#{the sugar cookie scent is such a great smell to have in the kitchen It has such a nice rich smell that always makes me hungry for a cookie}

[hms-incorrect-quotes]

Heart: You don’t need to complain about my murder attempt when you’re reviewing a FUCKING CANDLE.

Mind [making no attempt to hide his giggling]: No, I think he does actually.

#submission #based off a real conversation #soul would do this #at the very least it’s extremely funny to imagine him doing this #< prev tags #real #{the sugar cookie scent is such a great smell to have in the kitchen It has such a nice rich smell that always makes me hungry for a cookie} #{the cinnamon candle is also a perfect scent to wake up to when you find your inner halves killing each other at 3am in the morning!} #{the clean bed sheets however suck. too faint 3/10} #{the lemon scent however is quite pleasant. very calming to have when trying to ignore the screams of your inner selves :} } #{the cedar candle is also great my chicken loves that one. make more of those ❤} #im just talking about candles now #HMS brand scented candles when/j #love waking up to the smell of my violence/silence candle its great #chonny jash #cj mind #cj heart #cj soul #chonnys charming chaos compendium

[jungle-angel]

It Smells Like Home (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: Ever since moving, you and Bob have decided that you're going to have a very, very cozy Halloween with the babies

Bob took another sip of his oatmeal cookie flavored coffee, at least the second one he had that morning while two-year-old Patrick came waddling down the stairs, rubbing his little eyes and clutching his blue crocheted blankie.

"Hi bubby," Bob cooed as he lifted him up and kissed his soft little cheeks. "You're up too early."

"No sleepy," Patrick yawned.

Bob gently patted his son's back and set him back down on the floor. "You hungry?"

Patrick nodded before pulling his chair out and climbing right up.

Bob immediately fixed him some eggs, a little bit of diced ham and a tiny little cup of blueberries. "You wanna help Dada bake today?"

"Yes peas!!!"

Bob chuckled as he heated up his coffee and picked at his own plate of ham and eggs. He felt bad that it would just be him and Patrick for most of the day with you having gone to help Bob's parents get things settled around the new ranch and to help his Meemaw with her doctor's appointments. But Bob was happy since it meant bonding time with the littler of your two, soon to be three children.

As soon as breakfast was done, Bob cleared the dishes and put on "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" both for Patrick and for the background noise while he baked. He kept it on repeat, never once annoyed by how many times it played, comforted by the memories it brought for both him and you.

Patrick kept himself occupied by teasing and playing with Tank, the burly rottweiler who helped Bob and his father keep control of the cattle. Bandit, the newest addition, a one year old blue heeler, snoozed away on the couch, completely unfazed by Patrick's little baby giggles.

It wasn't long before the whole house began to smell so good, overwhelmed with the aromas of chocolate, cinnamon, pumpkin, apples and sweet sugar. Bob loved when the fall farmers' markets came to town, leaving your family swimming in baked goods until then.

"Patrick," he called. "Patrick come taste for Daddy."

Patrick waddled right into the kitchen and took a large bite of a chocolate and vanilla cream cookie that had been shaped into a pointed little witch hat.

"MMMM yummy!" Patrick loudly and happily declared, the chocolate crumbs still all along the edges of his mouth.

Bob laughed, finishing off the rest before Patrick went back to his own business.

Bob had completely lost track of the time, when in the middle of the tenth or so rerun of the Peanuts Halloween special, Patrick had fallen right asleep with his blankie tucked under his arm. You had just come through the door with Auggie, quietly shutting it so that Patrick wouldn't wake.

"I've got him sweetheart," Bob assured you.

"You sure?" you asked him.

"I'm certain," he told you, picking the sleeping toddler up off the couch and carrying him up the stairs with you, laying him down on your shared bed for a nap. He covered Patrick with his blankie and tucked his little brownie bear under his arm, letting him sleep the afternoon away.

"You think he'll sleep for a while?" you asked.

"He'll probably sleep till dinner," Bob answered, taking you in his arms and kissing you. "She awake?"

"Wouldn't stop moving ever since we left your Meemaw's appointment," you chuckled.

You and Bob leaned in, pressing your foreheads against each other. "Wanna go and watch the Peanuts Halloween cartoon?" he asked. "Patrick's been watching it all day."

You hummed happily. "With you? I'll watch anything."

You and Bob soon found yourselves downstairs, snuggled under the couch blankets while your sons were upstairs napping the afternoon away, watching the Peanuts cartoons and the smell of baked goods filling your home with their delicious scents and your dreams of a cozy Halloween with Bob, fully having come true.

#top gun maverick #robert bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #dagger squad

[saphirered]

azriel winter #9 please 🥹 merry christmas to you! <33 and a happy new year

Getting interrupted by an overgrown bat while making sweet treats and baking isn't too terrible, is it? Very sweet, very fluffy. Hope you like this one! 😘

The entire House of Wind smells like a bakery. Nowhere can one escape the scent. Azriel doesn’t mind it. In fact, he might actually enjoy it, though that may have a little more to do with the person responsible than his actual love for baked goods. He’d like to say he developed quite the sweet tooth but doesn’t have a great love for all things sugary, not unless they’re made by you. He’d happily stuff himself on your food, be that sweet or savoury. You’re a good cook and an equally good baker to the point where food not prepared by your skilled hands, simply does not taste as perfect. Of course you’ve had your failed experimentations but that does not diminish your expertises. Your bread, that secret recipe of yours, he’ll steal it some day in the hopes he’ll be able to recreate a worthy comparison. Azriel got so distracted in training he did not manage to dodge that swing Cassian directed at his face. The prick had teased him relentlessly for it and claimed it was simply an excuse for him to go into the kitchen and get some ice for his throbbing cheek. You’d banned everyone from entering your domain unless it was urgent. A bruised, potentially broken cheekbone would be urgent enough, right? Maybe he did take the hit on purpose… Just a little. 

As he wanders down the halls, following his nose to the kitchen as the smell grows stronger, and with it accompanied come the hums of a melody. He recognises it well. You’re making dough and the melody is how you time out to not over work it. Azriel knocks on the open doorframe, hand over his eyes. He peaks between his fingers to see you indeed folding dough, just about finished. You put it in a bowl, cover it with cloth and set it in an appropriate place.

“May I come in?” He asks sheepishly, as if you’d send him away. You grumble something to yourself before you turn and cross your arms. Your cheeks are smudged in flour, or maybe it’s confectionery sugar, or both. Your apron is stained in things he cannot begin to identify. The kitchen is a mess, or organised mess as you’d prefer because you always claim there to be some logic behind your workings even if he has yet to figure them out. One of the counters already holds several breads, and some pastries cooling down. Then there’s a variety of goods already plated from sugar candies, jellies, chocolates, pastes, jams and more to muffins, tarts and entire pies. 

“Is it urgent?” You reply, opening the oven and you begin removing some trays of cookies, setting them aside to cool. You appear to be baking for an army with these amounts. 

“I just need some ice, if you can spare it.” He removes his hand from his eyes when you give him a look that shows you’re aware he’s peaking anyway. You gasp when you see the bruise already forming. You set down the final tray and rush over brushing your hand clean on some clear spots of the apron. You hold his face, inspect it and place a palm against the bruise. Instantly a wave of numbing cool spread through his cheek. He sighs in relief, be that because of your close proximity or your gentle touch of magic.

“Am I going to have to murder Cassian or will withholding this stuff suffice?” Azriel doesn’t quite know if you’re upset or just joking. He brings his fingers up to your face to brush away some flour and you huff when he holds onto your lower arms, removes your hold on his face, instead laces his fingers with yours and presses a kiss to your forehead. 

“I doubt you’ll get through even a quarter of this food without him. And it was just an accident.” Azriel defends and you just squeeze his hand as you purse your lips in disappointment. Cassian better remember it’ll take one word to have you take revenge on his behalf. Cauldron he loves it when you defend him. However much he’d love see you kick Cass’ ass another time will do. It’s not like the male doesn’t step on your toes every other day or something. 

“Shame. I was thinking maybe I could poison a tart? Or some candied fruit? Could even add a note ‘from a secret admirer’.” You plot and Azriel decides to indulge your evil machinations. Much to his disappointment you pull away from him and go back to work whisking up a nice royal icing. He leans against the counter next to you, careful not to disturb the top or you might just go feral on him. Nothing more terrifying than you posting a whisk with a blazing fury in your eyes. Terrifying and quite sexy and you know it too. 

“Yes, build up his ego. That’ll certainly help.” Azriel counters with a snort as you fill a piping bag and reach for the tray behind him, pull it over and begin icing the cookies atop. He turns and leans his hip against the counter trying to steal one of the cookies but you softly smack his hand away so he holds up his hands in surrender. Not ready yet. He gets it. He’ll be patient. 

“And tear it down right away. I’ll make sure he knows it’ll be from me.” You’re deep in thought trying to freehand a snowflake pattern. He doesn’t understand how you just do it and it comes out looking like a master piece. 

“And have him call you his secret admirer for the next weeks? No thank you.” He does have a point there. You don’t particularly feel like Cassian trying to insert himself into any display of affection you share with your lover. The image of him throwing himself between the two of you while you’re cuddled up on the couch like some jealous puppy, may be a funny one but it’ll cease being funny when it goes on for weeks and you’ll have to admit defeat to the general. 

“You do have a point.” You think tapping your chin. “I’ll say they’re from Amren then!” Fear. Genuine fear you might actually blame anything on Amren has him take the piping bag from you, and turn you to face him. He looks at you with urgency.

“How about we don’t try to poison Cassian today.” 

“Fine.” You whine but through your disappointment shines your smile and shortly after follows laughter. “Rule one of food; never mess with anyone’s food unless they’re your enemy and you’re trying to embarrass, incapacitate, or kill them. Rule two; pick your enemies wisely. Rule three; don’t hold a piping bag like that.” It takes a hot second before Azriel realises what you said last and by that time, icing has already spilled past, onto his arm, and down onto the floor from how he held it out of reach of you. 

“Shit.” He curses and quickly puts the bag down. He wipes it from his arm and shirt sleeve while you giggle and grab a cloth to help out and get rid of as much as you can. The shirt will have to be washed to get out the stains but it’s serviceable for now. You take his hand covered in icing, and go to remove the icing but Azriel, before you can pulls his hand free, grabs an uncovered cookie from the tray, and scoops it along his hand. He quickly pops the cookie in his mouth and eats it before you can stop him. 

“You are such a child.” You groan as he smiles and licks the final remains from his fingers. He goes to steal another from the tray but you slap his hand away and tut like you would an actual child trying to steal from your precious baked goods. “You know why I bake so much? Because I’m feeding two and a half Illyrians and they keep stealing my food!” You push Azriel back and away from the cookies palm flat against his chest and while he could definitely have resisted, not moved an inch, he lets you until his back hits another counter. You reach behind him and grab a bowl filled with some kind of yellow custard-like paste but a bit more consistent and creamy. You take the spoon and hold it out for him to take a taste. 

“You’re not trying to poison me, now are you?” He jokes but you give him a dead serious look. 

“Are you my enemy?” You ask intensely. 

“I’m your confidant, sparring partner, shopping assistant, reader, lover and countless other things I can’t begin to define but I don’t think enemy made the list.” He speaks faking deep thought rather convincingly. You bring the spoon to his lips once more. 

“Then you should have nothing to fear, right?” He opens his mouth and the moment he contents hit his tongue flavour just explodes. Is it sweet? Is it spicy? A bit of both. It’s good though. You watch his features change, go through the stages of confusion before they settle pleasantly and he takes the spoon from you so fast to take another scoop. You go to protest but the overgrown bat is faster this time. 

“It’s very good.”

“What it was, was my filling for those tarts but you just contaminated it.” Azriel is well aware what he did. He looks at the tarts by his side. You’re well aware he knows what he did and so you grab a scooping spoon and begin placing the filling onto the small tarts. He helps, following your motions though it’s a little more difficult and he can’t seem to get them just right the way you do. Once all twelve of them are done you sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar overtop and pick one up, inspect it and take a bite. You hum satisfied. It worked out well. Though you only get half of the actual taste since your mind is more occupied with the look you’re getting from Azriel. You simply stare back at him. 

“I suppose they’re all ours then?” One by one Azriel puts them on the silver platter sitting next to them, not once breaking eye contact with you. You shrug. Good enough for him. Last tart on the plate he picks up the platter in one hand, grasps yours with the other and before you know it you’re falling through shadows and find yourself on the couch in the library; your usual spot. The platter is on the side table atop some stacks of books. 

“Thirty minutes.” You point an accusatory finger at the shadowsinger. “Thirty minutes and I’ll have to take out the next loafs.” Azriel laughs as he scoops some of the tart filling from the one in your hand and flicks it onto your nose. You gasp but he kisses it away and your gasp turns into a giggle. 

#azriel x reader #azriel x you #acotar x reader #acotar #acotar fanfiction #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #sjmaas #sjm fanfic #sjm fic #azriel #acotar azriel

[lifewtr]

and the difference is this | M+ | 3/7

After a horrible moment that leaves her befuddled, Katara seeks out the most undesirable route to her problem. For Zutara Week 2023 (@zutaraweek), Day 5 + 6: Respite, Forge.

Five days ago, Zuko had found himself stuck with the faint scent of sugar up his nose.

It had been exigent yet also no more than a tendril; so scarce that he’d simply thought that he’d been struck with a peculiar craving.

With the scent came a memory, after all. Winter Solstice with his mother’s side of the family, high in the frosty northern mountains of the Fire Nation. It was a memory from before, when his parents had been happy and his sister had smiled more freely. His great grandfather had taught them how to bake cloudberry-mint cookies that year. “This is snow sugar,” his great grandfather had told them, “it’s made special in the South.”

The hazy smell of that minty sweetness had stayed with him nearly all through the day as he worked, only ebbing when he’d made his routine run around the track in the Embassy’s eastern field. By the time he’d made it back to his suite—because no way was he going to sleep in the barracks if he didn’t have to—the sugar cookies were all he’d been able to think about again, from the foyer to his bedroom, from his shower to his kitchen, his mouth had watered more and more for a flavor that wasn’t there.

Standing in his kitchen in nothing but leftover water droplets and a towel on his hips, Zuko made a decision. He hadn’t quite been up to the task of baking said cloudberry cookies, or even sourcing the right ingredients and having them properly cleared to be brought onto base for that matter, but he had supposed that he could snuff the hankering with a jam-filled powdered donut and a peppermint coffee.

He’d dressed with a place in mind; had stopped by Mai’s suite to ask if she wanted to tag along, his treat. His second in command had promptly stopped sharpening her knives and put her shoes on—not once had he ever heard her say no to free food.

The streets of Yu Dao were as busy as they should’ve been for a pleasant Thursday evening and so was the cafe when they’d stepped inside. For whatever reason, Zuko had been a bit jittery with excitement for that snack. He hadn’t questioned it too much. The smell of sugar had been dense and warm in the air of the cafe and he’d been ready to slate his craving.

And then, after less than a moment of being in line to place their order, the scent of sweetness had transformed right before his nose. Suddenly it had unfurled. Suddenly it had been like a tundra in the spring; florid with thickets of bright, resilient blooms of pink and purple on a blunt cliffside. Suddenly it had been sunshine reflecting on a crashing ocean and crisp, salt-tinged winds, all voracity and wonder and need.

Suddenly there had been a woman with luminous blue eyes turning and baring her teeth at him.

‘What the fuck?’ He’d thought to himself in alarm.

‘Omega?’ Interest had piped up shortly after, tentative and out of place. ‘What gorgeous little fangs...’

‘What the fuck?’ He’d thought again, that time at himself. Had he stepped closer? Why was he reaching for her? She didn’t need to hiss in his face, needn't whimper like that at him. He was only going to help, as he should. He was only going to give her everything that she could ever possibly require—

“Back the fuck up,” Mai had stepped into his line of sight then, had placed her body between him and sugar and then glared death at him with narrowed hazel eyes. He’d curled his lip over his teeth in a silent snarl, a warning, but Mai had only snarled and growled back. “Where’s your head, Zuko?” She’d snapped at him, her quiet tenor as cold and dangerous as any of her knives. “Dude, do I need to drag you out of here? You’re causing a goddamned scene. Remember your station, Major.”

The scent of hot coals had rammed up his nose then—agitation undercut with a touch of concern; alpha, replacing all sweetness of snow sugar in his senses. That had been all it took for him to straighten up, to remember who he was; who Mai was, which was somebody not to be fucked with, not even by him. She was his best friend who had absolutely no problem dragging him by his mangled ear if it meant getting out of the mud alive, and he had no business showing her his teeth.

“What the hell was that?” She’d asked him when they’d eventually sat down with their order, the cafe back to calm; the woman nowhere to be scented or seen. He’d known she meant him though, and truthfully Zuko hadn’t had a fucking clue about the lapse. His senses weren’t often poked at in such a way.

“Don’t know. Next time just deck me in the nose,” he’d said around a bite of donut. The wariness on Mai’s face had ebbed after a moment, instead replaced with a small smirk of acceptance. It was a promise that he knew she’d keep.

Hours later, after Mai had indulged him in a late night spar to help him blow off some lingering steam from that strangle little incident, they’d made their way from the training yard and back towards their respective suites.

The north hall had been closed off for cleaning. They’d thought nothing of it and made the easy decision to cut their way inside through the west.

About halfway down the Embassy’s western wing, they’d heard a crash. It hadn’t been loud—in fact it had been just quiet enough to raise his hackles. One shared glance with Mai and the barest of nods later, they ventured deeper into the building.

Another crash had sounded out; the faint curdle of a wailing growl from the midst of the Ambassador’s Lodge. The closer they got the more the memory of cloudberry-mint cookies persisted in the back of Zuko’s head.

The commotion had been coming from room 012 on the right. Mai had knocked, had pressed her ear to the door and asked if everything was alright. On the other side, something had hit the ground. A loud, agonized whimper had come through.

Mai got the door open. Sugar had flooded Zuko’s nose.

“Stay!” Mai had barked at him on her way in. The command had rankled against him unpleasantly, at being told what to do by another alpha. It had worked, though; had sliced through the weird place that his mind had started to go and cleared the fog that he hadn’t noticed clouding his thoughts—but then there had been another whimper, and then he was inside. Another, more pained whimper, and then Mai had let out a string of curses from where she’d been cradling a woman in the middle of the floor.

The same slip of a woman from the cafe.

‘What the...’

“Medic!” Mai had growled at him. “Now, Major!”

The command had rankled.

Grateful once again, the Major had replaced Zuko.

read AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THIS in full on AO3! ↬

#yes hi i forgot to put this here and its been so many days since i posted LMAO #zutara #zutara fic #zuko x katara #atla fanfic #avatar: the last airbender #THERE WILL BE ART IN THE NEXT ONE :D #anyway zuko and katara are about to meet #feast your eyes friends #zuko #katara #***

[doveabovetheworld]

Merry Christmas, Sammy

Summary; After a few months of your lover being on an adventure with his brothers and best friend, he finally comes home…

Warnings; mentions of war, battle wound, hinting towards sex but mostly fluff

A/N; Happy Holidays, @losfacedevil!!! I am very happy that I had the honor of being your Secret Santa! This was a cute idea that I shaped together out of the answers to each question I asked you. I really hope you like it, even if it’s a bit short. This was also set in the little universe that Greta made with their music, so this also kinda ties into a different series I’m starting soon. I hope everyone has a great holiday and enjoys this Sammy fic! Much love!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 5 months since he left. His brothers asked if he’d go with them on a journey and although you weren’t so keen on it, you let him go. Your mind couldn’t help but worry with ‘what ifs’.

What if he isn't okay? What if he died? What if he won’t come back before Christmas?

He always came back for Christmas.

You didn’t even decorate the Christmas tree because that was always something you AND Sam always did. You wanted to wait for him but what if there was no point in waiting?

You let out a small sigh, walking from the kitchen towards the front door to get your coat and winter gear on.

You and Sam lived in a little cottage a few miles from a nearby town. It was a nice light brown cottage with flowers and a garden in the front. You guys also had a stables with a few horses behind the house as well. It was a comfy place you liked to call home.

While you were outside, caring for the horses, you heard the sound of footsteps ascending towards you. Before you could even look, you heard a familiar voice.

“I wasn’t gone too long, was I?”

You turned and saw Sam standing at the doors with a huge smile. He had his arms out, waiting for a hug, which you gladly responded with as you ran up to him.

As you two embraced, he kept planting small kisses all over your face, causing you to let out small laughs. You two hugged for about a good 3 minutes before you pulled away just to see his face. Those puppy dog eyes and a gorgeous smile that you haven’t seen in forever. You missed him.

“Sam… Oh my god…” you said as you held his face in between your palms. “I-I thought you died.”

Sam couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, “I’m sorry, princess… I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“No, no, don’t say sorry,” You said with a smile. “I was just worried after what I heard about what the journey was, y’know?”

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? No need to worry any longer.” He said as he leaned in and captured your lips in a kiss.

~

You both were sitting on the sofa, looking at the now-decorated Christmas tree. The warmth from the fireplace and the blankets, not to mention Sam’s body heat as you cuddled, was comfortable enough to make you fall asleep.

Sam had his arm around you, keeping you as close to him as possible, as you laid your head against his chest. You could hear his heartbeat. You could smell the scent of pine and sap from the tree. You could feel his fingers softly run through your hair. You could taste the sugar cookies you and him just eaten. You saw the content smile on his soft face as he held you. This was all you both wanted. This was home.

“Tell me about the mission you guys went on.” You said, smiling at him.

He looked down at you and kissed the top of your head.

“Where do I even start?” He chuckled and moved so that way he could look directly into your eyes. “It was insane. We saw almost all of the hillsides and kingdoms and towns and valleys in all of the continent. We fought in some pretty big battles, Jake, Josh, Danny, and I. I also got a pretty good battle wound too.”

He smiled proudly as he took off his shirt and showed you a scar on the side of his torso. It seemed to have healed itself but you couldn’t help but gasp.

“Sammy… what happened…?”

“Oh, it was during a battle. It’s okay though, it was a few months ago, and I’m fine.” He rushed to say as he saw the panic in your eyes.

You were about to say something before he spoke again, “No need to worry, sweetie. I promise you, I’m okay.”

“Sam…” you started. “I hate seeing you hurt.”

He gave you the saddest smile before pulling you onto his lap and hugging you. You felt his chilled skin against your clothes. His breath was on your neck and he gave small kisses to your shoulder. He wanted to reassure you that he was okay, and you believed it but of course, you’d worry. He’s your boyfriend.

“Baby, I know how much this journey means to you but what if one day you leave and… what if you don’t come back?” You asked with grief. This was a thought you never wanted to think of.

“I’ll be back. Princess, love, I will always be here,” He said with that same smile and those puppy dog eyes. He ran his hand through your hair. “I promise.”

You couldn’t help but smile and leaned down, kissing his forehead. You noticed some light blush spread across his face.

“Hey, there was a Christmas light festival in town… maybe we can go?” You suggested, wanting to make the tone a bit more upbeat once again.

His smile grew even more before saying, “Yes! That’s perfect!”

You both walked a couple of miles to the nearby village, able to see a festival full of candlelight and flowers. It was a gorgeous sight, multiple different colors blinding you both. He held your hand tightly, lightly stroking the top of your hand with his thumb. You smiled, thankful that he was back and making you smile.

He pointed out a bouquet of red roses and smiled as he said, “They remind me of you because you’re just as beautiful. Remember when we first met?”

You let out a small laugh, thinking of the time in the tavern a couple of years ago. You both ran in due to the snowstorm hitting the city. He was with his older brothers and best friend on some sort of mission to get some extra money. He bumped into you on accident, spilling his beer on your dress.

“Yeah, and you still have the same baby face I fell in love with,” you answered, as he blushed at your comment.

You remember seeing his brown eyes and the apologetic look on his face as he repeatedly said “I’m sorry”, over and over again. He offered you a drink and the rest is history. You both clicked immediately and after that night of exchanging stories, he gave you a rose. He wanted you to remember him before he left. And you did.

The whole night he held your hand, keeping you close to him in an attempt to keep you warm. That was something you liked about him. How much of a gentleman he’s always been. He gave you a small kiss on your forehead before catching sight of a dog.

“Oh my god, look!” He yelled out, pointing to the dog with a smile. He looked like a little kid and his expression made you laugh.

“You wanna go say hi?” You asked, squeezing his hand.

“I wanna go say hi.” He said before running towards the dog, taking you with him. He crouched down as he saw the animal, putting his hand out and saying in the softest voice possible, “Hey, buddy… I’m Sam and this is Y/N. What’s your name?”

You couldn’t help but smile at Sam as he conversed with the dog, getting permission to pet it as the dog moved closer. Sam took up the dog’s offer and let go of your hand as he petted the dog.

“Does he have an owner?” You asked, a bit worried about the dog being in the cold.

“I’m not too sure, actually…” Sam said as he smiled at the dog. “Maybe we can keep him if he doesn't.”

You smiled and let out a small laugh.

“Maybe. He is definitely a real sweet one.” You replied, crouching down next to Sam to pet the dog.

