Tumgik
#...oh hey that thought was just an idle passing one but it actually kind of perked me up and genuinely made me feel better
televinita · 4 months
Text
I hate small independent coffee shops.
Sometimes I'm like, cool, I love that I've grown out of my anxiety! and then a mildly distressing, confusing or unfamiliar situation happens and I melt down on the spot.
(this is long i had to get it out)
BACKGROUND/THE PLAN: get my dad some Real Maple Sugar Candy for Christmas, because he nostalgically mentioned that being his favorite Christmas treat as a kid. Some people online say it's only for sale in season (approx. Feb-March) but there are a flobbity billion small independent farms in the northeast offering such treats for sale online right now, so surely Minnesota has some too. Because I'm not paying as much or more for shipping if I can simply go pick some up myself.
Small local/specialty candy store didn't have any, but after some googling, I found this indie coffee shop, Native-American-owned, that the internet says sells the stuff, so that seems promising. It's near a place I have to go to pick up another present anyway, so, 2 birds etc!
THE TODAY PLAN: Sit in the parking lot for 20 minutes to psych myself up first, because ordering in these places is always awkward AF as you try to find a place to stand and browse what's for sale and where the menu and prices are while the person behind the counter is asking for your order 3 seconds after you open the door.
So to make this as clear and logical as I can, I've decided that I will treat myself to a drink while I'm here. I will simply order the first and easiest thing I see on the menu (small coffee, or perhaps a latte/cappuccino), and then add the candy to my order because it would just be silly to go into a coffee shop for candy alone, right, especially if i get a really small portion of it, depending on price.
HOW THAT GOES: the place seems the usual amount of scary (people sitting at tables and in chairs, all pretty crowded together) but it's also cute, and thank god there are 2 people in line ahead of me so I have a minute or two to peruse. Cappuccino, $4.75, one size! That's perfect. It's probably only 8-10 ounces but still less out of pocket than at a chain store these days. I don't see any candy for sale, so when it's my turn, I order and then smoothly ask if they sell it.
"No, that was just for our pop-up shop," she says sympathetically, in a tone that says she's definitely been asked this before. So, on the one hand DAMN IT!!!!!! But on the other, she didn't make me feel stupid for asking AND I'm getting a nice warm drink out of it soon to combat the cold and blustery day, so I can go home satisfied enough since this was my last stop. After minor confusion when I'm supposed to scribbled a 'signature' with just my finger on the electronic pad, I'm good! This is the best outcome I could have asked for in a case of disappointment!
At this point: I would like to note it's 2:30 in the afternoon on a Thursday, i.e. not when I would expect a coffee shop to be crazy-busy.
WHAT NOW? I'm not really sure where to wait, since everyone else wanted their orders for here rather than to-go, but I just kind of step to the side while she takes the order of the last person behind me, and then gets to work. It's actually quite pleasant at first, because now I can scan the board at my leisure, try to commit some items and prices to memory, might come back here w/ husband actually! It is cozy as long as you can find a spot.
Anyway, it takes about 5 minutes from the time I first started waiting to when the first drink is called. It feels like a very long time standing there increasingly conspicuously while eeeeeeveryone else is sitting down, but I don't think it was. I consider finding a spot to sit and wait too, but the place is about 75% full already. It would be rude to take up a whole table for myself if I'm going to be out of here soon, what if a group of people suddenly comes in.
Second drink is called. I realize now that this is not, in fact, either of the drinks ordered ahead of mine. Starting to get slightly stressed, so I pull out my phone which has no data plan and pretend I can actually browse the internet on it. I don't need a table, you see, because I can play on my phone anywhere! Also I'm totally not impatient!
A third drink is called. It is still not for either of the people ahead of me.
HELLO ANXIETY MY OLD FRIEND: I find while looking down at my screen that my eyes are suddenly full of tears, as if I were back in college or the one and only time we tried to go out and do something with husband's friends. Because I SHOULD have sat down, I realize now, but also now it's too late to ~suddenly~ decide to "casually" sit down like I knew what I was doing and only planned to move now the whole time. Also there are people everywhere, and they will Look at me because movement is an aberration that draws the eye. They truly are every damn where, this place is the size of a postage stamp. I'm beginning to feel like I'm also standing too close to the table with people at it behind me, but I simply don't know how to move now.
The tears blink down. I try to wipe them discreetly but it's a double-attack so I just have to go for it and hope not many people were looking. Well, that sucks and I definitely can't raise my head now, but if I can get my drink soon, soon, soon, I can still avoid looking her in the eye as i grab it and run away and never come back here again. My face is fully red with embarrassment, heart rate is steadily picking up tempo and I have Located The Exits and am beginning to contemplate an upsetting but potential alternate move.
PLOT TWIST! IT GETS WORSE: There are now 3 people standing at the register, so she takes a break to collect their orders before it gets backed up too far, since she's working alone. I am momentarily relieved when one of the new people also stands nearby to wait, even though now I'm occupied in wondering how obvious it is that I'm crying and if he can tell and/or is going to be awkward about it.
I elect to pretend I have just gotten Terrible News and am trying to Hold It Together while tapping out a fake reply about calling someone as soon as I can. That would be a perfectly acceptable reason for an adult woman staring at her phone in a coffee shop to have tears on her face. Bad news is extra-bad during the holiday season.
One of the people ordering seems to be dictating a very complicated order as it is taking longer than average.
I'm also starting to panic about how many more people might have already been in the ordering queue before I got here.
WORSER: And it is at that point, where it has now been close to ten minutes (this would NEVER happen at Starbucks Caribou!) and what if I actually stand here like a fucking idiot who doesn't know how coffee shops work for a full quarter of an hour or even more and it's still not ready?? that I find to my sudden alarm I am crying and can't stop. Silently, but a faucet has been turned on and water is simply streaming out of my eyes. And, oh dear...now my face is starting to contort involuntarily, beyond my control.
FUCK IT, WE BAIL: That's right. I am simply unable to hold it together any longer and have already accepted my losses. It feels awful and stupid and unfair and I might has well have just pulled a $5 bill out of my pocket and lit it on fire, but I have reached my limit. The path to the door is no longer blocked by the line so I beeline straight for it. If anyone tries to stop me or call after me, I won't falter or care, I am Done. No coffee 4 me.
Of course the door I aim for turns out to be locked, so I have to pivot (and pass another table of people), but at least the door I came through is only a few feet away so I'm out a second later, striding away and now full-on sobbing because all I wanted was a goddamn hot drink and it was so scary and intimidating to go into this stupid tiny weird hipster space I didn't even want to go to in the first place, but I DID it only to have to PAY OUT MONEY and still not get ANYTHING AT ALL.
I got in the car and sped out of the parking lot and the coffee shop's line of sight as fast as I could. I hope the worker isn't too upset about wasting a drink/not knowing what to do with it; maybe one of the seven billion people who saw me crying on my way out can let her know I'm probably not coming back, while they gossip to each other about why anyone would do something so weird and not say a word.
SIDE QUEST: ...then I immediately spent like 2 full minutes panicking that my car was suddenly breaking down because it sounded really loud when I accelerated, and whenever I took my foot off the gas it immediately started slowing down, like not just coasting, but like I'd taken my foot off the gas while going up a hill. Pulled over in a panic, wondering what to do if my car died on the spot. Finally realized in my haste to leave, I had put the gearshift on whatever "B" is instead of "Drive." Instantly fixed, but wow what a fun cap to my day!!
AND IN THE END: Stopped hyperventilating pretty quickly once in the car, but still cried intermittently the whole way home. And again when I thought about trying to explain how something this small and silly got me so upset. I cried harder the whole time I was writing this post and reliving the experience while still being really upset that I didn't get my drink (despite paying for it!! but I obviously didn't have the wits to cancel my drink order so I can't get the money back if ingredients were wasted on it), mostly because i NEVER treat myself to fancy coffee drinks in take-out cups. It has literally been over two hours since this happened and I'm still crying.
To be fair, I haven't cried in a while -- about 6 weeks since I cried at all, and longer since I had a full and exhausting weeping session that usually a good sad book can provide me with -- and when I haven't done either of those but especially the latter in a while, the tears get all backed up. But still.
Anyway, that's the story of my really crappy Thursday and in conclusion, I remain firm in my hatred of small independent coffee shops.
P.S. Joke's on me because now between the lost coffee order and the gas I already spent driving to two places in vain, I believe I've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $8, which would sure have made a dent in the cost of shipping. Far too late to order in time for Chistmas now, though, anyway.
2 notes · View notes
Text
Jealousy Jealousy
A sheep x Nariender fanfic (1/2)
Summary: Narinder is finding himself in a position after being well settled in the cult where he knows of a new friend’s affection for their leader, and takes the sideline for them. 
TW: Feelings of inadequacy, mentions of & allusions to cannibalism, and unrequited feelings, Love���Triangle? Tangle? Something. Spoilers for the game.
Other content tags: Fake relationship
Narinder stood in the garden, plucking beets from the earth and placing them in the chest. The lamb had recently installed some sort of totem to make the plants grow faster, which was both a good and a bad thing for him. Good because it provided work for him to do. Bad because it meant he had little freetime anymore during daylight hours.
“These will probably be the last thing I do before I take a break for a short while.” 
He says to himself. Since he was up during the nights anyways; He’s come to find out that he enjoys being productive, over having idle hands. 
Idle hands lead to idle thoughts, which right now were not exactly all that kind to Narinder. 
He’s long settled into the cult’s life, watching those who did not wear a skull necklace when he was first indoctrinated pass on, be sacrificed, or went abruptly missing one night. Years go on as time for him remains standing faithfully still.
He didn’t really care for the last two sacrifices, only because it made weird looking food appear in the morning. It tasted really good, but whenever he asks about what its made of, the sheep never really answers the question. Now that he has had the thought, he wonders where Jack and Edmund went.
Oh well. That was neither here nor there.
He hears the small dinging of the bell and sees everyone in the distance getting up, or laying down their axes/pickaxes. Some make their way over to the food to eat before heading to bed, others are making a beeline for their huts. 
“Hey Narinder!” 
Came a high-pitched voice after he wandered closer to the worshiping statue. He looks down to see the yellow snail with the white shell on her back. 
“Evening Gloria,” 
He answers her. 
She too wore the necklace he did, and by the stars she was extremely perky despite neither one of them really sleeping. Always carrying an upbeat attitude and in her own ways, always inspiring others. In his humble opinion, she is the best missionary the lamb has. Any follower she has brought back has been extremely loyal to the cult and its teachings. Not only that, she makes a friend out of them extremely quickly.   
The reason he talks to Gloria has more to do with the fact that they’ve bonded over being the only ones up aside from the Lamb. However, even then, the lamb is out on crusades and bringing things back to the cult, or they’re somewhere else in the world. 
“How’re you?”
“I’m alright, sore from all the farm work.”
“Understandable, my knees start aching after praying for so long. I just can’t help it, I want to put everything into my prayers!” 
“Of course, devotion to the lamb is a wonderful thing.”
“Well... I would love to be devoted to them in a way more than just a normal follower.”
She must have picked up on the “confusion” on his face because she was quick to explain. This wasn’t actually the first time he’d heard her say this same train of thought, but due to the head trauma she had endured on her way into/including her stay inside of The Silk Cradle, Gloria’s memory was not entirely the best. 
“I mean-- I’m--I...”
She sighs, 
“I’ve been trying to hide the feelings I’ve developed for our leader, and before you ask--!”
She puts her hands up defensively, 
“I have made sure that it’s not just the idea of them I’m in love with, and that it physically them I'm in love with. I know my memory isn't as good as it was, so I wrote it down to make I didn't forget what my goal was!” 
“I’m glad.”
Even though the ex-god was not, in fact, glad at all about hearing this. 
“Do you think if I asked the lamb to marry me, they would? I mean...They don’t have any significant others right now. Not after Theodosia’s ascension.”
Which Gloria would know if they did or didn’t given that she’s one of the older cult members. The more experienced ones. 
“I’m not sure,”
He replied honestly, then thoughtfully added:
“I mean, marriage is an awfully far jump from a crush, what if you realize that it’s gone one day?”
Gloria looked surprised for a moment or two, then bit her lip with a nod. 
“I suppose I’ll need to start spending more time with our Leader. Now that you’ve said that, I realize I don’t want that to happen. Thank you, Narinder! What a wonderful friend you are, always thinking of the things I forget or overlook.”
She got up quickly, hugged him briefly, and started over to where the Lamb was cooking not horribly far from them. He waved and watched. He bit his lip. Hating every second all of a sudden. 
How she made them light up. How she interacted with them. How she placed her hand on their arm or shoulder. How she flirted with them once they handed her a bowl of whatever they were making. From the looks of it, it did not look like the hearty meat meal the lamb’s been fond of making. If he had to guess, it’s probably more of whatever meat comes as a result from a sacrifice.
Which surprisingly doesn't bother him as badly as he thought the idea would. Now if he had to eat a bowl of that one particular batch of it again, then he would most likely puke.
He felt sick, so he forced himself to turn away and walk briskly to his hut. He almost sprinted away and had to physically make sure the door did not slam behind him. He didn't want to give away he’d been watching the two of them interact.
He flings himself onto his bed and buried his face into the covers. Stupid Gloria, stupid lamb, stupid feelings, stupid, stupid and stupid.
-
How Narinder got drafted into this elaborate plan, he has no idea. Yet here he is, sowing string through the bottoms of Camilla flowers to make a crown for Gloria. Gloria was currently making the one she would give to the lamb.
“Thank you so much for doing this,”
She had said, but Narinder didn’t audibly respond back. Too busy wanting this to be over already. There was light conversation between them, but nothing of any substantiality. He leans over after stringing what he hopes is the last one to place it on her head. Holding it closed as so it sits in its intended circular shape.
“Does it feel alright?”
“It’s a little snug, but that’s alright. Means it’ll stay, right?”
“Right.”
He offers her a smile and then leans back away starting to tie off the string.
“Does this look like it’ll fit?”
Gloria holds up her stringed flowers, trying her best to mimic the gesture he had had seconds ago.
“It looks a little small.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah. Looks more like it would just rest on their head, rather than go down where it would be secure.”
Gloria nodded, but let out a very strong oh no upon realizing that the basket next to her was empty; thus meaning, that she had no more flowers to expand the crown any further than what she already had.
“I’m sure it will be alright,”
He tried assuring, but the snail seemed inconsolable at the moment. So, as a result, Narinder came up with an idea.
“Why don’t you ask for them to go get some from Darkwood whilst out on one of their crusades?”
“But how would I—”
“You don’t have to confess then and there, just simply say you need oh…ten camellia flowers to make a bouquet for the one you wish to confess to?”
“Oh that’s good.”
“I thought so.”
“I’ll go do that now!”
She moved much faster than the former god expected, quickly making her way over to where the lamb was finishing taking a confession. He saw Beelzebub coming out with a refreshed look on their face, and figured whatever weight they had on their shoulders must have been significantly lifted.
She seems to make her request, then her face falls for a moment or two as the Lamb seems to ask her for something after a longer than anticipated paused. Narinder sees her bite her lip, but ultimately agree to whatever it is. The lamb gives her a hug, (which he managed to stop himself from growling at), before rushing off to deal with something inside the temple.
The snail angrily sulks as she walks back over to him and he looks at her confused until she’s close enough to hear him if he said anything.
“What happened?”
“They just asked me to go on a mission in exchange for getting the flowers.”
“And?”
“I said I would of course; they said they wanted me to go see if I could find someone to convert since we’ve had some recent deaths, and our numbers were dwindling and so is some faith. They figure if we have some more intensely faithful members then all will be well once more.”
“I see. Their reasoning isn’t unreasonable. You are one of the best missionaries they have within our cult.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have more words to offer you to make you feel better.”
“It’s alright Narinder, it’s the idea that’s counting.”
There’s a brief lull in the conversation before he offers something he debated saying. Her eyes drifting to her crossed arms, then her feet.
“Hey, Gloria, look on the bright side. At least you’ll have something to look forward to when you get back. Something to keep you going when it gets tough out there.”
She looks up from the ground and one can see the lightbulb clicking into place. Her eyes widening as her lips curl into a smile.
“You’re right!”
She exclaimed, seeming like she has hit enlightenment with the thought.
“—And the sooner I get started, the sooner I get back! Oh, Narinder!”
She drops to her knees and hugs him around the neck. He fights with himself to hug her back, but ultimately does.
“You truly do come up with the best ideas and comfort. I shall see you in two days time!”
She smiles at him as she pulls away, then quickly hurries over the missionary hut and disappears inside of it. Far more eager to get started on her mission than she was when she was given it.
Narinder knows that she, despite her reservations, is truly one of the best missionaries that the lamb has as he has said more than once to others and himself.
He hears the bell from the temple and picks up their project off of the ground, placing it into his basket to drop off at his hut before he heads to the temple. Unknowing within the next few days that his world was going to turn and start spinning differently over the course of 48 hours.
————
Narinder hummed quietly as he plucked berries from a newly ripened bush in the garden the next morning after Gloria set off, letting his mind wander idly to random things.
“Narinder?”
“Hm?”
His head lifts as he sees the Lamb standing nearby, jumping a little. Had he been hurried that deeply in thought as to not notice them?
“Oh. Hello Lamb,”
“Morning Narinder, how’re you?”
“I’m alright.”
His eyes turn back to the bush in front of him, but his third one remains open and trained on the Lamb that way he can multitask; continue working, and carry on a conversation.
“And yourself, dear lamb?”
“I’m alright, although…”
“Although what?
“I can’t seem to get me mind off a few matters.”
There’s a brief pause in the conversation that allows Narinder to get up and place his basket in the chest behind him and go to check the trap the scarecrow holds for birds. He resets them, and takes the two caught for the day to the chest.
“Care to share with the cult?”
He invited. The chuckle at the words, but answer his request with letting him in on their thoughts.
“Well for one, I’m worried about Nanajul. They’ve been desperately trying to get me to play along with some cruel prank that they want to play on poor Cassidy. Their faith in me is dwindling as a result and I’m worried I’m going to have a dissenter amongst us soon.”
Valid reason to be concerned. He makes note to talk to their idiotic mutual acquaintance later.
“I see. I can talk to him if you wish, I’m sure he’ll understand if he’s being told it’s a poor idea from someone else rather than his leader.”
“I would appreciate that.”
The lamb’s body language relaxed a little, and like water coming out of a spigot as you slowly turned it on, the other troubles travelled out.
“Secondly, I can’t seem to keep someone consecrating resources. It seems like every time I’m turning around I’m having to tell someone new to go and then having to tell them what to do even though there’s a list of resources in order to do each day.”
Again super valid. He remembers Leshy having some sort of similar problem with their prophets when they were younger. He remembers roughly how Shamura answered in response and tries his best to imitate his older sibling’s response despite not liking having to do so. Things might have gone sour between them, but that didn’t make their words any less right.
“That’s rather annoying, but at least from my perspective that’s probably nothing to worry about. I think as long as it gets done, then what is taking a few minutes to provide guidance going to hurt? You haven’t forgotten how many times you have— had. You had needed my help prior to our current circumstances, have you?”
The lamb looks sheepishly— no pun intended on Narinder’s part— before nodding a little bit. He shook his head, but didn’t harp on it more. He knew they were a quick learner and with pointing out the flaw in their thinking, he figures they’ll try and have a little more open mind to the change of members trying to complete the task.
“And third, I don’t want to go to Darkwood.”
“What is in Darkwood?”
“Those Camellia flowers for Gloria.”
“What is wrong with her request, dear lamb?”
“If I tell you, how poorly would you look at me?”
“Lamb, have you forgotten who I used to be?“
“Touché.”
“You know how you had given me the abilities to read the minds of my members?”
“Yes.”
“I decided to check in on her mentally since it had been a long while since I have last done so and I…”
The lamb trails off.
“You…?”
They don’t answer immediately, so Narinder wanders over to them and stands across from him. Taking the hint they wished not to speak loudly.
“I know the real reason why she wants the flowers, and I feel horrible because I’m not interested in her like that.”
Narinder feels his blood turn cold at that admission. All three eyes widened at the Lamb.
“Which is part of the reason why I sent her off, so I could have time to think of how to let her down gently.”
.
“Please don’t look at me like that.”
Narinder shakes his head and closes his third eye.
“Apologies. It’s just…That… is a…heavy confession, lamb.”
“I know. I know, but I don’t know what to do about it.”
An idea, though devious, crossed Narinder’s mind as he lets the worry hang in the air for a moment or two before speaking up. It was selfish of him to suggest, and he knows it. The guilt tells him so, but nonetheless he wants the lamb bad enough he’ll deal with the fallout from Gloria when it happens.
“You could always fake being in a relationship. Say someone confessed to you or you confessed to someone while she was gone.”
They consider it for a moment or two before frowning.
“But it wouldn’t hold up for long.”
“Why so?”
“Because I’m sure she would expect me to be around said member, and when day in and day out nothing happens…”
It’s implied she’d put two and two together that she would figure out they lied quick, fast, and in a hurry.
“I will help you.”
Narinder said without thinking, and almost wished he could take the words back and shove them into his face. They were words back when they were a god that were so natural between he and the Lamb. Words that he would offer a million times over if they needed his guidance. It was a habit he hadn’t realized he still had given the distance that had been between them for so long.
“Are you sure? You—We— I…”
They stammered, at a loss for words evidently from either the absurdity or the abruptness of the idea.
“Look, I know we have our… differences, given what happened.”
Narinder didn’t need to imply their entire fight given the betrayal the lamb had caused because they wanted to keep the crown they wore; moreover, the utter anger and resentment that hung between them for so… so long after he was spared. Which each party had their reasons to be legitimately upset.
“But in the end, are you really that against me wanting to help you— albeit in a different way than I had once, lamb? Do you truly think still so low of me?”
They don’t answer, and he opens his mouth to tell them to consider it at least, but they beat him to the metaphorical punch bowl.
“No. I know that when you said you’ll help me you mean it. I know that fact too— too well. I want to move past this animosity we have still between our friendship.”
They nod to themselves.
“So, lovers?”
The lamb outstretched their hand to him, and he feels his heart excitedly skip a beat despite his brain knowing this wasn’t a real offer.
“Lovers it is, my lamb.”
51 notes · View notes
just-sonic-things · 5 months
Text
Something Going On in Green Hill (Part 1)
T//W: Child Abuse
(I will place a text cut where it takes place. Only read past there if you can.)
Shadow's POV:
It was my first day at this rustic looking high school and I was already a bit hesitant to even make an effort to socialize. Instead, I just put on my headphones through a good chunk of the day, except in classes. Even then, raising my hand to answer questions I actually knew would've been a terrible idea it seems. Everyone here seems to make fun of you for being smart, unless it benefits them in some way. Not sure why being "dumb" is a popular thing, but I guess it is. I got sent to the Guidance Counselor to get my locker assignment and an assignment notebook for the school to write down assignments and all that junk. Turns out, it's also a Hall Pass of sorts. You get the teacher to sign it out for you before you leave the room. Kind of frivolous that we need to do that in the first place, but whatever.
It wasn't long before we got to my least favorite subject of the day: History. It was almost always boring for me, since I never really see any sort of practical applications for it, other than knowing how catastrophically we all messed up. Oh well, time for me to just sort of zone out for a moment or two. I sense myself drifting off before I see someone sitting in front of me. He's got long, red dreadlocks and is talking to a blue hedgehog boy. The dreadlocked echidna looks toward me and gives an awkward smile. I reciprocate. "Sorry" I apologize, looking away from him. He nods and goes back to his idle chit chat with the other hedgehog boy.
After class was over, I shuffled to my locker to put my unneeded books away. Of course, right across from me was that same boy with the long, red dreadlocks. They cascaded down his back seemingly effortlessly, and I was admiring their neatness for a moment. I turned back to my locker and grabbed my remaining notebooks. English and Biology. Biology was at least easy for me, so there wasn't any worries in that regard. I trudged on to class while listening to music again. As soon as I sat in my seat... There he was. He walked into the same class as me. Did... Did we share more than one class?
Knuckles' POV:
There was that boy again! Black and red quills, perfectly styled and everything. He had on what would be considered as "Emo clothes", so a few of my dickhead friends were already making fun of him. I decided I wanted to be nice to this new kid and sat down next to him this time. I faced him, and he looked a little skittish. But I think he warmed up to me fairly quick.
"Hey there. Name's Knuckles. I'm one of the more... 'Popular' kids. Whatever that means, right? And you are?" I ask, extending the invitation for him to speak.
"... Shadow. Good to meet you, Knuckles" Shadow says with a weak smile. "I think 'Popular' means that you're well liked enough for people to not make fun of you or somethin'" he says, finishing his trail of thought.
I smile a bit at Shadow. He seems to lower any sort of hostility or suspicion by now and just sits by me quietly. I notice that whenever he's not taking notes or answering the teacher's questions, he's doodling in his notebook. They were actually really decent drawings as well. I asked him if he's ever taken an art course, and he nods. "Your art's really good!" I say enthusiastically. He blushes a little and flashes a... Handsome smile to me. I blush as well. Damn it, this boy was kind of cute. Well, now I had to get to know him a little bit.
"This may seem kinda random, but what lunch period do you have today?" I ask.
"Lunch 2. Why?" Shadow asks.
"Oh nice! Me too! We should find each other and sit together. Talk, just the two of us, perhaps?" I ask.
Shadow blushes a little, clearly off guard. He croaks out "Sure" and now after this class, I had that to look forward to. Biology felt like it couldn't go any freaking slower than it was right now. I smelt Shadow's cologne, and it was all too enticing. I don't know what scent he had on but damn it, I felt like I wanted to just throw myself at him. But alas, that would be frowned upon.
FINALLY, the bell rang.
Shadow's POV:
Why did Knuckles want to sit with me of all people? Why was he staring at me the way that he was in Bio class? Whatever the matter, I sat down at a seat closest to a window with my homemade lunch. Mom always knew what to put in to make my day. A nice turkey and cheese club with some chips, fruit snacks and water. Knuckles came walking to my table with the school lunch and sat down right next to me. He seemed rather... Excited to sit with me. He was grinning a bit, as he asked me if I brought that lunch from home. "Yes. It's all mine" I teased, making him fake pout. I giggled... Damn it, he's kind of cute. I sigh and relent, giving him some chips and fruit snacks as compensation for giving me company. Knuckles smiles at me and thanks me. We talk about school stuff for a while, before we start getting into the nitty gritty of life stuff.
"So, I'm a football player. Linebacker to be specific. Also do cross country. Thinking of signing up for any clubs or sports?" Knuckles asks, taking a bite of his food.
"Nice. I'll have to go to one of your games" I tease, making him nudge my arm playfully. "I may sign up for Drama actually. Something about it just calls to me" I say, playfully fluffing up my quills.
"Then I'll just have to go to one of your shows. I bet you'll be great" Knuckles replies, wrapping a friendly arm around me.
After lunch was over, I went to the Guidance Counselor, asking how I could sign up for the Drama club. He smiled at me and handed me a clipboard that was only so full. Of course, there were a bunch of girls names on there, with maybe 2 or 3 other guys. I put mine on there, and the counselor told me that the Drama teacher was an incredible director and teacher & that I was in good hands.
Once school ended, I went home. Mom wasn't home yet, so it was just me and my dad. He was on the couch watching a wrestling match. As soon as he heard me walk through the door, he asked me how my first day at school was.
"I made a new friend, so I guess it went well enough" I reply.
"That's great! Who is he?" my dad asks excitedly.
"Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna-"
"The football kid?! Holy shit. That IS good news. Keep up being friendly with him and you'll pretty much have an easy ride through school!" my dad replied, interrupting my train of thought.
I ask my dad how he knows Knuckles and how he knew he was in football. My dad told me that Knuckles was in football for as long as 7th grade. He knew because the 8th grade coach was a good friend of his and they'd go for drinks together. They'd talk about football and the kids they thought could go Pro & Knuckles' name kept coming up.
Later that night... Dad wasn't so friendly though. At the dinner table, I told my parents that I was signed up for Drama club. He slammed his fists down on the table. "First it was Dance, now THIS? No way. No son of mine is gonna be some 'Theatre Kid'" he said angrily. "I will if it makes me happy" I muttered. My dad has a tendency to have an explosive temper. So, with my food still piping hot, he sent me up to my room with no dinner for the night... After slapping me across the face a few times. While I cried, he yelled, "You DARE disrespect me?!"
I charged up to my room after he yelled at me to do so & slammed the door. Then he came up to me again and... Punched me.
"You wanna slam doors like that?! You'll do that when you move into a place of your own. Not in MY house" he said threateningly.
"I... HATE YOU" I scream.
"I HATE YOU TOO. YOU THINK I WANTED TO HAVE YOU?" my dad screamed in reply.
For some reason, this time around when he said it, it REALLY hurt me. Perhaps it was the punch that he already landed to me but I started to cry once he shut the door. I just tried to dress the black eye, but it was causing some pain. My mom helped me later on and expressed her anger toward my dad.
"He should never lay his hands on you like that. I swear, I am so done with him" My mom said in a hissing sort of tone. She asked me if I'd like to live with her, since she's the one who paid for the house. I smiled and hugged her, saying that would be wonderful. She smiled back and rustled through my quills in such a way. I.. Purred softly. It felt relieving. She giggled and told me that she was already talking to a lawyer, but tonight's incident was just pushing her further. She and I talked more before she left my room to let me sleep.
Part 2: ( Here )
Part 3: ( Here )
2 notes · View notes
arthyritis · 11 months
Text
Vampire Paulie AU Fic--talk of police and uhh instinctual things. I didn't decide to go into detail this time but who knows for next time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
,
50 years of being 27 really put a strain on Paulie's sense of time.
Originally, after landing its job at IRIS, things started to move slower than they ever had. But as soon as it got in the rhythm, the groove, if you will, time sped up and it was getting bored again.
He couldn't remember the last time he was this bored (well, he could--it wasn't a pleasant memory to relive), but it was never a good thing, he knew that.
Especially with acquired vampire instincts nearly forcing it to the brink of insanity time and time again. Those mixed with boredom was almost always a recipe for disaster.
He hadn't eaten in... what was it now? Two, three weeks? There wasn't much longer he could possibly wait before the black-out occurred. A gruesome thing that was to wake up from.
And, simply put, a body discovered in his camera room was not something Paulie particularly wanted on his record. No matter how disposable IRIS considered some of their employees.
Maybe it could steal another blood bag? It had been a while since it stole the last one, but it had also very barely been passed by as a suspect. The trust issues were still very much there, and they would probably stay for a long while.
Probably years, in fact. He still remembered losing the trust of several of his old neighbours and--
He shook his head, refusing to bring those memories back. He still felt sorry for one particular pair of immortals he'd lived next to briefly before certain problems rose.
"Paulie, focus." The reminder falling from its own mouth was much needed, the eye joining the chant for a moment until it looked back at the screens in front of it to watch out for anything odd.
,
After work, Paulie had thought about hitting the gym, before it recognised that its hunger was getting more intense, and thus giving it less time to hold off.
And so, he was forcibly lead into the predicament of finding food.
He knew of some spots of less overall population, but a good amount of foot traffic. He could easily find someone, have a meal, and never once be spotted, within five minutes. Of course, the rush was unwanted; like a waiter at a restaurant very obviously wanting more tables open and not even giving you two minutes after finishing a meal before rushing you out the door. But it was the reality of living in the city, even with a job on the outskirts.
The benches were open, and Paulie headed to one, waiting patiently with its phone in its hand, some idle game lighting up the screen, and basically being the only light emission in the dark streets.
It wasn't long before there was a pair of footsteps nearing it. Paulie's vampire instincts shot to the front, immediately--victim, victim, victim--but it pushed them down just enough to be able to act normal and not look like some red-eyed freak to the unsuspecting pedestrian... even if that was just a little bit tempting after the monotony of the day.
Then, there were two sets of footsteps.
"Hey, man, everything okay? It's kind of late." A flashlight shone over at him. The pedestrian walked on by, not even glancing at the scene of a police officer and some guy on a bench.
Paulie shielded his eyes against the light and kept his other hand in view with his phone clutched tightly.
"All good, officer," he assured, but the cop didn't leave.
"Do you need anything? A ride home? Bad streets to be hanging out on, people go missing here."
Oh, and here Paulie thought cops were oblivious.
"No, my car's not far, and neither is my work. Just resting before my shift, actually." A bold-faced lie, but one that should get the officer off his back.
"Ugh. Well, the only place I know is open is that creepy old facility and I still can't believe that place hasn't been shut down. You'd better get going, then. Even if you can handle that job, you don't look like you could hold your own against a bigger man--"
Paulie stood with a smile and took a very quick step forward, one that surprised even the officer with the speed. "Oh, I may not look like much, but I assure you, I'm not the one who gets attacked."
Before he knew it, the light of the flashlight was out and the cop was under his teeth, the bitter taste of metal coating Paulie's tongue.
He supposed he knew instincts didn't care whether the person he was attacking was someone of status that could link the crime back to him in a worse way than stealing blood bags from IRIS, but alongside the part that was satisfied with his meal, there was another one that was just a little afraid, and kind of wanted to put the man out of his misery.
Maybe he refrained, maybe he didn't. All he knew was that he woke up at home later that same night.
5 notes · View notes
chloegong · 3 years
Text
that semi-AU romajuliette + benmars fic
i need a permanent place to store this after dumping a random google doc on twitter so here it is, the author writing fic for her own book because people gave me headcanons and they were too good not to make use of
__
the one where juliette and marshall go out for a night out on the town and roma and ben have to go along to supervise because one time they accidentally committed arson —headcanon from twitter user @leonidasvaldz
a semi AU where Benedikt and Marshall were hanging out with Roma and Juliette in those happy months R&J had together in 1922 before everything went wrong (aka you can take this as canon because it will fit the timeline but the characters won’t have memory of this in the actual published books)
Disclaimer: i wrote this in one go inside a starbucks please expect ao3 user chloegong and not Author Chloe Gong who does multiple rounds of edits on her books
Second Disclaimer: nobody go putting this on goodreads before someone on my publishing team kicks my ass (rightfully so, i’m on deadline rn and i’m writing fanfic instead of my real contracted manuscript)
Mandatory reminder that Our Violent Ends is available for preorder with all links here :)
__
It wasn’t supposed to happen again. And yet, somehow, Benedikt was watching fire curl around the side of the building, the roof beams giving a loud groan before shuddering and caving in on itself.
He turned a look onto Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”
~
Five hours earlier...
Juliette climbed in through the window of Roma’s bedroom, careful to hug the burlap bag close to her chest as she landed on his carpet. The howling wind outside drowned out some of the clinking, but the glass bottles were still making a racket no matter how carefully she hugged the bag. She had gone full throttle for tonight; when no one was watching and her relatives were downstairs crowing over a game of cards, she had snuck around and robbed the liquor cabinets at the Scarlet mansion quite generously. Now she dropped the bag onto Roma’s floor with a huff, brushing a curl of hair out of her eyes.
“Where’s Marshall?”
Roma looked up from where he was reading, putting his book down and rising from the bed smoothly.
“Well, hello.” He strode toward her, stopping before her with his arms crossed. “Lovely to see you too. You do know it is my bedroom you just snuck into, right?”
Juliette pretended to jump in surprise, looking around wildly. “Do you jest? Oh, bother. Let me climb back out and go find my real lover. Marshall! Where are—”
With a huff that seemed to double as a laugh, Roma grabbed her wrist before she could turn around and leave through the window again.
“You’re hilarious,” he said dryly.
“I know.” Juliette reached up with her free hand, clasping her cold fingers right onto his neck. Though her palm was freezing from the bitter temperatures outside, Roma hardly flinched, he only shrugged his shoulder up to keep her hand there. He couldn’t fight back the grin. For several seconds, the two of them only stood there, looking like a pair of idiots smiling at each other.
Then his door opened.
“Are we interrupting something?”
Marshall bounded into the room, throwing the door wide open. With a horrified expression, Benedikt hurried in after him and closed the door quickly, listening for movement on the other side.
“Yes, leave the door wide open,” Benedikt said. “While any White Flower strolling the corridor can peer in and see the Scarlet heir standing there in a silly coat.”
Juliette stepped away from Roma, peering down at herself as if she had forgotten what she put on. “I didn’t think it was that silly. It’s my disguise.”
“You do look a little like a housewife,” Marshall said, considering the coat.
“A fifteen-year-old housewife?”
“I suppose that is exactly why you look a little silly.”
Juliette pulled a face, but refrained from arguing further. She was here tonight because Marshall wanted to see the new Scarlet club that opened along Thibet Road, and she had promised she could sneak him in. Unfortunately, Marshall was bad at keeping secrets, and the worst at keeping secrets from Benedikt. The moment that Benedikt heard Marshall was planning on entering Scarlet territory, he had decided that he would come in accompaniment.
Juliette supposed it was only fair. Benedikt didn’t entirely trust her, but he was nice enough. He tolerated her presence and always kept an eye over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t spotted on their territory if she poked her head in to see Roma. While Juliette didn’t know much about Marshall either, he was far warmer than his best friend, and for the first time last week, they had even enjoyed an outing with just the two of them. Juliette Cai and Marshall Seo—out and about in the border territories on a quaint evening.
That outing had ended with accidental arson though, so it was rather possible that exacerbated Benedikt’s desire to play chaperone. And of course, if Benedikt was coming along, Roma wanted to tag along too.
The arson was hardly their fault, Juliette and Marshall had maintained when the Montagovs asked questions. What kind of person left a stack of hay out beside a bar? And what kind of hay was that easily flammable just from accidentally whacking one of the lanterns on the awning onto the stack?
“All right.” Juliette hauled the bag up again. “Are we ready to sneak onto Scarlet territory?”
“Absolutely not,” Benedikt muttered, strolling past her for Roma’s window. “But is that going to stop either of you?”
Before anyone could answer him, Benedikt had already hopped the small gap between windows, climbing into their neighboring building for their route out unspotted.
“Great!” Juliette said. She passed the bag to Roma so he could do the carrying. What was the point of converting a rival gang enemy into a lover if not to lug around her heavy things? “Glad we’re all so enthusiastic.”
Roma sighed, clambering onto his sill and making the climb too. “The things I do for you, dorogaya.”
Marshall hurried after him. “I would argue you’re actually doing this for me, dearest Roma!”
With a snort, Juliette climbed out last, and pulled the window after her.
~
The Scarlet club had been a bust. Of course, Benedikt had figured that would be the case from the get-go, especially if they were sneaking in at such a late hour to avoid being seen by anyone important in the Scarlet Gang. At least Juliette had provided good alcohol, and now he squinted at the label of the wine bottle under the street lamps while they walked, taking the smaller main roads along the periphery of the city.
Up ahead, Roma and Juliette were whispering to each other, though they didn’t sound like they were talking in full sentences. Those two always communicated in looks and gestures, swapping languages whenever they felt like it and ending up with some incoherent tangle of words that no one else could comprehend.
“Is there anything left in that?”
Benedikt glanced to his side, shaking the bottle to show Marshall. “One last swig. All yours.”
Marshall took the bottle. He put it to his lips and swung up, his head tipped to the sky and the line of his throat bared to the night. Benedikt shivered suddenly, a line of goosebumps rising at the back of his neck. The season had turned cold and the wind that blew onto his face was biting. He wrote off his shudder to the chill, to the temperature dropping with the longer they spent outside at such an hour.
Suddenly, Marshall was squinting into the distance. “Hey.” His call summoned Roma and Juliette’s attention from ahead, who both turned around to see what the matter was.
Marshall pointed to the dark shape off the end of the road. “Isn’t that the abandoned factory we lost to the Scarlets?”
“Is it?” Juliette asked, a sudden glee in her face.
“Why would you say that?” Roma bemoaned. He didn’t bother trying to stop her as Juliette hurried ahead, eager to explore the factory. “Look what you’ve done.”
But Marshall was wearing a similar expression, his eyes scanning the factory as they approached closer and closer. Wordlessly, he handed the bottle back to Benedikt, and though Benedikt’s head was spinning from the drink, he still recognized the exact face that Marshall made before he was going to get himself into trouble.
“Mars—”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he insisted, tipping his chin forward. Juliette had disappeared into the factory. “You two be look-out. We wouldn’t want someone finding us here, right?”
Benedikt scarcely had a second to argue back. Marshall was already hurrying off.
~
Inside the factory, Juliette trailed her hands along the dark walls, her eyes wide. The machines looked strange in the moonlight, but stranger while sitting so idle. She was used to seeing rows and rows of workers in the daytime, trailing after her father as he ran inspections on the work of their trade partners. It might have been the wine in her system, but everything seemed to sway: sitting so inactive in movement that her eyes were imagining movement.
“Pst.”
Juliette almost jumped out of her skin.
“Christ,” she muttered, whirling around with a hand on her heart. Marshall slunk out from the shadows, both his hands in his pockets. “You gave me a fright.”
“Me? Frightening?” Marshall picked up a strange object on the table, inspected it for several seconds, then set it back down. “I am the least frightening person on the planet.”
“Yes, well, when it’s so dark, even a cuddly teddy bear would be terrifying.” Juliette felt around her dress. She thought she had tucked her lighter in here somewhere. There were little pockets sewn around the sleeves and armholes that she kept all her weapons, though if anyone asked, she would say she had the ability to materialize them out of thin air.
“Do you scream often at teddy bears?”
“Only when they sneak up on me.”
“I don’t see you screaming at Roma.”
“He gets a special pass. He’s only a teddy bear on the inside.”
Marshall snorted. He leaned down, trying to read the paper taped down to the table. At last, Juliette found her lighter—it was actually in her sock—and she brought it close, thumbing down the sparkwheel for a flame.
“Do not touch—for demolishing,” Marshall read under the new light. “Are the Scarlets going to build something new here?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Juliette replied. “My father doesn’t include me in his business meetings yet.”
“Hmm.” The shadows of the factory danced. Juliette thought she saw someone darting in her periphery, and she whirled around, but it was only Marshall’s shadow. Unfortunately, she had scared Marshall with her movement, and he bumped into her, asking, “What? What is it?”
The lighter flew out of her hands, landing on the paper.
“Nothing, nothing!” Juliette assured. “I was seeing things.”
But Marshall wasn’t convinced. He swiveled around. Peered hard into a corner. “Was it ghosts? I know this city has ghosts. All that death creates so many ghosts.”
Juliette tried to look where he was looking. She couldn’t see anything except the dark.
“There is no such thing as ghosts.”
“Just last week, I felt something walk by me and then there was no one when I looked. I swear to you, if it wasn’t ghosts then I—” Marshall stopped suddenly, turning around to look at the table. “Uh… is that supposed to happen?”
Juliette whirled around too. The whole table was on fire. “Oh, God.”
With a sudden pop, the fire sprung up and licked up to the walls. There had to be something sprayed inside the factory already to prepare for demolition, or else the flames would not be traveling with such intensive speed.
“Marshall,” Juliette said simply.
“Yes?”
She looked at him. “When the Montagovs ask, we blame the factory and say we have no idea what happened. Run!”
~
Benedikt and Roma kept watch in relative silence. Benedikt’s head was spinning, and his cousin looked like his head was doing the same if his swaying was any indication. Roma was humming softly under his breath, toeing the grass that grew around the abandoned factory.
Then, there was a sudden sound from inside, and the first tendrils of flames blew out from the topmost windows.
“Roma,” Benedikt said plainly. “I’m willing to bet my life savings that Juliette Cai just committed arson.”
Roma tilted his head up, his jaw dropping agape. At first, he could only stare at the growing fire, eating up the roof beams. Then, he said: “To be fair, it could have been Marshall.”
Benedikt threw his arms into the air. “Who looks more like the arson type, Juliette or Marshall?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“The answer was Juliette!”
Benedikt pinched the bridge of his nose. He was rapidly growing concerned, but before he could suggest they go in to search for the two, Juliette and Marshall ran out from the factory—laughing. The factory was burning down, and they were laughing, grasping at each other and spinning in circles right in front of the factory. They looked a sight: seconds away from collapsing atop of each other in utter delirium.
Benedikt turned to Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”
Roma was struggling to hold back his laugh watching her with Marshall. “I think she’s magnificent.”
Marshall stumbled, and Juliette squealed, reaching out to grab his arm before he could trip and land flat on his face. Benedikt almost—almost—let a smile slip. Before Roma could sight it and tease him for enjoying himself after all, he cleared his throat.
“What happened?” he bellowed.
“Faulty factory!” Marshall called back.
Benedikt shook his head, turning on his heel. They needed to get out of here before someone reported the fire.
“Come on!” he called back to the three. “Let’s go before the Municipal Police arrive.”
Upon Benedikt’s summons, Marshall left Juliette’s side and hurried to catch up. He slowed to a stroll once he was beside Benedikt, but Benedikt could feel Marshall watching him.
“What?” Benedikt asked. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his cousin was following too. Thankfully he was, though it was mostly Juliette hauling him along, their hands clasped together and swinging while Roma kept looking at the fire.
“I think you enjoyed yourself,” Marshall replied smugly. “After all that complaining about sneaking into Scarlet territory.”
Benedikt reached out and rapped his knuckles on Marshall’s skull. With a shriek, Marshall darted ahead.
“You want me to enjoy myself?” Benedikt shouted after him, breaking into a run too. “Come back then! Let me throttle you!”
FIN.
572 notes · View notes
nsheetee · 3 years
Text
109 Steps To You
Tumblr media
this is a part of the “almost” collaboration hosted by @hyucksie​
Tumblr media
Pairing: Haechan x Reader Genre: romance, fluff, angst, mature content, soulmate!AU, college!AU Length: 19k Summary: Everyone is born with two marks on their body: one that is identical to your soulmate’s, and one that is identical to the person who will cause you immense pain. No one knows which mark means what until they live out their life and meet the people destined to bring them love and hurt. However, you were only born with one mark. Out of all the places you thought you would meet the person with the mark identical to yours, you never thought it would be on your first day of college. Warnings/Details: female reader, mentions of other nct members (and yuqi from g-idle), explicit sex (unprotected + the consequences that come with it), mentions of a dysfunctional family, swearing
— read epilogue here
a/n: if you’re a minor: beware! there is explicit and mature content in this fic.
Tumblr media
“I want to thank you guys, again, for helping me out today.” You shyly announce to the table, swirling your spoon through your froyo and glancing back and forth between the other people sitting before you.
“Oh, it’s no problem, we weren’t doing anything today anyway.” Xiaojun softly knocks his elbow into yours, sending a reassuring smile your way. If it wasn’t for Xiaojun, an old childhood friend, you weren’t sure how moving into your dorm room and getting settled into campus would’ve gone; you would probably still be a mess right now.
“He’s right. Plus, I really wanted to meet the girl Jun kept raving about, he wouldn’t stop talking about how much we would like you-” Mark’s comment is quickly cut off, a thud under the table and a pained look on Mark’s face giving away that Xiaojun just kicked him.
“I just hope I lived up to the hype.” You laugh at their antics.
“Oh, definitely,” Yuqi quickly buts in before Mark can retaliate back at Xiaojun, “And I live a few floors below you, so just let me know if you need anything at all.” She adds on, her warm deposition and all around friendliness from today making you let out a small sigh of relief, some stress falling off your shoulders when you realize just how many people around you are here to help you out.
“I appreciate it so much, really.” You lean away from Xiaojun and Mark, closer to Yuqi and Lucas who are sitting on the other side of the table, “By the way, I love your guys’ marks. They look so good on both of you.”
At your comment, Lucas puts down his phone and gently grabs Yuqi’s hand, their matching chamomile flower marks touching as their fingers intertwine. You almost didn’t notice their matching marks earlier today when they were helping you set up your dorm room, but when you did, you couldn’t help but stop what you were doing and stare at their hands. Such a simple mark has never looked so pretty to you, maybe it’s because Lucas and Yuqi made such a good pair that their fated marks looked so right for them.
