partly involved in? WTF kind of bullshit is that?

- Swin just berayed us. Its really nothing knew to have traitros that aren’t traitors and stuff. This IS a trails game after all. But I am quite surprised that he leaves Nadia alone.

[yikesharringrove]

Billy has never put much thought into being poor.

He grew up in the low-income housing of San Diego. His friends were kids with single parents, kids with parents that worked two or three jobs. Black and Latino kids who were doomed from the start simply because they weren’t white.

They were all in the same boat. No pocket money, hand-me-down clothes, and second hand skateboards.

So they would go to the beach, and steal popsicles from street vendors, and loiter outside of shops full of shit none of them could afford.

And there’s some of that in Hawkins. Kids that hang out by the quarry because they can’t spare enough change to catch a movie at the Hawk, or haunt Benny’s Diner because he’s known to give out free milkshakes to kids that look poor enough.

And Cherry Street is just like any other street he’s grown up on.

The pavement is fucked up and the neighbors use one another’s hoses when their water gets shut off.

So he’s never cared enough to be embarrassed about being poor.

So it comes as a shock to him, when his face is on fucking fire, and he’s hiding behind unorganized racks at the army surplus store.

Because the army surplus store is where he does his fucking back-to-school shopping.

He already has a heavy coat draped over one arm, a thick canvas fucker with grey wool sewn inside. There was mud and paint smeared on the left shoulder, and a rip near the elbow that Billy would have to fix, but it was eight dollars and would keep him warm through the shitty midwestern winter he was honestly dreading.

He was looking through the boots, trying to find something in his size that wasn’t completely worn out (or ugly) when he caught sight of him.

Steve Harrington.

His reputation precedes him.

Billy’s only been in town a few days, but he knows about Harrington. The popular, rich, dickhead jock that used to rule the entire school.

He had fucked more than half the girls in his grade, according to rumor. His parents owned six vacation homes in Europe, according to rumor. He had a pool in his backyard and an unlimited supply of pot, according to rumor.

Billy had only met him once, during their shared P.E. class.

And Billy hadn’t been expecting Harrington to be so, downright, beautiful.

The type of beautiful that made Billy’s heart beat too fast in his chest to be comfortable. The type of beautiful that made his promise to himself to only date girls in this town completely fucking shatter.

And he’s sussed out which rumors are true, and which are bullshit.

Steve used to sleep around, but he’s been with the same chick for a year now.

The chick that has him totally whipped for her. The chick that made him give up his popularity and his title and everything to be with her.

The same chick that also lives in the nice part of town. That has never had to share a bathroom with the three other people that live in the house. That has an allowance. That doesn’t get socks for Christmas every year.

Steve had a serious look on his face, making a beeline for the back of the store.

Billy watched him, crouched awkwardly behind the rack of boots, watching Harrington go right to the back wall of the store, taking stock of the large display.

He had a basket in one hand, and with the other, he began grappling handfuls of industrial-sized nails out of the labeled bin.

Billy watched him fill the basket with a few handfuls of nails, adding two hunting knives and a staple gun to his haul before he turned around, and caught Billy staring.

Billy acted quickly, drawing himself up to his full height.

“Building something, Pretty Boy? Maybe a ladder to reach your princess in her tower?”

Steve looked pale, his eyes darting between Billy and the cash registers at the front of the store.

“Something like like that, Hargrove.” Steve chewed on his bottom lip. “I hate to interrupt your, uh, very important shopping here, so I guess I’ll-”

Steve pushed past him, his eyes flicking once to the old coat over Billy’s arm.

And Billy began to heel the hot feeling of shame curling in his gut, ice curling around his spine.

Harrington was fucking making fun of him.

And instead of wanting to pound his face in, Billy wanted to curl up in his car and cry about it.

“Some of us don’t have rich assholes for parents that buy us fucking mink coats when the winter rolls around.” Billy succeeded in making his voice as mean as possible, in baring his teeth instead of letting his eyes water.

And then Steve was looking at him, really looking at him, with eyes that weren’t far away or drifting somewhere else.

“Shit, that’s not what I meant,” Steve breathed, his eyes going sad, his pretty kilt turning down at one corner. “I’m really fucking stressed-sorry.” He shook his head. “Don’t get motorcycle boots. You’ll need something with better tread than that for the ice and snow.” He grabbed a pair of black leather boots from the top shelf. “Here. Steel toed, waterproof, good tread.”

He handed them to Billy, a tiny smile on his face.

Billy took the boots, his fingers brushing against Steve’s in a way that was totally not at all on purpose.

(It actually was on purpose.)

[sungbeam]

𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞

nonidol!chenle x fem!reader

premise. you and chenle fell hard and fast. but chenle's been hiding something from you, and he'll try his damnedest to keep it that way. but no matter how hard he may try, the truth always finds a way to be revealed. and that just may cost him everything.

genre. not exactly slow burn, fluff, angst!!, s2l, arranged marriage au later, college basketball star!chenle, richkid!chenle problems, college au, theaterkid!reader

warnings. ANGST, fluff, low-key cheating-ish?, chenle embodies down bad, reader tries and fails to resist, flirting and innuendos asf (it's chenle, cmon), kissing+making out (like one scene), cursing/swearing, chenle is kinda smooth asf, did I say ANGST yet?, angst, panic

word count. 24.2k (heh)

permanent taglist: @tayunji @im-a-big-mess @justanotherkpopstanlol @johlee @frickyratz @liamsholygrail @staysstrays @w3bqrl @y3jiishot

taglist: @j4eminie777 @jenosbliss @hibernatinghamster @user103843 @watermelonlee05

a/n: i speedran this fic and i am in shambles. i hope u all enjoy tho! pls pls pLs help a girl out and reblog, comment, or even send asks abt the fic! pls spread the word if u do enjoy reading this. it would mean the world to me <3

also huge thank you to @tayunji for being my sanity check and letting me live word count dump on her (and for always sending kind words, even if she angst cancels me 🤡)

You remembered the exact day you met Zhong Chenle.

It had been a long day. Actually, "long day" was an understatement. You'd been working at the café since opening until now, which was 4:32 in the afternoon, and for what reason? Absolutely none, other than the fact that you were dirt poor, and only the glimmer of false hope called overtime could grant you any reprieve. Ironically, you had little to no breaks today.

Funny, right? Always funny.

But it made for a sour mood as you took orders from people. You honestly tried your best to be nice and energetic and "happy to take your order!", even if that meant they wanted five more pumps of raspberry syrup, a dash of caramel sauce, and an extra pinch of turmeric. Turmeric, seriously?

You were just trading off places with one of your coworkers to take the register again when you heard the bell above the door jingle. Swiftly tightening the ponytail on your head, you adjusted the pencil seated in the little divot behind your ear. Your mouth widened in the perfect service smile, ready to spew out the same bullshit you always did.

The young man who sauntered through the door—yes, he sauntered—was lowering the Ray Bans from his eyes and hanging the leg from the collar of his black and white Balenciaga shirt. He had dark hair, the strands slightly wavy and curly atop his head; he reminded you of Ryan Gosling. At least, somewhat like Ryan Gosling.

But then that gut wrenching feeling came to you. Oh no, you knew exactly who this chad was.

And you saw the way his dark eyes looked you up and down, the same glimmer of recognition in them. You watched in slow motion as he approached the counter with a smirk curling at his lips, and you braced for goddamn impact.

Zhong Chenle smiled at you. "Hey."

If you hadn't known who Zhong Chenle was, then you would have been living under a rock—he was the boy who had everything. Basketball star, trust fund baby, academic genius—he was criminally famous around campus for not only being an all-rounder, but a total ladies' man. You were not oblivious to the rumors that circulated about him, but you had also never heard any solid evidence that he was dating anyone. He was an effortless flirt, and you had a feeling you might find out just how effortless he was.

Your smile tightened just slightly. Keep it up, Yn, he might tip well. And you need this new set of microphones for the stage crew. "Hi, what can I get started for you?"

"A tall, black coffee, please."

Easy enough. Your tense shoulders loosened as you reached up and took the pencil from your ear, the thin wooden stick twirling between your fingers mindlessly before the eraser came down on the screen to input the order into the system. "Cash or card?"

"Card."

And then you watched as he whipped out a slick, black credit card like it was the prophetic playing card you had pulled from his deck in a magic trick. You raised a brow, unimpressed, as he handed it over to you across the café counter for you to insert into the credit card reader. A black card for a four dollar cup of coffee?

Your friend Felix would be hounding for a good tip by now. You could imagine the dollar signs lighting up in his eyes.

"So uh, are you doing anything after your shift?" Chenle suddenly asked, leaning against the counter with one hip as he took back the card and tucked it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He brushed the dark hair from his forehead, glancing at you with cool nonchalance.

You were close to telling him that this was just a McDonald's drive-thru. Maybe if you weren't so tired from today's shift, you would have given him the reaction he wanted: shy giggling, tucking your hair behind your ear, smiling through soft blushes. It was the reaction he would probably expect. Instead, you could only give him a half-hearted smirk. "Probably take a nap."

"You could take a nap with me."

"Uh-huh." You finished off inputting his order into the system with the end of your pencil. You spun the pencil between your fingers, tucking it behind your ear once more, the feeling comfortable and familiar. Unlike the weight of his stare. You pretended you didn't see how Chenle's eyes bursted into hearts while he watched you do that particular move again. "Could I get you anything else?"

"Yeah, actually." He feigned confusion as he patted down his jacket and pants pockets. "I think I lost my number. Could I borrow yours?"

The feminine urge to—

"Ynie, what's taking so—oh hey, Chenle!" Thank the Lord for Felix Lee. The blondie appeared at your side, hand planted on your shoulder, as he greeted his friend with a bright smile. "Dark coffee again?"

Chenle nodded. "Yep. I was just introducing myself to your pretty friend over here." He winked at you, and you realized just how much confidence he must have had if he could wink at you in front of Felix.

Felix's head whipped over to you, eyes comically wide, and you sent him an earnest "don't you fucking dare, Lee Yongbok!" look, but alas… the man never did listen to you, did he? Felix smiled, slow and mischievous. "Oh? Well, I'm sure Yn would love to keep introducing herself to you while I go get your coffee ready, huh, Ynie?"

"Don't you 'Yn-ie' me, mister," you practically hissed. The cheeky bastard just threw you to the wolves!

Your friend patted you on the back and left soon after, swiftly stealing a cup from your side as he went. It was too late to haul him back without making a scene.

"He's gonna expect you to tip him for this, y'know?" You joked as a sorry attempt to make conversation. Or not be left in awkward silence. But you had an idea that Chenle was gifted at avoiding awkward silences.

Chenle bit his lip to suppress a smile. "Yeah, but I'd much rather tip you instead." The most magical thing he could have possibly done? He glanced around as if this were an illegal drug deal, and in a way this was, but he pulled a black, leather bifold from his jacket pocket and began counting out bills.

You slapped a hand over your mouth. "That," you said slowly before you could stop yourself, "is probably the sexiest thing you've done since you walked in here."

Aaaaaand there you go, Yn. Genius. Fantastic. If I could slap myself—

The man's eyebrows shot up and his hands stopped flicking through the bills. A grin crawled onto his sculpted face once more. "Ah, so you think I'm sexy? I knew you'd come around."

There was no doubt about it—your face was on fire. "No, that isn't what I said. I said that your action was sexy; not necessarily you."

But the damage had been done. You had inadvertently inflated Zhong Chenle's ego even more than it already was blown up to.

"That's cute," he said and folded a handful of bills in half. He gestured for you to stick your hand out, and he grabbed your wrist, placing the bills into your palm and curling your fingers around them.

After you had slipped the bills into the pocket of your waist apron, you saw Chenle lick his lips; there was a worrying sparkle in his eyes. "Hey, if you put your number on the cup, I'll give you more."

Your eyes nearly bulged out of your head. How much money did this man have? "Dude, I think you've given me enough. I'm close to giving you this wad of cash back."

He shrugged. "Then your number, and a date and time."

"Date and time?"

He sighed, hand draping over his forehead. Chenle shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, for such a pretty face, you sure—"

You glowered. "Finish that sentence, Zhong. I dare you."

Chenle let out a sharp laugh, but he raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, sure, baby. Whatever you want." He chuckled under his breath. "Damn, you're hot when you're feisty. I should rile you up more."

"Your presence is enough to do that."

"Ah, so I'm enough for you? I'd use the word perfect, but we can work on that." He opened his mouth, no doubt to say something to make you even more flustered, but Felix's squawk of distress pierced through the café's lo-fi music.

"Uhhhh, Yn? A little help, heh."

You pursed your lips. "Duty calls."

Chenle nodded in understanding. "'Course. Remember, Yn: number, date, and time." The image of his smirk was ingrained in your brain as you abandoned the counter to see whatever Felix had done to mess up his coffee. And you would end up scrawling all three of those things onto the side of Chenle's cup. For what reason? None at all, except for you trying to convince yourself it was because he practically paid you to do it, and not because you were the slightest bit interested.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐈—

It scared you, how quickly you and Chenle had fallen into a routine. After your first meeting at the café, you both had planned out an outing together—dinner and a movie. Simple, right?

Yeah. Except, dinner and a movie was in his penthouse with a private chef flown in from his home province of Shanghai, and the movie wasn't even out in theaters yet. Yeah, you tried to explain it to Felix the next day, but there were little to no words to describe everything you had experienced that night. The luxury, the awe—the guilt.

God, you couldn't stomach seeing yourself sometimes. Especially whenever he popped into the café calling you babe, slapping too much money on the counter for just a cup of plain old coffee, and hanging out on a stool to keep you company for the rest of your shift. Sometimes you had something planned at the theater that you had to go run and manage, but whether it was that or going straight home, Chenle was offering you a ride there.

You would be walking on campus and see him pass by with his group of wild friends. He would wink at you, blow you a kiss, shout your name; anything to get your attention. And it definitely caught people's attention.

You didn't have a shift at the café today, but you had been holed up in the backstage office all afternoon. The theater society at the university was going to be thrust into chaotic, hellish Tech Week, the week right before opening night of their most recent play, The Lucky Ones. It was actually a student-written and student-directed play, and you were so excited to see the finished product on opening night. You had already sent out advanced tickets to your friends and family, spread word to your theater friends at other schools, and most of all totally found a date.

It wasn't like Huang Renjun, the director, was forcing you to bring a date. It was just that you had never brought a date before. You never needed one. You always chose to enjoy the play on your own, or in the company of your closest friends, but with recent events? You had an idea.

A confident knock on the door broke you from your stupor, and you told them they could come in.

Speak of the Devil…

Chenle poked his head into the room, eyes already roaming about the small office space with curious eyes. He allowed himself in, easily finding a seat in the chair across from you. "Hi Yn-ie. Renjun said I could find you in here."

"Oh, right," you clicked your pen closed and tucked it behind your ear, "sorry, I forget how time passes when I'm alone in here. Did you call or text? I always keep my phone off." You dug around your desk drawer before finding the device deep in the mess of paper clips, random SD cards, bookmark stickies, and the like. It was like the aftermath of an explosion at an office supply store.

"Alone? You could always call me to come hang out; keep you company," he said, ignoring your previous statement. He twisted in his seat, draping his legs over the arm of the chair and resting sideways in it. "Unless this is your private space. Then I won't intrude."

You found yourself smiling. "Ah, no. Having someone in here will probably ground me to reality, actually."

"I do need something though."

You perked up. "Sure."

He grinned. "Don't sound too eager now."

"Zhong," you rolled your eyes.

"Okay, okay! God, you're kind of sexy when you're like that. Anyways!" He said loudly to prevent you from making yet another remark. He giggled. "You're cute. But yeah, I have court side tickets to our opening game of the season this Friday, and I would absolutely love to see your pretty face in the stands."

He added cheekily, "Screaming my name, of course."

Oh god. How did you not expect that? You sighed. "Yes, of course."

Chenle propped his chin in the palm of his hand, head tilted sideways as he looked at you. "That's a yes to the tickets and wearing my jersey then."

"Yes—wait, what?"

He clapped his hands together loudly. "Next topic! A little birdie also told me that baby needs a date for a certain opening night next week." He flipped his imaginary, long hair over his shoulder. "Just let me know when and what color your dress is."

You crossed your arms over your chest and you were scared at how fast it was pounding. "Bold of you to assume that I don't already have a date."

For a second, you swore you saw his confident facade falter. But it must have just been a glitch in the matrix, because there was no way, right? "Okay, and? I'm better."

"Uh huh," you hummed, unimpressed. "I'll need a better reason than that to ditch my prior commitment," you teased.

You knew he had caught on, tongue poking the inside of his cheek, corners of his mouth lifting. "Ah, I see. I don't think I'll buy myself into this one, will I? Well, what if I told you I'm an excellent play watcher? Probably the most well behaved person you'll find in the seats—"

You covered your laugh with a cough. "Chenle, you couldn't sit through one two-hour long movie. This play is at least three."

Chenle pouted, wrinkling his nose at you. "Why are you making this so difficult for me, Ynie? I just wanna return the favor, support your play, support your art!"

"Okay, okay, you big baby," you caved. "I'll let you know when I pick out a dress." But inwardly you were grateful. God, you were so grateful. There were so many rumors about this man, but he had yet to disappoint you. And even if you were nervous, you knew the butterflies in your stomach were from the things he was making you feel.

If he was as the rumors said he was, then why would he put so much effort into impressing you? Or, as he said himself, supporting you and your craft?

Chenle lifted his head, mouth falling open slightly. "You mean you haven't picked out a dress yet?"

"No, you are not buying me a dress or watching me choose a dress."

"You're literally no fun."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐈𝐈—

Karina, your roommate, was skeptical. You had to admit, however, that she had every right to be, given her last relationships and the fact that she knew every drop of gossip that landed at SMU's front door. She was fully immersed in campus news, especially since she ran the university's magazine and yearbook committees. So Zhong Chenle was a subject she heard about often, but she never thought she'd have to hear about him at home from you, too.

"Just think about it, 'kay? Don't make any hard decisions yet."

You waved him off, this being the seventh time since the theater that he was bugging you about the dress. Jesus, it was like this man was eager to waste his money somewhere. You already felt terrible as it was. "Chenle, I will. But absolutely no promises."

He gestured with his hand, his back leaning against the wall in the hallway right across from your door. "Sure, fine. Whatever you say."

"Zhong Chenle, you are not getting your way this time."

He smiled, like he knew that was a lie.

You shooed him off after that. Your pride needed a bit of restoration, as well as some reassurance that you would not let this man completely take down your defenses.

When you let yourself into the apartment, locking the door behind you, Karina was already on the couch with her laptop on her knees and the coffee table swarmed with spread upon spread. "Was that Chenle again?" She asked as you set your things down on the kitchen table noisily.

"Yeah," you said back. "Just came from the theater."

"He came by to see you?"

You threw open the fridge in search of a beverage. "Mhm. Asked me to go to his game on Friday. Court side tickets or whatever."

Karina nearly rocketed up from her seat. "Court—court side tickets?"

Your back was turned, so you hadn't seen her very physical reaction. You continued to scour the depths of the fridge before you settled on a can of iced tea. "Yeah." When you faced her, sipping on your tea, you lifted a brow in silent question at her widened eyes and now disturbed position.

Your roommate set her laptop aside so she could lean against the back of the couch. "Yn, sweetie, he asked you to sit court side. Did he happen to ask you to wear his jersey?"

At this, you snorted. "Pretty much told me to."

Karina puffed out her cheeks, and you recognized this particular quirk as something she did when she was trying not to spontaneously combust on the spot. "He's literally staking his claim on you. Like… ever read those Wattpad books where the guy is possessive and makes the girl wear his jacket or jersey or whatever?"

"You have?"

"That's not the point!" She stammered. "But that's what's happening right now, Yn! The basketball players hardly ever bring someone to sit court side, unless they're family or close friends. Honestly, I think only two or three players are thought to be bringing their significant others to the game this week."

You screwed the lid back onto your tea bottle and settled on the couch beside Karina. "Why is it such a big deal?" You could probably answer that question yourself, to be honest.

Karina still answered nonetheless, "Because Chenle's single. Well, until he met you. Have you guys talked about a label yet? I don't mean to pry or push."

Actually? No, you had no label for whatever was happening with Chenle. "No, you're good. But no, we haven't talked about it, but to be honest, there hasn't been a need for it. We went on, like, one official date and then had a couple of hangouts afterward. We're like… friends right now."

That was generously put. He was practically your—no, don't say it. Maybe you should have a conversation about your boundaries.

"Okay well, does he feel the same way? I don't even know, Yn-ie, but I feel like I should warn you to be careful."

That was reasonable. You could understand where Karina was coming from, and you really shouldn't be falling so quickly into this thing with him until you knew his intentions. You didn't want to be just temporary to someone. If you were going to put your all into a relationship, it should be for real, right?

Karina sighed, bracing her elbow against the back of the couch and looking at you with her head tilted to the side. "I don't want to dishearten you. You like him, don't you?"

Your eyes widened. "L-like him? Maybe as like a companion, but not—not like that! Pfft." Yeah, no. You liked him, or at least, you were beginning to like him. But this could just be an infatuation, you thought. Feelings were fickle things, and you wanted to get this right.

Karina deadpanned at you. With an exasperated shake of her head, she shifted to pick her laptop back up. "Sometimes I worry about you."

"Hey!" You squawked. "It's too early to determine that."

Her hum was disbelieving. "Yeah, sure. So how many tickets did Chenle give you? Just one? It'd be kinda cool to sit court side for once."

You shrugged. "Actually, no idea. But I don't really wanna be sitting there by myself. I haven't been to a basketball game in a while, so it'd be nice to bring a friend or two."

"Shoot him a text?"

You were already pulling your phone out of your pocket, thumbs flying over the keyboard.

you: quick question

His reply was instantaneous.

zhong: yes i can pick u up to go dress shopping

You rolled your eyes. He really was not going to give this up.

you: no not abt the dress

you: i was wondering if my friends could come w me to the game?

zhong: yeah ofc! lmk how many and i'll send the tix

"He just asked how many," you told Karina, who's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'll just say you and Felix. I don't think I'd want to burden him with getting a hold of so many tickets."

As you typed out your response to Chenle, Karina voiced her agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good. Tell him thanks for me."

you: two + me pls

you: and karina says ty

you: ty again for doing this, u really didn't have to :(

zhong: i did it cuz i wanted to bby, so no need for all that

zhong: i'll get the tix and my jersey to u by tmr ;)

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐕—

The jersey was red with bold, white letters on the back spelling out ZHONG, and the number 30. It was made of really nice, breathable quality, and was definitely the product of the administration's budget toward the school basketball team. You knew this from Karina's constant research and digging and interviewing with her organizations, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the basketball team was good enough to get so much funding. Chenle, you knew, was one of the best. Even if he wasn't captain, he was still talented.

You had been sitting on the edge of your bed with the jersey in your lap for the past ten minutes, trying to sike yourself out of whatever funk you were in. It was just a shirt, right? It didn't mean anything. (Except, it totally did. A shirt with Chenle's name and number on the back was a statement.)

There was a knock on your apartment door, and Karina yelled that she would get it. You were still considering the jersey.

Felix's blond head appeared in your bedroom doorway, eyebrows furrowed at you. "How long have you been staring at that thing, Yn?"

"Only ten minutes," you said sheepishly, standing up and walking over to your wardrobe. You were still in loungewear after you had taken a quick shower post-lectures. You knew you probably should have been at the theater tonight, but Renjun and Doyoung had waved you out of the building, telling you they "had it covered". You still worried.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the doorknob. "Get dressed—it's just a shirt."

"It is not just a shirt, Lee."

He wagged his eyebrows, already closing the door. "You said it; not me…"

You glared at the closed door, but swallowed your fears, your nerves, your pride—and pulled the jersey over your head and over your tank top. Karina had suggested that you just wore shorts with the garment, but you realized now that the shirt fell to just about mid-thigh, basically hiding most of your shorts from view.

"Are you done? I want to see the floor from court side!"

Your eyes found the yellow cover of the book on your desk. Its cover read a pitiful Basketball for Dummies, and it was something you had bought on a whim at the bookstore yesterday in a sorry attempt to brush up on your basketball knowledge to ensure you didn't feel like a fool. You slung your small bag over your shoulder, leaving the book where it was, before you left the room. "You'll see plenty of the floor, alright!"

Felix was standing on the other side of the door, with Karina waiting by the couch. "Is that a threat, Ln?"

"Take it as you will."

The drive to the gymnasium was a brief one since yours and Karina's apartment wasn't far from campus. Finding parking? Now that was a whole different story.

Felix exhaled roughly as the three of you clambered out of his car, fresh night air rushing into your lungs after the stressful fifteen minutes of fighting for a parking space. It truly was war. All around you, car horns and squealing tires pierced through the night, only a taste of what you had just endured. Felix dragged a hand through his hair, huffing, "Christ, the people here are animals. Like seriously, it's like Black Friday!"

"I wouldn't compare it exactly to Black Friday," Karina mused. She adjusted the jacket on her shoulders to fit with the strap of her purse. Her eyes flickered to you. "Are you cold, Yn-ie? You can have my jacket?"

You dropped your hands from where they held your arms. It was a little chilly, but you should be able to manage until you got into the gym. You shook your head. "Nah, I'm okay. Just not used to…" You nodded to the jersey, your lack of pants. This was fine. Completely. You were practically swimming in the material.

Karina smiled at you and linked her arm with yours. "You look cute."

"You totes do!" Felix mocked a school girl squeal as he arrived on your other side, linking up with you. His asymmetrical silver earrings swung wildly from his earlobes as he began skipping through the tightly packed cars, dragging you and Karina behind him.

For a moment, you had allowed this to distract you from the whispers and glances you were getting from people. Once you reached the sidewalk to merge with the crowd of people headed for the gym, there was no way to hide the jersey now, except with a jacket. You held steady, kept your head level, and your eyes on the yawning doors to the gym.

"You think she made that herself?"

"It probably wouldn't cost a lot to make that. She must really want his attention."

You felt your friends' hold on you tighten, as if they were armoring up for something, but you wanted to tell them that you were fine. People could believe what they wanted to believe. By now, it was impossible not to draw attention to yourself.

The gym's bright fluorescent lights shone down on the court far below, and you and your friends showed your tickets to the nearest staff. He eagerly bounded down the stadium steps to show you your seats right where Chenle promised they would be—court side.

Felix could not get his mouth to close, or his eyes, as he gawked at the shiny floor under his soles. "Woah. This is so cool."

"I'm glad one of us is enjoying themselves," you chuckled, your hands finding your arms once more to hug yourself, maybe make yourself look smaller. From here, the big screens hanging above the court looked like the ones in Madison Square Garden, and everything just looked bigger, bolder. You had never watched a game from this angle, and you could only imagine how intense it got from here.

