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lowkeychenle · 5 months

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Cruel Summer [ZCL] (M)

Description: He wants you. Everything to do with you--your heart, your body, all while keeping your friendship. What's a man to do during a 30-day hook up to get you to stay? (This fic is Chenle's POV!)

A/N: this is inspired by 'Cruel Summer' by Taylor Swift, please do listen to this song because it is SO AMAZING.

Genre: Fluff/Smut/Angst (very minimal angst, like u rlly have to squint)

Content Warnings: LOTS OF FLUFF AND SMUT. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK OKAY. Drinking, alcohol, intoxication, some instances of friends being shitty/pushy Smut warnings: this has so much smut oh my god. anyway, use of pet names 'sunshine,' 'baby,' 'pretty,' and combinations of them, rough, unprotected sex, protected sex, choking, the smut rlly progressively gets softer but kinkier? a wee bit of dacrophyilia, one oral scene (m receiving), and i think that's it...i'm so sorry if I missed one this thing is so fucking long

Word Count: 20,050 (seriously wtf did I DO?!)

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x fem!Reader (feat. Mark, Haechan, Jaemin, Jeno, and two female OCs, Chaeyoung & Heewon)

Juliet's Masterlist | Requests

Day 1 | June 1st

Chenle, for his entire life, had always said summer was his favorite season. As time went on and he got older, that sentiment got less and less real to him. Now approaching his 23rd year of life, he’d been around long enough to know things younger Chenle never would’ve dreamed of.

Every single summer since high school graduation, Chenle has invited his friends to his family’s vacation house on the beach—including you, his best friend since middle school. You’d seen him through all his awkward phases, and the best part of his month-long summer excursion was seeing you despite how busy the two of you were throughout the year.

For thirty days, everything was normal. You were around, and he relished in your company.

For thirty days, he was able to forget everything except for you and a handful of other friends.

Not that he could ever not have you at the forefront of his mind. Despite the busy schedules you both endured, you somehow ended up crashing at his house often, or vice versa. He often occupied the other side of your bed and, for a long time, thought it was completely normal despite the very odd reactions some people had when he explained he wasn’t your boyfriend.

Nothing had ever happened. At least, not literally. He’d thought about making a move and kissing you, but he decided it wasn’t worth losing your friendship. Throughout your years together, he’d seen you get in relationships, get your heart broken, and break hearts. You’re comfortable being at your lowest with him, and he builds you back up piece by piece without complaint.

“Chenle,” you call from outside, jogging up to the front door. “Is everything in the car? Jaemin and Jeno are almost here.”

He raises his eyebrows as he glances around his house, wondering if he’s forgetting anything. And without meaning to, he scans over you as if he hasn’t been around you all day. Your skin glistens with a thin sheen of sweat from the overwhelming heat outside, and your shorts climb up your thighs with every passing second, but he swears he doesn’t notice.

“I think so. If we’re missing anything, we can just run into town,” he suggests, tagging his fingers on his sides to stop himself from reaching out to you.

Chenle had a little secret—one he hated keeping from you, but had to nonetheless—and it was simply that he was in love with you. It took him years to come to terms with it. After all this time, he accepted it. If he’s around you, the way he acts doesn’t have to change in the slightest. He’s always treated you as more than a best friend, as you’ve done to him, so there’s no reason for him to ruin that…right?

“You good?” You tilt your head at him. “We’re wasting time.”

“We have a whole month,” Chenle retorts.

“And you’re taking away from our first day.” Your eyes narrow, but before he responds, you turn your back on him and rush out the door, yelling at who he assumes is Jaemin finally arriving.

The four of you are driving together, while Mark, Hyuck, Heewon, and Chaeyoung were taking Mark’s car. They’d probably be a bit late, but Chenle didn’t mind.

His favorite thing was road trips—especially if you were involved. Even when Jaemin and Jeno slept in the backseat, you and Chenle had the radio up, the windows down, and you were singing at the top of your lungs. Your best look is when you’re this happy, yelling lyrics without a care in the world. He shouldn’t, but he steals glances at you whenever he can. You sing, looking at him and grabbing his arm and shaking him depending on what songs were on. Giggles pour out of your mouth when he gives you an incredulous look.

The song you replayed the most these days was Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift, and he would never get tired of it. Every time the chorus came on, you swept him up in your performance, and he almost laughed at the way he related to the lyrics.

And I screamed for whatever it's worth

I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?

He wanted more, but he liked you like this. Hands flying into the air as you scream along to the music. Sooner or later, he ends up joining you. Whenever you’re involved, it’s not weird to find Chenle a single step behind you.

Chenle’s family had a large house on the beach. It was split down the middle, and one of his parents’ conditions was that the boys would stay on one side and the girls on the other. They didn’t have a way to prove any different, but everyone respected their rules.

Jaemin and Jeno typically played whatever game console was in the living room while Chenle got to spend a little bit of alone time with you before the rest of the hyper ones got in.

He stands across the kitchen, watching as you unload all of the snacks you brought onto the counter. After a long drive, the sun is setting on the horizon, and the pretty colors reflecting off your skin have him beyond distracted. It wouldn’t be weird for him to hug you. He’s been clingy with you since…well, since he first met you.

“You sure you don’t want any help?” he asks.

“It’s just little things.” You shrug, waving him off. “That drive was…exhausting.”

He laughs, biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself.

“What?” You continue taking boxes out of the bags.

“The drive always knocks you out, but you do the same thing every time anyway.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m gonna sit with Jaem and Jeno. Come out when you’re done?”

You grin at him. “I’ll only be a few more minutes. Go ahead.”

He leaves you in the kitchen, the nightfall creeping into the house and making his eyes heavy. His bed calls to him from upstairs, but he wants to wait for you. And he doesn’t have a choice but to wait for Mark and the rest of the gang, because they’ll have to have a way inside.

When you join him, you’re equally as tired as him. You slump next to him on the couch, resting your head on his shoulder. With your warmth pressed against him, he smiles and wraps his arm around you. Jaemin and Jeno are battling away, sleep not touching them any time soon after the nap they had in the car.

“You okay?” he whispers, careful not to alert the other two.

Nodding, you curl into him further, sighing into his chest. He hugs you, and somehow, you end up curled into a ball on his lap, head buried in his neck. Your breath tickles his skin, but he doesn’t dare disturb you.

He cradles the back of your head, rubbing his thumb on your scalp. When your breathing steadies, he relaxes. You’re asleep, and if he knows himself at all, he’ll be following you in no time. Any time you’re tired after a long day, you curl into him like this, and he’s come to relish in these moments.

His eyes flutter shut, his own exhaustion peeking through. Absent-mindedly, he presses his lips to the top of your head.

“Ew,” Jaemin groans, giving Chenle a disgusted look. “They make rooms for whatever’s going on there.”

Chenle glares at him once, and he purses his lips and turns his attention back to the game.

“Seriously, if you want to go to bed, we’ll wait for the others,” Jeno offers. “We are capable of opening a door.”

Chenle contemplates it for a moment. He knows he should be the one to greet everyone, but the gentle snores escaping you makes him want to cuddle you properly. It wouldn’t be the first time one of you “snuck in” to the other side of the house and stayed with one another. At the end of the day, he couldn’t get enough of you. Your skin is soft beneath his fingertips, and despite everyone knowing how desperately he wants you except for you, he likes to act like it’s a secret.

“Alright,” he mumbles, shifting under you to see if he’ll be able to find a way to hold onto you. “Make sure to lock it when they arrive.”

Jeno and Jaemin don’t say anything else when he lifts you up and walks you down the hall toward his bedroom. He lays you on his bed first, pulling the blankets back to settle you beneath them.

You’re so peaceful like this—face soft, the slightest smile on your lips. He finds himself dragging his thumb along your cheek just to be able to touch you. You’re perfect to him.

He climbs in next to you, wrapping his arm around your waist and tugging you against his chest. You hum quietly, subconsciously turning to him and bury your head in his chest. He grins to himself at the feeling, at the idea of you being so accustomed to him that you’ll want him even in your sleep.

Kissing the top of your head, he lets out a sigh of content before resting back against his pillow.

Day 2 | June 2nd

The morning together was just like any other—you stayed cuddled up until eight came along and the others were whining down the hall about being hungry. Chenle wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone verbally, but the reason he likes these vacations so much is because of the privacy he gets with you.

Yeah, all of your friends are there, but they’re used to the level of clinginess Chenle has with you. His family, on the other hand? If they knew he woke up at 6:30 am and stayed with you wrapped up in his arms for an hour and a half…

“We should go help before they burn down the kitchen,” you murmur, sighing quietly.

“The longer I can stay in bed, the better.” He squeezes you tighter. “Five more minutes.”

You nod in agreement, shuffling closer. His hand rubs up and down your back, gently dragging his nails to help soothe you further. How you’re unaware of his feelings for you is beyond him—he’s always treated you this way. Like you’re the most important person in his life.

Because…news flash, you are.

Eventually, the two of you have to get up. Mark and Heewon are in the kitchen, and you immediately deduct that that’s a mistake. Chenle quickly shoos them from the kitchen, taking over the role of breakfast chef with your help.

While the two of you cook together, he never has to verbally ask you things. You’re in such harmony, it’s like you know every single move he’s going to make before he does.

“So,” Jaemin says, sitting down on one of the stools behind the island. “The girls said they want to go to the bar tonight. You guys down?”

“Tonight?” Your eyebrows pinch, and your lips turn downward. “It’s only day two.”

“Yeah, we’re trying to maximize our fun time,” Jeno interjects, taking a seat next to Jaemin. “We’ve only got thirty days before we return to the real world.”

“Sorry, you’ll have to count me out.” You scrunch up your nose. “But I’ll start doing things tomorrow. I just need to recharge a little more before I go out anywhere.”

Jaemin turns his attention to Chenle, either wanting him to convince you to go, or to see if Chenle will also be staying in.

“Sorry, Jaem.” Chenle shrugs. “I’m not leaving her here by herself.”

You appreciatively poke his side, something the other two boys don’t see, but it makes his heart flutter nonetheless.

“You two are only forgiven because of the breakfast you’re making. We expect hangover breakfasts tomorrow, too.” Jaemin crosses his arms over his chest and pouts.

“We’ll see.” Chenle continues chopping the onion, sending a quick smile your way when you finish washing the green peppers and putting them down in front of him.

He figured he’d be used to you by now—to the feelings he’s harbored for so long. But every time you prove, once again, that you know him just as well as you know yourself, it makes him want you so much more.

Chenle ended up making dinner, too, which was simply microwaving ramen for each person until everyone was content. Mark, Hyuck, Jaem, Jeno, Heewon, and Chaeyoung were all leaving by six, swearing they wouldn’t be home too late.

“Make them order pizza or something,” you suggest to him as you dry the dishes he washes. “They’re grown adults with money.”

“I kinda like this,” he admits.

“Cooking for the same friends you’ve been cooking for since 7th grade?” You quirk an eyebrow at him, and he snorts.

“Cooking for people in general,” he corrects. “And I like that you’re here to help me. Or just here at all.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t mean it like that. Let me appreciate your company, asshole.” He finishes up the last dish and turns the water off before handing it to you.

You hum in response, quickly drying it before setting it in the cupboard where it goes. Turning toward him, you lean the small of your back on the counter while your hands grip the edge. Your gaze scans over him, and he swears he feels his spine twist in the most delicate of ways. He loves when you look at him, and whenever you study him, he wonders what kind of lessons he teaches you.

“Thanks for staying back with me,” you say.

“Of course.” He waves you off. “I didn’t want to go to the bar anyway.”

“So, what do we do?”

Chenle chuckles. “Not a clue. The possibilities are endless, I guess.”

“Do you still have that karaoke machine?” You narrow your eyes at him as you await his response.

“Is that even a question? Hell yeah, I do. We can get it set up?”

The smile spreading across your face makes his heart skip, and despite how much he wants to reach out for your hand to pull you down the hall, all he does is gesture to the direction you need to go in.

You clap your hands, quickly following his lead.

This room used to be an office of sorts, but has since evolved now that Chenle’s parents don’t come here anymore. The desk has been pushed against the wall next to the TV, and a large couch takes up the majority of the room. A long time ago, he thought it’d be funny to buy a karaoke machine after he’d realized how much he likes to sing, and it just so happened that you felt the same way.

Every time the two of you come here, it’s a must. However, he hasn’t had the opportunity to have it be just you. Someone else was always intruding on his time, at least for the past few years.

Part of the reason he fell for you in the first place was because of how similar you were to him. You shared similar interests and passions that he didn’t usually find in other people. That, or he wasn’t looking once he realized how much he wanted you.

He loves music, and in every piece he hears, he finds you.

You deeply relate to the music you enjoy, and he admires that about you as well. You pick the songs for the evening, and he has no qualms. He’d rather listen to your picks on repeat than try and go off on his own.

The night starts off easy, some of the songs you pick are classics that you make him do every time. After three songs, you picked Cruel Summer. He knows all the lyrics by now—he memorizes everything that comes out of your pretty lips, regardless of if it’s a song or not. He’ll never forget those lyrics for as long as he lives.

Your laugh is so damn contagious. He tries his best to pull that sound from you every chance he gets, but the air around you is…bittersweet. These moments are his favorite—where he gets to have fun with you and forget the rest of the world exists. But they also make him want you more, and everything you could give him. He wants to be yours, and nights like these prove to him that you’re not.

Three songs in, and you’re both panting and laughing your asses off. Karaoke is never just singing—no, you dance until your legs feel like they’ll give out. That’s Chenle’s number one rule, that it’s never enough to sing the songs. You’ve got to perform them.

But Cruel Summer starts, and he can’t help but see the irony of you singing it in his presence. Or him joining you in it.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night

You know that I caught it

He sings along, but he quiets himself. Listening to you has become one of his favorite pastimes, so he’ll take any opportunity he can. He dances with you, spins you around, and begs any sort of higher power that he can have you like this forever.

And it's new, the shape of your body

It's blue, the feeling I've got

And it's ooh, whoa, oh

It's a cruel summer

It's cool, that's what I tell 'em

No rules in breakable heaven

A gold gleam catches in the dim lighting when he twirls you in a circle, and he grins. He loves when you wear that bracelet—which is all the time, because he’s got one nearly identical, but yours has his name on it and his has yours.

The chorus makes him move around the room, hyping you up at every chance he has. You laugh through the lyrics, out of breath from the previous songs, too.

So cut the headlights, summer's a knife

I'm always waiting for you just to cut to the bone

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know

God, he fucking loves you.

The room fades around him while he’s having fun with you, and he wishes he could spend every moment this way. With the excited glow to you, the carefree laughter, the genuine fun.

I'm drunk in the back of the car

And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)

Said, "I'm fine," but it wasn't true

I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you

And I snuck in through the garden gate

Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)

As the lyrics pick up, he joins in for real. This part of the song is his favorite, because the next lyrics are exactly what he wants to say to you but can’t work up the courage to do it.

And I screamed for whatever it's worth

"I love you," ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?

He imagines hearing those words from you, too full of emotion to keep them in any longer. You yell the lyrics between laughter, throwing your head back and dancing as if you’ve been drinking. He watches you so fondly, he’s sure you’ll notice.

The chorus comes back, and you walk up to him like you’re serenading him, making dramatic hand motions while he laughs at you. His whole body buzzes when you’re like this. When everything else fades away and it’s just the two of you.

I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you

And I snuck in through the garden gate

Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)

Something changes. He doesn’t notice at first, but your expression changes. The song is about to end, and his heart lurches violently in his chest.

And I screamed for whatever it's worth

"I love you," ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?

He looks at you as the last lyrics pour from your mouth, the wide smile on your face dissipating when you see how close he is to you. Instead of yelling them like you did last time, the words trail off, barely leaving your mouth as a whisper. His chest heaves from the energy expended, yours mirroring his. He feels like he’s on cloud nine, the adrenaline sitting on top of his lungs as his brain malfunctions on what to do next.

Honestly, he doesn’t know who does it. Someone leans forward, and your lips are locked. Passion lingers, desperation tugging at his very soul at the feeling of your arms around him. His heart pounds in his ears, almost blocking out how Cruel Summer’s instrumental repeats in the background.

He clenches his fists in the fabric of your shirt, praying, hoping this isn’t one of his bullshit dreams. Without any idea how it happened, he relishes in the softness of your mouth, the way you accept his tongue so easily, and the soft moan you let out when he tugs on your bottom lip gently.

He pants harder now, forehead against yours as he tries to figure out what the hell he should do. You should stop. All of this is a mistake—he didn’t want his first time with you to be like this, where his want makes his pants tighter in record time. The only logical thought in his brain is that damn sound you just made and how he can drag it from you again and again.

Thunder booms in his veins as he pulls you back to him, the second he was without your kiss much too long. You press yourself to him, digging your nails into his shoulders. It’s almost like he has no control over his actions at the moment, the long-standing need for you clouding his judgment.

The pretty, pretty sound you make when he spins you around and practically slams the small of your back against the edge of his desk has him forgetting everything else exists. It’s only you. You and how fucking badly he wants you.

He doesn’t dare speak a word.

Inhaling sharply, he sweeps his arm across all the miscellaneous junk on top of it, successfully and messily clearing a spot for you to sit. You take the hint, hoisting yourself up on the edge and spreading your legs to give him room.

Heat pulses through the room, sending waves through his body. He wants to peel all of his clothes off, have you naked beneath him, and take you in all the ways he’s dreamed off. The glimpse of your black panties below that damn skirt has him more than ready for you.

You tug him closer, interrupting the way he stares at your core. His cock already strains, begging to be buried inside you. He’s not sure where the hell this side of him came from, but the dark gleam in your eyes has him forgetting there’s anything wrong with it.

Sweat already arises on his skin, the mere thought of having you this way enough to send him into a fucking cardiac arrest. There’s no time to be timid—he reaches beneath your skirt to find the hem of your panties, mouths still clashing beautifully.

Without interrupting the kiss, you nod, lifting your hips up so he can rip the skimpy fabric from your body.

Your hands fly down to his pants, and his heart starts doing backflips. Neither of you has said a word, and he thinks for a moment that he should…just to make sure he’s what you want. But at the same time, he figures you know as much as he does how this is a long time coming.

“Do you—”

“I need you right fucking now,” you murmur, shaky fingers fumbling with the button of his jeans. “Fuck, help me.”

His mouth waters. He wishes he could take his time with you, but having you squirming and asking for him to be inside you makes him crazy. Without wasting another second, he reaches down and pushes his pants down to the middle of his thighs. He gasps when you grab him over his boxers, gripping him like you’ve done this exact thing with him hundreds of times.

God, he can’t fucking take it anymore. Pushing your back down against the desk, he flips your skirt up to expose your slick entrance to him. One of his hands grips your hip and digs his nails into your skin, and the other pushes his boxers down.

He debates with himself for a second on how he should do this. The last thing he wants to do is hurt you, but he’ll really fucking explode if he’s not inside you within the next ten seconds. He plans on being good, on giving you a second to adjust to him, but when he gently starts pushing inside you, your wetness gushes around him.

Your walls stretch to accommodate him, and your back arches on the wood, and your mouth falls open, and suddenly he can’t control himself. If he gives himself a few seconds to enjoy you while he’s buried so deep, he’ll never be able to let you go. He’ll need to be inside all the time, and that doesn’t sound much like best friends.

Your moans spill recklessly past your lips, the jolt of his thrusts distorting the sound. Fuck, he loves you, but he never imagined sex could feel this good. You flutter around him, urging his cock to move faster, and he does his best to oblige. The desk slams into the wall over and over again, the sound almost as erotic as the sight before him.

You try and fail to find something to hold onto, and when he sees your friendship bracelet—the one with his fucking name on it—he loses it. He puts his hand beneath your neck, pulling you up so you’re face to face. Your face is blissed out, eyes barely staying open as he gives you everything he’s got.

His skin is sticky with sweat, the clothes uncomfortably clinging to his back, he reaches between the two of you, growing frustrated that he left your skirt on. He throbs inside you, desperate to reach his end, so gives the fabric a firm tug, and you gape when it rips at the seam. He half-expects you to scold him for ruining a perfectly good outfit, but instead, your hips buck toward his.

A tingling sensation forms at the base of his length, and he knows it’s only a matter of seconds before he reaches completion. Without wasting another second, his hand dives between your legs, your arousal making his thumb glide effortlessly across your clit.

Your body shakes, and you lean forward to bury your head in his neck, biting down on his shoulder to contain yourself. He can’t hold back his moans, moving just a bit faster and adjusting his angle to increase your pleasure.

“Fuck, Ch—”

He tangles his fingers in your hair and tugs you back to watch your face.

“Fu—Close,” you whine, lifting your hips to match his thrusts. “I’m cu—”

You cut yourself off with a scream of pleasure, and he swears your walls clamp down on him so tightly, his cock will get stuck. His thrusts falter at the overwhelming feeling of your euphoria, and as soon as it hits you, he’s spurting inside you.

He kisses up the side of your neck, barely breathing properly as he regains his composure. His orgasm wracks his body, pulsing throughout his veins and his bones.

You grasp onto him for dear life, and he returns your embrace. His chest is against yours, both hearts pounding.

And then reality sets in. The music returns to his ears, the beat to Cruel Summer still on a loop, and he wonders how closely you relate to the lyrics.

“Um,” you say breathlessly. “Wow.”

“That…”

“Happened.” You nod, a dazed look on your face as you blink past the shock.

He gulps, wishing that best friend telepathy was real at a time like this. How does he respond to that? Did you enjoy it? Are you already regretting it?

“Chenle,” you murmur.

“Yeah?”

“You’re still…inside me.”

His face burns, and he quickly pulls out of you, trying not to look at the mess he knows is between your legs. He turns away from you to settle himself back in his pants, and he finds your panties on the ground where he threw them.

He gives them to you, and you awkwardly shuffle off the desk before sliding the fabric back up your legs. But he doesn’t want you to…walk away. He wants to take you back to his bed and cuddle you to sleep. To take care of you like he should after such an intimate moment.

Surely, he can’t kiss you, can he?

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Seriously?” You frown at him. “That’s what you want to ask me right now?”

“I don’t really know how to—”

The front door opens, just down the hall as your drunk group of friends arrives back. Your face drops, and you curse under your breath.

“Damn it.” You frantically look around for something to cover your lower half before you go.

Guilt tears at Chenle’s chest—not just because of the ripped skirt, but because it seems like you’re not very happy with your decision. The last thing he ever wanted was to push you into anything. He grabs a blanket from the couch on the other side of the room and hands it to you.

“Chenle! (Y/N)!” Jaemin’s hammered voice booms across the house.

“(Y/N), can we just—”

“Not now, Chenle.” You shake your head, wrapping yourself up in the blanket and grabbing the split fabric to hide it.

You loop your fingers in his belt loops to tug him close to you, and his jaw drops as he stumbles over. Instead of doing any of the things he wanted you to, you tuck his shirt into his jeans. He’s about to ask you what you’re doing, but then he feels how soaked it is.

Again, his face is on fire. How the hell is he supposed to do this?

He runs his fingers through your hair to fix the tangles, heart racing. As soon as he takes a step away from you, the door opens. Jaemin pours in without any concern.

“Well,” you say, chuckling. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“(Y/N), wait—” Chenle reaches out to you but decides at the last minute to stop, knowing how much is riding on that damn blanket staying put.

“Goodnight, Chenle.” You glance at him, eyes wide and swirling with something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“It smells weird in here,” Jaemin grumbles as he waddles around the room. “Why?”

“Dunno,” Chenle replies with a grimace. “It’s because you’re drunk. Off to bed with all of us.”

Yep…except he’ll be alone, when all he wants is to be curled up with you.

Day 3 | June 3rd

When Chenle wakes up in the morning, he’s pretty sure everything was a dream. He messes with the bracelet latched on his wrist, gulping at the memory of you. How is he supposed to act normally now?

He has to talk to you. Figure out what the hell you’re thinking, because if you regret it, it might break his heart, but he’ll know how you feel about him. You’ve told each other stories of previous relationships, hook-ups, whatever just came out randomly. He never imagined he’d be one of those hook-ups.

And now his bed is all too empty without you, and it’s only day three.

Images of the night before flash through his mind, and he analyzes everything he sees to try and figure out what he did wrong. If he did something wrong. You almost always sleep next to him, so if this persists, the others will begin to notice, too.

He gets out of bed, hands shoved into the pockets of his pajama pants as he makes his way to the kitchen. Everyone else is awake, the guys and Heewon sitting on the couch. You and Chaeyoung were nowhere to be found, but he tried his best to make it nonchalant. He didn’t want everyone to know he messed up with you. That explanation would be hard.

He glances in the kitchen and still doesn’t see you or your closest friend (besides him, obviously), so he sighs and sits on the far end of the couch. The awkwardness creeps in, like the whole group secretly knows what you two did. Like they’re silently judging him for single-handedly ruining your friendship.

“Who shit in your cheerios?” Hyuck asks, shifting forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“Huh?” Chenle frowns. “Nothing happened. I’m just tired.”

“Oh, (Y/N) said you weren’t feeling well last night. She and Chaeyoung went to town to grab some medicine or something.” Mark stretches before getting up to go into the kitchen. “She seemed worried, are you okay?”

Chenle gulps, and he hopes it’s not noticeable. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”

Thankfully, they continue their conversation. He can relax for a bit, and then when you come back, he’ll pull you aside. After all, he won’t let this fester. He needs to talk to you—to find out if you view him any differently since he crossed that line with you. The last thing he wants is for anything to change. He likes your friendship the way it is, but he’s also been so desperately in love with you for so long that hope clings to him like a leech.

The door opens, and his head jolts toward it when he hears your laugh. His hands clench into fists, and he’s halfway certain he looks like a lost puppy right now.

The second you see him, he watches your expression change. Your giggle stops halfway through, and you clear your throat as you give him the same wide-eyed look you gave him last night. He wants to jump up and tell you things don’t have to change, maybe even beg you for your forgiveness and say he’ll do anything to keep you in his life—

You and Chaeyoung disappear into the kitchen, and Mark comes back in shortly after. Chenle’s getting antsy, his anxiety sparking at the bottom of his spine as his foot taps on the floor. If he jolts up and runs after you, everyone will know something is wrong.

And if they all know, it’s only a matter of time before Jaemin opens his big mouth, and then you’ll be forever embarrassed by the idea of sleeping with Chenle, and summer vacations will never be the same.

So he gives you five minutes.

“...need to figure things out.” Chaeyoung’s voice is hushed, standing next to you on the far end of the kitchen.

“Yeah, tell me about it. But I—” You stop the moment you catch Chenle in the room.

“I think Jeno needs me for something,” Chaeyoung mentions, sending a small smile his way before darting out of the room. He sighs. If you told Chaeyoung, you’re probably more freaked out than he thought.

You look down at your feet as he approaches you.

“We need to talk about this,” he mutters. “I don’t like feeling like I fucked up.”

Your gaze darts up to his, your eyebrows furrowed as you scan over his face. “This isn’t really the best place to talk, Le. Any of them could walk in right now.’

“I’m not just—I’m not going to forget about it. It happened, okay? And it’s okay if you’re upset by it and you never want to be near me again, but I…I need to know. The silence is killing me.” He realizes it hasn’t been that long, but sleeping alone really got to him.

“Why would you think I’m upset?” you ask.

“You practically ran away from me last night. And you usually sleep with me, and you didn’t. You didn’t even tell me you were going anywhere this morning.”

“I figured you’d know where I was going.” You cross your arms over your chest, glancing away from him.

“How could I possibly have known?” he inquires.

“Chenle…” You let out a small laugh. “You…you came inside me last night. Chaeyoung took me to buy Plan B.”

His jaw drops as he flounders for words. Cheeks burning, he drops his head into his hands and sighs. “I’m a fucking idiot. I didn’t even realize, I was so—I’m so sorry, I don’t even know why I would ever—”

“Relax.” You put your hands on his shoulders. “I was the one who kissed you. You’re psyching yourself out, because I don’t regret it or anything like that. Actually, I’d…kinda like to do it again.”

Alarm bells ring in his head, and his eyeballs feel like they’re about to pop out of his skull when he looks at you fast enough to give himself whiplash.

“You want to…” he trails off, lowering his voice. “...have sex with me again?”

“I mean, only if you want to.” You chew the inside of your cheek, fidgeting with your fingers. Quickly, you continue, “Obviously, nothing has to change. Like, I’m not asking you for…a relationship or anything. There won’t be any rules. Except the fact that you have to…you know, use a condom, but we could just…have a good summer.”