“Let’s bring him home, just for the night. Please? We can’t keep him out in the cold. And anyway, we can see if he has an owner tomorrow morning.” Sam begged, putting on a fake pout and puppy dog eyes. He knew you were a sucker for the pout.

You rolled your eyes playfully and smiled before agreeing, along with Sam repetitively thanking you. The dog even seemed happy as it looked at the two of you with a glint in its eyes. You knew you made the right choice. If he had an owner, you’d find them

tomorrow, but all you guys cared about right now was making sure the dog didn't freeze to death in the snow.

~

You and Sam, along with the dog, were back home. You guys were cuddled up on the bed and under the covers, the dog, whom you decided to name Oakley, at the end near your feet. Sam had his arms around you, keeping your head near his chest so you could hear his heartbeat. He ran his fingers through your hair and kissed your forehead.

“You look really pretty…” he mumbled quietly.

You blushed at his compliment, smiling lightly.

“Thank you. You look really handsome yourself,” you answered back, moving a bit closer to him if it was even possible.

“Hey, Y/N?” Sam mumbled after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah, Sam?”

“I love you.”

You smiled to yourself and gave his collarbone a small kiss before saying quietly, “I love you too…”

His hands around your waist held you tighter as if he thought that if he let go, you’d disappear. He kept leaving small kisses on your forehead down to the tip of your nose to your cheeks and then to your lips.

“What if we kicked Oakley out for a bit? He wouldn’t mind…” he mumbled as he gave small kisses on your neck.

“No, probably not,” you agreed, moving onto your back so he was on top of you.

“God, I missed you.” He said in a breathless voice before kissing your lips with force.

After the kiss broke, you ran your hand through his hair and smiled. “Me too. You’ll never know how much I missed you…”

“Don’t worry. You’ll never have to miss me again.”

“Promise?” You asked, looking up at him pleadingly.

“I promise, princess.” He said before kissing you again.

You knew he meant it. You saw it in his eyes and you felt it in the kiss. You knew he was infatuated with you and you knew he felt at home when he was with you. This was just one of the many Christmases you’d spend together.

“Merry Christmas, Sammy,” you mumbled after the kiss, feeling his hands squeeze at your waist and hold onto you.

“Merry Christmas, sweetie.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#greta van fleet #gvf #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #danny wagner #sammy kiszka #sammy kiszka fic #sam kiszka x reader #sam kiszka fic #sam greta van fleet #sammy <3 #sam gvf

[blinddreams24]

Compliments

With Horror

Masterlist

Prev / Next

The smell of baked goodies slowly spread across the castle. You know this because the scent is what coaxed you out of the library this time. You set your book in its proper place and headed towards the kitchen. It was faint, but you were able to pick up a few scents from the rest. Cinnamon. Sugar. Peanut butter. Various berries. And definitely batter.

You perked up. Horror must be in one of his ‘dessert’ moods. The last time he did that was around the time you’d first joined. He’d made so many pastries that the gang almost had leftovers. You were surprised how much they could eat. Even if they were skeletons and it didn’t make sense how they could eat in the first place. You also quickly learned to guard your food. Killer was a thief. And Dust too, but he was insanely good at not getting caught. The rest didn’t really steal at all with the exception of Cross and chocolate.

Anyways, you entered the kitchen and were greeted by cinnamon rolls, various cookies(excluding any chocolate), and a few cobblers that Horror was still cooking. On the counter sat a muffin tin with raw batter still inside. Looked like cupcakes were next.

“Hey, Horror. Whatcha makin’?” You leaned against the doorframe.

The skeleton in question looked up at you as he pulled out one of the cobblers. He didn’t seem shocked to see you but, then again, he never did. “Makin’ peach cobbler.” He said, gently shaking the cobbler to show you before pointing inside the oven at the other two desserts. “Blueberry cobbler. Strawberry cobbler.” He spoke slowly as he set the peach version down on a coaster.

“Smells great.” You said. “I wish I could cook like you do. Your cooking is always amazing.”

Horror looked over his shoulder at you and smiled. “You don’t have to. . . Your cooking is good, too.”

“Pffft!” You laugh. “Horror, if you didn’t stand by me, helping me cook, I’d burn the food to a crisp!”

He shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Horror.” You calmed yourself and looked Horror dead in the eye. “I’ve burnt pudding.”

His eye light went out.

. . .

“HOW?!?!”

You startled at the new voice and turned to see Cross behind you. He looked shocked, horrified, and fascinated all at once.

He lowered his volume. “How do you burn pudding???”

“That’s what I’m saying!” You laugh.

“How is that even possible?!?”

“I don’t know!!”

“How would you even…” Cross’s brows scrunched together. “What else have you burned?? Water???”

“No, I have not succeeded in burning water, yet.”

“Yet??”

Horror cleared his throat at you both. “You cook well here.”

“Thank you. I’m better at cooking if someone is there to help me. And you’ve been great at teaching me.” You smiled.

Cross looked like he was puzzling something out. “Are you telling me that this entire time, if Horror had left you alone in the kitchen, you would have burnt something??”

You mock scoffed. “It would take a few minutes! I’m not Killer.”

A grin grew across Horror’s face. “You are like Killer though.”

“Oh my stars, Horror, no!” You laughed.

“Someone call me?”

“Speak of the devil.” Cross grumbled as Killer leaned over his shoulder.

“You love me.” Killer peered past you at the food on the table. “Your cooking can be smelled from across the castle, Horror.”

“So can Y/N’s, too, apparently.” Cross mumbled.

“What??” Killer laughed, looking between you and Horror. “What does that mean?”

You rolled your eyes, smile still present on your face. “I was telling these guys about how I burn nearly everything without supervision.”

Killer shrugged. “There’s no way you burn every-”

“Pudding.”

Killer choked on air.

The room burst with laughter as Killer struggled to catch his breath.

“Pudding??” Killer sputtered, eye sockets wide. “How?!?”

You shrug. “Honestly, no idea.”

Killer’s eyes narrowed. “. . . Are you pulling my leg?”

“No, unfortunately. I was making vanilla wafer pudding, had to make the pudding myself, and somehow managed to burn it.”

Horror moved the cupcakes into the oven. “You eat it?”

“Hmm?” You looked over at him, confused.

He closed the oven and set the timer before turning to you. “Did you eat it?”

You thought back. “. . . Yeah. We did eat it. You couldn’t even taste the burnt parts despite seeing that there were little burnt flakes in it.”

“Was it good?”

You shot Cross a confused look and he just shrugged. “Yeah. It was pretty good. Why do you ask?”

A grin split Horror’s face. He pointed at you. “You’re a good cook.”

“I-” You stuttered. “Thanks. But I’m really not-”

“No.” Horror interrupted. He stepped forward and jabbed your chest with a finger. “You are a good cook. No buts.”

Rubbing your chest, you mumbled a more skeptical ‘thanks’. Cross’s eye lights flicked to you.

“You’ve been helping Horror in the kitchen, right?” Killer asked while leaning on Cross.

“Yeah. When I can. Why?” You eyed Killer suspiciously.

He shrugged. “I haven’t noticed any change in Horror’s cooking since you joined. Have you?” Killer poked at Cross.

Cross slapped him away. “No, if anything, it’s gotten better somehow.” Cross looked you in the eyes. “You’re doing great, Y/N.”

You smiled. “Thanks.” You looked at the table decorated in sweets. “Hey, Horror. Can we eat that yet or do you want us to wait?”

Horror grunted. “Soon. I’ll call when it’s ready.” He then shooed you three out of the kitchen to finish cooking.

#I honestly couldn’t think of how to end this #so enjoy the random cliffhanger #I don’t intend to make that a habit #horror sans #killer sans #cross sans #undertale #bad sanses #ps the pudding is a true story #I am terrible at cooking by myself

[down-with-the-mafia]

Ever since Mu had told Hat about the Earth celebration of Mother's Day, Hat had been in a bit of a panic. Cooking Cat would be coming by their spaceship later that day to help them make dinner, and Hat and Bow needed to act fast to make a present.

"We need to cook something!" Bow had insisted. "What better present than letting her know her cooking lessons have payed off?"

Hat wasn't worried about fire, she had plenty of experience with fire and explosives before. No, her concern was that the present had to be perfect. "Our cooking won't be as good as hers, it'll be such a disappointment!"

"We can bake cookies!" Bow snapped her fingers as she thought of the idea. "She gave us that recipe book and that had some cookie recipes. And I remember baking cookies a few times back home! It can't be that hard."

Hat bit her lip, anxious. What if they burnt them? What if they forgot an ingredient? What if they measured ingredients wrong? 'Can't be that hard', then why could so many things GO WRONG?

"Hat, it's fine! Baking is just like science! Measurements and mixtures, you've done all this before-!"

"But I haven't mastered it! Why don't we just make a friendship bracelet or something-"

"Well, okay, I can bake them myself…"

Hat shook her head so hard her hat flew off and fell to the ground. "No way! If something catches fire I don't want you to be alone here.."

"Okay! Then let's do it together!" Bow smiled.

——

Cooking Cat entered the spaceship, opening her mouth to announce her entering when a scent caught her attention. It smelled sweet like sugar.

She walked toward the kitchen curiously and peeked through the door.

The kids hadn't noticed her. Bow was sitting at the table, sipping a warm drink from a mug. Hat, much less calm, was pacing around the room.

"Are we sure they're not burning in there?" She asked, glancing at the oven, and Cooking Cat got anxious realizing they were actually baking something on their own.

"Hat, there's no way they'd burn already, it's only been a minute." Bow giggled a bit. "You're getting too worried, I bet it'll be great!"

"She's done so much for us…" Hat was pulling on her cape. "What if they taste bad? She'll be so disappointed that her lessons aren't paying off and-"

"Well they smell amazing!" Cooking Cat smiled, fully entering the room.

The two jumped. "CC!"

"I'm sure you two did a great job, but what's this for?" She asked gently, pulling them into a hug.

"It's Mother's Day…" Hat mumbled, still fidgeting with her cape.

"Yeah! And we wanted to make a gift, so we're baking cookies!" Bow exclaimed happily.

"Wow! That's so sweet!" CC gasped, hugging them tighter. "I love them."

"But… you haven't tasted them yet?" Hat said, confused.

"I love them because they're a gift from my very thoughtful daughters." She smiled. "I think it's very sweet that you made a gift. I'm sure it'll be delicious."

"Yeah!" Bow smiled, mouth open wide.

Hat's face lit up a bit, finally giving a little smile. "I hope so.."

——

CC bit into a cookie. It was soft and sweet and warm. Her daughters were looking at her, trying to read her expression. "They're perfect." CC finally said, softly.

The way their faces lit up warmed CC's heart. In truth, it didn't matter if the cookies tasted good, though. Spending time with the kids was gift enough.

#the real gift was the daughters we made along the way #uh I was gonna have them be chocolate chip cookies specifically and then I remembered cats can't eat chocolate #actually I think cookies in general might be bad for cats? uh let's assume cc has like a special recipe that's okay for her to eat #the point was a cute story anyway it doesn't need to be realistic haha #all fluff here #a hat in time #hat kid #bow kid #cooking cat #my art #my writing

[curmoritor]

@phantoania asked: "O-Owen!" Ceres gently calls out to the wizard, twiddling her hands as she holds a paper bag to her chest. It was the holiday season and the orphanage had been full of the hustle and bustle of the end of year cheer, the children running around playing or working on gifts they had made for each other. Ceres knew she wouldn't get anything this year. For why would she? Why should she? She was Death's Maiden. She wrought nothing but the decay and demise of those around her if they drew too close to her unlucky heart! And yet Ceres still sought to offer that forsaken love she held to someone, anyone. It's why she'd been diligently occupied with baking since she woke this morning, carefully preparing a dish full of love for one she hoped could bare the weight of her rotten fondness.

"I-I didn't know what to get you for a present but...I hope this can suffice." Anxiously, Ceres offered the paper bag to Owen, the bag itself slightly warm. Inside it lying a delicately put together collection of gingerbread cookies, each in different little shapes of stars and snowflakes. Carefully detailed with frosting to give them a sweet charm.

It will certainly suffice for you. Any other person may have been upset to only be gifted some sweets instead of something great... Humans are rather materialistic things. Always wanting a greater gift then the last that was given to them, yet you are easily tided over with a simple gift of sweets. You don't care who they are from so long as they are good... yet if someone gifted you bad sweets you may kill them for their behavior. Sweets are not to be messed up.

Ceres just happened to be the person who was gifting them to you- In fact, it seems she made them from how she smells. She smells as if she has been in a kitchen all day long. That faint scent of baking supplies mixed with the heat that comes from ovens and the burning that accompanies. How cute, she spent all day making something like this for you? It made you sick to your stomach and you can't help but smile! Ugh, you hate people like this and yet you can't escape her side.

She simply had something about her that drew you in, so even as your stomach tightens and your chest starts to feel painfully tight, one of your gloved hands raises up towards her face- moving towards ear as something manifests there. A pair of rather sparkly looking earrings.

❛ Then a gift for you as well~ ❜ It is simply sugar earrings. Earrings made out of the sugar that all wizards can make, yet you put a spell on them so that they would not break not wither away with time. Perfect earrings for deaths maiden. ❛ Make sure to take good care of them~ ❜

#☾*‧⁺˖⋆ — 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 ... 》 in character ❜ #☾*‧⁺˖⋆ — 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 ... 》 inbox answered ❜ #phantoania #SHKAING THEM AROUND #i like them........

[despairforme]

1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 15, 24

🍥🍥🍰🍨THE SWEETS HEADCANON MEME🍨🍰🍥🍥

1 - what’s my character’s favourite dessert? 3 - what’s my character’s favourite sweets flavour? ( ie strawberry, chocolate, lime, orange etc. ) 5 - does my character bake? how good are they? how often do they do it? 7 - what dessert does my character have for their birthday? 8 - chocolate or vanilla? why or why not? 12 - strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate milkshakes? why or why not? 15 - what was my character’s favourite dessert growing up? is it still the same now, or is it something else? ( already answered ) 24 - soft or Cronchy cookies?

     DAMN, coming straight outta the gate with such a difficult question. Nnoitra immediately thought of the about two million delicious desserts he knew about, and how he loved them all. He couldn’t remember ever having a bad time eating a dessert ( except that one time he was served choco-chip mint milkshake ). He tried to remember his absolute favorite dessert that he had ever had, but he was pretty sure his memories weren’t based on the actual flavor, but more the setting. That chocolate cake he had gotten to eat off Grimmjow’s body had been --- IT WAS UP THERE, to say the least. Cake was probably the winner, huh? Because it was sweet and there was usually at least a whole slice - sometimes a whole cake. ❝ Maybe cake. ❞ Nnoitra said, still looking like he was thinking hard. ❝ Chocolate cake, probably, or any cake ‘daz like real sweet. ‘Da sweeter ‘da better. ❞ Maybe he should just eat a bag of sugar at this point.

     The second question was just as difficult. He tended to go with chocolate when he had milkshake, but when it came to ice-cream? He preferred sorbet. Watermelon, to be exact. He was not too big a fan of lemon, lime and mint. Yeah, he could eat those things ( and he definitely would if served ), but they were never something he chose for himself. He liked chocolate, but he also loved caramel ( regular caramel, not salty ). ❝ ‘Daz a tie between caramel ‘n chocolate. Better together, yeah? ❞ He grinned.

     Upon the third question, Nnoitra had to laugh. He had absolutely ZERO skills in the kitchen. Pretty surprising, seeing as he had been on his own for so long. He had never tried to learn how to cook. He’d just get something pre-made or a heat-up meal. Cooking was for women, right? However, the past year or so, he HAD tried a little bit of cooking, and baking. From his friend, Agatha, he had gotten a home-made cook-book. It was made specifically for him. It was easy to use, written with LARGE letters that made it easier on his dyslexia. The recipes weren’t complicated, and he had actually managed a couple of them. He could now make gingerbread cookies and pancakes without TOO MUCH trouble. He was kinda proud of it, but, of course, being able to cook something was not really something a MAN should be proud of, so he wasn’t going to brag. ❝ Mah - ❞ He rolled his shoulders. ❝ I try sometimes if I’m real bored, but I’m shit at it. ❞ 

     The next question --- Not so great. Nnoitra had been pretty depressed on his last birthday ( no wonder ), and he assumed this year would be about the same. He had probably gotten spoiled, hadn’t he? Since he’d been able to celebrate his birthday with someone who was ACTUALLY happy that he was still alive. It was probably a stupid thing to care about. But yeah - it had felt good. This year, he’d be spending it alone. And nobody ( including himself ) would be happy that he had made it yet another year. He would at least treat himself to a fuckton of desserts! ❝ Cake, ‘fo ‘sho. I’mma get like... ❞ He tried to think of a number. ❝ Five cakes! I don’t give a fuck. ❞ Yeah, he was going to get five fucking cakes and eat them ALL on his own. Fuck it!

     ❝ Chocolate. ❞ Easy choice. Nnoitra liked the flavour of vanilla, but the scent? Not so much. There was something repellent about it. But with chocolate? It smelled good, tasted good, looked good... Yeah. It was simply perfect. Damn, maybe he was going to get himself a chocolate milkshake later on? Why not...

     SPEAKING OF - the next question was actually about milkshakes. Nnoitra almost laughed. ❝ Again, chocolate. Chocolate ‘n banana ‘s good too. Strawberry is good... Chocolate-caramel is good... ❞ Okay, now he was almost drooling. But yeah, out of the three? It was a win for chocolate, and strawberry came in at a strong second. Pretty much the main reason why he rarely ordered strawberry milkshake was because it was pink. Milkshake was not the most manly drink in the first place, so he could at LEAST make sure it wasn’t pink.

     He already answered the second to last question so - time for the final one. It was an easy one. ❝ Crunchy. ❞ Nnoitra loved crunchy textures. That didn’t mean he didn’t like soft though. There was just something satisfying about chomping away at something with his huge teeth. The crunchy sound and the feeling of his teeth crushing things? He loved that. 

#nvrcmplt #[ SO MANY THANK YOU ] #[ THEY WERE ALL FUN ] #[ you're so kind tala <5 ] #[ thank you for taking the time! ] #despair for me. ╱ in character. #talking shit. ╱ answers. #burn the city. ╱ main verse.

[spidernerdsblog]

Love Sweet Love

A/N : This is kind of an epilogue to it’s complicated based on this request. Hope you like this. Let me know what you think.

Summary : It's holiday season time to bake something good and sweet which leads to sexy times and heartfelt conversations.

Pairing : frat! Tom Holland x Reader (roommate au)

Warnings : 18+, SMUT, minors DNI, kitchen sex (wrap it before you tap it)

After graduating uni Tom has been handling the new york division of his father’s company while you took up a nine to five job at an IT firm— even though Tom had offered you a managerial position at his office which you had politely refused because you wanted to build your career on your own and Tom respected your decision. You even bought your own apartment and have been living together for the past two years. 

So far everything was going pretty great. The thing that mostly amazes you is how much Tom has grown as a person. He is no longer the reckless frat boy who used to bunk classes, get drunk and flirt with girls instead he is a grown man now who knew his responsibilities and carried them on efficiently but he still had the playboy persona left in him which was now only reserved for you. 

It’s the holiday season, the perfect time of the year to put your baking skills into good use. Tom has always been a fan of your cooking and you had a day off so you thought to surprise him with some freshly baked cookies and cupcakes.  

You are in the kitchen preparing the batter for your cupcakes, your apron covered in flour, when the timer goes off making a beeping noise. The cookies were done as you went to take them out from the oven and set them on the counter to cool. You then go to pour the cupcake batter into the molds before placing the tray inside the oven, setting the timer when you hear the front door open. 

Tom walks in through the door, toeing off his shoes he hangs his coat on the rack, the rich scent of vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon looming in the air leads him to you in the kitchen.

“Smells good,” he says, waltzing into the kitchen with a soft smile. 

“You’re early today” you say, chopping up some dark chocolate. 

“Yeah Christmas is around the corner and then it started to snow so gave everyone an early leave today. Just being the good boss you know” he shrugs with a grin and picks up a cinnamon chocolate chip cookie from the tray. 

“Mmm delicious as always” he moans and goes to take another piece but you swat his hand away.

“Don’t finish all of them at one go,” 

“Can’t help your hands are magic, everything you make is so delicious.” he says sweetly. You ignore him shaking your head and get busy preparing the frosting, whipping up some cream with icing sugar before adding in the melted chocolate.

“I feel at this rate I’ve to say goodbye to this properly maintained physique” he jokes pointing at his body which is very much taut and chiseled underneath his shirt just like it was back in college. 

“That’s the whole plan actually so no other girl finds you attractive except me” you snicker with a mischievous grin.

“Well then you are totally succeeding” he laughs while he takes in your appearance dressed in a sweatshirt and leggings with an apron over it. Your hair pulled up in a loose bun as your hand expertly moved, deeply focused in mixing the ingredients. Weirdly it always turns him on when he sees you working in the kitchen.

“Ya know, I love to see you working in the kitchen. So domestic.” he says, coming around the kitchen island and sliding his hands along your hips. 

“Very sexist of you.” you raise an eyebrow.

“Hey I didn’t mean it that way.” he says “I wanted to say every time I see you in these it gets me so fucking hard” he rasps tugging onto your apron.

The deep baritone of his voice sends a tingling sensation down your core. He brushes his fingers under the hem of your sweatshirt, your body immediately responding to his touch butterflies erupting inside your stomach.

“You’re an ass,” you tell him, gathering yourself quickly.

“Tell me something new baby.” he leans in to press a feather light kiss at your pulse point, a chill runs down your spine.

“Tom.” his name comes out from your lips with such breathlessness that it sounds more like a moan rather than a warning.

"What, Y/N?" he asks with a lilt to his words. 

“Stop distracting me.”

“You smell like vanilla and chocolate, my cupcake.” you can feel him smile into the crook of your neck as he playfully bites down on the sensitive skin. “So delicious” he whispers, his warm breath ghosting over your neck and you feel yourself leaning back into him further as he continues to nibble and suck your skin leaving a perfect hickey for you later.

“Tom…” you trail away. The feeling of his hands as they skate over your skin beneath your sweatshirt, rising up to cup your breasts and giving them a gentle squeeze through the lacy material of your bra.

He slips his hands out, pulling on the ties of your apron instead and turns you around. Pushing the bowls to the side he hoists you up on the island. He tugs on the hem of your sweatshirt and lifts it over your head, discarding it with the apron.

A smug smile appears on his face when he sees the red lacy bra you were wearing. “You are wearing my gift I see” he coos. “Knew this would look good on you.” Heat rises up your cheeks as you look away biting the corner of your lips. 

Yeah he did take you to lingerie shopping like he’d tell you that night. The enthusiasm he had at the shop was unmatched and the outrageous pieces he suggested to you made you flush so hard that you wished the ground swallowed you whole. At the end you had chosen what you were comfortable wearing but he had sneakily bought this one red piece too for you. And to be honest you loved it.

“You gotta agree I’ve impeccable taste,” he says but you remained silent for far too long.

“Don’t I?” He asks again, giving a firm squeeze to your ass bringing you out of your daze.

“Yes,” you say and he grins. His dark eyes peer down to your nipples, the tight buds straining against the lacy fabric of your bra. A hand comes to your right shoulder, slipping a finger under the strap he slides it off your shoulder slowly before sliding down the other strap as well. He unclasped your bra from the back and drops it on the floor.

Your eyes meet his, a mischievous glint in them that you know means he is about to do something kinky to you. You watch him reach out to the mixing bowl, dip two of his fingers in the chocolate frosting and scoop some out. He then smears it on your nipples. Bringing his mouth closer he gives a kitten lick with the tip of his tongue making you shudder. The bitter sweet taste of chocolate floods his mouth. 

"Mmm so sweet," he says, wrapping his mouth around your erect nipple, aching for his touch. Soft moans fall from your lips as he sucks and licks, swirling his tongue around it. You can feel arousal pool between your legs.

“But I know something that tastes sweeter than this,” he purrs, switching on to the other licking and sucking it clean. 

One of his hands slips under the waistband of your leggings and in between your legs. You moan as he rubs your clit over your damp panties.

“So wet already” he observes, pressing feather light kisses over your jaw. 

He hooks his fingers on the side and pulls down your leggings along with your panties. He kneels down, levelling himself to your pussy he pushes your knees apart. You close your eyes awaiting for him to finally touch you where you need him the most but are jolted out of the moment when you felt something smooth and creamy smeared down your thigh.

“Tom what the—” you look down to find a wicked grin on his face as he paints your inner thigh with more frosting.

Then he slowly licks up your thigh sending jolts of pleasure straight to your pussy. You clench around nothing feeling the emptiness and craving to be filled as Tom glided his tongue up to your center. You weave your fingers into his dark curls pulling them slightly to bring him near your aching core.

He chuckles against your thigh and drags his tongue teasingly. You groan in frustration throwing your head back but he nips at your soft skin making you look at him. 

“Now for the real dessert” he grabs you by your thighs and throws your legs over his shoulders.

You draw a harsh breath gripping on the edge of the table top as he licks a long stripe from your entrance to your clit. A hum of satisfaction rumbles through his throat, softly licking your folds before pushing the warm wet muscle in and out of you. You whimper running your hands through his hair. He slides in two fingers inside, pressing the flat of his tongue on your clit. You roll your hips against his fingers and tongue.

