#tetra x you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

buzzkillchainsaw · 29 days

Text

If I were to write a WOF book arc - feat. Datura, Sidewinder, Pearl, Tetra & No-one (first draft)

Indulge me for a second. It's gonna be a long second (18 pages in Google docs), so please sit down comfortably and read this if you really have time to spare. Each "book" gets progressively longer. This is your last warning. Enjoy!

Book 1: Ice

Mandatory reading: X

The arc would start with Ice and her backstory, detailing how she grew up hidden away in the Icewing kingdom. How she lost her mother to a clueless Icewing guard and how she discovered and developed her animus powers with Icebreaker's, ahem, help. There would be moments shown between Ice and Icebreaker, as the Queen would sit down with the dragonet and personally train her, making her perform grueling tasks to the point of blood and tears. Afterwards, she would strangely switch up her behavior and act kind and loving so Ice would gravitate towards her again, now that Icebreaker was her only parental figure and source of comfort.

The prologue would end right at the moment where Ice’s glowing blue shackles snapped shut and sealed her magic away, only able to cast spells if the Queen allowed it. The main purpose of this part would be to establish Icebreaker's motives and present her as a threatening antagonist for the arc. It would also paint her as a horrible, irredeemable person (dragon?).

A little time jump later we see Ice still shackled, all alone in her room. Icebreaker and a few Icewings enter and Ice is ordered to give each enough magic to cast one spell. Ice complies, because she doesn’t have much of a choice anyways. The chains stop glowing as her magic is unsealed for just that specific spell. She touches each Icewing, but hesitates at the last one. He looks familiar somehow, but she can’t put her finger on it. His face doesn’t give it away either, he’s staring ahead blankly. She goes through with it and everyone leaves the room. Later, the door suddenly opens again and Ice is surprised to see someone who’s not Icebreaker - it’s the familiar Icewing from before! He introduces himself as Tern, Ice’s father. Ice doesn’t know what to feel. She doesn’t remember him at all because Icebreaker forbade him from seeing Mesa, Ice’s mother, once Ice showed signs of magic - mere weeks after hatching, Tern explains. The only reason he was even allowed to see Ice today to get magic was probably because Icebreaker was so caught up in her extraordinary war plans that she simply forgot about his involvement. He also explains how he even ended up marrying Mesa in the first place. How Icebreaker purposefully made the captive Mesa as miserable as possible and then “accidentally” introduced her to Tern (who was kind and meek and disgustingly weak by Icewing standards, which made him Icebreaker’s least liked son). Tern of course felt bad for Mesa and tried to cheer her up in any way he could - netting Icebreaker’s approval. And so, they started talking, spending time with each other and one thing led to another. Ice is taken aback and disgusted by this story. Knowing that her mere existence was just another one of Icebreaker’s manipulations horrified her, but even more horrifying was Ice’s and Tern’s involvement in her mother’s fate. If they never existed, maybe Mesa would still be alive. Tern points out that Mesa left Ice behind during her escape, but Ice doesn’t want to hear it: Mesa had every right to run from this horrible situation. Tern understands her anger and asks what he can do to redeem himself. “Helping me escape would be a start”, Ice scoffs. Tern complies and uses his ice breath on the chain keeping her tethered to the wall, freezing the chain plate to a point where the metal shatters easily after he smashes it with a rock. However, the chains are still intact, still glowing blue and the spell isn't broken.

They flee together through the halls of the castle, alarmed guards right behind them. In a crucial moment, Tern turns back to distract the guards, allowing his daughter to narrowly escape the palace. Ice runs alone through an unbearably cold storm, her half Sandwing body barely holding itself together in the extreme temperatures. She tries flying, but the winds are too strong and her muscles are too weak from all these years she was stuck in the palace. Her arms are weighed down by the glowing blue chains dragging between her legs as she walks, a constant reminder of what Icebreaker took from her. An Icewing patrol flies above to search for her, so Ice dives into soft snow and lets the storm bury her until she can no longer hear the wing flaps of the soldiers. Only a miracle (or perhaps her Icewing half) keeps her from losing limbs to frostbite. The stars shine above as she slowly reaches a warmer climate. The snow beneath her aching feet turns to rocks, then to sand. In the dead of night, Ice reaches the Sandwing kingdom. Standing on top of a dune, the silhouette of her mother.

Book 2: Datura

Mandatory reading: 1 , 2

The next book would start with Datura's backstory and showcase her relationship with her sister. After Queen Taipan's poisoning, Sidewinder would assume the role as replacement Queen until Taipan "was back to normal". Tensions arise in the Sandwing kingdom over this decision, especially with the threat of Icebreaker's seemingly unstoppable magic army looming over them. Sidewinder and Datura argue, which results in Datura being banished from the Sandwing kingdom. She is thrown out by reluctant guards with only her glasses to protect her from the sun.

She stays in the castle's shadow until the evening, enduring her sister's taunts from above. Sidewinder even throws a piece of Datura's veil from the balcony, hoping to watch her scramble to pick it up and put it on. Datura doesn't move. As the hours pass, Sidewinder begins to regret her decision. She realizes that she has no allies left, everyone in the castle doubts her and even thinks that she poisoned Taipan to get the crown. But just as she's about to look for Datura, she finds that her sister has disappeared along with the setting sun.

In the night, Datura would run into a strange Icewing with familiar black eyes and glowing shackles. After an awkward moment of being mistaken for the Icewing's mother, Datura listens to her story and finds out that Ice is trying to find a way to get rid of the shackles to stop Icebreaker, which makes the Sandwing perk up. She asks Ice to relay exactly what she said when she cast the spell.

"I enchant these unbreakable shackles to prevent any dragon wearing them from casting any spell, unless the Queen allows it."

Datura points out that Ice didn't specify Queen Icebreaker, so theoretically any Queen should be able to give permission. She then, reluctantly, tells Ice about her own situation and agrees to ask Sidewinder, the current "replacement Queen" to try and allow Ice to cast spells. In return, Ice would use her animus powers to heal Taipan. It’s a good plan. They travel to the Sandwing stronghold and Datura infiltrates it, leaving a note for Sidewinder asking her to meet up in one of their secret childhood playing spots. Sidewinder, overjoyed that her sister has returned, immediately leaves to find her. But as soon as Ice and the plan to free her is revealed, Sidewinder feels betrayed and accuses Datura of having become a spy for the Icewings. Giving Ice her magic back would only make the Icewings even stronger, after all. Datura and Ice try to clear up the misunderstanding, but Sidewinder sounds the alarm and the two of them flee.

Ice and Datura conclude that their plan needs some work, as they can't just waltz up to a random Queen and ask her to reactivate an enemy kingdom's magic soldier maker. Maybe an even stronger animus than Ice could just override her spell with their magic and free her? Datura remembers reading about powerful Seawing animus dragons and suggests asking around in the Seawing kingdom for help. Ice thinks that it wouldn't work and wants to try asking other Queens first, really fixated on Datura's interpretation of the spell. Maybe the Rainwings were more laid back and wouldn't care about the possible implications of freeing Ice (and, let's be honest, they'd be too stupid to comprehend the consequences anyway). Datura retorts that they have no idea if asking "a Queen" would even work and not be a huge waste of time again (like the fiasco with Sidewinder, which she blames herself for). And time is the last thing they can waste right now, with Icebreaker's army on the horizon. Ice is convinced, but at least wants to try the Rainwings before throwing in the towel. They begin to journey eastwards.

In a quiet moment, Datura asks Ice what magic feels like and if the rumors about losing your soul are true. Ice doesn't know, she doesn't feel that much different than before. Before Icebreaker and her experiments. Obviously she's terrified of turning into a soulless monster. But she also points out that it was Icebreaker who seemed more and more unhinged with each enchantment she forced Ice to do, as if the damage fell upon her soul, not Ice's. But who knows, really. All that matters now is that Ice gets her magic back and stops Icebreaker before it's too late. Too late for whom? She doesn't elaborate.

Book 3: Pearl

Mandatory reading: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4

The third book would start with Pearl's backstory, her meeting with Tetra and her eventual escape from Lamprey. Her and Tetra want to see the world together, but also find a way to cure Tetra's wing. They swim together until they reach a river that spills into the sea. This would be the only chance for Pearl to see the surface world while staying in the water. Tetra helps Pearl, who isn't a strong swimmer, to swim upstream until they reach a calmer part of the river. It's very difficult, but they manage to do it. Tetra remarks that she could just construct a harness out of grass and vines and fly, pulling Pearl along with her in the water. However, her wing is still badly injured. The two dragonets take a break, frustrated and tired. If only there was an easy fix to this situation ... Tetra suddenly remembers her father telling her a bedtime story about magic dragons called "animi" and suggests finding one to cure her wing. In the same breath, she excitedly says "and maybe they could cure you too, Pearl!" Pearl is taken aback by this, as she hasn't really considered herself in need of "curing". Sure, her inability to breathe air on land has made their journey difficult, but this is the way she was born. Should she really change such an integral part of herself with magic? Still, she nods in feigned excitement. She figures that she could still have time to think and maybe say no if they actually met one of those magic dragons. If.

The two kids continue making their way upstream, dealing with lots of difficulties, but always finding a way to make it work together. Suddenly, they run into two strange dragons. The dragons introduce themselves as Ice and Datura and tell the two kids that they're on the lookout for an animus and a Queen. Tetra excitedly proclaims that her and Pearl need an animus too and Ice reveals that she is one, but currently cannot cast spells until a "Queen" allows her to. Pearl, who cannot speak or understand "air-breather" language, is slightly put off by everyone talking over her and while she has no idea what's going on. Tetra tries her best to translate, but as soon as she flashes the words "They're looking for a Queen" in aquatic, Pearl feels terror and fear course through her body, visions of Lamprey and the cult swirling in her mind. The other dragons notice her trembling, and Datura tries approaching her to calm her down, but without Tetra's translation Pearl assumes that this huge terrifying dragon is trying to capture her. The misunderstanding gets resolved thanks to Tetra's quick thinking - speaking "air-breather" language to Datura and aquatic to Pearl at the same time to explain the situation.

Pearl agrees to try to free Ice, but doesn't tell Tetra about her doubts with the whole "curing Pearl" part. The group gathers and Pearl formally and regally tells Ice that she is allowed to cast spells - in aquatic. Nothing happens. Tetra translates her words into "air-breather" language, but it still doesn't work. The chains remain as they were, Ice is still sealed. Ice is distraught, because this is yet another "Queen" that "didn't work". As soon as Tetra (hesitantly) translates this, Pearl is overcome by anger. What was her stupid role as a "Queen" even for, if it couldn't even help one single dragon? She tells Tetra in aquatic to say the words again in "air-breather", and the little blue dragon complies. Pearl, with all her might, sticks her head far out of the water, breathes in the air and tries to replicate the sounds. However, all that comes out is painful gurgling and choking. Ice, realizing that this poor little dragonet was hurting herself because of Ice's outburst, leaps forward and splashes Pearl with a wave of water, knocking her over and causing her to slip back underwater. Pearl isn't too pleased, but remembers how Tetra had done the same that night on the beach and concludes that Ice just wanted to help. But Pearl also just wanted to help. She feels awful every time she sees Tetra wince and grimace after the slightest movement of her broken wing. She asks what she should do now. The other three dragons are quiet, thinking. Datura perks up and asks the two dragonets if they could look for an animus dragon in the Seawing kingdom, perhaps in the royal court, while her and Ice would look for the Rainwing Queen. Pearl is unsure about going back into the same ocean she just fled from. But she also knows that the entire continent is at stake. After all, from what she heard about Icebreaker, that Icewing was probably planning to freeze the oceans with magic in her pursuit of the “perfect ice kingdom”. And then, Pearl and Tetra would have nowhere to run anyways. Pearl agrees, and Tetra agrees too. Datura continues with her plan: No matter if successful or not, the two parties would meet up again during the upcoming full moon in a safe harbor between the Seawing and Rainwing kingdom. The group agrees and prepares to go to sleep and leave early tomorrow. Pearl finds a calm pocket of water in the river with not too much flow and falls asleep, dreaming of her mother.

Book 4: Tetra

The next book would be in Tetra's point of view as she sits around a small fire with Datura and Ice, on that very same evening. Tetra asks Ice what an animus is actually capable of and if one could even cure Pearl's condition and make her breathe air on land just like all the other Seawings. Ice shrugs and says "Couldn't see why not", but Datura questions whether Pearl actually wants to be "cured" of the way she was born. After all, Datura has a similar problem of being burnt by the sun because of her skin, but she never thought about asking an animus for different skin. Tetra retorts that she wants her own wing to be cured so she can fly again, so why shouldn't Pearl wish to be able to breathe on land? Datura is unsure of what the right answer is, but tells her to ask Pearl before doing anything. Tetra reluctantly agrees, but is still sure that her view of the problem is correct. Or is she? Datura's words had put doubt into her mind.

In the morning, Tetra goes to find Pearl, who appears to be less enthusiastic about following through with the plan than she seemed yesterday. Pearl says that she thought about it and is worried that going to the royal court might be dangerous, because her existence alone would probably be treason in the actual Seawing Queen's eyes. Tetra hurriedly looks for a reason to bring Pearl along anyway and says nobody has to know about Pearl's identity, she can just use another name while they're there. Besides, the Seawings and their Queen wouldn't listen to just one dragon's words, Pearl would be an additional witness and could confirm that Tetra was saying the truth. Even better, Tetra remarks, while they're there, they sleuth around for Pearl's mother. It will be fun! Pearl reluctantly agrees, convinced by Tetra's last argument but still worried about the potential dangers of entering Seawing territory. There is also a lingering fear of running into Lamprey again, but that would be impossible, wouldn't it?

They embark on their way to the Seawing kingdom. Pearl enjoys swimming more and more and feels herself becoming stronger. Tetra is excited for her, but feels weighed down by her doubts about the whole "curing" thing. She is about to finally break down and just ask Pearl directly, when the two kids are suddenly ambushed by a Seawing patrol who are looking for a dragonet that fits Pearl's description. When questioned why, they don't answer. The two kids try swimming away, but Tetra's hurt wing slows her down and Pearl turns around to wait for her, causing both to get captured. They try to deny that the patrol found who they were looking for, until one of the soldiers reveals that the dragonet in question cannot breathe air. One grabs a protesting Tetra while another snatches Pearl and quickly swims upward with her, leaping out of the water and letting her dangle in the air. Tetra watches helplessly while Pearl tries her best to pretend to breathe, but she starts choking quickly while calling for her mother in aquatic. Satisfied, the soldiers dump her back into the water and prepare to make their way back to the palace. Tetra tries to explain why they were here and why finding an animus was extremely important for everyone's safety, but the soldiers tell her to shut up and that a stupid kid has nothing to say worth listening to. Tetra realises that her assumption that anyone would hear them out was childish and not only put Pearl's life in danger, but the entire continent as well.

They arrive at the Seawing palace and are dragged before the Queen. The very same Queen that had sent Tetra's father to his death by drafting him into war. To both Tetra's and Pearl's surprise, a badly injured Lamprey is lounging in the throne room and the Queen asks him if "this" (pointing at Pearl), "is her". Lamprey says yes, with a proudly puffed out chest and malice radiating from his eyes. He is promptly taken away, while some other soldiers drag Pearl along with them. Tetra screams at them to not put Pearl into a cage and to not let Lamprey anywhere near her, but nobody acknowledges her. Finally, the Queen's eyes set on her. Queen Agate of the Seawings asks Tetra who she is, where she came from and what she is doing here with "that", nodding into the direction Pearl was taken away. Tetra answers truthfully, explaining every detail from the first time she met Pearl to the moment the soldiers caught them after they split up with Datura and Ice. The Queen's eyes shift, and she asks for clarification. Datura, the current Sandwing Queen's daughter? Really? Tetra realizes that she had said something of interest and elaborates, embellishing the actual deepness of her friendship with Datura a little. Yes, Datura was banished by Sidewinder, whom everyone considers to be unworthy anyway, so it doesn't really count. Besides, the goal was to get Ice to cure Taipan, and Taipan would surely take Datura's side after seeing the disaster Sidewinder's incompetence caused. And Datura would surely tell her mother about the cause and gain the entire Sandwing kingdom's support. The Queen nods and proclaims that she needs time to think and to send Tetra "somewhere safe" in the meantime. Tetra asks if she would see Pearl again, but again, no one acknowledges her.

She is locked into a barren room with not much inside, so she sits down in front of the door, peeping through the keyhole to try and catch something, anything of interest. Finally some soldiers pass by, and Tetra can briefly see one flashing "...and the traitor will be executed..." at the other in aquatic. She panics and throws herself against the door, claws at the walls and whirls around the room like a tornado – in vain. Tetra finally sits down and cries until the soldiers come back to get her.

She is taken before the Queen again, encountering a familiar sight: Pearl, on the one side of the throne, held down by guards. Lamprey, on the other side, with some guards behind him. The Queen in the middle, staring Tetra right in the eyes. She then turns to Lamprey and tells him to state his case, again.

"My name is Lamprey", he says, "and I have simply been misguided. I was told that this dragonet", he points to Pearl, "was actually the true heir to the throne, so I believed it. I am but a humble servant of the Seawing kingdom and I would hate to see it threatened by a traitor trying to get her grubby fingers all over the throne that rightfully belongs to yours truly, Queen Agate."

"He's lying!", Tetra flashes as brightly as she can, but only earns a sharp look from Queen Agate.

"And so, I watched as this false Queen accumulated a horde of poor, misguided souls and fed them lies about the kingdom. She preyed on the weak-minded, convincing them that staying in the ocean would be the best course of action, just so she could feel better about her unfortunate disability." Lamprey wipes away an invisible tear, underwater. "I only snapped out of her manipulation after she ordered her followers to attack me and I have been nothing but truthful with you ever since, your highness. I gave your soldiers the locations of each site of worship as well as the names of every dragon who participated in this farce. It is truly an unfortunate situation, my Queen, yet I will trust your judgement when it comes to that little traitor."

Silence. "I have made my decision", the Queen says. "Your are correct, Lamprey, the traitor must indeed be dealt with. " She looks at Pearl and flicks her tail, and before anyone can react, one of the Seawing guards raises a dagger and stabs Lamprey in the back. Surprised, he whips around with his mouth wide open, producing a cloud of blood. "You have mistaken my kindness for stupidity, Lamprey," the Queen continues, "You have been, for years, actively gathering an enemy faction seeking to depose me. Yet you seem to think that simply offering me the very same pawns you created would make me forgive and forget your crimes." Lamprey fights against the blade in his flesh and attempts to lunge towards the Queen, but is held back by her soldiers. The Queen comes closer and stares down at him. "I'm old, Lamprey, but not senile. And did you seriously think I wouldn't recognize Sixgill's daughter?" And with that, Lamprey is gone and his limp body is taken away. Pearl and Tetra, stricken by fear and confusion, stand there like statues.

The Queen turns to them and announces her decision: Tetra will to go to the meeting point and take Datura and Ice to Queen Agate, who would not only attempt to allow Ice to use her magic, but also gather the animus dragons in the royal court to break the spell if her word alone wouldn't suffice. Of course, Tetra's hurt wing would also be taken care of. In return, Datura must agree to take over leadership in the Sandwing kingdom, kill Sidewinder if she resists and then enter an alliance with the Seawing kingdom. With Ice freed, the two kingdoms would then lead a joint attack on Icebreaker's forces and amicably split the spoils of war between them. Ice must agree to take away the Icewings' magic and then make a magical swear to never cast magic against any Seawing. To ensure Tetra, Datura and Ice would follow this plan, Pearl would stay with the Seawing Queen until every condition of her pact was fulfilled. Besides, she wouldn't be much of use on the surface anyway. Tetra perks up, remembering her idea to cure Pearl, while Pearl seems to become smaller and smaller. The Queen gives Tetra one of her lavishly engraved and decorated armbands as proof of her goodwill, a huge thing that the small dragonet wears like a necklace. "And since you have personally witnessed what I do to those who betray me", the Queen finishes, "I trust that you will fulfill your end of the bargain swiftly and efficiently." Tetra nods, confused, excited, happy and scared at the same time. She is unsure whether she can trust Queen Agate after what she did to break apart her family, but right now, Pearl and the future of the entire continent is more important. Tetra is allowed to say goodbye to Pearl and promises her to come back soon and "fix everything". Pearl too gives her one of her armbands, this time it perfectly fits around Tetra's wrist. She is then escorted to the shore by Seawing soldiers.

