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kur0m1bab3 · 3 years

Text

A Bittersweet Miracle

BokutoxBlackFem!reader

3rd person POV

Cw:Angst fluff, slightly mature, mentions of pregnancy, college!Au

Unedited

"Well what does it say?" Akaashi asked curiously craning his neck a bit to try to glance at the plastic stick set in y/n's hand.

Y/n looked away biting her lip as she blindly handed him the pregnancy test.

"Two lines means positive right?" The older male asked as y/n stayed silent nodding her head as she kept her gaze fixated on the brown wooden floors of her kitchen.

A soft smile graced Akaashis face as he walked over to y/n leaning down a bit.he poked her cheek lightly as she puffed her cheeks out, desperately trying To keep her gaze on the ground only for her to crack a small smile at Akaashi's constant poking.

"There she is" Akaashi smiled pulling y/n into a warm embrace. Y/n sighed into the hug as Akaashi pulled away.

"I'm gonna be a god father" Akaashi said happily as y/n laughed.

"Mhmn you are" she smiled.

Akaashi pulled away from y/n as he looked at her for a while as he lifted an eyebrow.

"You don't seem too happy?" Akaashi said as y/n shook her head.

"I am...m'not sure how I'm really supposed to react though..I mean I cried when I found out I was so happy.......but my kid is going to grow up fatherless so I'm kinda ya know...out of it" y/n spoke truthfully as Akaashi nodded.

"You going to tell him?" Akaashi asked as he began to grab pot and pans from the cabinets, probably about to make a celebratory meal for the mother to be and the others planning to come over.

"Don't know. Part of me wants to the other part of me doesn't" y/n said sitting on the island stool as Akaashi hummed looking at her.

"Y/n you guys were together for more than a year and a half...not to mention you guys lived together for most of your college career.....He deserves to know" Akaashi spoke out as y/n bit her lip looking down.

"I know...but,we broke up for a reason" y/n said as Akaashi clicked his tongue looking at the younger girl.

"You mean you broke up with him" Akaashi said putting an emphasis on you as y/n waved Akaashi off.

"It was mutual" y/n said rubbing her stomach softly smiling. Akaashi put down the wooden spoon he had been holding as he walked over to the island y/n was sitting at.

He leaned on the island as he looked at y/n intently.

"Bokuto never wanted to break up it wasn't mutual" Akaashi said sternly as y/n bit her lip looking away.

Kotaro Bokuto. The love of y/n's life that just so happened to be her ex. The pair had know each other for years, their history together going back all the way to middle school. They had always been attracted to each other, no doubt about it.

The cute smiles they gave each other during gym, or the extra chocolates teddy bears they'd give one another on Valentine's Day, the way y/n would wear his jersey to games, it was honestly all too obvious.

Once their 3rd year hit, their attraction to each other grew almost unbearable leading to the faithful Halloween night the two hooked up in the closet of their friends kuroos house.

Wasn't the ideal place considering the two teens got caught by a group of 5 pestering boys from differing schools, they just So happen to call friends, just as they reached their climaxes. The two never being able to live down the embarrassing ordeal and a rule set in place by the one and only tetsuro kuroo,stating that the pair had to be no closer than 8 feet away from each other in his house.

Clearly that rule was broken a few times, but what doesn't kill kuroo will only make him..make him...who knows honestly.Besides the point by some miraculous twisted miracle the close knit friend group ended up going to the same college together.

Their living arrangements was an interesting one. Of course all of the boys wanted y/n to live with them, they were all like a horde of bodyguards, it could be quite annoying at times having a group of guys tell an adult woman to go put on sweats in 100 degree heat instead of wearing shorts,but that's what you get when you surround yourself with a bunch of guys who were like brothers.

None of the boys wanted y/n to live alone, especially with a roommate. They hated the idea of her spending all of her time with someone she barley knew(mainly oikawa). Which is how they came up with the idea of pairing Bokuto and y/n to live together.

Was it the best idea to pair up two people who had clear sexual history and extreme feelings for each other? Maybe not. Did it happen? Of course it did considering who the boys were and how they wanted to play match maker.

