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#fic: bell the cat
heartfulselkie · 1 year
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Even if Hawk Moth had been a villain and a tyrant, Chat Blanc had been an extension of - no - had been the main driving force enabling that. Of the few who survived encounters with him, everyone was in agreement. Chat Blanc wasn’t human. He was a demon.
Bell the Cat, Ch. 1
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manysad · 10 months
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Fan art of @heartfulselkie ‘s fic bell the cat, whose angst with a happy ending tag is most precious to me
This was mostly me trying to figure out how to draw either of them in this au. And trying to remember how to draw semi realistic humans
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masterqwertster · 15 days
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New fic for my personal hopes of some things to go down in episodes 92+
Breaking, Mending
Ashton is good at breaking things. But now they're trying to fix something. One of the most important things. MAJOR SPOILER FOR EPISODE 91
Ashton comes to with a healing potion on his tongue. There’s also that scent in the air specific to arcane explosions.
At first they think Fearne must have used that detonation ability that she has in her titanous form. Risky. But if she could get the space to not hit Bells Hells, maybe just enough to bring Otohan down. And they’re pretty sure that bitch is down, given that psychic vibration of her Exhalting is gone.
But Imogen sits above him, with tears streaming down her face, and Ashton knows something is wrong.
When he looks beyond her, beyond Chet and Orym and Laudna and Fearne, he sees it: a crater with a charred corpse and littered with yellow scraps of metal.
Ashton knows.
They know that what they have feared for fucking months (have they really only known him for months? Not even a year? How the fuck did he make it feel like they’d always known him?) has finally happened: FCG martyred himself. The aeormaton is gone.
It’s not even a thought to let the earth take Ashton’s body, drag and rotate and slide it around until he’s standing upright before the crater, witnessing the devastation of Fresh Cut Grass’s sacrifice.
It shouldn’t have come to this. They should have– They could have– Why–?
Ashton searches for FCG’s stupid fucking Changebringer coin. They would have wanted that. He spots it embedded in the wall, forward towards the exit to the surface. A last message from FCG. Or the Changebringer fucking with them, using the death of the only person here to give a fuck about her (if it’s the latter, the gods and titans will fight again. That’s a fucking promise. Fresh Cut Grass is worth punching their goddess in the face).  
They slide their fingers into stone and pull the coin free within their fist, the rock unresisting to them. Ashton is going to give it back to FCG as soon as they get him resurrected. And they will get him resurrected. Ashton is not going to any less lengths to bring Fresh Cut Grass back than they did Laudna.
Continue on AO3
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gagmebucky · 2 years
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SO this is a part two to this fic and i was not going to do a part two (i simply am not good at them) BUT i got randomly got this inspo for it sooooo here we goooo
disclaimer: do NOT have sex without a condom with a stranger but this is fictional and i love creampies <33 also not edited
(read part one)
“Oh, you liked that,” he breathes, wrapping his free arm around you and holding you still—thank God because lord knows you don’t have any control. “When I talk all dirty to you. Don’t try to deny it, kitten. I felt you, squeezing ‘round me like you wanna milk the come out of my dick.” His face dips into your shoulder and sinks his teeth in so hard it makes you jerk and whine. “Doin’ that, I’m gonna have to bend you over and pound your pussy until you can’t think about anything other than me.”
part two of two. in which bucky sees how many times he can make you come around his dick. (includes bad boy!bucky x shy!reader, college au, dirty talk, exhibitionism and voyeurism, cockwarming, unprotected sex, overstimulation, creampie kink.) 
— 
This isn’t what you do (wasn’t what you do?). 
You don’t fall into someone’s lap and immediately sit on their cock, in public no less, and during one of your classes. You haven’t even slept with someone in years! Even then, it was nowhere near this obscene, but also, nowhere near this good. 
And you never imagined it’d be with him—that you’d gain his favor and be successfully seduced by his wicked ways: a popular presence across campus for his charming, alluring disposition. 
He’s talented; God, he’s talented. It’s like he innately knows how to drive you mad, vindicating these erogenous points you weren’t aware you had, bypassing your chaste sensibilities and rendering you into a wanton mess.
You can’t stop trembling, and you sure as hell can’t focus. How can you? How can you pay attention to some documentary when he’s plundered through your neglected center and rubbing your throbbing bundle of nerves? How can you think of anything other than a promising orgasm on track to absolutely ruin you? 
The joints of his fingers press against you and whirl your slickness in intensive, fast-paced but steady circles. Pressure builds in your stomach, heat climbing up your legs and spreading through every nook and cranny in your body, while your legs shake. 
Your hands cover your mouth as the moans rise in your throat. You feel his smile curl into the slope of your neck, his mouth carving the imprint of his teeth. The sting dashes down your spine and pangs between your thighs. You can only slump into him, defined muscle against your shoulder blades and warmth radiating through his shirt. 
His other hand finds the hem of your shirt and slides upward and ducks beneath your bra where he palms one of your tits. He rolls a pebbled peak between his fingers, rough and tight. A soft moan breaks past your lips, and he grins, his face nuzzled into your neck and shoulder. 
Your head tips backward onto his shoulder with your lashes fluttering shut. Euphoria rakes over your nerves, consuming your muscles limp and your breath panting. It’s intoxicating, a woozy spell that leaves you careless. Even with the dimmed lights, if someone looked over, they’d see you all debauched over him. 
He grasps your jaw and turns your face to take your lips on his own. Your mouth drops open and immediately accepts his tongue gliding over yours. Somewhere in your mind, you can’t believe you’re french kissing a man you just became acquainted with, classmates surrounding you be damned. 
“Oh, I shouldn’t be doing this,” you moan as if it’ll snap you out of it, heavy-lidded as your eyes connect with his own. 
He nips at your bottom lip. “But you are, and you’re doing so well,” he cooes so sweetly that butterflies flutter inside your stomach. “My obedient lil’ kitty letting me do whatever I want ‘cause you know I’ll give you everything you need. Isn’t that right?”
A shudder wracks your body, and with the last ounce of resistance, you whimper a stubborn, “N - no.” 
Which only provokes him into upping his game. His legs hook around your ankles, spreading them wide so your aching center provides him better access. You didn’t think it was possible, but his thick length burrows deeper inside you, nudging a raw patch within your tightening depths that slaps your hands over your mouth again, wanting to cry out so bad. 
He chuckles as he watches the desperation possess your features. “You gotta be more convincing than that,” he teases, placing a peck on your hammering pulse before running his lips over your ear. “If that was true, your pretty pussy wouldn’t be creaming around my big cock.” 
And like that, you seize up. The vulgarity clenches your inner muscles while ecstasy swallows you whole and sends you writhing with the intensity. He groans low in your ear, his hips bucking up into you, encircling caress never stopping, slowing ever-so-slightly. 
“Oh, you liked that,” he breathes, wrapping his free arm around you and holding you still—thank God because the Lord knows you don’t have any control. “When I talk all dirty to you. Don’t try to deny it, kitten. I felt you, squeezing ‘round me like you wanna milk the come out of my dick.” His face dips into your shoulder and sinks his teeth in so hard it makes you jerk and whine. “Doin’ that, I’m gonna have to bend you over and pound your pussy until you can’t think about anything other than me.” 
Another whimper escapes you, and your sensitivity revolts against his continued touch and his words. “B - Bucky,” you whine, dropping your muffle, while his hold cinches further. “Please.”
He tries to pull a sympathetic expression, but a grin twitches on his lips, thrilled he can elicit such a reaction out of you. “Aw, is someone sensitive?” 
You clutch his wrists, feeling his knuckles flexing as he moves. The pitiful look on your face convinces him to slow to a stop, but his fingers remain pressurized on your clit. “You’re bad,” you say as you take in his dilated pupils and the ravenous gleam in his darkened eyes. 
“And you’re good. See how perfectly that works out?” he cooes and kisses your cheek. “You gonna be good for me, hm? Give me what I want because you like this. You want me to keep going. It’s okay, perverse little thing, I’ll treat you real nice.”
His fingertips begin moving again but in wide, lazy swirls; tentative to your tenderness, though smarting shocks needle under your skin. But you like it, you realize, the underlay of pain mixed with pleasure. Still, you reach for his hand on your thigh, and he interlaces your fingers with his. 
“See?” he says, “it feels good, doesn’t it?” 
It does. You’re slowly but surely recovering from your previous orgasm and his rhythm works you to the beat you need. You didn’t realize how touch-starved you were, melting like an ice cream in the sun, dissolving into a mess of warm wetness. 
Desire coils around you, across your skin, and sinks into your very being. It shrouds your senses so exquisitely that you barely register the fact you’re rocking into him. “Y - yes.” Your brain is overcome by your libido, and you can’t focus enough to even try to lie. Do you even want to lie? You don’t know. All you know is: “God, it feels good.” 
He chuckles again, a low and husky sound. “I know, and I’m gonna give you a reward for telling the truth, kitty.”
His hand releases yours and snakes under your shirt, palming your breast and rolling your nipple between his fingers while he strums your swollen button. The motion of your hips falls in sync with his, tunneling in at an angle that has stars exploding in front of your eyes. 
It’s a triple attack, catching you at every turn. There’s a few eyes shooting your way, but you can’t help yourself: breathless, biting down on your lower lip to suppress the wanton sounds bubbling up inside you, being fondled up in the back of the classroom like a honey teenager, shadowed by a broad deviant of a man. 
The only thing you can think of is burying your face into your arms on the table. Your skin is scorching, blood rushing to your cheeks flustered, a weld of arousal pumping through your veins. There it goes again—that pressure restricting in the pit of your stomach, well on your way to another orgasm. 
“Cute lil’ thing, all soft and warm,” he croons in between a trail of kisses up your nape. “Kitty, you feel like heaven. So sweet. Never met a girl like you. All shy and innocent, but you barely hesitated to let my dick inside you.” 
You squeeze your eyes shut. That’s the truth of the matter, and embarrassment twinges with the delicious ebb of his cock. You’ve never encountered someone who could be so depraved yet collected, tormenting your neglected and overly responsive sex.
The hand kneading your breast, having switched to its twin, drops to his forearm braced against your ribcage and hauls you flush against his chest. His gaze glints with satisfaction, roaming over your disheveled appearance, speeding up his ministrations out of pure delight. 
This time, it overwhelms you before you realize it’s happening. He hisses in your ear as you spasm around his girth, throbbing hot, carving himself inside you in a manner you know you’ll feel from memory alone. It surges through you hard enough that it makes you lightheaded. 
“F—f—fuck!” you accidentally cry out, but your voice is hoarse and doesn’t echo far. You slap a palm over your mouth, heart thundering with interest drawing in your direction, trying to seem as normal as possible, but with your face flaming, you doubt it’s believable. 
“Careful, kitten. You’re gonna get us caught,” he warns with a tut, but immediately cracks a grin thereafter. “I’m kidding. I love those pretty moans, your innocent whimpers, practically begging me to give everyone something to talk about.”
As he speaks, his friend from before, the one who saved his seat glances over, then double takes, eyes widening; his cheeks darken a shade red and he hurries to look away,—thankfully. You can only imagine what he’s thinking: if he knows you’re pantyless with the undergarment stuffed in Bucky’s pocket, that an electrifying reckoning pulls you under, and you’re drowning in the sensation of his quick fingers and pulsing cock. 
You don’t understand the thrill that lurches through you. Being taken like this, raw and trembling, relentless and tantric, it’s foreign but so good you think you could get addicted to it—to him. 
You shake your head. “I - I don’t do this,” you whisper, mostly to yourself, attempting to return to rationality instead of the sinful bliss you’re seated in. “I haven’t—I’ve never…” You haven’t had so much as a one-night stand, but you’re collapsing into his chest because your muscles feel like you’ve been fucked limp. (Now that you think about it, maybe you have.)
“Oh, I know,” he assures you with a cute quirk on his lips. “Seen you around campus by yourself, knowing guys wanna get between your thighs, but never letting them.” 
“Like Steve over there.” He nods toward a spot across the room with a pleased grin. “You know he knows, right? C’mon. Look at his face.” His fingers span your jaw, and he gently turns your head to see the blond whose jaw is clenched and face pink in the cheeks, eyes periodically cutting to you. “He can’t stand it. You guys have been friends for a long time, haven’t you?”
The blood in your face heats up, momentarily a deer caught in the headlights before the embarrassment quickly averts your gaze elsewhere. Almost innately, it lands on him, chin tucked into your shoulder and lashes blinking up at him.  
The rhythm in your chest has tripled, racing with a strange feeling of… satisfaction? The perversity wound up inside you preens: openly taken by a blackguard such as Bucky, a smug and lewd statement that you know will get your romantic—and sexual—disinterest in the blond. 
To his answer, you nod smally. One of the first friends you made, actually, and that probably makes it worse. 
“And yet, you gave into me. Not him, not anyone else, but me. Your body knows where it belongs—sitting on my fucking dick.” There’s a growled edge to the claim, deep and inarguable, and you feel his gaze take down your expression. “Lookin’ so pretty, too. Wanna see?” 
You don’t know what he means until he picks his phone off the desk, slides it to his front camera, and the frame filters through the dimness and centers on both of you. Your eyes widen, not because of shock, or your typical aversion to vanity, rather because you look so provocative, debauched, and utterly undone in a way that—you’re stunned to realize—you like. 
And he looks so pretty, coiled around you like he’s supposed to be there, eyes simultaneously alight and dark, face beside yours but not quite level with his height. You like that, too; a broad man, biceps flexing as he sets his phone against a thick textbook and finds your abused clit for a third time. 
The expression on your face makes him laugh, all gleaming white teeth, incisors looking mighty sharp. “Yeah, you’re fucking gorgeous,” he continues, breathy and heavy-lidded but nonetheless acute, “wanna watch yourself orgasm?” 
He doesn’t wait for an answer before striking in light and quick circles, your frankly obscene wetness enabling him. Taking pity—for the first time—on you, his hand clamps over your mouth and smothers the cry that tries to rip through your throat. 
Your eyes want to roll to the back of your head, but you can now see his physical reactions, and you’re transfixed. That sharp jawline tightens, and his teeth practically grit, breathing going ragged—he tries to regain control of himself, to no avail. 
Adding the camera is a double-edged sword, intensifying everything. It’s not just those skilled motions and stuffed folds that hurtle you toward a near painful euphoria, but watching how affected he is; the control breaking down like being able to witness your pleasure is a weakness. 
That shoots to your brain like a bullet and zips between your legs, further making you into a gooey mess. If your muscles could, they’d strain that, but your narrow channel usurps your strength and squeezes tight like you’re trying to trap him inside you. 
“You little fucking…” he swears up a storm to you, to himself. You feel his thighs start to tremble, but he shakes his head instead. “N - not yet—not yet. You hear me?” His eyes pin yours in the screen’s reflection, and you don’t process the determination there until he presses into you harder and keeps going. 
He’s going to fuck you through your third episode into your fourth. Everything is already buzzing, wires crossed and frayed being struck with another round of electricity, zapping your nerves with each pass of his fingers. 
Your body jolts accordingly, but he keeps you grounded. You let out a squeal, but it’s nothing more than a vibration sounding something like, “Mmfhm!” Which translates to, I can’t come again! 
His lips brush over your neck, placing the softest kiss on skin he’s already sucked and bit tender. “But you feel so good,” he cooes, understanding you completely, flashing you these eyes that melt you into putty, “it’s like your pussy is giving me a massage. I know you can handle it. You need it. You like it when it hurts. And there you go, still pulsing around my dick like you can’t get enough.”
The hand covering your mouth loosens in time to hear your whimper, following your lips as it tumbles out. Oh, he’s a demon. There’s no possible way he can say things like that, finding weaknesses you didn’t even know you existed. 
You’re spasming like crazy, and you’re extremely thankful that the documentary is playing so loud because you—him, too—can hear the conjoint of your bodies. On top of the menacing sensations, embarrassment flushes you hotter, and you squeeze your eyes shut. 
Your gaze opens and meets his own in wonderment. “What are you doing to me?”. 
He blinks before a soft smile stretches across his lips, and he nuzzles the side of your face. “Fucking you like you deserve,” he says like it’s simple. “Making you come ‘cause you’re such a good girl. You gonna give me another one, kitten? ‘Cause I really fucking need it.” 
Need, need, need, it rattles in your skull. You aren’t just getting fucked—you are fucked. You gnaw on your lip as if contemplating, but you aren’t; you’re trying to make sure you won’t squeal, cry out, or shriek your pathetically submissive, “Y - yes.” 
“Say it,” he prompts, never wavering from your face, blown-out pupils like a shark encircling blood in the water. “Say, ‘I’m gonna come around your dick until you’re blowing your load deep in my sweet pussy.’”
An absolutely deplorable request, and you would never, but the pain is wriggling itself into your grace. Every cell in your body burns, boiling until the sentence bubbles to the service; albeit a trembling, bashful whisper. “I - I’m gonna come around your d - dick until you’re blowing your load deep in my sweet p - pussy.”
You see and feel him shudder, and his teeth nip at your pulse, tongue flattening there to feel the rush beating against your skin. “Atta girl,” he says, approval grating through the syllables. Right after, another shudder rolls beneath you, and you watch his lids struggle to stay open. 
As wrecked as you are, terrorized by biting pleasure, you experimentally rock your hips, little movements back and forth over his dick. The groan he makes is totally, unbelievably worth it, and a thrill pushes you to keep going and impressively discreetly ride the thick of him. 
“God, you fit so fucking perfect,” he says with a low groan strangled at the back of his throat. It’s almost slurred as if drunk, and he looks the part. Cheeks twinged a sheen of rose, mouth parted and nose buried in your hair, unable to focus his vision. “How are you even real?” 
This started with a seat—a seat. All because you missed your alarm after pulling an all-nighter, and now you’re wrapped up and around Bucky Barnes. Skin to skin, in public, in class where your attention should be on the assignment. 
It’s reckless, and he’s dangerous. 
You fall apart all the same. Metaphorically, of course, because in reality, your slick walls constrict around his thick stretch, endless length and downright demand what’s been pulsating at his base since you sat down. 
His eyes widen, and he makes this splutter of your name as he immediately gives in. He moans in your ear and thrusts up so deeply you gasp. You cover your mouth while his arms cord around your middle and squeeze your body against his. 