Once you were all settled, you felt a buzz from your back pocket.

zhong: hey u get here alright?

zhong: someone just told me they saw my jersey on u 👀

you: y r u acting surprised lol think I'd just leave it at home and say sike?

zhong: yeah kind of

you: zero faith

zhong: i'll make it up to u bby how does that sound?

you: and how exactly do u intend to do that?

zhong: win the game of course ;)

You shook your head, teeth gnawing on your bottom lip. This man was making your head spin with his words.

you: so u didn't plan on winning otherwise?

zhong: well yeah, that too

zhong: i might hug u when we win, just so u know

zhong: unless

you: let's slow it down, buddy

you: we can start w hugging

Perhaps you could hear his breathy chuckle in your ears now. It wasn't the classic, high pitched one that exploded and brightened a room whenever it happened, but the one that made your stomach twist with butterflies and your heart leap into your throat.

zhong: okok

zhong: i'll c u in a bit then, coach is calling us in

zhong: enjoy the game :)

you: good luck chenle

zhong: thanks yn

Karina nudged you with her elbow to show you something on her phone, and you pocketed your own into your small bag. Felix had gone somewhere to chat with someone he recognized a few rows back, and probably to boast about the amazing view he was going to get right on court side. He wouldn't ever forget that he watched the opening game from this vantage point.

Soon, Felix rushed back into his seat, body buzzing like a three year old on candy. "It's starting! Oh my god, here they come!" He gestured to the far opening where you could already see a mass of bodies lining up.

The announcer came on overhead, loud and clear, ready to hype up the crowd. "Live! From the honorable and world renowned SM University Stadium is the opening game of the season between the SM Sentinels and the FNC Falcons! Sponsored by KakaoCorp—where people and the world get connected; and Naver—helping businesses stay connected."

You could feel the energy in the room increase as the announcer introduced the FNC team to the arena, the team dressed in yellow and white. But it wasn't until everyone waited in bated breath for your own team to appear that the tension was palpable. You could practically taste it on your tongue.

"And now… put your hands together and make some noise for your—very own—SENTINELS!" The buzzer screamed loud, but the crowd screamed louder.

You could barely hear your own thoughts as you screamed your own heart out for the swarm of red that flooded into the stadium. The pep band on the other side of the stadium was playing some hype song—you thought it was Lil Nas X's Industry Baby, but at this point, all the sounds were melting together.

You caught a flash of that dark hair and terribly bright beam in the blurred masses. There was a red and white sweatband holding his hair back, and he greeted the crowd so proudly as he jogged along the border of the court.

And then there was that heartstopping realization as the team was approaching where you and your friends were, aiming for the silver benches about a foot in front of you. And suddenly, the only thought in your mind was—

"Zhong Chenle, you son of a bitch," Felix giggled in pure giddiness.

You caught Chenle's eyes as he was coming closer, stopping directly in front of you on the bench. There was this distinct gleam of approval in his eyes when he saw the jersey. He winked at you, then turned around so he faced the court.

He had put you right behind them. Directly.

The game quickly began, jumping straight into the first half of the game. You could barely keep your head straight as you tried either focusing on Chenle or the basketball being passed, Chenle or the basketball. Both moved swiftly throughout the court, weaving through and from player to player.

You could feel the weight of tension, the energy thrumming throughout the stadium like a heartbeat.

The ball swooshed through the FNC hoop once, twice, several more times. Chenle was passing the ball, dribbling it up, jumping up, passing it again. Each member of his own team worked seamlessly, like they were gears in one well-oiled machine. Now you knew why SMU was so revered on the basketball stage.

Players were switched in and out, replacing each player at least once, but sparingly and strategically throughout. Chenle was pulled out at one point, sweat dripping from his face, his hair, and he guzzled down an entire bottle of water in less than five seconds. He was heaving for breath, and soon, he was thrown back into the frenzy.

And then the buzzer blared. The first half was over.

You, Felix, and Karina all collectively let out equally relieved sighs. One glance at the scoreboard had your heart bursting into an excited overdrive again. SMU was winning. By a lot.

For the halftime show, it was something you definitely hadn't expected—a rap contest.

"Each of our beloved contestants, who are all members of your SMU Sentinels, by the way," explained tonight's host and SMU alumni, Johnny Suh, "will compete in saying a small paragraph that will be displayed on the screen. Whoever does it the fastest will be crowned our winner for the night!"

You and the rest of the crowd watched as people quickly brought on a whiteboard with a large poster of words printed on it. Lined up horizontally on the court, there were a handful of players, including Chenle. He didn't look nervous, but you knew he was cracking jokes to his teammates up there.

Jung Sungchan went first, raising the bar up incredibly high. Then it was Park Jisung, then Han Jisung who basically knocked the bar out of the ballpark. Seo Changbin raised it a little more after that. Chenle tried his hardest, but you caught his fumbling on tape. Bang Chan, Osaki Shotaro, and Lee Jeno all followed shortly. In the end, it was Han Jisung who walked away with the bragging rights of being the fastest speaker on the team.

"There you have it, folks! Our certified Eminem of SMU!" Johnny charmed the crowd as the team players bowed. "How about a round of applause for our participating Sentinels tonight?"

The game resumed shortly, and everyone was thrusted back into the tension and thrill.

The second half was noticeably more tense, as FNC strived to regain their disadvantage and SMU strived to keep their advantage. The points kept shooting upwards, and you could barely stay in your seat, but you somehow kept yourself anchored down to it.

At this point, your throat was hoarse from screaming just as much as Felix and Karina were.

By the time the buzzer blared for the final time, there was no doubt about who won. Everyone shot up from their seats in screams of pride and happiness. It was a complete madhouse in the stands, but everyone allowed the players on opposite teams to have their moment congratulating each other respectfully and with good sportsmanship.

And then Chenle was jogging his way over to you, brushing his sweat-dampened hair back. There was a massive, ear to ear grin on his face, and it only widened as you stood up and offered him what he had prefaced you with earlier.

"Hi," he said simply, stepping into your embrace and wrapping his arms around you. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course. Thanks for inviting me." You stepped back from him. "Even if you're all sweaty and gross," you commented, dramatically scrunching your face up.

Chenle laughed loudly. "Okay, get back here!" He teased you, opening his arms as if he meant to cage you again in his embrace; only chuckled when you feigned disgust. He looked at Karina and Felix then, greeting the latter with a fistbump. "Thanks for coming, too, guys. Your support means a lot."

"You guys did fantastic out there," Karina complimented with an approving nod.

Felix jumped in. "Oh my god, yes! That was so amazing, dude! And dude, the view from court side?" His eyes rolled back as he ascended to nirvana.

Chenle shrugged his shoulders, smiling eyes meeting yours. "Well, I hope you continue to like it then."

Your blond friend froze. "What? Uh, I—does that mean…?"

A nod.

You were certain Felix might faint from excitement, or at least, go running around telling everyone he just scored however many seats at court side. Felix disappeared to exactly that, and Karina sighed.

"I should probably go keep an eye on him." She passed you a knowing look, hand brushing against your arm. "Meet me outside when you're ready to head out, 'kay?"

You nodded, and she was melting into the crowd.

"So how'd you like it?"

You whirled back to Chenle, who had his head slightly tilted and arms folded over his chest. There was that twinkle in his gaze as he looked at you, and you had a feeling yours mimicked that. "The game? It was a lot of fun. Your rapping skills, however?" You shook your head and ran your hand across your neck in a definitive no.

He chuckled, stepping closer to you and gently holding your arms. "Good thing you don't like me for my rap skills then."

"Who said I liked you, Zhong?" You teased.

"I did," he replied, effortlessly arrogant. "I mean, I like you, too, so."

There he went again, making your heart feel like it could unlock your ribcage and fly.

"God, you're stupid," was the only thing you could say in response. Your cheeks were definitely burning brighter than his jersey, and you had to avert your gaze for a few seconds.

"Stupidly handsome, sexy, talented." He adopted a mocking thoughtful expression. "The list goes on and on."

You laughed at that, voice trailing off. "Um, by the way, you really made Felix's night with that thing you said back there. So thanks for that."

Chenle licked his lips, nodding. "I'm glad, but did I make yours?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad I made Felix's night," he repeated, just a tad slower this time and with a small tilt of the corners of his mouth, "but did I make your night? That's all I really wanted—to make your night."

There was no doubt about it. You could only answer one correct answer because it was completely and utterly true. "Yes," you told him. "You made my night." And you hoped this wouldn't be the last. No, you definitely knew this wouldn't be the last.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕—

The Lucky Ones was written and directed by Huang Renjun, co-authored by his alumni friend Xiao Dejun, and sponsored by alumni and head of the SMU theater department Kim Doyoung. It was about this pair of teenagers who had fallen in love with each other, but realized later in life that their love had been quick to spark, and just as quick to sputter into ash and smoke. It was riveting, realistic, and alluring. The entire play was so well written and so well directed, and you wouldn't just say that because you were friends with the directors and playwrights.

As you strode through the bustling and chaos of backstage, you couldn't help the distinct feel of pride in your heart. All of this work to get everything to come together would be well worth it.

"Yn!" A familiar voice called to you from somewhere amongst the madness. Renjun was hustling over to you, the ends of his bow tie left undone, but his two-toned hair was styled to perfection. "What are you doing back here? You should be in the balcony already."

You rushed over to him and grabbed his tie, expertly and swiftly tying it into a bow. "I know, but Doyoung and Xiaojun needed me to smack some sense into you."

He scoffed. "Some sense? I'm completely fine. Not panicking, of course."

You gripped hard onto his shoulders and forced him to look at you. "Breathe, Jun. Just breathe. The show's gonna be perfect, okay? You've worked too damn hard for it not to be."

Renjun inhaled deeply, held it for a couple seconds, then exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes, nodding to you. "Okay. Yeah. I think I'm… calmer. Thank you, Yn."

"Good, okay." You smiled softly at him, his hand reaching to grab yours on his shoulder. "I'll see you in the balcony?"

"See you there. Say hi to Chenle for me?"

"Yeah, I'll let him know!"

In a few minutes, you had hustled your way out into the lobby and up the stairs to where the balcony for stage left was located. You knew that Chenle must already be waiting there for you, judging from the texts you saw light up your phone screen.

zhong: paging nurse to patient

zhong: i'm incredibly bored w/o my seatmate

zhong: nurse, i'm gonna need someone's hand to hold to get thru this

You snorted, covering your mouth sheepishly as you passed an older couple.

you: heels and velvet covered stairs do not go well

you: patience is a virtue

zhong: i just miss u 🤨 isn't that a virtue

You were already coming up on the doorway leading to the furthest balcony to the left. The usher at the door recognized you as the general stage manager, nodded and let you through. Even in your dark blue evening gown and fancy getup, you could still be recognized, which was reassuring. You definitely felt like you had overdone it.

The balcony was dark and relatively empty. There were a few couples scattered about the rows of seats, but you walked toward the lone form seated near the edge.

"You know, it was kind of embarrassing to walk in without a da—holy shit."

Chenle had twisted around in his seat only to find you making your way toward him in that dress. Well, to you, it was a dress. But to Chenle, it was the dress. The one he had subtly sent to Felix, who had sent it to Karina, who had sent it to you. It was quite the simple transaction, really, but god damn.

He thought you would look good, but he didn't think you would look this good. Like drop dead, fucking gorgeous. If he wasn't sitting, he might have dropped to his knees and prayed. Because what in the world had he done in his previous life to deserve meeting someone like you?

Of course, you were completely unaware of the purely simp thoughts running amuck in Chenle's head; you were only aware of the fact that he looked really handsome in his tux and that he was staring an awful lot.

"Hey," you said, settling in the seat next to him. "Is there, uh, something on my face?"

"Beauty," he said, almost in instinct, then cringed. "Sorry, that was the absolute worst."

You laughed, actually finding it funny. "No, that was good," you reassured with a very convincing nod of your head. "Renjun says hello. I had to go calm him before he started pacing. Hope you weren't waiting long."

Chenle nodded in understanding. "Ah, makes sense. No, I wasn't waiting long." He smiled at you. "Just couldn't wait to see you."

Flustered and flattered, you reached for his hand, lacing them over the arm rest between you. "Couldn't wait to see you, too. You clean up very nicely, Lele."

His lips parted, and you could've sworn his cheeks blushed a hard red. "Sorry, what?"

"Lele? You don't like the nickname—?"

"No, please—" he cleared his throat, hand squeezing yours lightly. "I—it's fine."

You grinned. You just made Zhong Chenle flustered. "Whatever you say, Lele. Anyway, thank you for coming tonight to see the show."

He regained composure quickly, to his credit. His thumb gently ran over your linked fingers. "Wouldn't miss it." For once, he couldn't choke out the words to tell you how beautiful you looked.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈—

It was about a week later that you were groggily ruffling through your damp hair with a towel as you walked into your room. It had been an awfully long day at the café, and because Felix had a dance comp and because Chenle had an away game in another city, you were left by your lonesome, overworked and bored out of your mind. You were about to get Renjun or Karina to come keep you company, but then Chenle had actually called you at work.

For the remainder of your shift, you had one earbud in, listening to him talk about his day while he listened to you talk about yours. Since his first game, you tried to go to all of his home games, and if the away games weren't too far, you would try to make it to those as well. And after the opening night at the theater, the two of you had grown even closer. You were practically inseparable, so the hours-long phone call from today was well appreciated.

You kicked the door to your bedroom closed, aiming for your phone sitting on the nightstand connected to the charger. The screen had gone dark after you had taken a very indulgent hot shower. So much so that steam had trailed after you when you opened the door, and you were certain you would hear from the landlady about your hot water use again sometime this week. Or at least, you would hear from Karina.

"You took that long to shower and you didn't invite me over?"

You rolled your eyes and silently thanked god that Chenle wasn't here to see your smile. Yes, the call was still going. "In your wildest dreams, Zhong. And how would you have gotten here anyway? Cube is like at least a nine hour drive."

"Are you saying that if I was in town, you would have invited me to join you?" You could practically hear the smile in his words, the way his eyebrows would dance with intent.

"You're incorrigible." You hung your damp towel on the end of your bed and crawled under your covers. The phone screen lit up again as you tapped it awake to be met with Chenle's profile picture: him with his hair tied in a ponytail, like a little sprout. It had actually been lovingly sent to you by Chenle's best friend, Park Jisung, sometime last week after the two of you formally met. Chenle always teased you for admitting he was cute in the photo, but you knew that he had originally been so embarrassed when he found out, and even threatened to give Jisung the silent treatment for "betraying" him like that. That bit of intel was courtesy of some of Chenle's roommates, Jisung himself and Sungchan.

Speaking of…

"Is that Yn? Hi Yn-ieeeeeee!!!" Jisung and Sungchan choruses from somewhere in their shared hotel room.

You laughed warmly. "Hi guys! Lele, lemme talk to them."

A beat of silence passed, and the phone was handed over. Jisung's voice was a lot louder now. "Haha, Yn, Chenle-ssi's sulking now."

Sungchan chimed in, "Yeah, he glared at us just now."

"Ah well, I requested to speak with you both," you said. "I've been talking to him all evening. How are you both? How's Cube?"

"Oh," Jisung replied brightly, "it's so beautiful, actually! Their campus is really pretty."

"Yeah, I'm really glad we got to stay for a few days." This was Sungchan again. "Maybe next time you can tag along!"

You smiled, fidgeting with the hem of your blanket. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay, I think Chenle might beat our asses in the morning if he doesn't get the phone back this instant," Jisung laughed again.

The phone was passed for the second and last time tonight. There were sounds of shuffling again, then laughter from far off, and then a huff of annoyance. "Hi baby."

"Oh, stop sulking, Lele," you admonished playfully. "They only wanted to say hello."

"I know." You could hear him settle into his bed, or at least, sit down somewhere. "I like talking to you though."

"I know; I like talking to you, too." A thought suddenly occurred to you. "Don't you have practice tomorrow morning?" You asked him. You tucked yourself in, eyes pinned to his smiling face in the profile picture, suddenly wishing he was closer. "You should sleep."

Chenle's warm chuckle echoed through your phone. "You'll miss me too much, baby. But I'll let you fall asleep first, how does that sound?"

The corners of your mouth curled upward. "You're so stupid."

"Stupidly in love with you."

The words made your heart stop, and you swore you could hear a slap from the other side, as if he had slapped his hand over his mouth.

You sat up. You suddenly weren't too tired. "Lele… can we talk?" You asked quietly, sitting up against your headboard.

You heard shuffling and a curse from the other side, along with murmuring. After a door had closed in the background, he said, "Um yeah. Sorry, had to get out of the room. Uhm…" You would never know how fast his heart beat in that moment alone, the utter fear he held believing he might have just stepped over a line. "Sorry, was that too much?"

"Was it, like, a joke?" You bit your lip, then clarified, "Are you serious about that? Your feelings?"

A sigh. "Yn, I really like you. It scares me to bits how much I do."

Your nerves soothed at that. At least you were both feeling the same thing. "Okay, same," you murmured.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this over the goddamn phone!" He made a noise of anguish and you giggled. "I'm sorry, baby. No grand gesture," he groaned, "but we both feel the same way, right? Can I—can I be your boyfriend?"

Of course, he would give you the ultimate decision. And of course, there were no doubts in your mind.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐈—

You know those rumors you had been so worried about before? You couldn't give two shits about them now.

It was a Sunday, generally the only free day that you and Chenle shared consistently. Today, you were sitting in a window seat of a dim sum restaurant, gazing out at the duck pond just outside the window. The willow tree leaves drifted peacefully in the mid-spring breeze, flowers blooming in their wake. It was a beautiful scene to behold.

Arms came around from behind you, lips pressing to your temple. "Hi, baby. Sorry I'm late." Chenle slid into the seat across from you, freshly showered, and bright as usual. He wore a dark blue sweatshirt and dark jeans,with his Ray Bans hanging from his collar—just a casual look for a casual brunch date.

"It's okay; you had practice," you told him and brought your cup of tea to your lips. "How was it this morning?"

Chenle gave a half-hearted shrug. "Tiring, as usual, but good." The team had been practicing relentlessly this past week since finals were coming up soon. It was a miracle that the two of you even made time for each other since you and the theater company were gearing up for closing night of The Lucky Ones. Shows had been selling out just as fast as the seats in the stadium, and while you didn't watch every showing of the play like you did opening night, you were in the gym watching Chenle and his team beat every competitor who set foot in there.

This Friday would be finals between SMU and YGU, and when the Sentinels beat them too, Championships would be held next week. You were all hoping that Championships would be held at SMU instead of the other school. It wouldn't make a difference whether or not you would go, because you planned to definitely be there, but it would be great to have home court advantage.

As Chenle raised his hand and flagged down a nearing cart, your gaze wandered to the grassy pond area outside. It seemed to be a wonderland for all of the dogs whose owners were inside eating brunch without them, but they were all playing together.

The smell of fresh steamed buns and a whole smorgasbord of spices permeated your nose as BBQ pork buns, shrimp shumai, fried squid, and shrimp rice rolls drizzled with a sweet soy sauce were placed onto your table. Chenle was already whipping out his chopsticks and wiping them with a napkin. "Bon appetit." He followed where you had been looking briefly out the window. "So many cute dogs out there."

"I know," you cooed, reaching for a pork bun. "It'd be nice to have a dog. I think I've wanted one since I was a kid, actually, but owning a dog is like having a child."

"I have a dog," Chenle said offhandedly.

Your eyes positively lit up, and he chuckled at how cute you were. "You do? But I never see anyone else at your apartment."

"She's in Shanghai." He shoved the rest of the shumai into his mouth before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his phone. "When I moved to Seoul," he said as he swiped through his phone with a furrowed brow, "I left her with my cousin, Ningning."

He then showed you his phone screen where a slightly younger version of Chenle was taking a selfie, but with a small, white ball of fur peeking over his shoulder.

The further he swiped, the more you just melted. "Aw, she's so cute. What's her name?"

Chenle smiled fondly at the photo he just pulled up. "Daegal. Yeah, I miss her a lot."

"Why didn't you bring her to college with you?" You asked and broke apart the bun, steam flowing up out of the yawning mouth of fluffy, white bread.

"Ah, I thought it would be too much of a hassle at the time, but I haven't been home for a while, so I haven't seen her in a long time." He suddenly frowned, and you figured it'd been awhile since he thought of going home. He must have been so immersed in his life here, and you wondered if he would have ever thought of going back.

"Have you ever thought about going home for a bit? Y'know, to take a break?"

His face shuttered, like he was thinking of something. "No, not for a long time." And by his clipped tone, you knew to not touch that subject. But he was back to his pleasant self in an instant, "So what's the plan for today? Go roller skating, go swimming—god, I haven't seen you in a bathing suit yet? What is this—"

You slapped a hand over his mouth, red seeping onto your cheeks. He only snickered under your palm, and you hoped that everyone around you either didn't hear that comment or was choosing to ignore it. Either way, you hoped it didn't draw too much attention. But then again, Chenle himself drew attention.

"Are you crazy?" You whisper-shouted at him after you removed your hand and sat back down in your seat. "Why'd you say that so loud?"

Chenle's eyebrows danced in amusement. "I'm very passionate about the subject."

You deadpanned. "Well, I don't think America heard you."

"America would be lucky to see you in a swimsuit," he shrugged and flagged down another cart, this time, with his eyes set on the Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. His eyes twinkled. "As for me, I'd be very happy to see you in a swimsuit."

You tried to ignore the fact that your face was on fire. "You'll just have to wait then. I have a date."

Chenle wrinkled his nose at you sourly. "With who?"

"Felix and Karina—ooh, are those taro buns on that cart?"

Chenle was quick to flag down that cart, too, and got you a nice plate of four of them. He idly scratched his jaw, bottom lip pouting. "So I'm being cockblocked by your best friends?"

"Yah! Zhong Chenle!"

He bursted into laughter, the joyful sound drawing eyes, but making your fake anger melt away into fondness. "Sorry, baby, you're just so cute when you're flustered."

"That makes one of us," you muttered cheekily.

"Hey!"

You chuckled. "Deserved."

He made a face, cheeks puffed out as he scowled at the plates of food. "Remind me to not get you taro buns next time."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈—

It was late when you finally made your way back in through the back door of the performing arts buildings, walking back to the theater through the back hallway. Tonight had been closing night of The Lucky Ones, and as usual, it had all gone incredibly well. Renjun, for the first time in the history of you knowing him, had bursted into tears as he bowed with his actors on the stage at curtain call. You had just walked the man to his car and now needed to hurry back to lock everything up for the night.

As you neared the backstage area, your footsteps faltered at the sound of music playing. Like from the grand piano backstage. You kept your footsteps light as you made your way toward the backstage door that was left open so the gentle serenade drifted out into the hall.

The stage lights had been turned off earlier to save energy, and the only light was from the little lightbulb hanging in the backstage area, above the piano.

You peered into the room, not wanting to interrupt the beautiful music being played, but knowing that no one else should be here. "Hello?"

The music stopped.

"I'm sorry," you said, stepping inside the doors, "but you're not supposed to… Lele?"

Even though he had a black hood thrown over his dark bangs, you still recognized his pretty eyes, rimmed in silver and red—like he'd been crying. He swiped at his damp cheeks, and you realized that, yes, he definitely had been.

"Oh, honey…" you murmured, rushing over to him and swallowing him in your embrace. Chenle wasted no time burying his face into the crook of your neck and hugging your waist tightly. Your hand gently rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. "Hey, are you okay, what's wrong?"

Last night was the game against YG, to which, of course, the Sentinels had won. Everyone had gone home jubilant and hyped for championships next week against HYBE U. Chenle had gone out to celebrate with his teammates last night, so you hadn't seen him since, only talked with him over call and text like usual. So maybe something had happened between that?

He sniffled. "You weren't answering your phone, so I came here, and you weren't in your office, so…" He half-heartedly gestured to the piano. "I thought I'd try to… distract myself a little."

You brushed your lips against his head. "I'm sorry, honey. I had my phone on silent for the show, and I was walking Renjun out to his car. I—do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "Just want you."

"Okay, that's okay." You patted his head gently. "I didn't know you played piano. You're really good." And that was the truth. The notes had flowed together as smoothly as a river, and it had almost lured you to dance on the stage—if you could dance. It was like his hands had been made to play.

"It's been awhile," he said as an explanation. "Did you like it?"

"I liked it a lot. It's so beautiful; just like you, you know that?"

Checked suddenly raised his head from your shoulder to look at you. You could see the glisten of unshed tears waiting to spill and follow their predecessors down the slopes of his cheeks. His bottom lip trembled. "Yn," he rasped, "be honest with me."

You prompted him to continue, worry plaguing your mind.

"Do you like me—just for my money? Are you with me because I pay for things and get you things and all that?"

So this was what this was about. You shook your head earnestly. "No. No, no, of course not, Chenle." You reached for his hands and laced your fingers together, both of you staring down at your hands. "Chenle, I like you because you're sweet and hilarious and brilliant. I like you because you make my days and you always care about how I am, that you're not afraid to be with me. You show me off, but you respect my boundaries; you support me like I want to support you all the time.

"Maybe the money is how you show your affection, and I appreciate it a lot, but it's not what I like about you," you told him. "Even if you were dirt poor, I wouldn't care. I would still feel the same about you." You saw the tears falling down his cheeks and reached up to brush them away. "Are you okay, Lele? Really?"

Chenle nodded, raising his head so you could see the trembling smile on his face. "You really mean all that?"

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't lie about something like that. And I hope I can show you just as much love as you deserve."

The flood would not stop; he swiped again at his tears. "Yn, I—" I love you. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you, Chenle."

He lifted his hands up to cup your face in his hands, and he slowly brought your face to his. "Yn, can I kiss you?"

Your breath hitched in your throat. "Yeah," you nodded, "yeah, you can kiss me."

Chenle brought his mouth to yours, his salty tears on his lips and brushing against your cheeks. You slid closer to him on the piano stool and let him tilt your head back with one hand, the other sliding down your body to hold your waist. Everything about him overwhelmed your senses—the familiar scent of his expensive cologne, the feel of his hair between your fingers, his warm touch making butterflies soar in your stomach.

He slowly pulled away, forehead resting against yours as your breathing intermingled. Then he braced his hand against the stool right next to your leg and pushed himself closer to you, pressing his lips to yours once again.

Under the dull glow of the lightbulb, Chenle kissed you in the empty theater, the dead of night. His tears had dried up by now, no longer there, and he was hauling you onto his lap with your legs dangling off the side of the bench. His hands were everywhere, fingertips trailing fire through the fabric of your clothing. He was clinging onto dear life, memorizing your every curve and edge…

And you couldn't help but think of all the words he was trying to say through his actions.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐗—

Chenle did not wake up to the comfort of your weight on his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut from the light streaming through the bedroom window, and reached his arm over to the other side of the bed, only to meet cold sheets instead of your body that he could latch onto again. He groaned into the pillow and rolled over. When his eyes finally adjusted to the morning light, he sat up and let the sheets pool around his waist.

You had been sleeping over at his place for the past several nights, ever since he snuck into the theater at night to find you. You stayed here at his insistence, of course, but either he or you had to leave before the other woke up because of work, practice, or classes. Today, Friday, was Championship day.