The living arrangement lead to some interesting encounters. Eventually the two finally got together. It wasn't easy considering y/n was very stubborn and Bokuto was just too shy(ironic right?) to admit his feelings towards the younger girl.

Their personalities were an interesting pair.

Y/n was more on the introverted side, never really showed her emotions and kept to herself for the most part. Sarcasm was a second language to her, there was never a moment she didn't have someone rolling in laughter due to her quick wittedness or outright weird behavior.

Bokuto on the other hand was quite different. A clear extrovert who never failed to brighten up the room. His bright character was always a joy to be around, never quite knowing what he'd say or do leaving a kind of mysterious and almost mischievous aura about himself.Much like y/n he kept his emotions to himself and hid how he really felt, which proved catastrophic or their relationship.

The two loved each other so much it was kind of sickening to be around. The constant loving stares of sneaky kisses caused the other to normally cringe or throw pillows at the pair telling them to get a room. But much like the great sonatas of masterminds like Beethoven or Mozart, the beautiful pairs relationship,had a grand crescendo and a beautifully haunting decrescendo.

They were just bad at relationships. Mainly due to the lack of emotions between the two, and by that I mean the hiding of emotions. Their communication skills were way off, neither one of them knowing how to confront the other when they seemed to be at rock bottom which caused a huge rift in their relationship.

"Bokuto we need to stop seeing each other....we b-broke up a month a-ago"y/n whimper out softly as Bokuto continued to place light kisses along her neck.

Bokuto squeezed her waist tightly pushing her deeper into the wall as he pulled away from her neck meeting her eyes.

His eyes were glossed over, lust and sadness swimming through the cesspools of his golden irises as he breathed heavily.

A frown sat on his face as he shook his head, his slightly fallen hair tickling y/n's forehead. Y/n always thought his hair suited him so well. He looked so wild and young it made her knees buckle a bit.

".....just...let me have this..." Bokuto whispered against y/n's lips. That's all it took for y/n to attack Bokutos lips earning a small moan of admiration from him as he swiftly picked her up bringing her into their once shared bedroom.

The room was dark causing y/n's vision to completely cancel out making her hyper aware of her surroundings. Bokuto gently placed her on the bed kissing her cheek softly.

Y/n scrunched her eyes in confusion as she felt tiny droplets of water hit her face. She gently wiped her face as she tried to figure out the source of the water.

The moonlight from the night sky shined brightly into the room, as y/n fixated her eyes on the male hovering above her.

Bokuto had his eyes closed tightly as tears ran down his face continuously. He held a pained expression on his face as he visibly began to shake, his breathing speeding up as he sobbed quietly causing y/n to freeze all her actions.

Bokuto opened his eyes looking down at the girl beneath him. She looked at bit concerned mouth slightly agape,but more so shocked as tears hit her face from above. The pained look on Bokutos face caused y/n to well up with tears as well as the pair stared at eachother tears rolling down their faces.

They couldn't tell you what it was that caused them to do this, but their lips collided once again as their tears and lips synched together in perfect harmony as clothes began to be discarded at an unholy speed.

Bokuto leaned up as he caresses y/n's face softly, tears rolling down both of their faces as he smiled weakly, knowing this would be the last time the two ever got to experience the touch of each other in such an intimate and close way.with that Bokuto began to cry harder as he looked down at the love of his life.

"I love you" he whispered as he silenced both his and y/n's sobs with a kiss that set the mood for the entirety of the night. Slow, passionate and heartbreaking.

That's faithful night was two months ago. Y/n only finding out about her sudden pregnancy a month after their encounter.

"....we needed to break up..what happened happened" y/n said shrugging as Akaashi sighed running a hand down his face.

"What happened is that you broke up with him because for whatever reason the two of you couldn't talk your feelings out like adults. And like a love sick little puppy Bokuto agreed because he'd do anything to make you happy.you guys broke up but continued to sleep around to try to fulfill the heavy feelings you two still obviously have for each other and now you're pregnant with your ex's kid" Akaashi said truthfully as y/n frowned.

"Jesus next time sugar coat it a bit will ya?"

Y/n said standing up going over to the pot that was currently on the stove boiling noodles.