“That’s it, baby,” he curls his fingers against that sensitive spot inside you, continuing to draw circles with his tongue, lapping up your wetness.

Wanton moans escape your lips which are melody to Tom’s ears. His cock is raging hard in his pants aching to be buried inside of you. He can feel your body tense up, your walls clenching around his fingers. 

“Are you close, baby?” he asks, pumping his fingers with a steady pace.

“Yes,” you breathe out.

“Cum for me,” he demands. “Cum for me, love.” he pulls your clit between his lips, sucking the tight bundle of nerves. Your head tilts back, legs shaking as your orgasm crashes over you. 

“Oh god” you moan, breathing unevenly.

Tom gives one last swipe, dragging out your orgasm. He slides his fingers out from your sensitive core while kissing and nipping down your inner thighs, and stands up.

Your chest was heaving like you’d run a marathon, but the sight of his tousled brown curls and mouth smeared with your arousal didn’t help much. And then with a smirk he licks each of his wet fingers one by one, the lust in his eyes driving you wild. 

“Fucking love the way you taste,” he says. “So sweet for me.”

You grab his shirt collar with both hands and pull him closer, crashing your lips to his. A mixture of your arousal and chocolate flavored his tongue and you moaned at the taste. He wraps his arms around you, his hard cock presses against your stomach.

You pop open the buttons of his shirt in a frenzy and run your hands across his taut muscles. He gently pushes you down on the table as you lean back on your elbows, flour dust coating your back and arms.

He slides off his shirt and quickly unbuttons his jeans pushing them down his legs with his boxers. He grabs your hips pulling you closer and lines his cock to your entrance. He runs the tip through your slick folds before pushing in, filling you to the brim. He starts to move his hips slowly allowing you to adjust.

“You feel so fucking good, darling,” he groans picking up the pace. Your back slips on the counter, flour rising up at the movement, coating your skin further.

He leans forward, capturing your swollen lips as you wrap your arms around him clawing at his back. He hooks your leg around his hips changing the angle allowing him to drive deeper. Your back arched when he hit your sweet spot thrusting into you relentlessly. Your thighs clamp around him. Your walls squeezing him tight as you feel the coil tighten inside you. 

His hand reaches between your bodies, fingers rubbing fast circles on your over sensitive bud. And that is what it takes the coil to snap and you come undone around him. His thrusts become sporadic as your walls spasm around him making him reach his own high. 

“Fuck,” he groans collapsing over you panting, burying his face in the crook of your neck. He pulls out letting you sit up. You were breathing heavily, feeling slightly dizzy as you gaze into his warm honey brown eyes and a soft smile rises on both of your lips. 

“Fuck this was hot. We should do it again sometime”

“God, you’re insatiable” you snicker. 

“It’s all your fault” he growls and pulls you closer, kissing you hard.

“How come it’s my fault you’ve a housewife kink?” you chuckle.

“Well maybe I want to see you as my wife.” he mumbles against your lips. 

“What?” you pull back looking at him carefully.

“I mean if we consider the years in college we’ve been living together for almost five years now…I-I want you to take you to London to meet my parents.” he says, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Your parents? In London?” your eyes grow wide in surprise.

“Mm hmm” he nods. “I’m ready to take the next step in our relationship.” 

You had plans to get married eventually and have kids but given the commitment issues Tom had you never brought that up thinking it might scare him off. And today hearing him say he wants to marry you made your heart bloom with joy though you still feel a little uncertain.

“Tom, are you even ready for marriage or is it just in the rush of the moment?” you search his face.

“No, I’m positive about you, us. I want to have a future with you”

“Aww Tom I love you so much” you press your lips gently.

“I love you too darling” he smiles “so will you marry me Y/N Y/L/N?”

“Yes Tom” you say “but I had expected this to be a lot more romantic where you would have been on your knees with flowers and a ring not where we’re naked and covered in flour.”

“Sorry for that but if it makes you any happier I have the ring though.”

“What?!” you gasp in shock.

“I bought it a month ago if you want I can….”

“No, no, no! Don’t give it to me now. I still want my grand romantic proposal.” you say making him laugh.

“I’m serious. I will act surprised, I promise.” you pout.

“You’re too cute, my cupcake.” he chuckles, kissing the tip of your nose lovingly.

“Yeah ok now move I’ve to take a shower all thanks to you.” you grimace looking down at all the flour covering your body.

“Mind if I join?” he asks, grinning.

“Have I ever said no?” you mirror his expression.

Reblogs are appreciated ❤️

#tom holland #tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland fluff #tom holland x y/n #frat!tom #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland one shot #tom holland angst

[wornoutmouse]

Fun fact: demon slayer starts in 1912 and ends in 1927(or at least that's when the Tashio era ends). Using that math Tanjiro (as long as he kept his health good) would very well be alive today at the ripe age of like 78 if my math is correct since he started as 13 in the series. (My math probably wrong asf)

Power imbalance, power bottom reader, knife play,  blood but not blood play...

He hated you.

Your very being irked him more than anything he'd ever experienced in all his centuries of living. You were clumsy, boisterous, and played that arrogant music all throughout your home while walking around half naked. Well in Muzan's opinion you were half naked, he couldn't even begin to describe his disbelief at the trend of exposing skin. 

It didn't help that you had that insignificant filth running through your veins. At first he was unsure, after all this was a completely different country than Japan, not to mention your darker skin and coiled hair. But no, he could smell and recognise the Kamado blood running through your veins just as strongly as it had run through all your ancestors. 

Completely undiluted. 

At the very beginning when you first moved in, you  came to his home. Knocking aggressively on his front door already getting off to the wrong start. When he opened it, you slipped past him and walked into his living room barely even saying hello as you put poorly decorated sugar cookies on his obsidian coffee table. "This is a nice place you got here Mj." 

Muzan's eyes twitched, that joke had long since gotten old since he moved to America. 

Now that you were closer he could definitely smell, the century old stench of rivaling bloodlust simmered just below your onyx skin. At any moment he expected you to attack him in some way or form. "Anyways I'm here to say hello neighbor, my name is Y/n and I'm your new best friend!"

Your happy attitude also agitated him to no end. Even though the knowledge of demons had dwindled down to only a few select families, even basic humans were wary of him as their baser instincts made them aware of his dangerous origins. This fact had long since forced Muzan to only prey on the elderly to survive. You had stayed a bit longer babbling about some nonsense that Muzan never acknowledged as he watched you from a good distance.

"You know you really got to add more to your wardrobe than 1963 suits." You walked from the back of his home, an area that he didn't even notice you wandered to. Finally getting bored, you open his door bidding your farewells. 

Just before leaving you stop and with a cheeky grin say, "If you ever need anything just come on over. We Kamado's are known for our kindness." 

Since then he'd been on edge around you. The point of relocating was for him to keep a low profile but now it seems he'd have to come face to face with an old nemesis reborn. 

Muzan snapped out of his thoughts with a flinch as he pierced his hand with his nail. He watches the dark blood well up from the wound and drip down his wrist. In the end this world had long since lost its hostility dwindling the average human incapable of basic combat. Giving you were no doubt a great descendant, Muzan failed to see you as a true threat.  

But one can never be too sure

🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢🥢

You heard a knock on your door, soft and hesitant. "I don't think I'm expecting company." You checked your watch and peered out of a nearby window. It was at least 8 at night, you were braless wearing sweats with a red T-Shirt and on your way to bed.  In the back of your mind you visualize your two grand-uncles Inosuke and Zenitsu coming over to make you spectate their fights. For two old dudes they still had enough strength in them to do hip breaking nonsense.

You open the door shocked to see your next door neighbor standing before you. For once he wasn't wearing a suit that cost more than your house. His attire was still expensively dressed but in a more casual sense, that being a black dress shirt and slacks. His sleeves were rolled up displaying his pale skin. "Can I come in?" A dazzling smile you had never seen before practically blinds you as he walks past you into your home.

When Muzan walks in his eyes immediately dart to the clear as day Nichirin Blade sword displayed recklessly on your living room wall above your couch. "You like it?" A hand on his shoulder makes him jump, "Got it from my grandpa, he says it's really special but I feel like he's exaggerating. You know how old people are." Muzan shakes out of his stupor. "I don't quite understand what you mean by that, however I do know that it's much more wise to listen to your elders than ignoring…..It could save your life."

Muzan replicates you and puts a hand on your shoulder gently squeezing. This was it, he'd go in for the kill and it would be over, the amount of blood he'd pump into you would be enough to watch you meet a satisfying end of combustion completely untraceable if the police were to get involved. How he wishes he'd be there when your poor grandfather walks along your remains splattered on every surface in your living room. Unable to do a thing as he's finally in his last stretch of life. 

The beauty.

Muzan's finger only twitches in the slightest before pain sparks from his own neck. "The thought of you coming into my own home unprovoked and at night no less, was the most obvious sign one could ask more." You had his hand gripped so tight your veins popped while your other hand held a small pocket knife that burned  brighter than any Nichirin sword he'd ever encountered. He didn't understand, he was quick enough to kill even the best of the ancient Hiroshima. So how did a little foreign girl like you get the upper hand?

It was embarrassing and almost laughable if any of his pillars were alive to tell the tale.

You press the blade harder before bringing your other hand to caress Muzan's cheek,  "Did you think I'd be just an ignorant descendant of an infamous hero?" You clicked your teeth disappointingly. "How naive, you've really become lazy after all these millennia huh?" You walk forward, pushing Muzan back with seductive strength. He allows you to push him into your couch,  I say allow because at any time he could have stopped you.  

Muzan is most definitely not holding me at gunpoint right now. 

The knife never wavers even as you climb into Muzan's lap, pressing it even closer against his jugular. "You do know getting beheaded will not kill me, and I doubt this petty little kitchen knife will get the job done in the first place." Your lips draw into a smirk and you press the knife closer as you trail it down his chest, "That may be true but it's gonna take one hell of a time for you to grow back." Your hand jerks down, popping his shirt buttons open.

Muzan watches with interest, your eyes light up as more skin becomes exposed. The tones of your dark skin contrast strikingly as you caress his pectoral with the tips of your fingers. "For a 1,000 year old grandpa you look decent." Still threatening his life with your blade, you kiss him. It's deep and carnal. Your lustful desires being made known as you grind in his lap. The flesh of your ass snuggly hotdogs the forming outline of his cock. "I've always wanted to be with a demon. You've had to of become a real freak after living this long!"

When you pull away Muzan's thin lips are pink and a bit swollen. He is out of breath despite needing none, "You have a lot of nerve for a mere human." With your free hand you loosen the belt of his slacks, only standing to pull them off, pleased when Muzan voluntarily raises his hips to aid you. 

Don't get him wrong, he was still planning on killing you and ending your wretched bloodline once and for all, he just needed his mind to clear itself. Your scent, your confidence, strung him along like a puppet. His hands grip onto your ass cheeks like a lifeline. Molding them between his fingers, even giving them a shake through your sweats. His nails elongate and puncture the thick fabric as if it was nothing more than a spider web. 

Your sweats are tugged off completely leaving your lower half nude. Muzan moves his hands to hold your ass again but your blade politely makes itself known. You are out of breath and clearly flustered. "Watch yourself, demon, I'm the one calling the shots, don't forget that." Muzan bites his tongue with sharp glare. He raises his hands in surrender, "Of course." 

Muzan can feel your wetness against his leg and it's driving him insane. "Hey…" red eyes refocus on yours, "You ain't got any diseases do you? And you can't get me pregnant right?" Muzan smirks hands enclosing around your ass despite your protest. "I can, however it will cost a lot more than doing it once." The odds didn't seem in your favor but you were in no position to stand down and grab a condom and Muzan knew it.

You curve the blade towards his chin, "If you are lying and give me some ancient unknown disease or I find out you have superman sperm, I will kill you." Muzan links his lips, "Wasn't that the plan from the beginning or have you had a moment of level headedness?" Your wrist is quick and precise, cutting a thin slash along his jawline., not enough to scar and it barely even bled, but the threat was clear.

You grab Muzan's dick and use your thumb to attack the underside with fast strokes. Said man doesn't react outwardly, the only sign being his eyelids lowering by a fraction. "Were you always this well endowed or did you adjust this part too?" Muzan was not amused by your insinuation. Deciding to once again display the true power imbalance this situation had, he loops his arms underneath your large thighs and lifts you just enough to thrust his cock against your hole. 

From there he let's go, making you plop down on his length, making you yelp and allowing him to lean back with a relaxed sigh. You were so warm and tight. Now even though I explained what had happened with great detail,  keep in mind that in reality it all happened within a fraction of a second. 

Your large and in charge persona was cracking.  You gripped Muzan's sides tightly as your pussy spasmed around his girth. "F-Fuck it's too….." you trail off not wanting to give Muzan the credit he was truly due. 

It takes a few moments for you to get your bearings all the while Muzan and his dangerous jaw swayed in the crevice of your neck. A viper playing with its prey. The blade is back against his neck once again making his cock twitch. If he were human this would be a dangerous feat.  Your grip never slacked nor lessened against his neck, slicing into a growing wound that dropped dark blood down his chest and to his abdomen. 

His dick stretched your pussy and made it weap on each downstroke. Muzan's hands grip onto the cheeks of your ass with gritted teeth.  Your insides gripped him ever so slightly.  Sucking him back in as if he belonged there.  He felt used and it felt good.  His black ringlets stuck to his face from sweat and his red eyes grew in intensity. 

He couldn't see much of your body, hell he could barely even touch. In the back of his mind humorous thoughts such as how he knew Tanjiro would lose his sanity if he knew his granddaughter was being bedded by the man he despised. But the more you bounced, the more you squeezed, the deeper you cut into his neck proved that you were truly the one in charge. 

"Oh God you're so deep!" Your deep almond eyes shut themselves with pleasure. Muzan could feel your legs shaking with exertion at the same rhythm your pussy twitched. His balls felt tight after having no action in over a dozen years. "F-Faster." He has no care for your blade, only wanting to cum and feel the sweet ecstasy he knew your creamed pussy would provide. "Come on human, go faster." Muzan locks lips with you, gaze hardened and intent on proving some sort of point.

Tossing the knife you wrap your arms around his neck pulling his head closer. Red eyes target brown ones as his hands take a stronger grip on your ass. He uses his strength to bounce you. The sound of his balls slapping against the curve of your ass is just as disgusting as it is sexy. Your nipples rub against his through your tank-top making you both moan. The feeling blood stains your shirt making you shiver from the cool wetness

The couch you rest on bangs against the wall behind you the faster you both go. Muzan's feet are planted firmly in the ground, his fangs further elongated. He looks feral and it is in this moment where you get a glimpse of the horror many people felt when he took their lives. "Focus little Kamado, you wouldn't want to disappoint me now would you?" 

Muzan's hips meet yours, spreading the tempo. Your juices coat his lap before finally you tense up completely into a cramp inducing stance as Muzan impaled you on his cock one last time. "Ahh.." Muzan empties himself within you with a relieved sigh. 

Maybe the Kamado bloodline could go on.

#blackreader #black y/n #demon slayer smut #muzan x reader #anime smut #muzan smut #muzan x black reader #demon slayer x black reader

[superhero--imagines]

Part 12

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here!

* You stare at the blank ceiling, the smooth unblemished surface like freshly fallen snow

* you should really put some nudie posters up there or something to lighten the mood a little. 

* Light notes from the piano float around your room

* You sigh, so these are the facts as you know them:

* Edward is your best friend who has occasional bouts of brooding and flirtatious behavior.

* Bella is not albino, she has a lovely peach undertone, and a lovely grilled peach scent

* The entire coven has treated your attraction to this young lady’s blood like you got caught masturbating or wetting the bed or something

* “You don’t need to be embarrassed it’s a perfectly natural feeling.” Esme tells you while rubbing your shoulders

* “We’ve all been there” Rosalie reassures

* “Totally not a big deal, it happens to me everyday!” Jasper chimes in

* You wish sunlight hurt you so you could combust into flames on the spot

* The piano notes get louder, and you feel your mouth pinch into a frown.

* “Oh my god Edward! Read the room, I want brooding music!”

* Edward stops, up until then he had been playing a pretty cheerful Mozart piece

* You can tell he wants to ask why, you’ve been radiating joy non-stop since biology. But he decides against it

* “You really shouldn’t eat lying down.” He says as you sip blood while lying flat on your bed.

* “Okay dad.” You snort

* Edward starts to imagine what it would be like if you called him ‘daddy’

* All needy on top of him, your hands curled in fists against his chest, the breathy “daddy please” that leaves your mouth

* All of a sudden he’s ugly turned on

* “Ugh you’re no fun, I’m going to hang out with Rosalie”

* You leave the room and Edward has a total meltdown, is this what a kink is? Is he discovering a kink?!? At 100 years of age?!?!?!?

* Edward.exe is broken

* You don’t even make it to Rosalie’s room, you can smell them a mile away

* Broccoli, sugar and fat, and axe body spray. No peaches you realize with a sigh.

* They’ve only just barely rung the door bell when you open the door

* “Hey what are you guys doing here?”

* Jessica’s standing in front, looking pretty at ease, while Mike and Angela look equally uncomfortable.

* Makes sense, Jessica’s here all the time now either for homework or to watch TV.

* Mike and Angela haven’t been back since your sweet sixteen

* “How did you get down here so fast?”

* “I saw your car from upstairs” you say with a sheepish smile.

* You wish Alice would have given you a heads up, you weren’t planning on pretending to be human right now. Still you probably look raggedy enough right now in sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt

* You can probably pull this sick thing off

* “We just wanted to check up on you, I heard from Mike and Angela you got sick during class.” And then in a more annoyed tone Jessica adds “And I guess you’re too sick to respond to all my texts and calls”

* Oh crap, where is your phone.

* You pat your pockets, and think when you saw it last

* “I left it in my locker” you smack your head. You told Edward to go grab your bag from class but you forgot your phone.

* “Hey don’t worry about it, I can get it for you tomorrow if you want.” Jessica rushes to your side and pats your arm. You shake your head

* “No I can get it myself, I’m fine I just ate something bad.” You mumble.

* You’re not missing school tomorrow. You would literally risk murder to smell Bella again.

* It’s not insatiable thirst like described in the books, more like a craving, like someone might have for nachos.

* It itches at you for a while, but if you just distract yourself long enough you can move on

* “Would you like to come in? I think Esme just baked cookies or scones or something.”

* Esme likes to bake for the smell and donate the food to the local shelter. That, or take it for her employees at her architectural firm in town.

* Firm is a loose word, she has maybe four employees, and they get one job a month, but it seems to make her happy.

* Angela and Mike give each other looks but Jessica perks up

* “Is she making those delicious earl grey scones again?” You sniff the air

* “I think she made some of that orange zest butter too”

* “Omg I am so happy you left your phone at school” Jessica giggles walking inside past you, you hear her greet Esme with a squeal

* “They really are good.” You tell them and your remaining human friends enter the house carefully

* “Soooo where is everyone?” Mike asks taking a look around your living room.

* “Ummm Rosalie’s in the garage, Alice is probably meditating on the roof, Emmett’s at swim practice, and Jasper’s probably at the barn.”

* “What about Edward?” Angela asks before Mike can ask about the barn

* Last you saw him he was playing the piano in your room, but it’s been a while since then

* “He’s probably in his room monologuing about the degradation of the American dream or something.”

* You lead them into the kitchen where Esme and Jessica are already deep in conversation about the wonder of her baking

* “-side is so light and fluffy, how do you get the tea flavor though”

* “Witchcraft.” Esme jokes, giving a full smile before putting another tray in the oven. Only Jessica laughs, the other two are too nervous to even sit down

* “Why don’t I teach you how when you come over next week.”

* Yeah you’re pretty sure Jessica is really only a fan of the “eating” and not of the “baking”

* You’re half surprised when she seems happy at the invitation. 

* “Oh that sounds great, I can’t wait for it!” Jessica’s practically beaming

* Where’s Edward when you need him? You wonder what her motivations are. 

* Jasper is not going to like this. He’s already irritated enough that he’s kicked out of his own house every Friday when Jessica comes over to watch arrested development

* Before you can say anything to Esme the conversation moves forward

* “Did you guys hear about that security guard that died in Mason county?”

* She’s just making small talk, you know that. But you and Esme instantly tense at the mention

* Carlisle had mentioned he thought there was a nomad wandering through, they were still far enough not to cause the coven immediate trouble, but anything that brought more attention to them was a disadvantage

* “My Dad says he heard from Chief Swan it was probably a wild animal attack” Mike mumbles over a bite of scone, you figured he would be the easiest to win over with food

* You hide a smile behind your hand, he really is like a golden retriever

* “What kind of a wild animal climbs stairs into a building” Jessica mumbles over another bite of scone. And maybe to fit in, or maybe because she’s always been a nervous eater, Angela takes a bite too.

* “Oh wow, these are really good” she murmurs

* Esme Cullen ladies and gentleman, winning the hearts of teenagers with baked goods since 19XX

* “Well you kids stay safe, stay together if you can.” She pats your head and you nod.

* You don’t know the details of the attack, you get the feeling Carlisle still see’s you as a kid and he doesn’t want to burden you.

* But assuming the small changes that have happened have nothing to do with the large changes, that means Laurent, James and Victoria will be passing through soon.

* Maybe it’s for the best Bella doesn’t get involved with Edward until later.

* You’d really like to not get all mixed up in the whole “James Thing” if you can help it.

* “Are you staying for dinner? I’m thinking of whipping up some pasta, maybe a chicken?” Esme looks to you, yeah you have no idea how she’s going to manage that. Besides the baking basics there’s no actually food in this kitchen. And the one upstairs is just for your blood bags.

* “(Y/N), do you think...Carlisle would mind if we used one of... his chickens?”

* His chickens? The only chickens in the house-

* “No Esme! My chickens are only for love and chicken snuggles” and their blood which tastes very leans yet rich. “Not to eat!”

* “It would just be one-we’ll eat your least favorite!”

* You’re really hoping this is her way of chasing the humans out because she doesn’t want to cook.

* “No- oh my god- we’re going to the diner come on!” You say tugging Jessica and Angela to stand.

* “It was great seeing you again Mrs. Cullen, see you next week!” Jessica shouts as the three of them follow you out.

* “Going out? Is that such a good idea it’s late and a school night.” Edward says as he descends down the stairs

* “Oh my god, yes Dad I’ll be home before my curfew.” You say before leaving, cue Edward crumbling onto the stairs as he imagines you calling him “daddy” again

* “I’m going to hell, I’m definitely going to hell.” He mumbles, his face in his hand.

* It’s a really short drive to the diner, also known as the only place to eat in Forks in the mid 2000’s. 

*There’s not even a McDonald’s. It’s almost sad

* And when you get there, while everyone moves ahead to the table you see a familiar face.

* “Oh, Hey Bella”

* Your eyes met and you figured it would be rude not to say anything. It looks like she’s here having dinner with her Dad. 

*She really does look like her dad, same eyes, same cheekbones.

* “Nice to see you again Chief Swan”

* “Nice to see you too, how’s Carlisle doing? Heard it’s been busy at the hospital.”

* “Yeah, it’s like he doesn’t sleep anymore.” You grin at your own joke.

* “Are you feeling alright now?” Bella asks, she looks genuinely concerned

* “Yeah, I um, made some questionable food choices at lunch.”

* There’s an awkward moment of silence. You get the impression that Chief Swan and his daughter are both the “strong silent” types.

* It looks like they’ve both finished eating already

* If you had known she was going to be here you would have made Edward come with you. 

* “Oh hey, do you want to join us for dinner?” It just seems like the friendly thing to do for the new girl, something on-brand with human character

* Definitely not because if you get on her good side now, maybe she won’t kick you out once her and Edward get married. 

*Father and daughter exchange a glance and the familiar connection they have makes you nervous. 

*“Of course you don’t have to, I know you’re here with your dad so-“

* “I’m sure Bella would love to join-“ Charlie says at the same time Bella says:

* “Wouldn’t it be kind of weird since I already ate.”

* Ah, so they’re not as in sync as you thought. 

* You give your best “Golden Girl - You can totally trust me with your daughter” smile.

* “I’m actually not eating either,” you place a hand over your stomach like a human might. “The uh, Clam Linguine is still haunting me, so I’m sticking to broth and sprite.”

* Why did you say Clam? You don’t even eat meat, it’s how you’ve been getting away with eating so little at lunch. 

* “not a lot of vegetarian choices” You say to your human friends who nod solemnly. 

* Father and Daughter exchange another look likening telepathic communication and they both move to stand

* “I’m going to finish up some paperwork at the precinct, don’t stay out to late.” Charlie says, leaning down to kiss his daughter on the forehead

* You watch with warm eyes and a small smile twitching onto your lips

* Bella is so loved.

* You can’t believe she’s willing to break her dad’s heart just so she can be 19 forever.

* Which, as you are 19 forever, you can fairly say is overrated

* “Hey guys Bella’s joining us.”

* Your female friends offer her a polite smile, you see Angela gaze flick from the menu to Bella’s face. Silently calculating the worth of this opportunity

* Any intel on this new girl would be pretty valuable

* Same old Angela

* Mike sits up straight so fast that he actually knocks his silverware off the table.

