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#everything i own has royal icing on it now

iznsfw · 5 months

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IZ Days of Christmas 2023: Day 1 - Kwon Eunbi

IZ*ONE's Kwon Eunbi x Male Reader Smut

21,183 words

Categories | best friend!Eunbi, facefucking, cum swallowing, against the wall, anal

The most unrealistic thing about this, besides getting to fuck Eunbi, is that she has sex with glasses on.

“Two things. I need you to tell me two things before I kill you in front of everyone. And trust me, I’m very good with a gun.”

“Oh no,” you say grumpily, and a little more sarcastically, while you're gathering your things into the gray backpack you’ve used through its tatters. “How will I ever see the light of day again?”

Eunbi barely looks intimidating anyway in the toga that sags around her small body. The fabric’s a blackish-blue waterfall that drags on the ground. You’re surprised mud hasn’t done its wicked way with it. It began raining earlier, see, and now, except for the mud as evidence, it's as if it never happened. The heat has become too much.

Everything is too much.

“You won’t,” Eunbi says, tongue between her teeth, “but save yourself for once. Tell me what’s going on.”

Right above the garment, her long tresses fall over her shoulders. Earlier last year, she had it cut and everyone fell for her instantly. But you’ve always taken the speedy growth of her hair a victory for your side.

No victories right now though. It’s supposed to be a grand day—the scam that is college has finally run its course, and today you ought to celebrate and throw your cap in the air like everyone else.

But you’re still completely, royally pissed off.

Turn your back. Clear answer, with other possible variations that basically say the same thing: I’m not telling you shit. Nope. Stop bugging me. Brat.

She follows, and she’s a shadow behind you who’s too pretty to be one. But you lengthen your steps. Hope she doesn’t pursue you, but she’s always done that. Since you were kids on the playground, she’s never let you deal with things on your own. It’s forever been Eunbi will help you, Eunbi will stay with you, Eunbi will talk for you.

Why must that knowledge swirl a puzzling mix of emotions in you? She has not once left you alone, and yet here you are, forcing her to do so.

A pair of leather shoes and high platforms (which give way to the illusion that she’s barely shorter than you) pave through the cobblestone ground of the campus you’ll never dream of returning to. You say that yet you and Eunbi are the only other few graduates remaining on the premises. Why? It’s not like you have anything or anyone to be melancholic about.

She walks in the corner of your line of vision. Alright, maybe someone.

You’ve tried to avoid eye contact but you turn to her anyway. She’s always been this easy on the eyes, even when you were high schoolers with wild hormones and sensitive young hearts. Sharp nose, intelligent brown eyes, and pretty smile—she could’ve been a real heartbreaker back then if she weren’t hanging out with you. She could’ve been everything, because this town is too simple, too small for a girl of her caliber.

Turn your eyes away before she could notice. Broken out of your train of thought, you start to notice how your bag knocks your spine repeatedly. Painfully. With the way your notebooks from years and years ago are bumping around in there, you’d think you were carrying a luggage good enough to give you a week’s worth of supplies.

“Ugh.” Eunbi pinches her nose irritably, allows the sounds to continue for a good three seconds, then pulls the source off you. "Dumbass. Alright, now tell—”

“No. Become a nun. Live a good life. Go eat ice cream with Chaewon or something.”

“She likes mint chocolate, so no. I’m never eating that shit.”

“You’ll live.”

“Oh, I will”—she taps your bag, smiling evilly—”and I’ll take the bag with me.”

You sigh loudly. “Eunbi.”

Oh no, don’t get it wrong: she’s always like this. It's not just today that she pushes your buttons, catty with her negotiations and even more so when you turn them down. She discreetly takes control with a sleight of hand, and you never see it coming. You wish luck to whoever smug kindergartner she’ll be an educator to in the future. She’ll quickly show him his place, just like she’s shown you yours.

“What?” she says with a derisive smirk. She pulls on the arms of the backpack to boost its weight up. “No tell, no bag.”

At this point—

“I don’t give a fuck, Eunbi,” you spit. "You have bigger things to worry about.”

Pause. You briefly consider telling her how your grand day was shattered by your own self and thinking, but you don’t want to bother her. She's your best friend. You shouldn't be making her listen to your woes.

Close your mouth; you didn’t even realize it was hanging open for a while.

You exhale through your nostrils. “Do yourself a favor and take care of something else.”

You walk away. That was supposed to be the end of the story. It's the hashtag at the end of an article, the death of the conversation. But wide strides can’t keep her from coercing an answer out of you.

You know that because she’s suddenly pulled you by the wrist then so close to herself that even your cloaks can’t bar yourselves from each other. Her body presses below your chest. Her stern eyes hush you. You can quite literally feel her breathing.

“I think I can handle it,” she says, gaze steady and chin lifting, “much more if it’s you.”

Okay, so maybe you underestimated how intimidating she can get.

She’s a small girl, lying her way into five foot three, but she’s surprisingly strong. You’re more than aware of that to avoid testing if her palm on your heart is sturdy. Her fierce glare, needling into your integrity, is something new. Frightening, too. Her jaw—(oh, and you can never give that perfectly cut line it’s incredibly lucky to possess a normal glance)—is tight with determination.

For a moment, you think you know how to speak but just forgot to completely.

You get the hang of it after a few seconds when you crack a smile. “Can’t tell you anything if you got your hands on me, little raindrop.”

Eunbi squints her eyes, then folds her arms neatly. “A silver rain drop. And I’m not little, I’m one sixty flat.”

“Take that cap off and we’ll see.”

You’re not exactly a top student, but you’re smart enough to run away before she whacks you with her rolled diploma.

(It somehow lightens your mood, because if there’s anything you love more than your phone and street food, it’s Eunbi’s tiny, challenging self trying to one you up. Her light punches are like package peanuts trying to make a dent in you. And it’s just so adorable seeing her face turn dark as she aims for you, and fails.

Oh, and it’s all in good banter. It wouldn’t be a friendship if those jabs were spiteful. There are a lot of relationships out there, both platonic and not so, where insults are masked behind “jokes” and jokes behind insults—you’re glad that doesn’t count for you and her.

But even if we’re to say that Eunbi’s cornering you to the wall, suddenly having grown taller than you, and snarls, with a knife to your throat, “Say good night forever,” you’d kiss her and tell her: “I won’t let the bedbugs bite.”)

"Two, please. Thank you."

Slip the paper bills in the vendor's brown, rough hand and slap yours back on Eunbi's shoulder. You’re still surprised at the bareness you feel, then you remember she's since stuffed her toga in your backpack because of the heat. Now she’s wearing a sundress that flows around her like water.

Look at her discreetly. You’re wondering how she managed to hide all… that. The fabric fits and compliments her figure too much to go unnoticed. You have to pretend to be curious about the boiling process of the eomuk again to avoid staring at her slim arms.

"I still don't get why you call me that," she says. She pulls the drooping strap of her dress back up her shoulder, and you swear you’re gonna lose it.

Take deep breaths. You can do this. "Call you what?"

"You know." She daintily taps away a bead of sweat from her forehead and looks up at you. "'Little raindrop.'"

You return her stare eye for an eye. You have to admit it was a feeble attempt. Whenever you look at her, you're overcome with the realization that she's just so beautiful. Her brows are naturally curved and shaded, and there’s just the tiniest dimple at the side of her mouth when she smiles hard. Who in the world just has a face like that?

But you can't dwell on it. It's a dangerous premise, and you're a rightful coward.

"Ah." Your fingers tap comfortable rhythms on her skin. "Because… hm. Bi means rain, right? And you’re small, a.k.a little. So there you have it."

A crowd sifts through the streets and roads opposite your university, and occasionally daring motorists. Graduates fill the sidewalks to purchase street food. It's been this cramped since forever. You can't believe this is the last time you'd ever see this commotion: nameless faces that have matured through the years occupying every space, scentful smoke that wafts in the air, and, of course, the familiar sight of these stalls on wheels catering to young'uns like you short on cash.

Now that you think it over once more, perhaps you'll miss this place more than you thought you would.

"Well, would you say it, uh…” Eunbi taps her chin. “Hm, derogatively?"

"Oh, come on," you say, shaking your head emphatically, "I would never."

"Good, because I just lost your bag."

Your eyelids suddenly stop drooping. Realize only this second that you haven't felt torn fabric on the shoulder you’ve been caressing.

"Eunbi, what the—"

"Kidding, it's right here." Eunbi lifts it up in the air cheekily. "Gotcha."

"Oh, fuck off," you groan. Push her away, but not so much that she's out of arm's length. There are people whose intentions aren't so nice in this crowd.

Eunbi's adorable, you have to admit. Every day that rises is April Fools Day for her. She loves pulling pranks on you and commits to the bit perfectly. It’s been like this since… forever. It’s like you were born knowing her.

With all that fake innocence on her face when she tells you a white lie for her prank’s sake, she could be an actress. For a moment, you wonder what you'll do if she does become one, if she finds out that she's more than this place is worth. Would she leave you with no warning? Make a name for herself and never bother to reach out?

You gulp a little. That could happen even without the entertainer job. You've been friends with her for ages. One day, she'll grow tired of you and seek brighter horizons. Finer places. Better men.

"You alright there?" Eunbi asks.

You envy her for a lot of things—her charm, her easy way of making new friends, those legs that she’s worked hard to tone. But right now, you’re jealous because she isn’t privy to all those things that run in your mind about wanting to do things to her. Stupid things like hold her hand, tell her something you shouldn’t, the works.

Jealousy won’t amount to anything, so you just nod. It's not like there's much to say that you won't be embarrassed of saying later.

"Well—"

Just in time, the kind vendor raises two eomuks from the bubbling broth. The delicious scent makes your mouth water. "There you go," he says in his usual jolly way that always makes you laugh. "Congrats on the graduation!"

"Thanks!" Eunbi says, always the first to be grateful. She takes hers and the aforementioned dimple on her cheek shows itself again. Your chest squeezes.

"Don't forget me when you're rich." His jovial face almost looks sentimental. "One for the gentleman and one for his girlfriend."

Your smile fades into a nervous line. "She's not my girlfriend," you say carefully.

It's more embarrassing each time you have to say it. Are you too close with her? Probably; your arm is always around her and she's one of the few consistent friends you have. She's been by your side longer than anyone. People are gonna think something’s going on along the way.

The vendor nods mockingly, as if to say “yeah, sure,” and winks at Eunbi. She winks back, but fails to halfway—her left eye scrunches up.

"Don't listen to him," you tell her. You walk away from the crowd; it's suddenly begun to feel warmer than usual. "He likes to play around a lot. Even in first year he was like that.”

“Eh. It's not like he said anything bad.” She sinks her teeth into the skewered food and shrugs.

"It's invasive."

"Invasive," she repeats thoughtfully, (chewing thoughtfully, too.) “Okay. But how?”

"Because… ‘cause…" Suddenly, you find there's no appropriate reason you could dream up to justify your uneasiness. "It's, you know, strange when people do that."

“I don’t mind, honestly.”

You find that you swallow on nothing rather than the delicious treat you’re holding.

The place becomes too much, with the heated smoke eventually making Eunbi hack a cough and the sweaty people surrounding you more than they should. So you squeeze between them with her and go on for a resolute walk down the road. Just a few blocks up ahead, you can see the sun setting. It reflects back and pours a hefty amount of light on your figures. Your shadows synchronize with your steps.

“You don’t?” you ask, just to make sure you heard her right. The possibility of her being so comfortable with you that she isn’t bothered to be called yours… it’s a lot to handle. She shouldn’t just place that on your shoulders and expect you not to buckle.

Try to keep your knees from folding at the idea as you walk down the familiar streets. The roads reside in a subdivision that's humbler than the others, hence the houses being small and more trees standing above you. But you don't mind—you need a break from the urban place anyway.

Your university stays a little near the border between them. That's why more street food stalls come up to view and a few thrift stores. Is this the last time you'll come here?

The last time you'll see her?

“No. Why would I? Alright, now that we’ve got things all nice and settled…” Eunbi takes your wrist. Tightly. She's not going anywhere, and neither are you. “Back to telling.”

“Telling you what?”

“You really wanna play dumb with me?” She presses the point of her skewer to your stomach, seizing you by the waist. “Get those words out. Now.”

"Hit me."

"Two things, right? So answer me." Eunbi's fingers wrap tighter around your flesh. "Why were you crying in the bathroom? What happened?"

Oh.

That.

You're quiet. You look only forward, not daring to meet Eunbi's eyes. If anything, the stick could dig into your guts and it would be infinitely better than having to admit you’re weak. You’ll have to tell her one day. You’ll have to admit that you’re not a better guy just because you’re the only one who has the balls to approach her—you’re just like the rest of them. Nothing special. Grades barely there. Average, probably not even so. Everything but nothing.

“I wasn’t crying,” you say. You can’t remember what happened anyway, but saying what you do leaves a bitter aftertaste in your mouth.

The eomuk stick drops to the ground with barely a click. “Are you lying?”

It’s rare that her voice gets solemn. It’s less rare that you rush behind words to cover yourself.

You fix the mortarboard on her head so that it doesn’t slip past her brows. The staff didn’t quite take her measurements properly, so you had to tip the cap backwards. Good enough. “Think you can figure that one out yourself, Eunbi.”

You give her a look that tells her all that she needs to know. It’s not like you can explain properly with this state of mind. What else can you say?

What else can she say?

Perhaps:

“Please.”

Everything stops.

Eunbi takes your hand, which looks large in comparison to her pale one, and traces a finger along your knuckles. Look down at them—those are the days that’ll go by, the months that’ll lose themselves into the void of timeless time. It could never be the same if fate wills itself to change one of these days, and you wouldn’t even know it. Not even a warning.

“It’s just me.” Her voice thins, and you figure out that she’s sort of like you, too: it’s not rare for her to hide behind words and wit. “I’m your friend. You can tell me anything. Please tell me what happened, okay? I hate seeing you get upset.”

You wish you could tell her that it’s the same on your end. Eunbi’s the girl you let climb in your lap after a thunderstorm provoked her, the girl you comforted after she had her heart broken by the man she was convinced was the one. Through it all, you tried to be strong for her, but there’s little foundation to build from.

The side of your mouth twitches upward. “Do you now?”

Eunbi’s shoulders descend as they release a tired little sigh. She nods, refusing to say anything until you take the lead.

“Well, if you want to hear the whole story,” you say as you ring an arm around her, “I was already having a pretty shit day to begin with.”

“Why?” She chews on her lip. Pink gets on her teeth.

“Didn’t feel like I deserved to graduate.”

See, there are a lot of justifications as to why you didn’t deserve to go on stage and receive your diploma. You aren’t worthy of this toga and hat when you’ve barely accomplished anything compared to the others. They’ve already scored internships and some even sealed some higher positions in well-off companies. You, on the other hand, haven’t got anything going on for you.

That rings true for as far back as first year. You cheated (rarely) but still barely passed. Studied but never got the answers right for the test. Kept a strong face but you’re still in pieces on the inside. Now that you’re graduating, you’re the same guy after all that time.

“I had a… very weird time in there trying to get myself together,” you say. “I did nothing to make mom proud. I just bullshit my way through college.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Eunbi hums quietly. Is that her side pressed to your hip? You suck in a breath.

“I mean, sure, but look at how far they got. I’m still in square one.”

“Different speeds for different people,” she says wisely, looking down at her shoes that begin their steps at the heel. “You don’t have to beat yourself up for going at your own pace.”

You chuckle deprecatingly. “When I’m a dumbass, I should.”

“You’re not.”

“You literally admitted you had a hunch I was stupid when I thought your name was Geumbi.”

“No, no, that was a long time ago. I was like, fourteen. It wasn’t my fault. And neither was it yours.”

She steals a bite from your food. A withdrawal from her as she finishes her robbery and yet you bring her back. Do it by stopping, then wiping away the broth on her lower lip with your thumb. Where did that come from?

Eunbi’s frozen. For a moment, she says nothing. She pauses, then looks up at you. Just a simple look from her makes you weak. There are galaxies in her eyes.

“Actually,” says Eunbi, hand floating to your wrist—her voice is soft, “you’ve got to stop thinking everything’s your fault.”

Where should your touch go when all it yearns for is hers?

It's easier said than done, too. Therapy fills your brokenness yet it drains out anyway. All those methods and you can't stick to one. Everything bad that happens is your fault. It's like you're connected to them all.

“I’ll try." Your words barely pass audibility. Should you be ashamed? "I don’t like this either.”

Eunbi presses her lips to the back of your hand then goes on strolling like she didn’t just save you from another spiral. Haughtiness rides her tone. Yep, she knows she’s your anchor. “You can start by carrying your own bag instead of me doing—” She pauses. All the sass is gone; just pure fear. “Shit.”

Your forehead creases and you look around. Nothing out of the normal, just the birds of seldomness and trees that sway with the wind. “What?”

“Don’t be mad at me.” Eunbi bites her lip anxiously. “Promise me. Please.”

“What is it?”

She tells you.

“Eunbi lost your backpack?”

For the hundredth time: “Yes.”

"Like actually?"

"Yep."

“With the notes and sketches you had? What the hell?”

“God, you don’t have to rub it in like that.” You navigate through the streets and try to catch onto anyone perhaps holding a familiar satchel. Nobody fits the description. “We didn’t notice until we were alone.”

You and Eunbi do the very thing characters in horror movies shouldn’t do: you split up. She returns to the food vendors to ask around. They’d cater better to a face like that. You’re left to do the hard work and follow random people to see if they’ve brought away a bag. You really should have reversed roles, but Eunbi’s gone now. You can’t call it off.

The crowds are starting to dissipate, but that doesn’t make your hunt for your bag easier. Whoever stole it must have thought it was his lucky day. That shit was thrifted off a store, but it could sell for thousands if refined just right.

All those documents, lecture takeaways, pencils…

It’s not like they matter anymore. You wouldn’t dream of going back to school, so they won’t have much use in the long run. But those things played a major part in your life, especially in college. Losing it feels like missing a piece of a puzzle you spent nights completing.

“That’s so damn irresponsible of her. Not like her, too. She's a fucking—”

“—adult. Like me. Yes. We’ve gone over this.”

You must look like a local pervert right now, peering at people’s lower sides in search of your treasure. You hope they don’t get you wrong. Women are already giving you dirty looks though. Shit, you’re going nowhere with this.

“You don’t have to defend her every time she does something,” mutters your friend Sakura from the other line. Her accent has lost its origins a long time ago. Now, it carries teasing scorn.

Where the fuck could your bag be? Turn your head to the right, then to the left. There you go, you’re a fucking bobblehead doll. Feel even more ridiculous. It’s all a little humiliating, exposing a vulnerability to people you don’t know. Hey, look at me! I can’t find something important! And I can’t ask you for help because that would mean I’m a shameless piece of shit with no dignity and I’m too childish to graduate and—

“I’m not defending her, Miyawaki,” you blurt out, a little louder than you’d like. More dirty and judgmental looks. Always the centerpiece, you, and for all the wrong reasons. “Go back to gaming, can you?”

“Ha. You’re the one who called me and said, ‘Oh no, I’m with Eunbi again and I’m so in love with her!’” Sakura lets out a smug little laugh. “Just ask her out, dumbass. That way you won’t have to play attorney all the time.”

“I’m not asking her out, dumbass. She's just a friend.”

“Ask her out or Hyewon will. Hyem’ll say shit like, ‘She can lose my bag anytime—“

“Hey.” Eunbi comes up empty-handed. Her words are heavier with each passing fragment. She doesn’t have to say them for you to know her search was fruitless, just like yours was. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see it. I asked around, too.”

Your hopes are dashed. “Call you back,” you whisper into the phone.

“Tell me how the date goes!”

With a small beep, Sakura is gone, (thankfully.) (And so is her song about you and your best friend sitting in a tree doing something so lewd you could only spell it out.) It’s just you and Eunbi, in the gentle end-of-September sunset.

“Now, would you look at that.” Eunbi laughs sarcastically. Sweat usually drips from the side of the face, right? Not the front? She throws her hands up and places them back down her sides anyway. “I guess I did lose the bag after all.”

Something’s wrong. What is it?

You stare at her, not knowing what to say. It is kind of ironic in a biting-you-back-in-the-ass way that Eunbi’s kidding threat about losing your stuff actually came true.

“You sure you didn’t see it anywhere?” you ask. You’re starting to lose determination. And for what? You did say you didn’t give a damn about it earlier. How easily your words come to you when you only think of yourself.

“W-well—”

Yep, there's definitely something wrong. Kwon Eunbi doesn’t stutter. Unless she’s mocking Minju, who’s almost always nervous, or does aegyo as a punishment, she doesn’t trip over her words. “What?”

“Fuck it, I’m sorry, okay?”

Tears come too easily even to the gutsy Eunbi. It’s always been her Achilles’ heel. She’s a great and friendly leader, but one nice word that hits her right where it needs it or a bad day has her reduced to sobs. She smiles through them, wiping the teardrops with the end of her wrist.

“And don’t tell me it’s fine just because I’m crying,” she says. The frustration gets to her and soon her sobs attract attention. “It was, a-a shitty thing to do on my end. I know it’s not okay, but I’m sorry.”

She’s a tearful painter of emotions under a night littered with starry skies.

She doesn’t have to hold the brush for the two of you all the time.

Take the brush from her just like how you take her into your arms. Eunbi says not to absolve her of her sin, but you’re a god whose mercy merges with bias. You like her too much. There’s something that pulls at your chest whenever she breaks down.

The tension partially leaves her stiff shoulders. She sniffles, and it’s an attack straight to your heart. It’s so rare that she becomes so weak.

“Eunbi—”

She shakes her head before you could go on. “Don’t say it. Please. Let me make it up to you.”

“I’ll say it anyway. It’s fine. I can’t use the stuff in there anyway.”

“I said no. Hmph.” Her tears blot the front of your shirt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I would cry like this. Don't feel guilty, okay? Okay? I just don’t like giving you a hard time.”

“You never could.” You’d trade more than a backpack for Eunbi’s wellbeing.

Somehow, Eunbi cries more. Her hug circles your waist in almost a chokehold, and you realize that the Kwon Eunbi from years back—the one who made everyone call her Madison, the one who’s always glued to your side—is still here. She’s just older, a little braver, and prettier than you could ever imagine.

Emphasis on the last. Her lashes carry her tears in a biblically beautiful manner, like you ought to kneel and venerate her. The southward curl of her lips is so cute yet painful that you’d give anything to see them lift again.

“You don’t have to say I didn’t do anything wrong…” she tells you quietly. You could hear the guilt infecting her words, evident in the cracks of her voice.

“Well.” You touch your mouth on her hairline. “You have a way of making me say it.”

There’s no mourning for your bag. You suspect that there was none at all, perhaps just shock? Must be why you’re cradling her, like a child would to a doll at night, and letting her feel your touch. Maybe the way she’s closing herself into your embrace is platonic, because at the end of day, you’re still friends. But you don’t feel her breath on your skin for a while after you indirectly forgive her.

Eunbi lifts her face from the comfort of your front. Pouting, she then laughs a little. “What are you doing? You don’t have to be so sweet.”

“I could be sweeter,” you offer. She sighs loudly, tired of your mischief; you grin and pat the small of her back. “Come on, let’s go home.”

The night has downed the temperature, and now the breeze whips her small form back and forth. It’s too cold for her to be walking with no sleeves or at least trousers. So you lift your toga up and slip it around her. It’s bigger than the one she had and lost with your bag. Her hands barely fight their way out of being hidden under the long blue sleeves.

Her eyes reduce to suspicious slits while a smile pastes itself on her lips. “You’re a flirt, you know that?”

You shrug casually. “Born and raised.”

“That’s not how you use it,” Eunbi says, wiping the last of her tears.

"Might as well go on. I opened the can of worms, now I'll lie in it."

"Jesus."

"What? I made my bed more than I could, now I'll eat it."

“Wow, it’s like you never listened to professor June.”

Wasn’t it just afternoon a few minutes ago? The sky has become a blueish black landscape. The only sources that provide illumination to the streets and alleys are the streetlights and moon, plus the twelve especially bright stars etched into the map of constellations.

“Okay, miss Oh My Gadnis,” you fire back. She gives you a dirty look. You immediately take it back.

She throws her head back and lets darkness take over her vision for a while. Gulp. The light welcomes itself back and she lets out a prolonged, wistful breath. Tiny sobs glaze it. “It’s Minju’s fault. She was always shouting that in the dorm. Makes me kind of miss her.”

In the last years of university, Eunbi made friends with eleven girls. She was the leader of their friend group, the one who made plans and provided solutions. But as graduation crept closer and eventually caught up with them, she won’t be seeing them much again.

“I can always drive you to your meet-ups. Didn’t get a driver’s license for nothing.”

“You don’t have to. I already fucked up your day.”

“You didn’t. It’s just a bag, little raindrop.”

The chilly atmosphere tracks your nighttime conversation with your best friend. What do the songbirds, sleeping yet eavesdropping, think of you and her? Does the moon brighten to increase your shadows? It’s like they’re listening in.

She looks down at the edges of her shoes as they mark their path to home. “What brand was it? I’ll buy you a new one. I-I’ll send the notes to you.”

“No can do. Just do this one thing.”

And now, the night quiets.

When time has chipped away at the lack of lines on your faces and brought forth hell, you’ll be there. Together. You won’t go back here anymore, but there will be prettier places for you and her. It’s what you pray for though you’re not all that spiritual, but you know it’s what you want.

“Let’s… be friends until we’re old and miserable,” you ask of her. Even admitting that you want to be with her makes you shy, and you’re anything than that when you’re around her. So why is this happening? Why are you doing this? “Spend more time together. Doesn’t have to be something grand.”

Eunbi blinks at you. There are undertones to your words, some kind of hidden message a veteran film critic could pick apart if your life were a movie. You’re asking her to be with you, yet there’s depths to it, almost like you’re telling her another thing.

“Sure,” she whispers, nodding. She can do that.

Again, a lot of subtext. But that’s for another night.

“Oh,” you add, “and be my backpack since you lost it anyway. Get up.”

Eunbi flinches, but she’s smiling the second you lower yourself for her.

“Come on. You’re tired, little raindrop. I’ll take you home.”

She sighs. She climbs on your back anyway. You support her legs with your forearms and boost her up. You pay your gratitude to the dark for hiding your flushed cheeks at the feeling of your friend’s body pressed so tight to yours.

“Please don’t do silly shit,” she begs, placing her face next to your neck and fearing the worst.

She’s right to be frightened. Lowering yourself nearly to the ground in preparation, you yell: “Here comes the rollercoaster!”

“No, no, no—ahhhh!”

You zoom Eunbi in the night, feet picking up speed and racing through the road. Her arms are rounded around your neck. She shrieks in delight, and while along the way your legs start to ache, you’re just glad to hear that laugh again.

Gently push the door to your house open with the help of Eunbi's keys, which come with a keychain of a knitted rabbit. Darkness greets you, spreading itself around the house like water.

“Why is it so dark?” whispers Eunbi, looking around and twisting her arms around your neck tighter.

“You’re such a baby," you chuckle. "It's nighttime, of course it's gonna be dark."

Eunbi whines and squeezes her legs around you. The feel of her fluffy thighs in the curve of your palms—it's… something. You can't think like that about her when she's your best friend, but she's so close, so perfect on top of you that your mind runs with ideas.

"Alright, fine. Turn on the light."

"Where?"

"You’ve slept over so many times and you don't know where it is?"

"Doesn't count when I can't see, genius."

"Right here." Twist your head to the wall, where a light switch stays. "Just near the door."

Eunbi reaches out her hand, and you're cohorts with the dark when you secretly inch the fluff of your sleeve against her fingers. She screeches, suddenly struggling, calling your name and whoever Fuck is.