Book 5: No-one

Mandatory reading: X

This book would start out with a very short flashback of No-one being tested with the candle and swapping places with the other hatchling, dooming them to death.

It would then jump forward in time to No-one, now appearing to be a Rainwing, hanging out at the edge of the Rainwing territory. He notices an Icewing wearing glowing shackles and a pale Sandwing accompanying her. Curious about the clearly animus-touched chains, he decides to follow them. He overhears them talking about needing to find the Rainwing Queen. Sensing an opportunity to grant some wishes, he decides to take off his earring to reveal himself as not only a Skywing, but also an animus. His instinct was right: Datura the Sandwing immediately asks him to try and break the spell on the chains with desperation in her voice. The Icewing on the other hand eyes him with distrust. No-one reveals the nature of his contract to grant a wish. Datura and Ice are taken aback, with Ice even saying how "evil" this was. Their loss, No-one says, he's not dependent on them. But they certainly are dependent on him. He asks why they wanted to visit the Rainwing Queen. Begrudgingly they tell him the rest of the story. He watches Datura closely whenever it's Ice's turn to explain and tries copying what she does: furrowing his brows at the bad parts, widening his eyes at the surprising parts and shaking his head whenever Datura does. As soon as they're done explaining, he offers to take them to the Queen in his Rainwing appearance and ask her to break Ice's spell. On one condition: once they realize that the whole ordeal was a waste of time because the spell simply won't be broken, they will make a wish with No-one. They agree, partly because of No-one's perceived confidence that he will be able to break the spell. In reality, he isn't sure at all how this will turn out. He just wants to hang around with Datura some more.

Appearing as a Rainwing, he guides the two dragons through the Rainwing kingdom, curiously watched by a few real Rainwings, but mostly ignored. Once they reach the Queen, Ice and Datura are shocked about the Rainwing custom of just letting anyone who wants to be Queen fulfill the role for a month. Still, they continue with No-one's plan. The current Queen, a spunky young Rainwing named Bloom, greets them (after they've waited in line long enough). No-one tells Bloom that Ice is an animus who will grant her a wish once her magic chains are gone. All Bloom needs to do is tell her that she's allowed to cast spells. Bloom is excited, but quickly finds that she can't decide on a wish: She wants a flower necklace that changes colors to match her scales, she wants an earring that will whisper to her where the best sun spots are, she also wants a magic satchel that will always contain the most delicious fruit whenever she reaches into it. One wish just wouldn't be enough! No-one, knowing Bloom's love for bets and games, tells her that Ice will grant all her wishes, but only on the condition that Bloom wins against Ice, Datura and No-one in a series of Rainwing games. If Bloom loses, she will only get one wish. In a sense, Bloom cannot lose at all, since she will get at least one wish granted in either outcome! Ice gets increasingly more agitated as No-one keeps deciding these things over her head. Bloom thinks for a moment, glances at Ice's chains and Datura's rigid looking Sandwing body and finally agrees. The games, clearly hand picked by Bloom to disadvantage Ice and Datura as much as possible, begin. They try to work together to win, but Ice's chains keep getting caught on every branch while climbing and Datura's wings are just too huge to beat Bloom in a gliding race through the dense rainforest. Only No-one, using his animus magic to cheat, narrowly secures the win. Ice and Datura notice, but decide to keep quiet. Bloom is disappointed but keeps up her end of the bargain, formally announcing that Ice is allowed to cast spells again. It doesn't work. Ice breaks down, unable to accept yet another failure. She screams that it obviously didn't work because Bloom isn't a real Queen since anyone can just become Rainwing Queen for a month. Three moons, why don't they try making a sloth Queen next? Or maybe a chewed-on mango? This angers Bloom and the other Rainwings. “And how come your system is the correct one?”, she naps back. “How is murdering your own family to become Queen any better, huh?” No-one tries to diffuse the situation but ultimately, the trio has to leave the kingdom.

On their way out, Ice tells No-one that she wants to make a wish with him to break the spell. Datura protests, pointing out that No-one will damage her already hurt soul even further, but Ice does not care and wants to go through with it again. Datura interjects again, saying that she will instead make a wish for No-one to heal her poisoned mother, Taipan. Taipan is, for all intents and purposes, a real Queen. No technicalities, no strange Rainwing customs, no nonsense. Ice objects, not wanting Datura to sell her soul for her. After all, Ice is too far gone anyways. Isn't it obvious? After her last outburst that would've gotten them killed if the Rainwings were just a little bit more like the other dragon tribes? Ice's soul is crumbling, so one more enchantment won't make much of a difference. Datura looks to No-one for support, but he has no idea what to say. But for some reason, he really wants Datura to think highly of him, so he agrees with her argument: They will first try Taipan and only then let No-one attempt to break the spell with Ice's appearance. But before any of that, Datura remarks, they need to meet with Tetra and Pearl in their agreed meeting spot. Maybe the two Seawings have found a better solution?

That night, they seek refuge in a small cave. As Datura is fast asleep, Ice approaches No-one and tells him to break the spell right now, no matter the cost. No-one thinks about it. On the one talon, he wants Datura's approval, and Datura said no. On the other talon, he's always up for more appearances. For some reason, another one of his favorites recently disappeared. Besides, Datura doesn't need to know, right? They can just pretend that the magic on the chains...wore off, right? Or maybe Icebreaker had choked to death on a seal bone, and that broke the spell overnight? No-one follows through with Ice's request, touches her with his earring and seals the deal. He then concentrates all his power on the chains, telling them to break, telling them to release the magic they contain, telling them to reverse Ice's spell. The chains continue to shine bright blue, not reacting to anything. No-one is secretly offended that Ice's magic seems to be stronger than his own. Ice then asks him if he can try giving her “new” powers by “making her an animus”, but that doesn’t work as well. Somehow, the chains seem to prevent any magic entering or leaving Ice’s body. Ice seems frustrated, but doesn't have another outburst like in the Rainwing kingdom. Instead, she just looks tired and defeated. Ice and No-one agree to not tell Datura about any of this, for their own reasons.

The next day, they travel towards the meeting spot. No-one asks Datura what it's like to live in the Sandwing kingdom, and to everyone's surprise switches his appearance to a Sandwing. Datura, instead of being impressed or maybe even slightly more interested in No-one, accusingly asks who this is. No-one, realizing he did something bad, switches back to one of his Rainwings and explains that the Sandwing was some random bandit he stumbled upon, a really bad guy who wished for a lot of treasure because he was just so greedy. Datura, more or less convinced, drops the topic. As soon as they reach the meeting spot, they bump into Tetra just as she emerges from the ocean, not with Pearl, but with a group of Seawing soldiers. Ice, Datura and No-one are wary at first, but then Tetra explains the situation. The Seawing soldiers stay back to let them speak in private and Tetra presents the Queen's armband. Datura is worried about Pearl while Ice is angry about yet another decision that was made over her head. "So the Seawing Queen offers to release my magic, just for me to seal myself away again?" Tetra points out that she just needs to promise not to hurt any Seawings, which should be reasonable, but is interrupted by Ice who tells her that she's just a kid who doesn't understand the bigger picture. As the situation tenses up, Ice apologizes and explains how they just suffered another failure with Queen Bloom (leaving out Ice's wish with No-one) and that she's terrified of not being able to stop Icebreaker in time. Tetra seems understanding and assures her that everything will be fine with Queen Agate at their side, leaving out her own reluctance about the whole situation - her father is still on her mind. Maybe she just wants to convince herself.

Datura thinks loudly about how an alliance with the Seawings could help when it comes down to numbers. Icebreaker's army may not be big, but their magic would probably make each Icewing as dangerous as ten Sandwings. Ice agrees, painfully aware of what spells are circulating in the army, having tested most of them herself. There's also the question of Pearl: What will Queen Agate do with her if they don't agree to her conditions? After some more talking, Datura calls over the Seawings and asks them to relay a message to Queen Agate: Datura agrees to join forces with the Seawings, but urgently needs to travel back home to her sick mother first and cannot wait for a meeting with Agate. Ice will accompany her for her own safety and later meet Agate and her soldiers at the same river that Pearl and Tetra used to travel into the continent. There, the Sandwings and the Seawings will form a stand against Icebreaker's army. She leaves out their plan to heal Taipan to try and break the spell without Agate's help. And the Rainwing? Oh, that's just our forest guide. We bribed him with mangoes. He has nothing to do with this. The Seawings agree and leave to pass on the message.

Datura, Ice, No-one and Tetra are left to figure out their next steps. Tetra asks No-one to heal her wing so she wouldn't be a burden to them, and he does under Datura's and Ice's watchful eyes. She then asks if he can somehow show her how Pearl is doing, and he enchants a puddle to do exactly that, still using Tetra's appearance. Pearl seems fine, but she's surrounded by unfamiliar dragons. Tetra then tells him about her plan to heal Pearl from whatever affliction is keeping her from breathing air. Datura raises her concerns again, but is ignored by the overexcited little Seawing. Tetra raises her arm, showing No-one Pearl's armband and asks him if he can enchant it to make Pearl breathe air. He obliges, still appearing as Tetra. As for her final wish, she asks him to magically transport the armband onto Pearl's arm. He does. Looking into the puddle, they see the armband appear on Pearl, and as soon as it does, Pearl's eyes widen, her gills flutter, her little hands shoot up to her throat, bubbles gushing out of her nose and mouth. "What's wrong?", Tetra screams, realizing too late that No-one's spell was literal. No-one panics, bringing back the bracelet onto Tetra's arm. Pearl calms down, seemingly breathing normally again. No-one removes the enchantment from the puddle and reaches for Tetra's armband to do the same, but she backs away from his grasp. "I want to keep it", she says. "You do? After almost killing her with it?", Ice asks. "I want her to have the choice.", Tetra retorts and ends the discussion, not acknowledging that she has already taken that choice away from Pearl.

The group then sits down to figure out a way to get into the Sandwing kingdom, get past Sidewinder and heal Taipan. Tetra, feeling that she has to prove herself after her latest screw-up, offers an idea.

Book 6: Sidewinder

The last book would be from Sidewinder's perspective. A full scale war is about to break out before her doorstep and she hasn't slept properly in weeks. She tries to avoid her fellow Sandwings, because every time one runs into her, she gets barraged with more problems. The soldiers are running out of rations. The scouts still aren't back. The weapon shipment is late. Sidewinder has no idea what to do about that. About any of this. This isn't what she imagined it would be like, to finally be in charge with Datura and her mother out of the picture. Advisors pop up here and there, but their advice boils down to "step down and let an actual adult handle this" sooner or later. Her aunt Hognose, Taipan's younger sister, even insinuates that she's about to challenge Sidewinder (and Taipan, indirectly) for the throne. Taipan would have her head for this, if she knew. But Taipan isn't here right now.

Devastating news hits: a troop of Sandwings Sidewinder sent to patrol the border to the Icewing territory had been wiped out by a mere handful of Icewings. Only one survivor managed to crawl back and relay the horrors: when the Icewings attacked, they brought storm clouds and snow with them, their spears finding their way into Sandwing hearts, their scales effortlessly deflecting poisonous tail barbs as if made of diamond. "They were showing off", the survivor coughs weakly, "They didn't even use their ice breath."

Before Sidewinder can even react, more news hits: Her sister Datura was seen entering the Sandwing territory from the other side and immediately captured. Sidewinder perks up. Datura is back! Datura was smart when it came to things like this. Datura always did her history homework and sometimes stayed up late reading battle reports in the library. Datura will know what to do. Sidewinder orders her soldiers to bring Datura to the stronghold immediately and runs outside to greet her. It's a strange sight: the soldiers are dragging her limp sister forward like she weighs nothing and she doesn't even protest. She's wearing a strange golden armband Sidewinder has never seen before and she's missing her glasses and her veil. Sidewinder almost feels sorry for her and is about to bend down for a hug, until she remembers how their last meeting ended. Betrayal. "How dare you leave me like this!", Sidewinder hisses, but Datura barely acknowledges her. "How dare you leave your kingdom! Do you know how many soldiers we already lost? Do you know how hard it was to keep everything together on my own? And you just left me here to go play with your friend- wait, where is she? Where's that creepy Icewing with the chains?" Datura still doesn't answer. "Answer me, before I drive my stinger into your skull!", Sidewinder screams. Only then does Datura look up and say, with a voice that is not her own, "Wow. You really are a terrible sister."

While Sidewinder is distracted, Ice, Datura, and No-one disguised as a Sandwing sneak into the stronghold to heal Taipan. No-one assumes Datura's form to fulfill her wish and casts a spell on her mother. It seems like it doesn't work at first, but then Taipan opens her eyes. Datura seizes the moment right before her mother freaks out and explains the situation. Taipan, too weak to be angry about any of this, agrees to try and free Ice under a similar condition as Queen Agate's: Ice must make a magic oath to never use her magic against Sandwings (or Seawings) again. Ice retorts that she will take the oath in front of Taipan and Agate once they have defeated Icebreaker, which Taipan is fine with. She royally announces to Ice that she is now free to make spells, right as Sidewinder bursts in with guards. The chains don't react though, Ice's magic is still sealed. Silence falls over the room. Sidewinder stares at the two Daturas, unsure which one to scream at. The guards move forward to arrest the strange Icewing in their Queen's quarters, but are stopped by Taipan who reaffirms her authority as the ruler of the Sandwings. Sidewinder watches as the guards are dismissed, feeling her own authority slip away all the same. This is it. She's done. She's not needed anymore.

As her mother turns towards her, she anticipates a scolding for all the things Sidewinder screwed up during her "reign", if you could even call it that. Instead, Taipan thanks her and says that Sidewinder likely did the best she could do in such a situation. Bewildered, Sidewinder stares at her mother, ultimately unable to accept her affection. "Now that your favorite daughter is back, I'm clearly not needed anymore", she scoffs, "She's probably dying to tell you in great detail what a terrible leader I was, so keep your praises." With that, she storms out of the room. As she runs through the stronghold, she sees how quickly the news of the Queen's comeback has spread. Excited whispers in every corner, heads held up higher, brows furrowed and eyes shining with newfound confidence. Sidewinder feels sick. She leaps out onto a balcony, the very same one she taunted Datura from after banishing her. Sidewinder sits down to cry, but is interrupted by her sister.

She tries to antagonize Datura, but all that anger from before is gone, only sadness and exhaustion remain. The two sisters share a hug as Datura tells her that she missed her, despite everything. Sidewinder apologizes for banishing her, which Datura accepts. She tells Datura how she always felt sidelined while Taipan fussed over Datura due to her condition, as if Sidewinder didn't matter to her at all. Datura points out that whenever Taipan wasn’t fussing over her, she spent her time with Sidewinder, doing all the fun things Datura wasn’t allowed to do due to her condition: fight training in the blazing sun, hunting for food in the desert, visiting different parts of the kingdom to check on her people, and so on. After all, Taipan loves them equally, but she had to treat the sisters differently due to their different needs. Sidewinder understands. They sit in silence for a while as Sidewinder feels all the tension, hurt, anger and sleepless nights fade away, even if just for a moment. Datura then tells Sidewinder that Taipan has summoned everyone to the war room to plan the next steps, and asks Sidewinder to come. She agrees and the two sisters enter Taipan's war room, a huge space with a giant table in the middle, covered in maps and small dragon figurines. A complimentary bowl of dried lizards sits on the table. Taipan sits at the table, along with a few important Sandwing generals. Ice and No-one are also present, the latter assuming the form of a Sandwing. Sidewinder immediately notices that something is off about him, as he doesn't carry himself like a proper Sandwing would. He doesn't even curl his tail tip properly, for three moons' sake! Tetra sits in a bucket of water in the corner, shooting a glare towards Sidewinder and shaking her head at her. Sidewinder has no idea what she did wrong.

Taipan tells Datura to tell them everything, and Datura does. She retells her adventure with Ice, their meeting with Pearl and Tetra, their discovery of No-one and Queen Agate's deal. She finishes at the point where they attempted to break Ice's spell with Taipan, and formally turns to No-one to ask him to break the spell with his magic. No-one and Ice share a look that Sidewinder knows all too well: they screwed up something. Ice then explains that they already tried when Datura was sleeping, that it didn't work and that they were so sure that Taipan could break the spell that they decided to not tell Datura because they didn’t want her to be mad at them. Datura is angry that she was lied to, but doesn't push it further.. Instead, one of the generals speaks up: If those two lied to Datura about such an important thing, who are they even loyal to? That Icewing may say she’s part Sandwing to gain our sympathy, but she might as well still be loyal to the Icewings. And nobody knows who or what No-one even is, let alone what his motives are. Datura says that she's been travelling with them for weeks, that she could rely on both in difficult situations and that she trusts them. But the generals want to hear it straight out of the horse's mouth. Ice grabs her chain and slams her shackled wrists on the table. "Everything I ever did since escaping Icebreaker was to try and free myself. I want to free myself to stop Icebreaker, because this war is entirely my fault. If I never existed, Icebreaker wouldn't have a giant magic army right now. My loyalties couldn't be further away from that wretched Icewing. Or any Icewing, for that matter." Satisfied, the generals turn to No-one, who turns to Datura. Datura combines a raised eyebrow with a claw gesture, in a "go on, say something" kind of way. No-one takes off his earring, revealing to the generals (and Sidewinder) that he's a Skywing. He says that he's been on the run from the Skywing kingdom all his life, because, as everyone knows, Skywings kill animi when they're discovered. He's been travelling all over Pyrrhia since, always hiding his true identity and never making any real connections. He also admits that he never really cared about other dragons and always acted in his own selfish interest - until he met Datura. He's been helping her and Ice, at first just to gain more appearances, but then even beyond that. He could've left after Ice made a wish with him, or after Tetra’s wish, or even Datura’s wish. But he didn’t, and he wants to understand why. Sticking around and helping the Sandwings further might help him understand someday. The generals and especially Taipan are less impressed with that answer, so Taipan asks Datura to personally vouch for No-one, trusting her daughter’s judgement. Datura does, and the discussion moves on.

Since they couldn't free Ice with Taipan or No-one, it was safe to assume that Agate and her animi would likely be a bust as well. Still, they needed the additional support from the Seawing army to have any chance of winning in a fight. There was also another advantage – well, two, actually. For one, Icebreaker has no idea that the Sandwings have Ice. She may be a cruel, cruel dragon, but Ice is still her granddaughter, if that even means anything to her. If not, it's safe to assume that she'd at least want her animus maker back, because she hopefully respects her (pure) Icewing subjects too much to give Ice's role to one of them. On the other talon, they have something that Icebreaker definitely would not expect: No-one. Now they need to combine these little advantages into something tangible that could actually stop Icebreaker's conquest. Taipan calls for a break and tells everyone to get some fresh air to stimulate their brains.

