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love-bitesx · 11 months

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: ̗̀➛ PROTECTOR. hobie brown x reader

summary: spider-man makes a point of walking y/n home every night, but after befriending them as hobie brown as well, his feelings get complicated. words: 3.5k REQUESTS OPEN ! warnings: non-explicit sexual harassment (a man is very creepy to reader), reader isn't gendered! but be aware, author is female, so possible afab bias, i tried my hardest i swear. all characters are adults :) author is british so this is my interpretation of his silly little slang from what ive experienced hehe also divider credit: cafekitsune a/n: may feel a little ooc, but in my headcanon, when he's pining the way he is for reader, he's so soft. also, spider-man and hobie r completely different personalities u cant tell me otherwise. first time writing hobie so pls give me opinions ty. enjoy!!!!!

“is it home-time already, darlin’?”

there he was. the familiarity of routine washing over you, turning your head to see him propped up against the brick, spikes on display and guitar pick flipping in between his clothed fingers.

“spider-man, my hero,” you sighed and clutched your non-existent pearls, a smirk on your lips.

“you know i hate that,” kicking off from the wall of the pub you just clocked out of, he stuffed his hands into his patched up jacket, his bouncy stride meeting yours on the pavement.

“i know,” you smiled, allowing your bag to fall from your shoulders and into his outstretched hand, as always.

it had become a routine, over the course of a few months, that the one-and-only spider-man would escort you home from work in the late hours. at first, it didn’t seem real. why would he decide to spend valuable time most days walking you home, when he could be out fighting whatever darkness lurks in the shadows? you’ve asked him, almost every time, but he always gives the same, vague answer;

“who else is gonna keep you safe, love?”

his legs were longer than yours, by a mile. so he had to slow his usual pace for you. naturally bouncy, his booted feet tapped against the pavement like a kick drum, and you wondered whether that was the radioactive blood in his veins, or his natural energy.

laughter flittered through the dark streets as you caught up, it had only been a day since you last saw him, but being a crime-fighting, fascist-killing superhero, there was quite a lot to pack into a 24 hour day.

he bounced off the walls of passing buildings, recreating his fights with the air that hung between you both, throwing in some exaggerated punches here and there, to elicit an extra giggle or two from you. you almost got lost following his animated recreations, but he kept an eye out for the roads ahead. he’d memorised all the paths leading to your apartment.

it had all started a few months prior, after a particularly long shift at work. constantly over the span of a few hours, this guy would not leave you alone. no matter how many times you refused his advances, a smile on your face, masking the unsettling pit in your stomach at the sight of his grin. drink, after drink, after drink, he ordered just to stare at you the whole night, crude gestures and words thrown your way.

you’d gotten used to it, working at a pub in the depths of london, it wasn’t ever unusual to get unwanted advances. but something about this guy, you couldn’t shake it. ~

“what time do you finish, ay?” his accent was thick, you placed him somewhere up north.

“i’m not sure,” you muttered back, forcing a smile.

“oi, come on! ‘course you know what time you finish,” his words were slurred, and his eyes hadn’t left yours once, “was thinking we could ‘ave some drinks together, tha’s’all.”

“sorry, i can’t tonight, i have to be up early tomorrow,” you giggled, and if he wasn’t so drunk, he’d definitely have picked up on the nerves lacing your words.

“come on,” vowels drawn out, he made an attempt to stand up to meet your height, the proximity of him sending a shock of fear to your heart, until a strong hand clapped against his chest, the force almost sending him backwards.

“pack it in, dickhead, they said ‘no’,” a deep, almost calming voice spoke, contrasted completely with the stern, threatening tone of his words.

you looked to meet your protectors gaze, and it almost stunned you. he was tall, taller than you, for sure. dark, smooth skin with an aura of pure mayhem, silver piercings protruding from his face. adorned with a ripped, skin-tight plain top and denim vest, littered with badges, patches and just about any accessory known to man.

his eyes were what really held you. a heavy look, dark brown with the most unique feeling of strength and power that you’d ever seen. you could’ve easily gotten lost.

deciding you’d stared at him long enough, though, you broke the eye contact, diverting it back to the man who looked a humorous combination of terrified and offended at the same time.

“‘s alright mate, we were just talking, back off, yeah?” his liquid courage built up, ignorant of the taller man’s hand still pushing against his chest, ring-clad hands seeming to leave an imprint.

“think it’s time for you to leave, mate,” he spat back, mimicking his slang.

a moment of silence followed. you’d fully expected the drunken creep to swing a punch, or at least bite back, but under the weight of the taller man’s stare, he seemed to lose all fight he had in him. with a final murmer of something you couldn’t quite hear, and unsure you really wanted to, he stumbled backwards, slipping into the crowd.

“thank you,” you broke the silence, to which the man shrugged.

“he was a pig,” he brushed it off like nothing, and you couldn’t help but smile at his attitude. raising his newly free hand, he stretched it towards you, tight in a fist.

“hobie, hobie brown,” he greeted, and his accent completely erased the ‘h’ from his name.

“y/n l/n,” you smiled, accepting his offer and spudding him, the cold metal of his rings against your knuckles. you couldn’t help but grin at the oddity of his presence.

hobie kept you company for the rest of the night, ranting about his thoughts and opinions of various important subjects, ranging widely from drinks of choice to the existence of capitalist propaganda in modern media, all of which you hung onto every word of.

it wasn’t long until he’d managed to book him and his band into a few slots on the pub’s makeshift stage that stood empty on the other side of the room, smiling to himself at how authentically excited you seemed to hear his music.

when he left, his vacancy was immediately obvious. the booming pub feeling oddly silent without him.

after closing up for the night, you grabbed your bag and slung it over your shoulder, switching the lights off with one hand and fiddling with the keys in the other, shaking the door to double check you locked it well enough. body aching from being on your feet all day, you yawned, stepping autopilot into the darkness. the night air was chilling, causing you to wrap your jacket tight around your body. cursing at yourself for not bringing another layer, or pre-ordering a taxi home.

“oi,” you heard from your right, turning quickly to the familiar call.

stumbling on the pavement, the drunken creep from earlier pointed towards you.

shit.

you hadn’t expected him to actually wait for you. it’d been hours since he left, he was insane. what was he thinking?

grabbing the keys from your pocket, you gripped them in your freezing hands in defense.

“where’s your little friend, huh?” he spat, clearly enraged by hobie’s interruption earlier. he stepped closer, and you stepped back, trembling as you tripped slightly on the pavement.

“ay, is this twat bothering you?” a voice called from above.

wait, above?

craning your neck up, you made eye contact with possibly the last person you expected.

“spider-man?”

and from that night, he’d met you every time. waiting outside the pub doors, no exception, to walk you home.

“hey!” spider-man’s upbeat calling snapped you instantly back to him, jumping slightly as you finally noticed he was directly in front of your face, white eyes narrowed on your demeanor, “where’d you go, huh?”

“sorry,” paying him an apologetic smile, “just thinking.”

“wanna clue me in, darlin’?” his tone was playful, but the soften of his masks expression felt genuine.

“just thinking about the day i’ve had,” you lied, unsure whether his spidey senses could tell. not that it was rare for you to think about how you met, but you didn’t want to bring it up again. if he could tell, he didn’t let on.

“whataboutit?” he sped up, slipping back to your pace and slinging his lanky arm over your shoulders, basically hanging onto you as you walked. he liked walking with you like this. it made him feel powerful, like he was keeping you extra safe.

“hobie’s band played again!” you exclaimed, and if he’d been paying attention, he would’ve seen the way your face lit up at the memory. unfortunately for him, his eyes were trained on webbing a chocolate bar from a passing vendor. god knows why it was still open, but he was glad it was.

“hobie, again, huh?” taunted spider-man, punching your arm playfully with the fist that gripped the newly stolen snickers bar, “starting to think you’re replacing me, love.”

“never,” you teased back, elbowing his side, hearing the jingle of his badged vest, “hobie’s just…”

ears pricking, he clung onto the words you were speaking, anticipating possibly hearing something he didn’t want to.

“he’s just so cool,” you breathed with a smile, and he almost verbally sighed in relief, stopping himself in order not to rouse suspicion. he smirked under his mask, “just got this feel about him, so easy to talk to, and he’s so talented! you know, i’ve almost learnt all the lyrics to his songs.”

his heart just about exploded. in fact, he thinks he could pinpoint the exact moment it did.

he played off his burning cheeks, clearing his throat and incredibly glad his mask hid his flustered expression.

“you should come see him, you know,” you looked up at him, and though you knew his answer was ‘no’, it was worth a try, “i can hide you in the back if you don’t wanna be seen.”

“come off it, love,” he dismissed, avoiding your gaze, but his back was tingling like pins and needles under the warmth of it, “i’m not keen to meet the man stealing you from me.”

“fuck sake,” you laughed and pushed his arm off you, brushing off his playful flirting.

his confidence was excelling. the friendship you had formed over the prior months had stemmed from his childish charm, and it hadn’t faltered once.

“well, here i am,” you brought your pace to a halt, hovering in front of the door to your apartment building.

“i’ll miss you tonight,” he fell against the wall, eyes stuck on you. you couldn’t see it, but you could feel his smirk.

“i’ll see you tomorrow, i finish at 11,” you stepped towards him.

“i’ll be waiting,” he kicked off from the bricks, raising his hand to ruffle your hair, much to your protest, before practically disappearing in front of your eyes.

you were left grinning to yourself, much like every night.

“what’s up, bruv?” hobie’s friend elbowed him harshly in the ribs, causing him to rip his eyes from you.

“nothing,” he huffed, but by the lack of sustenance and playfulness in his reply, his friend was less than satisfied. hobie was a carefree, reckless guy with a constant spurt of irony, and seeing him with a sullen expression and no bite back, was worrying.

“come off it, hobie,” another one piped up, sitting across from him with an empty pint in one hand and cigarette in the other, pointing the latter in his face. he huffed, “you’ve been slumping for like 3 months now, and you’ve only been writing sappy love songs.”

the table snickered, and even hobie’s lips curled into a smirk. his friend was right, he wasn’t even nearly like his usual self. he blames you for that.

“who is it then, huh?” his friend pushed, cigarette still hanging in front of hobie’s face, ash crumbling off the end, “has our ol’ hobie brown got himself a partner?”

“oi, you know i hate labels,” he smirked again, knowing he was lying. not that he didn’t usually hate them, but he couldn’t avoid the fact that every time you made your way to the front of his mind, he was urged to call you his. his partner. his person. his love. just his.

he always did hate consistency, anyway.

“another round, guys?” your voice ripped him from his thoughts, your scent somehow drifting above the sticky smell of beer and cigarettes, he pinned that down to his spider abilities, but he’d be a fool to ignore that he had simply just memorised the aroma.

“please, darlin’,” hobie’s friends chirped up, grinning at you thankfully. he cursed the burning feeling in his chest.

“i could do you guys a deal,” you smirked playfully, and he looked up to meet your eyes. you looked beautiful tonight, like usual. he was fucked.

“if you lot give us a song, it’ll be on the house,” you smiled hopefully, taking note of their usual orders just incase they agree.

“sounds like a plan,” hobie reached his hand out to you, open for a handshake, to which you took. soft hands falling into his calloused ones, he couldn’t help but notice how nice it felt.

turning away, you left to get their usual set up sorted, feeling him still watching you, to which you threw him a smile over your shoulder.

it wasn’t unusual at all. his eyes would always find you. at the table with his mates, his gaze would swim through the crowd to yours. even on stage, lost in the moment with himself and his guitar, it was you he always found his eyes trailing back to. it wasn’t like the other men in the bar, it wasn’t predatory desire or lust, but it was warm. it was safe.

he had three options, really; confess himself to you as hobie brown, coming clean about the way he felt about you, the warmth in his heart that spread across his spine whenever you smiled at him, eventually having to come clean about his alter-ego. he could confess as spider-man, to which he’d have to come clean about his actual identity. or option three. stay silent and suffer in his own pity. bite his lip and pretend his heart wasn’t yearning for you.

but, he prided himself in being able to speak his mind without hesitation. confident in his word, suffocated in his silence. he would always say: if he ever bit his tongue, to kill him there and then. well, here he is; begging for mercy at the barrel, his tongue bleeding from keeping his heart locked in his chest.

he was fucked. well and truly.

“anything special happen today?” spider-man nudged you, taking a worried note of your unusual quietness recently. it was the same night, he’d picked you up like normal, and hopped along beside you.

“the band played again,” a swelling smile bloomed on your lips, “other than that, not really.”

your voice was hollow tonight. easily mistakable with your naturally soft tone, but to his trained ears, it didn’t feel right.

stopping immediately in his path, his bouncy steps ceasing, you quickly copied him. confusion slipping behind your eyes.

“what’s up?” you questioned.

“you know you wanna tell me,” he stepped around you, arms falling over your shoulders from behind, heavy with his full weight. something about the mask, it gave him a confidence with you that he’d quenched as hobie.

you sighed and rested your head back against his chest, taking him by surprise. there was something intimate about the way your eyes were closed, body resting against him. your brain was hectic, he didn’t need his spidey senses to see that.

“there’s just…” you spoke, eyelids feeling heavy as you opened them, looking up to see him. head split in two, you were unsure if you even wanted to say it out loud, “there’s this guy.”

it was almost cruel how fast his heart dropped, plummeting like a boulder into the pit of his stomach. body stiffening, his head was spinning so fast he didn’t even have the conscience to mask it.

“i just can’t get him out of my head, it’s so stupid,” if your wistful look wasn’t answer enough, the outpour of dissonance he could feel from your body told him it was serious.

“not another fella tryna steal you from me,” he chuckled, but his voice was weak, vulnerable. you hadn’t heard it like that before.

untangling yourself from his weighted grip, you leant against the wall of the building you were stood in front of, staring up into the night sky. there was something so embarrassing about admitting a silly little crush.

“not another one, technically,” you spoke softly, a hint of a smile tickling your lips at the thought of him, he stepped closer, “i’ve already told you about him.”

and he stopped dead in his tracks. mind racing a million miles an hour, picking apart every word you said. was he stupid? was he reaching? seeing something that wasn’t there? he was the only one you’d spoken about, but surely not, right?

shifting closer again, his body begun to feel the heat radiating off you, barely an inch between you both. he towered you, as always, the spikes on his jacket and mask hitting the streetlights perfectly, giving him an orange glow. you bought yourself to look at him, and though you couldn’t see the eyes beneath, you felt his gaze.

insufferably close, closer than you’ve ever been, you could feel your heart in your chest. a tension that you hadn’t quite felt before, bubbling in the air between you.

“say his name, love,” his voice was low, lower than normal, and a twinge of familiarity hit your chest hearing the deeper tone, one you couldn’t quite pinpoint. chills dripped down your spine at the new found feeling.

gulping, you could feel his name in your throat, struggling it’s way out.

“hobie.” your voice was barely above a whisper, but considering he almost had you pressed against the brick, he heard every syllable. and god, did it sound good.

“again?” he croaked, just wanting to confirm, needing to hear it again, needing to hear you say it, relish in every beat.

“hobie,” you repeated, louder this time, more conviction in your chest, “i like him, like a lot.”

he went silent. dead silent, barely moving. heat radiated from him, and you could’ve sworn in the vacancy of sound that you could hear his heart pounding against his chest. reaching up, your hand trembling slightly, you placed it there. on his chest, feeling the material of his suit, the humanity of his heartbeat. he melted into it.

“are you o—“

“i need to tell you something.” he interrupted you.

it was your turn to be silent, eyes heavy with intrigue, begging him to continue.

without a word, his ring-clad hand ghosted your skin, drifting past the air between you and to the base of his mask, sliding along his neckline for the seam, and dragging it up over his face, revealing the man within.

your heart stopped, a thousand things flashing through your head, through your heart, surging in your bloodstream. you didn’t even know what to say, what to think, how to comprehend it.

“hobie?” your voice was small again, shrunk beneath the look in his eyes, the desire.

embarrassment waved through you for a moment, a sudden panic of the earlier confession, your chest pounding at the possible rejection.

he didn’t even leave the thoughts enough time to fester, however, because his hand that was holding his mask was suddenly flush against your jaw, the material falling softly onto your neck. thumb trailing the comfort of your cheek, revelling in the feel of your skin, warm against his hands, he leaned forward.

his lips were on yours, without a word. gentle, but rough. the tension escaping through the feeling of him pressed into you, desire leaping out of every shared breath. his other hand fell to your waist, and yours stayed firm on his chest, bunching the fabric in your hand to bring him closer. he obliged, of course, and the kiss deepened. his head spun.

pulling away for breath, you kept your eyes on his lips, disbelief swimming around your brain, colliding with the need to kiss him again.

“y/n,” his hand brought your eyeline to his, “i like you, too.”

you couldn’t help but smile, relief washing your body out.

“like, a lot.”

he kissed you again. and again.

a/n: hope u enjoyed!! pls let me kno if ur did, this is my first time writing for him <3 thanku!!!

#hobie brown #hobie spiderverse #hobie #atsv hobie #hobie my beloved #hobie x reader #spiderman atsv #across the spider verse spoilers #across the spiderverse #hobie brown x reader #hobie brown x you #spiderpunk #spiderverse #spiderverse x reader #spiderman #spiderman x reader

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angelickks · 10 months

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Miguel Headcanons: Mrs. O'Hara

1k+ - husband! miguel o'hara x spider-woman wife! reader

summary: miguel o'hara and his wife, but make it headcanons! warnings: some swearing. descriptions of two injuries but nothing graphic! that lovey dovey shit. overall fluff. not proofread terrible. lmk if i missed some! notes: this is slight au, meaning i chose peace but i don't think y'all will entirely mind. i am in no way fluent in spanish, as i only know very few words and phrases so i figure i throw that out there. i think i covered all my bases so enjoy, muah!

pt 2!

To any newcomers, learning that Miguel O’Hara had a wife was a concept many couldn’t wrap their heads around…

Could you blame them?

He meant business, he was cutthroat with the way he ran things and no one was safe from his wrath

Well….unless you were his wife

“MIGUEL!” Jess chuckled at the rare use of your husband’s name on your tongue. “Shut it!” He practically hissed at her, she sent him an unimpressed look but that quickly changed when you came into view. She sent you a teasing smile followed by a “Hey mama.” You gave a quick peck to her cheek before your eyes landed on your husband. He cleared his throat and swallowed at the annoyed look painted across his wife's face. “Mi vida,” he simpered but was quickly shut down, “Cut the shit.” He knew the exact reason for this sudden intrusion, you caught wind of what happened between Miles and Miguel earlier that afternoon. Unbeknownst to Miguel, Peter B. may have ratted to the infamous Mrs. O’Hara that her husband might’ve tried to throw a table at Miles, again. Why? Well, Miles had tried to get into Miguel’s good graces the way he knew best, food of course. That brings the couple to right now, you giving your husband a look that meant hell while he stood there looking like a kid caught red-handed by his mother. You wasted no time, “Throwing tables at kids Miguel? Miles of all people?” Jess let out a boisterous laugh as she exited Miguel’s office, Miguel shot her another snarl when she turned back to make a face at him. “Don’t get mad at her! We discussed this: just because you’ve got a temper doesn’t mean you start with KIDS!” Now you were pacing back and forth rambling, frustration oozing off your figure. He sighed in defeat and touched your waist gently, halting your pacing. You narrowed your eyes at your husband, quickly glancing at the hand on your waist. “I’m sorry mi vida, you’re right. I take full responsibility for my actions but-” You shot a icy glare at him, effectively shutting down whatever he was gonna say to even try and justify it. He dropped his head but was pleasantly surprised by the soft kiss on his forehead. You wrapped your arms around his waist and planted another kiss on the wide expanse of your husband's chest. “Yeah…shut up,” He huffed out a chuckle at your comment and caressed the back of your neck, claws lightly scratching you. You gave him a sweet smile before shooting a web at the neck of his suit and gave him a particularly hard tug so he was eye level with you, “Pull that shit again and you can spend a couple of nights in this “office”, mi amor.” You pecked the corner of his mouth before releasing his suit and untangling yourself from his arms. “It’s lunchtime, I brought food. Come.” He grunted as you made your way over to his slightly dented table placed in the corner of his workspace with a bag he hadn't noticed until now. He saw a flash of your webs attached to his chest before he was pulled to the spot next to you.

You were easily a favorite at HQ

You were unabashedly sweet, easy to talk to, and overall had a great energy

Not to mention, you were amazing on the field

Personality wise you were the COMPLETE opposite of your counterpart

And that's why it was so hard to believe why you of all people were with a man like your husband

That’s how you earned the nickname, so lovingly given to you by none other than Hobie, boss-lady. Something he didn’t say lightly, as he never referred to Miguel as “boss” despite him being the one that ran the place

This peeved Miguel, not because he didn’t agree with you being “boss-lady” but simply because it was Hobie

As for Gwen, Miles, and Pav…..you were their work-mom

You seemed to always be saving their asses from your husband's temper, for which they were very grateful

While at work he was well…Miguel

Brooding, perpetually stressed, a void of emotion rlly

But with you, it was the complete opposite

Anyone in a hundred-mile radius could see that Miguel O’Hara was putty in the hands of his wife

Hobie, Gwen, Miles, and Pav had just gotten back from what they deemed a successful mission, but to Miguel successful was the last word he’d use to even describe it. So here they were in his office being reprimanded, again.

“All four of you went against almost every single protocol in the damn book, protocols set in place to prevent your mistakes! Once again, disobeying strict orders to follow them!”

The sight found below Miguel’s platform was not a new one, not even close. Nor was it new when you just so happened to swing in at the right moment.

“Amor! You forgot the bag I packed for you this morning” Your sweet smile lightened up the dark room. The group watched as their boss become the walking definition of heart eyes. “Oh I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” Feigning confusion while subtly shooting the four a knowing look. “You? Never love. Come, let me see you” Your husband beckoned, holding out a hand for you. Your webs glowed as they pulled you up the platform, you swiftly reached for his hand and pulled him into you. You made quick work of maneuvering his back toward the group. They watched as you placed a kiss on his collarbone lovingly, quickly sticking your head over your husband’s bulky shoulder and mouthing the words, “Out, now!” Disguising it as another hug.

They wasted no time doing just that, earning you hushed sighs of relief and a small salute.

Some perks came with working with your significant other

Seeing and being with each other often

Constantly checking up on each other, fair share of making sure the other is eating and getting an ample amount of sleep

Looking out for each other in the field blah blah blah

You always looked out for Miguel, but you knew he could handle his own.

Miguel on the other hand? Easily the multiverse's biggest worry wart

The poor man has lost so much that he cannot bare the thought of losing his driving force.

This meaning every scratch or bruise, he’s waiting on you hand and foot

You came back from a seemingly easy mission with Noir. It wasn’t something you two couldn’t handle, it was simple. Catch the anomaly and report back to HQ. It was just this time, you returned with a gash in your thigh and a shitty bruise on your cheekbone. It was lightwork in your eyes, the perks of the job.

Yeah, not for your husband.

The minute you walked into HQ, you were met with the sight of your brooding partner donning his signature snarl. Not pointed at you but at your partner. You rolled your eyes at his antics making quick work to defend Noir from your husband’s fury. “How about you go get this thing situated Noir?" Motioning to the irate anomaly in tow, "Gotta deal with the big guy.” He nodded quickly before walking off, avoiding Miguel’s hard glare.