* “H-hey Bella, Hi, w-what, what are you doing here?”

* “Eating.” Bella says it so bluntly that you can’t help but laugh.

* Mike flushes bright red and Jessica and Angela exchange a look before giggling.

* “I thought it would be cool if she came over since I didn’t get to talk to her much.” You take a seat next to Jessica and Bella follows by taking the last seat between you and Mike.

* You still catch whiffs of her scent her and there, especially when she’s sitting so close to you.

* But it’s not so bad, the peachy smell is making you a little lightheaded, but you can handle it.

* At least you’re not fantascizing about killing her and everyone in this room like a certain dork you know.

* “Do you guys want to do that promotion where we get the basket of fries for the table?” Jessica asks

* “I don’t like sharing fries with Mike he eats them all.” Angela mumbles

* Yeah you remember last time when after a football game the three of them actually sat down and divided the plate in three equal portions

* They even measured out each fry dividing up the extra long ones 

* “Says the person who basically eats ketchup with a spoon.” Mike retorts and Angela scoffs

* “It’s America’s best condiment for a reason Mike.” Angela snaps back

* “I think we’re getting off track, I say Mike buys us all french fries to make up for all the times he hogged the joint basket” Jessica’s teasing but Mike takes it seriously

* “What so I’m a French fry monster now?”

* “Yes” Both Angela and Jessica respond in unison without looking up from their menu cards

* “What do you think Bella?” You’re surprised that Jessica’s the one asking. You get the feeling she’s not very happy about Mike’s crush on Bella.

* “I think Mike should buy everyone their own basket since he has such a bad history with sharing.”

* “You traitor!” Mike mocks hurt and you all laugh.

* You look at Bella through the corner of your eye, maybe it’s just the lighting but she looks pinker when she’s laughing.

* She looks happy as she starts contributing to the conversation.

* “I will say the pie here is really good, I wouldn’t share even if someone paid me to.”

* “Omg yes, the cheery icebox pie is out of this world” Jessica responds

* “I’m partial to chess pie” Mike pipes in and Angela laughs

* “You guys are crazy, the fruit custard they make is the best”

* You grin as your four new friends argue about the superior dessert, watching Bella laugh beside you.

* Welcome to team human Bella

Tags:  @moonlights27 @thebluetint @the100thtwilight @awesomebooklover17 @oneofthepotterheads @smileygirl08 @imdoingathingmom @iconicgguk @yrawn @alyciaswhore @little-horror-show @wicked-watering-can @lazydreamers @xxxmuxxx @puritanicalhypocrite

#twilight #twilight saga #twilight imagine #twilight headcanon #twilight reader insert #edward cullen imagine #edward cullen x reader #edward cullen #edward and bella #bella swan x reader #Bella x reader #bella swan #Jessica Stanley x reader #mike newton #angela weber #midnight sun #superhero--imagines

[nanamikeento]

‘tis the damn season - part ii

gif by @pcdrospascals​​

Pairing: Frankie Morales x female!reader

Summary: A year after getting back together with Frankie, you get a lovely surprise.

a/n: requested by anon!! i hope you like it!!!

warnings: pregnancy related topics and food mentions

word count: 1.6k

masterlist | part i

...

Frankie opens the door to his house and the smell of dinner immediately reaches his nose. He smiles as his daughter runs to his encounter, a Wonder Woman tiara hanging from her head.

“Daddy, come!” She takes his hand and starts pulling him towards the kitchen, “Mommy, he's here! Dad's home!”

You're finishing setting the table when Isabella barges her way to the kitchen, pulling Frankie by the hand.

“Can we have the cookies now?” She asks, lacing her fingers together to beg you.

“How about after dinner?” You suggest, as you walk to Frankie and give him a kiss on the lips. He frowns confused at you as Isabella whines and slumps her shoulders.

“But you said when daddy came home…”

“I know, honey, but if you eat them now, you're going to ruin your appetite,” you tell her as you kneel to be on her height, “Remember what I told you what we need nutrients for?”

“To grow big and strong!” She exclaims, trying to flex her muscles, “Like Wonder Woman!”

“Exactly!” You exclaim back and look at Frankie whose adoring eyes are watching you. But as soon as his eyes leave yours, he looks back at his surroundings, eyeing the kitchen with a frown on his face. The counter is filled with batches of your famous sugar cookies, some already decorated, some fresh out of the oven. Some are even missing from the trays.

“Christmas cookies?” He asks you, “In January?

You just sigh, snaking your arms through his shoulders and wrapping them around his neck, “I may have gone overboard, but I wanted to make tonight special.”

“Why?” He smiles at you as you press your body against his.

Shrugging, you let go of him, being as cryptic as you can, “You’ll see.”

The three of you sit down for dinner, Isabella tells about her day in school with excitement and Frankie indulges in the conversation, encouraging her to keep talking as they eat.

“Do you want to try the tomato today?” You ask her, stabbing a slice of tomato with your fork and showing it to her. The little girl pouts and shakes her head.

“I don’t like tomato,” she says matter of factly.

“I know, but… Just one slice?” You insist, “Look, daddy’s eating too!”

Isabella looks at Frankie who’s watching the scene unfold as he nods, showing her the tomatoes on his plate. She seems to think for a moment and then caves in, allowing you to slip a slice of tomato on her plate.

Before you came back to his life, Frankie couldn’t manage his time right. Isabella would stay with a babysitter after school and even then she wouldn’t eat a proper dinner, contenting herself with frozen food every night. When you moved in with them, you started cooking healthy meals and teaching her how to eat healthier. Frankie’s heart warms at the thought, both him and Bella were lost before you. You’re such a great mom to her, it makes him love you even more.

After dinner, Frankie helps you clear the table, putting the dirty plates in the sink and moving to wash them. Your hands come to hold his as soon as he turns the faucet on, making him look at you, confused.

“We have a surprise for you,” you say with a soft voice, turning the faucet off and gently pulling him back to the dinner table. On top of it, there's a package, wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper.

“Is it my birthday?” He jokes, sitting back down on his seat.

“Well, consider this a late Christmas gift.” You sit beside him as Isabella runs to sit on your lap, sugar cookies already in hands, “Read the card first.”

Frankie chuckles as he takes the card from the top of the box and opens it to read it.

'Tis not the damn season anymore, but Santa has one more present for you.

He smiles, biting his lower lip as he tears the wrapping paper and opens the box without ceremony. Inside, he sees some of your cookies on top of the paper strips that fill the empty space on the box and under all that, there's something wrapped in tissue paper. Frankie takes the plastic stick and unwraps it.

Then, the smile drops from his face. He looks at you with wide eyes and finds you smiling expectantly at him.

“Does this mean–” He chokes out, feeling tears watering his eyes, “You're–” He shows you the pregnancy test with two blue lines on it.

“Yes,” you tell him before he can't finish, “Yes, Frankie, I'm pregnant.”

Frankie lets out a sob, letting the tears roll down his cheeks as he covers his face with his hands. You grab his shoulder with a hand, rubbing your thumb on the fabric of his shirt.

“Daddy?” Isabella's worried voice reaches both of your ears, “What's wrong?”

“Nothing–” He tries to speak, “I’m just–”

“Daddy is just too happy,” you explain, looking at her, “he can't contain himself.”

“Why?”

“Because, peanut,” Frankie chimes in leaning to press his lips on her forehead, “you're going to be a big sister!”

Isabella gasps, her little eyes widening, “What?! Really?!”

You laugh as Frankie gives you a kiss on the lips; you taste the salty tears on his lips, and he stands you evolve his girls in a tight hug.

“Really, honey,” he says, after letting you both go, and taking Bella in his arms, “aren’t you excited?”

“Yes, I am!” She nearly screams, making you both laugh.

Bed time seemed impossible tonight. The excitement and the sugar in Isabella’s system make her stay awake past her usual bedtime and, even when sleep finally hits her, she tries to fight it, playing with her toys until almost midnight. Thankfully, tomorrow is a Saturday and you hope she’ll sleep in for once.

With a sigh, you lay on the bed, beside Frankie after a long night of celebrating. You both stare at the ceiling in silence for a moment, smiles on your faces, hearts beating strongly. When you took the pregnancy test and found out it was positive, you were scared for a moment. You and Frankie have been engaged for three months only and you were afraid he’d freak out with the news. But his reaction made everything better.

And it’s not like it’s too soon to have a baby. You and Frankie might have been separated for ten years, but, deep down, you’ve always known you were meant to be together. You were meant to have a family.

“How do you feel?” He asks, taking your hand in his.

“Excited.” You smile, rolling your head to face him, “How do you feel? Knowing you’ll be a dad of two now?”

“Scared.” He admits with a laugh. You squeeze his hand, lacing your fingers together and bringing it to your lips.

“You’re gonna do great, Frankie. You raised Isabella on your own and she turned out great.” You assure him.

“Yeah, but it’s different now.” His voice is soft, “You’re here now.”

Your heart clutches as you remember what you’ve heard about Isabella’s mom. While you’ve never deeply talked about it with Frankie, you know he’s sensitive about the subject. So you try to change the subject.

“Do you think I’ll be a good mom?” you say quietly, in the dark.

Frankie rolls over to face you, “You’re already a good mom.” He reminds you, “You’re a great mom, what are you talking about?”

When you moved into Morales’ house, Isabella ended up becoming your daughter and you were surprisingly okay with it. You've loved that girl pretty much ever since you met her, she's caring and funny just like her dad. How could you not love a piece of Frankie?

“She told me she loved me today.” Your voice is even quieter than before as you roll to your side to look at him. His eyes widen and his smile grows wider, “When I found out I was pregnant, I started crying and she came to my rescue.” You smile at the memory, “She said, ‘Mommy, don't cry, I love you.’”

Frankie laughs softly and hooks an arm behind your lower back, pulling you against his chest. His lips touch your forehead as you bury your face on his neck, inhaling his scent deeply. You'll never get sick of it, of him. You couldn't be more grateful that you decided to stay.

“I'll never leave you, Francisco,” you tell him, all of a sudden. Your voice is muffled by the skin of his neck, but he feels the vibration of it on him. His heart leaps, beating fast with affection and adoration, “I'll never leave you or Bella or the baby, okay?”

Oh.

He wasn't thinking about it, he really wasn't. The way Isabella's mother abandoned her, leaving Frankie with a fresh new baby to care all by himself was awful. He felt lost, betrayed, heartbroken. But he healed. He raised Bella to be a wonderful kid and he did his best to make sure she knew she was loved. And then you came into his life again and everything became even better. He knows you, he knows you're not going to leave him again. That's how much he trusts you.

“Okay,” he eventually answers, pressing a kiss on your hair and rubbing your back gently, “I love you so much, mi vida.”

“I love you too, mi alma.”

Eventually, both of your breathings even out as you fall asleep in each other's arms, like it was always meant to be.

...

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#frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales x reader #catfish morales x reader #frankie morales #frankie catfish morales #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #triple frontier #myfic

[fuwafuwamedb]

Baking Cookies (Kid Gil, Archer Gil, Hakuno, Emiya)

It was late.

Later than one would want, but that wasn’t going to stop him. His feet pattered across the floors of the hallways, his hands pressing against the walls as he would reach one corner after another. His bright gaze took in new path after new path.

Today was a good day for this morning’s task.

For too long, he’d held off, opting to wait and think of a time and a day where the forces and the elements would be just right. It had not been until yesterday.

Gil opened the doors to the kitchen, taking a full moment to look around at the room. Its stainless steel gleamed proudly on the counters and around the room on furnishings. There was a collection of ingredients both showing from corners of the counters and from a couple open cabinets. The room’s usual occupants were gone, leaving him the space for the plans to come into action.

The flour was pulled and poured wildly into a large bowl. Then came the salt and the baking soda.

Just a smidge of each, he’d been warned.

He went to the drawers, pulling cups for measuring. He needed the two sugars: both brown and granulated. They were poured and dumped into another bowl and, from there, the young king opened the fridge and pulled a couple rectangles of butter.

Cream it, he’d been told. The rectangles smushed and squelched in the bowl poorly, leaving his nose wrinkling and his brow furrowing. He added the egg for good measure, but it still didn’t ease the process of creaming the sugar and butter mixture.

He looked at the ingredients, tapping the counter before a light went off in his head.

Extra sweetness.

Vanilla.

The white haired faker used it often in his cooking. Glancing around, he began with the upper cabinets, pouring through the various labels until he could find the one he was looking for.

The little bottle just needed to be poured slightly into the bowl.

A few drops would be enough. The stuff was the essence of sweetness. Much like the recipient of this work was, this bottle’s contents was lethally sweet in high doses.

He stirred again, pouring the first bowl of flour in with the creamed mixture.

Ah, but they needed one last thing.

“This will set them apart from anything else,” Gil murmured, his fingers snapping to open the gates. His older selves would probably never notice. It wasn’t like they couldn’t get more of the fine quality chocolate that he let land on the counter.

A little slice and dice- then straight into the bowl.

And now to bake.

The oven was set, the mixed ingredients clumped onto pans properly.

He’d done it.

Despite how much Enkidu had teased him about being able to cook and despite the white haired faker saying that kings were probably too selfish to cook; he’d made a whole batch of cookies. Delicious smelling cookies at that, he thought, staring at the array of them as they soon began to fill the counters as they cooled off from the oven.

Great cooks deserved a break.

Besides that, it would probably be best to take a moment to go use the restroom.

He moved carefully, slipping out and down the hall. A small whistle now left his lips, smile prouder than ever as he pushed the bathroom door open.

It wasn’t until he returned when he felt the world come to a pause.

“You really made these?” Hakuno stared at the king nearby, munch on one of the cookies. Her body was perched on one of the remaining empty spaces on the counter.

“You may feel free to praise me properly, mongrel. Or do you intend to doubt me further?”

“They’re the best cookies I’ve ever had-“

“HEY!” The shout fell from his lips, his limbs trembling as he stared at the two. “I MADE THOSE!”

The archer nearby raised a brow, glancing to him. “Did you not hear her, child? She said I made them. Are you not a version of me?”

“That doesn’t matter!” Gil huffed, his foot stomping against the ground. “Hakuno!”

“They’re good,” she told him, mouth full of cookie.

“They’re for you. Don’t share with him!”

“Oh?” Gilgamesh Archer’s expression great only that much more smug, his hands moving towards the counter. “You think I want one of your meager sweets?”

“Don’t touch them!”

The man lifted one of the cookies, wiggling it in his hands before bringing it closer to his mouth.

“NO!”

It was moving so slowly towards his lips. The world was crawling through time, his body barely able to move before the whole scene began to unfold. And then he was left to stand with his eyes wide. The woman on the counter’s body was now moved, her mouth wrapped around part of Gilgamesh Archer’s hand and the cookie itself.

Her eyes looked up at Archer’s, the cookie practically crumbling in her mouth and in Gilgamesh’s hand.

“…Truly, mongrel?”

The woman hummed, eyes closing.

“It is not worthwhile for me to eat something that has already been partially eaten by someone else. I am not one for sloppy seconds.” The man pushed the cookie into her mouth, shaking his head. “You should get your own cookies, Hakuno. Your bad behavior will be remembered during training.”

“You make great cookies,” Hakuno repeated again, making the man roll his eyes.

“You’ve taken all the joys of harassing the boy meaningless. I will be in our chambers.”

Gil grunted as the man brushed passed, his arm swatting only to miss.

“Until next time, little pest.”

He hated him.

So very deeply to the very marrow of his bones, Gil hated that archer pest. He had no respect, no understanding. He took and he took; it was a wonder that Hakuno put up with him at all!

Speaking of the woman though-

Gil glanced to the woman still in the room, now picking up a couple more cookies.

“Do you mind? I’ve never had cookies this good before.”

“I made them for you,” Gil murmured.

Those honey-colored eyes widened, her smile broadening. “Really?”

“We’re friends, remember? That is what you told me. As my friend, you should be treated to finer things. You didn’t like the fabrics and the jewels, so I thought maybe food would be better.”

Hakuno’s face was simply radiant. Her eyes were soft, cheeks dusted a light pink. Her smile gave way to that all too nice pitter patter in his chest. She stood a little taller even, walking over to his side with his gifts for her in hand.

“I’m glad you like them,” he told her.

“I love them, Gil. Thank you.” Hakuno pressed her lips to his cheek. “I’m going to go check on Archer, but I’ll come back really soon for more cookies. They’re the best I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll box them up.” He had a great chest for them in his gates. He could wrap them in a nice fabric and place them in the box for her to indulge in as she saw fit.

“That would be great.”

Her soft perfume that was her natural scent lingered around him as she left. He watched the door, humming a little at her response.

She was all about sweets.

One way or another, he’d bake enough with his own two hands to steal her from Archer Gilgamesh. It was only a matter of time.

“It would seem someone made a mess of the kitchens.”

Gil froze, his eyes going to the white haired faker nearby.

“I do hope you have plans to clean these dishes and counters you’ve ruined. Otherwise, I will be showing our master your handiwork.”

#drabble #drabbles #remember to clean when you finish

[thenocturnalmushroom]

A Cozy Night - Touyuki - CCS

Tags: Fluff; Domestic; Domestic Fluff; Self-Indulgent; Established Relationship

Read on AO3

It was almost eleven at night and Yukito still having no desire to go to sleep. He was comfortably sitting under his kotatsu, accompanied by a good show on his laptop, a tin of cookies and some delicious hot tea – a perfect combo to a winter night. His plan was to finish watching the said show that same night, even if he had to stay up until dawn; it was a Friday night and he had no class nor job the next morning so he had no worries regarded his bedtime. Besides, the show was worth the loss of some sleep hours.

The silver-haired boy was completely immersed into the story, anxiously nibbling at a sugar cookie and barely noticing how his body was slowly leaning toward the laptop while his almost unblinking eyes refused to go away from the screen. The first real confront of the main character and the true villain was finally happening, and it was intense. Yukito had been waiting for it for the last seven episodes and he didn’t want to miss even the smallest detail; he was sure that everything about that scene would be important later in the story. His focus was completely stolen by the show and everything else was forgotten for some long, long minutes.

And that was why the boy nearly jumped out of his skin when the bell of his house rang, letting the half-eaten cookie slip from between his fingers.

It took him only a second to recover from the startle. He quickly paused the video and retrieved the cookie from the table, throwing it into his mouth, before heading to the front door, still chewing on the sweet. Being a little past eleven now, Yukito could only think about one single person who would come to visit him this late at night - and it made his heart singing inside his chest.

He hurried to open the door, and there was no surprise when he found Touya waiting outside, his hands shoved into the pockets of his heavy coat and a soft smile touching his lips.

“Hey!”, his boyfriend greeted him so casually, as if he wasn’t clearly freezing in that cold night.

“Touya!”, Yukito exclaimed his name for both the pleasure of saying it and as slight scold. He gave a step aside. “Hurry inside or you’ll end up getting sick!”

Touya wasted no time and complied. While Yukito closed and locked the door again, Touya carefully landed his backpack on the floor right before taking off his shoes, placing them besides his boyfriend’s ones.

“What are you doing here?”, the silver-haired boy asked while helping the other to take out his coat, which was slightly wet from the light snow that was falling outside. “I thought your shift at the restaurant would only end around midnight.”

“Things were too slow today, so my boss decided to close earlier.”, Touya casually passed his hands through his damped hair, shaking it softly. He had strongly regraded not having brought with him an umbrella or at least a bonnet.

Yukito quickly run to the cupboard to fetch a towel for him.

“If you have some spare time, you should have gone home and rested. You’ve been working harder than the usual this week.”, he said, handing the towel to Touya. It wasn't like he wasn't happy to see the other boy. Not at all. The week had been so busy that they had barely had time to meet outside the few classes they share together. However, Yukito couldn’t help but worry about Touya and his health; he would gladly sacrifice some of their time together if that meant that Touya was getting a proper time to rest, recovering all the energy he had spent between classes and all his numerous part-time jobs. He knew his boyfriend was strong, but he was still human.

“I think I can rest here pretty well, can’t I?”, Touya put the towel round his neck and gave a step forward to close even more the already short distance between them. Gently, he touched Yukito’s face, a cold hand on a warm skin, giving to both of them a pleasant shiver. Looking unbothered by the coolness of his boyfriend’s hand, Yukito covered it with his own hand, rubbing his cheek against Touya’s palm as if to lend it some warmth in a tender, affectionate gesture. As tender and affectionate as the smile they both wore on his lips. “Besides, I am home.”

Yukito’s eyes widened for a moment, his face feeling suddenly hot; he wasn’t waiting for a response like that. He felt a bubbling sensation being born inside his stomach and rise through his throat, taking the shape of a soft, cheerful giggle. “Tou-ya, you’re such a sappy!”

“Who are you calling sappy?”, Touya frowned, using the hand he was resting on the other boy’s face to pinch his cheek lightly. He looked annoyed, but Yukito knew it was only a facade; he could see all the softness around his boyfriend’s dark eyes, at the tips of his thin lips, almost imperceptibly turned upwards. And it only made him laugh even more.

Seeing Yukito like this made Touya’s frown melted into the fondest of the smiles. The urge of kissing the silver-haired boy he always feels whenever he sees his face – or thinks about him – only intensified at the that moment and Touya decided to just go for it. He leaned forward, now with both of his hand gingerly cupping Yukito’s face, bringing him closer and closer and closer, so ready to taste his lips once again, always so soft and sweet.

But the kiss never came.

“No! No! No! Rest first, kisses second!”, Yukito declared and ,with an unexpected quick movement, he turned his boyfriend around before putting his hand on his back to gently lead him to the living room.

“Yuki, what the…”

“You go rest and I’ll make some sandwiches and pour some tea for us. You can kiss me as much as you want later.”

“Fine.”, Touya agreed in defeat. It wasn’t exactly what he had planned, but it sounded good enough for him.

--

Touya took a place at the kotatsu, finishing drying his hair while listening Yukito in the kitchen preparing their snacks. He thought about offering some help to his boyfriend, but he quickly dismissed the idea; Yukito had insisted so much to him to take a rest that the boy would, for sure, kicked him out of the kitchen in no time. Without much to do, he stared at the laptop over the table, finding a paused image of what looked like an intense fight scene on its screen, and started trying to guess what this show was about.

It didn’t take much time for Touya to start feeling bored. He started darting looks at the open door, as if doing so Yukito would hurry up and come back to keep him company. He had been craving his boyfriend presence during that entire hectic week; they had had so little time to spend together these past days and Touya was eager to compensate for the lost time, for all the hugs and kisses and smiles they wasn’t able to share throughout the week.

A few more minutes had passed and Touya decided that being scolded and kicked out of the kitchen by Yukito would worth it.

However, none of it came to him.

“Ah, Toya! Great timing!”, exclaimed Yukito, his hands holding a tray piled up with half dozen  sandwiches. Resting over the sink top, another tray was waiting to be picked up, this one carrying two mugs and a steaming teapot. The sweet essence of the tea was hanging on the air, hitting Toya’s noise with the fresh smell of peaches and mint. “Can you pick the other tray, please?”

Carrying a tray each, Touya and Yukito came back to the living room and, without any waste of time, they set the table for their almost-midnight snack, sitting shoulder to shoulder under the heat of the kotatsu. Touya asked about the movie on the laptop screen and Yukito gladly talked all about it while they were eating, making sure to avoid any greater spoilers.

“That show sounds pretty cool.”, Touya said, between a bite and another. If he were being honest, he wasn’t sure if the plot of the show actually sounded that great or if it was Yukito’s enthusiasm about it that picked up his interest on it.

“If you want to, we can watch it together! I wouldn’t mind rewatching the previous episodes with you.”, his smile was so warm, so cozy when he made the offer that Touya found himself completely unable to answer anything but yes.

“Sure! Do you wanna start right now?” and the silver-haired boy didn’t need any other word to draw his laptop closer and click back on the very first episode of the series.

Rewatching the show was still pretty fun, but having Touya by his side was the best part of it. And it wasn’t only because now he had someone to share his thoughts about it. Having Touya’s arm around him, involving his body with his warmth, his scent, his strong but gentle presence, filled Yukito’s heart with the coziest of the feelings.

He felt whole. He felt safe.

He felt at home.

The same could be told about Touya. The boy could feel all the tiredness of the week melting away, leaving his shoulders lighter and his chest full of warmness and the sweetest peace. He nestled his boyfriend comfortably into his arms and rested his cheek on the top of his head, breathing slowly, absorbing Yukito’s presence and letting it impregnate his lungs, his heart, his whole being.

It was like magic; something fantastic and hard to describe, but so easy to feel – to get immerse in.

Yukito was his safe place and Touya always does his best to be the same to Yukito.

In their small, quiet world, Touya could finally feel truly relaxed, leaving all the stress and exhaustion from that long, long week behind and embrace the serenity of the moment. He allowed his body to go limp and his eyelids to get heavier and heavier, giving in to a sweet sleepiness state.

“I think we should go sleep.”, Yukito suggested, a hint of laughter in his voice. “We can watch the rest of the show tomorrow.”

Touya yawned. “Good idea.”

The taller boyfriend unwrapped his arms from around the other to stretch his body a bit, letting the silver-haired boy free to lean toward and close his laptop. But, before he could do anything else, such as get up and start cleaning up the table, Touya enlaced his waist once again, keeping him close to himself.

