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#and thank you again to everyone who dropped me a message or wished me in the tags these past few weeks!!!
corroded-hellfire · 1 year
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As You Wish - Eddie Munson x Reader, Part 3
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This was a collaboration with my dear @munson-blurbs!
Summary: Eddie knows he hasn’t gone about things as he should have, so he’s determined to make things better—for everyone. You can read part two here.
Note: Thank you everyone for your kind words and hilarious messages! Seeing what you all have to say about this series truly makes my day.
Warnings: smut, p in v, unprotected (wrap it up), breeding kink, spanking, oral f!receiving, I think that’s it?
Words: 10.8k
[All stories in this verse]
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"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as—”
BZZZT!
The apartment buzzer rings, startling you from your When Harry Met Sally trance. You’d nearly dropped your bowl of cookie dough ice cream. 
“I’ll answer it,” your roommate calls out, padding across the living room. You muster up a smile as a silent thanks; you just don’t have the mental energy to face another human being right now. 
“Who is it?” Jess asks, speaking into the intercom on the wall. 
“It’s me. Um, it’s Eddie.” His voice makes your stomach drop into your feet as you violently shake your head no. You’d filled Jess in on what had happened over the weekend, and she certainly wasn’t on Eddie’s side. 
Sure enough, a scowl crosses her face. “Why don’t you fuck off, Eddie?” she sneers. 
“Yeah, so, I’ll do that,” he mumbles, “but I just need to drop something off. Please.” He sounds so pathetic. Good. 
Jess looks over at you for your reaction. “I don’t want anything from him,” you mutter, snuggling deeper into your fuzzy blanket. “Tell him to go away.”
She nods, pressing on the intercom again. “Denied.” She starts to walk away, but Eddie’s pleas stop her in her tracks. 
“Look, I know I fucked up big time. And I’m so sorry. I never should have dragged her into this; gotten her caught up in my bullshit. I was…I was a coward, okay? A goddamn coward. But I’m done avoiding fixing my mistakes. Because when I tried to run from my problems, I hurt the best girl I know. And I want—need her to know that I’ll prove how much she means to me, if she’ll let me.”
Jess turns to you, her eyes wide and slightly misty, obviously moved by Eddie’s words. She puts her hand over her heart and inclines her head towards you, silently asking if you’ve changed your mind. And it’s tempting. How many times did you fantasize about Eddie making some big dramatic declaration about how much he cares for you? But you’re scared. Scared this is some sort of false hope. That you’ll let yourself be ensnared by his spell and let yourself get hurt again and again. You’ve never had fear like this before and it’s as if your body and mind just want to shut down.
“No,” you say, shaking your head. “I-I don’t want to see him.” 
Now Jess goes from moved to annoyed. She plants her hands on her hips and takes a few steps closer to where you’re curled up on the old floral couch. “Are you kidding me right now? I’ve listened to you sing the praises of this man for a year now. How sweet and kind and wonderful he is. Listened to you say over and over again how much you love him and how if you had him, you’d never take him for granted like his crazy bitch of a wife does.” She flings her hand toward the front door. “Well? He’s here. Trying to apologize for what he’s put you through. You even said yourself when you came home crying the other day that you know he cares about you. So why don’t you at least hear him out?” 
“I don’t want to see him,” you say in a small voice. Sniffling, you shrug your shoulders. “You’ve never seen his eyes.” You shake your head, gaze dropping to your lap. “He has this puppy dog look about him and I know if I see it, I’ll cave no matter what he says.”
“So, go in your room,” Jess says. “I’ll let him up, drop whatever he wants to drop off, let him say his peace. And you can just listen.”
Heaving a sigh, you snatch up the remote and press the pause button. Tossing the blanket from your lap, you stand and make the few steps into your room and shut the door. Jess scurries back over to the intercom, hoping he hasn’t left yet.
“Eddie?”
“Yeah! Yeah, still here.” The hope is clear in his voice as he realizes he hasn’t been ignored completely. 
“Come on up.”
Eddie wastes no time, pulling the door open as soon as Jess presses the button, taking the stairs two at a time and making his way to apartment 217. The sound of his knuckles rapping on the door reaches you in your bedroom and you wrap your arms around your body, mentally preparing yourself to listen to what he has to say. 
“She’s in her room,” you hear Jess tell him. “You can talk through the door. And what have you got to drop off?”
There’s silence except for Eddie’s footsteps and the curiosity of what he’s brought burns in your brain. As his footsteps come right up to the other side of your door, there’s a buzzing in your stomach.
“C-Can you hear me?” Eddie asks.
“Yes,” you say, squeezing your eyes shut. Just the sound of his voice so near has you longing to throw the door open and jump into his arms. You’ve never felt as safe in your life as you did when he was hugging you. 
“I, um.” Eddie clears his throat. “I’m so sorry, sweethea—I’m sorry. I fucked up big time. What are you…” Eddie trails off and your eyebrows pinch in concern. 
“Sorry to interrupt,” Jess says, loudly enough that you know she’s standing next to Eddie. “But you should read this.” There’s a slide against the hardwood of your floor and you look down to see a little white rectangle slip under your door. It’s a business card, you realize as you pick it up. 
Carl Hampton, Esquire
Divorce Attorney
“Turn it over,” Jess says. 
It’s not enough for you to be mine, so I’m taking the first step towards being yours - Eddie
The tears start immediately. Even as you read the note in Eddie’s scrawling handwriting over and over again, your vision goes a little bit blurrier each time. Your hand trembles as you hold the card, the other going up to cover your mouth. Even though you think you’ve been quiet as your crying grows to sobs, you must be louder than you realize.
“Okay, she’s crying,” Eddie says, clearly talking to Jess. 
“Let me go in,” Jess says, but when she cracks the door open you catch sight of Eddie. He’s distorted and fuzzy through your tears, but you’d know that mass of curls anywhere. Jess has just enough time to jump out of the way as you launch yourself into his arms, not sure if this means you forgive him or not, but just knowing you need to be held by him. 
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Eddie says as he clutches you against his body. “Shhh, it’s okay.” One of his arms is wrapped securely around your waist while his hand on the other comes up to smooth over your hair. “You’re okay.”
Jess sidesteps the two of you embracing, so she can head back into the living room; just far enough to be out of the way but close enough to hear everything. 
Eddie’s touch manages, as always, to calm you down. Something about his entire being makes you feel seen and understood. It’s been that way since day one with him. When you’ve calmed enough that you think you could talk without Jess acting as an interpreter, you pull away from Eddie and wipe your tear streaked face off on the sleeves of your sweatshirt. 
“Eddie, please don’t break up your family for me.”
“Baby,” he slips up with the pet name, but neither of you says anything. “I’m just doing what I should’ve done ages ago. I never should have put you in this position.” Eddie aches to bring his hands up to your face, but he doesn’t want to overstep what you’re comfortable with. It’s killing him to see you visibly upset, knowing he caused it, and just holding you wouldn’t solve anything. 
You nod your head at his words. Some of the pain is starting to ease and you feel like you can breathe properly for the first time in days. You’d told Eddie you just wanted to see him doing something; taking a step in the right direction. And this was a pretty damn good step to take. “You’ve called this guy?”
“No, I didn’t call him. I spent all morning at his office,” Eddie says, and your head snaps up to meet his eyes. “I’ve done everything I have to for the process to begin. Now they work on whatever legal bullshit they’ve got to do, I guess.”
But there’s something else that’s been eating at you. Yes, Eddie should’ve divorced Brittany a long time ago. But now that he’s finally doing it, does he really want to jump from one relationship to another? “Are you sure you want this? You don’t want to stay single for a while? Because I’ll under—”
Eddie caves and brings his hands up to your face, leaning in to press his lips firmly against yours, trying to convey all the love and fondness he can through one kiss. 
“I love you,” Eddie says once he’s pulled away. “And you don’t have to say it back if you don’t feel it, but I needed to tell you. I fucking love you.”
There’s never been so much confusion in your heart before. Eddie loves you. The thought can’t seem to sink in. Eddie loves me. You know wholeheartedly that you reciprocate the feeling. You’ve known that you love him for a long time. But there’s still so much fear. It’s dampening the excitement of his declaration.
“I—I’m afraid,” you murmur, eyes unable to meet his. 
Eddie frowns, taking your chin in his hand and tilting it slightly upwards. “Am I that mean and scary?” There’s some humor behind his words, but they’re tinged with concern. 
“No.” You shake your head. “I’m afraid that if I say it back and it—it makes it real, it’ll hurt even more if…” You can’t even finish the sentence without choking up. 
“Hey, hey,” Eddie presses his lips to yours. “It’s okay. I get it. Baby, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, too. I mean, an old man like me getting involved with a total knockout like you? Beauty and brains?” He chuckles. “Let’s face it, pretty girl. I have a lot more to lose than you do.”
“I…I…” you hesitate, trying to muster up an ounce of courage. “I can’t do this, Eddie.” You gently press the business card back into his palm. “I can’t be in love with someone who’s married.” Your eyes widen as you come to a realization that makes you sick. “The boys…they’ll know I’m the reason that their parents split up.” You imagine their sweet, innocent faces blotchy with tears as they tell you they hate you. 
Eddie’s posture goes tense, and he almost sounds angry as he says, “Absolutely not. You gave me the courage to file, but my marriage was over long before this.” Your lips brush together in a series of chaste kisses. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He rests his nose on yours; the saltiness of his own tears mixing with yours as they seep into your tongue. 
“I think we need to wait,” you blurt out, words tumbling from your mouth before you can think them through. “Until Brittany knows that you’ve filed, and you’ve talked about it with the kids.” It’s painful to push him away, but it’ll hurt worse if you continue this and he decides not to follow through with the divorce. 
Eddie looks crushed, like he was hoping to sweep you off your feet and make love to you right then and there. “Right, yeah. That makes sense.” He sniffles, trying to will away the sting of your rejection. “When that happens, we can finally be together?”
“If that’s what we both want.”
“Baby, I’ll never stop wanting you.” He’s so tempted to pull you into him and leave harsh, bruising kisses down your jawline, claiming you as his. “I’ll wait as long as you need.”
You just nod, twiddling your thumbs to keep yourself from intertwining your fingers with his. “Do you still want me to watch the boys?” you ask shyly, cheeks burning at the ridiculousness of the question. “Because I get it if—”
“If it’s okay with you. We’d—they’d—really miss you if you just up and left.” I’d miss you most of all, he thinks, but keeps it buttoned up inside. 
“Yeah,” you concede, stepping back towards your bed. “I’ll see you all later, then.”
You’re about to close the door when you hear him say, “Wait.” He steps closer to you, business card between his pointer and middle fingers. “Hold onto this f’me, please?”
You initially hesitate before accepting the card again. “Okay.”
“Never want you to forget how I feel about you,” Eddie says, placing one last kiss on your cheek before he’s out the door, leaving you in a spiral of your own racing thoughts. 
As soon as Jess hears his footsteps disappear down the hall, she’s in your room. “I don’t normally tell you what to do,” she murmurs, rubbing small circles on your back, “but if you don’t marry this man, I will.”
You give her a playful nudge as you rest your head on her shoulder. “He’s gotta get un-married first,” you remind her—and yourself—bitterly. 
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After the conversation you had with Eddie earlier in the day, you’re a little worried things will be awkward when you pick Luke and Ryan up from school. But thankfully, they’re the same happy kids you know and love, and not a thing is different with them. It’s almost time for Eddie to come home when the three of you are finishing up a game of Candyland. Luke kept getting caught in the Molasses Swamp, so he huffs as you enlist their help in cleaning up the board and pieces. When the little boy stomps down the hall to put the game away, Ryan looks up at you. You give him a smile and his gaze shifts back to his lap. He glances back up at you and the unusual behavior makes you frown.
“What’s up, buttercup?” you ask.
“Why were you sad?” he asks, voice soft.
Frowning, you move some hair off of his forehead. “What do you mean?”
“On Saturday. You were talking with Daddy and then you got really sad and left. You didn’t even come say hi.” His sad brown eyes look so much like his father’s that it brings you back to when Eddie gave you the same look this morning. 
“I didn’t know you saw me.” You pause, fidgeting with your fingers in your lap. You’re not sure if Eddie had already said anything about it or not and you don’t want to contradict any explanation he might have given the kids. “Um, well, I was having a bad day. Do you ever have a day where you just don’t feel very happy?” Ryan nods. “That’s what it was. And I didn’t want to make you or Luke sad too, so that’s why I didn’t say hi.”
“Oh,” Ryan says, nodding his head. “Are you still sad?”
“Not as much,” you tell him truthfully. “Just a little.”
His little hand comes over and takes yours. “I don’t want you to be sad. You know what Daddy tells me when I get sad? That he loves me. And I love you. So, I’m telling you that.”
The smile that comes to your face is reflexive. Ryan is such a sweet boy, and you can’t imagine what your life would be like without him. You lean in and press a kiss to his hair, mumbling against it. “Seems to be a trend with the Munson boys today.”
“What?” Ryan asks.
“I love you, too,” you tell him, squeezing his hand gently. “You made me feel better.”
“Good!” A smile lights up his face and you wonder how this kid became so sweet despite having a mother like he does. Then the obvious answer hits you: Eddie’s his dad. Sweet, kind, means-well-but-sometimes-fucks-it-up Eddie.
You’re jostled from your thoughts by the sound of a key turning in the lock. Eddie hustles in, giving you a small smile.
“Hi,” he says simply, waiting for your response to see how he should proceed. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his coveralls.
“Hi.” You stand up and return his smile. “The boys were great today, as always.” You rest your palm on Ryan’s shoulder as he gives his dad a grin, showing off the gaps where his missing teeth are.
“We played Candyland, and I won,” he proudly reports. “And then I used your cheer-up trick! You know, when you tell someone you love that you love them.”
“Oh?” Eddie cocks an eyebrow. “Luke was that upset about losing?”
You shake your head. “No–well, yes,” you chuckle softly. “But he was talking about me. He saw that I was sad on Saturday and wanted to make me feel better.”
A wider smile spreads across Eddie’s face. “You’re a thoughtful kid, you know that?” he tells his oldest son, who doesn’t quite understand the concept of rhetorical questions.
“I know.” His candid demeanor makes you and Eddie laugh, and Ryan sprints to his brother’s room to announce that their dad is home.
You reach for your jacket, eager to leave before you’re tempted to talk to Eddie. Because you know precisely where that will lead.
“Hey, um,” Eddie digs into his pocket and pulls out more bills than usual from his wallet. “I’m gonna tell her tonight. Figured that’d go over better than just having her served.” He hands you your salary plus two extra twenties. “Could you take the boys out for dinner? Could just be McDonald’s or somethin’.”
You swallow thickly as you accept the money. “Y-Yeah,” you stammer, “how long will you need?”
“Give us an hour?” he shrugs. “Don’t think it’ll take that long; she’ll probably yell for a few minutes and then leave. But just in case she decides to stick around and scream for a while.” His chocolate brown eyes meet yours, making you shiver. “Thank you, baby–I mean, thank you. For, um, for everything.”
“Of course,” you nod. There’s a beat of awkward silence before you say, “I’ll go tell Luke and Ryan. They’ll probably be excited to have a Happy Meal.”
Eddie bites his lower lip as he watches you walk away. It’s going to be the hardest conversation of his life, but knowing it’ll bring you back to him makes it worth it.
Brittany comes home after you’ve already left with the kids, thankfully. Eddie’s waiting at the kitchen table, hands folded in front of him and knee bouncing up and down in nervousness. Brittany hangs up her coat and pauses as she passes the kitchen, raising an eyebrow as she sees her husband sitting there. 
“Um, hi?” she says.
“Hi, um.” Eddie kicks out the seat across from him at the table. “Can you sit? I need to talk to you about something.”
To his complete shock, she complies. “Where are the boys?”
“Uh, out to dinner. I needed to talk to you. Alone.”
“Okay.” Brittany crosses her arms over her chest before her face contorts in a sneer. “Wait. Is that little whore pregnant?”
Eddie bangs his palm against the table before pointing a finger at her. “Don’t you fucking call her that.” He takes a moment to compose himself, then a small smile creeps on his face as he thinks about the question. At the very thought of you having his baby.
“Holy shit, she is!” Brittany shouts.
“Oh, calm down!” Eddie rolls his eyes and motions for her to relax. “She’s not.”
“What’s with that dopey grin then, huh?” She spits the words at him, venom lacing every syllable. 
“Honestly? Cause the thought of her having my baby makes me really fucking happy. But that’s not—.”
“Ugh!” Brittany screeches. “What is wrong with you? I am your wife. Me! Remember? The one you promised yourself to?”
Eddie throws his head back and laughs, a hand slapping against his chest. “You’re actually serious? Really, Britt? You realize you’re the one who broke the vows first, remember? Years and years ago. So, you don’t get to act all high and mighty here.” Eddie licks over his lips, shaking his head. “You’re right, technically. You are my wife.” Not for long, he thinks to himself. “But we’ve been over a long time.”
“Just because you’ve decided it?” She arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. 
“Because you stepped out and stopped giving a shit about me.” Eddie holds his hands up. “I’m getting off track. Listen, I saw a lawyer today.”
“Why?” she snaps.
“I filed for divorce.” No sugar coating it. No beating around the bush. This shitshow of a marriage has already taken up too much of Eddie’s time. “And don’t blame her for it, because all she did was give me the courage to do what I should’ve done ages ago.” His eyes are blazing. “You only kept me around so you could pretend to have this perfect little life: husband, kids, house in the suburbs. Or maybe because you get some sick pleasure from stringing me along while you sleep with half the town.” That last part is probably a step too far, but he doesn’t care.
Brittany scoffs incredulously. “Fine, Eddie. You two enjoy your Barbie Dreamhouse life together. The boys and I will manage without you.” She starts to stand up, but she’s drawn back by a loud guffaw from Eddie. “What?”
“Do you really think they’re gonna want to live with you? Do you even know what goddamn grade they’re in? What they want to be when they grow up?” He watches her face fall. “That’s what I fuckin’ thought. And you know the saddest part? They know it, too. They know that their own mother doesn’t give a shit about them.” He wipes a tear from his cheek. “I bet you know every last detail about your boyfriends, though. You and your fucked up priorities.”
Brittany’s expression turns from shock to rage. “Get. Out.” she seethes, gritting her teeth. “Go stay with your girlfriend, since you love her so much.” She’s crying, too, but because she’s losing the argument, not because she’s losing her husband.
“You’re gonna wake up with them and get them ready for school in the morning? Tell me; what do they eat for breakfast?” He laughs tersely at her silence. “That’s what I thought.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m staying here. For Ryan and Luke.” His voice softens slightly. “You can stay here, too, until we sort this shit out.”
Brittany doesn’t take him up on his offer; instead, she storms out of the room and into the bedroom. She starts tossing clothes into a duffel bag, zipping it up and tossing it over her shoulder. “I’ll be back tomorrow after they go to school to get the rest of my things.”
She slams the screen door behind her, and Eddie hears her car start up and peel out of the driveway. He allows himself to sob, mourning the life he’d once had. But he still has his boys; his incredible, gentle, loving sons. 
And if he plays his cards right, he has you, too.
Eddie finally drags himself from the kitchen table to the bathroom where he washes his face. It’s all red and splotchy from the crying, and the tears are sticky on his skin. As he’s toweling himself off, the bathroom light glints off his golden wedding ring, reflecting in the mirror above the sink. Eddie sets the soft towel down and stares at his left hand. He should be upset about taking it off, he thinks. But as he slips it off his finger all he feels is immense relief. It’s as if the ring weighed a ton and now without it, he feels light as a feather. Walking into his room, he pulls open his bedside table and drops the ring inside. He’ll have to think of something to do with it, but for now, it’s fine lying in the dusty old drawer. 
The front door opens, and two loud voices echo back to the master bedroom. Rubbing his hands over his face one last time, Eddie heads out to greet his family.
“Daddy!” Luke calls when he sees him. “Look! I got a race car toy!”
“Wow,” Eddie says, taking the small blue car from his son. He looks it over and nods his head appreciatively. “This looks like something I’d want to work on in the garage.”
Luke giggles and takes the toy back, happily going over to the coffee table which he pretends is a road for his new car to drive over. 
“Hi, Dad! Bye, Dad!” Ryan runs towards the bathroom, making Eddie chuckle.
“Wasn’t sure he was going to make it home,” you say. Eddie slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans and gives you a small smile. His eyes catch on the chocolate shake in your hands, and you hold it out to him. “Got you this. Thought you might need it.”
“Thanks,” Eddie says as he accepts the treat. 
“How’d it go?” you ask.
Eddie heaves a sigh and shakes his head. “Pretty much how I expected it to. She left for the night—went God knows where. Says she’ll be back tomorrow for her things.”
As tense as things are between you and Eddie, you can’t help but step forward and place a comforting hand on his shoulder, rubbing over the thin material of his t-shirt. “I’m sorry. I can't imagine how hard it was for you.”
“The conversation? Yeah. Doing it? Nah. That wasn’t hard,” he says with a shrug. “How were the boys?”
You both know they were fine, but you take the hint that Eddie doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. He lifts the shake to his mouth and your eyes catch on his hand. At the bare ring finger. The sight makes your tummy do a weird flip that you’re not sure how to interpret. 
“They—They were fine. Good,” you say. “I, um, I should go now. Jess is probably wondering where I am.” You grab your keys and head for the door. 
“Wait!” Eddie calls out, a bit louder than he’d meant to. “Sorry. I just wanted you to know that there’s no time limit on…on us. I mean, if it’s a definite no, I’ll shut up and leave you alone...”
“Eddie,” you smile, more genuinely than before. “You’ve never shut up before, and I don’t expect you to start now.”
“You know what I mean though, right?”
“I do,” you agree. “And I need time to think, but it’s…we’re not off the table.”
Eddie grins; he has to stop himself from picking you up and spinning you around in celebration. “I can live with that,” he says finally. 
“You’d better.”
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Sure enough, Brittany comes back the next morning to pack more of her clothes. She briefly kisses Luke and Ryan hello, shooting a glare at Eddie that could kill.
“I’m giving you until Friday to move out,” she snarls once the boys are out of earshot. “We can figure out custody shit with the lawyer, but I think it’s best for them to be in the house for now. With me,” she adds pointedly.
Eddie sighs, exhausted from just the prospect of arguing. “Fine,” he concedes, “but just because I’m moving out doesn’t mean I’m not gonna fight like hell for them.” He zips up his coveralls and calls out for the kids to put their shoes on before they miss the bus.
“Whatever, Eddie,” Brittany rolls her eyes, slipping on her blazer and her nametag. “You know they won’t take kids from their mom. You’ll just get every other weekend like the rest of the loser dads.” 
Eddie takes the week to pack up his things, a pit in his stomach as he gets to the photos on his nightstand. The one of him and Brittany can go in the trash, but his heart pangs at the framed picture of his boys. The thought of waking up in the morning without them right down the hall is enough to make him cry.
“No,” he tells himself, “I’m gonna get custody of them. Full custody.” He can picture a new little home with you, Luke, and Ryan. And maybe another baby Munson or two, if you’re willing.
He makes plans with Steve to stay with him and his family, but on Friday morning, an exasperated phone call thwarts his plans.
“Hey, Munson,” Steve coughs into the phone, and Eddie winces when he hears how sick his friend sounds. “The whole Harrington bunch has the flu. It’s like an infirmary here.” He laughs softly, resulting in another round of hacking coughs. “I don’t think we’re quite up for visitors right now. I’m sorry, man.”
“S’okay,” Eddie grumbles. “Feel better.” He doesn’t have time to figure out new plans before he has to get to work, so he’ll just have to brainstorm through his oil changes today. 
When you pick the kids up from school that afternoon, you immediately notice how quiet both boys are—especially Ryan. You’re almost positive you know the reason why, but you debate with yourself the whole ride back to the house if you should say anything. 
Luke seems to be in a better mood once he gets a snack in him. He sits on the couch, little legs tucked up underneath his body as he munches on graham crackers and watches Scooby Doo. Ryan is still noticeably glum though, sitting at the kitchen table, his finger tracing random patterns on the green tabletop. 
“Hey,” you say, taking the seat next to him. There’s no way you can just stand by and see this sweet boy feel so lousy. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? If something is bothering you or is on your mind. Anything.”
Ryan nods his head, and you think he’s going to stay silent. But after a few moments he lifts his head up towards you, his large brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I don’t want to live here with Mom.”
It’s not what you expected to come out of his mouth. Any variation of “mom and daddy are breaking up” is what you thought you were going to hear. 
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
Ryan sniffles and wipes his nose on his sleeve. Any other time you’d correct him for it, but the least you could do is let it pass. 
“Daddy said Mom is staying here and Luke and I can’t come with him yet. He’s going to stay with Uncle Steve and it’s not fair because I know they have a big house and I’m little enough to share a room with Daddy. But he said me or Luke can’t.” 
Releasing a sigh, you wrap your arm around Ryan’s shoulders. It’s times like these where you don’t feel like the adult you legally have been for years. When you were a kid you thought adults always knew the right thing to say. Now you know that’s bullshit. 
“Oh, Ryan.” You press a kiss to the top of his head. “You know Daddy would give anything to have you both with him, don’t you? You know how much he loves you.”
“More than Mom does,” Ryan says matter-of-factly. It breaks your heart that he knows that at only seven years old. And you can’t bring yourself to lie to the boy by refuting the claim. 
“Daddy loves you so much,” you reiterate. “And I love you.”
“Hey,” Ryan says with a small smile. “You used Daddy’s trick, too.” 
“Look at that,” you say. “And I didn’t even mean to. I was just telling you the truth about how much I love you.” You pull him into a hug, and he climbs in your lap. The only other time he’s done this before was when he was sick, so you know he desperately needs the comfort. “Hey, I’ve got you. Everything is going to be okay.” Cradling him against your body, you rest your head on top of his. 
By the time Eddie gets home, both of the boys are crashed on the couch with you, one tucked on either side as Toy Story plays on the television. Their father looks wrung out as he steps inside, bags under his eyes and exhaustion worn into lines on his face. Both boys jump up and run to him like normal, but the way they cling to him this time is more desperate and needy. It brings a stinging pressure behind your eyes, and you have to blink it away.
“Hey!” Eddie says, attempting to be cheerful for them. “There’s my boys! How was your day?”
“Okay,” Ryan says at the same time that Luke shrugs. Eddie kisses both of their heads before unzipping his coveralls and giving you a small, weary smile. 
You’re not sure why, but you get the urge to stand up and follow Eddie down the hallway. He raises an eyebrow when you follow him into his room. Your eyes take in the boxes around the cleared-out space before looking back to him.
“Are you okay?” 
“Uh,” Eddie says with a shrug. “Hanging in there, I guess.” He sighs and runs a hand down his face. “Gotta blow some cash on a hotel though ‘cause the Harrington clan got the flu.” 
You frown at that. The offer is on the tip of your tongue, but you take a moment to consider it. Is it a good idea? Sure, the tension has eased a bit between the two of you over the course of the week, but it’s still there. It’s not that you feel awkward around him, exactly, it’s more of a yearning that you’re trying to keep in check. But you still love him, and you don’t want to see him wasting his money or spending time all alone holed up in some hotel.
“Eddie, don’t do that. Save your money. Come stay with me.”
His jaw drops and a rough chuckle falls from his mouth. “Sweetheart—you, you don’t have to do this. Really, it’s fine.”
Taking a step closer, you grab one of Eddie’s hands in your own. “You’re about to be a single dad to two growing boys. And paying a lawyer to try and get custody. Come on, just stay with me.” 
Eddie sighs, your logic wearing him down. Finally, he nods his head and licks over his lips. “Okay. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“No, it’s okay,” you tell him. “As long as you’re not wearing your dirty coveralls, you’re more than welcome to sleep next to me.” 
He sticks his tongue out at you. “My coveralls don’t make the cut, but you’re fine after being around germ machines all day?”
“They’re your germ machines!” you remind him.
When Brittany gets home, she completely ignores you. “You can go now,” she says to her soon-to-be-ex-husband. “Is your stuff packed already?” Eddie nods, but she’s already walked past him. 
“Boys, come say goodbye to your dad!” Brittany calls out half-heartedly. Eddie cringes at the way it sounds: your dad. Not dad, the father of this family; now he’s an outsider in his own home. 
Ryan and Luke trudge out of their rooms. “Daddy,” Luke asks softly, “can you stay? Please? You can sleep in my room if you don’t want to be near Mom.”
Eddie blinks back tears. “I’m sorry, bud,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads. “That’s real nice of you to offer, though.”
“I love you, Daddy.” Ryan throws his arms around his dad, squeezing him tight. “‘M gonna miss you.”
“Hey, hey,” Eddie forces out a chuckle, “I’m moving out; I’m not dead.” He looks up at you, and you give him a small, encouraging smile. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and we can go to the park, yeah?”
“All of us?” asks Ryan. 
“Um,” Eddie clears his throat, “I don’t know if Mom will—”
“No,” Ryan shakes his head. “I meant…” He looks at you, and you’re taken aback. 
“I don’t want to interrupt your father-son bonding time,” you gently tease, trying not to overstep your bounds. 
“But we want you to come!” Luke protests, glancing at Ryan for confirmation, who nods. “You can play tag with us. Daddy’s too old.”
“Excuse me, sir!” Eddie gasps. “Could an old man do this?” He takes each boy in one arm and throws them over his shoulder. They’re giggling and kicking their feet; Luke narrowly misses Eddie’s groin. “Hey, be careful of the family jewels,” he warns, making them laugh even harder. 
When he sets them down, he looks them square in the eyes. “Tomorrow. Playground. The four of us. And I will kick your little butts in tag. Got it?”
“Got it!” the boys echo, giving him one last hug before going back to play. 
You turn to Eddie. “Y’okay?” you ask him, though it seems like a dumb question. 
“Getting there,” he admits, slinging a duffel bag over his shoulder and managing a smile. “Let’s hit the road.”
Eddie throws his bag in his van and climbs in. He follows you as you drive to your apartment and pulls into the parking space next to you. When Eddie steps out of his van, you can tell he’d been crying on the drive over, but you can’t blame him one bit. 
Jess is sitting on the couch when the two of you walk in, a bowl of popcorn in her lap and Pretty Woman playing on the television. Her hand freezes halfway to her mouth, a few kernels of popcorn stuck between her fingers and her jaw hanging open.
“Hi, again,” Eddie says, giving her a sheepish smile. Jess raises her other hand in greeting, eyes darting over to look at you. 
“Yeah, we uh, we’ve got a house guest for now,” you say, cheeks getting warm. You gesture for Eddie to go ahead of you, into your room. Jess raises her eyebrows at you when you walk past, and you playfully swat at her before following in behind him. Closing the door, you lean against it as you watch Eddie drop his duffel onto your floor. 
“You hungry?” you ask. Eddie shrugs and slides his hands into his pockets. You huff a laugh and roll your eyes. “Eddie, we have food. I can make something.”
“Don’t wanna put you out any more than I am,” he says, shrugging again. 
“So, what? You’re not going to eat the whole time you’re here?” You raise your eyebrows at him and walk over, tugging on the zipper of his leather jacket. “You’re also allowed to take your jacket off, ya know? We don’t make our guests sweat or starve themselves to death.”
“Such a good hostess,” Eddie says with a playful smirk. 
“Oh, come on.” You open your bedroom door and walk out to the kitchen, waiting as Eddie trails along behind you. Pursing your lips, you open the freezer and peer inside. “Should we have ice cream sundaes for dinner?”
“Oh, the boys would be so jealous.” Eddie chuckles and reaches in to grab the ice cream. You put two bowls down on the counter and Eddie starts scooping as you grab any toppings you can find. Whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, cherries, and chocolate sauce. Eddie dips his finger in the chocolate sauce and puts a dot of it on your nose. He laughs when you go cross eyed trying to look at it. 
“Whipped cream, please,” you say, holding your hand out. The sound of the spout spraying out the airy cream meets your ears before you feel the cold stickiness hitting your palm. “I meant the can!”
Eddie’s smirk falls from his face as you lick the whipped topping from your hand, instantly realizing he walked right into you teasing him like that. It hadn’t been your intention to tease him though, and you feel your face warm up as you swallow the mouthful. Neither of you having eaten in hours, you inhale the sundaes, and Eddie manages to only get brain freeze once. You put the empty bowls in the sink to be washed later, and Eddie says he’s going to take a quick shower. As you grab a towel for him, you tease him about making sure he gets all the dirt from his coveralls off his body. He tugs on a strand of your hair before heading into the bathroom.
Even though it’s early, you change into your pajamas and get comfortable on your bed. You pull out your worn copy of Little Women and reread it for what must be the hundredth time. You’re so enraptured by Jo and Laurie’s banter that you don’t even hear the shower turn off. 
“Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie’s voice snaps you from your book. Your jaw nearly drops to the ground when you see him walk in, wearing nothing but the towel around his lithe waist. His curly hair is dripping wet, leaving little water droplets along his bare shoulders as he scrambles for his clothes. “Shit, ‘m sorry. Forgot my suitcase…”
“It’s fine,” you reassure him, marking your page with an old receipt and closing the book. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Eddie blushes, and it’s simultaneously the cutest and sexiest thing you’ve ever seen. “Y-Yeah, but we’re not doing, um, that anymore, so…” He grabs a clean pair of boxers and plaid pajama pants. “I’ll just get changed in the bathroom.” 
He comes back without a shirt on, and you cock an eyebrow in amusement. “Forget something?” you ask, trying to play it cool and not salivate at the sight of his tattooed chest. 
“Oh, yeah…” he grins sheepishly. “I usually get too warm to sleep with a shirt, b-but I can put one on if you’d feel more comfortable.”
The ache between your legs tells you that something else has to happen to alleviate your discomfort, but you push away that thought. “Nah, I’d rather sleep next to a shirtless Eddie than a sweaty one.” But that’s bullshit; you’d sleep next to any version of him you could get. 
Eddie flips you off before climbing into bed. “Longest week of my life,” he mutters. His arm instinctively snakes around your waist; it isn’t until you move to flick off your lamp that he realizes. “Fuck, ‘m just so used to holding you.” He starts to pull away, but you hold his hand in place. 
“You can hold me…if you want to,” you murmur, sliding deeper under the covers. “Y’don’t have to.”
But Eddie’s already tugging your back to his chest. “Don’t have to tell me twice.” His voice is muffled, face nuzzled against your shoulder blade. “Oh, and don’t mind him if he’s excited in the morning. He has a mind of his own.”
You throw his words back at him. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
A comfortable silence fills the air as you lay in his arms. He presses tiny kisses along your shoulders, making you shiver. 
“Eddie?” Your voice is so small that even you barely hear it. “Can I ask you something?” You adjust yourself so that you’re facing him, your nose touching his. His big hands fall to your thighs, and he rubs his thumb along them as he waits for you to elaborate. “The other day, when you said you love me…why?”
His face scrunches up in confusion. “Why did I say it? Or why do I love you?”
“Both, I guess.”
“Well,” he starts, bringing one palm up to cup your cheek, “I love you because you treat me and my boys with love, kindness, and respect. I love you because you make me smile on my worst days. Saying goodbye to Ryan and Luke tonight…I thought my heart was gonna break in half. But then you were there, and I knew everything would be all right. Maybe not right now, but it will be. You give me hope. And I haven’t felt that for a long time.” He offers you a little smile. “And I told you because you deserve to know how fucking loved you are.”