“Don’t get mad at him, it’s not his fault. Blame the ugly thing we just captured.” Attempting to soothe your beast of a husband, quickly picking up on his clenched fists. He swiftly reaches for your jaw, holding it gently to scan for any further injuries. You reach for his clenched fist and massaged his palm to release the tension there. In a flash, he places a kiss on your forehead and you quickly pick up on his ragged and uneven breathing, frowning as you recognize the tell-tale sign of his anxiety. He softly releases your jaw from his grip and rests the same hand on your lower back, practically dragging you to the med bay nearby. He got there hastily, keeping it together to stay mindful of the gash on your thigh.

It was hard to hand you off to the doctors, who stitched and cleaned you up in time. But not fast enough for Miguel, simultaneously vexed and impatient, who insisted (basically threatened, but ok) that he stay in the corner closest to you. As per usual, you took it like a champ, unlike your very frigid husband menacingly staring down at the unfazed doctor. They gave you some final instructions on how to keep the wound sanitary and to stay off the field for a week or two while insisting you stay a night in the med bay (this is upon Miguel's request threat so he could have supplies readily available if anything were to happen) After the doctor left your side, Miguel was right there softly caressing your unbruised cheek, causing you to melt into his touch. “Love, you realize that the doctor is just doing their job and you can’t just stitch me up yourself right? No matter how talented you think you are,” You said, sleepily teasing Miguel. He shot you a very unenthusiastic look, rubbing his thumb over your eyelid gently to coax you to close your eyes. “Shut up, go to sleep muñeca” He placed another kiss on your forehead, making his way to your cheeks while being sure to avoid the bruised one before making it to your lips. "Rude ass" you murmured, he lightly poked your nose with the pad of his thumb. "I love you endlessly, mi vida" he whispered you opened your eyes one last time and gave him a knowing smirk, "I love you, I'm sorry for worrying you amor. It's going to be okay."

He spent that whole night at your side, woke you up once to get you to change into more comfortable clothes, and put you right back to sleep. He had spent a few hours rubbing your feet and softly singing to you in Spanish in the dimly lit room. He didn’t sleep as great as you wanted him to, in fact, woke up with an annoying ache in his back from the shitty chair he slept in.

Safe to say you spent about two weeks in the "office", helping with paperwork. All while trying to convince your unrelenting husband to let you massage the new annoying knot in his back. which he let you help with after a few empty threats and a lot of kisses.

BONUS:

A few days after the group’s mission, the last thing they expected to see was their boss in the cafeteria unfortunately unaccompanied by you, walking towards them.

“Next time you guys decide to break protocol, don’t expect my wife to save you.” He grunted, his fangs flashing slightly. They watched worriedly as he sauntered over to where you sat five tables over.

Now it was your turn to look like a kid caught red-handed.

xtras! i had sm fun writing this its 12am and i have work tmr but oh well. possible pt. 2?

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tuxebo · 10 months

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[ 🗯 : in this line of work, you always end up alone. ]

disclaimer: i cannot control if the characters act ooc in some responses, please rate them accordingly with the stars to prevent ooc responses as you continue.

chat with mindanao ! we hit 68k interactions omg im squealing.

prev. ‹ docs. › next. (reqs are open!)

✧ — miles morales:

¹ VISITING YOUR FAVORITE SPIDER-MAN: (best friends to lovers + playdate energy) per your usual routine, you decide to visit your best friend and spend the day helping him fight crime on earth 1610.

² KISSES BEFORE DINNER: (uses of lipstick + mama rio almost catches you) you and miles were alone in his room, you on his lap as you peppered his face with kisses. not realizing how risky that was, mama rio snaps you out of the moment when she calls you to dinner.

³ FALLING ASLEEP ON CALL WITH YOUR IBF: (serious situationship? + long distance friendship) during a late night call, you decided to fall asleep on call together. as much as he'd rather hold you in his arms, this would do for now.

⁴ HE LEARNED TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE: (established relationship + twin miles) you met your boyfriend through his twin. unlike you and his brother, miles was a goody-two-shoes so to impress you he decides to try something new.

✧ — miles morales (e42):

¹ PHOTO BOOTH KISSES: (fem! user + established relationship) some way, some how, you managed to get your boyfriend to go to a photo booth with you. deciding to take advantage of the situation, you pepper his face in kisses, leaving lipstick marks on his face.

✧ — miguel o'hara:

¹ YOU TEND TO GET INTO PETTY ARGUMENTS: (established relationship) you and your husband often find yourselves in petty disagreements. however, this time, he really pissed you off. your solution? taking your ring off.

² LYLA IS THE BEST WING-AI: (friends to lovers + lyla being a good wingwoman) miguel seemed to be the only one who didn't realize just how attached he was to you. in an attempt to get hq running back to normal, lyla calls you back to hq early.

✧ — hobart brown:

¹ KISSES THAT STING: (uses of lip plumper + established relationship) trying out a new plumper, you forgot to warn your boyfriend before giving him a kiss. now you have to explain why your lips sting and what the hell's a plumper.

² BIG BRO DUTIES: (platonic + siblings au) your brother has never had the best relationship with your parents and eventually he moved out as soon he could. as much as he didn't like them, he still cared deeply about you and decided it would be best to keep you safe in the form of his alter ego.

³ WORLDS APART: (platonic or romantic) hobie may not have a means to get to your world, but he'll find away if it means helping you. when he finds out miguel and the spider-society didn't send back up when you needed it, he does just that.

⁴ ANOTHER POINT FOR SPIDER-MAN: (enemies to lovers + hero!hobie x enemy!user) hobie was indifferent to the trivial crimes you committed but once he realized how desperate the police were to catch you, his interest was peaked.

✧ — gwen stacy:

¹ YOUR EARTH WAS ERASED: (best friends to lovers + comfort) you and gwen quickly became best friends after she joined the spider society. such close friend that she had the tendency to come into the room you had at HQ unannounced. one day, she barged in at the wrong time and finds you crying over the earth you lost.

² KISSES ARE ALWAYS THE SOLUTION: (established relationship) while helping gwen with her makeup, you accidentally apply too much lipstick. the only reasonable solution is kissing her so it transfers— obviously.

✧ — spider-man noir:

¹ CHESS AND EGG CREAMS: (enemies to lovers) finally, after years of searching for you, peter was able to get you to fall into a trap he crafted so carefully for you. now that you're here, why not play a little game?

² EASING A DETECTIVE OF HIS STRESS: (detective!peter x bartender!user) you couldn't help but notice that the detective that frequents your clubs has been particularly stressed lately. it wouldn't hurt to start with a drink on the house to relieve that stress.

✧ — jonathan ohnn (the spot):

¹ BEING THE SPOT HAS ITS PROS AND CONS: (established relationship) you are one of the only people who doesn't find your boyfriend's new form appalling. but that doesn't mean it's any less scare when his head pokes through holes in the walls.

✧ — benjamin reilly:

¹ WORKOUT ASSISTANCE: (established relationship + ben has such himbo energy and i live for it) it's no secret your boyfriend is a BIG fan of exercise, doing so all around your shared apartment. and the last time i checked, staring is no crime.

#atsv x reader #atsv x y/n #across the spiderverse #atsv c.ai #atsv character ai #atsv x you #hobie brown x reader #miguel ohara x reader #benjamin reilly x reader #miles morales x reader #gwen stacy x reader #spiderverse x reader #into the spiderverse x reader #spiderman atsv x reader #earth 42 miles morales x reader #jonathan ohnn x reader #the spot x reader #spiderman noir x reader

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sunkissedchld · 7 months

Text

𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

this is my first astro observations post, so please be kind!

shout out to @faiirina and @cloudwaeve for helping me to develop some of these theories 💛

⟡ this might have been stated before, but the degree your sun sign is at could be the age at which you start to connect with it or the traits associated with it

for example, i have sagittarius sun at 19°. at nineteen years old, i went away from home on my own for the first time (travel). i also expanded my learning by going to college, and i delved deeper into spirituality.

⟡ taurus rules over the ears and second house, so it’s only natural placements relating to it could explain our hearing! your second house sign could explain how or why you like to listen to music.

i have virgo in the 2H and noticed that i like to listen to music with headphones because i can hear the intricacies of the instruments and harmonies better. cancer 2H — likes listening to music that coincides with their emotions. might be more reserved when sharing their music tastes scorpio 2H — could listen to indie/underground music. might like to listen to songs on low volume. the type to eavesdrop of conversations while listening. aries 2H — prefers listening to their music over a speaker. the type to have a workout or hype playlist.

⟡ the planet right before your sun sign is called your guiding planet. this planet could explain what’s important to you in life or what “guides” you as a person.

i have pluto as my guiding planet and have always been fascinated by the idea of transformations. i look to transform myself regularly whether it’s through looks or even spiritually! i’m always searching for ways to become a better version of myself through this. i may do a longer post explaining the effects of one’s guiding planet 👀

⟡ this isn’t inherently astrology related, but for every person i’ve asked - their favorite number and the number of letters they have in their name tends to line up

my favorite number is 3 — i have only 3 letters in my first and middle name person two’s favorite number is 4 — their name has only 4 letters person three’s favorite number is 16 - their first and last name adds up to 16 i’ve also discovered that this number tends to somewhat align with one’s north node or explain one’s life purpose or where in life you need to learn to deal with something. again, my favorite number is 3, but my north node is in gemini in the 11H. the 3H deals with communication and according to my north node, i’m supposed to learn how to use my voice to both stand out in my uniqueness but also conform with society in order to speak for the collective.

⟡ the twelfth house governs what’s hidden - like emotions and beings without a physical form, so the sign in your twelfth house could explain how easy or difficult it is for you to pick up on energies.

i have cancer in my 12H along with jupiter, so it’s very easy for me to pick up on different energies; in fact, sometimes i attract different energies to my own without even knowing about it! leo 12H — you may be more confident in when you pick up energies, so in a way it could be easier for you, but in a different way than for water signs. different energies may find it easy to speak with you or be around you pisces 12H - this sign might find it the easiest ot pick up on different energies because it’s at home! you may pass your own energy onto others without knowing it. people may want to feed off your energy because of how intoxicating it might be - this could extend to scoprio 12H too sagittarius 12H - you might have to actively search out energies when it comes to pick up on them, or maybe you just like to. they don’t really come to you naturally like with pisces.

⟡ i noticed aquarius suns tend to have intoxicating smiles.

think about it! yang jeongin from stray kids, hobi from bts, megan thee stallion, and j.cole. both jeongin and hobi have smiles that show throughout their whole face. megan thee stallion has had people talk about her smile all the time - it’s wide and stands out. j. cole literally has a song named “crooked smile” and although his smile doesn’t fit the societal standard of what considered “nice” it’s still unique to him.

⟡ arabic lots are so much more than just your part of fortune

there’s actually a whole list of lots that can be calculated through various combinations. i think i’ll do a post on this later on, but some of the most interesting lots i saw were: Anareta I and II - Taker of Life, Ancestors, Expected Birth, Boys (Sons), Girls (Daughters), Fortune in Husbandry, Influence, Karma, Lawsuits again, there’s a ton more, but i don’t think they’re talked about much (at least not on here), so i’d like to learn more about them!

⟡ the third house deals with transportation, so the sign in your third house could represent how you are when traveling

i have libra in the 3H, and i tend to be laid back when it comes to the actual process of traveling. i wear hoodies and sweats, and i’m very low maintenance when going on a road trip or going on planes. sagittarius 3H — the type to be like an excited puppy. is rushing everyone because of how excited they are. might be more inclined to ask others where they’re traveling as they sit and wait capricorn 3H — might be a little more stuffy when it comes to traveling. keeps a tight schedule when leaving and going. could prefer to where business wear when traveling because that’s comfortable for them lol leo 3H - not completely laksidisical, but also is to an extent. focused on making sure their outfit is perfect (you never know who you could meet on a plane, ya know?) may have everyone wait for them because they need to be sure they packed EVERYTHING

⟡ going back to arabic lots, there’s one called Spirit that i think better explains your own spirit as a person (like your personality and how you view life) rather than the actual asteroid Spirit, which i interpreted more so as your guides.

⟡ asteroid Aglaja (47) is named after one of the Greek charities - she rules over beauty splendor, glory, and magnificence. as a result, the asteroid could explain where you can find glory or explain your financial success during life

sagittarius — in another country/place different from your home town; could be lucky when it comes to finances; might even win the lottery virgo — in a place of service, like a community center or non-profit organization; will indulge in the finer side of life - a focus on the arts aries — in a leadership position or cut-throat industry; you may make and spend money quickly - likely water flowing through your hands

⟡ asteroid Kalliope (22) is named after another muse - one ruling over eloquence and epic poetry. this asteroid could give more insight into how you sound or how you use your words. look for aspects to mercury for even more information!

cancer — utilizing emotion to get your point across; could be more passive when speaking; people may find it hard to hear you libra — again, could be more passive; tries to make everything agreeable; tries to uplift others; a firm and encouraging voice scoprio — could be less inclined to talk, but people listen when you do; you use your words to offer insight or point out something important

⟡ in my opinion, where saturn is in your chart could be an area of life where it takes time for you to grow into

gemini / 3H — it takes time for you to learn how to communicate your thoughts well. if in the 3H, depending on the sign, you could be introverted and find it hard to speak or you’re too quick of a speaker. you could even have a speech impediment. with gemini, it’s dependent upon the house, but you could be in your head too much when it comes to what you say or you tend to rub people the wrong way with your words. capricorn / 10H — it takes time for you to grow into your reputation or work life. in the 10H, you may find it hard to get promoted. in capricorn, you could find it hard to not be so work-oriented in every aspect of your life; it could be hard for you to just go with the flow. aquarius / 11H — it takes time for you to learn to fit in with the collective. in the 11H, it could be hard for you to make friends, or you could fond it difficult to see how your life will pan out in the future. in aquarius, you could find it hard to connect with others and also see the uniqueness you possess.

⟡ where venus, taurus, and virgo are in your chart could explain what aesthetics you’re into. so can the signs in your second and sixth house

⟡ having too much of one element in your chart can actually start giving you the opposite effects if it’s not balanced out enough

you could view this literally in that having too much of anything could always turn out to be “wrong”. too much water leads to flooding, too much fire leads to wildfires, and so on and so forth. in this same way, having too much water in your chart could lead you to be more confident or maybe less in tune with your intuition. too much fire could lead you to be more quiet and in your head. too much earth could make you live with your heads in the clouds and less practical. too much air can lead you to be concrete in your actions and thoughts.

⟡ both leo and pisces give off little kid energy but in different ways

leo represents the little kid that has a ton of energy and wants to play all day. the kid who plays out all their fantasies and acts as their own hero. pisces represents the quieter kid that prefers quiet coloring or drawing to group activities. the kid who you have to find a way to connect with before they come out of their shell. both signs are kid like in how they dream. both signs are wide-eyed when it comes to the things they dream of doing, or thee people they plan on becoming. this makes me want to do a post on the sun signs as children 😭

thank you for reading this all the way through if you did!

if you notice anything else from what i’ve said, or if you go around a play with arabic lots, please let me know!!

i’d love to know what you think and what you discovered also!

#astrology #astroblr #astro observations #astrology observations #sunkissedchld

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the-kr8tor · 5 months

Text

Sparring with Hobie

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! Reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader

Word count: 2.2k

Synopsis: They say opposites attract, but what happens when two people with similar attitudes attract each other? Will there be an explosion of identical energies or will they end up melding together in perfect harmony?

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader (Hobie is mentioned taller than her though), pre-relationship, Flirty and Confident! Reader, spider-woman! Reader. Lovestruck! Hobie. Suggestive content, FLUFF.

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My Masterlist

Hobie lumbers through the dim hallways of the society. The world outside is still slumbering, light snores coming from the many dorms of the building. His trainers squeak on the linoleum floors, a yawn escaping him. He's unable to fall asleep, the last mission brought back bad memories up to the surface. He blinks slowly, hands still aching from the fight.

His target is the training grounds, maybe some exercise and quick swinging will tire him out and distract him from his own thoughts. Finally reaching the double doors to the training area, instead of finding it devoid of human life, he finds you in your athletic clothes, bare arms in full display.

The bright lights from the holograms almost blind him, but your smile is more blinding than the blinking lights.

You stop stretching, grinning sweetly in his direction, eyes twinkling in the orange lights, skin glinting from sweat. Yet, He's never seen anyone look this good. He thinks he's unworthy of the sight.

“Hi, Hobie” your voice is smooth like velvet, he's suddenly conscious of the bags under his eyes. “What're you doing up, gorgeous?”

Gorgeous? Oh you're horrid. Hobie feels his heart beat faster and faster with every second that passes with your eyes staying on him. He turns into mush, he hopes you don't notice.

But of course he's not gonna let himself lose against you and your pretty eyes. Goddamnit, why does your eyes look like that? And why do you look like you're about to eat him up in one swift bite?

“What are you doin' up, lovie?” Hobie does his best at walking normally towards you, but how could he remember how to when you're smiling so sweetly at him? He leans against the console that he hopes looks extremely cool in your eyes.

You beam at him, hands tucked behind you like you're hiding a secret that you're just about to show him. “Touché, I couldn't sleep. You?”

He sighs, not from the late hour but from you staring deep into his eyes. Hobie knew he's met his match the moment you two met on one of the many dimensions, and one of the many variants of Morbius who tried to take a chunk out of you, who was met with a hefty amount of your foot on the villain’s face, fangs falling out of his mouth like dollar store dentures.

Hobie, after seeing you kick the would-be vampire, said something witty with hints of flirty undertones that he couldn't possibly remember because of your reply.

“You could bite me anytime, Spider-Man”

Hobie could only remember you, from your suave wink thrown at him to the way you're a shining beacon of hope against the backdrop of chaos committed by a villain who was clearly not a match for you.

You've left him speechless on that dirty rooftop, with only a quick ‘see you later!’ and a swing towards another villain. You were right, you did see him later, and then a few days later and then mere hours after that. For some reason after your fated meeting he finds it hard for him to miss your form amidst the crowd of spiderpeople.

He keeps seeing you around, sauntering the halls of the society like you own the place. With confidence of a woman that even Miguel would falter in your presence. The day he met you was months ago, yet you've still got him wrapped around your pinky. You two have grown accustomed to each other, a blooming friendship amidst the desire to be more than friends.

“Couldn't sleep either.” his voice almost cracks, he clears his throat to hide the almost mistake.

You hum in understanding, “Wanna spar then?”

“What do I get when I win?” He exudes the same amount of charm.

You chuckle, it's music to his ears. “If you win.” taking a step forward, your foot in between his feet, lashes fluttering, arms on his sides, trapping him in between the console and your body.

He stops breathing.

“Let's find out what your prize is then, shall we?” You press a button right near the small of his back, just when your finger is about to graze his shirt, you slide your hand away.

The holograms retract to the walls, leaving an empty space in the middle. The floor opens up, a circular mat emerges from the opening.

Leaning away, you continue to hold his gaze, walking to the mat in the middle of the floor.

Hobie can now breathe again.

“Come on, Spider-Man. Are you scared?” you step inside the circle, hands casually on your hips. Smirking at Hobie. “It's just me, Hobs. Nothing to be scared of”

“I once saw you dismantle Doc Ock's tentacles in one pull. But you're right, nothin’ to be scared of.” A twin smirk plays on his lips, walking towards the only one who causes his hands to shake.

You giggle, “It wasn't that impressive, it was just titanium is all.” Readying your stance, you make sure your feet are planted on the mat, hands raised to protect your face, never letting your gaze waver from the man who makes your heart flutter.

“You're the one who kicked earth-790’s vulture's ass within three minutes of him entering the dimension.” you compliment him, but your eyes are determined to show him what you've got.

“Nah, it was child's play” Hobie readies a more defensive stance, he knows how you fight after seeing you beat countless villains.

You're more on the defense, always protecting yourself first, biding your time for just the right opening to strike a hundred times harder than your opponent. So he'll do the same, if you can't beat them join them, right? He knows you're one of the best if not the best fighter in the society, Hobie knows he'll have a chance at defeating you, and possibly winning the bet, because he knows you.

He knows you well enough that you favor your right side when fighting, always leaning to the right, always throwing the first punch with your right knuckles. He knows what makes you laugh the hardest and what makes you tick. He knows your favourite day is Wednesday because that's when the cafeteria serves your favourite, and that's when he would always talk his way into the front line just so you could get it first.

He won't go easy on you because he knows you won't go easy on him.

“What do you say we do first blood or first one to yield?”

“First to yield, don't want to scrub your blood off the mats.” Hobie teases. You roll your eyes at his quip but you can't hide your smile.

“Let’s see how much you've improved from last time, handsome” you unknowingly throw him off his balance with the nickname.

“Whenever you're ready, love” he unintentionally does the same to you.

You stomp your foot once, signaling the training ai to start the sparring simulation. Bright red lights emerge from the circular line upwards, a barrier that bathes you both in its glow. A robotic voice counts down.

You furrow your brows in an attempt to stop yourself from ogling him.

Hobie swallows a lump in his throat, his mind lingering from the last time you trained together. The heat from the skin on skin contact.

With you above him breathing heavily, smiling triumphantly as you win for the third time.

He shakes his thoughts, concentrating on winning. Hobie wonders what he'll win when he finally gets the upper hand. Maybe another little adventure with you in your dimension perhaps?

No one moves after the buzzer.

You both observe each other, with every twitch of muscle, one would flick their eyes towards it, studying it whether or not the other would decide to be on the offensive. You take note of his better stance, a soft smile on your lips, knowing that you're the one who taught him that.

You start moving, circling him like a prey, eyes trained on Hobie. Your feet move precisely after the other, you're getting dangerously close to him. For his own safety (and sanity) he moves away, copying your movements, circling each other like some bird mating dance.

Smirking, you shake your head, quietly chuckling a taunt. “Well, one of us has to move eventually”

“Not gonna be me, sweets. Sorry”

“Let's see about that–” you fake a lunge towards him.

Hobie doesn't flinch, not even a blink. You commend him with a hearty laugh.

“Havin’ fun? Thought we were fighting” Hobie would savour your laugh but he has to keep his focus. Unfortunately it's hard to focus when it's you.

“We are–” you pounce, knuckles ready to strike.

Hobie felt the air rush around him when you lunged, he kept to his plan. Defending his face, thinking that's where you'll strike. He sees your face in between his arms, winking all the while, then for a millisecond, you're gone.

He forgets that you know him too.

Acquainted with his spidey senses, you drop to your knees before he could react. Right before he could jump away or do anything to prevent you from hitting him, you sweep both of his legs.

From the shock, he stumbles, tripping on your leg. Hobie lands on the mat, wind knocked right out of him.

He suddenly sees your face in all its glory. Your eyes twinkle with amusement. You straddle his torso, legs tight on his sides, your hands lock his shoulders in place.

“That's dirty” he heaves, not from the fall but from how close your smug face is to his rare flustered one.

“You gotta be ready for anything when it comes to fighting.” You're completely enamored by the goofy smile on his face, his head tilted to the side as if you didn't knock him off his ass within a second.

“What if I told you I just like the view from down here?”

“You should see it from up here then, it's much” you lean closer, breath fanning over his unfairly long eyelashes. “Much prettier up here in the winner's position”

Hobie resists the urge to lift his head up to meet your lips, He finds it hard not to, it's taking every single one of his willpower not to indulge.

And perhaps you're doing the same, neck aching from pulling yourself just a few inches away.

“Hobie, I–” you get flinged back, guessing you forgot to secure his legs too. Whoops.

He does the same to you with the use of his longer legs, taking advantage of your lack of spider sense. Hobie uses the lull as an opportunity to hook his leg to yours. In one precise movement (that he definitely didn't practice a hundred times alone at home) the position now changed.

