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rachelkaser · 2 years

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Stay Golden Supplement: The Golden Girls as a D&D party

The Golden Girls would make a great Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party. But which classes would they be? Let’s discuss...

While doing my general research into all things Golden Girls, I came across a post online claiming that the creators of Dungeons & Dragons based the ideal adventuring party on the Girls. When I first heard this, admittedly I cocked my head to the side in confusion, as those are two intellectual properties I didn’t think to see crossing over any time soon.

The evidence for this was a tweet from Mike Mearls, the creative director for the D&D franchise. I was able to verify that the tweet is real -- and very likely a joke.

But honestly, it doesn’t have to be. The Girls as a group personify a perfect melding of disparate personalities. They are a closed system -- they play off of each other so well that to remove one is to create imbalance (which is why Golden Palace failed, but that’s a topic for another day).

A party of four is kind of an old trope anyway. The Four Horsemen, the Four Cardinal Virtues, the four Western classical elements, the four humors . . . honestly, humans seem to be drawn to the balance of the number four. So really, even if he’s not joking and the ideal party is based on the Girls, then really they’re just tapping into something much older.

Seeing that tweet gave me an idea. I’m by no means an expert on D&D* -- but I do consider myself something of an expert on The Golden Girls. So, because I felt compelled to write this now rather than wait until the end of Season Three’s Stay Golden Sundays, let’s consider what each one of the Golden Girls would look like as a member of a Dungeons & Dragons party.

*We’ll be using 5th Edition to build this party, because, as mentioned, I am not an expert and I’m sticking to what I know.

Rose as a Cleric

Let’s start with the most obvious first. I can’t be the only one who thinks Rose Nylund-as-healer is a gimme. First of all, her job at the beginning of the series is a grief counselor, so she literally tends to the sick and upset. She also frequently volunteers in hospitals, and is generally just a compassionate and comforting person.

Rose’s good nature and positive spirit, while occasionally annoying, feels very in-line with the role of the party healer. She’s frequently the voice of emotional reason, even when she delivers her wisdom in an unwanted St. Olaf Story. She’s willing to extend a hand of friendship even to those who rebuff her, and is hit the hardest when bad things happen to those around her despite her best efforts. In other words, while her Intelligence might be low, she’s got way more points in Wisdom than people expect.

As for the divine nature of a Cleric’s powers, I will point out that Rose is the only party member whom we have actually seen converse with a god (albeit a very frustrated one who told her to shut up) in “Bedtime Story.” Something tells me Rose using Channel Divinity is not necessarily a welcome thing to her deity of choice.

Speaking of deities of choice, for Rose’s subclass, I think she’s a Life Domain Cleric. Described by the Player’s Handbook as focused on “the vibrant positive energy . . . that sustains all life,” Life Domain seems tailor-made for Rose’s relentlessly positive spirit. Bless, Cure Wounds, Guardian of Faith and most especially Beacon of Hope are precisely the kinds of spells Rose would have if she were given the option to wield magic.

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That said, Rose also shares one characteristic with most clerics I’ve seen: She’s not without her own ways to bring the pain. When someone who’s undeserving of her sympathy crosses her, Rose can put the hurt out and then some. This is why I would love for her to have the Divine Strike and Spiritual Weapon abilities. Rose’s strikes would really knock you for a loop -- because not only will you never see them coming, but you know she’ll be coming at you with nothing but good thoughts on her side.

As an alternate subclass, Rose would also fit as a Nature Domain Cleric. Out of all the Girls, she spends the most time around animals. She grew up on a farm, and honestly I think she wouldn’t even need the help of a god in order to Speak with Animals -- that just sounds like something she’d develop on her own. We even see her using it once or twice in the series, such as when she speaks to the dog in “Joust Between Friends.”

The one reason I wouldn’t go for Nature is that most of its spells seem to be plant-based, and Rose is more an animal person than a plant person (though the people of her hometown do have a holiday celebrating hay). Honestly, were I creating Rose as a character, I would give her either Animal Friendship or Speak with Animals (or both) as a bonus spell related to her character background.

Dorothy as a Fighter

If one has only a surface-level understanding of Dorothy Zbornak, then one might think that, out of all the warrior-adjacent classes, she’d go Barbarian. And yes, she’s the biggest and strongest character whose frustrations with the quirks of her roommates and the limited intelligence of those around her sometimes manifested as explosive bursts of rage (where she once uprooted a mighty sequoia).

But I think focusing on that overlooks something more important about her: She’s a teacher. What characteristics does a teacher have? Intelligence and patience, for starters. She’s also cool-headed under fire, and it’s very difficult to get anything over on her. I don’t think she’s quite got the defensive capabilities of a Paladin, but I do think she would make a great Fighter.

When Dorothy lays someone out, it is never undeserved, and it’s almost invariably in defense of another. If you pay attention to what Dorothy does in the series, a lot of her greatest moments are instigated by her protectiveness of those around her. While Dorothy takes hits herself, nothing will piss her off faster than seeing someone she loves made a target.

This is why I would give her the Interception fighting style. Throughout the course of the series, Dorothy:

Verbally rips open Blanche’s abusive boyfriend

Aggressively defends both her own children and Blanche’s daughter Rebecca

Puts an anti-Semite who looks down on Blanche and Rose in her place with three words

Protects Blanche from being arrested for murder by finding the real culprit

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Even her greatest takedown in the series -- her blistering diatribe to her dismissive, misogynistic former doctor -- ends with her saying he should learn from this to be more humane towards his future patients. It’s not always a positive trait: Her protectiveness made her a bit of a helicopter parent. But Dorothy will always, always go to the mat for the people she loves and herself.

In case it’s not already obvious, I think Dorothy would make a fantastic Battle Master. Described as a Fighter for whom “combat is an academic field,” the Battle Master’s capabilities fall within Dorothy’s purview. Know Your Enemy is her ability to read and quickly judge those around her, while Relentless is her unerring pursuit of what she believes is a just cause.

As for her Maneuvers, I’d give her, at least at 3rd level, Menacing Attack, Riposte, and Goading Attack. At higher levels, I can see her also gaining Maneuvers like Disarming Attack, Commanding Presence, and Parry. If you need any more evidence that this subclass is perfect for Dorothy, tell me this clip is not an example of a Goading Attack in action:

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Sophia as a Rogue

Much like Rose-as-healer is a gimme, Sophia Petrillo-as-sneaky-Rogue is also a gimme. Dorothy’s diminutive Italian mother uses guile, wit, and occasionally less-than-legal means to get her way. While her stealth abilities are not always on display in the show, Sophia gets plenty of opportunity to live up to the Roguish archetype.

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Out of all the Girls, Sophia is the only one who might possibly have criminal connections. But even if she doesn’t, she bluffs well enough to fool anyone. In one of her spotlight episodes, “The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo,” she uses brilliant verbal Evasion and Cunning Actions to divert the attention of grocery store workers on behalf of a friend, even getting out of having to pay for her own nectarine.

Also, I say she doesn’t get much chance to show her stealth skills, but it does actually come up more than once. I think the best example is when she manages to scare the living daylights out of her roommates (fresh off of a viewing of Psycho) in the middle of the night.

If Sophia uses sneaky abilities, it doesn’t always manifest as physical violence -- for example, in “Sophia’s Choice,” she helps her ailing friend Lillian to escape from her neglectful care home by pushing a man in wheelchair into a hallway, forcing all the workers to chase after him and diverting their attention. She also surprises Blanche’s grandson with a Sneak Attack, in this case a well-timed slap to the face, when he’s getting wound up in “On Golden Girls.”

As for subclasses, I think her most obvious choice is the classic Thief. Sophia frequently admits to stealing from her daughter, mostly for small change -- even though Dorothy is willing to give her money. She’s got Fast Hands, for sure. In “Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas,” she disarms a gunman before he can react and is able to tell at a glance that his gun is a toy.

Probably her best onscreen demonstrations of this skill are in “The Triangle” and “Ladies of the Evening.” In the former, she steals $40 from Rose while distracting her with a Picture It story, to demonstrate the Rose didn’t absorb her lesson to “Quit being an idiot.” In the latter, she swipes the Burt Reynolds tickets from Blanche’s hand right in front of a police officer without him noticing.

That said, I do think there’s some merit to considering Arcane Trickster. While Sophia doesn’t have much magical ability, she does use the Evil Eye once in the series to curse a neighbor who insults her. Sophia would create utter havoc with access to just one or two well-chosen cantrips, such as Mage Hand or Mind Sliver. I also would enjoy seeing her as a Swashbuckler, but only because she looks good in a pirate’s hat.

Blanche as a Wizard/Bard/Wizard-Bard multiclass

Blanche Deveraux was, surprisingly, the most difficult to pin out of the bunch. While assigning the other Girls classes was fairly simple, Blanche’s potential role in the party didn’t necessarily dovetail with her personality. The classic D&D lineup is Warrior-Rogue-Cleric-Wizard. Putting the others in their classes leaves Blanche with the task of handling magical DPS.

And that does, to a certain extent, make sense. Blanche is a haughty, sassy woman who can toss out an insult that hits as hard as any fireball. She’s no hedge wizard -- she’s a well-educated woman who’s not afraid of making a bit of spectacle. I could totally see her walking into any tavern and getting everyone’s attention with a click of her fingers.

But part of Blanche’s whole deal is her charm. She’s got charisma to spare and can appeal to just about anyone. I know it’s a stereotype, but Blanche really reads “bard” to me. If she were to get everyone’s attention in a tavern, it would be to find whomever is lucky enough to be her paramour for the night. And while all of the Girls have storyteller elements about them, Blanche tells stories with the most relish and gusto.

If I were to assume this is 5th Edition, I would say Blanche could make a fantastic Bard/Wizard multiclass. But just for the sake of exploring all of our options, I’ll consider Blanche’s potential in both classes. If anyone would like to picture her as a WiBard, that will be entirely at your own discretion.

For her subclasses, let’s start with her Wizard school. I put Blanche down as an Enchantment spellcaster -- tell me “Hypnotic Gaze” and “Instinctive Charm” don’t sound like something Blanche can (and would) utilize. She’s definitely the face of the party, being the one who’s most likely to attract attention when she walks into town.

Conversely, Blanche as a Bard would probably fit into the College of Lore. I think Blanche’s passion for art shouldn’t be overlooked by her more obvious charms: She’s just as proficient as storyteller as she is a seductress. Also, Cutting Words is something Blanche has used on-screen more than once. I can’t see Blanche’s Charisma modifier being anything lower than a 5.

As for specific spells, I can see Blanche using things like Silvery Barbs, Charm Person, Enthrall, and maybe even Feeblemind if she really manages to get in a good hit. I can also see her throwing out a Power Word when she needs to put her opponent in the ground -- which, again, she has done on more than one occasion.

The Golden Girls as a party

Again, this might seem like an odd crossover to you -- it did to me when I first started writing this out. But now that I’ve analyzed it to hell and back, it makes a certain kind of sense to me. The Golden Girls each filled an important role in their group and though they may not have gone on high fantasy adventures, they had as much fun as any other party I’ve seen.

If anyone has any other suggestions for the Girls’ party makeup or how to refine their abilities . . . or hell, even if someone wants to share some Golden Girls/D&D fanart, then please feel free to do so! All suggestions are welcome here!

And don’t forget: Stay Golden!

#golden girls #stay golden #stay golden sunday #dorothy zbornak #dnd #sophia petrillo #rose nylund #blanche deveraux #dungeons and dragons #dnd classes

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adorerdraco · 4 years

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Bugs and Hisses ✧ Draco x Reader

Summary: Halloween with Draco <3 Friends into BOO’s (teehee)

Warnings: mild drinking nothing tooo crazy but not encouraging it !

Words: 5.2K

A/N: this is my first one shot in like a month and i ofc had to do something for halloween even tho im a tad late but its still a halloweekend KIND OF !!!!!!! </3 I HOPE ITS GOOOD

“No, it’s a stupid holiday.”

Draco crossed his arms in a stubborn child-like way, a scowl on his face as he stared forward towards the front of the class where Snape was giving a lecture on the small but vicious Erkling creatures.

“Come on, please,” you pleaded quietly. Your gaze kept flickering between your easily-irked professor and the pouting blond beside you, hoping that in a few short seconds you would get the answer you were hoping for that way you could get back into your notes instead of possibly getting a detention or losing house points.

In all the years you’ve been friends with the Prince of Slytherin, you learned that he loathed the holiday and any festivities that came with it. Every year, you beg him to go out to one of the many parties that are thrown ranging from small gatherings to full-on blowouts or just do something halloween related with you, but he always refuses. His reasoning, as he put it, was that he was simply ‘too mature to be dressing up as a foul creature.’

You knew he mostly spent the holiday either asleep in his dorm or walking around aimlessly with Crabbe and Goyle to target unsuspecting first-years after the big feast but this year, you finally had enough of his anti-halloween agenda. You wanted to spend the evening and hopefully night with him laughing by your side and showing him how fun everything could be, but most of all - you wanted to see him in a costume.

“Please, if you go I will never ask you for anything ever again,” you tried again once Snape had turned his back to the class.

Draco pursed his lips as though he was genuinely considering it, his eyes still locked on the back of the greasy-haired professor before he turned slightly to you with a deep sigh. “Fine, but don’t expect this to be an annual thing.”

You gave him a bright smile, holding yourself back from jumping around in your seat and completely pushing aside the desire to throw your arms around him in excitement.

“I promise you’ll have fun.”

He hid the small smile that grew on his face from seeing how happy his answer made you, turning his head down towards his parchment filled with notes that all of a sudden seemed interesting as he avoided your gaze. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was the smallest bit of excited at the thought of spending the holiday with you because he knew that wherever you went or whatever you did, he would be perfectly content with you by his side because for the first time in all your years as friends; he realized only a month ago that the weird fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach when he was around you or the weird overwhelming warmth that spread throughout his entire body like an ocean of water breaking through a dam - was a crush. He hated it at first, noticing and begrudgingly acknowledging it. He thought it was cliche that he somehow fell for one of his closest friends and mostly, he thought that he was going to ruin the friendship entirely. He wanted to wreck it himself, trying to distance himself from you and being extra mean - but he couldn’t.

He adored your company too much and everything that came with you. He adores your laugh, your smile, your hugs when you greet him and how you somehow give him one each time he needs it the most. He adores the study-buddy system you guys have almost every other week before a quiz or an exam. He adores your bad jokes and clumsy accidents even though those qualities annoy him with anyone else. He adores the way you want him to join you in everything fun you and he especially adores the times when he overhears you talking about him as if he’s your favorite person in the world.

Bottom line, he’s all about you.

So when this season of spookiness came, he was expecting your pleading for him to spend the day with you. Only this time, it only took you a couple times before he ultimately agreed to give in to you.

You were ready to explode with thrill at the thought of what the night held in store for you and you didn’t hide it one bit. When the big Hogwarts Hallowe’en feast was over and every one began spilling out from the Great Hall and into the main foyer, you were searching restlessly for a clean mop of silver hair that almost always stuck out in the mass of students. You weren’t sure if you were able to spot him anywhere in under a few seconds because he was unimaginably important to you, or because his hair was so uniquely bright, or maybe it was how boisterous and loud Crabbe and Goyle always were when they were by him, especially if he was with other Slytherins - but you found him, every single time with ease.

After standing on your tippy-toes several times to overlook the stampede of everyone, you finally spotted Draco leaning across a pillar with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face while he stood in a circle of his House friends that included his two goons and his quidditch teammates. You watched him thoughtfully as you approached, taking slow steps towards the group to admire him from afar and also because they were all slightly intimidating. He looked lost in the conversation, laughs escaping from his upturned lips as he listened to whatever was being said, large pale hands running through his hair every so often when the front pieces of his hair would flop down to his forehead.

He looked ridiculously good and effortlessly at that.

You weren’t sure if you should interrupt, hesitating a few feet away from them to where they couldn’t sense your presence but you were close enough to see and hear them clearly.

“We’ll see you later tonight then, Malfoy?” One of the boys nodded towards Draco.

“I’ll show up for a bit, I suppose,” he shrugs.

You see him look around the circle of boys, eyes landing on you momentarily and then back to his friends before doing a double-take towards you again in surprise. You tried to ignore the butterflies erupting in your stomach when his smile widens slightly into a short-lived toothy grin while he said a quick goodbye to his friends causing them all to disband and him to start approaching you.

“Are you ready for the halloween of a lifetime?” You ask as he neared.

He rolled his eyes, laughing faintly. “Where am I meeting you, darling?”

The nick name he used so rarely for you made your knees feel weak, a warm blush rushing up your neck and inching onto your cheeks that you knew was going to be very apparent on your face in a few seconds.

“I’ll meet you right here in an hour,” you say quickly.

You didn’t give him time to answer before you turned quickly in the direction of your common room and began rushing away before he could see the effect he had on you that was so clearly appearing on your face.

You didn’t know what the night held for you and Draco or where it would lead you. Unknowing to you, you were both hoping something more could come out of the evening between the two of you. But he wasn’t one to express himself in that department of feelings and you weren’t feeling bold enough to say anything about yours. It was a gray area of hoping that fate could somehow intervene and throw the two of you into what you both wanted without either of you really saying anything - but it was impossible. There was no outcome or situation you had in mind that could lead you into that, so you were stuck desperately hoping that one day things might end up differently.

It was beginning to feel ironic how in your world full of real tangible magic, there wasn’t a magical solution to your problem. You were trapped feeling like a muggle who had to figure things out by themselves, no magic included. The thought of giving him a love potion did cross your mind as a joke, but it wasn’t a genuine or fair option but little did you know, you don’t need a potion for him to feel the same way - because he already did.

Walking into your dorm felt like an exuberant disaster of everyone running around and sitting in front of mirrors with their makeup or dressing into their costumes. It was noisy and filled with chatter and you were in shock from how much clutter everyone was able to make in such a short period of time from when the feast ended to now. A simple spell would clean everything up so you and everybody else didn’t really pay it any mind.

You maneuvered around the mess of your housemates and towards your bed where your costume was kept in the trunk underneath it, plopping down onto the floor to pull it from the underskirt of your House colored bedding.

“Did he finally say yes?” Your closest roomie friend jumped onto your bed, propping herself up on her elbows and resting her chin on her hands as she watched you dig through your bottomless trunk.

“Surprisingly, yes,” you answered, hiding the smile on your face.

She drawled out a teasing ‘ooh,’ poking your arm lightly with her index finger as you shied away and leaned deeper into your trunk. She was the only one who you willingly admitted your crush to as she was the only person you really trusted to not blather it off to someone.

“Will I be seeing you two in the Slytherin common room?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “The boys are throwing a party and I luckily got an invite, you know how they are. So picky with who shows up.”

“You mean they’re pretentious?” You laugh. “But I don’t know if we’ll be going to it. I know Draco obviously got invited but I was thinking we could do other things.”

“Like what?” She questions as if she knew it was going to be something dirty. “I know a few secret spots around the castle-”

“No, get your mind out of the gutter,” you smack her arm lightly. “I honestly have no clue what to do. I didn’t think he’d actually agree because he never does.”

She runs her hands over her face, stifling her laughs of disbelief before she sighed loudly. “I still suggest some broom closets, hidden out of sight.”

You sit up, pushing her from where she was lying while she laughed amusingly at your false horrified reaction that you put on to hide the fact from her that what she was suggestion really was what you wanted.

“I’ll leave you alone so you can get your costume on,” she smiles, jumping up from your bed and tossing one of your pillows at you as she walked away. You let out a huff, tossing it back onto your duvet before setting your costume down on the spot your friend was lying in.

You stared at it hesitantly, all of a sudden feeling nauseous at the thought of going out later with Draco as if it was some sort of date even though you knew it wasn’t. It was just two friends, hanging out, doing some spooky and fun Halloween activities together and nothing more; so why were you feeling so nervous? You weren’t sure if it was your instincts warning you of something major that was approaching or the fear that what you didn’t have planned was going to bite you in the arse when you continuously told Draco he was going to enjoy himself when you didn’t even know if that was going to be true. You didn’t want to disappoint him and mess it up for you in the future when the holiday came again and you didn’t want this to be the first and last time you experienced it with him.

The pressure was raining down on you like thick, hard pieces of hail with no end in sight.

As you were getting dressed and doing your makeup for your costume as you liked, (i’m trying to be vague for your own imagination teehee) all you could think about was what in the hell you were going to do once you met up with the Prince of Slytherin. Your train of thought was then derailed into wondering what he was going to be dressed up as or if he was going to be dressed up at all considering the way he is. He was the type to make fun of people who dressed up, that you knew when you ran into him last year as you were walking back to your common room with your friend, both of you in costume and victims of his gentle bullying. He obviously went easier on the two of you since you were there, telling you he was just messing around afterwards and saying he liked yours but once you were out of his sight but still in ear-shot, you heard him and his two minions berating a small group of people that unfortunately passed by them.

You gave yourself one last look in the floor mirror, letting out a long shaky exhale with your hands clasped together before you started towards the way out of your dorm, through the common room, and ultimately towards the foyer outside the Great Hall where Draco was most likely waiting for you. An hour had gone by since you last saw him, an hour of stress and panic that hadn’t slowed down or stopped.

Your shoes dragged against the stone floors, hugging yourself tightly as you walked nearer towards the spot where you were supposed to meet and as you lifted your gaze - you saw him there, staring right at you with a small grin and just like you expected, no costume.

“Nice costume,” he compliments when you reach him.

“Where’s yours?” You frown.

“I’m not dressing up. That’s embarrassing,” he shakes his head.

You scoff, crossing your arms. “You’re the only one not dressed up, that’s embarrassing.”

You don’t know why it was irritating to you that he wasn’t in costume, even if you knew he wasn’t. You figured it was because you were trying to overpower your nervousness with different more consuming feelings, and much to your and Draco’s dismay, it worked.

You weren’t nervous anymore, just irked.

“I’m staying like this, take it or leave it.”

You rolled your eyes, staring him down and hoping that he would change his mind but he wouldn’t. He was ridiculously stubborn.