This is the way of your prank backfiring on you: her limbs are surprisingly strong that her feather-light weight becomes too much. Your legs start to shiver. Your hands weren’t made to suffer this much wildness.

"Something touched me!" Eunbi screams, kicking you in the spine. You try to hold on to her but her legs don't behave. "A mouse, a mouse, a—"

You start to laugh. She's like a proactive rabbit trying to beat you up. "Calm down, it was just—"

"My hand, it touched my hand! Disgusting piece of shit, get it off—"

"Eunbi!"

She both clings onto you and pushes you away, scared of what lurks in the dark. You can't take it anymore and drop miserably to the floor. The tiles knock your back out. Eunbi won’t let go of you; her screams never stop.

"Help! My hand—"

"What's going on here?"

The light flickers on, letting you see what's happening. You're in the living room that connects portallessly to the dining room. The ceiling generates dizzy circles above you. And then there's Sakura, an unexpected presence, standing near you.

"Whoa there," she remarks, smug like she’s a journalist who caught a forbidden celebrity couple. "There's a time and place for this, right?"

For a moment, you wonder what she's talking about. You sit up and realize Eunbi's squeezed herself on your lap, with your arms tangled into hers during the mess.

Flush red. Sakura will never let you hear the end of this: you cradling Eunbi on the floor, with her looking so comfortable snuggled up to your touch. “Something couple something something perfect for each other,” that's what Sakura would say.

"It was just a prank," you mumble to the girl on your lap. Pat her head. Show her the fluffy fabric cuff of your sleeve. "See? There's no mouse."

"What the hell? You're such an asshole!" Eunbi's blade-sharp gaze, it cuts through you. You want to keep bleeding, It's unfair how pretty she is even when she's angry.

"Hey, I can do pranks, too." Turn to Sakura, because the next thing you're wondering is how she's here. "How did you get in, Miyawaki?"

"I drove," she says, like it explains everything. "Should we eat? Your dad left some food in the microwave."

Eunbi turns shy at Sakura's knowing look as she rises. She pulls you up. The veins in her forearm flex.

Sakura leaves anyway to fetch the food. You can smell spring rolls and freshly-cooked rice. Your stomach churns—running with Eunbi on your back has burned all that eomuk and left you hungry.

You look at Eunbi questioningly. "Do you know why she's in my house?"

"No.” She returns your curious expression. “I was hoping you would tell me."

“Christ, what's she doing here?"

"I'm here," butts in the Japanese girl, bringing forth a plate of crispy rolls and utensils, "because I personally want to help Eunbi unnie in making it up to you.”

She takes the liberty of scooping chunks of rice onto your plates. You dig your fork through one of the spring rolls, place it on Eunbi’s small plate, then get one for yourself. The wooden image of Jesus on watches you closely. You’re suddenly aware of every little sin you’ve made.

“Listen,” says Sakura, and you do just that.

So here’s Sakura’s brilliant idea, funded by her and her friends (somehow, Eunbi doesn’t get to contribute a cut): a trip for Christmas.

It’s out in Seoul, where it’s snowing at that time of the year, where you’ll get to roam the city and buy whatever you want—all on the house. There’s ice skating to do and restaurants to try, each new and exciting. You’ve never been to Seoul before, but the way Sakura narrates the whole plan makes you look forward to it.

She talks about how her new job is paying her great, and how the fact that the other girlfriends Eunbi has are chipping in makes it an all-in-all win. It’s a friend’s duty, she says, to stick up for when one of them is down, and since Eunbi made a mistake, she’ll gladly take the blame. You’re surprised at how dedicated the girls are. You’ve never seen a bond so deep that they’d pay thousands just for compensation. And for just a thrifted old bag, too.

It’s inevitable that you agree. You have nothing to lose. This is a chance of a lifetime, and you’d love to have a vacation anyway.

Sakura only has one stipulation:

You have to go with Eunbi.

Now it’s not that Eunbi is hard to be around, but she kinda is. It’s not in the usual way—she’s your best friend, not any other girl, and she’s not overly dependent that you have to act as her father or something. She can take care of herself, which can’t be said about a lot of people.

But this is what sets you off: you’ll be the only one with her in Seoul. A guy and a girl sharing a hotel room. Would it be awkward? Of course. How do you tell her that you won’t look when she dresses up? What do you tell her if you find her bra in your sheets?

Still, she’s your best friend. It shouldn’t be awkward around friends, especially when you’re on the journey of spending more time together. That’s the whole point of the relationship: to be free and careless around someone. It’s supposed to be like that until you see how pretty she actually is, with the flow of her long hair and the crinkle of her eyes.

That’s where it gets difficult. Really, really difficult.

“Hey,” she says, and that’s what breaks your reverie. Looking up at her, however, has you drowned in another.

Black-framed glasses sit on her nose, curling at the ends behind her ears. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail, some fringes flying free from the band. It’s such a deadly attack. Then there’s the graphic shirt that hugs her too tight and the denim shorts that cut too close to the starts of her thighs.

You gulp. When you thought Eunbi couldn’t get prettier, she proves you wrong.

“You like it?” she asks. She twirls around. “I got glasses.”

“I see that,” you reply. Why is your chest immoveable?

Eunbi grins. “I couldn’t say that until I went to EO.”

You force out a laugh. You look at your phone, scrolling through your feed in search of a little reprieve from how pretty she is. At this point, it’s a constant run around your mine: Kwon Eunbi is so pretty. And she’s not just pretty, too. That’s what makes her so beautiful: the duo of feistiness and painful attractiveness. Can you say that? No. But that doesn’t mean you can’t think it.

The first thing Eunbi does when she takes the seat opposite you is swipe a finger through your ice cream. Glare at her. She beams at you. Your reprimand dissolves.

“How’d you know where I was?”

“Lucky guess,” she says. She decorates the sides of her face with her palms as she looks at you curiously. “What you thinking about?”

You. “I’m still not sure about the whole trip thing.”

"Come on," she says, and that pout knows how to break away at your attempts to ever hold her accountable for anything. "It's only weird if you make it weird."

Weird is fitting for October anyway. Should have ordered that Halloween special instead of this.

You were a solo customer in the ice cream parlor until Eunbi came out of nowhere. She always knows where to find you. Telepathy? Power of friendship? Power of something more than that?

You don't want to think about it.

"It's Sakura," you say, testily, as you shove another spoonful of double dutch in your mouth. The sweetness can't melt your anxiety. "It's always weird when it's Sakura."

Eunbi considers this. "What about when it’s me?"

“What?”

“I said: is it weird when it’s me?”

She’s clever at finding ways to make you stutter. “No,” you tell her quickly, “it’s not you, I promise. Just… it’s only us.”

You and Eunbi, alone in a hotel room. A straight man and woman in the same place, with nobody else around. You have fantasies about how it ends, but you know it'll never happen. But the thing is: you're stupid. You're going to do something you shouldn't, like watch her as she pulls long stockings over her legs. Think about more details than the shadow of her body on the glass shower panels let on. Want your best friend when it's everything you should never do.

“Is that so bad?” Eunbi sighs and looks around, thinking. As she takes in the jolly retro style of the parlor and the waitresses, she continues, “I mean, if you want to, I can find another way to, like, make things good. I can tell Sakura to call it off—”

“No!”

She looks at you surprisedly. Always, you speak before you think. To be fair, there’s a single thought behind your too-fast outburst: you can’t let this opportunity pass by. But rather than the grand city lights and expensive restaurants, you think about her.

You cover your mouth. Shit. You have no worries about fucking up in front of her. The worst thing she’d do is make a reference to it in future conversations or joke about it. But right now you’ve just revealed your true intentions.

You’re lucky Eunbi never takes things to heart.

“Okay, fine, geez.” She chuckles lightly, shaking her head at you. “You really need a vacation, huh?”

The only thing you need is silver rain, but you somehow always wield an umbrella.

“Do you like it?”

It’s what Eunbi says, on her knees before she sucks your tip. Groan you must because that tongue is too talented. It’s a skill you could only make faint guesses where it originated. For that, you don’t care anyway—not when she’s slipping and wrapping those perfect lips around your cock, the intent suction making you reel into her face. Almost knocks her specs away, and you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you? Her appeal just goes to an all-time high with them.

“Fuck, yes, Eunbi,” you say. “I love—”

“No. Now that I think about it, you don’t actually get to speak.” She teases your testicles and nurses on one, her hand attending to your stiff erection. “Not until I have my way with you.”

And she does. She switches back to your cock then, like an expert, she bobs her little head up and down, taking you in her throat like it was nothing. The chest of her tight shirt is stained with precum, and some of the foretelling liquid is in her hair. But when has she cared about that? Never, not in the time continuum of this room. She only likes to keep the propriety of servicing you, no matter how red her knees are or how sore her jaw gets.

Eunbi teases her tongue on the lower side of your cock then brings her lips up. You hiss. Her throat welcomes you again, and, with a hand on your thigh, she makes it work. She’s choking, and yet the clever little thing is so diligent with her work. Through choke and sob, those teary eyes looking up at you for validation, she continues. Spit dots your cock and so does lipstick. It’s smudged at the side of her chin.

She licks your cockhead repeatedly. It’s swollen, and she takes advantage of it by licking. And sucking. Then licking it again so rapidly you start to shake.

There’s a greedy glimmer in her tears. “Gonna cum?” she asks. “Please? I want you to.”

Fingers wrapping around your base, she goes down again. Her nose touches your pubic area. You can feel her hot breath tickling your flesh when she rises for a brief and subtle breath. Then it repeats: Kwon Eunbi is forcing her head up and down, lips wet with saliva and precum. The texture of her tight throat and the welcoming pleasure of her mouth brings you too close. Too damn close—

Fill her throat with white so much that she squeals in surprise. A little adorable giggle, then some more hardworking sucking to work your cum out of you. You want to tell her that you’ve become too sensitive, that she shouldn’t continue. But then you never want it to stop.

“Fuck! Eunbi, Eunbi, Eunbi—”

That’s what you say when she continues despite her breaths getting lost.

“Good girl. Good pretty girl.”

That’s what you say, with your hand on her ponytail, tugging it so she gets access to the oxygen she willingly deprived herself of. Her mouth’s filled with your semen. She’s gasping. Her chin’s lifted to the sky but her eyes gaze only at you. Your approval isn’t what she needs to get by solely, but god, does it make her think so.

“I love you.”

That’s what she says.

But like everything else—this blowjob that made you fail November’s challenge, the sweet talk, her on her knees, her actually liking you—

It could only ever be in your imagination.

December couldn’t come any sooner. Packing was an eventful occasion. You bunched up a lot of underwear in your carry-on like you had a habit of pissing yourself. It was only when you got to the airport that you realized that in all the rage to get clean underwear, you didn’t bring socks.

The twenty-third was a day you both dreaded and yearned for. But then you’re in the airplane, traveling through clouds you used to stare up at, and Eunbi’s beside you. Isn’t she always? She falls asleep a couple of times in the airport, head on your shoulder, and you pat her knee to slumber her. Her Sanrio neck pillow is of no use when you’re a better one.

Why can't you stop staring? She's been a tear in your heart for a long time, making it pulse and ache, but now she's gotten so much prettier, so much more friendly that it isn't really unexpected that you fall for her. Is that your confession to yourself? Perhaps. You could only ever say it to your own heart.

Picture this, (and, matching that of the many other scenes you’ve dreamed of her in, it would only be real for a while): Eunbi's wearing that shirt from the day she first sported glasses. On your lap. Looking at you with an aura any man with a heterosexual drawing could read. Hands on the edges of her knees.

She's leaning over, and she's saying—

"That little witch,” she spits, shoving her carry-on, “I can't believe we fly at seven and we had to be here at two a.m., I'm gonna kill Sakura!"

Close enough?

"You got a mouth on you, huh?" you remark. Pull her wheeled suitcase to the mouth of the plane.

Seoul is a paradise. You could see the greatness even from above. A couple of times you have Eunbi wake up to look, and she does. Her evident happiness shines brighter than the city lights.

"It's beautiful," she murmurs excitedly. Even her eyes that are heavy with sleep appreciate the view.

"So it is."

But you could think of other things that are prettier. Other people.

It's autumn, and the golden leaves are starting to fall. They crumple beneath your feet and release crackles that bring a strange sense of satisfaction. Step on another one. And another one. Somehow all your troubles are gone.

Look at her.

She’s reading from a book, paging through leaves containing yellowed words. She looks like a nerdy girlfriend with the new look, which you still haven’t gotten over. In any case, she’s so beautiful, and again, your heart is sore.

Eunbi’s deep into the story woven with Shakespearean words, but she catches your prolonged stare. Blinking, she lifts her head. Smiles. Cocks her head sweetly to the side and you swear she can’t look any better than this: long dark hair swaying ‘round her face and glasses making her more adorable. Says, “What ya lookin’ at, handsome?”

Yeah, all gone.

Eunbi loves playing around with nicknames, and she must think you’re vain enough for her to use that when she wants to rile you up. (She does.) You roll your eyes, and she laughs at her own ridiculousness and your attempt to be dismissive.

“Someone who’s prettier than ever,” you reply. Raise your chin. “You know her?”

“You really love me, huh?”

“Never said it was you.”

“Oh, darling.” Eunbi licks her lip. “I know it’s me.”

Well, shit.

Eunbi’s the only girl you know who could respond to your teasing. The only person, for that matter. Even the men start to back away. She’s the sole person who can handle you, and you yourself could barely handle her. Good friends don’t suddenly lose their breath when she gets near. Good friends don’t think of ever, ever crossing that borderline between platonicness and romance.

So it’s safe to say you’ve been a bad friend all along.

“Since you’re, like, so obsessed with me…” Eunbi rises and hands you her phone. The phone case is red—of course. “Take a picture of me, please?”

She rises from the bench, and you wince inside at how good she looks. It should seriously be prohibited to look that attractive. You've tried to keep your head clear of her, but then she stands up in those teeny tiny safety shorts, fucking hugging her thighs and that supple backside. Why did she choose to go in that? Not even a skirt to go with it, or dress pants? You’re not one to nitpick at what others wear, but you feel something stirring inside you when she dresses more freely.

And red—it just looks so good on her, doesn't it? That simple tight sweater has you begging for forgiveness. You'd go to a priest, confess your sinful yearning, and you don't think that he'd forgive you after how you describe it.

"Will do," you say, chewing on your lip. "Get to posing. We don't have all day."

"Not to burst your bubble," she tells you, " but we do. But I'm a good girl, so I'll do as you say."

Swallow. Why the fuck is she like this?

"You sure as shit aren't, little rain—"

She bends over.

The question repeats in your head. She bends over, (forward anyway), but if any shameless man were to walk behind her, they'd get an eyeful of her butt. You want to tell her she shouldn't do this, especially when her bottoms grip her thighs as a sole factor. But she's holding her bag in the edges of her fingers and angling her head to the side, and you know you’re over.

"—drop."

Eunbi smirks, haughty and proud. "Cat got your tongue back there?"

"Not even close. Give me a smize."

Proud of yourself for recovering quickly, you snap a photo of Eunbi. The look she gives the camera (you?): relaxed brows, slight pout, the black eyewear being the cherry on top—it's not easy baggage to carry for a man like you.

You put the phone down. Take a breather; you always have to when you're with her. Kwon Eunbi, national heart player. Kwon Eunbi, number one prank puller. Kwon Eunbi—

—your friend. Your best friend.

"What's wrong?" All that confidence evaporates from her as she walks up to you, concern taking its place.

She can be really scary sometimes. How could she be a flirt one second then a sweetheart the next? You're kept guessing, and you're guilty for liking girls like that. But as you study her, look at Kwon Eunbi—her hair and the band that sits atop it, her lips, her face—you kind of figure out that there's no other girl like her.

And that scares you.

"Nothing," you lie. "You wanna go get coffee or something?"

"Actually," she states seriously, rising, "I do wanna go get coffee or something."

The twenty-fourth. The malls are crowded with people buying last minute presents, so you and Eunbi sat on the bench outside. It might be Seoul, but you’re not fighting your way through a crowd. While you stayed there and waited for time to feel wrong, a rich woman mistook you for a beggar, pitied you, and gave you a coin. As you stared at the bust on the metal, Eunbi laughed so hard you were not totally uncertain that she was going to throw up.

"We should leave," Eunbi says, "before someone tries to bring you to a damn church basement."

And the scene repeats itself again: you talk with Eunbi, like you've done a million times, as you go to your home for this night and the next. You talk about everything, because conversations come so easily when it's her. Whether it's about stupid people or school or what happened that day, the words flow naturally.

Eunbi bites her lip, hands on her hips. "It's getting late."

"That a problem for you?"

"No. Nope. It's just that… I can't believe it's going to be Christmas tomorrow."

Christmas lost its spark back when you got into college. You've graduated and still you find no solace in the stockings and evergreen trees. School—oh, its deadlines, its pressure, its it-won't-matter-in-five-years-but-I'll-make-you-think-it-will papers—really ruined things for you. Forever.

She drags her vision around everything: the sky of stars, the roads that are just a bit cleaner than the ones at your home, the claw machine arcade just across the sidewalk. She goes there, and you follow. Don’t you always?

"It’s Christmas and we're here," she continues. She manages a snortle. "Doesn't your dad feel lonely? I know mine does."

"He likes you, Eunbi. He doesn't mind."

You pull out a bill and slip it into the old exchanger. Sure enough, tokens spill from the gap. Count them in your palm. Divide it between the two of you. You and Eunbi always share, no matter how hard you try to make it seem annoying. You only ask for one drink and one straw. You split rice balls from that trip in grade eleven when your parents forgot to give you allowance for lunch, up until college when the two of you were too broke to eat anything else. What’s yours is Eunbi’s, and what’s Eunbi’s is yours.

"What first?" She studies the old arcade. It's filled with machines that are either anciently old or freshly new. No owner patrols the areas, but instead, a CCTV does so mounted perfectly on the corner of the walls. It watches your every move, reminding you to behave.

"Wanna get a Piglet?"

“A what?”

“A Piglet. You know, the one who looks like an armadillo.”

“What the fuck is an armadillo?” Eunbi says the English name with spite, almost spitting it into the ground.

“Forget it. I mean like the cartoon pig people say looks like you?”

"Oh. Nah. A good ol’ vibrating egg for me." She thrusts a thumb into the glass of an 18+ claw machine, where it tempts the player with boxed sex toys and hentai copies.

Heat flares at your cheeks. Now it’s not that you’re thinking of it, but it’s Eunbi’s dirty jokes that make you think of stuff you shouldn’t. Her on her bed, legs spread wide open as the toy pulses on her clit, her throwing her head back and crying…

"Spend my money wisely, please?" you croak out. Slip a token into one machine and start to crank at the lever.

"I'll be good."

Your hand curls tighter around the ball of the lever. You hate how you picture double meanings with everything she says. She doesn't deserve that. And you don't either.

Eunbi prances over to the Piglet machine anyway. You want to snicker at her antics, but it gets broken when you see her bend down. The jeans could only hug her backside so much. Her shirt lifts and you could see her tummy—that flat, soft midriff that you’ve wrapped your hands around when you guide her back on the occasion she runs too fast. Or when she needs to move away. She doesn’t mind; she touches you more freely anyway. But you wonder if she’d let you come up behind her and place your hands all over it, not as friends but as something more.

Because for a friend, she sure does take up a lot of your mind.

Put your focus on this keychain. Yes, this one. This keychain is cute. Would be nice to bring something home to your father. You guide the claw to the nearest one and slam the button. To your surprise, the metal actually hinges around the keychain. You could feel your soul lift up to your throat. It just needs to make it all the way to the hole—

“Shit!” you curse as the claw lets go. That can’t be fair, right? It was doing so well, then it just spread open again. What a waste of time and money.

“Loser,” giggles Eunbi. She shows off a Piglet stuffie, pink and simpering.

“Wow, really needed to hear that. Thanks, Eunbi.”

She lifts her shoulders. “Hey, for what it’s worth: I just got lucky.”

Tokens become nothing to you. You try again and again for a prize to make it your money’s worth, only to end up with nothing. Eunbi scores a candy from the kids’ section, and you could see her consider trying out the 18+ ones. The appeal of the Playboy magazines and the Japanese girls looking back lewdly at her with barely no underwear on is beguiling.

“Do you think I should try to get a dildo or something?” Eunbi asks, running her knuckles along the markered glass.

“You don’t even know if it’s clean.” You’re leaning against the outside exchanger, staring into nothingness. But you always manage a little response for Eunbi, as absurd as her questions are and as wild your thoughts are about her. “You might get an STD or some shit.”

Her face squeezes up in disgust. “Ew, right. Forget it.”

You feel her warm body press into your side later. You’re still surprised even though the girl never leaves you alone. Then her head is on your shoulder, just like in the airport, and your heart surges. How do you deal with her? Pet her arm, and somehow she finds a way to sink deeper in your touch. She looks up at you and offers you a kind smile.

“I got you the keychain,” she says. She drops the Seoul keychain on the hand she forced you to open and looks away modestly. “Saw you sweating over it.”

“Thanks.” You look down at it on your palm and feel warm inside. She really is so sweet. “Appreciate it.”

“Yeah,” Eunbi replies quietly. “It’s the least I could do.”

She purses her lips tightly and exhales through her nostrils. Guilt floats in her face like a dark shadow.

“If it’s about the bag, I already told you it’s okay. I mean, it’s just a bag.”

“So? It means a lot to you.”

Your thoughts race with your words and win, forcing them out. “You do, too.”

Is she blushing? No. No, can’t be. But she’s stroking your palm with the keychain on it, a little tilt at the edge of her lips. That’s kind of close to that. Friends do this, right?

Her touch feels both foreign and familiar. You want to reel back and apologize for something you didn’t do, but then you want to hold her. Make her happy. Is that alright?

“Speaking of which,” she says pensively, staring into nothingness like you are, “what do you think happened to it?”

“The bag? I dunno.” Bring back her attention—eyes on me—by actually holding her hand. Sometimes you could be so brave. Toy with it, swinging your joined hands in the air then pressing them to your chest. You laugh at the suspicion clear on her face. “Probably in some lost-and-found counter. Or someone actually stole it and was like, ‘yep, hit the jackpot.’”

“Like trouvaille,” she says.

“What?”

“Trouvaille,” Eunbi repeats. She breaks her gaze from the space on the road and looks down at her sneakers. “A lucky find.”

A lucky find.

Staring at her is your pastime at this point. Your focus glazes over her once more, and you drink her all up. Two locks of her hair are pulled and tied at the back, making her look absolutely gorgeous. You’re lost in her eyes, like they’re an ocean and you’re on a raft floating on its waves. And of course, those glasses—you’re convinced they were made to make you want to do sinful things to her.

But the urge to sweep her in your arms takes over, and it outweighs your lust. Or are they equal? She looks so beautiful, yet so handsome. So pure and sweet, yet such a bombshell.

“Forgive me, but I must reiterate.” She tilts her head with a silly little grin. “What ya looking at?”

You’ve figured it all out. You wonder why you were ever worried.

"Well," you lead a runaway lock of dark hair back behind her earlobe, "guess I’m just lucky to have found you. Even if you're a nuisance."

Her eyes crease up into half-moons. "And I'm lucky to have met you."

"Even… ?"

"Nothing after. Just that: I'm lucky to have met you."

You never meant to actually do it. But it’s become too silent, like the world is leaving the cards on your table to play. And there’s her certain hold on your fingers, like she wants you to do it. There’s the birds tweeting as they gather into the trees for the night, waiting for the show of a lifetime. The stars, too, are bright tonight.

So who could blame you for nailing her to the claw machine and finally, finally kissing her? Her lips are as soft as they look, and you’re melting in them. You’re still holding her hand, keeping it pinned up to her side. Your tongues come out to play and it’s so much better than you imagined, so much better than your stupid little fantasies. Your eyelids shut, too, because this is an experience you never want to end.

That collarbone will be the end of you. It peeks from the neckline of her shirt, and you suddenly have all the courage to seal your lips on it. If only you could have mustered the same courage back in college to socialize, but you’re glad you saved it all up for this moment. Eunbi’s moan is sharp, and it almost makes you falter, almost makes you stop. Nope, can’t do that. When she’s letting out all these other little sounds as you have your way with her, there’s no way you’d let up.

“Hmmm…” Eunbi twists her head to the side and cries out. It unintentionally grants you access to her flawless neck. You leave some flaws: purple bruises she whines at, harsh open-mouthed kisses that trail saliva all over that pale skin. “I need to tell you something.”

You brush your mouth behind her ear. You can smell her faint perfume. “And that is?”

“I lied about wanting to get a drink.” She scoffs at her desperation, then sighs. She gives in either way. “I fucking hate coffee. Hate it. Hate it like a mother hates her firstborn. Or something. Just hate it, hate it, hate it.”

You shake your head. What an unfitting time to say that. Cradle her anyway. “Then why did you get some with me?” you ask.

“I-I don’t know. Guess I just wanted to be with you.”

Wait, so what about all those times you invited her for a study session at the cafe? She had always ordered a latte. Has she been hiding that silly secret each second, just for a chance to hang out with you? To have your company?

You didn’t know coffee would flatter you this much.

You pause. Does she like you? As much as you like her? You don’t know. You’re momentarily flustered. Step back and scratch the back of your neck, similar to a boy having been caught doing something wrong. Kissing your best friend is something wrong.

You shouldn’t be doing this. A friendship between two heterosexual people of the opposite gender could stray to lengths that are both painful as they are excruciating if someone dared to touch the other. So, if you kissed Eunbi, who could predict the consequences? Chances are you’ve ruined your friendship forever.

Then she grabs your waist and pulls you close. Kisses your chin ‘cause that’s all she can reach and she can barely reach it at all. But it sends shivers down your knees.

“Come on,” she whispers breathily. “Don’t be shy. Touch me.”

Foolish to stop and think. Your immediate yet hesitant reaction is to give her jawline one final kiss and slip your hands under her shirt.

“Oh!”

Alright, you’re a lot more confident now. You pull the cups of her bra down and start to squeeze. It’s no secret that she’s got a blessed bust, and now you get to feel it. Her nipples are hard in your palms and the flesh in your hold is just so soft. You could never get enough.

Eunbi laughs. Sort of; it’s kind of a moan, too. She lifts her chin to the sky as you knead and knead and knead. “H-how long… have you been waiting to do that?”

It’s an achievement making her stutter. More stammering breaths leave her lips when you thumb her nipples. Press, thumb, pinch, repeat. It’s how you find out she’s just so damn sensitive, and of course you’re abusing that fact.

“You don’t want to know,” you reply, brushing your lips over hers.

She gasps. “Again.”

“Huh?”

Eunbi kisses you. “Kiss me. Like this. Again.”

Is anyone aware, by the way, that you are completely incapable of refusing her?

You kiss her, like she asked. She sighs happily, her tongue suddenly coming out to play. More sensations of softness are at hand, and now you’re battling for the upper hand with your tongue responding to her gestures.

Two can play this game. You slip your tongue through her lips and she sucks it, almost like she’s aware of who’d be controlling who. You force her up to the claw machine glass (plastic? It’s pretty sturdy) so hard that your kissing isn’t gentle by any means. It’s leaving her breathless.

“You’re… you’re good,” she hums, when you finally reward her with a break. “I wanted to be the first girl you did that to.”

The revelation definitely isn’t linked to how hard you’re nibbling on her jawline. Her shuddering breaths are everything.

“Actually,” adds Eunbi, “I wanted to be the first everything for you. First kiss, first love, first time. But you just had to date Hyewon, huh?”

“Jealous?”

“Nope. Never. Just, oh, don’t stop–” Eunbi winces, ribbons her fingers through your own more. “Oh…”

Your tongue swirls on her neck. Meanwhile, your hands are busier. You squeeze Eunbi’s fantastic breasts so that her leg pulls you close. Your obvious erection pushes against her center. Her hips start to move, bringing herself closer to your rod and getting off on the feeling. Her little whines increase.