Sidewinder watches as Ice walks over to Tetra's bucket and puts her forearms into the water, clearly uncomfortable with the heat and dry air of the desert. Tetra scoops up some more water with her webbed talons and pours it over Ice's head. Meanwhile, the Sandwing army generals discuss something with Taipan, who's trying to keep up a tough appearance, but her talons shake slightly as she reaches into the lizard bowl. Datura calls over her friends (and Sidewinder) and offers to take them on a little tour of the stronghold. Sidewinder has a quiet chat with No-one, where she asks him if he really told the truth earlier. He says that he did, but he doesn’t know how else to prove it. Sidewinder tells him that whatever happens next, he should do everything in his (magic) power to protect Datura. That’s how he’ll prove it. The two then rejoin the group. Sidewinder, still thinking about how Datura wasn’t allowed to do the “fun things” as a dragonet, suggests a friendly game of “Sting-you”, a traditional Sandwing game that requires all players to cover their tail barbs with a special covering and then run around in teams to “sting” each other with their tails. Whoever is “stung” has to fall to the ground and be “dead” until a teammate arrives to help them up. Whichever team is left with the last “living” player wins. Tetra doesn’t want to play because she’d want to have Pearl on her team and would be the odd one out, so it’s between team red (Datura and No-one) and team blue (Sidewinder and Ice). Team blue narrowly wins. The group has a laugh and eventually returns to the war room, where Taipan and the generals are already studying maps on the table. Taipan greets the group and reaches into the lizard bowl.

"Icebreaker.", she says after she's done with the lizard. Even though her voice is still weak, everyone immediately turns to listen. "Based on Ice's intel and what the scouts managed to find out, she is not interested in diplomacy. She doesn't care about our territories or our resources. She just wants to unleash a second, magic-induced scorching onto Pyrrhia and rule over the ashes. Or the ice and snow, for that matter." Everyone nods in agreement.

"That's why we will kill her."

Palpable tension covers the room as soon as the word "kill" leaves her mouth. Datura, No-one, Tetra and even Sidewinder look over to Ice. "But what will happen to Ice’s shackles if Icebreaker...", Sidewinder begins, but doesn't finish the sentence when everyone turns to look at her. Ice has a strange look on her face that Sidewinder doesn't understand.

"We will have to lure her out first. I suggest we send her a message and tell her that we have Ice, and that we want to discuss a peace treaty directly with the Icewing Queen. Obviously she's not interested in peace, but she'll hopefully want to see Ice. Maybe she's already covered in all sorts of magic artifacts that protect her from harm, so she's probably feeling confident and untouchable. And this will be her mistake. You, animus." Taipan turns to No-one. "If one can give a dragon magic, one can also take it away, correct?"

"I...think?", No-one says. "I've never tried it before."

"Try it now. It is of utmost importance.", Taipan says. No-one looks around the room helplessly while every other dragon avoids his gaze like hatchlings who don't want to be called on by the teacher. Nobody wants to risk their soul for an experiment. Ice is ruled out by default, Tetra is just a kid whom nobody wants to harm, which would leave Datura and Sidewinder. Sidewinder steps up: "Make me an animus. I'll enchant something small to see if it works, then you undo everything." Datura protests, saying it's too dangerous, but Sidewinder doesn't want to hear it. "I've screwed up enough already. Just let me do one good thing here." After some discussion, No-one lays his hands on her and gives her magic. Sidewinder immediately feels a strange tingling in her claws. To see if it works, she looks around to find something small to enchant and lands on Datura's sunglasses, offering to make them unbreakable. Datura gives her the glasses and Sidewinder enchants them. She then violently throws them against the nearest wall, stomps on them and tries snapping them in half for good measure, but the glasses are unharmed. Sidewinder likes this power. But before she can do more, No-one picks up a dried lizard and enchants it to take away Sidewinder's magic if he snaps it in half. He snaps it in half (and then throws it into his mouth), and the tingling in her claws immediately stops. She feels a mix of disappointment and relief, knowing that she'd definitely be the type to quickly corrupt her soul with this kind of power. No-one suddenly makes a weird face, and his Sandwing appearance seems to phase in and out of existence, his Skywing appearance flickering underneath. He panics and reaches for his earring, shifting to one of his Rainwings instead. “What in the three moons was that?”, Taipan exclaims. No-one explains that sometimes, his appearances fade for no apparent reason. Ice asks whether it has something to do with how much he used them for enchantments or maybe how powerful the enchantments were and No-one shrugs, he’s not really keeping track of any of that. Tetra asks how many he has left and he starts cycling through 3 Rainwings, another Skywing, a Mudwing and then Ice, Tetra and Datura. “Huh”, he says, "I thought I had more left.” Tetra asks what will happen to the real versions if their appearances in his earring fade, but he doesn’t know. Taipan waves it off, they’ll deal with this later.

Now that it's proven that magic can be taken away, the planning can continue. Tetra, from her bucket, offers to meet the Seawings at the river and lead them to a spot in the Sandwing territory where they can prepare for the fight. The others agree, saying that Tetra should be kept safe and away from the Icewings (and she'd be useless in a fight anyways). Datura offers to represent the Sandwing kingdom together with Sidewinder, since Taipan is in no shape to leave the stronghold. Taipan doubts whether Icebreaker would come out of hiding if she saw that the actual Sandwing Queen isn't there to meet her, only her daughters. Maybe she'd even see it as a sign of weakness and attack immediately. Tetra holds up the armband Sidewinder saw on the "fake Datura" earlier and says that one of the sisters should use it to appear as Taipan. If it fooled Sidewinder, it would definitely fool Icebreaker. And now that No-one is on a tight budget when it comes to appearances, it would be better to work with what they already have. Datura and Sidewinder look at each other, unsure who should bear this responsibility. On the one talon, if Datura did it, she'd have to go without her veil and sunglasses, because Taipan definitely doesn't wear those and it would raise suspicion. On the other talon, Sidewinder is unsure whether she can pretend to be a convincing Queen, after her failure as "temporary Queen". Taipan flat out asks Sidewinder if she will do it, and she says yes.

The planning continues. Taipan will send a message to Icebreaker, telling her that she has Ice, who's still wearing the magic-sealing chains, and asking her to meet. Datura and Sidewinder (disguised as Taipan) will bring Ice to the meeting spot (which will be close to the river the Seawings are hiding in), accompanied by some guards. No-one will be among them, disguised as a Sandwing guard. When Icebreaker is close enough, No-one will snap two enchanted twigs in his mouth: one will stop Icebreaker's heart (a spell that they can't test beforehand, for obvious reasons), one will take away the magic from all Icewings nearby as well as their enchanted objects. Because nobody knows how far the spell will reach, it is important to get as many Icewings as possible to be near Icebreaker, which will be achieved by placing a battalion of Sandwings in visible (but not threatening) distance away from the meeting spot. If the spell to kill Icebreaker fails, at least the magic will be gone and the Sandwing guards, all highly trained, will kill Icebreaker - with No-one's magic help, if necessary. Either way, the Seawing and Sandwing army will attack the weakened Icewings at once to push them back into their frosty habitat. Ice, Sidewinder, Datura and No-one will escape back to the castle, protected by the attacking armies. Taipan and Agate will handle the rest from there.

Taipan dismisses the group for now to begin preparations. Datura offers her friends to stay over in her room, as it’s big enough for everyone. (Tetra brings her bucket.) She also invites Sidewinder to this sleepover. The latter remembers how the two of them used to do these all the time as dragonets. Datura tells everyone to get settled while she finds some comfy rugs the other dragons can sleep on. Tetra notices that Ice looks down and asks what’s wrong, but Ice says that she’s fine. Sidewinder asks whether this is about killing Icebreaker and Ice winces. She confesses that she’s terrified of being stuck in chains and sealed away forever if Icebreaker dies. No-one suggests that killing her might also break the spell. There might be at least a tiny chance. Ice laughs and says that it doesn’t matter anyways, the decision wasn’t in her hands anymore and she’s only left to hope for a minuscule chance of gaining a happy end out of this. Sidewinder loudly reflects upon her own desire to make decisions – she wanted to become a leader so badly, but once it happened, she was suddenly making decisions that would affect an entire kingdom and that terrified her. Ice listens, and something about that seems to make her think. Tetra says that there’s still the option of Agate and her animi, but Ice just shakes her head and asks to drop the topic before Datura returns. The group has a little sleepover party with snacks and Sandwing board games before it’s time to sleep. In the dead of night, Sidewinder opens one eye and sees Ice standing at the window, staring outside with a blank facial expression. Sidewinder silently watches for a bit and then begins to fall asleep again. Just before she’s gone, she hears Ice and No-one quietly whisper something to each other.

Hard cut to the next day. Sidewinder, disguised as Taipan, stands next to Datura. In front of them lies Ice, chains wrapped around her arms and a rope tied around her snout. Behind the trio, mere steps away, five Sandwing guards, two of them looking awfully similar to each other. In the distance, a small figure leaves the sea of white spikes and wings and tails. Icebreaker, accompanied by guards of her own, walks over to them, her eyes piercing, her smile anything but warm. She breathes in deeply, and then breathes out a cold sigh that chills Sidewinder to the bone.

“My oh my”, Icebreaker says. “What a predicament you’ve found yourself in.” The words are aimed at Ice, but somehow Sidewinder feels them hitting her own heart as well, making it skip a beat.

Icebreaker’s gaze rises up to meet Sidewinder’s. “It’s been a while, Taipan. I hoped we’d meet again under more savory circumstances, but alas.” Sidewinder ignores Icebreaker’s deliberate omission of any kind of formality one would expect when addressing a Queen.

“I’m here to talk about your plans.”, Sidewinder says. “You’ve been gathering an army near our border. What for?”

Icebreaker ignores the question: “Oh, but first, you gotta let me in on your secret.”

“M-my secret?”, Sidewinder asks. Icebreaker continues: “I’ve met Sandwings your age, and they all sound so dreadfully harsh and raspy. I always assumed it’s that dry desert air. How did you manage to keep such a pleasant and youthful voice?”

“Honey-glazed cobra cutlets”, Sidewinder answers while trying to hide her panic, “keeps the throat fresh. I would invite you to try some, but we have other matters to attend to.” Icebreaker closes her eyes and nods slowly and meaningfully. “Right, of course. I couldn’t help but notice that you have my granddaughter with you today. I hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble?” “Splendid. May I come closer to have a chat?” This is the moment everyone has been waiting for. Icebreaker makes a step, then hesitates. “Lemming”, she says with her head slightly turned towards the group of Icewings behind her. One of them jumps, then quickly stammers the following: “I enchant the enemy’s animus-touched objects to come to me!” Before anyone can react, Agate’s armband flies off Sidewinder’s arm, followed by Datura’s glasses and No-one’s earring. Lastly, the two sticks, still wet from his spit. Icebreaker’s eyes widen, then she composes herself. “Much better”, she says, studying the “new arrivals”, Sidewinder and No-one. “Taipan’s dead, isn’t she?”, she asks, “I did hear about the terrible poisoning. Why else would the Sandwings be led by these pathetic little children trying to play tricks on me?” Icebreaker steps closer. One step. Another step. So do the Icewing soldiers. They are surrounded. Datura looks to Sidewinder, who’s muscles seem to be frozen in place. Nobody moves, until –

Somehow, Ice had removed the rope from her snout and screams: “Icebreaker!!!” Her voice makes the Icewing Queen stop dead in her tracks. “You poor soul.”, she says coldly. “Have you had your share of fun running around with these creatures? Have you had enough?”

“I have”, Ice yells, “You were right. You were right all along. Everything beyond the Icewing kingdom is just a lawless wasteland. Seawings with multiple Queens, Rainwings who let just about anyone rule without question and tyrannical Sandwings who kept passing me around like some kind of bargaining chip!”

“Ice–” Datura says sharply, but Icebreaker interrupts her. “Oh, no, let her speak.”

“They treated me like trash”, Ice continues, wriggling towards Icebreaker as quickly as she can with her bound limbs. “They’re enemies, all of them. None deserve to stand between you and your perfect frozen continent.”

“Correct.”, Icebreaker says with a content smile.

“And those items you took from them were meant to kill you!”, Ice hisses. She’s now at Icebreaker’s feet. “All this time they were plotting to end your life. But unluckily for them, I’ve been plotting too. A spell that could end this war before it even started.” “I’m intrigued.”, Icebreaker says, unable to hide her excitement about a new spell. For some reason, her Icewing subjects weren’t big fans of experimenting with magic while Ice was gone.

“Do it. I allow it.”

Ice’s chains instantly lose their cold blue glow, appearing like regular metal chains. Ice turns towards Sidewinder, Datura and No-one. “This is for my enemy. My captor. My tormentor.

Die.”

Icebreaker’s eyes widen, her hands shoot up to her throat. She falls to the ground, convulsing. “And you.” Ice turns towards the Icewings. “None of you Icewings will ever use magic again!” Dark clouds accumulate in the sky above them all, and thunder begins to rumble. Ice looks down at her hands, her mouth moves and the chains fall off, disintegrating into dust.

“Ice!”, Datura screams and leaps forward, but Sidewinder holds her back. Ice looks back at them one last time before a flash of lightning descends from the sky, striking the earth. Ice disappears, with only smoke and a black stain on the ground where she stood just moments ago. The Icewings are shocked at first, then charge into battle to avenge their Queen who has now stopped moving. Sidewinder signals the Sandwings to attack and prepares to retreat. Datura is still standing there screaming Ice’s name, so Sidewinder drags her along. No-one enchants the magic items to come back and his earring flies into his open palm while the rest of the items get trampled by the Icewing soldiers. He puts on the earring and switches to his Sandwing appearance.

The guards do their best to shield the trio from the oncoming Icewing onslaught, but are quickly overwhelmed. An Icewing aims his ice breath at Datura, so No-one spits a mouthful of fire in his face. Another tries to stab Sidewinder with a spear, she ducks underneath and buries her stinger into his throat. A group tries to cut them off, so No-one enchants the rocks beneath them to shoot upwards and launch the soldiers into the air. Datura has a hard time seeing in the harsh light without her glasses, so both Sidewinder and No-one guide her through the battlefield. The latter turns the ground behind them into quicksand, enchants the Icewing spears to turn against them and hits them with anything else he can come up with. Suddenly, his Sandwing guard appearance flickers and disappears, right as the real guard’s throat is slashed by Icewing blades. No-one switches to one of his Rainwings and continues casting spells, but soon, this one also disappears. One by one, his appearances start to flicker and fade, and he hesitates, almost getting hit by a flash of ice breath.

“Use ours!”, Datura screams as Sidewinder whips around to sting another Icewing. He catches her tail in his hand and buries his serrated talons in it. She roars and Datura spits fire in his face until he lets go. No-one switches to Tetra and fires off another enchantment, then to Ice, another enchantment, then to Datura. A spear hits him in the shoulder and ice breath grazes the tip of his tail. He heals his injuries with magic and carries on. Suddenly, an Icewing manages to rip off the earring and crush it between his teeth, destroying the illusion and revealing No-one’s Skywing form. He tries to retaliate with fire, but another soldier hits him with his weapon, throwing off his aim. Then, out of nowhere, another spear flies through the air and hits Datura straight in the throat, piercing it entirely. She lets out a silent scream that turns into a gurgle as blood spews forth. “NO!”, Sidewinder screams and No-one dashes towards Datura, ripping out the spear with one hand and closing the wound with the other - his first enchantment he did as “himself” in years. He then hurls the spear back where it came from and it pierces something, someone, creating a blue fountain. But the Icewings just keep on coming. All hope seems to be lost, when suddenly, the Seawings arrive, attacking the surprised Icewings from the side. It’s this critical moment that allows the trio to finally escape more or less unharmed.

Epilogue

The war between the Icewings and Sandwings (now aided by the Seawings) wages on. Queen Taipan and Queen Agate need to negotiate new terms, now that Ice has disappeared without a trace and Datura didn’t assume leadership of the Sandwings. Sidewinder aids Taipan in any way she can, gaining knowledge and confidence in the process. Tetra leaves to go find Pearl again, who has been given a new identity and reunited with her parents thanks to Agate. The two kids have a lot to discuss. No-one, scared of becoming like Ice, refuses to do any more enchantments for this war and tries to leave the stronghold in the middle of the night. He casts a spell to make Datura’s glasses reappear in his hands and plans to drop them off by her door as a goodbye gift. Before he can do that, he runs into her. She was also about to leave on an entirely different journey to find Ice (fiercely believing that she’s still alive and out there somewhere). She knows that her mother would not approve of her leaving, but what else is she to do in the kingdom? Be Queen? Sidewinder’s there for that. The two agree to leave together and send Taipan and Sidewinder messages every so often.

And that’s how it ends.

Thank you so much for reading through the entire thing! As noted in the title, this is just a first draft and also the first time someone other than me reads this – so of course I expect you to find plot holes, inconsistent character moments and other stuff I could improve on. If you're nice about it, maybe I'll even listen ;) (joking) No matter what, I hope this serves as a (more or less) satisfying conclusion for all my WOF characters you know (and love?).

#wof #wings of fire #wof oc #icewing #sandwing #seawing #rainwing #skywing #dragon #dragon oc #very long post #buzzkill wof arc

292 notes · View notes

yunjardi · 1 year

Text

my heart bel♡ngs to daddy [series]

[young sugar daddy jake x fem.reader au]

--------------------------------------------------------

[click here for this series's masterlist to read previous chapters, general warnings, and playlist]

[‼️chapter warnings‼️: smut [mdni], angst, crying, lots of plot, mentions of food and eating, DADDY KINK, fingering, riding, car sex, gentle sex/make-up sex, oral, tit sucking, lmk if i missed anything!]

*sorry for any grammar errors; i've been so out of it lately

--------------------------------------------------------

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

chapter 12, part 2: can't let you go

"fuck," you breathed out, yeonjun's fingers buried deep inside you. he smirked as he continued to finger your g-spot.

"god, i'm so lucky i get a turn with you, even if it's just a little bit," yeonjun smirked as you bit down on your lip to conceal your moans before letting lose on his fingers. he pulled his fingers out of you and brought them up to his lips, tasting your arousal as you came down from your orgasm.

"consider this my graduation gift to you," you said seductively as you looked straight into his eyes, "i should get going now. you wouldn't want me to miss out on my beauty sleep for the ceremony tomorrow, right?" he chuckled sexily before giving you another kiss on your neck.

you would've stayed longer and let him fuck you, but the sight of all the christmas decorations in the frat house were throwing you off because you knew you'd be alone for the holidays yet again this year.

"are you sure you're alright with going home on your own?" yeonjun asked as he escorted you to the door, his hand on your lower back. "i'll be fine," you smiled and nodded as you exited. with one last wave, you were on your way, ready to go home and forget the whole night.

but first you had to endure another awkward underground train ride, hopefully with no surprise encounters this time.

--------------------------------------------------------

the second you stepped into your house, you let a waterfall of tears explode from your eyes, and you could somehow sense perry's concern from seeing you like this although he was literally a blind cave tetra.

through your tears, you stumbled into your room and quickly changed, now sobbing into your pillow.

you hated yourself for letting him in. you felt stupid for following your heart. you knew in the back of your mind that you shouldn't mess with him, but you couldn't stop your heart from influencing your decisions.

you turned over onto your back, staring up at the ceiling with tears streaming down your face while the neighbor's blinding christmas lights beamed through your closed blinds, giving your eyes another reason to burn.

jake took up such a big portion of your heart although you hated to admit it.

seeing him with another girl stung so badly because you-

whatever. no you didn't.

it only pained you because that it had to be that girl in particular.

does he know what she did? what she said? when she told you to stay away, was it him using her as a messenger?

these thoughts only made you sob more as you held onto the plushie that you knew was his favorite.

holding the plushie made you wonder if he'd ever be back in your room, snuggled up next to you as he rubbed his face on the plushie's soft fuzz. you tried to push away the thought of him only coming back to collect his clothes from the drawer that was designated for the stuff he'd change into if he didn't pack a bag before staying the night.

another thing you hated to admit was that your mom was right.

you remembered the text she sent you earlier when she said 'he doesn't love you,' and it only crushed your heart even more to realize that your bitch of a mom actually said something that could be true.

should you just move on? should you give in and move back to your family's house after graduation? you pushed that thought away immediately because there was no way in hell that you'd ever put yourself through the torture of going back there. but still, it was a thought nonetheless.

you pondered about if you could even go back to your "old life." the life you were living before jake. your normal life.

because nothing about this situation was normal.

you drifted off to sleep with a mind full of hopeless thoughts and hypotheticals, the cold winter air seeping through your blanket as your lonely reality settled in.