He leaned over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone. A smile broke out onto his face at the sight of you as his lock screen. It was a picture from the opening night of The Lucky Ones, with you in that gorgeous blue gown. The two of you had taken a mirror selfie in the hallway of the theater, just before leaving for the night. His arm was settled comfortably on your waist, your body leaning into his. Your faces were hidden behind the phone, but it was enough to let anyone know that he was happily taken.

The inside home screen was just you, but much more recent. It was dinner right here in the penthouse, but caught candidly. You had been enraptured by the TV, mindlessly shoveling noodles into your mouth. He had caught the moment right before you were going to open your mouth again, with that innocent, cute dazed look in your eyes and the chopsticks of noodles held just below your chin.

He bit his lip with a smile and opened up your text chain. You had already left him a message.

bbygrl: good morning love <3 had to leave for my 8am

bbygrl: i'll c u later tonight for the game!! good luck and have a good day x

He was about to send you a message back when another notification appeared on his phone screen.

(鸡蛋 - egg ; 笨蛋 - stupid)

鸡蛋: chenle they're asking again, i can't keep stalling

笨蛋: u have to keep stalling

鸡蛋: idiot do u understand how difficult it is to withhold ur phone number from them??? AND maintain innocence???

鸡蛋: they're getting suspicious

笨蛋: uh get better at acting??? 🤨

鸡蛋: ur so fxking stupid.

Chenle exhaled sharply and swiped out of his cousin's direct texts and back to yours. Ningning was one of his closest cousins who still lived back in Shanghai. She not only took care of Daegal, but was also the person on the inside trying to stall to give him some more time. Time and freedom from what was a whole other can of worms.

lele: gm baby missed u this morning :(

bbygrl: you'll see me later

lele: ur texting in class? 🤭 bad, bad girl

lele: u should be punished

bbygrl: …if u shut up, i'll kiss u

lele: right now?? bEt

God, how did he go so long without kissing your face. He could feel the plushness of your lips on him right now, on his mouth, on his cheek, on his neck. He needed your lips stained red to stain his skin over and over again. He wanted you to scar him with your love.

bbygrl: sighs chenle go get ready for practice

lele: yes ma'am x love u

bbygrl: i love u too

And he giggled as he hopped out of bed and went to get ready for the day.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗—

Your heart was pounding as the timer on the scoreboard counted down. You were in the second half of the championship game against HYBE University, one of the up and comers lately who was just rising to popularity and in skill. They had a lot of new, talented players lately, but not enough to beat the Sentinels.

"—Choi passes to Lee! Ooh—blocked firmly by number 17, Bang Chan!"

Felix was gripping your hand tightly in his as the three of you—you, Karina, and Felix—all leaned forward in your seats to watch the game. You thought the tension was palpable during the first game of the season, but you clearly hadn't watched a championship game before. At this point, electricity buzzed through the air and the tension was so thick, you could probably cut it with a knife.

"Twenty seconds on the clock to break the tie! Number 30, Zhong, maneuvering his way through to get the ball to his teammates!"

You murmured under your breath like a prayer, "Come on, Lele. Come on, Chenle; you can do this."

Your eyes feverishly followed as Chenle dribbled the ball, only to get stopped by Lee Heeseung from Hybe U. Chenle made eye contact with Han Jisung and Park Jisung, both the only two the most open. He feigned left, then passed the ball between Heeseung and Choi Yeonjun.

In slow motion, you saw Huening Kai and Han Jisung go after the ball at the same time—then time returned to normal, fast paced vision, and Han Jisung swiped the ball and passed it to Sungchan. In a smooth alley oop, Sungchan caught the ball and dunked it into the basket.

"And the tie is broken with five seconds to spare!"

You saw the players converge on the ball under the net in an attempt to either get it to the other side in a miracle maneuver, or keep it closely guarded.

It was the latter, and victory rang through the gym with a loud air horn, along with showers of red and silver confetti.

After a brief exchange of sportsmanship from both teams, Chenle came barreling out of the crowd toward you like a bullet. Sweat glistened over the sharp planes of his grinning face, and he raked a hand through his dampened locks. You both collided together, you jumping up into his arms, him swinging you around, then kissing you firmly on the mouth. It said sincerely, earnestly, I love you.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈—

"Hey, Chenle, how the hell did you get Yn to like you?"

Chenle lazily looked up from his phone to where Sungchan and Jisung were both gazing at him expectantly. They were all situated in Jisung and Sungchan's shared apartment at the moment, hanging out and watching the game. "It's called having a personality, Park."

Sungchan oohed at Chenle's burn, to which Jisung rolled his eyes.

Chenle laughed. "It's just one of those things, y'know? It happens if it should. If it's meant to be, it should." He shrugged, thinking about it for a moment more. "Guess I'm just really lucky."

"When did you get so sappy?" Sungchan teased as he shifted his position on the couch, smiling at his friend.

"He wasn't in love before," Jisung chimed in with a wagging finger in Chenle's direction. "So what? You're just gonna give all the credit to luck? You're one of the lucky ones?"

Chenle considered it. He picked up his can of sparkling water and dunked the rest of it down his throat. "Yeah. I mean, Yn's… Yn." He couldn't help the smile that crawled onto his face. "I got her attention at first, but I think I'm lucky she didn't just blow me off because I sounded like a douche."

Jisung snorted. "That you are."

Chenle rolled his eyes. "Shut up, singleton."

"Ugh, look what married life has done to you!" Sungchan groaned jokingly. "You gotta help me, dude. I wanna find true love."

"Only if you're serious."

Jisung wrinkled his nose and stood up to walk over to the kitchen and pour himself another glass of whatever he was drinking. "True love's dumb, but Yn's cool."

"Yn is cool," Sungchan agreed. "Chenle is not."

Chenle scowled, then rose from his seat. "I'm done being bullied by you two losers."

As he showed himself out of their cozy apartment, he heard Sungchan yell, "Say hi to Bestie Yn for me!" Chenle tsked under his breath and shook his head. But yes, going to see you would be a fantastic idea.

He quickly glanced at his phone for the time—4:59pm. He could probably swing by that chicken place you really liked and catch you for dinner. With a plan in his mind's eye, he hurried down to his car and sped off.

Chenle was coming out of the fried chicken eatery just a few blocks from your apartment when his phone lit up with an incoming call. He dumped the takeout bag into the front seat, but frowned down at the unknown number. He wasn't expecting a call, but he figured there was no harm in answering.

"Hello?"

"Son, it's been a while since I've heard your voice."

Chenle immediately hung up and blocked the number. He knew it was no use since they had his number now, but it made him feel slightly better as he took off toward your apartment. The whole way there, numbers continued to call his phone; he would probably have to power off his phone while he was up there with you, or just leave it here, in the car.

But when the stupid thing would not stop buzzing, he parked in your complex parking lot and picked up the call again.

"What do you want?"

A muscle feathered in his jaw as his father spoke on the other end. "That is a terrible way to greet your father, Chenle. We've been trying to reach you for several months now."

Chenle poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. He knew. "Yeah, and you have my number now." Unfortunately.

"You will be coming to the Spring Gala in May, won't you? I've already put you down as—"

"I'm not."

His father paused. "Excuse me?"

Chenle glared out the front windshield of his car. "I said I'm not. I don't have time to fly back and forth for that and school. And I don't want any part of whatever business scheme you and Mom want to drag me into."

There was a beat of silence on the other end, and Chenle was so close to calling it a victory. "You will fly back home and attend the gala, Zhong Chenle. You can make up for your schoolwork later. You have a future—a business to run."

"Against what will? My own." Chenle scoffed as he glanced at the car's clock on the console. He had to go now if he was gonna catch you before you actually started eating dinner. He grabbed the bag of chicken, squeezing his phone between his shoulder and ear, as he climbed out of the car. "I already know what's going to happen as soon as I get there. I refuse to acknowledge that I have a fiancée when I didn't even propose to her."

His father let out a disgruntled, irritated sigh. "Chenle—"

"No."

"Stop interrupting me—"

Chenle rolled his eyes as he pulled the phone away from his ear as his father lectured away on the other side of the phone. He silently counted to twenty in his head, kicking the lobby door of your apartment complex shut behind him, then trudged up the stairs with his other hand holding a bag of takeout. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Are you finished?"

"Zhong Chenle, have some manners and respect—"

Chenle nearly growled into the phone. "You want to talk manners and respect? How about not forcing me to marry a woman I'm not in love with? What is this? The 1800s?"

There was one more flight of stairs left and Chenle's voice echoed against the walls. He always complained about how your apartment complex lacked an elevator, and you would always reply with something sassy like "climb up the window then" or "buy them an elevator or something". The irony was that he could buy the landlord an elevator if he wanted to. But that would definitely be a bit of overkill.

And everything was perfect. Even without an elevator.

Well, so far. His father was threatening to screw everything up again, but Chenle liked to think he had everything under control.

"An alliance with Jin Tech is imperative."

"And marriage is the answer?" Chenle scoffed as he bursted onto your floor. He nodded and smiled a hello to one of your neighbors as he passed, before lowering his voice and hissing into the phone. "Nevermind. I don't have time for this now or ever. I'm not coming home so you and Mom can just ship me off to some woman I don't even know the name of!"

"Her name is Alice Jin—"

"I really don't care."

"I will disown you if you don't come home and meet your fiancée," his father's tone firm and stone cold serious. Chenle wasn't afraid of many things, but that tone made a shiver crawl down his back. "That's a promise."

He opened his mouth, ready to say something back so that his father didn't think those words affected him in any way—

"Lele?"

Chenle slammed his thumb against the end call button, slapping a smile onto his face. You were just unlocking your apartment with your hair falling in gentle waves down your shoulders and your small purse slung over your shoulder. "Baby!"

You smiled at him, unknowing and oblivious to the call he had just hung up on. You peered at him curiously. "Hi, honey, what're you doing here?"

"Eating dinner with you, silly," he chirped, breezing past you into your apartment. He set the bag on your kitchen table, already pulling containers out. "Thought I'd swing by 'cause I missed you at lunch, and I was on my way home and your favorite chicken place was just—well, there. So I obviously had to get some for you… what?"

You pursed your lips, an amused look settled on your pretty features. Jeez, you were so pretty. "Are you okay? You're a bit… frazzled right now."

Chenle's cheery expression dropped for a millisecond as his mind flashed back to the phone call. Come home for the spring gala. Meet your fiancée. But his grin was back in an instant. "Yeah, I'm good." He flicked his wrist, a brief dismissal of the subject, then suddenly pulled you into a hug. Shoving his face into the crook of your neck, he tried to suppress the wave of guilt and dread building up in his stomach. "Just missed you, baby."

Your warm arms came around him as you gently rubbed his back. "Oh, I missed you, too, Lele."

You won't when you find out, he thought to himself.

But for now, as you and him sat down together to have dinner, as he took in your laughter and smiling face, as he remembered all of the reasons why he fell in love with you… he could fool himself into thinking that this could be his forever.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐈—

Disownment. The word reverberated around in Chenle's skull as he sat in his desk chair at home, computer open. The screen displayed the Shanghai Airlines website page, his cursor primed over the "confirm" button. The page detailed a round-trip flight to Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, set for the Sunday night of spring break to the Saturday morning right before it ended. He didn't want to spend any more time than he needed to be.

This would be this upcoming weekend, which was happening far too soon, now that he thought about it. He couldn't… how was going to do this without the people he had around him now? He would have Ningning, and that was about it. Kun hardly went back home now, and you… oh god, what was he going to tell you?

Chenle buried his face in his hands, rubbed them over his eyes, wanted to wash everything away and to shut everything up. What was he going to do?

He reached over to the touchpad of his laptop and pressed the confirmation button. He might as well have signed away his freedom if he stepped foot back in Shanghai, but—that ten letter word haunted him to his core.

He couldn't breathe. Jesus Christ, he needed to breathe.

His phone buzzed from the table and sent his soul flying out of his body for a second. But then he saw your pretty face in the caller ID and knew the pounding of his heart wasn't just from anxiety, but from the pure feeling he had for you.

Without hesitation, he answered. "Hi baby. What's up?"

Your beautiful voice met his ears, like the voices of heaven. He stared at the confirmation for his flight on the laptop screen. "Hey honey, what're you up to?"

He swallowed, scratching the nape of his neck, then closed the lid of his laptop. "I'm, uhm, I actually just booked a flight back to Shanghai." He cleared his throat and walked away from the laptop, toward the window in the living room overlooking the city. "I'm going back for Spring Break."

"Oh, that's great! Sounds like so much fun, Lele."

If only you knew. "Yeah," he said half-heartedly.

You sensed his tone and told him gently, "Hey, are you getting enough sleep? I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out at the office with me, but I'd rather you catch up on—"

"No, I'll be there." He was already halfway out the door, keys and jacket and wallet swiped on the way out. "I really need to get out of this apartment," he chuckled. "I'll meet you there? Or I can pick you up."

"I'm here already," you admitted cheekily. "I'll see you in five, love."

Chenle hummed. "See you then, baby. Love you."

"Love you, too. Drive safe."

When you hung up, he tucked his phone away to race off toward the university theater. On his way, however, he swung by the drive-thru Starbucks to grab you something to drink. Knowing you and the theater office, you would be there until you were literally drooling over manuscripts and bills. And knowing him, he would probably be knocked out as soon as he sat down.

He was striding in through the performer's entrance, passing by plenty of students and peers who he recognized ever since you and him became a "thing". But generally, as he greeted people he passed warmly and who greeted him the same way, he thought that he had been accepted here. His heart clenched at the thought. He had a basketball family, he had a community, he had his friends, he had you. What would happen in Shanghai? Would it change his entire life?

Knocking briefly on your closed door, he swiftly let himself into the room. Your head perked up at his entrance, and even more so at the cup of coffee in his hand.

"Oh my god, I love you!" You gasped, making grabby hands.

Chenle grinned, eyes smiling just like his mouth. You were so cute. He shook his head, pulling the coffee out of reach from you. "Nuh-uh, I want my compensation first."

You pouted, but you leaned up to press a kiss to his mouth. "Thank you, Lele. You're so thoughtful." You took the warm cup from him and took a careful sip.

He plopped into the seat across from you with a satisfied hum. "So what're you working overtime on today?"

"What do you mean overtime?" You asked innocently, your head already bowed over your documents.

"You know exactly what I mean." Chenle stood up and rounded the desk. Before you could object, he was lifting you off your chair. He sat himself in it, then placed you onto his lap. He peered over your shoulder. "Ew, why is that deadline so soon?"

You deadpanned. "That's exactly why I have to work overtime. The idiot at the office likes to give me this shit two weeks too late."

Chenle dug his nose into your neck to let the comforting smell of your perfume calm him down. Disownment. Shanghai. Fiancée. You. "Mm, the bastard. Want me to go talk to him?"

"No, it's okay. I'm good at making deadlines."

His mind wandered off to those skyscrapers across the Yellow Sea. Five days away from here. Things could change in five days. "Do you think you'd be done by dinner? We could go out to eat."

You made a noise of approval. "Yeah, I can be done by then. Any ideas?"

"You can choose. I just have an idea for afterwards. A moment of spontaneity, if you will."

You laughed. "We're planning it out beforehand, honey, that's not spontaneity."

Chenle pouted into your skin, wrapped his arms around you, and draped his body over your back. He watched your pen twirl and spin through your fingers. "Close enough."

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈—

The last thing you thought Chenle would do was drive you to some random neighborhood and to its sketchy basketball court, caged in the classic wire fencing and with amber street lights as its only light source. It was perhaps nine o'clock at night, and you had just finished eating dinner (finishing that document had taken a little longer than anticipated, but Chenle had seemed content to wait). The sky had darkened to a midnight cobalt, and you couldn't really see the stars, but it was a clear night out.

Chenle parked along the curb just across from the gate and was already tearing his seatbelt off.

You balked for just a moment. "Uhhhh, is this where I get murdered and dumped in an abandoned parking lot?"

He rolled his eyes. "Aish, you're so dramatic," he joked, tugging at your hand, "come on. I have a ball in the trunk."

The car door slammed shut on his side after he climbed out, and you were left in the silence of the empty car. Was that euphemism or…?

You slapped your hand to your forehead; you spent way too much time with Chenle. Not sparing another moment thinking about it, you followed Chenle out into the cool night. He was already hunched over the trunk of his car, digging through his basketball duffle bag.

"Jesus, you need to wash that thing," you grimaced, taking a step back.

He only laughed, pulling a basketball out of seemingly nowhere and slamming the trunk closed. He locked the car, offering his free hand to you. "I'm doing laundry before I leave," he reassured.

"I'd hope so," you muttered and faked a gag.

As Chenle pushed past the gate, you took a second to really look around at your surroundings. It was a classic neighborhood park with a playground over a little ways down the path, a grassy hill for kids and dogs to run around on, and of course, this court. There was a tennis court connected to it on one side of the fence, too.

Chenle released your hand and started to dribble as soon as his foot hit the faded lines outlining the basketball court on the grey cement. He dribbled the ball all the way to the three pointer line, stopped, then shot.

Nothing but net.

He grinned at you. "Easy enough. Your turn."

You sent him an incredulous look. "I don't think so."

He made a face, jogging over to get the ball back and to dribble it over toward you. He passed it, letting it bounce once before you caught it in your hands. It seemed like a very high quality (?) basketball, like it wouldn't deflate on you. To be honest, you probably hadn't touched a basketball since high school, and you told Chenle as much.

"Well, that's why I'm here, silly," he said and guided you over and across the court so you stood at midcourt. "Remember how to dribble?"

"I do." And you idly began dribbling the ball in place, using the pads of your fingers to push the ball down against the cement.

"Good," he praised. "Now dribble up to inner court."

"Say please," you stuck your tongue out at him over your shoulder, but walked and dribbled the ball all the way to the inner court. You figured you probably couldn't make a basket from the three pointer line anyway.

Once you were at inner court, you stopped the ball in your hands and made a sad attempt at shooting the ball into the net. It rebounded hard off the rim, and Chenle stopped it midair with one hand. He passed it to his other before returning it to the cement to be dribbled.

"That was cute."

You wrinkled your nose at him. "Oh, shut up."

He chuckled, placing the ball back into your hands. He stood behind you and guided your arms in the correct form. His voice was seated right by your ear, the warmth of his breath sending zaps of energy down your spine and to your curling toes. "You just need to follow through. Like this."

His hands moved yours to mimic correct shooting technique. Then he added, "You want to make sure when you shoot, your hands follow through and send it where it should be. If your hands aren't directed toward the hoop, it probably won't go in."

You nodded, and once you felt him take a step back, you tried again. You let the ball boost off the page of your fingertips once more, this time, keeping your follow-through. The ball didn't make it in the hoop, but it rolled around the rim once before slipping off the edge.

"Damn," you murmured and went to retrieve it.

"That was a lot better though," Chenle said with a glimmer in his eyes. You could feel the excitement and amusement rolling off him in waves. "Try again."

And you did. Until you made a stupid basket.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go!" You shouted, jumping for absolute fucking joy. Your grinning face met his as you stomped your foot on the ground in victory. "Did you see that? I finally got one!"

Chenle chuckled, nodding and indulging you with applause. "I did, baby. I'm proud of you."

The two of you would end up passing the ball around to each other, one of you taking a shot here or there. He taught you how to play Horse, too, and eventually, he went to get a mini Bluetooth speaker from his magical dufflebag to play some music.

"This is not fair!" You growled, nearly climbing up him like a tree as he held the basketball high above his head. "Chenle!"

Your boyfriend giggled like a maniac, not even bothering to fend you off as you braced your arms on his shoulders and tried to hoist yourself up. You clawed at the air in desperate attempts to get the ball from him, but the bastard was messing with you. "You're almost there, Yn-ie! Look!"

You were not.

You glared at him.

Chenle's laughter faded just a little bit. "Okay, okay. I'll give you the ball back if I get my compensation."

"That sounds familiar," you said, easily going up to him. You hauled him down by his neck, despite his squawk of surprise, and kissed him. As you pulled back, your teeth nipped his bottom lip.

His thumb came up to graze his bottom lip, tongue licking it, eyes growing darker. "Come here."

You giggled, backing away. "No."

"Yn," he said while slowly approaching you like a predator to his prey. He set the basketball down. "Come here, baby."

"No, no, no—AH!" Your laughter filled the night air as you darted off across the court, making a large loop around the wired perimeter. Chenle was hot on your tail the entire time, his own laughter intermingling with yours.

You were heaving for breath (goddamn, you were out of shape), and so clearly, Chenle caught you. He wound his arms around you, caged you in his embrace. You squealed, squirming in his hold, but he held fast and tight.

It was at this moment that both Chenle and you recognized the song playing. It was an old one, the lyrics prefaced by the melody of trumpets and violins.

"You know how to waltz, Zhong?"

He pulled a smile, but it was like there was something sad in it. "Ballroom dance. But yeah."

You mocked a curtsy to him. "May I have this dance then?"

He answered you by holding out his hand for you to take. You placed your right hand in his, and he guided you to the middle of the basketball court. You placed your left hand on his shoulder, his free hand on your waist. And you both marked the three-fourths time before stepping into the sway of a waltz.

You let your cheek rest against his chest as he pulled you closer and you were just swaying to the beat. Chenle rested the side of his cheek against your head, pressing a kiss to your hairline.

You could hear the speed of his heart, the quickness of its beat.

"Lele."

"Mhm."

"I love you."

His heartbeat quickened under your ear. Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump.

He swallowed. "Yn, I love you, too."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐕—

"Oh my god, how does Chenle stand you? You're so boooooring, Yn." Felix groaned from where he laid upside down on your couch. His socked feet were sticking up the back, giving you a strange view from your vantage point in the kitchen.

You had just dropped Chenle off at the airport to head off to Shanghai about an hour ago. He had been an awful lot clingier the past few days leading up to the trip, but you supposed you understood since he would be leaving Seoul after being here for so long. New-old environments could be weird.

You were a little worried about him, but maybe that was just the thought of being away from him for five days. You'd gone days without seeing each other, but that was because you frequently called and texted. You didn't know what he'd be doing in Shanghai, but you were sure you could pick up any call he dialled. You weren't doing anything spectacular this break anyway.

In response to Felix, you said nothing. Instead, you marched over to the couch and flicked the arches of his feet.

He helped in surprise, using his miraculous abdominal muscles to haul his head up from the ground to glare at you. "Hey! Rude."

"Hey you," you snorted. You collapsed on the couch next to him. "And I am not boring. I just haven't hung out with you in a while solo."

Karina was going to visit her home in Gyeonggi-do for the week, so Felix had temporarily become your roommate. He didn't plan to visit Australia until summer break hit. It was just the two of you, but you were alright with that. You and Felix still worked at the café together anyway; it would just be fully you two for a week now.

Felix grumbled and pulled himself onto the couch to sit upright. "I know. You and Chenle are so busy being disgustingly in love. I mean, you can date someone and still hang out with your favorite Australian, can't you?"

"I think I like Chan better—I'msorrydon'thurtme!" You squealed, leaping from the couch when he feigned pouncing at you.

He settled in his spot again, pouting, but he reminded you of Mofy Duck as you looked at him. "But you and Chenle seem to be getting really serious though, yeah?"

You sat back down on the couch and sighed in content. "Yeah. I dunno, Lix. I think… you know—I'd spend my whole life with him."

"Really?" He pocketed his phone and so the two of you zoned into the conversation. "I mean, no, that's fantastic. It's great, Yn. And I'm so happy for you. I did not think that Chenle sauntering through the door of the café that day would end in something like this, but… I think it's beautiful, what you two have, I mean."

"Oh, thank you Lix. That means a lot." You pulled your knees up to your chest. "He really does saunter, huh."

Felix pressed his lips together, nodding. "He does."

You and Felix shared a laugh. You hoped Chenle was going to have a good time in Shanghai. In an hour, hopefully, you would receive word from him that he had safely landed.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕—

Chenle wanted to leave. He wanted to leave now.

There was nothing wrong with the city of Shanghai. God, he had missed this place, with all of the smells and sights and feelings. It was his childhood, where he had grown up. He would have loved to bring you here one day.

The plane had landed, safely and smoothly, as per usual. As soon as he had access to signal, he was shooting you text after text, before his family's hired security company was carting him off into a black SUV. He would have preferred to drive himself, but he supposed this allowed him to text back and forth with you.

He didn't want to give away his displeasure about being here to you, so he took pictures of the city sights he passed by, described any and all of the food smells he detected, and sent them all to you. It was like you were right next to him, experiencing all of this yourself. He knew it wouldn't live up to the real thing, but he would make do.

He knew he drew closer to the family apartments even before they got off the highway. He could feel the thrum of the coast, could see the grey sea in the distance, then the dark and cream tiled roofs of the apartments. They were built in a modern spin on traditional Chinese architecture, and they had become very familiar to Chenle.

The family apartments were not the typical apartment complexes like the one you lived in, but a row of small houses pressed up against each other to squeeze into the limited space of Shanghai's city limits. Each house-apartment was built with luxury and comfort in mind, however, and each apartment featured a connected backyard space that looked out at the sea view. Backyards were separated by large hedges for privacy, as well.

Chenle's foot hit the car floor rapidly as the car approached the first apartment. He didn't expect his parents to be waiting outside for his arrival or to be there at the airport to pick him up; he was hardly surprised at this point. It just made everything easier to swallow.

Bags were pulled out of the trunk, and Chenle reluctantly trudged up the steps into his family home.

It was just as he remembered: dark oak floors, traditional poetry and paintings hung on the walls, his mother's pet project Bonsai trees scattered about hallway tables. It was like walking through a time capsule; that was how stuck in the past his family was.

He feared a collision course with his family earlier than was necessary, and escaped up to his room where he could probably have at least a couple minutes of calm before the storm. Or, at least until Ningning came with Daegal. He grabbed his backpack and suitcase, then hightailed it up the stairs.

As he locked himself in his room, he felt his phone buzz to life once more.

鸡蛋: hey loser i'm almost there

鸡蛋: i think bb daegal can sense that she's going to c u

-

bbygrl: *image sent* here's my pet chick for the week

bbygrl: he says *i'm* the boring one 😒 and he fell asleep on the couch

bbygrl: u better send pics of daegal 🤨🔪

Chenle settled on the edge of his bed, still crisp and made from when he left. Nothing else had been touched over the course of the years he hadn't been here, but it was still nostalgic enough. All the posters of NBA players, the keyboard in the corner.

笨蛋: well i'm excited to see her too

笨蛋: and ig u too..

-

lele: jeez say pls first baby :/

lele: haha u should write loser on his forehead

bbygrl: i knew there was a reason y i liked u 😁

lele: uH HELLAUR??

There was a knock on the door. "Chenle xiansheng, Ning xiaojie has arrived."

He didn't recognize the voice from the other side, but figured his parents had hired a few more staff members for the household since he left. "Oh, uh, send her up, please. Thank you!"

The footsteps withdrew from the door, and Chenle set his phone on the bedside table.

He stood up, walking over to the floor to ceiling window that doubled as a balcony door. It looked out at the sea from here. Chenle braced his hand against the doorframe and gazed out. Maybe he should send you a picture of the waves as they pulled and pushed along the shoreline.