Then you remember something.

“Have to.” You retrieve your fingers from under her shirt. Regretfully. Fix her bra back on her.

She’s near tears. “No…”

“There’s a CCTV, little raindrop. You wanna get arrested?”

You’re out of breath. You pull the ends of her shirt down to hide evidence of the crime, though there’s the camera witness to it, and try to lead her outside. She refuses to budge. Her glare is clear.

“If that means you get to fuck me till I’m begging and drooling,” she says solidly, “then take me to court.”

You take her home instead.

She looks frail waiting at the glass doors as you purchase some contraceptives from the convenience store, almost whining when you take too long. How the fuck do they have lube, too? You buy that and all the contraceptives they have, because if you want to have Eunbi, you gotta do it fast and safe.

She manages to wait on the elevator, hand wrapped tightly around your palm. Then, when you get to the room, she pushes you down the bed as if she were actually taller and stronger. She truly is an actress—wasn’t she just squirming impatiently not less than five minutes ago? Directors would look at her for sure, a face to remember among plain ones, and say, “Oh, this is our trouvaille. This is what’ll make us billions.”

But now, she’s all yours. Your little trouvaille.

There’s pride in that.

“Fuck. Can’t wait to have someone like you.” She kisses you. Again. Another one to your chest. She’s a little greedy with the way she devours you. But you’ll spoil her as much as she wants; curve your body up so her cushiony lips could have more. Your back is buried into the white sheets. “Someone who is you.”

Grasp the small of her neck—her kisses are surprisingly passionate. "Wait,” you say, “you're not a virgin?"

It doesn’t bother you; just surprises you. Eunbi’s had a fair amount of suitors and boyfriends, and plenty looked too frail to even hold her hand.

"Virgin? Hell no," she replies, like it’s the most unbelievable thing she’s ever heard. The center of her jeans grinds against the mountain in yours. She bites her lip. "Mmm. You think with all this hotness a dude would go, 'Oh, I only want to take care of her'?"

"I do want to take care of you," you murmur, caressing her waist.

"Oh?" A grin stretches on her face. Her teeth still trap her lower lip, and it makes your stomach tighten. Your jeans, too. "Tell me more."

“For one,” you sit up and play with the belt loops on her pants, “I’d like to help you out of your clothes.”

“Typical,” she mutters amusedly. “But I’m not complaining.”

Eunbi continues grinding for long seconds that already feel like a taste of heaven, then rises. Her legs are jelly. You can’t imagine how wet she must be, and to think you’d finally see exactly how. She undoes your zipper, and you in turn pull down hers. Your pants are a whirlpool on the floor. It’s only when you roll on the condom and help her out of the shirt that you realize what she’s wearing:

Calvin Klein, from bust to bottom. Her navel sits above the band of the underwear. Her midriff looks even more perfect bare. Flatness travels through its front until it swells largely at her breasts, which look heavy behind the gray bra. Her hair falls messily over her shoulders, a sea of wildness, and her smile is dorkier with those glasses.

“Fuck.” Your Adam’s apple bobs. “Eunbi...”

“Will you?” she challenges.

You stand up and grab her ass to usher her closer, then kiss her. She smirks; she expected that to happen. Of course, the little devil, always getting her way. But you can’t help but give and give and give; you turn your positions around, push her gently so that she lands on the bed, and continue to kiss her.

Silky legs curl around you. Behind the fabric, you could already feel how wet she is. Drive your hips up because the friction is too good. The wet spot of arousal on her underwear prods your clothed erection.

Eunbi screams loudly. Chastise her with a squeeze on her butt cheek. She yelps, and your lips land on her again. “Easy there.”

“I hate you,” she groans, slapping your arm impatiently. She whines when you poke her cheek. “Give it to me.”

“Give it to me what?”

Eunbi huffs. “You want me to call you daddy on the first day? Really? I mean, that’s fine, I can do that. But can’t we dial it back?”

“You watch so much porn that you forget basic politeness.”

“Wow, hypocrite. Fuck you—”

“Baby.”

That shuts her up. Your thumb caressing teasing rhythms on her face plays a big role, too. Her ears are pink at the ends and she genuinely looks shocked. No, not shocked. Can’t be just that anyway. But that tiny pout pulling south at the ends and the tiniest of pants escaping it tell you what you have to know. You and Eunbi can communicate with just a look, and this one she gives writes to you a message of want.

“You alright? It’s okay, Eunbi. Baby.” Proud to have ruined all her feistiness, you tip her chin up. “I want you to say it.”

Wait, patiently. It’ll take time and you’re not one to rush. When she starts to talk again, her voice is barely above a whisper.

“Please.” She nods and nods, like she was doing it just in case you started to doubt. “Please fuck me.”

“Good girl,” you tell her. You’ve always wanted to. You can tell it’s the same for her.

You ease her out of her underwear and find her pussy prettily shaven, glistening wet. Light stickiness lines the insides of her thighs. Her lips down here are just as beautiful up there. You glide your fingers up and down between them, a choreography you’ll never get tired of performing again. Your touch is light yet you manage to put your hand on and in all the right places.

Oh, well, barely in. But that’s the fun of it; teasing Eunbi is a newfound hobby. In little time, it’s become your most favorite. Your touch is so light that when you edge the tips of your fingers inside, it’s already a lot to take. She lets out a humbled little growl, shoulders straightening. Mouth slacking. Thighs shuddering.

“No, no, why does it feel so—” Her voice breaks. Her face squeezes up and she’s crying out in strained, tiny sounds.

Your digits gently curl on the entrance of her pussy, touching her sore clit and making it throb with the stimulation. Eunbi’s lost count of the times she’s done the exact same thing to herself: lying in her bed screaming out silently with only her hand to turn to. And now she’s here, with you doing it for her.

Slip one finger inside, and even with that she’s already so tight. You start to pump her, each driving her nearer and nearer to the headboard. She’s whining, like no, no, oh, please don’t stop. You add another to hear it more.

“You prick,” she squeals out, palm to her mouth. “If you stop, I’m gonna kill you. I swear, I swear, don’t play around with me.”

“You’re in no place to be making threats, Eunbi.”

This is her punishment: a speed her little pussy can’t take. She’s so tight that you’re already struggling. Trust that she is, too. She’s thrashing around on the bed, disheveling the sheets the staff oh-so-carefully fitted back. Hold her down so she gets to feel the force of your pace.

How did she manage to peek in your mind, collect all your fantasies about her, and act them out? She’s there, in her Calvin Klein underwear, shaking at your fingerfucking and flashing you the most needy looks from behind those glasses. That’s gotta come from somewhere. Watch the float of her tummy when you jam your fingers harder; the quiver in her arms when you part her legs more. Now you’re certain.

Because see, it’s how it’s all so frightening: Eunbi’s Eunbi, your best friend and someone you’ve fallen in love with, and it’s the fact that you shouldn’t be crossing the line. You shouldn’t be fingering her with a madness of thousands when she’s your friend. You shouldn’t be touching and leading her on when she’s your friend. You shouldn’t be—

But oh, you are.

You’re doing it with the courage of someone who knows damn well what they’re doing is wrong, and with no regrets.

“In me.” It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command, veiled under a breathy tone. “Now.”

You pull your fingers out of her and lick them. You don’t know if she’s tangy or sweet or bitter, but you do know she’s fucking delicious. “Whatever you say,” is your reply, because you’re always spoiling her.

Eunbi separates her thighs from one another. Your protected cockhead bumps against her clit when you approach. She flinches, but scurries herself near. She can’t stop staring at you, your cock, your stomach. Everywhere. It makes you possess a kind of narcissistic theory that perhaps she’s just as obsessed with you as you are with her.

You’ve never hoped this hard for a conspiracy to become true.

"Please." Eunbi's breath shortens, and she closes her eyes. She’s suddenly quiet, letting go of her harsh neediness. "Please rub your cock on me. On my clit. Without the condom."

Look at her throbbing nub and catch your breath. Barely. You run your fingers below the sensitive pearl. Then, on it. Under it, too, with little weight in order for the heat to circle around. "I don't know if we should, little raindrop."

"You can put it back on after, i-if you want." Her begging is borderline desperate. No wonder she isn’t sassing you. "I’m on the pill. Should have told you, I’m sorry. But I just want to know what it feels like. Please?"

“Are you sure?”

She nods. Not that you need it to know what she wants.

You unroll the condom. Her mouth waters, even more when you do as she says. She’s right to be curious—it feels so fucking good that you’re afraid you have to put it on before you cum all over her. She whimpers quietly, the heat gathering in her clit and her legs suddenly tensing.

“Gah—” Eunbi sobs and catches the side of her fist in her mouth. “Oh god, please.”

“Seriously, you’re so cute when you’re desperate.”

“Shut up,” she gasps. “Just put it in me.”

Sure you will, but you can’t resist flicking your cock between her lips. Your tip teases her entrance and slaps her clit. Eunbi lets out a lengthy groan. It transforms into a girlish cry, and you kiss it all away. What you don’t know is the moment you push yourself inside, no amount of petting would get her to quiet down.

So you do.

“You are so—” Eunbi’s legs stretch out. They require an anchor, and you’re glad to act as one. You place your hands firmly on her thighs and start to push yourself inside the delicious tightness. Every time you try to push past the limits, her pussy only closes more around you. She’s all wet and aroused yet she remains so goddamned tight.

She’s slippery but firm in holding your cock inside that warm, wet hole. She has to stop tensing her stomach so that she won’t deprive you of her. It’s hard to push, but one powerful thrust drives you all the way in, making it worth it after everything. She spreads her thighs more which gives you the chance to feel them, and you’re right for grabbing the opportunity. Grabbing her thighs, to be specific.

Each thrust helps spread her out. You’re pushing her apart and forcing her limits to be taken down. Her pussy sleeves your shaft so well, so tight yet so perfect. You slam harder. Take in the beautiful imagery of Eunbi’s small cunt taking more than it could. Its hold is so enclosed that you’re required to guide her legs up to welcome your dick deeper.

“I’m seriously so angry at you,” she hisses out. She bears every drill with a pleasured face and a fist that chokes the sheets to material death. “How did you not dick me down… all those years ago, huh? What a fucking tease, fuck—”

Make up for it by choosing a rocky pace. She won’t relax, and it’s straining you. You’re so deep inside her yet you can tell there’s more to excavate—her tensed body just won’t let up. It’s like every time you roll your hips, her velvety walls close more around you.

“Well, I didn’t know you were so tight,” you say, kissing her collarbone. Tiny nibbles here and there before you give it a lick. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Oh, you’re sorry? Then fuck me harder.”

You’re terrible at apologies, but you’re sure she’ll forgive you this time. Your core releases a mighty strength in shoving between her open legs. Even that sexy Calvin Klein bra can’t stop her godly tits from bouncing. Her glasses are lopsided while her vision goes loopy behind them.

Her cheeks inflate in labor as her lower body rises to greet you. She’s so adorable; it pinches your heart and leads your mouth down so you can kiss her shoulder and clavicle. See, you’re a good multitasker after all; you can destroy the heat in her center while worshiping her body. It’s good practice. Question is: would there be more times to exercise it?

“That’s it, yes,” Eunbi breathes out. Her hums of affirmation stutter even without her lips opening. “You know what I’ve always imagined? It’s this, it’s always this. When I’m supposed to be studying, I just think of how good you’d pound me. How you’d make me scream. Do what you want to me, okay? Hnnn, so big.”

Plenty of similarities between you and your best friend: your quickness to speak before taking the time to contemplate it, the clothes you accidentally mix and match, your ages. But what you didn’t know is when you sit down at your laptop plagued by thoughts of her, she’s somewhere in her own place being overwhelmed by ones of you. The heat somehow multiplies. Fills the room like a verse.

Therefore, you must hold her in place, give her a false reassurance that you’re going to take her slow. Do so, but then your thrusts become unmeasured and rapid. One hand on the side of that flawless waist, you lead the other to her bra. Harshly pull it down and let her boobs spill out of it. You start to squeeze them hard. Her chest is so bountiful that even the width of your hand can’t map it fully. So you squeeze, forcing it to fit in your fingers, and start to pinch. Her nipple is sore with arousal.

“Oh—oh—oh, shit.” She’s sobbing. But unlike the other times you’ve seen her cry, this one is out of pure bliss. “Just like that. Such a good dick, such a good boy, thank you.”

Your ears heat up. “You’re a pretty good girl, too, Eunbi.”

“You’re terrible at this.”

She mewls helplessly when you suddenly ramp up the pace. You’re doing her like you’re determined to make her pregnant. It’s the last thing you want to happen, but the grinds make it look otherwise. Along the expedition of your cock, it rubs her needy cunt and makes her drench your cock with more wetness. Enjoy the tightness, enjoy the squeeze of her hole. She’s so warm and wet that you don’t think you could live having only done this once with her. There’s gotta be more, right?

“What about now?” you ask, unable to resist smirking at how she’s now completely broken apart. Then, mirror her words from some days back that drove and still drive you crazy, as ridiculous as they are: “Cat got your tongue back there?”

She chokes up and is rendered even more lost for breath when you start to lose control of your own moans. They harmonize in an erotic chorus with hers and soon you’re muffling them with another torrid liplock.

“You’re a bully,” she says, the words mashing with your teeth and lips. “A heartbreaking, flirty, mean bully.”

Your noses nuzzle against each other. “You like me that way.”

“I’m not commenting… on, t-that.”

“Good. Because you know what you need to do? Cum for me. You’re shaking, Eunbi. Bet you wanna cry and get there so bad.”

“Y-yes!” Eunbi curses with that adorable lisp. She starts to stammer at the thumb floating and frisking on her clit, and she gives you this watery-eyed needy look that tells you, along with her stiff nubs and desperate gasping, she’s close.

You start to swipe at her clit and fit yourself lower in her. Eunbi gasps. She sits up though her forearms barely could handle the weight of what you’re doing, and stares down at your handiwork. She feels hot all over. You’re not helping calm her down. But you are aiding her orgasm, (which, by the way, is so near she can taste it.)

“What are you doing, you’re making me lose it—gonna—”

No need for her to continue for you to understand when she’s creaming all over you. Your rapid rubs on her clit don’t cease and neither do your thrusts. Eunbi’s yelling so hard that you’re afraid that even the well-built four walls of your hotel room won’t contain her noises. However, at the same time, you want them to hear her. That girl you always have your arm around on? Yep, she’s yours. That girl who always steals your socks and shirts? Just the same.

Eunbi’s mouth pinches up before sighing loudly, followed by a series of other gaspy breaths. You could hear a venerating one the moment the tightness becomes too much for you to handle and thus milks you of cum. You fill her so much that it drips off her lips. Your gentle thrusts guide the mixture of her cum and yours back inside her.

“That good enough for you?” you ask, pulling out.

Gently close her mouth and wipe the saliva that dribbles down it. When you lead it back to her mouth, she sucks on your aiding thumb. You take the liberty of running your finger along the soft pillows of her lips.

Add: “You’re incredibly demanding when you’re being fucked.”

Anyone could have guessed that it would be that way if they saw how she’s sitting there giving you teary puppy eyes.

“Of course. You know why?” She gives you a tired yet satisfied look, a triumphant one, too. “I know you would give me more if I asked.”

Fix her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. “You give yourself too much credit.”

“Okay. Fine.”

Eunbi stands up. She steals your attention from her heaving, heavy breasts when she gets on her knees. She squirms her thighs together, letting your creampie leave visible evidence. She massages your thighs, and it makes you even more turned on.

“Tell me,” she says, another challenge, “that you won’t give me your cum. Tell me I’m such a bad girl that I don’t deserve all of it on my face. Hell, tell me you won’t even dare give me a nice, hot load down my throat as a reward for taking you well.”

You’re speechless. How do you react to this? She’s on her knees, riling you up and about to get to sucking you off. It’s another dream come true. And you hate how she’s right to death. She always is.

“Tell me all of that,” she concludes, “and I’d know you’re a fucking liar.”

Your tongue can’t form a fragment. Not even a stutter is born in your throat. Eunbi stares up at you, her hands neatly folded on her lap. She’s waiting, and you want to tell her it’s fruitless. You can’t tell her anything because it would prove her point. Plus, she’s gorgeous, so what now?

She clicks her tongue. Hums out a contained, satisfied laugh. “Thought so.”

Here’s how it starts: she licks at your tip repeatedly, keeping in mind how sensitive it is after having just cum inside her. Sparks of heat knot there. Then she leads it between her lips, and you’re on your toes again. She just slides those full, pink lips over you so perfectly. From the base to the head she goes with barely a complaining mouth. To you, it’s everything already. But to her—oh no, don’t get it twisted: this is just the beginning of it. A teaser to what will happen.

Her tongue laps side to side while she takes you in her mouth. You let out a stilted breath.

“Damn, you really, really like that, huh?” She pauses momentarily to lick your balls, then travels her tongue to the sides of your rod. With one lick, there’s another ball of heat tightening in you. And another; you’re moaning.

“Y-yeah.”

“I see.” (She doesn’t; she’s closed her eyes while nursing your sore cock. Okay, now she does.) “What’s something you really wanted to do to me?”

You exhale. It’s the only laugh you can manage to create. “Ah. Where do I even begin?”

Eunbi brushes your cockhead over her pouted lips. Your toes curl. “Tell me? Please?” she says.

Talking to Eunbi is easy. You can tell her anything and she’d be there, listening patiently and adding a joke sometimes. But when you’re asked to narrate all the things you’ve wanted to do to her, it’s a difficult task.

How do you say you’ve wanted to bend her over a desk while you finish between her legs?

How do you say you’ve strained for the opportunity to ask her out, with the first date being consummated by steamy, romantic sex by the moon?

How do you say you’ve wished for everything, from romantically cheesy to filthily rough, when it comes to her?

“I—I’ve thought about cumming in your throat,” you admit. That’s the first step. You run your fingers through her hair. Take care not to mess the braids. “Making you swallow all of it.”

Eunbi looks smug. “Sure, I can do that,” she chirps. “I mean, I’m me, right?”

“You’re a brat.”

“So make me shut up. Stuff this fat cock down my throat. Make me gag with your load. You always wanted to, right?”

Eunbi’s a challenging girl. She pushes you to go the extra mile, makes you do things you never thought you could. Tonight is no different.

You don’t care to keep the aesthetics of her hairdo anymore. You bunch her hair up in one tight ponytail then shove yourself inside. No gentleness in your body, you feed her wet and waiting mouth.

What bests the other in terms of tightness: her pussy or her throat? You don’t know. Can’t choose properly either. Observe anyway: this orifice provides the perfect wetness and a tongue that services you with glides and licks. Then you have that tight hole when you push yourself deep. You can feel her breaths being blocked by your girth.

Start to thrust away. In the beginning, she still has it in her to suck. You can feel the strength of it doing away at your length. But now, she can barely breathe to even do it. You’re just pushing her face into your stomach and her nose to your navel. You’re using her, which you’ve sworn you never would do. But she’s asking for it. Can’t you break your oath just once? Or at least, whenever she asks for it?

“Can I say how pretty you look like this?”

The blush on her cheeks adds to the aura of it all. Her eyes are glowing with tears as they blink at you, and she’s started to salivate all over you. She can’t take it all, yet she’s so determined to that you want to stop and praise her. As you fuck her face sloppily, the thought that she’s beautiful still hasn’t left your head. Even when you’re ruining her, you’re still starstruck.

You’re a little flustered yourself. She’s so gorgeous that it sometimes makes you want to go call every visual storm in a rainforest ugly. She’s the prettiest little raindrop, and you stand by that.

“You’ll be good, won’t you? You’ll take all that I’ve got for you?”

She nods so innocently you wouldn’t think that she was having her face used.

She’s promised you to swallow all of your cum, and Kwon Eunbi? She never breaks promises.

Twist the ponytail you’ve bunched together to push her head firm to your stomach. She chokes, her throat constricting. Just what you wanted. You limit the movement of your hips so that you could shove that pretty face into you and make her put that mouth to good use. She’s good at that; even with her gags that somehow sound more heavenly than concerning, she takes and takes and takes your length.

Pounding away, you bask in the squeeze of her throat, her hold on your thighs, her eyes tearing up. Her glasses are lopsided, and this time you don’t fix them. You caress her cheek then tilt her chin up. Her mouth’s an easy place to access in this position. The imprint of your cock bobs in her thin neck.

“Oh!” she gasps for air once you retreat.

She sucks sloppily on you when you rub yourself on the inside of her cheek to lead you to a climax. After you’re certain it’s right around the corner, you start to jerk off in front of her face. As much as you’d love to completely release her, you want to see Eunbi fill her mouth with your semen.

Eunbi’s a good girl, so you found out. She doesn’t need instructions for her to cleverly part her lips and wait for it. Her heavy breaths fan your penis.

“Almost there, little raindrop,” you say, “just be good and wait.”

She sticks her tongue out and you aim for it. Eunbi closes in and fills the top of her tongue with your thick release. It pools in her mouth so satisfyingly that you almost wish you could keep cumming forever—not for the pleasure of it but to see her keep that desperate face on.

“Swallow.”

Eunbi shows off the plentiful evidence of your orgasm puddling in her mouth, then does so. After she gulps, she pants. Laughs a little, too. She has a way of finding humor in the most absurd situations. For example: your professor’s voice cracking in the middle of a rant. Your dad calling her “a very well-mannered young lady.” Having her face fucked.

“Do you know you’re, ah, shaking?” she asks, fixing her exposed bosom back in her bra.

(You are.)

(But, to be fair, she’s made a mess on the carpeted hotel room floor. That’s kinda worse. The saliva can’t be differentiated from her girl cum. But at least yours can.)

“Thanks for letting me know,” you say anyway.

“Anytime.”

Amazing how things could grow awkward after you just abused her throat. You’re like two strangers trying to make conversation, and you’re everything but that, aren’t you?

“How ‘bout this: d’you know that you glow after being fucked?”

“Shouldn’t you do it again?” She climbs onto the bed you’ve collapsed on. She places your hand on her thigh. “Keep me pretty?”

There’s nothing that could make her look unflattering. The messy hair is wild but she’s still a princess. But if that’s what she wants… well, she’s the last person you’d want to say no to.

“You’re insatiable.” Nevertheless, you let her bring your hand to her used core. You love how she stiffens when you start to rub circles around her clit.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t, too.” Eunbi presses her mound close to the heel of your hand. For a moment, she’s frozen. Then, her lips are next to your ear, telling you of a tale older than her lust. “I want you to do everything you want with me, everything.”

You’ve lost count of all the things you want to do to her. From things as sweet as tucking her in after a bad day to the filthiest like defiling that ass since that day she wore cycling shorts alone, your mind just runs with ideas. You can’t choose.

“You’ve kept me waiting,” she whines out. Her sighs grow sporadic. “So give it all to me.”

“Like I said: incredibly demanding.”

“You asshole.” She chokes this out as you start to roughly prod her nub. “You fucking… gatekeeper of dick.”

“Well, it’s my cock. I think I get to decide what happens with it.”

“You’re selfish.” Her voice gets higher. Her winces grow often, and Eunbi’s starting to babble out these little words of biteless barks. “You’re so, so cruel. You don’t know what I’d do, I will—I will—”

Before it happens, you place your hand on the back of her neck. She doesn’t even get to glare at you because it all happens so fast. You don’t know how you did it. Not just this, but everything else: how you managed to befriend her, how you managed to lay her.

How you managed to push her not too gently to the wall, her chest pressing its solidness. How you managed to perfectly time it so that her head is tilted to the side so you could still catch a glimpse of that face. How you managed to pull up her bra and free those tits.

How you managed to say: “Do you know what I would do to you?”

Because there’s a million things you could do to Kwon Eunbi—the girl you’ve got pinned beneath you who’s absolutely tense with want. Your little kisses melt the freeze of her shoulders; you can hear her soft moans again.

Her lashes flutter over the undersides of her eyes. “Please,” she squeaks out, “do tell.”

“I’d rather show.”

Eunbi hums strainedly. You pierce through her again, It’s the second time and her velvety pussy still barely budges at your contradictingly welcome visit. Press your stomach into her back till you’re buried deep inside her. As a result, she’s shoved harder into the wall. Then you retrieve yourself handlessly from her, then put yourself in again.

She pants heavily, matching those of yours. She’s shaking, the only leverage to stay upright is your body on hers. Your rhythm is not too different from earlier and Eunbi still finds herself seeing it as something so new. She still spasms and quakes around you. Anything you give to her, she takes gladly. Each thrust pushes out a feeble cry from her throat and from within.

Her arms stretch to support her stance to the painted wall. You adore them, like you do to every other part of her. But these—these beautiful, strong arms whose minimal bulges hint of well-trained muscles—they do a number on you. You run your hands all along them, not making it easier for her. Everywhere you touch delivers a quiver running through her body.

Although you touch first from the sides, her chest already feels big. You caress her curves before placing your hands right on her breasts. They’re your guilty pleasure, the kind that makes you pray for forgiveness because you don’t even know if you’re worthy of stealing glances at them. Maybe you are, because you’re getting to hold them. It’s a divine sign, if you do say so yourself.

Clutch them. Use them to plunge to places left unnavigated in her cunt. She’s dripping all over you, and it somehow plays the role of lubricant. It lets you thrust easily and keep her wet enough for more.

Any touch you trace on her beautiful body makes her quake. You brush your fingertips lightly over her clit, and the squeeze of her hole strengthens. You massage her fantastic hips and waist and you’re rewarded with a feral cry. Kissing her does no good in helping her calm down because, if anything, she gets more worked up.

“Oh, look at that, Eunbi.” You continue thrusting in her, pushing her limits far from the bounds, and she’s got her hands on her face, tears on her palms. “You’re so desperate. You squeeze so tight around me.”

Standing is something she’ll soon be incapable of doing for her legs are beaten down by your movements. “Not exactly my fault,” she says. “You know who’s to blame? You. You and that smug face and smug everything. You—”

How is it possible that you can make her garble but lose her words as well? Eunbi’s excessive whining comes to a halt as you plummet said cock deeper. Silent screams escape her open mouth and she’s clinging to the surface in front of her like she’d slip if she didn’t. There’s a possibility that that’s true—when you let go of her hip, she almost falls.

“You—” If you didn’t know Eunbi, you’d think her voice had contempt in it.

“What about me? Can you tell me?” You know that’ll annoy her.

It does, for she says: “W-wow, big ego.” She whimpers quietly at the soft kisses you place on her neck. The circumstances don’t allow her insult to hit properly. It just swells your pride.

“I know another thing from me and mine that's big.”

Eunbi growls. “Then put it to good—fucking—use.”

She has a point. Why are you fucking her rough when you could be even more so? Your touch climbs from her waist, tiny, to her boobs that can be described as every adjective in the thesaurus except for that. Afterwards, you carry out a brutal pace which drives her so into the wall that you’re not sure how she hasn’t made a dent in it yet. Her only protection from its hardness is your hands on her bust.

Nothing can protect her from your hardness, however. It’s almost cruel how pink that milky white skin is, culprit of the defilement being your core that slams and slams into it. But you know she likes it this way. So why stop? Of course, there’s no reason to.

“God, please– you’re—” Her expression changes. Pleasure becomes bliss as bliss becomes paradise. “Oh no, I think I’m close.”

No quote from philosophers and learned individuals could inspire you like that simple statement. Yes, she’s close to cumming. And it’s because of you, she just confirmed it. So you tweak her hard nipples and tilt your moves up. You must have hit a certain spot because a simple “oh” turns to a scream. Several of them actually, each increasing the smacks of your hips on her butt and your lips’ ravages on that delicate, vulnerable swan’s neck.

“Hngh, I can’t! I can’t, I can’t, harder, please!” she yells, falling back to the wall and shaking.