His confession leaves you breathless; it takes you a moment to process it all. “Eddie Munson, the fact that anyone made you question your worth…” you trail off, shaking your head. That isn’t what this is about. “You make me happy. I never knew that one person could be so kind, so thoughtful, so loving. And your boys…God, they’re just the best kids, all because of you. They see what a gentle, sensitive man you are, and they’re not afraid to show that side of themselves.”
“I’m actually very burly,” he pouts. “Dunno why you’re painting me as this big ol’ softy.”
“You’re right; I’m sorry,” you giggle. “You’re the toughest, grittiest guy I know. You could fight a kangaroo and win.” You feel his fingertips dig into your hips as he brings you even closer to him. “And those are just some of the reasons why…why I love you, Eddie.”
Even in the dim lighting of your darkened room you can see the way Eddie’s face lights up at your words. If your stomach wasn’t already a flurry from finally telling him how you feel, it would be from the sheer joy in his expression. 
“Say it again,” Eddie pleads, hand coming up to cup your cheek. “Please.”
“I love you, Eddie.” His smile is contagious as you mirror it, saying the words that have long been on your heart. 
“I love you, too.” 
It’s far from your first kiss, but as the two of you lean in towards one another, the electricity crackles in the air around you. There’s a giddiness and an earnesty when your lips touch that sends a shockwave through your body. It’s not your first kiss but it’s your first kiss since you’ve declared your love for one another. That makes it your favorite kiss of all. 
Eddie rests his forehead against yours, hand sliding down to your neck and his thumb brushing over your pulse point. Goosebumps break out on your skin beneath his touch, and he chuckles as he feels them against his fingertips. 
“Can’t believe you react that way because of me,” he says. “I feel like all of this is too good to be true.” 
You nod, your hand coming up to rest on top of his black widow tattoo, over his heart. “I know what you mean. I felt that way our first night.”
“Mm, but now,” Eddie says, pausing to press a kiss to the corner of your mouth. “It’s just you and me and nothing has to be hidden. I can take you out, hold your hand in public, kiss you in front of whoever I want—with your permission, of course.”
“What about the boys?” Your hand comes up to play with the damp curls at the base of his neck. “What do we tell them? It might be confusing for them to go straight from ‘Daddy loves Mom’ to ‘Daddy loves our babysitter.’” 
“That wasn’t exactly how it happened,” Eddie says with a breathy chuckle. “More like ‘Daddy stopped loving Mom a long time ago because she’s evil incarnate and then he met the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing woman who stole his heart.’”
“That might be a little tough for them to swallow,” you say, a playful smirk on your lips. 
“Well…” Eddie says, looking up at you through his dark eyelashes. There’s a shy expression on his face and it’s so foreign to his features. “What are we, then? Like, how would you want to describe what we have?” 
It sounds like such a high school question, but it’s important to figure it out and make sure you’re both on the same page. Husband and wife? your brain thinks automatically. You feel like you’re going to have to constantly kick yourself in the ass to make sure you don’t get ahead of yourself.
“Hmm,” you hum. “Well, you mentioned taking me out. Why don’t you ask me on a proper first date?”
“God, I haven’t done that since high school,” Eddie says.
“Didn’t they call it courting back then? You know, in the 1920’s?”
Eddie smirks and his hands instantly attach to your sides, tickling you until you’re a squealing, squirming mess below him. 
“Okay, so how about for our first date I take you to the bingo hall?” Eddie’s flat voice makes you giggle even harder. You drop your forehead to his shoulder and cuddle your body closer to his. 
“Nope,” you say, popping the p. “M’not 21 yet. Can't gamble.”
“Or drink,” Eddie realizes, his eyes widening. “Holy shit, I’m dating a Cabbage Patch Kid.”
A blush comes to your cheeks as you laugh, deciding not to point out that there is in fact a Cabbage Patch doll sitting in the corner of your room. “So, we’re dating, huh?”
“I guess we will be once I think of a perfect place to take you,” he says, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 
“And ask me,” you remind him, raising your eyebrows. 
“Right, right.” Eddie clears his throat. “Sweetheart, would you make me the happiest metal head this side of the Mississippi and accompany me on a date next Friday?”
Pursing your lips, you pretend to think his offer over. His eyes narrow at you as the silence stretches on.
“I would be honored, Edward.”
His nose wrinkles up at the formality of his full name. “Ugh, that sounds so snobby. Edward.”
“Hmm,” you tease. “How about Edwin? Edmund? Edgar?”
“Uh, no.”
“Oedipus?”
“Isn’t that the guy who fucked his mom and killed his dad?”
The rest of the night is like this; being silly and sneaking kisses as you cuddle up into each other. You feel so safe against Eddie’s chest, enveloped in his warmth. You start to drift off to sleep, but your rest is disrupted by his constant tossing and turning.
“Something on your mind?” You try to keep your voice light, but you can’t help the concern that seeps through.
Eddie slips his arm around your waist, thrumming his fingers along your hip. “Can’t stop thinking about my boys,” he murmurs. “I just wish they were here, too. Hate knowing that I won’t wake up in the morning to them fighting over Hot Wheels.”
You sigh, debating whether or not to tell him what you know. “I talked to Ryan today,” you begin, hoping you’re doing the right thing, “and he said that he wants to live with you. Not, um, her. He was sad that he and Luke had to stay in the house and not come with you.”
“Oh.” Eddie’s silent, processing what he’s just heard. “That makes me feel good, I guess. Too bad a judge won’t care.”
“What do you mean?” You prop yourself up on your elbow, facing him.
“She said that dads usually just get every other weekend, holidays, y’know,” he bites his lip nervously, and you kiss it to distract him. “I mean, I’m glad they don’t hate me, but it makes me sad that they’ll have to be with her if they don’t want to be.”
You shake your head. “Eddie, the boys–especially Ryan–are old enough that a judge will listen to what they want. And if they tell him or her that they’re more comfortable living with their dad, you might be able to get full custody.” He’s still quiet, so you press on. “I know you don’t want them being too involved in it, but it might be worth it if it means they get to be with you.”
Eddie caresses your cheek, a smile spreading across his face. “How do you always do this?”
“Do what?”
“Make me happy. Make me realize that everything will be okay.” He kisses your forehead lightly before yawning, finally able to relax. “I fuckin’ love you, baby. Sweet dreams.”
Waking up next to Eddie is the best feeling in the world. And he wasn’t lying about his morning…situation. You can feel his hard length pressing up against your thigh as he softly snores. You know you should probably wait until your first official date, but you haven’t stopped craving him since your last time together, back at the auto shop. Before you can stop yourself, you’re kissing his neck, the slight stubble that’s formed overnight scratching your cheek.
“Hey, sugar,” he murmurs sleepily. “What’s gotten into you, hm?”
“Missed you,” you manage, wrapping your leg around his so they’re intertwined. 
He chuckles, voice groggy and deeper than usual. “Missed me? ‘M right here.” His eyebrows shoot up when you reach down and gently graze his morning wood. “Oh, shit,” he hisses, “baby, if you touch me there…”
“I know,” you say between kisses. “I want you to. Please.”
Eddie’s fingertips dig into your side. “Y’know I can’t turn you down when you beg for me like that,” he growls, hooking a finger into the waistband of your lace panties and tugging them off. Before you can ask him for more, he’s diving beneath the sheets, bringing his lips to your inner thighs, alternating between kissing, sucking, and biting.
“St-stop teasing me, Eds,” you whimper. He’s so fucking close to where you need him to be, yet too far away. You can see the outline of his head as he gives a little nod, plunging between your legs. He licks a stripe up your folds, breathing heavily as he tastes you.
“You’re fuckin’ delicious,” he says, words vibrating along your core. “Could eat this pussy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, shit.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” you say, one hand fisting your sheet as Eddie’s tongue licks up another stripe. The other hand snakes its way into his messy curls, and he moans when you pull his hair.
 He brings his lips to your clit and sucks on it, grinning as he senses you writhing against him. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” he teases, slipping a finger inside your aching sex. 
“Fuck, Eddie,” you whine, trying not to buck up your hips, but your efforts are fruitless. Eddie’s on a mission to make you come as many times as he possibly can, and he’s making no attempt to hide it. You feel a second thick finger enter your pussy, stretching you slightly. His fingers pump in and out of you, his tongue keeping a relentless pace on your clit. The overstimulation from his mouth and hand pushes you over the edge, and you cry out his name over and over as you finish.
Eddie throws the sheet over his head, grinning widely. His chin is covered in your slick, and he wears it proudly. “That’s one,” he announces. “Ready for another?”
“Y-Yes, please.”
“Y’ask so nice for me, babe.” 
Blushing at his sweet words, you turn your head to hide your face in your pillow. Eddie tuts and gently tugs your chin until you’re looking up at him again. He chuckles at your shy look, leaning down to press slow kisses along your throat. 
“I love you, baby,” he mumbles against your skin. 
“I love you too, Eddie.” You feel his hips align with yours, and your jaw drops open at the pleasurable stretch as he begins to push inside of you. 
“Shit,” Eddie groans. “Missed your tight little pussy.” 
Your fingers clutch at his back, nails sure to leave some raised pink scratches by the time you’re done. “S’big,” you moan. “Don’t know if I can take it all.”
“You can,” he reassures you, going in deeper until he bottoms out. “You’re gonna take it all f’me. ‘M gonna fill you up s’good. Just please, gotta let me move, baby doll.” His eyes are pleading, desperate to rut up inside you.
“Can move, Eddie,” you say, nodding your head. The words have barely left your lips before he’s withdrawing, just to thrust back into you. A gasp leaves your lips as he fills you to the hilt again. It may have only been about a week since you’d slept together, but it felt like an eternity without having him inside of you. 
“Love you,” you say in between moans, and Eddie’s hips pick up the pace at your words.
“Love you, too. Fuck, baby, you keep saying that and this isn’t going to last as long as I want it to.” He huffs a breathy laugh and rests his forehead against yours. 
“That a challenge?” you ask with a smirk.
“Uh uh,” Eddie says, shaking his head. “M’gonna make you come over and over.” As if to prove his point, he slips two fingers into your mouth, putting pressure on your tongue. “Get ‘em nice and wet for me, baby. I know what that pretty mouth can do.”
Slipping your eyes closed, you swirl your tongue around his fingers, moaning around his thick digits. You open your eyes and meet Eddie’s dark gaze, his attention focused solely on your face as his hips keep snapping against yours. Once you release his fingers with a sharp pop, he brings them down to your clit, rubbing in a tight circle. 
A whine escapes your lips as you throw your head back, neck arching and exposed to the man above you. Eddie leans in and attaches his lips to the side of your throat, sucking and biting at the skin, determined to leave you with a mark that won’t fade any time soon. 
“Close, Eddie,” you say, hands coming up to tangle in his long curly locks again. 
“Come on, baby,” Eddie urges. “Gimme another one.” 
You do as he says, arching your back and wrapping your legs around the bottom of his ass and pulling him even deeper inside you. “‘M coming, all f’you.” He nods, slowing his pace slightly and allowing you to come down slightly.
“S’fucking beautiful when you come on my cock,” he muses. “Want one more from you. Can you handle that? Just one more?”
“One more,” you murmur, already fucked out from two back-to-back orgasms.
“Thas’ my good girl.” 
“C-Come with me this time?” you ask, voice hoarse. Tears prick at your eyes, and you wipe them away before he can notice.
“Aww,” Eddie coos, “did I wear my girl out?”
His taunting lights a fire inside you, and you smirk. “Actually, I want you deeper.”
“Fuck,” he throws his head back, withdrawing from you. He chuckles darkly when you hiss at the loss. “The faster you get on your hands and knees, the faster I can be back inside you.”
Muscles weak and protesting the movement, you force yourself to ignore it and do as Eddie says. His hands grab your hips, rough calloused fingers running over your smooth skin. 
“Mm, what a nice view,” Eddie admires as he removes one hand from your body to line his cock up with your hole. He teases you, sliding his length up and down your slit as you drop your head forward. Your whines only encourage him as he watches your hole flutter around nothing. 
“Please, Eddie,” you beg. 
“Anything for my needy girl,” Eddie says, and you don’t need to be looking at him to know there’s a smirk on his face. He slides back inside of you and your arms give out, upper body landing on your pillow. Your fingers scratch at your purple pillowcase as he slams into you. The repeated motion of his hips has the headboard banging against the wall and his heavy balls slapping against your clit. 
“Fuck, baby,” you breathe out. “So deep. So, so deep.”
“Tell me how it feels, princess. How’s it make my girl feel?” Eddie’s hand grabs onto your ass and slides it up your back. 
“So full,” you answer. “Love when you’re inside me.” The pressure of him against your walls has you clenching around his length. “Spank me, Eddie. I’ve been a bad girl.”
Eddie’s hips stutter; you’ve never caught him off-guard like this before. His palm meets your ass with a small whack, but it’s nothing compared to what you need. 
“No, harder. You won’t hurt me.”
A string of swear words slips from his lips as he smacks the fat of your ass with more power, leaving a stinging print. “More?” But he can’t follow through before he stammers, “fuck—shit—‘m coming.” His dick twitches, and he moans as he finishes. “Come with me; want you to cream my cock while I fuck you full of me. Want you to take all my cum, thassagoodgirlfuckfuckfuck.” He spills into you, continuing to thrust. “Take it, take it all. So fuckin’ good f’me, taking all my cum. Bet you want me to knock you up, don’t you?” The words leave his mouth before he can catch them. 
The thought of having Eddie’s baby normally makes you feel all kinds of ways; imagining him tenderly kissing your bump or staring at your newly-larger breasts in awe. It’s all pretend for now, at least until you graduate. 
Thank God for birth control, you think. But then your whole body freezes up. 
In all of last night’s excitement, you’d forgotten to take your pill. 
“Shit!” you cry out, pulling away from him. But it’s too late; you can feel his release dripping down your leg. You turn to him, misty-eyed, and explain the situation. 
“Don’t cry, pretty girl,” Eddie smiles, laying down and motioning for you to snuggle into his chest. “Would it be so bad? Having my baby?”
You shake your head. “I-I want your baby,” you admit, “but I gotta get my degree, get a job…” You gaze up at him incredulously. “You really mean it when you say you wanna get me pregnant? It’s not just dirty talk?”
Eddie laughs, putting his arm around you and pulling you closer. “Baby, if you only knew how many times I’ve gotten off thinkin’ about knocking you up…” He clicks his tongue. “Turns me on so…damn…bad…” he muses, punctuating the last three words with kisses to your neck. 
“Easy there; you just wore me out,” you giggle. “We should be okay. I can take two now, and I’m just a few days from getting my period.” You laugh harder when he frowns. “Don’t tell me you’re grossed out by periods!”
“No, but we can’t…y’know, practice making a baby while…” he pouts, and you tuck his hair behind his ears. 
“I don’t mind a little mess if you don’t,” you shrug. “Besides, orgasms help with cramps.”
His eyes light up. “Consider me your personal heating pad, then.”
You roll your eyes and swing your legs out of bed. “C’mon, we promised the boys we’d take them to the park.”
Eddie groans, overdramatically, and holds his hands over his heart as if he’s been shot. “You found it, baby. Literally the only thing that could get me out of bed with you.” 
This time when you roll your eyes, there’s a fond smile on your face as well. “I’m sure the boys would be glad to know that they’re prioritized over getting laid.”
“Well, first of all,” Eddie says as he scoops up his boxers from where they’d be kicked on the floor. “It’s not just getting laid. It’s having sex with you. Totally different, we’re making love now. Officially!” His face radiates joy as he jumps around, sliding his boxers up. “Because, you know, you said you love me and all. Remember that?”
Turning around from where you were digging some underwear out of your drawer, you put your hands on Eddie’s chest and smile up at him, placatingly. “I do remember. And I remember you saying you love me too. But the boys are still more important.”
Eddie laughs and presses a kiss to your hair. “They’ll understand when they’re older.”
Playfully, you shove him off of you, which only makes him grab you around the waist and pull you up against his body. You’re squealing as you try to get away from him, to collect your clothes for the day. But, unable to shake him, you settle for him helping you get dressed. 
“Can I stay here until the Harrington quarantine is lifted?” he asks, suddenly shy. 
You wrap your arms around his waist, pressing your chest to his. “Baby, you can stay here forever.” 
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peacelovepandora · 1 year
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New Breath, All Mine (Daddy's Here Sequel)
Jake Sully x Daughter!Reader
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everyone was heartbroken after the first part, and the demand for a sequel was high, so here it is. also, I want to give full credit to @vampxra for proposing this wonderful sequel idea!
I hope you like this (and also happy birthday @vampxra consider this a b-day present) ! sorry to put y'all through the trauma of the first part hopefully this makes up for it
do yourself a favor and listen to The Songcord during the first part of this one too lmao
enjoy xx.
Time no longer felt like a factor. Your existence was only peace. Smiling to yourself, you stared up at the swinging tendrils of the massive, effulgent Tree of Souls. The sky was dark and the stars--that you admired so deeply--winked down at you. As you laid on your back, allowing the softness of the ground to relax you, the feeling of an additional presence pulled you from your serenity.
Sitting up, you looked around until your eyes fell on a tall figure. As the figure walked towards you, it slowly developed from a silhouette to a blurred image before finally materializing.
Your eyes widened as you stood up, preparing to greet the approaching presence. Though you'd never gotten the chance to meet him, something within you confirmed that he was exactly who you believed he was.
He slowly made his way up the slanted roots before coming face-to-face with you. Your mouth dropped in awe as you gawked up at him. Amused by your reaction, he tilted his head, which slightly agitated the beads in his hair.
"No greeting for me?" he asked, smirking as he opened his arms.
"You are . . ." you breathed, "the great warrior. Brother of my father. Uncle of me. Tsu'tey."
His smirk grew into a smile as you rushed forward before colliding with his chest. As you wrapped your arms around his neck, he closed his arms around your torso.
Tucking your face into his neck, you spoke again. "It is so wonderful to finally meet you."
You felt his large hands briefly rub your back. "And you, as well, my strong little warrior." He pulled away, placing hands on your shoulders. "But, I am afraid I cannot stay."
You frowned at his words. "Why?"
He smiled gently, grabbing one of your hands in his. "I am here to deliver a message to you. The Great Mother has sent me."
Your eyebrows flew up as your lips parted. Remaining quiet, you waited for him to continue. "You have been called," he stated simply.
When you didn't reply, he placed a gentle hand on your cheek. "You have called back--by your family," he continued, "The Great Mother sent me to you, allowing your family to communicate this message. However, the choice is yours."
After a long moment, with wide eyes, you finally choked out a response. "You mean, I can return to them?"
Tsu'tey bowed his head, giving a single nod.
For the first time since you'd arrived--and you had no clue how long you'd been there--you felt conflicted. As much as you wanted to see your family, you felt guilty about leaving The Great Mother when she had called you to her.
Sensing your battling thoughts, Tsu'tey gave your hand a squeeze. Snapping out of your daze, you looked back up at him.
"The Great Mother understands all. Nothing will change her love for you. You will join Her again."
His words were the confirmation that you needed. Joy washed over you as a teary smile crossed your face. Raising his hand to your lips, you placed a gentle kiss on his knuckles.
"Thank you, my wonderful uncle," you whispered, "I wish we could have talked longer. I will miss you."
Another soft smile spread across his face. "We will see each other again," he replied gently, "and we will talk for all of eternity, if that is your wish. For now, go be with your family."
Taking one last look at him, you finally nodded and smiled. He gazed fondly at you before stepping forward. Then, he gripped both sides of your head before leaning in. As soon his lips connected with your forehead, the world around you went white.
-
"The Great Mother protects only the balance of life," Mo'at explained in a low voice, "The choice will be Hers."
"I understand," Jake replied, nodding his head, "I just . . . wanna give it a try."
Mo'at nodded once before raising her hands, signaling for The People to begin. The luminescent areas of the Tree of Souls, and the surrounding roots, began to flash repeatedly. Your body, which your family had brought back to the forest, was spread beneath the glowing tendrils. Slim, glowing tendrils--that were the size of blades of grass--wrapped around your body, connecting your physical body to Eywa. The People chanted--all of their voices becoming one as they begged for Eywa to return your soul.
Jake, who was sitting on your right side, stared down at your peaceful face, praying for a miracle. Neytiri, who sat on the opposite side, watched your state while rubbing a gentle thumb over your hair. Your brothers sat on either side of your legs.
As Mo'at continued to conduct the revival ceremony, the flashing lights grew faster.
"Ting mikyun ayoer, ruxte, ma nawma sa'nok!" Mo'at chanted.
"Srung si poeru, ma Eywa!" The People chanted.
"Please," Jake whispered, "Bring her back to us."
Neytiri, being the only one that heard his words, placed a hand on his. He looked up, meeting her gaze before giving her a soft smile.
"Eo Eywa oe 'ia, eo Eywa oe 'ia, eo Eywa oe 'ia, eo Eywa oe 'ia," Mo'at repeated, rolling her eyes to the back of her head.
Arms spread out, she shook over your body, allowing herself to become lost within the ceremony. The lights within the roots flashed faster, resembling a strobe light pattern now. Then, after a long minute of chanting, Mo'at came to a sudden stop. Snapping her eyes open, she signaled for the people to cease their chants.
She lowered her gaze to your body, moving slowly as she kneeled over you. Jake's heart pounded against his ribcage as he waited for Mo'at to speak.
With an awestruck expression, Mo'at finally broke the silence. "She is with us."
Jake withheld a gasp as he snapped his head to Neytiri. Neytiri, who had been looking at her mother, turned to Jake. They stared at one another for a moment before lowering their gazes to you. Reaching out, Jake brushed a loose strand of hair from your forehead before cupping your face.
The air was still. No one dared to speak, or even take a breath. All they could do was wait.
-
"She is with us."
The echoing voice was familiar to your foggy mind. However, distinguishing who it belonged to was too much effort for you. At the moment, all you could do was try to center yourself.
For the longest time, you felt disconnected--like you were a floating presence, suspended in an airless vacuum. However, ever-so-slowly, you began to feel the world around you.
There was air. It was crisp, but not uncomfortably cold. Something soft was behind you, but you couldn't distinguish what it was. Your existence slowly morphed from nothingness to darkness.
It's dark, you thought to yourself, before realization began to dawn on you, My eyes must be closed.
Then, the object behind you became clearer as you felt gravity pushing down on you.
I'm laying down, you realized, I'm laying down on something soft, and I feel it behind me.
The elements of the surrounding world, that you'd once known, were slowly beginning to materialize in your mind, grounding you from your spiritual state.
As you became aware of the body that you were in, you struggled to move. However, you felt paralyzed.
Slowly, my child. Not yet, an unknown, yet comforting voice rang within your head, startling you, You will return at your own pace.
Suddenly, something agitated you. Then, it agitated another part of you. Concentrating, you tried to picture your surroundings.
My face, you decided, Someone is touching my face.
The touch did wonders to ground you further. It gave you perspective. You relaxed into its warm embrace, allowing the remaining parts of yourself to materialize. Before long, you felt steady.
Your body was laying down on the soft, marsh-like material of the ground. Small tendrils were gripping the sides of your skin. A large hand was cupping your cheek, slowly rubbing a thumb over your cheekbone. At last, you felt like you could breathe.
"Hhhh." A small, almost intangible, sigh, left your lips.
The thumb froze its movements, lifting itself above your skin, hovering shakily over your cheek.
"Baby girl?" a hesitant voice spoke.
It was so close. It had to be right above you. Fatigue faded and a new wave of strength washed over you. Using this strength, you concentrated on the muscles of your eyes. After a minute, you managed to lift them open.
At first, everything was white. However, the white quickly faded as a hazy world transpired before you. You were too busy trying to clear your vision to take notice of the gasps and screams around you.
"Oh Great Mother!" a voice wailed, "Great Mother, thank you! Thank you!"
The back of your head was cupped and two faces nuzzled into your cheeks. Blinking rapidly, you finally saw the world clear around you. The faces lifted, and you met the gazes of your mother and father.
After processing their faces, you finally gained the strength to speak.
"Hi." Your voice came out breathlessly.
Smiling widely, they both broke into a relieved wave of laughter. Their eyes, which were pouring with tears, glanced at each other before returning to you.
"Hello, my love," Neytiri replied as Jake spoke a raspy, "Hi, baby girl."
"Baby sister?"
Your eyes shifted behind your father's head. A joyous expression spread across your face as Neteyam and Lo'ak came into view. Tears were leaking from their faces, as well.
"Big brothers," you greeted, smiling widely at them.
Neteyam ran his hand over his face, wiping the tears, before scooting closer to you. When he reached his hand out, you immediately outstretched yours. The two of you grabbed hands and squeezed tightly. Lo'ak did the same, grabbing your other hand.
"I love you, big brothers," you said before turning to your father, "Daddy?"
He'd been staring at you, an expression of astonishment still evident on his face. "Daddy?" you called again.
He snapped out of his trance. "Y-Yes?" he replied, nerves evident in his voice, "I'm here, I'm here."
"Uncle Tsu'tey," you answered, making his mouth fall agape, "He delivered the message--from all of you. He told me that you all were calling to me, and that The Great Mother could return me to you."
Jake's eyes, which had slightly calmed, were overwhelmed with a new wave of tears. Tilting his head, he gripped the back of your neck.
"Is that right?" he asked, shifting his eyes to Neytiri.
When you turned to your mother, she smiled at you. "He is your family too," she whispered, brushing a finger over your cheek, "He came for guidance."
Nodding your head, you released your brothers' hands before cupping the back of your parents' heads. They leaned in, allowing you to hold them closely. Jake and Neytiri reached their hands out, pulling Neteyam and Lo'ak in as the family wrapped themselves around your small body.
-
As your family walked away from the tree, along with the rest of The People, you looked up at your father.
"Daddy?" you called.
Jake, who had been walking with an arm around your shoulders, looked down. "Yeah, baby?"
Your mother, who was holding the hand farthest from Jake, looked over at the sound of your voice.
"Are we still living with the Metkayina?" you asked.
He sighed before tightening his grip on you. "It isn't safe for you here, because this is our home. It's known to everyone," he answered, making you nod in response, "but with the Metkayina, you'll be safer. And, should anything happen, you'll be protected by Tonowari and his family while we go out on the field."
Gazing in front of you, you answered in a quiet voice. "I won't be fighting anymore."
"No." Jake, Neytiri, Neteyam, and Lo'ak replied together.
"Hell no. Absolutely not. Out of the question," Jake continued sternly, "We lost you once, but were fortunate enough to be blessed with a miracle."
When you didn't respond, he glanced down at you. Sensing his eyes, you lowered your gaze before nodding obediently.
Realizing that he'd let his emotions get the best of him, he halted his movements before turning to you and cupping your face with both hands. "I'm sorry, baby girl. I just--I got a little . . . " He stopped, closing his eyes to collecting his words. "I won't lose you again," he whispered, shaking his head as his eyes grew hazy, "I wouldn't--I couldn't even bear it the first time."
Feeling your own eyes gloss over, you tilted your head before gripping one of his wrists. "I know, Dad. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
His hands, which were rubbing your cheeks, moved up to cup the top of your head. They smoothed over your head and ran down your lengthy hair. He'd always petted your hair, but you knew that this act of comfort was moreso for himself, than for you.
He couldn't believe you were there, standing right in front of him, breathing again. He was so afraid that, if he disconnected his physical touch, you would disappear and fade into a cloud of dust.
"Don't apologize," he finally replied, "Don't you ever apologize for this. If anything . . . we should be thanking you . . . for coming back to us."
He shifted his gaze to look at the rest of your family. Neteyam stepped closer before taking your free hand. After smiling glossily at each member of your family, you looked back at your father.
"I still needed all of you," you replied, "and you still needed me."
Cupping the back of your head, Jake placed a kiss on your forehead.
-
The pain, so familiar, was almost as strong as the first time you'd felt it. The vision of your chest, and the red liquid leaking from it, was branded into your mind. It was so clear, like you were in the moment, once again.
"Y/N."
You looked up at Neteyam, and his petrified gaze that paralyzed you.
"Baby girl, look at me. Open you eyes."
Sucking in a harsh breath, your eyes snapped open as you jerked yourself to a sitting position. Panting, you blinked rapidly before looking around, desperately trying to establish your surroundings.
"Baby, hey. Hey, hey, hey."
Arms were around you, restricting your movements. The panic spiked within you as you thrashed harder, still seized by the terror of your nightmare.
"Shh, shh, shh. I know, I know. It's okay, it's okay."
You finally recognized your father's soft coos. Freezing your movements, you looked around the dimly-lit hut. However, when your eyes failed to locate him, your breath picked up again.
"Dad," you wheezed, feeling your chest tighten up.
"Here, baby," Jake whispered, gently turning your head to face him, "I'm right here."
He was cradling you, but his arms were also restricting your arms, keeping them at your sides. You wheezed as you struggled to break from your frantic state.
"I was--It was--"
He only nodded, rocking you in his lap. "I know, I know."
Jake knew what your nightmare was about. In fact, he'd been expecting this. There was no way that you'd adjust back to your life without the trauma you'd experienced coming back to haunt you in some form.
Your shallow breaths prohibited your ability to form a sentence. "I can't--I can't--"
"I got you," he whispered, nodding down at you, "I got you, baby. It's all over. It's all over."
He grabbed your shaking hand and pressed it to his chest, allowing you to feel his heartbeat. As you rested your head in the crook of his elbow, Jake kept his gaze fiercely trained on you and stopped his rocking movements.
"You feel this?" he asked, squeezing you gently to emphasize his grip on you, "I've got you. You're mine. My baby, my little girl. All mine." He shook his head. "No one's taking you from me ever again."
Shaking all over, you sucked in a harsh, audible breath as tears began pouring down your cheeks. A long, loud sob tore through your lips before you took in another loud breath.
It took everything in Jake to hold back his own tears. The fragility of your state made it imperative for him to show no signs of weakness. You were looking to him for comfort--for protection from the horrors of your mind.
"Big breaths, baby. Big breaths," he instructed, resuming his rocking movements, "That's it."
Using his chest as a reference, you slowly adjusted yourself to imitate his breathing patterns. He flattened his large hand over yours.
"That's my girl." His voice proved to be highly therapeutic for you. It was the first voice you'd heard, and the last one you'd heard. "So good. You're doing so good."
After a long few minutes, he'd finally managed to ground you from your panic attack. Your breaths grew even and your sobs quieted. Apart from Jake's continuous rocking motions, no signs of you distress remained.
"All mine," he repeated, shaking his head in disbelief as he gazed down at you.
As your eyes began to droop, you snapped them open. Finally breaking from Jake's grasp, you sat up before scooting next to him, never taking your hand off of his chest.
He squeezed the hand that he was holding. "What is it, baby?"
"I can't go back to sleep," you whimpered, shaking your head, "I won't."
Jake sighed, completely understanding your fear. However, he desperately wanted you to get some more rest, knowing the toll a lack of sleep could take on you--physically and emotionally.
He thought for a moment, rubbing his thumb over your hand. Then, an idea finally materialized in his head. Gently, he stood up, raising you up with him. When you gave him a questioning look, he nodded towards the hut entrance.
"C'mon," he said, taking your hand and guiding you towards the doorway.
The two of you walked a small distance before arriving at a hammock that your family had set up outside the hut. Jake sat on the swinging object. Then, he spread his legs out and positioned himself to lay down. Finally, he gave your hand a gentle tug, signaling you to come to him.
"C'mere."
He pulled you into the spot next to him, cupping your head as you placed it on his chest.
"I don't want to sleep," you stressed, earning a shush from him.
"We aren't," he whispered, "We're stargazing."
For a long moment, Jake waited until he felt you relax against him--completely letting your guard down--before initializing the second part of his plan.
His mind hadn't wandered to his Earth life in years. However, a soft, Earthling tune, echoing from the distant memories of his childhood, overtook his mind when you'd first protested the idea of sleeping.
Prior to Pandora, music--or any artistic realm--never proved to be Jake's forte. However, life with the Omaticaya had changed every fiber of his DNA. Many nights had been spent singing, dancing, chanting, and celebrating. Therefore, it wasn't too out-of-character for him to sing for you. However, it was unusual for him to sing an Earth song.
"Stay awake, don't rest your head," he slowly began, making your eyes--which you hadn't realized had closed--snap back open, "Don't lie down upon your bed."
He couldn't place where he knew the song from but, for some reason, the lyrics came with a foreign ease. "While the moon drifts in the skies, stay awake don't close your eyes."
Glancing down to check on you, he watched your eyes begin to droop again. Acting carefully, he began petting your head, further coaxing your tiredness. "Though the world is fast asleep, though your pillow soft and deep," he continued, dropping his voice to a lower volume, "You're not sleepy as you seem. Stay awake, don't nod and dream . . ."
Just as he'd hoped, your head fell limp on his chest. Releasing a breath, he leaned down and gave you a kiss. Then, he relaxed against the hammock, enjoying the feeling of your beating heart and peaceful breaths--simple things he was so thankful that you'd been given a second chance at possessing.
Taglist : @eywas-daughter @pturnersblog @bombshe77 @faatxma @scryarchives @gamorxa @222krn @ellabellabus07 @perfectprofessorloverapricot @raefoxi@egirl @vampxra @itssiaaax @tinkerbelle05 @brittclass-18 @missroro @aisylazzy @leomatsuzaki @joey-hoey @eternallyvenus @mae-is-crazy
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mrzombielover · 18 days
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Hello! Perchance, ur request is still open? I'd love your take on something that's been rattling in my brain. If you can't disregard the rest of the message, no worries! 😊 Human!Adam x Angel!Reader, I'd love an obsessed Adam who grew close to the reader after the fallout of his relationship with the trio (Luci, Lilith, and Eve). After being kicked out of Eden, he separates from Eve for years which is when he meets, well, you.
omg hi yes reqs are open!! everyone reading this pls send me more adam stuff the brainrot is realll and i need him in a way that’s concerning to feminism
also i just wanted to say thank you again for all the kind words you leave on my slow ride series it is so sweet and motivating :,)))))
warnings: none || wc: 842
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When everyday in heaven is a perfect day, you tend to find yourself becoming bored. You fulfill your duties, chitchat with the other angels, eat your fill of the sweetest fruits and lay to sleep on the softest clouds. You can sunbathe, go for a swim, see your closest friends however much you prefer. Heaven is, well, perfect- it was designed to be. Everyone else is perfectly satisfied, you should be perfectly satisfied.
So why do you find your mind wandering?
When everything is perfect, you’ve found lately that you’re lacking a sense of fulfillment. Of purpose. And above all else, you’re bored.
This is when your habit started. It’s harmless, really, you just had an itch of curiosity that needed to be scratched. Sure, your job had basically nothing to do with the humans on earth, but they were so fun to watch.
There’s not many of them right now, but they’re all so fascinating, especially the little ones. You couldn’t fathom it, being mortal. Originally, you thought they lived such trivial lives, but upon closer inspection, they’re not so different from your own.
After the fall, they’re completely separated from you now. You wish there was a way for you to let them know that there were still angels watching over them.
Your favorite, though, is Adam. After eating the fruit of knowledge, he’s different. As to be expected, though, when he suddenly has knowledge of good and evil, concepts he couldn’t even fathom before.