--------------------------------------------------------

today is supposed to be one of the most exciting days of your entire life; a day of recognizing the past 4 years you spent doing countless hours of homework while running on 2 hours of sleep.

instead you felt empty.

of course, you were proud of yourself for your accomplishments because you worked your ass off for this degree, but you couldn't help but feel a profound emptiness. you had no family in the crowd watching you proudly as you received your diploma. no mom, no dad, no siblings, no jake.

but you were thankful that yeji, jeongin, and even their families were there to cheer you on when no one else was there for you.

after the ceremony, everyone walked around saying their thank yous and goodbyes to people that they knew they would never see or talk to again. while everyone was all emotional, yeji was prancing over to you, jeongin following behind her. the sight of both of them making you crack a genuine smile for the first time in the past few days.

"look at it and all its glory," yeji said in a singsong tone, showing you and jeongin her graduation certificate with her name on it in a fancy font.

"we should go out for dinner," jeongin beamed, "to celebrate, you know?" yeji nodded excitedly as you smiled sheepishly, really not in the mood to go out for a celebration.

"maybe another day," you faked a smile, "i'm still pretty worn out from last night."

"yeah, she has a point," yeji agreed, the three of you coming to an agreement that you'd go out some other time, "plus, my family decided to surprise me with a vacation as a graduation gift!" your eyes widened in surprise.

"oh yeah, that reminds me," jeongin recalled, "i'm visiting family for the holidays, so i'll be a bit busy too."

you were happy for them, of course, but now you knew that you were fully going to be alone this holiday season, both of your best friends having something to do with their families.

immediately after you three went your separate ways for the holidays, you felt someone's arm drape around your shoulder which startled you. you look over your shoulder and met eyes with yeonjun, who you completely forgot was there despite his name being called during the ceremony.

"wanna chill at my place tonight?" he asked flirtatiously, "we can finish what we started, baby." your eyes widened from hearing a man who isn't jake call you 'baby.'

"hmm," you pretended to think although you already knew your answer, "maybe another time, pretty boy." you mindlessly flirted back, touching the side of his neck which made his face flush red.

"any time is cool with me, beautiful," he responded, tucking some of your hair behind your ear, "you know how to reach me and where to find me." you nodded before the two of you went your separate ways.

if trying to forget about jake by hanging out with other guys was a good thing, why did it feel so bad?

why did it feel wrong every time another man put his hands all over you? why did you feel so sick every time you thought about jake being tangled up in his sheets with another girl?

it's not like he was your boyfriend, so why did it matter? in fact, you shouldn't care at all; what he does when he isn't with you is none of your business.

it just stung to know that you were most likely not his only one.

--------------------------------------------------------

you looked goofy on the underground train again; holding a graduation cap that wouldn't fit in the bag you brought to the ceremony.

for someone who just graduated university, you looked empty and unhappy. you stared blankly into space until it was time to get off the train.

you would've taken another train to go into town to treat yourself, but you were experiencing too many emotions to be around people for any longer, so you just decided to walk the rest of the way home even though the sky was growing dark by the minute.

the cold air touched your skin the second you got outside, promptly causing you to zip your puffy jacket up.

in silence, you began to head in the direction where your house as light snow fell. the cold air somehow made you feel lonelier; probably because jake wasn't there to hold you the way he usually did. the lack of his presence subconsciously made tears run down your face.

you didn't really notice that you began crying; you just felt the tears falling down your face. you allowed them to stream down your face, not putting in the effort to wipe them until you got to your front door.

once you got inside, you repeated what your new reality would be:

come home.

maybe make something to eat.

feed the fish.

go to sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------

christmas eve.

a day that you've been dreading since the month of december rolled around because you had a strong feeling that you'd be spending the holidays alone.

unfortunately, that suspicion was confirmed in the worst possible way.

you decided to head to the local market to pick up some christmasy food for yourself so that you wouldn't be completely devoid of the holiday vibes. zipping up your puffy jacket and slipping on some pretty fur boots (that you got with your allowance from jake), you left to head to the market.

something about walking on a winter afternoon was soothing, and you felt at ease for the first time in days as you looked around at the snow-covered holiday decorations around town before arriving at the store.

you picked up a small cake along with a few other things that you could eat tonight and probably for the next few days. the cashier who rang up your items did not look very happy to be working on christmas eve, but you gave them a warm smile followed by a 'happy holidays' once you finished paying. you knew how it felt to be unhappy during the holidays, so you wanted to spread as much joy as you could muster up.

groceries in hand, you made your way back home where you'd be spending the whole day.

no family to go to.

no friends to go to.

no jake.

no one but yourself.

it fucking sucked, but you had to get over it. besides, you could have fun on your own, right?

you turned the corner into your driveway and saw a car that looked sort of familiar in your peripheral, but you shrugged it off. it wasn't until you got to your front door where you couldn't shrug off what was there. or more like who was there.

"jake," you sighed, "what are you doing here?" he looked up at you as if he was startled by the sound of your voice. you immediately noticed that his brown puppy-dog eyes were glossy and red once you locked eyes with him. he looked like he'd either been crying, smoking weed, or both. "come on, how long have you been sitting here waiting for me? you could've sat in your car, you know?" you rambled on as you unlocked your door, letting him in first.

"so, what's this all about?" you huffed out, even though you already knew why he was there, as you set your groceries down on your countertop.

"y/n, i just really need to explain everything," he blurted out frantically, "please hear me out."

jake was practically begging you at this point, his heart tearing itself up at the sight of your expression that was speaking for itself; an expression that read 'i never want to see you again.'

you motioned for him to continue to which he sighed in relief that you were actually willing to listen to him.

"i need you to listen to me. without you, i wouldn't have much going on in my life; i'd be so lonely without you, so empty. who else will i have to go out to dinner with? go out shopping with? to spoil?-"

"her. that's who," you said with a cold tone, "jake, i know what i saw, and you know what you did. but do you know what she did? what she said? ever since i started talking to you, she's come to the bar just to taunt and trash me; she even went as far as slapping me the last time i encountered her! i can't even make up shit like this. seeing you with the girl who belittled me, or really just any other girl in general, hurt like hell. you have no fucking idea how these past few days have been. if there's one thing i want to say right now, jake, it's that i'm not a fucking charity case, and i refuse to be treated as such. so if those were your intentions ever since we first met, t-then just... go." you felt your heart tie itself into a knot.

"y/n, you don't get it. listen, i didn't want to have to tell you this, to make it your problem, but at this point, you need to know: if i didn't go with her to the ball, she told me that she was gonna find someone to go and hurt you! she's fucking crazy, y/n, you have no idea! her mother tried to set us up for marriage to which i, of course, refused; she's just as insane as her daughter! the fact that i went to the ball with her was set up. remember the first time we fought? when i left the house without telling you? i left to tell her that i didn't want her interfering with my life anymore!" he blurted out followed by a deep sigh, "i'm begging you, y/n, please believe me. she was seriously going to hurt you...and i wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to you that i had the power to prevent. there's no other way to say this, so i'm just going to say it straight up: y/n, you really mean the world to me, and i literally cannot remember who i was or what i was doing before i met you. whenever we're apart, i feel like i'm not whole, not myself if you want to put it that way. p-please stay..." his voice broke and drifted off.

you felt your face lose its color as you looked into jake's teary eyes. seeing him tearing up made you tear up along with him until you couldn't hold your tears in any longer, letting them run down your face with seemingly no end. you let your body fall into his, the two of you holding each other tight. you let the scent of his cologne engulf your senses, your head resting on his chest where you could hear his heart beating fast. the feeling of jake holding you just felt so right.

you lifted your head to look up at him, and you felt like you were seeing him for the first time again.

"please kiss me," you squeaked out as you adored his face from below, your voice still broken from having cried.

jake immediately latched his lips onto yours. he missed the feeling of your lips on his on an unbelievable level. the kiss escalated into a make-out, and the make-out escalated into getting undressed in your bedroom.

jake laid you on the bed gently, kissing all over your body as he unclasped your bra, letting it fall. you felt shy at first, but you quickly got over it because it wasn't the first time jake has seen you naked anyway.

he let his big hands roam all over your body as you breathed out little moans for him.

he kissed down your body until he reached your inner thighs, spreading them gently so that you were fully on display for him. jake eagerly attached his lips to your pussy, suckling on your clit and working his lips all around your needy hole. you had almost forgotten how good he was at making you feel good. jake always made sure you were taken care of whether it was in a sexual sense or just in general.

jake left one last kiss on your pussy before wiping off the excess arousal around his lips, moving himself on top of you.

"i've missed you so much, baby," jake said lowly and sweetly in your ear before letting his tip pass through your entrance, earning a soft moan from you. "i've missed you more, daddy," you breathed out before kissing his plump lips. the two of you moaned in sync as his tip hit your sweet spot, making you squirm underneath him as you whimpered for him not to stop.

wanting get the utmost intimacy while fucking you, jake switched positions so that you were sunk down on his stiff cock as he sat upright to hold you while you moved your hips against his.

"my good girl," jake groaned quietly into your ear, "you feel so good, so good for daddy." you nodded against his bare chest as you continued to move your hips back and forth.

"s-so deep," you whimpered out for him as your legs began to tremble from the way his tip was pushed against a spot that you knew only he could reach. you wanted to cum all over his cock so badly that you began to slightly lift your hips and let them fall again, earning a deep, loud groan from jake.

"just like that, princess, keep moaning for me," jake's voice trembled, "fuck, i'm gonna cum inside you." he let out a string of groans as you held onto his shoulders, the two of you leaving kisses all over each other's necks and shoulders as you both came undone.

you rested your head on jake's chest and listened to the way his heart raced after his orgasm, him still not removing himself from inside you so that he could keep feeling you closely. eventually, though, he pulled out so he could get you and himself cleaned up. jake stood up from the bed to wet a towel, offering you his shirt to put on while you waited for him to come back with the towel. you happily accepted his offer and pulled his shirt over your head, his scent still lingering on the soft fabric.

quickly, jake came back with the now damp towel to clean you up first. he made sure the water was warm so that you wouldn't get shocked when the towel touched you for the first time. it made you think about how much you would've missed his sweet thoughtfulness if you pushed him out of your life because of a misunderstanding.

"daydreaming?" jake asked with a chuckle, noticing that you were beginning to stare into space due to your thoughts, "about me, i presume." he joked to which you looked away shyly. "i'm kidding, i'm kidding," he smiled and planted a kiss on your cheek before pulling on some sweatpants, not forgetting to get you a change of bottoms as well. again, very thoughtful of him.

the cold christmas eve air didn't seem so chilly now that jake was cuddled up next to you under the covers.

no need to make christmas eve hot chocolate when jake already made your heart feel warm and full.

--------------------------------------------------------

you woke up on christmas morning to an opened bedroom door and the smell of something sweet. you were feeling some early-morning-grogginess, so you decided to stay wrapped in your blanket a little longer. that was until jake called your name from the doorframe.

"y/n," he said in a singsongy tone that accentuated his aussie accent, "y/n-ie, come see what i made for you." jake pouted as he practically dove onto your bed to wake you up with a squeeze.

"okay, okay," you croaked out in a still sleepy tone, "i'll get up soon." his face turned pouty yet again. "you have to come see now or part of the surprise will be cold." you didn't fully process what he meant when he said that 'part of the surprise will be cold,' but it was still enough motivation to get you out of bed to brush your teeth. satisfied, jake went to go sit at the table and wait for you until he had an idea.

jake walked over to the bathroom door and cupped his hands to talk through it.

"let me in when you're done; i want to cover your eyes so that you're fully surprised."

you let out a giggle from the other side of the door before you cracked the door open just enough for him to squeeze through.

he hugged you from behind and kissed your cheek before putting his big hands over your eyes. well, more like over the top half of your face because of how large his hands were compared to your face.

he helped you scoot your feet across the floor until he uncovered your eyes.

you were surprised to see fresh baked chocolate chip cookies cut (badly, but it's the thought that counts) into various shapes. your heart felt warm at the way jake was so excited to show you his little homemade gift for you. he looked a bit like an eager little kid showing their mother an art project they made at school.

"ta-da!" jake smiled as he stood next to the kitchen counter, "i wish the shapes turned out a little better. i tried my best to make them into cute shapes with a knife, but as you can see, it didn't turn out too good." he chuckled sheepishly as he looked down at the cookies.

"you did all this for me?" you smiled warmly before giving him a tight squeeze followed by a soft kiss on the cheek as butterflies filled his and your stomach, "i love it, jake." he blushed as he watched you reach out to grab a cookie, hoping that you'd like how they tasted. they definitely tasted better than they looked, your face subconsciously turning smiley at the taste.

"a-are they good?" jake asked nervously which made you giggle internally at his worried facial expression. "mhm," you responded, your mouth still full of food, "here, try." holding your arm up to his mouth, you offered him the last piece of your cookie. for some reason, watching the way he ate it from your hand was cute to you.

"see? good, right?" you asked as he ate the last bit of the cookie, later leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. he nodded, giving you a kiss back as he held you from behind. "oh yeah," jake perked up, "i have another surprise for you. go get dressed so we can go." he looked like an excited puppy.

"another surprise?" you asked with a cocked head, "you're spoiling me, jake." you couldn't stop the smile that was forming on your face. jake was smiling harder, though; he looked more excited for the surprise than you could ever be.

--------------------------------------------------------

you sifted through your wardrobe, looking for some cute, warm clothes to dress into.

you settled on a pink prada puffer coat (from jake, of course), some grey leggings that perfectly hugged your ass, some pink boots that perfectly matched your coat, and a cute creme colored beanie that complimented the soft pink of the rest of your outfit.

looking at yourself in the mirror once more, you had an idea.

since jake wanted to surprise you, you were gonna surprise him back.

unzipping your coat, you decided to remove your shirt and bra you were wearing underneath, leaving yourself bare underneath your prada coat for jake. you zipped your coat back up and walked out of your bedroom, ready to head out to wherever jake planned to take you.

"ready?" jake asked upon hearing your bedroom door open up, adoring the way you looked in the pretty jacket he bought you. jake always loved seeing you in the clothes he bought for you, and he also loved taking them off of you at the end of the day. "mhm," you responded as you stood by the front door and slid your boots on one at a time.

what did jake have in store this time?

--------------------------------------------------------

the drive to wherever jake was taking you was quiet but comfortable.

soft music in the warm car, one of jake's hands settled on yours as the other held the steering wheel, and, most of all, getting to be in jake's presence again in general after what felt like decades.

you'd missed how warm your heart felt whenever he was around, and you hoped that he missed you as much as you missed him.

you found yourself zoning out until you felt the car park.

"c'mon, let's go!" jake smiled wide as he practically dragged you out of the passenger's seat.

you held jake's hand as you looked at the beautiful scenery that surrounded you. how in the world did he find a place like this?

"what the hell? it's so beautiful here," you blurted out unintentionally, still captivated by the visuals. "only the best for you," jake chuckled, bringing your hand up to his face so that he could plant a kiss on it, "we're almost at the 'surprise area,' so hang tight."

turning one more corner, your eyes were met with a charming little ice skating rink that was beautifully decorated with twinkle lights. much like the lights, jake saw the way your eyes brightened at the sight of the skating area.

"surprise!" jake smiled cutely as he hugged you from behind, "i rented it out so that it's ours for the evening; just for us." you felt your cheeks heat up at jake's thoughtfulness as he held your hand and led you over to the ice skate rental booth, not having to ask you for your shoe size because he already knew it by heart. jake helped you lace up your ice skates while you sat on one of the benches that was resting against the rink, and you made sure to sneak a picture of him finishing tying your skates from above.

"have you ever skated before?" jake asked curiously as he began to lace up his own skates. "not recently, no," you replied sheepishly.

you'd gone ice skating before, of course, but you were probably age 10 last time you were on the ice. having not had a good home-life growing up, you didn't experience many fun things, but at least you could say that you had a minuscule amount of experience if you could even call it that.

"well, don't worry," he reassured you, "i'll help you out, okay?" you nodded as you nervously stepped onto the ice alongside jake, already feeling yourself losing balance. "here," jake said, holding his arms out in front of him, "i promise i won't let go, princess." he chuckled as he felt you squeeze his hands. jake sweetly guided you across the ice, keeping his promise of not letting go of your hands. you couldn't have dreamt of a better way to be spending your christmas holiday.

soon, you were able to skate a little bit on your own without completely relying on jake to keep you steady. jake watched you with hearts in his eyes as you began to glide faster on the ice, laughing with delight at how fast you were able to go. he adored the way you hair flowed in the slight winter breeze, and the chuckled at the way you still wobbled a bit when skating.

"this is fun!" you laughed from halfway across the rink as jake made his way over to you. "i'm glad you like it," jake replied with a grin as he grabbed onto one of your hands, the two of you now skating side-by-side.

after you and jake felt like you guys got the most out of the skating rink, you returned your skates to the rental booth and began to head back to jake's car. the two of you walked hand-in-hand in comfortable silence, feeling at ease simply by each other's presence. you, again, took some time to appreciate the beautiful scenery before reaching jake's car. he opened up the passenger's side door for you to get into the car, as he always did, before getting into the car himself.

jake cranked up the heat upon entering the car, worried that you had gotten too cold from being outside in the snow.

this was the perfect time to tease him.

"but jake," you whined childishly, "what if it gets too hot? see, i'm already getting hot." you slowly unzipped your jacket, waiting for jake to look over from adjusting the temperature. "there, is that better?-" jake's voice halted once he faced toward you again, feeling the sensation of his face turning red.

"what's wrong?" you asked with fake innocence coating your tone, "it's just hot in here, that's all."

"well it's about to get hotter."

--------------------------------------------------------

after being practically tossed into the back seats of his car, jake was quick to eagerly rip your bottoms off.

"you knew exactly what you were doing," jake breathed out amorously as he got closer and closer to your warmth, eventually liking a stripe against it, causing you to let out a quiet gasp. you could feel him smirk against your pussy before beginning to work wonders with his lips and tongue, giving you exactly what you desired.

"feeling sensitive today?" jake asked teasingly yet sexily after noticing the way he was making your legs quiver more than usual. you nodded, looking at jake from between your thighs. "so cute," jake chuckled sexily in response before continuing his deed, skillfully sucking on your clit and making you squirm even more as you moaned and whined out for him.

"want you so bad," you mewled out as you laced your fingers into jake's soft hair. you felt jake smirk against your clit once more before bringing himself up onto the seat, ordering you to get onto his lap. obeying him, you crawled over to go sit on his lap. jake let his hard cock fall against your abdomen as he smirked at how deep his tip would be hitting. "come on, baby," he whispered in your ear teasingly, "don't you wanna finish what you started?"

you looked at him with your pretty eyes before moving into a position where you could easily sink down on his length, eventually letting his tip pass through your entrance while he maintained a grip on your waist. jake's head fell back as you slowly sunk down onto his throbbing hard cock. once he was fully filling you up, you began to gently bounce yourself up and down on his member as you and jake moaned in sync. the car windows quickly became foggy as you two continued to roughly fuck each other.

