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adonis-koo · 3 years

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tease

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↳ Summary: You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

↳ Pairing: Stripper!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, drama, slice of life, relationship problems without the relationship, reader is such a shy baby protect her, MUTUAL pining, so much sexual frustration,

Word Count: 10k

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Tags: penetrative sex, it’s a little rough, oral (m & f recieveing) they 69 i’m sorry, dirty talk, an attempted lap dance, reverse cowgirl because we love women who ride, slight degradation, praise kink, spanking, doggy style, little hair pulling and breath play,

Song Mood

Warning: This story touches on both sexual harassment and abuse, please read with caution if any of these things are triggers to you. Additional warnings will be given when a chapter present them.

“No!”

“What do you mean no!? Baby be reasonable you can’t tell me you’re gonna cook all of that.” Jungkook glared down childishly at the cart only semi full of groceries that you had crossed off the list you had made before dragging Jungkook out, if he had it his way, you’d both be at the theme park right now.

But seriously, his fridge was empty! Nothing, and you were not eating take out, again. It was ridiculous. So in effort to combat the increasing desire to cook at home, you compiled a list of meals you wanted to make and eat before demanding Jungkook go with you to the store because hey, if he wanted to live together then this was going to be a team effort.

You had asked Jungkook what he wanted to eat as well and he shrugged saying he really didn’t care and therefore, the world was your oyster in terms of cooking, “Me be reasonable!?” You replied back indignant, an angry pout on your face as you flailed your hands, “You’re the one who tried to put two 24 packs of soda in the cart, a box of snack cakes, matcha snowballs and mochi in the cart? You think I’m gonna let you add ice cream to the list as well?”

You knew Jungkook had a sweet tooth but you didn’t realize just how big of a sweet tooth he had and before you knew it, you were constantly making Jungkook put things back, he glared at you and you glared back at him. War sirens could be heard to anyone passing by you both as he gripped the tub of ice cream stubbornly.

“It’s either mochi or ice cream Jungkook, we’re not getting both.” You replied as you crossed your arms. And for the first time in your life, you watched Jungkook’s lips quiver into a pout, puffing a childish breath as he turned around in defeat, going to put the ice cream back.

You had to stifle your giggle because you knew he’d take it as a challenge otherwise, he was just too cute sometimes. You found his sweet tooth, in fact, endearing. Most men in his position would probably try to act all tough and manly, only liking things bitter like their personalities but Jungkook? Far from it.

Jungkook came back with his arms crossed and that broody pout still on his face making you smile unable to stop your giggles making him even more broody as he took the cart from you with a huff, “Stop laughing at me! You’re cock blocking all my favorite snacks.”

“Is that all you buy by yourself? Just snacks? That’s not healthy!” You giggled even more at the way he rolled his eyes, obviously your guess was correct, “Besides, once I start cooking you’ll appreciate it, I just know it. And,” You raised your brows as your lips puckered together, “You were the one that wanted us to live together, this is on you.”

Jungkook huffed as he pushed the cart, looking down at the list that was laid out on top of your purse, “How is that going by the way?” Jungkook’s expression melted to one of curiosity as he raised his brow, “Have you talked to your landlord yet?”

“Yeah,” You paused at the fresh produce outside the isle you both excited as you grabbed onto the cart, it was slow today and much appreciated so you wouldn’t have to battle over food with people, “The apartment is still in good condition even after...what happened,” Your lips twisted into a weak smile as you grabbed one of the reusable bags you always used at the store as you placed a fresh stalk of chokboy inside it, “My lease was getting ready to come up anyways so we agreed that with two months of rent he’d terminate my lease. I’ll get that to him Monday and then I’ll have thirty days to pack up everything and get it moved.”

Jungkook nodded, “Which by the way, everyone agreed to come over and help clean up later today,” Your lips quivered into a pout...you...when did he even ask them that? You knew everyone had of course offered help but well, you hadn’t expected anyone to actually come and help you...well besides Jungkook but that was just a given.

“Don’t look like that,” Jungkook snorted, reaching out as he squished your cheeks, a tiny smile tugging on your cheeks as you grabbed his wrist, pushing him away, “They asked by the way, I didn’t do anything. It just got mentioned in the groupchat.”

“I didn’t see it.” You frowned as you checked your phone and much to your confusion you were right, there weren't any new messages to your notice.

Jungkook’s smile was a little sheepish as he shrugged, “We have a guys groupchat.”

“That I'm not a part of!” You cried out with a pout as you crossed your arms, your expression sulky, you obviously weren’t surprised all the boys had their own chat, you were a part of so many it was hard to keep track but, couldn’t they ask in the main one? Where everyone was a part of?

“Well you aren’t a guy baby,” Jungkook cooed out, saccharine dripping on his tone as he squished your cheeks, “Besides…” He had a lopsided smile on his face as he leaned on the handle of the cart, “It was supposed to be a surprise but….I can’t help myself. I didn’t want you to cry again.”

It was hard to not smile as you pushed him away playfully making him shove you back as you pulled the cart along, “I can’t believe everyone really wants to help...I mean...I just figured it’d be me and you.”

“Well believe it or not they are your friends too now,” Jungkook snorted writing off on the list you made as you placed fresh tomatoes into the bag you had set the bokchoy in, “What are you even gonna make with this shit?” He furrowed his brows.

“Food! I was gonna make some bulgogi one night and some porkbelly another with banchan and maybe some jjangijanma? I’m not just spending money on food that's gonna go bad Koo!” You stomped your foot in annoyance at why he kept complaining about you feeding both you and him decent food, “We can’t live off takeout, I’m not gonna stand for that! And!”

You pointed a finger at him, “I want to get some paint for the living room! And some curtains because what if some creep is staring at us at night?” You shuddered, at the irrational fear but you couldn’t help it, regardless of how irrational it was you wouldn’t stand for it, especially if it was an easy fix, “Along with a rug too for the living center- oh! I was thinking about maybe finding a coffee table for the couch too? Too put in front of it?”

“Okay wait, wait, wait, slow down,” Jungkook held out his hands, his expression bewildered at your sudden long list of demands for the apartment, “Just because we’re living together doesn’t mean you can just hijack my apartment.”

“Sure I can,” His lips parted indignantly as you smiled brightly with a shrug, “It’s not like you bothered to decorate anyways and I’m sure your landlord won’t mind a fresh coat of paint on those musty looking walls. Besides, it’s not yours anymore, it’s ours. You think we could get some new lighting for the kitchen too by the way? The white light really makes the grey walls look gross.”

Jungkook puffed a breath, a brief smile on his lips as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, “Let's just focus on one thing at a time first okay?” You squealed at his words, bouncing in excitement at his approval of letting you completely hijack his apartment but honestly, it reeked of lack of care and testosterone. It could use a feminine touch, “We can start off with some paint and lighting, that I can do. And….” He rubbed his neck, “It’s not like we don’t have time, I just got a call from Sejin this morning telling me Cherry isn’t gonna be open until Monday.”

You frowned, “Isn’t that when SSU starts though?” How was that even gonna go? You doubt a lot of people- if any at all would show up, especially given what had just happened. Would it even still be on this year with everything that’s happened?

“Yeah that’s the ploy,” Jungkook shrugged, just as unsure as you as he answered, “A lot of free and cheap entertainment, drinks will be half off, Sejin and Bang are really trying to make the most of Cherry’s comeback to try and bury what happened. You’d be surprised at how superficial people are, especially men when it comes to strip clubs.”

You sighed wistfully as you shrugged, you wouldn’t deny him there, men were strange creatures and you wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of business did come back without a care in the world for what happened as long as it meant cheap drinks and naked girls.

“But hey! That gives us more time to prep for you,” Jungkook smiled that charming bright smile of his as he bumped into you making you whine a little as you bumped him back despite a smile threatening to tug on your lips, “Meaning I got a strip pole to install when we get back to the apartment. We won’t need Cherry anyways to choreograph now.”

You were wondering what that package was on his front porch anyways, he had only smiled that smile of his as he shrugged innocently but apparently he had been wanting to get a pole for the apartment for awhile now.

“Well I already have some songs picked out,” Your smile was a little timid at that pure enthusiasm Jungkook always radiated with pride when it came to you and work, “You’ll have to tell me in detail later just how things are run for SSU. But anyways, this is the last of what we need so let's go check out.”

Jungkook wheeled the cart to the checkout where you carefully placed things back into the reusable bags which Jungkook complained about but you didn't like using plastic when it wasn’t needed.

For the first time, doing mundane things such as grocery shopping was actually rather fun, Jungkook and you would banter the whole time and he despite complaining was just as curious and involved in getting things for you (and just as what had happened, trying to bring extra things into the cart as well). However he did get his own snack as well. You just weren’t gonna let him go overboard.

Bringing groceries in was also easy as Jungkook had made it a competition he easily won by bringing them in bulk, proudly showing off the muscle he had despite it being hidden beneath the bagging clothes he often wore.

Unfortunately Jungkook looked like a lost puppy, unable to help as you began to unload them into the fridge, debating on where to put everything as he sat back at the chair at the table with a fat pout on his face making you giggle, “You can join in the say so if you want, I don’t mind! It is your fridge. Have you ever even gotten a full grocery shop before?”

“No.” Jungkook sulked as he crossed his arms, making a flutter of laughter escape you, “I don’t know shit about where to put what in the fridge!”

You waved him over as you shook your head, and reluctantly Jungkook got up and peered over your shoulder, “Everyone does it different, but this is how I do it. All the big stuff like milk and dairy go on the main shelving,” You patted the first level where you had placed your oat milk, the sour cream and cheese at, “These little shelves are for smaller stuff like butter! And the drawers on the bottom hold produce like the bokchoy we have.”

Jungkook wrapped his arms around you loosely as he set his chin on your shoulder, listening intently to you ramble and explain how you placed things into the fridge before muttering to him about how to arrange things which Jungkook would offer suggestions on, some you’d agree excitedly with and others you snort and dismiss.

You enjoyed doing domestic things with him. It didn’t take long for all the groceries to be put away and you were admittedly excited to start turning Jungkook’s apartment into something more...bright...You didn’t want to say Jungkook’s apartment was ugly. It just felt...void of personality and flair that you knew it had the potential for.

And it wasn’t like Jungkook lived in a bad part of Seoul, it was a lovely neighborhood and apartment complex he lived in and because it was so close to Gangnam it was extremely expensive, the only way he could ever afford it was because he was a stripper. He had told you he only started renting here three years ago.

So you knew this apartment probably came like this and only deteriorated over time as Jungkook didn’t live hard in it, but he didn’t maintain more than needed. With a little bit of love you knew this place would be a lot brighter and happier.

“Just hold down the bottom,” Jungkook directed as you steadied the pole, he stood up on a chair as he installed the top of the pole, you both had to rearrange furniture and Jungkook respectively asked for your opinion as this was your domain that you would be styling in the future and you both had agreed that the pole would look back towards the further right corner just a little left of where the TV was, but enough space that there was no chance of hitting the wall or anything else.

You definitely had some work to do with this place but you were already getting ideas that you were excited to try, the rest of your summer, which was coming to a fast end, wouldn’t go to waste.

“I am!” You replied, looking up at him with a pout as you steadied the pole.

“Then why are you wiggling so much?” Jungkook huffed as he gripped the top of the pole making it stiff as he finished tightening the top.

“Don’t be mean! I’m trying my best!” You replied back with a cry making Jungkook snort as he rolled his eyes, finishing up he hopped off the chair, holding out his hands, your eyes narrowing on them as you grabbed them.

“I’m not being mean,” Jungkook tutted as he pulled you up and against him, you tried your best to make an angry face but it failed as he leaned down, bumping your nose against his, “You’re just being a baby.”

Your expression curled a little as he smiled that smile of his as he looked away, “See? Pure baby material.”

You stomped your foot before latching onto him, your arms around his neck as you spoke, “You like it when I’m a baby!” You defended yourself, making him chuckle.

“You’re right, I do.” He relented playfully as he sighed dramatically, “I do. I wouldn’t want it any other way then seeing your sulky, pouty little face every day.” He bumped your nose against his once more as your lips lightened into a bright shy smile as you leaned up, letting your nose brush his in acknowledgement, “Are you ready to go? The others are headed over to your apartment.”

You nodded, “Mhm, I just wanna get it cleaned oh and…” You offered a cheeky smile that you knew he would groan about, “I wanna bring some of my mugs and plates over...it’s really sad you live off styrofoam.”

“Oh my god.” He sighed as he hung his head causing a string of giggles to escape you, god you loved this man.

“Man this place is a mess,” Seokjin wrinkled his nose as he swept up broken glass, “I mean really, it’s seen better da- Ow! Hey you punk!” Seokjin had dropped the broom to rub his bicep at the harsh punch Jungkook landed against his arm, his glare sharp as he briefly looked over at you.

Kneeled down your fingers ran through the soil of the potted hosta you had bought from the supermarket, it had been dying and you were slowly nursing it back to health. Now all its leaves were dried up and crumbled from the days without nutrition or water. Placing the chunks of pottery into the plastic bag you remembered the day you bought that pot too.

It was from the local pottery store and the woman who ran it was so excited that you had gotten it because it had been sitting on the shelf for nearly three months despite having the cutest illustration of a lone weak tree on it.

You remembered thinking it was that most adorable thing on the planet and just knew it’d look good sitting up on that old wooden crate you stood up right as a stand. You hardly even realized tears were trickling down your cheeks as you held up the broken pottery piece that had the small tree on it.

“We’ll get you a new one babygirl.” Jungkook kneeled down beside you with a soft tone as he wrapped an arm around you, your lips immediately quivering as you sniffled harshly, trying not to cry. It was dumb, these were all things, just material items, at least they weren’t you. But in everything you did and bought, you did it was so much passion and utmost love.

“...It was from the pottery store, theren’t aren’t any more like this.” You mumbled with a sniffle as you closed your eyes in defeat, tears trickling down your face as you wiped them. Shaking your head, “This is so stupid to cry about!” You flopped the piece into the bag, feeling frustrated with yourself, you were tired of crying, tired of feeling your heart ache over the tiniest things. It was too exhausting.

“No, no, no it’s not!” Jungkook immediately defended, grabbing the piece from the bag, “These are your things babydoll, and I know how much your space means to you. It’s okay for this to be hard,” He pecked your temple as you closed your eyes again, warm watery tears sliding down your cheeks, “There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.”

Your hands trembled as you covered your eyes, your shoulders bouncing as you silently kept your tears to yourself, Jungkook’s lips pressing into your hair as his hand soothingly rubbed your arm that was wrapped around you.

After a moment of mourning all of the precious memories you made in this little apartment you called home, you wiped your tears as Jungkook asked if you were okay, nodding you continued to wipe your eyes as he helped you bag up the rest of the broken pot. Tenderly Jungkook took the bag from you as he rubbed your back once before getting up.

Sighing you shook your head, wiping your eyes one last time as you stood up.Stupid...even with Jungkooks vaildation which you knew he was right about, you couldn’t help but berate yourself, it was dumb to cry about things like this when there was better ways you could exert your energy.

Having dried your tears and having a moment to regain your composure you finished up cleaning all the pottery and glass that had been scattered on the floor before walking into the living room your lips curled a little at the confused expression Jimin sported.

He was holding up a cloth, inspecting it closely as if trying to figure out what it was was but obviously finding no success due to the many rips in it, “It’s a tapestry,” Jimin jumped a little as you sat down on the couch beside him, “...Was a tapestry,” You mumbled, rubbing the back of your neck, “I found it at a flea market when I first came to Seoul, back when me and Seulgi lived together that was our first week on being in our apartment and it was horrible,” You shook your head as your nose wrinkled, grabbing a side of the ripped tapestry in fondness, “I mean there was water stains on the walls, the paint was chipped and looked like it had been due for a new coat for over ten years, the toilets hadn’t been scrubbed and the bathrooms were wrecked. It was horrible.”

Jimin peered at you curiously as you traced the design of a large lotus flower that had been on it, “Seulgi just started crying the moment we walked through the house for the first time because the pictures online made it look a lot better. And of course I thought it was terrible too, but later that week exploring Seoul, I ended up finding an old flea market stall and came across this.”

Your lips curled into a proud smile as you held it up, “And I realized that, just because that’s what our apartment looked like when we first got there, didn’t mean it had to continue looking like that. Seulgi dragged her feet and wouldn’t come with me so I painted all the walls, cleaned up the bathrooms and got new apparel to put in there. It didn’t happen fast.”

You clacked your tongue as you sighed, “We were pretty broke at the time because even with us splitting rent it was still expensive. But slowly and sure, it came together. And we left that apartment better than it ever was. I was proud.”

You looked at Jimin only for him to scoot a little away from you as he joked, “Maybe you should’ve gone into interior decorating instead of dance? Jungkook could really use the help, he has zero sense of taste when it comes to anything besides himself.”

You briefly flickered your gaze to Jungkook who tried to not make himself so obvious that he was keeping an eye on you both, his gaze immediately shooting away from you as you sighed, you knew Jungkook would apologize on his own time but that didn’t mean you still didn’t feel bad, “Jungkook told me…”

You didn’t need to elaborate for Jimin to know exactly what you were talking about, his expression visibly put out as he slumped back against the couch, running his hands through his hair as he groaned, “I mean I’m not surprised, but he could’ve kept it to himself…You know what, maybe you’ll tell me what the fuck is wrong with him?”

Your lips parted a little, somewhat taken aback at just how strong Jimin came off, clearly still sore about yesterday- not that you could blame him, you knew how Jungkook was, but still…you had never seen Jimin in such a...hostile state. And a part of you felt a wave of guilt...had it not been for you...Jungkook wouldn’t be like this…

You had to pause to think about your next words carefully, because you knew if not said the right way, it could be seen as defensive, which wasn’t your intention, “...Well...I wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong with Jungkook,” You spoke softly, folding your hands into your lap, “He just....” Your eyes fanned around the room realizing Jungkook must’ve gone back to the kitchen, otherwise it was just the two of you, “...Jimin…” You sighed as you lifted one foot onto the couch, wrapping your arms around your leg as you gently laid your head against it, “There’s a lot of stuff going on with him lately. There’s a lot of things that he’s ignored about himself and bottled up, and...it’s all come out recently. A lot of wounds he never even tended to, have been ripped back open for him.”

“I just don’t understand him,” Jimin sighed, lifting up the fabric of the tapestry once more as he shook his head, “I thought I knew him, but I guess I don’t huh.” You frowned a little as you pulled the tapestry from his hands, folding it up as you shook your head.

“It’s not you, he just...I guess he thought he could bury it, or run from it...and he can’t.” You smoothed out the edges, “It’s brought out a lot of deep rooted insecurities from him. And Jungkook knows it’s not like him, but it’s not something he can help. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I made things tense between you both....” You couldn’t look at him anymore, feeling a sense of shame in you as you stared down at your fingers.

“It’s not your fault!” Jimin immediately defended you, which was appreciated but you still felt bad, “You did nothing wrong.”

“I basically gaslit him when he thought I was pregnant with your kid and instead of just staying in, I forced us to go out and not only that but somehow during all of that, I seriously thought blowing you would be a good idea.” Jimin deflated a little at your words as you stared at him in exasperation. You didn’t force Jungkook to go out technically, but you had pushed the whole day.

But only because you knew something was bothering him and he’d never be like that normally, you should’ve respected what he wanted regardless but you just thought….thought what? You felt pathetic trying to defend your motive that day, but it had been truly innocent up until what had happened at the afterparty. You had assumed Jungkook would eventually perk back up and have fun because he loved going out, you wouldn’t have pushed him had you understood what was really going on.

“Well you do sound kinda like a bitch when you put it like that,” Jimin muttered, looking at you as you looked back at him, a smile curling on his lips and one threatening yours as you snorted, “But we both know it probably wasn’t like that. You had his best intentions at heart. And I mean you’re right, blowing me wasn’t a good idea, but I mean…” He shrugged, that dumb smile on his face as he shrugged, “Listen, it is what it is, you and I both assumed he wouldn’t care, clearly. And it was a shit move. The most you can do is just let it go and move on, I’m assuming he told you about what he told me?”

You nodded, setting down the tapestry coffee table as you hummed, “Yeah he told me, and it’s not like I could be mad at him, he’s struggling, with a lot internally and I think once he works through it, things will be okay. But it’s just going to be a work in progress until then.” You could distinctly remember Jungkook’s anger, the way he seemed frustrated with himself.

It was going to be a process, “Besides...It seems like Jungkook isn’t the only one who hasn’t told everyone everything either...and I really hope you both know that it’s okay to have some things stay private.”

Jimin said nothing, only looking down at his hand that he flexed his fingers out from, wiggling them a little and his expression seemed downcast, “...I used to wanna have kids,” You glanced at him in surprise, not at his words, but you didn’t think Jimin would want to talk about it, it was something very personal to him clearly and he owned you nothing, “Me and my girlfriend used to talk about it all the time.”

His lips flickered into a small smile as he looked down at his hand, as if remenscising a memory you’d never know about, “She said she always loved baby smiles and loved little kids sitting down with her, she used to work at a daycare- so I thought, why the hell not?” Jimin’s tiny smile began to melt off her face, “She thought it was her- that was infertile. But I got tested too with her, she just so happened to get her results back faster.”

Jimin’s face became void as he lowered his hand down, “It was late that night and she had offered to stay past her shift because they were low staffed that night but I never got to see her again, a drunk driver clipped the back side of her car and flipped it.”

Your lips quivered a little into a frown as you folded your hands, Jimin’s lips twitched into a bitter smile, “I got my results that morning.” You could see swirls of lingering mourning and rage inside his eyes, it was very similar to not only Jungkook, but Rosé’s as well. They all had things they were struggling with and it made your heart hurt for them, “God is one cruel motherfucker.”

“I’m sorry…” You mumbled softly, your hands folded into your lap, wanting to give him a hug because you knew anybody in Jimin’s position probably needed one, but you also knew, this was a bad time, and that it wouldn’t be appropriate given everything that had happened up until this point, “I know that doesn’t change things for you. But, I do hope you find happiness.” You offered a tiny smile.

Jimin sighed as he stretched out, shrugging loosely, trying to play it off like he didn’t care anymore but he above all else should know it wouldn’t slip past your eyes the way he was still sore about it, and he had every right to be, “It’s been years now,” He deflated, “I spiralled out of control after that, and eventually I stumbled across Cherry Bomb.” Jimin’s lips curved a little at the memory, “I was drunk and I wasn’t sure if I was just hallucinating or if it was Yeji on stage. It wasn’t,” He clarified before snorting, something oddly melancholy in his eyes as he muttered, “It was Rosé,” His lips curled into a semi ironic smile and his brows furrowed as if only slightly amused, “They don’t even look close to alike. And I remember seeing her in class the next day before realizing she was a stripper and she just begged me to not tell anyone.”

Jimin heaved a breath as he stretched out before sitting up, “But I didn’t wanna tell anyone, I wanted to be up on stage. It sounds stupid but, that night I was drunk, I figured who’d care if I just left the world too?” His gaze lowered a little, “But my drunk stupid ass thought it was Yeji on that stage, and I cried at the bar the whole night before Yoongi eventually kicked me out at closing, and even if they looked nothing alike, even if it was just a desperate drunk delusion, when I saw Rose the next day, I saw hope. And so I asked her how I could start dancing because it was obvious I saw her for a reason.”

You sniffled a little, wiping your eyes as Jimin did a double take, “it wasn’t that sad christ…” He looked a little awkward as you giggled, “And…” His gaze became sharp, “Don’t ever tell her any of what I just said. She’s my best friend and I love her but that’s not a conversation I’m ready to have with her- if ever.”

“I’m not Jungkook,” You giggled as you wiped your eyes, “Of course it’ll stay between us- and maybe Jungkook too,” He groaned as you offered a small smile, “It just made me emotional, that’s all. I can’t relate, I don’t know what that feels like. But it makes me happy you and Rosé are so close.”

“I am a lesbian,” You both jumped at Rosé who put her hands on the couch, a bright smile on her face as she answered pointedly, “I mean we already agreed to get married platonically if we’re both single by 30 but I draw the line with dicks. Unless it’s rubber it’s not getting near me.” You snorted as you began howling out laughing, Jimin looked a little flustered, not at her words but at her appearance before relaxing as he rolled his eyes.

“So why all of these affectionate words? Did I do something?” Rosé smiled teasingly as she placed a hand on her chest waiting making you giggle as you shook your head while standing up, shrugging as she pouted, “Hey no fair! You can’t keep secrets from me!”

You offered a small smile as you replied, “Sometimes, the longer a secret is kept, the sweeter it is when they tell you.” Rosé waved her hands walking back to the hallway as you giggled. You were glad, if anything, that you had the chance to talk to Jimin and not only this, but for him to share such a personal thing with you.

“Are you really okay? With everything going on I mean?” Hyerin frowned, she had texted you earlier in the morning asking if you’d be interested in getting drink’s together and of course, leave it to Jungkook and Yugyeom both for that matter to butt in.

They were off in the distance playing pool, Hyerin said she wasn’t a fan of bars but when you offered a lounge she seemed excited as she had never been, it was a nice place, lowkey and quiet but good for a night out or even a place to study during the day.

You both sat at the counter watching Jungkook and Yugyeom play against a few others here at the lounge, “Well, I have to be,” Your hands curled around your drink, not wanting to think about what had happened a few days earlier and it was difficult to keep up with just how many traumatising things had happened within a week, “For Jungkook’s sake...and…” You sighed softly, “It’s not like there’s anything that can be done for me right now. That’s just gonna take time…”

“Awh, I understand. I just wish things hadn’t taken such a sharp turn, do you know when Cherry Bomb will open back up at least?’ Hyerin stirred her drink as she leaned back against the barstool, watching Yugyeom and Jungkook look like little boys triuphanting over their victory together.

“Monday, by the sound of it...But nobody is even sure if we’re gonna have a crowd, even with SSU starting that night. Regardless me and Jungkook are gonna stay busy with choreographing, he’s really excited about it.” Your lips tilted upwards a little bit at the memory of how much enthusiasm he had, you were happy to see him happy. It was just like him to be like that, “How have things been...at the dungeon with...you know...Shownu was it?”

Hyerin snorted, taking a sip of her drink as she rolled her eyes, “Same old, same old, he causes shit, makes dom’s hate him and gets away with it.” She crumpled the paper her straw had been in as she flicked it against the countertop, “Honestly, Yugyeom wants to find a new dungeon, the drama just isn’t worth it. I’m glad you and Jungkook don’t go regularly.”

You tilted your head as Hyerin offered a weak smile, “It’s hard enough keeping Yugyeom from beating the shit out of Shownu and getting us kicked out. Jungkook and Yugyeom together?” You let out a weak laughing, beginning to understand what she meant, “I mean they’d probably send him to the hospital…”

“They would send him to the hospital,” You offered a weak smile, even without Yugyeom’s help Jungkook totally would, let alone with it? Hyerin was right, that was a bad mix even together, you hadn’t had the chance to talk to Yugyeom fully but you had the feeling, that despite being more relaxed then Jungkook was, he could get just as defensive as him, easily. Maybe even more so, “What is the reason Shownu is still allowed around anyways?”

You both didn’t have the time to visit the dungeon much but you got the impression that if you did, you’d probably be a lot more involved in the drama given Jungkook’s inclination to always step in, “Ah…” Hyerin relented as she rubbed her neck, “Shownu is just good friends with a lot of the dungeon owners, and if you’re on good terms with them? You’re pretty much untouchable. I don’t know all the ends and outs but…” Hyerin frowned as she looked at her cup, “Word is that some of the girls have been disappearing at the dungeon and...Some of the dungeon owners might be involved...I don’t know. We haven’t been for the past week ever since we found out. Yugyeom wants things to clear up before we go back.”

You shuddered at the idea, being a little to familiar with the feeling, you could understand Yugyeom’s concern, for anyone’s concern really, Jungkook would be, and is the same way, “Seems like trouble in paradise everywhere these days,” You sighed wistfully, even in the areas of your life you weren’t so involved it, were having trouble now.

You just wanted things to become normal again, when they weren’t so tense and your only stresses were exams and being naked on stage. It seemed so...insignificant in comparison now. Things were the way they were, so you wouldn’t complain about them, and at the very least, you and Jungkook had each other and you’d make it through this.

But still, it was hard to not wish for things to be easier again. When your life wasn’t put on the line as well as Jungkooks, which he hadn’t exactly clarified but...You couldn’t ignore your gut instinct that was telling you he was in just as dangerous of a position.

“Tell me about it,” Hyerin sighed before suddenly perking up with a thought, “Oh…! You know what,” She turned you, her smile a little shy now as she asked, “What if you came over and we hung out one night? I have tons of coloring sheets at my apartment and snacks too! Yugyeom is pretty strict about snacks but he’d totally be willing to let us have some if it was a get together!”

Was she talking about- Oh...your face felt hot at the mention, feeling a little shy but you did like the idea, sounded like...a nice break from the harsh world you were constantly having to endure day in and day out, “Sure…! We could do it tomorrow night if you wanted? If you’re free of course!”

Hyerin bounced in her seat in excitement, “That’s perfect! And bring as many stuffies as you want, I have a whole collection I want you to meet.” You both began giggling and Hyerin needed to shut up before she slipped and you could tell her excitement was getting the better of her.

“Oh I know that look,” Yugyeom called out, him and Jungkook both finished with their game of pool, his smile soft at the sight of her excited bounce and wigglyness, “What are you two conspiring?”

“Well!” Hyerin crossed her arms, looking away with a little bit of sass as she spoke proudly, “Me and Y/n are having a playdate tomorrow night and you both aren’t invited.” Your eyebrows lifted and your gaze darted away from Jungkook’s who looked both thoroughly amused and yet daring you to try and piggy back off Hyerin.

“Oh?” Yugyeom raised his brows, somewhat amused, somewhat challenging, “And where am I supposed to stay? Our bedroom?” Hyerin’s lips parted a little before she hmphed, crossing her arms, “As long as you aren’t mean to her I don’t care.”

“I won’t! Y/n is my friend!” Hyerin pouted a little, grabbing your arm defensively as you smiled shyly, your hands folded as Jungkook sat down next to you, pressing a kiss on your head.

“As fun as it’s been these two need to be separated, look at them,” Jungkook snorted in amusement, his eyes dancing with affection as he tenderly stroked a hand through your hair as you curled up against his touch, “They’re gonna send each other small in excitement,” Jungkook, knowing you contained the urge to coo at you as he spoke, “What about me though? Hm? Am I excluded too?”

Your lips quivered into a pout as Jungkook smiled fondly, his hands squeezing your cheeks, “No…” You mumbled, your bottom lip jutting like a fish as his fingers pressed into your cheeks once more, the puppy expression on your face just too cute for Jungkook to resist tapping your nose, “You can be there.”

“Oh thank you so much baby,” Jungkook whispered, unable to stop the soft coo that escaped him, your arms immediately latching around him in a hug, as you looked up at him with a bright shy smile, “You’re always so thoughtful of others huh?” He leaned down and pecked your forehead.

“Okay yeah, I gotta take someone home,” Yugyeom sighed but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face at Hyerin now attached to him, he brushed his hand through his hair before snorting, “Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow huh, no courtesy of you.” He pinched Hyerin’s side making her whine, “Come on sweetheart, let’s go.” Hyerin bounced a little as she hugged unto Yugyeom who only smiled.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Jungkook waved them off before tutting, “You were gonna make plans and leave me out baby.” He said exasperatedly, a playful tone in his voice but you still shook your head.