He’s funny. It’s terrible, some of the things he says, and even worse that you find it amusing. He’s charming, in a way.
One day, you just can’t help yourself anymore. It hurts you to see them struggle. Since leaving the garden, they’ve known pain and suffering. Struggle. Hunger. And though you’ve never experienced those yourself, the thought brings you sadness. You can’t imagine suffering so, and there’s a sense of guilt because you know that you have the power to make things easier for them.
You feel such pity, watching them, so far away, as they lament about missing the garden. Adam says that, most of all, he misses the fruit. The berries here never seemed to be as sweet.
It’s no coincidence when, not long after, he discovers a bushel of all the fruits he’d missed. It nearly brings him to tears when he takes a bite, the sweetness on his tongue and juices rolling down his chin. And it’s not much, but the pride that blooms in your chest as you watch is the best thing you’ve felt in millennia.
So you leave more gifts for them. You ought to be more careful, you’re pretty sure you could get in trouble for this. But if you’re not actually talking to them it’s fine, right? That’s just a line you won’t cross.
“Holy fuck-“ You dropped the basket you were holding. “It’s you!”
That startled you. How had a human managed to sneak up on you??
“I knew it-!”
You quickly shush him, looking around anxiously.
“I’m really not supposed to be here,” You say quietly, but you crack a small smile. He smiles, too.
You straighten up, and you mean to leave, but then he grabs your arm.
“Wait!” You can feel the blood pumping beneath his mortal flesh against the skin of your arm, what a strange feeling. “You have to leave already?”
You pause, biting the inside of your cheek as you consider it. Oh, you really shouldn’t. But you’re missing the warmth from his touch on your arm already.
Though you know it’s wrong in every sense of the word, you figure a few minutes couldn’t hurt. So you sit with him. You tell him about heaven, how every day is perfect, how one day he’ll forget what any of this feels like. And he tells you about Lilith and Eve, and how lonely he is down here. You tell him you wish you could fix that, frustrated by your own incompetence.
“Trust me, you’ve done enough,” He laughs, but hes putting a hand on your shoulder reassuringly. The touch is innocent, but it (embarrassingly) takes a great effort to keep your wings still.
Adam doesn’t move his hand away this time, and you cautiously raise your hand and put it over his. You turn to look at his face, and his eyes flicker briefly to your lips.
Then he leans closer to you, and presses his lips against your own, in the same way you’ve watched other humans do. It’s an odd sensation, he’s so warm, and causes a feeling you’ve never felt to stir in your chest. and this time, your wings do flutter.
you’re utterly speechless when he pulls away, already longing for his touch again. but you’ve already spent too much time here, and on top of all the rules you’ve broken lately, that was probably a big one.
you stand up hastily, and you feel a pang of sadness at the look on his face.
“I’ll see you again, I promise,”
He can’t wait.
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reblogs + comments greatly appreciated :)
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Blind Offer 5
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Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon, manipulation, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary: After a leak causes you to evacuate your apartment, your landlord offers a vacant unit that’s too good to be true. (short!plus!reader)
Character: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Lloyd Hansen, and August Walker
Note: I wish this week would be over.
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me <3
Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)
Love you like I love turning intended one shots into series. Take care. 💖
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The checkered fabric beckons you forward. Your fear smothers all doubts. You're in no place to question any of this. What will they do if you don't listen? Who are they? The voice that comes from thin air. Certainly Steve too.
You touch the dress and move it aside to unveil the small lumps beneath. A set of red lace lingerie to match the shade of the checkers. You swallow tightly and pull your hand back. You look at your fingertips as if they've been singed. 
You tremble and touch the hem of your shirt. They're watching. You shudder and slowly raise the cotton. You try not to think about what's happening. Just get through it.
You drop your shirt on the bed them quickly push down your sweatpants. You heap them atop the tee and close your eyes as you peel off your underwear. You sniffle as you don the red lingerie and figure out how to tie the little string at the waist of the dress.
Your eye is caught by the shiny red shape at the foot of the bed. A pair of heels. It's not hard to guess you're supposed to put them on.
There's a chime, the same jingle as before. You spin as you search around and tinkles again. It's coming from downstairs. You clamour out into the hall and cling to the banister as you descend. You go back to the kitchen and read the screen.
'Check your phone.'
Your heart leaps. You trip over your toes but keep upright as you run into the front room. You go to your phone but deflate in an instant. There's a video pulled up on it and nothing else. No status bar, no time. What the heck?
A message pops up over the paused video thumbnail, a woman's eye up close. You read the font in the bubble before it disappears.
'Upstairs bathroom. Press play. You'll know what to do.'
You lower the phone. Right. Not cryptic at all. You teeter on your heels before you can gain your balance again. You clop out and to the stairs. You take off the shoes before your climb and keep them in hand as you skirt down to the bathroom.
As you enter, there's a sparkly pink case on the counter. That wasn't there before either. You put the shoes on the tile and lean your phone against the mirror, leaning it just so before you tap play. You twine your fingers through each other as a beaming woman smiles at you from the screen. She welcomes you to her video with her cherry red lips and expertly lined eyes.
"Today, we're going to learn how to get the perfect look!" She chimes and frames her face, "so first, lets go over our tools."
She smiles so big, her cheeks are round, almost twitching as her eyes bulge just slightly. She lifts up a small bottle. 
"Let's go over our base..."
She lists off the items, showing each to the camera. You reach to open the case as you listen, revealing a collection of cosmetics. Wow. You keep a few essentials, tinted moisturizer, some mascara, a touch of gloss, but nothing too substantial.
She presses on, going through everything you'll need for eye, lip, and cheek. When she finishes, she smiles even wider and stares. The camera lingers a bit too long and the hollowness in her eyes unsettles you.
"But first, we have to start with a naked face. Let's go!"
She claps her hands in front of her and the shot transitions. Suddenly, her face is barren of makeup. You notice the fatigue under her eyes and the vibrancy missing in her skin. She looks above the lens and her lips quiver. She gives a small nod and clears her throat, as if distracted by someone else.
"Alright, let's begin," her voice creaks at first but she quickly steadies it, "are you ready?"
You feel icky watching the video. You're not ready. This is demented. This cannot be real. It's a horror movie come to life.
"Find your primer," she presents a tube proudly, waiting. 
You look down and search for a similar tube. You shake your head as you take it out and look back to the screen. She starts by showing you where exactly to apply the primer. You hesitate. The video on your phone pauses and another message pops up.
'I can wait, doll.'
You inhale and lean in. You focus on the screen and the video skips back ten seconds. You uncap the primer and follow along with the application. The longer you look at the woman, the more you notice. That mark on her neck, a patch darker than the rest of her skin.
She moves on to foundation. The video pauses again as you struggle to find the right bottle and a clean sponge. Then concealer, and some blush, bronzer, and highlighter. You're starting to sweat.
"And that's the base," she preens, tilting her head back and forth to show the effect of her contouring, "isn't that pretty?"
She stops, smiling, staring. The shot cuts again. She pulls her hand away from her chest and bats her lashes.
"N-now," she stutters, "now, we have to do our eyes." She leans closer to the lens and you notice the slightly puffiness in the brims of her eyelids, "remember, we don't want to mess this up. We have some nice waterproof products to make sure we stay perfect, from morning to night." She looks up, above the frame, "we don't want to be crying it all off because we had one bad day, right?
"Now, I'm going to try a nice shade of gold for today's look but you can really be creative. Go wild and choose whatever you like. But nothing too loud, we don't want to scare him away."
She winks at the camera in a theatrical manner. You take out a palette and lower your head. You can't move. You're frozen. This is too much. There's something just off about all of this.
"What kind of Stepford bullshit--"
The video stops. Another pop up. You peek up at it. There's only two big red exes in the bubble. Alright, fine. You open the palette and pick out a brush. The video resumes. You really hope this stuff is waterproof because you're about to have a goddamn breakdown.
You get closer to the mirror as you work on applying the shadow. You go with a subtle caramel and amber combination. You're not very good at it but the instructions are easy enough. Nothing too difficult as long as you keep up.
You finish the eye after fighting the liner. You're starting to get the hang of it. Wait. No. That's not a victory. You don't want this.
Eyebrows. Do you really need to do all this? Right, now lips. You take out the candy apple red and delicate trace the shape of your mouth. Finally, a setting spray that nearly makes you sneeze.
"And that's it. You're all done," the woman announces, "you're ready to--"
The screen cuts. The image of the woman with her makeup smeared covers the screen for a split second then disappears to a credit screen, congratulating you on completing the the look. You gape, stunned, and take a step back. Alright, this is twisted.
The video exits out and you're left only with a blank screen. The next message takes over the expanse; kitchen. You grab the phone and take it with you, swiping up the shoes as you go.
Downstairs, you plop the shoes down and face the Echo as it chimes again. Your next directive is on the screen. A timer that reads 'Dinner, t-minus 2 hours'. You hear the television mounted in the corner flick on and you turn to see the same woman as before.
"Hello. Welcome. It's good to see you." She puts her hands on the counter, staring again. She flinches. "Please, don't make--" The video cuts. "Today!" She points at the camera, "we're going to make a classic; meatloaf."
You walk closer to the screen. There's something wrong with this woman. This isn't Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart. This is horrifying. She pauses, nodding, her smile getting bigger, than falling, and spreading again. It's as if she's glitching.
Another jarring switch. She's by the fridge, speaking intimately as the camera is angled down at her.
"So, let's get our ingredients, ladies," she announces, "now, we can go with lean turkey if we're being mindful or we can go with a classic beef." She reaches inside and takes out a paper packet, "nice and fresh."
The screen pauses on her hands. There's a broken nail among her perfectly manicured hands. You back up and drop your shoulders. You drag your feet to the fridge and pull out the ground beef in the same brownish red paper. The video starts again.
You put the beef on the counter and wait for the next ingredient. One buy one you get everything out. Then you get your tools, bowls, pans, knives. You admire the long silver blade as it slides free of the block.
"It's important," the woman chirps from the screen, "not to play with knives..  you could get hurt."
You look up as she holds up a knife and shakes her head. You frown as she grabs the blade and slides her palms down it, leaving a red sheen on the silver.
"See? Always be safe," she grips the knife by the handle as her blood drips onto the counter. "Lets prepare our veggies first–"
The blip is less than subtle. Her hand is suddenly wrapped in cause thought the drops of blood remain on the cutting board. You put the onion on the wooden surface and dice along with the happy host.
The step-by-step directions keep you occupied enough to ignore the tremor of fear inside you. Your thoughts fade to background as you pull the lid off the breadcrumbs. You work through the recipe mindlessly until you have the meat neatly in the loaf pan.
As you open the oven door, that small voice of logic breaks through. Who are you cooking this for? It's an awful lot of food for just you.
"Now we can work on our sides," the woman sings, "roasted potatoes and charred asparagus."
🖤
You stand before the table. It’s set precisely to the standard set by the woman on the screen. Cutlery, cloth napkins, tall glasses, and a jug of iced lemon water. 
The timer counts down and dings. You rush over to hit clear and grab the oven gloves. You take out the pan of meatloaf, then the roast potatoes. You place them carefully on the stove. It smells delicious but your appetite is scant. You’re not very concerned with food at the moment.
You wince as the television flicks on again and the woman holds a spatula and talks to the camera, almost as if she’s talking directly to you. 
“Now, it’s time to plate dinner,” she explains, “now I know, it’s just meatloaf, but it doesn’t mean we can’t spruce it up. Let’s begin by slicing the loaf.”
You huff and push your head back. This is a chore. You don’t think you’ve ever put this much effort into a meal. 
“We want to make our romantic dinner for two perfect,” she chimes as she sets out two plates, “for our very special someone. The most handsome man…”
She bats her lashes as she gives another tense smile. Forced and frightening. The camera slowly pans in before suddenly pulling back. You blow off the unease and open the cupboard.
You once more follow along with the knock off Julia Child. You get two plates set, the meat placed just so, the potatoes scooped out in delicate measurements, the asparagus lines up neatly. You put each plate on a table mat and take a step back. 
So, what next?
Ding dong.
The loud chime makes you jump. You don’t move. You wait and listen until it comes again. The doorbell?
You turn on your heel and pass into the entryway. As you do, the door opens from the other side. Your lips part in shock as Steve steps inside, greeting you with a smile as the security system alerts you to the open door and secures again as he lets it fall shut behind him. You clasp your hands together, questions racing but no words coming.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he smiles, “you look…” his eyes fall to your feet. “Adequate.”
You follow his gaze and curl one foot behind the other. You left the heels off. You suppose that was wrong. Wait, no, this is wrong. What he’s doing is wrong.
“Excuse me?” You scoff.
“Dinner smells good,” he smooths his golden hair. 
He wears a crisp white button-up and gray pin-striped slacks. You grimace at him and cross your arms. He comes closer, stopping before you as he reaches to touch your cheek. You wince and lean away from him.
“You shouldn’t scowl. You’ll get wrinkles,” he says.
“Wha– Steve. What is going on?”
He presses his index finger to your lips, “ah ah. I came for dinner. Let’s not chatter and let it get cold.”
You step back and glare at him, “Steve, what are you doing? Please, let me go.”
“Honey, let’s not argue,” he comes close and grabs your upper arms, pulling them apart, “you won’t like how it ends.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Meatloaf,” he turns his head and looks towards the kitchen, “it’s my favourite.”
You’re upended by his sudden change in topic. It’s frustrating how he just ignores you. You want to know why he’s doing this. How can he even think of something like this. He can’t. Someone will come looking for you.
No one knows where you are. You didn’t tell them.
“Don’t keep me waiting, sweetheart,” he lowers his voice as he leans in, “I’ve waited long enough.”
You look up at him, shaken by his tone. You’ve never heard him sound like that. You feel his grip tighten on you. 
“Go get your shoes and we’ll sit down and have a nice dinner.”
“Steve,” you croak.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath through his nose. He smirks and lifts his lashes, blue eyes gleaming like crystals, “don’t you remember what I said. How I like order. How things should be in their place. How everyone has their role.”
You scrunch your nose. You remember. It was weird then, now it’s terrifying.
“Yes,” you rasp, “I remember.”
“You don’t want me to be unhappy, do you?” He challenges, his thumbs rubbing your arms.
You shake your head stiffly, ready to wilt beneath his gaze. “No, I don’t.”
“Good girl,” he slides his hands down your arms and slowly retracts his touch, “so, let’s eat.”
236 notes · View notes
lowkeychenle · 4 months
Text
Irrevocably (3) (M)
Description: Following the night of the party, all you want to do is be alone. Chenle, on the other hand, has other ideas, and is suddenly hellbent on proving to you he'll be better for you
Content Warnings: Angst (previous content warnings from other parts do apply, please check those out before you continue). Smut: explicit, rough, unprotected sex (let's make sure to use protection y'alllll), multiple rounds, why is chenle always pussy drunk i don't understand, use of pet names baby and pretty girl, temperature play (ice), oral (both), cockwarming (did y'all really think I could end a fic on a BAD NOTE when it's CHENLE WEEK?! no bye)
Word Count: 9,105
Pairing: Zhong Chenle x Reader
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
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You wish you could say things changed for you. That you miraculously felt better after you broke down in front of Chenle. Maybe you’d be in a magical world of bliss at this point if that were the case. He’d finally realize all of the bullshit he did and beg for your forgiveness, but a man like him is too prideful to admit his mistakes. You know that now.
He stayed with you until you were calm enough to think rationally, but as soon as your thinking ability came back, you hightailed away from him as fast as you could. Thankfully, Jisung hadn’t been drinking, so he offered to take you home.
He was probably dying to know—not only why Chenle stormed after you and Mark, only for Mark and Chenle’s girlfriend to both stomp off in anger, swearing they’d never speak to either of you again. Although, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. Everyone is suddenly painfully aware that you and Chenle have some sort of history that’s more than what you’d let on.
The first text from Chenle came that night. Apparently, he decided it was time to unblock you.
Chenle: I’m so sorry
All you can do is snort and drop your phone into your lap. You make sure to actually open the message so he sees you’ve read it without responding. He doesn’t deserve anymore of your time. Even if it is to apologize. You want to tear the world down when you see the two hearts next to his name, one in your favorite color, and one in his.
“You okay?” Jisung asks as he pulls up to your building. “I know we’re all friends with Chenle, but you’re important to us, too, okay? Don’t hold anything in if you’re hurting.”
Your throat is dry, and you’re sure your face is still red and puffy from all the crying you did. “Thanks, Ji. I really don’t feel like talking at all tonight. I’m sorry.”
“As long as you know I’m here if you need me.”
You nod once at him and thank him quietly before getting out of his car. Without a single look back, you head into your building. You’re not sure what to expect. Considering how Chenle’s been acting lately, his sad apology attempt is most likely all you’ll get. He’ll go back after his girlfriend, and you’ll end up blocked all over again before the end of the week.
Once you’re inside your house, you have the urge to curl into a ball on the couch with your favorite blanket and never leave the protection of the walls around you. With the door locked, nobody will ever be able to bother you.
Hours turn into days and days into weeks, and the most you’ve done is go to the grocery store once. Delivery has become your savior, but even that doesn’t sit right with you. To your surprise, Chenle continued to message you periodically.
Chenle: You have every right to be pissed at me. I know. All I want is to explain myself, okay?
Chenle: I fucked up so bad I know I did
Chenle: I need you in my life (Y/N)
You’re even more surprised when you don’t hear a single peep from Mark. Chenle was texting you at least once a day, and it seemed that as many times as he sent something to you, you were reaching out to Mark.
You love Chenle. There’s no denying it any longer, but you know better than to love someone who’s not emotionally available to you. Chenle already tore you down to the ground once.
Chenle: I’m not gonna give up until you talk to me. Even if it’s just five minutes
Chenle: I fucking miss you
Chenle: in a real way…i’m not missing anyone. I’m missing you. Please.
Chenle: I don’t even know what to say next, but I’m gonna keep texting you until you respond to me
On week three, he even went as far as to knock on your door. You hadn’t left or ordered any delivery, so you were confused as to why someone was there. Looking out the peephole, your breath faltered at the sight of Chenle. He had no right to show up. You hadn’t responded for a reason, and you’ll apparently have to move apartments to stay away from him.
“I know you’re there,” he says, voice carrying to you. “(Y/N), I really just want to talk to you. I don’t know how many times I can tell you I’m sorry before you believe me.”
You almost laugh and give away how close you are. It doesn’t matter how many times he says it, it’ll take much more than that for you to even consider talking to him. You watch him closely as his face scrunches up and he lets out a sigh.
“I’m not giving up. Ever. You’ll see. I need you and we both know it.”
The door must be thin, because when you let out a shuddering breath at his words, he perks up. It’s almost as if he’s looking right at you through the wood, like he knows exactly where you are.
“Just let me in,” he asks again. “I know what I did was wrong, and I don’t want to ask you to forgive me, but I do want to explain myself. If anything, it’ll give you some closure knowing this wasn’t your fault.”
Your heart rate escalates to the point you’re sure it’ll shatter upon impact with your ribcage. A tear rolls down your cheek, but you angrily brush it away. He doesn’t deserve your time, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be in your safe space.
“Please. You won’t even have to say anything. Let me say my piece and then I’ll go, okay?”
This isn’t even the same Chenle you knew, you tell yourself. Nothing has changed. All he wants is leverage.
The tone of his voice makes it hard to believe that, but you steel your resolve. You have to ignore him.
After that, he slumps in defeat, sighs, and walks away. You let out a pent up breath, relieved he decided to go.
Or at least, that’s what you thought.
When dinner time rolls around, you don’t have any groceries since you’ve been holed up for weeks now. The only logical response is to order pizza. Plus, after the emotional wreckage Chenle left you in, you’ve earned it.
It takes about forty-five minutes for the food to arrive, and you gladly throw the door open. You recoil in shock at the sight of Chenle holding the box.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” You scoff.
“I gave the dude a $50 bill and he just gave it to me. I really just want to talk—”
“That’s not the problem, Chenle,” you cut him off, stomping off toward your kitchen. “You continue to disrespect boundaries and me, and it’s not okay. I’m having trouble figuring out why you can’t see that.”
“I’m sorry,” he says.
You stand on one side of the island, and he sets the box down on the opposite end, resting his palms against it.
“You deserve an explanation.” His gaze scans over you, guilt written all over his face.
“Another thing you don’t get. If I wanted or needed an explanation, I would’ve asked you. Actually, I did, and you not giving it to me was the answer. You’ve ruined everything for me. I can’t even talk to any of the guys without feeling like they’re pitying me.” You run your fingers through your hair. “You hurt me, and you’re doing it again by showing up when I said I didn’t want anything to do with you. You’re selfish. You only care about yourself and making up your image in my eyes so I don’t hate you.”
“Do you?” he whispers. “Hate me?”
“That doesn’t concern you anymore.”
“Either way, I know you should. I’m not here to make myself look better, okay? I don’t want you to excuse my behavior because it was beyond fucked up, but I want you to know that it wasn’t anything about you that made things work out this way.”
You pause, averting away from the pleading look on his face. “What could you possibly have going on to justify all of this bullshit?”
“It’s not a justification,” he clarifies. “I know it was wrong. All of it. I know I’m a shitty person for putting you through that.”
He takes your silence as approval to continue.
“Honestly, I miss you so fucking much. Before all of this, you were my best friend, and I know I was yours. I never meant for it to get this messed up, you know? I…Towards the end of our, um, situation, I realized I was in love with you. Real love. Love that made me want you in ways I couldn’t, because I already knew there was no way you’d feel the same.
“And so I gave up. I had to press the fucking panic button and get as far away from you as possible. Jia showed up at the right time, and I threw everything I had into her instead. I didn’t tell her about what we’d done, because I also thought that meant I’d have to admit to her what came along with it.
“Things got…serious, I guess. She was around my family and they all loved her. You know how important they are to me, so I felt so much pressure to maintain this relationship because they’d never been so excited about me being with a girl before. So yeah, when we broke up, my first instinct was to come to you. I love you, and it was the first time I felt really happy in months.
“But when she called me, (Y/N), I felt like I didn’t have a choice. You wouldn’t ever want me in the way I needed, my family loved her, and everything fell apart. It wasn’t until she made me block you that I really saw what it was like without you in my life. When I first started dating her, we still talked and hung out all the time, so it was…okay. As long as I could have you both, I was okay.
“And seeing you with Mark fucked me up so bad. I wanted to take you away from him and keep you for myself, but in my head, that never meant you were on the backburner. Everything was you, and even the idea of Mark having you in the ways I did broke me into pieces.
“And I was talking to Jia recently, just to apologize to her for wasting months of her life. She told me that the night everything blew up, she slept with Mark. They were both pissed and wanted revenge, I guess, but I wasn’t even upset. I didn’t care. But if it had been you, I…Nobody has ever had my heart the way you do.”
Tears stream down your face, but you refuse to acknowledge their existence. Chenle’s eyes are welled up, his jaw clenched tight once he finishes his words.
“You’re so fucking stupid,” you choke out, turning away from him.
“I know,” he agrees without hesitation. “I know.”
He makes his way around the counter, and you take a step back.
“Please don’t touch me.” You shake your head.
“I won’t,” he murmurs, standing so close in proximity to you, you smell his cologne. The scent invades your senses, and you suddenly have trouble breathing.
“What are you doing?” you ask.
You recoil in shock for the second time in the past hour when he lowers himself to his knees. He looks up at you, totally defeated as he opens his mouth to speak.
“I’m so sorry.” His voice catches in his throat. “I’m not asking for us to be together, and I’m not asking for anything close to what we had before. I just want us to be friends again. I need you in my life. No matter where that spot is.”
“God, Chenle, get off the floor.” You wipe angrily at the dampness on your cheeks.
“I need you. Please.”
When you look at him, you hate how you see him. How he looks like the Chenle you knew before all of this happened. The sight in front of you makes you want to kiss him and tell him you love him too, but you’re well aware all of this could be an act. Maybe he gave this same speech to Jia, and you’re the leftover—
“Jia’s gone. I promise. You’re more important to me, okay? Whatever you want or need, I’ll do it.” The pleading gleam in his gaze has your frozen heart slowly melting.
You can’t give in. Friendship could be good for the two of you, but if you give him anymore now, you fear it’ll be detrimental for you in the future.
“Friends. That’s it.” You watch him closely as the relief floods over him.
“Thank you.” He stands up and brushes his jeans off. “I won’t do that to you again. I fucking swear.”
“We’re not immediately going back to normal,” you tell him, confidently meeting his stare for the first time in a long time. “You have to prove yourself to me. That you care about me as a person and not as something to take your stress out on. No more out of place jealousy, no more butting into things that have nothing to do with you. Our past doesn’t exist anymore.”
“I’m not going to let you down,” Chenle insists. “I swear I won’t.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
One week later, 9:35 p.m., September 15th, 2023, Jaemin’s house
You arrived at the party by yourself, but the majority of the group was already there. Jaemin sees you first, letting out a loud cheer when he makes eye contact with you. It’s the first time you agreed to come out after everything that happened, so they all view it as a big deal.
You laugh as he hugs you, and then pulls you down to sit next to him. Thankfully, no one brings up what happened last month, and you’re able to have a good time with your friends without you feeling like they secretly pity you for all of the shit Chenle pulled.
Speaking of him, he hasn’t arrived yet, but you know he’s coming. He’d never miss one of Jaemin’s parties. That, and he told you this morning in his daily good morning text that he was excited to see you tonight. The entire week, you’d been in contact with him, and you almost hated how normal it felt to sink back into a friendship with him. It’s how you remember him before he started dating Jia, and all you can do is hope that it lasts.
In fact, his text was ‘good morning bighead, it’ll be nice to see you at jaem’s tonight.’
He’s clearly very eloquent.
Although, it did make you laugh. And respond back with how his head is much bigger than yours.
Your guard is still up. You don’t trust him. But it’s not like he can’t build that back by showing you he’s serious. As much as you hate to admit it, your hopes are up as high as the steel wall he’s pulling down piece by piece.
“I’m gonna go grab a drink,” you tell Jaemin, who gives you a thumbs up and delves into a conversation with Haechan. Something about global warming, but you don’t stay around long enough to hear the entirety of it.
Once you return, you notice the extra person. Chenle arrived while you were in the kitchen, and the pain in your chest at seeing him is miniscule. You want him in all the ways you had him—more, even—but you know it’s best for both of you to work your way up. After all, he could still be lying. But seeing him alone and not with Jia also adds to your hopes—maybe he’s being serious. Maybe people can change, and you should give him the benefit of the doubt.
You make a bold move, a show of faith, perhaps, when you go sit down next to Chenle. There’s a decent amount of space between you two, but you don’t miss the way his smile widens.
The night rages on around you, but you’re acutely aware of the way Chenle gets a little closer to you with every drink one of you goes to get, and eventually, you’re laughing together while making fun of Jisung.
Everything is as it should be, and everytime Chenle’s not looking right at you, you’re smiling in his direction, knowing this is who he should’ve been all along.
11:32 p.m., September 17th, 2023, your apartment
“And then, Haechan said Mark and Jia are actually dating now.” Chenle’s voice travels through your phone resting on your chest while you stare up at the ceiling.
Without meaning to, you let out a laugh. “I mean, maybe it’ll work for them. They both deserve to be happy.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He’s silent for a moment. “You, too, you know. You deserve to be happy.”
“Everyone does,” you reply. “Sometimes, good people do bad things, Le. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
There’s shuffling on his end, like he’s settling in his blanket. “I’m glad to hear that. We haven’t really…talked about that much lately. It’s not a bad thing, ‘cause it’s probably best to shelve the past for now, but if you want to say anything to me, you don’t have to hold back.”
You contemplate. There are thousands of things you could tell Chenle right at this moment. You could tell him you’ve always loved him, too, or you could tell him how hurt you were. How he tore you up from the inside out and gave you no room to breathe. He infiltrated everything you had and turned it into his own personal playground.
God, you should be mad at him. You should hate him and hang up right now, but you won’t.
“Thanks,” you murmur. “I missed you, too. When you were gone. I’m glad you forced your way into my house with pizza to tell me everything. You were right, I was blaming myself for it.”
“Don’t ever blame yourself for my dumbass actions. I won’t lie to you, not anymore. Um, is it…okay if I ask you something?”
You frown, wondering if it’s a good idea. “Sure.”
“Did you ever feel more for me than friendship? Like when we were hooking up, did you mean all the things you’ve said to me?” He clears his throat, the tone of his voice clearly portraying his embarrassment.
“I’ve never lied to you,” you return, face heating up.
“Next time I see you, is it okay if I hug you?” Chenle whispers. “I miss you.”
“Yeah, I think that’s okay.” A tiny smile forms.
“Okay. I…I’m gonna go to sleep, I’m exhausted. I’ll see you soon?”
“Soon. Goodnight, Chenle.”
10:23 p.m., September 25th, 2023, Jisung’s house
You, Chenle, Jisung, and Jaemin decided it’d be a good night to get together and watch a movie. Jisung has a theater room, so the four of you rest in there. You sit between Jaemin and Chenle, and you quietly let them know you’ll be back in a few minutes.
You go into Jisung’s fridge to grab a water bottle.
“Don’t you have a drink in there?” Jisung’s voice startles you, and you let out a gasp.
“Christ, Sungs, don’t sneak up on me like that.” You smack your hand over your heart. “Don’t you know that’s how you put people in cardiac arrest?”
“Dramatic.” Jisung snorts and grabs a bag of candy from a cupboard. “I just wanted to see how you were doing. It’s been a while since I got to talk to you, and I’ve noticed you and Chenle are friends again.”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about.” You grab a piece of chocolate and unwrap it before putting it in your mouth.
“I just want to make sure you’re okay. We’re your friends, too.”
“Look, I’m not sure how much you know about what happened, but that’s all over. Chenle and I…started over. And we’re friends, and I’d very much like to keep it that way.” You sip your water to wash down your candy.
“Be honest, do you just want to be his friend?” Jisung raises an eyebrow at you.
You laugh. “That’s not really something you should be asking me.”
“I know him, okay? I’m trying to look out for you—”
“I appreciate it, Ji, but I also happen to know Chenle. When a man like him begs for forgiveness on his hands and knees, you give him a shot. I’m not dumb, and I know what that whole situation made me look like, but I never would’ve done anything to hurt Chenle’s relationship when he was in one.” You shift on your feet.
“He just won’t tell us what’s going on, and Mark and Jia aren’t your biggest fan—”
“Jisung, what the hell?” Chenle leans on the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. “What are you doing?”
You recognize this tone of his, and you immediately look at him and shake your head. “It’s not a big deal, Chenle, he’s just—”
“No, it is a big deal. Is this why you invited us here?” He frowns at the younger man. “You thought if you couldn’t get answers out of me, you’d get answers from her?”
“Hey, man, it’s not like that.” Jisung holds his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just curious.”
“You really wanna know that bad?” Chenle steps in, planting his palms on the countertop.
“It’s really okay,” you whisper to him, going as far as to wrap your fingers around his wrist.
“Yeah, I do. Because right now it looks like some girl is tearing apart our friend group.”
“She didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t care what they think.” You tug him gently, but he doesn’t look at you.
“It was me. I screwed everything up. (Y/N) and I were hooking up for over a year before I met Jia. And when Jia and I started dating, we obviously stopped that. But when she broke up with me, it was because I still had all of the conversations with (Y/N), and she was pissed about it. That night, I went to (Y/N)’s house and we slept together, and I lied to Jia again. Everything that went wrong was my fault, Jisung. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Jisung blinks in shock, lips parting as he glances between the two of you. You stare down at your feet, trying not to let the way he defended you seep beneath your skin. Chenle still has a lot of work to do, but you won’t lie and say it didn’t give him some brownie points.
“So why was she with Mark?”
“After I slept with her, I left the next morning when Jia called me. And then Jia asked me to block her, and I did. So all she was doing was honestly trying to forget about me, which is still her best bet.”
Your throat dries as the memories resurface, but even now, you see the difference. The Chenle who walked out on you never would’ve admitted that to another soul. He’s taking the fall. He’s taking accountability for his actions.
“Everything would’ve been fine if I hadn’t stormed up after them at Jaemin’s party. But I couldn’t stop myself, and everyone else there knew it, too.”
“(Y/N), I’m sorry for assuming.” Jisung chews the inside of his cheek. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s okay, Sungs.” You give him a small smile, but Chenle’s hand slides into yours, and the way he intertwines your fingers has your heart skipping.
“Let’s get out of here,” Chenle mutters. “I’ll drop you off at home.”
You nod once at Jisung and allow the other man to pull you out of his house. The car ride is mostly silent, the soft hum of music distracting you from the way Chenle still grips your hand over the center console. You catch a glimpse of him, the street lights reflecting off his skin as they pass.
God, all you want to do is love him. You want to throw caution to the fucking wind and tell him the truth. Allow him to hold you close and feel the warmth of his embrace.
He pulls up outside your building, looking at you with a soft, tired gleam in his pretty brown eyes.
“I’m really sorry,” he says. “Jisung shouldn’t ever have done something like that.”
“It’s okay. And not your fault. I’m aware of what the situation looks like to everyone else, but it’s not their business. Thank you for standing up for me.” You squeeze him gently.
“I’ll do it for as long as you let me,” he whispers.
In your tired, vulnerable state, the rest of that wall crashes to the ground.
“Come upstairs with me?” you ask. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“I…” His eyes close and he rests his head back on the seat.
“I don’t mean it like that. I just want some company.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way. Please. But I can’t.” He forces the words out, palms running down his face. “I know you think you want that now, but I don’t want to risk you getting upset about it later. And part of proving myself is knowing when a decision will hurt you. I don’t trust either of us when it comes to being alone together in a room. Your bedroom especially.”
It stings, sure, but you know he’s right. Old habits die hard, and as soon as he’s in your bed, all bets are off.
You inhale shakily. “Right. Of course.”
“I want to.” His finger guides your chin up until you’re looking at him. He smiles softly. “I’ve missed you so much that I want to be with you all the time. But that’ll come with time when I know you really trust me fully.”
You lean across the center of the car and press your lips to his cheek, lingering for a second too long before pulling away and unbuckling your seatbelt.
“Thank you, Le.”
He nods, watching you closely as you get out and head toward your building. You look over your shoulder once before entering.
His fingers trace over his skin where your lips just were, and relief has his chest deflating.
10:34 a.m., October 14th, 2023, a local coffee shop
Chenle sets a cup down in front of you before sitting down in the booth, resting his head on his palm. You type away on your computer, occasionally glancing up to him to see if he looks bored yet. He seems perfectly content, swirling his own drink around.
“So, what’s that for again?” he asks.
“Just a last minute report I’m typing out for work,” you reply absentmindedly. “Sorry, I’m almost done.”
“I’m not in any rush.” He chuckles and leans back.
You spend nearly every day with Chenle. The two of you have even graduated to spending time alone away from your other friends, and you love how much it feels exactly how it used to. The Chenle that left you has thankfully disappeared into the abyss, and your friend has come back. You two text every day, he buys you coffee, he teases you whenever he deems necessary.
As soon as you finish your report, you sigh in relief, save it, and close your laptop. “Thank you for the coffee. I definitely need it.”
“Anything that’ll give you enough energy for Jaemin’s Halloween party. What are you dressing up as?” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I still think we should coordinate.”