"so deep," you gasped out, jake moving his hand to your lower abdomen and pressing down on the spot where his tip rested, causing you to twitch and let out a whine, "please cum inside me." you begged, persuading him with your eyes that were almost teary from pleasure.

"you know i will, princess," jake breathed out as he began to thrust his hips to meet yours, a feeling that drove you insane and made you moan uncontrollably, "fuck, you always make me cum so hard."

the two of you were desperate to reach your highs, getting rougher and rougher in attempt to speed up the process which ultimately worked. you let jake cream you as your cum dripped down his shaft. the feeling of jake filling you up with his warm seed was a feeling you could never get tired of.

as you two came down from your highs, jake looked over at the clouded window and drew a tiny heart on the condensated surface which made you smile and give him a playful shove.

"you're an idiot," you chuckled, burying your head into jake's bare chest.

"but you love me because i'm an idiot, right?"

shit.

--------------------------------------------------------

a/n: this chapter is belated as fuck and lowkey boring, but i hope you still enjoy it :,) i've been really out of it recently, but i'm still trying my best for you guys <3

taglist: @axartia @jjhmk @valiantwastelanddelusion @jayroseyy @ayohahaha @asaheyow @lhsng @i-dalso @bunhoons @red-xherry @duolingofanaccount @lix-freckle3 @l0st-h0p3s @leeis @muffinminnie @green-orangeade @imbaeksbae @sunghoonmybeloved @tum73er @dilftimedeo @sjakewrld @markleeisdabestdrug @futuremodeldiary @jeondolly @lil-iva @lalalalawon @noirgray @jckeplanet @teddy-lhj @meinapricity @jjkshies @bubbleseo @cherryunie @mqndnolia @bently-baby @fluffypiesstuff @ihrtk1ve @wonkiluvr @teti-menchon0604 @lovienikitty @rjsmochii @omgjwon @sunshine-skz @wy1999t @lv4rin @oceanyocean @nyfwyeonjun @mxshimoo @multifandombtvh @donghyckl @iloveoceaneyesss @jakeswhore @jinsfavoritedoll @brownsugarbaybee @heehee01 @mesopret @heesitation @heeverseblog @yoursjaeyun @mklhyvn

some accs could not be tagged :(

(please be sure that you check your settings and make sure you can be tagged before asking to be added to the taglist! i'd hate for you to miss out on a chapter <;3)

©yunjardi on tumblr

#enhypen smut #enhypen hard hours #enhypen imagines #enhypen x reader #enhypen jake #jake smut #jake sim #jake sim smut #enhypen jake smut #jake enhypen smut #enhypen smut imagines #jake enhypen #enhypen jay smut #enhypen heeseung smut #enhypen sunghoon smut #sunghoon smut #heeseung smut #park jay smut

636 notes · View notes

nicktoonsunite · 1 year

Note

Perhaps it for the fun drawing of Unite team x Splatoon and nothing delved deep. But off of curiosity; what's your hcs on what weapon the team would main on?

ACTUALLY i do have hcs on their weps!! heres what i can offer:

Danny: Likes playing aggressive, mains dualies specifically dark tetras. Super annoying to fight against bcs he'd be like a mosquito you cant seem to hit. Second main would probably be Range Blaster purely bc I think it also suits him

Jimmy: E-liter. He'd be fuckin insane with it, splats you the second you step into his line of sight. He's also a meta slave so I can also see him using Splash sometimes lol

Timmy: Roller main, initially I see him using Flingza bcs I'd think he'd love to be annoying with the missiles, but after the nerf I'd see him using the new Krak-on Splat Roller bc he'd be a menace with the Kraken. His second main would be the Nautilus if he feels like going long range (or if Jimmy switches out of E-liter)

Spongebob: He is the casual player that usually likes playing supportive roles, mains the Bloblobber. But he can go crazy on the Inkbrush if the team needs a frontliner. If you're playing against him and you see Spongebob holding the inkbrush I suggest you start praying

#nicktoons unite #gummibrr #asks

279 notes · View notes

yumestar19 · 2 months

Text

Black Butler X Splatoon 3 Headcanons

Ciel Phantomhive

Preferred Weapon Type: Shooters

Main Weapon: Splattershot

Favourite Mode: Splat Zones

Sebastian Michaelis

Preferred Weapon Type: Dualies

Main Weapon: Jet Squelcher/Dark Tetra Dualies

Favourite Mode:

He is the one everyone is the most scared of and he is indeed pretty above average, being damn fast, not missing a shot and handling the battlefield like a master of situations, buuuut... As long as Ciel gives him orders from behind, he cannot put his full potential to use.

If he loses a battle, it is only because the referee cat distracted him.

He forgets to press continue at least once per session because he can't get enough of the cat.

In the lobby he hangs out near the cat every time, watching it and wishing to touch its fluffy paws, then realising it's just a game and getting depressed.

He loves Splatoon 3 for the sole reason that it has cats as referees.

Elisabeth Midford

Preferred Weapon Type: Brellas/Dualies

Main Weapon:

Upon seeing her low rank, you are going to assume she's a total noob and doesn't move the team forward, but then surprise, she's the one who leads everyone to victory, slaughtering one by one and competing even with Grell.

She's actually a pacifist, but Splatoon 3 makes her forget all morals and good manners, mercilessly killing players who are just standing around or swimming up the walls.

She is a team player, shielding her teammate and rushing to their rescue, but she is also great at solo.

When Ciel is near, her skills are skyrocketing. If Ciel is killed, you have hopelessly gotten yourself in a deadly situation, because she will go berserk, wiping out the entire opponent's team.

Edward Midford

Preferred Weapon Type: Brushes

Main Weapon:

Favourite Mode:

He is relatively average, a little less good compared to Lizzy, Sebastian and Ciel, but does his job decently. However, if you kill his sister, then running away won't help you anymore, because he chases you all over the field and won't rest until he slaughters you. Probably dies as well during the attempt, but he doesn't care, as long as the opponents dead

Also, he gets absolutely pissed if the opponent kills him before he could take revenge

One of his strategies is to hide behind his sister's shield and then race fast behind the enemy and finish them off. This won't work every time.

Mey-Rin

Preferred Weapon Type: Chargers

Main Weapon: E-liter 4K Scope

Favourite Mode: Turf War/Anarchy Battles

She is the incredibly talented sniper that you won't notice until the very moment you die. Always changing positions and never staying in one spot for too long, she's hard to kill and even harder to avoid. She can wipe out an entire team and protect the base like no one else. However, if you manage to get close, she struggles with her short weapon range and easily gets killed. Her skills also vary depending on the stage.

Bardroy

Preferred Weapon Type: Blasters/Splatlings

Main Weapon: Range Blaster

Favourite Mode: Turf War/Rainmaker

Finnian

Preferred Weapon Type: Sloshers

Lau

Preferred Weapon Type: Stringers

Main Weapon: Tri-Stringer

Favourite Mode:

He would actually be useful in battle IF he wouldn't

Grelle Sutcliffe

Preferred Weapon Type: Splatanas

Main Weapon: Splatana Stamper

Favourite Mode: Anarchy Battles

William T. Spears

Preferred Weapon Type: Chargers

Main Weapon: Snipewriter 5H

Favourite Mode: Tower Control/Salmon Run

Ronald Knox

Preferred Weapon Type: Rollers

Main Weapon: Dynamo Roller

Favourite Mode: Clam Blitz/Splat Zones

He abuses the boyaah-button far too much

Undertaker

Preferred Weapon Type: Shooters

Main Weapon: N-Zap '85

Favourite Mode: Turf War

In General

For absolutely no canonical reason: if Mey-Rin and William were to fight each other, it would be an extreme battle between two professional chargers. It would be difficult to judge which of them would win.

#black butler #splatoon #headcanons #fanfic #funny #nintendo #gaming #anime and manga #anime #kuroshitsuji #sebastian michaelis #grell sutcliff #ciel phantomhive #original #writing

14 notes · View notes

lockboxbooks · 7 months

Text

Rules, Muses, Kinks, and More

This Blog is Nsfw so will only interact with +18.

1. Always state the muse you are trying to interact with!

2. please do not control my muse or God Mod! Let me play my muse.

3. If you are unsure about a Kink feel free to DM or send an Ask.

I'll add further rules as and if necessary.

Muse List

Teen Titans: Beastboy, Cyborg, Red X, Starfire, Blackfire, Jinx, Raven, Bumblebee, Pantha, Mammoth, and Kitten

Incredibles: Elastigirl, Dash Parr, Violet Parr, Mirage

Marvel: Blackcat, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Mary Jane, Thor, Captain America, Enchantress

Bleach: Uryuu Ishida, Orihime, Rangiku Matsumoto, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Grimmjow, Nemu Kurotsuchi, Hallibel, Nelliel Tu

Naruto: Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Sarada Uchiha, Sakura Uchiha, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, Ten-Ten, Rock Lee, Naruto, Lady Tsunade, Orochimaru, Neji Hyuuga, Kakashi Hatake

Dragon Ball Z: Gohan, Videl, Erasa, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Android 18

One Piece: Nami, Nico Robin, Vivi Nefritari, Sanji, (young) Big Mom, Alvida, Buggy, Koby, Usopp, Franky

Shelby from Creature of the Lake (2017)

RWBY: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc, Lil Miss Malachite, Glynda Goodwitch, Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Amber, Penny Polendia, Winter Schnee, Saphron Arc, Kali Belladonna, Lie Ren, Mercury Black, Hazel

Legend of Zelda: Zelda, Link, Malon, Nabooru, Tetra, Midna

ATLA: Katara, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai, Azula, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, June

My Hero Acadamia: Ochako Uraraka, Momo, Jirou Kyoka, Denki Kaminari, Mina, Deku, Gentle, Manami Iaba, Fat Gum, Jurota Shishida, Juzo Honenuki, Itsuka Kendo

Total Drama: Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Leshawna, Gwen

Ben 10: Gwen Tennyson, Charmcaster, Rojo, Eunice, Lucy Mann, Julie Yamamoto

Secret Saturdays: Drew Saturday, Zak Saturday, Kur, Miranda Grey, Sita

Danny Phantom: Madeline Fenton, Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, Desiree, Valerie Gray, Jasmine Fenton, Dani Fenton

Pokemon: Misty, Jessie, Bea, Hilda, Lenora, Skyla, Nessa, Melony, Katy, Penny, Mallow, Lana, Lana's Mother, Prof Juniper, Prof Sada, Willow, Bianca, Prof Fennel, Oleana, hex maniac, female hiker, Gloria, Plumeria, Wicke, Viola, Roxxie, Shauntal, Caitlin, Malva, Drasna, (rule 63) Allister, (rule 63) Gordie, Olivia, Cheren

Mavis Dracula from Hotel Transylvania

April O'Neil from TMNT

Kinks

This will mostly be a blacklist of the kinks/fetishes I have no interest in RPing

Gore

Killing and death

Vore

Loli & Shota (All characters MUST be older than 18)

Watersports (Peeing on each other)

Scat

OCs

Meretrix the Witch-Demon

Maria Oki, Amazonian Superhero

Meme/Ask/Prompt/RP Master List

Ask AUs

Relief Nin: A Universe where to ensure Ninjas are at their best; a class of Kunoichi exists to solely please every Ninja they come across. For Morale and for their health. [ A B C D E F ] These are all examples of the Relief Nin AU

Gentle Group: A Universe where Danjuro Tobita [Gentle Criminal] shifts his focus from trying to make petty crime viral, to becoming a popular parasocial pornstar sensation. His debut plan goes wild and he and Manami Iaba [La Brava] are able to build up a brand and fuck heroes, villains and civilians alike for views and for donations. [ A B C D ]These are all examples of tales happening within the Gentle Group AU

#rules #muses #rp

19 notes · View notes

nixytea · 1 year

Text

at the will of the waves — y.jw x reader

pairing: yang jungwon x gn!reader

genre: love is hard for wotaku (wotakoi) au, childhood friends to lovers, fluff, slight angst, one-sided pining

inspired by: フィクション - sumika

summary: to pretty much everyone you know, you’re a diligent office worker. but behind closed doors? you’re what society calls an “otaku”: obsessed with manga, anime, gaming and the like. after a traumatising event, you swear to yourself you will never again let anyone find out about this side of you, but what happens when Yang Jungwon, your best friend from middle school and fellow nerd, squeezes his way into your life again and offers you something you cannot reject ?

warnings: OOC, food, weird people, mentions of insecurities, too many anime references, girlboss y/n, inaccurate gaming terminology, maybe if this were on ao3 i'd tag it dead dove do not eat for how badly this would affect my social life if anyone sees this irl

word count: 10.65k

disclaimer: to whoever has the guts to read this: here's a pair of anti-secondhand-embarrassment goggles and a tetra pack of unsee juice, strap in cuz this was written by me six months ago in my "what in the world is romance" era so uh. yeah tldr: this is gross for me to read and edit, i suggest reading it only once to spare your soul.

taglist: @drunkjazed @kange3939 @ahnneyong

track 001 : still into you - paramore track 002: disconnected - 5sos

LEVEL 000: SINGLE PRINGLE NOT READY TO MINGLE

You’ve got a feeling the universe might just hate you. Just a teeny tiny hunch.

Today’s supposed to be a fresh start for you. New job, new coworkers, new outfit -- which you totally didn’t spend two months’ worth of your salary to purchase, no way.

So then why in the name of Eren Jaeger’s left buttcheek are you sprinting towards the train station in three-inch heels?

It’s your first day at work, you can’t afford to be late. “If i can just run a little faster-” you wheeze, frantically swinging your arms. A hiss of the doors and you’re in. “Nice, I’ll be on time at this rate,” you think to yourself. It’s the morning train, so you opt to grasp a handle dangling from the bars overhead. Relief washes over your body, relaxing your overworked calf muscles. Nothing can stop you today.

Yet as your eyes skim across a manga advertisement, you can't help but clench your free hand.

I hope no one finds out this time.

Less than ten minutes later, you find yourself in a waiting room. The door swings open, and a tall woman steps in. She doesn’t seem much older than you, yet she exudes the confidence you’ve only dreamed of having since middle school. You can't help but admire the way everything about her screams elegance and professionalism. That would’ve helped three months ago, you muse internally.

“Nice to meet you. I’m your supervisor, and I’ll be your guide for the next few weeks. We work in the same department.” She offers her hand, a graceful smile spreading across her face. “I hope we get along well.”

You grip her palm in a firm handshake, while secretly scanning her gorgeous face. “Let’s work hard together!’

Your supervisor leads you into the hallway, briefing you as she strides along. Thoroughly engrossed in your new mentor’s advice, you only realise someone else is in the corridor when your shoulder brushes theirs ever so slightly. Yet you continue walking on after a quick apology, attention returning to -

Wait.

You swivel around, disregarding your supervisor’s confused mumble. “Yang Jungwon?!”

The once-fading back of your victim pauses, head lolling to his side. “Y/n?”

Your mind races in overdrive, thoughts scrambling in your head as you force your mouth to say something at all. “H-hey, Jungwon! It’s um, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Last time we met was in middle school!” Your hand lifts in a shaky wave, heart skipping at the glimpse of his familiar smirk. “It’s so unexpected! What are the odds that we’d be working here together?” Avoiding the curious gazes of your supervisor and Jungwon’s colleague, you continue rambling on. “Uhh…let’s catch up over dinner! Don’t be late!” You mentally slap yourself to shut your mouth, and breeze past the two men. Phew, that was close. You cannot let the only person who knows your darkest secret go free. Luckily you’d spotted him on your first day, or who knows-

“By the way, are you tabling at Comic Con?”

You swear you were one word away from a heart attack. “H-haha, very funny. You know I don’t do that stuff, why would you ask that? Bye now!”

“…I’m screwed.”

Eleven hours later, you find yourself at a nearby 24-hour arcade, your focus on the sparkly joystick loosened by years of manhandling.

“The bait’s been set. Passing it over to you now.” You swap places with Jungwon to finally chug your can of Calpis. “Mmmm, that’s the stuff,” you sigh happily, never tearing your eyes away from the screen, where Jungwon’s doing up the finishing touches for the claw machine. He’s always been better at these things than you, but you’d like to believe it’s because he spent more time in arcades than you did when you were kids. You were more into stupid otome games with cheesy endings.

“Got it. Told you it was possible,” Jungwon announces, the collection door swinging open to reveal a fluffy dino stuffie. “Seriously, after all these years you still need my help?”

You let out a derisive snort as you seized the plushie from his hands. “Well, you haven’t changed much either, have you? Nearly told everyone I’m an otaku on my first day. I do have a death wish, mind you.”

His smirk really is the same, you realise, as his dimples emerge as prominently as you remember. It’s actually quite endearing, though you’ll never tell him that. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t have known you’re a closet otaku now? You used to be so blatant about it. ‘Ohmagawsh have you seen the new nyeh nyeh nyeh? The love interests are so hot I’d lick their abs.’ That’s how you sounded like, you know?”

“Stop, someone could hear us and I can say goodbye to my job!”

“Relax, no one’s here. You never used to care so much about people’s opinions, though,” he quips, reaching out to grab a piece of fried chicken. “So? What’s the tragic backstory behind your pathetically closeted fangirling?”

Your elbow accidentally collides with Jungwon’s ribs, nearly pushing him out of the high chair. “I was only like that with you. And it’s…a long story.”

“It’s also a long night.” That was how Jungwon was. Always there, always listening.

You have to take a swig of your Calpis to steel yourself, after all it’s not a story you like to tell. But he’s your best friend, and he’s the only one you’d trust with a fraction of your secret.

“Somewhere during university, I guess the pressure to be a…normal student was pretty high. So I decided to put my uh, unorthodox hobbies into the rhetorical closet?” You pause, lips pinching as you try to avoid his questioning look. Somehow you can’t bring yourself to tell him the whole truth. A part of you begs to confide in him, because you just know he’s the only one who might understand. But…

Jungwon watches you, an emotion you can’t pinpoint brewing in his sharp eyes. “Is that all?”

“Y-yeah. It’s a pretty good reason if you ask me.” Your tone is more defensive than you mean it to be, considering this is meant to be no more than a casual catch-up session with an old friend.

He shrugs, stare boring right through your soul. It’s funny how the guy you haven’t met for half a decade is the one who knows you best, even better than yourself. “I don’t believe you.”

And you crack. It’s surprising, really, that after so many months of holding yourself together it is Jungwon who becomes the catalyst to your spiral. Your vision melts into a blurry kaleidoscope of colours as the words fall from your lips. You tell him everything. About you falling so deeply in love with your boyfriend of three years that you plucked up the courage to tell him about your less-than-perfect lifestyle. About him asking for a breakup in a matter of minutes after the confession. About him telling everyone at your workplace, about people you once considered friends pretending you don’t exist, about being so openly mocked you have no choice but to resign and escape from a nightmare you know was created by your own two hands. And you know telling Yang Jungwon about your dirty laundry isn’t going to turn back time, isn’t going to bring your old life back, but you tell him anyway because it feels safe and right somehow. He feels safe and right.

He always has.

When your world stops spinning and you return to reality, you find yourself sinking your nails into the plushie, eyes stinging slightly, and Jungwon’s hand is on your back, palm rubbing circles into your back. You’ve gotta admit, it feels better than you thought it would. It coaxes more out of you, words you didn’t know were in you before. “I swore off telling anyone I date about being an otaku. Saves me so much more effort and heartbreak.”

He raises his eyebrows, a thin crease forming across his forehead. “What about finding an otaku partner? Saved you the heartache.”

The question instantly sobers you up, your back straightening as if you weren’t on the verge of sobbing your eyeballs out a moment ago. “Hey, that’s just weird! Besides, I’d get zero attention from them.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

The conversation evolves into something more lighthearted, and it’s like the five years between you two was never there to begin with. You spend the rest of the night basking in the waves of nostalgia, reliving the freedom of your childhood.