"Jesus, you look like you're in some bad C-drama." The door opened to his room without a knock, followed by the tap-tap-tap of little paws along wood and an ebullient bark. "That's the most excited she's been in awhile."

Chenle whirled around and knelt to the ground as a furry white blur came crashing into him. He chuckled, hugging Daegal to his chest as she lapped at his face. "Hi Daegal. I missed you," he cooed.

Ning Yizhuo, Chenle's cousin from Harbin, stood in the doorway with a smile on her face. Her long hair was dyed a fiery red, just like her attitude. While her parents were partners at Chenle's parents' company, she wouldn't get a piece of the pie due to "traditional" inheritance rules. It was stupid, but now, she modeled for luxury brands and designed her own clothes, too. Chenle might find her irritating at times, but he had always admired her strength and independence.

He raised his head up to her as he picked Daegal up in his arms. "Thanks for watching over her." His hand idly ran through her fur and scratched behind her ears.

Ningning nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She closed his bedroom door behind her. "How's life, cousin? Seoul treating you well?"

"It's…" he sighed. "It's better than I could've ever imagined."

"That's good to hear," then she added, "I'm glad you've enjoyed your freedom."

Chenle's mood soured, and he set Daegal down. The dog scurried around his legs once or twice before giving up and running over to jump into his bed.

Ningning lowered onto the edge of his bed and massaged Daegal's stomach. "Sorry, that's probably a bad way to put it."

"No, it's all right. That's pretty much what it is, right?" He shook his head and picked up his phone again. He went back to the window and snapped a quick picture of the view to send to you.

lele: *image sent* it's prettier when it's sunny

bbygrl: it's still pretty when it's gray

lele: i think ur prettier anyway

bbygrl: always a flatterer aren't u?

lele: what can i say? give compliments where compliments r due ;)

"Does she make you happy?"

Chenle snapped out of her daze, the smile still evident on his face. "Huh?"

Ningning inclined her head to his phone. "I'm guessing that's your girlfriend. Or partner."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "Yeah, she's… yeah. You better not—"

"I thought you knew me better than that, Chenle." She arched a brow at him in slight teasing. But there was that sadness in her eyes, too. Chenle knew why. Even if she wasn't getting her parents' company, she still had their name. She was subject to just about the same rules as he was.

"Right. Sorry."

"So what are you gonna do?" Ningning asked him. "You know that they're gonna make you meet her at least once while you're here. I bet they have some kind of dinner planned already."

That wasn't even a question in Chenle's mind. His five days here were going to be the busiest and most exhausting five days of his life, probably. He could see it now, meal after meeting after meal after meeting. His parents were going to soak the life out of him while they could. And then some.

Another knock on the door. "Chenle xiansheng, your parents would like to see you in their home office."

Chenle inwardly cursed. He'd hoped they would let him settle in first. "Hao ah, thank you. Give me five minutes."

Once the footsteps had left, Ningning brushed a hand over Daegal's coat. "Need moral support?"

"When do I not need moral support to talk to my parents?" He joked. Chenle slipped his phone into his pocket, scratched Daegal's head one more time, then left the room.

As he walked down the hallway and down the steps again toward his parents' home office, Chenle willed his heart to slow. His hands were even getting clammy and he wondered how he'd grown so soft in his time away that he was like a kid again in this house. Where was the spine he'd grown? He'd need it before facing the wolves this week.

Chenle brushed a hand through his hair as he stood before the engraved doors to the home office. It was in the shape of a circle, split directly down the middle. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door and pushed the doors open.

There were three people standing inside the office, surrounding the big mahogany desk at the far wall. He recognized his father in the office chair and his mother standing at his side. The young woman standing across from them was familiar, but he couldn't put a name to the face. Then again, there were very few options as to who she was racing through the forefront of his mind.

He had a sneaking suspicion.

"Ah, my son has finally graced us with his presence." His father did not stand, did not smile. "Close the door."

Say please. Chenle closed the door. As he approached slowly, his nod of greeting was more akin to a bow. "Fumuhao." (fùmù = formal word for parents; hǎo = a form of greeting lol idrk how to explain it)

"At least he has some manners left," his father commented.

Chenle's jaw clenched.

"Well," his father continued, "I suppose I should not dawdle any longer. Chenle, meet Miss Jin."

The young woman bowed shallowly to him in greeting and he returned the gesture. Her expression was the dictionary definition of polite.

"She's your fiancée."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈—

You felt like your stomach was about to explode. Dazed and half comatose, you reached for the remote and lowered the volume of whatever romcom was playing on the TV now. Felix's head was slumped over on the other side of the couch, light snores emitting from his parted lips. The smell of brownies filled and lingered in the apartment air, making you sigh in content. You wondered why Felix never started a brownie business.

You reached for your phone, which had been discarded on the couch cushions beside your body, and you picked it up. No messages, no missed calls. This had been the same thing for the past day and a half. Absolute radio silence from Chenle.

And you were… happy? At least, you thought you were, but only because this had to be an indication that he was having fun. Right?

You weren't too sure and you thought he would at least send you a check up message to assure you he was alive. This wasn't very… Chenle of him? But you didn't want to bother, and you had slowed down your messages for a bit.

You bit your lip, hesitantly typing out another few words to send.

you: hey honey just woke up from a post-brownie hangover lmao u really need to try lix's brownies

you: hope ur having fun over there! :) love you

"He still hasn't responded?"

You shook your head, as Felix drowsily pulled himself from dream land. His eyes fluttered and squinted to adjust to the light of the TV screen. The sky outside the apartment was dark, since the two of you had chosen to stay in this afternoon to make brownies. Then you both crashed in a food coma until now.

"He's probably just really busy," you told him, mainly trying to convince yourself. You feigned nonchalance as you tossed your phone back onto the couch and stood up. "Want some water? I think I need to flush out all the sugar I inhaled earlier," you mused.

Felix cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah. That's a good idea. Get me some please?"

"Sure." You pulled two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with water from the filtered dispenser into the fridge.

Felix called from the couch. "I think you got a message."

You nearly dropped both glasses right there.

He chuckled as you messily handed him both cups to pick up your phone.

lele: sorry i haven't been able to text u babe

lele: save some brownies for me tho 😞 love u too x

A smile bloomed on your face like the rising of the sun. He was okay.

you: dw abt it love! i'll c u in a few days x

You knew you probably wouldn't get a text back right away, but a girl could hope.

Felix noticed the shift in your mood. He scratched the side of his neck, peering down at his phone. "Chan's hosting a small get-together at his dorm. You think you're up for it? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

But you could see that Felix was itching to do something. And that he believed this might help you. It would do no good sitting around moping about your boyfriend who was gone. Where was your independent self now? You gave him a nod and stood up again, stretching your arms over your head. "Yeah, we can go. I'll go put on something presentable."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈—

The tie around Chenle's neck was practically a noose. He had a terrible feeling that if he wasn't on his toes, the fabric would tighten around his neck and keep squeezing. The sky outside his window was already dark like the abyss, meaning the charity gala being held here had begun. He could hear cars pulling up to the driveway and guests chattering below. His parents were supposed to be announcing his return soon, so he just bided his time upstairs until he was needed.

Somebody knocked gently on the door, and he was mentally preparing himself to be summoned downstairs.

"Chenle xiansheng, it's Jin xiaojie. Could I… speak with you for a moment?"

He couldn't tell if this was better or worse. But then again, the brief and polite conversations he'd had with Alice Jin over the past couple of days had been okay to say the least. She was quiet, not timid, but she didn't say anything that wasn't expected of her. He figured she was in the same boat as him.

"Uhm, yeah. You can come in." Chenle scratched the back of his neck instead of raking his hand through his freshly done hair. He stood awkwardly in the middle of his own childhood bedroom as he watched Alice slip inside and quietly close the door behind her.

She was pretty, actually. She had a heart shaped face and high cheekbones, with her dark hair partly pulled into an elegant hairdo. She wore an embroidered red qipao that accentuated her slim figure, but put her as the center of all of your parents' standards. It was no wonder they were so eager to welcome her to the family.

But he loved you, not her; he didn't even know her, other than their fates were inexplicably intertwined now.

"I'm going to speak freely," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "You and I both don't want this."

He huffed, leaning against the edge of his desk. "No kidding."

"But we have to." Those words settled uncomfortably in his chest. The truth was so difficult to swallow. "And we have to put on a show for those pigs out there, no matter what our true feelings are." She spat out the word pigs with the most emotion Chenle had ever experienced from her. It made him listen really closely.

Alice released a trembling breath. "My parents made me break up with my boyfriend for this, and I'm guessing you must have had a partner, too?"

"I still have one," he corrected. For now. Oh my god, he needed to text you back.

She pursed her lips. "Well, good for you, I guess."

He thought he heard bitterness in her tone, and maybe a hint of sadness. He felt guilt rise in his throat; she had already let go of her boyfriend, but he couldn't bring himself to let you go. He didn't want to, not yet. You were one of the best things that had happened to him.

"This is going to be weird for us, trust me, I know." Alice turned her gaze out to the window, staring out into the obsidian night sky and the infinitely dark sea. "But… I figured you could pretend I'm her, and I could pretend you're him."

Chenle rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay. Yeah, okay." He could do this. He could do this, right?

"They're gonna need us to come out soon. We need to be there when they announce our engagement anyway," she laughed wryly.

That made him pause. "Wait what? I thought they were just announcing my return?"

Alice furrowed her brows at him. "Surely you didn't just think that, Chenle? This isn't a charity gala; it's our engagement party."

Fucking hell. Chenle swore, wanting to scoop his eyeballs out. That meant there was press here specifically to report on how he had a fiancée. This was not good. He didn't know how he had convinced himself that the press wouldn't focus too much on him, but on the charity gala as per usual. He was a certified idiot.

"Chenle, you need to breathe."

He felt her hands planted firmly on his shoulders. She was standing too close, too close—

Alice backed away, apology in her eyes. "You really thought they wouldn't publicise it and hark on the opportunity?"

"I was optimistic." And stupid.

His phone buzzed.

"You should answer her," she told him, gesturing to his device on the nightstand. "But we need to go afterward."

He nodded and swiped his phone up. A small smile pulled at his lips as he read through the words you sent. He quickly sent back a couple messages, wishing he could see your face for some semblance of strength. When he was done, he left the phone on the nightstand again.

Chenle swallowed his pride and offered Alice his arm. She graciously linked her arm with his.

"Ready to go put on our first performance?" She asked. The smile on her face looked loving, but he saw the sad empathy in the fine lines.

He tried his best to return that expression, to channel as much love for you he had and to show that to her. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The two of them walked out of the bedroom together as staff rushed to and fro, hurrying past or allowing them to pass. They received compliments to their cleaned up appearances and elegance, and they accepted all of the comments with perfect decorum. As they were expected to do.

Alice suddenly stopped before they were about to round the corner to the stairway. Chenle could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter from downstairs.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She glanced up at him, murmuring softly with that same smile plastered on her face. "Did your parents give you the ring?"

"Ring?" Chenle didn't recall receiving one, but he patted down the pockets of his suit. He wasn't even surprised when he found a diamond ring in the top left inside pocket of his suit blazer. The massive rock glistened in the hallway lights. He imagined what it might have been like if he was putting the ring on your finger instead of hers.

The ring slipped onto Alice's ring finger perfectly. Like his parents had measured her finger to the millimeter and had been curated especially for her.

Alice tested the ring's weight, curling her fingers and examining the diamond's luster. "I once wanted to become a geologist when I was a kid."

"I wanted to be in the NBA," he chuckled. "Guess we all have dreams."

Alice considered him for a moment with a sideways smile. "We're gonna be okay, Chenle. We'll make it through tonight."

He nodded. "I know. Thanks." Just pretend it's Yn. You can do this, Chenle.

They returned their arms to each other, each taking a deep breath in. Then the two of them rounded the corner and met the wolves with blinding lights and pretty masks.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈—

Thursday morning, you woke up to the sound of murmuring outside your bedroom door. You groggily noted the sunlight streaming through your window and estimated that it was probably late afternoon. You and Felix had been out late last night at Bang Chan's apartment, playing Cards Against Humanity and bonding with a few of Chenle's basketball teammates, Felix's dance team, and others as well.

—Was that Karina's voice out there?

You tossed your covers back and stumbled out of your room, half dazed on sleep.

Karina and Felix were conversing at the kitchen counter, solemn expressions on their faces. Karina's suitcase sat by the door as if she had just gotten back from the airport. Felix buried his face into his hands and you wondered what was going on.

"Hey Karina, I didn't think you'd be back until later tonight," you said, shuffling over to hug your friend.

Karina hugged you tight. "Hey, Ynie. Yeah, I was supposed to fly in tonight, but… uhm, something came up." She exchanged a glance with Felix.

You frowned, looking between them. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah!" Felix stammered. "I was just talking to Karina about our work schedule for next week. Boss put me on extra hours."

You immediately frowned. "Wait what? Did he ask you beforehand?"

"No, but—"

"Let me talk to him," you offered, already hurrying back into your room to find your phone. "He knows you have a dance competition coming up."

Karina and Felix's faces drained of their blood and they chased after you, wide-eyed in panic. "Yn, wait! Don't look at your—phone…"

They stopped in the middle of your bedroom. You were hunched over your nightstand, nose deep in your phone. You were frozen, heart sinking into your stomach. Your phone had been blowing up while you were asleep with people sending you some clippings of some headlines. Most of the headlines were in Mandarin, but there were a couple in Korean.

"ZHONG CHENLE AND JIN ALICE: ENGAGED"

"ZHONG CORPORATIONS AND JIN TECH TO BE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN HOLY MATRIMONY"

"CHENLE & ALICE: READ ALL ABOUT THEIR LOVE EXPRESSED AT THEIR ENGAGEMENT PARTY"

You could feel arms around you, holding you close against their chest. Then another set pulling you toward them, too. Was this real? It had to be, right? There were too many different sources that it couldn't have been fake. And too many people had sent it to her, asking about your relationship and if you were aware.

No, you weren't aware.

Goddamn, how could you have known? Just last night, you thought you were still in a loving, healthy relationship. Now? Apparently your boyfriend was engaged to another woman.

The phone was wrenched from your fingers and you were guided to sit on your bed. Breathe, breathe, breathe—

"Yn? Honey, do you want some water? Some space?" Karina asked softly, kneeling down in front of you so she met your eyes.

You blankly shook your head, wiped your eyes. "I need to ask him—" You cleared your congested throat, "—I need to get a hold of him. I want to know how he's gonna explain this to me."

I want him to say it to my face.

Felix frowned sympathetically. "Yn, I don't think that's…"

"Lix, give her the phone, please," Karina said. She held out her hand and Felix placed the device into her palm. She passed it to you and monitored you as you furiously pulled up his text message chain.

you: hey can we talk? pls?

you: I just want to know what's going on I'm so confused

you: if u want to break up w me, have some dignity and do it to my face

You trembled as a response came in, but you couldn't tell if it was from anger, sadness, panic, or all three.

lele: don't contact this number anymore

Then he blocked you.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐗—

You were probably insane, but at this exact moment in time, you convinced yourself that you were in the right. You deserved closure. And if Zhong Chenle lacked the balls to come to you and explain it to you himself, then you would march right up to his stupid penthouse apartment and give him a piece of your goddamn mind.

Chenle had been back from Shanghai for the past two days—it was currently the Monday after spring break. There had been nothing from him, as you expected. You were bound to take matters into your own hands to see exactly what went wrong. A handful of Chenle's friends who you had got acquainted with like Park Jisung and Jung Sungchan had reached out to you. They were really nice about it all, but couldn't offer any more information than you already knew. It seemed like no one knew what the hell was going on except for Chenle.

As a now engaged man—you thought of that title bitterly—he probably had the whole world's eyes on him. If he went to see you, everyone would pounce on the opportunity at a scandal. It was a disaster in the making. But maybe you needed a disaster. You'd felt far too helpless lately.

The doorman at Chenle's apartment greeted you warmly, and you made sure to wish him well. After all, he wasn't the one who deserved your wrath.

As you rose up in the elevator, you drummed your fingers nervously against the seam of your jeans. You had been rehearsing what you were gonna say ever since you woke up this morning, ready to hurt someone. You were adamant about getting your closure, and you knew Chenle didn't have classes until noon. So that gave you three hours to get shit settled.

The elevator arrived with a cheerful and metallic ding on his floor.

"Hello? Who—oh."

There he was, standing in slippers and his pajamas in the middle of the living room. He seemed surprised to see you for a moment, but that emotion vanished in an instant. You didn't recognize this Chenle. Fundamentally, nothing had changed about him, but you felt the shift. You felt the discomfort and tension, worse than it was at the Championship game. (That felt so long ago now.)

"How the hell did you get in?" He asked you, crossing his arms over his chest.

You stepped into the living room, not moving a step closer to him. This—this felt weird. Shouldn't the doorman have forewarned him you were on your way up? "The doorman, obviously. We need to talk."

"We're talking."

You know what? Screw the script. "What happened, Lele? What happened in Shanghai, what happened to us, what—"

"What do you mean 'us', Yn?" His tone made you start. "Can't you take a hint? I'm engaged to another woman, and you're just talking about the past?"

Your nostrils flared. "You mean the past that was literally a day beforehand? Chenle, what the hell? You don't even have the fucking decency to say you're sorry, but to block me without an explanation."

He rolled his eyes, like he had better things to do than to have this conversation with you. "You're really stupid, you know?"

"What?"

"You're really stupid." He tucked his hands into his pants pockets now, stance casual and gaze calculating. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

You wished you could speak. Fuck, you wished you could get words out.

"You were just a distraction, Yn. Just someone to have fun with before I needed to take over my responsibilities at the company."

You couldn't breathe. "Just a distraction."

He laughed, cruel and dark and wry. This was not your Chenle. But did your Chenle even exist? "You really thought I would keep you around? I have greater things in life than all this here in Seoul." Greater things than you, he seemed to say.

Wounded and heartbroken, you mustered all of your energy toward not crying or showing weakness. You held your head up high. "Guess you're even worse than the rumors say you are," you told him as calmly as you could. "Congrats on your engagement, and congrats on somehow living with such a shit personality. Have a nice, fake life."

You turned away and jammed the elevator button, willing it to come fetch you. Neither you nor Chenle said anything else as you left the penthouse. But as soon as the doors closed, your body shook so hard you fell against the wall, and you couldn't hold back the flood anymore.

Distraction. You were just a distraction.

For Chenle, the world was crashing down around him—walls crumbling, gravity flipping upside down. You had left with a stinging remark, and he couldn't bring himself to insult you anymore as you left. He was already breaking down as it was, collapsing onto the couch and trying to keep tears at bay.

How could he forgive himself for hurting you like that?

"You're a fucking dumbass."

"How could you talk to her like that? Don't you have any compassion?"

Chenle could feel Jisung and Sungchan practically run into the living room from his inner bedroom, where they had been hiding when you came in. He wouldn't have been able to do all that if it was in front of his friends, which was pretty pathetic of him, but he knew they heard everything. And they were rightfully furious at him for it.

Jisung planted himself on the glass coffee table in front of him, barely concealed rage on his face. "Have you any decency? Why the hell are you fucking crying when you just talked to her like that?"

Sungchan stood beside Jisung, arms crossed over his chest. "C'mon, Chenle. Aren't you gonna at least try to defend yourself? That was some pretty messed up shit you told her."

"I know," he croaked. Was it hot in here? "I was going to explain it all before she got here, but…" Well, you had gotten here before he could.

"So then explain," Jisung demanded. "You go to Shanghai for five days and all of a sudden you're engaged to some woman none of us know, you're acting like a douchebag, and you break Yn's heart. You told us yourself that you loved her. What the hell happened?"

Sungchan set a hand on Jisung's shoulder. "Jisungie-ah, calm down a little. Let's hear what he has to say."

They looked at Chenle.

Chenle leaned back against the couch cushions, eyes red with unshed tears. "My parents had my life planned out since I was born. Since I'm inheriting an empire, they had to ensure the future of it was in the right hands. Which also meant that they were going to pick who I married. They told me before I left for college here that I had a fiancée already and to keep that in mind, or some shit. I've been trying to avoid it, but it came to bite me in the ass when I met Yn.

"They basically threatened to disown me if I didn't fly back home and meet my alleged fiancée. And as much as I despise my parents for all the shit they've given me, I don't…" he struggled to find the words. "I don't want…"

Sungchan's expression was understanding. "You don't want to be without family. You still want that bond and you don't want to let people down, but you have to."

Chenle made a sad, noncommittal wave of his hand. "Yeah. That."

Jisung started at the floor, lips parted. "I'm sorry for going off on you like that. And I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this. But what you said was so brash—"

"Jisung, trust me, I know." Chenle let the emotion roll down his cheeks. He couldn't bottle it up any longer. "I want to throw up right now just thinking about what I said to her."

"Make it right, then."

"I'll have my ass beat if my parents hear. Everyone is watching me now. It's better if she leaves and never looks back." The press were harking for a scandal. If he so much as looked in your direction again in public, he was going to get a strongly worded warning from his parents. He was in a bind, and he didn't know what to do anymore.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐗—

Five days later, you were very close to committing murder.

You had managed to fool everyone, and even yourself, for a couple days that you were handling the breakup fine. You had gotten closure, and that had allowed you to scream and yell and cry it all out. But then you went right back to normal, albeit a little more of a workaholic than you used to be. Renjun and Doyoung were frequent visitors to your office and often had to drag you out by your ear. Felix forced you to make drinks and pastries while he dealt with customers at the café, probably for fear you would either snap or break down.

And you were fine. You were doing fine, you really were.

Until you were walking across campus to the library and heard the whispering, saw the pointing. And watched as Chenle and his fiancée walked arm in arm down the sidewalk toward you. You almost broke down on the spot, your legs were shaking so badly.

You made eye contact with Chenle for a split second, before you were speed walking past them, like you were never there in the first place. They had looked… content. And you wanted so badly to be happy for him, and to move the fuck on.

But that was just wishful thinking. Like you wishing this was all a fever dream or a misunderstanding.

Instead, everything you had experienced with Chenle felt like a mirage. All of it—had all of it been fake?

Today at the café, it was just you. Felix had a dance competition and Karina was on her way, but she wouldn't be here until later. You were slouched over the coffee machine, waiting for the cup to fill up.

"Hey, uhm, Yn."

"Hm?"

Liu Yangyang winced as he leaned over the counter, afraid to set you off. He didn't want you crying again; he hated when you cried, because he never knew how to help. "The coffee's spilling over."

You cursed, looking down. Indeed, dark bitter brew sloshed over the sides and onto your shoes. It stained your already dirty sneakers a dreadful dark brown. You groaned, smacking your palm against your forehead. "Damn it. Sorry Yangyang."

The man bit his lip. He knew you were struggling, and he felt bad that he needed coffee all the time. "It's okay. I can still drink that."

The coffee burned your fingers as you carefully slapped a lid on it and handed it to him. "I'm so sorry; I'm literally a mess right now."

"Take a break," he pleaded softly. He usually sat in the corner of the café on his laptop to do his work, but recently, he had moved up to the counter to monitor you. "Yn, please. No one's here; you can take a break. Come sit and talk to me."

He pouted at your hesitation. "I'm lonely."

You rolled your eyes, but wiped your hands on a towel and made your way around the counter. He grinned in utter delight (and relief) as you slid onto the open stool next to him.

Yangyang leaned his cheek against his fist as he looked at you—really looked at you. "Talk to me. Spill it all out; I can take it."

"I uhm…" you wrung your hands together. "I saw him." You struggled to swallow, already feeling your nose begin to sting. "I saw him walking on campus with her. I dunno why she's here, but she is and I—" a shudder quaked through your body and Yangyang frowned. "I thought I was gonna fall over, Yang, that's how badly I was shaking.

"God, I love him so much and it hurts so bad. I wish I could just stay mad at him, but all I feel is sorry. Sorry for myself, sorry for him, sorry for… I don't even know." You threw your hands in the air and let them flop onto your legs.

Yangyang scrunched his brows. "Why do you feel sorry for him? From what I heard, he's the one who should be sorry."

You shrugged. "I have a feeling this is arranged. Maybe he feels trapped; maybe he doesn't. Yeah, he was a jerk about it, but the more I think about it, the more I feel sorry for him. He has to live with himself like that. I don't even know if he's happy."

"You're so…" Yangyang tugged at the strands of his hair. "Why are you so nice?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you so nice!" He repeated in indignation, hands thrusted out for effect. "You said it yourself—he was a jerk about it, and yet, you want him to be happy. I demand whipped cream and sprinkles on my cold brew, and you say 'okay, that'll be 6,000 won'. I don't understand you."

You didn't know how he did it, but you were smiling, and then you were laughing.

Yangyang continued his little ruse, with even more dramatised movements. "And even like five minutes ago! You were gonna redo my entire cup of coffee, and you're still here instead of getting some other person to fill your hours for you. God, can you stop being such a good person?"

You sniffled, smiling down at the café counter. "Thanks, Yangyang. You're really good at this, y'know."

He shook his head, but the tips of his ears were turning pink. "Nah. I'm just a clown." He brought his cup to his mouth and took a grimacing sip. "Jesus, this is foul. Why am I even drinking this?"

"You ordered it, dumbass," you deadpanned.

He whined, "Well—I thought it was really easy for you to make, so I ordered it! I didn't want you to have to work too hard, but it still tastes like trash." He gagged, tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Ugh, I need a whole can of whipped cream after this one. I—"

The door to the café slammed closed, and your soul nearly left your body. Standing there in all his glory was Chenle. He had a glare fixed on you and Yangyang, and you couldn't tell how to feel about it. Yangyang, in classic Yangyang fashion, glared back.

You sighed, quickly heading for the counter as Chenle strode over to it. You grabbed the pencil from behind your ear and twirled it nervously between your fingers as the touchscreen loaded up. "Hi, um, dark coffee?"

Chenle nodded, pulling out his wallet. "Yeah, and an iced green tea, please." He wordlessly handed you, not a black card, but a regular old visa.

You didn't think much of it, but you grabbed it and quickly inserted the chip into the reader after inputting the order. So she drinks green tea, huh? "Here you go. Your order will be called shortly."

Without waiting for his reply, you scurried over to the counter against the far wall and began preparing his order. You wondered why he hadn't brought his fiancée along with him, but then again, did you want him to? You supposed this was better, but it was still killing you inside. You wanted the old Chenle back.

When you were finished, your voice was embarrassingly soft as you called his name. Chenle took the cups from you, fingers brushing against yours.

You were ready to turn away, to pretend he didn't exist, when he stopped you short. "Yn."

You hated how hopeful you were. Absolutely hated yourself for it. All he would do would break you some more.

You watched his Adam's apple bob in a rough swallow. "I'm sorry."

Yangyang nearly toppled over his stool as he lurched to his feet. "You have no fucking right—"

"Hey, stop it." You gave Yangyang an earnest look, pleading him to back down.