His heart sinks. What you’re proposing is not what he wants. It further proves to him you don’t reciprocate the feelings that led him to his recklessness last night. He shouldn’t agree. No, he should say he’d prefer to keep anything…sexual…out of your friendship, but God damn it, he was tired of leaving his love on the side. Maybe he can’t tell you out loud, but if you’re okay with sleeping with him, he’ll show you.

“Chenle?” you whisper. “I’m sorry if that’s too much. You can forget I said anything.”

You scramble to gather yourself before you try to turn away from him. He reaches out and grabs your wrist, tugging you back to him.

“I wasn’t expecting that.” He pauses, sighing. “Are you sure, (Y/N)? This could get messy.”

“I know I said no rules, but I’m a little bit of a control freak—”

“You act like this is the first time I’ve met you.” Chenle chuckles.

You glare at him before continuing. “Anyway. Nobody can know. I told Chae, but she had to drive me so she doesn’t count. Plus, she won’t tell the others. So, we act normal around our friends, okay? And we don’t…talk about it. Things happen as they will, and we wait until at least the end of June to figure things out.”

“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” he admits, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“We don’t have to change. But I did like yesterday, and it’s been so long since someone’s made me—” you cut yourself off, pressing your lips into a line. “You know what I mean.”

“I…Yeah, I do know you’ve been with trash guys—”

You gently smack his chest, glaring at him. “That was not permission for a dig.”

He holds his hands up in mock surrender, his heart melting in his chest when he sees the smile spread on your face. Maybe you don’t have feelings for him, but you don’t hate him—that’ll be enough to get him through this. At least for a while.

“So, we’re good?” You look up at him.

He’s no match for you. Not in any case or situation. His heart belongs to you, and it tears him apart piece by piece to know yours isn’t his.

“Of course, we’re good.” He nods, pulling you in for a hug and sighing in relief. “We can do whatever you want to do.”

“Oh, but that sounds like you don’t want to.” You cringe, but he laughs.

“This is kind of new territory, you know. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have done it the first time.” God, but he wants so much more. He wants all of you, not just momentary flings.

You pull back from him, your gaze gleaming. “And how long have you wanted to do that?”

“I’ll have to get drunk before I tell you the answer to that.” He snorts. “Let’s go back out there before they realize how long we’ve been in here.”

The rest of the day was uneventful to say the least. Chenle was happy to have you back at least in your normal friendship way, so he just enjoyed the way you put your legs over his lap and rested your head on his shoulder.

He didn’t feel awkward around the group like he expected to be, but it wasn’t until later in the night when it really set in. With the two of you in his bedroom, the door closed (and locked).

Watching you closely, he’s dying to reach out and touch you. He’s not sure if it’s normal urges he always felt or if they’re new, from the way he had you just yesterday. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he fidgets with his hands.

“You don’t have to be awkward,” you mention to him as you pull your shirt over your head.

He’s not a stranger to seeing your body. You’ve never been uncomfortable changing with him in the room, and he does the same with you. He almost laughs to himself at the thought of seeing you more naked beforehand than while you had sex. His mind races, and when you reach behind your back for the clasp of your bra, his face heats up and he averts his gaze.

It doesn’t matter what he agreed to—it doesn’t feel right to look at you in a state like this without your permission.

Once you’ve pulled one of his T-shirts over your head, you walk over to him, nestling yourself between his legs. He gulps as he looks up at you. Your finger traces along his jaw, eyes scanning over his face.

“Normal, right?” he whispers, gripping the back of your thighs.

“Totally normal.” You nod.

“But I still can…kiss you? If I feel like it?” His voice almost fails him, his heart lodged in his throat.

“When we’re alone, you can do whatever you want.”

Your words make his heart stop in his chest, and he realizes the implications of this. If he’s fallen completely for you without kissing, sex, and the intimacy of those physical aspects, what will it be like when he gets you whenever he wants?

“I want it, too.” You cup his cheeks and tilt his head up.

“And if it’s just kissing?” he asks. “What if that’s all I want right now?”

“Whatever you want,” you reassure him. “I’m not expecting you to want sex every night, you psycho.”

“C’mere.” He pulls you closer, one of his hands grasping the nape of your neck. The initial brush of your lips against his has his breath shuddering. He’s not prepared for any of this. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but the way your mouth tastes has every sense in his body heightened.

He curses under his breath when you climb on top of him and straddle his lap. It still feels like he’s taking advantage of you like this—you don’t know his true feelings, so how could he do this to you?

“Chenle.” You sigh and halt your movements. “If this is too weird for you, we don’t have to—”

He shakes his head, hands immediately flying to your ass and pushing you closer to him. His length is beginning to harden, and he moves you to make sure you feel it through his shorts.

“I…want you.” He squeezes, making your hips roll.

“Then what’s going on?” you ask.

“I just need to get used to it,” he replies. “To acknowledge how much I…It just feels kinda like I’m dreaming.”

“Why?”

“You…” His cheeks are so hot, he thinks they’ll burn off. “I never thought you’d want me like this.”

You chuckle, and much to his dismay, climb off his lap and get into bed. “Little do you know, I was thinking the same thing.”

He yearns to reach out to you, to pull you back to him, but instead, he lets out a sigh and takes his spot next to you. The last thing he needs to do is push you. He’d walk on eggshells if he had to, if only it meant he could keep whatever fragile intimacy occurring between you.

He wraps his arm around your waist, taking a deep breath as you turn toward him and bury your head in his chest.

And after you fall asleep, he’s still up through the night, trying to figure out if there’s any chance of this ending in his favor.

Day 5 | June 5th

He wants you.

Everything inside him burns at the thought of your agreement, and he needs to pull you away from your friends and have his way with you. He tells himself over and over again that patience is key, but he can’t stand it.

The last few days were uneventful—well, as uneventful as they could be when it came to his newfound physicality with you. He thinks of kissing you in front of everyone, showing all of them where his head has been since the second night at this damn place.

How is he so needy after three days?

In closed quarters, you kiss him, hug him, grind on him, he’s sure his head is going to explode any moment. The night at the bonfire is coming to a close, but not fast enough.

“(Y/N)!” Mark calls out from the water’s edge. “How much money for you to jump in?”

You let out a loud ha! and shuffle away from Chenle. The air is warm, so he knows you’ll be okay, but he’s also concerned by how much he’s interested in seeing your body soaked with—

Hyuck’s hand smacks Chenle’s chest, causing him to cough and shoot a glare at the other man. “What the hell?”

“Why are you staring like that?” Hyuck asks. “Nervous Mark’s gonna steal your girl?”

“She’s not my girl.” He has to force the words out. After all, he doesn’t really believe them….or want to. “I’m just tired.”

Donghyuck lets out a childish chuckle, putting his beer bottle to his lips and chugging the rest of it. Chenle sips his own drink, returning his grumpy stare to you. You’re laughing uncontrollably as you climb out of the water, soaked from head to toe. Your head falls back as you hit Mark’s arm, barely able to contain yourself from whatever Donghyuck made him miss.

You’re barely lit by the firelight, but Chenle’s never seen someone so beautiful. Fooling your friends won’t be hard—he knows damn well he’s always acted the same way around you that he does now, and he certainly has been this clingy since day one. You give him one of your award-winning grins, and before he can object, you flop yourself down on his lap, cackling evilly as the water soaks through his clothes, too.

“(Y/N), what the hell—” Chenle attempts to push you off, but you push yourself into him further.

“I’m soaked.” You don’t stop giggling, but Chenle hates the way he reacts to those words.

His face flames, and before you understand what happened, he pushes you from his lap so you’re sitting next to him on the chair. You look at him inquisitively, and he ignores you with another quick drink.

Music plays from the speakers. You get up to switch the song since your phone is the one set up. It’s only at that moment he realizes you know exactly what you’re doing. Cruel Summer plays, and every inch of his body catches on fire.

His throat dries, and you look at him over your shoulder.

Despite every muscle in his body craving for him to approach you and pull you back into the house, he gets up to grab another bottle instead. The night is going to drag, and he’s almost guilty for how he’s thinking. He’s supposed to be here and enjoying the summer with his friends, and all he wants is to be alone with you.

Pushing you to the back of his mind, he tries to engage more in conversations with the group. He gets into a somewhat heated discussion with Jaemin about global warming, and when you take your spot next to him, he naturally puts his arm around you as you lean into him.

“Can we go to bed?” you ask him, lips brushing his ear. “I’m tired.”

“We should wait,” he replies, taking in the rest of the group. “Just a bit longer, okay?”

You whine quietly but nod, putting your head on Chenle’s shoulder. He’s itching to drag you to his bedroom, but he wants things to be as normal as possible. The two of you rarely cut the party short, and on top of that, he’d prefer to know where everyone else was before he started touching you.

It’s only another ten minutes before Heewon decides she’s done for the night. Chenle nearly sighs in relief.

Everyone agrees to head in, and you all casually separate with a quick goodnight. As soon as Chenle’s door closes behind him, he sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.

“You okay?” you ask him, turning him to face you. “You’ve been off all day.”

He shakes his head, chewing on his bottom lip as he examines you. “You…you said you wanted this, and I’m kind of confused. If you act the same, how do I know when you…you know.”

Your eyes gleam as you smile at him. The sight alone has his heart doing somersaults, and he suddenly wishes he could take the question back. He’s tired of wondering—he needs to figure out what all of this means.

“You’re so cute, Lele,” you tease him. “How are you supposed to know when I want you? Always. I’ve been waiting for you to initiate because you seemed a little uncomfortable, so I didn’t want to push you.”

“So, all I need to do is tell you when I’m…” He cringes at himself. “This is weird.”

You move closer to him and sling your arms over his shoulders. “Exactly. All you have to say is that you want me, and I’m yours.” Your voice is so soft and sweet, it caresses his ears and flows into his brain, and his senses become overrun by you.

“I do. Right now.” Is all he says before he swallows his nerves and connects his mouth with yours. You gasp against him, startled at the sudden movement, but within seconds, return his gesture.

His hands move to the small of your back and press you as close as possible, his lips working messily against yours. He wastes no more time; walking you backward, he lets you fall back onto the mattress.

Settling himself between your legs, he takes a second to look at you—to study your face and the look in your eyes that’s never really changed. He wonders how long you’ve wanted him for. Your thighs part to welcome him perfectly, sighing when he rolls his hips tentatively.

“This,” he whispers, lips grazing your neck. “This is how it should’ve been the first time.”

His nerves seep away when your body shudders beneath his. Your hair is still slightly damp, clinging to your skin and enticing him further. He grinds his hardening length over your core and kisses you gently.

“You have to be quiet,” he continues. “Jaemin and Jeno are right down the hall.”

You nod, tangling your fingers in his hair and pulling him back to you. “I know. I’ll be good, Lele.”

He gapes for a moment, not used to words having such an effect on him. Gulping, he reaches up and runs his thumb along your bottom lip.

“That’s right,” he confirms. “Be a good girl for me and you won’t regret it.”

Your gaze gets a shade darker, and the thought of what awaits him beneath your clothes overwhelms him completely. You grab at his shirt, attempting to pull it off his body. He moves back to remove it, and then you’re arching your back to allow him to do the same to you. Sitting on his knees, he moves his hands up your body until they’re squeezing your breasts through your black lace bra.

“Can I—”

“You don’t have to ask, Chenle.” You cup his cheeks, lifting his head so he sees you. “I trust you.”

He’s uncomfortably hard at this point as he takes your shorts off you. Your panties match your bra, and he swears he’s never been closer to finishing in his pants. Nobody has ever made him weak like you do. They’ve never appealed to him in the same way, a way of adoration and love and all the beautiful things life has to offer.

You sit up to unclasp the material supporting your chest, tossing it across the room. Everything inside Chenle melts. You, in this vulnerable state, staring at him impatiently as he pushes you back against the mattress.

He dips down, taking your nipple in his mouth. A quiet sigh of pleasure escapes your lips, and his hips buck against yours. He grinds against you as if he’s already thrusting in and out, and he groans at the thought of your wetness all over him.

His nails drag up and down your thigh, and as he pulls away from your breast to move to the other, a strand of saliva follows. The sight is far more erotic than he imagined, and he grips your thigh harshly.

“Kiss me,” you ask him. “Please.”

And someone like him could never deny someone like you—he lunges upward to capture your mouth, his tongue battling with yours as he moves his hand to the hem of your panties. He pulls away for a second, glancing at you once for confirmation.

You nod, almost frantically, and he decides it’s okay to let go for tonight. You want him as badly as he wants you, so why should he hold back? He curses under his breath the second he feels your arousal on his fingertips.

At first, he teases you, running his finger up your entrance until he’s brushing your clit. He smirks at the way you squirm beneath him, desperate for his touch. He’s the one you want.

“Ask me nicely,” he hums against your neck. “Be good and tell me you need me.”

“God, Chenle,” you whine, rocking your hips. “Please touch me. I need you so bad.”

His own eyes nearly roll into the back of his head when he pushes two fingers inside of you. You grip him so tightly, he wonders how you took him so well just a few nights before. He’d been an asshole and got right to it instead of working you up.

Your breaths turn into whimpers, and your walls quiver around him. He’s already lost in you, in the way you feel on his fingers and the scrunch of your face as you try to hold back the noises you’re desperate to make. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to fall for you more than he already has, but tonight, he learns that falling in love is not linear, and it doesn’t stop.

Tonight, he finds out that it’s a free fall into the deepest ocean, and the only option is to sink further in the water and let the waves take him.

He swallows your quiet moan, positioning his thumb on your clit as he continues his descent into madness. Your walls begin to tighten, so he instinctively kisses you, using his hand to help you ride out the high that’s sending shivers down your body. You squirm beneath him, sinking your teeth into his bottom lip.

“Where are the condoms?” he asks you.

Still dazed, you blink a couple times. “Uh, I…they’re in the nightstand I think.”

He kisses your cheek, irritated at the coldness when he moves away from you. Sighing in relief once he finds the box, he opens it and tears one away from the rest. He tries to swallow his nerves, but when he sees you resting on your elbows, waiting for him, he halts.

This is you.

The one he’s always been able to be himself around, and what if he’s ruining it by thinking with his dick?

“I know that look.” You lift yourself off the bed and approach him, grabbing the wrapper from him. “We don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I want to,” he says, wetting his lips. “I want you, but I don’t want to lose you.”

You frown, shaking your head and pulling him closer. “It doesn’t matter how this goes, Le. You’ll never lose me. I promise.”

I love you almost slips, but he holds it back. But God, he’s sure he’s never loved you more.

You reach down to push his shorts and boxers down before guiding him back. He sits on the edge of the bed, gripping your hips and refraining from yanking you onto his lap and sliding his cock in.

When you open the condom wrapper, his heart is about to jump out of his chest. And then you’re putting it on him, pushing your panties to the floor, climbing onto his lap to straddle him, and rubbing his tip against your entrance.

It’s like time stops as you sink down on his length. Moonlight flits in through the windows, illuminating your body and your skin and the subtle eye roll. He can’t breathe. Every time he tries, his lungs fail him, as if you’re drowning him with everything you have.

He wraps his arms around you, your chest pressing to his as he slowly, slowly guides you down on him. You both sigh together, trying not to alert your friends down the hall.

“You’re amazing,” he mutters, dazed. “Feels so fucking good.”

You drop your head onto his shoulder, your uneven breaths fanning across his skin. He rocks his hips, but your tightness almost makes it hard for him to move. This time, he doesn’t want to rush. He wants to enjoy all you have to offer and take his time with you—make love to you, really.

“Hold on, baby,” he whispers, wrapping you in his arms. “Gonna turn us over.”

He does just that, the clench of your walls on his cock enough to make him delirious. After you shift to get comfortable, he intertwines his fingers with yours and pushes your hand deep into the mattress next to your head.

With his chest brushing yours, he moves, taking his time in pulling out only to push back in. Your head falls back against the mattress, your eyes closing. You squeeze his hand as hard as you can, doing your best to lift your hips to match his thrusts.

The room is full of moonlight, soft pleasure, and the sound of him pushing into your dripping entrance.

He whispers praises in your ear, telling you how good you make him feel and how you take him so well. The slickness of sweat makes your bodies stick together, and the room gets hotter and hotter the longer he’s seated deeply inside you.

The first time he had you, he barely had time to process what happened. This time, he’s basking in the moment, giving you gentle kisses over your face as he keeps a steady pace. He wants to stay here like this forever, but he knows better than to let that thought run rampant in his head.

He releases your hand—which ends up in his hair—as he reaches between the two of you and presses his fingers to your clit. You whine a little louder than you should, so Chenle silences you with his mouth. The position is a bit awkward for him, but the buck of your hips makes sure that’s the last thing on his mind.

Your body shudders beneath him, moans spilling into his mouth for him to swallow and keep for his own. He thrusts a little faster, eager to bring you to your edge and experience your pleasure for himself.

You whisper his name like a mantra, euphoria quickly claiming you as you drag your nails down his back. In the midst of that feeling and your walls clamping around him, he bursts into the condom, cursing under his breath.

Despite his dry throat, he manages to kiss along your neck while attempting to regain his breath.

“That,” he tells you. “Is how it should’ve been.”

“Feel free to do it like that all the time.” Your tired giggle fills his ears.

He squeezes your thigh gently as he pulls out of you, ready to groan at the loss. You lay there with a smile on your face as he disposes of the condom in the adjoining bathroom. When he returns to you, he’s surprised to find you under the blankets on your side.

When he raises an eyebrow at you, you shrug. “You can get dressed if you want. I’m too tired.”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he climbs into bed next to you and pulls you close to him. Your skin is damp with sweat, but he’s sure his is worse. He kisses the top of your head, and just like so many nights before, he hums songs for you until you fall asleep.

Day 6 | June 6th

In the night, you curled further into him. His eyes are closed, but he’s been up for a while. Fingers trailing up and down your spine, he thinks he’s reached his peak. The summer sun amplified through the window warms his skin, but more importantly, it illuminates you and the softness of your features as you sleep.

The brightness blinds him, but he doesn’t mind. Not when his focal point is you.

He made love to you last night. All of his feelings were delivered to you on a silver platter and, just for a brief moment, he thinks he saw it back from you. Like there’s a part of you—however small—that wanted him the same way.

The sound of a door opening and closing down the hall wakes you, and you wrap your arm around him tighter.

“This is nice,” you murmur, kissing the base of his neck.

“I think so, too.”

“Do we have to get up?” You shake your head as if answering your own question.

He chuckles. “It might look weird if we don’t.”

“I need to shower.” You shift onto your back and run your hands down your face.

He uses the opportunity to move over you and kiss down your neck, finding your pulse quicker than it should be after just waking up. Nipping your skin to stop his smirk, he inhales your scent.

“You could always come with,” you offer, running your fingers through his hair.

“Now, that’ll be obvious.” He chuckles and pulls away from you, removing himself from the blanket as he stretches. When he looks back at you, you’ve already grabbed his T-shirt from the ground and are in the process of putting it on. He gets a brief glimpse of you. Slamming his eyes shut, he assumes nothing good will come of seeing your naked image in his mind over and over again.

The bed dips behind him as you climb over, draping your arms over his neck and kissing his cheek. “You should do it anyway.”

He snorts and pushes you away jokingly. With your signature grin plastered on your face, you make your way into the bathroom and shut the door behind you. Once he hears the water starting, he drags himself over to his bag to get dressed. He decides on a pair of sweatpants and a black T-shirt, and on his way out of the room, Jeno is also heading for the kitchen.

Chenle avoids his eyes as much as possible, wondering if any of his escapade with you last night was audible for him or Jaemin. Chasing the thought out of his head, he goes straight for the water bottles in the fridge.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” Mark asks, eating the watermelon Chaeyoung cut up a couple days back.

“She’s in the shower,” Chenle replies nonchalantly, unscrewing the cap and taking a drink.

“You didn’t want to join her?” Heewon laughs from the side as she butters her toast.

He narrows his eyes in her direction. “And why would I do that?”

“Well, you guys do everything else together,” she replies.

That earns her a cackle from Hyuck, but Chenle shakes his head.

“We don’t do everything else together.”

“Right, you guys are just dating without the benefits of getting off.” Mark pretends to be lost in thought.

Chenle’s heart twists violently in his chest, nearly lurching him forward. He wants everything from you—anything you want to give him, he’d take without hesitation. Heewon scolds Mark quietly and smacks his arm, because apparently that was what was too far.

He half expects Jeno to pipe up and expose exactly how opposite your relationship with Chenle is now, but he stays silent. Hopefully, that means Jaemin and Jeno heard nothing from last night. Your sounds were for Chenle and Chenle only, and a part of him felt glory in that.

The teasing from the friend group never bothered him before, but with this new side of your relationship, he let the words sink in deep.

How exactly was he going to make it out of this unscathed?

Day 8 | June 8th

Both of you knew it was risky, but something about you had him bent way out of shape. The group was doing their yearly ice cream run in less than an hour, and all he cared about at the moment was being inside you.

He put you on the bathroom counter, your body next to falling off it if he wasn’t holding onto you so tightly. Without much warning, he enters you completely with one thrust. His hand covers your mouth, capturing the moan spilling past your lips. Your eyes roll back, and he swears that sight alone is almost enough to get him off.

You murmur his name against his palm, head lolling back.

“Sorry, Sunshine.” He nips your earlobe as he rocks his hips gently to help you adjust to his size. “We’ve gotta be fast.”

“‘M good,” you say, gripping tightly onto his shoulders.

He takes the hint, beginning his movements a bit quicker than he normally would. Even though he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in days, the world sways around him as if he’s drunk. You’re what’s intoxicating him, and in the moments where you’re connected, he feels like he’s on cloud nine.

One hand rests on the small of your back, and the other stays on your mouth, desperate to finish but needing you to stay quiet. Whenever he thinks of being with you in this way, he tries to fuck you in the ways you deserve—make you feel so good you’re dreaming about it long after you’re done—but both of you are far too desperate right now to consider anything like that.

Your nails leave angry red crescents in his skin, but it only spurs him faster. His hips rutt against yours, his body craving the complete euphoria he’s only ever been able to accomplish with you.

His gaze meets yours, and he finds your eyebrows furrowed. Since he’s got such a firm grip on you, you move one of your hands and slide it down your body, watching him closely as if he’s going to stop you.

As soon as your fingers find your clit, you groan and your walls flutter around his cock. He curses, and his next sharp thrust has you whining.

“I’m so…” you trail off, body nearly falling limp in his grasp.

But just before you reach your high, the bedroom door opens, and there’s approximately two seconds before whoever walks in sees inside the bathroom. The next curse that falls from his lips is for two reasons—one, because all he needed was another minute, and he would’ve reached his high. Two, because he now has to figure out a way to make this look like anything except what it is.

He pulls out of you, readjusting your panties and guiding you off the counter before he tucks his painfully hard cock back into his sweats, condom and all.

“(Y/N)’s sick,” he calls out. “Give us a few minutes and we’ll come out okay? She’ll kill me if I let you see her like this.” He moves over to the door and closes it, locking it before whoever it is can see the mess you’ve turned him into.

“Oh, be fucking for real,” Chaeyoung’s voice says. “(Y/N), are you really sick? Or are you two—”

You breathe a sigh of relief when you hear her. Instead of letting Chenle answer, you pull your shirt down to cover yourself before cracking the door open.

“I’m okay. We’ll be out in like, two seconds.”

“You horny bitch.” Chaeyoung purses her lips. “Can’t stay off his dick for five minutes.”

Chenle feels his insides churning at that comment. For a moment, he’s sure she’s being serious, but then both of you burst into laughter, and Chenle’s blood cools.

“We would’ve been out already if you hadn’t interrupted us.” You pinch your fingers together. “I was this close.”

“Are you at least using condoms?” she asks in a hushed voice, turning the tips of Chenle’s ears bright pink.

“Yes, mom, now if you could go, I need to put some actual clothes on.” You shoo her away.

“The guys want ice cream. No dick until later,” she tells you, laughing as she walks out of the room.

You let out a sigh and close the door again, biting down on your bottom lip as you look at Chenle.

“Sorry, we don’t really have TMIs, so she…” You clear your throat.

“No, that’s…that’s good that you have someone to talk to about all of this that’s not me,” he says, walking up to you to put his hands on your hips and tug you close. “You think she’ll be mad if I just…”

He turns you so your back is to his chest, lips latching onto your neck as his touch trails down to the hem of your panties.

“I’d hate to leave you hanging when you were this close.” He tongues along your pulse, skimming below the hem of your panties.

“You’d better make it quick, Lele.” You lean your head back on his shoulder. “She’ll kill us.”

He grins smugly at the invitation, allowing his fingertips to graze lower until he finds your clit. You’re still soaked from being robbed of your high, so your body jerks at the sensation. He grinds against your ass, proving to you how badly he wants to be inside you.

“T-this is going to be embarrassingly fast.” You pant, rocking your hips back and forth. “I need more.” Your hands grip the edge of the countertop, pained whines escaping you.

He moves faster on your clit, and before he’s able to comprehend what’s happening, you squirm and bite down on your hand to stop your noises.

“Look at yourself, baby,” he whispers, his other hand sliding up to your throat to guide your face toward the mirror. “Look at how fucking good you look when I’m touching you.”

You inhale sharply, moving your own hand up to his to press his fingers in around your neck. He rubs you faster, taking his own initiative in squeezing you to control your breathing. Looking up at your reflection, he almost starts drooling at the sight of what he’s doing to you.

Your whines turn into breathless wheezes, and seconds later, you part your lips to let out a silent scream of pleasure as your insides clench around nothing.

He slows his circles to help you come down from your high, showering your shoulder and neck with kisses.

“Alright,” he whispers, retracting his touch from you. “We’d better get going.”

“But you didn’t—”

“You’ll make it up to me later.” He kisses you one last time. “You look so fucking sexy when I’m touching you.”

“Keep talking like that and we’ll never make it out of this bathroom,” you warn him.

You’re doing it on purpose.

Every year, the group goes to the same place for ice cream. Chenle’s been coming here ever since he was a young boy, but it’s been at least 5 years since he started bringing the rest of your friends, too. They have new experimental flavors, and it’s his mission to try all of them.

So, of course, he chooses one, and you choose a different one. The two of you are meant to be acting normally, but the way your lips close around his spoon has his mind spiraling. Not to mention how you make eye contact with him, and that damn gleam in your gaze is enough to make his cock jump in his pants.

How did he ever live without being inside you before?

“Hey, guys.” Chaeyoung tosses her arms over the two of you, grinning widely before lowering her voice. “If you don’t want people to know, you’re doing an awful job. You’re looking at each other like you ingested the worst Harry Potter love potion imaginable.”

The word love throws him off track, and he quickly takes his spoon away from you and side steps to run his fingers through his hair. He has no idea what’s gotten into him. Usually, he’s pretty good about this kind of stuff. And to be honest, before he started messing around with you, he wasn’t nearly as horny as he is now.

No, because now, he feels like he needs to be touching you constantly, and if he’s not, he’s wasting valuable time.

He tries his best to shove those thoughts to the back of his mind. At some point, you’ll have to go back to being just his best friend. It pains him that this can’t be forever, but at the end of the day, he has you. Whether or not it’s completely is a different story.

Everyone takes their usual table outside, and you sit between him and Chaeyoung. The guys converse, the girls laugh over something, but Chenle isn’t joining either conversation. Worry sinks deep in his gut instead. He wonders if it’s okay for him to be as nonchalant about the two of you having sex as he is.

You’re his best friend. Regardless of his feelings toward you, he should’ve done the mature, right thing and declined this offer.

But he’s in too deep now, and all it takes is one wide smile from you to tilt the earth on its axis.

For the next couple hours at this ice cream parlor, things are back to normal. He suppresses his urges the way he always has. His mind lingers on you, especially when your voice and your laugh echoes in his ears, and this time…

This time, he knows what he has to do.

Day 15 | June 15th

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous.” You close his bedroom door behind you and cross your arms over your chest. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“What are you talking about?” he asks, frowning.

“Don’t play stupid.” Your foot taps anxiously on the ground. “One week, we’re all over each other, and now you’ve barely even touched me since Chaeyoung almost walked in on us. Is that what’s going on? You’re weirded out that she knows things about us?”

“Us.” He scoffs, tugging his fingers through his hair. “What us, (Y/N)?”

You visibly recoil, hurt playing out on your face as Chenle instantly regrets his words. Even then, he’s not going to back down from this.

“You’re starting to piss me off.”

“I…I don’t want sex.” He shrugs.

You wet your lips and narrow your eyes, trying to comprehend what he means by that. “That’s just—like, that’s okay. I don’t want you to feel like you have to have sex with me, Le, but if our friendship is going to survive this, I need you to be honest and open with me.”

“The sex isn’t the problem.”

“Oh.” Your voice waivers, and he immediately wishes he never opened his mouth. A short laugh of disbelief escapes you.

