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rxsie-the-demon · 4 years

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Brooklyn Baby | JJ Maybank

SERIES MASTERLIST | chapter one

chapter summary: Nikki goes out of her comfort zone and bonds with Kie, while still remaining curious about what happened last summer. At a party, Topper gets a little too touchy, and Nikki (surprisingly) befriends Rafe and Wheezie.

warnings: drinking, smoking, HARD DRUGS, swearing (oops), HARRASSMENT (topper gets VERY touchy) so if that makes u uncomfy just skim over that, and a conversation about addiction/rehab and therapy

word count: 5029

Chapter 2: Cinnamon Girl

If I had to choose, B Days would be my least favorite. On B days, I have no classes with anyone I know, except English with Kelce at the end of the day.

And no one to sit with at lunch.

On my second day of school, when I realized I had no one to sit with, I ate in the library. You’re allowed to, so long as you clean up after yourself and stuff.

Walking into the huge cafeteria, with clean white titles and those long foldable school tables, I decided to do the same thing today; just sit in the library by myself, and maybe read or shop online, The tall walls of the cafeteria were decorated with motivational quotes and the school’s athletic accomplishments.

But when I was walking towards the lunch line, I saw Kiara sitting by herself out of the corner of my eye, head down on the table. Which made me feel really, really sad for her.

I stood in line quietly, AirPods in my ears, scrolling through Instagram when I found Kiara’s page. I didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on it.

Her page reminded me of this social activist that I follow that of a social activist I follow, the difference being that Kiara’s page was mostly environment-focused, with the occasional selfie and pics of her friends.

Clicking on one of her them, a selfie with her and her four friends on a boat during sunset, I saw a slightly sunburned brunet with his arm wrapped around one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. She’s probably a TikToker, I thought. Sunburn had a dark blue bandana wrapped around his neck and had his shirt unbuttoned. Major surfer boy vibes.

Next to Tiktok, was Kiara, with bright eyes and a bright smile. Completely different from the girl who sits behind me in APUSH. The boy next to Kiara had dark skin and curly hair. He was wearing a hat, like Sunburn and the other boy next to him. And judging from the way his arm was around her waist, Hat totally had a thing for Kiara.

But the last boy, holy shit, if I thought Sunburn was cute, Hot Blonde Boy was another level. He was the one taking the picture, with one arm stretched out to hold the phone and the other one, covered shiny rings, was posing with, like, the rock hand sign? I think that’s what it’s called: with his index and pink fingers up, and the rest like they’d be balled in a fist. His messy blonde hair was being held together by a red snapback, and he was shirtless except for his shark tooth necklace. His tan went well with his bright, energetic eyes and big smile but...oh my gosh. His hands. They were big, with long fingers, and his arms were a little veiny and-

I put my phone away. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be thirsting over a random guy’s hands, especially when that guy could literally be dead, or worse, the crazy dude who tried to shoot Topper.

Not that I don’t understand why someone would want to shoot Topper.

I grabbed my tray, putting a Chicken Caesar salad bowl (yum), a bowl of grapes (double yum), and a water bottle onto my tray. Remembering that Kiara didn’t have any food with her, I grabbed a hamburger, too.

I paid for my food and walked towards the utensil holder, debating whether or not I should just go to the library or sit with Kiara. I mean, I should sit with her, she’s by herself and is going through a hard time, but then again, I hardly know her. Besides exchanging numbers with her yesterday and not even texting her, I never interacted with the girl. She’ll probably think I’m just talking to her to get tea for Topper and Scarlet.

But then again, I already bought her a hamburger.

I walked over to her table. She was wearing a similar outfit as she was yesterday, the only difference being she was wearing light blue jeans. So, yay? A bit of color?

I sat down across from her and put my tray down quietly, not wanting to scare her. “Hey.”

Her head shot up immediately. Her soft brown eyes looked so tired, her light brown skin looking ashy and dull. Her dark brown hair, with it’s nice, defined beach wave curls, was tied back in a bun in her hood. When she saw who it was, her face softened. “Oh, hi.”

“I hope it’s ok I’m sitting with you, I don’t know anyone else in this lunch and I thought it’d be good to discuss our project.” I waved my hands around a bit before opening the plastic lid of my salad.

She nodded, eyeing my food for a second.

My heart hurt. Of course, she has the money to buy food, that’s not the issue. She probably hasn’t been eating out of grief.

“So I’m Indian, duh,” I waved my hand in front of my face and she smiled softly, “and I thought this was a chicken burger, but it’s beef. And I can’t eat beef, because, ya know, Hindus don’t eat beef. So, like, could you do me a solid and eat this for me? I hate wasting food and I’d feel awful if I threw it out.” I slid the burger towards her.

She nodded, pulling it towards her and taking a small bite.

I poured my croutons into my salad and started quietly eating when I heard Kiara mumble, “Thank you.”

I glanced up at her for a second, only to look back down. “Don’t thank me. I bought that on accident.”

“I saw you staring at me in line. And...I haven’t eaten in the past two days.”

I looked back at Kiara, who was looking everywhere but me. I decided to just ask.

“It’s because of what happened to your friends, right? You’re mourning?”

She nodded, still not looking at me.

“I understand. Grief isn’t something that has, like, a definitive answer. You just gotta let it run its course,” I said, putting my hand in front of my mouth because I was chewing.

Kiara nodded again and took another bite, a bigger one this time. I mentally high-fived myself for getting her to eat. I didn’t think it’d work.

“So, what do you want to do for the project?” I asked.

Kiara shrugged. “We could do current events. Maybe something environment related?”

“Like, an advertisement? We make a video talking about pollution or something?”

“Yeah! Or maybe we could organize something and get a bunch of people to come together and, like, clean up the beach?”

“Or we could go out on boats and find trash in the ocean?”

“That too!” Kiara’s eyes were shining now, and she was smiling. Wide. Much like the girl whose Instagram I was stalking.

“Sweet. Ok, so, the environment is one thing, do we have any other ideas? Like, isn’t the Outer Banks also famous for shipwrecks or something? I heard The Royal Merchant sank here. Maybe we could do a project on that?”

Kiara stiffened up when I mentioned shipwrecks. Did I say something wrong?

Shit. Her friends died at sea, how could I be so stupid?

“That’s...not a bad idea, actually. I happen to know a lot about The Royal Merchant. More than I want to know, actually,” She chuckled. She looked down at her hands, and then looked back up. “John B, my friend who died at sea over the summer, he and his dad were obsessed with finding it. We actually-,” she leaned closer to me. “We actually found it. But, uh, the gold isn’t there.”

My eyes went wide. I leaned forward, too. “Well, where is the gold then? Do you know?”

Kiara nodded. “In the Bahamas.”

“How the f- How did it get there, if the shipwreck happened here and no one knew where it was until you and your Pogue friends found it?”

She sighed. “Long story. I’ll tell you another day.”

“Wait-”

The lunch bell rang. I sighed as we stood up and grabbed our bags, walking towards the doors to leave for class. I really want to know how the gold ended up in the Bahamas.

“Well, thanks for lunch, Nikki!”

“Of course, Kiara, that’s what friends are for,” I smiled.

Kiara beamed. “Call me Kie.”

I was overjoyed. A friend. A real, actual friend. “Kie. Fantastic. Hey, Kie, do you know anyone named Rafe by any chance?”

Kie narrowed her eyes. “Yea, why?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just invited to his birthday party this Saturday.”

Kie rolled her eyes. “Be careful around him, ok? Talk to you later!”

“Uh, bye!”

************************************************

Yellow, or blue?

I held both dresses up to myself, looking in the mirror.

Saturday came, and it was time for Rafe’s party.

The party starts at 9 and was gonna last all night, but Topper wanted to take me out to eat, so at 7:30, I’m still deciding which dress to wear.

Both dresses are sundresses, short, flowy with shirred backs and knotted straps. They are literally the same dress, down to the little polka dots, just in different colors. I could wear either one, because I kept my makeup simple: concealer, nude eye shadow, mascara, and clear lip gloss.

I texted Kiara, asking her to choose a color, to which she responded yellow. We managed to get really close in just three days, which made me happy, because I felt that she was my only real friend at school, and, well, I was her only friend there.

I slipped the dress on and matched it with my white Birkenstocks. I went over to my dresser table (yes I have two mirrors in my room, sue me) and put on my white tassel fringe earrings. I kept my ‘Om’ necklace on.

I admired myself. My light brown skin looks good with the yellow and white, and my jet black hair, which I decided to not straighten, had slight waves, and reached my shoulders. I look like a rich, beach girl. A Kook, I suppose.

I grabbed my phone, taking a quick mirror selfie and snapping it to Topper, captioned ‘i’m readyyy’. He opened it immediately.

‘Damnn u look hot,’ he typed out. Ew.

‘aw ty,’ I typed back. ‘where r u?’

‘I’m omw. U have ur bag? The party’s on a yacht and there’ll be a pool.’

‘swim suit’s packed’

‘Fantastic. I’ll be there soon.’

I locked my phone, putting it into my purple and black NYU drawstring bag that also held my black bikini and a towel. I grabbed the bag hopped down the stairs.

Mallory and Krish, my sister-in-law and brother, were sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Hey losers. My friend’s gonna be here any minute to pick me up.”

Mallory turned to face me, smiling. “Aw, you look cute! Have fun, and be safe, ok?”

“If you’re gonna be coming in, like, super late,” Krish added, not taking his eyes off the TV, “try to be as quiet as possible. Diya is a really light sleeper.”

Diya, my 5-month-old niece, made baby sounds. I took a couple steps forward and saw she was spread out on the floor, in her fluffy pink blanket, chewing on her gloved hands. I waved at her.

“Don’t worry, if I wake her up, I’ll take care of her. I don’t plan on drinking or smoking or anything tonight. Well, maybe drinking, but that’s it.”

They laughed. “Ok, ok, just have fun,” Mal said.

I sat on the floor, playing with Diya, until 7:50, when the doorbell rang, revealing Topper, wearing a black button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows (bless), Air Force 1s, ripped jeans, and a Gucci belt.

He smiled. “Ready to go?”

I smiled back. “Yep.” I turned to face Krish and Mal. “Bye Mom, bye Dad!”

“Bye, hun!” Mallory called out. They smiled and Top, too, and waved.

I closed the door and left, and Topper grabbed my hand to lead me to the car. “Sorry, I’d have introduced you to my parents, but they were too busy, like, ogling at my baby sister,” I half lied.

Topper laughed, “No worries. I’ll have plenty of chances to meet them, I hope?”

I smiled. “Yep, I hope so too.”

A complete lie.

******************************************

Dinner with Topper was...interesting. Instead of taking me to some fancy restaurant or whatever, he took me to this cute little diner closer to the beach, but not close to The Cut, according to him. “There are a bunch of restaurants here in the Banks,” he had said. “But not a lot of people know about this one. That’s why it’s my favorite.” He winked, and I nearly vomited in my mouth.

The place was real old-timey, with the little booths and a jukebox. We had burgers and shared a plate of fries and a milkshake. And honestly? It would’ve been really romantic if I actually liked Topper like that.

Don’t get me wrong, Topper is hot. He’s sweet to me, like cotton candy sweet, and really affectionate. I love touchy boys (consensual, of course, or they get their shit rocked), but he’s always grabbing my hand and playing with my hair. Which would be fine, but I barely know him.

And ever since he admitted to drowning that John B kid, whatever potential feelings I had just...disappeared. That paired with his Holier-than-thou attitude and his blatant classism makes him everything I would hate in a person, let alone a potential boyfriend.

Besides, I know the real reason he’s flirting with me. The Kook King of High School needs a Queen, and with his ex gone, everyone wants me to step into that role. Any other time, I’d be happy to be That Girl. But something just feels wrong about this.

Lots of people have told me I remind them of Sarah, apparently because she, too, was a bit of a social activist and an environmental freak (no wonder her and Kie were friends) which just confirms the fact that I’m just a replacement.

But, besides Kie, I have no other friends at OBX High. I have no choice but to go with it.

Driving close to the dock, I could hear loud music playing from somewhere. Leaning forward, I saw the yachts, one of them in particular already pretty full of people and neon lights.

“Yeah, Rafe tends to go all out on parties,” Topper remarked, gesturing towards the boats as he parked. “But they’re always fun.”

I nodded, plastering on a smile. I grabbed his hand. “Fantastic. Lead the way.”

**********************************************

Ok, I have to hand it to OBX kids. They know how to get turnt.

At 9:30, the yacht left the dock and headed towards the sea. By 10, the party was in full form, with kids dancing, singing, swimming, smoking, drinking, everything!

It was a glorious mess.

Right now it’s 10:30, and I’d been dancing with Top when we decided to go get something to drink.

We went to the bar and I told Topper to just one of whatever he was drinking for me, so he got two Mai Tais. The bartender looked really worried, because, you know, more than half the kids at this party are underaged, so I slipped him a 50 for his troubles.

Top and I walked away, laughing at the bartender’s confused face. The familiar feeling of alcohol started to wash

We walked around and talked about life and the universe, and when we finished our drinks, we went to the deck.

I leaned onto the railing, staring into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked softly. Growing up in Brooklyn Heights, I was never one for the ocean. I mean, sure, there were beaches an hour or two away from my old home that I visited often, but I was always a city girl. But this, this was something else entirely. The way the pale, white moonlight shined on the dark blue ocean, it was comforting, almost.

“Yeah,” Topper whispered back, wrapping his arm around my cold body, “really is beautiful.” I turned and saw him staring at me, smiling just a tiny bit. I shoved him lightly.

“You’re so corny,” I laughed.

“Maybe, but I made you smile, didn’t I?”

“...Shut up.”

We laughed, and he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me close to him. I stiffened a bit. Calm down, Nikki. It’s not that big a deal. But it is. I hate leading people on and I hated that he was always touching me.

I snuck my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. I’m short, I’ll admit it, standing at a towering five foot four with my two-inch platforms. Topper, on the other hand, is six feet tall, so my head tucked in just underneath his.

We stayed like that for a bit, swaying softly to some pop song. I felt myself relaxing, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, Nikki?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, I really like you.”

I pulled back and looked at Topper, who was fidgeting with my hair, and I narrowed my eyes “Wait, actually?”.

I hope he’s joking. He’s known me for less than a week! I mean, sure, you can have an instinct attraction to someone, yadda yadda, and maybe he wants to get to know me better, or whatever. Fine.

Maybe it’s because I don’t like him that, but I find his declaration of feelings a little ridiculous.

“Yea, I do. I know we just met, but I really want to get to know you more. No, I’m not asking you out...unless you want to date, that is, but I feel insanely attracted to you.” He brushed his hair back nervously.

I could reject Topper, and risk my popularity and social standing. It could end up well, it could end up terribly. But if I say I like him back, which is a lie, I guarantee my place as the most popular girl in the Outer Banks.

I place my right hand on his shoulder and my left hand on his cheek. Standing on my toes, I gently guide his face to mine.

As I close my eyes, I imagine that I’m not about to kiss Topper, but Hot Blonde Boy from Kie’s Instagram.

His lips are soft, really soft, and Top’s hands drop to my waist to pull me closer to him.

After we pull away, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and gently kisses my forehead.

“I like you too, Top,” I lied, “but I don’t want to rush into anything. We just met, and I’ve rushed into things before, and they never ended well, and-”

“Hey, hey, I get it,” he takes his hand to my chin and lifts it up so that I’m looking at him instead of the floor. “We can go as slow as you like, all right?”

I smile and nod. Top cups my face in his hands, and right before he can kiss me, I pull away and say, “Let’s go swimming! I’m going to go change, ok?”

He nods, ruffling his hair. I turn, pulling my phone out from my duffel bag and sending a text to Kie.

‘sos i just kissed topper.’

I walk into one of the changing rooms and change into my bikini. As I’m stuffing my dress into my bag, I see I get a text back.

‘dumbass!!’

**********************************************

Apparently, when I said I wanted to go swimming, it translated to yeeting me into the pool and then jumping in after, and then us splashing each other, non-stop. I mean, I guess that is what you do at a pool party, but I have no idea. Usually, I just stand around and eat food and, you know, don’t actually go into the water.

It was fun and all, yea, but I was uncomfortable the entire time because he couldn’t- no, wouldn’t- keep his hands off of me.

After it became too much, I jumped out of the pool and sat down on one of the chairs, wrapped my towel around myself and feeling really uncomfortable. Topper climbed out after me and sat down at my feet. “Did I, uh, do something?”

Yeah, you won’t stop touching me, bro.

“No, no, it’s fine, I just got a bit claustrophobic, that’s all.” I checked the time on my phone. I had an idea. “Hey, I’m going to go find Kelce and Scarlet, ok?”

“Uh, sure, do you want me to come with you?”

Not really, no. “Uh, if you want, but I was just gonna have, like, a girl’s talk with Scarlet?”

Topper nodded and smiled. I stood up, shoved my towel into my bag, slipped my shoes on, and ran off.

I felt a little weird just walking around in a bikini, especially since I don’t know anyone here, but remembering that everyone else was just as scantily clad as I was made me feel a little better.

I went to the highest deck, where the eldest kids (and by kids I mean like seniors and 20-year-olds), hoping to find Kelce or Scarlet there because I hadn’t seen them anywhere else. But I couldn’t see them on the deck.

I walked around a bit and then decided to text Scarlet.

‘where are you?’

I got a text back immediately. ‘Top deck, near the front. I’m with the little kid.’

Little kid? I walked towards the front side of the ship and indeed saw Scarlet, wearing a dark red colored bikini, sitting in a lounging chair with a girl who looks like she’s in middle school. The kid was pale, with freckles, dark hair, and glasses. She was the only one at this point not wearing a bathing suit.

Why is there a kid here?

I sat down in the seat next to Scarlet and gave her a hug. “Hey!” I slipped my bag off my shoulders and leaned forward to face the young girl. “Hi. What’s your name?”

She smiled. “I’m Wheezie. My brother’s the birthday boy.”

“Wheezie?”

“It’s a nickname, my real name is- Oh, hey, Topper!”

I spun around. Topper was standing in front of me, arms angrily crossed over his bare chest. “Hey, Wheezie. Nikki, can I talk to you?”

“I’m enjoying the company of my new friend.” I gestured over to Wheezie.

“Yeah, well, I want to talk.” He roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked me up.

“Ok, jeez, lemme grab my bag.” I pulled myself from his grasp and turned around to grab my bag. Scarlet mouthed the words be careful, to me. I nodded.

“Bye, Nikki, it was nice to meet you!” Wheezie called out. I shouted pleasantries back. Topper grabbed my wrist again.

After dragging me halfway across the deck, he let go of me and turned around. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re the one who, one, won’t stop touching even though we’re not dating and we barely know each other, and two, literally dragged me away from my friends when I was having a conversation with them! Are you like this with all the girls you like? Huh? Maybe that’s why your girlfriend left you for some Pogue, not because Pogues steal things, but because you-” I stepped forward and shoved Topper, “-don’t know how to treat a girl, no, a person, with respect!”

I stopped talking and realized that a lot of people had gone quiet. My face flushed with embarrassment until I heard someone shout.

“WOO! You tell him, Nikki!”

I turned and saw Scarlet and Wheezie jumping up and down and clapping. Soon, all the girls (and some of the boys) around me were clapping and cheering for me, congratulating me and telling Topper that he’s a dick.

I stepped towards Topper. “You and me, whatever thing you think we had going on, it’s done.”

I turned around and beckoned Wheezie and Scarlet to sit back down with me on the deck. The partying resumed, and I went off chatting with the two girls, but I saw out of the corner of my eye that Topper was getting all huffy and puffy.

I pointed that out to the girls. “Should I be worried?”

Wheezie wheezed laughed. “He’s probably just going to call Rafe and get him to tell you off.”

“...He’s gonna get the host of the party, who I don’t know and never met, to yell at me? Fantastic. Good thing he’s your brother.”

“Technically half brother, but yes, a good thing. Oh look, there he is right now!”

I turned around and saw Topper marching towards me with another equally tall, equally blonde boy right behind him. The difference is, this boy didn’t have as much of a hostile aura as Topper has right now.

“So, which one of you embarrassed my boy Top?”

************************************************

The boy, who introduced himself as Rafe, the host, beckoned Scarlet, Topper, and I inside of his suite. He closed the door on Wheezie, though. Bummer. I liked her.

Inside his suite were a bunch of twenty-year-olds, drinking hard liquor, dancing, and sitting around this big table. Rafe took his seat in the middle, told everyone else around him to fuck off, and had us, except Topper, sit across from him. Topper took the seat to his right.

He offered us a bag of white powder, to which Scarlet and I declined. Topper took it, though, and started setting it up to use.

“You use coke?” I asked Topper in disgust. I have nothing against most drugs, like weed or psychedelics, which can be fun to use sparingly at parties or whatever, but not hard drugs like opioids.

Topper shrugged at my question. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. What the fuck is wrong with y-?!”

“Ok, no fighting at my party, please?” Rafe sighed, rubbing his temples. “I brought you guys inside so that everyone else can enjoy the party while you guys have your little marital dispute-”

“WE’RE NOT DATING!” I shouted.

“Whatever,” Rafe sighed.

I stood up. “I’m gonna go hang with Wheezie. Scarlet, you coming?”

She was about to respond when Rafe stood up and said, “I’ll join you.”

I shot a confused look at Scarlet, who just shrugged.

I slipped my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the door, which Rafe held open for me, and we stepped outside, the air making me shiver.

Rafe pulled a pack of Dunhill cigarettes out of his pocket, put one to his mouth, and lights it. He gestured the box towards me and I take one, leaning forward a bit so that he could light it for me.

I rest my arms on the railing and close my eyes, breathing in the burning smoke and exhaling it slowly, being submerged in the light-headed haze of nicotine.

“How old are you?” Rafe’s voice interrupts my zen. I open my eyes and look at the boy, who’s very obviously checking out my bikini covered body.

I laughed and took another drag. “Sixteen,” I exhaled the smoke from my mouth.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and he turned back to the sea. “Oh shit. My bad. Uh...how’re you liking the party?”

“It’s pretty good. Besides, you know, Topper being Topper, and you forcing me to talk to him.”