“I still wish I got a cool dragon mark down my back, but I’ll let Jun be the one to deal with that in this life.” Lucas smirks at Xiaojun, who just rolls his eyes at Lucas’ fake jealousy. “Yours looks good, too.” He finishes and glances down at your left hand. There, a dragonfly mark stains your skin, the long tail trailing over your thumb and the wings spreading out over the back of your hand and your wrist.
“Thank you.” Your reply is genuine, however you can’t help but remember the solemn fact that surrounds your mark, your voice inadvertently dipping down as your eyes trace over the wings of your dragonfly.
“So, what kind of classes are you taking this semester?” Xiaojun changes the subject, no doubt hearing the lament in your voice.
“Oh, just some required classes. Nothing for my major, really, except Intro to Ethics for my humanities credit.” You reply as casually as you can to bring the mood at the table back up, but your comment makes Yuqi gasp and all four pairs of eyes at the table turn to you. You slouch in your seat at their sudden attention on you.
“Why would you do that to yourself?”
“What is wrong with you?”
“Do you know your advisor's email? Let’s send them a message right now to get you out-”
“Stop.” You shake your head, laughing a bit at the overreaction from your new friends, “What’s wrong with Ethics?”
“It’s in the Hauss building.” Xiaojun says as if you should already know what that means. You roll your lips in and shake your head; you do not know what that means at all.
“It’s the building all the way on top of the big hill on the west side of campus, by the auditorium.” Xiaojun explains more.
“They only teach three classes over there: Ethics and Music Theory 3 and 4.” Mark sets down his melted froyo, not realizing he has some sticking to his upper lip.
“I’m failing to see what’s so horrible about that?”
“When Xiaojun says it’s a big hill, he means it’s a really big hill-”
“Didn’t someone count the steps once and it came out to be, like, close to 100?” Lucas asks, one hand still tangled with Yuqi’s and the other now rapidly slurping his triple chocolate froyo.
“That was me, and it’s 109 steps.” Mark shutters, “I took Music Theory 3 last year and I ended up skipping half of the time because I couldn’t find the energy to climb up and down those steps three times a week.”
“Why 109? Aren’t groups of steps usually in even numbers? That’s not very architecturally smart.” Yuqi purses her lips and her eyebrows screw together.
“Screw architecture. Are you telling me I’ll have to climb up and down 109 stairs three times a week just to go to Ethics?” You can already feel a headache growing at the back of your head when you think about the complications of dealing with this big staircase. You needed that class for your major, and you thought it was going to be a class that you could pass with flying colors, but it seems like it might just be a nuisance to you more than an easy A.
“Talk to your advisor. Try to drop out and take a different class. Trust me, 109 steps don’t seem like much until you actually have to climb them.” Mark gives you his piece of advice, sticking his spoon filled with froyo into his mouth and then immediately scrunching his eyes and mumbling about brain freeze.
You’ll have to send an e-mail to your advisor real quick, but for your first day of classes tomorrow, you’ll just have to deal with those 109 steps.
Tumblr media
The walk to your ethics class the next morning is very calming, the university’s nice landscaping and the warm weather calming your nerves down for your first day of classes. When you round the corner of the stonewall you had been following, you’re met with the infamous set of steps.
You have to crane your neck to look up at the top of the staircase, your jaw slightly dropping at how steep of a hill the stairs were built on. There are other students around you walking up and down the staircase, their headphones shoved in their ears and their heads down as they make the climb to and from class.
The stonewall you had been following all the way here continues up the staircase on your right and on the left is a thick wall of trees, their branches hanging over the stairs and giving protection from the sunlight to the students below. You begin to count every step on your way up; four regular steps, the fifth one a bit longer than the rest, and then repeat. It’s not that you don’t trust Mark’s words when he said there’s 109 steps, you just want to count for yourself.
You hear some rowdy boys coming down the stairs, but the noise is not enough to pull your head up from the ground or to stop you from counting, until you’re forcefully pushed into the stone wall on your right. Breathing in through your teeth sharply, your left hand clutches your collarbones where the pain is the worst.
“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to push you.” The guy laughs through his words, a high-pitched and almost squeaky laugh, making him sound not as sincere as he probably meant to be. When you turn to face him, the first thing you notice are his eyes. Chocolate colored and almond shaped, some laugh lines showing from the remnants of his shenanigans with his friends.
Looking back, you realize you fell in love with his eyes first. How they don’t hold back from showing any emotion, and the mischievousness they hold no matter what.
Even when his smile falls, his face looks pretty; long hair hanging down over his forehead and ears, and plump lips spreading into an ‘o’ shape as he looks at your dragonfly. Every line and detail is just the same as his own, as if fate spent a little more time with you two to make sure you know you’re each other’s soulmate the moment you meet.
“Your mark…” The man points at your hand, and that’s when you realize who you’ve just met. His brilliant eyes fill with excitement and he starts to breath harder, taking a step back from sheer surprise that you’re here. His soulmate. His one and only for the rest of this life.
However it all fades away the moment you drop your hand from your collarbones, stepping past him to continue up the staircase.
“Next time, watch where you’re going.” The first words you ever say to him are filled with so much indifference that Haechan can only follow your back with his eyes, his jaw slack and his hand still reaching out for you.
“Hey, wait-” Haechan is about to run after you, but he’s held back by Renjun, his best friend and the one who pushed Haechan into you in the first place.
“Was that-” Renjun begins, holding onto his friend’s elbow as he also watches you walk up the rest of the 109 steps.
“Yeah… Why did she ignore me like that? She saw that I have the same mark. We’re soulmates!” Haechan almost cries out in confusion, his heart and mind in a mess. Can you blame him? He’s been waiting to meet his soulmate since he knew what the dragonfly on his hand meant. Haechan has never been a patient person, and even waiting several years for you to come to him was testing him. Now that you’re here, he isn’t going to let you go easily.
As Haechan begins to walk back up the staircase to follow you, not caring about his Literature class in 15 minutes, Renjun’s grip on him tightens and pulls him back.
“You can’t just go harass her about this.”
“I’m not going to harass her. I just want to talk.” Haechan tries to pull out of Renjun’s grip again, but the little man has the sturdiness of a boulder and pulls his friend back.
“Maybe she doesn’t want a soulmate?” Renjun and Haechan stop their tug of war at Jaemin’s words. He had been leaning against the handrail by the trees the whole time while watching the scene unfold in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and his baseball cap covering his eyes. “It’s not that uncommon these days.”
Haechan and Renjun let go of each other at their friend’s words. Jaemin sends them a bitter smile and all three of them recall the incident that happened last year when Jaemin met his own soulmate:
A rejection.
Jaemin took it hard; if it hadn’t been for his best friends, he doesn’t know where he would be in life right now. Jaemin can’t help but let the memories surface as he continues to walk down the stairs, slower than before, his head bowed and his hands shoved into his pant pockets. Renjun sends Haechan a look that tells him to not push the situation further, following Jaemin down the stairs.
Haechan sends your retreating figure one last look, watching you reach the top of the staircase and walk into the Hauss building. He retreats and follows his friends dejectedly, the promise of you showing up on this staircase at the same time on Wednesday being the only thing that lets his legs follow his friends down the stairs.
Tumblr media
“Hey, ___, come in.” Mark smiles brightly when he recognizes you at the door, stepping aside to let you into the dorm room. “Xiaojun is in the shower still… Will you be okay by yourself if I leave?” He looks unsure as you set your backpack down on Xiaojun’s desk chair.
“Oh, I’ll be fine. You do whatever you need to.” You state and then plop down onto your friend’s bed. You hear Mark laugh and say something about how all the first years look tired at the end of their first day and then leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. You lay sprawled out on the bed, the only sounds surrounding you is the water from the shower and the ticking of the analog clock on the wall.
Even though the whole ordeal happened several hours ago, you haven’t been able to get the moment you met your soulmate out of your mind. It was almost impossible for you to turn around and walk away. Even now, your feet still itch to go back to that staircase and find the sweet looking guy who you no doubt left confused.
However, you can’t do that— you won’t let yourself do that. And that’s partially why you’re in Xiaojun’s dorm room after your last class today: so that he can knock some sense into you.
The shower turns off and a few moments later, the bathroom door opens and Xiaojun steps out. He has a towel wrapped around his waist and a smaller one on his shoulders to catch the droplets from his hair; when he sees you laying on his bed, he jumps in fright.
“Good, God,” He sighs and clutches his bare chest with one hand, the other protectively going to the towel around his waist. “Can you say something the next time you come over? I almost had a heart attack because of you.” He walks over to his closet on the other side of the room, rummaging through some clothes as you sit up.
“Sorry, I thought you heard the door open…” You trail off, getting distracted by Xiaojun’s mark. The dragon on his back is huge, taking up most of the area and spreading to his shoulders and upper arms, too. However, that’s not the mark that caught your attention. Right on his ankle sits a three-leaf clover, so small and such a stark difference from the monster drawn on his back.
You’re pulled away from your thoughts when Xiaojun turns around and walks back into the bathroom, this time leaving the door open, “So, how was your first day?”
“Oh, well, it was okay…” You trail off, speaking a bit louder so that he could hear you from the other room. You stand up and start pacing in the space between Mark’s and Xiaojun’s beds, a nervous habit of yours.
“But? I know there’s a ‘but’ somewhere.” Xiaojun replies.
“Well, something happened…” You trail off, not sure how to make the words leave your mouth yet.
“What is it?” You swallow at the question, your throat dry and hands clammy. You must’ve been taking a long time to answer because Xiaojun walks out of the bathroom, now fully clothed, and stares at your pacing form. “What’s wrong, ___.”
“I met him.” You say simply, hoping Xiaojun gets what you mean, but he doesn’t. You sigh and sink down to the floor slowly, catching yourself on Xiaojun’s bed. The action makes his eyes widen in fear and he crosses the room in a few short strides, kneeling down next to you and searching your eyes for the answer.
“What? What is it?”
“The person with the same mark as me. I met him.”
“... Oh.”
Xiaojun slowly slides down onto his butt in front of you, folding his legs. He’s not sure what to say, or how to comfort you in anyway. He didn’t expect to be the only person around that you trust when something like this happens. He sees the lost look in your eyes and slides towards you to pull you into a hug.
Unlike Xiaojun, and most people in the world, you do not have two marks.
Xiaojun’s dragon and clover match with two different people in this world; one who will be his soulmate and the other who will bring him immense pain. Everyone has two marks— except you; it even states it on your birth certificate, your parents can testify that they’ve never seen a second mark on you, just the lonely dragonfly that spreads its wings over your left hand.
When you were younger, you were curious about what it meant to only have one mark. The people around you always had two marks, the people on the TV shows you liked to watch always had two marks, even anatomy books have depictions of humans with two marks. Why were you different? What did it mean?
After gathering up the guts to type the question into the Google search engine, you found your answers, and it changed your thoughts on your one and only mark forever. The people in the world who only had one mark testified to the same story online: the person who’s mark matched theirs were both their soulmate and the person who hurt them the most.
After learning about that, you promised yourself that if you ever met the person with the same mark as you, you would not meddle with them in any way if they were only destined to bring you pain in the end.
If you knew jumping off a bridge would definitely kill you, you wouldn’t jump, right?
Xiaojun is the only person, other than your parents, who knows about the situation. Which is why when he hugs you, you lean into him and accept his comfort.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about. You must have so many questions.” He mumbles into your hair.
“Not questions. I’m just curious about what I am to him.” You reply, whispering into Xiaojun’s shoulder.
“About what you are to him?”
“I know he’ll be the person I’m meant to love the most, and also the person who will hurt me the most. But am I the one that’s supposed to love him or the one that’s supposed to hurt him?”
“Lots of people say that they can feel it when they meet. Like Lucas, he said he instantly knew Yuqi was supposed to be his soulmate.” Xiaojun thinks back to all the people who have told him the exact same thing, even his parents.
“The guy… he kept calling me his soulmate. He sounded so sure about it, too.” You lean away from Xiaojun to look into his big and curious eyes.
“What about you? What did you feel?” He asks.
“It felt… like I left a part of myself with him.” Xiaojun’s eyes widened at that, “Is that crazy? I was only around him for a minute, maybe less, and I can’t stop thinking about how I never wanted to leave. It was so hard to walk away from him..” You trail off, feeling tears suddenly gather at the edges of your eyes.
“Xiaojun…” The edge in your voice makes him grab a hold on your hands, “I don’t want him to hurt me. I’m not ready for it.”
“Hey, hey…” Xiaojun squeezes your hands before gently guiding your face to his, meeting his eyes with your own, “He’ll hurt you eventually, yeah, but he’ll also be the person who is supposed to love you unconditionally. The person who is going to know you so well, better than yourself. Maybe you should see where he takes you in life? Destiny still wanted you to meet each other no matter what the end game is going to be… Are you really going to tell fate to fuck off?”
“Can’t I?” Your response makes Xiaojun laugh, which he apologises for laughing in a serious situation right after, but the mood is already broken and you laugh at yourself a bit as well.
“C’mon, let’s order something to eat and get your mind off of this, even if it’s just for a few hours.” Xiaojun pulls you off of the floor and reaches for his phone, trying to find the phone number to his favorite delivery place.
You sit on his bed once again, your hands limp in your lap and so much appreciation for Xiaojun in your chest. You probably would’ve gone insane if he wasn’t here for you. His suggestion on giving the guy you met today a chance plays like a record in your head, but the record scratches when you remember the promise you made to yourself a long time ago.
Don’t mess with him. He will only bring you pain in the end.
Tumblr media
On Wednesday, Haechan is the first one out of his seat in his Music Theory 3 class, not even waiting for the slow Renjun and even slower Jaemin before sprinting out of the classroom and outside, waiting at the top of the staircase for your figure to appear at the bottom.
Students float up and down the stairs, but he doesn’t see you anywhere amongst them. Eventually, Renjun and Jaemin catch up to him, standing behind him and also staring down the long staircase.
“C’mon, Haechan, we need to go to our next class.” Renjun is the first one to step down, followed by Jaemin. Haechan takes a good look at everyone’s faces on his way down, getting some weird looks sent his way for staring, but he doesn’t care.
“Haechan.” Jaemin suddenly calls out, making his friend turn suddenly to look at him. Jaemin only nods his head to the bottom of the stairs where you just turned the corner. Despite his hurry from before, Haechan stops at the sight of you. His usual confidence is lost when he sees you climb the stairs. Now, he’s not sure if he should approach you.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Renjun nudges Haechan, but the younger only turns around to look at his friend.
“I don’t know what to say to her. What do I say to make her see I’m her soulmate?” Haechan asks, helplessness seeping into his words.
Renjun rolls his eyes; whenever his best friend needs to be the usual confident man he is, that’s when the confidence is most likely to drain out of him. Renjun shakes Haechan’s shoulders with a tight grip on his jacket, making some more people send the two of them some weird looks.
“She’s your soulmate, right? Fate already gave you everything you need to know about how to talk to her.” Renjun then pushes his friend towards your direction, “But for the love of god, don’t harass her.” Renjun ends with a pointed look and continues walking with Jaemin down the stairs.
Haechan slowly makes his way to you, crossing over to the middle of the staircase and stopping you in your tracks. You look up to inspect who it is that just stopped in front of you, and your surprise fades when you realize it’s the same guy from Monday.
“Hi.” He says simply. You only nod your head, lips pursed, and then move around him to continue walking to class.
“Wait…” Haechan calls after you, but you don’t stop this time. So Haechan keeps walking after you, only one step behind, “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but you’re my soulmate. I’ve been waiting for you for so long—” You sharply turn to face him, making Haechan cut off and tilt his head up to look at you.
“How do you know I’m your soulmate? What if I’m not?” You ask. Haechan shakes his head softly at that, his golden hair moving over his sun-kissed skin as he does.
“That’s not possible.”
“How do you know?” You ask. Haechan loves how curiosity burns in your eyes. He takes longer than normal to speak only so that he can look over your features and memorize them to the best of his ability. Last night, he tried to recall your face but the image came out so blurry since he only saw you for a moment on Monday. He wants to clearly remember what you look like.
“How about I take you somewhere, and then I’ll tell you?” The proposition stuns you, and your burning curiosity makes you want to say yes. However, going anywhere with him would be breaking your promise to yourself, so you decide to forget it.
“Nevermind…” You mumble, turning around to walk up the stairs again.
“You seem like you really want to know how I’m sure we’re soulmates… Aren’t you curious?” Haechan asks, making you stop in your tracks again. This man has only known you for a day, only talked to you for a few moments, yet he already knows how to get you to do something. “I promise I won’t hurt you, and I’m not lying either.”
You take a moment to think about the proposition. You’re really curious about how he’s so sure that you’re soulmates. Sure, you know you’re soulmates, but why is he so sure you aren’t the person who’s supposed to hurt him? You consider taking up the offer, but can you stay strong to your own promise while being close to him?
Curiosity wins, and you turn back around to face him, nodding and making him smile widely. There’s that crinkle in his eyes again, that sparkle against the sun that makes saying yes to him so much more worth it.
“My friends call me Haechan, but you can call me Donghyuck. That’s my real name.” He sticks out his hand for you to shake. You once heard that physical touch brings soulmates together quicker; you’re not sure if that’s true, but you don’t want to test it.
“I’m ___.” You nod at him and grip onto your backpack straps instead of accepting his handshake.
“Haechan, hurry up or we’ll be late!” You both hear Renjun shout out from the bottom of the stairs, “And on our second day, too.” You hear him groan.
“Okay, ___, I’ll see you here at 7pm tomorrow night.” Haechan turns around to run back to his friends, sending you one last wave goodbye and almost tripping down the stairs as he does.
You take a deep breath and turn around to walk up the rest of the steps. You’re unsure if you did the right thing by agreeing to see him tomorrow night, but the deed is now done, and you can only wait for Donghyuck to quench your curiosity.
Tumblr media
As promised, you meet Donghyuck at 7 o’clock sharp the next day. He’s already waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs.
“So, where are you taking me?” You ask after saying your hello’s.
“It’s a surprise.” He smiles and nods his head to make you follow him. He leads you through parts of campus you haven’t seen yet, the buildings looking older and older the further down the path you walk. Soon, Donghyuck takes a sharp turn into what looks like the middle of the forest but is really just a small, hidden extension of the trail.
Under a canopy of tall trees that wave with the wind to you and Donghyuck, there is a skinny trail that leads to glimmering water. It draws you in, your curiosity struck and your feet now moving on their own accord. Bushes tickle your ankles and the smell of some sort of flower you cannot identify floods your senses, but you can only keep walking towards the sparkling water.
The scene in front of you takes your breath away, a crisp gasp that you have no control over leaves your lips. The pond before you is big, stretching further than what you can see. The water is blue and the setting sun’s light reflects off of it to create rippling sparkles. There are some lily pads floating around, their flowers gone due to the temperature dropping recently.
You didn’t even notice that you stopped walking, your eyes wide as you take in the scenery before you. You almost forget who you’re with and why you came, but Donghyuck doesn’t let that happen. You snap out of it when he continues to walk along the trail that leads around the pond. You walk alongside Donghyuck, a few feet away with your hands awkwardly tucked into your pockets.
“C’mon, let’s sit.” He motions to a weeping willow tree. It’s tall and the branches sway pleasantly in the wind, completely unaware and indifferent to the years of history in the area. Underneath the tree is a sturdy bench, you sit on the left side while Donghyuck sits on the right side. Then, you both take a few moments to stare at the mesmerizing water that led you all the way to this seemingly magical place.
“Why did you bring me here?” You ask after a bit.
“Do you not like it?” Donghyuck asks back.
“No.” You quickly reply, looking over his side profile before turning back to the water, “I’m just curious.”
“Something in me knew you would like this place, that’s all.” Donghyuck replies while trying to hide his proud smile, looking down at the grass. “You’re curious about a lot of things, huh?”
“Yeah, I can’t help it. There’s just so much I want to know.” It’s easy to talk to him, a bit too easy. You have to keep reminding yourself that you’re supposed to have your guard up in front of him, but it’s proving harder than you thought it would be.
“Like how I’m sure that you’re my soulmate and not the person who is supposed to hurt me?” Donghyuck leans his weight away from you, his eyebrow cocked in a question. You nod your head lightly, playing with your hands on your lap.
“It’s because I’ve already met the person who’s supposed to bring me pain. I’ve already been hurt.” At his words, surprise fills you up and you turn your head to look him straight in the eye.
For some reason, you always thought that when people meet the person who brings them the largest amount of pain to their life, they couldn’t be the same ever again. How does one get hurt so badly, and still live on?
There are so many ways to hurt someone. Some people become bankrupt, some people lose all of their belongings, some people are even physically hurt by the person who has the same mark as them. How does a person go through any of that and still be themselves afterwards? More importantly, how did Donghyuck go through immense pain and still be able to smile at you like he is right here, right now?
“Here.” He begins to explain, pushing his pants around until you can see his second mark through one of the holes in his jeans, a sunflower on his knee, “My dad had the same mark as me.”
“Your…. Dad?” You ask, still confused.
“Mhmm,” He nods, now tracing the petals of the sunflower mark absentmindedly, “My parents immediately knew something was wrong when I was born. Why would a son and dad have the same mark? When I was growing up, he worked a lot, so I spent lots of time with my mom and grew closer to her. I don’t remember much from that time, but I do remember we were happy. We didn’t have a lot, but we had each other; that kind of feeling.” He looks over at you to see if you’re keeping up with the story. To Donghyuck’s surprise, you already have tears lining your eyes.
“Then one day, Dad comes home and tells us he lost his job. I remember my parents fought a lot the few weeks after that happened, mostly about how to raise me if they had no income. Dad would go out and look for work, but always came back with no luck. So eventually, my mom started working. For a while, the reason we could keep living was because of her.” Donghyuck swallows and pauses for a moment before continuing.
“And then one night, dad came home and told us he gambled. Everything, he gambled everything away. Even the little that we had, it wasn’t ours anymore. That night, my dad told me I was a mistake. My parents never meant to have me, and he said…” Donghyuck purses his lips for a moment. It had been a while since he thought about this. The scar on his heart still hurts when he picks at it. “... He said that he wished I had never been born. Then, we wouldn’t have been in that mess.”
“How old were you?” You speak up after a moment.
“Seven? Or eight.” He nods and sniffs his nose, looking down at his knee. The whole day, Donghyuck was preparing himself to tell you this story. He felt that the only way to get close to you was to open up like this first, to show you that he isn’t someone scary or bad. To Donghyuck’s surprise, telling this story hurts less now than it did earlier in this life. Maybe that means time is working, and his heart is being mended bit by bit.
Donghyuck leans his elbows against his knees, looking at the water once again while waiting for you to say anything. Are you still curious? What do you think of him now?
He was in no way prepared to feel your arms wrap around his waist in a hug, your head resting against his shoulder and your chest pressed against his side. He freezes for a moment, and then melts into your embrace completely. He’s overcome with lovesick softness for you, lightly griping the part of your arm that’s across his chest as his head turns to the side to press a kiss to the top of your head. It’s so quick that you don’t even have time to move away or to react. You just let it happen, as it’s supposed to be.
“You said that something in you knew I would like this place,” You mumble against him. He hears your voice straining with emotion, “Well, something in me knows that you need this right now.”
You and Donghyuck sit there until the sparkling water is no longer fueled by the sun’s light, but by the moon’s. It seems as though now you’ve touched Donghyuck, you never wanted to stop. You’re almost one hundred percent sure that it’s because of the soulmate bond, and a part of you nags at yourself for already chipping away at the promise you made to yourself when you were younger.
However, younger you never knew what it would be like to have a person sit in front of you and share a part of his past with you in an act of confidence and security. Your younger self never knew what it would be like to feel the same pain as someone else, and the pull you felt to touch him after sensing that physical affection would help ease that pain away.
Your younger self had no idea it was this easy to fall into a person, especially when you know they’ll catch you.
Tumblr media
“God, I’m so sick and tired of Accounting. ___, I’m quitting school.” Xiaojun gravely tells you, his eyes not wavering from his computer screen.
“Shut up and do your homework, Jun.” You mumble, your eyes not leaving your own computer screen as you type up your Ethics essay. Three weeks into school and you’re already fully emerged in your classes. The newness of college has faded and now it’s time to start the next four years of studying endlessly for the future.
“Are you guys… okay? You haven’t moved over there in a few hours.” Mark asks from the other side of the room where he’s doing his own homework. He eyes you and your best friend from where you’re sitting on his bed, “Are you even comfortable?”
You and Xiaojun are sharing a blanket, he’s leaning against his headboard and you’re leaning against the wall. Your legs are thrown over his and several textbooks are scattered over the blanket. You’re not even sure which of these books are yours or his, or which papers laying in messy stacks belong to who.
“Yeah, I think we’re okay. We’ve been studying like this since high school.” Xiaojun answers, his fingers moving along his keyboard at the same time. You nod at Mark and he shakes his head, not understanding you two but accepting the answer.
You’re over at the guys’ dorm room enough that Mark is not surprised to see you here anymore, hanging out with Xiaojun or waiting for him to come back from class. It’s not that you don’t like your own dorm room, but it’s always so quiet in there since your roommate always studies at the library. You only hear her come into the room late at night when you’re on the verge of sleep, and when she leaves early in the morning before your alarm rings. Weekends are the same. You don’t really care, but you’ve started to hate the quiet, so you’re glad that Mark and Xiaojun don’t mind you chilling here.
“Argh,” Mark yawns and stretches after a few minutes, throwing his computer to the side and standing up, “I’m getting some snacks from the vending machine. You guys want anything?”
After you and Xiaojun answer with simultaneous shakes of your heads, which creeps Mark out, he leaves the room to get food. The room is silent for a few more moments until Xiaojun angles the lid of his laptop down to look at you.
“So… How’s the guy?”
“What guy?” You ask, still preoccupied with your essay.
“Your soulmate, ___, what other guy is there?” Xiaojun answers exasperatedly, “You never told me his name, so I don’t know what to call him. Actually, I haven’t heard you talk about him since the first day of classes. I was hoping you’d tell me what happened with him, but I guess I have to go digging up your dirt myself.” He rolls his eyes.
“His name is Haechan.” You answer, moving your computer to the side, “And I haven’t said anything to you about him because… I haven’t seen him in weeks.” You admit quietly.
“Huh? Didn’t you say you were meeting up so he could tell you why he’s sure you’re his soulmate?” You nod your head at the question, “So, what happened after that?”
“Well… I kinda, maybe, sort of…. have been avoiding him.” You answer quietly, stealing a glance at your best friend to see him staring at you blankly. When he sighs and reaches for his pillow, your eyes widen and you hold up your hands in front of you, spewing pleas and ‘wait’s. Xiaojun doesn’t care, though, flinging his pillow from behind him and into your face.
“Ow?” You whine after the pillow makes contact with your head and forces you to turn to face the other way, “Was that necessary?” You rub your nose, the part of your face that hurts worse from his attack. You’re used to Xiaojun doing this to you whenever you did something that both of you know you shouldn’t have so that you can “get some sense knocked into you, hopefully.”
“You’re so dumb. So, so dumb. Why would you avoid him.” It’s not a question, more of a confused statement to the general air. “You realize people would kill to meet their soulmate, right? People would do anything to be in your position, but you just hide away?”
“People would do anything to meet their soulmate, but people would also do anything to stay away from the person who shares their other mark.” You retaliate, “You don’t understand. To me, Haechan is both of those people.”
“There you go again, worrying about the future when you’re not even sure about what is going to happen. When will you stop worrying about something you can’t control and start thinking about today?” Xiaojun sounds so tired talking about this topic, a conversation you’ve had many times in your friendship. You wonder if he’s so tired of it, why he keeps bringing it up himself.
Before you can answer, the door to the room opens and Mark walks in, several snacks in his arms, “Hey, everyone, I hope it’s okay I brought a friend. He’s in the same major as me, just a year younger—”
“___?” Mark stops talking when his friend speaks, surprised that he already knows one of the people in the room. Your eyes widen, jaw slackening as you’re unable to even let out a peep from your mouth.
“You know each other?” Mark asks, looking between his two friends.
“Yeah, you could say I know my soulmate.” Donghyuck replies, making both Xiaojun and Mark’s eyes widen. You suddenly realize the situation you’re in: under a blanket with Xiaojun, your pajamas on, and your soulmate in front of you after you ghosted him for weeks. For the first time in a while, your eyes meet.
Donghyuck is mad. You can tell by how his fists are clenched and his jaw is tightened. Slowly getting out of the bed, you try to form some words, but Donghyuck snaps and walks over to you quickly. Grabbing your hand, he pulls you out of the room and down the hallway until you get to the lounge area. When you reach the empty room, that’s when you come to your senses.
“Donghyuck,” You pull your arm out of his, making him turn to face you, “I’m not even wearing shoes.” You hiss, pointing down to your feet as if to prove some point.
“What was all that?” He disregards your comment and hisses back at you, stepping closer so that you’re barely a few inches apart. “You were under a blanket. With some guy. Don’t you feel wrong doing that?” He asks, his hands now on his hips. You feel slightly like you’re being lectured to.
“That guy is my best friend.” You spit out.
“So, do you go around and do that to all of your guy friends?” Donghyuck chuckles vehemently, you can tell he’s angry and jealous, and that those emotions are clouding his brain at the moment. That doesn’t mean his words don’t hurt, though.
“Xiaojun and I have been best friends since we were in diapers. I’ve known you for three weeks, barely. I’m more comfortable around him than I am with you. You think just because I’m your soulmate, I’ll automatically trust you and we’ll all of a sudden be a happy couple? It doesn’t work like that, Donghyuck. I don’t even know you.” You can tell you hurt him by your last words because he turns silent, his shoulders slouching and his anger subsiding.
You can tell you hurt him, hard, because you feel the hurt, too.
It makes you realize how scary the bond between soulmates is. Even though you and Donghyuck haven’t spent that much time together to strengthen your bond, it’s still strong enough to allow you to feel his emotions. It makes you wonder if Donghyuck will be able to feel your pain in the future when he hurts you, like he’s destined to.
“Have you even tried to get to know me? You’ve been avoiding me ever since I took you to the pond.” At his comment, you fold your arms over your chest and look away, not ready to answer that question.
“I’m… just scared, is all.” You manage to reply. Although not the complete truth, it’s not a total lie. Donghyuck completely softens at your words, his close proximity to you feels less threatening and turns into something more gentle. His hand softly slips into yours, but this time with a lighter touch than before.
“You don’t have to be scared, not around me. I’m new to this too, so I don’t know how it all works yet, but this is something we can figure out together. That’s what we were fated to do.” Donghyuck can feel his words pulling you closer to him, he can feel you on the edge and he’s ready to catch you with his arms wide open.
But in the last second, you take a step back and slip your hand out of his, making his drop limply to his sides. You send him a look, something he can’t read, and then turn around and walk back to the dorm he pulled you out of.
He almost had you, almost.
Tumblr media
When midterms come around, you use your upcoming tests and projects as a way to dive deep into your work so that you don’t have to think about Donghyuck. It’s a good plan overall, however your friends quickly start worrying for you and your health. Staying up late several nights in a row and not even being able to remember when the last time you ate is where Xiaojun pulled the plug on your bad studying habits. He confiscated your backpack and dropped you off in front of your dorm building with the promise that you’ll have all of your things back tomorrow morning only if you rest for tonight.
On your way to the elevator, you run into Yuqi, both of your facial expressions brightening when you recognize each other.
“Oh, ___, Hi!” You stop in the middle of the hallway to greet her, a smile pulling at your lips due to her bright hello. “How are you?”
“Midterms are kicking my ass, but other than that I’m fine.” She laughs at your answer, throwing her head back and letting her new short hair ruffle her shoulders.
“I wish I could tell you it gets better, but that would be a lie.” You nod your head in solemn understanding, “Listen, I can’t talk for long since I have a night class, but promise to text me when things slow down, yeah?”
“Of course, I promise.” You nod, just the thought of spending some time with a good friend already pushes away your stress. You wave bye to Yuqi as she begins to turn around but after a loud “oh!” leaves her lips, she turns back to face you.
“Your roommate, her name is Mya, right?” At her random question, you tilt your head in confusion, “She has really long, black hair and big glasses, right? I think I saw her when I was helping you move in?”
“Yeah, that’s her.” You nod, “Why?”
“She found her soulmate today.” You would’ve been more interested in the news if you knew Mya beyond when she goes to class and when she gets back to the dorm, but you feign surprise and nod your head absentmindedly.
“Lucas managed to get a video. It was a whole performance in the quad today, you’d think someone was getting married. I’ll send it to you later.” And with that, she says her last goodbye and runs off. You slowly turn and continue walking in a slow pace up to your dorm room, taking the stairs just so you can have some time to think and be away from people you could potentially run into if you use the elevator.
You’re genuinely happy for Mya, even if you barely know a single thing about her. However, something about a person close to you finding their soulmate makes you sad, considering the situation with your own soulmate. You can’t help but feel a little jealous that there are people who can meet their soulmate and fall into each other’s lives easily.
In times like these, you crave for Donghyuck.
You crave his touch and his words, you crave that comfortable feeling of belonging somewhere you get when he’s around. It’s insane that you haven’t spent much time together, yet you can yearn for someone to the extent that it hurts. It’s been like this ever since Donghyuck pulled you out of Xiaojun’s dorm and you rejected him.
Turning away from him all those weeks ago still haunts you. When you’re struggling to fall asleep, your mind goes to that night. When you let your mind wander, it wanders to that night. You constantly think about stepping away from him, but you’re not sure if you keep remembering the moment out of guilt or shame. One of the questions you keep asking yourself is if you did the right thing. You still do not have an answer.
When you walk into your dorm room, you kick off your shoes and turn on your bedside lamp, falling onto your bed with a deep sigh. You close your eyes for a second, but the peace and quiet of your room is ruined when your phone dings with a notification.
Yuqi’s message pops up, and when you swipe your phone open you can see she sent a video. You click on it and turn the volume up. This was no doubt taken earlier today in the quad, the sun shining and lots of professors and students walking in the background. Under the huge clock tower stand two people, one of them holding a large bouquet of roses. When the clock strikes noon, the bells on top of the tower begin to ring a familiar melody that can be heard all over your big campus. You see the exchange of the bouquet and the two people hug, and then applause rises from the people walking by. You smile when you hear Lucas’ whooping and hollering from behind the phone.
You’ve heard about the tradition of soulmates meeting under the clock tower at your university. Yuqi told you about it when she was giving you a tour around campus at the beginning of the semester. You remember her telling you that it’s really romantic, probably due to the history of so many people getting together in the exact same spot.
Although the idea is rather plain, you do feel your heart strings tug at the beautiful display, glad you could see something like this through a video. Then, as the camera gets closer to the couple, your smile fades and you pause the video, zooming in to get a better view. Mya is no doubt the one who received the flowers, but you can’t help but furrow your eyebrows as you recognize her soulmate.
It’s one of Donghyuck’s friends.
Not the quiet one with black hair that hangs around on the outside of their group, but the shorter one who seemed to simultaneously love and hate Donghyuck, or at least that’s what you gathered from seeing him a few times.
After the realization, you drop your phone to the side and stare up at your ceiling in defeat. Is this fate? If you didn’t meet Donghyuck on those steps two months ago, would you eventually meet him through your roommate and her soulmate? Or is this all just one big coincidence?
In this world, coincidences are harder to find than the work of fate.
Your train of thought is quickly cut off by the opening on the door, you quickly sit up to watch a huge red bouquet of flowers enter the room, followed by your roommate. You’ve only seen her face a few times this semester, but never have her features looked so bright and happy. She also looks startled when she notices you’re in the room, but her happiness doesn’t fade.
“Oh? You’re here?” She asks.
“I could ask you the same thing.” You both chuckle awkwardly, “Congrats, by the way. For finding your soulmate.” You motion to the flowers in her hand.
“Thank you! To be honest, Renjun wasn’t at all what I expected in a soulmate, but I think I love him already.” The sweetness drips from her eyes and words, and you nod and smile, remembering that Donghyuck’s friend’s name is Renjun. Her phone begins to ring and she shuffles the flowers in her hand to look at the screen, “Oh, it’s him.”
She answers the call, speaking quietly as she walks over to her side of the room. You weigh out the options of sneaking out of your dorm and finding a place to chill until your roommate falls asleep. You're not sure if you can talk to her about soulmate stuff and keep up this happy look on your face.
However, all thoughts of those plans leave your mind when Mya turns to you and holds out the phone, “It’s for you?” She says it more like a question, but you’re sure you’re the one who’s more confused.
“Hello?” You ask into the phone, awkwardly looking around the room.
“___? Oh, thank god. It’s Renjun, Haechan’s friend. I need your help.” He talks quickly and shallowly, like he’s out of breath and currently moving somewhere.
“How did you know I’m Mya’s roommate?” You ask, disregarding his cry for help.
“It’s a long story, I promise I’ll explain later, but can you please come to the auditorium? The back entrance.” You hear more voices in the background of the call, but you can’t make out what they're saying. One of them is definitely Donghyuck.
“What’s going on?” At the sound of your soulmate’s unique tenor, you suddenly become more aware of what might be happening. Is Donghyuck safe? Did he get in trouble?
“Donghyuck drank too much and he won’t go home, he keeps asking for you.” At that, you hand the phone back to Mya, who takes it from you with an unsure look. By the time Mya says her worried goodbyes and hangs up, she turns back to an empty dorm room, your phone snatched from your bed and your scattered shoes gone.
Tumblr media
You must’ve made it to the auditorium in record time, not even the climb up the 109 steps could slow you down. When you reach the auditorium, you can hear Donghyuck and his friends conversing loudly and you follow their voices, which eventually leads you to the dingy backside of the auditorium. Donghyuck is sitting on the ground with the hood of his coat pulled up and covering his eye sight, arms crossed over his chest and his lips in a pout. His two friends, Renjun and the black-haired kid, stand above him. The quiet one is shivering in his spot while Renjun practically yells at Donghyuck on the ground, who doesn’t seem to be moving any time soon.
“Hi, ___.” The quiet one notices you first and then all three guys turn to look at you.
“___…” Donghyuck whines out your name and tries to stand up but Renjun gently pushes him back down.
“What happened?” You ask, sniffing your nose when the harsh, cold air nips at it.
“He said he wanted to unwind before his midterms tomorrow but then he went out and had some drinks, a few too many as you can see.” Renjun explains, “We followed him here, he said he won’t go anywhere unless it’s with you.”
“It’s strange. Haechan is a good drinker, I didn’t think he would get drunk so quickly… Oh, I’m Jaemin, by the way.” He introduces himself with a bright smile, as if you weren’t just discussing the drunken state of his friend.
“I’m Renjun, I called you earlier. I promise I have a good explanation for how I know you’re Mya’s roommate, I just don’t think right now is the best time to talk about it.” Renjun explains, his hands pointing towards Donghyuck.
“Right, about him… I think you guys should leave.” Both sober men widen their eyes, looking at each other and then back at you.
“Are you sure you want to handle this yourself? He looks small, but Haechan is kind of heavy.” Jaemin warns.
“Hey!” Donghyuck speaks up, but even his verbalization sounds slurred. When he points an accusing finger at Jaemin, he sways and misses Jaemin’s figure by a whole foot, “Don’t say that kind of stuff to my girlfriend.”
At his use of the word, Jaemin and Renjun stand straight with awkwardness and you sigh, white puffs of air leaving your mouth, “Yeah, you guys should go.”
Renjun and Jaemin give you an unsure look, but turn around and leave the area anyway. Renjun sends one last look over his shoulder with a wave of his hand. You look at Donghyuck after they turn the corner, kicking his shoe gently.
“Hey, get up. How much did you drink?” You’re not actually curious about how much alcohol he consumed, you just want to know if he can even respond to simple questions.
“Babe!” He exclaims when he looks up, “Oh, not much. I could go for another round right now, actually.” His words slur together and he sways in his sitting position against the brick wall of the auditorium.
“You’re not going for another round, you’re going home. C’mon.” You grab onto the sleeve of his puffer jacket, pulling him up so that he’s standing. He immediately falls onto you, his arms around your waist and his legs spread wide so that his head is hidden in your neck.
“Hyuck, you have to walk. Get up.” You pull him up once again, putting one of his arms around your shoulders and giving him more support around his waist. Slowly, you begin to walk away from the auditorium with Donghyuck’s drunk mumbling filling the cool air. His legs barely work underneath him, and he turns his head and leans into your ear every once in a while to sing some random lyric that pops into his mind at that second, like a small concert that he allows only you to hear.
Once you reach the top of the staircase, you stop and take a long look down to the bottom, “Why did you have to come all the way up here? How are we getting down the stairs?” If you start to climb down, Donghyuck could fall and hurt himself. You’re not that strong to begin with and your shoulders are already feeling sore from carrying most of Donghyuck’s weight.
“We can ride this.” He giggles and breaks away from you, one of his legs swinging over the handrail so that he’s straddling it.
“No, no, no.” You pull him off, but his shoe gets caught against the rail and he comes falling down onto you, both of you landing on the top step of the staircase. You wince in pain at how your back hits the concrete, but you don’t think about it much as you push Donghyuck off of you and into the space next to you on the top stair.
“Oh, no. Are we stuck up here?” He asks as you brush your hands together to get rid of the little pieces of concrete in your skin.
“Yes, and it’s all your fault. What are you gonna do about it?” You reply, so sarcastically that even Donghyuck’s drunk brain registers the joke. Your heart almost leaps out of your throat when he grabs your hands and pulls you closer to him, gently picking out each little ball of cement in your palms.
“I’m sorry I keep hurting you.” He apologizes. This close, you can smell the alcohol in his breath, mixed with his shampoo and cologne. He smells warm in this cold weather, and you feel like falling into him and drinking up his scent, not even minding the alcohol stench.
“Keep hurting me?” You ask.
“Yeah, that must be why you don’t want to be with me. I have to be doing something wrong for you to hate me.” He sighs, sniffling and enclosing your hands in his, his glassy eyes looking up at you and his long hair hangs down over his forehead and tickles his eyelashes. “I’m a bad soulmate.”
The way he says it makes your heart break. It makes you feel regret 1000 times worse than what you’ve been feeling these past few weeks; as if all of the worry and sadness hit you all at once, you feel like crying.
Isn’t he supposed to be the one who hurts you? Why does it feel like you’re the only one doing the hurting?
“You’re not a bad soulmate,” It’s not Donghyuck’s fault that he got stuck with you, or that things will turn out the way that they’re destined to, “And I don’t hate you.”
“You don’t?” He looks up into the night sky and sways a bit as he thinks, “Then why won’t you be with me? Hm?” He tilts his head, his lips pouting as he thinks. You desperately want to find an answer that’ll soothe him, but nothing you can come up with will give you that result, the truth included.
“It’s complicated…” You trail off, and your answer makes Donghyuck snort.
“How? I’m your soulmate, you’re mine. What else matters?” He laughs incredulously.
“What if you’re not just my soulmate?” You ask him, surprising yourself with how easily you can ask the question, probably because the influence of alcohol over him has you more at ease, “What if something happens in the future? I’m just… looking out for me, and for you.” You explain, trying to sound as vague as possible.
When you glance at Donghyuck, he looks dead serious. You think that maybe he has suddenly sobered up with how deep and calculating his eyes look. One of his hands tighten around yours while the other slowly raises to your hair, pacing himself along the way, and pausing before he touches you. When you don’t stop him, he gently caresses your hair and moves it away from your face, his nimble fingers sliding to your jaw. He moves your face so that your eyes meet his.
“I know I’m drunk, but I can make this promise again when I’m sober. I’ll make this promise every single day for the rest of my life, only if it means you can be there with me to fulfill it.” The severeness in his tone is like a wake up call about how serious this is for him.
“What promise?” You whisper back.
“It’s not just a ‘you’ or just a ‘me’ now. It’s an ‘us.’ And I will do everything I can to not hurt us.”
He says it with so much conviction that you somehow believe him. You finally fall into him and rest your tired head on his shoulder as he welcomes you into his warm arms. Maybe it’s foolish of you to think you two can go against fate’s words, but with him by your side, you feel like you can conquer the whole universe.
Tumblr media
“Stop smiling like that, you’re making it very obvious that you got laid for the first time.” Donghyuck peers over his laptop screen to Renjun, where he has had a permanent smile on his face ever since he, Donghyuck, and Jaemin met up today to study in the lounge center of their dorm building.
“You know, Haechan, I’m not even mad at that. It’s more than what I can say to you.” Renjun tries to hide his widening smile while looking down at his own laptop, but that paired with Jaemin’s quiet laughter leaves Donghyuck bitter. “Didn’t you and ___ make up?” Renjun asks.
“They were fighting? I thought they just weren’t talking to each other?” Jaemin asks.
“Isn’t that fighting?”
“Kids.” Haechan cuts them off, “Not that it’s any of your business, but we were not fighting and we did make up.”
“That makes no sense.” Jaemin mutters and squints his eyes at Donghyuck.
“I’m older than you.” Renjun retaliates, but Donghyuck pretends like he doesn’t hear.
“We’re just… taking it slow.” Donghyuck ends his explanation with a firm nod of his head, and Renjun shuts his laptop and turns to his friend.
“Can you take it slow during the Fair this weekend? I’m planning to go with Mya and accidentally bought two pairs of tickets. I’ll give you the other pair.” Renjun leans into his friend’s side and wiggles his eyebrows.
“At what cost?” Haechan leans in as well and raises an eyebrow.
“Help me with my English project.”
“No way,” Haechan leans back and focuses on his own laptop screen again, “I haven’t even started mine, I don’t have time to help you with yours.”
“Please,” Renjun draws out the word, grabbing Donghyuck’s sleeve and tugging at it so hard that he can’t properly type, “I suck at English, and unfortunately it’s the only thing that you’re better at than me.”
“The only thing?” Donghyuck glares at Renjun. “Now I’m definitely not helping you.” When Renjun whines at that Donghyuck gets a devilish idea, and it shows by the smirk on his face, “... Unless, you’d like to show us how you really need help.”
At Donghyuck’s proposition, he leans back in his chair with his arms folded across his  chest while Jaemin mirrors his actions, his own goofy smile on his face as he waits for Renjun to either accept or deny the proposition, but he hopes he’ll accept it.
Renjun looks between his two friends and sighs, dropping his head down as he mentally prepares himself. When he lifts his head, he looks at Donghyuck with his lips pursed, his pointer finger over them and makes a “kyu” sound that is way higher than his original speaking voice. Jaemin and Haechan immediately burst into as quiet of laughter as they can, Jaemin reaching over the table to poke Renjun’s cheek at his cuteness.
“I never said to act cute, I just wanted you to say please again.” Donghyuck jokes through his snickering, and Renjun immediately stands up from his chair to take a fistful of Haechan’s jacket and pull back his other fist, all cuteness gone from his facial features in a split second.
“Okay, okay, sorry, sorry.” Haechan tries to pull away, his voice rising as Renjun holds onto his jacket tighter and threateningly leans in.
“Hey, quiet down.” Someone whisper-shouts from a few tables away, and it makes Renjun let go of Donghyuck and slowly sit back down. “This isn’t even a library, why are they shushing me.” He grumbles.
“You guys have fun on your date,” Jaemin sighs as he begins to put away his things, satisfied with the study session and with his friends' mischief, “I would go too, but I don’t feel like being a fifth wheel.”
Tumblr media
Once your classes end on the day of the Fair, you and your roommate meet up with Donghyuck and Renjun outside of the Fair grounds. You and Donghyuck walk side by side, a bit behind the other couple as they lead the way, practically in their own little bubble. Your hands are shoved in your pockets to keep them from turning numb from the cold and you try to shove your head as far into your jacket as you can to keep your face and neck protected from the wind. Other than the chilly weather, it’s a perfect day for a Fair.