He grounds himself with you now and ensures that he stays snug inside your conquered depths, exploding and branding you full of his thick heat; and holy fuck does he fill you. 
You should’ve expected it, given you’ve been edging him this whole time, but Christ, it’s like he can’t stop. It’s load after load splattering every centimeter of your insides, and his grip is like vise, plugging that previous hollow spot inside you with so much you don’t think you could ever get him out.
You slump forward into your arms, riding out the aftershocks with your teeth puncturing your bottom lip. There’s a cry in your throat you won’t let out. When he relaxes, he curves his front to your back and breathes in at your nape. It’s pure biology that you shiver and unintentionally flutter.
He groans against your skin. “You’re heaven, kitten,” he murmurs after a sigh, a lazy curve of his lips pressing a kiss into your skin. “I think I’m gonna stake a claim on your pussy. Mhm, ‘kay?” 
“I - I think you’re the devil,” you finally croak once you stop panting, but you don’t object. 
You feel him grin. “Maybe,” he says, “but you’re gonna be my sweet little angel.”
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maridotnet · 10 months
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~*~casts a spell on you to read Bell the Cat by @heartfulselkie otherwise he'll bite you~~*
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innytoes · 5 months
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If you're still doing the AU mixing: Sugar Daddy AU + Magic AU? 👀
-Okay so Reggie learns when he is sixteen that trying to do his potions homework and fix his amp in the rain at the same time is NOT a good idea because now every time he sneezes he turns into a cat. Also, he flunked his potions assignment.
-The free clinic basically shrugged and said: that's rough buddy here's some nose spray so for any seasonal allergies I guess.
-"At least you're a cute cat," Luke tries to comfort him. Which is true. He's fluffy and orange and he has little tiny white socks.
-There are actually a lot of advantages to being a cat. Besides the whole 'sneezing' part, but he gets better at controlling that as well. Cute girls and guys will give him attention. He can nap just about anywhere. Bobby is immune to his puppy eyes but somehow cannot so no to his Sad Kitty Eyes.
-It's not until they graduate and move in together that he fully optimises his Kitty Cat Experience. Because yeah, four guys crammed into a one bedroom apartment is a great band origin story once they're famous, but Three Guys and a cat who can comfortably curl up on the sofa is a lot easier to handle.
-And then one day, when he 's out Catting, being adorable at cute girls at the park, one of them offers him some of the meat on her sandwich in exchange for petting him (jokes on you, cute girl, he wanted you to pet him!). Still, it's like a lightbulb moment. He's a cute cat. People will give him food if he is adorable enough.
-He starts testing it. Being cute at people holding hotdogs, and fries, and donuts. He gets a bit of 'no kitty donuts are people food', but he's pretty successful all in all. The butcher loves him. The lady with the fish stall in Chinatown does too. The guy at the bodega on the corner tries to give him some meat but the bodega cat squares up with him and Reggie knows he's not going to win that fight. He's seen Bodega Cat send dogs twice her size running.
-Listen, they're barely scraping by between their shitty jobs and gig money, so when Reggie says: it's cool you can have my fourth of the pizza, the guys are suspicious but grateful when he explains.
-"Dude, you're thinking too small," Bobby says, after a while. "You should go to like, a rich neighbourhood and scam people out of salmon and caviar."
"I don't think that's..." Alex starts, but Reggie is already jumping up.
"Bobbers that's brilliant!" he says.
-Yes he gets Luke to brush him before he changes back to human, gets on a bus, and goes to the Fancy Part Of Town.
-He quickly finds that Fancy Restaurants and Cafés and Butcher Shops are mean. Even with his freshly brushed fluffy coat and his saddest cute kitty eyes, they chase him off. One of them even tells him to scram and calls him a street cat. Rude.
-He decides to try rich people houses instead. Surely there must be some kind of rich old lady who would love to pamper a pretty cat like himself? It takes a couple of tries, and a quick escape from a very well-groomed poodle, but he manages to get into a nice yard. He carefully sneaks across the manicured lawn, hoping to peek inside, when a delighted voice comes from his right.
"Well hello there!"
-There is a man lounging by the pool. A very handsome, very attractive, nearly naked man in just some very tight little swim shorts. And he looks happy to see Reggie. That's way better than a little old lady.
-He goes over, just out of reach, twisting his head just so to look cute and curious. This always works with cat people, and of course the handsome man carefully leans over, making beckoning noises, and holds out his hand for Reggie to sniff.
"Aren't you just the prettiest little thing?"
-His hands smell like Good Food, and Reggie goes in for the kill. He nuzzles the guy's fingers, lets himself be pet, and then flops down to expose his fluffy tummy.
Hello, I am indeed adorable, you should give me rich people food, he thinks as hard as he can.
-"Are you hungry, little guy? I think I have some nice smoked salmon in the fridge. Would you like some salmon?"
-JACKPOT.
-He spend the entire afternoon being pampered and petted and cooed over, and most importantly, fed bits of salmon and prosciutto. He falls asleep in a nice warm lap with a perfectly manicured hand petting him, and when he wakes up an hour later, the handsome man is still looking adoringly at him.
When Reggie gets up and stretches, he bumps his head against the guy's elbow in thanks, before setting off. The man waves at him.
-He comes home well-fed and smug, and Bobby just shakes his head and says 'I can't believe that worked' before dibs-ing Reggie's portion of the cheap takeout.
-He starts going over to Hot Rich Guy's house once a week. The man is just always so happy to see him, and always seems to know exactly what he wants, whether that's food or a snuggle or a scritch right at the base of his tail. Also he's really easy on the eyes, and Reggie won't lie, getting to curl up on that chest while they laze in the sun together is a special treat of its own.
-Hot Rich Guy is named Caleb, and it turns out he's a pretty powerful wizard. Like, one that's on Councils and stuff. Reggie has no idea what he actually does, but he loves to sit and watch when Caleb decides it's time to clean the kitchen, watching the dishes wash themselves, and fly through the air. He also likes the little magic toys Caleb makes just for him, mousies that zoom around, paper cranes that flutter until he leaps to catch them. He may not be an actual cat, but it's still fun.
-"You know, I started out as a street magician," Caleb tells him, flicking another magic paper crane for Reggie to grab. Caleb usually switches between talking to him like he's a human, and gushing 'who's a handsome boy' and other cutesy talk. "Sometimes I miss the simplicity of it. I just made people happy."
He sounds sad, so Reggie abandons stalking the crane to nuzzle at Caleb's chin, purring. You make me pretty happy, he thinks. He can feel the man smile against his fur.
-Okay, so maybe he starts going over even more, sometimes even spending the night with what the guys have affectionately started calling 'Reggie's Salmon Daddy'. (Which was unfair. Caleb also gave him crab, and shrimp, and even steak.) But well, Caleb had gotten him his own comfy little pillow to sleep on in his own bedroom, which is way better than the couch.
Though sometimes he still spends the night with the guys, sleeping on top of Bobby's face just to annoy him, or purring on Alex' chest to keep his anxiety from spiraling into thinking terrible things. It's pretty hard to think your friends hate you when one of them is literally on top of you, making the 'I'm so happy' sound.
-Still, Caleb has maybe installed a little magic catflap for him so he can come and go as he pleases. And gotten him one of those waterfall pet bowl things to drink out of. And a comfy cat bed. And a high end scratch post, even though Reggie would never put his claws into the guy's expensive furniture.
And okay, he also has his own little pillow in the bedroom. But he has been known to hop on the bed and snuggle up to Caleb. Listen, the man is really hot and way out of his league, and Reggie knows he'd never have a shot with him as a human. But he lets himself indulge in snuggling against the guy's muscular, sexy chest and dreaming sometimes. Cats are hedonistic little bastards, he tells himself, so he's allowed.
-He's curled up in the perfect patch of sunlight on Caleb's bed one morning when the man comes out of the shower, toweling off his hair and not wearing anything else. Steam billows out of the bathroom door, and the whole thing is so much like the beginning of a hot romance novel scene that Reggie finds himself having very explicit, very human thoughts about what he'd like to do with that naked man.
"Good morning, Kitten," Caleb says, and is it just Reggie, or is his smile bordering on a smirk?
-Yes he maybe makes sure he's there more often when Caleb gets ready in the mornings. Maybe he even swaps to the afternoon shift at his part-time job at the pet store some days of the week.
-So he's pretty happy. He's getting better meals, they have more breathing room because Reggie basically doesn't need to eat at home most of the time anymore, and when he's not with the guys, he gets to hang out with this hot guy who adores him. Well, cat-him.
-Until one morning.
One morning after he slept over, and hopped on to the bed and dramatically snuggled and made himself at home against Caleb's chest, while he chuckled and scratched that perfect spot at Reggie's ears. He fell asleep purring, comfortable and warm.
He also woke up comfortable and warm. There was a hand draped over his waist, and a nose pressed into his hair. Reggie sighed happily, snuggling back into the embrace, wrapping his own hand around the arm.
Wait.
Wait, hands! He wasn't supposed to have hands right now.
Behind him, a rumble. "Good morning, Kitten."
Oh no. Oh noooo. "I can explain."
"Oh can you now?" Caleb asks, sounding amused. He props himself up on one arm, looking down at Reggie, and man, he's just as handsome with human vision.
He runs through several semi-convincing lies, but Caleb just quirks an eyebrow at him. "Before you open your mouth, please do consider that I can literally hear your thoughts."
"You can?" Oh no, oh no, he was going to be turned back into a cat but like, forever. Or worse.
"I'm not going to harm you, Kitten," Caleb says. "But yes. They're quite loud. You really project them when you're a cat."
Oh.
Oh no.
"Even the ones I had when you got out of the shower?"
The smirk is back. "Especially those. They were really quite vivid."
-Turns out having a Salmon Daddy isn't so bad as a human either. Their first date? Sushi, of course.
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flosseries · 7 months
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I stayed up to watch the new episodes of OFMD and now I gotta wait for the girlies to wake up.
🔔
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Note
odnlb is reason enough for you to win that poll.....The only other I read on that list is coffebanana....What did selke do for you to vote her? I haven't read her so sorry if i miss a joke....
campaigning for @heartfulselkie is my ao3-given right. please read penumbra, citrus and lavender, and bell the cat to see what they put adrien through. i cannot stress enough how achingly beautiful their prose is, how heart wrenching their portrayal of adrien's suffering is, and how brilliantly crafted their narratives are. even in their comic ghostbug kwami swap au, which might fool you by being frikin adorably drawn, they don't give adrien a break from all the angst.
this is me shilling selkie and also campaigning for you guys to vote for them. truly a gifted writer who pours all their talent into torturing adrien 🧹
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izzy-b-hands · 6 months
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Mini s2 blackhands fic-ish thing below the cut
"Fuck," Ed tugs at the rope, then at his belled collar. "Shit. Okay. Not ideal, but-"
The wind gusts; the rope pulls, and his collar gets tugged with it.
He's more or less alone on deck. Everyone else is busy with other chores (not a bad thing, despite being wrecked to shit, the ship's starting to look pretty good), far enough away they can't hear him gag and choke when the rope tugs again.
It's his fault, for not minding the end of the rope as he tied it on to the rest of the rigging, for not making sure it couldn't whip up and get caught under the just loose enough edge of his collar-
A gloved hand lands on the rope, pulling downwards to relieve the tension and let him breathe again.
He makes careful eye contact with Izzy, letting their eyes meet for only a moment. "You don't have to help me."
"No," Izzy sighs. He's slightly off-balance, leaning more with the movement of the ship to stay upright, but how much of that is his adjusting to moving on his new prosthetic versus the result of the rum and whiskey bottles he's been polishing off is uncertain. "I don't."
"They'd tell you not to."
"They might," Izzy shrugs, as he lifts his other hand, and saws through the rope with his knife.
The rope slips away from them, and Ed can finally take good, deep breaths again.
With the tense rope gone to hang onto, Izzy stumbles and trips forward.
He doesn't even have to think about catching him. He just does.
They pause there. Ed helping to hold Izzy up as he gets his balance back. Izzy, holding on to him tightly, but his eyes only on the collar.
"No more rigging work for you," Izzy finally says as he adjusts to stand beside Ed, only partially leaning on him. "Not until that's off. I don't want that happening to you again. If anyone else has anything to say about it-"
"I tell them it came from the orders of the first mate," Ed interrupts gently. "Um. Thank you, for this-"
He hasn't fully let go of Izzy, yet. Nor has Izzy pulled away any further. He's steady now, but Ed's hand still holds at his waist.
Not the first time he's let his hands linger there, after all. It's still, after everything, a comfortable spot for them to be.
"Don't thank me," Izzy sighs, a deep, aching, tired sign. "Just stay alive. For the sake of the Captain."
'And you too?' is what he wants to ask Izzy. But he doesn't.
He forces himself to let go of Izzy, adjusts the collar to be slightly tighter while he watches, and nods. "I can do that. I think. Gonna try, at least."
"All any of us can do," Izzy says. "No more rigging."
"No more rigging," Ed agrees, and watches him walk away towards the Captain's quarters.
He still cares. He shouldn't still care. Ed wants to pull Izzy back and beg him to explain it, how in the fuck does he still care about him after all of this?
But the words strangle themselves in his throat, and there's railing to be painted, easier than trying to force the words out.
Ed kneels to look for the paint brush and small box of paint that's been getting tossed about the deck with each wave, and tries not to shudder when the bell on his collar jingles.
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shipyardmcgill · 1 year
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I wrote a heartwarming Christmas poem with my favorite characters. Please visit my AO3 to read my poem. 18+ https://archiveofourown.org/works/43845691
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heartfulselkie · 3 months
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Without taking her eyes away from that corner, Ladybug moved to the side and placed the torch into the sconce at the wall. It was indeed Chat Blanc in the cell - there was no doubt of that. But compared to the relaxed and disinterested figure she had met before, he had now been reduced to a barely moving heap on the floor. Lying on his front with his arms bound behind his back and face pressed to the stone beneath him, Ladybug wasn't sure he was moving at all. But then his chest shifted with a shallow, rasping breath.
Ladybug's hand unconsciously came to rest on the hilt of her sword as she stared through the bars. The single torch illuminating that far end of the corridor was gradually growing weary as it reached its end, the flames sluggishly wavering as it kept back the encroaching dark.
Chat Blanc was like that now. After having combusted into a spectacular frenzy with a strength and ferocity that Ladybug had never seen, he had now since crashed into entropy.
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manysad · 10 months
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@heartfulselkie
Last one for now, should *probably* work on those comics that I was working on before.
Anyway, I made a very important discovery: drawing snarling people that don't look silly is hard, but drawing snarling people that are absolutely covered in blood is actually very easy because it can be used to obscure the lines of the mouth and teeth that'd otherwise be distracting.
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hana-no-seiiki · 6 months
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YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT ME NOT F*CK ME!
yan! school grass (most handsome/perfect guy)/rival x crossdresser! male! reader x yan! friends - part one
tw/cw: mention of abusive parents (but not reader’s) and yandere themes. also your rival has some repressed sexual urges, he really needs to get laid or some head or something-
just read migi and dali and gahd NOW I WANNA WRITE A WHOLE CROSSDRESS /GENDERBENDER BL NOVEL IM IN HORRID ROTTING
Like I imagine this the best with stoic and/or tsun yans the best. You know those types that want to be perfect but only feels perfect when they’re with reader.
ive always loved these tropes as a kid, from mulan to that one tawog episode where darwin fell in love with fem! gumball and like this was even before i knew i wasnt cis but gahd AAAAAAA
also inspired by @moyazaika ‘s rival work. go read it!!
but anyways have the fic, lowercase intentional for first part to differentiate povs.
it was a dare given by your friend group earlier last weekend. wear the girls uniform and a wig for the entire month. it was easy to get the materials necessary for the most part. your mother had several wigs and was more than happy to style her son in feminine clothing. she was just amazing and supportive about your whims like that.
it didn’t take long for you to realize that no one recognized you in your new look.
the day started like many of your other ones at the school, you’d race your rival as the first one in class and whoever wins gets rights to a smug look on their face until the next thing you guys eventually compete on.
but unlike the crestfallen expression you expected — nay wanted — from that stupid pretty boy, you were greeted by what you could only described as complete bafflement.
“what?” despite having a different reaction from what you imagined, you managed to keep a composed appearance. “cat got your tongue?”
“ah. . .”
and that were the only words he said to you the entire day. nothing else. not a single groan of anger whenever you answered everything correctly, he didn’t even attempt at stopping you mid-way or disagree with you answer simply because he wanted to annoy you.
and so you couldn’t help it, as soon as the bell rang signalling lunch time you swiftly turned around to face him.
“are you alright?”
you inquired. not at all worried about his well-being at the slightest. you hated him with all your being after all and you didn’t make an effort to be soft with your tone either.
“h-huh?” he looked dazed. like his head had been in the clouds and you just yanked him down to ground.
your rival never got distracted.
“you—“ you reached out about to smack his face to keep him in check.
“if you’ll excuse me!” he smacked your hand out of the way, screeched at you, and then left in a hurry to who knows where.
nevermind that was definitely him. that silly brat hated it whenever you touched him. he must have just been having issues at home again or something.
Haoyu was trembling — shaking uncontrollably as his breaths turned more shallow by the second. His heart was pumping blood in places of his body where it shouldn’t have been in the middle of school hours. Sweat lined his entire skin and it didn’t help how the bathroom he rushed into had nothing to keep the temperature down.
Who were you?
You sat at his rival’s seat. That nasty kid that always got in his nerves. No one questioned the boy’s absence and he would have asked the teachers on what had happened if you didn’t suddenly take his breath away.
You were, ethereal. Otherworldy even. When he first saw you he was taken away by the way your hair moved in the wind (if only he knew . . .).
Still, he was far too distracted by [Y/N]’s absence to properly let the feeling simmer.
Then, all that went away when you reeled in his mind back at you again at class. You were incredible, capable, intelligent, and oh so perfect. But unlike that stupid child that usually sat in front of him, he did not feel an ounce of envy at all.
If only who could see your eyes as you spoke; the tone of your voice conveyed so much passion that he wanted to see in those beautiful (e/c) orbs.
And his prayers were granted by none other than the goddess that is you,
“Are you alright?”