In the heat of the moment of a fleeting thought, you decided that if he wasn’t going to be in costume, you would put him in one or at least a hint of one. You pulled your wand out, pointing it onto his striking white hair and with one easy spell, his hair was now a flaming vibrant red.

“Y/N!” He growled, running towards the closest thing that would show off his reflection where he let out a string of frantic curse words. “I look like a bloody Weasley.”

Your laughter caught him off guard, the sound ringing in his ears like music that spread warmth throughout him. You were clutching at your stomach with one hand and pointing at him with the other, giggling wildly at the sight of him with hair that did not suit him at all. He smiled to himself, your glee rubbing off on him abruptly that ate away quickly at his anger.

“You should’ve given me some ratty old hand-me-down robes and I’d look just like Ron,” he notes.

“That’s rude, Draco,” you say still laughing. He smirks, leaving the shiny statue of a knight in armor where he was checking his reflection and back over to you where you were still stuck in between doubling over in laughter and watching him.

“I’m glad this is funny to you,” he muses. He begins digging into the pocket of his dress pants, taking your vulnerability as a chance for him to tap his wand to the top of your head and before you could react, your whole hair had turned a deep green.

Your laughter immediately ended as you ran towards the suit of armor, your grimacing reflection staring back at you with deep Slytherin green hair and a distorted Draco behind you doubling over just like you were moments ago.

“This looks,” you couldn’t even finish your sentence, the scowl on your face saying enough for you as you turned bitterly towards Draco.

“Great?” He suggested, his guffawing subsiding into airy chuckles as you stood in front of him. Yours picked up again as you stared up at him, his striking bright red hair looking terribly unfamiliar on him. He was looking down at you, his heart jumping at the sight of you holding back your laughter. “You really do look dashing by the way.”

You swallowed thickly, thankful for the darkness that had settled around the castle and easily hid the scarlet brush appearing on your face. “But my hair is green.”

“Green is my favorite color.”

You opened your mouth to speak, your stomach and heart dropping simultaneously as your mind went completely blank. You pretended to not notice how he took a step closer to you to where he was almost fully against you and he pretended not to notice the way your lips were parted and how your chest was rising and falling a little too heavily as if you were nervous. It was game over for you when his gaze flickered down towards your lips and then back to your eyes, his head leaning down just the slightest like if he were waiting for you to meet him halfway. You were about to get closer to him, about to let your eyes close and give in to what you believed was him wanting to kiss you - but the world had other plans.

“Malfoy! There you are!” Someone boomed, clambering up the steps from the direction of the dungeons. You both jumped away from each other, your attention diverted to the Slytherin boy that interrupted the moment. “Malfoy come on, the party! And you can bring her too.”

You frowned when the boy came up to the two of you, clearly tipsy, dressed as a stereotypical vampire, and over-excited with the fact that Draco was out and willing to participate in Halloween festivities. It seemed like it bothered the now red-head when he looked to you and then back to the Slytherin boy with an apprehensive expression.

The boy, sensing the pause in the air, grabbed onto both you and Draco’s arms and started dragging the two of you towards the Slytherin common room where although the stone walls were thick, the sound of people celebrating inside were easily slipping past the stone slabs. He spoke the password out quickly and as soon as the entrance was open, you were both shoved inside into what looked like the largest party you had ever witnessed in all your years at Hogwarts. It was packed and filled with what looked like half of the school, or at least a huge majority of fifth-years and up. It was loud with music booming from a brand new wizarding-world radio in the middle of the room currently playing a song from the Weird Sisters. It smelled like a mixture of everyone’s perfumes and colognes and like firewhisky. The boy that pushed you two inside quickly passed you two cups of the very potent firewhisky before downing the third one he had in his hand and disappeared into the crowd while screaming for you to enjoy yourselves.

You both stood awkwardly away from the big and rowdy crowd, your drink clenched tightly in your hand against your chest and Draco swishing his around while it was still in the cup.

He wanted to up and run, thinking that someone was going to make a comment about his hair or about him being there, but no one seemed to pay attention to him or that he was there and in a way, he felt relieved by it and less tense by the second.

“How in the bloody hell did we end up here?” You yelled over the music, putting a hand over his arm that was holding his drink up. You didn’t mean to, but you were glad you did because he glanced down at the contact with a small smile before looking back up to you.

“We got dragged here, remember!” He yelled back.

“What?”

“We got dragged here!”

“I can’t hear you!”

He rolled his eyes, bending down towards your ear to repeat himself one last time before you finally heard him over the mayhem around you.

“This is crazy!” You looked around the room, the sight of all the bodies and recklessness being too much as they were all more than likely drunk and oblivious to how stuffy and suffocating the room was becoming.

You looked down at the golden brown liquid sloshing around in your cup, wondering whether or not you should take it, but with the nervousness you felt coming back, it didn’t take you much longer to decide to down your cup and allow the liquid courage to seep into your veins. Draco watched you with amusement, chuckling to himself when you scrunched up your face in disgust from the burn he knew it caused as it went down your throat. He shook his head, deciding to drink his too and it was only minutes that passed before the drink was quickly becoming apparent in your systems. There was something about Firewhisky that always made its mark promptly and it really was courage in a bottle that you were glad was available to you in that moment because you were sure that in just a few minutes you were close to fainting.

You were beginning to sway faintly to the music, the rhythm sounding more loud but distant and more invigorating. You didn’t care anymore if anyone was watching or that Draco was observing you curiously just as he was beginning to lose all sense of holding himself back. He was inching closer to you, his head moving slightly to beat of the song and pure joy etched onto his features when your eyes met his.

“I keep forgetting I turned your hair red!” You yelled up to him, laughing loudly when he ran his hand through it. In your moment of confidence, you reached up and lightly ran your fingers over one of the front pieces hanging over his forehead. He didn’t stop you, his heart hammering against his chest from the drink and his overwhelming crush that was clouding all his senses. “Your hair is so soft!”

He wanted to pin you up against the wall right then and there. You were peering up at him, just as you were before you were dragged inside by one of his Housemates and as soon as he was about to kiss you.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He knew to bend down this time for you to hear him to which you responded with a fervent nod. You took his hand in yours, pulling him towards the exit of the common room and he let you lead him into the coldness of the dungeons that bit at his cheeks. It was a stark difference from the warmth inside, the crisp October air being more chilled than what either of you were expecting. It felt nice against your flushed skin and easier to breathe, especially once after the common room closed again and you could hear was muffled talking and music.

Neither of you were drunk and were still aware of pretty much everything, mostly the feelings stirring inside you both that was begging either of you to make a move towards the other. You were just a tad tipsy, and so was he, but it was enough for you to still enjoy the night without the initial awkwardness that oddly settled in between you. It was weird, considering how open and talkative you usually were with each other but there was something about the evening that made it feel like if you didn’t know each other.

“What now?” He asked you with a raised brow, his hand slipping into his pocket.

You smiled, an idea coming to your head that you knew he would love and you didn’t mind doing in the name of Halloween. “Do you want to go mess with people?”

He stared at you with widened eyes, “bloody hell, I love you.”

There was nothing that could have prepared you for his response, your own eyes widening in shock as you stared at him. He felt his face get hot in embarrassment, Merlin, he felt so stupid. He was mentally smacking himself in the head, desperately wishing he could bury himself seven feet under the Earth and staying there until the end of time.

He was about to play off what he said in a joking way, but for the second time that night he was interrupted by a couple that stumbled out of the common room drunkenly snogging each other’s faces off and wholly oblivious to you and Draco standing there in lingering panic. You jumped back into his arms when the couple staggered past you, almost knocking you over in the process of their makeout session and it annoyed you beyond belief. It annoyed you that they were in your way, annoyed that they interrupted you, annoyed that it wasn’t you in their position with the one you wanted.

You dug your wand out of your pocket, flicking it their way as they rolled onto the wall, still in each other’s hold until the hex that flew from your wand hit the boy causing him to stagger back from the girl and holding his nose in pain. You heard Draco laugh from behind you when bats began to fly out from the boy’s nostrils while the girl screamed and ran away from one of the bats that swept down onto her head. The bats flew out of the dungeon and up the stairs with the boy struggling loudly the whole way up until his panicked screams were no longer heard.

“That was a perfect bat-bogey,” he looks at you proudly. “I feel bad for that poor bloke’s nose.”

“Thank you, thank you,” you bowed jokingly.

When the sound of the door opened again, you both ran to hide behind a long drape against the wall that didn’t hide your shoes very well and pressed up against your bodies that’s shapes were no doubt visible from the opposite side.

You heard footsteps trail haphazardly down the corridor, their back seemingly facing you and as you both peeked your heads out from behind the drape, Draco nodded towards the boy and pointed his wand towards him.

“Slugulus Eructo,” you heard him whisper and a stream of green light from his wand hit the back of the boy’s head and as he turned around in surprise while doubling over in pain, his hand clamped tightly over his mouth as slugs began to slip past the spaces between his fingers. When he stood up to run away, you noticed it was the same boy from earlier that stopped you two from the almost kiss and dragged you to the party. You let out a string of giggles as he ran away just like your last victims.

“This is so mean,” you chortle, leaning into him from behind the drape in an attempt to get closer to him. You were feeling bolder when he beamed down at you, feeling happy knowing that although the night was still young, he was having fun. “Thank you for coming with me tonight, I know you don’t like Halloween.” You say quietly.

“You finally convinced me, it’s not that bad,” he grins.

“Why’d you hate it in the first place?”

The question seemed to strike a nerve but the Firewhisky still flowing freely in his veins tore away easily at his defenses so instead of avoiding your question entirely like he usually would, he frowned and let his guard down.

“I don’t hate it,” he answers apprehensively. “My father never let me celebrate it. He never let me dress up. He told me respectable wizards don’t partake in holidays like these.”

His pout made your gut twist in sympathy, your hand instinctively going into his as you squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s never too late to start celebrating. Besides, I don’t see him here stopping you.”

He smiled for what felt like the hundredth time that night, his stained-red hair falling over his eyes as he looked down to his shoes.

“You have a point, darling.”

The door of the common room opened again and what you suspected to be another snogging couple to stumble out from the sound of heavy breathing and multiple shoes scuffling about was something completely different.

“Glad Malfoy stayed with someone else today.” It was Crabbe.

“Yeah, he never lets us go to these parties,” Goyle responds. “Go ahead and thank Y/L/N for freeing us, he fancies her like a fool.”

“Reckon we should go look for them?”

You figured Goyle nodded to him like the blathering idiot he was because in a few short seconds they were running away up the same steps everyone else had.

You peered up slowly at Draco who was already gaping at you like a deer in headlights. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The gears in your brain were spinning wildly with happiness, the gossip hopefully being proven true when he didn’t try to deny it. You didn’t realize how close his face was to yours, cheeks tinged with pink from both the firewhisky and sudden shyness and his warm cinnamon breath fanning your face as he looked down at you.

“I can explain,” he finally said.

He didn’t need to; you placed your hands gently on his cheeks, pulling him impossibly closer to you and pressing your lips against his, catching him completely by surprise. His eyes were wide at first, his body rigid and his lips unmoving, but once it finally clicked that this was real and no longer a fantasy that played like a broken record in his head, his lips moved fervently against yours with the rest of his body following. His hands gripped your hips tightly, his fingers squeezing at the hem of your bottoms and his body pushing even further into yours.

Your bottom lip caught lightly in between his teeth as you reluctantly pulled away from him, the both of you breathing raggedly as you searched each other’s eyes.

“I feel the same,” you said softly. “Happy Halloween.”

He smashes his lips hungrily against yours again, his ego growing with each gasp of a delight that escapes your mouth as your hands roamed and tangled themselves into his magically colored strands.

“Very...happy...halloween,” he mutters against your lips in between kisses, a dazy smile adorning your face while he tightened his arms around you.

You just couldn’t wait until next year.

1K notes · View notes

luxekook · 3 years

Text

when fire meets frost | kth

as part of the christmas with bangtan: secret santa collab

❅ pairing: kim taehyung x reader

❅ genre: second chance romance, exes to lovers, angst, smut, fluff

❅ summary: just like a bad holiday song, you gave taehyung your heart last christmas. only in this scenario, he broke it eight months later. now you’re both back at that same damn holiday party where you first met one year ago and you’re just praying for you and your heart to leave in one piece.

❅ word count: 5.8k

❅ warnings: 18+, cursing, suggestive comments, drinking, DIY mistletoe, light violence, random ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ references, drunk tae (TM), break-up flashbacks, weird humor, hella tension, hella groveling, making out, smut [oral (m to f)], the fluffiest of fluff (borderline cheese...actually...full-on cheese)

❅ banner by: the almighty and powerful maggie @kimtaehyunq - who also is the collab host!

Present Day: The Christmas Party, 8:00PM

Taehyung is staring at you. Again. Though you're facing slightly away from him, you know that if you give even the slightest glance over, your suspicions will all but be confirmed. The heated gaze you feel skimming over your body continues as you take a much needed sip of your mulled wine and pray that you get out of his line of vision soon with your dignity still intact.

Seokjin, your best friend and current partner in conversation, notices your predicament and scoffs, “You really should just put that boy out of his misery, (y/n). Scrooge himself would be down to have a foursome with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future if he was around all this pent-up sexual tension.”

Your red-painted lips curl in a surely unattractive manner that resembles something between a grimace and a grin. You’ve heard variations of this argument about a dozen times from just as many sources, but Seokjin’s might just be the most absurd.

“I don’t know how or why your brain went right to a ghost-fucking analogy, but I’ve long since given up trying to understand your thought processes.”

Seokjin’s chest puffs up at your words like they incite something he should feel proud of. You sigh and shake your head at him, feeling a mix of exasperation and endearment - a constant haze of comfort you feel around your best friend.

“I’m just saying,” Seokjin continues, completely undeterred by your attempts to divert the conversation onto him, “He’s hot. You’re hot. He’s still into you. You’re still into him. I don’t see the problem.”

“I never said–!” You cut yourself off. He’s baiting you. “You son of a nutcracker. You know full well what the problem is. I’ve told you more times than Yoongi has yelled at someone for getting too close to his precious sound system.

At your words, you both look over to your left where Yoongi is currently chewing out a sheepish Namjoon with a death-grip on his expensive ass speakers.

“And I’ve told you that your reasons are shaky at best, (y/n),” Seokjin sighs, placing his chin in his palm and leaning over to you. He continues with a conspiring whisper, “Just because you’re scared you’ll get hurt again doesn’t mean you should never put yourself back out there.”

“Oh yeah,” You scowl, “That’s easy for you to say. You’ve never been dumped by the boy you love because he ‘wants to explore other options’. And then have to keep being around said-boy because you’re in the same friend group. And then fast forward a few months to when that same boy shows up drunk at your doorstep asking for you to take him back because you’re ‘the only one for him’. Spoiler alert: that’s fucking bullshit. And then–”

Seokjin slaps a palm over your mouth, effectively cutting you off mid-rant. “Babe, you have to stop rehashing this. Taehyung clearly is still in love with you. He looks at you like he wants to fucking eat you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Besides, Tae hasn’t even hooked up with anyone since he asked for another chance.”

“That we know of,” You mumble darkly behind Seokjin’s palm - your words only a barely audible jumble of syllables.

“Are you accosting my date, Jin?” The voice of your co-worker and close friend Felix meets your ears as you shove Seokjin’s hand off of you. When you invited Felix to come to Jimin’s annual holiday party, you briefed him on the situation - like any good friend would. You needed him there as an extra buffer. While you love Seokjin, he definitely can get swept up into petty drama - namely baseless arguments with Jungkook.

As your closest work friend, Felix knows all about you and Taehyung, and therefore he agreed to be your “date” in exchange for your help in getting him a date with Alicia, the new accountant in your office. You’ve spent countless hours sitting next to each other as desk neighbors and coworkers. Felix is quiet, cute and respectful - not to mention his voice is to die for.

Felix’s hand settles on the middle of your back in completely friendly territory, but you can’t help but feel the eyes on you have ramped up in intensity. You wonder if Felix can feel his hand burning from the heat and almost think he does when Felix drops his hand a second later.

It’s one thing to make you uncomfortable. You’ve learned to stomach that. But it’s another thing to make your friends uncomfortable. And for that you turn and level a glare at that beautiful asshole, sitting at a nearby table with Jimin and still looking at you with those goddamn eyes.

Taehyung shamelessly stares back at you as Jimin prattles on about something in his ear before noticing Tae’s mind is elsewhere. Following his gaze to you, Jimin groans and shoves Taehyung’s shoulder before strutting away towards the kitchen. You watch as Jimin saunters by and roll your eyes when he winks at you when your eyes meet. That one has always been trouble.

When you turn back around, Taehyung is still staring at you. No, this time he’s staring at your body - namely, your ass. You ignore the burst of heat that runs through you and make a face somewhere between a scowl and a glare. He looks up at you without the least bit of remorse.

Your eyes narrow. Your ass isn’t even out! Your green ugly Christmas sweater adorned with real ornaments basically falls to your knees. But then again, Taehyung has always had a vivid imagination - and an even better memory. His mind is like a goddamn vault.

You tug your attention away from your ex and back to the current conversation. But your thoughts wander. You still feel that pull towards Taehyung - that same damn pull that’s been there since you first met him. And that scares the shit out of you.

Flashback: The First Meeting, Last Christmas

You’re perched on the arm of Namjoon’s black pleather sofa (“It doesn’t stain! Can you believe that?” “Namjoon, it’s ripped in seven places.”). Surveying the flurry of friends scattered throughout the cozy apartment, you only see a few people that you don’t know. But something feels different tonight, and you just can’t figure out why.

Did Namjoon rearrange his plants? Did Jimin part his hair differently? Did Hoseok change his outfit - again?

“A-yo, (y/n)!” Seokjin yells over to you from clear across the room. You’re always baffled at how clueless that boy is to social cues. “Come meet Taehyung!” Your friend continues to yell, practically pinwheeling his arms to beckon you over to his side of the room. You can vaguely make out an unknown figure standing with their back to you, facing Seokjin in conversation.

You sigh. Might as well get this over with before Seokjin decides to start pretending to lasso you over to his side of the room. Or worse - get his actual lasso that he has for some unknown reason. A natural performer that boy is. Getting to your feet, you cross the room. Your heartbeat thuds in your chest and you rub a hand over your heart absentmindedly.

What is wrong with you? Meeting new people always brings nerves, but you never usually feel this out of sorts. You step into Seokjin’s outstretched arm and into the embrace of your best friend. And then you look up at the newcomer.

Hooded dark eyes. Curly black hair. Perfect pink lips. Jawline chiseled by the gods.

Your breath catches in your throat. Words buzz in the air around you but you can't distinguish one from the next. You’re pretty sure Seokjin is making some sort of joke because his sides start to shake and the beautiful stranger looks exasperatedly amused. Yet, his eyes never stray from yours.

His lips part like his breath is caught in his throat.

“Taehyung-ie, don’t be rude! Say hi!” Seokjin shoves Taehyung, jolting you both out of your little staring contest.

“Hi,” Taehyung repeats. Your stomach flips at the depth of his voice. “I’m Taehyung. Kim Taehyung. You can call me Tae. Or V. Or just Taehyung.”

Your smile widens at his ramblings and the rising color of his cheeks. “Hi, Tae,” You can't help but grin up at the adorable, beautiful boy. He really looks angelic under the kitchen lights. His halo of curls frames his face in such a way that makes you want to curl your finger around one and tug.

Vaguely, you can tell that Seokjin is shooting rapid looks between you and Taehyung, looking like some sort of bobblehead in 100mph winds. Suddenly, a Grinch-like grin takes over his face. “Why don’t you crazy kids get some more wine? I need to talk to Yoongi...” Seokjin slips away.

In hindsight, you should have immediately been tipped off that Seokjin was up to no good. Seokjin seeking out Yoongi? Nothing good ever comes from that.

And you were right. Not twenty minutes later, you and Taehyung are both stuttering messes underneath a hastily tapped up branch of mistletoe - at least that’s what Seokjin’s calling it. You think it looks like a clump of grass with a grape thrown in there.

Just as you start to tell Taehyung that he doesn’t have to feel pressured by your lame friends, he cups your face in his hands and lowers his lips to yours.

Fucking magic.

There aren’t fireworks or sparks. There’s a whole blazing inferno between the two of you.

Your hands slide up his back, tangling in the curls at the nape of his neck. Taehyung lets out a small gasp as your fingers tug on his locks, and you slowly slide your tongue across his lower lip.

“Uh, okay… Hello? Hey, guys!”

Finally, Yoongi slams together two pans from the kitchen, jolting you both away from each other in fright.

“Break that shit up,” Yoongi shoots a glare at a grinning Seokjin. “I did not sign up for that level of PDA, Jin.”

“I can’t predict love, Yoongi-ah. I can only bring lovers together,” Jin sighs, clasping his hands over his heart dramatically. Yoongi pinches Seokjin in the side, immediately instigating a fight.

Taehyung reclaims your attention, shyly intertwining his pinky with yours. In the midst of all the chaos around you, he just looks at you like you are the only thing that matters.

Present Day: The Christmas Party, 9:02PM

“I don’t know how you survive when he looks at you like that. I’m practically melting just being in proximity of the two of you.”

Your friend Ciana’s comment pulls your attention away from your demon of an ex as he strides by, leveling you with a calculated smolder.

It’s a look that says he’s going to fuck you up in the best way - the way that used to leave you weak in the knees and covered in hickies. Taehyung’s fuck me eyes are your kryptonite. He knows it. You know it. The whole party knows it. Hence, it makes sense how he’s shamelessly using them any fucking chance he can just to mess with you.

It’s practically a fulltime job pretending it doesn't affect you. And it's a job you are failing at miserably.

You sigh and take a big sip of your drink. “Oh, I'm not surviving,” You confess, “This is just a hologram image of me. I’m practically clear across the country by now.”

Ciana laughs, “Girl, I don't blame you, but I have to say… He looks like he would follow you anywhere.”

You scoff. There was a time where you would wholeheartedly agree. Since your first meeting, Tae made you feel like you were the center of his universe.

After talking all night at Seokjin’s party, you exchanged numbers and within a few days Tae asked you out.