Rafe laughed. “Yea, I didn’t mean anything by it. I have a reputation of being a prick, and I’m trying to be better but, you know, not a lot of people respect you when you go from being a douche to a nice guy.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant by that. “Reputation with friends?”

He laughed. “Just,” he waved his hand free hand around, “Everyone. I wasn’t a good person. I’m trying to be better, but it’s hard when everyone already expects me to act a certain way and don’t give me a chance to change.”

I noticed the rings on his hands, like that boy from Kie’s Instagram. But unlike Hot Blondie, Rafe’s too old for me.

Which leads me to wonder…

“Did you know Sarah Cameron, by any chance?” I asked.

Rafe’s eyes went wide, and then he started coughing up smoke.

“W-Why do you ask?” He stammers, still coughing.

I gave him a weird look and just shrugged. “Curious, I guess.” I looked back at the ocean. “I’m the new girl, and everyone keeps telling me about all this stuff, but won’t tell me what actually happened, and I dunno, I’m just so confused.”

I turned to face Rafe, who was looking away, and I think I saw tears forming in his eyes. “Yea, Sarah’s my sister.”

Now it was my turn to cough up smoke. “W-”-cough cough- “Wait”-cough cough- “a minute.” I gasp for air and continue coughing. And after I finally manage to get some oxygen into my lungs, I say, “Sarah Cameron’s your sister? Shit, I’m so sorry, Topper never told me.”

Rafe shrugged, fiddling around with his rings. “It’s alright, I was just...surprised. No one asks me about Sarah or the Pogues anymore. After I came back from rehab-” He stopped, probably because he didn’t mean to say that, but he continued, “After I came back from rehab, I just...stopped beefing with the Pogues, especially JJ, Kie, and Pope. You know them?”

I nodded. “I know Kie, we’re friends. But not JJ and Pope. Never met ‘em, don’t even know what they look like, yet I’ve heard so many things about them.”

Rafe nodded. “They’re not bad kids, really. My time away made me realize how much of a prick I’ve been to them. Like, I caused them a lot of pain, and for what? For nothing. Literally just because I thought that, because they were poorer than us, they weren’t as good as us.”

I nodded. Then I turned and smiled, and stretched out my hand. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Rafe Cameron.”

He smiled and shook back.

_______________________________

chapter three

#obx fic #obx #obx fanfic #outerbanks #jj maybank #jj fluff #jj angst #jj x reader #john b #john b x sarah #obx kiara #obx pope #rafe cameron #topper obx

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phobiadeficient · 4 years

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Damn i luv ur writing omgggg Sniper didn't know he liked ass that much... Until he saw Scout's ass. Sniper let's Scout know about it, teases him. Scout is embarrassed, but he likes it (but, of course, he'll never admit it) . Maybe with sum humping, groping and rimming? -🐑

sniper tf2 is an ass man and you can fuckin quote me on that. (no warnings)

Okay, to be fair, Scout knew that the pants were probably too tight.

One unfortunate side-effect of seven older brothers was literally all your clothes being hand-me-downs unless it was something that absolutely needed to fit correctly. And him being generally less broad and tall than his brothers (bunch of meatheads, all of them) meant just having to squeeze into clothes they’d all worn when they were a lot younger, and so they fit him in some ways and not in others.

Since he’d gotten his mercenary job he’d gone to the work of getting some new clothes that actually fit him. Shirts and pants and shoes and socks and everything. And he looked good in them, too, and would put them on whenever he went off base, either drinking with the guys or alone to pick up chicks or whatever other excuse he could get because he had to be in uniform so much of the rest of the time.

But the thing was, he’d been stupid busy with all sorts of dumb shit and kept forgetting to wash his normal-people clothes, so he was left with the last of his clothes, and he really wanted to wear this one shirt and only this one pair of pants wouldn’t look straight up stupid with it and so he had to wear them even though they were kinda small on him.

And as he’d been walking over to meet with Sniper to go out on what wasn’t technically a date and was technically just two coworkers getting a couple of drinks on the weekend, he’d realized that, okay, no, they were really small on him. And he was kind of tempted to go and change, but he was a little late anyways to the time he said he was going to be there and he didn’t want to be even more late from having to change into something else.

And Sniper wasn’t even ready yet when he got there, he was in a pair of pants and socks and toweling off from a shower and promised to be ready in a few minutes’ time. And Scout shrugged and leaned on the little counter and flipped through the magazine Sniper had there—some hunting magazine, but there were some cool guns in there at least—and he was startled out of his zoning out by a wolf-whistle from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sniper grinning a little, eyes darting from his face down towards his legs and back up again as he sat on the bed, steadily lacing up his boots. He rolled his eyes, even as he started to flush. “Shut the fuck up,” he deadpanned, shifting a little bit and looking away.

“How’d you even squeeze into those?” Sniper asked, chuckling.

“Look, they—they used to fit better,” he said defensively, which was true. When he’d first joined the team, they were only a little bit small on him. But since then he’d gained weight both in muscle mass and in body fat, even if it was only slightly, and apparently it all went to his thighs and ass.

“Didn’t say it looked bad,” Sniper said, and there was still a grin in his voice, and Scout heard the mattress squeak as he got to his feet. “Just not entirely sure I want to even bring you out in pants this tight. Firstly, some other bloke might get ideas.”

“Gonna start a brawl over some tight pants, Snipes?” Scout teased, flicking the page on the magazine.

He squeaked as he felt a pair of hands on his ass, freezing up a little in his surprise. “Maybe,” Sniper said, voice a rumble that sent shivers up Scout’s back. “But they’re also damn tempting, is all. Not sure I‘ll be able to keep my hands off you the whole night.”

Scout swallowed back a noise as Sniper slid his hands into his back pockets.

Alright, so maybe it was kind of sort of a date. Maybe it was a “Scout felt kind of weird to be so consistently fucking the guy when they didn’t even really do couple stuff or hang out in more than like two places” thing. Maybe it was a “Scout needing to justify why he liked this guy so much even though he barely knew him” thing. Maybe it was a “getting pounded into the mattress like twice a week without even knowing what kind of movies the dude likes felt weird” thing. But also it was feeling significantly less important just then, with Sniper nosing beneath his jaw and kissing at his neck idly.

“Aww, c’mon, I showered for this and everything,” Scout complained, just so he wouldn’t look like a total lovestruck idiot.

“You always shower before you come over here,” Sniper replied a little dryly, and Scout flushed, because he’d been pretty sure Sniper hadn’t noticed. “If you really want to go out, you’re going to need to change, Roo. I’m serious.”

Scout subtly leaned back into the weight of Sniper’s hands, flushing a little bit. “Jeez, you’re really that into it?” he tried, hoping he didn’t sound as flustered as he was.

Sniper nodded in agreement before he ducked back in again. “Always hear about people going on about how good people look, the, er, ‘hate to see her go love to watch her leave’ thing, but it never really clicked for me until I saw this,” Sniper said, squeezing once meaningfully and making Scout’s breath catch and muscles jolt. “But I get it now, really I do. Gorgeous, feels like I ought to have to pay to ogle you all the buggering time.”

Scout bit the inside of his cheek to try to get ahold of himself. “Well, uh, well maybe I’ll start makin’ you,” he teased, glad he was turned away and Sniper couldn’t see his face, because he was sure he probably looked like a flushed mess and it was embarrassing.

Because he’d dated plenty of people, mostly girls, and sometimes they’d teased him that he had a nice ass and all that, gotten the stray pinch and smack every now and then, right? But he’d never been outright groped like this, never had someone feel him up like this, nevermind so reverently, nevermind nipping up the column of his neck and slipping hands around his hips and pulling him back and tilting him just so and grinding into him with such a smooth roll of hips, and, fuck.

His breath wouldn’t stop catching, and he felt sweat beading against his brow, on the back of his neck, down his back. He swallowed hard as Sniper repeated the motion, twice as slow as before. “Fuck,” he managed, and swallowed hard again. “Uh. We, uh. We...”

Sniper went still, only kissing idly at the back of his neck, letting him catch up to what he wanted to say.

“We can, take a raincheck on the drinks,” Scout managed, still a little stuttery.

“Next weekend, maybe?” Sniper tried, sounding significantly more in control than Scout was.

“Yeah,” Scout said, and then he was being turned around, and then Sniper was kissing him.

Hands on his ass again, gripping even more firmly, squeezing, grinding their hips together even as Sniper made his head spin with his mouth. Scout tried to pull away to gasp, and was drawn back in a moment later, Sniper back with twice the enthusiasm and ferocity.

“Bloody unfair,” Sniper half-growled, and Scout could only get his brain together enough to make a vague sound of question. “How damn good you look in these.”

“Well, uh,” Scout started, and didn’t bother finishing the sentence when Sniper started kissing him again.

His knees started going weak enough that Sniper caught on and turned them enough to push Scout into bed, following behind shortly after once he’d stripped off his belt and pants.

Sniper proved to be a real asshole in that he kept distracting Scout from getting his own clothes off, nipping at his ear and stroking hands down his sides and playing with every inch of bare skin that Scout managed to get between fumbling hands.

Finally he complained, and Sniper eased off, and that only made him fumble more, Sniper’s eyes burning into him as he pulled free of his shirt, fought free of his pants and briefs. And he tried to hide how flustered he was by turning over, and Sniper caught on quick, making room and guiding him up onto his elbows and knees.

But the bastard didn’t set into lubing him up like he usually did. Apparently Scout had unintentionally put him in a mood. Instead, he went right back to feeling Scout up, squeezing and groping at his ass in firm, pleased sorts of motions, and Scout buried his face into his forearm as his face flushed, trying to hold back any embarrassing noises. He failed a second or two later when Sniper pinched him, and grabbed the pillow from not far away, whipping it back to smack Sniper in the side. He just laughed, tossing the pillow back up to the head of the bed.

“Said you showered?” Sniper prompted as he leaned to get the lube from the drawer. Scout hummed in agreement. “Good, good.”

Scout was a little tempted to ask exactly why that was so good, but then Sniper was back and pressing a finger in and he forgot the question, simply exhaling, doing his best to quickly relax.

Sniper was only at it for a few moments, though, before he pulled his hand back entirely, and Scout groaned in a mix of pleasure and embarrassment as he felt Sniper’s hands gripping at him again, spreading him apart. “Hurry up,” he practically whined, and Sniper made a sound of agreement, then—

Scout’s breath caught on a gasp, the sound something like a hiccup, as Sniper kissed just below his tailbone, then lower, then—

He moaned outright, higher than he’d expected it to sound, and that earned him a second lick, then a cautious probe of his tongue, and Scout felt like his muscles were already turning to jelly, shivery and electrified and weak.

It wasn’t often that Sniper indulged him in this. Partially because Scout always insisted that Sniper brush his teeth after, or else Scout wouldn’t kiss him. But every time he did, Scout turned into a complete mess.

Scout felt the bottle of lube roll on the mattress to hit his leg, and he processed in the back of his mind that it wasn’t the usual one, it was the flavored lube that Scout had half gotten as a joke. He hadn’t expected it to get used, to be honest, but here he was, getting proven wrong. And also getting turned into a pile of mush.

He couldn’t even keep track of the noises he was making, head swimming with pleasure. He was tempted to reach down and start tugging himself off, just to try and get an ounce of control over the situation, but he knew Sniper would stop him if he tried. He had in the past.

So instead he just gripped at the sheets and tried to remember to breathe and held on for dear life as Sniper’s mouth and tongue threatened to unravel him entirely.

When Sniper finally pulled back, Scout was slumped forward and was breathing like he’d run a marathon or twelve, and he didn’t waste a second before he set into begging, incoherent even to him but tone unmistakable. Sniper didn’t bother teasing him, just shucking his own pants down enough to free himself and slicking up, pushing in and making Scout’s begging cut off into a choked-off little gasp.

“There’s a love,” Sniper soothed, a hand drawing down over Scout’s back to settle him further, and once it was clear Scout was ready to start, that hand and his other one gripped high on Scout’s hips and he started on a merciless rhythm that had Scout’s voice cracking within moments.

Made all too aware of it all of a sudden, Scout couldn’t help but tune in to the feeling of Sniper’s hips snapping against his ass, blood pumping all the hotter at the way he felt it bounce. And Sniper apparently noticed too, because he went to pinch and grope at Scout some more, and it was almost embarrassing how hard it was to last under the assault of pleasure. He had to focus hard on clenching his fists in the sheets and not touching himself, sure he’d shoot in a minute flat if he did.

No, he held out, at least until Sniper started to break a bit, making real noises and faltering in his rhythm. Then he wrapped a hand around himself, and could’ve cried from how good it felt, and they finished damn near the same time, groaning and shuddering and pressing together tightly. Scout whined at the feeling of Sniper sealing teeth over his shoulder once he was through the brunt of his orgasm, the pain and the pleasure of it mixing into an intoxicating kind of cocktail.

Sniper pinched him again, and Scout couldn’t deny how much he liked it anymore. Not to himself, at least. But he still hit Sniper with a pillow again.

#//sniperscout #//teasing

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dylinski · 4 years

Text

apparently this must be shared with the world. here lies my ridiculous summary of the three maze runner movies. ye be warned.

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT.

the reason they’re in the maze in the movie is because the world ended and was “scorched” by the sun. then a virus appeared called the flare and it basically makes people rabid zombie-like things called cranks and wikced stands for “world in catastrophe: killzone experiment department” and their goal is to find a cure. everyone in the maze is a mix of immunes and non immunes and they’re in there to test them and find what makes them tick in order to create the cure. they escape at the end but in reality it was all part of the plan and when they’re rescued they’re just back in another facility with wicked “even though they say their not” there thomas finds out they’re taking the kids from the mazes and putting them in comas and draining them of blood and stuff to create cures.

right now they have a temporary fix for the flare from the immunes, but it has to be taken every couple months after you’ve been bitten or infected. so they need an endless supply of kids who are immune. and thomas is like yeah no i’m outie bitch and they escape or whatever and they run out into the scorch and face cranks and shit and they go to find the right arm who is the resistance against wicked and torturing the kids and when they get there they kind of explain this to thomas and everyone and brenda has gotten bit so the woman who leads the right arm is like ur immune bro gimmie ur blood and makes the cure and gives it to brenda and she’s all good but then teresa is like yah bitch yah and betrays everyone after telling thomas a sad story about her mom he’s like my heart, did you hear it shatter into a million pieces because yeah you just did that and then wicked shows up and kills almost everybody and takes minho and a bunch of others and shit

then in the next movie thomas has completely rolled out from being a dumbass bitch who is clueless af to the badass mofo who is also daddy and the whole movie is them trying to save minho right? in the last city which is controlled by wicked and we find out that the flare is airborne now so they’re desperate for a cure and it’s been six months since minho was taken but brenda is fine and hasn’t needed another dose.... hmmmm 🤔 then they go on an adventure to find the last city and they get there and gotta break in and shit and they’re helped by a familiar face who was unexpected (thomas beats the shit out of him first but ya know. mad boi) and they get in there and he stalks teresa then kidnaps her and they get in and now NEWT is infected so he wants to get some of that antiflare juice for his home boi and they in there and save all the kiddos and minho and before all that they have teresa take out their trackers and she’s like yo dudes y brenda not a crank yet and they’re like i dunno and she’s like *thinks hard* and puts some of thomas’ blood on a cloth when she takes the tracker out and shoves the cloth in her pocket

—-back to being in the last city—-

so they saved errybody but they get caught and run run run gun fight bad ass sexy mofo thomas mmmmm and then teresa is like i did this to save everyone to find the cure and thomas screams “THERE IS NO GODDAMN CURE” then they get separated and shit and she runs to her little lab and looks at his blood and is like holy fucking shit my dood. and then cut to thomas newt and minho stuck in a room and they bust out the window and jump out like 100 feet “YEET” and they run through the city but this dumass dude destroyed the walls and now people are rioting and it’s a hot mess. newt looks like death and is dying. he can’t run so minho runs to brenda since she has the cure so they can give it to newt but he’s like nah peace out and tries to kill himself cause he doesn’t want to be a crank and then thomas is like bro no i love you and then he does crank out and has a knife and they fight and then he accidently stabs newt in the mess and he dies right as brenda shows up with the serum and then dumbass teresa talks over the intercom for the whole ass city and tells thomas he need to come back to the facility because he’s the mother fucking cure HES THE FCUKING CURE GODDAMN IT HE CAN SAVE NEWT AND THE WORLD HOLY FUCK

he runs away from the body crying and runs into the facility and puts a gun up to crazy lady and is like “could i have saved him? could i have saved newt?” and she’s like bitch, you can save everyone (sorry for trying to kill you like 474747383838 times in the three movies my bad can u fix us?) and then BANG jansen pops up and kills the hoe and then knocks the shit out of thomas. he wakes up and is strapped to a chair and jansen is forcing teresa to make a dose of the cure cause ya know ya boi was secretly infected and then teresa is like no i love him so she vibe checks the bitch and they run off while the city is being destroyed and jansen tries to shoot teresa but then dumbass thomas yeets himself in front of her and gets fucking shot and they’re running around and some mofos have this tank with fucking rockets on them and shoot the fucking building so it’s falling down around them and then thomas kills jansen and they can’t get out cause ya know fire

so they go to the roof and kissy kissy cause they gon die but ayeee tommy’s friends show up in a weird hovercraft thing and he gets up there but oops, building collapses and teresa die bye and then thomas pass out cause ya know ya boi got shot (we ded ass thought he ded ded) and then he wakes up on this island and they like ayueeee paradise lol and obvi tommy is wrecked cause he just losing people left and right and for what? and they have the memorial shit for all the peeps they lost and he reads newts letter and little bitch baby tears and then he’s staring at the ocean and has the vile with “the cure” in is hand and he looks out to the sea and squints his eyes and looks like he bout to do some shit and then the end

@daisyxbuckley @parker-potter @bitch-banshee

#tmr #the maze runner #tst #the scorch trials #scorch trials #tdc #the death cure #death cure #tmr thomas #tmr teresa #tmr newt #tmr minho #tmr brenda

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joonsrack · 4 years

Text

+Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Kim Namjoon

+Genre: One shot, college au, fluff, kind of established relationship but not.

+10-31, nonhyeon dong series: Part I | Part II | Part III

+Word count: 8.3k

+Summary:

"Hyung...you- you two kissed?" Seokjin freezes for a half a second, then rolls his eyes nonchalantly, going back to his task. "Yes, it was part of the plan, remember?" He feels the room fall silent around him. "What?" He asks and catches Namjoon’s expression that's getting redder by the seconds from where he's looking past Taehyung's shoulder to the phone in his dongsaeng's hands. "What?" He tries again. "We talked about a peck... This-..." He says gleefully, turning the phone towards Seokjin who squints to make senses of what's inside the small screen. "This is not. A peck"

+Warnings: SFW, Stalker (not between the same pairing), bad dad jokes & sarcasm.

A/N: Apology to VIXX fans, i didn’t know who they were back then and just picked a random celebrity name. Lee Jaehwan just happened to be there, i don’t hate him or anything.

Kim Namjoon 21h 43:

whrr thr f ar u

Kim Seokjin 21h 43:

I forgot to feed the cat.

Kim Namjoon 21h 43:

ur almoat ahour lte .

ANd we dnt hava catr .

Kim Seokjin 21h47:

You’re the person with the highest IQ I know, yet it takes a PhD to make sense of your text, honestly.

Kim Namjoon 21h 53:

(...)

You've been shining by your absence for almost a hour now , your club members have been throwing me weird looks for the most part of it because they do not know my business here .

Also , ywe do not own a cat.

Kim Seokjin 21h 54:

No need to get your underpants in a twist, Shakespeare. Just make it readable .

Kim Namjoon 21h 54:

Y ou're late . Your club members are w e i r d.

Kim Seokjin 21h 55:

Tell me something i don't know.

Kim Namjoon 21h 59:

It would take 10,000 helium balloons to make your ass fly over here.

Hurry . the fuck. up .

Kim Seokjin 22h 03:

Roger that .

Hey you want to hear a joke about helium ?

Kim Namjoon 22h 04:

Hyung.

No.

Kim Seokjin 22h 04:

Almost.

The correct answer is Na, though .

Kim Namjoon 22h 04:

hyuNG .

******

‘Best friends’ is what most people would use. Sometimes, there's the odd ball that calls them soulmates.

Honestly, Seokjin thinks neither apply.

The rest of their misfit roommates calls them oemma and appa. They also talk about their wedding as if it already happened. As a joke, of course.

Because they're not married.

He thinks to himself, as Namjoon spends most of the night with his arm wrapped around his waist. For his defense, they're acting like a couple to discourage a creep from Seokjin's club that's been becoming increasingly annoying in the last few weeks; Seokjin is never having drunk sex with kind-of-friends again, however horny he might get. Nothing good ever comes out of it, and now he's gotten himself the worst kind of STD: a stalker.

It only took a passing mention during their weekly TV Thursday night for their roommates to plan out a way to get Seokjin out of his awkward situation.

(It got past awkward territory when he asked you for the fifth time if you were sure you didn't want to go on a date with him Friday night, Yoongi said.

He might have been right.)

The solution they came up with then is to pretend Seokjin’s eternal Uni celibacy is a thing of the past, Namjoon being the logical choice as a fake boyfriend since the whole University already think they are dating.

Namjoon is also the logical choice since their noisy friends seem hellbent on having them married with five kids ever since Jungkook and Taehyung put their big boys pants on (or off) and confessed to each other. Now it's like it's their four friends goal to get Namjoon and Seokjin together next (Yoongi probably doesn't give a shit about anything else other than his music and Jimin's ass, so Seokjin isn't counting him in).

So yeah, Seokjin wouldn't exactly use the term best friend or soulmates to describe his relationship with the younger man. More something in the line of puzzle pieces; they're different yet they fit.

It's chance that brought them together (or more commonly named: being bad dancers). The only thing they had in common back then had been overbearing mothers; one who wanted her son to gain control over his limbs and stop breaking everything, and the other having high expectations for her son's handsome face. Being the worst of their hip hop dance class, they bonded over always being put in the back during choreography.

They don't take dance classes anymore, but 10 years down the line and Seokjin couldn't see his life without Kim Namjoon's face in it.

