#fic: marriage pact
Text
Marriage Pact (Erwin x Reader) Part II
Synopsis: To the surprise of the cadets, Commander Erwin is married to more than just his work. Their curiosity brings up fond memories of your and Erwin’s early days in the scouts.
Word Count: 6.2k
Tags/Warnings: Language, No Reader Pronouns, Fluff, Marriage Pacts, 104th Cadet Corps Shenanigans
Part I Part II Part III
Notes: It's heeeeeeeeeereeeeeeee
He woke you up the morning of your expedition before the sun rose, gently shaking you awake where you had slouched over. It took a few blinks to remember where you were and the night of drinking, games, and stories you orchestrated the night prior. You sat up with a yawn, back cracking in the multiple places where your makeshift mat of seat cushions hadn’t been kind to you. Erwin knelt on one knee in front of you, his frame outlined in the dark blue hue of the early sky that trickled in through the tall windows. He spoke softly about getting everyone up to prepare to head out.
Hange remained curled up in your lap with their arms wrapped around your leg.
Erwin’s cloak draped over your shoulders and enveloped your form. You wouldn’t even remember you were wearing it until you stopped by your quarters to change into your full uniform. Unable to catch him in the chaos of the expedition prep, you left it hanging up near his horse.
He hadn’t even asked for it back, nor did he bring up your agreement from the night before.
***
“Like… the captain in the Garrison?” Eren chewed his bread thoughtfully, betraying an otherwise bored expression. Jean leaned forward to gauge everyone's expressions around the table. His face fell as everyone seemed to busy themselves with their mundane meals. Jean’s brows knitted together as a severe pout tugged at his lips.
“Yeah…?” He glanced at Eren, who didn’t meet his eye, before surveying the table again. He repeated your rank and name, stressing each syllable. Jean waved a palm in the air. “Hello? I thought you guys would be more invested in this.” A wave of silent hums and acute cringes spread throughout the gathered cadets. Jean sputtered, throwing his hands up in disbelief. “What?”
“I mean…” Armin started, staring off into the grains of the wooden table. “It makes some professional sense.”
“Armin—”
“Really, Armin?”
“Stop.”
The few low hisses circling around the table made Armin bow back toward his meal. Jean blinked, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming.
“What is with you guys?” Jean exclaimed, slapping away Sasha’s hand, which was slowly creeping onto his plate. His mouth opened and closed as a croaking sound stalled in his throat. While everyone ate as usual, Bertholdt was unfortunate enough to meet Jean’s crazed expression. He gulped, quickly shoving a spoonful of stew in his mouth. “Really, Bertholdt?”
“Jean,” Reiner swiveled in his seat with a roll of his eyes and a heave of his shoulders. He breathed out a sigh, letting his spoon hit his plate. Reiner hand waved once assertively in the air in front of Jean’s face. “It’s just not believable.”
“The commander’s initials were literally on the bouquet.”
“No way is Erwin sending roses to a government office,” Eren interjected as if stating the obvious. He blew a few strands of his bangs away from his face, hardly looking at the rest of the group as he tried to play off his clearly piqued interest. “No way Erwin’s sending flowers at all.”
“Damn, Jean, get a grip,” Connie muttered, elbowing Jean in the side.
“Did I mention that his initials were on the card?” Jean swatted at Connie’s arm, the two briefly engaging in a battle of swats and slaps before Jean turned to the table with a determined fervor. He held one hand planted on Connie’s cheek, keeping himself out of range of Connie’s attempted slaps. “And they used to be section commanders together. There is quite literally a picture of them framed in the captain’s office.” He pointed confidently off in the vague direction of Garrison headquarters.
“There is?” Mikasa muttered, her forehead knitting together slightly as she cocked her head to the side. She pinched her chin between her fingers in thought. “Huh, I always just focused on the tea cart.”
“We all focus on the tea cart! And the snacks that are sometimes also there!” Reiner asserted, slapping the table, causing the dishes to clatter. He crossed his arms with a disappointed shake of his head. “Psh, everyone knows that. That’s why running paperwork to the Garrison is the best job you could get assigned. I’d fight a man to be able to sit in a cushy room drinking tea for an hour. It’s like getting a paid break to sit with a— a, uh—” He held his clenched fingers up to his lips as he searched for the word, nose scrunching. —“A wise tree.” Reiner’s hand opened emphatically to accent the phrase.
“I have fought a man for gopher duty!” Sasha barked, food still in her mouth. “And when I got there, I got extra sugar and that really expensive bruise ointment—”
— “Oh shit, really? That’s where you got that from?” Ymir blinked from the other end of the table. “That stuff is really nice.”
“And I got to keep it!”
Jean huffed, sitting straight to cross his arms with a stuck-up nose.
“Look at the shelf on the opposite side of the desk the next time you’re there because I guarantee you that ointment was paid for by a commander’s salary.” He struck a fist into his opposite hand. His determination to be right had hardly been extinguished.
“Let’s go now.”
Jean’s eyes snapped wide open.
“What?” The others were already beginning to stand. Jean’s gaze darted to each of them as everyone began to gather their jackets and pick up their plates. A decision had apparently been made silently and without him. “You want to break into Garrison headquarters?”
Eren paused, his uniform jacket slung over his shoulder. He offered Jean an absentminded shrug.
“It’s not breaking in. We’re scouting. Surveying, if you will.” He left Jean alone at the cafeteria table to turn in his dishes. Jean noticed after a beat, immediately scooping up his dishware to follow the group.
“You’re kidding! I thought everyone wasn’t interested!”
***
A priest came to the Survey Corps hospital the morning after the expedition. You gathered a bouquet of flowers from a shrub in the courtyard for Murray and sat in attendance as she and Owens were married right there in the hospital. Wrapped up in bandages with missing limbs and bleeding wounds, they tearfully exchanged vows before succumbing to their injuries. You sat with them as a witness to their union until they were pronounced dead.
Both of them served under your command, after all. You thought you owed it to them.
You would be given their death notices to sign off on a day later.
You updated Murray’s certificate to “Owens” and sat at your desk, staring at the twin pages before you. Murray’s last name had been carefully blotted out in your correction, leaving her new name slightly bumpy. There were three spaces at the bottom labeled in smaller writing: one for the medical examiner’s signature (if applicable), one for the section commander, and one for the commander. The notice was written on quality paper, and from a quick glance, you would have guessed that the page was for an award rather than a certificate of death.
A light tapping broke you from your thoughts. Erwin stood in your doorframe.
“Am I interrupting?”
You almost jumped, face rising from where it had rested against your palm. A single, intense palpitation shot through your chest at the sight of him. He was as neat and put-together as always, from his combed bangs to his crisp uniform. You shook your head, beckoning him into your office.
“Not at all.”
He walked across the room, a small stack of papers in his hand wrapped in a neat string.
“These are yours. They must’ve gotten mixed up.” You stood, staring at them with a quirk of your lip as you tried to hide your nervousness. You stared at the bundle of pages, doing nothing at all, before you decided to take them from his hand.
“Oh, I haven’t even looked at these yet. Here, I probably have yours.” You set the compilation down to immediately sift through a larger stack of paperwork in the shallow wooden bin to the side of your desk. You felt like your hands were shaking, but Erwin didn’t seem to hold the same anxiety as you. Lingering patiently, Erwin glanced around your office as you consulted your collection of work to do.
You wondered if he remembered your conversation from the night before the last expedition. Hell, if it weren’t for Erwin’s cloak, you wouldn’t have been able to decipher whether your agreement was a dream. A part of you prayed that he hadn’t remembered— A marriage pact. What were you thinking?— but your instincts reluctantly told you that he not only remembered but could probably recall every word.
You spared a single glance toward him as you rifled through your pages. Erwin caught your eye, offering you a slight, closed-lipped smile and a pleased raise of his thick eyebrows. You averted your attention with a newfound nervousness.
You had no issue interacting with Erwin before. You were as close with him as you were with any other section commander and would have dared to consider him a friend. A good friend you’ve known for many years, he had your back on the battlefield and saved your life more times than you could count. He broke into that storage closet for your daft idea. That had to have meant something.
But he couldn’t have possibly been serious about your agreement. Of everyone you knew, Erwin sat near the bottom of the list of people you’d consider interested in marriage. Looking like he did, he had good chances of courting anyone he wanted. And yet, he agreed to marry you.
“They made it.”
“Hm?” You glanced up from your shuffling to follow Erwin’s gaze. He brushed the corner of one of the certificates, pulling it on the desk by the corner so that it sat at an angle. He cocked his head to read it better, then glanced back at you. “Oh.” You turned away as you continued your sifting. “Their injuries were terrible. They passed in the hospital yesterday—”
“But they made it.” Erwin never took his attention off you as he tapped Owens’ corrected name. Your heart twinged with guilt as you heaved a light sigh.
“I suppose they did,” you resigned, displacing a chunk of the pile on your desk chair. You blew at a strand of hair in your face before a realization hit you. Your lips formed a thin smile, and your forehead made the slightest wrinkle as you quirked your head to yourself, finally finding the files you were looking for. “I forgot I told you about that.”
“Forgot?”
You offered the bound pages across the width of your desk. The same colored string hung off them, the ends in a neat bow. Erwin’s bright blue irises held a certain seriousness in them.
“Things have just been… busy.” You didn’t know what else to say. Erwin glanced off to the side momentarily, tucking the stack of pages under his arm.
“I see,” he said with a nod. You stood awkwardly, the files you had displaced on your seat. “Thank you for looking for these. I’m glad we could get it sorted.” Erwin turned to walk casually back out to the hall, only stopping when you called out his name.
“Erwin?” He turned, thick brows raised in attention. He pivoted on your area rug, and once you had his attention, you didn’t quite know what to do with it. You leaned forward with a hand on your desk, letting the moment pass as you searched for words. “Um— did you want some tea?”
Erwin offered you a small, dimpled smile.
“I’ll have to pass. I need to get these done.” He held up his handful of papers. It was an answer that made sense for two section commanders such as yourselves. You were coworkers. Perhaps you were even coworkers before you were friends.
“Oh… yeah, of course,” you laughed nervously, watching the back of his head retreat into the hallway and down toward his office at the other end of the hall. You sank down to the floor in mortification.
Great, now you’ve made it awkward.
***
It was a week full of paperwork, and you were officially one expedition down out of three. Three. What an oddly specific number. Between expeditions one and two sat the Military Ball, which was less about celebrating service members as advertised and more about political schmoozing and securing funds for the three military branches.
The entire headquarters was in a scurry to prepare, the rush to get the paperwork done and aesthetics in order starkly contrasted to the usual bustle and priorities of the Scout Regiment. It was an odd time to attend. While the Garrison and Military Police continued their business inside the walls, the Survey Corps reeled from your most recent expedition just a week prior. But in typical fashion for the Scouts, the world moved on. Having signed off on the death certificates for your fallen squad members days ago, it was in your best interest to rest your sights on the future, even if that meant attending a celebration in the wake of tragedy.
You scurried up the steps, making last-minute tucks and adjustments to your dress uniform. Always the one left to tie up loose ends, you insisted that everyone else go on without you. Being called back to the office to finish tasks wasn’t out of the question. Erwin once told you that the last full batch of section commanders had been called out of the Military Ball in the first hour for missing reports.
You offered the greeting committee at the front a heartfelt salute, gesturing toward your credentials before they finally let you in. The ballroom was illuminated in a golden glow, highlighting the shiny, rich decor fitting for a grand venue in the Capital Mitras. You tried to hide your rushing, slowing your pace to offer polite smiles to the military personnel and politicians who lingered about enjoying their appetizers and complimentary aperitifs.
Hange had made their way deep into the room, their voice ringing out over the sea of chatter. From what you could tell, they had gathered quite a crowd of wealthy nobles excited to hear harrowing tales about the titans. They certainly chose the wrong soldier to prod about titan information. Not only would they be engaged in conversation for the entire night, but you wouldn’t be surprised if someone grew physically ill based on the level of detail Hange decided to spout. You pushed on, swiping a bubbling drink off a service tray and a small hors d'oeuvre off another as you scanned the bustling ballroom.
It wasn’t hard to find Erwin. He stood tall next to a cocktail table outlined in a thick, white cloth. With a cocktail flute in one hand, he struggled at the knot in his bolo tie.
“I see they're letting just anybody in here.” Erwin’s pretty blue irises flickered up as you approached, your snack quickly disappearing past your lips.
“Same could go for you. Is that a non-standard issue No. 20 brown belt I see?”
“Oh, shut up!” You hurried over, giddy like a schoolchild afraid of getting scolded by the headmaster. “Mine broke on expedition. I was hoping no one would notice.” You shook your head before placing your drink down on the table and wiping your fingers with your cocktail napkin.
“You wore your dress uniform belt on expedition?” Erwin’s hands immediately fell away as you stepped forward to work at the tight knot the leather strings had been contorted into. You bobbed your head from side to side.
“My straps have gone to shit. I really need to order new ones, I just haven’t gotten around to it.” You dug your nail at the tough bundle of leather before withdrawing for a moment in disdain. You cocked your head to the side, holding the bunch in your fingers. “What the hell did you do to this?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” The tightest portion of the knot loosened. Your shoulders drooped as you let out a short breath of relief before continuing to unravel the knot.
“I’m surprised they didn’t give you a hard time about credentials. I swear that one guy looked at me funny because my lapel wasn’t properly ironed.” The loop you were making steadily grew larger. With a few more strategic pulls, the center would open.
“I was holding it in my hand when we came in, if you’d believe it.” You could feel his chuckle reverberate through his chest.
“I’m sure Shadis was thrilled by that.” The knot came undone, and you tugged at it until the leather strings sat kinky but otherwise untangled across his collarbone. You took to adjusting the entire tie so that the ends sat orderly and symmetrically with the clasp neatly in the middle.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” Erwin looped a finger through your thin belt, giving it a playful tug. You didn’t look away from your work for a second, all too aware of your close proximity. You avoided looking at his face as you stepped back, his bolo tie finally arranged at the center of his collar.
“You’re sure in high spirits tonight,” you mused with a roll of your eyes. “Looking for the bottom of that bottomless champagne?”
“I can’t say I’ve started such a challenge,” Erwin said with a bounce of his brows, a smile creeping onto his lips. He clasped his hands behind his back as he surveyed the room. You picked your drink back up, swirling it in the glass with a shrug of your shoulders and a dip of your lip. You stared out into the crowd along with him.
You were content to stand with him, watching as people mingled around the room in a sea of uniforms, gowns, and suits. The members of the Survey Corps were the easiest to spot. Members of your squads grouped together, claiming their own territories amongst the circular dining tables. The prideful sported their dress uniforms, but it appeared that most were content to shed the Wings of Freedom for a night in exchange for their best formal attire.
A part of you was relieved that the dress uniform was mandatory for all four section commanders. You hadn’t had anything too special in your closet anyway.
“Probably for the best. When things settle, I’m going to take a crack at Senator Montgomery.”
“Are you now?” Erwin quirked a brow as he continued to look out into the distance. A serving tray traveled by with champagne, and Erwin took one. “Eager for a few more expeditions?”
“He’s pretty agreeable after dinner,” you continued. You didn’t even hear him. “Not to mention that his children are fascinated with horses. I’ve been giving them lessons, and I take the youngest riding on the trail near the outskirts of Rose about once a month.” You took a sip of your bubbly, savoring the taste. Another group entered through the rich double doors. “It’s been our little arrangement for quite some time. I’m sure he won’t take much more convincing. Besides, I know you’re going for Edmonds.”
“You’re quite the detective.” Erwin offered a polite smile to a pair of politicians passing by before glancing back at you. “I expect no less from you. You’ve always been quite sharp when it comes to these things.”
“Please—” You shook your head, toying with the stem of your glass. —“Everyone knows Shadis wants you to bag the big one. Edmonds is tough, but you’re good with your words. I think you’ll have an in by the end of the night.”
“You give me too much credit.”
“You can play modest with Edmonds, but I know you better than to believe that.” You weren’t really thinking when you snorted, eyes trained on the familiar faces traveling across the ballroom. A small, sentimental smile played on your lips. You didn’t notice that either.
“Do you now?” You incidentally met his eye, and the simple act of doing so made your heart skip a beat. A light, curious glimmer glinted in his expression. You quickly glanced away, fiddling with your glass before bringing it to your lips. Erwin’s attention was still trained on you in your peripheral.
“We’ve served for a long time,” you resigned with a sigh. The nervousness you had never felt with Erwin before continued to constrict your chest. You tried not to let it show. Erwin seemed to let the matter go, turning his attention forward again to your relief.
“That we have…”
“Erwin? Erwin! AHH!” A woman’s voice carried over the crowd. A puff of strawberry blonde hair peaked out over the top of the bustling throng along with a single, dainty pale hand. You could see glimpses of her periodically jumped on her low flats to catch a glimpse of Erwin as she gradually made her way through the horde of people. “Excuse us. Sorry. Excuse us!”
It didn’t take long for her to break through, and to your surprise, she tugged Nile Dok in tow. She was a beautiful woman with long, curly hair, the color of which complimented her deep mustard-colored gown. The fabric draped elegantly over her rounded stomach and her shoulders were decorated in light tulle. She dropped Nile’s sleeve as she stood in front of you and Erwin, stretching her arms out with a gleeful smile. Erwin graciously greeted her, letting her wrap her arms around his neck in a deep hug. She just about squeezed the air out of him.
“Erwin! Look at you! It’s been too long!”
“Careful,” Nile warned apprehensively but did little to get involved.
At a loss for what to do, you made eye contact with the ever-serious Nile Dok, offering him a salute and a polite greeting.
“It’s good to see you, Captain Dok. You’re looking well.”
“The same could be said for you, Section Commander.” He nodded cordially. Your attention snapped back to Erwin at the sound of your name.
“I’d like to introduce you to my good friend, Marie Dok. You’re acquainted with her husband, Nile Dok.” He gestured toward the woman before you. “Marie, this is my colleague—” The way he spoke your name sounded like an afterthought, but Marie paid no mind. She smiled at you, holding open her arms again to pull you into a warm hug.
“Oh—” You reciprocated her gesture when the momentary shock wore off.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Section Commander,” she oozed before pulling away. She smelled subtly of fresh flowers.
“Please, no need to be so formal,” you insisted with a light laugh.
“The two of you are going to eat with us, aren��t you? We have more than enough room at our table,” Marie pressed on. She turned in search of Nile’s approval while you glanced toward Erwin. Nile spared a knowing look toward Marie and a sigh before joining yours and Erwin’s silent conversation. Not being a fan of the mental exchanges being had without her, Marie couldn’t help the pout that found her lips. “I know the three of you have to make the rounds, but at least come to our table for dinner. Just the dinner part.” She playfully nudged Nile’s arm before taking it in her own. “If the senators and commanders get to talk shop with you all night, I think I deserve at least some of your time.”
“I couldn’t intrude,” you attempted to politely decline. Marie continued to pout.
“Please—” She huffed with a certain informality refreshing in comparison to the setting. It almost made you laugh. “Military folk are so hard to pin down these days. Besides, any friend of Erwin’s is a friend of mine!”
You finally relented, head stuck on that word “friend.”
***
Dinner that night was by no means cheap. Not only were the attendees given a choice of several dietary selections for the main course, but among the spread were prime cuts of beef, whole fowl, sides of decadent potatoes with gravy, and a mix of fresh greens unlike anything most Scout Regiment soldiers had ever seen.
You tried to savor your meal, but more than half your plate was gone before you could blink. Glancing around, you were willing to bet that most Scouts had just about scarfed their portions down with gusto. The fresh, high-quality food was in stark contrast to your usual rations of bread and meat scraps, after all. Marie ate just as much as any soldier, using her clearly pregnant appearance to persuade the waitstaff to bring more food to the table.
Two other military police officers joined you with their spouses, who wore high-quality formal attire. You had seen the officer’s faces around at some time or another— most certainly at last year’s Military Ball— but didn’t know them closely. Despite your unfamiliarity with most people at your table, everyone seemed well acquainted with Marie.
“Marie owns Mulligan’s. We met her as cadets way back when she was a server,” Erwin noted to you with a nostalgic nod. Even Nile’s serious demeanor melted some at the memory.
“Really?” Your face lit up in recognition. A hotspot for military personel, the pub had been taken over by Military Police types in recent years. But even so, you held some fond memories of the place. Marie offered a humble nod. “You have a killer ale. What a small world.”
“Feels smaller every day,” Marie sighed with a smile.
With dinner over, the chatter and mingling started up again. And just like in years past, officers and public figures alike began to drift from their tables in favor of chatting up the people they had intended to persuade since the beginning of the night.
Erwin drifted, eager to bag a promising opportunity for the Scouts as Shadis’s most charming section commander. Someone came to talk shop with Nile the next instant, and soon, you were left at the table alone with Marie.
“It’s that time, isn’t it?” she mused knowingly. You offered her a sheepish and reluctant quirk of your lip as you stood from your chair.
“Unfortunately,” you said, straightening out your uniform. You glanced at Senator Montgomery out of your peripheral before returning to Marie. “Thank you for inviting me to your table. It was nice meeting you.” You offered her your hand, but she didn’t take it.
Instead, Marie propped her elbow on the table, resting her cheek against her palm as she looked you over. The action lacked malice or severe judgment as she collected information to fuel her following words. Her lips parted with purpose.
“The two of you make quite the couple,” was all she said.
You were taken aback as you thought about what she was saying. Your brow furrowed, along with a slight curl to your bottom lip. Marie tilted her chin downward with a slight arch to her light eyebrows as if to say what she implied was obvious.
“I— um— we’re, uh…” The more you grasped for words, the harder it was to find them. You sighed, letting your chest deflate as you collected yourself. “We’re colleagues. The time we’ve served allows us to work well in a professional setting, as is the usual relationship between section commanders.”
Colleagues. That’s what Erwin had introduced you as.
“I see,” she hummed, staring off in another direction. You stood in front of your pushed-in chair, silently following her line of sight into the bustling ballroom. It was too crowded to make out what she was so fixated on. “You know, I’ve always subscribed to the phrase, ‘you can’t be a little bit pregnant!’”
Marie let out a boisterous laugh as she stood out of her chair. You swiftly stepped over to help her as she cradled her rounded stomach with her left arm. She accepted your help but ultimately didn’t require much support.
“Whoo!” Marie stretched a bit as she found her bearings. Her hands quickly found yours, giving you two firm taps to the back of your wrist. “I won’t keep you any longer. But if you see Nile milling around, would you do me a favor and send him back to me?”
You agreed, trying to center your thoughts on Senator Montgomery.
***
The deal was wrapped up in a snap. If anything, you considered that you included too much preamble before getting to the meat of your proposal. Senator Montgomery snapped it up without much further negotiation. He had always been very fond of you, so much so that you likely could have brought the issue up at the start of your lengthy conversation.
Senator Montgomery was a talker, and after he expressed his dedication to your proposal, you were swiftly whisked into a detailed conversation about his children. You were acquainted with all three of them, and the question took a sharp turn from politics to which one of his children was making the swiftest progress in their riding lessons?
Having his children be trained by such a high-ranking officer in the Scouts was apparently quite the point of pride for the senator. For the rest of the night, he referred to you as a close family friend to other elite residents of Wall Sina. The senator made sure to gesture to your credentials as he did so.
If that meant his continued support of the Scouts, the senator could call you anything he pleased.
By the time you could excuse yourself, the festivities were already winding down. Dessert was already half-gone. You took another champagne flute to disappear onto the balcony with.
You leaned against the white stone railing, breathing deeply before exhaling a steady stream of hot air. You took a sip of your drink, staring off at the lights of the city. Even at night, Sina was littered with warm streetlamps that grew less in number as the distance ran on. A dark sheet of night existed past the sloping city. The stars that littered the horizon marked where the wall stopped in its reach toward the sky.
“Need a breather? How was Montgomery?”
Erwin took his place next to you, leaning on his elbows to mirror your posture. You hadn’t even heard him approach. He scooted a little plate across the stone surface. The two dessert pastries wobbled, knocking against each other. He offered you a dessert fork, and you weren’t about to deny him.
You met his gaze, letting the exhaustion on your face show for the first time that night. Another labored breath vibrated the skin of your lips and you rolled your eyes with a shake of your head. The tips of your four fingers met your thumb, snapping your hand open and closed to mimic the loudmouthed chatter you endured. Erwin’s shoulders jumped— his version of a snort.
“That good, huh?”
“I mean, we have a deal, but damn—” You glanced behind you to ensure that you were truly alone. Erwin instinctually swiveled his head with you. —“I hope the Montgomerys aren’t planning to have more children.” Erwin hummed a chuckle, digging his fork into the dessert. A sheepish smile found your lips as you couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. “What about you? How was Edmonds?”
Erwin’s fork action halted, and you laughed as he rubbed at his temples.
“We have a meeting first thing Monday morning,” he breathed after a few moments of carefully choosing his words. You continued chipping away at your dessert. “Edmonds is a very thorough man.” Erwin shook his head, dismissing the rest of his words.
“It was a full interrogation, huh?” you mused before taking another bite.
“Mh-mhm.” Erwin placed his fork on the little plate, savoring the last of his pastry. He turned to lean his back against the railing you continued to rest on. His arms coiled over his chest. He continued to chew; he had wide chews. “By the way—” You didn’t know someone’s jaw could move like that with their mouth still closed, but that was none of your business. —“Sorry about Marie. She can get a bit excitable sometimes.”
“Not at all. Dinner was nice. And Marie seems nice…” You set your fork down as you continued to stare out at Sina. You paused, hesitating for a moment. “She seems a bit—”
“Different compared to Nile?”
“Yeah.”
The two of you let the moment pass. You traced the wall's outline in the distance, trying to keep track of how many stars hovered above the black mass. Erwin kept his sights on the ballroom, which cast a golden glow onto the balcony, stopping just short of the two of you. People were starting to trickle out, having had their fill. A decent portion of the attendees continued to chatter. The waitstaff were beginning to take away the dessert table.
“We used to spend a lot of time together years ago,” Erwin continued out of the silence. You didn’t know how to respond. He continued again. “I think she just wants to remember how things were when we’re together like this. We don’t keep in touch, so she gets a bit overinvolved to make up for lost time.”
“That makes sense.”
You wanted to ask him. You wanted him to connect the dots for you so you could have another clue in deciphering what exactly the two of you were. But you held your tongue, and the night continued like all the previous Military Balls. You decided you didn’t need to ask him if Marie Dok was the woman he wanted to marry all those years ago. You already knew.
***
“Is this, like, illegal?”
“Shut up.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Hurry, please.”
“You try picking a lock in the dark.”
“Move aside and let me try.”
“I got it,” Ymir gritted in the darkness. “Go fuck off over there and keep watch.” She pressed her ear to the door, feeling around the lock with her picks before finally hearing a satisfying click from the latch. With a single tug of the handle, the door quietly swung open. The former members of the 104th Cadet Corps filed into your office, quietly taking in the sights in the moonlight trickling through the window.
“There it is,” Sasha whispered, practically foaming at the mouth as she immediately ran up to your tea cart. Connie, Christa, and Reiner followed on her heels, instantly picking up the teacups and other accoutrement on the top tray as the others scattered around the room. Mikasa closed the door behind her.
“The picture’s right here.” Jean gingerly opened the cabinet of memorabilia. The cabinet gave the same resistance as the day before, giving way to reveal the items inside. Sure enough, the framed drawing sat in the same place next to your old Scout cloak. Those less interested in the tea cart gathered around as Jean took it in his hands.
“I have never heard of a branch transfer,” Mikasa remarked, taking the ends of the cloak in her hands. The fabric felt stiff between her fingertips.
“Maybe you have to transfer if your husband gets promoted to commander of your branch.” Jean rubbed his thumb over the glass where you and Erwin were depicted. The scene was a large outdoor fire where you and your old squadmates were illustrated in an artistic and detailed outline. You and Erwin sat to the right of the frame, smiling and talking. Yes, the figures were undoubtably the two of you. Jean passed the picture on in favor of looking for more evidence.
“Why would someone give up the title of section commander to work for the Garrison?” Eren muttered a bit too seriously. Jean had to stop to blink a few times. He was kidding, right?
Jean continued his search, but you didn’t have much memorabilia from the early days. Besides the picture and your cloak, all that remained was your patch with your last expedition number and a few fancy documents littered with formal signatures.
Something bounced to the floor in Jean’s peripheral. He bent down to retrieve it, leaving the doors of the cabinet ajar. Eren turned the frame over in his hand, inspecting the back of it before also leaning down. Jean clutched the squishy little knot in his hand just moments before his head collided with Eren’s. They both recoiled, only for Eren to knock his head again against the bottom of the cabinet, which had swung open. Slamming his head in the same spot, the picture frame went crashing to the ground.
“Fuck! Dammit, Yeager!”
Glass scattered across the floor, and everyone’s attention simultaneously shot toward the sound. The room froze. Jean gaped at the mess on the wood floor, slowly moving to make eye contact with Eren. But before either of them could say a word, the door to your office creaked open, and the light flickered on, illuminating the dark room.
You stood in the doorway, out of uniform and with a stack of files under your arm. You glanced across your office, forehead knitted as you processed the collective presence of the ten wide-eyed Survey Corps members.
“What are you all doing here?”
Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.
Notes: I love writing baby Reiner, I always give him the most banger lines. There will be a part III, which will hopefully be the final part. I just had a lot to set up and write and it wasn't logistically possible to fit it all in this part. If it doesn't fit in part III, I plan on dutifully writing a part IV.
For those who don't know, the phrase "you can't be a little bit pregnant" refers to dedicating all or nothing to a situation since the status of being pregnant is either that you are or that you aren't.
Notes: I’m happy to add people to the tag list, but requesting to be added without interacting with any part of this series outside of your tag request will result in a swift block
Part I Part II Part III
@goddessinsweats
#erwin x reader#erwin smith x reader#commander erwin#erwin#erwin smith#aot erwin#aot x reader#snk x reader#attack on titan x reader#attack on titan fanfic#shingeki no kyoujin x reader#x reader#x you#reader insert#x y/n#fic: marriage pact#attack on titan
237 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Marriage Pact Part 5 (Slight NSFW)
In Sickness and in Health
A/N: Buckle up this is a LONG one 🤭
Synopsis: You get some advice from Urban and confront Jack about how he's been acting towards you once you leave him high and dry in the middle of his world tour. All you want is for the two of you to be on the same page, but when something gets revealed to you, you have to decide what is the best thing for your peace of mind moving forward
Pairing: Fiance!Jack Harlow x Fiancée!Reader
Series Masterlist
Special thank you to @hoodharlow for giving me a few ideas 💕
Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere
"Baby, it's not a big deal!" Jack said once you had finally caught up with him later in the day since the text had gone unanswered.
The text bubble kept appearing and disappearing for about five minutes before Jack just stopped trying to explain it over text knowing that it wasn't going to go over well. But now that you were in front of him, it wasn't going well now either.
"How is it not a big deal when you are basically all over her!?" You asked as you shoved your phone into Jack’s face that had the picture of him and Neelam and all he did was roll his eyes. Making you think that he wasn't taming anything that you were saying seriously.
"It is literally just a picture."
"With someone that I don't even like and I told you how I felt about her and what do you do? Take a picture with her while you're half naked."
"Your jealousy is showing again." Jack simply muttered and you couldn’t do anything but roll your eyes.
"Oh, I'm going to be showing a lot more than that if you don't get your fucking shit together. And it's not jealousy. It is literally about respecting me as your partner and who is about to be your wife! Or did you suddenly forget that you put this ring on my finger?"
"I didn't forget a damn thing and I have my shit together, it's you who is so damn insecure. So every woman that I take a picture with, you think I want to sleep with them knowing that I have you? You're it for me and I don't want anyone else. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that."
All you did was stare at him. Once he had called you insecure, you didn't hear anything else after that.
He knew that saying that would hurt you based on you telling him that your ex would constantly say that and would gaslight you into thinking that everything that went wrong in the relationship was your fault and wouldn't take accountability for what he had done wrong.
"Shit, baby, I didn't….." Jack started to say as he realized what he had said previously and was trying to backtrack, but you weren't having it.
All you did was hug yourself as you stepped away from him. It was something that you had been working on and you knew that it was going to take time in order to break out of that mindset.
"Y/N, I didn't mean that and I know how…"
"If you didn't mean it then you wouldn't have said it. I have things to do so I guess I'll see you later." You said while trying to turn away from him, but he pulled you back.
"Baby, just listen to me for a second. Please." Jack pleaded with you as he grabbed your hand, but a verbal answer didn't come out of your mouth until you knew he wasn't going to let this go.
"No, I'm not doing this with you right now."
"We don't run away from our problems, we talk about them."
"Wouldn't have to talk about them if you didn't keep creating them."
That instantly made him go quiet.
"We just wanted to take a picture. That was it."
All you did was stare at him before you even bothered to respond.
"Like I said, I guess I'll see you later."
"Baby, I'm sorry, okay? If I would have known that you would be this upset about it, I wouldn't have done it."
"Why wouldn't you think I would be this upset seeing as she definitely isn't my favorite person to be around? And I don't like her being around you so much." You asked while looking up at him.
"Here we go again with this shit. It is literally HER JOB."
"A job that I have had for how many years? And all of a sudden you and Chris decided that I need help?"
"How many times are we going to go over this?" Jack asked you while running a hand through his curls.
"As many times as it takes to get through your thick skull because obviously it hasn't worked quite yet." You answered while sitting down, but Jack took this opportunity to sit down next to you and slide you onto his lap no matter how hard you were trying to get away from him.
"I love you, you know that right? And like I said, I'm sorry and it won't happen again."
"Do I?"
"Y/N, come on. Don't be like that."
"How can I not be like that?"
"Like I said it won't happen again and I'm not letting you get up until you tell me you love me."
"I love you, now let me get up."
"I…. seriously?" Jack asked as he looked at you and all you did was shrug.
"I told you now I have things to do. Let me go."
"Hold on. What can I do to make this up to you?" He asked as he kissed your nose and smiled at you with those blue eyes that you loved so much.
All you did was look down and play with your engagement ring and kept quiet until you heard Jack speak again.
"How about it's just me and you for the rest of the day? No distractions."
"Hmm…."
"No phones, just me loving up on my baby girl. So what do you say?"
"No interruptions?" You asked and all Jack did was smirk.
"Baby, I'm putting the do not disturb sign on the door to the hotel suite and putting my phone on DND. Is that a good answer?"
"I guess it's a good start." You said while shrugging even though deep down you knew for a fact that you were letting this slide a little too easily. However, arguing and fighting with Jack was one of the last things that you ever wanted to do. It took too much energy and if he said that it wasn't going to happen again, you were going to take his word for it. All you could do was hope that he didn't go back on it.
"Good because I already have everything set up. I was going to do this today anyway, just as a thank you for everything you do for me. That's why I had you go out with Ari earlier."
"I… you didn't have to do that." You said while shaking your head as Jack stood up and placed you on your feet.
"Yes I did. You're important to me and I never want you to forget that. We're in this for the long haul." Jack answered as he leaned down to kiss you.
"No one or anything is ever going to come between us because I'm not going to let them." He added while starting to pull your top over your head.
"I want to take a bath with my fiancée, how does that sound?"
"It sounds good. No complaints from me."
Jack simply nodded as he continued to undress you and finally got himself undressed as he went to run the water.
When it was warm enough, he got in first so that you would be able to sit in front of him and held onto your hand to help you so that you wouldn't fall.
Once you were settled all you did was lean against Jack's chest as he wrapped his arms around you and kissed down your neck.
"I love you and I'll never get tired of saying it." Jack softly whispered in your ear before kissing underneath it.
"I love you too. I just…. want us to be on the same page. I don't like arguing with you. I don't think we ever got into this many disagreements before."
"And I don't like arguing with you either or getting you upset. That's literally the last thing I want. My job is to take care of you and not hurt you. I haven't done a very good job of that lately, but I promise that things will be different moving forward."
"I'm holding you to that."
—
"Baby I…." You breathlessly let out as you and Jack got into a comfortable rhythm.
He promised to take his time with you and he was doing just that while also making sure that no one disturbed the two of you with both phones being placed on DND and face down on the dresser in the bedroom.
Jack then placed both of your legs on his shoulders making the hold that you had around his neck grow tighter.
"That's it, pretty girl. You're taking me so well." Jack said as he placed several kisses upon your lips and slowed down.
"You feel so good around me and I know I'm not about to last much longer."
Jack then slid out of you and took one long lick across your folds which instantly made you gasp.
"Mmm, baby don't stop, don't stop." You told Jack as your hands made their way to his curls and simply held his head in place while he continued to pleasure you.
"Shiiiit." Jack then inserted three of his fingers while still keeping his mouth on you and you were doing your best to stay quiet since the last thing you wanted to hear was a noise complaint because you were too loud. It didn't matter if you two had your own suite or not.
Jack then slid his fingers out of you and instantly went to suck on your clit and made sure to hold you down because he knew if he didn't that you would try and move away from him.
At this point, no sounds were even coming out of your mouth because of how much pleasure that you were in and it was only a matter of time before you came all over Jack’s face.
In order to get you to your peak faster, Jack sucked your clit harder and without warning, you felt a gush of liquid release from you and cover Jack’s face as you let out a gasp, but he obviously didn't think anything of it as he still continued to pleasure you.
Once you had finally come down from your high, Jack then slid back into you making the both of you moan in pleasure.
You then noticed him increase his pace as you held him tighter knowing that he was close.
Not even a minute later, you felt him release in you as he collapsed on top of your chest as you kissed down his neck.
"I don't know what I did to get you to squirt all over my face, but I'm definitely going to try to make it happen again." Jack said as he leaned down to kiss you and he noticed that you were shying away from him.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked as he began caressing your face.
"I just…."
"Nothing to be embarrassed about, baby. Just happens sometimes when I make you feel good. I know we're both still learning what you like and don't like and I'm always going to go at your pace, okay?"
All you did was nod as Jack leaned down to place several kisses all over your face before going to your lips and all you did was flip him over onto his back startling him.
"Damn, I knew you were strong but I wasn't expecting that shit." Jack expressed as he looked up at you straddling him.
"I want you to teach me how to ride you." You said and could tell that he was startled by this.
"Are you sure you can go another round? I don't want to…"
"Yes I'm sure, so hurry up."
"Class is in session then. I'm loving this view already."
A few days had passed and you were finalizing the details of the mini trip that you were taking Jack on to surprise him to give him a much needed break from tour life. He had a week and a half off in total and three of those days would be used to fly the two of you to Japan in order to take him to the Pokémon museum since you knew that he had never been before while the other days the two of you were going to spend wedding planning.
You told everyone under the sun not to book anything for Jack for those particular days and you were excited to be able to have him all to yourself. You had been planning this for a while and couldn't wait to see the look on his face when you told him.
All of you were at dinner after one of Jack’s shows and you had been stealing food off of his plate when you suddenly heard Neelam pipe up.
"Oh, Jack, I booked you for a photoshoot and interview next week. On Wednesday and Thursday."
"Okay, that's fine." He responded not thinking anything of it but you looked at her as if she had three heads.
"Um no it's not fine. I have said from the beginning of this tour to not book anything for the next week and a half. You should have cleared that with me or Chris, but I see you just went on and did your own thing."
"I didn't think it was a big deal. It's a good opportunity for him to get a few more things in before Christmas."
"Well it is a big deal seeing as the bulk of those days were for wedding planning and for something I had planned for him. I obviously said not to schedule him for anything during those days for a reason."
"Baby, it's not a big deal, can't you just move it?" Jack asked not wanting an argument to ensue, but it looked like one was about to happen anyway.
All because he took her side.
"Did you just say to me that it's not a big deal?" You asked while looking over at Jack who looked as if he was trying to choose his next words carefully.
"Uh oh." Was all Urban whispered before taking another bite of his food.
"We do things together all the time, it's just one thing and the wedding planning can still happen. I'd rather do the interview and photoshoot during my break from tour anyway. Just get it out the way."
"That still doesn't excuse the fact that Neelam over here is not staying in her lane and respecting boundaries." You said while crossing your arms and looking at her.
"I got 100 dollars on Y/N." 2fo whispered to Quiiso who quickly nodded his head to agree.
"What the? What is your actual problem? I was hired to do a job and I am doing said job. Not my fault you're so focused on wedding planning and not your soon to be husband's actual career." Neelam said and everyone at the table looked at you for your response.
"Excuse me? Who the actual fuck are you talking to because I know for damn sure that it isn't me. I have done this for more than ten years by myself and I damn sure don't need your help. So do me a favor and learn to stay in your place like I said. You're lucky that you didn't get your ass beat because of that picture you decided to take with my man knowing that you had absolutely no business doing so."
"And this is the one you're supposed to marry soon? You could definitely do better." Neelam said to Jack and that could be heard was a collective gasp at the table.
"So, Jackman, you're actually going to let her talk to me like that?"
"Can we just drop this? I'm doing the photoshoot and interview."
"And just forget about what I have planned?!"