You don’t seem to notice Donghyuck’s predicament right beside you; he’s trying to find a way to hold your hand, but you don’t move them out of your pockets. Actually, Donghyuck is sure you’re doing this on purpose, since he has been trying to touch you the moment you met up with him tonight.
“So, what do you wanna ride first?” He asks you. After looking around the area, your eyes land on a tea cup ride, where the large cups move in circles and also spin in their spots.
“That.” You point to it. Before you can move, Donghyuck latches into your hand that was pointing into the air and pulls you to the ride, a smug smile on his face at how he succeeded in finally sharing some skin to skin contact.
The ride was, to say the least, nauseating. Not that it was disgusting, but Donghyuck wouldn’t stop spinning your individual cup around in fast circles, and you were so sure that you would fling off any second due to the strong velocity those tiny cups have when they go at full speed. However, walking off of the ride with wobbly legs and not being able to see straight was funnier than you thought it would be.
Donghyuck was actually still pretty dizzy when he tried to win a stuffed octopus for you with a dart game. However, he ended up losing $15 while trying to win the game, and you’re sure he would’ve spent more if you didn’t pull him away. After eating some good food and refilling your energy, the sun begins to set on the horizon in a colorful display of red, orange and pink, and people start to make their way to the ferris wheel.
“C’mon,” You hear Mya say from behind you, “We need to get in line first or else we’ll be waiting for half of the night.” She pulls Renjun by his sleeve and passes you and Donghyuck, practically running to the end of the growing line for the Ferris Wheel. When you see where she’s running to, you stop in your tracks which in turn makes Donghyuck stop. Your intertwined fingers pull you back to each other as he looks at you with a puzzled look.
“I’m… not good with heights.” You confess and look towards the top of the ferris wheel, shivering just at the thought of going that far up into the sky in a metal contraption, “Or small spaces…” You add on.
“That’s okay,” Donghyuck gently reassures, smiling lightly at your sudden timidness about your fears. Honestly, he’s just happy you now trust him a bit more to even tell him what you’re afraid of. “We don’t have to go. We can do something else.”
“Like what?” You ask. Donghyuck purses his lips and looks around, until a set of stairs on the edge of the fairgrounds catches his eye.
“I know a place where we can still get a good view of the sunset without going too far up.” He replies and tugs you along with him towards the set of stairs. They lead down to the park that’s nestled in the middle of your University, which eventually leads to a pedestrian bridge that crosses over a river that runs through your town.
The river isn’t that big, nor is the bridge, but it’s big enough to have your head tilting up in wonder as you gaze at the lights adorning the sides of it, lighting up not only the bridge itself by the sky as well. You’ve seen this bridge from your dorm room, but you’ve never once stood on it, and it looks remarkable from this close up.
Donghyuck continues to lead you over the pedestrian bridge onto the other side, where an outdoor museum that was constructed by art students a few years ago holds several different abstract paintings. His hand in yours, which has been it’s resting place all night, keeps yours warm. You try not to think about how your hands fit into each other like the gears of a hand-crafted watch. The lines on your palms connect with the lines on his; it’s painfully obvious he was made for you and you were made for him.
When you reach the end of the outdoor museum, you turn west and face the sunset just as it’s setting over the skyline. Even though some tall buildings obstruct the view, the colors of the sky stretch overhead and make both you and Donghyuck stand still and appreciate the artwork in the sky.
“You like these kinds of things, huh? Sunsets, and ponds, and that kind of stuff?” He suddenly asks, not talking his eyes off of the sky. You, however, turn to look at him. He has his eyes screwed as he tries to look at the sunset, obviously not liking the bright sunlight.
“You don’t?” You ask back.
“I think... there are more enjoyable things.” Donghyuck takes a while to make up his mind about what he wants, obviously trying not to make the things you enjoy sound bad to him.
“Then we should go.” You turn around, but he pulls you back to your original spot.
“We walked all this way, we’re watching this sunset even if my feet freeze to the ground.” He tightens his grip on your hand and speaks through his teeth, making you sputter out a laugh and hit his shoulder with your own lightly.
“Sometimes, I wonder why fate put us together.” You ask, watching as the sun moves bit by bit, leaving behind trails of light and the beginnings of stars and the vast universe on the other side of the sky. “We’re different. I don’t know about you, but you are not who I imagined my soulmate would be.” You speak truthfully.
Even though there are some strings attached to Donghyuck’s relationship with you, it didn’t stop you from thinking about what kind of person he’d be— what kind of person fate would pick to be your perfect fit. Maybe they would have some sort of major flaw, like an anger problem or a lack of common sense. Maybe they would be an alcoholic or someone who commits crimes.
When it came to your soulmate, you always thought of something bad considering that they were also going to hurt you in some way. You never thought that your soulmate would be someone as unique and fun as Donghyuck. Fate made it way too easy to be with him, and you’re not sure whether to feel bitter or thankful.
“Well,” He blows some air through his nose, “You’re exactly what I thought my soulmate would be like” Your heart jumps into your throat and beats irregularly when Donghyuck says that, struck with the feeling of surprise once again.
“Mark tells me you’re smart and get good grades, and I know it was you who ordered that soup for me the morning after you took me home when I got drunk. Not to mention, you went out when it was dark to take me home in the first place.” Donghyuck explains, his hand that’s still interlocked with yours waving around as he does so, “You’re willing to help others, you have a good head on your shoulders, and not to mention you guard your heart to the very end.”
“Guarding my heart… That’s an admirable quality? If I remember correctly, it caused you some pain in the past few months.” By now, the last rays of the sun are disappearing over the horizon and night begins to blanket the sky. You turn to your soulmate when he takes more than a moment to answer, watching the way his face reacts to the thoughts turning in his head.
“Yeah, it is a great quality. I think if you completely trusted me the moment you saw me on those stairs, we wouldn’t end up here now. You wouldn’t be the perfect fit for me if you loved me so easily.” He turns to you, a teasing smile playing on his lips. Your interlocked fingers are basically frozen together at this point and maybe your feet really have stuck to the ground, but his words warm you up from the inside out.
“I think I would’ve fallen in love with you even if we weren’t destined to be together.”
Somehow, he manages to remind you of one very important fact that you’ve set aside since the moment you met him. You’ve always put the fact that he’s supposed to hurt you first, and the fact that he’s your soulmate second. However, he is a human and so are you, and you’re both given the opportunity to love one another wholly and truly. People die to have this type of moment. People live their whole lives without experiencing this type of emotion.
It’s time to remember that Donghyuck is your soulmate, first and foremost. He is deserving of love, and you’re now willing to give it to him.
When you pull Donghyuck into you, he feels like it may be a hallucination. Surely your lips can’t be that close to his own. But when he smells the cinnamon on your lips from that churro you had and your fingers sliding up his arm to grip his jacket, he becomes scared that this might actually be a hallucination.
You slowly lean in, almost painfully slow, but Donghyuck doesn’t dare rush you. When your lips do meet, both of you feel complete. The feeling of finishing a lifetime’s worth of work with one gentle kiss is the most delicious feeling ever, different from anything that either of you have ever experienced.
It’s slow and careful, but passionate and full of true love. No matter what happens in the future, it will always be your memory to savor and remember for the rest of your lives.
Tumblr media
“___!” You hear Mark’s voice from your right, turning your head quickly to see him stick his hand up in the air and begin to make his way through the throngs of people between you two. You move towards him, attempting to meet in the middle, but somehow he ends up behind you, and you laugh as you attempt to meet again.
“Hey, Mark,” You look over him, noting how well he manages to pull off the choir robe that everyone else seems to look like a sack of potatoes in, “I didn’t know your concerts could get this packed. You guys could start your own group and make it big.” You look around while adjusting the flowers in your hand so they don’t get squished against your chest.
“Nah, it’s mostly just families that come to these concerts. Since there are a lot of vocal majors, there are a lot of families that show up.” He explains.
“So, what does that make me?” You joke, but Mark doesn’t seem to get it and tilts his head to the side.
“You’re Donghyuck’s girlfriend. That makes you family, right?” At the mention of your relationship, you glance down at the flowers in your hand, the flowers that are meant for the aforementioned boy. You nod, mumbling something like a ‘I guess’ before Mark looks down at his watch and sucks a breath through his teeth.
“Okay, I have to go warm up. Make sure you get a seat in the middle, that’s where it sounds best.” He gives you a quick wave as he walks away, and you manage to send one back. Before you know it, the doors to the auditorium open and people flood in to grab the best seat they can.
You barely manage to snag a seat in the middle, an older lady to your right and a grandpa to your left who seem to be unrelated and didn’t mind you sitting between them. You shrug off your coat as you look around, feeling anxiety build up in your chest. You know you don’t have anything to be anxious for, so you deduct that it’s probably Donghyuck.
He invited you to the concert today. For him, it’s part of his final grade for his vocal class and for you, it’s a chance to see him sing on stage. Strangely, he has talked about how much he loves to perform but never wants to sing in front of you. When he told you he auditioned for a solo in one of the songs, and ended up getting the part, you knew you absolutely had to come today.
Pulling out your phone, you send Donghyuck a text saying that you’re seated and that you wish him to break a leg. You see the read receipt pop up next to your text, and although he doesn’t text anything back, the anxious feeling in your chest subsides and you smile to yourself.
“Those are pretty flowers.” Turning your head to the lady on your right, you glance down at the bouquet of black-eyed susans on your lap.
“Oh, thank you.” You put your phone on silent and slip it into your pocket.
“They’re my mom’s favorite.” Your attention turns to a kid who sits on the other side of the woman. He can’t be any older than ten, and his feet don’t touch the ground as he swings them back and forth and looks up at his mother.
“Oh?” You ask, turning back to the older woman, “Would you like some?”
The woman seems to be stunned by your question, obviously not expecting you to hand over flowers at such a comment from her son. She looks almost flustered as she shakes her head at you.
“No, it’s okay. I bet those are for someone special?” She asks while nodding towards the stage.
“They’re for my… boyfriend.” You mumble, still not used to the words leaving your tongue, even though it has been more than a few weeks now.
“Then you should save them for him.” She nods and you smile back.
“But I want one.” The woman’s son pouts, and the mother nudges her foot against his leg. You laugh a bit, using your right hand to hold down the bouquet and your left to pull out a flower. Carefully, you hand it over to the little boy and he grasps it, his pout turning into a smile while he sings a ‘thank you’ and counts the petals on the flower.
The woman gives you a nod, and you all turn to face forward where the students are beginning to walk onto the stage.
The concert went well; you weren’t familiar with any of the pieces of music the choir performed, and many of them were in different languages, but you still enjoyed the performance by the many music students from your university. You managed to catch sight of Donghyuck fairly quickly, and Mark was just a few rows behind him.
Donghyuck’s solo fit his voice perfectly. Maybe you’re biased, but you think no one would be able to match his tone and technique to fit the song as perfectly as he did. Since it was the first time you heard him sing, you were a bit taken back by how amazing his voice sounds and how much control he has of it. It didn’t look like he struggled to hit the notes, and he looked like he was in his element on stage.
After the concert, you wait on the staircase outside of the auditorium building where you agreed to meet up with Donghyuck. You roll on your feet, jumping up and down slightly to keep warm. You clutch the flowers to you, scared that the cold weather might cause them to bend and begin to wilt quicker.
“Oh, it’s the flower lady!” You hear a familiar voice call out, and you turn your head to see the little boy and his mom from earlier… walking with Donghyuck? He has his choir robe hanging from one arm and his other hand intertwined with the little kid.
“Do you guys know each other?” Donghyuck asks, looking between the three of you with confusion.
“We happened to sit next to each other during the concert.” The woman explains, a grin growing on her face as she looks between you two. “This is your soulmate.” She doesn’t say it like a question, she says it plainly and nods her head in content.
“I’m sorry, did you already know who I was when we met?” You ask her.
“No, until I saw the mark on your left hand. I would recognize my own son’s mark anywhere.” Son? This is Donghyuck’s mother?! Your eyebrows must be up to your hairline and you think your mouth might be open, but you can only focus on remembering every little thing you said to her before the concert started to recall if you said anything dumb.
“Let me introduce you properly. This is ___, my soulmate and my girlfriend. ___, this is my mom, Sara, and my half-brother, Hyunjin.” Donghyuck gently takes your elbow and pulls you closer to him.
“It’s nice to meet you.” You politely greet them as if it’s the first time ever.
“Well, I like her. She gave me a flower.” Hyunjin exclaims.
“Back off, she’s mine.” Donghyuck jokes with the kid. “Thank you guys for coming today, by the way.” He continues, “I appreciate my favorite people being here for my first college performance.”
Donghyuck goes to hug his mom as she sets a kiss to his cheek that makes him cringe away slightly. However, you’re still struck to your spot from being included into Donghyuck’s group of favorite people. There’s a warm feeling in your chest at being included into something so special so early on in your relationship. There’s also some anxiety that comes with it, since promises that are made too early hurt the most, but you push the feeling away and soak in Donghyuck’s unconditional love.
After you all bid farewell to each other, and Sara and Hyunjin leave, you turn to Donghyuck with a deadpan expression, “You didn’t tell me I’d be meeting your family today.”
“Would you believe me when I say that I forgot they were coming?” He asks and you roll your eyes, not believing his words at all.
“These are for you.” You push the flowers into his chest and dig your hands into your pockets so that they can finally get warm, “Your solo was… interesting to listen to.” You say with annoyance dripping from every word.
“Thank you,” He replies cutely, not affected by your irritation. You roll your eyes again, but a smile tugs at your lips as well. “What kind of flowers are these? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them?” He asks while digging his nose into the bouquet.
“Black-eyed susans.” You reply, and Donghyuck gives you a weird look.
“That’s such a random flower.”
“They attract dragonflies.” You explain, nudging his side with your elbow. When you glance over to him, he has a smile playing on his lips.
“Should I be giving these to you, then?” He hands them over, but you push them back at him.
“No way. I’m already attracted to you.” You state, turning around to walk back down the staircase. When you don’t hear any footsteps following you, you turn around to find Donghyuck kneeling over with the flowers clutched close to him.
“Are you okay?” Alarm rises in your chest, especially when he shakes his head at your question.
“No, you just made my heart beat really fast and I’m afraid I’m gonna have a heart attack.” You would roll your eyes again, but you’re afraid they might roll out of your head at this point. You climb back up the stairs and yank on his sleeve jacket to make him walk alongside you.
“___, feel my heart. I swear it’s going to beat out of my chest.”
“Shut up, Donghyuck.”
“No, seriously, I think we should go to the hospital.”
“Shut up.”
Tumblr media
In the morning, Donghyuck loves to wake up next to you. He has always been a spread-out type of sleeper; arms to the side, legs open, laying diagonally across the bed. Once you two moved out of your dorms and moved into an apartment together during your second year of college, Donghyuck’s way of sleeping changed dramatically.
Now, he can’t help but snuggle in, wrap his arms around you, tangle his legs in with yours, and do everything he can to sleep as close as he can to you. Maybe that’s why he suddenly woke up. The absence of you next to him made him shuffle awake, missing the frame of your body next to his like how it usually fits.
He groggily opens his eyes and immediately shivers, catching the open windows in the bedroom letting in fresh, cool, morning air. Donghyuck shivers once again, blindly reaching for the blanket and wrapping it around his head and shoulders, then making his way out of the bedroom in search of you.
He checks the kitchen, but you’re not there. Then he goes to the living room, and he sees your figure outside on the balcony, the curtains that are supposed to be hanging up in your bedroom moving with the wind as they hang next to you. He tightens the blanket around him and opens the glass door. Even though you definitely heard him come outside, you don’t turn around. You have a cup of something warm next to you and you’re leaning against the balcony while staring out into the city skyline, watching the sun rise into the sky to welcome the new day.
“Good morning.” Donghyuck mumbles as softly as he can. When you mumble back a reply, he opens the front of the blanket so he can swallow you into his embrace. His chin rests on your shoulder and tries to guess exactly what you’re looking at, but when he lifts his head to look at your face, your eyes are closed.
“So, do you want to tell me why our curtains are out here and not on our windows like they should be?” He rests his head against yours, also closing his eyes.
“I woke up and suddenly felt the urge to clean them, I don’t know.” You laugh a bit, making both of you move with the movement of your chest. Donghyuck smiles at your reason; one of the things he learned about you when you moved in together is that your work ethic comes in random bursts of energy, rather than carefully planned out schedules to follow. You always have a small goal for every day, and sometimes you don’t even know what it is until it randomly pops into your head. Although he doesn’t really understand how you’re able to work like that, he loves this little quirk anyway.
“Did I wake you up?” You whisper and nudge your head into Donghyuck’s, nuzzling back into him when a particularly strong gust of wind blows over the balcony.
“Not technically, no. You not being next to me woke me up.” He replies.
“Well, I’m here now. How about we sleep some more?” You ask, leaning back against him and looking at his face.
“Best thing I’ve heard today.” He sighs. Without letting you out of his blanket trap, he walks you both back into the apartment and into your bedroom, both of you beginning to giggle at one point when you almost trip over the blanket and crash into the ground.
Thankfully, you both made it back safely to the bed, falling into the soft mattress. Immediately, Donghyuck gathers you in his arms and cuddles you to him, almost like he’s latching onto you. You wrap your arms around him slowly and lean into his shoulder, placing a kiss against his collarbone. You were going to stop there, but when he lets out a whimper at the small press of your lips to his skin, you continue moving up his neck.
When you reach the space underneath his ear, he twitches at how you suck on the sensitive skin, not expecting you to pay closer attention there. His hand slides over your back, between your shoulder blades, and back down, pressing you to him as he caresses you and silently hopes you don’t stop what you’ve started.
You don’t seem to have any intention to do that when you lean back, looking up at Donghyuck’s big, round eyes as they stare down hazily at you and quickly connecting your lips. He kisses back slowly, as if taking his sweet, sweet time in loving you.
“I thought we were supposed to sleep?” You ask between kisses.
“We can sleep later…” He trails off, grabbing your hand and pulling you on top of him so that you’re straddling his hips. “... If you’re really tired we don’t have to.” He suddenly pulls away, his hand comfortably resting over your waist.
“No way. It’s too late for that.” You answer, pulling your shirt over your head and tossing it to the other side of the bed. A chill runs through you at the cold temperature in the room, goosebumps forming over your arms and your nipples hardening. Donghyuck wraps his arms around your middle and presses a kiss in the valley of your chest, moving over until he reaches your left nipple and taking it into his mouth.
Biting your lip, your hands find his hair and tug on the long strands. Donghyuck’s hands squeeze your sides and his fingers draw random, little lines over your bare skin as he sucks and plays with your nipples, switching between each one.
“Hyuck…” You whine, giving a particularly sharp tug to his hair when he bites down onto your right nipple. “Please…” You trail off.
“Hmm? Please what? What do you want.” He leans back and looks up at you. You comb your fingers through his hair, pushing it back away from his face and behind his ears. His eyes are clouded and hooded over by the thoughts of you that are speeding through his mind.
“Please, make love to me.” You say it shyly, your eyes looking over his face but not meeting his own. He can’t help but smile at your timidness. You act like it’s the first time those words came out of your mouth. He can’t help but find it endearing how you ask him to make love to you every single time you find yourselves in this position.
“Of course, anything for you.” He connects your lips again, keeping the slow and steady pace from before. He shifts around as he moves his boxers away. Breaking the kiss, you move his hands away and pump his shaft, glancing up at him as he leans back with his weight on his hands and his head leaning back.
He lets out whines every time you twist your wrist, and you almost want to take a moment and stay this way, loving the sounds coming from Donghyuck’s mouth and how he looks as he pants beneath you. However, the tension growing between your legs makes you stop and sit up, pulling off your own pajama bottoms and underwear, throwing them somewhere along with your shirt.
Donghyuck grips your hips with one hand, the other pressing his middle finger to your slick folds, watching you squirm from above as he slides his finger through slowly.
“Just— Can you just do something already?” You almost whine out, grabbing onto his arm hard enough that you leave crescent moons in his skin.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure.” With your permission, Donghyuck positions himself at your entrance and slowly brings your hips down, watching your reaction throughout it all. The way your jaw slacks and drops open to the way you swallow when your hips meet with his, closing your eyes in pleasure at how he manages to fit inside you so perfectly. When everyone says your soulmate is made specifically for you, they really do mean in every way possible.
You sit like that for a moment, before opening your eyes and looking at your lover. He helps you move your hips up and back down, you let out a gsap at the sparks that fly up your spine. Your hips start to move in unison, yours grinding down and his moving up to meet yours in a steady rhythm, like a dance to music only you two can hear.
Your nails hurt when they move over his shoulders and chest, leaving temporary marks, but Donghyuck doesn’t mind. Actually, he loves it when you tug on his hair and scratch up his back, his whines turning into full out groans when you lean in and attach your lips to the side of his neck, pressing hot kisses down to his collarbone and biting down gently in the same place this whole situation started.
“H-Hyuck, I—” Before you know it, you’re so close to your orgasm, it’s basically right in front of you to reach out and accept.
“I know, baby, I know. You can come, I got you.” He answers back messily, using the last of his energy to keep your hips in place and drive himself into you. You let out a shriek at the sudden pleasure, only a few more deep thrusts into your hole and you’re falling over him as your orgasm spreads to every crevice of your body.
Donghyuck loves the way your muscles seize and flutter around him, making him pant and his thrusts become sloppy as he comes as well, his warm seed filling you up as he rides through his high. You both fall into the mattress below, you on top of Donghyuck, too tired to roll over and opting to just rest on his sweaty chest.
“I think that was way better than sleeping.” He says, his chest rumbling underneath you as he speaks.
“What a good way to tire ourselves out.” You yawn.
In the last few moments before your tired bodies fall asleep, you find Donghyuck’s hand and intertwine your fingers together, happily and contently falling asleep with the fresh air coming through the window and the sunlight now fully streaming into the room.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
In the late summer before your and Donghyuck’s last year of university, you attend a wedding. Not just any wedding: Yuqi and Lucas’ wedding.
Although the ceremony is held outside, there’s a nice breeze that keeps the guests from getting too hot and sweaty in the summer sun. The whole wedding is held in a botanical garden and the place is decorated in white and purple, lilacs and daisies filling vases everywhere you go and freshening the air with their scent.
You and Donghyuck walk into the room inside the administrative building that’s designated for the bride. Yuqi is there, her face shining brightly with happiness and a glow that can’t be stolen from her today.
When you walk in, you let out a sound of delight at how pretty your college friend looks in her wedding dress, taking note of the chamomile flowers that adorn her hairpiece.
“Ah, I can’t believe you’re here.” She all but shrieks, embracing you tightly with her small bouquet still in her hands. After she gives Donghyuck a small, welcoming hug, she backs away to look at both of you.
“You look amazing today, I can’t believe you’re actually getting married. Congratulations.” You say sincerely.
“I can’t believe it either, actually. I feel like we’ve been planning this for forever, and now the day is finally here.” She recalls, a blissful look in her eyes even though you’re aware of how much stress she has had during the past few months over this one day.
“Are you nervous?” Donghyuck asks and you nudge his side and send him a look for asking a question like that.
“No, I’m not,” Yuqi laughs, “I feel one hundred percent happy. Like I’m starting the next part of my life with the one I love.”
“I’m glad you can spend the rest of your life with your soulmate, you’re definitely luckier than most.” You muse, and she suddenly softens her expression and takes your hand in hers, gently holding onto you.
“I’m not marrying my soulmate. I’m marrying the one I love. It just happens to be the same person.”
After bidding your farewells and good lucks, you and Donghyuck walk out of the room and head to where the ceremony will be held. He pulls out of sunglasses, propping them on the edge of his nose, and then grabbing your hand and strolling through the exhibits on the way to the ceremony grounds.
Yuqi’s words ring in your head throughout the peaceful walk, specifically how happy she looked to be marrying the one she loves. Somehow, you never thought about separating soulmate from lover; those two people have always been one in your head. You always thought that there can’t be a soulmate without a lover, and there can’t be a lover without a soulmate.
But the moment with Yuqi reminded you of the first time Donghyuck properly confessed to you, the words you can still hear floating through your head whenever your mind wanders off and thinks about him.
“I think I would’ve fallen in love with you even if we weren’t destined to be together.”
Maybe Donghyuck has been wiser than you this whole time. Not that you’d ever admit that to his face, unless you’d like to hear about it at least three times a week for the rest of your life.
Every memory— every year that has passed by with Donghyuck has only grown the idea of soulmate and lover further apart in your mind, and it took the matrimony of your close friends to realize it. You don’t think it’s a bad thing; in fact, you’re lucky that you can call your lover and your soulmate the same person.
You feel something tugging at your hand, and when you look over at your lover, he looks at you expectedly.
“Huh?” You say, dumbfounded since you’ve been in your own little world for who knows how long. Donghyuck laughs, bending over a bit at the funny, bewildered look on your face before straightening up and looking over to you again.
“I said, what colors should we do for our wedding? I personally think I look good in red, but I’m sure we can figure out something less contrasting.” He explains nonchalantly, you realize he’s kicking a random pebble around as you walk. Looking around, confused out of your mind, you turn back to him.
“Are we getting married?”
“Well, yeah,” He does something between a laugh and a scoff before leaning next to you, a serious look that permeates through the shade of his sunglasses, “You do want to marry me, right?”
Your brain is in a complete fritz. If you had a whole day to think about this you could maybe make up a sentence that resembles a sophisticated answer, but you can only shrug.
“Uh, yeah, I guess.”
“You guess?” Donghyuck stops walking, “I just asked you if you want to get married, and you reply with ‘uh, yeah, I guess.’” He mocks your tone and it makes you roll your eyes at him.
“This is the first time we’ve ever talked about this and I got nervous.” You explain, making him relax and stand in front of you with his hands leisurely resting in his pockets. “Of course, someday I would like to marry you. I guess you’re… tolerable.” Donghyuck pushes you away from him and quickly walks down the path, twice as fast as he was walking before. You laugh and follow him, running slightly to catch up.
“Excuse me, Miss, would you like to leave a wish for the happy couple?” A sudden voice stops you, making you turn back around. A man stands with a camera, looking at you expectedly.
“Uh, how?” You look from the camera and back up to him.
“I’ll take your picture. You can write a wish on it and hang it up over there.” He points to the dozens of polaroids already hung up a few feet away, random people posing in the photographs with different color writing on every picture.
“Let’s do it.” Donghyuck comes up behind you, no doubt catching the last part of what the photographer said and pushing you lightly over to where there’s better lighting while taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt. The photographer asks you to pose, and you and Donghyuck smile for the camera, your eyes slightly shut due to the sun beating down on top of you.
“Great, how about one more for yourselves?” The photographer asks as he waits for the photograph to develop and you agree. This time, Donghyuck wraps an arm around you and pulls you closer so that your back is against his chest. You feel him rest his cheek on your head and drape his other arm around your front. You grab onto his forearm, not knowing what to do with your hands, and then suddenly the picture is taken and the photographer hands over both of the developed photos.
You take the second picture out of Donghyuck’s hands, not being able to look away. The sun seems to hit both of you just right, and the slight candidness of the photo adds another layer of reality to the picture. Donghyuck has a small smile while his cheek is slightly squished against your head, but he still looks as handsome as ever.
“What wish should we leave them?” He asks, picking up a golden sharpie from the table nearby, somehow already having his sunglasses back on.
“Maybe just… Congratulations on getting married?” You suggest.
“And a million other people will have the same thing. We need to be memorable.” He stresses and taps the end of the sharpie against his head. “What do you wish for Lucas and Yuqi?”
“I wish…” You think about it for a moment, “For them to have a lifetime of memories that they can share until the very end.” You nod.
“Oh?” Donghyuck looks at you, “When did you become a poet?” He asks as he writes that down at the bottom of the first picture.
“I’ve always been like this. I’m glad you just now figured it out.” You reply sarcastically, to which Donghyuck replies back with his own sarcastic laugh. He hangs up your picture close to where Mark and Xiaojun hung up their’s, and then turns back around.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” He pushes up his sunglasses with his ring finger and thumb, walking with swagger towards the ceremony and grabbing your hand while he’s passing by.
“If you’re going to be like this at our wedding, maybe I’ll have to change my mind…”
Tumblr media
For one today being one of the most awaited days of your life, it started out pretty regularly.
You wake up from the ringing of your alarm, get ready, and go to your classes for the day. You had breakfast before you left, and lunch right before your last class of the day. Even work was boring as usual, but nothing beat going to the store afterwards.
When you got to the aisle filled with shoes, you were first puzzled by how many options there are. So many colors and styles, you didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed and accidentally spent almost an hour just looking at every individual pair. This had to be perfect. This was going to be a memory that you thought about for the rest of your life.
You call Donghyuck when you approach your front door, he answers almost immediately.
“Hey, love, what’s up?” He yawns through the words, and you can’t help but smile as you look down at the bag in your hands.
“Oh, I was just wondering when you’ll be home.” You open the front door and shut it behind you, taking off your shoes.
“I’m right outside of our building. Did you just get home?” He asks, no doubt hearing the front door from your side of the line.
“I’ll talk to you when you get up here then, see you.” You send a kiss through the phone and abruptly end the call. If Donghyuck is right outside of the building he’ll be up to your apartment in just a few minutes.
You drop the rest of your things down at the front door and hurry into the kitchen, setting down the small white bag with a lace bow on top in the middle of the kitchen table, clearing the table of anything else. You slide into a seat at the table, fixing your clothes nervously as you hear the front door open. Not even a few seconds later, Donghyuck walks into the kitchen, his eyes moving from you to the white bag and back to you.
“What’s wrong?” He asks, dead serious. Your nerves and anxiety, and maybe even some fear, must be strong enough for him to feel. You shake your head and pat the chair next to you. Donghyuck takes a seat, he came through the door so quickly that he didn’t even take his shoes or his jacket off yet.
“Open the bag.” You can’t help the excited smile and small clap of your hands as he reaches out and holds the bag. He gives you a quizzical look, but you only nod to encourage him.
Donghyuck unties the lace ribbon, looking down into the bag for a few moments. You can’t read his face and you can’t feel any emotions from him, and your anxiety grows tenfold. He reaches in and pulls out the little shoes, a light blue color with white stitching. They’re so small, they can sit in Donghuck’s hand perfectly.
“What are these?” He asks, still looking at the shoes in his hand.
“Well, they’re shoes… For babies. For our baby.”
At your reply, he does nothing. He doesn’t react at all, which only worsens your nerves and makes your leg twitch up and down as you wait for him to say something. He swallows and sets the shoes on the table, still looking at then with a blank expression.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah…” You reply, reaching out to put a hand over Donghyuck’s, “Say something.”
“I’m not sure what to say, this is very… sudden.” He tilts his head. Your stomach drops at the lack of emotion in his voice. You aren’t sure what you were expecting, but it was not this stoic expression in his face. Whatever traces of a smile that you had on your lips vanishes and you grip his hand tighter.
“I know this is not what we had planned. I know this is kind of… not good timing, since we’re still in school and not married, yet. But this is what fate had planned for us, I guess?” You’re not sure if you’re trying to console him or convince him, but the icky feeling in your stomach tells you Donghyuck’s reaction to the situation is not good.
“Yeah, fate did us real good.” Donghyuck replies sarcastically and you drop your hands from his, resting them in your lap. You can see the tears forming in his eyes even when he tries to look away from you, and you can feel the fear that’s boiling and overflowing inside him.
“I know you’re scared, I’m scared too. But we can get through this to—” You’re suddenly cut off by Donghyuck standing up abruptly.
“I’m not scared. I’m worried.” He rubs his face with his hands. “I’m worried that I won’t be able to support this kid. I’m worried I won’t be able to be here for you through it all. I’m so worried I’m going to end up like my father that I feel like it’s going to eat me alive.” He runs his hands through his hair, pulling his head back as he looks at the ceiling and paces around the kitchen.
“I never knew your father, but from what you told me, you’re nothing like him.” You stand up too, your legs feeling like jello.
“No, you don’t understand. What if I say something wrong and ruin this kid’s life like my father did to me? What if I can’t find a job after we graduate? Are you going to support all three of us? I can’t let you live like my mom did, it was too hard to watch back then and it’ll be even harder to watch now.” He suddenly stops, not giving you a chance to speak as he looks from you, to the little shoes, and back to you. “I can’t.”
“You… can’t what?” There’s panic rising in your voice as he shakes his head and backs away.
“I can’t be here, not around you or this baby. I won’t be a good father.” He turns and walks out of the kitchen, leaving you standing dumbfounded with tears brimming in your eyes. You move to the front door, watching at Donghyuck’s shaking hands pick up his keys and wallet.
“Are you leaving me? Right now?” He doesn’t look at you and he doesn’t answer, opening the door, “Wait!” You cry out. He stops, his shoulders tense and his hand clenching the doorknob.
“What about that promise you made me? Huh? You said that it’s not just a ‘you’ or a ‘me’ now. It’s an ‘us.’ You said you’ll do everything you can to not hurt us.” You ask, recalling the promise Donghyuck made back when you two were young college students, and a promise he has repeated and vowed to you over and over again every time your relationship got into a rough patch.
“I think… that what I’m doing is what’s best for us. It’ll be better if I wasn’t here. ___...” He looks back at your teary eyed figure with one last look of regret, “I love you. I’m so sorry.” And with that, he closes the door, leaving you all alone in your cold and dark apartment.
You jumped off of the bridge. You jumped off a while ago, actually, but the fall took longer than you expected. You thought Donghyuck would be there to catch you at the bottom, but he’s nowhere to be seen now. The fall was peaceful and enjoyable, a soft limbo between making the hardest decision in your life and the ultimate consequence of that decision. The fall was long and made you feel faux comfort, so when you reached the very end, it ended up hurting a lot worse. You knew jumping off of a bridge would kill you, so why did you jump?
You’re not sure how long you stand by the front door, but it’s long enough that the sun sets outside and the room turns dark. You stare at the door, waiting for Donghyuck to come back. You wait for the door to open and for him to run through, hugging you and whispering that he’ll be here for you. You can only walk up to the door and slide down onto your knees, your forehead pressed against the cool wood as you wait.
Tears run down your cheeks silently, your eyes red and your head hurts. You keep your forehead pressed against the door for the whole night, waiting for him to come back. You wait, and wait, and wait. Donghyuck never comes back.
Your heart rips open from pain, it feels like it’s bleeding onto the floor in front of you. Your mind is numb from any other emotion, your body is cold from sitting on the floor, but you can’t get yourself to stand up. That’s when you realize, this is it. This is how Donghyuck hurts you.
What a sick and twisted way for fate to finally serve up her plan. You almost forgot who Donghyuck is supposed to be; the one who loves you, and the one who hurts you the most.
Tumblr media
— read epilogue here
2K notes · View notes
Text
Room For Dessert
Tumblr media
anon requested- Can you do a smut where rossi has a dinner party but also has his Niece staying with him because her apartment is being fumigated. Her and Spencer hit it off and go at it.
anon requested- smut 54: you better be quiet or everyone is going to know what a naughty little slut you are. and 59: such a needy little thing, aren't you? with Spencer
Contains: fingering (female receiving), hand job (male receiving), mention of pregnancy/breeding kink, name calling, slight degradation, unprotected sex, swearing, sexual acts in a public setting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had never met my uncle David's co-workers before. He had always talked about introducing us, but it just never seemed to be the right time. It seems that today though, the world decided it was the right time.
He was having a dinner party tonight and my apartment needed to be fumigated. What luck!
I figured I would be staying with him for a couple days, so I packed my things after work yesterday. Now it was Saturday, the day of the party, and time to head over.
I had to admit I was nervous. A dinner party with people I didn't know? Talk about awkward. But I decided to make the most of it.
Once I was at his house, he took me to a spare room that would be mine for the next few days and showed me where everything was. Not that I would remember since we're in a mansion.
A few hours passed and it was time for people to start arriving. As I was getting my party clothes on, I could hear voices downstairs. Guess I should hurry.
Once I was done with my hair, makeup, and clothes, I made my way slowly down the stairs. The voices got progressively louder as I got closer.
A few people were scattered around the immediate area. A dark-haired woman stood talking to a blonde woman over near the far side of the room. Uncle David was talking with an Asian man and a dark-skinned woman by the entrance to the kitchen. And lastly, a well-built Hispanic man sat talking to a blonde woman in colorful clothing and a tall, slightly unkempt man.
I wasn't sure where to go first so I just kind of stood on the bottom step without saying anything. Then Uncle David noticed me.
"Ah there she is! We've been waiting for you. Come on and mingle while the food is finishing up."
At his words, the room full of people all turned their heads toward me.
Slightly taken aback by all the eyes on me, I gave a small wave and a smile before making my way down to them.
"It's nice to meet you guys! I'm (Y/N). Uncle David has told me about all of you."
The woman wearing bright colors made her way over to me first, a glass of champagne in hand.
"It's so nice to meet you! Your dress is to die for!"
She then enveloped me in a one arm hug. I hugged her back and accidentally made eye contact with the tall guy in the back. He quickly looked away. What was he staring at me for?
"I'm Penelope by the way!"
She pulled away and smiled at me once more before making room for the next person.
Emily, JJ, Luke, Tara, and Matt all introduced themselves. The last guy must be...
"Dr. Spencer Reid," he said as he stuck his hand out to shake.
Oh. Oh wow.
Now that I got a closer look at him, I could see why his nickname was "Pretty Boy." If we hadn't been in front of so many people, I would've had to jump his bones right then.
I shook his hand shyly.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Aren't you a little too attractive to be in the FBI? How does anyone get their work done?"
Spencer cleared his throat and glanced around the room to see people start walking to the kitchen. The food must be almost done.
"Well, why don’t you sit next to me at the dinner table? I’ll make sure to tell you all about my...work,” he murmured as he made no attempts to hide his eyes roaming my body.
Did-did he just...?
Before I could think anything coherent, he began walking away. He was probably just messing with me. I’m just being stupid.
Still, my legs felt a bit weak as I made my way into the kitchen. They were all sitting down and the only empty seat was next to Spencer. As I approached, he jumped up and pulled out the chair.
“Here let me.”
He gave me a bashful look, not at all like the look he gave my body moments ago in the living room. What is this guy’s deal?
I gave him a small smile and took a seat. He pushed me towards the table and sat down next to me.
Uncle David did his toast thing to be thankful for everyone being here, and then we started dishing up our food. There was so much to choose from that my plate became full almost immediately.
“So tell me,” I said to the man next to me, “What’s it like to be the BAU’s resident genius?”
Spencer glanced at me as he gathered food onto his plate.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that an IQ score or any amount of knowledge makes someone a genius. Not that both of those aren’t high for me, but I don’t like to quantify the term genius.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“But between you and me, it feels pretty good.”
I giggled and he smiled at me. He has a nice smile.
“Hey I made you laugh and it wasn’t at me. Maybe I’m getting somewhere with women.”
I traced the rim of my champagne glass before looking at him. I know I’d like to go somewhere with him...
“I don’t see how women aren’t all over you, Doctor. I mean. Have you looked in a mirror?”
Spencer chuckled and smiled, almost nervously.
“I’d rather look at you.”
My cheeks got hot and I blinked rapidly. Oh no. This is it. It’s happening.
But I hadn’t forgotten that look he gave me before we sat down. I hadn’t forgotten the way he undressed me with his eyes. If he wanted to mess with me then I would mess with him too.
I leaned over slowly so no one would notice and began talking in a low voice in his ear.
“What parts of me would you like to look at, Doctor?”
Spencer choked on his drink when I finished speaking. I leaned away feeling accomplished and with a painful twitch in my chest from trying not to lose my shit at him sputtering like an idiot.
But it would seem that karma is, in fact, a bitch.
“How about I start with those pretty tits of yours?”
It was my turn to choke on my drink this time. This earned me a few glances from the people across from me at the table.
“You two okay over there?” Emily asked us, having no clue what was really happening on our side of the table.
Spencer gave me a fake confused glance and then met Emily’s eyes.
“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?”
She shrugged and seemed to leave it at that, turning back to her conversation with JJ.
“How about...,” Spencer began next to me in a low voice so that no one would hear, “We have a little fun?”
I raised an eyebrow at him, not really sure what he meant by that.
He widened his eyes and looked me up and down in response as if to say, “You know exactly what I mean.”
I tried not to smile as big as I wanted to, so I settled on a sly grin in his direction to let him know I was game.
His body seemed to relax in relief almost, something I wasn’t expecting. Was he genuinely interested in me or was he just messing with me because I happened to be here?
I tried distracting myself from these thoughts and started actually eating, since we were at a dinner party after all.
A few minutes went by of idle conversation, although I wasn’t really listening. I responded in short sentences and nods in between bites of food, but my mind was elsewhere.
It wasn’t too long though, until my mind went straight to my thigh, where a hand could be felt slowly making its way up.
Trying not to make it obvious, I turned towards Spencer with a shocked look on my face. He wasn’t even looking at me, he was looking ahead and having a full conversation with Matt and Luke. How is he multitasking this well?
His hand- his very large and warm hand- made its way even farther up, snaking towards my center with a painfully slow pace.
I knew what he was planning, and I was ready for it. At least, I think I am.
His finger brushed against the edge of my panties and he paused. When I looked over at him, he had his chin casually resting on his other hand and was looking at me sideways. He raised an eyebrow to ask me if it was okay.
In response, I took his hand that was so close to where I wanted it to be, and brought it down so that he could feel the wet spot forming just from thinking about what he was getting ready to do.
I think this shocked him a little, so he cleared his throat and looked ahead, picking up another conversation with Tara.
He made his way back to where he was and began slipping fingers past the hem of my panties. They were warm and soft, but still, I shivered.
I tried my best to continue on as normal while people talked to me, but as soon as I felt the pad of his pointer finger stroking my folds, I choked on my words.
No one seemed to notice, so I continued on like nothing happened.
He was teasing me now, touching around my entrance but never going in it. How irritating.
I’m sure he sensed my frustration, since he chuckled under his breath and immediately shoved a finger inside me.
I inhaled sharply, not expecting the force or suddenness. This seemed to please him; at least I’m assuming he was pleased based on the grin that graced his features.
He continued working while he talked, never stopping the motions of going in and out of me. He even began rubbing my clit with another finger while he fingered me. He must be really good at piano. And guitar, for that matter.
It was starting to get a little warm, and my body began reacting to the way he was relentlessly rubbing my clit in hurried circles.
“Spencer,” I hissed so that no one else could hear.
“Hmmm?”
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“I believe I’m trying to make you cum on my fingers.”
My breath hitched in my throat as I felt my core tighten. I looked around to make sure no one had heard us. The coast seemed to be clear.
“You’re gonna pay for this, asshole,” I choked out.
This seemed to only fuel him. His fingers began relentlessly attacking my swollen bundle of nerves and they did not stop. Not even close. He only got faster and faster, and I have no idea how that was even possible to begin with.
I wanted to smack the smirk that appeared when I tightened around his fingers right off his stupid face.
His eyes roamed my sweaty, slightly red face and he slowly pulled his hand from my panties.
Spencer then turned back to his plate and picked up the last bit of his dinner roll that was left. He placed it in his mouth, along with the tips of his fingers that were just in my panties. He pushed the roll farther in his mouth so that his fingers were halfway in. Then he slowly withdrew them, his lips never leaving those damn fingers.
“Mmm Rossi,” Spencer began, turning away from me and to the man he called, “These rolls are really good. Did you make them yourself? I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything like it.”
This time I choked on my own saliva. So of course, I had a coughing fit that drew everyone’s attention to me.
“Oh my gosh, (Y/N) are you okay? Take a sip of water!” Penelope told me in honest concern for my well being.
I finished coughing and took a long gulp from my glass. I only wished it was whiskey instead of water right now.
“I’m okay, really,” I said, holding my hands up in front of me, “Just... swallowed my food too fast.”
This seemed to satisfy everyone so they all turned back to each other, Spencer’s comment about the rolls forgotten.
“That’s what you get for calling me those mean names, princess,” Spencer murmured next to me.
I stayed silent in response. Two could play at this game.
Without hesitation, I placed my hand against his crotch. And it was... something. I’m not sure if he was that hard or just- that big. Either way, my heart skipped a beat. But I didn’t let that stop me.
I slipped my hand beneath the waistband of his pants and made contact with what I was looking for. I felt him twitch under my touch, but his face gave nothing away to the others at the table.
So I started working. Tracing the length of what I could reach, and rubbing along his shaft with precision.
He took in a sharp breath as I made my way closer to the tip, and he quickly cut a glance my way.
I paid him no mind as I continued, making sure to eat off my plate like normal so as not to draw suspicion. Looking around, I could see that most people were finishing up their food, so I didn’t really have a lot of time left. I started going faster, putting more pressure onto his dick as I went. 
When I looked up to check the scene, I saw Spencer gripping his fork with white knuckles. He was holding on for dear life. Good. 
It was then that a few people began to excuse themselves from the table to go mingle some more before dessert. Shit. I had to hurry. 
I kept picking up speed, probably too much to be honest. But it worked. Spencer stiffened under my touch and a warm, wet spot was now forming in his pants, coating my fingers. He cleared his throat to try and drown out the noise he wanted so badly to make instead. 
I took a deep breath, satisfied with my work, and slowly removed my hand from his pants. It was just us, Penelope, and my uncle left at the table. They were in the middle of a conversation anyway. Luck was on my side tonight.
Spencer excused himself in a hurry, and I waited a few minutes before doing the same. I had no idea where he went, so I just had to walk around and find him somehow. We had unfinished business. 
A few minutes went by of me searching the halls, hopefully not drawing attention to myself. And then I found him, leaning against a wall and looking out the window in front of him. 
When I approached him, I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get any words out, he grabbed my wrist roughly and pulled me into a closet. Spencer shut the door quietly behind us, though I could tell that he wanted to slam it. Uh oh.
“What the hell was that?” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“I was just playing along! Isn’t that what we wanted to do from the beginning?”
Spencer ran a hand through his hair. Oh, how I wanted to do the same thing.
“Obviously. I’ve been wanting to fuck you senseless since I laid eyes on you.”
My heart skipped a beat and the pulse suddenly went down into my core instead.
“Well do it then,” I murmured while gripping onto his forearms. There was enough space in this closet for many different positions. I just wanted to be as close to him as possible.
“I don’t know if you know what you’re getting yourself into,” Spencer groaned while palming my ass roughly.
“Mmm, I don’t care. I’m on the pill, by the way. So I wanna feel you. All of you. Although I have a pretty strong feeling you’d get off on putting a baby in me, Doctor,” I whispered into his ear before pressing my chest against his. I felt his breathing stop for a split second.
“Shut up,” he growled. It seems I pushed a button.
“Make me.”
Without a word and without hesitation, Spencer shoved me against the wall behind me and locked his mouth onto mine.
It was better than I could’ve imagined. And I had imagined it a lot over the course of tonight.
His tongue immediately shoved past the barrier of my lips and teeth, finding shelter in my mouth. The groans that came from him could have undone me right there, so I held onto his shoulders for dear life. His hands found his way to my ass, and he pushed me against his erection. His very large, very intimidating erection. And then all too soon, he pulled away, a string of saliva and swollen lips the only evidence of what had just happened.
“Who said you were allowed to tease me, huh? You've been pushing my buttons all night, and now look at you. A writhing mess underneath me. Such a needy little thing, aren't you?"
I shivered as his words reached my ears. So he had noticed I was already falling apart once again.
“God,” he moaned into my neck as he pushed me against his dick.
I couldn’t help myself- I moaned with him. The friction of him against my pulsing core was almost too much to handle.
“You sound so good,” he growled in my ear.
We stopped suddenly when footsteps could be heard nearby. I glanced at Spencer in a panic and started to move away from him. But before I could, he hastily shoved his hand over my mouth.