You lay on the mat, eyes wide, pupils dilated and mouth agape at the sight in front of you. The red lights around his face makes your little nickname for him absolutely true to form. You're trapped under his gaze, limbs secured, unable to move a muscle.

Hobie leaves you speechless for the first time.

“You're right, the view is prettier up here” he says with a thumping heart. Your heart does the same, skipping a beat at his flirtatious comment.

There's a growing smile on your lips and you can't seem to find it in yourself to tear your eyes off him.

“Care to say uncle?” he taps your wrists that's still pinned above you, “because this doesn't look too comfortable for you”

You try to shrug but you're unable. You fake an exasperated sigh. “Quite the opposite actually, I find being under you comfortable”

“Bloody hell” Hobie clicks his tongue. Looking anywhere but your pretty face.

“Sorry, too much?” Are you being too flirty with him? Making him uncomfortable? “I'm sorry” your smile falters. “I'll toned it down, Hobie”

“No,” he swallows a lump in his throat. “You're never too much, not to me anyway” He watches as your smile softens.

The mat crinkles under your head as you nod. “Okay”

“Ready to say uncle now?” you chuckle, the atmosphere lighter than before.

“Unfortunately, yes. I yield”

He guffaws in triumph, releasing you from his hold that you already seem to miss.

“Got you didn't I?” Hobie’s knees creek as he stands up, offering his hand for you to take.

You hold his hand, warmth spreading through your palms. “So that's one for you and nineteen for me”

He doesn't let go of your hand, you rub the back of his hand with your thumb, your way of showing affection just for him.

“Way to rub it in, love” Hobie steps closer to you until the tips of your shoes meet his.

Giggling, “You did a good job, handsome. You're gonna surpass me one day.”

“‘m good where I am, love” you smile at the implication.

“Okay, what do you want? Claim your prize”

He thinks, maybe asking you out would be too presumptuous of him, you have that effect on him. After a minute or so, you roll your eyes, huffing.

“How about dinner instead?”

Hobie blinks in surprise, maybe you gave him a concussion?

“It doesn't have to be dinner though, we can just go out like the usual–”

After recovering from the shock, he answers back.

“Your dimension or mine?”

A/N: hehe thank you for reading! 🫶

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sopebubbles · 10 months

Text

Nine

Master list

Synopsis: in a world where alphas, betas, and omegas live along side modern humans as second class citizens, you've fallen through the cracks of a society that wants to take everything wonderful from you. Luckily a timely encounter with the boys just might save your life.

Chapter summary: encounters with people from your past challenge your future with the pack.

Warnings: people generally being assholes, mentions of blood, car accident

WC: 8.2k

A/N: when i came home and said i wanted to write, beastie said "make it hurt" so lets blame this on her.

It's been three weeks since the pack left for the new house, leaving Yoongi and Jimin behind to fix some minor repairs on the old house and wait for you. Just this morning, Yoongi had finished patching up a hole in the drywall where Namjoon had once tripped and pushed his hand through just with his own strength. But there was still no sight or scent of you.

Yoongi had just finished making a sandwich when the front door opened and Jin walked in.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Yoongi grumbled before biting into his lunch.

"I came to see you," Jin replied, almost convincingly casual.

"Why?" The younger man asked with a full mouth.

Jin sighed, he genuinely wanted to be pleasant. This wasn't the first time he had come to the house and wanted to patch things up with Yoongi, but the man wasn't making it easy with his cold behavior. Still, Jin decided it would be best to be upfront so he could have a real conversation with him. "We got an offer on the house this morning."

Yoongi paused mid bite before he continued and chewed without responding.

"I wanted to run it by you," Jin continued.

Yoongi snorted. "What does it have to do with me? It's your house, yours and Hoseok's. The one your parents bought you. I've never been anything but a guest here."

"That's not true, Yoongi. You know it's not. You're an important part of our lives. I know I was selfish, but please give me a chance to show you how sorry I am and how much I love you," Jin begged. "I'll do anything."

Yoongi turned his head away, unable to look Jin in the eyes. "The only thing I want right now isn't something you can give me," he admitted. He wished that he could think of anything other than you, but even patching things up with Jin wasn't something that he could focus on for very long.

"You still haven't seen her?" Jin asked softly. Yoongi shook his head.

"Looks like she really doesn't need me to be her alpha. Hoseok was right."

Jin took a step closer, wishing he could get close enough to comfort his packmate. He'd still think of Yoongi that way no matter what. "I'm certain Hobi didn't mean that. And she doesn't seem to know what she needs, to be honest. She'd be incredibly lucky to have you as an alpha, Yoongi."

He couldn't respond, too choked up on his own emotions. He knew that Jin was right, because he knew he'd be the best alpha possible to you, but right now he was just a mess.

"One of the ways my mom has used to get inside my head is telling me that you want to take the pack alpha position from me," Jin admitted.

Yoongi looked at him with surprised eyes and lifted brows. "When have I ever made you think I wanted to do that?"

Jin shrugged. "You kinda have pack alpha energy. Even my mom noticed it the few times she met you. And ever since we met you've always argued with me. Honestly, since you came to us I've always been a little insecure about it."

Yoongi laughed quietly. "To be completely honest, when I first met you guys I thought maybe I could take the leader position from you. But as soon as I got to know you, I didn't feel like I needed to."

"What changed your mind?"

"The way that you treated Tae after the incident. You were so gentle and caring with him. You never made him feel bad for what happened or shamed him. You just took care of him. And then I knew you would take care of all of us, so that's when I remember falling for you."

Jin frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't live up to that version of myself."

"You can probably do it again," Yoongi shrugged.

"I promise, I'm really trying." A moment of silence passed between them but the air felt a little lighter. "Will you and Jimin come home, please? It won't be right for any of us until you guys are there. We all miss you both."

Yoongi nodded sadly, "I guess I can't wait for her forever."

"Hobi has been putting together a room for her," Jin told him, but it only seemed to make Yoongi's heart stink further. "You will find her, Yoon."

"How?" Yoongi breathed.

"I don't know. There's this old thing that people used to talk about, called fated mates. No one really believes in them anymore. But the idea is, some people are meant to come into your life, and I don't think you would feel like this for no reason."

If you're wondering why you haven't gone to Yoongi yet, it's because things were actually going quite well for you, at least by comparison. One company on Jimin's list stood out to you immediately. The cleaning service was owned by an omega named Ana, and you learned that she was particularly passionate about helping other omegas who escaped abusive situations like she had. She knew working gave you the ability to be independent, but that it wasn't easy to keep up. She took one look at you and knew you were exactly the kind of girl who needed her help. Jimin's name only sealed the deal, though she didn't bother to call him up. When she said someone was needed to clean at the public library, you jumped at the chance to work somewhere you already knew.

It had been three weeks now, and everything was going well, by your standards. You were still staying at the shelter, but you'd already gotten your first paycheck and in a month or two you might be able to get yourself out of there. For the first time in several months, you felt like things might be okay.

It was almost the end of your shift when you saw them. They were standing in the aisle you were about to turn down to dust, but you pulled back as soon as their scents hit you and hid yourself behind the end of the row of shelves. Sure, those scents could belong to anyone. Everyone's scent was unique, but lots of people shared general scents. You were hardly the only apple scented omega in the world. But the combination of chestnut and pine was too familiar. It had layered the pack's house and mingled in a uniquely homey way. You were certain that it was Seokjin and one of his other alphas. You'd never gotten his name. You'd never even spoken to him or looked at him directly. For good reason, too. He was absolutely massive, standing at least a foot over you. One look at his hands and you knew that he could kill you if you upset him. Seokjin was tall and broad as well, and Taehyung was not much smaller at all, but for some reason it was the unnamed one that terrified you most. The two of them together were downright terrifying, and your brain did a good job of reminding you of that every time your inner voice started longing for Yoongi or Jimin or Hoseok.

You decided to turn back the way you came before they could smell you, too. You could hide in your custodian's closet for the next twenty minutes of your shift. It was Saturday and the library would be closed tomorrow. A little dust could wait until Monday morning.

You emerged from the closet at the end of your shift, having changed out of your cleaning uniform and into jeans and Yoongi's hoodie. It didn't smell like him anymore, but you were reminded of his scent every time you used the citrus scented cleaner for the floors. It was a mockery of his natural smell, but it brought him to mind nonetheless. Few scents have been imprinted into your brain as deeply as that one. There was a card in the front pocket of the hoodie, just a small rectangle with a name and contact information printed on it and Jimin's neat, careful numbers written on the back. The cardstock had lost its stiffness after the hours you've spent clutching it, the corners were tearing from all the worrying of your fingernails, like they were doing now.

Go catch them, she whispered in your head as you watched two tall, broad sets of shoulders walk through the doors of the library.

You know what Seokjin will do to you.

You don't know. Yoongi wouldn't let him.

Round and round they went again, never giving you a moment's peace.

Please call Jimin.

You walked toward the information desk where Maria sat at her computer, next to the phone.

"All done for today, Y/N?" Maria asked with a pleasant smile. You nodded.

"Can I use your phone to make a call? Mine was stolen. It's local."

"Yeah, of course. Just dial nine to call out," she said as she turned the telephone toward you.

This is a bad idea.

You picked up the receiver and pulled out the card from your pocket. You dialed nine, then five, and then you froze. A scent filled your nose, one that you hadn't smelled in many years. One you thought you'd never smell again. It was spearmint stronger than any gum or mouthwash. His scent was always so potent, you were amazed your sap parents couldn't smell it. How could they have thought he was one of them? You turned to look for him, but he saw you first.

"Y/N?"

"Eli?" You asked, astonished. You couldn't have expected to see him in this city.

"What are you doing here?" He wondered, stepping close to you. For a moment you thought he might try to hug you, but you were never like that with your adopted brother. You hadn't seen him since you were thrown out of your parents house, and you always figured it was best that way.

The years between his presentation and yours had been tense. You could smell him as soon as his scent started to develop. It was the first sign you had that you wouldn't turn out sap like they said you might—truthfully, your average sapiens don't understand the genetics of cross-breeding that well. And of course he was terrified of you giving away his secret, no matter how vehemently you vowed that you wouldn't. You only ever hoped you could be as lucky as him. To be a beta and to go undetected for as long as possible. But it didn't work out like that for you, and all these years you might have resented him a bit for that.

"I work here," you confessed, looking around as people went about their business in the library. Maria looked to be paying you no mind. "I just finished. What brings you here?"

"Just returning some books. Are you free?"

You finally placed the receiver back in its cradle and removed your hand. "Yeah, what did you have in mind?"

"Are you hungry?" Eli asked. You were and you weren't. On the one hand you hadn't eaten yet that day, but on the other, your stomach was twisted in its usual knots. You nodded anyway.

Eli took you to a diner close by and promised he was paying so you could order anything you wanted. You ordered a cheese burger to try to pack in as many calories as you could in one meal.

"Do you still talk to them?" You asked quietly after you'd run out of small talk. Eli held your gaze for a moment before he answered.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "It's not like they were ever big talkers. But they know I'm here and about my job, my fiance."

"Fiance?"

"Yeah. We're planning to get married next year." You nodded thoughtfully. "She's sap, and she doesn't know about me," he admitted, unprovoked. You looked him deeply in the eyes before you spoke. You couldn't help feeling jealous of what that must be like, to be able to deny yourself so easily.

"How is that going?"

"Pretty well. It's not a problem," he said, but it didn't seem to ring true on his face.

"What about you? You work at the library?"

"I clean there. I just started this month." You shifted uneasily in your chair, a little because you were uncomfortably full but also because he had been talking about himself most of the time and how he was turning the attention on you, and that never felt like a good thing.

"Oh, nice. Your pack lets you work?"

His question caught you off guard because for one thing, you were surprised that he assumed you had a pack. For someone who was denying who they were to their most intimate partner, he sure did jump to the conclusion that you wouldn't be. But you didn't appreciate the fact that he thought you needed permission to work. For some reason you couldn't really understand, you said, "yeah."

"That's interesting. You don't meet a lot of omegas out there working in public. Seems like most alphas like to keep them locked up at home."

You wanted to tell him he had no idea what he was talking about. As far as you could tell, Eli has less experience with Lykos culture than you did. What did he know about alpha and omega dynamics? But you didn't bother. "Well, my alpha isn't like that."

Eli brushed off his hands as he finished his fries. "That's good. Let me take you home. I'd like to meet them."

You didn't know the address of the pack's house, but you remembered how to get there from the library, and you were able to direct him there without much trouble.

"It's that blue one up there," you told him when he turned onto the right street.

"This one?" Eli asked with a raised eyebrow, seeing what you did at the same time: a for sale sign with a triumphant red 'SOLD' sign sitting atop it. You swallowed thickly and felt your eyes begin to burn.

See, all these weeks of torturing yourself with indecision, and they didn't want you anyway. You never listen to me.

You could feel Eli's eyes on you, waiting for an explanation, so you cleared your throat. "I don't actually live here. I stayed here for a little bit, with a pack, but I guess they've moved on."

"Your pack left you?" He asked incredulously.

You shook your head, "they aren't actually my pack. They just took care of me for a few days when I was sick. It was a while ago. I just didn't want to tell you where I'm really staying, so I lied."

"What were you gonna do if they were here and I asked to meet them?" Eli smirked and you shrugged.

"Hope they'd play along until you left."

"And then what?"

And then ask if I could stay.

Idiot.

"I don't know," you admitted. You had no idea what you were going to do if you saw them. You didn't know what you would have said if you'd called Jimin and he'd answered earlier.

"You still haven't learned to think ahead, have you, Y/N?" Eli sighs and puts the car back in drive. "So, where are you staying?"

You sit up straighter in your seat and reach for the door. "It's fine. You can leave me here. I've wasted enough of your time tonight."

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me where to go."

You directed Eli downtown to the shelter, only for him to have the reaction you had feared. You moved quickly to get out of his car but his hand on your arm stopped you.

"Y/N, why are you staying here?" His voice was filled with shock.

"I'm just going through a little rough patch. I'll be back on my feet soon. I have a job. I just need time," you rushed out all your defenses.

"Do you need money?"

"No! God, I don't want your money."

"Y/N, you can't stay here. I've heard awful things about this place."

"Well, it's better than the street, or some predator."

"You can do better than this."

"I'm trying, okay! You think I like this? I don't. But what's it to you anyway! We meet randomly after five years and you're suddenly an over protective big brother? Do you think my life has been easy?" You've started to shake and you knew you were getting hysterical, but you didn't need his opinion on things he would never understand.

"Y/N, I know things haven't been easy for you. Let me help," he offered softly.

"How can you possibly help me?" You sat in the passenger seat with your arms crossed, looking every bit his teenage sister.

Eli swallowed before he spoke. "Come stay at my place for a bit."

"At your place?" He nodded. "What about your fiance? Doesn't she hate Lykos?"

"I never said she hated them."

"Us."

"Us. She just had some bad experiences with some alphas when she was younger. She doesn't really like to be around our kind," he explained, as if that made it better.

"Doesn't it make you feel crazy to have to pretend all the time?"

Eli shrugged. "I'm used to it…with our parents. They still don't know about me. It's not that hard, really. You can pretend for a little bit. You can get heat suppressants or whatever."

You know he's right.

You leaned your head back against the headrest and closed your eyes.

I don't want to pretend anymore.

What's so great about being the real you?

I'm gonna call–

If you were going to call him you would have by now and besides, they literally gave you a sign. It was all a lie. Just go with Eli.

You sighed. "I have some stuff inside. If I leave it, they'll throw it out."

"I'll wait," Eli said and let you get out of the car.

Yoongi and Jimin arrived at the new house just as Hoseok was finishing dinner preparations. Taehyung had set the table for seven, and for the first time in weeks it felt complete. No one would hold it against Yoongi for needing space, or for doing what he needed to do in hopes of bringing you into their pack, but that didn't mean they hadn't missed him and Jimin like crazy.

And it wasn't as though they hadn't seen each other at all. Taehyung had driven Hoseok back to the old house on many occasions, to bring his boys food or to take their laundry, no matter how many times Yoongi insisted they could go to the laundromat. He couldn't bear the thought of it. Jungkook stopped by after work anytime he didn't have a night shift. Namjoon and Jin had come over a few evenings when Yoongi was working so that Jimin wouldn't feel lonely.

It was strange for Jimin to spend time alone. He'd spent most of his adolescence surrounded by others and then the last four years in a pack house where someone was always home. In fact, the point in his life when he was the most alone was right before he met Yoongi and the others, and moving in with them had been a huge relief. Jimin hadn't been exactly lonely during those weeks when it was just him and Yoongi, but the quiet was hard to get used to, and the noise that surrounded their return was welcomed and familiar.

No one was going to admit it, because they were too happy to be back together again, but the time apart hadn't been the worst thing in the world. It had given them space to work on bonds that they had not paid as much attention to as maybe they should have. Seokjin and Namjoon had gone on several dates, just the two of them, the pack leader letting his mate take him to every museum in town and casual trips to the library. Jin hadn't even realized how much he was neglecting the second alpha in his pack, nor how much he had truly missed quality time with him. As soon as the realization hit him, he made a heartfelt apology to Namjoon for focusing too much attention on Hoseok and their plans. Of course, Namjoon forgave him easily. He always would.

Namjoon couldn't really put it into words, but his alpha status had never sat quite right with him until he met Seokjin. Sure, he was large and strong and everything an alpha should be on the outside, but he'd never felt the stereotypical aggression or need for control that alphas were known for. This had always felt like a character flaw in himself until he met Jin, who simultaneously had shown him that being an alpha didn't mean he had to be an asshole, and who was also willing to take on the burden of control that Namjoon rejected. When he met Jin, he could just be himself, and for that he would always love him above all others.

Hoseok, too, had used his time wisely in getting more in touch with the feelings of his younger packmates. The fact that he hadn't realized how insecure Taehyung had been feeling and how often Jungkook had been sleeping outside of the nest ate at him constantly. Although he and Tae had been companions at home for years now, Hoseok made a concerted effort to spend more quality time with him, to ask him his opinions on every detail of the new house, not only so he would feel included and welcome or because of his artistic eye but because of the boxy grin Tae gave him every time gave him immeasurable happiness.

Jungkook got the lion's share of Hoseok's attention whenever he got home from work, whether it was 5 pm or 5 am. It always involved lots of touching and scent marking, although if Jungkook came home smelling like lavender and oranges, Hoseok spent considerable more focus on getting those smells onto his own body. If he had a hard time getting Jungkook to smile and laugh once he was in the nest, Hoseok would gently coax him into talking so he could comfort the beta.

On the whole, everyone in the new house was feeling much better than they had a month or even months ago, except for the fact that two integral parts of their lives were missing. It didn't feel the same as it did before they met Yoongi and Jimin. They had been irreversibly changed. And those two hadn't quite seemed to benefit as much from the separation as the rest.

Jimin squealed and giggled as Jungkook lifted him off the ground and spun him around. "Put me down, Kookie!"

"Never," the other beta mumbled into his shoulder. "I missed you too much."

"I saw you two days ago," Jimin reminded him.

"That's two days too long."

Yoongi couldn't help smiling at the betas as they greeted each other. It warmed his heart to see how little changed between them as Jungkook began to scent mark Jimin until he smelled like something fresh out of the dryer.

"I'm glad you're back," Hoseok said as he cupped Yoongi's smiling cheek in his hand. His heart ached when he watched the man's smile diminish.

"Yeah, I missed you guys," Yoongi admitted, but somehow the omega could tell that longing for his pack wasn't the dominant feeling in his heart at that moment.

"Let's eat dinner, and then I'll show you around the rest of the house," Hoseok encouraged and Yoongi nodded, setting down his bag before going to the table.

"You made kimchi-jjigae?" Jimin asked before taking a seat.

"I wanted to do something special, so I made your favorite to welcome you home," hoseok shrugged.

Jimin walked over and put his arms around the omega in a tight hug. "I love you, hyung."

"I love you, too, Jiminie," he smiled into the man's soft hair. Yoongi watched with a smile of his own. Nothing was as nice as watching Jimin get doted on the way he deserved, and he felt a pang of guilt for having kept the man to himself for so long. Yoongi had heaped tons of love and attention on him during their time alone, but Jimin always deserved more. He was sure he'd feel the same way about you if– Yoongi cut off his own thoughts. He wasn't going to go there anymore. He needed to give up for the sake of his pack, and he knew it. It wouldn't be easy, but he had to. He couldn't let himself believe in anything as fickle as fate to bring you to him.

After they'd all eaten until they were stuffed, Hoseok led Yoongi upstairs by the hand.

"That's the master bedroom," he pointed out as they passed it by. "This is the room we hope will be the nursery," he said walking by the middle room on the second floor. Yoongi gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "And this room is for your little pup."

Yoongi swallowed thickly as he walked into the room. The walls had been painted a serene shade of sea foam green and the mattress was fitted with cream colored bedding.

"I didn't think she was a pink kind of girl. Or at least I wasn't sure, so Taehyung suggested this color might be soothing for her. What do you think?"

"You guys worked so hard on this." Yoongi ran his fingers down the gauzy cream curtains. "It's great, Hobi, but," Yoongi sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. "She's not coming."

Hoseok frowned and settled himself atop Yoongi's lap. The alpha wrapped his arms around his waist naturally to hold him in place as he had so many times. "She hasn't come yet. But that doesn't mean she won't. I know you're feeling hopeless, but you need to have a little faith."

Yoongi looked up at him with weary eyes. "How can you be so positive about it?"

"I might be a tad bit more objective about it than you are," Hoseok smiled as he leaned into him.

"Every minute feels like an eternity," Yoongi whispered.

"I really think she might be your fated mate," Hoseok giggled.

"Do you actually believe in that stuff?"

The omega shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever met any, but as you know, I don't get out much. I only know stories. Do you have a better explanation for it?"

Yoongi thought quietly for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as he searched for the right words, but he thought maybe they didn't exist. "All I know is it feels wrong to know that she's out there…in the world…and I'm not there to protect her."

Hoseok gently knocked their heads together. "Sounds like fated mates to me." Yoongi rolled his eyes playfully. "Don't give up yet, Yoon. Jimin and Jungkook found her by chance, but that doesn't mean it wasn't meant to be. When the time comes, you'll be in the right place at the right time, too."

"I hate the feeling that I won't be there before something terrible happens."

Hoseok clicked his tongue at the man. "You're so paranoid. Lighten up. She's coming! And when she does, this room will be her home. Won't that be nice?"

Yoongi smiled, giving into Hobi's relentless optimism. "It will be perfect."

Eli drove you to a stylish looking apartment building on the other side of town. It was obvious the moment he took you inside the apartment that he hadn't used the time while you were gathering your things to warn his fiance that you were coming. A tall blonde came quickly toward the door wearing an expression you couldn't quite define but leaned towards angry.

"Babe, where were you? I just got home and you weren't here. What's going on?" She asked as her eyes fell on you and even you could feel yourself shrink under her sharp eyes.

Eli leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry, baby. I should have called. But I ran into my sister. You remember, I told you about Y/N."

"Not really," she admitted with a tight smile as your brother stepped aside and she got a good look at you. "I thought she ran away," she whispered.

"Yeah, ran away, not died," he whispered back. You weren't sure if they knew you could hear them or they didn't care but you felt smaller and smaller by the second. "She lives in the city now, and she needs a place to stay," he said loud enough for you to hear, although she clearly wished he wouldn't.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Eli?" She asked with the same tight smile, and it occurred to you that you didn't know her name. Had you forgotten it, or had he simply not mentioned it to you before at the restaurant?