Living together for university had been only natural, and along came the five other weirdos.

They drew the line at sharing the same room to have a break of each other's face from time to time. But if it comes down to it, Namjoon is probably the only person, other than his parents, who knows almost everything about him.

(More than his parents, actually.)

So, kissing him to make their act all the more believable doesn't feel as weird as he thinks it should.

Awkward, maybe, but not weird. He spent the best of the last few years trying (and failing) to avoid looking at Namjoon's pout, so it's safe to say he's already familiarized with it; well before Namjoon chuckles awkwardly and goes in for a peck under the gleeful look of his club members. He's pretty sure bet had been going on about them.

Of course, the only one who doesn't think so is Lee Jaehwan, stalker extraordinary.

No, he seems extremely surprised by this turn of event, and has the audacity to look affronted. He doesn't budge though, just press his lips together and raises an eyebrow, as if to say: you're not fooling anyone.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy, Seokjin thinks, irritated.

"Come on boys, we're all adults here, we're over the peck-on-cheek stage" someone throws from the back. Once Seokjin finds out who, he's cancelled.

It's too late though, and their club members are calling obnoxiously for an encore. The rest of the patrons at the bar are looking at them like the bunch of annoying kids they are, bringing a faint blush of embarrassment to his cheeks. Seokjin smiles nervously, his excuse all set and ready to go; but it gets lost in Namjoon's mouth.

There's a hand on his neck keeping him in place, but it's not strong enough that he couldn't push it away, if he wanted. Namjoon is just that considerate.

It takes him a moment to remember he can (and should) breath through his nose.

He has a split second of clarity to thanks god Taehyung and Jungkook couldn't make it to their club hangout tonight, before he wraps his arms around Namjoon's neck and sells his soul to the devil. He's already in love with the dude, what is it going to change to get a taste of him?

Once he relaxes into the kiss, it becomes all the more natural. Puzzle pieces, Seokjin's mind provides again. His mind has always been too noisy though, so he shuts it off. Namjoon kisses him like it's a challenge, and Seokjin knows he already lost. He lost well before their lips ever connected; he doesn't feel like a loser, though, once he realizes that he’s not the only one breathing hard.

Seconds becomes minute and his club members chants become catcalls, and when he opens his eyes again, disoriented but holding on to Namjoon's frame, he can see from the corner of his eyes Lee Jaehwan storming out of the bar.

"Mission accomplished" Namjoon whispers to him once Creepy McPants is out of sight.

He lets out a relieved sigh and sags a little in Namjoon's embrace. His dongsaeng passes a reassuring hand down his back, knowing him too well. Anybody else and Seokjin would be putting on an indifferent front, but it's Kim Namjoon standing before him.

"Since we're here, might as well drink something? I think I need to relax a little." He says and tries to meet Namjoon’s eyes but the younger man seems to be looking at everything but him.

"Sure" Namjoon shrugs, "I'll go get us something, just to escape from their crazed looks for a few."

"You snatched the prettiest one around, of course they'll be noisy about it, it's the drama club." Seokjin says, playing up the arrogant attitude to try and get rid of the awkwardness surrounding them.

"You're so modest"

"Tell me something I don't know"

Namjoon looks pensive for a second, and Seokjin can only regret his comeback before his dongsaeng speaks again.

"We just shared 80 million bacteria" He answers, their eyes finally meeting.

Seokjin signs heavily, looking unimpressed with his friend. Of course, he's going to act as if they just didn't share some life changing kiss that's going to make it 300% harder for Seokjin to get over his infatuation.

That thing he did with his tongue?

He's ruined.

"You're not the only that can be a smart ass, Hyung." Namjoon shrugs again, then goes toward the general direction of the bar, probably to get him his favorite drink.

Because there's no reason why Namjoon wouldn't know Seokjin's favorite drink, is there?

******

"So how did your date go, hyung?" Jimin asks from where he's perched over the kitchen counter, licking a spatula full of what looks like thick white cream.

Yoongi standing frozen over the remains of a broken cup makes a lot more sense now.

Hoseok is whipping up cake batters for who knows what reason, and Jungkook and Taehyung are doing their weird foreplay rituals that includes playing violent video games and telling each other to eat shit.

Youngsters these days have weird ways to set the mood.

"Namjin 1; Jaehwan 0" He answers with no inflection. He just can't wait to be alone in his room to analyze every tiny detail of his new-found knowledge; Kim Namjoon aka Professional Mouth Licker.

"He looked pretty pissed though, when he stormed out" Namjoon says with a worried crease forming between his brows "You should probably be careful for the next few weeks... Try to avoid being alone with him".

"It's not like I have much control over that, we're in the same club, we're in the same play. He might have a pretty minor role put the mailman is a key character"

"Don't worry Hyung," Taehyung says from where his head is now pillowed on Jungkook's thighs. They've stopped playing to listen in, apparently. "We'll keep an eye on him. With Jungkook's muscles and my..." He looks down at his own body, frowning. "I won't be much help but Jungkook's muscles will do, I guess."

"But you do have muscles, hyungie" Jungkook says, trying to subtly shove a hand under Taehyung's T-shirt. 'Trying' being the key word here.

"Oh for fuck sake" Jimin says, fake gagging. "We should never have helped them get their shit together. I'll regret it eternally."

"Yah, when have you ever helped them," Yoongi squints. "You only wanted first row to the drama."

Jimin doesn't even bother looking affronted, sauntering off the counter with a smirk.

"You gotta admit Hyung, the tea was pretty good."

Taehyung and Jungkook get-together-story kind of became this year's running gag, generating hours of teasing and laughing from the rest of their hyungs. But they took their revenge by becoming gross. Grosser than when they were simply crushing on each other, as if that was possible.

Which is why Seokjin knows it's Taehyung's phone that starts making a racket as he pours himself and Namjoon a glass of water, since his different notifications sounds are recordings of Jungkook's various weird laughs.

(Once, Taehyung "forgot" his phone in his room, and he spent the whole night waking up to the Maknae's evil laughter. Seokjin still believe the phone had been purposely hidden there. Revenge had been written all over Taehyung's face when he came to collect his phone the next morning.)

But now he's so used to it that he barely reacts, until a loud gasp from behind startles him.

"Hyung...you- you two kissed?"

Seokjin freezes, then rolls his eyes nonchalantly, going back to his task. "Yes, it was part of the plan, remember?"

He feels the room fall silent around him.

"What?" He asks and catches Namjoon’s expression that's getting redder by the seconds from where he's looking past Taehyung's shoulder to the phone in his dongsaeng's hands.

"What?" He tries again.

"We talked about a peck... This-..." He says gleefully, turning the phone towards Seokjin who squints to make senses of what's inside the small screen. "This is not. A peck"

It's a little blurry, but you can clearly see Namjoon's tongue shoved down his throat.

Seokjin takes a deep breath, brain going a mile a minute to come up with a good excuse.

He can feel five hungry stares looking their way, and he's coming up blank; all he can focus on is the thought of his bed calling on to him.

He does the most sensible thing; grabs Namjoon's hand before anyone can react and runs for it.

"I'm sorry hyung, I wanted to help you out, but now we will never live this down." Namjoon whines from between his hands covering his red face, once they are safely hidden away in Seokjin and Yoongi's room.

"Tell me something I don't know"

Namjoon goes to open his mouth despite his embarrassment, but this time Seokjin is faster.

"Don't.”

He can hear giggle from the other side of the door that he gratefully locked, thanking god for Min Yoongi and his appreciation of social interactions.

"You can't hide forever hyungie~" Jimin muffled voice calls out sweetly.

"Yes we can~" He answers, matching in sweetness.

"No you can't, not in my room."

"Shut up Yoongiyah, you go sleep in Namjoon's bed for the night." he says, since being the oldest has advantages. "Or better yet, I'm sure Jimin has some space to spare for your skinny ass." he adds as an afterthought.

There's a few choice words thrown his way, until he can hear Hoseok tell Yoongi to shut the fuck up and sacrifice his room to blossoming love.

A disgruntled sigh is all he needs to hear to know they won't be disturbed for the reminder of the night.

*****

The signs that escape his mouth is enough to shake mountains, but not Min Yoongi.

No, Yoongi ignores his arrival, still a little bit mad for having been locked out of his room couple days ago. Jimin is there as well, lazing on his hyung's bed with a pair of earbuds cutting him off from the world. Seokjin's catches a few seconds of what seems to be some studio dance practice.

He sighs again, this time his whole body melting into his bed.

"What." Yoongi's snaps. Because no matter how hard he tries, he'll never be able to hide the fact that he cares.

"Lee Jaehwan has yet to give up, it seems."

It doesn't take half a second before Namjoon's head pops into the room.

"I knew he'd be hard to shake off" he muses out loud, cocking a hip against the door frame

"If you two keep acting like a couple he'll get over it some days" Yoongi says, not stopping the rotation of his chair. It's making Seokjin dizzy.

"What acting?" Jimin adds from his spot, one of his earbud now dangling.

Ignoring his comment, Namjoon's takes place on the space left on the bed and puts a reassuring hand on the small of his back.

"My point" Jimin mutters again, but a pillow is thrown into his face.

"What happened?", Namjoon asks, and Seokjin groans once again.

"Nothing too dramatic... he asked me if I was serious about you and he got all mad when I said yes. Then he was just there, in the background. I could feel his wrath, literally. He made everyone tiptoe around him."

"He acted like a dickwad" Jungkook adds from the door frame, balancing Taehyung on his back. "The biggest dickwad around"

"Not to me" Taehyung says, and the room focus on him.

"He acted overly sweet and asked If I knew of anyone planning to move out of the apartment. And how much the rent was."

A grim silence fills the room, even Yoongi stops spinning.

"For fuck sake" Seokjin whines.

"Of course, I told him no one was leaving and he couldn't afford the rent. Then he acted like the biggest dickwad towards me as well."

"Well this Lee Jaehwan problem will not go away as easily as we thought" Jimin says, all business like.

Namjoon's chin is starting to protrude; he's getting serious.

The front doors screeches, and Hoseok erupts from the hallway a few seconds later, drenched in sweat, finding the six of them crammed into the medium sized room with a mix of worried and irritated expressions on.

"What'd I miss" he says, eyebrows joining his hairline, trying to squeeze past the two men combo blocking the door. "Why' we all crammed in here when the living room is perfectly sized to accommodate all of us?" He asks, but he joins Jimin on the bed anyways, to Yoongi's displeasure. They both ignores his protest as they get into a more comfortable position.

"The disrespect- I swear to god if my bed smells like sweat... How can you touch him right now Jiminie?"

"We're both dancers, we're used to it." Their matching indifferent look are enough to shut Yoongi up.

"What should we do next." Namjoon's puts the conversation back on track.

"Seokjin-hyung could act mean to him?" Jungkook proposes.

"Have you seen him? He doesn't know how to be mean. He's an eomma down to his soul"

"I can be mean," he defends himself against Jimin's jab, "I could tell him his... body proportions are bad?"

A groan spreads through the room. Even Hoseok who doesn't even know what they're talking about. He must be getting the idea, though.

"Tell him his acting sucks" Taehyung proposes. "Because it does. Then you're not being mean, you're telling the truth and saving him from a future of job rejections. It's a win-win.”

"We're not trying to destroy his self-esteem, just trying to make him see that Seokjin-hyung is not the one for him."

"Then tell him he doesn't fit your standards"

"I tried, but he laughed it off." He says, irritation permeating his words.

"It's like nobody here knows our university has campus security" Jimin sighs.

"Luckily for us or our precious Jungkookie would be in jail~" Hoseok singsongs.

The maknaes couple blush and escapes the room, Taehyung still perched on his boyfriend's back.

"They will never live this down" Yoongi's grins, then hits a couple of keys on his keyboards and jumps to his feet. "Alright, I'm gone"

"Hi gone, I'm Seokjin", he answers as an automatism, because he knows his classics. Dad jokes are life.

Yoongi stops in his track as a resounding groan crosses the room again, stares at him with the blankest look of disappointment possible, then leaves without saying anything else.

The sound of the door closing seems to startle Hoseok and Jimin into action as well.

"Didn't you say the studio was free today? I need you to look at a new movement I want to fit in for the next showcase."

"Sure, everything for my cute dongsaengie" Hoseok coos. Coos.

In a flurry of movement only flexible people can afford, they both leave the room with a goodbye thrown behind.

And they were two.

"Either my bad joke scared them away, or none of my dongsaengs care that I might be kidnapped and put into a cage only to be fed dry ass chicken by a creep that's counting on Stockholm syndrome to make me fall for him."

Namjoon scoffs but frowns again.

"You want to give a shot to extra PDA? I could come and fetch you after your club meetings? We could try walking together in the morning?"

“It’s not like we don’t already do that most of the time.” Seokjin sighs to the sudden quietness of the room. “But sure, ’cause I'm getting too old to put my back through the trauma of being restrained in a cage."

He pats the empty spot next to him and Namjoon takes the cue and lays down.

They wake up hours later disoriented and limbs tangled to the flash of a camera.

These damn youngsters, he swears silently.

*****

The next day, everybody seems to have a new lock screen.

Everybody but Yoongi of course, but Seokjin doesn't take it personally; Min Holly has been his phone screen ever since he had to leave his puppy with his parents while he was off to University.

And by the way he smirks at Seokjin first thing in the morning, he at least downloaded the picture into his phone.

It's a cute picture he has to admit, with him and Namjoon so entangled it's hard to tell which limbs belongs to who. He wishes he could find a way to subtly ask someone to send it to him. But that would be weird, right?

Right.

His paper on the influence of dramatics art on the development of kids is staring blankly back at him. He's supposed to hand it back in a few days but he can't bring himself to stay focused for two seconds, he's got too many things on his mind; like Namjoon's tongue down his throat or the borderline stalker walking towards him.

"Hey, Seokjinie!"

Lee Jaehwan is waving, and Seokjin debates acting like he didn't see or hear him, but being in the school library kind of makes it hard to play that card. Also the fact that they shared a nice and awkward eye contact.

"Jaehwan, hey" he answers, hoping his irritation isn't showing too much.

"You're working on the paper for Park Seonseangnim's class?"

"Yeah... Or I'm trying to. I'm having a hard time focusing here." Seokjin says with a small bite, hoping for the man to take the cue. Which he doesn't.

"Oh well, you want to take a coffee break? I'll buy.” he says, with a big smile full of teeth. Like a wolf in disguise. That wants to kidnap him.

And then put him in a cage and feed him dry chicken.

Seokjin closes the lid of his laptop just on the side of too hard. Here he was hoping to fit in a couple of lines, but that won't be possible now.

"Actually, I have to go, I'm meeting up with Namjoonie in a few."

"Right. Kim Namjoon. Your Boyfriend." He says with something close to disdain in his voice, the capital "B" clearly voluntary.

Seokjin starts gathering his things as Jaehwan carries on.

"You know it's funny because when I think about it just a few weeks ago you told you didn't want to date before finishing your degree."

He's still smiling and it's so fake, Seokjin can see right through. He can see the irritation and self-righteousness, and it's starting to get on his nerves.

"You're right, I remember thinking that. But I also remember being an adult who can take his own goddamn decision without anyone butting in, thank you very much."

He roughly shoves his books in his bag, struggling when the zipper gets stuck. Jaehwan takes the opportunity to grab him by the wrist and halt his movement, and it takes Seokjin everything to contains his rage at having this guy trying to invade his life.

"Wait, I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm just trying to figure out why you rejected me. You haven't even left me a chance. After that night you just acted as if nothing happened..."

"Honestly, I've told you in so many different ways that you don't interest me, if you still don't get it by now, then you're just plain stupid. I like them smart, so all the more reasons for me not to date you.” he hisses.

With that off his mind, he yanks his arm free and walks away. Some students stare as he storms out, but he's too irritated to feel bad for his loudness.

There's strange sense of satisfaction that comes with not acting nice. Is this how it feels to be mean?

******

That night when he gets home he starts whipping up a meal. It happens when he's stressed. Frying rice somehow helps him get his mind off things.

There's only three pair of shoes thrown hazardously by the door, but he always makes enough to have leftovers, so he cooks something for seven. By the time it's almost ready, Namjoon, Taehyung and Jimin come sniffing out of their room, drawn out by the smell of his kimchi fried rice.

Namjoon takes one look at him and at the meal he's cooking.

"Is something wrong, Hyung?"

Seokjin answers with a noncommittal sound and the subject is dropped, for now. Jimin takes the hint though and pops a chilled soju bottle and a couple of beer out of the refrigerator.

"Someak! Someak!" Taehyung exclaims, and gets the shot glass and beer glass from the cupboard.

They eat in relative quietness, talking in low voice of the highlights of their days and enjoying a few drinks. By 8pm, Jimin's and Taehyung's cheeks are reddish, and they laugh much too easily. Namjoon is telling them a story in a slower and deeper drawl than usual, and Seokjin is smiling at nothing. Or maybe he's smiling at Namjoon stupid handsome face, and low voice, and adorable dimples. Whatever.

Jimin and Taehyung offer themselves for the dishes, Namjoon having been banned from the task since the first few months of their cohabitation.

"You wanna watch something on my computer?" He offers Seokjin instead.

"What are my options?"

Namjoon thinks for a second, booting up his laptop.

"Are you feeling more something like Train to Busan or 100 days with Mr. Arrogant?"

"As much as I enjoy my fair share of teen classic, seeing zombies eating their way through humanity seems pretty ideal for my state of mind right now."

"Train to Busan it is." He says, and search through his files until he lets out a triumphant sound, the movie studio animation playing a few seconds later.

They settle more comfortably on Namjoon's bed, still a little buzzed from their drinks. The laptop is safely positioned on a nightstand, strategically moved to be the perfect TV stand.

He makes it through the first half relatively alert, but the screams of terror are lulling him to sleep, and he burrow a little deeper under the blanket. Namjoon throws a casual arm over him, like it's the most natural thing for them to cuddle. It probably is.

He doesn't know how he ends up the little spoon, but he's not going to complain; Namjoon's breath is ghosting over his neck, making goosebumps breaks out all over his skin.

It should probably make the whole experience uncomfortable, but it doesn't, truth to be told. This happened countless times over the last ten years, and it will probably happens again. They both know each other’s body by now, and he does know why he ended up the little spoon. He always is, probably because he ends up complaining whenever it's the other way around.

His lanky arms are just not made for Namjoon's head.

There's a finger rubbing circles into his skin, probably more unconsciously than anything else. The shape they're drawing is getting less consistent as Namjoon's breath evens out. Soon enough, Seokjin's eyes are losing the battle against the drowsiness weighting over them. There's a weird noise somewhere in the house, but he pays it no mind as his breath evens out as well.

With Jimin and Taehyung being the only one home, it's nothing new. But there's a weird feeling to it all. Nevertheless, he knows if it's anything major they'll come knocking.

It ends up being kind of major, but there's no knocking, and it's not who he thought it would be.

God, he wishes they had chosen his goddamn room to watch the movie, then he could have locked the door and wouldn't need to open his eyes to Lee Jaehwan's face.

"What the fuck." Is all he manages to say.

There's Jimin and Taehyung struggling to hold him back with pink latex gloves on, but they clearly kept on drinking so they don't seem to be the most efficient defence line.

Namjoon makes a confused noise when Seokjin's warmth disappears, following him as he sits up on the bed.

He looks confused by Jaehwan's presence, until he sees the door of their apartment gapping open down the hallway and his maknaes’s distraught states.

And then, he doesn't look confused anymore.

The only time Seokjin saw Namjoon looking like that was years ago, when one of Seokjin's ex cheated on him, gave him a STD, then called him on the phone to break up with him. That had been a funny night. That evening, Namjoon silently went out and came back hours later hiding his hands in his pockets. Seokjin never asked.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

Calm and composed is, and always will be, the scariest kind of Kim Namjoon. He gets to his feet in an intimidating motion, ready to block off any attempt to get to his Hyung.

"Seokjinah, I need to talk to you"

"He's got nothing to say to you. Get out."

"I'm not talking to you." He tries to side step Namjoon but he's having none of it. He grabs him by the arm, hard enough to earn him a whine, and pulls him out of the room into the hallway and out the door of their apartment. He’s got his two hands holding on roughly to Jaehwan’s shirt collar, probably planning on slamming him into a wall, but before they can create a bigger disturbance, Seokjin stops him with a gentle hand.

"Go back inside." He tells Namjoon, his eyes on Lee Jaehwan

"Hyung..." He tries to argue, not letting go.

"I got this."

It's probably the look of steel on Seokjin's face that convince Namjoon to let him handle the situation, and after throwing a last look between the two, he reluctantly lets go and withdraws inside.

He's probably spying through the peephole, though.

"Let's walk." Seokjin, throws over his shoulder, walking towards the exit without looking if Jaehwan is following. The last thing he wants is noise complaints from his neighbour. He doesn't even know what time it is, but the last time he checked, it was pushing 10, so it's probably getting late.

They walk down the staircase and out of the building in total silence, the only thing confirming the other man following being the sound of his steps close behind.

Once they step into the air outside, Seokjin takes the direction of the nearest subway station.

Jaehwan hurries his steps to be level with him.

"I know it's rude to barge in like that but I really needed to talk to you... and your roommates refused to go and get you."

"Reasonable, as they knew I was busy.”

"I didn't have a choice, you've haven't responded to any of my text. I couldn't find you after you left the library."

"Probably because I didn't want to talk to you. But we're here, so let's talk." He stops and turns around." I don't know how to make you understand that I don't have any interest in you, any intention to date you-"

Jaehwan tries to interrupt but Seokjin raises his hand and stops him.

"I'm at the point where I don't even want to try and stay friend with you. You're making me hate you."

"But the night we spent together-" he says, grabbing his wrist, again.

"Meant nothing. We slept together. That's it. I was drunk, you were drunk. We had a one off and honestly, I don't even remember half of it. From what I do remember though, you weren't really memorable. We're just not a good match."

"I was drunk, if we tried again-"

Seokjin snaps his wrist away and takes a step back.

"There is not going to be an 'again'. There was never going to be one since there's nothing between us."

"Seokjin..."