“It’s not you, either,” he quickly adds, grabbing onto your hand. “It’s really not. I…I still need my best friend, though. And it feels like I’m losing that side of you because things are changing. You said nothing would change.”

“I haven’t changed,” you tell him. “Everything I do is exactly what I’ve done last year or the year before that. I’ve been teasing you a little, yeah, but I thought you liked it. Am I an idiot?”

Chenle’s chest deflates. “No. No, you’re not an idiot. I’m an asshole.” He pulls you to his chest and cradles the back of your head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been acting like a little kid. All I want is my best friend, and I’m scared that after all of this is over, I’m gonna lose you. I don’t know how to live without you. You know that.”

“You’d only have to worry about ruining our friendship if the dick was bad.” Despite the thickness of your voice, your humor breaks through.

He snorts and pushes you away, rolling his eyes. “Dude, for real?”

“I’m just being honest.” You tug on his arm, and for a moment, he sees a glimpse of your previous friendship.

Maybe everything can work out.

“As your best friend, I think we should watch that movie with Mark and Chae.” You grab his hand and play with his fingers.

“Okay.” He nods. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

That’s how he ends up curled up with you on the couch, your back pressed to his chest and snuggled up with a blanket. He feels at peace for the first time in a long time, the steadiness of your breathing almost enough to lull him to sleep. The screen plays some sort of superhero movie, but he’s not too interested in it. He’s more interested in the way a small sound tumbles from your lips as you turn toward him.

He holds you close, smiling to himself at the warmth you create. When he glances back up, he meets Chae’s gaze. The woman scans over the two of you, her expression warm. Chenle thinks he imagined it for a moment since he’s so tired, but Chae gives him a thumbs up and turns back to the screen.

Day 16 | June 16th

“Chenle, can I talk to you for a minute?” Chaeyoung asks, leaning on the archway leading into the kitchen.

You went with Heewon and Jaemin to the store, so he had nothing to do otherwise. He nods and follows her into the other room. Grabbing the orange juice from the fridge, he tiredly gives her all of his attention.

“What’s up?”

“I saw the way you looked at her yesterday,” she begins, tapping her fingernails against the carpet. “So either you know how you feel or you’re in denial, but you need to tell her. One or both of you are going to get hurt by the end of this if you’re not honest with each other.”

“I appreciate the advice, Chae, but I’m not sure you have all of the facts.” Chenle crosses his arms over his chest.

“And what am I missing?” she asks.

“Honestly, you may know some things, but you’ll never know all of it,” he replies. “It’ll never be an easy situation to digest, but we’re best friends. We’re mature enough to handle this.”

“You realize if this all falls apart, it’s going to fuck up the rest of the group, too?” She frowns. “You guys aren’t really thinking this through.”

Right when Chenle goes to answer her, the front door opens, and he hears your conversation with Heewon spill through the house.

“Thanks for your concerns.” Chenle nods once before turning around to find you.

Day 17 | June 17th

Chenle throws his head back, hand tangled in your hair as you take his cock in your mouth. He sits on the edge of the bed and you kneel before him, drooling over his length. Your moans vibrate around him. This is the first time you’ve sucked him off, but he’s already found out this is as addicting as everything else.

“That’s it.” He allows his eyes to flutter shut and his eyebrows furrow the closer he gets. “You always take my cock so well, Sunshine.”

You whine, and his hips buck, slamming his tip into the back of your throat. You constrict around him, and his grip on your head tightens. God, he can’t fucking think straight around you. Your nails dig into his thighs, and despite choking around him, you continue bobbing your head up and down.

The base of his length starts to tingle, and he tugs your hair gently. “Gonna cum, baby, you don’t have to—fuck.”

Your response is to simply hollow your cheeks, the lewd sounds around the two of you almost loud enough to make him worry about others hearing it. The suction from your mouth has him approaching his high rapidly, and once you reach up to touch his balls, he cums in white spurts deep in your throat.

Day 18 | June 18th

“Chenle,” you whisper, leaning closer to him.

The summer wind brushes past the two of you sitting on the little porch connected to his bedroom. It’s the middle of the night, and the only thing covering you is a soft blanket. He has his own, but he regrets that. He wants to be wrapped up with you. The waves crash to the shoreline, the salty, ocean scent infiltrating everything around him.

“Yeah?”

“This is my favorite summer,” you tell him.

“Me too.” He squeezes your arm. “I’d stay just like this forever if I could.”

You make him open his arms before shifting yourself onto his lap and covering him with your blanket as you grind your bare body down onto his.

“What’s the likelihood they hear us out here?” you ask, leaning in to kiss along his neck.

“They’ve got a better chance of hearing us inside than this…” he trails off, wondering if he should really allow something like this to happen.

But soon enough, you kiss him for real. And when your lips are working on his, he’s inherently weak for you. It doesn’t take long for his cock to harden, and once it does, you line him up with your entrance.

“We don’t have a condom,” he chokes out, gripping your ass.

“Pull out when you’re about to cum, then,” you tell him. “If that’s okay?”

His hand finds the nape of your neck, pulling your mouth to his to seal his fate with a kiss. He guides you down on his cock, groaning at the feeling of taking you raw. You don’t even give yourself time to adjust, instead working your way through your sensitivity by bouncing on him.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he reminds you. “Look at how well you take my cock.”

He’s learned so much about you during this short time, but he loves knowing what makes you crumble within minutes. His fingers wrap around your throat, and as he puts the perfect amount of pressure, your eyes roll and your hips work faster.

He tightens his grip, and your whine is interrupted. You show him no mercy, lifting and falling with such precision he wants to fill you up with his load.

The blanket is secure on your grip draping off of Chenle’s shoulders, so you nearly fall against him when his fingers connect with your clit. He’s teetering close to the edge, but he knows he has to pull out. No way is he cumming before you.

Your arousal makes him glide against your bud effortlessly, and he squeezes your throat harder at the same time.

“Chenle.” You gasp, pace changing as you get closer to your high. “Please cum inside. Need to feel your cum dripping out of m—fuck.” Your voice breaks as he thrusts up hard, hitting your spot. A broken moan escapes, nearly cut off by his grip on you, and your walls clamp down on his cock.

He watches you as he spurts his load and paints your insides, but all he sees is a blissed out smile and your heaving chest.

You slump against him and hum quietly. He grabs his blanket and wraps it around both of you, not wanting to leave you just yet. The summer breeze sweeps across the back of his neck, chilling the sweaty dampness.

He wants to tell you so badly.

He loves you. He wants to love you forever, but maybe he’ll only get these fleeting moments.

What a cruel, cruel summer this has become.

Day 19 | June 19th

The days pass so quickly. It’s been eighteen days since he first made you his, and all he wants is to make it last forever. The whole group goes to a movie theater, hopping between different rooms and films to catch a glimpse of everything that’s recently hit the big screens.

But he can’t take his eyes off of you.

The way you smile so widely in his direction. How all of your friends are so used to him being all over you.

Your laugh echoes around in his brain, and when the poor employee realizes what you’re doing, they try to stop you to figure out who you are. Chenle’s giggles join yours as he grasps your hand and pulls you toward the exit.

The two of you run, and with your fingers laced in his, you’re somehow separated from your friend group.

Once you’re outside, he presses your back to the brick of the building, kissing you in the midst of laughing. His hand latches onto the fabric of your shirt at the small of your back, and he works his lips on yours like magic.

How is he ever supposed to go back to normal after having you like this?

“Come on,” you tell him, grabbing his wrist and leading him away. “We’ve gotta find them.”

But he knows that no matter where you go, he’ll follow.

Day 20 | June 20th

He lost track of how many times his body has tangled with yours. How many times you’ve quietly, desperately called out his name while he takes you to new worlds you’ve never seen before.

He yearns to be grounded, to plant his feet back on Earth, but how does he do that when the universe that is you infiltrates his very being? All the stars and planets and milky ways and meteors float around in your dazed irises, and he caresses your face.

He loves you. He wants to tell you. He needs you to love him back.

Day 21 | June 21st

“Okay, this one is easy.” Donghyuck holds his hand up to reign in everyone’s excitement. “Never have I ever…kissed someone in the friend group.”

You glance at Chenle once, and he shrugs, so both of you lift your bottles. The point of this game? Get as drunk as possible. Every time someone says something you’ve done, you have to drink. Which means everyone is thoroughly surprised when every single person around the table sips from their cups.

“We’re the worst friend group,” Mark says, nearly hissing at the taste of the liquid burning down his throat. “We said ‘friends’ and turned it into an orgy.”

Heewon glares at him. “Dude.”

“Sorry.” He holds his hands up in mock surrender.

But soon enough, six pairs of eyes are on you and Chenle, and he immediately feels his face burning.

“You two want to explain?” Hyuck asks.

“Is everyone else explaining?” Chenle quirks an eyebrow, watching as Donghyuck purses his lips.

“No explanations unless you ask more questions,” you pipe up.

Chenle hopes that’ll divert the conversation from the two of you. His hand brushes over your knee under the table, and you send him a small smile.

“Fine,” Mark says. “Never have I ever kissed my best friend.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees you grab your bottle, so he doesn’t hesitate to do the same. He takes a fairly large drink, forcing the alcohol down his throat to make this night less painful.

Chaeyoung watches the two of you closely, and the rest of the group seems hyped up on adrenaline, like they’ve caught you and him in a lie of sorts. This news can’t be that shocking to them. Or maybe they’re all pining at the idea of being right.

But they’re not—you’re not in love with Chenle. Meaning, they’d be completely wrong.

Jaemin, who’s already had a bit too much from the hour of this game you’ve already been playing, laughs as he points at Chenle.

“I’ve got one.” He nods slowly, the smirk spreading across his face as he leans on Jeno’s shoulder. “Never have I ever had sex with my best friend.”

Your gasp is only audible to Chenle and Chaeyoung, who sits on the opposite side of you. Both you and Chenle are already holding your glasses, and you look at him, silently asking him if that’s something you should admit to the group.

You’re incredibly stiff, but Chenle watches as you slowly lift your hand. Before you get far, Chaeyoung smacks the back of Jaemin’s head.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” she hisses. “You can’t ask them things like that!”

Your cup lands back on the table louder than you planned. Chenle analyzes you, the stiffness of your back and the way you glance down at your lap instead of the rest of the group. His instinct makes him want to pull you away from them to somewhere you’ll be more comfortable.

“Oh, come on! They were about to admit to it.” Jaemin lets out a dramatic sigh. “Did you see the hesitation? They were seconds away from finally telling us if they’ve done it.”

Your hand lands on Chenle’s thigh, and he immediately knows what that means. A switch inside of him turns, and anger bubbles in his stomach. You’re his best friend, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else wants to know—the last thing he’ll let happen is any of them attempting to badger you into admitting something you don’t want the rest of the group to know.

“We’re all friends, why does it matter if we know or not?” Jeno agrees. “We’ve all been waiting for them to—”

“Knock it off,” Chenle deadpans, his voice dropping octaves. He leans forward, his arm crossing over you and his other hand gripping his bottle tighter. At the change in tone, everyone looks at him in shock, excitement fading into a nervous energy.

“Lighten up,” Donghyuck says. “They’re just joking—”

“Well, I’m not,” he replies, furrowing his eyebrows. “The hell’s wrong with you guys? You can’t tell when you’re making someone uncomfortable? Neither of us owe you anything, if you didn’t know that. You don’t need to know everything.”

“Okay,” Jaemin mumbles. “Didn’t know it was that big of a deal.”

“That’s because you don’t think, Jaemin. If anything happens between us that we want to share, we’ll share. But until then, mind your fucking business—”

“Lele,” you mutter to him, reaching forward to grasp his wrist in front of you. “Lele, it’s okay. They get it.”

He instantly relaxes at your words, running his tongue over his teeth as he rests back in his seat. You grasp his hand beneath the table and intertwine your fingers with his, rubbing your thumb against his skin.

“Sorry, (Y/N),” Jaemin says, fidgeting with his hands.

You give him an awkward smile and a nod. Chenle senses the atmosphere won’t return to the chaotic laughter it’d recently been filled with, so he wonders what’ll happen if he lets everyone know he’s taking you to bed.

When everyone resumes as much conversation as they can, Chenle leans in close to you to whisper in your ear. “Do you want to go to bed?”

It’s well past midnight, and the alcohol is starting to settle in his system. He is tired. You run your fingers through your hair and nod. He doesn’t say anything to the rest of the group, but you mutter something to Chaeyoung, who gives you a sympathetic smile and a nod.

Although he refrains from physically leading you away, he feels everyone’s eyes on the two of you. It shouldn’t upset him as much as it does. Plus, he wouldn’t mind all that much if they knew, but seeing the way it bothered you suddenly had him on ten. There was no other solution other than to put them all in their place.

Once you’re in the confines of his room, he pulls you into a hug. You melt in his embrace, your body basically limp. He rubs up and down your back, wishing he could take that feeling away from you for good. You deserve the best, and he wants to give it to you.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I don’t know why they’d fucking do that.”

You shake your head. “They’d know eventually, right? We wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret forever.”

“They should never push something like that. They’re supposed to be our friends, (Y/N). You were uncomfortable.”

“Le,” you say, pulling back to look at him. “As much as I appreciated you standing up for me, all I want right now is my best friend, okay? Just…be that guy, please.”

Both of you change into your pajamas, and then climb into bed. If you wanted him to be your best friend, he could do that. Hell, he’s spent his whole life basically doing it, so as he pulls you to his chest, it’s like muscle memory.

Everywhere Chenle is, you’re right there next to him. Never behind, never ahead, always beside.

“Chenle,” you whisper.

“Yeah, Sunshine?” He strokes your hair, pressing his lips to the top of your head.

“I…Can you be my best friend and still kiss me?” you ask. “I don’t want anything else. Just kissing.”

He lifts your chin so you’re looking at him and gives you the faintest smile. “I can be whatever you want me to be.”

Your eyes swim with all sorts of emotions, and while he’d love to sit there and analyze each one of them, you allow them to flutter shut in anticipation of his kiss.

He can’t recall a time where he’s kissed you so gently, as if you might shatter beneath his touch. Placing his hand on the small of your back, he presses you flush against him while his mouth works so effortlessly on yours.

There’s no heat behind it. The only sounds are of the rustling of his sheets, the soft sighs, and his quiet compliments between breathing breaks. He allows himself to get lost in this, in the way it feels so different from every other kiss he’s shared with you.

Those kisses all lead to sex. They were a bridge to being physical, but now all he wants is to lie in this bed with you forever, connected in such a basic and innocent way.

“You make all of it better,” you murmur, inhaling deeply. “Everything I am is for you, Zhong Chenle.”

“And you’ve built me from the ground up,” he replies. “I was created for you. I don’t know who I am without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out.”

His heart runs rampant, doing all sorts of backflips in his chest. He starts to sweat even though he’s not physically exerting himself, and he desperately feels like he needs to grasp at something. If he doesn’t, he’ll fall…but can he even more than he already has?

Is falling in love something that happens gradually, continually, or is it all at once? Once you’ve fallen in love, can you still progress further into it, or is that feeling at its peak?

He thinks back to the first time he realized he wanted more from you. It’s been over a year since he admitted it to himself, and the person he was during that time never would believe that this is his life now.

“You promise?” Chenle’s nearly breathless, your words robbing him of the oxygen he needs to survive.

You smile ever so softly, nodding slowly. “I’m yours. Always.”

The promise sinks through his skin and into his bloodstream, flowing all the way through his body and infiltrating his brain. It means so much more to him than it means to you, he knows that, but he kisses you again anyway.

He kisses you over and over and over again. By the time the sun comes up in the morning, neither of you have slept, but your lips are swollen and your eyes are drooping.

No matter what, he’ll hold you to your word.

Day 22 | June 22nd

Two coffee cups steam from the table on Chenle’s patio. He sits, slumped, on the padded bench with you next to him, legs thrown over his lap. His thumb rubs your thigh. Exhaustion has yet to kick in, especially as he looks at you. Your hair is mussed, his T-shirt hanging off your shoulder and your shorts hiking up your thighs. Everything about this is domestic, and it makes his heart flutter.

He stayed up all night with you. The sunrise over the water leaves a calming wave cascading over him, and he gets an odd feeling that it’s all going to be okay.

He’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.

You bring the coffee cup up to your lips, sighing at the taste. He made it for you. But not only that, he made it the way you’ve always loved it. You told him once, and he never forgot. Every detail he learns about you is immediately stored in his memory.

“Maybe we should tell them,” you say, running your fingers through his hair. “That way, they’ll leave us alone. And whatever we’re doing would get a little easier.”

“Would it?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“None of this is easy.” Chenle gulps, wishing he had the filter necessary to make him bite his tongue right now. “What we’re doing isn’t easy. We don’t even know what it is, so why would we try to explain it to other people?”

“Oh.” You drink more, tired gaze turning to the ocean in the distance.

“It’s not a bad thing. I’m just being honest.”

“Yeah, no, honesty is good,” you agree. “You’re right.”

“(Y/N), I—”

“No.” You hold up your hand. “We said the end of the summer, so I get it. I’d rather wait anyway.”

He wants to grab you by the shoulders and shake you, telling you all the things he loves about you and how badly he wants you to be his forever.

“I’m gonna need six more cups of coffee.” You swing your legs off of him, and leave him sitting by himself, caught up in the warm, summer breeze the same way he’s caught up in you.

Day 25 | June 25th

Going out to the bar was the worst idea ever. The more you drank, the more you wanted to be all over Chenle. He didn’t mind it, but the more he drank, the more he wanted to touch you in ways that would have every saint covering their eyes.

You turn to face him, flashing lights reflecting off your skin as you dance with him. His brain is so clouded, so foggy, but he remembers you kissing him. He groaned into your mouth, pulling you closer and doing his best to maintain a rhythm with you. For a moment, he forgets that all of your friends are here too, but he has high hopes they’ll be too drunk to recall.

You pull away, jaw dropped as you remove his grasp on your and quickly stumble toward the exit. He curses under his breath, knowing he can’t let you go alone in a state like this. The world is tilting around him as he follows you, but he refuses to let you out of his sight. The protective urges come forward.

“(Y/N)!” he calls out to you as the two of you make it outside. “Hey! Stop it.”

“Leave me alone, Chenle.” The thickness of your voice has every last bit of alcohol drying up from his system. He jogs to catch up to you, grabbing your wrist and whirling you around to look at him.

Your eyes are bloodshot, tears falling down your cheeks.

“What’s wrong, Sunshine?” he whispers, tugging you to his chest. “God, are you okay?”

“‘M fine,” you reply, but your body shudders in his grasp.

“Come on.” He scoffs. “I didn’t stop being your best friend just because we’re sleeping together.”

You put your palm on your forehead, cursing under your breath. “I just kissed you in there. In front of everyone.”

“Yeah.” Chenle shrugs. “What’s wrong with that?”

“It was supposed to be simple,” you murmur, tugging on your hair with your fingers. “We were supposed to have fun this summer, and everything’s fucking falling apart—”

He recoils. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re gonna leave me.” Your voice breaks, and his heart right along with it.

“Why would you say something like that?”

“It’s all just—” you cut yourself off, clutching Chenle’s shirt. “Too much. I want you so fucking bad all the time.”

“Me too, baby, you know that.” He cups your cheeks, wiping your tears away. “I’m not going anywhere. No matter what happens, I’ll always be right next to you. Promise, Sunshine.”

His own eyes well at the sight, but he wonders what really brought all of this on. He presses his lips to your forehead, allowing them to linger there a moment too long. Pulling you close, his gaze turns toward the building, where Jaemin and Heewon stand. He gives them the best, watery glare he can, and they quickly shuffle back inside.

It’ll never be him who leaves you. If anyone were going to run away, it will absolutely be you.

And that crushes his heart even further. Beats it to a tiny pulp and straight up purees it until it’s mush.

He takes you home, puts you in bed, and spends half the night out on his patio, leaning on the wooden railing and watching the waves crash into the midnight shore.

The view from here gives him a glimpse of the driveway, and the rest of the group pulls in not even an hour later. He makes eye contact with Jaemin, and while the others head inside, Jaemin approaches him with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey,” Jaemin says softly. “You got a few minutes?”

Chenle looks inside at your sleeping form and gently closes the door with a sigh. “I’ve got nothing but time.”

“Look, man, we all get it.” Jaemin’s feet thud quietly on the creaky stairs as he makes his way up, stopping and leaning his back against the railing as he analyzes Chenle. “We love you guys. A lot. And something weird has been going on, and it’s not like we don’t notice.”

“A lot of weird has been going on,” Chenle says, chuckling to himself. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it. It’s just us now.”

The other man purses his lips, taking a deep breath of salty air. “You love her, don’t you?”

“I wish it were as simple as that.” He clasps his hands together, wondering how much he should say.

“It can be,” Jaemin replies. “You think she doesn’t love you?”

“I know she doesn’t,” he insists. “You don’t know her like I do.”

His friend nods, as if he’s conceding with what Chenle’s saying. But he knows better—Jaemin is good at these things. Regardless of whatever happened a few nights back, Jaemin is insightful when it comes to relationships despite not having much experience in that department.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, okay? But I know something is. And I notice (Y/N) talking to Chae a lot, but you never talk to anyone about serious things except for her. It’s okay to be confused and to want to talk about things.”

“She didn’t want anyone to know.” Chenle lets out a defeated sigh, allowing his head to hang between his shoulders.

“To know what?”

“We…” Chenle considers biting his tongue. At the end of the day, he knows he can trust Jaemin, and that he’d never do anything to betray Chenle’s trust, but the words leaving his mouth feel like a betrayal to you. “We’ve been hooking up, I guess.”

“Oh, like…more than once.” Jaemin blinks his shock away.

“Yeah. Like, the whole summer so far.” He runs his hands down his face. “We’d never done anything before, and I honestly didn’t think it would be a possibility. And then we did. And it was fast and not at all what I wanted it to be and just—sorry, Jaem.”

“No, no.” He gestures for him to continue. “Let it out. It’s good for you to process these things.”

“I thought I really fucked up by doing that, you know? She didn’t stay in my room with me that night, she didn’t even talk to me until the next day. Which maybe doesn’t seem bad, but it is for us. But then she said she wanted to do it again, and I…well, I obviously didn’t say no. Maybe I should have.” He picks at his nails, fighting hard with the lump lodged in his throat.

“Honestly, I’m having trouble figuring out why you won’t tell her how you feel.”

“If I tell her and lose her because of it, I genuinely don’t know how I’d live without her. She’s been in my life forever, Jaem. It’s not her fault I can’t keep myself in check,” he says.

“If she doesn’t realize you’re in love with her, she’s really fucking dense.” Jaemin chuckles to himself. “And you’re equally as dense for thinking that she doesn’t love you.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Yes, it is.”

“How?”

“Chenle, you’ve spent every day with her this summer. And I’m not going to pretend to know your business, but I’m sure all the alone time you’ve had hasn’t been innocent. Nobody in their right mind starts sleeping with their best friend without at least a little bit of a worry that they’ll fall in love. Come on, you two are practically dating already anyway.”

“It’s hard, okay?” Chenle brushes the other man off. “We said we’d talk about it at the end of the summer, so I’m gonna save my heart for a few more days.”

“It’s okay to be selfish sometimes.” Jaemin taps the railing once more before he starts his descent down the stairs. “You won’t get what you want if you’re sitting around and watching it pass you by.”

Day 26 | June 26th

He told himself he would hold off on any more physical stuff before he was able to talk to you about what happened last night, but that was…apparently…short lived. Your chest presses against his, both of you on your sides as he gently massages your ass. You made it a point this morning to grind back against him until he was hard and aching. He’s not entirely sure how he’s avoided exactly this for so long.

He pulls your leg up on his waist, stretching you as he rubs his cock against your folds. You moan into his mouth as your slickness coats him, signaling to him that you’re more than ready to take everything he has to offer.

After a few moments of shifting, his tip enters you. Your nails dig into his shoulders as he thrusts the head of his cock in and out. Chills already break out along his body, his palms sweaty as he teases you.

“Please,” you whimper. “I need more.”

“Greedy girl,” he scolds you, slowly pushing all the way in. “Pretty baby just wants to be full, huh?”

“Only you,” you mumble, nearly incoherently as you try to rock your hips. “Only greedy for you.”

Under normal circumstances, he’d care about the sound of the bed squeaking, or the way the headboard taps the wall with each of his thrusts, but all he’s thinking about is fucking good this position allows him to feel you.

After fucking you raw, the condom almost hinders the feeling of you clenching around him, but he tries to focus on giving you as much pleasure as he can.

“C’mon, tell me what you want.” Chenle bucks his hips hard, making you whine.

“Touch me. Wanna cum.” Your head lolls forward, forehead smacking into his chest.

“Touch you where, baby?” He pushes you further. “You’re already soaking my cock, what else could you need?”

“Lele, please—”

“I’ll stop,” he warns you. “Neither of us will finish if you don’t use your words.”

Dazed, you let out a frustrated moan, and he smirks at you.

“M-my clit,” you whisper. “Please touch me there.”

Your arousal squelches around him with each of his thrusts, and you squirm as you yearn for your orgasm that’s just out of reach. He considers teasing you more, but you look so fucking good like this, walls pulsing and begging for release, he can’t deny you.

His hand snakes down your body, and he kisses your jawline. “Don’t cum ‘til I say you can, okay? I’d hate to punish you when you’ve done so well so far.”

“If y—fuck.” You cut yourself off when his finger comes in contact with your swollen, aching bud, and your nails scratch down his back. He knows you won’t be able to hold back if he touches you in the right way.

“You gotta wait for me, baby, I’m almost there.” He thrusts harder, the creak of the bed becoming more prominent as he continues barely rubbing your clit.

“Lele.” You clench your eyes shut. “I c-can’t, oh my God.”

“But you’re so good.” He slams his hips against yours. “So fucking good, just a little longer.”

Your entire body shakes. He didn’t think he’d ever find something like this so arousing, but when you look at him and your eyes are welled with tears from your need, he curses, thrusts one more time, and cums hard into the condom when he’s buried deep inside you.

He can’t remember the last time he came this much, and he wishes he didn’t have this stupid fucking piece of rubber on. The idea of painting your insides white has him thrusting through his overstimulation to bring you to your peak.

He applies more pressure to your clit, pinching it, rubbing it until you bite down on his shoulder hard as your walls and body convulse in his grasp. Cursing at the jolt of pain he feels, he moans when he realizes how it adds to his pleasure.

“Holy shit,” he whispers as you let go of him.

“Asshole.” You laugh, attempting to catch your breath.

“I don’t know,” he mumbles, scratching up and down your back. “It felt like you liked it.”

“Yeah, I hope that bite mark scars permanently.”

“Laying claim on me, are you?”

Oh, how he wishes you would.

Day 28 | June 28th

Today is arguably Chenle’s favorite day of the summer. Ironic, since it’s the second to last full day he has with all of his friends, but the tradition set is what makes him think this way.

A bonfire crackles in front of him, his arm over your shoulder as everyone stands around the climbing orange flame. The goal is each person writes all of their regrets down from the past year, and what they hope to accomplish over the next, and then they burn it. It’s an odd positivity ritual that none of them have ever skipped.

Chenle wrote his down the night before after you fell asleep.

Regrets:

I regret not telling (Y/N) I love her. Again.

I regret not seizing every opportunity that presents itself to me.

I regret wasting my life away while everything I’ve ever wanted is right in front of my eyes.

I regret shutting down and allowing my friends to help me.

I regret not advancing in my chosen career path.

Hopes:

I hope I will be able to express myself thoroughly.

I hope I will be able to tell (Y/N) my feelings.

I hope those feelings will be reciprocated.

I hope, above all, that she’s happy.

He glances around, taking a look at everyone around him. Jaemin, Jeno, Heewon, Donghyuck, Mark, Chaeyoung, and even you. Each person has had such a fundamental hand in the making of the person he is today, and a lot of times, he takes that for granted.

“Okay, who wants to go first?” Mark asks.

“I will,” you say, stepping up.

Chenle watches you with adoration, wishing he could move forward with you, but knowing there are some times where you have to shine on your own.

“Another year.” You clear your throat. “All of you mean the world to me. You helped me when I was twelve and in desperate need of a confidence boost, and you help me now at twenty-three when sometimes all I need is a drink and a cookie.”

A chorus of laughter falls from everyone.

“Mark, thank you for all of the midday pep-talks and reality checks. Jeno, thank you for being the comedic relief right when I always need it. Jaemin, thank you for always knowing what to say, no matter the situation. Chae, thank you for saving me from myself more times than I can count. Hyuck, thank you for knowing exactly when I want ice cream and a rant session. Heewon, thank you for never judging me despite my shit decisions.”