“No! That was Hyerin...I…!” You crossed your arms, a sulky glare on your face as Jungkook chuckled, “That wasn’t me!” You whined, leaning against Jungkook as he wrapped an arm around you, “She just thought it would be fun to get together and- and I just thought!”

“Thought what?” Jungkook smiled boyishly as he raised his brows in amusement, “Thought what baby? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“Thought it’d be nice to just not have to deal with everything for the night,” You mumbled, feeling a bit shy to admit it. You had felt self conscious when it came to anything about age regression, things had gotten a little better since you had talked to Jungkook about it but you were still a bit shy and admittedly...being with someone like Hyerin, who did the same thing, it made you feel, not so self conscious.

“Well you’re more than welcome to at any time now that we’re gonna be together all the time baby,” Jungkook clacked his tongue, a playful smile on his face as he pressed a kiss to your head once more, “Buy hey, it’ll be a good way to relax tomorrow because we’re working the rest of today and all of tomorrow on your dances since we go back Monday. We’re gonna be cramming baby.”

You whined at his arm squeezing you making a flutter of giggles escape you, pressing your head against him as he affectionately pressed a kiss on top of your head once more, “Are you ready to go then baby? We got lots to do at the apartment.” You supposed, Jungkook was right, and admittedly, you were looking forward to working with him on it.

“No….No...Baby come on, I know you can do better than this.”

You stomped your foot as you turned to Jungkook who was laid out on the couch, though obviously not impressed with your choreography was clearly enjoying the show regardless, a boyish smile crossed his lips at the sight of your annoyed expression.

“Instead of sitting there just staring at my ass why don’t you help if you don’t like it!?” You crossed your arms, a sulky pout on your face as he chuckled, sitting up before walking over to you, his arms on your shoulder as he pushed you back to the pole.

“I am helping,” He whispered playfully in your ear as you felt your face go red, shoving him a little as he laughed, “I’m being the audience, and I can tell you the audience won’t care for it.”

You groaned as you rolled your eyes, crossing your arms once more in frustration, “Then help me! What would look better oh sex dance master.”

“I am the sex dance master,” Jungkook retorted with a chuckle, that stupid smile on his face as you puffed a childish breath, “And instead of starting out leaning on the pole like every other basic bitch, you should start laying down, and kick your feet up onto the pole.”

“Did you just call me basic!?” You cried out, Jungkook only looked down at you, a smile still on his face as you groaned, grabbing your head as you looked up at him in disbelief.

“Why don’t you lay down baby,” Jungkook redirected only more amused at your cry of frustration before complying, laying down on your back you set your feet up against the pole. Jungkook kneeled down as he nodded, “Mhm, and just…” He grabbed your wrists delicately, crossing them before he pulled them up over your head.

Standing up he backed away a little, “Arch your back a little,”

“I’m laying down.” You complained as you twisted your head to look up at him.

“Arch your back.” Jungkook repeated more firmly, making you heave a sigh, uncomfortably curving your spine as best you could, “Now lift your chin a little,” You frowned before doing so, “Okay, okay, and...close your eyes and act sexy.” Your lips threatened to curve into a smile as you snorted, doing so, “That’s not sexy.”

“I’m trying my best,” You opened your eyes, lips jutting a little as you glared up at him, “And this is my best.” Jungkook rolled his eyes, a smile tugging on his lips as he sat back down, “I’ve seen your best sweetheart, that’s not it. Now start the routine from there, do a few kicks or whatever you want from here before getting up.”

Closing your eyes you sighed, trying to come up with something and the only thing you could think of however was letting one leg slide down the pole before slowly extending it back up, extending your other leg off the pole before walking them a little. Letting your feet lean to the left a little you lowered them to the floor before lifting your upper body up, looking at Jungkook who shrugged, tipping his soda can at you making you whine, “Bad?”

His face scrunched a little and he hesitated for a second, “It’s not terrible...but you could do better. First move was nice, second was a little lacking and you know they think it’s cooler when you’re actually on the pole.”

Laying back down you set your legs back on the pole, “So leg down is fine,” You lowered your leg to your chest once more, “extension is fine?”

“That’s a good part,” Jungkook nodded, “Now do walk, walk,” You mirrored his words with your each little step, “Just two, then take your feet to the left and lift up. Don’t prolong it. Now lift your arms up and grab on with reverse.”

You could strip yes, but...pole dancing….? It came with the trade but you still weren’t what one would consider your strong suit. Carefully you placed your hands in reverse grip, “Now pull yourself up.” This was easy! You pulled yourself, feeling triumphant, taking a few steps before adjusting your grip and doing a fan kick to the front.

“There you go baby,” Jungkook nodded approvingly, his lips curled in that proud smile of his as he leaned back in his seat, “ You couldn’t help but feel shy at his words but continued with one more step before letting go of the pole, pressing your back against it as you slowly slid down to a pole sit, “My thighs are burning,” You whined, “You think I should do a button up for this?” You fiddled with pretend buttons before pushing yourself up.

“I think,” Jungkook stood up, walking over before squeezing your chin, “You should do what you think is best, baby. I’m here to help not coach.” He whispered as you tried to push him away with a giggle as he pulled you back closer, “For what it’s worth I think you look pretty sexy no matter what.”

“Stop! You whispered back feeling flustered and giggly pulling away from him as a closed mouth smile tugged on his lips, sitting back down on the couch his eyes were only slightly lidded but you could see what that meant from a mile away.

“You know what baby? I think we might need to brush up on your lap dancing again,” Jungkook opened his arms, his thighs parting comfortably as he gestured you to his lap, your body immediately warmed as you whined a little, unable to deny him as you shuffled to stand in front of him, attempting to sit on his lap but his hand latched onto your hips stopping you, “Ah...what are you supposed to do before a lap dance baby?”

You whined again as you shuffled in spot, Jungkook clicked his tongue, his hands tugging down your sweatpants to reveal your panties, you had anticipated getting laid today leaving you in a plain cotton underwear making you semi shy, Jungkook wasn’t having it though as he tugged you onto his lap, “Stop whining,” he whispered in your ear, his hands gripping your thighs before making their way to your ass, “And start making me feel good baby, show me how you do it.”

You couldn’t resist pressing your face into his neck as your hips began circling against him, you could feel his cock beginning to stir as he let out a soft moan.

His grip softening on your ass and his hands guided them ever so slightly, your clit beginning to rub just the right way on his jeans making you whine, “Mmph…! Jungkook!” Your hips becoming more desperate as you began grinding on him harder as your clit throbbed pathetically. His hands patiently guided your hips as he suckled tenderly on your neck.

“That’s it baby, get those panties nice and messy for me.” He moaned softly, his hands squishing the cheeks of your ass in appreciation as you continued to grind against the the growing bulge in his pants, burying your face further into his shoulder as you whined.

“You’re not supposed to touch me during a lap dance…!” This wasn’t fair! Jungkook only squeezed your ass even harder making you jump a little as you were suddenly jostled onto the couch.

“You call that a lap dance baby? I’ve seen you do better.” Jungkook clicked his tongue as confusion washed over you as to what he was doing before you squeaked at one leg being straddled over him, your hands grabbing his stomach for some sort of support but that clearly wasn’t what Jungkook was aiming for, he carelessly pushed your back making you collapse down grabbing his thighs.

Your face like it was burning at the realization of what position you were in, “...Jungkook!” You whined trying to pathetically crawl away from how close his face was to your throbbing cunt. It was expected for him to forcibly pull you back, a hand slamming against your ass making you squirm with a whimper, “Don’t wanna hear one word about it sweet heart, you know what I want you to do?” Jungkook’s voice dripped patronizingly, “I want you to suck that cock and if you do a good job maybe I’ll give this little cunt a good reward.”

His hands left no room for debate as you whimpered at the feeling of your panties sticking to your cunt, your hands fumbled with the hem of his sweats before pushing them down along the Calvin Klein’s he was sporting today. His cock bounced in search of you as your lips quivered a little, sure you had slept together too many times to count now but...it didn’t ever make it less intimidating to blow him, especially in a compromising position such as this.

Sucking it up though you positioned yourself onto your forearms before giving a small lick to his irritated tip that was already beginning to dribble with precum, “Don’t you fuckin’ tease baby. That’s not what I asked.” Jungkook growled, his hips lifting a little in chase of your tongue and you couldn’t stop the little giggle that escaped you as you gave another kitten lick to his tip once more.

Jungkook’s teeth gritted before you squeaked at the feeling of your panties being ripped off at the sides, “Jungkook…! Those were expensive!” Sure they were loungewear but that didn’t make them any cheater! Jungkook ignored your whine though as you whimpered at his tongue suddenly pressing onto your sensitive little bud, a gasp escaping you as you lowered gaze despite not even being able to look at him, “Mmph…! Jungkook…” you mumbled, your cheeks burning and your hips unable to resist rocking against his tongue as your eyes squeezed shut.

A hand harshly striked the cheek of your ass making you jump as you whimpered, Jungkook’s tongue immediately being removed from your clit, “Suck, suck it you little cockslut, make that mouth useful baby.” Not wanting to prolong any sort of punishment you did as told, positioning yourself as best you could before taking his tip inside your mouth, suckling along his head tender before slowly bobbing your head to take him further.

Jungkook’s hands softened against your hips and you heard a low moan from him before his tongue rewardingly met your clit again, the notion had your thighs squeezing against his head and another whine vibrating against his cock as your head began to bob faster around his cock before you pulled off him to take a deep shaky breath at his persistence in suckling your clit.

Jungkook’s hands guiding your ass to ride against his tongue as your eyes squeezed shut tightly, “Mm! Jungkook…!” It was hard to focus on any sort of task when he was putting you through this, his hands squeezed warningly immediately putting you back to work.

Your hand wrapped around the base of his cock before lightly tugging it, your tongue dragging on the sensitive underside of his shaft.

A hiss escaped Jungkook’s and his impatience attempting to get the better of him as his hands squeezed your ass before his mouth attached back to your clit, suckling and pressing his tongue down against it, flicking it rapidly making it difficult for you to do anything escape whimper against his cock as you attempted to keep the same energy for him.

Squeezing a little on his base you took his tip back inside your mouth before bobbing your head as your legs trembled from the force of his tongue roughly playing with your clit, a hand smacking your ass making you jump but your hips were forced to stay in place with no choice but to take it as your eyes began to water.

Taking his cock further into your mouth intending to go all the way until it hit the back of your throat, you could feel the pleased expression from Jungkook due to his moans of contentment on your cunt, his hands soothingly rubbing your thighs in coax to keep going for him. Wanting to please you hurriedly took a deep breath before slowly sinking further down his cock, your throat immediately stinging unpleasantly and your eyes watering as you heard low moans and long sigh of contentment from Jungkook, “Mmm, what a good girl, so good baby, keep going, keep sucking that cock.” His lips parted, dragging his tongue back to your clit making you gag on his cock as you whined, backing your hips further against his face in desperation.

You bobbed your head sloppier at the feeling of his tongue delicately flicking your clit before he wrapped his lips around the tiny bud, something about the sensation sending you feral as the orgasm suddenly lit through your veins making you gag and whimper as your body squirmed against him.

Jungkook’s hips lifted a little at the feeling of your mouth wrapped so tight around him, “Ah fuck! Such a good little slut for me baby, fuuck.” Jungkook let his head rest back on the couch as he sighed contently, his hands soothingly squeezing your ass cheeks as his lips parted a little, “Shit, shit baby! Mmm.” Your throat was painfully stinging and salvia was pooling down your chin before you pulled off him briefly to take a deep breath, “Such a good girl baby,” Jungkook cooed coaxingly, “C’mon baby, ride that cock for me, wanna watch you go dumb on my dick.”

You whined a little, wiping your face with your arm before you carefully further down the couch, Jungkook’s hands guiding your hips to stop just at his cock which was bobbing in seek of friction. Your walls felt empty clenching around nothing and you wasted no time changing that.

Sinking down on his tip you closed your eyes as a shallow moan escaped you, the feeling of his thick shaft splitting you open as you began bouncing on top of him.

“Fuck baby, what a nice little wet cunt, keep going sweetheart, keep fucking going.” Jungkook inhaled through his teeth, trying to compose himself from wildly slamming himself into you like he wanted too, “Faster baby, I know you can take it.” You whine, lowering onto your forearms for more leverage as your hips started bouncing faster, your walls clenching around him harshly and his tip hitting all the right spots inside you as you whined with a shaky breath, sinking all the way down on him slowly before wiggling your hips.

This notion made something inside Jungkook twitch before he growled impatiently, his tip nearing an angry bright red as he pulled out of you making you jolt a little as you shifted, being broken out of trance as you whined, “Jungkook…!” He wasn’t having any of it though, sitting up he shoved you further down onto the couch making you whimper as he yanked your hips up.

“I know my little baby was having her fun but do you feel this?” Jungkook situated himself on his knee’s, your cunt presented to him as he slapped his cock against it as your lips quivered, “That’s your fault babydoll.” You didn’t even have a chance to defend yourself before the head of his cock pushed inside you once more only this time being at his complete mercy before Jungkook took liberty and slammed into you.

Your body was being jolted and your hands were hanging onto the couch arm for dear life as you cried out, “Ah! Fuck, fuck, Jungkook…!” You whined at the force his hips were slamming into you at, Jungkook was having none of it though, reaching out as he grabbed a fist full on your hair yanking it as his balls slapped against your skin hard enough to make you weak in the legs.

“Don’t wanna hear a single word from you baby, you’re gonna be my little fucking cum dump yeah?” Jungkook’s breath was hot against your neck as his cock pushed before inside you, staying nice and snug in your cunt as he roughly thrusted harder into you making your body jostle with every motion.

Just the thought had your walls squeezing around him as he moaned, “That’s right baby, you want this tiny cunt to be used to take all my cum? My little cumslut.” Jungkook’s jaw clenched at how loud you were beginning to moan, your body withering and shaking which was only giving him more motivation to keep going, his hips slamming harder and harder as your thighs trembled and had a harder time staying up.

“Go on baby, cum all of this cock, I can feel this little cunt wanting it, cum.” Jungkook nearly barked out with a growl, his cheating pressing against your back now, letting go of your hair in trade of your throat as he squeezed it tight making a breathy moan escape you, your vision nearly blacking out at how hard you abruptly came again, not even registering how loud you were moaning and whining beneath him.

Jungkook pressed his forehead against your shoulder blades as he swore with gritted teeth, his hips burying inside you as he let himself go, hot substance shooting up inside you as he moaned softly, swiveling his hips a little to ride out his orgasm as he buried his face into your neck, “Fuck baby, feels so good.” He mumbled with a rasp as he pecked a kiss on your neck.

Your body was rapidly trembling and you could hardly even speak as you melted into the couch trying to wrap your brain around how hard you just got railed.

Jungkook happily nuzzled into your neck, a small smile on his face as he began pressing kisses into your neck, “Love my baby so much, you did such a good job.” His hands rubbed against your waist approvingly making you wiggle a little, a tiny smile on your lips as you mumbled, “Were you mad at me…?”

Jungkook’s nose nudged the crook of your neck against as he shifted a little to lay on top of you, his cock slipping from you making your legs twitch a little as he pressed another kiss on the back of your neck this time, “No? Jus’ wanted to fuck you senseless,” You huffed as he chuckled a little, “You weren’t complaining baby, say it back.” He poked your side as you wiggled a little, “C’mon say it, I wanna hear you say it baby.”

You whined a little before wiggling, managing to turn yourself over to lay on your back, “Love you too Koo.” Jungkook practically looked like he was glowing as he collapsed against your chest, tiny kisses being placed on your collar bones as you cocooned yourself against him, happily soaking in all of the attention.

Note: It’s been such a cute little break in the story guys!!! I hope you’re prepared for the final four chapters coming up soon because !!! things get a little intense!!

(Taglist CLOSED)

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#bts #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader smut #jungkook smut #jungkook imagine #bts jungkook #bts x reader #bts imagine #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x y/n smut #bts au

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liquid-luck-00 · 3 years

Text

Safety Net 2

Part 2

Day 9: Teen Titans @maribatmarch-2k21

Ao3 *** Part 1 *** Here *** Part 3 *** Part 4 *** Part 5

This is based on Teen Titans Judas Contract

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette became a fully fledged Talon when she turned 18. Six years with the court before they turned her, as to not arouse suspicion with a child. She doesn't remember the events that led to her leaving but she did. She supposes it is the fact she is a Talon that repressed her memories but that doesn't matter the court and all the other Talons are dead. She kept a single vial of the only poison that could end her life. She left not looking back.

She actually didn't get far when she first saw him. His swords danced, connecting to his target, death etched on his blade edge. Then he vanished.

She would see him again and again as she moved from city to city, state to state, even from country to country. One night as she watched the London sky, from her perch in Big Ben, did he come to her.

"Who are you?" His mask deepened his voice, made it colder and more robotic. She turned to look at him, not saying a word, and then turned back to the city.

He apparently didn't appreciate her silence as he stalked closer to her. "Who are you?" he growled the question, the sword tip pressing into her neck, but she didn’t move.

"Talon." was choked out. The voice was gruff and scratchy from being unused. That single word seemed to answer a few of his questions.

"The Court?"

"Gone"

"Orders?"

Now she simply shook her head. The sword was removed from her neck and was placed back in its sheath.

"How would you like to have your own agency again?" His voice was still gruff and cold. It held authority but it was human. She turned to see he had removed his mask. His hair was stark white, small scars littered his face, his eyes were cold and calculating, yet they didn't lie.

Her mouth opened slightly before she closed it. A deep buried resolve began to surface as she nodded in answer.

She followed Slade Wilson out of the bell tower.

---

She was then embedded into the League of Assassins. This was where they needed patience.

She didn't speak, they thought her mute, she played along. Yes she could withstand life threatening hits, but she didn't let them happen. She would strike faster, hit harder, she made herself stronger, so they called her ruthless. She didn't oppose.

Above all she was patient.

The day the coup was to happen she was guarding the Lazarus Pit.

Silently she killed the guard stationed with her and walked into the pit. The water was both cold and scalding. A fog began to enter her mind but she pushed against it. This was no time to be confused or dazed. She felt the chains and commands programed into her by the court, so she pushed against them too until they broke. She breached the surface of the pit. Shakily she stood, breathing heavily, she began to dress, quickly noticing her skin became more pink and her mind was clear. She had to leave this room as, the alarms rang signaling the coup, she ran out, fully dressed and hidden.

She took her position in the cockpit of a helicopter and soon only she and Slade were alone in the air. The others scattered in order to build up a base of operations. An hour later they landed in a small air field where a jet was waiting for them. They transferred their things and took to the skies again.

"How do you feel?" Slade asked her not long after putting the plane on auto pilot.

"Light," her voice was clearer, still raspy, but there was inflection and life traced through the word.

"Anger, fury, bloodlust?" He pressed.

"None." she shook her head.

"Interesting," he murmured.

"How bad?" she pointed to his wrapped head and covered eye.

"We'll find out once we talk with the Doc," a scowl appeared on his face. "so what's your name, because it isn't Talon"

"Um..." she thought hard and long. she had been called Talon for so long, but what did they call her before, "Grayson. They called me Grayson before they called me Talon."

---

Slade became her mentor of sorts, they would spar and train to learn their new bodies and limitations. In fact it was easy for them both. She became known as Phoenix. Her uniform was similar to her Talon one, but while Talon was gold Phoenix was a deep crimson. The helmet was replaced by a hood and a half mask that extended from her hair line to her nose. She took to being a mercenary rather fast, but all things considered it wasn't that far of a stretch.

The only thing that troubled her, were her nightmares, or were they dreams. But they didn't feel like something her subconscious had created. They felt like memories begging to be remembered. She would fly through the air as if on gilded wings. A pair of inviting and smiling-azure eyes of a little boy. A warm smile and reassuring embrace of the same boy would appear constantly. Then the fall, she never hit the ground, but she continued to fall. The cold and dark embraced her smothering her until she woke up.

---

She never stayed in one place long but sooner or later she would always pay Deathstroke a visit. It isn't that she is attached to the Mercenary. Sure she is grateful to him but it's like if she stays close she will find a missing piece of her puzzle. On one of these trips back she met her. A teen with blonde hair and blue eyes, Terra. She was met with a less than warm welcome but oh well.

"What's up old man!" she joked. Slade glared at her and nodded in greeting.

"We have a job."

"What is it?" she sat on the couch.

"Infiltrating the Teen Titans."

"That's what the kid's for," she hummed. "What can she do?"

"Meta. Geokinesis."

"Disassemble the little league before the big one." A calculated smile spread across her lips.

"I knew I kept you around for something." was his answer. To anyone else it would have seemed hostile, but she simply rolled her eyes at the remark.

"Any old memories come back?"

"Nah-uh." She lied, keeping the kind blue-eyed boy a secret, they both went to work.

It was idiotic how easily Terra integrated into the Titans. Slade helped her enhance her power, while Grayson was supposed to help her gain refined control but the younger girl wouldn't listen to her. Grayson couldn't do anything about that, she could support Terra and help her but that didn’t mean the teen accepted. She wasn't her mother or even her sister.

"... Not without my twin sister." A boy's voice echoed in her mind, she tried to shake the voice from her head, but it stayed.

Twin? Sister? I have a brother? I have a twin brother?

Unfortunately all these questions swam in her mind for months as Terra infiltrated the Titans.

Everything was going relatively well until Robin decided to stick his nose in. Unfortunately this was when she learned the truth to the infiltration. They were going to use the Titans and extract their powers and life force. It made her sick. Sure she didn't exactly see eye to eye with heroes, but she saw the good they did. Hell she may be called a mercenary, but the jobs she took aligned with her morals. Even if those said morals were just a 'fuck you opposite of the court,' but it stood, it was hers.

This was how she was found by Nightwing.

"Figured you wouldn't be easy to kill. Here." she pushed a robe into his hands. "Your team is held this way" she started to walk but he hadn't moved.

"What are you doing?"

"Look you can trust me or not, but those are just kids. I will not be the one to let them give their lives without consent or reason."

"Sounds like your speaking from experience."

"So what if I am."

Nightwing jumped down and the fight began. She went and unlocked the restraints on the Titans and jumped into the fight. She, Robin, and Nightwing were all fighting against Deathstroke when Terra regained consciousness. Both Robin and Nightwing stopped their onslaught but Phoenix knew how Terra fought, she knew how to work with the girl. Unfortunately she was thrown over towards Nightwing and Robin, a quadruple somersault led into a rollout allowed her to land safely from the throw.

"Terra!" she yelled.

"Stay out of it Grayson, Slade is mine." A desperate yell escaped the girl, as she unleashed her power. One of the Titans tried to help, but Terra moved him towards the others.

"I'm sorry." Grayson whispered, before she pulled the heroes to safety. They got out moments before the entire thing collapsed.

"Who are you?" A katana was pointed at her neck.

"More importantly the somersault and the name, Grayson, how would you know those?" Nightwing questioned.

"The name is a memory from before," she responded. "And the somersault is just in grained in muscle memory by now." She shrugged and turned to leave but was stopped. "Look I don't want to fight and I don't want to stay so..." None of the heroes said a word but circled around her. 'Sigh' "I'm not gonna get out without a fight huh?"

"That would be correct."

"Fine." Her hands went up in a placating motion, before reaching into a pocket.

"Stop that."

"Relax little birdie." she pulled out a small ring of keys, tossing them to Nightwing. "Don't know about you but I prefer to not walk over two hours to get to Jump city."

They all got to the car but as it only fit five and there were seven of them something had to give. Well she was sat in the middle back seat between Raven and Robin, Beast Boy turned into a cat and sat on her lap. Nightwing was behind the wheel, Blue Beetle on the passenger side, while Starfire flew above them all. Between the awkward silence and closed space she was lulled into a restless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @adrestar @miraculouspenta @vixen-uchiha

Taglist: @alysrose-starchild

#dc x miraculous #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #miraculous x dc #maribat #dickinette #dickinette twins #maribatmarch2021 #teen titans #judas contract

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kyber-crystal · 3 years

Text

steady || obi-wan kenobi

summary: even amidst the chaos of the war, obi-wan is always there to remind you that you don’t have to carry your burdens alone.

words: ~1.8k

warnings: mentions of death, violence, flashbacks to traumatic events (essentially mild PTSD), angst-to-fluff, mutual pining (oops my cliche side has jumped out here)

a/n: requested by the one and only @rentskenobi !! i’m sorry if this was really bad lol this is actually my first time writing for him. the middle-end was really poorly written i’m so sorry fffff

The war was beginning to take a toll on you.

It was affecting everyone to an extent, of course. As you walked around the halls you were met with tired eyes and lowered, worn-out voices telling you that you weren’t the only one who felt completely drained.

You threw yourself into your work—working extra hours with the Council and helping strategize battle plans, organizing committees and having longer meditation sessions with Yoda. If sacrificing a good night’s sleep was what it took to keep all the intrusive thoughts at bay, then you were more than willing to take up on the offer.

You did your best to keep your head held high but as time passed, it grew increasingly difficult. Hope seemed too far away on the horizon for you to reach out to it and actually believe it was in fact, going to get better. You were trying, but it got harder every day.

And Obi-Wan noticed. As a Jedi, you’d trained yourself to show no emotion whatsoever, or very little if you ever did—but being as observant as he was, he was quick to notice. It was all the little things that gave it away—the way you were constantly clearing your throat before speaking because it sounded hoarse and wobbly—as if you were on the verge of tears, the dark circles underneath your red-rimmed eyes, and how your hands always went up to fiddle with the moon-shaped charm he’d given you that hung from your neck.

You hadn’t eaten or slept in a solid six days. The dull migraine at the back of your head and sharp hunger pangs in your stomach told you to rest up and get proper nutrients into your body, but you ignored them. Maybe if you keep yourself on your feet, it’ll be easier to forget, you told yourself.

But no matter how much you tried to convince yourself that you were okay, the guilt still sat heavily upon your shoulders.

You knew you could’ve stopped them; you had all the power to. But you didn’t. You couldn’t, and you failed.

It was only a few weeks into the war when you’d lost your old mentor, your friend, your parental figure whom you stayed close to long after you’d completed your Trials—and, being who you were, you took it upon yourself to put all the blame on your shoulders. Because technically, it was, was it not? You knew if you’d gotten there in time, if you were even just the tiniest bit faster and more observant and paid better attention, she would be alive.

You caught a glimpse of your reflection in the bathroom’s mirror as you entered your quarters, and did a double take.

Gripping the edges of the sink, you stared back at the woman in the mirror. Her hair, normally plaited in elegant braids or pulled back into an updo, tumbled loosely and informally down her shoulders. Were those eye bags always there to begin with? Or had they recently appeared?

It was maybe half an hour or so later that you finally crawled into bed—without bothering to change. Fatigue was pressing down on your body rather heavily, but sleep never came.

You woke up screaming.

There was no way in hell you were going back to sleep—not when the prospect of your premonitions coming true were still fresh in your mind. You weren’t going to lose him the way you lost your master—the thought alone was too much to bear.

Without thinking about what you were doing, you got out of bed and quietly made your way down the hall.

Obi-Wan yawned as he opened the door and rubbed his eyes with one hand. “It’s 2 in the morning, what—Y/N, what are you doing awake?” He immediately paused when he saw the remnants of teartracks on your cheeks, falling silent as he placed a gentle hand on your back and ushered you inside.

Without a word, you climbed into bed, and Obi-Wan didn’t say anything either as he pulled the sheets over you.

You longed to be like him—to spend your nights not worrying about being plagued with terrifyingly realistic nightmares, to fall asleep almost at the very moment your head hit the pillow. The last time you remembered such a thing happening to you had been nearly a full year ago—but with the way time passed you by now, it felt like a lifetime. You wanted to ask Obi how in Force’s name did he sleep so well amongst an intergalactic war with seemingly no end to all its pain and suffering?

"What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” you mumbled as you turned your face more towards the pillow. It smelled just like him—warm coffee and citrus—and for a moment, it seemed to calm you down.

He sighed, and carefully slid in between the sheets right next to you. “Why don’t you try and sleep, alright? You need rest.”

"Mhmm.”

“Now get some rest, my love.”

You woke up sweating bullets, chest rising and falling as you struggled to catch your breath. You initially panicked when you looked around and couldn’t see Obi-Wan, but your shoulders sagged in relief upon seeing he was still there, sleeping peacefully right next to you, his hand brushing against yours ever-so-gently.

He stirred in his sleep slightly as you pushed yourself up into a sitting position.

“Y/N?” he mumbled, still only half-conscious as he turned to face you, immediately sitting up as well as he saw you staring blankly ahead. “Y/N. Are you alright? You’re trembling.”

“I’m fine,” you replied, but the shakiness in your tone gave it away. “Obi-Wan, go back to sleep. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” He took your hand in his, gently rubbing patterns into your palm. Force, the way his blue eyes shone brightly even in the dark...the way the seemed to stare straight into your soul...

“I can’t sleep.”

Obi-Wan paused for a moment. He got up out of bed and motioned for you to do the same.

“What are you...”

“Shh. Come with me, there’s something I want to show you.”

His warm hand slipped into yours again as he led you down the hallway and up a long, winding staircase, and kept holding on until you finally reached the top, pushing open the heavy doors together to reveal a sprawling, open balcony.

“What is this place?” You were practically speechless as you stared up at the star-littered sky.

“It’s one of the meditation balconies...I often come here when I find that I can’t fall back asleep. Stargazing is rather helpful in clearing the mind.”

“It’s beautiful,” you exhaled. “It’s so hard for me to find time to come even during the day...”

You sought solace in staring up at the skies. It was rare, being able to gaze upwards into a cloudless, clear abyss when you were so often surrounded by the atrocities of war. So you were grateful for any night in which you were able to see the stars.

“You seem tired,” he noted, gazing worriedly at your appearance.

“Who isn’t at this point?” you exhaled, faking a laugh. “I’d be genuinely surprised to find someone around here who gets adequate rest.”

“Y/N, please tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m fine, Obi-Wan. I keep telling you there’s no need to worry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“What?” The sudden sternness in his tone took you by surprise.

“You’re not okay, Y/N. You haven’t slept properly in a week, nor have you had any proper nourishment along with it. You almost passed out in the middle of sparring with Anakin, and Master Windu released you from yesterday morning’s meeting early because you were on the verge of knocking out cold. You don’t think I’ve noticed? I’m worried...if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, how am I supposed to help?”

You bit your lip and anxiously fiddled with your thumbs. “I haven’t slept in six days. Seven...if you count when I fell asleep during that meeting.”

“A week? If you keep it up, you’re going to fall ill. You almost have.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

You shook your head. “I had a bad dream."

“And you didn’t bother to tell me?” Obi looked more concerned rather than upset. “Y/N.”

“I didn’t want to be a burden to you. You have enough on your plate as it is,” you mumbled.

“You’re not a burden. I’d much rather listen and help you than have you go through it alone.”

You let out a long sigh and crossed your arms over your chest, staring blankly out at the darkened horizon. It seemed that everything nowadays served as some sort of bad omen. “I’ve been having these dreams for months on end...but I don’t even know if that’s what you can call them anymore. And I can’t lose you. I can’t let any of this become real.”

“You won’t lose me, Y/N, you have my word.”

“Are you sure?”

“Dreams pass in time.”