“Hey, don’t think I forgot about the kisses you’ve promised me!”, Touya smiled and cupped Yukito’s face with one of his hands, his thumb tenderly stroking his boyfriend’s cheek.

Yukito’s eyes lighted up like a moon finally appearing from behind a thick layer of clouds; so bright, so beautiful, so powerful against the darkness. Toya nearly lost his breath when he smiled back at him, the same smile that made him fall in love so many years ago. Sweet and vibrant. So sincere and genuine, coming from his core and growing until it blossom into his lips.

Those warm, soft lips that Touya was dying to kiss. So, that was what he did it.

Toya leaned forward and kissed Yukito exactly the way he was waiting for the whole day: slowly and affectionate, enjoying every single second of it. There was no hurry; they had all the time in the world - their private world. They could just allowed themselves to get lost in each other’s touch, to dive in each other’s warmth, in the sweetness of the other’s mouth. To Yukito, Touya’s lips had always tasted like peaches, but, somehow, they tasted especially sweet that night; he wondered if the tea they had had earlier would have something to do with that. Coincidentally, Touya found Yukito’s lips softer than ever, more tempting than ever.

“Satisfied?”, Yukito asked with a soft giggle when their lips parted. Even with their mouths parted, they kept their faces close, forehead to forehead, the tip of their noses softly brushing to the other in a loving gesture, while their bodies followed the example and still tangled in an embrace so tight that one could feel the other’s heart beating fast against their own.

“Not quite. I could have a dozen more of it, but I’m so tired right now that I think I’ll save them for tomorrow.”, as to emphasize his words, Touya closed his eyes and let his head slowly slip until it found the curve of Yukito’s neck, resting there with a content sigh. He could feel his boyfriend’s body shaking in a quiet laughter.

Yukito landed a gentle kiss on the top of Touya’s head, whispering against his dark strands: “They will be waiting for you in the morning.”

Hearing those words, Touya smiled and released the weight of his tired body over Yukito’s. Caught by surprise, the silver-haired boy’s body easily gave in with the sudden extra weight and lay down on his back with his boyfriend on his top, making both boys laugh.

Touya rested his head on Yukito’s chest and hugged his wait, while Yukito wrapped his arms around his shoulder, using one of his hands to stroke Touya’s hair in the most tender way, giving his boyfriend some pleasant goosebumps.

“We should go to bed, you know? Or we’re gonna catch a cold.”, Yukito said, but made no effort to get up or made his boyfriend to do so.

“We’ll be fine. We have the kotatsu and each other to keep ourselves warm the whole night.”, Touya’s voice was heavy with sleep, getting lower and lower with every word he said. Yukito only answer was a soft giggle and another kiss on his head.

They both felt so comfortable, so in peace resting in each other’s arms. They let the pounding of the other’s heart be their lullaby, leading them to a sweet slumber.

“Tou-ya~!”, Yukito called him with what was left of his consciousness.

“Hm?”

“Love you.”

Touya smiled to himself. “I love you, too.”

#Cardcaptor Sakura #CCS #Kinomoto Touya #Tsukishiro Yukito #Touyuki #Touya x Yukito #Fanfic #Fic #AO3

[bobowho]

baking with strawberries and sunshine (m)

→ pairing: byun baekhyun x reader

→ word count: 21k

→ genre: bakery au, pastry chef!baekhyun, college student!y/n, fluff, angst, smut

→ warnings: smut, slight angst, mentions of toxic relationships

→ playlist

→ summary: y/n started working at a small bakery stocked with sugary items, but never expected the sweetest thing in the world to be her boss’s smile.

→ link to ao3

The sugary aroma of freshly baked lemon macaroons was first of all, too sweet for y/n’s taste, and so overwhelming that y/n could barely focus on the paper she was trying to finish. She was sitting at a small table in a secluded corner of the bakery. y/n had been a regular ever since she discovered the place, one and a half months ago at the beginning of the semester. The interior had soft tones of ivory with gold accents, matching the warm mood of the store.

Eyebrows furrowing in frustration, she closed her laptop and pulled out her headphones from her ears, loud music quickly dimming away, and instead gentle notes of smooth jazz played in the background of the store. The struggle with writer’s block was painstakingly real.

y/n approached the counter for some coffee to help her focus. She stood about two feet away to examine the menu while the part timer working the register awkwardly waited for her to finish. From freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to a warm cup of cappuccino, the menu listed a slew of options.

“Sehun! Can you watch the oven for me?” A frantic voice came out from the back of the store, and a face popped out from the doorway between the kitchen and the counter.

y/n eyes shot towards the source of the noise and saw a man with a dark brown fringe, puppy eyes, and a slight pout begging Sehun to watch whatever he was baking at the moment. 

His eyes wandered to y/n for a moment before realizing Sehun was about to receive an order, and he made a small O with his mouth in an endearing way before pulling his head back into the kitchen. 

“What can I get for you?” Sehun asked. 

Thinking about the quick interaction between Sehun and the other guy, y/n turned her eyes to Sehun and ordered an iced americano with an extra shot — something to wake her up. 

The next day, y/n returned to the bakery, inhaled sweet fumes of pastries and bread, and sat at her usual corner so she could type away while constantly checking her word count to see how close she was to finishing her paper. She went to go order a coffee like always, but a sign caught her eye this time. 

Now hiring!

Part-time 

If interested, please call for the manager.

y/n was in need of a job. She was a college student terribly in debt and had almost missed the deadline for last month’s rent. The offer seemed enticing.

“Are you interested?” Someone interrupted. y/n looked up and saw the same guy yesterday with the puppy eyes, except this time he was smiling and they were in crescents. 

y/n, startled by his sudden presence, stammered out the only answer that seemed adequate. “Yes..? I—“

The man’s eyes lit up at the answer and he clapped in excitement.

“Great! We’ve been looking for someone to work the shifts Sehun can’t. Oh, I’m Baekhyun, by the way.” He introduced himself to y/n cheerily. “I own this bakery! I do the managing and most of the baking. Sehun helps me here and there… Here! Here’s the application.” Baekhyun pulled out a piece of paper from behind the counter and shoved it into y/n’s hands as if she would change her mind if he didn't act fast enough.

y/n, still recovering from the quick turn of events, nodded and quickly said, “Nice to meet you Baekhyun. I’m y/n. But can I order a coffee?”

“Oh, of course, y/n. What would you like?” Baekhyun lightly grinned and waited for y/n’s answer.

Only if y/n knew she would meet the love of her life at a bakery with a boss who had the personality of sunshine and a loving pair of hands that made everything he touched sweet.

“Holy fuck, y/n.” Sehun lightly exclaimed as he watched a plume of white smoke come out of the oven as soon as y/n opened it. 

y/n let out a cough before running out of the kitchen to get fresher air. Her first day at work had started off with a great first impression. 

Sehun followed y/n out of the store and let out a sigh. “All you had to do was watch. The. Damn. Cookies.”

y/n shamefully looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry. I got distracted checking to make sure I counted the stock of french brioche correctly and—“

y/n saw Baekhyun walk towards them from down the street, hands full of paper bags. The bakery needed extra flour and powdered sugar, so Baekhyun had gone out earlier to get some from the grocery store. 

“Guys, don’t just stand there and help me take these bags! My arms feel like they’re going to fall out!” Baekhyun yelled from afar. 

Sehun and y/n hurried towards Baekhyun and each grabbed the items from his arms. Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief as he let go of a few of the bags. 

“Hey Baekhyun, the batch of chocolate chips—” Sehun started to explain the situation, but Baekhyun stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air as they got closer to the bakery. 

“Do I smell burnt cookies?” Baekhyun asked.

y/n cringed. “Yeah, I was supposed to be checking on them but they ended up burning…” She waited for Baekhyun to scold her for doing so poorly on her first day of work, but Baekhyun just nodded and walked into the bakery, no longer smelling sweet like it used to. A heavy scent of bitterly burnt cookies hit everyone’s noses, making them scrunch up.

Baekhyun and y/n went into the kitchen while Sehun went to keep the store’s door open to let in some fresh air. 

Baekhyun saw neatly round, black circles on the baking tray and closed his eyes in disappointment. y/n was usually not the type to cry but she couldn’t help the tears forming in her eyes. She hated disappointing people, especially not her new boss, Baekhyun. 

“I’m so sorry.” y/n sincerely apologized. “If you need any help baking these again, let me know. I promise not to make the same mistake.”

Baekhyun turned away from the ugly batch of cookies to look at y/n, only to be surprised to see her teary eyed and clearly upset at the situation. Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the sight of tears rolling down y/n’s face.

“y/n, it’s fine.” Baekhyun assured her. “We all make mistakes. And it’s only your first day! I promise you’ll get better over time.”

y/n still didn’t feel any better about the fact that Baekhyun would have to bake a whole new batch just because she couldn’t watch the time. It was the stupidest mistake she could’ve made.

Baekhyun reached out a hand to wipe away a tear on y/n’s cheek with the back of his finger. “Here, let me get you some tissues.” He quickly fetched a box of tissues and handed it to y/n, who was calming down now. 

“How about you start setting up the tables in the store once you feel ready, okay? Again, y/n, it’s no big deal. I can just bake it again in no time! Bam! It’ll be ready to go once the store opens for the day. Other than the cookies, you’re doing a great job for your first day.” Baekhyun lightly smiled at y/n and gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder as if it could cheer her up. 

y/n nodded. She didn’t understand why she felt so upset at messing up. Maybe, she just wanted to be perfect on her first day,

The rest of her shift went smoothly, and when y/n returned home after classes there was a text from Baekhyun: 

[good job today! sehun and i are both happy to have you working with us. see you tomorrow!!] 

y/n couldn’t help but smile at the cheeriness in the text. It made her evening slightly better.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” y/n asked the guy anxiously fidgeting in front of the counter.

He stared at y/n for a few moments before saying, “Can I have a…latte.” He wore a tattered dark hoodie and nervously bit at his lip. y/n noticed he had been coming quite often to the bakery lately. 

y/n wondered what he was so nervous for but she smiled and said, “Sure thing. I’ll have it out in a few moments.”

The guy grabbed his drink and stiffly sat down at a nearby table. y/n could feel his eyes glancing up to catch a glimpse of her once every few minutes. She didn’t appreciate him checking her out which made her a bit uncomfortable — but a customer was a customer.

It was only y/n’s fifth day at work, but she already felt like it had been weeks. She’d already become strangely used to the morning sunlight streaming in through the windows, the addicting smell of cookies and pastries, and Baekhyun’s quiet humming as he busily worked in the kitchen. She breathed in the scent of freshly-baked brownies, the scent getting stronger and stronger as Baekhyun carried the tray out towards the counter.

Baekhyun. He was almost painfully adorable-looking today, with his dark hair neatly combed against his forehead and his cheeks slightly flushed from the heat of the oven. He was wearing a neat white button-down and navy blue slacks, complemented with his baker’s apron.

“Want to try one?” Baekhyun asked, placing the brownies out on the display shelf.

y/n had eaten breakfast before coming in for her shift, but she didn’t know if it could be possible to say no to Baekhyun with his puppy-like eyes. “Sure,” she replied.

He handed her a brownie, and y/n took a bite. The chewy texture and taste of warm chocolate was perfect. It was quite literally one of the best brownies she had ever tasted.

“Holy shit, that’s so good.” she blurted out, before mentally scolding herself. She wasn’t sure if Baekhyun thought it was entirely professional to swear at work.

She was pleased to hear Baekhyun’s soft chuckle. “Thank you, I’ve been perfecting that recipe ever since I opened this bakery.”

y/n looked over to see Baekhyun smiling down at her. She found herself suddenly wondering how old this man was. He looked barely older than her, and she was still a college student. He definitely looked like he could even be younger than some of the boys she’d seen on campus. Most of the boys her age acted like they could barely iron their own clothes, let alone own their own business.

“I hope this doesn’t come across as weird,” she said carefully, “but you look awfully young to be owning your own business.”

Baekhyun let out another light laugh, his puppy eyes crinkling at the corners. “Don’t worry, I get that a lot.”

“I don’t really think of myself as young, I’m twenty-five. I actually dropped out of college halfway through my second year,” he explained. “I had a huge fight with my family over it. I come from a not super well-off family, and they always wanted me to study something like finance or accounting, so I could get a stable job after I graduated — but it was always my dream to open my own bakery.”

y/n was taken aback by his response. She didn’t expect him to open up about his personal reasons for opening the bakery. She couldn’t help but admire that Baekhyun chased after his dream in exchange with stability.

“I worked multiple jobs for a few years after I dropped out, so I could save up to start this bakery. It was a bit rough at first, but the last year has been amazing. I even have some regulars now. Plus, It's been great to work with Sehun. And you now, of course.” He nudged at her side with a wink.

y/n couldn’t imagine being so passionate about something that she’d be willing to risk so much for it. She liked her psychology major at school, but not so much that she felt like it was her dream. “I wish I had something I was passionate about like that.”

Baekhyun gave her a grim smile. “I’ve learned that most people don’t find it. I see my friends from college sometimes, and some aren’t completely satisfied with their office jobs. I guess I’m just lucky that I get to do what I love for a living.”

y/n watched Baekhyun’s warm brown eyes shift through uncertainty, rejection, and accomplishment after years of hard work. She knew he’d been through pain and desolation that she could not even begin to understand. y/n wished she could’ve been there for him, supported him through all his highs and lows.

Baekhyun soon left her to bake another batch of brownies. She examined the bakery closely and saw how dear the small shop was to Baekhyun. Every inch, every corner came from countless hours working day and night to afford this place. The bakery was his everything. 

A week passed, and y/n had somehow managed to not set the entire bakery on fire. There was a lot to learn, and by the end of the week y/n’s head was aching with the number of drinks and pastry recipes she’d had to memorize. y/n was in the fall semester of her last year at university and soon found herself running from class to class, only to rush to work right after. The only thing that kept her from completely exploding of stress and exhaustion was that she got to see Baekhyun and his energizing smile every time she went in for her shift.

It was a chilly Thursday morning in October. The bakery was having a lull in the usual morning rush of customers. y/n stared outside the window at the leaves in shades of red and brown clinging onto their branches, as a gust of wind flew through the streets. The air around her smelled like fall — pumpkin spice and pecan pies. Cliché, but there wasn’t any other way to describe it.

“You know, Baekhyun’s kinda weird around you,” Sehun blurted suddenly while drying espresso cups with a dishcloth. He sent a quick glance in y/n’s direction, a smirk on his face. 

“What?”

“I’ve been friends with Baekhyun for a long time, and I’ve worked here for almost a year. Trust me, if I had burnt an entire batch of cookies on my first day, Baekhyun would’ve yelled at me for sure,” Sehun said confidently, turning to look y/n with a pointed look on his face. y/n nervously wiped her palm on her apron.

y/n didn’t know what to say. Baekhyun had been extremely nice to her all week, giving her only smiles and encouragement at every mistake. She had just assumed that Baekhyun was a naturally nice and patient person.

“I’m sure that’s just because you’re friends with him.” y/n managed, avoiding Sehun’s gaze.

Sehun cocked his head to the side as if in deep thought. “Maybe,” he conceded, “I do wonder why he’s so nice to you, though. He isn’t usually like this around other people. I guess the last time he acted this way was when he met his ex.”

“I—” y/n started to say, only to be interrupted by the chime of the door as it opened. Baekhyun walked in, carrying bags of coffee beans. His dark hair gleamed in the late morning light. He offered a puppy dog smile at the both of them.

“Good morning!” he said brightly, setting an armful of coffee bags down on the counter. Sehun suddenly bolted upright at the sight of his boss. Baekhyun’s appearance on a late Thursday morning usually meant that Sehun’s opening shift was over.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Sehun announced, taking off his apron and gathering his things.

“You’re not even going to say hi to me?” Baekhyun placed his hand on his chest, feigning hurt.

“I’ve got class in ten minutes!” Sehun yelled, running out the door. The door chimed again as Sehun slammed it behind him. Baekhyun stared after him, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I swear that kid thinks I’m just his friend, not his boss.”

y/n found a flush suddenly rising to her cheeks, thinking of what Sehun had said earlier. Baekhyun had been nice — maybe too nice — to her for the past week. He hadn’t said a single mean thing after she repeatedly messed up coffee orders and pastry recipes. That had been the only reason why working in this bakery had been bearable for her, when her schedule was jam-packed and exams were drawing uncomfortably close.

She spared a glance in his direction. Baekhyun was opening a bag of coffee beans, pouring the coffee beans into the espresso machine. He is awfully adorable, y/n mused. His hair was slightly ruffled from the wind outside, his eyes concentrated on the coffee bag as he carefully tipped it into the espresso machine. If she looked closer, she could see a tiny mole above the corner of his mouth. She wondered what it would be like to kiss—

Stop, he’s your boss, y/n mentally scolded herself. This job was important to her, and she didn’t want to jeopardize it by forming a stupid crush on her boss. Besides, everyone knew what a terrible idea it was to date someone you work with, let alone your boss.

“You’re being quiet today,” Baekhyun commented.

“Huh?” y/n turned to see Baekhyun standing right next to her by the counter. He was staring at her with a curious look in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips. He was awfully close to her. She prayed he hadn’t noticed the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

“I guess I’m a little tired. I’ve been really busy this week,” y/n said awkwardly. 

The door chimed as a customer walked in. y/n silently thanked the gods as the customer ordered a cappuccino.

y/n made her way over to the fridge, pouring a cup of milk before absentmindedly placing the cup under the milk steamer, turning it on. She didn’t notice when Baekhyun strode over to the milk steamer to stand beside her and looked down at the cup.

“Uh,” Baekhyun said, “that’s not how you foam milk.”

y/n felt herself flush again. She couldn’t believe she had made another mistake over something so simple. After working at this bakery for a week, she couldn’t even foam milk properly. y/n really must be the worst employee any bakery has ever seen. 

Before y/n could apologize, Baekhyun spoke. “Don’t apologize. It’s my fault for not teaching you properly. I thought I had gone over everything with the drinks already, but I forgot I didn’t teach you how to use the steamer.”

He reached out his hand to rest over y/n’s hand that was holding the cup. He guided her hand slightly downwards, so that the tip of the steaming wand was submerged in the milk. He murmured instructions, his face inches away from hers. She stared at the steamer as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, trying desperately not to think of the softness of his hand against hers, or the feel of his breath against her ear. She could feel her heart pound against her ribcage. Get it together, she told herself, he’s your boss.

“See how fluffy the milk became? That’s some quality foam you can use in a cappuccino,” Baekhyun declared, seemingly unaware of y/n’s panic beside him.

His hand lingered on hers for just a second after the milk finished frothing, his thumb softly grazing the back of her hand like a feather. He pulled away reluctantly.

“Now you’ll be able to make any drink that needs foamed milk!” Baekhyun said with a smile. She wondered how he managed to be so cheery all the time, despite her utter incompetence at her job. 

“Thank you,” she managed. “I know I haven’t, uh, been the best at this job. You’ve been so supportive and nice to me, even though I don’t probably deserve it. I just want to say thank you for that.”

“You don’t have to thank me. There’s a lot on your plate right now. Trust me, I know how hard it is to work a job as a student. You’ll know everything by heart soon, don’t worry. I believe in you!” Baekhyun looked at her sincerely. From this close, she could see his soft brown eyes speckled with darker shades of brown. They were like a warm pool of hot chocolate in the soft morning light.

y/n and Baekhyun were interrupted in their little moment by the bakery’s door chiming open again.

As Baekhyun walked over to take the order, y/n found her mind wandering back to what Sehun had said earlier.

He was right. Baekhyun was nice to her — to the point that it made her feel a little guilty. No guy had ever treated her this well, lest a guy who was supposed to be her boss. The last time he acted like this was when he met his ex, Sehun had said. y/n suspected that Sehun had been messing around, but she couldn’t help but wonder. 

For a second, she let herself think of a universe where this sweet, adorable pastry chef could ever have feelings for her. She knew it was probably impossible — these fairytale, rom-com type romances were unrealistic and tended to never happen to her. She also knew that she should be trying hard to not develop an irreversible crush on her boss right now. It was hard not to, but for just a second, she could risk falling into a daydream.

Later that day, y/n rushed from one end of the counter to another, busily getting the bakery ready for closing. Baekhyun had left a few hours ago, giving y/n a thumbs-up and smile, saying that he trusted her to do a great job. The bakery was quiet except for the sound of giant coffee jugs emptying into the sink and the soft jazz music playing in the background as y/n worked. There was only one customer still remaining in the bakery, a man sitting at a table, staring down at his phone.

y/n glanced up out of the big window that looked out onto the dark streets. The sun had started setting earlier as the weather turned colder, and the sky was deepening from a shade of navy blue into pitch black. She freely hummed to the music playing in the background as she wiped down the counter. She looked up at the clock behind the counter, marking 9PM. It was closing time.

The man sitting at the table was still hunched down, looking at his phone. y/n awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Um, excuse me…but the bakery is closing right now.”

The man turned his head. He looked slightly older than y/n, but still young. His overgrown dark hair fell slightly into his eyes as he blinked at her with a slight blush on his cheeks. He wore an oversized black hoodie and black skinny jeans. She recognized him as the guy who had been visiting the bakery so often.

“Oh, okay. I’ll leave, then.” he said, barely a whisper. He got up, pushed the chair in, and left.

As the door closed shut, y/n let out the breath she had been holding in unknowingly. She was always a bit nervous when she was by herself during a night shift, with a single customer in the bakery. Especially if the customer was a man sitting by himself.

y/n finished up her job, double checking everything before she gathered her things and locked the bakery door behind her. The sun had completely set, the sky black and only lit by the streetlamps lining the narrow street. The bakery was on a small street near the main campus of her university, only a few blocks away from her apartment.

She clutched her canvas bag to her side as she began making her way down the street. She walked about a block or so before she noticed a man following behind her. She slightly turned her head and saw the same man who had just left the bakery.

A panic rose in her stomach. The man had left the bakery several minutes before, long enough that he should’ve been long gone from this street. He must’ve waited outside until I was done, she thought. She felt another bubble of fear rise up inside her. She was reminded of countless stories about her friends, being followed by men late at night in the city streets, having to call someone to pick them up out of fear or even call the cops.

She looked back again as she turned a corner. The man was still following her. He looked terrifying in the dark, his face completely hidden under the shadow of his hoodie and his fast strides threatening to catch up to her any second. 

y/n reached for her phone in her bag, frantically thinking of people she could call. Most of her friends lived on the other side of campus, and they would take at least fifteen minutes to walk over to her. She helplessly raked through her brain, thinking of people she knew that lived near her. Then she remembered Baekhyun three days ago, mentioning that he lived a block away from the bakery and didn’t need to take the bus when Sehun complained about the crowded bus ride from his apartment.

She dialed his number without thinking twice.

“y/n?” Baekhyun’s voice rang out after a few moments. “Are you heading home now? How was your closing shift? You probably did great, so don’t even—”

“Where are you right now? Are you close yet?” y/n spoke louder than usual, making sure the man trailing behind her could clearly hear. She wondered if her voice sounded as nervous on the phone as she was feeling on the inside. She spared another glance backwards to see the man still walking behind her, less than half a block away from her.

“y/n? What do you mean? I’m—”

“It’s like, so dark out. Please don’t be late picking me up like last time.”

“...where are you, y/n?” Baekhyun’s voice, deep in concern, answered over the phone.

“Our usual spot. Like a block away from the bakery.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in two minutes.”

Two minutes? y/n was sure he was at least five minutes away if he was lucky. She stopped underneath a streetlamp and heard the footsteps from behind cease. She crossed her arms and thought about the pepper spray she had left back in a drawer in her bedroom. She remembered her dad giving it to her before leaving for college and making her promise him that she would carry it. Never did y/n think something like this would actually happen. 

A minute had passed. The footsteps resumed unexpectedly and began to approach her. y/n’s heart raced even faster. She didn’t dare look behind her. Instead, she reached inside her pocket to fish out her apartment key. She recalled reading somewhere that keys could be wedged between the fingers and used for self defense.

“y/n!” Before she could pull a move on her stalker, she heard Baekhyun call out her name and looked down the street, watching him running as fast as he could, strands of hair flopping against his forehead. She barely recognized him in his hoodie and sweatpants, his hair damp as if he had just stepped out of the shower.

The stalker was clearly surprised by the sudden interference. y/n could see him slowly back away in her peripheral vision.

As Baekhyun approached, y/n couldn’t help but feel relieved to see his face. His features became clearer when he arrived under the yellow toned streetlamp. He grabbed y/n by the arms as soon as he was close enough to reach for her.

“Baby, did you wait long? I’m so sorry.” Baekhyun leaned down to look at y/n’s face and pouted his lips to express how bad he felt about being late when in fact, it had taken him only a few minutes to get to y/n from his apartment.

Baekhyun then put his arms around her, squeezing her body close against his, and y/n could feel his heart pounding against his chest. The smell of fabric softener mixed with strawberry-scented body wash engulfed y/n as half of her face got buried in Baekhyun’s hoodie.

Was Baekhyun trying to act like her boyfriend?