Akaashi swiftly pushed y/n away as he looked at her.

"How long have you known ?" Akaashi asked as y/n leaned back onto the kitchen counter.

"A month..I didn't show symptoms right away, that is until I missed my period and started throwing up in the middle of the night." Y/n said as Akaashi looked at her then her stomach before placing a hand on her stomach gently.

"Are you now just starting to show?" Akaashi asked as y/n nodded lifting up her shirt a bit.

"You can barley tell it just looks like I'm bloated" y/n said making a face as the sound her front door suddenly opening caught the twos attention.

"Akaashi? Y/n?" A voice said as y/n peeked her head around the coroner. She smiled bright seeing kuroo and konoha at the door taking their shoes off.

"I'm the kitchen" y/n said as she hopped on the counter. Footsteps were heard as the two men appeared in the kitchen.

"I can never understand how your kitchen looks so clean all the time. It's like you never cook in here" konoha said as he made a face lifting up the top of the pot that the noodles were boiling in, only for him to get slapped in the head by Akaashi, earning a loud ouch from the younger male.

"It's called cleaning aki" y/n hummed as kuroo walked over to the group of adults.

"Akaashis cooking....so whats the occasion?" kuroo said propping an elbow up on the island looking at y/n as konoha nodded.

"Yeah last time Akaashi cooked was when he bought those ugly ass sugar gliders home from the pet store" konoha said making a face as Akaashi turned around kicking konoha in the shin causing y/n and kuroo to laugh.

"You not bout to sit here and disrespect them in my face. You better be glad we in y/n's house or else I would've kick yo ugly ass" Akaashi sneered as konoha flicked him off.

Y/n grabbed the pregnancy test from off the the counter as she held it up.

"I'm pregnant" y/n said smiling handing kuroo the test as both boys stared at the test wide eyed.

"Seriously?!" konoha shouted as y/n nodded. He quickly picked her up squeezing her tight as he hugged her.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" kuroo yelled grabbing y/n from konoha as he hugged her tight.

Y/n laughed as konoha hid his face in his hands as he began to cry.He tetsuro, atsumu and oikawa were all such cry babies . Y/n laughed a bit already knowing how overdramatic atsumu and oikawa would be once they found out about the pregnancy.

"I can't believe this" konoha said smiling widely as y/n laughed.

"Y'all are both so overdramatic" y/n laughed as kuroo began dancing around the apartment.

"Overdramatic?! That's my god child you're talking about!" kuroo scolded as he walked up to y/n hugging her once again.

konoha sniffed a bit as he looked at

y/n,realization hitting him like a truck as he stopped crying looking At y/n intently, before sighing a bit laying his head on y/n's shoulder.

"Y/n....it's Bokutos isn't it?" He asked wiping his tears as y/n sighed. A small smile on her face as she looked at the boys sadly.

"Yeah..it is.."

A/N: I hope y’all like this🧍🏾‍♀️FIRST TIME KINDA NERVOUS🤪

#anime x black!reader #haikyuu!! x black reader #black reader #haikyuu!! x poc! reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #kur0m1.writes

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starchild--27 · 4 years

Text

Spring

EXO - magical (flower shop)!AU (incl. Kim Junmyeon, Zhang Yixing, Byun Baekhyun)

S - part 1 / S - part 2 / F - part 3 / W - part 4

word count: about 2300

I dedicate this to my precious Feli @kafkascupcake - as a thank you for the magical piece of art you created with the galaxy yeol picture and as a little cheering up in these hard times <3 i hope you enjoy it.</b>

also, i recommend to listen to this song while or before reading - the overall vibe is pretty much represented in the song (even though the lyrics don’t really fit, but we can ignore that xD).

Spring. Finally, spring had come. To you this fact meant mainly three things: longer and brighter days, warm sunshine hitting your face again and the hibernating nature waking up after this period of… well, more or less winter. Flowers would finally be blooming everywhere again. You couldn’t wait for the colours to return to the plain outside, first the greens and then one after one blues and whites and yellows and reds.