Your moves become frequent and rough. Your hands join in with the roughness; they begin to harshly pinch and grab her boobs until she unravels.

Eunbi suppresses her scream into a whiny cry and falls into you, unable to keep her balance anymore. The flood rages in her core and overflows. Your cum slides out of her pussy as she tightens and loosens. She frantically pushes her ass back into you to keep the climax on a high, coupled with sharp shrieks of affirmation.

“Keep fucking me,” she rasps, “keep ruining me.”

Her voice ranges between low and sexy to high and needy. Both sides, however, are draining you. It’s the way the sweat sticks to her gasping face and how her legs are practically limp. She’s completely under your control, and you… like it? Is that how it’s supposed to work?

“Yes, yes—don’t stop.” Her nails scratch the paint. “Don’t, wait, not inside me. Okay? You can’t.”

You manage to successfully quiet your groan of disappointment. You pull out reluctantly. Tell yourself you already ejaculated in her moments ago, so it’s only fair for it to be once. However, your cock’s still rock hard. What do you do about it? You’ve already done more than you should with her. It was all supposed to be just one kiss. How did you get here?

She turns around and places her hands on your shoulders. Her palms are sweaty in spite of the air-conditioner breezing in the room. The exhaustion on her face from sex is there, and so is this little serious look.

“I want you to cum,” she says, “in my ass.”

Thoughts. Too many of those, none pure. Thoughts of Eunbi that didn’t stay as fantasies because look at them bleeding into reality. Silence, too—you’re not saying they speak louder than words, but of course you can tell she’s serious with those watery bunny eyes.

“What?”

And of course you gotta act like a prude. What the hell? You? A prude? That’s a fucking lie. You’ve pleasured yourself countless times to the thought of her and that body, so why are you backtracking? As Eunbi would say, right after you made fun of lazy students while never studying much yourself, “Hypocrite.”

“What?” Eunbi drags your hands down that supple ass and makes you squeeze its full cheeks. “I want you to get your money’s worth from that expensive lube and pound me. And don’t you even think of stopping.”

You glance at the plastic-wrapped bottle on the bedside table, then back at her. It just doesn’t make sense. You—you and your awkwardness and spontaneous bursts of overconfidence—getting to cross the line? Everyone has probably doubted their worth one way or another, in stories written the same as yours, but is she serious? Does she really, really plan on letting you do it?

You look down at your bare feet. She sighs loudly, obviously and slightly irritated at your hesitation. Only an idiot would pass up that opportunity. But maybe you want to be an idiot—because fucking her would mean wanting her. You’ve already done both. You’ve made her cum twice and always wanted to do so, always desired her. To you, it just makes you worse than the rest of the men who vied and strived for her.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Eunbi,” you tell her quietly. Let them rage at your words as if your life were a movie and they were a judgmental audience, but it’s true. You can’t violate more unwritten rules.

She lifts her head, her face parallel to your own. “What if I want you to?”

You blackmailed everyone into reading your story, you’ll say it straight up. This isn’t a love story or tragedy, or whatever. This is a tale about you being too generous. You’re always giving Eunbi what she wants. Every key point’s been triggered by her wishes—from her bailing answers out of you right up to this passionate Christmas Eve. You’re the genie who keeps giving her extra. Oh, you’re a pretty girl, you see, you’d say, blue hand stroking her hair, so of course you can ask for more. It’s all on me, beautiful. All on me.

You keep granting. And granting. And granting.

“Spread those legs.”

Because it’s all written on paper, in the law of nature: she’ll be the one who calls you names and drags you around. But here? Nothing remotely close to that. She’s the girl who sits on the counter of the kitchen table, and opens her legs. Why? Because you told her to. You’ve already fucked all the sass out of that sharp-tongued mouth. There’s little left.

In this wealth-stealing coup of a hotel room, she’s the one who does what you want. She’d slacken her mouth to have you give her a throatpie. She’d ride you like she would a pillow if you asked her. But in a way, behind the scenes, it’s her screenwriting it all. She’s got it predicted from front to base—you’ll fuck her here. And there. You’ll do what she wants and do what you want. Make it meet in the middle.

Because, you think as you slick her asshole and your cock with the lubricant, that’s what friends do.

The edges of Eunbi’s palms are on the counter. You can see them struggle to keep her body upright. You can’t really say you blame the girl when the two of you have done too many things to fit into one night. Anal is another you’re trying to squeeze into a tight schedule.

But that’s what she wants. And, (heads up—skip if you don’t like spoilers): you just so happen to have a habit of being too easily swayed by pretty women.

“Open more.”

“There’s enough already,” she whines, words pitched and tiny.

“I know, Eunbi. Baby.” You’re clinging on that high of seeing the color rose her cheeks. In every way, red (can’t be pink when it’s that dark) looks good on her.

Eunbi’s breath skips a pattern. Her ass retreats at your touch yet goes back every time for you to hold. “You’re too good at this,” she says, speaking as if the words were a foreign language. Which is to say: cute. It’s like when she speaks English; it comes out sounding like fresh, pretty talk.

“Glad you’ve come to terms with that.”

“Wow.” Can’t tell if she said that at your cock pressing to her anal hole or at your quickness to speak. “Okay.”

“I mean, I’m serious. I only called you baby. How does that make me good?”

Eunbi coos when you touch the side of her face. Hold its jawline over the line your palm calls its own. Glimmering sweat and exhaustion and lust, she still has ways to make you go crazy. Your hand comforting her shudders nearly makes her forget you just want her to admit that you’re cut from the rest.

Both of you know what’s true anyway.

“I just…” Eunbi kisses the space between your index and thumb. “I just fall in love too fast.”

“How fast are we talking?”

“I won’t tell you, it’s been crystal clear since the time I met you. But for this?” She taps your hip impatiently. “As fast as you can.”

Her voice deepens, a stretch from her cheerful pitch. Where did that come from? She smirks at the change in your face, but she can’t hide the desperation in hers.

Her hole and your cock are shiny with the lubrication. Turns out the lube was a good buy; getting the tip inside her proves to be easy. However, it can’t help your job in hilting the entirety inside her. Thighs that glisten with wetness and lube wrap around you. Her midriff tenses, and so does her hole. So do her hands on your arms.

There’s already her cum and yours wetting her ass, as well as the lube you bought that was crazy expensive. So why is she still so tight? Her squeals thin and her face makes clear the labor. You’re spreading her apart in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.

She’s straining, too. Eunbi’s using every method in the book to allow your width to enter more: breathing deeply, relaxing her body, spreading her legs. But they don’t seem to work for her when her ass is only focused on closing around the little you’ve put inside her.

“Why do you have to be so big?” she whines. She pushes her cheeks to your stomach, inching you south and into her. “Why does it have to feel so good? Don’t just stand there. Fuck me. Split me open, I need it.”

Her wish is your command. That’s three wishes she’s making there and you’ll grant all of them. In a hard moment of pure will, you pull yourself out and slam yourself harshly into her tight body. Your attempt is successful; your whole girth is snugly hugged by her round butt. The enclosed walls of her anal ring are so overwhelming that you’re close to blowing your load already.

If you’re a genie, Eunbi’s the taker of wishes. She takes and takes and takes, even with your cock prodding past the hurting limits of her little asshole, and she does it oh so well. She’s probably seeing ghosts or the stars they’ve become with the way she’s not even looking at you anymore. No, her body is slanted up to allow you to give what you can. And by what you can, you mean your all.

Eunbi sobs and hugs you close. For comfort? Assurance? Speed? You’ll give her all three. That’s six wishes there, but with her, there’s no limit. You hold her as you find a perfect pace, one that makes her thighs squish on the ledge of the table and has her mouth gaping while you’re making another orifice of hers do the same.

When did pain feel this good? Eunbi doesn’t know. But she loves and accepts it. She’s reciprocating your thrusts with her own ones. It feels too good, so good that the sounds coming out of her are difficult to comprehend. She’s moaning, yet crying, too. Crying yet gasping in delight. Gasping in delight yet panting as if it were too much.

There’s one thing you’re certain of, though: she’s enjoying it. Wetness drools from her cunt and onto your shaft. It’s only a tiny bit of help, but it already aids in fucking her ass open sloppily. Her breaths are warm gushes of wind on your skin, and soon in the air as she throws her head back. Have to place a hand behind her neck to prevent her from bumping onto the all-too-near cupboard.

“So good, so big, can feel you t-throbbing,” she mumbles. Her lips purse before releasing a sharp moan. You’ve just placed your mouth on one of her breasts. “Know you wanted to do this. Saw you, hnn, staring at my ass.”

“Who can blame me?” You lightly slap her backside. “This thing is the best.”

“You got me so...” Eunbi’s gasp becomes a little lost ghost when you start to suck on her brown nipple. “I wore them, those ridiculous shorts, just for you. Wanted you to make me feel good, make me hurt, oh, I want it so bad—”

Her words pierce and break. Their propriety becomes worse yet the willpower they induce becomes stronger. Rapidity becomes a pastime when you’re pumping her. Of course, that’s already a given when the girl’s absolutely incapable of keeping quiet. Anything you do to her she reacts to. She’s still the same girl in the sheets as she is when she’s out and about, and it makes this sinful act—anally ruining her—seem like something so endearing.

Your thumb starts to rub her clit again. You’ve done this plenty of times in this hotel room right after the heat started, yet it still gauges the same reaction from her. She can’t stay still. She wants to stay in one place to receive you better but there’s the pleasurable pain in her ass, your mouth on her bosom, your hand feeling her up. She can’t take it, and you can’t either. She’s a combination of wetness and tightness and loudness and shrillness—you’re both too much for the other.

A lit match to a flamed lighter.

“Oh, god, no.” Eunbi’s teeth dig into your shoulder before retracting. Signs of her sobs linger and roll down her perfect face that wields an expression you admit to have fantasized often on her. “You’re gonna make me cum again. You're gonna make me cum again, I can’t handle it. Please—fffu—”

You stuff your fingers inside her. Match the pace with how you’re fucking her into the kitchen wall. She clenches around you and doesn’t let go. The wet squelching sounds compels you to be harsher with her. Fuck her like it doesn’t mean anything, just like she wants you to.

“Mmm!” Eunbi shrieks at the harsh intrusions she thought would be over.

“Not over yet.” You kiss her. “Still gotta cream this perfect ass.”

The promise of that makes her blush. Red and sweaty, she exercises those toned arms by using them in fucking herself on your cock. The pleasure is addicting, and she’s still keeping you to that oath to cum inside her a second time.

She’s so wet that it’s almost unbelievable. Your fingers curl, spread, jam themselves in her, and each time they pull out they’re soaked to the knuckles. Her clit twitches and you get your touch on there again. A little leak of cum wrinkles your hand from it.

“You really want it, huh?” Hiss at how she bounces that jiggling rear onto you. “Just a little more, baby. You’re gonna have to do much better than that.”

Since when did Eunbi do what you say? Since when did she do it with this much enthusiasm? Despite your shaft wrecking her insides and rearranging her guts, along with the orgasm she’s had, she perseveres. She rolls her body, a snake’s dance, and takes you in further. You admire how much you’ve spread her. Hold her backside to guide her.

You pity the housekeeper who’d have to clean up evidence of your sin. There’s her wetness on the kitchen table, the smell of carnal need in the air, sheets torn by the little power Eunbi’s fingernails have. But there’s no regrets, you think, for this one:

An explosion. The kind that doesn’t kill but brings her to life. Its origin is the base of your cock and birth inside her tight little ass. Hold her close. Slam inside her as if you were mad at her, while she lets out gasped repetitions of “oh, oh, oh.” Now you pull out your digits and resort to furiously rubbing her nub, effectively making her even tighter.

“That’s it, fuck, such a good girl,” you groan. Grip her ass so tightly that it draws a yelp out of her. After it’s all done, you pull out.

“You,” she drawls when you pull out. She spreads her legs and stares at the semen dripping out of her holes. At the mess you’ve made on the floor, the bed, the table, everything. “You…”

She doesn’t continue what she’s saying, but you’re pretty sure you got the gist of it. It was you who fucked her. It was you who made her climax so many times in one night. It was you, her best friend, who did her in.

“Yeah,” you say, laughing.

Somehow, the whole experience is making you guilty. You feel like the richest man in the world, the luckiest, too. So why do you feel you did something wrong?

Eunbi narrows her eyes. She knows you too well. “Don’t you dare apologize.”

You don’t.

“Now kiss me.” Her words fan your chin, a haunting love spell. “Again.”

You do.

Christmas comes, and by then you've flown home. You’re at Sakura’s house to celebrate. Green and red are all over the place: red cupcakes on a baking tray, old books leaning against each other, the rug beneath you and her friends. There’s a giant statue of Santa Claus, overweight and jolly, at the corner next to the Christmas tree. What used to be under the plant were gifts Eunbi specifically said not to touch until 12 a.m midnight. No sleeping in now that you’re well aware that the man himself isn’t real.

Sakura’s undoing the ribbon on her gift, but her eyes are on you and Eunbi. “There’s something really weird going on with you two,” she says.

The girls nod and hum choruses of agreement: yes, he and the bunny leader are acting odd lately. No, they don’t know why. Is it because of the vacation? Seasonal depression (but with Christmas lights!)? They’re gonna find out for sure.

You and Eunbi look at each other. Your faces hold an unreadable expression, until you take an interest in one evergreen branch and her in the collar of her ugly Christmas sweater.

“Nah,” you say.

“Nothing much,” she echoes, drinking her hot chocolate.

Yena groans, tired of your pretentiousness. “You fucked, didn’t you?”

A liquid spray of sugar lands on the rug, courtesy of Eunbi. The girls begin cackling, slapping their hands on their thighs and on each other. You look away to manage your laughter. Unfortunately, it’s as loud as Eunbi’s scheming little members.

“That means yes!” Yujin shouts gleefully. Her dimples are printed on her cheeks. “You owe me ten thou, Yena unnie!”

Christmas spirit truly is in the air. They’re jumping up and down, laughing and cheering, while you two are mortified. You’re the Grinches of the holidays, but even that can’t sour their happiness.

“It worked!”

“I can’t believe it worked!”

“They’re so obvious about it, too!”

“No wonder Eunbi unnie was limping when they came home!”

The whole thing was a setup. It’s all dawning in on you. Why else would eleven girls pool ridiculous amounts of money for a two-person trip? You’ve given them the best Christmas present of their lives unknowingly.

But with how much Eunbi loves them, she’s okay with that.

You are, too.

“Hey.”

You lift yourself up from the comfort of the pillows and sheets. Eunbi’s standing at your bedpost. She still has on the sweater, courtesy of your mother, and her ears are still pink. That’s one of the cutest things about her: when she gets shy or humiliated, it’s pretty obvious.

How do you go about this? It’s been awkward and silent ever since you had sex. It’s so unlike your dynamics, and it’s scaring you. You don’t want to lose her. Is that the same on her end?

At the end of the day, though, she remains your best friend. You’ll always reserve a place for her with you.

“Hi.” You pat your bedclothes, and she sits.

She looks away as she pushes a paper shopping bag in your arms. “Merry Christmas.”

You wonder how you didn’t see it peeking from her tiny back. The bag isn’t too heavy, but it obviously is something large with how much you can feel whatever is inside it. Quickly stapled and taped, it’s a last-minute present for sure. Did she forget you? Of course, your heart squeezes with the idea of it.

“Way to time your—”

“Don’t be stubborn and just open it. Please?”

Do so.

It’s a bag. Not just any bag—it’s a brand new original of the backpack she lost you all those months ago. She’s got it down to the same color (gray), design (two pockets, with black zippers and one for a bottle) and size (medium). The only thing that sets it apart from your first one is the unavailability of shreds and tatters on the bottom side.

Stare at it, dumbfounded. How did she track it down? It’s sure to be expensive, seeing as it isn’t thrifted and is wrapped in the branded plastic of an overseas branch. “Eunbi,” you say.

“It was shipped later than expected.” She shrugs, trying to play it off. Still, you can hear her laughing shyly. “Hope you like it.”

“I told you to save yourself the trouble.”

You lift the bag up and stare at it. The transparent plastic allows you to marvel at its beauty. The faint scent of newness fills your nostrils.

But the real beauty is the one who sits on your bed late on Christmas night, with her hands folded neatly on her lap like a Catholic schoolgirl. A few locks of her hair are braided with red ribbons to go with the season of giving. Her brows are as dark as her glasses, her cheeks as red as her ugly sweater.

“I like it when you trouble me.”

As always, her statements hold more meaning than they should. And, like you could through her eyewear, you can see right through them. Knowing what she tried to say causes you to inch closer to her. The sides of your thighs press against each other.

“Makes me want to trouble you more,” you reply.

She lifts her head. Already the light cockiness she so often brings with her pours back into her face, and you couldn’t be more relieved to see it again. “So do it.”

Things have a way of coming back to you. Your bag, the thrill of meeting her again, Eunbi. Not everything will return, but then it’s probably just a sign that things aren’t gonna be bad forever. There will be days you’ll get to have a vacation with her again, the promise of December’s Christmasses, being with her and her friends you’ve grown to love. There will be days for new beginnings, like this one. This is a fresh start with her. There will also always be days you’ll do whatever she wants, which somehow align with what you want too.

Refer to this:

You kiss her, your little trouvaille.

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nyoomiin · 2 months

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roommates: part one.

your new roommate is... odd, and recently, so are your dreams. still, despite the secrecy, the mystery, and his ice cold exterior, you have the feeling you'd waltz right into love with him. (maybe you already have before.)

pairing. scaramouche x gn!reader

tags. no warnings, slice of life, fluff, slowburn, friends to lovers, reincarnation au, post irminsul erasure

masterlist. next.

Needle and thread in your hands, a hum dancing under your breath. A bell chimes as a door swings open, and two hushed, urgent voices can be heard. You look up from your sewing.

One, a brunet with a charming grin, and the other, partially hidden behind him. It catches your eye — those violet eyes brimming with curiosity, meekly peeking through long hair, blue as the wine-dark sea. You’re struck with a faint surprise, then a surging sense of excitement.

“Archons, you’re perfect,” someone breathes.

It’s you.

You awaken, mood tinged with a secondhand embarrassment you can't quite place. Stretching as you clamber out of bed, you try to recall the dream you just had.

It's futile. It drifts away.

You're excited to meet your new roommate.

Your previous one had left after he got his own house, so you've had the place all to yourself for the past few months. Frankly it was getting lonely, as peaceful as it was. The "rooms” your landlord rented out were more like apartments, really, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen.

You hope you get along with them, whoever they are. They'd be arriving today, you think. You wonder if they like soup.

Just then, you hear clinking keys, and the front door swinging open. Standing eagerly, you rush to greet your housemate, nervous and delighted all the same. You turn the corner to look, and —

— “Archons, you’re gorgeous,” you breathe.

Sharp-eyed and porcelain skin, a slender build and hair a royal blue — not to mention the way his outfit brought out everything good in him to a tee — white, and blue and utterly angelic. You only realise you’ve said something completely out of pocket when you notice the expression on his face.

You blink.

He doesn’t.

… Whoops?

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you,” you say cheerily, introducing yourself. You decide never to think about how absolutely horrendous your first impression must be ever again. “Do you need help moving your things? I made soup for dinner — do you want some?”

He shoots you the most disgusted look you’ve ever seen. “Where is my room?”

“Oh! Ehm, it’s the door furthest down the hall, and the bathroom’s the one closest to the living room.”

Saying nothing more, he brushes past you brusquely. Seconds later, a door slams shut with a resounding thud.

You frown, huffing. What a cold guy. Still, did he have to react like that…? Maybe he was shy, or something. Your… blunt comment would’ve caught anyone off guard. Anyway, pretty people are always difficult at the start, you think, reminded of how unapproachable you believed Alhaitham to be before you had befriended him.

Well, you’d just have to try again another time.

Knocking on his door, you call, “I left you some soup in case you get hungry later. Remember to heat it up before you eat.”

You don’t get a response, but you can hear his shuffling footsteps, and you decide that was enough for now.

( Inside, the wanderer curses everyone and the gods above.

To ‘rehabilitate him into society’, Nahida had basically forced him into… whatever this arrangement was. Now, he had to deal with you too?

You knock on the door then, and he stiffens.

“I left you some soup in case you get hungry later,” you say. “Remember to heat it up before you eat.”

He scoffs. Truly, what a fate worse than death. He’d find a new place to stay as soon as possible. The past was no more, and thus there was no longer a reason for your life to be entangled with his.

His heart thuds a slow, steady beat. It's a sensation he has yet to get used to.

Unwilling as he may be, he wonders if your soup still tastes the same as it did all those years ago. )

#—stellaronhvnters.#scaramouche x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin #decided to split the oneshot into chapters bec yes

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ezziefae · 2 months

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My thoughts on The Prisoner's Throne.

(spoilers ahead, and talk about Holly Black's planned book)

ps: I finished this book in one sitting on release day and needed days to process everything, that's why this is a late post. Enjoy!!!!

Heather and Vivi

Where were Heather and Vivi? They were present in the prologue but then they vanished. I was excited to see Vivi become friends with Wren, especially after the rude comments she made towards Wren in TQON. I wonder why Holly excluded them from everything after the prologue, such as the family drama scene at the feast. However, I appreciated how they were mentioned in the story, particularly when we learned that Oak and Heather's mom are close, and that Oak would sleep at their house.

Oak abdicating as heir

So yeah, Jude and Cardan have given Oak permission to resign from the throne as heir, and obviously Oak is taking that opportunity to do just that, just not yet….he has to stay heir for months since Jude and Cardan are going away together. I always knew Jude and Cardan were going to stay as High King and Queen of Elfhame, but only because Oak married Wren and therefore became King of the Ice Needle Citadel, but that didn't happen…Jude is letting him step down because she knows he's grown, and wants him to make his own choices, which is great. If Oak resigns, Jude and Cardan will need to have a child to maintain the royal lineage. So, it's VERY possible that we may see a Jurdan baby in the future.

political problem (Holly Black's next faerie book)

So finally we know what the next book will be about. We know that Jude and Cardan have plans to go to the Undersea. That was the plan Holly Black has been teasing at us for a long time now. This means we’re getting another Elfhame book (Holly didn't say an "Undersea book", she said "Elfhame" even though it's going to be set in the Undersea). In an interview online, Holly Black states that this book will possibly be a stand-alone. Many fans are speculating that this book is going to be a Nicasia POV, but from reading the interviews from Holly I believe it’s going to be either a Jude or Cardan POV (maybe even both). This would make sense since Holly has said many times that she's planning to give us more Jurdan, and that Jude still has a lot of story in her. The Prisoner's Throne leaves us with many unanswered questions, such as what happens to the Ghost, if Oak gets married, news about Wren and her family, and whether Jude and Cardan have children. A standalone book to wrap up these loose ends would be very needed.

Cardan saving and being protective of Jude

Do you guys remember the post I made about Cardan fighting alongside Jude? and how he will not sit on the sidelines to watch her fight? Fans who know Cardan well already knew this to be true, but this book further proved this. This isn’t the first time has Cardan stepped in front of Jude to save her from being impaled. My man sacrificed himself so Jude wouldn't get hurt. Many times during the Stolen Heir duology Cardan has been called a coward, but mannn he's no coward, he will protect those he loves dearly, it was so refreshing to get more of his protective side in this book.

Taryn and The ghost

Since TQON, fans have been speculating that Garrett and Taryn are involved in a romantic relationship. Although it wasn't confirmed in the book, The Prisoner's Throne offered some insight into this. We find out that Heather, Vivi, and Oak have all speculated about it. Furthermore, Oak reveals that even after 10 years, The Ghost has remained close to Taryn and her child Leander. In one chapter of TPT, The Ghost has a serious conversation with Oak, but when Leander interrupts them, Oak notices that The Ghost becomes a different person around Taryn's son. He changes his behavior and has an indulgent smile towards the boy. I personally find it adorable, and after all the hardships The Ghost has been through, I believe he deserves to find happiness, even if it's with Taryn of all people.

The Ghost’s tragedy *sobs into pillow*

I never expected The Ghost to become such a prominent character in the book. It was amazing how I started to develop an emotional attachment to the Ghost throughout the book, only for him to end up turning into a tree by the end. The chapter where the family feasts and Lady Elaine and the Ghost are found dead was pure chaos and full of royal family drama. I had such a good time reading that part, until the Ghost turned into a tree. Also, going back to the topic of the Ghost and Taryn, I feel bad for Taryn even though I know she is a terrible character. It was heartbreaking to see Taryn sob and hold the Ghost while he was slowly dying (We didn't get word from Taryn that they were dating but I think that part was enough comfirmation that they were indeed lovers). As far as we know, Taryn and the Ghost did not get a happy ending in this book :(

ps: This is why I believe holly black's next book will be a Jurdan POV, because the only way we get to know about the ghost is through them. Nicasia is not close to Wren, Oak, the Ghost, or Taryn, we will never get insight on what happens to them if this next book is a Nicasia POV. Also I've been hearing as of 3/12/24 that Holly might possibly write a Jurdan dual POV, so...more reason to believe that it will definitely not be a Nicasia POV.

Taryn Vs Wren

It's funny how Holly decided to create a lot of family issues in the second book of the duology. Many fans believe that this duology should have been a three-part series to resolve these issues. One major problem is that Taryn dislikes Wren and holds her responsible for what happened to The Ghost. Oak's family is also not very fond of Wren. It would have been nice to see a moment in the book where Oak's family and Wren could have worked together and gotten along, but that didn't happen. If Oak and Wren plan to get married, I hope that they can resolve these issues between them all.

Cardan VS Taryn

It shocked me that after 10 years of them being brother and sister in law, that they still don’t get along. I think Taryn was wrong to feel like she had to protect The Ghost from Cardan when he was only trying to help. In fact, it annoyed me a bit. While Cardan was respectful towards Taryn, he had every right to dislike her, unlike Taryn who had no reason to dislike Cardan. Moreover, I would like to mention the moment when they found the ghost almost dead and Cardan ignored Taryn and answered Jude instead, Cardan being petty to Taryn in the most respectful way is hilarious. I think that moment perfectly sums up their relationship.

Wren’s Family

Although I’m happy Wren's sister Bex reunited with Wren, I was very much expecting to get more closure from that, like seeing Wren's entire family together reunite in the book. It feels like that left a huge void at the end of the book.

Wren’s Transformation

Okay, that was absolutely shocking. Holly mentioned in one of her interviews that there would be a transformation in the book, and I guess that was it. Wren now has beautiful wings. Can someone please draw a picture of Wren with wings? Also, can you imagine what Oak and Wren's children would look like if they ever had any? Their child would have blue skin, hooves, and wings. That would be a very interesting looking child.

Wren VS Jurdan

Wren was so wrong for making Jude and Cardan appear weak in front of their court. While reading this part, I remember thinking 'Wren, please stop," I found this chapter fun to read, and seeing Jude and Cardan's reaction to Wren's power. It was interesting to see how Wren exposes Jude's geas and curse to almost the entire court, and how Cardan becomes overprotective of Jude while Wren was removing her curse. I love Cardan.

Where was Queen Annett?

Since the stolen heir, I believed that queen Annett was going to be a problem for Elfhame and Wren. As you may recall, Wren freed her prisoners, and I always believed Queen Annett would've punished Elfhame for it since Wren was with Elfhame's heir Oak. However, she did not appear in The Prisoner Throne at all. I wonder if Holly forgot to bring this issue up or if she has decided to address it in her upcoming faerie book. (Queen Annett is also pregnant, so I think she will definitely be brought up again)

Madoc's Character

I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting a lot from Madoc in this book, but nothing happened, except the fact that Jude lifted his exile (temporarily?) It bothers me that she lifted his exile easily, does Jude not remember he caused many problems for them? Madoc is the reason why Cardan almost died, why Oak was put in danger, he's the reason why the royal family died, and why Orlagh was weakened. I at least expected that Jude lifting his exile would've caused political problems for her, since Madoc is a political criminal for Elfhame and the Undersea. I thought he would’ve at least made a big heroic or villainous move in The Prisoner's Throne, or found a way to at least redeem himself, but nope.