Your voice? Oh your voice! Haoyu’s heard it already of course, but each new time you spoke it was like a whole new melody, a new piece that immediately turned into his favorite.
His mind was too fried with these thoughts, thoughts that his parents would no doubt beat out of him if they found out.
His feels the parts down there suddenly move. He wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the phenomenon. He wasn’t without his hormones after all. But this was the first time it ever reacted that way so strongly, like if he didn’t give it attention himself it’d explode.
“Mmph…”
And for the time in his entire life, Haoyu does something he knew his parents would definitely be disappointed if not livid about. A hand on his mouth, and another in his school uniform’s pants.
lunch time.
you usually spent those studying or preparing for the next class as hanging out with your friends always ended with you being too distracted to do schoolwork but today you had to show up with ‘proof’ that you went through with their dare.
“yiran ? yichen ?”
no response.
you sighed. as usual, the twins were late. what did you expect? those two would be caught dead before they could be early much less found in the library.
and so you spent the entire time reading,
unaware of the crowd that formed around you while you were busy studying.
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kooktrash · 6 months
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season of the witch | jeon jungkook
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summary: he’s not a bad boy, he just gets himself in bad situations at times that lead him to bizarre happenings. for instance, he had no intentions of visiting an occult shop in the middle of the night in search for a phone… but here he is in the middle of October feeling himself fall for the self-titled witch who owned it. suddenly he’s gone from your casual heart breaker, to your sweet boy next door.
˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.˚ genre/au: heartbreaker!jk x witch!y/n [she/her], whimsigoth, modern witch, halloween .⊹✶ ✶ ✶☾✴
˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆. 16.9k words˚.⊹✶✴
warnings: smut. fluff. very slight angst if you squint. honestly pretty cute. oc gives off whimsigoth vibes but honestly a big softie. mentions of spells and hexes. jk is a skeptic. oc has a black cat named. jk becomes a bit spiritual. honestly just a cute modern witch fic inspired by your 90s witch. no protection bc they’re idiots and didn’t plan. oc is scared to get in relationships. soft sex. oral sex [f receiving] jk is a service dom highkey. actual magic moments but they’re brushed over
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
mentions of the occult [loosely referenced] it’s just a little Halloween thing, fiction and not at all educational or informative
“Admit that we’re lost.”
The street was as dark as night and empty. It felt like they were the only two signs of life around and yet he refused to admit he’s lost. There’s lit jack-o-lanterns on people’s yards so he knows he’s still close to civilization and that’s enough to keep him going—and he swears he’s not being dramatic.
“We’re not lost,” he said, not bothering to look back at his friend who surely rolled his eyes with annoyance, following after him nonetheless.
“Jungkook, it’s late, I’m tired, just admit we’ve been walking in circles,” his friend said, words falling on deaf ears. Jungkook just smiled, pointing ahead at the first true source of light they’ve seen for a while, “Let’s go there.”
It was almost midnight and most businesses around here were already closed and yet there was a small shop with a red lighting store front and plants hanging from the ceiling. There was a sign on the door that said, ‘OPEN’, with its business hours printed beneath and the shop’s name painted on the window. He didn’t hesitate to swing the door open, hearing the bell above the door ring as they entered the strange shop.
There was so much to look at from books to multi colored rocks separated into groups with labels on them; Tiger’s Eye, Black Onyx, Topaz, Amethyst, the list went on. Hanging above were various green plants and small jars lining the shelves on the walls of rose petals, lavender, mandrake, and plants he’s never heard of before.
“What is this place?” Hoseok asked with a small scoff in disbelief as he held up a charcoal pentagram and a bundle of sage. There were skeleton paper weights and bottles of various oils that gave the shop an herbal smell he couldn’t tell if he liked or not.
Jungkook didn’t have much to say, only shrugged his shoulders in response as he let his attention be drawn toward a hanging suncatcher that caught the red light used to warm the plants in the cold. His hand reached out to touch, watching it dangle and effortlessly swing away from him. There was no one behind the wooden counter filled with handmade jewelry made of copper and nickel twisted in various designs of trees, moons, suns and vines circling around crystals. There was an open book at the counter and he curiously walked toward it, wondering if it was a product list or maybe even the name of the person working but he could barely make out the words or even the dark sketches.
Just as he came to admit there was nobody here, a soft mewl caught his attention.
Yellow eyes stared into his brown ones as he looked up at the wall of ceramic figures behind the counter, and a black cat sat perfectly still next to a small sc of a dragon. He couldn’t look away from it, even when a soft sound of footsteps were heard from behind a tall, woven tapestry with embroidered stars that concealed a wooden spiral staircase.
“Coal, where’d you run off to?” Your voice was light and whimsical yet when you appeared behind the counter, you were dressed in black, a lot of it. A long black skirt with a thin black top that had green vines laced throughout it. Over it you had on a black shawl slipped down your shoulders.
Jungkook and Hoseok shared a strange look as they stood unnoticed while you picked up your cat to scold him for leaving while you talked. Jungkook tried to grab your attention by clearing his throat and once your eyes were on his, he smiled, “Um… hi, we saw that your shop was open and we were won—“
“Coal, I told you to flip the sign,” you whispered to the black cat as you let him jump out of your arms with an annoyed meow when you whispered, “Bad kitty.”
“Uh…” Jungkook couldn’t hide his look of confusion at the way you acted, “We’re uh, we’re lost and we were wondering if you had a phone we could use to call a tow truck.”
“Oh? Have you been in an accident?” You asked curiously, tucking some hair behind your ear creating a small jingle with all the jewelry you wore.
“Funny story actually,” Hoseok said, making you look him over with a raised brow—unable to ignore the bloody hockey jersey he wore, “We were at a party and uh, we got robbed. It was a whole shit show, honestly, we’ve been walking for over an hour and our car broke down so we’re going through it and we really just need a phone.”
“Coal, can you get my phone?” You turned to the cat that had made itself comfortable laying in a basket of dried moss. The cat didn’t make a move to leave, instead he turned his head away making you roll your eyes and add, “Please?”
Jungkook watched the cat run off behind the curtain with interest before looking at you, your eyes already on his, “So what kind of place is this?”
“It’s your local apothecary! Herbs, oils, incense—your occasional occult stuff, we specialize in the craft,” you said with a bubbly voice, “All very interesting stuff.”
“I’ll say,” Hoseok lifted a finger to tap on the mason jar filled with green liquid.
“What are you supposed to be?” You asked rather suddenly, turning your attention to Jungkook.
“Me?” Jungkook asked, looking down at himself, “I’m Dumbledore.”
He thought the long white beard, oversized robe and elder wand made that abundantly clear. You looked him up and down, “Hm.”
Hoseok couldn’t help but release a chuckle at the way you very clearly judged his friend’s choice of costume, “Yeah, I told him he would pull no bitches dressed like th—“
“Hobi,” Jungkook cut him off, motioning toward you with his head at the way your eye seemed to twitch with what he said. He tried to think of something to say but you were no longer interested when your cat came with the top of a phone case in his mouth. He set it down on the counter, letting his tail curl around your arm before leaving with a purr.
When you unlocked your phone, Jungkook thanked you and quickly tried to call a tow truck only to be told there were none open now. Hoseok couldn’t hide the fact that he was tired and found himself lying comfortably in a dark green daybed surrounded by books, leaving his friend to deal with all the hard parts. You didn’t say or rush anything when he took your phone and instead chose to watch him pace back and forth dialing every number he knew.
“This place is cozy,” Hoseok admitted, “I could nap here.”
“Coal, does it all the time,” you said with a soft smile, both tuning out Jungkook who was getting more annoyed by the second.
“Hyung, please pick us up,” Jungkook said in the background, tired of the itchy long beard so he snatched it off.
“I might get a promotion this week, what’s something I can use to wish me luck?” Hoseok asked, looking around the shop.
“I can help you make a spell jar, grab a basket,” you said cheerily as the hockey player got up to do as told. Jungkook tapped on the glass counter, starting a staring contest with the black cat while you and Hoseok began to collect herbs.
“I’ll send you my location,” Jungkook told the person on the phone, “15 minutes? We can wait here.”
“What does cinnamon do?” Hoseok asked, drawing Jungkook’s attention toward him.
“Alright, thanks Joon.” Jungkook hung up the phone, “Namjoon is coming for us. What are you guys doing?”
“Have you ever done a palm reading?” You asked Hoseok, ignoring Jungkook.
“No, but I’m down to try.”
“Sorry for keeping you up,” Jungkook said with a tired sigh as he looked at you hoping for a bit of acknowledgment on your part but you were currently helping Hoseok seal a mason jar with green candle wax.
Look…
Just listen…
Jungkook doesn’t think he has a type. He’s been with every type of girl possible since he started college but he’s never spoken to anyone like you. It’s not even just the way you’re dressed or the way you speak to your car but it’s also the store you worked at—or owned[?]. You’ve got his best friend making a good luck spell in the middle of the night and yet all Jungkook could think about is how cute you were.
Your skirt was fitted and it hugged your waist perfectly, exposing your torso and the way your shawl hung around your elbows instead of your shoulders was hot. You had these eyes that drew him in too, maybe it was your smudged dark makeup that made them stand out or the way you didn’t shy from staring into his eyes but he found it hard to look away.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” you said to him, “I was going to stay up anyway. I’ve already set up water to charge overnight.”
His brows furrowed, “Well, thanks anyway. What’s your name?”
“Y/n.”
“I’m Hoseok but you can call me Hobi,” Hoseok said with a confident smile, “This great wizard is Jungkook.”
“Dumbledore,” you said questioningly, “You took off your beard.”
“It was itchy,” Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly.
You looked behind him, “Coal doesn’t seem to think so.”
Jungkook followed your stare, finding the black cat suddenly wearing the long white beard. Hoseok laughed, “Not you putting the beard on the cat, Kook.”
“I didn’t,” Jungkook scratched the back of his head, “Did I?”
You brushed past him, a soft scent of lavender incense overwhelmed him in a pleasant way and he couldn’t help but watch you in awe. There was just something about you… or maybe he’s had a long night and is imagining it.
“Joon is here.”
He can’t explain what it is but he can’t stop looking at you. Every move you made had his attention no matter how small and for a moment he forgot who else was around.
“Jungkook,” Hoseok snapped his fingers in front of his face, pointing out the window at the car parked outside, “Namjoon is here.”
“Oh, right,” Jungkook shook his head to snap out of the small trance he had been in, “Um, thank you Y/n, for letting us in.”
“No worries, Dumbledore, it made for an interesting night,” you held your cat in your arms now, forcing it to wave its paw goodbye, “And I do hope you tell me if the spell worked, Hobi.”
The two wanderers left the small shop of wonders and got in their friend’s car without further question, ending their night on a strange note that left one of them with curiosity.
The shop was home to you. It is where you felt most comfortable and it was passed down to you from a young age. It was a responsibility to help everyone who walked in, even if they asked for questionable things, you had to be there for them.
That’s why when a woman came in with tears down her face and a bundle of cash, you couldn’t just turn her away. Today your friend was working with you and he excelled in this sort of magic better than you did so you let him take the reel. He never seemed to mind intervening in the love lives of others and the shop was a safe space for men who’ve just been robbed and women who’ve been wronged.
“He’s a cheater,” she cried, “He lied to me a-and he thinks I’m just dumb. It’s not fair.”
“It’s not,” your friend said with a small smile, “Men like that can’t just walk around without any repercussions.”
“Jimin,” you warned him softly, watching the way he seemed to get the woman hyped on the thought of getting back at her husband. This is where he specialized, any sort of love magic no matter how bad, he loved it. You weren’t like him, you believed too much in karma to involve yourself in bad situations but you were never able to talk him out of it and it made the customer happy.
“Hush, Y/n, a simple hex never hurt anyone,” Jimin said, practically kicking his feet with glee, “Would that make you feel better, honey?”
The woman nodded her head, completely hypnotized by your best friend he disappeared behind another curtain toward the greenhouse. You waited behind idly, unsure what to do or say when a delivery driver pulled up in front of the building. Coal had flipped the sign to ‘CLOSED’ while Jimin performed his magic and the driver got out of his car holding a bouquet of flowers and a small box.
“Trust me, after this he won’t ever be able to please another woman again,” Jimin told her as he cut into a rotten eggplant.
You left the two quietly, making your way to the front door and ignoring the instructions Jimin gave the woman as she began to repeat the small chant he said.
You opened the shop door, stepping out, “Are you looking for someone?”
“Um… is this Scarlet&Sage? I’m looking for a Y/n.”
“That’s me,” you told him with furrowed brows, eyes widening as he practically shoved the bouquet of flowers into your hands and the gift box, asking you to sign before leaving. It took you a moment to process what happened before you headed back inside, just in time to watch Jimin finish the hex by helping the woman sew up the cut eggplant with candle wax and twine.
“You’ll want to leave this somewhere he can’t find it,” Jimin told her but you left before you could hear anything else.
You carried your things to the back room which was really just an extended shed of herbs and dried plants, Coal following close behind with curiosity as you opened up the small envelope inside.
‘Thank you for helping two strangers out so late in the night :) hopefully we’ll cross paths again
— Jeon Jungkook, Dumbledore’
The letter made you smile, a small blush forming on your cheeks when you pulled the lid off the box and gasped. Inside were two things, the first being a black hair clip with a pretty design on it and the second was a cat toy—Halloween themed. There was a sticky note on the plush skeleton fish that said, ‘For Cole’ on it that had you both sighing in disbelief.
Coal scratched at the note until it fell away from his new toy and ran away with it, surely to sulk at the misspelling of his name and pretend like he didn’t like the gift.
“Who’s the admirer?”
A light yell left your lips, nearly dropping the box as Jimin appeared at the doorway, “What admirer?”
“This one,” Jimin took the bouquet, examining it quickly with pursed lips, “Do tell me, Y/n, I am dying for the smallest sign of human interaction you might receive. I feel like you’ve become a recluse.”
“I have not,” you argued, letting him cut the tips of the stems, summoning over a vase with a wave of his hand that had it sliding across the wooden countertop to where he was, “I just… I do not have the time.”
“For?” Jimin asked setting the flowers up beautifully for you, “Oh whatever, just tell me who the flowers are from.”
“Nobody important,” you said almost shyly as your friend led the way back into the shop, ducking his head under twinkly lights and waving a finger to flip the sign back to ‘OPEN’, “The other night two men came in. They needed a phone and I let them use mine, that’s all.”
“Were they attractive?” Jimin asked with a raised brow, his instincts tingling at the hint of romance. Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams played in the background filling in the silence you left behind as you stopped to think about it.
The other night you met a dead hockey player and Dumbledore. Jungkook had been covered completely by old rags until the end when he took off the beard and even then the poor night lighting didn’t do well to make him attractive.
Still, part of you knew the two men would be considered popular just based on their looks.
“I think so,” you told him honestly, “It was hard to know, they were dressed up for a costume party.”
“You should have asked for their number,” Jimin said humorously, “Maybe then this god awful dryspell of yours would end.”
You rolled your eyes at his play on words before welcoming in a group of girls headed toward the crystals, “It’s not a dryspell and we both know it.”
“Oh, right,” Jimin rolled his eyes, “The curse. You give it too much power, sure there have been accidents in the past but those were all mere coincidence!”
“I’m sorry, but my first boyfriend losing a finger just a week after he fingered me for the first time doesn’t sound coincidental,” you half whispered and half shouted.
“It was a bowling accident!” Jimin laughed loudly.
“And what about the guy next door who used to help me water my plants before his house caught on fire?” You asked with a tilt of your hand that had him shrugging.
“Maybe he should’ve worried about the dry air in his own home before coming to yours,” Jimin joked.
“I’m serious, Jimin. Anyone who shows even the slightest interest in me gets hurt, and I mean literally not figuratively,” you said.
It was not a secret and your best friend knew it. Everyone who practiced the craft around here knew of the curse bestowed upon your family.
A curse on any man that dared love any woman in your family—you’ve seen it happen before and you’re not interested in hurting someone because of a centuries old curse you were born with.
Jimin had nothing to say now as he looked at the flowers with such curiosity he could practically picture the man who sent them.
Jeon Jungkook was special and everyone around him knew it. From his looks to his personality, there was not a single person unable to be charmed by him. It was a gift, really, just one smile or one look and he could practically get whatever he wants.
Of course, that’s not always a good thing, and that’s why he takes full blame for what happened last weekend. If he had known the girl who flirted with him had a boyfriend… he would have never hooked up with her in the bathroom. If they never hooked up then his things wouldn’t have been stolen and his tire wouldn’t have been slashed.
Sometimes he forgets that his actions have consequences and that night he learned how much of an asshole he really is to kiss a taken woman. The only good thing that came from it was the strange visit to an even stranger shop with an owner who blew his mind away.
He was beginning to think there’s something wrong with him. Why can’t he stop thinking about you? At first he thought it was out of guilt for bothering you that late so he had flowers delivered as a thank you but you still haven’t left his head. He’s nearly forgotten what you look like and he doesn’t like that.
“I can’t believe I got the promotion,” Hoseok said with a smirk as he plopped down on the chair next to Jungkook’s.
“You worked hard for it,” Jungkook reminded him.
“What if that little jar really did help?” Hoseok asked curiously, making Jungkook laugh suddenly and his brows furrowed, “I’m serious, Kook. I really thought they were gonna give it to the other guy.”
“Hobi, you worked your ass off for it,” Jungkook told him honestly, “Some stupid jar of cloves and cinnamon didn’t do it.”
That made his friend roll his eyes, “Whatever, I’m still stopping by the shop to offer my thanks—“
“You’re going back?” Jungkook asked, a look of interest in his eyes, an idea running rampant in his head at the thought.
There was a sudden urge to see you again running through his veins.
The shop felt surprisingly cozier during the day and it smelled of pomegranate and basil. A few customers shopped around, unable to help themselves from watching the two attractive men look every bit out of place as they felt while a man helped behind the counter.
Jimin popped his head over a jar of worms, eyes widening as he practically ran up the spiral steps in search of you. Your eyes were closed as you imagined a white light running over your body eliminating any piece of bad energy in sight. A set of silver headphones played lulling sounds of nature and the flicker of white candles helped lighten the dark room as you attempted to do your midday meditation. You sat with your legs crossed neatly and your floral skirt touched the ground even when your body floated in the air in concentration.