You turn back to Chenle, the gleam in your eye reflecting the billions of stars from the sky above.

“Chenle, thank you for never underestimating me and for knowing me better than I know myself. For all of the years we’ve had, and all the ones we will have.”

“You’ve got all of mine,” Chenle says to you.

With a final grin, you take your folded up piece of paper out of your pocket and toss it into the fire, and everyone watches as it burns to ash. Once you’re satisfied, you move back to Chenle and hug him tightly.

He deflates in your grasp, cradling the back of your head and relishing in the weight of your words.

Mark goes next, then Hyuck, Chae, Heewon, Jaemin, and Jeno, leaving Chenle to be the last one. He purses his lips, twirling his own note in his fingers as he glances over his shoulder at you.

It takes him a while to think of what he wants to say despite the fact he’s been looking forward to this since the vacation started. He takes a deep breath, inhaling the smokiness of the air mixed with ocean salt, and really, truly thinks of how he’s made it as far as he has.

“Well, guys, another year down.” He shakes his head as he thinks of how fast time passes. “Life wouldn’t be the same without you guys. We get busy throughout the year, but I’m really happy we get to spend this time here and that we’re able to be together this entire month. Everyone has their unique roles in this friend group, and it’d be incredibly off if any one of us weren’t here. So, my thank you is for all of you, for being there for me and making this little bunch into a family. ‘Cause that’s what you guys are. You’re my family.”

He glances back at you much like you had done to him, and he’s met with your dazzling smile. His nerves calm at the sight, and he chews the inside of his cheek as he tosses his paper into the flame.

It’s like he physically feels the hurt, regret, and carelessness from the past year lift off his shoulders, intertwine with the smoke, and disappear. He feels lighter, like he can take on the world. And in this moment, when he sees you staring at him with such adoration, he knows that now is the moment.

No time will ever be the right time, and he’ll never have courage if he doesn’t push himself.

He walks back to you, hands in his pockets. “(Y/N), can I talk to you over there for a minute?”

You nod, and as he guides you a safe distance away, he meets Jaemin’s gaze. The grin of approval is all he needs, and the other man makes sure the friend group is paying attention to him instead of you and Chenle.

“What’s up?” you ask, tilting your head. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He pauses and reaches over to grab your hand. “I just…One of my regrets last year was not having courage, and not being able to ask for the things I want because I wasn’t…ready for them, I guess.”

You nod, urging him to continue.

“You’re my best friend. All of this stuff we’ve been through this summer, I need you to know that’ll never change no matter what. If I didn’t have you in my life, I think I’d be screwed.” He chuckles, the nerves gnawing away at his throat and making his voice shake. “This has been the best month of my life, honestly, but I shouldn’t have gone into something like this without being completely transparent.”

To that, you frown, but wait for him to continue.

He takes a moment to work up the strength to tell you, his thumb rubbing over your knuckles. His hands shake, and he feels faint, but he knows it’s now or never. He can’t let you leave this place for another year without knowing the truth.

“I…I’m in love with you. And I have been for so long, but I didn’t want to ruin this. When all of this started, I wanted to tell you no because I thought I’d end up getting hurt because of it all. And maybe I still will, but at least now you’ll know the truth.”

He’s not sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t you starting to laugh. His gaze darts back up to yours, and your head is in your hands.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “If that’s not what you wanted, we can still be—”

“Zhong Chenle, you are far too dense for your own good.” You beam at him, reaching up to cup his cheeks and pull him in for a kiss.

He’s in shock at first, but after a second, he’s pulling you as close to him as possible. You swallow his sigh of relief, and when he moves back, he sees the tear streaks down your face.

“Hey, none of that,” he whispers, wiping them away.

“I love you, Chenle,” you tell him. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so fucking long—”

You cut yourself off by connecting your lips to his again, giggles interrupting you every so often.

The rest of the group cheers and yells by the fire, clearly not one of them surprised by this outcome. He leads you back to them, fingers interlocked tightly and a permanent smile etched on his face.

For the rest of the night, he doesn’t let you go. He holds you close, kisses you all over your face, and squeezes you.

He loves you.

He’s in love with you, and you’re not going anywhere.

If this is the cruelest summer he ever has to endure, he’s more than ready for the rest of them.

#nct dream #chenle #nct #nct imagines #nct dream smut #nct scenarios #chenle smut #chenle fluff #chenle angst #nct dream fluff #nct dream angst #nct dream x reader #nct x reader #nct smut #nct fluff #nct angst #chenle x reader #chenle imagine #chenle imagines

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livelovezegras · 10 months

Text

locker room shenanigans | j. hughes

p: "we're really going to fuck right here? what if somebody sees us?"

You shivered. The excitement of the game mixed with the chill of the ice. It was finally over though.

Your eyes found Jack as he came off the ice. He looked irritated like someone could tell how he had done just by his body language. It made your body heat up.

"Hey, bab-" Your words were cut off when he roughly grabbed your wrist. "What happened out there? You did great." Your encouragement only seemed to fuel Jack's rage.

He huffed in response. Jack's lips were on yours ferociously. You could hardly keep up, almost automatically letting him win his fight for dominance. Your hands snaked up and down his body, feeling the gear beneath his jersey. The kiss didn't end until you had to pull away for air.

"I need you. Now," Jack growled.

"We're in public, you know?"

He smirked. You didn't even need his response for you to follow him into the locker room. The blush on your face definitely was prevalent to everyone who saw you following Jack.

The moment you were in the room, he shoved you against the nearest wall.

"Please Jack," you whimpered. "We're really going to fuck right here? What if somebody sees us?"

"Don't worry your pretty head about it, dove. If any of the guys hear it they'll love it."

His fingers grasped your sweater, pulling it over your head. Jack's lips made contact with your neck, causing an embarrassing moan to escape your lips. "You're mine."

"Say it again. Please." Desperation filled your voice.

"You are mine, dove. All mine." He nipped at your shoulder. His hands traveled down your body, one hand reaching the waistband of your panties while the other unclasped your bra. "Goddamn. You're fucking soaked. Now I'm going to fuck you against this wall. Until you can't remember your own name. Until everyone can hear you in this fucking arena."

You tugged your pants down to your ankles, kicking them off. Grasping at his jersey, you helped him undress. Clothes were flung everywhere, everything sloppy.

"Please, I need you now. From seeing you- fuck.. Come off the ice.. How pissed off you were.. How rough." Your hands made their way up to the base of his neck and into his hair. "I need you to fucking ruin me, Jack."

"Glad we're on the same page, dove. I need you to know that I am going to be the only man on your mind. In your mind. In your mouth. In this drenched pussy." Jack chuckled as his he spun you around, pressing your body into the concrete. "You're going to let me fuck my anger out onto this tight hole and I won't hear any complaints. If I hear even one, then we will have an audience."

You squealed as his cock rubbed against your cunt. One quick stroke and he was balls deep inside. A small scream left you.

Jack was hitting spots you never knew existed. Maybe it was his anger or his proof of ownership. His tip pounded into your cervix as his pace increased.

Your hands gripped the wall, palms full of little bumps. Everything was already so much; your moans sounded like a prayer.

"Please, I want you to cum inside me."

"You like my cock that much, hm? It sounds like I'm a goddamn brothel, baby." His pace quickened. Jack's hand went into your hair, pulling sharply.

You screamed, the sensation making you rub your clit. You matched his thrusts, speeding up slightly. Your orgasm was approaching rapidly, forcing your eyes to shut. Your cunt tightened, causing Jack's orgasm to come right behind yours.

"Fuck- fuck. Jack, 'm coming. Oh my god."

"Thats a good girl. Cum for me. I'm about to paint this pretty body with my cum." As he said that, he came deep inside you.

"Do you think they heard us?"

Your eyes couldn't leave Jack's. "Yes, we did. Sounded pretty, Y/N."

tag list: @drysdalesv @shy4jamie

#nhl smut #jack hughes smut #jack hughes x y/n #jack hughes x reader smut #nhl x reader

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smuttysabina · 11 months

Text

Chaelisa "Chella Action

(Lisa x Rose, 800 words) Lisa and Rose have fun at Coachella Tags: Lesbian action, Dialogue, Fisting, brief vomiting, cumplay, harsh language

"Really Lisa?"

"What, Rose?"

"This is the best you could find?"

"Hey, I don't want to hear any complaints, this is the best one I could get that was... unspoiled."

"Where did you even find it anyways?"

"Passed out next to the main stage, I think she missed him since he was unconscious."

"Well judging by the screaming Jennie is still going at it."

"Mhmm, so be happy we don't get her sloppy seconds for once, this one is fresh!"

"I'm surprised you didn't just grab some of her leftovers, considering what a perverted whore you are, you should like cleaning up after your betters."

"Wow fuck you too bitch, at least I'm not a sadistic... oh, shut up, shut up, he's waking up! Ahem- Hello there, how are you feeling, good? Oh don't bother getting up silly, we'll be joining you down there soon enough."

"Ugh, do we really have to fuck him in the dirt?"

"Its COACHELLA, everything is covered in dirt!"

"Well some of us, dislike rutting on the ground like animals!"

"Okay, then go find a fucking clean mattress then, I'll be busy enjoying myself."

"FINE. But I get to go first."

"Um, no. I don't want you to ruin him like you do with all of your... slaves. The last one was literally jizzing blood!"

"Oh please, you were just on your period Lisa, and anyways I don't want your filthy cunt juices smeared all over my... dildo."

"Heh, you were going to say 'slave' weren't you?"

"Its called wordplay whore, maybe you should figure it out before writing another song."

"....Ouch"

"..."

"Okay, I'm sorry, that was a little too harsh."

"It's fine, that just means I get to go first. God you are so easy to manipulate, its a wonder you manage to domme anyone at all..."

"Hey!"

"Too late! Hello again my darling little pet, ready to make my insides all juicy? Don't mind Rose there, she's just mad about going last! So make sure to fuck me good and proper, if you cum before I do, I'll make sure you get it up again..."

"..."

"What's wrong Rose, still mad that you're going to be cleaning up after me again? You can just stand there and watch as I ride- wait Rose. What are you doing back there with your hand? Wait, no. Get lube you idiot! Get lube! LUBE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!"

"Oh shut up you slut, I know you love it rough. This is payback for earlier, whore"

"Oh fuck... Rose I can feel your fist in my stomach... oh god I'm gonna! Blooooargh!"

"That's disgusting! Could you not puke everywhere like a cheap whore? You really do deserve to get fucked on the ground you filthy animal."

"Hah- I- hah, I don't want to hear that from the fucking bitch who just shoved her arm up my ass!"

"Lisa, you came like twice from this, don't deny you're not enjoying this."

"Urrrgh, I'm going to force feed you so much cum after this you bitch..."

"I'd love to see you try, by the time I'm done with you I doubt your loose holes will be able to hold anything in them at all!"

"Ghurk Ghurk Ghurk GHUAH! Is that all you've got Rose, I've fucked virgins who could plow me harder than that!"

"...Um Lisa."

"Huh...? What?"

"Look down."

"...Oh, he passed out again."

"...Did he finish?"

"Hmm.... yup I can feel his load in there! I guess he came so hard he blacked out!"

"Pfffft, you really do suck at choosing fuck meat!"

"Yeah yeah I don't want to hear it! Also uh, Rose?"

"Yes Lisa?"

"Want to keep fisting me?

"Sigh, fine. But only if you eat me out afterwards."

"Deal! And you can degrade me all you want and shit while I'm doing it."

"You do know how to push my buttons don't you?"

"Oh yeah, and afterwards, want to try and find some more pets? Surely Jennie can't fuck her way through all of them!"

"With Jisoo helping her out? Seriously?"

"Well I guess we can be on cleanup duty again..."

"Are you fine with sloppy seconds?"

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Fine, as long as you clean them off first for me..."

"Rose dear, I always do. Now shouldn't you be, um?"

"Oh right! Only if you ask nicely though, Lisa."

"I hate you."

"That works!"

"OH FUCK! HARDER ROSE HARDER!"

#blackpink smut #rose smut #lisa smut #chaelisa #blackpink #Smut

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fillinforlater · 2 years

Text

Blonde: Chapter II

Female Reader x Kim Gaeul

Length: 2938 words

Tags: terrible day, everything goes wrong, helpful friends, saving and helping, light hearted fun, slow burn, character building, mystery toxic relationship, curse filled fight, hatred, terrible mother

TW: toxic relationship

Credit: @midnightdancingsol for editing. The real MVP behind the scenes, thank you!

(A/N: @firagaarmor bcuz of course and @ifeelsounsure0 bcuz he got me to write something fluffy. Love you two and I hope y’all enjoy this second part)

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m, I’m sorry, sir.”

It’s not going well for you today. In fact, it’s been quite terrible.

Your alarm didn’t go off as your phone didn’t charge overnight. For some reason the energy supplier cut off your electricity. Again. Is it because there was an issue with the powerline? Definitely possible, it wouldn’t be the first. It could also be because they haven't been paid last month.

A cold shower, dry noodles, and being late to school make you contemplate calling your mother and asking, no, begging for money. It's the worst form of humiliation and only has a fifty percent chance of succeeding. There is no painless way out of this, and this was only the beginning of the day.

After this disaster, you arrived at school. You are already in trouble for your bad grades and so it's a terrible look when you arrive five minutes before the lesson ends. It gets even worse when your explanation is a stuttering mess. Your teacher screamed at you for minutes straight. One more misstep and he'll let you fail.

And lastly, work. From the very first customer on, you made mistake after mistake: two items weren't scanned, three complaints with unsatisfying answers, and now, you drop a glass of jam. Luckily, the customer caught it. In his understandable anger he throws a tantrum, urging you to scan faster and faster.

"My God, is it really this hard to watch out? Every elementary school student can do this!

"S-sir, I'm sorry."

"This should not happen, I w—"

"Please, leave her alone, sir. She apologized enough already."

A soothing voice suddenly speaks up for you. Gaeul has a stern, confident glow on her features and can stand up for herself, for you, even if she's signifiantly smaller. The man backs off.

"I mean, she should just be more careful."

"I'm sure she will be."

"Okay, okay."

He scans his credit card and leaves with the usual clatter of the shopping cart.

It's just you and her now. Gaeul's blonde hair seems to glow silver-gray today, but it could just be the dirty white light above the store's shelves. She is once again carrying colorful cans, more than last time. Half a dozen.

"You, you two are more thirsty this time, huh?" you stutter your failed attempt at a joke.

"Hey, are you okay? You're crying."

"What, I'm not—"

Not yet. The tears in your eyes are like an avalanche about to break loose any second now. Gaeul can clearly see it as she softly inspects your face. No, don't cry now, you tell yourself and reach for the soda.

Pepsi. Beep.

"Yes you are and that's okay."

Coke. Beep.

"N-no, I'm not cryin'."

Mountain Dew. Beep.

"Hey."

It's too late. The can of green tea over the scanner is not only met with a beep, but also drops of rain. Your tears come down, nothing is able to stop them. Today is just too much.

Beep. Beep.

"Hm, how do I do this?"

Gaeul's breath brings you back from this freezing in place. She’s right next to you, on the side of the scanner only employees are allowed to access. Cautiously, she tries to read the words on the panel and keys, but you are in the way. Her body heat and calm breath are so close, you gasp and back off and feel something hit your elbow. A decorative vase at the back of your carrel falls over. The sound of china bursting on the stone floor makes Gaeul jump.

Gaeul scrambles awkwardly to quickly leave the carrel and walks to the pile of dirt and shards, while you try to balance yourself and look around. If your manager heard this, he will be here in less than a minute—

“What was that? Checkout three—”

“I’m sorry,” Gaeul interrupts the annoyed manager, “I must have accidentally touched it. It wasn’t on purpose and I—”

“N-no!” you interrupt Gaeul with a shocked stutter, “I, it was my fault. My e-elbow hit it when I turn—”

“She is just taking the blame for me,” Gaeul interrupts.

“Wh-what?” your manager says. He looks between the two of you.

Instinctively, you shut up and stare at the ground. Confusion keeps you from crying and instead raises questions. What is happening? Why is Gaeul doing this? What if I have to pay—no, what if Gaeul has to pay for the vase? Would she do it for me?

“Trust me, sir, she is taking the blame out of kindness,” Gaeul argues calmly. She then bows her head. “It’s my fault. I will pay for the damages.”

“Ah, no. It’s fine,” the bewildered manager responds, scratching the back of his head, “Thank you for your honesty. It was an ugly vase anyways. Just… be more careful next time.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry sir.”

You stare at Gaeul bowing again. Her upper body is covered by a simple, white t-shirt with a black cat on its front, something you haven’t noticed in your self-centered sadness. As the manager walks away, you’re still staring at her. Your heart beats faster and a warm thought arises in your mind.

This is the first time someone made a sacrifice for me.

The final rays of sunlight beam over the roofs. This time of the year, it’s your usual sight when you leave the store after your shift. You step through the employee exit, a white plastic bag in hand, and trot towards the parking lot. At this time, no one is allowed to park on the property of the store and the manager made it your job to check every evening. You scan the concrete area and as usual, no one dares to park here. If so, you’d write down the license plate number and—

“G-Gaeul?”

“Oh, there you are. Hey.”

Gaeul sits atop a metal safety pillar next to the entrance, each of her six cans lined up in a row before her. She waves and points to the pillar next to her. The sunlight reflected from the glass front behind her makes her bright hair glow brighter and you fly towards her like a moth.

“What are you d-doing here?”

“I was waiting for you. I wanted to apologize.”

“A-apologize? Why?”

Gaeul points at the pillar once more. Never not laying your eyes off of her face, you sit down on the metal surface. Through your thin skin-tight jeans you still feel its coldness. You want to jump back up and rather stand, but Gaeul reaches for your hands and you freeze on the spot. It’s not cold anymore.

“Because I had a stupid idea and made you feel uncomfortable in front of your boss? I think this warrants an apology.”

“B-but you actually helped me. I should th-thank you.”

Before you can fall back into your old habit of lowering your gaze, Gaeul brings you back with an assertive rebuttal.

“No, I made you trip and then the accident happened. It’s my fault and I am sorry. I should’ve used my brain back then.”

Gaeul chuckles. For the first time, you hear her voice as small and cute. You join her and a rare wave of warmth and appreciation overcomes all negative emotions. The rest of the day with all its burdens becomes irrelevant for at least this moment.

“Apology accepted. By the way, wh-what was your ‘stupid idea’?”

"Hm? What do you me—ah, yes! Well, uhm, I guess I wanted to help you by scanning the cans and finishing the transaction on my own. The scanning part was easy, but I had no clue how to, uhm, open the register. Hehe…”

Gaeul averts her gaze onto the cracked pavement. A faint blush turns her pastel pink cheeks rosy pink while her hand scratches the back of her head.

After a second of silence, you begin to snicker. Your mind cannot fathom why she looks so irresistibly cute when she is embarrassed, but also why she would attempt something this unnecessary. It’s nice that she wanted to help, but it was meant to fail from the start.

“I-I’m sorry, but I find this funny,” you say as your snicker continues.

“Is that why you’re laughing at me?” Gaeul asks, acting offended.

“No, no, I’m laughing because it was cute, but pointless.”

“Th-that’s why I apologized!”

Gaeul’s face jumps from the beautiful rosy pastel to the red of a ripe tomato. She buries it in her hand, making only her blonde bob—the light in the store betrayed you: it’s still as blonde as before—visible. Her body moves to the side away from you.

You stop your giggles and aim your hand at her shoulder. What was supposed to be an apologetic gesture to get back the beautiful girl's attention and explain yourself to her, turns to a shove. With too much momentum from standing up, you unwittingly push Gaeul, making her stagger and almost fall from the pillar. Luckily, she is able to put her leg down firmly and rescue the two of you from falling over.

She removes her hands to reveal her shocked orbs. They are so close to yours, a breath away. Somehow your hand is still on hers and once again, everything is silent for a second. Instead of giggling, you fall to your knees this time.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t want this to happen, really. I just wanted to—no, I’m sorry, I always do things wrong, there is always trouble and—”

“Hey. Hey! Everything is okay, nothing happened.”

“No, I’m such a klutz, an worthless idiot—”

“No, you’re not. A funny little mistake doesn’t make you worthless.”

Gaeul’s soothing voice and soft fingers on your hair guide you away from your self-loathing. The pain you so easily get lost in lingers only for seconds, but when you see her eyes, it's gone.

"You mean it?"

You did not have to ask that as her genuinity was obvious in her gaze, her expression, her gesture. She doesn’t lie, her words are not just rootless. Although she might only act out of human decency, it feels like burning compassion.

Gaeul stretches out her hand and you take it. You get up swiftly and stand next to the beautiful woman, staring at her probably a second too long. She giggles and turns her head away.

"Yeah, I mean it. Don't define yourself over such a tiny mistake. Actually, it was kinda cute."

Turn away as well. She should not see the seemingly instantaneous, almost cartoonish blush taking over your face. There is no doubt that she once again was genuine and you scramble to come up with a response, with a rebuttal, but there is nothing. Your mind is so full, yet so void of words.

A ring from Gaeul's phone puts an end to the rising tension.

"Hi," Gaeul greets after fishing out her phone. A second in and she freezes in place. Her lips lose a bit of their already light color, her knees buckle lightly.

You watch Gaeul from the corner of your eye. Throughout the call, she is reduced to repeating simple words or inconclusive phrases. A 'Yes' here, a 'Me' there, sometimes an 'I know', other than that she is just listening. Her free hand scratches her blonde hair or hides shortly in the pockets of her baby-blue jeans.

When your eyes meet, you quickly spin around. She is clearly uncomfortable and you don't want to make it worse by eavesdropping on her. In an attempt to look somewhat disinterested, you look into the plastic bag you brought along. Soda, two days past the expiration date, along with instant noodles, rice, and a mixture of vegetables that still looked edible. It'd be a waste to throw them away.

"I'm sorry, b—"

You raise your head and Gaeul lowers her hand. Little beads of sweat trickle down her distressed features. In a hurry she collects all the colorful cans splayed on the pavement and tries the impossible task of carrying them in her bare hands. They of course tumble down and you watch as Gaeul’s body trembles.

“Ah, damn,” Gaeul says in a dull voice, adding a clearly faked laugh, “I have to go now. I missed something important.”

“Wait!” you shout as she tries to jog away with the unstable tower in her arms, “take this. O-otherwise, you won’t make it home without an accident.”

Stretch your arm towards her. A light breeze makes the now empty white plastic bag in your hand sway in the wind. It’s like a flag and your arm is the pole. Gaeul hesitates.

“Are you sure? Don’t you need it too?”

“It’s not that much. Look, a couple of packets—I can easily carry those.”

“I don’t know…”

You try to make your eyes look more pleading to finally convince Gaeul to just take the bag. You definitely want to help her and although you understand and cherish her care for you, hearing the shift in her voice to sadness leaves you determined—you will not leave until she accepts your offer, even if it takes a lie.

“Gaeul, please. If I should struggle to carry this home, I can just grab another bag from inside the store. You need it a lot more right now.”

With a residue of hesitance Gaeul reaches for and fills the plastic bag with her cans. Although she whispers a grateful ‘Thank you’, her expression is trying to hide something dampening her mood. You can’t help but think that there is something seriously wrong. Some dread seems to linger above Gaeul like rain-filled clouds.

You wave after her, but she doesn’t turn around. Her walk is swift, her blonde hair bops at each step and you admire how incredible she looks in this casual outfit. Form-fitting jeans, short white T-shirt—Gaeul can wear literally anything and still look stunning.

Who would want to cause any discomfort to someone this wonderful?

Scroll through your contacts. It’s certainly not a long list and you wish most of the names displayed on the screen were just non-existent, but you can still waste time by going down and back up.

Avoid at all costs, waste as much time as possible, maybe she will call on her own.

Naive thoughts to keep you occupied, but if you want your stove top to work or lamps to shine you need to call her.

Even this late, she is still surely awake. Even after years of fighting, she will surely pick up. Even if you are formal and nice, she might make this go sideways quickly. Having to call her was always your least favorite chore since living alone, and when her receiver is lifted and the line is clear, you freeze on the spot, like you have every single time.

“What?” she groans into your ear, not hiding her annoyance. There is an obnoxiously loud TV running in the background, some soap opera characters are fighting. You always hated these shows. They were one of the most irritating parts about here, but not as irritating as the barking of a dog. Last time you called, she didn’t own one. Maybe she is at a friend’s house, maybe she is getting her life together and wants to care for a dog, but God forbid she has a boyfriend now.

There is no escaping it, you already pressed the green button. Suppress the urge to immediately tap on the red one and end the call. You have to engage in this. It's no use running away.

"I need… there is no electricity," you say firmly, even through the little slip-up, trying not to sound too cold or desperate.

"Yeah, I know," she responds nonchalantly, interrupting her response to suck at her cigarette. Even after all this time, you can still smell the disgusting odor of the smoke she always exhales in a celebratory fashion.

"What?!"

"I couldn't afford it."

"Huh? And what am I supposed to do now?" you say resentfully, unable to keep yourself from shouting. Her attitude broke you faster than even your worst fears would have assumed. The barking gets louder and your mother half-heartedly speaks over it.

"Chill out! After my boss pays me, I'll be able to pay for your bill. That motherfucker is late again."

"And till then?"

"What do I know. Can't change it."

Your hand wrapped around your cell phone trembles. You grit your teeth and keep your rage-filled tears back.

"You want me to starve? I can't cook anything. Noodles, rice—"

"Then eat something else."

"And how should I shower?"

Your voice cracks, almost crumbles as you press the speaker onto your sweaty cheek.

"You'll survive without one."

"Can you fucking care for once?! I'm in trouble, again, and you don't give a shit, again!"

"I don't have to listen to you. You wanted to live alone."

"Because I can't stand smelling you and your fucking cigarettes all day."

"Shut the fuck up."

Her voice is cold, colder than ice, colder than a murderer’s heart, colder than the vaccum of space. It’s the coldest thing in the entire universe. If hatred was transferable through phone lines, she would wince and squirm on the ground right now. Instead, it’s you who is about to fall on your knees. The weight is getting too heavy.

The beeping of your phone after she hangs up just echoes through your empty mind.

One thought however resonates infinitely in this void.

I fucking hate you.

(A/N2: thanks for reading! Btw, why is she so damn beautiful??😳🥺)

#kpop fluff #gaeul fluff #ive fluff #female idol fluff #female reader fluff #female reader insert #Female reader #female idol

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spaghettificationandpretzels · 2 years

Text

The Reaper and the Death Angel Part 45

My life is falling apart and I'm so stressed I'm bursting out in tears for no reason. Any way, here's another chapter. I can't decide whether I love it or hate it but I've re-written it a billion times and it's not going to get done if I don't call it finished.

Series Masterlist

Part 44

Contains: Fluff, angst, protective Jax, caretaker Jax, hints at Gemma having a drinking problem. Not proofread, it will probably be full of mistakes.

7K Words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #the reaper and the death angel.

Wedding bliss

Six days after Jax took over

"The bathrooms have been cleaned, and the booze is finally stocked. Santo Parde will be here in four hours so you need to go get ready while I start the finger food."

Jax smiled, "you are really settling into this well."

You raised your eyebrows, "what do you mean?"

Jax pulled you into his arms, letting you rest your weight on him instead of the crutches and put a hand on your face, "this whole old lady thing, you might as well be running the Club."

"We've been over this Teller, this is not me being an old lady, this is me being a diplomat. Now I've left an ironed shirt that that nice pair of jeans that make your butt look great on the bed. Please so get dressed so we can be ready in case they're here early."

"Yes ma'am."

Santo Parde were twenty minutes early, "I told you so."

Jax rolled his eyes, "yes you did Darlin. So you know two of these guys?"

You nodded, "I met Johnny Cruz in Afghanistan and Ezekiel Reyes has been to four of my lectures. Cruz is a good soldier and a fantastic sniper. Reyes is smart, perfect memory but an ambitious streak a mile wide. I won't be surprised if he's running the charter in a few years."

"Good to know, we better go and say hello."

It didn't take long for them to settle in, then drinks were being passed around, "hey Coco, I'm glad to see you've landed on your feet."

He smiled, "yeah, the Club is great."

Ezekiel swagged up to you, "hello Dr l/n, how's life been?"

You took in his VP patch and shot Jax a knowing look, "great, it seems things are good for you, being VP and all."

He smiled, "yeah Bishop thought I'd make a good fit." You nodded, "brains over brawn is always the way to go, at least you'll never forget any details."

The party picked up as the night wore on, Bishop was sitting with Jax and Ezekiel while you sat at your spot at the bar and re-connected with Coco, "what in God's name made you settle in another desert? Do you miss finding sand in your ass crack everyday."