"I have the opportunity in front of me so I want to take it. Like I said, we can change things around to do it later."
All you did was nod your head and simply slid your chair out from the table in order to leave.
"Fine. Urby, do you want to go with me to the Pokémon museum in Japan since Jack doesn't want to?"
"Oh shit. You didn't say that's what it was!" Jack said while looking at you, but all you did was roll your eyes.
"Anyway, Urby. Do you want to go? Everything is booked."
"I… well…"
"Never mind. I'll ask Ari and make it a girls trip but as of right now, good fucking night."
The next day, you woke up early and kept yourself busy to avoid having to run into Jack. Even though the two of you slept in the same room, you were asleep before he got back and was gone before he woke up. He had been blowing up your phone left and right, but you weren't giving him the time of day.
Future Hubby- Baby, where are you? I haven't seen you all day
You- and you're not going to
Future Hubby- Come on Y/N, I didn't know that was what you had planned. I feel shitty about it.
You- It doesn't fucking matter. If I said that I had something planned for you, the courteous thing to do is go along with it because of all of the time and effort I put into it. And do you feel shitty? Because the fact that you didn't defend me last night from her speaks volumes. Go bother Neelam since you want to be up her ass so bad.
Jack tried to send you another text, but soon realized that you had blocked him.
He was currently with Neelam and Urban at the moment and all he did was sigh.
"Nee, let's get something straight. Do not ever disrespect my girl again. She knows me a lot better than you do and knows what I need. I know you’re trying to help, but I just want the two of you to get along. But please realize that my future wife is not going anywhere."
"Hmm a little too little too late for that." Urban muttered under his breath and Jack shot him a look.
"But she…"
"But nothing. That's my girl and what she says goes. If you want to plan something, clear it with her moving forward."
"I just want to help since that's the whole reason I was brought on."
"And you can help without stepping on anyone's toes. Don't let it happen again."
While all of this was going on, Urban had been texting you and letting you know what had been happening.
Urby- Ooh look who finally grew some balls and stood up for his wife!
You- He can shove it for all I care. Too little too late.
Urby- Same thing I said smh but he did put her in her place even if it should have been done months ago. Oh and he's asking if you could unblock him
You- No.
Urby- I'll relay the message lol
Next thing you knew, you had an incoming facetime call from Urban and knew it was Jack calling. And sure enough when you answered you were right.
"Baby! Unblock me!"
"And what makes you think you deserve to be unblocked?"
"Stop playing! Because I'll be your husband soon."
"And that's the best answer that you can come up with?"
"Please baby girl. I love you and I'm sorry."
"All you've been doing is apologizing lately and I'm sick of it."
"I know… I…"
"Bye Jackman."
Without another word you hung up.
It was now around 11 at night and Jack was knocked out cold when you went to go and find Urban. You did end up unblocking him however, you still didn't want to talk to him.
Urban had let you in and the two of you were now outside as he listened to how you felt about what had been happening regarding Jack lately.
"Come on Y/N, you had to have seen this coming from a mile away."
"How could I have seen this coming?" You asked Urban while you sat across from him on the balcony. You know he had to have been looking for you by now, but your phone still hadn't gone off with so much as a text message or a call. It was almost as if he didn't even care and that bothered you to no end.
"You know he’s a whore and it's always been like that, you turned a blind eye before but now that you're on the receiving end, everything isn't always what it seems huh? As much as he brushes it off, he is still insecure and embraces any type of attention that women give him even though by now he should only want that attention from you." Urban told you and you couldn’t help but for your eyes to water.
"Urby…."
This was the last thing that you wanted to hear right now.
"You thought that he would change for you? I mean that's fair seeing as how much he loves and cares about you, but is that enough to make him do it? I mean you said yes to marrying him so you are just as responsible for this as he is. He's my best friend too, but he has shown you time and time again the traits of someone who doesn't actually want to be tied down or married." Urban quietly confessed as he took a swig of his Modelo.
"Then why in the world would he ask me to marry him in the first place? That's a serious commitment."
"Because he knows that you're the only one that is going to put up with his shit, no matter what he does and no matter how much it might affect you as horrible as that sounds. He knows that you're always going to be there. Just because his ass turned thirty doesn't mean that the maturity aspect is there. Y/N, I am in no way, shape, or form trying to hurt your feelings, like I said in the beginning, the last thing I want to see is both of you heartbroken but especially you. You don't deserve this."
"I just don't know what to do anymore. It's a continuous cycle. He does something that I don't like, I get pissed off, he apologizes, and does something else and the cycle continues. But this one takes the cake. How could he side with her when I have been there for him through everything? I have never steered him wrong and I have always had his best interest." At that point, Urban had handed you one of your favorite wine coolers knowing that this was going to be a long night.
"You know what you need to do. Put yourself first and I guarantee that will be the wake up call he needs to get his shit together."
"Does he even want to marry me anymore? That's the ultimate question."
"Now the only person that can answer that is him, but from the outside looking in…. Would you want to be married to someone who disrespected you like that yesterday?"
“I guess not.”
“You’ve been living in a fantasy world and now it’s time to wake up.”
You stayed with Urban for about another hour or so and you decided to take his advice.
From now on, you planned on putting yourself first.
When Jack had woken up later on the next morning with his alarm blasting in his ear, he reached over for you and frowned when he noticed that your side of the bed was empty and cold meaning that you hadn’t been there next to him for quite some time.
All he did was sigh as he got up and started to get ready for the day, figuring that he would see you at some point and hoping that you at least were a little less mad at him than you were yesterday.
Once he had finished getting ready, he figured that he would at least check your location to see where you were since the two of you shared it with each other at all times just in case to be safe and got an even bigger frown on his face when he saw that you had turned yours off.
He couldn’t even remember the last time you had done that and immediately hit your contact in order to call you. He needed to know where you were and if you were safe.
He called you at least three times and was immediately sent to voicemail before he began to send a series of texts, hoping that you would at least answer those.
Future Hubby- Baby, why is your location off? Where are you? You know we always keep it on
Future Hubby- Hold on, where the hell are all your bags?!
Future Hubby- Y/N, answer me right now. Where are you and what is going on?!?!
When he didn’t get an answer from you, he immediately called Urban.
“Hello?”
“Urb, where’s my girl? Have you seen her?”
“Well, good morning to you too and no. After our talk last night…..” Jack immediately cut him off.
“Wait, after what talk? What is going on?”
“All I’m going to tell you is that you need to realize what you have before you lose it. Do what you will with that information.”
“What did she tell you? All of her bags are gone and she turned off her location. We always know where the other person is at all times. I just need to know that she’s safe.”
“It’s not my place to tell you what she told me but if the two of you are going to get married a lot of things need to get fixed before you do.”
“I’ll talk to her, but can you just tell me if you see or hear from her?”
“Sure. Hmm, I wonder if this has to do anything with me telling her to put herself first.” Urban said while thinking out loud.
“Urb!”
“What?! Not my fault you’ve been treating your girl like shit. You made your bed so lie in it. You should have stood up to Neelam and took up for her when that whole thing went down at dinner, but instead you did it the next day. So many situations that you have put yourself in when it didn’t have to be that way. If you want to marry her so bad, you need to show her that you value her and that she’s important to you because right now from the outside looking in, it looks like you want the single life with having marriage benefits.”
“I don’t want to be single!”
“You could have fooled me. You need to show her that you are in and I mean all in. Hopefully you fix it before it’s too late. I take it you haven’t seen her instagram story either?”
Jack put him on speaker before going to look at it and his stomach dropped.
You had postponed the wedding.
y/n added to their story
Meanwhile you were back in Louisville at your condo puking your guts out for the fifth time today. This had been going on for the last two weeks, but you didn’t say anything or mention anything to anyone thinking that it was just a stomach bug and that it would pass. However, when you touched down in Louisville and hit your favorite bakery to get a few different snacks to take home with you, the smell of your favorite cupcakes made you nauseous and you then became nervous.
Bottom line is that you knew what this was.
You had watched enough television shows and seen it in real life among your family members and friends to know there was only one clear cut explanation for what was going on with you.
You were pregnant and needed to take a test and make an appointment with your OB/GYN to confirm it and you were absolutely terrified.
“So much for being on birth control.” You muttered to yourself as you gripped the sink to help you get up from the floor and heard your phone ringing from the bedroom.
Without even having to go and look at it, you knew it was Jack since he had a different ringtone than everyone else.
You knew he was probably freaking out since you were nowhere to be found and you turned off your location which you knew he was probably pissed about since that was something that the two of you never did.
Not bothering to answer him, you dabbed at your face with a warm washcloth before brushing your teeth and grabbing your wallet and keys to go to the nearest drug store in order to get the test along with some ginger ale and saltines in the hopes of settling your stomach.
It was only a matter of time before Jack would be on your doorstep and it probably would be in less than 24 hours.
Well, Jack found out last week that Gabrielle’s baby wasn’t his all to now eventually find out that you were now pregnant.
That was about to be a hell of a conversation since he was currently the last person that you wanted to be around.
You were tired of giving him so many chances and as you played with your engagement ring, you started to wonder if you had made the right decision by saying yes to him.
Bottom line was that if you were to slip the ring off and give it back to him at this very moment, you probably wouldn’t regret it. But you knew yourself better than that. Down the line you definitely would.
You were now going to be someone’s mother and had to set a good example for them even if that included not marrying their father.
Jack had touched down in Louisville later that afternoon in the hopes of hopefully finding you since he knew this was your safe space, just like it was his. He was going to see his parents first before setting out to go and find you and was hoping that they had seen you so that the search could be kept short.
But once he entered the house, he was surprised to see you in the kitchen with Maggie hovering over the stove and sipping on sparkling water. Once his mom spotted him she had nothing but a smile on her face, while you on the other hand just kept a straight face and turned back to the stove in order to continue making the sauce for the pasta dish you were helping Maggie make.
“So, do you have something to tell me?” Maggie asked while looking over at Jack, who looked back at her confused.
“Tell you what?”
All Maggie did was continue to smile as she looked between the both of you but you weren’t uttering a word.
“Y/N, I see why you came home early from tour and I can only imagine how traveling would take a toll on your body. And of course this one over here had to come and check on you in order to make sure that you were okay. You did the right thing by coming home and being close to us as well as your parents. You know we’ll look after you until Jack finishes up and can be here full time with you.”
“I’m lost, can someone fill me in?” Jack asked as he tried to make eye contact with you, but you just weren’t giving him the time of day.
“Oh, like you don’t know. No need to be like that. I can’t wait to plan for the baby shower.”
It was at that moment Jack’s heart fell out of his ass.
All he could do was mouth ‘What the fuck is she talking about?’ to you and all you did was look at him with a tight lipped smile before mouthing back ‘It’s not yours.’ which instantly made him roll his eyes since he knew for a fact that it was his.
“And I absolutely love this shirt, Y/N. Did you get one for your mom too so we can match?” Maggie asked you as she held up a shirt that you bought her that said Worlds Best Grandma and Jack just knew he was going to faint while you were steadily quiet and tasting the sauce to see if it had enough seasoning in it.
“Yes, I got her one too. She’ll get hers tomorrow since she flew home to visit my grandma in D.C. And the food is just about ready.”
“Umm, where’s dad and Clay?” Jack asked while he looked around and tried to keep his stomach from being in knots.
“They were out doing something so we made sure to make enough for them so they have it when they come back.”
As you were trying to eat your food in the hopes that it wouldn’t come back up, Jack was sending you texts left and right.
Future Hubby- You better stop playing because this shit isn’t funny. Now are you actually pregnant?
You- Who’s this?
Future Hubby- BABY STOP PLAYING. I’M BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW SO CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION?
You- It isn’t yours so why are you worried about it?
Future Hubby- Now we all know that’s a lie. And why did you just leave without saying anything? Do you know how worried I was about you? Don’t ever do that again without saying anything to me. I thought something had happened to you. And postponing the wedding?! Without saying anything to me!?
You- You’re lucky I didn’t call it off completely with how you’ve been acting towards me. Eat your food and stop texting at the dinner table. It’s rude.
The rest of the dinner was awkward between you and Jack and luckily Maggie didn’t notice anything was off between the two of you. She was simply on cloud nine with the fact that she was going to be a grandmother and that was the only thing she could talk about. However, you knew that this was about to be a whole ordeal with the two of you finally got home.
And you were going to let him have it and not hold anything back.
The two of you drove separately and once the both of you were parked in the driveway, Jack got out first before jogging over to you to open your car door for you.
He held out his hand for you to take and you simply brushed him off.
“Baby, please. I know you’re mad….”
“Don’t start with me, Jackman. I’m tired and I want to lay down.” You said while walking up to the front door and sliding the key in.
“But we have to talk about this. You’re pregnant with our kid, didn’t tell me and also postponed the wedding and didn’t tell me. I had to find out through your instagram post so what the hell is going on?! You just left!” Was all that you heard Jack say from behind you as you entered the house and you took a deep breath before you rolled your eyes and turned around to face him.
“Because I am so utterly sick of your shit! For you to tell me that you love me so much, it sure doesn’t feel like it! There was a time that you would prioritize me and we weren’t even in a relationship! You don’t even do that now and we are!”
“I know I’ve messed up, but…”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
“I just…”
“No, there isn’t any excuse that you can pull out of your ass to make me instantly forgive you for everything that you’ve done. Our so-called friendship has literally turned to shit ever since I said yes to marrying you and I’m wondering if I even made the right decision by letting you put this ring on my finger.”
“Y/N… you don’t mean that. I don’t want anyone else but you!”
“Really? Because you sure don’t act like you do. You had the nerve to call me insecure, but so are you because you have to seek validation from every single woman that you come across and I have absolutely no idea when you got like that. I have told you from the beginning that you have always been more than enough and not to change for anyone, but I don’t even think I recognize the person standing in front of me anymore. Is it to make me jealous? Let me know that you have options and can leave me the second that you get tired of me? All I want is for us to be on the same damn page and now we have to add a child into this hot mess express.”
“I never looked at it like that, but I don’t plan on leaving you for anybody!”
“Did you ask me to marry you because you knew that no other woman would probably put up with all of your shit and always be there for you?” You asked and Jack looked at you in disbelief.
“I asked you to marry me because I love you! How many times do I need to say that?!”
“Or is it because your whoring days are over with so you figured hmm let me just marry Y/N so I won’t be single for the rest of my life.”
“Where is all this coming from?! You know I hate arguing with you and us being at odds. For the last time, I asked you to marry me because I love you and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and keep in mind YOU AGREED.”
“And that was before I knew you were going to lie to my face, let people talk down to me, and almost have a baby on me.”
“Can we just sleep on this and talk about it again in the morning? I don’t want to do this with you or end up saying something that I’m going to regret.”
“It doesn’t matter because I’m leaving. I’ve said my piece.”
“You are not going anywhere and it is literally pouring outside. I want you safe. You already ran away from me once and I for damn sure am going to do anything in order to prevent it from happening again.”
“I am leaving because I don’t want to look at you and I’m convinced that you don’t even love me like you claim that you do.”
“Now you’re talking utter bullshit. I would give up everything for you in a fucking heartbeat, but because of the person that you are you wouldn’t let me do that! You don’t do that for people that you don’t love! And we need to talk about you postponing our wedding without even letting the groom fucking know.”
“At this point, do you even deserve to? The only reason why you found out I was pregnant is because Maggie said something. Because I didn’t want to talk to you.”
All Jack did was run a hand through his curls as you were now making your way to the front door.
“Baby!”
“Don’t fucking call me that!”
“Do not leave this house!”
“And who the fuck are you to give me orders? Last time I checked, I was a grown ass woman and can do whatever the fuck I want.”
“Just… I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom if you don’t want to be near me, but just please don’t leave.” Jack pleaded with you as he grabbed your hand, but all you did was shake your head.
“You have a show tomorrow so I suggest that you fly back at at least eleven in the morning so that you’ll be there on time. Good fucking night.”
“I’m not flying anywhere until we fix this!”
“Oh, Neelam won’t miss you too much?” You sarcastically said before snatching your hand out of his.
“Y/N…..”
“I don’t think I should be your manager anymore since you want to go along with what she says all the damn time so she’ll have you all to herself.”
“WHAT?! We are NOT doing this right now!”
“Well, I am. Now me and my baby are going to get some rest in my condo and if you don’t stop getting on my fucking nerves and hurting me, the next time you’ll see me will be in the delivery room. Now for the last time, good night.”
As much as he didn’t want to, Jack watched you go to your car and back out of his driveway and knew that he could only be frustrated with himself. He was going to do everything that he possibly could in order to get back in your good graces and prove to you that you were in fact the only person that he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.
The only reason why the two of you were at this point was because of him so he couldn’t put the blame on anyone else. You had given him chance after chance only for him to keep disappointing you every single time.
To try and relax, he hopped into the shower and had placed his phone on the sink just in case you called him or needed him for something, but at this point he highly doubted it.
He stayed under the warm water for about thirty minutes when he got out and checked his phone to see that you had turned your location back on and he could now see it.
Jack was about to put it back down, but did a double take when he noticed that you weren’t moving anywhere and that you were still only three blocks from your shared house. Almost an hour had passed and you should have been at your condo by now even if it had been raining.
As he held his phone, a call from an unknown number came through and he had a gut wrenching feeling that it had to do with you and why it had your location showing at a standstill.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Harlow? This is Dr. Spencer from Norton hospital in downtown Louisville. Your fiancée Y/N Y/L/N has been in a car accident.”
Taglist:
@harlowsbby
@babyharleezy
@hoodharlow
@stefansalvatoresgf
@jackiehollanderr
@primadxna-girl
@dessmxsworld
@cockslutslurper3000
@raelorns21
@variety-fangirl
@gbaabyyyy
@kamorsstuff
@harlowthot
@sinsandsuccubus
@curlyhairclub
@bootlegroach
@haylexo10
@thinkingaboutjharlow
@fluidsentiment
@charli123456789
@moody4world
@yourstrulymayah
@yana4life
@beanbagbitch
@alinaharlow
@carma-fanficaddict
@minaxcarter
@arination99
@xjup1t3r
@venusvinc
@jackharloww
@midnight-star47
@minkookie95
@inluvwithladybug
@exoticr0ses
@jharlowsangels
@jackierose902109
@knack4harlow
@cmalass
@megawhoree
@softtcurse
@sia2raw
@miniaturehideoutmentality
@hoya122
@nattinatalia
@jackslover12
@skyesthebomb
@jackharlows-world
@louisianalady
@fdl305
@automaticpeachsong
@harlowcomehome
@gassyandsassy1
@babygirlwilly
@amethyst09
@harrycanyonmoonn
@toocriticalharlow
@tattered-tales
@sisiking99
@dessxoxsworld
@gillybear17
@jacksdaycare
@iheartharlow
@disaster-rose
@babyvinnie
@evansxchalamet
@chtkmyharlow
@itsyagirljaz
@neon-lights-and-glitter
@awhore4moree
@a-moment-captured
@jackmans-poison
@valentinqee
@lightsoutstyles
@j-worlds-blog
@middlechild404
@0elliotswhore
@iknowdatsrightbih
@w1ldthoughts
@love2loveonme
@hufflewhore128
@shawtypoison
@fantasywritersstuff
#jack harlow#jack harlow fic#jack harlow fanfic#jack harlow fluff#jack harlow angst#jack harlow smut#jack harlow x reader#jack harlow x black reader#jack harlow imagine#jack harlow concept#jack harlow fanfiction#the marriage pact
221 notes
·
View notes
Text
Out Of Context Lines ✍🏻
Tagged by the lovely @endwersed and @mirrorthoughts🥰
The Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post and share one or two sentences (or lines for artists) from your most recent unposted WIP with zero context.
“When I do flirt with you, sweetheart, it goes right over your thick head. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
No-pressure tags for @kordyceps @beaconfeels @nogitzune @rosieposiepuddingnpie @tarantula-teeth and anyone else who wants to share!
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
the proposal
by divineauthor
teen | comp. | 1k ; pre-slash
summary: House proposes to Wilson.
“If you divorce this one, I’ll save your wallet and all the PICU nurses’ poor, fragile hearts by marrying you.”
reccer's note: short banter-y cute ficlet!
#house md#hilson#greg house#james wilson#hilson fic recs#hilsonrecsmd recs#ao3#teen#under 5k#divineauthor#2023#canon compliant#pre slash#proposal#marriage pact#house pov#bisexual!house#wilson julie marriage#bachelor party
11 notes
·
View notes
Note
hi!! I’ve been looking for a fic that’s based off the plot of my best friend’s wedding im pretty sure. It’s like James and lily make a bet to get married by 30 but then he ends up being engaged to someone and they go through that just to find out she’s marrying him for his money. It’d be great if you could help me find this, thank you !!
I think you're looking for this:
Title: Save the Groom
Author: TherestheSnitch
Rating: M
Genre(s): Romance, Drama
Chapters: 21
Word Count: 35,141
Summary: At 19, James and Lily promise to get married if they were both still single at 30. At 29, James tells Lily that he is getting married. Lily doesn't care. She shouldn't care. Except that she does very much care. Can Lily help James down the aisle, or will she have to find a way to Save the Groom?
#multichapter#complete#rated m#romance#drama#friends to lovers#james x oc#muggle au#modern au#film au#marriage pact#marriage#jealousy#pining!lily#fluff#angst#fic search#anonymous#confessions
64 notes
·
View notes
Text
Finished reading a Pynch longfic and I'm listening to Odie Leigh and yeah, maybe I'm crying why do you ask
#non-magical AU where pynch makes a half-joking marriage pact at 18 to marry when theyre 30#so beautifully tumultuous and heart-achingly slow burn#trc#pynch#pynch fic
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Not Your Average Marriage Pact, chapter 1/2
FitzSimmons, rated T, 3550 words (for now)
Summary: Jemma met Fitz when they were ten and he's been her nemesis ever since. When they're twenty, they agree to get married if none of them are married when they turn thirty. Except it's more of a threat than a promise. Only Jemma doesn't know that Fitz has been in love with her since the day they met. And he'll be damned if he doesn't do everything he can to make sure she remains single for the next ten years.
Happy Birthday @libbyweasley <3
Based on that tweet.
Read on AO3
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hypothetically
Chronically single, you suggest a pact with your best friend to start a family together when you turn forty.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x bau fem reader
Category: fluff/comfort
Warnings: marriage and baby talk, reader is insecure because she feels left out
A/n: This is my entry for the kid fic challenge by @imagining-in-the-margins! This was like a breath of fresh air from all the smut I’ve been writing
"Do you want to have a baby with me?"
The scalding coffee burned his tongue as your question lingered in the air. Spencer cleared his throat awkwardly and patted his chest, his eyes drifting towards you. "Uh... what?"
"Hypothetically," you replied, the tap of your pen echoing against the round table between you. "It's like a pact. If we're both still single in the future, we get married to one another and, well, start a family together."
Spencer felt the clamminess of his palms as he set his mug down, trying to steady himself. He considered you as one of the closest people in his life, if not his best friend, and he was accustomed to your random questions, but this sudden topic of conversation seemed to strike a nerve.
"Where..." he began, wiping his palm along his pants. "...where is this coming from?"
You shrugged casually, the tapping of your pen momentarily ceasing. "Just a thought. I mean, we're both at that age where these things start to cross our minds, right?"
Spencer swallowed, trying to push down the unease rising in his chest. "Yeah, I guess so," he muttered, but as he studied you, he noticed the tension in your shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Your gaze flickered away for a moment before you sighed, slumping against your chair.
"I have a wedding coming up this weekend." Spencer frowned, not understanding what you were trying to say. You continued, "And another one next week, and guess what? Two of my cousins are getting married next month."
"What does that have to do with...?" His voice trailed off as realization dawned on him. "Ah, I see."
But you weren't finished. Somehow, the thoughts that had lingered in your mind for the past few days spilled out right then and there, in the middle of broad daylight when you were supposed to be focusing on the case you were working on.
"And a close friend I went to high school with just gave birth while another friend from college announced she's two months pregnant. And look at me," you exclaimed, your arms flying around. "No wedding. No pregnancy. Spencer, I don't even have a boyfriend, heck, I forgot what it's like to go out on a date!"
He watched as your brow furrowed into a frown, and although your demeanor was all over the place, he couldn't help but notice how you still managed to look pretty.
"Spence?" You asked, nudging his leg with your foot under the table. "Are you listening to me?"
He blinked, momentarily pulled from his thoughts by your voice. "Sorry," he replied. "I'm listening."
You gave him a skeptical look, but the tension in your shoulders seemed to ease slightly as you leaned back in your chair.
"I just... I don't know, I feel like I'm left behind." You sighed, running a hand through your hair. "I mean, I'm happy for my friends and all, but sometimes it feels like everyone's moving forward but me. Like I'm stuck in this... this rut."
Spencer wasn't sure how to respond. On one hand, he knew how it felt to want something that seemed out of reach, but on the other hand, he felt like it wasn't his place to offer advice when he wasn't even sure what the future held for him.
"I get it," he finally said, trying to gather his thoughts. The least he could do was try to offer some comfort. "But just because you haven't reached those milestones yet doesn't mean you won't get there eventually."
"But what if it doesn't happen? What if I'm still all alone and nobody loves me when I'm gray and old?"
He frowned at you. "I'd still love you when you're gray and old."
"Platonically. You love me as much as you love JJ. Or Emily. Or Penny, or even Morgan." You leaned over the table. "I want to be loved passionately by someone who is head over heels for me, who can't imagine a life without me. I want to feel that kind of happiness."
His frown deepened. "I don't think you should find happiness in another person."
"You're missing the point," you groaned, crossing your arms. "I'm not saying I want to depend on someone else for my happiness. But is it too much to ask for someone to share it with? To feel like I'm someone's everything and not just another friend in the group?"
His expression softened as he listened, a sense of familiarity washing over him. He remembered feeling the same thing once, or maybe more than once; he wasn't sure. He had lost count of the times he felt his life was falling short.
But he realized the more he thought about the why—why was he so different? why couldn't he find love?—the more he felt worthless, and he hated that. So what was the best thing he did to ignore those thoughts?
Bury himself in work, because to him, pushing those feelings aside was easier than confronting them. But now, as he looked at you, it felt like he was seeing his own reflection and your words hit him harder than he expected.
"No," he quietly agreed. "It's not too much to ask for."
"I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm tired of waiting for life to happen to me." Your gaze slowly met his. "So I came up with a plan."
His throat felt dry as he recalled how this conversation started in the first place. "The... baby plan?"
You nodded enthusiastically, sliding into the seat next to him.
"Think about it. If we're both still single when we're..." You paused, furrowing your brow as you did a quick calculation. "Forty? Yeah, let's say we're both still single when we're forty, with no partners, or like, no friends with benefits?"
You shook your head.
“Just... with no one in our lives—we get married. You and me."
He blinked, trying to process your proposal. It was unexpected, to say the least, but there was a strange logic to it that he couldn't quite shake. The idea of marrying his best friend as a backup plan was both absurd and oddly comforting.
"But what about... love?" he asked cautiously. "Wasn't that what you wanted?"
You paused, considering his question before responding. "I mean, I don't think it's impossible," you said, leaning back in your seat. "Haven't you ever heard of the saying, 'Marry your best friend'?"
His gaze lingered on you, his heart beating hard against his chest. "You're saying that we can fall in love?"
Your eyes met his, and a small smile tugged at the corners of your lips. "Who knows?" you replied softly. "Stranger things have happened."
Spencer shouldn't entertain the possibility. After all, who knew what could happen in the future? It seemed like an absurd thought, but as he stared at you, it was hard not to imagine a life with you as his wife.
He imagined you in a white dress, walking down the aisle towards him with a radiant smile on your face. He pictured you both in the house you had just bought, dancing joyfully around the empty rooms as you unpacked boxes together.
Then thoughts of you being pregnant with his child—or maybe even children—filled his mind, and he envisioned a future where your kids would run around in the backyard with a pet dog trailing behind.
And then he considered the prospect of growing old with you, watching as your children eventually started families of their own while you found comfort in each other's company. All of these possibilities didn't seem so bad, because if anyone could understand him on a deep level, it was definitely you.
Maybe this crazy plan of yours wasn't so crazy after all.
"I... I guess it's not impossible," he finally admitted. Then, not wanting to seem too eager, he added, "Hypothetically speaking."
"Of course," you replied with a smile. "Hypothetically speaking."
Suddenly feeling flustered by your gaze, Spencer looked away and focused on his coffee, bringing the mug to his lips. Then you heard laughter and footsteps drawing closer, and soon Derek and Emily entered the room. Their eyes immediately landed on the two of you, sitting closely together at the table.
"What are you children whispering about?" Derek's voice interrupted, his eyebrows raised curiously as he glanced between you.
You didn't miss a beat. “Spencer and I are having a baby together."
Spencer choked on his coffee, his eyes widening in shock as he coughed and sputtered. You quickly moved to pat his back.
"Well, we're gonna get married first, right, Spence?" you added with a grin, glancing at him expectantly.
Spencer finally managed to regain his composure, clearing his throat awkwardly as he shot you a sideways glance. "Um, yeah, of course," he stammered, his cheeks still tinged with embarrassment. "Hypothetically."
Derek and Emily exchanged bemused glances, a silent conversation passing between them. Emily's curiosity seemed to win out as she lifted a hand, turning her attention back to you. "Care to explain?"
"We were discussing our backup plan."
"Backup plan?" Derek echoed.
"Yeah," you replied with a nod. "In case neither of us finds the right person by the time we're, oh, I don't know, forty or so, we figured we'd marry each other and start a family."
Derek placed a hand over his chest, feigning hurt. "And you chose Pretty Boy over me?"
"I'm not going to compete with all your lady friends," you shot back, rising from your seat. "Come on, Spence, let's grab some lunch and brainstorm baby names."
He stood up, giving you a pointed look.
"Or do you want to discuss how we'd make those babies in the future?"
"Well, I was thinking of Amelia if it's a girl..."
You grinned, linking your arm through his before guiding him towards the door. Derek and Emily observed the natural closeness between you two, how you were practically clinging to him and how he seemed to be comfortable with it.
Derek turned to Emily as you disappeared down the hallway. "Do you think they'd actually get married when they hit forty?"
Emily shook her head. "Nope," she replied confidently. "I give it a year until he's already down on one knee."
He laughed, nodding in agreement. With the way Spencer's gaze lingered on you with unmistakable affection, it seemed like it was only a matter of time.
#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x you#spencer reid x self insert#spencer reid x fem!reader#spencer reid x y/n#spencer reid x fanfiction#spencer reid fluff#spencer reid imagine#spencer reid drabble#spencer reid scenario#spencer reid fanfic#criminal minds fanfic
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
i’ll marry you with paper rings || k.mg
“AND I’LL MARRY YOU EVEN WITH PAPER RINGS”
PAIRING || Mingyu x Female Reader
GENRES || Best Friends To Lovers AU, Fluff, Angst, Childhood Friends To Lovers AU, Slow Burn, Love Triangle (not exactly), Marriage Pact AU, Humour
SUMMARY || When the two of you were little, you and Mingyu had made a marriage pact, agreeing to marry each other if both of you remained single till thirty. Of course, it was just a joke between the two of you and you both went about in your own ways, the silly promise pretty much forgotten. You soon had a huge list of ex-boyfriends and it became a routine for Mingyu to be your human tissue after each breakup. It was a tiresome job, taking care of you, but if the said best friend in love with you didn’t do it, who would?
Or, in which, even twenty years later, Kim Mingyu finds himself running to your every beck and call, despite telling himself he won’t fall for you anymore.
WARNINGS || minors dni, swearing lots of swearing, alcohol consumption, wonwoo is an ass (sometimes), mingyu’s friend circle bullies him because what even is new, reader has a obsessive ex, down bad gyu (and yes this is a warning), switch!mingyu, switch!reader, soft sex its more of making love so there aren’t really any dynamics, unprotected sex (do not do this), pet names for both (love, baby, angel, princess, sir), riding, sofa sex. [let me know if i missed anything pls]
WORD COUNT || 28.3k (what happened here-)
A/N || OMG ITS FINALLY HERE. AFTER 8 MONTHS OF TURMOIL, 8 MONTHS OF HATING IT AND LOVING IT, HAVING A WRITERS BLOCK AND CRYING OVER IT ITS FINALLY HERE. This was a huuuuge journey to write this and I hope you guys enjoy it because this fic is truly my baby that I raised. Special thanks to @wonumatics for helping me with the fic (and also making a cameo) and @thepoopdokyeomtouched .
TAGLIST || @alyssng @shiningstar-byulxx @ashkuuuu @venusprada @macaronihaha @jyiiscool @sanniekook @obaebarbs @springdaybreaks @just-here-to-read-01 @hoshipills @jhornytrash @jeonnyread @zgzgzh @neuviloved @hoeforcheol @sahazzy @lightprincess-world @watermelon-sugars-things @idubutily @meowmeowminnie @raindroponme-onme @nishloves @cosmic-w0lf @gyulfriend @youre-on-your-ownkid @neocarat17 @bias-recs @bmkgemz @fragmentof-indifference @peachytokki @hanicore @winterbeartaehyungbestboy @toshijimafarms @hyneyedfiz @weebotakuboy @angelfeverdream @aaniag @thepoopdokyeomtouched @caramyisabitchforsvtandbts @sea-moon-star @jjeongddol @k-drama-adict @mnstxmnbb [if you want to be added to my taglist please fill in this form!]
𝐎𝐍𝐄. 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒
“Mingoo.”
The boy ignored your words as he continued with his drawing, hoping you would stop calling him and get back to your own work. The two of you had been drawing and colouring since morning so it wasn’t really surprising to him that you were already bored, but his art teacher had claimed that he wouldn’t be able to draw well since he was left-handed and he was determined to prove her wrong.
“Mingoo. Mingoo! Look at me!”
‘Mingoo’ looked exasperatedly at you, clearly unamused by your antics. You had placed the entire colour pencil box on your head, balancing it as you tried climbing up the arms of the sofa where the two of you were seated. No sooner had you lifted a leg, your whole body shook and the pencil box came crashing down, spilling its content everywhere.
“Hey!”
You had begun to laugh but immediately stopped when you saw how upset he was. Sitting down beside him, you gave him a sad pout as you gently patted his back.
“What’s wrong, Mingoo?”
“I told you not to call me that! Just call me Mingyu!” He huffed, going back to his drawing.
You rolled your eyes but you were sure he didn’t even notice it, considering how immersed he was in his drawing. “Fine, Mingyu. Just so you know, Mingoo is much cuter! What’s bothering you?”
Mingyu didn’t respond right away, which just confirmed your suspicions that he was very, very upset. And when he did look at you finally, his lower lip was quivering as though he was on the verge of tears.
“My- my art teacher told me I can’t draw!” The very first tear drop fell as he sniffled, trying very hard to control his tears. You looked at him confused, not sure what he was talking about since Mingyu was clearly the best artist you had seen in your life (however short it was).
“What are you talking about? Why can’t you draw? You draw amazing.”
“She said since I’m a leftie I can’t draw!”
“That’s because she is just jealous that a six year old draws better than her. I think you are the best artist I’ve ever seen.”
“You haven’t even- you haven’t even seen that many artists.” Mingyu mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he felt the sadness in his heart reduce a little. You rolled your eyes once more (he had come to notice that you seemed to really love rolling your eyes at him) before poking his cheeks once.
“Don’t need to. I just know you are the best.”
“Really?”
“Mingoo.” This time he groaned at the nickname. “I think you are the best at everything. You are the best person I’ve ever met.”
“You are just six. You couldn’t have met that many people, could you?”
“You are underestimating my social skills. But the point is, according to me, you are the bestest person I know, and that’s why you are my best friend.”
He snorted. “It sounds like you are convincing me to get married to you.”
You gasped at that, and for a second Mingyu was worried he had said something scandalous (it didn’t feel right to him that you would be troubled by this when you used the word ‘idiot’ many times, which was a pretty bad word according to his mom).
“That’s it!” You clapped your hand in excitement and something told Mingyu you were going to suggest the most scandalous thing he had ever heard from you. “Let’s get married!”
“Like…now?”
“No, you idiot!” He winced as you slapped his arm lightly, though he wasn’t sure if it was because you hit him or because you had sworn again. Maybe it was time to tell your mom that you were always using bad words. “We can’t get married now, so if we are still single till thirty, let’s get married then!”
“W-why, though?” He asked, rubbing his arms gently. Not that he was opposed to this idea. Mingyu thought you were a great friend, you were his best friend after all, and to be honest, in his eyes you were pretty enough (he didn’t have much girl friends unfortunately). But he wasn’t sure why you had suggested this idea suddenly.
You just shrugged. “No reason. It’s just that I’ve seen many movies where the best friends get married because no one wants to marry them.”
“They sound desperate to me.”
“So will you be, if you don’t get a girlfriend by thirty.” You snickered and that got Mingyu actually wondering. Would he actually never get a girlfriend? Now that he thought about it more, he realised that maybe your plan wasn’t that bad.
“Sure then. Let’s get married if we are still single by thirty.”
You raised your pinky finger to him and he immediately entwined it with his, both of your thumbs brushing against each other as you smiled at him, causing him to mirror your grin.
“Pinky promise that we’ll get married if we are still single when we reach thirty?”
“Promise.” He whispered.
“Oh, by the way, Mingyu?”
“Hmmm?”
“You are going to be the world’s greatest artist.”
Mingyu rotated the pen in his hand as he absentmindedly stared outside the window. He could faintly hear the teacher teaching something about the different divisions in the animal kingdom but he had no interest in it whatsoever (after learning about the different excretory systems of insects, he had lost interest in biology all together). Through his seat, he could see the school ground and being on the lower floor didn’t help the fact he could recognise all the students who were playing out right now, making him wish he was there instead of his current location inside the sweltering, hot classroom.
No one had warned him that middle school would be this boring but after being put in different sections, his school life seemed to have considerably dulled without you. Seventh grade wasn’t supposed to be this lifeless, was it?
He could see your little running form going in circles around the field and he automatically felt a smile tug at his lips. You looked so funny, with that annoyed expression on your face as you struggled to complete your laps. Mingyu dearly wished he had his camera with him, just to click a picture of you in this haggard form and pin it up in his bedroom wall just to tease you.
Just as he was thinking of the million different ways he could embarrass you, he heard his name being called sharply, snapping him out of his train of thoughts.
“Kim Mingyu!”
He jerked up straight to see his biology teacher glaring daggers at him, hand clutching the duster as though he was ready to throw it on Mingyu the second he answered the question wrong.
“Er,” he stood up awkwardly, eyes darting to the board to search for anything, just anything related to the question, anything that would give him enough hint as to where they were.
Suddenly his eyes landed on Boo Seungkwan who was sitting on the first bench, the extremely talkative boy Mingyu had recently befriended, and to his relief, Seungkwan mouthed him the question.
What are the four divisions of phylum arthropoda?
“Uh right, um, arthropoda is divided into arachnida, myriapoda, insectae and crustaceans.”
The teacher looked slightly annoyed that he had got it right but nonetheless motioned Mingyu to sit down. Letting out a silent sigh, he sat down and looked out of the window, searching for you. His eyes immediately landed on your figure as you and your friends stood in circles for dodgeball, causing him to smile once again knowing you were horrible at the game.
It was funny to him how easily he always noticed you even amongst a huge sea of students. He was always the first one to catch your eyes at the morning assembly and he could always spot you in the canteen during lunch despite the huge strength of students. It was like you stood out the most amongst everyone, and yet at the same time, there wasn’t really anything that special about you.
Thank god he remembered this chapter though he had studied this almost five days ago. Mingyu had finally come to believe that he had, what you called, a ‘sexy brain’. It kind of embarrassed him how much you always threw that compliment around him whenever the two of you were studying, but for some reason he didn’t stop you.
He just liked it a lot when you complimented him.
The bell finally rang after what felt like hours, indicating that it was the lunch break. Mingyu turned towards the window to see you disappearing into the school building one last time, before he began packing his books into his bag.
“Dude, why do you stare out of the window so much?”
He looked up to see Seokmin leaning on his desk, his usual gentle smile on his face as he waited for him to answer. Mingyu could see the curiosity behind his eyes so he just shook his head.
“No reason. It’s just better than studying bio, to be honest.”
“Oh, yeah?” He asked, peeping out of the window too. Seungkwan came and joined the two of them, having overheard the conversation. “Are you sure it isn’t to just check out the section A girls?”
For some reason, Mingyu felt heat creep into his cheeks as he glared at the smiling boy opposite to him, who was already laughing in a good natured way.
“Then what?” Seungkwan snorted. “His best friend is in that class.”
“Oh? What’s her name? Then you must be mad that the two of you got separated last year, right?”
“It’s Y/N. Of course I’m mad.” He huffed, frowning at the very memory. His school had suddenly decided that from middle school girls and boys would be in completely different sections. He remembered whining about this to you because what was the point of studying in a co-ed school if he was separated from his best friend for silly reasons to which you had gently reminded him that you would be meeting at the canteen nonetheless. “Won’t you be angry if Joshua got put in a separate class, Seokmin?”