“I’m not telling you what I’m going as.” You stick out your tongue at him. “You’ll live.”
“Well, Jaemin wants me there early to help set up or whatever, so I will unfortunately just have to see you there.”
“Oh, that’s okay. The goal for tonight is to get as drunk as possible without blacking out.” You grin at him, to which he responds with a quirked eyebrow.
“Calm down there, bighead, you might hurt yourself.”
“Look on the brightside, if I get myself hurt, you get to swoop in and be my hero. Isn’t that exciting?” Despite the sarcastic drawl in your voice, Chenle shrugs.
“I’m supposed to save you from getting hurt, not just help you after the fact.” His phone starts ringing in his jacket, and once he grabs it, he groans. “Yeah, Jaemin?”
There’s a muffled sound from the device that has you laughing at the frantic yelling Jaemin is doing.
“It’s not even eleven yet,” Chenle points out. “I know I said I would help, but I didn’t think that meant twelve hours before the damn party starts.”
“It’s okay,” you tell him. “You should go!”
He glares at you and mouths, ‘not helping.’
After a few more garbled words, Chenle rolls his eyes.
“Okay, I’ll be there in like twenty minutes. You owe me, dude.” He hangs up the phone and gives you a guilty look.
“None of that.” You wave him off. “I need to get home anyway and take my daily rest.”
He snorts. “Alright. Come find me later, alright?”
“Well, duh. Who else is going to stop drunk me from making a fool of myself?”
12:54 a.m., October 15th, 2023, Jaemin’s house
The world spins around you, but the happiness you feel is unrivaled. You and Chenle dance together, where he twirls you in circles despite the beat not matching. He dressed up fairly simply, some dude that wears a trench coat and an odd looking hat, but for the life of you, you can’t remember the damn name.
You barely even recall what you’re dressed up as, but it’s something with a plaid-like skirt and a white top. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Not until you’re climbing up on the pool table for nostalgia’s sake, and Chenle’s practically begging you to come down.
“Your skirt is a little too short.” Chenle stands in front of you while you continue to dance.
“It’s Halloween, Chenle,” you remind him.
“In the nicest way possible, your costume isn’t exactly modest—why wouldn’t you put shorts on under that—”
The more you ignore him, the more he’s determined to get you to listen. He eventually climbs up next to you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close to him. Your eyes are stuck on his lips, but your vision is blurring a bit too much to tell if they look as good as you think they do.
You miss him. He’s touching you, the warmth of his body ironically freezing yours in its place.
“C’mon, get down.”
“I think you should get down on your—” The world swaying cuts you off, and despite his grip on you, you stumble.
He waves someone else over, and you recognize Luigi. You shake your head and blink, realizing that it’s actually Jaemin dressed up as Luigi. Giggling, you basically drop your head on Chenle’s chest.
“I thought he was really Luigi.” You laugh and smack his arm as if that’ll ground you.
Jaemin and Chenle are talking to each other, but you’re too invested in the way Chenle’s lips look when they move to care all that much on the topic. You allow Chenle to lead you to the edge of the table, and with Jaemin’s help, you’re back safely on the ground.
“I’m taking you home.” Chenle’s lips brush against your ear as he keeps his arm around you and guides you toward the door. The sensation sends a chill down your spine, and you know he feels it through where his fingers are splayed out along the small of your back.
Everything happens in a blur—getting into his car, him driving to your apartment, him bringing you upstairs from the car. By the time you’re home, you suddenly understand exactly what Chenle said about being alone with him in your apartment.
He looks divine. Angelic. And you’re weak, needy, and drunk.
“Lele,” you murmur, leaning on the doorframe to the bathroom. “Help me take my makeup off.”
He follows you in. You know he’s weak for you, too. That it’s been so long since either of you have gotten any sort of satisfaction. You crave his touch, and the alcohol raging in your system does little to help with your inhibitions.
You bend over to grab your makeup wipes from beneath the sink, and you hear him shuffle behind you. Without another thought, you slide yourself on the counter and grab at his tie, tugging him close until he’s between your legs and pressing into you just enough to drive you crazy.
“What are you doing?” he asks, eyes dark as he takes in the situation. Your skirt riding up your thighs as you pull him closer, a short glimpse of the red lace beneath the skirt. You spread your legs a bit farther, craving to feel him right up on your lace-clad entrance.
“You have to get close to take makeup off,” you reply, giggling to yourself.
His jaw tightens, but he starts cleaning you up anyway, ignoring the way you periodically shuffle closer to the edge of the counter. When he’s almost done, you wrap your legs around his waist, grinding your hips up.
“Fuck,” he curses under his breath, dropping what was in his hands. “(Y/N), let me finish taking your makeup off.”
You roll up once more, a soft groan leaving your lips. His hands dart down and push your thighs into the counter, halting your movements.
“C’mon,” you mumble, dropping your head against the mirror. “We both want it. You’ve been good, Lele, and I need you.”
Oh, Sober You was going to regret this. Sober You was going to kick your ass when the morning came, because you knew there’s no way Chenle’s not going to give in. The two of you are too addicted to each other not to.
He drops his head on your shoulder. “Baby, you’re drunk.”
“Please,” you whisper. “It’s been so long.”
“And we can wait a little longer,” he mentions, pushing your legs away from his waist. “Finish taking off your makeup. I’ll get you some clothes to change into.”
You groan when he disappears out of the room, but you listen to what he says. As much as your drunk mind allows you, you wash your face. When you get back to your room, he’s in a drawer you almost forgot was there. Stuff he’d left at your place, all stuffed into one tiny section of your dresser.
“C’mere,” he says to you.
You stop in front of him, the edges of your vision still blurred as you put your hand on his chest. Beneath your palm is an erratic thumping, and you know how much inner turmoil he’s dealing with.
“Chenle,” you murmur. “Help me.”
“Okay, I’ll help. Don’t move.” He untucks your shirt from your skirt, trying his best to avoid skin-to-skin contact with you. Pulling it over your head, he avoids looking down.
He reaches over for the shirt he took out of the drawer, but you grab his wrists, leading both of his hands down to your skirt.
“What are you doing?” he asks. “If you don’t knock it off, I’m gonna tie you up in a very non-sexy way.”
You giggle, wavering a bit on your feet. “Just wanted you to see what I wore for you.”
“(Y/N), I don’t want to leave you like this but I can’t stay if you keep this up. I want you so fucking bad, but I refuse to do this while you’re this drunk.” He shakes his head. “Please.”
“We’ve had drunk sex,” you defend.
“Two things were different then, too. You actually wanted me while you were sober, and we were both equally drunk. I’ve barely had anything to drink.” He brushes your hair behind your ear. “Let me get you dressed so you can get some rest.”
“I do want you when I’m sober,” you continue defiantly.
“(Y/N), I’m not going to argue about this—”
“No, no.” You grab the shirt from him and put it on, almost smiling at the familiarity of wearing his clothes. “I love you. I’ve always loved you, but everything is so confusing.���
“Confusing how?” The guilty look in his eye tells you he already has an idea.
Great. Here comes the part of the night where you cry violently.
Tears well up, and you sniffle. “You hurt me so badly.”
“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“And a part of me knows that.” You’re sure your words are slurred, but he grips onto them like they’re his lifeline. You grip onto his stupid trench coat. “I want to believe it, but I’m so scared it’s gonna happen again, and then all of this is really over. I fucking love you, damn it.”
“I hope you know I love you, too.” His gaze glistens as he furrows his brows. “I’m gonna work so hard to be everything you need. Promise, I’ll never stop trying to be better for you.”
“How do I believe that?” Your voice breaks, and a tear falls down his cheek.
“I…I don’t know. Just let me continue to prove myself. That’s all I ask. We’ll stay just like this until you’re ready.”
You shake him, or try to, in your drunken state while you cry. “Why do I love you? It’d be easier if I didn’t.”
He wraps his arms around you and tugs you to his chest, heart pounding in his chest. For the second time, you break down. For the second time, you’ve put yourself in a position to give him the upper hand.
But for the second time, he doesn’t use it to his advantage.
“It’s okay,” he whispers to you, stroking the back of your head. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“What if I’m never ready?” You rock back and forth in his grasp.
“Then I’ll wait forever. I promise you. No matter how you want me in your life, I’ll be there.” He kisses the top of your head, attempting to calm his own breathing. “Baby, you’re drunk. Let’s get you in bed so you can rest.”
“Don’t leave me,” you mutter, holding him tighter.
“I’m not going anywhere. C’mon.”
You listen to him, but before you get beneath your blankets, you slide your skirt down your legs. Once you’re comfortable, he grabs some more clothes for him to change into, and then he’s climbing in next to you, pulling you flush to him and kissing your head again.
“I’ll stay for as long as you want me to.”
‘Forever’ is the last thought on your mind before sleep takes over.
11:48 a.m., October 15th, 2023, your bedroom
The first thing you note when you wake up is the splitting headache raging on in your brain. Next, is the warmth of another body half-draped over you. At the sound of your groan, Chenle shifts back a bit.
“Are you awake?” he asks.
“No.”
He chuckles. “Alright, well let me know when you’re ready to get up.” He pulls you closer again, allowing you to relax against his chest.
“Wait.” You pause. “How long have you been up?”
“Uh.” He ponders on it for a moment, fingers tapping on your back. “I don’t know. Maybe two hours. Or three.”
“You haven’t gotten up yet?” You frown, pushing away from him to force yourself to sit up. Immediately, you groan and smack your hand to your forehead.
“Not sure if you remember much from last night, but I figured it’d probably be worse for you to wake up without me than with me, so I just waited.” He rests his head on his palm, tilting a bit to look at you.
As soon as he mentions it, you curse yourself a thousand times over. You really fucked up, but he’s still here.
“I’m so sorry.” You cringe. “Everything yesterday was so…”
“Don’t be sorry. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. And it felt like we had a breakthrough last night, so there’s that.” He grabs your hand, thumb rubbing against your skin. “I told you I’d do whatever it takes and I meant it.”
He meant it.
Unintentionally, you’d given him the biggest test thus far, and he passed with flying colors. He even waited for you to wake up for hours so you wouldn’t be confused or upset by his absence.
“I’m ready.” Your words surprise him, his eyebrows furrowing deeply as he scans over you.
“You…”
“For more. I’m ready for more, Chenle. I want us to be more than friends.” You fidget with your hands. “We’ve always been more than that.”
“And you promise you’re not still drunk?”
You scoff and push his shoulder. “Way to ruin the moment, dick.”
“There she is.” He grins.
“I still want to take it slow,” you clarify. “But I want to try.”
“Is it too fast if I kiss you?” he asks.
You’ve kissed this man thousands of times, but something about his question still makes you blush.
“I think you’ve probably earned it after your torture session last night.” Your headache is long since forgotten when he playfully tugs you to him.
Both of you laugh until he grabs your face and presses his lips to yours. He moves so you’re flat on the mattress, his upper half leaning over you. You melt into his kiss, tangling your fingers in his hair and pulling it ever so slightly. His breath shudders, and you feel the urge to push further, to tell him nothing is too fast anymore.
He pulls away, shaking his head. “I’m taking you on a date. Go get ready.”
You go to get up, but halfway through the motion, he tugs you back to him to kiss you one more time. His mouth works gently on yours, and after a few seconds, he lets you go.
8:47 p.m., November 22nd, 2023, Chenle’s house
Chenle’s birthday party ended a little early, mostly of his own choice. You hadn’t planned on anything happening tonight between you two, but it’d been so long since you’d felt pure, absolute bliss just by being next to him. Every day you’ve spent with him has made you two closer. The trust you have for him has grown tremendously, and as soon as you make it back to his house, you shed your coat from your shoulders.
He grabs it from you, hanging it up before he wraps his arms around you. His eyes droop from the overactivity of the day, but it doesn’t erase the smile he has when he sees you. You press a quick kiss to his lips.
“This is the best birthday ever,” he says, hands resting on your hips. “I love you.”
“We still have a few hours of your birthday left. It could go horribly wrong, you know.”
“Yeah, I think it will if you don’t tell me you love me back right now.”
You laugh, shaking your head at him. “I do love you back.”
“Oh, good to know.” He nods, squeezing you.
“Kiss me like you mean it, bighead.”
“That’s my nickname for you, get your own.” He rolls his eyes, but abides by your request.
His lips meet yours, an automatic sigh escaping you as your back arches you closer to him. You hold onto him tightly, swiping your tongue along his bottom lip. He gladly grants you access, but it’s an instant battle for dominance between the two of you.
You barely even recognize him walking you backward until you're against the wall. With a gasp, you pull away from him, his face still centimeters from yours.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispers, leaving open-mouthed kisses along your jawline and down your neck.
“Don’t.” You shake your head. “Don’t stop.”
His curse is muffled by your skin, but his grip tightens on you. He pulls you away from the wall, allowing his hands to venture down to your ass. You whine when he squeezes.
“This is a very bad joke if that’s what’s happening.” He nips your collarbone. “Are you sure?”
You move away from him, grabbing his hand and leading him toward his bedroom. He kicks the door shut behind both of you, immediately pulling you back to him and meeting your mouth with his. The need radiating from him has your stomach doing backflips. You want him just as badly, and all you want to do is pleasure him.
“Lay down, baby.” He sits you down on the edge of the bed, guiding you until he’s kneeling in front of you.
“Chenle, what are you—”
He flips your skirt up, hands trailing along your thighs, skimming the hem of your lace panties.
“You smell so fucking good, baby. Let me taste it. Please.” His eyes flick up to yours, eyebrows raising.
“It’s your birthday.”
“Best fucking birthday meal ever.”
He waits for you to nod before he practically rips the fabric from your body. His head disappears beneath your skirt, and before you know it, his tongue nudges your clit. That’s the only warning you get before he really begins.
He licks up your entrance, lapping at it like a man starved. You haven’t been touched this way in months, and it takes all of your self control not to buck your hips up against his face. The sound of your wetness fills the room, the heat making you squirm beneath him. Your skirt covers him, when all you want to do is see how much he’s enjoying himself. Fisting the sheets, you whine and cry out for him, rocking back and forth as he brings you closer and closer. Lewd sounds are muffled by the clothing you still wear, the suction between your legs making you shake.
“Fuck,” you whimper.
The next thing you know, two of his fingers slide inside you, the movement quick and easy with the way your wetness slicks even the skin of your thighs.
“Gonna make you cum like this first.” He kisses your clit as he pumps his hand faster. “Then over and over again on my cock.”
You let out a breathy moan, bucking your hips up and grinding on his tongue. He mirrors the sound with his lips on your core, and that’s what’s enough to finally push you over the edge. Thankfully, you’re not in an apartment right now, otherwise your neighbors would be getting a free show when you scream out his name as you finish.
You squirm under him, the only thing holding you down is the dig of his nails into your thighs. When he pulls away, his face shines with your arousal, and your insides clench down all over again. You’ve never wanted him inside you as much as you do right now, and you make it your mission to get him on the bed.
“God, pretty girl, I wanted our first time together to be sweet, but I’ve never wanted to fuck you this bad.” He pulls your shirt over your head, pushing you back until you’re flat on his mattress. He tugs your skirt down, grabbing handfuls of your breasts and squeezing.
“Me too.” You nod. “Just don’t stop.”
He pulls his shirt off, pushing his jeans and boxers down in one go before he climbs over you. Your mouths clash messily, his teeth bumping yours, but it does nothing except add to the aching need you have for him. When he situates himself between your legs, you wrap them around his waist and roll until you’re on top.
You reach down and wrap your hand around his cock, jerking him slowly. He groans quietly, thrusting into your hand. You rub the tip along your entrance to gather your juices.
“I’m not gonna last long with you on top of me,” he admits.
“Funny that you think you’re only gonna cum once tonight.” You barely give him time to process your words before you sink down on him. Moaning, you take him slowly, relishing in the stretch of your walls.
“Fuck, look at you.” He scratches down your thighs. 
You give yourself a moment to adjust once he’s fully sheathed in your hole, moving your hands up to squeeze your breasts and tweak your nipples as you grind down. Sounds spill past your lips, and you almost get lost in your own pleasure. When you see Chenle, his eyes are barely open, dark with lust as he thrusts up.
Your walls throb around him, squeezing his cock so hard you feel the way he pulses inside you. Arching your back and resting your palms on his thighs, you start moving on top of him. 
“So wet,” he whispers. “You’re soaking me.”
You move faster, the sounds of your arousal emanating around the room. Chenle’s hands find your breasts, flicking your nipples much like you’d done to yourself. Then he reaches between your legs, the arch of your body giving him perfect access to your clit.
“‘M gonna cum.” He drops his head back on the bed, thumb faltering against your sensitive bud. “Fuck, fuck.”
A loud moan escapes him, and the next thing you know, he’s coating your insides with his release. 
“Damn it,” he whispers. “‘M sorry, baby, I tried to hold it back.”
You put your hands on his chest, rolling your hips until he groans from the overstimulation.
“It’s okay.” You grin at him. “It’s your birthday, Le. We can have as many rounds as you want. Plenty of time to redeem yourself.”
He chuckles breathlessly, sitting up to pull you into his embrace. Kissing all over your face, he rolls you over so you’re on your back before sliding out of you.
“You asked for this,” he reminds you. “Don’t forget that later when you’ve finished so many times you don’t even remember your name.”
He meant it, too.
9:18 p.m., November 22nd, 2023
The chill of the ice cube in his mouth trailing down your body, over your breasts, even the brief few seconds he presses it against your clit, has your body shuddering at the slightest touch. The melted water left behind has goosebumps forming on your skin as he worships your body.
Thin black fabric covers your eyes, leaving every touch of his a mystery to you. The coldness is a drastic contrast to the heat of your core, and the ice cube coming in contact almost has you yelping in pain. His fingers slide back inside you, and you swear you’re slowly losing your mind. You can’t stop moaning, each sound surely making him more than proud of himself.
It’s not long before you’re writhing beneath him all over again, your arousal pouring out over the sheets as he brings you to your euphoria.
9:28 p.m., November 22nd, 2023
“That’s it, pretty girl, take it all,” he hums as you take him in your mouth. You sit on your knees beside the bed where he sits, bobbing your head up and down with the assistance of the makeshift ponytail he grips in his fist.
He hisses as he pushes you down further until his cock is seated deep in your throat, the constriction of it making him bite his lip to stop the sounds. The steady pace he sets for you has tears forming in your eyes, the choking amplifying his pleasure.
“So, so pretty with my cock in your mouth.” He tugs your hair to make you moan around him. “Taking me like a good girl. I love you, pretty.”
His eyes roll back, and he quickly pulls you off him, your hollowed cheeks making a popping sound.
“Lay down, baby,” he instructs you.
10:01 p.m., November 22nd, 2023
His chest slides against yours, low, quiet moans escaping both of you as he finally makes love to you like he wanted to in the first place. Your fingers are intertwined together as his hips meet yours over and over again, sweet words whispered in your ear.
He pushes in completely, his tip kissing your cervix, and a tiny yelp escapes your lips.
“You like when I’m so deep, don’t you?” He nips your ear. “You’ll never be empty again. Can fill you with my cock whenever you want.”
“Chenle,” you whimper, your mind cloudy from however many orgasms he’s given you. You’re much too sensitive, but you still don’t want it to stop.
Your body is caked with sweat, but his is worse. His hair clings to his forehead, wet strands not a deterrence to the way he keeps thrusting into your still sopping cunt. This is what heaven feels like—the pleasure delivered to you by Chenle is peak. You’ll never feel like this with anyone but him.
His finger rubs circles on your clit, and as you shatter around him, it brings him to his end as well, filling you up for the second time tonight. By the look in his eyes, you know it won’t be the last.
11:59 p.m., November 22nd, 2023
Your body aches, but the last thing you want is for him to stop. He holds you close to his chest despite the unbearable heat between you two, hips lazily moving as he grips onto your leg wrapped around his waist.
Your moans have turned into quiet sighs of pleasure, your insides melted into practically nothing with the amount of times he’s finished in you. Nothing matters anymore, just you and him and the way your bodies stick together.
His lips lock with yours, and his movements stop altogether as he gently kisses you. Eventually, that stops too, leaving his mouth resting on yours, as your tired gazes meet.
“I love you,” he whispers. “More than you know.”
“I love you, too,” you tell him, giving him one last kiss.
Exhaustion creeps upon both of you, too tired to move any further as you bury your head in his chest.
“Best birthday ever,” he murmurs.
“You already said that.”
“It got even better, so.”
Everything about this feels right. You curled up in his chest, and despite him still inside you, you’ve never felt more comfortable than you do right now.
And in the morning, Chenle wakes you up with kisses all over your face, and everything within the world is right.
257 notes · View notes
rice-hime · 1 year
Text
Take Me Home (Nagi Seishiro x Reader)
A/N: It’s 3 AM already but I cannot sleep. This was supposed to be short but well...words happened.
Warnings: All my fics have characters aged up to at least mid-20s. Established friendship, reader is also from Nagi’s high school.
You regretted committing to the late night dinner with some friends from your old high school. It was a work night, and you’re already ragged from work, dragging your exhausted body to the restaurant; wistfully wishing for your soft bed but the sensation of guilt and worry of being left out made you stubbornly push through. You just hope the extra application of concealer under your eyes would mask how tired you’re feeling.
At the restaurant, you’re sat beside Nagi on the end of the couch, and you’re silently grateful. You’d been friends for years, not specially close like Reo; but close enough to keep in touch – constantly chatting with him and even meeting him occasionally (when he’s free). At least with him, you know you won’t need to muster the last of your energies for pointless small talk.
Nagi looks up from his phone, giving you a curt nod. He’s wearing a large white hoodie and white sweatpants, his attire making him stand out amidst the company. You give him a knowing look. He shrugs, “Reo forced me to go.”
You snicker as he pulls a pout. “Where is he, anyways?”
“Dunno. Dropped me off here and left to socialize.”
“Ah, classic Reo.”
“Mm.”
Nagi looks up from his phone and pins his gaze on you, “...You good?”
“Mm, just tired from work.”
Waving to some of your friends, you’re too tired to notice how Nagi’s stare lingers on you for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching up a bit. 
The night merrily goes on; and you chat and dine with your friends, managing to stifle your yawns and resist the temptation to slouch over the table. You and Nagi talk for a bit, catching up on whatever and talking about some games; but the conversations would drift off, your voices lulling into a comfortable silence amidst the noises of everyone. You didn’t mind, and neither did he. It was always pleasant company with you even if no words were uttered.
You don’t even notice how you’re swaying, eyes fluttering shut until Nagi wraps an arm around you, leaning your form against his. You jolt at the contact, ready to apologize when he murmurs by your ear, “‘S okay, no one would notice. They’re all busy and drinking.”
Taking his word for it, you gave a jerky nod, letting yourself melt against him, head resting near the junction of his arm and shoulder. Vaguely, you notice how his arm stays around your smaller body. 
After maybe an hour or two (who knows you’re too sleepy to tell), Nagi’s tugging you to stand up. You lift your head up, making a noise of complaint, wondering what he’s doing.
“Come on,” Nagi urges you in a whisper. “We can sneak out while they’re distracted.” He jerks his head and you turn to see most of the table already vacated. Majority of your group were already at the bar, taking shots while the rest still at the table were also sleepily (or drunkenly) nodding off.
Nagi gently pulls you upright, taking you by the hand as he leads you out of the restaurant. You sleepily note how your hand looks so small in his.
Finally out of sight from everyone, you yawn widely and he chuckles.
You slur, “Wh’bout Reo?”
“Still in there. I messaged him I’m goin’ ahead.”
“‘Kay,” you yawn again, Nagi still holding your hand as you exit. The sudden chill of the night air makes you sober up a bit, and you stretch, taking your hand away from his hold. Nagi pauses, watching you. 
“‘Kay,” you repeat. “Thanks. Uhm, there’s no more trains so I guess I’ll just take a taxi home. See you, I guess?”
Nagi gives you a look, and you start to wonder if you said anything wrong. At the back of your mind, you notice how your hands are cold and you wish he’d hold them again. “I got a car. I’ll drive you home.”
You blink. “I live opposite side of you.”
“‘S fine.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Thanks.” You awkwardly stand there on the street, blinking up at him owlishly as Nagi stares you down a little bit more. Okay, now you’re wondering if he’s annoyed or anything.
You’re about to ask when you find his (warm) hand reaching for yours again, then he’s leading you to the parking lot. You quicken your steps to match his long strides. He quickly finds his car, ushering you in the passenger seat, and you quietly follow. 
“Do you even know where I live?” you ask, locking in your seatbelt. Nagi pauses before handing you his phone, the GPS app already open. You start typing when the app autofills, “Oh here! It’s…already saved.” You trail off, seeing your name and address under the favorites list.
With quick hands, Nagi snatches his phone from you, clipping it to the dashboard stand, awkwardly clearing his throat. “Ah yeah, you gave it to me when I sent you that gift, remember?”
“Oh, uh, right.” You fidget, not really sure why you’re feeling nervous. You attempt to make small talk on the drive back to your home. “Din’t ‘xpect you to join the dinner. Thought you were /yawn/ busy w’ t-trainin’ and everythinggg…/yawn/ Erm, your next match ‘s still /yawn/ t-two months ‘way right? C-can /yawn/ I come?”, your efforts to sound enthusiastic are futile amidst the constant slurring and yawning.
At a red light, Nagi just gives you an amused look as you blink sleepily at him. “Just sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
You don’t know if you replied, as you lean back already drifting off. Your last thought was, Huh. Pretty. Nagi looks really good under the night lights.
After an hour, Nagi finally arrives at your driveway. He parks the car and unfastens his seatbelt, stepping out and walking over to your side. He quietly opens your door, squatting down to stare at you for a moment. He huffs, shaking his head at himself and muttering, “Mannn, I got it bad.”
Sighing, he takes another moment to watch your sleeping face, chuckling at how adorable you look. He wonders how you’d react if he pokes your cheek.
“Hey, Y/N,” Nagi softly calls out your name. He tries several times until you sleepily groan, only to turn your back to him. “Heyyyyy, you’re home,” he singsongs, still maintaining a volume barely above a whisper. Hazarding a poke at your shoulder, he chuckles when you swat his hand away.
“Y/N,” he repeats, but you don’t budge. “At least tell me where your key is.”
With your garbled instructions that he barely made out, he digs for the key in your bag’s pocket. Swinging the bag around his shoulders, he easily lifts your form, shushing when you squirm. “’S alright, princess. Just carrying you back to your castle.”
It’s not long before he unlocks your front door, carrying you inside. Nagi has never been in your home before, and he looks around curiously. It’s dark as the lights are off, and his hands are full (courtesy of you) so he couldn’t reach for the switches. He takes careful steps, making sure you don’t bump into anything or, worse, he falls over.
Guessing where your room is, he pushes one of the doors open, pleased to see that it is indeed your bedroom. Gently putting you down on the bed, he lets out a relieved breath. Nagi stands awkwardly in the middle of your room, scratching his head as he looks at your still sleeping form. Should I say goodbye or…? 
Nagi leans down close to your face, tentatively calling for your name again. When you don’t respond, he doesn’t bother trying again.
He sighs, fondly bidding you, “Goodnight, princess.” 
Still unable to pull away, Nagi pauses for a moment. And then waits a moment more. And then he quickly leans in, leaving a chaste kiss on your forehead before he’s standing up straight as if he’s scared you’d wake up.
Nagi sets out to leave when he spots a notepad on your desk. With his phone acting as a light, he quickly grabs a pen and messily scrawls a message before he chickens out.
Went to the dinner because I wanted to see you. Can I see you again?
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farfaras · 10 months
Text
I think I got an ex but I forgot him.
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3 (this is it.) AO3 link.
Their plan changed. Them planing to come out changed things, mostly the storyline they were going for. Jonathan realizing he was lonely and didn’t actually love Steve as a way to end the relationship seemed too gut wrenching for a baby gay to witness. So that was out.
The timing of them getting together would stay the same. But instead of those elaborate phases they planned, they would just take it one day at a time. Like normal couples would. When they decide to break up, they would just say they realized they work better as friends. Simple, easy.
Today was probably the hardest part of the plan. Coming out to everyone. Dustin actually convinced them, made them believe that the whole crew would be supportive. If anything went sideways Steve was definitely putting this on him.
They had get togethers almost weekly now. It was a comfort thing. Most of the time the brats used these gatherings to play their nerd game. The rest of them just hanging out. Steve only wished Mike took better care of his basement.
The party and Eddie were playing their game on the table. Steve made sure he sat down close to Jonathan, Robin on his other side. Eleven and Max were reading some comics in the corner, on a beanbag. They looked comfortable.
Steve was anxious. He didn’t know how Jonathan could take this level of anticipation and anxiousness. He was fidgeting almost violently, so Jonathan took his hand in his. Robin, who was in the middle of a rant, faltered for a second before going back to talking. Both Steve and Jon’s attention on her. Even though she was still talking, she looked Steve in the eyes and raised a single brow. He knew what she was asking. He hopefully telepathically sent the right message.
When the party announced that they finished their session for today, Mike rushed to get some drinks. Jonathan dropped his hand and resumed his previous position. Steve caught Will and Eddie curiously eyeing the movement, while Dustin was downright staring and not so subtlely hiding his grin.
Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, when Mike returned Jonathan cleared his throat. “Uh, guys?” His voice was slightly louder than it normally was. Also firm. “We have some news.”
Mike raised an eyebrow. “Who’s we?”
Steve spoke up. “Me and Jonathan.”
“Unexpected but welcomed duo, huh.” Robin tried to lighten the mood. It was like every time someone heard the word news they assumed the worst. Steve gave her a grateful glance.
“It’s nothing bad, don’t worry.” Steve reassured them. They seemed to relax at that, nodding and giving them their full attention. Jesus, their faces were earnest and curious. Steve didn’t know if he was gonna survive this. He turned to Jonathan. “Should you tell them or do you want me to do it?”
Jon gave him a small and teasing smile. “I’ll tell them. You got the worst of it already.”
“Hey! What the fuck? I thought we were cool, Jonathan.” Dustin protested when he heard Jon. And that reaction just proved his point.
Jon just stared blankly at him. “Someone just spit it out already.” Mike said, rolling his eyes like the impatient little shit he was.
“You just don’t know how to wait, huh.” Lucas shot back.
“Shut up.”
“Grow up, Mike.”
“Oh, please…”
Eddie’s voice cut through the argument dryly. “Kids! Please, just stay quiet so they can say what they need to.”
Jonathan muttered a quiet thanks before taking a deep breath, probably mentally preparing himself. “I’m just gonna say it.” He looked around, then directly at Steve, before addressing the whole group again. “Steve and I are dating.”
It was like Steve was able to watch all their reactions in slow motion. He mostly just felt Robin’s, her gasp and the way her neck almost fell off from how fast she turned to them. Eleven just nodded and went back to reading, he supposed they haven’t taught her all about what the world thinks about homosexuality? Max’s was kinda scary, she just smirked as if she was going through all the new material she had to tease Steve in her mind. Mike and Lucas both raised their eyebrows, they were comically up. Will’s eyes sparkled and widened at the revelation, he was surprised too. And Eddie was almost unreadable. His mouth slightly opened and he looked shocked, frozen.
Mike broke the silence. “There’s no way.”
“It’s true!” Dustin looked ready to defend them if anyone had something even remotely weird to say.
“You knew?!” Lucas almost shrieked.
“I did.” Dustin looked so proud.
Steve didn’t want to look at Robin right now, he had absolutely no idea how she might react. Or if she was gonna be mad about not knowing first. He felt a hand in his that wasn’t Jon, so he looked up to find Robin softly looking at him. She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for telling us, both of you.” She directed this to Jonathan, too.
“It’s kinda weird that you both dated the same girl,” Max started. “But I guess you’re cute, or whatever.”
“Cute or whatever.” El repeated. Still not paying much attention to them.
Steve laughed. “Thanks?” “I guess.” Added Jon.
The only ones who haven’t said anything were Will and Eddie. The rest of the room put their eyes on them.
“Oh. Um. Even if it’s kinda unexpected, that’s great.” Will nervously said. He looked around. “Right?” A chorus of yeses and rights filled the room. Steve could breathe easier.
“Yeah, great.” Eddie muttered. “We’re all happy for you guys.” His smile was small, almost subdued.
“Okay, now that that’s over,” Jonathan tried to end this conversation, the kids wouldn’t have that though.
“Wait! I have questions!” Lucas of all people exclaimed. “When was this?”
“Uh– well. We got together a few weeks ago. If that’s what you were asking.” Steve answered.
“When?”
“Like 2 weeks after.” Jon replied. They didn’t need to say after what, it was implied.
They answered all their questions with their planned answers.
Who made the first move? Actually Jonathan because Steve wanted to go at his pace.
How did they get together? Jonathan asked him after they came out to each other.
Were they in love? (This was El) At that, they got caught off guard, they didn’t expect someone to ask that. “We haven’t been together for long, El.” She didn’t seem to understand but left it alone after Max said she’d explain it to her later.
Everyone, like Dustin said, was supportive. Which they were grateful for. And Steve was also super happy for Will and Robin to see that their friends would support them too when they decided to come out.
Steve just didn’t know why Eddie was so quiet all of the sudden. He wasn’t like that, which made Steve worry he was actually not all that okay with this. He didn’t want that to be the case, he didn’t think that was the case. But people could surprise you sometimes.
Steve and Jonathan were holding hands while they answered questions. Whenever Steve chanced a glance at Eddie, he looked like he was staring at their hands but quickly redirected his gaze to something else. Steve felt uneasy.
All too soon it was time to go. Everyone was climbing the stairs, Jon was pulling his hand to get out of the basement. Eddie was still packing some of his stuff. Steve stopped walking. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you outside.” He told Jon and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He just nodded and left the basement. Now it was just Steve and Eddie.
“Hey, Eddie.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s up with you?” Steve hadn’t known Eddie for long. But during these last months they had developed a friendship, so Steve thought he knew Eddie an appropriate amount to know something was off.
Eddie’s eyes were slightly more open than usual. “Nothing’s up. Why do you think that?”
“Well, you were awfully quiet at the end there. Not really like you, is it?” Steve went up to Eddie so now they were standing in front of the other.
“Yeah, I’m just kinda tired you know.” He was looking down at his feet.
“You’re not… uncomfortable, are you?” Steve was scared that he might regret asking that. But the way Eddie wasn’t even looking at him right now, made it hard.
Eddie’s eyes widened and worry splayed over his face. “No!” He loudly said. “Not at all, please don’t think that.” He sighed. “I really am just tired, Steve. I promise.”
Steve nodded, maybe he was being paranoid. “Okay, I just. Well, I was worried for a sec.”
“I’m sorry.” Eddie moved his hand, like he was gonna rest it on Steve’s shoulder but then he aborted. Okay, that didn’t really help his case, but Steve wanted to believe him. “I know how I could’ve come across. But I’m happy for you, Steve. Um, both of you. You deserve it.” He smiled and didn’t give Steve time to respond before he bolted.
When Steve stepped outside, Eddie’s van was already gone. Will, Jon and Robin were waiting for him by his car.
“Just ‘cause you’re the boyfriend now doesn’t mean I’ll give you shotgun privileges, Byers. I hope you know that.” Robin deadpanned.
Jon put his arms up, innocently enough. “I didn’t expect you to.”
“Good.” Robin narrowed her eyes at him. “We’ll have to schedule our shovel talk, by the way.”