"But Yn!"

You shook your head firmly. This wasn't worth it. With a flick of your arm toward the door, you addressed Chenle. "I think you should leave."

His gaze lingered on you for a moment, but he surrendered, and left the shop.

For a moment or two, you and Yangyang were quiet. The only noises were coming from the speaker's overhead playing lo-fi music. You focused on your breathing: in for three, hold for three, out for three.

I'm sorry. Did he even mean it? You were just a distraction.

"Yn," Yangyang muttered. "What the fuck was that?"

"You think I know?" You tugged a towel from your waist apron and turned your back to him to start wiping down the counter you had spilled coffee all over. You needed to grab a mop, too, for the mess you'd made on the floor. You felt Yangyang's eyes on you for a while, but he must have given up after a few minutes.

Or he must have realized you couldn't face him after what happened. Because no matter what Zhong Chenle did or said, you would still be so pathetically in love with him.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐗𝐈—

Summer hit you like a basketball in the face. With classes out of session for the break, you dove headfirst into your work either at the theater or at the café. You worked overtime, you took people's shifts, you worked until you wanted to cry and pass out.

You had accepted a lot of things. It would be a long time before you were okay again, but you were a patient person. Your friends—Felix, Karina, Yangyang, Renjun—all tried in their own special ways to make you feel better and to keep you in check. They dragged you out for karaoke, for BBQ, for impulsive shopping trips. They made you feel like yourself again, from before you met the man you had fallen so fast and hard for.

Those feelings, unfortunately, would never fade. And even if you still couldn't stand seeing articles about them, you knew you were slowly accepting it. Because you were never meant to be with him. Perhaps you were soulmates, but this wasn't the lifetime that you would get the happy ending. And some days, you wanted to commit crimes because you were so fucking pissed, but you were learning to live with it all.

It was late when you finally made your way to the backdoor of the performing arts buildings. You knew Renjun would kill you if he knew you came back, but you just remembered that you forgot your phone on your office desk.

Your paces were fast as you unlocked the theater door and let yourself in.

It was déjà vu.

The melodious sound of piano keys being played met your ears as they drifted out into the back hallway. The notes and melody were a familiar sound, and you suddenly felt a wave of emotion crash over you in a tsunami wave. You could remove that night like it was yesterday.

You slowly and quietly traced your steps to the backstage door to the theater. It was cracked open, just like that night, except you remember you had locked that when you'd left. He must have picked the lock or something.

Gently, you pushed the door open.

He had his head bowed over the keys of the piano as he played. His fingers danced as they pressed keys, like they had been made to play.

A week ago, you and Doyoung had decided to move the piano. The two of you had turned it around, so now, the bench and keys faced the door. So you watched his perfect posture, upper body clad in a regular old black hoodie.

"You're not supposed to be here."

His shoulders stiffened slightly, but he brought his fingers to a slow halt. "Sorry," he cleared his throat, "I… didn't think anyone was here."

He had picked the lock. He really didn't think anyone would be here.

You dared a step closer. "Chenle," you sighed, "what are you doing here? You have a piano in your apartment."

Chenle pulled his legs over the side of the bench so he faced you now. You could see the lines on his face under the dim light of the lightbulb, the roughness from stress and lack of sleep. It worried you to see him in such a state, such misery. But then you reminded yourself of his words to you and how it had all played out. He was the one who had broken your heart and smashed it into pieces, and left you to pick up the broken pieces. He had promised you the world—and you had been stupid enough to believe him.

"I—" he paused, "I don't even know. Yn, I don't even know why I'm here. I just needed to get out of the apartment and…" He halted on his words, thinking better than to repeat them.

Distract himself. Yeah, you figured.

You were tempted to tell him to go distract himself elsewhere, but you couldn't bring yourself to. You didn't want your sanctuary tainted by his memory.

You didn't know what you were doing and why you were doing it, but your feet carried you over to the piano bench and you sat down next to him. You felt the heat of his arm and leg by yours, wondered how easy it would be to be pressed up against him again. How good it would feel to have him in your arms for just one last time.

"How are you?" You suddenly asked. "How've you been?"

He tapped his fingers against his knee. "Really bad, honestly. How about you? You look happy with, uhm, Yangyang. I'm glad."

You shook your head. "We're just friends." Because you ruined everyone else for me.

"He makes you smile—"

"So did you."

Silence. Your heartbeat thundered loudly in your ears and you wondered again why he was here. Why he was tormenting you like this. Couldn't he ruin your life once and deem it over?

"You don't have to accept my apology," he started again. "You don't have to even listen to me right now, but I'm so sorry, Yn."

You didn't want to listen, but you did.

"I'm sorry," he croaked. "Everything I said—I hate myself for every word I said to you that day. Because all I wanted to say to you was that the engagement is a scam and I don't love Alice, and never will love her—not like I love you. Because what we had was the realest thing I have ever had in my life and I wish we had more time."

When you didn't respond, Chenle said, "It's no excuse. They threatened to disown me, and I didn't know how to tell you because I really am just a coward and a scared, little kid. And… you brought the best out of me, the best memories I will ever have in my life. And I'm just so sorry.

"You were never just a distraction, Yn," he rasped, "you were so real to me. I was trying to push you away, but… I wanted—still want—to spend the rest of my life with you. And I know you'd probably never take me back, but I'm trying to find a way out of this."

You stared at the black stage floor, licking your lips. Your hands were shaking. "You're wrong." You inhaled softly, breathed it out. "I would take you back—in a heartbeat. But Chenle, if you ever find a way out of this…"

The two of you looked at each other then, eyes finally clashing and colliding in an explosion akin to that of a dying star. Your love had burned bright and burned fast.

"It won't be easy. I won't make it easy."

Chenle smiled then through his silver-lined eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. I'll win you back. I promise."

Something settled in your chest, like the calming of waves. They smoothed out, brushed against the shoreline, but they didn't kick up in the winds anymore. This—this was the closure you needed. It was not whatever that screaming match of insults had been, but this.

"Can I… can I hold you? Just one more time."

You pursed your lips to suppress your bottom lip's trembling as you nodded.

Chenle leaned toward you and wrapped his arms securely around your body. He tugged you closer, and you leaned into his familiar and comforting embrace. You inhaled the smell of his cologne and allowed all of him to engulf and overwhelm your senses. You let his hands hold you tight, let him memorize your every curve and edge and inch.

And as you and Chenle sat there in silence together, you thought about how the boy who had everything had loved too hard and lost it all. But in his actions, there were about a thousand unspoken words, and for now, that would be enough.

"Thank you," he whispered into your hairline, lips pressed to your head and tears in his voice, "for everything."

You squeezed his hand. "You don't ever have to thank me for loving you, Chenle."

ending credits/aka my condolences: sorry chenle, i mayhaps did u dirty, but lmk what u guys think 😌💀

[qingxin-s]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ : ᴠɪ x ꜰ.ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

➴ synopsis: after [y/n] spots her boyfriend cheating on her, a familiar red head turns up to take her mind off things. inspired by the song ‘closer’ - nine inch nails

➴ wc: 0.9k

➴ warning(s): nsfw, cussing, not proof read

!!!AGELESS BLOGS/MINORS PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT!!!

Acidic tears rolled down the girls face as she hurried away from the bar, sniffling and gritting her teeth. She should have suspected something was up when her boyfriend had left her on read multiple times after saying he couldn't make it to their date night due to family reasons.... she should have known.

Said family reasons turned out to be another girl, who his lips and hands were attached to. Not a sight the poor girl wanted to see. And so here she was, her thick eyelashes coated in droplets and her h/c hair stuck to her face.

She let herself fall to the cobbled pavement, shivering as the harsh night air assaulted her bare legs. But she didn't care... she was running on pure adrenaline. However, she did kinda wish she didn't wear this short dress without tights underneath.

"You okay, cupcake?" A familiar voice rung out, and her e/c hues shot back open. Before her was Vi, a woman she knew all too well. They had befriended each other during a shared class and since then, they had made small talk whenever they saw each other. And she couldn't help but catch Vi's eye whenever they were in the same room.

God... she was hot.

Her scarred hands were shoved into her signature crimson jacket and her grey orbs were fixed onto the h/c haired girl with fascination- making her shudder. She had a certain 'bad boy' vibe about her, and she was notorious for getting into fist fights with the assholes in their college.  With a sniff, [y/n] made eye contact with her, and rubbed her legs slightly.

"Yeah... I'm good. Single... but good" She murmured, chuckling ever so slightly at her attempt at a joke, causing Vi to raise an eyebrow. The maroon haired woman crouched to her level and her scarred lip quirked ever so slightly, her eyes boring into the sniffling girl.

"What do you mean, single?" Vi asked firmly, placing a bandaged hand onto [y/n]'s knee as she looked at her, concern painting her face. A shiver coursed through her body at the sudden contact... it was hard to concentrate.

"Um my boyfriend he... he's in that bar cheating on me" [y/n] smiled sadly, trying as hard as she could to not let her eyes glaze over with tears. Vi stared at her for a moment, her gaze making it's way to the bar behind them where she held a solid glare.

And then, she grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

                                                                   ︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

"I can't believe that asshole hurt you this bad, fuck" Vi cursed as she ran her hands through her shaggy hair, pacing her bedroom backwards and forwards. [y/n] had been dragged back to where she lived, and she was now currently sitting on the girls bed with her red jacket slung around her shoulders.

"It's okay... I should have seen it coming" She sighed, Vi's silver eyes narrowing as she looked over at her.

"Cut that bullshit, it's not your fault at all. He had the most perfect woman in front of him, and he blew it! He fucking blew it!" She snapped, bandaged arms raised in the air as her face was painted with frustration. With her knees tucked up to her chest (accidentally flashing her [f/c] panties, which Vi totally didn't get an eye full of), she sighed.

"I'm not perfect at all. He got bored of me, I don't blame him" [y/n] muttered. Within a split second, Vi had her pinned beneath her to the bed- her eyes harsh as her eyebrows were knitted together. The whole situation caused a spark to ignite within her stomach.

"If I ever see him in class again, I'm gonna fuck him up. You are the definition of perfect... I've wanted you for a while, cupcake " She said huskily, leaning her head down to make connection with [y/n]'s neck- placing soft kisses against the skin that caused a gasp to leave her mouth.

"You've... w-wanted me?" She questioned, feeling Vi's breath fan against her neck as she chuckled. With a quick movement, Vi had opened [y/n]'s legs to rest in between them, smirking.

"I've not exactly kept it a secret" She whispered, pulling up the h/c haired girls dress as she placed harsh nibbles onto her skin... making her way down lower and lower. She couldn't help the wet patch that began to grow in-between her legs, and she couldn't help the breathy moans that left her lips.

"I want to help you get away from yourself" She began, the girl panting.

"I want to fuck you like an animal" Vi grinned as she made eye contact with [y/n], dipping her head down to allow her tongue to brush over the soaked [f/c] panties. Her back arched at the touch, a hand knotting itself in Vi's red hair.

Her tongue was so skilled as she lapped at her panties, finally pushing them aside and placing a harsh kiss on her clit- making the [h/c] head sob. Vi's rhythm never once faltered, and after swirling her wet digit around- she allowed a finger to slip into her core.

"V-Vi!" [y/n] sobbed, her grip on the girls hair getting tighter as her back arched, causing Vi to grin- picking up the pace with her fingers. Her boyfriend had never once made her feel like this, never once made her body have a reaction as hot as this.

"Cum for me, sweet" She whispered as her fingers curled upwards, and [y/n]'s vision turned white as a orgasm washed over her, her stomach tightening as her legs shook. Vi carried on for a few more seconds, groaning as she felt the girl tense around her fingers.

"Forget all about him"

[demonwield]

which mun inspires you a lot?

Unprompted || Always Accepting!

     Man. . .I don’t want to come out and say something that might make others feel HURT, but since I’m being asked, I’m going to be honest. In truth, there’s a LOT of people who inspire me, fuck I could pull out a follower list probably 100+ strong of people who motivate, or inspire me, for a lot of different reasons. So, let’s go down a SMALL list, those who are probably the STRONGEST inspirations for me. 

@zorkaya || Renata. Lord, I could talk about this absolute sweetheart so much. FIRST, Ren has been a dear friend of mine for years now. Really, it’s shocking how long, on and off sure, but unchangingly and unflinchingly, how long we’ve been friends. She’s seen me at my best, seen me at my worst, she’s fought for me in the past, she’s been there to help me through that DramaTM bullshit last year. She’s never let rumors, or false call outs, or the other bullshit fuck with our friendship. She’s been a darling, and I cherish her to death. Atop of that? She has one of the BEST OC’s around: seriously, Zarina is amazing, and always going to be in my top 3 favorite OC’s of all time. I love her writing. I love her...well, everything really. 

@exrhlab || Languid, this guy is amazing. He’s the one who dragged me down this rabbit hole of pain and torment that is Arknights, and is one of my most common people you’ll see on my blog. Because he’s a great friend, and we genuinely both like to cause PAIN and TORMENT to our muses, and write both twisted, but also fulfilling stories. We chat constantly, and he’s just a great person. 

@eraba-reta-unmei || Everi, this motherfucking girl. Man, she’s a total twerp sometimes. But I wouldn’t be here to this day if not for her. She’s gotten me through some DIFFICULT moments in my life, and is one of my closest friends I can ever ask for. We’ve been around together at this point for so long, and there’s days where we want to rip eachother apart (if you don’t hit that point with a friend, are you truly FRIENDS lets be real), but we always bounce back cause that’s our relationship. We suffer hell in League, we used to rp all the fucking time (which yknow we need to do more again hell yeah), we’re close. 

@ryusxnka || OH BOY, is it more Caleb Love Hours? Well if anyone has been around this blog long enough, you all know I love my brother. That’s all there is to it: I’d not be here today without him. I wouldn’t even  be able to show my FACE on this site ever again if not for him, and god I love him to death. He’s amazing, okay? He’s OBSESSED with Toshiro Hitsugaya, of course, but he’s also just the best with him okay? His writing is spectacular, god, Caleb is literally HITSUGAYA INCARNATE. He’s super good hearted, he’s smart, he’s funny. He’s just a great brother, and I love him t o death, okay? I probably sound like a broken record, but it’s true.

@pcrdiseseekers || OH BOY, it’s JAZZY love hours! So let’s take a long trip down Memory Lane, cause fuck me, Jazz here is one of my OLDEST friends at this point. Hard to believe it too, cause I remember Jazz when she was but a weeeee Naoto Shirogane blog back in the day, far before her love for Multi-muses, and her love for Kyouko Kirigiri. God, back in the day, I used to be SO terrified of her. And we all know, and I can hear it now, ‘Wolf, buddy, you’re ALWAYS terrified of people!’ Well, I’ve gotten a lot better: someone literally had to GO TO JAZZ HERSELF and tell her, for us to first interact, it was that bad. (No, I didn’t even plan that, and goddddd, I was a fucking mess when they did.) And lo and behold, ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS FOREVER now, always someone I come back to, and cling to like she’s my own flesh and blood. Jazz, I love you to death. I truly do. And you are just absolutely spectacular. It’s hilarious how long we’ve known one another, and I don’t regret a single day: you’ve given me some of the BEST rps over the years as we FULLY TORE DOWN poor Kyouko into Kaneki’s queen, how Homura fell for Centipede, Kyouko studied Ichigo, Yang and Adam had their forbidden, ESTRANGED relationship. God, we’ve done so much over the years, and I look back on it all so many days nowadays and go ‘jeez, to relive it all again.’ Here’s to more years of good times, huh? 

@shuanghe || Valkyrie. My big sister. My darling, sweet guardian practically. God...she’s my rock. My anchor. She’s so much to me, and another person I love with all my heart. Much like the people before me, she’s a great mix of Writing, and Personal feelings, who has been with me for many years now. And I truly am grateful to have her in my life. 

@sung56sun || Kianye, so little we’ve known one another now, and yet it feels like we’ve known eachother  for an eternity already. And it’s you, you specifically, who makes me feel it’s OKAY to gush about my darling muses. I won’t lie, even on my own blog, I feel I talk too much about my OWN characters, and it’s you who makes me think on that, and go ‘stop that, you’re being dumb’. Others have tried to tell me the same, but it’s the constant FERVENT LOVE and ATTENTION you throw us, that truly make it hit home. And for that, I’m forever grateful for how much you love Akame, and, incidentally, how well we get along. You’re dear to me, and you’re stuck with us~

@bonesugar || Asa, Asa Asa Asa, such a darling you are. Your writing, your descriptions of your replies, the way you make such a BEAUTIFUL girl like Sucrose so endearing, so amazing, I truly admire. Just like Kianye, I’ve known you for so little, and yet I have adored every moment we talk. And I look forward to more and more in the future of us chatting, rping, and gaming together. 

@erobret || Ferrrrrrgie. Oh man, much like Jazzy, I’ve known Fergie for fucking years. It’s hilarious how long we’ve known one another, and just like Jazzy, she’s always been a fantastic friend. We lost touch for a while because I had to vanish for a bit, but then I found her again, and well. Reliving old memories, and rping again, is amazing. Chatting with Fergie is great, and just. Fergie is great, okay? I really can’t formulate the words without just reusing at this point more of what I’ve already said. 

@jiingweii || Sophieeeeee. My dearest, my twisted friend. My soft and squishy marshmallow friend. My busy little friend. Even though we don’t talk as much anymore as life happens to the both of us, you are still DEAR to my heart, and I wish every day is wonderful to you. I love seeing you on my dash from all  your blogs, and you are a joy to see, and hear, from always. I truly would not have kept Akame all this time if not for you: it was you who put the most faith in my girl, who gave me the confidence to keep her going. And I am forever grateful for that. Because now she is my most loved, and used, muse, without a doubt. 

     Okay, this is going to get SUPER long if I don’t stop somewhere, so down below? Is a bunch of other people I could rant on about, but I don’t want to be typing a twenty five page ESSAY even though I could and flood the dash worse. 

@medinventive || @nulltune || @unhclyblood || @remunporium || @curiouskinetic || @lucernarosa || @luckuki || @ichigokurosaki || @destallo || @maljefe || @nosheath || @karmesinrot || @mamoriitai || @veroxins || @x-ame-x-damnee-x || @noircisaint || @retour || @shukuchiisms || @redhorncl || @zhuangshii || @babelmedicus || @amourise || @evelicious || @risingsol || @electric-ecclectic || @electricea || @dementedstatic || @pervicax || @lunaetis || @darksonofsparda || @capravulpes || @stahri-light || @charmerquilled || @rebelquilled || @batoushoujo || @phantarei || @hutaou || @popolaroleplayhub || @devotionobsessed || @amazingwcbs || @algizkali || @baizhuo || @nexarerum

[dykefight]

I want to share some of the experiences of my loved ones and myself that started leading me to radical feminism

One of my best friends (currently a 19 year old college student) used to have an onlyfans and currently sells underwear online. She says that the most humiliating moments of her life happened on onlyfans and similar websites. She had guys ask things like would she have sex with her brother, could she cry on camera, or if she would piss herself for them. There were two men she encountered that still make me sick to think about. The worst one was a man who regularly paid for videos of her pretending like she was being raped by him without a condom. She would beg for him to stop, not to impregnate her, and she cried and screamed. She was not allowed to get any pleasure from it or she wouldn’t get paid. The man only found pleasure in the idea of a teenage girl being traumatized and abused. The other man paid her to dominate him over the phone. He wanted her to control every aspect of his life. He was nearly 30 at the time while she was 18. The worst part of this ordeal was that they knew each other from when she was around twelve or thirteen. During this time I watched her mental health rapidly decline. Her poor mental health ended up causing her to quit less than a year after starting her account. Now she sells underwear and the conditions are no better. She’s been asked to sell worn underwear, underwear she’s pissed in, underwear with her period blood in it, and underwear she’s worn while masturbating. She has been masturbating so frequently that her skin over her clit has begun peeling. The idea that this is empowering her as a woman makes me sick. It’s basically a form of self harm. Anytime I mention that she might need to slow down she explodes, ranting about how she loves doing it, how it’s good money, and that it’s her choice. No woman should be brainwashed into that mindset.

Two of my other friends have been coerced by their boyfriends into sex that they didn’t want. One of them was guilt tripped into having anal sex by her boyfriend. She didn’t want to have sex until marriage, which he already knew prior. She said he looked so disappointed that she felt like she had to let him do anal. She also said this was easily one of the most painful experiences of her life. She ended up being pressured into vaginal sex only a few weeks later. Another friend was VERY adamant about saving any kind of sex until marriage. Her boyfriend pretended like this was totally fine until around a year into their relationship. He starting persuading her into giving him handjobs and blowjobs, insisting that they were meaningless acts and no big deal. She complied but still wouldn’t let him do anything sexual to her. Eventually he got impatient and decided to touch her while she was asleep on a school trip. She admits to being scarred from this, but insists that he didn’t mean any harm and that he wouldn’t do it again. In March, they were at a party together and had a fight. My friend is known for being a lightweight. While she was furious and drunk, her boyfriend was barely tipsy. He apparently decided that the best way for her to get over it was to push her into a room and have sex even though she was fully unable to consent. At some point, someone walked into the room, saw them, and told everyone at the party about it, including complete strangers. People still bring it up to her like it’s some funny story. Neither of my friends see anything wrong with their boyfriends or their actions. I, along with mutual friends, have tried to bring it up but they insist that it was a one time thing, their boyfriends didn’t know any better, and that we’re being over dramatic. It hurts me to know that they’re just one of many girls who dismiss sexual assault just because they’ve never been told what is wrong in a sexual relationship.

My mom was raped by my father while they were dating. My mom was raised in a very religious family so she saw premarital sex as one of the ultimate sins. She was okay with everything except penetrative sex. At some point, they were naked together and he saw that as an invitation. She froze up and couldn’t bring herself to stop him. That was how she lost her virginity. It wasn’t until she told me that she realized he raped her and that was only because I told her. She didn’t know she was raped until over 30 years later. She said she always thought she asked for it since she was naked around him and let him get close enough for it. She didn’t know that there are multiple types of rape until much later in life, so she never connected the dots. If she had known, she might’ve been able to save herself from the abusive marriage that followed.

Speaking of my mother and her marriage, she was also taught that getting a divorce was a sin in the eyes of god, especially if the wife initiates it. My mom couldn’t bring herself to divorce him in the beginning and then once she had kids she couldn’t divorce him until she made sure he wouldn’t get joint custody of us. She suffered through 35 years of abuse all because of some bullshit she had forced upon her since she was young. My grandma on my moms side experienced the same thing and wouldn’t divorce my grandfather who cheated on her and had a child with another woman.

These last ones are my own personal experiences. I, like many women, have faced sexual assault multiple times. The first time was when I was 12 and sexually assaulted by my long time family friend who was 15. He was best friends with my cousin who I am very close to so he also became a friend of mine. We also went to the same school. One day the three of us were at my cousins house and I was sharing a blanket with the friend. Under the blanket, he began to brush his hand along my ass which I thought was an accident since we were on a small couch sharing a blanket meant for one person. It soon escalated to him grabbing my ass under my jeans and through my underwear and then cupping my boobs. This was all while my cousin sat five feet away. When I finally got the courage to get out I got a text from the guy begging me not to tell my cousin. It took me nearly a month to tell my family and the school. My family said they would cut all contact with his family and the school said they would make sure I never had to be around him in a school setting. However, almost immediately, my family went back to being friends with his family and my school went back on their promise. Even though the guy confessed and I had the texts as evidence, he faced no real repercussions. Another guy continually harassed me over the course of our freshman, sophomore, and junior year. He’d do things like grab me, slap my ass, stick his hand down my uniform, grind against me during class while I was bent over, and he always found new ways to contact me after being blocked. When I finally told a teacher mid junior year, the way the school “punished” him was by having his football coach talk to him. This is the same football coach that’s known to indirectly slut shame girls in front of everyone. The guys behavior towards me didn’t change so I just gave up. I was never taken seriously when these incidents came to light. Everyone just assumed it was something to brush off. That it’d go away after a gentle scolding. Even my peers who say they’re all about protecting and defending women basically responded with “that sucks” and moved on.

I turned to radical feminism because it’s given me a place to be heard. I can speak my mind. Even if someone doesn’t agree with me, they’ll have a civilized discussion or simply move on rather than start an argument.

[sugaxjpg]

infamous; m

⤷  You would rather die than to have someone figure out about your sexual escapades with Local Fuckboy, Kim Taehyung. It was an ego thing. 

✓ Couple: Taehyung x Reader | Fuckboy!AU & SecretRelationship!AU

✓ Filed under: smut 

✓ Look out for: bathroom sex, breast play, oral (male receiving) + deepthroat, fingering, dirty talk, unprotected sex (use condoms or i’ll kill u!!!), mirrors,switch!tae and switch!reader, taehyung being lowkey a prick but we’re all in for it 

✓ Words: 12,508

Author’s Note: Of course my year-long hiatus would end with a smut. What else can I say? I can hear the clown music from here. 

“Like, can you actually believe that? He ghosted me for three weeks, then he had the nerve to ask for a tit pic.” She sighed, taking a slip from her neon green drink. You didn’t know how Hyejin could ingest something that resembled toxic waste and make it seem like it actually brought her some sort of comfort. “You know what? I’m done with men. All of them. We really are living in the medieval ti— Are you even listening to me?” 

You blinked twice, taken off guard by the clicking of her fingers in front of your eyes. Truth was, you were only half present, the other half of you scrutinizing the living room, trying to find a certain someone amongst the agglomeration of bodies. 

“Yeah, sure, sorry,” you apologized, leaning your side against the wall. Behind Hyejin, two guys started yelling about something related to Harry Potter and you couldn’t care less. “I was somewhere else for a second, but I’m here now. You were saying that he ghosted you?”

“Yeah, like an absolute idiot.” She rolled her eyes, gesticulating aggressively. You nervously watched the movements of the radioactive cup, worried that it would splash all over your clothes. You really should’ve thought twice before combining a white blouse with your black skirt — that was a catastrophe waiting to happen. “I’m never talking to him again. Or any man.”

“Hm,” you hummed, crossing your arms. You didn’t know who she was trying to convince, that must’ve been the fifth time you heard your friend giving you that speech (during that semester alone). “Who’s that again? Hoseok?” 

“The one and only,” she agreed, glimpsing at her side as if someone could even hear you two amongst the loud reverberation of the music. “Really, I don’t know how those guys haven’t been thrown out of the campus yet. They’re a hazard, all seven of them. A threat to public health.”

You shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, they pay their tuition and do well in class. That’s as far as the college cares.” 

She groaned. “I guess.” Another slip. A pause. Another one. Yep, you were designated driver for the night. “Could be worse, though, I could be one of the poor chicks that Taehyung fucks in his spare time.” 

Oh. 

You giggled, nervous. “Yeah, yeah,” you agreed, looking back at the mass of students. “Yeah, that’d be awful.” 

She hummed in concordance, taking her cup back to her lips. The two guys behind her decided to quit the arguments and moved away from the two of you, making you follow their figures as they dissipated amongst the crowd. You didn’t know how college parties managed to squeeze so many people in one small living room, but it was one of the mysteries of life, you guessed. 