Seokmin laughed once more. “Of course I would. But you look like you are ready to set the school on fire for this.”
“You see,” Seungkwan spoke and Mingyu could already tell he was trying to add fuel to the fire from his expression. “They both are really close. So of course Mingyu was pissed.”
To this, Seokmin widened his eyes at Mingyu dramatically, clearly intrigued by this new piece of gossip. “Oh? Is that so?”
“It’s not what you both are thinking.” Mingyu said firmly, finally zipping his bag shut. But one look at Seungkwan and Seokmin’s mischievous smirk was enough to tell him that he had dug his own grave.
“And what are we thinking, Mingyu?”
“You think I have a crush on her.” He said, his nostrils flaring. Mingyu could feel his ears turning red from the embarrassment but he wasn’t really sure why. What was so embarrassing about explaining his relationship with you, his best friend, to his friends? “Or that we might like each other. But we don’t. Not like that.”
“Uh huh whatever you say, lover boy.” Seungkwan giggled before beckoning them to get out of the classroom. Mingyu rolled his eyes as he followed his friends out but it did nothing to stop his ears from burning up. Why was he so flustered?
The canteen was as usual crowded and the three of them lined up with their trays to get their food, when he felt his elbows hit someone else.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Mingyu began, sure that his clumsiness had gotten him into trouble once again. But luckily, he was met by your annoyed expression (he never knew he could feel so much relief upon seeing you annoyed) as you rubbed your ribs gingerly.
“Watch where you’re going, boy. You could easily have taken off my head with that elbow of yours.”
Mingyu snorted at your words, secretly glad that he was finally able to catch up with you in the canteen. “I bet I could. After all, who gets tired after running three laps?”
“You were watching me?” You hissed, pretending to lift your tray to hit him. He laughed at you and felt his smile grow as you too smiled back at him.
“He was watching you the entire time.” Seungkwan said. Mingyu glared at the two of them but that didn’t stop Seokmin either.
“Yeah, nearly got into trouble too, because of that. Thank god you knew the answer or else Park would have had your head for lunch today.”
“You weren’t listening to Park? You must have a death wish, Gyu.”
All of a sudden Mingyu felt his stomach flip, causing him to stumble a little, his plate (now filled with food) nearly falling off his hand if it wasn’t for Seungkwan catching it with a hiss.
“What’s wrong with you?” He hissed, carefully pulling Mingyu away from the crowd. The four of them looked at him concerned and he realised he must have looked shell shocked or something, seeing that they weren’t scolding him for his clumsy habits like usual.
To be honest, he felt shell shocked too. What was that? What was that sudden feeling that nearly threw him off his balance? When you had called him Gyu (Mingoo had evolved to Gyu because even you finally agreed; it was cringe), he had felt his stomach drop like he had been dropped from a great height. You had called him Gyu countless times before, and none of them had ever had such a dangerous effect on him before.
“Mingyu?” He heard your soft voice call him, and when you placed a gentle hand on his arm he turned to look at you. You were looking at him worriedly, and for some reason that made him feel even more light headed.
He felt the familiar heat rise up his cheeks and he immediately turned away, not wanting to look at you anymore.
“I- I think I need to go to the nurse’s room. I think I’m a bit dehydrated.” he said, deciding that he must have been feeling unwell. What else could be the reason for this sudden feeling? It was very hot after all and they did have an hour of physical education before biology. Maybe he hadn’t drunk enough water?
“Oh, okay. Let me come with you-” You began but he cut you off with a smile
“No, I’ll go alone.”
You looked taken aback for a second, but smiled back almost immediately, giving his arm a gentle pat. “Are you sure? What if you faint on the way?”
“No, I’m not that unwell yet. It’s okay, you guys have lunch. I’ll catch up with you later.” Nodding at Seungkwan and Seokmin, he quickly ran out of the cafeteria, hoping no one was using the ice bag from the nurse’s room.
Now that he was finally away from the suffocating heat and loud buzz of the cafeteria, he wondered why he had refused you to take him to the medical room.
“Crap. How many days left for cram school to start?” You asked, stuffing another handful of popcorn into your mouth. Your best friend looked at you in annoyance for asking the most useless question in between the movie, but nonetheless picked up his phone to check the date.
“Two days. It starts this Saturday.”
“Fuck, we’ve really got to make the most out of it Mingyu.”
“I know. But you repeating it after every few minutes isn’t really making it better or making the day go slower. If anything, I can already feel the anxiety seeping in.”
He heard you snort and mumble something about having it easy because of his sexy brain, and he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. The two of you were finally in high school, but there was nothing to rejoice about it by the number of extra classes you would have to attend. So here you were, idling away the two week summer vacation you had got, enjoying the ‘last glories of our youth’ as you had called it.
Even though Mingyu knew the next four years were going to be a huge study overload (he could actually feel the anxiety seeping in now), he had never felt so relaxed in his entire life like he had in these two weeks.
The two of you had gone to amusement parks, done movie marathons and had even gone to the beach for a few days with both of your families. Even though he knew spending time with you was supposed to be memorable, he couldn’t help thinking that this time it had felt extra special.
He still couldn’t forget that warm feeling that had enveloped his chest when you had won one of the amusement park games and hugged him out of excitement, or the time when the two of you kept pushing each other at the sea until a huge wave crashed into the two of you, causing you to hold onto Mingyu as you both let out shrieks of laughter.
All of a sudden he realised that he had been getting this feeling of warmth whenever he was around you quite often off lately. Not to mention that one time his stomach dropped when you winked at him back at your fourteenth birthday.
Well, in his defence you looked gorgeous. Like in a way he hadn’t expected you to. Of course he knew you were pretty. Kim Mingyu wasn’t blind to all those love letters and chocolate boxes you got every Valentine's day. But he really hadn’t expected you to look so beautiful in that dress. Nor had he expected his heart to stutter like that when you showed him the dress, twirling in it.
Maybe it was because of the heat inside your bedroom due to all the closed windows and door or maybe it was because he was remembering those confusing emotions, but as Mingyu turned to look at you, he felt his heart stutter once more.
Your hands had a dusty orange on them from all those cheetos you had been munching on from earlier this evening, and your mouth was in an even worse condition. And yet, he felt warmth flood his chest when he realised he didn’t really care for your appearance. It didn’t really matter to him whether you had cheetos crumbs smeared on your lips or whether you were dancing in a beautiful evening gown.
Because you were, well you. You were Mingyu’s best friend of nine years and with someone he had shared every single memory with, be it a happy, sad or an embarrassing one. Of course he wouldn’t care about your appearance (hell, he had even seen you when you woke up after bawling your eyes out for the entire night) so why was this point coming to his mind now?
You were pretty and that was a fact. There was nothing to debate about it and yet here he was, not paying attention to the movie but wondering if all the guys who had chased you were aware of this side of you. Would they still ask you out? Would they still send you roses and chocolates during that time of the year?
He snorted at the very thought of how fake their affection towards you now felt. Mingyu was pretty sure they would run in the opposite direction if they saw you in this condition right now; wearing your old Melody pyjamas while eating chips in the most messy way ever.
But he would never do that (assuming there was a hypothetical situation where he had to date you, of course). Because this was what made you you and he loved you for that. Everything about you was perfect in his eyes, including your flaws and mistakes.
Which once again, made his heart to stutter erratically causing him to suck in a harsh breath.
You turned to him when you heard him suck in a breath, your smiling expression changing to that of concern.
“Gyu? You okay?”
“Yeah I think…I think I’ve got a clogged artery.” Maybe it was high time he talked to a cardiologist.
“Dammit. Told you to cut down on those snacks.”
“Me? Or you?” He laughed, pointing at the heap of empty snack packets around you. You pushed all the packets to his side and he gave you his usual ‘defeated smile’, causing you to laugh once again.
Damn, you were really pretty when you laughed.
“Oh but clogged arteries? Please Einstein, I bet you were thinking about a girl, weren’t you?”
“What the hell? Where did that come from?” He spluttered, taken aback by this sudden confrontation. You punched his arm lightly before wiggling your eyebrows at him (Mingyu made a mental point to ask Seungkwan to stop hanging out with you since you were clearly picking up his habits).
“My dude, you clearly have a crush on someone. Why else would your heart be jumping like that?”
“I don’t think I ever mentioned it was jumping?”
“Oh please. I’ve known you for so many years. I know what’s going on inside your head.”
Mingyu rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a crush on anyone, okay?”
“Then why is your heart jumping like that?”
“I told you it's not jumping-”
“The only explanation is that you have a crush on someone.” You winked, causing him to groan. Letting out a laugh you patted his shoulder gently, letting him know you were joking. “I’m just kidding, Gyu. If you ever had a crush on someone, you would have told me right?”
“Yeah…” Mingyu nodded. He would have told you right away, right? But what if…what if his crush was you? Would he be able to tell you then?
“Speaking of which, one of my friends thinks you are cute! Do you want to go on a date with her?”
“Er, I don’t think I’m good enough-”
“Excuse me?” You glared daggers at him, causing him to halt mid sentence. “You are not good enough? What are you even talking about? Anyone who knows you well knows that you are a literal gem! You are smart, cute, handsome and well-mannered! What else does a girl need?”
“Er.” He tried thinking of something to say, but his mind was stuck on something else you had said. You had called him smart, cute and handsome? Sure, he heard you say it a million times before but it did nothing to stop the heat creeping up his cheeks.
“Give it a try, please? Suji is a nice girl too, and I’m sure you both would click. You know I wouldn’t have even told you about this if I knew you wouldn’t like her, would I?” You asked, your lower lip jutting out in a pout. You looked so adorable right now, pouting at him slightly as you spoke in a soft voice, as though trying to convince a child to do something for you.
As though in a trance, Mingyu found himself nodding to your words. “Okay. But why does she like me? I mean, I barely know her.”
“I don’t know honestly. She just said she had a crush on you because you looked like her ideal type.”
“So…she loves me because I look like her ideal type?”
You narrowed your eyes at him and Mingyu wondered what had he done wrong. When he still didn’t reply, you rolled your eyes and took the remote controller, switching off the movie and edging closer to him.
“No, you silly. She doesn’t love you. I said, she has a crush on you. There’s a difference.”
His head spun at your words as he looked at you annoyed this time. Why were you complicating matters when it was clear he didn’t know a thing about this?
“Look crush is like a short infatuation. It doesn’t have much to do with personality, and is mostly based on looks. Love on the other hand, develops slowly, over a period of time. Like you could give a million reasons why you might have a crush on someone but love is, love is just…there’s no reason. You just love them despite everything and anything. Like…their imperfections don’t matter at all.”
“Like how I love you?” He asked, and you just laughed, slipping your hands into his. He grimaced as you oily fingers brushed against his, but somehow it felt comforting when you entwined your hand in his.
“Of course not. We are just friends; everything is platonic between us. What I mean is loving a stranger, like a person you were not meant to be with in the first place. I mean like, not- not Seokmin, me or Seungkwan. Not your family or friends. Someone you accidentally happened to meet. Am I making sense?”
Mingyu nodded, understanding you very clearly. It made sense in a way. Loving you couldn’t possibly be the same as loving his girlfriend, could it? Loving you was like his second nature, like it was bound to happen and he couldn’t think of a time he didn’t love you and your friendship. Loving you was just so easy and just so natural; that had to be platonic right?
You switched back on the television, and for a few minutes, silence engulfed the two of you before you broke it again.
“You want to know something, Gyu?”
“What?”
“I would have definitely loved you if we weren’t best friends.”
“Hi!”
Mingyu turned towards the excited squeak and found a girl of his age standing beside him, waving a bit too excitedly. He smiled at her politely before beckoning to the empty seat beside him for her to sit down.
He had finally agreed to go on a date with Suji, deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy a little bit before he became completely busy with his studies. He had tried searching for good places to go on a date that might suit both his and Suji’s taste, but finding none, he finally had resorted to asking Seokmin for advice.
Currently the two of them were at the Food Plaza, a street completely dedicated to small food shops. According to Seokmin, he and his girlfriend enjoyed trying new food from there so it might be a great idea to take Suji there instead of a restaurant which would serve only a particular cuisine.
“So, um, Suji.” Mingyu began. immediately wishing a hole would swallow him up because of how awkwardly he had started. “What do you eat? I mean, like, what would you like to eat? Like- Like cuisine wise?”
“Uh, about that-”
“We could have Italian if you like! Or- or, uh, my friend actually recommended me this taco place but I’ve just got to search for it a bit-”
“I’m actually allergic to a lot of food.” She cut him off, smiling at Mingyu apologetically. As he stared at her, he could feel the embarrassment sinking in even more.
Oh. Oh. “Why didn’t you tell me before? I would have picked a different date spot.” He said, trying not to sound too dejected at how his first date was going.
“I didn’t want to offend you. I mean, it was the first time we were talking and you asked if this was fine with me and I felt it would be rude if I said no.” She said sheepishly, clearly equally embarrassed at how things were turning out.
Why did she have to overthink so much? Why did she have to be so polite?
“Then…do you want to go somewhere else-”
“I see a Subway here, behind you. Do you mind if we eat there instead?” She asked with a smile.
He forced a smile and got up, and she followed his lead. Oh great, this Subway is only a takeaway. “Of course not. Let’s have a Subway then.”
Mingyu had always had great expectations for his first date. He had always thought it would be at a nice comfortable place, enjoying the food as he got to know his date and vice versa. Never had he thought that he would be eating a Subway for his first date, sitting on one of the plastic chairs kept outside the shop, getting boiled under the hot sun.
The rest of the afternoon passed away in idle chatter. Suji was apparently a straight A student, but she had no other hobbies because she spent every single moment studying (he could understand her position, really, but it was still boring beyond words).They ended up talking about school and grades more than Mingyu had in his entire life and by the time they had finished lunch, his head was already throbbing.
Out of politeness he asked if she wanted to go to the amusement park but she told him she hated the amusement park, to which Mingyu had nothing to say.
Finally finding that there was nothing else to do (and they had nothing in common except for their grades), the two of them decided to call it a day. They bid each other goodbye with Suji thanking him for the food, and Mingyu promised he would catch up with her more (he didn’t intend to keep this one though).
The sun was already setting in by the time he began his walk back home and the atmosphere had gotten relatively cooler, but it did nothing to stop the pricking heat he was feeling all over his body. His head still throbbed from earlier despite finishing nearly two bottles by himself, so he decided to take some rest at the neighbourhood park.
He sat down on one of the wooden benches and finally let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.
What was wrong with him? Mingyu could feel his head spinning as he felt oddly hot, his clothes sticking to him uncomfortably. Talking to Suji made him feel so uncomfortable for some reason, it felt like he had been talking to a wall the entire time. It was awkward, forced and just so annoying even though he couldn’t tell why.
And he felt unhappy. Unexplainably unhappy. Like he had been forced to choose a career he hated or like he had been told to stop art altogether.
Finally, he took out his phone and dialled a very familiar number, hoping you weren't busy at this moment.
You picked up at the first ring itself and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? That he didn’t enjoy the date? He knew you wouldn’t feel offended by that and you would agree with him but then why couldn't he say anything to you?
“Gyu?” You asked softly, your voice laced in worry.
And that was enough to break him. He let out a sob as he screwed his eyes shut, feeling a heavy emotion wash over him.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered, though he himself was unsure what he was sorry about. “I’m so sorry. I just-”
“Where are you?” You cut him off gently, and he paused for a second to catch his breath.
“I’m- I’m at the park near our apartment.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes, okay? Just hang in there.”
True to your words, you were there within five minutes, and he found you crouching down in front of him. Gently placing your hand on his knees, you asked again, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He was still shaking from the aftermath of his sudden breakdown, the nauseous feeling threatening to rise if he opened his mouth to speak. So instead, he just opted to look at you with his teary eyes, hoping you would understand.
Mingyu had always been the softer one among the two of you. He was always the first one to end up with tears when he got hurt or offended, and at the same time he was the first one to forgive anyone for their mistakes. So it wasn’t really surprising that you had learnt to realise his emotions even if he didn’t, and you always knew the right word to soothe him.
“Hey,” You said, still talking softly to him. You took his hands in yours, gently rubbing circles on them with your thumb. “It’s okay. It’s completely fine that you didn’t like her, you know that right? Sometimes…things don’t work out the way we think they would. But why are you crying? Did she do something to you? Don’t tell me she forced you to kiss her or-”
“No, no, it’s not anything like that.” He inhaled sharply, finally finding his voice back. He didn’t want to ruin your friendship with Suji just because he was confused about what he was feeling and why he didn’t like her. “It’s just that…I don’t know. She felt so boring, bland and dry. Not in the offensive way! Like- like Minghao from my chess class talks about only grades and school too! But I never feel so dull…so lifeless with him.
“It’s okay.” You said with a reassuring smile that had warmth flooding back to his chest, the stupid prickling heat that had been irritating his skin now gone. Pressing a soft kiss onto his knuckles, you said, “We don’t have to justify why we don’t like or like someone ever, okay? It’s completely fine.”
And all of a sudden Mingyu realised what he had been feeling, why he had felt so unhappy and what Suji had missing.
“I felt uncomfortable.” He said, just realising how comfortable he felt beside you. There was a feeling you radiated, which was something no one could ever replace. Whenever he was with you he felt like he was at home, like no matter what would happen he could always go back to you.
Which was a given since you were his best friend. And yet, when he was with Suji all he could think of was you. Of how you made him feel. Of how you made him feel always.
“It’s okay, Gyu. It can happen. You know that I’ll always be there for you, right?” You smiled at him.
Mingyu smiled back at you, finally feeling like the throbbing in his head dull down a bit. As if on a cue, he remembered something like this had happened to the two of you long ago, another incident of you calming him down which had resulted in the two of you making a silly promise.
Back then it was a promise made at the heat of the moment, with little to almost no thought given to it since it was meant to be a light joke between the two of you. But when he extended his pinky to you and you immediately linked it with yours, Mingyu could feel your seriousness.
“I promise I’ll be there for you too.”
He pressed your doorbell multiple times furiously, patience running thin with every passing second. What was taking you so long? Were you that badly injured that you couldn’t even open the door-
The door finally swung open and Mingyu nearly flew in, engulfing you into a bone crushing hug.
“Ow! Mingyu- It hurts-” You clawed at his back but he still didn’t let go, pouring all his anger that had built up in the past few hours against you in this hug (he had always been told he had weird ways to show his anger). It was only when he felt you yank his hair at the back of his head lightly did he let you go.
“What the hell-” He began as he pulled away, still clutching at your shoulders. He took a deep breath in when he saw your split lip and bruised cheek, feeling his heart twist in the most horrendous way ever. “Did you think you were doing?”
Mingyu could feel the huge wave of guilt coursing through his veins right now. He shouldn’t be blaming you. This wasn’t even your fault in the first place. Why was he getting mad at you?
Because after all, this was actually all his fault. The whole reason you had even got into the fight in the first place was because of him.
And yet, you looked unfazed as you rolled your eyes at him, shrugging his hand off your shoulders. You walked into your bedroom and after making sure the front door was locked (your parents had gone out for a week and it was Mingyu’s responsibility to check if you were keeping up with the safety rules set by them), he followed you into your room.
“Why did you do that?” He asked once again, as you sat down on your bed with a huff. He followed suit and you turned to glare at him.
“What do you mean why did I do that? Of course I had to punch that asshole-”
“Then are you going to get into a fight with anyone who says they don’t like me?”
“Of course I will! And it wasn’t even a matter of simple liking. He called you a whore just because you didn’t want to go out with his sister. Who the fuck does that? I needed to get some decency punched into his head!” You snapped, causing him to flinch at your anger.
Why were you so angry? It was true that even he would have been offended if someone had insulted you, but now you had gotten yourself hurt and that hurt him a lot more.
“Did the school send you home early as a punishment?” He asked as he got up to search for the first aid box, trying to change the subject.
“Not as a punishment. The principal said he was letting me go since he was the one who started it. But they said that if I got into another fight, it would go down in my report.”
Mingyu hissed at the very thought of your report getting tainted due to him. Squeezing the antiseptic he had taken out from your first aid box onto a cotton bud, he was about to apply it on your lips but you caught his wrist. He looked up at you in surprise only to see you looking at him worriedly.
“Are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad. I’m just- Look, you got hurt. Because of me.” He said, his strained voice giving away the guilt he had been hiding all this time. He was mad at you; but only because you had got hurt so badly because of him.
“Nope. Not because of you. I got hurt because of that bastard-”
“Okay that’s enough swearing for a day. But why did you do that?”
“Done what?” You asked in annoyance, as though it was a stupid question he was asking. “Gotten into a fight? Gyu…wouldn’t you have done that for me too?”
“I- I would- I wouldn’t- Yeah. I would.” He whispered, feeling bile rise up his throat at the very thought of someone insulting you. Was that even possible? What would they even insult about you? What was even there to insult about you? You were so perfect in every way that Mingyu could not even think of any flaw that someone might find in you. “I would burn down the world for you.” He said, still whispering.
When you heard this, the creases that had formed in your eyebrows due to your anger disappeared, as you burst into laughter. He blinked at you confused, not sure why you were laughing. Nonetheless, he felt his own mood lighten a bit upon hearing your beautiful laugh, his heart skipping a beat when you smiled at him softly.
“Oh Gyu.” You said, grabbing his hand in yours. Right now you were looking so, so pretty that all Mingyu could do was stare at you and nod dumbly, all words dried from his throat. “You would burn the world down for me? Nah, you are too sweet for that.”
At this he snorted, jerking his hand away from you and proceeding to dab at your lips. “You underestimate my love for you.”
“I don’t.” You said, wincing a bit that caused him to freeze, scared that he was hurting you more. Seeing your wounds from up close made his heart squeeze painfully, and it oddly made him wish he had taken those punches instead of you. “I know you love me as much as I love you.”
“Then don’t get hurt.” He whispered. You blinked at him and he sighed frustratedly, pulling you into another hug. This one was gentler than the previous one and yet Mingyu held as close as he had done before, as though he was scared to let you go. “Then please don’t get hurt. It hurts me. It hurts me to see you like this.”
He felt you gently pat his shoulder blades before wrapping your arms around his torso, pulling him even more closer. Your scent, which he had grown so familiar with, comforted him as you buried your face in the crook of his neck.
Hugs were not something uncommon between the two of you; you had hugged each other a million times before and nothing had changed between the two of you.
And yet right now, as Mingyu held your body close to his, he was hyper aware of how your skin felt against his, of how comfortably your body fit in his grip and of how his heart raced as you clutched his biceps. His heart hurt, his head hurt and yet, it felt so good to have you in his arms.
It really felt like Mingyu was the one who got into a fight; everything hurt so badly. He thought of the raging emotion he had first felt when he had heard that his classmate had hurt you. He remembered the panic he felt when he entered the nurse room and couldn’t find you; he was worried that you were in a worse condition than he had thought you were in and had to be taken to the hospital. And he remembered the relief flooding back in him when the nurse told you had simply been asked to go back home and there was nothing serious about your bruises. It had nearly torn him apart as he waited for the day to get over, dying to go home and make sure that you were actually okay.
He thought of all the emotions he had experienced with you; happiness, anger, sadness, fear, surprise and even disgust. Mingyu had shared a huge journey with millions of memories with you. He really couldn’t even imagine what his life would have been like if it weren’t for you. It was impossible to even breathe without you.
Suddenly he remembered what Seokmin had told him once, that maybe, maybe he was in love with you.
It was back when they were on a school school field trip and students had been allowed some free time around the resort so Mingyu, Seokmin and Seungkwan decided to play on the monkey bars. They were just either sitting on it or swinging aimlessly (sixteen year olds were a bit too tall for a playground meant for five year olds) with idle chatter when you and your group came and sat down on the swing.
Normally Mingyu wouldn’t have really cared and the swings were too far from the monkey bar to involve himself in your talk but he glanced at you and felt himself smile. You were laughing and talking to your friend, the sunlight catching your hair and almost giving you an angelic glow.
It was already warm but Mingyu still felt warmth spreading in his chest, his cheeks heating up within seconds.
Back then, Seokmin had joked, only joked, that Mingyu was in love with you but now, he realised that it may be true.
That maybe, he was in love with you.
And not in the platonic way that you had explained to him. Not in the way where you both exchanged ‘i love yous’ regularly because you loved your friendship.
He loved you in the way Orpheus loved Eurydice, the way Romeo loved Juliet and the way Louisa Clark loved William Traynor.
Because Mingyu had said it for himself; loving you was so easy and just so natural that he couldn’t even think of something else, he couldn’t even see himself falling in love with someone else. Loving you was like a river flowing, something that would have happened no matter what. Something that could not be stopped, because then it would be like a dam that had been forced to be built to stop Mingyu’s emotions from flowing.
“Just promise me you won’t get hurt.” He whispered and felt you slightly nod your head. You were gently rubbing circles on his back, with no idea what effect it had on him. “Promise me please. Because I love you so much that I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”
“I promise.” You mumbled almost immediately, unaware of the double meaning his words held.
But that’s okay. Mingyu thought. You didn’t have to know about his feelings. He wasn’t going to burden you or your friendship with his one sided love. As long as you were happy, he was okay with it.
After all, some promises were meant to be broken.
Like this one.
“What did you even want to show us?” Seungkwan grumbled, squinting through the sunlight looking heavily annoyed.
Mingyu didn’t blame him though. They had been sitting at the cafe for the past half an hour doing nothing, still waiting for whatever ‘surprise’ you had planned for them. The hot weather made everything even worse; Seokmin was already on his fourth ice cream, Seungkwan was sipping his sixth iced americano and Mingyu himself had drunk two large glasses of milkshake and now he wanted to use the washroom so badly but could only resort to shaking his legs.
“If I tell you it won’t be a surprise anymore, will it?” You said, checking your phone for the millionth time.
Mingyu realised that this was the first time in weeks he was hanging out with you. College was starting in a month and everyone had decided to take part in activities that might help them boost their respective subject knowledge. Since both of you had decided to major in different subjects, he hadn’t been able to see you much due to the conflicting schedules of your work.
He felt warmth bloom in his chest as he watched you smile at your screen, the corners of his lips tugging when he realised how ridiculously pretty you looked. Mingyu had come to terms with the fact that love was indeed blind; in his eyes you would always be the most perfect human being and even though you would never see him in a non-romantic way, he would always love you.
All of a sudden your eyes lit up, and you jumped up from your chair. “He’s here!” You yelled as you dashed towards the entrance of the cafe.
Confusion settled between the three of them as both Seungkwan and Seokmin’s eyes fell on Mingyu.
“He? What’s she talking about?” Seungkwan asked urgently, but all Mingyu could do was furrow his eyebrows.
He? Who were you talking about? Was it a new friend? It couldn’t be your-
“Guys, meet my boyfriend!”
Mingyu felt blood rush up his ears as he stared at you. A boy, of their age, beamed at the three of them along with you, both of you clutching each other’s hands. The two of you were met by complete silence, which was only interrupted when Seokmin’s spoon clattered onto the ground.
“Oh, hi!” He said, laughing awkwardly to ease the sudden tension that had built up. You pulled your ‘boyfriend’ down onto a chair beside you and it was only when the said man smiled at Mingyu did the truth finally sink in.
You had a boyfriend. A boyfriend.
Suddenly the air felt a thousand times hotter than it already was, compressing against him like it was trying to squeeze all the breath out of him. He felt his stomach drop as you smiled at the man beside you, your eyes holding so much love for him.
A love that could never ever be his.
Mingyu felt like he was going to be sick. And his two friends were doing literally nothing to stop the nausea rising up his throat. Seungkwan was glaring very obviously at the newcomer while Seokmin smiled at him awkwardly.
You looked at the three of them expectantly, your smile dropping a little when none of them showed the reaction you were clearly hoping for.
Mingyu felt his heart crack a little at your slightly crestfallen face and that’s when Mingyu realised how stupid he was acting.
How could he be this selfish? Just because he was in love with you didn’t mean that you couldn’t date or fall for someone else. Just because he loved you didn’t mean that you were obliged to return the same feelings. Hell, you didn’t even know that he was in love with you in the first place (which, Seungkwan and Seokmin considered a bit dense of you, because of the fact that it was apparently very obvious that Mingyu was and always had been in love with you; in fact that’s how they had come to know about this even without him telling them).
“Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Mingyu. And this is Seungkwan and this is Seokmin.” He spoke, forcing a smile onto his face for your sake. You immediately beamed back at him and for a second, Mingyu almost forgot that your boyfriend was there.
“Hi Mingyu! I’m Jisung. Y/N’s talked so much about you! At first I thought your name was actually Gyu.” He laughed and Mingyu smiled back politely.
He engaged himself in a casual conversation with Jisung and you, kicking his two friends lightly under the table so that they could help him a bit too. He didn't want you to feel bad. After all, you had looked really excited when you had first told them about the surprise and he wanted you to be happy.
"I'm hurt, though." Mingyu said with a pout, so that you would understand that he was only joking (he wasn't). "You never told me that the reason you kept putting your club activities over meeting up with me was because you had a boyfriend. You could have introduced us much sooner."
You smiled at him apologetically, a small shy one that caused his heart to stutter a little.
“Hey, come on.” Jisung laughed, placing his hand over yours and giving it a squeeze. “Of course she would prioritise me, her boyfriend, over you, her best friend.”
“Excuse me?” Seungkwan asked as Mingyu felt his stomach twist in the most revolting way. He felt something catch his throat, his cheeks flaming at the comment more than the unbearable heat of the weather.
Mingyu wasn’t stupid; he could feel the sudden tension in the air at Jisung’s comment and your slightly shocked face so he tried laughing it off. He really, really tried smiling at his words, however awkward the smile was, but for some reason he just couldn’t. All he could do was tighten his grip on the glass as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from lashing out.
Never had he felt so much anger towards someone. No matter how much he tried to digest that statement, he just couldn’t stop the bitterness from rising to his mouth.
Because it was true.
Mingyu knew it was true, and so did everyone else present at the table.
He would always just be a best friend for you, while someone else played the role of your boyfriend. It was a part he could never play, no matter how much he loved you.
But Jisung telling him that definitely didn’t make anything better. It didn’t make his feelings for you go away or make him realise how stupid he was to fall in love with his best friend. If anything, it made him feel worse. It was like Jisung had on purpose crossed all boundaries, just to rile him up.
“H-Hey guys?” Seokmin interrupted, as though worried of what Mingyu might end up saying in the heat of the moment. “Didn’t the three of us promise to play on Joshua’s new xbox at two? If we want to reach on time then we need to leave now.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Seungkwan said, standing up and grabbing Mingyu’s elbow to pull him up. For a second Mingyu looked at his two best friends hurrying to leave in a confusion and then it finally hit him what they were actually trying to do.
“Ah, yeah. Sorry I forgot to mention this Y/N. But we need to leave now.” He said, forcing a smile onto his face just for you. You still looked taken aback from your boyfriend’s comment and just smiled back hastily at him.
"Uh, okay. I'm sure we all can hang out together later too!" You called after them, and they hastily turned to you, bidding you a goodbye.
The three of them walked in complete silence for a while, as though the situation had not yet sunk in.
A boyfriend. His biggest worry was now coming true.
Mingyu could still taste the bile in his mouth and no matter how much he swallowed, the lump in his throat was still choking him.
"Hey man…" Seokmin said, stopping abruptly and causing the other two to do the same. He looked at Mingyu sadly, before patting him gently on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
He could feel tears sting his eyes as he balled his fists to stop them from falling. But no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't stop the feeling of his heart being ripped apart.
Why couldn't he be the one holding your hand right now? Why couldn't he be the one whom you looked at with so much love? Why couldn't he be the one who showered you with love and affection everyday?
The sadness clutched at his heart tightly as the first tear drop fell. Seungkwan clutched his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as though he could understand Mingyu’s feelings.
It's okay. He said to himself. You knew this would happen.
He hadn't felt this sad in years, not even when his friend Kwon Soonyoung made his entire friend group think he was the mafia when he wasn't, and definitely not when he had to force himself to keep a straight face when he heard guys talk about how pretty and awesome you were, or when you would open every single Valentine's Day letter and read them out to him, all the while giggling.
Mingyu felt Seokmin take his other hand and the comfort it gave him made him realise once again how grateful he was to the two of them.
He took in a shuddering breath to calm himself down before speaking. "Thanks a lot. For back there."
Seokmin shook his head, once again patting his back. "Don't mention it. I know this won't cheer you up and it probably sounds useless, but you both are going to two different colleges next month, right? Maybe, I’m saying maybe, you'll get over her. Maybe- maybe the lesser you see her, the easier it will be for you. Plus there's going to be so many other girls too, right?"
Mingyu just nodded, not having the heart to tell him how dull other girls looked to him beside you.
"But I just don't understand how Y/N still does not know that you are in love with her. I mean, even if she can't see it, surely her friends would have noticed?"
Mingyu shrugged, the feeling of dejection finally setting in as he watched the setting sun. But he always knew that one day or another, you would get a boyfriend that wasn't him and he would have to accept that.
After all, the promise that the two of you had made was just a stupid joke, right?
"Hey Mingyu. If you want, Soonyoung and I could accidently spill poison into that shit excuse of a boyfriend's coffee and Seungcheol or Jeonghan could cover it up."
He let out a laugh at this, feeling his mood lift up a bit. A bit.
"No thank you. I don't want any of you in jail."
"Damn, okay. What does she even see in that asshole anyways?"
Mingyu shrugged. "I guess everything that I lack."
"Hey, hey, hey." Seokmin shook his head at the two of them. "We need to cheer up! And you know what to do after a breakup?"
"Seokmin. To break up you need to be in a relationship in the first place. Mingyu hasn't even confessed to Y/N yet-"
"Do you," Seokmin flashed his eyes dangerously at Seungkwan. "Know what you need to do? That's right gentlemen. We need to stop by Joshua's house to play with his xbox."
"Did Joshua really buy a new xbox? Didn't he buy one last year?" Mingyu asked, already feeling slightly distracted.
"Yes and yes. You can thank me later on for being best friends with the richest kid from LA."
"He's friends with all of us."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Seungkwan."
𝐓𝐖𝐎. 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒
The rain poured down heavily as he ran across the wet road, ignoring the way his wet clothes clung on to his skin, making him feel cold and clammy. His sneakers were soggy too, making it almost difficult to run, but he didn’t want to think of the consequences if he didn’t get to you quickly.
Mingyu came to a halt in front of a series of bars, taking out his phone hurriedly to check the address you had sent him.
Correction: he whipped out his phone to check the incoherent words you sent him with the line "oick ne up pld".
By now understanding your drunk texts had become a second nature to him; he could decipher it as easily as your normal ones. In fact, this current situation was such a common occurrence that he knew that it wouldn’t really hurt you if he reached a minute or two late but he could never get rid of that horrible feeling in his heart that something, something might happen to you if he didn’t find you.
Finally stepping into the bar whose name you had sent, Mingyu scanned the crowd for your familiar face. Being a Friday, the place was really crowded but it didn’t take him long to find you seated on one of the stools near the counter, emptying your glass in a flash before resting your forehead against the counter.
The tightening in his chest returned as he took in your expression, your drunken state causing his heart to shatter into millions of pieces.
He hated seeing you like this. He hated seeing you sad, he hated seeing you cry and he hated seeing you so heartbroken. It made him angry at the universe for making you cry, it made him angry at you ‘boyfriend’ for making you cry, and it made angry at himself.
It made him angry that he couldn’t protect you, or save you from feeling these emotions. It made him so angry that there were days he would just hate himself for not being able to make you smile. What was the point of being your best friend if he couldn’t protect you from those feelings? What was the point of loving you if you still got hurt over love?
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Mingyu walked over to your spot and sat down on the stool beside you. Then gently patting your back, he called your name softly. “Y/N? Can you hear me?”
You immediately shot up, looking around a little dazed until your eyes landed on him. Squinting at him a little, you asked in a slurred voice, “Gyu?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Let’s go home, okay?” He asked, still speaking softly as he gently slung your arm over his shoulder. You let him pull you up from your chair as he tightened his grip on your waist, and you buried your face in his neck.
Mingyu felt your nose tickle his neck as you wrapped both of your arms around his shoulders tightly, but he ignored it and instead focused on literally dragging you out of the crowded place. Once the two of you had made it out safely, he quickly hailed for a taxi so that you didn’t get wet (and because it was physically impossible for him to drag you all the way back home). After making sure you were seated comfortably in the backseat, he slipped in beside you.
“Y/N?” He asked, poking your knees as you rested your head on his shoulder. The strong smell of alcohol on you pricked his nose in irritation but he let you be, allowing you to use his shirt as a tissue. “Did you…break up again?”
You nodded slowly, sniffling once before looking up at him in teary eyes. Mingyu felt his heart break once again and it took him all his willpower to not wrap his arms around you and engulf you into a hug before you even spoke.
“He said- he said something was off. That he didn’t feel that I was really interested in him.” You mumbled into his shoulder. “I don’t get it though. I really liked him. What did he mean by ‘I wasn't interested in him’?”
“Maybe- maybe it's because you both have busy schedules?” Mingyu reasoned, not sure why he was trying for excuses for your boyfriend, now an ex. “Maybe he was under stress so he wasn’t able to figure things out in his end?”
“I don’t know.” You mumbled. “I-I thought it would work this time.”
It would work this time.
Mingyu had lost track of the number of times he had heard you spill those words, both in your drunken and sober state. It was a word he heard repeatedly over the years since college and he had thought that maybe after you got a job, he would stop having to hear those words.
But he still ended up hearing them after your every single break up, still sympathising with you like he was just your best friend and didn’t love you in any romantic way.
“Maybe it’s time you, uh, try something different?” Another common response. “Like maybe stop being in a relationship for a while, heal yourself completely and then try?”
“I’ve tried, Gyu. I’ve tried it so many times. But for some reason, I feel like something is missing in my life if I’m not in a relationship. You understand, right?”
He did not understand. Mingyu had never been in a relationship before thanks to his one sided love for you but even apart from that, he couldn’t understand how you could jump from one person to another in such a short span of time even though each of it ended in the same sad, messy way.
The taxi finally came to a halt, indicating that they had reached their destination. Mingyu quickly paid the fare and gently pulled you out of the vehicle, him still supporting your maximum weight.
Experience had taught him that dragging you all the way up to the fourth floor of the apartment not only was a bit strenuous to him but also hazardous to you (the dark corridors were not helping his clumsy nature in any way). So he slung your arms around his neck and pulled you onto his back, grabbing your knees as he made his way to the apartment elevator.
Once he stepped out of the elevator and reached his front door, he slowly let go of your one knee and reached for his pant pocket to get his house key-
Shit.
His hand came out empty and he felt panic grab him. Frantically, he reached for his other pocket but all he could feel was his wallet. In his hurry to get to you, he had forgotten to take his key with him.
How could he be so stupid? He had always been an organised person and always checked, double checked everything before leaving the house. How could he forget something so important, especially when you needed his help?
Shit, shit, shit. If we stay here any longer, Y/N’s going to catch a cold. Should I just go to a hotel-
The front door swung open and if Mingyu had been asked at that instant which god he believed in, Mingyu would have said Jeon Wonwoo without a second's hesitation.
“Oh god Wonwoo-” He began, as his older roommate just rolled his eyes, opening the door wider to let the two of you in. Carefully, Wonwoo helped a now unconscious you slide down from his back onto the couch. “How did you know-”
“How did I know you forgot your key?” Wonwoo asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Mingyu nodded, feeling Wonwoo’s disapproval through his stare. “Well, I went to your room to return your book but guess who had sneaked off so late at night?”
Mingyu averted his eyes down, feeling Wonwoo’s gaze pierce through him.
“It’s not that I have a problem with you hanging out so late at night. I’ve never even complained when Y/N crashes in your room. But why do you-” He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself down. Mingyu felt guilt wash over him as Wonwoo continued. “But why do you run to her every single time? Do you have no self respect?”
He winced at his friend’s words even though he knew they were true. He had himself asked this question many times. Why didn’t he stop going to you everytime? Why did he force himself to shoulder your pain every single time? Why couldn’t he, for once, even hint that he loved you?
“You keep telling me it's the last time. Every single damn time.”
“I’m- I’m sorry. I promise this will be the last time-”
“You always say that!” He snapped. “You say that it's going to be the last time, and then you go back, and then get hurt as she rambles about her boyfriend and you still stick to her like she’s not hurting you; like you aren’t breaking inside, like-”
“Then what do you want me to do? Ignore her messages? Leave her alone in this state?”
“No!” Wonwoo hissed. “But if you don’t set boundaries, you are going to be her doormat forever! You’ll be a pushover-”
“Fine, I get it!” Mingyu snapped, mad at Wonwoo for not understanding him and mad at himself for being exactly what Wonwoo had just called him. Your doormat. “I get it, okay? I get what you mean. But I can’t just- I can’t- Fine, I’ll- I’ll get over-”
Both the men flinched as you murmured in your sleep, causing them to finally pause. Wonwoo sighed as he shook his head, slowly walking back to his room.