Your first date was to an art gallery. The two of you spent hours there, studying art and exchanging soft murmured interpretations. You would often catch Taehyung staring at you instead of at the paintings decorating the walls, and it made you feel all warm and fuzzy.

The dates continued until Taehyung managed to gather up the courage to ask you to be exclusive - his words, not yours. You hadn’t believed that he could ever have doubted your answer. But in hindsight, you probably should have doubted him.

Things were great for a while. No - they were better than great. They were the best eight months of your fucking life. Until they weren’t.

“Why did y’all break up again?” Ciana asks, pulling your attention to her once more.

You let a bitter laugh escape. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

Flashback: The Break-Up, August

“I want to see other people.”

The words strike you like a serrated blade. The plate you’re washing falls into the sink with a clatter. Your heart stills in your chest.

“What?” For a second you believe that you must have misheard him. Only he crushes that hope into dust within seconds.

“I said I want to see other people.” Taehyung repeats, a bit louder.

“You mean like taking a break?” You refuse to turn around and face him. You refuse to believe that your relationship is crumbling down. Your mind tries to grasp at straws. “Or trying ethical non-monogamy?”

“No, (y/n),” Taehyung sighs, “I mean that I want to break up.”

“But why? I don’t understand.” The tears begin to sting your eyes as you blink rapidly, trying to make sense of the blindside that Taehyung just threw at you. “What did I do? How can I fix this?”

“You can’t, okay?” The exasperation in his voice is palpable. “I’m bored here. I feel tied down. We’re both so young... How can we know we’re right for each other when there’s so many other people out there?”

“Where the hell is this coming from?” You seethe, finally whirling to face him. Taehyung flinches when he sees your tearstained face but you persevere and continue, “I bore you? That’s sure not what it seemed like two days ago when you were fucking me against the wall of that club bathroom.”

“Things change,” Taehyung scowls, “I need to explore other options, (y/n), and I think you should, too.”

Your heart is breaking, a fissure splitting it right down the middle. “You want to explore other options,” You repeat, in a deadpan voice. “Do you already have someone in mind?”

The split second pause Taehyung takes is all you need to know the answer to that.

“Get out.”

“(Y/n), it wasn’t the only reason!” Taehyung scrambles to explain. “We haven’t even done anything yet!”

“Oh, you’re a ‘we’ already? Fuck you, Kim Taehyung.”

“No! That’s not what I meant!”

“Well, I hope you’re happy with them. I hope they don’t bore you or tie you down. I hope you’re right for each other. I hope youre fucking happy with yourself and your decision.”

“Can’t we still be friends?”

You don’t deem that question worthy enough of an answer and slam your front door in the face of the person who ten minutes ago had been the love of your life.

Present Day: The Christmas Party, 10:21PM

The amount of love in the room is making your stomach turn. You watch as your coupled up friends exchange presents and kisses. You’re so happy for each and every one of them, don’t get you wrong. You just can’t help but feel increasingly alone with each passing minute.

Felix notices the dip in your mood and nudges you, “Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah,” You snuggle deeper into his side. Thank god for Felix. “Thanks for coming with me to this shindig. It would have been hard to be alone this year.”

“No worries, babe. Besides, how else am I gonna get Alicia to go out with me?”

You laugh at Felix’s words. The boy was oblivious to the fact that Alicia had already approached you to ask if he was single. Sometimes you enjoy your diabolical mind. “Oh, she’ll definitely go out with you,” You reply, pinching his cheek, “Who could resist this face?”

“You did. Three years ago,” Felix whines, shoving your hand away from him playfully.

“Sadly you’re not my type, pretty boy,” You sigh. It truly was sad. Felix is the nicest human you know - besides Seokjin. The fact that you're not interested just reinforces the idea that you have terrible taste in men.

“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know who you could possibly be referring to,” You sniff, turning away.

“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe the guy that hasn’t stopped circling you like a fucking shark in water since we got here?”

“He has not,” You retort, rolling your eyes.

“A-ha! So you do know exactly who I’m referring to, you little liar!”

“Goddamnit,” You laugh. “I need another drink to put up with you. You want a refill?” You gesture towards his cup.

“Nah, I’m good,” Felix shakes his head. You nod and head over to the kitchen, thankfully seeing no sign of ‘Shark Boy’.

But you spoke too soon, because just as you’re reaching up for a new mug you feel him.

“Is that little boy out there your boyfriend? I didn’t think you were dating anyone,” A rough voice growls from entirely too close to your ear.

You turn your head and shoot your best side-eye at the asshole who’s heated stare is aimed straight down at you. You internally curse at the unfortunate fact that Kim Taehyung somehow still can manage to look gorgeous in a bright red sweater with a whole-ass Santa beard stitched to its collar. You have never hated him more given that you look like a hot mess of a Christmas tree that no one wants to climb.

“I don’t see how that is any of your business, Kim,” You retort, turning around again and grabbing a glass from the cabinet. You can feel his warmth surrounding you as he grabs the mug for you instead, his body pushed up against yours.

“Move,” You order, your voice shaking slightly. But instead of listening, Tae grabs your hips and turns you around, caging you in between his arms.

“See, you’re wrong, (y/n),” His eyes dart from your own to your lips, “Everything that concerns you is my business. It has since the moment I met you, and it hasn’t stopped since.”

The incredulous snort escapes you before you can attempt to rein it in, “Taehyung, you broke up with me! I’m pretty sure that means you consider me old news and - above all - none of your fucking business.”

“And I told you I made a mistake!” Taehyung leans closer, his jaw ticking.

“You were drunk!” You stab a finger into his admittedly toned chest that you can feel even through that abominable Santa beard, “And it took you two fucking months to say that, only to never bring it up again. So excuse me if I find your argument lacking.”

“Fuck,” Taehyung curses softly, running a hand through his mess of curls, “I miss that smart mouth.”

“Yeah?” Your response flies out too fast for your brain to check your words, “Well I miss being enough for you.”

Taehyung looks stricken. “Baby…” He reaches for you but you duck past him and beeline straight for Jimin’s bathroom. Locking yourself inside, you slide to the floor and contemplate your chances of sneaking out the tiny bathroom window just like you did that night some months ago.

Flashback: A Streetcar Named WTF, October

A harsh banging sound jolts you awake. “What the fuck,” You mumble, fumbling around blindly trying to find your phone amidst the blankets and pillows surrounding you.

Finally, your hand locates the small metal device and you switch your screen on. Your eyes immediately shut at the brightness and you muster up the will to peek at the time.

3:12AM.

Who the hell dares to pound on your door at this hour? What is this - A Streetcar Named Desire? Well, slap your ass and call you Blanche because this asshole is about to feel your wrath.

Stomping over to your door, you swing it open and say, “There’s no Stella here, Stanley. Fuck off.”

While you don’t find a drunk Marlon Brando on your doorstep, you do find a drunk Taehyung.

“Who the fuck’s Stanley?” Tae glares, trying to cross his arms but failing somehow.

“Good lord, Taehyung,” You groan, grabbing his arm and dragging him inside your apartment, “You smell like a whole goddamn brewery. How did you even end up here?”

“Walked,” He says proudly while smiling down at your hand on his arm like an idiot. “Who’s Stamplee? I mean, Stangfree.”

You pinch your nose with your free hand. This boy… Ignoring his idiocy completely, you question, “You walked?” You push him down onto your couch and head into your kitchen to grab him some water.

“Yup! All by myself! Are you proud of me? Sandflea could never!”

You jump. Somehow Tae still managed to sneak up behind you while drunk out of his mind.

“Kim Taehyung, sit your drunk ass down.” You jab a finger in the direction of the couch he just vacated.

“But you’re so far away when I sit all the way over there, baby,” He pouts, giving you puppy dog eyes. “And I’m not drunk!”

You don’t dignify his words with a response. Handing the glass of water to the problem currently sprawled out on your couch, you sigh. What are you going to do with him? He can’t stay here… But he’s in no shape to walk back to wherever the fuck he came from.

“Tell me, Kim, why did you think that walking to my apartment of all places was a good idea? I could have moved!” Disdain drips from every syllable, “Is anything going on in that brain of yours? If so, it’s clearly not making any sense.”

“I beg to differ,” Taehyung has the audacity to grin up at you as he continues, “My brain makes perfect sense, baby. You plus me equals three.” His eyebrows wiggle up and down as he swings his hands out, showering you with the glass of water you just handed him.

“Maybe I’ll call you a math tutor along with your Uber,” You mumble as you fight the urge to laugh at the mess of a boy staring up at you from your couch. Grabbing a kitchen towel, you dab the water off of you as best you can. Glancing back down at Tae, you notice his attention has fallen to your chest, where the water he practically threw at you has plastered your tanktop to your skin.

“Hey, eyes up here,” You slap his arm with the damp towel, but he doesn’t even flinch.

“One more minute,” He says, absentmindedly rubbing his arm.

His attention gives you butterflies for a split second before you lock that shit down. You aren’t a fool; you’re fully aware that Taehyung’s the farthest thing from available, but he’s still hot as hell with his muscular stature, his wicked brown eyes, and his full pink lips. And that deep voice… it has shamefully been the fuel of your fantasies for the past few weeks. But that is neither here nor there.

So while his undivided attention always did make you feel fucking incredible, now he’s just a drunk boy who’s acting like he’s never seen nipples before.

“I’m calling you an Uber, okay?” You finally say, grabbing your phone and pulling up the app.

“Can’t I stay here?” Taehyung pouts, “Or will Surley get mad?”

“His name is Stanley,” You automatically reply and then curse as Taehyung lurches to his feet.

“I knew it! Where is he? Where is my replacement? I challenge him to a duel!”

“A duel?” You can’t help but laugh, “On what grounds?”

“For your hand, of course!” Taehyung rapidly glances around your apartment before his eyes land on the broom tucked in the corner of your kitchen. “There’s my sword!”

Before he can take a step towards his ‘sword’, you grab his arm and push him back down onto your couch.

“Wow, you’re strong!” Tae stares up at you adoringly, “And so-o cute. Wanna date?”

“You’re drunk, Tae. Don’t say things like that.” God, he’s going to give you a complex. You had just started getting over him and now he does this? Why is life deadset on fucking you over?

“But I do wanna date you!” Taehyung insists, “Don’t you miss me? Miss us? I still love you. I never stopped.”

“Tae, please stop.”

“I made a mistake, baby, and I wanna fix it. Can you give me a chance? Please?” His brown eyes blink up at you slowly. His lids practically fight to stay open as his words slur together.

The boy is falling asleep. Sighing, you close the Uber app. Looks like you’re housing your ex for the evening.

“I wanna marry you,” He mumbles, “Bought the ring last week. If you can just love me again I’ll be the luckiest…” His words get more and more inaudible. Mumbles about Stanley and revenge and kisses and altars filter through as you place a blanket over his form.

“Goodnight, Tae.” You can’t resist brushing your fingers through his hair. Your heart stutters as he practically leans into your touch like a cat, smiling contentedly.

“We’ll see if you remember this in the morning,” You mutter, setting another glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen on the coffee table for him when he wakes up.

After making sure Taehyung’s on his side with a bucket for potential incidents, you head back to bed.

When you wake up, he’s nowhere to be found.

Present Day: The Christmas Party, 10:23PM

“(y/n)... baby, please let me in.”

The underlying meaning of those six words is not lost on you. Could you let him in again? Taehyung once held your heart and then he basically smashed it on concrete and backed over it with his car - twice.

“Go away.” Your words sound weak even to your own ears.

“No, I need to talk to you… Please.” His voice breaks on the last word and you cave. Standing you unlock the door and back up. You could have a logical and reasonable discussion with Tae and get some closure, leaving all feelings out of it. Maybe...

“Two minutes,” You declare, “Nothing more.”

“But–”

You cut him off, “1:55…” You tap your foot and smile as Taehyung shoots you a look.

“Fine,” He rubs the back of his neck, peeking up at you under his lashes. “I got scared, okay?”

Your disbelief must show all over your face because he continues.

“Yeah, I was scared - fucking terrified of how much I feel for you. How in love with you I am. How can it be that easy to find your soulmate? It didn’t make any sense to me. And then Pia began to show an interest in me and I convinced myself it was a good idea to distance myself from you. To see other people. To try to make sense of my feelings.”

You hold up a hand. “So, you’re saying that you broke up with me because you were ‘too in love with me?’ What the fuck kind of selfish bullshit is that, Taehyung? You broke my fucking heart for someone you didn’t even like because you were scared I was your soulmate? Don’t you see how that just makes me feel like shit?”

Taehyung sinks to his knees. “(Y/n), baby, please. I am so sorry. I fucked up in the worst, most selfish way possible. It kills me that I broke your heart.”

“Ugh, get up, you drama king.” You pull him to his feet, continuing, “Why did you leave after that night? You said all those things when you were drunk and then just left.”

“Yeah, I kind of don’t remember what I said or how I even ended up at your place.” A blush takes over his face, “It’s so embarrassing you had to see me like that and I kind of just wanted to forget it happened. And I really hoped that you forgot it did, too. I didn’t expect you to just keep acting like you forgot my existence altogether.”

“What does that mean? I see you all the time, Tae! We’re in the same friend group for god’s sakes. We’re around each other all the time… Maybe even too much.” You mumble the last few words, but he catches them.

“Too much? You avoid me at all costs! You don’t smile at me anymore. You don’t even look at me most times! It kills me that all I get from you now is ice, when I know you have so much fire.”

His words confuse you. So he does want you back? Your friends weren’t exaggerating? A small burst of hope swells inside you, but the memory of the break-up outweighs it. “You don’t even know me though, Taehyung. Not anymore.”

“No. You’re wrong,” Taehyung leans closer to you, and you take a step back. Your back bumps up against the sink, your plastic ornaments adorning your sweater clinking awkwardly.

Tae brushes a stray hair behind your ear, his eyes begging you to listen, “I do know you. I know that you still take your coffee black with caramel. I know that you started doing yoga but are too proud to admit you hate it. I know that you came to my art show last month but left before I could talk to you alone. I know that you–”

“Stop,” Your voice trembles, “Please, I can’t. Taehyung, you hurt me so fucking much. Don’t you get that? I just started feeling whole again. So if I let you back in and you hurt me, I might shatter completely.”

His hands cup your face gently, wiping away a tear you hadn’t even realized had fallen. “I won’t ever hurt you again, baby. Please give me one more chance. That’s all I need. I want to keep you forever, (y/n)... I bought you a ring, did I tell you that when I was drunk? I think I did. I still have it. It’s yours - just like my heart.”

“God, you’re still so fucking cheesy,” You can’t hold back your smile even though more tears are falling down your cheeks.

And then his lips are on yours.

Taehyung kisses you like you're the most precious thing in the universe. Like you might break in the palm of his hand if he’s not careful enough. And maybe you will. But for right now, you melt into him.

He tastes like home.

Taehyung’s touch is tentative at first. His hands slide into your hair, tugging you even closer. You feel like you might burst, feeling so many emotions. Love. Fear. Confusion. Hope. You hook your leg around him, wanting him pressed against you everywhere.

Taehyung groans and one of his hands drops down to grab your thigh, wrapping it more securely around his waist. “Jump, baby,” He mumbles into your lips, and you listen automatically.

He perches you on the edge of the sink, kisses you deeply, and then sinks back down to his knees.

“Tae–” You protest, as he runs his hands slowly up your calves.

“I haven’t tasted you in so long, baby,” His dark eyes burn into yours, “Please don’t let me go another minute without you on my tongue.”

Fuck. Well, you can’t argue with that. When Tae sees you open your legs a bit more, he grins up at you and places a quick kiss on the inside of your knee.

His touch becomes more frantic as he moves up, his mouth placing hot kisses higher and higher.

When he sees the lacy red panties you have on, he snaps, lunging forward and hitching your thigh over his shoulder. Pushing your underwear to the side, his hot mouth is on you, closing over your clit without warning. You gasp as he sucks your bud into his mouth, lapping at it with his tongue.

Your hand winds its way into his curls, pushing him harder against you. He moans into your pussy. “So fucking wet for me, baby. God, I love you.”

Taehyung places a soft kiss on your inner thigh before his tongue returns to lick at your pussy, up and down. His tongue sinks into you, making your hips buck against his face. His hand shoots up to steady you as his tongue continues to flick in and out of you.

The sight of the boy you never stopped loving tongue deep in your pussy almost pushes you over the edge already. “Ta-ae,” You moan, hand tugging at his hair, “Harder, baby, please.”

Your words have their desired effect as he replaces his tongue with two of his fingers and places his mouth back on your clit. You moan as his fingers curl inside you, brushing your walls.

The first few strokes of his fingers are slow. Too slow for your liking, “Taehyung, fuck me with your fingers.”

A rumble moves up his chest as he obeys, pushing another finger deep inside of you. “Fuck, baby,” He curses and begins to thrust his fingers in and out of your pussy, “You feel even better than I remember, so goddamn wet.”

His mouth finally returns to your clit, his tongue flicking over it every so often. You’re hurtling towards your orgasm as his long fingers continue to pound into you and his mouth continues to lick at your pussy.

You feel the heat building up and you come with a gasp. Taehyung continues to fuck you with his fingers and his mouth, carrying you through your orgasm until you slump back against the mirror above the sink.

Taehyung grins up at you, licking up everything you gave him. Finally, you gently push him off you. Still licking his fingers clean, Taehyung’s eyes sparkle up at you, “Well? Wanna get married?”

“Oh my god,” You burst out laughing, hopping off the sink onto shaky legs. “Why don’t you start by wooing me? We’ll go from there.”

“Challenge accepted.”

You blink.

Taehyung smiles. His wild dark curls are sticking up in random places - courtesy of your hands. His eyes are full of their usual sinful promises, but this time they also hold excitement and a tiny spark of hope. “Prepare to be wooed, wifey.”

“Fuck off,” You laugh, quickly fixing your hair in the mirror before smoothing down your sweater dress.

Nodding at your semi-acceptable reflection, you swing the door open to reveal just about every person from the party collectively gathered just outside.

“I knew it!” Seokjin shrieks. “Where’s my mistletoe?”

“My poor bathroom!” Jimin cries, “Defiled! Desecrated!”

“Why am I friends with you all?” Yoongi asks no one in particular.

“Well,” Tae whispers in your ear, “At least we won’t have to tell them, right?”

You smile despite the embarrassing situation and nod. This Christmas might just be your best yet.

a/n: sorry that this is late and severely unedited LOL plz be kind, this is my first fic back and YA GIRL IS RUSTY

#bangtanhq #bangtanarmynet #btsbookclub #btsnoonanet #btswriterscollective #btswritingcafe #ficswithluv #kpopuniverse #ksmutclub #kwritersworld #networkbangtan #kim taehyung #kth #taehyung x reader #tae x reader #kth x reader #bts fanfic #bts

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canary3d-obsessed · 3 years

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 20, part three(!)

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

This episode has so much crucially important stuff in it I had to write 3 posts about it! Part one is here, part two is here.

Don't Start None, Won't Be None

Lan Wangji has never had a real fight with Wei Wuxian before--remember, in their rooftop fight Wei Wuxian never even drew his sword. And since this is going to be a verbal fight, Lan Wangji is going to lose, badly. He's an elegant and articulate speaker, but he's not quick with words, and he speaks directly and sincerely. Weaponized speech is not his area at all, so he's pretty much bringing a knife to a gunfight. A guqin to a flute fight. Whatever. He tries to turn it into a physical confrontation, twice, but Jiang Cheng holds him back.

This throwdown is 100% about religion and orthodoxy; something that is fundamental to both of these young men's lives. Lan Wangji has made it his mission to be as orthodox as possible, doing shit like volunteering to be beaten for drinking when he didn't choose to drink. He's constantly overwhelmed by emotion, and the Lan rules are a source of regulation and safety for him. His emotions around Wei Wuxian are among the most overwhelming he's got, possibly only second to his feelings about his mom.

Right now his feelings are extra overwhelming.

It's complicated because his relationship with Wei Wuxian literally started off with him punishing Wei Wuxian for heterodoxy. All that time they spent together in the library? Was because Wei Wuxian talked--JUST talked--about using resentful energy for cultivation. Which is precisely the ability he's just shown them, along with a style of killing enemies that's borderline evil and definitely, DEFINITELY unsportsmanlike.

So this is not, Lan Wangji is lovingly worried about Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is pushing him away to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. This is Lan Wangji freaking out because his entire system of belief is being challenged and he's in love with the person who's challenging it.

Wei Wuxian has shown up to the party wearing an International Mr. Leather tee shirt with a enamel pin stuck to it that says "I get my kicks on route 666" and Lan Wangji just. cannot. deal.

Never Start a Fight But Always Finish One

Wei Wuxian has a couple of options here. One is to accept, kindly, that he and his friend can't be friends any more because of religion. In this option, in order to preserve his friend's comfortable sense of being right, he would have to tacitly accept that he himself is bad in some way, and allow his friend to keep having his value system, while walking away from him.

The other choice is to hit so hard that he makes his friend feel really, really bad, and potentially rocks him off of his comfortable foundation. In the short term, the friendship breaks, but if it forces him to actually question his value system, it might lay the groundwork for a new, more accepting friendship. Anyone who is queer with an anti-queer-religious best friend is probably familiar with this dilemma.

Wei Wuxian chooses the second option, and goes all in from the first moment, calling Lan Wangji "Lan Er Gongzi" and then upgrading to "Hanguang Jun" and even bowing. If it's possible to bow sarcastically, that's what Wei Wuxian is doing. Then he meets his eyes and sticks his chin out, essentially saying "how do you like them apples?"

(more after the cut!)

Lan Wangji's feelings are probably hurt, but he's too busy being mad to show it, and he goes straight to grilling Wei Wuxian, asking him about the killing, the talismans, and giving up the sword, all while Jiang Cheng stands by and wonders what the fuck is happening.

Lan Wangji is making a fundamental error here, which is he's speaking as if he's an authority instead of as a peer. Wei Wuxian has only ever accepted one authority in his entire life, and that was Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng is the one who, for a change, is approaching as a worried friend, while Lan Wangji approaches as if he has the right to call Wei Wuxian to account.