“I don’t know what’s the deal with that one,” Hyejin continued. “It’s like he has a golden dick or something.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows, turning your attention back at her. “What do you mean?” 

“Doesn’t matter, he’s a complete douche.” She moved her hand as if she was scaring away an invisible fly. “Don’t even think about him. He’s the kind that uses and discards people.”

“You think so?” You asked.

“I know so,” she said. “I couldn’t even count on my fingers the amount of girls that had one night stands with Taehyung, and somehow became completely whipped by the dude, only to be told that he doesn’t ‘fuck the same person twice’. Like… What the fuck is that? Who says that?”  

You laughed, noticing the tinge of red that covered her cheeks. “You sound really drunk.” 

“So?” She asked. “I’m not bullshitting you. Taehyung is a prick and that’s gospel.” She raised her cup in a silent cheer, and took another slip. “I know you’re not involved in the fuckboy phenomena that plagues this campus, and, honestly, you’re better off that way. But trust me when I say that he isn’t worth the headache.” 

With an inattentive nod, you took another peek at the strangers in the room. “I believe you, don’t worry.” 

The worst part? You did. 

Even worse? There were two things wrong with what she had told you. 

Number one: yes, Taehyung was kind of a jerk sometimes. But he wasn’t completely soulless. He was fun to be around, actually, when he wasn’t surrounded by his smooth-brained friends, or trying to impress someone into sleeping with him. Also, you were pretty sure he told at least most of those girls that he wasn’t searching for anything serious, and a one-night stand was most likely all that they would get. 

You couldn’t speak for all of them, of course, but the ones that you knew personally, at least, had mentioned something along those lines to you. He didn’t exactly lead them on, trying to break their hearts just for the sake of it. Besides, Taheyung was already kind of infamous around campus for “using and discarding” people, as Hyejin had put, so it wasn’t precisely a surprise for anyone involved. 

Number two: Taehyung fucked the same person twice, if he felt like it. And you knew that because you’ve been fucking him on and off for the past five months or so. 

To your defense, you weren’t exactly after a “secret friends with benefits” relationship when you first met him. In fact, you didn’t expect that you would fall victim to his charms just like everyone else, melting under his tender kisses, moaning his name as he rolled his hips against you, edging your orgasm for longer than you could hold it. And you didn’t expect to like it as much as you did. 

Truth was: Kim Taehyung was everything, but he wasn’t dumb. He knew that he was attractive as hell; he knew that he had a voice so silky and deep that just saying the right words would be enough to have you in bed with him — and he knew how to use two two things very well. So, just like Eve, you followed the snake and bit the apple, and blah blah blah, eternal damnation or something like that. Big deal. 

You didn’t care much about being fuckbuddies with Taehyung, actually — he had his fun with other people in the meantime, and so did you —, but you pretty much could die at the idea that someone would find out. It was an ego thing, alright? You didn’t want people to know that you were interested in him, since you prided yourself in being a strong, independent woman, and to have people think that you were wrapped around his finger (which you absolutely wasn’t!) would not be a good look for your personal brand. 

And it got more complicated than that. The thing was that Taehyung had always been one to flaunt around his trophies. It wasn’t unheard of for him to just start talking about someone that he had fucked, maybe even giving a bit more detail than anyone else involved would appreciate. You knew that it was just a matter of time before your name dropped from his lips at the wrong time, in front of his ape-brained friends, and everyone would discover that you were added to his long lists of booty calls. 

So, when you asked to keep that first night a secret, you were surprised when he quickly accepted it. 

Against all expectations, Taehyung didn’t fall into his old pattern when it came to you. He had been the one to text you first, calling you over to his place — which he made sure to be empty — and he had been the first one to suggest that you two kept meeting up after that. Now, let’s not get this mixed up: it wasn’t an undisclosed crush, it wasn’t love. It was just Taehyung fulfilling some weird-ass kink of his. He liked to have you when he wanted it, the way he wanted it, and he liked the thrill of it all being undisclosed — to him, it felt like you two were doing something wrong, which managed to turn him on even more. 

Also, you were human, alright? There was something extremely tempting about sleeping with someone as almighty as Kim Taehyung, King of Fuckboys, especially when he kept coming back to you. It’s only nature to want to feel special every once in a while. 

Again: it was an ego thing. 

Even if your pride told you otherwise, you decided, again and again, to come back to him. Late at night in your apartment, when your roommate had already gone to sleep, and he was buried deep between your legs, licking your wetness and sucking on your clit. Or maybe in the interval between your classes, when you two managed to get the locker rooms empty, and he fucked you so hard against one of the lockers that you could swear someone would come see what was going on with all that banging against the metal. 

But no, no one ever caught you. Not Hyejin or any of your other friends. As far as you were aware, Taehyung’s group didn’t know a thing either, which made you appreciate him even more. 

See? He wasn’t a total douchebag. He had the most basic sense of loyalty. 

And, yeah, you didn’t like lying to your friends, but it was a necessary measure. You were sure they would kill you if they found out about your private escapades with the Local Fuckface McGee: half out of sheer panic for your emotional well-being, and the other half out of pure jealousy. You didn’t think much about it most of the time, since you kind of understood Taehyung’s side: you simply liked the thrill, and you weren’t actually doing anything illegal. No one really had to know.

Rupturing the bubble of your nostalgia, your friend’s voice startled you back into reality. 

“Who are you looking for?” Hyejin furrowed her eyebrows, staring you down intensely. She had been your friend for three years, and you were absolutely certain she could see through your bullshit — well, most of the time. “Do you have a dick appointment that I don’t know about?” 

You laughed, your voice coming out an octave higher than you intended it to. “What? No!” So subtle, congratulations. “I’m just searching for a friend. She owes me a bit of money and she’s been avoiding me for some time.” 

You were impressed at the ease that the lie left your tongue. At the same time, you had been doing that for five months now — keeping your distance from mentioning anything Taehyung, figuring out excuses to get away from your friends at the weirdest of times — , so you guessed that was something that came with practice. 

“You want me to beat her up?” Hyejin offered. Just a glimpse was all that you needed to know that she was dead serious. “Give me her name. I promise I just wanna talk.” 

“No, it’s fine,” you said, chuckling at her aggressive demeanor. “It’s not a lot of money, I’m not super worried. I’m just tired of being avoided.” 

She smirked, taking another slip from her cup. How didn’t the drink end yet? That cup was infinite. “You and me both, sister.” 

Your lips parted, but, before you managed to let anything out, a loud sound of men screaming in excitement overlapped the beat of the electronic song. Hyejin met your eyes with a mixture of puzzlement and interest and, in an unspoken agreement, you two decided to see what the fuss was about. 

Lucky for you, you two didn’t even have to take two steps to figure it out. Since the large opening to the living room was right besides you, all that you needed to do was to take a look through it, right at the kitchen, to see the beautiful, Animal Planet view of Hoseok drinking beer upside down. 

“Hyejin?” You called calmly, eyes still glued to the spectacle.

“Yes, love?” She answered, absent-minded. 

“You know who’s throwing this party, right?” 

She shrugged. “I might.” 

You suspired, taking a step back so you could stare at her. Behind you, people walked towards the kitchen, pumped to see if Hoseok could drink the entire thing (as if he didn’t do that in every single party he throwed). “So, there’s any other reason why you dragged me to Hoseok’s party, besides one that you needed someone to keep you company while you waited to be dicked down?” 

“Great deduction, Sherlock.” She smiled, eyes shining in enthusiasm. You looked at Hoseok, then back at Hyejin. Maybe she wouldn’t have any grounds to judge you and Taehyung after that circus performance. “I’ll make it up to you, don’t worry.” 

“I’m not worried about that.” You crossed your arms. Seokjin, who was holding Hoseok by the ankles, pterodactyl-screeched in joy as the boy reached the end of the beer. Two more slips and he’d be good to go. “You sent him the tit pic, didn’t you?” 

Hyejin licked her lips, taking a hand up to fix her hair. “I’m only human,” she said. “Besides, I had already invested a lot on him. I even did a full body shave. I couldn’t just not do it.” 

You laughed at the idea, watching as she became more and more distracted by the man. A group had already formed around Hoseok, and you knew it was just a matter of when Hyejin would do the same. 

“What happened about being over all men?” You asked. 

“Yeah, yeah… After tonight. Right now I’m planning to get under one.” She gave you her neon green cup with a harsh movement, and you held it without thinking much about it. “I’ll see you later, Y/N. Hold my drink for me.”

“Have a great night, I guess,” you raised the sound of your voice as she began to walk away. “Text me when you get home!” 

She responded without turning back, giving you a thumbs up over her head. “You too, girlie!” 

And, just like that, she was gone. 

Disappointed but not surprised, you sighed and placed your body back against the wall. From the kitchen, a roaring applause exploded, and you knew that Hoseok had finished his Herculean task. Good for him. 

You stared down. The sharp shade of green reflected on the skin of your hands, looking like something straight out of Chernobyl. You took the cup to your nostrils and gave it an experimental sniff, your nose cringing at the appalling smell. Fighting the disgust that had built in your stomach, you quickly took it away from your face, and decided to place it on a table nearby. No wonder Hyejin was so out of it, the poor girl was suffering from radiation poisoning. 

The Chainsmorkers started to play and you asked yourself why the fuck was Satan in charge of the music. All around you, strangers fumbled to the rhythm of the song, a girl even falling to her knees at one bad turn of the ankle, then turning her gaze up at her friends and laughing maniacally. The odor that enveloped you was strong and nauseating — Axe body spray, probably — and the thumping of the sound was starting to get annoying. Since you were alone with your thoughts, there wasn’t much left besides to hyperfocus on those details, which was all but a pleasant pastime. 

You crossed your arms, bored out of your mind, and thought that it might be the wiser decision to go back to your place and just sleep the night off. Yeah, the semester was already ending, most of your tests and projects had passed, but that didn’t mean you weren’t completely exhausted at all the accumulated stress you had endured. Now that Hyejin had moved on with her plan, you didn’t have much of a part to play in that party anyways. 

A couple almost tripped on you as they giggled their way towards the stairs, probably searching for an available room. What a nice reminder. You pressed your lips together, then peaked back at the kitchen, where you only saw Seokjin, Namjoon and Jungkook leaning over a pile of red cups — Yoongi right behind them, seeming like he was about to kick the whole thing down. You didn’t know where Taehyung was, but he most likely already left with someone else. 

You turned back to your previous position, crossing your arms in frustration. Great. Your friend was after her sexting partner, and your own booty call was probably balls deep inside someone else by then. Really, there wasn’t much that you could do in there. It would be better if you just left while your dignity was still intact. 

With a sigh, you pushed your body away from the wall, fumbling with your purse. You were praying that Hyejin remembered to give you the car keys, otherwise you would be trapped in that place for god knows how lo— 

Oh there he fucking was. 

The moment that you saw Taehyung, sitting on the couch across the room from you, it was like you forgot to breathe for a moment. That little demon incarnated looked better than you had anticipated — dressed in all black, with his thighs spread across the seat, ready to be fucked right then and there. His dark hair was parted in the middle, a few stubborn strands falling over his angelic features, and his thumb distractedly circled his lower lip as his gaze navigated around the room, staring at nothing in particular. Next to him, you could see another one of his friends — Jimin, if you were not mistaken — talking about something animatedly, but the other man was paying no attention. 

His expression was one of irritation, you noticed, with his thick eyebrows moving together, jaw clenching. It was pretty erotic, if you said so yourself. You didn’t know what Jimin was telling him, but you sure hoped he wouldn’t stop anytime soon. 

When he saw you, however, Taehyung’s perceived annoyance instantly dissipated. 

With your mind racing in anticipation, you watched as his eyes met your own, then trailed down your body with desire, stopping around the level of your thighs for a bit longer than you had predicted. You knew that stare awfully well — it was the same one that Taehyung gave you when he saw you around campus, the silent provocation that told you, and only you, that he really wanted to have some alone time right now. 

A sly smirk sprouted at the corner of his lips, and he leaned back against the couch. You followed his movements as he reached towards his pocket and came back with his phone, staring at you as he did so. The phantasmagoric white light casted odd shadows over his face as he unlocked it, taking a final glance at your expectant features before he started to type something. Once he was done, he locked his phone and placed it back where it had come from. 

Inside your purse, your own phone beeped happily. 

You licked your lips, trying your best to forge indifference as you reached for your device. You swore you could still feel his eyes still burning on you, impatient and deep, watching your every move with eagerness. 

[00:23] Taehyung: so glad to see that you came bby 

[00:23] Taehyung: do me a favor and meet me in the bathroom upstairs, will ya? Second door to the right ;) 

Yep, new plans: you would stay there a bit longer. 

Hammering against your chest, your heart seemed as if it was about to jump out of your mouth by the time that you turned your attention back to the couch. Taehyung, however, had already gotten up, and you had the chance to take a last glance towards his beautiful form as he walked towards the stairs. Jimin, from the couch, appeared to be as lost as they come. 

From the kitchen, the resounding complaint of the group you had seen before ruptured your hypnotized state — Yoongi had, in fact, kicked everything down. Taken aback by the carnality that permeated your chest, you locked your phone without typing an answer and leaned back against the wall, deciding it would be best to wait a minute or two before following him upstairs. Amongst your thoughts, a part of you was still judging whether you adored or despised Kim Taehyung, and the intoxicating effect he had on you. 

Finally, you decided to take the stairs. You wondered, as you opened your way through the ocean of sweaty bodies and spilling drinks, if you weren’t trying too hard to rationalize and catastrophize something that was actually very simple. It was a story with a start, a middle part, and a satisfying ending: you two wanted to fuck each other, you did, then you moved right on. No hidden feelings, no strings attached. That was it. Couldn’t get any better than that. 

Regardless, it wasn’t everything about that, and you knew it. It was about overhearing other girls talking as you made your way upstairs, complaining about how ridiculously hot he was, or about how he didn’t call them back after he gave them the best night of their lives. It was about having that steamy, trembling secret between the two of you. It was about knowing that yeah, Taehyung was crazy hot — and you could have that whenever you wanted. It was about hearing him complain about his friends, who told him that you’d never give him a chance, and seeing the delectable pleasure in which he vangloriared himself, knowing very well that you and him had a second life to share whenever suited. 

You reached the second floor with electric currents running through your veins, anticipation building like a tidal wave inside your abdomen. You two had never done something like that so close to so many people and, yet, you adored the idea even more. 

The cold metal of the door handle met the palm of your hand and you tried it once, twice, with no effect. After looking at the corridor and making sure that Taehyung was nowhere else to be seen — besides the fact that, if he didn’t manage to get the bathroom, he would surely text you a different location — you were left to assume that he wanted to know that it was you who waited at the other side. 

With a sigh, you took your phone out of your purse. Maybe your fingers weren’t as steady as you’d like them to be, but no one needed to know about that. 

[00:27] You: plz open the door thx

Expectantly, you placed your phone back and tried to overhear some sort of sound signifying that he was moving closer to the door — but the song was so loud that you could barely understand your own thoughts. The next seconds that you stood there, just waiting for him to open the door, had been the longest ones you had endured in your life. 

Eventually, however, the door creaked open. 

You gave one last, paranoid glimpse at the strangers in the corridor, but none of them seemed to notice that Taehyung hadn’t left the bathroom by the time that you came in, locking the door behind you. 

It was like stepping into a different reality. The lights inside the bathroom were absurdly bright when compared to the dim environment that expanded outside; the obnoxious song and chatter had instantly morphed into a muted exclamation outside of the door, only the reverberation of the bass making itself present. Just like the calm before the storm, there was a moment of tranquility between the instant that you locked the door, and the one that you saw him. 

As you turned around, dwelling in his proximity, you thought about a million things at the same time — about teasing him about his location choice, or maybe about how he must’ve been going through a drought, if he had to count on his covert booty call to get laid in a party. You thought about how gorgeous he looked, about how his eyes glistened in interest as he took a quiet step towards you, his roseate tongue coming out to lick his lips. 

Regardless, before you could say anything, Taehyung’s lips were on your own, attacking your mouth in a fervorous kiss. You whimpered in surprise as he pushed you against the closed bathroom door, his hands circling your waist as he squeezed your body against his. Your purse fell on the ground with a muffled sound, but you barely even noticed it. 

Taehyung had always been an intense kisser to say the least, but that night it was something else. That night, he was kissing you as if he physically couldn’t contain himself long enough to do anything else; as if all that he could think of doing was to feel the heavenly contact of your mouth against his, your fingers pulling on the strands of his hair. As he invited his tongue inside your mouth, Taehyung groaned and lowered his hands, squeezing your ass like he was about to lose every last ounce of sanity he had left in him. 

You sighed as he moved his focus onto your neck, placing open-mouthed kisses in a way that you knew would leave a mark the next day. “Someone’s excited,” you commented, slightly breathless. Your only response was another groan, and the rolling of his hips against you, where you could feel his cock, already semi-hard, pressing against your inner thigh. “Couldn’t even bother to take me somewhere else.” 

One of his hands moved up to your hair, pulling your head sideways so he could have a better access to your neck. “I need to have you now,” his deep voice came out muffled against your skin, the reverberations of his timbre propagating directly towards your center. 

“You’re starting to get more adventurous with this.” You bit down on your lower lip and he sucked your flesh, groping your ass once again. “Parties used to be so off limits to you.” 

Taehyung chuckled against your neck, moving back towards your mouth. He started making out with you again, his breath hot and heavy against your face, and you thought you could very well pass out at the level of craving that had built inside you. “I changed my mind.” He spoke as he leaned back. 

You smirked at his attitude. “We’ll end up getting caught.” 

“Aw, baby.” He pouted, looking at you with artificial pity. Okay, he could be kind of a prick sometimes. “You’re the one who’s worried. And you came all the way up here because you wanted to. You know I’m not one to insist.”

“I can leave, then?” You raised one eyebrow, fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck. 

“You can, the door is right behind you,”  Taehyung told you, quickly losing interest in that conversation. “But something tells me you won’t.” 

You didn’t even try to respond, because there was nothing to be said: both of you knew what you were doing there, and the idea of walking out was just too ridiculous to consider. 

With a suspire, you watched as Taehyung moved his lips down your chest, stopping at the fabric of your blouse. 

“What if someone hears us?’ You suddenly remembered, heartbeat quickening at the thought. 

“What is it, baby?” He asked as his fingers worked on your buttons, exposing more of your torso. That slow pace of his was going to kill you one of those days. “You’re worried that people are going to find out about this? About us?” 

You opened your mouth to respond, but his chuckle — so deep and melodious — caught you off guard. 

“How scandalous, right? Y/N is not the pure little thing she makes herself to be,” Taehyung continued, finally opening your blouse and fully exposing your bra to him. He licked his lips at the sight, humming with delight. “Red lace? You really want to tease me.” 

You swallowed dry as the man took the fabric off your shoulders and gently placed besides the sink, above a towel. He could be so thoughtful sometimes. “Taehyung, I—“ 

“You’re such a little brat sometimes, do you know that?” he interrupted, eyes following his own movements as his hands circled your body, moving to unclasp your bra. And of course he got it right on the first try. “You came all the way up here just to get fucked, and now you’re worried that people are going to know about it.” 

You stared him down, a smirk already creeping up at the corner of your lips. “How does that make me a brat?” 

He chuckled. “Look at you, trying to play the naive card on me.” Another agile movement of his fingers and your bra was joining your blouse besides the sink. Taehyung sighed tentatively at the image of your exposed breasts, trying to imprint that sight into the back of his mind. “Pretending as if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. You can drop the act now, baby.”

“I don’t—“

His mouth attacking your breasts was all that you needed to shut up and let him do what he went there to do. Overwhelmed by the sensation, you let out a gasp as his hand squeezed you, playing with your soft boobs as he moaned against your skin. 

“I love it so much.” Taehyung hummed as he sucked on your breasts, moaning at the marvelous sensation of your warm skin against his tongue. You had almost forgotten how much Taehyung ached to play with your boobs; how often he would squeeze them, suck them; find excuses to feel them against his body. Not that you were complaining. “And I love that it’s all for me.” He breathed out before attacking your other nipple. “All of this… all mine.” 

You whimpered at the contact, arching your back in a failed attempt to get closer to him. As much as you knew he was most likely just saying whatever he thought would turn you on — besides, you two had already agreed on a pretty open “relationship” —, Taehyung’s words expanded inside your chest, building a heat that seemed to suffocate you. Even if you knew it was bullshit, you liked to be called his. Ego strokes and all of that. 

“Taehyung…” There was only a thin wooden door separating you two from the outside world, and you couldn’t care less if they heard you calling out his name. That boy really did wonders to your anxiety. 

But he also liked to tease you. 

He moved away from your breasts and you almost — almost — cried out in frustration. 

Taehyung traced his kisses back to your neck, then to your jawline. You were going crazy with all that back and forth. “Baby, I’m not gonna lie, I understand where you’re coming from,” he said. “I like to keep this as a secret too. It’s so hot.” 

You almost forgot how to inhale when he aligned his face with yours, placing a pec on your swollen lips. “Yeah?” You asked, sounding as if you were in a daydream. 

“Yeah,” he agreed, breathless. Even if Taehyung tried his best to look as he was under absolute control, you knew that he couldn’t keep that front for too long. He was clearly turned on, and the hardness pressing against your thigh was all of the proof that you needed. “It’s so great to know that I have one of the sexiest girls on campus just for myself…” His hand trailed up your thighs, adventuring in the lands beneath your skirt. “And no one knows.”

You bit your lower lip, anticipating the contact of his hand against your core. “I thought you were the kind to kiss and tell.”

“Most times,” he mumbled, gifting you with another small pec. “Not with you. I like it like this. Having you when I want, how I want, and only you and I know.”

But you weren’t satisfied with his answer.  His hand did a turn and decided to make a quick stop on your ass, the feeling of skin against skin making your lower body tingle. “What’s so enticing about it?” You asked. 

He smiled. “Ah… many things.”

Your stare didn’t falter. “I’d like an exemple.” 

Instead of answering you straight away, Taehyung decided to take his sweet time. He leaned his head to the side and kissed you feverishly, growing satisfied at the small whimpers and suspires that echoed in between your mouths. His hands were all over you: on your ass, your waist, down your thighs and up your hips, where his eyes could not see. You only had your skirt and your panties on, and it was so frustrating to still feel him fully dressed against you. 

At last, Taehyung pulled away, placing his forehead against yours. As he spoke, you felt the tingle of his hands as they moved towards the hem of your panties. “I like seeing you walk around campus, knowing that you’re so sore from the night before,” he spoke slowly, his voice in a low vibration against your mouth. “And I know you don’t tell any of your friends about it. About how I fucked you so good that you almost cried, and that it’s the next day, and you can barely walk.” 

You hummed, closing your eyes. “What else?”

Much to your dismay, his hands left your underwear again, coming out to pull you closer. “When you send me those audios late at night,” he was breathing out hard then, drowning in those lewd memories. “Playing with your little cunt, crying out my name… shit,” he cursed. “How am I supposed to say no to that? So there I go, out the door, telling my friends that I’m gonna see this crazy hot chick and I’m gonna fuck her brains out…” he hesitated. “And I just get this... rush because they don’t know it’s you.” 

“And how do you know that I like any of it?” You teased. 

Taehyung chuckled at your question. Both of you knew that it was plastered all over your face, but he could keep up that little teasing if you wanted to. “Two reasons,” he said. “First: you do the same to me, or don’t you?” 

“I don’t recall,” you responded, forging innocence. Okay, maybe you did play the naive part a bit much. 

“Oh no? What a terrible memory you have.” He placed a strand of your hair behind your ear, his words hitting your skin in heated, libidinous waves. Taehyung was so close that you could count his eyelashes if you wanted to, his torso squeezed so tight against yours that you wondered how you even managed to breathe in that position. “It was just last week, baby. You called me to your flat after your roommate had left.” One of his hands went back to play with the hem of your underwear, fingertips feeling like lit matches against your skin. “You opened so wide for me, you were so wet already. You got so horny with just the thought of having my cock, isn’t that right?” 

Much to your surprise, your voice came out a lot more steady than you had expected. “Don’t flatter yourself, you don’t know that.”

Taehyung chuckled, placing his warm, swollen lips against the skin of your neck. “I don’t,” he agreed, digits pressing against your clothed clit. You knew he could feel how soaked your panties had become, so there was no reason to keep that up. Regardless, you kind of liked it. “But I do remember how much you wanted me that night, whining and begging me to fill you up with my cock. How many times did I fuck you that night, uh? Four? Five times? And you just had to keep quiet, because your neighbors might have been listening. That was so cute.” 

You sighed, your insides in knots over the tension you were sustaining. You hated him sometimes. Hated how good he was. “I wasn’t counting.” 

“I know, baby.” He swiftly pulled the fabric of your underwear to the side, his long fingers digging into your wet heat. Memories of them fucking you open flooded your mind, sending a shockwave directly through your torso and towards your pussy. “And this right here, baby, is the second reason. Look at this: you’re soaked.” His digits moved, teasing your entrance, and the sound was so lewd that you had to suppress a moan. “You’re always so ready to take me. I love that. You’re so good to me.” 

God, you were about to lose it.

With the force of then thousand warriors, you held back another less-than-graceful sound from escaping your lips. You knew how much Taehyung liked you being loud (something to do with the adrenaline of getting caught, nothing new to see here), and so you had to keep your cool. It wouldn’t be so fun if you just gave him everything he wanted. 

“So quiet all of a sudden.” His nose delicately trailed up your neck, his mouth meeting the angle of your jaw in hot, open kisses. In an attempt to ground yourself, your hands flew to his shoulders, nails digging through his shirt. You could still feel Taehyung’s fingers playing with your wet folds, seeing how much you could take before you were begging for them to enter you. You hated him. Or not. You didn’t know. “I know I leave you speechless, baby, but I wanna hear you too.” 

Strong and steady, his other hand met the curvature of your waist, pressing your body against his. In a mindless reflex, you perked up your ass at the contact, making his fingers slip closer to your soaking entrance. 

“Nothing? Baby, you’re especially irresistible tonight.” Taehyung’s eyes were somewhat dazed, unfocused and hooded. He appeared as if he was two seconds away from fucking you raw against the wall, and you seriously wouldn’t mind. “You know why I called you here?” 

“Because you want to fuck me,” you responded without missing a beat. 

“I do, of course.” He placed his forehead against yours, and you whimpered weakly as two of his fingers finally (finally!) made their way into your heat, stretching you nicely. “That’s it, baby, don’t hold back.”

Instead of answering, another slow, delicious moan dripped like honey from your tongue. Taehyung grunted, satisfied at your responses, and quickened the pace inside your walls; your eyelashes fluttering shut at the ambrosial sensation. He had told you once about how much he liked that part: knowing that you were getting ready for his cock, but already so eager to cum around his fingers. 

Did he tell you that while he fingered you inside his car? Yes. Did anyone else have to know that? Absolutely not. 