“It’s up to you, Gyu. Either chase her or forget your feelings for her. But what you are doing now- it’s just going to hurt you more. I’ll be in my room if Y/N needs anything, okay?”
With that, he shut the door of his room, leaving Mingyu all alone with a snoring you.
“Gyu.” You said, swallowing your food abruptly to speak. It just resulted in the huge lump to get stuck in your throat, causing you to cough as you choked on it. Immediately Mingyu shot up from his chair and thumped your back, slowing it down to gentle pats as gradually stopped coughing. “Thanks.” You muttered, giving him a small smile as tears slid down your cheeks.
“Be careful.” He said worriedly, pouring you another glass of juice. You took a sip of it and set it down, before giving him a bigger smile. Mingyu felt his heart clench painfully as you beamed at him gratefully; as though he was your saviour.
“Thank you for the breakfast.” He just nodded, swallowing thickly as he tried to distract himself from your smile; anything that wouldn’t remind him of the way the sunlight from behind gave you a soft glow, the way the corner of your lips quirked up when you smiled, the way- “And- and thank you for yesterday. Thank you for always, actually.” You continued.
“Don’t thank me.” He said, sitting down back on his seat. “That’s what friends do anyways, right?”
Opposite to him, he heard someone snort. Both of you turned your attention to Wonwoo, who was busy reading the newspaper (Mingyu had never seen his roommate with a newspaper; in fact the newspapers were only for him).
“Ah,” you said, “thank you to you too, Wonwoo. Gyu told me that if it hadn’t been for your timely intervention, we would have frozen to death outside the house.”
Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at you, as though trying to find the sarcasm in your statement. But you were genuinely smiling at him and Mingyu kicked Wonwoo lightly under the table. You might be stamping on Mingyu’s heart (unknowingly of course) but he knew you were always thankful to Wonwoo.
“It’s okay.” He muttered, going back to the newspaper. “I was just helping my friend.”
“Yeah, thanks for that too.” You turned back to him and scrunched your nose. “Gyu can be a little oblivious to his surroundings sometimes, right? He needs someone to take care of him sometimes.”
“Absolutely right.” Wonwoo stated coolly, picking up an egg tart that Mingyu had made specifically for you. He eyed Mingyu, before continuing to speak. “He definitely doesn't keep his own feelings and health in mind and is always dashing to help others, unaware about himself or what state he is in.”
Mingyu laughed dryly at his roommate’s statement, before shooting him a glare. Wonwoo then continued again. “But Mingyu is really responsible. And always has everything under control.” (By now, Mingyu could feel sarcasm even in Wonwoo’s breath) “In fact most of the time, it’s him taking care of me. Besides, I think we can all agree that you need to be taken care of more than him.”
At this, Mingyu shot up from his chair once again, pulling you up by your elbow. “You are done right? I’ve already packed some lunch for you. Come on, I’ll drive you back home.”
You looked at him confused. “But- But I just started-”
“It’s okay, you can have them in the car!” He said, quickly picking up some tarts. You rose from your chair hesitantly, but nonetheless waved Wonwoo a small bye as you followed Mingyu out of the house.
Just before closing the main door, Mingyu glared one last time at his roommate, but the older one just smiled at him, mouthing the words, ‘enjoy your “alone” time with Y/N.’ He air quoted the word alone, causing Mingyu to roll his eyes.
As he walked towards his car with you behind him, he made a mental note to talk to Wonwoo about not betraying roommates.
“I’m sorry.” You said, as you finally settled in the car seat. Mingyu looked at you confusedly, not sure where this was coming from. You had never apologised to him before because there wasn’t any need to. He would have gone to pick you up if you had ever texted him, break up or not, drunk or sober. It wasn’t like the two of you were strangers either, where one had to apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Wait, Mingyu thought. Don’t tell me she knows about-
“I keep asking you to come so late at night and pick me up. And then I crash into your house just like that. I can understand why Wonwoo doesn’t like me.” You said, a note of sadness lingering in your voice.
“Oh.” He let out a small breath of relief, feeling a tension release from his chest at your words. Over the years, as Mingyu saw how horribly you dealt with breakups, he had learnt to control his feelings even more whenever he was around you and not let a slip of word either. He didn’t want you to end up like that because of him, even the thought of it brought a stabbing pain to his chest. “Oh, don’t be sorry. What are friends for, huh? I’ve known you all my life. If I can’t help you get you home safely, I think your mother will stop thinking of me as her son.” He glanced at your direction as you gave him a small smile.
But Mingyu could tell there was still some weight on your chest so he added, “And don’t worry about Wonwoo. He does like you. It’s just that- It's just that he is worried that one of us might get hurt, you know.” That one of us being me. “He’s a great guy, trust me. He’s nice and caring in his quiet ways. And he’s someone I trust with my life. Apart from you of course. And Seokmin and Seungkwan. And Joshua too.”
Mingyu saw you smile more brightly from the corner of his eyes as you reached forward and placed your hand over his, which was on the steering. Had it been someone else, Mingyu would have flinched and probably would have accidentally rammed the car into a wall (he was speaking this from experience; needless to say the female coworker didn’t even glance at his direction ever again despite the ‘crush’ she previously had on him).
But yours were so warm and comforting, he felt himself relaxing against your touch almost immediately, before realising you were probably watching him. Quickly he straightened up, and inhaled deeply to control his heart that was giving small squeezes every now and then.
“So, uh,” He began, venturing into the area he knew might be a bit painful for you. “What did he say this time?”
You seemed to understand who he was referring to by the way you withdrew your hands from his and crossed them in front of your chest. You frowned slightly though Mingyu wasn’t sure if it was because of the sunlight falling on your face or the content of yesterday night’s conversation.
“I don’t know, Gyu. I don’t know. He said he felt I wasn’t committed enough. What did he mean by that? I always readjusted my schedule to meet him, ditched my friends whenever he said he needed me and god knows what else. What more does he need?”
“Did you mention that to him?”
“Of course I did! And he just felt that even though my actions were doing those, it was obvious my heart was searching for something else! Like what is he? A shaman?”
“Er, didn’t the last guy, what’s his name? Haejoon? Didn’t he say the same thing?” Mingyu asked.
“Who’s side are you on?”
“Yours, of course.”
“Good to know. But you are right, you know. They always say the same thing. Not only Haejoon and Jongmin. Starting from Jisung, they always say the same thing.”
“And what are you exactly searching for?” Mingyu asked as he carefully parked the car in front of your apartment. He really wanted to know what was the thing that you were looking for, the thing that caused your break ups and the thing that might finally give you solace. He wondered if he had what you were searching, though he doubted you would even bother looking for it in him.
You shrugged as you got out of the door, pulling the bag of food along with you as you got out. “I don’t know. I don’t know myself.” You said, though in Mingyu’s opinion you didn’t look that affected by it. Mingyu had always loved how cool and chill you always were about life but right now, he was really dying to know what was the key point that would win your heart forever.
“Here, give that to me. It’s heavy. I’ll carry it.” He said, reaching forward to take the bag from your hand but you just moved the handle away from him, a playful glint in your eyes.
“What? Just because you’ve been living in the gym off lately doesn’t mean I can’t lift this much.” You said, walking up the stairs.
Mingyu frowned and paused for a second, before chasing after you. “How did you know that? I don’t think I’ve told you-”
“Those arms don’t lie, Gyu.” You said with a wink, stopping in front of your door as you rummaged through your purse for the house key. “And besides, Seokmin keeps me updated with his pictures-”
“What? Seokmin has been sending you gym pictures?” Mingyu gasped, feeling his head spin. You just laughed at him teasingly as you walked into the house, a sound which made Mingyu’s stomach somersault but right now his head was in a whirl. “Y/N! Answer me!”
“And what will you do if I say yes?” You said, amused at his reaction as you placed the bag of food carefully on the dining table before turning to you. Your one hand was on your hip, the other on the edge of the table and you were smiling at him brightly, eyes crinkling at the corners.
You looked so, so pretty that for a second Mingyu had forgotten to answer your question. It was only when you raised your eyebrows at him did he realise he was staring, and quickly looked down so that you wouldn’t see the heat creeping up his cheeks.
“Uh, it doesn’t really matter to me.” And it shouldn’t have mattered. Mingyu knew that Seokmin and you were just good friends, and that Seokmin was really faithful to his girlfriend but still, he couldn’t help feeling disgruntled about it. Why couldn’t it be his gym pictures you were asking for?
“Uh huh.” He heard you say, but it sounded closer than before. Mingyu looked up and almost jumped back, because you were so close to him now, that he could almost count the number of lashes on your eyes. He inhaled your scent; you smelled like his soap. But he never knew his soap smelt this good, never knew its scent could be this intoxicating, slowing down his reactions as you beamed at him mischievously. How the hell did you manage to smell better than him in his soap?
“You don’t need to pout so much, Gyu.” You said, cupping his cheeks as you scrunched your nose at him fondly. Despite being six feet, Mingyu felt like a small puppy in your arms, waiting for its master to pet it. It was taking all his resolve not to wrap his arms around your waist and kiss you, or even melt into your touch this easily. When did he become so whipped for you?
“You know,” You began a bit absent mindedly this time as you dropped your arms and took a step back from him. “You look very cute when you pout. But I don’t want you to be sad on my behalf, Gyu.”
Mingyu blinked at you. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, me being sad isn’t your fault Mingyu. My breakups, getting wasted or even jumping into relationships so hastily isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”
“What are you talking about, Y/N?”
You turned your back towards him and walked back to the dining table, carefully taking out the lunch boxes he had packed for you. “I see how you look after each break up. You look so hurt, more hurt than even I feel and somehow that hurts me more. I hate seeing you so hurt. It breaks me-” You inhaled sharply, trying to control the trembling in your voice. “I hate calling you each and every time, I hate leaning on you so much, I hate dumping all my sorrow over you. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I fucking hate it so much.”
“But- But” He began, still not sure what you were trying to say. His mind was in a whirl and it was hard getting out the thoughts in his head. “But I already told you many times that I don’t mind picking you up. I don’t mind being beside you whenever you go through these! If I don’t do these, then who will?”
“And I hate seeing you sad.” You finally turned to face him and Mingyu felt his heart drop. You were…crying? “If you stop being sad, then I don’t mind you coming over to me. Otherwise…I feel selfish. I always feel like an awful person and I hate feeling like this so much. I’ve just wanted you to be happy, you know that Gyu.
He snorted. “Well, you are being selfish. You can’t stop me from doing this much for you. Do all our years of friendship mean nothing to you?” What was wrong with you? Why were you saying such things to him? Each word that escaped your mouth felt like a slash on his heart, like all the things he had done for you as a friend, as a person he loved and trusted, had meant nothing to you.
“Gyu-”
“No, don’t start again! Don’t okay, don’t! You don’t get to decide what I feel or what I want to do for you! You are being selfish if you think it’s okay for me to stand back and watch you fall apart.”
“Mingyu, please listen to me-”
“If you care about my feelings then stop breaking up just like that!” He yelled. The silence that followed was almost deafening and as Mingyu watched your tears fall more, he realised that he too was crying. His whole body was shaking as he clenched his fists, feeling an anger he had never felt before coursing through his veins.
Why did he do that? Why did he say that? Why was he feeling so hurt over your statement? Yes, you were being selfish by telling him to stand back and watch you cry every time, whether he loved you romantically or not.
But it hurt him more that you were so ready to give him up was like a huge blow to him. And because of what, it made you sad?
He swallowed thickly, breathing in slowly as he tried to calm down his racing heart. “If- if you want me to be happy, focus on yourself first. After all, it was you who started it.”
“And one kilogram of cheddar cheese.” Wonwoo said, and Mingyu reached out to take the last slab of cheese kept in the open freezer, but instead he found himself holding someone else’s hand, who was holding the cheese he was about to grab.
He immediately jerked his arm back and turned to profusely beg for forgiveness, but froze when his eyes met the other person, who too was staring back at him with a look of shock.
Your eyes averted down to your shoes as you took a step back almost immediately, clutching the part of your wrist he had just held. And he would have kept staring at you, trying to think of something to say after last week’s fight if it wasn’t for the sudden crash sound from beside you that snapped both of you out of your daze.
Mingyu turned to his right to see a curly haired girl staring back at the trio, all the items that were once in her hand on the floor now.
“Ni!” You gasped, running towards the girl to help her pick up the things. Mingyu too moved forward to help but Wonwoo was the fastest among the three, picking up the groceries and handing them to her.
As she took it slowly from his hands, Mingyu all of a sudden realised that she wasn’t staring at all the three of them, she was staring at his roommate. At Wonwoo.
His eyes darted to you and you too wore an expression of shock and surprise, as your head moved between Ni and Wonwoo, as though finally understanding the situation.
“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asked, the question snapping her out of her trance as she looked away, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Then turning back to him she nodded a little, before asking, “Are you okay?”
Wonwoo blinked at her for a second before she realised what she had just said, flushing once more as she furiously corrected herself again. “I-I mean, thanks a lot. For helping me, I mean.”
Mingyu looked at you once again and smirked, as you too mirrored back his expression. He very well could see where this situation was going and for once he hoped that Wonwoo wouldn’t screw it up.
“No problem.” Wonwoo said, before looking back at Mingyu. “So, uh, Mingyu should we-”
“Oh hey, are you sure you don’t want any help?” Mingyu interjected, signalling at Ni with his eyes, hoping she would get the hint. “Like um, do you want any help getting stuff from the top shelf because-”
because you are short? Was that rude? Was he overdoing it? But like he was blessed to have you as his best friend, you came to his rescue immediately. “Because you are short! And Wonwoo is tall! There’s nothing wrong in asking a sexy, handsome, tall man to help, right?”
Mingyu had always thought it was your charming personality and unearthly beauty that got you the long list of lovers but now he made a mental note to add smooth talker to it. Because while he was sure that if he had said that statement Wonwoo would have said no, he could literally see the wheels in his roommate’s brain turning as he mulled over your words.
“Sure.” He said, turning back to give Ni a smile. “Where’s your grocery list? I could help you.” Saying that he turned to look at you, tilting his head as he said something to you through his eyes. You pursed your lips a bit but looked at Ni and gave her a smile.
The two of them then disappeared down the aisle, leaving Mingyu alone with you, the coolness from the freezer all of a sudden disappearing as he felt the awkwardness settle in.
It had been a week since the argument the two of you had but none of you had made an approach to talk it out. And now seemed to be the perfect time to talk about it but once again the two of you just stared at the floor, waiting for each other to break the ice.
“Uh, so about that day…” You began, as both of you looked up at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I mean, yeah, even I’m sorry so-”
“Well you shouldn’t be.” You interrupted him. Then taking in a deep breath, you stepped closer to him, looking down again. You looked so nervous and confused, as though you weren’t sure of how to apologise to him. “I mean, you shouldn’t be sorry because you were right. You were trying to help me, but, you know- I’m trying to sort out my feelings still, trying to find out what’s wrong and uh,-”
“Hey.” He said softly, putting his hands on your shoulder causing you to look up at him. You looked so sorry that Mingyu almost forgave you then and there. But he knew the two of you needed to talk it out so instead he said, “How about we talk about this after a few more days? I think we both are affected by this so I think we both should sort out our feelings and thoughts and then talk about it. You’re right, I do get hurt everytime I see and I know that hurts you too. But you very well know I can’t leave you like that, can I? If our roles were reversed you would do the same for me.”
You opened your mouth to say something but then closed it, slowly nodding as you let out a sigh and leaned in to rest your head on his shoulder. He felt his muscles tense as he inhaled in your scent, but relaxed almost immediately when you wrapped your arms around his waist. He did the same too, pulling you in closer as you stood like that for a few seconds before breaking the silence again with a chuckle.
“When did you become so mature, Mingoo?” You asked, causing him to groan. “Back when we were kids it was always me taking care of you. When did you grow up so much?”
“Hmmm, maybe if you took care yourself a little bit more-”
“Okay, okay!” You laughed, pulling away from him to look at him. You smiled at him softly, the familiar heat sparking in his heart as you nodded at him. “You are right. I promise I’ll get back to you in a few more days. Wait for me till then?”
I’m always waiting for you.
“You guys are terrible.” You groaned, tearing the wrapper of the triangular kimbap. You glared at five men sitting opposite to you individually, before taking a bite of food in your hand. “This is not what I had asked you all for!”
“Blame that on Mingyu.” Seungkwan grumbled, shooting a glare in his direction as he picked up a fish cake bar and unwrapped it, dipping it into his ramyeon cup.
Mingyu could feel the disappointed look of his friends on him, so he cleared his throat and tried to divert the blame away from him. “Come on guys. You all love eating at this convenience store. We’ve eaten so many times here during our college days! Doesn’t it bring back memories again? Just the five of us, meeting up after a month and enjoying a meal here? Can't you guys feel the nostalgia?”
He felt you slap his shoulder lightly, and he grabbed it with an exaggeration. hoping that would make you soft for him and you would stop scolding him so badly.
“Did I ask you to set up a reunion meeting? I asked you to pick a restaurant according to the guys’ convenience because I wanted to treat them!” You pursed your lips and glared at him once more, and the situation would have scared Mingyu out of his wits if he couldn’t hear Seokmin’s giggling from the corner.
“Sheesh.” He muttered, rubbing his shoulder. He was used to being blamed by the group for the simplest reasons such as breathing in the wrong way but he really hadn’t meant to mess up your well intentioned plans. “It’s fine, just eat up. Think that we cannot afford to eat at those pricey restaurants right now and eat up. Besides, I know you guys love this. Weren’t you craving cup ramyeon even yesterday, Wonwoo?”
Wonwoo froze in the middle of slurping his noodles, before putting it down and saying, “I said I was craving your noodles.”
Mingyu let out a gasp, not expecting to be betrayed even by his own roommate, (it was evident Wonwoo hadn’t listened to his lecture about not betraying roommates) but it was swallowed by your laughter. He turned to look at you just as you stopped, chuckling at him as though still enjoying the joke.
The dim lights of the neon signboard hit you at an odd angle, but it was enough to make you look like an angel. You let out a giggle as he stared back at you, the smile growing on his face involuntarily. He could see the tiredness from the entire day’s work on your face, but you kept smiling back at him with such tenderness and love that Mingyu felt like his heart was going to explode.
Someone cleared their throat at the table, snapping both of you out of your daze and you immediately knitted your eyebrows back into a frown. “Oh gosh, Kim Mingyu! We could have been eating barbeque but now here we are stuck-” You said, shoving another fish cake packet to his face, “-eating this amazing, nostalgia inducing food!”
“Oh god, it brings back so many memories.” Seokmin sobbed, rubbing the corner of his (dry) eyes. Mingyu rolled his eyes at his friends’ dramatics, but he couldn’t help smiling at them. “It reminds me of the time Mingyu and I kissed.”
“Wha-” His voice was caught off as Seungkwan spat out the water he had been drinking, spluttering and gasping for breathe as Wonwoo thumped his back hurriedly. And even though Mingyu too was worried about him, the only thing he could do was let out a cry because unfortunately for him, he had been sitting opposite to the Seungkwan, causing all the spat out water to fall on his face.
“Seungkwan!” He cried as the table erupted in another round of laughter.
“Oh my god Mingyu, are you crying? Don’t cry baby!” Joshua asked, mischief laced in his voice. Of all the seats I could have sat on, why did I pick the one next to Joshua? Joshua grabbed a few napkins from the table and began dabbing it on his face, cleaning his ‘tears’. “Don’t cry, Gyu. We’ve got your back always.” Then dropping his voice a little, he added, “You know we’ve been joking from the very beginning right?”
Mingyu took the tissues from his hand as he nodded, a small laugh escaping him as he rubbed the rest of his face clean. “You guys are mental.”
Suddenly he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his torso, causing him to inhale sharply as you leaned against his body, glaring at the other guys. “Yeah, why are you pestering my poor baby?”
Oh god. Oh god. He tried to control his face from heating up, balling his fists so that he didn’t lose his senses due to your scent. Seungkwan must have noticed his sudden change in demeanour because he snorted and said, “That’s one big baby you have.”
“Besides,” Joshua said, pulling him away from your embrace and into his instead. “You were pestering him earlier too.”
“Getting pestered is just Mingyu’s love language.” You countered back. “But of course, it should be only by us. Right Gyu?”
“I don’t want to be pestered by any of you though?” He said, to which Joshua pressed his finger to his lips, shushing him. “If we don’t pester someone as nice as you, someone who can always laugh it off because he knows we are just joking and we actually love him, who else will we pester?”
“Wow,” Mingyu said sarcastically. “You guys are such angels. I love my friends who pester me!”
“I don’t pester you though?” Wonwoo said, causing ‘ey’s and ‘fucking liar’s to rise from around the table. He just laughed at them before raising his can of beer, saying, “To our friendship!”
“To our friendship.” Everyone echoed back, raising their drinks too, before taking a large sip of it.
Mingyu could feel the alcohol slowly settling in his system, a pleasant buzz tingling his entire self. The rest of the night passed by with such speed that one minute he was still eating and joking with his friends and in the next minute he found himself walking beside you, taking you back home.
He had insisted on walking you back home despite your refusal, because apart from knowing that it was dangerous for you to walk alone at night especially in this slightly intoxicated state, he also knew that his own mother would kill him if she came to know that he had let you go just like that.
Presently the two of you were walking through an uphill alley, you giggling at some old memory while he complained about the unfairness of it to you.
Suddenly you grabbed his arm, causing his heart to skip a beat as you jerked him towards you, looking at him with shining eyes.
“Gyu,” you whispered, even though there was no reason to do so, “Want to see something special?”
“Special?” He asked, his voice a little higher than he had expected it to be. Your face was so close to his that he could almost feel your breath against his neck, gulping slowly to control his breathing. “We- we have work tomorrow. Don’t you think it’s a bit too late-”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport.” You scolded him lightly, before smiling at him softly. He prayed to god that the warm, giddy sensation he was feeling in his body was due to the alcohol and not due to how you were smiling at him, eyes shining in a dangerous way as though you were about to show him a secret that was meant only for him.
“Okay.” He said, straightening up a bit so as to put some distance between the two of you. “But only if we come back within half an hour-”
“Oh, you can just crash in my house.” You said, all of a sudden giving him a light shove backwards. He looked at you in surprise as you suddenly took off, screaming at the top of your voice, “Race you to the top!”
“Why, you-” He began, before starting to run too, laughing at your dirty method of cheating. You knew you wouldn't be able to beat him, not when he had such long legs and had a much better stamina than you. But there was no way Mingyu was going to let you win, not when you had decided to win like this.
He caught up with you within a few seconds, throwing his arms around you as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug. You shrieked with laughter as the two of you stumbled, doing your best to break from his grip but all those days in the gym had truly paid off as all you could do was claw at his arms helplessly.
“Okay! Okay!” You yelled, gasping for breath because of how much you were laughing. “You win! You win, okay?” But he still didn’t let go, burying his face into your shoulder as he giggled continuously. He could feel that he was losing his grip on you because of his sides aching due to his laughter, but you felt so warm in his arms, your clothes really soft and smelling like you that it made him pull you into him even more.
In the back of his mind Mingyu wondered if the two of you were causing too much ruckus so late in the night, but all thoughts were pushed back when you suddenly turned in his arms to face him, wrapping your arms around his neck.
Time slowed down as he felt his stomach drop as you beamed at him gently, a soft smile on your beautiful lips as you tilted your head a little, looking at him with nothing but pure adoration. He felt his arms instinctively tighten around your waist, his breath hitching slightly as you leaned into him, noses almost brushing.
“This is it.” You whispered, your breath ghosting his lips. His mind was swirling as his heart raced, sure you could feel it with how close you were pressed to him. You smelt so, so good; it was enough to cloud all of his judgement. His knees had turned completely jelly at the way you were gazing at him, mouth slightly apart and it took him all his willpower to not drop you as you leaned your entire weight on him.
“Wh- what is this?” He asked, finally finding his voice as he forced his mind to come back to the present. He had to focus. He couldn’t let himself sweep away because of this.
The corners of your lips curled up a little, an action Mingyu had always found endearing. “This is the special thing I wanted to show you.”
He blinked, trying to process your words. Tearing his eyes away from your face, he looked around slightly bewildered, still not understanding what you meant.
You laughed lightly, and he could feel your chest rapidly rising and falling against his. “No, you idiot. Don’t look around. Just look at me. Us. We are the special thing I wanted to show you.”
He inhaled sharply at your words, finally the meaning settling in.
You were right. What more could be special to him than the friendship between both of you? The two of you loved each other so much, admitted you loved him platonically, but still, it was such a beautiful thing. The two of your actions and mannerism had been shaped by each other’s influences. He carried a part of you just like you carried a part of him.
“You're right.” He said, exhaling slowly as your eyes fluttered due to his breath. “You are so special to me, Y/N. I- I love you so much Y/N. I love you so much.” His chest contracted painfully when he said those words but he knew if he didn’t say them, he would combust even if you didn’t get the second meaning of these innocent words.
You sighed contentedly in his arms, before wrinkling your eyebrows in a frown. Then taking in a deep breath you said, “Mingyu, I- I’m terribly sorry for yelling at you that day.”
“What?” He asked, a little taken aback as he hadn’t expected you to bring that conversation back up for a while, and certainly not now. You just dipped your head low, until your forehead was resting on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I messed up big time. And I made you feel that I was using you.”
Something caught his throat at your apology, so he just chose to keep quiet and listen to you, opting to rub small comforting circles on your back instead.
“It’s just that I felt really bad seeing you look so sad on my behalf. Because of me. And I know I asked you back then to pick me up, not to feel hurt but you were right. Because like you said, even if it happened to you I would feel upset. Whether or not you ask me to stay out of it.” You finally looked up at him, lips slightly apart as your eyes ran all over his face. Even though you weren’t crying, he could see that your eyes had turned glossy. “And you were right. I know we already talked about this but still it was half assed so I feel like you deserve this apology. I want you to know that I’m truly sorry and I don’t want you to get hurt. The best way to make sure you aren’t getting hurt is to by making sure I just don’t jump into relationships. I was never a thousand percent sure of any of my relationships so far and yet I went into them and they all resulted in the same way. So I’m going to wait for the one that I’m a thousand percent sure about and only then go for it. How does that sound?”
“Good.” He said, giving you a small smile. “I just want you to be happy and take care of yourself, okay?”
You smiled back at him and nodded, before pushing yourself away from his grip. His disappointment at the loss of warmth soon disappeared when you grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, until you were leading him into an empty park.
“This,” You said pointing at the sky. “Is what I actually wanted to show you by the way.”
“You…wanted to show me the moon? Something we could have seen from your rooftop and reduced the risk of freezing to death while walking through some lonely street?”
“Hahaha. Very funny. I’m pointing at the stars.”
He blinked at you, pretending to look offended. “I thought you said we were the special thing you wanted to show me?”
“Yeah, that too. But since you have a very kind and considerate best friend, I even wanted to show you the stars. And as a sorry for the bitch I was.” If you had said this in an alternate universe where Mingyu and you were dating, he might have dropped some flirty comment about you being the brightest star in his eyes or something but since he wasn’t, he decided to keep it to himself instead.
He followed your suit and craned his neck to see the night sky, not finding a single speck of light in the ink black sheet overhead.
“There’s no stars, though?” He asked amusedly, watching you as you swore and kept turning your head, as though changing the angle of observation might help you find one. “I did tell you years ago that light pollution has made it impossible, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I know.” You muttered, still searching for them (Mingyu found it endearing on how persistent you were of showing him the stars and would have fallen for you more if he wasn’t already completely enamoured by you). “I just- I just thought since this was uphill and was a little empty it might be a good spot.”
That statement caught him off surprise. “You searched up for this place?”
Finally you gave up with a sigh, walking towards him in a dejected manner. “Yeah, yeah I did. I knew you would walk me home so I spent the entire night yesterday on Google Earth trying to find a good spot.” Your shoulder slumped a little as you sat down on a bench, Mingyu following suit. “I guess I should have come here physically and checked it before getting you here. Or looked around more on foot instead.”
“What the hell, I literally just told you it’s dangerous for you to roam around in the night on your own.” He said but it didn’t remove the pout from your face.
“I just wanted to show you how truly sorry I am. That I really, really want you to be happy.”
He reached over and grabbed your hand, giving it a squeeze. It was surprisingly warm despite how much the temperature had dropped, and he hoped that you too could find comfort in his warmth.
“Don’t worry, Y/N. I already forgave you when you said you would finally prioritise yourself. Besides, I can already see Orion up there.”
“What?” You asked, your head snapping up. “Where?”
Mingyu laughed at your eagerness, before you let out a ‘Hey!’ and punched him lightly. “Oh please. You are forgetting that I’m an artist. The best artist you've seen, right?” He wondered for a second if you still remembered that incident from twenty years ago, when you had claimed that he was the best artist you had ever seen.
Your lips stretched into a smile at the memory, causing his heart to jump that it was not only him that remembered such trivial things of your friendship.
“Yeah,” You muttered, tightening your grip on his hand as you gently rested your head on his shoulder. “You are the best artist I’ve ever known. Will always be.”
As Mingyu rested his head against yours and closed his eyes, he realised just how special the word us was.
“Good morning, handsome.”
Mingyu swivelled on his chair at this weird greeting, only to find Seokmin leaning against the glass door frame, arms crossed over his chest with a rather flirty smirk on his face. He just groaned and rolled his eyes while Joshua just let out a small laugh.
“What?” Seokmin asked, looking offended as his smile suddenly dropped, as though his girlfriend had just called him ugly.
“Go back to work, Seokmin. Don’t you and Seungkwan have any sound effects to add to the last game?” Mingyu asked.
Seokmin just stuck his tongue out, before walking over to Joshua, who was still laughing at his antiques. “I wasn’t even talking to you. I was greeting Shua.” He said, and Mingyu rolled his eyes once again.
“What brings you here?” Joshua asked, picking up one of the hundred cups of coffee he and Mingyu had kept in between them and handing it over to Seokmin. But Seokmin just shook his head, opting to take Mingyu’s sandwich instead. He raised his eyebrows a little at Mingyu, asking if he could eat it and the latter nodded. Seokmin took a bite of it, chewing slowly before sitting down on an empty chair.
“Sorry, can't really drink coffee much nowadays. And I already had one in the morning. Apparently it dries out your vocal folds and mucus.” He said. “Makes working for the entire day hard but what else can I do if we are so broke that us sound engineers itself need to record and compose apart from our usual role?”
“Don’t let Wonwoo hear you about us being broke.” Mingyu chuckled, before remembering about the other person in the sounds department. “Oh my god, how is Seungkwan surviving then?”
“He says if he drinks it in excess it will nullify the effect.”
“Oh shit, Seungkwan’s going to retire even before we hit mid life crisis.” Joshua joked.
Seokmin too smiled before pointing at all the coffee cups on their desks. “Well looking at all those cups, I can say the same about the graphics department to be honest.”
“Oh this?” Mingyu asked, pointing at the cups. “This isn’t for us, it's for watering the plants.”
“Heh.” Seokmin said, before standing up once he had done with the sandwich. “Then you guys will need more of it because we just got a whole new batch of houseplants.” He placed a file on their desk, clearly another new project, before saying, “God bless Y/N. She’s the best salesperson we’ve ever had.”
“Y/N gave this?” Mingyu asked in amusement, picking up the file to go through it. “She trusts us too much, considering the fact I already told her we still haven’t finished the last client’s game yet.”
“It’s fine.” Joshua said, leaning back against his chair. “He’s a nice author. He literally told me, ‘It took me a lot of time to come with this huge storyline so I know it will take you guys even more time’.”
“I wish Wonwoo would hire Y/N though.” Seokmin groaned. “He’s a great programmer and all but I just don’t get why he hates her so much. He was pretty fine with her at the beginning.”
Mingyu felt his cheeks burn as Joshua said, “Isn’t it obvious? He can’t stand seeing Y/N use Mingyu even if she’s clueless. Personally, sometimes when Mingyu’s giving her puppy eyes, I want to scream, cry, throw up and shake her until she starts seeing his feelings.”
“Looks like Wonwoo isn’t the only blind one among us.”
Mingyu snorted at this, before adding, “I don’t give her puppy eyes by the way.”
“You really don’t know yourself then. You always looked like a dog to me.” Seokmin commented.
“Wow. Wow. I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“Think whatever you want. Just because all those girls line up to see your biceps at the gym doesn’t mean I think you are handsome.”
“Are you salty that you had one less fan girl than Mingyu, Seokmin?” Joshua asked sweetly to which Seokmin just laughed. “No way, I have a girlfriend and they all know it. Me and Seungkwan are committed to our beautiful girlfriends. It’s always the two of you flexing your biceps a little too hard in front of them. At least Wonwoo is chad about it and not like you bitchless losers.”
“Oh no, are you forgetting Wonwoo’s new date? That cute girl he met at the grocery store? Also, it's not our fault you guys managed to find love at high school and college. Adult life wasn’t the fun and thrills they had promised us.” Mingyu complained. “Besides, I’m in a life long one sided love with my other best friend, not my fault.”
“Yeah, and I had a girlfriend too.” Joshua said, to which Mingyu and Seokmin deadpanned at him.
“You mean you had a hook up with Wonwoo’s ex-secretary.”
“And she just quit the next day. Out of the blue. And no one would have known if Wonwoo didn’t grill us on if we did something to her. Hell he even made you write a thousand times that you will not have office sex. You are lucky it's just the five of us here.”
Joshua raised his arms defensively. “Hey, I told you I don’t know why she quit. I never forced her to do anything. I would never. But the question should be why does Wonwoo need a secretary when he’s actually at the same level as us? Just because opening a gaming company was his initial idea doesn’t mean that he is the CEO now. We all contributed.”
“Are we all rebelling against Wonwoo today?” Mingyu asked with a giggle.
Seokmin pointed at the door. “Should I go get Seungkwan?”
“Instead of the secretary, Wonwoo could have hired Y/N. Wasn’t she the topper of her class? I aspire to achieve her dedication.” Joshua said.
“In fact, she dropped this file personally this morning. Asked me to imitate her and wish you ‘handsome men’ a good morning once it got clearance from Wonwoo.”
Mingyu’s mouth fell open in disgust. “You tried imitating her? God, that was so bad I thought you were flirting with us. You captured her horribly.”
Joshua pointed at Mingyu with wide eyes as he laughed. “See? This is why Wonwoo won't hire Y/N. She could straight up rob us and Mingyu will jump to her defence even then.”
He rolled his eyes at them and finally looked down at the file in his hands, trying to skim through the content. Suddenly he felt bile rise up his throat and constrict his air passage as he read more and more, stomach dropping at the rather familiar storyline.
“Oh my god, it’s so frustrating!” Seokmin cried, frustratingly wiping away his nonexistent tears. “Why won’t Y/N look at you?”
“Don’t you guys start too.” Mingyu mumbled, turning back to his desk. He had finally finished reading the storyline of the new game and the frustration of the scene suddenly hit as the air around him changed to seriousness, all the humour from before gone.
“What’s wrong?” He heard Joshua ask but he just shook his head, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
“I’m sorry guys. We need to get back to work.” He said, before switching his computer back on. Through the corner of his eyes he saw Joshua pick up the file and lean in to read, Seokmin peering at it over his shoulders.
“Oh…” Seokmin said after some time. “Mingyu, I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t” He let out a humourless laugh. “Don’t. It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“No, you are not.” Joshua began angrily. “If Y/N would just-”
“Just drop it please.” He cut Joshua off, closing his eyes as he buried his face in his palm. If Y/N could this, if Y/N could that, if only he was a bit more bolder-
“Even a game character manages to confess his love to his best friend and end up together. Just how- just how pathetic am I?”
He could feel his friend’s sad stares on his back and it just worsened his mood. Every bit of him just wanted to curl into a ball and cry.
Why couldn’t he fall out of love with you? Why couldn’t he just stop loving you? Why did you have to be so goddamn perfect in every way that no matter how hard he tried, he still ended up pining for you?
“It’s just a game.” He said, his voice thicker than he had expected it to be. “It’s just a game. Let’s go back to work.”
“This isn’t a date, by the way.” Mingyu clarified, causing the girl sitting opposite to him to give him a dry look.
“It’s not. It’s a self realisation therapy from your pathetic love life.” She said, slicing into her meat. Mingyu winced at her words but couldn’t say anything back because, well, she was right.
When Minghao had learnt that Y/N had broken up with her umpteenth boyfriend, he had decided to take matters into his own hand and asked (read: forced) Mingyu to go on a date with none other than Joshua’s sister, Julia.
“If Joshua finds out you’re having a dinner date with me, you’re dead.” She said, as though being able to read his mind.
“And if Wonwoo finds out I’m having a dinner date with his new secretary, I’m dead. In other words, I’m in a risky position of being murdered by my best friends.”
At this, Julia laughed, the mood of the table finally changing from annoyance at being forced to randomly go on a ‘date’ to that of one Mingyu was used to whenever he used to play with her everytime he would come over to Joshua’s house.
“It’s okay Dr. Black. I’ll find the culprit and make sure he gets what he deserves. You know how good I’m at Cluedo.”
“Yeah.” Mingyu said with a smile at the memory of the younger girl always defeating them at the murder mystery board game. “But the problem is Wonwoo is too smart while Joshua’s really creative. It might be hard for you to guess who did it.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’m sure all twelve of them want you to be alive for a very long time so that you can get married to Y/N and grow old and boring with her.” She said, rolling her eyes.
“By the way, I’m amazed by all of their deduction skills. Except the four who always hang out with me, I mean. How did they all come to know?”
“Duh.” She rolled her eyes at him. “It was so obvious that even Soonyoung didn’t need to blabber away. Hell, even I knew it before you realised it.”
“Wow, thanks.” He muttered. “Good to know that I’m obvious to everyone except that one person I wish would know.”
Julia chuckled, shaking her head a little. “You are to blame too. You always run to her beck and call no matter what.”
“That’s because-” Mingyu opened his mouth to explain but she just raised her hand, cutting him off.
“Don’t give me that crap about doing everything for your best friend. Because yes, you should be doing a lot of things for your best friend. But there’s a limit to everything, Mingyu. Knowingly or unknowingly, she’s trampling on your feelings. Excess of even good things isn’t healthy for us.”
His eyes dropped to his food, which suddenly felt unappetizing. He swallowed the food stuck in his throat, feeling a bad taste in his mouth.
“But I- But I just don’t know how to tackle this.” He whispered, and Julia reached out to hold his hand lightly. He looked up at her and saw the sadness and sympathy in her eyes.
“It’s okay.” She whispered. “It’s okay, Mingyu. We all come across situations where we might feel like we are being trampled by the person we love in some way or the other, even if it’s not their intention. And you know why that happens? Because in that scenario, they aren’t communicating with each other. But all relationships are made on understanding. How can the two of you even be friends if you can’t understand each other? And yet, it is not within our power to be able to completely understand every feeling, emotion and thought of the other person. At that time, you need to communicate. You need to speak out. Ever thought of dropping hints?”
He stared at her. “ You…want me to confess to her?”
She shook her head once more.“Not confess, silly. Stay completely away from Y/N for a week or two. Sort out your thoughts. And then approach her. Objectively speak out your thoughts and feelings to her. She might be taken aback by it but it’s okay, give her some time. She’ll get back to you.”
“And what if she doesn’t?” Mingyu asked. His eyes must have been showing his fear because she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before drawing it and sitting back.
“Well then she’s not the one for you, nor is she a good friend. Whether she says yes or no doesn’t matter. And judging by how you are always by her side whenever she has a breakup, I’m sure you can accept her no too. But if she runs away without any proper response, then well it’s time to move on. You are a wonderful person, Mingyu. We all want the best for you.”
He gulped. “I know. I know. But it’s just so- just so hard, you know. I just feel like I’ll lose her. I just feel like I’ll lose.”
“Lose what?”
“Y/N. My love. My best friend. My everything.”
“You mean you feel like you are a lose-her.”
“Julia.” He said, though he couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. But don’t worry. In that one week you’ll stay away from her to organise yourself, I’ll be there with you and help you out. And I’ll make sure all the twelve of us do. You have to, Mingyu. You have to. You have to take a break from her. And think about everything clearly.”
He smiled at her more brightly this time, head clearing up. She was right. “Yeah, yeah. I will. I will, don’t worry. What would I do without you? What would we do without you?”
“I know right.” She said, all the seriousness from a minute ago gone as she stuffed an entire piece of bread in her mouth. “This is why Minghao set you up on a date with me.”
“For the last time,” Mingyu groaned, “this isn’t a date. It’s a self realisation therapy from my pathetic love life.”
“-self realisation therapy from your pathetic love life.”
The two of them stared at each other as they said the exact same thing at the same time, before bursting out into laughter.
“See?” Julia said after a while, laughter slowly bubbling away. “You are already getting better as you slowly realise.”
“Yeah, sure.” Mingyu said. “Now let’s just hope Wonwoo or Joshua doesn’t kill me tomorrow itself when they find out about today’s plan.”