Wei Wuxian won't answer his questions and is getting in his face, provoking him in a very quiet and controlled way, and Lan Wangji responds by just being really aggressive. It's interesting to see Wei Wuxian completely mastering his emotions while Lan Wangji is completely....not. Wei Wuxian pushes harder, saying he's being rude, saying he's being a bad friend. Which doesn't make any difference to Lan Wanji, who keeps pressing for an answer while Jiang Cheng wonders what the fuck is happening.

Come to Gusu

Wei Wuxian says he already explained, that it's complicated, it will take time to explain, so then Lan Wangji makes the utterly dumbassed demand that Wei Wuxian return to Gusu with him to explain it. What, exactly, is his plan? Bring Wei Wuxian to Gusu and have Lan Xichen (at the very least) and probably also Lan Qiren help him to convince Wei Wuxian that resentful cultivation is bad? How is that likely to work out? Let's have our own flashback, to that classroom interaction that led to the punishment in the library.

Lan Qiren: How will you make sure the resentful energy will only listen to you and not harm others? [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian] Wei Wuxian: I haven't figured that out yet ["details," as OP's dad used to say] Lan Qiren: If you did, the cultivation world would not allow your existence [i.e. we, the Lan Clan of Gusu, will kill your ass]

Lan Wangji probably doesn't think he's threatening Wei Wuxian with death by inviting him to Gusu, but he kinda is, if Lan Qiren was serious back then. Lan Wangji is so upset and fearful that he's not really thinking clearly at this point. He loves Wei Wuxian and he's certain that cultivating with resentful energy will destroy him. [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian] But Wei Wuxian is beyond fear. He's already been destroyed once.

Wei Wuxian rips on Gusu and then says, in a super-provocative way, that he prefers Yunmeng, which prompts Lan Wangji to say "don't joke around" as angrily as possible.

This part of the interaction always confuses me because...shouldn't he prefer Yunmeng? He's actually from there and lives there and belongs there and stuff? He's just saying "I think I'll go with my brother" yet WWX and LWJ both act like he said he'd rather go to Demon City.

Lan Wangji takes a big step forward and Jiang Cheng blocks him while Wei Wuxian continues to act unperturbed and puzzled while holding his demon flute out in between them.

Finally, FINALLY, Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Zhan, and asks him a serious question: What do you really want. Lan Wangji calms down for a second--although he keeps leaning into Jiang Cheng's sword block--and gets to the point, which is that the unorthodox path is dangerous, and harmful to his temperament.

Kill one turtle together and you think you're the boss of me

So, these dudes are talking about 2 different levels of unacceptable cultivation, in this episode and the next few. Netflix translates these as "wicked tricks" and "crafty tricks," which both sound absolutely ludicrous in English, so I'm going to use my own preferred terms, going forward.

I think what they are calling "Wicked Tricks," which includes spirit snatching and feeding people to the murder turtle on purpose in order to harvest their resentment could be translated as Heresy--adhering to a forbidden belief or practice; standing in opposition to Orthodoxy.

Edit: After rewatching Episode 35, in which Nie Huaisang explains why their whole blade thing doesn’t count as “wicked tricks,” I’ve changed my mind about what to call this. NHS says that “wicked tricks” specifically involve the use of humans & human spirits (killing, sacrificing, etc.). Which means Necromancy is probably the better term for this particular type of cultivation, although it is still (also) Heresy.

"Crafty Tricks," which is using resentful energy to raise and control already-dead people (ghosts and zombies) as well as just generally using resentment for basic stuff like beating Jin Zixuan's ass, could be translated as Heterodoxy--deviating from the accepted belief or practice, but not to the point of complete opposition.

Wei Wuxian laughs while Lan Wangji tries to be convincing, but since Lan Wangji is just repeating what he's been taught, he's not making much headway. Instead of saying "there's no exception throughout history" he could have, instead, gone with his own actual observations, such as "you are acting like a sadistic prick" or "you seem amazingly miserable" or "you aren't hugging your brother, what the fuck is that about?" But no.

Wei Wuxian responds to the charge of heresy by saying nuh-uh, and explains his methods, sort of, while going back to calling him Lan Er Gongzi. Lan Er Gongzi responds by actually literally yelling at him, and saying he's not allowed to decide for himself about what he's doing, as if the words "allowed to" have ever meant a goddamn thing to Wei Wuxian.

Temperament

At this point Wei Wuxian is done. He goes and gets right up in Lan Wangji's face and sticks a metaphorical knife right in his heart, smiling as he does it. "How do others know my temperament?" he asks; "and why should it be their concern?" i.e. you are not in my heart.

This makes Lan Wangji so mad he calls Wei Wuxian "Wei Wuxian" for possibly the only time in the show, and he also flashes a whole bunch of angry teeth. (Gifset here). In a callback to the JFM-YZY fight back in Lotus Pier before the war, Wei Wuxian just calmly says "Lan Wangji" back at him, and then tells him to go fuck himself.

Jiang Cheng still doesn't understand what the fuck is happening, but this is a sentiment he understands, so he also tells Lan Wangji to go fuck himself, reminding him that Wei Wuxian is Jiang clan property and it's not the Lans' place to discipline him. Adding "and I'm not going to discipline him any way, look how good he is at killing people!"

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji continue to stare into each others' eyes from a distance so close that it really should lead to making out, but they are both much too angry for that.

Wei Wuxian is as cold as we ever see him, smiling as he silently confirms: I do not belong to you. Lan Wangji glares back, his anger maybe finally giving way, a little bit, to being hurt.

Finish Him!

Wen Chao picks this moment to wake up and crawl over to the trio, begging Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng to save his life, since he presumably knows it's pointless to beg Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian turns around and gives him the EXACT SAME dead-eyed smile he just gave Lan Wangji, and kicks him.

Then he tells Lan Wangji to please leave so he and his brother can finish torturing this dude to death, and caps it with an official Jiang Clan eye roll.

Lan Wangji, poor bb, just throws in the towel, and turns and leaves, the anger finally starting to leave his face and be replaced with something else...chagrin, maybe? Or maybe just softer anger, for the moment.

After he's out of sight Wei Wuxian turns and looks after him sadly, all of the cruelty and hardness gone from his expression, while Wen Chao says "forgive me," possibly voicing what Wei Wuxian is thinking.

Lan Wangji walks out the front gate, troubled, and hears Wen Chao scream. He stops and replays the most pointed part of the fight in his head - the part where Wei Wuxian asked him, "who do you think you are?" Lan Wangji went into the fight believing he was completely right and was entitled to judge Wei Wuxian, but he's come out of it with his certainty shaken.

Family Time

The Yunmeng brothers go to the ancestral shrine in Lotus Pier even though the whole "reclaiming Lotus Pier" scene doesn't happen until Episode 24. So apparently they just kind of sneak into the the shrine, and then sneak back out. Or, you know, continuity error. Anyway Wei Wuxian is nothing if not adept at sneaking around death-related places.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng bow and offer incense. It's nice that the Wens didn't fuck up everybody's name plaques when they were in control of the place...or the tassels, candles, etc.

Wei Wuxian quietly tells Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian that he did what they asked--taking care of Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli--and they can rest now. Nosy parker Jiang Cheng wants to know what he's saying, but Wei Wuxian just changes the subject.

They talk about going to Qinghe for the final combat of the Sunshot Campaign. Wei Wuxian says that's why he returned, which...dude, you can't even pretend you came back to be with your loved ones? Ouch. Jiang Cheng doesn't really react to that, but he's happy when Wei Wuxian says he wants to see Jiang Yanli. Wei Wuxian wants to know if she's ok and if she's mad at him, and Jiang Cheng says wait and see, because direct answers are not the Jiang Clan way.

Jiang Yanli is helping tend to the wounded, and we see her telling a particularly fussy wounded dude to suck it up and stop complaining.

When Wei Wuxian shows up she totally stops paying attention to the wounded dude so that she can smile at Wei Wuxian.

He looks back at her tearfully, briefly managing to smile but then just trying to hold it together. He has been to hell and back, and doing his very best to hide it, but when he sees the person who loves him most--the person who will NOT spend 20 minutes yelling at him as soon as they see him--he starts to crack open.

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed gifs #wangxian #restless rewatch the untamed #my gifs #canary3d-original

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companionjones · 3 years

Text

Snowstorms

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Merlin x Fem!Reader

Summary: After you and Eggsy go undercover at a party, you’re stuck walking, barely dressed, in the middle of a snowstorm. You are not happy.

Warnings: Slight cursing I guess, Reader’s pissed, frostbite

*******

“I...am going to murder...all of you...” You shivered as you walked through the snow.

Harry sounded over the comms since Merlin was busy hacking into the system you and Eggsy had made available for him. “I apologize, Agent Guinevere. You and Agent Galahad could not stay at the political soirée because the risk of blowing your cover would’ve been too high. The helicopter will arrive in five minutes for extraction. Your best and only option is to keep walking away from the event.”

That’s how you ended up in a dress with a mini-skirt, trudging through a snowstorm in Northumberland. All you had for protection from the snow was a pair of snowshoes you stole off one of the guards you had killed. Eggsy was lucky enough to at least be wearing a suit.

Harry had not been lying. You timed it because you needed something to distract yourself from the cold. The chopper arrived in exactly five minutes. Something told you that might have had to do with Harry (slightly) threatening the pilot with things they would be subjected to if they didn’t make it on time.

“How are you doing, Y/n?” Eggsy hesitantly asked when the two of you had been in the air for a few moments.

Frankly, you couldn’t believe he had the balls to ask that. You were still shivering even under a thermal blanket in a closed helicopter. “You know what, Eggsy? I’m not doing great.”

“Ah.” Eggsy awkwardly nodded. He was quiet for the rest of the flight.

Back at the mansion, the Kingsman doctors discovered you had superficial frostbite. It wasn’t as bad as deep frostbite, but you would still have blisters for next week or two. The doctors recommended that you stayed on bedrest for the following couple days.

Later that night, after you fell asleep, you awoke to find Merlin sitting in a chair in your temporary room. He was reading from a file, so he didn’t immediately notice you were awake.

“Hey,” you greeted him softly.

Merlin glanced up and saw you. He shut his file. “Hello, love,” he returned, Scottish accent thick as ever. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than before. I still ache a little...but I’m warm.” You smiled a little to show him that you were truly okay.

He seemed stressed. He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I apologize you were in the snow for that long. It wasn’t the plan. There was somehow a miscommunication with the pilot, and I wasn’t able to fix it--”

“Don’t go blaming this on yourself,” you chastized lightly.

It was like he didn’t hear you. “It was an easily preventable problem, and if only I--”

“If only you what?” you cut him off. “If only you could be in two places at once? You were busy hacking the Godiva system, Hamish. I understand that. And look at me. I’m fine.”

He didn’t respond. He always didn’t know what to say when you used his real name. He wasn’t used to being as intimate with someone as he was with you.

“Did you get the codes?” You asked him a question about work to make him more comfortable.

He cleared his throat. “Yes. They’ve been sent to the proper authorities. You-You don’t need to worry about that.”

You were the only person who could make Merlin stutter while he was sober.

“Come here,” you urged him after a moment of silence.

Merlin didn’t get up. He got uneasy, and looked at the door to check if anyone was nearby.

“It’s what? Midnight? Darling, no one’s gonna come this way. Come here.”

He took a breath, and came to sit on the side of your bed.

You took his hand in yours. “Missed you while I was gone. I always miss you.”

He softly agreed, “I missed you too, sweetheart. I...I was so worried when I heard you were out in the snow like that.”

“But I made it back. I’ll always come back to you, remember?” You smirked, “I have to, or else Harry’ll steal you from me.”

That got him to crack a smile, “Oh. So, you’re making jokes now?”

“Anything to see that smile of yours,” you teased.

“Is that right?”

You nodded smugly before returning the kiss he leaned down to give you.

You’d walk through a thousand snowstorms if it meant you could be with Merlin forever.

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more fics over on my page. You should check it out. Thanks again! Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3

#kingsman #kingsman x reader #merlin #merlin x reader #kingsman merlin #kingsman merlin x reader #hamish mycroft #hamish mycroft x reader #snowstorms #mark strong #companion jones #i have a really long one to copy down from my journal after this #it's REALLY niche though #like really really niche #tw frostbite #frostbite

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lovenona · 3 years

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it’s here, it’s wild, and it’s fun – welcome to “what happened after the art show” featuring everyone’s favorite menace art student ryomen sukuna (previous installment here and full universe here)

(note that this does contain some references to explicit content – it will be clearly marked within the text)

now that i've captured your attention: there are a myriad of ways this could go, really. let’s start with the basics.

first things first: while the thought of scratching up geto’s stupid little car sounds awfully appealing to you, and while you simply wanted to accept the offer for the sake of sukuna’s unusually kind gesture, you also know that you don’t want some serious claims filed against you. geto’s a prick, as you’ve learned, and it’s best to keep things civil.

so you politely tell sukuna as much, and while he might tease you for being a coward, you know there’s no real malice behind that impenetrable voice of his.

but the night is not over! sukuna will take you to his car, then. it’s vintage and black and a little beat up and there’s miscellaneous art supplies and tattoo reference books strewn across the backseat, but it smells so distinctly like sukuna that it feels strangely like home. he controls the music, of course, blaring indie and punk with his windows cracked so every stoplight can hear. (he has a preference for wolf alice. he thinks the lead singer is hot.) and even better, he’s got a smirk, a real one, as he drapes one hand across the steering wheel and the other on the glove box between you.

(you think you’d like his hand to reach further. but you’re still technically in recovery mode, so of course you won’t say it, not yet.)

your earlier sadness melts away with every minute you spend in sukuna’s car. he’ll take you for a drive without needing to ask. he can read the vibe – it’s you. you don’t want to go home, you don’t want to go out, you don’t want to be anywhere; so he’ll keep you in that liminal space, driving in circles and turning down strange roads whenever and wherever he feels like it. he’ll pass familiar buildings on campus to make a silly little quip, drive past the grocery store to watch students filter through with their reusable grocery bags, drive past the parks that loom in the dusk shadows. you don’t need to talk, and neither does he. it’s quiet, strangely, but a silence so comfortable you hardly notice it.

and, frankly, the most realistic ending to this night would be that sukuna drops you off at your apartment complex and lets you go home for the night with a final joke. but, of course, i know that’s not why any of us are here.

so, of course, let’s go to sukuna’s place, instead. it’s an expected gesture, almost, and you can’t say you’re particularly surprised when you see the familiar building come into view. you’ve been to his apartment a few times now, and it’s a place you’re beginning to learn like the back of your hand.

at this point, your night could go one of two ways. you may now choose your own adventure: safe and fun or sex and spice?

safe and fun: (mentions of alcohol)

you’re stumbling through the door with sukuna, arguing with him as you always do, only to find yuuji and his crew in the living room playing god-knows-what on the xbox. they’ll wave you in with a casual vigor, their loud and raucous behavior making sense once you see the array of empty white claws on the table. (many of them are mango. it’s yuuji’s favorite flavor.)

“you’re back early,” yuuji tells sukuna with a loopy grin, a grin that suggests something unspeakable as he wiggles his eyebrows. he looks at you with that dopey little smile and you roll your eyes.

“the art show sucked,” sukuna responds, scrunching his nose and heading to the kitchen to fix himself a drink. “you fuckers still drink that shit?”

sukuna, you know, hates white claw. he’ll only drink hard alcohol, mixed drinks, things that make him feel like a man. you’ve seen it firsthand countless times by now.

“you’re fourteen minutes older than me,” yuuji whines. “don’t act so high and mighty, old man.”

so sukuna will make himself a drink – a real drink, he clarifies – and offer you a glass almost instinctively. your fingers brush his as he hands you the glass. something electric runs across the surface of your skin, rustles your bones. you make eye contact, and it’s a thousand lifetimes unsaid between you.

(you wonder if you like him. you don’t know.)

so the night passes: you watch yuuji and his friends try and struggle to complete the missions in their silly little game as sukuna sits next to you, flexing his biceps as if he knows you’re watching from the corner of your eyes. megumi yells at yuuji who yells at nobara, and while they offer to let you play, you simply cannot break the connection between them. you like the way yuuji laughs and the way nobara smiles and the way their presence is like a soothing balm, cool and collected.

it’s strange and comforting all at the same time, this newfound ease you feel as you settle back into the couch, your drink sweet on your lips.

the night is a warm lilt; the silly party plays their games, you watch, sukuna acts indifferent to the spectacle and threatens to return to his room at any moment. you know, though, that he’s enjoying himself, even if only because of his posture and the smirk ghosting his lips. it’s wonderful and mundane and in this moment of pure domesticity, you can allow yourself to forget the night’s events entirely.

you hardly remember silly geto now, you do. you know you’ll be angry as all hell when you see him in class but for now, here, it’s okay.

and when you fall asleep, slowly, suddenly, someone – you think sukuna, but he insists he didn’t – tucks you beneath a layer of warm blankets. it’s a warm night, a comforting night, one that feels like a kiss to the forehead. you need it.

(you think sukuna really does kiss your forehead, too, but you don’t know. when you wake on the couch the next morning, you wonder whether it could have all been a dream.)

sex and spice: contains nsfw, slight dubcon (both characters are tipsy but very much consenting and happy with their situation), oral (f! receiving), sukuna being a tease

oh, but the second option. you’ll stumble through the door in this life to find that yuuji’s not home – the apartment is dark and quiet and full of a tension you cannot name. you’ll become hyper aware of your actions, suddenly, shyly, taking note of the exact way you take off your coat and shoes and leave them in the doorway. sukuna feels incredibly present and you don’t know why. you’ve been alone with him before, but perhaps it’s different when you’re alone like this. when it’s his home, his couch, and not a classroom. it’s different, now, when the chances of being seen by strangers have decreased significantly.

you’ll warm up slightly, though, when sukuna offers you a drink in that teasing voice he always uses when he wants to fluster you. he’ll fix the drinks with a bartender’s ease and sit down on the couch, throwing an arm back, letting his bicep tattoos flex in the golden glow of the living room.

it’s so quiet, and you’re trying your best, really, but you don’t know what to say. you’ll put the television on and sukuna will find something you both know you won’t watch but lets you ease the strain. you’ll make fun of it, he’ll make fun of it, and you’ll slide back like molasses into the lazy semblance of friendship you’ve cultivated together.

and it’ll be easier to feel normal, too, once you’ve had a drink or two – your tongue loosens up, and you find yourself able to say things to sukuna that you’ve never said before. you find yourself forgetting that you’re alone with sukuna in his house, and that you are suddenly and absolutely nervous in a way you have never been before.

“so tell me,” he’ll ask, turning to you on the couch, brave and arrogant with a dark and stormy in his system. “how was it?”

you pretend you don’t know what he’s talking about. “how was what?” you’ll purse your lips together and suppress the butterflies in your chest. you wonder just how long you have thought sukuna to be attractive.

he’ll shake his head. “fucking geto, you idiot.” plastered across his face is the smirk you’d know with your eyes closed. he leans in, slightly, not enough to terrify you but enough to leave you struggling to form a complete sentence as your brain shuts down.

but you’ve had something to drink, too, and while in daylight you would have ignored his question entirely, brushing him off as a perv and a jokester, you can’t help but think there’s something different in the aura of the room tonight. you can’t help but be honest.

“it was fine, i guess,” you tell him. you shrug your shoulders and look back towards the television. you pretend you care about what you see.

he smells like something smoky and earthy today. “fine?”

you try to make a joke, but your head is spinning from his undivided attention. you do not know what you are anymore. “are you always this interested in my sex life?”

sukuna, surprisingly, grins with genuine amusement. “no, but geto gives off the vibe of a limp dick film boy, and i wanted to know if it’s true.”

“limp dick film boy,” you repeat, and a hearty laugh escapes your bubbling chest. you feel your inhibitions melt away, and your secrets fly out of you, the horrifying experience of the art show fading behind you. you’ll deal with geto in class, you think vaguely. at least he never said your name.

you sigh, forgetting him like a bad pun. “i mean, i guess it was fine. i don’t know.”

“you don’t know.” you can’t tell if he’s being condescending or if he’s genuinely concerned for the state of your pitiful sex life. “did he at least give good head if he made a fucking sculpture about it?”

“what?” your heart stops, your face is hot, your brain on fire. it’s not that he’s crossed a line, you think, but that that question opens something deep and unspeakable and strange. “no?” you don’t know why you answer, but something within you tells you that you must. something tells you that the world is shifting, and you must follow.

“he didn’t?” you feel the couch shift as sukuna shifts closer. “what kind of fucker doesn’t? it’s common courtesy, you know.”

“he didn’t want to,” you respond, but you don’t know what you’re defending.

“and if i do?”

you freeze. one of sukuna’s hands traces your shoulder like butterfly wings. it must be the rum talking, you think, because there’s no way sukuna would want you. it wouldn’t make sense, certainly, you rationalize. he must be out of his mind, this must be a joke –

“you still there?” a finger taps your forehead.

“yeah,” you respond, returning to yourself. you curse your flailing heartbeat. you turn to look at sukuna, so close to you, and you’re met with the terrifying depth of his dark gaze. you have never seen this gaze, this look that places you at the center of the universe. your breath nearly catches in your throat.

sukuna leans in. so do you, instinctively. you disregard geto and the sculpture and everything that came before. this, you think. this is what it should have been like. you’ve been waiting for this moment since the first time he kissed you months ago. you’re overcome with sensations you cannot name, an ache that builds and spreads through your belly. perhaps you’ll regret it tomorrow. but now, here, you want it more than anything.

“you don’t have to,” sukuna says. his breath is hot on your cheeks.

“i want to,” you say, and it’s a kiss for the ages.

so he’ll push you backwards to lie on the couch, and his shirt will be off and disregarded before you can think about it. you’ll trace the tattoos on his broad chest, lines and patterns you’ve never seen until now that you will never be able to forget. you’ll memorize the feeling of his tongue in your mouth, the smooth metal of his tongue piercing sending shivers down your spine. it’s messy and crude and everything you would expected it to be – neither one of you is willing to give in to the other. neither wants to admit this is anything more than a challenge.