Releasing a shaky breath, you leaned forward and pressed your forehead against his broad shoulder, letting him slide his arms around your waist and gently kiss the top of your head. He lets his lips linger there; neither of you say anything about it.

Obi-Wan found himself going down a risky path. He knew better than to grow attached. But now that he was made well aware of your fear over losing him, his equal fear towards having you taken away from him as well had become too prominent for him to to keep brushing off to the side. If he couldn’t do so much as protect himself from imminent danger, he would do everything in his power to keep you safe under his wing for as long as he could.

He glances down at your peacefully dozing figure for several moments. You looked so serene, so young, while you slept all curled up against him and wrapped up in the sheets. And right then and there, the thought of wondering how it’d be to wake up next to you every day for the rest of his life hits him like a truck.

Brushing your hair away from your forehead, he places a hand to your face and skims his thumb across your cheekbone. He wants to stay like this, even if it’s only for a little while longer.

This isn’t right, he tells himself. But he can’t resist; there’s something about you that prevents him from doing so.

“You’re staring,” you mumbled, eyes still closed.

Obi blinked in surprise, slightly taken aback. “You’re awake.”

“...What time is it?”

“Half past nine.”

“I’m going back to sleep,” you muttered, throwing the sheets over your face to cool yourself down. Despite your effort, you could still feel your face burning. “I haven’t rested in six days. Goodnight.”

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss your forehead. “Alright. Sleep well, my love.”

tags (including sw mutuals that might be interested): @haydens-moles @thedevilwearsbeskar @propertyofdindjarin @arkofblake @stardust-kenobi @poesflygirl @voguesir @fl0ating @anakinswhore @rynhaswritersblock @dracos-jedi-marvel @marvel-dameron

drop an ask to be added or fill out my taglist form here!

#star wars #obi wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan imagine #star wars fluff #star wars imagine #obi wan kenobi x you #obi wan kenobi x y/n #obi wan x reader #star wars preferences #star wars fic #i'm sorry this wasn't the best #i feel so bad bc this is long overdue #but i hope you enjoy

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dahbeez · 4 years

Text

MIRROR CONFESSION

Paring: peter parker x reader

Summary: You’re in love with your best friend, and with the help of his awkward rehearsing, you find out the truth.

Warnings: fluff, language

Word Count: 2.6K

Author Note: English isn’t my first language and this is my first fic here on tumblr! Reader is female unless specified otherwise.

Lately, your friendship with Peter Parker has been the most confusing thing in the world. Well, Peter alone was a mystery most of the time. Sneaking out in the middle of sleepovers, skipping classes and then coming back with bruises that took only a few hours to heal; that was all Spider-Man’s signature, you knew that. Plus, Peter constantly looked around him like he could hear every single conversation in the hallway, every sound and whispers. But you got used to all of it, and you had put two and two together quickly after finding out that he was the infamous web-slinger.

Recently, the way he acted around you had your eyebrows knot together in a frown most of the time, especially since you couldn’t attached his weird behaviour to his alter ego. He would be his normal, nerdy self, rambling about the next Star Wars movie, a Lego puzzle he had yet to build or, the most frequent topic of discussion, the 'Stark Internship'. You would smile up at him, beaming at the constant happiness that seemed to radiate from Peter. Then, as his eyes would meet yours, he would immediately blush and stutter. Of course, Peter was a shy person, which actually made him look even cuter than he already was. But every time he would caught you smiling at him, it’s like he forgot to breathe. And in the next seconds, he would find a reason to escape his feelings and run towards the next class, or whatever else excuse he had in mind in those moments. It left you eyes wide and jaw dropping every times, you being completely obvious to the real meaning behind Peter’s actions.

It didn’t help that you had fallen head over heels in love with your best friend. You were a living cliche teenage girl who was infatuated with her closest friend, and you couldn’t help but feel sad that Peter was avoiding you. Part of it was because you missed your best friend, but the other part was because you couldn’t bare to lose this unique connection you had with your first crush.

Any third party, let’s say Ned, would hit their head against a wall repeatedly at the sight of you two. You were obviously in love with each other’s but also completely obvious to one another’s feelings. Ned had given up long ago on the two of you confessing their feelings, and he simply resumed on looking desperately at his two clueless best friends suppressing their feelings like it was some kind of disease.

"Y/N," Ned’s muffled voice brought you out of your thoughts, his mouth half-full with whatever was on the cafeteria menu today. "You with us?"

"Yeah," you nodded, brushing away a strand of hair that fell from your ponytail, "sorry, I was just thinking."

You then noticed how Peter seemed to have been stuck in a daze just like you, letting his fork mix the food on his plate without taking a bite, and furrowing his eyebrows in deep thought. It also often happened around you, but not when he was just with Ned. It made you rethink about the previous events of the week, trying to find out what you could have possibly done to either make him so flustered or lost in his mind. Had he found one of your tampons at his place? Your cheeks flushed at the possibility, thinking that most guys would be uncomfortable at the discovery of a bloody pad in their bathroom’s trash can.

"I can’t make it tonight, for movie night," Ned continued, not letting Peter’s lack of words and attention affect him. "My mom wants to spend some 'family quality time' or whatever that means."

He groaned and you chuckled, not registering quite yet that Ned’s absence meant that your sleepover at Peter’s would be awkward if the boy kept acting like a stammering mess in front of you.

"That’s a bummer," you sighed, actually a bit disappointed that Ned couldn’t make it. "Guess it’s just you and me, Peter. Peter?"

Ned waved a hand in front of his friend’s face, breaking whatever trance Peter was stuck in. He flinched, eyes peeking up to meet yours and immediately his cheeks flushed pink.

"Earth to Peter, Peter do you copy?," Ned joked, and a hint of a smile ghosted on Peter’s lips before he suddenly grabbed his barely touched tray of food and stood up. You frowned.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I’m gonna go, I- I have homework to do, uh," he looked around a bit, which gave away his lie as he seemed to pounder what he should say next, "at the library! Yeah, studies you know, big exams coming. Okay, bye."

Both you and Ned were left mouth agape, eyeing the escaping form of your best friend exiting the cafeteria.

"That was weird," you murmured, eyes squinting in the direction Peter had taken after getting rid of his plate. "The library’s literally the opposite way."

Ned shrugged. "Peter’s just weird."

But you couldn’t possibly compare Peter’s usual weird antics to the scene that had just unfolded in front of your eyes. Holding back a huff, you brought your attention back on your other friend, and resumed your lunch break.

***

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

That seemed to be the only word swirling around Peter’s mind, which would’ve probably made Aunt May and Captain America scold at him if they could hear his thoughts right now.

He groaned internally, gripping the pole tightly as he waited for the subway to bring him closer to his apartment. The rest of the day after lunch break had been filled with his not so subtle attempts to avoid you. And the look of hurt that you sent towards him every time your eyes met in the hallway had his heart beating faster than ever and guilt eating away at his soul.

He had undeniably, harshly, strongly, irrevocably, fallen in love with you.

And he realized quickly that loving you platonically, was not the same as being in love with you. You were gorgeous, one of the smartest person he had met (and his mentor was Tony Stark), kind and generous, and gosh your smile.

His grip tightened on his backpack strap as he exited the subway, walking the few blocks that kept him from his apartment.

Ever since he had realized the true feelings he arbored for you, he had tried to hide them. Which, when you were Peter Parker the open book, wasn’t easy. At all.

He just couldn’t act normal around you anymore, knowing that all he wanted to do was confess his feelings. He wanted to hug you, hold your hands, kiss your cheeks, your nose, your temple, your lips, your jaw, your neck, the valley between your—

Peter’s eyes widened at the filthy thoughts, and he bit his lower lip. All day, and all week, he had been trying to figure out how to confess his feelings for you. Unknowingly, he had shut you out, too deep in thoughts or too embarrassed to keep up the best friend act.

The boy sighed as he walked in his apartment, barely acknowledging May who was making cookies. He was ready to jump on his bed and fall asleep for the rest of his miserable existence. But first, he needed to figure out what to do. And with the nerve wracking idea of finally telling you how he truly felt, Peter looked at his disheveled hair and pink tinted cheeks in the mirror. With a deep breath, he started rehearsing.

***

Unbeknownst to him, you were not so far from his place. You had dropped your schoolbag at your house and gathered your things, determined to go at Peter’s place and find some answers. Plus, he hadn’t called or texted to tell you that your night at his apartment was canceled, which gave you a little bit of hope.

You kept replaying every second spent in his presence in the last few weeks and you couldn’t find a clue on what could have gone wrong between you two. The tampon theory was actually the best explanation at the moment.

Your mom dropped you at his place, noticing how you had filled your backpack to the brim with numerous movies, snacks and clothes for the night and the next day. Grateful, you kissed her cheek before escaping the comfort of the car. For the first time in forever, you were nervous at the perspective of spending the night at Peter’s. Part of it was because of his behaviour, and the other main reason was because of the butterflies and fireworks that erupted in your stomach whenever you got lost in his doe eyes.

"I’ll pick you up tomorrow, honey. Just call me if you need anything!"

Your replied a simple 'see ya' and made your way inside the building.

Knocking at the Parker’s door, you were greeted by one of your favourite human being and the smell of burnt cookies.

"Hey, Y/N," May opened the door and smiled, bringing you into a small hug which you returned immediately.

"Hey, May," you smiled. She led you inside, and you got rid of your shoes, leaving them next to the front door.

"I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever," she deplored, going back to the kitchen and grimacing. You held back a laugh, noticing how the smell of ruined cookies lingered in the air.

"Yeah, uh," you went and grabbed a cookie on the counter, eyeing the black burning snack with doubt, "I missed your cooking."

She raised an eyebrow, amused at your words. You smiled sheepishly and put the cookie back in its plate, knowing that it will probably end up in the trash anyway.

"You don’t know how to lie, honey," she chuckled and grabbed the nearest bowl to clean. "Peter’s in his room."

You gulped and nodded, remembering what you came here for in the first place.

You walked down the small hallway towards your best friend’s room, fist raising in order to knock on its door and announce your presence.

It was already cracked open, you noticed, and you heard your friend’s mumbling through the tin walls. Ned probably made it after all, you thought, pushing the door softly as to not startle them.

The sight in front of you could’ve been either amusing, extremely weird or embarrassing.

Because in the middle of the room, facing the small mirror not so far from his bed, stood your best friend and first ever crush. Fidgeting with his fingers and slightly swaying on his feet, he was talking to himself. No, rehearsing.

"... that doesn’t work," he let out a deep breath, and you stood there, witnessing his nervous rambling. He surprisingly didn’t noticed you despite having his sharp spidey senses. He cleared his throat.

"Okay, uh. Right. So, Y/N," your eyes widened at the mention of your name, but the boy still hadn’t picked on your presence yet, "you are the prettiest— no no, that’s not enough. Uh, you’re gorgeous and funny and super kind, and uh, yeah!— your smile is like, so fucking bright. Erm, you— you’re my favourite person and I love how you ramble about your favourite books and how you always look out for others and put them first, even before yourself. And uh, you’ve always been there for me, always accepted and understood what Spider-Man means to me, and, well, what I’m trying to say is that— that I’m in love with you—"

"What!?"

"AHH!" Peter spun on his heals, turning towards you and tripping over a forgotten pile of clothes on the floor. With another yelp, he fell to the ground, eyes wide with shock and cheeks reddened by surprise and embarrassment. His blush reached his ears, and he sat there, looking in horror at your beet coloured face.

"I, uh, was rehearsing for the— the thing with... well it’s more of a— a presentation kinda thing, you know?"

"You’re in love with me?" you whispered, finally walking past the doorstep and closing the door behind you, trying to keep this conversation private.

Peter couldn’t believe what had just happened. He’d never felt so embarrassed in his life, and fear was eating away at him. What if you rejected him? What if your friendship was ruined because of this? Oh gosh, this was a mistake...

"I, uh, well no?— I mean, yeah," he kept stuttering, pushing himself from the floor and looking around his room, trying to avoid your stare, "but wait, what are you doing here?"

"Sleepover," you answered simply. You let your backpack fall next to his things and started fiddling with your fingers.

"Oh... OH! Fuck, I completely forgot."

You smiled faintly at the teenager who had just unintentionally confessed his feelings for you. You took a few steps towards him, noticing how he let out a shaky breath. Peter gulped. He didn’t know what else to tell you, so he stood frozen, eyes widening some more as you approached him and stopped only when you were a step away from him. You looked up at him, eyes soft and confused. You brushed away the giddy fireworks that danced in your belly with a shuddering sigh.

"Do you really feel that way about me, Peter?" you asked, your voice low and gentle. Both of your hearts were beating fast, and Peter could actually hear yours due to your close proximity and his super powers.

"Yes," he whispered, his warm chocolatey eyes still avoiding your surprised ones. "But, uh, I know you probably don’t feel the same way... fuck, forget I said anything. Gosh, I’m so sorry, I ruined—"

The thought of how cliche the situation may looked like from a third point of vue crossed your mind, but you didn’t care. You leaned forward, stopping Peter’s rambling with your lips on his own soft ones. He let out a gasp, his sentence dying in his throat as he fluttered his eyelids shut. Without a doubt, he started kissing you back, head tilting so your noses would stop bumping against each other’s.

You hummed appreciatively as his lips glided over yours, moving in sync. You raised your hands and intertwined them at the back of his neck, fiddling with the small curls of hair that rested there. He let out a moan at the feeling, blushing at the sound that escaped his lips and hit yours. You smiled, and in that moment, Peter decided that kissing you, feeling you smile against him and tasting your apple flavoured chapstick was the best thing in the world. His hands rested on your hips, and the distance between you was inexistant, yet still filled with the innocence of a couple’s first kiss.

"You love me back," he mumbled against your lips in bewilderment, pulling back slightly to take a few gulps of air. You did the same, eyes gazing into his as he finally got the courage to look into yours.

"I do," you answered breathlessly, eyes sparkling at the sight of your best friend, well, hopefully not a friend anymore. Peter blushed at the meaning behind those two words, and you giggled. "Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?"

He looked sheepishly at the ground, removing his hands from your hips so he could wash the nervous sweat away by brushing his palms over his jeans.

"Yeah... I— I didn’t know how to tell you."

You raised an eyebrow, smirking at the shy boy that you hoped you could call yours.

"So, you decided to confess to your mirror?" you teased him, and he winced at the cringe situation he put himself into.

"It’s— it’s not like that, I was rehearsing..." he tried to explain, a cute pout showing on his lips. You let out another giggle.

"Well," you brought a hand back up to his hair, going through the wild curls gently. Peter could feel himself melt under your touch, "I’m glad you did, because I’m in love with you too, Peter Parker."

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champhangman · 4 years

Text

Bleed Into the Night

Title: Bleed Into the Night Part: One of ?? Characters: Hangman Adam Page x OFC Summary: She wasn’t looking. Neither was he. For a brief flash, they found each other. Word Count:3,082 A/N: This. Is. All. Ashley's. Fucking. Fault. I hate her. Bitch.* Warnings: Alcohol use. Mild cursing. * = Actually I love her very much and this isn't so much her fault as she encouraged me to blather on about how to fit a scene I'd written into a fic, then highly encouraged me to write the fic I plotted out in the middle of the night. She's literally the best.

Tagging: @adampage / @cowboysht / @baysexuality / @lilmisswhiskeygypsy / @evilangel84 / @bigpixiefoot / @mindofasagittaruis / @kalliravenne / @sadlittlecountess / @baronsbelleevangeline / @brie-mode-activated / @xbreezymeadowsx / @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch

One

"Page!"

Adam looked up from his laptop, surprised to see Britt making her way to him. Not that her finding him for a chat was unusual. She rarely looked so excited, though. He stretched his leg to push out the chair next to him, smiling faintly when she flopped down. "What's up?"

"We're having a couple friends over this weekend. Nothing fancy. Just throwing some steaks on the grill and hanging out. You'll come, won't you?" she asked, gaze moving from him to her phone. He could see that she was texting someone. Probably her boyfriend.

Or were they engaged now? He couldn't be sure. If they were, Britt didn't wear a ring. Giving his head a small shake, he considered her invitation. "I don't know…"

"Please? We were just saying the other night that we haven't hung out in ages," she reminded him.

He sensed a trap. Either in the next few moments, or as soon as he got to their house, her face would light up and she would say—

"There's someone I want you to meet."

There it was. Adam sighed and shook his head. "Famous last words."

"Not like that! God, she's so not your type. At all."

"Then why do you want me to meet her?" he asked. Because he had to. He began clicking the pen he was holding.

"She's new to the business. Wait. Not that new. She signed over there last year I think? But she never worked the indies. Anyway, she debuted a month or so ago and Adam's taken her under his wing."

He nodded, smiling. Cole took anyone with promise and passion under his wing. "Okay?"

"And she's far away from home so she doesn't see her family much. She's from Montana. Anyway, she's been to the house a few times and I really like her." Britt smiled. "I'm not trying to set you up. I promise."

"Again, why do you want me to meet her?" He kept pushing his thumb against the top of the pen, faster and faster, until he jabbed it too hard and it went flying across the table. Dropping his hand to his thigh, he drummed his fingers and waited for her explanation.

"Because she's nice. She's super friendly and I loved her in five minutes. I don't expect you to love her!" Britt promised, holding up one hand. "So you'll come?"

Adam groaned. "Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you do. It's a free…ish country."

"But you'll guilt the hell out of me if I don't."

Britt's smile was dazzling. "Of course."

"Text me the time," he sighed.

"Yay! If you want whiskey you have to bring it. Oh, and bring a change of clothes. We'll probably end up in the pool. See you!"

He drew in a breath to reply, but she was already gone. Shaking his head, he bent to lean under the table, searching for his lost pen. He still had a suspicious feeling that she and Cole were definitely trying to hook him up with whoever it was Cole had taken under his wing. More Britt than Cole, he was sure, leaning to snatch the pen from the floor. Settling back, he wondered why seemingly normal people who fell in love were suddenly zealous about everyone around them being coupled up. He would never understand it. And he would never understand why he was always the one being set up. Did he appear lonely? Sad because he was single? Depressed because he had only his beer and whiskey to keep him company?

Well, if he did appear that way, he wasn't lonely. He began to click the pen rapidly while turning his attention back to the laptop. He lived a very full life. He was achieving his dreams. He got to work with some of his best friends. He was making good money. Could finally spoil his parents, who had more than spoiled him when he was growing up. He had an active social life. He didn't sit at home in a funk on his nights off, drinking the sadness away while listening to a melancholy Hank Williams tune. He didn't need a significant other. He was perfectly happy with his life as it was.

Okay, so he was lonely sometimes. When everyone was off doing couple things and he was left with Jack to keep him company. And those times they would go to a bar, or when they'd been on the cruise, and even though he had been surrounded by willing partners he'd been unable to do anything but down drinks and retreat to his room. Alone.

"Get a grip," he muttered to himself, throwing the pen down and resting his head in his hands. Britt had said she wasn't his type. Which meant she was… Hell, what was she?

On that note, what the hell was his type? Did he even have a type?

"I'm not going," he grumbled, reaching to pull the laptop closer to him. "I don't care. I don't give a damn if she does guilt-trip me into the next fucking decade, I—"

"You okay?"

Grunting, he looked up to see Nick standing beside him. "Yeah. I'm fine. Almost finished this bit for BTE."

"Where are you not going?" Nick asked.

"Britt and Cole's." Adam glanced to his phone, lying on the table, when it buzzed with an incoming message. With a sigh he picked it up and read the words Britt had sent.

Saturday, 5-ish. Pool! BYOB!

"Who's she setting you up with this time?"

"Damned if I know. Because I'm not going." So decided, Adam locked his phone and turned his attention fully to the laptop.

***

"Serena!"

About to leave the Performance Center, Serena halted mid-step and looked over her shoulder to see Adam Cole jogging towards her. She knew she wouldn't be leaving any time soon and let her bag slide from her shoulder. She had purposefully arrived early that morning to get extra work in the green room done, still uncomfortable with her mic skills, and had gotten permission from Matt and Sara to slip out early. She was looking forward to her days off. She couldn't wait to turn the outside world off for a couple of days, enjoy some wine, and de-stress.

"Glad I caught you. You're leaving already?" he asked, eyeing her bag.

"Shh, it's a secret," she whispered, rolling her eyes. "What's up?"

"I thought you wanted to work on your enzuigiri."

"I did. I did!" she insisted when he lifted his eyebrows dubiously. "Ask Shawn! I spent an hour today working on it!"

"At one time?"

He had her there. Groaning, she picked up her bag and turned to go back to the locker room. His laugh followed her up, and when she came back down a few moments later he was waiting with a smug smile. Gathering her hair into a ponytail, she walked with him to the empty ring on the far side of the practice room. "Why do you torture me?"

"Hey, you want to be the best, right?" he asked, hopping up onto the apron.

"At the moment I'll settle for second-best," she muttered.

"That's quitter talk. Come on." He gallantly held the ropes open so she could climb into the ring. "Fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand moves once, fear the man who has practiced one move ten thousand times."

"That's a misquote."

"It still holds credence. Show me what you got, Mermaid."

She stretched for a few moments, then launched into running the ropes with him. It was still a marvel to her that, of all people, he had decided to mentor her. She had started wrestling on a whim, practically on a dare. Somehow, all the stars had aligned in her favor for once and she had been signed to the company after her first tryout. Because, miraculously, she was good at this. She, who'd never been remotely athletic after stopping gymnastics at the age of eight.

Even more miraculously, people seemed to like her. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She'd pinched her arm repeatedly the day before she had made her NXT debut, and still expected to wake up in her old bed at home.

She landed on the canvas with a hiss. Knowing what Adam would say if she didn't, she rolled onto her back nipped up quickly and waited for him to hop to his feet.

"Keep your eye on your landing," he said, wiping sweat from his brow with his forearm. He smiled and reached for her hand. "You're doing great, kid. What are you doing over the weekend?"

"I'm not coming in to work on my enzuigiri," she warned after giving his hand a shake.

"No," he laughed once they'd climbed out of the ring. He reached for his water and tossed her hers.

She waited until after she'd taken a sip before speaking. "It's my first real weekend off in months. I'm staying home and being lazy."

"Me and Britt are having some friends over tomorrow."

"Oh, no." Serena began shaking her head. "No, Adam."

"Britt wants you to meet—"

"No!"

"Don't let her matchmaking keep you from coming over and having fun." He sighed. "Look, I know the last three—"

"Four," she corrected.

"Four times were utter failures. But still, come over and hang out? It'll be steaks and you can jump in the pool." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I kind of already told her you said you'd come."

Serena narrowed her eyes. "When did she make these plans?"

"A day or two ago…" Adam cleared his throat. "Monday…"

"Son-of-a… Who does she want me to meet?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, you've been working your ass off. And I know when you're not here you're holed up in your apartment. C'mon, just come out and have some fun. I'll keep her from throwing men in your path."

"Y'know, when you offered to give me extra help, you forgot to mention that you and your girlfriend would constantly be trying to hook me up with your friends." Serena heaved a sigh at the sight of his hangdog expression. "Fine, I'll come. But only for steaks and the pool and some socialization. But if I hear the words 'you have to meet' I'm leaving."

"Of course." He began to smile. "Tomorrow. Around five?"

"Casual?"

"You know it."

"I don't like you much right now," she informed him.

"Hey, this is all Britt's doing, not mine!"

"Why do I get the feeling you're not a hundred percent innocent?"

"Because you're a suspicious person, Mermaid."

"See you tomorrow, Cole Slaw," she promised with a shake of her head. Before she stepped away, though, she reared back to look at him again. "Just how many people will be at this shindig?"

"A few," he said, his smile too wide for her liking.

"Eight? Ten? Twenty?"

"Not twenty… A few," he said again. "See you tomorrow?"

Rolling her eyes, she considered telling him that no, he wouldn't. That she would stick to her original plans of staying in her apartment and being as lazy as humanly possible. But, she thought with a groan, she couldn't. For whatever reason, Adam and Britt had befriended her shortly after she started working at the Performance Center, and she was extremely grateful for their friendship. It made her homesickness a little less intense, knowing she had them to turn to. With a sigh, she nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

***

He was fastening the buttons of his new shirt when the realization struck.

"Goddammit, what the fucking hell," he groused, unbuttoning the shirt with a scowl. Despite his decision to not go, he was getting dressed. And, damn it all to hell, he had been dressing with care. He glared down at his boots and flung the shirt onto the bed. He refused to dress as though to impress whoever it was Britt wanted him to meet. It was casual, right? So why had he chosen his best jeans?

Still cussing under his breath he took it all off. Had his favorite old jeans pulled up when he caught his reflection in the mirror. With another scowl he raked the hair he'd spent twenty minutes fussing with into a bun and fastened it with a band before buttoning his jeans and yanking a t-shirt out the drawer.

He didn't want to go. But he pulled the shirt on and threaded his belt through the loops of his jeans.

He knew what was going to happen. He knew how it was going to end. But he gathered the spare clothes Britt had told him to bring and dug out his swim trunks.

And he grabbed the new bottle of whiskey on his way out the door.

His suspicions were raised when he pulled up to Britt and Cole's and saw only one strange car parked. He checked the time and saw that it was after five. Dragging a hand over his face he considered driving off and going back to his place. But just as he reached to put his truck in gear he saw the front door open and then Cole was waving.

And, damn it, he couldn't leave now.

Cole greeted him with an ice-cold beer and a warm smile. "Hey, man."

Adam took a grateful swig as he stepped inside, and handed over the whiskey. "Where's Britt?"

"Working on part of dinner. C'mon, we'll go chill out back." Cole led the way through the back of the house, and Adam made sure to poke his head into the kitchen to greet Britt before stepping out on the patio.

Halfway through his beer and several minutes into safe conversation, he couldn't stand it. "Alright, who is she?"

"Who?"

Adam squinted at his old friend. "Britt wants me to meet her. But she was overselling the fact that she just wants us to be friends. So, who is she? And if she's so great, why haven't I met her already?"

Cole sighed. "It's Serena. And look, this is all Britt's idea, not mine."

Adam took a swig of beer and nodded. He knew of her. Had checked out some of her work in NXT. "I'm sick of being forced into a double date, Cole."

"I know, I know. And I was gonna invite some others, but… Britt thinks her plan is perfect and that if she stresses that she doesn't want you to be romantically involved that… She just wants you to be happy."

"Jesus Christ," Adam laughed bitterly. "Am I that fucking depressing?"

"No!" His friend's voice was vehement. "You deserve happiness, Page."

"I'm happy," he ground out.

"Are you?" Cole asked softly.

Adam drained his beer and slung the bottle into the recycling bin at the corner of the patio. "Yes. I'm happy."

"Are y'all having boy talk out here, Cole Slaw?"

He turned at the soft voice that spoke from the doorway. Blinked at the sight of neon pink hair tumbling over a shoulder and a hand holding two bottles of beer. Clearing his throat, he looked to Adam. "Cole Slaw?"

"She hates me," Cole sighed.

"He loves it," she insisted, stepping out onto the patio. Her smile was friendly as she approached, and she lifted the beers in greeting. "Introduce me?"

"Serena, Adam Page. Adam, Serena Parker."

"Pleased to meet you," Adam said automatically, extending his hand.

"Likewise." Her hand was cool from her beer, but her handshake was firm.

"I'll just go see if Britt needs help," Cole announced before slipping away.

Adam watched him retreat, shaking his head in disbelief. "Un-fucking-believable."

"Here," she said, thrusting a beer into his hands. "You look like you could use it."

He accepted it with a nod and wrenched the cap off. Waited until they'd sipped in silence for several long moments before sighing. "You know what they're doing, don't you?"

"I knew the minute Cole invited me," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," he promised. He could feel eyes watching them through the window and nearly threw up his middle finger. Instead, he gestured to the pool. "You going in?"

"In a bit." She glanced over her shoulder, then looked back at him with a rueful grin. "Let's walk."

"I'm sorry they dragged you into this," he said once they'd left the patio. He didn't know why he felt the need to apologize. It wasn't his fault. Not really. "They've got it in their head that—"

"You need a partner?" she finished. "Same. It's really getting on my nerves."

He felt a surge of relief. "Really? I almost left when I realized she'd lied about having a few people over."

"I almost didn't come," she admitted. "But…"

"They're your friends and you don't want to be mean," he finished softly.

"Exactly. But god, they get on my tits. Any single man they know is perfect for me. Because, you know, a woman can't just be single and enjoying life unless she's got a man."

"Fuck, they're brutal," he agreed, relaxing slightly when it became apparent that she wasn't angling for something more than casual conversation. "I don't get it."

"Me either! Just because we're single doesn't mean we have to be thrust together," Serena proclaimed. "It's ridiculous. I don't get why once people get in a relationship they think everyone needs to be in one."

"It's like they don't think two people can just be friends." Adam smiled and took a swig of beer.

"I mean, yeah, having a partner is nice. But it's not the be-all end-all of life." She stopped at the pool and kicked off one sandal so she could trail her toes in the water.

"It should happen organically," he said.

"Yes. Not because someone thinks I'm perfect for someone or vice versa." She flicked water from her toes and turned to face him. Her smile was almost contagious. "So now we know that neither of us want to hook up just because Britt and Cole think we'd be good together."

"Absolutely," he agreed with a nod. "Want to tell them we aren't compatible?"

"No…" She shook her head vigorously, and bright pink waves caught the sunlight. "We don't tell them a thing. Let them wonder."

"You, Serena Parker, are a wise woman," he decided with a grin.

She raised her bottle and clinked it against his. "I'll fucking drink to that!"

---

#hangman page imagine #hangman page fanfiction #hangman adam page #aew fanfiction #ALL ASHLEY'S FAULT #my fics #multipart:BITN

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disneydreamlights · 3 years

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Across the Stars: Epilogue

AO3 | FFN

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Summary: Tensions between the Separatists and the Republic are climbing as the Senate debates whether there is need for an army. Anakin Skywalker, Senator of Tatooine, has recently returned to Coruscant to speak against its formation, resulting in an assassination attempt that forces him to reunite with long time friends Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and the newly knighted Padme Naberrie for his own protection. [Anidala]

A/N: Thank you to everybody who read this thus far. As I’ve mentioned on AO3 and ffn I do have plans to continue the roleswap into TCW, ROTS, and some of the stuff prior to AOTC at a future date. (Which has probably been clear by my NaNo given it’s ROTS roleswap.) If you have any requests for TCW arcs to touch on just let me know!

"Padmé, a word, please?" Padmé looked up, still fairly exhausted from the past few days, but slightly more functional than she had been as the pain from the attachment of her new arm was starting to ease, and so she had been weaned off of the painkillers and was finally working in more of a capacity than 'drug induced haze'. She wasn't surprised to see Obi-Wan in the medical rooms, he and Anakin had by far been her most frequent visitors on the rare times she was actually awake.

"Obi-Wan." Padmé pushed herself up off the bed, definitely trying to at least seem more alert than she actually was. "Am I in trouble?"

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Nothing of the sort, my dear Padawan." He sat down on the foot of her bed, but Padmé frowned. If she wasn't in trouble. "I wanted to talk to you about your mission to Tatooine."

"With Senator Skywalker?" She slurred, looking at him in confusion. "What about it?"

Obi-Wan hesitated, as though unsure whether he should bring it up at all. "Did something happen during it? Involving you and a certain young Senator?"

Padmé blinked, her brain still under the effects of the painkillers unsure of what she was hearing, or perhaps it was just her hoping that Obi-Wan hadn't picked up on what had transpired between her and Anakin. "What?"