"Oh no, we're not stopping. Not when it’s getting this good. So you better be quiet or else everyone will know what a naughty little slut you are. Understand?"
I whimpered against his fingers and nodded at him. He gave me a wicked smile in return.
"Good girl. Now take off your panties and wrap your legs around me so I can feel just how tight your cunt really is. I have a feeling my dick will feel a lot better inside you rather than my fingers.”
With shaking hands, I slid my panties off and kicked them away.
Spencer must have enjoyed what I did because he licked his lips eagerly, never breaking his gaze towards me. Before I made my way back over to him, I couldn’t help but notice how hard he already was. This wouldn’t take long. Less of a chance we would get caught, thankfully. 
He pulled down his pants and boxers roughly, quickly stepping out of them like I had done moments ago. He made no motion to remove the clothes on his top half, solidifying the thought that this would be over quickly. How bittersweet. 
Without another word, I practically jumped into his arms, our mouths meeting immediately and moving against the other ferociously. But all of a sudden, he pulled away, and it pissed me off more than it should have. 
When I saw why he did though, I wasn’t angry anymore. 
He had picked up the belt he had been wearing from the floor, and was holding it in front of me with a dangerous look in his eye. 
“I don’t trust you to be quiet. Open,” Spencer said in a gravelly huff. 
I did as he asked without hesitation, and he roughly shoved the leather belt into my mouth, commanding me to bite down on it. 
Oh shit.
Without missing a beat, he picked me up and laid me down on the floor, extremely gently compared to how he had previously put the belt in my mouth. 
“Good thing you’re already so wet,” Spencer purred, looking down at my exposed core. “Otherwise, this might hurt a little. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Unfortunately, it did still hurt. But God, did it hurt so good. 
506 notes · View notes
blossom-hwa · 3 years
Note
hello!! i'm in love with the way you write and the breathe & live au has to be one of the best aus i've read on here thank you so much for writing it aaaaaa
may i request another drabble for the breathe, & live au if it's not finished yet? i can't get enough of it :')))
again, thank you so much!! ^^
!!!! anon thank you so much for the kind words, it makes me very happy to hear you liked breathe, and live so much! the series is definitely not over I can tell you that, I just have to get myself off my ass to keep writing it LMAO. thank you for this request!
4 year anniversary drabble game: send me a Stray Kids/The Boyz/Golden Child/Ateez member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and I’ll write a drabble for you!
I don't know if you specifically wanted me to write for chan in this drabble - I originally was going to do that, but then I remembered this idea that a mutual came up with (it was mai or furat or both...) a few months ago for dad!minho + kid!seungmin, so I decided to write this instead. I hope you don't mind!
Read the original series, Breathe, and Live, here!
~
Title: The Floor is Lava!
Pairing: none (Minho centric, implied Chan x reader)
Word count: 1.1k
Triggers: cursing
~
"Papa."
Minho blinks. Pauses. Makes sure he wasn't just hearing things after spending way too many hours staring at the dance video on this computer screen - he needs to get this done as soon as possible, it's all ready been too long -
A small, familiar hand tugs at his pants. "Papa."
Not a figment of his imagination, then.
Minho turns in his chair, coming face to face with a solemn-faced Seungmin clutching his favorite stuffed animal in one hand. A tired smile curves his lips. “Hey, Minnie.” He swings Seungmin up onto his lap. “I thought you were asleep. What’s up?”
Seungmin doesn’t answer. Minho watches his eyes follow Soonie’s path as he slowly traipses his way around the room. “Do you want to play with Soonie?”
A shake of the head. Okay, then. “Do you want to play with Doongie?”
Another shake. 
“Dori?”
Another no. 
“Do you want to play with me?”
Seungmin pauses. Nods a little. Then -
“I want Jinnie.”
Oh. 
Oh, fuck. 
“Jinnie isn’t here,” Minho says softly, turning Seungmin around just enough to look at him. “I think he and his mom are busy tonight.” You told him yesterday you’d be going out with Chan and the kids, and that you’d probably get back a little late. “We can go and see him tomorrow?”
Seungmin nods. Stays silent. Clutches the stuffed dog in his hand even tighter. 
“Alright.” Minho tries not to feel his heart crack in half. He knows he agreed to you moving out with Chan, but even then, he feels the loneliness sometimes without you and Hyunjin. He can only imagine it must be worse for Seungmin. “Do you want to play a game?”
“Okay,” Seungmin replies. “What game?”
What game, indeed. Minho didn’t manage to think this far ahead. He hums a little, eyes searching the room frantically for a game that will hopefully wear Seungmin out enough that he forgets about Hyunjin long enough to actually go to sleep...
Sometime during the course of this conversation, Dori has joined Soonie in the living room. Minho watches with an idle eye as he pads across the floor, then leaps up onto a table - 
That’s it. He’s a genius.
“Minnie, do you know how to play the floor is lava?”
. . .
It takes a little preparation at first. Minho moves away the rolling chair and the smaller, unsteadier pieces of furniture. Seungmin listens carefully when Minho explains the rules - pretend that the floor is lava when he says ‘go’ and jump onto one of the toddler-proofed pieces of furniture - and warns him not to jump on any of the chairs or small tables he’s purposely moved out of reach. By that time, Doongie has also joined them, so when Seungmin asks if the cats are going to play too, Minho just shrugs and says yes. Why not?
“Remember the rules, Seungmin?” Minho calls from his spot in the middle of the living room. 
By the couch, Seungmin nods. Smart boy, standing next to a piece of furniture. He definitely got that from Minho. 
“Okay.” He smiles. “Three, two, one... the floor is lava!”
Seungmin scrambles onto the couch with a tiny shriek of laughter. Minho barely manages to get onto the table after Dori decides right now is the best opportunity to try and weave through his legs, forcing Minho to basically trip onto the table. “Again!” Seungmin cheers as Minho almost falls flat on his face. “Again!” 
A cat jumps onto his back. Probably Dori, the bastard. Minho groans. “Let me get Dori off my back,” he wheezes, subtly trying to edge the cat off. “Come on, stupid cat.”
Finally, Dori is on the table too, and Minho can sit up to catch his breath. This isn’t going very well for him, but Seungmin’s beaming like he hasn’t all evening, and that’s what’s most important. “Alright,” he says, smiling. “Ready, set... the floor is lava!”
Seungmin leaps onto a chair at the same time Soonie does, which earns him a face full of cat fur and Minho a screeching laugh that widens his smile. Minho collapses onto the couch where Doongie has claimed a spot. Said cat looks at him with a disdainful eye when he lands on the cushions.
“You try being a father,” Minho mutters under his breath. 
Doongie just turns back around, pressing his nose into his tail. Minho wants to say more, but Seungmin’s yelling “again! again!” once more all the while hugging Soonie, so Minho turns his attention back to his son and they begin to play again. 
Fifteen minutes pass before Minho falls off a chair and onto the floor, prompting Seungmin to screech out a “Papa fell in the lava!”, which in turn prompts Minho to pretend that he’s dying, awkwardly flailing his limbs before assuming a comical dead position on the floor. As Seungmin’s laughs ring in the air, Doongie comes over to investigate his body. Minho kind of wonders why it was the possibility of him being dead that got Doongie to actually come over here. 
Better not to think about that too much, the helpful part of his brain says. 
Soonie and Dori join Doongie, and once Minho has reassured Seungmin enough times that the game is over and the floor is no long lava, his son joins them too in one little pile of fur and bodies on the floor. Minho hugs him close, feeling Seungmin giggle into his chest, and smiles despite the tiring evening. “Tired?” he murmurs into Seungmin’s ear, patting his head. He gets a little nod in reply. 
For the second time that night, Minho puts Seungmin to bed, reassuring him that they’ll go to see you and Hyunjin tomorrow and that yes, maybe they can play the floor is lava with all of the other boys too. When Seungmin’s breaths have evened into sleep and Minho thinks he can safely leave the room, he pauses in the hallway and smiles.
Tomorrow, they’ll go over to your place and see Hyunjin, Jisung, and Felix. Tomorrow, Minho will get to see you and make sure you’re okay, all the while subtly reminding Chan that if he does anything to hurt you, he’ll pay. 
Tomorrow, Seungmin will laugh like he did today. 
Tomorrow, Minho will smile like this again. 
Tomorrow... 
Minho pauses in his thoughts. Is he sure about what he’s thinking? Absolutely sure?
He’ll never be sure. He can’t see the future. Every new day is uncertain. But for now, he can predict. He can wonder. He can believe. 
He smiles again. Yes. 
Tomorrow, things will be okay once more.
76 notes · View notes
travellingarmy · 3 years
Text
║Xiao║Snowflake
Requested from Wattpad.
Gender-neutral.
Fluff.
Word count: 2k
---
Something was falling from the greyish clouds that has been slowly forming together over Liyue. It was white, cold, and too small for human eye to see. However, once multiples of it were gathered, you could truly see how it turned Liyue into a winter wonderland.
This sparks excitement inside you as you stare out the window of the shop you were tending at. The winds of Snezhnaya has finally brought their winter to Liyue, making it cold for the locals to idle outside for too long.
Seeing this, you did your long hours of work with great impatience, wanting to enjoy the snow with a particular someone all the way in the outskirts of the city-- in Wangshu Inn. You just know that he'll be the most excited between the two of you-- although he won't show it or say it.
"Have a good night!" That was the cue. Yes, it was evening by the time you got out of work, but your excitement left you restless and headed to the inn, greeting Verr Goldet and her husband in the lobby as soon as you got there. And not wanting to prolong you any longer, the woman simply pointed up the flight of stairs that leads to a highest level possible.
However, when you got there, there was not a single being to be seen. You didn't feel down though, knowing that he was probably off to secure the night around the inn and nearby places that doesn't have the protection of the Millelith.
You walked closer to the ledge, your eyes seeming to glow in admiration at the snow that covered Liyue in less than a day. But before you could put a hand on the railing, a "What are you doing here?" brought your attention behind you.
To nobody's surprise, Xiao stood there with his arms crossed, his eyes glowing in the dark, but not so much as the light from inside the inn emitted a brightight. "Xiao!" The name that left your lips was enough to make you smile. Though in his part, his eyes slightly narrows while a brow quirks in question, but that was long forgotten when he growls at the state you were in. "Where is your coat?" he asks, walking closer to you.
It was just then that you realized that you had forgotten to bring a coat and felt the harsh breeze stinging your skin. You wrapped your arms around yourself, rubbing your arms to create some sort of heat. "Ehe, I was rushing to get here so I forgot to go home and bring one," you admitted, the smile never leaving your face. This did not amuse the yaksha and clicks his tongue in dissatisfaction. "Even when a millennia has passed, humans can be so stupid," he grumbles. "Wait here." Before you could ask, he turns on his heels and went downstairs, leaving you alone in the cold.
When he returns- which didn't take long- he was carrying a wool blanket in one arm. Approaching your person, he wraps the blanket around you like a wrap. Warm and comfortable.
You look down at the blanket and slightly blushed at the thought that it could be warmer if he hugged you, wrapping his firm, strong, and protective arms around your shoulders-- Oh no, you shouldn't fantasise something like that.
Looking at your state, Xiao couldn't help but feel the warm, tingly sensation on his face. You looked cute and small. He almost wants to lock you away so that no one else would be able to see just how truly cute you were. However, he snaps himself from indulging the thought, realizing how inappropriate it was especially for an Adepti such as himself.
With hand covering his mouth, he clears his throat. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" he asks, his voice sounding cold, but you know that he meas well and that it was just the way he speaks. "I wanted to share the first snow with you!" you admit, your smile doubling the size.
He raises an eyebrow. "Huh? Share the first snow?" he repeats, to which you nod. "I heard that you should always spend the first snow with someone special." Hearing you reason, he sighs heavily. "You humans always come up with something stupid." He closes his eyes and crosses his arms.
"It's not stupid it's sweet!" you defended, the blanket slightly slipping off your shoulders. Xiao took notice and moved even closer to fix it, but afterwards, his hands haven't left your shoulders and he just stares at you. It was only 5 seconds, but you felt kind of awkward, eyes averting to anywhere but his charming face. "S, so, uh.. I came here to ask if you wanted to play in the snow with me.." you mumbled.
There was no response on the other end and it was only when your eyes returned to look directly at him that he quickly answers with an "Okay" before swooping you off the ground and jumped off from the inn. In fear, you wrapped your arms around his neck and hold on for dear life.
It only took a couple of seconds to reach the ground safely but to you, it felt like it was your end. Xiao looks at you and couldn't help but huff out a chuckle. "Hey, do you think I would drop you?" he asks, watching you open your eyes once you felt the rush of adrenaline subside.
You blinked twice and remembered how you are still hugging him. "Oh, uh.. Could you put me down?" you ask shyly, unwrapping your arms around his neck. He did as told, setting you back down gently.
Taking a look around, the snow stretched out for miles, up until the horizon where you could barely see a thing. Winter only comes once a year in Liyue and each year upon the look of snow would always leave you breathless. The snow in Liyue was much different than that in Snezhnaya as it wasn't knee-deep and children could still play around.
One step. Two step. Soon, you were running across the field and laughing. While on Xiao's part, he watches his foolish of a human with his arms cross and unknowingly to him, a smile adorns his face. His eyes softened at the sight of your smile. He always does, you just never noticed.
His eyes moves away from you and his attention was now transfixed to the snow on the ground. Seeing as he has cleared the area from enemies before meeting you at the inn, it was most likely safe for you to tumble and fall without getting the attention of monsters.
You stopped running and stood there looking at the falling snow, just about tired from running. You looked over Xiao and see that he was very focus at the snow beside him. He looked funny looking at the snow as if he was going to murder it.
Tearing your eyes away from the male and to the snow, you soon grabbed a handful of it with your bare hands and compacted it to a snowball. It was cold, but the urge to touch it was too much to take and would risk your health to play in it.
Happy with the ball, you run back to Xiao. "Hey, Xiao--" Your words were cut short when you saw Xiao pick up a handful of the snow and eat it. It wasn't all the uncommon for someone to eat snow but Xiao eating snow was truly something.
He turned his head towards you while having a snowball close to his mouth with a questioning gaze since you did originally wanted to grab his attention. "What?" he questions soon after when you just stood there like a mannequin.
"O, oh, yeah.." You blinked and regained your train of thought. "Anyway, do you want to have a snowball fight with me?" you asked, a challenging grin on your face. He raised a brow. A human asking an Adeptus to a snowball fight? It was obvious which would win so what was the point?
But seeing that smile on your face was hard to say no to. That glimmer in your eyes was intriguing, to say the least. So, he nods. "I won't go easy on you," he warns. "I didn't want you to in the first place." With that, you threw the first snow right on his face.
Even though he said he wouldn't go easy on you, he was actually much softer and let you hit him multiple times and only hitting you once or twice every now and then.
Once you had your hands on your knees, he figured that it was finally time that his human was exhausted. He walks over to you and when he was close enough, he fixed the blanket around you that surprisingly didn't fall off your shoulders.
You look at his beautiful, golden orbs that has now the time to truly glow in the dark. It was captivating. The atmosphere, the place-- everything in that moment had that magical, winter air. You two stood there, silently praising the other.
His eyes moved towards your lips, thinking how soft it would be when he places his own on it. With his hands still on your shoulders, he leans closer to your face before stopping short, his lips just a few centimetres away from yours. He was waiting to see if you would pull back.
Wanting his lips on yours, you closed the gap and felt a sudden warmth flush through your body. A hand of his made its way and caressed your cold skin, deepening the kiss. The kiss was enchanting and felt that it had been hours before you both pulled away.
When you did, a smile adorned your flushed face-- flushed from the intimate moment and from the cold. You slowly moved away and flopped down on the snow and laughed.
"Hey, you're going to get sick, you idiot," he states, crossing his arms as he watches your blanket unwrapped itself from your shoulders, now being used to keep your back dry. "Haha, no I won't! Not to be a brag, but I have a pretty strong body," you boast.
O how you felt embarrassed by those words that you said so proudly last night as you lay in bed, under layers of warm blanket. "Humans can be so stupid. Yesterday you were sure you wouldn't get sick but the next day, here I find you in bed," Xiao says, entering the room with a bowl of warm water and a washcloth.
When you didn't greet him this morning, he knew that you were sick and went to your house to take care of you immediately. "I said nothing," you spoke, holding your chin high as you feign ignorance.
He clicks his tongue but said nothing more, dipping the cloth in the warm water before squeezing it so water wouldn't be dripping on you. He moves closer to the bed and sat at the edge of it, moving any hair that covered your forehead before placing the cloth. "You should remember to bring your coat. I'm not always there to remind you like a mother," he said.
"Hey, if you're just going to bully me, then you can leave. I know I was dumb for not bringing one, okay?" You pout, though there wasn't any anger in your tone, and brought the blanket up until the bridge of your nose.
He looks at you for a short second and brought his fingers close to your face. Before you could guess what he was doing, he had flicked your forehead. "You idiot. Do you really think that I would be here in the first place if I didn't care about you?"
The words made you blush and felt a hundred times more warmer than the cloth on your head. He looks at you with a straight lip, but his eyes hinted at a different emotion. It was soft and held care for you.
He then stood up, eyes tearing away from you, and walked towards your door. With a hand on the handle, he twists it open but before he step out, he looks over his shoulders- to you- and said, "Make sure you get enough rest. I'll be here if you need me."
---
227 notes · View notes
symphonicmetal101 · 3 years
Text
MC Struggles With Obsessive/Compulsive Behaviour
Ok, just to be clear.
I haven't been diagnosed with anything, which is why I refrain from writing "OCD" in the title. I've always known I'm a perfectionist- please be aware that there are some major differences between OCD and perfectionism, (despite what Youtube videos may say)- however I have had instances in which I have taken it too far and paid the price physically, mentally, and emotionally. Please be aware that these are all very real things that not only myself, but other people go through. I haven't had one of them in a long time, but my current circumstances make me feel like I might soon, so bear with me while I write another self-indulgent thing.
Or don't.🤷‍♀️
TW: compulsive/obsessive behaviour, a little self-deprecation as seasoning👌
Lucifer
At first, he's very happy to see that you are very organized and neat
One less thing for him to worry about
However, one day he walked past your room and saw you organizing your desk
He respected that, and continued on
The next day he passed by around the same time and saw you organizing your desk again
Odd, but perhaps one of his brothers had interfered and interrupted you, meaning you hadn't finished yesterday
It had been five days now, surely you weren't still cleaning your desk??
"MC, if my brothers bother you, you should close the door. Perhaps then you would be able to finish cleaning your desk properly. Unless you would like some direction in time management instead?"
Lucifer glanced behind you. To his surprise, your desk looked immaculate. He then saw your blushing face.
"Ah... well that's very kind of you Lucifer, however I'm afraid it's not an issue of time management or your brothers. Well, sometimes Mammon comes in and moves the pens around, so then I have to start over..."
"Start over?"
"Y-yeah." You explain your process to him, how you completely clear off your desk, to the type of cleaner you use, how many sprays, to how you like to stack your paper, to how you always have to have three paperclips to your right, and how the black pen is always in between the blue and the red.
"And when Mammon moves the pens...you start over?"
"Yeah. I do."
Lucifer has sympathy for you, put also struggles because it seems like a waste of time if he were to do it.
But he doesn't do it, and it seems to make you calm, so instead he buys you proper gloves for cleaning and a few more bottles of your cleaner
Mammon
"Come on MC, I wanna show ya something in my room."
Oh no
Nononono
You could feel yourself panicking a bit. Mammon's room was messy
Not messier than Levi's but still
But he looked really excited, so you reluctantly followed him
"TA-DA!!!"
Oh wow. His room was spotless!
"I-uh, noticed ya only seem to be comfortable in yours or Lucifer's room. It-it took a while for me to figure out why, but...whaddya think? Will it work for ya?"
He smiled at you and you could see a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
"It looks great! You even picked up the water bottles that were by your bed!!"
He instantly became more confident, his smile growing wider and his cheeks slightly flushed.
"Of course it looks great! Why wouldn't it?"
You gave him a withering stare
"Uh..yeah. Y'know, if ya had just told me ya didn't like it being so messy I woulda tidied up sooner. J-just make sure ya let me know if it gets too messy again. I want ya to be comfortable in more places than just your room, so my room seemed like a good idea."
His face was incredibly flushed
"Thank you Mammon. It really means a lot.
Levi
You had only been in Levi's room twice
But dear god
You really really really wanted to tidy things up for him
But you also knew what it was like to be very particular and have things "just-so"
Aksjsjshdgjak
"Hey Levi, can I make you deal?"
He took off one of his headphones to listen
"What's up?"
"This might be kinda weird. Can I take pictures of your stuff so I can reorganize and clean your room? That way if you don't like it, I'll put everything back?"
You could see confusion and slight panic that crossed his features.
"I'm sorry, I know it's weird, you don't have to say yes I-"
"Um, what exactly would you be doing?"
"Uhhh.."
He stopped his game to sit and talk with you for a bit.
"O-ok. Just that shelf is off-limits. And I'll stay in here to let you know if something isn't ok with me."
He watched in awe as you carefully rearranged his figurines by rarity as well as colour.
You crawled under his desk with velcro ties and made all the cords under there much more organized
You rearranged the pillows on his couch so that they were symmetrical on both sides, fluffing them and squishing them as you saw fit.
His manga was pretty organized, so you just straightened out the pile.
You organized his games in alphabetical order
The whole time you had been dusting stuff off as well
"There. That's better....what do you think Levi?"
"WOOOAAHH!!! I love it!! It looks really good MC!"
"Thanks for letting me do that."
"No problem...but w-why did you want to do it?"
You shrugged. "It calms me down? No, that's not quite it....I don't really now. As it is, I need to cut myself off otherwise I'll clean until I can't stand. Mind if I join you for a bit?"
He nods at you and hands you a control. As the game boots up he says, "Y-you're welcome to do that again if you need to...but that shelf is still off-limits."
You nod, grateful for his understanding.
Satan
He said he had a surprise date for you
So you followed him
To the Cat Cafe
Now, you love cats
And you love food
But the two of them together don't sit well with you
But Satan looked so eager and happy that you didn't hesitate much to go inside.
Everything was going really well until Satan asked if you wanted something to eat or drink.
You politely declined his offer, but he insisted on getting you something
You reluctantly chose a hot drink.
But as you watched the worker prepare your drink, you were horrified to see them carry a cat out from behind the counter, and then without washing their hands, snap the lid on your cup.
"Satan..I need to step outside for a bit."
He watched you in mild concern as you walked out the door and he waited for your and his order to be complete
You were pacing outside, trying to calm down.
Why did that upset me? I haven't even touched it yet. Besides, normal people don't usually care about stuff like that. And I can clean it??? Or grab another lid?? Fuck! Why am I like this?
Your train of thought was broken as Satan tapped on your shoulder, concern and curiosity apparent in his eyes.
"Are you alright? I noticed the worker didn't wash their hands after handling the cat, so I grabbed a couple lids on my way out. I was going to put it on for you, but I believe it would be best for all parties if you did it on your own."
You almost started crying as he handed you a paper towel with two lids in it.
"Why are there two?"
"Although it never particularly bothered me, I thought you may have wanted some solidarity. I can understand where you're coming from." He smiled sympathetically at you.
From that day forward, he paid extra attention to things while you were around to make sure you wohld feel comfortable. You two also managed to tackle the daunting task of properly organizing Satan's books so that you could spend more time in his otherwise clean room.
Asmo
"Darling, you look wonderful in that outfit!! And it's so hot outside, it's perfect!! I was just about to head out, do you want to join me?"
"That depends. Where are you going?"
"Oh, I'm just gonna do a little shopping. There was a cute top on sale at the mall yesterday, I just want to see if it's still there."
You told him you'd be right back.
When you got to your room you threw on a sweater, and then made sure you had your wallet and your phone.
You walked out of your bedroom, checking again, wallet, phone
As you approached Asmo, you checked again. Wallet, phone
"Are you ready to go?" You nodded and followed him out the door.
He made idle gossip with you until he noticed you were looking a little pale
"Oh my goodness, love are you alright? You should take this sweater off, you'll get much too hot!"
"I can't!" You panicked a bit, and he was caught off guard by your reaction.
"I- I'm sorry. But I use the sleeves to open doors and hold bags and stuff. I don't like touching that stuff. Even groceries are hard for me to touch, so I wash the groceries before I put them away when I get home. I enjoy shopping with you though, because you always know what kind of stuff I like just by looking at it, or feeling it for me. It's the same thing I explained before, where it's difficult for me to model the clothes for you until after they've been washed."
"Aww honey, I'm sorry. Next time I'll see if Mammon or Beel can come and help with your bags, m'kay? But you cannot stay in this sweater in weather like this. What about gloves? Would you be ok wearing gloves? I know a place where there's some really cute ones!! And I'll handle the doors for now, ok?"
You took off your sweater and tied it around your waist.
"Huh. I actually do feel a little better....thanks Asmo."
You two laughed lightly as he held open the door for the next shop.
Beel
You had waited for Beel to get out of one of his extracurriculars to walk home with him
You two were planning to eat together
However when you walked into the kitchen, you were greeted with a sink overflowing with dishes, and a sleeping Belphie on the island.
"Oh, uh, before I eat Beel, I'm going to clean that up. You go ahead though."
Belphie piped up, "Just throw what you can in the dishwasher....I'll do the rest later."
Beel looked concerned. "We were late getting home. Are you sure you're not hungry?"
"Oh...uh" you contemplated lying when your stomach gave you away.
"Just eat. I'll take care of the dishes. It's my turn anyways. I'll get to it soon."
"It's not a big deal Belphie, I'll just do them."
"But you're hungry, aren't you? Just eat first? Or did I do something? Is it something I can fix? I can go if it makes you more comfortable-" Beel looked disappointed. Of course it wasn't his fault.
You shook your head. "It's not you. It's me. I just- I don't know- ugh." You felt close to tears.
How the fuck were you supposed to explain yourself?
Beel pulled you into a hug. "Hey, it's ok. You don't have to tell us what's going on, but if you do it'll make it easier for us to help you."
He let go of you enough for you to step back and wipe tears from your eyes.
"I-I don't know what it is! But whenever I know there's something to be done, especially if I can see it, I have to do it before I do anything for myself. That includes eating, getting a glass of water, even going to the bathroom! And if I find another thing to do half way through he first thing, I'll just continue to postpone the thing I need to do for myself until I'm done or I forget about it..."
Silence settled across the kitchen.
"We'll help you do the dishes so it gets done faster, then you have to eat, ok?"
You smile and nod graciously as the twins helped you feel more comfortable
Belphie
"Come cuddle with meeee."
"Belphie, I need to study, please."
Belphie pouted. He was going to cuddle with you one way or another, even if he had to annoy you into it
Only what he didn't realize what he saw as "mildly annoying" was actually triggering for you
So he started messing with the postion of things on your desk.
"Stop it Belphie, I need to study."
"Yeah? Don't let me stop you, I'm just playing with your pen jar."
"But I asked you. To. Stop."
He huffed and put the pen jar down
But then he started to mess with your three pencils you had laid out, smallest to tallest.
"Why do you need three pencils?"
"Because. Now leave them alone."
He grinned.
"Because is hardly an answer and you know it. What would happen if I just took this one?"
"BELPHIE NO!" Your voice sounded between laughter and tears, butbhe figured it was just your way of begging.
"Belphie, please? I need that!"
He just grinned as he shifted into his demon form and passed the pencil to his tail and lazily flicked it back and forth.
Until he saw your face.
"Whatever. Do what you want, I'm done dealing with you." You walked out of your room, angry tears filling your eyes.
"W-wait! Shit! No, come back! I didn't-ugh." He groaned as he picked himself up to go after you, finding you on the outside steps of HOL.
"Hey, why're you crying? It was just a pencil. I put it back."
You pulled your head out of your hands.
"Yeah, but did you put it back right?"
Belphie looked at you perplexed...right? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
"Look, I'm sorry for using that tone with you. It's really hard for me to focus unless I have things a certain way. It may seem ridiculous to you, but that's just how I am. I don't know what causes it, I just know that it's a part of me. I'm working on it, but if I say stop, I need you to stop. Please."
"....okay. I'm sorry."
Masterlist
217 notes · View notes
jae-canikeepyou · 3 years
Text
| kismet | j.jh | part one
Tumblr media
pair: jaehyun x fem!reader
word count: 10k+ welps
summary: his parents sends him for a month long vacation to the country side to meet his other half, which so happens to be you. and alternatively, your beloveds asks of you to be in your best behaviour while he’s around. disliking how things turn out, you both come up with a pact with each other before your two families gathers together for christmas eve dinner.
genre: arranged marriage + bad 1st impressions
a/n: happy new year ✨ and you know what that means? *wink wink* new layout for my oneshots hihi! ok you guys this took soooooo long to write ;-; i wasn’t satisfied with the first draft so i had to reboot everything! and i mean everything!! :3 so i had this specific genre in mind for a long time and i’m glad that someone requested at the same time while i was in the progress of writing it~ i should’ve posted this on christmas day but i was spending time with my family :D hope you understand hihihi anyway i’ll stop this here so you can enjoy reading! ~j
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
| part two | part three (final) |
jaehyun never reacted so quickly in his entire life, simultaneously spitting out the drink he consumed and eyes growing at the news his parents suddenly brought up. his neck ache at sudden twist. “what did you say?” he wiped the drips of coffee at the corners of his lips. his breathing intensified the more the silence passed.
mr. and mrs. jeong playfully sighed & exchanged looks as their son shouldn’t be this surprised regarding the topic. they have discussed about this when he turned eighteen. now twenty-three, he shouldn’t be so surprised or over-reactive about it either. 
“you heard your father,” mrs. jeong chewed her meal elegantly, yet giggles were still heard through closed lips. “you’re meeting her next week.”
he squinted with plenty of doubts filling his head, he was sure that there was still a year left. and to him that also meant he has exactly a year to convince his parents to call off the marriage he never asked for, let alone planned it. he still has a lot- correction, have yet to achieve in his mid-twenties and having a wife now would be slightly cutting his privacy short. 
in other words, the path to leisure he wished for after years of academics would divert to spending a life planned out for him. he had a diary and planner, and 
they were organised and well-thought out. but he had enough of his parents writing out his future for him, why couldn’t he write his own love story?
jaehyun was on his second last year of veterinary medicine, having some of the weight and pressure of academics lifted off his shoulders. of course he knew he still has to study, he just felt a little relaxed knowing that he would soon practice his dream career.
never had he expected that time flew and was going to meet his fiancé soon. 
his phone blinked with along with a message from his friends— mark and johnny. he briefly looked at the wallpaper of his long-time girlfriend of four years; she was the one who was on his mind. “nononono, i can’t get married now.” jaehyun’s panicking voice echoed the dining area, shoving the phone into his pockets.
mr. jeong raised a brow, placing his cup of coffee on the glass table. “relax, you’re not putting a ring on her finger yet.”
“‘yet’?!” the dimples on his face deepened as his cheeks bubbled. “mom, dad, i haven’t even met her!”
“hm? that’s why you’re spending the whole month at the countryside!” mrs. jeong exclaimed excitingly, and to jaehyun it seemed she was enjoying herself as if she were the one going there too.
“a month?! what am i going to do over there?!” 
“isn’t this great? we finally get to see you outdoors instead of a laptop and report papers! you need a break honey.” his mother clasped palms.
“ugh i can manage my time—”
“once you start working i’m pretty sure you won’t have the time to, jaehyun.”
since the love topic was brought up, his parents started to dig out their memories during their dating years. jaehyun groaned and massaged his temples, feeling uncomfortable with all the love stories he already heard or been told about. “did you forget that i have a girlfriend?” mumbling, he let out a deep, long sigh hoping they would hear him. and that failed miserably. his parents were in their own world. 
he shook his leg underneath the table and grew impatient with the duration of their conversation. “please, i’m begging you. i’ll get married in my own time and pace. sue and i are pretty much going to settle once we graduate-”
a certain ringtone perked his ears and his hands quickly pat his pockets to search his phone. he let out a sigh of relief, that his girlfriend psychologically read his mind and knew how much he wanted to get out of the dinner table, not to mention his parents’ overly attachment to one another. 
“sue you called! i was wondering if you want to hang out for a while.” his voice was high in spirits. but word has it when it reached its high, it would plummet to the ground shortly after. “hey, what’s wrong?” 
on the other line, just a call away from his girlfriend, was her held-in sob and whimper. “where are you right now? i’m coming to get you.”
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
jaehyun’s limbs shook in anger and slammed his fists onto the stirring wheel so hard that this time he promised himself he would move on. last week, she didn’t just break up with him— that was a call for farewell, something kept well hidden from him and all this time he didn’t know she felt the way she did for the years they’ve spent together. 
for a minute he wished this was all a dream, that conscious world would wake his slumber mind. it wasn’t. the reality pretty much awoke him and kept him up all night. he blinked several times, her words still numbing his hearing, wishing it was a lie... but he heard her loud and clear that night. 
“...you’ll always have a place in my heart.. but i’m really sorry..”
he grew speechless though his heart had millions of questions. the windows of his lips sealed closed no matter how much he wanted them to be answered. opposite from where he was at, he stared at the porch of her house, waiting for a silhouette to appear before him. instead a luxurious car pulled over and an unfamiliar man took his coat off to wrap around sue. that action didn’t hurt jaehyun, but it was sue’s smile of comfort that triggered his pain more. seemed like she knew this man given that she let him into her house, like nothing heartbreaking happened before this. 
the door closed and jaehyun’s teary eyes never left her residence until loud slams of swinging car doors opened on both sides of the passenger’s seats. “tsk.” he hissed and quickly rubbed the tears meaning to fall. him being seen crying would really make him a target for his friends, for not moving on. couldn’t risk being the attention more than he already was.
“goodness mark it’s not like we’re on vacation that you have to pack almost everything,” johnny threw one of mark’s duffle bags at the boy, earning a so-what kind of look from him. “we’ll only bring jae to the y/l/n’s then leave afterwards—”
screw this, jaehyun thought. by now he shouldn’t look too swollen to his friends. but screw mark for renting and living across from his ex’s house. 
“save your explanation john.” jaehyun growled and started the engine, fastening his while seatbelt the two continued their bickers. more of it was mark’s shallowness that pissed johnny.
“yeah, save your explanation john- ow!” mark gave the tall lad a death-gazing glare at the pain that stayed on his skin.
johnny leaned forwards, tapping the dimpled boy on the shoulder. “dude, you changed your mind?”
jaehyun scoffed, resting his left arm onto the window’s edge as he drove. “mom said i should be accompanied. i didn’t want you both to come but she’s so insisting it’s getting into my nerves.” 
“actually mrs. jeong said you might need us after your sudden breakup,” mark pressed the button. the window rolled up and down whereas him and johnny exchanged looks to try to liven up the mood in the car. “what are friends for, hm?”
“o-oh yeah. you’ll need us.. as in.. ‘sue’pport.” he nodded with a fake sob. soon mark bursted out in giggles and joined the wagon. 
“‘cause you lost your ‘sue’weetheart.” “she’s making you ‘sue’per emotional.” “we were ‘sue’prised she dumped you.” “but as your brothers, we ‘sue’wear we’ll be here—”
“ugh! i don’t know why mom suggested you to come but your side comments really aren’t helping at all—” jaehyun rolled his eyes regretting instantly at the pain afterwards.
his friends found him hilarious. they were laughing so hard that jaehyun couldn’t continue or interrupt their exploding voices. “since when did you need help, mr. leave-me-alone?” johnny took a huge leap from his seat to be beside the offended boy. “for all i know you’re the type who wants everything perfect, in control and planned.”
“nah dude, right now..” mark zipped his bag. “he needs help with love issues.”
“this has nothing to do with my love! and for the record, about the y/f/n’s? it’s arranged!” he lowered his cap and slid back slightly against the seat while the car was on idle. “do i need to spell it out for you?”
“that can change dude,” johnny slurped on his giant soda takeaway. jaehyun battered his eyes but was careful enough to not leave his sight off of the road. “who knows this fiancé of yours could meet your expectations. maybe more than sue could ever do.”
jaehyun’s mind clouded and still had the effects from the breakup. still so fresh. he didn’t want to believe it in fact happened; that it was all true. he was sure sue was the one for him. hearing his pals say it word per word only had it finally sunk in— she dumped him.
it terrified him in ways he couldn’t imagine, haunted him countless of nights because he failed her. he even bragged to his parents that he would marry her and slip a ring on her finger. thinking about it, how stupid was he to hold onto that hope?
he looked like an idiot, felt like one and his friends probably viewed the same. they said his fiancé could outstand sue? she was the perfect package! what more could he get?
he had her.
honks of the vehicles behind led jaehyun’s eyes trailing to the stoplight that emitted green. he pulled over and johnny knew he had to take his place. 
“here, let me drive. you’re not fit for driving. now, just be comfy back there, okay?”
hours later violent jolts of the car hit jaehyun’s cheek, regaining consciousness from his slumber just to witness the beautiful sunrise peeking from the horizon. he sat up, his posture trying to straighten to denumb nerves that held long during his sleep.
his playlist blasted the speakers. johnny had his legs on the dashboard and hummed with the music. mark was still sleeping peacefully like he hadn’t had a care in the world other than his precious bag of unfinished chips in his hands. 
he groaned at the discomfort of pulled muscles and the sudden break to the countryside. if johnny needed an hour intervals for the drive he could’ve said so, right? but now they were at the open road, greenery and fields merging together in one land. 
“what time is it? where are we and are we there yet? i’ll drive if what you do delays the journey.” jaehyun gestured him to move aside. “johnny, stop eating.” it was quarter to two.
“wha-? i’m hungry. hey, you’re the one who didn’t want to come and yet you’re rushing to get to the y/l/n’s?” johnny unwrapped his second burrito. “besides, we’re only five minutes away—”
“tsk ‘cause i need to piss real bad.” jaehyun was fidgety and panned the view before setting eyes on his friend. 
johnny felt a churn in his stomach as his cheeks bubbled. “oh gross! i’m eating dude! if you’re gonna piss then do it outside?!”
jaehyun shoved the burrito into johnny’s mouth to not speak anymore. “rather hold it in than for you to puke in my car!” he held his strength while johnny fought his way to breathe properly. “i won’t piss outside and there are cattles who feed on fields!”
“bruh stop lecturing me with your vet knowledge- ah!” johnny held his forehead from the sudden finger flicking.
“dude, it’s called common sense. now move aside!” he shooed the tall boy off the driver’s seat. jaehyun stepped on the gas, heading towards a small town entrance.
they finally reached a couple of stores & restaurants, surveying and asking its townsmen using your family name to locate your residence. maybe they would know which apartment or house you resided in. except that was the twist of their understanding. 
jaehyun and his boys were shocked to know how your family name plastered in posters and brand products displayed at open stores, but were more shocked to see the gazes from the people. 
a little over an hour, they managed to get hold of more information as they were told your house was ten minutes away from the town. jaehyun walked along the pavement to grab something to drink, only to be poked by a young man who was around the same age as they were.  
“hi.” he greeted the unfamiliar man. “i take it you’re looking for the y/l/n’s?”
he took a squint as he observed jaehyun from head to toe, circling around him. “uh-huh, you look like m’lady’s husband-to-be in the pictures.”
“e-excuse me?” jaehyun cleared his throat, seemingly unwilling to have this conversation going.
mark held his laugh per usual, it would take time to get used to jaehyun stumbling his words. 
because the engaged man really wasn’t ready at all. 
“yeap he’s the guy.” johnny popped the ‘p’ with a lollipop in his mouth. jaehyun rolled his eyes, taking the candy stick and tossing it away. he didn’t care about johnny’s scoffs.
the new young lad wore his motorcycle helmet. “sweet.” he prolonged the word. and that was when both mark and johnny lost it. they recalled the pun they entertain themselves with prior to arriving here.
“oh, i work with the town’s famous family,” he showed his i.d. wrapped around his neck. “you can follow me since i’m heading there too.” the three quickly twitched at his quick paced movement. “i’m kunhang by the way, but i’d rather be called hendery. it’s my professional name, it just sounds cooler.”
jaehyun furrowed his brows at the praise. “okay hendery, uhm famous? they’re big time?” he pointed at the posters holding your family name. “how so?”
hendery swung his face shield downwards. “you’ll see.”
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
gallops of horses were drumming the entire farm. dust and dirt swirled with the wind in the air and it took a while for the boys to adjust their sights at the distance. hendery dropped a couple of spare boots for them to wear. jaehyun was in awe. horses were majestic animals and though he got to study them, he never seen such a number of them on the fields.
“oh goodness me our guest is here!”
they turned around to voice of a jolly lady, an apron on and folded cuffs from her clothing. “hello there! welcome! you must be jaehyun! my soon to be son-in-law!” she shook his hands and later pulled him for a hug. “oh you look just like your mother!”
“hi mrs. y/l/n. y-yeah, i get that a lot these days,” jaehyun scratched his head. “thanks for having us.” 
her eyes trailed at mark and johnny, and they too, were pulled in for a hug. “i see jaehyun brought along his handsome friends with him! do enjoy your stay here with us!” she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching the crowd. “c’mere baby and meet the boys!”
jaehyun looked over his shoulder, lips parting and exhaled a short breath. she seemed young, she has a pretty face but obviously still in high school. what the? oh g- i’m marrying you?
“pfft no ew. i’m not getting married to you. i’m only 17.” she let out a chuckle, almost sarcastic enough for jaehyun to explode.
crap i said it unconsciously.
your mother lightly slapped her arm. “marg, where’s your sister?” she asked. “i told her to specifically come at the barn 1600.”
“she took jet for a ride. ‘detour’ she said, but i guess she’s on her way here.” she replied and mark choked on his water bottle. marg rolled her eyes. “green minded ass-”
“language marg!” hendery flicked her forehead, the latter held the pain. “the rudeness. sorry, kiddo here is the family’s baby. you’ll see the eldest daughter soon- oh! right on time m’lady!” he waved his hands up high.
jaehyun didn’t know what pissed him off more; one was at himself for being starstruck and in awe at you after his breakup, and two? 
the beautiful black horse you were riding on didn’t seem to be halting. it was trotting at first. you were on its saddle. he squinted his eyes, were you smirking? unbelievable. he thought you were doing this on purpose. no, you were really going to run him over. 
he noticed a change in speed, trotting then galloping on dirt. the sounds of it matched with the beatings of his rising heart. jaehyun took a step back, then it became more than one, until he was worried that he would end up being chased. there were couple of gasps and reminders of voices. he fell on his bum with palms hitting the ground as he breathed heavily, eyes still on you.
the horse listened to your rein, it let out a loud neigh with its front legs heavenwards. your laugh merged with it. “whoa- hey, easy jet, easy.” you cooed the animal, soon removing your helmet and hair flowed like those in shampoo commercials. “i think he got the message.”
jaehyun sat there dumbfounded, his brows drew together. what message? you were centimetres from killing him- wait. he saw you turn cold and your smile disappearing.
bingo! he got it. he knew the reason why you did this. 
you were against the arranged marriage too.
johnny leaned into mark’s ear, who had his hands cupping his lower face. “bro, jet’s a horse so stop giggling and clean your mind.” 
“dude i’m not laughing at that. just look at jae. i’ve never seen him so helpless.” he cackled a laugh. 
once your feet were on the ground, he finally got a better look on you. you were wearing a light wooled grey sweater with denim blue jeans. your hair now on one side and boots stained with dried mud. you took off your gloves to put your hand out for a handshake, one rested around your helmet. “hi, i’m y/n.” you greeted with a smile, ensuring it was fake enough for jaehyun to notice. 
“quite of an entrance.” jaehyun dusted his jeans and groaned at the exerted strength as he stood. “jeong jaehyun. veterinary medicine student..” he was about to grab your hand until you shoved yours into the pockets of your jeans. 
“y/n!” your mom exclaimed with warning. “your manners-” she clamped her lips when you put up a hand, eyes darting at her later at him.
“alright, okay. look mr. i didn’t ask for your field of study and i don’t need to know or do anything with you.”
jaehyun crossed his arms, a fake smile plastered on his face. what an attitude. “apparently you will? because i’m here for the next thirty days.”
“is that so?” you hummed and jaehyun didn’t like how you singsonged.
he knew something was coming and sometimes he thought it was best to keep quiet instead of letting his annoyance towards you spark up. “good, that means you’re helping me out with everything i do here.” he heard you say. “and do things i tell you to.”
“what?” his eyebrows snapped, and for you it was quite entertaining to see this reaction from him. following the trail of your footsteps, jaehyun stomped on wet soil as he stood before you. “hey you can’t just order me around like i’m your staff!”
“of course i can, you’re in my property-” you gestured the land.
“no, it belongs to your parents.” the tone of his voice irked you. he was grinning too.
“i can do whatever i want and choose whenever to help. i’ll only listen orders from mr. and mrs. y/l/n if they want me to do work..” he trailed off, your mother waving at him with admiration— typical as she saw him like an long lost son. “..but i guess not. my mom did say i needed a break from studying too much and she’s totally right. i must be pardoned from labour.”
it was your turn to cross arms and give him a lop-sided smile. the audacity of this man. you felt like ripping all your hair out. “you think staying here would prevent you from doing labour, your highness? sitting on your throne all dignified and at peace? well guess what, just because you’re a guest that doesn’t mean you get to be treated differently-”
you heard him bubble out a forced snicker. what was it this time? “of course it’s different! i am the guy you’re betrothed to-”
“i won’t allow it.” your jaw tightened with lips in a hard line. “a person like you is not worth my time and definitely not someone i’d want to marry.”
he pursed his lips. “wow do people ever tell you how bad of a host you are? you just don’t go shoving assumptions into people’s faces for your own entertainment. we’re humans.”
“i’m only rude to you. and yeah, people are humans. but you’re the devil’s incarnate.” you pulled jet’s reins and led him to the stables in which jaehyun observed how you gave that same smirk from earlier. “see if you’ll enjoy your stay here, hubby.” 
jaehyun clenched his fists and was sure little crescent moons already indented his palms. he only wanted sue to call him that. yet that was useless, they broke up. your face remained in his head and anger filled him up, now boiling so much that he felt a little lightheaded arguing with someone like you. 
he wanted to yell but johnny and mark sandwiched him between them with hendery walking in front. “tsk it’s only the first day and i want to go home.” he scrunched his nose. 
hendery had his palms behind his head, lips jutting to hold his grin. “m’lady—” he corrected himself. “y/n’s not usually like that. it’s a first seeing her so cranky and hotheaded.”
“really? how is she usually like?” mark asked with curiosity. “she seems cool because she smiled at johnny and me before the tables.. y’know, turned.” he shrugged with implications towards jaehyun.
“not cranky and not hotheaded.” hendery opened the door to your house, showing them to the large living area. “a lil’ different today but i tell you, our y/n is a professional equestrian. she’s passionate with what she does and—”
“a horse rider?! passionate?!” jaehyun hissed as he took off his shoes and brown coat, kicking it slightly to the side and hung it on the wall respectively. “she almost killed me!”
johnny hit the back of jaehyun’s head and clicked his tongue. “snap out of it jae, you’re overreacting. we’re at your future in-law’s residence and i think it’s a bad idea to badmouth their daughter.” 
only a low groan escaped out of jaehyun as he refused to listen. “look, first impressions don’t always hit off a good start. but thinking how you both don’t have a say to this arranged marriage, your feelings towards each other are totally understandable.”
jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose as he took in his friend’s words. if what johnny said was true, was it right for him to begin holding grudge on you on the first day? you barely knew each other. clearly he knew you hated him, yet if his parents were here and saw the whole thing, they’d ask: why risk the chance of not trying? and again, he remembered he was told, people can change. 
throughout dinner, he got to know what your family business was and why it was well-known. he didn’t ask questions, they were just told to him like they were comfortable with it. they weren’t bragging either. perhaps it was due to the fact jaehyun would soon be part of this family that they told him the entire story. 
you didn’t show up during the hour and honestly it got jaehyun feeling so much relief since he wouldn’t have to deal with another useless argument. he disliked wasting time and preferred to do this schedule accordingly, so remembering it only made him rage inside. he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with you tonight. 
except that relief was shortlived. you had to appear right when he thought of you.
great.
he tried to fix himself in his seat on the sofa by the fireplace, averting his gaze upon you while your mother continuously slapped you light on the arms. you probably finished your bath, given that you still have a towel wrapped around your head and a.. robe.