Oak and Wren's Ending

So…Oak does not become king of anything, which is shocking. Everyone believed that if he didn’t become the King of Elfhame he would at least rule the Ice Needle Citadel, which can still happen, since he did propose to Wren at the end of the book. But still, I find it unnecessary, I think that Wren should step down from being Queen, and run to the mortal world with Oak where they can live away from the royal duties. Oak has expressed many times he does not want to be king, but if he marries Wren he will be king, which doesn't seem satisfying to me. Wren never cared for power in The Stolen Heir, she only ever cared for love and her family, I think the ending felt incomplete and unfinished. A lot of stuff was built up from The Folk Of The Air series, and this duology was supposed to give us results, but it did not. Even Oak and Wren's love story felt rushed. I didn’t see much of a connection. It didn't give me much of what I felt when I read Jude and Cardan's love story (You guys are so welcome to disagree with me)

Jude and Oak

So if you read the book, you know how shocking Jude and Oak's relationship became. Especially that scene where they “duel” (And Jude was an absolute fucking badass in that scene) The way she tricked Hag and even Oak at first that she was going to trade Oak for Cardan. I was very impressed with Jude in this book, especially in this chapter where we see her ordering her archers, and her ripping her dress to be able to fight while she's all wet. Her dialogue was so badass: "What if I give you Oak's head instead of Cardan's" and even this quote "Well, then, what a wonderful opportunity for you to prove your loyalty and die for the High King." Chapter 23 (I was so gay for Jude in this chapter, she was so mommy material) Despite feeling a bit betrayed by Oak and believing that she had failed in protecting him, she still trusted him when it came to Wren.

Oak Vs Taryn

"For a moment, he thinks of going over there and dumping his red clover tea over his sister's head" (Chapter 19)

(Jaw was on the FLOOR when i read this) I think it really sucked that Oak's family never told him about this, and I understand that Oak had every right to feel so raged that his family hid his mother’s true killer from his knowledge. Oak and The Ghost have been close, we did get some insight of The Ghost going to the mortal world and train Oak with Magic. I really hope Oak and The ghost's issue gets resolved, but that can only happen when the ghost gets cured....I love family drama, and it shows.

Jurdan Kids

Going back to the topic at hand, Cardan and Jude have given Oak permission to abdicate, which leads me to believe that they are planning to have kids of their own. So far, there hasn't been any indication from Jurdan that they are against having children. Holly has given us insights into Jurdan taking care of Leander, which is incredibly heartwarming. For example, we find out that Cardan plays with Leander, and there's a part where Jude is in the mortal world with newborn Leander, and Oak remembers Jude playing with baby Leander with a toy, almost like she was playing with a cat. I think these are definite hints from Holly that Jurdan would make great parents. Holly did say that we would get an answer to Jude and Cardan possibly having kids in the Prisoner's Throne, and I believe this was it. I will definitely make a separate post on this.

Randalian

I'm so happy this man is dead, it was long overdue. This man annoyed the crap out of us since the folk of the air series (it’s crazy that Jude and Cardan never decided to remove him from the living council, he never saw eye to eye with Jude and disrespected them constantly)

Lady Asha apperance

It turns out that Lady Asha is still in the court. She was only mentioned once when Lady Elaine was speaking with her. At that moment, I became suspicious and believed that Lady Asha was also part of the conspirators.

Locke appearance

The dream Oak had with Locke as a fox was fun and interesting. Even though it was a dream, it was cool to hear Locke again and how he acknowledged being murdered by Taryn.

Taryn is aging...but not Jude

FINALLY, we have some information on this topic. Oak describes Jude as looking very young, and Taryn as aging. He offers two possible explanations for this: either Taryn has visited the mortal world too often as her years are catching up to her, or becoming a mother has exhausted her. For a long time since TFOTA series, fans have speculated that since Jude is the Queen of Elfhame, she will never age. And it looks like Holly seems to support this, especially since Oak finally wonders "if Jude is quite as mortal as she once was". I from now on have no doubt about it, i am a "Jude will never age as long as she's Queen of Elfhame" believer.

The Cardan and Oak problem

it turns out that it wasn’t a big deal, Oak had been too much in his head, he was his own enemy when it came to Cardan, and it was amazing to see Cardan and Oak have a brotherly talk by the end of this book. Cardan’s character has really matured, and its amazing how comfortable he's become with his loved ones (i love him so much) I will admit, that when Cardan was talking to Oak about delaying his abdication of heir, I thought he was going to announce Jude’s pregnancy and you can't blame me, the way Holly wrote it made it sound like he was going to do that. (would’ve made me scream) but nope.

Summary:

The beginning was slow, but I nonetheless enjoyed it. I love Oak and Wren, however, I felt that they could have had a stronger connection in the story. There were too many unanswered questions left in the book, and it did not provide any closure to Oak and Wren's future. I feel that the series should have been a three-part book series instead of a duology. Moreover, many of the main characters seemed to have lost their power, such as Oak's resignation as heir to the throne, Wren losing her godly powers, and Tiernan being fired from his position as Oak's guard. I think many new readers who have never read the Folk of The Air series might not have appreciated that. Despite this, I appreciate that Jurdan was not removed from the Elfhame throne. However, I think that Holly Black set up more problems in this book than solutions, which makes it feel neglectful towards Oak and Wren's story. I am excited about this book, and I am sad that we may not get more news on Elfhame until possibly 2026, as she is currently working on the second book of The Book of Night. Anyways, In other news, I have a virtual event with Holly Black tonight 3/12/24, so I will write anything important down, and I will try to ask good questions!

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alittletaste · 1 year

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FORGET ME NOT

↳ In which Y/ns a baker and Harry’s the bad boy trying to get under her skin

Warnings: Slightly angsty and a confrontation as well as some grovelling. Hope you enjoy this, please remember to send some asks about the fic and to reblog! I appreciate it 🫶

Everything was in order. Cakes were baked, the dough was kneaded and the cookies were in the oven. The air was scented sweetly from all the baking y/n had been doing since the early hours of the calm and quiet winter morning. The sweet smell of the baked goodies was pungent yet fresh. It was a scent the locals absolutely adored.

Some would say business isn’t as good in the winter as it is in the summer but y/n would disagree. For her, and everyone else in the small town, business was good all year around. Everyone had their role in the town, some people settled on growing crops for the rest of the town whilst others, like y/n herself, settled on making the actual food/goodies people would eat.

Y/n hummed the tune of a song lightly, busying herself on decorating the cupcakes she had baked earlier. She swirled the tip of the icing bag around with ease, expertly icing edible flowers and patterns onto the cakes. She was on the fifth cupcake when she heard the bell placed on top of the front door to her bakery ring, indicating that someone was walking in.

As she looked up, she was met by the local librarian, Ms Anne. A smile crept onto y/ns face as she walked over to the counter to greet her first customer of the day.

“Hello darling” Anne spoke, a smile on her sweet face. She looked around at the variety of baked goods in front of her and inhaled deeply. “It smells lovely in here, as always”

“Hello, Ms Anne! How are you doing today?” Y/n asked, leaning against the counter. Ms Anne was a legend according to y/n, not only did she have an impressive library but she was also the sweetest, softly-spoken woman she has ever come across. Granted they lived in a small town so didn’t really meet a lot of people, but y/n was convinced Anne was one of the greats. Too bad her son couldn’t follow in her footsteps, she always thought.

“I’m doing alright, just came in to get the cake I ordered last week” Anne spoke, reminding y/n of the order which she totally forgot about.

“Oh, um, which cake?” Y/n asks, a sweat breaking on her forehead at the fact that she’s completely forgotten Anne’s order.

“The one for Harry? Remember, it’s his birthday cake” the older lady replied, if she has realised that y/n has forgotten to bake the cake, she doesn’t show it.

“Oh shit” the younger of the two curses, slamming her palm against her forehead. “I’m so sorry, fuck. I can’t believe I forgot about it. I can still get it done for today though, what time do you need it by?”

“Hey, it’s okay” Anne soothes softly, placing her hand over y/ns in a gentle manner. “Things happen, it’s okay. The party isn’t till 6 pm, would that be enough time?”

“Yeah that should be fine” y/n replies, her teeth tugging on her bottom lips “I’m so sorry again Ms Anne. I don’t know how it slipped out of my mind, it’s so unprofessional” she spoke, shaking her head at herself.

“Seriously darling, it’s ok, I promise” Anne smiles, slowly soothing y/ns worry and guilt. “I’ll send Harry to collect the cake around 5, is that fine?”

“Yeah that’ll be perfect, I’m sorry once again” y/n replies and Anne chuckles softly, once again reminding the younger of the two that it’s ok before she walks out.

Great. Now not only does y/n have to work under stress due to her own actions but she’ll also have to see Harry.

It takes Y/n approximately 4 hours to finish the cake, she baked the red velvet that was requested in the initial request and used royal blue icing to coat it. She drew on a yellow car, a nod to Harry’s career as the local mechanic, with some buttercream icing and wrote “Happy birthday Harry” in red icing.

Just as she puts the cake in the fridge, she hears the bell. Today had been a quiet day at the bakery which y/n was so grateful for, it meant that she could finish off the cake rather than entertain customers.

As she turns around to face the counter, she’s face to face with Harry, a smug grin on his face. He looked as annoyingly handsome as always, his curious emerald eyes trailing up and down her body. “Hey” he let out, his voice was a lot deeper since the last time Y/n had heard it, all the way back in school when they were best pals. Alas, things change, and people change.

“Hi,” she replies, staring back into his eyes.

He chuckles, “of course, it’s my cake you forget about.”

“It slipped my mind, ok, I’ve got other orders too you know” Y/n sasses back.

“Let’s hope you don’t forget them too” he challenges, one thing about Harry it was that he loved getting a rise out of people, especially y/n. It’s what caused that big fight all those years back to happen. Harry taunts people and y/n isn’t the type to stay quiet when that happens to her.

“I would never do that to them” Y/n hisses, putting an emphasis on the them to really get her point across. One thing Y/n couldn’t handle was when people came at her for her job, she was good at it, one of the best bakers in town and she deserved the respect.

“Nice to see you’re as feisty as always” he speaks, biting back a chuckle at the way he was annoying y/n. He loved the way y/ns forehead creased and the little burrow in her brows every time he annoyed her.

“And you’re a dick as always” she replies with a roll of her eye as she turns back towards the fridge to take the cake out and give Harry so he could leave as soon as possible.

“It’s funny, every time I see you, you’re always on about my dick. If you really want it, all you have to do is ask” Harry smirks causing y/n to groan.

“You’re so disgusting. There’s a difference between talking about your dick and calling you a dick” she argues, placing the cake on the counter and pushing it towards Harry.

“Wow, you’ve done a decent job. Thought I was going to get cake crumbs or something” he chuckles, pulling out his wallet to pay for the cake.

“It’s what you deserve but Anne’s much too nice of a lady and I couldn’t do that to her” Y/n smiles, sending daggers to Harry as he places the money in her hand. She puts the money away and waits for Harry to go.

“Thanks for the cake, sweet pea” he smiles and turns to leave, but he turns around again. “Look, I know I’m a dick, but I'm really sorry” he says, a look of guilt clouding his eyes.

“For?” Y/n asks, honestly taken aback that he sucked up his ego to apologise.

“For everything, all those years I treated you like shit. I didn’t deserve you as my best bud back then, you were amazing and I’m sorry for how our friendship ended.” He says, y/n knew Harry, she could tell the look on his face was genuine. He was actually feeling bad.

“Yeah yeah, it’s ok” y/n replies, not knowing how to act especially since he was walking right up to her. He smiles, but he can tell the conflicted look on y/ns face. Harry’s heart aches at the pain he had caused her the past years, how he treated her like shit, taunting her and essentially bullying her. He swears it was all friendly but he didn’t understand the impacts stuff like that could have until he was here, looking into y/n's eyes.

His own eyes soften as he leans down and places a soft kiss on her cheek before he whispers a quiet sorry into her ear. All y/n does is nod, she genuinely forgives him, and with that, he’s out the door. To nobody’s surprise, y/n needs a few seconds to compose herself before she’s back to work, her mind still wandering off to how soft his lips felt on her skin.

The next morning as y/n opens up her bakery, she hears the bell and looks up to see the postman. He was holding a bouquet and softly placed it on the counter. “Special little delivery for you hun” he speaks with a smile and y/n thanks him, waiting for him to leave before she examines the flowers.

They were Forget-me-nots from Gemma’s florist shop and instantly she knew who it was from, Gemma was Harry’s sister.

When she tugged out the little note, it wrote “I mean it, I’m sorry. Let’s try this again?” Below that was Harry’s personal number and without another thought, Y/n saved it into her phone before placing the forget-me-nots in the empty vase on the counter with a smile on her face.

#harry styles blurbs #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfiction #harry writing #harry styles smut #harry styles x you #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #Harry styles angst #harry styles x reader

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thebluestbluewords · 7 months

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Important Auradon Prep dining hall facts from the Villain Kid’s book for new VKs

The school has an ice cream sundae bar the last Friday of every month.

Mal is a mint chip ice cream lover (this is very important to me personally, mint chip ice cream is delicious and doesn’t deserve any of the hate it gets, much like Mal herself…)

The school does Sunday brunch. As someone who went to a relatively fancy college that also did weekend brunch meals, this is somewhat confusing and distressing the first weekend when you go down at your expected breakfast hour and find NO food out yet.

Bunch doesn’t start until noon….the VKs definitely learned this the hard way.

Evie likes eggs Florentine- as well as everything else on the brunch list, which is delicious carbs. #leteviehavebread2k23

Auradon Prep has pasta mondays…..every week? Once a month? No clear timeline on this one, but after working in a bunch of different real-life dining hall kitchens, I know that it’s nice to have a set meal rotation, so pasta every Monday probably makes sense for a high school.

Another important note here is that pasta night is ~fancy~ and they put out white tablecloths and dim the lights. Weird choice for a high school dining hall, but I guess when your student body is unimaginably rich and also likely confined to campus during the school term, you’ve got to make your own date opportunities.

Side note: is there an Auradon Prep hierarchy of “good” date nights? Is being asked out to Monday pasta night like a basic, everyday-tier date? The enchanted lake is clearly where students go to have a romantic picnic and then hook up, but what other common school dates are there? Is brunch appropriately romantic? Does the dining hall let anyone request a picnic, or is that reserved for actual royalty? Many questions here.

The funniest thing so far in the dining hall section of this book is the sample menu they have- WHO is feeding high school students escargot? Mussels? I guess they’re coastal enough to have fresh mussels on a somewhat regular basis because we do see them on a boat in D2…and like, they’re in relatively close proximity to the isle, which is In The Ocean, so I guess that part makes sense. But printed menus every night??

In my heart the printed menus are a sort of once-a-week special occasion thing. Maybe once a week they have fancy dinners where they’re all expected to eat nicely with the teachers, or with whatever visiting royal family is there to see their kids, or just to practice proper formal dinner etiquette.

The Auradon Prep dining hall serves grill cheese with tomato slices in the middle. Jay is apparently a big fan of this. I’m only sad about this one because I have a scene 90% written where the dining hall is serving grilled cheese and tomato soup, and now for ~canon accuracy~ I’m going to have to edit that.

#descendants #disney descendants

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outtoshatter · 6 months

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Inspired by @christinesficrecs, I'm going to do a few author spotlights! No one can stop me. I am going to shower love upon my pals and boost other writers in this fandom.

Up first we have @halevetica! She has so many options for readers!

Multi-Chapter Fics:

Leave Me in Ruins | 66K+ | 48 chapters tags: friends with benefits, slow burn, miscommunication

Summary: Derek finds himself in a difficult spot when he mistakenly sleeps with Stiles. The two agree to forget it but Derek can't. Before long, its becoming a regular thing, now Derek has to deal with the issue of falling even more for Stiles or losing him all together.

Stiles never dreamed of waking up next to Derek, but it's now a regular thing. However, he has to keep his emotions in check so Derek doesn't realize how he truly feels all while keeping their 'relationship' a secret from the pack and fighting the new big bad in town.

Like it or Not | 80k+ | 56 chapters tags: fake dating, enemies to lovers, mutual pining!

Summary: Stiles works as the editorial assistant at Vogue. He loves everything about his job except for his boss, Derek Hale. Derek Hale is the worst and Stiles hates him. But when Derek drags him to the yearly awards dinner within the company, he is forced to play boyfriend for the night to make Derek's ex jealous. Things couldn't get much worse…or so Stiles thought.

Same Old Song and Dance | Rated: E | 125k | 91 chapters tags: Alpha Derek, hunter Stiles, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

Summary: Raised in the hunter life after his father was killed, Stiles hates werewolves. So when he lands a contract to kill the alpha of the pack that killed his father, he's elated. Until he runs into complications. The alpha is smart and strong and playing a game Stiles can't figure out. When secrets are revealed and new enemies made, Stiles must decide for himself what side he's on and who he can trust.

One shots:

Cute Together | 4k Summary: When Stiles gets stuck on a ski lift he meets Derek, who is scared of heights. He helps keep Derek calm until they can get rescued which leads to Derek teaching Stiles to ice skate. Along the way he helps Derek's two friends get together.

Promise | 3k Summary: Derek is stuck in the airport after his flight gets cancelled on Christmas eve when he meets Stiles Stilinski. Stiles is a friendly stranger that convinces Derek to have a little fun while stuck in the airport. His night with Stiles has more of an effect that Derek thought it would.

Feels Like Home | 4k Summary: Derek has spent years trying to quell the storm in his chest. The one that makes him feel lonely, like he doesn't belong. When searching for that feeling of home in New York where, he lived with Laura, he runs into Stiles Stilinski, who insists on Derek staying with him while in town. Derek shouldn't be shocked to find that Stiles feels like home.

Things to look forward to (aka works in progress!)

Shatter my Reality | 32k so far | 23 chapters to feast on! tags: mutual pining, jealous Stiles, ~magic~ Stiles, Stilinski twins! Summary: Months after the nogitsune, Stiles starts to see his own face around town. He dismisses it as PTSD. That is, until Lydia starts having a feeling that Stiles is going to die. As the pack scramble to find out what is going on, Stiles is forced to face a ghost from a past he didn't know he had and a future that seems to threaten his place in the pack.

Tangled Crowns | 23k so far~ | 14 terrific chapters to enjoy! tags: royal au, prince Stiles, prince Derek, magic Stiles! Summary: Flattery. Derek's life is full of it. Fake smiles, fake compliments, fake people. It's exhausting.

Desperate for a night away from the high expectations and rigid life of royalty, Derek escapes to a small tavern where he meets a sweet, attractive, genuine man who only gives him the name "Mischief". He has Derek swooning by the end of the night, and Derek doesn't swoon. Their night together, the first and only real connection Derek has had in years, if not his whole life, ends too soon, and he must return to his responsibilities.

Stiles isn't ready to give up on the mysterious, handsome "Samuel" that he met in the tavern, convinced they have a connection. He finds himself risking family secrets and even the peace of his own kingdom just to keep that connection even when it seems impossible. As circumstances force them together despite betrayal and aching hearts on both sides, Derek must fight both his heart and Stiles while Stiles struggles to prove to Derek that everything between them is real.

Go check out Halevetica's AO3 page and enjoy! Don't forget to mind the tags, leave a kudos, maybe even drop a comment!

#sterek #author spotlight #sterek fandom #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #derek hale #halevetica

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nczennie · 1 year

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royal icing.

Pairing: Reader x Ateez’s Wooyoung AU: Royalty Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (18+ scene) Preview: "I am a Prince you're speaking to, you know" he states as you get back to your work. "That may be, but you are not my Prince". You reply, and Wooyoung wastes no time with his answer, "But I could've been your King". Words: 10.1k a/n: This is a spin off of Royal Library, can be read alone but you would have more background knowledge if you read it first. *Warnings under cut

Warnings: Minor mentions of sickness (not any of the main characters), Wooyoung is inexperienced and shy, There is only one small smut scene (only dry humping tbh).

Wooyoung is a Prince. He was born a Prince of his Kingdom, Twilight, and has grown up having every aspect of his life planned for him. What to eat, what to study, what to say to guests, who to marry. You name it, and Wooyoung was positive he didn't have a say in any decision. Not that he ever complained, he grew up knowing that was the price of being Royal.

He never regretted it either, well, that is up until now.

It's been nearly a year since everything in Wooyoung's life was flipped upside down. It was Winter when he came to the Kingdom of Aurora, expecting to marry their Princess and eventually become their King. This was the future that was planned for him since he was born. So when the time came to make the journey across the sea, he did not hesitate. He came to Aurora with a smile, meeting the Royal family, the new locals, learning what he could about the new culture. He was to be their King and he wanted to be a good one.

He was arranged to marry the second Princess of Aurora only months after he was born. He grew up knowing he would have to love this stranger and spend his life with her. Sure, when he arrived he didn't completely fall in love with her, but he knew the reality of their situation. He knew he would have to try his best to love her for the rest of their lives. They were to marry and rule the Kingdom together, start a family together. So he didn't think too much about it.

That is until the Princess went and fell in love with his advisor.

His advisor, Seonghwa, started working for him once he came of age. But more than advisor, Seonghwa was his best friend. He cared for him more than anyone else in the world. That's why when he found out about their secret relationship, he did everything he could to make sure they would be able to stay together.

And it worked. However, that left Wooyoung with a bigger predicament of his own. How could he be King if he had no Princess to marry?

The first couple of months when Seonghwa and the Princess left Aurora, no one knew any better, not even her family. But eventually the truth had to come out. The King and Queen and youngest Princess Rose, were sent to visit the Princess where she lived with Seonghwa in a quiet village inland. They were furious when they found her pregnant and married to the man who was once the Prince's advisor. They went through waves of disbelief, demanding her to return to her kingdom and marry Wooyoung, yelling at all the trouble she has caused, crying about how she lied and kept such a huge secret from them. Her family eventually came around, wanting to be apart of their grandchild's life, even in secret.

After much discussion they needed to decide what to do about the fate of the kingdom. They kept the Princess' whereabouts a secret from everyone, even the closest circles of the family. As far as anyone knew, her health became too poor for her to be in line for the throne and she would live out the rest of her life away from Aurora. It was announced Rose instead would be the next Queen of Aurora.

As the youngest of the Princesses of Aurora, Rose had never been arranged to marry. So came the obvious question, should she marry Prince Wooyoung in place of her sister? It looked like a heavy possibility, but the more they talked about the idea it was no longer an option. Rose would get to choose who she would marry, whenever she was ready.

But what about Prince Wooyoung? He had come over to this kingdom ready to be King and now that was no longer in his future. Was he to go back to Twilight? He was not in line to their throne as he has an older brother who was already married with an hier on the way. Plus his parents threatened Aurora with the loss of their alliance. Their son was promised to be King and now they were taking that from him? Aurora relied heavily on their alliance with Twilight for their lumber so they couldn't risk losing their trade or gaining an enemy. Therefore. they kept their discussions going. Prince Wooyoung was no longer going to be King, but instead, he was given a powerful position on the Royal council. This seemed enough for his parents as they agreed to the terms and kept the alliance in place.

For Wooyoung on the other hand, he felt more confused than ever. He was a Prince, he was used to having everything planned out for him. But now those plans have changed and he feels more lost than ever.

It was nearing autumn in Aurora but Wooyoung could still feel the sweat running down his back as he walked through town. The afternoon sun beat down on him as he made his way down the cobblestone streets, making sure to greet everyone along the way. He was making his way to the famous bakery whom the castle used to order baked goods for their events. The annual Autumn festival was approaching and the castle was in full swing preparing for the event. From his spot on the Royal Council, Wooyoung was now a huge part of the preparations. That's why during lunch today he was heading to the bakery to ask if they were able to add on a couple more cakes before the festival this weekend.

Wooyoung had never been to this bakery before but he was already impressed by the scenery alone. After walking up the many stairs to the building, he sees the outside seating area that looks over the blue water. Being elevated on the hill allows for a scenic view in all directions, blue ocean as far as one could see. He takes a deep breath and enjoys the the sea breeze for a second more before turning towards front of the building. His entrance is announced with a chime of the door and a middle-aged women greets him, "Hello, welcome-oh! Prince Wooyoung, welcome your highness". She smiles excitedly as she bows, wiping her flour covered hands on her apron. Wooyoung smiles back at her, "Hello, nice to meet you. You're the owner of this amazing bakery I assume?" She looks a little flustered at the compliment but nods, "Yes, your highness. I own it with my family. My husband and I work on the baking while our kids work on running the store".

He compliments her once more before relaying the messages about the extra cakes, she agrees and promises they will be even better than expected. She tells him she has to return to the kitchen in the back but suggests he stays and enjoys a treat since he walked all this way; on the house.

Wooyoung agrees, the smell from inside the bakery was alone making his mouth water so he couldn't refuse. After saying goodbye he walks up to the counter to order, a young man bowing his head as he greets him, "Your highness, welcome. What can I get you?". He scans a menu ordering some tea before humming as he thinks, "What would you recommend to go along with the tea?" The young man gives a charming smile, "I would personally recommend one of our sourdough baguettes, we have a new batch coming out of the oven soon if you have time to wait. But I know you must be busy, so we so have some croissants ready instead". The Prince nods, "I have no problems waiting, a baguette sounds delicious. Thank you.." he draws out and the young man smiles, "Yunho, my name is Yunho". Wooyoung smiles at him, "Nice to meet you Yunho, how much will it be?"

Per his mom's request, Yunho insists there's no cost at all, so Wooyoung slips the money secretly into the tip jar instead. "You can take a seat wherever you'd like and I'll bring it out as soon as it's ready".

Wooyoung thanks him once again before walking along the counter, looking at all the amazing treats in the display case. As he continues getting familiar with the small bakery, he notices a girl on the opposite end of the counter. As he walks closer to her he can see she must be decorating a cake. You pay no mind to him as he steps in front of you to take a look at your work. He blinks as he takes in the small cake, looking nothing like the stunning decorated desserts in the glass casing. Instead it's merely messily coated in white frosting as you cut fresh strawberries to place on top.

"It's kind of messy." Wooyoung speaks out before he can help himself. You stop your movements, putting the knife down to look up at him. You raise your eyebrows, "Excuse me?". Wooyoung lets out a small chuckle, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just meant compared to the others," he pauses at the unamused look on your face, "I'm sure it's just your process". He finally ends.

"I'll have you know, this cake was requested by a very amazing young lady for her fifth birthday. She drew me a picture of her desired cake and I am merely bringing her image to life". You stand your ground causing a smile to appear on Wooyoung's face. "Well if that's the case, I'm sure it's delightful". You send a glare at him, "It is delightful. I don't know what you know about decorating cakes anyway".

Though the smiles stays on Wooyoung's face, he can't say he's used to people speaking to him in such a manner. "I am a Prince you're speaking to, you know" he states as you get back to your work. "That may be, but you are not my Prince". You reply, and Wooyoung wastes no time with his answer, "But I could've been your King".

You both turn in shock as your brother yells your name, having overheard the way you were speaking to the Prince. Wooyoung looks over at Yunho where he was preparing his tea, giving him a reassuring smile. "I may be a Prince but I can still banter," He teases them as Yunho starts to apologize for the actions of his sister. Wooyoung looks to you, but you are silent, avoiding his eyes as you focus on the strawberries. He chooses to head outside, finding a table in the shade where he can enjoy his treat with a view. He closes his eyes, feeling the breeze and listening to the sound of the ocean which he finds very relaxing. Wooyoung thinks he could've fallen asleep there, but when he hears someone clear their throat, he squints his eyes open.