Hours later, Jungwon checks his wristwatch. “It’s late, I’ll walk you home. We still have work in the morning.”

The walk to your apartment is silent, save for the whistling of the cool night breeze in the city streets. Jungwon’s footsteps are silent - he walks just like a cat, you conclude after watching him slink along your side.

“Thanks for tonight, Yang.”

“Anytime, L/n.”

You continue soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, knowing tomorrow will be a hectic work day. Such a night is hard to come by, but maybe with Jungwon around, things’ll be more fun?

“…me?”

“Hm?” You turn to ask him what he said, but he beats you to it.

“What about me?”

You stare at him in confusion. “What about…you?”

“You said you wouldn’t tell your partner about being an otaku. Then what about me as a partner? I’d help you clear stages in games whenever you needed, I’d support you at conventions, and I wouldn’t judge you for your interests. And while we date, I’ll teach you how to not screw up future dates. You know, some sort of friends with benefits, except the benefits aren’t the usual…you know. You can treat me as practice for relationships. Dump me whenever you find someone you actually like.” Somehow, his face remains clear of any signs of embarrassment as he oh-so boldly states something that shouldn’t seem as simple as he makes it sound.

His proposal shocks you, no doubt. He’s never shown any interest in you romantically, as far as you can remember, so he can’t possibly be hitting on you right now. Besides, Yang Jungwon is a level-headed person, and his offer doesn’t seem so bad the more you think about it.

You reach out to grip his hand in a firm handshake, watching as Jungwon fails to hide the satisfied grin spreading across his face. You’ve got a feeling your face is mirroring his too. “Deal.”

And henceforth, your whirlwind otaku romance begins.

LEVEL 000 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 001: MEET THE HOMIES

You’d think getting a partner would be a life-changing experience that completely shook your world, but Jungwon just wasn’t acting like it was a big deal. You, on the other hand…

Embarrassing as it was, you were hiding from him. Who knows why. It was as though last night was a secret you had to take to your grave.

So here you are, crouched under a table while Jungwon and his friends are messing with their Switches over lunch.

Since you aren’t too far away from their table, you can catch snippets of his conversation with his gaming buddies. And as you stare a little longer, the sudden realisation hits you: you know those guys. They lived in your neighbourhood too, went to the same school, played hundreds of games with you and Jungwon too.

Kim Sunoo, the one whose name Jungwon used to call with more excitement than you’d ever seen before. He was older than you by a year, and he was the reason you and Jungwon started gaming. Every inch of his house was covered in anime posters, Genshin cosplays, full sets of manga volumes and action figurines. Plus, he had a treasure trove of a game collection that lined every wall in his house, something that still amazed you. Apparently, he’d gotten the money through cosplay wig commissions or some voice acting gig (the dude had a honeyed croon every fangirl could swoon for). Cunning, hardworking and motivated. You could see him write those on his resume.

Then there was the dude who hulked over your…boyfriend and Sunoo. Nishimura Riki. If you recalled correctly, Riki was like a little brother to Jungwon, who would take him anywhere and everywhere. His parents owned a dance studio, and Riki had put his skills to good use. Cosplay thirst traps were all your feeds consisted of, and you’d stumbled across Riki’s account one day, featuring the tall boy in a maid outfit. By the looks of it, he worked here. The apron gave it away.

Just how much did you miss?

“Yah! That’s the third time you missed a shot today. And you never miss!” you hear Sunoo whine. “Who are you and what have you done with my talented dongsaeng?”

Riki snickers “Hyung, he’s distracted. Look at him. He can’t focus.” He leans towards Jungwon, a meaningful smile curling on his face. “He logged on late last night, didn’t he? I bet he went on a date.”

Jungwon’s fingers slipped.

“AAAAAAAH JUNGWON-AH WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Sunoo’s wails fill the cafe, earning a hasty shush from Jungwon. “Honestly, you guys are so dramatic. Is it so unbelievable?”

“Ah, but hyung, this is different. You’ve been single your whole life cause you can’t get over-”

“Shut up.”

You hear Jungwon exhale, fingers fiddling with the power button of his switch. “Look, it’s not like that okay? She and I are just dating till she gets an actual boyfriend.”

A pause. Then hysterical laughter begins to echo through the small cafe. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Won,” Sunoo wheezes, slapping his knee so hard you hear the smack ringing in your ears. “You of all people should know these things never end the way you expect it to. Aren’t you supposed to be a shoujo plot expert?”

“What do you even expect me to know? This isnt real life!”

“Hyung, I know a good pick up line you can use on her. Are you an angel? Cause your health bar dropped when you fell from heaven.”

“That sucks, Riki.”

Much as you’d like to watch Jungwon dig a deeper hole for himself with every word that comes out of his mouth, you do have an ounce of pity for him.

You walk over to their table, pulling out a chair. “Oh? Didn’t expect to bump into you here.”

Sunoo falls off his chair in shock, but he just stays on the floor staring at you with almost comically wide eyes. “Y/n?! We all thought you died when you disappeared from our neighbourhood?”

“Died?! I left to study, who told you I died?”

Shaking his head, Sunoo giggles deliriously. “Wait till you find out what Jungwon’s love life is like. Did you know he’s got a…a fake girlfriend?”He barely gets the words out before another fit of giggles knocks him over.

You clear your throat. “I…might know a thing or two.” Jungwon’s head spins towards you, the existential horror evident on his betrayed glare. “Y/n, why would you tell them that?” The boys perk up almost immediately, the sound of Sunoo slamming the table reverberating off the walls as the owner shoots dirty glares at Riki. “No way, his fake girl is you?”

Just as Sunoo is about to tease you even more, Riki comes to your rescue. “Ah, who cares. At least you can game with us now. Hoyoverse ID, please.”

You wince, grinning sheepishly. “Yeah, about that, my ex deleted my account as revenge. I haven’t found time to restart.”

“Sheesh, Y/n, what kind of exes do you have?

“Bitter ones, obviously.”

“So Jungwon’s better than them all?”

“Oi Riki shut your mouth.”

LEVEL 001 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 002: FIRST DATE?!

Being in a relationship requires commitment. That much you’re aware of. Miraculously, so is Jungwon despite his absolute lack of experience.

“So Riki wasn’t joking? You’ve really never dated anyone ? Why?”

Jungwon sighs. If he weren’t so busy with his mouse, he’d probably have glared you down. “Didn’t think I needed it, don’t ask why.”

“Sheesh, okay. So touchy.”

This is how you’ve been spending your after-hours: playing any PVP game that suits your mood with your…boyfriend? Neither of you had really made an effort to give each other any experience dating someone who didn’t spend 24 hours a day thinking of 2D characters.

Jungwon’s fingers fly across the WASD as he continues the conversation. It’s a skill he seems to have acquired after so many years of doing this with Sunoo and Riki. “I think we should stick to the plan we agreed on.”

“What plan? We never planned anything.”

He swallows audibly, eyes darting around the screen of his monitor as his avatar creeps nearer towards his opponent’s “We need to try going on an actual date. Zero gaming references, strictly no mentions of your manga allowed. Practice makes perfect.”

“Practice makes perfect,” you echo. He’s right, you have to admit. It’s been fun having him around to help you level up in your games, but there’s no way you can continue on like this. The arrangement might as well be off, if that were the case.

Right?

You don’t miss the cheeky edge in his voice as he speaks. “You’ll have a harder time than me, so let’s have a bet. If you mention anything anime or manga or video game-related, I get to pick what games we play for a week.”

“Oh come on, there’s no way I’m gonna play Mario Kart for a week. If I win, you have to play a full Mystic Messenger route with me.”

Jungwon groans, falling back against the backrest as he slides away from you. “Now I really need to win.”

The following day, you find yourself standing at the gates of a small theme park. Squeals of pure delight fill the air as children dart around visitor’s legs. Pop-up shops line the edges of the park, with colourful carnival booths and cotton candy of every flavour imaginable. In other words, paradise.

Coincidentally, it’s also the place you and Jungwon visited when you graduated from high school, and you can’t help but wonder if he remembers it the way you do.

With Jungwon by your side, you head straight for the merry-go-round. Beckoning towards Jungwon, you swing your legs over a plastic horse. The spinning disc begins to rotate, and your horse bounces you upwards. “Ha, I’m finally taller than you!” you joke cheerily.

He shakes his head fondly, signature smirk curling to reveal his teeth. “In your dreams. Do you remember the first time we came here?”

“Oh yeah, in kindergarten I think? Your sister took us here. We snuck off to the spinning teacups twice.”

“If she hadn’t found us, we’d have gone a third time,” he snorts. “I miss being a scrappy kid. No need to worry if someone’s gonna kill me for my typos, or my parents nagging at me to bring a girl home. Just doing what I want to. Preferably with you.”

You hum absently, pondering on his sudden confession. It’s true, neither of you would have believed it if ten years ago, someone had told you you’d be doing a nine-to-five desk job. “Heh, we used to say we wanted to be game developers. Look at us now.”

“Look at us now.”

The next five minutes make you feel as though the two of you are in your own little bubble, and you are so lost in conversation that you almost don’t notice that the ride has stopped. As you step off the platform, you find yourself wishing this could last forever. Wasn’t so bad, was it?

“C’mon, I wanna try the roller coaster next.” Jungwon nudges you towards the loopy tracks, painted in a blinding white that reflects the bright morning sun. “Last I checked, you’re pretty good with heights.”

With his hand on your shoulders, he steers you towards the winding line of poor souls who don’t know what’s coming. Luckily for you, this isn’t your first time. Following Jungwon’s lead, you march forward. The day’s going well so far, but somehow it just doesn’t really feel like a date. Oh well, that can be built up over time. You squeeze your way through a small crowd, peering over tall shoulders. And as the crowd parts ever so slightly…

It can’t be.

Not far from you, a head of dyed blonde hair glints in the sunlight. As you lean forward, you see the face attached to it. Your ex.

And hand-in-hand with him is another ex-colleague.

You should’ve known, really. They’d been making eyes at each other even while you were dating, so this shouldn’t be a surprise. But as your fingers dig into the sleeves of Jungwon’s sweater, you can’t ignore the way your heart clenches painfully, dread coursing through your limbs as you will your legs to just move along.

For better or worse, Jungwon is a highly perceptive person. He follows your gaze. “Is that…” His voice trails off, hands tightening their grip on your back.

You swallow thickly, trying to tear your eyes away. “Y-yeah. Let’s keep moving, shall we?”

Forcing a smile, you surge forward with greater resolve than ever. Today’s not about him, is it? It’s about you and Jungwon. Right. Today can still be a good day.

“Y/n?”

Jungwon’s voice rings clearly despite the bustling visitors surrounding you. You look up in surprise as his arm wraps around your shoulders, hand squeezing your bicep firmly. An assurance. “Ignore him. Even if he spots you, he wouldn't dare come here.”

“And if he does?”

“He’s just a side character in the grand scheme of things. You’re the main focus today, don’t let him ruin our date…or whatever.”

His words send your heart aflutter, warmth filling your veins like honey. Leave it to Yang Jungwon to make you feel special. “Now say it with me: I am weirdo otaku, and my ex is a smelly normie with no real hobbies.”

You know he means it as a joke, but somehow you can hear your voice growing louder and more confident as you repeat after him for laughs, and you realise that for the first time in months, you are perfectly calm about the whole thing. Maybe it’s the fact that you know for sure he’s in the wrong now. Maybe it’s the fact that Jungwon literally has your back. Either way, you’ve finally found it in you to stand up for yourself.

“Right, I’ve got a date to enjoy with my boyfriend.” Hooking your arm with Jungwon’s, you lead him towards the cotton candy stand. “I can’t stand the sight of that bastard, so let’s go.”

A genuine smile graces Jungwon’s cat-like features, dimples deepening as he gazes at you with so much fondness in his eyes it’s as though you’re the only one in his world. You suppose years of knowing each other gives him that right, but you can’t explain away the tickly sensation in your belly when he looks at you that way. “Well, I’m glad. At least that’s one obstacle we’ve overcome through this amazing plan of ours-“

“And thank you for joining me in the Mystic Messenger grind.”

“What? Since when?” He gapes, horror dawning on his face as he realises the situation he’s gotten himself stuck in.

“Oh, you know exactly what you did.”

“...that doesn’t count.”

“Does too!”

“Does not.”

“Whatever you say, loser. Get ready for a tearjerker marathon, Won. We better stock up on tissues before we start tonight.”

LEVEL 002 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 003: MIXED SIGNALS

You are positively, utterly, tragically, extremely screwed. Why? Because you have a chapter of a doujin to upload. Tomorrow. And said chapter is…nonexistent. And judging by the influx of comments under your discord, the fans aren’t gonna be happy if you don’t keep your promise. Then again, neither are you. You’re actually just excited for this, but to think you might just let your readers down…

You sigh, cracking your knuckles as you flop into the study chair. This is not the time to be panicking, you decide as you pick up your pen. You’ve got the plot down, the action scenes are already looping in your head, plus the cheesy romance factor is definitely, undeniably there. So what’s the issue here? Why is it that as you twirl the digital pen between your fingers, you are staring at a blank canvas?

Death by manga. Not a bad way to go out. You try to squeeze your brain, gulp down a whole cup of hot tea, hot coffee, anything at all. But none of it works. An hour later you are still met with a snowy white expanse across your PC, not a single face, hand, just nothing. Great.

You reach for your phone. Maybe checking the fan art submissions will give you some ideas. But as you pick it up, a notification tone pings, screen lighting up as a message pops into existence. A red heart floats beside the text.

won<3: why r u online on twt rn arent u supposed 2 b asleep

you: omg ur online pls save me n log on 2 discord thx

Almost immediately, your discord alert tone goes off, and Jungwon’s voice blasts from your monitor. “You okay? You should’ve turned in for the night two hours ago. What’s keeping you up?” The concern in his tone is evident, despite the virtual barrier. It feels good, to know someone’s looking out for you. Especially if that someone is Jungwon.

“Listen…you know how my new chapter is up tomorrow? Well, I kiiinda haven’t finished drawing it yet.”

The silence in your room is telling, save for what you think might be Jungwon dropping his bag of chips. “Y/n, you can’t be serious. Share the file with me, we don’t have much time if you want to get any sleep tonight at all.”

“Really? You’ll help? Thank you so so much I’ll buy you dinner tomorrow.” You fiddle with the controls, and it just so happens that Jungwon decides to turn his camera on at the exact same time. His face appears across your screen, and for a moment you forget what you’re supposed to be doing.

Although it’s past midnight, he still looks absolutely gorgeous. With the contacts off, his eyes are their natural black, sharper than when you see him in the mornings. You are about to question why he is so alert today when your eyes fall on his pursed lips, a pretty shade of pink, much like when you were kids. He did grow up well, you’ve got to admit. But instead of his features making you flustered, it seems to make your heart ache instead. It’s an inexplicable feeling, similar to nostalgia. Regret for the years you’ve lost.

“What even…y/n, I don’t think this is called being unfinished. You didn’t even start.” He runs a hand through his auburn hair, expression giving away the exasperation directed at you. “Well, we better get started. Pick your pen up, we’re in for a long night.”

The next two hours are spent brainstorming and you panicking over the lineart, while Jungwon tries to colour in the cover page. Every time you let out an “oops”, you swear you see the cat ears on Jungwon’s headset twitch in annoyance. (Not that it matters, but that’s the headset you got for him for his eighteenth birthday.)

After a while, you settle into a comfortable silence, save for the gentle tapping of your pen’s nib on the screen. “Hey, Won?”

Hearing the hum of acknowledgement from his end, you continue. “Did you…miss me when I left? I know you found out from my mother, but only because I was too scared to tell you on my own.”

There is a pause, where only Jungwon’s even breaths are audible. Finally, he answers your question. “Y/n, you were my best friend. You still are. Of course I missed you.” He says it like it is so obvious, like it is a given for him to care so much about you, platonic or not.

“Weren’t you a little…disappointed by what I was like when we met again that day? I did try to pretend I’d changed.” You’ve never actually told Jungwon that if he hadn’t talked to you that night, you were planning to never approach him again. Back then, you would’ve wanted to pretend he didn’t exist. But that night at the arcade, and how he’d shown you over the past few months that he wasn’t going anywhere, it made you wonder. Why’d you want to stick with me?

“Disappointed? Never. Not in you. You haven’t had it easy since you left our hometown, I know. But from here out, I’m sure you’ve figured out what you want, haven’t you?”

A wave of relief washes over you, the comfort dulling your senses as you rest your chin on the desk. “You’re setting my standards a little too high, you know.” Your eyelids begin to droop, the prolonged exposure to the screen beginning to take its toll on you. Slowly, the world fades to black. “Won, can you wake me in five minutes?” you manage to get out, before your consciousness slips away as you lay your head down.

Unbeknownst to you, Jungwon watches your slumbering figure, a bittersweet tang in his mouth as he admires your fluttering eyelashes, the slight rise and fall of your shoulders, the tiny twitches of your enticing lips, a virtual barrier separating him from your sleeping frame. His fingers trace the image of you cast on his pc, chest cavity clenching painfully as he realises how much more beautiful you’ve become in the five years that passed with regret. “If I had told you back then, would we be what we are now?”

The next day arrives without a hitch. You had to apologise to Jungwon for falling asleep on call, to which he replied with a cheeky eye roll. “If you want to make it up to me, come over to my place tonight. Wii sports isn’t fun as a single-player game.”

You wrap up your work in record time, with your supervisor being so incredibly impressed that she almost tries to assign you extra work, but you manage to run away before she gives you overtime for the third time this week.

Jungwon has been to your place many times, but you haven’t actually visited his apartment before. The times you go over to pick up stuff aren’t counted because you don’t actually go in, and you’re honestly curious to see what your…boyfriend(?)’s taste in interior design is.

After picking up some takeaway from a nearby yakitori place, you and Jungwon make the short trip from the office to his place. “What’s it like? Do you have a whole cabinet dedicated to your vocaloid figurines or something?”

“Nope,” he shrugs, an odd look on his face as he eyes you warily. “I have some…ah never mind.” He stops, and you realise you have reached his front door. He swings the door open, hands fumbling in the dark for the light switch. “Welcome to my apartment. Make yourself at home. There’s some soda in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

One look into the apartment is all you need to know that Yang Jungwon is the same, tidy creature you’ve always known. The living room is minimalistic, with a deep blue couch in the centre. A small television leans against a wall, some wires disappearing into the back. To the left, a small cloth-covered box sits in the corner, and you assume it is for his gadgets. The kitchen looks extremely new. Too new, even, and knowing Jungwon he’s probably never actually used it before. A short corridor leads to the bedroom, but the lights don’t reach that area.

Jungwon drops the keys into a small basket on the kitchen counter. “Bathroom’s in the bedroom down the hallway. If you want, you can take a shower. I’ll leave a shirt for you. Might not be a good fit though.” He doesn’t even have to look at you to know, since his shoulders are just so broad that if you were to put on his clothes, they’d probably slide right off you. But why does the thought of wearing his shirt make your cheeks burn? You used to do this when you were kids, when you crashed at his house for sleepovers and you forgot your pyjamas. You’d borrow his favourite pyjamas just to watch him pout, but he could never say no to you. And when he began to outgrow you, you were a little disappointed when he decided to just give that set to you since “you seemed to like them so much”.

“I invited Sunoo and Riki, they’ll be over soon. I’ll get the console set up, so you go clean yourself up.”