"Padmé, we all know that Anakin has feelings for you." The honesty behind Obi-Wan's answer, caught her off guard. He wanted to know about her possible not even defined yet relationship with Anakin? "He has never made it much of a secret. Normally I'd presume the feelings are one sided, but I know you and him have always been...close. And the way he's acted during his visits, and even on Geonosis, aren't of a platonic nature." Padmé racked her brain, trying to remember through the drug addled haze of the past few days.

She knew Anakin had tinkered with her arm some, making it more responsive, but that couldn't have been what was cluing in Obi-Wan. They hadn't been significantly more physically affectionate than Padmé had been with any others who had visited. He'd grabbed her hand a few times, but there wasn't anything overly…

Right, he'd outright kissed her forehead, she'd nearly forgotten about that visit. Yeah, she wasn't going to be able to just lie her way out of this one, was she? "...they're not." She finally acknowledged. "Anakin is in love with me, and somewhere along the way I fell for him too."

Obi-Wan fell silent, his hand resting on his chin. "I see. I had a feeling something like this was coming. And I'm assuming he knows?"

She nodded. "On Geonosis...before we were going into the arena."

Obi-Wan sighed, and she prepared herself for the incoming lecture on attachments she knew was coming. "This can't go any further than it already has."

"I know."

Obi-Wan frowned, looking at the obviously guilty Padmé. "When you're fully recovered, you'll need to tell Anakin that the two of you cannot be together." For a moment, Obi-Wan gained a wistful look on his face, perhaps thinking back to another time. "You do not have to deny your feelings for him, my Padawan, but allowing them to continue to develop unchecked is against the code."

In that moment, she felt like a wayward apprentice rather than a freshly knighted Jedi, being scolded for breaking the rules she already knew. "We'll be too busy to try anything anyways right now." She responded after a moment. "We're going to have to become leaders in the war, and Anakin…" He was a senator. His goal was going to be stopping the war as quickly as he could. "I know he won't be free either. A relationship between the two of us would be destined for failure. I'll...I'll talk to Anakin about it when I'm finished recovering."

Obi-Wan smiled at her answer, and Padmé felt her stomach churn with the guilt that she had to lie. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Padmé."

"I know." And she did. Obi-Wan was her mentor, her best friend. He'd chosen her over Anakin, ignoring Qui-Gon's final wish ten years ago, and even now he cared for her happiness so much. He was telling her exactly what she knew all along, that eventually, she would have to make a choice.

Except a small, selfish voice in her head whispered that she didn't.

-x-

A little over a week later, Padmé was released from the Halls of Healing with an all clear on her ability to use her new arm in and out of combat and the rest of her wounds having been fully healed. It was weird, having a metal prosthetic now. It functioned like a real arm, touched like a real arm, and yet…

Before she could continue contemplating it, Anakin put his hand on her new one, startling her and pulling her attention away. "So, you're finally all better, General Naberrie."

"Please don't call me that." It was bad enough that once she was shipped out she'd have to hear the clones call her it near constantly. Hearing it from her friend (boyfriend? Lover? What were they?) just made her feel worse. A reminder of the war she'd had a hand in starting, that they were all trapped in now.

A mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes, and he smiled. "In that case, maybe I could suggest a new name to go with the title." She tilted her head, waiting for a response that he was only too happy to oblige. "General Skywalker."

"Are you hoping to get in on the war effort too, Ani?" She treated her question like it was a joke, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding as she realized exactly what he was implying, what he'd asked her with that statement.

"Me? No, my job is in the Senate, but my wife's job will be leading Clone Troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic." His confident smile became more nervous, as he looked up at Padmé with pleading eyes, betraying everything he wanted, everything he hoped for. "That is, if she'll have me."

"Anakin…" He waited for a moment, forever patient and understanding and willing to follow her lead for whatever they wanted. "You don't think it's too soon?"

Anakin simply smiled. "In the ten years since we've met, there's been nobody I've met who could even compare to you. If I could do it all over again, I would propose to you sooner."

Padmé closed her eyes, trying to remember Obi-Wan's warning. She'd lied to him about telling Anakin to break off what they had, but she'd figured she'd have had more time before having to make her decision fully between the Jedi Order and Anakin. "What about the war? I have to help lead Republic forces, I'm needed on the front lines, just like you're needed here. I can't leave the Jedi."

"So don't." It was as though Anakin had given the traitorous thoughts in her head a voice to finally speak with. "Stay with the Jedi until the war is over, and I'll be the husband waiting for you to come home, and doing what I can to make that war end faster." His eyes met hers, and she felt the same intense connection between them as she'd felt when they'd first reunited. Had that really only been a few weeks ago? "Please."

She kissed him as an answer they both knew to be yes.

-x-

The wedding itself had been beautiful, and the night afterwards held promises for both the week she would still be in Tatooine, and for the rest of her life so long as she remained with Anakin. Those thoughts were for later, however, as right now she was simply content to enjoy the feeling of her husband's arms around her, and the comfort he brought.

Husband. It still hadn't really sunken in yet that she and Anakin were now married to each other. That he would forever be hers and she would forever be his. And yet despite having only acknowledged their feelings for each other a few days ago, everything around her screamed that this was right. That it was where she was supposed to be, content, happy, and warm right in his arms. As she began to fall asleep, she heard Anakin speak. "I want you to take Artoo."

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes, and found herself looking right into Anakin's.

"I want you to take Artoo," he repeated. "He knows all of my tricks, and while I can't always be there to help you, he can. He's also an Astromech, and you'll have a lot more need for one in battles than I will."

Padmé nodded, surprised at the offer, but appreciative nonetheless. "Thank you, Ani." If he was giving her a droid as a wedding gift, surely she had something she could…

She wiggled out of his arms, Anakin giving her a look of confusion as she went over to her robes. "What are you looking for?"

She reached out into her pocket and pulled out the Kyber Crystal. There were already plans for her to go to Ilum to get a new crystal. The Jedi had all assumed with her lightsaber gone, the crystal too had been destroyed. "If you're giving me Artoo, I want you to have this."

"The crystal you grabbed on Geonosis?"

"It's a Kyber Crystal...the one that powered my old lightsaber." She smiled, and placed the small blue crystal in his hand. "Obi-Wan and I are going to get a new one before I go out into the field, so I figured if I'm not using my old one…"

"It's perfect." He smiled. "That way, I'll always have a piece of you with me." And she knew right away that Anakin meant it. That he would treasure the small crystal forever, just as she did the tiny piece of carved wood a little slave boy had given her all those years ago. He put the small crystal on the nightstand by the bed, and it wasn't long before they had returned to their prior position in each other's arms.

The world outside would be ready for battle, a battle in a week they would be rejoining as Senator and Jedi, but for now the outside world didn't matter. It was just the two of them.

"I love you, Ani."

"I love you too."

-x-

In the bowels of the Senate building, deep underneath Coruscant, Count Dooku arrived in his ship, undetected by the remainder of the Coruscant. He had a mission, and it would be unwise to let his master down. "The Force is with us, Master Sidious."

The hooded figure smiled, Sidious, smiled. "Welcome home, Darth Tyrannus. You have done well."

"I have good news for you, my lord. The war has begun." Everything had gone exactly as Sidious had predicted. Dooku handed him the file he had collected from the Geonosians, and Sidious uploaded them into the system.

Sidious smiled as he looked at the plans within the database. "Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

In the Jedi Council chamber deep within the temple, Yoda, Mace Windu, and the newly elected Obi-Wan Kenobi stood together, troubled as Obi-Wan finished giving his report to the other two council members. "Do you really believe what Dooku said, about Sidious controlling the senate?" It was hard for Obi-Wan to wrap his head around, at least. "It doesn't feel right."

Yoda frowned. "Joined the dark side Dooku has. Lies, deceit...creating mistrust are his ways now." Obi-Wan could only imagine what the Grandmaster of the council was going through, right now. Yoda was Dooku's master, after all, and if Padmé fell to the dark side, he wasn't sure he would be able to face it either.

"Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate," Mace said. He was right. If Dooku was lying, no harm was done. If he wasn't, then keeping one eye on the Senate might be the only thing that could stop them from meeting an early end.

"I agree." Yoda nodded, and the matter was settled. If Padmé hadn't yet broken Anakin's heart, perhaps the Senator would be willing to help them in this matter, but that was a matter for another day, another time, when she wasn't escorting Anakin back to his home.

"I must admit, without the clones, it would not have been an easy victory." Obi-Wan looked to his fellow masters to thank them for the help they provided, but before he could say more, Yoda spoke.

"Victory? Victory, you say? Master Obi-Wan, not victory. The shroud of the dark side has fallen."

"Begun the Clone War has."

#Star Wars #Anakin Skywalker #Anakin #Padme Amidala #Padme #Obi Wan Kenobi #Obi Wan #Anidala #Heather Writes

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silverspectre · 4 years

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en garde, pret, aimer! || lockwood & co.

pairing: light florence bonnard x anthony lockwood

genre: fencing(?)ish!au and also maybe straying away from canon bc what iS canon at this point, fluff, platonic main relationship, eventual angst, pre-canon??? aka beFore the series takes place

words: 3.8k

tags: fluffy!!, young lockwood nd flo, fencing stuff, apologies for the french (literally lol), i wrote this like half a year ago i’M SORRY-

what to expect: “’Why else would I be here? Tea time?’”

a/n: so this was beta-read and edited by two lovely people! i appreciate their help so much, as they’ve made this story what it is now. thank you so much @piratekingimogen and @willowwisk for your help! is this canon-compliant? someone ask jonathan stroud. this will be my last fic for a while, unless i have a spontaneous bout (pun intended) of inspiration. thank you all for your support!

translation: en garde, prets, allez = on guard, ready, go (used to start a fencing bout) / en garde, prets, aimer = on guard, ready, love (used to start this story)

The train ride from London to Paris is a particularly long, arduous journey. There's not much to see; reading a book 50 times or twiddling your thumbs is perhaps the most productive thing one can do. However, though a subjective opinion, it's a great deal less dull when in the company of a pretty girl whose name you learn through one piece of black licorice.

Florence Bonnard. It was elegant and flowed off the tip of your tongue. She was pretty; her teeth shining white and her long, blonde hair practically another shade of gold, shimmering in the sunlight. Anthony Lockwood could only stare at her.

To Anthony, Paris was a dream of any fencer. It was hailed as the fencing capital of the world, home to countless famed swordsmen and agents. He could merely wish to be like them. He was sure he was on his way, however. He'd been invited to a DEPRAC-sponsored competition in France, and of course, he absolutely had to go. His supervisor, Nigel 'Gravedigger' Sykes, forced him anyways.

He made the acquaintance of Florence Bonnard only a few minutes ago, when she huffed into the train compartment that was otherwise empty except for Anthony's doe-eyed presence. Looking upset, she plopped herself down diagonal from him. She didn't even acknowledge his existence.

"Hi?" he squeaked out. His voice was a little scratchy. He coughed, then repeated the word in a much more confident tone.

"Well? What are you?" This was the first he'd heard the girl speak.

She spared a glance at Anthony.

"I'm, uh..." He thought fast. She didn't

know him; no one on the train, as far as he knew, knew his name. He could reinvent himself, banish the name used so fondly by his parents and sister. He could be...

"I'm, uh... Lockwood. Just Lockwood. Yes. That's me."

"Lockwood... classy," she commented. She paused, in thought. "Though... I think I'll call you Locky."

"L-Locky?" Lockwood stuttered. This was not how she was supposed to react to his name.

"Locky. It practically rolls off the tongue, don't you think?" She smiled, slightly exposing her white teeth. It was a pretty sight. He could've stared at her for a second or an hour before he registered her answer.

Lockwood was caught off guard. "W-well, what's your name, then?"

She smiled a pearly white smile. "Wouldn't you like to find out," she said slyly.

A sweets trolley rolled down the aisle, pushed by a plump old woman. "Anything you'd like to buy?" She popped her head in the compartment.

The girl scanned the trolley, then made up her mind. She turned to Lockwood. "You'll have to buy me a liquorice to find out my name."

"I'll have a bag of liquorice, please," Lockwood immediately said to the lady, pulling out two pounds and exchanging it for a bag. He didn't know why he complied so easily - maybe he'd fallen under a trance for her.

He handed one to the girl, who looked momentarily startled before recomposing herself. "So, what's your name?" Lockwood asked.

"Florence Bonnard," she simply replied. It matched her, Lockwood thought. Prim and proper, it matched her perfect posture and neatly combed hair.

"You fence?"

"Why else would I be here? Tea time?"

"O-of course not, but you're just so pretty-"

Oh no. He'd let it slip.

Florence Bonnard's lips curled upward. "Thanks, Locky. I'll remember that on the piste."

He was suddenly scared to imagine Florence Bonnard on the piste, with her blonde hair tied up and her body in first position, sword ready to attack. With her confidence, double of his, how good could she be? Lockwood felt his stomach turn queasy. How good were the others on the train?

She poked Lockwood lightly. "Worried?" she teased. "En-garde," she mimicked a referee, "prets-" she made a face, "allez!" She pretended to poke Lockwood with her rapier, then laughed.

Lockwood couldn't help but laugh with her at her imitation.

"What's your agency?" Lockwood asked.

"That'll cost you a liquorice," she stated.

He handed her one.

"Sinclair & Saones. 'm an apprentice for 'em. You?"

"Nigel Sykes."

"Really?" she drawled. "You seem like the Rotwell type - well, then again, you weren't sitting with the lot in the first place."

"Rotwell and Fittes agents always win, don't they?"

"I'll give 'em a run for their money. How old are you?"

"Ten."

She looked up and down. "Alright then."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She smirked. "Nothing... When's your birthday, then?"

He told her.

"I'm older than you."

"So what? That doesn't mean you'll be better!"

Florence Bonnard smiled. "We'll see about that."

Nigel 'Gravedigger' Sykes, or just Sykes, was Lockwood's mentor. He was a bit scraggly, but not enough to make him incompetent with a sword. He was on the slightly mad side, yes, but was an extremely skilled swordsman. Lockwood was constantly amazed by his ability.

"You rely on remises too much. Practice on your footwork, you're doubting yourself too much.”

They'd been practicing for two hours - maybe more. Lockwood didn't even bother trying to count the bouts. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, his breaths hot in the mask. Lockwood's legs were sore and his arms hurt from all the attack, parry, and riposting he'd done.

The competition started in three days - Sykes had decided Lockwood needed to cram in as much practice as he could. On and off the piste, Lockwood could hear Sykes' voice in his head, telling him to Parry quarte or Eat your breakfast, it's free food! Food was accommodated at the hotel which sponsored DEPRAC for the competition. The rooming was nice as well, Lockwood being lucky enough to get a room to himself rather than most participants in the tournament who had to share a room.

When the competition finally rolled around, he'd won the first bout easily - almost too easily. Regardless, a win was a win, even against some Bunchurch agent with half a brain.

The real competition - or so he'd heard from rumours - was Quill Kipps of Fittes. He was apparently a prodigy fencing-god in his mid-teens, favoured by the majority of the crowd. He was tall and ginger, from what people had been telling him. Easy to spot in crowds. Lockwood was curious to see the famous Kipps in practice - rather, he was curious to see what any Fittes or Rotwell agent could bring to the table.

Lockwood had yet to see the mysterious Florence Bonnard do her bout. He was eager to do so after showering and slipping into the stands to watch the next bouts. After a win from Alexander Fawley, and another from Emily Schreiber, Quill Kipps was up. The teen was fast, and his every move was clearly calculated. It was everything Lockwood could aspire to be.

Florence Bonnard was fast as well, to Lockwood's surprise. She was extremely quick on her feet and could get a touch faster than the referee could blink after saying allez. It was impressive, being younger than a lot of contestants- and she wasn't even a Fittes or Rotwell agent.

Lockwood considered what he'd do if he was ever tasked with being her opponent, but only for a split second. It was too unrealistic he'd make it that far. But still, he had a vivid image of her lunging, ponytail swaying and rapier thrust as the tip of her blade touched his side. Now was not the time to daydream.

The second bout passed, 14-15. Lockwood had won in a landslide, attacking the split second his opponent hesitated.

After, as Lockwood chugged a bottle of water on the side, still sweaty and clad in his fencing gear, Florence Bonnard approached him. "Good bout, Locky," she said in her sly way. "Although, your footwork could be better." His gaze was stuck on her, even as she stalked off in true Florence fashion.

"Th-thanks?" It was already too late; Lockwood just watched her straw-colored hair swish away. She was one interesting girl. He sighed, staring at her back.

Lockwood's days consisted of eating, practicing, and sleeping. He would occasionally watch other agents practice, to pick up on faults and techniques they used. That's, at least, what Sykes had told him to do. Half the time Lockwood just drifted off, staring at a wall corner or, as a current example, a blonde ponytail. ...Blonde ponytail...? It was Florence Bonnard in the flesh, practicing. Of course, Lockwood just assumed this fact, judging by the fencer's posture and hair. It was unmistakably her.

Lockwood hadn't seen her much, either because their schedules didn't match up or she barely practiced. She was very good, sharp on her feet and maneuvering like she was on ice. It was scary the way she got a touch so fast. He assumed she'd practiced a great deal privately; at least, that's how he comforted himself at the sight of her skillful rapier patterns.

Lockwood's eyes jumped to a tall ginger-haired fencer - no doubt Quill Kipps, practicing a couple metres away. He, too, was skilled. Close to Florence's level, but not quite. This could be the year someone from a small agency won - though, Lockwood couldn't keep his hopes up. Being the crowd favourite, who was to say he didn't have a couple tricks up his sleeve?

Bouts three and four passed, and just somehow, Lockwood had survived into the quarterfinals. The numbers were dwindling down; Florence Bonnard, not much to his surprise, was in strong.

The quarterfinals passed, but now that he'd won, more pressure had been draped on him. Practices stretched late into the night, leaving his muscles incredibly sore and eyelids drooping on their own accord. He almost forgot to shower one day, planning to sleep in his fencing gear. Sykes had been drilling into him much more. The lineup for the semifinals was posted; Lockwood would be fencing against Quill Kipps.

To say he was nervous was an understatement. He sweated at the thought of fencing the teen. No matter how much he analyzed Kipps' fencing, he never felt ready. Sure, he wasn't as good at Florence, but she was substantially better than Lockwood - as was Kipps. The day of the bout, Lockwood almost froze before walking in, trying not to look at the crowd. It was bigger than any he had fenced for before. He sucked in two deep breaths then pulled the mask over his face. Sykes patted him, whispered quick advice in his ear. Lockwood wasn't paying attention, more focused on the judges, rhe referee, and the feeling of his feet on the ground. He and Kipps did the salute, like any other bout.

The referee started to speak, also like any other bout. The words were muffled in Lockwood's jumbled mind. His thoughts were racing at 100 kilometers per second, tumbling around each other, unlike any other bout - but he didn't need to hear the words regardless. He knew what they were.

"En-garde."

Lockwood stared at Kipps.

"Prets."

He took a deep breath, readying himself.

"Allez!"

The bout began.

Immediately, swords clinked and clashed against each other as the agents attempted to protect themselves. Lockwood's mind went pure blank, and his body went into autopilot.

1-0. Sure, a rough start, but he could catch up.

1-1. Tied, that was okay.

2-3. Lockwood was in the lead-

5-7. Halfway there!

11-10. No, losing wasn't an option-

13-14. His sword was a blur in front of him, basically acting of its own accord. Parry, riposte, attack-! It was all too quick. Kipps had lost his balance, and Lockwood took the opportunity. He lunged, slashed with his blade just to earn a point. His blade felt something soft - he got a touch! - but then Lockwood actually looked at the tip of his blade.

Quill Kipps was stunned entirely. He'd fallen on the piste and stared up at the younger agent. The moment was silent; practically in slow motion. The crowd held their breath in disbelief.

Lockwood had struck Quill Kipps with his rapier on the bum. The judges were in shock. It was a touch, though, right? It... counted? The referee gestured, and Lockwood pulled his raper away.

The bout ended.

Lockwood won. Lockwood won, against the star of Fittes agency. Quill Kipps, meanwhile, fumed. His cheeks were redder than his hair, which was matted with sweat.

"I'll beat you next time, Anthony Lockwood..." he murmured.

The crowd was having its fun; booing in disappointment or cheering in amusement, Lockwood couldn't tell. He convinced himself it was the latter. He didn't mean to stab Kipps in the bum. It just happened. It's not like anyone ever goes into a bout thinking, "Oh, yeah, I'm going to riposte a clean one up his bum."

Sykes was impressed, though he seemed more pleased by the last touch Lockwood earned.

"You'll be going up against that Bonnard girl, so you better clean up that footwork of yours. Her bladework is quite fine, too, I'd say. Sharpen yourself up, Anthony - no pun intended."

Practice, as always, lasted to the evening - Lockwood had just gotten out of the locker room, hair wet from his shower when he heard a familiar rasping tone.

"Locky~" Florence Bonnard sing-songed, conveniently leaning on a pillar outside.

He approached her.

"Finals are tomorrow," she said, smiling. Her teeth glinted - it was charming. Her eyes shimmered a bright blue - when had he missed this feature of hers? She was breathtaking. He didn't react, dumbly nodding as he stared at her.

"Oh, and by the way? Stop staring at me sometimes, it's creepy, Locky. I know you like me, but you're too... you." She tapped his nose, ignited a blush across Lockwood's cheeks.

"Cute," she commented. "See you on the piste." She walked away in her typical manner.

Florence Bonnard beat him the next day, 13-15. It was completely fair. Her attacks were clean and precise, and she hesitated not a second. It was a blur in Lockwood's head; one second her blade was against his torso; the next, her blade had touched him 14 other times and the referee proclaimed her the winner. He wasn't disappointed, however - she, from a small agency, had won, not a Fittes or a Rotwell agent. He decided it was well-earned on her part, completely ignoring the way she had so softly put him down the day previous. She was just so attractive.

She gave him a toothy smile after the bout and patted his shoulder. "Don't be too upset, Locky." It was safe to say he wasn't.

2 years later.

It was terrible. It was one of those moments in your life where you can recount every detail of where you were and what you were doing exactly when it happened; heck, you could even recite the exact seconds.

Lockwood was reading the morning newspaper, sipping his pulp orange juice (the joys of being a blue whale!) when he read the news.

Both Sinclair and Saones (of the Sinclair & Saones agency) had died on a case, with poor Florence Bonnard being the only survivor. Florence Bonnard - the name reminded Lockwood of so much; mainly, his puppy crush on her when he was younger. He failed to see the appeal now, but platonically, she was wonderful, despite how much she demanded liquorice.

He visited her on the shorelines of the River Thames; it was mainly where she resided, to the most of Lockwood's knowledge. He slipped a bag of liquorice hidden under his coat for her.

Her appearance was slightly disheveled and a straw hat covered the half of her face.

"Locky!" she croaked, but her voice lacked its usual mirth. In fact, it was incredibly fragile; to put an exclamation mark after it would never properly do it justice. She looked cold, shivering in what appeared to be her agent clothing. Her rapier was still attached to her side.

"You're shaking." Lockwood sat beside her.

"A-am I, Locky?" she hiccupped. She took a deep, shaky breath, then laughed, an echo of bitterness and a sore throat.

"I heard what happened," he said softly. "How?"

"How else, Locky?" she said, less of a question than a horrible revelation. Her voice was terribly sad, full of pain and memories. "It was ghost-touch. I protected myself with an iron cross 'til dawn against the Limbless." Her fists clenched in her skirt. A tear dropped down her cheek - which Lockwood noticed to have fresh, small scars and what looked like to be traces of tears on her slightly muddied face. It was the exact opposite from the pristine, composed Florence he'd known for so long.

"I'm sorry."

"You needn't be."

"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

She shrugged, wincing as she touched her cheek.

"I could-"

"Don't. It'll heal on its own." He wanted to tell her to clean it as well, but he could tell she'd turn down the advice in the same manner.

"Well," Lockwood said, "what are you doing next?"

Her grip tightened on the fabric of her skirt. "I don't know."

"You could train with me," Lockwood offered gently. "I don't have an agency or anything, but-"

"I-I think I'll try that. Thank you, Lockwood."

"Also, I brought these." He handed her the bag of liquorice.

A slight smile appeared from under her hat.

Her swordsmanship was still intact. Lockwood could for sure confirm this after she'd disarmed him 5 times. She'd lost her will, though. She looked pained picking up a rapier and could barely glance at salt bombs. Lockwood didn't ask. It seemed too personal. Over the course of 3 months, nothing had changed. If anything, it seemed to be harder and harder for her to fight properly.

"Locky... I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?" Lockwood knew perfectly well what she was referring to. "You're amazing with your rapier, still."

"This whole... 'agent' thing. I-I don't think I can go back." She was incredibly vulnerable with no snarky remarks or sarcasm in her voice. It hurt him to see her like this. He'd once felt similar, in his pain-filled rage when Jessica died. He couldn't look at ghosts, couldn't bear to think of them. Unlike Florence, however, he'd had rage to direct toward ghosts; she just felt pain.

Lockwood nodded. "You're sure?"

"It's been 3 months. Every time- every time I can still see their bodies next to me. Hear the screams, see the Limbless. I can't do it."

He hesitated, then put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. But- what will you do?"

"I'll find something, I'm sure."

"I'm always here, Florence. I've been thinking about starting an agency, so if you need anything..."

Florence Bonnard smiled her classic grin. She patted his hair - he took so long gelling it in the morning.... Her blue eyes shone like the sea. "Don't worry yourself, Locky. I've got this."

For months, Florence wandered from thing to thing in search of replacement for being an agent. She hadn't found much. With the Problem raging, agents were in the highest demand, and it was hard to ignore all of the flyers and inquiries looking for one. Lockwood had been concerned she'd find nothing, constantly reminding her of his offer. One thing was clear, though: she was never becoming an agent again. She didn't need to say the words, but it was mutually understood even as Lockwood asked her to train with him.

Slowly, she gravitated toward relic collecting. It exercised her Talent, yet comforted her. She could be free from expectations, and not have to be perfect or clean; she could collect the relics on the River Thames and sell them. It would sustain her and calm her. Most importantly, it was an environment she was comfortable in.

As time went on, her straw hat became faded of color and gained splotches of mud on them. She traded her agent fit for a padded jacket and Wellington boots. It suit the job. For once, maybe she was happy.

"So, you're sure you don't want to become an agent?"

"Locky, the only reason I came was because you said you had liquorice. I'm perfectly happy as a relic woman." She smoothed down her padded jacket and adjusted her signature straw hat.

"I have my license now. I'm recruiting-"

"I'm happy where I am, thank you very much." She took a sip of tea and plopped a liquorice in her mouth.

Lockwood sighed. Florence Bonnard, as always, was impenetrably stubborn. she'd started going by Flo Bones, which was catchy, and fit her relic woman persona. Lockwood respected this. He could see how happy it made her, though not particularly sanitary. He recalled the day she'd first told him of her new occupation. They'd been sitting on the banks of the River Thames, near where Lockwood had comforted her the morning after tragedy struck her.

"So... you're becoming a Relicwoman? Where will you get the sources?"

"The river has enough," she gestured to the muddy shore of the river. "My Sight's been getting stronger."

"Be careful, Flor-"

"Oh, and Locky, I've started going by Flo Bones - it's quite fitting, don't you think? I like it. It's catchy." She'd lifted her hat, just enough to wink at Lockwood before pulling it down again.

"Well, my offer will always stand, Flo. You're a spectacular agent - you know my address. 35 Portland Row, hasn't changed."

"You haven't an agency to work for, Locky, have you?" Flo mused bluntly.

"Working on the license. I plan to open my own agency, agent run. What d'you reckon I call it? I was thinking 'Lockwood and Company.'"

Flo gave a grunt of approval. "'Lockwood and Co.' It's decent."

"Thanks, Flo."

She'd nodded. "Now go. I can't be seen hanging about the lots of the upper class. See you, Locky."

He pushed the bag of liquorices to her, the memory making him smile sadly. "It's all yours."

Lockwood couldn't find any agents willing to work for him. Flo, being one of his main friends, was painfully aware of this fact, subject to his forever hanging offer of employment.

"Oh, cheer up. Don't be lonely. You'll find someone. Lockwood & Co.! It'll be known through all of England." She softened for a second. "Anyway, I have an auction to attend." She stood up, bits of dirt falling from her jacket. "Bye, Locky!" He reached out to her then restrained himself - but she'd already exited 35 Portland Row, shutting the door behind her.

"Bye, Flo." He stared at the closed door, at his slightly outstretched hand. He could only hope she was right, and he'd find someone soon.

#lockwood & co #lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #flo bones #florence bonnard #lockwood #the screaming staircase #lockwood x flo #what is the ship name for them???#fencing #fluff #jonathan stroud #fanfic #angst #lockwood fluff #lockwood angst #lucy carlyle #george cubbins #*silverspectre

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patchwork-panda · 3 years

Text

If A Moment Is All We Are (33/?)

“Good.”

Kunikida walked around me, his gray-green eyes sweeping over my body as he took in my form.

“That’s right, Kusunoki. Keep your shoulders squared. Just like that.”

He kept circling me, his eyes traveling from my shoulders to my arms as I moved to adjust my stance. When he came to my right elbow, he paused, the neutral line of his lips dropping into a thoughtful frown as his gaze settled on my right hand.

“Kusunoki...”

I swallowed nervously.

“Y-yes?”

I felt the heat of a faint blush rising to my cheeks as he came a little closer. One large hand settled warmly on mine.

“Make sure to keep your thumb tucked under your fingers when you’re making a fist,” Kunikida said, gently taking my hand and folding my thumb into the correct position.

“If you don’t, you’ll break your thumb when you land the punch.”

“Right...”

I swallowed thickly, my mouth suddenly too dry to form the words.

“Thank you, Kunikida-san.”

Kunikida smiled.

“Of course.”

He released my hand and took a step back.

“Now then.”

He pointed his finger at the mannequin in front of me, which was actually just a large inflatable roly-poly toy (okiagari-kobōshi) someone had scrawled an angry face on with a Sharpie.

“Punch him.”

I glanced from Kunikida to the doll, clenching and unclenching my fists in preparation as I stared down the doll with its beady black eyes.

Okay, here goes nothing...

Clenching my fists as tight as I could, I cocked my right arm back exactly the way Kunikida had shown me and released my punch. Wind whistled past my knuckles. A sharp, audible crack echoed throughout the room as my fist made contact with the doll. I looked to Kunikida as it reeled away from me with a loud squeal, my heart pounding in my throat and my fist stinging slightly from the hit.

“Not bad.”

Kunikida’s smile grew just a tiny bit wider and I instantly felt my heart beating faster at the acknowledgment. Nodding approvingly, the tall blonde gestured at the doll, which was slowly but surely uprighting itself on the tatami mat floor.

“Do that again. Other hand this time.”

I nodded back and drew my left fist back, preparing to strike it again.

Day Two: my second training session with Kunikida.

Hoping to spend a little more time with my handsome mentor before training officially began, I decided to arrive a little earlier than I had yesterday—so I could join him for a full meditation session rather than just the tail end of one. To my delight, I ended up arriving at the exact same time as Kunikida and I got to spend a full ten minutes sitting quietly by his side.

Just the two of us.

Alone.

Admittedly, I might’ve been just a little too excited to properly clear my mind and try to actually meditate, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. And at least I was able to think about someone other than Dazai today...