This year, it had been especially hard for you to wait for everything coming alive again since the weather didn’t really want to play its part either, playing and testing your patience by sending cold, freezing days right after the short periods of spring-like temperatures. But you were 100% sure – spring could not be stopped anymore by now. It wasn’t “just around the corner” but right here and about to stay until it was time for summer to come – you could feel it in your bones.

With your newly gained energy that came with the season of rebirth, you decided that you wouldn’t let a single thing spoil your enthusiasm. And it worked out just fine - even when you wanted to go shopping for some plants to decorate your balcony, apartment and maybe your office with, bringing spring even closer to your everyday life, and rain poured from the sky without any signs of stopping it couldn’t wipe the little smile on your lips away.

Come on, you thought, that little bit of rain! Umbrellas and raincoats were not invented without reason.

Nope, the weather gods could really not stop you from putting on boots and a coat, grabbing your umbrella to make your stroll through the city that day, looking for some nice places to buy some plants and flowers at.

In fact, you found the rain quite calming. Its intensity had looked much worse from the inside of a heated, dry building than it actually was. The weather was not raging and pushing harsh wind and cold rain into your face in a way that would get your cloths soaking wet despite weatherproof clothing and equipment, today’s rain was peaceful and quiet. You could watch the raindrops sending out little wave after little wave on the puddles they fell into and hear the steady tiny drums on the surface of your umbrella mixed with the chirping of birds in the trees that you passed every now and then. Maybe it was the deep, intense green that kept your mood up, reassuring you that spring wouldn’t fade away again. For a second you stopped walking and just listened. Surprisingly, the sound of the few cars passing by wasn’t disturbing you at all but rather gave the whole atmosphere the perfect imperfection, just the tiniest bit of it, to make it something real.

But the sweet soundtrack of the world around you was not what had brought you outside. It had been the desire to surround yourself with as much nature as you could. So, you continued wandering through empty streets and alleys, looking for something new and fresh, something out of the ordinary.

You were surprised you found what you’d been looking for so quickly, when you stood in front of a wooden door that had been painted in the same shade of green as the leaves of the trees you were watching before. You also did not expect to end your search in the middle of such an ordinary street. But here you were, admiring the metal door handle with ornaments in the shape of ivy leaves.

“Flowery Friends” you had read on the sign that stood in front of the entrance of the odd little shop. Well, since I am actually looking for flowery friends… You pushed down the door handle and pulled, with less force at first but then more strongly as you noticed the door wasn’t moving a bit. But the door stayed in its place. Great – I am pulling at push-doors again, you thought to yourself before pushing the door now. Still, no movement. Now you started to feel a bit awkward, looking up and down the street to check if somebody had watched you failing in open this silly green door. Luckily, you were still the only one who had dared to set a foot outside in the rainy weather. You sighed and were just about to leave that cute shop behind, when you heard a thud and the door sprung open. Aha, so it was pulling after all…

“I’m so sorry! This stupid door always gets stuck when we close it. Usually we would just leave it open during business time, but we weren’t exactly expecting any customers today because of the weather. Please come in and enjoy yourself!” Not that you were caught up in ridiculous stereotypes, but you had to admit you were a little surprised when a man opened the door. Even in our more open-minded time male florists were not a common sight. But you didn’t mind at all – he spoke with a very friendly voice, a little bubbly and excited about having a customer, maybe even today’s first. What really caught your attention though, was the brightness in his dark brown eyes that twinkled at you as if the man would keep little rays of sun light in them. He had such a positive and bright radiance that it took you a short moment to wrap your mind around it.

Before you finally entered the store, you thanked him and couldn’t help but give him a smile.Once you were inside, you stopped in your movement to gasp and stare. It was not the amount of green larded with blossoms in all shapes and colours that took your breath away but the intensity of the colours, the way every single plant in this shop looked healthy and thriving with life. You heard a chuckle next to you that got me out of the trance you were in.

“How…”, you tried to begin a question but was still so fascinated by the plants that you couldn’t really finish. “We treat them with much love. That’s how”, said an unfamiliar voice next to you, which lifted your gaze from the flowers to the person next to you. Another man, about as tall as the one who opened the door for you, but with a much calmer voice. Must be a co-worker since the other one always said ‘we’. You noticed a name tag that was attached to his knitted pullover. Junmyeon. You’ve never heard a name like this before, but it sounded very beautiful as it resonated in your head, somehow very fitting to the man who still stood next to you.