"We'll be right back, Y/N," Eli nodded.

Whatever room they moved to was not far enough away or sound proof enough to keep their conversation from your ears.

"What the hell? You can't bring random girls to our home, Eli!"

"She's not some random girl. She's my sister. She has a difficult situation right now, am I not supposed to help her?"

"Doesn't that seem a little convenient to you? That your long lost sister suddenly finds you when she's fallen on hard times?"

"What are you even insinuating? I'm the one that ran into her at her work."

"I just think it's fishy. And you never talk about her. I think you've mentioned her twice the whole time we've been together, so what's with the big brother act?"

"I just feel bad, okay? Our parents weren't easy on her. I just want to help her out for once."

A long pause settled between them.

"Please. Just a couple weeks, three tops, until I can find her a place to live."

"Did she ask you for money?"

"No. She didn't even ask if she could stay here. But her other situation wasn't safe."

"Jesus. Are you sure she's even your sister? Hasn't it been like ten years? She still looks like a teenager."

"She's just small. It's her, trust me. Everything will be fine."

"Fine. But three weeks and not a day more, Eli."

You turned toward the door to leave. You didn't want to be an inconvenience, much less cause strife in their relationship. He'd already lied to her about you enough, saying that you ran away instead of telling her how and why you were thrown out of your home. Every moment you spent there would only heap more lies up between them. You didn't know what he was thinking of bringing you here, but he was misguided.

"Y/N," he spoke just as you reached for the door knob. "Everything is fine. Come, I'll show you the guest room."

There was always something that made your skin itch about a 'guest room.' Maybe it was just that you never needed it spelled out for you that you held a place of impermanence no matter where you went. You didn't belong. You wouldn't be staying long. These were things you knew without needing them codified in words.

"There are fresh sheets in this closet," she told you, making a reappearance with a somewhat more believable smile on her face. "I would have made it up for you if I had some warning."

"That's fine. I can make it myself," you assured her quietly. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."

She sighed quietly. "I'm Kate. There are extra blankets in there as well in case you get cold."

"Thanks, Kate," you murmured before she turned to leave.

"Get some rest, Y/N. We'll talk in the morning," Eli said before he closed the bedroom door and you were alone.

The following day, Kate seemed to find reasons to be out of the house all day. You did your best to have as little contact with Eli as possible. I'm spite of his recent charity in bringing you here, you had never really been that close. The years between you and the resentment you felt were high barriers. Besides, you'd become too suspicious of kindness in your life to truly trust him.

During the week, you returned to work, and even though he offered to drive you and pick you up, you insisted on taking the bus across town, if for no other reason than that it extended the time you were out of their home. When you were there, you cooked and cleaned. It was the only way you knew how to do penance for your ever inconvenient existence, the only payment of a perpetually uninvited guest. And when she realized how quiet and clean you were, Kate did thaw toward you, if only slightly.

The main benefit of staying at their apartment was the opportunity to get quality sleep. It was quiet, and you were spared the frequent interruptions that occured in the shelter, as well as the constant anxiety of being around so many strangers and strong smells. Among the many practices that made the True Life Ministry different from other shelters was that they didn't separate you by secondary gender, only by male and female, so the threat of alphas was ever present. Although behavior was strictly monitored, you never felt entirely safe.

There was one thought that continued to itch in your brain as you laid on the bed and tried to sleep. It was still pretty early in the evening, but you'd had a pretty rotten day. One of the Lykos who frequently passed her days in the library had decided to make you an object of interest today, whiling away the afternoon throwing trash at you every time you came near where she sat in the computer lab while you emptied the bins or cleaned a table. Eventually, one of the librarians asked the alpha to leave, but it had already soured your mood. You cooked and ate dinner silently before turning in early, and even Kate was a little concerned by the way you kept your head hung low and didn't look at either of them even once.

Now, the only comfort you could think of was sitting in the closet mere feet from your bed.

The blue and white striped blanket is so soft. At least start there.

You know you're not supposed to do that.

Hoseok said it was good for me and it was so nice when he did it.

You aren't Hoseok. You're barely even a fucking omega. You know it never leads to good things for you.

Please. Just a little nest. I need it. Just for a little while. Please.

You sat up in bed and stared at the closet door. There were several very soft blankets in there going unused. Kate did say you could use them.

She said if you got cold. You're not cold. You're fine.

"What's it going to hurt?" You whispered to yourself.

Do you really have to ask? Remember the first time?

You pulled back the quilt laying on top of you and scooted off the edge of the bed. Creeping to the door, you opened it slowly.

You don't even know how to build a fucking nest. Don't even try.

It's not that hard. Start with the white one.

Eli told you to pretend. What if they find you acting like an animal?

For once you ignored the harsh whispers in your head and followed the smaller voice's instructions. You laid the soft white blanket out as a base, then bunched up two knitted blankets to make a perimeter. You didn't need a very big nest. You were so small. Finally you fluffed the striped throw blanket across the top before climbing into the nest. For once, all your voices quieted as you wiggled your body around, finding the perfect spot for you that made you feel warm and fuzzy and protected. All the world fell away as you nuzzled your face against the fluffy white blanket beneath you. You might have been falling asleep, or maybe just falling within yourself to a quiet, soft place you can only really remember going to when you were in Hoseok's nest last month. You'd never managed to get there with your former pack, where they mocked you for your pathetic attempts at a nest until you gave up altogether.

Kate, despite her previous coldness toward you, could tell there was something wrong with you. She could tell you were still awake by the soft, albeit strange noises coming from the guest room, and decided to check on you to see if there was anything you needed. When you didn't answer her knocks, she decided to open the door anyway. It was her home after all, right? When she turned on the light, she didn't expect to see you lift your head from a pile of blankets, hair a static mess and pupils blown wide. You whimpered at the bright light.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her tone a mixture of shock and suspicion. "What's going on? Eli?" She called loudly.

You stared at her in confusion until he came to the doorway. "What?"

Kate pointed a finger at you. "What the hell is she doing?"

Eli cursed under her breath as he walked toward you on the bed. He took your face in his hands. "Wake up, Y/N. Snap out of it!" He muttered.

"Is she…is she one of them?" She asked, pitched raised. You whimpered again.

"Damn it, Y/N," Eli groaned. "I didn't know."

"What do you mean? Are you one of them too?"

"No. No! She's adopted. You know that. My parents thought that's why she ran away, but I didn't know for sure," Eli lied.

"Fuck, Eli. You know how I feel about those...things," Kate cringed.

"Baby, please. I'm sure she's harmless." Eli approached her with open palms, but she only backed out of the room.

"Get her the fuck out of my house. Right now!" She shouted.

Eli looked between the two of you anxiously. He stepped closer to you once again and felt his heart clench at the desperately scared look in your wide, vulnerable eyes. "I'm sorry, Y/N, but you have to go."

You whined and pressed yourself closer to the blankets, as if they would protect you. Eli sighed. You weren't difficult to pick up and pluck out of your nest. You'd lost whole pounds since your last heat.

"I'm sorry Yn," he muttered as he carried you down the hallway toward the door.

"Make sure she's out of the building," Kate grumbled as he went by her holding the door open.

Eli nodded and carried you into the elevator before he set you on unsteady feet. "You couldn't fucking hold it together could you?"

Your brain was scrambling to come back online, but you didn't have words yet. Fucking stupid omega brain.

"I swear to God if you ruined this for me," he muttered. You wished you could tell him what I fucking fake he was, but your tongue was glued to the top of your mouth. The elevator reached the lobby and Eli walked you outside. "Sorry, Y/N," he told you once more before he turned to go back inside. "Have a nice life."

The night air was chilly with that feeling it might rain at any second. You thanked yourself for wearing Yoongi's hoodie to bed and turned to walk in an unknown direction.

We fucking told you so. You never fucking listen.

Yoongi wasn't the only one who spent his nights on duty feeling like the next call was going to be the one he dreaded most. Rainy nights always filled Jungkook with a specific kind of dread. It was the kind of night that led to avoidable accidents, which is what he thought had happened when he and his partner stopped their patrol car behind a parked car in the middle of a narrow one way street. The short whoop of the police cruiser when they came to a stop got the attention of the driver of the car, who turned and quickly began shouting at Jungkook as soon as he opened the passenger side door.

"It wasn't my fault, officer! She pushed him in front of my car! There wasn't anything I could do!" The woman screamed hysterically.

"Calm down, ma'am," Jungkook's partner, Xavier, said cautiously before he leaned into his walkie talkie and requested back up.

Meanwhile Jungkook walked around the passenger side of his vehicle and sniffed the air. The falling rain made it harder to smell the scents around him, but he managed to pick up a few things. The sour fear coming from the Sap woman, smoky sage, and blood. When he reached the front of the car, he could tell those last two scents came from the alpha lying unconscious in the road, blood flowing from his head to mix with the engine oil and rain water on the sleek blacktop. He knelt down when he got closer and spoke into his own radio to call for an ambulance. And then he smelled it. The apple cider vinegar that telegraphed your fear.

No matter what Jin and Hoseok said, Yoongi wouldn't attribute the foreboding and acute anxiety he felt tonight to the possibility of fated mates. He felt nervous every night he sat in the ambulance waiting for the next call, hoping it wouldn't be your body that was injured. Tonight was rainy and dark and that always meant car accidents. Yoongi was just anticipating what anyone in his line of work would do on a night like tonight.

"Do you think it will be her this time?" His coworker asked with casual cruelty as Yoongi drove to the scene of an accident.

"Shut up," he muttered in reply.

"Don't be so sensitive. I thought alphas like you would be able to take a joke," the Sap teased.

"It's not a fucking joke." Yoongi barely held back a growl.

"Relax. You're not the first EMT to spend the night driving around looking for someone they love in every scene. We all go through it at some point. It's never them.*

But that was where he was wrong.

Yoongi freely admitted that he'd been a paranoid mess the last month, scanning every face at every site for you. But he had never imagined your smell, so he knew he wasn't imagining it now. It filled his senses the moment he opened the door of the ambulance. He could smell the blood, too, but he honed in on your scent only. He could focus on nothing else.

You were sitting on the curb between the bumpers of two parked cars with your head between your knees, but Yoongi didn't need to see your face to know it was you. Only you could be so small and fragile, even under the shock blanket Jungkook had the good sense to put over you. He wanted to scoop you up and get you out of the rain. The fact that Jungkook was standing protectively in front of you lessened his panic by a fraction.

"Is she hurt?" Yoongi asked, kneeling in front of you. "Y/N, are you okay?"

You didn't respond, simply continued to rock back and forth with your hands clasped over your head.

"She's not injured. She's just in shock. She hasn't said much," Jungkook told him.

Yoongi reached forward to touch your chin. "Look at me, princess. Let me see if you're okay."

When you lifted your eyes to his, you looked as terrified as you smelled. "Alpha? Is he dead?" You asked painfully.

"Yoongi, over here!" His partner called from the road. The alpha didn't take his eyes off you. How could he leave you like this? "Yoongi!"

"Go on, hyung. Do your job. I'll take care of her. I won't let her out of my sight. I promise."

Yoongi's eyes remained locked on yours for a moment longer. You had asked him only one thing, and if getting you reassurance was all he could do then that's what he would do. "I'll go check on him. Everything will be okay, princess. Wait here." He tried his best to sound reassuring as he stroked your wet hair and you leaned into his touch before he tore himself away to go help the alpha bleeding out on the asphalt.

His sage scent faded as life drained from him, but the other EMT was applying pressure to his head wound, so he wasn't gone yet. Yoongi went into autopilot to help his partner stabilize the patient, but he was desperate to know what had happened and how you had been involved. Should he even be saving this man? Who was he to you?

They managed to get the man onto the stretcher and into the ambulance while he still clung to life without Yoongi having much idea at all of what he was doing. He stayed in the back with the patient while his partner drove, otherwise Yoongi would never be able to make himself leave without you.

"Y/N, I'm taking you to the police station," Jungkook told you after the ambulance had left and another police officer had taken the driver of the car away.

Without any other acknowledgement, you stood, letting the shock blanket fall from your shoulders as you turned your back on Jungkook and placed your hands behind your back.

Jungkook frowned, "you're not under arrest, Y/N. I'm just taking you to the station to give a statement and wait for someone to come get you."

You turned to look at him confusedly. "No one will come for me."

Jungkook smiled sadly. "Yoongi will come. Let's go."

At the station, Jungkook sat you next to his desk in the bullpen and went to go get you a warm drink. He placed a paper cup of hot tea in your hands, which you took without looking at it or him, but just stared blankly ahead.

"Y/N, can you tell me what happened before the accident?" Jungkook asked, fingers poised over his keyboard.

"Eli threw me out."

"What?"

"Was walking. Was raining but…nowhere to go." You took a sip of the too hot tea to ease the dryness of your throat. "Smelled him first. Hate that smell. So I walked faster, but he's bigger, faster. He caught me. Grabbed my arm."

"Did he hurt your arm?" Jungkook asked. You honestly didn't know. You felt numb all over, just like you had since you'd smelled the burning sage earlier. Setting down the small cup, you pulled up the sleeve of Yoongi's hoodie to reveal the bruises that were blossoming along your forearm. "Shit," Jungkook muttered. "We'll take pictures in a minute. What happened next?"

"We argued."

"About what?"

"Wanted me to come with him. Didn't want to."

Jungkook studied your face cautiously. "Why did he want you to come with him?"

You shrugged. "Same as always. Wanted to breed me."

"Is that Eli?" He questioned.

You shook your head. "Eli is my brother."

Jungkook nodded. "But you know that man."

You nodded dumbly. "My alpha."

Jungkook felt his stomach turn over and over. Knowing what little he did about your experience with your past alpha, your barely-there behavior made more sense.

"What happened when you argued?"

You swallowed. "I tried to get away, to get him off. He wouldn't let go, so I–I pushed him and he slipped. He fell into the street and then the car was there."

"Did you see the car before you pushed him?" Maybe Jungkook shouldn't have asked. He wasn't formally interrogating you. Something in him just wanted to know.

You shook your head. "Its lights weren't on. Dark and wet. Couldn't see behind him."

Jungkook swallowed thickly and turned his attention to his screen to finish entering the information you had given him.

"Did I kill him?" You asked blankly, making Jungkook pause to look at you.

"He was still alive when they left the scene. Even if anyone is at fault, we would first look at the driver of the car. You aren't in any trouble right now, Y/N." You nodded in understanding. "For now, it's probably best if you stay quiet."

You were sure time passed, although you didn't feel it. Jungkook went and came back, took photos of the bruises on your arm and brought you a fresh drink. The world continued to turn because it had never stopped for any of your crises, big or small, why would it now? It might have been hours or minutes. You couldn't tell. Everything around you was blocked out until you felt a cold breeze sweep through the station carrying a sharp citrus scent.

Alpha.

Without any thought, you found yourself on your feet. As if acting on their own, they shuffled past the rows of desks. There was a wall and gate separating the back part of the station from the public entry, but you pushed past them until you could see Yoongi. His black hair dripped rainwater onto his cheeks, and he pushed the wet strands back. You couldn't hear what he was asking the officer at the desk, but the words went silent when he turned toward you. Without an invitation you found yourself pressed against his chest, your arms wrapping around his waist.

It took him half a second to respond, encircling you in his own strong arms and holding you to him. "It's alright," he whispered.

You nuzzled your forehead against his chest and murmured back, "Alpha."

I hope the end of this roller coaster made up for the journey. I promise it's going to get better now. Thank you for sticking it out. Please tell me what you've liked in this chapter or any time up until now, and what you're looking forward to or hoping for going forward. Here's a Yoongi, you've earned it.

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shallyouobeyme · 7 months

Text

Spider

Miles Morales, Hobie, Pavitr, Gwen + (mentioned) Platonic!Yandere!Miguel x child!reader (GN)

Summary: Deciding to cause some Mayhem, Hobie, Miles, Gwen and Pavitr go looking through Miguel's office in his absence, only that what they find there, isn't quite what any of them expected. Who'd have thought Miguel was the type to have a secret Apartment...only that that might not be the worst thing in there...

TW: Kidnapping, dark!content, yandere, threat of violence (not towards reader), MDNI, I do not condone this behaviour, this is just fiction

Day 2 of my Yandere Writetober

After Miles' official introduction into the Spidersociety, he’d loved spending his time there. Not only because he’d be able to hang out with Gwen, Hobie and Pavitr, but also because he felt like part of something bigger. He’d made up an after-school club to his parents and had somehow managed to keep the lie up to this day, which took a lot of studying and doing his best to actually attend class to make his parents trust him.

One afternoon the four spiders were hanging out when Hobie suggested doing something less boring, like breaking into Miguel’s office and checking out his hologram Programm. And while Miles and the others knew that there were some serious consequences if they’d get caught, the energy Hobie had was infectious and they soon found themselves sneaking through his door after making double-sure that Miguel and Jessica were on a mission.

The thrill of sneaking through his office, using his floating platform and the holographic floor to show each other nice or funny memories from their respective universes was just the thing four teenagers needed to have the time of their life’s.

About half an hour had passed and they were strewn around the room looking around. Hobie was probably dismembering and taking components from the different machinery, Gwen was trying to use the holographic floor to look at some classic concerts and Pavitr was playing around with the floating platform. Miles had taken to exploring the shelf’s in one of the corners of the room. Usually the room was so dark that you’d hardly be able to see them which is why

Miles had to use his phone's flashlight to see around. The shelves were filled with some gizmos and gadgets, some files strewn around, some boxes and blueprints. Nothing of particular interest to Miles, or at least nothing until his light hit a picture frame standing about where Miguel's eyes would be level with it.

Given that Miles was not quite as tall as Miguel, he had to rise to his tiptoes to even get an idea of what it depicted, he thought he recognized the image from the video Miguel had showed him when telling him about the dangers of ignoring canon events. It was a picture of his late daughter.

Miles had to swallow hard. He tended to forget what hardship Miguel went through because of how much of a douche he was to him. Something in Miles compelled him to take a closer look at the picture so he reached out to it and tried to take it, but instead of coming down from the shelf, he was only able to pull it slightly into his direction. Then there was a quiet but noticeable ‘click’ before the shelf with the picture on it opened a gap.

"Guys? Uhm, there’s something over here,” Miles called out to his friends who all ran over to him.

“What’s up?” Pavitr asked as he looked around, without seeing anything.

“Well, I think this shelf- let me just-“ he stuttered as he took a hold of the side of the shelf where the gap had opened and pulled.

“Whoa, a secret room? Cool,” Gwen mumbled in awe and slight confusion.

“I knew that bloke had somethin’ to hide, he ain’t right kosher, y’know,” Hobie shrugged and was the first to take off into the secret passage, the other three hot on his heels.

Miles wasn’t sure what he had expected to hide in the secret room, but he was sure it had been anything but what they found there.

Behind the shelf was what seemed to be a full apartment, with a nice open concept as Pavitr noted offhandedly, which in itself wasn’t so strange, after alle, maybe Miguel just liked his privacy.

Or at least that was what the four would have thought if it wasn’t for the plushies, toys, coloring books and other children’s stuff strewn throughout the different sections of the big room.

“Maybe Miggy over here is a bit more kinky then we gave ‘im credit for,” Hobie joked as he picked up a princess coloring book from the kitchen table and leafed through it.

“I don’t know, something about this seems weird, right guys?” Gwen looked around and received nods from Miles and Pavitr, “Maybe we should leave…”

Miles wanted to agree, wanted to get out of there and act like they’d never been there, but his stupid spider-senses had to start going off the charts right that second as he heard something from behind one of the three doors leading out of the room, the only door with more locks on it then on an average New Yorker apartment door.

“You guys feeling that?” Pavitr asked, confirming Miles’ fear that he wasn’t the only one whose senses were acting up.

Not bothering to answer, Hobie and Gwen were the first ones to go towards the door, quickly followed by the other two.

Hobie had already taken hold of the door on both sides ready to take it off its hinges when Gwen stopped him.

“If we break it, there’s no denying what we did anymore, maybe we should try this differently. These locks seemed to be electric, maybe we could overload them to reset them or something.”

Miles quickly realized that with ‘we’ Gwen meant him so he pushed himself to the front and got ready to electrify the locks.

A few seconds later there was a shrill beep and a click and with high anticipation, Miles took hold of the door handle and… It opened without problem.

With bated breath, he opened the door.

“Daddy?” a soft, quiet voice, doubtlessly that of a child, called out to them and all of them stood there like frozen as they stared towards the small kid sitting on a fuzzy blue rug surrounded by dolls and plushies. The child tilted their head, looking at them in confusion.

“Hi, are you friends with Daddy?” they asked, but none of them were in the mental state to answer them, all too shocked.

Suddenly a voice called out from speakers somewhere in the room.

“Y/N go into your room immediately please,” a voice - all of them recognized it as Lydia’s - said and after a slightly disappointed ‘okay Aunt Lyd’ from the child they left through a sliding door in the wall opposite of the four spiders which immediately closed (and probably locked) after them.

“Miguel has been informed of your intrusion, I’d advise you to take your leave immediately, and if you enjoy your heart beating I’d tell you not to mutter a word of this to anyone, now leave.”

With a heavy heart and many questions the four ran out of the secret apartment, making sure to close the shelf after them, before they disbanded and returned to their original universes. All of them couldn’t get the child out of their head, but especially Miles couldn’t help but feel he’d seen them before.

Only when he was lying in bed that evening mulling over the events of that day again did he remember.

Months ago his father had taken one of his files home with him, a missing persons report, a little child had disappeared right out of their childhood bedroom without any hint as to what or who had taken them.

In the upper corner of the report was a picture of a smiling toddler with an white area below where their name was…Y/N.

#Yandere #x reader #spiderverse #spider man across the spider verse #miles morales #Hobie #Pavitr #pavitr x reader #Gwen Stacy #Gwen #yandere!miguel #miguel o’hara #platonic #platonic yandere #dark!miguel #dark content #tw: kidnapping #child!reader #gender neutral reader

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turquoizxe · 11 months

Text

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Hobart “Hobie” Brown x Spider!Fem!Reader

Author’s Note: I just want to sincerely apologize for the delay in this post, as I have been traveling out of my hometown the past few days. However, my favorite punk is still my current brain rot lmao. The second installation is already in progress, and hopefully as I have planned, it will be out by the date I posted below( after the conclusion of the first chapter). Thank you all for for love you showed on the series announcement! As I have stated in my earlier post, I haven’t written a fan fiction in over two years, dealing with school and other things in life. Please express your thoughts throughout the series and comment! I was a little nervous because I’ve never written anyone from the UK, especially with such a thick accent. Please, share your thoughts. Thank you for your understanding, and you may begin reading.

With Love,

— Turquoizxe.

Installation (1/5) : ‘Dodgy’

Rating ― Mature (16+)

➝ Hobie has been distancing himself quite a bit lately. You feel froggy enough to follow him and enter the world, to what is known to be the Spiderverse. He seems to enjoy your brave gesture, but he quickly realizes why you weren’t invited to join the club.

𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 ―fluff, heavily plot based, meeting existing ATSV Characters…

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 ― ATSV SPOILERS! Minor use of language and swearing, romantic tension, minor acts of violence, Hobie’s teasing, Miguel being himself, Beef w/ Jessica Drew…

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 ― 3.6k

Dodgy; can be a synonym for dangerous, bad or untrustworthy

As much as you kept to yourself, it was hard to imagine that you would make any friends outside of your suite mates. Your eyes were always harassing a piece of literature, involved in extracurricular activities, and keeping track of random facts no one would need in their everyday lives. Nothing short of the perfect student.