"You're making yourself look pathetic, and you're making my life hard. Just please, stop it. Don't talk to me outside of club duty."

"Why, because your boyfriend won't like it?" Jaehwan, says, taking a step forward to stay close, invading his personal space. Again.

"No, because I don't want to talk to you, that's all. Namjoon has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, come on Seokjinie, I know you're not dating him for real. You’re just trying to make me jealous.” Jaehwan says with a smile, as if he's gotten the upper hand. Seokjin hesitates a second but decides it's not even worth to try and defend the lie they crafted to discourage Jaehwan’s advances. Clearly, it failed.

“No, I told everyone we were dating so you would give up, but your head is so far up your ass that it didn't matter to you."

"Yah Kim Seokjin," he says, and take a couple of steps again, until he's standing in Seokjin's face. "I've let a lot of insults slip by because I know you're just playing hard to get, but don't cross the line. You keep calling me stupid and stuff, and it's not cute anymore. Let's just stop this game, ok? We don't have to tell anyone if you're scared for your image, we can just date in secret."

Seokjin is shocked frozen by the thickness of Jaehwan's skull. He's so deluded, and he's starting to regret not letting Namjoon handle him. No, he had to go and get them alone, at night, with no one around.

"I'm not playing hard to get. I don't like you. Leave me alone. How many times do I have to say-"

Lee Jaehwan grabs both of his shoulders and goes in for a kiss, shocking Seokjin who braces himself for the impact. He struggles to push the man away, but he's never been the muscular type, giving Jaehwan an advantage that he takes to keep a tight hold on him.

He can feel fingers digging uncomfortably into the meat of his shoulder, making it hard to avoid Jaehwan's attempt to plant one on him.

Seokjin is considering a nice and well timed headbutt, desperate times and all that, but it proves itself unnecessary as two muscled arms pull the man off him and make quick work of throwing him to the ground in a mess of limbs.

Never in his life Seokjin has been this happy to see Jeon Jungkook, modern day hero.

He's standing tall in all of his post workout glory, a gym bag hanging from his shoulder and his tank top showing off his impressive biceps.

Once Jaehwan sees who it is, he exclaims in anger, opening his mouth probably to shout about respects and social conventions.

Before anything makes out of his throat though, Jungkook interrupts him.

"Sunbae," He says, voice honey-sweet. He carefully places a foot on Jaehwan's hands, putting a light pressure. "I don't think you're showing a good example right now, with the bad touch and the lack of consent" Seokjin bites his tongue, knowing now is not the right time to bring up Jungkook's romantic history. "You should go home and reflect on that for the night." He says, and then add just a little bit more pressure on the hand squished between his shoe and the harsh cement of the side walk. "And If you ever touch Seokjin-Hyung again, I will break every single joint in both of your hands. Understood?"

His smile doesn't match his words nor his action, succeeding in creeping even Seokjin out.

He will never fight Jungkook for the last chapseolttoek ever again.

Jaehwan jumps to his feet, looking like he wants to run for his life, but he still takes the time to pull his clothes back in place, patting himself down while huffing out in displeasure.

"That's no way to talk to your sunbae. You better learn some respect Jeon Jungkook." he tries and fails to look intimidating.

Jungkook only cocks an unimpressed eyebrow, taking a step and prompting Jaehwan into backtracking. He walks away half running, throwing a worried look over his shoulder every few meters until he's a dot in the distance.

They stand in place in silence, looking at where Jaehwan left, until Seokjin snaps out of his shocked state and seeks the closest bench to sits himself on, head falling into his hands with a humourless laugh.

Jungkook takes the hints and sits by his side, putting a reassuring hand on his neck and gently massaging the tension there.

They stay like that a few minutes until his phone starts ringing, the line It’s gon’ get you in trouble resonating into the night and pulling him out of his silence.

Kim Namjoon is shining back at him with a picture of his friend holding up a small crab, excitement noticeable by his facial expression. It usually brings a smile to his face, but this time he signs before answering.

"Hyung, is everything ok? You've been gone for a while" He says the second Seokjin hits answers.

"Yeah I'm good, he's gone,” he says trying to sound normal.” but I walked into Jungkook so I forgot to text you back..."

"You sound weird, did anything happen?"

He takes a look at Jungkook, and the maknae stares back, probably having heard Namjoon's question in the quietness of the night.

"No, I'm just tired. But I think it's finally over, he got it. He seemed pretty... Deterred" he finishes, thinking about Jaehwan's scared face as he ran away.

Namjoon hesitates on the phone, probably not believing him one bit. He can hear Taehyung and Jimin anxiously asking for news, but Namjoon ignores them, probably overanalysing the way he sounds from the few words they exchanged and dressing hypothesis on why he sounds like somebody told him his jokes suck.

"Just... get home safely hyung" He ends up saying.

"Don't worry about me, I've got Mr.Muscle here guarding my ass." he says throwing a smile Jungkook's way.

After he hangs up and he and Jungkook are on their way, he takes a moment to put a hand on his Maknae's shoulder.

"I would appreciate if you could keep what happened tonight to yourself. I don’t know how Namjoon might react, but I don’t want him getting into trouble with the school."

Jungkook thinks for a second but seems to agree.

"He's going to be really angry if he finds out we kept it from him, though."

"I'll deal with him if it comes to it, alright?"

Jungkook raise an eyebrow, but Seokjin knows he can trust him.

"Aigoo~! our cute maknae is now a man capable of saving a damsel in distress" he says, changing the subject, pinching Jungkook's cheek.

"You're aware that you're describing yourself as a damsel in distress in this context, right?" He says as he slaps the hand away from his face.

"Whatever."

*******

Life without worrying about stalkers and fake relationship is... Regular. Back to normal.

He goes to school, goes to theater club, goes home, sleep, rinse, repeat.

Also, he tries not to think about how almost nothing changed about his relationship with Namjoon, going from normal to fake dating to back to normal. If he let his mind wander, he'd overanalyse how they acted as they usually did to make people believe they were dating. Huh.

Exhibit A.

Namjoon gets home to find him finishing a 10 funniest Britain's got talent auditions video.

"Hyung, not again. We talked about this. You should be writing your paper. You know when you watch one of these you can't stop."

"It's a rabbit hole, I swear to god. Plus, YouTube knows. It knows, and it just keeps showing me more and more recommendation of audition's video. They got me by the Balls, Namjoonie."

Namjoon's sits down on the couch next to him, and Seokjin does the most natural thing, which is, reclining back until his dongsaeng passes his arms around him to hug him to his chest. Then, he presses on the button for the next video.

Exhibit B.

Namjoon is in one of his mood where nothing can disturb him of the song he's working on, not even hunger. He's been sitting in front of his laptop for at least eight straight hours. Seokjin knows, he counted.

Namjoon's got his headphone on and his clavier out, and all of his mixing equipment he saved for years to acquire are spread out across his desk. He's bobbing his head one moment, then growling in irritation the next.

Seokjin puts the rice cooker to good use then, preparing some slim kimbap that he cuts into small bite size.

Yoongi watch him cook from the kitchen table where he's working on a cup ramen, slurping obnoxiously. He raises an eyebrow, scoffing when he sees Seokjin disappear into the room Namjoon has yet to come out since that morning.

He doesn't bother trying to win Namjoon's attention, just grabs the first piece and feeds it in his dongsaeng's mouth. Or more like shoves it. He's not against manually making Namjoon chew, but thankfully, even in his hyper focused state, Namjoon’s reflexes make quick work of the pieces Seokjin feeds him. Then, once the plate has been emptied, he swats at the rice stuck to Namjoon’s lower lips, just as Hoseok steps into the room.

His roommate takes two steps back and gets out the way he came in.

Exhibit C.

Namjoon's overhear Jungkook telling what transpired that night to Taehyung and all hell break loose.

Seokjin is not even mad at the maknae, who probably only wanted to brag to his boyfriend. But maybe he'll put a little extra gochugaru in his spicy cold noodle next time.

It's Saturday night, and before he has to give his soul back to the university, he's playing a little DS to relax. He's got his favourite DS-and-chill outfit on, and nothing can ruin this night.

Except.

He hears the front door slamming, then somebody running, then his door burst open to his maknae whose face has gone comically pale.

"Seokjin-Hyung, he- he Knows. Namjoon-Hyung knows."

That's all it takes for Seokjin to jump to his feet and run at the door, trying to stop Namjoon from getting himself into prison. He's pretty sure it’s not as glamorous as prison playbook made it seem. And Namjoon is not even a star player.

He attracts looks from passerby, maybe because the shoes he has on don't match. Taehyung's faux-fur moccasin do not go well with Jungkook plain puma trainer. It might also be because he didn't take the time to get out of his pink onesie. It even has a bunny tail.

"Namjoon! Stop!" He shout-whispers once he's a few meters behind him. Namjoon ignores him, power walking towards the subway station.

"Yah! You better stop right there Kim Namjoon!" He says a little bit louder. Suddenly, Namjoon takes a right turn into a smaller street. Dumbfounded, Seokjin turns the corner to follow after him, only to stops abruptly inches from the man's face.

He looks livid, and Seokjin almost has the reflex to take a step back. But this is Kim Namjoon we're talking about.

"Why didn't you tell me." He sounds cold and angry, but most of all, disappointed.

Seokjin crosses his arms, giving the younger man the sassy eyebrows treatment. The bunny tail makes it all the more credible.

"Namjoon, you're hellbent on whopping some asshole's ass when you're still in your slippers and haven't even heard the whole story"

Namjoon looks down at his slipper clad feet. Monstrosities Seokjin bought him as a joke a few years ago, when he dropped Cheonggukjang broth all over his old ones, rendering them a brown and stinky mess. The panda shaped slippers had been a fixture since then.

"If Jungkook hadn't been there he would have-"

"While I am truly grateful for our precious maknae's intervention, I am not as powerless as you make me seem, and I had a very powerful and teeth shattering headbutt up my sleeve that I would have used otherwise. Now; Let's talk about how you were about to go get your ass kicked out of school for something that did not happen."

"I-... Hyung."

"You need to learn how to control your anger. It's an issue; whenever something set you off you just spring into action without thinking. It's going to get you in jail someday."

"Hyung"

"Don't 'hyung' me right now, I’m being serious. You have a brain, and I know for a fact that you know how to use it, so use it." He says, poking a crocked finger into Namjoon's chest. The younger man grabs his hand as a whole, stopping his probing. He doesn't let go, leaving them in a weird hand holding position.

"I would gladly go to jail for you, Seokjinah" he says, avoiding his eyes once he speaks.

"Yah, I'm the hyung here, I'm the one who should do the protecting." Seokjin answers to Namjoon weirdly intense declaration.

"As if, you only use the hyung card when you want to win an argument, you're the tallest toddler I know."

"Kim Namjoon, you wanna die?" He says, irritation plaguing his tone. But his dongsaeng carries on.

"You're the biggest coward I know, even worse than Hoseok. So, I know for a fact that you aren't a natural born protector. I've known you for so long I also know that you would go to scary height to protect those you love. But you also tend to forget yourself and your own safety. And that's why I feel like it's my job to take care of anyone that fucks with you. So please, don't hide this kind of stuff from me."

"That's sweet, but I raised you better than for you to solve problems with your fist. You've been hanging out with yoongi too much recently."

Namjoon rolls his eyes but grabs Seokjin's other hand.

So, yeah. They're just standing face to face, holding hands. The silence stretches on, until Seokjin runs out of details to map out on Namjoon's face.

"Well." He says, more to put an end to the silent staring contest than to start an actual conversation. "This has been weirdly informative." His hands are getting moist the longer they stand around like a couple of love sick kids. Namjoon still doesn't say anything, just stare at him. "Moral of this story, don't go beat up anyone in my name, please". More silence.

"Alright, so we're doing this weird staring into each other eyes while swinging our hands around, not awkward at all. Nope."

"You know hyung,-" Namjoon starts, voice steady, but with a weird nervousness to it.

Seokjin waits patiently.

"You know, I never told you this before but-"

Seokjin blinks, now curious about what is about to be said.

"You're very pretty."

Namjoon’s face flush a dark red after the comment leaves his mouth.

Seokjin thinks it's adorable. He also thinks hearing Namjoon compliment him is his new favourite thing in the world. But of course, his automatic answer is sarcasm.

He scoffs, and he could probably find a better comeback if he wasn't so busy trying to hide his matching blush. "Tell me something I don't know." He answers dryly.

There's a heavy silence hanging over them, and Seokjin wonders for a second what kind of weird knowledge Namjoon is about to drop on him this time.

"I really fucking love you, Kim Seokjin." Namjoon answers, squeezing his hands harder.

If he hadn't been shocked out of his mind, he probably would have been self-conscious about the river of sweat accumulating between their palms. But his brain has been frozen still, as the rest of his body.

"I've been in love with for so long, I can't for the love of god remember since when. And if you don't feel the same, I think we're all mature enough to not destroy ten years of friendship over it."

Seokjin opens his mouth but nothing comes out, and he just lets it hanging slack. It matches his eyes perfectly; just on the edge of popping out of his skull.

"But I really needed to say it. Because every time I look at you shoving food in your mouth, or hear you say a new dad joke even worse than the last, or doing that weird shoulder dance that makes you look like a moron, I fall a little bit harder in love with you. And I needed to know if I had a chance, because if I don't put a brake to my feelings soon, I'm scared I won't be able to love anyone else as hard as I love you."

It takes a moment for his brain to comeback online, and then Seokjin thinks about everything this could change, break and ruin. But it's only for a fleeting second, because he also thinks about the puzzle pieces. How him and Namjoon have fit from day one. How they've been each other's support system since the beginning.

Also how they've basically been married without legal contract or physical perks for the better of the last few years of their relationship. Being Facebook Official with the man he loves doesn't sound so bad.

"The kids are going to give us so much shit when we tell them we might finally make their marriage goal a reality." He answers, and Namjoon chuckles with a smile so wide his face might crack. They swing their hands still clasped together, looking at each other fondly.

"Sooo, are you going to kiss me or do I have to do all the work?" His boyfriend-future husband asks.

Seokjin snorts, grabs him by his stupid face and smash their mouth together.

*******

"Does that mean we can call you eomma and appa without you getting mad?" Taehyung asks, picture of innocence.

"That's hyung for you Taehyungah." Seokjin says. He's not about to be disrespected by his favorite dongsaeng.

"Alright, eomma-hyung.".

"These youngsters" he swears quietly.

#magicshopnet #bts fanfic #namjin fanfic #kim seokjin #kim namjoon #this was supposed to be straight up non established established relationship fluff #but i ended up using it to work through some issues lol #bangtanscenery

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team-free-will-oneshots · 5 years

Text

Better Than Love

Title: Better Than Love Request: Yo could you write a reader x Charlie at pride pretty please with a cherry on top? - anon Pairing: Charlie x Reader Warnings: just fluff my dudes !! Word Count: 1,346

note; i sure as heck can !! this might just be the gayest thing i’ve ever written, ur welcome. also i was listening to better than love by lesbian jesus (hayley kiyoko) on repeat while i was writing this so some of that might bleed thru but who knows. anyways enjoy!!

“Here, these too!” Charlie declared, tossing a rainbow set of suspenders into the shopping cart, which was already piled high with a multitude of multi-coloured apparel. You picked them up, turning them over in your hand once and smiling idly.

“We already have a set - the pink and orange ones for the lesbian flag, remember?” you reminded her, and she swore quietly before shrugging.

“That’s okay - I’ll wear those, you wear the rainbow ones,” she said firmly, and a laugh bubbled from your lips.

“Okay - do you think we have enough?” you asked as she tossed another packet of glitter into the cart. She frowned, staring at your haul critically before nodding.

“It’ll do,” she said eventually. “I ordered a bunch of stuff on etsy as well - I think we’ll just scrape by.” She shot you an exhilarated grin that you excitedly returned.

Both of you checked out, ignoring the cashier’s wide, overwhelmed eyes as the two of you split the pricey total of the miscellaneous rainbow items. It seemed like you’d found every single rainbow item in the entire store, from buttons to clothing, and had loaded at least two of each into your cart. With your wallets considerably lighter, the two of you left the store and found Dean waiting by the Impala.

“Took you both long enough,” he muttered, though he couldn’t stop the small smile that crept over his face as he saw how happy the two of you looked, fingers intertwined as you both hauled heavy bags.

“Can’t rush the gay agenda, Dean,” Charlie teased as he helped you both load the bags into the trunk. He chuckled.

“Right.”

“Thanks for being our chauffeur, by the way,” you said, shooting him a wink. He rolled his eyes fondly.

“Yeah, whatever,” he muttered, though you could see smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. You and Charlie slipped into the backseat together, and you pulled out your phone as you connected to the Impala’s bluetooth that you had forced Dean to install. Hayley Kiyoko started blasting, and Dean spared an irritated glance over his shoulder.

“Hey, driver picks the music!” he scolded, and you shrugged as you grinned.

“Sorry, Dean. Pride means we’re legally obligated to only listen to lgbtq+ artists, I don’t make the rules. If it’s really bothering you we can throw on some Queen instead,” you suggested, and he shook his head, scoffing playfully as a smug smile crossed your face and you leaned back into Charlie’s side. Her lips found your temple as her hands slunk around your waist, and you closed your eyes contentedly. The ride passed quickly, and when the two of you jumped from the car you were quick to run inside.

The two of you quickly changed until you both resembled a mismatched patchwork of rainbows, draped in your respective flags. You couldn’t help but beam as your girlfriend caught your eye and struck a dramatic pose.

“Amazing. Beautiful. A gay icon,” you applauded, and she laughed, taking a bow and pausing as you stepped closer, reaching out to adjust the rainbow bow she’d placed in her hair. You frowned, lips puckering in concentration as you tried to straighten it, only for it to fall crooked again.

“It won’t stay straight,” you muttered, and Charlie’s face split into a shit-eating grin.

“We have something in common, then,” she teased, and you rolled your eyes, unable to keep the amusement off your face.

“Good one,” you said sarcastically, and she giggled, cutting off your half-hearted complaints at her bad puns by sealing her lips to yours. The sweet taste of her mouth on your own and the feeling of her hands sneaking around your waist to pull you closer quickly sucked any thoughts from your mind that didn’t revolve around her. In those few seconds, Charlie Bradbury became your whole world. The softness of her skin beneath your fingertips, the silky tresses of her hair that your hands moved to tangle in, the fresh, floral scent of her perfume…

You found yourself dazed when you pulled away, blinking and swallowing a few times as Charlie beamed at your flushed cheeks, placing a chaste kiss to one.

“Come on, let’s break out the glitter!” she said enthusiastically, and you let her hand find yours as she dragged you to the bunker’s library, where the rest of your bags awaited. Sam sat nearby at a desk, laptop in front of him as he scanned news articles for potential cases. When the two of you came out (pun intended), he raised a surprised eyebrow.

“You two look great. And… bright,” he remarked, and Charlie shrugged, sharing a smile with you before walking to plop herself in the seat across from the tall Winchester. You fell into the seat next to her.

“We’re about to be even brighter,” you told him. The plastic bag rustled as you pulled out a packet of glitter and shot him a wink. Light scattered off the tiny, shining specks, and Sam couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Glitter in the bunker? You realise Dean is gonna kill you, right?”

You shrugged, tearing open the packet with your teeth but jerking back in surprise as glitter exploded from the tiny plastic sachet, cascading over the present company and covering the three of you in flecks of rainbow glitter. You blinked in shock as Charlie’s laughter drew you back to reality.

“Good work, Y/N,” she teased, planting a kiss on your cheek and stealing the packet from you. “Maybe I’ll do the glitter stuff, yeah?”

Smiling sheepishly, you nodded. “Okay, yeah. Maybe that’s for the best.”

A mere half an hour later, not only were you and Charlie adorned with glitter on your faces and in your hair, but the bunker was certainly a lot more… rainbow and sparkly than when you’d found it. Sam snickered as he shook glitter from his hair.

“Dean is so gonna kill you,” he informed you, and you poked your tongue out at him.

“He’ll live.” You glanced at the clock, turning back to Charlie with an eager expression. “Come on, let’s get going!”

---

By the time you arrived, the pride parade was in full swing. People were marching, shouting gleefully and kissing, and the street was lined with vendors selling flags and other rainbow bits and bobs. You felt excitement knotting in your stomach at the sense of belonging and acceptance that buzzed through the air. The sun shone a little brighter, the sky seemed a little bluer, and you felt Charlie’s hand slide into yours.

“How cool is this?” she breathed, and you could hear the awe and anticipation in her tone as her wide eyes drank in every sight surrounding you. No matter how many years you’d come here, you could never get used to it - there was nowhere else you felt so celebrated, so… accepted, and that feeling could never grow old.

You squeezed Charlie’s hand as you turned to look at her, heart stammering with pure elation. As beautiful as the parade was, in your eyes, she outshone any other person there, gleamed brighter than any shimmering decoration. The glitter twinkling high on her cheekbones reflected the glaring sunlight, almost as bright as the sparkle in her eyes - the glowing joy and cheekiness that had first drawn you to her.

Your hands sought her waist, and she smirked as you pulled her close, brushing her hair back from her face as you leaned in to kiss her. The world seemed to fall away, the cheers and clapping and music fading into nothing as her lips moved against yours, soft and sure, familiar and warm. She hummed into the kiss, smiling as her arms wound around your neck and threaded through your hair.

She pulled back just enough to rest her forehead on yours, cheeks flushed. Her lips, slightly swollen from your act, curved into a radiant smile that made butterflies turn in your stomach. As the music and festivities swam into focus, you could say one thing for certain;

Nothing was better than love.

__________

Forever tags: @babygirloreo @calaofnoldor @lmpala97 @sebastianshoe @81mysteriouslyme @castieliswatchingoverme @spnlovr73 @kina666 @liviaolivia @simplyxparker @helpmeluci @demonsofhunting

#supernatural #supernatural imagine #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural x reader #charlie bradbury x reader #charlie bradbury #pride #charlie bradbury imagine #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtpride #spn imagine #spn #spn fanfiction #spn reader insert #charlie bradbury fanfiction #dean winchester #sam winchester

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fanforthefics · 5 years

Note

The bachelor au with sidgeno, bennguin or kidline. Idc about the pairing ur I'm starving for headcanons 👏

1) "Next, Tyler Seguin,” the producer says, flipping to the next slide as the team flips over to the next page of their packet, “He’ll probably be good for some drama.”