“Baekhyun, you don’t have to—”

Baekhyun lowered his face next to y/n’s and quietly whispered just for them to hear. “I called the police. They’re going to be here any minute.”

He raised his voice again. “Let’s get you home. I missed you all day! I’ll give you a lot of kisses to make up for it.”

y/n turned her head a little to the side to look at the street behind her. The stalker was walking away from them quickly, disappearing behind a corner. y/n felt her body relax a little when she could no longer see him anymore.

Baekhyun’s arms remained tight around her, even as the street became silent and they could no longer hear the footsteps of the stalker behind them. y/n could feel the brush of his hands against her back as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Now y/n’s heartbeat was louder than Baekhyun’s. It was thrumming in her ears and she became worried that Baekhyun could hear it too. 

“I think you can let me go now.” y/n muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric of Baekhyun’s hoodie.

“I can feel you shaking, y/n.” Baekhyun quietly said. 

y/n raised her hand that had been hanging limply by her side. She saw it tremble against the dim glow of the streetlamps beside her.

Cue the police, sirens came blaring down the street, but y/n was sure the sound of her heartbeat was louder.

After a short interrogation by the police on the incident, y/n and Baekhyun silently climbed up the stairs of her three-story walkup. He had insisted that he at least walk her home, seeing how pale and shaky she had been after the incident.

When y/n and Baekhyun arrived at her door, y/n awkwardly pulled out her apartment key. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Baekhyun carefully asked.

y/n nodded hesitantly to assure him, “It’s late. You should head home too.”, but she wasn’t actually okay. She was scared. Her hand was still shaking and she could barely manage to fit her key through the keyhole.

“Okay,” he said hesitantly, “if you need anything, let me know.” He pulled his lips into a slight grin and waited for y/n to get into her apartment.

She stepped in and lingered for a moment before turning back around. “Actually…can you stay for a little bit? I don’t think I can handle being alone right now.” 

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of heart. He nodded and said, “Of course.”

y/n instantly regretted her decision as soon as they both stepped into her apartment. She saw a million things in disarray. She quickly snatched up a stray bra on the couch before throwing it under a pillow before Baekhyun could see. 

Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice the state of her apartment. His gaze remained on her pale face as he reached over and grabbed a knitted blanket, haphazardly thrown over her couch. He walked over and wrapped it around her shoulders like a shawl.

“I’ll stay in your living room. Is that okay?” Baekhyun sat down on the floor at the base of the couch. 

“Yeah.” y/n answered before heading into her bedroom to get ready to wash and take a shower. 

y/n stepped out of the shower and changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. She could smell something sweet wafting down the hallway leading to the living room. It reminded her of the bakery, but not quite.

“I hope you don’t mind that I used your kettle. I saw a pack of hot chocolate lying on your counter and I figured you could use a cup.” Baekhyun held up a mug, steam rolling off into the air. The air filled with her favorite chocolate scent.

y/n sat down on the opposite side and relished the warmth of the cup of hot chocolate in her palms. She sipped on the warm, sugary drink. 

“Thank you so much, for everything.” she said after a long, comfortable silence. She glanced over the mug at his face, still scrunched up with concern.

He waited until y/n fished her cup. “You should sleep now.”

y/n nodded in agreement. “You can go home if you would like.”

Baekhyun just lightly smiled and waved at her to go sleep in her bedroom. “I can sleep on the couch. Goodnight, y/n.”

y/n climbed into bed and pulled her covers up to her chin. There was no way y/n was sleeping with Baekhyun in her living room. As comfortable as Baekhyun made y/n feel, his presence made her nervous, but not in a bad way. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to sleep. Finally, after much contemplation, y/n pulled out her phone and called Baekhyun for the second time that night.

He answered after a few seconds. “Hello?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Baekhyun hummed before saying, “Okay, what do you need. A lullaby?”

y/n thought he was joking, but Baekhyun patiently waited for her response.

“Sure..? You aren’t joking, are you.”

“It’s up to you.” Baekhyun answered.

“Do you want to come in?” y/n heard a knock on the door shortly and watched Baekhyun walk in. She took a hand and patted the empty space next to her on the bed, indicating for Baekhyun to sit down. She felt the side of the bed sink as he settled on top of the blanket.

Baekhyun had a beautifully soft voice that waved through the air like the smell of freshly made brownies. Something about it made y/n’s heart swell. He effortlessly made y/n start to feel sleepy with the gentle tone of his voice. y/n clung onto every note as she fell deeper into sleep, Baekhyun’s sweet lullaby dimming into a distant melody in the background. y/n couldn’t remember if she felt a hand, just as soft as his song, delicately stroking her hair until she fell asleep. 

y/n woke up with a start. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the sunlight pouring in through her curtains. Her head swarmed with the memories of the previous night, of Baekhyun’s arm around hers, of Baekhyun’s presence in her bedroom. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. She craned her head up at the side of the bed Baekhyun had been laying on the night before. It was empty. He must’ve left after she fell asleep.

Then she wondered why she had woken up without the sound of her alarm blaring in her ear.

Crap, crap, I slept through my alarm, she thought in panic. She had worked the closing shift the night before, so it must be Friday. Shit, my morning shift.

She flailed her arms out of the mound of blankets she was buried under and grabbed her phone on the nightstand. It was 7:30AM, thirty minutes after the beginning of her usual morning shift. She let out a curse again as she scrolled through her messages, expecting a series of texts from Baekhyun demanding of her whereabouts. She was only met with a single text from him:

[are you coming in for your shift today? if not, i got it covered.]

y/n was not about to miss her shift, especially when she had inconvenienced Baekhyun so much the night before. She hurriedly hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. She shoved a toothbrush in her mouth, washed her face, and ungracefully pulled on a pair of jeans. She decided the worn down white t-shirt she had on overnight was good enough for work. 

As she opened the door to bolt down to the bakery, she remembered she still had her toothbrush wedged between her teeth. She ran back inside with her shoes still on her feet and quickly washed the foamy toothpaste out of her mouth. 

y/n arrived at the bakery two minutes before the clock hit 8:00 AM, the opening time. Heavy breaths left her lungs from speed walking down the street and trying not to run into busy pedestrians at the same time. 

“...you stayed?! Baekhyun, are you kidding me.” Sehun’s aggravated voice could be heard as soon as y/n entered the store.

“Listen, Sehun. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I left as soon as—” Baekhyun was seemingly trying to calm Sehun down.

y/n interrupted their conversation with a greeting, “Good morning! I’m so sorry I’m late. I got here as fast as I could.”

Sehun glared at y/n. On the other hand, Baekhyun looked happy to see her. 

“y/n! So glad you could make it. Did you sleep well?” Baekhyun asked while y/n grabbed her apron from behind the counter. 

With a hushed voice, y/n responded, “Yeah, thank you so much. I’ll make last night up to you somehow.” She was scared Sehun might overhear their conversation. 

She waited for Baekhyun’s response, but he just stared at her, a slight frown forming on his face. 

“Baekhyun? Is something wrong?”

“Hold on,” Baekhyun murmured. He then reached out a hand towards her, y/n flinching slightly at the motion. He rubbed his thumb across the corner of her mouth, wiping away a streak of dry toothpaste. 

“You got toothpaste right there.” Baekhyun held up his hand for y/n to see and smiled mischievously. 

“Oh.” y/n couldn’t help but slightly get red in embarrassment. 

She glanced behind Baekhyun to see Sehun standing behind them. Sehun met her eyes and pretended to gag.

Her day went by surprisingly quickly. Her mind occasionally wandered from the stalker to the thought of Baekhyun’s hand in her hair last night and on her mouth this morning, but she was able to push it out of the way as she tied her hair and greeted a customer walking into the bakery. 

At the end of her shift, y/n quickly headed back home. She sat down at her desk to get a little bit of studying done for her upcoming exams. She was walking over to her kitchen for her second cup of coffee of the day when she took a look outside her apartment window. The sun was already setting over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of bright pink and orange. 

It was her friend’s birthday, and she was planning to go out tonight, finally a break from school and work. y/n changed into a mini skirt and a warm navy sweater, so that she wouldn’t freeze to death on a fall night. 

y/n arrived at the bar where her friend had booked a room for a party and was met with an excited harmony of greetings and a slam of a hug from the birthday girl, Joohyun. 

“y/n! You finally escaped from work!” Joohyun exclaimed. 

y/n smiled and took in a shot of tequila someone just handed her. The bitter tang made her wince, but Joohyun was right. She decided to let loose for the night. 

After a few more shots in, y/n was ready to go home. She could not pay any attention to any of the conversations that were going on during the party. The music was too loud in her eardrums and the lighting made everything harder to see. y/n’s senses were failing her. 

Suddenly, someone called for her.

She turned towards Joohyun who eagerly opened her mouth, “How is your love life? Seulgi over here got cheated on last month. Yerim just started dating like yesterday. Seungwan is getting fucked left and right. I’m…single as fuck!” Joohyun giggled, clearly drunk. “What about you, y/n? Let me in on the tea.”

y/n wondered if she had any romantic interests right now. She was too high on the alcohol to think before she spoke.

“Hmmm, I think…I find this one guy kinda cute,” y/n felt her face flush, as if it wasn’t red enough already. 

“Oh my, who is it?!” Joohyun nearly squealed and brought the attention of others.

y/n didn’t know if it was okay to talk about how she was lowkey hitting on her boss, but it was too late now. “My boss.”

A hushed gasp left Joohyun’s lips. “The guy at the bakery? With the cutest fucking eyes? Oh my goodness, you do realize, like, half the girls on campus think he’s cute too, right?”

y/n was slightly shocked at the news, but after all, the bakery was just right outside campus so most of their customers were college students.  

“I didn’t realize…” y/n stopped for a few seconds before asking, “Do you think he has a girlfriend right now?” y/n doubted it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if he did. 

Joohyun shrugged and let out another set of giggles. “Please get with him. You guys would be so cute together. Maybe you can convince him to give me free brownies. They’re so good.”

y/n blushed at the thought and downed a shot of lemon flavored vodka that bit at the back of her throat. 

Later that night, y/n was startled by the sound of her doorbell. She stumbled towards the door, puzzled. Her friends usually didn’t randomly pop into her apartment without earlier notice, and she wasn’t expecting any packages this late into the night. Each step got harder and harder to balance on — she was not in the right state of mind to greet guests at the moment.

She stood on tiptoes to look out the peephole. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized it was Baekhyun.

She quickly shimmied her skirt to its original position so she wouldn’t scare Baekhyun by flashing him, and combed through her hair with her hands a few times. She opened the door to reveal a concerned Baekhyun shifting anxiously on his feet. A look of relief washed over his face when he saw y/n, but returned to looking worried when he saw how disheveled she was. 

“Baekhyun? What are you doing here?” y/n asked groggily, although she was more than happy in his presence. She noticed he was hugging a large picnic basket. 

Baekhyun looked at y/n with puppy eyes. Cute, cute, cute., y/n thought.

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely, but you weren’t answering your phone.”

y/n’s heart stupidly fluttered at the fact that Baekhyun was worried for her. “I just went out for the night. Friend’s birthday.” 

She pointed at the picnic basket Baekhyun was holding so dearly. “What’s that?”

Baekhyun grinned shyly. “I…I didn’t want to come empty handed if you were home, so I brought a few things.” His smile widened when she met his eyes, his eyes crinkling into endearing crescent shapes again. Even though she was surprised by his sudden appearance, she couldn’t help but return his smile.

“I figured you might miss being around so many pastries tomorrow, since you have the day off.” Baekhyun said. He opened the picnic basket to reveal an arrangement of cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and every other pastry y/n could ever dream of.

y/n gasped. “Baekhyun, you didn’t have to—”

“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to.” Baekhyun said firmly. “Can I come in?”

“O-of course.” y/n opened the door wider, taking the picnic basket from him to set down on her dining table. y/n could still feel the booze making her feel like she was floating, but at this point she wasn’t sure if it was Baekhyun or alcohol that was making her head feel dizzy and heart rate elevated. 

Baekhyun walked into her living room, standing in the space he had been in less than 24 hours ago. He looked strangely at home, standing in the middle of her still-messy apartment. 

“I’m going to miss having you around tomorrow.” he said.

“Oh, it’s only a day. I’m sure Sehun will keep you company.” Of course, y/n knew that wasn’t the real reason he’d showed up to her house with a picnic basket. He was worried about her. She had been in bad shape last night, pale and shaking in Baekhyun’s arms even as the police crowded around them. She had barely managed to fall asleep, only able to drift off to the sound of Baekhyun’s soft singing voice.

y/n still couldn’t fathom why anyone, especially someone as attractive as Baekhyun, would care so much about her. She’d never had a guy treat her so well, to the point he would show up at her door with a giant basket full of sweet pastries just to cheer her up. The thought of Baekhyun, carefully gathering each pastry at his bakery to pack into this picnic basket, made her heart ache. She suddenly felt a sting in her eyes and an urge to tear up. Don’t, she warned herself. She had cried in front of him once, and that was already far too many times.

Unfazed by y/n’s sudden silence, Baekhyun casually started talking about what had happened at the bakery after her shift.

“You won’t believe what happened after you left today. Sehun completely messed up the ingredients for the pound cake recipe. I told him it’s three cups of flour, like, five times, but guess what he did. He only added one! I swear, he does it on purpose to spite me sometimes. Then he has the audacity to blame the whole thing on me…”

Baekhyun’s voice faded out into a soft hum in y/n’s ears as she was suddenly overcome with thoughts of Baekhyun that she had pushed to the back of her mind all day. Thoughts of the soft touch of his hand against her back as he held her close to him, the gentle pressure of his fingers as they stroked her hair, his impossibly sweet voice, lulling her to sleep, rushed to the forefront of her mind. The scent of fresh laundry and strawberries that waved through the air with Baekhyun’s every movement didn’t help, either.

“...and then, if that hadn’t been enough, he has the nerve to accidentally spill the bowl of egg yolk on the floor. I almost slipped on it and fell straight on my face in front of everyone. I’m this close to firing this kid, I swear. I would’ve fired him a long time ago if he wasn’t such a good friend.” Baekhyun continued to speak, oblivious to y/n getting more and more flustered by the second.

“Anyways, enough about me and Sehun. How was your day? I see you’ve been studying.” Baekhyun gestured at the huge pile of notebooks and papers that had gathered on top of her small desk by the window.

He looked so lovable in that moment, standing there in her apartment with his hair casually ruffled. His eyes glimmered as he gazed down at her, his lips twisting up to form another smile that made y/n’s stomach fill with butterflies. He was so close, close enough that she could see the tiny mole in the corner of his mouth once again. If she looked closer, she could see another one on the apple of his cheek. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. 

Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she was reaching up on her tiptoes, placing her palms on the sides of his cheeks. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Baekhyun made a surprised noise in response. The comforting scent of fabric softener and strawberries became even stronger when she kissed him, but she could smell something sharp and sweeter…was it cinnamon? y/n kissed Baekhyun for a moment longer to make sure, and he let her, holding her arms to keep her there.

When y/n realized what she was doing, she pulled back, breaking their kiss. 

“Shit, shit, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that—” she stammered. She couldn’t believe she had the balls to kiss her boss out of pure impulse. She kept her eyes fixated on her feet in embarrassment. When she gathered the courage to look at Baekhyun, she was surprised to find that his face was shaded in a bright shade of pink, the color that she was expecting her own face to be. He was looking at y/n with a confused look on his face. 

“Uh, I should probably head home,” he said nervously. y/n could see his gaze slightly waver. “I hope you like the pastries…I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Baekhyun rushed across her living room before she could say anything. He shut the door behind him and he was gone.

y/n cringed as she heard her door close shut. Guilt and shame built inside her. She had thought her feelings for Baekhyun had been just a harmless crush, something that she could get over in a few weeks if she tried. She hadn’t expected herself to actually make a move, let alone try to kiss him. How was she going to face him on Monday?

She trudged to her bedroom, flopped down on her bed, and buried her head in her pillow. y/n couldn’t stop her mind from thinking about her lips eagerly pressed against Baekhyun's. She let out a groan. The lingering scent of fabric softener, strawberries, and pastries…Baekhyun was making her feel lightheaded.

A week had gone by, with neither Baekhyun nor y/n willing to talk about the kiss. Only short, formal conversations were exchanged between the two. In fact, Baekhyun seemed to avoid her at all costs, his face turning scarlet whenever she was around and refusing to make eye contact. He shied away from every possible interaction with her. 

Baekhyun also seemed to be making an unusually large amount of mistakes around the bakery in the past week. Spilling drinks all over himself had become a daily occurrence, to the point where Sehun stood by with a mop in his hand every time Baekhyun received a drink order. A few days ago, he had knocked over an entire tray of freshly made eclairs onto the ground. Sehun walked on to the scene and saw a horrifying mess of custard and pastries. He shook his head in disappointment.

“Baekhyun. You’re making rookie mistakes I don’t even make anymore.” Sehun harshly commented. “Is something up? Last time you were this unfocused was when Mina broke up with you.” 

y/n was pretty sure the mistakes he’d been making all week had something to do with the fact that she had kissed him. She felt extreme guilt in the pit of her stomach. He probably felt so uncomfortable around her, but he was too nice to fire her or even say a single word about it. 

One afternoon, as she reached the bakery, she could hear Sehun’s incredulous voice ringing out from the propped open door. “She kissed you?”

y/n flushed. They were talking about her. She heard a furious shushing noise from Baekhyun.

“What the fuck, Baekhyun? When did this happen?”

“Like, a week ago?”

“And you didn’t think to tell me? I fucking knew something happened between you guys! You’ve been acting like a complete idiot around her all week. You know how nauseating it is for me to watch you guys make heart eyes at each other all day, only for you to not make a single move?” Sehun sounded exasperated. “I swear to god, if you spill another drink because you’re too busy staring at her, I’m going to quit—”

Sehun stopped talking once he saw y/n walk through the door. Baekhyun looked up, his face turning the usual shade of pink when he saw her.

“Hi,” she said nervously.

“Good afternoon.” Baekhyun said, his hair falling slightly into his eyes as he looked back down at his hands. Sehun took a look at y/n, then at Baekhyun, before letting out an annoyed groan.

“y/n, get your ass over here. I need help in the kitchen.” Sehun announced, making his way into the kitchen without another word.

y/n gave Baekhyun an awkward smile before she followed Sehun into the kitchen. Sehun was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a frown on his face.

“What do you need help with?” she asked.

“Our boss is in love with you, fix it.” Sehun said too casually.

“What?”

“I’m just kidding, I don’t actually know if he’s in love with you yet. He definitely likes you, though.” Sehun said, sparing a glance out the kitchen door to look at Baekhyun. “He’s been acting like a dumbass all week. Because of you.” Sehun pointed a finger at her.

y/n’s head spun. She doubted that Baekhyun even had an ounce of feelings for her, but she remembered that Sehun had known Baekhyun for far longer than she had. If Baekhyun had feelings for her, even by a slim chance, then surely Sehun would know. She felt a sliver of hope rise in her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” she muttered, but Sehun gave her an incredulous look.

“I pretend I don’t give a shit ninety percent of the time, but Baekhyun is one of my oldest friends. He had a really bad breakup a couple years ago, and he hasn’t been the same ever since. I don’t think he’s had a single girlfriend since then. I just—” Sehun trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. “I care about him, okay? I want him to find someone, so if you’re the one he’s into, then I wish you would give him a chance. That’s all. Not that you have to, of course. I completely understand if you don't. He can be a shithead sometimes.” 

“What are you guys doing in there?” Baekhyun’s voice sounded from the counter.

“Just think about it.” Sehun sighed before walking over to the register, leaving her standing in the middle of the kitchen, more confused than ever.

The rest of the shift went by swimmingly. Sehun left a couple hours later to head to class, giving her a knowing look before heading out. y/n felt both anticipation and nervousness at the thought of being alone with Baekhyun. The bakery was completely empty, save for a couple sitting in a secluded booth in the back.

Baekhyun was in the kitchen, staring at a batch of cookies that was almost ready to come out of the oven. You should at least talk to him, y/n told herself words of encouragement. Despite what Sehun had said, y/n wasn’t entirely sure that Baekhyun actually liked her romantically. After all, he hadn’t kissed her back that night. That’s because you pulled away before he could even do anything, reasoned a small voice in her mind. She shook the thought away. She couldn’t make any assumptions before she talked to him. The last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

She slowly made her way into the kitchen. “Um, can I talk to you?” she asked.

Baekhyun looked up and nodded. He looked absolutely adorable, as he usually did, with his hair slightly ruffled right above his dark eyebrows and his light blue button-down slightly wrinkled under his apron.

“Hey, I realized we haven’t been able to talk to each other recently.” y/n cringed as she said. “And I bet it’s because I, uh, kissed you that night when you came to my apartment. I just wanted to say sorry again, that was so unprofessional of me, and I shouldn’t have done that. I really like working here, so I hope you don’t fire me or anything, but if you want to, I completely understand.” 

Baekhyun looked completely dumbfounded. He stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open a little.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been avoiding me all week! You barely talk to me, even when it’s only the two of us here, and you wouldn’t even look at me! I…I just feel like I’ve made you feel so uncomfortable, with, you know, what I did. I’m so sorry. If you want to pretend it never happened, that’s fine with me. I just wanted to apologize—” y/n nervously kept rambling on and on, fearing what was to come next. Her face was a bright red by now, she was sure of it. She wiped her palm on her jeans, wondering if the rising heat of the room was because of the oven, or if it was just her imagination.

Baekhyun shifted a few steps closer to her. y/n could barely manage to look up at him. 

“Why in the world would I fire you? I love having you here, you never have to worry about that.” he said sincerely. “And besides, I don’t want to pretend it never happened.”

“W-what?” she could only manage to say.

Baekhyun was getting noticeably red. “I said, I don’t want to pretend it never happened.” 

y/n’s brain ceased to work. They stood in silence as she struggled to comprehend what Baekhyun had just said.

“Can we kiss again, or was that a one time thing?” he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper. 

Baekhyun nervously bit the bottom of his lip, his mole more apparent above his mouth now, reminding y/n of that night again. y/n’s heart was doing jumping jacks in her chest. No, she wouldn’t mind kissing Baekhyun a few more times. 

“Yes,” she answered, “we can kiss again.”

He closed the gap between them in seconds. He reached out to gently cup her face in his hands, his brown eyes boring into hers. He craned his head down to lightly brush his lips against hers. y/n held her breath as Baekhyun shifted slightly to fit her lips better. His hands trailed down from her face, coming to rest on her sides. She felt herself sigh against his mouth as she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck, feeling his soft lips against her.

He tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping across her lips and parting her mouth. She thought she heard something ring in the background, but she forgot about it instantly when she lightly bit at Baekhyun’s bottom lip, and he let out a quiet moan in the back of his throat.

“I think the cookies are burning,” y/n managed to say between a mess of their lips when the room started to fill up with smoke. Baekhyun reluctantly pulled back, his hands still gently gripping her sides.

“Oh, no.” he groaned, burying his face in the nook where y/n’s neck and shoulder met. He opened the oven, letting a gush of smoke blow out. 

“Reminds me of your first day here.” Baekhyun commented playfully.

“I was surprised you didn’t fire me on the spot.” y/n cringed.

“You were too cute to fire over some burnt cookies.” He gave her a shy smile before taking the cookies out. They were burnt to a crisp once again. At least this time it wasn’t all her fault.

y/n had just plopped down onto her couch after a long day at school when her phone started ringing. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies when she saw the name Baekhyun flashing on her phone screen.

“Hi, Baekhyun,” y/n answered.

“y/n, are you free this weekend?” Baekhyun asked.

y/n thought about her schedule for a few seconds before answering. “Hm, I don’t have a whole lot to do. I just finished this big assignment today, thank god.”

“Great! Well…” Baekhyun hesitated. “Would you like to come over? I can make us dinner, maybe watch a movie…”

“I would love to!” y/n said a little too enthusiastically, a silly smile taking over her face.

“Does Saturday at seven sound good?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, trying to imagine Baekhyun with the same goofy smile on his face. Her heart warmed at the thought.

“It’s a date.” he added before hanging up. y/n’s breath caught in her throat. She tried her very best to not squeal with excitement like a teenager.

The rest of the week seemed to pass by in a blur as she counted the days to her date with Baekhyun. Before she knew it, she was nervously standing in front of Baekhyun’s door, waiting for him to answer. It’s only Baekhyun, she told herself reassuringly, you literally see him every other day.

y/n’s heart still did flips in her chest when Baekhyun answered the door, inviting her in with a sunny smile. He looked handsome as usual, with his hair styled and a baby blue sweater comfortably hugging his lean figure. His apartment was small but cozy, not much bigger than hers. Soft browns and blues adorned parts of the apartment. She could see touches of his personality around the place, from a framed photo of him with Sehun and two other guys, to a colorful apron hanging on a hook by the kitchen. y/n hadn’t realized that Baekhyun’s apartment would smell exactly how he did, except the fragrance of strawberries stood out more intensely over the smell of fresh laundry.

She walked in a little further to be met with a table with two plates of roasted steak and vegetables, softly lit by candlelights.

“I hope you like the menu.” Baekhyun commented. There was no way y/n wasn’t going to like the menu — she already knew she was going to love everything Baekhyun cooked.