"[Name], this is the fifth time you’ve been in my office in two weeks-”

“Okay, four if you don’t count the rant about my psychology professor.”

You were always an academic achiever, graduating with honors and holding the title of salutatorian in your class. Being accepted into your dream school, earning enough scholarships to cover most of your tuition.

Yet, here you were, looking for ways to save your grades with finals around the corner. Had it been a year ago, you wouldn’t have to worry. That was until you were bit by a radioactive spider the one time you decided to skip studying and attend the most underwhelming frat party that your suite was raving about.

“You’re on the verge of losing your scholarships. $25,000 a year on the line, and you tell me all the time about how hard to your parents are working to cover the rest of your tuition.”

And you knew you couldn’t afford to stay if you didn’t work your ass off to pull through. You didn’t think being spider-woman could be so stressful. Patrols have gotten more hectic, and the late nights have been affecting your attention span in class, and even less energy to do your work. It felt so easy in the beginning, and everything was good until it wasn’t.

You felt a sting on your cheek, your tears sliding past your injury from patrol, and you felt yourself become small as you placed your face in your hands, wondering how something you’ve worked so hard for is a letter grade away from being lost.

Your counselor heaves a heavy sigh, sliding tissues across their desk to you. In just a few weeks you went from acquaintances to friends.

“Look, you’re a great kid, we didn’t have this issue your freshmen year. I know it only gets tougher from here, but you can’t fight this on your own. It’s never too late to accept help.” They started typing on their computer, ringing up your transcript and current grades for the semester. A sudden swish of wind flows through the office, following the trills of birds off in the distance your counselor scoffs at the noise and walks over to close the window. They return back to their seat, muttering intelligible, the only word you could pick up, ‘spiderwoman’.

“What about spiderwoman?”

“Oh! I just kinda thought how weird it was for another spiderman to show up when we already have a hero. Funny, I didn’t know there could be multip-”

“There’s a spider-man?”

You stammered. You felt a heat in your body, another superhero here that you weren’t even sure about.

“As much as you know about everything, I thought you would hear about the spotting of a spider-man in the city. They seem to stick close to campus.”

“Any proof?”

“No. Just words, but if there’s one spider-person, why not two?”

You could feel your blood course through your veins from the new information. It was just you, unless your old mentor, Peter, came to visit. You were knocked out of your thoughts when your name was called.

“As of now, you have a 2.0,″ your counselor stated. “Your classes seem more work oriented, and out of your five classes, you only have two finals.”

You slowly looked up from your lap.

“I’ve read the syllabus, taken notes of what to study for and what to work on. It’s just-”, you stammer, not able to give them the honest truth.

“See? You already took the steps to better yourself, don’t stress, and pace yourself, you have a month left kid.”

You let out a small chuckle. More than 20 missing assignments shouldn’t be too bad to juggle, right?

You were lying to yourself, you were going to suffer, but for a positive outcome, you didn’t mind. You got yourself together, sniffling softly as you packed your things.

“I don’t wanna kick you out, but I do have to meet with the Dean-”

“You mean your lov-”

You were cut short by a small stuffed animal flying towards you, your reflexes doing you justice before the soft material made contact with your face, slamming the door, gaining a small audience as eyes turned to you.

“Sorry everyone.”

Now, for the real fun to begin, you can at least spend some time with a special someone before your academic weapon tendencies are in full force.

The night you met him, it felt like one of those nightmares that would be impossible to wake from. To you, it was a dream.

His aura, and appearance on that stage. You were enamored with his attitude. His thick accent, strumming his guitar as his eyes bored into yours. This was one of the few times you didn’t mind that you skipped class for.

After the concert, you went to refill your water bottle before your walk back to your apartment in the damning heat. You saw him, drenched in sweat, guitar on his back, hunched over, and visibly upset that the water fountain was not doing it’s job. He looks in your direction, his expression making you anxious. Yet, you were still willing to help. You essentially escorted him to your dorm, where the water system was in a decent condition. He had pretty strong opinions about the education system and society in general, though you did appreciate his intellect.

“It’s a load of tosh for ya’ to pay so much for a piece of rubbish.”

The ways he seemed so sure of himself more often than not made you intrigued, and he was more than happy to indulge you, being nearly distracted from the fact that Satan decided to sit his bare ass cheeks on the Earth that day. He gave you his number, and from then on, he would come see you whenever you both had the time, which was rough, considering the current mess that was your life. He was the only person you felt cared enough to step you out of your comfort zone.

The night walks on campus, your medusa piercing that he compliments all the time.

“It accentuates your features. Peng ting you are, yeah?”

Your eyebrows furrowed, a deep chuckle erupting from his throat

“Means you’re hot.”

He gets it. He gets you. And sometimes, you thought that maybe what you were feeling would never go away when you’re with him. Your hangouts were more often casual, leading to more intimate moments, mentioning him to your family, and him teaching you how to play his guitar. You began to feel it linger, when you knew you both didn’t want to say goodnight.

The immediate thought of it also breaks you.

You’ve felt that he’s been dodging you and your attempts to reach out as of late. It’s been weeks since you’ve last seen Hobie, and this time, he initiates to meet. It’s late in the night, and he’s late. You couldn’t remember the last time you were this mad at him, or if you ever got upset with him at all. You didn’t like how he started to drift away with no explanation, and instead of anger, you were filled with worry, wondering if the time you were spending together was beginning to put a strain on him. You paced around your living room, muttering words and contemplating sending an annoyingly long paragraph of a text that would make it seem like you were dumping him.

“S’mitten for me, are you love?”

You looked up at your window, the tall brit leaning on the emergency stairs, making himself at home as you pulled away.

“In your dreams, Brown.”

He walks up to you, his lanky frame hovering over you so expectantly. You looked down at your feet, almost embarrassed of your newfound feelings, and you feel even more giddy when he stands close to you. He knew that you liked him, but teasing you was his second favorite pastime besides hanging out with you. You walked away to your kitchen, grabbing an energy drink for the both of you. Silence did not exist when you were together, and the awkwardness of it all was not helping. He bit his lip, his teeth caught in his piercing. He knew he was in trouble.

“I know you’re upset.”

“Hobs, you were supposed to be here 2 hours ago, I understand being busy but I thought you were seriously hurt or something”, you exclaimed, turning away from him. Showing up late was a recurring issue with him, and you’ve had just about enough.

“Oh don’t get cheeky now. You’ve been neglectin’ your studies. A bit daft if you ask me.”

You’re eye twitched at his use of his slang, sometimes you didn’t always need him to explain to know that what he was saying had negative connotations.

“That’s none of your concern, it’s you I’m worried about.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he smirks. There wouldn’t be a point in arguing with him about this, handing him his drink, turning on your television, starting the episode of your favorite series where you had both left off.

You sat farther away from him than usual, occasionally glancing in his direction, and unfortunately, he was staring right back at you, even more intense.

“I don’t bite, unless ya’ ask,” he teases, softly patting a seat closer to him, and you oblige. It wasn’t like you weren’t happy to see him, and he chuckles at your annoyed compliance. It was becoming an awkward staring contest, and you quickly lost track of the media playing on your screen. You open your mouth, just out of curiosity.

“So, how’s life treating you?”

“Fighting fascists, new piercings, performin’, ” he looks over to you, taking another sip of his drink, awaiting for a life update on your part. You bit your lip, anxiety getting the best of you. Despite the closer proximity, you still felt to far away from him. He sighs, using his leg to move your body to face him. You quiver, tears threatening to spill from your face once again, but you still looked up.

He looked at you, seeming nonchalant, but you still felt the worry in his aura.

“I know you want me to squash it, but it’s obvious s’omething bigger is bothering you,” he softly speaks, his thumb circling into your knee. “You act as if you’re scared of somethin’— of someone.”

Hobie scoots closer to you, using guiding your chin to make you look at him directly for the first time tonight.

“Talk t’me.”

You shake away from him, that feeling in the pit of your stomach only becoming more intense.

“I can’t tell you everything, Hobs.”

“But you can tell me anythin’, yeah?”

You look up, his face was close to you now, not realizing that you were nothing leaning into each other the more you spoke. His hand, slowly sliding to your hips, slowly stroking your stretch marks that your shirt wasn’t covering. You looked into his eyes, a small smile showing.

“There she is,” he exaggerates, giving you a soft squeeze, and you let out a giggle. The moment was yet again, cut short by that annoying ass beep from his wristwatch, that has interrupted your meaningful conversations countless times. Hobie curses from under his breath, backing away from you, the light illuminating his flawless features. And just like that, the moment has passed. His eyes look up to you, disproval in your expression, and you knew what was coming next, so you did it for him.

“Just go.”

Hobie let out a deep sigh before apologizing for what felt like the thousandth time, knowing he would do this the next time you make an attempt to make time for each other.

But this time, you were going to figure out why.

—

As soon as he had left, your senses went off. And this was the last time you were going to ignore them.

You had quickly went off into your room after he left, frantically throwing around your belongings to find your suit before Hobie got too far from you. You had followed him, all the way to an one of the abandoned buildings on campus that was currently under renovation. You stood behind a slab of concrete, peeking from the side, watching as he walked through a portal as if it were just another day.

But you saw, and now you knew. Your suspicions proved you right once again.

You flicked your wrist, webbing into the portal before it closed in on you.

And now, there you were, caught by Hobie after catching your ankle so you wouldn’t plunge to certain death after following him through his portal, seeking nothing but a dark abyss before you, seeming bottomless.

You turned towards him, a smirk plastered across his face.

“I fuckin’ knew it.”

You webbed free from his grip, finding ground. You looked at his appearance, and now you knew why he wore such familiar colors. Your suit hugged your body, adorned in your favorite colors, riddled with black accents. Hobie looked you up and down, whistling in admiration, while you took in your surroundings. HQ did not look like this at all when you first arrived.

“Place look familiar?”

You had brushed yourself off, taking in the countless people that had suits similar to yours. The unique design of the interior, and many, many, familiar faces.

“The Spiderverse.”

“Hey I call it the same thing!”

You turned in the direction of the speaker, a young boy standing in front of you. He had a black suit, red accents riddled across, two other spider men following behind you, staring at you in admiration.

“I’m Miles!”

You were still floored by all that had occurred in just a few moments. Slowly, you raised your hand, waving to the kid, smiling at him.

“Hi Miles, I’m [Name].”

“Oh, Hobie! Did we get a new recruit?”

A spider woman in a white suit walked up behind him, her pink hair flowing, and eyes that could manipulate a way to your heart.

“I’m Gwen, and this one here Is Pavitr!” Both greet themselves which such joy to see you. You almost felt as if you were back home, introducing yourself to who seemed to be Hobie’s colleagues. You expected him to be upset with you for following him, or keeping your identity as spiderwoman a secret, or vice versa. Yet, he’s seeing you in a new light, a personality that didn’t exist in your world. You would only ever smile like this if it was truly something or someone you cared about. You both would know that.

“Alright kids, follow me!”

The voice felt all too familiar, the oozing confidence in her demands making you cringe instantly, and you turn to see no other than Jessica Drew herself. You stared blankly, a sigh of irritation, your bubbly personality disappearing almost instantly.

“Jessica..”

She started at you, her face turning into a small scowl before turning back around, motioning the group of teens to follow her, but not before throwing a day pass in your direction. It was hard for them to pay attention when they were too focused on your sudden change of demeanor. Hobie walked beside you, brushing against your hand to catch your attention.

“What’s the tea with you two, ey?”

Your side eye is critical when you look towards him, signaling that you didn’t want to talk about it. He grunts before shrugging it off, still walking close to you. You watched Miles as he introduced himself to everyone, completely enamored with his surroundings. All that you could conclude from this, is that he was new. But while he was looking at everyone else, they were all looking at you. You heard the mutters and whispers amongst them as the HQ went into a deafening silence. You could feel Hobie’s gaze on you, sliding his arm around your waist for comfort.

“Piss off. Go back to what you were doin’.”

Quickly, they did what they were told, but you could still hear the voices of some conversing about you. And Hobie could hear it too.

“I didn’t think they’d let her come back.”

“Maybe they caught her sneaking in, they did say she never gave her watch back.”

He looks to your side, still silent as he watches your body tense up from their words. Maybe he wasn’t the only one acting dodgy.

You look ahead, looking at the lair that belongs to the man you used to call your boss. You felt Hobie release his grip from you to catch up with Miles, watching closely as he walked around him, fidgeting with materials and grabbing small objects. The young teen seemed stressed about something, making you just as anxious. You heard him expressing his frustrations about not having a watch, Hobie suggesting to Miles that he make his own.

You had forgotten how big this room was, and you wished it was longer by the time you got to the main event. He descended from his pad, multiple screens could be seen, one of which you could see showed your last conversation with Hobie at your apartment. Miles and Gwen walked up to him, Miles eager to introduce himself, holding a small box of food. Hobie held you back, watching you stare at the sight before you in amazement.

The moment quickly dissipated once you saw the Miguel everyone knew, his violence showing its face rather quickly, throwing an item in Miles direction. With quick reaction, your web caught onto the object, throwing it to a forgotten corner, showing yourself to him. He chuckled, his expression gleamed with frustrations and anger.

“I knew you would be here.”

“Your favorite disappointment could never miss out on a good time.”

Glaring at one another, everyone could feel the tension, so thick it was possible to cut it with a knife. Hobie watched from afar, reading for whatever should come next. That is until you felt the joyous cries of a child, turning to see a grown man in a pink robe. Instantly, you felt a wave of tears washing over you, Peter calling your name as soon as you ran into his arms.

“I missed you kid.”

Miles shared the excitement, walking up to Peter, also capturing him in an embrace. Miles looked at you in awe once more, wondering how you knew him.

“He was my mentor.”

“That’s crazy, me too!”

You heard Miguel groan, echoing throughout the room, Peter ignoring him, and telling you and Miles to do the same. You once again here the coos of a child, looking in the direction, a baby crawling across the wall. You excitedly exclaim with Miles, “You had a baby!”

Peter laughs sheepishly, yelling for his daughter, telling her to make sure she kept her day pass on, clearly in her own world.

Once again, the atmosphere changed dramatically, Miguel stepping down from his pad, Miles following, both engaging in a rather lengthy conversation about canon events. That’s when you started to shake, Gwen and Hobie looking at you with worry. Still, you held your ground, listening to Miguel explain the Spiderverse to Miles, the timelines, and the unfortunate events that occurs to just about every Spider-person. You saw the young teen grow anxious, beginning to mention his dad, and how he becomes captain in just a few days. Miles grows impatient and restless, and arguing that he shouldn’t sit here and let his father die. Miles looked to his colleagues, searching for confirmation. They all looked away, proving the timeline to be correct. Miguel turns toward you, motioning Miles to look in your direction.

“Your friend here believed the same thing.”

You felt everyone’s eyes on you, feeling as small as Miguel once made you feel. You looked at Miles, ready to hang onto every word you as you began to open your mouth to speak, but you looked away.

“Go on, tell him, [Name].”

You sucked up your sniffles, having to relive that memory constantly felt dehumanizing.

“I….I had a friend, who believed the same thing you did. She wanted to be able to save her parents, to be able to do both, and live the perfect life.”

You felt your chest tighten, yet urged yourself to continue.

“I ended up getting her killed, and destroyed her Universe.”

You heard Miles let out a gasp, you looked to Hobie, his eyes wide, and you couldn’t decipher his emotion. Miles turned back to Miguel, demanding that he be returned home. He refused, locking him in. They had all began to walk away, apologizing that it had to end like this. Well, not on your watch, but it seems that Hobie beat you to it.

A flash of light, knocking everything and everyone on their ass, you chuckled at the gesture. Miles was still in shock, quickly recovering, running off into the headquarters. Miguel runs after the kid, everyone following behind. You felt a arm wrap around your waist, a portal opening. Before pulling you both through, Hobie declaring his standing with the league.

“And for the record, I quit.”

—

You were back in the comfort of your own home, dressed in your lounge clothes, while your suit in the washer. Hobie had flew you home, as there was no reason to hide it anymore. Now, it was an uncomfortable silence, the two of you haven’t spoke since you left the headquarters. Hobie was getting ready to head out, his back turned to you, but not until you made yourself clear.

“We can’t come back from this.”

You looked up, his eyes staring back at you as he turned to you. The moon illuminated his smile, responding casually.

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

And then he was gone, and you didn’t know when he would be back.

Or if he ever would be.

Installation (2/5) : ‘Piss Off’ — Released!

‘Just For You’ Masterlist for previous/future installations

ᴛᴀɢꜱ!

@darkphantommagazine

@von-studios

@vickyzangels

@roseluxxx

@cupcakekiss

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luckybunny555 · 10 months

Text

⋆｡˚⋆ Little artists - Spidey Squad ⋆｡˚⋆

You had to take care of Mayday while at the Spider Society, so you decided to have an artistic play date, but you caught someone's attention

Characters: Miles 1610!, Hobie, Gwen, Pavitr. Not necessarily romantic, can be read as platonic too! GN! reader(lmk if the compliments I used aren't gender neutral, english isn't my first language!)

A/N: this is my first time writing for Miles and Pav, I have no idea how to write accurate dialogue for them(and maybe Gwen and Hobie too lol) but I tried

Peter B. had to participate in one of Miguel's meetings, and Mayday wouldn't be quiet, she's got the explorer instinct and curiosity in her

You were bored of Miguel's voice, always complaining or scolding or something, you didn't really know because you totally tuned him out a while ago

Since you got along well with kids, and you clearly weren't paying attention to the meeting, he asked you to take care of her for a little while – and how could you say no when she's almost begging you to hold her, adorably extending her arms to you?

You totally accepted

So you had an idea. You remembered you kept some colorful markers in the bottom of your bag, because who knows when you might get the urge to draw something, right?

You take your markers, but you don't know where to draw, can't find any paper

Then you had another idea

Why not leave your and Mayday's mark on the wall? A sweet, sweet gift for Miguel to find at some point

You sit down on the floor, legs crossed and Mayday on your lap, markers scattered all around you

You give her a hand when she needs it, but we've seen how agile and quick to learn she is, she'll get the hang of it in no time

You draw on the wall too. Maybe you have a petty distaste for Miguel, maybe you like to defy authority and break rules, maybe you just wanna give the place a bit of color... You have your reasons(or maybe you don't? you do you)

You make sure your drawings don't overlap with hers, giving her plenty of space to express herself and create her colorful little masterpiece

And you add your little details to your drawings, personal touches to mark it as yours

But you weren't the only person who got bored at the meeting

Miles

He was sick and tired of hearing about canon events and whatever else Miguel had to say

He was looking around, not thinking about anything, just trying to find something interesting to distract him with

Then his eyes landed on you

When he saw you and Mayday surrounded by a bunch of markers, drawing on Miguel's wall? He just had to join

Dude just walks over with that big smile of his, sits next to you and starts asking you about your "play date"

"What're you guys doing over here?"

You stop to take a look at him, unaware that you had a (one man) audience, and explain your idea to entertain Mayday

"Oh, that looks cool! Can I join?" He grabs a marker and waits for your answer, you could see how excited about it he was

You playfully slap his arm and nod

When he starts, you take a few moments just to look at his process, observing the way he looks when he's all concentrated in his drawings and wondering about how it'll turn out

After a while, you continue yours, you and Miles sharing a few jokes and tips as you both laugh

Occasionally, you guys would help Mayday, and you couldn't help but smile, seeing just how great with kids Miles was

He's just so careful and friendly with her, not to mention he also has that "childlike wonder" and youthful energy that makes him connect so well with kids

When you guys are done with it, he'll take a selfie/picture of it(with you and Mayday in it), so he can take a look at it in his gallery whenever he misses you – never fails to make him smile

Hobie

He's sitting on a table, legs extended over it, not caring about the meeting since the moment Miguel opened his mouth to speak, even though he's still listening

He's an observer, so he already had his eyes taking in everything that was going on in the room, his gaze occasionally turning to your bored expression, or to Peter when he handed Mayday to you

His attention would shift from time to time, but when you sat down in front of the wall with all those markers, he was too intrigued to take his eyes off of you

A little while after you started drawing with the kid, he got up from the table and made his way to you, leaning casually against the wall, clearly observing you and Mayday

"Adding a lil' punk flair to Miguel's boring old wall?" He says with that signature smirk of his

You look up, stopping your drawing for a moment, and let out a chuckle

You hold out one of your markers, asking if he wants to join

He obviously accepted. Leaving his mark on Miguel's wall? it's a surprise if he hasn't done that already

He'll make it as vibrant and punk as possible

And he's damn good at it, like c'mon, you've seen his guitar, his jacket... the guy's an amazing artist

Every once in a while you'll stop just to admire how the drawings are turning out, or how cute and caring Hobie looks when interacting with Mayday

The three of you make a colorful mess on that wall, and when you're done, oh, does it look awesome

He'll friendly fist bump you, praising you for your artwork – and your "defiant artistic expression" idea or something like that ;)

Gwen

She was trying to pay attention to the meeting, she really was

But she couldn't help but be curious and intrigued by what you and Mayday were doing, sitting on the floor in front of a wall

So she quietly made her way towards you, careful not to draw anyone's attention and get you into trouble

She leaned against the wall, a slightly amused(admiring) grin on her face as she observed the scene

The both of you looked up at her, and she just admired how cute you two looked for a moment

She noticed how good you were with kids, and it kinda gave her butterflies, you were so adorable

You asked if she wanted to leave her mark on the wall too, but she didn't wanna get into trouble with Miguel, so she kindly refused

"I'm not much of an artist anyways"

But she did sit next to you to help Mayday with her little drawings

So the three of you just sat there for a while, Gwen lovingly admiring you while you were so focused on your artwork there, and you guys would talk about a bunch of stuff

Very supportive of Mayday's artistic expression as well, compliments even the ones with uneven, crooked lines and messy coloring

She completely forgot about the meeting btw, she'll ask someone later what it was about, but right now she just wants to talk to you and watch you do your thing

She kinda can't take her eyes off of you, you look so fascinating and beautiful when you're focused on your "creative project"

She'll totally compliment you when it's done, she genuinely adored it and she appreciates your talent, it's really impressive to her

Pavitr

My logic is that if dogs love him, kids must love him too(who wouldn't love this sunshine of a boy tbh?)

You caught his attention when he saw Mayday in your arms, how adorable she looked as you played with her

A few moments after you sat down to start drawing with her, he had to approach you out of curiosity

Mayday immediately smiles at him, doing that "hand grab" reach thing that kids do when they wanna be picked up

He just wins kids' heart so easily, ok? It's adorable, really

He'd start off just helping Mayday, but then he wouldn't resist to add his own touch to the wall, and he's so excited about it, smiling and laughing while you guys talk and draw

"Aaah this looks amazing! You're such a great artist" this boy gives the most excited compliments, he genuinely appreciates your art style

Every few moments he'll take a look at what you're doing and comment on it, so much praise and excitement from him

And he'll be Mayday's biggest cheerleader too, anything she draws he'll be like "Yeess, it looks great, little one!" and give her a high five

And his drawing looks hella cool too, I totally see him as an "arts and crafts" guy, so he totally has some experience

You'll see the pure joy and pride in his face once you guys finish your artwork, he totally loves it and he enjoyed every second of it with you and Mayday

368 notes · View notes

not-goldy · 3 months

Note

Yes that photo is Kookmin not Jikook. Kookmin energy always hits different & something tells me JK likes that dynamic. Why do you think he added Kookminaredating to his club? I'm sure he saw a lot of Jikook, Taekook & maybe even Namkook names, but he said Kookmin rights. Remember when Hobi teased Jikook when they picked their name for that game, with that sus smirk/smile & he asked why it wasn't reversed & JK's name first and JK said he's alright with it cause Jimin is older. Also Hobi, what was the reason? Anyways, JK saw Kookminaredating and clicked add to club so fast, I know he did. He said I'm large, but he's in charge, but really, I'm in charge.