He chuckled and shrugged, "I like the heat."

You shook your head, "there's something seriously wrong with you."

He laughed and a tall man with a beard and fine features wandered over, "who might you be gorgeous?"

Coco was doing his best to not smile as you stuck your hand out, "Dr l/n, Jax is my fiance. Who are you?"

His face fell a bit, "lucky man, name's Angel, EZ's my younger brother."

You nodded, "Sam's mine, do they ever grow out of being goobers or is he going to annoy me till the day I die?"

Angel shook his head, "EZ hasn't changed since we were kids."

A crash pulled your attention away, then someone was shouting, "y/n can you come here, I think Kozik just broke his hand."

You rubbed your face, "sorry gentlemen, I need to go mother some children."

They laughed and you left, when you were out of earshot, Coco leaned in and talked to Angel low enough that no one else could hear, "she was a mechanic when we were overseas."

Angel's eyebrows went up, "she doesn't look like she knows cars."

Coco shook his head, "not that kind, the lady was a CIA operative, my guess is that's why Marcus speaks so highly of her. She must have something to do with what's going on with Galindo."

Angel shrugged, "she seems nice enough. What was she like when you knew her?"

Coco smiled, "she cut an insurgent's throat with a rusted hunk of metal to save my CO's life, I've got no complaints."

You walked back into the Clubhouse with Kozik in tow and walked up to Jax, "sorry to interrupt."

Jax shook his head, "is everything ok? I heard noises and then you were running out."

You rolled your eyes, "Kozik's wrist is sprained, I need to get him an X-ray to make sure it's not worse. I'll probably be home early morning tomorrow."

Jax gave you a sad smile, "alright Darlin, we've got all week to get to know everyone so don't worry." He pressed a quick kiss to your lips and you left, Jax turning back to his conversation with Bishop.

****

"Hey Darlin, how's Kozik?"

You were home a lot earlier than expected, "fine, it wasn't bad enough to need an X-ray once the doc had a look, he'll be riding again in a week or two."

Jax watched you walk to the bathroom and heard the shower start, "how did tonight go?"

Jax's tone was light, "good, they seem like good guys. But you're right about the VP, he's ambitious. I have some bad news."

It wasn't really bad news but Jax wanted to prepare you, "let me guess, Arizona is coming and Jenkins still has his patch."

Jax huffed, you were so smart, "I don't know why after his behaviour but they couldn't afford to lose him after everything that went down there."

Jax heard the shower turn off, "if he tries anything, I'll just kick the shit out of him again. I wonder if he still walks with a limp."

Jax chuckled, "last time we were down there he did, maybe he'll stay away from you now that Clay's gone."

Jax opened his arms when you emerged for the shower and you climbed into them, "maybe, he better not try something in front of Santo Parde, you know I can't let that slide."

Jax pressed a kiss to your forehead, "I know, you have my blessing to do whatever you need to."

****

"Shit, where's Gemma?"

Lyla and Ima looked like they were going to collapse, "in the back, she's not feeling well."

You shook your head, "I'll help you get ready for the party tonight, I'll try to stay but since everything went down with Potter, I've been swamped with cases."

Ima gave you a soft smile, "Jax is really worried you're working too hard, you should be resting that leg."

You shook your head, "it stopped hurting two days after I got home. I'll go fix up the dorms and make sure the bathrooms are still stocked. Can someone please go sober Gemma up?"

****

Lyla sent Gemma home after it was clear that she wouldn't be able to keep up appearances. You were sitting on one of the couches with your legs over Jax's lap while he ran his hand up and down your calf, with Opie, Bishop and Hank sitting opposite.

"It was hilarious. This POG kept going on and on about how I needed to finish autopsies faster, then proceeded to run out of the tent with his hand over his face because he couldn't handle a three day old corpse."

Hank laughed, "I bet he never lived that down."

You shook your head, "he might of had I not told everyone."

Jax clicked his tongue, "you just love causing trouble, don't you?"

You smiled, "it depends."

Jax went to respond but was called away by Sam, "be nice."

You put a hand to your chest, "I'm always nice."

Jax lifted your legs off his lap and pecked your lips, "I'll be back in two minutes."

Opie was smiling, "how's the wedding planning going? Lyla tells me that Sam and Ima want to do some outdoor thing for a joint bachelor, bachelorette party."

You nodded, "some kind of real life Oregon Trail video game in the woods, no camping thank God. I'm sure everyone will have fun but there's no chance you are the guys are winning."

Bishop chuckled, "ah to be young and in love." Jax wasn't back yet and then you could feel the hair at the back of your neck stand up and someone was walking over, it was Evan Jenkins.

"Long time no see."

You glared at him as he sat down, "yes, fortunately."

His tone became condescending, "don't be like that, with you as the head bitch we need to get along."

Opie went to step in and you raised your hand, "can I help you? Because you're ruining my nice night and this lovely conversation that I'm having."

He shot you a nasty smirk, "I just think want to know why you and Teller are still together after that stunt you pulled last time we saw each other."

The Mayans around you were confused, "same reason he decided to be with me in the first place. I spat in his drink one day without him knowing and put a curse on him."

"Dude, no one likes you, didn't you learn your lesson when she beat the shit out of you."

Opie didn't sound happy, "what are you talking about?"

Hank's tone was soft but cautious "oh, he put a prospect up to hitting me across the face, then I beat the shit out of him. That's why he walks with a limp and has an uneven face."

When Jax rounded the corner, he saw Jenkins talking to you and speed walked over, "is everything ok here, Darlin?"

You nodded, "yes Beloved, I was just telling the guys how I bewitched you with my magic vagina."

Jax pressed his lips together in order not to laugh, "I don't know how to respond to that."

Jax sat back in the same spot and lifted your legs back onto his lap, going back to running his hand up and down your calf. Jenkins waved his hand at the sight, "that's so pathetic, I guess you're with her cause she removed your balls."

You nodded, "yes, I use them as a paperweight in my office." Jax's hand was a little firmer and you could feel him tense, "I don't know what your issue with me is. When we first spoke, I turned you down nicely, then you lied to Jax to save face. I don't know what you want or why you keep bothering me but you need to read to room, no one wants you here."

He crossed his arms over his chest, "are you going let this bitch speak for you."

Opie stood up and put a hand on the man's arm, "I don't think anyone here would disagree with her, you're killing the vibe man." Jax had gone stiff next to you and he was shifting to be able to get up without moving you too much.

Jenkins glared at you once last time then went to walk away, but in a flash, you had a drink thrown in your face. There was no point in stopping Jax as he leapt up and descended upon the man, the sound of his fists hitting his face filling the room.

Tables and chairs were being pushed aside as the one sided fight continued, Jax had been working out and sparring with Sam most days and he was fast becoming a wall of hard muscle. The bare fists of Jax's huge hands were doing more damage than you could ever achieve.

Everyone was watching as Jax pummeled the quickly fading man until he was flinging blood everywhere "Ope, I think it might be time to…."

Opie waved his hand, "not your choice y/n, Jax can't let the disrespect slide." Opie let it go on for another flurry of punches and kicks before he was pulling Jax away.

You walked over to the sink and wet a towel before stepping up to Jax and taking his hands in yours, "my brave knight, you have cast off on your face." Jax acted like you weren't there as he watched Jenkins be dragged off by Chibs. You reached the towel up and wiped the blood off his face, "my sweet, noble Jackson, you can't punch every man that has a problem with me."

Jax was still silent, "you wanna tell me what's going through your head?"

He grunted, "he's gone, I'm having his patch pulled tonight."

You shook your head, "let's focus on making sure everyone gets along first, once this is set up, we won't be seeing him and Arizona can't take anymore loses anyway."

For the briefest moments, not even a second, Jax's glare turned on you then softened as he dropped his forehead into yours. "That shouldn't have happened, I'm sorry."

He lifted a bruised hand to your face, "help me clean up?" You nodded and walked hand in hand with Jax to the dorms.

"I won't work with him."

Bishop's tone was short, "I know, we don't expect you to but she's right, without him, Arizona doesn't have enough for a table."

The rest of the week went great, there were dinners and nights spent at the Clubhouse drinking. By the time they left, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Santo Parde would be able to take over for SAMTAZ.

Fifteen days after Jax took over

"You guys are going down, you don't have a chance."

Jax chuckled, "sure, can you run with those?"

You huffed in mock offence, "you want me to even the score? Because I'm happy to hobble one of you."

Opie slapped Jax on the chest, "don't be mean Jax, it's not like her short legs could keep up anyway."

"I'm gonna put a snake in your tent."

Jax smiled, big and wide and wrapped his arms around you, "I could make a joke here but I'm worried you might do it." The host showed up just as everyone was getting overly excited.

"Now, I've been told that we're splitting off into two teams, so please do that now."

You gave Jax a kiss and walked over to the other side of the fire pit, "each team will have a guide who will give you challenges and hand out cards for when you succeed or fail. Those that die on The Oregon Trail will be escorted back to the cabins for tea and cookies. The team that makes it to the end with the most people will win."

You split off with your guide and headed in the opposite direction to the guys, "what do we get if we win?"

Ima smiled, "bragging rights. When y/n told me how obsessed Sam was with the game when they were kids, I knew I had to beat him because I always got the high score. We're going this to settle who is the best before we get married."

You shook your head, "and you tell me I'm the nerd."

You walked down the trail and something beeped, "alright, y'all, it's time to choose your supplies." Ima was very insistent on what to take, then you were off.

****

"What do you mean we can't take more than that?"

Juice rubbed his face, "because there's a limit, you idiot. The girls are already so much further ahead, we're going to lose if we don't hurry up." Sam shook his head, "that will not be happening."

****

"Why did I have to go under a wagon wheel."

Lyla didn't seem happy, "it's alright, Chibs and Bobby have already died, at least you'll have company."

Ima didn't seem impressed, "come on people, we've got to keep moving."

Lyla smiled and shook her head, "I'll make sure they leave some cookies for you guys."

****

"You have died of dysentery."

Jax stared at the card he was just handed, "what, if y/n isn't ready back, she's never going to let me live this down."

Sam had no sympathy, "get going Teller, I can't lose." When Jax got back, only Bobby, Chibs and Lyla were there.

****

"A snake bite, really?"

Ima slapped your back, "sorry sis, get going."

You shook your head and walked off, returning to Jax smirking from ear to ear, "yeah, laugh, at least I didn't die of dysentery you noob." People floated in slowly, but it was clear that Sam's team was losing, at the end, it came down to Sam, Ima and Tina, then they were all walking back.

"Who won?"

Ima and Tina were smiling while Sam looked miffed, "suck it little brother, I'll never hear you brag about having the high score again."

Sam's face broke out into a smile and he flipped you his middle finger, "oh, real mature."

Twenty days after Jax took over

"Alright, the cake is ready to ice and the dress is almost dry. I have to call Juice so he can come over and help with all the bread and Bobby is halfway through the puff pasty tarts."

Jax put his arms on your shoulders, "can you sit down for two minutes? You're not even supposed to be off those crutches."

You shook your head, "I'm not even limping, can you stop worrying."

Jax huffed, "I'm never going to stop worrying about you, did you get that intern sorted?"

You nodded, "yeah, he'll be on once a week from now on, I cannot believe they were going to drop him because he's sick."

Jax smiled, "he's lucky he's got you and Holt as his bosses and not someone else."

You shook your head, "that's on the back burner right now."

The doorbell rang, when you looked at the video feed, it was Juice, "thank God, I didn't even need to call. Can you head to Anvil and make sure the tables are ready for the reception?"

Jax smiled and pressed a kiss to your lips, "sure Darlin. You want me to do anything else?"

You shook your head, "no, not right now. Have you heard from your mum? The last time we talked was four days ago and she hasn't been answering."

Jax shrugged, "I'll get Tig to chase her up, I'm sorry you're dealing with all this."

You shook your head, "it's fine, let's just get all this done so my brother can get married."

****

You arrived at Anvil three hours later, having left Juice to start baking. Jax was still there, and had clearly pulled rank and called Happy and Kip to help. He swagged up to you with a smile on his face, "how does it look?"

You looked around at the tables in the main hall, everything looked great, "amazing, how much work did you actually do?"

He gave you that trademark Teller smirked, "you're the one who's always telling me I need to give them more responsibility."

You shook your head, "with the Club not manual labour."

He smiled and ran a hand down your face, "but they did a good job, didn't they?"

You pressed your lips together, "yes, they did. So they'll be the ones getting the fancy wine I bought to say thank you for helping out and not you."

Jax huffed, "you can't even drink wine, why would I want it."

You rubbed your face, "I'm immune to your charms Mr Teller." A phone call pulled you away, it was Hale. The phone call didn't take long, Jax was busy folding napkins when you returned.

"What was that about?"

You smiled, "the light and sirens paperwork for my car has gone through. I'll be able to head to crime scenes before the cops fuck them up now."

Jax shook his head with a smile, "great, you can terrify even more people with your driving."

You gasped in fake offence, "I am an excellent driver, my driving record has never been blemished."

Jax shook his head, "that's because you both drive like and old lady and like someone is trying to kill you."

"Hell yeah, speed limits matter, it's other drivers that suck. You should know that."

Jax shook his head, "you are such a dork."

You sat around for ten minutes waiting for the flowers to arrive, "how does that work, won't they wilt?"

You shook your head, "nah, Hap. Sunflowers are super hardy and I have fancy stuff to put in the water, they also come in protective wrapping so we'll get them ready, then keep them in the fridge till the morning."

"Shit, that is fancy."

You heard a bike in the distance, then Tig appeared, "where's Gem?"

He shook his head, "drunk off her head, I left her with Lyla to sober her up."

You rubbed your face, "and it just keeps happening. Where's the guy with all our booze? He was suppose to be here by now."

Jax shrugged, "call him and find out."

The phone call was short, when you walked back to the group, they could see how angry you were, "what?"

Jax knew this wasn't going to be good, "the motherfucking supplier found out it was for a wedding and wants another five hundred dollars, I told him to take his deposit and shove it up his ass. Does LaRoy still run protection for that liquor store next to his bar?"

"Last time we were there, he was getting a re-supply, you want us to make a call?"

You nodded, "please, tell him the going rate for a wedding plus more if he gets what we need by tonight." Jax took out his phone and walked off the make the call, in the meantime Bobby showed up with some of the food.

"Oh thank the Gods, please tell me everything went well?"

He nodded, "it's all good, I made extra mini pies too."

You gestured over to the kitchen, "please put everything in the fridge. I've checked it four times so it's working and empty. Please, please lock it, this is still a working military training facility and it will be gone by dinner time."

"You want to sit down for a minute love?"

You shook your head, "Jax will be back with news about the alcohol, I need to chase that up."

Right on time, Jax walked back with a smile on his face, "you're smiling, that's good right?"

Jax nodded, "turns out, the owner took his daughter for a tour of the museum and she loved it. He'll provide everything at the original price if his daughter gets a day pass for the rest of the year."

You clapped and jumped up and down, "I have some in my car, can you go now and pick everything up, the van is ready to go, he doesn't even have to worry about delivery."

Jax nodded softly, "sure Darlin, I'll be back with everything you need."

"Oh Jackson, I love you so much."

****

Jax came looking for you when the flowers arrived, only to find you fast asleep in Derek's office. You woke up to Jax softly calling your name while he rubbed your cheek with his thumb, "I wasn't asleep."

Jax chuckled, "sure Darlin, the flowers are here."

You rubbed your face, "I'm coming, I need coffee."

Jax shook his head and handed you a cup from the table, "strong enough to chew, just how you like it."

"I don't have the time right now but when I do I'm going to suck your soul out of your dick."

Jax chuckled, "good to know Darlin."

You ran down to greet the delivery person and signed, "I really need help with the flowers, you guys up to it."

They all nodded, "great, to the kitchen."

They did an excellent job on the flowers, "you should go into flower arranging Tig, I think you've missed your calling."

He laughed, "I can kinda see that." Jax shook his head, you had warmed up to Tig in the last few weeks, he knew you'd never get along with him like the others, but at least you were talking to him more than what's necessary.

"What do you have to do after this?"

You thought for a moment, "not much, the decorations are up, everything else has to happen tomorrow. Even then, the flowers just have to go out and the food needs to be finished, I'm bringing the cake over later tonight."

"What time are you getting up."

You shot Bobby an unimpressed look, "five in the morning. I have co-maid of honour things to do with Lyla."

Jax gave you a smirk, "lucky us, we don't have to get up till eight."

You shook your head, "I hate you."

His smirk widened, "you're so mean." You picked up an empty paper roll and softly thumped his shoulder with it.

"If you think I'm mean now, you should see me if I have to get up early."

Jax grabbed your wrist then pulled the paper roll from your hand, "you'll just have to go to bed early then."

Behind you, Bobby laughed, "Jackson, get your mind out of the gutter. There will be no borking tonight good sir." Jax went red and the others burst out in chuckles.

"Yeah Pres, the lady needs her sleep."

Jax laughed and put his hand on his forehead, "don't you have a cake to ice?"

You pressed your lips together, "yeah, I do, and I won't be saving any cream cheese icing so don't get any ideas."

"Yeah Pres, don't get any ideas." When you walked out of the kitchen, they were still laughing,

****

"Ahhhhh, it's too early."

Jax threw an arm over his face, "can't you stay in bed a little longer?"

You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, "no, I have to get all the food ready then I have to get prepared for the wedding. I need coffee, go back to sleep."

Jax grabbed your arm and pulled you down onto his chest, "where's my good morning."

"It isn't morning Jax, it's the ass crack of the day. Good ass crack of the day beloved." Jax released you then rolled over and went back to sleep while you rushed off to start the food.

****

"Alright, are you sure the meat will be ready by lunch?"

Derek nodded, "yes, now go off and be a maid of honour, we can handle his." You drove back to the house to start getting ready. Sam spent the night in the dorms and Jax would have already left to start his job as the best man so it was just you and the other women at the house. To your surprise, Gemma was there and sober.

You and Tina had sewn the bridesmaid dresses, simple blue dresses with small yellow sunflowers to go with the rest of the theme. It didn't take long for everyone to get ready, everyone was comfortable enough with their hair and make up to do it on their own. Ima went full old Hollywood with her hair in gentle waves wrapped around her head in a loose bun while the bridal party did what they wanted. The makeup was very much the same.

"So, I created detailed instructions on how Sam needs to remove your dress, if he rips it, I will know and I will kill him."

She smiled, "I know, I'll make sure he's careful. We need to head for the venue, the officiant should be there by now."

It took half an hour to get there in the old-fashioned black taxis you hired, there weren't many people there yet and SAMCRO's bikes weren't there so there was no need to rush and hide to avoid them.

"Have you seen the officiant?"

You went looking, only to be directed to one of the offices by one of the Anvil staff there for security, "looks like food poisoning."

"What? It's in an hour. I need to go call Jax."

You could hear the smile in Jax's voice when he picked up, "is everything alright Darlin?"

You took a deep breath, "the officiant has some kind of disease and the backup won't be here in time. Can you break it to Sam please?"

Jax huffed, "yeah, aren't you a notary, just get a licence over the internet and do the wedding yourself."

"I can't do that, it would be weird."

Jax chuckled and placed his hand over the phone to speak to Sam, "your bother's ok with it, if Ima is then I don't see a problem."

You rubbed your face, "I'll try. If she says yes, I have no idea what I'm going to say."

You knocked on the office door and Lyla opened it, "what?"

You gave her a soft smile, "I have bad news, the officiant is half dead in the spare office. However, I can get an officiant licence in the next twenty minutes."

Ima smiled then shrugged, "go for it. You wouldn't be here if Sam didn't already say yes. I can't think of a better person to do it than you."

You gave her a hug, "I promise I'll do a good job." You ran off to call Jax, after finding a laptop and opening a licencing website "ok, Ima said yes. I'm currently on officiants are us California. You guys need to leave now so you get here in time."

"Great news Darlin, I'll see you there."

****

You had gone through a mountain of paper by the time the guys arrived, a knock at the door had you jumping out of your skin, "y/n, it's Jax, can I come in?"

You walked up to the door and opened it, making sure he didn't see inside, "wow, you look gorgeous. What's wrong?"

You put your face in your hands, "I can't write this speech, I have no idea what to say."

Jax gave you a soft smile, "I'm sure you do, just wing it."

You shot him a look which he smirked at, "wing it? Jackson, I have been planning this wedding for months and you want me to wing one of the most important parts?"

Jax huffed, "then you're going to have to come up with something in the next twenty minutes. I've checked on the food and it's going fine. You have nothing else to worry about."

****

Sam was shaking like a leaf, "you good man?"

He shot Jax a watery smile, "I've never been happier."

Jax put a hand on his shoulder, "we better head out." Sam nodded softly, "yeah, we better." The office they were waiting in was closer to the space where the ceremony was being held so it didn't take them long to walk down. Most of the guests were there by now, sitting on the simple deep brown wooden chairs, Sam's attention was fixed down the aisle, waiting for the women to walk out of the office.

His heart jumped as the music started.

We were walking so long I forgot

Where we were going

Found a place we did not recognize and I

I'm alright not knowing

Lyla and Tina were first, walking down with their bouquets of yellow poppies and baby's breath.

Hallucinating with the morning light

Cover me in a fantasy

Getting swept up in a storyline and I'll

Let it take me out to sea

Feel heavily

No gravity

You're the way I go

Unconsciously

We're winding like an open road

You're the way I go

Luanne walked out after then, her dress flowing in the light breeze.

So traverse the earth to come back home

Hear me without a sound

I am mystified that wanting you is how

My feet firmly felt the ground

Feel heavily

No gravity

You're the way I go

Unconsciously

We're winding like an open road

You're the way I go

You walked out next, you could see Sam's lip start to quiver and his eyes were shining and red as you took your place on the podium.

A well that never dries

A fire that never dies

Even in stormy times

You'll know me

And I will know you

Ima appeared from behind to door and there was a collective gasp, tears were falling down Sam's face as she locked eyes with him and made her way up the aisle.

Feel heavily

No gravity

You're the way I go

Unconsciously

We're winding like an open road

You're the way I go

She handed Lyla her bunch of flowers and turned to Sam, "hey."

He looked like a little boy, "hey, you look so pretty." There was a soft chuckle from the crowd and Jax gave you a soft nod.

"Friends, family, gawking Anvil employees who are only here for the free booze and food, we are gathered here today to witness the union between Ima Tobin and Sam l/n. Are you both here of your own free will?"

They nodded, "yes, without a doubt." Your eyes floated to Jax for reassurance as you went to start the speech.

"The ancient Greeks may be the origin of the belief in soulmates. Plato asserts that when time began, humans had four arms, four legs, one head and two faces. Zeus, fearful of their power and intensely jealous of their happiness, tore them asunder and we are now doomed wander the earth until we find out other half."

Sam squeezed Ima's hand a little tighter, "but it's so much more than just a story. When we find the person we're meant to spend the rest of our lives with, we know. It's like coming home after an unending journey or meeting an old friend you haven't seen in decades. It's peace, the calming of a roaring ocean, it's the first drop of rain after an unrelenting drought. Now, I know you have written your own vows so Ima, please start before I start crying."

The crowd laughed again and Jax took the rings out of his pocket and placed them on the podium.

"I never thought I could be this happy, I was convinced I was going to be one of those people who never found someone who loved them for who they were. And then you walked into CaraCara one day and you smiled at me, and it's the first time I felt butterflies in my chest since I was a teenager. From this day forward, I promise my love, my loyalty and my comfort to you until my last day."

Ima let one of Sam's hands go picked up his wedding ring before sliding it over his finger, and You wiped a stray tear, "good luck in topping that."

Sam sniffed, "Lemon drop." Ima went red and you could hear someone aww from one of the chairs, "when I first saw you, it was like the world stopped spinning, I think I forgot how to breath. You were standing in the middle of the room in a pair of pink sweat pants and an oversized jumper talking to Tina, I had to psych myself up to saying hello because I was worried I'd make a fool of myself. From this day forward, I promise my love, my loyalty and comfort to you until my last day."

Sam looked at you and with a nod took the ring and used his shaking hands to put it on her. Jax leaned in close, "what else?"

You shook your head and the crowd held on in anticipation, "and treat you as good as my leather and ride you as much as my Harley." The other Sons finished the last bit along with Sam

There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd by the time they were done, "alright, I legally have to do this. Are there any objections to this union? Speak now or forever hold your peace." No one made a sound, "good, I would have shot you." Sam choked on a laugh while Ima shook her head.

"Well then, by the power vested in me by the state of California and a shady internet website, I now pronounce you Husband and wife, you may….." Sam cut you off by kissing Ima, dipping her like something from a movie, "you impatient twerp."

Sam turned to you and laughed, "thanks."

You smiled back, "now, time for lunch!"

****

"This bread is amazing."

Happy had his mouth full, "it's all Juice, he's become quite the baker."

Abel waddled over with his plate full, "that's a lot of food Mr, are you going to eat it all?"

He smiled and shook his head, "no mummy, I bought it for you." He put the plate in front of you and tapped your lap so he could sit on it.

"Thank you Abel, that was very thoughtful."

You picked up the pasty and bacon wrapped pepper and took a bite, "these are great."

You huffed, "I know, I'm so happy I got everyone to help because Bobby did a great job."

Jax flopped his head onto your shoulder, "why didn't they want speeches?"

You gave Jackson a sad smile, "why do you think? They didn't want anyone ruining their day."

Jax reflected your smile, "that's probably for the best. I'm still surprised they decided to have a daytime wedding."

You nodded, "yeah, it fit better with their theme and they're excited to go on their honeymoon."

Jax shook his head, "I hope they enjoy their isolated trip to Appalachia."

You huffed, "they are going to a lovely cabin by a lake, they're not going to be eaten by mountain men, don't worry."

"Something tells me Sam wouldn't let anything happen to Ima."

You nodded, "yeah, he'd kill a mountain man with his bare hands."

Abel was clearly enjoying his lunch, "these are so yummy."

Jax chuckled, "I know little man, which one's your favourite?"

Abel picked up the mini cheese and onion pie, "dis one."

"Can I have one?"

Abel slid the plate towards his father and Jax picked up and ate one of the pies in one bite, "Jackson."

He shook his head, "what, these are great."

You nodded, "well, we have a big ones for our wedding, I'm sure Bobby will be happy to help."

By the time lunch was done, the Anvil staff didn't have many leftovers to enjoy but that floated in nonetheless. The party really kicked off once the music was flipped on and Ima was dragging you to the dance floor. Jax sat with Sam and watched while you and Ima danced to some late ninety pop hit, "that's going to be you in a few months."

Jax gave Sam a soft smile, "you gave no idea how happy I am that this whole thing is only going to take less than six months, I would have lost my mind if I have to put up with Clay for a whole year."

Sam nodded, "well, we're lucky Marcus is so eager to get it done."

Abel was looking around the table, "what's wrong little man?"

He didn't look sad, "I finished my milk."

Sam chuckled, "it's alright buddy, I'll take you to the kitchen and get you some more." Abel jumped off your chair and took Sam's hand, walking away with his little coat still over the back of the chair.

Jax watched you dance with Lyla and Ima, just as he was going to get up to join you, Gemma walked up to him, he could smell the weed and alcohol on her. "They seem to be having fun."

Jax was pissed, "yeah, they are. You promised me you wouldn't drink today, y/n is going to be so hurt if she finds out."

Gemma huffed, "it's not her day, Sam never said anything to me."

Jax crossed his arms, "because he didn't want to hurt you, Sam already had his childhood ruined by a drinker, don't ruin his wedding. Sober yourself up before everyone sees you."

Gemma walked off to the coffee and cart and Jax did his best to remain calm as Sam and Able returned, "did you get it?"

Abel held out his cup, "yes daddy."

Jax smiled, "alright little guy, don't eat too fast, you'll get a tummy ache."

Jax watched you and Ima come up to the table, "come dance with me."

Jax grabbed your hand in his and let you pull him to the dance floor, "you having fun?"

You nodded, "yeah, but I've had it. Sam and Ima are leaving soon then I'm going to help clean up and head to bed. Have you spoken to Gemma today, I haven't had the time."

Jax stiffened, "she got drunk, didn't she."

Jax hugged you harder, "I'm sorry."

You shook your head, "it's fine. I think we should ask Wendy to look after Abel more, Gemma can't look after him right now."

Jax nodded, "yeah, I'll call her tomorrow and ask her what days she's free."

You smiled softly, "let's forget about everything right now and enjoy the rest of our day."

Jax pressed a kiss to your forehead, "good idea Darlin."

****

"Go home and put Abel down, we're almost done here."

Jax's brows furrowed, "you sure?"