“y/n! have some courtesy! we have guests!” your mother warned as she gestured in front to cover you, apologising to the new boys. hendery immediately stepped in as well, his eyes shutting to a close and pushing you back to the bottom of the staircase. 
“but mom! i’m hungry and there might not have any cookies left if you keep giving it to them-” you were cut off with hendery’s pats.
he brushed his hair. sighing, he had to shoo you away because you were clearly attracting eyes, definitely not the decent kind. “i have a jar prepared for you m’lady so please.. get dressed!”
you quickly ran up as you were told, mumbling and complaining. jaehyun and his friends were definitely at a loss for words. because not only were you careless, you were oblivious too. 
mark scrunched his nose to start a conversation with jaehyun. “looks like she called you ‘hubby’ too quickly.” he closed his lips to contain his laugh. 
“pfft jae your ears really are honest huh?” johnny pointed at them as he held his chest, fistbumping mark for another win. 
he wasn’t going to tell them that he in fact did find you pretty, and the thing was, he shouldn’t be giving a reaction too soon. “it’s the spicy chocolate cookie!” jaehyun defended.
“huh, i didn’t bake any cookie with those flavour-” hendery pondered, but he stopped since he spotted jaehyun begging to help him here.
“you know that we know if you’re lying right?” the two squinted eyes, putting more pressure to the boy to admit what he felt when he saw you earlier. “bet ya felt something.”
afraid that your family could hear them, jaehyun grabbed their shoulders to huddle them in close. he cleared his throat to catch their attention, yet his friends continued their giggles. “i swear if you both embarrass me in front of the y/f/n’s, consider the days with your precious.. phones.”
“ah c’mon dude. don’t do that. we bought our i12’s together-” mark whined.
“then at least help me out here guys. i have a reputation to hold-” 
“oh for being her hubby?” johnny gave a playful grin and soon was replaced with a nervous smile. “okay i’ll zip it.”
he heard your mother facetiming his mom, voices loud enough for him to know that there would be a huge gathering at christmas eve dinner. great, another one i have to deal with.
jaehyun put down his beanie and crossed his arms to snooze for a bit. he had too much going on in his head the whole day that maybe sleeping it off would let him calm down from all feelings he felt tonight. on the sofa, the weight beside him lowered, the scent of freshly baked cookies along with lavender perfume got him peeking under his beanie. 
it was you, who looked like a squirrel happily munching away with your jar of cookies whilst eyes glued to the television.
he smiled a little to himself. so you can have this cute side-
fragments of sue’s face appeared in his mind. right. he was supposed to be heartbroken. he still was. a week into the breakup had remains to his heart. bothered with sue’s ultimatum and your annoying munches, he grabbed your wrists and out at the veranda.
it pissed him because it seemed like he was the only one who cared about both of your futures or actually would do something to change your families’ minds, where as you were carefree with your cookies. “hey!” you held the jar tight in your arms as you quickly slid your feet into your slippers. “rude! i’m eating!”
the rest of the people in the dining and kitchen area grew voices of woohoo’s, jaehyun’s pupils flared at their cheers. “just come with me for a second!” he hissed, turning the knob and closing the door.
“seriously jaehyun you can’t just ruin my happy time! what do you want-”
he looked in between the curtains from the outside, where he could faintly hear his friends talking the embarrassing things about him— especially how he felt for this arrange marriage. “aren’t you pressured or angry at the situation our parents have put us into?” he leaned against a column. “even my friends are joining the wagon.”
you cackled whilst scrolling your phone. “here i thought you only cared about animals, dr. jeong.” hearing how jaehyun scoffed at your comment, you shoved your device in your pockets. “and yes of course i’m mad! what they decided is so against my will.”
jaehyun stared at you and surprised that he actually felt exactly the same. “really? then let’s make a pact. sounds good?” he offered with arms folded while you still were occupied with your phone. “well?”
“why would i listen to you? as far as i know, we already clashed and hate each other.” you rolled your eyes. “what makes you think i’ll agree?”
he sighed. “y/n, i know you don’t want this, i don’t too. at least there’s something we have in common. i’m just thinking that we have to show them we’re not meant to be together. we both have lives we want to live without the other.”
there was a change in his voice. you could tell he was serious and trying to suggest something he’d want you to agree on. “fine, what’s the pact?” you gave an uninterested tone. probably a bad idea, you thought.
“like you said, ‘clash and hate each other’. we have exactly twenty four days to convince them that you, me, us?” he pointed at his chest then yours. “is impossible. twenty four days, it’s until the night of christmas eve.”
actually that’s not bad at all. “hm, that’s easy since i can’t stand you.” you said, now standing up to face him. “even better if we can do this in less than 24.”
“cool, we have to make our fights as natural as possible. no signals or heads-up. full-on make me angry and i’ll do the same. the more we argue the more they’ll believe there’ll never be an ‘us’.” his voice a bit lively than before. “i want my buds to be fooled into this too. just be realistic and- nghf!”
you shoved a huge cookie into his mouth. “tsk, you’re noisy. i get you so shut up. i agreed with the pact, but i have conditions, okay?”
jaehyun nodded as he chewed angrily with his eyes closed, though the cookies’ taste might’ve simmered down his temper towards you. “ha, then i have conditions too-”
“see you in the morning.” he heard you say as the door slammed with the attached bell ringing his ears. 
now that was one of his conditions; no interrupting while he talks. he sighed seeing you head up the stairs. he sighed. “ugh, i can never marry a girl like her.”
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
stretching as high as you can, the muscles loosened in every part of your body from riding yesterday. the sun shone its brightest despite the cold weather. you remembered the pact and you knew you would not let a day pass without bothering him. somehow his existence annoyed you to the bone, not even words were enough to explain how you felt. 
at the farthest point your peripheral could reach, you spotted jaehyun peacefully— and actually enjoying— the hammock whilst faintly you heard mark and johnny debating which pronunciation was the correct one. fixing your boots as you walked towards them, the two scurried off to the side, noticing the stomps of your feet getting closer. 
“get up.” you wriggled the hammock, causing it to be lop-sided. 
jaehyun managed to balance himself from the swings. “what the-” his voice hitched. “you’re ruining my relax time!”
you pretended to ponder as you looked up to the sky. “hm, sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?” referring to his sudden action towards you the night prior.
“seriously y/n what do you want? i’m in no mood to do work today and i clearly told you last night-” jaehyun fixed his eyes onto your finger that silenced his lips.
jaehyun raised a brow and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? he thought. “condition number one.” you started, bringing your voice down. “starting today you’ll do the work for me and with me. considering you’re taking veterinary science, i’m guessing you know your ways through equine husbandry. so in the coming days you can check the horses’ health while i practice my rounds.”
ah, so that’s what this was about. “uh-huh, but my condition number one is you shouldn’t make me do labour unless you really need it.” jaehyun got off the hammock, chugging his glass of water like it’s one-shot. “it’s the first light, y/n. my service starts in the afternoon.”
“i see. you’re not a morning person.” you checked your nails.
“i so am! but it’s my month long vacation. let me enjoy this before i experience exploitation from you.” he forced a smile that made you want to push him off the veranda.
you walked down the steps and straight to the barn opposite from your house. “it’s either exploitation today or exploitation for the whole month.” you singsonged while you twirled in your stance. hearing him growl meant your tactic worked. “i’ll let you experience the beauty of country side, city boy.”
jaehyun’s brows narrowed as he followed you anyway, later looking back at his friends who were stifling a laugh. “did you just compare me to feces first thing in the morning?”
“did you just boggle up my brain with scientific terms?” you hid a giggle when you heard his friends finally bursting out and losing it. because they too, experienced jaehyun’s sudden blabber of uncommon usage of words, especially conversational-wise. “i made a pun but it seems like you acknowledge the nickname.”
“i did not!” jaehyun pressed his temples. “i may have misheard you but i didn’t acknowledge it! you’re too assuming!”
“mhm sure.. but you are stepping on one though.” you whistled and gestured mark and johnny to the stables.
jaehyun grumbled as he checked the soles of his shoes. indeed he stepped on it and licked his lips in annoyance that it’d be hard to clean it off. the door opened and hendery’s morning face only turned sour at the unsightly view. he tossed another pair of spare boots for him to wear before they both headed to where you all were. 
hendery introduced the things they do here; feed the horses, fix their saddles  repair them if damaged. they were minor things since your family did hire people to do them. and since you and him were professionals in equine sports, he mentioned you both spend all days practicing. 
good, if it was you who toured him around the area, he wouldn’t think lasting a day with your intentions of ruining his mood. though it was part of the pact, it seemed like you enjoyed this a lot more than he expected. hendery brought him to places your family owned, land properties that expanded until the mountains. it’s no wonder you were free to roam around and unafraid of getting lost. 
you made him do a lot. and he was glad he was able to handle, thank heavens. however he didn’t feel much of a challenge from any of them, where you claimed they were ones he couldn’t do. jaehyun lost track of time, the sky was his only companion to tell the hours and probably lost count of the tasks too. all he could remember was the endless bickering, yells and frequent eye rolls. 
in all those, he still let you off the hook— first day of work and all, he has to be patient. and he wasn’t bothered with what you tasked him to do, until his friends stood behind you as you showed them the rest of the horses. 
after you told him to move the bundles of hay he thought was the last, you were currently trying to make mark pet the horses as they were bobbing their heads towards the young man while johnny recorded his reaction. 
“isn’t she all well now.” jaehyun rolled his eyes as he helped hendery lift the infinite bundles. “my friends get the leisure and i have to work?”
hendery laughed as he unbuttoned his collar. “she was told by her mom that you’ll be in her care since you both will get married eventually. plus mrs. y/f/n said it’s a way to get to know y/n too.” he explained, seeing you walk towards them with a hay cart, hands signalling your childhood friend to get some bundles from you. the final bundles were finally fed to the horses, and you skipped your feet to fetch jaehyun.
jaehyun knew you had intentions to make fun of him because the way you walked really pissed him off. so he decided to have his fun too. ”are you that weak you’re unable to carry a small patch? guess my hourly pay needs an increase.” he low-key flexed his muscles. truthfully speaking it was a sight to look at, too bad his attitude didn’t match it.
you rested on one leg while you look at him. he was testing the waters with you, smile slowly resurfacing as you gave even the slightest reaction towards him. oh it’s on. he annoyed you yesterday and would be a lot more in the next coming days. jaehyun leaned forwards that he was towering over you. his body made you feel small but that didn’t stop you from getting back at him.
“the only thing increasing for you is workload.” you hummed, putting back the cart into its place.
he glared at you as if you were dead meat. you ignored him. “i’ve had enough for today. muscles are sore.” hands in his pockets, jaehyun kicked the remains of hay off his shoes before he was stopped by you. “ugh you’re so annoying.” he clicked his tongue. 
“nope, you’re not done until i am. we have to find materials for christmas wreaths at my grandpa’s up north.” you pointed at the mountains as you took hendery’s hands and soon mounted on jet with him.
“oh and i’m supposed to walk there while you’re so relaxed miss bossy?” jaehyun shook his head in disbelief looking at the distance.
“uh yes?” you laughed to yourself. “i don’t think you’ve ever ridden a horse before, but if ever you did, it’s probably at a carnival.”
sudden outbursts of emotions evident on his face now. “was i born under a rock? of course i’ve ridden!” he took the reins given to him by hendery. “and it’s not a carousel!”
for a while he had a certain confidence, his soles stepping on the stirrup and dimples deepening with the strength he gave to put his right leg over. but once that was done and high up off the ground, his heart beat an army per second. cash, hendery’s horse gave loud neigh. jaehyun had done this before as a child and definitely felt like one now. he should be able to handle a 30-minute journey.
jaehyun heard you giggling, perhaps he knew how hideous he looked. despite hendery seated behind you, you led the way for the most part of the ride. you were surprised to see jaehyun have gotten the hang of it. it pissed you a lot because he was vlogging with his phone— sputtering out words to keep the diss battle going. johnny and mark hopped on the available bikes, cycling on your sides, and their laughter rather calmed you than annoy you. 
it pissed you a lot more because you’ve practically ran out of ideas to tell him in return. keeping quiet wasn’t your forte, you were a young woman with plenty of things to say, even more so to jaehyun. going through the woods, you signalled hendery to halt the horse for you and the rest of the boys followed you to gather the materials needed. 
“this shouldn’t be too long to take.” jaehyun looked at the trees towering meters above him, then straight to you who was shaking head in disbelief. “we’re just taking the materials at your grandfather’s and head back, right?”
“did i mention my granddad?” you balanced yourself on large wood log. the tone of your voice started to warm up with bickers you weren’t able to tell him. 
“you did!” jaehyun anticipated this and somehow he didn’t. “now lead the way to his place and we can get the hell out of here.” his eyes grew squints of disgust at his surroundings, as if he hadn’t been into the forest before. his friends went on ahead with hendery around the woods to look for what’s needed.
“nah, we’re picking acorns, pine cones, berries and other leaves by hand. his cottage is just around here but that doesn’t mean the materials are from him. let’s go, whiney.” 
“oh my g-” jaehyun pulled you on the arm and off you went towards him. “y/n i’ve had enough for today and i’m so tired of taking your orders- i’m physically tired of doing things your way and i can’t think straight-”
“pecans?” you said as his eyes crossed to see your palms full of the shelled nuts. “you’re hungry, aren’t you? that’s why you’re so cranky and agitate-y.” placing one but onto a flat rock, you smashed it strong enough for it to crack yet not totally destroying the inside. you popped one into your mouth and gave the most taunting grin jaehyun has seen from you all day. 
he was about to grab the rest of the nuts until you swung your arm that he wasn’t able to reach them. “y/n! give me some!” he yelled and the rest of your friends look at you both after hearing you laugh in the most evil manner.
“never!” you scurried off deeper into the woods. jaehyun rolled his eyes not at how fast you were, but due to how slow he actually was because of the amount of disgust he had.
he knew this would take all day and he didn’t know how long his patience can take for another three weeks with you.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
jaehyun couldn’t describe in words with what he experienced since arriving. if he had to compare with school, it was similar to studying and cramming for hours non-stop. it gotten him mentally exhausted, physically too. but the only difference between being cooping up in his room and doing work outdoors was the continuous nagging from you. 
it was far from quiet. he could handle his mom’s high pitched yells. but you? anything that came from you or done by you made him want to plaster a duck tape on your lips. you were as annoying as a five year old child who looked for someone vulnerable to bully. unfortunately he became your prey because he was in your lands. and though there were times he was able to banter back, he always felt you still had the upper hand.
it was all sunny and good days out in the countryside and jaehyun found that fact the only bright side. he enjoyed it every single morning. yet sometimes good sunny mornings meets its bad, that is, when grey clouds destroyed the beauty of the sky. in this case, it was you. you were far from his dream girl— sue. she was elegant, poised and had a heart of gold. you were the complete opposite who’d rather be rogue and do things your way. other than completing ten christmas wreaths and feeding the horses or more farm work, he couldn’t remember what he did for the past eight days because all that entered his mind was the dictator you. 
but today he felt different, maybe things wouldn’t be as hard than last week. he felt good. he sat at the long dining table with all morning faces exposed. it was currently 7 a.m and your mom have already prepared breakfast. and per usual, you were the only one they waited for before they start the first meal. 
“marg, is your sister still asleep?” your mother put down a large casserole to warm up everyone’s stomach in winter. 
marg only shrugged because for one, she didn’t care, and two, she stated that it wouldn’t be her doing this since jaehyun was marrying you. “oh jaehyun. please do head upstairs to her room and awake y/n up.”
“and why do i have to do this?” jaehyun mumbled to himself and johnny nudged him on the arm. he groaned and got up, his stomps were heavy and unwilling. 
once he was in front of your door, he knocked twice loudly so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time to get you. there was a small tune playing in your room, like it was from a music box. the door was already opened. he peeped through the thin gap, seeing you still sleeping soundly. goodness’ sake, he thought, and entered the room since your mother was asking if he woken you up. 
your room was in fact, neat. all things were organised and arranged. if there was one thing he learned from you other than being an ass, was that you loved stuffed animals. not a hint of dolls or barbies or any toy displayed related to that spectrum. two lines of medals displayed and they all shone in gold. plaques had your names and young portraits of you with smiles of victory. hendery wasn’t lying when he said you were a professional. he wasn’t going to lie— you were impressive despite the little horns coming out of your head.
he stood next to your bed where you were all bundled in a huge blanket. he raised a brow, it was strange for you to have two thick blankets covering you. “hey y/n.”
no response. 
“y/n. wake up, your mom is calling for breakfast and you’re usually the first one seated at the table.” he wriggled your body with the butt of the umbrella and you didn’t budge.
“she baked croissants and aren’t they your favourite? dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkles?” he tried sounding happy. note that, he tried.
this girl.. he bit the insides of his lips, spotting the markers in a cylinder container and took one to begin drawing on your face. his soft giggles filled your room and the strong scent of markers met your nostrils, waking you from your slumber. 
“what the he- jaehyun?!” you hissed at how close his face was to yours, failed to realising he was done drawing on your morning skin. “get away from me!”
everyone downstairs could hear the both of you, arguing like cats and dogs. each footstep might’ve covered the entire floor above them and the ceiling could give in. 
“you ruined my morning with your ugly face!” “what?! you’re more ugly, ugly!” “you entered my room?! you have no rights!” “breakfast’s ready and your mom asked me to!” “well my nose could’ve smelled mom’s food but i smelled your stinky breath instead!”
“whatever, i finished your share of croissants!” jaehyun quickly head down the staircase.
“you dare eat my food?!” you still had a blanket from head to toe as you followed him down. “no one takes my food!”
“your loss since you’re still in bed you lazy ass!” jaehyun sat beside johnny and continued his meal. “and you were snoring loud too-”
“i did not- agh!” you grumpily sat and immediately eyed the last croissant sitting at the center of the table. all eyes were on you with black ink scribbled on your face. 
there was an awkward silence then you felt jaehyun’s stare at the only food you wanted for breakfast. there was a back and forth battle of stares between you, him and the food. maybe it was the slow reflexes you have in mornings that jaehyun took the bread before you did. he stuck out a tongue as he deliciously ate half of it, chewing slowly just to let you imagine the flavours of sweet silky chocolate. you could feel yourself drooling and the cravings of your stomach rising up to your throat. every chew he did was a stab to your guilty-pleasure heart. 
jaehyun stopped and gave a smug grin. “you wanted this y/n?” his question sounding a song rather than an honest one. “all you have to do is beg.”
you gulped, rolling your eyes. “shut up!” you kicked his knee out of jealousy and savoured the soup instead. 
“ow!” he hissed through a laugh and looked at your mom. “mrs. y/f/n, i’d like to know the recipe for this. do you give lessons?” jaehyun licked the remains of chocolate around his lips, hopefully it was enough to cover up the violence you did under the table.
your mother giggled at his sweet talk. “why learn it from me when you have y/n to teach you?”
you choked on your soup and tear your gaze away from jaehyun to your mother, where she was already enjoying your shocked reaction. “oh give me a private lesson, bulldog terrier.” he propped his chin and mimicked clicks as if he was calling animal.
you quickly touched and rubbed your face to see the ink contaminate your fingers. the spoon reflected the dark circle around your right eye. “oh my g- you! this will be hard to remove!” the fork around your hand pointed directly at him. 
“y/n!” hendery put down your wrists as jaehyun laughed loud. you took the wet wipes marg gave you and whined a little whilst you stood by the mirror behind jaehyun.
“don’t be so bummed out honey.” your mom assured, giving a wink to jaehyun. “it’s a small prank. marg did it to you before.”
checking yourself for the last time at the mirror, you rolled your eyes. “i have enough patience for marg,” with one hand you cupped jaehyun’s lower face from the chin spreading to the cheeks, soon pinching hard on his dimples with a pointer finger and thumb. “but none for the human bread.”
“ow don’t touch me!” jaehyun swifted his head to look at you and he saw you flashed a smile like you were satisfied. 
“a human bread with molds. ew, i lost appetite so i’ll be out for a ride.” you stood up to grab your coat. “see ya ugly.”
“remember to you have to clean the barn house y/n!” your mom called out.
“yeah got that!”
johnny and mark bent their heads down and let their friends suffer from multiple dots on his faces. what made it funnier was that jaehyun munched happily on his meal, hadn’t gotten a single clue. he then eyed you when you passed the window and straight to the stables. “isn’t it too early for practice?” he drank his cup of hot chocolate. 
“she can ride all day. sometimes she doesn’t arrive home and the next morning you see her sleeping in the barn house.” marg tied her hair into a high bun. “the amount of dedication is there, except the passion she used to have isn’t really there anymore- hey!” she glared at hendery who gave her a warning look. 
what was that all about? jaehyun thought while his eyebrows met together and good thing it wasn’t obvious to your family. he was indeed curious, but he’d rather hear it from you than to look like a jerk who wanted to gossip about personal lives. the thing was, it’s you. though majority of the week was him suffering with workload, he liked to bicker with you until you gave up and had nothing to say. 
so far he recorded as 5-11 in terms of owning the other. the latter was his score and he was proud of it.
hendery’s phone vibrated and slid it to jaehyun’s place. jaehyun blinked to adjust his sight to the brightness of the phone. a sigh came out of his lips and the rest of them could tell it was another order from you. “ooh that doesn’t sound good.” mark slurped his soup. 
“it’s not.” jaehyun brushed his hair and hesitation slowly crept his body. “she asked me to clean the upper floor of the barn by the time she arrives.”
jaehyun massaged his wrists by twisting them. he looked at the barn house’ entrance because he noticed a figure approaching. you’ve had the best morning after jaehyun ruined it. as you rode, nothing beats the freshness of the cool wind. you love riding through the woods and grasslands. it sets you free from everything keeping you caged. your smile began to falter when you saw jaehyun who was not even halfway close to finishing. “you’re late. your mom had to apologise on your behalf because i’m doing the job for you.”
“ooh thanks! i’ll count on it!” you laid comfortably on a chair.
“hey!”
you leaned against the furniture, arms crossed where he was a floor above and standing at your 2 o’clock view. “dr. jeong it looks like you’re having a hard time. need help?” you stifled a laugh because he still has the ink marks you left on his face.
“on with the assumptions again, aren’t we?” he fixed his gloves and moved wooden planks from one place to another. 
“yeah you make yourself too easy of a target, jaehyun. and i thought you’re the type to not take things seriously.” you tied jet’s reins to a pole.
“you’re forgetting my condition number two, you can only badmouth me if the others are around. now get your flat butt up here and move the tool box aside so i can continue what i’m doing.” he grunted whilst lifting. 
dusting your pants, you were now standing a storey high. the sight of the height below you made you sick. jaehyun nudged your arm and you took the items blocking his way. you sighed and he noticed how fidgety you were. he put up a small smile. his entertainment from you didn’t end at the breakfast table. 
he scooted closer to you, pretending to bump into you with the pile of tall wooden planks in his arms. he heard you hiss, and that was the signal to begin. “oops didn’t see you there shorty.” there was a change in his voice, a more aggressive type of approach. 
“you’re doing that on purpose.” you checked the pained area of your forearm.
“what if i’m not? it could be an honest mistake.” he tilted his head away from the wood to see you.
a held-in soft disbelief laugh came out of your lips. “honesty doesn’t really blend in well with you.” 
jaehyun gasped with arched brows. “wow i’m very offended— you think this face..” he largely gestured himself. “would ever lie?”
“if you want to hear me saying you’re handsome.. it’s not happening.“ you took the rope to hang on a nail. 
“but you did say it.” he singsonged and you could push him off the loft but that could only happen in your head. 
“then that’s an honest mistake.” you flashed a forced smile at him. you carried the boxes stacked upon one another. “if you have a huge ego like that i bet you never dated. no girl would ever date you.” 
jaehyun fell silent, his mood to bash you suddenly changed. the shifts in his steps became heavier and as if he was putting his anger upon them. he didn’t like being reminded of sue, even if you unconsciously did so. “can’t you just keep quiet as you work? do you always have something to say? keep your damn mouth shut if you think all the fun you get is from belittling people.”
“okay sheesh sorry i didn’t know you have a heart for people too.” you removed your helmet to relieve the discomfort from it. 
as time passed— two hours to be exact, the more your guilt begin to seep in you. jaehyun never spoke after that. silence was like death at this point. not a hint of sniffs and sighs from him. did you go too far that he actually chose not to talk anymore? all you thought about was the pact he suggested. what now? anyone could appear any moment. 
this wasn’t like you at all. you hesitated to talk to him and to give the first move to bicker. you stood there staring at him piling boxes after boxes and sweeping the floor where dust accumulated like piles of sand. you bit your lips because screw this, you hated this atmosphere, you hated this silent treatment. “j-jaehyun?” you called out.
nothing. 
“hey-”
“hm? guilt eating you up now?” you froze at his voice as he chuckled. “it has, hasn’t it? look at your face!” he was laughing, his hands holding his ballooning stomach. “y/n you should’ve seen yourself!”
your gaze followed his hands that quickly took his phone placed at one corner. he was recording and your obliviousness blinded you. “oh you have no idea how much i wanted to laugh! my cheeks hurt so bad! hahaha!”
“you’re not using that to blackmail me!” you strided towards him.
he put his arm high as you struggled to reach it. “i might as well do that thanks for the idea!” faintly you heard his friends coming to check as to why their friend had the laughter of the century, only to find you both bickering again like this morning.
“delete that video jaehyun! i mean it!” “not until you agree to clean the loft!” “that’s like telling me to do everything!” “then that’s exactly what i’m telling you to do!”
johnny put up his phone to recording the struggling you and jaehyun enjoying his time to take advantage of his height. “dude i’ve never seen jaehyun this happy since sue broke up with him.”
“yeah his dimples are legit showing it’s scary me.” mark squinted at the two of you.
jaehyun swung his arms to avoid your attempted catches. he scrunched his nose and although that was undeniably cute, you couldn’t afford to feel humiliated for another two weeks. “jaehyun please delete it!”
“it’s not convincing enough you know?” “stop joking around we could fall!” you hissed. “fall?! then stop trying to get my phone!” “then put down your ridiculously long arm!” “yours are just too short!” “i swear— delete the footage!”
“you have to sound like you beg for it—” he cackled and with a few stretches you managed to reach his wrists as you lunged forwards. “oi stop!” that one last reach only made jaehyun lose his balance and fell backwards. 
and all you heard were yells of worry.
to say that you both gladly fell on soft pillows of hay was an understatement. at least that what it looked like to your friends. jaehyun was shocked, his arm felt numb. he took a good look at you and there you were laying on his arm with pale lips. “hey, you okay?” his hands were already out to help you. “y/n—”
“m’lady!” hendery rushed to you, causing jaehyun to flinch at the tone of his voice. he gently took your right arm, but you gritted your teeth and asked him to take the left. “painful?”
“not that serious.” you said, feeling the stares from jaehyun. “ew don’t look at me like that. i’m fine, really. let’s just call it a day.” you gave a small smile and he wasn’t buying it.
because jaehyun saw you clung onto hendery for dear life. 
374 notes · View notes
y0itsbri · 3 years
Text
gallavich week 2021 - day 7 - meet ugly
thank you to @ianandmickeygallavich for the inspo // @gallavichthings
Prompt: Ian and Mickey are neighbors in an apartment complex. They haven’t ever interacted, but one day they get stuck the elevator. One of them doesn’t like confined spaces but doesn’t share this so the other one assumes he is freaking out for no reason.
Words: 3.5k
--
"I'm going out tonight, dickbreath!" Mandy announced, popping her head out of the bathroom. She was wearing a short sequined dress, fitted tightly to her body and only halfway zipped up so it slipped part way down her shoulders.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Mickey called from his recliner in the living room with an Old Style in hand. Work has been absolutely kicking his ass this week and he wanted nothing more than a chill night in.
"Oh, c'mon, now that's no fun. You don't do anything," she accused.
"That's not true!" Mickey grumbled, remote in hand and flicking past some news channels onto some good shit -- finally. Rerun of Jurassic Park.
"What're your plans for the evening then, hot shot?" Mandy teased as she applied yet another layer of mascara on her already blackened eyelashes, "Dinosaur movies all night?"
"Might go to the corner store for some smokes."
"Please get something to eat while you're at it. We have like nothing in here." She waltzed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door and grimaced. He could admit that a grocery run was, in fact, long overdue.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Serious, Mick." Mandy gave him the look. The Look being the same Look that his mother used to give him when he was being a little shit.
Fine. "Got it. I'll eat something." She smiled at that.
"Thank youuu," Mandy dragged the word out as she leaned over to kiss his forehead.
"Gross."
"Ditto. Zip me up?"
--
Mandy had headed out awhile ago -- long enough ago that Mickey was now halfway through his second 'dinosaur movie.' He should really visit his dinosaur guy again soon, he's probably got some cool new shit. Mickey sighed and got up, idling over to the kitchen.
He downed a full glass of water and opened the fridge. Yeah, unless he wanted to eat a pickle with ketchup and beer, he needed to go out. He debated ordering in, but he needed to go to the corner store anyways. Two birds one stone kind of situation.
Mickey threw on his favorite pair of sweatpants and his Davie Bowie tee shirt with the sleeves cut off. It was a good shirt. Mickey thought Bowie was hot -- fuckin' alien-looking, but hot, nonetheless.
Mickey shoved his wallet and phone in his pockets and locked up his apartment. Maybe Ernie would have the good roast beef sandwiches today.
His thoughts about dinner plans subsided as he noticed the guy waiting for the elevator.
Mickey had seen the ginger around. He was hard to miss -- fuckin' tall, always going out for runs early in the morning in short shorts and coming back all sweaty, always had a million fucking people coming and going from his apartment. They lived on opposite ends of the hall, but Mickey had never actually spoken to him before.
Mandy had given her brother lots of shit for acting so goddamn unapproachable and that's why he has no friends. Mickey didn't want to be friends with everyone, but he wouldn't mind spending some time with the hot red-head down the hall... eventually.
But he was waiting for the elevator with him right now. He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact in fear that it would lead to small talk which would then lead Mickey to inevitably embarrass himself. He couldn't blow his shot. Mandy did the small talk, not him. He took out his phone and scrolled through Instagram even though none of the photos were loading.
He hardly looked up when the elevator arrived and he stepped into it, leaving plenty of space between the two of them. Maybe it was an unreasonable amount of space, but it still wasn't enough for Mickey. He could still smell the guy's cologne. And it was infuriatingly attractive.
"Ground floor?" The man's voice practically sent heat down Mickey's spine. This was going to be a long ride.
"Uh, yeah." Nice, Mick. Not embarrassing at all.
"Great." It hung in the air, a tinge of awkwardness to it.
Out of the corner of his eye Mickey could see the the man leaning against the elevator wall, crossing his ankles as he not-so-subtly stared Mickey's direction.
Mickey was running out of things to check on the his phone and he was about to give in and finally make eye contact when he felt a shift. Then an ungodly clanging of metal. And a stop.
Fuck.
He glanced up at the dial. Sure enough they were stopped between floors, and not at all near the ground.
"The fuck?"
"What?" The red-head locked confused eyes with Mickey's.
"We're stopped. Why the fuck are we stopped?"
"Hm," The guy poked around at the open doors button and nothing happened. "I don't know."
All hopes of positive small talk was out the window as Mickey went into full panic mode. He did not like small, confined spaces -- which happened to be exactly what his current predicament entailed.
"You open the doors!" Mickey practically shrieked.
"Why me!?" The attractive guy spit back.
"You work out and shit -- do I look like I could pry those fuckers apart?"
"Well..." The red-head took a moment to size up Mickey's smaller form. "Yes, you do actually- but these doors are heavy as fuck. We don't have like super strength."
"Fuck you."
"Uh, fuck me!?"
"Yeah, fuck you. Not even tryin' and now we're both going to fuckin' die in here. Any last words, Red?"
He rolled his eyes. "We're not going to die. Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"
"Don't you think you're being a little too calm considering we're stuck?"
"Oh. You're freaking out."
"No shit I'm freaking out, Sherlock." Mickey ran his hands down his face. This was not fucking happening to him right now.
"Hey, take deep breaths."
"Can't. Gonna die." Mickey gasped.
"Well, if you can't breathe, you're definitely going to pass out."
Mickey shot him panicked eyes.
"Hey, hey it's okay. Just look at me."
Mickey could do that.
"Copy me. In-" He inhaled, chest expanding.
"Out-" Mickey felt his breath on his face. In any circumstance, a stranger breathing on him would warrant a punch in the gut, but now it was more grounding than anything else. They repeated that motion a few times.
"Good. See, you can breath."
"What are you? A fuckin' doctor?" Mickey huffed a laugh in disbelief.
"Been to enough," he chuckled.
"Huh?"
"Never mind. But, uh- look, see, I'll hit the emergency button and someone will come get us soon. It'll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive. Got stuck in one of these with my sister when I was little, kinda scary at first but we were out in practically no time. She sang to me to pass the time, but I take it you don't want me to sing to you?"
That earned a full-bellied laugh from Mickey, "Not yet."
The man grinned goofily like a golden retriever.
They were silent for a moment.
"So, uh, what's your name?" The red-head asked, gazing curiously at Mickey.
Mickey just stared back at him.
"Your name?" He repeated gently.
"Mickey."
"Mickey," He said it so soft like a prayer. "I like it. I'm Ian."
He had no idea what he expected, but it wasn't Ian. Ian was fitting, though. Ian was good.
--
Ian had hit the emergency button a few times for good measure while Mickey had tried to call Mandy to no success. They settled onto the floor, leaning against opposite walls, feet nearly colliding in the center. Neither made a move to completely avoid that.
After Mickey had calmed down a bit, they fell into bouts of comfortable conversation and comfortable silence.
"I thought you just hated me." Ian mumbled after a bit.
"What I hate is being trapped here." Mickey stared at the walls threatening to enclose around them. He closed his eyes so he didn't start to panic again.
"Even before this."
"Oh?" That was news to Mickey. That was never his intent.
"Yeah, I always see you around, but you never seem to see me." Ian looked to the ground when he said it.
"I've seen ya plenty. You're the dork with the short ass shorts."
Ian smirked, "I guess I am."
"Hard to miss, man."
"You too. I've wanted to say hi for like months, but you always looked like you were ready to snap me in half or something. I kinda like my limbs in tact."
Mickey swiped his thumb against his nose and sniffed, embarrassed, "Sister says I scare everyone away. Used to be a good thing."
"Sister... wait, wait, wait, hold up. You're Mandy's brother, aren't you?"
"You know Mandy? Oh god, you're not banging her, are you?" That would throw a wrench in his plans.
"Oh god, no!" Ian threw his hands up in a mock surrender like that was the most repulsive thing he's ever heard.
"Something wrong with my sister?" Mickey grew defensive. She may be a lot to handle at times, but she was still his sister.
"No, no, she's great! 'm just not into... well, uh- I'm- let's just say that if you had a brother, maybe I'd be banging him." He grimaced.
Watching Ian stumble over his words after being so confident about everything else was a bit amusing.
"Oh -- cool." Mickey wasn't used to such obvious disclosures about sexuality with strangers.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Mickey avoided all eye contact.
"So?"
Ian paused until Mickey was able to look at him again.
"So, what?"
"Do you have any brothers?" A playful flicker in Ian's eyes made it obvious that he was just being a little shit now.
"You're an idiot."
"Maybe so, but that doesn't answer my question still."
"Yeah, I have brothers, but they'd uh- let's just say definitely not be into that."
"And you're... not not into that?"
Mickey rolled his eyes. His lack of denial was basically a confession and they both knew it.
Ian smirked and knocked the toes of their shoes together.
--
Help announced itself to be coming soon over the tiny intercom embedded in the elevator. Sometime shortly after that, Ian had made his way over to the wall next to Mickey's, rather than across.
"Where were you going tonight?" Ian asked, turning to fully face Mickey.
"Nowhere." Nowhere interesting at least.
"Really? So you just take an elevator down to nowhere?"
"Alright, smart ass, I needed to get dinner. Gonna be a late dinner now that's for sure, fuckin' starving."
"Shit."
"What about you? Got a hot date or something?" Mickey eyed him up and down. Ian's outfit wasn't fancy by any means, but he still looked damn good in it.
"Oh, I wish," he winked, "Just going on a walk to clear my head. But this is working just as well."
"Good for you, man. My head is fuller than ever."
"What're you thinking about?" Ian's heavy breath practically bounced off his face. His gaze flickered to Ian's pouting lips. This was ridiculous.
Kissing you. Kissing you. Kissing you. "Nothing."
"Riiiight." Ian's eyes mimicked the same trail that Mickey's had just followed.
"Yup."
Ian scooted closer to Mickey and he swore his heart was beating so loud that even Ian could hear it. If he could, he made no indication. Instead, he eyed Mickey's hand resting on the floor. Gently, careful not to spook him, he caressed Mickey's fingers, nearing his tattooed knuckles.
Mickey fought the urge to yank his hand away. No one ever touched him so delicately, so sweetly. He figured that Ian would have guessed that, seeing his crude tattoos, but he wasn't acting like this was strange. So Mickey let him.
"Fuckin' hate them." Mickey murmured, watching Ian's fingertips tracing over the back of his hand.
Ian frowned.
"The tattoos."
"They're you. I'm sure they have a story."
"Wish I could forget it."
"If it makes you feel any better, I have a pair of tits on my shoulder."
"Ex-fucking-cuse me?!" Mickey pictured literal tits growing out of the man's back.
"Here, look," Ian turned, pulling his shirt up, revealing an insanely toned and insanely freckled back. Surely he was not about to be flashed in an elevator. But sure enough, tattooed on his shoulder was a pair of double-D's.
"Shit! Dude, what the fuck is up with that?" Mickey laughed.
Yeah, this made him feel better. At least he didn't have fucking titties tattooed on his knuckles, though he was sure someone in his family must have something like that. They're fucking idiots like that. Like Ian, apparently. But Ian was good.
"It was supposed to be my mom." Ian winced, pulling his shirt back down to cover it again.
"Mom must've been a banger." Mickey joked, still hardly containing his laughter.
"Ugh," Ian groaned dramatically. "Never gonna live that one down."
He threw his hands back on the ground, near Mickey's but not touching this time.
Experimentally and slowly, so slowly, Mickey hooked his fingers with Ian's and rubbed his thumb against Ian's hand. It was calloused, but so soft. It was a movement so gentle he hardly recognized himself, completely contradictory to the message literally written across his hands.
He was practically holding hands with a man in an elevator. Oh, if dear dad could see him now.
Moving out of his hell house with Mandy had been a good step, but it had taken Mickey years to unlearn his self-hate, allow himself to be. He still wasn't perfect, and he still felt years behind. But with Ian, it felt normal. It felt right and warm.
Right then, he felt the elevator shift again. He tightened his grip on Ian's hand. Ian returned the hold. If he was going to die, at least he wasn't going to die alone.
Mickey realized that they weren't falling down, but rather moving upwards.
They released their hands and leapt up to their feet as the door dinged open, revealing a small staff of maintenance personnel, not looking at all concerned that two men had just been trapped inside for an unspecified amount of time.
"Fuckin' finally!" Mickey ran out. He resisted the urge to drop to the floor and kiss the ground. He was dramatic, but he wasn't that dramatic.
Ian thanked the maintenance people then hurried along beside Mickey. They weren't on their floor, but they sure as hell weren't about to take the elevator again after all that.
"Hey, Mickey, wanna come back to my place? I think I still have some leftover lasagna if you're still hungry."
Mickey checked the time. Yeah, Ernie's place was definitely closed by now. Plus he really did just want to go back to Ian's. He glanced up to see Ian in almost full puppy-dog eyes. The dork was needlessly persuasive, he'd give him that.
"Yeah, sure. I could eat." He grinned like an idiot.
Ian nodded his head towards the stairwell, holding the door open for Mickey, who obediently followed up the steps.
--
Ian's apartment wasn't too different than Mickey and Mandy's, mirrored and maybe smaller, but it looked oddly inviting and definitely way more lived in -- almost too much décor and family photos hung up around the space.
"Uh, make yourself comfortable," Ian called as he rummaged through the cabinets, grabbing a couple plates to reheat some food for Mickey and himself.
Mickey was no stranger to feigning confidence in unfamiliar locations, but this felt different, more genuine. He actually respected Ian, the man having been kind and patient with him in a less than ideal situation.
He sat himself on the barstool at Ian's countertop and watched him. The gorgeous man who he had been eyeing in secret for months, who had helped him through a small panic attack, who had held his hand and traced his tattoos like they were art. Like Mickey was art.
"So, Bowie, huh?" Ian leaned against the counter, waiting out the timer on the microwave.
"What?"
"Your shirt," he pointed, and Mickey looked down.
"Oh, yeah. He's cool as fuck. Dope music."
"Got great hair, too."
"You would think so."
"Self-love, baby."
"Good for you." But there was no edge in his voice.
Ian smiled. The microwave beeped and they settled in, eating together with nothing but the awkward clanging of silverware and chewing. Mickey was too fucking starving and too fucking tired to care about formalities to give a shit at this point.
"Bet you didn't think you'd spend your night eating lasagna with a David Bowie look-alike, huh?" Ian teased over a mouthful of pasta.
"You wish, man."
"Hey, it's at least a little true."
"Yeah, you're both fuckin' aliens."
"Maybe so, but at least we're hot."
They both smiled around their forks, glancing over at each other a little too frequently with nothing but fondness.
--
Ian collected their plates when they were done, taking them over to the sink to wash them later. Mickey got up and followed him into the center of the kitchen, still sipping on his beer before setting it on the counter to his right.
In a move that shocked Ian, and even himself, Mickey moved into Ian's space and pressed his chest against Ian's back. He wrapped his arms around Ian's waist, feeling up the plains and softness of his stomach, feeling his breath hitch and his heart beat faster. Mickey's warm breath bounced off of Ian's neck and back onto his own face.
Ian sighed and placed his hands over Mickey's again. He leaned his head back onto Mickey's shoulder for a moment before wiggling free from Mickey's grip enough to turn around and face him, carding one of his hands through Mickey's dark hair.
"Mickey." He said it so soft. With so much admiration. Mickey couldn't take it anymore. He leaned up and pulled Ian's head down so they were the same height.
"Fuck, c'mere," he murmured, lips practically touching Ian's with the words.
Ian pressed their lips together. For all his gentle touches throughout the night, his kiss was anything but. Like he needed him to breathe.
Ian pushed him backwards towards the living room, stumbling over each others' feet in the process. Mickey greedily pulled down on Ian's neck, desperate not to let him go. Ian smiled into it and dropped backwards onto the couch cushions, pulling Mickey on top of him, making out like dumb teenagers.
--
Eventually, they settled and Mickey rested his head on Ian's chest while Ian rubbed his back and head comfortingly. Truthfully, he was beginning to panic a bit. He hadn't liked anyone in awhile, and Ian was very hard to not like.
"Are you good?"
Fuckin' mind reader.
"I don't know." Smooth, Mick.
"You don't know what?" Ian probed gently.
Mickey sighed, "How to do this," he answered honestly. There was no point in lying to Ian.
Ian kissed Mickey's forehead, "We can do this any way you want, alright? No rush, no pressure."
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely," Ian scratched Mickey's head for a moment, "I've been waiting for you for awhile, Mick, I'll wait for however long you want."
Mickey leaned into his touch and then kissed his shoulder, "I want you, this."
"Me too." They smiled into each other. Safe together.
--
Neither made a move to push things further for the night. Ian had flicked on the tv to the same channel Mickey had on earlier, the Jurassic Park marathon still playing. After whatever movie was on now, Mickey decided he should head home. He was utterly exhausted after the day, and as much as he liked Ian, he didn't want to pass out in the guy's apartment -- though he was sure Ian wouldn't mind at this point, kind bastard.
After Ian had pulled Mickey into one last embrace, Mickey wretched open Ian's door, only to come face to face with his sister, makeup smudged and heels in hand after her night out.
She gasped way louder than fucking necessary, "You slut!"
"Shut the fuck up," he grumbled pushing past her to head back to his own apartment.
"See ya later, Mick!" Ian called down the hall. Mickey didn't respond, but Ian took no offense. To be fair, he had just been caught red-handed by his very dramatic bitch of a sister.
Mandy grinned and looked between Mickey's retreating form and Ian's blushing face. "Oh my god, Ian! I knew it!"
"Hi, Mands." He ducked his head, scratching the back of his neck.
She gave a cheeky, knowing wave goodbye and took off barefoot after Mickey, "You fucker! I want all the details!"
"You ain't gettin' 'em, bitch!" He stormed inside, but left the door open for her behind him.
Mandy threw her shoes on the floor and met up with him in the kitchen, punching his arm lazily so he spilled his newly-opened beer down his hand. "The fuck?!"
"I'm so proud of you!" She made grabby hands at Mickey in attempts to smush his cheeks, but he weaseled out of there quick enough to avoid her gross hands. She may be fuckin' drunk, but she was still quick.
"Yeah, will well ya stop screaming it from the rooftops. Ian's gonna think I'm a fuckin' loser."
"Awww," She chased after him as he headed down the hall, "You are a loser, but that's besides the point! I've been waiting for this for weeks!"
"Night!" Mickey shut his bedroom door in Mandy's face. She'd get over it in a minute. Hell she was probably well on her way to passing out already. Maybe she'd get some details out of him tomorrow.
But tonight -- he reveled in the fact that he spent the night making out with his very kind, very dorky, very hot red-headed neighbor.
--
And when Mandy eventually moved out from their apartment and in with her girlfriend, Mickey had absolutely no problem finding a new red-headed roommate.
69 notes · View notes
everlarkficexchange · 3 years
Text
Clubbing 101
Written by @alliswell21
Prompt 144: She has a night of fun before the start of the semester. She meets this guy, they hit it off that they sleep together. But when she shows up to her class the next day, she sees the guy again. But he’s her professor and he’s way older than she originally thought. #olderPeeta [submitted by @animekpopxx]
Rating: Explicit. NSFW. 
Tags and Warnings: Canon Divergence; College!AU; Age gap, older man/younger woman; The opposite to slow burn? Smut; Unprotected sex; technically impaired consent since alcohol, but their both into each other while sober too 🤷🏻‍♀️; Ethical dilemmas; Teacher/Student relationship (sort of); One Shot, with an ambiguous open ending? Almost 10K words. Unbetaed. 
Notes: Thank you to the moderators once more for putting up with us, procrastinating writers. You gals are saints! Thank you to @animekpopxx for her amazing prompts that never fail to snag my attention and give me the best ideas ever! You rock! I projected this story to be a smutty short thing, but it sprouted words and a background out of nowhere and I had to forced myself to stop adding to it, to get back to my other submissions waiting in my docs. Hopefully, it’s a good read for the ones who take the chance with it. 
Thank you all! 
KPKPKPKPKP
It starts with a harmless ranting. 