“How can I help you? Are you looking for something in particular?”

You gave it a quick thought before you shook your head.

“Not really. I’m just very fond of spring and nature and want to have at least a little part of it with me when I can’t be outside.”

“Ah, you are craving some flowery friends. I think we can work with that… Baekhyun, Yixing, please come over for a second. By the way, the name Flowery Friends was my idea. Brilliant, isn’t it?”

“We only named it like that because you were the one to encha- ehh, to buy this shop and insisted on having the right to name it.”

It was the first worker of the shop again, who had walked over and caused Junmyeon to huff in annoyance, almost regretting he had called his co-worker over. A quick glance at the name tag told you that he was the one called Baekhyun. Another foreign name. Just like Yixing. They sounded unfamiliar but very special.

What did sound very familiar and caused you to flinch was a loud crash, probably caused by somebody dropping a flowerpot. Junmyeon and Baekhyun seemed to ignore it and began to talk quietly about something I couldn’t understand due to their whispering. They exchanged nods and glances until a third man appeared from another part of the shop, walking in your direction while placing some flowerpots here and there. That had to be Yixing then. He was taller than his two co-workers with very loving eyes and a softness to his face that somehow managed to exceed the calmness of Junmyeon’s or the brightness of Baekhyun’s appearance. It felt like his mere presence had the power to erase the faint tiredness that seemed to accompany you through every day as you never got enough sleep at night. And did your skin feel much clearer now? Imperceptibly, you shook your head. Your imagination was just running wild because of the beauty of this place, for sure. You had to love the whole atmosphere so much that you instantly started to feel better in your own skin – there couldn’t be another explanation. But a part of you wasn’t satisfied at all with that simple attempt to reason what you felt in that moment. However, that part was quickly pushed back in your mind when Junmyeon drew your attention back to him by explaining to the others what you were looking for, to which they responded with giving each other knowing looks.

“It might seem to be a little weird request since it is you are here for the first time, but please take a seat over here and wait for us to be back. We have all sorts of homemade tea and biscuits, so please help yourself and don’t worry about your plants. We will find just the right ones for you, trust me.” It was the first time you heard Yixing speak and his request truly was very strange but there was a sincerity in his voice that won you over. So, you sat down poured yourself some tea and watched the three florists hurrying from one place to another, taking one plant from here and another flower from over there. Then they re-discussed their plan and the hurrying started again.

You had been in many flower shops already and even though it was definitely the most beautiful shop you’ve ever seen Flowery Friends was the strangest of them as well.

It didn’t take the three men long to walk up to you again, Baekhyun carrying a box carefully filled with plants and flowers.

“We’ve created a customized box for you-“

“Our speciality!”, Baekhyun interrupted Junmyeon with the bubbly voice of his, which Junmyeon accepted with a supressed sigh. It was quite funny to watch their interactions.

But soon Junmyeon continued to show you each and every plant they selected while Yixing gave you the most important information on how to take the best care of them and Baekhyun added his cheeky comments every now and then.

“So, … that should be it. If you want to exchange some of them or add some extra ones, feel free to tell us!” was how Yixing ended their detailed but certainly not boring guide to your own box of plants.

“Oh no, I really like what you selected”, you told them honestly which resulted in three smiley faces beaming at you. “I would just like to add two of these small bunches of lavender.”

Happily, Baekhyun put your extra order into a paper bag while you payed Junmyeon the price he told you. But when you checked the receipt you’ve gotten, you frowned.

“I’m sorry, but I think you forgot to charge me for the lavender” you noticed.

“Oh, that’s alright. Take the bunches as a gift. A special gift for the only person to go outside for buying plants on such a rainy day” Junmyeon explained and sweetly winked at you before getting up to take care of the plants in the shop.