Will cackled while they all climbed into the car.
The ride was short, or more like it felt short. Steve didn’t even feel like time was passing with his friends making him laugh and happy.
He dropped off Jon and Will first. Jonathan gave him a peck on his cheek as a goodbye before he and Will entered their home.
Robin was awfully quiet when it was just the two of them left. She was unbuckling her seatbelt to get out when she decided to say something. “I could’ve sworn it was gonna take you longer to figure out your sexuality.” She looked at him, fondly. Steve was expecting a lot of things, but not that. “Even if I wasn’t given an exclusive, I’m happy for you, Dingus. Hope he treats you well.” She got out of the car with a salute, the dork.
What did Robin mean by all that?
-
This was like a whole other level of fucked up. The universe really liked to just tell Eddie “fuck you!” whenever it wanted. And this moment felt like it was up there, in the top 5.
It was one thing to have a crush on a straight friend, who was so unattainable that he didn’t even need to worry about ever bringing it up, outside of his mind. Steve was a great friend. Which just made him crush harder. It was so easy to almost, not completely, ignore it. Eddie had it all mapped out, he was gonna pine from afar until Steve got a girlfriend. Then he’d make himself get over him. He knew it wasn’t gonna be easy, but he had to. For his sanity.
Leave it to Jonathan freaking Byers, to throw that down the drain.
Eddie was well aware how bad his reaction was to the whole thing. He didn’t want Steve thinking the worst of him. He tried his best at reassuring him that he was happy for them! Even if he wasn’t at all. But at the end of the day, Eddie figured he’s still a coward. Because he ran so fast at the first opportunity he had to get out of there.
He supposed that now that Steve was taken, he still would have to get over him.
But it was so much worse now.
Steve being straight kinda softened the punch of any unrequited feelings Eddie had. He had to accept the cruel reality of Steve never even being able to return them. And he was sure he could live with that.
What he wasn’t sure he could live with is Steve liking guys, but still not liking him.
He bitterly wondered what could Jonathan possibly have that he didn’t. Which wasn’t fair at all because it wasn’t his fault that Steve would choose to date him instead of Eddie. Eddie even liked Jonathan.
This was gonna be torture. But Eddie knows that he was still gonna suffer through it. There wasn’t anything really, that could keep him away from Steve.
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thatbanditqueen · 5 months
Text
Basic Training Chapter 7
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Mad love to my alpha @whositmcwhatsit seriously your editing and feedback make this so much better. Also love and special thanks to my lovely elvis coven, @vintageshanny @ellie-24 @be-my-ally @peskybedtime @from-memphis-with-love @missmaywemeetagain @powerofelvis @be-my-ally @shakerattlescroll @lookingforrainbows and to @ab4eva for her sweetness, you were the only person to ask me about Bess on tumblr between now and the last chapter and I was like oh, I guess someone is still reading this. Which is good. Because I am still writing it. ;)
Thanks to everyone who reads this, shares, reblogs, leaves a comment or whatever. I write for myself, but I publish for community, and I don't think I could write with out your support and friendship.
Summary: Bess resigns to get over Elvis and move on, but he has other plans.
Warnings: Not much, depictions of mental illness/delusion.
WC: 6.5 K
If you need to catch up Chapter Six: Guided Missiles or the masterlist here Basic Training
Click here if you prefer to read on A03
Chapter 7: The Minefield
12:15 p.m., Friday,  April 24th, 1958
Commissioned Officer’s Mess
Army Intelligence Training Unit, Fort Hood, TX
“I thought you were applying to law school?”
Bess let her straw drop out of her mouth to meet James’ concerned stare across the mahogany table.
“Um, I changed my mind.” Her eyes dropped back to her chocolate egg cream and she paused for a moment. The sound of glasses clinking and hushed conversations reverberated through the Army Intelligence officer’s club. “I kinda dropped the ball on writing my sample essay. And,ugh, I haven't been able to focus at all on studying for the entrance exam.” Bess trailed her shoe anxiously across the burgundy carpet, she hated admitting that she had given up on lawyer school. “It’s just temporary, a temporary pause.  No, for now, I think a year or two working for the state department is the best next step. I’ve always wanted to spend time in Europe..”
“But Helsinki, Bess?” James reached over to comfort her with a hand squeeze, but she pulled loose and went back to eating her pot roast lunch.
“Finland is a stepping stone.I could be working in Berlin next summer. And Helsinki has a lot of international action. It’s right next to St. Petersburg.”
“This sudden need to go to the coldest burg in Europe wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain tall, dark soldier who’s been doing extra laps around the barracks every day, would it?”
Bess lifted her thick, white cotton napkin to obscure the blush spreading up her cheeks. “I saw that he’s had extra PT, I’ve been wondering what happened.”
“Oh? I thought for sure that was all you and your front office connections, getting back at Presley — “
“Jameson, I would never abuse my position in the Front Office for revenge. You know how basic training is. Drill sergeants use any excuse to tear you apart just so they can build you back up again. He probably was late to inspection, or maybe he tried to protest extra push ups, and now it’s marathon time everyday til he’s learned his lesson.”
“Hmmm, must be. Though I don’t feel even the teensiest twinge of sympathy for him after that stunt he pulled on you? Think it would look suspicious if he got run over by a jeep? In his barracks?” James winked at Bess/
“Ha, just say you made a wrong turn.” Bess chuckled, but her smile quickly faded into a sigh.
She speared a potato with her fork, looking at it as if it had the answer to life’s secrets like a magic eight ball. Maybe all she needed to do was turn potato over and around until it revealed her fate. Sadly, no messages turned up, and she laid it back on her plate. 
“Thing is, I knew he had other girlfriends. I just wished he’d called and canceled our plans instead of leaving me hanging to find out another way. The most humiliating way.”
“Maybe he couldn’t get away to call? Or forgot your number? Have you seen him at all?”
Bess shook her head, sipping her drink again. “Uh uh. But I’ve been avoiding him. What am I supposed to say? It hurt my feelings that you put the kibosh on our night together for a pajama party with one of your steady girlfriends?“ Her eyes met James. “But, uh, he knows my number, though. He called that Monday, after she left town. And several other times.”
“What did he say?”
“I don’t know, I have Kay on switchboard duty. She has strict instructions to inform male callers that I’m not home.”
“You oughta talk to him, honey, let him have it.”
“I’d rather not, I  - I, it was, uh. The whole thing felt so icky, I never want to feel that way again. It took me back to last summer and Be. Except, this time, I’m the other woman and I know all about his girlfriend back in Memphis.” Bess put down her fork, unable to eat anymore.  “I think my picker is broken, James. I’m destined to be alone.”
“But are you supposed to be alone in Helsinki?”
“I’m actually excited to be single in Helsinki.” James raised his eyebrows. “What? The city is is pretty hip!They just hosted the Olympics. Lots of people live there from all over the world. After Berlin, it is one of the top hubs for working with the Ruskies.”
“Ok, ok, I get it, you hussy, you’ll probably be able to play patty cake with an assortment of good looking European men. I just can’t believe you are abandoning me, it’s so selfish. I’m almost ready to swear I’ll never buy another Presley record.”
“I’m not leaving because of him!” Bess huffed at the way James arched his eyebrow higher and straightened her napkin over her skirt. Aggressively. “I swear, how many times do I have to tell you, he’s just helped me get the perspective I needed. The straw that broke the camel’s back. I gotta get out of this place before I wind up like Mabel.”
 James sniffed as he motioned to the waiter. “Mabel seems happy, could be worse.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not. But you might be out of here before me. I only just sent in my application materials, you know how these civilian posts can be. If I make the first cut, I still have to do a round of phone interviews,an in-person one, a thorough background check. Why, I probably won’t head out until the summer. If I get it.”
James quirked his mouth and whistled when they stood to leave and shook his head.
“Seems like such a waste to store all your resources behind a desk. Should be out, serving our country at USO shows.”
Bess slapped James shoulder, then straightened his jacket, smoothing her hand over his medals.
“Jameson, stop. Do you talk to the debutantes back in Rhode Island like this? You know, half the officers in here are probably my father’s spies. Keep whistling at me like that, they’ll convince him we’re an item.” She grabbed her purse and put her gloves back on. “Besides, I am not exactly the type who likes performing or attention.:
He looked her over once again, making an exaggerated show of appreciation for the way that Bess’ smart tweed pencil skirt hugged her hips.
“Oh, but that’s what makes you such a knockout, Bessie Girl. Why don’t we get married, huh? We could travel the world together, life would never be boring. We’d have great looking, smart kids.”
Bess put her finger to James’ lips, looking into the hazel eyes that glimmered below his perfectly coiffed honey blonde hair.
“I wish I could. I can’t marry someone I don’t love, not in the way I love you anyway.It’s no good, we’d end up ruining our friendship.”
James slid his arm through Bess’ as he led them out of the officer’s club. “I suppose you’re right, Schwartz, but if you ever get desperate and want to be married to a dashing officer who’d never leave you for another woman, the offer stands.”
“This is no time to be getting married, Jameson. I’m sure you’ll want to enjoy the local flavor in Heidelberg.”
“Hmm, yeah, no matter the gene pool, it’s gotta be better than this dump.”
Bess smoothed her hair once they were outside and turned to James. He looked so handsome in his dashing officer’s uniform, cap under his arm. He was probably the best looking, wealthiest man to ever propose to her, even in jest. She really would miss him once they left Fort Hood. Bess gripped James arm tighter before they parted, and smiled.
“No kidding, I can’t wait to put Fort Hood and Elvis and everything in my rear view mirror. Get a fresh start in gorgeous, romantic Helsinki-town, city of dreams.”
“I thought that was Paris?”
“Nope, pretty sure it’s Helsinki.  Though I understand why you’re confused, Helsinki is the Paris of the Baltic Sea.”
“No one calls it that.”
“Sure they do, I’m starting it now.”
James smiled, fixing his uniform cap back on his head. “Ha, ok. Well, as they say in Helsinki, au revoir.”
*********************************************
Bess’ fresh start suddenly seemed a million miles away when she glimpsed Elvis Presley running round the base. It had only taken a few minutes after she got into her father’s Oldsmobile before she recognized Elvis’ tall, perspiring figure jogging around the circular track behind the PX. There he was, in his sweat-soaked tee-shirt, dog tags jingling over his chest, running towards them in the dusk of sunset. 
It struck her for a moment how odd it was for the drill sergeants to have him do laps out here on the road near the gate instead of closer to the 37th tank division. They must be making a public example of him, she thought, having him do laps out here as people drive past on a main road out of the base. 
It was working, he looked absolutely miserable and exhausted. The cold grimace he had fixed on his face pulled on Bess’ heartstrings, and she felt a compulsory urge to go comfort him. But then she remembered why she’d cut him loose, and nodded to herself, reaffirming how wise she was protecting herself from further heartache. It wasn’t easy. 
She got so captivated watching him take off his cap and wipe his forehead as they got closer, that she suddenly realized he was about to run by her car and had to quickly duck down flat against the bench seat to avoid being seen.
“Ilsa, whatever are you doing?”
Bess popped up with a squeak, looking over her shoulder at Elvis’ figure running away behind them, then stuttered to her father. “I, um, I dropped my lipstick on the floor is all, Papa.” 
Dinner was pleasant enough. Mama served tuna noodle casserole and followed it with a cherry cream cheese jello mold. It was comforting to Bess to think these were recipes any other family on the block might be eating tonight. Though she doubted whether the other mothers were wearing a matching red dress and explaining the deep meaning behind the color red, and how powerful color it is, one that can provide all the strength and nourishment they needed. Bess did concede that cherry Jell-O tasted like what she thought the color red might taste like. 
And if a lecture on the spiritual nature of red Jell-o was the most occult Mama got tonight, then tonight was a good night. 
After eating, Bess changed into a more comfortable, simple light blue house dress, and was trying to calculate how long it had been since Mama had one of her episodes as she walked downstairs, when she heard Kay on the phone.
“Well, no Rex, I guess I’m not doing anything. Well, sure, gee whiz, yeah, I know a few friends who’d flip their lids at the chance. You bet, meet you there at 8!”
Bess turned the corner at the bottom of the landing, and gripped the polished circular handrail as Kay spun around with a wide, beaming grin. Her sister halted suddenly and tripped forward with a gasp when she caught Bess’s stare.
“Was that Elvis’ bunk mate, Rex?”
Kay gulped. “Mhmmm, I did like you told me, and said you - you weren’t home.”
Bess crossed her arms. “So what, now you’re going out with them?”
“Well, I - he - I heard Elvis tell him to invite me and any other friends to meet them at the movie theatre on post. It’s, it’s, not a date, it’s a group-like thing.”
Bess took a deep sigh. Miles Davis wafted out from behind the closed door of their father’s office at the back of the house, and she could hear her mother doing the dishes. Bess had come down to help clean up, and had planned to spend her Friday evening at home. She thought she might read or watch TV, play a game of gin rummy with Mama. Anything to take her mind off of Elvis. And now here her sister was, running out to go meet him!
“I cannot believe he invited you out.”
“And why is that? You’re not the only charming, good looking girl around here, Bess.”
“That’s not what I was saying, Kay. What kind of guy invites out the sister of a girl - a girl - a girl he’d been riding around with? You aren’t seriously thinking of going? What about Dickie?”
“It’s not like that. Cuz,  - it’s - it’s not a date. Why, they’re getting a gang together. Rex said I should bring some other girls. I’m about to call Carol and Tracy. If you think I’m gonna deprive them of the chance to meet Elvis Presley, you got another thing coming. Why, you always keep him all to yourself.” Kay huffed, and put her hands on her hips. “It’s not a date. You could come if you wanted, you know.”
Bess squeezed her hands into tight fists, squelching her sudden intense desire to slap her sister.
“You know exactly why I won’t be doing that, I told you how things went with him and you are smart enough to know he is probably doing this to upset me. And you’re helping him! My own sister. Kay Brutus Schwartz.”
Kay’s face fell, and she met Bess in the middle of the hallway. “It’s not like that at all. Please don’t be mad, Bess, but me and my friends, we have all his albums. You can’t hold it against me for wanting to go. It’s not like I asked, he - ” 
Bess brushed Kay’s hand from her shoulder and stomped off in a huff, her anger powered her through an incredibly fast cleaning session in the kitchen.
Mama dried the last plate Bess handed her, then put her arms around Bess at the sink. “See, Bessie baby, all that red Jell-o gave you the energy and focus you needed. I’ll get you some red silk underwear for your new job, I saw some in the Montgomery Ward catalog. Or were they red flannel long johns? Well, you’ll need both in Helsinki.” 
*********************************************
Bess had frowned as Kay traipsed out the door to meet her friends when Carol pulled up in her mother’s yellow DeSoto. At first she took her book upstairs and sat at the window, watching for Kay’s return around 10 p.m. 
By 10:30, she had moved to the porch, where she sat up on the bench hugging her knees and trying to read while she waited to catch her sister and pump her for information outside where their parents wouldn’t hear them. 
Yawning, she was just straightening the bows on her white house slippers when she turned to see a car pulling up in front of the house. But this was not Carol’s mother’s yellow DeSoto. It was a white Cadillac. And she made the mistake of looking up long enough to note the row of guys in the back seat and make eye contact with Elvis as he parked.
Fuck, Bess muttered to herself staring back into her book, unable to focus her eyes on any of the words. In her periphery, she watched Elvis jump out and race around the front of his car, loosely putting his arm around a giddy, smiling Kay as he walked her up the path to the front porch. 
Bess took a deep breath, accepting that there was nothing she could do, that she was stuck out here with her hair in a messy bun wearing a house dress and slippers. So, she braced herself and stood to confront the most famous man in the world. 
The cool night air was no comfort to the heated temper rising in her chest as Elvis walked up the stairs in front of her, his fingers now spread over Kay’s shoulder. His eyes narrowed, and a smirk played over his face.
“Hellooooo there Bess, ain’t you sweet, coming out here to greet me.”
“Hmmmm.” Bess nodded, curtly, exhaling at Kay’s sheepish grin.
“Well, I enjoyed our date tonight, Kitty Kat, didju?” He gave Kay’s shoulder a rub and Kay laughed nervously at his nickname, glancing back at Bess as she untangled herself from Elvis’ grip.
“Oh, well, it was a gas to meet you and the whole gang,” Kay made a show of waving at the car, “Tell Rex thanks for the Coke and candy.”
Elvis ran his hand through his hair.“Uh, well, I wudda bought you all the Cokes you wanted, I just -”
Bess interrupted him. “Let me guess, you forgot your wallet?”
 “Yeah, guess that’s happened before.” Elvis chuckled. 
“Ahem, Kitty Kat is it?” Bess raised her eyes at her sister. “Probably time you were in bed, little girl. I have a few words I need to have with your date, here.”
Kay coughed and avoided Bess’ intense look of death as she thanked Elvis for a fun night. He grabbed her hand, making eye contact with Bess over Kay’s shoulder and he hugged her sister and gave her a soft peck on the cheek. Kay hung in his embrace for several beats, then scuttled away to leave Elvis with Bess’s cool stare
“You have some nerve.”
Elvis took a step toward her, “Aw, Bess, now see, when you act like this it makes me think you still like me.”
“Is that ri-ight?” Her voice wavered as he took a step toward her with his shoulders back, head forward, rubbing the back of his neck. She stumbled back a few steps, distracted by the way his eyes pierced her from under his eyebrows.
“See, you actin’ like ya jealous, honey. But you ain’t playin’ fair.“
“Really. I don’t play fair?”
“Uh uh.” Now he was hovering over her, backing her into the front of the house, his lower lip hanging open as he leaned over her. “You play hot one day, then cool the next. Won’t take my calls, but now ya jealous. Playin’ games s’what it is, and I can’t stand chicks who play games.”
“Ha!” Bess had meant her declaration to be a lot more forceful than how it came out as a muffled breath into the dark, red fisherman’s sweater Elvis was wearing. Of course! Of course his sweater was red. It sucked all Bess’ strength right out of her. And her resolve. She tried for dear life to hang on to the painful embarrassment that had punched her in the gut when she met Anita.
“You’re - you’re - you had - you’re the one who -”
Elvis’ hand was at her waist, and his thumb pressed over her belly button.
“Sshhh. I know, I missed our date.”
Bess mumbled toward her shoes. “Well, I wouldn’t call a party in a cheap motel room a date by any me-“
Elvis’ pursed his lips in a grin as he brought his other hand to Bess’ cheek, his eyes gleaming as she shivered in him. He tilted her chin to meet his eyes. Bess tried to shake him off, but couldn’t, she was spellbound by the pair of dark blue eyes above her. 
She reminded herself that there was an audience of grown men watching them from his back seat. Then she thought she saw the curtain at the front window ripple and realized Kay was probably leaning against the wall inside, spying on them. She thought about how Elvis had invited her sister out, at the very least to get her attention, or at worst, to make her jealous. She thought about how she had sworn to her best friend hours ago that she never wanted to see Elvis Presley again. She tried to grasp at all these things and more as Elvis stepped closer to her, and shifted his arm over her against the wall. But suddenly thinking was very difficult. Elvis’ thumb circled the button at the waist of her cotton house dress.
“OK, ok,well, when you say it like that, sounds awful. Definitely weren’t no date. Still, Kitty Kat told me how upset you’ve been. And I know I shudda called you.” Elvis took a deep breath, and coughed. “ And, well, that gal came down and surprised the hell outta me, is what happened. I didn’t invite her, now that’s the god’s honest truth. But, well, put me in an awful bind and I couldn’t get away to call you. Wudda much rather spent the weekend with you, Moo Moo.”
His breath was warm on her neck, and the way he murmured her nickname was like a sultry saxophone solo. Bess closed her eyes as it rolled over her body, giving her goosebumps. His whisper was full of vulnerable need and Bess couldn’t believe that she actually felt bad for him, as if she were to blame for everything.
“I - I - I’m sorry.”
“Nah, honey, I reckon, if I’m honest with ma self,  you have every right to be sore at me. But you havta give a man the chance to defend hisself. Tell me now, don’t a man deserve a chance to splain?”
There was his thumb, gliding over the front of her stomach, rubbing back and forth.
“Really, I wasn’t trying to play games.”
“I know, Moo Moo. I know’d you weren’t really like that, else I wouldn’t be here.” He leaned in, pressing his open lips to the corner of her jaw, soft and delicate as he continued his whispers. “Though I don’t know if I could stay away even if you were the devil, baby. Ain’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His mouth was warm on her neck. “You, and only you.”
His touch sent a wave of feverish heat through her body, and Bess didn’t care if he was lying, all she knew was that she would willingly go back to his motel room with him right now in her flimsy white house slippers and all. However, before she could make that suggestion, she heard the front door open and she jumped up instantly, pushing Elvis away at the sight of her father’s silhouette in the dim porch light.
“Elizabeth, it’s cold out tonight. Why don’t you invite your guest inside?”
Bess swallowed hard, glancing up at Elvis, whose cool demeanor and friendly smile belied the fingers she could see tapping against his thigh through his pocket. She looked out at the car, then up at the dark sky, shaking her head to herself.
“ Hi Papa, this is, uh - ”
Elvis stood up straight and jerked his hand out as he strode to shake her father’s hand.
“Uh, good evening, Sir, I’m Elvis, Elvis Presley.”
“Yes, I’ve been expecting to meet you for some time now.” Bess’ mouth dropped open. Before she could find the words to protest, her father was putting his arm around Elvis and guiding him inside. “I understand you and Ilsa have been spending a lot of time together, jah?”
*********************************************
“Can I pour you a whiskey?” The table lamp flickered as Bess’ father walked by, his calm words trailed behind him on his way to the bar. 
Elvis sat at the edge of the couch patting his hand to a silent rhythm and then bouncing up again to pace over to the hi-fi set.
“Naw, jus a Pepsi - or a Big Red, honey.” Bess glared at him as he looked up at her from where he perched in front of the record player. “Bessie. I mean, Eliz-a-bess.”
Bess frowned as Elvis popped open the concealed door in the sound system’s speakers and proceeded to rifle through her father’s LP collection. Her father arched his eyebrow, muttering in German that the boy seemed to know his way around and feel quite at home, jah? Bess was asking Rex and Lamar what they wanted when Mama floated into the living room, swaying the skirt of her red dress back and forth, a dreamy look in her face. Bess froze, looking around the room, then scuttling over to her mother and latching her arm around Mama’s waist, whispering in her ear.
“Mama - Hi Mama, I thought you went upstairs to relax?”
The boys all stood up as Mama patted Bess on the shoulder. “Bess, you’re making the lamps all buzzy, stop buzzing around and introduce me to your friends.”
Bess sighed and then froze when Elvis walked over and took her mother’s hand, kissing the top.
“Evening, ma’am, I’m Elvis, Elvis Presley, s’a pleasure to meet you, I can see where your daughters get their good looks from, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Mama giggled and blushed. “Ha, well, you are charming. The faeries told me Bessie had a new beau, but they didn’t say he was handsome.” Bess’ face went white as she tried to guide her mother to the big orange leather chair in the corner, but Mama swatted her hands away. “Bess, I said to quit fussin’. Go get our guests something to drink.”
Every cell in Bess’ body was on high alert, and she rubbed at her throat trying quell the nauseous, tight feeling that now plagued her stomach. Bess had not brought Ben, her former fiancee, home to meet her family until he had asked her to marry him. At that point, they had already been going steady for two months, she had trusted Ben completely and had given him a thorough debriefing on Mama and the family dynamics. She had known Elvis a month. ANd spent the last two weeks hating him.
Elvis returned her mother’s hand and flashed Bess a warm, crooked reassuring smile. Rex and Lamar gathered next to him making their awkward introductions, before Papa walked over and offered Mama his hand, tilting his head at Kay. 
“Come sit with me, Emily, let the boys relax. Katherine, you get the drinks.”
Bess followed Kay into the hall. “I’ll get it, Kay, I -uh - I was gonna make Mama a special cup of tea - “
“I got it, I know how to do it. You go back in there.” Kay winked, and left Bess to sigh as she took a deep breath and resigned herself to face whatever was waiting for her in the living room.
Elvis sat on the edge of the couch trying to stop his knee from bopping up and down with the palm of his hand, already in conversation with Bess’ father.
“Jah, I started off in the German division, but now I oversee all intelligence training.”
Elvis’ eyes widened and he seemed grateful to see Bess walk back into the room and hit Lamar to clear the seat next to him on the couch. Bess shook her head and sat at the piano bench, trying to think of how to change the subject.
“Papa, I imagine the boys are tired after a long week and - “
“Oh Bessie, don’t send them away!” Mama waved her off as she got up and happily plopped into the clear spot next to Lamar, shooting Bess a playful frown. “You never bring friends over any more, it’s a breath of fresh air having young people over. Want any leftover tuna noodle casserole?”
A momentary grimace passed over Elvis’ face as he declined, and Bess' father coughed.
“Too bad we don’t have any meatloaf, perhaps zat would have suited you better.”
“Actually, mister, I’m bout plumb fed up with meatloaf, EP’s been ordering - “ Lamar stopped talking at the sight of Elvis’ eyebrow, arched in warning. 
“Well, Bess makes a great meatloaf, you boys will have to come back for dinner sometime. I’ll get her to cook it up for you.” Mama bowed her head with certainty as she spoke, turning Elvis’ hand over in her lap as if to read his fortune. “Elvis, such an unusual name. What does it mean?”
“Ugh, well, ma’am.” Elvis scooted back against the arm rest, turning in to face Bess’ mother more directly. “I have been told it means someone who is uh, very wise.” He winked over at Bess as she rolled her eyes. Kay returned, and she bounced up to assist in handing out the drinks. 
“I’ve never heard the name Elvis before tonight, is it common where you’re from?”
Lamar gasped. “You never heard ‘a Elvis?”
“No, why, should I? Do you all work with Henry in Intel?” 
Elvis shook his head. “No, no ma’am, Rexadus here and I, well, we’re new recruits, and Lamar right here is jus’ a ole friend of mine, visiting.”
Mama smiled big. “Oh, well, if you think I would have heard of you from Bess, you have another thing coming. She’s a sphinx, that one, never tells me anything about anything.I have to get all my gossip from the wind.”
“Elvis is a famous performer, mama. They’re surprised you’ve never heard of him because he is on the radio. And the movies.”
“Oh, is that true? Would I know any of your music?”
Just then, the phone in Papa’s office began to ring and he stood up to excuse himself, muttering in German that he would hardly call it music. Bess exhaled a chuckle at the curious look on Elvis’ face. 
“I’m guessing that weren’t a rousin’ endorsement from ya daddy,huh ?”
She shook her head, and Mama clucked.
“Oh, Henry didn’t get enough red food tonight, don’t mind him. You know, you’re not the first song and dance man I’ve met. When I was a girl - “
“-I met Eddie Cantor when he sang at Zeyde’s theatre on Coney Island.” Bess and Kay exclaimed in unison with a grin.
Bess relaxed as the room filled with warm laughter and she almost felt like they were a normal family, teasing and chiding each other as they entertained guests.
“Oy, well, it’s true, you boys have heard of Eddie Cantor, haven’t you?” Mama grinned at their nods, and took it as her cue to keep talking between sips of tea. “Well, I was just a kid when he was first making it big in New York. And my father had this vaudeville theater, and we met all sorts of acts working their way up the circuit. Baby Rose Marie, Bert WIlliams, Jimmy Durante, and, of course, a lot of nobodies trying to be somebodies. Eddie was probably the most successful guy to come through our place. Boy, was he handsome! Tall, dark hair, those big gorgeous eyes, like two rounds of chocolate.”
“Mama, zey ton nisht veln tsu hern vegn deyn shule meydl krashiz.”
“Oh, Bess thinks I shouldn’t share these things. She thinks I’m an old lady, that I don’t have blood pulsing in my veins. But I’ve always appreciated a good looking man.” Mama patted Elvis' knee. “Still do.” Then all of a sudden she swayed into Elvis' shoulder, her eyelids fluttering before she slumped on his shoulder.
“Ma’am? Ya ok? I’ve had girls swoon before, though they usually heard a me.”
Bess jumped up and looked over at her sister. “How much did you put in her tea, Kay?”
“Just a tablespoon.”
“It’s supposed to be a teaspoon!” Bess growled through clenched teeth as she felt her mother’s pulse, and tried to unfurl her mother’s arm from around Elvis’ shoulder.
“I’ll take her up - “
“Aw, honey - s’ok, want me to - “
“ - Well, it was an easy mistake.” Kay hovered behind Bess, and stomped her foot.
Mama’s eyelids fluttered back open for a moment and she looked up into Elvis' face. “You know, you have a beautiful aura, Alvis, I can tell you are a good person - Bess, if you don’t marry him, I will.” 
Bess gulped, and looked at Kay. “Help me get her up the stairs?”
Before they could do anything, Elvis lifted Mama and nodded at Bess. “Jus lead the way, ‘k Bess honey? Boys, y’all go on out to the car, and we’ll get outta ya hair ‘fore you say lickety splickety.” 
Lamar sighed with relief and could not get through the hallway fast enough, almost knocking the telephone off the little desk as he passed. Rex, however, hung back, gathering up the bottles of pop and taking them to the kitchen behind Kay, looking back to nod at Elvis in a silent offer to help. Elvis shook his head and followed Bess up the stairs.
“Alright, now, Mrs. Schwartz, ma’am, ya gonna be snug as a bug in a rug, jus you wait.”
Elvis set Mama down in her bed carefully, gently taking her hands and placing them at her sides. Mama opened her eyes and trailed her fingers over the sharp edge of Elvis' crew cut, smiling dreamily as she asked “Almond” if he would marry her.
“Ya so sweet and beautiful, I would, I would  if I could, ma’am.”
Tears welled up behind Bess’ eyes as she watched the tender way Elvis kissed her mother’s cheek and squeezed her hand before she passed out. They exchanged a long look, and Bess blushed.
“I’m sorry you had to see all this, I’m so embarrassed. You didn’t have to stay and help me - “
Elvis rubbed her shoulder. “Honey, I wanted to help, I like helping folks. Ain’t nuthin to be shamed of. Really Moo Moo, wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to. An getting to spend my night with the prettiest lil gal in town, why, that’s just the icing on the cake.” His face scrunched into a big grin as he held her, and bess nodded into the comfy wook of his red sweater.
Elvis stood in the doorway, watching curiously as Bess took off her mother’s shoes and tucked her under the large, homemade victory quilt that they had sewn from old clothes during the war. It was the only blanket Mama would sleep with, and for Bess, it evoked that time in her childhood when Papa was overseas doing things he couldn’t talk about and Mama was the strongest woman she could imagine. 
Now, as she looked down at her mother and smoothed hair out of her face, it was Mama who resembled a little girl, finally relaxed and at ease as she started to snore. Her sleeping face free from the cares and mysteries of the world. Bess kissed her mother on the forehead, and turned to find Elvis waiting for her in the doorway. His blue eyes seemed to penetrate her soul, as his thumb rubbed the side of her shoulder.
“Holdin’ it all together, ain’t ya Moo Moo. I see you. I really do.” 
Bess shuddered at his touch, wiping the side of her eyes.
“I, um, I. Well, you caught us on a bad night, Almond.”
He chuckled, drawing her into his arms and kissing the top of her forehead.
“Nah, ain’t nothing bad about anything.” The sides of his crinkled as he smirked. “Almond, huh. maybe ya mama there is on to sumpin. Might sell more records and movie tickets if I changed my name to Almond instead. Tell you what, wudda made it harder for the Army to find me.”
“Yes.” She took his hand and led him back down the stairs.”Though you would have missed out on your freel vacation here at beautiful Fort Hood.” 
They were back on her porch, and Elvis was clasping her hand tight. He looked out at the darkness, and at his car on the street, then over the garden, before turning back to hover over Bess, hands resting at her waist.
“Wudda missed out on meeting you, honey. Ya my silver lining. Tonight, being here with you, I know it now for certain that fate brought us together.”
Bess turned her head to listen to the crickets, wondering if they had any advice on how to defy fate. Especially when fate distracted you from all common sense by nuzzling your forehead. 
“Elvis - I - “
His lips were at her ear as he drew her closer. “Aw, Moo Moo, I cain’t bear to think I made you cry. I mean it.” His thumbs rolled up and down Bess’ sides. ”I promise, ain’t ever let that happen again. I swear. Cuz I need ya, honey, been thinking ‘bout you all the time.”
Bess couldn’t resist the way his eyes lit up with hopeful vulnerability, it made her feel like she was the one who had wronged him by withdrawing her company from him. 
“I  - I think about you too.” She cupped his cheek. “I’ve seen you doing laps every evening, are you doing okay?”
Elvis huffed and pinched her side. “Oh, yeah, you know me. Every morning, those drill sergeants find a reason to be cross at me, makin’ me do extra PT. But ain’t nothin I can’t handle.”
Bess nodded. Then Elvis’ hands tightened all the way around her, constricting her so tight she almost couldn’t breath, before parting with a soft, chaste farewell kiss and a vague promise to call her the next day.
Bess was humming to herself as she turned off the porch light and locked the door behind her, stopping short when she saw her father come out of his office.
“Everything ok, Papa?’
“Jah, jah. That was just the secure line, a call from D.C.” He straightened his sweater, coughing as he took in the dim quiet of their house. “Ze hound dog has run off, I take it?”
“He’s not so bad, you know.” Bess shifted and looked at her feet, unable to stop the smile at the corner of her mouth. “The drill sergeants have really had it out for him this last week. He’s been running extra PT and they put him on latrine duty. Must have pissed off the wrong person.”
Bess stopped talking, noticing that her father’s face had soured into a tight grimace. She had probably been right not to tell her parents that she had been seeing Elvis. This would be tough, now there was nothing she could do now.
“Jah, that boy did piss off the wrong person. Me. You would be wise to cut your ties with him, Elizabeth, he does not respect women. And you have a bright future ahead of you. I might expect Katherine to be dazzled by this flash of Memphis. But you are too smart for all that. I would hate to see you lose focus on your goals to run around with a boy who brings his hoochie coochie girlfriends to town and flaunts them in your face.” 
Bess was silent as her father pursed his lips, nodding, then said good night. She listened to the sound of his footsteps as he walked up stairs, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how he had found out about Elvis. About the debacle with Anita. About all of it. 
The disappointment she had seen in her father’s eyes crushed her, and Bess tossed and turned in her bed all night trying to figure out how she could make him understand that she could have fun and still go after her goals. It was the thought of Elvis’ long thumbs caressing her body that finally calmed her down. The memory of his touch was like her own personal dose of benzodiazepine, it made her forget all her problems and give herself over to the sandman.