“Y/n!”
You’ve become one with your surroundings, you felt the energy coursing through you with each deep inhale and exhale you let out and your body became weightless, unable to think of anything but absolute clarity.
“Y/n!”
The sudden yank on your headphones caused you to snap out of the trance, falling to the ground with a hard thud that had you hissing in pain, “Ow!”
“He’s here!” Jimin said, snapping the candles off while helping you untangle your headphones.
“Who?” You asked, wrapping your loose cardigan tighter around your torso.
“The one who delivered the flowers,” Jimin said urgently as he took your hand in his and practically rushed you downstairs. You didn’t even get a chance to put your shoes back on and you had to hold the end of your matcha green skirt up to keep from dragging across the floorboards.
“How do you kno—“
“Instincts,” Jimin said, wiggling his nose, “I can just tell.”
You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at him as you joined him downstairs, not fully believing he knew who he was talking about until you saw it with your own eyes. Hoseok was much more familiar to you than the other considering his costume still looked like him but Jungkook was the one who caught your attention. He ditched the gray robes for black jeans and a white shirt under a black and white leather jacket. His hair was sleek and he had facial piercings you didn’t remember seeing last time but he looked good…
“Y/n! I got the promotion!” Hoseok said cheerfully, taking your focus for himself. You smiled sweetly, “Really? That’s wonderful.”
Jungkook found himself speechless when he saw you appearing from behind the celestial tapestry. He can’t explain it but you looked utterly beautiful. The crystal suncatcher he had seen the other night proved its purpose today by reflecting a soft rainbow on your complexion and he found it hypnotizing.
“Did you receive my flowers?” He found himself asking, damn near stuttering. Today you wore a matcha green floral skirt and a cream colored cardigan matched with some crystals around your neck. It didn’t sneak past him the fact that you were barefoot but it seemed to fit you either way.
“I did, they smelled wonderful,” you said joyously, “But…”
His lips parted with worry, ready to ask what happened when a deep meow took his attention. Your black cat curled around your skirt practically begging to be picked up and you did just that, cuddling the feline against your chest, “Coal is a bit bothered by the gift.”
Jungkook was left confused, watching the cat who seemed to be glaring at him, “Cole is?”
“Yeah, you see, you spelled his name wrong,” you said with a sigh, “His name is coal like the carbonized rock, not a man’s name.”
“Oh?” Jungkook tilted his head, “Oh. Coal, black as coal?”
“It’s because he’s a black cat,” Hoseok said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world to name your cat after a fire starter.
“Well, maybe he could appreciate the effort?” Jungkook asked, trying not to think of how ridiculous he sounded practically begging the feeling for forgiveness.
“He’s a bit of a grudge holder but maybe he’ll come around,” you said with a distressed sigh, staring off into the distance seeming like your mind was miles away. Hoseok had lost interest in the conversation as he began to skim through a book about runes while your coworker slash best friend pretended not to eavesdrop behind the counter. Jungkook watched you curiously as you focused on a group of teenage girls nosing through the incense sticks.
“Whatever you said to Hobi seemed to work the other day, he aced the interview,” Jungkook said, feeling the need to try and talk to you still. There’s just something about you.
Your entire essence felt whimsical and he wishes he could pinpoint what has his heart beating so fast but he can’t.
“It was the spell,” you told him with a smile, letting it fade when he scoffed in disbelief.
“No, seriously.”
“I am being serious,” your eyes narrowed, “We put a lot of effort into it.”
Jungkook would love to argue about magic and spells not being real but it was very clear this was not the place to do it—especially not when he can hear the guy behind the counter offer a potion to someone. He seemed like a con artist and yet you worked with him, did that make you one too? When he looked at you, he could easily assume you were dressed up for Halloween, it was October and some people go all out for the month. That could be you…
Or you could be playing a part for the store, doing whatever you could to get the sales going even if it meant packaging herbs in mason jars and calling it a spell.
The look you were giving him made it obvious that you were beginning to question his intentions too and he felt the need to backtrack even if his instincts were telling him not to, “Well uh, whatever you um… did worked.”
You flashed him a pretty smile, already losing interest in him as you turned around to see who was in the store. He couldn’t help but try and follow after you in hopes of keeping your attention on him but when he took a step, he nearly tripped and had to grab you for support. The two of you looked down, a small laugh bubbling in your throat, “Coal! You do not play tricks on people just because you’re mad.”
The cat meowed in response as you suddenly dropped to your knees before him, his heart racing at the action until you began to untie his shoelaces which had been knotted together so he would trip when he took a step. Jungkook laughed nervously, “I don’t remember doing that.”
“It was Coal,” you said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “If anyone knows how to hold a grudge it’s that cat. Coal, say sorry.”
As if the cat understood what you said, he meowed as he ran off, making sure to hit Jungkook’s leg with his tail. He shook his head in disbelief at the way Coal responded so human-like, wondering if his dog acted this way too at times but he didn’t. Bam was always sweet and energetic, not a grudge holder or trickster like the feline. With a sigh he tried moving on, looking around for you only for you to be going behind a curtain toward a greenhouse. Jungkook didn’t hesitate to follow you, not caring about the sign that said no customers and searching for you.
“So, Y/n, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow,” Jungkook said suddenly, “I was thinking we can get dinner as a thank you for the other night.”
“Oh,” you came to a stop, staring at a basket of molasses and shook your head, “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Jungkook was left speechless, unsure what to say as you once again seemed to disappear before his very own eyes, leaving him to look around confused and alone. He had no choice but to head back to the main store where he found you tying a string around Hoseok’s wrist. How did you move so quickly?
You mumbled something to his friend that he couldn’t quite hear and he’ll admit it made him a bit jealous. It’s not that he had strong feelings for you but here he is fighting plowing after that y only for you to wander off away from him. Was something wrong with him? Were you more interested in Hoseok? Jungkook had never struggled to keep a girl’s attention and yet it feels like your mind is everywhere else but him. Sure, you might be different from his usual type but did that mean he was different from yours? What kind of guy is your type anyway?
Someone with glasses who likes astrology?
“Jungkook,” you called for him rather softly and yet he went to you as if on command. You held up a string necklace with some sort of rock or marble on it and he didn’t hesitate to lean down so you could put it on him. It was a blue marble with a white circle and a black dot inside the circle.
“What is this?” He asked, swallowing dryly when your hands brushed against his neck.
“It has many names depending on where you’re from but, it’s an evil eye. It helps protect you from misfortune and anyone who wishes ill intent toward you,” you told him, making sure the bead sat perfectly between his collarbone, “I figured after the night you got your things stolen, it was better to stay protected.”
“Is there anything that would protect me against him, Y/n?” Hoseok joked, joining the two of you now, “If anyone brings me bad luck it’s Jungkook considering he’s the reason everyone’s always out to get us.”
He turned to Hoseok ready to tell him to shut up but his friend always struggled to read the room. Hoseok just laughed like he was telling the funniest joke, “Don’t look at me like that, it’s true. Who’s the one who made out with a girl who’s already taken?”
“I didn’t know,” Jungkook said and despite it being the truth, everyone looked at him differently now.
“So you’re one of those guys,” the man behind the counter said with a mischievous smirk that had Jungkook turning around to look at him. “One of what guys?”
“The ones I hex—“
“So!” You cut Jimin off suddenly, standing directly in front of Jungkook now, chest nearly touching his that his breath caught in his throat, “What are your plans for the night? Are we taking too much of your time? I’m sure it was a long drive out.”
“Is this a subtle way of saying it’s about time we leave?” Jungkook asked with an amused smile, a bit taken back by how flustered you seem to be. There was something charming about you, a complete stranger, and it keeps drawing him in. He finds you physically attractive in a way he’s never found anyone like before. He thinks you dress differently, you present yourself differently, you remind him of a fairy or some mythological creature—just enchanting… and it makes him feel ridiculous.
Why does he feel this way toward you?
“I—That’s not h-how I meant it,” you shook your head, blush running through your cheeks, “I just assumed you probably had more important things to do.”
“And what if I said this was the important thing for today?” He asked with a tilt of his head, not caring much for his friend who was busy looking at all the crystals or the guy behind the counter who pretended not to listen, “Talking to you.”
This time around he raised a smile from you, “It would be flattering, but I know it’s not.”
He smiled, “What if it was?”
You didn’t hesitate to look into his eyes despite the way he seemed to close the distance between you like you were the only two in the shop, “It’s not.”
“Why don’t you think so?” He asked, attempting to rest his arm on the counter only for him to hit Coal instead, awkwardly jumping back and watching you smile with amusement.
“Because it would be so sad to hold a mere occurrence with me, a complete stranger, with such high importance.” The tone you said it in sounded cute, like you were genuinely pitying him for living such a boring life even if that wasn’t the case.
It took Jungkook a second to process your response and he couldn’t go any further. It was very clear you didn’t want him around anymore and you already rejected his proposal to go out. He did not want to seem like a pushy person and he has to just accept that you’re simply not interested. Does it make sense to him? No. He’s a catch, every girl tends to want him—but he won’t push any further.
He swears.
“I guess we’ll get going then and let you get back to work,” Jungkook couldn’t help but look back down at your patterned skirt or pretty neck adorned with handmade jewelry, “Maybe next time I’ll buy something.”
“Next time?” You asked as he grabbed the back of Hoseok’s shirt, dragging him behind toward the front door. Jungkook smirked, “Yeah! I mean… this can’t possibly be the end, right?”
“Well, I didn’t think anything here would pique your interest,” you said looking around at the dangling gold stars and the hanging tapestries stuck to the ceiling.
“On the contrary,” he practically mimicked your form of speech as he shoved Hobi out the door, “My interest has been piqued. I’ll see you around?”
You wrapped your cardigan around yourself more snugly, feet finally growing cold under the flooring and appearing more flustered, “I guess so.”
He smiled, waving goodbye as he fought off Hoseok who nearly jumped over him to bid his own farewell.
“Oh, he’s smitten,” Jimin laughed the second the door shut with the chime of the bell above it. It made you roll your eyes almost instantly, “He’ll get over it. He seems like a flirt.”
“Mhm, and he’s flirting with you,” Jimin said, watching you with amusement, “Whatever shall you do?”
“What I always do,” you told him matter-of-factly, “Ignore.”
Jimin looked down at the book of moon magic before him, pretending to skim through it, “Like you always do? And how’s that working out for your love life.”
“Listen to yourself, you love witch,” you said with a groan, lifting a finger to slide the book away from him without touching it, “He’s a stranger.”
“Don’t they always start out that way?” Invincible hands opened the book for him as it slid across the counter till it was directly in front of him again and he resumed to read.
Jimin shrugged, “I’m just saying. It wouldn’t kill you to open up to someone.”
“It would probably kill them.”
“Yeah, but there are plenty of fish in the sea and way too many men in the world.”
The sky was a shade between blue and gray, and every now and then he could feel a rare drop of water fall on him as it threatened to sprinkle. The autumn leaves crunched under his thick shoes as he crossed the lawn of the courtyard on his way to his next class—running behind only a little.
You would think being in his last semester of schooling would make him have his shit together but it really only seems to make his life a bigger mess than before. It’s like it hasn’t clicked in his mind yet how close he is to the end and he still wants to spend his weekends getting drunk at parties and showing up to Monday morning lectures way too late.
“Jungkook!”
To be honest, he doesn’t ever want to admit it but his life is a hot mess. He’s all over the place—all the time. He gets into bad situations with girls and he does awful in school. He’s not that great at work and he struggles to focus on anything but he doesn’t know what to do.
The night of the party was a bit of a wake up call to him. Obviously he hadn’t changed yet but… he got his shit stolen and his car broke down in the same night. That’s enough drama to get a man thinking about his life choices. He needs to make changes but he doesn’t know how. How does he give up the parties and the drinking so he could take things more seriously?
“Jungkook!”
“Huh?” He slipped an AirPod out of his ear as he turned around in search of who called for him. About a foot or so away from him stood a girl, short blonde hair, painted red lips and Chanel jewelry on. She was the sort of attractive that anyone walking past might turn and stare but he just seemed to tilt his head with curiosity.
“We met at the club a few weeks ago, remember?” She asked, looking up at him with flirty eyes, “You bought me a drink?”
“I did?” Jungkook asked, letting his eyes trail down her head to her body and so on, “What’s up?”
“Oh, uh, I was wondering if you were busy today? I’ve seen you around campus and I still owe you for the drink so how about some coffee?” She asked running her fingers through her hair.
“I’m good but thanks,” Jungkook said, already attempting to walk away. He’s late for his lecture and he’s sure the professor won’t bother opening the door for him so he’s better off going to the library until his next class. He’s got two more lectures and then he’ll work tonight so there’s no time to go out with a girl he doesn’t even remember the name of.
“Wait! I just… yknow. I just want to say thank you for the drink,” she follows after him, “One cup won’t hurt anyone, right?”
He looked back down at her with a sigh. She really was cute and his usual type but he’s not interested. Sure he has about two hours before his next lecture but does he really want to waste that time on some girl he met while drunk [that he most likely only approached because he wanted to hook up with her?].
“Alright, can I pick the place?” Jungkook asked suddenly, watching the girls eyes widen happily as she eagerly nodded her head.
Jungkook had no idea why he agreed or where he even planned on taking her, he just knew it was a bit far but familiar—to him, at least.
He didn’t give her much room to come up with anything either before they were catching a bus to the other side of town where the buildings looked older and more fit for the fall season with the dead leaves and puddles in the dark pavement. Scarlet&Sage looked surprisingly busy today with customers going in and out without stop.
He only knew this because the coffee shop he was currently at was right across the street from it. Please do not ask him how this came about… he’s not sure. He just remembers seeing the cafè the last time he came over here and when the blonde girl asked for coffee it was the first place that came to mind. It had absolutely nothing to do with the whimsical character he’s encountered in the small shop of wonders.
“So, do you like the coffee here?” The blonde asked as they sat at a small round table near the large window that gave him the perfect view of the outside.
“It’s alright,” Jungkook mumbled, looking down at his cup wondering what you might be doing.
It’s not that he was weirdly obsessed or anything. He was just mildly interested.
Mildly.
His attention should be on the blonde but he couldn’t even remember her name and he was too embarrassed to ask. He talks to a lot of girls like her… he’s hooked up with a lot of girls like her and sometimes they all start to blend and he just can’t pick them apart. As stated, the blonde is hot, he’s not going to deny that and clearly he had approached her at some club for that reason but right now she just seems so bland.
It’s become a bit of a problem of his and he’s beginning to notice it. Jungkook did not consider himself a player by any means but he would be lying if he said he didn’t date a lot of girls. That’s why right now that he’s with some random girl who invited him to coffee, he couldn’t really think of her. He only agreed as an excuse to come to this side of town in hopes of stopping by the shop but now he’s stuck here with a stranger while you’re across the street doing who knows what.
The shop had been busy at open but once the rush had gone, things had visibly slowed down for the two witches. Jimin was bored to death, arguing with Coal over the dumbest of things and you tried busying yourself with useless flicks of your finger to turn on and off all the candles on the counter. Crystals by Stevie Nicks played from a small boombox tucked into a bookshelf and the cold autumn day dragged by too slow for your liking.
It’s not that you expect an exciting day on the regular but ever since you met those two strangers one October night, you couldn’t help but wonder if you would have more occurrences like that. When Jungkook sent the gift and flowers it was a nice surprise that brightened your day and when he and Hoseok popped in a few days later… well that also brought a sense of warmth. It couldn’t possibly be because you were interested in seeing Jungkook again despite how obviously handsome he was.
You do not allow yourself to fall in love or even gain a small crush toward anyone when you know the repercussions. Jimin could mock you for it all he wants but the curse has proven to be true time and time in your line of witches and you do not want anyone to fall victim to it because you foolishly allowed yourself to like someone.
Sure, deep down you’re a romantic but aren’t most people? Don’t most people wish to meet that one person that makes their heart race or their smile widen? Someone they find comfort in without even realizing it at first but once you do you don’t ever want to leave their arms? Isn’t that what everyone wishes even when they don’t know it? Even the most anti-romantic individual must at some point crave the intimacy that comes with finding the one they love.
It’s inevitable to feel this way but you can’t act upon any feelings you might have toward someone—you shouldn’t, and therefore you remain single despite something inside you wishing to change that. It’s for the best, honestly and maybe if you wish strong enough… you’ll never have to see Jungkook again because despite not knowing him at all… you can’t help but think about him.
“Y/n, I have a favor to ask,” Jimin said with a sigh as he joined you at the counter, “And there was nobody else I could think to ask this of aside from my most beautiful celestially whimsical best friend.”
The corners of your lips curved upward, rolling your eyes playfully as you waited for him to go on and just say it. His eyes met yours and with an adorable pout he asked, “Do you mind running to the post office for me? I’ve got a palm reading appointment in ten.”
“Oh, I suppose I could make a quick run,” you told him with a dramatic sigh, fighting back a smile when he squeezed your face in his hands. “I absolutely adore you, you beautiful witch.”
Jimin left to retrieve two white envelopes he needed you to drop off and you took them happily, heading to the door when you turned back to look at him, “Remind how amazing I am for doing the smallest of tasks for you.”
“Undeniably amazing.”
The coffee at the cafe was not memorable at all, in fact, Jungkook doesn’t know if he would ever come back again but deep down he knows he will, even if it’s just an excuse to stare at Scarlet&Sage. He’s ashamed to admit he couldn’t even pretend to act interested in what the blonde said and at some point she must’ve realized that because they sat together in silence. Her eyes wandered around the cafe while his focused on the brick storefront of your shop, wondering if he should stop by and say hello or not.
When the door seemed to open from the inside, he could physically feel his heart race and soon enough… you were there standing in a dark blue velvet slip dress with brown leather boots and golden star clips in your hair, shivering slightly with the cold and he acted before he could think.
“I’ll be right back,” Jungkook said abruptly, raising to his feet, not bothering to even look back at the blonde when she called his name and left the shop with all his things.
“Y/n!”
You read the sending addresses on the envelopes, smiling when you realized Jimin was sending this to a good friend of yours. At first, you didn’t hear the call of your name. If anything made you stop, it was the sudden howl of wind that had a stream of fallen leaves circling around you, following the sight of them until you turned back to find the one person you had been thinking about standing there before you.