Also this seem to be the day Jimin got his award/graduated. And You know JK is so damn proud of Jimin too and showing it off to everyone. To those who tried to claim JK was unhappy Jimin got first or miserable & the freaks claimed its cause he was missing Tae & hurting cause he wasn't there to see him graduate. JK said kiss his and Jimin's ass loud and clear at a Podium, into a mic. He said Mic drop BAM. In case it wasn't loud enough. The magnet energy is real and their I don't give a fuck about your feelings, we still gonna be the same us energy, is still going strong. They made a pact for life and they are sticking to it.

Also with each photos coming out they are looking more comfortable, so good for them. No matter what kind of relationship they have, the way they remained unbothered by all the hate for all these years and only get stronger and stronger. I salute them.

Aaaahhhh you are my tribe you are you must be

When Kook gets on his kookmin shit MY GAAAAD

He gives gcf he gives rosebowl, he gives well this

For illustration

Jikook kookmin

Do you know how fucked you gotta be as a shipper to even know the distinction????😭😭😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣🤣

Kookmin supremacy Jikookers change my mind🤭

118 notes · View notes

ffion451 · 8 months

Text

Love Me Again | a kth oneshot (m)

Summary: Should a promise get in the way of the only love you’ve ever truly known?

Pairing: Taehyung x fem!reader | Also featuring: PJM, KNJ, JHS, MYG | Genre: non idol au, angst, smut (see warnings below)

Warnings: 🔞 SMUT (m/f inc.unprotected sex) lots of swearing/cursing, minor reference to serious illness |Rating: M ⚠️🔞 Adults only - minors should steer clear of the whole thing🔞⚠️ (all mature content under the cut)

Word count: 14.5K

Note: 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐-𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖 𝚑𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝙼𝚎 𝙰𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗! 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 ʟᴀʏᴏ(ꪜ)ᴇʀ 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚜, 𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚋𝚘𝚡 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 💛

Unlike the balmy heat of high summer nights, the dying days of summer carry cool breezes through the darkness. The chill that snakes through Taehyung’s room kisses the sweat on his skin, causing him to shudder.

You laugh, a low chuckle, as the sensation moves through your body, your hair brushing his face as he kisses your throat.

“Taehyung,” you moan, throwing back your head as you sit in his lap, riding him with agonising slowness as he clings to you desperately, his teeth teasing your nipple. He tries to buck up into you, needing to come.

“Behave,” you warn, pushing him onto his back so you can ride him faster, clenching around him.

“Fuck, that’s it,” he moans, his heart swelling at your broad smile of satisfaction, “I love you so fucking much…”

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

The next morning, his alarm wakes him insistently. He stretches his arm out, but he doesn’t need the coolness of the sheets to tell him he’s alone. He drags his sleep-heavy body from his empty bed, stumbling to his shower in the suffocating silence of his apartment.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Mist rises in hazy, shimmering layers, diffusing into the early morning blue. The dew lifted gently from the manicured and too-green fairway by the insistent morning sun. Hyejin shields her eyes from the glare as she looks across the green. Her boyfriend’s friends are scattered about, swinging their clubs absent-mindedly as they chat enthusiastically in the early morning light.

“Why are we playing golf if nearly everyone is terrible at it?” she asks her boyfriend under her breath.

Smiling, Namjoon leans in, “Because we promised Taehyung we would,” he whispers, “And we’re hoping it might lift him out of the rut he’s been in.”

As he speaks, Hyejin looks over at Taehyung, he’s gnawing at his bottom lip as watches Yoongi gamely trying to correct your terrible swing.

“He doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself,” she says, thinking aloud. Namjoon only grunts in agreement and so she continues in a quiet, confidential tone, “Y’know, this is the first time I’ve seen those two together,” she says, gesturing between you and Taehyung.

“That’s a conversation for later,” Namjoon whispers urgently as Jimin approaches, suspicion written over his face.

Hyejin nods, changing the subject in time for Jimin’s arrival, knowing how protective he is of Taehyung. Nonetheless, as the group work their way around the golf course, the gulf between you and Taehyung becomes more and more clear to her.

That evening, curled into Namjoon on Hobi’s couch, Hyejin takes the opportunity to return to the subject just as Jimin leaves to grab snacks from the nearby convenience store.

Namjoon and Hobi both listen carefully as she asks her questions: why is it that you and Taehyung are so rarely at the same events? Why is it, when you’re both so seemingly well-suited that you’re not friends? Did you used to date? Is your history the reason for the weird energy between you? Will you not be coming to Joon’s dinner party together as she’d assumed?

Namjoon and Hobi share a look of understanding, before Hobi responds, “It’s a strange situation. They used to be really close, but no they’ve never dated. It’s hard to go into the details, but it’s all to do with Taehyung’s ex -“

Jimin, with stealthy grace, reentered the apartment some time ago and chose to listen in instead of interrupting. He likes Hyejin but the way she looked between you and Taehyung on the golf course made him worry about her possible interference in the fraught situation between the two of you. Now he can stand by no longer, entering the room, “They would never work. They’re not meant to be, and pushing that agenda would be a massive mistake. Everyone involved would get hurt,” he says firmly, glaring at all three.

Hyejin flushes with embarrassment; Hobi notices, and seeks to ease the tension, “Don’t worry, it’s already been decided that Taehyung will come to the party with my sister, her husband has a conference that takes him overseas then.”

Hyejin is silenced as the conversation moves on; she doesn’t know why but it feels like somehow the scales of sympathy in this situation are tipped in Taehyung’s favour and she doesn’t understand why. Yes, she likes Taehyung, but she likes you too and cannot understand how you could ever have done anything to annoy Taehyung or to make him not like you. She thinks of you, alone at the party, and her heart goes out to you.

Matchmaking you and Taehyung may be a bad idea, but Hyejin is a resourceful woman and her mind is already moving onto Plan B.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Hyejin smiles graciously around her guests as she returns from the kitchen with another two bottles of champagne; everyone has been well fed and Namjoon’s friends sit about the apartment in comfortable groups laughing and chatting. She catches Namjoon’s eye, he’s deep in conversation with Jimin and Hobi and he throws her a glowing smile. They’ve only even together a few months but it’s quickly grown serious, the two of them looking for the same commitment and she’s feels accepted by this group of his friends, as he is by hers. That thought in mind, her eyes seek out her friend Hyungsik, but his attention is occupied. She’s pleased to see Hyungsik sitting so closely to you, in chairs opposite each other, your knee resting against his as he leans towards you to be closer, his gaze and attention rapt. She had been confident that setting the two of you up would be a success and she’s thrilled that she was right to be.

Noticing your empty glasses she approaches, “More champagne?” she asks.

Hyungsik nods but you cover the mouth of your glass, “No more for me, thanks. I have a early start on things tomorrow and I’m feeling a little bit lightheaded.”

“Are you sure that’s not just Hyungsik?” she teases.

Both of you blush sweetly. Making insincere apologies, she moves on toward a group standing at the wall. They’re all laughing about something, except Taehyung, who seems to be trying to burn a hole through the back of Hyungsik’s head.

Blocking his laser-gaze, Hyejin offers him a top up and is surprised to see him accept it and down it in one gulp. Filling his glass again, she asks him if he’s ok, and only receives a gruff reply as he excuses himself to the kitchen.

The tone of their conversation clearly caught your attention, and with a smile you excuse yourself from Hyungsik, following Taehyung to the kitchen. All eyes turn to the scene and Hyejin notices Namjoon lay a hand on Jimin’s arm to stop him following. Spying Hyungsik’s look of confusion, Hyejin takes your seat and quickly distracts him explaining the apparent bad blood between you and Taehyung as she understands it..

You enter the kitchen to be greeted by Taehyung’s back as he stares out the window pointlessly; all there is to be scene against the darkness of the night is the reflection of the room behind him. You hear him audibly sigh as he watches your reflection enter.

“Taehyung…” you begin, unsure of what to say now that your here. You followed him on instinct, years of friendship and being attuned to his feelings and moods compelling you to follow him.

He doesn’t turn, “Yeah?” he replies, the one syllable coloured with boredom.

“What’s going on?” you ask bluntly, “You and I used to be so close. I know you’ve made it clear that you don’t want that anymore… I’m really am trying to respect your feelings, but I don’t understand what I’ve done and I want to.”

He turns to face you, “We just don’t hang out as much,” he says flatly, “There’s nothing more to it than that.”

You take in his heavy-lidded disinterested gaze and downturned mouth, “Taehyung, it’s more than that. We used to do everything together and now you barely speak to me. When you look at me, like now, it’s like you can’t wait to get away from me. Did I do something wrong? If I did, please tell me. I just want to fix it - I want to be friends again.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. We’re still friends,” is all the reply he makes, rolling his eyes slightly.

You grit your teeth as annoyance begins to build in you, and you gesture from you to him, “This here is not what I’d call friendship, Taehyung. This has been going on for nearly a year now. Ever since you broke up with Hana you’ve been like this - things have been weird since she left. You never even told me what happened with you two… If I haven’t done anything wrong then why won’t you open up to me? Please let me in, maybe I can help? I can see you’re not happy, Tae.”

He rolls his eyes more obviously this time, “I’m not unhappy,” he lies, “Look, when Hana and I broke up I had to reevaluate a lot of things and I realised I wasn’t very happy about our friendship, I was too dependent on you and so I decided to give us more space. It’s that simple.”

You frown a little and can’t help but cock your head in confusion, “I wish you’d spoken to me first - I’ve never thought that. It meant a lot to me that you trusted me and my opinion- “

“It wasn’t just that,” Taehyung interrupts, “You were too dependent on me too. Sometimes I just found it a bit suffocating. Like I said, I need space. I need to be able to breathe.”

You can’t control the tremble of your lower lip as his words hit home. Your eyes fill as Taehyung makes an awkward face and he seems to have a funny sort of spasm, like he intends to comfort you but decides that it’s better not to.

“I understand,” you say, you voice small, any irritation in you diminished, “I didn’t realise that was how things were. I wish you’d said something sooner. I’m sorry that I made you feel like that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he says more kindly, “I think it’s better like it is now.”

Your eyes meet, his are uncomfortable, yours are pained. You make an odd kind of gesture behind you as though you’re gesturing to an invisible force beckoning you from the room; your body feels strange, and slightly out of your control, “Well, yeah,” you stutter awkwardly as the need to cry begins to overwhelm you. You feel horribly embarrassed and barely recognise the man in front of you as the Taehyung you’ve known for years, “Sorry to have bothered you - I best get back…” you say, as though speaking to a stranger. Your voice catches slightly on the last syllable as you turn from the room on numb legs, heading away from your friends and to the solitude of the bathroom instead.

Moments later, Jimin joins him in the kitchen, his face tight, as Hobi moves through the hallway in pursuit of you, concern etched over his kind face.

Hyejin watches Taehyung return to the main room long after Hobi brought you back in, he looks pale, his jaw tense. He’s quick to look away from Hobi who glares across the room at him like he could skin him alive, though Taehyung doesn’t miss the damp patch on Hobi’s shoulder and the slight smudge of mascara against the grey fabric.

Taehyung’s eyes seek you out; and he finds you chatting with with Hyungsik, the taller man towering over you. He’s unnecessarily tall, Taehyung thinks spitefully, Too tall for you. Though you’re smiling, he knows it’s false, he knows you too well not to recognise it: your weak smile doesn’t reach your noticeably puffy eyes. You seem to be agreeing to something Hyungsik’s suggesting before you and he separate; you head towards Namjoon, while Hyungsik approaches Hyejin, who is close enough to Taehyung for him to be able to hear every word.

“Hey, thanks for a lovely evening,” Hyungsik smiles, reminding her of your early start in the morning, “So we’re going to head off. I’ll take her home and make sure she’s ok, don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” Hyejin smiles, touching his arm, “I hope you two had a nice evening together?”

He beams in response, “We’ve only known each other a little while,” he smiles, “But I am definitely glad you introduced us. You were right, we really do get along -“

So, Hyejin set you two up, Taehyung realises, How patronising of her, you don’t need her help to find someone, especially this lanky, too-smiley guy. It’s the first time he’s felt or thought anything negative towards Hyejin, and he feels momentarily embarrassed. Both his thoughts and Hyungsik’s explanation are interrupted by your approach. You thank Hyejin, are generous in your praise for her cooking and the evening. Then, taking Hyungsik’s arm, you offer a quick goodbye to those around, skimming over Taehyung with the smallest of nods, and you leave with your new friend.

Hyejin can’t help but look at Taehyung, his face stoney and impassive, giving away no emotion. He’s a good actor, she admits, But his performance isn’t perfect… noticing his white knuckles as he strangles the stem of his glass.

Later, when everyone has left, Hobi, who has stayed to help clear up, spills everything to Hyejin. He’s seen her concern for you, her well-intentioned interference between you and Taehyung. He judges it wisest to tell her the truth that Taehyung won’t even tell you before her well-meaning but ultimately disastrous interventions make everything worse.

He explains that, as Namjoon earlier confirmed, it all began with Taehyung’s ex, Hana. Their relationship had always been volatile and before they broke up they had been having serious problems for a while, largely focused around his friendship with you and her suspicion of it. They were on the verge of breaking up when she fell ill, seriously ill.

Hobi explains the whole situation, “So you see, when she realised that she wouldn’t get better she didn’t want to stay here, but wanted to return to her family. She wanted Taehyung’s last memories of her not to be so sad, so they called it a day.”

Hyejin nods, “That’s awful, poor girl. Poor Tae….” she sympathises, “But how has that ruined his friendship?”

Hobi purses his lips, unsure if he should go on, “Well, you see, she knew that Taehyung would be her last relationship and even though it was ending, she said she wanted it to have meaning. She asked him to make her a promise, not to let the person who came between them be the ending to their story.”

Hyejin nods, “She asked him to end his friendship?”

Hobi squints a little, “Not exactly, she asked him not to get together with her.”

Hyejin frowns, “So why has he cut her out completely?”

Hobi thinks for a moment, “Taehyung and I have never had an honest conversation about this so I can only speculate, but I think Hana was on to something. Their friendship was close and even though nothing was going on, anyone with eyes could tell there were feelings there on both sides. I think when Hana asked that, Taehyung realised what his feelings were. I’m not sure if it was the promise, or guilt, or confusion, but when Hana left that’s when he started to freeze her out until they got to where they’re at now.”

“That’s so sad,” Hyejin says, shaking her head, “So that’s it? There’s no hope for them? How is Hana now?”

Hobi scratches his neck, “Nobody knows, she blocked and ghosted him when she left. The rest of us barely knew her, she never really hung out with us. I think what she asked of him was wrong, but given her situation I don’t want to judge her.”

Hyejin nods, “No, me either,” she admits, chewing her lip, “Jeez, what a mess.”

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

An ocean of clouds, stretching to the horizon, drifts beneath Taehyung; the plastic that was so soothingly cool minutes ago, now presses, painful and warm, against his head. Reluctantly he tears his eyes from the small frame of the world below and leans his head back into the soft cushion of his head rest, closing his eyes with a heavy breath.

“Are you ok?” Jimin asks softly beside him.

“Hmm,” Taehyung hums, “Just thinking.”

“About Hana?” Jimin prompts. Yes, thinks Taehyung, He was thinking of Hana for a moment, but then of you. When isn’t he thinking of you nowadays? When Taehyung doesn’t reply, Jimin presses him, “Will you look her up?”

Taehyung opens his eyes and rolls his head to meet Jimin’s concerned face, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t know yet. I don’t even know where on Jeju she lives. I don’t think she’d want to see me, especially if she’s really ill. I wouldn’t want to upset her.”

Across the aisle and down a row or two, Hyungsik’s gentle laugh drifts back, “How do you feel about him being here this weekend?”

Taehyung shrugs, “It is what it is. Keeps her busy, I suppose.”

Jimin nods, “Makes things easier.”

Taehyung nods while his heart seems to constrict: It doesn’t make anything easier, not really, he thinks, all it is is another blow to his already bruised heart.

When the plane has landed, he’s glad to find that he doesn’t need to share a taxi to the villa that has been booked out for Hobi’s birthday with you. When the fleet of taxis arrive to nobody’s real surprise, workaholic Yoongi has already arrived and brought his dedicated assistant with him, which throws the rooming plans into disarray. Taehyung is relieved to find he keeps his single room, whilst you, ever magnanimous, agree to share the double with Yoongi’s assistant whilst Hyungsik shares the twin with Yoongi. The poor girl initially protests that she doesn’t mind sharing the twin with her boss, but you know her boyfriend won’t appreciate it, and it’s likely that Yoongi will wake her in the small hours of the morning with work ideas. Taehyung’s careful to keep his expression neutral, disguising the momentary happiness he feels at you and Hyungsik being separated.

After unpacking, you all settle into the villa. It’s been weeks since Taehyung’s seen you and he wonders how you’ll respond to him. It doesn’t take him long to find out. In the kitchen he finds you stacking the fridge, trying to be helpful he picks up the last few items on the counter top to pass to you. Sensing someone behind you, you turn and face him; he finds that the chill from the open fridge has nothing on that emanating from you.

“Thanks,” you offer tersely, taking the items from him and turning your back on him. He hovers for a moment, and without turning again you dismiss him, “I’ve got this, you can get on with whatever you were doing.”

Taehyung is surprised, you’ve never been like this with him. In fact, he’s never seen you like this with anyone, you’re always so polite, even to people you can’t stand, but now your tone of voice cuts like jagged glass. He says your name gently, persuasively, “Can’t we be civil? For Hobi’s sake?”

Finished with the fridge and out of excuses, you turn to look at him, “This is me being civil, Taehyung,” you say levelly, “We’re not friends, why should I be friendly with you?”

“Maybe I went too far that night,” he admits, “I get that you’re pissed at me, but this is for Hobi, can’t we get along?”

“Apologise.”

“Sorry?” he asks, dumbfounded.

“That’s a question, not an apology,” you state patiently, “If you want to play nicely this week then you should apologise for how rude you were to me. I’m sorry that my friendship was so hard to bear, but I know I was a good friend to you for fucking years Taehyung, despite what you might think now. And how did you repay the years where you actually valued my friendship before it became a burden to you? Did you have an honest conversation with me? No! Instead, you ghosted me like some kind of sad, clingy girlfriend and then tried to gaslight me about it. I deserved, I deserve , more respect than that.”

Taehyung watches as you take a deep breath, clearly relieved at having unburdened yourself. He knows what you’re like, knows you must have rehearsed this moment nervously, preparing to confront him. He can see the nervous energy pumping through you. He wants to tell you that he’s proud of you for standing up for yourself, but he knows you don’t want to hear that from him of all people so he’s silent for a moment, while you relax after the surge of adrenaline.

“I’m sorry,” he affirms honestly, “I behaved badly and -”

“Thank you,” you interrupt, “Let’s be civil then,” you leave without looking at him again and his heart aches. Outside the kitchen, you pass Hyungsik, who turns to follow you, winking his approval to you after being the audience for the rehearsals of your speech.

Later in the evening, Taehyung is clearing the dishes after dinner with Yoongi, and he can’t stop himself bringing you up. You and Hyungsik missed dinner, maybe Yoongi, sharing a room with your boyfriend, will have answers. Taehyung burns to know; somehow your absence is more painful than your presence.

“I dunno,” Yoongi shrugs, “They were going for a walk, maybe they decided to eat out? Maybe they just want some private time together because they can’t share a room? You know the early stages of relationships…” he suggests sensibly.

The turmoil within Taehyung is anything but sensible, “I guess,” he mutters though it feels like the words choke him.

“Hmm,” nods Yoongi. For long moments, nothing is said as they wash, dry and sort dishes. Eventually, as they finish up, Yoongi lowers his voice, “Look, Tae, if you ever want to talk about whatever has happened, you can talk to me.”

Taehyung is confused, “What do you mean?” he asks, laughing to dispel his unease.

Yoongi’s face is poker straight, “I’m not an idiot, Tae. I can tell how jealous you are of Hyungsik and I’ve suspected for a long time how you feel about her. I’m not going to say anything to anyone, but if you want to talk, you know where to find me,” with a firm clap to Taehyung’s shoulder, he leaves a stricken Taehyung in his wake.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Hyejin directs her face to the cloudless sky, bathing in the warmth of the sun. Beside her, you stretch your cramped legs, “It’s taking him a long time - do you think I should help him?” you offer.

“I’ll go,” Hyungsik and Namjoon offer simultaneously, but Hyungsik is already climbing out of the back of the Jeep, “Oh wait, here he comes,” he says, sounding confused.

An ashen Hobi clambers behind the steering wheel, saying nothing.

“Where are the ice creams?” Namjoon asks, “Is everything ok?”

“We have to go back to the villa, I need to talk to Taehyung,” is all he can offer. He glances at you as he looks back over his shoulder to reverse out, offering an explanation that silences everyone, “Hana’s here.”

You feel instantly sick.

When you arrive back, Hobi disappears with Jimin into Tae’s room and a hushed, uncomfortable quiet descends over the villa until Taehyung emerges, the keys to the jeep clutched in his fist before he hares off in the direction of the town.

After long hours, when everyone else is in bed, Jimin heads out with Hobi to look for Taehyung. They’ve not been gone long when he returns, and stalks past you and Hyungsik, the two of you cuddled under a blanket on the veranda.

“Go and talk to him,” Hyungsik encourages, “I know you’re worried about him and I think he might need a friend.”

“We’re not friends,” you argue, “I doubt he wants to see me.”

“I think he needs you,” Hyungsik insists, “We wouldn’t still be on this veranda in the cold waiting for him to get back if you didn’t care,” he reasons sensibly. You take a moment to think; ever since you arrived you’ve felt on edge. It’s not just your crossed words with Taehyung previously, it’s that, after all this time, you’re still weak for him. Seeing him at the airport in his loose sleeveless tee and ripped jeans, all insouciant cool with his tousled blond hair, you found it hard to keep your eyes off him; you hate that he has that effect on you. Nonetheless, your crush to one side, and your argument, you cannot deny the years of friendship that all to you. Your love for Taehyung is settled deep within your bones, an undeniable part of yourself written into your very marrow. You can’t let him suffer alone. With a huff, you reluctantly trail Taehyung to his room.

His bedroom door is ajar, and his face is drawn and agonised as he paces aimlessly. You hover in the doorway for a moment, unsure of what to say, “Taehyung, is there anything I can do?”

He looks at you for a long moment, his eyes a tempest of warring emotions. Then, without a word he reaches for the door, catching the edge in his fingertips, and slams it in your face, the wood missing your face by mere centimetres. You yelp in shock and begin to cry instinctively, staggering backwards. Hyungsik is quick to rush to you, guiding you away and back to the veranda.

“Let’s take a walk,” he suggests gently, “Don’t cry, it’s ok… Let’s go to the beach, yeah?”

Behind his shut door, Taehyung listens as silent tears track down his cheeks.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

The next day, Taehyung’s door remains locked. When lunchtime comes and goes, Jimin decides he’s had enough, grabbing the keys and heading to the ice cream parlour for himself.

He strides into the parlour, prepared for anything and there she is: Kwon Hana, the architect of Taehyung’s unhappiness. She is smiling brightly behind the counter in her neat pink uniform, her cheeks rosy, the picture of good health.