(you’re in heaven, though. geto who?)

and fuck, god, the look he gives you as he asks if he can take your pants off now: you’d paint it, frame it, place it in every art museum in the world if you could. it’s the second time you’ve taken your clothes off for someone in your life and while it’s strange and weird and sukuna, it feels right at the same time. he bites your neck when you left your hips to slide the clothes off you body and you feel dizzy with hunger.

sukuna loves to tease. he’ll make his way down your body slowly, tantalizingly, sly, and you swear you’ll lose your mind if he waits any longer. and when he looks back up to meet your eyes, with that lustful, dangerous, blown-out gaze, you know you’re fucked. you know you’re fucked when you realize it’s ryomen sukuna hanging out between your parted thighs, asking for consent before he places a soft kiss to your clit.

and you know, you know bitterly, that this would have been the most mind-blowing sex of your life had the key not turned in the lock because yuuji decided to come home early.

so you scramble to get your shit together, angry and disappointed. and even though you’ve regained your clothes and your dignity before yuuji can even remove his shoes and make his mindless way to the living room, you cannot quell the fire that grows within you. you cannot stop the hunger that has already begun. and sukuna knows it, too, because his eyes have not lost the look of a predator looking for prey.

(and, you notice, because his dick is still hard.)

he looks at you, and you look at him. he leans in, grins, whispers, “my room?”

#xoxo #sukuna x reader #sukuna #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna #jujutsu kaisen x reader #ryomen.sukuna #artist!jjk #letters to adele

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ridiculousn3sswrites · 4 years

Text

Closer

*Thomas Jefferson x Reader

*Summary: Reader is very into one of her housemates. After a couple house parties, she finds out he’s very into her.

*Warnings: Swearing, drinking, (mentions of) weed smoking, jealousy, insecurity, smut, grinding, hickies, tiddy sucking, fingering, vaginal sex, (my attempt at) dirty talk, a lot of consent check-ins, morning after awkwardness

*A/N: I’VE FINALLY BEEN DRIVEN TO WRITE SMUT. Like, this was hard for me but I had fun writing it (this fic is 8k words oops). Also sorry if it’s not the best, I really did try.

My Ko-Fi

**********

You had two major rules for living with people: never sleep with them, and definitely never develop feelings for them. In your two years of living in the dorms you’d managed to abide by those rules, but you faced the biggest challenge to your rule the second you stopped living in the dorms. In your third year, you moved into a housing option that was a lot cheaper than the dorms or a regular apartment. The house you moved into was pretty small - only 12 people - so everyone saw a lot of each other. Cue the start of your troubles.

When you first had a video call with the other members of your house, your eyes immediately were drawn to one corner of the screen. Sure, you’d joined in the middle of a conversation so his box was highlighted, but you were sure you would have been watching his little screen anyways. You could tell he was sitting in bed - wherever he was - and he was already familiar with a few of the people in the call from the way he was chatting with them. He had a neatly trimmed beard, curls forming a halo around his face, a bright smile, and a pair of black glasses just pulling the look together, even if you didn’t really know what look that was.

When he gave his little introduction piece, you knew this would be trouble. Not only was his voice attractive, he also had a bit of a southern accent, which just doubled his attractiveness. Everyone went through their introductions, you being one of the last people because you didn’t volunteer until a lot later on. When people had the chance to ask questions, the guy - Thomas - decided to speak up. “Is that a (favorite show) poster behind you?”

You looked back at your wall like you didn’t know exactly what he was talking about. You were just surprised he pointed it out. “Oh, uh, yeah! It is!”

“Nice!” Thomas told you, giving you a bright smile. You could feel your breath catch at the sight, but you managed to smile back. As the call ended with one other person giving their introduction, you could already tell you were in trouble. You knew you couldn’t pursue anything with Thomas even if it happened that he also found you attractive. It wasn’t only that you’d be living with him, no; he was also one of the house managers, so if things ended bad, he could really make your living situation not the best. But still, there was nothing stopping you from finding him attractive.

When you moved in, you immediately ran into Thomas. You knew you were supposed to check in with Angelica so she could get you your keys, but she was helping someone else at the moment. “Hey, you’re (y/n), right?” Thomas asked, sitting at the dining room table as you just stood there waiting for Angelica.

“Y-yeah, I am,” you stuttered, silently cursing how nervous you were around him. This was your first time meeting the guy in person, and you were really going to make a fool of yourself, weren’t you. You looked back to where Angelica had disappeared upstairs, wondering just how long she would take.

“Well, I’m Thomas,” he introduced himself, standing from his seat. “I can take you on a tour of the house while you wait for Angelica if you want.”

“Uhm, sure, that’d be great!” You immediately accepted, feeling your face warm from the entire interaction. Thomas walked up next to you, nodding for you to follow him. Your parents were waiting outside for you to get your keys so they could help you move in, but since you had some time, why not?

**********

It didn’t take long for everyone to start feeling comfortable around each other. The only real issues there were in the house were arguments Thomas and Alexander would get into, but even those wouldn’t get too bad. Within a month of everyone moving in, it really started to feel like a little family. Which made your attraction to Thomas that much worse. You thought it would go away once you got to know the guy and it would fade into a friendship, but you were dead wrong. The more you got to know the guy, the harder you fell. The way he joked, the way he made sure you weren’t talked over (and if you were, he always made sure to come back to you and ask what you were going to say), almost everything about him made you realize it wasn’t just surface level attraction.

By the end of the first month, a few of your housemates - John, Alexander, and Laf - planned a little party in the living room. It was just for your house, but it really sounded like they were planning to throw a rager. You weren’t really one for parties, but it sounded like it could be fun. The fact that Thomas said he would be going had nothing to do with it.

When the day of the party came, you didn’t really know what you were going to do. You knew Thomas was going to be there, and Peggy really wanted to go, so after spending the afternoon deciding, you started getting ready for the party. You showered, pulled on a dress you saved for going out (not that you really went out in the first place), put your makeup on, and just sat there waiting for Peggy to get ready.

“This is gonna be so much fun! I saw Alex and John come in with the drinks for later and they bought so much,” Peggy gushed as she tried deciding between dresses. She finally turned to you. “Which one looks better?”

“Depends on the look you’re going for. The one on the right is definitely cute, but the one on the left is great if you’re trying to look hot,” you told her after a moment of looking at the options. She put the dress on the right back in the closet. Once she actually knew what she wanted to wear, she quickly got ready. As she was getting ready, there was a pounding on the door. Peggy went to go look, but whoever had done that was already gone. You already knew you were running a bit late, but who ever really showed up to parties on time?

The music wasn’t too loud when you and Peggy got to the living room half an hour after the party was supposed to start. The lights were off, save for one of those multi-color party lights, balloons were all over the floor, and some colorful YouTube video was playing on the TV. Alex and John were already drinking, quickly pulling Peggy to the booze table to make her something. Herc and Laf were sitting on one of the couches, just chatting, and Thomas was hanging near the pool table, talking to Maria. Maria looked gorgeous, red satin slip dress hugging her figure and sheer thigh-high stockings creating an image you could only hope to compete with. You left the living room, going to get yourself some water from the kitchen.

Just going across the hall was a huge difference. Aaron was sitting at the table, laptop in front of him as he worked on something. Angelica and Eliza were in the kitchen, making something that you were definitely going to try later. “Do you know what they’re making in there?” You asked Aaron as you filled your cup.

“No idea, but I know I’m going to have to clean it afterwards,” Aaron complained, looking up from his work. “You look nice.”

“Thanks. Are you going?” You nodded your head towards the living room.

“No, I have work to do tonight. Have fun, though.” To be honest, that was probably the longest conversation you’d had with Aaron. He normally kept to himself, except when he was dragged into hangouts with the house by other people. You took your cup of water and went back to the living room, seeing Peggy, John, and Alex huddled around Alex’s phone as they put more songs in the queue. Thomas was drinking something from a mason jar, though in the dim light you really couldn’t see what it was.

“Hey, (y/n), you look cute,” Thomas said as he walked up to you. You immediately looked down at your cup and mumbled a thank you. There was just something about being called cute that hit different, especially when it comes from someone you were very attracted to. “Do you want something to drink?”

“I’m good, I’m playing adult tonight,” you told him, holding up your cup a little. You finally looked at Thomas, the colored lights casting a mix of reds and blues on his skin. He was wearing a button up shirt, different from the t-shirts and tanks you’d seen him in before. When you looked a little further down, you saw he was wearing basketball shorts. That would just make it easier to- you stopped the thought there. You didn’t know where it came from, you couldn’t even blame any alcohol in your system. Instead, you blamed it on the colored lights in the dark room, creating an almost intimate atmosphere.

“Thank you. Would you mind cutting John off when he starts getting a little, you know?” You nodded. You did know. John was a bit of a sloppy drunk, but he hated when anyone pointed it out. That’s why every drinking night needed a designated adult. Thomas took another drink before nodding to the empty couch. “You wanna sit? No one’s really dancing yet.”

You nodded again, following Thomas to the couch. Even when the music picked up, only a few people were really dancing. Thomas got up a few times to refill his cup, but he never really left your side. The two of you talked through the night, and you found yourselves getting closer as the night went on. His attention was entirely on you, even brushing off Maria when she tried to pull him to dance. There were a few songs where you actually wanted to dance, and Thomas practically jumped at the chance to dance with you. Eventually the music changed to slower stuff, and you went back to sitting down with Thomas.

You really tried to stop your mind from racing at the proximity, but you couldn’t help it. As the two of you talked, the lights still dancing across his skin, you could see yourself closing the small gap, kissing him. Every now and then he’d brush his fingertips across your skin, but you couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not. Your skin burned with the slight brushes. Your mind ran to what his touch would feel like if it was more purposeful, how his skin would feel under your fingers. When he leaned forward, brushing some hair from your face, you wondered if he would always be this gentle.

Thomas was mid-sentence when it finally became too much. You took the chance, leaning in and pressing a questioning kiss to his lips. He tensed, and you immediately went to pull back. When he realized what you were doing, he brought his hand up to the back of your head, holding your face to his. The kiss started gentle, but it got more insistent as it went on. You could feel the party around you just melt away as the two of you kissed, your hands feeling his arms as you let yourself fall victim to your wants. You couldn’t tell if the kiss had lasted for minutes or hours, but you knew you must’ve looked a mess.

“Do you want to come up to my room?” Thomas asked, breathless and low enough for just you to hear. You nodded, and Thomas immediately stood, leading you by the hand. You could hear John’s drunken cheers as you and Thomas went up the stairs. His room wasn’t far from the stairs, and it didn’t take long for you to end up in his bed. His body lightly pinned yours on the bed, one of his thighs between yours. Thomas broke the kiss, only to trail kisses down your neck as his hands ran up and down your body.

“Thomas, please,” you said, not really sure what you were asking for.

“I know, Sugar.” You could feel his smirk against your skin. “I want you too.”

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” Thomas said, standing up. You were shocked at his sudden announcement. It wasn’t even just to you, he announced it to the whole party. He gave you a small smile before turning to leave the room. Just before he left, he turned around once more. “Reminder that quiet hours start in an hour, adjust the music accordingly.”

As soon as Thomas left, you could feel your social battery dying. You should’ve known better than to allow yourself to fantasize about what could’ve happened that night, just because he was paying attention to you. It didn’t take long for you to call it a night after that, just feeling exhaustion that wasn’t there before as you took off your makeup and changed into some sleep clothes. As you laid in bed, waiting for sleep to come to you, you couldn’t help as your mind replayed the night and your fantasies. The last thought you had was of the way Thomas looked in the colored lights, and the phantom feeling of his lips on yours, even though you never actually felt them.

**********

In the week following the party, you and Thomas went back to just how you were before. You were a little disappointed, but your mind immediately went to justifying the change. Or rather, lack of change. He’d been drinking a bit. He knew you felt out of place with all the drinking and weed smoking going on. He probably wanted to make sure you were feeling okay since you’d had a few conversations about how quickly your social battery died. There were all of these possibilities, but nothing was ever confirmed. So you just went back to how things were.

Then Laf planted a seed in your mind. It was delivery time - that time of night when everyone’s packages got delivered and people would either grab their packages and open them in their room, or open them in the dining room in front of everyone else. You’d just ordered a cute romper in an attempt to feel something, so you opened it in front of the rest of the group. “That’s so cute! You know, it seems like something the type of girl Thomas goes after would wear,” Laf announced when you held up the romper.

“What are you talking about?” James asked as he opened his own package, not even looking up. It was some lights for the little garden he was starting in his room. Maria was very invested in the new shoes she’d ordered, but you could tell she was still listening.

“They’d be cute together! You guys should go on a date, I’ll set it up,” Laf continued, focusing his attention on you now. “I ship them! They’re my new ship!”

“What’s going on?” Thomas asked, coming out from the kitchen. You looked down, folding the romper as fast as you could.

“Nothing,” Laf said. You looked up just in time to see Laf wink at you.

“Alright.” You could tell Thomas didn’t believe him by the side-eye he was giving him, but you were glad Laf didn’t announce it any louder than he already did. When you and Peggy got back to your room, you couldn’t help but tell her about the seed Laf had planted. Sure, you found Thomas very attractive, but the concept of a relationship with him had never entered your mind. Until now. Of course Peggy just made fun of you, but you knew it was all in good fun.

It took two days for that seed to be completely destroyed. You started to notice Thomas and Maria hanging out a lot more than they did before; they were almost constantly talking to each other, and there was once that you went upstairs to use the bathroom and saw Maria leaving Thomas’s room. You were in the living room watching a movie with the Schuylers when Thomas came in. “Hey, Maria and I want to watch something after, can you text me when you’re done?” Thomas asked Angelica, not even acknowledging anyone else.

“Yeah, sure,” Angelica told him. With that, he left the living room.

“Your boyfriend’s cheating on you,” Peggy teased, not loud enough that anyone else could hear her.

“Can we not do this right now?” You whispered, already feeling your chest tighten. Of course you should’ve known. People like Thomas never went for people like you, they would always end up with people like Maria. Why would you let Laf even give you the slightest bit of hope that things would be different? Peggy’s face immediately fell when she saw just how you looked.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but you just shook your head. Why was she sorry? It wasn’t her fault. This was just on you.

For the next week, you avoided Thomas and Maria as much as you could. You took your dinners to your room to just eat and watch (favorite show), you didn’t really talk to them if you were in the same room as them, you didn’t go out of your way to hang out with them. If they noticed, they never said anything to you. Then again, it wasn’t really like you gave them the chance to.

**********

You wanted to keep your distance from your housemates, but John pulled you into agreeing to go to yet another house party. It would just be for your house again, but this time he’d managed to get everyone to agree to come. He didn’t even let you be late, grabbing you and Peggy from your room as soon as the party started. So there you were, standing by the pool table, sipping some drink that was way too strong (Aaron was designated adult this time), just watching the party around you. Maria was already there, wearing yet another dress that made her look absolutely gorgeous, but Thomas was nowhere to be seen.

“James, where’s your friend?” John practically yelled over the pounding music.

“He’s coming, don’t worry,” James said, rolling his eyes. You tensed at the confirmation, even though you knew he was going to be there. Before you could really think about it, Laf pulled you onto the dancefloor. Laf and Herc made sure that you were enjoying yourself, dancing with them and making sure you didn’t have the chance to think about it too much. Laf knew everything that was going on, trying to tell you that he was sorry about the entire ‘shipping’ thing. You just waved it off, not wanting to let it ruin the fun you were having.

You don’t know how many songs you danced with them before you needed to take a break and get some water. They finally let you out of their sights as soon as you promised to come back the second you were done. You appreciated their concern for you, but it was starting to get a little stifling. As you stood by the sink, glass stained with the red of your lipstick, you let your mind wander once again. You had been too busy dancing to pay attention to the party around you, but you guess Thomas must’ve arrived at some point. Had he been dancing with Maria? Did he even care you were there?

It was like the universe took your questioning as manifestations, and you wondered why it didn’t do that for literally anything else you tried manifesting as Thomas walked into the room. “I thought I saw you leave. You look really cute.”

You looked down at your outfit, taking in the romper that you’d bought not too long ago - a button down with a thick belt at the waist. You tried to ignore the way your heart fluttered at that, tried to remember the past few weeks where Thomas was completely focused on Maria, but your heart seemed to not get the message. “You know, you never compliment me outside of parties,” you decided to address the situation head on. “Is Maria waiting for you?”

“What?” Thomas seemed like he genuinely had no idea what was going on. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“I mean, the two of you have been spending a ton of time together, I’d expect you’d come to the party together,” you almost snapped.

“What about Laf and Herc? You seemed pretty close to them tonight,” Thomas immediately argued. You should’ve known he wouldn’t just let you snap at him without biting back.

“They’re just making sure I have a good time. Like you did last time,” you said, taking a deep breath. “I’m gonna go back.”

You heard Thomas say your name as you went back to the living room, but you kept walking. When you got back, Laf and Herc were immediately by your side. You gave them a soft smile, which they quickly returned. It didn’t take long for exhaustion to start to set in, your legs starting to hurt and your eyes starting to tire. You sat down in the corner of the couch, watching the party continue around you. It didn’t take long for Thomas to take the spot next to you. “I’m sorry.”

You just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Maria needed help with her statistics class and we’ve been spending time together because of that. I didn’t realize you’d take it the wrong way.”

“I’m so stupid.” Thomas looked confused. “I should be the one apologizing. I just kind of decided you didn’t like me.”

Thomas scooted closer, taking your hand in his. “Yeah, I kind of realized that. I really do like you, though.”

“Cool,” you said, not knowing how to really react in this situation. Thomas laughed, shaking his head as you felt the heat rise in your face. “I… uhm… I’m kinda feeling tired. I think I’m gonna head to bed.”

Thomas looked dejected before understanding crossed his features. “Your social battery?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Is it even midnight?”

Thomas checked his phone. “Just about. Do you want to come to my room?”

You stared at him blankly, your heart racing at the question. It was almost exactly like your fantasy at the last party, not that he’d know it. He had to know how that sounded, right? It seemed to take him a second to realize it, eyes widening. “I mean, just to hang out somewhere calm. I want to spend more time with you.”

“And what’s wrong with my room? People will notice if I go upstairs instead of just down the hall,” you argued, leaning closer to him.

“I know you have a bunk and I don’t want to sit on Peggy’s bed.”

“You could sit at my desk.”

“Under your bunk? That kind of defeats the purpose of hanging out.” Thomas rolled his eyes at your obvious deflection. You were just giving him a hard time at this point, still a little vindictive even if the only real issue over the past few weeks had been because of you.

“Alright, but don’t be surprised if I end up just passing out,” you agreed. Thomas gave you a blinding smile. “How are we gonna do this? If we leave together people are gonna talk.”

“Let them,” Thomas said, standing up and offering his hand to you. You took it.

Amazingly, no one seemed to notice the two of you leaving except for Aaron who shot you a pained look. You felt kind of bad for leaving him alone to everyone else, but your social battery really was dying and Thomas was offering an escape. He lead you up the stairs, down the hall a little to his room. The door was already slightly open - just so he wouldn’t have to carry around his key - but he opened the door further to let you in first. It was your first time seeing Thomas’s room, and it really fit him. He had a few pictures on the wall above his desk, the desk itself was neatly organized - textbooks stacked on one side, laptop in the center, a few pencils next to it. His bed was pushed to the corner near his desk, black comforter and deep magenta pillowcases different from the typical college dude bedding.

“You can sit down if you want,” Thomas said, walking over to his closet. He grabbed a t-shirt from one of the drawers. “I’m just gonna go change my shirt, you can sit on the bed or the chair, whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

Thomas left the room, and you decided to sit on the bed, still unsure of what you were doing. Your fantasy from the last party kept replaying in your mind, reminding you of just how different these circumstances were. You pressed a couple fingers to your wrist, feeling your racing pulse. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. You were pretty sure nothing was going to happen, but the images of Thomas kissing you, him touching you, it made your mind go crazy. Before you could talk yourself out of it, Thomas came back. “So, uh, what do you wanna do? We could listen to some music, or watch a movie…”

“Can we just listen to some music? Like, something softer though,” you said. Just listening to music seemed less intimate than watching a movie on his laptop with him, even though you really didn’t know why. Thomas nodded, turning on his speaker on his desk. He handed you his phone.

“You can choose,” he told you, sitting on the bed next to you. He pressed his back against the wall, watching you as you shared one of your playlists to his phone. Even though you could feel him watching, you missed the way his eyes took in your profile in the harsh light of his room. “Do you mind if I switch off the main light and turn on my desk light instead?”

“You know, this is sounding more and more sus as you keep talking,” you told him as your music started playing from his speaker. You turned the volume down a little, letting the music be just loud enough to provide some background noise. It was just what you needed to recharge. “But yeah, the ceiling lights are really harsh.”

Thomas got up to fix the lighting situation before taking his spot next to you once again. The two of you just sat there quietly, close but not quite touching, letting the soft sounds of your music wash over you. A few songs passed before you decided to just make your move, scooting closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder. You were still pretty drained from the party, and the excuse was ready if he was going to question you. He didn’t.

When he brought his hand up to play with your hair, you didn’t say anything. You enjoyed the gentle brush of his hand, almost as if he was afraid to disturb you. You closed your eyes, focusing on his touch. He started near your hairline, his fingers tracing a curve behind your ear, whispering down your jawline for a second before repeating the process. Time wasn’t real in your little bubble, the only clue being the songs changing in the background. “(Y/n)?” Thomas asked, voice low like he was trying not to break the atmosphere.

You hummed in response, eyes still closed, and you could feel Thomas’s soft laughter more than you could hear it. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“If you keep playing with my hair I just might,” you teased, smiling as you opened your eyes to look up at him. You were slightly taken aback at the way he looked at you, but you tried not to show it. It took you a second before you could finally place it - adoration. It was completely soft, something you never really saw on him before. You could see him leaning in, but he stopped a hairsbreadth away. You waited to see if he would close the miniscule gap or if you should, but then he spoke.