“Jungkook?” You couldn’t hide the look of pleasant surprise on your face as you gave him a moment to catch up to you, “Did you trim your hair?”
That made him pause for a moment as he ran his fingers through the short black hair, shy smile on his face, “I did. Does it look bad?”
He didn’t ask where you were going when he began to walk alongside you. You shook your head, “I like it. It suits you, but I’m sure everything does, Dumbledore.”
“Will you ever let that go?” He asked slightly embarrassed by the worst night of his life and how strangely it was the reason the two of you met.
“Oh, of course,” you said, unable to catch the playful tone in his voice, “I’m sorry.”
“No, I didn—you didn—I just meant…” Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly, “Um… so what are you doing?”
“I’m running an errand for Jimin,” you told him casually, turning the corner of the block with him at your side, “And what about you?”
“I wanted to try the coffee place across the street from you. I missed a class today and had time so…” Jungkook bit his lip wondering what more to say.
“The coffee is not good,” you said and he smiled. “It isn’t.”
“So… Y/n, I know last time you said it wasn’t a good idea but… I don’t know, I was wondering if maybe we could still try and get dinner. I don’t mean to push bu—“
“Why?” You asked suddenly, big sparkly eyes staring at him that he felt his breath hitch when the two of you stopped in front of the post office. He had to blink away the shock a few times before he was able to snap back into reality. Jungkook reached for the door, hearing the sound of bells above as he let you brush past him and head inside.
Why? What did you mean why? Did you find it strange that he wanted to go out with you? Did you think he had no valid reason to seek you out? Did he?
You left his side to drop the envelopes down the shoot before returning to him with a soft hum, singing some indie song in your head, thanking him when he held the door open for you again.
“I wish I could give you a million reasons as to why but I can’t,” Jungkook told you honestly, watching the way you seemed to shiver in the cold again. You forgot a cardigan or shawl and were sincerely regretting it now. He didn’t hesitate to take off his crewneck, offering it to you despite the cold biting his skin now and he finished his thoughts, “I only have one, Y/n and I think it’s fairly simple. I want to get to know you because I find you beautiful and interesting and you make me curious.”
“A lot of people are beautiful and interesting,” you tried to brush him off despite the sudden warmth running through your veins as you became overwhelmed by the lingering scent of his cologne on the sweater.
“But not like you,” he said and he surprised himself. When has he ever called someone beautiful and mean it? Another rustle of wind carried dead leaves in the air, this time circling around the two of you and you couldn’t help but watch one get caught in his hair.
“I don’t get you,” you admitted, walking a bit faster toward the shop now, “We’re practically strangers still and I’ve said no once so… yknow… I mean… wouldn’t you have other girls to try? Probably prettier ones and more outgoing so really there’s no need to try and go out with me when I’m sure you have better options out there with people you’re much closer to.”
Jungkook scoffed, a small smirk on his face, “I didn't think there was anything to get. I… well… yes, I do know others who I could ask but I’m not interested in any of them, only you.”
Was it that obvious that he had become a bit of a player? A romantic who jumped into relationships or flings for the adrenaline they brought? Could you read that on his face? With the way you turned to look into his eyes, he wondered if that really was the case.
You shouldn’t involve yourself with him.
It’ll only complicate things.
He seems to be a flirt, he could get anyone he wants so why is he stuck on you?
You’re already a bit interested in him too and that’s dangerous but when you look at his neck and see the necklace you gave him, you felt happy—not good.
“I’m a witch.”
Jungkook chuckled suddenly, unable to tell if you were trying to change the mood or scare him off, “Good thing it’s October and it’s the Season of the Witch.”
He doesn’t believe you, obviously—or well, not to the extent that you mean. It’s not a secret you like the craft but he doesn’t expect you to have a flying broomstick lying around.
“It’s the truth, Jungkook,” you told him as you neared the shop, “And that means I’m not good for you.”
“Why? Because you have a black cat and love crystals?” Jungkook joked lightheartedly.
“No. Because I have a curse to those who like me and it could really put them in danger,” you said and for a second he seemed to falter… genuinely wondering if you were being serious or not. He doesn’t believe in magic or curses like you’ve convinced Hobi to but it was an odd thing to say… maybe.
Maybe it wasn’t odd at all considering your lifestyle choice but…
But…
No.
You can’t just suddenly tell him that and expect him to believe it. It’s one thing to be fascinated by it all and open a store about it and actually—
Magic isn’t real.
Curses aren’t real.
“So you reject me because of a curse?” He asked, studying you closely to see how he would react. You didn’t reject him because you were uninterested, but because you believe you’re cursed? He knew you were a bit odd when he first met you but to this extent? And to know it hadn’t scared him back to the blonde who was surely already visiting Jimin to hex him. “And not because you want nothing to do with me?”
You bit your lip, “It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” he said, “Y/n, curses only have power if you believe in them and I don’t.”
Your eyes widened, unsure if you should be offended by his utter blindness to the magical or amazed by his clear mindset. What were you going on about? Did you expect him to run away when you said? Had you hoped he would? Would that have made it easier to not think about him? Maybe he just doesn’t fully believe you yet. Magic is a hard thing for everyone to accept.
People don’t want to believe what they can’t see.
“I should head inside now,” you told him quietly and you could visibly see the way he dejected, with his shoulders drooping, “And there’s something sticking out of your pocket.”
Jungkook barely had a second to process what you said before you were leaving him alone outside with his eyebrows furrowed as he felt around his black jeans with confusion.
His gaze softened with curiosity as he pulled out a piece of folded parchment paper from his pocket and opened it hurriedly.
‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you but here’s my number. xxx-xxx-xxxx — Y/n ☽’
Despite the utter confusion he felt on how you managed to put this note in his pocket, he felt more happy to know you’re opening yourself to him. He could worry about the strangeness of this later when it doesn’t feel like he’s on cloud 9 from simply getting a girls number.
“Jungkook!”
He bit the insides of his cheeks to hide a growing smile as he stuffed the paper back in his pocket, looking up with surprise as the blonde came up to him, “What happened? You suddenly left with some weirdo an—“
“I’m not interested,” Jungkook rushed out, “I’m so sorry, I seriously am but I can’t even remember your name and I’ve been too embarrassed to ask. You seem very nice and I’m sure I would’ve loved to get to know you but… but I want to pursue something with someone else. She’s a witch, apparently, which I find it hard to believe but she’s given me this note and I have no idea when she managed to give it to me without me knowing but it’s all so interesting and I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before over something so sm—“
“Asshole,” the girl gave him a small shove, cutting off his rant and stormed away from him. He watched her go with a bit of pity because she was right. He was an asshole… for taking her invitation and using it to meet you. For leading other girls on and leaving them when he was bored. For wasting their time and he swears he does feel awful now.
He wants to be different and he’s wondering if his racing heart for you would be the start.
Even with the shove the blonde had given him, he couldn’t help but smile and pull out the paper again to read over the note as many times as necessary just to remember today.
And so it began despite the countless amount of times you told yourself not to fall for anyone. It was hard when he was texting you as often as he could.
jungkook: I still want to kno how u got the note in my pocket
y/n: with magic, silly
jungkook: like a magician’s?
y/n: no :/
y/n: like a witch’s.
jungkook: …
jungkook: why are u so cute
y/n: glamour magic?
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” Jungkook’s friend asked one day as they met up at the campus library. He looked up at Taehyung who sat down across from him on some comfortable lounge chairs, already getting his laptop out.
“Her name’s Y/n,” Jungkook sat up, “She’s a bit strange and unusual—but in a good way!”
Taehyung’s brows furrowed, “Cool, I guess. Anyway, are you coming this weekend?”
“Where to?” He asked, biting his lip as he thought of what to say back.
jungkook: or maybe that’s just how u are
y/n: maybe ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა but I’m dangerous
“Joon’s Halloween party,” Taehyung said, watching his friend smile before quickly typing.
jungkook: right…
jungkook: bc of the curse?
y/n: yeah
jungkook: nothing has happened to me yet
“Who?” Jungkook asked absentmindedly as he looked up for a mere second.
“Who?! Boy, don’t play with me. Namjoon. Kim Namjoon, big meaty buff Namjoon, our friend?” Taehyung scoffed with a laugh. Jungkook chuckled, “Oh right. Um… maybe.”
y/n: that’s bc we haven’t gone out
jungkook: so let’s change that and test the theory
jungkook: what r u doing tonight?
“I’ve invited some girls to meet us there, super hot, trust me you’ll like em,” Taehyung said despite how obvious Jungkook’s interest in you seemed. He had literally just brought you up and yet Taehyung didn’t seem to think that was going to stop Jungkook from wanting to meet other girls.
“Yeah…” Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly, leg bouncing anxiously as he waited for you to answer, “I’m not really interested.”
Taehyung audibly laughed, not believing his friend as he opened his laptop to do some work. Jungkook narrowed his eyes at him, “I’m serious. I’m talking to someone right now.”
“I mean… are you bringing her this weekend?” Taehyung asked, making Jungkook shrug his shoulders. “I’m not sure Y/n would want to go.”
y/n: it’s a full moon tonight
y/n: but I’m free
jungkook: want to go out for dinner?
y/n: okay ໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -。꒱ྀི১
The smile that grew on his face from your text nearly slipped when Taehyung spoke up, “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Come on man, it’s not like you’re dating anyone and if so when has that ever stopped you from a good time?”
“I’m not saying I won’t go, but I’m saying I don’t want to talk to any other girls, man,” Jungkook said with a sigh as he checked the time on his screen, “Alright, I’ve got to get ready.”
“Why? You don’t work till later, right?” Taehyung asked while watching his friend gather his things to leave. Jungkook nodded, “Yeah but I’ve got plans after so I have to get ready now. I’ll see you this weekend?”
Taehyung gave up on his friend and waved him off with a dismissed goodbye.
“A date?!” Jimin nearly yelled into your ear as the two of you watered the plants in the greenhouse, “You have a date tonight?!”
“No,” you shook your head, “It's not like that… Jungkook and I are just getting dinner.”
“As a date,” Jimin said with a roll of his eyes, “There’s no point denying it, Y/n. I will admit he’s not the type I thought you would go for but I support it fully if it means you’ll finally let someone in.”
“Why are you being so dramatic?” You asked, “I’m… I only agreed to dinner because he asked and I didn’t want to reject him again. Once he’s gotten. What he wants I’m sure he’ll move on to the next.”
“Y/n,” Jimin’s tone was stronger than usual, “I don’t believe that. Even if Jungkook seems to be the type… he can clearly tell there’s something about you that makes things worthwhile. Stop doubting it and just allow yourself to go out with someone.”
Just as you were about to try and brush this off with an excuse that you had to leave, Coal came prancing in holding the small skeleton fish Jungkook bought for him and set it before you to play.
When Jungkook arrived in front of the shop, he’s not sure what he expected. You looked as pretty as usual in a brown floral maxi dress and a thin lace cardigan and shimmer in your hair. You always looked pretty to him, natural and whimsical, ethereal. He’s not sure why he feels this way but he does and he likes the feeling.
“Hi,” Jungkook felt breathless as he held the car door open for you, unsure why he felt nervous at all. He’s been on hundreds of dinner dates, this was nothing new for him so why were his hands growing clammy?
“You’re nervous?” You asked, finger brushing against the front of his white shirt. A smile came to his face, “Maybe.”
“Why?” You asked even as your own heart raced with nerves.
“Honestly…” Jungkook bit his lip, waiting at your door, “I don’t know, you make me nervous.”
“Is that good or bad?” You asked.
“Good, I think,” Jungkook smiled as he shut the car door and rounded to his side.
He had no reason to be nervous, really, Jungkook was into you and he had a feeling you were into him too. Why else would you have agreed? Yes, you’re a bit strange and he still doesn’t understand what you mean by curse or how you got the note in his pocket but that doesn’t scare him. Why doesn’t that scare him?
Why did he suddenly feel like dinner wasn’t enough? He always had dinner dates. It was always his go-to first date idea.
You stared out the window as he started the car, completely unaware of his growing panic at the realization. You were more focused on the glowing moon than him and yet the silence in the car didn’t bother him. Usually, whoever he was with would talk his ear off but you were quiet right now. Were you growing bored of him before you gave him a chance to open himself up to you? Would you think the dinner reservation he set for tonight would be too cliché? You don’t seem like a 5-star restaurant date. You don’t seem like the type to care and yet he blindly set the date up in the same manner he did every other girl he went out with.
The thought alone was making him antsy and it was hard to miss the way his finger tapped against the steering wheel as he drove off.
“So, what restaurant are we going to?” You asked in a gentle voice, in hopes that maybe he wouldn’t seem so quiet. The question made him bite his lip, playing with his lip ring as his brows furrowed in thought, “I—um…”
His hands were clammy.
You blinked away your confusion, eyes dropping down to your lap as you asked, “Do you not want to do this anymore?”
“No! I mean… I—I want to but uh,” Jungkook stopped at a red light, “I um…”
How does he tell you what he had planned tonight was the same thing he always did whenever he went on a date with a random girl?
How does he tell you that’s not what he wants for you?
“It’s a full moon tonight?” Jungkook asked suddenly, staring out his tinted windshield. You merely nodded your head silently.
“Change of plans then,” he mumbled to himself, turning on his blinker and when the light turned green he took a completely different route from that of the restaurant. You wanted to question him, wondering if he was taking you back home but after a while the city lights grew fewer and fewer and the hills got bigger and bigger.
Jungkook drove a short distance out of the city where large meadows began to cover fields and fields of hills. He pulled the car to the side of the road and without question he got out, opening the trunk first and you grew worried.
“Is this the plot twist? You drive me out of the city to plan my murder?” You jokingly asked as you got out of the car and joined his side. He rummaged through paper bags pulling out water bottles and small snack bags he must’ve bought a while ago. He grabbed an old blanket he tossed back there after crashing at Namjoon’s place and asked you to walk with him.
“No, it’s just,” Jungkook took a deep breath, trudging through the thick grass in the dark night with only the full moon and stars eliminating his way, “I want to do things differently with you. I wanted to get dinner, yes, but… but it’s a full moon, Y/n. Do you really want to spend your night indoors where you can’t even see it?”
He thought back to the star clips in your hair that shimmered like the sparkles in your eyes. The way you seemed to love the spirituality of life and he didn’t even have to know you well enough to know how in tune you are with nature. One look at you told him everything he needed to know and despite the cold autumn night… he knew you preferred it over wherever he planned on taking you.
“I…” you bit your lip nervously, following after him into the clear meadow surrounded by hills and a single road where the car had been parked, “I’m sorry but I don’t understand.”
“Y/n,” Jungkook stopped to look at you, “I don't know how to explain it but you feel different to me. Since the first night we met, all I could think about was you and I don’t want to ruin the first chance you’ve given me to get to know you by doing the same thing I do every time. I want to do something that would be fun, maybe, different and more to your liking. I want to know why you brought up the moon tonight or why you talk about curses and glamours and why you enjoy the smell of incense. I want to know how the note got in my pocket and how you seem to communicate with Coal like you could truly understand him. The strangeness of it all fascinates me and sitting in a stuffy restaurant eating subpar food won’t tell me anything about you besides that you let me take you on a boring date.”
“You’re a bit strange,” you confessed, a smile growing on your face as small fireflies fill the meadow, “But I like it.”
Jungkook extended the blanket on the ground, throwing the things onto it before collapsing on his side waiting for you to join him. You sat down tucking your dress under your legs and moved to lay on your back, the sound of crickets somewhere off in the distance as you stared up at the sky.
Usually, Jungkook picked the noisiest of places possible so that he wouldn’t have to have his full attention on whoever he was dining with. If the conversation got boring he could always find somewhere else to focus before he would finally just invite him to his bed. Right now he’s got nowhere else to look aside from the night sky and you.
“Do you meditate?” You asked.
“No,” Jungkook said, turning on his back with an arm tucked under his head and the other on the blanket, “But I can try.”
“Okay, take even breaths and try to clear your mind,” you told him as you let your eyes close for a moment, “The full moon is a time to let go and welcome new energy in your life by reflecting on what you need to release.”
Jungkook didn’t say anything as he tried to listen to you, tried to visualize what he would like to let go. What did he need to reflect on?
Was it his grades? His shitty part time job at the convenience store? His past mistakes in relationships?
“Listen to the sounds around you, let them help you find inner peace,” you whispered with the wind catching his breath, small sounds of nature here and there, “Visualize your dreams, your reflections. Find your release.”
It’s his last semester of school and yet he misses class when he’s late. He agrees to go out with girls he has no real intention of getting to know and he puts himself in messy situations that drag his friends along too.
He’s tired of acting the same way he did when he was younger—never took responsibility and was always careless in his actions. Even the other when he went out with the blonde but not because he wanted her, but because he could use her as an excuse to himself to come seek you out. He disregarded her feelings.
When Taehyung approached him about the girls he wanted Jungkook to meet, he expect Jungkook to lie about seeing them even when he was interested in you because that’s what Jungkook usually did.
How does he change his ways?
Tonight he wants to release his toxic patterns.
He wants to embrace change and welcome the shift of energy you brought him. He wants to form deeper connections with those around him and open himself up to new possibilities, no matter how strange.
“Y/n,” Jungkook’s voice came out raspy as his hand felt around the blanket blindly until your fingers brushed against his and he was going to hold onto them, “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” You asked him, letting him hold your hand, ignoring the sudden tingle up your arm. His eyes opened, “How do you make me want to find comfort in you when you’re essentially still a stranger to me?”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” you said.
“Tell me about the curse,” Jungkook couldn’t believe he was saying it. It was one thing to go along with the joke over text but now that he’s lying here with you, he’s curious.
“Really?” You asked looking at him, watching him nod his head making you sigh, “Why? You don’t believe in it anyway.”
“But you do,” he said truthfully, “And I want to see what makes you believe in i—“
His words slowed down as he watched a butterfly land on your fingertip as if you called for it yourself. He’s not sure if it meant anything or if it was just the utter fascination he had of you but he wanted to kiss you. It had nothing to do with getting you in his bed tonight and everything to do with just feeling you and when he raised his finger to touch yours, he took your hand and pulled you toward him.