With the box under your arm and the bag in your hand you made your way to the little green door that led you to this wonderful place. You turned around, about to say goodbye to the three florists with the silent promise to come back soon and in a span of only a few seconds the most peculiar thing happened. Out of the sudden the shop seemed to come alive on its own. It was like somebody had put glasses in front of your eyes, altering your sight. Or better: someone removed them so you could see clearer. You could see Baekhyun giving off light as if he was a sun of his own, brightening the room and providing energy to the plants in the room. Junmyeon nurtured them with portions of water that sprung from the palm of his hand. And when you looked for Yixing he had just laid hands on a dry leaf which looked healthy and alive again after only a few seconds under the man’s touch.

And then everything went normal again. You shook your head, not sure if it all had been a daydream. “Goodbye, then. I will surely come by more often”, you said, trying not to sound like you just had a weird magical dream about the three of them.

“Oh, we hope so! We really cherish honesty in people.”

You don’t know who of the men responded to you, but his words did nothing to moderate your confusion about what had happened the moment before. We cherish honesty in people – what is that supposed to mean?!

You looked at the three of them taking care of their flowers and plants a last time before you left the flower shop, tightly closing the green door behind you.

On your way home you could think of nothing else than what you had witnessed in the flower shop during these few seconds of special sight but there was no possible explanation except for a very vivid daydream. But again, a part of you couldn’t quite believe that and that part grew louder and louder the moment you spotted fine glittering particles on the plants you just brought home.

It was the part of you that had always believed in magic.

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t0ngue-tech · 4 years

Text

Deadline | Five

“Jungkook laughed, turning around to follow your movements towards the Keurig, eyes still not leaving your frame. ‘I apologize. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s cute.’

Don’t turn around. Don’t look at him.”

↠ fluff, fake relationship au, high school au ↞

word count: 5.8k

↠ series: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ↞

A/N: hi guise! just casually dropping deadline onto your dashboard huhu. if you’re not streaming MOTS 7 then baby what is you doinnnnn???? have a lovely day my loves ^-^

Why were you so nervous? You had absolutely no reason to be as nervous as you were at the moment. Afterall, you were the one who invited Jungkook to come over after school to work on the history project. You had multiple chances to cancel on him, but you sounded confident when you asked so you didn’t want to turn back.

Before leaving your house that morning, you made sure to let your mother know that Jungkook was going to be coming over for academic reasons. She didn’t miss a beat and teased you about it because she was going to be coming home an hour later than usual. Nothing was going to happen, you were one-hundred percent about that, but of course your mother didn’t know that.

You were going to be alone in your house with Jungkook for a few hours.

Completely normal.

No biggie.

I need to fucking calm down.

You were now sitting in the passenger seat of his car trying to focus on the story Jungkook was telling you. His words were entering through your left ear and straight out the other because all you could think about was did I tidy up the magazines on the coffee table or I swept the floor, put away the dishes, and changed out the towels in the bathroom, but I swear I’m missing something.

Obviously you were overthinking everything. You cleaned up your house before Jungkook picked you up in the morning and you made sure that everything was in order twice. Nothing was out of place, but you were so sure something was going to go wrong.

“Y/n.”

“H-Huh?” You blinked.

Jungkook chuckled and ruffled your hair. “We’re here.”

Oh, great.

“Yeah, sorry. Let’s go.” You scrambled for your bag and fumbled around the front pocket for your keys.

At your front door, you were untangling your keys from your lanyard trying to keep yourself level headed, but the timing of your keys slipping in between your fingers was impeccable. You heard Jungkook snickering behind you as you reached down to get your keys and get your act together at the same time.

“Are you alright?” Jungkook asked whilst snickering.

“Just peachy.” You muttered and pushed your door open. “Come in.”

The house was kept just as you left this morning and as much as you didn’t want to admit to yourself, everything was spotless. Jungkook took off his bag and settled himself down on the large rug beneath the coffee table. He looked around the living room, only making you feel more tense because of your constant overthinking of some sort of “mess” you probably left around.

“Oh yeah, you said your mom is going to be back later?” You nodded. “I have her tupperwares in my car. I already transferred the rest of the food you made me into my own containers.”

“Okay. You can just leave them in the kitchen.” Jungkook stood up from the floor. “I’m going to change really quick, okay?” He nodded and escaped outside while you retreated to your room.