Without a single protest, you thank him and make your way into the bedroom. You’re dying to wash up after a long day at work. The moment you step in, you are greeted by the pleasant smell of lavender and chamomile. His childhood home used to smell like that too, so the aroma is somewhat nostalgic, and very welcome too. The bed covers are tucked into the sides of the bedframe neatly, its colours matching the couch outside. His favourite colour hadn’t changed all this time. In fact, you’re willing to bet his gaming controller is blue.

As you peer into the washroom, you notice a small bottle of makeup remover, its contents still to the brim. You’d mentioned passing your favourite brand once, and there it is, perched on the bathroom counter. For some strange reason, an odd warmth trickles into your chest as you shut the door.

Your shower is quick but thorough, and as you step out you notice the pile of clothes on the bed. Slipping on the soft fabric, you sniff the sleeves. It smells kind of like the cologne you told him smelled nice on him once. So he did remember. He always did remember the weirdest things, after all.

“Who did?” Jungwon leans into your ear from behind you, his breathy whisper tickling its way into your ears. The sudden assault on your hearing makes your neck twitch away from him, but as you lurch away from him your balance tips. The fabric of Jungwon’s loose T-shirt bunches in your fist as you hold onto him for support, but you end up dragging him down with you. As your back hits the bed, you hear a soft oomph from Jungwon. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” you gasp, turning your head to the left and-

oh.

His face is inches from yours, a proximity that you never would’ve thought possible until now. Every shaky breath between his lips is accentuated with a nervous swallow as you watch him attempt and fail to pry his eyes away from your lips. You gasp audibly, feeling lightheaded despite already being on your back and your fingers are twitching desperately. The odd warmth is back, and your body moves on its own accord, fingers reaching out to Jungwon’s jaw. But as your fingertips are just a millimetre away from his skin, Jungwon seemingly sobers up, abruptly breaking the spell for himself. “S-sorry, don’t know what came over me,” he stutters, sitting up before you can touch him. He moves to get off the bed, but something within you breaks. Without warning, your hand snaps to his wrist, tugging him backwards and it’s all too fast, you shouldn’t be thinking about your best friend like this-

But here you are, leaning in to join your lips with his. It’s not your first kiss, but it may as well be with the way your heartbeat pounds in your ears, adrenaline shooting through your veins as you wrap your fingers around the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. The distance is too little, too much, the electrifying heat unbearable yet so addictive. With your eyes shut, the hesitant brush of his palm on your hip is magnified tenfold, and your heart races as you feel him bury a hand in your wet hair, his thumb grazing your cheek slightly. It’s gentle, it’s sweet, it’s perfect, and you smile against his lips. But before you can lock your fingers with his, everything disappears. He pulls away from every part of you, and it is only then that your eyes flutter open.

“Y/n, I…”

A weight in your chest drops as you see the guilty expression on his face, eyes looking anywhere but you. “You…I’m sorry.”

You shake your head, fingers reaching for his own, but he retracts his hand faster. “Wait, don’t go. We just…you just - okay, what are you saying sorry for again?”

He gulps, throat bobbing as he purses his lips firmly to stop them from trembling. “I think you’re probably just confused since we hadn’t seen each other for a while. Just, let’s not do…that again, or-”

“Or what?!”

“Or I’ll think you actually like me.”

You scan his face, searching for any signs of mischief, but his eyes are still averted, biting his lip like a guilt-ridden cat. Normally you’d think this is cute, but right now nothing but irritation is clouding over any instinct to be calm about whatever’s going on right now. “Jungwon, I literally just kissed you. What else would I mean other than that? People don’t kiss people they don’t like.”

“You’re confused, Y/n,” he sighs, rubbing his temple tiredly. You want those hands on yours right now, but he isn’t going to give it to you and you know it. “You don’t know what you want. Heck, neither of us know what we’re doing. What was this stupid deal anyway? It was selfish of me to even let this happen, I mean it’s been five years. This was just a whole stupid idea to give teenage me what he wanted. You probably don’t even need me in your life, and it’s so stupid of me to want to be in yours like this.”

“Are you kidding me? I want you here. I like you, and I want you by my side just like this right now. I’m not leaving again, Jungwon. Do you…did you even like me at all?”

“Yes. Too much. But you’re…” he trails off, a muffled groan escaping his lips as he buries his face into his knees. “If you knew how much I really like you, you’d never be able to leave.”

“Then I won’t-”

The doorbell interrupts you, and Jungwon takes the opportunity to scramble off the bed, leaving you alone in the room. Sunoo and Riki’s loud banter drifts into the small space. As Jungwon’s scent becomes too strong for you to bear in the room, you grab a breather before walking out. “Hey guys,” you murmur, resisting the urge to roll your eyes as Jungwon pretends to be busy with the controllers.

“Were we interrupting something?” Sunoo asks absently, fussing with the snacks he brought from the convenience store downstairs. When neither of you reply him, Riki smirks knowingly. “Lovers’ quarrel, then?”

You smack Riki in the arm. “You’ll regret that when I kick your butt at Wii sports later.”

At your overly confident declaration, Jungwon lets out a loud snort. “Oh yeah, because you’re so good at bowling, Y/n.” His snide comment ticks you off, bringing out your competitive streak. “Oh it’s on, Yang,” you growl, cracking your knuckles in the most menacing angle you can find.

The night is full of laughter, despite the tension between you and Jungwon. It’s easy to ignore, with Sunoo and Riki over, but every now and then you look over at Jungwon, who purposefully maintains his absolute lack of eye contact with you. Which is atypical of him, and you’re sure Sunoo’s already noticed but knows better than to point it out. After rounds and rounds of stupid games that usually end with someone falling over, you flop onto the couch, cracking open a can of marble soda. “That last move was killer. Don’t think I’ll be able to walk tomorrow,” you groan, taking a swig of your soda as if it’s alcohol and you’re a tired mother. (Technically you all can legally drink, but you know better than to do that tonight because Jungwon will freak if you guys throw up in his apartment.)

Riki chuckles, tossing another can across the living room towards Sunoo. “Ha, Y/n’s getting old.”

“I’ll get the Salonpas, you guys sit here,” Jungwon sighs, jumping up from his seat on the couch to the cupboard behind you. He throws a few at your head, and chucks another box at Sunoo, who glares at him like he just said mint chocolate ice cream’s the most disgusting dessert he’s ever eaten.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow, Sunoo.”

Mumbling a string of inaudible words, Sunoo slaps a patch on his shoulder. “What time do you want to sleep?”

“NEVER.”

Jungwon fiddles with a bunch of wires, and the screen of his nintendo flashes across the TV. “Anyone up for a DDLC run?”

“How do you still have this? And why is your progress already two days in?”

“Y/n and I played it the two weeks we were messing with Mysme, so we wouldn’t get bored.”

“Oh nice, whose death did you remember most?”

“Gotta be Yuri’s, I think.”

“No way, Natsuki’s freaked me out more. I nearly threw the game out the window when I saw it.”

“Natsuki?!”

Their quarrelling continues, and you shake your head in amusement. You’ve played the game multiple times, enough to the point nothing about it scares you anymore. When you and Jungwon first played it together in elementary school, you couldn’t sleep for a whole week. Cue the endless sleepovers, where every little creak of the door would jerk you two awake. You remember having to hold Jungwon’s hand under the covers for security.

But now, that memory only serves to remind you of the events that came about a few hours ago. Disconnecting yourself from the conversation, you lean back into the couch, fingers subconsciously drifting to your own lips. The feeling hasn’t really faded, resurfacing every time you think about it too long. As your eyes flutter shut, your mind goes back to what he said earlier. Are you really using him as a rebound? But you still believe, after all this time, that it’s fate who brought you back to him. You need him in your life again, nothing to do with your ex.

Which brings you to the question: where’s the fine line between friendship and romance? Because with every passing day, Jungwon’s every move makes you start to question what he really means to you.

You hear a rustling of fabric, and a small felt blanket is draped over you, the soft material sliding over your toes. “Is she asleep?” you hear Sunoo ask.

Judging by the fact that Jungwon’ voice is nearest to you, you assume he’s the one who gave you the blanket. “Sure looks like it. Guess we bored her to sleep.” The couch cushions sink, and you feel the backrest dip.

“So, Jungwon, what happened before we got here? Did you guys fight or something?”

Jungwon sighs. “It’s…I think I made a mistake with her. She’s mixing up her feelings, and she probably just missed me.” There is an unmistakable bitterness in his words, the way he spits them out with such self-doubt that it makes your heart ache. You want to open your eyes and grab him by the shoulders and shake him awake, but now isn’t the time.

“But Jungwon hyung, I don’t think she just misses you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It’s kinda gross. You two are disgustingly cute.”

“It’s not romantic, Riki. She didn’t like me when we were kids, why would she like me now? The least I could do for her is to not get in the way of her future since that’s what we agreed on, but-”

“But do you like her?” Sunoo asks, ripping open a bag of potato chips.

“I don’t know. When we were kids I coud just brush it off as stupid teenage infatuation. I thought I got over her, but the moment I met her again everything felt different. It’s...I don't know. It’s just not the same.” The frustration is evident in his tone, and you have to fight the urge to crack your eyelids open and yell at him. It all hits you for the first time how hard your departure from his life must have hit him. His own best friend (and childhood crush) disappearing without a trace, and not even telling him.

Luckily, Sunoo comes to your rescue. “She returns your feelings, then. She’s back for good, Jungwon. You’re not holding her back, trust me. She’ll stay this time.”

The long pause is almost painful for you, who cannot see the look on Jungwon’s face now. You can picture it, but the curiosity is near unbearable. To your surprise, Jungwon is the one who breaks the silence.

“But…what if she wants to leave again? What then?”

What then? It’s a question begging to be answered, an enigma that should not be. Even Sunoo falls silent at Jungwon's raw, vulnerable confession that he’s scared, terrified even that he’ll lose you someday. No, you want to say. I won’t leave again. But would he believe you? Sunoo might. Riki does. But Jungwon? The one who missed you twice as much as you missed him, the one who took you back in a heartbeat, the one who willingly let himself suffer for a taste of what he thought he couldn’t have. It’s not fair, you decide. It’s not fair that Yang Jungwon is so selfless and aware of every little detail, pretending to be unbothered by everything under the sun. But you know that’s not the truth, that beneath those sturdy shoulders you’ve leaned on for far too long, there is a boy who just wants your love. It’s ironic, really, that the person who hurt him most is the one who has the power to end the years-long torment he’s been put through.

Your thoughts are jumbled in your brain as a restless sleep finally claims you. Just before you nod off, you hear the flip of a switch, the rustling of a mattress being pulled out, and…

A kiss on the forehead.

LEVEL 003 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

SIDE QUEST OPEN! PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

SIDE QUEST XX: MEET THE PARENTS

After that groundbreaking sleepover, a lot of things go unsaid between you and Jungwon. Somehow, there’s a weird gap where you’re eager to talk about what happened that day, while Jungwon seems to want to avoid it completely, contrary to what he said that night. You still pass each other at work, but no text messages ever come in like they used to, inviting you to play whatever mind-numbing game he feels like. It’s the quiet that scares you most, and even though Sunoo called you the other day to tell you not to worry, that Jungwon will come to his senses already, you fear that this is the day Jungwon ends his common sense streak.

You’re beginning to plan on how to get a key to his apartment when you hear a light tapping on your work booth. Swivelling your chair around, you find yourself face to face with the very person who’s been occupying your thoughts. You take a moment to look him up and down, searching for any signs he may be regretting pushing you away that day. But all you see is a sheepish Jungwon, dressed in the cutest pink sweater you’ve ever seen, and the earphones you gave him hanging around his neck. “Um, Y/n…can we talk?”

For a moment, your heart leaps. Is he going to make amends? You jump up, dragging him into a secluded corner. “Is this about…you know?”

“No…I’m sorry. It’s the opposite, actually. It kinda slipped my mind about what we wanted to do over the weekend. Do you still remember?”

Remember? Of course you remember. This weekend, you were supposed to go back to your hometown to visit both your parents. You’d gone back to spend time with your parents before, but never with any of the neighbours who used to dote on you as a child. And after the arrangement you and Jungwon had, you decided to visit his family, where he would introduce you as his girlfriend just to get his parents off his back about “settling down”.

But now that whatever’s between you two is more obvious than ever, it would probably make sense to Jungwon to cancel. Yet a part of you deflates at the thought. “I still wanna go, if that’s what you mean.”

You watch as Jungwon gulps, throat bobbing as he squeezes his hands together. “Won’t you feel a little weirded out? I mean, after…that, I’d understand completely.”

“Hate to break it to you Jungwon-ssi, but the awkwardness is very much one-sided.”

He seems to hesitate for a moment, before speaking up again. “Are you sure-”

“YES. I want your mother’s jajangmyeon. You can’t keep me away from it forever.”

And with that, the deal is done. Ignoring Jungwon’s absolutely manic laugh of disbelief, you slip back into your seat, a plan already beginning to form.

That same weekend, you stand in front of the Yang family’s apartment, a death grip on the handle of the crocker in your hands. Yet when paired side by side with Jungwon, it’s clear almost immediately who’s the stressed one.

“Isn’t the girlfriend supposed to be the scared one when meeting the parents? Why are you the one acting like you’re about to faint in front of your own house?!” you chide, nudging him with your elbow hard enough to throw his balance off. Still, he squeezes your shoulder in what you assume is some awkward show of reassurance. “You don’t have to do this, no one’ll blame you.”

“Now is not the time to be regretting your decisions, so suck it up. You’re the only one with a problem about this.” You can’t help the curt edge in your tone, because try as you might, it’s undeniable that meeting the Yang family after so many years freaks you out. They loved you as their son’s best friend, no doubt, but as a potential future daughter-in-law?

Before either of you can start to get cold feet, you lunge for the doorbell. The button is worn, from years of you, Sunoo and Riki jabbing it every day. From the sound of it, the batteries must’ve been replaced recently, but the melody retains its same nostalgic tune.

Almost immediately, you hear the fumbling of keys in a lock, and the door swings wide open to reveal a familiar face.

“ Jungwon-ah, you’re here-” It’s as though you can pinpoint the exact moment his mother realises who the girl standing next to her son is. “Is that…Y/n? It’s been so long! We’ve missed you so much! Jungwon-ah, why didn’t you tell me you met her? I could’ve organised dinner with her family long ago! Ah, what a wonderful surprise. Come in, come in!” She invites you in without waiting for you to greet her, practically dragging you into the house. “Make yourself at home, although you probably already feel at home. Oh, is this for me? Thank you so much, dear, what a thoughtful child you are!” Accepting the pot of food you prepared, she hurries into the kitchen for a pair of mittens.

You take your time to look around with Jungwon’s supervision. Not much has changed, save for the little white gate barely holding back the family dog. Maeumi (which is the adorable ball of fluff’s name, according to Jungwon) leans against the gate eagerly, barking with sheer joy at the sight of Jungwon. “Do you…wanna pet her?” Jungwon asks awkwardly as he notices you eyeing her in adoration. As he gets a nod from you, he can’t help the chuckle that escapes from him, and he bends down to fiddle with the lock.

Almost instantly, Maeumi bounds into Jungwon’s outstretched arms, licking his face uncontrollably as Jungwon laughs. “So it’s easier for a dog to get a kiss from you than a human, huh,” you mumble softly. Jungwon just rolls his eyes, his cheeks turning visibly red.

You hear the slam of a door. “Why didn’t anyone tell me Jungwon was here…oh Y/n!” Jungwon’s sister runs out of her room, sweeping you into a tight embrace. “Who would’ve guessed, our sweet baby brother brings his childhood sweet-”

“NOONA.”

She giggles deliriously, absently dismissing Jungwon with a wave of her hand. “Come on, Y/n. We have lots to catch up on.”

The rest of the night goes by seamlessly. Dinner is a casual affair, which feels more like a reunion as your parents drop by unexpectedly and end up joining in the conversation. As expected, most of the questions are about you and Jungwon. (“Where did you meet?” “How long have you been dating?”) With Jungwon by your side throughout the meal, you manage to catch him staring at you an absurd number of times, and they always end with him ducking away again. He’s usually confident in these kinds of settings, and he probably would appear so to everyone else, but for some reason you can almost feel the nervousness radiating off him like he’s some sort of weird lava lamp. Still, things go as planned without any slips of the tongue where you might accidentally reveal that your “love lives” (if any) were in jeopardy.

After the plates have been washed and cleared away, everyone shifts into the living room again, all the parents claiming their spots on the large L-shaped sofa. You, Jungwon and his sister seat yourselves on the floor, Maeumi resting on your belly. Surprisingly, the puppy took a liking to you quickly.

As the conversation lulls on, Jungwon leans nearer towards you. “Tired? I can take you home early if you’d like.” In response, you slap his thigh gently. “No one’s going anywhere, stop trying to make me leave before I work my magic on your parents. Too scared they’ll make you keep me?” As expected, Jungwon pointedly ignores you, opting to take a sip of his tea.

Half an hour in, Jungwon’s sister suddenly rises. “Hey Y/n, can you come out to the balcony with me? I want to catch some air.” She hauls you to your feet, tugging you towards the balcony far away from the others. As she locks the door, panic begins to claw up your throat. “Uh, what’s going on?”

She pats your head affectionately, sighing as she tries not to laugh. “Why do you look so scared? I’m not going to kill you, relax. I did, however, want to talk to you about something.” She gazes up at the night sky, leaning against the railing as she smiles softly. “So, Jungwon actually told me about you two way before our parents knew you two were…dating? I dunno, you guys are unlabelled right now aren’t you?”

You nod slowly, joining her on the edge of the balcony. “Honestly, I already know what I want, but Jungwon’s…scared? Worried? Maybe that’s the better word for it, but either way he thinks I’m confused about everything. Which could not be further from the truth, because I’m, uh. You know.”

“Falling in love harder than you expected to?” She sends a knowing smirk your way, one you can make out despite the relative darkness. She’s always been so aware of Jungwon’s life, and the lives of people around him. You’re no exception, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yeah. It’s funny, really, how we went from friends to…this. I miss when it wasn’t so complicated, but things change. Feelings change, and I guess I don’t want things between me and him to stay the same anymore,” you admit. It’s kind of strange to be venting to your crush’s sister, but she probably knows him better than you. If not her, then who?

She turns to face you properly, a wistful expression on her face as she stares into space. “He tells me it’s just fate that brought you two together again, you know. But if it were just fate, he wouldn’t have carried those headphones you got him all those years ago literally everywhere. I’m willing to bet he’d have spent the rest of his life looking for you.” She’s right, and you know it. It’s not fate that brought you together. It can’t be, because that would mean everything that happened so far can be chalked up to everyone just following some story where you already know the ending. You made this decision on your own, to fall for Jungwon. He chose, years ago, to not let go of his feelings for you. And you refuse to let yourself be tossed around by the waves of life any longer. This time, Yang Jungwon will not disappear from your life, lost to the trials of time.

“Don’t let him out of your sight, Y/n. Dependable as he may seem, he’s still the baby of the family. You’d be surprised at how insecure Jungwon can be, especially when it comes to you. Talk some sense into him, will you?”

The exchange feels like an eternity, yet at the same time too short. You’re not nearly as brave as you want to be, not to mention when it comes to feelings like this. “But the heart wants what the heart wants, doesn’t it?” you muse, earning a pleased look from Jungwon’s sister. “That’s the spirit. You have full permission to punch him in the face if he still doesn’t see sense, got it? Or you can let me do it, I’d be more than happy.”

A couple hours later, when the cups are dry, and your eyelids begin to droop, Jungwon pulls you to your feet. “I think it’s about time we leave, Y/n has a busy day tomorrow. I’ll send you home.” Observant as always, Jungwon leads you to the door, waving goodbye to your families. The moment the door shuts behind you, his shoulders slump as though a huge weight’s been taken off. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you home.”