Jamie studies the picture, the stats--6′1, as good looking as all the rest of them, a bartender in Boston. Loves dogs, hockey, and having a good time. He’s grinning in the picture, smirking a little. He looks like every other ex-athlete fuckboy Jamie’s seen come and go over his seasons as a producer on the Bachelor and Bachelorette.

“Are we thinking villain edit?” another producer asks. Jamie doesn’t have seniority to say it, but he’s already thinking the no as the producer says,

“No, unless things change. Just some excitement--add some chaos in.”

Jamie agrees. He’s gotten to be a decent judge of character, or at least figuring out who’s going to be the kind of person who’s insufferable to the producers and always ordering them around and thinking that they’re there to serve the contestants, and who isn’t. Tyler Seguin looks like many things, but there’s no malice in those laughing brown eyes.

“And next,” the producer goes on, and Jamie flips the page, quickly. So Seguin’s got pretty eyes. He’s seen plenty of pretty eyes come and go.

///

2) Tyler goes on the Bachelorette partly on a whim, partly because it seems like fun, partly because his Insta deserves more followers, and partly as a way out of--well, as a change.

In any case, no one is surprised. “This seems inevitable, yeah,” Brownie told him, with a noise that’s a laugh and a sigh put together.”

So Tyler goes on the show, and it’s cool. Like, sort of stressful, because of the whole competition thing, but the Bachelorette, Liv, is hot and fun and the rest of the guys seem chill, except for the ones who aren’t but Tyler can ignore them, and getting to hang around a pool all day and drink and hang out and work out is maybe Tyler’s idea of heaven. Or, no--if this was heaven he would have gotten to make out a little with the hot guys around him, but hey, it’s close.

///

3) Tyler latches on to Jamie quickly, though. Jamie’s one of the first of the crew he’s introduced to, to herd him around where they need to go, and Tyler is incapable of not trying to make friends with people, so he starts chatting with him or whatever, and Jamie mumbles something back, and Tyler thinks that that’s that--that he doesn’t like Tyler and it’s a pity because Tyler’s into the whole big dude big eyes thing Jamie’s got going on, but Tyler’s not going to force his presence on anyone.

Then it’s a few days later, and Tyler’s feeling a little tired, already. He loves it, he does, but--it’s a lot, and he’s hungover and the other dudes are getting into a shouting match about something and he’s standing nearby watching and it’s all getting to be a lot, and then he feels someone appearing next to him, which is a feat for how big Jamie is.

“You can take a sec,” Jamie says, and he’s not mumbling now.

“What?” Tyler asks, turning and smiling instinctively. Jamie’s watching him, with those big eyes that look...well, kind.

Jamie glances at his feet, then back up. “Cameras aren’t on you all the time. You can take a break, you know. Go get some sleep or something.”

Tyler raises his eyebrows, but he’s grinning. “Are you supposed to be saying that? Shouldn’t you be encouraging me to go do shit?”

Jamie shrugs, doesn’t quite meet Tyler’s eyes. “I’ll make sure the cameras don’t bother you.”

It could maybe be the producers trying to manipulate Tyler, or some shit like that, but--Tyler doesn’t think so. There’s something about Jamie that makes it impossible to think so. Jamie radiates Good Guy energy, in a way that Tyler doesn’t think he’s ever seen before.

“Yeah,” Tyler agrees, and punches Jamie’s arm companionably before he goes. “Thanks, bro.”

Jamie shrugs again, like it’s nothing.

///

4) So after that Tyler officially adopts Jamie. Jamie...isn’t quite sure what to do with it, because Tyler should be spending his time with the other contestants, and maybe Jamie is making it up anyway, that Jamie seems to be his favorite producer. Like, sure, Tyler’s always hanging out near him, and chatting with him when he has a chance, and he’s started teasing Jamie in a way that manages to seem fun and not dickish, but he does that to a lot of people. Jamie’s sure it doesn’t mean anything. Tyler makes friends with everyone. Tyler’s one of the favorites to get into the top four or five, though he’s not favored to win. But the bachelorette seems to be charmed and amused by him, so he keeps getting that rose.

And after he gets it, sometimes he looks up, grins over at where Jamie’s watching, and if Jamie blushes sometimes, well. The lights cover that.

///

Tyler just likes Jamie. A lot. The dude’s quiet, and mumbles a lot, but Tyler’s been watching him and he sees how he manages the other producers and crew, how even the contestants fall in line when he starts laying down the law. He sees how once there were kids around for a date and Jamie knelt down to talk to a little girl, folding up that big muscled body to admire the picture she drew. He sees how Jamie never turns Tyler away, when he needs a break from all the filming shit, and Tyler tucks himself into a corner with Jamie to chat about nothing at all, about his dogs and Boston and Toronto and hockey and just--anything.

Also once Jamie gets water on his shirt and has to strip it off to change and Tyler sees all that, too.

It’s not like Tyler’s obsessed, or anything. He likes a lot of the contestants, even Chad, who’s getting the villain edit but isn’t like, that bad a dude. He likes a bunch of the producers too, and some of the camera people.

But somehow he always finds himself circling back to Jamie, especially after a date where he’s been charming and drinking and is so wired he feels like he’ll shake out of his skin. Jamie has a way then, of putting a hand on his arm, and Tyler can just--settle. He has a way of listening to Tyler talk about his life back home in a way that doesn’t quite feel judgmental, but does make Tyler feel like--like he’s looking at it from the outside.

Tyler learns things about Jamie, too. He learns he’s the youngest of three and he’s from Victoria and that he’s been working this job for a couple years now. He learns that he wants to be a director, someday, which he admits with a mumbling blush but Tyler kicks his foot until he looks up and tells him that it makes sense. Jamie’s good at being in charge.

He does not learn if Jamie is single or not. He tells himself that’s okay. Jamie’s a friend, a good friend, and Tyler’s for sure keeping him after the show, but. Who cares if he’s single or not? Not Tyler, that’s who.

///

6) A scene: Tyler, in a confessional setting. He’s wearing a bathing suit and an unbuttoned shirt over it, with a backwards baseball cap on.

“Yeah, no, I mean, I love Boston,” Tyler says into the camera. “It’s been a lot of fun, you know?” He looks over the camera, to the side. [Not pictured: Jamie, standing there, watching him. Listening].

A pause. Someone asks a question. Then, “Is it--do I want to live there forever? I don’t know. I thought so.” A look, to the same side. Steady. “I’ve been thinking recently, though, maybe I need to grow up a little? Start taking things a little more seriously. And I don’t know if I can do that in Boston.”

Another question. “What? Would I go to Liv in LA?” He chuckles, looks a little surprised. “Yeah, sure, LA sun, what’s not to love?”

///

7) Another moment: It’s late out, and Jamie’s waiting out the last of the contestants to go to sleep so he can go home and grab some sleep before being back on set early to prep for the date. Most of them go easily enough, but Tyler lags behind. Jamie's not surprised. He wishes he were a little less pleased.

“So you have a big night planned?” Tyler asks, leaning against the bar. He’s in his yellow bathing suit, which is maybe the douchiest set; it’s still painfully attractive. “Gonna go out on the town, once you’re rid of all of us?”

Jamie snorts. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

Tyler tsks his tongue. “Really? No big date night? Doesn’t all this want to make you fall in love?” he drawls the last words, like he’s mocking them.

“After running interference on you lot all day, who has the time?” It’s not quite true. Jamie could, probably, if he wanted to. Jordie definitely thinks so, and says so, loudly. But Jamie--he doesn’t want to. It’s hard to feel like he could, after watching all the ridiculously attractive men out there, all day. “Anyway, I’m boring, right? That’s the general opinion.”

“Boring’s not bad.” Tyler’s watching him again. “Doesn’t mean you have to stay that way, though.”

Jamie shrugs. “Makes it easier to, though.”

Tyler hums, then, all at once, he reaches behind himself to grab a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. “Tyler!” Jamie yelps. “What are you doing?”

“Let’s do shots,” Tyler says, easy. Like that’s not--

“We can’t drink now, it’s after hours,” Jamie hisses. And then, also, “And I can’t drink anyway, that’s for contestants. And I shouldn’t be drinking with you, I’m not supposed to even fraternize with--”

“Come on, Jameson.” Tyler grins, and it’s all temptation there, smooth as silk. Wild, Jamie remembers them calling him, way back at the beginning before Jamie started to see what that wildness covered up. “Cameras are off, you’re off the clock. Take a chance.” He holds up a shot glass, smirking a little.

Jamie hesitates, but he’d like to see the person who’s strong enough to stand up to Tyler’s smile.

“One,” He says, and takes the glass. Tyler cheers, then he pours the shots, grabs salt and some limes from behind the bar too.

“You do know how to do this, right?” Tyler asks, setting it out. Jamie rolls his eyes.

“Yes, I know how to do a tequila shot,” Jamie retorts. Tyler grins again, then licks at his hand to put salt on it. His eyes are very dark, watching Jamie.

Jamie swallows, does the same. He can’t look away from Tyler, somehow. It feels like no one else exists, not the show, not the bachelorette, not all the rest of it. Just the two of them.

It’s a long, long moment. Tyler’s tongue flicks out to wet his lips, Jamie--tries not to look. Tyler’s a fun guy, of course he’s going to be fun. It’s not--anything.

“Cheers,” Jamie says at last, to break--this.

“Cheers,” Tyler replies, and tosses back the shot. Jamie does too. It burns, but maybe in a good way.

///

8) Tyler falls in love on a Tuesday.

He’d been feeling a little--not homesick, really, but dog sick; he misses his boys more than anything else. And he must have mentioned it to Jamie, or maybe he just talked about his boys more, or something, because he comes downstairs one day and there’s just a dog there, a few of the other guys who are up huddling around him and petting him.

Tyler follows the leash up to Jamie’s hands, blinks. “Are they yours?” he asks, a little dumbstruck.

Jamie shrugs, glances away, and blushes a little, like he’s been doing more of since that night Tyler had talked him into taking a shot. “He’s my brother’s, technically, but he said I could borrow him. I thought it might do you some good--all of you,” he adds, too quickly, but Tyler knows that’s not what he meant. Jamie brought in the dog, for Tyler, because Tyler had been feeling shitty; like he’d always done the little things to make Tyler feel better, like he’d known what Tyler needed.

“Um, thanks,” Tyler mutters, because he doesn’t know what else to say, and crouches down to greet the dog--Juice, Jamie tells him--properly. It’s easier than looking at Jamie. Jamie is--it’s too much. Tyler hadn’t come on the show to find love.

///

9) Tyler makes it to hometowns, brings the show to meet his family and his dogs, and actually insists that Jamie come along to. Jamie doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes when another producer mentions it. It’s--fine.

He continues to be fine as Tyler is lovely and sweet with his mom and sisters, as Tyler is adorable with his dogs, as he introduces Liv to each of them in turn. The cameras go on Liv and Tyler’s mom for a little, so then Tyler drags Jamie over, introduces him to each of the dogs too. All of them--humans and dogs alike--clearly love him.

Jamie gets the feeling.

///

10) Tyler’s eliminated after home towns.

Liv pulls him aside, after. “Sorry,” she says, and Tyler shrugs. He likes her, but he can’t really pretend that he’s cut up about this. He’s pretty bummed about how going home means he can’t hang out with Jamie anymore, but he’ll get his phone back, so they can talk.

“No hard feelings,” he tells her. “I hope you’ll be happy.”

She grins, a little knowing. “You too, Tyler,” she says, all sincerity, and glances over his shoulder, where the producers are standing. “I’m pretty sure fraternization rules are over once you’re eliminated, you know.”

Tyler smirks. Of course everyone knew. He’s not capable of being subtle. “You are honestly an amazing woman,” he informs her, and kisses her goodbye.

///

11) Jamie’s not surprised that Tyler stops by to say good-bye before he leaves. He’s probably doing it for everyone. He’s a little concerned--Tyler hadn’t seemed too devastated by being eliminated, but you never know. Tyler’s decent at hiding what he’s feeling for the cameras.

He’s ready to express that, when Tyler knocks on his hotel room door. Except Tyler doesn’t look devastated. He looks--nervous.

“Everything okay?” Jamie asks, as he lets Tyler into his room. Tyler turns around a little, looking at it--he’s never been here, Jamie guesses. Contestants wouldn’t. But Tyler doesn’t look like a contestant anymore, in just sweatpants and a tank top, his hair a little messy. It’s too messy for TV, but it’s a good look. Somehow, it makes him look older.

“Yeah. Or, I think so.”

“I’m sorry, about the elimination--”

“Don’t be.” Tyler turns to face him. “Look, tell me if I’m off base here, but--”

Jamie’s about to ask him about what, but then Tyler’s kissing him.

It takes Jamie a second to get on board, then of course he kisses back. How could he not? Tyler is wild in his arms, pushing, devouring, and Jamie feels wild too, his hands in Tyler’s hair, on his hips.

They break apart infinitely later. Tyler’s definitely messy now. “Fuck, yeah,” Tyler says, and looks like he’s about to fist pump. “I knew you’d be awesome at that.”

Jamie’s too dazed to give him shit for that. “What--really?” he asks, and Tyler snorts.

“You had to have guessed. I’m not subtle, man.”

“I--I didn’t think you could--there’s all the contestants, and Liv, and--”

“And you,” Tyler cuts off, and slides his arms around Jamie’s shoulders. “You’re just as hot as the rest of them, you know.”

“I’m really not.” Jamie’s okay with that.

“You are.” Tyler smirks then. “Want me to prove it?”

Jamie really, really does.

#not pictured: jamie is consistently low key jealous and low key turned on by Tyler wandering around in nothing mroe than a bathing suit #Tyler is consistently trying to figure out what Jamie's deal is #but once sees Jamie with a friend and is convinced and devastated that Jamie's not single for the minute before he realizes it Jamie's brot #all that classic stuff #stars tumblr fic #my fic #annaloveloki #izzy answers

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noona-la-la-la · 6 years

Text

Conditioned (Part 6)

(You follow through on your promise for a dinner date and Tae keeps falling in deeper.)

Warnings: 13870 words. I don’t even want to tell you what kind of sex stuff is happening here because I’d rather you be as surprised as the characters are. Just know there is a BUNCH of sex stuff.

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Friday at work was a lost cause. Tae had been staring at the blinking cursor on his computer screen for most of the morning, only occasionally typing out a word or two. He was supposed to be writing a status report for the new project he was working on, but instead he was lost in his thoughts about you.

Something was different last night. Tae couldn’t quite articulate what exactly it was, but it felt like the mood between the two of you was shifting. Unfortunately, he didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign. He thought about your confession that he held a special place in your memory, but he felt bad that your year in Korea as a teen had been so difficult for you. Still, he couldn’t help but swell with pride that he had provided you with some sense of comfort, even if all he ever did was stare at you from his window.

The two of you were growing closer; he was sure of it. The conversation had been easy and comfortable; you opened up to him. Everything had been going so well, until it was time for you to leave.

The thought of you with some other man made Tae unnaturally anxious. It wasn’t even about you being with another guy; you had been with plenty of guys in the past couple of months and while it never felt great, Tae had accepted it and the jealousy quickly dissipated. But this was different. This wasn’t some random man, this was someone you chose to let into your life. You called him a friend in the same way you called Tae your friend. This guy was competition for your attention and Tae didn’t even know what exactly he was up against.

I’m being ridiculous, he told himself. You were a free woman. You had no obligations to him and you had been very clear about the way you chose to live your life. Tae needed to just accept things for what they are. He was just one of many men you kept around for your amusement. Most guys would jump at the chance to have what he had with you. No strings attached sex… if he was even able to call what the two of you did together “sex”. Whatever it was, you had opened up Tae to new ideas and new pleasures. His orgasms hadn’t been this intense since he was a teen. So, you denied him the opportunity to fuck you the way you did those other men… so what? Tae was free to seek other women to fill in those gaps -- if only he had any desire for other women.

The truth was that since meeting you again, Tae hadn’t given any other women any serious consideration. His head was filled with you. When would he see you again? What would you permit him to do? And what would he have to do to start seeing you more often?

Tae shook his head, rolled his neck, and stretched out his arms. It was time to be rid of these pointless thoughts of you and get back to work. He resumed typing his report, but was only able to stay focused for about ten minutes before his mind started to wander again. Sunday, he thought. She’s making a home cooked meal for me on Sunday. That must mean something, right?

“Hey! Earth to Tae!” Tae was startled by Hoseok’s voice behind him. “Quit your daydreaming. It’s time for lunch.”

“It’s lunchtime already?” Tae blinked, staring back blankly at his friend. “I really have lost all track of time today.”

“No kidding. Every time I’ve passed by your desk today, you are staring off into space.” Hoseok imitated Tae by staring off into the distance, slack jawed. “What are you even thinking about?”

“I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

“Oh?” Hosek raised an eyebrow and snickered. “So, your date must have gone pretty well last night.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. It was just a wholesome date between two people.”

“She’s the ‘good-girl’ type, huh? Too bad. Anyways, you can tell me all about it over lunch. Let’s go, already. I’m starving.” Hoseok motioned for Tae to get up from his chair.

“I’m skipping lunch today. I’m way behind on this report and it’s due by end of day. You’ll have to go by yourself.” The report could have easily waited until Monday, but Tae was in no mood to answer the inevitable questions about his date last night. In fact, he wasn’t sure how to explain his relationship with you to anyone.

“That sucks. Do you want me to bring you anything back?”

Tae just shook his head and sent his friend on his way. He went back to finishing the report, until a few minutes later when he was distracted by a thought, I wonder what she’ll cook on Sunday. She doesn’t seem like the domestic type, but then again she’s an artist and cooking can be a creative outlet...

Tae had just walked through the front door of his apartment when he heard the message notification

Jimin (6:31PM): BAR NIGHT! 9PM BE THERE!

Tae (6:31PM): Too tired. Going to bed early.

Jimin (6:33PM) Fuck U! Ur coming - I need my wingman!

Tae was in the midst of typing up an explanation of why he didn’t want to go out tonight when the phone started ringing. It was Jimin.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses. You are coming out tonight and that’s that! We haven’t gone out together in weeks.”

“That’s not my fault, now is it? You’re the one who’s been running around hanging out with other friends or going out on dates with the girl of the month.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a new month and that girl is history. I need to find a new girl of the month and I need my best wingman there to help me find her. Besides, it will be fun. I need some quality time with my best friend!”

“What happened to this most recent girl?” Tae flopped down on the couch to hear Jimin’s latest tale of woe.

“The same thing that happens with all of them. I lost interest, so I broke it off. Honestly Tae, I think I need to be more like you.”

“How’s that?”

“Every time I hook up with a chick, I feel the need to date her exclusively. All I end up with is a month or two wasted on someone who I was always incompatible with. But you are a master at cutting things off early. One night stands stay as one night stands. Maybe you’ll date a girl 2 or 3 times, but then you end it and it’s on to the next one. God, I don’t even remember the last time you had an actual girlfriend. It’s probably been a couple years.”

“I don’t know that being like me is such a good idea. Relationships are good things, aren’t they?” Tae thought about his last girlfriend and how they broke up almost two years ago. She had been dropping hints about getting married and no matter how hard he tried, Tae couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life with her. She was beautiful and nice, she had a respectable job, she was easy to get along with and compliant. She never seemed to have very strong opinions about anything and whenever they argued, she would capitulate and let Tae win. It was more important to her that he be happy than she get what she wanted, and that bored Tae to no end.

“Yeah, yeah. Relationships are good things when the two people really care about each other and all that. I just haven’t met the right girl yet. So, help me find the right girl. Come out tonight!”

“You really think you can meet the right girl at the bar?” Tae asked.

“No, not really -- but I don’t care. Just come with me. I’ll look creepy if I go to the bar alone and try to chat up some girls.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you there.” Despite his earlier protestations, Tae was thinking that a night out with Jimin might be a nice distraction from all the thoughts rolling around in his head.

Jimin was scanning the bar, pointing out all the pairs of attractive single women he could find. “Okay, I think we gotta make our move fast if you have any interest in trying for those two girls sitting at the end of the bar. There’s some dude-bro over there checking them out and I think he’s about to make his move… FUCK! Where did those guys come from?!” Jimin slammed his beer down on the table as he watched two other men strike up a conversation with the women he had been eyeing.

Tae tried not to choke on his drink while watching his friend go red faced with frustration. “Chill out, Jimin. It’s not that big a deal. You’re coming across a little desperate tonight. What’s with that?”

“I don’t know. I feel like I’m going through a mid-life crisis these days.”

“Aren’t you a little young for that?”

“Maybe. I just feel like I’ve been doing the dating thing all wrong. I say I want a girlfriend but I end up in all these short-term relationships that aren’t really doing anything for me. Therefore, I’ve decided that, for right now, I think it would be better if I explore my carnal nature and play the field. A new girl every night! No strings attached! I want to experience some variety and see what all is out there for me. I’m taking the Kim Taehyung approach to dating.”

“You are so full of shit. It’s not like you haven’t had your fair share of one night stands. Besides, I’m not purposefully trying to play the field. Having a girlfriend would be great if I could ever find the right girl.”

“I’m not sure you would know the right girl if she was standing right in front of you. What exactly was missing from all those girls you’ve hooked up with over the last couple years. Just face it, you’re a playboy by nature.”

Tae picked at the label on his beer bottle. “I would have probably agreed with you a few months ago, but I really think the problem is that I’m not meeting the right kind of person. My dad always told me that when he met my mom, his whole world turned upside down. He said that she was completely different from anyone he had ever met before and that she made him see the world in new ways. I guess I’m looking for someone who does that for me. Instead, all I meet is one girl after the next who seems exactly the same as the others.”

“Maybe you are being too picky.”

“Maybe,” Tae replied. He thought for a moment about you and how you were definitely different from other girls and you certainly were turning his world upside down. But romance was out of the question, wasn’t it? Tae thought for sure you would prohibit it. He considered for a moment talking to Jimin about you and getting his opinion, but Tae didn’t know how to explain his current situation without getting into all the embarrassing details.