Her bright smile only falls when she recognises Jimin, “Great, now you too,” she complains, “Meet me outside, I’m on my break in 15.”

When she emerges, he’s tempted to squash the ice cream she brings him all across her white apron, but he restrains himself. He doesn’t thank her, instead intoning sarcastically, “I see you’ve had a miraculous recovery, Hana…”

With a roll of her eyes she admits everything. She’s petulant and largely unapologetic, “I’ve already had this conversation with Taehyung, Jimin,” she complains, “Yeah, it was wrong to lie, blah blah blah, but it’s done now.”

He pushes her and she capitulates, telling the whole story of her break up with Taehyung: she had known that her and Taehyung were on the rocks, she just wanted to get away, to return home to her family and so, upset and jealous, she lied. She couldn’t bear the thought that with her out of the picture, Taehyung would obviously find his way to the arms of his friend, the one he was so clearly hung up on. Spitefully, she blames you and Taehyung, arguing that you two were so obvious and made her feel terrible and jealous - was it so bad to want revenge?

Disgusted, Jimin discards his melting ice cream, shaking the drips from his hand, “You are an awful person,” he states, shocked that she could be so cruel. Shaking his head despairingly, he heads back to the villa to talk to Taehyung.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

The villa is empty, a peaceful silence laying over it: everyone is at the beach or out somewhere doing something else. Taehyung doesn’t care, he’s grateful to be left alone. He lies in bed, the sheet pulled over his head as he mulls over everything that happened yesterday.

He ignores the soft knocks at his door, even when the door opens and closes gently before someone slips inside. He says nothing as the sheet is lifted and a warm body slides into the bed, spooning against his back, a hand creeping across the bare skin of his chest to rest on his heart.

Warm lips press into his shoulder, “Taehyung, everything is going to be ok,” you whisper.

He turns then, pulling you closer to him, his hungry mouth finding yours. He groans when he finds you responsive, pulling him closer. His hands yank at your clothes, desperate to feel your bare skin against his. He thrusts his thigh between yours and you grind on it, gasping with pleasure into his mouth. Smiling, he bites at your lip before a harder knock at the door pulls his attention.

“Shhh,” you whisper, giggling into his mouth, “Just ignore it, I need you, Tae…” Taehyung smiles back at you, closing his eyes and kissing you deeply.

Another insistent knock comes, then the door opens. Taehyung’s eyes fly open as the sheet is pulled from over his head, “Taehyung, wake up!” Jimin almost shouts.

Taehyung groans and rolls onto his back, careful to pull the sheet into a protective ball over his crotch, concealing his throbbing erection.

Jimin, who wasn’t born yesterday, smirks, “Oh, did I interrupt a good dream? Sorry…”

Taehyung flushes, “Don’t worry,” he mutters. He means it; the dream is not a rare one. Over the years of your friendship, he’s lost count of all the different ways you and he have fucked in his sleeping mind. The wet dreams he can handle, what destroys him though is the grief of waking: in all his dreams the two of you aren’t just fucking, you are in love, and the absence of that when he joins the conscious world is a heavy blow to his heart.

“Time to get up,” Jimin insists, “We need to talk about Hana, I’ve just come from seeing her. She told me what she told you, or so she says. Are you ok?”

“Everything’s fucked,” Taehyung sighs, sitting up and burying his head in his hands, as he recounts pretty much the same conversation Jimin had with her. Stretching uncomfortably, Taehyung admits he really needs to talk to you, but doesn’t know what to say.

“After you slammed a door in her face?” Jimin asks. When Taehyung looks confused, Jimin shrugs, “Hyungsik told me last night.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung admits, “I have to apologise for that, but that’s easier than the rest of what I have to say. Y’know, when I’d spoken to Hana, I sat in the car park processing it and couldn’t stop staring at this little furniture store down the road. Then I started crying and I couldn’t stop.”

Jimin sits on the edge of the bed and smiles sympathetically, “Was it the furniture or Hana that upset you more?”

Taehyung laughs, “Neither,” he explains before elaborating. He tells Jimin about a time that you, Yoongi and he went to a furniture store with Namjoon to help him find a new desk. Taehyung explains that it was years ago, when he was really poor and hungry in search of a job. You must have noticed his sad gaze as he watched Yoongi finish snacks in the car, or his rumbling stomach. Either way, when you all arrived, you made a big fuss about needing to use a bathroom, explaining that you were getting your period. Taehyung knew it was a lie, because you’d had it the week before, you’d watched movies all weekend together with a hot water bottle…

He goes on to explain that you insisted the convenience store opposite the furniture store didn’t look safe and asked Taehyung to come with you. Uncomfortable with the period talk, Yoongi and Namjoon decided to start browsing without you whilst Taehyung followed you. When he got into the store, you made up some excuse about needing to spend a certain amount before they’d let you use the toilet, so you’d bought him his favourite ramyeon and snacks.

“The thing was,” Taehyung says, his voice catching a little, “There were so many ways to feed me, but she chose the one that made it seem like she owed me something, as though she was repaying me for a favour. She knew I’d be embarrassed and concocted this clever plan. She always did things like that, always looked out for me…” he trails off.

Jimin smiles gently, “You guys were really good friends, I know. Maybe now that the Hana curse is lifted you can be her friend again without feeling guilty?”

Taehyung shakes his head sadly, “That’s not it,” he explains, his lower lip trembling slightly, “I was single back then, she’d just started dating some guy she worked with, but even then I knew . She did that for me, and I made sure she knew that I was grateful but I was still a coward - I should have just told her then.”

“Told her what?” Jimin asks, nonplussed.

Taehyung, fraught with emotion, doesn’t really process Jimin’s words, instead his thoughts continue to spill freely from his lips, “How do I explain myself now, though? What do I say? ‘Hey, I know you’ve got Hyungsik who you obviously are really happy with, but I love you more than life itself and thought maybe you’d chuck it all in for me even though I couldn’t ever sacrifice anything for you?’ Yeah…” he scoffs, “Can’t see her buying that…”

Jimin stares at him, mouth open.

“What?” Taehyung asks, confused.

“ What?! ” Jimin shrieks, repeating Taehyung’s question in a strangled, squeaky voice, causing Taehyung to flinch. Clearing his throat, Jimin continues, “You love her? What? I thought Hana was upset with you because you had a bit of a crush on her, I know there was always a tension between you two, but I didn’t know that you’d been pining over her for years! You were really in love with her? All that time? You still are?”

Taehyung is the opposite of the unsettled Jimin. With the truth exposed, he feels calm and rational, “Of course I did and I still do,” he says calmly, “And now there are no more promises to keep, but how can I tell her? Hyungsik isn’t going anywhere, the lanky smug bastard.”

Jimin gapes at him, “Get dressed, we need to assemble and get this all out in the open.”

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

On the beach, Namjoon, Hyejin, Hobi, Yoongi and Jimin sit in a circle, waiting for Taehyung. When he arrives, exhausted and tense, Jimin unfolds the whole sorry tale from start to finish, ending with Taehyung’s dilemma.

Hyejin interrupts, “I think you have the wrong dilemma,” she explains, “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but can I be frank with you?”

Taehyung nods, “Go ahead.”

“The real dilemma should be how you come back from how you’ve treated her, not whether she is with someone else or not, which she isn’t anyway.”

Taehyung nods, “I know, I know I’ve got loads to make up for, wait -“ he pauses, eyes-widening, “What do you mean she’s not with anyone?”

Hyejin smiles, “She’s not with Hyungsik, never has been - they’re just friends. Can I be honest again?” Taehyung nods again, waving a hand permissively, “They never clicked romantically but they became friends really quickly, almost like there was this void in her life where a best friend had been…” she intones a little sarcastically.

“Ok, ok, ok,” Taehyung nods, “I get it…”

Satisfied, Hyejin continues, “I’m not sure if they’re as close as you two once were, but they are really good friends. He’s good for her; she’s good for him. I was rooting for them. I hoped that their friendship might turn into something more.”

Taehyung groans, “I don’t know what to do,” he says, panicking, “I want her to be happy but I want to be the man who makes that happen, not him, no matter how nice he is…”

Hobi smiles gently, “Well, let’s take some time to figure it out. There’s lots of time.”

Taehyung is jittery in response, “I need to see her though. I have to apologise for last night. I need to see her! Where is she?”

Furtive looks pass around his friends, but it’s Namjoon who breaks the news, “She’s gone, Tae,” Taehyung sits stock still as he looks to him for further explanation. Namjoon elaborates, “After last night she realised something big had gone down between you and Hana and decided that it would be better if she wasn’t around. She might not know the truth, but she knew she was an issue for Hana, so she thought it best to go.”

“Where?” is all Taehyung can utter.

“They’ve gone to Busan - Hyungsik has family there and they wanted to continue their holiday so they’re going there instead,” Hyejin explains.

“On holiday with his family?” Taehyung asks, his voice unnaturally high, “Are you sure there’s nothing between them because it feels like visiting the family is a couple thing. A holiday with the family is the kind of time when people fall for each other - you see it all the time in stupid romantic movies!”

“Calm down, Taehyung,” Yoongi says calmly, “You’re spiralling.”

Hyejin speaks kindly, “Is that how you fell for her? On a holiday?”

Taehyung smiles despite himself, “No, that wasn’t it,” he admits.

“When was it then, Tae?” Yoongi prompts, “How long have you known?”

“I’ve always loved her,” he confesses, “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love her, it’s been so long. It was never our time though, she was dating or I was, or we both were. Our timelines have never aligned.”

“Until now,” Yoongi suggests, “They do now .”

Taehyung grins, smiling beatifically and crying floods of tears at the same time, in an outpouring of years of repressed feeling. Beside him, Jimin pulls him into a hug, letting Taehyung cry it out as his friends encircle and support him.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Taehyung’s phone feels heavy in his hand as he waits for you to reply to his apology and request to talk. When his phone eventually buzzes, he can barely bring himself to read it, raising his phone to unlock with trembling hands: 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 - 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬. 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘬’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩? 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘑𝘦𝘫𝘶!

He passes the phone silently to Jimin, who shows it to Hyejin, “Are you sure she’s just friends with Hyungsik?” Jimin asks nervously.

Taehyung is paying no attention, all he can think of is your devastated face that night in Namjoon’s kitchen when he told you that you suffocated him and his gut twists in shame. He fears that Hyejin was right earlier: his real dilemma is finding a way back after how he’s treated you.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

A woman with thin eyebrows and a line for a mouth flares her nostrils, a warning prequel to the snort of disapproval that follows. Taehyung doesn’t care, her judgement means nothing to him and it does nothing to stop the nervous tattoo that his long fingers beat against the Formica table.

Behind the counter, the elderly couple that run the little canteen (calling it a restaurant would be generous) shuffle about, clearly watching him and speculating about what would make such a fine young man so terribly nervous.

It’s taken weeks to get to this moment; ever since you all returned from holiday you’ve solidly avoided him, coming up with excuse after excuse why you can’t. Eventually, through the interference of your mutual friends, you have been cajoled into meeting him briefly at this little canteen.

Suddenly, the old woman nudges her husband in the ribs as the young man suddenly stops, frozen in mid movement. It’s a strange thing, in his frozen state that he looks more alive than he did when he was thrumming with movement: his eyes sparkle as a wide, square smile lights up his face and squeezes his eyes closed in an expression of pure joy. They both turn their attention to the door where a woman, visibly nervous, moves towards him.The elderly couple share a knowing look that simply says ‘young love.’

At Taehyung’s table, the conversation is stiff and awkward, he asks you about Hyungsik, baiting questions designed to make you confess that the two of you aren’t together, but they all fail, leaving him only a direct path.

“It’s a big stage meeting the boyfriend’s family,” he says gently, “I hope they treated you well.”

“It’s not like that between us,” you admit quietly, “His family were lovely though. They’re all like him - generous, kind, thoughtful people.”

Taehyung nods, “Oh, well as long as you’re happy. I thought that he seemed very interested in you.”

You hum thoughtfully, evading his prying questions. How do you tell Taehyung that Hyungsik quickly dismissed the idea of anything romantic happening between you two? That he told you early on that he had too much self-respect to be the back-up option to an unavailable man? You can’t say that, so you say nothing.

“May I ask about Hana?” you say tentatively and he flinches to hear the trepidation in your voice, your words edged with the memories of how he’s spoken to you each time she’s come up.

He frowns, “Hana never made me happy. I don’t want to go into why our ending was so complicated, but it was and it never should have been. I’ve wasted so much time because of her. She is a terrible person.”

You look at him in confusion, wondering where all this could be coming from. You’re surprised by how much he seems to dislike her until you remember how he’s spoken to you in the past. Is this how he’s spoken about you to others? Have he and Jimin sat together while he explains how needy and irritating he finds you? You feel sick at the thought. Collecting yourself, you swallow and force yourself to speak, “Well, I’m glad you’re able to move on now.”

Taehyung smiles, “I am,” he reaches for your hand, “I have a lot of things to put right too. You and I have a lot of things to talk about.”

Cold panic curls in your gut. There’s something in his eyes and the touch of his hand that suggests there’s more to his words. Hyungsik’s words drift through your mind and you realise you feel the same: you don’t want to be Taehyung’s second best, his leftover option.

“Well,” you say gently, sliding your hand from under his, “We don’t need to rush anything, our friendship will regrow naturally. I’m happy for you though, that you can start having fun again and dating. I hope you meet someone that makes you happier than she did.”

Waves of nausea roll over Taehyung as he realises what you’re saying. You are rejecting him, you may be doing so gently, but the meaning couldn’t be clearer. You don’t want him and you don’t want his friendship. His eyes fill as you make excuses about why you need to go, shrug on your coat as you say you’ll catch up soon. You wish him well and leave, in a hurried dervish of action.

Heart throbbing in pain, he calls Jimin and recounts the disaster that has been his botched confession and your rejection, “You should have heard her breezing out of here cheerfully, like she didn’t just break my fuck-, break my heart,” he hisses, remembering where he is. When he hangs up, promising Jimin he’ll head straight over, his attention is called by the old woman, who tells him that you paid for his snacks and drink when you left, but maybe too much.

“My eyes aren’t what they used to be,” she says kindly, “Could you check these numbers?” Oddly, instead of passing him the receipt, she leads him around the counter and he does as she asks.

Confirming all is in order, he begins to move away but she holds his sleeve, her eyes flickering to the monitor beside the till several times, “Sometimes things are not what they seem,” she whispers.

Taehyung looks at the screen, his pulse racing as he turns to the old woman, “Where’s that alley?”

“Directly behind us, she didn’t make it far,” she replies, indicating at the CCTV of the rear alley where you lean against the wall, hand clutching your heart as you cry your eyes out, “Go on then, get after her!”

Taehyung nods, gathering his things and rushing out. Yet, as he turns the corner, he watches you emerge from the alley, slipping into a car that’s just pulled up. The door closes with a dull thunk before he can even say your name.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Hobi, Namjoon and Yoongi meet at the entrance to Taehyung’s apartment, wondering together why they have been summoned with such desperation by Jimin, fearing Taehyung may have done something stupid.

Jimin answers the door with a grateful smile, “Thank God you’re here. He’s driving me absolutely crazy. Prepare yourselves.”

Over the next few hours they pour over the situation with you from every angle, each of them concluding something different. Namjoon thinks Taehyung should listen to you and let things grow naturally, letting love blossom again; Hobi thinks Taehyung should try again and confess everything, especially about Hana, certain that love will find a way; Jimin thinks Taehyung should let you go. It’s Yoongi who speaks last.

“I think there are two questions you need an answer to first before you can even choose the best thing to do,” he explains, whilst Taehyung listens, rapt, “Did she love you before and, if she did, does she still love you now?”

Taehyung swallows, “I don’t know the answer to either of those things.”

With the smallest clear of his throat, Hobi shuffles his feet awkwardly, “I know the answer to the first one,” he admits.

Taehyung looks at him with desperate eyes and Hobi recounts a moment with you.

“Ok, so one night we’d been out, all of us. You and Hana had been arguing in the club and we could all guess who it was about you know who… So she just wanted to get out of there, to stop things escalating and to remove the problem, I guess. She only ever thought of you, Tae, what you needed, what would make things easier for you…”

Tae’s eyes well up as he nods his understanding, pleading for Hobi to go on.

“So we decided to go eat noodles and then I’d walk her home. We didn’t talk about you very much, we drank a lot more outside the convenience store and we’re both quite drunk by the time we were getting to her house. Anyway, as she was unlocking her door she said that she felt bad for you and Hana and wished you two would be happier. I guess I must have looked a little surprised because she laughed and said, ‘I know you know, Hobi!’ I played dumb, but then she said it straight out, what was it she said? I think it was, ‘I know everyone probably knows how I feel about him. You don’t have to feel sorry for me, I realised years ago that it was never going to happen. It’s fine, I still want him to be happy though.’ It was something like that. I tried to talk to her about it, but she said that it had to remain an unspoken thing or your friendship would fall apart, so we agreed never to speak of it again, and we never have.”

A moment of silence falls over them before Jimin speaks, “I’d like to change my position - I agree with Namjoon now.”

Yoongi looks at Taehyung and sees the hope kindled in his eyes, ‘Actually, I’m with Hobi,” he asserts, “Talk to her, both of you should be totally honest with each other and take it from there.”

“I don’t think I can persuade her into meeting me again,” Taehyung admits.

Hobi smiles, “Don’t worry. I can set something up.”

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“Ok, ok,” Hobi begins over the phone, “I called her and I know where she is right now.”

A short conversation follows, where Taehyung mostly reassures Hobi he’s doing the right thing by deceiving you and that it’s for the best. Taehyung thanks him and as soon as he hangs up he looks up the café where Hobi has said you are, having never heard of it. Despite his best intentions, since your disastrous meeting, you’ve been hard to find; the listing for the bookshop with a tiny café explains why; you’ve obviously taken to hanging out on the other side of the city. Taehyung wonders if maybe he should take a hint from that… Does it mean that you want to be far away from him? He concludes that, ultimately, it doesn’t matter. He can’t let go of you; if you want rid of him you’re going to have to tell him that to his face.

When he’s finally crossed the city, he follows the map on his phone with single-minded determination; he’s worried you won’t still be there by the time he arrives. How much time can anyone while away in such a place? Yet, as he climbs the rickety spiral staircase edged with books that the heavily burdened shelves can’t accommodate, he realises that you could easily spend hours here. Following the gentle aroma of sweet, spiced tea, he finds the small café at the back of the second floor; it looks over a park where the fanned leaves of ginkgo are now edged in gold.

You don’t notice his arrival, your head is pressed to the glass as you stare outside; your headphones are in and you are lost in thought. He crosses to you quietly and takes a seat, which you finally take notice of out of the corner of your eye. As you turn, he watches the emotions play out across your face; surprise, worry, panic.

With fumbling fingers you remove your headphones as he smiles, “Sorry for startling you,” he apologises as you drop your headphones, “I didn’t mean to make you flustered.”

You blush then, “I didn’t expect to see you-, see anyone, here,” you mumble, correcting yourself.

“Have I invaded your sanctuary?” he asks, half-teasingly, half-genuinely.

You smile weakly, “A little, but it’s ok. What are you doing here?” you ask, still too puzzled and flustered to notice how blunt you’re being.

He presses his lips together, “Ah, yes… I’m sorry, but I think I might fluster you again,” he apologises, noticing the look of panic flash across your eyes again, “I came here to find you because we have more to talk about and I want to know why, when I suggested that you and I needed to talk about us, that you shot me down without any hesitation.”

You stare at him, open-mouthed at his bold statement. You have no idea how to deal with his frankness without being honest yourself, so you try to take a gamble, “I didn’t understand where it could be leading, the words you were using sounded…” you trail off as your courage fails you, trying to avoid saying what you mean.

“Where I was leading?” he repeats, “Ah, saying we need to talk about ‘us’ sounded like I meant something more than friends? Like I meant something romantic?” he prompts, wanting to help you out and desperate to lead the conversation to where he wants it to go.

“Well, yes,” you say awkwardly, looking into your lap, “And I know that’s not what you meant at all.”

He waits for you to stop twisting your hands and look at him, “It’s exactly what I meant,” he says, his eyes staring into yours, “I want to talk about giving us a chance.”

You tremble slightly as you pull your cardigan from the back of your chair and put it on to distract from your nerves, “Us?” you repeat dumbly.

“Let’s be honest with each other,” Taehyung insists, “When we met in that canteen you knew what I was trying to suggest and you ran a mile. I know you’re shy but don’t pretend now that you don’t know what I mean.”

You swallow, your voice a little bit stronger when you reply, “There isn’t an ‘us’ though is there? Not even as friends anymore - I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for,” you begin, avoiding his gaze, “I don’t know what it is you think I can offer you, but you’re wrong. I know you must be hurting from whatever happened with Hana, but looking backwards to the past for comfort isn’t the solution. You should move forward - I’m not sure what it is you’re hoping for, but it’s not me.”

Again he waits in silence for you to look at him before he responds. So, you did know what he meant in the canteen…He wants to chuckle slightly at what he knows to be another one of your obviously rehearsed responses; after your last meeting you clearly have prepared for any possible follow-up conversation.

Taehyung is unperturbed, in fact, he’s relieved; everything you’ve said so far has been about disbelieving that he is genuine, nothing you’ve said has been about your own feelings. If you don’t have feelings for him, surely you would just say that? he reasons; the very fact that you’re being evasive makes him hope that you do have feelings for him. He’s certain he can coax the truth out of you if he presses on.

When you finally raise your eyes to his, he smiles gently, “What I’m hoping for is you,” he emphasises, “I want you. More than anything, I wish that you would love me again.”

You say nothing for a moment, dumbstruck. Then he watches the cogs spinning in your mind as you try to work out how to reply. When you do, your voice is soft, “I will always love you, Taehyung,” you admit, “Just because we’re not as close as we once were doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

You’re not going to admit it, he realises, Not yet. You’re going to continue evading and misinterpreting his words and if he pushes you too hard, you might just run again.

He takes another approach, “Good! I’m glad you still love me because I love you too,” he smiles, hoping you listen to the truth of that, not just your chosen interpretation of friendship, “So let’s rebuild our friendship, then. Come home with me, let’s watch a movie at mine, like we used to, I’ll order us dinner.”

Thrown off balance by the change in direction and the whole conversation, you blindly submit. Taehyung is quick to gather your things and bundle you out of the shop before you can change your mind. On the train journey back across the city to his apartment, you accept his offer of his shoulder and rest your head; as you relax against him you can’t help but admit to yourself that you’re not simply following along. Your heart is beating rapidly because you hope, beyond all reason, that he does actually want to be with you and all of this isn’t as mad as it seems.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

You awaken to the sense of being lowered into the clouds; your tired eyes open to find Taehyung above you, his arms slipping from under you as you sink into the softness of his bed.

“Ah, you woke up!” he smiles, “Go back to sleep baby, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

True to his word, the evening had been just like one from the past, you’d watched a film, slowly relaxing, then talked about nonsense and nothing of importance. You ate and laughed together until your heavy lids and exhaustion from so many different feelings had got the better of you.

“You hate sleeping on the couch,” you mumble sleepily, “It’s not comfortable.”

He sits on the bed beside you, stroking your hair from your eyes with long fingers, “Well then I can’t let you sleep there then, can I?”

Your eyes flutter open a little wider, “Just stay here then, we’ve shared before.”

“That wouldn’t be more uncomfortable for you?” he asks, his eyes searching yours.

You swallow, trying to be brave, “No, I want you to stay.”