“By the way,” She said, biting into the last morsel of bread. “I’m curious about my job offer. Why did Wonwoo ask me if I wanted to become his secretary? Not that I’m complaining since I’ve always been envious of the projects Seokmin, Seungkwan, Joshua and you used to do but yeah, I’m just curious because this was quite sudden.”
“Oh that.” Mingyu coughed, not sure how he was supposed to answer this question when it could lead to his partial balding in case Julia pulled his hair in anger. “So, um, Joshua. He, uh, he had sex with Wonwoo’s old secretary so I guess he wants you to keep an eye on-”
“He did what?!” She spluttered, proceeding to stand up and then froze, eyes looking at something behind Mingyu in horror.
Just as Mingyu was about to turn to see what had happened, someone behind him let out a yell.
“Taehyung, I already told you no!”
The familiar voice caused him to turn faster than he had expected, and he nearly jumped out of his seat to get to you. In two strides he was by your side, yanking the man’s hand away from your arm.
He could feel your shocked face on him but he ignored it, choosing the focus on the man in his grip who was making his blood seethe in anger. “What the fuck,” he said, his voice coming out much lower than he had expected, “Do you think you are doing?”
“And who the fuck are you?” The man glared, trying to yank his hand out of Mingyu’s grasp but he just tightened it, not letting the man budge even a bit. Through the corner of his eyes, he could see a few staff come over to them to break the fight, but all he could see was red, especially when your next few words came out in a scared whisper.
“G-Gyu.” You whispered and he felt a small tugging at his elbow. “You don’t have to-”
“Gyu? Oh, so you are Gyu? Well fuck off asshole before I beat the shit out of you for ending everything between us.”
“We ended because of you.” You said and Taehyung snarled at you, causing Mingyu to give his hand another squeeze, diverting Taehyung’s attention back to him.
“You were just fucking paranoid, you bastard. Don’t even try to blame it on others. Y/N’s better off without you.”
“Oh yeah?” He sneered. “And how would you know that considering the fact you are the reason we broke up?”
What? As if I could even make a move on Y/N. But instead he said, “Is that so? Well good for her then. My girlfriend doesn’t need to date insecure idiots like you.”
Mingyu felt the air around him drop as the three people around him (Julia had managed to pry you off him) stared at him, but he just prayed that you wouldn’t look very surprised and give away the lie.
In fact, he was sure Taehyun would begin laughing at their faces but that seemed to do the trick. His eyes darted between Mingyu and you, sputtering out words as his face reddened with each passing second.
“You- you- you cheater!” He began, pointing an accusing finger at you. “You liar, you slu-”
“That’s enough.” Mingyu growled, grabbing Taehyung’s collar to drag him out of the restaurant, which wasn’t so hard considering the differences in their builds (he never thought that going to the gym would help him out in this way). Once outside, he let go of the other man, eyeing him disgustedly.
“Stay away from Y/N.” He said flatly, pushing the man a little when he tried to hurl himself at Mingyu. He saw Julia and you come down through the stairs slowly, the former holding you gently as you made your way down. “If not, I’ll call the police on you and maybe even get a restraining order.”
“Fuck, a restraining order just because I want to get back to her? You are as fucking messed up as that bitch.” He growled.
“I will call the police right now if you don’t stop calling my girlfriend names like that. Besides, what you are doing is stalking. So get lost now before I actually remove the front two teeth of yours.”
Holding his wrist gingerly, Taehyung gave the trio another disgruntled group, before turning the other direction and walking away, muttering something about mental people ending up together.
As Mingyu watched his figure disappear down the street, he could feel the adrenaline rush quickly disappearing from his veins. The cool night air pressed against him as he felt his body temperature finally come down from its previous risen state, chest rising up and down as he tried to control his breathing slowly.
Mingyu turned to look at you, and felt his heart clench painfully as he took in your shrunken appearance, nodding vigorously as Julia whispered into your ear, rubbing circles on your back. Walking up to you, he took your hands in his and sighed, before asking, “Are you okay?”
Your eyes darted to his and stayed there, lips slightly parted, taking in his features as though it was the first time you were seeing him. You stared at him for a few seconds before Mingyu asked again, feeling worry cloud his mind. “Y/N?”
Saying your name seemed to snap you out of your trance as you jerked away from him, removing your hands from his as you rubbed your arms.
“Yeah.” You said, your voice strained as your eyes roamed over his face with an unreadable expression. Now he was getting really worried. What else had Taehyung done to you? Had it happened before? Though Mingyu knew about your obsessive ex, you had never mentioned to him about Taehyung disturbing you before.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” You said, finally looking down. “Thank you for pretending to be…my boyfriend.” The way you said ‘my boyfriend’ sounded foreign to Mingyu’s ears, like you were having difficulty pronouncing it. It did hurt him a bit but he was more preoccupied by the way you were acting.
He sighed, taking off his jacket and draping it over your shoulders. “You are not fine.”
“I- I-” You opened your mouth to speak but then closed it, as though still trying to figure out whether or not you were okay. Mingyu could see your mind running in a million different directions so he figured it would be better if you could slowly jot down your thoughts in a more comfortable place.
Turning to Julia, he said, “I’m taking Y/N back home. I’ll drop you on the way, okay?”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll take a cab. Don’t worry about me. Just get Y/N back home safely, okay?” She said, already taking out her phone to book an Uber. With a jolt, Mingyu suddenly realised how much Julia had grown up and that she was no longer the small girl who used to peep into her older brother’s room through the curtains.
“Okay. But give me a call when you reach, okay?” He said as she waved them goodbye before getting into the taxi. Then turning to you, he gave his hand and you took it, though you were avoiding his eyes once more.
Even the ride back to your place was filled with silence and though Mingyu wanted to ask you about what had just happened, he could feel that your thoughts were completely preoccupied. It was only when he parked the car in front of your house did you speak up.
“Gyu.” You said, finally turning to look at him. He froze when he saw glassy your eyes were, your bottom lip trapped by your teeth as you bit onto it to prevent yourself from crying.
“Y/N?” He asked worriedly, grabbing your hand with one hand as he cupped your face with the other. “Y/N, what’s wrong? Is it Taehyung? Did he hurt you? Has he done it before? When did it-”
“It’s not him.” You said with a sniffle, screwing your eyes shut as the first tear fell, leaning into Mingyu’s touch. He felt his heart squeeze painfully and he gently wiped away your tears with his thumb. “It’s not him. Don’t worry about him, it’s- He just happened to meet me here today and he started acting like that but it’s- but it’s-”
“It’s what?” Mingyu asked gently and you opened your eyes to look at him. Taking in another shuddering breath to control your tears, you said, “I- I just realised something this evening. And I- and I don’t know how to deal with it.”
Worry grew in him as he took in your words. “What is it? You can tell me everything, you know that, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” You whispered, shaking your head. You placed your other hand on his and gave it a squeeze, as though trying to find comfort in his touch. “I don’t even know how to say it though. I- I think I will mess it up.”
“Okay. Okay. It’s okay.” He whispered, slowly rubbing small circles on the back of your hand in an attempt to calm you down. “Breath with me. Breath Y/N. It’s going to be okay. I’m there right here. I’ll always be there for you.”
“I know. I know. I just- don’t know what to do about it.” You rambled, still crying.
Mingyu’s mind was in a whirlwind. For the first time in twenty years, he couldn’t understand what you were talking about, what you were implying or what was making you cry.
It was certainly not Taehyung. And it was definitely not something he had said or else you would have been uncomfortable around him. So what had happened this evening that had broken you down like this?
“Gyu.” You sobbed, leaning into the crook of his neck as you buried your face in his shoulder. “Gyu, I’m so sorry for this. I’m so so sorry.” Sorry for what? “Promise me you’ll never hate me. I can never hate you too. I’ll love you forever. But promise me you’ll love me forever too. No matter what happens.
“I promise.” He said, the only response from you being your sobs getting louder as you dug your fingers into his shoulder deeply. And unlike all the other promises Mingyu had made to you, he intended to keep this one.
“Hi.” Mingyu said with a smile, extending his umbrella over your head as he came and stood beside you. Though you were not getting wet, he could see that you were shivering slightly from the cold, rubbing your arms as the rain dripped from the narrow beam sheltering you and fell into the puddle forming right in front of both of you.
You looked up at him just as you sucked in a breath sharply, staring at him with such wide eyes that your pupils were completely blown out. He cocked his head to a side worriedly, smile faltering a little as you continued to stare at him.
“Y/N?” He asked softly, taking a step closer until he could wrap an arm around your waist. “Are you okay?”
You blinked at him, looking away shyly as you muttered a small ‘yeah’, finger digging into your arms as you tried hiding your face from him. Mingyu frowned, taken aback by the sudden change of behaviour. Were you shy in front of him?
“Hey.” He said, this time a bit more louder as he gently tugged you towards him until he was practically hugging you, resting his chin on top of your head. He moved his arm up to your elbow, rubbing small circles on it, causing you to let out a sigh as you finally turned to him, burying your face into his neck. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” You muttered, wrapping your arms around his torso as though trying to engulf yourself in his warmth completely. He felt his heart squeeze at your endearing action, a chuckle escaping him as he let you stay in that position, enjoying the sound of rain.
“Is it Taehyung?” He finally asked, breaking the silence after a while. Your head shot up as you looked at him in surprise, as though caught completely off guard by his question. “Tae- What? No! Of course not. Don’t worry, I haven’t had the time to think about him.”
Mingyu hummed in response, asking you to go on. You rested your head against his shoulder once again, pausing a little as though thinking about how to go on. “I’ve been thinking about…something. Something else. A lot of things actually, so uh, I’ve been feeling tired for the past few days.”
“Care to tell me what’s running in your pretty head so that I can lessen your burden?” He felt you relax into his touch but then stiffen almost immediately, slowly slipping out of his grip. He let the arm holding you drop as you made some space between the two of you, still close enough for him to feel your body warmth.
He watched you with worry as you chewed on your lips, before looking at him with a rather obviously forced smile. “Nope, you unfortunately can’t.” You said, the smile still plastered on your face. “It’s work related so of course it’s out of your domain.”
“Okay…” He said slowly, still uncertain but deciding to drop the subject for now. “So, uh, you said Chaewon wanted to see me?”
“She wanted to see us.” You corrected and even though you had meant it as a joke, Mingyu’s mind couldn’t help but replay that night when you had said us was the special thing you had wanted to show and he felt his heart lighten up a bit at the reminder of it.
But in front of you, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, us. Why did she want to meet us?”
You shrugged. "Said she had to give us somethi-"
"Mingyu!" Someone called him just as he felt a new arm drape around his neck, its owner wedging herself between him and you. He blinked for a second as the heavy smell of perfume and loss of warmth overtook him, before smiling back at the woman flashing all her teeth at him. "How are you?"
"I'm good. What about you, Chaewon?" He asked, gently detaching himself from her powerful grip. "How's work?"
"It's being a pain in the ass so of course I'm not fine." She said with a laugh that Mingyu too returned (politely). “Anyways, I’ve got a surprise for both of you!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve been going on and on about the surprise but what is it actually? You said, rolling your eyes a bit. Mingyu had never realised how cute you looked when you were annoyed but right now, you looked absolutely adorable, with your eyebrows slightly knotted together as you huffed out a breath.
“So…” Chaewon drawled, looking at either of them once before pulling out something from her pocket. “I got you us tickets for the 9Muses!”
Mingyu blinked at her, feeling his cheeks pull into a smile as a new found excitement erupted in his heart. “Wait- 9Muses? Really?”
Chaewon smiled back at him superiorly as she waved four tickets in front of his face. “Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m awesome. You can thank me later on when you and your future girlfriend finally hit off.”
The last statement caused him to pause, eyes darting to you as a force of habit before looking back at Chaewon in surprise. “Future…girlfriend?”
She meant you, right? It wasn’t the first time people had mistaken the two of you for a couple but Chaewon had known you since college which could only mean that she was referring to-
“I’ve set you up for a blind date!” She said excitedly, but Mingyu could feel the colour draining from his face as an ugly sensation rose up his throat. “That’s why I actually have four tickets-”
“You did what?” You asked, causing him to look at you in surprise. You were looking at Chaewon in complete shock with your mouth slightly open, as though you could not believe what she had just done. Chaewon too seemed to be taken aback by your reaction, because her next few sentences came out in a stammer.
“I- I thought- You told me you were sad that Mingyu was never in a relationship so I thought- “
“I-” You began, but stopped when you looked at him, immediately averting your eyes to the ground instead. Something was wrong. Something was bothering you from the very beginning but Mingyu could tell that something about this proposal had upset you even more. But what was it? Did you not want to go to the concert?
“Yeah. Yeah I did say that.” Then looking up at him, you gave him a smile, though he could see that you were battling with something deep inside. “You should totally take that person out as you date. Who knows, you both might hit it off really well, huh?”
Even though he had prepared himself for this very situation many times before, these words coming from you still hit him with a blow. It had been years since he had gone on a date with your friend Suji and yet it still hurt him freshly that you were this eager to give him away to someone else so readily. He was still okay with you always dating someone else but everytime you would try to get him to go out with someone, it would hurt him even more.
But instead, he smiled back at you and nodded to your words. “Yeah, who knows? We might actually end up dating.”
You laughed at his statement, hitting him on the shoulder lightly. “Oh my god, I can’t wait to babysit my nephews and nieces.”
“Excuse me?” Mingyu gasped, giving you a look of disgust. “That’s too far, don’t you think?”
“Well, you are such a gentleman that it would be stupid for anyone to let you go.” Chaewon commented with a smile and Mingyu felt his cheeks heat up a little.
“It’s nothing like that.” He muttered. He felt you reach out for his hand and give it a squeeze, causing him to look at you. You smiled at him softly, before saying, “Don’t say that, Gyu. You are the kindest and sweetest person in this world. Anyone would want to be with a wonderful person like you.”
Then why don’t you want to?
But before he could retort to your compliment that had him almost weak in his knees, Chaewon clapped both of you on your backs. “Okay, then! It’s decided. I’ll send you the details later on, Mingyu. See you on Sunday!”
“Yeah, bye!” Mingyu waved at the two of you as Chaewon produced an umbrella (practically out of nowhere) and wrapped an arm around you and darted across the street. He watched the two of you with a smile as you struggled to keep up with your friend’s pace, finally breaking free from her grasp when you both reached the other end. Turning back, you waved at him one final time before slipping into your car.
He waited for your car to completely disappear down the street before stepping out into the rain himself, his heart weighing down more and more with each step he took.
Time to brace yourself again, Mingyu.
“Perfume. Check. Breath mints. Check. Keys. Check.” Mingyu muttered, going over his things that he was supposed to carry one last time before he actually left. Glancing at the mirror one last time, he smiled to himself, patting down his hair to fix his hairstyle.
Be happy, Mingyu! You are going to a 9Muses concert. And you look fine.
Then why doesn’t Y/N think I look good?
The very reminder of you brought up the bile to his throat, his smile dropping almost immediately as he let out a sigh. Exhausted, he crashed onto his sofa massaging his throbbing temples that had been hurting ever since Friday due to his complicated thoughts.
He was going to go to the concert of his favourite band. With you. And with a pretty girl that could potentially be his future girlfriend if things went well tonight.
Then why did he feel like throwing up at the very thought of holding someone else’s hand that wasn’t you? Why did his skin crawl at the thought of smiling, laughing and flirting with someone that wasn’t you?
He felt so sick that a small part of him didn’t even want to go to the concert now. The fact that he would be on a date with another girl with you right beside him was suffocating him so much that he really felt like he was going to die.
He could feel himself shrinking back to his fifteen year old self, when he was on a date and he felt like throwing up. Back then he didn’t know why. But now that he did, it felt even more worse.
Mingyu glanced at the clock on his wall, before closing his eyes to calm himself down. He still had an hour to go and pick up Yoobin and then drive to the concert. If he could just-
The doorbell suddenly rang, jerking him out of his thoughts and he sat up straight, frozen as to what to do next.
Who could it be at this time? He wasn’t expecting anyone. It certainly wasn’t Wonwoo as he had gone for a week to live with his parents. Lately, there had been a lot of burglaries in his neighbourhood. It couldn’t be…?
“Snap out of it.” He muttered, slapping himself lightly before getting up to go and get the door. He was sure that it was a dinner delivery at the wrong address and swung open the door, ready to tell the delivery man he was at the wrong house.
But when he opened the door, he found himself staring at you, you who were completely dressed up for the concert and definitely not supposed to be here, you who looked so stunning that Mingyu momentarily forgot to speak until you broke the silence.
“Don’t go out with her.”
“What?” Mingyu asked, snapping out of his reverie as he tried processing your statement. What were you talking about?
You took a step closer to him and repeated your statement. “Don’t go out with her. Yoobin. Don’t go out with her.”
You reached out to him but all he could react to your statement was by taking a step back instead, feeling even more confused about what you were talking about.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” He asked. You opened your mouth and closed it, before taking in another step towards him so that you were inside the house now.
Taking in a shaky breath, you whispered. “Please don’t go out with her, Gyu. I know it’s very selfish of me but I-”
Swiftly, Mingyu closed the door behind you before pulling you close to him by your waist, cupping your face in his hands. “Hey,” he whispered, as you froze in his touch, eyes going glassy with tears. He could feel himself panicking at the thought that maybe someone had hurt you badly but he tried to keep himself calm. “What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong, love. You’ve been acting so different these few days and now this-”
“It’s because I love you.” You choked, tears finally streaming down your cheeks. “I love you, Gyu. I love you. I love you so, so much.”
Now it was Mingyu’s time to freeze. His brain seemed to slow down by a million years as a loud ringing filled his ears instead, stomach dropping like he was on a roller coaster. What did you just say?
You covered his hands with yours, gently removing them from your cheeks and holding them in yours instead as you whispered. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry Mingyu. I know I’m really selfish but please don’t go out-”
The rest of your rambling was completely cut off as he smashed his lips against yours, fireworks immediately exploding in his heart. He felt you drop his hands as you wrapped it around his arms, fingernails digging into his skin as you held onto him while you kissed him back as passionately as he was kissing you. Every bit of Mingyu’s perception was drowned out as you took over his senses, and the only thing he could think and feel was you, you and you.
He ran his one hand fervently against your back while the other pulled you impossibly closer by your waist. His entire skin tingled as you ran your mouth over his again and again, tangling your finger in his locks.
Mingyu couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t believe it. If it wasn’t for the excess blood pumping to his ears and his heart threatening to swell and burst out of love and happiness, he would have been sure that this was just a dream.
Finally, you pulled away, gasping for breath, and the loss of warmth caused him to chase after your lips, desperate to get back that euphoric feeling of kissing you.
You laughed lightly as you placed a hand over his chest to stop him, tears once again flowing down your cheeks. Mingyu rested his forehead against yours, cupping your face gently with one hand as you leaned in to his touch even more.
“I waited for you so long.” He whispered, and you screwed your eyes shut, nodding to his statement. “I loved you for so, so long. So long.”
“I’m sorry.” You whispered back, opening his eyes to look at him. “I’m so sorry I never realised I loved you and even when I did, I didn’t approach you.”
At this, Mingyu shook his head, resting both of his hands on the small of your back as you cupped his face, staring at him so softly and with so much love that he could feel his knees going weak. “Don’t apologise. I just- I just wish that I had kissed you in a more romantic setting-”
“Oh, Gyu.” You said, brushing your lips against his, causing his brain to short circuit once again. “This was the best kiss I’ve ever had. It’s you who made it so romantic. Doesn’t matter that I barged into your house an hour before we left.”
“I think it should matter.” He said with a pout. “After all, you did barge into my house.”
You pressed a quick kiss on his lips in response. “And what should I do to make up for it, baby?”
Mingyu didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with you more than he already was but somehow, impossibly, you calling him baby had him falling for you even more. The entire world around him had dimmed as he could see only your face, eyes shining and lips quirked in a cocky smile.
He didn’t even realise he was staring at you until you reached up and kissed him softly again, closing his mouth that had been slightly open. “Gyu.” You murmured. “I asked you a question.”
“Huh?” He asked, too busy kissing you back. Was your heart supposed to dance like this whenever you kissed someone? He wasn’t even sure if his stomach dropping so much as your hands ran over his back was a good sign.
“I asked what I should do to make it up to you.”
Oh. His eyes flicked to your lip gloss smudged lips, which were swollen and this time Mingyu felt a different kind of feeling spark in his heart. A desire to ruin you even more.
“Well,” he said, kissing the corner of your lips. “You could let me worship you.” Another kiss on your jawline, causing you to sigh. The sound shot up a shiver down his spine and he wondered if he would be able to survive even the night. “Let me show you how much I’ve loved and wanted you for all these years.”
“Yes, but,” you said, pushing yourself away from him. “I should be the one making up to you.” Saying that, you pushed him, not too hard, but enough for him to stumble back and fall on the sofa (thank god the sofa happened to be there. Mingyu wasn’t sure if he would be able to live with the embarrassment had he fallen on his ass instead.)
He watched you in awe as you climbed onto his lap, straddling him as you wrapped your arms around his neck and he found himself grabbing you by your waist to pull you in closer. You looked so sexy that Mingyu was sure he had ascended to heaven.
You leaned down to capture his lips in yours again, feeling your thumb gently stroke his jawline. He could taste your lip gloss, igniting that fire in the pit of his stomach again as he licked your bottom lip to get more of it.
You opened your mouth a little more and his tongue accidentally slipped in, and Mingyu couldn't help but dig his nails into your skin in an attempt to cover up his groan. Your mouth was so wet and warm against his, tongue gliding over each other’s as you both fought for dominance.
He quickly broke the kiss, before moving to kiss the soft skin right below your ears.
“Gyu…” You hummed, the sound sending a shiver through his dick. He really wanted to elicit more of those sounds from you now, so he grazed his teeth lightly into the skin, causing a gasp to escape you. Immediately he soothed the area with his tongue, your gasp turning into a very low moan as pulled at the locks of his hair near his neck. “Gyu, I love you so much.”
“I love you too. I’ve always loved you, angel. And I’ll love you forever.” He whispered back, leaving trails of kisses on your neck as he moved downwards, finally stopping at the hollow of your neck. By now, he had realised that the best way to get you undone was by grazing his teeth against your skin and then soothing the area with his tongue.
But when you shifted slightly on his lap to move even more closer for him, he felt his dick twitch and another groan escaped him. It felt so good, and so, so right doing this with you, whatever the two of you were even doing. Your head was completely thrown back as Mingyu marked love bites all over your neck, gripping on his hair as you grinded down on him. Your moans had gotten much louder by now and with each sound he got out of you, he could feel his dick getting harder and harder.
Each time your cunt rubbed against his dick, mingyu felt a small relief wash over him but it just wasn’t enough; he wanted more of it, more of you and he wanted you to want him equally as much.
“Gyu.” You whispered, all of a sudden, causing him to pause. He looked at you with widened eyes, panic gripping him that he had done something wrong. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“Can you- can you take off your shirt? If you are okay with it? Or else-”
“Yeah, I’m okay with it, princess. A hundred percent okay. Okay with whatever you do.” He said, reaching downward to pull off his shirt but felt your hands stop him, causing him to look at you in surprise.
You were looking at him with guilt and a bit of sadness, before you reached down to press a soft kiss on his lips.
“Don’t say that, Gyu. Don’t say that, please. I’ve been hurting you all these years. Knowingly or unknowingly. So don’t- don’t say that, okay? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” You said.
For some reason, Mingyu felt his heart soften at your words. It was like a huge knot that had tangled his heart, not allowing it to beat and causing him pain for all these years had finally opened, releasing him from all pain. He smiled at you and nodded, and you slowly let go of his arms, allowing him to take off his shirt finally.
Mingyu always knew he had a great build. He took pride in how well he took care of his body and was kind of used to people complimenting him.
But nothing prepared him for the way you were looking at him right now, like he was some god who had just materialised in front of you. As soon as his shirt was off you sucked in a deep breath, your teeth sinking into your lower lips. Your eyes flicked all over his body, pupils darkening as you took in his physique.
He had never felt so bare in front of anyone and yet, it felt really good being like this in front of you. You lifted your hand slightly and placed it in front of his chest, looking at him for permission. When he nodded a yes, you let your hand finally touch, fingers trailing gently over his toned chest.
It was like you had set his skin ablaze; he could feel where your fingers had trailed against his now warm skin. A low moan escaped his throat when you gently brushed your finger against his nipple, causing you to smirk. Fuck, you were so hot.
“You are so handsome, baby. And so, so hot.” You said, leaning down to kiss his jaw this time. Another moan escaped him as you too repeated his action, sucking on the soft skin of his neck before licking it with your tongue. Your hands that were roaming all over his body were making his skin hotter with each second, which was doing nothing to give relief to his achingly hard dick.
“Can you take these off for me too?” You asked sweetly, tugging at his belt. Though he was mildly annoyed that you had climbed off his lap, resulting in the loss of your touch, he quickly jumped off the sofa and undid his belt, shimmering out of his jeans before turning to look back at you.
Your eyes now flicked all over his body as you took in his entire appearance, and he felt his dick twitch under your gaze. Your eyes then moved up to meet his, smiling so tenderly at him that Mingyu had to sit back down to make sure he didn’t melt into a puddle then and there. You climbed back onto his lap, straddling him as you wrapped your arms around his neck.
“Hi, love.” You whispered with a smile, bumping your nose against his.
“Hi.” Mingyu said, mirroring back your smile.
“Can I ride you?”
He found himself nodding to your question, anticipation eating away his heart as you tugged onto the band of his underwear, and he raised his hips a little as you both pulled it off. A tiny bit of relief flooded him as his hard dick sprang free, finally able to breath a little.
Mingyu watched you as you took him in with hooded eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as you brushed your thumb against his now angry red tip, already leaking with precum.
“Aren’t you- Aren’t you going to take off your clothes?” He asked and you shook your head in negative. “After some time. You’re so pretty, Gyu.” You replied, wrapping your hand around his length and giving it a gentle squeeze. He thought he could see stars as his head fell back with a groan, hips jerking up to chase your hand as you removed it.
“Don’t tease me.” He hadn’t meant it to come out as a whimper, just as a request, but right now he was so desperate for you that he didn’t care if he sounded this pathetic.
“Sorry baby.” You said, but you were smirking, clearly enjoying the power play here. And for that reason, that made him even harder (if that was even possible) for you. You raised your hip up and slipped your hand underneath your skirt to pull your panties aside.
Then slowly, you sunk down. He felt your warm and wet pussy envelope just his tip, and a groan ripped from his throat at the feeling. Your hips too stuttered as you let out a moan, pausing to take in a deep breath. Mingyu could see that you were fighting with yourself to not sink in completely from the way your nails were digging into his shoulders.
He didn’t know what came over him but he was so done with playing gentleman with you, so tired of not being able to feel you fully, so sick of keeping himself away from you that he found himself grabbing your hips and pulling you down as slowly as he could.
When you finally bottomed out, the two of you letting out a moan in unison. Mingyu’s eyes rolled back as he felt your warm walls flutter around his length, trying to adjust to the size. The erratic squeezing was not helping him keep his composure and he could already feel his balls squeezing, ready to let go any second from now.
“Mingyu.” He heard you whine, the sound shooting straight up to his brain as his eyes snapped open to look at you. You looked back at him with complete adoration, and Mingyu felt his insides melt, leaning towards you to capture your lips in his.
The kiss was short lived though; as you raised your hips slightly, before bringing it down with a slam. He broke the kiss to groan loudly against your lip as your pussy clenched around his length once more, before you swallowed his moans with another kiss.
He felt your hot tongue slip into his mouth, drowning all his moans as you raised your hips once again and brought it down. Gently, you picked up the pace, a small pressure forming in his lower abdomen.
“You’re so beautiful, do you know that?” You whispered, his moans increasing as you sucked his lower lip. “So, so beautiful and so perfect. I love you so much Mingyu.”
Mingyu felt his balls tighten at your words, the knot in his stomach growing tighter and tighter as you whispered soft praises into the skin of his neck, sucking and marking at the soft skin.
“I love you. I love you too.” He whimpered back, burying his face into the crook of your neck. You ran your hand through the strands of his hair as he clutched your waist, trying to find something to ground himself too. The coil was getting too tight, too tight for him to hold himself back and you squeezing the life out of his dick was definitely not helping the situation.
“Are you- are you close, Gyu?” You asked, and he nodded. You felt so good, just so good, with the way your warm and wet walls were pulsing around him, causing ecstasy to shoot through his veins.
But now he could feel you slowing down a bit, obviously tired from riding him. You didn’t say anything though, and Mingyu could see you were trying to live up to your promise. So instead he relaxed into the sofa a bit more, before snapping up his hips to meet you halfway.
The sound that ripped through your throat was like music to his ears and he could feel himself threatening to burst, body threatening to snap under the intensity of pressure he was feeling.
“Baby-” He gasped. “Baby, I can’t- I can’t-”
“Let go.” You choked, slamming your lips against his to steal his breath away.
And that was enough for the coil in his stomach to snap. White hot pleasure coursed through his veins as a ringing sound took over his ears, all senses hindered as he lost himself in the bliss. Another groan stumbled out of his lips as you too finally came, doubling his pleasure as you coated his cock with your warm liquid, squeezing it as though to take in all his cum.
He wrapped his arm around you more tightly so that now both of your bodies were practically one, sweat and cum mixing with each other as both of you tried to catch your breaths.
After some time, Mingyu felt you ruffle his hair lightly and he finally peeled away from you, only to look up at you. You gave him a tired smile and he felt his heart squeeze, wondering for the millionth time how he had ended up with an angel like you.
“Hi.” You giggled, brushing your nose against his as you fondly cupped his cheeks.
He felt himself melt into your touch as he smiled back, quickly pressing a soft kiss against your lips. “What just happened?”
You laughed at his question and wrapped your arms around his neck, engulfing him in your scent as he buried his face into your neck.. The two of you stayed like that for sometime, just enjoying each other’s presence as the only sound heard was your rapid heartbeats and the sound of your slightly laboured breaths.
“I love you, Mingyu. Always had.”
“Hmm?” He hummed, kissing your collar bone.
“Yeah. I realised that’s why I could never be in a happy relationship with anyone. And why they always complained that I wasn’t interested in them.” Your voice had dropped a little and he could sense your sadness, so he began rubbing soft circles on your back to calm you down. “I kept searching for you in them. I kept searching for you. And- and all this time- all this time I-”
“Shhh. It’s okay princess.” He whispered, looking up to meet your eyes. He smiled at you gently. “It’s okay princess. We are here together now, and that’s all that matters.”
You stared at him for a second, before whispering. “I hurt you.”
“You also hurt yourself, baby. But now, we can help each other out. We can pick up our broken pieces and fix them. This time, together.”
“Oh Mingoo.” You said with a soft smile. The old nickname reignited a flame in his chest, and all of a sudden, all the years he had spent with you, all the beautiful and sad memories the two of you had created together flashed before his eyes. “What did I do to get you?”
“No, what did I do to get you?”
You giggled, leaning down to kiss his chin. “Thank you for waiting for me, Gyu.”
“What happened to Mingoo?”
“I thought you hated it.”
“I could never hate anything about you or anything that you call me.”
“So…I can call you mine?”
“Okay, stop.” He groaned, and you let out a laugh. “You’re terrible at jokes.”
“God, and you think you’re very funny right?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him, as though it was a challenge.
“Of course! Do you know how many girls have come up to me at work and told me I’m so funny?”
“There are no girls at your work. Only four other guys who bully you like shit.”
“Fine, at cafes.”
“Don’t lie- Oh!” Your eyes widened in horror and Mingyu felt his stomach drop, panic seizing him. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt-”
“The concert! Your date!” You gasped, hitting him slightly on the shoulder. Then you began climbing off his lap but he caught you and moved you back, hands firmly on your waist as you struggled slightly. “Gyu, we’ll be late-”
“Oh, I don’t think we can go to the concert anyways. I’ll just text Yoobin about it.” You froze at his words, looking at him in complete surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You still have to make it up to me.”
Mingyu could see the gears turning in his head as you took in his words, before your lips broke into a smirk. “Right. Right, I do. But what about 9Muses? Aren’t they your favourite band?”
“No 9Muses can compare to me spending time with you. Besides, I can go to a million other concerts now that you are by my side.”
You laughed at his response, before asking, “Can we move to a more comfortable room then, sir?”
He felt his cock which was still inside your warm pussy stir to life once more at the nickname, and his head filled up with thoughts of how he could fill you up once again, make you feel good and make you his forever.
“Of course love. Can I- Can I ask you a question?” He asked as you got off him, nodding at his question as you tried to stand with your shaking legs. Mingyu quickly caught you before you stumbled and you wrapped your arms around him and smiled softly, almost causing him to fall instead because of just how pretty you looked. And because of just how much he loved you.
“Remember- remember our promise? To marry each other if we were still single when we are thirty? Will you- Would you-”
You cut off his statement by pressing your lips against his, but this was unlike any other of the kisses the two of you had just shared. This one was the softest, and yet the most loving kiss Mingyu had ever been given. He felt himself completely surrender to your unspoken confession, letting you glide your hand over his chest until you were cupping his chin, his own hands wrapped around your waist and back, engulfing you with his large body. A tiny realisation flickered at the back of his brain; that he was completely naked while you hadn’t taken off a single article of clothing, not even your panties, but something about your kiss made him feel safe and protected, as though being vulnerable was out of the question.
The two of your lips moved against each other ever so softly, like you had all the time in this world to make for what you had lost over the years. He could feel his heart swelling with love, and he felt his stomach drop with happiness when he felt your heartbeat racing too.
Finally, you broke apart the kiss, looking up to him with soft, tender eyes. The fairy lights behind you were giving you a soft glow, and Mingyu was sure that he had just fallen for you even more.
“Marry you?” You asked, and he found himself nodding at your question. For some reason, he was no longer scared of your rejection, and the sense of doubt vanished completely when you smiled at him softly. “Yes. Yes I will, Kim Mingyu. I’ll marry you any day and any time. I’ll marry you even if the world says no, even if the world is ending or even if we have to move far away from each other. I love you so much that I’ll marry you in a blink. You are the person I’m a thousand percent sure of. And I’ll marry you even with paper rings.”
A/N: Please do tell me what you think about this story!! I worked really hard on it and I would love to know everyone’s thoughts on it~ Comments and reblogs are appreciated!
© 𝐆𝐘𝐔-𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
#╼ 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒#╼ 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒#caratlibrary#mingyu x reader#kim mingyu x reader#seventeen x reader#mingyu smut#mingyu fluff#mingyu angst#kim mingyu smut#kim mingyu angst#kim mingyu fluff#seventeen smut#seventeen angst#seventeen fluff#svt x reader#svt smut#svt fluff#svt angst#hhu smut#hhu x reader#hhu angst#hhu fluff
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Marriage Pact (Erwin x Reader) Deleted Scene
Synopsis: You finally confront Erwin about the nature of your relationship before the third expedition.
Word Count: 1k
Happy Valentine's Day! This scene would have occurred in Chapter 4, right before the third expedition, but I didn't like that story beat where I put it, and I wrote myself into a corner. These events will NOT happen in the "canon" story, and therefore, this cut scene will have no bearing on the events of Chapter 4.
Part I Part II Part III
“That’s all?”
You turned to him with a curious hum.
“What do you mean?”
Erwin stared at you for a beat before shaking his head. He slid off the front of your desk, part of him still appearing lost in thought as he stared blankly at the shelf you had just reorganized. The side of his mouth dipped in tandem with his chin as if he had come to a mediocre conclusion in his silent debate with himself.
“What?” you asked again, finally able to wrangle Erwin’s attention again.
He blinked a couple of times. His lips parted with hesitancy.
“I just thought you wanted to talk to me about personal matters.” His chin dipped again. Erwin glanced at you out of his peripheral but didn’t linger. “But if you want to talk about work, I have time tomorrow morning at, say—” He studied your clock before turning back to you. —“Nine o’clock?”
Personal matters? Given the amount of time that passed since your supposed agreement— you still considered two and a half months to be an excessive amount of time to have never spoken about it to the point where it must’ve been purposeful— you just assumed the engagement was off.
“If that’s all…” He chirped before heading toward the door. You called after him and scrambled to the other side of your desk.
“Wait, hold on a second.”
Erwin was already halfway across the room. He turned again, not fully facing you. His irises held a confused surprise in them as he stopped, looking at you innocently as he waited for you to speak.
And that’s when you realized he knew exactly what he was doing.
Jackass.
“What was that?” Erwin’s astonished voice snapped you out of your freeze. The feigned shock in his eyes solidified into interested amusement as his mouth slowly contorted into a barely suppressed smirk. Erwin stepped closer.
You said that out loud, didn’t you?
You grasped at something to say, a million thoughts racing across your mind all at once. Maybe you should apologize. Erwin was your peer, after all— calling him names was hardly professional— but was it such a crime if it was true? Or maybe you should clear the air and play it all off as if you had no idea what he was talking about. You could both never speak about the marriage pact ever again as if it never happened and move on— oh fuck it.
“Are we getting married?” you exclaimed, your voice so loud you practically screamed it at him.
He let you stand there as the words hung awkwardly in the air. Erwin pivoted a half-step to stand fully in front of you, unable to withhold his wide grin. His feet sat about shoulder length apart as his tongue poked at the inside of his bottom lip. He looked impressed, if not pleasantly surprised. The bridge of his nose creased.
“The next expedition is at the end of the month,” he stated matter-of-factly. You waited for him to say more, but Erwin made no motion to continue.
“That doesn’t answer the question.” You frowned, crossing your arms across your chest.
“It certainly does,” Erwin retorted as he mirrored your posture. Although, he appeared more self-satisfied than you did. You let out a frustrated puff, throwing your head back as you had no choice but to walk yourself in a small circle to regain your composure.
“I should have known this was some sort of weird game to you—” You jutted a finger at him rudely. Your face puckered in squinted scrutiny. —“Because you’re all sick and twisted in that head of yours!”
Erwin let out a chuckle, his typically taut self-control once again slipping away. For the stoic, stern face he liked to put on during every other hour of the day, Erwin didn’t seem to have any trouble laughing in your face. If only his squads could see him now…
He took a few steps closer.
“Is that what you think of me, now?” His eyes flickered from the floor to your annoyed stare. “You were the one who proposed the idea in the first place.”
“I did not—”
“You’re allowed to call it off, you know.” Erwin stood directly in front of you, his arms still crossed over his white button-up. His cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, exposing the skin of his forearms.
“So it’s happening,” you stated for clarification. A vein above your brow twitched. “After the next expedition. This is actually happening.” You couldn’t help how the tone of a question wove itself into your voice, no matter how pragmatic you tried to sound.
“Well, you’re starting to sound like you’re not a fan of the idea.” The semblance of a laugh laced his words.
Your mouth snapped open to retort. Of course I still like the idea! You stopped yourself short before you could embarrass yourself, but that didn’t prevent Erwin from anticipating your words anyway.
You didn’t like it. You didn’t like how he could hold himself so neatly and properly and still have that glint of mischief in his eyes and a snicker on the tip of his tongue. Even now, his bangs swept perfectly over his forehead.
“Yes?” he questioned. Erwin remained where he stood, but the two of you were suddenly a lot closer than you remembered being.
“I just wanted to be on the same page. That’s all,” you grumbled.
Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.
Notes: Happy Valentine's Day!
Part I Part II Part III
Stupid, Stupid, Emotionally Unavailable Erwin Smith (Levi x Reader x Erwin)
Notes: I’m happy to add people to the tag list, but requesting to be added without interacting with any part of this series outside of your tag request will result in a block.
@goddessinsweats @lionhearted-soldier @answer-the-sirens @piercedddriver @scarletrosesposts @thewrittenromance @erwinawesomeness
#erwin x reader#erwin smith x reader#aot x reader#snk x reader#erwin smith#erwin smith fanfic#x reader#x you#reader insert#erwin smith x you#erwin smith x y/n#snk#aot#attack on titan#fic: marriage pact
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
Let's Look Over The Garden Wall
Summary: One wants an easy meal and one wants to play house.
Word Count: 9.9k
Tags: Alhaitham x Fem!Reader, Smut(r18+), MDNI, Modern AU, Vampire AU, Contract Marriage, NSFW, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Unrequited love?, Vampire! Alhaitham, Dom! Alhaitham, Human! Reader, biting, pet name? (calls you good girl) TW: Blood & Blood drinking, TW: Death, Terminally ill! Reader, slight orgasm denial, slight corruption kink, wedding night, temperature play? He falls hard, slow fic, tragedy
Authors note: This whole fic was a challenge since I wanted to write it kinda from Alhaitham’s pov. I’m not really knowledgeable about vampires, so in this fic they’re just a type of monster and not undead, and vampire blood can turn humans into monsters. Enjoy!
Side note: Here is the other side, Finale
The secretary had just arrived at the office not too long ago, shift starting at six pm and going until midnight. The typical hours for a creature of the night.