You nodded, "yeah, it won't take long." Jax left you with a sleeping Abel in his arms and headed back home, Lyla dropping him off with a plate of leftovers.

When Jax got the text just before seven, he sprung into action and ran upstairs to start his plan. When you got home, the house was quiet. Jax emerged for the bathroom with his sleeves rolled up and a smile on his face. "I put your favourite pair of fluffy PJs on the bed and I've run you a bath so have a quick shower first, then I'll be in to join you."

You smiled, "thank you."

Jax listened for the shower to finish then walked in to see you climbed into the bath, Jax knelled by the side of the tub and picked up a sponge before dipping it in the perfectly hot water and rubbing it over your chest,

"that feels nice."

Jax chuckled at the tiredness of your voice, "you worked so hard the last few weeks, you deserve some pampering."

Jax washed and massaged your scalp then helped you out of the bath and dried you off, "come on, I'm not done." He sat you down and did you hair then took you hand and told you the lay on the bed before getting lotion off the bedside table.

"Get comfortable and let me look after you." Jax must have spent an hour rubbing out your sore muscles and talking to you about nothing, as he went on, you spoke less and less, Jax smiling as you stopped making sense.

When Jax looked over your face, he saw you were fast asleep and stopped, dressing you in your PJs then covering you up and getting into bed next to you.

"Sleep well Darlin."

Part 46

Comments would really help, I hope I did Sam and Ima justice.

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two-of-them-tournament · 1 year

Text

Prelim FAQs, or: Please For The Love of God I Can See You All Complaining In The Tags

I was planning on ignoring people's complaints but it's kind of grating seeing the same comments everywhere, especially when it's something I've already addressed, so:

"Where's x?"/"This is y erasure."

Contenders were almost entirely assembled from submissions, which were open for a whole week. If you missed the submission period, I'm sorry, but it's the nature of these things that more people are seeing the polls than were able to nominate duos. I've also seen this comment for duos that are in other, more specific prelims, and duos that were popular enough to advance straight to the main bracket. Have a look around before complaining. Or, preferably, don't complain about this at all since there's nothing to be done about it at this stage.

"Why don't all of them have images?"

I have a job and hobbies and a social life and I'm not going to track down pictures of 232 duos, most of whom I know nothing about, and then assemble them into nice little images when we're not even at the main bracket yet. There are 35 prelim categories, and a few of those had to be split into multiple parts because you can't have more than 10 options in a poll. For my sanity, and to keep things moving along without further delays, prelims with 5+ competitors didn't get images. There are some smaller prelims that also didn't get images, mostly because it's hard to find pictures of literary & podcast characters without resorting to fanart, and using book covers/podcast logos would be uninteresting, thus defeating the purpose of the image. All main bracket rounds will have images.

Huge thanks to my girlfriend for sourcing most of the pictures I've used in this, and also generally having a greater breadth of media knowledge than myself.

"Putting x in a poll with y isn't fair."

The purpose of these preliminary rounds is to weed out weaker competitors, making for a more interesting tournament. More popular characters getting more votes means it's working as intended. I'm a fan of a lot of relatively obscure media, so I know it's disappointing seeing your faves get curb-stomped, but I'm not intentionally sabotaging anyone, and I've been surprised by some of the results myself. For example, I'd literally never heard of the Malevolent podcast before receiving submissions for it, while I've listened to both Wooden Overcoats and Kane & Feels. I expected the Funns to win the podcast prelim, but it seems the Malevolent guys are going to win it. Am I disappointed? Yeah, a bit. But it's also the reason I decided to run prelims instead of simply choosing my faves from submissions.

Regarding the Due South prelim and the Ray Wars

While I understand the defensiveness of older fandoms that have gone through every argument a thousand times, I genuinely couldn't care less about fandom wank. I thought it'd be fun to have these guys in the tournament because they're a couple of classic duos who aren't very well-known on tumblr nowadays, and because I recently introduced the show to my girlfriend so we'd both like to see it represented. I don't expect them to do well in the main bracket, but that's not the point; it's for fun. That said, I can't put both Rays in the main bracket due to space constraints, and I'm not going to arbitrarily choose one because I like them both, so they got their own prelim by necessity. If I did put them both in, they'd probably end up facing each other anyway, leading to the same comments.

#this is me snapping because my fucking tummy hurts btw #two of them tournament #tott23 #should probably have an admin tag.

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kamyru · 1 year

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Public Safety detectives bringing their child(ren) to work: Seiji Goto

Hi, @chelle-bells! Thank you for this request. I'm not crying, you are. I like writing for this series so much. Please, request more domestic bliss for Her Love in the Force and other games I write about. I'm so happy. I hope you'll enjoy it too. ❤️

Hideki Ishigami & Hyogo Kaga version

Takaomi Tsugaru & Takeru Momose version

Ayumu Shinonome version

Word counting: 1180

A knock on the door caught Soma's attention. After his permission to enter, the door opened, and no one entered. A second later, his eyes met a pouty girl. She closed the door and went towards the couch.

"What are you doing here, pretty girl?" the equally pretty man asked. The girl crossed her hands on her chest and puffed her cheeks before she started talking. From time to time, she looked at the man in front of her to make sure she had his attention. After she saw him putting away the pile of papers he had had in front of him, she turned towards him and opened her mouth. However, it took her a few times to get her thoughts in order.

"I want your opinion on something because you also have a younger daughter and an older son."

Soma had to cover his mouth not to give away how his jaw dropped in shock at the girl's seriousness.

"Hmmm," Soma started and rubbed his chin, "for such an important request, we need an entire committee of girls' dads."

For a second, the girl's eyes sparkled. The lost hope, which made her ask for help from her father's senior, was reborn like a Phoenix in her pure soul. However, Goto's seriousness passed to her, and she gained her composure.

"Is it possible to do it right now?"

Soma let out a chuckle that came to an abrupt end when he saw the frown between Baby Goto's brows. He opened a chat on his phone that he was sure till a second ago he wouldn't ever use for personal matters while at work.

Baby Goto requires an urgent meeting of all the dads who have daughters.

The first one who read the message was the girl's dad, who let her cool off while going to the bathroom and now was met by something like this. He was also the first to enter Soma's office, taking into consideration that the whole time he was a wall away.

"Hey, darling," Goto addressed his daughter while his older son tagged along. The older Baby Goto had his dominant hand in a cast. Soma had seen both Goto kids earlier that day. However, he didn't have enough time to ask them what had happened. Now, he had a hunch the girl's behavior had something to do with her brother's injury.

Soon, Kurosawa, Ayumu, Ishigami, and Kaga entered Soma's office. Even the Chief came to get some experience. Suddenly, Soma thanked all the Gods that they were in the Academy because there was no way Tsugaru would miss something like that.

Even if the girl knew all of them, seeing some of the best detectives in Japan in the same room was overwhelming. So, she snuggled closer to her father, searching for some comfort. Her brother left Goto's lap to pass his place to his younger sister, which she gladly accepted. The detective hugged his daughter by her shoulders, which made her tilt her head backward to smile at him. Goto kissed her nose, and the girl giggled. Kaga rolled his eyes, even if it was visible that he bit his lips from the inside to hide his smile. The others weren't as shy as the Captain and nearly melted at the interaction between the dad and his daughter.

"So, what's your complaint?" Soma-the-Judge started.

Baby Goto sat straighter in her father's lap. Though, she didn't talk till her brother pushed her shoulder a little.

"I want to play baseball just like my brother, and dad was okay with this till yesterday when my brother broke his thumb at a game."

"That's because he loves you, dummy!" the older Baby Goto said the moment his sister stopped talking.

"He loves you too but doesn't ask you to quit!"

"That's because I have been playing baseball for a year now!"

"Traumas don't care if you play for the first time or the thousandth!"

While the younger Gotos continued yelling at each other, their dad leaned on the couch, moving his hand over the back. He looked at the ceiling above him as if it was completely different from what was in his identical office.

"I'll film it so that when I want a second kid, to rewatch it," Ayumu whispered to Ishigami, who also had a daughter. Shinonome could tell the same thing to Namba and Kurosawa, but he knew better than to think that they would stop at only a kid. Ishigami, however, wasn't impressed by his colleague's comment. Instead, he looked deep into his thoughts. The Captain was also the first one to talk:

"It is true that sports put you in danger regardless of how long you practice them."

That made both kids stop talking. Simultaneously, they put their elbows on their knees to listen better to Ishigami. However, their dad's Captain was interrupted by the other Captain, who had the most experience dealing with kids.

"Parents are made to be worried, while their kids' purpose is to worry them."

Now, everyone looked at Kaga, trying to get a glimpse of the sentiment he was talking about. There was no doubt that he was a good dad. Everyone saw his kids and how much they loved him. But no one wanted to miss the slightest proof of emotions on the always grumpy detective's face. However, when he mouthed an annoyed "What?", his colleagues gave up on observing him and moved their eyes back to Gotos.

For a while, no one said a single word, deep in thought at what Kaga said. The faces of their kids appeared in front of their eyes, and sad but possible scenarios started to run as vividly as 3D movies.

"Unfortunately, no one can protect their dear ones forever," Kurosawa whispered seriously, loud enough to be heard by everyone. He failed his purpose of easing every situation, yet, at least, he didn't annoy anyone.

"Why do you want so much to play baseball, though?" Ayumu changed the subject that dried everyone's mouths.

"Because she thinks dad spends more time with me. Even now, she tagged along only because dad took me with him," the boy raised his cast to show everyone why Goto had to bring him to work.

"I came here because of you, but I want to play baseball because I like it. I watch you and dad play it every time and repeat it with the kids from daycare."

This time, both older Gotos looked at her in disbelief, having no idea she did this. A frown appeared on her brother's face, but soon it was followed by a smile.

"That means we can play together!"

Goto sighed and rested his chin on his daughter's head. There was no way he would upset both his kids by denying the younger one to play baseball. He would have a long talk with his wife after her mission. There was no way his heart would survive if one of his children got another injury. Yet, it was natural in the process of getting older, wasn't it?

#her love in the force #seiji goto #voltage inc #asks

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sparxaf · 2 years

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9 Favorite Shows as GIFS Ask Game

Thanks for tagging me @throughthejunobush 🥰

I literally could have listed at least twelve animated shows. I really love cartoons. I tried to balance it out with live action for ya'll. Again, this is a list that's gonna age the fuck outta me. Oh well 🤷 These are in no particular order.

Batman: The Animated Series: Visually stunning. Dark AF. The most heartbreaking portrayals of villains ever put on the screen. As a Batman fangirl, if you asked me which actor gave the best portrayal of Batman ever made, I would say Kevin Conroy in BTAS. It also had the best Joker. Don't @ me.

Supernatural: I'm not gonna explain it. It is what it is.

Daria: The character I've related to most in the entire world.

Forensic Files: Yeah. It's gross and horrific. I love it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I'm aware that the creator is a fucking creep. But he formed so much of the way I write, I can't leave it off the list. Also, Zaddy Giles. That's it. That's the sentence.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Nothing to explain. It's brilliant. Although I'm gonna die mad about Zuko and Katara never getting together. They were literally fire and water. Clearly OTP. I. WILL. DIE. MAD. ABOUT. IT.

Futurama: Like most of this list, the show was a combination of vulgar humor and intense heart. It's a goofy cartoon about an idiot & a hedonistic robot. But it's also is about the nature of God. The pain of feeling utterly alone. The escapable heartache that hope can sometimes cause. And the power of love to survive when all else fails. Without an ounce of hyperbole, it also boasts the single saddest episode of any show ever created. Just the though of it is making me teary eyed while I type this.

Home Movies: I am still obsessed with this show. I also loved its precursor, Dr. Katz. It was hilarious but also did amazing work with its themes. The way it bookended episodes and the entire series. The juxtaposition of Brendan and Coach Mcguirk's journeys... It's just an extremely well-written show about a fucked up little boy and his even more fucked up father figure and how they navigate the world through self-delusion.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: My greatest love. Creator of my favorite Christmas song and my favorite Werewolf song. And it's also the reason why it's a bad idea to invite me over to watch ANYTHING. I will roast the fuck outta your favorite movie with unending snark. Also, no need to ask. The answer is Mike.

Please direct any complaints to my asks, where they will be promptly ignored 😆😘

#mutuals tag #mutuals ask #tag game #9 tv shows #lotta supernatural shows in the mix #mike vs joel #no one ever asks about jonah #Batman fangirl #zuko and katara

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coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe · 2 years

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Superheroes with Secrets: A Cape and Nothing Else (Fic Part 183. Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places. Please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @tantamount-treason @piratewithvigor @thedollmaker16

Reference Posts: ‘Giantess’/‘Blacklight Bandit’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ’Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

"You are so strong and sexy… Superman."

"All for you, my gorgeous Bandit."

"You should stop teasing me, you handsome beast."

"As you wish." He smirks, sliding into her slowly.

Kirby moans against his neck, wrapping her arms around his waist and scratching her nails down his back. He starts slow, his hips working against hers.

"Oh mon Dieu."

"Not God, just me." He chuckles, picking up his pace slowly.

"Never heard you complain about me moaning during sex."

"No complaints. Just teasing."

"You little beastie, Hurricane."

"I'm your beast." He smirks, bending down to bite at her neck.

"If you are my beast, then can I take off the mask?"

"If you want. There's, uh… a little makeup." He chuckles sheepishly.

"I know, raccoon boy." Kirby chuckles as she removes his mask and kisses him deeply.

"Still feel like kissing me when I look like a raccoon?"

"Very sexy raccoon."

"This raccoon can still fuck you senseless."

"Then why aren't ya?"

"Good point." He grins, picking up his pace even faster.

"Oh putain, mon amour." Kirby moans.

He's thrusting hard into her, licking up the dribbles of blood that dot her collarbone and neck.

"Oh my vampire king of love… oh fuck yes…"

"All yours, sweet thing."

"Oh Shaney baby… mon amour, mon roi."

"You taste so fucking good."

"Am I your favourite meal, mon ange? Is my blood your favourite drink?"

"Without a doubt."

"I like that, mon mari… I love being able to satisfy you."

"My love, you satisfy a hunger that gnaws at my soul."

"Have you been reading poetry, mon mari?" Kirby asks gently kissing him.

"Can't I be poetically brilliant myself." He chuckles.

"You can, but you don't usually say poetic things during sex."

"Do you like it?"

"The more accurate word would be love… I love it."

He smiles widely, quietly pleased with himself.

"You charmer, Hurricane… sexy husband."

"All yours."

"You gonna make me cum, superhero?"

"Damn right I am."

"I'm getting close, Shane… real close…"

"Cum for me, my love."

"Oh, Shane, I love you." Kirby murmurs as she cums, kissing him deeply.

"I love you too." He whispers.

"Are you just making sure I'm pregnant with Lilith."

"I think you're pretty certainly pregnant, but it never hurts to make sure."

"Cheeky little beastie."

"That's me." He grins.

Kirby chuckles softly, kissing him gently.

"God, you're perfect."

"Thanks for the reminder, my love."

"Less a reminder, more making sure you know it."

"I know it, my love, you keep telling me so I can never forget."

"Exactly."

"You gonna talk to your little buddy?" Kirby asks gently.

"Yeah, just gonna get rid of the raccoon face."

"I got some more baby wipes in our en suite, they might be useful for you, raccoon boy."

"Good call. While I'm up, I'm gonna check on Shannon and the food."

"Good idea my love."

He kisses her quickly before grabbing his mask to go put it away. Kirby settles into the bed, getting under the comforter and yawning. Once Helms washes his face, he goes to hunt for Shannon, who's sitting in the living room to watch for the delivery guy and sketching quietly. Helms can't tell what it is offhand, but he can see Shannon's pencil moving.

"Watcha drawing?" He asks, leaning over the back of his chair.

"Nothing!" Shannon squeaks, slamming his sketchbook shut and nearly jumping out of his skin, going even more pale when he sees how undressed Helms is.

"C'mon, I've never known you to be shy. Or is it an artist thing and you don't want to show anyone until it's done?"

"It's the artist thing," Shannon decides, breathing a breath of relief to not have to show off his book, "You'll probably see it someday."

"Well, we can see the finished ones over dinner, right?"

"Maybe… Shane, I never really show people this book. I only agreed to it cause Kirby asked and I don't want her to be more pissed at me than she already is."

"She's not pissed. Just gets protective of me sometimes," he shrugs, "food coming soon?"

"Yeah, any minute now."

The gate bell rings, announcing the arrival of their food. Shannon heads out to pick it up, carrying in multiple boxes almost excited.

There's a small crash from upstairs, obviously Kirby falling out of the bed, "I'm okay." She calls.

No matter how okay she says she is, Helms sprints up the stairs, terrified she fell out of the bed onto her stomach.

"I'm okay, I fell on my ass, don't worry, I'm fine." Kirby reassures, leaning against the wall and giving him a small smile.

He exhales a deep sigh of relief, "thank God."

"I was trying to get comfy, and rolled out of the bed, but I'm alright, my butt hurts, but it's fine."

"I'm so happy you didn't land on your belly…" he whispers, helping her up.

"Lilith is okay, our baby is fine." Kirby whispers, kissing him gently.

She can practically feel his heart nearly pounding out of his chest as they kiss. Kirby strokes his hair gently, trying to calm his nerves.

"I don't want to lose you…" he whispers shakily.

"Shane, you won't lose me, nor will you lose Lilith… you're okay, we're okay."

"So much can go wrong so easily…" he's practically trembling in her arms

"It's okay, hey, Shane, look at me, I'm okay, Lilith's okay, you are going to be okay, my love." Kirby whispers, holding him close and trying her hardest not to cry.

"Stay okay. For me, okay?"

"Of course, my dearest, of course."

"Thank you."

Kirby kisses his forehead, stroking his hair and holding him close to her.

"I'm sorry I freaked out…" he whispers.

"It's okay, I'm here for you as much as you are here for me."

"I've just read about too many things going wrong with having a baby. All the ways problems could happen. I can't lose my baby again and I can't lose the mother of my baby again…"

"I know, I know, I'm okay, I'm gonna be okay," Kirby presses his hands to her bump, right as Lilith kicks, "she's fine, my love, she's still there."

He gets down to his knees and kisses her bump, "Daddy's going to keep you safe, Lilith, I promise. I swear so hard that nothing will ever hurt you, do you hear me? You're going to grow up and be a person and I'm not letting anything happen to you or your Mama. Never. I love you too much to let anything happen." He whispers, his voice cracking a little in desperation.

"Shane, you'll worry yourself sick, my love." Kirby whispers, holding him steady and pulling Helms into a gentle kiss, pushing him back against the wall softly.

"I feel sick. The five seconds it took to get up here, I could almost see the blood…" he whispers, trying his best to calm down.

"Stay, breathe… just breathe."

He breathes deeply, resting his forehead on her shoulder

"You will be okay, count to ten and breathe, I'm not gonna let you move until I know you're calm."

He counts to ten softly, whispering ten with a quiet sigh.

"Good, you okay or do you need to count to ten again?" Kirby asks gently.

"I'm okay. I'm all good."

"Good, very good, mon mari… I love you, and me and Lilith are okay, I understand the fear, but we're okay."

"I love you too. I always will."

"We should get food, and I need to make sure you don't leave my sight."

"Not gonna leave your sight. Just gonna pull on some boxers. Maybe sweats too I don't want to leave swampy ass marks on all the chairs."

"Thought we were gonna eat in the bed, ya sexy goofball."

"You think we can fit all the food on the bed?"

"As Shannon said, leftovers for days, don't have to eat it all now."

"Good point."

Kirby kisses Helms gently, messing with his hair. Her touch through his hair helps him relax slowly. She messes with his hair as they walk downstairs to get food.

"Thank you, my love."

"Just making sure my husband is sane."

"I'm sane. I'm very sane."

"Are you sure?" Shannon asks, earning a look of 'shut up' from Kirby.

"He's right to ask," Helms chuckles softly, stretching his arms above his head, "yeah, I'm sure."

"Fy ngwr, we're just worried about you, because you worry the most, aren't we Shannon?"

"Yeah, Kirby's right, we worry because you're grey with stress."

"I appreciate the worry. But it's my job. I'm the one supposed to take care of you. All three of you. Just a little jumpy when I hear Kirby fall or carry anything too heavy. I need to keep you guys safe."

"Look, if I say I'm fine, I'm probably fine, if I scream, then something's wrong."

"If screaming happens, that's probably when my heart attacks will happen." He chuckles sheepishly.

Kirby pulls Helms into a gentle kiss, leaning her head on his shoulder after.

"I'll be okay. I'm okay. I'm fine."

"Just making sure, and snuggling."

"Snuggling is good too."

"Shannon, you decide which things we eat, I'm gonna make sure Shane's snuggled up in bed."

"Honey, I'm okay. We can eat down here." He assures softly.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay, you were trembling."

"Adrenaline rush wearing off."

"Nice cover story, but I don't believe it."

"The real story isn't good dinner conversation…" He murmurs.

"I'm just saying I can tell that was fear and that's all, you shouldn't have to hide how you feel from me, I'm your wife for goodness sake."

He sighs softly before looking up for a moment, "Shannon, can you give us a second?" He whispers.

Shannon nods and leaves the room.

"Remember how I told you about Elizabeth?"

"Yeah." Kirby murmurs.

"He left her in the apartment. The guy who killed her. Just left her on the floor, bleeding. I had to get rid of her myself and keep the landlord from finding out she was dead cause her name was on the lease. All the while, Harleen just wanted her Mama. There's so many nights I just see her body in my mind and I'll wake up in a cold sweat and have to hold you until I'm sure you're alive…" he whispers, powering through the lump in his throat.

"Oh my goodness," Kirby whispers, the colour draining from her face as she pulls Helms into a tight hug, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, I'm so sorry, mon mari."

He buries his face into her shoulder, "I can't lose you. She wasn't my wife, not even my girlfriend, but she was a special person to me, and I just… God, I just dumped her in the river…"

"You won't lose me, ever, I love you too much to let you lose me." Kirby reassures.

"I just can't imagine life without you…"

"You don't have to because it won't happen, I promise you it won't happen, you won't lose me."

"Please be careful. No more falling out of bed?" He chuckles weakly.

"I'll be as careful as possible, my love." She whispers, clearly on the verge of tears.

He kisses her softly, "she's in the past… but sometimes she invades my present."

"I know, I know… I love you so much, mon mari."

"I love you too. Beyond words."

Kirby pulls away slightly, hiding her face in her hands and trying to calm herself.

"We're both gonna have to be okay. We're both gonna see Lilith grow up." He whispers.

She nods, wiping tears away from her eyes and breathing deeply.

"You gonna be okay for us?" He smiles encouragingly.

"I'm okay, I will be fine, C'mere you." Kirby murmurs, pulling Helms into another tight hug.

He squeezes her tightly, "we'll be okay."

"I love you so much that I am so scared of making you more stressed right now."

#superheroes with secrets #shane hurricane helms #kirby roussimoff #blacklight bandit #orange and green - the perfect team #shannon brian moore #sws #kirby andrea roussimoff #delilah keshet rosenbaum #gregory shane helms #jeffrey nero hardy #matthew moore hardy #lita hardy

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princefado · 1 year

Text

stolen from @baratrongirl!!!

i'm tagging @forkflinger and @ziskandra

Rules: copy/past and bold your fic preferences and tag someone to do the same. But you should do these even if I didn't tag you :D

>slow burn or love at first sight.

ahhh, both of these are good... can i say both!? love at first sight which leads to pining!? or maybe love at first sight that isn't recognized?!

>fake dating or secret dating.

i love fake dating, but secret rendezvous are wonderful as well, especially in AUs. but fake dating wins out because of pining while acting as lovers <3

>enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers.

but really, i most prefer "boss and subordinate to lovers".

>oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance with correspondence.

fuuuuuuuck. i love me some pining but i love one bed... one bed because it's hornier.

>hurt/comfort or amnesia.

what about hurt/comfort WITH amnesia? probably h/c wins out over amnesia though, but i do love amnesia shenanigans.

>fantasy au or modern au.

why in the name of god would i EVER want a modern au. ever.

>mutual pining or domestic bliss.

DONT MAKE ME CHOOSE.

>smut or fluff.

why can't we have both. i guess smut over straight fluff though.

>canon complaint or fix-it fic.

i can enjoy fix-it fic now and then, but i much prefer seeing how people work within canon, reading between the lines and fitting events in with canon timelines... it's a fun puzzle!

>alternate universe or future fic.

i don't really have a real preference! i do think i love AUs more than post-series fics, though.

>one-shot or multi-chapter.

really depends on my mood!! my attention span varies. but i guess if i had to choose i'd choose multi-chapter.

>kid fic or roadtrip fic.

look roadtrip fic is fine but KID FIC KID FIC KID FIC. "accidental baby acquisition" is one of my favorite fucking tropes EVER. i want every emotionally constipated blorbo to have an adorable baby shoved into their arms. please. give me kid fic always.

>reincarnation or character death.

i'm not particularly interested in either, but reincarnation can be fun if written well! im not opposed to character death in a one-shot, but it can be draining if part of a larger story.

>arranged marriage or accidental marriage.

god. i love arranged marriage. especially if the arranged marriage actually ends up working out well. or if it's a fucked up one that they get rescued from.

>high school romance or middle-aged romance.

high school romance can be very cute, but i much prefer reading about established working adults, or retirees <3

>time travel or isolated together.

i've actually got a time travel fic in my drafts, but i really only like time travel if the repercussions of it are fixed/mundane. i don't want time travel to actually end up permanently changing the world or story. so time travel that ends in romance in the current age is great, time travel that ends up being undone is great, but i wouldn't want time travel used as a way to fix an important canonical plot point.

anyway that said, i love characters getting locked in rooms or snowed in or or or <3

>neighbors or roommates.

roommates is good if something forces them together (cough cough, Temporary Lodgings) but i usually prefer characters to have some degree of separation to eachother. i don't find it that interesting when characters suddenly realize they're dating someone; i want a big romantic confession!!!

>sci-fi au or magic au.

i'm just not a sci-fi fan. easy-peasy. although i don't mind softer sci-fi, like Chobits

>body swap or genderbend.

genderbends are super great and fun to draw, but i don't really like reading them all that much. body swaps on the other hand.... endless potential for both comedy and smut.

>angst or crack.

crack doesn't do it for me. i don't like angst with an unhappy ending all that much, though.

>apocalyptic or mundane.

mundane, pls ): unless the apocalypse is a nice one like in Giant Spider and Me. i'd be cool with my blorbos in an apocalypse like that :D

#personal

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buckybarnesdiaries · 3 years

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i'm not the winter soldier anymore, i'm james buchanan barnes

bucky barnes x reader. ⎢ masterlist.

SPOILERS — 1x03!!!

you help Bucky with a panic attack, after coming back from Madripoor.

word count: 1.145 words.

warnings/tags: ptsd situation, panic attack, reader insert.

author notes: none of my stories contain reader’s body descriptions to be inclusive.

Join the tag list here.

It wasn't inevitable for you to not notice that Bucky had been absent-minded since the three of you came to the bar. The beers were rolling on the table as the chat turned from their mission to Sam's war stories. You were having a good night, sharing laughs and past adventures, disconnecting from work, until Bucky stood up while having a long sip from his bottle. I need air, he just said, causing your other partner and you to look at each other a little confused. You glanced at him leaving the place before putting back your attention on Sam. He waved his head to the exit, urging you to follow the soldier outside.

You didn't need anything else to do it, leading your steps throughout the crowd of people there to find Bucky. Once outdoors and zipping up your jacket, you glimpsed a shadow coming into the next corner to a dead-end street. Rubbing your nose, you continued to the alley without hesitating, hearing some grunts echoing between both buildings. He was there. Hands placed against the wall, head bowed and eyes closed. His chest rose and fell furious, trying to breathe. You didn't think about your actions, putting a foot wrong when you rested your fingers on his middle back.

His whole anatomy shook, walking away from you almost sweating and scared, but ready to attack. Until Bucky laid his eyes on you.

“It's okay, it's okay… It's me”. You intoned using a soft and calm tone of voice.

“Sorry, uh… I just… I can't bre— breathe”. He waved the vibranium hand close to his chest, gasping like a fish out of water.

He was having a panic attack and you knew exactly why. Taking two long strides, you landed a hand on the back of his head and grabbed his flesh hand strongly, guiding him to the closest wall to rest him on it.

“Hey, hey, James… James focus on me, c'mon, focus on me”. You called him, sliding your fingers across his neck to force him to look at you. “Breathe with me, okay?”

Fixing your orbs in his, you show him how he had to do it. Inhaling through your nostrils, holding the air for three seconds, and exhaling it by your nose. He followed your instructions, once and again, until he was respiring quietly and normally.