“Wow, Baekhyun. This looks really good.” y/n complimented him as he pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, admiring not only the food, but also the beautifully set table with a small floral centerpiece. 

“I would make an amazing house-husband.” Baekhyun said with a wink, making her chuckle.

“Shall we dig in?” y/n asked, fork and knife ready in her hands. 

Baekhyun nodded. He waited for y/n to cut a small piece of her steak and put it in her mouth. 

“Is it good?” Baekhyun looked at y/n, anxiously waiting for an answer.

“I haven’t even started chewing,” y/n said, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Oh.” Baekhyun’s face reddened as he realized hadn’t given her the chance to fully taste her food before asking. 

After a few moments, y/n’s eyes widened at the tenderness of the steak. It was seasoned perfectly, too. “It’s delicious,” she complemented, “maybe you should’ve opened a restaurant instead of a bakery.”

“I learned how to cook from my grandma,” Baekhyun explained, “she lives in Gangwon-do! I visit her every now and then.”

This was y/n’s first time hearing about Baekhyun’s family. She listened with curiosity. 

“She makes amazing Korean dishes, but I swear she can cook the best steak. She can do Chinese, Japanese, Italian…the list goes on. My personal favorite is her soybean paste stew.” 

y/n watched Baekhyun get lost in the thought of his grandmother and her cooking. It was sort of endearing and y/n could imagine Baekhyun adorably waiting at the dinner table for his grandmother to bring out delicious plates of his favorite food. “Wow, I can only imagine.”

“You should come with me to visit her sometime.” Baekhyun commented casually.

y/n’s heart stirred as she wondered what that could mean for them. 

The meal went by pleasantly, filled with soft laughter and conversation. Baekhyun fondly mentioned how he had known Sehun for years, and y/n’s eyes sparkled in interest; she had always wondered how he and Sehun had become so close.

“You and Sehun seem really close — close considering you guys work together, I mean.”

Baekhyun nodded. “We grew up together back when I lived with my grandma. My parents were busy working 24/7, so they thought it would be better to have her take care of me. Sehun lived next door to our place until I had to move out for college, so I guess it was natural that we grew close.”

y/n had no clue that their relationship went far back. “What about now? How is he working for you?”

Baekhyun grinned as he reminisced about the past. “Ah, I visited my grandma one year and he was still living next door, freshly out of high school. He was about to head off to college in the city, so I asked him to come work in my bakery as a part timer. He said no at first, of course, but he caved in after I bribed him with a few cups of his favorite chocolate bubble tea.”

y/n giggled at the image of Sehun grumpily agreeing to work for Baekhyun as he sipped on the drink. 

“What about you, y/n?” Baekhyun asked as he forked a piece of asparagus.

“Me?”

“I feel like I’ve been only talking about myself.” Baekhyun pointed out. “Do you have any close friends?”

Joohyun’s face immediately surfaced to y/n’s mind. “Joohyun! We’ve been friends since high school. We ended up at the same college together, although I don’t see her that often. She’s an art history major, and I’m studying psychology, so we don’t have that many chances to see each other on campus. We’re both so busy these days.”

“I know how that feels,” Baekhyun said wistfully, “my two best friends from high school — Chanyeol and Kyungsoo — work in different cities, so I find that it’s hard to see them. I should call them to catch up sometime…they might tell me to fuck off, though.”

As Baekhyun and y/n worked through their meal, y/n found out that Baekhyun’s ultimate goal was to open a chain of bakeries across the country.

“It’s unrealistic — the bakery only started doing well about a year ago, so I don’t want to jinx it or anything. Not a lot of people make it in this business. But it’s my dream.” Baekhyun said, looking a bit flustered. 

y/n reached out and placed her hand over his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, I know you can do it.” she told him. 

Baekhyun gave her a warm look, his eyes gleaming in the soft glow of the candles.

They conversed non-stop through the rest of their dinner, discussing what the best dessert at the bakery was, how Sehun never trusted her with the oven anymore, and whether y/n was ever going to manage to learn the meticulous task of latte art. When their plates emptied and stomachs were satisfied, they made their way over to the blue velvet couch in his living room. 

“Rom-com? Or horror?” Baekhyun held up two DVD cases for y/n to see.

“Who uses DVDs these days?” y/n jokingly remarked. “Doesn’t everyone use Netflix? Or Hulu?”

Baekhyun grumbled that he liked the manual labor of playing a DVD. He inserted the rom-com into his DVD player and settled on the couch beside her. He scooted closer to drape his arm around y/n’s shoulders. She fit perfectly in his embrace and snuggled into him, tucking her face into the side of his chest. His hands started playing with her hair and she giggled softly. Cuddling with Baekhyun was nice. She indulged in the scent of him, the usual aroma of fresh laundry and strawberries. 

“I’m so glad you started working for us at the bakery.” Baekhyun said in a tentative tone.

The following gap of silence told y/n that Baekhyun had something more to say, but was careful with being too upfront about his feelings. y/n craned her neck and kissed Baekhyun boldly on the lips. His eyes widened slightly and his cheeks flushed at her assertiveness. “I’m glad that I met you.” she told him.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that…I like you,” Baekhyun mumbled, face still red, “this sounds selfish, but I like having you in my life. I keep getting a bit flustered when you’re around — you make me feel like I’m having a crush, like I’m in high school again.”

Baekhyun buried his face in his hand in embarrassment. y/n’s lips tugged into a heartwarming smile at Baekhyun’s confession.

y/n felt an urge to tease him for being so straightforward with her. “Is that all?” she asked.

Baekhyun lifted his head out of his hand to see y/n eagerly waiting for a response. “I-I’ve been feeling this way ever since you started working at the bakery. I just can’t seem to take my eyes off of you. At first, I thought it was because I was worried that you might make a mistake and hurt yourself — but then I started searching for you even when it wasn’t your shift. It’s okay if you don’t feel as strongly as I do, but I just wanted to make my feelings clear—”

y/n stopped his words with another kiss, this time longer. “I feel the same way, Baekhyun.”

y/n could’ve sworn that Baekhyun’s smile when she pulled away was bright enough to rival the sun.

The next morning, y/n walked to the bakery with an elated bounce in her step. The sun shone down beamingly onto the pretty autumn day, bright foliage lining the sidewalk. Whether the world actually looked beautiful that day, or if it just looked extra beautiful to her because of her happy mood, she did not know.

“Hi, y/n.” Baekhyun beamed and waved when y/n walked in, his face a light shade of pink. She saw Sehun standing besides him, rolling his eyes.

“Good morning!” y/n waved back with a smile on her face. Baekhyun seemed to be in a sunny mood today. He was softly humming along to a pop song playing in the background as he expertly made a caramel macchiato. Thankfully, he didn’t spill it this time, even with y/n around. 

“You guys seem cheery today.” Sehun noted, raising his eyebrows suspiciously. Baekhyun gave him an innocent smile as he handed the drink to a customer.

y/n’s shift passed by normally, everything the same as usual save for Baekhyun’s occasional glances and crescent-shaped smiles in her direction. Due to the upcoming midterms week, there were more students than usual pouring through the door of the bakery, grabbing a cup of coffee before they headed off to the nearby library.

There was finally a little break around lunchtime, when the flow of customers seemed to cease. The bakery was empty for the first time that day. y/n and Baekhyun stood by the register while Sehun went in the kitchen to ice a cake in chocolate ganache.

She turned to her right to see Baekhyun standing next to her, his head cocked to the side to look at y/n. He grinned and proceeded to plant a kiss on her cheek. “How’s your day going, love?” 

y/n blushed and shared a wide smile with Baekhyun. “I’m a little tired, but everything is going well! I managed to serve an iced latte in under three minutes today. Are you proud of me?”

Baekhyun booped y/n’s nose with his forefinger. “Yes, I am so proud.”

y/n let out a yawn. She had stayed up nearly all night after her date, trying to finish her assignments and study for her exam. The memory of Baekhyun had kept her in a good mood all morning despite her tiredness, but she felt the exhaustion finally settling into her body after the rush of customers.

“I’ll make you a coffee,” Baekhyun said, noticing her yawn. He made his way over to the espresso machine.

He was about to press the button on the machine when she walked over to wrap her arms around his waist from behind. She buried her face in his broad back, his frame lean but firm against her. She gently tickled his stomach and he let out a quiet laugh.

“Thank you,” she said softly, breathing in his scent.

“Oh my god, can you guys stop having sex in front of me?!” Sehun exclaimed. y/n and Baekhyun sprang apart, their faces scarlet. Sehun had just come out of the kitchen cautiously carrying a three-layer chocolate cake.

“We were just—” Baekhyun began, but Sehun interrupted.

“I will not stand being the third wheel of this bakery.” Sehun huffed, placing the cake down on the counter. He glared at them.

Baekhyun gave Sehun an annoyed look. “You know I’m the owner of this bakery, right? I make the rules.”

“Oh, so when I decide to wear sandals to work, I’m being unprofessional, but you guys can have a makeout session behind the register and it’s completely fine?” Sehun said angrily. 

y/n couldn’t help but giggle at Sehun’s reaction. He gave off the vibe of a little kid being annoyed at his parents for being affectionate to each other. 

“Aw, Sehun, are you sad that we don’t give you hugs?” y/n pouted, walking over to Sehun with her arms outstretched.

“No way. We are coworkers.” Sehun said coldly, running away to avoid her. y/n and Baekhyun laughed.

Their laughter was cut short when the door chimed and a young woman walked in. Baekhyun’s lips turned into a flat line.

She was tall, a couple inches taller than y/n maybe, and thin. Her hair was long and bleached blonde, tumbling down her shoulders in loose waves. She took no time to stride straight over to the register, where Baekhyun was standing, frozen in place. Her high heels clicked noisily against the wood flooring of the bakery. She looked at Baekhyun with an unreadable look on her face.

Sehun quietly cursed under his breath.

“Hi, Baekhyun.” she finally said after a prolonged silence, her voice hesitant.

“Mina,” Baekhyun breathed, “what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” she said, glancing over at y/n and Sehun, “maybe in private.”

Baekhyun stood, unblinking, still as a statue. His face was blank as he silently walked over to Mina. They sat down in a booth near the back of the bakery.

Once they were out of earshot, y/n turned to Sehun. He looked just as frozen as Baekhyun had been.

“Who’s that?” she asked, but she felt she already knew the answer.

“That’s Baekhyun’s ex, Mina, the one I told you about.” Sehun explained, eyes ladened in worry. “They met in college and dated for a little over two years. They went through a really bad breakup a few years ago and no one knows why. All I know is that he gets extremely agitated whenever someone brings her up. I have no idea why she’s here, he hasn’t seen her for years. She moved to another city not long after they broke up. For all I know, she’s a cold-hearted bitch.”

y/n nodded. She looked over at the booth where Baekhyun and Mina were talking in hushed voices. They sat across from each other, deep in conversation. Baekhyun had a bitter, almost chilling look on his face. 

“They were really serious. I remember they were even talking about getting married at one point. She better not be here trying to get back together with him or anything. He was heartbroken after they broke up.” Sehun followed y/n’s gaze to look suspiciously at Mina. It was times like this when y/n realized that beneath Sehun’s bratty persona, he actually cared about Baekhyun a lot. “She left him to be miserable on his own. If she’s trying to get him back, she better watch her back.”

Mina left after about twenty minutes. Baekhyun came back to the register, running his hand through his hair distractedly. He had a pained look on his face.

“What did she want?” Sehun asked, his arms crossed disapprovingly.

“I-it’s nothing for you to worry about.” Baekhyun said, barely making eye contact. “Sehun, can you take the closing shift today?”

“What? Why?”

“Something came up.” Baekhyun gave Sehun a look that seemed to mean something to Sehun. Sehun’s eyes softened. “Please?”

“Fine.” Sehun grumbled. y/n was surprised that Sehun agreed with little convincing. Sehun would’ve normally put up a fight, requiring Baekhyun to bribe him in some way.

Baekhyun was silent for the rest of the shift. y/n and Sehun walked on eggshells around him, careful not to say anything about Mina. They could tell her visit had put a lot on his mind. Baekhyun merely nodded or shook his head whenever he was asked something, and repeatedly stared out the window, deep in thought. 

“Hey Baekhyun, is everything okay?” y/n asked hesitantly.

Baekhyun looked at y/n and weakly smiled. “Yeah.”

y/n waited for Baekhyun to start talking about what was on his mind. “Mina, the girl that just came here, is my ex, if you couldn’t already tell.” He let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “We were pretty serious. Almost got married…but it didn’t work out. I don’t know why she suddenly showed up today. I really don’t want anything to do with her anymore.”

y/n appreciated his honesty, but didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll tell you more later if you want.” Baekhyun shared another smile with y/n when he sensed a bit of awkwardness between them. 

y/n tried not to think too much about what had happened with Baekhyun and Mina. She found it unsettling that Mina had visited him out of the blue, but she figured that Baekhyun would talk to her about it when he was ready. Still unnerved from the incident with Mina, y/n left the bakery around midafternoon, heading to the library to get a little studying done before her evening class.

Baekhyun had no idea why Mina had randomly popped into his bakery without warning, and asked him to meet her at a Italian restaurant with three Michelin stars halfway across town. He let out an annoyed sigh as he turned the steering wheel of his car to pull into a small parking lot. He would’ve much preferred to be back at his bakery at that moment. He already felt bad about forcing Sehun to work the closing shift.

Mina was already sitting down at a table by the window. Her face lit up when she saw him. Baekhyun internally groaned, and made his way over to the table.

“I was surprised you said yes to this dinner,” Mina chirped.

Baekhyun pulled out his chair and sat down hastily. “I’m not going to stay for long. Ten minutes and I have to go back to work.”

Mina raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you have two people working for you now?”

“What do you want?” Baekhyun was not going to entertain her.

Conveniently for Mina, a waiter interrupted them with two plates of carbonara. Mina gave the waiter a small thank you when he placed the plates in front of her and Baekhyun.

“I got carbonara, your favorite.”

Baekhyun stared at Mina in disbelief. “Can you please tell me why you invited me to dinner so we can part ways?” 

Mina sighed. “I’m getting married, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun held his breath. He did not expect to hear that at all. 

“Congratulations. I bet he will treat you well.” Baekhyun said flatly.

Mina took a sip of her wine and eyed the ring on her left hand. She held it up for Baekhyun to see, a perfectly cut diamond glimmering in all angles. “Quite frankly, I don’t want this.”

“It’s a pretty ring.” Baekhyun commented.

Mina let out a dry laugh. “I missed you, Baekhyun.”

As if the night wasn’t already a series of surprising events, this comment was by far the worst one yet. Baekhyun deeply sighed in agony. Mina had left him to be lonely and heartbroken when he was in one of his darkest times. He couldn’t possibly understand how she managed to shamelessly act like nothing had happened between them.

“What the fuck are you saying, Mina? We broke up a long time ago. You’re getting married.” Baekhyun’s voice rose. “I’m also taken.” 

Mina grabbed Baekhyun’s hand across the table. “I won’t marry him if you’re willing to give us another chance. I can break the engagement if we get back together, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s jaw clenched at the offer. Mina hadn’t been like this when they first started dating. She was selfless, kind, and did what was best for those she loved. He saw nothing but a shell of her former self in front of him now. 

He ripped his hand out from under hers. “Look, we were over once you decided I wasn’t good enough for you.” He took a moment before continuing to say, “I’m sorry that you’ve gotten yourself in a loveless marriage and you had to stoop this low. You weren’t like this before. What happened?”

“I love Junmyeon, I really do. It’s just…it’s just that I can’t marry him, without knowing what things could’ve been like between us if we had never broken up.” she said, her voice slightly trembling.

Baekhyun let out a bitter, humorless laugh. “You wanted nothing to do with me back when I was just a broke college dropout, remember? Now you see that my bakery is doing well, and all the sudden, you want back in my life?”

Baekhyun immediately worried that he was being a bit too harsh when he saw how Mina looked taken aback by his words.

“I regret how things ended between us more than anything in my life, Baekhyun—” she started to say.

Then his phone started ringing. Baekhyun gave a quick glance to the caller ID before answering. “Hello?”

His eyes widened and shot out of his chair. “I’m on my way.”

Without a single word to Mina, Baekhyun rushed out of the restaurant. 

y/n had called Baekhyun, telling him that the stalker showed up again. She had been surprised by Baekhyun’s response over the phone; she hadn’t expected him to drop everything he was doing and make his way to her immediately. y/n fidgeted nervously as she waited for him to show up.

By the time y/n saw Baekhyun running into the lobby of the building, the police had already gotten there and dragged the stalker away. A small crowd gathered around the police and y/n, who was being asked questions by a police officer. Baekhyun looked panicked when he saw an ambulance and a few paramedics on the scene. He pushed past the crowd and rushed to y/n, taking her hand into his. His eyes searched her face, desperate to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you okay?” He was panting a little from having run across campus. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, really. I just got a little bit scratched on my wrists. An ambulance was called just in case.” y/n was quick to assure Baekhyun, but at y/n’s words, Baekhyun gently lifted her hand to examine her wrists, slightly red and bruised. His eyes looked worried and a little glassy, like he was about to tear up. 

“What happened exactly?” he asked.

y/n slowly explained what had happened. She had noticed someone following her after class. When she turned the corner into an empty hallway, the stalker grabbed her by the wrists, slamming her onto the wall. y/n fought back, trying to escape his grip, but before she could scream for help, he pressed his palm over her mouth. Thankfully, after a few moments of kicking and yelling into the stalker’s hand, a student passing by noticed the scene and immediately called the police.

“Apparently he’s actually in my class, but he’s been following me around campus and to the bakery. The police arrested him.” she explained, squeezing Baekhyun into a hug. She didn’t want him to be so concerned when he didn’t have to be. She was just glad that the police had finally caught the stalker.

Baekhyun, one hand on the back of y/n’s head, tightened his other arm around her back and mumbled, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if…if he had…”

“Shh,” y/n shushed Baekhyun who was trembling more than she was now. “I’m fine, Baekhyun.” She pulled back to look at Baekhyun's eyes to reassure him and stood her tiptoes to give him a small kiss on the lips. She didn’t feel him relax against her as he usually did. His expression was still stiff, even stiffer than it had been back at the bakery.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, confused. Was he still upset about what had happened with Mina? 

Baekhyun scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Let’s talk about this in the car.” he said.

Baekhyun led her to the police officer that had been talking to y/n to make sure they could leave. They walked in silence with their hands intertwined to where Baekhyun’s car had been parked across campus.

She climbed into the passenger seat. Baekhyun placed his hands on the steering wheel without turning on the ignition. She could see a deep frown creasing his forehead. His fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” y/n asked carefully.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one that just got attacked, y/n. Don’t worry about me,” he replied, but his shaky voice and white knuckles said otherwise.

“Can I ask you something?” 

Baekhyun nodded without looking at her. 

“Why did you ask Sehun to take the closing shift?” she asked. She could hear Baekhyun draw in a sharp breath and shift his grip on the steering wheel.

Before he could reply, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket, and the screen briefly flashed in her direction. Mina, it was hard to ignore the four white letters stark against it’s dark background. y/n’s stomach churned uncomfortably.

“Hello?” he answered curtly. She could hear Mina’s voice on the other line. She sounded worried.

“Something came up and I had to leave,” he said, “everything’s fine. No, there’s no need to stop by my place. I’m fine. Please, I don’t want to see you again, okay?”

Baekhyun hung up after a few moments. He let out a heavy sigh, leaning his head back against the headrest of his car. Neither of them spoke for a while.

“Was that Mina?” y/n asked, her voice barely audible. Baekhyun flinched at the sound of her name.

“Yes.” he said darkly.

“Oh,” was all that y/n could manage to say.

Something came up and I had to leave, he had said. y/n couldn’t help but feel a worrying question gnawing at the back of her head. She knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she knew the answer. “Were you with her when I called you?”

Baekhyun looked blankly at his hands on the steering wheel. “Yes,” he finally said after a moment of hesitation. “I was having dinner with her.”

y/n felt an unbearable sting in her chest as her suspicion proved to be true. She knew Mina had wanted to talk to him back at the bakery. She had gotten the impression that Baekhyun wasn’t pleased about her visit, but she didn’t think that Baekhyun would want to see Mina again.

“I…I wish you would’ve told me,” she said quietly. She didn’t want to start a fight, she really didn’t. Besides, it wasn’t like she and Baekhyun had agreed to become exclusive or anything. But she couldn’t help but be a little upset at the fact that he had agreed to have dinner with Mina without telling her.

“I’m sorry.” he apologized, meeting her eyes for the first time in a while. They were still a bit glassy and red, staring at her sadly.

y/n wasn’t only upset with Baekhyun, but she was also upset at herself for getting involved in this situation in the first place. She didn’t want to be stuck in the middle between them, between a relationship that had lasted far longer than the amount of time she’d even known Baekhyun.

Baekhyun studied her face. “I should tell you about what happened in the past.” he said. y/n nodded, and he started to tell the history between him and Mina.

“I met Mina in my first year of college. She was a few years older than me. She had everything already figured out — what kind of job she wanted to have, what kind of life she wanted for herself — and I was just lost. I found some comfort in that she was so secure with herself because I wasn’t at the time. Everything seemed great at first. I’d never dated anyone seriously until that point, so I had no idea what to even expect out of a relationship, but I thought I was in love with her.

“Then right before our two-year anniversary, she started talking about marriage. Dropping hints about wedding dresses and engagement rings and all that. I definitely wasn’t ready to get married, I had no idea what I was even doing with my life. She was so disappointed when I didn’t propose on our anniversary.

“That was when I told her that I was going to drop out of college. I had felt like I was living a lie during my entire time there. I didn’t care about my major at all, and the thought of working in an office made me miserable. The only dream I’ve ever had in my life was to open my own bakery. I had expected her to at least be supportive of my dream. I thought she at least loved me that much.” Baekhyun hung his head and looked down at his lap bitterly. y/n’s heart ached at the look on his face. Baekhyun let out a sigh and continued on.

“She basically told me that my dream would never come true, that I would never save enough money to even come close to opening a bakery. She said even if I somehow managed to open a bakery, it would go out of business in months. She begged me to stay in college and study finance, said her family would never accept a husband with an unrealistic dream and no security blanket. She said we could get married when I graduated and got a job.

“I refused. I had already lost sight of my dream for twenty years. I wasn’t going to do it any longer. When she realized I wasn’t going to change my mind, she broke up with me. She got a job offer in a different city and moved away. I hadn’t seen her again since then…until today.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were full of tears now. y/n’s heart broke for him as a drop escaped, streaking down his cheek. She automatically reached out to take his hand in hers. The soft sound of his sniffle and the tremble of his hands told her only a fraction of the heartbreak that Baekhyun had experienced. There was nothing she could say that could undo what had happened to him. All she could do was hold his hand, and be there for him.

Baekhyun’s shoulders shook as he let out a quiet sob. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry…you’ve been through enough today. Watching me cry is probably the last thing you want to do.”

“Don’t ever apologize for showing your emotions.” y/n told him, gripping his hand tighter.

y/n finally understood why Baekhyun had been so shaken by Mina’s sudden appearance. Mina had taken his heart, smashed it, and left before he could even pick up the broken pieces. For her to show up out of the blue, acting like nothing had happened, y/n could tell why Baekhyun had been so upset. 

“She asked me to have dinner with her when she came to the bakery. I said yes, thinking I would finally get closure. I thought she would finally apologize for the terrible things she’d said. I should’ve told you then, I’m sorry.” he said through his quiet whimpers. “Instead, she told me she’s getting married. She asked me to take her back. She told me she wouldn’t marry her fiancé if I gave her another chance.”

y/n sat, frozen in shock. She couldn’t quite believe her ears. Anger rose in her chest. How could Mina be so selfish?

“I said no, of course, but I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that she thinks so little of me, that she would think I’d jump at the chance to get back together with her, after all that she did…”

y/n leaned across the console of the car to wrap her arms around his shoulders. He buried his face against her neck, letting his tears freely fall now. y/n didn’t mind that her shirt was wet with his tears, she just wanted to take away all the pain in his heart. She brushed her hands against the broad expanse of his back, rubbing gentle circles. Her heart broke for him again at the sound of his broken sobs.

y/n couldn’t help but feel an uneasiness rising from the pit of her stomach. She thought that she had found what she had been looking for the past twenty-two years of her life, in Baekhyun — but the doubts that the appearance of Mina had sowed in her grew after listening to Baekhyun. She couldn’t tell if he still had feelings for Mina or not. More importantly, y/n didn’t know if she could be there for Baekhyun. She had no idea if she could be the one to fix what Mina had broken in him.

y/n wondered if she was just being selfish. Yes, she liked Baekhyun a lot, but she wasn’t sure if now was the best time to jump into a relationship with him when he was still healing from his last heartbreak. Everything about it felt overwhelming now. y/n genuinely appreciated Baekhyun’s honesty, but at the same time, she felt distant from him. Baekhyun’s story had made her realize how little she actually knew about him. She had no idea of who he was in the past, and hearing the truth felt like a burden. Could she be the one to fix his heart? 

y/n wasn’t sure if Baekhyun was what she was looking for in a relationship anymore.