“I’m not outgoing, or fun. I’m not even ‘cool’… hell, I don’t care what my sister says, I’m too old for this place!” I tell the handsome, bearded, guy sitting in the barstool next to me, “She’s a med student, you know, but she insists that partying is part of the college experience, especially when one’s career is so demanding… plus, is the last weekend of summer break, which apparently means you’re contractually obligated to party extra hard,” I roll my eyes, “I never saw the appeal personally, but I let her drag me out here so I can keep an eye on her. Is not like I’m gonna let her piss away her future for a night of clubbing,” I scoff, taking a long pull of my beer.
The guy chuckles, but I’m not done just yet. 
I slam down my bottle and continue listing my grievances, “The thing that grinds my gears, is that she begged for a ‘girls’ night out’, and instead of drinking with me and people watch, she goes off with the first fucker that asks her to dance! I mean… did it ever occur to her, I may want to dance with her on OUR girls’ night out?!” I scowl and gulp another mouthful of beer, “then, to add insult to injury, thirty minutes later I get a text from her, saying to go on home without her ‘cause she found a ride, followed by that cursed eggplant emoji, like I needed an illustration of what kind of ride she’s getting,” I mock gag, rearranging the strap of my tiny purse across my chest. 
 “I guess she’s young, and beautiful, and does work very hard, but if you invite me to go clubbing with you, don’t abandon me within the first 15 minutes of arriving!”
My companion winces before sipping his drink, and smiling ruefully, “That’s harsh… sorry you’re having a shitty night,”
“Meh… little sisters, right?!” I shrug. 
The guy smiles crookedly at me, and I find myself enjoying his smile, “I wouldn’t know about that. I’m the baby of three brothers, and the only thing I got away with was learning how to wrestle and spring awesome comebacks on the fly… the brutes kept me on my toes,” he chuckles. 
“Three boys? Sounds chaotic. Your poor mother!” 
“Yeah… life’s chaotic.” He averts his eyes for a second, his smile goes away. I’m afraid I’ve said something wrong, but he suddenly looks back at me, and confesses, “I’m not into clubbing either.” His eyes sparkle, despite the awful, dim, blue lights bathing the place. 
I smile, “Look at us wallflowers, bonding over drinks and sibling shenanigans,” we clink our drinks together and sip. I’m chatty and relaxed, so unlike myself; I guess the two beers I’ve had are starting to get to me. “I’m Katniss, by the way.”
“That’s pretty,” he says, shyly; makes my chest warm up. “Nice to meet you, Katniss. I’m Peeta.”
I arch my eyebrows, “Peter?” I repeat, because I’m pretty sure I miss-heard him over the obnoxiously loud music. 
The guy shakes his head, “Pee-ta… like the bread?” He chuckles. Then adds, “Family name. Everyone on my dad’s side are bakers.” 
I snort-laugh, “Punny!” I say, taking another sip. Yup, beer’s getting to me, I’m not this cleverly funny. “My dad was into survivalism and botany… I’m named after a plant also known as Duck Potato, so I win the weird name competition!” 
“Hey, it’s something else to bond over,”
“Cheers to that!” We clink our drinks again, and partake in our booze. 
He orders another whiskey neat when he’s out… sounds both snooty and distinguished at the same time. Goes well with his put together image, though: nicely trimmed beard, nicely combed hair, nice polo shirt with what I believe is a tiny loaf of bread embroidered on the chest, and dark-wash jeans… I think. It’s hard to tell under the black lights of the club. 
He offers to get me another drink, and I order an appletini.
“J.D. from Scrubs always drank one,” I explain, swirling the coctel in my hand, “I’ve always been curious to try, but didn’t wanna spend my own money experimenting on a drink I could potentially hate.” 
“Makes sense,” Peeta says, “So… what’s the verdict?” 
“Is pretty good, actually. But I think I’ll stick with my Miller Light,” 
Peeta nods, “I honestly don’t enjoy alcohol that much.”
I giggle. “Then, what brings you to this fine establishment tonight, sir, if you’re not much for clubbing, or drinking?” I watch him out of the corner of my eye. 
I like that when he smiles, his eyes crinkle in the corners.
“I lost a bet against a colleague.”
“Oh,” I’m suddenly self conscious and a little uncomfortable. I give the guy a scrutinizing look, and ask suspiciously, “what was the punishment exactly?” 
The man rolls his eyes. “I have to spend one whole hour in the club, without criticizing anything, like the bitter old man I am,” he grins, “My friend’s words. Not mine!” He raises both hands, claiming innocence. 
I laugh at the face he pulls, “Well, you’ve just defaulted on that punishment,”
“How so?” He beams. 
“With the look in your face! It spoke volumes!” 
“Am I that transparent?” 
“You read like a preschooler’s board book, pal!” 
We both laugh, I drink my beer, and he throws back his whiskey neat. 
“So…” he makes a show of looking at his watch, “I still have 33 minutes to kill before I’m allowed to run out of this place… I know I’m not a Med student, co-Ed, sister of yours, but… would you, um, like to dance with me?” He sounds adorably hopeful. 
I glance at the man sideways, toying with my bottle. 
He smirks, mischievously, “I promise, spirits make me more coordinated on the dance floor. I become this amazing dancer when I have a couple of drinks on… or so my brain believes. I probably look like an idiot, but I’m too goofy to know the difference. You’re welcome to be the judge it for yourself,”
I take my sweet time finishing the last dregs of my beer, and wrinkle my nose, “You sure you wanna dance to this shit, kids call music nowadays?” I smirk, pointing a finger up, motioning wide circles into the ether. 
Peeta gives a full belly laugh.
I really do like his laugh! 
“Isn’t it our only choice?” He ventures. 
Not if you follow me home, my thirsty brain supplies; my lips on the other hand, just let through a hint of a smile, because I’m buzzed, but not drunk enough to proposition a total stranger. I’ve never been one to sleep around anyway.
“Okay,” I say, too enthused. “As long as we both agree that this isn’t music,”
“Oh no, this just barely passes as noise!” Peeta agrees readily. 
He guides me to the packed dance floor, and we start moving to the booming, deafening tunes playing overhead. 
I’m not sure if one could call this dancing. Everywhere I look people are writhing against each other, like a pack of zombies without grace or rhyme. 
I’m not sure Peeta will get an accurate assessment of his dancing skills, compared to what I’m seeing, he’ll probably look like a professional; plus, it’s too dark and busy in here to really appreciate anything, really, but after a few minutes of just shifting in place, robotically, I snatch two bottle beers from a waitress walking by, offering one to my partner, hoping that’s enough to get us loosen up. The waitress stares at me until I rummage on my crossbody mini purse and toss a crumple ten on her tray. 
The liquid boost works. Before I know it, I’m grinding my hips against his. Peeta’s just the right height for his thigh to fit between my legs and brush against my front. I get tired of undulating my arms in the air, so I drop them around his shoulders, and feel just how firm and broad he is under my touch. 
Our chests are tightly pressed together, and I’m at the right angle to just stare at his plush-looking lips. I turn around before I do something brash, like kiss him in the mouth. Peeta doesn’t question it, he just places his hands on my hips, and starts moving to the music’s beat. 
I bring the beer to my lips, but the bottle’s empty… oops! It doesn’t matter, I’m having the time of my life! 
Peeta’s swaying guides me. I basically drape my back over his front, and bump my ass into his groin. I feel the hint of a bulge there, and press my rear into it  again, just to confirm if I felt what I hope I felt. 
Peeta’s fingers tighten on my hip, emboldening me to keep going until I’m practically twerking into him, and his slight bulge morphs into a full blown hard-on. 
I twist in his arms to face him, my lust idled brain barely thinking rationally, “Are your 33 minutes done yet?” I yell into his ear, so he can hear me over the noise. 
He doesn’t even look at his watch, “To hell with time! I‘ll stay here all night, if you want me to,” He answers loudly. 
“Come on, then!” I push off his chest, and snatch up his hand before he can reply. 
Leaving the dance floor is surprisingly easily, considering the crowd bouncing in place together. 
I make no conscious plan on where we’re going; I’m arguably familiar with the layout of this place from my many visits since Prim turned 21; I’m only mildly surprised when we navigate across the club, all the way to the restrooms. It’s like my clit is making all the decisions tonight… good for it! 
There’s a line of disgruntled women waiting to get inside the Ladies Room, but the Men’s Room is available, and Peeta lets me guide him into it, like one of those pull toys children have. 
“It stinks in here,” I comment blandly, but make a beeline for the last stall with a door. 
There’s one guy at the urinal, but he doesn’t even look up from his pants, so I just shrug it off and yank Peeta into the stall with me. 
The space is tight, but once inside the stall, I push Peeta into the door, and attack his mouth. 
He makes a startled noise at the back of his throat, but his hands and arms immediately press me into his body more fully. My own hands trek down to his belt, where I fiddle with the buckle until it’s undone, and I can access his pants’ button and fly. 
He hisses when my fingers graze his warm erection, and bucks into my knuckles. I’m in the process of sticking my hand inside his boxers, when Peeta growls, sucking my lower lip into his mouth, and letting it go with a wet pop.
“Switch places,” he pants against my mouth, and hoists me up, until my back hits the door and his hands grab my hips possessively, jutting my pelvis forward, “I’m hungry, would you mind if I eat you out?” 
“Okay,” I gasp.
Thank you for forcing me to wear your tiny, clubbing dress, Prim! 
“You’ll allow it?” He asks, incredulous, rubbing circles on my hips with his thumbs. 
“Yes… I’ll allow it!”
His smile is sexy, his stare is hypnotic. Damned my drunken ass! I can’t believe I’m willing to do this in a smelly bathroom stall!
Peeta sits on the toilet and licks his lips while staring up at me. His hands disappear under the stretchy material of my skirt, bumping my purse out of his way. He skims his fingers under the elastic of my panties, and I bite my lip, nodding eagerly.
Slowly, Peeta slides my underwear down my legs, the tips of his fingers follow, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced!
Once he brings my panties to my knees, his hands rush back up my thighs, pushing the flimsy skirt around my waist. My underwear drops to my ankles on their own. 
Peeta’s level eye with my crotch, and I squirm restlessly. “Beautiful… absolutely soaked,” he whispers in a daze, he inhales pulling me closer, “You smell divine!” He descends, nose first, into the thatch of dark curls between my thighs, making me moan. He ruts his face against me, and suddenly drops to his knees, grabbing my calf to pull my leg up. 
But the movement gets prevented by my stupid underwear, tangled in my ankles. Without missing a beat, I toe my panties off, so Peeta can maneuver my body however he wants. 
He drapes my leg over his shoulder, opening me up to his ravenous mouth. He grunts, burying his face into my core, and finally, FINALLY, his tongue swipes between my folds.
“Fuck!” I squeak. 
My hands fly to tangle into his soft, perfectly coiffed hair. I nearly smother him, holding his face to my pussy, but he’s doing wicked things to me with his tongue: lapping, sucking, and nipping at my labia; drawing number eight figures around my clit with the tip of his tongue, to then sinking it deep inside my core. I can’t stop bucking into his mouth over and over.
When was the last time I was given head? Fuck if I know! Darius probably, he was decent, but didn’t do it often. And Thom was so boring at it, I actually preferred he didn’t do it. But this guy is amazing! A real expert in the matter! 
“I’m so close! Please… I’m so close,” I wail like a cat in heat, writhing against the door. 
Peeta looks up, and despite the horrendous lighting in the room, I realize he’s got the deepest blue eyes I’ve ever seen… too bad I can’t hold his gaze too long, because he starts rubbing my clit with his thumb, while fucking my hole with his tongue, and is all I can do not shout and scalp him in my delirium.
He doesn’t stop drinking my juices while I convulse above him. On the contrary, he retrieves his thumb, but keeps his mouth busy, lapping away all the slick I give him.
It’s too much.
I tug on his hair to pull him off of my sensitive privates. 
Peeta takes one last lick with the flat of his tongue and looks up at me, smiling wolfishly, “Was that good?” His beard’s dripping with me, he wipes some of it off on his sleeve. 
I snort, unsexy and definitely rude. “You made me cum so hard I saw stars… yeah, it was good. Better than good, really!” I smile down at him, and try to pull him off from the floor. 
All the gel holding his curls in place is gone now, rubbed off on my palms. His hair is sticking up on the top and towards the back of his head. I reach up to try and smooth it back, “I’m sorry, I seem to have made a mess of your hair,” I giggle. It’s adorable, but I feel bad that I ruined it. 
“You can mess my hair any time you want, Katniss.” He says, almost shyly, he places his hands on my waist, over the bunched up dress. 
It’s a big turn on to me, how his words are so flirty, but he delivers them so sweetly and awed. Is unexpected and endearing… which is odd, because I don’t usually find people endearing at all!
We both chuckle. 
He licks his lips, and I feel heat pool in my lower belly again. 
“Come’ere!” I wrap my hand around his nape, and pull his lips to mine. 
He responds immediately, licking the seam of my mouth. I suck on his tongue when he slides it against mine. 
He moans. 
“Fuck me, Peeta,” I rasp into the kiss, palming his dick through his jeans. 
He groans, “Are you sure?” He barely holds back another groan when I squeeze his clothed erection.
“Cock. In me. Now!” I command through gritted teeth, trying to pull his cock out of his pants with one hand, while taking his hand, and splaying it on my boob. 
“Okay… shit… this is… surreal! This has never happened to me before!” He kneads my tit, gently.
I’m not sure I was supposed to hear that, so I pretend I didn’t and turn, facing the door to wiggle my ass, in an attempt to convince him. 
Peeta makes a noise in his throat, quickly followed by the sound of shifting clothes, and a metallic thump from his belt buckle hitting the toilet. 
I whine when Peeta’s warm, heavy cock caressed my bare ass cheek. “Please don’t tease me,” I beg.
“Fuck, Katniss… do you really want this?”
“Yes, Peeta… put your cock inside my cunt, and fuck me all the way to next week! Now!” 
His warm body cocoons mine, “Anything you want, sweetheart,” he whispers into my ear, and I feel the blunt head of his cock parting my folds, coating himself with my natural lubricants.
He finds my entrance, pushing inside just the tip. He gasps, “Fuck!” One big hand wraps around my hip to keep me steady, bracing his other arm on the door, above my head. 
“Peeta… Please!” I wiggle my ass, making him sink another inch deep. 
“Hold still,” He hisses, “I’m trying to hold back… not ramming in too roughly… embarrassing myself, cumming too fast,” His hot breath warms my nape. “You feel like heaven!” He growls, tightening his hold on me. 
I’m torn, wishing he’d drill into me without mercy already, while another part of me is grateful he’s trying to stay under control… I don’t know which I want more… 
When was the last time I had sex? 
As if reading my thoughts, Peeta shares haltingly, “It’s been such a long time for me. I want it to last, but I’m
Not sure if I can,” 
I don’t have time to second guess myself, because Peeta’s moving, and he’s massive! 
“Don’t hold back!” I bleat, “I want it rough… I want it fast!” I gasp, clenching down on him. I paw at the door for purchase, trying not to face-plant on the cold, hard surface, while Peeta’s fat prick stretches me to the brink of pain! I can’t stay put for him any longer; I buck into him.
“I said to hold still!” He slaps my ass, hard. It stings, but it’s a welcomed feeling. 
I moan and melt, finally relaxing enough for him to penetrate me all the way to the hilt. He stays there a moment, breathing harshly into my neck, squeezing my hip on and off. 
“You’re so tight. So warm. So wet, Katniss.” He nuzzles my ear, “I’m gonna move now, I apologize beforehand in case this ends too soon for you…” He drags himself slowly out of me, just to plunge right back in with a swift, hard thrust. 
I squeak; he grunts.. 
Peeta holds me by the waist,  “You’re so pretty and sexy, Katniss. I can’t decide if you’re real, or the most vivid wet dream I’ve ever had…” he’s fucking me like a jackrabbit in rut.
I’m speechless, vaguely wondering if I didn’t dream him instead?
His cock head hits a spot deep inside me I’ve never reached before. I start babbling nonsense— mostly praising his cock and his strength— I don’t really know what I’m saying, but he seems to be enjoying it thoroughly by the increase in his speed and the volume of his grunts. 
I’m joisted up and down his shaft like a rag doll; I wish I’d thought of hanging my stupid little purse somewhere before we started, because now it’s bumping on my thighs, distracting me from the great ducking I’m getting; it’s no matter… I can feel my orgasm building in my belly.
“I’m gonna cum, sweetheart… I want you to cum too,” He nibbles on my earlobe. 
“Yes, Peeta! Please make me cum, I’m so close!”
One of his hands slides around my waist to play with my clit, while his other tweaks my nipples over my dress and bra. That, added to the sensation of my g-spot being prodded repeatedly, sends me spinning over the edge.
I must’ve screamed or something, because he clamps his hand over my mouth, and then he’s grunting, digging his forehead between my shoulder blades, and pulling me back against his unyielding body. 
“Fuck…” he gasps and shivers behind me. I feel his dick pulsing, his rhythm faltering, and then he goes still. 
Peeta sags a little, wedging his shoulder into the door to keep from falling. I’m surprised he still has the strength to hold me up too; I have to be dead weight at this point, since my legs feel like overcooked noodles and my arms gave out a minute ago.
We both try to catch our breaths, too spent and weak for much more, at least for a few minutes.
Peeta stirs. “Are you okay?” He breathes out, ruffling the loose wisps of my hair with his breath. 
I chuckle, leaning my sweaty temple on the cool door. “I can’t feel my toes… which is excellent!”
“Good,” he sighs. 
Three heart beats later, he straightens up and pulls out of me. An indecent amount of spend flows down my legs as soon as his cock dislodges from my pussy, but Peeta shoves something soft between my thighs quickly, before I have time to freak out about the mess.
I look down mildly curious, staring at an embroidery of a tiny loaf of bread. Vaguely, I wonder if that’s his uniform? He said he was a baker, right? At least he’s named after bread or something. I giggle. “Is this your shirt?” I ask, widening my stance to gracelessly wipe myself clean. 
“Yeah,” 
“Thank you,” I say, dazedly, turning sideways to smile at him gratefully. 
He’s wearing a simple, white, cotton t-shirt when I return the polo to him, now spoiled with cum and slick. I’m caught off guard by how broad shoulder he is, and by how nice he smells… cinnamon and sweat. Weird combination, but pleasant. I wonder if he baked any bread today? 
“Um… would you… would you like to put these back on?” He asks awkwardly, leaning down to pick up my discarded panties from besides the foot of the toilet bowl.
I wrinkle my nose, “Not really,” I mumble. “Who knows when was the last time that floor got cleaned. Gross.” 
Peeta smiles and shakes his head, “Here,” he grabs his polo, covered in our juices, and wraps my underwear in it. “Now it’s hidden.”
My body is finally catching up with the advanced hour, the beers and the two amazing orgasms. I’m starting to feel sore everywhere, and my eyelids are getting heavy. “Wow… think I’m officially all partied out,” I chuckle weakly.
“Ditto,” Peeta agrees, his smile is shy. “So… there’s this little dinner about two blocks from here,” he starts, eyes downcast; the space seems to shrink around us, now that the frenzy of our physical activities is done with. “Would you like to grab a pancake or som—“
My phone rings, startling us both into silence. I frown, but scramble to find it in my purse, to check who could be calling me… apparently at 2 a.m.!
My frown deepens. Prim’s smiling face flashes on the screen. She was supposed to be getting some herself! “It’s my sister,” I whisper, tamping down my rising panic. I don’t ask if it’s okay to answer, I just do it. “Prim?” 
“Where the hell are you?!” I have to pull the phone off, or risk eardrum rupture by my sister’s screeching. “I’ve been texting and calling you! I’ve been worried sick!”
I scowl at the wall, confused and little annoyed, “Prim… Prim, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come get you somewhere?” I try to ask.
“What?! No. I’m home! But you aren’t, and I’ve been scared shitless trying to find you!”
I give Peeta an apologetic grimace, and blindly feel around for the lock to get out of the stall. “Um… why are you home so early? Last time I heard from you, you were getting a ride,” I’m trying to sound unaffected; It’s all I can think to say in my mortification.
“Never mind that! Why aren’t you home already? I thought you had to work in the morning and then go to sch—” 
While Prim rages at me, I place a hand on the phone and turn to Peeta, still in the stall, awkwardly facing the wall, I assume to grant me some privacy. I’m sure he can hear my sister’s frantic chastisement from where he’s standing. “I’m sorry… you’d think I was a teenager instead of a grown ass adult,” I roll my eyes.
Peeta waves me off good naturedly. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for keeping you so late,”
I’m about to say something else, but Prim yells loudly, something about calling the police and checking the hospitals for me, which truly prompts a reaction from me, “Calm down! I’m still at the club, exactly where you left me!” I cover the phone with my palm again, and turn to him. “I’m… I’m gonna go? Before she threatens to send the marines in,” I try to joke, but our situation takes all the levity out of it, and my attempt dies off, lamely. 
Peeta nods, smiling softly; somehow I can tell it’s not genuine. 
“Little sisters, right?” I offer halfheartedly, twisting my lips. 
“Can I… walk you out at least?” He asks quietly; Prim hasn’t stopped nagging this whole time. 
“I… it’s not necessary, but thank you…” 
Peeta nods again, looking disappointed. 
I don’t get to tell him a proper goodbye, because two dude-bros come in the bathroom, letting the noise from the club filter in; one of the idiots elbows the other, and both start making some lewd comments about me, but Peeta steps in, eyes wild with anger, and tells the guys to knock it off. Prim hears the whole thing of course, and goes nuts herself asking what’s going on?
Peeta looks at me, and motions his head towards the door. 
Message received, I step outside the bathroom and book it out of the club, “I’ll be home in a bit. I’m gonna call and Uber,”
“Call me as soon as you’re in it!” Prim demands.
“Fine! Now stop nagging me, will you?!”
I don’t realize I never looked back at Peeta to wave my goodbyes until I’m in the car, heading home. Regret truly is a bitch. I can’t help feeling like I just lost something important, but I have no idea what it is. 
>>—————> * <————<<
It’s been a very long Monday. I’m mainly running on caffeine at the moment, and can’t wait to get home and pass out in my fluffy bed, to see if I can catch up on last nights lost hours of sleep. 
I enter my last class of the day and find a seat in the middle of the third row. I pull my laptop, a writing pad and my mechanical pencil out of my bag, and watch as my classmates start filtering in one by one, greeting each other and finding their places, lazily. 
I’m the oldest student in this class, which is not surprising. I’ve only just come back from my extended— 5 year— sabbatical; and did it only after I was completely sure I could handle my workload and the financial strain of both me and Prim going to college at the same time, without giving myself an early grave. 
It’s been hard, but I’m glad I came back to finish my schooling, I only need a handful of credits to graduate, which is great!
I check my watch. We still have a few minutes to kill before class starts. The professor— Dr. Mellark, according to the copy of my schedule— is not here yet, so I pull up the banking app on my phone to give it another glance. The balance is still the same as the last two times I’ve seen it, but it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful when one is on a tight budget. I scheduled payments for the power, gas and rent to go out in the next few days, and I want to make sure there’s enough money in the bank to cover them. We’re looking fine for the month, financially speaking. 
The door to the classroom swishes open, and I start signing off my app.
“Good afternoon ladies and germs; I’m doctor Mellark, and provided you’re in this room for an English class, I’ll like to welcome you to the amazing world of Classic Literature!” Says a deep, male voice I find oddly familiar. “By the way, don’t any of you dare to disagree with me on the awesomeness of classic lit… I’m a doctor, I know what I’m talking about… unless you ask me about medicine, then please be free to disregard everything I say, because I’m not ‘that’ kind of doctor!” 
A murmure of little chuckles fills the room; even I smile, silencing my phone and putting it away, before looking up at the professor.
I choke on a strangled gasp when I finally set eyes on the man I assume is the teacher, dumping a worn, leather, messenger bag on the desk near the podium. He’s the last person I would’ve expected to have as a professor.  
Oblivious to my predicament, Doctor Mellark— or as I know him: Peeta!— keeps introducing himself. 
“I’ve been teaching this course for 14th years, but I’m always pleasantly surprised to hear the different points of views my students bring to our discussions on the classics we study, which in a nutshell, is the beauty of this class.” He pulls a ream of paper out of his bag, and gives it to a student in the front, “Please take a syllabus, and pass the rest to the next person, and so on… thank you!” 
My face is burning. I think I’m gonna faint. 
“But enough about me,” his voice booms, making my whole body shiver. “I don’t normally do roll calls or care about attendance, as long as you’re not missing assignments, and are here during discussions, so this is the first and last time I’ll be reading this list,” he rises a piece of paper above his head, I surmise has the students names on it, and he instructs, before reading, “I’ll call your names, and you’ll introduce yourself, briefly, that way we can all get acquainted with each other, yes?” 
Ugh! 
He can scratch my name off that list right now! We’re more than acquainted with each other.
Bile rises to my throat. An intrusive, bitter thought pesters me: how many of his students has he gotten ‘that’ familiar with? 
But the thought dies off quickly. An even worse, more worrisome thought springs front and center in my mind: Did we use protection?!
Panic rises in my chest, a nervous queasiness settles in my belly; a distant memory of warm goo sliding down my legs comes to mind… Oh shit! 
Oh shit, oh shit! We didn’t use a freaking condom? Who does that?! 
Oh shit! 
Would a Plan B still be effective right now? It’s been less than 24 hours… 
Peeta’s reading names. People stand from their seats and talk about themselves. I haven’t heard one word they’ve said, but I’ve been watching how some of the female students bat their eyelashes and speak all breathily, smiling coyly at him… Peeta seems oblivious to the flirting, but I still feel a cocktail of unpleasant feelings in the pit of my stomach. 
I realize, I’m jealous!
My ass is frozen in my sit, I’m not even breathing. I don’t think Peeta’s seen me yet, but… what will he do or say once my name comes up? I send a quick prayer to heaven, he won’t recognize me since I look nothing like I did last night at the club, with my hair down and my face all made-up. Right now and plain ol’ me… the rub is gonna be my name. Darn my dad and his awful naming whims! 
Soon enough, he reads a name that makes him stutter, “Kat…Katniss? Everdeen?” He does a double take, “Katniss Everdeen…” his eyes are the size of saucers when he scans the lecture hall, swiftly. When he finds me, he looks back down at his paper, and says the name out loud again, unsure, “Katniss Everdeen?” Like he doesn’t believe what he’s reading. 
I stand up woodenly, my voice cracks a little, “I’m—I’m Katniss Everdeen… hi!” 
I’m about to drop back into my chair, but Peeta kinda mumbles, “You know, Arrowhead, or Katniss is a water plant? The root is edible… like a swamp potato?”
There are quiet little giggles all over the place. 
Peeta clears his throat, his eyes flit away; his face’s blank of emotion, but his cheeks seem pinker than a second earlier, “I just read that online, believe it or not. Interesting facts about local flora, people. Reading is knowledge, but so is learning from one another… what can you tell us about yourself, Miss Everdeen, besides that you have a very unique first name?”
“I…” I harrumph, avoiding eye contact with Peeta at all costs, “I’m a part time student. Majoring in Botany. I took this class to fulfill my last English credits requirement for graduation. I do love books and classic literature, in particular.” 
“Thank you… Miss Everdeen,” he rasps. 
I sit down, clumsily, hoping this horrible, horrible moment is just a nightmare and that I’ll wake up any second now, drooling on my desk, with indentations of my notepad on my cheek, because anything would be less embarrassing than what I’m going through at this point.
Mercifully, Peeta calls a different name, and then another, and then another. I don’t look up from my notepad once.
Peeta for his part, sounds stiff and monotonous— or so I’d like to think— no more jokes or clever sayings. Maybe he’s not as affected as I am about this ordeal, and I’m just making it a bigger deal than it really is? Maybe he does have experience sleeping with students— I mean, it’s not unheard off, right?— Not that either of us had any idea we were engaging in a teacher-student affair last night… 
Although, calling it an affair is generous; it was a measly one night stand. A chance encounter. Two people letting off steam before a busy week ahead. 
I’m getting increasingly angry with all this thinking… and the class seems to drag on. It feels like an eternity, and my mind keeps churning up all kinds of questions: Why would he not say he was a teacher at this particular college? Did he lie about being a baker? Is his name even Peeta? 
I scoffed at the thought.
To my horror, I hear him ask, “Anything to say, Miss Everdeen?” 
Looking up at him requires a great deal of bravery and self admonishment, but I do my best and face him— he’s wearing glasses now, which makes my belly tightened for inexplicable reasons— “No, Doctor Mellark, nothing of consequence anyway,” I retort as venemosly as possible, without alerting anyone else there’s something weird going on between me and the professor. 
Peeta grimaces slightly. Then looks away, “Very well, as I was saying, we will start with the basics: The Iliad and Moby Dick, since those are High school level works, I expect your reports to be sufficiently well researched, and your personal ideas on the text somewhat fleshed out. It doesn’t have to be in-depth. I’m just looking to determine everyone’s style and needs for the semester ahead…” he continues his spiel, and I feel free to go back to my stewing and my musings. 
Before I know it, Peeta’s dismissing the class, wishing everyone a good rest of their evening. 
I jump into action, packing my stuff with my head bowed, but then I hear him again.
“Miss Everdeen, a private word, please?” It’s much too quiet to have been said from his podium. I still startled when I look up and find him standing right against the first row of desks, directly in front of me. 
His face is not quite stern, but he’s definitely less smiley than when we met. 
I force down a gasp, because under the better lighting of the lecture hall, and close up, I can see a plethora of details I missed at the club; like the arresting blue of his eyes, the slight reddish of his neatly trimmed beard, peppered with silver whiskers all over, while his perfectly combed hair is almost all silver on the temples, and ashy blonde on the top. His shoulders are even broader than I remember. 
He’s overall stockier than I originally thought, and just a smidge shorter, which is fine, he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever met, and I wouldn’t mind climbing him like a tree—
I shake my head off the intrusive, lecheros thoughts. I’m literally lusting after my teacher, for goodness sakes! This is beyond a silly schoolgirl crush!
Peeta arches one dark blonde eyebrow at me, expectantly. 
I nod curtly, because my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, and gesture for him to lead the way.
I shove my laptop into my bag, and hastily shoulder the straps, hugging my writing pad to my chest, following my professor like a chastened little girl. 
My stupid eyes find his ass, and I blink twice, at the exquisite sight in front of me. I groan internally. 
He grabs his own bag, takes off his spectacles and slides them into his shirt pocket. 
How old is this man?! He said he’s been teaching this class for 14 years, when do professors start their teaching careers? How did I never see him before now roaming campus? Is his age the reason he ate pussy like a master? 
I shake my head, cursing my horny brain. 
Peeta opens a door I have no idea how we came across, and then stands aside, gesturing for me to go in first. 
I duck my head and step into a warmly decorated office, with a small desk and two chairs in the middle of the room. Bookshelves full of tomes line the office. A handful of pictures and framed diplomas hang from the only available wall space in the room, but I don’t get to study them before he catches my undivided attention. 
“Let me start by apologizing,” Peeta stars, closing the door behind himself, “I assure you, it wasn’t my intention to cause you any stress, or embarrassment out there.” He pauses, “Would you like to sit?” He offers, wincing. He doesn’t wait and steps around me, to pace on the other side of his desk, “I… um, never been in this position before,” he scowls, “I’m not sure what assurances I can offer at the moment, except, that I will start the process to recuse myself from this class immediately, to not interfere with your academic—“
“Recuse yourself?” I cut him off, “what do you mean?” 
Peeta squirms a little, and sits down heavily on his chair. My bag slides off my shoulder, and I just dump it in the empty chair I was offered a moment ago. 
“Well, Miss Everdeen, it’s the right thing to do, given our circumstances. We’ve breached the appropriate boundaries of our pupil and teacher positions, and staying in the same class together will put you at a disadvantage… is a power imbalance situation, that calls for action.”
“Can you stop calling me ‘Miss Everdeen’? It’s weird…”
“I’m just trying to maintain an acceptable level of decorum between us,” he says sheepishly. 
“That ship has already sailed,” I say tiredly.
“Perhaps, but it’s my responsibility to still try,” he rubs his forehead. “Anyway, I’ll call my department and see what is next. Stepping down myself is the only fair solution I see so far… it would be terribly unfair to ask you to switch classes. Simply disrespectful, but we both can agree this uncomfortable situation needs to be nipped in the bud, for both our sakes, Miss Everdeen.”
“This is bullshit!” I snap, “What happened in that club, isn’t that terrible of a problem! What we really need to do is stop acting so stiffly and guilty. By the way, you sound like a walking thesaurus!” I accuse, looking him in the eyes for the first time since he called my name at the lecture hall. “Stop it!” 
Peeta inhales deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Miss Everdeen, our actions last night may have been honest, and even innocent in nature, but they still carry consequences… unexpected ones, especially in light of the facts. And the facts are, that it would be unethical for me to remain in a position of authority over you. In any case… if you feel the need to report me to the school administration, for… harassment or inappropriate behavior or anything else, I won’t dispute any claims. I promise to distance myself from you and give you space so you can continue with your education without interference, in a safe environment.”
I grunt, “I’m not going to report you, because you didn’t do anything wrong. Sure, I thought you were a baker… I mean your story about your name, and that little loaf of bread embroidered into your shirt, I thought it was your uniform,” I shrug one shoulder. 
“Sorry about that… I never meant to mislead you,” he says bashful. 
I ignore him, “Either way, I was the one pulling you into that bathroom. I threw myself at you. I begged you to do things to me, and you just granted me my wishes…” like a sexy gentleman, “The sex is on me. I’m 26 years old, I’m not some bumbling teenager who hasn’t learned to take responsibility for her actions, so, please… stop trying to shield me, or protect me, or whatever it is you’re doing,” my arms flap around in frustration. I finally push my bag off the chair, and sink into it. “Look, Peeta—“
“Professor…” he corrects, frowning a little.
I roll my eyes, if he knew he’s just making it sound kinkier than it already is, he wouldn’t be so adamant about the freaking titles. 
“Fine… Doctor Mellark,” I enunciate, pettily. “I specifically chose your class as my last English elective for two reasons. One: it’s exactly the amount of credits I need to graduate at the end of the semester. And two: it fits my schedule to a T, which is important, since I do have a full time job when I’m not a college student. So, I’m sure we can both be adults about this unfortunate situation, and simply forge on. There’s no need for you to recuse from teaching this class, and I have absolutely no intention of switching. We both can wear our big people britches, and pretend last night was a… what did you call it?” I wave my hands, as if the answer will materialize from thin air, “A vivid wet dream? And leave it at that!”
Peeta glares at me, looking aggravated for the first time since I met him. “It’ll be unethical to continue like everything is normal, Miss Everdeen.” Peeta argues, stubbornly. 
“Nobody has to know about last night,” I say, exasperated, then a horrifying thought flashes in my mind, “Unless you bragged about it already!”
“No!” He straightens in his chair, looking offended, “I would never do something so vile,” He looks indignant, “plus, the fact still remains that something did happen last night, and I know about it! I can’t, in good faith, be your teacher.”
“Are you planning on showing me favoritism because you know what my pussy tastes like, Peeta?” I deadpan, “Or are you gonna blackmail me into doing it again?” 
“Stop calling me Peeta!” He growls through his teeth, his very thick fingers clenching into fists on his armrests. 
I blink at his reaction owlishly, realizing I’m truly pushing it this time. 
“I’ve always prided myself on keeping my nose clean. Being a decent man and tutor. Never in 17 years of teaching have I slept with a co-ed, let alone a student in my own class.” He breathes deeply, then pins me to my chair, with those arresting blue eyes of his, burning with controlled anger, “I would never extort you or anyone for sexual favors, Katniss. While I don’t really want to lose my tenure or face other disciplinary actions from the school authorities, the one thing I truly don’t want to damage are my personal standards, and my self image.
“Katniss, I’m already biased when it comes to you. Being your professor won’t be exactly fair to anyone. I’m not saying I would give you A’s willy-nilly, nor that I would grade your papers any differently than I’d do your peers or that I’d be less critical of your work,” 
“That’s reassuring,” I roll my eyes. “You’re telling me that if I bring you a shit essay, you might not be persuaded to let me redo it?” 
He sighs, “I don’t know…” he scratches the back of his neck, “I’ll most likely hover over your desk a disproportionate amount of time compared to your classmates. There’s also a chance I’ll call on your name more often than the rest of them?”
“I still don’t hear one unscrupulous, wrong reason, why you can’t do your job, and teach this class.”
We sit there, staring at each other, at an impasse. 
“Why are you so set on keeping me in that room, Miss Everdeen?” He asks, softly. 
Finally, I relent, relaxing my tense shoulders, and exhaling tiredly. I raise my hands in defeat. “I don’t know, Peeta. Because I want to protect you, the same way you’re trying to protect me. But… recuse yourself if you have to. I still believe you’re a better man than your urges.” 
Peeta relaxes in his chair too, “Thank you, Katniss.You didn’t have to say that, specially because you don’t know me. It still means a lot.”
I chew the inside of my lip, calculating stuff in my head. “You’re right, I don’t know you, but I consider myself an okay judge of character.” He opened this door, it’s time for me to walk through it, “Can I ask you some stuff?” I ask innocently.
Peeta arches his eyebrows. “Shoot,” he says. 
“How old are you?” 
“45. I’m sorry. I knew you were young last night… I just didn’t quite grasp just how young,” his eyes shift downwards, sheepish and uncomfortable. 
“I’m an adult. I’ve been the head of my family for years. At this point, age is irrelevant for me.” I state, dismissively.
“What about your family?” He asks, tilting his head sideways.
It takes me a minute to answer. I cross my arms over my stomach, and exhale, “It’s been only Primrose and I for five years now. My mother had cancer. My father passed when I was eleven.” I rock in my chair, slightly, “That’s why my sister was being such a clingy bitch last night. She can’t bear to lose anyone else. Neither can I for that matter.”
Peeta leans forward on his desk. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Katniss.”
I sit back, feeling like a huge weight just got lifted off my shoulders. “It’s okay, really. I’m back in school, about to finish my last semester, Prim is doing great in university, the only debt we have right now is Prim’s car and my Target card… we are actually okay,” I smile, meekly at him. 
“That’s… that’s good, Katniss. Admirable, really.”
“Peeta?” I start cautiously, “Would you really remove yourself from the class because of me?” 
He looks me right in the eye, sincerity emanating fro his eyes. “Absolutely. Without hesitation. As soon as you leave, I’ll email my Head of Department, explaining my situation. Don’t worry, I won’t mention any names or details—“
I shake my head, vehemently. 
Peeta squints, studying me cautiously, measuring me. 
“Please… stay with me…” 
Something in my tone catches his attention, and he eyes me curiously. “I’ve already told you why I can’t,” he says, almost soothingly. 
I stand up. Go around my chair, and drop back down into it. I start shaking my leg nervously. “I had this feeling in my gut since last night. Like I lost something precious, I just couldn’t put a finger on it… I still can’t, to be honest. All I know, in my loins, is that I can’t let you step down from your position, and I sure as hell won’t walk away on you without figuring out what this…” I wiggle my fingers, pointing to the mouth of my stomach, “feeling is about.”
He stares at me. 
I stand up again, and this time I just pace, to the wall with the pictures, and stare at a bunch of faces, too similar to Peeta’s not to be related to him somehow. 
“I know I’m not making sense, but I just needed to say that.”
He watches me for a long beat, weighing his options no doubt, before answering, “I can’t be your teacher, Katniss…” he sighs, and rubs his forehead, “because I’m afraid seeing you every week, without being able to touch you will be absolute torture.”
“Really?” I bite my lip, giving him an open once over, not feeling one iota self conscious about. “How come?” 
Peeta huffs, avoiding my eyes. “I’d be wondering what your breasts look like the whole time.” He confesses, flatly. “I didn’t get a chance to see them last night, and it kept me awake an indecent amount of time.” He twists his lips, “I’m gonna be pinning the whole semester, whether you’re in the classroom or not, craving the taste of your juices in my tongue, and worse of all, I’ll probably embarrass myself, giving me involuntary hard on’s just fantasizing about you.”
I practically prowl towards him. “You poor thing,” I coo, pouting. “Would you go home to masturbate on the soiled pair of panties I left behind on that dirty, bathroom floor?” I ask… more like, purr, really. 
Peeta chuffs out an incredulous laugh, covering his face with both hands. He grunts, “Aw, fuck! That sounds so… it’s probably exactly what could happen. I’d try to stay professional in the classroom, but in the privacy of my home…” he chuckles weakly, shaking his head.
“What kind of fantasies are we entertaining here?” I ask, invested, and sit on the corner of his desk. 
Peeta thins out his mouth, “Katniss… that’s a slippery slope you’re trying to climb,” he warns.
“Humor me?” I cajole. 
He takes a stuttering breath. “I’ll bring you into this office, same way I did today, except I’ll rip your clothes off, throw you on the desk and take you hard and fast. From behind.” 
I can’t stop a small sound at the back of my throat, nor the need to rub my thighs together. 
I clear my throat, “I expect you’d want to fuck me on every surface in this office?”
Peeta pulls on the collar of his shirt, his face turning crimson, “And probably the lecture hall as well,” he adds conversationally. 
I nod, scooting closer to where he sits. “I’m curious too you know. I didn’t get to see ‘any’ part of you naked. But my muscles still are deliciously sore from last night. A girl has to wonder… just how big a dick has to be to cause so much wreckage?” 
It doesn’t take much effort at all to work him up. Peeta’s pants are tented in what looks like the most uncomfortable erection ever; he shifts in his chair to try and hide the effect my words have on him, yet, his hands remain folded on his lap, white knuckled with the effort of keeping himself in check. He’s really committed not to touch me while I’m still his student, but he rasps a question, full of concern. 
“Did I hurt you?” His eyes search me, earnestly. “I’m sorry I was too rough, really,”
My heart gives a little somersault. “No, Peeta. You were pure perfection. I loved how you handled me.”
His lips twitch, and I’m amazed at how expressive his face is, even partially hidden under his near facial hair. “You said you were hungry last night before you got on your knees…” I murmur, “I think, next time I’ll return the favor,”
“Next time?”
I slide closer to him, but we both keep our hands to ourselves.
I lick my lips, resisting the urge to drop on my knees between his legs and gobble up his cock. I didn’t lie about wanting to see him in all his naked glory, but I can show the same level of restraint he does; I respect him for trying to keep a moral and ethical compass.
I smirk at him, slyly. “Are you sure you wanna abandon your post as my professor, now that my education is on the balance? We can wait a handful of months, Doctor Mellark… I promise not to tease you,” With that, I mean, I promise not to aggravate what could potentially be the worst case of blue balls in the history of slow burns.
Peeta hisses a mirthless chuckle, “You’re too much of a temptation, even if you don’t actively try teasing me, Katniss,”
I start playing with the end of my braided, dark hair. “You know what I’m most really looking forward to, from when I’m no longer your student?” I pose, shyly, “Going to that dinner you mentioned last night.” I shrug one shoulder. “I’ll let you buy me a stack of pancakes to celebrate my graduation. I’ll probably introduce you to my sister, Primrose… and we’d go from there… if you wanted to…”
Peeta smiles, disarmingly. “I’d love that too, Miss Everdeen.” He says quietly.
I let go of my braid, and hug myself, “Stay in the class?” I practically beg one last time. “We can do it, I know we can. We can have a platonic, completely innocent teacher-student relationship until I’m done with college,”
Peeta shakes his head. “We’ll see after I talk to my head of department. Who knows, maybe all the schedules are already locked in place, and I have no other choice but to stay put. There’s no guarantee a replacement is available for me.”
“We’ll make it work!” I say enthusiastically. 
“Maybe…” he sighs, not entirely convinced. 
I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time. Time is running out, I gotta get to the pharmacy before my window of opportunity closes. 
“Hey, Peeta… um, invasive, weird question?” 
I wait for him to nod.
“Have you by any chance, have gotten a vasectomy at any point?” 
“Mmm no, never had. Why?”
Aw shit! 
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Hopefully no reason.” I say quickly, too nonchalant for my own good, and he catches on it, I can see the gears turning in his brain, “Okay,” I make a big show of yawning and stretching my arms, “I have to run some errands before going home and crashing for the night.”
Peeta cringes, “Are you… okay? Really, okay? You said you were sore?” His eyes rove over my face full of concern. 
“I’m fine,” I smile, “nothing a long soaking in Epsom salts can’t cure.”
“Okay,” he says, unsure. “I don’t want to overstep any worse than I already have, but… I’ve been anxious, wondering if you were alright, if you got home fine to your sister since you left the club. Which, obviously you did… but, I wanted to kick myself for not asking your number, just to be able to check on you… and this is frown upon, a d completely unethical, but—“
“I’ll email you,” I say quickly. “Nothing explicit. But I’ll let you know I’m home and okay.” I’ve spoken to people in code before, this shouldn’t be a problem, and really, sending my professor an email with a time stamp and some innocuous question about the syllabus doesn’t have to be nefarious at all. 
“Alright… Just let me know if there’s anything wrong, okay? I swear this won’t become a routine thing or anything, just this time, to give me peace of mind, and because it is late… and well, yesterday…”
“It’s fine, professor. I don’t mind. And… everything will work out,” I say shouldering my bag and pocketing my phone, “everything will work out, even if my Plan B doesn’t,” I smile and scurry out the door, before the puzzlement in his face has time to settle. 
After all, a semester is only 15 weeks long, give or take… that’s plenty of time to figure things out. 
124 notes · View notes
Text
Truth or Dare
For the Anon who requested : Hey! Could I request a fic where Harry has a cute puppy love on this popular, pure-blood Slytherin reader? Maybe her friends set the reader up to play with Harry and break his heart in like a bet but then y/n starts actually liking him?? 
Harry Potter x Slytherin!Reader
You took a swig of fire whiskey, before passing it to your dorm mate who took a gulp between giggles. It was your first night back at Hogwarts and you and your dormmates were celebrating with drinks and games; truth or dare of course. 
“Okay, okay, it’s Y/N’s turn. Truth or dare?” Your roommate asked and you smirked, leaning back on your elbows. 
“Dare.” 
“OoooOOoo,” They all sang, giggling and leaning on each other for support, you rolled your eyes but joined in on the giggling. 
“Alright, I got one!” Your best friend spoke up with a sinister grin, and you knew that look. You didn’t like that look. 
“Oh no,” 
“I dare you,” She paused for dramatic effect, “To pretend to date Potter!” Everyone broke out into hysterics at that. 
“A Gryffindor!” One of the girls hollered, spitting out her mouth full of firewhiskey, “Brilliant!” 
“Come on,” You complained, “That’s mean.”
“Everyone knows he likes you,” Your best friend grinned, “He doesn’t ever stop staring at you, just ask him out. Date him for a week, then break his heart.” 
“Make it a month.” One of the girls countered. “Let him get really into it, then just tell him it was a prank.” You frowned feeling slightly bad. You might’ve been a bitch, but you weren’t evil. And your friend was right, everyone knew Harry Potter, the boy who lived, had a huge crush on you. You thought it weird he was in love with a Slytherin girl, but you were pretty and popular amongst all the houses, even the Gryffindors didn’t find you terribly obnoxious. But this was too far. 
“No,” 
“You can’t say no, you picked dare.” You groaned, accepting the bottle when it made it’s way back to you. You drank from it, allowing it to burn at your throat. 
“Fine but only a week.”
“A month.” 
“Two weeks!” You argued.
“Three, and you have to snog him!” You handed the bottle to someone else and laid back on the floor, looking to the ceiling. 
“You’re terrible.” It wasn’t that you disliked Potter, you had nothing against the boy, but you definitely didn’t want to date him, let along snog the bloke. He wasn’t ugly or anything, just not your type. Besides, he had barely ever spoken a word to you. Whenever you were in his presence he became a stammering mess, three weeks of that sounded like torture. 
“Fine.” 
“Do it tomorrow.” 
“Okay, okay, fine!” And with that, your deal was set in stone. 
The next morning you and your friends sat huddled at the Slytherin table, whispering to each other. 