You stand before him holding a tray, a small teapot and glass placed alongside a steaming baguette. He sits up straight as you start to place the items on the table in front of him. "It smells amazing thank you", he gives a charming smile but a smile barely graces your lips as you bow slightly. He starts to pour himself a glass of tea when he notices you haven't left. Looking up at your standing figure, Wooyoung watches as you let out a sigh before breaking the silence. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior inside, your highness, it was very inappropriate of me". Wooyoung finds himself smirking, figuring your brother must have made you come out here to make amends. "There is no need to worry, I was not offended if that's what you were afraid of". Wooyoung drops a cube of sugar into his cup as he speaks to you.

He can see you nodding but you speak again, "I-well thank you. But I am very sorry, I shouldn't have," you pause and he looks up at you where you seem to be pondering over your words. "It was wrong of me to bring that up, meaning the Princess of course".

The smile drops off Wooyoung's face as he comprehends what you were talking about. "Oh, it's quite alright. I promise you don't need to stress about it," he says your name softly. At least he assumes he has, merely recalling what Yunho called you inside. At this he watches as you perk up, bowing once again, "Thank you, your highness. Let me know if you need anything else". He watches as you make your way back inside.

Sighing he turns towards his meal, moving to tear a piece off of the steaming bread. He often forgets how the public perceives his broken off engagement. As far as they're concerned, Wooyoung is a heartbroken Prince who's loving financé was taken from him because of her illness. Although that is far from the case, he knows he has to act the part.

Wooyoung has completely fallen in love with the bakery on top of the hill. Since his first visit before the Autumn festival, he has been returning at least every other day. Trying some new tea and treat every visit. And of course speaking to the family who owns the place.

The Prince finds it enjoyable to have found some people around his age to talk to outside of the castle. You and your brother, Yunho, have quickly become what Wooyoung would like to consider as friends. He especially loves that you aren't afraid he is a Prince. Much like your first meeting, you aren't shy to talk back to him and tease him. He thinks it's a breath of fresh air to be treated normally by someone as if his title doesn't matter.

"Well, well, well," you call out to Wooyoung as he enters the bakery once again, "You just can't resist us can you?" You tease from where you were wiping down the counter. Wooyoung shrugs, "I can't help it, Yunho is just too handsome. I can't stay away".

You smirk at him, tilting your head, "That's a shame then cause I'm the only one in today. Yunho and my parents are off picking up groceries in the next town over". Wooyoung sighs in defeat, "On second thought, I better get back to the castle." He moves to turn around but smirks when he hears you whining behind him, "What's so wrong with me, huh?" Wooyoung laughs, turning back around and making his way to the counter, "You're no Yunho, but I guess you'll do". You roll your eyes at him, "Ever so charming, your highness". The Prince leans against the counter humming, "May I please get two blueberry muffins, to go?" He sees you frown, "To go? I guess I really am no Yunho," you move to wash your hands before preparing a box for him. This causes Wooyoung to laugh, "I have a meeting back at the castle, otherwise I would enjoy my muffin here".

He watches you nod before presenting his to go box to him and taking the money in exchange. "Wooyoung-" he looks up and notices you let out a small laugh, "Sorry, I mean your highness. I was wondering if you knew when your meeting would be done?" Wooyoung purses his lips as he thinks, "Not too long, not later than 2 I suppose". At his answer you give him a small smile, "I was wondering if maybe you would come back here around 4? We close then and I was hoping maybe you would want to walk me home?" Your voice trails off losing confidence by the second.

Wooyoung gives you a smile, "Of course, I can. I'll be here to make sure you get home safe". You smile back before nodding, "Thank you, I'll see you soon".

"So, you're just going to walk her home?" Wooyoung watches as the butler takes a bite of the muffin he brought for him. "Yeah, her family in not in town so I'm sure she's a bit nervous about making it home on her own". The man across from him hums, wiping his mouth, "You really think she's never had to do this before?" The Prince glares at the man, "What are you insinuating, Yeosang? You think I shouldn't go?"

The butler shakes his head, "No! I'm just saying maybe she just wants your company rather than your help". "Oh," Wooyoung simply states taking in Yeosang's opinion. "I mean is that such a bad thing?" The butler asks speaking up again, "With how often you've been going to this bakery, it can't just be for the food can it?"

The Prince shrugs as he thinks but Yeosang continues, "None of this is distressing, I'm just trying to ask if you perhaps like her? Are you attracted to her?" Wooyoung feels taken aback by the question. He doesn't think he's ever been asked that before, about anyone. "Well of course I'm attracted her her, she's beautiful I just," he pauses unsure of how to get his thoughts into words. Yeosang moves to place his hands on his shoulder, "Hey, you don't have to figure anything out, I was merely curious. Please, excuse me for asking". Wooyoung shakes his head, "You did nothing wrong, but I better get going to make it there in time". Yeosang nods, bowing at the Prince before taking his leave.

He takes his time walking back to the bakery, pondering over the words Yeosang was saying to him. Wooyoung knew for a fact he was attracted to you, but was it something more? His brain only hurt when he tried to figure it out. He can barely remember a time where he liked someone. Back in Twilight was he was young he liked an assistant in the kitchen but after being caught talking to them, he was warned to stay away as he was to be married eventually to a Princess. Since then he stayed clear of such feelings, knowing he would have to spend his life married to someone else. But now that concept is gone and he felt lost. He didn't know about these types of feelings as he was never allowed to have them, he honestly didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to do.

At this moment he wishes for nothing more than for Seonghwa to be here, he would know what to do. He would be able to help him.

After that evening, walking you home became some sort of a routine. If Wooyoung was free he would make his way to the bakery around closing time so he could walk you home just down the street. Even with your brother and parents there, usually staying to finish something up, he would come to meet you. He let himself enjoy your company without trying to think too hard. He had a good time with you, he knew that, laughing and teasing. Ignoring when you would walk closer to him, causing your arms to brush against each others.

That's much how it was this evening, your arm brushing against his as you told him about the dozens of chocolate strawberries you had to decorate today. He chuckles when you complain about the kink in your neck.

"The breeze has been so cold lately," You wrap your coat further around yourself. Wooyoung hums in agreement, "You can definitely tell that winter in coming". You nod, turning to open the gate to your yard, holding it open for the Prince to enter behind you. He walks you up to the door of the small house, standing on the path while you stand atop the first step, making you an even height with him.

When you smile at him, he returns it, noticing how nice you look in the golden light of the setting sun. "Thank you for walking me home," you say to him and he laughs. "I told you, you don't have to thank me every time". You shrug, "I'm just being polite to my Prince". "I thought I wasn't your Prince, hm?" He teases and you smile at him. "Maybe I've changed my mind," you say back, moving to fix a wrinkle in his collar. "I'll see you soon?" You ask and Wooyoung tries to ignore the way his heart pounds as your hand lingers on his shoulder. "Of course," he whispers out, looking into your eyes.

You give him a smile and his breath hitches when you lean down and press your lips into his. They only meet for a moment but the softness of them seemed ingrained in his brain. "Good evening, Wooyoung".

He watches with wide eyes as you make your way into your house. So nonchalant as if you didn't just steal a kiss from him. He groans as he turns to exit your yard and make his way back to the castle. You kissed him, you actually kissed him. Yet he feels more confused than ever.

"With winter approaching the mainland soon, it's best that we secure any of our trade handlings before the snow starts. That's why we want to send you to Twilight, to represent Aurora". The Queen of Aurora speaks to Prince Wooyoung over dinner with the rest of the Royal family. He had been apart of a council meeting earlier where many officials were organized to travel to different parts of the mainland to talk trade with different kingdoms.

He hadn't expected to be apart of it, but it made sense for him to travel to his home kingdom to do the negotiating. Plus he would get to see his family once again. "Of course, your majesty. It would be an honor," he states and the Queen gives him a smile of approval. "We apologize for asking so last minute, but the last boat trip towards Twilight in awhile will be in just a few days time and we need to have negotiations done as soon as possible". The King explains as he cuts the meat on his plate but Wooyoung only nods, "I do not mind, your majesty. I'll make sure to pack right away".

Later after they finished their meal, Wooyoung found himself walking to the third floor alongside Princess Rose talking about the trip. "You know, I was looking at a map of the mainland just the other day". The Prince nods at her before she continues, "I was curious about what was around Twilight, you know seeing as it was in a quite mountainous region". Wooyoung hums, keeping his eyes on the steps, "Yes, it's true. Twilight is mostly in mountains but down in the surrounding valley there are many other towns and kingdoms". He explains about his home. He sees Rose nod, "Yes, I noticed that. I also noticed there was a town called Utopia just down the river from their mountain." Wooyoung snaps his head at the mention of the familiar town but Rose gives him a pointed look, wary of the guards around them. "I hear they have amazing fruit orchards there," she simply states instead. The Prince gives her a smile, "That is true".

"You're leaving?"

Wooyoung watches the shocked look on your face as he told you about his trip back to Twilight. He realized he probably should've presented it better, as he hadn't seen you since you kissed him that night and now he's standing before you telling you he won't be around for awhile. "Since I'm part of the council I'm off to represent Aurora in trade negotiations. It shouldn't take too long, although I've never done it before so I'm not positive...a month at most". He chuckles but watches as your frown turns into a pout.

"Will you come to the bakery once you return?" You ask and he smiles at you, "Of course, I'll come right when I dock". You sigh, gaze moving to the side for a second before returning to look in his eyes. "Very well, I hope you have safe travels". Wooyoung smirks at you, "I'll be back before you know it". He watches as you nod, then move to step closer to him. He freezes, realizing you might want to hug or even kiss him again before he leaves. This causes his throat to tighten and eyes widen to panic. Before you can make another move, he steps back and puts his hands on your shoulder giving you a friendly pat, "Well, I'll be back in no time".

He turns to leave without a second thought, heart pounding in his chest as he makes his way down the steps from the bakery. "You fool," he mumbles to himself, hand running over his face as he recalls your interaction.

Negotiations with Twilight go more smoothly than he could've hoped for. Both representatives agreeing to terms that were advantagous for both kingdoms. With the trade settlements reached, he then got to enjoy time with his family. Eating meals with his parents, playing in the yard with his younger brother, the timing was perfect as he even got to be there for the birth of his nephew. Congratulating his older brother on his healthy baby.

With this relaxing time spent back in Twilight, he was ready to return to Aurora until the next time he visited. But not without another stop. He was able to convince his butler, Yeosang, and couple of guards to stop for the night in a town called Utopia before making the long journey back to the cost where they could sail to Aurora. They were able to find an inn during the early afternoon and he promised his entourage they could go off and explore the town for themselves. Of course they were hesitant but he promised everyone would meet back here at nightfall.

Thanks to a few letters he exchanged while in Twilight, he was able to follow the directions to the west side of the town. Walking along a quiet neighborhood before he found the house that matched the numbers on the paper in his hands. With a smile at the quant garden, he walks along the path to the door, gently knocking to announce his arrival.

"Wooyoung, I'm so glad to see you!"

Wooyoung can't help the smile that lights up his face as he pulls the man into a hug, "I can't believe it's been so long, I've missed you more than you can imagine, Seonghwa". Seonghwa pulls away from the hug, giving the Prince a smile, "It's been too long. I know it's difficult for both of us but I hope there is a way we can see each other more regularly in the future. Please, come inside. Lunch will be ready soon".

He looks around in wonder at the small house, it was cozy and beautiful but quite different from living in a castle. "So, what do you think?" He looks to see the Princess getting up from the couch in the living area, the Princess he was once supposed to marry. To even think of such a time where he was engaged to her seems like a lifetime ago. "It's lovely, you both have done amazing". He speaks and Seonghwa puts his arm around him, "C'mon, make yourself comfortable". He leads Wooyoung into the room, beckoning him to sit on a chair as he moves to sit besides the Princess on the couch.

Wooyoung lets his eyes wander around the room, stopping when he notices a small woven bassinet in the corner by the couch. "Would you like to meet her?" The Princess speaks, noticing his eyes. "Her?" Wooyoung asks. Given their situation they weren't able to keep in contact as much as they would have liked. Even the letters sent from the Princess to her family have no return address, and only talking about her baby in code, referring to her as a pet kitten. The Royal family only meeting her once when she was first born.

"Our daughter," Seonghwa speaks, motioning Wooyoung to follow him to where the small baby lay sleeping. As he approaches, Wooyoung lets out a sigh upon seeing the beautiful baby. Looking so much like Seonghwa already he found it crazy. "She's adorable," he can't stop the smile on his face as he reaches out to run his finger along her small fist. "We're so glad you finally get to meet her, it's because of you she's even here right now". Seonghwa smiles down at his daughter. "I would do anything for you guys" Wooyoung states unable to take his eyes off the angelic baby. "Her name is Wooyoung," Seonghwa speaks which causes the Prince's eyes to widen and look at his friend. "Surprised? Isn't that what you asked for?" The Princess chuckles as she moves to stand beside him.

"I was just joking!" He exclaims, still shocked this tiny human shared his name. "I thought it was a great idea," the Princess laughs, "This is all because of you Wooyoung. We wanted to name her after the person who is so important to us, to our story. We want her to know she's named after someone we both love dearly, someone selfless and strong."

Wooyoung swallows his emotion as his friends speak to him. Chest filled with adoration for this little girl he just met. He makes a promise to himself to always look out for her and protect her no matter how far away she is. He would do anything for her, just like he would for her parents.

A timer from a clock in the other room starts to ring, "Oh, lunch will be ready soon". The Princess speaks before making her way to the kitchen to stop the timer. Wooyoung still can't take his eyes off of the baby which causes Seonghwa to chuckle beside him. "You doing okay?" He asks putting a hand on his back. The Prince nods, "Yeah, I just miss you, a lot. Most of the time I feel like I still need you to tell me what to do". Seonghwa frowns, "I miss you too, but you don't need my guidance anymore Wooyoung. You're your own person, and you should make your own decisions. Prince or not". Wooyoung lets out a sigh, "I know, but I just feel so lost at the moment". His friends eyes wander across his face and Wooyoung speaks once more, "How did you know when you were in love?"

Seonghwa's eyes widen, "Oh, well... I found there was a point where my future no longer existed without her. It hurt to be away from her, I would do anything to make her happy, no matter what it cost me". He tries to put his feelings of love into words that would make sense. Wooyoung nods as he ponders over the words. "Is there someone?" Seonghwa asks him. The Prince tells his friends of you, working at the bakery, teasing him, making him laugh, walking you home and brushing your arms together. "And then she kissed me," Wooyoung whispers as if the sleeping baby would hear. Seonghwa smirks, "A kiss huh?" Wooyoung nods, "But then I left." The smirk falls off of Seonghwa's lips, "You left?"

"I had to leave for this trip, and when I went to say goodbye I think she wanted to kiss again, maybe. But before she could I left". Seonghwa closes his eyes and shakes his head at his friends confession, "Did you not want to kiss her?" Wooyoung finds himself blushing, "I mean, I did. But you know I don't know anything about that stuff. It's embarrassing and I wouldn't know what to do". His friend nods at him, "I know it can be a little intimidating, but if you really like her it'll come naturally. Just don't think too much, do what feels right for you. And most importantly, just tell her how you feel. Running away won't make her feel any good". "I guess you're right," Wooyoung says as they hear the Princess call for them from the kitchen.

The meal was cleared and now the three of them sat at the small table enjoying tea and telling stories, catching up. Between laughs they hear a small cry from the other room, a sign the small Wooyoung had awaken from her nap. "I'll be back," Seonghwa states, leaving to tend to his daughter.

Wooyoung takes a sip of his tea as the Princess speaks up across from him, "I took him from you, didn't I?"

He looks at her in shock, "Of course not". She gives him a small smile, "I always wish there was a way that we could be doing this back at home. With my family, with you. But it wasn't possible and I always feel bad, as if I tore everyone apart". Wooyoung frowns at her, "That's nonsense. If only we lived in a more understanding society then it wouldn't be the case. You did nothing wrong, you only fell in love".

She sighs, "You're right, I think just seeing you both together makes me feel awful that you're apart". Wooyoung nods, "I'm sure it's only for now, I bet in the future we'll all be together again". He speaks again, desperate to make her feel better, "So, what did your family have to say about your naming your daughter after me?" Laughing she shakes her head, "My parents were shocked but understood the sentiment, whereas Rose was furious that if we were going to name her after anyone it wasn't her". Wooyoung laughs, "Then I'll make sure to tease her endlessly about it back at the castle".

"Look who is awake," Seonghwa coos as he walks back into the kitchen carrying the baby. Her large, round eyes open now, small mouth letting out a yawn. Wooyoung smiles at the pair, "May I?" He reaches out and Seonghwa nods, bringing her over to place into his arms.

The trip ride back to Aurora went smoothly, the castle welcoming everyone back from their successful trip. Prince Wooyoung wearing a bright smile as he walked around the castle, he felt rested and a sense of knowing for the first time since his friend moved away.

In the evening he made the familiar walk back to the small bakery on the hill. It has been nearly a month since he had seen you, but he had a new sense of determination about his feelings for you and wanted to act on the advice that Seonghwa had given him. But as he walks up the steps, his heart couldn't help but pound at the thought of facing you again, especially with how he acted the last time he saw you. Nevertheless, he stepped to the door and opened it without hesitation.

"Oh, your highness!" Yunho calls from behind the counter, giving Wooyoung a smile from where he was cleaning the tea pots. "Yunho, how are you?" Wooyung smiles back. "I'm good, same old routine here. How was your trip?" The Prince was happy to inform him about how well the trip went and how happy he was to see his family and old friends. Of course leaving out the part about his former financé. "Well I hoped you missed us even just a little". Yunho teases and Wooyoung smirks, "Of course, you know I missed you most, Yunho". Yunho laughs at him, "Don't let my sister hear you". Licking his lips, Wooyoung speaks, "Where is she?"

Yunho nods his head towards the kitchen, and as if sensing him, you walk out drying your hands on a dish towel. You finally seem to notice him as your eyes widen and you give him a short bow, "Your highness, welcome back".

A small smile graces your face but he notices you seem to be avoiding his gaze. The Prince clears his throat, "Now that I have returned, I was hoping to walk you home, like we did before". He gives you a smile, but becomes nervous when you look hesitant. He watches as you look to your brother, who shrugs, "Go on, I'm nearly finished with this and then I'll lock up". Yet you still stand in place, finally sighing, "Alright, just a moment. Let me grab my coat".

Wooyoung doesn't know what to do at the awkwardness that fills the silence as he walks you down the familiar street to your home. He can see the destination just ahead but the two of you have yet to murmur a single word to each other. This was nothing like he had planned for his return to you. Approaching the gate, he moves to stand in front as if to stop you from entering. "How about we walk around the park?" He asks, referring to the large park just across the street.

He sees your eyes wandering to the park behind him, it was nearly nightfall and the cold would be setting in. "I have something I wish to talk to you about". He states again, hoping to push you into coming. You look down for a moment before nodding your head in agreement. Both of you heading over to walk along the stone path, the park filled with the sounds of birds saying goodnight and children running around.

Wooyoung has the feeling if he doesn't speak now, nothing but silence would become of your walk. "I had a very productive trip, I got to see my family and friends. Especially my close friend whom I miss dearly. And I'm glad I've got to meet with him once again because he really opened my eyes and gave me some much needed advice". You turn to him, finally giving him a small smile, "I'm glad your trip went well, your highness". You whisper out. He finally lets out a sigh of his own, "You know, you told me to come see you once I docked back in Aurora. Which I did, yet you don't seem very pleased to see me".

The setting sun still allows for him to see the blush rising to your cheeks as he calls you out. You shut your eyes, shaking your head, "I am glad to see you, I'm just," you stop walking and he moves to stand in front of you, "I'm just so embarrassed". The Prince gulps, automatically feeling bad, figuring it had to do with how he treated you before he left.

You run a hand across your forehead before stuffing it in the pocket of your coat, "I don't know what I was thinking, kissing you like that. And then trying to do it again, geez. If my mother knew I was going around making the first move kissing boys, especially a Prince," you trail off shaking your head. Wooyoung frowns at you, "No, it wasn't a problem-" "It sure seemed like one when you left before I could the second time. Gosh, I really don't know what I was thinking, please forgive me". You interrupt him.

It's at this point Wooyoung really realizes how he truly treated you before he left, how it must've seemed to you. He takes a cautious step forward, attempting to meet your gaze. "I apologize that that's what I made it seem like. But that is far from the truth." He takes a breath when you finally meet his eyes with a curious look.

"The truth is, I'm quite embarrassed too". He speaks and already feels his cheeks warming. He speaks your name softly, "I like you, a lot. I enjoy all the time we get to spend together." "But the reality of my life is that I grew up a guarded Prince who has no experience with feelings such as these. I was saved for a certain bride my whole life, and even though it didn't end up working out, I still am clueless when it comes to these things".

He can feel your eyes studying him as he confesses his truth, "I'm sorry that it came off as reluctance, but I was just nervous about everything. Nervous and ashamed I wouldn't know where to begin".

A frown covers your face as he finishes his story, "Oh, your highness. I should've realized, I'm so sorry. You're a Prince afterall, of course these things work different for royalty".

"But I don't want it to be different," he speaks up, "I want to have a normal experience as anyone else would. But I figure that's why I freaked out, because I knew being what I am, it would never be normal". He swallows as you reach out to gently place your hand on his arm. "I wish you would've told me, then I wouldn't have done it the way that I did".

"I know, I should've. I was just nervous how it would make me seem". Wooyoung chuckles and your lips quirk up slightly, "I would never judge you, you know". "Yeah, because I'm a Prince, right?" He laughs as you nudge him with your elbow.

Wooyoung feels proud with how things progress with you over the next couple of months. Seonghwa would be proud too, he thinks to himself every time he holds your hand while walking home or places a kiss to your lips at your doorstep.

He feels more comfortable than ever around you and your relationship blossomed more and more everyday. Even going as far as coming into your house when no one else was home, falling into your kisses on the sofa.

Along with comfortable, he feels confident. Whereas when you first tried to breach his mouth with your tongue, he pulled away flushed and shocked, now he is usually the one initiated such kisses.

Now as he walked up the path to the castle with you and your family, he resisted the urge to hold your hand or pull you closer to him by your waist. Though he was confident with your relationship, he knew the castle is where he should act properly. Especially as you were on your way to meeting the royals. Being the favorite bakery of the castle was not new, but what was new was being able to travel to the castle personally to give cake testing for the Princess' birthday.

Wooyoung smiles as he can tell you can barely hold your excitement at the sight the of castle's interior. Your parents and brother walking ahead with the cart of cakes, clearly just as amazed and excited as you were.

"I can't believe you live here," You gush to him on the way to the dining room. Eyes trying to take in all the extensive paintings and paths of royal blue carpet. The Prince merely chuckles in amusement, stopping at the door where a butler announces the arrival of the group.

He watches from behind as you and your family greet the Royal family properly, clearly nervous as only your parents have had the honor of meeting them before. Your parents proudly introduce you and your brother and the royal family happily compliments the display of small cakes that was brought along. Wooyoung moves to sit at the edge of the table, trying not to interrupt. The Princess compliments the decoration of the cake placed in front of her, a beautiful pink rose delicately pipped on. Wooyoung smiles at you as you blush, thanking her for the compliment on your work.

"Ah," The Queen speaks up, "You must be the girl who has taken the Prince from us".

Wooyoung knows the Queen is merely teasing, having spoken to the family about his fondness of the baker's daughter to them before. However, as he sees you freeze with a look of fear in your eyes he can tell you haven't picked up on her tone. Even your brother and parents looking nervous. Of course, he thinks, from the point of view of your family, your someone dating the Prince after he was supposed to marry their sick daughter. He's about to speak up to reassure you and your family but the Princess hums in delight after trying the cake. "Even if you end up hating Prince Wooyoung, I hope you won't take it out on us. I don't know if I could live without your desserts".

The King lets out a groan and the Queen rolls her eyes at her daughter, "Rose," she gives her a warning but it's enough the break the ice as your family moves on to showing her different options. But Wooyoung can notice how you've stayed quiet for the rest of the visit.

"I don't know," you speak, "I don't think it's appropriate". Wooyoung tugs on your hand trying to insist to show you his room after having said goodbye to your family. "Why not?" he asks, careful of his volume because of the guards around, "If this was your house you would be begging me to join you inside". You send him a glare and he chuckles, knowing you would shove him if it weren't for the guards around and your fear they would throw you in jail if you did. "But this is a castle," You claim as he intertwines your fingers, "It is, and I'm a Prince".

And with that he all but drags you up the stairs and into one of the many rooms on the floor. You look with wide eyes at the interior as he closes the door behind you. "It's nearly as big as my house all together".

He moves to place another log into the fire, laughing, "Now that's an exaggeration". You hum moving slowly throughout the room before carefully sitting on the silk sheets on the large bed. "You get to sleep on this all alone?" You ask him moving your hands along the green silk. "Are you offering to join me?" He smirks moving to sit beside you.

You send him a look but he can see the blush on your cheeks, "That's funny coming from a guy who was scared to kiss me not that long ago". Now he sends you a look as you laugh, moving to poke your side.

Moving closer to you, he moves some of your hair behind your ear, "They loved the cakes, especially Rose who was pleased you put roses on everything". You chuckle, shrugging, "I debated on it, I didn't want it to seem cheesy". "They loved it", he says and you nervously pat down the sides of your skirt. "At least they loved something about me, even if it is only my decoration". Wooyoung frowns, "That's not true,". You give him a knowing, sad look, "Wooyoung, you were supposed to marry their daughter. Of course they don't like me. If the Princess was in good health both of you would be married by now, instead you're with a baker. I can't imagine they look at me too fondly".

An ugly feeling grows in his stomach, a reaction of your speaking down on yourself, an urge to tell you the truth. He calls your name, "Please don't speak about yourself in such a way. I've grown close to the royal family since my time here and I've told them about you. They know how I feel about you, and I promise anything that has happened in the past is not something they would hold against you".

He watches as you swallow deeply, trying to suppress your feelings. Wishing nothing more than to stop you from thinking so harshly about yourself. "You're beautiful and I-I care about you more than you can imagine. No matter who am I, who you are, what our pasts may be, my feelings for you are stronger than any of that".

You move to place a hand softly against his cheek, leaning to place a kiss on his lips, "Thank you" you say softly. Wooyoung returns your smile before moving to peck your lips.

A couple pecks suddenly turn into more as before he knows it, he's laying on his back in the middle of his bed while you rest on top of him, the warmth of your tongue heavy in his mouth. Wooyoung's heart pounds in his chest, his hands feel heavy on your waist but he isn't sure where else he should place them. Sure over the past couple of months he's made out with you multiple times, but never like this. It's always been on your couch or in your back garden, never on a bed with your weight on top of him.

He can feel your warmth and hear your breaths and it's all very new, very intimate, very...arousing.

He's torn between his nerves getting the best of him, politely asking you to stop. Or on the other hand, wanting to keep going, not letting his brain overthink and just lose himself in you.

The Prince makes a sound when you gently bite on his bottom lip before pulling away, "Do you mind if I take this off, it's getting a bit warm". You're referring to your dress and Wooyoung's head spins. He clears his throat when he realizes you're waiting for him to make sure he's comfortable. "Of course," he finally gets out and he's so flushed he's almost embarrassed. He watches as you give him a quick smile before stepping to the ground, making quick work of your dress.

He gulps as the garment falls to the ground, the fire behind your admitting a glow on your bare skin that has his breath thickening. You slowly make your way back to the position where you were before, watching the Prince carefully to make sure he's still okay with this.

As you take your place back on his lap, he becomes worried for a second, worried you would feel the hardness that has been growing between his legs since you started. But before he could think too long, he takes you in closely. Eyes running over every inch of skin newly displayed to him, a new fondness and desire spreading through his veins.