“You know what I was doing before I came here?” His question caught you off guard. 

You didn’t even know if you were able to answer for a second, but, happily, the word didn’t have any issue coming out. “What?”

He took a deep, sharp breath, curling his fingers inside you. You pressed your back against the door at the shock of his digits brushing against your sensitive spot, one of your hands flying to your mouth in a way to suppress a particularly loud exclamation of pleasure. “I was listening to Jimin complain about how much he wanted to have you in his bed tonight,” his voice came out in a harsh tone, full of spikes and pointed corners. “Over and over, like a broken record. He can be so explicit when he wants to. It’s unbearable.”

You bit your bottom lip, rolling your hip against his hand. Your body was starting to tingle, the muscles in your legs turning into jello, and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer. As you spoke, you noticed touches of bliss ornamenting your syllables, your words coming out with a bit more difficulty than before. “Oh, so you’re jealous?” You teased.

“Me? Never,” he was quick to respond, groaning at the feeling of your walls clenching around him; his cock throbbing painfully against the fabric of his pants. “I’m just… trying to change your mind.”

“My mind?” You echoed, only half-aware of that conversation. Pleasure was starting to build in alarming rates, and you were starting to lose your trail of thought. “I haven't even decided anything yet.” 

“After I’m done, baby, you won’t need to,”  his voice came out in a profound whisper, sounding like a sweet melody against your ear. “I’m going to fuck you so hard and slow, so deep,” he stressed that word, making your pussy throb around his fingers at the idea, “that you won’t want to have anyone else for the night. Only me.” 

It sounded a bit like possessiveness or jealousy to you, but, honestly, you chose not to pick that conversation for the night. It was probably some kind of acting on his part too. Besides, you weren’t interested in any of Taehyung’s friends, so he didn’t need to worry about Jimin, or anyone else, making a move — especially when he was fingering you so well that you were about to forget your name. 

“And the best part, baby, is that no one will even know it,” he continued, separating his fingers slightly so he could scissor you. Against your best judgement, your knees were getting weaker by the minute, the knot in your abdomen about to untie. “Just you and I. Just the two of us will know how much you begged to be filled up with my cock, how wet you already are just for my fingers.” 

“Taehyung,” you called out, hands tangling themselves in the roots of his silky hair. You moaned out his name again, your voice coming out in such a promiscuous tone that he felt as if he was about to cum on the spot. God, Taehyung loved hearing the effect he had on you. “I’m close.” 

“I know, baby,” he whispered against your ear. His voice was so hoarse, so permeated by desire, that you knew that he was holding back too. His cock was hard and throbbing against your legs, and every minor movement of your thigh against his erection was enough for him to lose his breath for a moment. “But I don’t want you to cum, not yet.” 

Again, he pulled away. 

Taehyung wanted you to complain, to whine about the lack of contact or the warmness of his body — and so, just because you knew that it was his plan, you didn’t do any of that. 

You didn’t say a word as he moved his fingers away from your wetness, his other hand coming down to grope your ass. You didn’t flinch when he looked you deep inside your eyes, guiding his fingers between your lips, watching as your mouth obediently took them in, humming as you sucked your own wetness, never breaking eye contact. 

“Fuck,” he cursed, drowing in the sensation of your warm tongue licking his fingers. You didn’t think that Taehyung was fully aware of the way that his hips had rolled against yours, fighting for relief. “You’re so fucking hot, it’s unreal.”  

And you knew that he said that praise to every poor soul that crossed his path, but it still managed to have some effect on you. Again: you were human, and Taehyung knew what the fuck he was doing. 

But so did you.

Before he could try and do anything else, you pressed your palms against his chest, gently pushing him a few steps away from you. Taehyung followed your lead, watching as you got down to your knees, facing his erection. 

In measured, lackadaisical movements, you pressed your lips against his covered cock, feeling its handness against your mouth. Air got stuck in Taehyung’s throat as he watched you, like a hungry lion, as you undid his pants and pulled them down, gifting you with the sight of his white boxers. 

Just because you knew he liked it, you moaned at the glorious sight of his big, heavy cock already so hard and ready for you; fingers caressing the tip of his member, where a small stain of precum already started to form. Taehyung was so on the edge that he hissed at the contact, one of his hands meeting the back of your head in a mindless impulse. “Don’t tease,” he warned. 

“Oh, so you can and I can’t?” You leaned your head to the side, and planted a kiss on his cock before looking up at him. May the heavens have mercy on you, because you never saw Taehyung so pissed off and turned on at the same time. “I think I could even make you cum like this if I wanted to. I’ve done it before.” 

“Don’t you dare,” he struggled to get out.

“What? You liked when I did that the other times,” you cooled. “Sometimes you didn’t even need my mouth.” 

He closed his eyes, trying to fight the moan that started to climb up his throat. “Stop.” 

“What? You don’t remember?” You asked, placing another kiss on his member, closer to tip that time. “When I let you grind against my ass in the library? You came just by humping me, pants and all.” 

With a cute smile, your hand squeezed his dick, before moving up and down, following its thick outline. Taehyung was dumbfounded, left to watch as your delicate hands worked on his erection with unbearable patience, his eyes glued to every action that you made — the fluttering of your eyelashes, the innocent gazes that you threw his way every time your lips met the cotton of his underwear. If you kept it up for long enough, he was sure he would cum all over his boxers. 

Still, the gods above had heard his prayers, and Taehyung watched as you pulled his underwear down. Without a second of hesitation, you moaned as your tongue licked him all the way from the base to the top, lips enveloping his crown as you sucked on it ever so slightly. 

“Oh, fuck,” he cried out, fingers pulling on your hairstrands. “That’s good, fuck.” 

You hummed, content at his reaction, and pushed him deeper inside your warm mouth, one of your hands holding at the base of his cock. Beneath your other palm, you could feel as the muscles of his thigh tensed up at the sensation. His lips open slighlty, allowing for a long, erotic moan to echo inside the bathroom as you started to set a pace, sucking him slowly, just like you knew it drove him mad. 

“You’re so fucking good at this, baby,” Taehyung groaned, unable to keep his eyes open for much longer. The vision of him was ethereal: head thrown back, mouth slightly agape, eyebrows forming an expression of sheer pleasure and concentration. You cursed your own eyes as they started to water, preventing you from watching him a bit further. “Oh, that’s right, just like that.. you suck me so well, fuck.” 

The pulsating, unsatisfied sensation of need between your thighs only grew, your walls clenching around nothing and your heart beating fast against your chest. You could taste as his precum leaked inside your mouth, his fragmented breaths and whines showing you that Taehyung also wasn’t made of steel. As much as you’d like to see him cum soon, you also needed to be taken care of.

After a particularly hard suck, you pulled your mouth away from his member, and looked up at him. The lack of contact was all that Taehyung needed to open his eyes and stare down at you, surprised at the interruption of his pleasure.

“Taehyung,” you tried your best to make your voice sound as pure and sensual as you could. His eyes widened slightly at the sound — no matter how hard he tried to make it seem like he was annoyed by that saint act of yours, you knew that it drove him insane. “I want you to fuck me now, please.” 

You watched as his face presented a thousand emotions at the same time, and then eventually settled on the cool, controlled dominance you adored so much. Another surge of pleasure ran down your body, much stronger this time, and the feeling of your soaked panties against your pussy was making you go insane with anticipation. 

“I love it when you ask politely.” He placed his hand on your chin, trailing your lower lip with his thumb. “Get up, baby,” he commanded. 

Without an ounce of hesitation, you did as you were told, letting your body be guided by his large hands. 

Taehyung turned you around and leaned you against the sink, positioning himself behind you. “Back to me, ass up,” he said, “Keep it like this, alright?” 

You nodded, unsure that you could say anything else. 

“Good girl.” Taehyung once again held your chin up, making you stare at your own reflection in the mirror for a second before your eyes traveled towards his. God, he was an absolute mess. In the best of ways. “I want you to look at it.”

Any second now, your legs would give out and you would crash down on the floor — or, at least, that’s the sensation you had. It was unbearable to watch as Taehyung took his time removing his shirt; then your skirt and your panties, dripping them down your legs one by one, his mouth so deliciously close to your heat that you felt like you could faint. 

“So pretty,” he mumbled to himself, watching your pussy with desire. “So fucking wet.” 

“I want to feel you, please.” You arched your back, throwing your hips closer to his. 

“Like this, baby?” With a glorious roll of his hips against yours, you felt as his cock moved in between your folds, his head only touching your clit slightly. The sensation alone was enough to make you perk your ass up at him, a motion that wasn’t left unnoticed by his part. 

He smirked at your reaction. “Such a pure little thing, aren’t you?” Taehyung’s hands palmed your ass, moving like snakes towards your waist, where they held you in place. Another roll of his hips and the contact of his dick against your clit made your knees buckle. “You’re so polite, just asking for my cock again and again… You don’t even notice how wet you get thinking about it, grinding against it. Isn’t that so?” 

You had no option but to agree, lowering your head to look at the marble sink beneath you. “Yeah,” your voice came out in a pathetic whine, but you couldn’t even care about it. You just wanted to feel him inside you. “It’s all for you, Taehyung.” 

“Good girl,” he praised, taking one of his hands to guide his cock towards your opening. Expectant, you held your breath, but he didn’t slide in just yet. “Just tell me what you want, come on.” Again, he leaned in and pushed your chin up. “And look at me while you say that.”  

Obediently, you did. Taehyung was a greek god then. Under the pale yellow lights of the bathroom, his lips were swollen and red, the lower one being bit lightly by his teeth; his entire expression permeated by lust as he dove into the sensation of his cock teasing your entrance. He stared at you like you were good enough to eat, his eyes coruscating with so much hunger that you couldn’t even think about anything else but him. No wonder you kept coming back. His entire presence was engulfing every fiber of your being. 

Maybe Kim Taehyung did have a golden dick, after all. 

“I want you to fuck me, Taehyung,” a sentence had never been so clear, so sincere. From the corner of your eye, you could see your own face, desperate and pleading, as you fumbled closer to his member. “Please. I need to feel you inside me.” 

With a hum, he kissed the nape of your neck. “Whatever my girl wants.” 

And, before you could even think about his words, your thoughts were broken as you moaned out his name, feeling as his big cock stretched you, hitting all the right spots. You had missed that sensation so much, of being so full of him, so hypnotized by the movements of his body against yours, that you didn’t even compute the shuddering breath that departed from his mouth, nor the curse that he had let out once he felt the warmness of your walls around his aching member. 

He thought he could lose his last ounces of sanity as he pulled out just enough to leave only his tip in, before throwing his lips against yours and filling you back up. Soon enough, Taehyung was setting a rhythm, unable to control his comments as he kept thrusting inside you. 

“So tight, baby,” he spoke in a whisper, almost as if you weren’t supposed to hear it. His face in the mirror was the most beautiful sight you had ever seen: Taehyung was so lost in pleasure that his features had morphed into an expression of sheer bliss; all of his concentration directed at the movements of your body, the way that your walls held him with so much desire. “You take my cock so well… Shit, you’re making me go crazy.” 

Taehyung’s breath quivered and he leaned his body towards you, fighting for balance. He had one of his hands on your waist, and the other was holding down to the sink, leveling his figure as he started to thrust into you in that different angle — just as slow, hard and deep as he had promised. 

You rolled your head back once he hit the right spot inside you, your moans going up an octave. “Fuck, right there, Taehyung,” you whined, barely aware of the volume of your voice. To hell with it, the music was too loud anyways. “There, right there, don’t stop.” 

“Here?” He groaned, thrusting in the exact place that made you cry out. “That’s it, baby, let it out.” 

And you wanted to prolong that moment for as long as you could, but, truth was, he had played around with you enough that you knew you wouldn’t last much. Even sucking his cock, feeling as he mumbled and trembled under your touches, had been enough to keep you turned on. Again: you were only human, and the paradisiacal feeling of Taehyung’s cock filling you up to the brim, hitting your sweet spot with forceful thrusts, was a bit more than you could endure. 

“Taehyung, I think I’m close,” you told him, feeling as your arms grew weaker beneath you. It was just a matter of time before your legs started shaking too. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Shh, that’s fine, baby.” He moved your hair away from your back, placing a trail of sloppy kisses on your shoulders. “Come on, cum around my cock. I want to feel you.” 

“It’s so big, Taehyung,” you moaned, closing your eyes in defeat. You could tell that your pleasure was already building up too much, too fast. You couldn’t help it: he was stretching you so fantastically that every part of you was on overdrive, the pent-up tension of the entire night culminating in one long, edging orgasm. 

“It’s all yours, baby, all of it,” he told you, guiding you towards your high. God, his voice was so hoarse, so sweet. “Cum for me, okay? And don’t hold back, I want to hear you.” 

Just like that, you came with a loud moan and the calling of his name in a repetitive prayer, walls clenching around him in a way that made him lose his grip on reality. You whimpered at the pleasure, that now was gradually subsiding, and lowered your body against the marble, feeling how cold it was, how different it was from the rest of the bathroom. 

“That’s it, baby, yeah… That was so fucking hot.” Taehyung groaned behind you, picking up the pace of his thrusts. He was moving you so hard that you could feel your hip bones being pressed against the corners of the marble surface, the dirty sound of wetness and skin against skin filling the ambient. “Look at all this… so wet and tight, even after coming so hard.” 

From the way that Taehyung’s movements started to get sloppier, you could tell that he was losing himself in his own sense of pleasure, getting closer to his own climax. “All of this… all for me,” he moaned out, eyes glued to the motion of his cock coming in and out of your dripping center. “You’re so good, baby. Fuck, I could have you like this forever.”

The pounding of his hips against your ass was getting so intense that you could feel tears accumulating at the corners of your eyes, fingers trembling under the weight of overstimulation. Taehyung had fucked you hard before, but you just couldn’t get used to how fantastic it felt. 

“I’m close,” he cried out behind you, his breath coming out in broken, tremulous expirations. “Can I cum on your mouth, baby? I want to see you swallow everything.” 

You nodded, mouth salivating at the thought. 

“Fuck.” He groaned. “That’s my girl.” 

Taehyung pulled away from you and you moved fast, getting back down on your knees as he guided his cock, so red and swollen, against your lips. 

You opened your mouth to accommodate him, taking his member slowly at first, thinking it would be better to adjust to its size. After that part was done — and Taehyung had already turned into a quivering mess above you — you proceeded to move your head, sucking his cock as hard as you could muster. 

“That’s right, suck it,” he moaned, buckling his hips forward. The tip of his cock touched the back of your throat and you gagged, presenting Taehyung with one of the most gorgeous views he had seen all night. “Fuck, yeah— Take everything, baby, come on.” 

You did, of course. You continued to suck Taehyung with a moderate pace — not so slow that it would kill him, but not so fast that it would kill you — and watched as he started to become undone under your touches. First, it were his trembling thighs, then the weakening of his grip on his head. You looked up at him with blurry eyes and watched as his lips fell open, moaning obscenities, and his eyes closed with intense concentration. It was just a matter of time before he—

“F-fuck!” 

Taehyung spilled in your mouth and you struggled to swallow everything, just like he had told you to, whining at the feeling of his cock throbbing and twitching in between your lips. The discomfort between your thighs had resumed, pulsating inside your core in a silent need, but you didn’t think you’d have the stamina to deal with it right then and there. 

You pulled your head away from his cock when he started wincing with sensitivity. With doll-like eyes, you met his hooded ones, glad to see the satisfaction and appreciation that was plastered all across his face. He always looked so good after sex, you realized, and you felt extremely satisfied to know that his fucked-out, blissful expression was all because of you. 

In a gentle motion, Taehyung placed his thumb on your check, cleaning a bit of his cum, and brought it over to your lips. “You missed this bit,” he said. 

You sucked his thumb clean without thinking twice, suddenly aware of how uncomfortable your knees felt. Above you, Taehyung smirked at the sensation of your mouth around his thumb, his other hand coming to place small caresses on your hair. 

After he removed his thumb from your mouth, you got back to your feet. It crossed your mind that your legs might give out eventually, but, thankfully, they seemed a bit more firm than you had anticipated. “Better?” You asked. 

“Perfect.” Taehyung kissed you, sighing against your mouth. He pulled away gradually, his body still moving a bit slow after everything you two had done. “You always are.” 

“Aw, how nice of you.” You smiled at his compliment, walking towards your pile of clothes. The bathroom was starting to get cold, and the afterglow of sex couldn’t keep you warm for much longer. “Always with the compliments.” 

He hummed in agreement, watching your naked body; your fingers holding that red bra he adored so much. “Any chance I could see you again this week?” 

An incredulous laugh ruptured your lips as you clasped your bra behind your back. “We just had sex, and you’re already thinking about the next time?” 

He shrugged. “I like to have a schedule.” 

“I’ll think about it.” Your skirt moved up your legs, all the way up to your waistline. From the corner of your eyes, you could see as Taehyung fumbled with his own pants, which he now cursed for being inside out. Seems like he was only thoughtful when it came to your wardrobe. “It’s not like we usually know when this stuff is going to happen.” 

There was a slight tremble in your fingertips as you reached for your blouse and placed it back on your body, but you decided to ignore it.

“I guess,” he mumbled. 

You stared at your own reflection in the mirror as you started to close your buttons, somewhat amazed by the fact that it didn’t appear like you just had had sex. Yeah, your hair was all over the place, and maybe your neck was a bit too red in a few spots, but nothing that a bit of time wouldn’t fix. Could’ve been worse. 

“Can you pass me some toilet paper?” You asked him, eager to clean the mess between your legs. There was no way in hell you were going to put your panties back on, even if the thought of going commando wasn’t exactly the most welcoming either. 

Taehyung was sitting on the toilet lid, putting his pants back, and simply nodded in agreement before doing so. “I’d like to know, though,” he insisted.

You smiled, taking a cheeky glance at him. “Since when you’re so needy?” 

He groaned. “I’m not needy, shut up” 

“Well… You have my number.” You responded, throwing the paper in the trash after you had finished cleaning yourself up. “Call me whenever you’re feeling like it, and I’ll see what I can do.” 

He pouted, clearly frustrated at the answer. “And what if you can’t make it?”

“Then you have two good hands to help you,” you answered simply, fingers working on adjusting your hair. The sound of his zipper closing echoed inside the cubicle. “Besides.. you can have this as a memory, if you’d like.” 

You threw your red panties at him, watching as his face grew interested at the piece of wet cloth in his hands. Taehyung sighed, tugging his shirt back inside his pants. “You’re killing me,” he complained. 

“Good.” You smiled, turning back at him. “How do I look? Presentable?” 

He examined you for an instant, taking in the details of your form. “It doesn’t look like you just got fucked, if that's what you’re asking.” 

“Great!” You swirled around, giving the mirror a last peek. You were getting suspiciously good at making it seem like you two never happened. “Have a nice night, Taehyung. Maybe wait like five minutes before leaving the bathroom. And don’t get too excited with the panties.” 

Taehyung got up and walked closer to you, your underwear safely guarded in his hands. You were positive he would have fun with it later. “You’re going home already?” He asked. 

“Yeah, you did a good job at making me tired.” The clicking of the lock was a pleasant reminder that no one tried to open the door during that time, so maybe your sexual shenanigans had been overlooked once again. “So don’t worry. I’m in need of a good night of sleep. I’m not spending any time with your horny friends.” 

Taehyung chuckled, leaning closer to you. “I was kind of exaggerating about that Jimin part for dramatic effect, but alright.” He placed a kiss on your forehead. “Good night. Thanks for the panties.” 

You laughed. “You’re welcome.” 

Just like that, you were out the door, and the moments you had shared in that bathroom with Taehyung had been placed inside a capsule. No one noticed you as you walked through the corridor, past the few strangers still around, and down the stairs, where the party had clearly lost its initial olympian proportions. 

Cups and pieces of paper were thrown all over the floor, and you watched as people stumbled around, trying to find some sort of balance against the walls. No matter how many Hoseok Parties you went to, you were always amazed at the way that they were quick to be set ablaze, but equally quick to burn off. It was like premature ejaculation, in the weirdest and saddest of ways. 

Still, you weren’t expecting to see a recognizable face at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Hyejin,” you called, surprised to see your friend around. “Thought you would’ve gone to bed with Hoseok by now.” 

Seeming as dumbfounded as you, she followed your movements as you walked down the terminal steps, finally reaching the first floor of the house. There was a weird shadow of discomfort casted over her features, and you thought it had something to do with Hoseok. “Uh… Not really,”  she told you. “I just want to go home, actually.”

“You and I both.” You placed one of your arms around her shoulder, guiding her towards the front door. “Let’s go, this place has already peaked, anyway.”

She suspired, her lips pouting. “Thanks.” 

A few minutes of silence expanded between the two of you as you walked out of the house and into the front lawn, where a sea of trash had already taken over a few chunks of grass. You didn’t know how or why, but someone had brought an inflatable pool, and there was only one solitary purple dildo swimming in it. What a sad sea creature, you thought, before your attention was pulled back to your friend.

Hyejin switched uncomfortably in your arms, hugging her own body in a way to shield herself from the gelid breeze of the night. You looked at her with care, watching as her face contorted at sight of the street lights, magnifying the odd expression that had taken over her. “Tell me what happened between you two,” you asked tenderly. “You don’t seem too happy about it.” 

Your friend hesitated and, suddenly, you felt bad for pressuring her. At the same time, you were worried that something bad had happened. “Yeah…  so… apparently he thought he was texting a different person,” she told you. You could tell that she was having a hard time speaking. “It was kind of a mess, actually. He said that in front of everyone. I’m glad you weren’t there to see it.” 

Suddenly, you recognized that expression as being pure, unshakable humiliation. That must’ve been an ugly moment, really, since Hyejin wasn’t one to break easily. The booze probably didn’t help her emotional state either. 

 “Hyejin, I’m so sorry. He really is a fucking idiot for treating you like that.” You squeezed her body against yours in an awkward sideways hug. She eased into your touch, shoulders falling under the weight of your comforting words. “That really sucks. We can find a way to kill him, if you want. I’d hide the body and never talk about it again.”  

Even if she chuckled at the idea, you could tell she wasn’t in the mood for jokes. “Yeah… I don’t think I want to talk about that right now.” She cleared her throat, hugging her own body with a bit more force. The car was just a few steps away from the two of you, and you were beyond glad that you had managed to find a spot so close to the house. “Anyways… there’s something else. I went to find you earlier, when it all went down, so we could go home.”

You pressed your lips together, guilt hitting you like a punch in the gut. “Sorry, I was upstairs.” 

“Yeah, I realized that once I didn’t find you,” she continued. Hyejin’s voice was weak, her syllables slightly disconnected. She often spoke like that once intoxication and exhaustion joined in a horrible after-party dance. “I went up and searched around for you, but I… uh…” 

The two of you finally reached the vehicle, and you removed your arm from around her so you could move towards the driver’s side. You frowned at her hesitation, watching her over the roof of the car. “What is it?” You asked. 

“I needed to use the bathroom…” she trailed off. Her tone was almost inaudible. “And I…” 

You opened your purse, squinting your eyes to try and find the car key amidst the dimly-lit street. “And?” 

“The door was locked.” She gawked at you, eyes suddenly growing serious. You didn’t like drunk-Hyejin, with her unstable moods and abrupt expression switches. It was watching a horror movie sometimes. “Because you were in there.” 

Oh, you seriously didn’t want to have that conversation at that moment. 

Finally, you found the key and unlocked the car. The sound was like a gunshot through the night, your pulse starting to pick up the pace. You knew where she was heading towards now, but it’s not like she could be sure that it was you in there. You’d deny until the end of time. 

“What makes you think that it was me?” You questioned, opening the door. 

This time, she didn’t hesitate to respond. “I heard you.”

Oh. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuck— 

Keep your cool. It’s okay. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” 

“You don’t?” She started to raise her voice, clearly pissed off. You two were arriving at stage two of drunk Hyejin: past the sad introspection, and into banshee level. “I had to pee on the disgusting bathroom downstairs because you were fucking someone in there! I had to wait twenty minutes in line! And you lied to me! You told me you didn’t have a dick appointment!” 

“Shhh! Stop yelling!” You asked, exasperated. The night was too cold and the streets were too empty. You just wanted to go home before someone heard you. All that it needed was one half-assed comment from Taehyung about him going to the upstairs bathroom, plus someone interested enough to connect the dots, and your little secret would be up. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, okay? Now, please, get in the car, you’re super drunk.”

Before Hyejin could protest, which you were sure she would, you sank down on your seat, running away from her judgemental semblance. The thought of just driving off in sheer panic crossed your mind, but you quickly ignored it. You couldn’t leave her alone in that place, especially in the inebriated state she was in. No matter how much you really, really wanted to. 

Your friend followed your lead and sat down on the passenger seat, watching as you closed your door and checked the mirrors, avoiding her gaze with all your might. She sighed. “I don’t understand… Why didn’t you go somewhere else for that? People need to pee, you know? Or, I don’t know, puke… or maybe even—“ 

You threw your purse on the backseat, sighing in exasperation. That conversation was the last thing you needed after that night. “I don’t think it matters right now—“

“It does matter! I could’ve gotten a urinary tract infection.” Hyejin banged the door by her side, and you could tell she simply wasn’t measuring her force right. She groaned, lazily adjusting her body on the seat. “Now, you have to tell me who it was. It’s the minimum you can do.” 

You almost choked on your own saliva.  She really was out of it. “Like I’d ever do something like that.”

Silence grew thick inside the car, falling above you like a blanket. Hyejin looked at you like you had just grown a second head, making sure that she wasn’t drunk enough to imagine you flat-out denying her an information so valuable. To be fair, it wasn’t like you to avoid questions or keep names from her — at least, not so openly. You knew that she wasn’t dumb, and that she could tell that something was up even in her intoxicated state. 

“You’re really not gonna say?” She tried again, still struggling to keep her speech tied together. It was only a matter of time before she calmed down and fell asleep, and so you wouldn’t have to deal with that subject any further. “You almost gave me an UTI, and now you’re not gonna say who you were with? I need to know if it was worth keeping the bathroom all to yourself, because I already told you, someone probably went up there trying to—“ 

“Shit, Hyejin! I get it, you, can stop now.” You clicked your seatbelt with a bit more aggression than necessary. “You’re drunk right now.”

You leaned over her and placed her seatbelt too, since you were pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. Not with that poor movement precision. 

“And?” She pressed on as you moved back to your seat. “You’re going to tell me once I’m sober or something?”

You laughed, placing one of your hands on the wheel. “No, of course not.”

“Fine!” She crossed her arms dramatically and looked out of the window, pouting like a child. “I hate you for not saying.” 

“Well, I love you.” You looked at her, your own gaze navigating towards the window. Beyond the fogged glass, the house glowed in the most diverse colors, the sound of the bass reverberating inside your car like a distant pulse. You watched, heart clenching inside of your chest, as Taehyung stepped out of the front door with Jimin, his head hanging low and a smile at the corner of his lips. There was a volume at his front pocket, where you were sure he had tugged in your panties. “But now I think that we should go home and sleep. Let’s keep this conversation on hold.” 