Out of all places, you were not ready to showcase your room. It wasn’t because it was messy but because it was your sanctuary, you held precious parts of you in your room that you weren’t ready to present to Jungkook; pictures, figurines, stuffed animals, it was all too personal in your eyes. Plus, on a less serious note, he had no reason to be in your room right?

You left your room wearing a cropped t-shirt you cut up yourself and maroon sweats, much more comfortable than your skinny jeans and knit sweater. Jungkook was in the kitchen taking the tupperwares out of a reusable bag and you joined him.

“Do you want something to drink?” You asked whilst opening your fridge. “I have water, juice, and coffee creamer.”

“I’ll just have water, thank you.”

You took out the pitcher of water and the bottle of french vanilla creamer. As you glided around the kitchen, you couldn’t help but get the feeling that Jungkook kept his eyes on you the whole time; you pulled out your coffee mug and a tall glass from the cupboard above the sink, loaded the keurig with your favorite pod, and returned to Jungkook’s side with his glass.

“Yes?” You laughed and poured him his beverage.

“No-Nothing.” Jungkook cleared his throat. “You just look tinier in those sweats for some reason.”

You scoffed and looked at him with a shocked expression. “I’m appalled, Jeon. I let you into my home, provide something to quench your thirst, and in return, I receive slander? You wound me.”

Jungkook laughed, turning around to follow your movements towards the Keurig, eyes still not leaving your frame. “I apologize. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s cute.”

Don’t turn around. Don’t look at him.

You gave in and peeked over your shoulder to find Jungkook walking back into the living room while asking for a coaster. How could he just casually spew out the word “cute” like it was no big deal? And more importantly, why did it matter to you? He was just joking around. It didn’t mean anything.

↠↞

The entire time you spent working on the project with Jungkook was surprisingly enjoyable. He helped you create a rough draft of how you both wanted the poster board to look like, took the liberty to search up photos to print out on your laptop, and even proposed a few of his own ideas. What surprised you the most was when he pulled out his notebook that was filled with notes about the Renaissance era and offered to do half of the book report. He wasn’t keen on writing up reports, but he was simply doing what he said he would from the beginning: doing his best on the history project.

You swore you were working hard, but it felt as if you two were taking more breaks than what you originally planned. The coffee table was pushed forward giving both you and Jungkook room to lie around on the rug.

Jungkook laid on his back with his arms up in the air supporting his phone so you can look at his screen. You were sprawled out beside him, leaving a good distance between your body and his but your head still close enough to his so you can look at his music playlist.

“You only have hip hop and r&b on your phone?” You questioned.

“Pretty much. I also have a few 90s boy band music because those are classics.” Jungkook swiped his finger along his screen and played you a song. “This is my parents’ favorite song to slow dance to. They played this a lot in our house so it grew on me.”

You closed your eyes, listening to the slow rhythm and romantic lyrics. You were familiar with this song. It was one of your favorites so you hummed along subconsciously.

“Oh shit, you know this song?”

“Yeah. My mom is all about 90s boy bands and love songs.” You pulled out your phone to reveal the music you stored. “My dad liked 50s, jazz, and swing music, so my phone is pretty much a mixture of all of those genres.”

Jungkook adjusted his body to lie on his side, inching a bit closer to you. “You remember that about him?”

“Kind of? I recall a few memories back in first or second grade where he’d put on music and dance with me and my mom. And of course my mom told me about his music tastes.” You smiled to yourself reminiscing about the innocent memories of your younger self dancing around with your father; spinning, dipping, and occasionally stepping on his feet without a care in the world.

“Can..Can you recommend a few?” Jungkook carefully asked. You only ever mentioned your father a few times since you started a new friendship with him, so he was probably gently treading your waters.

Your face lit up. “Of course.”

For the next hour, your positions on the rug changed from on your backs, to your stomachs, cross legged, and even with an inch or two of space between your bodies. You played a few songs for him, mainly your favorites. You even let him listen to noir jazz which was your personal favorite branch of the jazz family. After each song he listened to, he wrote it down on a piece of paper so he could download it later.