In fact, I was actually kind of excited to continue where we left off yesterday. Sure, maybe Kunikida was wearing a T-shirt under his gi this time (probably for the better. I’d probably die of a thirst-induced nosebleed if things had kept going the way they had) but I’d mentally prepared myself for anything and everything. I was really looking forward to learning how to break away from a sudden grab attack...

Especially if it meant getting to hold or be held by strong, handsome Kunikida...

Unfortunately for me though, after the... incident... Kunikida decided to abandon the grab counters entirely in favor of teaching me how to punch and block instead.

I guess he was still feeling understandably awkward about it.

Darn.

“Good.”

Pulling out his notebook, Kunikida paused to write something down.

“Keep it up, Kusunoki. I want to see you do that a few more times before we move on to blocking.”

I nodded and kept going, alternating between left and right punches as Kunikida walked over to the corner where a group of training dummies stood waiting on standby. I watched as he paused to look them over, his hair gleaming like finespun gold in the early morning light, his pure-white gi stretching over his broad back, his sage-colored eyes soft and contemplative as he studied the mannequins.

If only I could tell him the truth... That I really was okay with what had happened yesterday, that maybe I even liked it.

That I liked him.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, Kunikida turned around to look at me and my fist glanced off the doll’s cheek without actually hitting it.

One corner of his lips quirked upwards in amusement and I was so distracted by the way he was looking at me that it took me a moment to realize that Kunikida Doppo was smirking.

I flushed.

“Concentrate,” Kunikida rumbled, with the barest hint of a laugh.

“S-sorry.”

But my concentration was definitely shot. As I resumed punching at the doll, I found my gaze constantly wandering over to Kunikida, who was now pushing aside a training dummy that looked like it had been clawed by a large cat (probably Atsushi’s doing. If I recalled correctly, his Ability allowed him to transform into a white tiger). I watched him select the least battered wing-chun dummy in the set before forcibly returning my attention to the roly-poly doll I was abusing.

Even though Kunikida was wearing a shirt under his gi today, I could still see the way his muscles tightened as he moved...

“Kusunoki-kun.”

I stopped punching the dummy, which let out one final pained squeak, as Kunikida finally arrived with the wing-chun dummy in tow.

“This,” he said, setting it down in front of me with a heavy thud, “will be our next opponent. I’m going to use this to show you a few different blocking techniques. For that, I’m going to need your help.”

He tapped one of the three wooden pegs on the top row.

“Stand behind the dummy and move the arms towards me. Try to go slow so that you can watch what I’m doing.”

I nodded and got into position, watching and listening carefully as Kunikida taught me the moves. Fortunately, it didn’t take me very long to figure them out and a short while later, we switched off so I could practice.

“Good,” Kunikida said, nodding approvingly as I raised my forearm to block. “Keep that up, Kusunoki-kun. Just remember to concentrate.”

“Yes, sir!” was all I managed to get out before another arm came sliding towards me.

“I think you’re ready for the next phase,” Kunikida decided, the beginnings of a broad grin making its way onto his face. “What do you think? Want to try it?”

“Next phase?” I parroted, throwing my arm up in time to block another hit.

Kunikida nodded.

“Combining what I’ve taught you so far,” he said, a tiny spark growing in his eye. “I think you’re ready.”

And before I knew what hit me, that gorgeous, devilish smirk reappeared on his face, so fast it was almost out of character. Almost.

He looks so proud...

My heart raced.

I bet this is the face he makes when he’s doing something he’s passionate about.

I could not say no to that face.

“Sure.”

“Great!” Kunikida exclaimed. “Here’s how we’re going to do this. When I move the top arms on this dummy, I want you to duck. When I move the ones in the middle, you block. And when you see an opening of any kind—any that you feel safe taking—I want you to throw a punch.”

He tapped a blank spot in the middle section of the dummy.

“Right here. And don’t worry, I’ll go slow. You ready?”

“Yes!”

And with that, lesson three began. True to his word, Kunikida started slow—slow enough that I was able to get used to the hits fairly quickly. After just a few rounds, I was able to recognize the patterns Kunikida was using and as the opportunities for hits, blocks and ducking began to fall into a steady rhythm, I found my thoughts drifting...

I had no plans to use my Ability on Kunikida for ulterior motives. But was it possible to use my Ability for combat situations? Or to suss out potential enemies?

Kunikida aimed an arm at my head and I ducked.

What if—just what if—I ran into an enemy I was able to touch? Would I be able to use my Ability to tell when attacks were incoming? Or from what direction? Could I use it to save my life or another’s in an actual fight?

“Oda-san took out an entire battalion of soldiers before his demise,” Akutagawa’s voice echoed.

Another wooden arm came at my head and I ducked again.

Oda-san...

As I threw out my next punch, I thought back to the lone grave under the tree in the cemetery.

S. Oda...

I had no proof this was the same person as the “Oda-san” Akutagawa had spoken of in the parking garage. The only things the two seemed to have in common were the fact that both were deceased and they shared a last name—a very common one.

I blocked just as an arm came swinging in from my right.

“When they told me an Ability User who could see the future had appeared once more, I was set on capturing them at all costs... I thought perhaps you were the second coming of Oda-san.”

The top arm swung towards me and I ducked once again.

An Ability User who could see the future, like me...

From what Akutagawa had said, it seemed my Ability was similar to his, this Oda’s. Similar but not the same, apparently. But still useful enough that the Port Mafia had taken an interest in him.

Who was he? And what connection did he have with the Port Mafia?

I heard a soft thwack as my fist made contact with the center of the dummy once again.

Kunikida’s eyebrows furrowed together.

“Kusunoki...”

“Oda-san... That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

Dazai knew of him. And he seemed to know Akutagawa too. Did the rivalry between the Agency and the Port Mafia stretch that far back?

But the way he’d laughed...

“Kusunoki.”

Dazai had laughed almost as if we’d been talking about an old friend...

And his face...

I threw out my left arm just in time to block the incoming hit.

He looked just like Professor Matsuyama did when we stood there in the cemetery in front of Kei’s grave. Such a quiet, yet wistful smile...

Just looking at him made my heart ache...

“Kusunoki!”

I came to with a sharp gasp just as a wooden peg came rushing towards my head.

There wasn’t enough time to block or duck!! What should I—?!

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact. But all that happened was the arm coming to an abrupt stop at my temple. I opened my eyes to see Kunikida, standing on the other side of the wing-chun dummy, his grin now completely gone and his gray-green eyes stern.

“Kusunoki...”

I felt a light tap as Kunikida softly nudged the arm against my head.

“You were distracted,” he said, his frown deepening. “You do realize that in an actual fight, your opponent won’t give you many chances to strike back or defend yourself?”

“I... I know,” I mumbled, a slow flush of shame coloring my ears.

Unable to face him, bowed my head and looked away.

“I’m sorry.”

“‘Sorry?’”

Kunikida’s voice was low, troubled.

“I don’t mean to be harsh with you, Kusunoki-kun, but it’s dangerous for you to lose concentration when you’re in the middle of something like this. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

But as I found myself staring at a tiny bit of tatami unraveling on the floor, I heard Kunikida breathe a very heavy sigh from the other side of the dummy.

“I’m not angry with you, Kusunoki-kun,” Kunikida said softly, stepping out from behind the dummy. “Nor am I looking for an apology.”

He grew quiet.

“I just want to know if there’s something going on.”

I looked up.

“Huh?”

“You’re still distracted,” Kunikida said, now sounding a touch concerned. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

I hesitated.

Kunikida-san...

He was worried. About me.

I studied the tall, blonde detective’s face, his handsome features tightening in a show of unease. My stomach twisted painfully as I realized I’d done this to him.

I was the reason Kunikida was making such a face right now.

Should I tell him about the grave? Or even the case?

I remembered the way he’d looked at me the night I’d held that glass shard to my neck in the infirmary—the look of absolute horror at what I was about to do.

My stomach tightened further.

Or might it trouble him if he knew what kind of memories this case was about to bring back...?

I looked away.

“I’m alright, Kunikida-san...” I murmured, feeling my bangs shifting slightly over my eyes.

I lifted my hand to tuck them away and smiled.

“It’s really nothing... I was just thinking about my new assignment.”

One of Kunikida’s eyebrows lifted up towards his bangs. He adjusted his glasses and studied me.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “It was a little difficult getting started without a case partner but there’s no need to worry.”

I can’t make Kunikida worry. Not when he’s already doing so much for me...

I dropped my hand.

“Dazai actually helped me yesterday and it’s going okay now.”

At this, Kunikida’s eyes widened.

“Dazai... did?”

“Y-yeah.” I laughed a little. “I know. Surprising, right?”

When Kunikida didn’t speak, I suddenly realized I’d made a mistake.

Oh no. I just insulted his partner...! Quick, Kyou! Think of something nice to say!! About Dazai, as much as it hurts to!

“I—I mean, I know he’s not usually that serious about his work,” I babbled, “but he can be a surprisingly good mentor when he’s trying to be! Don’t you think? If anything—!!”

I flushed, my face suddenly burning like the steadily rising sun.

“I think I’m really lucky! To have both Dazai-san and Kunikida-san as my mentors!”

Agh! I said it!

I couldn’t take it. I turned around to hide my face as Kunikida’s eyes widened even further.

That was embarrassing! SO embarrassing! If only I had the guts to tell Kunikida what I thought of him without having to bring Dazai into it—!!

But maybe one day...?

“Kusunoki-kun...”

Kunikida’s voice was quiet, hesitant. Almost uncharacteristically so.

I turned around to see him standing there with an unreadable look in his beautiful sage-colored eyes.

“Is that...” he started, his gray-green eyes searching mine for something I couldn’t name.

He swallowed.

“Is that what you really think?”

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

“It... it is.”

“I see...”

He dropped his gaze. He looked like he was thinking very hard about something.

“...Kunikida-san?”

I took a step towards him.

Why was he looking like that? Did I say the wrong thing?

Did I upset him?

But when Kunikida glanced back up, the unreadable look was no longer visible and I found myself once again looking into the calm eyes of a professional.

I stopped moving towards him.

“Should we... go back to training?” I asked hesitantly.

Kunikida’s brows drew together.

“Training?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “We were working with the dummy?”

“Right...”

He frowned.

“You’re not tired?”

“No, not at all!” I lied, ignoring the subtle ache in my arms. “Honestly, I could even go for another hour if you want!”

Kunikida raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” he asked.

Crossing his arms, he came towards me.

“You really want to spend another hour training with me?” Kunikida asked, taking his olive-green notebook back out of his gi.

I could feel myself sweating bullets as his gray-green eyes raked over me.

I was starting to regret my words.

“Uh... yes?”

He sighed.

“You’re pushing yourself again, aren’t you, Kusunoki?” he said, to which my only response was a violent twitch.

Busted.

“Don’t do that,” he said, his expression softening. “If you push yourself too hard too fast, you’re going to make things more difficult for yourself down the line. Not to mention you still have the rest of the work day to get through.”

“Right,” I mumbled, rubbing the top of my head self-consciously even though it didn’t hurt.

“And on that note...”

Kunikida looked to his phone as it began emitting a subtle beeping noise.

“I think that’s all the time we have for today,” he said, silencing the alarm and looking back up at me. “Why don’t we end here and pick back up tomorrow? We actually got a lot further than I was expecting today and you’ve already improved a lot in just a couple sessions.”

He studied me for a moment before speaking again.

“...You practiced at home last night, didn’t you?”

I was taken aback.

“You can tell?”

“I can.”

Kunikida nodded at me and for a moment, there was a flicker of that beautiful smile again, the one he’d worn earlier this morning.

If I didn’t know any better...

I swallowed dryly, my stomach doing a weird sort of flip as I looked at him.

I’d say Kunikida looks proud of me...!

“Keep up the good work, Kusunoki-kun,” Kunikida said, turning back around to drag the training dummy away. “I’ll see you same time tomorrow morning. Just remember not to overexert yourself in the meantime, okay?”

He shot me a stern look over his shoulder just as I was about to reach for the dummy, to help him put it away.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“And Kusunoki?”

I let out a surprised squeak as Kunikida lightly swatted his notebook on top of my head.

Kunikida smiled.

“Don’t forget to concentrate.”

***

“Keep up the good work, Kusunoki-kun...”

I couldn’t help wiggling around a little in a sort of happy dance as I picked up the tea pot and moved it towards the cups I’d been preparing nearby in the break room.

He really was proud of me! I’d done something to impress Kunikida-san!

I thought back to the way he’d looked this morning, that playful smirk, those quiet little grins, those beautiful, absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous smiles...!!

I brought my hand to my cheek and sighed.

These training sessions were great!!

Something hot brushed against my finger and I jerked the teapot away from the first cup just as it began to overflow.

“Oh, shit.”

Kunikida had been telling me to concentrate all morning and here I was zoning out again.

I put the teapot down and sighed.

If I really wanted to be the kind of mentee Kunikida could be proud of, then I really had to start focusing more.

I reached for a towel and began wiping up the spilled tea.

That’s right. Focus, work hard, and someday—maybe someday soon—I could finally confess my feelings to Kunikida. I wanted to see him smile more—wanted to be one of the reasons he smiled every single day!

“Kyou-chan...”

Yes, to hear him call me by my name so casually would be the height of bliss!

“Kyou-chan!!”

I actually jumped as a black-clad hand descended on my shoulder.

I whirled.

“Y-Yosano-sensei?!”

“Daydreaming, are we?” Yosano drawled, looking every bit as amused as she sounded.

She reached over the small puddle I was trying to sop up and picked up the only full teacup on the counter, blowing on it softly before bringing it to her glossy pink lips, which were stretched wide in a very knowing smirk.

“I take it the training session went well?”

“H-how could you tell?” I squeaked, going red yet again.

“Oh, I dunno,” she said, leaning on the counter next to me. Her grin widened. “Might have something to do with that little dance you were doing earlier.”

I flushed even darker.

“You saw that?”

“You were humming too,” she pointed out, taking another sip of her tea. “Oh, don’t be embarrassed! I thought it was cute. I bet Kunikida would find it cute too, if you ever decide to show him.”

“Yosano-sensei!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” she laughed, her violet eyes sparkling as she regarded me. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to him, especially if you’re not ready to tell him. I’m just having a little fun with you, that’s all.”

“Thanks,” I breathed, lifting the teapot back up so I could fill the rest of the cups.

“But seriously,” Yosano said, holding out her cup for more tea. “Are you going to tell him any time soon? Because he’s really not good with this kind of thing and if you don’t...”

I put the teapot down as Yosano took her cup with her on her way out of the break room.

“If I don’t...?”

“Ah...”

Yosano paused by the door, her gaze dropping to the floor.

“Sorry, Kyou-chan. I shouldn’t have mentioned that,” she said quietly. “Not my place to. Just... keep in mind what I said, okay?”

“O-okay...”

And with that, she disappeared out into the hallway. Confused, I went out into the hallway with the tray of tea cups and began passing them out to my coworkers.

“He’s really not good with this kind of thing.”

What did she mean by that?

And what was she going to say before she stopped herself?

But as the tray emptied and I went back to my desk, I found my thoughts drifting from Yosano’s cryptic words back to Kunikida’s advice.

Stay focused and work hard. That was the way to the man’s heart.

Which meant it was time to get back to work. If I wanted to make it so that I wasn’t lying to Kunikida about making good headway in my case, I needed to verify the things Professor Matsuyama had said to me yesterday in the cemetery.

I opened my laptop, pulled up the search bar and started typing. A few moments later, I had what I was looking for: news articles from several years back.

The short one mentioning Kei’s suicide was easy enough to find but the information on Kei’s dead parents was a little harder to come by. After about a half hour of searching, I landed upon the obituary. Kei’s parents were indeed long since deceased and the remainder of his family had now moved out of Japan entirely and chosen to settle abroad in the US.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, staring at the photo of Kei taken in high school, arm in arm with a boy I slowly began to recognize as a much younger Matsuyama Shin. It looked like they were celebrating their scholarships and entry into the university professor Matsuyama now taught at.

They looked like a couple of shounen manga heroes, blissfully unaware of what the future would bring...

I hit print and went to retrieve the documents.

With the police reports and these articles, I’d solved the first part of the case. I now knew exactly who Masaoka Kei was and what his relationship was to Professor Matsuyama.

As for the second part of the case...

“I want you to tell me if Sensei was responsible for Kei-san’s death.”

I placed the articles into the case folder and sighed.

At this point in the investigation, that answer was just about wrapped up as well. Most of the suspicious aspects of the case—the waiving away of the autopsy, the next-of-kin thing, even the professor sneaking off to mourn in private—all of that seemed to check out.

The only thing left unsolved was why the professor felt so guilty about Kei’s suicide.

I bit my lip.

I had promised to leave Natsuki out of any further investigations but I needed another lead if I wanted to close out this final part of the case.

Maybe I should call Nomura again, to give him an update and ask if there was anything else I might be able to look into.

I reached into my bag for my cell phone and immediately groaned when I pulled it back out.

Looks like I’d accidentally opened a video in my web browser while I was busy this morning and now my battery was completely drained. Grumbling to myself, I slid open the drawer that held my spare charger but the first thing I saw when I peeked inside wasn’t the slim white cable I was looking for.

It was the envelope the clerk at the police station had given me.

And Kei’s suicide note was still inside...

Heart pounding, I reached for it with trembling fingers.

Would this give me the answer I was searching for?

I pulled it out and began to read.

“To my dearest Shin-kun...”

My eyes widened.

It was addressed directly to the professor?

I placed the letter on the desk and smoothed it out on the polished wooden surface so I could see it better.

“To my dearest Shin-kun...

By the time you read this letter, I will have departed this world for the next. I apologize that you have to be the one to find me like this but I hope you won’t think too badly of me for it. It wasn’t my intention to leave you and Natsuki in this way. In fact, up until two days ago, I believed I would be parting ways with you at the airport in a few months’ time, with each of us heading for a future much brighter than the ones we’d imagined for ourselves in high school.

Shin-kun, I couldn’t be more proud of you.

I still remember when you had remedial lessons, when you’d come to me for help at the end of the day and I would jokingly offer my tutoring services in exchange for favors or snacks. I remember the day my parents died and how you’d been the one to comfort me when I was crying in the library. And I remember the day we’d arrived together at the university and how you’d fearlessly stepped through the archway while I faltered and watched you go on ahead.

And now, you’ve done it.

You, my best friend and brother, have been accepted into the program of your dreams. In several years time, you will be a history professor at your chosen university, lecturing starry-eyed students while your research papers make it into journals read all around the world. And not only that, but you’ll have Natsuki-chan, while I...”

Pausing for a moment, I squinted at the page and brought it closer to my face.

The ink looked like it was running here and the page was slightly stained...

“Are these...?”

“Natsuki-chan, huh?” said a voice in my ear. “She sounds cute. She single?”

I let out a surprised squeak.

Clapping my hand over my burning ear, I turned to my right to see Dazai perched at the edge of my desk, a thick bundle of electrical cables clutched in one hand.

“What the—?! Dazai-san,” I choked out, pushing my chair away from him as he looked at me.

I didn’t take my hand off of my ear.

“What are you doing at my desk?”

“I wanted to borrow this extension cord,” he said plainly, reaching over my mug of tea with one long, bandaged arm. “You’re not using it, right?”

“I am using it!” I snapped, pushing him away. “Can’t you see I’ve got my phone plugged in? And besides...”

I eyed the collection of electrical cables in his hand.

“Don’t you think you already have enough?”

“Hardly,” he snorted, trying to get around me as I kept pushing the cord away. “These are all way too short. I’m gonna need a bunch more if I want to make it work.”

“Make what work?” I asked, already dreading the answer.

“Oh, just a small project that may or may not grant me the painless death I’ve been longing for,” Dazai quipped.

Brightening up, he turned to me and smiled.

“In other words, I’m braiding these together to make a noose! Wanna help?”

Mortified, I pounced on my extension cord.

“Absolutely not!”

“Aww, c’mon, Kusunoki!” he whined, his eyes getting all big and puppy-like. “I’m not asking you to join me, I could just use a little help getting there! Please, pretty please?”

“I said no!” I exclaimed, my grip tightening on my extension cord.

“Hey, Kusunoki-kun...”

A shiver traveled through my arm and up my spine as Dazai dropped his voice low, his tone sultry and inviting as he spoke right into my ear again. I felt the heat in my face intensify as he began stroking my hand—the one that was still gripping the cable—with one long, thin finger.

“Come on, please?” he whispered, his eyes growing dark. “If this works, I won’t ask you for anything else ever again. I promise.”

His breath was so warm against my cheek. His brown eyes sparkled as they looked into mine.

“Be my accomplice?” he whispered.

Dazai smiled.

“Please...?”

“Please, please, keep what I’ve said to you today from my wife...”

I gasped.

Suddenly I was staring not into the eyes of the attractive, bandaged brunette but the eyes of Professor Matsuyama. I could practically feel the sea breeze on my face as it swept through the graveyard and as my mouth hung slack, I recalled the way the professor had gingerly touched his fingertips to the headstone before him and whispered the words aloud...

“I’ll be seeing you.”

Panic surging through me, I reached out and seized his arm.

“No, don’t!!”

CRASH.

All eyes in the room turned to me as I felt something warm and wet dripping down my arm and onto my skirt. I looked down to see that I’d knocked over the mug of jasmine tea that had been sitting on my desk and as I slowly took in the scene around me, I realized two things.

One, I was clutching Dazai’s bandaged forearm with both hands as if my life depended on it.

Two...

The tea had spilled all over my table and my copy of Kei’s letter was now completely illegible.

#bsd #kunikida x oc #dazai x oc #fanfiction

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afterglowparker · 5 years

Text

Speak Low if You Speak Love

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count: 3,425

Warnings: None! It’s fluffy and super sweet.

Prompts:

“Please don’t forget about me.”

“You look cute in that shirt.”

Summary: One need not speak loud, to speak love.

A/N: Title of the story comes both from the band of the same name, but it’s also from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. If you have any idea on either of the two, you probably know where this is piece is going. I’ve just been in a soft, fluffy mood—for once in my life. I’m also just really big on the silent, subtle aspect of love. ((also, shoutout to @upsidedownparker for actually giving me the strength to post this, because i almost scrapped the entire thing!)

This is also my entry for @hillsnholland‘s writing challenge, as well as @hollandsosterfield & @spidey-caps writing challenge! happy (very early) birthday to all three of you!

The sounds of car horns and pedestrians on their morning commute leaked into your open window, accompanied by the morning sun that peaked through the curtains—both breaking into your subconscious. You felt yourself slowly come out of your dreams, as the weight around your waist became heavier; if it wasn’t for the heat radiating from the boy that always ran a few degrees too hot, the morning air would’ve caused goosebumps to raise on your skin.

Willing your mind to quiet down and fall back into the expanse of your thoughts, you tried to prevent your eyes from fluttering open. But no more than a minute later, your eyes were open and zoning in on the sight in front of you. You were laying on your left side, legs intertwined with the sleeping man whose arms were wrapped firmly around your figure; you had to crane your head up slightly to look at him. Your eyes slightly burn, not yet having time to properly adjust, but you’d admit that waking up to the sight of a sleepy Peter made it a little easier to deal with the discomfort; it always did.

Your attention is drawn to the way the hairs of his left eyebrow are splayed in different directions, how his eyelashes kiss his cheeks, the tiny crook of his nose, and the way his mouth is parted slightly and soft snores left his pink lips. Like many mornings before, you slowly lift your arm from its resting place on his waist, afraid of waking the boy who rarely sleeps, and let your fingers slowly trace over his features. Your fingerprints stain the porcelain skin as they took in the beauty set before them. First over his eyebrow, trying to smooth out the messy hairs, then softly over his eyes; they continued their journey by caressing the side of his face, feather-light touches down his cheek before they landed on his lips. The skin was slightly chapped and the soft snores that had been leaving them had stopped, and it was then that your eyes flickered back up, seeing warm pools of melted chocolate staring back at you. You felt the skin underneath your fingers curl upwards at the corners, as his hand came up slightly to hold your hand in his, stopping to place a kiss on the palm, before lowering your now intertwined hands to rest between your chests.

“G’morning,” he quietly whispered, as if any sound louder would cause the peaceful moment to dissipate into thin air, “having fun there, darling?”

“Mmm…just admiring the view,” you quipped back, the smile sat on your lips just as soft, as you breathed deeply, enjoying his eyes on you, “it gets better every day.”

“You’re quite the sight for sore morning eyes, yourself.”

“Truly poetic, Parker.”

“Yeah, I try.”

You both let the silence settle between you both, as you just stare into the other’s eyes, having your own conversation without words; comforted by the fact the other was there and in your arms. You almost fall back asleep, but the alarm on your phone rings out, informing you it’s officially time to start the day. You lightly groan, and bury your head into the crook of Peter’s neck, moving with him as he lays flat on his back. He stretches his arm to grab your phone from the nightstand and he makes quick work of shutting off the obnoxious buzzing.

“Why did I ever set that thing last night?”

Peter presses a soft kiss to your head, as you watch the way his chest rises and falls.

“Because we decided it would be a good idea to stay up till 3am binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

“And it was a good idea.”

“Yeah,” Peter squeezed your hip lightly, “it was. But now we have to get up, cuz you’ve got a university to be at.”

“Trying to get rid of me already, Parker?”

“Oh, yeah. You know it. I can’t wait to get you out of my hair. Damn near give me a heart attack everyday! I think I’m aging faster around you.” You slap his chest lightly, as he lets a laugh slip past his lips. “I’m only joking, love. You know I’m not gonna wanna let you go.”

“That’s what I thought,” you untangle you limbs from his, reaching over his body to grab your phone from the nightstand, before sitting up and checking your messages, ensuring no last minute emails from your university had been sent out. Looking back down at your boyfriend, you found his eyes firmly glued to your figure, eyebrows raised slightly, as his eyes were blown wide with adoration, “What?”

“You look cute in that shirt.”

You looked down, seeing the way that the worn and lightly faded physics is theoretical but the fun is real black tee sat on your figure

“Hmm…Yeah. Definitely better on me than my boyfriend.”

“Interesting way to accept a compliment. Your boyfriend might have to rethink letting you wear his clothes.”

“I’m way past the point of asking.”

“Trust me. He knows,” his hand that was still by your waist tapped on it lightly, “You do look cute though. I like when you wear my clothes.”

“You’re such a cliché Peter Parker,” you shook your head softly, smiling down at him, pushing his head slightly away from you, enjoying the way your heart fluttered at the sound of his laugh, “but I find it cute and endearing, so I think I’ll keep you around. Besides, you’re my ride to Syracuse later, so can’t have you going anywhere now.”

He pulls you down, causing you to yelp in surprise as you fall onto his chest. His lips instantly finding yours, as his right hand cups your cheek, pulling you deeper into the kiss, while his left hand sits on you lower back. He lets your lips move against his for a few moments, before pulling back, his nose slightly bumping yours, as he stared into your eyes.

“Today, it’s just you and me,” he spoke quietly, “Promise.”

“What? Spider-Man doesn’t call today?” You smiled, teasing lilt in your tone.

“He might. But he’s gonna have to take a rain check. I think Miles is more than capable of handling a night of patrol by himself.”

“You’re sweet, you know that? That kid absolutely adores you.” Peter had been mentoring a new, young spider-kid for the past few months, and while it caused Peter’s nerves to skyrocket through the roof, it was blatant in the way he talked about Miles how much he cared for him; it made your heart swell, and you couldn’t wait till you were older and could watch Peter tear his hair out while chasing your own children around, “You know you’re not gonna be able to leave him here without worrying.”

“Yeah, I know. But he knows to call if he really needs help.”

The idea of having a boyfriend constantly on call (crime and the threat to civilian safety being his employer, his heart of gold a faithful employee) and a moments notice away from leaving you, not guaranteed to come home was too overwhelming for some. But for you? It filled you with pride knowing that the man you had fallen in love with had such a genuine love for the people around him. He never asked for anything in return and that was an act of heroism in itself in your eyes. Peter Parker was so much more than what meets the eye and you wanted to shout it from the rooftops how amazing the man that laid before you was. Instead, you settled for pressing a kiss to his cheek, pulling back to see pink dusting where your lips had been and a wide set smile on his face, all traces of sleep completely gone.

“Okay, so here’s my thought process,” Peter started as he got out of your bed, pulling you up with him, as his eyes searched for his shirt he discarded last night, “we get ready, grab breakfast at your favorite place because as much as I would like to cook for you, I’d like to stay on good terms with your parents, and burning your kitchen down doesn’t seem like the way to do it. And then we grab some sandwiches from Delmar’s for the road, because they’re the best sandwiches in Queens, dare I say the world, and you can’t leave without having one. And then we kick this road trip off so you can sing horribly off-key to all the songs on my playlist.”

You grab the shirt from the back of your desk chair, chucking it in his direction, before you started walking to the bathroom, Peter hot on your tail.

“Sounds like a plan, Spider-Boy.”

Peter rolls his eyes, as you both grab your toothbrushes and work around each other, his hand grabbing the tube of toothpaste from your hand.

“I’m gonna let that slide just cuz it’s your last day.”

“All right Spider-Boy.”

And though he tried to act annoyed, his smiling figure in the mirror told you otherwise.

“I’m going to miss Breadboard so much while in Syracuse. I’m truly convinced nowhere has breakfast as good as them. Can I make it a rule that if you visit, you have to bring me something from Breadboard?”

“What, like my presence isn’t enough?”

“Of course it is, but like. If I could have waffles and you? I think that would just enhance the experience. I mean, think about it-”

Peter’s eyes crinkled at your antics, the smile that had placed itself on his face that morning yet to make an exit, as he listened to you ramble on. You were both walking down the street, intertwined hands swinging slightly in between you both. You were walking on the inside of the sidewalk, while Peter walked on the side by the road; he never verbalized that this was how he preferred to walk, but he was always sure to place himself between you and any possible danger, even if there wasn’t any obvious malevolent force staring you down. As you rounded the corner, Peter pulled softly on your arm before crossing the street, your body mindlessly reacting to his, so that his eyes could quickly flick side to side to ensure you were both safe, before crossing the road. Approaching the front of the shop, Peter opens the door for you, causing the small bell above it to chime, the older shop owner grinning as he sees two of his favorite customers arrive.

“Mr. Parker! Miss. Y/L/N! Haven’t seen your faces in here in awhile. Found a new sandwich shop?”

You laugh, letting go of Peter’s hand as you approach the counter, Peter instantly turning to the wall of snacks, and shook your head.

“Never, Mr. Delmar. You know you have the best sandwiches in Queens! We’d never even think about going elsewhere.”

“That’s what I like to hear. So, a number eleven and a number five, right?”

“Yes, and on the five could you please add pickles? No need to smush it down flat this time around.” You smile, finishing Peter’s preferred order when not on patrol. Mr. Delmar passes your order on, before turning back to face you.

“So, how are you? You back in school?”

“No sir, not yet. Clinging to my last moments of freedom before college starts up as we speak.”

Peter places down three bags of gummy worms, one bag of crisps, and his right hand finds its way back to your left as he inserts himself into the conversation.

“We’re actually on our way to Syracuse right now.”

“Syracuse? Bit of a trip from here.”

“Yeah, I know, but the program was too good to pass up. And by that I mean the scholarship, because wow college is expensive.”

“It is, but you’re both bright. Stay in school, otherwise-“

“We’ll end up like you.” You and Peter drone, finishing Mr. Delmar’s mantra.