“Do it now,”
“No way, I can’t just go up and be like, ‘oi potter care to be my boyfriend?’ He won’t buy it.” You argued, fidgeting nervously, brushing your hair behind your ear. You looked over at the group of Gryffindors and caught Potter staring at you for the millionth time, he immediately dropped his gaze going beet red. All your friends saw the exchange and grinned. 
“Yes you could.” 
“You could probably do that with any guy in this room, Y/N.” You sighed. 
“Go ask him to the first Hogsmeade weekend, then ask him out there.” You whined, shaking your head. 
“But that’s in two weeks from now!” 
“You don’t need to talk to him until then, you go to Hogsmeade, confess your undying love, and ask him out. Easy peasy.” Your friend nudged you, “Go ask now.” The girls began to chant go, and just to shut them up you stood from the table, straightening your uniform before glaring at them all. 
“Fine.” You walked to the end of the Slytherin table, past Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and then turned down the aisle for Gryffinor, confidently walking towards the middle of the table. Some people turned to look at you, wondering why you were over this way. You got to Harry’s group and the girl, Hermione, looked up at you surprised. Next Weasley and Potter’s head turned, looking at you. You smiled sweetly and pointed to the seat beside Harry. 
“Is this taken?” 
“N-No.” He answered, flushing deeply. You sat down on the bench and smiled again at the group.
“How was your summer?” You asked him and he gawked at you. Weasley mouthed, ‘close your mouth’ at Harry and he slammed it shut, nodding his head vigorously. 
“It was good. Alright. I’m glad to be back though.” You nodded your head, twirling a lock of hair around your finger as you leaned on the table. 
“Yeah, me too!” He opened his mouth a few times before nodding his head and looking at anything besides you. You swallowed a laugh and rested your head on your hand, peering at him. 
“Any plans for the first Hogsmeade trip yet?” You asked and he shook his head, looking at you with wide eyes. “Do you want to go with me?” You asked. He looked gobsmacked, and you suddenly felt guilty. This was cruel, but a dare was a dare. 
“With you?” He repeated. 
“Like a date?” Weasley asked, hanging onto every word of the conversation. You giggled slightly and nodded your head. 
“Yeah, a date!” 
“O-Okay!” He squeaked. You nodded your head, smiling at him before standing back up again,
“Brilliant,” You spoke, “I’ll see you later.” 
“Yes,” As you walked away you saw Weasley reach across the table, patting Harry on the shoulder in congratulations. 
“Good one mate!” You smirked to yourself and kept walking. 
The two weeks flew past, and on Saturday morning you woke up early, getting ready for Hogsmeade. You picked out a cute outfit and a light jacket since it was just starting to cool down, and you applied some light makeup for fun. When your friends left you went with them, but hung back in the entrance to wait for Harry as they all kept walking. You were looking at the ground, kicking a rock around slightly as you waited when the boy approached you. 
“Hello, Y/N,” You looked up and smiled. 
“Hiya, Harry,” He glanced over you and flushed, lifting a hand to fix his glasses that were slipping down his nose and you smiled again. “Alright?” 
“I’m good,” He assured, nodding his head vigorously. “You look stunning, by the way.” You grinned, pushing yourself off from your spot leaning on the wall. 
“Thank you, you’re sweet. Are you ready to go?” He nodded his head again, eagerly. Harry didn’t speak much as you walked down the pathway towards the little town. You were finding it hard to strike up conversation with him as well, he wasn’t giving you much. You could tell he was nervous by the way he kept fidgeting awkwardly. 
“Where do you want to go first?” He asked and you hummed thoughtfully, shrugging. 
“I’m not too picky, maybe Honeydukes? I could use some chocolate, the stuff I brought at the start of term is already almost gone.” You admitted and he managed to chuckle.
“Is chocolate your favorite?” 
“Oh yes, you know us ladies, we love the stuff.” You joked, nudging him slightly, trying to get him to loosen up. 
“Which is your favorite?” He asked, genuinely curious. You weren't used to talking to boys who were ever genuinely curious in what you had to say. 
“Honeydukes Peanut Butter Chocolate bars are the absolute best. Anything with chocolate and peanut butter is good in my book!” He chuckled again and you smiled up at him, watching him blush once more. He did that a lot. You reached Hogsmeade and took Harry’s arm, confidently steering him towards Honeydukes. Together you entered the bustling building, which must have currently held half of Hogwarts. You grabbed a basket and began to load it up with goodies. Chocolate bars and chocolate frogs, even a few licorice wands and sugar quills. Harry watched you, following you around like a puppy the entire time. 
“Don’t you want anything?” You asked, glancing over your shoulder. He shook his head and smiled. 
“No my- a family friend gave me a bunch of stuff before I came back, I still have plenty.” You smiled and nodded your head before glancing over your basket. 
“I think I’ve gotten enough to hold me over until the next trip.” He smiled back at you and nodded his head, gesturing towards the payment line. You made idle chat as you waited, and when you got to the counter you both reached for your coin purses.
“You’re not paying for my chocolate,” you scoffed, giggling, “It’s fine,” 
“Please,” He shoved your hands away from the counter, “It’s a- a date. A gentleman should pay.” You were slightly surprised by his boldness, not expecting it. Maybe he was warming up. 
“You don’t have to pay, you’re already being a gentleman.” Harry smiled at you but simply continued to count out the amount you owed, handing it over and taking the bag for you, refusing to hand it over. “So you’re carrying my things for me now, too?” You smirked and he chuckled. 
“Yes, ma’am,”
“Please, ma’am is my mother.” You joked and he snickered again as he led you back out of the still busy store. Next you went to Quality Quidditch Supplies so Harry could look for a pair of gloves. You didn’t care much for Quidditch but you found it interesting to look around at all the gear you didn’t understand, and you enjoyed seeing Harry excited, it was endearing. He tried to explain the rules to you, grinning, and you could tell it was something he was very passionate about. 
“Want to go to the Three Broomsticks?” He asked, “We can get butterbeers and chat more?” You nodded your head and began walking with him in that direction. 
“Sure, just don’t try and get me drunk,” You teased, he flushed for the first time in over an hour, shaking his head wildly. 
“I would never!” 
“I know, Harry, I’m only teasing you.” You promised and he relaxed slightly. “You’re a gentleman, remember.” He nodded, offering you his arm with a flourish as you walked. 
“M’lady,” 
“Kind sir,” You chuckled, taking his arm as you entered the dimly lit and slightly smoky tavern. You found an empty table in the corner and sat down, taking off your jacket as Harry sat across from you. Madam Rosmerta came up to your table and you ordered two butterbeers before she whisked away again to go and retrieve them. You continued your earlier conversation about Quidditch until your drinks arrived, you took a large sip and sighed. 
“Oh this hits the spot.” 
“It always does,” He agreed, sipping his own and coming away with a foam mustache. You giggled and reached over, wiping it off with your thumb and a smirk. “Thank you,” He muttered, looking down at his drink with bright red cheeks. 
“Of course.” You smiled, before swallowing thickly. Now was your shot. “I have to ask you something.” He looked up nervously. 
“Yes?” 
“Do you want to go out with me?” 
“Like,” Harry paused, “Like boyfriend/girlfriend?” He asked skeptically and you nodded your head. 
“Exactly like that.”  He looked around the room in shock and for a moment you thought he might actually turn you down, you grew nervous. 
“I would really like that, yeah.” You smiled and took another sip of butterbeer, winking at him over the rim of your mug. 
“Alright, brill.” 
You spent a lot of time with Harry over the next week, mostly at the bequest of your friends who demanded you, ‘made it look real’. Not that you minded too much, Harry was growing on you, and his company wasn’t bad. You studied together in the library a lot, chit chatting about nothing in particular. It was one of those times, you were seated on the same side of the table, giggling to yourself when a group of Hufflepuffs glared at you, shushing you for the third time.  Harry looked at them apologetically. 
“Maybe we should go,” He stated and you felt your face fall slightly. You were enjoying yourself. “We can go back to my common room?” He offered, brushing his hand gently over the back of yours. 
“You’re sure they won’t riot? A snake in the lion's den.” He chuckled, shaking his head and beginning to pack up. 
“Nah, you’ll be fine. It’s you after all,” You frowned. 
“What does that mean?” He seemed to realize what he said and shook his head. 
“Nothing! Nothing bad, just, everyone likes you, like, everyone. So no one will mind if you’re there.” He assured, and you relaxed, smiling. “Besides, you’re my girlfriend, you should be allowed in my common room, people bring in students from other houses all the time. No biggie.” Harry loved calling himself your boyfriend, it was almost like he had to remind himself every so often, that you were, in fact, his girlfriend. You felt guilty again, but tried to swallow it down. Harry carried both of your bags as you made your way up to Gryffindor tower, he spoke the password and you smirked. 
“Now I can sneak in, give you a haircut while you sleep.” He chuckled, holding the portrait open for you. 
“Please don’t,” 
“Harry!” Ron called from a sofa near the fireplace, and Harry put a hand on your back as he led you over. You were going to hang out with his friends?
“You brought Y/N,” Hermione spoke, smiling softly, “Good, sit down,” You and Harry took a seat in the only free seat, an armchair and you glanced at him. You hadn’t really been this close together yet, your bodies touching as you sat close together in the chair. 
“How are you?” Hermione asked politely, closing her book and setting it aside, Ron simply looked at you and Harry, smirking slightly. 
“I’m alright,” You nodded, feeling slightly out of place, which wasn’t a feeling you got often. “Starting to get more and more homework, they’re not holding back this year are they?” You asked and she smiled sympathetically, nodding. 
“Not at all, but it’s for our benefit,”
“How so? I won’t be of any benefit if I’m dead from stress.” Harry chuckled and Ron groaned. 
“Don’t get her started on how important preparing for the NEWTs are, please, Y/N, I already got the speech once today,” You smirked slightly, looking at Hermione who glared at Ron. You couldn’t help but wonder if they dated as well, but you decided not to ask. The three of them chatted and you occasionally joined in, Harry kept glancing at you, and you’d smile slightly everytime he did. You still felt awkward and out of place amongst your boyfriend, fake boyfriend’s friends. Eventually it got late, and you yawned, leaning slightly more into Harry as he continued to argue with Ron about the best Quidditch team, and who had the best chance at the world cup this year. 
“Sleepy?” Harry asked you, hesitantly putting an arm around around your shoulder. You enjoyed the comfort of it more than you were willing to admit to yourself in that moment. 
“A bit.” 
“Let me walk you back to your common room,” You shook your head as the boy got up. 
“No, Harry, no point in your walking to the other end of the castle and back, I’m a big girl, I can make it.” He shook his head back at you, smiling and offering you his hand. 
“Humor me,” You sighed and took the outstretched hand, allowing him to pull you into a standing position. 
“Fine, goodnight Hermione, Ron.” They both said goodnight to you, and Harry led you by your hand to the exit of the common room, swinging the portrait hole open. You walked, hands linked, in comfortable silence to the dungeons. When you got to the entrance of the Slytherin common room, you stopped, turning to him but not releasing his hand. 
“This is my stop, Thank you,” You grinned. 
“Of course,” He assured you, eyes going from your eyes to his lips. You watched him, tilting your head slightly and wondering if he had the guts to kiss you. It had been a week after all. Harry brushed a piece of your hair behind your ear and gazed down at you, and you found yourself hoping he would muster up the courage. 
“Y/N?” 
“Yes, Harry?” 
“May I kiss you?” He asked and you nodded your head slightly. The hand that had brushed your hair back, moved to your cheek, cupping it gently. He pulled you slightly closer before leaning down to gently press his lips to yours. It was sweet and gentle and before you knew it, it was over. He pulled back, blinking his eyes open and you giggled releasing his hand. 
“Goodnight,” You whispered.
“Goodnight, Y/N,” 
A week and a half later, and several kisses later, you were four days from the end of your bet, and you found yourself dreading Monday. You didn’t want to hurt Harry, you’d grown to enjoy his company, and once he got over how nervous you made him he was sweet and funny and lovely to be around. You were wandering the castle together, late at night, past curfew, and you were surprised by how willing Harry was to break some rules. You hadn’t seen each other in a few days, busy with class and school work, so he had suggested your little midnight rondevu. 
You were walking aimlessly, holding hands and talking about your week. Harry nudged you and you smirked up at him. 
“What?” He asked, laughing. 
“Oh nothing,” 
“No tell me,” 
“I’m just surprised is all,” You admitted. 
“About what?” 
“You. You’re not exactly what I thought you’d be.” He frowned. 
“In a bad way?” You shook your head and squeezed his hand tightly. 
“No, in a good way. I never expected you to be the sneak out late to see your girlfriend type.” He smirked down at you, nudging you back. 
“I’m full of surprises.” You smiled, swinging your hands playfully as you walked. At the end of the corridor a cat appeared suddenly, it’s eyes illuminated by the torch light. 
“Mrs. Norris!” You whispered loudly, yanking on Harry, “Come on,” Harry allowed you to lead him in the opposite direction, but the sound of footsteps were quickly approaching so you ducked into the first broom cupboard you saw, pulling Harry in with you and shutting the door quietly. 
“What if he checks?” Harry asked, eyes wide. You smacked a hand over his mouth hissing out a ‘shh’. The cupboard was tiny, and you were practically pressed against Harry fully, and you were shaking mildly. You played a senero over in your head; Filch finding you, owling your parents, telling them you had been found, after hours, alone, with Harry Bloody Potter in a broom cupboard. They would kill you. Harry felt you shaking and wrapped you into a hug, pulling you against his chest. You wanted to push him away, but you found it too comforting, so you wrapped your own arms around him, resting your head on his chest and closing your eyes tight. 
The footsteps came down the hallway quickly, and came closer and closer to you. You held your breath. Then they went directly past you, and continued on down the corridor. You let out the breath you had been holding and felt the tension leave your body. Harry rubbed a hand over your arm, kissing the top of your head. 
“We’re alright, Y/N.” He promised and you pulled back just far enough to look at him, smiling softly. Your faces only inches apart. Harry gazed down at you, openly adoringly. That’s one of the things you liked about him, how open he was in liking you. Most boys you had dated before barely even tolerated you; they just wanted to be able to say they were dating a pretty popular girl. They didn’t like you. 
Harry smiled, pressing his forehead against yours and you leaned in to give him a small kiss. When you pulled back he was blushing again. 
“Will you ever stop blushing?” You teased lightly, brushing his curls from his face. 
“No probably not, you make me blush.” He leaned in and kissed you again hesitantly, but you kissed back immediately. Right when you thought he might deepen the kiss he pulled back, blushing furiously. 
“S-Sorry.” 
“Why are you sorry?” 
“I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you.” You giggled, pulling his head down again. 
“You’re not. I’m taking advantage of you,” You promised jokingly. Harry laughed against your lips, trailing his fingers over your sides as he kissed you. You felt his tongue tease at your lip curiously, and you began to wonder if he had ever snogged a girl before. You parted your own lips slightly, poking your own tongue out to meet his. Harry’s hands on your waist tightened. He opened his mouth more, pressing his tongue into your mouth as he began to explore- you allowed him. He tested the waters, and you occasionally ran your tongue over his. You didn’t know how long you stood there kissing but he eventually pulled back, smirking lightly down at you. 
“You’re... good at that.” You almost made a joke about how practice makes perfect but thought better of it. 
“Thank you, you’re a quick learner.” He frowned slightly before giving you a lopsided smile. 
“It’s obvious I haven’t done this before?” 
“I just figured,” You admitted. Usually boys who snogged a lot were much quicker to the draw. 
“Sorry,”
“Don’t apologize to me Harry, I’m glad I was your first proper kiss.” He moved his hands from your body and took your hands in his, lifting them to his mouth as he peppered the back of your hands with kisses. 
“Let me walk you back to your common room, make sure you get there safe.” You nodded your head. That was Harry, that’s what you liked about him. 
“How’d the break up go?” Your friend asked, plopping down on your bed beside you with a wide grin, you had been avoiding all of your friends for the past three days. You didn’t look up from your charms essay. 
“I haven’t done it.” you admitted, and her eyes widened. 
“What? Why? The dare was over three days ago!” You shrugged your shoulders, flushing deeply. “What?” You friend repeated, “Oh, Y/N, don’t tell me...” She placed a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. 
“I’m not going to break up with him.” You shrugged again, refusing to look at the other girl. 
“You like him!” She gasped.
“I’ve definitely started to,” You admitted, putting your quill down, rubbing your hands over your face. “I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t want to... stop seeing him.” She nodded slightly.
“But he’s a Gryffindor.”
“He’s a lot more than just his house,” You argued and she looked at you skeptically. 
“Are you sure?” You nodded. “Then don’t.” You both smiled smally at each other but then her face grew serious. “But I would tell him about the dare, if I were you, it’ll come out eventually. You don’t want that to happen.” Your face went blank. 
“Is that a threat?” 
“No.” She assured you seriously, “But it’s true.” And you knew she was right. Damn her. 
“I’ll go... find him now.” She patted your shoulder, and offered you a reassuring look. 
“Goodluck.” 
You went to Gryffindor tower and waited nervously outside the portrait hole until you saw a familiar face approaching. 
“Hi Neville.” 
“Hello Y/N, alright?” You nodded. 
“Can you do me a favor, can you ask Harry to come out?” He smiled.
“Of course.” He disappeared into the common room and you went back to waiting nervously. A few moments later and Harry came out, grinning widely. 
“Hey, Y/N,” He saw your face, and your nervous demeanour and stopped. “What’s wrong?” 
“Can we talk?” You asked, offering him your hand. He took it and nodded his head, eyes worried. 
“Of course.” You led him down the corridor finding a small nook you could tuck yourselves into for some privacy. “What’s wrong?” He asked again and you sighed, looking down at your entwined hands. You didn’t want to tell him, you didn’t want to see the look of hurt on his face when you admitted your relationship started on a bet. All you could do was hope he understood that it was no longer that way, and that you had fallen for him. 
“I need to tell you something, it’s going to hurt you and I am very sorry.” He nodded his head, trying to get you to look at him but you couldn’t. “You’re going to be cross with me, just know I really really like you, Harry.” 
“You’re breaking up with me?” He asked in a breathy whisper and you shook your head no. 
“No, I’m not. But you might want to break up with me.” 
“Tell me, Y/N, please.” You took a deep steadying breath and finally looked at him with tears in your eyes. 
“On the first day of the year, my dormmates and I were playing truth or dare.” You decided to get directly to the point, “They... they knew you liked me. A lot. Everyone did. They dared me to ask you out.” You watched as his face fell, a look of horror overcoming him. “I was supposed to date you for three weeks, and then break up with you- but I can’t. I told them I can’t, Harry. I like you too much. I don’t want to break up with you, I am so so sorry.” You were crying. His face went blank.
“It was a dare?” 
“At first! Just at first, but you’re so kind, and good to me, and handsome, and sweet. You’re such a gentleman, I’ve never met a boy like you, let alone dated one. 
“A dare.” He repeated and you tried to take his hand again but he yanked it away. “Don’t.” 
“I’m sorry,”
“I don’t want to hear it.” The look of hurt on his face was too much for you and your shoulders shook with tears. “How could you do that to someone?” He asked angrily and you winced. 
“I didn’t want to, I told them I didn’t want to hurt you, but a dare was a dare.” Harry stood up suddenly, looking down at you. He was sad and angry and you couldn’t blame him. 
“And what? Now I’m supposed to just believe you’ve changed your mind?” He asked and you nodded and shrugged. 
“I won’t blame you if you don’t. But it’s the truth. I like you Harry. A lot. I don’t want to lose you.” He shook his head and turned, walking a few steps away before stopping. He turned to look at you, once more, before turning again and he was gone. You sat for another few minutes crying pathetically to yourself before you got up and made your way back to your dorm, locking yourself in the bathroom for hours. You really screwed up this time. 
Over a week had passed and Harry hadn’t spoken to you. He barely even looked at you, and you were miserable. You sat in the great hall not eating, just pushing your peas around with a fork.  You looked like shit, you’re usually effortless demeanour was crushed and you were hurting badly. You looked up across the room to Gryffindor door table and made eye contact with him. He held your gaze until you looked down, wiping furiously at your eyes. You couldn’t cry in front of all of these people.  
You kept your head down, your hair forming a curtain from the world as you continued playing with your food. Misery didn’t suit you. A few moments later someone cleared their throat behind you and you didn’t move. 
“Y/N,” they spoke and you jumped slightly, recognizing the voice. You turned and saw Harry standing there, he looked down at you sadly. 
“Harry.” You croaked out. He stood there for a moment before he moved, leaning down and pressing a searing kiss to your chapped lips. When he pulled back you looked at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open. “Wha-”
“I believe you,” He stated, eyes warm. He was looking at you like he used to. “I needed time, but I miss you too much. I believe you, and if you are willing, I want you to still be my girlfriend.” Your eyes welled again. You stood up from the bench and wrapped your arms around him, resting your head on his chest. 
“I would love that.” He rubbed your back and a few nearby students, including your friends clapped and laughed, whooping. You were never ever playing truth or dare again.
233 notes · View notes
enigma-im · 3 years
Text
Eighth day of Christmas...
Trope: Heat (NSFW) Relationship: Werewolf x Human Word Count: 7,058
Tumblr media
I knew the moment I stepped off the bus that I was in trouble. From the horrid heat and melting pot of people, this was going to be a challenge. The dry air nearly made me cough the second I got off the steps. Everyone seemed as annoyed with the environment as I, which is a small relief. Looking around at all the people was both a relief and a nightmare. We all had no idea what was going on but I knew I stood out like a sore thumb.
"You," someone shouts, silencing the crowd. I look around till I spot a hardened older Soldier making his way towards me. The crowd splits before he can charge through. The man glares daggers at me before stopping uncomfortably close.
"Me," I ask, pointing to myself with unease.
"Yes, you," he shouts," what other mutts around here would I be talking to?"
"Right," I nearly drop my shoulders," what do you need?"
"I wanted to get a look at the first werewolf soldier who gets to become my guard dog for this year," he answers, appraising me with discontent," I expect excellence from you, mutt, this few months you will be chewed up and spit out a better dog than a better man. You have big shoes to fill, guiding your kind into the future and not a single one of us will give you an inch or centimeter to make mistakes. Do I make myself clear, private!"
I feel a bit wobbly at his words," uh, yes."
The man leans closer to my face, shouting despite the distance," What was that, mutt? Stand tall, be loud! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," I stand at attention, my stomach rolling into knots.
"That's better," he steps back," Now follow me."
The crowd splits again as the Drill Sargent stomps onward. As he passes, the young men and women look to me, a good mix of intrigued and disgust decorates the group. I straighten my shoulders and march after the man, keeping my head held high with pride.
The first werewolf to join the military, I got a lot to prove.
Conversation with the higher-ups of the camp was tense. I didn't expect it to go as well as it did, though a few sly jokes were made at my expense. They were all weirdly supportive of having me at the grounds, looking forward to trying out their new regimen for my kind. Having a stronger and more capable creature in their boot camp came with its own challenges it seems. They all seem excited to see what I can do.
A lot was explained, trying their best to just keep things running smoothly. No one was going to go easy on me and I'm expected to surpass even the best of their squads. I'm oddly invigorated to take on this challenge.
"With everything all situated, is there anything else we may need to know," the Executive officer asks. He is a sweet man, to my surprise, and has been appreciatively thorough with his preparations.
"Yea, we don't want any issues to come about with having you here. A lot of the soldiers are looking to make an example of you already, though you've done nothing wrong. So if there is anything we have to prepare for then please make light of it now," the senior drill sergeant explains.
"Nothing that I can envision happening here. I'm here to work and become the first in a line of werewolves to join the armed forces. Things will remain respectable on my end so if anything does go wrong I promise it won't be my fault," I answer. A big moment like this I can't even fathom screwing it up with some stupid actions. Let the people make their jokes and rude comments, I'm not bothered in the slightest.
"So we aren't going to catch you humping one of the other recruit's legs, right," the senior drill sergeant jokes.
"Don't want you going into heat and trying to fuck every woman in a mile radius of you," the executive officer joins in. I smile despite the discomfort, shaking my head before explaining.
"No, no, I may turn into a big mutt but I'm not so savage as to do something like that. Don't believe the women would be too receptive to me doing such a thing either. When little Fido does it, it's funny. When I do it, it's enough to get me sent to jail," I joke with them. The two laugh, easing some of the tension.
"But you do go into heat, don't you," senior drill sergeant asks," we look out for medical emergencies and if that will become an issue, let us know ahead of time."
I shake my head," no, that won't be an issue. We only go into heat for a specific person and finding them here would be one hell of a terrible time but I highly doubt it will actually happen. I'm sure I would have smelled them in the crowd if so."
"Specific person," the officer snickers," how romantic, Fido."
"Sounds romantic but I've seen some friends go into rut over their mates, it's not that romantic," I wince, remembering all the fights," it's not a hallmark movie moment, sir."
The officer cocks a brow, wary," I'm almost tempted to ask but I'll refrain for now. Either way, I'll have sergeant Crews bring you to your barracks, and hopefully, we won't have to speak again anytime soon."
I drop off my things at my bunk, sorting them into a chest before heading off to P.T.
The first week of basics is easy, though I'm warned about next week after some miss placed words. My squad takes to me nicely, though I can do without the nicknames. It's a better week than I could hope for after the horror stories from active duty members.
We all sit in the crowded mess hall. Murmurs of conversations can be heard over the disgusting chomping of food. In times like this, I almost wish I didn't have such great hearing. The wet slobbering is beginning to turn my stomach.
"Hey, Spot, is it true you transform on the full moon," Casey, a fellow recruit, asks beside me. I snort, picking at the slop on my tray.
"No, I can do it whenever I want," I answer," full moon thing was for you people to pin some other garbage on the magnetic effects the moon has on the earth."
"oh, wow, movies lied to me again," he lightly bangs his hand on the table," what about silver? Does that do anything for ya?" I scoff, looking at him a bit amused. It has been a lot of teasing but I haven't had anyone sit down and ask before.
"No, silver doesn't do anything for me. Neither does holy water, crosses, or garlic," I tease. Casey rolls his eyes, looking back to his meal with a pout.
"I'm not an idiot, those are for vampires," he grumbles. I chuckle, amused by this human's questions. As I tease the man some more I catch a wondrous smell.
"Besides, I know a normal bullet would work on you anyway," Casey points his fork to me. I can't pay him any mind as I slyly glance around. My heart is racing and pounding against my chest as the smell completely engulfs me. Please no, not now. As I'm looking towards the door I freeze as someone walks behind me. As if everything slowed to a halt I look to the recruit walking over to her table. I can't help but gawk though her attire isn't much to be aroused by.
Brown hair pinned up in a bun and terribly fitted brown and camouflaged clothing. It's meant to be plain and nonattention grabbing but she makes it work. My body thrums with need as I watch her sit at the end of the bench. I can't look away as she eats, looking at her lips like a starved man. I want her, I need her. It's the only thought that runs through my mind.
She couldn't come into my life just a few months later could she?
The whole day I feel like I'm on fire, sickly and distraught. I haven't even been here this long and I feel like I'm about to ruin everything. Surely I can just explain to the XO that I have to deal with this and get right back to basics. I nod, it won't be such a long delay, I'll be right back here shortly.
I head straight to the office, stubbornly marching past the groups still running about. The heavenly smell barely permeates the hot dry air but still nearly knocks me on my ass. My attention snaps straight to her doing push-ups with her squad. She makes quite the sight all sweaty and focused. I can't help but stop and watch.
The squad's drill sergeant walks the rows, screaming motivating insults to them all. My little mate grits her teeth as he passes by, her arms shaking each time they straighten. The sergeant stops before her, crouching down as she stays propped up.
"Getting tired there, private," the sergeant baits," want to take a little break, perhaps?"
"No, sir," she barks out.
"Then get that face in the dirt, let's go," he snaps back at her. The urge to run to the man and deck him in his hooked nose is strong. I have to shake my head of the thought to actually get some semblance of control. She gets back to her exercise, going hard and strong into her next set with a stiff focus on her face. It's admirable to see anyone as determined as she looks. It picks at my heart a bit.
I'm not just taking away this chance for me momentarily but her too. Would she want to take the time off to deal with me? It can't be that big of an issue but starting over has to be something she rather not do. I sure as hell don't want to start the week over even if it wasn't too difficult. She is human so it had to be hell for her. I hum, chewing my cheek.
With fist clenched I turn away from the offices and head back to my barracks. I'll just wait this out, three months is nothing. I can keep my cool that long.
I kept that line of thinking all up till I got to my bunk. The barracks are quiet, the snores of the recruits barely registering to my non-idle thoughts. Every part of me is racing, my heart, thoughts, limbs. I have way too much energy to just sit here. Closing my eyes does nothing but let the thoughts keep me up. I've never had such an issue before, especially here.
Staring up at the ceiling I think of my little mate. She's a cutie, that's for sure. Even with the unflattering get up I can't ignore the appeal of her body. She has strength, as does most of the people here, but watching her do exercises with her squad showed more than just basic strength. I smile to myself as I think about the determined look she had while finishing her set. I have a strong little mate.
I groan as my mind keeps replaying the scene over and over. I can only pray that the rest of the month won't be like this. Turning onto my side I force my eyes closed, trying my damndest to get even a few hours of sleep.
The next week I'm weirdly filled with energy. Every morning I wake up excited to do runs, outpacing everyone by miles as I speed down the dirt track. Exercises become a blessing and every moment I spend sitting down is one where I'm anxious to get back up. The nights are no better, my body humming with unspent energy. It feels amazing to get out there and work.
Sitting at the lunch table I shovel food into my mouth, leg bouncing under the table. I want nothing more than to get back out there and get rid of this energy but lunch is kind of important. As I unflatteringly gulp down the muck an erotic scent ceases my tension. Flowing over my body like a warm shower. I close my eyes, taking in the calm.
"So, I gotta ask," a woman before me asks," do werewolves generally have this puppy energy, or is it just you because watching you hall ass down the track is almost inspiring."
As I open my eyes I'm left gawking at the woman. My beautiful mate sitting just across the table, smirking with her arms crossed. I swallow hard, feeling oddly nervous at this moment. What should I say? Should I say something? She quirks a brow at me, waiting for a reply.
"uh," I clench my pants under the table," depends on the person?"
She hums," is that a question or an answer?"
I straighten," a-a answer, ma'am."
"Hey, lighten up," she knocks on the table," don't need any of the ma'am business. I just wanted to ask, you have been buzzing like a bee this past week and I was kind of hoping it was something I could learn instead of it being genetics." my palms feel clammy the more she speaks. She's so casual, I almost wish she wasn't. I can handle stupid full moon questions over this. I wipe my hand on my pants.
"Sorry, it's all genetics," I give her a half-smile," blessings of the father I'm afraid to say."
She props herself up on crossed arms, her breast squeezing together," so was your mom human? I didn't think you can cross-breed like that." my eyes flick down to her pushed out chest, gulping hard I look down to my hands. I wipe my palms on my pants.
"No, a werewolf can b-breed with anyone," I meet her eyes," just has to be their mate."
"Awe, that sounds cute," she coos. Before she can add anymore the sergeants come in to collect their squads. I watch her look to the crowd, her shoulders dropping. She turns back to me," well, was nice talking with ya, Cujo." with that she leaves.
I remain seated as everyone begins filling out. Looking to my lap I groan in frustration, I never felt more like a measly runt than right now. Couldn't even talk to her and I'm sitting here with a full chub. I look to the crowd once more, catching sight of her turning out of the doorway. Fisting my pants I whimper lowly in my throat.
If I knew talking with her would make things worse then I would have never done it. The night we first spoke was tenser than any before. I feel like ants are crawling all over my skin, my body unbelievably hot. My blankets feel scratchy and too rough on my sensitive skin. I can hardly sleep as all I can think about is that beautiful woman smiling at me from across the table. Her ample chest just perched on her crossed arms. My loins lurch at the thought, aching to a degree I've never experienced.
I fall onto my back, panting as I kick the blanket off myself. Looking down myself in the dark barracks I see the tent in my pants. I groan, thumping my head against the pillow. A boner over a minute conversation with a girl, surely I couldn't stoop so low. I peak at my lap, groaning again as I flex my toes. Perhaps a little attention can soothe the beast?
Timidly I slide my hand down my stomach, fingers sneaking under the hem of my pants. I grab the base of my shaft, squeezing it while slowly closing my eyes. Just have to do this quickly and I got to get some sleep. With the task in mind, I aim for fast. I pump my fist, going harder than I've usually started. My callused hand feels uncomfortable, not helping the smooth glide I need. I take my hands out of my pants and lick my palm before trying again.
I jerk off, feeling itchy and frustrated as I do. I try to get it out and done before anyone can wake up to notice but I can't get into it. Trying a new tactic I relax on the bed. Keeping my eyes shut I slowly pump my fist up and down my shaft, pleased with the torturous glide. An image of my mate sitting across the lunch table pops in my head, my cock twitching at the picture. I admire her harden face, the beauty in her full cheeks when she smiles. I wince as my fingers glide over my tip.
The image shifts as I stare at her tits resting on the table. They are laid bare, her sweet little nipples hard from the cold lunchroom. My cock pulses as I think about reaching over the table to grab her, grazing my hand over her little buds. A whimper tries to bubble out from my throat, the sound surprising. I can't pay it any mind as I imagine tweaking her nipples, watching her face twist in pleasure. In my palm my cock aches, demanding more as I pump harder.
The scene twists, she's bent over the table with her tight ass presented to me. I whimper again, bucking into my fist. A bulge nudges against my hand with every descent. It would be something to investigate if I wasn't so tempted to continue. I picture lining my dick up with her weeping slit, gently pressing my tip in with a retrained grunt. Another whine leaves me, the base of my cock throbbing worst than the rest of me. As fantasy me bottoms out inside her I bite my fist to reject the whimper trying to cry out.
"Fuck," I mumble in a cry. I jerk till I can feel my body shiver in its impending climax, utterly debauched at the fantasy playing out. As I reach my breaking point I grip the hard bulge at the base of my cock, squeezing as hard as I can as I cum in my boxers. My grip pulses as I unload all over myself.
My grip eases slightly as I catch my breath. I feel disgusting as the wet fabric sticks to my tip. Looking down my body I wince at the damp stain. I tug down my pants and catch a look at my still hard dick, I furrow my brow confused. Generally, I'm soft shortly after, not still ragingly hard. I look to the bulge still cupped in my hand. Well, that's new. I test a squeeze. A shot of pleasure jolts up my spine making my head feel fuzzy. I nearly curl into myself at the surprise. That's definitely new.
I take one more glance at myself, wincing at the sight. I'm no fresh pup, I know what's pulsing at my base. I just didn't think it would come out without being buried inside someone. Sighing, I tuck myself away and attempt to get some sleep. I wince at the sticky fabric, suddenly regretting not waiting till a more opportune time to do this.
Circling the track for the 2nd time I catch up with the squad. Everyone is taking a breather, panting hard after the three miles. I casually jog up to them, still vibrating with energy.
"How can you even do this, air bud," Scott grabs at his knees," I knew there would be running but…fuck."
I look at him bemused," air bud?"
"Well it's like my dog, Rufus," another squad member claps me on the shoulder," would just run around for hours once I let him outside." I look between the two.
"I just like running," I answer," I feel rather energetic lately."
We all talk as I bounce on my heels. The sergeant rounds us all up before heading off to the next part of PT.
We begin jumping jacks in our lines, listening to the drill sergeant scream encouragements. Looking off to the side I catch sight of another squad doing their miles. They all seem rather calm, must be their first mile. I watch them go by, just briefly catching sight of my little mate in the middle of the crowd. A smile curls on my face as I watch her run along. Her arms pumping and chest bouncing. A raging need thrums into my veins, my cock standing to attention. I watch her in a daze.
"What are you doing, boy," someone shouts, grabbing me by the back of my shirt. I stumble as I'm tugged backward, torn from my stupor. Catching my bearings I realized I've tried to walk out of formations, ignoring my exercises in favor of following her delicious smell.
"uh," I shake my head," Sorry, saw a squirrel." I half-smile, hoping the joke would land. He grits his teeth, tugging me back in line.
"I'd make you run another set but I think you would enjoy that, instead you're on patrol tonight, Fido," he shouts, walking back down the line," Let's start again, from the beginning. One, two, three…"
Lunch has me excited, feeling like my tail is ready to sprout out and reveal my pleasure. I quickly shovel down my muck, looking around like an eager pup for any sight of her. Spotting her coming out of the line and heading my way I can't help but wipe my face and straighten my clothes. I nearly bounce in my seat as she gets closer.
"So you do have a tail," Scott tugs on something behind me. I grunt, twisting around with a growl. Out of the corner of my eye I catch sight of my fluffy black tail.
"Ah, fuck," I grumble, looking to her coming closer then back at my tail. Without much thought, I pin it between the bench and my thigh.
"Hello, Cujo," she greets," you're endless energy for exercises will never cease to amaze me." she sits down at the table, her tray clanking against the metal. My tail tugs, wanting to break free. I open my mouth to answer, interrupted by someone clapping me on the back.
"Yea, it's making the rest of us look bad. He makes three miles look easy," Tyler jokes as he sits beside me.
"well, it is easy, you guys are just out of shape," she jokes back. I snort, glancing at the offended men on either side of me. My mate has a sense of humor I see.
"haha, hilarious, G.I. Jane," Tyler deadpans.
"It's funny you should say that because I caught you slacking behind your crew today," Scott props his smug face on his hand," it's bad enough they let dogs in the military but you women have a lot more to prove." I can't help but sneer at Scott.
She glares at him, crossing her arms and leaning forward." yea, well what's your excuse, cadet?"
Scott leans forward as well," got a handicap, love, hard to run with three legs."
My mate snorts a chuckle, shaking her head as she grabs her food," What kind souls the higher-ups are to let you join with such a clear handicap."
Scott bounces his brow," you know it, baby. I'll be happy to show you my treatment options, perhaps you can help?" I stiffen at the suggestion, my limbs and chest tightening as Scott continues to flirt. A low rumble climbs up my throat, back arching as I glare at him.
"Think I'll pass, I heard that men with large dicks tend to need too much prep work for a minute of entertainment," she bites back. Scott shrugs as Tyler chuckles, them all going back to their meal. The growl comes out louder, my teeth pricking at my lip as I snarl at him. Scott looks at me, recoiling at the clear aggression.
"You ok, Fido," Scott asks," looks like I'm trying to take your food or something." I feel everyone's eyes on me, confused and concerned. A possessiveness boils under my skin, demanding action against this male. I swallow hard, shaking my head as I glare down at my tray. Reigning back the shift, I shake my shoulders.
"Sorry," I growl," just feeling tense today." everyone nods, quietly eating their meals. I pass a glance to my mate, worried I pushed her away with my lack of control. We look to one another, the edge of her lip tugging up. She looks away with a shy smile gracing her beautiful face. I smile to myself as I eat.
After lunch I go for a run, feeling more anxious than yesterday. I dig hard, making record speed over my fifth mile. My body feels invigorated but anxious as I run. My brain goes a mile a minute, demanding attention to the one person driving me crazy. With Scott's words ringing in my ears all I can do is think about the threat. Someone is encroaching on my territory, challenging my claim.
I shake my head, I haven't claimed her. Hell, I don't even know her name. I run harder. Pictures of her flash through my head, my fantasy of the other night forcing discomfort to my groin. I shake again. Just running isn't doing enough, I need more now.
Slowing to a stop I take off my shirt. Crouching and pressing my fingers to the ground I allow my skin to break. I grunt with my bones snapping and rearranging. The pain feels great, an action my body agrees with greatly. With my claws digging into the dirt and fur bristling in the breeze I bolt down the track on all fours.
cadets and Sergeants gawk as I high tail it around the trail. I breathe heavy, tongue lulled to the side as I hear the air roar in my ears. Everything feels so open and free. This is something I've missed all week. Changing in front of everyone made me feel embarrassed, self-conscious. I'm not like them and proving that could lead to problems. Right now, I couldn't care less. I have other issues to deal with.
After running around for hours I fall in the grass near the tree line, laying on my stomach to bask in the sun. I should be exhausted now, all this mating energy out for the time being. Closing my eyes and resting my chin on my paws I relax. It's a lovely day out.
Sitting there for a moment I feel a burst of energy. I growl. Two hours of running on top of PT this morning, how can I be nearly vibrating with need? This mating business is getting harder and harder to ignore. All I think, hear, smell is her. My cock stirs against my stomach, the hot length pinned to the ground. I growl again.
Making my way to the showers I angrily toss my torn shorts and turn the water on. I step into the cold stream, shocked at the temperature. This should help, I can chill out before patrols tonight. Closing my eyes I press my head against the tiled wall. Not even a second in and I see her. I see her wet and naked before me, giving me eyes and beckoning me forward. I clench my fist and grow as my cock throbs.
"Fine," I grab my erection," you win again."
I jerk myself hard and fast, snarling as I picture pounding into her sweet cunt. Bucking into my fist I imagine her bouncing breast and wonderful cries of pleasure. I need her, I need her so damn bad. Baring my teeth with clenched eyes I feel my base ache. I grab at my knot, pinching it in a tight grip. I can feel my seed go up my shaft, spraying the wall. Whimpering, I pulse my grip on my base, sighing as each drop is let out.
"I can't keep doing this," I whimper," I'm so tired." my cock doesn't soften, even as I turn the water off and dry myself it still aches for her.
Walking the perimeter I look around the dark camp. My uniform feels scratchy and tight as I step. There are bags under my eyes and I'm still filled with energy. I'm tired and hyper at the same time. The walk around the base feels like a dream, hollow and dazed. I'm so sleepy.
The sound of a door opening catches my attention the same time a wonderous perfume punches me in the nose. My head snaps to a shed out a bit of way from the main building. A light is shining out the open door, a shadow cast on the sidewalk. I take another inhale of that sweet scent, my cock pulses.
Like a zombie, I shuffled to the shed. The corners of my vision are distorted as I turn into the doorway. My eyes snap to the person standing at the opposite end next to a shelf. She looks over her shoulder, smiling when she realizes who it is.
"Hey, Cujo," my mate greets," you look like shit, you ok?" she takes a step to me, concerned. A growl snaps out my mouth, my shoulders sagging forward. She recoils, taking a step back. I match her, taking one forward. "Cujo," she tries to say casually but comes out a little worried," you need something from the shed?" I take another step. Her back hits the shelf, startling her as she watches me stalk forward. With all my control out the window, I storm towards her, bracing my hands on either side of her head. My face buries against her neck, taking a large inhale.
"What's your name," I growl out, using the final bit of control I have to ask.
"S-Samantha, my friends call me Sam," she jokes with a timorous hilt. I lick up the taunt tendon of her throat, she shudders. "Cujo," she timidly runs her hand up my arm," what's happening?" I nearly purr at her touch. Her words barely register as I lap at her skin, drunk on her already. I hear the smallest whimper from her, making my ears perk up.
"W-what's your name," she asks as her hand glides up my back to card her fingers through my hair.
"Trevor," I bite at her shoulder," and I can't take it anymore."
"Take what," she says nearly breathless. I can't answer, only having enough thought to grab her thighs and lift her. Her legs wrap around my waist easily, pulling me against her heat. My eyes nearly roll with the friction. With little thought I slowly rock my hips, my tongue licking up her neck to her cheek then licking over her lips. Her fingers tug on my hair, scratching at my skin.
"You want me," she asks. I buck hard into her in answer, she chuckles. "Am I your mate," she asks. A spark starts in my loins at her saying such a thing. Does she accept this? Accept me?
Aching and primed I get her on the ground, licking her as I feel my tail stuck in my pants. My brain is muddled and unfocused, wanting to tear her clothes off and mount her right here. It feels wrong- it feels right. I bite at her shoulder again, frustrated beyond belief as I grind into her.
"S-sam," I whimper," Please."
She tugs on my hair again, snaking her hand under my shirt to pet at my sprouting fur. "What do you want, Trevor," she asks.
"You," I dig my teeth into her skin," you, you, you."
She laughs, rubbing her cheek against mine," then have me, big boy."
In a flurry of need, lust, want, I rip her shirt. I can't bring myself to feel guilty as her nearly naked torso is before me. I lather at her chest, plucking the little strap between her cups with my clawed finger. My tongue wets her nipples, chest, stomach, listening to her little adorable whimpers. I feel frenzied as I shove her pants down and bury my face against her cunt. She smells sweet, tastes like ambrosia.
"Oh, good boy," she grips my hair too tightly. I lap are her folds like a dying man, feeling my body pulse and rejoice. She is amazing and all mine, open and pleasured by me. Her body wiggles and grinds against me, forcing me to hold her hips. Her thighs clamped around my face, nearly covering my ears. I'm pleased to hear her cries and feel her tighten around my tongue as I force it inside her. Oh, by the gods, she's divine.
I continue showering my attentions upon her as she tries to push me away," that's enough, Trevor, I need you." my head perks up at her words. She needs me? I sit up, ripping my already torn shirt off my shifted body. I rush to undo my pants, tearing at them enough for my cock to poke through. I look down at her cunt, licking my chops with excitement. I fall over her, hands framing her head. My hips gravitate towards her, needing her more than air. I whimper as I can't bring myself to plunge into her like a savage. Whimper again I meet her eyes, begging her.
She smiles, reaching up and petting my cheek," go ahead, Trevor, I think I understand." overjoyed I lick her mouth, tail wagging freely now.
Now free to do as I need I look between us and nudge my cock against her. My tip spreads her folds but delving into her awaiting heat is hard. I can't think, instincts taking all my control. I whimper again, looking at her. She smiles sweetly, reaching down and guiding me. I wait eagerly for her to lead me, feeling her place me at her entrance. I shove forward, engulfed easily. I whine and growl as I push as far as I can go. I try to nudge further but my base is already swollen. I chuff.
With my new addiction wrapped around my cock I withdraw before plunging into her divine heat with a heavy breath. This is what I've needed, what I've craved. I can't stop myself from bucking into her hard and fast, demanding everything with each thrust. My ears ring as I'm taken to a world of pure bliss.
Samantha writhes and whimpers with me, grabbing at the fur on my chest. I lean closer, pressing my body to hers. My thrusts begin to shorten till I'm rutting into her with shallow humps. Short uncontrolled bucks that leave my knot knocking at her entrance. An overwhelming need overtakes me. I bump my knot harder and harder against her, demanding entrance with every nudge. With a hard push, she opens more for me. I grunt as I force it, locking her to me with a satisfied sigh.
We both wriggle against each other till I'm left whining against her shoulder, with a well-timed clench on her part I'm bursting inside her. I bite down on her shoulder, marking her as my cum paints her insides. Her walls flutter around me. I listen to her melodious cries as I cum. It's too perfect, too beautiful.
With my cock locked inside her I can't help but wag my tail and lick at her face. She giggles, allowing me to shower her in affection as she rests on the floor. I pamper her, licking at her sweat and cleaning every part I can reach. She is mine now, my wonderful mate.
As my knot begins to deflate I feel the week catch up with me. I collapse on her, my cock softening and falling out. She grunts as my weight is on her. My eyes begin to flutter, my body coming back to its original state. I drift off to sleep without a care in the world.
I awaken in an unfamiliar bed with unfamiliar clothes. Without much thought I sniff out my mate, wanting to roll into her comforting arms. A disgusting chemical smell greets me instead of her warm scent. I jump awake, scared, and worried immediately.
"Whoa, cool it, Spot," someone catches my attention. I snap my eyes to them, seeing a skinny man in normal military attire. The brown shirt and camo pants.
"Where is Sam," I growl, disoriented as adrenaline fills my veins.