"I would've wore something a little nicer had I known I would find myself here", he listens to you say with a shy laugh, probably self conscious with how long he was staring. Wooyoung quickly shakes his head, "No, you're perfect. I just can't believe you're in front of me right now looking like this".

You gulp and he reaches with trembling hands to place them on your knees which sit next to his waist. They travel up your thighs, to your hips where he caresses with his thumbs. He revels in the warmth of your skin, continuing his journey, moving along your sides, carefully moving along your covered chest before taking their place behind your neck.

With his grip he moves you down to meet his lips once more, a his fever apparent in the way his kisses you. His hands continue to enjoy their new freedom, moving along to caress different parts of your body whereas yours sit playing with his hair that's sprawled out on the bed below him.

He starts to understand why you felt the need to remove your dress; beads of sweat making their way down his chest and back. He separates your lips desperate to cool down. "Do you mind if I take this off as well?" He watches as you gulp but nod, sitting up to allow him room. Wooyoung quickly pulls his shirt over his head, trying not to feel self conscious about you seeing him like this for the first time. He chucks it over the foot of the bed before jolting when he feels your fingers moving along the waistline of his pants. "Do you want to take this off as well?" You asking, sounding too innocent for asking someone to remove their pants. The Prince clears his throat before nodding, watching as you move to sit on the side of him, steady hands coming to undo the button and zipper.

Once they were unfastened, he takes it upon himself to remove them. Embarrassingly thinking about how turned on he was merely from having your hands so close to his cock. His pants land to the floor beneath him and you give him a smile, moving your hands to reach for him again. Wooyoung panics a little, whether you were reaching to remove his undergarments or even touch him over it he wasn't sure. "Perhaps we can kiss some more". He says breathlessly, a red hue taking over his cheeks. This may have been the farthest he was gone before, but he doesn't think he's ready to be completely naked in front of you just yet.

"Of course," you say giving him a smile before returning to your place on his lap. As you settle yourself down on him once again, he lets out a groan as he feels your warmth on his hardness. The thin layers left doing very little to suppress the feeling of your folds on his cock.

Your lips come to move against his once more and he feels more confident now running his hands along the softness of your body. Experimentally, he runs his hands over the expanse of your ass, causing you jolt, moving along his cock. The both of you let out soft sounds of pleasure before you apologize. Wooyoung merely shakes his head, mouth still slightly parted from the small pleasure he received. Curiously, you rut your hips again, "Is this okay?" He nods, trying not to seem too eager. He wasn't sure how far he wanted to go tonight, but with your rubbing yourself against his cock he knew he was okay with this.

Instead of connecting your lips again, you place your hands firmly on his chest, giving yourself leverage to continue moving your hips. As you start to quicken your pace, his grip on your ass tightens. He would like to think he's helping move you against him, but he knows in reality you're doing all the work while he lays there lost in the pleasure.

A particularly hard movement from you causes his hips to buck up into yours, a sound of pleasure leaving your own mouth. The Prince opens his eyes, not even sure when he closed them, and takes you in. He thinks you look unreal sitting on him like this, eyes blown out, a sheen of sweat on your body glowing by the light of the fire, mouth slightly open as you breathe deeply from moving on top of him.

He groans as your hips begin to move more feverently, you grinding harder onto him. Wooyoung dares to look down between you both and he all but loses it at the sight. Just slightly, the head of his cock as started to peak out onto his stomach, his underwear sliding down the smallest amount from your moving. There's a wetness forming on his stomach from the leaking head of his cock and if he wasn't so turned on right now, he would surely be embarrassed. Your undergarments are white and from where your moving on him, he can see your own wetness has started to seep through. He closes his eyes with a sigh, hands moving to your hips in an attempt to move you along him quicker. "Please," Wooyoung calls out in what seems like a whimper, what he's asking for he isn't sure but he's so lost in the pleasure his mind is becoming clouded.

The next few moments are filled with hectic, rushed movements. Wooyoung desperately clinging to the pleasure he was feeling. It wasn't long before he cums, spilling his seed onto his own stomach. Ears ringing and having to close his eyes. Never has someone given him such pleasure before and he feels almost exhausted from the rush.

He feels out of it as you both clean up, taking every couple of seconds to place soft kisses on each others lips. Now he's enjoying the feeling of holding you in his arms, both of you laying under a blanket that usually serves as decoration. Spring was approaching so the fire and small blanket was enough for you not to lie underneath the sheets.

Wooyoung plays with your hair, eyes closed as he enjoys having you with him. He takes the silence to think about everything, you, his friends, his family. Finally, he decides he doesn't want secrets.

"I want to tell you something," he whispers out quietly, voice nearly drowned out by the crackling fire. He feels you hum against him, showing him you're listening. "But you have to promise to not utter a word to another soul". Your curiosity gets the best of you as you move slightly to look up at him. "I'm serious," he continues his whispering, "What I want to tell you, not even anyone in the castle knows, aside from the royal family and me".

You blink at him in shock, "Perhaps it should remain a secret for me then". The Prince cracks a smile, "No, I really want you to know. But just promise me, even if in the future you decide you no longer want to be with me, you cannot let this slip. Do you understand?"

He watches you gulp before nodding. Deciding his message is clear, he begins his story, "I was engaged before, yes?" You nod, "To the Princess".

He nods, "And unfortunately, she got sick and had to leave the kingdom, right?" You nod, frowning. "Wrong," he speaks softly. You take a moment to understand what he's trying to say, "What?" He licks his lips, "The Princess is not sick, she merely fell in love".

Wooyoung watches carefully as you take in the information, blinking slowly with your eyebrows furrowed. "I arrived to Aurora with my advisor, my best friend. Things happened, and he fell in love with the Princess and she fell in love with him." Your eyes widen at the news, barely being able to comprehend, "I'm so sorry".

He chuckles, "No, don't apologize. I wasn't in love with the Princess, I wasn't sad because she didn't love me. Just confused because she was my planned future since I was born. But I saw how much my best friend truly loved her, so I helped them leave. Now they live with their daughter is a small village inland". He watches the wheels turning in your head, "You understand right, that you can't let anyone else know this". You nod feverently. "Of course, I would never. Thank you for telling me though, I-" you pause and swallow, "So the royal family really doesn't hate me?"

Wooyoung laughs, "No, I told you so. I told them how much you mean to me and they're happy for me. That I promise".

"What does it say?" You ask as you wipe down the table next to where Wooyoung is sitting. He offered to stay behind while you closed the bakery, giving your brother a break from the closing duties. The Prince chuckles as he read the letter in front of him, "Apparently little Wooyoung has started to wander into the neighbors garden to terrorize their cat". He speaks of his best friend's daughter.

You chuckle beside him, "So they named her after you for a reason". He sends you a playful glare. Ever since telling you his biggest secret, you suggested writing his friends from the bakery. That way it was away from the castle and the secret could be kept without being suspicious. Now the bakery gets monthly letters written from the point of view of a young Wooyoung living in Utopia.

"She does mention she's excited to see us for a week in the summer though," he states as he folds the letter back up. You smile at him, "And you're sure it's okay for me to go along?" He all but glares at you, "How many times must I assure you?". You shrug, a blush coming up to your cheeks, "I just wanted to make sure I'm not intruding."

"Of course you're not," He stands, moving to approach you and leave a kiss on your lips, "I love you and I want you to meet everyone important in my life". He had already planned a trip for you to meet his family back in Twilight before staying with Seonghwa, the Princess, and their daughter in Utopia before coming home.

You give him a big smile, dropping your rag before throwing yourself in his arms, placing a kiss on his lips as he groans, "I love you too".

🌼 All feedback is appreciated and welcomed 🌼

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captainjacklyn · 1 year

Note

Can I make a request a headcanon of Riddle, Vil's, Jamil's and Azul's reaction to finding out that their romantic partner is a direct descendant of the Great Seven? (Like the ones who found and made their dorms?)

Male or Female Yuu/MC/Reader/Y/N please and thank you!

What a wonderful ask, my friend ! I apologize for making this so late, I hope that you will still enjoy reading these head canons if you are still out there. I'll be using gender neutral reader since I wanted everyone to enjoy it but if you wish for a male/female reader only, send in a request and I'll get right to it !

Pairing(s) : vil schoenheit x reader, jamil viper x reader, Azul ashengrotto x reader, riddle rosehearts x reader

Warning(s) : gn!reader, may have some cursing, they/them pronouns are used but gender isn't mentioned, reader is a merfolk in Azul's part (cause you know- Ursula is a mermaid..), also they act similar to their ancestors.

Jamil, Vil, Riddle and Azul finding out that their partner is a descendant of one of the great sevens :

Riddle Rosehearts

When Riddle first met you, he didn't think much of it. Sure you were quite commanding and respected the rules of his dorms very well (which he appreciated) but he just thought it was your personality and nothing more.

When he found you looking at the Queen of Heart's statue, he was surprised to see dissatisfaction on your face. You appeared a little bothered and as your partner he wished to make sure his s/o was alright.

"Is everything ok my Rose ? You seem a little out of your element."

"Ah Riddle, no I'm all good I'm simply thinking about certain things concerning my ancestor."

"Oh, and who are they ?"

"The one I'm looking at right now."

....

WhAt-

he wasn't expecting that, honestly, it feels like a bucket of ice got dropped on his head. Since she is seen in such a positive light in Night Raven College, he will start asking you about her.

"Oh she was a tyrannical queen, absolutely insane with no moral whatsoever. The only traditions we pass down in the family are the rules and leadership qualities, those are taught to the kids at a young age. I never admired her, not once. Sometimes rules didn't even need to be broken for her to cut someone's head off. If she was in front of me, breathing, at this exact moment I would give her a taste of her own medicine."

...

He didn't expect that, not once did he think of it that way. What was pictured to be a righteous royal turned out to be someone who beheaded people for a yes or a no.

It doesn't change what he thinks about you, you are your own person and what your ancestor did is unforgivable.

he's just stunned, and maybe a bit more proud of being your significant other.

Vil Schoenheit

You and Vil are the star couple of NRC, people literally turn blind when they look at the both of you. Dazzled with glam and beauty I swear to god-

He's glad he doesn't have to constantly shout at you for being reckless and ruining your eyeshadow. Not like some people

You were the perfect visual depiction of a queen/king/royal, I imagine you two walking down the school hallway and a red carpet spawns out of nowhere for the both of you to walk on.

Aphrodite has favorites.

You take good care of your appearance, no matter the special/ so called 'unusual' features you carry, you still manage to appear even more wonderful than the Fairest Queen herself.

Rook stalks you follows you around a lot. He would gush at you everyday as you sat in front of the mirror and prepared yourself for the day.

He does this to Vil as well and y'all consider this normal at this point. If you don't, then get prepared to be spooked all the time. Like...all the time.

"My my [Nickname], you look especially splendid today ! Not like you aren't usually, but you managed to make your beauty shine even more than it already was !"

"Well I am the Fairest Queen's great-great-great-great granddaughter/son/child after all."

"..."

"Pardon me."

"Where did that come from ? Orchidia was that in the script-"

Rook will tell Vil immediately, it isn't like it will affect your relationship in any way, he just thinks its a very interesting fact about you.

He may or may not flatter himself with it, but even if you weren't, your beauty does shine without an ancestor to prove it.

Jamil Viper

You are an amazing tactician, I mean, you were capable of coming up with a plan to stop kalim from burning down the dorm 10 days before it had the possibility of taking place.

And let's not ignore your persuasive abilities, you don't even need unique magic to have 200 students do what you want.

You and Jamil are one manipulative pair, but at least you have good morals. Kinda wishing you were there during the entirety of chapter 4 because it would have been over in one episode with no overblot happening at all.

Wether you scold him after finding out is your choice, but if it does happen don't be too harsh about it, his mind is little coo-coo at the moment.

So much that the only thing he catches you saying is :

"...And I don't want you turning into my great-great-great-great uncle simply because things didn't go your way. He was one manipulative and deceiving *sshole who I wish was never related to me at all. He was smart but for the wrong reasons, you are so much better than the sorcerer of sands Jamil ! I know it, and if anyone or anything is bothering you, I expect a full ranting session from your part-" "Wait you're related to the sorcerer of sands ?"

"...."

"Did you hear anything else about what I said ?"

"To be honest..."

"No."

Well that went well.

He is genuinely impressed and a little disappointed about the fact that the very man who represents his dorm is a huge traitor.

You're the one to talk- Lady Orchidia please calm down

He understands what you mean but his perception on Kalim won't change so if you're friends with the guy he stresses over everyday than you're gonna have to learn to live with it.

I repeat, it doesn't change your love for one another, except this time he'll be watching his back a little more. Knowing your advantage against him.

He's soft for you ngl

Azul Ashengrotto

Who are you and why are you so cute together-

Octopus lovers. Oh my god this is too much.

Orchidia you still need to finish the fanfic Shut your mouth and let me die, I finally found my reason to sleep forever.

You will probably have to be a mermaid/man/folk due to your origins but your appearance is your choice cause I'm too lazy to give you one also I have no idea what you look like.

You are once again amazing at convincing people into obeying your orders and both loves and fears your skill.

You are also is source of confidence and pride, if you can be happy in your original fish form than so can he (you just gotta tell him that often.)

He'll find out during a normal conversation where the two of you are in his office as he's arranging the contracts and listening to you talk about your day.

"Oh and did you know my family is related to the sea witch ? I know it's crazy to believe but-" "YOU'RE RELATED TO THE BENEVOLENT SEA WITCH ?!" "Yes...?" *runs up to you and shoves contract in your face* "Please marry me."

He is very happy and very excited, acting like a fan who gets to meet his idol for the first time in person.

He thought highly of you before, now it's through the stars. get it ? cause he thought highly of you ? damnit I suck at jokes.

He's willing to hear you talk about your ancestor for hours and hours, she is his role model after all.

Finds himself very lucky to be with you, even prior to your declaration. You two are just adorable- SQUISHY OCTOPUS !

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manitschilly · 2 months

Text

My notes taken while reasearching the Zelda Timeline lol, mostly cannon a little headcannon in places. Also my Zelink rating aren't how much I like them it's how likely they are in the narrative.

Power: Din ->Demise->Ganondorf. The Gerudo give birth to a male every 100 years, and it's only ever been Ganon. The 100 year system got screwed though because Ganon keeps not actually dying. Pigs. Fire. Red.

Courage: Farore-> heros spirit (fierce diety?)-> Link. Only the hero's spirit is reincarnated in Link, so he's not the same person. Not related at all, except for Twilight Princess where Link is a descendant of Ocarina of Time Link. Wolves and horses. Lighting. Green.

Wisdom: Naydra -> Hylia-> Zelda. Every Zelda is actually Hylia reincarnated through a consistant bloodline. Loftwing. Ice. Blue.

-The three goddess create the earth and the triforce, and that's their only relation to Demise, Hylia, and the heros spirit. They're not reincarnations at all, more like patrons. (Unwillingly in Dins case). Din created the land, Farore created life, and Nayru created order.

-possibly Zonai and Sonia and Rauru founding the first kingdom of Hyrule. This would imply there is a Ganon unconnected to Demise sealed for the rest of everything and a dragon Zelda floating around. Rauru and Sonias light and time magic start off the royal family.

-a long undisclosed time with robots for some reason

-A battle between the Hylia, Demise and the races in Hyrule breaks out over the Triforce. Hylia takes the Hylian kingdom into the sky to protect them, then becomes a Hylian to protect the triforce. She also created a sword with a spirit named Fi with her godly power. With Demise sealed for now, she waits to be born.

-Sheikah are probably started around here, as like a Hylia cult.

-First incartion is Skyward Sword, when Hylia chooses to be born as Zelda and chooses Link as her champion to hold the heros spirit. They fight Demise who then curses them to reincarnate forever, and establishes his own incarnation, kicking off the rest of the series. Hylia, now Zelda, is shown to use her time powers. Link, Zelda, and a few Hylians from Skyloft restart the kingdom on the surface.

Link and Zelda are in love, Zelda chosing Link specifically for that reason. This could imply that Hylia and the heros spirit are soulmates in some way, and every incarnarion after is an extension of that. They don't end up together every time, but that makes it even more beautiful and heartrenching. (Just to specify, Links aren't related so don't worry about it) 10/10 Zelink potential this shit is cannon.

Kikwi present. Impa is there as part of the Shiekah. Impa seems to be either a repeated name or a title given to Shiekah warriors meant to protect the reincarnation of Hylia, not their own incarnation.

-another very long time gap

-evil sorcerors are after the triforce which is hidden in the sacred realm. A new temple of time (after the one in Hylias time used to hide the sealed Demise and Zelda) is built around the master sword, which has been holding in Demise this whole time.

-Another long time passes. Zelda's descendants have become the royal family. Princesses are named Zelda after the original incarnation (note, they aren't all reincarnations, just named after her). There is still a lot of magic floating around the bloodline.

-sheikah are sworn to Hylias blood and therefore the royal family.

-Hyrule is again in danger, a special species called the Minish come from the sky to protect them with a special sword, which was then wielded by an incarnation of Link.

-a bitch named Vaati wants light powers, turns the current Zelda (actually an incarnation, you know because there's a hero) to stone, and that times Link turns the Minish's sword into the 4-sword. Zelda is the light power source, as the light power is still in the royal family. 8/10 Zelink potential

Gorons present

-Another time skip

- the four-sword is used to defeat Vaati again by another Link and Zelda incarnation. 6/10 Zelink potential

- time skip

- Giant ass civil war

- shiekah go into hiding but are still used by the royal family for sketchy shit. (Queue shadow temple 'nam flash backs)

- the first actual Ganondorf is born, or the second depending on if the Zonai are before or after.

- Ganondorf is born as king of the gerudo, and pretends to be allied with the king to gain access to the triforce which is still in the sacred realm, sealed with the master sword. This Link incarnation pulls out the master sword as a child and opens the sacred realm, allowing Ganandorf access to the Triforce, the triforce of power attaching itself to him forever. This also gave Link the triforce of Courage and Zelda the triforce of wisdom. The sacred realm becomes evil and Ganondorf is sealed in it. There's a lot of time travel and it ruins just everything.

Zora, Kokiri, Gerudo, and Gorons present.

Great deku tree dies and is reborn.

and now shit hits the fan

Fallen hero time line

- Link freaking dies and Ganondorf wins, taking the while triforce for himself. He still gets sealed in the corrupted sacred realm, but now he has the triforce. 0/10 Zelink potential long term, as Link is dead, but like 8/10 short term.

- time passes and homies keep going into the sacred realm to get the triforce but they never come back and monsters keep coming out. The sealed it again, at great cost of life and resources

- Agahim, some bitch, takes over the kingdom and the remaining sages to break the seal on Ganon. This reincarnarion of Zelda magically contacts the new Link. He kills Ganon and uses his newly acquired triforce to put everything back to normal. Now the royal family has the triforce. 7/10 Zelink potential. Same Link then has Links awakening acid trip. I'd knock down the Zelink potential but Malin like isn't real so.

Zora present

- same Link then has another acid trip but this time it's real, ending with Ganon being brought back to life as a mindless force of chaos. Ups Zelink to like 8/10, and confirms existence of other kingdoms beside Hyrule that aren't in another dimension.

- triforce splits again somehow, power returns to beast Ganon

- time skip

- new Link, new sages, Lorule exists so that's fun, opposite Hyrule dimension without a triforce. Ganon is freed and eats a man probably. Confirms this Link and Zelda have their respective triforces. Upon returning to Hyrule, the triforce is again in 1 piece and peace is restored to Hyrule and Lorule. 8/10 Zelink potential and like 9.5/10 Hildio potential.

- same Link goes to Hytopia, yet another kingdom in the same dimension.

- time skip. Great time, royal family again has the United triforce.

- King breaks up the triforce and sends Courage to the next Link incarnation, hiding its physical location from all except his daughter Zelda. New King puts that Zelda under a sleeping spell and regrets it. Tries to rule with just power of Wisdom but it doesn't go great.

- time skip

- same Ganon steals the triforce of power, new Zelda and Impa. New Link, without triforce of Courage, again postponed Ganon

- same Link is helping Hyrule not burn down, when suddenly he is given the triforce of Courage mark. He wakes up the old Zelda. I'd say the Zelda born in his time is the actual incarnarion, the older Zelda just a princess. 9/10 Zelink actually but like also he's a little weird with old Zelda to little odd but okay.

Child timeline

- Link defeats Ganondorf and is sent back in time to relive the childhood he didn't have. He warns the royal family before Ganondorf can gain any power and therefore the events of Ocarina of Time never happen. Link leaves on a horse to look for Navi and has a Majoras mask acid trip. 10/10 short term Zelink and like 2/10 longterm, but also one of my favorite dynamics. This is one of the tragedy timeliness, where Zelda loved him before sending him back in time (Sheik was a simp). He could have ended up with this Zelda, but he probably didn't because his descendant in the next game isn't royalty like at all. Scrodingers Zelink, if the next Zelink happened then this one didn't, but we don't know if it does.

-Ganondorf is banished to the Twilight realm, where the wizard sent there a Hella long time ago got busy. He gains power with a guy named Zant who takes over the Twilight realm and breaks out to Hyrule. The princess of the Twilight realm named Midna finds the new Link incarnation, an actual descendant of the last one and holder of the triforce of Courage.

Link is trained by the like ghost of the hero of time, who is an adult and missing an eye. The hero of time means nothing to this Hyrule because Ocarina of Time never happened.

They kill Ganondorf finally holy shit and the Twilight mirror is shattered, forever separating the two places.

Like 8/10 Zelink potential, frick Illia freaking hate her. I follow that Zelink both had a crush on Midna but she's gone sooooo

Gerudo, Gorons, and Zora.

-big ass time skip

-new Ganondorf is born finally, but is like immediately sealed with the 4-sword by a new Link. I don't think there even is a Zelda so 0/10 Zelink potential

Adult timeline

-this is what's left when Link gets sent back in time. Ganondorf is sealed in the corrupted spirit realm and the triforce of Courage shatters into 8 pieces, master sword is returned to the temple of time. 10/10 horribly tragic Zelink poor Zelda good lord.

-time passes without any reincarnations.

-Ganon escapes his seal in the sacred realm but there's still no Link or so Hyrule is effed. The gods flood Hyrule, society continues on mountaintops that are now islands and Hyrule is frozen underneath a giant ocean. The Triforce of Wisdom is split in two between Zelda, who stays on land, and her father, in the frozen Hyrule.

-Time passes badly

-Gannon escapes to the surface and kidnaps "girls with pointed ears", or descendants of Hylia. A new Link appears and gets the master sword from the frozen Hyrule, but it doesn't do shit until he fixes the triforce of courage. The king appears and bestows Links pirate captain the other half of the triforce, as she's reveled to be this time's Zelda. The triforce is restored and the old Hyrule gets genocided. Ganon is sealed, not dead, and Link and Zelda/Tetra go to establish a new hyrule. 10/10 Zelink potential this is some good shit. Rito, Kokiri, and Gerudo present

-same Link and Zelda have a bit on their quest, no lasting consequences except for 11/10 Zelink potential. They discover New Hyrule.

-some train shit in New Hyrule, new Link and Zelda have a soft romantic adventure with no lasting consequences except no more trains. 10/10 Zelink it's the whole plot.

Gorons present

After or before

-all the three timelines get just apocalyptic and society is just like gone, so the Zonai come from the Heaven's and with their arrival comes the merging of the three timelines.

-OR potentially Rauru and Sonias time is actually before Skyward Sword, as Ganondorf isn't actually a reincarnation. This would imply that every other game happens inbetween Rauru and Sonias time and Breath of the Wild, which i like better but it makes some leaps in logic, however it also explains the existence of both time and Light magic in the royal blood line.

-time passes

-Hyrule is once again reformed OR formed for the first time, by the last of the Zonai, Raruru and his Hylian wife Sonia. The incarnations are still going strong, so Ganondorf is born but their kind of hosed because there isn't a Link or Zelda OR the incarnations havent started yet and this is the first Ganon, before he was tied to Demise.

Luckily, either way, a Zelda comes from the future, and after a battle ending in the death of Sonia, Rauru uses himself to seal Ganondorf away and Zelda turns into a dragon.

-Time passes, the kingdom grows and hyrule castle is built over Ganondorf.

-Time passes and either all the other games happen or nothing happens, either way Zelda is still a dragon.

Definitely after

-a Link and Zelda are reincarnated to fight Calamity Gannon, whatever is left of the monster Ganon that was never killed in the other timelines. They, with the highly technogically advanced Shiekah, build weapons and postpone his return. We don't know much but like 8/10 Zelink I don't know could be cool. Shiekah go off, creating shrines and all types of shit.

-abreak off of the shiekah called the Yiga form, which is like the shiekah but for Ganon instead of Hylia.

-a new Link and Zelda are born. They are so far ahead that they no longer have a grasp on the incarnations before them besides a few sparce legends. They know Ganon is coming back but they don't know who he is. They know Zelda is suppose to have powers, but they have no idea how she's gets them. Link finds the master sword in the lost woods, guarded by the great deku (the 2nd actually the first one died somewhere).

So they fail, whoops. Link dies and gets put in a Sheikah shrine for healing while Zelda holds of Ganon for 100 years.

-hyrule collapses and turns into almost a tribal society very unconnected.

-Link wakes up, wrecks havoc, and defeats Calamity Ganon, freeing Zelda and starting the reconstruction of hyrule.

10/10 Zelink potential. We got the before when Zelda cononicly loved him but we don't know Links feeling, and then Link might remember her and its like a reuniting thing and it's lovely or he doesn't and they fall in love again. Or possibly he didn't love her before and either way its a saga and his rubber band was in her study in "her" house thats all I'm saying.

-7 years, hyrule is being rebuilt by Zelda.

-A sickness is spreading through Hyrule, Zelda and Link go to investigate and find what's left of the Ganondorf Rauru fought, who is either the first ganondorf or the most recent one. Zelda is sent in the past to Sonia and Rauru, along with the destroyed master sword.

Zelda is turned into a dragon and lives out thousands of years as one, potentially during every other game in the series. If so, the cloud layer established by Hylia was probably around until the upheavel, hiding her.

-The Upheavel happens and the world gets a little more cracked out, but Link defeats the Ganondorf and Zelda is turned back to her Hylian form. 11/10 Zelink potential and the dragon bit is so upsetting.

The three goddesses are present as dragons. Are they dragons? Are they just manifestations of their power? Idek but it's sick.

What the hell is Beedle? I read a fanfic once that he never dies because he helped Hylia once and it was really good so I highkey stand by that.

Sages kinda hop around, usually there's 7, one for each major group, even though not every race exists in every game. Are they extensions of the gods somehow?

(Rito, Zora, Gerudo, Gorons, Hylians, Shiekah, and whatever weird shit they got going on that game usually just Zelda)

One main issue with the Zonai before theory is that there's all the races when the Rito specifically doesn't seem to exist outside of the adult timeline.

There is a possible Kikwi, Kokiri, Korok pipeline.

I prescribe to the fierce deity as the original hero incarnation because it's just fits well and I'm obsessed with him, but it it doesn't really matter either way. I also read a fanfic once where the Fierce Deity loved Hylia and fought with her against Demise, but he died and the hero's spirit in each Link is what's left of him. Also read one where he saved Farore once from Demise and that's why he's specifically blessed with courage. Might have been the same one. I cannot remember it is 5:30 am and I haven't slept yet.

Ears are cool and plot relevant. The closer they are the Hylia the pointier their ears are, they get less pointy over time. Which adds to the Zonai being before because they got the pointiest ears. Also Gerudo ears get more pointy as time goes on.

Din gerudo pipeline? That's interesting. Farore and Nayru don't really have anything like that. Hylia has the Hylians but that's it.

Great Deku tree? Who? How? Why is he still kicking? Kind of adds to the Before Zonai theory or else he would have had to survive whatever apocalypse destroyed everything

In summary, somebody off me and therapy is probably a good investment.