“Still doesn’t seem like a bad way to end up, Mr. Delmar,” Peter starts again, bending down slightly to grab a pack of Oreos from under the counter, finishing as he gave them to Mr. Delmar to be rung up, “You really do have the best sandwiches in all of Queens.”

You nod eagerly.

“He wouldn’t let me leave without making sure I got my fix.”

“Smart young man you’ve got yourself there.” Mr. Delmar jokes, as he places the bag with your sandwiches on the counter, throwing in the other snacks as well, “That’s $10.”

“Mr. Delmar, you can’t-”

“It’s my shop and I can. The extra snacks are on me. As long as you promise to come back and visit when you’re back in the city, I think I can let this slide.”

You smile, Peter speaking as he pays.

“Don’t worry Mr. Delmar. I’ll come visit all the time.”

Mr. Delmar rolls his eyes, grinning at Peter’s antics.

“Think you could keep him in Syracuse with you, Y/N?”

Peter scoffs, but you laugh with a wide grin tugging at your lips. You slightly shake your head.

“Trust me, I tried. Unfortunately, I think you’re gonna be stuck with him while I’m away.”

“Geez, don’t fight over me. Truly, I feel the love.” Peter speaks, sarcasm thick on his tongue, his free hand grabbing the bag with your food from the counter, “Anyways, we really should get going.”

Peter squeezes your hand as you nod, smiling at Mr. Delmar once more before bidding him goodbye and exiting the shop.

“Wait I love this song!”

You yelled out, stopping Peter’s hand from skipping any further. The Maine’s “Numb Without You” rang throughout the car, as you began to lightly rock your head back and forth, singing along to the lyrics.

Peter kept his eyes on the road, but enjoyed the show he was getting from his peripheral. As the chorus kicked in, you shouted at Peter, squeezing his hand lightly.

“Pete, you’ve gotta sing along! C’mon, I know you know it.”

He just shook his head, before singing along with you, albeit out of tune, but you didn’t seem to mind as you danced in your seat, having fun throwing your own personal concert. As the song came to a close, you settled down with a huff, waiting to see what song shuffle put on next.

Peter lifted your intertwined hands from their resting place on the center console, towards his lips, where he placed a feather-light kiss on the back of your hand. He glanced at you briefly, smile stretching further across his face, as your cheeks showed the faintest sign of a blush. Without much further thought, you quickly leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek, before sitting back in your chair, leaning your head against the window, keeping your eyes trained on his profile. Peter swears he felt his heart grow another two sizes.

You collapsed on the bed, as Peter placed the last box of your things at the foot of your bed, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he stares at your body splayed across the bed.

“Yeah, don’t worry about your things, I’ve got it.”

“One, I’ve been helping you for the past two hours; two, you have superhuman strength, so I think me keeping up with you is a victory in itself; and three, that was the last box you’re just a drama queen.”

Peter launched himself onto the bed, a grunt of surprise forcing it’s way from your throat, as the curly haired boy in question laid his head on your chest and wrapped his arms around you best he could. He looked up at you, grinning.

“Yeah, but I’m you’re drama queen.”

“Yeah,” you said softly, running your fingers through the unruly mess on his head, “you are. Think I’ll keep you around for a little while longer.”

Your fingers scratched at his scalp slightly and the light pull on the tufts of hair was calming and Peter found himself drifting off. His eyes were trained on a medium sized shadow box frame sat on your bedside table, and he felt himself smile at the memories running through his mind—it was the gift Peter had given you for your two-year anniversary.

Inside the box sat a thin line of twine from which Peter hung three of his favorite photos from your relationship. The photo on the right was of you both in your Midtown Decathlon jackets, back to back, as you posed like Charlie’s Angels, wide smiles on both of your faces. The photo on left was of you and Peter before Senior Prom; he was carrying you bridal style, your dress billowing around you, and your hand was placed firmly on his chest, over his heart, showing off the corsage he had gotten you—his forehead was resting against yours as you shared a kiss. The final photo in the middle was his favorite. It was just of you. It had been on a spontaneous day trip you both took on a weekend and even though you both got chewed out by your parents when you got home, he swore that single shot of you alone was worth it. You were washed in light, the glow of the setting sun making you appear more angelic and heavenly than usual. You were running away from the crashing waves on the beach’s shoreline, smile stretching from eye to eye, as you ran back towards Peter, who had been taking photos of you for the better part of the last half-hour. That day would always be one of his favorites. Above the photos in simple roman numerals was the date he had officially asked you to be his girlfriend, and the bottom of the shadow box was filled with a thin layer of dried flower petals from the bouquet he had brought you prom night. The homemade project was no Monet, but you swore up and down that it belonged in the Met. You also swore he belonged in the Met, but that was a story for another time.

Peter fell out of his memories as he heard your heartbeat even out slightly, and your breathing became even, a telltale sign that you too were almost lost to your subconscious. His thumb lightly ran over the exposed skin of your hipbone, where your—his—shirt had risen. He stretched up, just enough to place a tender kiss to your neck.

“I love you…” he whispered, voice so faint it was almost swept into the still air of the room, “I love you so much. You are everything.”

“I love you,” You smiled, out of habit, as your heart rate rose slightly, still not used to the way the words made you feel. You don’t think you ever would be and you were fine with that, “to the moon and back, and then some.”

A comfortable silence blanketed the room, your fingers not stopping their motions through Peter’s hair, and it wasn’t until his fingers stopped moving against your skin that you pressed your lips to his hairline, letting them linger, before you whispered your one request from the doe-eyed boy laying in your arms.

“Please don’t forget about me.”

Peter lifted his head from the crook of your neck and rested his weight on his forearms so he could properly stare at you. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, hearing the truth in your gentle tone and the unwavering of your heartbeat. He shuffled up the bed, so that his nose brushed against yours lightly as he nudged his face a little closer to yours; his soft breathing warming the surface of your skin and his forehead rested against yours. He grabbed your hand and placed it palm down over his heart, and even in the absence of heightened senses, you could feel the strong, rapid beat of his heart.

“Not possible.”

You weren’t sure if you believed in soulmates, but you did believe in the idea of being able to love deeply; so deep sometimes you thought you’d drown. There were a lot of new challenges to navigate this next year away from home, but right there, in your cramped dorm room, on a bed much too small, with a mess of your belongings surrounding you, you kissed the boy your heart belonged too. You let yourself get lost in the pressure of his lips against yours, his soft caress, and in the way he leaned into your touch; tender declarations of love embracing you both fondly.

Permanent Taglist: @marvelousmorales @mercurys-rhapsody @sunrisespidey @upsidedownparker

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adonis-koo · 4 years

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| 16 |

↳ Pairing: Stripper!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, drama, slice of life, relationship problems without the relationship, reader is such a shy baby protect her, MUTUAL pining, so much sexual frustration,

Word Count: 12k

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Warning: This story touches on both sexual harassment and abuse, please read with caution if any of these things are triggers to you. Additional warnings will be given when a chapter presents them.

TW: There is a lot of implied dubious sex and implied rape/sexual harassment in this chapter, if any of these are triggers please read with caution 🖤

You wouldn’t deny, you felt extremely excited while standing in the large room, vanity lights in classic Vegas style were lit up above the long vanity table, the standing hanging rack had all your costumes on it and while your name wasn’t in plaque it was hastily written on a taped up piece of paper. These people actually considered you a soloist….only by definition considering it was your last week...But still, it was exciting!

Taking a seat in the cushioned chair you got to work on your makeup to begin with, it was Vegas, and considering this was a VIP party you figured it would be okay to really go all out cutcrease makeup, sharp wings and eyelashes that could be mistook for fans, the whole nine yards. You had originally gone to skip a song on your phone, what you hadn’t expected was paragraph long message from the last person on your mind.

Seriously? No seriously…? Annoyance twisted and snapped in your veins like a wildfire, as you continuously reread the text, did Seulgi ever truly know you at all? Where was this message when your relationship was toxic with Jungkook? Where was she when Hanjae broke into your apartment? Where was she when you completely ruined your first ever soloist performance? Where was she when you actually needed her?

You hadn’t even realized your hands were trembling or heard the knock on the door until the familiar voice of Jimin interrupted you, “Y/n! Y/n? Hey, you’re on in ten, why aren’t you dressed?”

Your gaze snapped from your phone to the blonde before you rubbed your forehead, you didn’t have time for her issues right now, it would just have to wait. Standing up you pressed your lips together before sighing, “Sorry, Seulgi just sent me a paragraph text,” You pulled the oversized shirt over your head as you walked over to the costume rack, you already had your lingerie set underneath but it was always more comfortable to get ready in loose clothing, “Out of the blue! Seriously, what is her problem?”

You could hear Jimin snort behind you in amusement as you pushed your shorts down, looking over your shoulder with an ungrateful expression to which he straightened up at, “Ah sorry. Honestly? She’s probably just jealous...I mean, think about it, you were chosen to be trained by the most popular stripper in Cherry Bomb when you had no intention of even becoming a stripper at all, you were chosen to become a temporary soloist and now you made it on the list for Seasonella as a soloist and she didn’t even make the cut at all.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, your fingers still coiled against the black pencil skirt that sat at your hips as you turned to face Jimin, “...She didn’t make the list…?” Yikes... Suddenly her message made a lot more sense...Not so much her message, but the timing of it. You glanced back at the costume rack, suddenly feeling a mix of both pity yet anger, this was your job, not high school cheer tryouts! “I honestly don’t know what to do with her anymore, I mean...Sure I feel bad she didn’t make the list, but is it really that big of a deal?”

“Not really, but strippers are considerably catty,” Jimin leaned against the back of the couch as he shrugged, “Seulgi honestly fits the filler role perfect. It’s a shame really, she has all the potential to become a soloist.”

You couldn’t help but tilt your head at his works, pulling the sheer button up top over your head before semi tucking it in, “Well somebody needs to tell her that so she’ll get off my ass. Don’t get me wrong, I understood at first Jimin, I really did,” Your eyes were semi glossed and pleading before you sighed, gritting your teeth, “But now it’s just petty.”

“Well that’s the thing,” Jimin snorted a laugh as you pulled the brown trench coat over your shoulders, “Don’t you get it Y/n?” You paused at his words, his smile playful as he began laughing, as if he knew a secret you didn’t, “That’s her problem. Seulgi needs to constantly be petted, the only person that’s holding her back from becoming a soloist is herself, if she didn’t need to be groomed and the center of attention constantly, if she’d just shut up and do the work that’s needed without constantly being praised for it. She’d easily make it to the top. But because she can’t, because she’s used to everyone telling her how amazing she is, she’s never going to get there.”

Jimin tucked his tongue into his cheek as he scoffed, “People like that annoy the fuck out of me. That’s what makes you different from her, yeah you were coddled by Jungkook in the beginning, but you never expected that out of him. You never anticipated any of us drowning you in praise and telling you ‘you’d definitely become a soloist;. No, you struggled like most of us did in the beginning, you worked your ass off in the beginning and now it’s paying off. That’s her problem.”

Your lips parted at his words, rather shocked to see Jimin feel so defensive for you. Pressing your lips together as you fiddled with your jacket, you never realized he felt so strongly about your situation with Seulgi, “...Do you think I’ve changed?” That was the one thing that bothered you, this whole time Seulgi kept proclaiming you had changed, was it really that bad?

“Yeah,” Your gaze snapped to Jimin’s figure as he shrugged, pushing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, presumably what he was wearing for the stage, “But change isn’t always a bad thing Y/n. Don’t let people hold you down just because they want to stay the same.”

Sighing, you wrapped your arms around yourself as you leaned against the wall, thinking on his words. You supposed, Jimin was right, change wasn’t always a bad thing. And looking back, maybe you had changed?

But it’s like he said, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, you needed that change to happen. Or else things with Jungkook would have exploded and you could have potentially ruined your relationship with him. Your heart trembled at that idea, the memory of him and you both distant but still fresh. Jungkook was so important to you, you couldn’t lose him, and you changed not for him, but for yourself. So had he.

“I didn’t take you for a therapist Jimin.” You glanced up as a mutual smile pulled on both your and his lips as you shared a laugh, shaking your head as you stepped into your heels, “Thanks though,” You furrowed your brows before smiling a little, glancing up at him as you nodded, “I...I think I needed to hear that. I should make my way backstage, good luck!”

Jimin tipped his fedora at you with a wink as he replied, “Too you as well, you’ll need it. Cya Y/n.”

Keeping his words in mind you gave yourself a mini pep talk as you made your way backstage, it was even more crowded here then at a busy day at work and it was more chaotic than you could have ever imagined. You could do this. Being on stage wasn't what made you nervous anymore. It was getting off stage and finding out just what exactly Seasonella was.

The stage manager nodded in acknowledgement as you stood off to the side, peering out from behind the stage where your heart did a little leap at the sight of Jungkook. Swallowing the lump in your throat at how good he looked in a three piece suit and his gelled, styled hair. He must have just started his routine, his music was bassy and slow and the floor he stood on wafted with smoke, presumably from dry ice off stage.

Wrapping your arms around yourself you watched the way he easily swiveled his hips turning away from the audience, popping the jacket off his shoulders, oddly enough despite the large crowd nobody seemed to even be paying attention besides a few whistles here and there. Glancing over his shoulder he offered a sultry smirk, even after all this time he never failed to make your heart race and your face flushed as you dropped your gaze. He wasn’t even looking at you, in fact, he probably didn’t even know you were next in line up. Jungkook’s routine was slow and easy going as he began to shed his clothes, as if he was in no real hurry, soaking up his time on stage.

He really was a natural.

Just the way his hips would slowly roll before snapping, those large calloused hands slowly running up against his chest to pop the first button of his white button up. You could easily see why Jungkook thrived in this environment, now thinking about it. It was easy because it was only skin deep, Jungkook was comfortable in his body and it showed, being a stripper was hard, but it was only skin deep, you didn’t have to get personal or open up to anyone in this business.

But even with all of that in mind, his eyes, it was always his eyes that showed when he wasn’t feeling his performance, when something was on his mind. Nobody ever seemed to notice it but you. No matter how many smirks and teasing smiles Jungkook flashed it was his eyes that seemed...disinterested? Maybe...maybe even upset?

You didn’t like it, it drove your instincts wild with a need to sit on his lap and grab his face to look at you and ask him what was wrong, but then again, did you really need to? Given what had happened this morning? He was upset when you pushed him away, hell he was upset when he left after his shower. Neither of you had spoken when he left either, he just kept looking at you, longingly, as if hoping maybe you’d speak to him, to give him a chance.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to speak to him, it was just...what was there to even talk about? He wasn’t going to convince you this was okay, because it wasn’t. None of this was okay. You didn’t like being on terms like this with him, but what else was there to discuss? It was what it was, all either of you could do was do your job.

It wasn’t like you were mad at him, Jungkook was a stripper, but so were you. Yes it was upsetting and it hurt that he’d be sleeping with other people, but so were you...You sighed, massaging the temple of your head as you watched his hand slip down to squeeze the thick imprint that pressed against his slacks. You couldn’t stop the quirk in your lips at the sight, even when he was upset he still managed to sport a boner, of course he could.

It was odd watching him pop the button of his slacks, usually by this point girls were practically screaming, but instead it was quiet besides the song that played as the slacks fell off his thick muscular thighs that flexed. You were semi perplexed at the sight of Versace strapped against his skin rather than his regular Calvin Kleins, you couldn’t help but grind your teeth at the idea of that girl buying them for him. It had to be her. Eva.

Was she out in the crowd somewhere enjoying the show? Or was she intending on making him strip again just for her in private. The idea made you livid and the intense desire to jab her eyes out for even looking at what was yours. It was hard to imagine you were actually blushing and melting into your chair when you first laid eyes on Jungkook’s figure on stage. Now you just felt a vague sense of depression watching him hook his thumbs to the band of his boxers.

Maybe it was a sense of defeat that you felt watching him proudly flaunt his hardened cock on stage. A part of you couldn’t help but snicker though, it was so typical of him. Exibitionism was one of his biggest kinks after all. His song had come to an end, the stage lights dimming as people rushed past you, a robe in hand for Jungkook as he came off stage.

No words were spoken, your gaze only catching his for a second before you were being ushered on stage. Nodding you hurried out in the blackout. Leaning against the pole you made yourself comfortable, it wasn’t time to think anymore. All you had to do was dance.

The lights immediately flickered on as the intro of your music started out, the smirk immediately pulling on your lips as you turned your head to face the crowd. Most of the crowd wasn’t even paying attention to you, some people seated others standing and talking to one another. What even was Seasonella for? Just connection building for the wealthy?

Letting your hands drag up your body, you slide down the pole letting your legs open naturally before letting your knees drop to let your hands support you on the ground. Your face pressing against the ground as you let your hand circle around your face. Just who were these nameless faces? Just like Jungkook, you weren’t at your best performance. Not that anyone could tell as you rolled to your back letting your legs raise up and set against the pole before letting one slide down as your hands squeezed up your chest, the smile teasing on your lips as you sent a wink out to the crowd.

That's when you saw him though, Jungkook fully dressed once more, hair damp from sweat and still adjusting the buttons of his loose black button up, his gaze not on Eva who was excitedly waiting for him, instead he was watching you as he ran a hand through his hair.

Letting your legs open slightly you sat up with your thighs sandwiched between the pole as you rested your head against it, letting the jacket fall off your shoulders as you sent a flirty gasp at the crowd before letting it drop to the ground.

Making your way to stand up you swayed your hips as you turned to face the crowd, a smug look twisting on to your features at the sight of Eva obviously not happy at your boyfriend checking you out. Keeping a wide stance you dropped slightly to circle your ribs while letting your hands drag up your thighs, teasingly pulling your skirt up higher. Turning to face the wall you curved your spine to highlight your ass as you teased even more, pulling the skirt up to flash the lingerie you wore before tugging the skirt back down.

You noticed whatever position Jungkook was in he must have left, or maybe Eva had dragged him away at the short time span your back was facing the audience, regardless they couldn’t have left already, right? Pulling your shirt from it’s tuck in your skirt you pulled it out farther as you sunk back down to a slut drop, they couldn’t have gotten far.

Just as you stood back up, hooking your thumb beneath the fabric of your top, a smirk flashed towards the audience that only a few eyes watched you curiously with, that’s when your eyes tracked that messy head of hair again. Jungkook was sitting down, his arm wrapped around Eva who was more than happily snuggled against him, chatting away with what appeared to be her friends. The other person who had stuck out to you was Diego who sat at their table, his eyes however, unshockingly were roaming your body.

You decided to pay him no mind as you pulled the shirt over your head, letting your upper body become exposed and the glittery, strappy push up bra become displayed. Maybe you were just imagining it but you could have swore Eva had jumped in Jungkook’s tightening grip. His eyes also on you while occasionally glaring daggers at Diego. God you would kill to be listening to that conversation.

Letting your hips sway softly you strutted further up stage, your arms over head before they groped their way down your body. Turning to face away from the crowd you looked over your shoulder, a playful smile tugging at your lips as you reached for the clasp of your bra. Unhooking it before letting it drop to the ground leaving your bare back on display.

Turning to face the audience you let your hips begin to sink once more as you let them sway hiding your breasts teasingly behind your hands that began to massage them. It was weird, being in a reversed role where it was your eyes that met Jungkooks from the stage, rather than the other way around.

Except rather than squirming in embarrassment Jungkook had zero shame in letting his eyes roam all over your body, his lip catching between his teeth and you were all too familiar with that dark look in his eyes. His chin lifting a little in that standoffish, domineering way it always did when he got turned on.

You however, weren’t yourself at the moment. Rather shy away from his gaze you welcomed it, letting your lips twitch back into a cocky smirk as your hands traveled down your body, your tits perking a little in arousal as your hands slid down your skirt. You could practically see the way Jungkook was eye fucking you, his hand that about been resting on the table curling into a fist and his expression becoming darker by the moment.

You hadn’t said anything, hell you hadn’t even done anything, but you could tell he wanted to put you over his lap. And there was nothing he could do about it. Something about being aware of that practically made your confidence shoot through the roof as you sent him a playful wink. Effortlessly pushing down the skirt that complied, hitting the ground to reveal the almost light golden, sequin g string you wore beneath, the sheer gold stockings and garter belt to match on display. You could even hear a few whistles from the audience only making you that much cockier.

And Jungkook was livid. So livid. Despite sitting far away you could see the way his jaw clenched and his fist uncurled and impatiently tapped against the table, as if itching to get his hands on you. Arousal instantly shot between your legs, his dark, lust filled gaze making your body anxious granted this was the most inconvenient timing ever.

If they saw you wet, then that’s just what was gonna happen, you’d just blame it on Jungkook given he was the reason you were in this state. There was no point in worrying about it now. With that in mind you sunk to the ground, crawling out on your hands and knees, letting your tits bounce a little as you dropped to your forearms. Jungkook leaned back in his seat, the vein on his neck popped and you could even see his chest puffing a little.

The sight made you want to laugh, and for a split second a genuine smile wiggled it’s way onto your lips, before the seductive one quickly took back over as your thighs slid to the ground. Rolling on to your back your vision of him was upside down but that didn’t deter you from letting your hands drag back up your body, letting them squeeze against your breasts as your thighs rubbed together, warm arousal beginning to make your panties stick your folds as you let your body begin to roll as your hips thrusted upwards.

Your hands sliding back down your body as you began to tug your panties off, gaze never breaking away from Jungkook’s figure, that looked close to a starved man ready to sit between your thighs at the moment. Your panties were unshockingly wet as you kicked them off. As if you weren’t aroused before you certainly were now, naked on stage for the whole floor to see. But with your eyes locked with Jungkook’s it wasn’t like that, it was just you and him at the moment. No party, no one else, just you and him.

Pulling yourself to sit up you turned to face the audience once more on your knees, a cocky smile tugging on your lips as you let them slide apart. Your cunt was aching and glistening at being exposed as your hands ran up your body, playing with your hair as you heard another round of whistles.

But this wasn’t about them, this was about Jungkook’s clenched jaw and the way he bounced his knee impatiently, the way his fingers twitched against his glass and his eyes roaming all over your exposed body. You didn’t need to see his lap to know he was hard. Crawling back on your hands and knees one last time you sent a one more wink to the audience before rolling to the side. Sitting upright as you finished your last pose.

The lights went black as you quickly stood up. Walking off stage as best you could in your heels as you grabbed the robe from one of the stage assistants. Wrapping it around your body you let a giggle escape your lips.

Jungkook was turned on, but so were you. You’ll forever have the look on his face stained in your head, maybe something you both could laugh over later and then bang because it would make him horny.

Walking back to your dressing room you closed the door. Kicking off your heels as you pulled your hair up into a bun to focus on getting dressed. Sitting down you unclipped your stockings before walking over to your bag. You supposed your black mini dress would do, and maybe you’d wear a pair of your black fishnet stockings to go with it? Biting against your lip you figured that would do it before getting changed. Fixing the deep v neck that plunged, showing off your cleavage before pulling out a black pair of pumps to match.

You wouldn’t be able to talk to Jungkook...but maybe taking Diego up on his offer meant you could see him more? It was a gamble. Nibbling against your lip you fixed your hair in the mirror, putting your phone in the cup of your bra before adjusting it to not make it look obvious. Would you even want to see him this weekend?

Regardless Diego Friar might as well have been a pile of money sitting at your doorstep, he would be paying you for your company and you knew he’d pay well. This was why you were doing this after all. This was supposed to justify the means. Somehow. Nodding you stood up before heading out. Soloist’s seemed to do more of the entertaining for the guests than actually dancing, although you couldn’t say it was completely true for you. You still had five more dances to get through tonight but at least you had a good hour break before going on back to back.

Did they really only keep you here as prostitutes? You couldn’t help but wonder about that question, hardly anyone even watched you show. Pushing the door open to enter into the main room you let your eyes wash over the crowd. Why not just hire prostitutes?

It was legal here in Nevada, why make the strippers do it under dubious consent? Surely the clients budget wasn’t that tight. You supposed there was no point in making sense of it. While Diego would pay for your company, you wouldn’t lie if you said there weren't any underlying motives here. Diego was the client's son, surely he’d know what was going on...Not that you assumed he’d willingly tell you but...A little investigating wouldn’t hurt, right?

You knew the only thing you needed to focus on was getting to the end of the weekend, but you couldn’t help but wonder, if something illegal was going on here, shouldn’t somebody stop it? Stopping in front of the table you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you to see Diego standing up, as if waiting confidently, knowing you would come to this table.

“That was some performance doll.” He sent you a wink, his lips quirked into a smirk confidently, as if you had completely done that just for him. Had Diego not caught on between you and Jungkook? Or was he really that distracted by your body?

You offered a small smile in return as you wrapped your arms around yourself, “I told you I was saving my energy. So I was thinking,” You stretched your sentence as a playful smile tugged on your lips, “About your deal.”

Diego’s smirk was only reinforced by your words as he confidently strode up to you, “And?” The idea of sleeping with Diego was... less than appealing... but you had a lot of options to weigh here. The first being you were likely to see Jungkook more often, the second being you wouldn’t be passed from creep to creep and the third and last option was the one which wasn’t a good idea.

You wanted to know why the hell Seasonella existed, what was its purpose, who were these people? Diego was the client's son, if somebody knew the ropes of this party, it was him.

‘I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about our strippers coming here and not returning to Korea because of being difficult’

That’s the same words Jungkook told you. He wanted you to just go with the flow so nothing happened to you. Going with Diego was both the safest and most dangerous option, depending on how you played your cards. But you were willing to make a deal with the devil to find out, “I’ll agree to it, with some ground rules,”

Diego chuckled, shifting his weight from one foot to another, running a hand through his hair as he nodded, though it almost seemed vaguely patronizing, “Alright doll, that’s fair enough, what are these rules?”

“Condoms on at all times,” You immediately listed off, attempting to not wrinkle your nose at the idea of feeling him..raw...inside you...it made your stomach churn unpleasantly, “I’m not looking to get knocked up,” You offered a humored smile despite it feeling mildly forced, “And I want my mornings to myself,” You added, remembering Jungkook’s words, him telling you to ask for the mornings so you could at least be together then, “Two rules, and I’m all yours.”

You knew Jungkook wanted nothing more than to make sure you were safe. But you needed answers, you needed to know why this was happening. And furthermore, what part of this was illegal, if any at all.

Diego gave you a smile, his arm immediately wrapping around you as he replied, “Your rules are gold baby. You won’t be disappointed. C’mon, let's get you a drink and sit down.” It felt weird being held by somebody else while sipping on your classic margarita, taking a seat down at the table where Jungkook’s eyes glared at the arm wrapped around your shoulder like it pissed him off. It probably did. You could only hope Jungkook didn’t get the wrong idea about this, you weren’t doing this to spite him.

You did it for multiple reasons, none which even involved him...Well, none that involved him in a bad way. But to see Jungkook so...docile in a situation like this? In a situation “This is Y/n, the lovely doll I’ve been talking about.” Diego introduced you to his friends, mutual friends of Eva as well you assumed. It was coincidental that you and Jungkook just so happened to be sitting on the inside of the table next to one another, a respectful distance between you both given you both were supposed to be closer to each sibling.

“It’s so nice to meet you!” You gave a bright smile at the man- Lorenzo who was an italian with a strong accent and didn’t seem incredibly familiar with Koren, but enough that you could hold a steady conversation, he also seemed to be a considerably close friend of Diego’s compared to all of the others, “I hope you’ve been enjoying the show up on stage.”

What you hadn’t expected was a large, wrathful hand to harshly clamp your inner thigh making you nearly choke on your drink, callous fingers digging into your soft skin while roughly massaging closer to your core.

Your eyes sent sharp daggers to Jungkook’s figure, who was innocently on his side of the table, his free arm wrapped around Eva while conversing with her and one of her friends, acting as if he totally wasn’t groping you. This was not the time or place to be doing this!

“Ah yes, you put on quite the show.” You gave a forced smile at Lorenzo as you tried to wiggle your leg from Jungkook's grasp, it was useless though as he squeezed harder, his nails pleasantly digging into your skin as if in warning to stop.

It wasn’t even fair, Jungkook was speaking to Eva and her friends in english which you could only pick bits and pieces of conversation out of while he could hear everything you said. You tried your best, you really did. But Jungkook’s long thick fingers were making it difficult to focus, never quite making it to where you had hoped it would, but just enough to keep you on edge.

Was this some possessive display or reminder to you? You wished you could just ask Jungkook what his problem was. Maybe he was mad you weren’t wearing your collar, but could he really expect you too when...You couldn’t help but shudder. This was going to be a long night.

The night dragged on and admittedly, you couldn’t help but tense at all the pleasantries, you honestly assumed Diego would jump you the moment he got his hands on you but then again, he was from a prestigious family, clearly.

You sighed as you glanced at yourself in the mirror, rubbing the towel over the back of your neck that had broken out in a sweat, you were used to dancing on stage but something about being here had made you nervous. You weren’t sure what it was but the whole vibe of this place put you on edge. Shaking your head you pulled the skirt up to your waist before finishing putting on the rest of your clothes.

Dread filled your stomach but you couldn’t help it, anytime you weren’t dancing you were with Diego, you assumed the moment he got you alone he’d jump you but he had behaved well...But now your night of stripping was over, your body was tired and so were you but...Well you had a feeling the night had only just begun in other ways.

Jungkook had disappeared a while ago with Eva and her friends, he had finished earlier in the night then you but given he was more social it wasn’t a surprise he had stayed to converse with her and her friends. Or maybe it was Eva who wanted to stay longer?

You couldn’t help but feel a simmering anger boil inside you at the idea of someone controlling and dictating the man you loved. You forcibly calmed yourself as you pushed your hair off your shoulder. This wasn’t the time to brood of this, it wasn’t like you could do anything about it. Could you even be mad at Jungkook? No, not when you were with Diego.

Something about the situation made you grit your teeth as you pushed the door to your dressing room open. Why were you so powerless in a situation like this? You had never seen Jungkook let himself be powerless either.

Pausing you glanced at the ground as people rushed past you, the night on stage still very much alive and even busier than you had ever seen before. If Jungkook was too scared to speak up or if he was worried for you, then you’d do it for him. You nodded affirming to yourself.

Whatever the Friar’s were up too....You weren’t just going to sit still and watch your friends get bullied by them. The idea made your lips twitch and your fist coil in anger, why the fuck was nobody saying anything to them!?

Closing your eyes briefly you let your shoulders relax as you began to walk. It’s okay, they have all been there to help you on your feet. Now you’d stand beside them and defend them just as they have you. You didn’t know who these people were but you were going to find out.

Walking out of the back and into the large lounge your eyes scoped Diego who seemed to be talking to two other men...He hadn’t introduced you so they must have been work related contacts.

Walking over you gave a bright smile as Diego’s eyes landed on you, pausing conversation with the two men as he waved you over, “Finished up doll?” You nodded, feigning innocence to the two men’s stares that leered on you as Diego squeezed your chin, “Good. Tell you what baby, how about you head up to my room? I’ll catch up with you soon, I just have some business to take care of.”

You felt an odd shiver down your spine at his words. Business? At three in the morning? You still gave a smile as you nodded, “Of course! I’ll see you soon then.” You winked as you took the passcard from his hand, a charming expression on your face as you nodded to the two men before turning around.

You didn’t like this one bit. You glanced around in hopes of finding a familiar face but everyone seemed foreign to your eyes. Sighing, you shook your head a little, glancing down at the passcard to Diego’s room, number listed on it as you headed for the elevator.