You didn’t pull back like he thought you might, and before he could really process it, you were leaning into him. Jungkook placed a hand on your jaw, guiding your lips to his until finally, the softest touch made his insides melt. You kissed him gently, scared almost and his face fit perfectly between your hands as he hovered over you, eyes closed and warm to the touch.
Jungkook felt as if something burst inside him and he just wanted to chase that feeling with your kisses, unable to help himself from getting lost in the moment. He felt a bit numb to his surroundings, the only feeling he had was your lips on his and your tongue running along his with need. His breath was becoming short and the soft push of your hand on his shoulder had him pulling back reluctantly.
“You’re a good kisser,” you whispered against his lips and he couldn’t help but break into a smile, pecking your lips one last time before letting his head drop against your chest.
“It’s late,” he said with a small sigh as he looked up at you, finding your eyes stuck on the full moon.
You looked down at him and he could practically see the way you glowed underneath him.
He didn’t believe in magic or witches but, how else would he explain this feeling of being under a love spell?
And if he allowed himself to believe in love spells then did he have to believe in curses too?
“Now what do you mean you’re not coming tonight?” His friend asked, sporting Jungkook as he did a set of bench presses.
“I don’t know if I’ll make it,” Jungkook answered, counting how many he did, “I’ve got plans with Y/n.”
“And what? She won’t let you out for one night?” Namjoon asked with a slight roll of his eyes as Jungkook set the bar back in place and sat up with deep breaths, “She can’t come with us?”
“It’s not like that,” he shook his head no, “I haven’t even mentioned it to her.”
Namjoon couldn’t help but scoff as he took Jungkook’s place, “Why not? Would she be mad if you told her that you were going out with friends, for fucks sake?”
“What? No, No, Y/n’s not like that,” Jungkook was getting annoyed with his friend’s assumptions, “But I already talked about this with Taehyung. I’m not interested in partying right now or anything. I just wanna… yknow, chill?”
“You don’t even sound like yourself,” Namjoon said with a laugh, deciding to not push any further, “But whatever, I get it.”
“Get what?” Jungkook watched him move the bar to begin his set.
“You’re talking to someone,” Namjoon said with baited breath, “You've gotta be on your best behavior.”
Jungkook rolled his eyes, “It’s not like I’m holding myself back. If I wanted to go out, I would.”
He’s being honest. You’re not keeping him from anything and it’s not like he was forcing himself to be someone he’s not but this wasn’t that serious. Yes, he had a tendency to go out with his friends every weekend and lately that’s declined but it’s not because of you necessarily. He’s just realized he’s way too exhausted these days to exert this much energy on a night he would regret by morning. He made terrible decisions and he’s tired of getting himself in trouble because of them.
“Just say the word and we can leave whenever you want,” Jungkook spoke into your ear as you looked around at everyone surrounding you. It was loud and packed with people in costumes, all looking to spend a fun night out celebrating Halloween. You’ll admit, it’s a bit out of your element but you’ll learn to adapt. It will just take some adjustment but the energy seems high and it might be more fun than staying at the shop to hand out candy all night.
“I’m fine,” you assured him, letting him place a hand on your lower back to lead you to the bar. Tonight was the first time you’ll be meeting Jungkook’s friend but you don’t feel nervous. If anything, he seemed more nervous than you and you weren’t sure how to feel about that. Since your first date the two of you have really leveled up whatever has been brewing between you since the night you met.
You’ve been spending more time together but it usually consists of Jungkook visiting you or texting all day. You haven’t had a chance to see more of him yet— as it feels like he’s been trying to accommodate you—so you’re curious to see how the night plays out with him and his friends.
“Look who finally decided to show up!” A loud voice boomed from the bar where you could see a familiar face smile at you. Hoseok waved happily at you as Jungkook led you to him and the others who watched you curiously. Hoseok ditched the hockey player costume for simple skull makeup and a leather jacket.
“There was a line to get in,” Jungkook admitted, slipping his hand in yours and pulling you forward, “What do you want to drink?”
“Surprise me,” you said with a smile. Jungkook ordered something on your behalf before turning to his other friends, “Everyone this is Y/n.”
“Jungkook didn’t do you any justice,” Taehyung said with a curious tilt of his head, “You’re way prettier than he said.”
“Oh no, what else has he said about me?” You asked with a soft tone that had both Taehyung and Namjoon blinking in surprise.
“Um, well…. A lot of things, neither one of them have shut up since they met you,” Namjoon confessed, looking to Hoseok who seemed to also think highly of you.
“Yes, I think Y/n put a spell on me,” Jungkook teased, handing you a bluish lavender drink and sending you a wink. He, of course, still felt nervous considering this is the first time he’s introducing you to his friends. It’s not that he’s embarrassed of you or anything but he’s definitely worried about what his friends would say to you. Not that long ago, Taehyung tried getting Jungkook to lie to you just because he didn’t care for how serious Jungkook felt about you. Now, Taehyung is here talking to you and Jungkook is worried he might say something he shouldn't.
Honestly, when the night started he didn’t expect you to want to come out. Namjoon had been bugging him all day about it and he had full intentions of not going out so he could spend the night handing out candy with you but… It’s like you have a sixth sense and when you asked him if he had any other plans, he told you what he was invited to and asked you to come along. He full heartedly thought you would say no because you don’t seem like the type to come out drinking but for some reason you agreed and he was happy with that.
Of course he was nervous to introduce you to the others but when he looked over at you and found you smiling softly, trying your hardest to be in the moment, he was grateful. His friends didn’t talk bad about him to you despite the occasional teasing and you didn’t seem uncomfortable by it. Every now and then he would run his thumb against your hip to remind you he’s there but mostly, he just listened.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” you said after a while. Taehyung had asked you question after question about the shop or the spell jar you made Hoseok and you indulged him in it all.
“Hm?” Jungkook fixed the tilt in your witch’s hat, “I’m just listening.”
“Are you having fun?” You asked letting his arm encircle your waist until you faced him. He looked at his friends who managed to grab the attention of some girls nearby and were in deep conversation with them.
His shoulders lifted in a shrug, “It’s alright.”
Your nose scrunched up in thought as you looked away from him, he kept you close trying to get you to look back at him, “I mean… yeah it’s fun but it’s loud and hot and… I don’t know, I kinda want it to just be us.”
“Just us?”
“Yeah, my friends have been talking to you all night,” he said it like it was a secret, “And Joon said he wanted me here so I came but now I’m really in the mood for us to leave—unless you want to stay.”
“Are you trying to ditch out on us?” Hoseok put an arm around his shoulders, dragging him into his side, “You barely come out anymore and now you’ve got Y/n here so there’s no reason to not want to party. It’s Halloween!”
“I know, but,” Jungkook played with his lip ring as he smiled lazily, “You’ve been taking all of my girl’s attention and I’m tired of sharing.”
The words slipped out but he didn’t regret them, even when you looked up at him curiously. He expected some sort of response from you but you merely smiled and shrugged like you weren’t apart of this exchange so when Namjoon asked what was up, Jungkook was honest.
“I think we’re calling it a night,” he had your hand in his, pulling into him as he looked at his friends and whatever girls they were with, “But you guys have fun.”
“That’s it?” Taehyung asked, looking at you, “Y/n, you don’t want to go to another bar?”
Jungkook released a small sigh as he looked down at you. He would love to leave but if you wanted to stay and maybe go to a few more places before ending the night… he’d do it but only because it’s what you want.
“I miss my cat,” you said it so casually that the others couldn’t understand it as an answer at first until you were waving goodbye, happy you met them but ready to go.
You didn’t talk much in the car and Jungkook drove carefully taking you back to the shop that was connected to your home. He’s not sure if you were tired or distracted but you stared out the window chasing the moon through the city. At one point he glanced over and found you nipping at your bottom lip with worry but he tried not to overthink it. The night had been good and you got along with his friends so there wasn’t anything he would change but the silence made him worry.
The car pulled up in front of the lantern lit shop and he looked at you with nerves waiting to see how you would Halloween. It was late but there were still a few people in costumes wandering around and too early to really call it a night. You silently pushed open the door, ready to leave when you sighed, “Jungkook.”
He didn’t have to say anything for you to know he’s listening and you turned to him, “Earlier you called me—“
My girl.
“I know,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “I just meant… I—I don’t know. Was it corny?”
A small laugh left your lips at his sudden question and decided to tease, “Just a little.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was worried about,” Jungkook couldn’t help but chuckle, “I was trying to sound cool and…”
“Failed?”
“Whoa,” he held a hand to his chest, “I wouldn’t go that far.” The car was still on but he made no move to leave and neither did you. Instead, he just looked at you sitting half in his car with the door open, “You didn’t like it?”
“Um, it’s not that but,” you bit your lip in thought, “I’m just worried of your intentions.”
“With you?” He asked quietly, watching you nod your head shyly and he sighed, “You don’t know if it’s worth it.”
It sounded like a statement and he knew he was right. You were worried about the curse, he knew you well enough to know that but he doesn’t care. He wants to go out with you and some stupid age old curse isn’t going to change his mind. He understands that you believe it so he won’t look down on it but he wants to be with you.
“What if I said it was?” Jungkook asked with genuine curiosity, “It’d be the first time I get cursed by a witch.”
He meant the last part as a joke and it got you to smile so he was more comfortable to tease, “Maybe I’ll turn into a cat so Coal and I could be friends.”
“He doesn’t like having friends,” You said with a smile and he could practically see your walls crumble so he kept going.
“That’s a shame because I have a dog and he’s the friendliest boy you’ll ever meet,” Jungkook said with a defeated sigh.
“I’m warning you,” you said but he smiled. “I’ve been warned.”
“I won't be upset if you don’t want to see me anymore. I’m a bit weird, yknow?” You seemed to ask, already beginning to warm up to the idea and it was enough to give him hope.
“I would have never guessed,” he said as he twisted a silver star charm you had styled in your hair, leaning closer and closer till his face was only a couple centimeters away, “And if you’re trying to scare me off, it’s not working—I can wake up with a bald head of hair tomorrow and I’ll be fine with it as long as I get to talk to you again.”
“So, do you want to come up then?” You asked and you didn’t have to say it twice for him to be powering off the engine so he could follow you inside.
For the first time ever, he disappeared behind the celestial tapestry that led up to your front door, trying to look around in the darkness. You liked rich shades of purple and blue. You liked stars and sheer drapes on your ceilings. You liked stain glass lamp shades and big soft rugs. Your house was like a whimsigoth cottage in the city and your bedroom was everything he imagined it to be even in the dark.
He expected you to turn the lights or something but instead you seemed to snap a finger before a couple candles lit up the bedroom and he was lost in wonder. It felt like he was enjoying a cozy night in the woods, like he just rested his head on your lap and listen to you read his palm.
“Sorry, it’s a bit messy,” you shoved a couple books aside and looked around the bedroom, “Is there anything I can get you.”
Jungkook shook his head, deciding to go through your vinyls with curiosity, smiling whenever he saw a vinyl with the word ‘witch’ in the title. You explained to him that it was all Jimin’s doing because he found it funny to buy you every vinyl with a Halloween or witchy vibe to it.
“Jungkook,” you called to his distracted mind and he lifted his eyes to you, the reflection from the lit candles in his gaze. You were standing by the edge of your bed, looking shy as you took off the witch’s hat. His lips parted with surprise, letting his feet take him to you until you were face to face and so close that his front brushed against yours. “Is this really something you want?”
He was the guy who had every girl he wanted. He would go to parties and make out with people he should. He would make bad decisions and regret them right after but this feels far from a bad decision. It’s the first time in a while that something felt right and it had to be you. There’s a reason why he’s been cleaning his act up, going to all his classes, showing up to work on time and ditching the nights out getting drunk.
Of course this was something he wanted.
He wanted you.
He had feelings for you.
You felt warm and he wanted to brush his fingers against your hair. Your touch was gentle but sudden as you ran a hand down the front of his chest, circling around his neck taking all his attention once more and he began to lean into you.
“Of course this is something I want,” he said just above a whisper, letting his hands touch down on your waist, unable to hold himself back any longer before he was pressing his lips to yours and kissing you effortlessly.
You tilted your head back, kissing him with equal hunger as he pulled you even closer until your bodies began to mold together into one before guiding you to lay back on your bed. Jungkook was gentle but firm, his hands felt rough but he touched you with such softness when he ran them down your sides. He didn’t hesitate to try and relish in the feeling of you under him, kissing along your neck and pressing his lips to your pulse point until he could feel your breath hitch in your throat.
You’re not a virgin but you’re not entirely experienced and yet you couldn’t find it in you to be nervous. Not even when his hands began to hitch up your black dress making you raise your hips enough for him to pull it up. Jungkook never once pulled his lips away from your skin, the desire to leave love bites was too strong and you were so soft underneath him. You looked up at your dark ceiling with its silver stars plastered all over and a handing moon lantern at the center, letting him kiss down your chest and navel.
“Is this okay?” Jungkook asked with genuine concern as he laid between your parted legs. The skirt of your dress had been pulled up to your stomach exposing the black underwear you wore, feeling his gentle fingers run against your hips patiently. A smile came to your face when he rested his head against your thigh, looking up at you lovingly and you nodded your head.
Jungkook pressed a kiss to your inner thighs, nose brushing against the sensitive areas as his nimble fingers began to brush along the thin black fabric, not yet touching you directly but feeling the outline of what was underneath. He could almost feel it all, the curve of your mound down to the slit where he pushed his thumb against until he could make out your entrance and feel the way you seemed to gasp when he teased you.
You had to bite down on your lip to keep in the surprised yelp from the way he began to pull your underwear down, moving to kiss whatever he exposed, not shying away from being more intimate. He raised your leg, sliding the cloth off before placing soft kisses against your calf and thigh, leading your legs over his shoulders before he laid back down and looked at what was between them. You felt like running away from how focused he seemed on your heat, almost asked him why until he was leaning down, tongue coming out to swipe against your hooded clit teasingly.
The bed was lush with pillows, using them to sink your head into when he did it again, this time more firm and intentional. You’ll admit, it’s been a while since you last had gotten intimate with someone so you couldn’t help but squirm when his tongue became more languid in its movements, separating your folds with the tip of it and letting his lips tug on the pulled skin. You couldn’t help but gasp, feeling his fingers pinch your thighs to keep you still while he circled your hardening clit with the tip of his tongue before kissing your labia and licking up whatever slick you released.
“Oh,” you couldn’t help but let out when he pressed his tongue against your entrance, nose pushing against your clit and just letting himself be completely engulfed by your essence. You could practically feel him smile against your core when he tilted his head to the side to tug your labia softly between his lips before letting it go and repeating the action.
When your hand found his hair, he seemed to pause wondering if you wanted him to stop, but then he felt a tug and he was helplessly following after you until you kissed, neither caring if there was the taste of you on his tongue. A low groan bubbled up in his throat that slipped through your lips when your tongue licked along his like you didn’t care he had just been kissing your soaked pussy and that made him unbelievably hard.
Jungkook moved a hand down to your legs, finding its way to your wet cunt, gently pressing into the puddle of slick at your entrance before moving up to your clit and rubbing it between his fingers. Your hands were in his hair, tugging softly whenever he did something you liked and with his tongue down your throat, he didn’t hesitate to tease your entrance with his middle finger, already feeling how tight your walls are when he began to press inside. Your mouth slipped open in pleasure as he thrusted a long finger into your cunt, palm flat against your clit and rubbing it in rhythm with his finger that soon became two, “You’re so wet, Angel.”
His fingers were completely soaked and anytime he pulled out his fingers to push them back in, he could practically feel the puddle around them and it made his dick throb in his pants. Your kissing came to an end when Jungkook couldn’t help but feel the need to disappear between your legs again, a bit annoyed that the fabric of your dress was in the way but pulled away anyway.
You arched your back off the bed in pleasure when his mouth found your clit again, paying his full attention back on it instead of his fingers which never relented on pumping in and out of you with such vigor that your legs began to shake, “Jungkook.”
“Hm?” He moaned, teeth lightly tugging on your folds and watching them go back until he licked against them to do it again.
“Are you close, Angel?” Jungkook asks with an unusually hoarse voice when you start to clench around his fingers, “Go ahead, let go for me.”
Your face hot and your chest heaving at the intensity just as it hits you and you’re cumming with a whimper that you try and hide behind a closed fist when his tongue eagerly licks up your release as it flows out and around his fingers. It took him a while to stop, only when he felt your thighs tremble did he pull away, some of your release coating his lips and piercings that he hungrily licked clean. A curse left his lips breathlessly as he sat back on his knees and looked down to see the way your pussy was flooded in slick.
You sat up once you had caught your breath, moving closer as he stared at his coated fingers curiously and without thinking, you took his hand by the wrist and brought his fingers toward your mouth. He watched you lick the space between them before bringing them into your mouth and sucking your essence clean off them.
“Fuck, Y/n,” his eyes fell shut as he let himself sink into the feeling of his fingers being sucked into your warm mouth and it was so hot in this bedroom. He pressed his thumb against your cheek as he attempted to take his fingers out of your mouth so he could use two hands to undress finally and you let him do just that. You bit into your bottom lip when he took his shirt off exposing more tattoos and muscle you had never seen but knew was there.
He looked at you as he undid his jeans, kicking them off along with his briefs exposing his hard cock that pointed straight with need that had him wincing at even the slightest touch of his hand against his tip. You quickly pulled on your dress, proving Jungkook’s earlier thoughts right when he questioned if you wore a bra or not—the answer was not—and it led him straight back to you. He kissed down your collarbone, hands on your hips as laid down between your legs, cock against your core causing him to moan out when he raised a hand knead your breast.
“I don’t have a condom,” he whispered in realization as he looked down at the way his slick began to tease your clit. Of course he wanted to continue but he doesn’t have any protection and it’s up to you what you want to do.
Your hands roamed against his back, “Jungkook.”
He looked up at you, lip pulled between his teeth when he felt your hand disappear between your pressed bodies until it circled around his stiff member making him bite back a groan of pleasure. You gave him a few strokes, guiding him down until his tip slipped into your slick and he looked at you with want when you said, “Just fuck me.”
It was all he needed to let himself sink into your entrance, a low moan leaving his lips as he felt his cock open your walls to adjust to his size. He didn’t stop pushing until he was all in, waiting there and feeling your breath grow more impatient as you got used to the feel of him.