When Tae looked back up from his beer to hear Jimin’s response, he noticed Jimin distracted by a girl from across the room.

“Check her out. Black jeans with the white shirt.” Jimin discretely tried to motion to the subject of his interest. “I think she’s into me.”

“Which one are we talking about? Jimin, there are at least 10 girls in here wearing an outfit that fits that description.”

“I’m heading over there. If she turns out to be friendly, I’ll motion for you to come over and you can keep her friends distracted while I talk to her.”

“So, I’m being relegated to the leftovers tonight?”

“Whatever. She’s hanging out with at least 3 other girls. Who knows? One of them might be that girl you’ve been looking for who can rock your world.”

The night at the bar turned out to be more fun than Tae was expecting. Jimin spent the whole of the evening talking to the girl in the white shirt. Meanwhile, Tae held court with the girl’s three friends, who fawned over him and seemed to be competing for his attention. It was an enormous boost to his ego.

One of the girls, Minhee, had unusually short hair and wore her blouse unbuttoned a little further than one would consider tasteful. She looked different from the average girl in the bar and Tae set his sights on her. Eventually the other two girls gave up hope and went looking for different men, leaving Tae and Minhee alone together.

Minhee was blatant in her attraction to Tae. As the night wore on and drinks continued to flow, she leaned in more closely than was necessary to hear him, angling herself so that Tae could easily see down her shirt to the lacy black bra she wore beneath it. Tae was certain that wasn’t an accident. Minhee laughed a little too loudly at his jokes and took every opportunity to casually touch him, brushing against him as she adjusted herself in her seat or grazing his arm as she spoke.

At one point, the two of them were sitting side by side and Minhee let her hand rest on top of Tae’s thigh. Tae spread himself out wide in a sign of dominance, his arm draped across the back of Minhee’s chair, his knees as far apart as they could go until he bumped into her leg.

He wondered if she would move her hand further up this thigh, perhaps she might be bold enough to rub against his crotch the way he had seen you doing with that guy at the restaurant when he was out with his coworkers. For once, Tae wanted to be one of those guys. One of the men that you would go out of your way to pleasure… and if you weren’t going to be the one to do it, then maybe Minhee would.

He wasn’t entirely sure how it happened. Tae was thinking about you and how badly he wanted to know what it was like to touch you freely and the next thing he knew he was holding Minhee tightly in his arms, his tongue thrust into her mouth while his right hand groping her breast.

“Oh my god, you guys! Get a room already!” The recommendation came from the girl Jimin was with, who laughed as she said it. Tae decided to take her up on the idea and leaned into Minhee’s ear, inviting her to a motel a few blocks from the bar.

Tae lead her by the hand out of the bar and down the street, occasionally stopping to kiss her or grope her. She squealed with delight while Tae squeezed her ass in public. Eventually they made it to the motel and stumbled through the door of their rented room, lips still locked together.

Once inside the room, there was a moment of hesitation. It was that awkward moment when two people who don’t really know each other need to figure out what comes next. “Are you okay with all of this?” Tae asked her.

“Uh-huh. Yeah,” was all she responded.

“Look, if there is something that you are into or want, you just have to let me know. Okay?”

“I’m sure I’ll like whatever it is that you like.” Minhee kept her eyes cast downward while she stepped closer to him, as if she wanted him to kiss her again, but she took no initiative to start the kiss herself.

Tae looked at Minhee and took notice of the shy way she was presenting herself. It was a look Tae had seen in most of the women he had been with -- she was waiting for him to take the lead. Thinking back over the evening, Tae realized that Minhee’s flirtations all fell squarely into the category of safe and standard. “Accidental” touches and coy laughter were the go-to tells of every girl he had ever been with.

Except for you. If Tae was in this hotel room with you right now, you would make sure to take your pleasure and leave nothing to chance. You always had rules and were explicitly up front about what you wanted and what the limits would be for the evening. As much frustration Tae felt by the limits you had set on your interactions together, he was doubly aroused by your assertiveness. Everything you did felt like a precious gift you were bestowing on him and you always left him wanting more and anticipating the next time he could be with you.

Tae took a step back and looked at Minhee. She was beautiful and willing. Tae was certain that if he only unzipped his fly, she would drop to her knees with her mouth open. If he led her to the bed, she would fall back upon it and spread her legs to welcome him inside her body. It would feel so good to be inside that body, Tae reminded himself. Just like if felt good the times he had been with the many other women just like Minhee.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake bringing you here.” Tae couldn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth.

“What are you talking about?” Minhee looked confused.

“I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me. You are a beautiful girl and any man in his right mind would want to be with you. Unfortunately, I’m in kind of a weird place right now and I just don’t think this is the right thing for me.” Tae started backing towards the door.

“Are you seriously leaving right now?!” Minhee’s eyes were wide and he voice wavered when she spoke.

“The room is paid for, so stay as long as you want. It’s all yours. I’m sorry. I’m really so very sorry,” Tae repeated his apologies until he was in the hallway closing the motel room door behind him, leaving a cursing Minhee in the room alone.

Tae woke up the next morning in his apartment, naked and alone. His mouth was dry and he smelled like stale cigarettes and booze. Rolling over to check the time, Tae was irritated to discover it was only 8:30 am. “Jesus. I must be getting old. I can’t even sleep in properly anymore.”

He didn’t bother showering and instead sprayed himself with cologne to mask the stench before throwing on sweats and a tee shirt. He staggered into the kitchen to eat a bowl of cereal over the sink while contemplating last night.

The expression on Minhee’s face was burned into his brain. Tae struggled to understand himself; asking himself over and over why he had done it. Deep down, he knew the reason was because he was comparing Minhee to you.

Staring at his distorted reflection in his spoon, Tae chided himself. “You could have gotten laid, man. What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you turning down a sure thing to pine for a woman who fucks everybody but you? Huh?” Since no answers were forthcoming, Tae simply tossed his spoon into the sink full of unwashed dishes and settled into a day full of video games to distract him from his thoughts.

After several straight hours of game play, Tae couldn’t ignore the ache in his legs and the growling of his belly. He pulled off his headphones and stood up, stretching his arms and shaking his atrophying legs. Making his way towards the kitchen, Tae grabbed his phone off of the kitchen table where he had left it earlier in the day -- Jimin had been trying to reach him.

11:01am (Jimin) You up? Call me.

11:51am (Jimin) R u still asleep? I need to tell someone my tale of woe!

Missed call (Park Jimin) 12:20pm

12:21pm (Jimin) R u with that girl from last night still?

12:22pm (Jimin) My chick left me high and dry.

12:22pm (Jimin) At least one of us got laid.

Missed call (Park Jimin) 12:43pm

1:14pm (Jimin) where r u? at least text me to prove that girl didnt kill u!

Tae wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone, but knowing that Jimin wasn’t going to stop, he dialed his friend.

“What the fuck, man! Have you been asleep all this time?” Jimin greeted Tae.

“Sorry. I’ve been gaming all morning and didn’t hear the phone.” Tae opened the refrigerator door to see what was available to eat while he spoke.

“Anyway, last night was a total fucking waste. I spent all night working on that one girl and I’m thinking she’s into me, so I keep buying drinks and whatever. When you and your chick took off, I hinted that maybe we should follow your lead. But she acts coy and shit and tells me she doesn’t want to leave the other girls she came with by themselves just yet, but maybe later. I should have cut out and found someone else at that point, but I’m a dumbass.”

Tae sniffed a container of leftover Chinese food, wrinkled his nose at the rancid smell and tossed it aside before digging around in the fridge a little more. “So, what happened?”

The frustration in Jimin’s voice was clear. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. I stuck with her thinking I could get some action, but when closing time comes around and I suggest we take things back to my place or wherever, she tells me that she’s not that kind of girl. Not THAT kind of girl! She says she never hooks up with someone she just met and then she tells me that I can call her if I’m interested in going out on a date or some shit like that.”

“So, I take it you aren’t going to be calling her?” Tae closed the refrigerator door and moved to the kitchen cabinets to see if anything worthwhile was hidden there.

“Fuck no. Dating gets me nowhere. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. I thought I told you this already.”

“What exactly was this leaf you turned over again?”

“You really don’t pay any attention to the things I say, do you? It’s a new era for me. I’m not pretending to fall in love anymore. I want sex. Period. If I happen to fall in love while I’m fucking someone, then that’s great. But I’m not trying to do it the other way around anymore. I’m a newly liberated Jimin!”

“So how is this new sexual liberation working out for you so far?” Tae teased Jimin.

��I’m still working through it. I know a couple girls that I think could be down for a friends-with-benefits situation.”

“Whatever. You should have called one of those girls last night.”

“I tried texting them after I got blown off at the bar. One girl texted me back that she’s too busy for drop-ins and that I need to plan ahead if I want sex. The other girl called me back to yell at me for only reaching out to her when I can’t get laid by someone else.”

Tae couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s misfortune. “You aren’t getting off to a good start.”

“I’m undeterred. I just picked the wrong girl last night. But you obviously know how to pick them better than I do. How’d things go with um… what was her name?”

“Minhee? Yeah, that didn’t work out so well.”

“Oh?” Jimin asked. “Was she bad in bed?”

“We didn’t get that far. I just wasn’t feeling it.” Tae finally found a rogue packet of ramen noodles buried behind a jar of pickles and cans of tuna.

“What are you talking about? You were most definitely feeling her when you were at the bar. She was practically dry humping you at the table.”

“I don’t know. Things changed after we left the bar. She was hot and ready and all that, but something felt off, so I bailed.”

“Fuck you. I’m out here busting my balls trying to get some pussy and you are turning willing girls away.”

Tae felt bad thinking about how he left Minhee in the hotel room by herself. He wasn’t entirely sure how to explain himself. “I think I’ve just reached the point where I’m looking for something a little more special.”

“So, what are you saying? You only want girls that you think are girlfriend material?” Jimin almost sounded incredulous.

Tae thought about it for a second. He couldn’t honestly say that he was looking for a girlfriend. He couldn’t honestly say anything at all because he was as confused by his behavior as anyone else. “I don’t know that I’m looking for a girlfriend specifically. I’m just looking for something that feels different. All these girls seem the same and I’m tired of it.”

“Same in what way?”

As soon as Jimin asked the question, Tae could hear his phone beep, indicating another call was coming through. He pulled his phone away from his ear to look at who it was; his throat tightened and his heart started beating a little faster to see your name flashing across is screen.

“Hey, Jimin. I’ve got another call coming through that I need to take. Can I call you back later?” Tae didn’t even wait to hear a response before he clicked over to you.

“He-ey!” Tae’s voice cracked as soon as he started speaking to you and he faked a cough to cover it up. “Ahem. What’s up?”

“I’m at the grocery store right now and I realized that I never asked you what you wanted to eat tomorrow or if you have any allergies or things you hate.” You were speaking louder than normal to counter the din of noise in the background.

“It’s really noisy there.”

“I know, it’s super crowded in here today. It’s like every woman with kids in the city descended upon this particular grocery store today. I feel completely out of my element around so many housewives. I’m pretending like I’m one of them and acting like I know what I’m doing, but the truth is that I eat out probably 5 nights a week. I may be a little over my head here.”

Tae imagined you pushing your cart down the aisles, mingling with the respectable ladies of Seoul as they bragged about their children’s school rankings and husbands’ work promotions. He wondered if they had any idea that a true libertine walked among them. His mind wandered for a moment while he pictured the scene, you strolling past them with your hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, probably dressed in simple jeans and a tee shirt, looking like any normal girl but oozing sex out of every pore of your body. He slipped further into his imagination and wondered if you were wearing a bra right now, or if you let your breasts hang freely underneath the imagined tee shirt, your nipples protruding against the thin fabric...

“Tae? Are you still there?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course. Sorry, I was distracted by something for a minute. You know, you don’t have to cook for me if you don’t want to. We can go out for dinner at a restaurant instead. There’s a new place that is supposed to be good that isn’t too far from your apartment…”

“No. I’m definitely cooking,” you cut Tae off. “I spent the entire morning looking through cook books for ideas and I’m kind of excited at the prospect. I haven’t had anyone over for a meal since I moved here. Besides, if you are up for it, I have an idea for dessert that would be wholly inappropriate to do in a restaurant.”

With just a hint of something sexual potentially happening, Tae could already feel the blood rushing to his groin. “If that’s the case, I’m quite sure I will be happy with whatever you prepare.”

“No allergies?” you asked.

“No allergies.”

“And any foods you can’t stand? Are you okay with western food, or should I stick to a Korean menu?”

“I’m not really a picky eater. If you make it, I will eat it happily. I’m just looking forward to spending some time with you alone.” You were silent on the other end of the phone and Tae worried that his minor flirtation had landed poorly, so he rambled on. “Is there anything I should bring tomorrow? I’ll grab some wine on the way. Should I get a red or a white? I can bring a bottle of both actually. Since I don’t know what you are making and what kind of wine would go best, I’ll get both. Yeah. That’s what I’ll do. So, don’t worry about drinks…”

“I’ve got plenty of wine here already,” you interrupted him. “You don’t need to bring anything other than yourself.”

“Are you sure? I feel bad showing up empty handed.”

“Well, there is one thing you could do for me before you come over.” Your voice deepened and the volume dropped ever so slightly, as if what you were about to say was extremely important.

“Okay, what is it?” Tae inquired.

“Shave off your pubic hair for me.”

Tae felt his dick twitch at the request. “Shave it off? All of it?” He felt a little weak in the knees as his mind raced with all the possibilities of why you were making this request. Was there a sex thing that required bare skin? Was it just a preference? Were you displeased with his hairiness? Maybe it was just you asking for him to prove his obedience, in which case he was sure he would end up complying.

“If you want, you can just shave your scrotum and trim back the rest of it. But I think you’ll be pleased with the results. Also, and this really is up to you, I think it would be best if you don’t masturbate tonight. I would love it if you came to dinner with your balls heavy and full and aching to cum. Can you do that for me?”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Tae’s mouth was dry and he could barely get the words out. He crouched on the floor as he became unsteady. You always did this to him. He had no idea what was going on or what to expect, but he was certain that he wanted whatever it was that you had planned for him more than anything in the world right now.

“Okay, great!” Your voice switched to loud and chipper again. “I’m going to get back to my shopping. Come by my place around 6:30pm. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After hanging up the phone, Tae laid down on the kitchen floor and stared up at the ceiling.

He didn’t even have words to describe what this relationship with you was. All he knew was that you kept him in a constant state of desire and he didn’t know how to make it stop if he even wanted to.

Tae held on to a bouquet of flowers with one hand and resisted the urge to scratch his genitals with the other. The flowers were a direct contradiction of your insistence that he didn’t need to bring anything with him to your dinner date. His mother had taught him that good manners required that he never accept a dinner invitation at someone’s home without bringing a gift and Tae couldn’t stand the idea of showing up empty handed.

The overwhelming itch between his legs was a direct result of obeying your other request. Asking him to shave his testicles was not something anyone had ever requested of him before, but Tae felt it was better to just do as you asked him and to try not to give too much thought as to why you were making the request.

Tae had always tried to keep his pubic hair trimmed short, mostly because he thought it made his dick look bigger, but it had never crossed his mind to shave it all off completely. Yet, there he was, standing naked in his bathroom, a brand new razor and a can of shaving cream in his hands, wondering if the guys at the gym would think he was strange when they saw him in the locker room. He shooed away any feelings of hesitation and went to work removing the hair in short deliberate strokes.

The process was going well until Tae started to think about what might have planned for him. You were just as likely to give him a mind numbing orgasm as you were to send him away desperate and unfulfilled. He had no idea what to expect, but it was difficult to not get his hopes up and fantasize about the possibilities. As his mind wandered, he could feel his dick start to stiffen ever so slightly and Tae contemplated jerking himself off -- going as far as lathering up his shaft and tugging at his partial erection before remembering your request that he not masturbate before your dinner. He stared at his dick in his hand and wondered how you would ever know whether or not he had cum the night before? Certainly you sexual prowess didn’t extend to knowing the exact quantity of semen or strength of ejaculation for a man who had masturbated 24 hours earlier versus one who hadn’t? And that assumed that you were even going to allow him to ejaculate in your presence, which was certainly not a guarantee, was it?

Wrapping his hand around his shaft more tightly, he stroked himself into a full erection before the feelings of guilt started to wash over him. You had told him it was his choice, but the last thing Tae wanted to do was disappoint you. Reluctantly, he released his grip and refocused his energies on finishing up his shaving as quickly as possible to avoid the distraction of his arousal.

He was not nearly as cautious now and rushed through the final steps of his grooming, not paying attention to the dulled razor blade which abraded his skin in the final swipe. This left Tae with a single inch wide strip of razor burn that looked and felt like and itchy rash and marred what was otherwise an impeccable shaving job. Now, here he was, standing in front of your apartment, allowing himself one last opportunity to scratch himself through his pants before knocking on your door.

“Well, hi there, handsome,” you greeted Tae wearing an apron and holding a large spoon.

He couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face. “Hello to you too.” Pointing to your apron, he commented, “You are looking very domestic.”

“Do you like it? I just bought it and I’m glad I did. It turns out I’m a messy cook.” You pointed to the splatters of food across fabric. “I really need to practice cooking more often. I just hope it all turns out edible.” You shut the door behind Tae.

“I’m sure it will be delicious.” Tae followed you into the kitchen. “Here, these are for you.” He held out the bouquet with both hands.

“You didn’t need to do this, but thank you.” Taking the flowers from his hands, you pulled out a vase. “They are lovely.”

“I wasn’t sure what you like, but I noticed that in your landscape paintings you have a lot of yellow flowers. So, I took a chance and got you yellow roses.” There was a pause of silence, making Tae nervous that he might have said something wrong. “Is that okay?”

Your face broke into a wide smile as you arranged the flowers in the vase. “It’s very okay. I’m just impressed you noticed that in my paintings. Most people aren’t that attentive.”

“Well, I’m not sure why people wouldn’t pay attention to that. Your paintings are obviously very important to you and…”

You cut him off before he could finish his thoughts. “Most people who come here are not that interested in what is important to me. They come here because they want something for themselves. You are unusual, Tae. You are special.”

The air in the room seemed to still and Tae could only hear the sound of the simmering stew and his own heartbeat. He cleared his throat to ease the tension. “So what kind of flowers are in the paintings? Did I guess correctly?”

“They’re wild daffodils, actually. My college roommate was from England, and I went to visit her and her family one summer. They lived out in the countryside and there were all these daffodils sprinkled through the field behind their house. It was so pretty, it stuck with me. I guess I’ve always fantasized of someday living in a place like that. Get away from all the hustle and bustle of city living and settle down in a cottage in the country where I can spend my days painting. Raise a dog and a cat and maybe grow some vegetables. You know, something like that.”

“You never struck me as a country girl.”

“I’m not. I just like the idea of it.” You filled two glasses with wine and handed one to Tae before taking a sip from the other. “I think it would be peaceful and pretty. But it’s just a fantasy.”

“It doesn’t have to be a fantasy. Lots of people live that way. My folks are living out on a farm these days. They love country life. I’ve often thought that if I had enough money to do what I wanted, I would buy a place out in the countryside near them. Settle down out there and raise a family in a place where you know all your neighbors and the pace of life is a little slower.”

“That sounds nice.” You smiled wistfully. “Unfortunately, as much as I like the idea, I think I would get lonely. I’m never going to be married and I’m pretty sure my lifestyle would make me the town pariah pretty quickly.”

“How can you be so sure that you’ll never get married?” Tae asked.

“You can’t be serious?”

“But I am serious. You never know what the future might hold.”

“No. In this case, I’m certain. I’m not going to end up in a loveless marriage like my mother or my sister and spend my days putting on a show for the neighbors. I’m not going to sit at home, caged by monogamy, being a model member of society, while my husband is out sticking his dick in any girl who’ll spread her legs for him. No, not me. I’ve got my own life to lead and I don’t want a marriage holding me back from enjoying myself and doing as I please.” Your face was stern and determined.

“Is that what it’s like for you back home? Is that why you date so many people?” Tae blurted out. Knowing this about your family made so much sense.

“You know, I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner. I couldn’t make up my mind if I should cook Korean or Western style food, so I found a recipe for something called Korean Style Pot Roast. I probably shouldn’t have used this occasion to try out a new recipe, but I couldn’t help myself. Why don’t you take the wine out to the table and I’ll plate the food and bring it to you?”

The sudden change in subject was your signal for Tae to drop it. He obediently took the wine and did not mention your family situation again.

Dinner went well. You watched Tae’s face attentively as he took his first bite, sighing with relief when he gave you the thumbs up and told you it was delicious. He didn’t have the heart to tell you the vegetables were too salty and meat too bland. Instead, Tae asked for a second helping and ate it contentedly, smiling to himself at the thought of your toiling in the kitchen.

The conversation was devoid of any of the tension that preceded it. The two of you discussed local politics, movies, and life at work. Tae shared stories of his childhood before he met you and after.

“You know the school bully? The one who tried to torment you when you first arrived?” Tae looked at you to make sure you knew who he was talking about.

“Yeah, I remember her. What’s she doing these days?” you asked him.

“Last I heard, she fell in love with another woman. Her parents sent her to study abroad in Japan and she met some girl over there, came out as a lesbian and never returned to Korea. Her parents were super conservative and disowned her. It’s kinda sad, really.”

“It is sad. I know what it’s like to live in fear of being judged unacceptable by your own family. But as much as I complain about being cast out, I’ve never been completely disowned. Just hidden away and threatened with having my trust fund cut off.” You threw back your head and downed what was left in your wine glass before pouring yourself another.

“Does your family know you are bisexual?” Tae tilted his head, hoping the question wasn’t too personal.

You looked back at him with slight confusion. “They just know I’m a slut. But I don’t know if they know for sure that I mess around with other girls too.”

“You never came out to them?”

“Honestly, Tae, I don’t even consider myself bisexual. I’m just a person who has sex. Mostly with men, but women are fun too. I just do what feels good.”

“So you are straight but just do girls on the side?” Tae was confused.

“Does everything have to have a label? I do what I want, who I want, whenever I want. I’m not really interested in being boxed in like that.”