********************************************************************
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horseimagebarn · 6 months
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hello friends welcome to the horseimagebarn weekly interaction recap where i respond to all the asks reblogs comments etc i received in the previous week every single friday
however as some of you may have noticed i have done you all a disservice in that i missed last weeks recap due to life reasons that i will not specify but i will tell you i have been listening to weezer more than normal which i believe is ample insight into my life at the moment
i beg your pardon in this slight as i take my duty as the horseimagebarn curator very seriously and i know i have dropped the ball a bit recently by decreasing my posting frequency and missing out on last weeks recap i sincerely apologize and it will not happen again
to atone i shall include posts from the past two weeks in this weekly recap so that you may see all i have had to say
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i do not know who you are idespisehorses or why you have such hate in your heart but i hope you know you greatly soured my 9 11 and every day after
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she horse on my image til i barn
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horse masseuse thats awesome i am glad your mom enjoys my posts and i wish you and her both very well however i have found my niche as it were on tumblr and i enjoy the folk here very much and i dont think i would get on as well with the facebook crowd and i am not doing this for fame or community though the community here is very nice and enjoyable and a welcome benefit i do this out of love for the craft however i do look at horses on facebook from time to time
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thank you for your praise my friend you see i always found image descriptions to accurately convey the physicality of the image only and never the emotions or aura of the image so i felt that for something debatably non vital like horse images i might try to employ a more abstract and possibly more spiritually accurate manner of writing image descriptions
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never do i feel more satisfaction and joy than i do when i find out the names of the horses in the horseimagebarn this account does excellent work
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it is no worries some horse images are not for everyone
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yes my friend i tag my horses based on ten key emotions though i am planning on adding more when i have the time to go through and resort my posts as i want people to be able to use the tags to find a horse image that reflects whatever emotion they are seeking perfectly if you have any suggestions for new tags please let me know
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please spare me for my sins against car tumblr i fear i will never recover from this
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yes this is true and i have read that a horse if old enough may die due to a lack of teeth if it grinds them down enough in its life
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you can always look at horses on google sweatybeard the horses can sense negativity
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my homie has spotted me in the wild hello homie
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congratulations sylvia42
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my friends you touch me deeply with your messages and i appreciate your patience greatly it heartens me to know so many people enjoy my efforts i have never risen to such heights as i have on this blog and i appreciate you all so much
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i am happy for you my friend i deeply wish to go on a trail ride one day with a horse but i live in a tourist town so it is approximately one million dollars to do such and i am trapped within the throes of capitalism i am glad no horses were harmed on your trip and i am pleased to know you had a wonderful time
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shoutout isaac
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eatifa · 11 months
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do you remember? part 2
a/n - hello! this is inspired by a tiktok edit. i didn't have the time to check this part but there will be one more/final part.
part 1 - starring - mikey, koko and chifuyu
part 3 - izana, ran and sanzu - this part is dark so please read the trigger warnings
concept - seeing her again, a person that they used to know.
part 2 - starring - draken, baji, kazutora
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draken had forgotten.
draken never thought he would return his hometown in such a morbid way. the original plan was retiring with his wife after raising their future children and ending their careers without regret.
but life got in the way. a rainy day with an official warning being issue for the residents to make their way back homes. a longer commute for her since her workplace was based in the outskirts of the city.
if her text messages didn't tell him to come pick her up, draken would had done it without a second thought. respecting her wishes was the biggest mistake that he ever did.
a child running away from their mother entered into the road and she spun around to prevent the child from being hurt. the tires and steering wheel spiralled out of her control.
the selfless act costed her life. hearing the news from the police officers arriving at the door of their apartment must been an illusion. she no longer replied back to the messages and arranging the funeral with his former in-laws is something that he could no longer deny.
the future was uncertain but feeling the resentment towards the mother and child attending the funeral of the woman that vowed to be together for ever made draken realised staying here would do more harm than good.
leaving flowers at her grave along with tears streaming down his face was the last thing he did as her husband. an uncle that attended the funeral offered draken to help with the mechanic business thriving in their home town.
it felt strange replacing the navy blazer and black tie with a pair of grey overall but diving into the role as a mechanic became a good distraction.
draken only interacted with his uncle and going along with the idle chit chat that the customers would start with him. everyone could recognise him and the piercings made him stand out.
draken wanted to tear it off but whenever he gripped onto the loops, the metallic sensation made him remember the piercings was the first compliment that his wife gave him. draken's hands would become limp, he could no longer bring himself to do it.
the family's empty house, the only refuge that draken would retrieve to for privacy and being left alone. eating dinner alone is something that no one should ever face but draken prefer that over since he didn't had the desire to socialise with others.
old friends had offered their condolences but draken's replies would always be a thank you or i'm fine, don't worry about me. eventually, everyone gave up but his uncle told the neighbours that his nephew never had the time to cook a dinner for himself.
a lie to forced draken to engage with the neighbours that been their family for his whole life so far. the eldest daughter would typically drop off their packaged food, draken remember her the most, a familiar face that he would play with him throughout his childhood since they were the same age.
the blonde would never invite her inside instead of opting to thanking for the kind gesture but one day, someone else knocked on the door. draken had no idea who she was but hearing her name caused a locked memory to resurface it.
the daughter of the local dentist, a family friend of his neighbour. draken never knew much about them but everyone knew that the kids were expected to become professionals in the medicine or dentistry field.
their youngest daughter lacked the natural ability and talent that the older siblings possess. she could never beat them in exams and rumours spread that the parents would always scold her.
draken never thought much about it but hearing her cries in the park is something that he never ignored. she may been a young child but she was smart enough to visit the park during the sunsets when it was empty. the town had a small population and was safe for a young kid to do that.
draken would always comfort her but he was four years older than her. the moments happened when she was six and he was ten. there were a lot of moments but surely she wouldn't remember them.
the hunch was right, she never mentioned it whenever she would just pass him the food. draken had recently just turned 28 and that meant she was 24 now. in appearance wise, she surely had changed a lot since he left 6 years ago.
the highlighted hair and the subtle differences to her facial features made him fail to recognise her but he could heard the hint of shame in her voice when she casually revealed that she dropped out of dentistry school.
she didn't drop out. she must had failed but draken wasn't going to forced the truth out of her. draken would still give her the same treatment with the simple thanks and subtle closing the door on her.
but on one particular evening, clouds covered the sky and raindrops created the pitter sounds that were lough enough for draken to hear outside.
he wasn't damaged enough to not go outside when it was raining but he never liked being alone when this weather would remind him of the person that were taken away from him.
so when she knocked again with an umbrella shielding her from the rain along with a coat protecting her from the winds. draken was tempted to invite her but he would never let a woman in. it would be an act of betrayal for his wife despite being dead.
when she places the white carrier bag into his hands, draken noticed the bracelet encircling her hand. a bracelet that he vaguely recognise.
he gave it to her when she cried a lot on a rough day. draken wasn't entirely sure what happened but it must been bad since pushing her on the swing usually did the trick.
it didn't and the cries was only becoming louder. the young boy was suppose to give the bracelet to his mother since she gave him the errand to get it.
but as a child himself, draken just wanted her to stop crying and the wailing slowly came to a halt as he wrapped the bracelet around her wrist.
"the bracelet wasn't there."
it was a popular bracelet so his mother brought the white lie.
the woman standing in front of him remembers everything and draken couldn't help but ask her something in a moment of weakness.
"it's raining a lot so would you like to come in?"
draken regretted saying those words but seeing her smile along with hearing a yes made him feel a little bit relieved.
maybe it is time to move on.
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baji chose to be selfless.
relationships take work
not a single person didn't know this but more effort needed to be put into when a relationship become long distant. the predicament wasn't planned but his girlfriend needed to move abroad for a few year to complete her a master degree in a more prestigious university.
baji knew this would give her more opportunities so he didn't protested against her wishes but his original plan was to break up with her.
it's just when she automatically thought the relationship would temporarily become long distant, he couldn't bring himself to take off the rose coloured glasses for her.
the relationship had just reached its fifth anniversary but she wouldn't be here for the sixth anniversary. baji knew this but he couldn't help but agreed to her suggestion since he secretly didn't want to give up either.
the only problem is he would always latch onto the worst case scenario since he couldn't imagined that she would propose this option to him.
the doubt would win sometimes when he started to question how genuine the bond was. he never wanted to let another woman in his life upon his mother passing away but his other half entered when he was at his lowest point.
the encounter was a pure coincidence. finding a purple purse at the local cafe he regularly visited caught his attention since it was his mother's favourite colour.
anyone else would handed the lost item to the workers since it wasn't their job to hunt down the owner but baji couldn't bring himself to do it.
in a vulnerable state, he left the cafe with his hand gripping onto the purse. he took a look at the contents inside and found the typical items that anyone would store in their purse.
a bank card. a discount card. a a gift card but the driving license gave away the identity of the owner along with their personal address being printed on it..
baji wasn't entirely sure why he was compelled enough to return her possession back. it could been that her apartment wasn't too far away or he just wanted to have a normal conversation with somebody that didn't know about his mother passing away. or maybe it was a mixture of both.
whatever it was, he didn't regret knocking on her door. he came across the kindest woman that he ever met in his life and he didn't want to let go of her.
the memory of her wrapping his arms around him when he asked her out for the first time is something that he would never forget. the memory would reminds him that it would be foolish enough to give up on the relationship without a try.
it started off on a good note, the facetime calls along with the regular text messages would happen every day but a crack formed when her studies became more intense and work demanded more from him.
eventually, the calls and messages started becoming less where the relationship was no longer starting to work but baji knew she wouldn't end it.
baji didn't want to be selfish and decided to end it in the worst way possible.
it's over.
the last text message that he sent to the woman that he deeply cherished. baji didn't wait for her reply and blocked her on all channels that she could get a hold on him.
he chose to be an asshole since she wouldn't had let go if she thought there was still a chance. it was the hardest decision that he ever made but it was the right one for her but the worst for him.
but when you love someone, you let them go.
the feelings never disappeared though because baji never wanted to let her go but it was the right thing to do. the only problem is that she will view it at this angle but nothing could be done.
baji broken her heart to turn the love into hatred to make her forget about him. it's worked since he heard that she had returned but she never made an effect to see him.
this is what baji wanted but seeing her again in the local convenience store with a basket in her hand caused a needle of guilt prick his heart.
the worst thing was her look of disgust along with uttering out asshole when she walked passed him.
it was the first time that baji regretted what he had done.
the plan had worked too well.
he could no longer salvage the relationship.
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kazutora couldn't give the benefit of doubt.
it always been hard for kazutora to open up and stay in touch with the person after that. if he needed to confess something, his preferred method was just dumping it on a random acquaintance and ghost them without never looking back.
he couldn't do that with his co-worker.
"my mother always love this song."
an accidental slip up in a tired state during a stressful shift at the retail store with the song blaring in the background that made him mention his mother.
"that's nice, she have great taste then."
the reply made his shoulders to become stiff. kazutora used the toilet card to get away from her along with uttering out a curse as he stared at his reflection in the mirror inside the male toilets.
the disheveled strands of yellow and black hair and a tired daze stared back at him. kazutora let the cat out of the bag because the extra shifts was taking a toll on him but it needed to be done since he cut ties off from his parents a year ago.
being thrown in the deep end and left hanging is something that kazutora could no longer endured so he left and they never chased after him. he just needed to get through this year to his engineering degree and he could get out of here.
the slip up was minor and no one knew about his family situation but kazutora couldn't help but gripped onto the basin of the sink. he shouldn't had thought about his mother.
his father, the male figure in his life at least made an effort to occasionally contact him with a phone call but his mother never once made the effort. he didn't commit a crime by refusing to take over the family business but his rejection meant that the business would dissolve away when they would one day retire.
kazutora didn't see the point of taking over the florist shop, the career didn't suit him and the customers were starting to dwindle down since anyone could get a batch of flowers from anywhere these days. even online with a click of the button.
his mother chose to hold a grudge and he was feeling the brute of it. the financial support got cut off a month after he left.
"stop this charade, drop out or you are on your own."
"don't come to my graduation then."
their last exchange before kazutora hang up on his mother. a friend managed to get him this job but he could never say no to the extra shifts.
he needed the extra cash and he would accept the shifts on the days and timing that no one wanted to do. kazutora wanted to avoid pissing off the manager that hired him.
training the rookies is the only thing that he couldn't stand but he had no choice. the coworker that heard him joined a few weeks since she was a college student too.
she tried starting a conversation about their personal lives before. kazutora would just ignore her with a shrug along with changing the topic. on the bad days, kazutora did wanted to tell her to fuck off and he would done it if the backlash of getting fired wasn't a deterrent.
he wanted to cut her off considering what he just done but leaving the job wasn't an option and he didn't had the power to fire her. kazutora had no choice but to just deal with it.
he was just hoping that she wouldn't ask for more details during their next shift.
"hello, kazutora."
her greeting at the start of the shift.
kazutora launched into standby mode. he barely knew anything about her and taking a precaution was the best approach. as the minutes ticked by, he antiptciated for the worst.
the invasion of privacy never came.
he had judged her too quickly.
from then onwards, kazutora made more of an effort to engage with her during each shift. the negative effects of his mother behaviour impacted him far greater than he realised.
kazutora had been a bit too hasty with the girl under his care, she never been rude or ignore the his instructions. she could had made his life harder if she started throwing a fit but her mannerism was too calm to mimics that behaviour.
his mother always ruins everything for him.
it was time to stop it.
the pair began enjoying each other company throughout their shifts. the jokes and sharing the little details of their everyday lives started to happened.
it didn't take long for them to exchange numbers and the relationship started to transformed into friendship. their messages would take a deeper turn too but she still chose not to ask about his family.
kazutora was very grateful for that.
time flew by and kazutora needed to ask her out soon before the final semester ended.
it was now or never.
someone came along and ruined everything.
kazutora knew he shouldn't had been skeptical when he saw her mother interacting with the girl that he grew fond of her.
afterall, anyone could walk into a retail store and his mother was probably just asking for her assistance but the dread wouldn't disappear. neither of them had spotted him loitering outside the revolving doors of the store.
a bouquet of red roses could be seen within his hands. kazutora wanted to keep it as a surprise for the sweet girl that captured his heart.
it was just bad timing. her shift was going to end in ten minutes. seeing the smile on both of their face irked him.
kazutora could no longer do it.
the grip around the roses loosen and he turned around without looking back. kazutora chucked the roses into the first bin that he came across.
kazutora took longer to reply to her messages and he would just only dived into idle chat during their shifts.
"are you upset with me?"
"no, i'm just busy with finals."
a white lie that she just accepted as he worked together with her. it's been a few weeks since the incident but the change must been drastic for her to notice that quickly.
kazutora knew what he was doing but he didn't stopped himself from switching on her.
graduation arrived and securing a job shortly followed along. kazutora changed his number after finishing his last shift at the store that he met the girl whose he was taking out his ill feelings on her.
the only silver lining is that she called in sick for the last shift. kazutora didn't know whether he had it within him to treat her like that upon saying their final goodbye.
he never found out and he didn't want to. the only thing is he wouldn't be forgetting her anytime soon. kazutora couldn't feel mourn over her loss though, he made the choice to cut her off.
kazutora eventually forgot about her when his career started to launch off. the only thing he could remember properly was the name of the store that they worked in.
when kazutora felt lonely or went through a breakup, he did think about popping into the store again to see if she was still working there.
it's been years since he resigned. of course, she wouldn't be there and he did self-inflicted everything.
kazutora punished her for something that she didn't even do. he was an adult that couldn't pin the blame on his mother.
kazutora must live with the decision that he made no matter how much the regret gawned away at him. the regret didn't stop kazutora from hoping they would cross path again some day.
kazutora met her again by being there at the same time when he saw her back facing him in a queue to enter an art exhibition. did kazutora have the right to reach out or not? but he highly doubt she remember h-
"Kazutora?"
kazutora thought he was dreaming when she turned around to catch his attention. the girl that he punished for a petty reason look the same but his hair had become longer along with having a tattoo on his neck.
it still didn't stop her from recognising him, seeing her face again made him remember everything that he like about her.
kazutora had made a mistake that he wouldn't repeat again. it was his turn for him to ask for her number like she did in those days.
surprisingly, she gave him the number on the first try.
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nevernonline · 5 months
Text
✧.* grow as we go; svt smau.
entry #04 the fall of the empire.
synopsis: over the past ten years you've fallen in love many times. one day someone happens to stumble across your journal sitting out on your nightstand and started posting your entries online. after all of your secrets are leaked it's clear things would ever be the same again.
𐦍 paring: svt members x afab! reader.
𐦍 feat: non-idol! svt, (g)-idle minnie&soyeon, oc's
𐦍 genre/s: reader is super angsty low-key, fluffy, sexual themes.
𐦍 content: swearing, bullying, crazy ex's, mentions of sexual relations, some drinking& mary jane 🍃
𐦍 word count: 1.9k
masterlist ▸ 003. two robots fell in love. ▸ 04.5 plan b?
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Throwing your phone onto your couch, you let out the biggest sigh your body could manage to put out.
How did things manage to get so out of hand so quickly?
First Joshua and now Minnie, maybe karma really had it out for you this time.
In need of a distraction you started cleaning your apartment, scrubbing off any scuffs and dirt that accumulated from your past. It was something you wished you could do in your personal life, just scrub out all of the bad shit and only move forward.
After spending hours cleaning out the grout from the shower and throwing away old memories from your past in fear that they'd come back to haunt you, a knock came on the front door.
You almost pretended to not hear it, just hoping that whoever decided to show their face to you would just save themselves and walk away, but the knocking persisted.
"Look, I don't really feel like- Oh my god, Seokmin."
His puppy dog eyes stared at you as a greeting and his long arms held a basket full of your favorite things, homemade lemonade, popcorn, cherry sour straws, and even a small stuffed animal.
"Sorry, I tried to text you but you hadn't replied and I got worried. I can just drop this off and let you be alone."
"No, please stay. Thank you for coming over, I just didn't feel like answering my phone anymore."
"Have people been talking about the twitter?"
"Yeah, I got about a thousand text messages from everyone, none that I've opened. Joshua, Jeonghan, Mingyu.. I mean it's fucking insane."
"Well, we can both ignore our phones and watch some rom-coms? I even brought a bag full of mini alcohol bottles and stuff to bake brownies."
Seokmin sniffed the air as he removed his coat and sneakers, stepping into your apartment.
"Stress cleaning?"
"Yeah, I just felt like washing away bad energy."
"Don't worry, I showered before I came."
"Shut up."
Seokmin took it upon himself to pre-heat your oven and get started mixing the ingredients for the chocolate mixture. Trying to find a way to ask you about how you felt, but not wanting to pry.
"Look, we can talk about it, Seok. It's okay."
"No, I just feel bad. I mean everything you wrote is private, you're not entitled to have anyone know your dirty secrets and it's just not fair."
"That's exactly what, Minghao texted me. I think I'm over trying to find out who did it, like maybe if I don't add fuel to the fire and act like it doesn't bother me. I can forget about it. It can't get much worse than it already is."
"Don't let Minnie bother you, y/n. She's just upset, it'll blow over."
"I guess."
Passing time with Seokmin felt like exactly what you needed, he was able to take your mind off of anything negative that was going on, part of his basket you didn't see were the set of matching pajamas with both of your favorite Sanrio characters embroidered on the front. He told you he was saving them for a special day, but today was the perfect time to bring them.
Now with warm brownies made and Seokmin's famous lemonade you sit cuddled on your couch, watching the intro to 10 things I hate about you plastered on the big LED screen.
Your phone buzzed on the table, waking you from being zoned out. a name flashed on the screen, one that wasn't a threat to how happy you've felt the past few hours, Minghao.
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"Seok, is it okay that I invited someone?"
"Oh, who is it?"
"Well, Minghao texted me and wanted to hangout. I don't feel like I should shut him out just because of what happened."
"Are you going to tell him to call his dogs off?"
"Yeah, I think I will at least for now."
"Minghao's always been nice, he'll understand."
"I hope so."
After another half hour of watching Kat fall in love with Patrick on your screen and singing along with Seokmin to the movie soundtrack a knock came from your front door.
Unwrapping yourself from the warmth of your friend, you crawled off the couch wrapped in a blanket and ran to answer it.
"I thought I told you not to wear something nice?"
Minghao was dressed in a cozy pair of cargo sweats and a big hoodie, carrying a larger than normal leather tote bag.
"Well, I wasn't about to show up in my boxers. I like your pajamas though."
"Thank you, Seokmin brought them for me. We got matching ones, sort of silly I know. You may laugh."
"No, they look cute. I brought you guys some snacks and wine as a sorry for intruding."
Seokmin's loud voice cheered from your couch.
"Wow, Minghao. If someone doesn't snatch you up soon I might have to. Hi, by the way."
Minghao took your previous spot on the couch, next to Seokmin getting him with a cute handshake.
"How is everything guys?"
"Well, good now. Y/N had sort of a rough morning."
"Yeah, I saw the posts. Did something happen?"
"Well, Minnie freaked out on me of course and I told her to move out. So, I had just been cleaning before Seok came and rescued me."
"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. It happens I guess."
Seokmin forced Minghao to let you sit in between the middle of them after noticing you searching around the room for the best place to sit.
"Come on, loser."
Your butt found its perfect missing piece sitting between two of your friends both new and old.
"Should we watch Twilight? Minghao's never seen them."
"You've never seen Twilight? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Minghao's eyes opened wider than you had ever seen them, probably embarrassed that the two of you made this little moment about him.
"Stop acting like that's the weirdest thing ever? You guys are crazy."
"Oh my god, you're going to love this Hao."
Seokmin queued up the movie, watching the title sequence splash across the screen as you watched Minghao experience the blue toned film for the first time, catching glimpses at him at all of your favorite parts.
After the movie ended Seokmin was sleeping up against your side, cutely snoring. You tried to subtly remove yourself from him without scaring the daylights out of the by, you woke him up, Minghao was already up and next to your side helping you move the sleeping puppy into your bedroom, so he could get a good nights sleep.
"Thank you."
"I should, get going."
"Oh no, stay here. You can either stay on the couch or you can take Minnie's room, I changed the sheets already."
"What about you?"
"Oh, I'll probably stay up for a while, I have some shit to take care of."
"Are you sure, I'm not intruding?"
"No, shut up. It's late and raining stay here."
"Okay, I'll stay wherever. Thank you."
"No please, stay in the extra room. It's more comfy."
"I think you should, the couch is nice and warm anyway. I like the fireplace."
With a nod you grabbed Minghao a few pillows and an extra toothbrush and snuck away to the room that used to belong to Minnie, packing away her stuff as a final gesture to someone you used to call your best friend.
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Minghao, walked through the closed doorway to find you sitting on your wooden floor, tears drying up on your cheeks, looking at photos of your friends.
He placed the two glasses of red wine, beside you and bent to sit criss cross adjacent to you.
"Sorry I woke you up."
"No, you didn't actually. I was just reading on my phone, I usually go to bed pretty late."
"Oh, okay. This is pathetic isn't it?"
"What? Being upset? No, it isn't."
"No, just me, crying over this. I mean I made most of this mess in the first place and here I am crying over people I hurt no matter how badly they hurt me before. I mean, seeing Mingyu and Minnie hanging out, Joshua and Mimi, I just like am making myself a victim when I'm also to blame."
"Y/n, you are a victim in this too. It maybe doesn't feel like it, but just because you hurt someone doesn't mean they get to hurt you back."
"I guess."
"Does Minnie and Mingyu being alone together bug you?"
"No, she's right as much as I hate to admit it. It can't bother me they're friends too, I guess I just didn't see that coming.
Minghao pics up a polaroid photo of you and Joshua wearing matching college sweatshirts, dated September 15.
"Was this your first day of classes?"
Your laugh came after a couple of sniffles, admiring the smiling pair in the photos.
"Yeah, our mom's were best friends growing up and naturally so were we. We got accepted into the same university, so our first day they took far too many pictures of us. I wonder why Minnie has it?"
"Maybe, by mistake?"
"Yeah, maybe. I normally keep all my pictures in a box under my bed."
Something in your gut was telling you that Minnie having that picture of you in her room wasn't by mistake, but you chose to shove it down continuing your trip down memory lane with Minghao.
"Oh my god."
Minghao held up a picture of you, you were standing with Minnie at a halloween party outside with drinks in hand, dressed up as sexy bottles of ketchup and mustard.
"No, that's so embarrassing throw it away."
You tried to grab the picture out of Minghao's grip as he was sprawled across the floor giggling over you dressed up with a red cone on your head.
"I didn't think Ketchup could be so sexy, y/n."
"Shut up, that's awful. I don't even remember that. I look so stupid."
"No you look nice, actually very original for the sexy girl costume trope."
"Ha- Ha, very funny."
Minghao handed you your glass of wine, laughter now dying out as you sat in silence surrounded by polaroids of your past.
"Can I tell you something, y/n?"
"Yeah, always."
"Well, I found out where the first tweet was posted from, not me actually, Wonwoo. It came from your wifi network, so whoever posted it was in your apartment that first night."
A pit came to your gut, the same apartment you were in now, the walls suddenly looked darker and you decided on chugging the alcohol in front of you.
"Do you know anything else?"
"No, just that the network assigned was yours."
"Can we maybe, stop sleuthing just for awhile? I don't know what to do anymore. I'm really thankful you guys wanted to help me, I just, I get a feeling there's more to this that I don't know or even want to find out right now."
Minghao just shook his head, holding up the bottle of wine asking you if you needed more, which of course you obliged.
"Want to watch something with me?"
"More twilight?"
"No, not more twilight. Seokmin wouldn't be happy to miss that. Maybe, Princess Diaries?"
"I love that movie."
"Me too, come on."
You crawled into the bed, tapping the covers asking him to sit next to you.
"Turn the light off, come on I don't bite."
"Can I confess something embarrassing? I used to think the brother in this movie was someone from the Beatles."
"Oh my god, me too. And that the mom from the parent trap was Princess Diana."
Minghao laughed, reliving a part of his childhood climbing into the bed next to you, afraid to get too close.
You on the other hand were as comfortable as ever, cuddling under the covers, clutching a pillow in your lap watching Anne Hathaway on screen.
By the time Mia was getting her makeover Minghao and you were sleeping peacefully side by side.
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✧.* taglist: @sun-daddy-yoriichi,@hipsdofangirl @kissesfrmwonwoo, @minhui896, @wonwooz1, @porridgesblog, @punkhazardlaw, @jasssy051,
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ja3hwa · 3 months
Text
♤ 𝟒𝐊 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 ♤
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Put on your snuggley pjs and blankets and join me for a sleepover! ♡♡ This is the first sleepover event I've ever done. So please bear with me. ♡♡
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
First and foremost, thank you so much for everyone who has joined this gorgeous community. All the love and support you've all given since the first day I started writing for this blog is crazy. And it means so much to me, and you all don't understand how much I care about you all.
To celebrate this crazy ass milestone, I've picked a sleepover event. So if you wish, drop any of these in my ask box, and I'd love to chat, realx, pick up a slice of pizza and cuddle up. Let's begin:
Cup of hot coco: Send in a hard ask, smutty, steam, Suggestive. I'll write as many drabbles as i can. And if i can't, I'll just scream at/with you instead, hehe.
A pair of Soft Socks: Fluffly, Romance, Cute. Again, I'll write as many drabbles as i can, and if i can't answer you with a drabble, we can just cry over it instead. ♡
Slice of pizza: Opinions on anything (can be realated or not related to groups/members)
Pass The Plushie: Any questions you want to ask. Anything you want to say. Or if you just want to scream/cry/laugh at anything. ♡
DISCLAIMER! Anything that goes against my comfort will be deleted, but I'll try my best to reply to everything else regardless of whether I write a drabble for it or not. please understand if I'm unable to make up something for your ask, forgive me... also, please try not to phrase your asks as requests. I won't be writing full on fics.
please mention the sleepover in your asks! all posts for this event will be tagged under #Ja3hwa4kSleepover. This event will go on for as long as i want, so I'll announce it at some point when i close submissions.
Im unsure how many of y'all will message me. So we'll see, hehe.
All these asks/drabbles will be added to the sleepover masterlist -> [Here] <-
— ♡
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hwaberry-dreams · 4 days
Text
NINETEEN: fears and reunions
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Warnings: mentions of bipolar disorder, mental health and OCs fears around it, does not go into explicit details
Word count: 11.2k
Summary: It is the morning after the previous night's events, Seonghwa and Hongjoong have a conversation about Luna's condition. After some thought, Hongjoong decides to talk to her directly. Luna has a heart-to-heart with her mother before returning to the apartment, where everyone has come back from visiting their families.
(AN: this entire chapter is in 3rd person, I appreciate all the feedback on the different format and have decided to focus mainly on 3rd person now with Lunas 1st person POV during certain periods. Again any feedback on this is always appreciated! Thank you to everyone who has read, liked and reblogged so far!)
─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
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“How was she this morning?” Hongjoong asks, a note of concern in his voice
“I don’t know. She left the apartment before 7am. I thought she was just on her regular morning run but when she still wasn’t back by 7.30am, I checked her room and her work things were gone.” Seonghwa replies. “I know she has a lot of work at the office today and maybe just wanted to get there as early as possible but it’s just worried me a little bit that she left so early.”
Seonghwa had messaged Hongjoong the night before to give him a brief rundown of what had happened. This morning he had got up early, planning to speak to Luna before she left for work. See how she was feeling after a nights sleep but she was already gone. It was now 9.30am and Hongjoong had called him after reading his messages when he woke up.
“When she told me about her bipolar, her main concern was that we would treat her differently. I wish I had been there last night so I could have reassured her.” Hongjoong sighs on the other end of the line
Seonghwa stiffens slightly at the implication, "Are you suggesting that I didn't do enough to reassure her?"
"No! That's not what I meant! You did your best. It's just...I feel so helpless!" Hongjoong exclaims, frustration evident in his tone. "I shouldn't have left Seoul. I should've stayed."
"You're our team captain, but even captains need rest. You couldn't have predicted this," Seonghwa says softly, trying to soothe his friend’s guilt. "Besides, Luna wouldn’t have let you stay even if you tried. Don't beat yourself up over this."
“You are right.” Hongjoong replies. “My dad is driving me back to Seoul in an hour or two so I will be home soon. Maybe I should get him to drop me off at the office instead so I can check up on her.”
“Do you think that is wise to do? Given how Luna hates being fussed over, she might feel cornered.” Seonghwa cautions
“I’m just worried.” comes Hongjoongs reply
"I understand your concern," Seonghwa reassures him. "Look, Luna's a fighter. She's been through so much, yet she remains resilient and strong. If you're set on seeing her before coming home, I won't stop you. Just tread carefully. We don’t want to push her away."
“I’m honestly unsure on what to do. As we get closer to Seoul I’ll see what my gut tells me. And you are right, she is an absolute fighter.” Hongjoong agrees “I am glad you were there for her last night. Do you think she’ll make things up with her mom?”
“Her dad assured me that this can be a common thing between them. Luna can’t suppress her feelings anymore and snaps, her mom gets more protective and Luna pulls away from her. He told me that they will patch things up either today or tomorrow but if it takes a bit longer, not to worry.” Seonghwa says as Hongjoong relaxes a little. He didn’t want a rift between mother and daughter when he knows how close they are and it is obvious how much her family, especially her mom means to her. “He also told me to reach out to him if we have any questions or looking for ways to support her without it being overbearing. He included the others in this.”
"That was considerate of him," Hongjoong remarks with a small smile, "Especially since they see you as her boyfriend and us as just coworkers."
“I don’t think he sees you all as ‘just coworkers’. He knows we all live together and I think Luna has been telling him little things about us all. He said he is thankful that we all look after her.” Seonghwa replies
“What are her parents like?” Hongjoong finds himself asking
“They are genuinely wonderful people. Her dad is really tall! A bit scary at first obviously but he is funny, down to earth and kind. He isn’t the scary old school military guy I had imagined in my head! Luna gets her caring nature from him.” Seonghwa answers with a small smile
“And her mom?” Hongjoong presses further
Seonghwa continues, “The same as her dad. Funny, laid back and really kind. She is tiny though, shorter than Luna but they look so alike. Obviously she can be pretty intense. She's fiercely protective of Luna, sometimes to a fault. But it all comes from a place of love. She wants the best for her daughter and can be a bit overbearing at times, but it's only because she cares so deeply.”
“It sounds like Luna is lucky to have such supportive parents.” Hongjoong reflects thoughtfully, “We just need to make sure she knows she can rely on the two of us, until she is ready to tell the others.”
“We will!” Seonghwa assures him, “We will be there for her as much as she will let us be.”
“Anyway, I should go make sure I have everything packed up. I’ll be back in Seoul soon,” Hongjoong sighs lightly
“I’ll see you when you get home and don’t worry about Luna.” Seonghwa replies before the pair say goodbye and hang up.
As Seonghwa gently places his phone on the sofa, his eyes shift towards her partially open bedroom door. Through the gap the early morning sunshine floods the room with warmth, casting a soft glow that extends into the little alcove between the lounge and her room. His heart sinks a bit, hoping that she is truly okay this morning.
─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
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─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
Hongjoong instantly feels relaxed the second he opens the door to his studio. It was his safe place, his little sanctuary. Spending 4 days without work was hard for him but he was determined to keep his promise to Luna that he would spend his break resting, enjoying time with his parents and his older brother who was also visiting them at the same time. He actually found that he was coming back to Seoul with a clear head though, the time away from his studio and work laptop gave him some clarity regarding the music he was currently working on, and he was excited to get started on it again.
He places his suitcase in his studio before leaving the small room and walking to the door next to his. Inside he can see a light shining through the frosted glass of the little window, a small smile creeping onto his face as he knows Luna is in there.
As he raises his hand to knock, a familiar voice calls out from behind him. Turning around, he sees Maddox, a close friend and fellow musician, approaching with a steaming mug of coffee in hand.
“Looks like I surprised you.” Maddox teases him with a grin. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow morning at the very least!”
“You know me!” he laughs shrugging his shoulders. “I can’t stay away from here!”
Maddox raises an eyebrow in playful curiosity. "Don't tell me you have an English lesson with Luna on the same day you came home?"
Hongjoong quickly improvises, thinking on his feet. He couldn't possibly reveal that his sole purpose for stopping by the office was to see Luna. "Nope, not today! I just wanted to drop by my studio for an hour. But when I saw the light on in Luna's office, I can’t resist saying hi."
Maddox takes a sip of his coffee, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Ah, I see." Something in the playful look in his friends eye made Hongjoong feel like Maddox was seeing through him.
“How was your break? Did you work nonstop like usual?” Maddox asks
Hongjoong shakes his head, a slight smile forming on his lips. "No, not this time. I even left my work laptop in my studio."
Maddox lets out a laugh. "Miracles do happen! So, you're here, probably itching to get some work done now that you're back."
“Caught red handed!” Hongjoong jokes, playfully holding up his hands
“Well I better go. I am doing a live in 10 minutes. I’ll see you next week as the team has the final meeting on the new bands album.” Maddox says
“Gosh, their debut date is so close now!” Hongjoong smiles, fondly remembering his own with Ateez. “See you next week!”
As Maddox walks down the corridor and disappears from sight, Hongjoong's attention returns to Luna's door. He quickly scans the area to ensure no one else is around before knocking gently. A moment passes without any response, so he knocks again, this time a little louder.
A loud groan comes from within the room, followed by some mumbled swearing in English. Hongjoong's stomach tightens with worry, fearing that he might have interrupted her from important work. Suddenly, the door swings open, revealing a frustrated looking Luna. But as soon as she sees him, her expression softens and she pulls him into her room by his hand, swiftly closing the door behind them. Luna wraps her arms around his shoulders tightly.
"Joongie!" she exclaims blissfully.
Hongjoong is momentarily taken aback by her sudden display of affection but quickly recovers, reciprocating by wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her just as tightly. Her head buries into his neck and he can feel her warm breath on his skin.