#legend of zelda #legend of zelda timline #zelink #loz #tears of the kingdom #breath of the wild #ocarina of time #link #zelda #twlight princess #wind waker #skyward sword #nintendo

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ladykailitha · 11 months

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Royal Pain Part 3

Hello! I was going to post this yesterday but I thought I would be busier for WIP Wednesday which only two people participated in (sad author noises). And then I was waffling about putting up a meta about Steve’s parents (I ended up just saving it in my ‘bit of everything’ file). And then I realized it was super late and should put this up before I forget again.

This next part is for @weirdandabsurd42 who mentioned being excited to see Wayne and was thusly added (because I almost forgot to put him there, oops!), thereby creating one of my favorite lines I’ve ever written so...thanks!

Part 1 Part 2

***

Steve closed up his shop with a spring in his step and a grumpy Robin following behind.

“I can’t believe you are dragging me to a metal concert,” she groused as she locked the door behind her.

“You don’t have to come,” Steve said with a grin. “You can stay home on a Saturday, all by yourself with a pint of ice cream and the latest rom-com.”

Robin glared at him. “You know that I have to come with you so you don’t throw yourself at Eddie.”

Steve rolled his eyes as they walked to his car. “I’m not going to throw myself at him.”

Robin clutched her hands to her chest. “Oh that’s right I forgot! You already have!”

Steve glared at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No?” she asked, sliding into the car. “So what do you call offering to do his back tattoo?”

Steve already in the car, hit his head on his steering wheel. “Fucccckkkk.” He hit it over and over. “Why did I do that? Why did he agree? What am I going to do?”

Robin rubbed his back. “I think this is good thing for you. If you do well on his wings then you can start doing large pieces again. And if not, then you know it’s not something you can do and you’ll never do another one ever again.”

Steve sighed and wrapped his arms around the steering wheel. “I just wanted him to like me.”

“As person, as friend or as a boyfriend?” Robin asked seriously.

“All of the above?” Steve said raising his head to look at her. “Apparently the first one has been met. I’d take the second one, but I would love the last one more than anything.”

“Well this weekend will be a great opportunity to test the waters and see how he feels. Because even if he wants to be friends now, there’s still a chance he might want something more in the future. Just don’t bank on it.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.” He turned the key and pulled out of their parking lot.

“This would be a good time to get a couple of apprentices of your own,” she said after a few miles of silence. “You’re going to be spending a lot of hours on Eddie’s tattoo and you’re going to need someone to pick up the slack.”

Steve let out a shuddering sigh. “I know. I’ll start putting out feelers in the community and see what’s out there.”

Robin nodded. “We’ll put up filers at the local colleges and universities as well as putting it up on our website. I’ll talk to Will and see what he can come up with for both.”

“I know he’ll turn it down but offer him the usual rates for that sort of thing,” Steve agreed.

Robin laughed. “Fingers crossed he’ll accept this time.”

Eddie walked into his apartment and flopped face first into his couch. It had been such a whirlwind day. He wasn’t even sure he could function. That really was the downside to having a full time gig. Having all this free time.

Because yeah, Eddie and the rest of Corroded Coffin practiced nearly every day, and they were always coming up with new music, it just wasn’t the same as full time job. He didn’t have to do anything but show up and perform two nights a week. He could phone it in if he wanted.

Not that he would. Just...that he could. Which meant on days when his head was spiraling he could stew for days and never leave this couch.

He rolled over and pulled out his phone and dialed that familiar number.

“Munson residence!” came the gruff familiar voice.

“When are you going to at least get a caller ID, old man!” Eddie crowed.

“Shut it, boy,” Wayne growled. “I have one and it works just fine, the greeting is polite. Something I thought I raised you better in.”

Eddie giggled. “You love me.”

“Lord help me, but I do,” Wayne agreed. “You calling to talk or to listen?”

It was something that they had established long before Eddie left Hawkins to live on his own in the big city. Long before before Eddie took three years to graduate. Long before Al Munson abandoned his son on his baby brother’s door step for one last job. A job that would land him in prison. They had this code. Well, not really a code.

Just this thing between them. When Eddie had a rough day, he would call Wayne. But depending on the swirling of emotions going through his head, sometimes he just need to hear Wayne talk about his day. Gossip about his neighbors. Let the words flow over him until he felt at ease enough to go to sleep.

Other nights, though. The really bad ones. The ones where Eddie needed advice, he would talk. Sometimes Eddie would figure it out on his own, other times he would need Wayne to give him advice. This was one of those nights.

“Talk,” Eddie breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Wha’cha got, Ed?” Wayne asked gently.

And Eddie just let it all spill out. The tattoos, Steve, the band, feeling like they had stagnated.

“That’s a lot on your plate, boy,” Wayne said. “I can see why you wanted to share.”

Eddie let out a shuddering sigh. “I don’t know what to do about...well any of it to be honest.”

Wayne hummed. “When was the last time you went out and did something fun? Something for just yourself? And don’t say get a tattoo because that’s part of the tangled mess right now.”

Eddie blinked. When was the last time he had gone out for drinks, saw a movie, or even listened to music other than his own? “I’m not sure.”

“Well there you go,” Wayne said. “Creativity isn’t endless, boy. It’s a well and you’re going through a drought because you aren’t taking in any influences other then that feedback loop you’re on.”

“Oh.”

“It doesn’t have to be with your friends or even that boy you’ve got your eye on,” Wayne explained. “Just go out and have fun for yourself, ya hear?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, already feeling lighter. “Thanks, Uncle Wayne.”

“Rest well, okay?” Wayne murmured.

“You too.”

Jeff shook his head and rolled his eyes as he watched Eddie play with his rings, his knee bouncing up and down.

“Chill!” Gareth growled. “For fuck’s sake. We are professionals, we’ve done this twice a week for years. What’s got your panties in a twist this time?”

Jeff wagged his eyebrows. “This time pretty boy Steve Harrington is going to be in the crowd. With a girl no less.”

“She’s gay,” Eddie bit out. “A literal flaming lesbian. I just have to pass the best friend test with her. And considering she wanted me to get his number, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to work that hard.”

“I noticed you didn’t deny that you’re nervous about Pretty Boy being in the audience tonight,” Brian teased.

Eddie threw up his hands in the air and leapt to his feet. “All right, yeah. I’m nervous. Even when I did have boyfriends that would show up, I knew they liked the music. But I have no idea if Steve is just being nice or if he’s actually interested in hearing us play.”

Jeff cocked his head. “Yeah, I can see how you might be worried he won’t like it. But if he doesn’t, isn’t better you know that now, before your feelings get in too deep?”

Eddie’s lip quivered. “Yes. I mean, of course. But it still makes me feel like crawling out of my skin, okay?”

“Okay,” Gareth said. “So do what you do best and throw yourself into the music. Let it wash over you. You are a consummate performer. So kick ass.”

Eddie nodded and the nod slowly turned into a head bang with him playing air guitar. By the time the knock came to let them know it was time, Eddie was ready to go out there and rock.

Steve hadn’t been to The Nightmare Holes before. It hadn’t even been on his radar at all. That was so weird, especially since it was almost literally doors down from Robin and his favorite club.

Well that was until they were dropped off in front of a large concrete building that didn’t look like a bar from the outside at any stretch of the imagination. In fact the only thing that stuck out at all was a neon sign with a large arrow pointing to a set of stairs leading down proclaiming this to be The Nightmare Holes.

When they got into the bar, Steve realized that they were going to stick out like a sore thumb. With Steve looking prep and Robin looking punk, they were going to be murdered before Eddie even got on stage.

They were saved by a goddess if you believed Robin later. This pretty woman in a tank top and tight leather pants with four inch heeled boots came up to them.

“Hey!” she greeted warmly. “You must be Stevie, right?”

Steve nodded. “I’m afraid you’re one up on me. You know me, but I don’t know you.”

She smiled much to Robin’s chagrin. “I’m Miranda, girlfriend of the rhythm guitarist, Jeff Lawrence. He was worried that Eddie might have forgotten to tell you that wearing your usual clothes might make you stand out.” She waved her hands at them. Both Robin and Steve blushed. “You aren’t too bad actually. I was think you would be much worse the way Jeff was going on.”

“He only saw us at work,” Robin explained once she picked her jaw up off the ground. “He might have assumed that we wear that on the regular.”

Miranda nodded. “You can do this one of two ways. Stay dressed as you are as big middle finger to conformity no matter who’s conforming to what or you come with me and I can tweak your looks enough that you don’t stand out as much.”

Steve looked down at his clothes and tilted his head. “I think I’m going to give conformity the middle finger, thanks. I’ve been bucking what people think a tattoo artist should look like for years. I’m not going to change that for one little concert.”

Miranda nodded appreciatively. “Good on you. How about you, princess? You gonna give conformity the middle finger, too?”

Robin looked down at her clothes and blushed. “I think most metalheads would say a punk is being a step too far.”

Miranda laughed. “You’re probably right. Let’s go see if I can metal you up a bit.”

The two ladies came back a few minutes later. Robin still had her chunky jewelry and smudged makeup. But her billowy plaid pants were replaced by tight black jeans and instead of her vest, she wore a black jacket. Her hair had been tamed to a more relaxed style.

Steve grinned at her. “Looking good, Robs!”

Robin blushed. “I made a new friend.”

Miranda laughed. “Thanks for that.” She looked around and then leaned forward conspiratorially. “Just a little secret between us new besties.”

Steve and Robin shared a glance, but both nodded.

“I don’t like metal music, either,” she whispered and winked. She turned around so she faced the stage. “But I’m here because my Jeffie does. So if you don’t like the music, because hey, you might not, don’t sweat it. They put on a good show and we’re here for them.” She jutted her chin up at the stage just as the house lights went down and the stage lights went up.

Standing the spotlight was Eddie. He wore a slashed up band shirt, tight jeans, and his leather jacket. A jacket Steve was about to learn wasn’t going to feature long. About twenty minutes into the show, the jacket was gone and Steve could see a peek of the new tattoo through the slits in the shirt.

He licked his lips slowly. Ooh...that was tantalizing. And then Eddie threw caution and his shirt to the wind and everyone saw Eddie’s new tattoo.

Robin turned to Steve wide-eyed. “Holy shit, it blends seamlessly into the rest of the tattoos, like it was there first.”

Miranda peered around Robin to look at Steve, too. “Yeah, man. You did a hell of a job. You should be proud of that.”

Steve was. No doubt. But he was prouder of the fact that Eddie wanted everyone to see it. It melted his heart and settled at the base of his spine, like he had drank a cup of hot chocolate all at once.

And that was when Steve realized he would do anything for Eddie. Even if that meant just being friends.

***

My new favorite line? * “Lord help me, but I do,” Wayne agreed. “You calling to talk or to listen?” * It’s just so...Wayne, you know?

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @renaissan-vvitch @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @aizawa-emma @yikes-a-bee @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @archermightbegay @hallucinatedjosten

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #tattoo artist steve #ladykailtiha writes

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hangmansgbaby · 5 months

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Royally Pucked

Layne Thomas is the new physical therapist for the San Diego Daggers but on day one, she runs into an all too familiar face, who is also the captain of the Daggers. Jake Seresin, who met Layne by chance in Denver, Colorado after a game, has nonstop thought of her ever since that december night and now she’s here before him in San Diego. Jake pines after his Denver girl while Layne does everything to ignore his advances, even going as far to show more interest in his alternate captain despite her own feelings for him blooming.

Series Warnings: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, smut, intended one night stand, mentions of divorce, toxic ex, jealous Jake, single parent, more smut, secret relationship, HR is the worst, away game fun, Layne teases Jake, workplace smut, hockey inaccuracies, mentions or anxiety, descriptions of panic attacks, (That's it?) (specific smut warnings will be attached to specific chapters.)

Note: I will never claim to be good at smut but at least I tried?

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Epilogue

This is my rewrite of my original series On The Ice originally posted early/mid 2023 before being removed November/December 2023 and being reposted January 2024

This is inspired by Pucking Around by Emily Rath

Thanks to @mamachasesmayhem for helping me with plot lines and moral support

Thanks to @sarahsmi13s for sitting through my crazy ideas and still encouraging me

Thank you @thedroneranger for being my Hockey fact checker

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darlenicy · 2 months

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Winx Club Trix Aesthetic inspired by my rewrite: It could've been us

Icy ~ Witch of eternal Ice

Darcy ~ Witch of Darkness

Stormy ~ Witch of Storms

Lilith ~ Witch of Earth (oc)

I tried to put their hobbies and features in it. Gonna explain for those who are interested :)

Icy: Yes, she is doing horseriding in my rewrite. It was her way to calm down and forget about the unfairness in her life. The horse's name is Imbolc. As mentioned in my rewrite, Icy's family had fallen from grace and became impoverished so it wasn't actually Icy's own horse. In fact, after most of the land of the Whisperia's was taken, they had to sell all their other properties too including the horses. However the new owners allowed Icy to still care for and ride it. She always lived in the fear, that they would eventually sell Imbolc. Then there is her passion for playing the piano. Unfortunately she isn’t able to take piano lessons anymore but whenever she has to calm down, she will go and play the piano no matter what time it is. Sometimes there will fly the sound of a piano melody through the deserted corridors of Cloud Tower at midnight.

Darcy: She has a thing going on with divination. Actually, she suffers from visions from time to time. Some of them come true, others not. It's always shown to her what could happen. She can't control the visions and was especially as a child afraid of them. So she decided to learn about them and make visions and, connected with that, divination her own specialty. This is also how she got into mind-reading and mind-control. She searched for a way to control her powers and the visions. It's not possible to really control the visions though but the way she embraced the powers helped her to manage to control the rest of her powers and use them as a weapon.

Lilith: Now Lilith is a secret actually, but I am willing to share a bit about her. She comes from a royal line in exile and Lilith stills sees herself as royalty and having the right to do what she yearns for: the dragon flame. Her powers are earth based because of her origin and connection to her (former) country (or planet in this case). Just like Stormy she likes testing her limits by going all out. Everything she does is extreme, everything she feels is extreme. There is nothing more she hates than to stand still and accept the status quo. She will only accept what she thinks is right. However, she shoulders a heavy burden and tries to numb it with drugs, sex and alcohol at some points. As said above, she goes all out to reach her goals and will always to whatever she likes to fulfill her own pleasure. And she’s hungry for it. Pleasure and power are the things she’s living for.

Stormy: She’s a rulebreaker. Given being the youngest sibling, she was always cherished and never really learned limits. She has problems in controlling herself and wants to taste every bit of life as best as possible. She too was an outsider in school as a kid but not because of the same reasons as Darcy and Icy (Darcy being the mysterious weird girl with the intense stare and Icy being cold and cruel so that everyone feared her). Stormy was the one who beat the other children up. Sometimes for fun and because she could, sometimes because the others dared to talk dirty about her family. She got called out by teachers a lot but she didn’t care. As said above, she doesn’t know any other limits than herself. So she does what she likes whenever she likes. She's smoking because she likes to, because it shows her rebellious side. She also has several tattoos, simply because she fkn can. She won’t surrender and behave, nor bow to anyone. That might become a problem though and a lesson she will learn at some point.

#winx aesthetic #winx trix #winx trix aesthetic #winx icy #winx darcy #winx stormy #winx oc #lilith #winx headcanon #winx rewrite #winx hc #winx club

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imhereformr · 8 months

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S3 E1 The Princess Ball

Have to say, I'm surprised Stella doesn't have 2 of everything

Oh noooo Bloom and Sky had a fight. How sad.

Flora just said that vacation is shorter this year but like... Why

Musa and Aisha are spending the summer together. What a very girlfriend thing to do 🏳️‍🌈

I feel like Stella would want to have input into her own ball

Oh look, arranged mariage foreshadowing. How impressive of Winx to be able to do that

Im still amazed that no one saw the issue with sending an ice witch to an ice prison...

Why are they repackaging?

I bet they're talking about us at Cloud Tower... Stormy, babe, aim a little higher please

Sky's parents won't let him go to a royal event?

This pizza guy is useless...

How does Chimera not recognize the princess of her own realm?

I still dream of this magic changing thing. I would sell my soul for it (you'd have to fight my friend though cause she currently owns it for successfully getting us Taylor Swift tickets)

It always amuses me that Stella runs for the dress when she could just call the store to reserve it for her...

I love this random wind when Valtor uses his magic

But if they're not gonna call the store, why don't they just fly to the store instead of running?

So now just anyone can claim to be royalty?

I hate Musa's long hair. I refuse to accept it.

I have a very unpopular opinion to share with you... I hate Stella's dress.

Riven following Musa 😂

Oh and he's so proud of himself for having brought some tunes

Yeah I know I should change the station what a cutie. I love him so much.

OMG the mermaid speaks a different language! Look at them acknowledging that different realms speak different languages.

They can't follow Aisha cause she has to go through the ocean... Don't they do that for like all of season 5? 😅

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starker-raving-mads · 2 months

Text

For You: Part VII

›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹

To say that the next week was hectic was to put it lightly. Peter didn't surface from the lab for anything - Not Aunt May (and her terrible lasagna that Peter loved so dearly), not Ned and MJ, not even for Bucky, who had taken to texting Peter fairly regularly with things like lunch requests or questions about pop culture.

(The man was, hilariously, Steve's opposite in that regard. He still didn't remember much of his time on ice, but he reveled in all of modern technology instead of simply trying to deal with it, which was Steve's approach. He and Peter had partaken in more than one text conversation that ended after 2 hours with, 'Steve's taking my phone because he says I'm becoming a zombie staring at the screen. I think he's just jealous because he doesn't understand modern…anything, really. I think he might be a himbo. Am I using that word right?')

No, Peter instead spent that time with Tony, having the longest, craziest, most wonderful lab binge of his life. His sleep schedule was royally messed up because of it, taking to just falling asleep at his desk or on the couch instead of going back up to the penthouse. He only got a few hours at a time like that anyway and it just didn't seem worth it to put an official pause on their work.

What was their work? Integrating Tony into everything.

He was already fully incorporated into the lab, that was easy enough after the confirmation of the program's success. But they made small tweaks to improve his core functioning systems, defined a few things, and Tony went from almost being Tony Stark to really being Tony Stark. The first day or two, the man had stilled unnaturally in a way that Tony just never had. He'd also not remember certain things, important things, until reminded of them.

"I have a daughter?" he'd asked, overwhelmed awe spread across his face. "I have a daughter!" He looked at Peter then, that same unfamiliar softness in his eyes. "I made you her godfather! Isn't Morgan just amazing?"

"Sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter grimaced at the perplexity on the other man's face. "Since Ms. Potts has been kind of…upset about the whole SI thing, I haven't been allowed to see her." And he'd tried, he really had. He wanted to know the little girl that was half Tony, who was his family in all but blood. But Pepper had responded to every request with a resounding 'no' and she was Morgan's mom, so she got the final say.

Tony had a look of determination on his face at that. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

But all those little issues had been flushed out in the first few days, and now they were working on incorporating his program into everything. Peter already wired him into the Spider-Man suit, tapped him into the tower's network architecture, and into the smart glasses the man had pointed out to him that were, apparently, never finished in the face of the Peter Project.

EDITH, he had called it, but based on all the features she had, Peter was mostly positive it was better that project was never finished. Peter kept the glasses, though, body having an all over shiver the first time he heard Mr. Stark's voice directly in his ear.

Now, they were putting the finishing touches on getting Tony wired into the penthouse, which had its own individual network infrastructure and security protocols. Having Friday helped with a lot of the grunt work, but there were some fine tuning things that Peter had to do to wrap it up.

"There!" he said, leaning back on his haunches as he slid the discreet panel back over the hidden network rack in the living room (carefully hidden behind tall, leafy vegetation he was vaguely sure was called a monster plant). "Okay, Fri-baby, fire it up, let him in."

"Are you sure, Mom?" Friday said, voice warm with humor. "Shouldn't guests knock first?"

"Your father is not a guest, dear," he joked back with her, loving the rapid way she grew with him. He was weirdly proud of her, seeing all these changes in behavior and temperament.

"If you say so."

And then - Tony.

Adding the holographic projection system was another touch Peter had to manually install, like with a drill and everything. It was absolutely worth the time spent crawling around on the ceiling when the man bloomed to life in front of him, craning his neck around to check out the apartment.

"Man, I forgot how bland this place was," he said, eyeing the all-white leather couch and black slate flooring of the sunken living room.

"Bland?" Peter asked, aghast. "This place is great!"

Tony gave him a look. "Kid, I know your taste runs to the science pun t-shirt side of the spectrum, but all black and white isn't exactly that much of a step up from beige."

Peter flushed. "I mean, it's simple but it's nice! And why did you even pick it if you didn't like it?"

"Oh," the older man responded, casually walking around the space. "I didn't. Hired some expensive decorator and told them to go crazy with it." He shrugged. "The lab was always my space, so I didn't really give a damn went on up here as much. Pep was the one to put the art and stuff up - which I see she took."

"Yeah, it was gone by the time I got up here, but not much else thankfully. And I guess that makes sense. The lab just…feels like you, Mr. Stark."

Tony gave him another look. "Kid, you've gotta start calling me Tony. It's cute when you say it, but since I'm essentially a ghost, I think we're past the point of titles."

"I mean," Peter said, struggling not to let all the blood in his body rush to his face at how enflamed he felt at Mr. Stark calling him cute. "If I'm only cute when I say it, I guess I have to keep it up, right, Mr. Stark?" He was falling far short of the playful retort he was going for, mostly because there was too much sincerity in the words.

"Pete, you're cute with or without the 'Mr. Stark' schtick," Tony chuckled casually, as though he wasn't uprooting Peter's entire existence right now.

"O-oh, okay." This was one of those things that made Tony differ from Mr. Stark and Peter had to say, he appreciated it. The openness and honesty, the lack of barrier he could always feel was there before. He wondered how much of it was anxiety and part of the physical pretense of being Tony Stark that made him that way, that he lacked now. Whatever it was, Peter liked it. "So, Tony."

"That's my name, kid," he winked, "don't wear it out."

Peter rolled his eyes. This was the Tony he was used to.

"But seriously," Tony continued, picking their previous conversation back up. "You should redo this place, liven it up a little! Some paint, new furniture, yada yada," he waved a hand around the room. "I've seen your bedroom, not to mention the apartment you shared with May - eclectic is in, and now you've got all the money in the world to make your space your own."

"I hadn't really thought about it like that," Peter said, walking over to where Tony's glowing blue form was. "It just - it feels so weird to change things in your house, you know?"

"Peter, and I say this sincerely," Tony said and yes his tone was playful but sincere nonetheless. "I never cared about how this place looked, it was a matter of convenience. It was a bed and a kitchen and a respectable place to have people over but that's about it. And it's your house now."

Peter furrowed his brow. "But the media center and the blankets and pillows - ?"

"Yeaaaaah," the man dragged out and turned to look over at the TV set up in question. "I may or may not have bought that after you mentioned wanting to binge Star Wars with me when you'd realized I hadn't seen all of them." He shrugged but the casual gesture was ruined by the side-eyed sincerity.

"You bought," Peter started, "an entire TV set up, surround sound, and game console just to watch TV with me?"

"Sure," the man shrugged again and Peter knew for a fact that his whole casual-whatever he was doing was put upon, but he didn't know how to call it out - or if he even wanted to.

What do you say when someone spends a few thousand grand on something because you mentioned it offhand in one conversation?

"Listen, kid," Tony sighed, looking over at him finally. "I told you I was too much and this is what I meant. I do - too much. Extravagant gifts and shit like," he waved his hand at the media center wall, "whole media center set ups and custom blankets without asking." He shrugged, and it was probably the first time Peter had ever seen the man truly awkward, for all that he fidgeted normally. "People've been telling me that my whole life but I just can't ever seem to break the habit." He sounded truly apologetic and that was the moment that Peter snapped.

"Stop," he said, voice firm, face rigid. Tony looked at him, chagrined, like a kid being told off after putting his hand in the cookie jar. "There is nothing wrong with you," Peter continued and watched as the man's glowing blue face snapped up at him in surprise. "Your love language is just gift giving, is all," he explained. "You show people you care by giving them things and I bet it's always things like this," he waved toward the media center. "Things they've mentioned or things you know they'll need or care about. Right?" Tony nodded, eyes wide behind his square framed glasses. "Then, there you go," he said, running out of the confident steam he'd been using for his little mini-rant. "You just want to give people you care about things to make their lives better or things they want or way to enjoy themselves better. There's nothing wrong with that. Sure, it can feel like a little much sometimes due to the expense of such things but at the same time - it's your money, you can afford it, so why not?"

The look on Tony's face clearly said that no one had spelled it out like that before and that he wasn't totally sure if he believed Peter.

Peter smiled, a little sadly. "Tony, if I had thought you were giving me things to make me in debt to you or buy my loyalty or something, I'd have turned them down. But it's obvious you don't, and why would I try and hurt you by being a dick about it?"

Tony cleared his throat. "I gotta say, kid, you're like the first person to not give a damn about it. It's always either people after my money, or people who think I'm trying to buy them with it. It's…refreshing."

"I mean," Peter said while he walked over to the large, squishy chaise side of the couch he liked. "It's not like I don't think about it? It's just - like I didn't grow up with a lot of money, right? And neither did my friends. And so when Ned or someone went out of their way to get me something it really meant a lot. And while you have the ability to probably buy a small country - " Tony laughed, " - that doesn't negate the fact that you put thought and energy into it just like anyone else would."

Tony sat down on the other side of the couch from him, their usual seats, and the normalcy of the action soothed Peter. He was starting to look past the faint blue glow of the other man and just see Tony.

"Thanks, kid," Tony said, looking over at him. "I mean that."

"I know you do," Peter smiled softly. He curled in on himself, snuggling into the cushions, wishing he had his movie blanket.

Tony's mind seemed to go the same direction. "Where's that blanket of yours?" he asked, craning his neck to look at the space where the basket of blankets and spare pillows for the living room used to be.

Peter sighed. "It was one of the things Ms. Potts took," he shrugged. "I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet."

The older man frowned. "You should have Friday do it," he finally said. "I didn't buy it, I crafted it out of the same textile I used to make Steve's stuff with." At Peter's look, he explained, "Capcicle has a similar texture issue that you do, senses cranked up a little under yours. Your first Spider-Man suit was made out of an off-shoot of the formula, but the base is perfect for blankets and things." He furrowed his brow, looking away, thinking. "Pepper knew that," he muttered to himself. "Fri? Get on that, will you?"

"You got it, Boss."

"Maybe she had them grab it by accident when she sent people up to get the artwork and stuff?" Peter pondered.

"Yeah, maybe," Tony agreed though he didn't sound convinced. "How about," he said instead of whatever seemed to be on his mind, "you go grab a blanket from somewhere and we watch something. You wouldn't believe how fast my brain runs now," he chuckled. "And I don't really sleep anymore, so being online and zoning out a little would be nice."

Peter smiled and agreed, stopping at the kitchen to pop a bag of microwave popcorn in before heading down the hallway. He paused by his room first before ultimately going to Tony's and grabbing the bundled up comforter. It was just so much softer than the one in the guest room, and it still faintly smelled like the other man. That wasn't too weird right?

Pushing back the anxiety in him that screamed, 'uh yeah it's weird he's going to call you out on it,' Peter walked back out to the living room and dumped it onto the couch. He tried to be casual about it, twisting on his heel to grab the popcorn and pour it into a bowl before coming back to the living room and snuggling down into the blanket.

He tried not to pay attention to the long, long look Tony gave him when the teen asked, "Anything you're in the mood for?"

After a moment, the older man said, "Fuck it, let's watch Star Wars again."

#for you fic #starker #ironspider #peter parker x tony stark #tony stark x peter parker #peter parker #tony stark #iron man #peter x tony #spiderman

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