“Can I?” He practically whispered, bringing his hand up to caress your jaw. You nodded even as your heart pounded in your chest. Thomas stayed for a second as though he was giving you a chance to back out, and when you didn’t take it, he closed the gap. The kiss started out gentle, like he was still worried you would change your mind. You were enjoying yourself and the slow pace, but when your mind started taunting you with the things that could happen, you decided to take a chance. You brushed the tip of your tongue against his bottom lip, and he gladly took your sign to deepen the kiss.

Thomas kept one hand cupping your jaw, but the other moved to rest on your hip. The feeling of his hand sent a jolt through you, even through the layer of clothing still separating his skin from yours. You put a hand on the bed to reposition yourself, but Thomas pulled you onto his lap, your core resting on him. You let out a small gasp at the sudden move. Thomas pressed a kiss to your jaw. “Is this okay?” He mumbled against your skin.

“Y-yeah. Yeah, it’s good.” You were a little flustered at the position, but you definitely weren’t complaining. Thomas grasped your chin, tilting your face to look directly in your eyes. Your gaze darted down to his lips, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. You could tell he was studying you, your reactions. He brushed his thumb against your bottom lip, dragging it down just slightly.

“You’re so damn cute,” he murmured before kissing you breathless. Your hands went up to cup his jaw, holding him to you, while his settled on your waist. You went to adjust your position, accidentally grinding against him. Thomas let out the most sinful groan, breaking the kiss to rest his head on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, it just felt so-”

He was cut off by another groan as you grinded against him again. You bit your lip, feeling him harden underneath you. “Don’t apologize.”

Thomas brought you back down for another kiss, his hand on your hip now guiding your movements against him. You softly whined into the kiss, every sensation heightened by the dim room, the soft music. He broke the kiss, laughing slightly as you tried to chase his lips. Before you could say anything, he started kissing down your neck, nipping and soothing the spots with his tongue. As he worked, you started grinding against him faster, needing something to ease the heat pooling in you.

“I need you so bad,” you whined as he worked a spot on your collarbone. Thomas let go of your skin with a wet noise, looking up at you with hooded eyes.

“You sound so pretty when you’re needy,” Thomas said, smirking up at you. He brought his hands up to the buttons of your romper, the question evident in his eyes. You nodded, and he started slowly undoing your romper, pressing a kiss to each inch of skin revealed to him. “You’re gorgeous, Sugar.”

A shiver ran through you at his words, but you ignored it, instead opting to reach for the hem of his t-shirt. “What’s fair’s fair?”

“Of course.” Thomas took the chance to flip your positions, taking off his shirt as your back bounced slightly against the bed. You couldn’t help your sharp inhale as his shirt hit the floor. You knew he was built from what you saw around the house, but seeing him without any barriers was a completely different situation. His abs were solid, something you saw briefly the one time he lifted his shirt to clean his glasses in front of you, so you took the chance to drink in the sight. As your eyes trailed back up his body, he saw him looking down at you with a smirk. He was attractive and he knew it.

He was getting a little too smug for your liking. You wouldn’t normally consider yourself a bold person, but your next move definitely was. You slightly lifted yourself up, undoing your belt and smoothly sliding it off. You pushed the top of the romper off your shoulders, taking a quick glance to see Thomas’s attention completely on you. His smirk had fallen, but his bottom lip was caught between his teeth. You reached behind you, unhooking your bra in one movement (a silent victory on your part). Thomas eased himself down beside you, trying to hide his eagerness, but you could see it in his eyes. The second you tossed your bra to the side, Thomas was back on you, kissing you deeply as his hands explored your chest.

Whatever upperhand you had was gone as Thomas’s thumb ran back and forth over your nipple, drawing a keening whine from the back of your throat. You could feel his smirk as his lips left yours, kissing down your neck again. He nipped at your collarbone, licking at the spot before trailing his tongue across the tops of your breasts. Your hand flew up to hold the back of his head, needing to feel more of his mouth on you.

“You’re so responsive for me, Sugar,” Thomas hummed. “The way your body just acts on its own, the little noises you make for me, it’s intoxicating. All I’ve done is kiss you, we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet.”

“Do you get off on the sound of your own voice?” You asked, gasping as his hand kneaded your breast. His movements were lazy, like he was ready to just have a conversation about this while teasing you to the point of madness.

“No, but I can tell you do.” He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t need to point it out like that. Your silence spoke volumes. He decided to take pity on you, kissing and sucking on the breast he wasn’t kneading. Thomas’s first licks across your nipple were teasing, watching your reactions. You knew you couldn’t be loud - you couldn’t even step in the house without someone hearing you - but the electricity running through you at his touch was making that insanely difficult for you. When he used just the right amount of teeth, even you were surprised at the moan you let out.

Thomas didn’t make any move to quiet you, instead switching over to the other breast. You didn’t know what to do with your hands, switching between holding him to your breast and fisting your hand in the blanket beside you. You tried pressing your thighs together, but Thomas’s body on yours made that almost impossible. He grinded down on you, letting out his own little groan at the slight relief the pressure offered. Thomas brought one of his hands to your waist, teasing at where your romper was still on your body. You whined when his mouth left your skin, not that you’d admit to it. “Can I take this off?”

“Yes, please,” you told him. Thomas sat up, watching you for any signs of discomfort as he fully took your romper off. As he went to shed his own shorts, you leaned back on your elbows, watching. Even though his basketball shorts had already done little to conceal his arousal, seeing the tent in his boxers sent another rush of arousal through you. You spread your legs for Thomas to take his rightful spot between them, which he quickly did. He brought his hand to your core, running his fingers over the fabric there.

“Fuck, you’re soaked,” Thomas groaned, rubbing a little harder. “This all because of me?”

“You know it is,” you tried snipping, but his thumb finding your clit through your panties made it sound more like a plead for something. “Thomas, please touch me.”

“I am touching you,” he teased. “You want more already?”

You nodded. It was almost comical how fast your panties came off, but feeling his fingers against your lips quickly threw any humor you found in the situation out the window. He ran a finger along your slit, watching as you threw your head back against his pillows. You didn’t see the smirk that graced his lips again, watching the way you quickly fell apart under his touch. He hadn’t even done that much, but he wanted to see what’d you do when he actually took you apart.

The wetness between your legs glistened even in the dim light, and Thomas unknowingly licked his lips. There would be time to taste you later - he had the feeling if he went now, he’d be there all night. He dipped his finger into your entrance, teasing like he had been all night. You let out a soft whimper, half ready to beg, but then he gave you what you needed. He carefully inserted his finger into you, feeling around for your spot while his thumb worked your clit. Your soft noises were driving him crazy; even though they weren’t loud, they were mesmerizing, and he wondered how you’d sound if you didn’t have to worry about being overheard.

As he pumped his finger in you, he made sure to drag it along your wall, dragging out every little whimper he could. You tried to close your thighs on his hand, but he held them open with his free hand. Thomas wanted to see what he was doing to you, see your arousal glistening on his finger. Once he was sure you were ready, he slid another finger into you, drawing your loudest moan yet at the stretch. He curled his fingers, sending a shock of pleasure through you. He smiled when he felt you shudder, knowing he found it.

Thomas’s attention on your clit and the pressure on your spot was bringing you to your edge and fast. Your fisted hand in his sheet was pulling it down, your other hand trying to muffle the noises you were making. You weren’t normally so vocal in bed, but the way Thomas was playing your body just brought out this side that you never knew about. “I’m close,” you panted out the warning.

“Then cum for me, Sugar. Cum on my fingers.” It wasn’t an order, but your body listened to him like it was. You bit into your arm to hide your moans, and you swore you were close to breaking skin. Thomas worked you through it, his fingers slowing considerably but not quite stopping until the last shudder wracked through your body. He pulled his fingers out, looking at them covered in your juices. “Look at that, Sugar. You got me all messy.”

Before you even had the chance to be embarrassed, Thomas took his fingers in his mouth, making sure to completely clean them of your essence. You thought he couldn’t get more attractive, but the blissed out look on his face as he tasted you proved you wrong. You let out a soft whisper of ‘fuck’ at the sight. Your body was weak from your orgasm, but that didn’t stop you from sitting up so you could kiss him properly. You pulled back from the kiss, holding his face in your hands. “Thomas… do you want to?”

“Yeah, if you’re okay with it,” Thomas said, bringing one of his hands to cover yours. You rolled your eyes.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t,” you sassed. You let out a shriek as Thomas pinned you back down to the bed.

“You’re so annoying.” Thomas kissed you, grinding his still-covered erection into you for a second before he got back up to dig in his desk drawer. He emerged a few seconds later, condom in hand. “Perks of being a manager.”

“Aren’t those supposed to be if we need them, not your personal use?” you decided to tease him.

“Technically this is you needing them,” Thomas laughed as he pulled down his boxers. His length stood proudly, precum beading at the tip. He stroked himself, watching you squirm on his bed. You could feel your body growing hot at his intense gaze, slight embarrassment making you want to cover up, but heavy arousal beat that out. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from his hand on his dick, his thumb rubbing the head, smearing the precum. After what felt like ages of the agonizing tease, Thomas finally rolled the condom on.

Thomas climbed back over you, caging you in between his arms. He dipped his head, catching your lips in a kiss that was softer than any of the ones you’d shared before. When he broke the kiss, he only separated a breath away. “Are you ready?”

“Please, Thomas, I need to feel you.” Thomas slowly dragged one hand down your body, reaching between the two of you to line up with your entrance.

“Tell me if you need me to do anything,” he said before finally sliding into you. You whined at the stretch, just bordering on the right side of uncomfortable. Thomas kissed you as he stayed still, waiting for you to get used to his size. After a second, you rolled your hips, needing him to move. Thomas picked up on your movement, giving a testing thrust. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“Please, Thomas, move.” Thomas nodded, keeping his pace slow, but still hitting every spot that had you crying out for him. You tried to cover your mouth to muffle your noises, but Thomas stopped you, instead threading his fingers with yours and holding your hand to the bed. He kissed at your neck, and you could tell he was leaving marks, but you really didn’t care. The feeling of him inside you was driving you wild, but you needed him to move faster. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

“What is it, baby? You want me to move faster? But I like feeling you around me, gripping my dick so nice,” Thomas panted into your ear. Even though he was teasing, he still sped up his movements. You knew you were talking, but you didn’t really know what you were saying. The only thing you really registered was a stream of curse words and pleads for more, even though you really didn’t know what more you were asking for.

You could feel the heat pooling in you, so close but not quite there. You choked out a warning, your walls squeezing around him. His thrusts were getting faster and sloppier, just hinting that Thomas was nearing his end. “C’mon, baby, just a little longer. I’m almost there too,” Thomas panted into your ear, pressing his face into your neck.

You scratched your nails down his back, working your hips against his as you tried to reach your peak. Thomas nudged the side of your face, bringing his lips to yours. He brought a hand down between your bodies, feeling blindly for a second before finding your clit. You moaned into the kiss, unable to control it any longer. You broke the kiss, moans filling the room as Thomas worked you through it. Thomas followed soon after, unrestrained groans mingling with your own noises. He pumped into you a few more times before easing himself out of you, laying down next to you.

You laid there, letting the pleasant soreness settle in your body. You looked over at Thomas as he threw out the condom before sitting up and looking around for your romper. You saw it crumpled near the foot of his bed, and as you were pulling it on, you couldn’t help but make a little quip. “So that was fun.”

“Yeah, it really wa- why are you getting dressed?”

“Because I need to go back downstairs?”

“Stay with me,” he said, climbing back in bed beside you and wrapping his arms around you. “I”ll get you a shirt, you can go clean up in the bathroom, we can stay and cuddle…”

You had to admit, that all sounded very tempting. Then again, you had to think about the walk of shame you’d be doing. Either you could do it now when it wasn’t likely anyone was awake still, or you could do it in the morning before anyone else was up. Thomas pressed a kiss to your neck. “Alright, I guess I can stay.”

He gave you a bright smile before hopping up off the bed again. He grabbed his boxers from the floor and pulled them on before going to grab you a shirt. Once the shirt was on, you checked the hallway and bolted to the bathroom to clean up. By the time you got back to Thomas’s room, the music was off, and Thomas was in bed, scrolling on his phone. He looked over at you, the same bright smile on his face again.

“Hey,” you said, suddenly feeling shy. You’d just slept with the guy, and you were wearing his shirt, but now you didn’t know what to say.

“Hey.” He put his phone down on the desk before pulling his legs in so you could climb in next to him. Once you were in bed, you sat there, trying to figure out what to do. He wrapped his arm around your middle, pulling you into him. You took a deep breath, letting yourself relax into his hold. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Stop worrying so much, go to sleep.”

You couldn’t help but listen to him.

**********

The first thing you registered was the fact that you were not in your bed. You knew the sheets felt different, your stuffed bear was not next to you, and there was definitely someone sleeping right beside you. It took a second for your half-asleep mind to piece together what had happened the night before, but once it did, you couldn’t help the word that slipped from your lips. “Fuck.”

“We already did that, Sugar,” Thomas mumbled from beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close to him. He nuzzled into your neck, and you’d be lying if you said that didn’t make you melt.

“Thomas,” you trailed off, not knowing what you were supposed to say. You lived with this guy, and would for at least 7 more months. Not only did you live with this guy, he was a manager for the house you lived in. That broke some of the most major rules you had for not only living with other people, but dating in general. Wait, were you even dating now?

“Shush, it’s still before noon. We have some more time.” You didn’t know what exactly he meant by that, but you let yourself relax into his hold. You should probably have this conversation with him when he wasn’t half asleep.

You stayed in bed with him for another hour before you finally went down to your own room. You waited for the hallway to go completely quiet and made your way down the stairs, only to see Peggy, Alex, and John sitting at the dinner table. “Look who finally made her appearance. So, how was Thomas?” John asked, a sly smile on his face.

“I just ended up passing out in his room after the party,” you tried lying, not meeting any of their eyes.

“So that’s why you’re wearing his shirt?” Peggy jumped in. Before you could even try to defend yourself with more lies, Alex spoke.

“The walls here are way too thin to try lying about things like that.”

#thomas jefferson x reader #thomas jefferson imagine #hamilton imagine #reader insert #smut

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yehet-about-it · 4 years

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I Like Me Better | 07 - The Housewarming

~ A Wayv Social Media AU Series ~

< Prev || Series Masterlist || Next >

Synopsis: You’ve just moved into a new apartment with your best friend Yangyang, but you’re immediately faced with a problem: your incredibly noisy upstairs neighbour Xiao Dejun, or to friends, Xiaojun. You spend the first few weeks of your acquaintance hating his guts, but after a sincere apology and a fascinating revelation about his passions and motivations you slowly begin to see past his cold exterior to discover the real him. What will happen as you get closer to this troubled boy and how will those closest to you react?

Themes and Warnings: Swearing, references to drinking/alcohol.

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Word Count: 1.4k

You downed the rest of your drink as you sat on the sofa, watching your friends completing a series of ridiculous dares, including your brother giving an embarrassed looking Winwin a less than scintillating lapdance. You sighed as the deliberately loud music pounded in your head, looking down at your phone. As much fun as you were having, your mind kept drifting to Kun and how he still wasn’t here. It wasn’t that you were overly attached to him, but you’d known him for a long time and he’d been so supportive in helping you find the apartment and with the whole moving process, so celebrating without him there felt somewhat hollow. You also didn’t want him overworking himself. He was incredibly passionate about his work and you knew how much he loved it but sometimes he stayed through the night working and you worried about him. Part of you was also a little mad he was prioritising work over you, but that could be forgiven, eventually. Hopefully he’d be done with work soon and save you from your brother who was now twerking per request of Yangyang who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Jungwoo’s incredibly embarrassing display of dance skills.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard your brother yelling your name as the next person to do a truth or dare. “Huh?” you questioned, not yet realising you had been chosen to have a turn. “Come on y/n, stop looking so miserable! Truth or dare?” yelled Renjun, giggling next to your brother. Miserable huh? You’d show them. “Hmm, truth!” you declared, feeling a little bolder as the drink you’d just downed started to kick in. Truth was always the riskier option with these guys because they had the uncanny ability of being able to tease you about just about anything, whereas their dares were generally quite tame. “Hmm…” Jungwoo made a show of thinking about his question. “Would you, or would you not, hook up with your neighbour upstairs?” he said with a smirk. Your eyes widened at his question. The absolute cheek of your brother. “What?! Dejun? Why would I want to do that?!” You squeaked. Even though he was relatively attractive, the thought had never crossed your mind, you choosing rather to be preoccupied with holding a grudge against him for his loud music that kept you awake most nights. “You did say he was sort of handsome…” Winwin piped up. You snapped your head to look at him with a scowl. “So? He’s still an asshole,” you said. “You don’t like bad boys then?” Jungwoo said, a smug look plastered across his face. You raised an eyebrow. What kind of question was that? “I don’t know? It’s not like I have a type! Anyway, we agreed – no follow-up questions!” you said, very much done with the topic. “Haha, fiiiine, whatever, now your turn” your brother said, thankfully not pushing you on the matter. “Okay… Winwin…”

You continued on playing the game for a while longer before the group dispersed and you found yourself nonchalantly clearing away various bottles and cans that had been left lying around. You were brushing a can off of a table into your trash bag at the back of the lounge as Yangyang popped up over the back of the couch, clearly about to say something, when you heard shuffling out in the corridor. You had left the front door open for any late arrivals, that mainly consisting of Kun, so you could occasionally hear movement from out in the stairwell down your hall. Since you had had perhaps one too many drinks, your mind instantly went to your absent friend. “Kun!” you exclaimed, rushing towards the door, leaving Yangyang to slouch back down on the couch, the terrible joke he was about to spring on you left unsaid.

You got to the door, trash bag still in hand, only to find three young men arriving on your landing. “Kun?” you called out, before realising the three men were not your dear friend. They looked at you in surprise as you burst through the open door having expected to only find one handsome young man. As you looked them over left to right, you realised one of them was Lucas, the friend of your rude upstairs neighbour, along with two other men you hadn’t seen before. “Oh” you said, disappointed that yet again it wasn’t Kun at your door. Lucas smirked as he saw you emerge into the stairwell. “Sorry… I thought you were someone else” you said, blush rising in your cheeks. “Haha well sorry to disappoint you” Lucas said with a cheeky smile. “Y/n right?” You gulped, nervous to actually talk to Lucas in person for the first time, despite the alcohol in your system. “Uhh yeah! And you would be Lucas?” He nodded. “You having a party or something? “Uh yeah, just a little housewarming thing… You’re going to see Dejun?” you asked. You mentally facepalmed. ‘Why else would they be here?!’ you thought. “Mhm” Lucas hummed in affirmation, nodding. Then he looked at toward the man on his left, who was looking back at him with a curious smirk. “Oh, this is Ten and Hendery” he said gesturing to the men either side of him. “We’re all friends with Dejun,” he explained. “O-oh, nice to meet you, I’m y/n, me and my friend just moved in a couple of weeks ago” you said, shifting on the spot, not noticing the footsteps steadily making their way up the stairs towards you. “So you’re the neighbour we’ve heard so much about?” said the boy to the right of him, apparently called Hendery. “You have?” you questioned, bewildered as to what they might know about you. Clearly those boys had been gossipping, not unlike yourself. You were somewhat saved however, as the person you had been waiting for appeared on your landing.

As Hendery opened his mouth to say something, you noticed your friend as he drew closer to you and your face lit up, excited and thankful he was here. “Kun!” “Hey cute stuff,” Kun smiled softly walking towards you, affectionately wrapping one arm around you before turning to face the three men on your landing. “And who might this be?” he said calmly, smiling at the boys. “Hey” you started, smiling up at him, then turning to the three mysterious men on the landing. “This is Lucas, Ten and Hendery, they’re all friends with Dejun, the neighbour upstairs”. “Ah, cool, pleased to meet you, I’m Kun” he said pleasantly, but almost ingenuinely, you thought, stretching out his arm to shake all of their hands. After shaking hands, an almost awkward silence ensued, and not being comfortable with such instances, you stirred the courage to speak up again. “Well, we should probably get back to the party, everyone’s been waiting for you Kun…” “Ah sure,” he said, giving your shoulder a squeeze. Awkward tension seemed to arise as you waited for a response from the surprisingly attractive group of men gathered on your landing. “Sure, well have a good night y/n” Lucas spoke, alleviating the silence and giving you a nod, before shifting slightly, signalling to the others it was time to move on. “Uhuh. You too,” you hummed as they turned to make their way up the next flight of stairs to Dejun’s flat.

When they were almost out of sight, Kun’s arm fell from your shoulder to his side as you turned to face him. “You’re late” you said half teasingly, half genuinely irritated, giving him a pouty look. “I know I’m sorry…” he said, pouting back at you. “Work things, you know…” You nodded in understanding. You were a little annoyed, but Kun’s work was important so you found it in yourself to let it go. “Shall we?” Kun continued, holding his hand out as to usher you back inside your apartment. You smiled brightly, glad he was finally here and made your way back into your apartment. “Interesting friends…” he uttered as you led him through the entrance corridor to your party. You shrugged stopping in your tracks to turn behind to look at him. “Oh, I just met them. Actually I thought they were you when I heard them coming up the stairs, I mean, that’s why I went to the door…” you admitted. Kun looked at you and chuckled affectionately. “Well, you were close, I’m here now” he said. “You are,” you said, grinning before taking Kun’s hands in yours and dragging him towards the open area between your living room and kitchen where most of the party seemed to be happening.

“HEY GUYS!! KUN’S HERE!”

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escxpiism · 3 years

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( olivia holt, 23, she/her ) * hey, i’m looking for the office of ALICE ADAMS. they’re the EMPLOYEE who’s known around the office as THE MASK if that helps ? not to be a gossip, but i’ve heard that they’re ADAPTABLE but JADED, is that true ? i also heard that they’re the one who CATFISHED DAVID HASSELHOFF. anyways, here’s the coffee they ordered.

hi y’all !! i’m may ( 21 // est // she/her ) and i am super super pumped to be here !! i’m also very much writing this against my better judgment ya girl’s running on four hours of sleep and has the option to sleep more but......... is not tired ?? so i do apologize if my mind is secretly tired and makes this intro,,,, even worse than it would be fahouedn. on with the show !! anyway anyway!! feel free to like this if u wld like 2 plot and i will hit u up!!