He took things nice and slow, still concerned that you might want to end things any second, hoping you began to feel easy how good it felt when he rolled his hips, pushing more of his cock into you when you tightened.
“Fuck…” Jungkook couldn’t stop from cursing as pleasure took over his instincts. His body perfectly molded against yours with no space between them as he only used his hips to fuck you, “So good.”
Although he’s ashamed, he’ll admit that he has had his fair share of sexual intercourse but he can’t remember the last time he felt this good. His body felt like it was moving on its own accord, seeking its own pleasure with yours and he was so close. He kissed along your neck when you tipped your head back, lips parted with the force of his hips pushing himself deeper in a steady, but rough thrust of his cock.
Your breasts pressed against his chest as he practically hugged you to him with each thrust and he knew you were as close as he was to release. He brought a hand up your side until he was cupping a breast in his palm, kneading the soft flesh and rubbing his fingertip against your nipple watching the way your jaw seemed to drop in warning that you were close. Despite his hair being much shorter than it used to be, it still fell forward and over his eyes looking sweaty.
“You feel so good, Angel” he grunts, talking you both through orgasm. It was true, although he was doing all of the work, every little moan he pulled out of you mixed with the feel of your body against his felt so damn good. It made all this patience he had when it came to you worth it.
When Jungkook knew you were just over the edge, he brought his hand down, barely pressing it into your clit when he felt your walls tighten, a growl leaving his lips at how you sucked his cock in until finally, the tension broke and he felt himself flood with your release. He dug his face into your neck, shaking slightly as he bit back his own orgasm until yours subdued and he carefully guided his dick back out. Once the air hit his exposed, soaked member, everything broke loose.
You had taken him in your hand, stroking him through release and costing your thigh in his cum, listening to his string of moans and groans of pleasure with a gentleness he’s not sure he’s ever felt.
It took you both a while to regain some awareness and were ashamed to admit it was Coal’s persistent meowing on the other side of the bedroom door. Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh as he let himself collapse down on your bed next to you, breathing heavily with a hand on his chest as he saw stars—literally, littered across your ceiling. His hand searched endlessly for some sign of you, taking a lock of your hair and twisting it around his finger when you moved to sit up, hands covering your exposed intimates almost shyly. He raised a curious brow, sitting up on his elbow as he looked at the mess the two of you had made.
“You okay?” He asked with concern. The candles lit around the room reflected a soft glow off your skin and you looked as ethereal and whimsical as he thought that first night.
“Yes,” you said quietly, “I think I need a shower, though.”
He smiled, “So let’s take one.”
The next morning you found him sitting at the wooden counter of the shop.
“What are you reading?” You asked Jungkook as he had a book open, studying it carefully.
“Natural contraceptives,” Jungkook mumbled as he wrote down the names of various herbs on an old napkin, “I should have been more prepared last nigh—Do you have Black Cohosh or Angelica by chance? I heard if you drink it in a tea, it should help promote menstrua—“
Your hand covers his mouth when you felt the tall tale signs of your best friend approaching. Even before Jimin opened the door to the shop, he had a shit eating grin at the sight of you two, and not caring much for secrecy as he waved a finger to turn the sign to ‘OPEN’.
“So what did the two of you get up to last night?” He asked casually, trying to peak at the book that you quickly slammed shut bringing an amused smile to Jungkook’s face.
“We went out for some drinks,” Jungkook answered, standing up with an arm around your waist, pressing a kiss to your temple, “I’m going to start boiling water.”
It was strangely comical and endearing the way he acted and Jimin watched the way your gaze followed after him.
“Wow, and I didn’t even have to cast a love spell to bring that look into your eyes.”
On the night of November 1st, outside during a crescent moon, Jungkook asked if you could be his girlfriend sounding strangely shy that you couldn’t say no.
::.
omg this took me forever but I finally got out a little Halloween fic and I’ve actually done a softer, cuter oc than usual? woahhh who am I. also my bday is this Sunday [oct 29] and I just think I’m so special I gotta let yall know
permanent taglist: @notmyfaultbutours @rerefundslocals @fandems @sugaluvmyg @guvgguk @kimyishin n @libra04 @kooromiwrld @classycreationcupcake-blog @alwaysdreamingnotsleeping @cherrymonlightt @nikkiordonez12 @asking4-sanity @thvlover @saweetspoiled @uwu2rawr @shaybts-blog @babycandy111 @tearyjjeon @joons-uparupa @jeonninja @yellowcupid08 @02010802faves @knudsenheggedel @skzthinker @unnatae @aurorthi @beautywine @95ene @taekookstata @lilliankoo @shescharlie @annenakamura @lesoleile @burnahtsw @babybella337 @kooloveys @ku-ku @chaelvrx @minnie-mouser22 @Imeneghd @whoa-jo @evajeonsworld @marvelbun @sunnikthv @kochycooky @heyhowyoudoin3 @acielelyseen @giselleswifeee @jeonjk25 @ilikeitlikethatt @bangmechanpls @lvr2seok @badbyeyoongi @jaerisdiction @watermelonjuice15 @artmsmaid @xyahrinx @angeleen777 @jooniesxbby @brillantdarling
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highvern · 3 months
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Burnt Coffee
Pairing: Kwon Soonyoung x gn! Reader
Genre: fluff
Summary: Running a cafe hadn’t been as glamorous as you initially believed. You loved your job; the cozy aroma of the different roasts, the hum of the espresso machine, the foam art you tediously practiced until a cute bear face stared back from the surface of a cappuccino. But any new shop comes with quirks, like the fire alarm that goes off almost every morning. Luckily, the fire station is just across the street and you unknowingly have one of the fireman wrapped around your finger.
Warnings: coffee shop owner reader, firefighter Hoshi, pockets of angst, crying, lots of mentions of food and coffee, firefighter jihoon and his baker gf, crying, kissing
Length: ~4.6k
Note: second valentine's fic! surprise! written for the Cupid For You Fic Exchange hosted by @svthub. Happy Valentine's @idyllic-ghost / @bee-buzzez !!! i hope its the cafe au of your dreams
read more here
This blog is intended for 18+ only! Minors/blank blogs will be blocked!
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“I’ve got an iced dirty chai with oat milk at the end of the bar!”
A sour-faced woman scoffs, “That isn’t what I ordered.”
“Well, is your name Samantha?” 
“No.”
“Then it isn’t your order.” 
The exchange between Seungkwan and the woman rings familiar. Sundays bring out the best in everyone it seems. But you're too busy handling the never ending line of drink tickets to scold him for poor customer service. Focusing on the machine, you pull shot after shot; inadvertently covering yourself in errant splashes of milk and coffee. The rush of the morning is still going strong but you hone into the rhythm and let your mind fall away from anything beyond the cups resting atop the counter next to you.
But as always, the steam from the milk frother continues to heat the space above; right where the over sensitive fire alarm was installed.
The shrill blaring freezes everyone in place. A few children scream in shock, making the vein on your temple throb. Your ears ring with each pulse as your head falls into your hands.
Every single morning since you opened Fika two months ago the alarm went off without fail.
And then he would show up like clockwork.
The bell attached to the wooden door chimes as Soonyoung breaks through the threshold of the cafe. Grimaced faces greet him. The shrill fire alarm with flash lights blares into the industrial space, bouncing off the walls to echo inanely. 
“Earlier than usual.” Soonyoung chirps as he saunters past the line, easily rounding the bar to access the screeching piece of junk inconveniently placed above the espresso machine.
You step out of the way, face flat and mouth tense. “Busy day.” You explain.
The alarm cuts off as swift as it started, Soonyoung stepping back to smile down at you.
“I can hang around in case. Seems like that line isn’t going anywhere.”
“Yeah, sure. Do you want something to drink?” You offer stepping back to the line of cups littering the metal counter.
“Ooo, buying me drinks already? Aren’t you presumptuous?”
The wiggle of his eyebrows is meant to be suggestive but they only make him look like he ate a mouthful of sour candy.
“Nevermind.” You huff, stepping around the man as you grab the next cup in line and start working. “Go save a cat in a tree or something.”
Sensing your waning mood, Soonyoung cuts the act. “I’ll just have my regular.”
“You know where the cups are.”
A full cup of brewed coffee joins him on the opposite side of the counter. Soonyoung plants himself in his usual chair, chin resting on his curled fist as he watches you work your magic.
On slow days he’ll chat your ear off until the fire station calls him back. But on days like today, he’s content to in silence; obsessed with the sureness of your hands, the strong pout of your lips, and the way everything seems pulled into your gravity.
Maybe he has a crush on you.
Scratch that; Soonyoung definitely has a crush on you.
And everyone knows. His supervisor, Jihoon, knows. It’s why Soonyoung is always the one to come and fix the faulty alarm in the shop. His best friend, Seokmin, knows. It’s why Seokmin and his fiancee constantly batter him with texts about when he’ll ask you on a date. If someone went to space and looked down they could see how much he likes you without even trying.
You hit a lull and Soonyoung takes his chance. “Got any special plans this week?”
“We’re doing themed baked goods on Wednesday.” You call over your shoulder.
It’s not what Soonyoung was asking about but he takes it in stride.
Your employees also know about the fireman’s feelings. It’s why Seungkwan throws a pitying look his way along with a deformed muffin. Subtle rejection tastes like blueberries and brown sugar.
“Will you save me one?” Soonyoung asks.
“Is free coffee not enough?”
“Who said I wouldn’t pay for it?”
You never let Soonyoung pay for anything at the cafe. Despite how much he enjoys free food, it always makes him feel a bit guilty. It’s why you think he only drinks black coffee with a lethal amount of sugar when in reality he’d take some fancy espresso drink any day. 
You laugh as you continue to work through the next batch of orders. “We’ll see if there are any left.”
“I’m a civil servant!”
“Serve in silence please!” Seungkwan barks, earning a few chuckles from the other customers sitting at the bar.
The back and forth continues and eventually the line dwindles to nothing as the morning lulls on. Soonyoung downs two more cups and manages to haggle Seungkwan for an overly toasted slice of banana bread with a singed corner he planned to throw out anyway.
The entire time Soonyoung watches you. Even covered in splashes of milk and coffee stains, he’s still enamored with you as you lean over the bar and jot notes in the ever expanding list of repairs and updates the shop needs.
And just when Soonyoung opens his mouth to say something, anything, the shrill beep of his phone cuts him off.
“Damn, I gotta head back.” He curses. “Just call if you need me again, okay?”
“Will do.” 
You don’t even look up as he walks towards the door.
“Satan is one the phone for you.”
“Please be less specific.” You beg Seungkwan, grabbing the receiver still on hold.
“Bakery lady.”
Steeling yourself, you unmute the phone and bring it to your ear.
“Hello?”
“Y/N?”
“Yes.”
“I was reviewing orders for Valentine’s. You're only doing the usual? I thought we talked about special items. I already bought the ingredients so if you changed your mind it’s putting me out of money.”
“No, we need at least two dozen of the cupcakes and two dozen of the cookies on top of our usual order.”
“That’s not what the order form says!” The old crone hawks through the line.
You ask her for a moment while pulling out your laptop and settling into a seat far away from the clusters of customers still strung throughout the cafe.
Wiping your face, you stare at the illuminated screen of your computer with the order form pulled up. “I have the form on my screen right now and it clearly says—”
“I don’t care what you’re looking at, it’s not what I have on my end!”
“Are you sure you’re looking at the form for Fika on Second street?”
“I’m telling you I’m—oh.”
The deflation in her tone pulls a smirk across your lips. “Hm?”
“Alright so two dozen red velvet cupcakes and two dozen heart sugar cookies?”
“Yep.”
“Alright, I’ll have it on Wednesday.”
“Thanks.”
Click.
The table shakes with the impact of your forehead. The clatter of your mug draws attention from the few customers around but none pay much attention.
“Everything okay?” A voice asks from above.
“Great. Wonderful.” You say into the wood.
“Good. Because the espresso machine is broken…again.”
You rise from your seat, face indecipherable as you walk past the counter, through the back storage area and into the alley behind the building. 
Several seconds pass before you release a guttural scream. It's gritty, ripping apart your throat as all bubbling exhaustion breaches your lips. The noise echos between the brick walls before escaping to the sky above. Several pigeons flee to the rooftops for safety while mice and other vermin scuffle along the walls in terror.
Seungkwan watches from the door, eyes wide as you continue to belt for the trash bags and city rats witnessing your meltdown. 
Your voice fizzles as you run out of air. Closing your eyes, you take two deep breaths. Inhaling the scent of stale storm water and whatever else perfumes the back alley until the stretch of your lungs burns from the inside out.
And then you turn and walk back inside as if the entire thing never happened.
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The block is only illuminated by streetlights at this hour. Not even the earliest of early birds litter the narrow sidewalk as you push into the empty cafe and begin prepping for the Monday morning rush. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air, the whir of the grinder harmonizing with the jazz playlist curling down from the speakers. 
The calm before the storm.
Slowly the first shift employees trickle in just before opening; relieving you to commandeer the office slash storage room in the back, intent on knocking out the mountain of paperwork and following up with the repair man about the alarm he said he would be back to fix last week. But first, the phone blinking with unread messages.
“This is Megan. We’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warr—”
Message deleted.
The next message is a young man reporting his credit card missing and visiting your shop. You call and let his voicemail know no one has seen anything but you hope he figures it out.
“Hi Y/N. This is Cheryl with Harmony Bakers. Just wanted to let you know I won’t be able to get that special order for Valentine’s Day. Or your regular order for tomorrow. We’ve decided to close up shop. Sorry about the inconvenience.”
The words don’t hit at first. But your brain slowly catches up to what Cheryl is saying. Canceling. She’s canceling two days before Valentine’s.
Your attempts to return her call fall flat. Six tries and all ring once before dropping into an automated message reporting her voicemail is full, no doubt from the other shops she’s also shafted with the impulsive decision. 
No holiday treats. No regular food items. No back up. No plan B. 
Failure, failure, failu—
The pad of paper littered with notes sails into the not so far wall only to slap against the plaster and slip to the ground. 
You can only focus on one problem at a time. Or at least the problem whose solution won’t send you to jail. And that means heading to the front where the day is starting to pick up.
The boys have things under control but the line is lengthening and you’re a great way to relieve the pressure. Immediately an invisible song pulls you into the rhythm of their work; drinks and food hit the end of the bar almost as fast as the orders came in.
Soonyoung comes in and waits at the counter as usual. The alarm seems to be granting mercy given the horrible state of affairs from this morning.
The customers not so much.
“God, how stupid are you that you messed up a simple order? It’s a fucking americano and you made it taste like ass.” 
The man standing at the end of the bar, hands flat on the counter in an attempt to physically dominate the space, always complains. His iced drinks are too cold, his hot drinks are too hot, the weather is bad, taxes are too high, the list continues on and on. And somehow it's always your fault. 
Usually its little barbs under his breath but today he’s out for blood and you’ve already had enough.
Your teeth grit together so hard it feels like the forced smile plastered on your face might crack them into dusk. “Like I said, I can remake it for you if you’d lik—” 
“Why would I want you to remake it? You clearly have no idea what you’re doing. Get someone else.”
“I got it.” Seungcheol steps forward. 
The older man gives him an apprehensive look. Seungcheol is harmless but he knows how to be scary when he wants to be.
“I’m gonna go…restock something…” you warble, all but sprinting to the back.
Plastic sleeves of cups and boxes of straws bear witness to your breakdown. The six am tantrum clouds in and your carefully built dam of control explodes. Hot tears streak your cheeks, dripping off the jut of your chin with every gasping breath from the knot in your throat tangling tighter and tighter. All you can hear are ugly gasping breaths as you rock back and forth in the dark. 
The sliver of light spilling in from the cracked door doesn’t register given the way your face is buried in your hands. Soonyoung has half a mind to pretend he never entered the cramped space. He’s never seen you so… small.
A shrill squeak of the hinge alert you to the new presence. Bloodshot eyes find his wide ones and you swipe at your face to hide the evidence of your distress. You go to speak but barely manage a croak before the tears come again.
“Shit,” Soonyoung whispers. “It’s okay, it’s alright.”
The warmth of his chest makes you cry harder, tears spilling onto his neck as you hide from the world. He smooths the flat of his palm across your back.
It's anyone’s guess how long you stay there. Soonyoung’s cheek rests on the top of your head, arms firm around your shoulders. The faint smell of smoke tickles your nose. Smoke and pine from his cologne. It tethers your mind, lulling the frantic breakdown and giving you something to focus on other than how horrible the day has become in the span of a few hours.
No baked goods. Horrible customers. And now you’re being held by the handsome fighter from next door with snot dripping from your nose.
Soonyoung hesitates when you shift in his hold, arms tightening for a second in case another bout of tears crops up. But you pull far enough away to send an embarrassed grimace his way before looking anywhere else.
“Sorry.” You say, turning to snatch napkins from the shelf next to you.
His hand continues to rub your shoulders as you dab your eyes and blow your nose. 
“It’s okay. That guy was a jerk.”
“I don’t care what he said.” 
Soonyoung stares in disbelief, waiting for you to continue. 
“My baker canceled on me, and the espresso machine is held together with duct tape, and there's a million other things going wrong, not to mention the fire alarm. And I just…”
Squeezing your eyes tight to prevent the moisture swelling in the corners proves unhelpful. To Soonyoung’s credit he stays silent, allowing you all the time you need to get your thoughts in order. But the hand on your back continuing to trace abstract shapes between your shoulder blades lets you know he’s there when you’re ready.
“It’s just been a rough week.” You say to the floor.
The admission lifts the ten pound weight off your chest. Soonyoung isn’t an employee you need to guarantee everything is okay to or a customer requiring a mask. He’s a…friend? It feels generous but if he was anything less you doubt he’d be where he is now.
“Is there any way I can help?”
You blow your nose into the tissue before laughing wetly. “I don’t suppose you have a magic wand, do you?”
“Just broke mine actually.” He winces sarcastically.
What’s another thing on your never ending to-do list? Along with the desperate need to buy more supplies for tomorrow, how difficult can it be to conjure artisan baked goods out of thin air?
“Actually,” Soonyoung perks. “Jihoon’s girlfriend works at a bakery. Pete’s? No, wait. Penny’s?”
“Petunia’s?”
“That’s the one! Maybe I can ask her if she can help?”
“Good luck.” You snort. “They couldn’t even fit me into their normal rotation.”