Boxed in. That term stood out to Tae. He thought about something you said earlier… about not wanting to be caged by monogamy and he wondered why you had such a fear of being trapped. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but hesitated because he didn’t want to overstep.

“Everything okay, Tae? You are awfully quiet over there.”

“Huh? Oh, I was just wondering if you’ve dated any women since you’ve been in Korea.” He reached across the table to pour himself another glass of wine, only to find the bottle empty.

Standing up to go get another bottle, you replied to his question from the kitchen. “You seem to be very curious about my antics with other women. Is there a reason for that?” You returned to the table and poured him another glass with a wink.

“I don’t know. I’ve heard you talk about other guys but never other girls, so I was just wondering.”

Instead of returning to your seat across the table from Tae, you took the chair next to him. “Finding other women wasn’t exactly a priority when I first got here, but recently I’ve put in more effort. I’m still figuring out all the proper social cues to seduce other women for my kind of fun. Miri just about had a heart attack when I offered to finger her pussy a couple weeks ago.”

Sputtering, Tae tried his best not to choke on the sip of wine he just took. “M-m-miri? The girl you work with? You propositioned her?”

Laughing at the look of surprise on Tae’s face, you had to set your own glass down on the table to keep from spilling it. “Oh my god, you should see how wide your eyes just got! It was a shot in the dark, I’m not surprised she turned me down.”

“I didn’t know you were attracted to Miri.” Tae remembered how you had previously encouraged him to try dating Miri and couldn’t quite reconcile his thoughts.

“Why not? She’s cute. Besides, it’s not like it would be anything serious. We went out drinking after work one night and she got super drunk and was complaining about how all the guys she’s ever slept with have sucked in bed and she doesn’t even know what an orgasm feels like. So I offered to help her. The poor girl is so naive about sex. She needs to know what an orgasm feels like to help her figure out how to get these assholes she sleeps with to help get her there.”

“I, I’m, um, uh, I don’t know what to say to that. Did she freak out?”

“She didn’t really say much of anything. First she just sat there looking stunned and then she burst into laughter and told me I was crazy and to be careful who I say those kinds of things to because people might think I’m a lesbian. Like I said, she’s totally naive.”

“Well, it’s probably for the best. If she said yes then things might have gotten awkward for you guys at work.”

“Why would it have been awkward?” Resting one arm against the table, you leaned over to look directly into Tae’s eyes.

“You know how it is. Sex can really change the relationship dynamic and the two of you would still be working together...and um…” Tae was feeling a little self conscious as you leaned in closer, still looking him directly in the eyes.

“It doesn’t have to be like that. This wasn’t an offer to make love or embark on a grand sexual affair. I was simply offering to help a friend in need. Isn’t helping each other what friends do? If she needed a lift to the airport, or help moving apartments, I would gladly help her out and no one would think anything of it. But in this case she needs help with something a little more personal, something sexual, something that I am perfectly equipped to assist her with.”

You leaned in closer to Tae, so he could feel your breath against his cheek as you spoke. “Imagine it, Tae. If she had simply said yes, I would have slid my hand up her skirt and under her panties. I would have gently parted her pussy lips, running my fingers up the sides of her labia, whispering for her to close her eyes and relax, to imagine whatever or whoever turns her on. I would have tested her hole to see how wet she was, dipping my finger inside for lubrication before dragging it slowly up to that magic little nub at the top of her pussy. I would have carefully rubbed tiny circles around her clit, listening to her breathing, watching her expression, testing to see what she likes most. Maybe she’s one of these girls who prefers slow, soft touches; maybe she prefers hard and fast; maybe she needs me to slide back the hood and stroke her clit directly. Then, once I figure out what she likes, I would stay there, stroking her until I could feel her orgasm, feel that quake beneath my fingers or hear her whimper with ecstasy. And when it was over, I’d tell her to remember that feeling and to make sure next time she’s with a man, to ask him to touch her that way and not settle for anything less. Isn’t that what a friend should do? Be helpful?”

Tae didn’t even realize his mouth was hanging open until he started to salivate at your detailed description of what might have been. “I guess she really missed out.” He was acutely aware of how close you were sitting him him, your hand mere inches from his and he fought the urge to grab your hand and shove it down his pants, begging you to touch him like you described touching Miri. Soft, hard, fast, slow -- it wouldn’t have mattered to Tae. He just wanted to feel you. “I can’t imagine you get turned down very often.”

“It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. Everyone is entitled to make their own choices.” You leaned back away from Tae and stood up. “I’m going to clear this table and bring out dessert. I just got some ice cream, nothing too fancy.”

Trying to shake off the sexual tension, Tae stood up and offered to help. Grabbing an armful of dishes, he followed you into the kitchen. “I can probably wash these up for you really quickly. Where do you keep the dish soap?”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Please. You put in all this effort to cook for me, the least I can do is help clean up.” Tae turned to look at you while you stood in front of the open freezer, rummaging around for the ice cream. The blast of cold air in the warm kitchen caused a mist to float around your torso, drawing Tae’s eyes to your chest and making his take note of the way your nipples seemed to suddenly be visible against the fine fabric of your dress.

“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got chocolate, strawberry and mango flavors. Which do you prefer?”

Tae was still staring at your breasts when you turned to ask him about ice cream flavors. The question barely registered with him. “Huh? I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?”

You set the containers of ice cream back in the freezer, shut the door, and leaned back against the counter. Tae watched as the expression on your face changed and your trademark smirk crossed your lips as you locked eyes with him. “Do you even want dessert, Tae?” you asked.

“Um… I mean, there’s always room for ice cream.” Tae fidgeted awkwardly under your gaze, unsure of what exactly you wanted him to say.

“I asked because I thought maybe there was something you wanted more than ice cream.” You brushed a stray lock of hair from your eyes before slowly letting your hand fall, tracing a line down your own face, past your neckline, until it rested upon your breast where you carefully rolled the nipple between your finger and thumb. “Do you have a taste for something different?”

Mouth agape, Tae contemplated what he should do next. Of course, he thought, I have an entire list of things I’d rather have than ice cream right now. The question was always how much you might be willing to let him have. Were you still just teasing him or was there a real opportunity for him to be able to have his way with you?

The silence lingered a bit to long and you prodded Tae to respond to your question. “What are you thinking over there? I need you to tell me what you want.”

“You know I want you. I always want you.”

“So why don’t you say it? Why don’t you tell me exactly what you want from me?” You raised your other hand so both hands were now fondling your own breasts, delicately tracing the pointy nubs.

Tae knew what he wanted. He wanted to rush across the kitchen to grab your face in his hands and thrust his tongue into your mouth. He wanted to tear the dress from your body and drag you the floor. He wanted to crawl on top of you, spread your legs and thrust himself into you. He wanted to see you writhing beneath him. He wanted to hear you moan his name. He wanted so many things, but he felt quite certain you had your own plans for what was going to happen and that he would follow along, just grateful for anything you would give him.

“What’s the point in me saying it? You’ll do what you want anyways.”

Your hands dropped to your sides and you straightened your posture. “You’re right that I’ll do what I want. But you still have a say.” You walked across the room to stand right in front of Tae. “Would you prefer I start by telling you what I want?”

You were so close, Tae could smell you. Despite how badly he wanted to be near you, your actual proximity was a little intimidating. All he could do was eke out a barely audible, “Yes.”

“I’ve really been looking forward to tonight, Tae. Not only do I enjoy your company, I was remembering how much I enjoyed that time you ate me out. It’s been longer than usual since I’ve enjoyed the pleasure of a man’s tongue against my pussy. In fact, it’s been longer than usual since I’ve enjoyed an orgasm of any kind - over a week, I think. I’m sure you understand that is an unusually long time for someone like me.”

More than a week since your last orgasm. More than a week. Tae’s mind reeled while he considered what this meant. Three nights ago, you left him at the museum to go meet up with a different man. Does this mean you didn’t have sex with that guy? He had been so sure that you were off fucking this guy. Were you saving yourself for tonight? No, he thought, that couldn’t possibly be true. Maybe you just liked giving this other guy blue balls the same way you had done to Tae before. That seemed the most likely scenario. Still… there was something there. He was desperate for clarification, but didn’t want to spoil the moment.

Your hands gripped the fabric of your knee length skirt, which you had now raised to mid-thigh. “Will you help me end this little dry spell?”

Without a word, Tae dropped to his knees, his eyes fixed to your hemline as you ever so slowly inched it up higher. He held his breath until the pale blue lace of your panties came into view and then he exhaled loudly, gasping a little. They were delicate, the color was so soft and innocent looking until he noticed how sheer they were; the cleft of your pussy lips clearly visible through the fabric. He raised his hands slightly, but hesitated; his hands hovered half-way between the floor and your panties that he had an overwhelming desire to touch. Tae looked up at you for some hint of what he should do next, only to see your sly smirk before you grabbed the back of his head and shoved it between your legs.

“Good boy,” is the only thing you said.

Fingers tangled in his hair, his face pressed tightly against the lace of your panties. What had previously looked so delicate and soft, now was rubbing his cheeks raw with friction. Tae wasn’t sure what thrilled him more, the scent of your sex or the fact that your hand was pressed firmly against his scalp.

He wondered if he could bite his way through the fabric that was now a barrier to the real prize. Your grip didn’t allow him much movement, but Tae was able to tilt his head slightly to the side and stick out his tongue, hoping it would be long enough to catch the edge of your panties and possibly make contact with some skin.

His futile efforts were met with your laughter. “You’re looking a little desperate there, Tae. What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I want... mmmffffmmhhhmm!” His words were muffled as you pressed his head tighter into your crotch. It didn’t matter what he intended to say, because you were in charge, as always.

With your hand still firmly locked in his hair, you started to back away, causing Tae to crawl forward on his knees, following you. As you exited the kitchen, you let go of Tae’s hair and turned to walk more comfortably into the living area. Despite being free to now stand, Tae continued to crawl on his hands and knees, already having accepted that his place tonight was to be below you.

He paused for a moment to glance down the hallway through your open bedroom door to the large, neatly made bed that rested within. Tae wondered what it would take to get invited inside there. Did you allow others inside your actual bed? Who were those people?

“What are you looking at, Tae?” Your voice caught him off guard and when he turned back towards you, he saw you leaning against a table with your dress unbuttoned completely, falling open to expose not just your panties, but the matching blue bra to go with it. How long had he been staring at your bedroom to not even notice you undressing in front of him?

“You look gorgeous,” was all he could eke out.

Letting your dress slip from your body and land in a heap on the floor, you leaned back against the arm of your sofa. “Do you like it?” You slipped your thumbs under your bra straps, slowly drawing them down off your shoulders. “I bought it special for tonight.”

“Yeah. I like it a lot.” That was an understatement. Just the idea that you had been thinking of him while buying lingerie was making his heart beat uncontrollably.

You rolled your hips enticingly and let your thighs fall open slightly, “They say blue is a calming color. Are you feeling calm right now?”

“Not hardly.” The words came out breathy, it was too much effort to speak. All Tae’s focus was on how badly he wanted to touch you.

“That’s a shame. We’ll have to do something about that later.”

Tae nodded vigorously. With a crooked finger you urged him forward to kneel in front of you, eye level with that sheer blue triangle of lace that was barely hiding the prize he sought. Without warning, you pulled your panties to the side, leaving you sex completely bare. Instinctively, Tae leaned forward, mouth open, tongue extended, ready to taste you.

He was disappointed, however, when you stopped him with a pointed finger applied to his forehead, where you pushed him back to his kneeling position. “Not yet” is all you said.

Tae sat obediently on his haunches, drooling and desperate, but completely obedient, while you spread your lips apart with your fingers, exposing the glistening wet flesh, the hood of your clit, the petals of your labia, the entrance to your vagina. “For now, you should just look. I’ll tell you when it’s time to do more.”

Looking was exactly what he was doing. Tae could feel the pulsating throb of his erection trapped under his pants as he carefully studied every curve and fold of flesh in front of him. He knelt obediently in front of you, like a dog waiting for its mistress to give him a treat. Maybe that’s how you saw him too, more like a pet than a man.

The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow while Tae sat on his haunches, his eyes fixed to your sex. His desire grew along with his impatience at being made to wait. “Do you like torturing me like this?”

He hadn’t meant to say those words aloud.

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Trust me when I say that I have done far more torturous things than make a man wait. Besides, you can blame yourself for turning me into an exhibitionist. I like it when you are just looking at me.”

You squatted down until you were eye level with Tae, your hand slipped between your legs and he could hear the soft squish of your fingers pumping in and out of your pussy. Tae tried to maintain eye contact with you, but the sound of you fingering yourself just inches from him was too much to resist. He cast his eyes downward to see what you were doing only to feel you grab on to the hair on the back of his head, pulling down and forcing his face upwards. Tae gasped, his lips parting only to be met by your fingers being thrust inside his mouth.

“Suck,” was all you said.

The salty taste of your juices against your fingers just further fueled his lust. Tae obediently sucked on your fingers, wrapping his tongue around each digit to make sure he didn’t miss a drop.

Leaning forward to whisper in his year, you let go of his hair. “You know, Tae, whenever I’m denying you something, I’m also denying myself that same pleasure. You aren’t the only person who is waiting.”

He wanted to ask you what that really meant, but he was muted by the fingers pressed against his tongue.

“Lay down. I want to ride your face.”

Tae quickly laid flat on his back per your instruction. His legs tingled as the blood started to flow back into them after being on his knees for so long. You stood above him, slipping your panties off before straddling his face and rolling your hips while lowering yourself until you rested just barely above his face.

He inhaled your scent as deeply as he could before he tentatively raised his head enough to brush his lips against the bare flesh of your pussy. The pillowy softness felt good against his face, like kissing a cloud. Raising his head just a little further, he nuzzled himself deeper, parting your slit with his nose, gently brushing against your clit, his lips now firmly planting kisses into the slick soft folds.

He strained to see your face from his place beneath you, but you had your head thrown back, leaving him with only a view of your chin. Tae searched for some clue that he was doing what you wanted, that he was pleasing you. Extending his tongue, he dragged it through your folds until he felt the hard nub of your clit and circled it slowly.

Just then, you lowered your head, eyes closed, your lower lip caught between your lips and your brow furrowed in concentration. This was the first time Tae had ever seen you with such an expression on your face and it spurred him on to try harder. Lapping away at your cunt like a starved man, he flicked rapidly at your clit only to feel you pull away slightly. He changed his technique to a flat tongue, drawing circle eights around the full length of your pussy. You seemed to respond better to that, letting out a soft sigh. Pride swelled in his chest and in his dick, which seemed ready to burst out of his pants.

Remembering the last time he was in a similar position with you, he moved from licking to latching his lips around your clit and gently sucking. This change got you to open your eyes and look at him. “Yes, like that,” is all you said. That was all the encouragement he needed to ignore the growing ache in his neck from the strain of keeping it lifted from the floor and keep going.

Nothing mattered more to him than trying to make you cum on his face. Opening his mouth wider, Tae tried sucking more of your vulva while simultaneously dragging the flat of his tongue against your clit. That seemed to do the trick. You gasped aloud and fell forward on your knees, no longer able to keep yourself elevated above him. Tae’s head fell back against the floor while you pressed your pussy harder against his face. You were on all fours now; if Tae lifted his chin and rolled his eyes as far up as they would go, he could just barely see the undersides of your breasts. Your face was out of view, but he could hear you softly whispering, “Fuck yes. Like that. Just like that,” repeating the words over and over.

Tae’s excitement grew along with yours. Your hips started to grind into him and it felt like you might just smother him. He struggled to catch intermittent breaths as his face was buried deeper and deeper between your thighs. Unthinkingly, he grabbed hold of your backside to steady himself. When Tae realized what he had done, he waited for you to slap his hands away, but you were too far gone in your own pleasure to either take notice or care. So, he let his hands wander over the flesh of your buttocks, squeezing them with abandon and drunk on lust.

When he heard you moan aloud, Tae could feel every fiber of his being start to vibrate. The idea that he caused you to make that sound turned him on more than he thought possible. When you stopped grinding against him and grabbed his hair, pulling him in further, your thighs locking him tightly in place while your legs started to shake slightly, Tae felt like his heart might just explode. He wanted to keep going in an effort to make you come again and again, but you instead pushed his head away and sat back on his chest.

“Fuck. You are really good at that, you know? Thank you.”

Tae smiled. “If you think I’m good with my tongue, you should see what I can do with my dick.”

Laughing, you stood up unsteadily and brushed your hair out of your face. “Feeling a little cocky, aren’t we?”

“Not so much cocky as desperate.” Tae pushed himself up so he was sitting upright on the floor.

“Well, then. Let’s see this desperate dick that you are bragging about.” You patted the top of dining table that the two of you had previously cleared of all the dishes. “Take off your clothes and hop up here.”

Scurrying up to his feet, Tae didn’t pause to think about what would happen next. He simply stripped as quickly as possible and sat on the table in front of you.

“Forgive me for sitting, but you left me a little light headed.” You sat in one of the chairs with Tae’s naked body laid out in front of you like your next meal. “I appreciate the shaving job you’ve done here, you really did the whole thing.’ You leaned forward to inspect his genitals more closely. “It looks like you had a little accident with the razor here. Does it hurt?” You extended a finger to point at the razor burn on his skin when Tae’s dick involuntarily jerked upwards, prompted by the close proximity of your hand.

You laughed aloud. “It looks like someone really is desperate for some touch. Lay back on the table. By the way, I noticed how handsy you got while eating me out - so to keep your hands occupied this time, why don’t you hold on to the back of your thighs and pull your knees up towards your ears.”

Obediently, Tae assumed the awkward position. He felt vulnerable and exposed and wondered if this was what it was like for the many women he had fucked in a similar position -- knees up, spread wide so he had easy access to everything.

He didn’t have much time to consider his discomfort because all thoughts rushed out from his head when you leaned forward, your mouth hovering over his distended cock, and exhaled loudly onto the turgid flesh. The heat of your breath once again caused his dick to jerk wildly and Tae moaned out loud anxious for whatever was coming next.

“Just so you know, I’m not planning on touching your cock tonight.”

“Fuck.” Tae couldn’t hold back his disappointment. “You really do love to give me blue balls. Do you do this to your other friends?”

You stood up and moved to the side of the table so you could look him cleanly in the eyes. “If I gave you everything you wanted right away, there would be no reason for you to come back. And, Tae, I’m not ready for this to end, so I need to leave you wanting just a little.”

There was something so direct and sincere in your words, that it left Tae speechless for a moment. Before he could figure out what he wanted to say in response to that, you were walking away from the table, calling back to him to “Stay in that position, I’ll be right back.”

He listened to the sound of your feet padding across the bare floor as you returned, setting a pair of latex gloves and a bottle of lube next to him on the table.

“Um… what’s that for?” Tae’s heart beat a little faster in his chest as he wondered what kind of kinky sinister plan you had up your sleeve. He already wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to keep up with you, but now he started to worry that you may have something planned that he wasn’t ready for.

“You think I like giving you blue balls? I’m going to make sure you leave here tonight with your balls drained dry. If you are up for it.”

“But how…” Tae was still fixated on the pair of gloves next to him, so he didn’t notice what was happening until he felt it -- your tongue pressed against his balls. He held his head up as much as he could to try to see what you were doing and watched you fondle his balls in your hand while you laved him with your tongue. The whole scene was more than he could process.

“I find it so exhillerating to have a beautiful man all bare and laid out in front of me, his most vulnerable bits available for me to play with. Do you like to have your balls sucked?”

“I don’t know. No one’s ever tried it before. I generally don’t think much about my balls.”

“Silly boy. Always too focused on getting your dick sucked instead, I suppose.”

Tae meant to protest, but was completely distracted by the feeling of his testicles being sucked into your mouth simultaneously. It wasn’t quite like anything he experienced before and he curled his abs to watch the unbelievably lurid sight of you between his legs, you mouth stuffed full of him. He wasn’t sure which turned him on more, the sight or the sensation. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…”

You let his balls drop from your mouth and looked up at him with your lipstick smeared and your hair half covering your face. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Precum was starting to leak from the tip of his cock and Tae couldn’t help but wonder if there would be any way to get you to jerk him off while you played with his balls. As good as your mouth felt against his balls, it made his dick ache all that much more. “I’m definitely enjoying myself, but it just makes me want more.”

“More? Like what?” With that question, you lowered your head again, kissing, licking, sucking at the tender skin over his scrotum.

Your hair fell forward and brushed against his throbbing cock, the delicate tendrils tickling him and causing him to moan aloud. “Hnnnngggghhh! Fuck!” Tae’s head fell back against the table. “I want to cum. Please. I need to. Can’t you just touch my dick? It won’t take much. Please,” he begged.

“Is this not enough?” you asked him, wrapping your lips around one testicle at a time.

“It feels so good, but I need more. Please. If you won’t touch my dick, can I? Please.”

“No. No touching yourself without my permission. You can jerk yourself off to your heart’s content when you get home. Are you asking to go home, Tae?”

“No. No. I just… fuck.” That girl the other night would have sucked him dry, Tae thought. He couldn’t help but wonder why he had turned her away for a woman who would sooner let his dick explode than give him what he wanted right now.

“I have a different idea,” you advised him. Standing up, you reached across the table and grabbed the gloves and lube which Tae had nearly forgotten about. “Do you enjoy having your prostate massaged?”

“Like you sticking your fingers up my ass?” Tae blurted it out nervously. Aside from the very clinical and unappealing prostate exam done by his doctor, Tae had never let anyone close to his asshole before. His body immediately tensed up at the thought.

You noticed his discomfort. “It’s okay to say no, Tae. You always have the right to say no.”

“I don’t want you to hurt me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you either. I want to make you feel good.” You continued fondling his balls while you stood over him, your naked breasts hovering over him, while you spoke. “I have some experience in this area, you know. I want to make you cum so hard that you black out. I want to see that glorious face you make when you are in the throes of ecstasy. I want to leave you a moaning, writhing mess, with every drop of cum emptied from those beautiful balls. And I know I can do that if you let me. But it’s entirely up to you.”

Tae wanted those things too. “You’ll stop if I say so?”