The journey is quiet, but as you reach the door of your apartment, it seems Jungwon has enough of the silence. “That was exhausting,” he groans breathlessly, sliding down the door as he massages his forehead. You decide that this is your opportunity to swoop in.

“But…would you do it again?”

His head snaps towards you immediately, panic flickering briefly across his face as he bites his lip, searching for the right words. “As…whatever we are right now?”

You take a step closer, leaning towards him as you stare directly into his eyes in a sudden rush of confidence. “No, I want something different.”

His throat bobs visibly as he swallows thickly, fists clenching and unclenching as he looks around, anywhere to avoid your intensifying gaze. “Y/n, we talked about this.”

“Correction: you talked, and I just listened. I heard what you told Sunoo and Riki, not that I didn’t already know how you feel.” You gently tug on his collar, bringing his face closer to yours. Your knuckles brush his cheek, and this time you relish the tingles it sends down your arm, straight to your heart. “You don’t need to tell me how you feel. A part of me’s always known. Yang Jungwon, I know you from the inside out. There’s nothing you can do that I haven’t already predicted. And it goes both ways. I’m not asking for the words ‘I love you’, because I already know. So what more do we have to hide from each other?”

Jungwon’s gaze wavers slightly, but try as he might, everything in the moment seems to be screaming, pleading with him to stay. “But you…I don’t want to be the thing that holds you back. I want you to do what you want, go where you want, whenever you want.”

“You’re all I want, Won. I’m not leaving your side again. What makes you think I could leave you behind so easily? I’ve already decided what I want. So be selfish, and ask me to stay.”

As you tighten your grip on his shirt, you step closer towards him, other hand drifting upwards to stroke his cheek. Your thumb traces the ridges of his dimples, slides down the edge of his mouth, and you can feel a surge of adrenaline as his lips part to form a word. Just one word, shaky and no more than a whisper, but it’s more than enough to stop time altogether as a tear falls from his eyes.

“Stay.”

Your vision goes blurry as you slip into his arms, his chin resting on your shoulder as his palms move to your back, pulling you closer. The fabric of his vest presses into your cheek, and your senses are filled with him. It’s too much and too little, all at the same time, his scent overwhelming you as he shakes under you. A garbled sob escapes your throat, and your fingers bunch up the fabric of his clothes for support as you both sway in place.

After what feels like hours, you pull away from his grasp. “You’re so stupid,” you blurt out, but the statement is void of malice as your voice trembles.

“Who’s the idiot who left for so many years and didn’t even try to call me?”

You wipe the tears from your eyes, slapping his arm as you try to calm yourself down. “About that…my mother told me you changed your phone and gave me your new number, but when I tried calling it an old man answered every time. Last night I was clearing my messages but I accidentally tapped into your contact, and then it finally hit me that she gave me a number with one wrong digit. I swear I wanted to call you.”

“You’re an idiot.’

“But I’m your idiot, aren’t I?”

Jungwon doesn’t answer, but you can feel the fondness practically radiating off him as he squeezes your shoulders. “Very funny, Y/n. Go in, you’ve got stuff to do tomorrow.” Just before you disappear into the apartment, you feel a hand block the door from shutting entirely. “I’ll, uh. Call you tomorrow morning. Just in case your alarm clock doesn’t go off, or you roll out of bed, or-”

“Jungwon.”

“Right.” He breathes out, hand slipping through the small crack of the door to pat your head. “Goodnight, Y/n.”

“Goodnight, Jungwon.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“You too.”

“Don’t fall off the bed.”

“I won’t.”

“Don’t sleepwalk.”

“I don’t sleepwalk, you know that.”

“Fine.” As he leaves with a little wave, you pretend to close your door, before poking your head out to watch his silhouette grow smaller as he walks down the corridor. Chuckling to yourself, you finally go inside to wash up and get ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day, one with Jungwon in it. And that alone, and the knowledge that every day from this day forth will never again be void of his presence by your side, is enough to give you the courage to live for tomorrow.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

a/n: so you got to the end! congratulations and condolences. this was an absolute roller coaster and i think i screwed up any semblance of a motif. positive criticism is very much welcome. heck, i think i'll take even the hate, it's all in good fun. yeah nO. i'd be lying if i said i were proud of this but hey, i'll just come up with something better. sorry it took SO LONG, my priorities are a mess. i have more planned. never again will i do something like this, leaving the comedy/fluff to someone else hurhur.

102 notes · View notes

jappleseedoree · 1 month

Text

leehan boynextdoor x reader au + liz roommate + gaeul and sungho relationship

strangers to lovers ✧*。

first au 🐠🩵

hihi! first upload (｡>﹏<｡) honestly I'm not super sure about it but yolo!!

warnings : very very light swearing

genre : fluff

you saw a mysterious boy at the pet store while getting new fish, don’t you want to get to know him better?

wc: 3075

ENJOY 。◕‿◕｡

fish friends ♪～(´ε｀ )

you store blankly at your fish tank. you felt that your fish friends needed a new buddy. “do you guys want a new friend? because i think you need one.” you spoke to your fishes who obviously couldn't answer you back. you decided to go to the new pet store to go check out what fishes they had. you have been wanting to get Sterba’s corydoras for so long. you had three Angelfish and two Apistogramma.

it was 12 and you didn’t have any classes so you got ready to go to the store. you put on a pale blue hoodie and denim jeans that were ripped at the knees. you quickly put on your favourite necklace, a few rings your best friend, who was also your roommate, Liz, got you for your birthday and you messily threw your hair up in a messy bun, secured with a sapphire blue coloured scrunchie. you grabbed your bag from where it hung off a rack and quickly left Liz a text that you were going out to the pet store and left the dorm.

you found out that the aquarium wasn’t far from your college and that you could walk to it, so you did. furthermore, the weather was windy and sunny so it wasn’t that hot. it was a 6 minute walk from your college to the aquarium but you got there faster than you thought you would.

you opened the door and peered in, you couldn’t see none in there but just looked at all the fish they had. you spotted a couple Betta fish, Goldfish and then you saw it, the Corydoras. they were so pretty with their shimmering silver spots that laid upon the black ones. you looked at them in awe, you were crouching down a bit, your eyes glistening and head slightly tilted until your time of daydreaming was interrupted. “are you gonna buy them or what.” a guy coldly asked. you looked up to see a boy with long brown hair with a red, dark blue and cream gingham patterned hoodie tied around his waist, slumping against the wall between the tall racks of fishes. “sooo, are you?” he asked, again. you hadn’t realized that you didn't say anything in response to him, you were busy analyzing his looks. “oh sorry, but yeah.” you managed to stammer. “ok cool, just come to the front when you're done.” you were gonna thank him but he had left before you couldn’t even blink.

you called the boy from the counter and told him you knew huh fishes you wanted. “hey, i know which fish i want” you said which got him immediately off of his phone, and into the back store. he came back with bags of water and a net. he fished out the ones you picked and plopped them into their bags. when you got to the register, he started talking again, “you like corydoras?” he asked while tying the bags. “mhm, do you have any fish?” you only continued the conversation because if not, it would make the whole time he took to tie the bags even more awkward than it would’ve been if he hadn’t started the small talk. “yeah, corydoras are my favourite actually. i have cardinal tetras too.”

”oh, i had cardinal tetras as a kid.”

“hmmm,” the boy purred, “that’s cool. anyway, here are your fish.” you paid, thanked him and left.

you came back home and greeted your fish. “hi my babies! got you your new siblings.” you giggled. you left your fish to acclimate and in the meanwhile, Liz came back. “hey girl! you got your fish?”

”mhm! they’re acclimating right now”

“take good care of ‘em, i’m gonna go take a shower, i’m exhausted.”

you let your new fishy friends into the tank after doing the last few steps. you were happy that they were all getting along. you took a picture of your new addition to your collection and posted it on your story. you were very happy with your newest purchase. the rest of your day was as basic as they usually were. you and Liz met up with Gaeul and ate dinner together at Gaeul’s place and when you guys got back it was already late. you showered, finished some homework and went to sleep.

you and Liz left your dorm together even though you both had different classes. when Liz left you for psychology, you caught up with Rei, she was your buddy for combined sciences. “hey babe, saw you got some new fish? they are so adorbs!” Rei was a sweet girl who had a lot of style, she sounded like a mean girl but she really was the kindest girl you had ever met. “oh yeah, the dude at the store was so cold about it but it's fine, my babies are the cutest.” you both chatted away about clothing brands, jewelry and whatever you both could think about.

you both got into the lecture hall and sat down in your usual spot. you both were always the first in class but today, that changed. you saw the guy that sat in the back rows of the hall, it was the guy from the aquarium. but today, he wore clear framed glasses. he was bus staring a his laptop, probably watching a documentary about fishes when Rei started to talk to you about him. “ooh girl, did you just find your type?” she said in a whispered squeal. “Rei. hes the guy at the aquarium.” the word aquarium made him shoot his head up, away from the screen. “oh sh-” you were cut off when Rei grabbed your wrist. “girl don’t even lie, you think hes cute. don’t you?”

”is it that obvious… hes cute but uh, his personality is NOT it.”

more people started to rush into the hall so you and Rei were forced to shut up about the boy even though you could hear many people talking about him. he probably couldn’t. he was wearing his Marshall headphones and it blocked out most of the sound outside.

“ahem. quiet down everyone.” your professor boomed. “boy in the back row come down and sit closer to the stage please.” the boy from the aquarium realized that the man in the front was talking about him and grabbed his stuff and moved forward. “y/n, please move your bag off of the chair to make more space please.”

“oh, no its okay i can sit here.” he murmured

“don’t act dumb, Leehan. i know you don’t pay attention when you sit there.” Leehan, that’s his name. you dragged your bag onto the ground and he sat beside you. he obviously noticed that you were the girl from the day before and huffed. you took your laptop out and got onto notes, “don’t act as if i forced you into this class, dramatic much.” you typed and nudged Leehan’s side. he took out his laptop too and started quickly typing. “after tgis, we arw NEVER sittnf together agaib.”

“how do you even make four typos in a sentence of eight words…”

”stfu”

you giggled seeing how annoyed Leehan was. for the next hour, you took notes.

“we will be having a test on this on Thursday so please study on this topic.” oh looked at Rei while packing up “god, i’m gonna fail this test…” you whined. “you’re fine oh my gosh, you always score full marks. let's study later.”

you flopped onto your bed when you arrived home. you checked your phone to a few messages from an unknown number.

kim donghyun: “yo you’re y/n roght”

kim donghyun: “rigjt”

kim donghyun: “right”

you couldn’t tell who it was, but if you had to guess it would be Leehan. “mhm wru” you replied

kim donghyun: “so cold… it’s leehan.”

you: “why’s the email linked to your number called [email protected]?”

kim donghyun: “oh”

kim donghyun: my real name is donghyun but people call me leehan

you: oh okay

Rei came to your dorm because Gaeul and her boyfriend were hanging out. you both studied for 5 hours and Rei ended up just sleeping over. Rei snapped a picture of you in your pajamas and put it on her story.

the day of your test came, you were ready but nervous.

kim donghyun: y/n you aren’t here?

kim donghyun: lol enjoy missing the test

you: first time you haven’t made any typos

kim donghyun: shut up

you: i see u

kim donghyun: stalker??

you: i’m in the hall dumbass.

you finished the test with ease and so did Leehan

kim donghyun: how was it

kim donghyun: hrllo dude

you: how impatient are you

kim donghyun: how was it

you: good

you: easyyyy

kim donghyun: hope you fail.

when you got home you immediately fell asleep.

the next science class you had, you got your results back. you opened the results but covered it with it with your hand. “3, 2, 1” you and Rei said in sync. you took the cover off of the number. as Rei guessed, you got a full score, Rei got a 37/40 which was very good as well. you high fives each other in excitement. “by the way, i heard that there’s a party later today, wanna go? maybe you’ll find a man” she said with a wink. “hmm, sure.”

kim donghyun: what did you get

kim donghyun: yo

kim donghyun: hellooooooo

kim donghyun: planning to go to a party but won’t even respond to me 😐

you: impatient… this is why you don’t have a gf.

you: full marks duhh

you: i’m going to the party btw i don’t usually go but yolo 😇

kim donghyun: don’t you have a crush on me though

you: you’re cold and impatient

you: what do you think

you: wait i’m gonna change your name brb

you changed his contact from “kim donghyun” to “leehan ⏰”

leehan ⏰: what’s my contact

leehan ⏰: lmk

you: it’s “leehan ⏰”

you: what’s mine

leehan ⏰: “y/nie 🤏”

you: 🤢

leehan ⏰: don’t liee i know you like it

leehan ⏰: your blushing rn

you: i’m not ur just delusional

you: gn i’m going to sleep

leehan ⏰: goodnight cutie

you read the last text Leehan has sent and slept thinking about it continuously.

you woke up and got ready for the day. today, you were going out with Gaeul. her boyfriend was coming too and his best friend as well. you guys were going to a mall so you put on your pink fluffy dice Stussy hoodie and cargo pants. you sprayed vanilla body spray, put on a necklace and light pink chunky rings, put on your pink MISBHV purse and fled out the door. Gaeul and you were going together, her boyfriend and his friend were also going there together.

“oh my gosh girl! literally cutest outfit ever.” Gaeul pipped

“thank you so much babe! you’re literally gorgeous.”

you got into Gaeul’s car and she started diving to the mall.

you finally reached after not too long of a drive. “oh! Sungho is also here!” you looked out of the window to see a car parked next to Gaeul’s. you waited for this friend of Sungho’s to come out. “oh. my. god.” you said under your breath. “what’s up?” Gaeul asked in confusion.

“LEEHAN IS SUNGHOS BEST FRIEND?”

“yeah! you know him?”

“i wish i didnt.”

“c’mooonnn, we have to see them sooner or later anyway…”

“oh my god, fine.”

you crawled out of the car and saw Sungho and Leehan waiting for you both to get out of the car. “oh my god.” you could hear the fish boy whisper to Sungho, “hm?” Sungho hummed like Gaeul liked to do, cute, he must’ve picked it up from Gaeul you thought to yourself “isn't that, y/n? she’s so pretty…”

“you like her huh?”

the conversation ended as soon as you both caught up to them. “hi babe!” Gaeul went into Sungho’s arms and hugged him. while they were busy talking to each other, Leehan stepped towards you,

“so we meet again?” he murmured.

“i didn't plan this, dramatic.”

“i didn't say i didn’t want to see you, your outfits cute.”

it was then that you realized you were wearing a matching hoodie with Leehan. you were going to say something about it to him but Gaeul and Sungho were done being lovey. “Gaeul. i’m matching with Leehan. are you serious right now?” you whined in a whispered scream. “you guys look cute AF together. so what's the problem? maybe you should get a bf.” she said it’s a smirk and you softly pushed her shoulder.

“yooo, are y’all dating or what?” Sungho queried. “huh?” you furrowed your brows, “what makes you think that?” you demanded. “i mean, the matching hoodies? similar interests? same classes? both seemingly not interested in dating anyone? what a coincidence” he debated. “when did i say i didn’t like anyone?” Leehan asked Sungho, “i don’t know, you said you were done with your hookups so…” Leehan slapped his hand over Sungho’s mouth and Sungho grabbed his hand off. “ow dude!”

”just shut up.” Leehan cooed, looking down. huh… hookups? you kept thinking to yourself. you kept it to yourself and pretended to not care about it but in the back of your head, you knew you were jealous that Leehan had been meeting up with other girls.

when you got back into your comfy dorm you immediately told Liz about this.

“HOOKUPS? WHAT.”

“he put his hand over Sunghos’s mouth before he could say anything.”

“this bitch is probably a player babe…”

”ughhh and to think i found THE ONE”

after your showered, you jumped into your bed and got onto your phone and obviously Leehan ha sent you texts. before you properly read the messages, you changed his name

dh: y/n

dh: let me explain please..

you: leehan you don't need to

dh: you seemed upset

you: do whatever you want

leehan POV ☆彡

you were 17 and dumb.in high school you started gaining popularity for your looks. many girls started to approach you and you decided to take advantage of your status. every week, you would have 4-5 days where you would bring a girl home, hangout with her and make out with her. when you hit 18, you realized how bad this was and finally stopped your hookups.

you felt so alone without anyone with you after school and needed someone. you hung out with some senior girls without them knowing you were playing with them all, and texted them with flirtatious texts. when Sungho told you how messed up this was, you felt guilty and told them that you didn't want to do this anymore.

y/n POV ☆彡

he went on to explain what Sungho meant by “hookups”. you understood where he was coming from and you felt a bit guilty.

you: i’m sorry leehan..

you: i don’t know why i cared so much

dh: it’s fine

↱ you: i don’t know why i cared so much

dh: jealous? 🫣

you: maybe? 🫠

dh: cute

dh: goodnight, pretty

you: goodnight han 🩵

dh: 💛

before you actually fell asleep, you changed Leehan contacts back.

han 💌: morning y/nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

han 💌: wgat nickname can i make for ypu?????????

you: morning han

you: hehe whatever you wanttt

han 💌: even princess?

you: if you wanttt 🤭

han 💌: anywayyy what's your dorm number????

han 💌: i wanna just hang out with you

han 💌: i miss you 🤕

you really did want to hang out with Leehan but you couldn’t give in so easily

you: we hung out yesterday??

han 💌: we THIRD WHEELED our best friends yesterday*

han 💌: number?????????????????????????

you: hmm

han 💌: what do you have to think about???? just give it to me ☹️

you: fineeee

you: room 400

han 💌: thanks pretty

han 💌: when can i come over?

you: hmmmm anytime after 5

han 💌: okayyy 😮‍💨

today, Liz wasn’t coming back to the dorm for the whole day so it wouldn’t interfere with whatever Leehan wanted to do. 5:03 was when you heard a ring on your dorms doorbell. you peered into the peephole to see Leehan. you opened the door and welcomed him in. “hi pretty, your dorm is pretty.”

“awh, thank you Han”

“my nickname? cute”

his hair was a bit curled and he wore his glasses. he was wearing a black leather racer jacket, a dark blue shirt underneath it and black jeans. “you look cute with wavy hair!!” you said with a smile that accentuated your cheeks. Leehan pinched your cheek as you smiled. “cutie” he took off his jacket and hung it on your coat hanger. “so, what do you wanna do?” you asked him. “don’t know. i don’t mind anything really” he uttered softly.

you both ended up watching a movie in your room. the movie was 3 hours long and Leehan felt sleepy and rested his head on your shoulder and closed his eyes. he was the one who made the first move so you felt bold. you sifted your hand through his soft hair. he pressed his cheek on your shoulder harder but soon requested more. “y/n, can i rest my head on your lap?”

you were wearing sweatpants even though if you were wearing shorts it wouldn’t have changed anything. “of course”. he slowly laid his head down onto your thighs and closed his eyes. “can you wake me up in half an hour? or whenever you feel uncomfortable, pretty” and he took off his glasses and put them onto you bedside table

“okay babe” you teased.

his eyes opened widely in shock.

he grabbed you by the jaw and brought his face to yours. “say that again for me?” he purred. you obligated, “babe…” you whined. he took the back of your neck and kissed you. you had been waiting for this moment ever since you saw him. you both stayed in this position for as much air you could hold. you pulled away to take a big breath of air and Leehan stopped as well. “you okay?” he asked sweetly. “yeah, i just haven’t kissed anyone before..”

“i’m your first kiss?”

“mhm…”

“i'll be your boyfriend too, then”

“please” you said with a giggle an gave him a peck on his lips

END (*´ω｀*)

thank you soso much for reading!

2 more au’s (nct 🤭) coming in the next couple of months!!

#boynextdoor #leehan #kpop #kpop au #imagine #fanfic

19 notes · View notes