“We won’t know until we ask!” He chips, thrilled he can help.
Soonyoung jumps up, a cruel chill invading the space he once occupied. Like the sun moving behind a cloud and leaving you at the mercy of a cool breeze; there and gone before you can delve into what it means.
You hand him the order form you usually give your baker to relay to Jihoon’s girlfriend. While he steps out to ask for a miracle you focus on tallying how many cups, napkins, lids, and other miscellaneous items you need from the supply store across town. A few lone tears appear, falling without much preamble but the worst is out and stained on Soonyoung’s shoulder. You’ll get through it. With Soonyoung’s help you’ll get past everything, even if his efforts fall flat.
Seungcheol and Seungkwan confirm they’ve got things under control as you take your leave. Soonyoung is just visible in the dissipating morning fog hanging in the street. He paces the sidewalk, speaking into his phone animatedly before spotting you trying to sneak past him to your car.
“Thank you! You’re the best!” He cheers before hanging up and pocketing his phone.
“So?”
“They’ll do it! One of the other shops dropped out last minute and they have a lot of extras. Maybe not all the usual stuff but Rita said she can pull together most of the stuff on the form.”
Body frozen, you stare at Soonyoung with an open mouth and eyes wide. There’s no way he solved half your workload with one phone call.
“She also said they can try and work you into their usual orders. If that’s something you’re interested in…” Soonyoung trails off, glancing at you nervously. 
In a blink your back in his arms, squeezing him so hard your arms hurt.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” You chant into his chest.
“Of course.”
Stepping back, you blush at your own impulsiveness. 
“Um, well…” you fumble, clearing your throat you get back to the task at hand. “I need to run to the store so I’ll see you later.”
“I can come!” 
“No! I mean, you’ve already helped so much. I’d feel bad dragging you along.”
“Don’t worry about me, I'm just trying to make sure you don’t start crying again and cause an accident.”
“Okay, rude.”
Soonyoung ignores you, already strutting down the street.
“Your cars this way, right?”
“No.”
“Listen, I wanna come with you. I have nothing else to do today.”
“Cool,” You laugh, continuing the opposite direction Soonyoung headed.  “but my car is still this way.”
The drive is pleasant. You learn more about Soonyoung in the thirty minutes it takes to get across town than you’ve learned in the weeks he’s been coming to the cafe. He has an older sister, he likes to volunteer at the youth center down the street in his time off, and he cannot work a computer if his life depends on it. You also learn more about his coworker turned best friend who also happens to be the boyfriend of your new god.
“Yeah Jihoon and I started the same day. He comes off kinda cold but it's all an act.”
“Oh, really?” You laugh, pulling into a cramped parking spot.
“One hundred percent. You should see him with Rita. I never saw him blush that much until they started dating.”
“How’d they meet?”
“Funny story.” Soonyoung shares, climbing out of the passenger seat. “So the bakery she worked at before had a fire. No one was hurt and they put it out before we even got there! But we went to make sure everything was clear. Well, Rita was there and I swear it was love at first sight for him.”
“That’s sweet.”
You both make your way inside the sliding doors; Soonyoung pushing a flat cart behind you through the aisles. 
“He’s definitely mellowed out since he met her. Doesn’t work as much, thank god.”
“What about your girlfriend? Do you guys have the same Hallmark meet cute?”
“Oh! I don’t have a girlfriend.” Soonyoung mumbles, ears turning scarlett.
Your face heats as well. Whatever force compelled you to ask such a prying question revels in satisfaction to hear Soonyoung is in fact single. A tidbit of information you’ve never wondered about before.
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“Sorry I couldn’t get you anything for today.” Rita says as she helps unpack everything onto the counter.
The cafe is scarce of customers, far past closing time but Rita said they’d be too busy delivering to their other customers in the morning to spare a trip to you. What's another Tuesday at the shop? It isn't like you have time for much of a social life given the million things you need to do.
“Really don’t worry about it. You're saving my life by getting me this stuff for tomorrow.”
“Well Soonyoung made a bargain I couldn’t refuse.”
You pause for a moment. Soonyoung didn't mention anything beyond the payment Rita quoted and later sent via email. Did he promise something from the shop on your behalf?
Swallowing the budding annoyance, you continue to work like nothing is wrong. “Oh?”
“I mean an entire month of covering Jihoon’s shifts? What kind of person passes that up?”
What?
Soonyoung offered to sacrifice all his free time to help you. Soonyoung who you barely know beyond the fact that he pretends to like black coffee. The man chews with his mouth open. Soonyoung who let you ruin his sweater with tears and snot from a horrible day.
“You didn’t know?” Rita asks, face full of mirth.
“Ugh, no,” you cough. “He didn’t tell me that.”
“I was shocked when he offered. He wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”
But he did it for you.
“Yeah.”
“Y/N?” 
You find Rita smiling like she knows some big secret. If you had to guess, it's probably the same thing you're realizing now.
“Soonyoung’s a great guy.”
Words fail you because you know Soonyoung is a great guy. He held you when you cried, he comes in everyday without fail to turn off the alarm, and he just sacrificed a month of his life because it would help you.
Once you and Rita unpack the remaining cookies and cakes, she takes her leave but not before dropping another wink when she spots Soonyoung approaching from the direction of the fire house.
“Rita.” he greets at the door, holding it open for her exit.
“Hosh.”
And she’s gone without another word.
“How’s it going?” Soonyoung asks, rounding the counter to join you.
“Great!” You blurt with too much enthusiasm. “Rita ended up making everything we needed.”
A second set of hands assists in packing the glass display case in preparation for tomorrow's chaos. Soonyoung listens well. Patient to a T as you direct him to tweak things just so from the opposite side of the bar.
“Thank you for all your help this week. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here to help.”
He continues to unpack the few remaining goods beneath the counter as he responds. “It’s not a big deal. What are friends for?”
“Hmm and you agree to cover all of Jihoon’s shifts for your friends?”
Leaning back against the opposite counter, you watch Soonyoung’s shoulder tense and his ears erupt into bright red. He’s so still he doesn’t even seem to be breathing at the shock of being caught. Each passing second heightens the smirk curling your lips. 
“Oh, you heard about that?” He asks into the counter.
You saddle up beside him, dropping your head until his eyes meet your own. Each inch of space you claim next to him sends him away like an opposing magnet; until your sandwich between him and the hardwood.
“Yeah, I heard.”
Soonyoung backs away nervously but not before you catch the way his eyes cut to your mouth. Who knew all it took is a smile and batting your eyelashes to make chatty Soonyoung clam up? The shyness bubbling on the edge of your conscious fizzles with the new knowledge; instead, curiosity takes its place. How much more can you make him blush? What would he do if you grabbed his hand? Or if you took a chance and kissed him?
“Soonyoung?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have a crush on me?” You smile around each word.
He opens his mouth to argue but it's moot with the way you gaze at him, eyes shining with mirth.  Like you're laughing at some shared joke. Soonyoung will tell you whatever truths you want to hear if it means you’ll keep looking at him like that.
“Yeah.” Soonyoung whispers so quietly you almost don’t hear him.
“Good.” 
You step into his space with finality, chests brushing with each breath. 
“Good?” 
The edge of your teeth pinning your lip down is the only thing preventing a smile from ripping across your face as you answer. “Because I have a crush on you too.”
“Oh…” He nods, head dropping dejectedly and then it hits him and whips back up so fast his eyeballs rattle. “OH. You do?”
He watches you nod, slowly angling himself to connect your lips. When Soonyoung realizes you aren’t going to push him away, evident by the hand fisted in his sweater, he goes for it.
The curve of your lip, the breathy sigh you release into his mouth, the way you seem to go boneless with each pass are all committed to his memory. Soonyoung reminds himself to be good. That this is the first time he’s kissing you and he should be a gentleman; gentle, chaste, respectful. 
And he would succeed but you’re acting like you have no interest in any of those things. You whisper another heavenly sigh into his mouth, trailing a hand in the short strands of hair at the base of his skull forcing Soonyoung to focus on batting away the demons at the edge of his mind rather than giving into temptation.
But when you tug to angle his head better the delicious sting drowns Soonyoung so quickly he has you pinned to the counter before he realizes what's happening.
Sometime later, when your lips are swollen and the floor sways beneath you from the flood of giddiness coursing through your veins, you and Soonyoung part. The crisp air of the late night tries in vain to nip at your face but you’re too distracted by the calluses on the side of Soonyoung’s thumb and the way they rasp against your knuckles as he walks you to your car.
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The cafe is in full swing by the time Soonyoung comes in Wednesday morning. 
All morning he paced across the cramped common room of the fire station. Sure you let him kiss you but what did it all mean? He knows you like him but did you like like him or just like him? Should he have asked you on a date? Would that be too forward? Did he mess things up by not immediately asking you out despite the fact he was so love drunk he ran into a pole after watching you drive off?
He fights the idea of running across the street and demanding answers. You’re definitely too busy to spare a second and tame the butterflies in his stomach. And how pathetic would he look if he asked you to explicitly dictate how you feel so no wires end up cross? And on Valentine’s day no less?
Luckily, he’s saved by the bell. Or rather the fire alarm.
He watches you work like a tornado, pausing only to smile at him the same way you did last night when he did not so safe for work things against the very counter lined with coffee cups and steaming mugs. Flashes of memory heat across his face.
You thank him with his usual coffee and one of the cupcakes you set aside just for him. Except this time his paper cup is scribbled with a heart and something else.
Be my Valentine? _Yes _ Also Yes _ YES BUT LOUD
At some point he should tell you about the sensitivity setting on the alarm and how all you need to do is nudge the tiny lever to the right if you don't want it going off every time the steam builds up. But the way you beam at him when he steals the sharpie from behind your ear and checks all three boxes on the cup makes Soonyoung decide it’s a secret he’ll keep for now.
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@cvpidyunho @miniseokminnies @tomodachiii @ddaengpotate @arycutie @gaebestie @gyuguys @primoppang @mine-gyu @doremifasire @missminhoe
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m0nsterqzzz · 2 months
Text
Cat's Out of the Bag La Rue
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pairing: Clarisse La Rue x reader
summary: Valentines Day rolls around, and what kind of girlfriend would Clarisse be if she didnt get you the only present you've been wanting?
a/n: i wrote like 5 fucking valentines day fics yesterday (one with natasha, one with wanda, one with clarisse, one with carol danvers, and one with katniss everdeen) yet this is the only one im posting and i kinda hate it. literally the shortest oneshot i've ever written. also, I'm literally a dog person writing about cats. what has life come to?
is this the worst thing i've ever written? yes. do i hate every other piece of written recently cuz im in writers block and haven't updated in like 3 weeks? also yes. im so done yall.
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With a baseball cap covering her head, tucking her curls against her head and being the best disguise she could come up with, Clarisse’s eyes dart all around the cab. It zooms through the streets of New York, making the child of Are’s slightly concerned for her and her siblings safety as they get honked out. The man driving seems like he’s barely paying attention to the road, but in the end it doesn’t really matter as long as they get to their destination. 
There are three children in the yellow car; Clarisse, her half brother Mark, and her half sister Ruby. They were the only ones who she could convince to come with her to town, past the safe bounds of camp half blood where nothing but their weapons can stop monsters from hunting and hurting them.
It’d be a lie to say Clarisse isn’t nervous, but she pushes the feeling down as she grips her spear tighter in her left hand. 
This is for you. She’s going into town and risking getting in trouble for the end result of seeing her favorite smile. Your smile. Her partner of one year. It may not seem like a very long time to some people, but you guys are demigods. It’s surprising you made it through the year without being killed by some horrible, ugly monster.
The car stops and the guy counts the large amount of money Mark hands him before telling them to get out of his cab. It may have annoyed the teenagers on any other day, but it doesn’t bother them too much since today is a special day.
“Why are we here?” Ruby asks, eyes scanning the area around them as if sure something is going to jump out at them. In the blonde haired girl's defense, it’s very possible something will.
Clarisse gestures to the small building in front of them. It’s run down and in desperate need of a paint job, but it doesn’t matter. That’s not what grabs the child of Ares attention. It’s the small animals chilling in their little spots inside the store. That’s what she’s here for.
The sign above the small colorful store reads, “Mike’s Animals”. Boring name, but gets the point across. She can already see the little animal she came here for when they walk through the door, the loud bell ringing from the action of opening it but no employee comes to help them. Clarisse lets her siblings stare in awe at the other animals for a few months before shoving towards a section near the back. The kitten section. You had been showing her a website on your phone a few days ago, one with a different selection of the small animals. The website was for Mike’s Animals, but you explained that even though you’d really like a cat, pets aren’t allowed in Camp Half Blood. It’s a rule.
Well you wanna know what Clarisse says about that? Screw rules. What her person want’s, her person gets.
So if the police ever come around, asking you why Clarisse shoved a black and white kitten into her brother's coat pocket and then made a run for it while the store manager chased after them, that’s what you have to say.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
You're laying on your bed reading a book when your girlfriend walks in, a large box covered by a piece of fabric under one arm and a bouquet of flowers in her free hand. She ignores your siblings' gazes as she walks towards your space, setting down the box with a type of gentleness nobody in camp but you gets to see and then holding out the flowers.
They’re your favorite, clearly straight out of the flower fields by the slight glow they give off. They’re wrapped in a brown type of paper with a pink bow clearly down by one of the Aphrodite kids to hold it all together.
“Hey my love.” She starts. “These are for you.” You take the plants with a large grin on your face, bringing them closer to your face to smell the amazing natural scent coming from them. Something moves inside the box she sat on your bed, making you hold in a scream as you jump closer to your girlfriend and farther away from it. “What the hell is moving in that Clarisse?!” You ask, your siblings' attention all over you guys now.
Clarisse just laughs, but she seems slightly nervous as she puts the crate in your lap. “Just look. I hope you like it.” She continues to nervously ramble as you remove the cloth from the top of the box, letting out a small gasp when you see the small animal looking back at you with wide, curious blue eyes.
Your girlfriend stares as you gently pick him up, him instantly curling into your hold with a soft pur as you hold him close to your chest. “You um…you like him?” She asks with a small smile.
“Of course I do! He’s adorable, Risse!” She lets out a relieved sigh, laying down next to you as your siblings surround the bed trying to get a look at the animal. “You know Chiron will never let you keep that right?” One of your brothers asks with a laugh, and you frown as you look at your girlfriend.
She thinks about it for a moment before she says, “We’ll just hide him. He can lounge around the cabin while you’re gone, and you guys can hide him somewhere during cabin checks. Chiron will never know.”
Your siblings eventually leave you alone, going back to their acticicus as your two favorite beings cuddle up to you. Clarisse cuddles up next to your side, and the kitten on your stomach. “I really like you Oreo.” you whisper to the animal, making your girlfriend laugh. “Oreo? That’s the most original thing you could think of right?”
“Okay if you're so great at naming things, what should we name him?”
She goes quiet for a few seconds before mumbling in defeat, “I like Oreo.”
You guys enjoy the silence that surrounds just you guys as you pet Oreo, but then a small laugh comes from you when Clarisse gently grabs the cat and pulls him off your chest so she can lay her head there. “He’s been here for half an hour and you're already jealous?” “He was getting way too touchy. Mine.” She teases and then fakes an annoyed groan when he crawls onto her back and lays down, stretching himself out just to prove a point.
“Will you be my Valentine, my love?” She asks as she places her chin on your chest to look up at you. There's a certain softness in her eyes that you and only you get to see. In fact, it’s very, very rare you ever see the side everyone else talks about when they talk about Clarisse towards you. “You guys just don’t know her like I do.” You tell them. Not like they believe you, half of the camp still believing you somehow put a spell on her.
“Only if you’ll be mine.” You whisper back as if it’s a secret.
“Oh…this is awkward. I already agreed to be like ten other girls date.” Her voice is teasing as she tries and fails not to giggle.
“Is that so?” 
“Mhm.” 
“Hm.” You fake being offended as you cross your arms over your chest and look away. She laughs, and the sound practically forces a smile on your face.
“I’m kidding. Only you, angel. I’m yours. Always.” 
“And I’m yours, Clarisse La Rue.” 
“Always?” 
“And forever.”
There’s a knock on your cabin door, and you figure it’s another camper until a voice calls from the other side of the door, “Clarisse? I know you're in there. Your siblings told me where you went. Cat’s out of the bag La Rue.” Chiron says. Very terrible choice of words. She groans into your stomach, rolling off of you and successfully getting Oreo to jump off her back and onto the bed.
“Those little snitches.” She snarls as she gets up to open the door, making you instantly miss her warmth.
You place the cat under your sweater, giggling and then shoving his face back under when he crawls to put his head through the neck hole. Once she knows he’s covered, Clarisse opens the door. Chirons eyes fall to you, and it’s only then do you think about the fact that there is a giant Oreo shaped lump in your sweater.
All your siblings fall silent as they watch to see what’s gonna happen.
“Mac and cheese day am I right?” You try to joke with a nervous chuckle, but he doesn’t laugh. He just runs a hand over his face and then stares at you. “You know what? I don’t care. You find a way to feed him that isn’t taking resources from us, you make sure he doesn’t do any damage to the furniture, and you keep track of him at all times, you can keep him.”
You grin at him, letting the small animal out of your sweater who in turn lowly hisses at the sight of Chiron.
He groans, walking off as he mumbles something about needing a very long vacation. There's only so much of your girlfriend bending the rules to get you presents he can handle before he was bound to just accept it.
The cinatar leaves, your girlfriend flipping him off when he can’t see. He yells over his shoulder, “I know what you’re doing Clarisse! Stop it or no dessert!” 
She stops flipping him off. Next to you, chocolate cake is what she lives for.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
That night, as you sit with Clarisse at the bonfire, she listens to you complain about how much you miss Oreo. Usually, you’d be too busy roasting marshmallows and cuddling with her to think about anything else, but your girlfriend doesn’t do anything other than smile, happy she made you so happy.
“So how’d you get him anyway? You don’t have that kind of money and there’s no way Chiron gave it to you.” You say, and she freezes in her spot on a log, slightly tightening her arms that are wrapped around your waist as she avoids your eyes.
“I stole him.” Her voice is slightly quieter than usual, and she says this in the most casual tone she can muster.
“CLARISSE LA RUE!”
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