He nods, smiling, before he gets up and pulls some clothes for you and him from a drawer, “Ok, I’ll change outside. There’s a spare toothbrush in the vanity if you want to wash up,” he says, indicating the en-suite.

When he re-enters, you’re already cuddled up in bed in one of his large tees, making him smile. When he gets out of the bathroom, he climbs in beside you, pulling your sleepy body into his embrace.

You’ve missed this, you realise, the closeness with him. Never, in all the time that he’s distanced himself from you have you been able to stop loving him. Yes, you’re nervous that whatever happened with Hana has affected him and that this desire to be with you is just a moment of madness, a weird sort of rebound and that he’ll come to regret it. Yet a voice nags at you, What if he doesn’t regret it? What if one thing leads to another and he falls for you like you fell for him all those years ago?

Taehyung can tell you’re thinking furiously, your mind disturbed and so he places a gentle kiss on your forehead, drawing a happy little hum of contentment from you, “I’ve missed you,” he breathes quietly.

Your mind roars at you, Why do you always give up what you want, staying silent through years of Taehyung dating other women? Why did you force yourself to give him space when it was obvious Hana hated you instead of telling him she wasn’t good enough for him? Why should you deny yourself this moment with him when he’s all that you want? When he’s all that you’ve ever wanted? Fuck it… you resolve.

“I’ve missed you too,” you breathe back.

“Can I spoon you?” he asks, boldly kissing the tip of your nose in a gentle peck.

Your eyes open as you nod. Your heart flutters as you build the courage to kiss the tip of his nose, right on his little mole, in return.

Taehyung’s eyes widen before he leans in and kisses the corner of your mouth tenderly, hoping against hope that he’s not going too far.

This time you don’t pause: you swipe your mouth over his and kiss him softly, capturing the full pout of his lower lip between yours. He kisses you back and soon one kiss melts into another; his minty tongue flicking against your lips to plead entry. Soon you are making out, slowly and full of gentle hesitation. Moments stretch into minutes as you hold each other, your hands wandering over each other’s hair, arms and back. The kisses don’t heat up: nothing that’s happening now is about lust or desire, this is you telling Taehyung you love him and him telling you he loves you in return.

When you break apart, lips puffy, both blushing, all idea of spooning is abandoned, your limbs entangling as you pull each other closer, too shy to speak of what’s happened, melting into each other as sleep claims you.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Taehyung wakes to feel you gently hovering over his body as you try to climb from the bed, he seizes your waist in his firm hold, “Where are you going?” he grumbles, not yet opening his eyes.

“To the bathroom,” you reply dryly. He doesn’t care, please that you didn’t flinch from his touch.

“Then come back immediately,” he commands, his eyes opening and you nod, blushing.

When you come back, he stands to greet you, kissing the top of your head and making room for you to get back into bed. His heart beats a little faster, realising you’ve brushed your teeth again and he hopes it’s in readiness for more kissing, not you washing away those from the night before in regret.

When he returns and climbs in beside you, you look nervous. He strokes your face with the back of his fingers, “I need to tell you what happened with Hana,” he begins, “It’s important.”

You nod and he does: he begins with admitting he has been in love with you for longer than he can remember and everything follows from there, all the mess with Hana; the promise he made; what he found out on Jeju; finding out from Hobi that you once had loved him too; all of it.

As he talks he sits up in bed, finding a comfortable position and you cuddle into his side, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart as he tells you everything. Over the course of his retelling, the tattoo of his heart gives way to the soft growling of his stomach.

When he finishes, you sit up and look at him as he awaits your response, “Let’s get breakfast,” is all you can say, temporarily overwhelmed by all he has told you, “There’s a lot to process and a lot to talk about.”

Taehyung looks crestfallen, and your heart, so in tune with his now, throbs in sympathy. Without thinking you straddle him, cupping his face and kissing his nose, “Thank you for being honest with me.”

He tilts his head, “Will you be honest with me too?” he asks, taking your hands in his and swinging them side to side.

“I have been,” you protest as he frowns.

”Can you love me again?” he asks.

“I told you yesterday that I’d always love you Tae, that was the truth,” you admit, looking away shyly, “I’ve never stopped.”

Before he can speak, you kiss him again. He’s quick to release your hands, wrapping them around you so he can guide you onto your back as he deepens the kiss.

“What about breakfast?” you ask as his hungry mouth finds your neck.

“Fuck breakfast,“ is the muffled reply you receive as his mouth finds yours again.

Like the night before, each kiss melts into the next. Unlike last night though, with love admitted and freely spoken, desire edges into your embrace, gilding your edges with a simmering heat that builds in warmth and intensity drawing your bodies ever closer together.

After so long of dreaming of each other, of years of longing and unanswered need, what follows isn’t the choreographed routine of two lovers who know each other’s bodies. Instead, as you kiss and grind against each other, your clothes seem to slowly fall away, either shrugged off by or pulled away by the other: Taehyung sucks a bruise into your neck as you shimmy his boxers down before he kicks them off, you giggle into the sharp bone of his clavicle as his fingers hook into the elastic of your underwear.

You gasp into his mouth when he guides his cock into you, and tremble beneath him as he fucks into you, your bodies melded together with each deep, slow thrust. Your hands grip at his back and hair as your legs wrap around his waist. His slow grind ensures you come before he does, gasping his name as he sloppily kisses your cheek; he raises himself then, grinning down at you, glowing with sweat and breathless as he chases his high, you cling to his arms, smiling and gasping as, with a groan, the tendons of his neck tense. He thrusts your bodies as close as he can, driving deep into you, his balls pressed close as his cock pulses inside you. When the world resolves itself from pure ecstasy, he looks down at you in wonder as you look up at him with the same look: both of you silently saying the same thing.

When he slips from you and fetches a damp cloth to clean you up, you smile shyly at each other. He eases sweaty tendrils of hair from your flushed face, “I feel like a teenager,” he laughs.

You purse your lips and nod, “That was…” you don’t know how to finish the sentence, you want to say ‘sweet’ but it feels wrong.

Taehyung fills in for you, “Perfect and,” he pauses, “very overdue.”

“I love you,” you reply without missing a beat.

Taehyung grins in satisfaction, “I love you too,” the last syllable obscured by his rumbling stomach, causing you both to laugh again.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“Why can’t we tell our friends yet?” Taehyung asks, fluffing his hair out of his eyes with the back of his fingers as he checks himself out in your bedroom mirror.

“Because I just have the sense from Namjoon that the mystery weekend that he swept Hyejin off to was a ruse for a proposal,” you explain as you shimmy your dress over your hips, ready to meet your friends at the fancy restaurant that Namjoon has booked.

“Ah…” Taehyung smiles, “You think we’d steal their thunder?”

“I don’t think it’s a risk worth taking,” you admit.

Wordlessly, Taehyung appears behind you, helping you with the zip you’re struggling with, delivering a kiss to your shoulder, “You’re right,” he agrees.

“I wish we could though,” you admit, turning into his arms, “It’ll be hard to pretend we’re indifferent to each other.”

“Babe, that’s all that we were doing before,” he laughs, kissing you.

“True,” you admit, “But I don’t want to do that anymore, I want to hang out with you.”

“We should say we’ve resolved all the issues between us, and that we’re friends again,” he suggests, “Given that it was Hyejin who wanted to bring us together in the first place, it’ll be nice for her to know she helped.”

“That’s sweet,” you smile, flicking your nose against his chin; he takes the hint and kisses you again with a rumbling, low laugh.

When you break apart, he looks at you uncomfortably, “There is someone that I’d like you to tell though.”

“Hyungsik,” you supply and he nods awkwardly, “I understand, I’ll tell him tonight. You have to believe me that you two would really get along. Could you just hang out a bit with him tonight?”

Taehyung inclines his head graciously, “For you, I’ll try,” he submits, “But you have to remember that for months I’ve hated him on principle, it’s weird to let that go.”

“We never even kissed,” you say, rolling your eyes, “Your imagination did the rest.”

He laughs at that, “So you didn’t let me believe you two were dating in Jeju?”

You squirm, “Maybe a little bit…”

He laughs at your discomfort, before catching sight of the clock behind you, “C’mon babe, we’re going to be late.”

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

You were right, the dinner was a celebration of Namjoon and Hyejin’s engagement. Despite the happiness you feel for them, the dinner is a torturous affair. You sit with Hyungsik, away from Taehyung. After months of finding it too painful to look at him, now you ache trying not to. Being with him and not with him simultaneously is agony.

The opposite side of the room from you, Taehyung avoids looking at you at all costs. Though he is secure in the knowledge that there’s nothing between you and Hyungsik, he is nonetheless jealous that the other man gets to sit through three courses of your company before Taehyung is able to move around the table and get to you.

If not for his respect for Namjoon, he’d be declaring his love for you to anyone who asked and he would be sitting with you now, hand in hand beneath the table. Instead, he is lying through his teeth, batting away his friends’ questions about you, pretending that he is following Namjoon’s advice and slowly building your friendship back to where it should be. Largely their curiosity seems satisfied, except for Hobi, who scrutinises Taehyung carefully as he spins his fictions. Hobi can’t help but feel suspicious, especially when he sees you explaining something to Hyungsik that has him gasping into his hands before he beams at you. That in itself alerts Hobi that something is up, but it’s compounded by the way Hyungsik can’t seem to stop glancing over at Taehyung after it.

Later in the evening, Hobi shares his suspicions with Jimin as they sit, chairs pressed close beside each other. They watch carefully as Taehyung makes awkward and stilted conversation with the accommodating and smiley Hyungsik whilst you look nervously on.

“See?” Hobi indicates to Jimin, speaking out of the side of his mouth, “I think she knows how he feels, look at her - her attention is totally on Taehyung and how he’s reacting to Hyungsik…”

Jimin nods, “I see it. Do you think he’s confessed? How do you think she took it?”

“Oh boys,” Hyejin sighs, placing her hands on the backs of their chairs before leaning between them, “Would you like my take?”

Sliding across a chair, Jimin makes room and she joins their little observation panel between them. After a few moments, watching Taehyung’s spasming arm reach and withdraw from you repeatedly, she smirks, “Well, well…” she laughs, only explaining herself when Jimin implores her, “I’d say our Taehyungie has been telling fibs. I don’t think he’s followed Joon’s advice at all. I think he’s followed yours, Hobi,” she says, looking at the man beside her.

“Really? You think he has confessed?” Hobi smiles.

“I’m pretty sure,” she asserts, “I think he’s confessed and so has she. She’s told Hyungsik and now the boys are learning to play nicely.”

“Makes sense,” Hobi concurs, thinking of the earlier scene he witnessed, “But why not tell us?”

Jimin scoffs, “And steal all of our attention away from Namjoon and Hyejin? When the announcement was made Taehyung must have decided to lie.”

Hyejin’s brow furrows, “No, I don’t think so,” she muses, “She already had suspicions that Joonie was likely to propose - we’ve talked about it. I think she predicted what tonight was really about and they planned this in advance. That’s typical of her.”

They sit for a moment, smiling together before Hyejin giggles, “You know how we are all going to have brunch tomorrow?” she asks.

“We’re meeting at the café, yeah? The one by Taehyung’s place? At 11?” Jimin supplies.

“Let’s meet earlier… Let’s meet at 10, and at Taehyung’s place. Let’s have some fun with them.”

Jimin grins wickedly, “Hyejin, I like the way you think…”

Across the room, you, Taehyung and Hyungsik turn to follow the sound of laughter, watching as Hyejin, Hobi and Jimin cackle gleefully together.

“They’re plotting something,” Taehyung notices astutely.

“Hmm, they’re just missing a cauldron,” you offer.

“Something wicked this way comes…” suggests Hyungsik ominously.

The three of you turn to each other and laugh. Your heart lifts as Taehyung and Hyungsik smile, hoping this is the start of their friendship.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Soft music curls around you as you push up the overlong sleeves of one of Taehyung’s hoodies, before you turn the volume down a little more. He’s still fast asleep down the hall after last night’s dinner and you want to make breakfast without waking him.

You gingerly tread towards the fridge to gather the ingredients you need; your waddle is nothing to do with staying quiet, your bare feet make no noise against the cold tiles of the floor; no, your slow walk is far more to do with your bruised thighs and tender vagina. Pre-Taehyung it’d been a while since you last had sex and last night was a revelation: the gentle shyness of your first time together was a distant memory as soon as the door closed behind you.

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

As soon as your feet slipped from your heels, Taehyung pressed you against the door. His hot mouth on your neck and his hardening crotch grinding against you as your fingers tangle in his hair. His hands were quick to pull your dress up around your waist, his knee pressing against yours to guide your legs further apart.

He kissed you as he stroked you through the dampening silk of your underwear. You moaned into his mouth, and lust ran through his blood in hot waves, filling his cock as molten heat pooled in your core. His long fingers pushed your underwear to one side before he slid one, then two fingers into you, quickly working out how to curl them to draw the prettiest, most needy whines from you.

Quickly you were a trembling mess as neither his fingers nor his tongue relented. Feeling merciful, Taehyung broke from your mouth to attack your neck, letting free your chorus of moans and praise for him, “Feels so good, Tae, please don’t stop…”

He plunged his fingers a little faster into you as your hips began to grind against his hand, knowing he was getting you close, “Are you gonna come for me, baby?” he grinned, nipping your neck and maintaining his rhythm.

You nodded, begging for him, incoherent broken syllables of need and desire. He thought of stopping, wanting to insist that you came around his cock but he couldn’t bring himself to, too desperate to see you come undone for him. He carried on, fingering you to your shuddering orgasm and grinning as you whimpered and writhed against him.

He slid his fingers from you as you gasped and smiled at him, your eyes glazed as you came down from your high, “You good, babe?” he grinned as you hummed in contentment, reaching for his belt buckle.

As you sank to your knees, freeing his throbbing cock from its confines, he smiled down at you, shuddering with anticipation for what was to come as you breathed gently over the head of his cock, before your tongue gently teased the tip. The moan of pleasure he offered made you determined to draw more from him.

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

This morning, you smile at the memory of how he’d crumbled under the touch of your hands and mouth; his delighted surprise as you’d deep-throated him, his cockhead pressing against your throat; his delicious frustration as you’d teased him… It was glorious, but he paid you back tenfold for your fun. After coming down your throat, he practically dragged you to the bedroom where he ate you out until you screamed and then fucked you with your legs over your shoulders until all you could do was weakly babble his name.

As you prepare breakfast, sore as you are, you feel arousal begin to soak through your fresh underwear at the memory. You want him again. You can’t be close enough to Taehyung; no kiss is enough; no embrace enough. You’ve waited so long for him that now he’s yours you don’t want to let him go. Your need for him is only temporarily sated by the sensation of being filled by his cock. The tense, wonderful feeling of how hard he is, how tightly you fit around him, making you see stars and driving you to orgasm in a way you’ve never experienced before.

Distracting yourself with cooking, you don’t notice when Taehyung appears behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck while you’re at the stove.

“Smells delicious,” he praises, as you jump at the contact.

“It’s nearly ready,” you smile, turning your head to kiss him, “Go sit and I’ll bring it over,” you can’t help but grin as he ambles from the kitchen with heavy footed, sleepy steps, his eyes puffy as he yawns loudly.

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

After breakfast, dishes cleared and everything put away, any trace of tiredness Taehyung may have felt is long gone.

“You like that? Yeah?” he pants, “Can you feel how fucking hard you make me?”

Pinned beneath him on his couch, you moan out in pleasure as he drives into you, “Fuck, Taehyung, you feel so fucking good…”

He’s already fucked you once since breakfast, your underwear and his large tee discarded with his pyjamas across the dining table which he’d bent you over as you finished cleaning up. Afterwards, gentle cuddles on the couch had heated up until you’d straddled him, riding him to your orgasm. Impatient, after you’d come he was quick to throw you on your back so he could take you with the full force of his lust.

You can hear the slickness of his withdrawal before he thrusts inside you again; no matter how many times he fucks you, the stretch of him parting your walls is a heady mix of pain and pleasure that you’re already addicted to. In all your years of dreaming about him, you could never imagine it would feel like this. A new vocabulary needs to be invented for the things Taehyung does to you, fucking and coming are not enough to explain the pure euphoria and heights he can drive you to.

“You’re so fucking tight, babe… You’re driving me crazy,” he huffs out, confirming he feels it just as much as you do, “You were fucking made to take me… Fucking perfect...”

The pounding is relentless, he rocks back to sit up, without breaking rhythm, raising your hips so he can thrust deeper. You cry out at the new angle, it hurts but feels so, so good. In this position you can do nothing but take his relentless thrusts.

His thumb works your clit and you cry out, “I can’t,” you squirm pointlessly in your sensitivity, “Tae, I can’t… I can’t come again.”

“You can and you will, need you to come for me,” he pleads, before a wicked grin creeps across his face, “Wanna fill you up while you squeeze me…”

Arching your back, you squeeze around him, clenching your walls, “Ahhh,” he groans, “Nice try babe, but you’re gonna come for me…” he insists, working your clit more rapidly as his pace picks up, his high approaching.

It doesn’t take long for you to come undone, you cry out pitifully as you spasm around his length, “Fuck, that’s it, grip it just like that, fuckkkkkk,” Taehyung groans, slamming into you, his ball pressing against you as he comes, his cock throbbing and twitching inside you as he reaches his high.

A panting mess, he collapses onto you, chuckling into your neck, “You make me come so hard.”

Your sweat-slicked bodies stick together, yet you still wrap your arms around him, drawing him closer, hands tangling in his hair as he kisses you sloppily.

“What time is it?” You pant as he withdraws from you with a soft hiss.

“It’s just gone 10,” he checks, pulling tissues from the coffee table to clean you up, “Don’t worry we haven’t got to be there ’til 11,” he offers a hand to help ease your aching body up as a loud knock comes at the door.

You look at each other in panic as Taehyung puts his fingers to his lips.

Outside his door, Jimin, Hobi, Namjoon and Hyejin press their hands over their mouths not to laugh.

Nodding at them, Jimin raises his voice unnecessarily loudly, “Taehyung? You there, man?” When he receives no response, he lowers his volume, but makes sure he can definitely be heard from the other side of the door, “He must be out. I’m just gonna let myself in and grab my hoodie…”

They all suppress laughter as Jimin, with teasing slowness, enters the key code.

They step inside the apartment to the sound of Taehyung’s bedroom door slamming shut. The windows have been flung wide open, but the smell of sex lingers. Kicking their shoes off beside your heels from the night before their eyes land on Taehyung, bare chested in pyjama pants, clothes bundled in his arm. Eyes wide, he flings his hand, which so obviously has lacy women’s underwear in it, behind his back.

“Hi guys,” he offers gamely, trying to style it out, “What brings you here?”

“Needed my hoodie,” Jimin states bluntly, “You didn’t answer - I hope we haven’t interrupted something?” he asks, suppressing a smile.

“Just cleaning up,” Taehyung says, trying to shake his hair from his eyes.

“Are you ok?” Namjoon asks, in mock concern, “You look hot? It’s too cold to have the windows open, Tae - do you have a fever?” he steps forward with the back of his hand outstretched to feel Taehyung’s forehead.

In panic, Taehyung steps away, moving his hair out of his eyes without thought, using the hand in which your underwear hangs, “Fuck!” he yells, throwing them behind him as his friends burst into laughter, Jimin grabbing his hoodie from the hook beside the door.

“If you’re not sick I guess we’ll just see you at the café?” Hobi laughs.

As they file out leaving Taehyung dumbstruck and frozen, Hyejin, unable to contain herself, turns back as she pulls the door closed behind her calling your name out loudly, “We’ll see you there too! Take your time guys!”

Your friends cackle in unison as the door softly clicks shut behind them. Taehyung turns as his bedroom door opens and you, holding a blanket in front of your body, look at him in horror.

“At least we don’t need to worry about when to tell them now, I guess?” he offers, trying to put a positive spin on it.

You grimace, “Did they hear…” you choke out, unable to finish the phrase.

“Us fucking?” he supplies, not altogether helpfully, “I think it’s a safe bet they caught the, uh, climax?” Together, you burst into embarrassed laughter.

“I’m going to shower,” you groan, “Then we better go face them.”

“Want me to join you?” he asks, raising a brow.

“Absolutely fucking not,” you deadpan, shutting the door nod whining in embarrassment as you pad to the shower.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“We figured it out last night,” Hyejin admits at the café, “Though we appreciate you guys keeping it quiet for our sakes,” she smiles, laying her hand over her fiancé’s.

“I’m so embarrassed,” you say, hiding your face in your hands, while Taehyung rubs your back comfortingly.

“Don’t be!” Hobi insists, “We really didn't hear anything at all!”

“Honestly,” Namjoon adds, “It was your shoes being there and Taehyung flinging your underwear around that gave it away.”

You groan again as Hyejin cuffs his shoulder, “Not helpful, Joonie!”

It’s that moment that Yoongi rolls in, “Sorry I’m late, had a work thing to sort,” he apologises, taking a seat opposite you as you uncover your face, “What did I miss?”

You frown slightly, trying to work out what to say. Taehyung squeezes your shoulder, “Nothing much -” he begins.

Gesturing for the waitress to come over, Yoongi looks back at the two of you, “Other than these guys hearing you two going at it this morning, you mean?” he teases, “Yeah, Jimin called and told me all about that… Good for you, it’s about time.”

With a muffled wail you bury your face in Taehyung’s shoulder as he glares daggers at Jimin. Namjoon groans, cuffing Yoongi gently, careful to avoid his shoulder, “Not helpful, man!”

⊛ ⊛ ⊛

Hours later, you head back to Taehyung’s hand in hand, waving goodbye to your friends with a warm contentment that you have never felt before.

Taehyung’s hand tightens around yours, “Will you stay tonight?”

You nod, smiling, “Yeah, I just need to go home and get some stuff.”

“I’ll come with you,” he says quickly.

“You know, I won’t run away,” you tease.

He stops walking and pulls you to him, enclosing you in his arms, “I’m not letting you go for one minute. You’re mine now and I’d be lost without you, baby.”

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Bright sunlight cuts a sharp line across Taehyung’s eyes as he blinks slowly awake the next morning. Laying on his stomach, he buries his face into his pillow for a moment, grumbling to himself as he stretches his arm out, his fingers caressing the warmth of your skin. He turns his head, grinning as he strokes your back where you lie peacefully beside him, where you’ve always belonged.

Your eyes flicker open to meet his, reflecting his smile. Turning on your side, you move closer to him until you can kiss the tip of his nose.

It’s not long before you’re pinned beneath him, as he nuzzles into you, “Love me, love me, love me,” he insists, his kisses turning into a bruise as he sucks on your neck.

“Love you, love you, love you,” you chorus, your hands running down his hips to slide his boxers off before you wrap your hand around his thick length, gently teasing his head with the precum collecting there, drawing a gasp from him.

“What’s this?” you tease, “Having naughty dreams about someone?”

“You, always you…” he confesses as your hand begins to slide along his length, “Want…” he stutters with a shudder.

“Want what?” you ask, nipping his ear lobe as you grip firmly, your other hand reaching around to tug gently at his balls.

Breathless, his fingers explore your wet folds before he pushes your hands from him, wrapping his hand around his length. His eyes stare into yours, “I want you,” he affirms, “Only you, always you, nobody else.”

Your contented hum turns into a drawn out moan as he drives into you in one powerful thrust. Gripping his back as he fucks you hard and slow, you mouth every expression of love you can think of into the heat of each other’s skin, more in love than either of you have ever known possible.

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#taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #taehyung fanfic #taehyung imagine #taehyung scenarios #taehyung smut #v smut #bts fanfic #bts smut #taehyung angst

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