Like a sweet breeze that blew stray leaves through his office’s open window, a stranger came gallivanting through the boundaries of his door, contract in hand. Faruzan, the office receptionist trailing after you with your proper introduction.
“Secretary Alhaitham, this young lady here would like to make a blood contract with you.”
He certainly wasn’t expecting this when he walked through the sliding doors of the building. The biggest company in Sumeru, the firm that specialized in such dubious pacts.
In an age where humans now outnumber vampires, with new technologies and weapons that can now threaten the once untouchable creatures, immortal beings now have to play by mortal rules. One such rule, vampires can no longer drink human blood.
Animal substitutes were of course inferior in both taste and satisfaction, any vampire would know this. However, there’s a loophole to this law. Vampires can’t drink human blood legally unless it’s consensual by both parties, established through contracts. Business exchanges for money, power, or glory.
Of course, this practice is heavily regulated. Hunters who uphold the balance ready to rip the hearts out of those who dare make an unfair deal. Alhaitham is the simple secretary who files these contracts, not one of the agents tasked with such things.
Still, he’s intrigued. Even in this office there are many who have yet to see the face of this elusive vampire, how did this human identify him? He was looking for an excuse to stray away from dull lines of files, might as well entertain your musings.
The ashen-haired immortal pulls out a seat for you, nodding to Faruzan sending her out of his office, giving you privacy. Alhaitham ambles to the other side of the polished wood, settling down on his plush office chair.
“The process for filling a contract is straightforward, even though this consultation wasn’t planned, if negotiations go well you’ll then undergo a psychological evaluation.”
You nodded your head lightheartedly, posture relaxed in the chair.
“So,” he begins.
“What are your demands?”
“Marry me.”
Dead silence. He certainly wasn’t expecting a proposal this Monday night. Were you wasting his time with a joke?
You must’ve read his unfazed mask. Quickly pulling a pen and notepad from your pocket.
“I’m being serious, I want you to be my husband.” Hands swiftly jotting sentences down on paper.
In your graceless handwriting, you listed all your qualifications. Age, name, blood type, and financial status. You also detailed some self-prescribed personality traits.
Alhaitham skips over that section.
Marriage contracts weren’t unheard of, nor were marriages between humans and vampires. He believes such practices weren’t deemed illegal solely because of human morbid curiosity and desires.
No immortal, with their centuries of knowledge and wisdom, would waste such energy on a mortal, without a price of course. It would be a fool’s errand to not have fair compensation.
“For a fraction of your time, I’ll give you all of mine.” You point the pen toward him.
How romantic.
“I’d say you’re getting the better end of the deal, Mr. Alhaitham.” There’s a curl to your lips, resting your elbows upon his polished desk.
With a slight sigh, Alhaitham pulls out a form, pen swiftly recording the necessary information. There’s going to be a long process of straightening out the clauses, but this should suffice for approval.
“Why me?” He inquires, straightening out the proposal on his desk.
“You’re handsome, have money, and I like your voice.”
The rustling of papers and pens stopped. Dead unamused silence.
“Pfft! Too brash? Sorry, sorry, I was only joking,” giggling as you waved it off.
“Well, to be fair the real reason isn’t much better, to be honest.” You leaned in closer, creeping towards the unseen boundaries of his personal space.
“I often see you passing through the streets, guess I got enamored from there.” Your smile was shameless but your cheeks were tinted pink.
A hopeless romantic, that answer suffices him for now. He could’ve easily shown you the door, but life has been stagnant for a few decades. History repeats itself if you live long enough to see it, new occurrences are rare. As the sky deepens from indigo to midnight, two bodies sit across from each other, discussing sentences written on paper.
“I’ll contact you in three business days with the verdict, have a good night.”
“I shall await the news.” You beamed at him, warm and icy hands meeting for a handshake.
Just as you entered, you left with that same giddiness. Now left with his thoughts, Alhaitham reviewed the documents, he had three days to ponder whether or not to submit them to the legal team, and through the judgment of a certain scarlet-eyed General Hunter.
As per Sumeru regulations, all offices run by vampires must have uncovered glass windows. An attempt conquered by humans to enfeeble creatures of the night. Alhaitham’s beryl gaze traveled up the length of the building stationed across the street.
What an ironic placement for a hospital to be facing the biggest firm staffed by immortality. Or perhaps it was strategic, after all the most desperate humans are the ones who lay upon their deathbeds for one last hurrah.
The perfect scheme to keep the blood contracts flowing in.
Teal eyes observe the room right across through the glass, it seems freshly vacant. New untouched sheets, new unflatten pillow, and fresh towels.
Alhaitham can now confirm the validity of your statement, a half-truth.
When deciding on a contract, one must weigh the pros and cons, to see if they balance or if one side gives away to another. Your demands? You wanted to experience married life, all aspects of it. Your offer? Your everything.
All your assets together can’t hold a candle to the amount Alhaitham has accumulated for centuries, but it’s a decent amount. Perhaps due to a medical settlement.
Alhaitham has lived long enough to rein in primal desires, he can suffice off animal substitutes just fine. However, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want a taste of the real thing again. You offer him a steady supply, and to give him every last drop after seven years.
Yes, all of this for a mere seven-year contract. A deal heavily tipped in the favor of the vampire, not even a mere fraction of the time immortality offers. However, what piqued his interest the most weren’t the benefits listed.
A garden wall the tall vampire can’t peer over. Insight only attainable by those who near the end of their finite paths. What’s it like to have agency? What’s it like to have such finite time?
He’ll have seven years to observe. He submits the forms on the third day, delivering your verdict over the phone. Alhaitham agrees to entertain your little daydream.
On part that it was Alhaitham who personally filed the forms, the approval process went swimmingly, skipping the paper line. Tighnari oversaw the psychological evaluation, test after test confirming the sanity of your mind, speeding up the process of getting that stamp.
–
“What flowers do you like? I’m planning the decorations.” Your legs swinging under his kitchen table.
The contract was approved, hands held and certificates signed at the town hall, your belongings moved into his house. It’s excessive to want a celebration after all of that.
“Whichever flowers you want.”
Alhaitham will hold his tongue, after all, he’s signed to play the role of a husband.
–
The venue was spacious, high ceilings with marble floors and pillars, all of which were lavishly cluttered with Padisarahs, Sumeru Roses, and Kalpalata Lotuses. Alhaitham stood at the altar just off to the side of the wedding officiant. Tuxedo crisp and hands folded together, he scans over the rows of guests invited.
Since there weren’t any in-laws, Alhaitham assumed you wouldn’t have much of a social network. No one’s correct all the time, he ignores the piercing glares of a few eyes. The all-too-loud tones of a grand piano resound through the room. The previously shut doors open to reveal your figure. Embellished dress and veil perfectly framed by the carved entranceway as you ambled your way up the aisle.
The twilight hues of the sky dye the white gown in everchanging vibrancy as you passed by the standing crowd, up the steps to the altar, and finally in front of him. The overwhelmingly floral scent of the bouquet itches his nose.
Alhaitham pays no mind to the soliloquy of the officiant, he simply follows the rehearsed procedures. Sliding the gold band onto your finger and allowing you to do the same to him, lifting the veil to reveal your starry-eyed gaze he places a practiced kiss against your warm lips.
Is this excessive ritual over yet? No.
Alhaitham stands in the corner of the reception hall, hand nursing a glass of wine. The rich spices of the buffet offered to the guest irritated his palate. Supernatural creatures with their enhanced senses, a double-edged sword. Human food serves no purpose to vampires, it’s over-seasoned and pungent. At least your species has created drinks such as coffee and wine, delicacies even immortal creatures can enjoy.
In the center of the artificially lit hall, you eagerly greeted all your guests as they beamed at you. Giggling and hugging each person as an entourage of three friends helped with that embellished gown of yours. Two pairs of eyes from said entourage occasionally glared at him, their bodies forming a barrier to separate groom from bride. Candace and Dehya were the names you introduced to him.
Your starry-eyed self blissfully unaware of the silent cold war as the scarlet-haired dancer calls the attention of the two hunters back for the bouquet toss. Alhaitham was nothing more than just a decoration, you just wanted an excuse to prance around in a pretty white dress and throw a fancy party. He’s your husband, he’ll tolerate this daydream.
–
“Did you enjoy the reception?”
Only after the send-off and closing ceremony of the celebration, when the bride and groom were behind the thick oak doors of their suite, that you seemed to remember the decoration named ‘Alhaitham’.
“Yes, it was lovely.” The wine provided by the venue was of the highest quality, it entertained him enough.
“I hope you’re not upset at me being busy with guests.” Your arms found their way around his waist.
Quite comfortable encroaching on his space huh.
“I’m not.” Better they talk to you and not him.
As his cold hands pat the exposed skin of your back, his teal eyes didn’t miss the trail of goosebumps that prickled your skin. Shall he move on to the next scene? The lacing of your dress seems quite complicated, he assumes that it must have taken a few pairs of hands to tie it. Should he be a good husband?
“Do you need help with this?” His baritone voice was right against your ear, noticing the flush on the tips.
“Yes.” For once your voice was just barely above a whisper, a blushing bride.
The lacing weaved in and out of eyelets running down along the length of your back, how troublesome. Always one for efficiency, Alhaitham simply takes a handful of the taught lace and pulls, they snapped like simple threads. Such things offer no resistance to a creature of the night. The gasp that escaped your lips feed into something deep within.
With the bonds loosened, the embellished dress of yours lost the fight against gravity, fabric pooling at your feet. Revealing to teal eyes the lacy white stockings, garter belt, and panties, all the hallmarks of a wedding night. It’s impossible to deny the hunger crawling up his throat, no force of nature could resist such a sight.
“Aren’t you forgetting something? It’s rude to not offer the groom some help, no?” His hunger enjoyed that scarlet flush on your face.
Indecisive fingers going for the easiest button, opening the tuxedo jacket allowing him to shimmy it off his broad shoulders. Teal eyes continued to survey your flushed face, the smirk on his waiting for your hands to continue. Obeying his silent command like a good bride, you loosened the bow tie next, finally freeing him from that stiff collar.
Slowly your eyes peered up, asking if the torment was over yet, the slight rise in his ash brow directing you to resume. From your lips came the beginnings of a whine to which he sternly shushed. If you couldn’t even undress him how would you be able to do the other vulgar activities?
Finally relenting, your fingers continued with their clumsy attempt at unbuttoning his dress shirt, once a small window of his chest appeared your face pressed against the cool skin, staying there until all the buttons were undone. Oh? So even you can feel shame?
“Shall we continue on the bed, my bride?”
Your face was still hidden in his chest as you nodded, where did that shameless nature of yours go? With your gaze adverted he didn’t even bother hiding the curl of his lips. Sweeping you off the ground, he could hear the flutter in your chest increasing as the distance between the bed closes.
Upon silk sheets, Alhaitham settles down with you in between his legs and back against his chest. One key difference between humans and vampires? Body heat, one creature’s cells produces warmth, while the other simply remains the temperature of the environment. Your flushed skin seared itself into his, icy and hot mending together to create an equilibrium.
Of course, a good husband would warm his wife up. Alhaitham runs his cool palms along the length of your plush thighs and leg, absorbing the warmth as his own, soothing the shivers and goosebumps on your skin. Every now and then boldly creeping up the sides of your waist to twist at your perked nipples, enjoying every jolt and whine.
“Oh? Since when was this transparent?”
A firm hand grasps your chin, directing your vision towards white lace panties, the fingers on his other hand tracing over the shape of your cunt through the soaked fabric. Another lovely whine left your lips, face burning even more as you weakly protested in his hold, too powerless to do anything.
Skilled digits honed in on the nub that made your body jolt away, rubbing the faintest of circles over the delicate fabric, your legs trapped by his robust arms standing no chance to preserve your shattered dignity. As such, you had to follow his desires tonight.
“Or are you excited just by a few fleeting touches? What a lewd bride you are.”
It seems that you were telling the whole truth when you exclaimed how much you liked his voice, his finger could feel the slick that began to seep through the lace. Brushing the fabric to the side, Alhaitham allowed his middle finger to collect the slick along your slit allowing the rest of his digits to warm up against your cunt’s soft mounds. His throat felt parched as the sweet scent teased his nose, but now was not the time, maybe later in the night.
“Will you be honest?” The heel of this palm freely pressed against your clit as his middle finger continued to run up and down your wet lips, every now and then almost slipping.
Your body couldn’t hide its eagerness, hole clenching at nothing every time his finger passed by. However, he needed confirmation from you. Communication is important in a contract no?
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“I’ll be honest.” You pressed your back flat against his chest, trying to hide your face but his firm hold wouldn’t allow it.
“Good girl, then tell me what you desire.” His crisp breath provides your searing skin some relief.
Your plush lips pressed into a thin line as your eyes shut, cheeks heating up even more. It wouldn’t be good if you passed out from heat exhaustion so quickly. He grinds his palm into that sensitive nub, tormenting the answer out of you, nectar now dripping onto the sheets below.
“I want to c-cum,” You breathed out.
How direct, close but it wasn’t what he was looking for.
“You have to be more clear with your instructions, how do you want to cum?”
“Y-your fingers.”
“Good girl.” Finally, his finger breached your soaked entrance.
Pulsating walls welcomed him with unyielding squeezes, dragging his soaked digit further. Your sweet moans and whines resounded through the spacious suite, the volume of your voice directing him toward that spongey spot deep within. You were wet enough for another finger, so Alhaitham adds another, two digits stretching and exploring your soaked cavern.
“Mmmh! T-there!” Your toes were curling.
“Mmm.” The hum vibrated in his chest as his fingers went hard at work, thrusting into your quivering walls.
Each time his palm would slap against your clit your honest hole would clench down so endearingly. Your chest rises and falls rapidly, the muscles in your leg tensing up more and more. It’s obvious that you were close, but before he fulfilled your demands, he decided to be proactive and prepare for the next step.
Releasing your chin from his grasp, allowing your head to lull back against his shoulder. Alhaitham reaches between your bodies, hands never pausing their pace, swift fingers undoing the confines of his trousers. Allowing for his member to lay right against your back, the jolt of your body at the foreign object pressing against you made his hunger worse.
“Did you get more turned on? You’re clenching down tighter, did you want it that badly?”
Even if your eyes refused to meet his, the way your hips grind against his length, warming it up, told him all he needed to know. Your gummy walls constrict more around his fingers, it’s time to wrap up this scene, the next one is even more exciting. So his palm now digs into your clit, circling the now swollen bud in combination with his finger pressing against that nice spot deep inside.
“C-cummin-”
How cute, he didn’t even need to ask you to announce it. Letting your body ripple with the force of the orgasm, trembling limbs within his solid hold. If he was merciful, he would’ve continued to slide his fingers in and out, or maybe continue to caress your little nub, guiding you back to reality. However, hunger doesn’t allow for mercy.
Removing his soaked digits away from your pulsating cunt, teal eyes observing the transparent strings that clung to them with amusement. A small appetizer wouldn’t spoil the main meal, skilled tongue cleaning his fingers of your slick. Your head still limp against his shoulder, eyes rolled back in the throws of pleasure. To bring you back down to earth, it's best to use a new type of force.
Effortlessly, your hips were lifted up dripping cunt lined up with his impatient length below. In one fluid motion, your walls encase everything, drenched cunt giving no resistance as his tip kisses the spongy spot. Alhaitham lets a hiss escape him, it was as if he thrusted into the sun, your walls quickly bringing his member up to its temperature.
From your lips another moan was ripped out, oh it seems that you’ve plummeted back to reality. Your cunt trembled yet gripped onto his cock like a vice, coaxing him to go in deeper, encouraging his hunger to abuse your gummy walls even more. Barely riding out one wave of pleasure before another drowned you.
The hunters at your wedding could stick to your side the whole celebration, they could glare at him all they wanted, and they could try their damndest to keep the vampire at a distance. However, it was all efforts wasted in vain. For it was you, the blushing bride, who walked straight into his arms in the end, so open and receptive.
As he slides out just the slightest bit, your cunt protested by desperately clamping down, begging for his thick girth to stay in. In response he tightened his grip on your hips, lifting your body back up before bouncing you back down. What a glutton for pleasure you were, even as your little mouth whimpered and babbled, your walls thanked each slap of his hips with squeezes.
Sadistic hunger wanted more, to thrust deeper, to bully that poor spot inside of you over and over again with his thick tip as your walls stretch to accommodate the girth. His thighs collected the mixture of sweat and slickness from your body at each thrust. Your fingers dug into his hands, fingers white as you tried to grasp at anything to ground yourself.
“F-fast, too m-much.” There was drool escaping the corner of your parted lips, eyes barely back from seeing the inside of your head.
“Oh? Do you want me to stop?”
Alhaitham grinds to a stop, member still pressing deep inside you as he pulled you closer so his breath could ghost over your nape. In an instant, your mouth and cunt protested, you should be more clear with your instructions.
“N-noo.” Crying over the ruined tension.
“No? You wanted this.” His finger finds its way back to that swollen nub, flicking it a few times to watch the jumps of your body.
“If I let you cum, then I’ll do it my way, is that clear, my bride?” Tormenting your clit with firm circles.
“Yes! Please! P-pleasee.”
So weak against his voice, the sweet calls of a beast to lure you into the depths of depravity. Such is the fate of a shameless bride. Thus, his hips sprang back into action with renewed vigor. One hand keeps your hips still and the other remains on your clit to force that knot to reappear deep inside you.
Nothing but nonsense and moans babbled from your loose face, nectar dripping down to his heavy balls as they slapped against you with each pistoning of his hips. Your frantic hands entangled themselves into ash-mint locks as he felt gummy walls closing in tighter and tighter, your toes curling at the end of spread legs. Sinful slaps increased in frequency throughout the room as did the pace of the finger on your clit.
Your tense body held the warning of another storm, another fall off the edge into the depths. Alhaitham brushes his nose up your nape, the floral scent didn’t distract him from the goal laying just behind the skin. Your nerves were exhausted from the shooting pleasure, now was the perfect time to finally get his share. It’s only fair.
Prepping the area with a slow lick as his hips continued their brutal pace, incisors brushed against the delicate skin before piercing through. His hand shot up from your hip to your neck, a loose grip holding you still as your body tensed then violently shivered. The frenzy clamping of your cunt on his length was proof of your fall. Loose jaw uttering out broken moans as tears dripped down your chin.
The fresh scarlet flooded over his tongue and down his throat as Alhaitham continued with his slow suckling. Ah, you were very much like a flower, so delicate, so fragrant, and so bittersweet. It’s been almost a century since he last tasted the real thing, his body celebrated by filling your walls with thick release. An equivalent exchange of some sort.
A human body is quite frail, losing over two pints of blood borders on fatal territory. It’s not good to deplete a resource so quickly. Alhaitham releases your neck, running his tongue over the wound to seal it up. Teal eyes checked your complexion to ensure his measurements were accurate. Cheeks still with a healthy red flush as your chest heaved with pants, eyes glistening with tears. Such a shameless sight. He allows your head to roll onto his shoulder.
The rhythm of your heart settles back to its resting state as Alhaitham analyzes the taste he just experienced.
“I love you,” you breathed into his shoulder.
Alhaitham stiffens, the herbal aftertaste of your blood was bitter, the tang dried out his mouth causing a drawn-out pause. This is no good, he can’t miss the cue to say the line a bride longs to hear from her groom.
“I love you too.”
The choir of crickets from the world outside filled the void along with your pants.
“Pfft! Maybe let’s not say that, it’s too weird.” You shamelessly laughed, lifting your face from his skin.
What a relief, at least you seem to still have sense. Such words felt forcefully wedged into a script that wasn’t written for it. Might as well remove the line altogether. Moving on from the scene, Alhaitham lets you enjoy the warmth reflected off his body by yours.
It’s in the clauses to allow you to enjoy all aspects of marriage, so enjoy this honeymoon segment.
“Haitham, can you carry this for me please?”
“Haitham, I can’t reach, can you get it please?”
“Haitham, let’s have panipuri tonight!... Can you cook it please?”
It would’ve been better if he remained nothing more than just a decoration. It would’ve been easier if he was just a view for you to see behind glass. Perhaps Alhaitham’s acute eyes misread the contract, did you want a husband or just a maid?
Instead of sitting down in his own house to enjoy a book, he finds himself saddled with domestic responsibilities.
Must you call on him for everything?
Laundry and groceries aren’t that heavy. If you can’t reach the top shelves with the duster, then just get a chair. No ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ could prevent the downward tug of his lips every time you call him that doltish name. Your justification of a ‘nickname’ between lovers was moronic.
“Huh… Haitham how come you only use salt?”
Why do you make a creature who doesn’t consume such foods cook them? You’re more than capable of cooking for yourself every day. Although, Alhaitham would prefer it if you stopped using such overly fragrant herbs and spices.
Of course, when two breaths occupy the same space, there are bound to be pieces that don’t fit together, just as two breaths never sync. Alhaitham already factored those into his decision, but this was more proof of why a theory is always second to application. How troublesome the reality of marriage is, no wonder divorce rates are so high.
A good actor knows how to stay in character, so he’ll keep these thoughts to himself. Just as he lists your quirks silently.
One, you’re capricious. One moment silently enjoying a drama on the TV you asked him to purchase, body hogging the entire expanse of a couch. The next, you’ll be humming as plates and cups clatter in the sink, or the heavy thumps of your steps as you bound through the house with a mop. Alhaitham prefers it when you’re stationary, at least it doesn’t disturb his reading.
–
Two, you drink tea, an unfathomable amount of it. A warm cup always nestled between your fingers, bitter water mixed with honey. The herbal tang finds its way into your blood, making it taste like medicine. Thus, Alhaitham treats it as such, medicine just to alleviate suppressed bloodlust taken in moderation.
–
Three, you wanted to celebrate everything. Each square of a calender marked with scribbles. Why celebrate a celebration that’s already past? What is so special about a birthday? The past two years you purchased the same bundle of pungent flowers that made up that bouquet on that day to gift to him.
“Don’t you want a taste? I saved a slice just for you. Oh, would you eat it if I sprinkled some of my blood on it?”
Alhaitham swiftly accepts the plate from you, lifting the fork of overly sweet birthday cake into his mouth. Useless carbs take up space in his body, but such a thing causes no harm. Better to taste like pure sugar and not medicine.
–
The worst quirk of yours? You rise as soon as the sun greets the sky, adamant to not miss a single second of a day. Every day’s itinerary is filled with spur-of-the-moment decisions, such as going to a farmers market only open on Saturdays between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm. And how you drag him along.
Curses, only a human would drag a creature of the night into the day. What sadistic creatures, delighting in others' misery, you’re no exception.
“I thought you said vampires aren’t like how TV depicts them.” Curious eyes observe his slouched figure.
Vampires aren’t like how those dramas of yours depict them. No formal invitation to cross wooden thresh holds, no garlic braids as an effective shield, and no turning into a pile of ash at the mere rays of a star.
If so, then vampires would’ve been long gone by now. However, just because the sunlight can’t kill a vampire-
“It doesn’t mean it’s not unpleasant.” His stoic voice was too tired to add a bite.
You continued to stare at him with wonderment, as if what he said was the most complex theory known to the universe. Those dramas must’ve rotted that mind of yours, he concludes. You’re beyond saving.
“I see.” Gentle hands lift the excessive sun hat from your head.
Reaching on your tiptoes you place it atop his head, the straw brim providing some reprieve for his irritated skin. Shuffling the hat around until it’s securely nested along his now trussed ash locks. Satisfied, you lower yourself back down.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. We can go home..”
Tenderly, your hands clasped around his, guiding him into the shade. The whole walk your hands never left his, eyes always searching for the next patch of shadows to lead him into. For the rest of the weekend, you just watched your dramas, the sensation of guilt must’ve muted your voice.
Good. He celebrated this rare break in his library away from you.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. Monday night rolled around again, as he passes the living room, he spots your loafing body napping on his couch as the TV acted as white noise. Tsk. Regardless, it’s time to get to work, he walks toward the front door.
“Wait,” came a soft command, dripping with sleep.
From around the corner, your figure comes stumbling towards Alhaitham, his hand still firmly on the knob. Hands busy trying to rub the fatigue away from your eyes, blinking away the pleasant dream you were just in.
Why did you abandon it? Alhaitham doesn’t know.
Your frame reaches his, transferring some of your warmth to him, arms outstretched towards his neck. Teal eyes don’t miss the way your drowsy legs were wobbling. To prevent any accidents, he supports your body with an arm around the waist.
Just as he feels your body steady, clammy palms encase the sides of his face. Pulling it down as your supple lips pressed against his cool cheek. Did you traverse all the way from the sofa just for a kiss?
“Have a good night at work.” Your shameless smile beamed.
A habit formed from one of your dramas, a wife bidding goodbye to her husband with a sweet kiss to boost his spirits. Curiosity must have gotten the better of you, or maybe you wanted to amuse yourself, two possibilities Alhaitham devises.
–
“So, how’s married life treating you?” Kaveh’s smug tone grated against his eardrums as the blond rested an elbow on the bar table.
Alhaitham couldn’t stop the frown from forming, nor the heavy sigh, so he took a hearty sip of his wine. Emptying the glass in one fluid motion.
“Heh, I see you’ve been enjoying the spoils of marriage very much,” Tighnari snickered.
“Sure, if you wish to see it that way.” Alhaitham’s hand found itself pouring another glass.
It seems that everyone around the ashen-haired vampire was enjoying the spoils of this odd union, everyone but him that is. His miseries fueling the chaff nature of his acquaintances, still he needed a reprieve to drink.
Not that herbal blood of yours, but something actually palatable like the fragrant wine washing the frustrations down his throat. It’s not marriage, it’s having to work overtime.
“Regardless, you signed a contract, you must uphold the clauses.” Cyno’s scarlet eyes leered over the rim of his glass.
Alhaitham sighs, he should’ve drank alone.
–
The tavern wasn’t a far journey away from his house. The deep hues of night slowly shift to the youthful flushes of dawn. He’s been drinking for quite some time, it didn’t matter, alcohol has no effect on a body such as his.
Alhaitham twists the key, the door creaking ajar just to reveal your figure with arms crossed. Disappointment ever so clear in those eyes of yours.
“Where’ve you been?” No chirp in your tone.
After a few hours of reprieve, Alhaitham is welcomed home with an interrogation. Wonderful. Why should he answer this meek creature standing in front of him? He could just walk to bed and get the rest he deserves.
‘You must uphold the clauses.’
Right, Alhaitham has to play the role of a husband, he signed a contract, too late to just burn the papers now.
“I went drinking with coworkers,” he curtly answers.
“Why didn’t you call beforehand?” Your head tilts, disappointed eyes still honed on him.
Why does he have to inform you of his every movement? Who were you to demand so much of his individuality? Alhaitham couldn’t help the frown that reappeared, directed at you, the hurdle that blocked him from entering his own home.
The grandfather clock counted the seconds in the background, two sets of eyes locked in a stare-down. One frowning and one disappointed. How long will this last?
Your shoulders slumped as a sigh left your lungs. Eyes finally finding rest behind two heavy lids.
“My life’s too short for misunderstandings and messy communication,” you huffed.
Your back straightens again as you lean in closer, eyes recentering on his towering form. They no longer held the burden of disappointment, they twinkled with something else.
“I’m your wife, and you’re my husband.” You stated the obvious.
“So when my husband, who usually arrives home at half past midnight on the dot, didn’t arrive home until dawn without a single text or call. I got worried.”
What wasted concern, why worry for an immortal creature?
“You don’t need to report every movement to me, I don’t want that either, but if you plan on staying out please give me a simple text. So I don’t have to spend hours worrying about why my husband isn’t answering my calls.”
Alhaitham scans over the discoloration hanging heavily under your eyes. An unpleasant sensation crawled up his spine. Phone shut off by habit, unaware of how you were losing sleep as he emptied bottle after bottle. He has to remedy the situation now, it’s what a husband should do.
“I understand, I’ll do that from now on,” he answers.
Is he allowed back into the confines of his own house now?
Your hands were now positioned defiantly on your hips, brows quirked up as if expecting something more.
No.
“You’re supposed to apologize, ya know. ‘I’m sorry, I’ll do better next time, my wife’,” you advised.
“I’m sorry, I’ll do better next time, my wife,” he parroted.
The magic words to finally open the path into the house, words that finally returned that grin to your face. Arms outstretched you wrapped them around his neck as your lips warmed up his cool cheek.
“Welcome home, Haitham.”
Ah, he knows what that twinkle in your eyes was, sincerity.
Audiences rarely see the behind-the-scenes of a movie, with directors always handpicking which mistakes are charming enough to be shown as a blooper. Audiences don’t see the multiple scenes filmed then refilmed, they can’t experience the long hours, and they don’t know how many times lines were misread. Three years is enough time for actors to learn their lines.
“Is my drama too loud?”
Alhaitham peers over the top of the journal, focusing on your face peeking through the entrance of his library. Judging by the apron, he guesses it's almost time for dinner, the dialogue playing on the TV was just above a muffle from here.
“It’s fine, remember to turn on the kitchen hood.”
“Okay, which wine did you want to baste the meat in?”
“Top left, how long will it take?”
“Pfft, famished already? 15 minutes, you won’t waste away in that time right, Haitham?”
The ever-so-adventurous palate of yours and the ever-so-drab palate of his. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, two existences that bend and twist each other until equilibrium. Equilibrium in the form of a steak basted in red wine, rare for him and medium for you. A dinner that could be enjoyed by both breaths.
–
“Oh?” Your bewildered eyes blink at the bouquet presented to you.
A wrapped box held tenderly in your hands. Alhaitham had taken note of a certain scribble marked on the calendar, it was he who got the fourth bouquet. Placing an order ahead of time to ensure the freshest flowers.
“You said they smelled bad.”
“I’m used to it.” A half-truth.
Your lips couldn’t suppress its toothy grin, balancing the box in one hand as the other accepts the bouquet.
“Since you have every book in existence, I got you something else.” You nudged the wrapped present toward him.
Unraveling the decorative paper his eyes were greeted by the sight of a carved figure of a… what is it? Meeting your eager gaze, the quirk in his eyebrow told enough.
“It’s a hawk, I saw in storage that you used to collect these decorations.”
Ah, you found a petty hobby he had decades ago to torment a certain someone. A figure serves no practical purpose in a home, but the eagerness of your eyes was enough to find the endearing gift a place on a shelf.
–
“How does one make their blood tastier?” You pondered into his embrace.
His tongue traveled up the nape of your neck to collect the escaped drops of scarlet and to close up the wound. Your bare skin pressed against his, rising his temperature to a pleasant warmth.
He could feel every shiver as his length shifted within your overstimulated walls, recovering the overwhelming pleasure experienced just moments earlier.
What an obvious answer, stop drinking that tea of yours. However, Alhaitham prefers when you have the energy to trot through crowded walkways at dusk with him in tow. Bittersweetness is an acquired taste, one that took him some time.
“Since you have enough clarity to ask questions, I’m assuming you’re up for another round.” His husky breath ghosts over your ear.
“Wait~ I’m still sens-Ah!”
–
Over time, something as short as five years, even a trickle of water can crave a home for itself in the rocky foundations of the earth that’s existed since the dawn of time.
The side of the polished dinner table with the clearest view of the TV was your side.
The mug left in the sink with the faint aroma of tea and sweet honey was your mug.
The couch with cushions misshapen and molded by repeated use was your couch.
Such is the lull of domestic reality, each kiss at the door to bid goodbye and each kiss to welcome him back.
Nothing, not even immortality, is resistant to time.
Due to the crowd you’ve built your circle from, hunters were semi-frequent guests at his home. Much to your delight and his dismay. A husband should get along with his wife’s friends.
“Your complexion has gotten paler.” Candace’s heterochromatic eyes narrowed, her hands turning your face from side to side.
“Mmm, I haven’t been going out during the day as much.” Resting the weight of your head within her palms.
“Bullshit, he’s been using you like livestock,” Dehya snapped.
“Mmm? Not really, he says my blood taste like leaves.” Halfheartedly lifting your face out of Candace’s warm hold.
“Don’t cover for that bastard,” the Flame-Mane hunter scowls.
“Need I remind you ‘that bastard’ is still in the room?” Alhaitham breaks his silence.
“Who said you could speak?” Sapphires clash with beryls.
“Who’s home are you currently guests in?”
Even without glancing down, Alhaitham could tell that Dehya’s hand was twitching to reach for the silver dagger hidden up her sleeve. The hand then falters back down, Candace must’ve also noticed, steadfast eyes sending a warning to the other hunter.
“Of all people, why did you have to marry this vampire?” Dehya turns to you exasperated.
“Mmm,” you hummed.
With the finger pressed against your lip and your eyes wandering up towards nothing, Alhaitham couldn’t tell if you were deep in thought or just faking it.
Your pondering filled the room with silence, three pairs of eyes intently trained on your frame. Eyelids closed as you deepened your thought. After a few beats, they fluttered back open.
“Because he’s just too handsome.” There’s that shameless smile again.
The disgusted expression that plastered itself all over the hunter’s face at your response almost pushed a quiet laugh from his lips. However, Alhaitham wanted to avoid a physical confrontation from starting in his house.
If there’s one virtue you have, it’s that you’re a fair person. You perplex your friends and husband to equal degrees.
It’s now time for the hunters to start their night, much like how Alhaitham will soon report to the office. The two women and you were now at the threshold of the door bidding goodbye, their skeptical eyes every now and then glaring behind you at the vampire.
“Oh, one more thing,” your voice perks up.
Arms encapsulated two sturdy frames, pulling them close against yours.
“I love you guys.” Your words make the two robust warriors take a sharp inhale, bodies tensing up momentarily.
“We love you too, very much.” Candace’s voice forced itself to steady.
“Yeah.” Dehya pulled you closer.
After a few beats, you pulled away from your friends. Lighthearted grin lopsided on your face.
“Alright then, stay safe out there,” you chimed, waving at them.
After their figures disappeared from view, Alhaitham shut the oak door. You still peered out the curtains, daydreaming something as the stars reflected in your eyes. He observes for a moment before he collects the cups and dishes that once held tea and sweets to entertain bygone guests.
You were already surrounded by love, genuine love. Why did you sell your soul to experience something you already had? Alhaitham will save that question for another day.
Would you try saying that line to him again? Maybe this time he read his line without hesitation.
–
Alhaitham’s heavy lids shot open. The unwelcome greetings of morning birds signaled the time of day. Keen eyes scanned over the empty space beside him, sheets still trussed in the shape of a smaller figure. The bird songs rang like sirens, heightening his senses.
For once his ageless body left the bed without protest, swift steps pattering through the dim halls until the backyard came into view. Sunlight poured in through the open door, the wooden mounts perfectly framing your slumped figure.
Tired body balancing upon the basket of damp laundry, halfway from the backdoor and clothes line, you stopped to take labored breaths.
Swiftly he was by your side, towering stature blocking you from the harsh rays. Alhaitham lifts your fatigued body from the ground, giving your aching legs relief. Even with the sun hanging high in the sky, your skin didn’t absorb an ounce of warmth.
He takes you to the safety of the dim house, settling you onto the soft cushions of your couch.
“Don’t push yourself.” Alhaitham shifts a few pillows behind your back.
“I wasn’t, the laundry needs to be hung,” you huffed.
“Just call for me.”
You sounded out a whine of protest, but your breathing steadied. Alhaitham moves to stand back to full height, ready to finish the task awaiting out in the sun.
“Wait,” came your soft call.
Plucking your favorite sun hat off, you bestowed it upon unkempt ash locks still dusted with sleep. Fussing with the oversized straw brim until it stayed in place. Once satisfied you beamed, fingers caressing his smooth cheeks before placing a peck from curled lips.
“Thank you, Haitham.”
Adamant hands smoothed over the damp clothes, ensuring that they didn’t dry on the line with wrinkles that stayed stubbornly. The morning rays felt like sand against his exposed skin, but the hat bestowed upon him made it tolerable.
–
“It’s dusk, would you like to stroll through the market tonight?” Beryl eyes inspect the curled figure of his wife among cushions and blankets.
“Mmm, maybe not tonight.” You sink deeper into your couch, drama long forgotten.
“I see.” Alhaitham moves to the armchair just adjacent to you, a frequent perch of his now.
“Come here?”
Just as you finished blinking Alhaitham was by your side again. Slowing lifting your upper body just off the cushion, you pat the now free space, welcoming him to sit. He wouldn’t be a good husband if he were to deny such a request. So he sits.
Once the ashen-haired vampire was fully situated, your head found its place upon his thighs.
“Lap pillow,” there was that giggle of yours.
Alhaitham sighs, but he couldn’t prevent the corner of his lips from curling up, so he hides it with his book. This must be something you learned from those dramas again. He’ll humor it.
His cool fingers run along your scalp as his teal eyes switched between your resting face and the words printed along the aged paper.
Maybe not today, perhaps tomorrow when the rays of a selfish star kiss your cheeks.
–
The drinks were served quietly, the tavern didn’t seem as lively tonight. Perhaps because it’s the busy season, Spring air carries with it the signs of renewing life and tax forms.
“So, how is she, the wife?” Kaveh traverses the stagnant air.
What a redundant question, Alhaitham knows they can smell the fragrance lingering on his body from you, the aroma of flowers only found in a garden beyond a line immortals can cross. The scent of an ending journey.
“I’ll send some more Kalpalata Lotus tea, one cup a day should help with lethargy.” Tighnari prescribes, making a mental note to prepare the delivery once he returns home.
“Thank you, how much would I owe?”
“None, just a gift for your wife.”
Alhaitham hums in gratitude, and the table continued to play cards placidly. Throughout the rounds, his teal eyes stole glances over to a dark screen.
The group dispersed at dawn, but it wasn’t long before Alhaitham acknowledged the presence behind him.
“Alhaitham.”
He only glanced over his shoulder at the tan vampire.
“Remember the punishment that awaits those who dare disturb the cycle of life.” A threatening crackle resounded from the curled fingers by Cyno’s side.
Alhaitham already knows and Cyno knows it all too well. After all, the privilege of a good true death was stolen away from the white-haired man many years ago. Cursing the shorter man to eternity. Thus, Cyno now spends eternity punishing those who dare break the most sacred law.
Alhaitham responds with a nod and with that the two men parted ways as the rosy hues of dawn dyed the sky. You’re probably in bed already, it’ll be his kiss to announce his return.
–
In an age where humans outnumber vampires, with new technologies and weapons that can now threaten once untouchable creatures, immortal beings now have to obey mortal laws. The most sacred of laws, vampires cannot turn humans into immortal beings. It’s illegal, it’s immoral even to curse such fleeting creatures with eternity.
However, vampires are creatures born outside the grace of god from the very start, lurking in the shadows of iconoclasm. What difference would it make?
It’s his night to make dinner, steak with red wine sauce.
What is the difference between blood and wine to the inattentive eye? The scarlet hues could be easily mixed. All it would take is a sprinkle, drops stirred into the fragrant sauce served over the juicy meat, for you to abandon your humanity. For the ticking of a grandfather clock to stop its hands.
Who wouldn’t want more time?
A scene from a night now long past resurfaces at the front of Alhaitham’s mind.
–
“Would you want more time?” Came a question that broke the silence after a moment of passion.
Your damp skin glistens under the moonlight, your chest rising and falling as the lust slowly blinks away from your eyes. Alhaitham’s hand on your back guides you down from cloud nine. You stared at him inquisitively, teal reflecting back to him as he remains silent.
Ashen hair tussled and scratches fading away from cooling skin, he awaits your answer, schemes manifesting.
You let out a hum, signing that you’ll humor his question this time, as your face rests against the pillow comforted by his woodsy scent.
–
If you had more time, he would have more time. More time to pick your brain. More time to search through the archives of your thoughts to decrypt you. More time to grovel at your feet for forgiveness after he rips the humanity away from your arms.
Alhaitham is a prideful thing, but he’s not a dense fool. He knows when an apology is necessary, insight gained from his time shared with you.
Teal eyes glance back behind him towards the living room, where your figure sat quietly, attention distracted by the pair of lovers on screen in the midst of a tense argument. Never once turning behind to glance into the kitchen, not one ounce of suspicion. The scene finishes.
–
“I was born a human.” Your lids opened again, meeting his beryl-like eyes.
Irises pure like the moonlight reflected in them. He hums in acknowledgment, fingers tracing mindless scripts into your tender back.
“I will die as one.”
He hums in confirmation.
–
A riddle he couldn’t quite solve to bypass the sphinx who guards the sanctuary of your mind. Humans are greedy creatures of conquest, always wanting more, always hungry for more. That’s why creatures like him exist and thrive, feeding into the natural greed of humans.
Every human wants more power, more money, more wisdom. Every human wants more and more and more. Every human, so why can’t you want more? It seems that the breeze who gallivanted into his office, proposing to him with a contract, won’t reveal her secret.
As it was outlined on the paper signed by two names, he shall honor your wishes for now until the end, such is the character of a husband.
Alhaitham runs his hand under the kitchen sink, shameless eyes watching as the water turns clear again, and as the skin closes up. A feature only a creature born outside the jurisdiction of god would have.