( also, for some vibes if you so choose to read, here’s the link to her playlist ! )

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

QUICK FACTS:

full name: alice audrey adams

date of birth: october 26th, 1997

*will not perfectly reflect the zodiac big three below because that’s.... math.

zodiac big three: scorpio sun, virgo moon, taurus rising

gender & pronouns: cis woman & she/her

sexual orientation: bisexual

education: ged, bachelor’s degree in film — pratt institute

enneagram: 4w3

mbti: enfp

temperament: sanguine-melancholic

label: the mask

various inspirations: “nutshell” - alice in chains, “santa monica” - everclear, “polly” - nirvana, “jennifer’s body” - hole, “creep” - stone temple pilots, kate wallis ( cruel summer - shhhh ), heather davis ( crazy ex-girlfriend ), satana hellstrom ( marvel comics ), bojack horseman - without the amount of problematic ego ( bojack horseman ), eddie huang ( fresh off the boat ), the great britney spears evolution ( temporarily stopping at circus era )

BACKSTORY:

triggers in order: toxic family dynamic, grooming (nothing super in-depth), kidnapping (? like it was ‘willing’ but no. see next trigger for why), toxic “relationship” (and 11yr age gap w/ a 16y/o we hate it), straight-up captivity, very brief mention of suicide + heroin (very!)

*would like to quickly preface that this isn’t just Dark for the sake of being r/im14andthisisdeep but that’s for a later time **(also! i have markers for where the grooming + Super Dark parts begin and end! -- also, the Super Dark part is all very public knowledge. had articles. media frenzy. first thing that comes up if you google her name) *** also. if u need it then a tl;dr is below this section hfkldsa

alice audrey adams was born to the type of family that names all of their children alliterative names ( however, they sadly didn’t get their own kardashian-style show )... alexis adams (working name, utp if taken as a wc)... alfie allison adams (working name, utp if taken as a wc)... born to anna adams and allen adams... we hate it here.

as u can see... all of the kids were basically named after allen... they all had ‘al’ names.... extremely confusing

plot-twist: THAT’S the darkest part

the adams were very concerned with public image. as a family in the upper echelon, they simply had to be! a narcissist father, a distant mother, put in competition with her siblings — there was no truly healthy dynamic in the household. but they looked good. they went to church every sunday, a ‘wwjd’ sticker on the back of her mother’s car. they did just enough activities and took just enough trips together to get the image across. they threw parties. they attended parties. they were the picture perfect american family — they even had two cats in the yard! life used to be so hard!

of course, in reality, this all left ms alice quite the lonely gal. but don’t worry! she didn’t turn to hedonism! lord no! instead, she turned to other people. a lot of friendships — couldn’t tell if they were real or #fortheclout — but at a point, did it matter?

grooming tw: it all came to a screeching halt when she met luke johnson, the son of their neighbors. he came back from california to georgia to visit family, care for his ailing father. oh, he was a good man! sure, he was ‘somewhat’ older than her — 27 when she was 16 — but he was such a good, handsome young man! and they were all still calling him young man, after all.

alice ‘began’ a torrid affair with luke after about a month into his visit. although she saw no immediate wrong in it, he insisted she keep it a secret ‘for the time being’ — which really just made it all the more exciting! he made all the storm clouds that hovered disappear.

one day, the levee broke for alice (still figuring out what exactly happened because i don’t wanna go too dark since this is already extremely dark, but trust that it had something to do with her parents and was just enough to push her over the edge). convinced luke was the only safe person, she turned to him. knowing their small community would catch on and essentially exile him, he took that opportunity to convince her to go back to santa monica with him where they could ‘start anew’ after his father’s death.

there are a few details i plan on adding regarding like. how legality playing into it. but i may just reserve those for an official bio lhakfsdfj

**BEGINNING OF SUPER DARK** for a while, there was the question of whether they should consider it a kidnapping or not. she went with him willingly, but she was still underage (and… you know, that age difference… the power dynamic... gross y’all). the adams insisted that it was (bc it basically was lbr) — primarily because it would make them look far better — but the community still questioned the logistics and legalities of it all… ugh. did the police really wanna deal with that? ugh.

in any case, on the other side of us america, autumn was nearing. alice would have the very occasional inquiry over how school would work (very occasional! don’t worry, luke!), over the logistics of her new life… and, after receiving multiple calls from various friends (in addition to her siblings) that sounded genuine, began wondering… if she’d made the right choice. questions about him.

when she began bringing up the idea of going back — at least for the school year!! — he would continuously remind her that she was not old enough to buy herself a plane ticket (and he was not about to do that). she also couldn’t rent a car yet (and he certainly wouldn’t let her take (one of) his car(s)!). but most importantly? he loved her. and she loved him. (what a creep!)

so, for a hot second, it seemed like she was stuck. damn legalities!! damn love!! you know, until she texted her older sister back with all of the problems that only being 16... and “in love”.... caused. her sister offered to fly down, buy her a plane ticket, and fly back with her.

when luke saw this (with all the unrestricted access to her phone he had so he could block, delete, and manipulate as he pleased), he confronted her. things went awry. she wound up in his budding wine cellar (which he soon emptied, of course… those merlots :( ….). he messaged back and, as her, said it was actually all good!! luke had figured out the logistics and she could call whenever she wanted!!

and those calls became frequent! because she would pick up when luke held it up to her! because she was pretty sure luke would kill her if she didn’t!

she wasn’t sure how long it was until she was officially Found. it took what was ruled a suicide by luke, a shot to the head and heroin in his system, to finally get any authority’s attention. all she knew was that she went to santa monica in mid june and she stopped seeing regular daylight by late july. so some time in august to some time in april… **END OF SUPER DARK + GROOMING**

she was returned to georgia shortly after and everything was different. from herself to her friends. but everything was also the same. from her room to her family. it was all… teasing. she began going to therapy, but she really sucked at it?? so she just let her therapist rely on various articles that covered the event. because it had been a media circus. good enough, amirite??

she didn’t have the will or patience to put on that peppy facade she’d had before, but there were still a few things she found a smidge of joy in. music (although her taste had… slightly altered and wow! it’d been almost a year since she’d picked up that bass!), videography… just those small things, you know??

for the first half of the ~ 2014 fall semester ~, she attempted actual school. really was not working out. with, for probably the first and only time, her parents’ approval and understanding, she dropped out and studied for a ged -- shorter and self-led -- instead.

she passed with a pretty decent grade... but it’s been argued that she really shouldn’t have gotten into pratt institute (she was at least realistic and didn’t apply to, like… cornell), but she did. national news helps.

while in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, she learned of masters. she submitted an application as a joke — because her grades sucked!!!!! — but guess who got a job?? oh, she could pretend it was because her selected portfolio was actually genuinely good… but, man… we all know…

fun fact: my uncle applied to harvard as a joke. some twenty-five years later, we still haven’t heard back :\

she… continues to suck. like… she kinda wants the place to eventually burn down?? figuratively speaking (or is it…) but ya, for all the monopolizing she has seen turn people Evil?? but the hell can she do about it… just gotta make sure she keeps her in-house videographer job… maybe she can do something about it when she like… is capable. fuaihoelwdjkn

she sees an in-house therapist and i’d say ‘good for her,’ but it was mandated l m a o

doesn’t talk about herself all that much!! but that might not matter for some people, yk?? ugh journalism <3

y’all im so bad at ending intros.

TL;DR:

(consult above trigger list): bright kid in a super rich and toxic family because obviously. everything they did was just to look good <3 also they all had ‘a’ names which is the biggest tragedy of all :( ‘fell in love’ when she was 16ys/o with a 27y/o who was visiting to care for his father in his final days. had a torrid affair. creep. creep (luke) basically made her ‘fall in love.’ she thought creep was the only safe person at one point and creep was like ‘wanna go back 2 santa monica w me?’ and she was like ‘yes.’ and everyone was like ‘was this kidnapping... we cant tell....’ then he became even more possessive when she started questioning him and some logistics. when she finally found a way she could go back to georgia for a spell, he was like ‘no u can go in my wine cellar btw i will be taking all of the wine out.’ he kept her there from august to april and... only reason he didnt keep keeping her was bc he was Caught so. back to georgia where the devil went down. everything was Worse. even the things that were the same. but hey, the sob story that landed her in the news plenty of times got her into a college she shouldn’t have gotten into and gave her a leg-up in a joke application for a job at masters (in-house videographer). really bad at doing her work but like... fuck the man i guess??

PERSONALITY + HEADCANONS:

has no time for Fake Nice (which, as a born southerner, she’s really good at sniffing out!). has no time for arrogance. kind of makes her at odds with the nyc upper class...

on that note, still got a lil bit of some georgia twang

she lets herself indulge in various vices, but has left a previous hedonist status. weed and alcohol are still pretty common, but everything else is kept at arm’s length.

also, while on that topic, she Does Not drink wine. being trapped in a cellar... kinda makes u averse. like. literally despises it. will go on autopilot and make it KNOWN if offered wine.

also ALSO while on that topic, after looking it up and seeing she fits the new york city requirements, she has a medical marijuana card <3 the one good thing, if u ask her, to come out of therapy/psychiatry <3 will not show it off unless absolutely NECESSARY bc then it gets personal or <3 will lie about why and say it’s like for epilepsy or sumn unless ur rolfe but <3 she has it <3

at odds with herself. enjoys the company of others, definitely has a history of being an extrovert, but has become very selective with the company she keeps.

VERY private person! has had enough public standing!

...has occasionally used her story to advance her tho bc it’s her national newsworthy tragic story and she can exploit it if she wants <3

when good charlotte said “i don’t wanna be in love”?? she felt that. her last ‘relationship’ ruined that for her <3 save her <3

used to be really into pop! bc pop is fun! she loved some britney (i mean... she still does... how can u not!)! but. her taste has changed drastically. rarely listens to pop. has traded britney for like.... hole and the like.

her parents didn’t use this as the basis for her name but,, 2 me,,, she’s named alice for a reason <3 gotta luv alice in chains <3

y’all i found a youtube comment on a video called ‘nirvana - half the man i used to be’ (the song was, in fact, ‘creep’ by stone temple pilots) and it’s <3 her music taste <3 click here for it <3

the above said, dresses like she’s in seattle in the early 90s.

her rumor is true btw she DID catfish david hasselhoff and she will proudly tell u. it’s her best accomplishment.

completely stopped talking to her parents and got cut-off a while back ago so now she’s livin like the Prols

which is how a rich kid one of my profs once advised referred to his classmates.... hilarity ensues.

the above in mind, her parents say she’s testing the waters as a ‘normal person’ to save face. they can’t have anyone knowing their family isn’t perfect <3

she has a pet turtle whom she named “dr. turtle,” although he’s constantly referred to as “doc” or “the doc.” he has his own youtube channel and tiktok account.

she has a wall full of evidence that courtney love did not kill kurt cobain... it makes sense, believe me.

became a vegetarian...... partially because it was different from her original life and a way to control something, partially because this commercial made her feel SO BAD.

literally her default mode is stoned like... a totally sober alice is rarer than a nessie sighting

when she was 18, before she could ‘hold her liquor’ as well as she can now, she got a lil too drunk and now has a portrait tattoo of courtney love on her forearm. but it was done well at least!!

kind of ironic considering her career, but RARELY posts on any social media site except twitter. after the media circus in 2014 and All Eyes On Her, she’s just..... so tired...... of ppl seeing her face and being like ‘omg ur that wine cellar bitch!’

(drugs tw) has become more and more Addicted to playing around with fate. j chill on a ledge, talkin to some pals, but deciding it’s a good idea to swing her legs on the wrong side of ledge? totally! mixing a lot of alcohol with opioids which she is not accustomed to? DEF!! (end tw)

more to come!!

CONNECTION IDEAS:

i have two (2) queued up!! but while we wait for them to post, i’ll just… link them over here: 1, 2

muse u <3 the other half of her subplot from the main <3

her older sister!

her younger sibling!

some of the basics!! you know: close pal, roommate, drug buddies (but she gotta hit them up), fwb, ons, frenemies, enemy

ppl who recognize her from the 2014 luke johnson articles and have either brought it up or,,,,,,, act Awkward™

cld be fun 2 just have like. a jam bud. someone who plays any instrument and they j. jam sometimes.

ppl she sells. some of her medical marijuana to. bc yk what weed may be legal in nyc now but,,,, she’s still found a way to be broke she will accept anything. and also it just became legalized THIS YEAR so!!

i have a budding wc page @ https://escxpiism.tumblr.com/wcs (and when i say budding, i MEAN budding) so feel free 2 check it out!!

more to come!!

#masters.intro #alice | intro !#this took me like....... 2hrs 2 write so i do indeed think my mind is fooling me and actually lagging behind.

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sanderssidesfanfiction · 3 years

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If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Fifty Two

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

June 22nd, 1999 Anthony leaned back, away from Emile, who was trying to hug him. “What if someone sees us?” he asked, glancing around.

“I don’t care,” Emile said with a shrug. “You’re hurting, Anthony, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“You’re always so concerned for others,” Anthony said, sniffing a laugh, but his eyes were sad. “Do you ever stop to care for yourself?”

“I haven’t really had a need to take a step back,” Emile said.

“Not what I asked,” Anthony pointed out.

Emile shrugged. “I don’t need to care for myself as much as you might think. And besides, other people rely on me, I can’t just rip their support system out from under them.”

Anthony sighed and let Emile hug him this time. “You’re going to have to take care of yourself at some point, you know,” he pointed out.

“Yeah,” Emile said, pulling back. “But you’re hurting more, so you’re top priority right now.”

December 24th, 2001

Almost as soon as dinner was done, and the adults were starting to disperse from the table either to help clean or to watch the kids, Remy’s hand brushed against Emile’s. Emile turned from where he was about to follow his cousins into whatever experiment they wanted to try. Remy looked like he was about to pass out. He was tense, and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “Hey, I’ll be with you kids in a minute,” he told his cousins, before moving closer to Remy and murmuring, “Let’s go out back.”

“What if someone sees us?” Remy asked, even as he followed Emile through the house and out onto the back porch.

“No one will look for us out here, Rem. It’s okay,” Emile said.

The wind whipped around them as they left the porch and Emile shivered with only a sweater protecting him from the elements. Remy still had his leather jacket on, but for once Emile was jealous of him for it. “Talk to me, Rem. What’s eating at you?” Emile asked.

“I thought I was going to be okay, you know?” Remy asked, his tears starting to fall. He shoved shaking hands into his jacket pockets and looked up towards the sky, sniffling. “I thought that it might hurt a bit to be away from my family for Christmas, about as much as it did last year, you know? But...but when your cousin started asking those questions...and I’m not blaming her, she’s too young to really understand why it’s so upsetting to me...”

“But she’s old enough to know that it does upset you, and she should have stopped,” Emile said. “What she did wasn’t okay, and I’m really sorry you had to deal with that.”

“I just...it just brought Toby to the front of my mind,” Remy said, sniffling again. “He always, always looked out for me, no matter how much trouble he’d get in for it. I took that for granted, and now that he’s not here, I just...miss him, Emile, I miss him so much.”

“I know you do, Rem. But it’ll be okay. Maybe not right away, but I know that one day you’ll find Toby again and the two of you can catch up,” Emile reasoned.

Remy sniffed a laugh and shook his head. “The only way I would find him is through our parents, and that’s not an option. I realize that now. But it means I’m without a brother who truly cared about me.”

Emile took Remy’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think you’re doomed to never see each other again, Rem,” Emile said. “One day, you’ll get your reunion with him.”

Remy continued to cry and Emile tutted, hugging Remy tight, and Remy clung desperately to him. Emile pulled away just enough to look at Remy and smiled sadly, wiping Remy’s tears away. “It’s going to be okay,” Emile whispered.

“I love you,” Remy murmured back. “Thank you.”

“Remy, there’s nothing I’d rather do,” Emile said.

Remy turned with a sigh to the porch. “We should probably get back in, someone’s going to start missing us,” Remy said.

“If they haven’t already started looking,” Emile agreed. “Hey,” he said, causing Remy to turn back to him. “I mean it when I say there’s nothing I’d rather do than be here for you, Rem.”

Remy smiled. “I know, Emile. Thank you.”

They both walked inside, and Emile rubbed his hands together to try and get feeling back in them, before he spotted Bailey in the living room. “Hey, Bailey! The girls giving you trouble again?” Emile asked.

Bailey looked up in surprise, before his gaze darted away. “Just a little,” he said. “I was looking for you earlier.”

“Oh? Sorry, I was out back with Remy. We just needed to talk about something in private real quick.”

Bailey shifted a little, seeming to debate something in his head, before he turned red and blurted, “I know.”

Emile turned to Remy in surprise. Remy looked absolutely terrified, and Emile knew he was feeling much the same way. They needed to do damage control, and fast. He squeezed Remy’s hand and corralled Bailey into a hallway in the house where no one would overhear them. “How do you know that?” Emile asked quietly, sitting on his haunches.

“I saw you,” Bailey admitted. “I went out on the back porch and I saw the two of you.”

Remy muttered a quiet, “Shit.”

“Remy, don’t swear in front of the kid,” Emile said, turning to look at him briefly. “What did you see, Bailey?”

“Enough,” Bailey said. “I know the two of you are together, like the couples on mom’s soaps.” Emile winced and Remy turned paler. “Don’t worry, though! I also know it’s a secret. Why else would you guys sneak out back just to hug? And I won’t tell anyone, Cousin Emile, not even Aunt Jackie and Uncle Fred.”

“Aunt Jackie and Uncle Fred?” Remy asked softly.

“My parents,” Emile said. He felt relief flood through him as he realized that Bailey thought that no one knew about this. That meant he wouldn’t ask Emile’s parents any questions a little too loudly. “Thanks, Bailey. I know that it’s hard to keep these sorts of things secret, but it’s really important that no one knows. Not even Grandpa, okay?”

“Okay,” Bailey said with a nod. “I think Grandpa would be happy, though. He always liked it when you had girlfriends before.”

“Yeah, but I never told him I had boyfriends, too,” Emile explained. “Because he doesn’t think girls should have girlfriends or boys should have boyfriends. And since Remy is my boyfriend, not my girlfriend...”

“It has to stay a secret?” Bailey filled in.

“At least for now,” Emile agreed. “Listen, if you have any questions, you can ask your mom or dad, all right? But if they ask about why you’re so curious, say that I mentioned two boys I knew in college were dating. Not that it’s me and Remy, sound good?”

“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I know that there’s a lot of crying whenever couples break up on my mom’s soaps, for whatever reason. And I don’t want you or Remy to cry. You’re both super nice.”

And there was the kid that Emile knew and loved. “Thanks, Bailey,” Emile said with a smile. “Now, do you still need help with the girls, or will you be okay on your own?”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Bailey said. “I mean, if you and Remy need some more time alone...”

“We might,” Emile allowed. “Thank you for understanding.”

Bailey nodded and ran off, and Remy weakly joked, “Can I swear now?”

“I won’t stop you,” Emile said standing and wincing as his knees cracked.

“Fucking shit,” Remy breathed. “I have never been so terrified of a six year old.”

“He’s eight, actually, I think,” Emile said. “Kinda short for his age but not overly so.”

“My point still stands,” Remy said. “We almost got into huge trouble.”

“It wouldn’t be trouble, exactly, I don’t think,” Emile said. “It would more be...a rather colorful argument. No one would get physically hurt, although I can’t speak to psychological or emotional states.”

“I would argue that psychological and emotional states would be more likely to bring about trouble,” Remy said.

“Okay, that’s a good point,” Emile allowed. “But considering how bad it could be? I would argue that the worst thing to happen here isn’t that bad.”

“...You know that you would never allow me to make that argument, right?” Remy asked. “Any kind of trouble is still trouble, Emile. I get you don’t want me to be worried, but I know both of us were terrified when Bailey said that. Even if our trouble wasn’t as severe as getting kicked out, which, in all honesty? Considering the way your grandfather acts he could tell us to leave the party and not come back. But even if it wasn’t that severe he could still hurt us, could still hurt you, with his backwards views.”

Emile took a breath. “He’s a good guy, Rem. It’s this one thing that he’s not great with.”

“Yeah, hon, and this one thing is a huge part of your identity and your future,” Remy said, and Emile hated that he was right. “No physical danger doesn’t mean no danger at all.”

“I know,” Emile grumbled, running a hand down his face. “But it’s so much easier for me to compartmentalize that little issue and focus on the good, at least while I’m in the moment.”

“You sure you’re just compartmentalizing?” Remy asked. “Because a lot of the stuff you say? Whether or not we’re in his house, whether or not others can hear, is the same stuff you’re saying now. It’s just one thing, he never gets physical, he’s genuinely a good guy. You’re trying to repress your pain, Emile, and if I don’t get to do that, than neither do you.”

“Listen,” Emile said. “I can’t just cry whenever I enter a room and he mentions something homophobic. And you know what I tend to do when the pain gets too overwhelming? I cry. Yeah, what he says hurts me. It hurts me more when he says it than when anyone else does. Anyone else I can just shrug it off. The other people who would judge me for being bi aren’t that close to me. Even the other homophobes in my family don’t matter as much, because they didn’t try to get to know me from such a young age. But my grandfather and I bonded a lot over my twenty years of life. Same with my grandmother, except she’s not alive anymore to keep my grandfather in check if he says something hateful. What he says matters to me, because I care about him and what he thinks of me. Which means I might need only a single comment from him to make the waterworks start if I don’t repress it.”

“Then leave the room and let yourself cry, Emile!” Remy exclaimed in a harsh whisper. “Because you can’t just repress your feelings on this matter, and if you refuse to acknowledge them even when it’s safe to cry over it, then you’re not compartmentalizing. You’re repressing.”

“Remy, I promise you, it’s not as bad as it seems,” Emile reasoned.

Remy took a deep breath, putting his hands in a prayer position in front of his mouth, and Emile braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of whatever Remy was about to say. “I’ll let myself cry without beating myself up if you allow yourself to cry when your grandfather hurts you,” Remy said.

That...was unexpected. “Why?” Emile asked.