You put on the latex gloves, pulling the material taut and snapping it against you skin so the sound rang out in the silent room. “I’ll stop if you say so. But we’ll go slow and just start with touching you on the outside, okay?” You grabbed the bottle of lube and poured a generous amount on your fingers.

“Okay.” Tae closed his eyes tightly and tried to distract himself by thinking about how you looked just a short while ago with your face pressed against his balls. It was so unexpected and so fucking hot. That image alone would provide him with months of jerk off material when he was home alone.

But as soon as he felt your fingers, cold and wet from the lube, Tae immediately tensed up again -- clamping his butt hole tightly closed.

“You have to relax to make this enjoyable, Tae. I promise you are going to be okay. I’m only stroking you outside right now. Just focus on that feeling right now. Don’t worry about what comes next. If you aren’t ready for it, I won’t do any more than this.”

He could feel your fingers circling his hole, and something pressing against his leg. When he opened his eyes, Tae saw you resting your head against his inner thigh, watching his face with an expression of gentleness that he wasn’t used to seeing. He had fully expected for you to say that his choice was fingers up the ass or go home, but instead you were being gentle and patient. He didn’t know what to make of this.

Looking him straight in the eye, you said, “You’re cute, you know that?”

The unexpected compliment completely threw Tae for a loop. He tried to act unfazed, but he could feel a smile spreading across his face. But the smile quickly turned to surprise when he felt your finger finally slip past the sphincter and press firmly inside him. It felt so strange to be penetrated, unlike anything he had experienced before. Again, before his feelings had fully registered, you went back to kissing and licking the tender skin covering his balls. Tae was reeling.

He wasn’t sure how he felt. Your mouth on his balls felt great, but your finger inside his ass felt… different. He couldn’t say he liked it, but then again, he couldn’t say he didn’t like it either. You poked, prodded, sliding slowly in and out and Tae wondered at all these new sensations. But then, it happened.

You were inside him, rubbing and tapping against something, presumably his prostate. It was odd at first, but as you persisted, the feeling intensified. This felt good. This felt really, really good!

The suckling of his ball sack was so good, but this new feeling building from inside him was unexpected. Different. Tae looked at his dick, laying against his belly, untouched. He was leaking pre-cum like crazy. Almost like you were squeezing it out of him. He was going to cum soon, but his brain couldn’t quite comprehend how this was happening.

He couldn’t help but moan. His body needed to let out the tension of his pending orgasm and it came out in a series of low guttural moans. One after the other. The sound caught your attention and you raised yourself up to look him in the eye. Tae wanted to say something, but he was too far gone and all he could do was whimper.

He saw the change in your expression; your trademark smirk returned. You knew that in this moment you completely owned him. But in a flash, the smirk disappeared and instead you lowered your head once more -- only this time ignoring his balls and sucking his dick into your mouth, latching your lips around the tip, as your fingers continued to gently massage his prostate.

Tae came immediately. The moaning stopped, replaced by gasps and every muscle in his body seemed to contract at the same time. Tae tried to watch you, but his vision grew blurry as the little remaining blood in his brain seemed to rush to his dick. He could feel his balls emptying as his dick spurted over and over and over again in what felt like a never ending stream of his seed spilling down your throat. This was, by far, the longest orgasm of his life.

When it was over, Tae lay on the table, covered in sweat, his muscles still twitching -- not yet able to rest. While he tried to recover, you gathered up your clothes from where they lay on the floor and started to dress.

Tae watched you in confusion and amazement. “That was… I mean… I can’t even express how much…” You turned back to look at him while he spoke and he lost his train of thought. All he could do was look at your face, looking for some hint of how you were feeling.

“I think I got a little carried away with myself there. I’m sorry,” you apologized.

“Sorry for what? I just, um… that was… I’m, uh, I mean… I’m pretty happy with how things have turned out.” Tae felt a little wobbly on his feet as he got off the table.

You smirked again. “I’m usually a woman of my word. I said I wouldn’t be touching your dick tonight, and I didn’t follow through on that. It’s not fair to you when I set an expectation and then break it.”

“Anytime that going back on your word includes me getting my, uh, you sucking me off, um… I’m okay with that.” Tae stumbled over his words as he was still trying to gather his wits about him.

You dismissed his words with a wave of your hand. “I’m sure you have the girls lined up to suck your dick. You could get anyone to do it. It’s not that special.”

Tae paused as he was pulling his pants on. “Honestly, I don’t really have much interest in what other girls want to do to me. I’m only interested in what one girl wants to do with me.”

He held his breath, waiting for your response to his confession.

Instead, you ignored it. “I think I lost an earring in all the fun we were having. Do you see it anywhere?” You turned away from him to search the floor for the missing gold hoop.

Starting to come down from the high of his orgasm, Tae became slightly anxious. “Don’t send me home, just yet. Please,” Tae requested.

“Where is this coming from?”

“I mean, the night is still young. Maybe we can watch a movie like we did that one time. You know, if you feel up to it.” He hoped he wasn’t coming across as too needy, but the idea of separating from you right now was more than Tae could think about right now. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted, but he knew that he didn’t want you brushing him off or sending him immediately away as you had done several times before. He just needed some more time with you.

“Uh, sure. I think a movie sounds good. I’ve got a couple older ones queued up if you want to take a look. I’ve been on a kick, watching the classics of 20th century Swedish cinema if you are into that kind of thing.” You took one look at Tae’s confused expression and offered, “Or we can maybe watch something light hearted and without subtitles if you prefer. You can pick one while I go get dessert. If you still want some ice cream, that is.”

“Ice cream sounds good. You said you had mango?”

After a few minutes, you returned with two bowls of ice cream and settled next to Tae on the sofa to see watch the comedy he had selected.

“I really enjoy our time together,” you informed Tae.

“I like being with you too.”

“But I worry that you might become really disappointed in me someday.”

“Why would you even say something like that?”

“You know that I don’t do monogamy, right? I’m lousy girlfriend material, but I’m actually a pretty loyal friend.”

“I know,” Tae responded.

“I see the way you look at me sometimes, and concerns me. I mean, you make me feel special, but that’s probably not a good thing. I’m not special. I’m a hot mess.”

“What are you even talking about? Your life is a little unique. But that’s okay -- it’s just who you are. And you are a good person.” Tae wondered what was prompting this sudden discussion and hoped it wasn’t an attempt to push him further away just as you were beginning to get closer.

“I’d like to be a good person.” You looked at him wide eyed and for the first time he saw some hint of vulnerability. “Anyways, I’m glad we’re friends.” With that, you turned back towards the television and started the movie. Both of you watched silently, only your spoons scraping the bottom of your ice cream bowls cut the sound of the film.

About two thirds of the way through the film, Tae felt something heavy pressed against him. You had fallen asleep while watching the movie and were now slumped over and leaning against him. Tae’s heart beat a little faster at the inadvertent contact. He carefully repositioned you so that you wouldn’t get a sore neck, but he made sure that your body remained cradled next to him.

Neither of you ever knew how the movie ended. You, because you were fast asleep, and Tae, because he spent the last third of the film watching your sleeping face and listening to the steady rhythm of your breathing. Whispering in your ear, just once, “I’m glad we’re friends too.”

#BTS fic #Taehyung fic #BTS smut #Taehyung smut #V fic #V smut

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notstars-doors · 6 years

Text

Somebody Told Me

“Dick Grayson has a new boyfriend. Or does he?”

read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15806868/chapters/36790545

~~~~

Welp, it's a fake dating AU. I caved.

Hoping to make this one a bit of a slow burn too. It's gonna be a bumpy ride ;)

(sidenote: written for @twinkothydrake because we’re both w e a k for best friends to lovers AND fake dating. Thanks to @1captainjordan4 for the plot, wouldn’t have gotten this far without ur great ideas ;) )

Enjoy!

~~~~

Ch. 1

“Did you seriously just order your third milkshake?”

“Yes?”

“Dude.”

“What? I’ll pay for it.”

“That’s not the – y’know what, I’m not gonna bother.”

Wally throws a french fry at Dick in retaliation for the sass, who snatches it out of the air a few inches from his face with a grin.

“I need the calories!”

“In the form of milkshakes?”

“Yes!”

“I feel like there are better ways to get your calorie intake.”

“Easier? Maybe. Better? Not a chance.”

Dick rolls hi s eyes, dunking the caught French fry in some ketchup before popping it in his mouth. “You need professional help.”

It’s Saturday afternoon, and for the first time in weeks, the two of them have managed to wrangle their schedules into some semblance of order to spend a day together. It’s weird, not being able to spend time with Wally these days. With Wally in college and Dick himself finishing up high school, they’ve got so much on their plates that they never get to see each other outside of missions. As great as missions are, sometimes you just need to shoot the shit with your best friend.

Especially when your best friend is as hot as Wally West.

Dick shakes that thought out of his mind. That is not a place he wants to go right now, with Wally sitting right there – looking like red headed Adonis with an easy smile and kind green eyes and-

Shit.

“-and you know what, I checked with Uncle Barry, and the sugar goes through me so fast that I don’t have to worry about diabetes or anything like that, so you should really-… Dude, you good?”

Dick blinks. Wally’s giving him a concerned stare, an eyebrow raised in question. Dick shakes his head again, realizing Wally’s been talking this entire time and he’s just been watching him like a lovesick idiot.

He is not a lovesick idiot.

Dick licks his lips, tasting salt and the sweetness of ketchup as he tries not to swallow his own tongue in embarrassment.

“Yeah, just trying not vomit over your eating habits.”

Wally scowls, tossing another fry at him. This one hits Dick square on the nose, and Wally whoops in victory, fists in the air. Dick rolls his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh that’s really one of relief.

“So, catch me up!” Wally leans back on his side of the old diner booth, resting an elbow on the edge of the cushion. “What’s the life of Dick Grayson been like for the last two months?”

“Honestly? Pretty boring.” Dick shrugs. He fiddles with the big paper straw in his own milkshake, swirling around the last dregs of pink foam at the bottom of the glass. “Senior year is kinda kicking my ass, so Bruce has been steadily shoving that stick further up his own because of it. He’s called me off a couple patrol shifts recently because exams are coming up, which is completely unnecessary.”

Wally frowns. “You doin’ okay?”

“Yeah, just a matter of multitasking.”

“You sure?”

“I can handle it.” Dick slides the glass to the edge of the table to be picked up by a server. “What about you? The end of your sophomore year, how’s that going?”

It’s Wally’s turn to shrug. “Not much to tell, really. Second year isn’t as interesting as first.”

“No house fires?”

“Nope.”

“Keg parties?”

“With my roommates? Nah.”

“Walks of shame?”

Wally’s face drops into a deadpan. “I’m a physics major.”

Dick cocks an eyebrow. “With the body of superhero.”

“That no one ever sees because I’m a physics major.”

Dick snorts, tossing another French fry in his mouth. “You need to get out more, dude.”

Wally scoffs. “Says the biggest fuckin’ hermit I know.”

“Excuse me!” He smacks his palm against his chest in mock offense. “Haven’t you read the Gotham Gazette? Or Seventeen magazine? I spend every night out on the town, going wild with several lovely ladies on my arms, don’t’cha know.”

“You?” Wally bursts into laughter, arms folding on the table and burying his face in the crook of his elbow and his body shakes in hysterics.

“I’m a Teen Heartthrob.”

“Pfft-”

“I’m Gotham’s second-most eligible bachelor.”

“Second to who?”

“Bruce.”

“Ew!”

“Yeah.”

Wally shudders, sitting up straight and nodding a ‘thank you’ to their server as she places his new vanilla milkshake in front of him. “That’s… wrong, on so many levels.”

“Yeah well, I’m eighteen now.” Dick shrugs again, not missing the flirtatious smile the girl sends his way as she picks up his empty glass. “They can say what they want. Not that they were stingy with their words before.”

“Gross…” Wally sticks his tongue out in distaste before taking a sip. “I don’t know how you deal with being a… celebrity. It’s weird.”

“You get used to it.”

“I never could.”

“It’s not like you haven’t shown up in the tabs with me before.”

Wally, to Dick’s surprise, chokes on his milkshake, sputtering white liquid over his side of the table. Dick recoils from the onslaught, sliding their fries out of the way in the same motion.

“What?!”

Dick laughs and rips a few napkins out of the silver container at the side of the table, wiping up it down as the ginger stares him incredulously. “Dude, you’re a mess.”

“Wha- how?” Wally blinks a few times, eyes wide in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got milkshake dribbling down your chin.”

“Dick!”

“It’s gross.”

Wally snatches a napkin out of his hand, wiping it over his face haphazardly. How Dick fell in love with this idiot, he’ll never know.

“Would you please explain to me how this happened.”

“Dude, you’re my best friend. People see us together in public, it happens.”

“Yeah, but tabloids?”

“Do you not use social media ever?”

“Physics major!”

“Not an excuse!”

Wally flops his head down on the table with a ‘smack’, barely missing the puddle of milkshake on his right. Dick rolls his eyes. They’ve had this conversation one too many times before.

“What… what do they say?”

“Well-” Dick runs a hand through his hair, wondering where to start. “Most of the time people think we’re dating.”

“Really?”

“I mean I came out a couple years ago and we usually spend a lot of time together. It’s not an unreasonable conclusion.”

Wally’s quiet for a moment, then lifts his head to give Dick a questioning look. “But they also write about you being with a bunch of girls?”

“I never said they were smart.”

He snickers, resting his chin on the tabletop. “You got me there.”

Dick picks up a few more French fries and stuffs them into his mouth, then slides the basket under Wally’s nose. “Here, finish this. We’ve got the rest of the day, let’s not waste it.”

“But my milkshake!”

“Chug it.”

“But-! Brain-freeze!”

“Don’t be a baby.”

Wally pouts, then proceeds to shove the rest of the fries in his mouth and start slurping down the milkshake. Luckily, he’d already drank (and spat up) half of it, so it only takes him a few seconds to finish.

Dick slides a fifty under the salt shaker, knowing it’ll cover more than both bills combined and probably make their server’s day. Wally cradles his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose as a pained grimace crosses his face.

“Urgh… I can’t believe you made me do that.”

“Oh, because you protested so much.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“You knew that when you got into this friendship, too late to back out now.”

Wally cuffs Dick over the back of the head as they slide out of the diner booth, which Dick responds to by shoving him into the chrome railing of the bar top. Wally bangs his hip on the edge and yelps in pain, catching the attention everyone in the diner.

Including the manager, who glares at them from behind the bar.

Uh oh.

Dick gives her a sheepish grin and a wave, trotting speedily out of the restaurant with Wally hot on his heels.

They barely get outside before Wally’s pushing Dick over in revenge. He laughs, righting himself easily and prodding Wally in the side.

“Hey! No tickle spots!”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Unreliable source.” Dick pokes him again.

“Mmn- haa- nno!” Wally leaps out of Dick’s reach, waving his arms protectively in front of him. “Illegal!”

Dick grins wickedly, wiggling his fingers. “You realize that just makes it much more tempting.”

“Do not touch my-” Wally pauses, twisted at an odd angle to stay out to Dick’s reach, looking curiously at something behind him.

Dick turns to see what he’s looking at, and finds a group of paparazzi snapping photos of them from across the sheet. His grin falls from his lips, replaced with a sneer of displeasure.

“Great…”

When Dick turns back to Wally, he’s standing normally again – if a little stiff. He looks pretty uncomfortable, and Dick immediately feels awful for dragging him into this. It’s not like he has a choice, really, but he hates that Wally is being forced into the situation.

He grabs Wally’s wrist and starts pulling him away from the crowd. “Just don’t pay attention.”

“Those are some big cameras.”

“Stop looking.”

“They actually dress like sleazebags, I thought that was just in the movies.”

“Wally!”

“What? I’ve never seen them up close before.”

“They’re not endangered animals, they’re paps.”

“Paps? Who are you?”

“I’m someone who’s been living with this for nine years.”

“Jesus…”

Wally cranes his neck over his shoulder to glance at the photographers again, who have crossed the street to follow them, so Dick yanks a little harder on his arm as he picks up the pace.

“Would you quit it!?”

“I can’t help it! It’s like a car crash, you can’t not look.”

“I’m having a very easy time not looking.”

“You’re immune, you’ve seen too many car crashes.”

“Wally!”

He finally turns around again, to Dick’s relief. If they ignore them long enough, and act boring enough, they usually go away. It’s only when Dick has to do something drastic that they ever pay any real attention.

Dick sneaks a glance at Wally, who’s staring ahead with an odd look on his face. He figures it’s some measure of discomfort still; Wally’s eyes are tight in the corners, his lips pressed together in a line. There’s a pang in Dick’s chest at the sight, and he’s about to offer some words of comfort, before Wally moves without warning.

He snaps his head back to glance at the paparazzi again, which Dick is about to snap at him for, then suddenly slings his arm around Dick’s shoulders. Wally pulls him closer, practically plastering him to his side, and presses his face into Dick’s dark hair to plant a kiss on the top of his head. Dick tenses up instantly, red to the tips of his ears.

It’s not like Wally’s never held him before, but it’s not often that he’s this openly affectionate.

“What are you doing?” Dick hisses through clenched teeth. “Do you want to fuel those rumors?”

Wally shrugs, glancing down and winking at Dick so quickly he almost doesn’t catch it. It sends Dick’s heart leaping into his throat. “Why not?”

Dick’s jaw drops in surprise, feeling Wally’s hand start to trace circles on the back of his shoulder, sending shivers down his spine. “But-”

Suddenly, the sound of camera shutters gets a lot louder, the paparazzi catching up with them.

“Mr. Grayson!”

“Dick, who’s your new beau?”

“Turn around!”

“What’s your name, kid?”

Dick bites his tongue, knowing he’s going to regret doing this, before curling his own arm around Wally’s waist. He’s doing it so he can pull his friend along faster, which he does, but he knows it’s just going to make them more bloodthirsty.

The cameras start snapping faster.

“Dick, are you dating now?”

“How long have you been together?”

“You have a thing for redheads?”

Dick pushes down the urge to turn around and give them a mouthful, just walking a bit faster. Wally matches his pace easily, still glancing over his shoulder. Dick doesn’t have the energy to stop him anymore.

Wally leans a little closer. “I have an idea…”

“Because your last one was so great…”

“Promise not to hate me?”

“Too late.”

“Fair enough.”

“Don’t you da-!”

Wally turns to the paparazzi, flashing a charming smile over his shoulder. “Mr. Grayson isn’t taking questions right now.”

“Dude, what are you-”

Without warning (again), Wally bends down and scoops Dick into his arms, who yelps in surprise as his feet leave the ground. The paparazzi go wild, snapping pictures as fast as they can, but Wally’s already taken off down the street.

Dick throws his arms around Wally’s neck to hold on, staring at his friend in a mix of amusement and outrage. “You asshole!”

Wally grins, shaking his hair out of his eyes as he picks up the pace. He’s running just fast enough that the photographers can’t catch up, but not so fast that it’s in-human. His eyes are glinting with mischief and Dick is trying really hard not to love that.

“You love me.”

“Not anymore.” His red cheeks and rapid heart beat definitely don’t contradict that sentence.

Wally turns a corner, and Dick glances over his shoulder to peek at the paparazzi. They’re falling way behind now. “Hurtful. I just saved you from your crazed fans.”

“You’ve made it so much worse.”

“Not like it means anything, they can think what they want.” Wally’s grip gets a little tighter around Dick’s legs. “They gone yet?”

Dick takes another peek. “Almost. Turn left into that alley.”

Wally skids around the corner, taking them into the shadows. The paparazzi disappear around the corner, unable to keep up with Wally’s long legs.

“You’re good.”

“Ready?”

“Go.”

Dick ducks his head against Wally’s collarbone as the world blurs around him, the speedster carrying him taking off like a shot. He doesn’t know where they’re going – he hopes it’s out of the city – but he’s accepted his fate at this point. No way of arguing with Wally West when he’s got an idea.

It’s not like it’s an awful place to be – cradled in Wally’s arms.

Not that Dick will ever admit that.

When the world finally comes to a halt, they’re standing in another alley. Still in Gotham, from the looks of the grungy walls towered over them, but probably on the other side of the city. Dick would know exactly where if they were on a rooftop, but the ground is where Wally’s expertise lies.

“Think we lost them.”

“Nooo, really?” Dick rolls his eyes, wriggling in Wally’s arms to be let down. Wally drops his hold on Dick’s legs, letting his feet touch the floor before uncurling his arm from around Dick’s side.

Dick does not mourn the loss of Wally’s touch. He doesn’t.

“We’re at a zeta, if you wanna get out of Gotham.” Wally stretches his arms over his head, his shoulders cracking with a satisfying ‘pop’.

Dick looks around and finds a decrepit old phonebooth at the end of the alleyway that they’ve both used many times before. Dick knows exactly where they are now.

He turns to his best friend, crossing his arms and giving him a very unimpressed look. “You do realize that you’ve now made your life a living hell.”

Wally cocks an eyebrow. “Why?”

“They’ll never leave you alone.”

“Nah, it’ll blow over.”

“It won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

Wally shrugs, slipping his hands into his pockets. “So, they think we’re dating. What’s the big deal?”

Dick’s eyes narrow, processing that question for a minute and trying to swallow the lump that just leapt into his throat.

What the hell does that mean?

“I mean. I guess there isn’t one. But you’ll be beating them off with a stick within a week.”

“That’s fine.”

“You’re gonna hate it.”

“Okay.”

Dick can’t quite get how Wally is so fine this. Ten minutes ago, he’d been saying he couldn’t stand being in the spotlight. Now, he’s totally nonchalant.

Dick is very chalant right now.

He pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Alright. But don’t forget, you did this to yourself.”

Wally chuckles, running a hand through his hair. Cool as a cucumber. “I know.”

Dick can’t decide if he wants to strangle him or kiss him. He smothers down both impulses, moving instead to shove Wally aside as he makes his way to the Zeta point.

“Hey!” Wally catches himself against the wall, pushing himself upright and jogging up behind him. “Aren’t you gonna thank me?”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

Dick smacks his arm. “What on earth would I thank you for?”

“Getting you away from the paps, of course.”

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wanna bet?”

“But I’m your hero- mmnh! Hey! No tickle spots!”

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