He finishes the meal with a few sprinkles of freshly cut herbs, serving the untainted sauce over juicy cuts of steak, one cooked medium and one cooked rare. He calls you over to the dinner table.
The average human life span has increased drastically in the past centuries, it’s now about eighty years give or take.
Still a mere fraction of the time held by vampires.
Eighty years, and yet you could only have a fraction of that. You could only offer him a sliver of a fraction.
–
“It’s been a while since you’ve fed, aren’t you hungry?” Your eyes peered over at him.
Alhaitham wipes the washcloth along your back from beside the porcelain tub, steamy water carrying the fragrance of Nilotpala Lotuses. The humidity of the bathroom made the shirt cling to his skin like a wet rag, but the moisture helped with your coughs.
“I’m satisfied.” Another half-truth, teal eyes scan for any signs of discomfort, he can bare it.
“Really? I’m sure my blood doesn’t taste like leaves anymore.” You rested your cheek again on the warm washcloth, eyes twinkling under the fluorescent lights as you looked into his.
The gift by Tighnari sitting untouched in the corner of a cabinet. Perhaps you’ve gotten tired of the bitter herbal taste, or maybe because there wasn’t a point in drinking it anymore.
Alhaitham fought the urge to click his tongue at your brash humor, only you would worry about how you taste during the closing days of a contract. However, his lips couldn’t form a frown when you beamed at him like that.
–
On the path to work, beryl eyes landed upon a bouquet arranged with familiar flowers, the petals dyed by the rich hues of dusk. The florist was busy gathering up the displays to bring them back inside for the night.
“Excuse me, I’d like to purchase this bouquet.”
That night at the office, the staffed vampires crinkled their noses at the overwhelmingly floral scent that plagued the floor. Alhaitham just shut his office door, bouquet resting in a hastily prepared vase, such a thing won’t kill a vampire it’s such a minuscule issue.
“I’m home.” He locks the door after him.
Keen hearing not picking up the pattering of feet along the hardwood floor. Placing the flowers on the entranceway table along with his dress shoes, the ashen-haired immortal trekked through the halls, silence ringing in his ears.
Behind the solid bedroom lay his answer, turning the knob, Alhaitham feels tense muscles loosen as the steady melody of breaths resounded through the room.
You’ve been here since this afternoon, body now imprinted into the plush mattress. Still, your blood still runs and your chest still rises, even if there were faint hints of wheezing it was good enough. Quiet as a shadow, Alhaitham removes his blazer and tie before joining you under the sheets. He’s been craving sleep.
A timeless body doesn’t need sleep, ageless cells don’t require such downtime to recover. However, claiming that vampires don’t enjoy sleep would be a blatant lie. A calm way to pass the endless time offered by eternity, a nice way to escape boredom.
Or maybe it’s because sleep gives immortal creatures a taste of an experience they’ll never have. Peaceful expiry.
Teal eyes observe the ever-present curl of your lips before cool lips are pressed against your plush ones. A habit formed after six years. The flowers were still left at the door, but they’ll survive the night. Alhaitham will show them to you in the morning, and you’ll beam that grin at him in the morning.
–
Fresh flowers rested in a vase gifted by friends on the nightstand, the last flowers of Spring. The delicate blooms give way to the vibrant greens of Summer. Such a cruel season for vampires, with days so long and nights so short. A cruel season that offered your body no additional warmth.
Alhaitham’s hand brushes against the apples of your cheeks, your unconscious body protests in an instant with shivers and curls away from the thief stealing what precious heat you had. As if burned by fire, the vampire retracts his hand.
Right, he can’t be greedy. Teal eyes watch every tremor until his legs finally remembered how to walk. Pacing to the closet Alhaitham pulls the Winter covers out from storage, insulating your body with the thick duvet.
The layers form a barrier protecting you from icy touches as he smooths out the wrinkles.
When humans walk into a garden, their eyes are immediately drawn toward the most beautiful blooms. Watching intently at how the petals of the young blossom unravel, their senses enjoying the heavenly fragrance. It’d only be a matter of seconds before their inevitable greed takes over, and they wish to claim the flower as their own.
In this sense, the gods are no different than the mortals who were crafted in their image. Greedy to pluck the most beautiful blooms from the garden for their mere amusement.
Is that what went on behind the garden wall those born outside the jurisdiction of god couldn’t peer over? Alhaitham wonders if you’d answer this inquiry of his. However, if he wants answers, he’ll have to ask soon.
How should he say the last lines of this script?
Alhaitham ponders. There wasn’t a director to give a cue, no parenthetical to follow. Perhaps he’s entertaining such futile thoughts to distract himself.
With each wheeze of your chest, the itch in his palm grew unbearable. His thumb begged to dig its nail into the smooth skin until scarlet droplets trickled out. However, it never got its chance for soon your ailing fingers occupied the space, interlocking to halt its motion as gold rings clinked together.
“My husband is such a handsome actor.” Breathy voice babbling with a giggle.
Alhaitham’s cool skin hogged your warmth, trying to permanently sear the temperature into itself.
“You don’t have to play this role anymore.” You craned your neck away with a deep exhale, exposing the vulnerable skin to him.
There’s nothing viler to a vampire than stagnant blood. Blood that no longer runs tastes rotten, cold blood is worst than bile. Your blood still ran warm, he could sense it. This time it was his incisors that itched.
Keen eyes don’t miss the way your nape prickled at the breath that ghosted over it as his lips parted. Your lids gently shut, bracing yourself. The incisors brushed against your exposed jugular, but they couldn’t break through the delicate skin. They wouldn’t. They just wouldn’t.
Like the cowards they were, they retreated. Alhaitham closes his lips, deciding to press a tender kiss on the spot instead. His free hand guides your head back into a comfortable position on the plush pillow.
“You don’t have to hold yourself back.” Your eyes were open again.
“I’m not holding myself back,” he spoke the truth, the whole truth.
You were born with blood, it’s only right that you die with it, Alhaitham concludes.
The ending clause of that contract be damned.
“What a silly vampire.” Your bell-like laughter twinkled in his ears.
Yes, he is. Even after all these centuries, Alhaitham realizes he’s still no better than a fool. A shameless fool. An idiotic hypocrite ready to stray away from the principles he thought he held firm. He’ll accept this verdict, he’ll continue this fool’s errand, if and only if you continue to giggle at his antics.
Outside the window came the dirge of Summer crickets, gentle crips accompanying your fleeting wheezes. Alhaitham shifts the thick comforter up your body, smoothing out the wrinkles as the soft warmth lulls you away.
Your still fingers in between the spaces of his, your head curled within the space between his nape.
Under the moon’s pure rays, lay two bodies atop soft sheets, curled towards each other, the fleeting warmth long dissipating. Atop silk sheets, one body envisions the two buried under cold dirt and not clean comforters with hands somehow still locked together. Deep under the garden wall.
Once the cruel sun creeps into the sky, and the night flees into hiding with her stars, Alhaitham will have to make a call.
He’ll have to speak with the receptionist on the other end, with their bright customer service greeting, and get a legal pronouncement of death. Then soon after that, he’ll have to arrange the transportation of your cold husk. He’ll have to lower you into the ground alone.
However, the morning is still hours away, the moon is still here to lend her quiet sympathies. So tonight, just for tonight humor his little daydream.
Fin~
©️vivalabunbun DON’T PLAGIARIZE, REPOST, OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS.
#alhaitham x y/n#alhaitham x reader#al-haitham x you#alhaitham x you#genshin vampire au#genshin modern au#genshin x reader#genshin impact x you#genshin smut#alhaitham smut#alhaitham x yn#alhaitham scenarios#genshin scenarios#al haitam x reader#alhaitham fluff#alhaitham angst#genshin angst#genshin alhaitham#genshin fluff#vivalabunbunfics#alhaitham#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact scenarios#genshin fanfic#alhaitham fics#yandere alhaitham#alhaitham fanfic
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
The Marriage Pact Part 4 (Slight NSFW)
For Richer, For Poorer
Synopsis: You have to deal with the consequences of Jack keeping secrets from you and having to tell someone else about the pact, all while also confronting Jack about the newest member on the team and how you don't like how much time he's been spending with her.
Pairing: Fiancé!Jack Harlow x Fiancée!Reader
Read Parts One, Two, and Three first
Series Masterlist
Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere
Ariyana was on her way to meet up with everyone in Prague, since she had to fly to Atlanta for a few days to finish up wedding planner for another couple. She actually finished earlier than expected so decided to hop on a plane to come and keep her best friend company since she knew by now that Jack and Urban were probably getting on your nerves.
She had a short layover and was scrolling through her phone when she came across the story on all of the major gossip pages on instagram and she immediately began fuming and texting you at an intense speed.
Ari- Y/N ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW. DID JACKMAN CHEAT ON YOU?
Ari- I WILL KICK HIS KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN EATING ASS. I WATCH ENOUGH CRIME SHOWS TO KNOW HOW TO HIDE A BODY
Ari- Y/NNNNNNN!!!!!!
Ari- What is going on? Somehow I know Urb is involved and I’m coming to kick his ass too. Don’t even warn him either. Jack got another thing coming if he thinks he can cheat on my best friend and get away with it. Who the fuck does he think he is?
Not getting a response from you, she couldn’t wait until she touched down in Prague and there would still be a few hours before Jack’s show so that would give her an opportunity to give him a piece of her mind and it was going to be anything but pretty.
You had turned your phone off once you told Jack to get out of your shared hotel room and ventured down to the spa in hopes of getting a massage and facial to relax you and take your mind off of the absolute fuckery that had popped off since this morning. You held onto the fact that Ari would be here in a few days and she would be able to keep your mind occupied off of Jack, that was unless she wanted to kill him which you knew that she did as soon as she heard what was going on.
When you finished in the spa, you decided to head back to your room in the hopes of ordering room service when you found Ari in the hallway knocking on Urban’s door with her bags in hand. She turned down the hallway to look at you and she immediately waved you over.
“You get over here now. We have a LOT to talk about since you’ve been ignoring me all day.”
“I didn’t mean to, my phone was off.” You confessed while taking it out of your back pocket and turning it on to see a slew of missed calls and text messages from different people.
The door finally opened and Ari was now face to face with Jack and she was now fuming.
“I am literally this close to kicking your ass so you better start explaining and you better start now. Come on Y/N!”
Ari pushed past Jack and Urban looked at her wide eyed when he finally saw her.
“Oh, um I thought you were coming tomorrow?” Urban asked as he went over to greet her.
“I was, but I finished early and once I saw where someone couldn’t keep his dick in his pants and possibly cheated on my best friend, I decided to make this trip a priority.”
“I…” Jack started to say, but she immediately cut him off.
“If you are about to tell me a whole bunch of lies, you can keep it.”
“But I’m not!”
“YOU CHEATED ON MY BEST FRIEND!”
“I DIDN’T CHEAT ON HER! Y/N WILL YOU TELL HER, PLEASE?!”
All you were doing was sitting in the corner with your legs crossed staring at all three of them.
“Y/N, what is going on?” Ari asked you while coming over to sit across from you.
“He didn’t cheat on me, but he might as well had.”
“Oh my fucking goodness.” Jack said as he threw his head back in frustration and Urban immediately shot him a look.
“Jackman, you’re on thin ice so shut up, now Y/N, sweetie, explain what you mean.”
“Me and Jack made a marriage pact when we were seventeen and it was decided by the time that we were thirty that if we were both single that we would marry each other. He proposed on my birthday and told me that he had had my ring for an entire year but was too scared to say anything. He had been fucking this girl named Gabrielle and the last time he slept with her was right before he proposed to me hence, why the baby could possibly be his even though he claimed to have used protection. She is blasting it all over social media because Jackman Thomas Harlow did not give her an NDA to sign. Now can I go lay down?”
“WHAT? Hold on, there is so much to unpack with all of that. So you two literally just decided to get married?”
“Yes.” Both of you said at the same time.
“Without actually being in a relationship beforehand?”
“I said the same exact thing!” Urban exclaimed while throwing his hands up in the air.
“I…. okay…. Not what I was expecting. But, okay then.” Ari finally said while nodding her head.
“And Jack didn’t tell her even though I told him to do it before she found out from someone else and now look what happened.” Urban said while looking at Jack who simply sighed.
“Oh, so you knew and didn’t tell her?” Ari said while looking at her boyfriend of two years.
“Ariyana! That is not my place to do that! I told him to tell her as soon as he found out!”
“And you’re obviously still talking to this girl even though you have an entire fiance? Did I get that right?” Ari asked while looking over at Jack who just sighed.
“Right before I proposed, I cut her off. It wasn’t until she found out she was pregnant that she called me.”
“I… and now Y/N is mad and upset because you lied to her, is that right?”
“And brought another so-called manager to the team behind my back and claimed that he was going to tell me.”
“Well aren’t you full of surprises, Jackman?” Ari said while looking at him.
“Now can I go lay down? You’ve interrogated us enough.” You asked while standing up and making your way towards the door.
“Hmm, well take Jack with you because me and Urb have things to do.”
“She doesn’t even want to be near me let alone look at me.” Jack muttered while playing with the strings on his sweatshirt.
“Well, that’s too bad. The two of you are about to be married aren’t you? Married people talk about their problems and work them out so hop to it. We’ll see you when it’s time to leave for the venue.”
You rolled your eyes at your best friend before opening the door and Jack quickly followed you to your suite that was across the hall. Once you opened it, you simply went to sit on the couch and turn on the television without even looking at him.
“Y/N…”
“Jackman.”
“Will you please talk to me?”
“And say what? Say what exactly?” You responded while finally turning to him.
“I know I messed up, but you don’t have to flat out ignore me.”
“And you didn’t have to flat out lie to me either.”
“I… know and I should have said something to you from the beginning and I’m sorry about that.”
Just then you looked down to see Jack’s phone ringing and saw that it was Maggie.
“Hmm, I’d answer that if I were you because if you don’t she’ll be calling me next and I will tell her exactly everything that her oldest child did.”
“And what am I supposed to tell her?!”
“You have a brain, figure it out.”
Jack simply let the phone ring and all you did was roll your eyes and sigh knowing what was about to happen.
“From this point forward, no secrets and I mean it.”
“So, you forgive me?!”
“I didn’t say that. I just said there needs to not be any secrets between us.”
“We can make this work, babe. I know we can and I know the baby isn’t mine.”
“You better pray hard that it isn't.”
Another two months or so had passed since Jack had been on tour and even though you were still mad at him, you tried not to let it show in front of other people in the hopes of not tarnishing his image. You wouldn’t say that you had completely forgiven him, but the two of you were better than you had been before finding out about the potential baby being his. There was about another month or so to go until he was able to take the DNA test, but for now you put it in the back of your mind. Jack eventually did talk to his mother and the only thing that he told her was that she was probably trying to get money out of him and left it at that.
However, you had another problem and her name was Neelam.
She was nice… enough.
But for some reason, she rubbed you the wrong way and you didn’t like how close and comfortable she was around Jack who, being a man, thought nothing of it. Urban also saw how she interacted with him and would shoot you looks of confusion knowing that Jack knew that he was about to be a married man and that the single life was behind him.
It had been bothering you for a while and you decided to bring it up to Jack as the two of you were now laying down in the back of the tour bus headed to the next city.
It had become harder and harder to get him alone since it seemed like she was always everywhere. You shouldn’t have to fight for a few moments alone with your fiance.
“Bubs, can I ask you something?” You said to Jack who simply looked down at you while nodding his head.
“Of course you can, baby. What’s wrong?”
“I… it’s Neelam.”
“Isn’t she great? She’s been really helpful since Chris brought her on.” Jack answered while smiling at you and all you did was look at him with a straight face.
“Why does it seem like I always have to fight for your attention since she’s been here?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Fight for my attention since when? You’ve had my attention since I was eight days old. Literally no one can compete with that.”
“She is always next to you every single time I turn around and I don’t like that.”
“Babe, you’re making a big deal out of nothing and it sounds like you’re jealous. You have nothing to be jealous of because you know that I’m yours.”
“Well tell her that because it seems like she acts like the two of you are in a relationship when you know good and damn well you’re about to be married to me, so what is up with that?”
“Where is this even coming from because no she doesn’t. She knows that we’re together and has been nothing but professional and respectful this entire time.”
“I beg to differ, but whatever. Just brush me off I guess.” You said while shrugging your shoulders and it was clear to Jack that you were now pissed off.
“Y/N, no one is brushing you off, baby. I just don’t get those vibes coming from her. You have nothing to worry about because you are literally the only person that I want and I’ve told you that time and time again. That is never going to change.”
“I don’t like her and I want her gone.”
“It’s not that simple and you know it.”
“It is that simple when she’s on your team. What are you not getting? I told you from the beginning that if I didn’t like her, I wanted her gone.”
“But I do like her and you’re coming to me with this imaginary bullshit you made up in your head about her wanting me when I know that she doesn’t.”
“Because you’re a fucking man. Girls recognize when someone is after what’s theirs.”
“She’s not going anywhere, end of discussion. So drop it.”
You had been laying on Jack’s chest and promptly turned around to face the other way so that you wouldn’t have to look at him and all you then heard was him sucking his teeth.
“Seriously, Y/N? Now you turn away from me?”
“You told me, end of discussion so there isn’t anything further that needs to be said since obviously how I feel doesn’t matter so I’ll be over here.”
“No one said how you feel doesn’t matter so stop putting words in my mouth.”
“You agreed with me when she got here that if I didn’t like her then she would be gone, but now what changed?”
“She is literally here to help you not to have to do so much so I would think that you would be a little more appreciative towards her.”
“You know what? It doesn’t even matter anymore. Do what you want.”
“Why are you always picking fights?” Jack asked while sighing.
“How am I picking a fight when I simply told you how I felt? You turned it back on me and said that I was jealous and delusional.”
“Because that’s what it sounds like! How are you jealous of her being around me so much when it’s her actual job when you literally have me? I am literally yours and not going anywhere. At the end of the day, you’re the one that I’m coming home to.”
“Never mind. It doesn’t even matter anymore, goodnight.”
“Y/N, come on.”
Silence.
“I wish you could see how much I love and care about you. You’re my priority and no one else, I promise you that. Let’s just see how it goes and if you still aren’t happy we’ll let her go.”
You turned back around to look at him and simply nodded before turning back around.
“That wasn’t meant for you to turn back around, I want to look at my girl. Let me see that pretty face.”
“Well you can look at the back of my head because I’m still mad at you.”
Jack sighed before he laid you on your back before climbing on top of you and leaning down to kiss you.
“Compromising is a part of marriage, baby. Is it not?”
“We’re not married.”
“Yet, so why do you have to be such a smartass?” Jack asked while starting to tickle you and you were trying to push him off of you.
“NO! Jackman! DO NOT!”
“Say you love me and I’ll stop.”
“Now you want me to lie?” You asked between you laughing.
“I… stink, stop playing!”
“Okay! Fine, fine. I love you now, get off of me.”
“Give me kisses first.”
You reached up to kiss him and he eagerly kissed back with his hand reaching underneath the shirt that you were wearing as he slowly massaged your left breast with you letting out a small moan.
Jack then tugged on your shirt meaning that he wanted for you to take it off so that he could have better access to you.
“How are you so perfect?” Jack whispered while leaning down to kiss you.
Once you did, his mouth quickly attached the one that he had been massaging previously while his hand reached down to rub small circles along your clit knowing that the his shirt had been the only item of clothing that you were actually wearing and was thankful for that.
Jack heard you let out a small whimper and began to suck harder as he then inserted two fingers into you and were pumping them slowly in and out as he switched to your other breast.
“Mmm. baby.”
“Shh, we have to be quiet. Can you be a good girl and be quiet for me?” Jack whispered in your ear and you eagerly nodded before he went back to his previous task.
You wrapped your arms around Jack’s neck in order to bring him closer to you if that was even possible as he added another finger.
Since he knew that you hadn’t had sex before him, he would periodically introduce you to new things to see if you liked it or not, but also made sure not to overwhelm you. The two of you quickly came up with a safe word right after the first time.
“So wet for me, baby. I want to taste you, is that okay?” He asked while looking up at you and a slow nod was given in approval.
“I’m about to make you feel so good, spread those legs for me.”
Jack made his way down your body while placing small kisses all over it along the way and once he got to your most prized possession, he slowly looked back up at you.
“You ready?”
You said a small yes in response and Jack took one long lick across your folds without breaking eye contact with you and instant pleasure took over your body.
“Keep your eyes on me and you better not disobey me.” Was all he said before he fully dove in.
He went at a slow pace at first wanting for you to get comfortable, but as soon as you least expected it, he sped up his pace making you moan out in pleasure. You quickly put your hand over your mouth in order to muffle the moans as best as you could, but knew that some were bound to slip out. However, previously everyone had been asleep except you and Jack.
His face was covered in your juices before he slowly began to suck on your clit and that was when you lost it.
“Fuck, oh shiiiiit.” You said as you closed your eyes for one second, and Jack immediately halted his movements making you look at him in confusion.
“What did I tell you?”
“I need to keep my eyes on you.”
“So do it and don’t let it happen again.”
Jack held onto your thighs tighter since he noticed that you had been starting to move away from him and you did your best to not wake up everyone in the bus.
“Come on pretty baby, you gonna cum for me? Be a good girl and cum all over my face.”
It took less than two minutes for you to hit your peak as Jack kissed your thighs as you rode it out.
As he made his way back up your body, he left a trail of kisses and finally ended at your lips and you eagerly kissed him.
“I didn’t want to do too much at one time, you okay?”
“More than okay.” You responded while laughing and Jack simply smiled.
“Now I need to return the favor.” You said while reaching for Jack’s shorts, but he pushed your hand away.
“Next time, baby. Just wanted to make you feel good. It’s almost three in the morning so I’m going to need you to go to sleep.” Jack said as he placed kisses on your cheeks, your nose, and then your forehead.
“I love you so much and there is no one on this earth that compares to you. Got it?” Jack said as moved from over top of you and simply nodded.
“I got it, I love you too.”
You had been wedding planning with Ariyana all day and left Jack in the hands of Neelam which was the last thing that you wanted to do. But talking with Jack the other night, you felt a little more at ease. I mean it was kind of hard to compete with someone that he had known for his entire life.
It wasn’t until you came across her instagram story which had you fuming.
Neelam Thadhani added to their story
You immediately took a screenshot and sent it to him wanting an explanation.
You- Bubs, what the fuck is this?
All you saw was the text bubble appearing and then disappearing.
You- Hmm, so much for me not having anything to worry about.
Taglist:
@harlowsbby
@babyharleezy
@hoodharlow
@stefansalvatoresgf
@jackiehollanderr
@primadxna-girl
@dessmxsworld
@cockslutslurper3000
@raelorns21
@variety-fangirl
@gbaabyyyy
@kamorsstuff
@harlowthot
@sinsandsuccubus
@curlyhairclub
@bootlegroach
@haylexo10
@thinkingaboutjharlow
@fluidsentiment
@charli123456789
@moody4world
@yourstrulymayah
@yana4life
@beanbagbitch
@alinaharlow
@carma-fanficaddict
@minaxcarter
@arination99
@xjup1t3r
@venusvinc
@jackharloww
@midnight-star47
@minkookie95
@inluvwithladybug
@exoticr0ses
@jharlowsangels
@jackierose902109
@knack4harlow
@cmalass
@megawhoree
@softtcurse
@sia2raw
@miniaturehideoutmentality
@hoya122
@nattinatalia
@jackslover12
@skyesthebomb
@jackharlows-world
@louisianalady
@fdl305
@automaticpeachsong
@harlowcomehome
@gassyandsassy1
@babygirlwilly
@amethyst09
@harrycanyonmoonn
@toocriticalharlow
@tattered-tales
@sisiking99
@dessxoxsworld
@gillybear17
@jacksdaycare
@iheartharlow
@disaster-rose
@babyvinnie
@evansxchalamet
@chtkmyharlow
@itsyagirljaz
@neon-lights-and-glitter
@awhore4moree
@a-moment-captured
@jackmans-poison
@valentinqee
@lightsoutstyles
@j-worlds-blog
@middlechild404
@0elliotswhore
@iknowdatsrightbih
@w1ldthoughts
@love2loveonme
@hufflewhore128
@shawtypoison
@fantasywritersstuff
#jack harlow#jack harlow fic#jack harlow fanfic#jack harlow x reader#jack harlow x black reader#jack harlow angst#jack harlow fluff#jack harlow smut#jack harlow concepts#jack harlow imagine#jack harlow fanfiction#the marriage pact
190 notes
·
View notes
Note
what are ur favorite anthony bridgerton five
hi! i'm assuming this says fics, and i am SO HONOURED that you trust me to recommend my favourite fics to you!
first up… the amazing and fantastic @fayes-fics, one of THE MOST skilled writers alive. she never misses!
some of my personal favs from her are:
➥ a beneficial arrangement [ ⭐️ ]
a marriage pact with a viscount. what could possibly go wrong?
➥ rescue and ruin
anthony rescues something for you… and it will likely lead to your ruin.
➥ the friends+ series
modern AU. series of fics that feature anthony & journalist!reader’s burgeoning relationship.
those are just a few of my favorites, but READ HER ENTIRE MASTERLIST! you will not regret it, promise.
secondly, a series of fics by the wonderfully talented @rubysunnday, and once again, be sure to read all of her masterlist!
➥ take my hand
as much as y/n appreciates anthony’s matchmaking efforts, it’s hard to accept them when he’s the only man she wants. luckily for her, a fall in the lake allows her to voice her feelings in more ways than one
➥ a long, long time
y/n has waited a long, long time for anthony bridgerton to finally decide to get married. but by the time he finally decides to find a wife, y/n has run out of time and anthony is suddenly faced with losing her to someone else.
➥ it’s a bad idea, me and you [ ⭐️ ]
y/n was ready to give her entire heart to anthony bridgerton. only for him to shove her aside in favour for sienna rosso. but, now, sienna is gone and despite what y/n keeps telling herself - anthony truly does own her heart.
now, for the queen of the modern!anthony au, @eleanor-bradstreet! some of my favorites from her are…
➥ gala
you attend a charity gala with your boss who really is too much trouble in a tux.
➥ locked out
when you find yourselves locked out of your house in the middle of the night, anthony has some ideas for how you can kill time.
➥ take me instead [ ⭐️ ]
you and anthony find yourselves in the middle of a bank robbery on an ill-fated day.
next we have @colettebronte, BRIDGERTON SMUT AUNTIE HERSELF WOOO!
(warning, these fics are VERY mature, and include BDSM and other possibly triggering material).
➥ rise and breathe
newly arrived back in london after a long journey across the mediterranean sea, you encounter a pathetically drunk viscount bridgerton the night he is rejected by sienna rosso. after a sobering morning on all counts, you sense that he is indeed lost and in need of a new purpose and direction. through submission and service, he may just find it.
➥ what (who) are you doing on new year’s eve?
a mysterious benefactor invites you to ring in the New Year with them.
➥ kinktober day ten: blindfolded
your tenth evening with your client. day ten for kinktober. I’m going with two prompts tonight, blindfolded and massage.
finally, we have some individual fics that stole my heart.
➥ diamonds and pearls by @multiharlot
diamonds and pearls do not make up for the lack of love in your marriage.
➥ enamoured by @dreamwritesimagines
everything you heard about matters of heart and desire told you the same thing; love could lead to heartbreak at best and disastrous results at worst. yet, you were convinced that everyone was wrong. they had to be, because love was supposed to make everyone happier, no confusion or pain in sight. regardless of how naive it sounded, you were sure that you were ready to fall in love and lose yourself in the infamous bliss. that assumption right there was a terrible mistake, though. you were nowhere near ready.
➥ right person, all the wrong times by @wwinterwitch
you and anthony have been in love with one another from the moment you met, but it seems as though nothing will ever happen between you. after you catch the attention of another gentleman, he realizes perhaps it's time to finally do something about his feelings.
➥ right in front of me by @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69
the only way he could rationally find a suitable wife was by removing love from the equation all together. courtship was game of jumping through hoops he really did not want to play, and he was a viscount. surely there would be a father with a more than suitable daughter he could simply ask for your hand and get it. or the one where your arranged marriage with anthony bridgerton isn’t a loving marriage… until it is.
➥ melt away by @healmydesires
the night you give your love and body to your husband.
➥ sham, pride, and illicit affairs by @peeterparkr
or, the story of how you rejected his proposal because you once loved him.
➥ enchanted by @imthebadguyyy
you and anthony don’t need words to converse.
➥ better man by @midnightfictionlibrary
anthony must rectify his rakish ways and wed, but he has a lot to think over if he doesn’t want to lose his dearest friend forever.
➥ no longer in denial by @iwritefandomimagines
anthony has made no secret of not wanting to marry, despite it being more than clear that he is head over heels in love with you, his “best friend”. benedict decides he is fed up of anthony’s denial, and takes matters into his own hands — by inciting jealousy from his older brother.
➥ the language of flowers by @cinnamoodles (shameless self plug)
you and anthony have been friends for as long as you can remember, but what happens when his world turns upside down? will he open his heart and let the woman silently pining for him in?
AHH ok that was it, and these are the bridgerton fics i love with all of my soul. thank you so much for your ask, it was so nice to see all these wonderful fics again.
xo, lottie !
#🐋 . . . charlotte speaks !#anthony bridgerton x reader#bridgerton#bridgerton netflix#anthony bridgerton x you#bridgerton x reader#benedict bridgerton#benedict bridgerton x reader#anthony bridgerton fic rec#bridgerton fics
389 notes
·
View notes
Text
in the beginning (part 2)
✢summary: in a final attempt to salvage the rift between your families, you suggest a marriage pact between you and and alicent’s second son (part 2 of in the beginning)
✢pairing: aemond targaryen/reader, 3.7k words
✢warnings: typical targaryen incest, possessive aemond, i think i write aemond in a darker way than what tumblr sees him as, add more lmao
✢a/n: hello everyone! i'm glad by the attention in the beginning got :)) thank you so much for your comments and notes and please do not hesitate to tell me how you feel about my work! your responses motivate me so much, thank you once again <33 there is no taglist for this fic, unfortunately. + gif isnt mine!
The next few days were a blur. True to your mother’s words, your trip back to Dragonstone had been postponed, though you were fairly sure you were to stay in Kings Landing indefinitely as Aemond’s wife. Once the news of your engagement has reached the ears of the realm, you have been subjected to endless congratulations from lords and ladies and their best wishes. Your brothers, on the other hand…well, you didn’t stick around for that.
“You can’t evade them forever, sweet girl,” your mother tells you. She has little Aegon beside her who runs towards you as soon as he spots you.
“Do they hate me?” You ask quietly. You sit on a bench outside of a balcony, wringing your hands. You despise the way you sounded so timid- so weak. At least Aegon is content and happy playing with your skirts, oblivious to any conflict within the family.
You hear Rhaenyra’s steps as she walks to you with a hand on her belly. “Hate you?” She repeats with a small laugh. “You have held Jace’s heart since the day he held you. Luke looks up to you more than anyone.” Her slender finger raises your head by lifting your chin and stare you down with her gaze. “You cannot avoid your brothers forever.”
You weren’t avoiding them…you just preferred to delay their inevitable reactions. Unfortunately, your mother was right. It was Jace who finally cornered you in the gardens, waiting for Aemond to finish his morning sparring.
“I’ve missed you.” Jace’s words cut through the tension first. Guilt floods your mind. Out of all your brothers, Jace was the one closest to you. You remember Laenor complaining as he was tasked to chase two toddlers around the keep, with one going the opposite way of the other.
“It’s only been a fortnight, Jace. I’ve…I’ve been busy with the preparations,” you lie and Jace looks at you with a knowing glare. You avoid his gaze instantly. “Where is Luke? He normally shadows you like a lost pup.”
Jace shrugs. “I’m sorry that it had come to this,” he whispers, walking towards you. A closer look on your brother tells you that he had run away from sword training early as there was a thin layer of sweat that covers him. “I shouldn’t have let him get under my skin during the dinner, I should’t have-”
“I know,” you reply softly. Jace takes a seat beside you and you lean on him instantly. Jace had been your first knight, your first protector out of anyone. “I shouldn't have hit Aegon, too.”
“I don’t like it,” Jace announces and it does not surprise you. Bad blood between the Princess and the Queen’s children are well known. “I don’t want you to marry him.”
“I don’t like it either,” you admit. Not yet, your mind whispers. “Brother-“
“You asked for this, did you not?” Jace asks, looking at you. “Mother told us- Daemon too. You asked for this marriage. He did too, back in the day.”
You twist your head to look up at your brother. You have not heard this before. “What do you mean?”
You feel Jace’s shoulders shake as he laughs. “This is not the first time mother had tried to broker peace with the Queen. I was to marry Helaena and you to Aegon,” your brother tells you and you nod. You had known about the failed efforts and the betrothals that she had offered. “Aegon had boasted your betrothal to Aemond that day and I had never seen him so angry-” Jace laughs heartily. “-Aemond was still a little thing back then, and half as talented with a sword but he still challenged Aegon to a duel.”
“For my hand?” You ask amused and Jace nods in reply. “He liked me that much?”
“And now he will have you.” Jace finishes, “all because you have begged mother for it.”
His stare bores down on you and you feel a sudden rush of anger surge in you.You lift your head out of Jace’s shoulder and stand. “You should be on your knees, thanking me,” you seethe. You briefly wonder if you resemble your mother the most angry. “I am cleaning up the messes you have made.”
“I am only scared for you, mandia,” Jace confesses, taking your hand in his. His tone quells most of your anger, and makes you feel as if nine again with Jace gently scolding you for a broken vase. “We were only children, after all.”
“He was also a child,” you frown.
“Do not act like you were not complicit in teasing him,” Jace warns, “He does not carry bad blood towards you because of some childhood infatuation.”
“I did not tease him by flaunting a pig to be his dragon!” You reason. You were once a child, eager to accept any sort of attention from your brothers and uncles and wary of any action that would lose their favor. You were torn once you were old enough to realize that they had chosen Aemond to be their victim when he had always paid such gentle care for you.
You regret it now, turning a blind eye to Aemond when he was clearly suffering, and guilt bubbles in your chest when you remember Aemond welcoming you into his chambers to play despite looking the other way when he was pushed and thrown to the ground.
You recall his glum mood when you entered his chambers in the afternoon holding two wooden dragons on each hand.
From his seat, Aemond shyly peaked at your approaching figure. You could not have hid the gasp that escaped your mouth when you saw his face. Aemond’s right eye was beaten and swollen blue while his other side had streaks of blood running down his cheeks from his forehead.
“Aemond!” You rush to him, dropping the wooden dragons on the floor.
In a panic, you reached for a nearby rag on his dresser and began your attempt to wipe the blood off of his face. At your touch, Aemond flinches before you realize you have had to be gentle in treating his face. Gentle like he was to you.
“What happened?” You asked, dabbing on the already dried blood that ran across his cheeks. You moved away to dip the cloth in a glass of water in hopes to wipe the blood off his face.
“I was fighting,” Aemond answers, leaning in as you came back with a damp rag.
“Fighting who?” You try your best to be even more gentle once you got the the wound on his forehead.
“Aegon.” He turns his head to look at you when he answers. “I challenged him to a duel to protect someone.”
Your face morphs into shock. “Aegon?” You demand. “He is twice your size! They must be pretty important for them to make you fight Aegon.”
Aemond does not offer you a reply, but you do not mind. His silence means the less his head will move and thus, the more you could clean his face.
“You must see a maester,” you say in defeat. You had gotten a closer look at his now cleaned wound, and though it would not need stitches, it needs a special salve that Maester Mellos keeps in his rooms.
“Aemond?” You call for his attention when you realize he was not listening. Instead, his gaze is focused on the door of his chambers. You follow his sight and realize he was staring on the floor where you had dropped your wooden dragons.
“Do you think I’d ever get a dragon?” He asks.
You were careful enough to hide your pitying stare when he looked at you. You had found that Aemond loathes pity, especially when talking about dragons. You had tried to express your sorrow for him once, but he only responded in anger. “Maegor didn’t have a dragon until he was twenty-and-six,” you offer instead. “He got Balerion after it.”
“I don’t want to be like Maegor the Cruel!” Aemond protested, his eyes misting up in tears. “Aegon tells tales of dragonriding, it’s all he talks about. It’s freeing, he says, and everyone looks like ants when you look below. I’d never get to experience it. Even Helaena has a dragon.”
You gasp audibly, as an idea pops in your head. You grasp his hand, tugging him out of the room. “We can ride Vermithor!” You tell him. “He was King Jaehaerys’ dragon, the biggest after Vhagar so he can definitely saddle two. Maybe even more!”
Aemond snatches his hands back. “I don’t want to ride Vermithor! He’s yours! He’s not my dragon.” Aemond’s face looks at you contorts in betrayal and hurt.
You realize he thinks you’re mocking him. “No, no-” you reach out to grasp his hands again in a desperate attempt to satiate his temper. “I- I only meant you can ride with me! So you could feel what it’s like! Besides…” you trail off, uncertain.
Aemond looks at you curiously and squeezes your hand. You relent immediately. “Would you like to know a secret?” Aemond nods and you pull him closer. “Mother says I’m not to marry Aegon anymore,” you whisper, darting your eyes around the hallway for anyone who might listen. “She says the King and your lady mother had chosen to betrothe him to Helaena instead.”
You look around the hallway again, missing Aemond’s small smile that he could not resist even with a split lip. “Maybe…” you continue. “Maybe she’ll tell the queen to betroth me to you next, that way you don’t need your own dragon because husband and wives share things. All that is his is hers, and hers his.”
“Truly?” Aemond asks.
You nod. “Vermithor can be ours,” you insist. “Whenever you want a ride, you can always find me and we’ll ride together, then you won’t need your own dragon anymore." You tug his hand down the hall with full intentions of running to the Dragon Pit. This time, Aemond did not resist. “Let’s ride our dragon.”
Aemond had screamed so loud as he rode Vermithor behind you, as the dragon flew as soon as he sat down on the saddle. His hands squeezed your waist tighter as he shouted louder while you held on to the reins tightly.
Eventually Vermithor’s ascent comes to a stop, developing into a smooth sail along the clouds. “Open your eyes, Aemond!” You command.
“How did you know I was closing them?” Aemond quips, hugging your waist tighter despite the easier flight. You had no doubt in your mind that his eyes remained squeezed shut.
“Open them!”
For a minute, Aemond is silent. You had half a thought to threaten him to his fall if continues to close his eyes, but before you could word out your threat he whispered softly, “Beautiful.”
Then you imagine he took in the sight of Kings Landing and Blackwater Bay on top of the clouds, admiring the tall structure of the Red Keep and millions of houses surrounding it. From here, he could catch the view of the Kingswood as it peeks at the horizon.
You couldn't agree more. “Indeed.”
He was looking at you.
The rare sight of your mother, Queen Alicent and King Viserys together greets you as you land. Alicent runs to Aemond as soon as Vermithor is escorted back into the pit, and kneels in worry as she hugs her son.
“I thought-” Alicent mutters, smoothing Aemond’s hair over and over. “I had thought the worst.”
“Don’t worry, mother.” Aemond says, with the widest smile on his face. “I rode a dragon!”
Your mother was the sole opposite of Alicent for she did not reek of worry, she radiated in anger. Nevertheless, she rushes to you. “What were you thinking?” Rhaenyra demands. She tugs your ear. “If Aemond had fell-”
“But he didn’t, sweet girl,” you felt the firm hand of your grandfather. Viserys looks down at you with a proud smile.
Behind you, your mother rolls her eyes. “Father, don’t save the damn girl. She’s spoiled enough as it is.”
“Ah, it’s her grandmother’s spirit, I tell you.” Viserys replies, his eyes twinkling at you in pride.
“Lady Alyssa?” You ask, already familiar with your grandfather’s tendency to compare you to his mother. “You and Uncle Daemon’s mother?”
“Yes, brave girl.” Viserys agrees with a nostalgic smile. “Have I ever told you my first ride on a dragon? I was no smaller than a babe when my mother, the Lady Alyssa…”
“If there is any penance we could do, sister, we would do it.” Jace’s voice tugs you out of your memory.
“I am the penance, Jace.” You say, frustrated. “I am the punishment. Our marriage will close the rift that we have opened.” It is not fair- none of it is. You try not to dwell on your situation too much lest you’d be tempted to thrash and throw an unladylike tantrum. If only you, Jace, and Luke were kinder to Aemond, if only Aemond didn’t lose his eye, if only your lady mother and lord father had other children-
“Have you seen his left eye, sister?” asked Jace. His tone is unrelenting and stubborn, too hurt from the reminder that a marriage needed to be born over childhood games. “I hear he has a sapphire in place of it. Some say he exchanges the gem to each day.”
“Jace, please,” You plead quietly, mindful that even in private gardens Kings Landing has ears. You cannot let them see anymore cracks of your house. “I am not asking you to be friendly, I’m only asking for civility for my sake, if not, for the realm.”