Hyejin, however, wasn’t satisfied. “You know that I’ll find out eventually,” she said, still looking out of the window. “I always do.” 

You chuckled, turning on the engine of the car. On the other side of the street, the two boys took the opposite direction, leaving you two to stare at the open road before you. “Well, I’d love to see you try.”

[theladyofdeath]

Heels {Rowaelin}

The prompt: walks in front of their crush in stripper heals and a short skirt because they want their attention

Rowan x Aelin os

Written with @snelbz​

There was no way this could be a good idea.

Aelin was sitting on her bed, watching as Lysandra flicked through her closet. She had told her that tonight was the night and had recruited her to help her do what she considered nearly impossible.

She was going to get the attention of Rowan Whitethorn.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know she existed, it was quite the opposite. He was one of her friends, having met during orientation week their freshman year, and as their group grew, so did their friendship. But after three and a half years, she had very solidly gotten her stuck as just that: his friend.

“You’re wasting your time,” Aelin crooned, flipping through the timeline on her phone. 

“Bullshit,” Lysandra muttered, flipping through the clothes in her closet. “You need to feel confident, Aelin. Rowan is obsessed with you, and you’re obsessed with him. This whole thing is ridiculous.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, but remained quiet. 

“How about this?” Lysandra asked, pulling out a denim mini skirt and black halter cropped top. As Aelin was about to reply, Lysandra said, “Say nothing. Put it on.”

With a roll of her eyes, yet again, Aelin did as much. Once she had the skirt and top on, she looked in the mirror. 

And she looked hot as hell.

“Shoes?” Aelin asked, despite herself. 

“Oh, I have the perfect heels,” Lysandra said, fleeing from the room. She came back a moment later with a pair of black stilettos that were Aelin’s  size. 

Scoffing, Aelin held them up. “I’m going to break my neck.”

Lysandra snorted and flounced back into the bathroom where she continued to straighten her hair. “You’re exaggerating.”

“Fine,” Aelin amended. “I’m going to break my ankle.” She set the shoes on her bed and joined Lysandra in the bathroom to finish getting ready.

She let Lysandra curl her hair, but drew the line when she offered to do her makeup. They had very different styles when it came to that and while Lysandra looked drop dead gorgeous with her cat-eye liner and ruby red lips, Aelin would never be able to pull it off.

“Where is this party even at?” Lysandra asked, pulling her hair back into a stylish ponytail.

“Lorcan’s.” Aelin was trying to keep her hand steady as she applied the thin line of liquid eyeliner to her upper lid. “I think Elide convinced him to throw it.”

Lysandra snorted, applying her mascara.  “Sounds right. Lorcan isn’t exactly the host-type.”

Aelin grinned, tossing her eyeliner in her makeup bag. “Alright, hurry up. I want to make my entrance.”

With a roll of her eyes, Lysandra took one last look in the mirror and declared herself ready and they were off.

Lorcan’s apartment was just on the edge of campus, so the two girls walked and earned the eager glances of many as they did so.

Aelin took it as a good sign.

“Will Aedion be here tonight?” Lysandra asked, shooting a glance over at Aelin.

She groaned. “Probably.” She still couldn’t believe that her roommate actually had the hots for her cousin. He was practically her brother and the thought of him in any sort of compromising position made her want to gag. “If you hook up with him tonight, please do it at his place. I can’t afford therapy on my barista’s salary.”

“Trust me,” Lysandra said, adjusting her ponytail as they approached the steps to Lorcan’s. “I plan on giving you complete privacy at the apartment tonight. And you better take advantage of it.”

Butterflies grew in the pit of Aelin’s stomach. 

She planned to, hoped to, wanted to…but, she had to catch Rowan’s eye first - something that made her nerves go haywire. 

Lysandra must have caught it, because they stopped outside of Lorcan’s door and Lysandra made Aelin face her. 

“You look gorgeous,” she said, and brushed Aelin’s hair back. “He’d be an idiot not to come after you.”

That was the goal, after all. Aelin was not going to be the one doing the chasing. She wanted Rowan to see her, want her, not be able to take his eyes off of her. She knew he’d be here, the party was at his best friend’s apartment, knew that everyone from their friend group would show up. Yet she was absolutely fucking terrified he’d see her and have zero reaction.

She played it off with a joke though. Scoffing, she tossed her hair over a shoulder. “He’d better. I didn’t book an emergency appointment with my waxer for nothing.”

If Lysandra noticed the fake bravado — which she absolutely did, she and Aelin had become as close as sisters over the past three years — she didn’t call her out on it. Instead, she smirked, smacked Aelin on the ass, and said, “Then let’s go get your man.”

The music could be heard from a block away, and when they opened the front door, the apartment was already packed.

People definitely noticed them come in, though, including Elide who was running towards them, a drink in hand. “It’s about time you two showed up!”

“The host himself isn’t here to greet us?” Aelin mocked, giving Elide a hug.

Elide chuckled as she rolled her eyes. “He’s been out on the balcony for about a half hour, avoiding all human interaction.”

“Sounds about right,” Lysandra replied, rolling her eyes, but then she began looking around the spacious townhouse Lorcan and Elide shared. “You haven’t seen Aedion tonight, have you?”

Elide gave Aelin a knowing glance, but said, “Last I saw, he was playing beer pong with Fenrys. Don’t know who the poor bastards getting their asses handed to them were, but they’re probably still in the kitchen.”

Lysandra gave Aelin a wink. “Good luck.” And then she was gone, lost in the bodies dancing to the music.

Her part in tonight was done, to help Aelin get Rowan’s attention. It was all up to Aelin now, so Lysandra was free to find someone to occupy her own time. Even if the thought of who she’d be with made Aelin want to shudder.

Alone with Aelin, or as close to it as they could be, Elide let out a low whistle as she finally took in Aelin’s outfit. “I have a feeling that outfit isn’t just to impress me.”

“Does that mean you’re not impressed?” Aelin asked, pretending to pout. 

Elide looped her arm through Aelin’s and led her to the bar. “I’m always impressed, but I don’t think you care so much about my opinion, do you?”

Aelin snorted as she began to look around, but Elide saved her the struggle.

“He’s on the patio with Lor,” Elide said, simply. “Don’t worry. I’ll drag his ass back in here soon and Rowan will follow.”

Elide poured them both a shot, which Aelin gladly took and even asked for another. But when Manon and Asterin Blackbeak showed up, she waved Elide off to go greet her friends, and leaned against the bar, debating on a third shot.

She wasn’t trying to get shitty tonight, just a little messy, but her nerves were beginning to grow again.

Just as she decided to say fuck it, and get another shot, and heard a whistle from behind her. She turned and found Dorian Havilliard staring at her legs.

Or maybe he was staring at her ass.

They had messed around her freshman year, when his dorm room was just down the hall from hers, but it had never been anything more than that between them, and they agreed that they were better as friends. It didn’t mean they didn’t have fun though.

She smirked as she tossed the glass back and set it down on the bar top, before turning to him. “See anything you like?”

“I see quite a few things I like,” he said, raising his drink in salute. “Then again, only a fourth of your skin is covered, so there’s a lot to look at.”

Aelin laughed, quietly, and clinked her empty shot glass against his full bottle. “Gotta show off what the gods gave me.”

“As you should,” he agreed with a wink. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“Well, it is school, and I actually study,” Aelin said, turning to refill her shot glass.

Dorian had the audacity to look offended. “Hey, I study, too.”

Aelin laughed as she turned back around. “Reading a bunch of books that have nothing to do with any of your classes doesn’t count as studying, Dor.”

“But they’re so much more interesting,” he replied, chuckling as he thought of the boring curriculum he studied for his pre-law degree.

Aelin rolled her eyes as she tossed back the shot and set it behind the bar. Four shots was enough. She’d be fun, she’d be confident, but she wasn’t tipsy enough to make an ass of herself.

Yet.

“I assume all of this skin isn’t for me, so who are you trying to impress?” Dorian asked, and then added, with a wink, “Chaol?”

Huffing a laugh, Aelin shook her head. “Absolutely not. That ended in a disaster and I’m not inclined to repeat it.”

The sliding glass door opened and Aelin’s eyes snapped to the door, before she quickly turned away before Lorcan and Rowan stepped inside.

“Oh,” Dorian chuckled, softly. “Whitethorn then.”

It wasn’t a question.

He had moved imperceptibly closer and she knew how it would look to Rowan. For whatever reason, she decided she wanted him to be jealous she was talking to another guy.

Even if she had no idea whether or not he’d even noticed her.

“Is this who I am now?” Dorian asked, quietly, leaning into her ear, fully aware that it looked like he was coming onto her. “Your super hot wingman?”

Aelin snorted, and didn’t bother moving away. “My overly cocky wingman, maybe.”

Dorian huffed a laugh. “I still take it as a compliment.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be flirting up Manon instead of fake flirting with me?” Aelin whispered, quietly. She glanced at Rowan, who was filling up a red solo cup.

“I like to make Manon wait,” Dorian said, running a finger up Aelin’s forearm. “She gets jealous, too, and it makes things so much more exciting in the bedroom.”

“Thanks for the image, Dor,” Aelin said, pushing away the need to roll her eyes and flick him in the nose.

He and Manon weren’t exclusively in a relationship, but everyone knew they hooked up with each other, and only each other. But, again, totally not exclusive.

“Besides,” Dorian mused, his finger skimming Aelin’s arm. “She’s busy doing body shots with Asterin. I’ll enjoy her later.”

Aelin snorted, reaching behind the bar and pulling an ice cold beer from the open cooler. She handed it to him and he opened it for her, flicking the cap in the air as if it were a coin.

He let it fall to the bar top as he leaned in to whisper in her ear one last time. “Pretty sure that’s my cue.”

She followed his gaze across the room, and found Rowan looking at her. Watching her and Dorian both.

“Have fun,” he added, before sauntering off towards the kitchen.

Rowan watched Dorian walk away to the other side of the room where he sat to watch Aedion and Fenrys continue to dominate in beer pong.

When Rowan’s eyes trailed back to Aelin, she was already watching him, a slightly-forced mischievous smile on her lips.

On the inside, she felt like she was going to puke.

He made his way across the room, pausing in front of her and slipped his free hand into his pocket. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” she said, and she wasn’t sure why it sounded so breathless.

“I didn’t see you get here,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

She did the same, fighting the urge to toss her hair over a shoulder. “You were outside.” She realized that told him she was keeping tabs on him and she quickly added. “I mean, Elide told me Lorcan was outside, so I assumed you had to be with him.”

He smirked. “Right. Well, I was. It’s a little crowded in here.” She nodded, but he went on. “However, seems like you didn’t mind when Havilliard was over here with you. Not too crowded for you, then, huh?” 

Aelin slowly lifted a golden brow. If Rowan wanted to play, she would play. “Not crowded enough for someone to be blocking your view of me with Dorian, apparently.”

A light lit up Rowan’s green eyes as his jaw twitched, suppressing a grin. “I can always count on you to manipulate my words and their meaning, Galathynius.”

Aelin’s grin was wide. “Someone has to keep you in your place, Whitethorn.” 

“And is that you?” He asked, voice low as he took a drink from his cup. “The person that’s going to keep me in my place?”

Aelin’s eyes glittered as she took another drink. It was always easy with Rowan. They could talk for hours, that witty banter, back and forth. But, that’s all that had ever happened between them: simple conversation. 

From the way she caught him watching her legs as she took a drink, though, she thought tonight may just end up as she planned.

A hell of a lot more than simple conversation.

“Want to dance?” She asked.

His eyes slowly slid up her body to meet her gaze. “You know I don’t dance, Ace.”

She took a long, slow drink from her bottle. “Not even with me?”

“Not with anyone,” he said, crossing his arms and resting a hip against the bar.

It was a miracle no one had interrupted them, but the bulk of the drinks had been set up in the kitchen.

“That’s a shame,” Aelin sighed, finishing off her beer and tossing the empty bottle in the trash can. “I would love to dance, but I don’t have anyone to dance with.”

Rowan said, “I’m sure you can find someone, especially with how you’re dressed tonight.”

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “And how is that?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you look drop dead fucking sexy,” he replied, without missing a beat. “I just don’t get why.”

“What do you mean?” Aelin asked.

“Why try so hard?” He asked, head cocked to the side. “Who are you trying to impress?”

Cocky bastard. She could see it in his eyes, he knew what he was doing and she hated him for it.

Hated that she loved it, anyway.

“What need would I have to impress anyone?” Aelin asked, chin raised. “I think I’m naturally perfect in every way.”

Rowan chuckled. “Then you should’ve come in your sweatpants and a tank top.”

Aelin rose a brow.

Rowan shrugged. “I think that’s when you’re sexiest.”

With that, with his cup pressed to his lips, he turned and walked away.

Aelin blinked after him, not sure she was sure she heard him right. He made his way through the people and headed back to the door leading out onto the balcony, stopping to say something to Lorcan. He waved him off and then Rowan was slipping back outside, while Aelin just started after him.

She pushed her way through the crowd, which was easier said than done when you weren’t a six-foot-four giant who mildly scared the shit out of everyone by scowling at them, but she eventually made it to the door. Sliding it open, she stepped out into the balmy night air.

“You can’t say shit like that and then just disappear,” Aelin said, finding him exactly how she’d expected to.

Rowan was leaned against the wall, the sole of one booted foot pressed against it as well. A lit cigarette dangled from his fingers. She gave him shit about smoking all the time, but knew he only did it when he drank.

Or when he had something on his mind.

He held the cigarette out to her, but she gave him a look. “You know better than to offer me that.”

Rowan just grinned and put it back between his lips. “You’re missing the party.” 

“What did you mean?” Aelin asked, standing opposite of him, leaning against the railing. 

“When?” he asked, looking up at the sky.

“Don’t bullshit me, Rowan,” she snapped, and it got his attention. 

Blowing a puff of smoke into the cool night air, he met her gaze and slowly shook his head. He gestured to her outfit, to the heels that were making her feet ache. “What is this?”

“They’re clothes,” she said. “For a party.”

“They’re Lysandra’s,” he replied, simply. 

“I can’t wear my roommate’s clothes?” Aelin scoffed. “What the hell is wrong with you tonight-.”

“Why can’t you just admit that you’re just trying to impress someone?” he interrupted, watching her, that light in his eye fading. “You’ve never been not-confident a day in your life. Whoever it is that you’re trying to impress, he obviously isn’t worth it if it causes you to be someone you’re not.”

Aelin looked down at the cropped halter top, the skirt that hardly reached her thighs, the heels that she was certain would cause blisters. “This is someone I’m not?”

Rowan slowly shook his head. “Last time we went out, you wore that little golden slip dress….” He shook his head, reminiscing on the memory. “That was you. You wore sneakers and you were still barefoot halfway through the night, dancing on the patio. What you’re wearing now - yeah, you look gorgeous - but I can tell you’re not comfortable in it.” 

“If I’m trying to get someone’s attention, maybe my usual isn’t best. Especially if it pushes me out of my comfort zone,” she snapped back, her hands on her hips. “And why is it such a problem if I’m trying to impress someone? Dorian was impressed.”

“Dorian doesn’t drool all over you like a dog in heat,” he replied. “He respects you, regardless of what you’re wearing, how much skin you’re showing off. But if you’re trying to impress some D bag who will only notice you if you’re dressed like that, you might want to reconsider.”

“And what if I was trying to impress you?” She asked, getting in his face, cigarette smoke and whiskey breath be damned. “What if I was trying to get your attention, Rowan?”

His jaw locked and his eyes searched hers, as if he was trying to find the underlying meaning in what she was saying, even if there wasn’t one. 

“Then you’d be wasting your time,” he said, at last.

It felt like a knife had been shoved into Aelin’s ribs with every word that had come out of his mouth. Begging herself not to cry in front of him, she went to take a step away, but Rowan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

Their chests were nearly touching, and his hand trailed from her wrist, into her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers.

He took the cigarette from his lips and said, “You’d be wasting your time because you impress me every time that I’m around you.”

“You never act like it,” she breathed, shaking her head. “You never do anything, and you’ve never tried to make a move. What the hell else was I supposed to do?”

He flicked the cigarette over the rail and let go of her hand, only to frame her face with both of his. “This.”

And then his lips were on hers, and Aelin didn’t care that she could taste residual smoke or stale beer. She knew she didn’t taste much better. All that mattered was that Rowan was kissing her and his hands were on her face and hers were tangled up in his shirt. His tongue slid against hers and she had to fight to stop the moan that threatened to slip out of her.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. “That,” he said, breathlessly. “That is what you should have done to get my attention.”

Aelin swallowed, harshly. “Do it again.”

Rowan didn’t have to be convinced. His hands slid down her back as he brought his mouth to hers, and he pulled her body uptight against his. They stayed out there for a long time, for hours, uninterrupted. 

At one point, she saw Dorian come by and lock the balcony door, so everyone else would get the hint to stay the hell away.

Wingman of the year.

They stayed on the balcony, kissing and laughing and kissing some more, until the party wound down. Around two, Lorcan let them inside, and Aelin pulled Rowan out of the apartment and across campus to her own. 

True to Lysandra’s word, she was nowhere to be found.

The second Aelin stepped into her apartment, she kicked off her heels and was swept into Rowan’s arms. He carried her into her bedroom, where he stripped her down, out of her roommate’s clothes.

Rowan Whitethorn saw all of her.

She had his full attention. 

[absolutepokemontrash]

The Demon Bros Play DND!

Who’s ready for some Stupid Headcanons?

So, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s claimed that the tabletop RPG known as Dungeons and Dragons had the power to turn your children into satanists and devil worshippers. So of course, the brothers have totally played DND after hearing about all the human world nonsense.

Lucifer the Back-up Back-up DM

He’s too busy to play this game dammit, stop inviting him! What do you mean both Satan and Simeon can’t DM the one-shot? Ugh... fine.

Despite all his UUUUUUUUGGGGHHH, Lucifer is a damn good storyteller, prepare to be immersed as hell.

Also, sorry guys, he’s a rule whore. If something’s against the rules, YOU AREN’T DOING IT.

He’s also a complete sadist who will randomly get everyone to roll perception checks for NO REASON.

Lucifer has definitely stood up and slammed his hands on the table while giving a description for extra effect, Mammon screamed and nearly fell out of his seat which REALLY ruined the mood.

“Everyone, we’re rescheduling, I’m too busy.”

He’s been a player a few times, and he’s NOT good at it. All his characters end up being really generic and boring. He’s better at being the world and everything in it, not the dummy wandering around it.

Human/fighter lookin’ motherfucker

In conclusion, he’s a good DM, but he’s probably too busy to play.

Over-Powered Self Insert (Mammon)

This game is for nerds! He’s not playin’, Levi!

Fine, his character is great and amazin’ and is also him. MC! What do these numbers mean-

Mammon’s the type of player to make his character a self insert and not take it too seriously, then get really REALLY attached as the campaign progresses.

He’s the type not to make a backstory for his character either, so go wild DM MCs!

He also both purposefully and accidentally metagames a whole bunch. Like dude, YOU know this, YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT.

Shit he forgot his dice, can he borrow some?

“Okay MC, that’s five points of piercing damage.” “I RUN OVER AND HEAL THEM! I’LL SAVE YA MC!”

Mammon goes out of his way to save MC’s character long before it would make sense in-character to do so.

“Well, as your first man it’s my duty to save your character! You’ll probably be a blubberin’ mess if I didn’t...”

He’s not the best role player, but he’s also not the worst at it either. He tends to break character when things get too serious and he doesn’t know what to do.

Notes who? He came in here with one sheet of printer paper and it’s for doodling only.

He and Asmodeus start the tavern brawls. No question about that.

Theft is very common, he’s stealing from everyone, including but not limited to: the party, the royal guards, the dead enemies, the giant fuck-you dragon that Satan dropped in there to deter Mammon from stealing...

“I’m gonna steal that crown from the dragon.” “Roll stealth.” “Nat 20 BITCHES.” “Fuck you.”

If his character dies, may the Demon King have mercy on his greedy little soul because he’s going to mope about it for a damn long time.

Over-Powered Self Insert Again (Leviathan)

His character totally isn’t a self insert, shut up! He just looks and acts like an idealized version of himself!

He’s the one with twenty pages of character info and backstory AND the amazing commissioned art.

Levi has about 40 sets of expensive blue dice that he claims gives him the best rolls but an average session with him usually leads to roughly 10 crit fails.

While his luck with dice isn’t that good, he’s the player who will get as much out of their turn as possible, AKA break out the calculators and notes we’re doing some math.

His turn goes on for at least ten minutes because of all the shit he’s doing. When you finally think it’s over he goes “I still have my movement!”

Takes notes like a madman, every bit of lore and character info is being written down, meaning it’s a headache for everyone involved if there’s a continuity error because Levi WILL point it out.

“So you all head to the east, the great Valley of-” “Hang on, valley? In the second session you said there was a mountainous area to the east.” “Levi, shut up.”

Levi is the self appointed “guys come on let’s get back on track!” player, and whoever’s DMing is grateful to have him.

Levi is kind of the opposite of Mammon in terms of character seriousness, at first he’s taking everything super seriously and then as the campaign goes on he slowly loosens up and has some fun.

Out of curiosity one day he searches up a magical girl DND class and he’s ALL OVER IT. PLEASE LET HIM BE A MAGICAL GIRL NEXT CAMPAIGN-

Damn good at roleplaying, he’s carrying the entire in-character discussion until everyone else gets into it.

The Done With Your Bullshit DM (Satan)

So, this is the game that’s supposedly summoning him all the time despite the fact that he hadn’t been up to the human world since the 50s... what the fuck is everyone on up there?

It was the 80s, probably a lot of drugs.

When Satan DMs, you can only break the rules if it enhances the story... or if it fucks with Lucifer’s really boring character.

He will fudge dice rolls every once and a while, he also gets very attached to the characters everyone has made so he doesn’t want to perma-kill any of them unless they roll a DND quadruple natural 1 sin or something.

As attached as he gets, he isn’t above completely raging, killing everyone’s characters, and ending the session if everyone’s being annoying.

Don’t worry, your characters will be safe and sound next session once everything calms down... just don’t mention how Satan burned your character sheet right in front of you. It’s your fault if you didn’t make a second copy of your character sheet!

He’s pretty decent when it comes to improv when a player stumbles into something he didn’t plan out, but that’s not going to stop him from getting a little annoyed.

Though, if you somehow manage to get to the big bad too soon... yeah sorry, he’s got a way more dramatic fight scene planned, your player’s getting conveniently blasted out of there.

As a player, Satan is pretty decent at the game overall, but he tends to be a little aggressive if there’s an overarching mystery to be solved.

He needs to understand what’s going on! He doesn’t care if it upends the plot or it’s too early to find out! He needs to know!

His character is actually distinct and different from himself, Satan thinks it’s more interesting that way. All the books he’s read have made him a pretty awesome role player!

Satan’s notebook both as a DM and a player is filled to the brim, no detail is too insignificant to be put on the page.

Satan doesn’t fear dungeon puzzles... dungeon puzzles fear Satan.

“Are you all stupid?! This puzzle is so easy a four year old could solve it!”

I ROLL TO SEDUCE- (Asmodeus)

At first he didn’t want to play, he doesn’t play these kinds of games, sweetie. He’s too pretty.

When he’s finally convinced he puts a decent amount of effort into his character, but leaves the backstory pretty open.

Asmo would probably be the bard... right? No. He’s the warlock with the magic sugar daddy patron, and the warlock patron is spoken to as such.

“Hey baby... how’ve you been? Have I been good~?” “...”

Huh! Who woulda thought that all the bedroom roleplaying would transfer so well to DND!

Simeon is the only DM that doesn’t immediately shut this down, so Asmo will be extra inclined to play if Mr. Nice Shoulders is DMing.

When he gets really into it he buys a bunch of sparkly and very pretty dice, they bring him good luck in every roll!

Asmo has a fictional harem, no question about it. It gets to the point where Satan, Lucifer, and Simeon stop describing NPCs as attractive.

He’s rolling to seduce either way, he’s turned many an antagonist into a lover. To be fair, Asmo’s horniness has gotten everyone out of a lot of jail cells... so they can’t complain.

His notes consist of really random comments about the plot and the other players. It’s also COATED with doodles.

‘Wow, this character is such an asshole, I hope Belphie kills them.’ ‘Shit.’ ‘MC looks so cute when they play their character!!!!!!!! :D’

Poor bab forgets the rules a lot... it’s just too much to remember, okay?! How was he supposed to know that he ran out of spell slots an hour ago?!

Please help him, MC...

*Dice Cronch* (Beel)

Homeboy has been given edible dice, no question. He has also eaten the non-edible dice...

Beel goes to Satan for help with making his character, and he ends up really loving the character! :D

Problem is, he’s not that good at roleplaying... D:

“Can my character eat that person?” “Beel, no- you know what? Let me check what you’d need to roll to do that.”

I’ll save you MC part 2 electric boogaloo, but when it comes to Beel, the entire party is getting protected, no matter how little it makes sense in-character.

While Beel does take notes, a lot of them don’t end up being very important for later events. For example, he’ll jot down stuff about the layout in one room, but it turns out he didn’t take notes for the room that was actually going to be used for a boss fight.

He’s always nice to the NPCs, shame Belphie doesn’t show them the same courtesy.

Murder Hobo (Belphie)

Chaotic evil.

“Belphie, your character’s alignment is neutral good, remember?” “Fuck that, this guy’s annoying me.”

If Belphie doesn’t like an NPC, it’s up to the rest of the party to stop him from derailing the campaign and killing them.

He has space themed dice because cow-man likes space and thought they were pretty.

Notes? NOTES? You think Belphegor, the Avatar of SLOTH, takes notes? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

He’s drooling all over the notebook... ew. Someone wake him up and tell him it’s his turn.

He puts about 35% effort forth to make a halfway decent character, and approximately 4% effort to actually roleplay.

Belphie sleeps through important plot details so he’s almost always really confused. He’ll turn to MC and ask them to explain what he missed before not learning his lesson and going back to sleep.

Wake him up for the dungeon puzzles though, he and Satan love those.

“Okay, we can’t see what’s in the room because none of the conscious party members have dark vision?” “Nope, what do you do?” “...I shove Mammon inside and shut the door.” “WHAT?!”

Bonus! The Best DM (Simeon)

Our favourite angel has homebrewed this entire campaign and boy fricken howdy are these players going to enjoy it.

Simeon fudges the dice rolls to avoid anything too irreversibly bad happening, buuuuuuut he’s still a total asshole who does the random perception rolls to keep everyone on their toes.

Everyone gets a character arc god dammit, even if they don’t have a backstory, one will be provided!

He’s got a map, he’s got miniatures, he’s got dice and backup dice for the backup dice, he’s got DM notes for days!

Simeon could be a voice actor with the amount of character voices he can do, no one ever gets confused with who’s talking.

Did someone just uncover a massive bit of plot that was meant to be found out later? Good job! No harm done! Simeon’s DM improv is second to none, and the plot will adjust accordingly!