“Because you need to allow yourself to cry every once in a while. You can’t repress all the bad feelings, Emile, that’s how you end up trying to hurt yourself. You talk out the little things, but not the big ones. And if you let yourself feel the big ones, you’ll feel a lot better. Not to mention, that if you let yourself cry every once in a while it tells me that crying isn’t something I need to hide, or be ashamed of. Two birds, one stone.”

Emile considered. Remy had a point. And he had been trying to get Remy to beat himself up less over crying. Which is probably why Remy was using this as leverage now, the conniving man that he was. “Okay,” Emile said. “Tonight, when we’re in our guest room, you can force me to decompress and I can help you handle how much you miss Toby in the late hours of the night. Don’t pretend you don’t lie in bed awake at night sometimes wondering where he is, because you’ve told me you do as much.”

Remy stuck his hand out and quietly said, “Deal.”

Emile shook his hand and they held onto each other just for a moment, just to feel that connection, before Emile’s cousins spotted him and rushed over to wrap him into the experiment they had been trying earlier.

#if there's a place i could be #sanders sides fanfiction #remile #Emile Picani #ts sleep

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smokeybrandreviews · 3 years

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NBA Rant: Back to Business

It’s been a clean minute since I've written one of these, mostly because it’s been a few years since the NBA has even had a semblance of normalcy. The pandemic f*cked a lot of sh*t up and, while my LAkers took the title in the bubble and Giannis got the first one post-Bubble, i can’t help but be emotionally divorced from the last two years of hoop. They were aberrations, asterisk years, due to the reverberating consequences of poor federal leadership during a whole ass global plague. I love hoop and i enjoyed what we got these last two years, but if you’re telling me that these two seasons are legit, you’re crazy. Now that the vaccine is out in the wild and sh*t is opening back up, we can get back to the business of basketball. We can get back to an actual schedule that doesn’t favor the young and hungry so heavily. Injuries last season were absurd and i knew they would be considering the turnaround. This off-season is the beginning of real NBA basketball and i got some sh*t to say about.

Fear the Deer

Off the top, congratulations to the f*cking Milwaukee Bucks! Fifty years without an NBA title. The last won they cashed in was by the hand of a man named Lou Alcindor. It was beautiful to see and i loved watching it happen. History was made on several fronts but that one was the most gratifying. Giannis got his ring, the second Antetokounmpo brother to do it, but I'm so happy or kid. This was his coming out party. With this title and Finals MVP, Giannis has solidified himself as a legend of the NBA and patron saint of Milwaukee. Kid got the shine and now it just remains to be seen how many times he can catch that lightning in his career.

Book is Coming

The Suns were surprisingly close to winning a title. Like, one turnover away from hoisting that trophy. If you watched that series, you know what turnover I'm talking about. CP3 literally dropped he ball and it cost them a shot to be the lat team standing. Still, he balled for his life and i respect it. Moreso, i love what his veteran leadership did to that locker room. He got Ayton believing in himself and, more importantly, Devin Booker looking like a mini Mamba. Watching him seethe quietly as that confetti dropped and just utter the word, “Damn” was a lot. Kid got a taste and he’s about to play the best hoop of his life. The League should be terrified. I would not be surprised of Book takes that leap and challenges for “Best in the World” over the course of next season.

Mamba Mentality

Kobe Bryant was all over these Playoffs and i loved seeing it. It’s been a year since we lost Kobe and Gigi but that hurt has softened. Rest in Power, always, but the torch you lit under these kids has turned into a blaze. From Ice Trey to Giannis to D. Book, to Luka, to even Kawhi; Kobe’s legacy is strong in the current NBA. It’s weird to say but these young kids see the Mamba like we old heads see Jordan and rightfully so. Kobe is a legend and it does my heart good to see that legend continue into the next generation of NBA superstars.

Solving Simmons

Ben Simmons was exposed during these playoffs. It was f*cking hard to watch, bud. Like, excruciating. Never mind that he’s a professional, NBA level, small forward that can’t shoot, the dude can’t even make f*cking free throws! Like, Giannis has a problem taking too long to shoot them shots but he still makes them at a reasonable clip. Been Simmons shot the worst free throw percentage in NBA history; A history that includes f*cking Shaquille O’Neal! Bro, how?? It’s obvious that trusting The Process was a mistake and you might even lose Embiid over it. Doc wants to keep Ben but no. No, trade his ass to some team for a young buck who can spread the floor and give Embiid room to work closer to the cup. That dude was playing MVP level ball for the majority of last season, only to see his efforts squandered in the Playoffs where it counts. Also, Philly probably shouldn’t have hired Doc Rivers. That dude got lucky once, close to lucky a second time, and has failed consistently, spectacularly, ever sense. He literally has blown the most 3-1 leads in NBA history.

Fakers

I don’t think the Nets are as good as everyone thinks they are. Like, i get it; Overpowered and front loaded with all of that talent but that’s it. I’ve heard that a lot of the other pieces are unhappy with all the Superstar treatment their big three are getting. It’s chaffing the actually nuts and bolts that you need to drive those championship aspirations. So much so that Spencer Dinwiddle is looking to jump ship and sign with my LAkers, who i will get to in a minute. Spencer Dinwiddie. This would be a staggering loss for the Nets mostly because do was their dirty work guy. He’s the enforcer, Rodman with a jumper. Losing him would be like losing a position while you’re racing in Daytona. But they just might and that sh*t will steer this entire team straight into the wall. On paper. Who knows? Durant has been known to asspull sh*t when the game counts.

Clowns

Everyone owes Paul George a goddamn apology. Playoff P has always bee a thing, he just needs room to work. Free of Kawhi and his near identical game George showed us what his game really looks like, and it’s near pre-leg break form. Paul George can ball and i still hate that he’s playing in the wrong LA jersey. Now, that aside, The Clippers area joke. They think they were sized up for a championship by signing Kawhi off a title run in Toronto and prying PG away from a devastated OKC but in realty, they were just measuring for their f*cking clown suit. This Clippers team has been absolutely f*cking awful. Even after banishing arguably the worst head coach in the league to Philadelphia, they still sh*t the bed. This is bad tam with no rudder. hey have no leader and are plagued with ego. Win/lost records were unreliable last season because it’s goofy nature but this team definitely didn’t play like they deserved their seed, not when GS and the LAkers had to play just to get into the show. The Clippers have been consistently bad and trading either Kawhi or George away for solid assets complimentary to the remainders game would probably be in their best interest.

Move On

And now, the whole reason i wanted to write this thing, let’s get into my LAkers! This team was so much better than their record but, considering they were one of two teams who had the least amount of recovers, and the oldest among the pair, it stands to reason they would be exhausted going into this rushed season. I absolutely believe that, if this was a proper season with enough rest over the summer, my LAkers would have made it to at least the Western Conference Finals. They had all of the talent to do so but injuries. I’d say run it back but there are things that have come to light over this last season, things that need to be addressed. Okay, Schroeder is a diva who wants too much money for what little production he gave us and Kuz is too inconsistent to be a proper Sixth option. Where do we go from here?

Go Big

I think we trade Kuz for a three-and-D guy. Send his to Sac for Buddy Hield or someone like that. I love Kuz but he just don’t got it. I get his role is in flux but come on? That shouldn’t effect your percentages. You might score less with less touches, but those numbers shouldn’t fall off a cliff, man. Schroeder should be a contract dump or given away in a sign-and-trade for, say, Kyle Lowry. Dude is a vet who can run an offense like a machine. DeMar DeRozen wants to come home to LA and i would welcome that. I love his game and i think it can fit well into the LA system, especially with Bron taking away more jumpers lately. I love Montrezl Harrell and i think he can slide into that space Kuz couldn’t fit perfectly so re-singing him should be a priority, but only if that doesn’t interfere with securing Spencer Dinwidde. That dude shores up everything the LAkers need, outside of play-making. I would love the LAkers to make all these moves, and it can happen with certain financial acrobatics, but if not, definitely try to sign Dinwiddle and Lowry. Those cats will have an immediate effect on the LAkers title chances.

#NBA Rant #NBA

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strangest-hour · 4 years

Text

Gallowdance (Steve x Reader)

Chapter One: Hang the DJ

Synopsis: You and Steve had bonded over the trauma you two had endured during the Summer of ‘86 at Starcourt. Mere months later, everyone else had gone back to normal. However, you had a hunch that everything wasn’t quite as normal as it seemed. It was up to you and Steve to conquer whatever sinister evil was at play this time.

Word Count: 3,077

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, mentions of blood, gore, mentions of pizza

*Author’s Note* If you’re a Billy stan, I would highly suggest reading something else. He’s a serious asshole in this, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The party was in full swing. You stood on the sidelines as you watched the crowd of sweaty bodies gyrating to ear splitting party music. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time, but you just wanted to go home. It was hard to enjoy yourself when you just felt so stiff. Even with the ungodly amount of alcohol polluting your bloodstream. You should’ve been as loose and happy as ever, ready to drag yourself onto the dance floor. But your mind held yourself back. It was difficult to act like everything was normal and to just let yourself go wild.

“Just act normal.”

Steve had said,

“Act like nothing happened here and that everything is fine.”

Which is what you were doing. Just acting normal. Doing your normal thing. Going out late, hanging with friends, going out to parties. That was what you did. But that’s not what you do now. You now lived in a state of constant fear. All you could do was follow Steve’s advice and hope that one day, things would go back to feeling normal. God, how you yearned for normalcy again.

“Hey, wanna come play this round of beer pong with me?”

The sound of Tina’s voice snapped you back into the present. How long were you zoned out for?

“Oh, no thanks. I’m already pretty trashed. I think I might go home. I don’t feel so good”

It wasn’t a complete lie. You were pretty over trying to pretend. At least for the night. The room was spinning and you just wanted to get the fuck out of there.

Tina pouted her lip in disappointment at your answer.

“Pretty please? Tommy and Carol are kicking my ass out there. Quincy passed out, so I need a new partner.”

Ugh, you really didn’t want to. And you had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t going to give you much of a choice.

“I’ll let you borrow my new Blondie tape for a week?”

Dammit.

“Fine.”

*******

Suffice to say, you kicked Carol and Tommy’s ass at beer pong. You and Tina always did make a dynamite team. Tommy was being a sore loser about the whole debacle, drunkenly slurring about how the game was somehow rigged. All you could do was chuckle at the notion as you left the table.

If you weren’t drunk before, you sure as hell were drunk now.

It was a challenge battling your way back through the mob of hammered people, trying to get to the other side. You could feel bile rising to the back of your throat as you quickly rushed outside to empty the contents of your stomach onto Tina’s lawn. It was going to rain tomorrow. Hopefully, mother nature was kind enough to clean it off the lawn for you.

You stumbled back inside to get your jacket and noticed that Cheryl’s jacket was gone. She was your ride home.

Shit.

By some miracle, you were able to find Tina again and ask her where the hell Cheryl was.

“She asked you if you still needed a ride home during beer pong, and you said no. Don’t you remember?”

You vaguely remember her coming up to you, asking you about something during beer pong. But you were too focused on the game to pay attention to what Cheryl was saying. And that was almost an hour ago. Cheryl was definitely long gone by now.

The only other option was to walk home. As everyone else there was either too drunk, or too unconscious.

You slipped on your jacket and slid your purse on your arm, heading out the door.

The cool breeze of the fall air brushed across your face as you trudged through the lawn. Being extra careful not to step on your pile of bile on the lawn. Or anyone else’s for that matter.

It was only a couple blocks home, but god did you hate walking home by yourself. You had done it many times before when you were too wasted to drive yourself home, and hated it every single time.

This time felt different, though. Maybe witnessing the world quite literally almost ending before your eyes had something to do with it. Demogorgons, mindflayers, and who knows what the hell else was out there. Well, they were supposedly all taken care of. You just couldn’t shake the feeling that something else sinister was going on right under your nose. There was no real justification for your theory. It was probably just the trauma that was keeping you on edge.

You heard the roar of an engine pulling up beside you.

“Hey there, dollface. Need a ride?”

Speaking of sinister things.

“No thanks, I’m fine.” You said, not even looking in his direction.

“Oh, come on. It’s cold as hell outside. I won’t bite.”

“Billy, I said no thank you.” You stated sternly.

You despised the guy. Why wouldn’t he just leave you alone?

“You live just down the road from me, so it’s not even out of the way. Just hop in.”

You just ignored him as you continued walking down the sidewalk, his car slowly following you as he was obnoxiously pleading for you to get in.

“I could just drive right alongside you the whole way home. Make sure you’re safe and all.”

All he needed was a windowless van and the promise of candy to finish off his incessant bothering for you to get in his car.

“Fuck off, man! I’m just fine all by myself. I don’t need your help.”

Something in your gut made you uneasy about his offer. Or rather him being so adamant about you getting in his car. You felt more uncomfortable than usual around him.

“Whatever.” He spat out as he zoomed off.

A breath of relief left your lips as he left your sight. You weren’t sure, but there was definitely something telling you that being near him was a very bad idea. Maybe it was the alcohol giving you false signals.

More than likely, it was because of the events that unfolded mere months ago. At Starcourt, you literally saw the mindflayer rip a hole in his chest. He should’ve been dead. Somehow, he emerged through the woods a few weeks later, and he was just peachy keene. Apart from some cuts and bruises.

His family had held a god damn memorial for him. Figuring his body had burned with the rest of Starcourt. When he came back, he was unofficially proclaimed zombie boy number 2: electric boogaloo. You didn’t feel that he even deserved that title. Will had been through hell and back. Had been missing for weeks, stuck in the upside down. Left to fend for himself before he even hit puberty to earn his title. That’s not even counting the PTSD that was going to follow him for the rest of his life.

Billy just had dumb luck. Fortunate enough to not have any major arteries shredded.

You and the party had tried every test possible to ensure he wasn’t flayed again, or somehow a demogorgon in disguise. The tests checked out, and he was fine. That still didn’t excuse the fact that he should have been dead. He could explain his injuries away until he was blue in the face. That didn’t change the fact that you knew what you saw.

Thinking about all that shit was the last thing you needed running through your mind while you were walking home alone. At the end of the street, you hung a left and took a shortcut through a grassy field. Admittedly, you hadn’t gone this way many times, so you were a little fuzzy on where you were going. Especially since you still had a decent amount of booze in your system.

After navigating yourself around a little bit, you emerged on the other side of the field. Ending up at the abandoned warehouse.

You trekked around the warehouse to get to the other side. It felt like miles getting around the damn thing. When you finally got to the other side of it, you wished you hadn’t.

“Hey there.” Billy said as he leaned up against his car with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Had he been following you?

You were planning on simply walking right past him, ignoring him completely. Though upon getting closer to him, you noticed a smear of blood on his chest.

“What happened to you?” You said, pointing to his chest.

He shrugged “Oh, this? Eh, I just killed someone earlier. Didn’t quite get all cleaned up.”

You rolled your eyes. Though something about his joke didn’t sit right with you.

He shook his head “I’m not kidding.”

“Oh, ha-ha. Very funny.”

His words sent a chill down your spine, and your heart started beating rapidly.

You could tell by his cold gaze that he was dead serious.

You turned around, and immediately started running. All you could do was run. You ran until you felt like your lungs were ready to explode. His admission had you almost completely sobered up in an instant, having you dart away like a track star.

Suddenly, there was an exploding pain that radiated from the back of your skull. Slowly but surely, your vision became flooded with darkness as you began to drift into unconsciousness.

******

Your eyelids started to flutter as you began to regain consciousness. Wherever you were, it had a piercing brightness above you, making it hard for you to open your eyes.

If you hadn’t known any better, you would’ve suspected that you had died. The dull pain encompassing your body told you otherwise.

God, how your body ached. It felt like you had been put through a damn blender.

As you began to slowly open your eyes, you recognized your surroundings. You were in a hospital.

Steve turned around and his eyes met yours.

“Hey!” He shouted out to the nurse in the hall “She’s up! Get someone in here!”

He then turned his attention back to you.

“Hey, how are you?”

He was incredibly grateful to see you awake after worrying about you for hours.

“Uh, I don’t know.” You admitted. “I feel like I just got hit by a damn bus.”

You tried to sit up in the bed, and it hurt. Everything hurt. Your body screamed in pain any way you moved.

“What happened, y/n?” Steve inquired, worried as hell. “Did someone try to mug you?”

You shook your head “N-no. I mean, I don’t think so?”

To be honest, you were still a little fuzzy. Still coming to as you tried to shake off the last bit of grogginess that lingered in your body. You felt a sharp tear in your neck as you almost doubled over in staggering pain.

“Fucking hell!” You yelled out as you brought your hand to your neck. You felt mangled flesh against your palm. The sensation had you pull your hand away. Upon further inspection, you noted your palm was smeared with blood.

“Steve. Oh my god, Steve. What happened to me?” You were scared. Too afraid to even lift up your hospital blanket to see how bad the rest of your body was.

“Well, the Doctor said that you had a pretty serious gash on your neck. Bad enough that they gave you a few stitches. You also got busted up pretty bad on the back of your head. The rest of your body is just cuts and bruises.” He peeked out the door and then turned back to you as he lowered his voice “Oh, and if anyone asks, I’m your brother. That’s the only way I was able to even find that stuff out. Had to make sure you were okay and all.”

Your fingers trailed to the back of your head to feel how bad the injury actually was. A light press to the top of your skull was all it took for your head to explode in pain.

The familiar sensation had memories rushing back to you as you remembered bits and pieces from last night. At least, the last thing you saw before you felt that familiar pain. Or rather who you saw.

“Steve. Who found me?”

“There was some lady who found you this morning trying to find her dog. Stumbled across you and thought you were a mannequin. When she found out it was a body, she called the police. Thought you were dead.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, gently squeezing your knee.

“You-” He choked up a little “You almost were. Your body was almost completely drained of blood.”

What?

“Steve, we need to get out of here. Now.”

His admission had shaken to your core. There was something in your heart that was desperately telling you that this wasn’t just some freak thing that happened. Darkness loomed over you after Starcourt. Following you wherever you went. You goddamn knew that everything wasn’t fixed and wrapped up in a neat little bow like everyone else had probably thought. You could feel it in your bones. You just needed to find a way to prove that you were right about all of this.

“Steve, I-”

A doctor came in and interrupted you.

“Hey there, y/n. How are we feeling today?”

You shrugged “I’ve definitely seen better days, Doc.” You took your lower lip into your mouth, debating in your mind what you should do.

“Can I leave?”

Your question took the Doctor by surprise.

“Well, I’m not so sure about that. We were having issues with some of our equipment earlier and weren’t able to get a clear read on all of your vitals.”

He cleared his throat.

“We can’t legally keep you here against your will. But, I would strongly advise you against leaving-”

“Then I want to leave.” You hated that you probably sounded rude, but you just needed to get the hell out of here. There were bigger things to worry about.

He sighed at your response. “Alright, then. Give me just a few moments, and I’ll write up your paperwork.”

The minute he exited the room, Steve glanced over at you.

“Are you sure you’re well enough to leave?”

“No. But I know I’m going to need to leave anyways. Some tylenol and hot coffee should get me back to better in no-time.” You said as you swung your legs to the side of the bed. Trying not to wince in pain at your injuries.

He was irritated at your total lack of care for yourself at that moment. But, he knew that all the begging in the world wouldn’t get you to stay in the hospital. You were stubborn like that.

A few moments later, the doctor arrived with your paperwork.

“Here are your discharge papers. And I also wrote you a prescription for tramadol, for the pain. You should follow up with your primary care physician in 5 days.”

You took the papers. “Thank you.”

As soon as the doctor exited the room, you got up out of bed.

“Alright. Let's roll.”

******

When you finally got back to Steve’s house, you both plopped down on the couch. It felt nice to be at his home again.

He had been kind enough to help you work through your trauma after what happened at Starcourt. He would invite you over for pizza. The two of you would pop in whatever rental he was able to swipe from the video store, and you both would shoot the shit for hours. It was so nice to feel like things were normal. Even if it was just for a little bit.

The two of you became incredibly close. Before all that crazy shit happened, you and Steve hardly even talked to one another. Maybe it was just trauma bonding bringing you together. Either way, you were grateful to become his friend. There was even one night you were feeling particularly upset, so he made you your favorite treat to cheer you up. Vanilla milkshake. No whipped cream, extra cherries.

Now, here you were again. Those good times felt like a distant memory, now. Felt like you were back at square one with your progress. Only this time instead of dealing with otherworldly creatures trying to take over the world, it was a person. Who tried to murder you specifically. All the milkshakes in the world couldn’t help with that.

“So…” He trailed off as he fidgeted with his thumbs. Normally, he wouldn’t force you to talk about anything you didn’t want to talk about.

“Steve, it’s okay.” You reassured him. “I knew I was going to have to talk to you about this. That’s why I wanted to get the hell out of the hospital.” You sighed, not looking forward to recounting your traumatic events. “So, it all started at Tina’s party...”

You spent the next few minutes explaining everything. Making extra sure to not leave out the part where Billy admitted to literally killing a person.

His jaw hung open at what you were saying. He heard your words as clear as day, he just couldn’t believe it.

“I- So… you- I mean...” He ran his fingers through his hair. You had quite literally rendered him speechless.

He shook his head, trying to gather his words. “So, he tried to kill you, and he killed someone else? We should go to the police. He doesn’t sound like some ‘creature’, he sounds like a fucking murderer. ”

You shook your head. “No, Steve. You don’t understand. He walked and talked like him. But it just… wasn’t him. And when I ran away, he didn’t run immediately. It was like he just wanted to watch me run. Like he got some sick thrill from seeing me being scared. But then he caught up to me almost instantly. It was like he had some superhuman running power or something. ”

He shook his head, not sure about what to say.

“Look, if he turns out just to be some murderous psychopath, then we can go to the police, and i’ll tell them everything. Promise.” You scooted closer to him, resting your hand on his shoulder. “But I can’t do that until I’m positive that the bastard is just a human, and not some creature of the night. Steve, you’re going to have to trust me. Please.”

He took a long pause. Thinking about what he was getting himself into.

“Fine.”

#steve x reader #steve harrington #st #stranger things #fanfiction #steve fic

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