Jace holds your stare almost challengingly, before a voice rings out from the other edge of the garden.
“Betrothed,” greeted Aemond.
Your head whips to the direction of his voice. He stalks over the two of you like a tiger, each step a calculated move of restraint. He has grown so much now that Aegon could steal no victories in challenged duels, and you were sure he would fare well against Jacerys despite being a few years younger.
Aemond’s eye glinted in the sunlight as you see it roam your figure before slowly looking at Jace beside you. “Brother,” Aemond greets maliciously with a smirk upon his lips.
Jace gives a tight lipped smile that almost looks painful. He regards Aemond with a curt nod. “Not yet.”
Your head turns back to face your brother with a glare and he meets your gaze in equal rebellion. You echo your previous plea to him in your head desperately as if he could hear your thoughts. Before long, Jacerys relents and breathes out a sigh.
He extends an arm to your head, bringing your forehead close and presses a soft kiss on your temple.
“I was just leaving, brother,” Jacerys says as he steps away from you. It was not the best response he could have given, but you did ask for civility and not sudden camaraderie. You give him a grateful smile as he turns and walks away.
“Hmm,” was all Aemond had to say as he saw the silent batte between the two eldest children of his sister. Wordlessly, he offered you his arm which you graciously accepted and he led you to the opposite side of Jacerys’ path, walking you deeper in the gardens of the Red Keep.
For the past two weeks, it had become a habit for you to wait for Aemond to finish his morning lessons with Ser Criston Cole and you would roam the Red Keep’s halls with your arms in his. Sometimes he surprises you with courting gifts. Once, he had given you a necklace embedded with huge sapphire stones and little rubies surrounding it.
“For your Velaryon and Targaryen blood,” Aemond explained, as you turned and raised your hair. His fingers were gentle as he hung the necklace around your neck.
“Why bother with these courting gifts?” You asked. “I am to marry you anyway.”
“A reminder to the others,” he simply replies.
You try your best not to snort. You had almost smirked in amusement once Aemond had presented you with the necklace. You pretended not to notice that the shades of the sapphires were far deeper than the color of your father’s house, but instead perfectly matches the shade of his left eye. You would not be surprised if the sapphires were cut from the same stone to what was in his face.
Despite your initial reaction to the betrothal, you had found yourself charmed at the gesture- not that you would openly admit it.
“Jacerys is fond of you,” Aemond says after a few moments. He had said nothing as you strolled through the gardens until now. “He is incredibly protective.”
You resist the urge to roll your eyes at Aemond’s hypocrisy, with the weight of your sapphire necklace sitting heavily on your neck a screaming reminder to anyone that you were spoken for. “He is my brother,” you reply instead, clutching Aemond’s arm. “My first knight before any of the others.”
Aemond gave another hmm, offering no reply until minutes later when he asked- “Does he fuck you?”
You halt immediately, eyes widening at the accusation. You blink at Aemond once trying to understand if you had heard him wrong. Aemond’s gaze looked at you expectantly.
“What.” It came more of a statement than a question.
“Does he fuck you?” Aemond calmly repeats, tugging your arm to continue your walk. If you weren’t too bewildered, you would have noticed the slight tremble in his hand.
“He’s my brother!” You protest, disgusted. Your face contorts in what you would imagine your expression would be if you had bitten into a lemon.
Beside you Aemond scoffs. “As if that has ever stopped our family before.”
You tilt your head in consideration. Well- he’s not wrong. “He doesn’t. He wouldn’t dare,” you answer. “He is a gentleman to a fault. The only women he can talk to freely are me and our mother.”
Aemond’s eyes squint in thought. “Has he ever bedded a woman?”
“Why are we discussing Jacerys’…bedroom activities?” You snap. You do not want that image in your head, especially since his rooms in Dragonstone are directly beside yours. “Please remind me.”
Before you knew it, you had arrived at the courtyard where Aemond had been before he came to you at the gardens. Aemond slows down to a stop.
“Tell me, my lady,” Aemond whispers as his nose trails your jaw. He has caged you in his presence behind a pillar in the courtyard. “Have you ever touched a man?”
You hitch a breath as you feel his hand clump your dress’s fabric, slowly pinching it up, up, up. You feel the summer breeze on your now exposed leg. Your eyes frantically roam the courtyard, wary of any person that was unfortunate enough to pass by, all the while Aemond’s face remains close to you.
You can feel every breath he takes and he lets out as he leans further in you like Aemond was taking a good sniff.
“It’s alright,” he coos, his free arm patting your hair. “I admit I have lain with a woman before.” Your eyes snap to look at him, almost insulted. How dare he tell you this like you aren't his betrothed? You get the sudden urge to rip the necklace off you and throw them on the ground only to see his expression.
But it seems like your anger fuels him more. “Aegon dragged me to a brothel,” Aemond explains, trying to placate you. “If I had known you were to be my wife I’d turn any woman away. So- tell me, my lady, have you?”
Aemond looks at you with a smiling look but you are still wary.
“I have,” you admit quietly and Aemond’s face drops.
“With who?” He shakes as he asks you this, his fist shaking as he holds your dress.
You see the Targaryen madness poets speak about your family in his violet eye that glints of violence no matter what you will say. The madness had killed the builders of the Red Keep,
“A stableboy. In Dragonstone.” Your voice is a whisper as your own eyes look up to him nervously.
“A stableboy?” Aemond repeats, his eye glinting once more before your hand clamps on his wrist in a panic. Aemond’s hand has suddenly wrapped around your throat, squeezing threateningly. There was no dangerous pressure- not yet- but his hands shake like he wants to snap your head off.
“Aemond-” you try to plead but he is far gone.
“You sullied yourself for me,” he whispers incredulously, “for a stableboy?”
“You have fucked a whore,” you seethe as you feel his hands tighten.
Immediately, his hand is gone from your neck. His palm cups the back of your head and pushes it to his chest where he lays his chin on it. “It’s alright,” he whispers, all traces of malice gone from his voice. You feel the vibrations of his voice on your head. “With a mother with three bastards and a brother with hundreds more, we didn’t know any better did we?”
You try to rip yourself off him, insulted at his remark at your mother but his hand remains firmly behind your head. Aemond cages you with his palm and his leathers.
“Shhh,” he whispers. You feel his fingers leave your dress as his palm makes contact with your thigh. You feel your eyes flutter as his hand roams your leg, his fingers gently caressing up, up, up-
“My prince, my princess.”
The way Aemond turned around to face the approaching servant was comically elegant, if his hand were’t so near your cunt just moments before. You try to calm your heart that was beating so loud that you were certain the servant would have heard it.
“There are dressmakers ready for you in your chambers.” To your dismay, the servant’s gaze turned worrisome at the sight of you. “My princess, are- are you alright? Shall I fetch the maester? You’re face is burning.”
“Oh,” You chuckle awkwardly, a hand coming up to your face. “I didn’t realize-”
“The princess is cold. No need for any maesters,” Aemond answers swiftly, before turning to you. “Come, my lady,” he coos mockingly with the devilish smile like he could hear the rapid beat of your heart. “The dressmakers are waiting.”
Absolute cunt.
#aemond targaryen x reader#aemond targaryen#aemond x reader#hotd#house of the dragon#hotd imagines#hotd season 1#hotd x reader#dragons#game of thrones#got x reader#aemond oneshot#aemond imagines#Aemond targaryen#aemond targaryen headcanons#aemond headcanons#aemond targaryen imagines#house of the dragon aemond
4K notes
·
View notes
Text
⌕ . . . fairyhaos.com/main-masterlist/
guidelines for requests
r - romantic ; p - platonic ; y - yena's pick ; f - fluff ; a - angst
all writing is my own and work of fiction. i do not truly believe that my writing influences these real life people, and are based only on my thoughts. any redistribution of my work on tumblr and any other platforms is strictly not allowed. please respect the effort and time writers put into their work.
︴all members
┋svt and .... [situations]
masterlist
┋how svt .... [with you]
masterlist
┋ groups [units, __line, etc]
masterlist
┋miscellaneous [events , non-fics]
seventeen as boyfriends - the masterlist : r , complete
seventeen and words - the masterlist : r , ongoing
how to fucking write - the masterlist : ongoing
︴individual members
┋seungcheol - 최승철
seungcheol according to my synaesthesia : p
what's good? : r , f
04:15 am : r , f
┋ jeonghan - 윤정한
22:35 pm : r , f
the worst day of the week : r , f
jeonghan according to my synaesthesia : p , y
take care of me anyway : r , f
┋ joshua - 홍지수
hjs + the marriage pact trope : r
lost in this green (and in your eyes) : r , f
joshua according to my synaesthesia : p
17:39 pm : r , f
joshua as the friends to lovers trope : r
adorable and insufferable : r , f
┋ junhui - 문준휘
love at second sight : r , f
junhui according to my synaesthesia : p
maybe... a little bit sick? : r , f
22:32 pm : r , f
┋ hoshi - 권순영
hoshi according to my synaesthesia : p
hoshi + roadtrips : r
let's get you to bed : r , f
┋wonwoo - 전원우
wonwoo according to my synaesthesia : p
game on! : r , f
no such thing as too perfect : r , f
┋woozi - 이지훈
racing driver!woozi : p , r
woozi + composer bf : r
woozi + aegyo : r
woozi according to my synaesthesia : p
16:33 pm : r , f
┋minghao - 서명호
minghao according to my synaesthesia : p , y
23:03 pm : r , f
you're everything to me : r , f
┋mingyu - 김민규
mingyu according to my synaesthesia : p
never a burden : r , f
mingyu + his naturally warm body temp : r
03:04 am : r , f
12:17 pm : r , f
┋dokyeom - 이석민
dokyeom according to my synaesthesia : p
like a supernova : r , f
14:28 pm : r , a
cold ice, cinnamon smiles : r , f
┋seungkwan - 부승관
seungkwan according to my synaesthesia : p
in my arms : r , f
┋ hansol - 최한솔
vernon according to my synaesthesia : p
16:23 pm : r , f
dude, i can see (through) you : r , f
13:16 pm : r , f
┋chan - 이찬
chan according to my synaesthesia : p
as long as you're okay : r , f
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Moon Song | One Shot
Text Divider by @saradika-graphics
SUMMARY | He killed Lucerys, but Aemond sees the ghost of his nephew wherever he goes - especially in his sweet wife's eyes.
WARNINGS | 18+; Smut; ANGST; Delusions; Incest; Dark Themes; Kinslaying; DD;DNE!
WORD COUNT | 6.6k
A/N | Originally written as a birthday gift for @humanpurposes. Nothing says happy birthday like a dark fic about madness and murder I guess? :)
RAIN-SOAKED AND WEARY, AEMOND TRUDGES THROUGH the murky streets of King's Landing, his cold and damp riding leathers offering no respite. Each step echoes with the haunting images of Vhagar's reckless attack on Luke, the small, agonizing details etched into his mind like a deep carving. The city, shrouded in an eerie mist, seems to mourn his nephew in silent empathy.
A scared face. The cracking of jaws. The sight of Arrax’s wing flapping aimlessly down into the sea. Luke, falling free through the skies…
The Red Keep looms ahead, its imposing towers piercing the darkened sky. Aemond ascends the ancient stone steps in silence, his solitude a curtain shrouding the tempest raging within him. The guards watch him cautiously, sensing the palpable storm that accompanies the one-eyed Prince’s return. As he passes, the torches on the wall flicker, casting grotesque shadows that dance along the corridor walls.
Entering the shared chambers, Aemond's presence goes unnoticed at first. His wife awaits him, her gaze filled with a mixture of concern and anticipation as she sits at the edge of the bed, finding his gaze and immediately making note of his distress. He can feel her scrutiny, her eyes seeking answers he isn't ready to give. With how disappointed she may be, he is not sure that he’ll ever want her to know. But he knows she must, and that he’d rather it come from him than anyone else.
Words remain unspoken as Aemond, drenched and disheveled, closes the distance between them. She hasn’t moved, holding onto him by the waist as he encloses his cold hands onto the back of her head, finding some semblance of comfort in the warmth of her hair. His wife's face softened, ready to welcome him, oblivious to his guilt and agony. In the silence that hung thick in the air, he braced himself for the storm about to engulf their world.
“You’re cold, Aemond. Let me find you something warm to wear,” she says. He doesn’t let her leave him; he will not let her leave him, ever. In heavy times like these, he’s always quite liked having her to hold - and right now, it seems like she understands it just as well as she always does. She is a part of him, made to be by his side.
She’s my twin. She is mine. Her place is by my side, and nobody else’s!
He remembers the words. It was the night he had come to, after his eye had been slashed out. The marriage pact had been brokered in the aftermath, a compensation for the losses suffered. His nephew's tantrum and those venomous words had sown the seeds of a bitter possession, one that manifested in the subtle manipulative gestures that followed.
He had reveled in taunting Luke, relishing in the knowledge that he had triumphed over his nephew in more ways than one. Aemond had married his niece, a Princess of Targaryen blood, a strategic move with which he had alleviated the stain of bastardy off of her. He’d spend years taunting Luke over his wins, and he’d finally taken his life too. And now, his wife was about to cast him aside for it.
As he confessed to his wife, his eye, haunted by the accident, bore into hers, seeking understanding, pleading for empathy. The air grew dense, the chasm between them widening like an insurmountable abyss, a reflection of the irreversible consequences that now consumed them.
I need you to believe me.
In the flicker of candlelight, hope clung to Aemond like a shadow, a desperate desire for his wife to see beyond the tragedy. Yet, her features twisted in disbelief, mirroring the horror within him. He had not expected any less, but to see it happen is like a dagger twisting in his heart.
He’s losing her. He cannot lose her. As she tries to draw away, he lets desperation take over him. He would be damned if he let her slip away over something that he did not mean to happen.
His grip on her tightens to the point of choking, her eyes widening as she realizes that she is trapped. Not just in his hold, but in this marriage with a man that would stop at nothing, and is not even above killing family to survive. How long before he kills me too, she probably thinks.
He longs to assure her that he wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head, but she is angry. She does not want to hear from him, so he will settle for her forced presence for now. Surely she’ll see. He cannot bear for her to look scared and fearful - she looks too much like her twin when she does. The last thing Aemond needs is to be reminded of him.
Her sobs soak through his already damp clothes. She tries to push him away, but he is like a never-ending nightmare - the more she tries, the tighter his hold becomes, refusing to give her the solitude she craves. He wants to, he is simply scared - what if she never chooses to welcome him again?
Why?
His touch, once a source of comfort, now repulses her, but he remains oblivious to her inner turmoil. In the midst of her agony, he lowers her gently onto the bed, attempting to offer solace through caresses and kisses, unaware that his touch has become a reminder, a brand of her brother's murderer. She refuses to believe that it was an accident, and he is further pained at the dark realization that he may not be above killing her if she tries to betray and leave him over this. After all, if he cannot have her, no one else will.
"Stay with me, wife. Stay with me, and you will be kept alive and safe.” Try to leave me, and you will not live to see the next sunrise.
The unspoken threat hangs in the air, a chilling promise that holds its own through his silence and her sobs. She closes her eyes, her unease palpable, a fear of the man she shares her bed and heart with. Aemond, too, watches her drift away, inch by agonizing inch, knowing he will have to learn to endure. He’ll have to, if her place is by Aemond’s side - and the day he married her, he’d solidified that.
What he won’t quite get used to is realizing how much like Luke she looks in fear, and how her eyes make it seem as though he is boring into his nephew’s instead. The resemblance unnerves him as he is taken back to the skies of Storm’s End in his mind once again - Luke had looked just as fearful for his life in his last moments. She is a reminder of what he’s done, of the half of her who is now lost.
How could he have expected that his own living, breathing wife would haunt him so?
THE LIBRARY IS CLOAKED IN A HUSHED DARKNESS as Aemond buries himself in his book, the words flying over his head as he tries to comprehend them. The oppressive silence of the night presses upon him, mirroring the strain in his heart. His worry for his wife weighs heavily on his mind, a persistent ache that refuses to be ignored. She has withdrawn from him, choosing silence over conversation, and the void between them grows deeper with each passing day.
In dreams, Luke sits atop his fledgling dragon, looking at him with a somber expression that makes him appear at peace. They are in the skies of Storm’s End again, only this time, neither of them is involved in a chase. They face each other, and each time, Luke talks, and Aemond seems to have no choice but to listen.
This did not have to happen, uncle, he would say. You could have let me live.
Every time, he wakes and resists the urge to slam his fists and pull his spun silver hair out as he wills the fragments of Lucerys to leave him be. He had initially blamed the shock, but even as he gains his bearings, the visions, dreams, and voices only seem to become louder, stronger, and sharper. It would seem that the more desensitized and ready to face war he becomes, the more his nephew insists on haunting him - reminding him that he is no war god, but simply a boy forced to grow into a man too soon.
This did not have to happen, uncle. You made a terrible mistake.
“Leave me in peace bastard, be gone!” He would scream as he slams his fist into the table and sends parchment flying.
Aemond's torment continues unabated, the ghost of Luke lingering in every corner of his life, a silent spirit that refuses to be exorcized. Late at night, as Aemond lies in bed, he catches glimpses of Luke's face in the shadows that dance on the walls, his eyes hauntingly fixed upon him. The weight of his gaze bears down on Aemond's soul, making sleep an elusive and tormenting escape.
In the courtyard, where the echoes of laughter resound, Aemond finds himself frozen in place, the air heavy with Luke's presence. The wind carries whispers that seem to be the soft murmur of Luke's voice, leaving Aemond questioning his sanity. He can almost feel Luke's hand on his shoulder, a touch that sends shivers down his spine and leaves him grasping at the emptiness.
During war strategy sessions, Aemond's mind plays cruel tricks on him. As he pores over maps of wargrounds and fortified keeps, Luke's reflection materializes beside him, scrutinizing terrains with an otherworldly knowledge. Aemond's fingers tremble as he traces the borders, half-expecting Luke to offer his uninvited and foolish insights, but the silence remains.
In the Great Hall, where feasts were once lively celebrations, Aemond finds himself unable to escape the ghostly presence. The sound of revelry - that Aegon insists upon as they celebrate Luke’s death - becomes a haunting cacophony, and he can almost hear Luke's laughter intermingling with the echoes of those who celebrate his demise. Aemond often finds himself raising his goblet in a futile toast, the wine swirling like a macabre dance, mirroring the torment within him.
Even in the solace of nature, where one would hope to find peace, Aemond can't escape the ghostly reminders. Trees cast shadows that resemble Luke's silhouette as Aemond and Vhagar fly overhead, and the chilly air seems to whisper secrets that he strains to understand.
As he closes the book, a phantom chill creeps into the room. A sense of unease claws at him as he tries to erase the recollections from mind, as though doing so would remove the occurrences altogether. The chilly night air outside intensifies, causing the candle flame to dance wildly before it sputters and extinguishes with a subtle hiss. Aemond dismisses the notion, attributing it to a mere draft, and turns away from the now darkened candle.
As he turns, his reflection in the ornate mirror catches his eye, but instead of his own weary countenance, the mirror unveils the ghostly image of Luke. Aemond's breath catches in his throat as he stares into the haunted eyes of his nephew. The dim light casts an eerie glow on his ethereal almost-figure, and the air in the library seems charged with an otherworldly energy. The weight of guilt and the eerie manifestations converged, leaving Aemond paralyzed in the haunting stillness of the library, caught between the realms of the living and the departed.
"This did not have to happen, uncle," Luke's voice carries a weight of unspoken sorrow, each word etched with the regret of an untimely departure. The ghostly echoes linger in the air, weaving through the ancient shelves of books that stand as silent witnesses to this mad exchange.
Aemond - his breath catching in his throat - struggles to find the right response. The weight of guilt presses upon him as he gazes into Luke, dazed. The regret, palpable and suffocating, threatens to consume him. Luke lingers, a reminder of all his irreversible choices. Caught in the grip of the moment, Aemond feels a lump forming in his throat. "I never wanted it to end this way," he whispers, his voice tinged with regret that he would never have admitted to feeling if he hadn't had to voice it out loud.
"You made a terrible mistake," Luke's voice echoes, the accusatory tone cutting through the oppressive silence of the library.
Aemond's eye meets the hollow gaze of his nephew. "I am aware, and I am burdened by it… by you." He confesses, the weight of guilt hanging heavily upon him. Memories of happier days in his marriage pass his mind, and he is once again left with the gnawing pain of not knowing if she will ever seek him out again. Is he going to be made to live with this chasm between them forever? How could she live without him?
And immediately, as thoughts of his sweet wife cross his mind, the image of Luke transforms into when he was much younger, his curls a lot more prominent and his face a bit more round. He says the words again, the same words that Aemond had heard him say about his marriage - and it is all he can do to not fall apart. "She's my twin. She is mine. Her place is by my side, and nobody else's!" Luke's words resonated in the stillness, each repetition intensifying the haunting atmosphere.
The air crackles with unresolved tension as the words loop, a haunting refrain that refuses to fade. Each spoken phrase intertwines with the musty scent of ancient books, filling the room with a lingering sense of melancholy. As the words pass through the room, the library stands witness to the unfolding chaos. Dust motes, disturbed by the weight of the conversation, hang suspended in the air like transient memories. The ambient firelight, filtered through the stained glass windows, casts a surreal glow on the troubled face of a man who desperately tries to escape the consequences of his actions. The words create ripples in the stillness of the library, a transient disturbance.
His fists clench, and with a roar of frustration, he lashes out at the mirror. The impact shatters the haunting reflection, the fractured pieces falling like a cascade of broken memories. Aemond, panting and wild-eyed, stares at the shattered remnants of the mirror as drops of his blood stain them all an angry, bloody red.
ON A DARK, EERIE MORNING, Aemond decides he will seek refuge in combat training with Cole. The rhythmic clash of steel on steel promises a momentary escape from the haunting of his tormented mind. In these fleeting moments, he clings to the hope that the precision demanded by the dance of death will anchor his thoughts, keeping them disciplined and resolute.
But the training ground transforms, and the air shimmers with the echoes of unsheathed swords. In the midst of training, Luke materializes. The world blurs as Aemond's gaze locks onto his nephew's phantom form, the arrogance etched upon his face mirroring the smirk that haunts him. A tempest of confusion descends, and in the blink of an eye, he lunges forward, sword clashing against an illusion.
Reality slips away, and he finds himself ensnared in a mirage - a realm where the dead dance with the living, taunting them with all they have left. In the throbbing aftermath, the truth bears down on him like a relentless storm.
He killed him. The admission echoes in the hollow chambers of his conscience, overtaking him completely. The clash of blades morphs into a funeral dirge, and as he stands amidst the lingering consequences of his actions, the training ground transforms into a graveyard of memories. The air hangs heavy with the scent of remorse, and the phantom of Luke lingers, a silent witness to the torment that now possesses Aemond.
How he wills for his nephew to leave him alone. How he wishes he could turn back time, to a day when his wife was happy with him, when he was not the object of repulsion in her eyes. How he wishes she would welcome him with open arms again...
But why would she, uncle? Why would she, when you have slain her twin and taken me away from her? Her true other half?
He swings his sword once more, the blade cutting through the air with a desperate force. Each slash is a fervent plea, hoping that the slashes would tear up the ghost of his bastard nephew to ribbons that fly away with the wind. Even in death, his nephew is a stain on his life that refuses to let him live in peace. First his eye, now his wife.
Her place is by my side, uncle. And by killing me, you only reminded her of that.
The echoes of Luke's haunting words reverberate through the empty training ground, as Aemond battles not only the illusions before him but also the relentless demons within. The weight of his actions, the echoes of his nephew's voice, and the damning truth merge into a haunting symphony that accompanies each swing of his sword, forming an enemy much more dangerous than the Blacks that he’d sworn to kill.
The air is thick with the acrid scent of remorse. Aemond's movements become more desperate, as if trying to carve out a safe haven from the phantoms that encircle him. The blade slices through him, yet Luke's voice persists, an unyielding reminder of the havoc wrought upon not just his life but everyone’s around him.
Amidst his violent dance with illusions, Aemond longs for the solace that has eluded him since that fateful day at Storm's End. His sword becomes an extension of his anguish, a vessel through which he hopes to banish the nightmares that torment his every waking moment. The words resonate, mocking his attempts to escape the repercussions of his actions.
Aemond's grip tightens on the hilt of the sword, the struggle etched across his face as he battles the intangible. The illusion persists, refusing to be vanquished, a testament to the indomitable force of guilt and regret.
He lowers his sword and the ghostly echoes of Luke's voice linger. The training ground falls silent, a wave of unresolved grief as Aemond grapples with the realization that, even in death, his nephew remains an inescapable presence in the twisted tapestry of his existence.
Luke smiles once more, and Aemond slams the tip of his sword into the gravel, watching it fall to the side as he screams. Luke’s reflection is a sharp image on his blade, but when he looks up, the ground is empty, save for a worried mentor that watches him from the side. What must he do to gain solitude again?
The air in the training ground seems to thicken further as Aemond walks away to put his sword aside. The haunting memories of his past misdeeds cling to him like a shroud, and the distant echoes of Luke's words continue to reverberate in his mind. The once-familiar grounds feel like a journey through a desolate and forsaken landscape as he somehow registers the distant sounds of Cole calling out his name in worry.
As Aemond picks up the sheath, he senses an eerie silence enveloping the surroundings. The wind carries whispers of his regrets, and the atmosphere is charged with an unsettling energy. He looks up to see his wife standing at one of the windows, her gaze fixed on a seemingly endless point beyond the horizon. The pain of a fractured marriage weighs heavily on his shoulders, and his arrogance, once a shield, now crumbles under the weight of remorse.
Their eyes meet, and for a moment, time seems to stand still. He reads the emptiness in her eyes, an emptiness that reflects the void he has created between them. Aemond's heart sinks, realizing that his mistakes have irreparably damaged the bond he once took for granted. The echo of Luke's haunting voice intertwines with the desolation that surrounds him.
She is his, but he does not want to have her like this; unwilling. Unable to withstand the haunting gaze, Aemond turns away. The clang of metal against metal resonates in the air as he sheathed his sword. The once-sharp blade now feels heavy, burdened with the weight of his own sins.
Before he leaves, compelled by an unseen force, Aemond looks up at the tower once more. But this time, it is not his wife who meets his gaze. Instead, the window frames the ghostly figure of Luke, staring back with fear etched on his face. Before he can further contemplate the vision, she is right there again, looking away. With the many sightings of Luke that he is subjected to, Aemond is not fazed anymore. But he is once more reminded of how similar his nephew and wife look in fear. He does not like seeing her this way.
A shiver courses down Aemond's spine as his gaze meets the ghostly visage of his nephew. Before he can avert his eyes, the apparition transforms into his wife, each manifestation carrying an accusing, sorrowful, and frightened expression. The visions alternate with unsettling speed, a haunting dance where Luke and his wife exchange places in the blink of an eye.
Aemond is unnerved by the rapidity with which the pair appears almost indistinguishable, their features blending into an eerie resemblance that sends chills through his soul. The accusatory eyes of Luke and the sorrowful gaze of his wife interchange with a disorienting fluidity, leaving Aemond trapped in a whirlwind of regret, fear, and a gnawing sense of the uncanny.
He walks away, steps definitive and terror-struck as he steps into the tower. The silence is deafening, broken only by the echoes of regrets and the distant wind. Aemond, haunted by the consequences of his actions, contemplates the surreal encounter. The armor-laden grounds, once a place of training, now serve as the stage for the haunting manifestations of his past. The ghost of Luke remains and so does his remembrance of a happier wife - who, for reasons he cannot fathom, reminds him of his biggest mistake. A constant reminder that redemption may be forever out of reach.
THE WORD HOLDS TOO MUCH EMOTION than he can bear to pour into his voice, but he says it all the same.
“Wife.”
As Aemond approaches her, he takes in the sight of her, a weak vision of House Strong's distinct features marked by dark hair and blue eyes. The vibrant happiness that once defined her has been replaced by weariness, one that seems to have settled into the very core of her being.
Her brown hair, once a shiny cascade, now hangs in loose tendrils, lacking the luster it once possessed. The dim light highlights her fatigue, revealing the toll that the sorrow of losing her brother has taken on her. The lines etched upon her face speak of countless nights spent wrestling nightmares and the strain of unanswered questions. Her eyes, once bright and expressive, now carry a perpetual sadness and seem to bear the weight of all her losses.
Does she grieve for them too? For their marriage? For him and all the time they’ve lost?
As Aemond gathers the courage to approach, he can't help but feel a pang of regret for the role he played in casting this shadow over the woman he once knew and still loves. The air around her seems heavy with declarations unmade, the room echoing with the quiet desperation of a fractured connection that he is grasping at to mend. Aemond, yearning for reconciliation, steels himself to bridge the gap that has grown between them, hoping to heal not just their relationship, but her as well.
She turns to look at him, the faint moonlight from the window hitting her face as she assesses the man that stands before her. Not her husband, no - Aemond knows how she looked at him when she loved him. Now she simply stares through him, understanding that it’s her brother’s killer that she is facing. He doesn’t know what hurts him more - her grief, or her cluelessness.
She doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t walk away either, empowering him to take a few steps further. He reaches out to her and takes her hand, and smiles by the corner of his lips when she doesn’t grab her hand back.
“Are you… well?”
The idiocy of the question while he sees how tired she is does not escape him, but in all honesty, she has him tongue-tied. Aemond has missed her touch, and simply getting to hold her hand again has set a fire ablaze in him that he cannot seem to quell.
“As well as one can be, considering the circumstances.”
Time stands still as he takes in the sound of her voice, hoarse from not having said much in a long while. His mother tries with her, but even the Queen can’t make his grief-stricken wife budge - she would stay until she couldn’t, leaving his wife to her thoughts. What could she say to make things better anyhow? I’m sorry my son killed your brother? I’m sorry you’re caught in a war that is not of your making? I’m sorry you cannot look at your husband with anything but disdain?
He is rendered well and truly silent as he tries to measure her feelings, but she beats him to it as she speaks again - addressing the elephant in the room as quickly as she is able. “Are you here to apologize for murdering my brother?”
“It was an accident.”
He knows he shouldn’t be arguing, but what was he to do? He’d let the world speak cruelly of him and brand him a kinslayer, but he cannot have his own wife hate him so. His defense of his actions only seem to spur her further as she pushes her free hand into his chest, and he holds onto her hand tighter, unwilling to let her go like she wants to.
“Don’t demean yourself by justifying your venom, Aemond. You have hated Luke your entire life, and I’d rather you not make years of hatred seem like nothing in your pursuit to make a better name for yourself with me now. You’re well past that, valzȳrys.” She spits out the last word, making him feel hurt and horrendously out of place. husband
“You don’t believe me.”
“You killed him!”
She sobs, her tears making it very clear that he is a lot less in her eyes now than he used to be. He fights the urge to scream, to hold her by the shoulders and shake sense into her. He wants to remind her that he is not what she thinks him to be, and that he genuinely would never do anything to hurt her. But he has. And he is now facing the consequences of weighing the choices and choosing wrong. How he wishes he’d simply let Luke leave - Aemond had won, why didn’t he?
Her sobs echo in the strained silence, the air thick with the weight of unspoken grievances. In a moment of raw vulnerability, she hits him square on his chest - each strike of her closed fists carrying the weight of accumulated sorrow, an outward manifestation of the tumultuous emotions that have festered within. Aemond, initially taken aback, winces.
Yet, even as the blows intensify, Aemond doesn't recoil. Instead, he envelops her in a desperate embrace, a gesture born not out of defiance but of a shared longing for understanding. The chamber becomes a battleground of emotions, the struggle to make sense of their fractured marriage playing out in light of all that has taken place.
“I want to hate you so much.” She says, the words choked out as her voice comes out muffled. Her lips are branded onto his chest as she mouths the words over the leathers he wears. “I want to. You’re a monster, that's all I see. I hate you so much.”
He pretends to not hear any of the damning words, for fear of hurting her in the anger that they rouse in him. She looks up at him, and all he wants is to crush her in his hold as he feels the anger creep up on him. But what she says next knocks the wind out of him, reminding him of why he has taken the trouble to come here to try and repair their marriage.
“But I love you all the same, and I don’t know if I hate you or the love I hold more.”
It is all the confirmation he needs. She is not out of reach just yet. Aemond, grappling with the weight of her words, feels a heavy tension in the air as her lips remain pressed against his chest, the muffled admissions still hanging in the space between them.
As she lifts her head, her eyes, red and swollen, meet his. Aemond sees the internal conflict etched into the lines of her face, torn between the desire to loathe him and the persistent, undeniable love that refuses to be extinguished. He remains silent, understanding the gravity of her admission, aware that any response from him could tip the fragile balance they are trying to restore.
In a moment suspended between resentment and longing, she tentatively reaches up to touch his face, her fingertips tracing the contours of his jaw. Aemond, still holding back the urge to speak, feels the warmth of her touch, a gesture that speaks volumes. Then, as if guided by an invisible force, their lips meet in a hesitant, exploratory kiss. It is not a fiery embrace born out of passion; rather, it is a delicate connection, an attempt to bridge the emotional distance that has grown between them.
And then Luke surfaces, yet again.
He holds her tighter and kisses her deep, his tongue begging for entrance as he fights the ghost of Luke, staring right at him as he tries to make his wife forgive him. With every movement of their joined lips, he refutes his dead nephew’s words. He is hers, and she is his. From this day, till the end of their days.
Not Luke’s. His.
“Mine,” he mumbles in between kisses. Over and over until the blasted bastard’s spirit hears and lets him live. But why should he, when Aemond did not offer him the same courtesy? “You’re mine. No one else’s.”
“What?” He doesn’t answer her murmured question, not quite ready to make her privy to the haunting of his mind by her twin. He does not want to let him ruin this moment for them, not any more than he already has. His hands involuntarily find her skirts, pushing them up as he lowers his lips to kiss her neck.
The skin of her thighs are as soft as he’d remembered, his hands relishing in the touch as it disappears under her dress. She clings to him, a slight whine escaping her lips as his fingertips graze her skin, holding onto her backside as he lifts her up effortlessly, feet carrying them both and pushing her into the nearest wall. The kiss is never ending, and he’d not have it any other way.He presses into her, his hands holding her by the hip so tight that he’s probably bruising her, but he is too far gone to care. He needs to prove his nephew wrong, and with each moment he believes he is closer to vanquishing the ghost of the Strong pup from his consciousness.
“Take me,” she says. He hears her, but he is not quite sure he is listening. However, he does as she says. He has wanted this for long, having missed her touch for long, having missed her wanting him for long. He has wanted this for too long to do anything otherwise, and so he does. He growls as he bites her neck, while she unlaces his breeches and lets his cock spring free. The weeping tip is erect and stands proud, and he hopes she can see what she could have had in the time that she pushed him away. No matter, she’s here now.
He is taken aback by how tight she is, how warm and inviting she is despite it all. Her wetness engulfs him as he thrusts into her, making up for wasted time. With each thrust and with each moan that she lets out, he hopes and prays that their marriage will endure - but the phantom of his nephew is never ending as he refuses to fade. Aemond claims her as is his right, but as he does, he realizes his true goal is to simply remind the ghost in his head that she is his, and no one else’s.
“Mine.”
She leans into him, meeting his forehead with hers as her hair falls around them. Her panting breaths and heaving chest has him in a tight chokehold, and it almost keeps him from being haunted by her twin. Almost.
She peaks with a shuddering moan, and as she falls into him - limp and willing - he chases his pleasure. He brings her down to stand and mindlessly thrusts into her as he chants mine, mine, mine over and over again and when he does spill in her, he wants to be able to only experience pleasure, and nothing else.
Surely his mind is playing tricks on him, or Luke has simply taken over Aemond in a capacity far beyond his control - for he is certain he sees him in her eyes for just a moment, taunting him and reveling in his misery.
The memory hits him like whiplash, and it is all he can think of.
Aemond’s hands encircle her delicate throat, pressing her frail form against the unforgiving stone wall, as though he intends to merge her essence with its cold surface. The echoes of her labored panting reverberate in the air, a desperate struggle for breath, while he, consumed by an unrelenting force, cannot cease his actions.
Her blue eyes roll back in agony, and the veins on her neck stand out more prominently than usual, appearing blue in certain lights and green in others - details he might have discerned if not blinded by rage and madness.
He sees clearly, he always does. But in this moment, the intensity of his anger clouds his judgment, rendering him as blind as he is perceptive in moments of calm. Her pallor intensifies, and her hands futilely attempt to pry his fingers from her skin, seeking reprieve - he wants to let go, but he cannot. How could he?
His nephew has haunted him for years, much like the famed phantom of Harrenhal. Luke may have only been nine years of age when he took Aemond’s eye, but it has wielded a malevolent influence throughout his journey from boyhood to manhood. It has been the root cause for a lot of what he’s done - right from marrying her, to now killing her so she can join her brother wherever he is.
He needs to banish the haunting memory of his nephew from his tormented consciousness. He wants so badly for the words to stop playing in his head, weaving a harsh thread of thoughts that he cannot seem to find his way out of. Her life hangs by a thread, one that he stretches taut until she snaps.
As much as he resents acknowledging it, perhaps Lucerys was right. He isn't killing her; he is merely guiding her to where she belongs, by his side. “Aemond…” Her plea is feeble, choked, and nearly devoid of a voice. “Husband, please…” He hears his sweet wife’s last words, but he refuses to listen.
As the light in her eyes slowly dims, he watches as she struggles to keep her eyes open. Her hold on his choking hand loosens and loses its fight, and she gives in. It is almost as though they are back to how they were, in the days when they were happier, and his hands had been around her neck in much more sensual moments - always just enough, never as tight and deadly as this.
She looks almost peaceful in this state, in the last moments where she’s accepted that she has outrun her course. He cannot have her this way, does not want her this way - where she fears him and what he has truly become; where every moment that she looks at him with mixed emotions, he is reminded of his nephew and the day he died.
Cursed bastard.
Her once kind smiles, the very essence that once distinguished her from her twin, have undergone a haunting transformation. Her face has since been etched with an unspoken terror, a fear that clings to her like a shroud of impending doom. Every glance she casts seems laden with an eerie anticipation, as if she is poised to deliver a fatal blow.
In those harrowing moments, the resemblance between them becomes a grotesque mirror, reflecting a likeness he cannot bear to acknowledge. The weight of her presence - his presence - is suffocating, an unsettling reminder of his own recklessness. He cannot afford the luxury of a wavering mind, not in the midst of a relentless war that demands his unwavering focus.
This connection has become an unbearable burden, stoking a fury within him that knows no bounds. All he craves is the dissolution of his nephew's haunting memory, an obliteration that refuses to comply with the confines of his subconscious. Instead, it lingers, an ominous specter that shadows his every waking moment, intensifying the horrors that plague him day and night.
And then, her breathing ceases.
The chilling realization of what he’s done crashes over him like a wave, dragging him into the abyss of his own making. The haunting echoes of his nephew's voice, the relentless specter that had tormented his every waking moment ever since the fateful day at Storm’s End, had finally ceased. However, the newfound silence is shattered by the ghastly thud of her lifeless form crumpling to the floor, unleashing an eerie force that wraps its tendrils around his soul.
She seems liberated from the oppressive shackles of fear and her lifeless face descends into an eerie calm that chills the marrow of his bones. In death, she appears more tranquil than any moment he witnessed in life since her twin’s passing. The grotesque disparity between her and Lucerys’ final moments sends a shiver down his spine, the air thick with the stench of regret and the palpable weight of his transgressions.
With a trembling hand, he reaches out to touch her slowly chilling forehead, pressing a sorrowful kiss upon it. The chamber becomes suffocating, the air thickening with an oppressive calm that clings to the shadows. In that macabre stillness, a chilling certainty takes hold — Lucerys will no longer haunt him, but the cost is etched in the lines of his lovely wife’s lifeless face.
As the reality of his irreversible choice seeps into his bones, a haunting question claws at the edges of his conscience: Was the liberation from the phantom of his nephew's influence worth the mad ending of his wife's life? The Seven bear witness to another one of his kinslaying crimes and the heavy silence that follows - a testament to the darkness that now envelopes his soul, as the shadows of the hearth themselves seem to recoil from the stench of blood that stains the very fabric of the air.
Now the twins are together in death, by each other’s side.
Aemond is free.
NO TAG LIST. Please follow @randomdragonfics and turn on post notifications for all my fic updates!
MASTERLIST
#aemond targaryen#aemond targaryen x reader#aemond targaryen x you#aemond targaryen x female reader#aemond targaryen fanfic#aemond targaryen smut#ewan mitchell#aemond x fem!reader#aemond x you#aemond x reader#aemond x y/n#aemond smut#aemond fanfic#aemond targaryen fic#house of the dragon#aemond targaryen imagine#aemond fanfiction#aemond one eye#prince aemond targaryen#prince aemond#aemond targaryen x ofc#aemond targaryen x oc#aemond targaryen fan fiction#aemond fic#aemond#pro aemond targaryen#aemond stannies#aemond angst#aemond targaryen angst#aemond targaryen fanfiction
266 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