“Now, repeat with me. I'm not the Winter Soldier anymore, I'm James Buchanan Barnes”.

“I'm no— not the Winter… Soldier anymore… I'm James Buchanan Barnes”.

“That's it… That's it... One more time. Can you say it for me one more time? Please”. Your honeyed tone made his pulse slow down, nodding with his chin.

“I'm not the Winter Soldier anymore. I'm James Buchanan Barnes”. His voice was firm now, finally believing his own affirmation.

“You back?” You whispered caressing his rough cheek using your thumb.

“Yeah… I just… had all those voices… screaming inside my head. I couldn't shut them up”. He explained, squeezing your hand between his digits, rested close to his heart. “That… That… I, uh… In Madripoor… I… I heard Zemo saying how easy was for me to… y'know, come ba—”

“Don't do that to yourself, Bucky. You've worked really hard to be where you are right now”.

“You mean in an alley that smells like peed and puke, having an atta—”.

Again, you didn't think about your actions, slapping his face with your free hand and furrowing towards him. Bucky's mouth dropped to the floor, more than surprised and gulping a complaint.

“Why…? Did you just…? What the hell?”

“You were wandering again”. You excused your gesture. “Want another, uh?”

“Hell, no!” He pouted at you, looking through his eyelids trying to make you feel sorry. “Why a slap? Did you think that was a good way to calm somebody? Why not a kiss?”

“Oh, god… here we go 'gain”. You couldn't help but roll your eyes with the intention of drawing some distance between both, but he pushed you closer till your chests were practically stuck to the other.

“'M not stupid”. He scoffed securing his vibranium arm around your lower back to not let you go.

“I was worried, Buck”.

“See? You call me like that”.

“Like what? It's your name”.

“Uh… Not actually”. The soldier replied, shaking his head to both sides briefly. “Only Steve called me like that, he was my friend”.

“So am I”.

“Are you?”

His gaze made you feel weak, breaking down the walls around your heart that too much time costed you to build. You licked your upper lip with resignation, leaning and resting your forehead on his clavicle. You afforded to close your eyes and tour his neck back to his scalp to tangle your fingers there, slowly, gently, fondly. It was a step to admit your real feelings for Bucky, and he accepted it without refusing.

The soldier kissed your temple to put his chin on top of your head, holding you tighter and rolling down his eyelids to only focus on your caresses. For an instant, everything disappeared around you. The world got emptied. The noise got shut down.

“I was scared. Not for me, but for you”. You confessed, not needing to explain why. He was conscious about your reasons because he was too somehow. “But that's not gonna happen again”.

At the moment you raised your face, Bucky took the advantage to press his lips on your forehead. “How could it, if I have you to remind me who I am?”

“I'm just a plus, Buck. Don't give me a credit you earned by yourself and your constant work. You did it alone, I just supported you”.

“Like fewer people did, and like fewer people do”.

“You've never cared about people's opinion”.

“Yeah, till my relationship with Sam changed. And till I met you”. Bucky affirmed very securely.

“But don't forget you're a fighter. You're strong, you deserve good things to happen to your life”.

“I won't”. He responded, bringing your hand tangled to his flesh one to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of yours. “Thank you…”

“You don't have to”. Clicking your tongue, you couldn't help but roll your eyes. “Let's come back to the bar, we need another round of beers”.

“I can't get drunk, remember?”

“You have so much fun watching me being drunk, remember?”

“How could I forget it? You always make that… horrible impression of my arm, with those… robot noises”. Bucky chuckled, pinching your side and causing you to jump slightly under his grip. Your laugh made him feel better.

“C'mon! You love it!”

“Oh, yeah, I do”. He opened his eyes a little more, nodding his head while placing his vibranium arm on your shoulders, but without loosening the hold around your other hand. “I'd like to see you imitating Sam tonight”.

“Nasty boy…” You joked with a giggle.

feedback is appreciated. lemme know in a comment if you enjoyed it. and REBLOG!!! 🤍

TAG LIST: @mystic-232 @homesicam @theresnoplatypus @i-love-scott-mccall @slutfornat @goldielocks2004 @whatrambles @multiyfandomgirl40 @spidergirla5 @fanofalltheficsx @nocturnalherb16 @valenquei @golden-hoax @hunter-of-baker-street @missusstark @vhscherry @warm-sensations @addictedtofictionalcharacters @sarahsmcu @tinylumpiaa @amelia-song-pond @heartislubbingdubbing @stolenxkissess @clean-and-claire @winchestersgirl222 @virgoroses @marvel-ousnesss @me-a-hopeless-romantic @rvgrsbrns @maccasbeard @haileygarciasunshine @lewd-alien @kait-is-always-late @mckenna @weenersoldierr @mxltifaves @soldierstucky @theboldandthebootyful @arkofblake @isabellamur @kiwisa @spider-man-lover @rosiebrands @stealapizzamyheart @koressecretidentity @asemistablehundredyearoldman

@mayans-sauce @petlaufeyson @megapeacelovemusic-blog @phoenixhalliwell

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x female reader #james bucky barnes x reader #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x you #bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky x reader

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cinnamonest · 3 years

Text

Daily Life - Scaramouche

Ahhh ye I loved writing those. For anyone who hasn’t seen them I’m linking the posts from when I did this theme with Kaeya and Diluc as well as the one with Zhongli, Xiao, and Childe

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

He's... not much of a morning person. He's actually pretty quiet in the mornings, he's still groggy and having to wake up and all that. So he doesn't say much, just kinda nudges you. Do NOT make him do it twice, though, no doing the thing where you groan and roll over or beg for more time. He'll just yank the covers off of you.

That's if *he* wakes up first, though, which is... unlikely. It's more likely you will find yourself in the reverse situation -- telling this grown ass man that yes you have to get up. Yes you have to go to work. You're going to be late. Come on. Get up. I'll make you food if you do. Please. It... takes a while. He’s actually late quite a bit due to his tendency to wait until the last possible minute and drag his feet. Not that anyone ever has to audacity to actually confront him about it. It can almost be kinda... cute? In a weird way. Just don’t actually say that out loud.

But still, it's rather surprisingly quiet. Yeah, sure, he could get food from his work, there's certainly a sort of eating area where they provide food for the masses of the underlings, but it's gross so, eating here it is. He used to do that before. Not that he would actually, god forbid, sit around and mingle with anyone, but he used to take it and go munch on whatever was provided, by himself. Just because it was easier and the man has probably never cooked anything in his life, doesn't know how to, but you do right? Well, if you don't, figure it out. Now that he has you he shouldn't have to go out of his way to get fed, you can do that, make yourself useful.

He has the same thing going on as mentioned in the daily life post for Xiao where he just kinda... creepily watches you go about your morning. Except not from the other side of the room, no, he just follows you around. The days actually have an awkward start because you don't want to be the first one to speak and risk making him grumpy, so you just kinda wait for him to talk. It's never a "good morning," he just jumps straight into telling you what the day is going to look like plan-wise, or complaining about this or that. But he will stand kinda right beside you the entire time, if you're making food he just stands there and leans against the counter and talks to you. If you're getting ready and have to go get this or that he'll follow you into each room and keep talking. Boy is clingy.

You could look at it as a blessing or a curse that the man takes you everywhere he goes. You don't get locked up and chained to a bed with nothing to do, but you also... have to deal with him pretty much every waking moment. If you've proven yourself annoying when not given things to do, you get things to do, simple measures to keep your attention consumed and not bothering him. Books and pencils and paper and whatever. But if he has a task to be done, it's your job, will call out the occasional go put this over there or go get that and bring it here. Why should he stand up and do it himself when you can? And it's in your best interest to do it immediately and quickly.

If it's a mission sort of day, going from place to place, he just drags you along wherever he goes. Expects you to just stand there quietly and not interrupt while he's talking to important people. If there's like, actual physical combat... well, if combat is expected, it's one of a few times you'll get left under the care of someone else (value and cherish these precious moments), and if it's unexpected hostility from someone, well, you know the drill -- go run away a hundred yards or so and stay behind something until it's over. And don't you dare think of using the opportunity to do something stupid or run. You tried a few times in the past... it didn't go over well.

The two things you get a lot of throughout the day is complaining and fucking. The first is usually after interactions -- some subordinate that has to come up to him to talk to him, some connection he's forced to converse with for the sake of a mission -- either way, he gets grumbly as soon as they're out of earshot. Honestly it's not hard to deal with, just kinda agree with everything he says, give a nod and smile and say he's right. You don't even really have to listen to what he's saying. As for the latter, fucking follows a predictable pattern, you can pretty much accurately estimate that you're about to get bent or pushed to your knees at specific times -- namely, whenever he's particularly stressed or nervous about something, when someone beneath him fucks something up or upsets him in any way, or when you specifically do something to upset him, be it intentional or unintentional. Lots of quick rough fucks throughout any given day, really.

Now, there are a very very very few days where you genuinely can't tag along, this is pretty much for your own safety and to prevent him from being distracted by concern for said safety. This is only when there is a planned conflict with formidable enemies. It's one of very few times you'll ever be left alone. Not under the care of any one person, but likely two or three personally appointed guards that he knows well enough to trust. During this time, they are given the instruction to keep an eye on you while you're given your normal idle task options like reading. It's not very eventful, and there's not really any opportunities for escape, it's just boring.

Unlike a lot of the other yans, you don't get a "honey I'm home now listen to me rant about my day" sort of deal, because you've been with him all day and heard him complain throughout. That doesn't mean the complaints don't continue, but he gets quieter once settled in for the evening. It's also the softest time you'll get -- at that point he's tired from whatever events occur throughout the day and has less energy to be irritated.

He never really verbally insisted on it, but the habit of bathing together just kinda naturally formed from the first few days when he had to drag you back and forth to follow a normal living routine. It's very very quiet. You never asked him to, but he just automatically does everything for you, scrubs at your body and hair before you get the chance. It's... not very gentle, but he's not intentionally trying to be rough or anything. Nor is it intended as a gesture of kindness or anything, you're pretty sure he just kinda started doing it since you were stubborn and refused to move a muscle when you first came here, and now does so on autopilot, without really thinking about it. You've decided to not bring it up. It's nice enough.

He's actually kinda particular about his sleep. He can stay up late if needed, but prefers to go to bed more or less soon after, and no, you can't stay up on your own, if he's going to sleep so are you whether you like it or not. He doesn't fall asleep immediately, just kinda lays a while and stares off in thought. As long as he knows you're awake, he's not gonna make any movements to touch you or anything. If you pretend to be asleep though... you might get somewhat cuddled. And if you decide to move to lay on him on your own or nuzzle up to him, he's not going to fight it. Will probably be surprised and embarrassed, but will lay there and allow it, maybe gently pat your head.

#lena's asks #scheduled post #atml

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petitprincess1 · 2 years

Note

I know you’re probably sick of hearing this but you’re the only one I could think to bring this to. Constructive criticism would be great, if that’s what the people who constantly complain about these shows would do. Although I have a special brand of confusion for why they choose to post it in the main tag and cite that not enough people are bringing up the problem. I don’t know rando on the internet, but you are in fact clogging the whole tag with your inane complaints. If you’re this mad about narrative consistency for shows that are just beginning, please never watch any old classic cartoons. The narrative was rarely ever consistent and people still loved them. If you’re mad about poor animation? Clearly you never sat through season five of yugioh or saw any mistakes that occurred in like, idk, the rugrats? Looney Toons? And those were done by bigger studios.

Clarifying that you in this situation are the critics. Idk I’m just sort of tired of going into the tags and seeing only them there, while they whine that no one thinks of these things. Sure I could and will block them, but they need to realize that they not only overtake the tags with their bs but they are to ones that constantly post and are making people like me who are happy to constructively critique about ready to say that the show does nothing wrong out of pure spite.

Also, they really need to stop spreading rumors. Everything I keep looking up has either an apology or it never happened. God forbid they ever get this attention in their own lives.

👆👆👆👆👆👆

Seriously, I'm tired of seeing them in the main tag. Plus, they just say the most bs things. I'm so sick and tired of them cherry-picking "flaws" (some real, a huge majority aren't) from the pilot like they're legit complaints. All they're doing is stating the obvious or making shit up.

"Hazbin Hotel has very little world-building," yeah...It's almost like there's one episode. If only there was a second show like a spin-off that explores the world of Hazbin through different eyes. Man...if only x3

"Charlie doesn't seem like a good friend," the fuck did you get that from. The instances when Vaggie got pushed around, which were done for solely a gag and showing that Alastor is okay with pissing anyone off? Okay...maybe that will change with further episodes.

"The characters aren't acting like their decades," they may not overtly act like it, but it's there, very obviously. Plus, again, they have adapted with times. Hell, even Pentious learned how to use a phone AND is trying to learn modern slang. So, again, what's your point? Is that bad? Is it bad that we don't hear them constantly referencing their time period or are talking normal people and not caricatures?

I'm at point where I think they just wanted a 30min PowerPoint presentation because that's the only way they'll get fully what they want.

A pilot is a pitch. It's sole purpose is to introduce the concept of the show in hopes that it gets picked up by a production company. Hazbin did. Its pilot did its job. What more do you want?

#hazbin hotel #helluva boss #anti vivziepop #hazbin hotel critical #helluva boss critical #long post #ask answered #ok 2 rb

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vrishchikawrites · 2 years

Text

I posted 2,269 times in 2021

1421 posts created (63%)

848 posts reblogged (37%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.6 posts.

I added 1,991 tags in 2021

#reader asks - 1110 posts

#wangxian - 146 posts

#wei wuxian - 137 posts

#lan wangji - 134 posts

#mdzs - 120 posts

#re: wwx - 86 posts

#re: jc - 79 posts

#anti jiang cheng - 64 posts

#mdzs fic recs - 58 posts

#lovely comments ❤️ - 57 posts

Longest Tag: 120 characters

#though i should make it clear that i was commenting on the reader perception and not the novel ending or lxc's character

My Top Posts in 2021

god i wanna die every time i see popular posts with the misconception about hwo "wwx never does any work he just plays and lazes around while jc cleans up his messes" like please pls learn some reading comprehension, just bc jc says something doesn't mean it's true 😭

Ugh, this is the worst take and it is so fucking common. They even did it to Sherlock Holmes, I mean officially. He was never an uncontrolled and antisocial genius. Similarly, WWX was never a reckless and careless genius. People are just taking the thoughts of a character who has always been jealous and insecure as fact. If JC thinks WWX is reckless and intractable, he must be.

Their impression must come from statements like these -

"Him? He wakes up at nine in the morning and sleeps at one in the night. When he wakes up, he doesn't practice his sword or meditate; he goes boating, swims around, picks lotus seed pods, and hunts for pheasants."

WWX, of course, refutes this very easily but people remember JC's verbose complaints instead of WWX's very succinct reminder-

"No matter how many pheasants I hunt, I'm still number one."

(Exiled Rebels Translation - Chapter 13)

Cultivation is, well, cultivation? A skill that is cultivated through hard work, meditation, and dedication? If WWX is really as lazy as they say, how is his cultivation so much superior to JC? Didn't he start working on his cultivation later than JC? Did those skills come magically out of nowhere? To be that good and for JC's own father to declare him the leading disciple, he had to have worked hard.

JC never cleans up his messes either. Most of the time, he's going along with WWX on his fun rides and letting WWX take the punishment for it.

Seriously, such bad takes.

264 notes • Posted 2021-07-31 18:25:38 GMT

hello, are you still taking the short prompts? may i request for one where married wangxian met their younger counterparts during the study in Cloud Recesses? Maybe wangxian tease their younger selves and how their younger version and other disciples react to their arrival and to the teasing? Thank you!

"He looks almost... protective." Nie Huaisang observes to Jiang Wanyin and Wangji has to agree. His older self does seem to have an air of protectiveness about him.

He feels his fingers twitch when Wei Ying leans forward to study his future self, absolutely brazen and with no regard for personal space. The man who has accompanied his future self has the same air of mischief as Wei Ying does and seems entirely too amused.

Wei Ying is grinning, his expression inquisitive as he reaches forward and, much to his dismay, pokes the strange man's cheek.

The man laughs and his older self doesn't seem distrubed. Jiang Wanyin makes a noise of disgust but Wangji doesn't look at him. He wants to reach forward and snatch Wei Ying away.

"Wei Wuxian!" The Jiang heir snarls.

Both Wei Ying and the stranger look up at them. Something in the stranger's expression shifts, becoming a little more distant.

His future self glares.

Glares. At Jiang Wanyin.

Wangji knows himself and for him to openly express any sort of disdain for anyone is... quite telling. The expression is subtle enough that it escapes everyone notice. The stranger just huffs in amusement and nudges the older Lan Wangji with a smile.

That smile is familiar.

"What, Jiang Cheng? He doesn't mind! Tell him, Mo-quanbei!"

Mo-quanbei looks at Wei Ying with an expression of gentle reminiscence but there's something almost like... regret underneath it all. "No no, I don't mind at all!" He assures with a grin that's, again, strangely similar to Wei Ying's.

Jiang Wanyin stalks forward, his face lined with fury, "Just because people tolerate your-"

Lan Wangji smoothly steps before Wei Ying, blocking Jiang Wanyin's path.

"Aiya, Lan Zhan!" Senior Mo protests and Wei Ying seems baffled, peering around Lan Wangji to meet Wangji's gaze in question.

He has no explanation for his older self's behavior.

Jiang Wanyin seems torn. This Lan Wangji is their senior and obviously a very accomplished cultivator. His companion seems equally accomplished, though his air is certainly not as grave or weighty. He seems almost like Wei Ying in his playfulness and manner of speaking.

And they both seem to have some sort of bond with Wei Ying.

Wangji can't help but step forward, drawing everyone's attention towards him, "It is best for us to remain separate." He says, "Knowing too much of the future may cause unforeseen problems."

"Unlikely." Lan Wangji says, gently steadying Wei Ying as the boy attempts to peer past him. There's a slight spark of amusement in his gaze as he brushes Wei Ying's shoulder and fixes his hair.

Wangji struggles to contain his shock and fury. Who gave him the right to touch Wei Ying so brazenly? Like Wei Ying was his to-

"It is likely that the timeline has already split due to our presence here." Mo-quanbei says, shooting an amused look at Lan Wangji. His older self doesn't react, keeping his eyes on Wei Ying as the boy stares back at him in shock. "Whatever you learn will only help you."

"There are some things I would like to prevent."

"Lan Zhan!"

"Must protect Wei Ying."

And just like that, Wangji's entire perspective of things changes. He meets Wei Ying's gaze, who only looks at him once before turning away.

"What do you mean, protect him?" Jiang Wanyin demands but Wangji is already putting some pieces together. He sees how Lan Wangji keeps tracking Wei Ying's movements. How he stands between the boy and everyone else at all times.

Something happened to Wei Ying in the future.

He can't help but take a few steps forward, "We will protect him." I will protect him, he means to say.

His older self looks at him directly for the first time and there's an odd gentleness to him. His expression is ice cold but he seems more settled, content. "You will fail. At first."

Wangji feels his heart still for a small moment before it starts racing, "Fail?"

"Aiya, Lan Zhan, be gentle." Mo-quanbei says softly before moving around his future self. His smile towards Wangji is softest, most loving expression he has ever faced, "Don't worry too much, little Lan Zhan," Wangji is a bit too mesmerized to protest but Wei Ying does so on his behalf, "Just be who you are deep inside and everything will work out."

He doesn't know what kind of expression he wears because Mo-quanbei sighs and turns around to look at his older self, silently communicating.

Wei Ying is looking at him, his gaze sharp and contemplative. His eyes flicker towards his older self and he leans forward, expression curious once again, "Are we friends?"

Lan Wangji glances at Wangji before turning to Wei Ying, "He isn't worthy of your friendship yet, Wei Ying."

"Lan Zhan!" Mo-quanbei protests and his older self doesn't waver.

"But in time, he earns his place in your life and is your most trusted companion."

Mo-quanbei huffs, "If you're going to be mean to my Lan Zhan, I'm going to be mean to your Wei Ying."

Wangji feels rattled and meets Wei Ying's wide eyes helplessly. "You need to stop needling him." Mo-quanbei says, waving a finger at Wei Ying. "Be gentle, stop teasing him so harshly."

"But Wei-xiong teases everyone." Nie Huaisang says, "That's just his way of showing affection!

Wei Ying, oddly enough, straightens and focuses completely on Mo-quanbei. "He hasn't had anyone like you in his life. Sometimes you need to change your way of acquiring friendships, Wei Ying."

"Why does it matter?" Jiang Wanyin protests, "Lan Wangji hates him! Wei Wuxian should stop bothering him."

"No."

Wangji looks at his older self, surprised to hear an echo of his denial.

"Never hated Wei Ying." He says and his heart aches when Wei Ying looks at him in surprise.

His older self nods, "Never." He places a hand on Wei Ying's back and starts guiding him away, "We must talk."

Wangji makes to follow them but Mo-quanbei smiles and guides him away, "We are with me, little Lan Zhan!" He says cheerfully.

The story that follows makes his heart race and gut twist in fear.

"Wei Ying," He breathes when Mo-quanbei reveals who he really is, "You-"

"Aiya, don't worry too much. Just work together and I am confident you'll succeed!" Wei Ying pats his cheek and Wangji remains utterly still, soaking in the warmth of the man's hand.

Wei Ying expression is so full of love, Wangji can't help but lean into the palm a little, "Are we... friends?"

Wei Ying laughs, "Ah, Lan Zhan," He reaches up and tugs meaningfully at his forehead ribbon, "We are much more than that."

He swallows, struggling to deal with the flood of elation and nervousness sweeping through him.

When they rejoin the others, he can't help but seek his Wei Ying out. Silver eyes meet his gaze for a moment before flicking away.

There's an enchanting little blush riding high on Wei Ying's cheeks.

'Much more than that,' He thinks, feeling an odd flutter of hope in his chest, 'Wei Ying.'

(this turned out to be a little softer and less teasing. I always imagined that WWX and LWJ will be very kind to their younger selves, knowing what kind of trauma they're about to face.)

269 notes • Posted 2021-07-03 14:17:34 GMT

You know what would be interesting?

JC never lost his golden Core.

And Wei Wuxian did not lose his.

But he still gets dropped into the Burial Mounds. And like I dunno how, but he comes out of there having mastered the new form of cultivation.

Jiang Cheng acts like a dick that's par for cannon. And this Wei Wuxian who has survived the burial Mounds with his golden core intact has no time for his drama.

He definitely confesses to Lan Wangji o ce he is out of the burial mounds.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the Sunshot campain would be brilliant. Cultivating and * *wink wink nudge nudge* * dual cultivating.

JC is seething with jelousy. He has everything. The gentry name, the money and sect leadership but the whole world is only speaking about Wei Wuxian and his like awesome cultivation. Both the sword style and with his flute.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning- Wen Ning convinces his sister to join the war. Wen Ning wants to be on Wei Wuxian's side.

What would JC throw a tantrum over if he doesn't have anything to throw a tantrum over??

Like for example he blames Wei Wuxian for Lotus Pier burning. Obviously it's not his mistake. But one day he is yelling at Wei Wuxian about it and sect leader someone maybe XiChen, maybe Sect leader Nie. Whoever. Comes and like defends Wei Wuxian.

What would he do then faced with the facts? Cling all the more to his warped world view? Or apologize?

It will be interesting to see.

You don't have to take this prompt if it's too messy or whatever. I love you and your writing.

Also, thank you for choosing to write my previous prompt.

XOXO.

(this is a little similar to trapped and patient but also quite different. Hope you like it! The format is a bit different because this is a lot of time to cover in a short prompt)

When he stumbles out of the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian is stunned. He can't believe he made it, that he was able to survive it, without his sword.

Wei Wuxian walks forward shakily, one unsteady step at a time, putting distance between him and that wretched place.

He feels weak, drained, devastated in small ways.

But he is free.

---

Yiling offers shelter in unexpected ways. He's able to hide in a temple to recover. His condition is wretched enough that he's mistaken for a beggar. A few people take pity on him and offer fruits and buns.

It takes him a week.

That's all it takes for him to recover.

Wei Wuxian washes all traces of Burial Mounds off him, soaks in icy river water for hours on end until he feels purified and reforged.

Now, he's ready for revenge.

---

Wei Wuxian has only tried his cultivation method on the dead. He has used it to repel the fierce corpses, fierce ghosts, and spirits soaked in resentment.

When he tests the method on the Wens, it proves to be even more effective. They scramble like mindless beasts, driven by fear and confusion. The sounds of his Dizi pierce the air and induce madness.

He watches from a distance, indifferent as the Wens turn on each other, swinging their swords, shouting at phantoms, all sense and intellect gone.

He turns away.

---

Jiang Cheng's arms wrap around him and the fog around his mind starts to slowly recede. He stands stiffly, blinking a little before looking beyond his martial brother.

Lan Zhan is there, staring at him with wide eyes. There's so much open concern on his usually stoic face that Wei Wuxian wants to turn away.

"Wei Ying,"

It is only then, under the power of that golden gaze, that his fugue state dissipates. He sees Lan Zhan step forward, almost reaching out only to pull back at the last moment.

Jiang Cheng pushes him away and punches his shoulder, "Where have you been? How dare you abandon us and just frolic off somewhere?"

Wei Wuxian swalllows with difficulty and answers their questions with his habitual dismissive charm.

But that honest expression of open concern on Lan Zhan's beautiful face doesn't leave.

He meets those golden eyes and feels something shift within him.

Shaking his head, he dismisses the feeling. There's no time for sentimental reunions. He turns his attention towards Wen Chao, unsheathes his sword, and kills him in one clean strike.

There. Done.

---

The war is already in full swing by the time he joins it. His martial brother and Lan Zhan are quick to take him to Qinghe, not even letting him ride his own sword.

"Wei-gongzi, I'm happy to see you safe," Lan Xichen greets, running a discreet eye over him. The older Lan brother's concern is well hidden but Wei Wuxian senses it nevertheless.

The man looks like he's just about ready to banish him to the healing halls.

He opens his mouth to reassure Lan Xichen but Nie Mingjue intervenes, slapping his back solidly, "I hear you're responsible for the devastation at Yiling. Good work!"

Wei Wuxian smiles brightly, hoping to banish that increasingly familiar look from Lan Zhan's face. "Thank you, Nie-zongzhu." He smiles up at the man, "I can give you a full report of what happened if you wish it."

The Chifeng-zun's expression shifts into one of approval and he nods, "I do wish it."

"I would like to know as well, if you don't mind," Lan Xichen says and Nie Mingjue nods before he glances at Lan Zhan.

He chuckles, "Lan er-gonzi can join us as well."

---

Wei Wuxian doesn't realize he's been spending more time with the Lan brothers and Nie Mingjue until Jiang Cheng angrily points it out.

"You're too good for us, are you?" He demands, "Abandoning us in favor of your new friends! Even in the battlefield, you and Lan Wangji are inseparable! Have some shame! How dare you abandon your responsibilities and mess around with that man?"

"a-Cheng," Shijie reprimands gently but her voice is weak.

"Aiya, Jiang Cheng, who keeps track of such things amidst a war? They're all our allies. It's not like I have abandoned everyone." He still trains with the Jiang disciples and leads them in battle after all.

"Wei Wuxian!"

"Jiang Cheng," His voice makes his irritation clear, "Is this really the right time to worry about such trivial matters? Who cares about appearances during war? Are were not all one when on the battlefield?" He asks, narrowing his eyes on the furious Jiang, "We don't know whether we'll live or die when we ride out and you're concerned about who fights alongside me? Just who are you speaking of?"

"Who I am speaking of?" Jiang Cheng snaps in return, "Your obsession with that man is unseemly and reflects poorly on the sect! You know it and yet you carry on shamelessly-"

"My obsession?" He demands, "Just what are you trying to imply, Jiang Cheng? You're going to be a brat just because Lan Zhan happens to be the only one able to keep up with me?" It is no secret that his three month stint sharpened his cultivation in ways people find hard to fathom. He didn’t just develop a new cultivation method, he grew. Surviving the Burial Mounds is a feet beyond the skill and endurance of most cultivators.

Wei Wuxian has earned his already formidable reputation.

Jiang Cheng reels back at the reminder, his face twisting with rage.

Never let it be said that Wei Wuxian takes things lying down. He has spent a lifetime appeasing Jiang Cheng and dealing with his insecurities.

He no longer has the patience.

---

He reaches out instinctively, pulling Lan Zhan out of a blade's path, spinning around to block the strike with his bare arm.

His thick leather brace manages to minimize the damage and he doesn't lose his arm but it is a near thing.

With a hiss, he crowds against Lan Zhan and brings Suibian down in a sharp slash, cutting the Wen before him from left shoulder to right hip.