Staying still you intended to enter the elevator only for your eyes to widen at the heated sight as the doors slid open, the familiar head of hair sucking harshly on skin as the woman moaned, Seokjin suddenly straightened up at the sight of you as he coughed harshly.

The girl jumped before turning around as she gave a sheepish smile before glancing up at him with pink cheeks, “Thanks for seeing me down, i’ll see you later.” She winked as she stepped out of the elevator just as you stepped in.

It was quiet for a moment as you and Seokjin awkwardly stood there, “I uh-”

“It’s cool.” You immediately cut him off as you both glanced at each other, unable to keep the awkward tense though as you both let out a small laugh, “She seemed happy.”

“I’d hope so,” Seokjin scoffed, not going into detail but you could tell they obviously had just finished sleeping together, if Seokjin’s sweat drenched and messy hair was anything to go by, his eyes glancing up at the number that ticked up in the elevator, “I’m assuming you’re headed for Diego’s?”

You gave a small nod before sighing, “Yeah...he had ‘business’ to take care of so he’s meeting me later…” You parted your lips for a moment before closing them once more, glancing up at Seokjin’s figure before asking, “...Seokjin…” Gaining his attention he glanced down at you as he raised his brows a little, “What’s going on here?”

You watched his shoulders tense a little as he pressed his lips together, glancing away from you before letting his gaze flicker across the elevator as if searching for something, “...Sometimes...it’s better to be ignorant Y/n,” You frowned at his cryptic words, Seokjin’s gaze on you was like a heavy weight, as if they were drilling through your soul as he continued, “Don’t look for something you’ll regret finding out. I saw Jungkook earlier.” Your frown deepened at his abrupt change of topic.

What was it that they knew that you didn’t? All you had heard were rumors thus far. It was obvious Seokjin and the others knew something was going on, so why weren’t they doing anything about it? Was it really easier to just turn a blind eye to whatever was happening?

Deciding to drop the subject you held in a sigh as you glanced up at the numbers sliding above the door, “Yeah…?” You kept your tone neutral, not wanting to say you didn’t want to hear it, but on the other hand you were a little curious.

“Yeah,” Seokjin clacked his tongue before snorting, “He didn’t look happy. Just kept staring at you on stage like a little puppy before Eva dragged him away.” You didn’t reply to his words for a moment. Were you surprised? No. Did it warm your heart?...Maybe a little...But still, you needed to play your cards carefully. The last thing you needed was Eva catching wind of your relation to Jungkook outside of being his trainee.

“Well he’s just going to have to deal with it.” You replied, not intending to come off as cold as you did making Seokjin turn to face you, his brows raised in somewhat surprise making you sighed as your expression softened a little, “What can I do about it Seokjin? What’s the point in talking about it? It just…” You inhaled sharply before letting it out, “It’s already upsetting, why even talk about it?”

You hadn’t even meant to project onto him, but you couldn’t help it, the early morning of what had happened with Jungkook was still fresh in your mind, what did he want from you? To say it was okay? That it would all be okay? It wasn’t okay! None of this was okay!

Seokjin frowned a little, his own expression softening a little as he nodded solemnly, “I can understand to a degree. But you can’t ignore him forever. What are you gonna do when all of this is over? Pretend like it never happened?”

Glaring down at the floor you didn’t reply for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. And I’m not gonna think about it right now. I have a lot more on my plate to focus on.” The doors slid open with a ding as you glanced ahead. Seokjin frowned at your words, wanting to respond but not having the time as you turned to give him a small smile, “Good luck Seokjin, I’ll see you later.”

Walking out of the elevator you kept a clear head as you walked down the eerily silent hallway, the elevator closed behind you leaving you all by yourself, the corridor was long and if you had gotten too close to a door you could hear soft moans from inside.

Stepping back to keep in center only to jolt at the sound of a loud crash and a muffled scream, “Be quiet you bitch!” Adrenaline shot through your veins at the muffled snarl of a man at the you were about to pass, “I’ll be back soon and you better be fucking prepared to perform again.”

You scrambled away from the door, heart pounding in your chest as the door ripped open, the sounds of sobs inside before the door slammed shut.

Footsteps stomped down the hallway until they could no longer be heard, when you heard the distinct sound of the elevator you timidly turned around...Should you…? Of course you should! Whatever had happened, it didn’t sound good. Nodding to yourself you swallowed thickly as you walked back to the door as you frowned. The sobbing was still muffled but could be heard inside and it was enough to break your heart...It wasn’t your business but…

You gently knocked on the door, no response sounding, just tears. Gently you opened the door, timidly gazing inside only to feel your heart crumble at the familiar sight.

Chan Hee.

Naked yet curled up, not on the bed, but on the ground against it with her knees curled to her chest and tears streaming down her face, an ugly welt on her cheek as her body trembled. Fumbling you closed the door behind you as you rushed up to her figure that seemed so small in comparison to any other time you’ve seen her.

Chan Hee, was the image of confidence, of not caring whether people saw her as bitchy or conceited. To see her so weak, so vulnerable, it crushed you more than you ever thought it would, “Chan Hee?” You weakly called out as you kneeled down, grabbing the throw blanket off the bed as she whimpered, her arms squeezing tightly around her knees, “Y-you should go.” She stammered, tears streaking down her cheeks as you wrapped the blanket around her body, “H-he’ll b-be back soon…”

“I’m not leaving you here by yourself.” You gritted your teeth, brows pinching together in anger as she sniffled, yes you may not have been on the best terms with her but you’d never turn your back to someone in need and right now she needed someone, “For all the differences we might have I would never leave you or anyone else here.”

Her fists coiled around the blanket as she lowered her gaze, trembling as tears dripped down her cheeks, standing up you gathered her clothes that were scattered across the floor before sitting down next to her, “Nobody fucking told me it would be a whore house here.” She sniffed as she gritted her teeth, wiping her eyes once more with trembling hands.

“I was told…” You murmured as you glanced at the floor, Chan Hee glancing at you as she rubbed her eyes, “But I just didn’t listen, didn’t even think about it.” You gave a hurmorless smile at the floor before it dropped, silently berating yourself on how ignorant you chose to be despite the many times Jungkook warned you, “I was so naive and dumb, it didn’t even register in my brain until this morning.

It was quiet for a moment as you both sat in silence before you shuffled, “C’mon, let’s get you dressed. I’d rather not be here when he comes back.” Chan Hee shakily sat herself on the bed, surprisingly letting you help her get dressed.

Her legs were particularly twitchy, her eyes seemed glassy still and her gaze distant, “...I didn’t care at first,” She whispered under her breath, not looking at you as you pulled the top over her head, “...Sex is sex, it was just another tip under my belt...But after the first round...it was just too much,” Her eyes were beginning to water again as she scoffed despite her lips quivering, “...And even when I told him to stop he-” She inhaled, choking back a sob that made your own eyes water.

Kneeling down in front of her you gently grabbed her hands, her gaze was down in her lap as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks, it was odd seeing Chan Hee seem so...ashamed, broken even, “Chan Hee, I know apologizing isn’t going to fix what happened, but I am sorry. It shouldn’t be like this, everything in Seasonella... Come on, where’s your room at? You shouldn’t be subjected to this anymore.”

Chan Hee didn’t reject your movement as you helped her up, your pulse speeding up as you opened the door, timidly glancing around before walking up ahead to the other elevator, only praying you wouldn’t run into the man that did this, “Fifth floor, 32.” She murmured, her body trembling a little as you both got into the elevator.

The strippers floor was quiet, almost all rooms vacant as everyone was out filling client rooms or dancing, you helped Chan Hee into her room as you set her on her bed, feeling a little lost until she weakly laid down, “I’ll be okay,” She murmured, curling up against her covers as she hugged her pillow, “...thank you.” Two words and yet they felt so hopeless and sad, you mustered a small smile as you nodded before reluctantly turning around.

Your thoughts lingered on Chan Hee before flittering to Seokjin’s words, and then briefly they stayed on Jungkook. Sighing you pinched the bridge of your nose as you shook your head, pushing the cardkey into the slot before walking into the large room.

What you didn’t expect was the room to be vacant. You had been gone at least twenty minutes and Diego still wasn’t here? You frowned as you warily stepped into the room, it at first appeared like a lodge of some sort, couches facing each other with a small kitchen at the back wall, up the two steps however was the large king size bed and a desk with a dresser nearby. Despite the room's large size, his main bedroom seemed almost small.

Your eyes honed in on the messy desk, Seokjin’s words replaying in your mind before Chan Hee’s figure reminded you why you were here. Maybe they would pretend like everything was okay and bare it, but you weren’t. Not when stuff like this was happening. Carefully you glanced around the room before looking over your shoulder at the door as you walked up to the desk.

Pushing through some of the paper you frowned as you picked up a document of sorts.

Warehouse 15: Currently full

Shipments will need to be made by the 22nd and deadlines for payments will be cut off by the 25th when the cargo has arrived, we’ll need to gain the last set of the cargo during the weekend of the 18th-

You jumped at the sound of the door closing, hurriedly dropping the document as you swiftly turned around. Diego’s figure was skewered by the corner of the wall, “You’re here.” You welcomed as you painted a smile on your face despite the back of your mind rampantly running at whatever you just read, warehouse 15? What was held in it that was full? And clients? Was this what Seasonella was about? Today was the 18th, the start of the weekend…

“Seems someone is eager to see me.” Diego sent you a wink as he pulled the jacket off as you felt your smile tense a little, he seemed tired as he loosened his tie.

You slowly made your way down the two steps into the main lodge as you sat down on the couch, “Well it was getting a little lonely here...Did you take care of your business?” You asked carefully, keeping your eyes wide and doe like to appear innocent as you folded your hands into your lap.

Diego chuckled a little, unbuttoning his waist coat as he sat down a little closer to you then you would’ve liked but you didn’t move away, “Yes, it’s all finished now. No need to worry about that doll, c’mere.” You squeaked a little at the way his hands grabbed onto your waist, pulling you to straddle his lap.

It felt foreign as you had never slept with a client before and the only man you had slept with in months was...Jungkook...you felt somewhat nauseous thinking about him, thinking about what you were about to do, “You’ve got all my attention now,” Diego licked his lips as he pushed the hair from your face, your body tense as you resisted to pull away from his touch like you wanted.

It wasn’t warm and tender like Jungkook’s, one that made you want to bury further into him. No, this felt somewhat condescending in a way, as if your hand was being twisted behind your back and his grip was lifeless of any sort of care or love, “Relax baby, you seem so tense.” Diego purred as his hands slid to your waist.

You let the smile turn more charismatic as you giggled a little, shrugging as you forced your thoughts into the back of your head, “It’s just been a...long day...but incredible I mean…” You let your smile turn more coy, girlish as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, “I’m in Las Vegas, it’s a little overwhelming...I just can’t help but wonder, how did Seasonella begin Diego?” You tilted your head innocently as you let your hands press gently against his chest.

“Curious are we?” He chuckled a little, a smirk coiling on his lips as you rolled your hips a little enticingly, the more you gave the more willing he’d be to speak on this, or so you hoped, “Seasonella was originally just an annual meeting held between my fathers men yearly,” His hands rested on your hips as you swayed them against his, letting them roll along the hardening bulge of his cock,, “It slowly began to grow into his men bringing other references, and those references bring theirs until it grew even more, eventually it became more like an open party to the right people to come and do business with us. It’s what made our wealth skyrocket.”

You were having a difficult time relaxing as he leaned in against your neck, lips trailing along your neck as your breath catched a little as you focused everything onto his words. You’d need more than that to go on. You wiggled your hips a little more as you pulled away, letting your lips tug into a cute pout before letting them twist into a playful smile, “And that’s it? That’s how you started taking strippers from across the globe to attend?”

Diego placed his hands on your hips as you gave them a little sway, pretending as if you totally hadn’t felt his obviously lacking hard on, “When the meeting starting becoming bigger and more akin to a party we started hiring on entertainment,” You could see the way Diego was becoming more pliable, more willing to spill whatever you wanted so you could hurry up, “Of course it ended up benefiting us in the end, we invest they give us girls. It works out.”

What…?

Diego, perhaps realizing how his words sounded didn’t give you a chance to question him further, you squeaked as he pushed you down onto the couch, climbing on top of you as you swallowed thickly, “But enough of that doll. I’m more interested in how tight that little cunt is.” You jumped a little at his lips attaching to your neck, the sharp moan leaving you before you could stop it.

Diego’s hands dragged their way down your waist as you squirmed beneath him, controlling your breaths as adrenaline shot through your veins. Just today and tomorrow, that’s all you needed to get through.

“Kookie, why have you been so quiet?” Eva turned to face him with a pouty frown, shifting the blanket to cover her plump perky breasts as she laid her head against her arms, observing the way Jungkook laid on his back, his expression dimmed and the frown harshly twisted on his lips.

The door had just closed and her friend who had joined them in such an incredible night in bed had taken her leave. Jungkook didn’t reply for a moment, unsure of how to before he finally shrugged, sitting up as the blanket fell off his chest revealing the broad chiseled sight that was making her rub her thighs together all over again, “Eva can I be honest with you?”

It was a dumb question, because while he was sure she was going to say yes despite the likelihood that she’d accept his words was….rather slim.

Eva gave him a wide, excited smile, as if she thought for sure he was slowly beginning to open up to her. Sitting up eagerly, she clutched the sheets against her chest as she gave him a timid smile, “Of course you can Jungkook, I’ll never judge you.” Rather than make him smile though Jungkook’s brows only furthered as he sighed, running a hand through his damp hair, “What do you think we are, relationally speaking?” He wanted to cringe at the question, but it was something he had been thinking about. Eva had continuously gloated to her friends about her ‘boyfriend when Jungkook had made himself clear several times before that he was not her boyfriend..

Eva’s cheeks dusted a light pink as she glanced coyly at the blankets, “Well...I thought I made my point Kook. If it weren’t for my studies I’d be in Korea...with you...I like you....a lot...I have since we met last year.”

Jungkook didn’t mean to let the groan escape him but it was too late, Eva had stiffened somewhat as she glanced at him carefully awaiting his response, “Eva….” His words didn’t sound promising he knew it, but Jungkook wanted to make himself very clear, “You do understand that I’m only here because I have to be here? Right? You’re a nice girl but…” Should he bring you into this conversation? No...he’ll need to make it discreet, “I’ve met someone...Someone I really love...”

Jungkook felt somewhat timid meeting her gaze, it was worse than he had hoped for truthfully. Eva was as stiff as a board and her gaze was darkening by the second before she gave a loud scoff that came out as if she was trying to force it into a laugh, her smile sharper than usual as she replied, “Love…? Maybe it’s just me but if you really loved someone, you wouldn’t be working as a stripper and sleeping with people behind her back.”

Jungkook had parted his lips to object but quickly snapped them shut, remembering he had told himself he was leaving you out of this. He couldn’t help but feel guilty though, did he really love you if he was doing this? He could feel it eating him alive inside as she gave him a snide smile, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I get it Jungkook I do, we’ve been apart a year, but just give it a shot!”

Eva ignored the way his body tensed as she climbed into his lap, cupping his face as her smile softened a little, “I think we could really work Jungkook...besides...you know I can offer you anything she could and even more,” Jungkook’s jaw clenched against her grip and he refused to meet her eyes, “And you know it, I’ll take care of you, provide for you, my family will keep you safe from KOI and I know how much of a strangle hold they’ve had on you before.”

Letting her forehead rest against his she leaned in, his lips were so soft and addictive. Eva only felt them for a few seconds before she was pushed away, her lips even parted in somewhat offense at the aggressive and cold glare he gave her, “I’ll sleep with you all you want, I’ll play boyfriend while I’m here, I’ll let you have your fun with your friends,” She whined a little as he shoved her against the bed climbing on top of her, “But don’t you ever fucking kiss me like you’re actually apart of my life. You know nothing about me or who I am and it’s going to be kept this way.”

Jungkook roughly rolled her onto her stomach as he growled, “Now I’m gonna spank this ass until it’s bruised and you’re gonna count you disobedient bitch.” He didn’t even wait for her to speak, she was already moaning and whining as his hand slammed against the delicate pale skin of her ass. Jungkook didn’t care how much she knew about him or how much she could dangle his past over his head, there would always be few things off limits and this was one of them.

…

It was morning, you knew it was. Light streamed through the windows and it looked like a beautiful day outside, blue sky with billowing white clouds. If you were back home in Korea you would’ve begged Jungkook to take you to the market where you’d go to look for plants and succulents to add to your collection.

But you weren’t home. No. You were in Diego Friar’s bed with thighs that ached and like they were on fire with your stomach churning for the past thirty minutes. He had left a while ago saying he had work to take care of and that he’d meet you in the cafe for breakfast. That was okay, you didn’t want him to stay anyways. You felt gross, every inch of your body felt disgusting and you knew a shower wouldn’t be enough to make you feel better.

Trying to ignore the dull throb of your stomach you sat up feeling somewhat numb as you carefully dressed yourself. Glancing at Diego’s desk you deflated even more, all the paper that had been thrown across was gathered and most likely taken by him this morning. Standing up you winced as you forced yourself to walk. You weren’t going to break down...you weren’t going to break down crying…

No matter how much you repeated it in your head you still felt tears glossing in your eyes as you punched the bottom floor button, the elevator was making your stomach feel even worse as you groaned silently, the elevator was too small and there were too many people here.

As soon as the doors slid open you pushed your way out, the churn of your stomach becoming too much and you needed to find a bathroom, fast, “Oh hey Y/n-” Jimin’s eyes widened a little as you shoved past him and into the bathroom.

Unable to even lock the stall door as you lurched down onto your knees, the sour taste of alcohol and last night's meal coming up as you coughed rancidly, spitting out bile as tears trickled down your cheeks from the force of your cough as you began to dry heave up any last bits.

Sitting down against the toilet you couldn’t help but let the tears trickle down your face as you let out a sob. God you felt disgusting, would Jungkook even want to be with you today after knowing...After seeing? Your hands trembled as you sobbed into them. Sniffling harshly as you forced yourself up to stand, flushing away the reminder of what had happened before wobbling out to the sink to fix yourself up.

Your eyes still looked bloodshot but it wasn’t notable as long as someone didn’t stare for long, you rinsed your mouth out with the sink water, gurgling a few times as you gagged while spitting it out, the raw burn of your throat a reminder of what had just happened.

Opening the door you jumped a little to see the sight of Jimin leaning against the wall with one foot, arms crossed as his eyes landed on you, a frown quirking onto his lips as he sighed, “...You...look like you’ve seen better days.” He picked his words carefully, “You good?”

You closed your eyes briefly, trying to ignore the churn of your stomach already despite having just thrown up, “As well as I can be, I just...Sorry I didn’t mean to push you, I just uh...threw up.” You gave a weak smile as Jimin examined your figure, “Sorry. It’s just been a long night.”

He nodded understandingly, “Well I’m sure your body is already going through a lot as it is, you should really lay down and rest.” You sighed at his words, glancing away from him as you rubbed your forehead.

“I told Diego i’d be at breakfast in the cafe....What are you doing here?” You pressed your brows together as you tilted your head, why was Jimin here anyways? You had been in too much of a rush to think much of it before.

Jimin snorted, “I was going to breakfast but after you rushed past me I figured I’d stay behind to check on you. Like I said, you look like you’ve seen better days. Who cares about Diego? I’m sure he won’t be hurt if you skip.”

“...Well yeah but…” You trailed off with a frown causing Jimin to peer at you somewhat confused as you sighed, stepping closer to him as you lowered your voice, “...You’re the only one I’m going to tell but...Something is going on here Jimin,” You glanced up at him, your gaze serious and even boarding harsh as you continued, “And I’m going to find out what it is and stop it.”

Jimin’s gaze hardened a little as he frowned, “Y/n…” He shook his head a little in disdain as you scoffed while stepping away from him. Why was it everyone was so fucking scared? This wasn’t right! Whatever it was! “These people are dangerous...Be careful. I need to go get breakfast for myself and Rosé but...just be careful okay? There’s a reason a lot of us just leave it alone.” His gaze was a silent warning as you nodded reservedly before you let Jimin walk past you.

Sighing you pinched the bridge of your nose. Why must everything be so secretive?

Breakfast hour was always Jungkook’s favorite part of Seasonella, free food and he could officially go and sleep off the ache of his body for the rest of the day before rinse repeat in this scenario. It was normal to eat with said client and no matter how annoying it was Jungkook would tolerate it when you were just in eyesight.

No matter how much it pissed him off. You wouldn’t meet his gaze and he knew exactly why, your neck was shamelessly covered in hickies and there was a slight limp in your walk when you showed up, oddly by yourself and it for a moment made every sense in his body tell him to go sit with you and coddle you.

It was like his conversation with Eva the night before hadn’t even existed, either she was truly dense or she was cooking something up.

Jungkook didn’t like the way she smiled and laughed with all of her friends, some passing jokes to each other in hopes of maybe buttering him up about how good he was in bed to get one more round in before he’d call it quits. But no amount of jokes or compliments were getting him to budge. He had managed a few smiles and jokes as well but nothing more than playful banter.

He kept his gaze towards you minimally, but he felt somewhat useless when his gaze met yours, had you been looking at him too?

Jungkook could feel his outer charming mask begin to crumble at the way your lips quivered and your eyes shooting back down to your untouched food. The sudden need to touch you, to hold you filling his veins. His fingers began to thrum against the table in impatience before he checked his phone, he couldn’t wait, it was nearly killing him.

Jungkook swallowed thickly at how sharp and dry your words over text were, were you actually okay. You hadn’t looked at him once when you got up from the table, your food untouched as you left. He could only sigh and endure the rest of breakfast until he was finally free of Eva’s claws the rest of the day.

Jungkook’s body was objecting to every sluggish step he took back to his room, it had been awhile since he actually pulled an all nighter, well into the morning hours without any sleep whatsoever. Rubbing his eyes he yawned as he opened the door, quietly closing it as he felt his once tense muscles relaxed at the familiar sight.

You were curled up against the bed, the large hoody- his as a matter of fact, drowning your body and the hood pulled over your head while you buried in the large pillows. Jungkook felt his lips curve a little into a soft smile as he changed out of his sticky previously sweat stained clothes, feeling relieved to just be comfortable once more as he drew the large thick currents over the window to darken the room before he sat down on the bed. His hand gently stroking your waist.

What he hadn’t expected was the violent jolt from you before jerking away making him frown. Jungkook had anticipated you wanting his touch after such an...intense night but, maybe he was wrong... His jaw clenched slightly at the way your body tensed and didn’t seem to relax at the realization he was in bed with you. He didn’t even want to think about what you went through last night.

Not wanting to push your comfort zone Jungkook sighed as he laid down on his side of the bed, your back was turned to him and you hadn’t even greeted him yet. Oh well, words didn’t need to be spoken. Jungkook could only let his gaze longingly stare against your figure that was curled away from him. God he just wanted to hold you, now he couldn’t even do that.

....

Your mind felt fuzzy, that kind of drowsiness you wake up with when you decide to take a nap at an odd hour and when you wake up you don’t know what time it is and if it’s day or night. You groaned as you rolled over, your muscles gripping at the sight of an empty bed. Where did Jungkook go?

You were aware you hadn’t been...the kindest...but maybe you were just still reeling from last night. That didn’t mean you didn’t want to see him though...You felt yourself relax at the sight of Jungkook appearing from the bathroom, his lips quirking up a little at the sight of your half awake figure.

“I have a bath running, we need to get you cleaned up.” Jungkook sat down on the side of the bed as he let his hand stroke through your hair, your body flinched a little at the contact, your poor scalp was still sore from how much Diego had pulled on your hair. Jungkook frowned before tenderly letting his fingers run along your scalp.

“Thanks.” You replied dryly, a tiny bit of humor detected in your tone while letting your lips tug into a tiny smile, it was hard to keep a straight face when you were around Jungkook, even like this. It was something Jungkook seemed to return so easily, his fingers sliding down to your cheek to gently stroke along it.

“That’s not what I meant,” He clacked his tongue, trying to give you a scolding look but failing as his lips twisted into a smile, “C’mere,” Jungkook internally sighed, his heart broke for you, he could see how much you were struggling to not instinctively push him away as your body tensed and flinched as he picked you up. You really were trying your best to relax in his grip as he carried you to the bathroom, “It’s not about you being dirty, it’s about me not wanting you to get an infection.”

Jungkook already had a fresh set of clothes folded neatly on the closed toilet seat as he set you on the counter, tugging off the sweatshirt that covered your body as he sighed. His lips unable to stay smiling as they twisted into a sad frown at the hickies your body sported and bruises on your hips in the shape of fingers.

“I get it. It was a lot,” He mumbled as he pulled out a hairbrush from his bag that laid on the ground, gently untangling your hair as he refused to meet your gaze, “But I’d never hurt you baby. You know that right? I don’t want you to ever think I’d make you do something you don’t want too. I don’t want to know what happened last night, but I’ll never treat you the way he did.”

Your shoulders kept tensing and relaxing over and over again as Jungkook finished brushing your hair, finally glancing down at you as he sighed, tears were beginning to streak down your face as you closed your eyes, “I feel so fucking gross.” You finally relented, your hands shaking as you pressed them into your eyes, “I...I...Jungkook...I feel so disgusting.”

And you did, you felt ruined. Like you didn’t deserve to even be in the same room as Jungkook at the moment. Why would he even want you now? After...after last night...Jungkook hushed you gently as he wrapped his arms around you tenderly pressing a kiss against your head, his heart lurching and it hurt with every beat at the tears you cried, “Shhh, it’ll be okay baby. Just tonight and we’re done. Shhh, don’t cry baby.”

For the first time you had craved his warmth all over again, letting his arms tighten around you as he cradled you close, peppering kisses against your hair before eventually coaxing you into the nice warm tub.

It felt normal, as if you weren’t at Seasonella or like Diego and Eva never happened. It was just you and Jungkook, his arms still loosely wrapped around you, his fingers dancing along your skin beneath the water soothingly and his lips occasionally pecking softly against the hickies. As if to make them feel better, as if to make them his even if they weren’t.

After a hefty amount of coaxing Jungkook had finally gotten you to give in, your fists clenched as you sucked in a sharp breath, “What happens in this bathtub, stays in this bathtub by the way.” You heard him chuckle as you whined, pressing your forehead against the cold tile of the wall, “Do I need stitches? It feels like I do.”

Jungkook sighed as if him staring at your asshole with cheeks spread open was something he did everyday, “No you don’t need stitches. There’s some blood, yeah but that’s just because he didn’t properly prep you. Poor baby.” He let go of your cheeks before letting his hand gently rub against the bruised surface, “I’ll clean it up, outside of it hurting there’s nothing actually wrong. Luckily we can get you some medicine for that.”

You winced as he spread them back open. You never in your life, thought you’d be in a bathtub with your asscheeks spread just so Jungkook could clean you up. You thought you had gotten past any sort of embarrassment you’d ever feel around Jungkook yet it seemed like he lived to prove you wrong. You sucked in another breath as you felt the soft warm bath cloth rub against the aching puckered ring.

“There, all better.” Jungkook set the bathcloth down before tenderly grabbing your waist, guiding you to sit back down in the nice soothingly hot water as he pressed another kiss against your neck, “Can’t believe he’d actually do that to you.” He gritted his teeth as he muttered under his breath.

You shifted a little, nibbling against your lip, you knew that wasn’t his invitation to getting you to talk about it but… “It was dark….I doubt he realized it was blood…” You mumbled, you could feel his skin tense beneath you as he huffed.

“If there was blood involved you can’t tell me you weren’t crying.” Jungkook tried to keep his voice a steady note but he could feel his anger beginning to rise, just the idea made him sick to his stomach.

You didn’t have the heart to mention he was right, you had cried while mumbling your safeword a fair amount of times when anal got involved, maybe if you had just said something he’d....But did you even want his comfort though? No, you gritted your teeth and dealt with it because you wanted that disgusting human being away from you as soon as he blew his load.

Jungkook pulled you out of the water, wrapping a warm fluffy towel around you as he carefully dried you off, saying no more on the subject as it was clear neither of you really wanted to talk about it. No, you just wanted to enjoy what time you could with him.

Pulling on the fresh pair of panties and Jungkook helped you tug on the comfy gym shorts before pulling the nice warm sweatshirt over your head, it smelt like him, your favorite smell.

Sitting down in bed you patiently waited for Jungkook as he typed in the password on your laptop, intending to put something on for you both to watch as he set in on the bed, a knock on the door making you both alert.

You glanced at Jungkook in confusion as he gave you a weak smile, “I know you said you weren’t hungry but baby...you need to eat something.” You frowned a little as you tugged on a strand of hair. Opening the door he pulled out his wallet, paying for the food before closing the door behind him. Taking a seat on the bed as he opened up the takeout boxes, you wouldn’t deny the glee that entered your body at the sight of Chow Mein and Shrimp.

One bite into your food though immediately made your stomach lurch, your hand squeezing against the wooden chopsticks as you forced yourself to swallow. Jungkook was right, you needed to eat something. It didn’t matter how tasty it was though, it made you sick to your stomach the more you ate.

One more bite and you had to put down your chopsticks, Jungkook frowned as he noticed your hand covering your mouth, “Hey, you okay baby?” He couldn’t even finish his words before you were already scrambling off the bed at your stomach lurching and your throat constricting. You barely made it to the toilet before you were already throwing up what little you had eaten, dry heaving despite nothing coming up.

You couldn’t stand when people tried to comfort you when you were throwing up and Jungkook got a good taste of that when he attempted the first time he witnessed you hungover. Your vision was blurred with tears as you spat up the vile taste that lingered in your mouth, after a few moments Jungkook entered the bathroom as you wiped your mouth with toilet paper, tossing it carelessly in before weakly pulling the handle.

Your body trembled as he sighed, pressing a kiss on top of your head, “You good?” He sat down as he wrapped his arms loosely around you.

“Y-yeah, I just haven’t been able to keep anything down.” Your body trembled once more as you curled against him, letting him pick you up before delicately carrying you back to bed.

Leaned against him you weakly curled up as you sighed, your head was beginning to throb once more and your stomach ached with a lingering aftertaste of vomit, god you felt so weak and Chow Mein was not as good as you remembered it tasting. Closing your eyes once more you relaxed on top of Jungkook’s laid out figure, his hand tenderly stroking your back as you nudged into his neck. You’d be happy when all of this was over.

Note: I got way too impatient and just decided to post this chapter a few hours early, not that y’all are complaining 😂 Let me know what you guys think about everything going on! It’s a lot to take in! 🖤

(Taglist: Due to a bug on my blog nobody will receive notifications from my taglist so I’ve decided to skip it this update, should things return to normal on my blog the taglist will resume!)

#bts #jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader smut #jungkook x y/n #jungkook imagine #jungkook smut #jungkook au #bts au

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rivers-children · 3 years

Text

Chapter 4

It had been a few moons now, and Speckledpaw was getting into the rhythm of training. She got along well enough with the older apprentices, Finchpaw and Thrushpaw, though the latter made her more uncomfortable as time went on. Palepelt had been working alongside Milkmoon to help Speckledpaw with her fear of the water. She would never be a great swimmer, but she had started to love diving, often ducking into the small tunnels to the nursery to make sure they were stable. It also gave her an excuse to check up on her aunt, who was expecting another litter, albeit not a planned one.