She slowly pulled back from Baekhyun’s arms when his sobs died down, replaced by soft sniffles. “I-I need some time to process this.” she said tentatively.

Baekhyun blinked, his eyes swollen red and his cheeks tear streaked. “What?” The sight of Baekhyun in tears made y/n’s heart ache.

“I’m sorry…I really hate to do this, Baekhyun. But I don’t know if I can do whatever this is between us. I need time to think, and I think you do, too.” Her own eyes stung, filling up with tears of their own. She couldn’t bear to look at him. She felt sick. What she was doing was selfish; she was trying to protect herself because she feared commitment to Baekhyun.

When she finally braced herself to look up at him, his eyes were red-rimmed, shimmering with tears. “...I understand.” he said in a breathy voice. 

Eventually, y/n silently got out of the car and ignored how much she regretted her decision to leave Baekhyun all alone. She hurriedly ran across campus and back to her apartment. She only managed to fall asleep that night when her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

y/n requested the rest of the week off, claiming that she needed time to study for her exams. She hadn’t been entirely lying; she desperately needed to study. But that reason paled in comparison to her compulsive need to avoid Baekhyun at all costs.

Thinking of Baekhyun clouded her heart with so many emotions that she couldn’t even begin to process. She had felt so cruel, leaving him behind in his car with tears falling down his cheeks, when he had poured his heart out in front of her just moments before. It was as if he had taken his heart out of its carefully guarded cage and handed it to her, only for her to abandon it. Her chest filled with guilt just thinking about it. The reasonable, practical side of her heart, however, told her that they both needed time on their own to collect their thoughts before making rash decisions.

The week passed by uneventfully with y/n spending most of her time in either class or the library. She tried her very best to push away every thought of Baekhyun. She was walking to class one day when she received a text from Joohyun, asking her if she wanted to have dinner. She brightened at the chance to see her friend. She was desperately in need of a distraction.

y/n walked into a dimly lit restaurant that apparently served the best gourmet burgers in town. Joohyun animatedly waved her over to their table.

“Joohyun, how’s it going?” y/n asked as she hung her coat on the chair. 

Joohyun rubbed her stomach and complained, “I’m so goddamn hungry. Let’s order.”

By the time their food was served, they were deep into conversation about their lives. y/n had expected Joohyun, who loved to gossip, to hit her with the relationship question — and she wasn’t wrong.

“So…any updates about you and the cute baker boss?” Joohyun smiled slyly and wiggled her eyebrows.

y/n nearly choked on her food. “W-we aren’t together.”

Disappointment took over Joohyun’s face. “Are you serious? I told you guys would make a cute couple! Really, nothing happened?” Joohyun pressed for answers.

“We did kiss.” y/n finally admitted. 

Joohyun giggled in excitement. “Oh my, tell me all the details! Just once? There's no way you only managed to kiss that cute boy only once.”

y/n explained to her a rough sketch of what had happened, but wasn’t sure if she should include the detail about their time away from each other. “We…aren’t exactly on good terms right now.”

Joohyun, who was listening attentively, slammed her palm on the table. Her mug of beer made a little splash at the force. “What? How could you not be on good terms right now?” 

y/n internally cringed. “I know. Everything seemed to be going well until his ex showed up.”

“His ex?” Joohyun’s eyes widened. “I hate a man with a messy past.”

“It’s not that messy.” y/n wondered. Was it really?

Joohyun shook her head in disapproval. “So, you guys are on a break right now?”

y/n nodded bitterly and sipped on her mug of beer, halfway empty now. 

“You shied away from commitment, right,” Joohyun said almost conclusively. “I know you.”

y/n nodded again, but this time hung her head and said, “I don’t know what to do. I really like him, but do I have it in me to commit to all sides of him? He seemed like he’s so bright and easy-going all the time. I had no idea about his past and how heartbroken he was. I don’t know if I can be the one to support him, even through all his dark times. What if I hurt him too? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I broke his heart, even just a little bit.”

“Aw, y/n.” Joohyun picked up y/n’s hand and made y/n meet eyes with her. “You have a good heart. You should know that. I’m sure your relationship with him will have its ups and downs — as all relationships do.”

y/n felt her eyes tear up. Joohyun’s assurance was exactly what she had been looking for. She needed the courage to commit to Baekhyun, give her all to him and promise to love him with her whole heart. 

“I’m usually not the one to say cheesy shit like this — but follow your heart, y/n. You overthink sometimes.” Joohyun smiled warmly at y/n. “I’ve never heard you talk about someone like this before, y/n. It sounds like you care about him a lot.”

y/n thanked Joohyun for her advice and gave her a long hug before they parted ways. y/n stared emptily after Joohyun as her friend rushed to the nearby subway station.

y/n clutched her coat tighter around herself in the cold nighttime air. She was in a part of town that she rarely frequented, surrounded by shops and restaurants she’d never seen before. She walked around aimlessly until her feet came to rest before a small bakery sandwiched between a Chinese restaurant and a bookstore. 

It was late, but there were still cookies, cakes and different pastries displayed on the shelf. y/n could smell the addicting, sweet scent of baked goods when she stepped closer. The inside of the bakery seemed so warm and inviting; y/n desperately wanted to go inside.

An employee popped out of the back room and jogged over to the register. y/n felt a bitter pang in her chest when she realized he wasn’t Baekhyun. She had strangely expected him to be Baekhyun, despite the fact that this wasn’t his bakery, plus she was in a completely different part of the city. She realized that she had come to permanently associate the concept of bakeries with Baekhyun.

A group of customers walked in and the employee greeted them with a welcoming smile. y/n quickly walked away before his smile could remind her of Baekhyun, too.

y/n was sitting on her couch on a lazy evening, sipping a cup of earl grey tea as she watched dry leaves fall off the branches outside in a slow transition from fall to winter. After a long day at school, she was about to turn on the TV when her doorbell rang.

She considered who could be visiting her this late. Something in the back of her mind wished it was Baekhyun behind the door, all smiles and sunshine, but she remembered a package that she had ordered earlier in the week. She looked out her peephole expecting a delivery man and nearly gasped. Baekhyun was fidgeting nervously on her doormat. 

She opened her door to reveal a slightly disheveled Baekhyun, wearing a rumpled sweater and light-wash jeans. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn’t help but be glad to see him. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said, tense, “I-I wanted to talk to you. Is that okay? If you’re not ready, I can leave—”

“It’s okay, Baekhyun. Come in.” She opened the door wider so he could walk in.

Baekhyun awkwardly shuffled to her living room to stand in front of her TV. 

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked as she closed the door behind her. 

Baekhyun chewed on his bottom lip nervously. “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more honest with you, and I definitely should’ve figured everything out before I started anything with you.” he said, scratching the back of his neck. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Baekhyun.”

“I thought I had gotten over the whole Mina thing a long time ago, but obviously I was wrong. I know this now; Mina didn’t want me. She wanted the nostalgia, the life that she thinks she could’ve had with me if we hadn’t broken up. But I don’t even want to think about that, because I wouldn’t have met you.”

“I wasn’t upset about you getting over Mina.” y/n clarified. “Now that I think of it, you made it quite clear that you didn’t have feelings for her anymore. I’ve thought about us a lot in the past week, and I want to apologize. I was scared of commitment—”

“I scared you off, didn’t I,” Baekhyun murmured. “I can’t promise you that I’m completely healed from what happened all those years ago. I understand if you don’t want to be with me because of that — but I would regret it forever if I didn’t at least tell you how I feel. I want to be with you. You’ve been on my mind all week, and it drove me crazy that I wasn’t seeing you everyday at the bakery. I missed you.”

Baekhyun’s eyes desperately searched for hers. The bright, sincere look in his eyes was asking her to say something, anything at all. 

“I want to be with you, too.” y/n said, her voice clear and sure.

Baekhyun let out a huge sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but smile at his quick change in expression.

“I missed you too, Baekhyun,” y/n confessed. “I’m so sorry I left you all alone in the car. I really should’ve been there for you. I-I was being selfish. I can’t imagine not having you in my life anymore, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun nodded. “It’s okay. I understand how you could have felt that way. I can handle my own emotions, too. I don’t want to burden you.”

“No, no, you’re never a burden to me, Baekhyun,” y/n shook her head. “I’m going to be here for you from now on.”

Baekhyun’s face flushed and broke into a radiant smile. y/n’s heart soared.

He crossed the small space between them and cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to press his lips against hers. She let out a soft noise in surprise, and melted into the kiss. It had been far too long since he had kissed her like this. She gently placed her hands on his back, pulling him closer to her. She could feel him smile against her lips.

“You have no idea how much I’ve been waiting to hear that.” he mumbled, pulling back a little bit.

She shut him up by kissing him again.

Two months later

It was already the season to dress in thick woolen coats with pockets deep enough for Baekhyun to hide dessert to surprise y/n with. He occasionally pulled out carefully packaged brownies or sugar cookies and watched y/n’s delighted reaction in satisfaction. His gifts didn’t stop with the baked goods; Baekhyun once showed up in a blue knitted scarf and gifted an identical pair for y/n to match with him. 

y/n gripped Baekhyun’s hand tightly and half-dragged him towards the snow-covered cabin. Snowflakes were falling around them softly, resting on the tops of their heads and shoulders before quickly melting away. 

y/n suppressed a laugh when Baekhyun let out another whine. “I told you I didn’t want to go!” he complained, flailing his other arm as y/n dragged him away. He pouted when she looked back at him — she almost gave in at his puppy-like eyes. 

“We came all this way, Baekhyun,” she said firmly, “now let’s go inside, I’m freezing.”

When Baekhyun received the official invitation to Mina’s wedding two months ago, he had been strongly against going. He crossed his arms, claiming that he never wanted to see her face again. Strangely enough, y/n found herself convincing Baekhyun to attend the wedding with her. 

“You’ll finally get the closure you’ve wanted if you go and congratulate her, Baekhyun.” y/n had said to Baekhyun, who was fuming at the notion of seeing Mina again.

“It’s fine if you really don’t want to go. But I won’t be able to show her that you’re mine.” y/n had said with a wink. This seemed to cheer Baekhyun up a little bit, a mischievous glint returning to his eyes.

y/n and Baekhyun entered the cabin, handing their coats to the coat checker. y/n was wearing a light pink silk dress that stopped a few inches below her knees, her hair falling down her back in soft waves. She had made sure to look presentable and had spent hours deciding on her dress. Baekhyun looked at her appreciatively, blushing when she met his eyes.

The cabin was completely decked out in Christmas decorations, every wall space covered in wreaths and fairy lights. Even the air smelled like Christmas — the aroma of gingerbread cookies and pine cones filling the entire venue. Huge A-framed windows looked out at the snowy mountains around them.

y/n clapped excitedly. “I love Christmas weddings!” She shot Baekhyun a warning glance before he could let out another grumble.

The ceremony was breathtaking, y/n admitted. The wedding hall was decorated in a flourish of pink toned flowers. The window behind the altar gave a clear view into the open sky as the sun set beautifully behind the mountains. Mina wore an elegant white gown decorated with lace flowers and crystals that made the dress twinkle as she walked down the aisle to her soon-to-be husband. The groom, Junmyeon, looked just as elegant in his tuxedo. He stood at the altar in a perfect posture, beaming at his bride. 

y/n glanced over at Baekhyun when Mina and Junmyeon began exchanging vows. She had felt a twinge of worry that Baekhyun might not actually enjoy the wedding. However, he was smiling lightly, eyes content at the sight of the newlywed couple. He looked genuinely happy for them.

The banquet hall on the other end of the cabin slowly filled up with people for the reception. Thousands of fairy lights hung across the walls, twinkling like stars that whimsically complemented the darkening sky outside. Baekhyun’s eyes lit up when he saw two twenty-something year old men walking towards them. y/n recognized them as the guys from the framed photo in Baekhyun’s apartment.

“Is that Byun Baekhyun I see?” a tall, gangly man with noticeably pointy ears yelled, approaching them with a big grin on his face.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaimed animatedly. Chanyeol captured Baekhyun in a bear hug, squeezing him as tight as he could. Baekhyun tapped his friend’s back. “Chanyeol, my dude, I can’t breathe.”

Chanyeol released him with a deep, rumbling laugh. A shorter man with big round eyes and heart-shaped lips approached Baekhyun, giving Baekhyun a hug as well. He gave y/n a much calmer impression compared to Chanyeol, who was shaking with laughter.

“It’s so good to see you, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said as the shorter man let go. Kyungsoo’s eyes moved to y/n, who had been standing next to Baekhyun. He gave her a curious look.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, y/n. y/n, these are my friends, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun introduced, a proud smile on his face. y/n felt warmth rise in her stomach at the phrase my girlfriend. It had already been over a month since they'd made their relationship official, but she still felt butterflies whenever he said those words.

“You’re y/n? The y/n? The girl Baekhyun has been talking nonstop about for the past two months?” Chanyeol teased. Baekhyun groaned and covered his face in his hands, his face flushed red.

“Chanyeol, please. Make a good first impression for y/n.” Baekhyun complained.

“Yes, I’m y/n. It’s so nice to meet you guys.” y/n said, smiling at Baekhyun’s embarrassment. His rosy cheeks were beyond cute when he was embarrassed.

“We’re both so glad that Baekhyun finally found someone. You guys make a cute couple, I must say.” Kyungsoo sincerely commented.

“Get ready, y/n, because I’m going to tell you so many embarrassing stories about Baekhyun. Has he told you about the time he got stuck—” Chanyeol started, but Baekhyun made a strangled noise and punched Chanyeol lightly on the arm. Chanyeol overreacted by grabbing himself and scrunching his face in feigned pain.

“Oh, stop it. I didn’t even punch you that hard.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“He got stuck inside a porta potty once,” Kyungsoo quietly whispered to y/n while Chanyeol and Baekhyun quarreled over who had started ‘it’.

The four of them enjoyed their food at a banquet table together. Chanyeol was in the middle of telling a story about the time Baekhyun accidentally shaved off his eyebrows in middle school. Baekhyun had given up on trying to make Chanyeol shut up.

“I had no idea the blade was double sided!” Baekhyun objected, causing Chanyeol to snort and double over the table. y/n laughed as she imagined a younger Baekhyun without eyebrows.

Guests began to walk up to Mina and Junmyeon one by one to congratulate them one last time before heading out. Baekhyun eyed the happy couple who stood across the room hand in hand. Mina was standing with Junmyeon, a bright smile on her face. She chuckled when Junmyeon leaned down to whisper something to her.

“Do you want to go talk to her?” y/n asked quietly in Baekhyun’s ear.

“Only if you come with me,” he murmured.

y/n and Baekhyun excused themselves, saying their goodbyes to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. y/n wrapped her arm around Baekhyun’s and made their way towards Mina and Junmyeon. 

Mina’s smile faded ever so slightly when she saw Baekhyun and y/n approaching them. She said something to Junmyeon, prompting him to walk away and give them some privacy.

“Congratulations, Mina.” Baekhyun greeted her with a genuine smile.

“Baekhyun, I didn’t think you would come,” Mina said, looking flustered. She glanced at y/n standing next to him. “I-isn’t she the girl that works for you at the bakery?”

“Yes, she’s also my girlfriend.” Baekhyun replied. y/n felt an arm wrap around her waist. Mina showed little to no reaction other than a slight widening of the eyes. y/n felt satisfaction settle inside her as she heard the phrase again. My girlfriend. 

“I do remember you saying that you were taken,” Mina said, an awkward smile lingering on her lips. She turned her eyes to y/n. “It’s nice to meet you, y/n. I assume you know who I am.”

y/n nodded once wordlessly.

Baekhyun cleared his throat once and said, “Despite everything that’s happened between us, I still want you to be happy. I hope you are, with Junmyeon.”

“I am,” she said quietly, “thank you, Baekhyun.”

“Goodbye, Mina.” Baekhyun gave her a curt nod before moving to walk away. 

“Wait, Baekhyun—” Mina blurted, stopping Baekhyun in his tracks. He turned to look at her.

“I-I’m sorry. For how I treated you all those years ago. You didn’t deserve that, and I know it’s too late to apologize now — but I still want you to know.” Mina looked down at the hem of her dress before continuing her apology. “You’re a great guy. I hope you find happiness, too.” 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun said, “I found happiness with her.” His arm tightened around y/n’s waist, pulling her closer to his side.

y/n watched Baekhyun smile at Mina, his face the most peaceful y/n had ever seen. He slid his hand into y/n’s and pulled them away. All Mina could do was stare after the couple as they walked out of the venue until they were out of sight.

y/n comfortably settled into the white sheets of the bed, relaxing after a long day of hauling herself around on a pair of high heels. She soon felt the pressure of Baekhyun sinking down beside her. It was too late for them to make the three-hour drive back to their city after the reception, so Baekhyun had booked a hotel room for the two of them. She rolled over on her side to look at Baekhyun, who was laying on his back, his face at ease. y/n blushed slightly at the sight of his bare chest; he was only dressed in a pair of sweatpants.

Shifting through the crack of the curtains, moonlight illuminated Baekhyun’s skin into a healthy glow. 

“Thank you.” Baekhyun softly whispered. He met his eyes with y/n.

“For what?” y/n asked. 

“For everything. I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time.” Baekhyun moved closer to kiss her briefly on the lips. “And I’m so glad you’re the one to make me feel this way.”

y/n gave him a small smile and raised a hand to stroke his hair. Without saying a word, she lovingly kissed him again in response, silently letting him know that she felt the same way. Everything he did, from his endearing smiles to little pouts whenever he messed up the icing, and every way he looked, from a neatly dressed pastry chef to a mess of soft brown hair and dark puppy eyes — all of Baekhyun made y/n fall harder for him.

She deepened the kiss, pressing her lips harder against Baekhyun’s mouth. She felt warmth gather in the pit of her stomach. Baekhyun swiped his tongue against her lips, allowing him to push his tongue inside to meet hers. Baekhyun placed his hand on the back of her neck, pulling their bodies as close as possible. She could feel the heat of his body firm against hers. 

Their breaths became heavier as they continued kissing. She let out a moan when she felt Baekhyun instinctively grind his hips against hers. His hands gripped her waist and moved her so that she was straddling his hips. She bent down to capture his lips again in a messy kiss, their tongues moving against each other sloppily. She rolled her hips against him as they kissed, searching for friction that sent chills down her back. 

She felt his hand slide up the hem of her pajama shirt, gently brushing the soft skin of her stomach. A shiver ran down her entire body. She reached down to pull her shirt over her head. Baekhyun pulled back slightly to stare at her, his breaths shallow and his pupils dilated. His hands wandered down her sides. The way Baekhyun touched her, like she was the most precious thing in the world, made her a million times more sensitive. Every time his hands traveled to a new place, she had to cut back a gasp. 

Baekhyun kissed the side of her jaw, and down the column of her neck. He harshly sucked on a tender point at the base of her throat, his mouth leaving angry, red marks all over her neck. Baekhyun’s hands started kneading her breasts, and she let out another moan. Pleased with her reaction, he ducked his head to take her breast into his mouth. She lightly moaned as she felt his tongue flick against her nipple.

“B-Baekhyun,” she called out shakily.

“Mmm?” he replied, his voice muffled against her skin.

“I need you.”

Baekhyun’s mouth released her breast with a pop, and the sudden onset of cold air made her shudder. He looked to meet her lustful eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she breathed out.

Baekhyun kissed her lips again, exhaling a soft moan as he did. His hand slowly trailed down from her chest to rest between her thighs, brushing against her stomach on the way. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin as he gently shoved his hand inside her pajama shorts to rub her against her underwear. y/n let out a sudden moan, surprised at the pressure in which Baekhyun began rubbing her. His index and middle fingers began moving in a languid back and forth motion. y/n rested her forehead against Baekhyun’s shoulder as she whimpered, already getting lightheaded. Baekhyun let out a soft sigh in response and pushed her underwear down. Baekhyun slid a finger across y/n’s wetness before he started rubbing her clit in circular motions. He eased his two fingers inside her and started to slowly pump them back and forth.

At the direct contact of Baekhyun’s fingers inside her heat, y/n lost control of her moans. She felt embarrassed at the sounds that came out from her lips and rang across the small hotel room. She closed her eyes and bit her lip.

“Look at me, love.” Baekhyun demanded. y/n forced her eyes open and saw Baekhyun, who had a dark look in his eyes, craving for more.

Baekhyun’s hand moved faster in and out of y/n. “Does that feel good?” he asked, voice hoarse. 

“Oh my god, yes,” she managed to say between her moans.

Baekhyun gently flipped them over so that he was leaning above her, his arms resting on either side of her face. As he leaned down to kiss her, he slid off his sweatpants leaving only his underwear on. y/n broke from the kiss, staring at the hardness in his underwear, painfully straining against the fabric. She slowly let her hand wander down from his shoulder and splayed it against his stomach. She played with the hem of his underwear before pulling it down and wrapping her hand around his hardened cock. y/n moved her hand in a steady up and down motion, adding more pressure at the tip. She watched Baekhyun come undone by her touch.

“Go a little faster, sweetheart.” Baekhyun said in a hurried whisper. 

y/n responded by moving her hand faster in a circular motion. Baekhyun let out a quiet noise in the back of his throat, further igniting the flame that was burning inside her stomach.

“I need you inside me,” she said, her voice unsteady.

Baekhyun reached for his wallet on the side table next to the bed and fished out a condom with one hand. He ripped the plastic open and rolled the condom onto his length. He took no time to gently move her hand away from his cock and line himself up at her entrance, pausing for a moment before looking into her desperate eyes. He sank down into her, letting out a soft moan. Her head leaned back into the pillow in pleasure, making space for Baekhyun to tilt his head down and suck on her neck. She let out high-pitched moans as he started to move faster, his hand reaching out to hold onto the headboard of the bed.

“Fuck, Baekhyun.” y/n cried out. Baekhyun thrusted harder into her at the sound of his name rolling off her tongue. He pounded in and out of her, gaining a moan from y/n with each thrust. She brought her hands to his shoulders and raked her fingernails down his broad back.

Baekhyun’s decreasing steadiness and grunts indicated that he was close. y/n felt like she was going to explode, but it wasn’t enough. She took Baekhyun’s hand to her clit and looked into his eyes, begging him for more. Baekhyun got the message and started rubbing intensely, causing y/n to melt into a puddle under his hand. Even as Baekhyun moved roughly, there was an undeniable sense of affection from him, his eyes gazing at her lovingly. 

“Baby, you feel so good,” he murmured.

A few moments later, there was a sudden burst of pent up energy, her back arching off the bed and legs shaking as she came. Her vision blurred as she clenched her eyes and loud moans spilled out of her lips. She called out for Baekhyun, barely making out her own words through her release. He slammed her into a few more times before reaching his own climax.

They collapsed down onto the bed together, chests rising and falling from their harsh breaths. She turned to the side to look at Baekhyun. His skin glistened with sweat, and he looked back at her, dazed. 

The world seemed to stop when Baekhyun said the next words. “I love you,” Baekhyun whispered softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind y/n’s ear. The soft brown in his eyes glimmered for a moment before he leaned in to close his lips around hers.

When they broke apart, y/n whispered back, “I love you too, Baekhyun.” making his face break out into a sweet smile that reminded her of nothing but sunshine, and strangely, strawberries, too.

The cold December air hurt y/n’s lungs as she skipped down the snowy sidewalk that led to the bakery. She ducked her head through the door, inhaling a mixed aroma of cookies, cakes, and macaroons. A smile sprung on her face as she made eye contact with Sehun, who was working the register.

“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to work today.” Sehun asked, surprised to see her.

“I just wanted to visit my favorite bakery employee,” she said innocently, walking over to ruffle Sehun’s hair. Sehun rolled his eyes.

“You’re here to visit your goddamn boyfriend, and you know it.” Sehun deadpanned.

y/n laughed brightly. “I’m here to see you too, Sehun!” She scanned the bakery — it was unusually empty today with most college students having left for winter break. “Where’s Baekhyun?”

Sehun rolled his eyes again. “He’s in the kitchen.”

y/n walked into the kitchen and was met with Baekhyun bent over a tray of cookies. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, his teeth gently digging into his bottom lip as he carefully squeezed icing onto a cookie. He looked up and beamed when he saw y/n walk in.

“Hi, love,” he said, placing the icing bag down on the counter, “what are you doing here?”

“Hi,” she replied, walking over to give him a hug, “I got bored sitting around the apartment so I decided to come visit.”

Baekhyun leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Good. I was getting bored with icing these cookies, too.”

y/n looked down at what he had been working on and gasped. “You know sugar cookies are my favorite.” she said, a blissful smile on her face.

Baekhyun picked up the cookie he’d been icing and tipped it into y/n’s mouth. She chewed, delighting in the sweet flavor of her favorite dessert.

“It’s delicious,” she complimented, “you should try some.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, this time more eagerly. His lips curved against the slope of her mouth, his tongue moving past her lips. She suppressed a moan into a soft sigh and gripped his shoulder as he pressed harder against her mouth.

“Mm, but I’d rather have you for dessert.” Baekhyun broke off from her lips and shamelessly murmured into y/n’s ear, making her face heat up instantly.

They reluctantly pulled back when they heard Sehun’s grumpy yell from outside.

“You guys better not be having sex in there!”

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