“I missed you so much, Joongie!” she mumbles
"I missed you too," he replies, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The sound of her calling him by that nickname sends a flutter through his heart. He takes a deep breath, inhaling her familiar scent of vanilla and coconuts. “I didn’t interrupt you, did I? You sounded a little annoyed when I knocked a second time.”
Luna pulls back slightly, looking up at him with affectionate eyes. "Of course not. I had my earphones in, and the loud knock startled me. I jumped and accidentally hit my knee on the desk."A faint blush colours her cheeks at the fact he heard her swearing.
“Is your knee okay?” he asks concerned
“It is fine! My own clumsy fault.” she replies “Why are you here? I thought we were meeting back at the apartment tonight.”
Hongjoong smiles and caresses her face gently with one hand. "I kept my promise to you - no work while I was away. I had decided to leave my laptop in the office and I wanted to pick it up before heading home."
Luna feels her heart swell slightly at the fact he had went so far to keep his promise to her.
“Plus I wanted to see you too.” he adds.
"Check up on me, you mean?" she teases gently. "I know Seonghwa would have told you what happened last night."
"Yeah, he did," Hongjoong acknowledges, worry etching his features. His voice carries a plea for understanding as he says, "Please don't be mad at him."
Luna recognises the worry in his eyes, mirrored from last night when Seonghwa asked if she was okay and when he told her he agreed with her mother about the big changes in her life. It was worry with a hint of fear in the eyes. It isn’t the first time one of them has said the words ‘don’t be mad/upset’ to her either.
"Hongjoong, do I make you feel uncomfortable sometimes?" she asks, searching his eyes for the truth.
Confusion flickers across his face as he asks, "What do you mean?"
"I've noticed in the past few days that sometimes you all seem a bit on edge around me," Luna explains. "It's like you're afraid to tell me something or voice an opinion like I'll fly into a rage or get upset."
Hongjoong hesitates before answering, searching for the right words. In that moment, Luna knows that her fears are not unfounded.
“I don’t want any of you to feel that way!” she tells him earnestly “I know I can be moody and hard to be around but I don’t want you all to be scared to talk to me or ask me how I am.”
Hongjoong's voice is gentle as he responds, moving one hand from her waist to cup her cheek. "Hey, you aren't moody or hard to be around. You make each of us so happy just by allowing us into your life. We're not scared of you; we just worry a little about upsetting you."
“I realise that I made a big deal about not wanting to be fussed over. However I don’t want any of you to be afraid of how I’ll react if you do. I know my condition will make you and Seonghwa worry twice as much, but I promise I won't get upset if anyone fusses over me.” she says, “The reason I said I didn't want to be fussed over is because of my moms over-protectiveness. I know it is because she loves me but I have to hold back so often with her, bite my tongue a lot that when someone else fusses over me, I tend to snap easily. I just didn’t want to take my frustrations out on any of you.”
Hongjoong nods in understanding, his dark eyes soft and sympathetic. "I understand, Luna," he says softly. "And I can only imagine the added stress and strain you must feel by concealing your bipolar disorder from the others."
Luna takes a deep breath before continuing, her voice trembling slightly. "That's why I've decided it's time to stop hiding and be honest with everyone about my bipolar disorder. I'm tired of living in fear, constantly worrying my sleeve will ride up or hiding when my medication like a dirty little secret. It's exhausting." She meets Hongjoongs gaze.
“Are you truly ready to do or do you feel you have to?” He poses the question to her, his voice gentle but probing.
Luna looks away for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before leaning back into his embrace once again. His arms encircle her protectively, and he starts rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"No," she whispers vulnerably, "I am nowhere near ready." She takes a deep breath and continues, "But I wasn't prepared for Seonghwa to find out and today I feel a little lighter. I told him everything, more than I told you about the scars, and there was no judgement. Neither of you have judged me."
“Baby, I'm glad you feel that way, but it's important for you to be truly ready." he cautions. “I don’t want you to do it and then regret it because it was too soon for you. Seonghwa and I will support you completely until that time comes, so do not worry about that.”
"I honestly don't deserve you," Luna sighs, her voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you."
They linger in each other's embrace for a moment, relishing the rare moment of solitude.
“Oh I had a meeting today. Whether it is good outcome or not I’ll let you decide since it involves you!” Luna beams up at him
Hongjoong recognises the mischievous glint in her eyes, prompting a smile to spread across his face.
“I am sure it will be good!” he chuckles, tucking some of her hair behind her ear
“The CEO has asked me to work with you all for the Japanese track. It’s mainly to ensure the Japanese lyrics and vocals are on point.” she says “Not that he doesn’t trust your Japanese!” she quickly adds, realising how her words might have sounded to him
“Are you kidding me? I think this is amazing news Luna!” he grins, feeling his stomach bubble with excitement
“I was hoping you’d be okay with this, me being a part of that process.” she returns his level of excitement. “I don’t know anything about making or producing music, and lord knows I am a terrible singer so should not be involved in any of that stuff!” she laughs before continuing “However I am very fluent in Japanese as it was the second language I learned as a child alongside Korean and I am confident in my skills in that regard. Eden has already given me the songs that will have a Japanese version and I am working on translating them now.”
"We're all pretty basic when it comes to Japanese." Hongjoong admits with a smile. "We usually bring in someone new for these tracks, someone we've never met before but it will be amazing to have you there, something we fully trust."
"I just hope I can contribute and not hinder anything," Luna replies.
With a gentle smile, he reassures her, "You will be incredible. We usually do vocals individually in the recording studio, given our busy schedules. I'll make sure it's just us and whatever member is doing the vocals at that moment, one on one to make the process easier for you." He reaches over to caress her cheek, his touch warm and comforting. "I'm excited to have you in the studio with me. It will be a great experience," he adds with genuine enthusiasm. “And getting to spend some time alone with you will be an added bonus.” his voice takes on a low, husky tone that sends butterflies dancing in her stomach.
His eyes drop to her lips, Luna noticing and instinctively tucking her lower lip between her teeth as his fingers thread through her soft dark hair. Her usual wavy hair is poker straight today, her long bangs perfectly framing her delicate face. With a slight tilt of his head, Hongjoong leans in and their lips meet.
It was the first time they’d kissed since their first one in his studio weeks before but also the first time they had been alone. Both being busy with work and like ships passing in the night. In this moment of pure solitude, Hongjoong promises himself to make more time for her.
The kiss is slow and comforting to them both. The outside world around them fading away as they get lost in one another. After what seemed like an eternity, Hongjoong pulls back slightly, his dark eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation or doubt. “I really missed you.” Hongjoong whispers softly.
Luna's feel a warmth spread through her chest at the way he is looking at her, his eyes filled with affection which she has never seen before from him. She brushes her fingertips against the side of his face. "I missed you too," she replies softly. She leans forwards to capture his lips once more but a firm knock at the door causes them to pull apart harshly. Hongjoong taking a few steps backwards and while Luna quickly fixes her tussled hair from his fingers before saying as calmly as possible, “Come in!”
Both Hongjoong and Luna look towards the door to see Hyunshik walk through the door. His usual mischievous grin on his face as he looks at Luna before spotting Hongjoong at the other side of the room looking at a textbook from Lunas desk in an attempt to look nonchalant.
“Oh hey Hongjoong! Didn’t know you were back at work!” he greets him
“I am not, I came to pick up my laptop then going home. Just wanted to say hi to Luna before I left.” Hongjoong explains
“Ah right.” Hyunshik nods. “Luna, reception called up, your mom has just arrived in the lobby. Ilsung is bringing her up as she has a lot of bags!”
“That will probably be food for everyone!” Luna chuckles. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“I have a meeting to go to so let me know if there is any leftover food!” he replies laughing too
“Oh you can bet on it! I’ll message you first!” she says
“That’s my bestie!” he grins holding his fist out for her to bump
“I got your back!” Luna replies with a smile reciprocating the fist bump
Hongjoong observes their interaction closely, his eyebrow arching slightly at the exchange. Hyunshik gives him a smile before leaving the room. Luna tilts her head, catching the subtle change in Hongjoong's expression. Sensing an unspoken question hanging in the air, she decides to address it directly.
"Is everything alright, Hongjoong?" Luna asks
Hongjoong's demeanour softens as he meets Luna's gaze. "Oh, everything's fine," he reassures her with a small smile. "Just observing the ‘besties’ in action."
Luna chuckles lightly, “Hyun is the only person I’ve made friends with in this place. He keeps bugging me to join the staff hangouts after work but it’s not really my scene.”
“Why not?” he asks
Luna ponders for a moment before responding. She doesn't particularly want to mention that there are certain colleagues like Chaeyoung and Iseul whom she can't stand. Although they don't attend these post-work gatherings, there are some who do that are friendly with them and she doesn’t fully trust them.
“I have enough friends. And with my relationship with you guys I don’t want more people involved in my life. I am a private person in general. With Hyun, we get along. He was the first member of staff to actually talk to me, we have the same sense of humour and I know I would have been friends with him if we’d met elsewhere.” Luna responds. “Does it bother you that we are friends?”
“No!” he answers instantly. “Not at all! I love that you’ve got a friend here! I just wasn’t aware you had been a close friend yet as you don’t really talk about your friendships with members of staff. It didn’t even cross my mind, which I know is bad and comes across like I don’t care.”
“Oh Joongie, I know you care, even when you are busy with work,” Luna reassures him, smiling warmly and reaching for his hand. “I notice the little things you do for me, like filling up my tub with fresh strawberries every day.”
“I didn’t think you knew it was me doing that.” Hongjoong replies, his cheeks blushing.
“I caught you doing it one night when you came home late. I was on my way to the pantry for a midnight snack and saw you in the kitchen.” Luna reveals affectionately.
Hongjoong goes to respond but they hear a noise outside her room door and he quickly lets go of her hand. Ilsung and her mom walk in. Hyunshik wasn’t kidding when he said she had a lot of bags! Ilsung has 6 giant bags of food while her mom is holding 3.
“Apples were my saving grace during my morning sickness with the twins.” her mom shares with Ilsung “I was lucky with Luna and didn’t have any of those symptoms but the twins were a very different story!”
“I’ll definitely pass that on to my wife. She’s tried everything, but the nausea really takes a toll on her at work, and I feel utterly helpless hearing how her day is being affected by it all.” Ilsung responds, a tinge of guilt clouding his tone.
“It is different for all women but giving the apples a shot won’t hurt.” she advises with a warm smile
“Thank you, I’ll grab some on my way back tonight,” Ilsung replies gratefully. “It was truly delightful meeting you, Eunbi.” He flashes a smile at her as Luna and Hongjoong observe quietly.
“You too, Ilsung. I wish you all the best for the future too!” she says “Make sure you take those bags to the others.”
Ilsung bows to her and nods towards Hongjoong before leaving. Luna looks at her mom and feels a bubble of nerves in her tummy. She knows they would talk and sort things out, like they always have done in the past but she was always nervous to have these talks.
“Oh he is such a lovely young man! His poor wife is suffering so badly from morning sickness, such a shame!” her mom says to Luna and Hongjoong
“Hi mom.” Luna says, rubbing at her arm
Hongjoong notices this from the corner of his eye. He longs to reach out and take her hand for reassurance but holds back due to her moms presence. His struggle between desire and restraint becomes apparent to himself as he grapples with his newfound feelings for Luna and his typically reserved demeanour that never allowed him to be openly affectionate – until now, that is. The days they spent apart made him realise how deeply he cares for her.
“Ah Hongjoong! It is lovely to finally meet you!” Lunas mom smiles at him
“You too.” he replies bowing to her
“I brought some food for you boys as well.” she says holding one bag to him “Nothing fancy, just some home cooking I did this morning.”
Luna can’t help but smile. She knew her mom would have been up at the crack of dawn cooking this. One thing she took great pride in was taking care of people and one way of doing that is through cooking. It was one of the many traits Luna got from her mom.
“They are still on holiday, Mom. Joongie was just picking up his laptop.” Luna explains
Her moms eyebrow raises, Luna instantly feels her heart skip a beat at the nickname slipping out. Hongjoong feels her body tense up from beside him and quickly takes the 2 bags from her moms hands.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lee. I'm sure the others will appreciate it," he says with a warm smile. “I am heading back to the apartment now so I’ll make sure the others eat and there will be leftovers for Luna when she returns home tonight too.”
“I’m delighted to see you have such a caring friend Luna! Someone who clearly cares for you.” she smiles as Luna nods trying to remain neutral and hide any hint of her true relationship with Hongjoong from her moms great detective skills. “And please call me Eunbi! My husband is Sam too! Make sure to tell the other boys as I am sure our paths may cross at some point and I hear enough of ‘Mrs Lee’ from my students and Sam hears plenty of ‘Major Lee’ at his job too!!” she adds with a light laugh to Hongjoong
“Of course Mrs L… Eunbi.” he says with a slight wince on his face as he bows again. Luna hides a smile as she knows Hongjoong will be hating calling her by her first name. Lunas mom also picks up on his face and gives Luna is playful wink. “It was lovely to meet you, but I should be going now. I’ll see you tonight Luna.” he adds moving towards the door
“Bye.” Luna says as he walks through it
Her moms voice echoes through the room, mischief lacing her tone. "Bye Joongie!" The door closes behind him just as quickly as her words had left her lips.
"Mom!" Luna protests, a soft laugh escaping her as she lightly nudges her moms shoulder. "That was mean!"
“I live with your dad! I need to get my kicks where I can!” she laughs opening the food containers as they sit down at Lunas desk.
As they settle down to eat, Luna feels another wave of nervous anticipation wash over her. The thought of discussing last night's events twists knots in her stomach.
“You and Hongjoong seem close.” Eunbi observes softly, breaking the silence
“Hongjoong’s been there for me. He has become a… very dear friend to me already.” Luna replies taking a sip from her water bottle.
She looks at her moms expression carefully, uncertain if she is hinting at something more than friendship or merely making an observation.
“He seems to care for you a lot and I like that he does.” Eunbi says with a fond smile “I know you have your core group of friends with Seojun, Nayeon, Jieun and Dasom, and they are wonderful kids but it is nice to see you letting more people into your life.”
After a pause, her mom looks at her with a serious expression. “Luna,” she begins, causing the knot in Lunas stomach returning. Has she saw through her facade of Hongjoong being a friend only? "I owe you an apology for my words last night. I should have approached you privately. I was under the impression that Seonghwa was aware.” she says
"I hadn't found the right moment to tell him yet," Luna admits, her eyes downcast as she focuses on the food in front of her. "I needed more time."
Her mother's voice softens with regret. "I'm truly sorry for forcing you into revealing something so personal before you were prepared."
“I should have told you beforehand not to mention it. But honestly, I didn’t think you would.” Luna says. “However, it was okay. Seonghwa wasn’t freaked out by it.”
“Why would he be?” Eunbi asks, her eyes full of concern as she looks at her daughter
"I’m not ashamed of my bipolar disorder… it just frightens me sometimes," Luna confesses, blinking back impending tears.
“Oh honey!” Her mother immediately sets down her utensils and rounds the table to envelop Luna in a comforting hug. Overwhelmed by emotional exhaustion, Luna sinks into the embrace, releasing all her pent-up emotions.
“It’s okay to be scared from time to time, but never forget how brave you are every day.” her mom says gently, brushing a strand of hair behind Luna's ear.
After taking a few moments to compose herself, she pulls back slightly and looks up at her mom with tear-filled eyes. The sight of her firstborn daughter in such emotional turmoil tore at Eunbi's heart. Like all mothers, the sight of her child in pain was unbearable. Yet, this was a pain she could not erase for Luna, no matter how much she wished she could.
“I don’t like people treating me differently,” Luna admits “and I don’t want to be defined by it.”
Eunbi smiles caringly, dabbing Luna tears away. "You are so much more than any label. Those who truly love and care for you you will understand that."
Luna sniffles, grateful for her moms reassuring words. "I know, Mom. I just... it's hard sometimes."
“I know honey, I know.” she replies stroking her head, “And I know I can make it harder for you, I am overbearing and smothering at times. I am so sorry for that.”
“I know why you are though.” Luna says looking at her mom, “You care a lot and just want the best for me but please just trust me. I understand that is hard given the hell I put you and dad through last year and you’ll probably always worry about me but I know how to look after myself now. I take my medication everyday at the same time, I see my therapist regularly, I practice mindfulness, I talk to my friends when things are tough and go for my morning head clearing runs. I am aware of things now and I am in such a happy place in my life with my job and with… Seonghwa.”
“I can see that. I know that he cares for you deeply, I could see that the second I saw him look at you last night. Hongjoong does as well.” Eunbi says, “Talk to them the way you do with your friends, let them in and allow them to help.”
“Hongjoong knows about my diagnosis but I don’t know how to tell the others. I’ve built up such a protective wall around myself regarding my diagnosis.” her voice falters slightly, “First thing I said to them when I moved in, was not to fuss over me with my allergies, don’t ask me how I am, or treat me different and speaking to Hongjoong this afternoon, I realised that I’ve made them all on edge with that. They are too worried to do those things now. I want to let them in, be closer to each of them but I don’t know how to without being guarded.”Another stray tear falls from Luna eye as her lip wobbles.
Eunbi looks carefully at her daughter, seeing the conflict in her face but also picking up on the way she is mentioning to the others. It is clear to her that Luna cares for more than just Seonghwa and Hongjoong.
“You have been little Miss Independent since you learned to walk! Wouldn’t let your father or I help you.” Eunbi smiles gently “Your health conditions have made you more guarded, which is understandable. However, don't let it prevent you from opening up to all of them and allow them to be there for you.”
Luna shifts in her seat, the hesitation evident in her voice as she takes a deep breath. “What if they see me differently? As a weak fragile person.”
“Oh my dear Younha,” Eunbi's words are filled with affection, speaking her birth name with a softness that catches Luna off guard but reassures her deeply, “opening up doesn’t make you weak. It takes strength to be vulnerable, to trust others with your heart and I know they will take care of you, all of them!”
Luna feels more tears welling up in her eyes as she looks at her mom, thankful for her. "I don't want to push them away," Luna admits, her voice barely above a whisper.
Eunbi smiles and replies, "Then don't. Let them in one step at a time, at your own pace, show them your true self - vulnerabilities and all. They care about you more than you realise, and together, you can all support each other through anything life throws your way."
A sense of peace washes over Luna's chest as she nods slowly, a glimmer of courage shining through. Luna knows her mom is beginning to understand the depth of her relationships. “Thank you mom!”
“I love you so so much honey.” Eunbi says kissing the top of Lunas head and hugging her once more.
“I love you too mom.” Luna replies
─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
Luna walks through the door and instantly can hear the buzz of activity in the apartment. Her face breaks into a smile; it's good to have everyone home. She takes off her coat and hangs it up before slipping off her sneakers. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind, lifting her effortlessly off the ground. Surprised and delighted, a playful scream escapes Luna's mouth. She feels warm breath against her neck, accompanied by a tender kiss that ignites a spark within her. In that moment, she knows exactly who it is.
"Wooyoung!" she giggles, turning to face him with gleeful arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. His cheeky grin mirrors her own excitement.
“Miss me?” he asks playfully
Luna smirks, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Not really," she teases, barely able to contain her amusement. "I barely noticed you were gone!"
“Oh wow, that hurts!” he says pretending to be upset “Maybe I won’t give you any kisses then!” he grins
“Ha! I’d like to see you try to go a night without trying to kiss me!” she laughs in reply
In truth she missed him and he had missed her too. They all had but playful banter and teasing were Luna and Wooyoungs first instincts with one another.
“Just you see me succeed with that!” he replies
“Okay Mr Jung! Lets see how long you last!” she says, pulling away from him “I wonder if San is home yet…”
“Oh hell no, he isn’t getting kisses before me!” he pouts, holding onto her arm and pulling her back into his body again. “Not when I’ve been waiting by the door for nearly an hour for you to come home!” his lips capture hers as she lets out a muffled giggle
She throws her arms around his shoulders once more and kisses him back, happy to have him close to her once again but also secretly enjoying that he didn’t even last 10 seconds. His hands slip down to her rear, gently squeezing it as he pulls her even closer.
“Did you miss me though?” he asks, pulling back. Luna can see his eyes are serious.
“Of course I did Woo.” she replies softly. “A lot!”
“Good!” he smiles, placing another kiss on her lips. “As much as I want to pick you up, take you to my room and keep you all to myself for the rest of the night, we should go see the others.”
As Wooyoung and Luna walk into the kitchen, Seonghwa and Yunho are in there. Seonghwa is cleaning the cooker while Yunho is sitting at the kitchen island. Luna goes straight to Yunho and hugs him causing him to smile and pull her onto his lap sideways. He places his lips on hers while leaning her backwards, holding onto her tightly so she doesn’t fall as she laughs lightly. Luna is pleased to see how confident he is being at showing affection for her in front of the others now and she knows their night together has definitely made them closer. He gently pulls her upright, pulling back from the kiss but still keeping her close to him.
“Someones in a good mood.” she teases playfully as her hands play with the fabric of his hoodie.
"Just happy to have you home," Yunho replies contentedly, savouring the soft kisses she plants on his cheek, a chuckle escaping his lips.
Luna settles comfortably into Yunho's lap, feeling his warm embrace around her. But as she leans against him, she senses a presence lingering nearby. Turning her head, she catches sight of Seonghwa standing a few feet away with a gentle smile on his lips as he looks on at them. Sensing Luna's silent acknowledgement, Yunho eases his hold on her, silently granting her permission to approach Seonghwa if she desires. Grateful that Yunho has picked up on this, Luna pecks his cheek before gliding over to Seonghwa, who meticulously removes his cleaning gloves.
“How was your day?” Seonghwa asks leaning down to hug her
"Surprisingly good," Luna replies happily looking up at him, a shadow of her previous night's weariness erased. Seonghwa notices the visible transformation in Luna, putting his earlier concerns to rest.
"That's what I like to hear, darling." A warm smile plays on his lips, reflecting his genuine relief. She goes on her tip toes to place a kiss on his lips before resting her head on his shoulder.
As Luna and Seonghwa share a moment, everyone can hear the loud footsteps of someone rushing down the stairs. Luna pulls away from Seonghwa, turning her head towards the sound. Her eyes light up as she recognises the familiar figure stepping into the room.
“Ah my princess is finally home!” Mingis deep voice booms through the kitchen as he enters. Seonghwa lets go of Luna so she can go to Mingi as he watches on fondly.
“Mingi!” she smiles widely. As Mingi lifts Luna into his arms, spinning her around, she giggles and murmurs into his ear, "I missed you today."
"Missed you too," he replies gently, setting her back down on the floor and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Brought me any treats today?"
Luna feigns indignation, rolling her eyes playfully. "What do you think?! Of course I did! I got you cookies today."
As Mingis eyes light up at the mention of the cookies, Wooyoung chimes in “Hey! What about me? Am I not getting any treats?” he pouts
“You just got kisses, isn’t that a treat?” she laughs poking his side
“I mean kisses are great but a man needs his snacks too you know!” he replies, grabbing her waist and tickling her gently
“Woo, don’t!” she shrieks with laughter trying to get away from him
Luna's heart races as she tries to escape Wooyoung, who chases her around the spacious kitchen. Their laughter echoes around the room as Seonghwa, Yunho and Mingi look at them with smiles on their faces at the playful scene. As she runs around the kitchen island her soft socks causes her to slip on the hardwood flooring. Wooyoung tries to grab her to stop her while Yunho who was second closest to her jumps from his seat on the bar stool to catch her. However their attempts are in vain as Luna hits the floor with a loud thud.
“Oh shit Luna, I am so sorry!” Wooyoung says the first to reach her
Lying flat on on her, Luna can’t help but laugh again as she looks up at the ceiling with the 4 men surrounding her on the floor. At this point Hongjoong enters the kitchen.
“What happened?” he asks, a smile on his face at hearing Lunas joyful laughter
“Luna fell over.” Yunho replies
“Oh god!” he says, his smile dropping. He rushes over, nudging Wooyoung out the way to get to her side.
“Are you okay?” Seonghwa asks Luna, concern in his voice
“I am fine!” she manages to reply, trying to suppress her laughter.
“Are you sure?” Mingi asks, his eyes big and round as he looks down at her
“You fell really hard, little one!” Yunho says reaching out to help her
“Really guys, I’m fine!” Despite her assurance, Wooyoung stands off to the side biting his lip nervously, guilt weighing heavily on him. Mingi and Yunho help her up while Hongjoong supports her arm. "I'm surprised it took me this long to fall in front of you all! I am super clumsy on my feet."
Out of the corner of her eye she notices Wooyoung lingering in the background, his face clouded with worry. Guilt hitting him that his actions could have really hurt her. Instantly her laughter stops and she moves from Yunhos hold to go to Wooyoung.
“Hey.” she whispers, cupping his cheek, “I am okay, I promise you!”
"I could've hurt you," he mumbles, not meeting her gaze.
"But you didn't. My clumsy self has fallen over countless times before, so I think my body has developed some kind of resistance to injury by now." She tries to lighten the mood with a joke.
A small smile tugs at Wooyoung's lips as he finally looks at her, relieved that she's alright. Luna can’t resist leaning forwards and hugging him, feeling relief when he hugs her back tightly.
"I fall over my own two feet, I have a habit of dropping things, and sometimes I possess the ability to break objects just by casting my gaze upon them.” She looks over at her other boyfriends. "I've been trying my best to contain it around you guys," she continues, "but I think it's safe to say that Clumsy Luna has finally made her appearance. Brace yourselves for what's to come!"
Yunho chuckles, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "So what you're saying is we need to baby proof the apartment?"
Luna's laughter mingles with theirs, a token of gratitude for their light-heartedness in the face of the situation. Wooyoung leans in, his lips brushing a soft kiss against her temple, sending her heart into a flutter. Turning to him, she finds a gentle smile meant only for her. Drawn to him, she meets his lips in a tender kiss.
"San, Yeosang, and Jongho have collected the food," announces Hongjoong, glancing at a message on his phone.
"We've almost finished setting up. Mingi and I need to grab some drinks from the store quickly," Seonghwa adds.
"I'll get changed," Luna replies, gently extricating herself from Wooyoung's hold. He places a parting kiss on her forehead before releasing her. "Hongjoong, Seonghwa, can we talk privately?" she adds quietly
“Of course. Lets go into the lounge.” Hongjoong replies
The trio retreats into the lounge as Yunho watches them leave. Curiosity tugs at him, but he respects Luna's need for privacy.
“I wanted to thank you both for being so understanding.” Luna begins as they sit on the sofa, Luna in the middle of them. “The last 24 hours have been a lot for you Seonghwa. Your support and non-judgement means a lot.”
“There is no need to thank us darling.” Seonghwa says
“How did things go with your mom this afternoon?” Hongjoong asks, showing concern
“We talked it out, things are back to normal again.” Luna answers, “I’ve decided not to tell the others yet. I know I said to you earlier that I would but honestly, last night was hard enough. Not ready to go through that again so soon with 6 other men.” she continues, "If your offer to support me until I'm ready still stands, I'd be grateful."
“Of course it is, baby!” Hongjoong reassures her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pressing a comforting kiss to her cheek.
Seonghwas eyes widen slightly at the sudden display of affection Hongjoong is showing. It isn’t something he has seen from his oldest friend and leader, nor has he ever seen him be affectionate with a woman ever! It was a running joke within the group that as soon as a female is in close proximity Hongjoong will be as far away as possible.
"We'll both be here for you, as much as you'll let us," Hongjoong promises.
"That's what I wanted to discuss too. I'm going to allow you all to fuss over me, for those who want to," Luna says, managing a smile.
"Really? We don't want to make you uncomfortable," Seonghwa cautions gently.
"There's a difference between showing concern and being overbearing. I think I was conflating the two. I want us all to have an open relationship—that includes letting you all care for me." Luna abruptly adds, "I want to tell Yunho about my bipolar."
"Are you sure?" Hongjoong asks, his hand cradling her cheek with care.
“The hiding has caused me gut-wrenching anxiety and Yunho’s noticed. I know he is worried about me.” she answers, “The other night we opened up to one another and I want him to know.”
She feels a small heat flash across her cheeks, wondering if Hongjoong and Seonghwa know what she truly means by that. Seonghwa had a sense their relationship had progressed to this stage, due to Yunhos recent displays of affection and now Lunas words only confirmed it for him and he is genuinely happy for them both.
“Do you want to do it now or leave it until later?” Seonghwa asks in a gentle tone
"It's better to do it now before everyone else returns. We won't have another quiet moment like this for a long time.” she says with determination
Hongjoong nods in agreement before slipping away to fetch Yunho from the kitchen. Luna seizes the moment to snuggle into Seonghwa, who warmly welcomes her embrace.
“How are you holding up?” he asks softly
“Good.” she smiles
Moments later Yunho and Hongjoong come back into the lounge, both sitting on the sofa beside Luna and Seonghwa.
“Is everything okay?” Yunho asks calmly, his voice reassuring.
“There is something we need to discuss before the others get home.” Hongjoong discloses as Yunho nods
Before Seonghwa opens his mouth to tell Yunho what is going on, Luna starts to speak. She knew it had to be her to say the words.
“Yunho, I have bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed at the beginning of last year during a very dark period of my life. My recent heightened anxiety has been caused due to the pressure I was putting on myself to keep it hidden from you all.” she says. Yunho nods and taking a moment to process the information. “Hongjoong has known for a while and Seonghwa found out last night from my mom. That is why we returned home earlier than expected.”
"Is that why you were so quiet last night too?" he asks gently, to which she responds with a nod. The way Seonghwa was looking at Luna, she was so quiet and subdued when they got home, not her usual bubbly self then falling asleep so suddenly - it all made sense to Yunho now.
“I am sorry for keeping it from you…” she begins
"No need to apologise. I'm just glad you trust me enough to share this with me," he reassures her, reaching for her hands which she gladly accepts.
“I feel bad dropping this on you out the blue and not being able to talk properly about it but I promise you we can talk more in depth tomorrow, or another day if you want. I will answer all of your questions,” she says, “yours too Seonghwa.” she adds looking back at him as he smiles in return.
“All I need to know tonight little one, is if you are okay.” Yunho says, his fingers tenderly squeezing her hand
"I truly am. Our talk the other night, Hongjoong and Seonghwa's reassurance today, and my talk with my mom this afternoon has lifted the crushing weight that has been on my chest for weeks.” Luna takes a small deep breath before a gentle smile lights up her face making Yunho heart skip a beat, “I feel like I can finally breathe."
Hongjoong observes Luna's change in demeanour with a smile. “I am glad.”
"Also Luna has now given us permission to fuss," Seonghwa interjects with a playful grin at Yunho.
“Finally!!” Yunho breaks into a smile, “Just wait until Wooyoung and San find out!”
The room fills with laughter as relief washes over them all.
"I should change out of these work clothes," Luna announces after the laughter subsides, still glowing with happiness. "Thank you all for everything! If only I could hug all three of you at once!"
"No need for wishes—group hug time!" Yunho declares, pulling everyone into an embrace despite Hongjoong's protests, causing Luna to laugh.
After the laughter subsides, Luna extricates herself from the group hug, her face still flushed with joy. “Alright, I really need to change now,” she says, her voice filled with warmth
With a quick smile she’s off, leaving the room with a sense of lightness that belies the pain beginning to creep into her side. Once safely inside her bedroom, she takes a deep breath and rubs her hip where a dull ache lingers. She's managed to hide her discomfort, not wanting to worry the others—especially Wooyoung. There was no need to let them know, she was only slightly sore, nothing major. She collects fresh clothes before retreating into her bathroom to wash away the remnants of the day and enjoy her night with her boyfriends.
In the kitchen Wooyoung and Hongjoong are sorting the plates and cutlery. Hongjoong can sense Wooyoung still feels bad about what happened. As worried as Hongjoong was when he found her on the floor and hearing she had fell over, he knew it was an accident and he wasn’t mad at Wooyoung.
“Luna’s tougher than she looks.” Hongjoong says casually, trying to ease his worries but not make a big deal about it.
“I know, but it is still my fault she fell over. I was playing around with her.” he sighs, remorse clear in his voice as he opens the cupboard door and begins to retrieve the glasses. “I am responsible for her fall.”
“She wasn’t injured though.” Hongjoong says
Wooyoung nods, knowing he is right but still feeling a sense of unease lingering within him. “I just want her to feel safe with me,” he admits quietly, “not frightened that I might harm her.”
Hongjoong feels his stomach drop a little at hearing this, he places a reassuring hand on Wooyoungs shoulder. “She won’t feel that way! Luna understands accidents happen and she has told us how clumsy she is. She is a tough little cookie, she can handle a tumble now and then.”
“Thanks Hongjoong. To be honest I was bracing myself for a scolding from you, I wasn’t expecting this.” Wooyoung says with a small smile of relief on his face as they move into the lounge
“Captain mode will be activated tomorrow!” Hongjoong laughs lightly, glad to see his friend is feeling less burdened.
As they continue to set up the coffee table Mingi and Seonghwa return from the store. They have bought extra snacks with the drinks. At the same time Luna emerges from her room dressed in a pair of cream sweats with a long lilac coloured sweatshirt. Seonghwa can’t help but notice how content and comfortable she looks tonight. Immediately she goes to Wooyoung and hugs him close, wanting to give him extra reassure for earlier. He relaxes into her embrace, his arms loosely wrapping around her waist.
“I’m truly sorry about earlier.” he whispers into her ear
“No more apologies.” she smiles softly pulling her head back from his neck to look at him, her fingers running through his soft black hair. “Now where are my Woo kisses?” she asks with a playful glint in her big brown eyes that cause him to melt a little
“I’ll give you all the kisses you want, lil cutie.” he smiles back at her before capturing her lips
The warmth of Wooyoung's lips against hers sends a shiver down Luna's spine. She melts into his embrace, her heart racing with joy. One of his hands slowly travels down her back, before sliding under the soft fabric of her sweatshirt to feel the warmth of her skin beneath it. Luna smiles softly into the kiss as she tastes the light minty flavour on his tongue from the gum he must have been chewing earlier. As their lips separate Wooyoung leaves a series of playful pecks along her jaw and into her neck as she giggles lightly.
From the doorway, Hongjoong observes the intimate scene with a satisfied smile. He feels a wave of relief seeing Luna's radiant happiness and the dissipation of Wooyoung's worries. His eyes meet Seonghwa's as he passes by en route to the kitchen.
“He is whipped for Luna.” he says lowly, nodding his head towards the pair causing Hongjoong to chuckle.
“Aren’t we all!” Hongjoong simply replies following him
The mellow chime signalling the arrival of San, Yeosang, and Jongho with food pulls Luna and Wooyoung from their bubble. With playful cheekiness, Wooyoung lightly pats Luna's rear and disentangles himself from her.
“You should go see San, I know the mans been eager to see you since he came home.” he smiles at her
“You sure?” she asks him as he nods, wanting to make sure he was okay with her going to San. “Okay, save a spot for me beside you!”
“I’ll make sure I get us one of the corners so we have more space then can go into the corner of the sofa when we are finished eating.” he replies, feeling a flutter in his stomach at Luna wanting to be beside him for the rest of the night.
“Could you go into my room and get my blanket for us to cuddle under?” she asks as San and Jongho come into the lounge with the pizza boxes and food containers. “It is on the chair at my desk.”