"The girl? Probably talking with the XO," he shrugs," should be back here soon." the man looks to his computer on his medical trolley. Feeling he is distracted I jump from the bed and bolt to the door. I can hear him shout but I'm too busy taking in the scents around me. I look left, nothing. I look right, I smell her.
Charging down the halls I turn this way and that as I follow her trail. I feel stressed and angry, to an unbelievable degree. I need her in my sight, in my arms. Her scent leads me to a door, the words on the sign not registering in my mind. I slam it open, spotting her immediately.
"Oh, hey," she smiles as she turns in her chair. She has more to say but I interrupt her. Plucking her from her seat I slam her against my body and bury my face to her neck. I take in her scent, assess her health and the environment. The smell of another makes me stiffen but her fingers scratching behind my ear makes me purr. I can feel my tail wagging behind me.
"Tamed the dog, how cute," someone says. I snap my head to them, nearly growling at my XO. He sits at his desk smug, but still intimidatingly powerful. Though I hold back a sound I can't help but bear my teeth to him.
"Let's not antagonize the pup, alright," Sam jokes. She guides me over to the seats, parting to take her own. Looking from her to the XO I feel the urges again, a primal need to get her out of sight of this male. I shake my head to put myself back into a normal mindset. Reluctantly I sit down.
"Now the excitement is over, Cadet Trevor Galius. You are relieved of training till further notice along with Cadet Samantha Backster," he says calmly. I stiffen at the dismissal, looking at Sam in clear worry. Will she be mad? This is exactly what I wanted to avoid, taking her choice away. Sam glances at me with a disarming smile. I remain wary.
"For how long," I ask.
"Till next January, that's when winter training starts. For now, I encourage you two to settle all that needs to be settled before then," he glares over to me," I'd hate to have a repeat of this semester." I wince, looking down at my lap.
"Will this put a delay on werewolves being allowed in the armed forces," I peak up at my XO. He smiles to himself, dropping it quickly.
"I admire your dedication to this cause but no, there be no delay for werewolves. I hope you don't mind too much not being the first one," he answers. Most of my worries melt off at his words. The only person I'm potentially holding back is Sam, no one else has to suffer for my lack of control.
"That won't be a problem, sir," I answer.
With no final notes, we are dismissed. I walk with Sam out into the hall, fidgeting all the while. We walk out of the main building in silence. Should I say something? Is she mad? I pass glances at her, looking for any signs of distress. She gives nothing away.
"Just ask, I know it's killing you," she bites her lip to stop her grin. I fall apart, reaching out and pulling her against me. I can't take not touching her.
"Please don't be mad at me. I didn't want to force you out of training like this but trying to hold back was killing me. I'm so sorry," I whimper into her hair. She awkwardly pats at my back as I apologize.
"I'm not mad," she answers," far from it. I'm rather excited about all this. Like, it's not every day something like this happens."
I recoil from her, confused," you're not mad?"
She shakes her head," no, I actually had some guesses around our second conversation."
I look at her bemused," you did?"
"Yea, I knew about the werewolf mate thing from my cousin. I went to her wedding about two years ago and she was mated to one of your kind. She wouldn't shut up about how they met and the utter romantic garbage she experienced from him," she scoffs," it was almost sickening how sweet they were but I got to learn some signs. You have been tense and full of energy lately. I figured that was normal but you perked up a lot when I showed up. It was really cute. Still, I had some guesses and when you came to the shed it was heavily validated. So in the end, I'm not mad. Lowkey a little happy you didn't do some over the top romantic gestures like my cousin's man did."
I listen to her rant amused and amazed. She knew? A part of me thinks she just had some hopeful thoughts and wanted the signs to be for her. Or maybe I'm not as good as I think at hiding this. Either way, it doesn't matter because she doesn't hate me. She wants me and I can't do anything but be thrilled.
With a snort, I pull her into a kiss, ecstatic with the turn of events. She smiles against my lips, pulling me close. As we kiss a few people walk back, whistling and making sly comments at us. We part, chuckling with one another at their jokes.
"So you aren't mad you have to join back next year," I ask just to be sure.
"Maybe a little," she shrugs," I guess your just going to have to make me forgive you."
I growl, leaning down and nipping at her neck. Her shriek of laughter makes me giddy. I have my mate, and she's perfect.
212 notes · View notes
keilemlucent · 4 years
Text
the sex party: ii
(r18+)
shinsou hitoshi x reader
ao3
part 1   ||    part 2 (you’re here!)
word count: ~9k
You and Hitoshi definitely have a thing for each other, but who would've thought that a 'sex party' would produce a confession?
warnings:
COLLEGE AU! characters are explicitly aged up to college students as early 20 year olds!
not really a sex party, mutual pining, friends to lovers, confessions, reader is canonically bi, brief momo x reader, light dom/sub, spanking, references to drug use, smoking (cigarettes, salem trademarked fic thing), drinking, and smut
---------
once again, thank you to @keiqos​ for editing, absolute gem :’^). now read and take this nice fluff and smut!!!
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hitoshi hailed the gang outside just before calling an Uber, vaguely explaining what happened and that you were both headed back towards campus. Denki and Jiro assured the two of you that they’d find the fucker and get him thrown out and spit on.
“What a fucker, I’m sorry that happened, (Y/N),” Jiro frowned, eyebrows creased with anger. She cracked her knuckles. 
You felt your chest tighten as you smiled back reflexively, “It’s alright. I’m just glad it's over.”
Mina grabbed your shoulders, “I’m going to ruin him for ya’, (Y/N). Ruin.”
She was deadpanned about it, waving a quick goodbye before running into the party to presumably go and kick the guy’s ass. The rest of the party peers followed, leaving with a similar sentiment and a lot of anger. 
Denki remained, rubbing the back of his neck, “Are y’all headed back to the house then?”
You nodded, eyeing Shinsou, “Yeah, back to your guys’ place.”
Denki’s eyebrows raised, a wicked grin coming to his face.
Hitoshi gave a half-hearted glare.
Denki continued looking smitten as all hell. He gave Hitoshi a quick hug and crushed one into you. He flitted back in the house with a lightness in his steps that showed distinctly that he was far more drunk than he was letting on. 
...
Part of you had a feeling that the night was far from over.
The Uber arrived a few minutes later, smelling of cheap air freshener and stale cologne. You climbed into the back seat as far as you could go. You expected Hitoshi to take the passenger’s side, but he slid beside you, buckling himself into the middle seat.
You didn’t say anything, but you mentally thanked him.
Considering the number of weird friend boundaries (when were you going to be honest with yourself, god, just say it) that had been breached already, you let yourself fall just the slightest bit into Hitoshi’s side as the car began to move.
Hitoshi continued tapping around on his phone one-handed, all to wrap an arm around the back of your seat, half around your shoulder. You relished his heat and let the details fade away as you stared out of the car window.
At some point, Hitoshi put his phone away, stuffing into the pocket of his jeans.
“Your jacket—” You spoke up, but Hitoshi quickly and quietly shushed you, squeezing your shoulder.
“I already had Momo grab it, no big deal,” You hadn’t realized how close he was until the heat of his breath rolled over your ear. “It’s much more important to make sure you’re feeling alright.”
Why is he so nice?
You remained silent, hyper-aware of the softness of your bare thigh pressing against Hitoshi’s own. You could feel the heat radiating off of him, the warmth of his breath so close to your face in such a small space.
And you wanted more.
The neon lights of the city reappeared, growing brighter as the two of you neared Hitoshi’s home. Your mind swirled and spun with revelation after revelation. 
How the fuck had you not realized how much you liked Hitoshi sooner?
I mean, it was obvious, but repression really does things to a person.
The Uber finally pulled up to Hitoshi’s home. The two of you swiftly went inside, an odd silence between the two of you. 
As you stepped out of your heels, Hitoshi broke it from the living room. 
“What if I told you I ordered food from that one late-night diner and it’ll be here in ten minutes?” Hitoshi glanced up from his phone with a dashing smile, the kind only you got to see. 
It made you want to fucking explode. 
You cracked your own, standing fully and stretching your toes, “I’d say ‘thank god, and god is Hitoshi Shinso.”
“You flatter me,” He chuckled, waltzing into the living room. You followed, aware of the eerie quiet that the house carried. It was rare that Hitoshi’s home was fully uninhabited and fully soundless. 
It made your thoughts seem even louder. 
“Want anything? Water? I can make us some drinks if you’re still in that mood,” Hitoshi offered, already moving towards the kitchen.
It felt like you were going to burst.
“Water is okay, I’m not really feeling like drinking anymore.” You laughed softly, rubbing the back of your neck. You were desperately trying to relieve your own internal tension, but you just fucking couldn’t. 
Hitoshi returned a moment later with a glass for you and a kind gaze, regarding you were the most sacred thing in the world. The glass trembled in your grip as you refused to maintain eye contact with him.
You really couldn’t handle any more of this. 
“You tired? I can set up the couch for you if you wanna lie down, unless you want me to walk you back to your dorm?” Hitoshi asked, moving towards the linen closet to grab your usual sheets and blankets. Hitoshi obviously sensed your discomfort and the bastard was too nice for his own fucking good, trying to cater to your every fucking need. 
He’s way too nice.
...
You made your decision in that moment. 
You swallowed, tongue feeling thick in your mouth. Fear wormed its way into your gut, but you spoke through it. 
“Actually, can we talk?” You hated the way how your voice trembled.
Your knees felt weak when you saw Hitoshi’s expression fall, pretty violet orbs drooping. 
Both of you were well aware of what the conversation would be about.
Hitoshi stopped across the room, turning to you. His brow was furrowed with anxiety. His voice came out sticky, pushing, “I think you’ve had a long night.”
Fuck it.
Tell him.
How much longer can you keep this up anyway?
“It’s going to feel a lot longer if I’m sleeping on the couch when I want to be in your bed.”
The silence that stunned the room echoed louder than anything you had ever heard before. You stared down at your feet, ignoring the way overemotional tears began to gather in your eyes. Your vision clouded, but your mouth kept spewing. 
It had to.
“Hitoshi, I like you. A lot more than friends like each other.”
More silence. 
You hold back sniffles.
You’re fucking up your whole friendship.
“And I know, our flirting has always been teasing, but I think it became real for me at some point.” 
More silence. 
“I don’t want to fuck up our friendship. You’re my best friend, Hitoshi, and I really, really care about you. And, I don’t want to throw away our friendship over a crush, okay? I just needed to get this off my chest. We can just forget I ever said anything if that’s easier.”
Your own arms come to wrap around yourself, thumbs making idle circles in an attempt to unconsciously soothe yourself.
You could hear Hitoshi take a few steps towards you, inhaling like he was going to speak, but quickly cutting himself off.
Ouch.
A few stray tears ran tracks down your face.
Your lip wobbled as you spoke, “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, and that I teased you so much while feeling like this, I just didn’t notice—”
“(Y/N).” Hitoshi stood in front of you, low voice shocking you from your thought.
You refused to look up at him.
“H-hey, how about I just go back to my dorm? I’m sorry—” You sputtered, rubbing at your eyes as the carpet grew blurry beneath you.
You felt so fucking pathetic. Maybe it was because it took you this long to figure out your own feelings and say something about them. Maybe, it was because you were fairly certain you were capital l in Love with Hitoshi, yet you didn’t even have the guts to look at you as you confessed.
Maybe, it was all because you were so damn terrified that it was all of these possibilities making you drown in your own insecurities. 
Hitoshi, diligent and mindful as ever, took note, even if you didn’t notice. 
“(Y/N), look at me.” Hitoshi’s damn near commanded, but you somehow ignored him, spiraling deeper.
You couldn’t keep yourself from shaking as your voice cracked, “I’m so fucking sorry, Hitoshi. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll be better, we can—”
And then there were hands, large and soft cupping your jaw, gently forcing your gaze up.
You shook even harder, unable to avoid him any longer.
Your breath felt leached from your lungs when you finally met Hitoshi’s endlessly sweet gaze. 
Hitoshi’s eyes were so fucking soft. There was this melancholic smile on his face that made alarms go off in your skull. 
He’s going to reject you.
You got the wrong idea. 
You sucked down another sob as you tried to lower your head, but Hitoshi’s grip only became firmer. His thumb rubbed away some of your tears as he released a soft sigh.
A moment of quiet passed between the two of you. The teasing, fleeting glances and lustful eye fucking of the earlier night were long gone. All that remained was a tense string of vulnerability that both of you were terrified of.
You were shaking so hard in his grip. 
You didn’t notice, but he was shaking too, desperately trying to keep his breathing even.
You blinked up at him, just waiting for him to reject you.
 (Like Hitoshi would ever do that—)
 “Can I kiss you?” Oh, his voice rolled so low and deep over you, you could’ve died.
Your eyes widened, and all you could do was nod, brain sluggishly following the situation.
He shook his head, lowering his head just a bit closer to your eye level. So ardently did he refuse to look away from you.
“I need you to say it, (Y/N).” He kept himself composed but god, he was struggling.
You gulped, leaning into Hitoshi’s hands for comfort. 
“Yes, please,” Your voice came out soft, breaking and needy and Hitoshi wanted every bit of it.
His face hovered in front of yours for a moment, eyes tracing your features with such reverence. 
And then his lips were on yours and all of your mutually stored tension broke. 
It shattered.
His lips were soft, so different from what you secretly fantasized about. You expected some sort of roughness to him, but now that you were so sinfully close, he radiated calm and sweetness that you could almost taste.
Hitoshi was so gentle with you, one of his arms wrapping around your waist to pull you even closer. 
You moved your lips against his, relishing the fact that he was there and you were there. Maybe it was fleeting, maybe he would pull away and say he just wanted to fuck and you’d have to have that conversation. But, in that moment, you just sank into Hitoshi’s touch, throwing your arms over his shoulders and tangling deft fingers into his unruly hair. 
You could handle whatever future you were given. Just a morsel of Hitoshi’s soft but unbridled affections felt like more than enough.
(Little did you know how much of him you were to receive.)
Hitoshi pulled away, but hardly. He stayed so close to you, pupils blown wide as his breath fanned of your cheekbones. You so, so wanted to surge forward and drown in him, but you held yourself fast.
He surprised you by letting out his own shaking breath, all the way in his chest. Your eyes widened.
“You’re such an idiot—” Hitoshi laughed and you faltered for a moment. It must’ve shown on your face because his hands started rubbing at your sides. 
He kissed you softly again. Something chaste and sweet, like a type of summer fruit that stains your lips. 
He pulled away again, lips parted and scanning you.
“You have to say it.” You told him, trying to keep your voice firm, but failing.
“Say what?” He teased, peppering the side of your face with kisses. 
You made a small, half-annoyed noise, pushing lightly at his choice, “You know what, Hitoshi.”
He paused, dragging you tighter to him. A hand came up to cup your neck, fingers tracing idle patterns on your pulse point.
The look he wore (so well) was one of pure tenderness that made you ache in the best possible way. 
“Of course I like you.” Hitoshi kissed you again. 
You were too stunned for words.
Hitoshi kept going, his own tension apparently having broken as well.
(Duh.) 
“You have no fucking idea how much I adore you—” He spoke against your lips, hands digging into your sides as you pulled lightly at his hair. You both craved closeness and finally had it.  “How much I’ve wanted this, you—”
You whine into his mouth, pressing into him with everything you had. 
His touch felt heavenly. After so many months, years of pent up romantic and sexual tension, his hands felt like divine fire against you. Every part of you ached for more of him, as now you were finally able to express your desires. 
You pulled away, just enough to lean your foreheads together. Hitoshi’s pupils were blown wide, flickering from your eyes to your lips. 
“Why didn’t you say anything?” You asked, voice still small. 
Hitoshi chuckled, popping a quick kiss onto your nose, “Honestly? I didn’t want you to think I was only your friend because I wanted fuck you.”
Your insides twisted.
“Do... you only want to fuck?” You asked, any movement to pull away blocked by Hitoshi’s hold on you. Your heart hammered in your chest.
You definitely wanted more than just a fuck, but you’d take what you could get.
(You wouldn’t have to.)
“Oh, no, not at all,” Hitoshi spoke matter of factly, wearing the smuggest grin. His lips went to just below the shell of your ear, “There’s plenty more that I want from you, (Y/N).”
“Hitoshi,” You nearly moaned his name as his lips brushed against your ear. “You g-gotta be careful, saying shit like that.”
“Why's that?” Hitoshi’s lips met the fragile skin of your neck and sank into him.
“You k-know why,” Your words trembled as he left trails of kisses against your neck. 
All you wanted was more.
“Tell me. I love hearing your voice,” Hitoshi crooned against your neck, pressing at the small of your back so you arched into him.
His words were so damn sweet, it made you melt inside and out as a high moan dribbled from your lips.
Hitoshi nearly growled against your neck, sucking at the skin at your collar. You fisted the back of his sweater, toes curling against the carpet—
And then a soft knock echoed from the door.
You both stopped dead, freezing.
Quickly, Hitoshi straightened out, but not before pressing a loving kiss to the skin he bruised.
“Foods here.” He smiled at you as you breathed, open-mouth and near panting. 
-------------------------------
Hitoshi came back from the door with the food, setting it on the coffee table and falling onto the couch. You followed suit as Hitoshi took out a few takeout boxes, handing one to you.
“I got that breakfast combination you always get, I hope that’s okay,” Hitoshi passed you a fork as you nodded. 
“How are you so calm right now?” You asked, turning to him and folding your legs under your body.
Hitoshi turned as well, raising an eyebrow and holding up one of his hands between the two of you.
It was shaking violently. 
“Not calm, at all. Just composed,” Hitoshi broke into his own food, taking a bite. “Eat something, (Y/N).”
You couldn’t fight him on that. Despite the elated, anxious, (horny) twisting of your gut, the smell of comfort food soothed you after such an eventful night. 
The two of you ate in relative silence, both in shared contemplation. It was comfortable, sounds of the city neighborhood and old house filling the space with enough ambient noise to feel natural.
You finally set down your empty box, eyes flickering to Hitoshi as he finished off his food, a bit of egg stuck to his fork.
“I was being serious earlier, you know,” You rubbed at the fabric of your dress, suddenly very aware of the way it rode so high. “About sleeping in your bed rather than the couch.”
“I figured you were,” Hitoshi replied, setting his own food down to face you. “I never said you couldn’t.”
“Let’s clear the air then, if that’s okay,” You asked, a bit uncertain.
It all felt a lot better when Hitoshi grabbed one of your hands, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles. He nodded to you to keep talking.
“So, I like you. You like me.” You began. 
Hitoshi nodded again, a cute smile creeping at the corners of his mouth.
“You... don’t just want to fuck?” Your words sounded unsure, but Hitoshi quickly nodded.
“I’d prefer more, but I’ll take what I can get,” Hitoshi shrugged. 
You definitely felt somewhat settled and a whole lot less insecure.
If anything, you felt bold.
Very bold.
Before Hitoshi could react, you shoved Hitoshi’s shoulder into the back of the couch. Your bare legs went over either side of Hitoshi’s built thighs, squeezing as you straddled him. 
You could feel the way your dress rode up, almost showing off your ass.
(Not like Hitoshi already hadn’t seen it that night—)
You stared him up and down with lowered lips, biting your lip gently. 
His violet tresses were wild, roughed up from the night’s events. His cheeks were stained pink, eyes tearing over your figure.
His hands darted to your waist, rubbing his thumbs over your ribs.
“What do you want?” Hitoshi asked, finally breaking his composure with cute, breathless words.
Your trembling hands cupped his face as you leaned into him. Your ghosted your lips over his, breath mingling as you spoke, well aware of what you were doing.
“I just want you, Hitoshi. All of you. I think I have for a long time.”
That was enough for the two of you.
Hitoshi grabbed at you with a possession that made your insides turn to jelly. His lips pressing to your own, licking in your mouth with a fervor that you craved. One of his hands moved to just below your ass, squeezing the flesh with a grip that was sure to bruise. His other hand tangled into your hair, pulling you to angle your mouth just right against his own. 
His actions had a fever to them, hands and lips moving in a way that pulled and pushed you perfectly. You knew from goddamn kink night, that Hitoshi was a far more dominant person, but now that you were getting a personal taste? You felt intoxicated by his demanding touch.
All you could do was grab onto the front of his sweater, kissing him with everything you had. 
As Hitoshi’s hand slid up to your ass, you experimentally ground down on the growing bulge in his jeans.
He let out a broken moan, roughly grabbing your backside and moving for you to repeat the motion. You arched into the friction, keening in the back of your throat as Hitoshi nipped at your jaw.
“Fuck, Hitoshi,” You moaned, your hands trailing down his chest to tease at the hem of his sweater.
Hitoshi wasn’t one to be beat, licking a line from your collarbone to your ear, biting and kissing to his heart's content. Your hips stuttered against his own, both of you moaning in tandem. His hardened cock pressing against your practically bare sex made your head spin with potential. 
You grabbed at his hips beneath his sweater, dipping just below his waistband—
Suddenly, Hitoshi pulled away from your neck, breathing hard and slow. He swallowed, grabbing your face in both of his hands and peppering slow kisses all over your face.
“You have no fucking idea—” Hitoshi kissed your roughly, squeezing at your jaw. You moaned so prettily for him as he swallowed your sounds with a groan. He pulled away, sighing deeply, “how badly I want to keep going, but—”
You finished his sentence, sighing and touching your forehead to his, “It has been a long night.”
Hitoshi made a noise of agreement, pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead before you pulled back, “Is that alright?”
You shook out your own breath, nodding, “Of course. I want to keep going too, but I don’t want to rush anything. Wanna make sure we’re comfy, you know?”
Hitoshi rumbled out a laugh, pulling you into a solid embrace. His nose pressed into the juncture between your neck and shoulder, nuzzling into you, “You gotta stop being so sweet, (Y/N).”
You raised your eyebrow, threading your hands through his hair, feeling how he instantly relaxed into your touch, “What did I do?”
“I mean, your existence is pretty sweet. Cute too. Sexy. Hot. I could go on,” Hitoshi nipped at your neck, daring to suck gently at the weak skin. “But, I think that would just rile me up more.”
“Good point,” You gently tugged his hair to bring his face back to yours. “Your room?”
He kissed you in reply.
The shattering of tension left a gentle warmth running through you, and you couldn’t wait to see what else was to come. 
----------------------------------
The two of you swayed upstairs hand-in-hand. 
It felt weirdly domestic, rubbing off your makeup with the cleansing wipes you had long stored at Hitoshi’s for late nights studying or drinking.
He stood next to you, brushing his teeth in a roomy tee and sweats. You still wore your party dress, rumpled and a bit too dirty for comfort. You found yourself glaring your body down, remembering the very sour event of the evening. Your skin crawled and itched. 
Hitoshi caught it easily. He knew you so well. 
“You wanna ‘showber?” Hitoshi’s words came out garbled through the foam in his mouth.
“That might be best, yeah,” You sighed in some form of defeat, nervously rubbing your arms for a moment. Hitoshi spit and rinsed as you finished removing the mascara from your eyes. 
As you finished, Hitoshi urged you to sit on the toilet seat, pressing a kiss to your forehead as he darted from the room. You straightened up at the freely given affection, loving the way your heart pounded. He returned quickly, carrying a fluffy towel and a pile of folded clothes. 
“Take your time. If you need anything, just shout, okay?” Hitoshi laid them on the counter and squatted down in front of you, taking your hands in his and squeezing. 
You nodded.
It wasn’t the first time you had taken a shower at Hitoshi’s. You could only be thankful that he and Sero had good enough hygiene habits that it was fairly clean for a college house. 
You felt damn near euphoric, getting to wash the sweat, fear, touches and smoke from your skin and hair. You took extra care to cleanse your body the best you could, washing everything properly and thoroughly.
(You know, just in case.)
(For the morning.)
You digress.
Warmed and feeling far more clean both mentally and physically, you toweled off and slipped into the clothes Hitoshi left. The shirt he gave you was way too large, nearly hanging off of one of your shoulders. He must’ve had it mixed in with laundry as it held the scent of his pine-ish cologne that had always made you melt. The sweats he loaned to you also fit poorly, but you didn’t mind too much.
You padded your way into Hitoshi’s room. 
It was a familiar spot. Many nights were spent here drunkenly carousing with your pals, rolling on the worn hardwood. Many hours had been spent splayed out on the floor, both of you pouring over textbooks and academic journals, constructing brutal papers with the aid of unhealthy amounts of lukewarm black coffee. 
Hitoshi’s room, for a long time, strangely, had been incredibly comfortable and safe. On a night like this one, you couldn't be more glad.
His room was dimly lit, yellowish string lights hung on the ceiling. They dimly illuminated the many gig posters, prints, and thrifted picture frames he had amassed over the years. A desk in the corner, an aged dresser, and a (blessedly) queen-sized bed with a comfy black duvet.
You blinked at Hitoshi, noting the lack of his usual clutter around the room, “Did you clean while I was in the shower?”
Hitoshi was standing in the corner, tapping away at his phone with a furrowed brow, but managed to look up and flash you a smile, “Maybe.”
You chuckled, walking up to him and comfortably wrapping your arms around his waist, burying your face in his arm. You felt him jump a bit, but quickly relax.
It was all new to both of you, but very welcome.
“Is everything alright?” You asked, watching the way Hitoshi frowned at his phone.
He ran a hand over his face, sighing, “How surprised would you be if I told you Denki and Hanta blacked out and puked on the way back?”
“Not very surprised, but still, yikes,” You looked up at Hitoshi. “Are they coming back here? I’ll babysit if you have to, too.”
He turned to give you a small, sympathetic smile, “That is very sweet of you, but it sounds like they’re going to crash Momo’s or Katsuki’s.”
You felt... suspicious.
You narrowed your eyes at him, eyes darting to your purse on his nightstand, “I haven’t checked the group chat, but did you put something in the group chat?
Hitoshi took a sharp inhale, a cute blush painting his nose and cheeks, “It may have slipped that we finally... said we liked each other.”
“May have?” You raised an eyebrow.
“There may have been a betting pool that I have just been made aware of—”
“Did... Did they all know?”
“And, they wanted to give us some privacy—”
You covered your face with your hands, leaning into him, “Jesus fucking—”
“Very considerate of them, considering,” Hitoshi sighed, pocketing his phone and wrapping his arms over your shoulders. “I’d much rather be sleeping next to you than dealing with blackout Denki.”
“True, true,” You sighed, uncovering your face to look up at Hitoshi. He was beaming at you with a look of adoration that made your chest ache. You frowned, “Are you gonna be able to sleep?”
You knew of Hitoshi’s insomnia well. Though you could manage to sleep, his inability to fall into slumber was something he wrestled with daily. You knew he was able to sleep some, but it was a great difficulty and was the root cause of his incessant caffeine consumption. 
“I’m gonna try, if not, it’ll be okay, I’ll at least be very comfortable,” He rubbed his hands up and down your arms. “Besides, it’s easier to sleep next to someone.”
“Really?” You asked, tilting your head to the side. “Like, has it always been easier for you to sleep with someone?”
Hitoshi gave a little sigh, nodding.
“Dummy,” You snorted, lightly flicking his nose. “You could’ve asked me.”
“To... Sleep with me?” Hitoshi blinked down at you.
“Yeah. I would’ve said yes,” you shrugged easily. It was hardly a question. Even if you didn’t have incredibly strong feelings for Hitoshi, you would’ve tried to help. “I’ve always cared about you like that.”
Hitoshi closed his eyes and took a big inhale, the hands on your arms speeding up a little, “You have no idea what you do to me, do you, (Y/N)?”
Your gut dropped, “I don’t—”
Hitoshi didn’t give you a chance to fully answer him before leaning down abruptly and scooping you into his arms. Your arms flew to his neck for purchase as he cradled you to his chest, squeezing and walking to the bed.
“You are just so fucking sweet,” Hitoshi set you down on the bed, allowing you to adjust yourself to look up at him. You sat on your legs, kneeling while looking up at him.
He bit his lip, eyes widened and glassy looking down at you. You gulped as you heard his shaking breaths, felt his trembling hand cup your cheek.
“You’re way too good,” Hitoshi breathed, shaking his head. 
The incredibly tense sexual aura of the moment dissipated as Hitoshi sat next to you on the bed, scooting to the inside of the mattress and pulling up the comforter.
Part of you was disappointed, feeling lingering pressure between your thighs, but the more sensical part of you was very tired and wanted nothing more than to finally hold Hitoshi and fall into sleep.
“Hey, get over here,” Hitoshi knocked you from your thoughts as his arms wrapped around your waist. He dragged you up, fitting you in the crook of his arm, pressing his nose into your hair. “If you’re in my bed, you’re gonna be in my bed, fully committed.”
“I’m not complaining,” You purred, more than satisfied with throwing your leg of his own, curling in his chest. 
Part of you wanted to check, to confirm that all of this was okay. The night had been a lot and you were sure both of you were pretty keyed up from everything. Getting together with Hitoshi was hardly the outcome you expected of the ‘sex party,’ but you weren’t going to complain. Fuck, you could hardly do anything as Hitoshi’s cologne, heat, and firm body were already lulling your body to sleep.
“You are sleeping, aren’t ‘ya?” Hitoshi teased, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 
You made a small noise, the most you could muster before burying yourself at his collarbone. 
Sleep quickly took you under, Hitoshi beaming you the sweetest smile and lavishing you with quiet, subtle affections as not to wake you.
--------------------------
You woke up to dawn light streaming in through a slit in a familiar set of curtains. You grumbled, half-awake, but really not wanting to move. You were too comfortable. Warmth filled your body, peace floated over your slumber-hazed mind and you couldn’t help letting out a content sigh.
The presence of heat let out a familiar chuckle.
You slowly opened your eyes again, becoming aware of the fact that you were half sprawled over Hitoshi. He was looking down at you, sweetly, eyebrow raised.
You literally gasped.
Hitoshi’s hair was tousled and far more wild with bedhead. The amethyst yolks of his eyes were lit up by the early morning light, and he just beamed down at you. 
“You’re so pretty,” You let slip.
The events of the night prior became fresh in your mind. The good ones far outweighed the bad. It was even easier to ignore any and all sour feelings because fucking finally you and Hitoshi were in bed together.
Finally.
“Why, thank you. You’re pretty beautiful yourself, you know.” 
You were going to nut.
His. Voice.
It was always deep, a rolling bass, but addled with sleep? It was graveled and coarse and it made you literally wet.
“Fuck.” Was all you could muster as you slowly sat up.
Hitoshi squeezed you around your ribs, a knowing look and smile stretched across his face. 
The hold on your waist reminded you that Hitoshi was, in fact, holding you. His hands, soft for how large they were, massaged slow, deep circles just above your hips and through your borrowed shirt. You had to have slept tucked up into him like that all night.
You hoped there would be many more like it.
“Did you sleep okay?” You asked, your own voice rough.
Hitoshi grinned drowsily, “I did. It’s a hell of a lot easier next to you.”
You couldn’t suppress the way your lips curled into a smile. Leaning forward, you ran your hands up his chest to brace yourself, leaving a soft kiss on his lips, “I’m glad. Very glad. Wanna do it again sometime?”
“Oh, (Y/N),” Hitoshi rumbled, hands moving up to tickle lightly at your ribs. “Now that I’ve gotten a taste of how lovely it is to sleep next you, I don’t know if I’ll ever let you sleep anywhere else.”
You raised an eyebrow, “Let me? Interesting word choice.”
“Intentional word choice,” Hitoshi’s eyes darkened, tracing your form as he wet his lips, “You like a bit of control exerted on you, don’t you, (Y/N)?”
You shuddered as Hitoshi dragged you closer, up his body so your hips straddled his own.
“I mean, yeah,” you breathed, clothes beginning to feel way too hot atop your skin. “You were there for kink night, weren’t you?”
You tried to joke, but Hitoshi didn’t let you.
“I was there,” One of Hitoshi’s hands tangled into your hair, rubbing affectionately, but your gut told you he had other, more particular, plans. “And, I have a good memory.”
Without missing a beat, Hitoshi flipped the two of you.
Your back hit the mattress and knocked the wind out of you. A breathy gasp fell from your lips, unabashed as Hitoshi was suspended on top of you. 
You almost spoke, but then you noticed the way Hitoshi was looking at you, and you couldn’t. Whatever breath that laid in your lungs slowly dripped out.
He was looking at you like a man starved. 
His eyes glittered as he traced each curve of your body, pliant and beginning to tremble under his touchless attention. 
“Y-you’re bold, you know that?” You managed to stutter out.
Hitoshi chuckled to himself, shaking his head, “Just observant. You always say that I’m a good listener.”
You shuddered as Hitoshi leaned down, nose trailing down your jaw to your pulse point. He paused above the fluttering beat of your heart before licking a strip down your neck with the flat of his tongue.
“Jesus, Hitoshi,” You scraped out, swallowing as heat rushed through your tense body.
He pulled away, only to hover just above your face, staring into your eyes with an intensity that would be stifling from anyone else other than him.
“Do you want me to keep going? We don’t have to if you’re not comfortable,” Holy fuck, did Hitoshi’s voice somehow get lower? Is that what fucking happened when he got horny? 
You were going to die.
“No, no, we should keep going, yes,” You really tried not to sound desperate, but it hardly mattered. Hitoshi could more than tell, he knew you so well.
You didn’t give him a chance to tease you, hands clasping behind his head to gently pull him down to your lips. 
God, you were positive you wouldn’t ever tire of Hitoshi in any way. Everything about him seemed so right, good and perfect especially near you. 
Hitoshi nipped at your bottom lip, one of his hands insistently rubbing at the bones of your hip. You shuddered at the onslaught of sensations, slotting your mouth against his to bring him as close as you could manage.
One of your hands flitted down his frame, tugging at the hem of his sleep shirt. You’d seen Hitoshi shirtless plenty of times, eyed him as much as was acceptable for ‘bros’, and then moved on with a reddened face, but you would be damned if you weren’t going to ogle him a bit, now that you had the open opportunity to.
Hitoshi sat back on your hips, pulling his shirt over his head with ease and became what you could only be certain was a manifestation of your dreams. 
It was clear he indeed had very much been working out, all the muscles of his abs and arms were toned and well-used, even holding a bit of the tan from when he started his training last summer. 
You noted, drool puddling in your mouth, that he (and assumedly Denki) did get their nipples pierced for their ten-year friend-iversary last fall. Cute barbels hung from his nipples, surprising, but also very hot. You followed the ‘v’ of his hips to the waistband of the soft grey sweatpants he was wearing, noting with a shocked raise of the eyebrows that Hitoshi was already considerably hard and considerably large. 
“You like what you see?” Hitoshi teased, leaning back over you to worry at your neck with a few well-placed licks.
You swallowed, hands pressing to his chest, running up and down the soft skin before going to pinch one of his nipples, “I really do, fuck.”
Hitoshi’s breath stutters against your neck, “Like ‘em?”
“I thought you two were kidding.”
“Oh, never—!”
Hitoshi’s words were yanked from his chest as you pinched and twisted both of his nipples, albeit lightly. You were doing it partially to get a reaction and gauge how sensitive he was. With the way he whined from the back of his throat, you inferred that he was very sensitive. 
“Aren’t there more important things you could be doing with your hands?” You chided, though not an edge of malice was in your voice.
Hitoshi just seemed spurred on by this, grunting and swiping your wrists into his grip. Your hands were pressed above your head, pinned to the mattress by his body weight.
A low whine spun from the back of your throat.
“You’re really lucky that I like brats and that I love you—”
Both of you paused.
He...
Did he just—
Did he just drop the L bomb?
He dropped the L BOMB . 
 You stared up at Hitoshi, frowning at the absolute terror in his eyes.
“I, I mean, I didn’t mean it like that,” Hitoshi sat back up on you, nervousness in every motion of his body. “I just meant—”
“Hey,” You interrupted, sitting up with him. “I love you too, you know. I’m pretty sure I have.”
Hitoshi doesn’t say anything for a minute and neither do you. You’re both in stunned silence. Enraptured by the other, your forms painted with the precious, vibrant gold that streamed in from the curtained window. The other sounds were that of the ambient city awakening and the unsteady breath that was shared between the two of you.
It was oddly perfect, and neither of you complained. 
“So,” Hitoshi broke the silence, running his hands up your arms. “I love you.”
Oh, did it feel like a drug to hear his morning voice say the new phrase in such a way.
You nodded, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to his navel, “And I love you.”
“Then, it’s settled.”
There was certainly more to discuss involving the nature of your relationship, including the fact that you both had your heads so far up your asses for so long and were definitely in denial for a good portion of time, and that your love was a lot more complicated than either of you were making it out to be. 
But, you both certainly shared the history for it.
All of the late nights where you both eyed the other secretly, turning away at the last moment before being noticed. 
There were plenty small moments of caring, too. 
There was the way how whenever you were over, you made Hitoshi a new pot of coffee, no matter if the old one was out. 
There was Hitoshi’s intentional habit and insistence (that had lasted years) that he walked you back from parties, sharing cigarettes or half-carrying you. He never minded. 
There was the way you had memorized each other's takeout orders months ago. 
There was the small drawer in Hitoshi’s desk that was dedicated to things you left and might need. Several extra pairs of socks, makeup remover, a spare notebook, an extra laptop charger for when you inevitably forgot your own.
There was, of course, the way that you and Hitoshi were currently looking at each other. Fuck whatever fragile, easy-to-tear-away eye contact that had been occurring between the two of you for years, all that there was now between was the collection of lost time.
“Please kiss me.”
The request was obliged.
Hitoshi was quick to pin you back to the mattress, bratty behavior forgotten and stored away. There would be plenty of time to explore that mutual side of your relationship, but now only desire was Hitoshi and your shared pleasure.
Your lips slotted together, pulling a moan from your chest as Hitoshi immediately licked his into your mouth. It was a bit sloppy, rushed in the heat of the moment, but he quickly slowed down. Cupping your jaw, he deepened the kiss as you moved against him, lightly rolling your hips for any sort of friction.
You were the first to pull away, nosing to his jaw and lavishing it with bites and kisses. The rough groans and grunts that Hitoshi spilled were all the motivation you needed to go lower and lower on his neck.
Marking him as you pleased, you sucked at the skin of his neck, leaving bruises and spittle in your wake. You teasingly blew at the wet spots a few times, loving the way he shivered against you.
Hitoshi wasn’t to be outplayed, hands roving over your body. He left quick squeezes and rolled his thumbs anywhere he could reach. It was like he had to touch everything.
Your back arched and you cried into his neck as Hitoshi’s hands squeezed your breasts over your shirt, worrying a nipple with the pads of his fingers in the same way that you did to him earlier.
“Can’t take what you dish out?” Hitoshi chuckled in your ear as you squirmed underneath him.
You shook your head, biting on one of his collar bones, “I want more.”
His lips were back on your own before you could think.
You could feel how wet you were getting, unattended heat that desperately needed contact of any kind. As Hitoshi’s teeth nipped your neck, trailing lower to the wide collar of your shirt, it only got worse.
“Can I take this off?” Hitoshi asked, ever the gentleman. 
You didn’t answer, but rather whipped your shirt off as quickly as possible. 
And then your upper half was bared to him.
Your breasts spilled with gravity and rose and fell with your own light panting, glistening with sweaty dew.
You swallowed as Hitoshi’s hand went to your navel, flat-palmed. Slowly, he dragged it upwards, stopped to palm your tits only for a moment. You took note of how thick his fingers were and how you wanted nothing more than for them to fuck you into oblivion.
His fingers trailed to your sternum, then to your throat, tracing up the column before roughly grabbing your jaw.
“You,” Hitoshi voice sounded thick as he pressed his knee into your sex. “Have no idea what you to do me.”
“Then fucking show me.” You spit back out at him, one of your hands teasing at the top of his waistband, 
Fuck Hitoshi’s knee, apparently, because he immediately slid down the bed to hover in between your legs.
You snapped your knees closed out of surprise, all the same dripping against your panties 
“You want me to show you?” Hitoshi seemed to be speaking more to himself than you. “Then I will.”
Hitoshi slipped his thumbs under the waistband of the borrowed sweats, pulling them down and off of you with ease. He situated himself back between your legs, parting you by your inner thighs with a bruising grip.
You heard his sharp intake of breath as he hovered so close to your sex.
“Already so wet for me? I’m flattered.” Hitoshi didn’t give you any chance to quip back as he licked your slit through your thin panties. 
You squirmed for him, all for him.
“Please, more, ‘Toshi,” Your voice was warped with pleading, but you could hardly care. The burning look that Hitoshi flashed you was more than enough to nonverbally explain his intentions.
He set to marking up your thighs, murmuring sweet nothings to and about the flesh and how you cried out for him so well. He dotted you with lovely bruises, kissing closer and closer to your dripping cunt.
With one final, pleading look, Hitoshi all but tore off the thin panties you wore and ravished you. 
He licked from your opening to your clit with a flat tongue, making your thighs stiffen and toes curl. You felt him hum against you as he shifted your legs over his shoulder. One of his arms wrapped under your thigh, pressing at the bottom of your tummy and locking you in place. 
He sucked hard on your clit, just once, almost as some sexual litmus test to assess your ability to move freely.
It was very low as all you could do was arch for him, whines filling the air.
It seemed like it was more than enough for him. 
Hitoshi tongue fucked you sloppy, refusing to give you any more stimulation on your clit, no matter how you tried to buck at his face. All Hitoshi’s hold would allow you to do was gently grind against his face as slick and spit soaked the bed below. It was more than enough to make your brain gummy, craving nothing more and more of his touch. 
You squeezed your thighs around Hitoshi’s cheeks as he carefully pressed one of his aforementioned thick fingers into your cunt. Hot pleasure permeated every corner of you as you panted for Hitoshi, all for him.
He curled his finger just right and you screamed.
Hitoshi was quick to take the hint, pushing around another inside to repeat the motion, lips, and tongue working your clit as the pressure built beautifully.
“You close, kitten?” Hitoshi’s words were muffled by your cunt, but holy fuck, you knew exactly what he said. 
You whined at the use of the word, nodding and panting out a muddled affirmative.
Hitoshi sucked lewdly at the mess between your legs, pulling your body to the apex of its hot pressure, before breaking.
Your back curled off the bed, Hitoshi’s hold released to all you to fully fuck his face as he slurped at the juices between your thighs. Your mind went fuzzy as pleasure crackled through your frame, fingers curling into the rumpled fabric below and your head bowing back into the pillows. 
You slowly came down, twitching as Hitoshi continued to kiss around your sex. You could half-tell he was grinding against the bed; he was that turned on. 
You sat up, swaying a bit, drunk on bliss, and already semi-fucked out. 
Yet, you still wanted more.
“‘Toshi, please,” You looked at him helplessly. 
He sat up on his knees, hands going to play with your tits as he raised a smug eyebrow, face wet with you, “Want my cock, kitten? Is that it?”
“Holy fuck, ‘Toshi, please,” Your voice came out as mixture between a whine and growl as Hitoshi chuckled, reaching to the side for the nightstand and condoms, you assumed.
“I thought I’d have to do more to get you begging, with that little bratty shit you pulled earlier,” He mused, stepping off the bed for only a moment to finally pull off his sweats.
If your mouth had been any more open, drool would have fallen into your lap.
Hitoshi was, once again, sculpted. The guy put in work and it showed. That was less important and less relevant as you were currently lewdly, literally, drooling over his cock. It wasn’t only cervix-shatteringly long, but it was thick and curved just right. It was flushed, fully hard against his abs and leaking beads of preek, all from the friction of the bed and giving you head. 
“Can I do it?” You asked as Hitoshi unwrapped the condom. 
He nodded, cheekily, handing you the package.
You crawled to the edge of the bed, stopping to sit on your knees as he stood above you. Carefully, you rolled the rubber on, clenching your thighs together as your oversensitive cunt throbbed. 
You stared at its girth, biting your lip nervously and looked up at Hitoshi.
Immediately, his gaze softened and he caught your face in his hand, thumbing over your cheek, “Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, just, uh,” You stumbled over your words, gaze flipping from his very pretty cock and his very pretty face. “Do you have lube? It’s been a while and I don’t want to tear.”
“I do,” Hitoshi’s worry dissolved, pulling a bottle from the same drawer and tossing it on to the bed. “And, I will try my best not to tear you. We can go as slow or as fast as you like, hm?”
You nodded, biting your lip and crawling back onto the bed.
Hitoshi cooed sweet words to you as the two of you adjusted. Perhaps it was to his own natural nervousness, or maybe yours. All the same, the loving comments about your body and how good you were for him turned you to putty underneath him.
Your legs were thrown up over his shoulders, feet prepared to lock behind his head. Hitoshi knelt between your legs, holding your thighs spread as his lubed cock ran over your folds.
“Tell me if you need me to go slower, okay?” Hitoshi reminded you, ever attentive.
You gulped as Hitoshi breached your cunt with the head of his cock and holy fuck. You stretched, and it burned, but it was nothing that you couldn’t handle. Hitoshi kept praising you, running his lips wherever they could reach as he leaned over your pillow-propped form. Inch by inch, he pushed into you, stopping when your breathing got too harsh.
And then, Hitoshi’s cock was fully sheathed into you and you felt so fucking full, you could die.
“Hey, ‘Toshi?” You spoke breathlessly, wiping sweaty strands of violet hair from his cheeks. “I love you, okay? For a lot more than your dick, but this is a huge perk and I’d feel bad not saying so.”
He was still and silent for a moment, head bent out of your view. 
“You’re gonna tell me, while I’m buried this deep in this cute, little cunt of yours, such sweet shit? That you love me?” Hitoshi growled, darkened eyes lust-hazed. 
You nodded.
Hitoshi swiftly pulled almost entirely out of cunt, only to slam back into you, angling your hips perfectly to hit your g-spot. 
Your nails dug into his shoulders, head thrown back and you gave a breaking wail, body shaking with the sudden cracking of pleasure.
And, Hitoshi didn’t relent. 
He continued his hard, deep, and long thrusts, increasing his speed as he felt you loosen for him. With each thrust, wet squelching sounds spurred the two of you on. 
Hitoshi’s face buried itself in your neck, sucking harsh marks that sparked pain across your heated skin. You couldn’t get enough of it. You couldn’t get enough of him.
Hitoshi accented each thrust with a more desperate, broken sounding ‘I love you,’ quickly unraveling at the seams as his thrusts and kisses became more erratic. 
He reached between the two of you, blessedly circling your clit as your own orgasm was close to cresting. 
You came before Hitoshi, just by a second, the clenching of your cunt and the way you moaned his name being more than enough for him to blow his load, fucking you through both of your orgasms.
You both stilled, panting. 
Hitoshi fell next to you on the bed, instantly pulling you to his chest and smothering you with kisses. You returned them, shuddering and coming down from the earth-shattering peak you had just been at.
“Fuck, Hitoshi,” You squeezed around your arms around his waist. “You fuck like a god.”
He shook his head, pressing a kiss to your sweaty temple, “You say shit like that and it’s gonna inflate my ego.”
“Guess I gotta keep saying it, then.”
You smiled up at him, moving to straddle his waist, ignoring your bodily complaints.
“I love you, you know,” Hitoshi beams from below you, looking at you with a reverence that you craved for so long, but were too afraid to voice.
You let out a shaking breath, smiling right back, “I love you, too.”
Hitoshi pulled you in for a sweet kiss you returned easily, smiling against his lips, melting into him—
His cock hardened against your thigh.
“Round two?” Considering the smiles you beamed each other, that was a definite ‘yes, please’.
 But, you were rudely interrupted by the slammed of the front door. You both stiffened, Hitoshi immediately going to grab your waist and drag you onto the bed. He threw a blanket over you, but it was hardly necessary.
Denki’s voice rang over the house, “HEY! Did y’all fuck yet? If you did, please tell me. I’m against Mina in the betting pool and I’m in deep.”
All you and Hitoshi could spare was a laugh and a sweet kiss, before you shouted back, “What do you think?!” 
706 notes · View notes