"Reckless." Lan Zhan says later as he carefully stitches the cut.

"I couldn't let you get hurt." Wei Wuxian says softly, peering down at the kneeling figure before him. He has seen Lan Zhan in various states of indignity, covered in blood, robes soaked in the disgusting sludge of a war-torn field.

Nothing diminishes his beauty.

Wei Wuxian's heart races, his head spinning as he smells the scent of sandalwood. He swallows as Lan Zhan shifts closer, carefully snipping the excess thread and studying his neat stitches.

This close, he feels overwhelmed and realization dawns.

"I love you," He breathes, stunned.

He loves Lan Zhan. The knowledge strikes him now, suddenly, without warning. "How did I not know?" Wei Wuxian feels strangely dazed. How could he not know? It is so obvious to him, his constant need for Lan Zhan's attention, "I hate it when you ignore me." The feeling of those snapping golden eyes on him when he finally manages to gain Lan Zhan's attention, "It's thrilling when you don't."

He has never met anyone more beautiful, "I find you better looking than any maiden." Lan Zhan's proximity now makes him feel-, "Breathless," He says, "When I'm close to you I feel- how did I miss-"

Lan Zhan grip is like vice around his wrist.

Wei Wuxian stops, going pale as he realizes how brazenly he had just confessed love to a man. If Jiang Cheng were here, he'd definitely gut him with Sandu, "Lan Zhan, I-"

Lan Zhan surges forward, eyes blazing and expression dark.

Warm lips slide over his and his mind goes silent.

He doesn't think a single thought that night.

---

War doesn't wait for anyone and Wei Wuxian doesn't say anything in protest when Lan Zhan pulls away from him. He watches with heavy eyes as Lan Zhan shrugs on his discarded outer robes and glances at him.

"Is your body alright?" He asks and Wei Wuxian feels a blush crawl up his neck.

“No! Of course it isn’t,“ He complains even though his body is buzzing with lingering pleasure. He pouts up at Lan Zhan, who studies him with careful golden eyes, “Really, going on and on, taking your pleasure without any care for my virgin body.“ Lan Zhan’s ears are delightfully red, “Who knew er-gege could be so bold?“

“Wei Ying,“ Lan Zhan’s expression is flat but his voice carries a hint of a waver. Wei Wuxian just grins in response, “Be serious.“

In all honesty, his body is already back to its regular state of being. His Golden Core is still spinning furiously and the lingering energy from Dual Cultivation has healed any aches and pains he might have.

“Fine,“ He says in a petulant tune, inwardly delighted that Lan Zhan is now his, “But er-gege must kiss me to make me feel better.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t hesitate, leaning over him and gently tipping his chin up for the demanded kiss.

Wei Wuxian sighs, sinking into it as a curtain of silken black hair forms a private cocoon around him.

---

The war ends but Wei Wuxian’s problems don’t end with it. Three issues stand before him; helping the Wen remnants, helping rebuild YunmengJiang, and figuring out how to marry Lan Zhan.

One obstacle stands in the way of two of these three goals. Jiang Cheng absolutely refuses to lift a finger to help the Wen remnants, even though Wen Qing’s assistance helped them win the war. Jin Guangyao may have killed Wen Ruohan but Wen Qing prevented thousands of casualties.

Wen Ning was also responsible for rescuing Jiang Cheng from the Wen capture before he lost his Golden Core. It was fortunate that Wen Zhuliu had been called to visit Wen Ruohan and Wen Chao had to wait to enact that punishment.

Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian managed to steal Jiang Cheng away just hours before Wen Zhuliu returned.

And yet, Jiang Cheng chooses to side with the Jins on the matter instead of listening to Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue. Wei Wuxian knows it is partly because their sister is marrying into the Jin clan and they can’t afford to make things difficult for her, but still.

Jin Zixuan will obviously protect shijie. There’s no need to be so cautious, especially if three out of four sects oppose imposing any sort of punishment on innocent people.

On a personal front, Jiang Cheng’s disapproval of his relationship with Lan Zhan is blatant.

Jiang Cheng can’t really stop Wei Wuxian from marrying whoever he wishes. He doens’t need the sect leader’s permission as he’s not really the member of the family. But his shidi is making things difficult with his sneering disapproval and contemptuous comments in public.

He has already alienated Lan Xichen completely by calling Lan Zhan’s honor in question (boy did he earn the punch Wei Wuxian had leveled at him - sect leader or no). Nie Mingjue will never side with some upstart over Lan Xichen.

Lan Zhan himself doesn’t care. He has never liked Jiang Cheng and he never will. He only retaliates when Jiang Cheng tries to attack Wei Wuxian.

His protective er-gege as no tolerance for anyone trying to harm him.

Which is what, ultimately, breaks Wei Wuxian’s ties with YunmengJiang.

The confrontation is embarrassingly public. He doesn’t mind Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue being present but feels upset about Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao being there as well.

“Twin Prides of Yungmeng, isn’t that what you promised me?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “Where will your pride be if you break all of your promises and get into...” He waves his hand at Lan Zhan in disgust, “Is this how you intend to repay us? My father raised you to be the Head Disciple of the Jiang Sect and you would rather be some sort of deviant?“

“Jiang Cheng-“

“And you would side with the Wen dogs too! Was this always your intention? Did you always want to bring down my sect and support its enemies?”

“The Wen remnants have helped us. They’re not our enemies.“

“They’re not our enemies now,“ Jin Guanyao interjects calmly, his voice soothing and patient, “But surely you see that it may not remain so? We cannot risk another war.”

“They’re barely a few hundred people and we have already taken most of their resources. They’ll live as poor peasants. How can they be a threat to us?“ Wei Wuxian asks.

“You’re indeed naïve, Wei-gongzi,“ Jin Guangshan says in a gentle, placating tone, “Perhaps your fondness for Wen-guniang is making you turn a blind eye. Beautiful women have a tendency to do that.“ He chuckles indulgently.

The sly implication in his tone isn’t lost on anyone. Lan Zhan’s expression turns frosty and Wei Wuxian feels a surge of fury strong enough to make his blood boil. There are so many things wrong with that statement that Wei Wuxian, for once, is rendered speechless.

“You question the honor of Wei Wuxian of all people?“ Nie Mingjue demands, taking a step forward, “I have stayed silent because Jiang Sect business isn’t my business but I will not have you slander and belittle a proven warrior in my presence!“

“Indeed,“ Lan Xichen says calmly but there’s no mistaking the sharp look in his eyes. Lan Xichen rarely reacts to provocations or interferes in sect matters that don’t concern him. But he’s not going to let anyone upset his younger brother carelessly, “The matter of the Wens is easy to resolve. Let us give them a small piece of land, let them set up a village, and forbid cultivation among them.“

“Er-ge,“ Jin Guangyao begins but Lan Zhan is out of patience.

He steps back and bows to all assembled before placing a hand on Wei Wuxian’s back, “Wei Ying will choose his own path. Wens will remain free. Wei Ying and I will marry.“ He meets Jiang Cheng’s furious gaze, “Jiang-zongzhu must decide whether his brother’s happiness matters to him.“

Wei Wuxian winces.

“My brother’s happiness?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “All everyone has ever cared about is his happiness! What about me? What about our Sect? A sect he nearly destroyed because of his loyalty towards you.“ Jiang Cheng looks at him, “Did you forget my mother? My father? How do you intend to repay the enormous debt you carry, Wei Wuxian?“

Wei Wuxian stares back at him, “What is my repayment, Jiang Cheng?” He asks softly, “What will it take for you to consider that debt repaid?” It has been over five years since the fall of Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian has bled and slogged through war to restore that place to its former glory. He has kept Jiang Cheng safe, helped renegotiate shijie’s marriage, and used his name to draw skilled cultivators to YungmengJiang.

What more can he give?

“Loyalty.“ He stills, “You devote your life to YungmengJiang and nothing else.“

Lan Xichen makes a faint, alarmed noise while Nie Mingjue huffs in disapproval.

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, feeling Lan Zhan’s fingers flex on his back. He levels a flat look at Jiang Cheng and thinks on the matter of debts. He thinks about Madam Yu’s refusal to bend, of Jiang-zongzhu’s passivity and lack of planning. He thinks about the Wen’s unprovoked attack on Cloud Recesses and the inevitability of war.

He thinks of his Lan Zhan and shijie’s Jin Zixuan, without swords and facing an armed group of Wens under Wen Chao’s orders.

He thinks of love. Of what it means to be truly, unconditionally loved.

No sorrys and no thank yous. No debt owed for simply being a part of someone’s life.

He thinks of acceptance that comes with an older brother’s amused smile. He thinks of an uncle’s gruff admonishment to behave followed by a stiff reminder to eat, you’re skin and bones already.

He takes a deep breath and decides.

“No.“

299 notes • Posted 2021-07-08 12:12:39 GMT

(what can i say? I felt inspired by this beautiful scene. Surprise?)

Father

“He’s a lot like his mother,” Lan Xichen looks up to see his uncle come to stand beside them. He glances at the man between them to see a familiar smile on an unfamiliar face.

It is a marvel - just how much Wei Wuxian resembles his parents in action and personality.

It was an accident that led them to this situation. The juniors stumbled across an unknown array and accidentally activated it. It was only Wei Wuxian’s quick reaction that ensured they were out of harm’s way quickly. Xichen had been present and had seen the array’s energy brush against his brother-in-law even though he managed to avoid most of it.

The result of the accident? Two long-dead people, revived.

“Coming from you, that can’t be a compliment.” Wei Changze has a quiet tone of voice, much different from Wei Wuxian’s. But he speaks in a similar cadence - musical and attention-grabbing. His smile is amused and affectionate as he gazes at his wife and adult son.

Xichen hides his own smile when his uncle purses his lips and clears his throat, “Do not assume,” Lan Qiren says stiffly, “He is my family now. I bear him no ill-will.”

Wei Changze’s eyes are softer than his son’s but no less intelligent. He glances at Lan Qiren, his lips curving gently, “Won you over, has he?”

Lan Qiren has no reply for him.

“He resembles you a great deal too,” Lan Xichen says. Not in physical appearance because Wei Wuxian’s current body is somewhat different. But there’s an echo of Wei Changze in his gestures and posture.

How very interesting.

“In character, certainly.” Xichen stiffens and Wei Changze’s amiable expression cools a little. Fixing a polite smile, Lan Xichen greets Jiang Wanyin with a nod while Wei Changze bows in exactly the proper manner.

Lan Xichen has come to know his brother-in-law well enough to know that bow, as elegant and proper as it is, is nowhere near respectful.

Jiang Wanyin is scarcely less aware and his eyes narrow with irritation and distaste. “He’s just like you - willing to abandon his responsibilities in favor of-” He gestures towards Cangse Sanren pointedly before his eyes travel to Wangji, who has been watching his husband and mother-in-law with an expression of absolute contentment.

Nothing makes Wangji happier than seeing his Wei Ying happy.

“Forgetting all of his debts and duties to live as he pleases, while others suffer the consequences. As always.”

Wei Changze elegantly crosses his arms behind his back and studies Jiang Wanyin with a father’s gaze; gentle, assessing, and knowing. “Jiang-zongzhu is his mother’s son, I see.”

Jiang Wanyin stiffens immediately, “What do you mean?”

Wei Changze studies him for a moment longer before looking back at his family, “Death is a strange thing, especially for a parent. We don’t know what happens to the people we leave behind but-” His gaze is oddly sharp, “But when our children are at their most desperate, something in them reaches out. I have had glimpses of him all these years, Jiang-zongzhu.”

Jiang Wanyin is still, his expression frozen but eyes wary.

“You’re not a father. I pray you never feel what I felt when your mother tore the skin off his back with her whip. Not for treachery or theft, but for breaking his own arm.”

Xichen barely stops his gasp and his uncle is no better, glancing at them sharply, his eyes slightly wide.

“I pray you never see your child make excuse after excuse for the mischief of others; encouraged by their shidi to take the blame. I pray you never know what it is like to see a man you consider your brother ignore it all.” Wei Changze’s voice is shockingly mild and soft but the words are sharper than a cultivator’s blade.

“I saw you mock him for his fear of dogs and remembered seeing a small, fragile little boy - my boy - being attacked by starved animals on the street. I saw you steal the best meats from his bowl, unknowing or unwilling to remember that my son survived on discarded waste for years.”

Wei Changze looks at Jiang Wanyin with a steady, patient gaze and the Jiang-zongzhu doesn’t have the face to meet it.

“I saw you strangle him and blame him for your parents’ death. I saw him tear out his Golden Core and give it to you out of love and nothing less. You turned that into a debt.” Jiang Wanyin locked his jaw, “I saw you and my son come to an accord. I saw you not saying a word in his defense. I saw you gut my child in a staged fight. I saw you declare him the enemy when explaining the situation would’ve been far easier. I saw everything that came after. But you know something, Jiang-zongzhu?”

Jiang Wanyin looks ahead, his expression stiff.

“I haven’t seen my son once since he has been in Cloud Recesses with his husband.”

Xichen feels something clench in his chest.

“All the years he spent at the Lotus Pier, he called to me. He called to his mother. He didn’t utter a word. Like his mother had taught him, he forgot all offenses against him. He focused on grasping every bit of happiness that came his way. He moved on but his soul still asked for protection.”

“So what? It’s our fault? You blame us?” Jiang Wanyin demands, “Were we supposed to coddle him like some spoiled child?”

“Do Lans coddle anyone?” Wei Changze asks sardonically and that silences Jiang-zongzhu.

“Baba,”

They glance over to see Wei Wuxian studying them with pursed lips. Cangse Sanren is by her son, her expression unreadable.

Wangji is pale.

‘Ah,’ Lan Xichen thinks sadly, ‘Wei Wuxian hasn’t shared some of this with Wangji.’

“Aiya,” Cangse Sanren sighs, “Your baba is always so protective, a-Ying. Your poor mother’s heart can’t take it!”

Immediately, the air changes, and Wei Changze looks to the sky, his face slightly flushed. Wei Wuxian is grinning and Wangji is looking away, his ears tinged red.

Xichen bites back a smile.

‘Like mother, like son, it seems.’

Jiang-zongzhu scoffs and spins around, unwilling to face more censure. Wei Changze doesn’t say anything but there’s something dark and grim in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Xichen feels a pang of guilt as well. Wangji had spoken to him, cautioned him but Xichen hadn’t thought to dig deeper. If only...

“I am sorry.”

They all turn to Wei Wuxian, who is looking at his father with a pained smile, “I… I didn’t know I was reaching out to you and disrupting your peace,” he looks genuinely remorseful and Xichen’s heart aches for him. Wei Wuxian has never shared his burdens willingly. It is rare for him to do so, even now with Wangji by his side.

“Don’t be silly, baobao,” the childish address makes Wei Wuxian chuckle a bit. Cangse Sanren reaches forward to tuck his bangs away gently, her palm resting on her son’s cheek. Her expression is almost painfully soft, filled to brim with tenderness and affection. “We brought you into this world. It is our duty and right to bear your pain and your joy.”

“You said you haven’t seen him since he joined us here,” Wangji speaks up unexpectedly, looking at Wei Changze with his direct, unflinching eyes.

The Weis exchange glances before Wei Changze chuckles, “I imagine if he needs comfort or protection, he seeks you, Lan Wangji.”

“Not once?” Wangji asks, uncharacteristically so. Something about Wangji’s expression is off. Wei Wuxian certainly notices it before he calls his husband’s name softly, placing a hand on Wangji’s arm in concern.

Wei Changze, it seems, understands, “It is difficult to love him, isn’t it?”

Wei Wuxian stiffens but his father’s expression is gentle, “It is always difficult to love someone so insistent on letting all hurts go. You want to take on the world on their behalf but they don’t want you to. My wife is like that. Your husband gets it from her.” Cangse Sanren huffs but doesn’t disagree. “So forgiving that you start to wonder - is it true forgiveness or are they hiding their pain from us?”

“Are you bonding over my faults?” Wei Wuxian demands, his expression irritated but eyes amused.

“You’re without fault,” Wangji says calmly and Xichen feels a rush of amusement once again at Wei Wuxian’s blush.

“Lan Zhan! Not in front of my parents!” Wei Wuxian protests as his mother laughs delightedly, leaning against her husband with a pleased twinkle in her eye.

The conversation ends there and they enjoy a merry dinner soon after. They’re all due to leave for Cloud Recesses soon, the intersect competition they had attended in Yunmeng is over and most sects have departed already.

There’s no question of the Weis staying at Yunmeng. Xichen is certain there’s a place for them in Cloud Recesses.

Later that night, when he spots Wangji walking along the inn’s garden path with Wei Changze, Xichen lingers to observe. They seem to be conversing seriously but the air around them is relaxed. Wangji looks content, as he almost always does these days.

Wei Changze’s expression when he looks at Wangji is full of warmth and approval.

Xichen smiles.

His brother has done well for himself.

385 notes • Posted 2021-08-06 17:46:19 GMT

Post-post-post cannon Wangxian being completely in love in the cloud recessess as teenagers who time travelled back to their own 16-17 year old bodies on accident.

In love. Wangxian are in love. In love. Just smooph and fluff.

Like they're effortlessly in love. (No matter how much Jiang Cheng yells and ties to control Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian casually refuses to hear any of it, as he'd been ignoring Jiang Cheng's homophobia and hate forever by the time they both came back by accident. )

Also wwx doesn't hide his genius and every one around him is like senpai *heart eyes* (honestly he's almost forgotten how to hide his effortless genius.)

(Just FYI, don't have to include this: this Wei Wuxian has long since come to terms with all his war and Sunshot and Shiji related trauma— just FYI.)

I just want to read as much of the smooph, smushy fluff and love you can stomach writing please.

Extra points if you can show them both just effortlessly and absentmindedly flirting.

(You don't have to incude this, but: They just take like a weekend off and go raze the main Wen family to the ground casually— back late with Starbucks— "We were night hunting. What do you mean the Wen family died? So sad. We feel so bad. Don't we feel bad?" " Mm. Feel bad.")

Thank you so much for existing in this fandom. I love your fics. I love you. 💖

Xichen is proud of his brother but he can't deny that he is sometimes concerned for him as well. Wangji is a dedicated and accomplished disciple but he is isolated from his peers. Xichen has friends and confidants but Wangji is simply content to be by himself.

That is concerning, even for a Lan.

He had hopes that incoming disciples would manage to shake him up a little but that hope didn't last long. Year after year, Wangji continued to remain aloof, not expressing any interest in the disciples.

But something has changed this year. Xichen didn't even know what was going on until a few weeks into the introduction of the guest disciples.

He spots them by chance. Young Master Wei is cheerfully waving at a vendor, his smile wide and bright, ensnaring the old woman's entire attention.

Wangji is right by him, Bichen in one hand but the other…

The other is placed on the small of Wei-gongzi's back.

Xichen watches as they move on from the vendor. He sees how Wangji seems to shield Wei-gongzi from the crowd, angling his body slightly to ensure his companion can walk freely.

It is a gesture of protectiveness. It is a gesture of possession.

Xichen studies their body language carefully. Wangji seems content to follow Wei-gongzi around, his expression closed but gentle. There are no frosty glares or pursed lips. His brother, for once, looks entirely relaxed. Everything about him is loose and easy underneath all of his Lan elegance. His shoulders slope gently, his spine isn't as rigid, and his walk is steady.

The First Jade has never seen his brother look so settled.

Wei Wuxian seems happy too, his smile incandescent and lovely. Almost as tall as Wangji, the boy is the very antithesis of his brother. While Wangji is sedate and content, Wei Wuxian is nearly bursting with energy and joy. His silver eyes sparkle in the sunlight and his long hair sways with every movement of his body.

Xichen's heart softens at the glimpse of such open beauty. There's certainly something alluring about Young Master Wei. He seems to suffuse his surroundings with happiness.

There's something in the air around them.

Despite his lively mind wandering from one stall to another, Wei-gongzi always finds his way back to Wangji, looking at him with a hopeful smile and a cheerful comment.

His brother's expression is unfamiliar to him. Wangji looks like his entire world is smiling up at him.

'Is this love?' He wonders to himself as he watches his brother gently pull Wei-gongzi out of a running child's way. He doesn't miss how the touch lingers, fingers curling slightly around the slender wrist before pulling away.

There are many eyes following Wangji and his friend, and all of them have indulgent expressions. The people of Caiyi town have seen Wangji since he was a child. They know him and his nature well enough.

Xichen suspects they're just as happy to see Wangji roaming the markets leisurely as a pretty butterfly flutters around him.

"Is that Lan Wangji?" Nei Mingjue observes, stepping up beside him.

Xichen nods, "And his friend, Wei Wuxian."

"Hm," his friend says, "I've been hearing that name a lot recently. They say the only reason Jin Zuxian beat him in the rankings is because of his looks."

Xichen chuckles at Mingjue's tone, "Ah, Da-ge, you must hate that."

His friend rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his tea. "How do looks matter when you're facing down Fierce Corpses?"

"From what shufu says, Young Master Wei is Wangji's equal in many ways." Shufu had been wary at first, wondering what sort of chaos the son of Cangse Sanren would bring to Cloud Recesses. So far, Wei Wuxian has proven to be a mischievous but brilliant student. "He challenges shufu in class. They end up having loud, angry debates," Xichen chuckles because he knows his uncle, despite all appearances, loves being stimulated, "He mentions the boy often." There's a comment about Wei Wuxian almost every time he has tea with his uncle.

He looks at the two younger master's thoughtfully, "I didn't expect this."

"Are they courting?" Nei Mingjue asks bluntly, "Because your little brother is acting like a husband already."

Xichen stills and looks at the pair again. That is what's off about their body language. They move around each other confidently, not like a young couple in fresh blooms of love.

There are no tentative glances, awkward touches, and hyperawareness. Wangji touches Wei Wuxian like it is his right. Like he is confident that his touch is welcome and desired.

For a moment, he feels a pang of worry. Xichen looks at Wei Wuxian, studying him carefully to see if there's any sign of strain or distress.

He finds nothing. Wei-gongzi responds to every gesture of affection like a flower blooming under the Sun.

"Ah." He realizes, "You think…?"

"Strong bonds form quickly between cultivators with matching potential." Nei Mingjue observes, "It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Your brother looks a little too enamored for this to be a teenage fancy."

Well, isn't this an interesting development?

---

"Your hair looks nice," Nie Huaisang says, hiding a smile behind his fan. Wei-xiong always looks good but there's something particularly radiant about him now. He seems to stand a bit taller, carry himself with a bit more confidence. His gestures seem stronger, somehow carrying more authority than before.

But the hair intrigues him. There's a glittering silver hairpiece in it and the strands of ebony are tied up in a neat style.

Neater than Wei-xiong's usual style. While Huaisang is certain Wei-xiong is perfectly capable of making himself as elegant as the Jades of Lan, he usually doesn't bother.

This was done by someone else's careful, loving, hand.

Jiang Yanli isn't at Cloud Recesses and Jiang Cheng would rather burn his own hands than show even an ounce of love towards his shixiong - something pricks when he thinks about that.

So there's someone else, someone willing to comb Wei-xiong's hair until every strand is glossy and straight, before tying it up with a silver and jade pin that looks expensive.

Wei-xiong is courting- no, he corrects himself, watching his friend wave enthusiastically at Lan Wangji, 'Wei-xiong is being courted.'

Wangji-xiong bows to his brother and walks towards Wei-xiong, his gaze softer than usual. His friend is smiling widely and immediately dissolves into excited chatter. Wangji-xiong doesn't seem bothered, just nodding occasionally and watching with indulgent patience.

There's something entirely lovely about the way Wangji-xiong's eyes remain fixed on Wei Wuxian's face. It is like nothing else is more important to him than Wei-xiong's smile and cheerful voice.

Standing together in the courtyard, both clad in white and glowing under the warm light of the morning sun, they look stunning. Huaisang's romantic heart sighs at the sight.

"What is he doing?" Jiang Wanyin hisses and Huaisang looks at him, startled by his icy tone, "I can't believe he's making a nuisance of himself again!"

"Jiang-gongzi-"

"Wei Wuxian! What are you doing, messing around?"

The loud voice catches almost everyone's attention. Wei-xiong looks over his shoulder and Wangji-xiong's expression turns frosty, all warmth draining from it immediately.

"Aiya, Jiang Cheng," Wei-xiong grins but it doesn't have that sheepish, placating quality that Huaisang had seen before, on those rare occasions he visited Lotus Pier with his da-ge. This grin was full of confidence and almost... dismissal. "Why are you angry now?"

Was that tone... mocking?

Huaisang's lips twitch as Jiang-gongzi swells further with rage, "Wei Wuxian! How can you be so shameless? Imposing yourself on Lan Wangji, always trying to distract him. Think of our sect's reputation for once!"

"Do not speak for me." Wangji-xiong's voice is icy and it cuts Jiang-gongzi's rant short immediately, "Wei Ying is free to seek me out whenever he wishes. No one may stop him."

And that seems to be that. Wei-xiong laughs and Wangji-xiong guides him away gently like he's someone delicate and not the strongest cultivator of their generation.

But, Huaisang muses, even strong people deserve gentleness.

---

"Da-shixiong! Show us that one again," A Jiang disciple demands and Wangji looks up from his work. He has clear sight of the training ground from where he's sitting. Wei Ying is standing in the middle, surrounded by a few Jiang and Lan disciples.

They're all looking at him in adoration.

Wangji feels a flood of amusement and sets his work aside, content to take a small break. It is always a treat to see his husband in his element; teaching people and nurturing young minds. They may be back in their teenage bodies, but their soul is much older.

Wei Ying, with his natural ability to charm juniors and his hard-earned wisdom, is the perfect teacher.

"It is amusing to see you so smitten," Wangji looks up to see his brother smiling at him, "Wei-gongzi must be very special, yes?"

His brother probably aims to fluster him, he is so fond of teasing Wangji. But Wangji had been Wei Ying's husband for more than a decade before an accident sent them back in time. He is no longer flustered or overwhelmed by his feelings. "Very special," He agrees, unable to help glancing back at his beloved, "Very lovely."

Xichen chuckles, "He is indeed lovely." His expression turns sly, "Do I need to speak with Uncle? Betrothal negotiations may be complicated in this case."

Wangji remains unphased, "You may," He says calmly, much to his brother's surprise, "Wei Ying will marry into the Lans. Give no concession to the Jiangs. He is just their Head Disciple, not the part of the family."

"Wangji," His brother breathes, "You're that invested?"

"Un. Will marry Wei Ying. Give him a better life. A life of dignity, freedom, and respect. Free of unnecessary debt that no one should foist on a child."

That is enough for Xichen to understand. His gaze turns solemn and he looks at Wei Ying carefully, "If that is what you wish, brother, you will have it."

---

Wangji feels his heart still when he steps into the library pavilion. He gazes at the scene before him, feeling the stiff formality of his expression melt away.

Wei Ying is beautiful, sitting there and reading peacefully. The evening sunlight envelopes him, giving him an ethereal glow. He traces his husband's features, feeling something akin to desperate love. It has been so since he saw this face and this body. Mo Xuanyu didn't lack beauty and Wei Ying's radiant personality had only added to it.

But this is Wei Ying's true body.

Helplessly drawn, he steps forward. "Xingan."

Wei Ying looks up, startled to hear such an endearment aloud. Immediately, his face is aglow with a pretty blush even as he laughs teasingly, "Lan Zhan! Don't be so bold!"

He walks towards Wei Ying and settles down by him, closer than truly appropriate but this is his husband. "Research?"

Wei Ying smiles, drawing Wangji's attention to his lips. There's no one in the library so Wangji permits himself the touch, reaching forward to gently caress them, "Such beauty." He whispers.

Wei Ying blushes again, "Er-gege," He protests, "Have mercy on my heart."

His fingers slide under Wei Ying's jaw, drawing him in gently. His husband is sweet and compliant as Wangji kisses him, an innocent brush of lips and nothing more. "My Wei Ying." His voice is low, heated in ways Wei Ying recognizes. He watches as those enchanting silver eyes brighten with passion.

His Wei Ying buries his warm face in his neck with a moan of protest, "Mercy, husband. You're so cruel to tease me like this when you can't take me to bed."

It is indeed a challenge to not have their 'everyday' but Wangji can be patient. Xiongzhang is already working on it.

For now, he is content.

They sit like that for a long time, Wei Ying leaning against him, trusting and calm. No one disturbs them and Xichen only stops by once, smiling knowingly in their direction and pointedly ignoring Wangji's restraining hand around Wei Ying's waist, stopping him from pulling away.

They spend the rest of the evening exchanging soft murmurs and softer kisses.

Nothing will stand in their way this time.

411 notes • Posted 2021-07-12 08:41:28 GMT

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