“Of course I will.” he replies, pecking her lips before letting her go
Luna makes her way over to San who quickly puts the boxes on the coffee table before grabbing her into his arms. It was clear to see by Wooyoung and Mingi who looked on that San had missed Luna a lot, as she had with him. Wooyoung goes into her bedroom to collect her blanket while the others start to come into the lounge.
“It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever, sunshine!” San smiles lifting her up into his arms
“We face timed this morning when I got to work!” she laughs
“Not the same as seeing you, face to face, being to cuddle you,” he hums “ and kiss you again.” he mumbles quietly looking into her eyes
A smile tugs at Luna's lips as she leans in to give him a tender kiss. "I missed you so much," he murmurs against her lips.
"Me too," she replies with a content sigh, happy to see him and that everyone is back home again.
San gives her another kiss, carefully putting her back on the ground, his hands moving to her waist to keep her body close to his, pressing his forehead against her with his eyes closed. Luna's delicate fingers glide through his blond hair, the golden strands starting to reveal darker roots underneath. Wooyoung returns with the blanket in hand, a soft smile playing on his lips as he watches the scene unfold.
“Is everyone ready to eat?” Jongho says coming back into the lounge, his eyes resting on the couple.
“Absolutely, I am starving!” Yeosang says coming in behind him
San and Luna pull away from one another, San letting go of her waist. Before making her way over to Yeosang she softly kisses Sans cheek. It seems kisses were on the cards for everyone at this point as Yeosang is next in line. Jongho can only watch on as he goes to sit on the floor, wanting to hug her too but feeling too awkward.
“It is so nice to have everyone back home again!” Seonghwa says sitting beside Jongho, his legs stretched out under the coffee table and his back resting against the sofa
“Oh I am so looking forward to this tonight!” Luna smiles as she sits on the floor beside Wooyoung. He instantly pulls her onto his lap, wrapping her blanket over them both and puts his arm around her. His nose nuzzles into her neck, kissing the skin making her smile more.
“Before we get fully settled into our night, I have some good news for you all.” Hongjoong says as he comes into the lounge
His announcement commands attention. The room falls silent as everyone turns to face him, curiosity piqued.
"Once we return from LA, we'll begin working on our new Japanese song and album," he reveals, "Luna will be joining us for the translations and pronunciation!"
The room erupts into loud excitement as Luna can only blush and hide her face into Wooyoungs chest.
Mingi grins broadly. "I was hoping you'd be part of it!"
San adds his own praise. "We couldn't ask for a better translator or pronunciation guide for this album."
Luna peeks out at the others from Wooyoungs chest. “Thanks guys. I honestly shouldn’t be anywhere near a recording studio or associated with it in anyway as I sound like a dying cat and I am completely tone deaf! However, languages and translations are my speciality so I will work extra hard for you all.”
“Just be yourself, don’t stress yourself out over it. You are amazing at what you do and we have complete faith in your skills.” Seonghwa says
“I spent most of today doing the song translations from Korean and Japanese and over the next week I’ll be working with Hongjoong and Mingi on their lyrics for the new song.”
Mingi gasps dramatically. "So you already know which songs are on the album?"
She nods, amused by his reaction. "Based on your surprise, I'm guessing you didn't?"
Jongho interjects eagerly. "Which songs?"
"Cyberpunk and New World," she reveals, then frowns slightly. "You guys really didn't know? Was I not supposed to tell you yet?"
"Don't worry, Luna. I'm sure Eden planned to tell us tomorrow." Hongjoong laughs easing her concern she had revealed something she shouldn’t have “We will all just act surprised when he does!”
“I am slightly nervous as I’ve never translated something so important before but I am also excited to see the whole process. See you all recording too.” she says
“We are thrilled to have you working with us on our music. But even if you weren’t involved in a professional level, we would still have wanted you there for it.” Jongho says from the opposite side of the sofa. His gaze holds hers, a genuine smile on his face that makes her heart flutter.
“Absolutely!” Yunho agrees, “Now lets dig into the food before it gets cold!”
The guys begin to open the pizza boxes as Luna feels Wooyoungs arm around her tighten, his fingers playing with the fabric of her sweatshirt. “It is going to be awesome, jagiya.” he whispers kissing her softly
“Dear god Wooyoung, let Luna breath! You’ve had your lips attached to hers since she got home!” Mingi teases with a chuckle
Grinning mischievously, Wooyoung fires back, "Oh please, Mingi. You're just jealous that she wants my lips tonight and not yours!" Laughter fills the room.
“I had lots of Luna kisses while you were away!” Mingi replies with a smirk
“Oh my god!” Luna groans dramatically, rolling her eyes but unable to conceal the smile tugging at her lips.
“Guys maybe we should take it down a notch,” Yunho interjects gently, mindful of Luna's comfort. After she confided in him about her insecurities, he was extra cautious not to escalate any teasing that might make her feel uneasy. Concerned that the route the conversation was going down could lead to that situation, he wanted to slow it down now.
“It is cool.” Luna says smiling over at Yunho, letting him know she was fine with the current level of banter. “Woo just needs extra attention tonight, isn’t that right little baby!” she adds playfully looking at Wooyoung as he pouts back at her causing her to peck his lips as the others continue to laugh
As everyone begins to start taking the food and pouring drinks, Jongho's gaze remains fixated on Luna and Wooyoung, who seem to be lost in a little bubble of their own. He observes as Wooyoung leans in close and whispers something into Luna's ear, earning a sweet giggle from her before she gently hits his arm playfully and places a tender kiss on his cheek, and Jongho can't help but envy the easy intimacy between them.
His chest feels heavy, aching to embrace her closely like Wooyoung is, to share whispered conversations that light up her face with joy, and to feel the warmth of her lips on his cheeks
He felt the same way when he saw San kissing her, Yeosang too. It wasn’t jealousy he felt towards the others, far from it. Just a sense of longing that fills his heart as he yearns for a connection like theirs – to hold Luna close, whisper into her ear, and make her laugh effortlessly. The accidental closeness they shared last night, when Luna fell asleep on his shoulder, only amplified these desires.
Just as Jongho contemplates his own desires for Luna to reciprocate his feelings, their eyes meet. His head screams to look away, fearing that she might see the intensity in his gaze and feel uncomfortable by it. However he finds himself incapable of turning away, captivated by Luna's radiant smile and the adorable scrunch of her nose as she winks at him. In that moment of a shared moment between just the two of them, the heavy weight on his chest evaporates into a comforting warmth that spreads throughout his entire body. Unable to resist, he returns her smile, recognising the unspoken connection they are having.
“Luna, we went to that vegetarian place you told me about the other day so we could get you the tteokbokki you love.” Yeosang says handing the food container to her
“Ooooh!” Hongjoong exclaims, his eyes widening at the sight of it. Memories flood back of Luna bringing him some tteokbokki on the day she visited his studio for lunch, and how delicious it was.
“You want some?” Luna asks him with a grin on her face
“N-no!” he stammers, “That is your food. The guys got it for only you.” but Luna catches his longing glance at the food
Luna rolls her eyes playfully and picks up an empty bowl, she tips some into it and leans over Wooyoung passing it to Hongjoong who is sitting beside him.
“Just take it or I will get annoyed with you!” she says with a hint of teasing in her voice as Hongjoong shakes his head at the offering
“Thank you Luna.” he smiles appreciatively at the sharing of her food
“What exactly does vegetarian tteokbokki taste like?” Wooyoung curiously asks
“According to my friend Nayeon, who hates anything vegetarian it is exactly like proper tteokbokki. Obviously I can’t confirm that since I’ve never had it with fish cakes or fish sauce.” Luna answers holding a rice cake up for him to eat
“Well I can confirm it does and it is amazing!” Hongjoong smiles passing it around the others to try
“Wah! It does!!” Wooyoung exclaims in surprise and enthusiasm after trying the dish.
The others all chime in, quickly polishing off the portion Luna has passed to Hongjoong.
"BBT sent us some clips of the choreo they’ve been working on for the tour," Yunho beams. "It looks really good!"
“I took a quick look at it earlier. It is definitely going to be challenging, but we will nail it with practice.” Mingi replies, nodding in agreement
"Cyberpunk is shaping up to be quite the spectacle from that sneak peek!" Yeosang grins. "I think it will leave a lasting impression!"
Luna’s ear prick up at this, wondering what he could mean by it. She chews slowly on the pizza in her mouth as she ponders it.
“Yeah, the surprise element in this choreography will for sure blow everyone away! I can’t wait to see the full routine tomorrow and get started on it.” Wooyoung exclaims eagerly
Luna couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and blurts out, "What kind of element?"
"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see, little one! I have a feeling you in particular will appreciate it!" Yunho teases with a sly grin, causing Mingi to chuckle and adding to Luna's intrigue.
"Make sure you swing by the practice room after lunchtime so you can witness it firsthand." Wooyoung joins in with the teasing pulling her closer
“Okay, I haven’t watched the clips yet but now I want to know what this is too!” Jongho interjects, his own curiosity setting in as the others laugh
The group continues to chat as they eat all the food until they were all full. Luna stayed on Wooyoungs lap the entire time, happy being close to him and not feeling awkward around the others either. Sharing her fears with Yunho, receiving reassurance from Yeosang the next day, the previous day's events, Seonghwa's supportive response and the heart-to-heart with her mom, Luna finally feels completely relaxed and unburdened. She knows that the day will come really soon where she needs to reveal her bipolar disorder to the rest of the guys but she is no longer scared for that moment now.
─── ・ 。゚☆: .☽ . :☆゚. ───
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Taglist: @kiwibaekie @fudgeflyssworld @kodzukein @elk-1998 @khjcoo @pepperony-7 @ateez-babygirl @starillusion13 @stephy-nicole13 @truthbehindthereflection @livingdeadlisa @stayteezdreams @atinyapple1117
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marksbear · 1 year
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So this was also on my mind with Dom avengers reader. So how about sub Steven who had a picture of reader as his lock screen and Donna walks pass saying how handsome he is and wish she could hit that. Which then leads to Steven saying that is his boyfriend and Donna (being the worst) says sure he is and walks off. But they have a office party soon and steven asks for reader to show up and prove Donna wrong. Reader says yes but shows a little late and has to find steven in the party and try to walk away from fans. He sees steven talking to Donna about something and speeds walks to him and kisses him saying how much he missed him. Donna is shocked and they both enjoy the party. And reader then asks if that was his boss and steven says yes and why he brought him here was to make her jealous.Which leads to them going home and steven goes to ride reader while saying how he is his boyfriend/fiance/husband (whichever you prefer) and saying to steven how he won't ever leave him.(I just read this and now see how similar this is to the other avengers party one. And am sorry bout that I've been having a headache for the past couple of days so sorry if this all over the place.)-🐻‍❄️
I'm so sorry for not posting jack shit 😭! I've been so busy and tired nowadays, but I will make it up to everyone. And thank you my 50% for requesting I love you!
Warnings! Jealous Steven, petty Steven, SMUT, eating out, fingering, spit as lube, riding, jerking off, making out, PDA, HERO reader,
SUB STEVEN GRANT X HERO MALE READER
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"Steve, what time is it?" Donna says walking to the souvenir counter leaning onto it looking at Steven. Steven picks up his phone and checks the time. "It's 5:31" Steven responds back turning his head to the side to face his boss.
Before Steven could turn off his phone and put it back in his pocket Donna's voice rings out.
"Is that the new Avenger H/n? A handsome bloke isn't he. I wish I could hit that y'know? I bet he's a beast in bed." Donna says gesturing to Steven's wallpaper with a smirk imagining all the things the new hero could do to her. Steven stares at Donna wide eyed before responding.
"He's my boyfriend actually. We've been dating for a couple years."
Donna rolls her eyes in disbelief and says "Sure he is Stevey. Think you're going a bit mad Steven." Donna mocks before leaving a puzzled Steven by himself.
Steven watches her walk off before turning back to his phone and goes to his messages and sends Y/n a quick text. "Could you please come to my office party? I don't wanna be alone and I miss you so much." Steven waits a little before getting a quick response back from Y/n.
"When does it start?"
"In about six four hours." Steven responds back.
"I'll be there Steven. Love you and see you in a few hours." ❤
"Love you too!"
Steven smiles to himself before turning off his phone and goes back to work. The whole time Steven was working he kept imagining everyone's shocked faces when they all found out The Y/n is dating him. He couldn't wait for the party.
Since him and Y/n haven't been able to hang around a lot since Y/n is an avenger and all, but the one thing Steven loves about it is that Y/n would honestly drop any meeting or mission to be with him.
TIMESKIP
Steven waits nervously waiting for his boyfriend to show up. Steven checks his phone again for the time. "9:12..." Steven mumbles to himself feeling a bit anxious. To make things even worse Donna stalks up to Steven talking about whatever.
"So Steven. I may need you to work a few more hours on Wednesday because" Before Donna could finish theres a crowd of people screaming and cheering from outside.
Y/n moves past them trying to get inside so he can finally be with his boyfriend. "Excuse me. Excuse me please."
Y/n says trying to get by them. Paparazzi and etc take pictures of Y/n and interviewers trying to ask him questions. Even fans trying to block Y/n from where he's trying to go.
Y/n lets out a sigh before speed walking past them.
Finally Y/n is able to get inside the office building looking around in the crowded party for Steven.
Once Y/n finally finds Steven he walks straight to him with open arms.
"Steven!" Y/n shouts with the biggest smile on his face before wrapping his arms around Steven pulling him in for a kiss. Donna stares at the couple wide eyed even dropping her drink from surprise.
"I missed you Stevey~" Y/n says against Steven's lips before kissing him once more not giving him time to react. Y/n pulls away and kisses Steven's head. "Cmon let's go find something to eat. I'm starving" Y/n suggests taking Steven's arm leading him away from his boss. Steven head turns to Donna's direction and a smirk crawls onto his lips as he sees many of his co-workers behind Donna staring at them.
As the two enjoy the party Donna alongside Steven's co-workers were beyond shocked as the "Nobody." Steven Grant and "The world's hero." Y/n L/n are actually dating. Nevertheless a happy-healthy relationship.
Many took pictures of them as Y/n has his hand on Steven's lower hip guiding and taking him wherever. People tried to get autographs from Y/n, but he just declined gently saying "I'm not H/n right now sorry. I'm just some guy with his boyfriend."
After a while Y/n couldn't shake Donna's eyes off of him, so he finally speaks up to Steven. "Hey, weren't you talking to your boss a while ago?" Y/n asks turning his attention away from the blonde woman to his boyfriend. Steven glances at Donna before looking back at his boyfriend.
"Yeah she was." Steven answers.
"Shes staring at us harder than the others. What did you do Steven." Y/n points out watching Steven's facial expression becomes a bit embarrassed. "W-well I brought you here to make her jealous----"
"Ahh~ So you didn't miss me you actually just wanted to make your boss jealous." Y/n cuts him off with a giggle. "N-no! I didn't just want to use you! I did miss you!" Steven blurts out panicking a little. "I'm just kidding! But what else did she say about me?" Y/n says taking Steven by the hips pulling him in closer.
"She said y'know I wish I could hit that." Steven answers before adding "She didn't believe me when I said we have been dating for a few years." Steven watching Y/n let out a little giggle.
"Oh really huh? How about we show her who's the only person in the world that gets to hit that alright?" Y/n suggests before kissing Steven deeply. Steven quickly kisses back wrapping his arms around Y/n's shoulders.
The two honestly forgot they were at a party as they makeout only focusing on the other. Y/n pulls away, but not too far so his lips are still against Steven's. "Well then, let's go home." Y/n steps away from Steven before taking his hand leading him and himself out of the party.
As soon as they step out paparazzi are already taking pictures. "Ah shit-- forgot about them." Y/n breathes out.
TIMESKIP
Once they reached home Steven makes sure to feed Gus before turning his attention back to his boyfriend. Y/n picks up Steven with ease carrying him to the bed. Y/n sits Steven down on the bed before stripping out of his clothes with Steven doing the same.
After their both naked Y/n climbs into the bed laying Steven down on his back as he towers over him biting and sucking into his neck creating hickeys at the visible spots. Steven whimpers and trembles feeling Y/n bite and nibble into his neck. Steven's hard dick presses up against Y/n's own, so he takes the chance moving his hips up and down rubbing his cock against Y/n's own.
Y/n slowly takes Steven's hand and takes his fingers into his mouth sucking them and coating them with saliva. Y/n moves his tongue around between each finger making sure they're wet enough before pulling away. "Prep yourself while i'll do the same." Y/n says into Steven's ear.
Steven begins to do what he was told moving his fingers down to his hole and uses his middle finger to circle around his hole teasing himself before moving it inside. Steven watches in awe as Y/n jerks himself off. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Y/n watching his every movement.
Steven begins to move his finger in and out faster going at the same pace Y/n is. "You're really getting off to this." Y/n breathes out a tiny moan. Steven could only whimper in the response as he begins to add another finger. Precum begins to leak out of Steven's tip signalling that he's close.
Y/n lets go of his cock and move in front of Steven spreading his legs open wide before slowly taking Steven's hand pulling his fingers out of his hole.
"Wha-- Y-y/n! ohhhHh~ fuc- Fuck I love you so much!" Steven moans out feeling the tip of Y/n's tongue push inside his hole. Y/n holds onto Steven's hips pulling down on his tongue."You're my boyfriend! O-only my boyfriend a-alright~". Steven moans while Y/n begins to lick around Steven's hole moving his tongue deeper and deeper. "Y/n! Y/n mhm~ I-I'm cumming!~" Steven moans out shooting his load all over Y/n's face. White long streaks of cum lands on Y/n's head and face. Steven didn't realize about the mess he created on his partner until Y/n stopped eating him out.
"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to! I am so--" Steven apologizes, but only gets shunted up by Y/n kissing him. "Okay i'll shut up." "Thank you." Y/n says with a giggle. "Can I ride you?" Steven asks barely over a whisper.
"Sure baby~" Y/n responds back before laying down on the bed with Steven quickly crawling on straddling his hips. Steven could feel Y/n's cock pressed up against him poking him.
Steven takes Y/n's cock in his hand lining it up to his hole before sinking his hips down. Once the tip was inside Steven held onto Y/n's chest to stabilize himself before moving down deeper. Steven takes a deep breath before pushing himself all the way down on Y/n's cock. A loud moan falls from Steven's lips as he tries to get used to Y/n's size. Steven's walls wrap around Y/n's cock perfectly.
Steven begins to roll his hips up and down squirming under Y/n's eyes all over him no doubt making him hard again. Steven begins to ride Y/n's cock faster bouncing up and down. Y/n bites onto his lips silencing the noises he's making. "Fuck Steven!~ You feel so good!" Y/n praises before adding "I won't ever leave you baby. I'm only yours."
Steven could feel Y/n's dick twitch inside him, so naturally he tries to go faster. Bouncing up and down no doubt making the bed and the floor under them shake. At this point Y/n begins to chase his own pleasure thrusting up inside Steven as he rides him hitting his prostate dead on. "I'm close! gah~ Steven!" Y/n warns feeling his cock twitch. Steven was on the verge of cumming again, but he wanted to do it at the same time as Y/n.
Steven held onto Y/n's shoulders bouncing up and down as he pull away from Y/n's cock just to go back down all the way to the base repeating the action over and over again.
"Cumming! Fuck i'm cumming!" Y/n moans out with a few more thrust he cums deep inside Steven painting his insides white. Seconds later Steven cums hard again for the second time landing on Y/n's chest and stomach. White streaks of cum kept going deeper and deeper inside Steven some even leaking out. Steven felt so full eyes even watering as he rode out his orgasm.
The room was filled with heavy breathing as they tried to catch their breath. "M-my hero." Steven breathes out tiredly before his body falling onto Y/n's body head resting on his shoulder with his arms around him falling asleep slowly. Y/n decides to keep his cock inside Steven moving his own arms around him holding him tight.
"Mhm Steven. Your hero is right here baby." Y/n whispers into his ear.
THE END
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sofasoap · 1 year
Text
Miss Sunflower
Pairing : Kyle “ Gaz” Garrick x F!reader Summary:  Gaz and you started long distance… friendship? Sequel to Miss Sunshine
Warning: M theme.
Gaz route for my Mini MacTavish verse, I just love the photo of Elliot Knight big cute smile! As always, Thanks to mother of my Mini MacTavish @saltofmercury for lending me the character “ Mini” from her story. <3 Go read her  “The Favorite MacTavish”  !
“Masterlist” for other stories to this Mini MacTavish expanded verse.
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Gaz gasped and dropped his phone.
“Everything Ok?” Soap asked as he started bending down to pick up the phone for him. Gaz was quicker to snatch the phone off the floor.
“ No, yes. All good. Um, Price wants me to see me in his office, I’ll talk to you later.” Gaz made a quick retreat from the common room, ducking towards the opposite direction of the office, leaving a very confused Soap behind, while pointing to Price, who is currently sitting by the window, chatting to Ghost. 
He can’t let Soap see what was on his phone. 
Not that it’s some risque picture or anything. Well. Not quite. But it’s a selfie picture of you, in a beautiful sunflower pattern dress, LOW CUT DRESS, wearing a cap very similar to his, except with a St Andrew’s cross instead of Union jack on it. That beautiful smile again.
“ Look what I found! Now we have matching cap :) Well, I can’t get a Union Jack one otherwise Johnny will be angry with me.” you wrote in the caption. 
Your brother will kill me. Gaz thought. 
He wasn’t quite sure if it was the alcohol that did the talking when you slipped him the phone number that night.  Took him a week of self-deliberation to finally summon up the courage to text you. Your response was immediate. Which gave him great relief. It was a start of blossoming friendship, constant messaging back and forth, occasional phone calls when he is in the privacy of his own room back at the base.
He started sending you photos of all the places he has been to on mission, letting you travel through him, all stemmed from you complaining one day;
“ I am very envious of Johnny and you boys.. Getting to travel all over the world.. Sorry I know it's to war zones... But I have never stepped outside of The British isle before.. Ma claims she took us to France once, but I don’t remember a thing. I was only one year old!”
How he wishes he can take you with him, by his side, showing you the famous sites of the world. Reality is a bitch. He is always out for work, not pleasure. Saving the world, just like the superheroes. You teased him once. 
In return, you update him about little tidbits of your life, what happened at work, the new ER doctor everyone is drooling over, (he denies a burn of jealousy rising when heard about it), little gossips you heard, new food you tried out. “Sorry my life is boring compared to yours.” Gaz loves it though. It gives him a sense of normalcy amongst the blood sheds and killings, and getting to know you more. What your favourite foods are, your irks. Even though you two haven’t met again physically after that night, he always feels he is close to you, by heart. 
He loves hearing your voice just before they had to go dark for missions. Even with the time differences, you will always answer his message, picking up the call.
“Stay safe please.” That whisper of yours. Always laced with sadness. 
“I will.” I will stay alive. To come back to you. He wanted to say. 
Where is the relationship at? You two never discuss it. The feeling of trapping in this friendzone, both of you waiting for each other to step over that little boundary line, to finally take the relationship into the next phase. He’s been with other people before. But no one else ever makes him so nervous like a teenager again. What is stopping him from making the move? Wrath of Soap? Not wanting to disturb the peace of the team, jeopardising missions. Or people are going to judge him for going after his friend’s younger sister? 
Or people are going to call him selfish, for leading you on, entering into a relationship that is heading to a tragic end, with a high possibility that he might not return from mission one day, leaving you heartbroken.
Or he is just finding excuses, because he is damn scared. Scared of your rejection, and losing you entirely.
He just can’t help it. He is falling more and more for you. He wants to confess to you. His Miss Sunflower.
“Come on Mini, I dare you, send him the picture! Maybe he will finally make a move on you.”
“But… but… isn’t this showing a bit too much of my…. this…..”“ OH hush, you look very cute in that dress. DO IT.” 
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Gaz ran back to his room afterwards, trying to dispel any ungentlemanly thoughts out of his brain. Failed miserably.  
I seriously suck at writing long chapters, I think short little  bits really suit me. Thank you for reading, comments and reblogs always appreciated :) 
taglist: @deadbranch
@voxyin
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fluentmoviequoter · 2 months
Note
Hey could you do fluff fic for David 'Deacon' Kay x wife reader where they spend their day together after hectic week? She's school teacher. Tag me later. Thanks!!
Of course! This was a fun one; thanks for the great request!! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!🤍 @pear-1206
Hectic Relief
Warnings: reader is an elementary teacher (I didn't specify which grade, just implied younger kids), hectic week, lots of fluffy comfort, kissing.
Word Count: 2.2k+ words
Masterlist Directory | Deacon Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List
Picture from Pinterest (it goes with the end [and makes me smile😊])
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“Yes, Drew?” you ask, smiling at the young boy as he lowers his hand.
“When is Sergeant Kay visiting again?” he inquires.
“Hmm… Well, he’s really busy this week, but I’ll ask him to come back soon.”
Drew nods with a bright smile. He loves your husband, Deacon, and asks about him often. Since Deacon came in for career day, Drew and several other students have become big fans of his.
“Can he come Friday?” Drew continues.
“Why Friday?”
“It’s my birthday!”
“Oh, I see. I’ll ask him, but remember what Sergeant Kay said last time? He’s really busy at work, so he may not be able to.”
“Can’t you make him?” someone else asks. “My mom makes my dad do stuff all the time.”
You chuckle at the implication that wives have control over their husbands before gesturing for everyone to pipe down.
“I’ll see what I can do, Drew,” you promise. “But either way, I’ll make sure you have a good birthday at school.”
Drew nods, and you think the day will be easier with the idea of Deacon coming in soon. It only takes an hour for that hope to be crushed, as the week takes a turn for the worse.
✯✯✯✯✯
Deacon sighs. It’s only Tuesday morning, and his week is already feeling long. He hasn’t seen you since Sunday night. Yesterday, a call ran long, and you were asleep before he came in. You moved closer to him in your sleep, but he had to leave before you woke up.
“Everyone ready for another night of overtime?” Rocker cheers before pretending to cry.
“I vote we just let the criminals take each other out this time,” someone mumbles.
“If my wife wasn’t working in this city, I’d agree,” Deacon says, surprising everyone.
✯✯✯✯✯
During your free hour, while your class is with another teacher, you drop your head to your desk and take a deep breath. The kids are restless, you’re tired, and each day this week seems longer than the last. You send Deacon a quick text to let him know you’re thinking of him and love him before turning your attention to the stack of papers on your desk.
Across town, Deacon is sitting in Black Betty, wondering when he’ll hear your voice again. It feels like the longest week of his life, and each passing minute makes him miss you more. His phone buzzes, and he smiles for the first time in hours as he reads your short message. Luca slams on the brakes and yells for backup before Deacon can answer, but he knows you understand. Even if it’s unfair to you and hard on him.
✯✯✯✯✯
By Friday morning, you feel part zombie, part teacher. The small gift you got for Drew and the card you signed from you and Deacon are sitting by your bag. You hope it’s enough to cheer Drew up even without Deacon stopping by to see his favorite of your students.
“Happy birthday, Drew,” you tell him when he enters the classroom. “This is from me and Sergeant Kay. He said to wish you a happy birthday and that he’ll come visit as soon as he can.”
It’s a lie; you haven’t even talked to Deacon in days, but you know he would be here if he could. He loves the kids and would do anything to help you out.
Drew’s smile falls just enough that you notice. He thanks you, anyway, even though he’s clearly disappointed his favorite SWAT sergeant won’t be dropping by today.
“Alright, class. Who’s ready for Fun Friday?” you ask, smiling as you pray for a nice day.
✯✯✯✯✯
Deacon clenches his jaw as he slams back against a brick wall.
“30-David, shots fired on the 4 side,” he radios.
“Copy. Shooter on the 1 side,” Street replies.
“We’re going to be here for a while, aren’t we?” Deacon asks.
Hondo nods beside him, and Deacon prepares for another day of missing you.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Drew, buddy, I know it’s your birthday, but we need to finish this lesson before recess. Let’s sit down and focus, then we can play,” you say, struggling to stay calm.
Drew huffs and falls back in his seat. When you see tears gathering in his eyes, you feel like you’re right behind him. It’s only 9 a.m., and it is the perfect, overly hectic, and stressful end to the longest week of your career as a teacher.
“I promise we’ll do something fun this afternoon, but it’s still school.”
✯✯✯✯✯
Deacon answers the phone, suppressing a stressed yell when Hicks tells 20-David to meet 50-squad on the other side of the county to aid with a hostage situation. He leans his head against Black Betty, wondering if they’d really notice if he took the rest of the day off.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he sends you a quick text, surprised when you answer almost immediately. He doesn’t know if he’ll be home tonight, and his heart breaks at your disappointed reply, even though you try to cover it as a caring and understanding message.
Deacon knows that being a cop’s wife is just as hard as being a cop, and he wants to find a way to make it easier on you.
“Guys, I need a favor,” he calls as he puts his phone away. “I need to be home for dinner. I haven’t heard my wife’s voice in almost 5 days, and if I don’t hear it today, you’re all going to know about it.”
Luca chuckles as Street’s eyes widen. “Yes, sir,” they all say together.
“She’s braver than any of us,” Hondo muses teasingly.
“Better looking, too,” Deacon replies.
✯✯✯✯✯
The final bell rings and your shoulders slump as you say goodbye to each passing student.
“Thank you,” Drew says quietly.
“You’re welcome, Drew. I’ll make sure Sergeant Kay visits soon, okay?”
He nods. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”
“It’s okay, Drew, thank you. Have a good rest of your birthday and enjoy your party tomorrow, bud.”
Drew smiles as he nods excitedly before rushing out. The stack of papers on your desk has dwindled slowly, and you carelessly push it into your bag, unwilling to stay in your classroom for a minute longer than you have to.
Sighing in relief as you start your car, you hope to see Deacon tonight, even if only long enough to kiss him and hear him say goodnight.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Told you we’d do it,” Hondo says, clapping Deacon’s back, “now please go home. Your desperation is wearing off on us.”
Deacon would reply if he had more energy or if Hondo was wrong. He has no shame in admitting that he misses you and needs your comfort after such a hectic week with seemingly pointless chases around Los Angeles County.
He’s back to the station and on his way home to you before Luca notices he left.
✯✯✯✯✯
When Deacon steps into the house, he immediately feels lighter and happier. You look up from a paper and smile, setting it aside. Beginning to stand, Deacon moves faster than you and practically falls on top of you, pinning you to the couch with a tight hug.
You move one arm across his shoulders as he buries his face between your neck and shoulder. Running your fingers through Deacon’s hair, you relax in his embrace, and the week away seems worth the wait.
“I missed you,” you tell him, scratching his scalp.
“Missed you more,” he mumbles, tightening his grip on you.
“We should order dinner then, right?”
Deacon nods, and you smile as you pull his phone out, typing in your birthday to unlock it. Once the food is ordered, you move your hands to Deacon’s tense back muscles.
“Seems like your week was as long as mine,” you muse, gently kneading a knot in his lat muscle.
He groans before sitting up, pulling himself close to you. “I’m sorry.”
You shake your head, kissing his cheek quickly before asking, “How are you?”
Deacon catches your chin, pulling you in for a real kiss as he replies, “Better now.”
Once your dinner is delivered, you sit with your thigh pressed against Deacon’s as he tells you about the string of robberies and hostage situations spanning the county this week. He’s more interested in hearing about your week, so he doesn’t go into much detail before asking about you.
“Well, today was Drew’s birthday and he was pretty grumpy,” you tell Deacon, moving your legs across his lap.
“Not Drew, he’s my favorite!” Deacon exclaims.
“I think he was upset that you couldn’t come to class on his big day,” you excuse, running a finger along Deacon’s cheekbone and down his jaw as you add, “and he was tired, like someone else I know.”
Deacon nods, leaning against you.
“We should go to bed,” you whisper.
Deacon shakes his head, making himself comfortable beside you, one arm wrapped firmly around your waist to keep you close.
“If we go get ready and get in the bed, we can cuddle easier,” you bribe.
Deacon’s eyes open as he asks, “Promise?”
Chuckling, you link your pinky with Deacon’s and promise. He holds you to it, pulling you into his arms when you’re changed and ready to relax. He hugs you tightly, refusing to let go even though you don’t try to fight him. 
As you fall asleep in Deacon’s arms, you whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you,” Deacon replies, entering into the best sleep all week.
✯✯✯✯✯
When you wake up, Deacon has moved you closer to him in your sleep. It’s as if he thought he’d wake up and you’d be gone. Brushing your finger over his facial features, you wish you could admire him all day, but you need to get up and get a glass of water.
As you try to move out of his grip, it tightens. You finally give up and decide to wake him up.
“Deac, baby, I need to get up,” you say gently.
“It’s been a week, you can’t leave,” he mumbles.
“I just need to get some water, handsome.”
Deacon seems to debate his options before unhooking his arms and saying, “Two minutes or I’m coming to find you.”
“I have no doubt.”
You return in less than two minutes, but when you offer to make breakfast and bring it back, Deacon rolls out of bed and sleepily follows you to the kitchen. Standing behind you, he keeps his arms around your waist as he helps you prepare breakfast, trailing kisses up your neck each time you turn your head.
“I’m glad we’re both home now,” you tell him, turning in his arms to kiss him.
“Me too,” he replies, pulling you in for another kiss.
✯✯✯✯✯
It takes hours, but you finally convince Deacon to talk about himself and his week at work. As you direct him to the patio, you find yourself in his lap, enjoying the sun after a week inside with your rambunctious class.
“You’re too good for me,” Deacon says, interrupting his story.
“You’re too good for me,” you repeat.
Deacon smiles at the challenging look on your face, aware that you will win any argument he tries to make. This conversation is practiced, and he knows how it ends: an agreement that you are soulmates, completing each other and perfect for one another.
“I think we need a vacation,” you tell him.
“Or a second honeymoon,” he suggests, kissing your jaw.
“But you have to come visit my class first or I’ll have a riot on my hands.”
“Technically, you’d have a better chance of getting me there for riot control.”
You laugh, leaning against Deacon’s chest as you kiss the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll see if I can make some time this week. For you and the kids.”
The sun dips below the hills, and you wonder where the day went, though you know time spent with Deacon always goes too fast.
“Same thing tomorrow?” you ask, pulling your legs up as Deacon nudges you to shift.
Lifting one of your legs so you’re sitting in his lap, your face just above his, Deacon smiles and answers, “Anything with you.”
You tilt your chin down, brushing your lips across Deacon’s. He sighs, raising his hands so one is on your waist and the other behind your neck. Settling on his thighs, you lean against Deacon’s chest as you kiss him, letting his love and comfort calm you from the inside out.
“I love you,” you say against his lips.
“Love you more.”
You push your hands against his chest, taking a deep breath before arguing, “Impossible.”
Deacon tilts his head, a bright smile making his eyes look deeper and darker than usual. He’s irresistible, and as you kiss him again, he promises himself not to let work get in the way like that again.
Pulling back, you suggest, “You should bring your whole squad next time, the kids would love it.”
“If we can spare the time.”
“'If'? You can't do it, not even for me?” you ask with a pout. “Your wife?”
Deacon nods, telling you he’ll find a way.
“It’s that easy,” you whisper, kissing his nose.
“Because you cheat,” Deacon accuses.
“Because you love me.”
Deacon can’t argue, so he pulls you down for a slower kiss, happy to spend another slow, lazy night in your arms before doing it all again tomorrow.
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