“Hey Auntie, how are you holding up? Leafpaw says he thinks you’re expecting another kinda big litter. Also I brought you something to eat.” The apprentice set the fish in front of her aunt, who was splayed on her side, practically engulfed in the soft moss Snailpatch kept bringing in.

“Oh, thank you! I’m doing wonderful. Just occupying myself with thinking of potential names and trying to not sink too far into this moss.” She joked slightly, rolling onto her stomach to eat, not quite showing her pregnancy obviously. “When you leave, please tell your uncle that I’m fine and I’d rather he snuggle with me if he’s so worried. At this rate there won’t be any moss for the medicine den.”

Speckledpaw snorted. “I’ll try my best. He’s been running around like a quail without its head. I think everyone’s started being more worried about his health over yours.” She nuzzled her aunt gently. “I gotta go, Auntie Spruce wants me and Palepelt to do a border patrol, with the big meeting coming up and all. Briarpaw says he’s gonna check on you later, do you need me to pass on any messages or anything?” All the grown cats had been weirdly concerned about Riverback’s pregnancy, apparently she’d had two other kits that didn’t make it because she got ill suddenly or something.

“No, No, I’m fine, but if you see any Cloudclan cats, give them hell for me, alright?” Riverback nudged her niece playfully with a paw, grinning. Speckledpaw just snorted, shaking her head a little before padding out. Camp had been getting quieter lately, everyone focused on preparing for Leaf-Bare. She watched Elderbark slowly make her way to the medicine den, carrying a fresh bundle of herbs. For a brief second, worry struck the apprentice that the elderly cat wouldn’t make it through the season. She had been the medicine cat before her grandfather had been born, and the thought of losing her constant presence was concerning.

“Speckledpaw, are you ready?” The sound of her mentor approaching snapped her out of it and she looked over. The white molly practically Reeked of Redwind, Speckledpaw suppressing a slight gag at the memory of the two cats constantly courting each other. Gross.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Which side are we starting on?” She followed her mentor out of camp, easily keeping pace with her mentor, and she suddenly felt a bit weird as she realized they were nearly the same height now. “We’ll be starting at the barn, to see how they’re doing and if they’d be willing to trade for herbs this coming season. I’d like to leave Cloudclan for last. With any luck we’ll avoid one of their patrols and a fight.”

They quickly crossed the stones, the river much too cold to swim across now. “Auntie’s new litter are gonna be lucky. Learnin how to swim during Green-Leaf and all.” Speckledpaw mumbled absent-mindedly, following the slowly-familiarizing path to the barn. She liked the barn, the cats there were kind and willing to help, even if they were a little strange. Especially the leader of the group, Damascus. He was pretty old and some of the warriors thought he’d kinda lost it already. His daughter was super nice though, she had told Speckledpaw all sorts of stories when they had to stay the night because of a storm.

The apprentice nearly bumped into the fence because of her daydreaming, worming her way underneath as Palepelt lept over it. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to jump like her mentor, but it sure was a pretty sight to see.

“Howdy Miss Palepelt! Ya here to talk business or just see my pretty face again?” “Hello Daffodil. It’s business. I’d love to stay and chat but we still have a patrol to finish.” “Darn shame. I’ll go get Damascus. Be back faster than a lamb shake!” The soft golden molly who had greeted them hurried off as quickly as she had arrived, leaving the two clan cats to look over the farm. Cats were hard at work, either tending to kits, or to the weird patches of ground they called The Field. They had figured out how to grow herbs in the ground, so they were really good friends with Marshclan.

Elderbark had apparently also tried to start growing herbs, but the soil in camp wasn’t the right kind, and anything out of camp would be too much of a hassle to regularly tend to like The Field. So instead every Leaf-Bare, and other times through the year, they’d trade. Fish for herbs, each getting something they wanted. Speckledpaw wasn’t quite sure why they wanted fish, they seemed to have so much already, but apparently they really liked the fish from Marshclan territory.

“Palepelt, good to see you again. I suppose you’re here to talk about trading this winter?” Damascus, an old tom who was probably pure black in his youth but now heavily greying, hobbled over. “And how is Miss Elderbark? Is she well?” Palepelt nodded a greeting. “Yes, we are here to discuss trade. And Elderbark is well.”

The tom seemed pleased to hear that. “Ah, wonderful. And of course we can trade. The harvest has been wonderful this season, and some of the young’uns are moving young sprouts of them more important herbs into the barn so they’ll stay warm even if it snows.”

“That’s wonderful. In the next few days Sprucestar will be over then to discuss in more detail.” Palepelt smiled slightly. “Now if you’ll excuse our sudden exit, we must go.” She hopped up on top of the fence.

“Course. Don’t be shy now! Come as often as ya’ll need!” The elderly tom called after the two mollies as they left.

“Ok so… now we’re going towards Pineclan, right?” Speckledpaw tried to map their path out in her head. She wondered if they’d see any of them when they passed. She had yet to meet any, but she’d heard stories of cats that melted into the shadows and ran with the wind.

“That we are. Don’t expect much though. They won’t really be patrolling our edge of the border. They have no reason to, and we don’t have much of one either, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Palepelt’s voice was quieter now, and she didn’t turn to look at her apprentice either. Speckledpaw had to wonder if her mentor had someone close there.

The empty path of land stretching the boundary between the two clans unsettled her. She had always been told their ancestors had split it apart from their territories so cats unrelated to the war could pass in peace, but the packed dirt still carried the scent of death, at least to Speckledpaw. So instead, she tried to focus on the slight crunch of the grass under her paws, and watching the unfamiliar trees packed on the other border.

“...Palepelt? How do they ever get anywhere through all those trees?” She could barely see any way through, any opening seemed to just be filled with more tree. “I mean, I don’t think anyone but you and Springpaw could fit through there.”

The white molly stopped for a second, before snorting a little, her sullen mood apparently broken. “Speckledpaw, Pineclan cats tend to look different than Marshclan ones. They’re more built for weaving through those trees, like how you’re more built for diving.” She lightly nudged her apprentice as she made a noise of realization.

“Most of us. I still struggled.” A sudden new voice sent both mollies on edge for a second, Palepelt whipping her head to look across the border. A huge brown and white molly stood on the other end of the border, though for a split second Speckledpaw thought the fellow cat had been some kind of beast. Scars were littered all across her pelt, and her eyes looked to be set in a permanent stern expression.

“B-Bearstar, it’s an honor to see yo-” ‘Easy, easy. No need to be so formal.” The two older cats quietly greeted each other. “But why are you out on patrol alone?”

As they spoke, Speckledpaw’s ears perked as she spotted something approaching through the trees. “Oh, I’m not patrolling alone. My mate and kit are with me, we were taking them out to tour the territory, as well as make sure Cloudclan isn’t pushing borders again.” The large leader looked back into the tree line, silently giving a go ahead for whoever was in there to step forwards. There was a silent gasp of amazement from the Marshclan apprentice as two sleek cats emerged. She could swear they were slimmer than the shadows.

“Hello there, I’m Nightsong, and this is our kit, Snakepaw.” The large cat spoke, her dark pelt accented by the three light spots and her deep grey eyes. Speckledpaw had to look away for a second, her face flushing. So pretty… When she finally looked back up, the mollies had been joined by a scrawny, trembling apprentice, shorter than her. Their slim tail was wrapped tightly around their leg, nearly giving Speckledpaw a heart attack thinking there was a snake instead, due to its patterning.

“So Cloudclan has been pushing again lately?” Palepelt spoke up again, bringing everyone back to attention. “I had been hoping the treaty would be upheld for more than 4 seasons… Well, I can certainly speak on the whole clan’s behalf that we will still continue to honor it.” Bearstar nodded slightly. “I appreciate that heavily. I can promise we will do the same. And be safe on the rest of your patrol.”

The three Pineclan cats vanished back into the trees, Snakepaw glancing once back at Speckledpaw, a hint of that same amazement she had reflected in their eyes. They shared eye contact for a brief second before going their separate ways.

“Let’s keep going, if we move fast we’ll be back before sundown. Ideally I want to be as far from the Cloudclan border as possible by then. If they’re willing to break a treaty so soon, I don’t doubt they’d be willing to attack us as soon as it gets harder to tell exactly who is who.” Palepelt quickened her pace towards the mountain in the distance.

#warrior cat #warrior cats #long post #book 1 #chapter 4

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365daysoftododeku · 5 years

Text

17th September 2019

Author: CrzA

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We Waited This Long

Izuku’s decision to go study in America after graduating from U.A. had been a long time coming. Ever since they started thinking about what would happen once they were done with high school, Shouto had been expecting it. Izuku was following in All Might’s footsteps, and it was common knowledge the hero had gone abroad once he was out of high school himself. But even if that weren’t the case, America had amazing opportunities waiting for young, up and coming heroes that he could surely benefit from. It was only natural that would be the next logical step for someone hoping to become the next symbol of peace after his mentor entrusted him with the task.

At first, Shouto had been upset. After all, his best friend was going all the way across the globe, and not only that, but it wasn’t really a secret that Izuku meant a lot more to him than either of them chose to let on. They had other things to worry about at the time, more important things. There would be time for him to act on his feelings, Shouto told himself, when things were a little less hectic. They both knew where the other stood and that was all that mattered in the then and there. They exchanged caring touches, fond glances, hushed words of comfort, even a few warm embraces that, to this day, still manage to draw out the cold feeling of loneliness with just the memory alone.

Eventually, he managed to accept it, long before Izuku even said his final decision out loud. Shouto was happy for him, still is, really, but even so, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to miss him terribly.

Throughout the time he was away, they wrote to each other, they texted each other and sometimes even indulged in a few calls, but never video. For some reason, Shouto felt like it would hurt just a little more to see Izuku’s face. It was enough to see him on the news, on online forums, social media posts… Even those, he avoided looking at for too long, lest his heart start squeezing painfully in his chest with the longing. Especially since American news outlets really enjoyed speculating about Heroes’ relationship statuses, and every time they tried to find evidence of Izuku’s interest in someone or another, Shouto was ashamed to admit he felt bile rise up in his throat.

Oftentimes, Shouto would wonder if it was the same for Izuku, this constant battle between catching a glimpse of him and avoiding it at all costs. It was quite exhausting, never knowing which side he should land on.

They constantly talked about visiting each other too, Izuku most of all, given he missed his home and his mother. But in all three years Izuku was set to be away, it never happened. There was always something in the way; villain attacks, an unexpected workload, some accident that ended up costing Izuku the money he had been saving to visit… Sometimes it almost seemed like it was on purpose, but Shouto tried not to entertain those intrusive thoughts for too long. There was nothing to them but paranoia and grief, and it would do him in no good to dwell on the lies of a lonely mind.

Not long after Izuku left, Shouto took to visiting his mother as well as his own. In part, to keep her company, but it was the other way around as well. There were always things that Izuku would forget to tell him or her, and they would have fun completing his stories over tea every other week, if time allowed.

Those three years were long and gruelling, but when Izuku said his last goodbyes at the airport, Shouto had promised him that he would have a home waiting for him whenever he returned to Japan to work at a hero agency. He was a man of his word, so when he moved out of his father’s house, he immediately looked for a two-bedroom apartment rather than something for just himself. He could spare the money, and it was always nice to have a guest room for any of his friends if they needed a place to sleep after an extremely tiring night, considering he lived closer to some of their agencies. And by the time the days on the calendar started the countdown to Izuku’s return, he already had everything ready for him to move in the moment he got back.

Izuku had mentioned in their last call that he already had a job waiting for him at the same agency Bakugou worked at, and Shouto had helped Inko pack his things about a week prior. He would be moving out of her little apartment regardless, but hearing the confirmation that he would be accepting Shouto’s offer from three years ago sent a wave of relief washing over him. Shouto hadn’t even realised how tense he had been during that call, but the moment Izuku asked him if he still meant what he had said back then, he almost broke down crying. Luckily, he managed to keep himself together enough that only a short gasp escaped his lips. The moment Izuku hung up after telling him what day he would be back, Shouto called the agency to get the day off.

Shouto spent the past three years waiting for this day, and now that it’s finally here, he can’t stop fidgeting. His stomach is twisted into painful knots, and his breaths feel just a bit too short, but Inko places a gentle hand over his bouncing leg and squeezes, raising an eyebrow at him as she looks up from the book in her hands.

“Are you going to be okay, Shouto-kun?” She asks with a wobbly smile, and coming from Izuku’s mother, who is notorious for worrying herself sick over him, she seems surprisingly calm. Which really says a lot more about him right now than it does her.

“Yes, sorry. Just anxious.”

She opens her mouth to say something else—something reassuring, most like—, but Shouto jumps to his feet the moment he sees a flash of unruly green hair amidst the airport’s crowd. Inko follows his line of sight and quickly stands up as well, her breath hitching while Shouto’s gets caught in his throat entirely. All the feelings he has been holding onto all these years are threatening to burst out of him, and Shouto is just about ready to run across the airport just to get to Izuku faster.

Except it seems he has the same idea, his large verdant eyes widening even further as soon as he spots them. Izuku nearly drops all his bags in his haste to get closer, his gaze trained on Shouto’s as he weaves past the crowd with such ease Shouto has to blink a few times to make sure he is seeing it right. Just a couple of metres away, Izuku finally lets go of his large baggage, opening his arms as he throws himself forward. And just when Shouto starts to step in his direction, ready to pull him into a tight embrace, Inko steps between them and pushes him back a few steps, intercepting Izuku’s incoming hug by wrapping her own arms around his waist before burying her face in his stomach.

Scratching at the back of his neck, Shouto gives them more space with a stifled chuckle, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waits for Inko and Izuku to break apart.

“Look at you! Is it just me or did you get bigger?” Inko sniffles, pulling away to take a good look at her son.

Izuku flashes her a sheepish smile and shrugs. “Maybe a little?” He then turns to Shouto, his little laugh trailing off and a light flush crawling up to his sun-kissed cheeks as he seems to truly take him in for the first time. “I-if anything, I’m pretty sure Shouto-kun grew a lot taller. A-and…”

He pauses, swallowing, and Shouto furrows his brow in confusion, running a hand through his hair unconsciously and getting his fingers tangled in the knots. Suddenly, he is struck with the notion that he hasn’t really bothered to cut it since Izuku left, his brushing of his bangs away from his eyes the one thing that had reminded him to do it beforehand. After the fact, he just started collecting stolen hairclips from Ashido and borrowed hair ties from Momo. Is that why Izuku is staring? Before he can figure it out, Inko clears her throat, drawing both of their attention to her.

“I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up and all, but you’re going to live together soon, so—” She claps her hands and grabs the handle of Izuku’s bag, smiling brightly at them. “I’m going to take my son home so we can catch up. You understand, right Shouto-kun?”

Despite the sweet upturn of her lips, Shouto can see the threat in Inko’s eyes, biting on the inside of his cheek and nodding in silent agreement. Izuku lets out another tiny laugh, sounding a little more nervous than before, then turns to Shouto and gestures awkwardly before grabbing at the strap of his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder, hanging his head slightly.

“Well, I suppose I will call you two a taxi and take one home myself.” Shouto says quietly, digging into his pocket and taking Izuku’s hand to place the key to what will soon be their apartment atop his palm. “Tell me when you go, I will give you a proper greeting.”

A small smile settles on Shouto’s face, and Izuku’s own expression reminisces that of a deer caught in headlights, getting redder with each second that passes until he closes his fist around the key and stares back at his feet with a muted word of thanks. Shouto thinks he sees Inko rolling her eyes fondly when he starts walking outside to call for the taxis. As Izuku and Inko get settled in one of the cars’ backseats, Shouto helps the driver load the luggage in the trunk, waving them off before getting into his own and pointing the driver to his apartment.

Inko doesn’t release Izuku for at least another five days, but considering how long he has already waited and knowing she has waited just as long, he can’t really find it in himself to be mad or anything of the sort. She is his mother, after all, he knows how much he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his own when she finally got released from the hospital. So, when he wasn’t working, he took care to tidy up the house, make sure it feels like a home and not just a place he has been sleeping and eating in for the past three years. He had never been good at making his spaces feel lived in. Perhaps it was a habit born of his upbringing.

When Izuku sends him a text telling him he will be leaving his childhood home by the following evening, Shouto is happy that he will have a night patrol that day. When he gets home in the morning, he showers, eats, sleeps for a few hours, and is still left with more than enough time to prepare a nice homecooked meal for when Izuku arrives. He might as well put the skills Momo taught him to good use, considering he hardly ever cooks for himself.

Shouto never thought he would enjoy hearing the jiggle of a key in a lock as much as he does when Izuku gets inside, rolling his suitcase behind him and sucking in a deep breath when he catches sight of Shouto by the entrance to the kitchen. Izuku closes the door with a soft click and they simply stand there for the longest time, staring at each other, savouring the moment of quietude.

“Hey.” Izuku breathes, breaking the silence, and Shouto smiles.

“Hey.”

“You look really good,” He blurts, flushing the moment the words are out of his mouth, then clearing his throat. “I just—I didn’t say that, back at the airport. You look good, with your hair—It’s really…” Izuku gulps, sighs, and shakes his head, taking off his shoes without another word.

Making sure that he didn’t forget to turn off the stove before leaving the kitchen, Shouto walks to the living room, gesturing with his head for Izuku to follow. They both sit comfortably on the couch, half facing each other as they lean with their sides against the back of it. Izuku continues to burn holes into his head with his intense gaze and Shouto has to resist the urge to roll his eyes as a fond grin crawls onto his face.

“Do you want to touch it?” He has been told so many times that his hair looks ridiculously soft that it doesn’t faze him anymore. “You wouldn’t be the first to ask.”

“R-really? Are—are you sure?” Izuku sputters, uncertain, and Shouto just nods his permission, tilting his head downward for easier access.

Crooked and rough fingers he has missed so sorely weave between his locks, gentle, kind. His eyelids flutter closed at the touch, a small, contented sigh tipping from his lips, and he hears Izuku’s breath catch for a second, feels his fingers twitch over his scalp. A tiny shiver creeps down his spine.

“That feels nice.” Shouto hums and Izuku huffs out a breath that sounds akin to an incredulous laugh.

“Yeah… It does.” Izuku agrees in a hushed voice, continuing to tenderly pet his head for a few more heartbeats before reluctantly resting his hand over his lap. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. But you’re here now.”

“I am.” Izuku smiles that brilliant smile of his, and everything in the world feels right. “There’s something I have wanted to tell you for a really long time.”

“Me too.”

Another beat of silence passes. Neither of them says anything, just appreciating the moment, staring into each other’s eyes, taking in the soft smiles and caring gazes. Izuku rests his head on the couch cushion, and Shouto mirrors him, reaching for Izuku’s hands and holding them between them both. His hands are as rough as he remembers them, and he traces the familiar scars over the back of the right one with the pad of his thumb. He may be a little taller, a little wider even, there might be a couple more scars around his arms, on his neck and face, his hair looks a little wilder, but those eyes are the same, these hands are the same, this feeling is exactly the same—perhaps a bit more intense.

“Welcome home.” Shouto says, voice choked with emotion.

Izuku closes his eyes and tears roll fat down his freckled cheeks. “Thank you for having me.”

Shouto could have kept going, told Izuku all of the feelings he has been holding on to for so many years. But they waited this long, they can wait just a bit longer. For now, they will enjoy being back in each other’s company, share a nice meal, and get settled in their new home. And if Izuku chooses to follow Shouto into his room rather than go across the hall, then that will be all the better.

________________________________________________________________

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#Story #crzangel #TodoDeku #365DaysofTodoDeku #TodoDeku365 #365 Days of TodoDeku #tddk #Shouto Todoroki #Todoroki Shouto #Izuku Midoriya #Midoriya Izuku #Boku no Hero Academia #BNHA #My Hero Academia #MHA #Todoroki x Midoriya #Shouto x Izuku #TodoIzu

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ciceroprofacto · 5 years

Text

Some background:

@john-laurens said a bunch of terrible (romantic) things to me and it made me mad (emotional). I’m also sleep-deprived and anxious bc we’re supposed to job-designate soon, so I’m gonna throw it all out publicly and talk about myself. I don’t usually get personal here, but you guys support us as a couple and y’all know we work together on some writing/research stuff which is always biased by the personal, so I'll explain what you don’t see...

To start, I guess I’ll say- I’ve spent my life trying to do everything on my own. I’ve always denied how much I rely on others, never letting myself be too attached to the friends I love most. As you tend to, growing up openly-bisexual (to my peers if not my parents) in a homophobic town, I lived under the assumption that love wasn’t for me. I was an experiment to the people who wanted me at all, and I honestly rolled with that stereotype and took advantage of it as a teenager. I had moments I hoped for more- infatuations and heartbreaks that helped me develop hang-ups, learn some inhibition, and build up walls. But, I was better alone. I was proud of being alone. For the longest time, I didn’t even trust her, but she was just too stubborn for me to drive away.

And the thing is- these last five years, I’ve faced bigger challenges than I ever should’ve been able to pull through. In every sense, I was not ready for it. I pushed myself to heatstroke, gave myself rhabdomyolysis, stress fractures, and sprained ankles. For the first three years of exposure to the military, I got through by causes and ambitions, things I believed in and things I believed I wanted. I stubbornly pushed through everything, trying to play the Lone Wolf. I still had crushes and hook-ups, friends that I loved and a strong support system, but I was also generally proud of being alone in the romantic sense.

December 2016, @john-laurens came in and pushed me for an answer- would I be interested in dating? The answer was a hard no. I had two flings going at the time that I didn’t want to relinquish, and dating was not something I’d ever tried or wanted to try just yet.

She decided she’d wait. I didn’t really believe her.

Then I went into training. And she wrote to me constantly. She wrote to me from across the world. In the hardest, darkest moments of my young life, thrown into an ice bath at ~108°F on the verge of stroke, then a few days later hiking (the thing I struggle with most) 9 miles under eighty pounds and knowing I could not fail or I’d lose everything, it wasn’t my causes or the things at stake that kept me calm.

It was the fact that, almost a year later...her offer still stood.

It was also the people I was mentoring and the underclassmen who believed in me. But, see- I could cook myself alive if all I had was my own beliefs and desires, I would let myself overheat and collapse, but I had someone else to answer to. I had people who needed me and someone who loved me and that kept me on my feet. So I wrote her back. Dozens of letters, most of which I didn’t send, usually just about my day, but sometimes- also about how things would change when I got out. Because things had already changed for me.

Last week, when I said I’d gone through a difficult part of my training, we hiked 12.5 miles under a hundred pounds at an average of 4.3mph. That’s faster and heavier than anything I could’ve done last year without overheating and dying. But I thought about her and our plans for the future, and it was easy.

So, whatever happens, I’ll be okay. Things will only get harder from here and I expect that, but I’m not scared anymore. It’s not your own causes or ambitions that make you strong. It’s not the people you love- it has nothing to do with your own feelings. It’s the people who love you.

One day, you’ll believe them, and you won’t let them down.

#this is gross mush #I need to write and nothing else is coming to me #so have something personal I guess #aint that deep fam #not history #hopefully after these next few weeks I'll be able to focus again #and write 18

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lovehaswonangelnumbers · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/karmic-tools-weekly-forecast-october-6-12-2019/

Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast: October 6 – 12, 2019

By Kelly M. Beard

The video version of this forecast, as read by Kelly, is available here.

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity. Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto). And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tuning in to the energy and rhythm of the planets can serve as a useful *guide* as you move along your Individual Path. It also helps to understand your place within the context of the larger Social & Collective Story. Below, you will find out how these energies tend to manifest, as well as guidance and direction.

*NOTE* There are some days when there are NO CONTACTS (besides the Moon), please note that there are no missing entries, we just list the actual Activations of each week + the day they happen.

Weekly Forecast: Septembe

Note from Kelly:

I do have a few additional thoughts that I’d like to put on your radar this week because we are truly blessed by the energy of balance, but often that too entails noticing where you’ve been in extremes or where you’ve been imbalanced. Just know that you are tremendously supported to do some personal restoration this season. So let’s dive in …

Thanks to Pluto’s 16-year journey through Capricorn (2008-2024) and Saturn’s 2+ year journey through Capricorn (2018-2020) and the North Nodes 18-month journey through Cancer (Nov 2018-May 2020) and Chiron’s 9-year journey through Aries (2018-2027) and most recently, Jupiter’s 1-year journey through Libra (2016-2017) and Uranus’ 7-year trip through Aries (2011-2018) … thanks to all that big energy, our little annual cycle of Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall is constantly a time of intense evolution for one and all. No one is exempt. Everyone has the Cardinal Signs somewhere, ruling some Area of Life (House) even if you do not have any planets animating those energies. It’s good to know your own natural, seasonal rhythm and now that is more important than ever. I look at it like: when you commit and take one step (in the direction of your goal) then the Universe carries you three more steps. If you can co-create with the energies available that are shifting your personal, individual fundamentals, then you are ahead of the game! You are choosing your destiny and you are also making greater strides, in a shorter period of time because this is accelerated growth that the big-boys always generate.

So with all that in mind, I just want to remind you that Libra time is also the one-of-two times per year that we have access to actual, literal balance. So no matter what extremes you’ve been dealing with, and whether you are in the Southern Hemisphere moving into the Light or here, as we move into the Dark time of year, you can call in balance at this time, you can restore your equilibrium, you can experience harmony even while the worldly chaos continues to swirl. The “theme” here (if there is one) is balance and compromise (Libra) … on the heels of sacrifice & purification (Virgo). We have also re-defined “sacrifice” as *Gift or Offering*. In every instance you feel that the Universe is asking you to “sacrifice” something for your own greater good, you could say out loud: “It would be my pleasure to offer this GIFT! I am delighted to give in this way, knowing I am clearing a space for You, Great Spirit, to fill me and my life with that will serve my Highest good, now and always.” What did you have to give up in the last month? Last 6mo? Last year? Whether you think you did or you didn’t, rest assured that the sorting and sifting got done and there are parts of you that have permanently shifted or been born completely anew. Now is a time of integration and restoring balance so you can function at a higher level than before. If you need some help with this, reach out! That’s what the Mystic Mentor is for!

Also heads-UP! Mercury entered Scorpio Oct 3rd and will be there until Dec 9th (Retro: 10/31 and Dir: 11/20) so that is actually going to help us with our integration process. We will be processing everything that’s come up in the last 1-5 years – on a soul level. We will dare to dig a little deeper into our conscious & subconscious terrain to see what is serving or undermining true evolution. I did talk about it in last week’s follow up ~ Video HERE(49-min).

Mars also entered Libra on Oct 3rd and will be there until Nov 19th and it hasn’t been there since Oct-Dec 2017. It retrograded in Libra in 2014(Dec 2013-July 2014). Mars rules our desire nature, our energy & fuel – and how we direct it – our passions and the Sacred Masculine, which is the part of you who can negotiate on your own behalf, get your ideas in the world and keep good, healthy, effective boundaries. I always suggest that we can co-create with Mars when we check in with our true Natures, every 2-years. In my experience, Mars’ Retrograde has Mars lingering in a Sign/House for 8-months – so I say: we invest 8-months of conscious self-work for a 16-month return. We get a chance to renew our passions & desires – as well as how we go about achieving them – every 2-years, which is how long it takes for Mars to move through all 12-signs.

Anytime Mars is in Libra, we get an opportunity to tune into what we deeply desire in relationships of all kinds. Fairness, balance, justice & equality are all something Mars is willing to fight for when in Libra – and awaken within the rest of us. It is time to access your inner balance where you have integrity and graciousness, as well as fierceness to stand up for what you believe in. Here’s a snapshot from my Your Soul’s Path Series, where I created a workbook for every planetary cycle. The Mars in Libra one says: This is a time when you have extremely high ideals; you’re shooting for the BIG dream! Not easily dissuaded, as you weigh all aspects of each circumstance as it presents itself. Avoid indecision and step confidently in the direction of your goal. Don’t focus too much on how others are directing their energy as much as how you are directing yours. Teach, guide & lead by example, that’s going to be the most powerful and effective use of your energy. Refined strength, rather than brute strength is necessary at this time to accomplish the current goals.

I just feel like we got to reset something during its retro through Libra in 2014, which evolved by Oct-Dec 2017 (in a way we should be able to track a common or continual thread) and now we are getting an opportunity to do some incredible work this go-round. And the reason I feel like the “relationship work” is really up and good to dive into whole-heartedly, is because next year, Mars is going to retrograde in Aries, the sign it rules, and here is when you will get a chance to invest 8-months in YOU – who you are, what you truly want and what your purpose & passion really is and it will really help if you’ve worked out some of this ahead of time. You all know, my thing is CYCLES & PATTERNS ~ if you’re interested in diving deeper into your own, so you can be more effective, feel free to reach out for a reading or a mentoring session.

10/7 ~ Mercury (thoughts) ~oppose~ Uranus (radical shift):

This energy tends to make your mind work in over-drive. Not that you think too much, but rather you may tend to think, speak and process information faster than usual. However, when you are moving that fast, sometimes you can overlook something vital. The negative expression of this energy tends to make you feel scattered and disorganized, but the positive side of it is making those brilliant connections that are normally just out of reach. Your perception and intuition are picking up so much in such a short period of time that you will want to review the details later to ensure that you didn’t overlook something crucial to your development. You may be impatient with same-old/same-old routines or responses but check in with your body to make sure it is not just your monkey mind playing tricks on you. It is a good time to breathe and be flexible because if you are impatient with this energy, you are more likely to make mistakes. Anytime Uranus is involved, radical shifts and ah-ha moments are totally possible on an internal level, however, on an external level you may tend to blurt things our without proper forethought. Be sure to engage your Heart and some kind of filter, especially when communicating with others this week.

10/7 ~ Sun (essential Self) ~square~ Saturn (responsibility):

With this energy, it is best to understand that you will have two distinct pulls within – obligation to others versus responsibility to Self. It’s not nearly as bad as it feels, however, it does bring up something we all work really hard to balance to some degree or another – SELF & OTHERS. How much do you owe your Self and how much are you obligated to others? Balance and reciprocity come to mind as guides. One of the challenges of this influence is making negative assumptions that there is no support for you when in truth, you haven’t asked for any and *help must be invited*. Saturn brings up our relationship to Time, and some people may feel restricted, as if life/other/outer is all too demanding and there’s never any time just for the individual. This activation is a push to grow. It’s time to hold your own structure in some way and reclaim your Inner Authority (also Saturn’s domain) to direct your own life. Others may find their lives falling apart because they have avoided responsibility for so long and now there’s no more “wiggle room”. Rather than have a meltdown, take a nap and resolve to wake up with a plan, a strategy for taking the next step, even if that means simply asking for help or guidance from someone older and wiser. It’s time to deepen your dedication and commit to your Self in a whole new way. Recognize any current limitations and work with the resources at hand for now. The Sun usually illuminates the core essential nature or the Self, so see where you may be stuck and need to break out of a rut of some sort and trust that taking charge and making a decision and choosing a direction is *inviting help* from the Universe to support your new direction.

10/12 ~ Venus (values) ~oppose~ Uranus (freedom):

Any time Uranus is involved, it becomes the “wild card” and hard to predict how things will unfold, but right now there is a push-pull between your apparent values and your unique individual self. Venus also represents relationships, so you may begin an unusual relationship or you may have something unusual happen in an established relationship. It is not necessarily a “good/bad” thing, as much as an unpredictable shift or sudden awareness, which requires some compromise & integration. This energy works beautifully if your personal Truth and values are in alignment. It will be very disruptive if they are not. Be open and flexible, while looking for the win/win situation for all involved.

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