Loving music that was considered old school made you feel outdated and to top it all off, you also loved old school romance; making mixtapes for each other, handwritten letters, picnics. This was a guilty pleasure of yours, something only a few people knew about you.

“Listening to these makes me feel like I’m in a romance movie from the 70s.” Jungkook quipped.

“Yeah and the noir jazz makes me feel like I’m a private-I in a black and white film.” You played a song from your noir jazz playlist and began your monologue. “It was a stormy night, just as it always has been the past few days. I sat in my chair, desperately craving a shot of whiskey.” To add to your drama, you emerged from the floor and sat down on your sofa with your coffee mug in hand. “It was no use. How was I supposed to solve this case without a lick of new information? Feeling defeated, I picked up the manila folder on my desk so I could toss it across the room, but someone knocked on my office door.”

You raised your eyebrows at Jungkook who seemed to be enjoying your little play. He blew out a breath, “do I have to?”

“I mean,” You swirled your coffee around in your mug, being extra careful to not spill any. “You don’t have to.”

Jungkook laughed to himself and slapped his own cheeks before standing. “Okay, okay, but bear with me and try not to laugh.”

You chewed on your bottom lip, trying to not laugh at the way Jungkook paced back and forth. He walked towards your dinner table and stuffed his hands in his pockets. A broken snicker slipped past his lips and he cleared his throat to collect himself.

“I didn’t know why I was here. I could’ve stayed at the bar to give everything more thought, but no, I hailed a taxi and now here I was, knocking on her door.” Jungkook stared you down and stuck his hand out for you to speak.

“Oh! Come—Come in.” You stifled your laughter.

Jungkook pursed his lips together, shoulders shaking from trying to hold in his own laughter. “I strode… I strode inside her office. Sauve, confident, dripping with devilishly good looks after being soaked in rain.” He slicked his hair back. “‘I think I have something for you, Ms. y/n.’ I said cooly and she looked at me with hungry eyes—”

“Hungry?!” You snorted, finally releasing your caged laughter. “This is a mystery film, Jungkook.”

Jungkook broke down in a fit of laughter, sinking to his knees and clutching his stomach. “Sor—Sorry! I couldn’t help it, it seemed to fit the moment. Let’s start again, come on,” he cleared his throat. “I think I have something for you, Ms. y/n.”

You wiped a tear from your eye and took a few deep breaths. “No, no, no. Come on, we have to reorganize the timeline.” You crawled back onto the floor to turn down the music.

“Aw, it was getting good.” Jungkook pouted.

Honestly, it really was. You didn’t expect Jungkook to actually follow through with your improv performance. He understood the dynamic, albeit he was turning it into something else, but it was still fun.

The rough draft was beginning to look alive. It took a lot of excessive research and a small disagreement, but it was starting to look near perfect. You were now staring blankly at the photos you needed to print out while Jungkook scrolled through his phone. He quietly sang along to a power ballad you played from your playlist and it was, in a way, comforting to listen to. Both you and Jungkook were immersed in whatever you two were doing, that neither of you noticed the sound of the front door opening.

“Hi honey, hello Jungkook.”

Jungkook flinched and flailed around almost dropping his phone. He stood up from the floor and straightened himself out to look presentable in front of your mother.

“Hello, Mrs—uh, um. Hello, auntie.” Jungkook smiled.

“Pffft.” You spurted and arose to give your mom a kiss on the cheek. “Hi mom.”

Your mother had a few grocery bags in hand and Jungkook rushed to assist her in carrying her things.

“Here are your tupperwares, auntie. Thank you for letting me use them.” Jungkook said politely.

“It’s no problem. Thank you for returning them. Your mother unloaded her grocery bags. “Do you want to stay for dinner, Jungkook?”

You snapped your head in their direction. In a way, you had a feeling your mother was going to offer him to stay over, but you were in denial about it. The last thing you wanted was to have your mother tell embarrassing stories from your childhood.

“Uh, um,” Jungkook looked at you in search for an answer and you just smiled. “Sure, auntie. I’d love to.”

“Perfect. It’s nothing special, I’m just whipping up a beef stir-fry.” Your mother tied on her apron. “Why don’t you two take a break from your project. Just wait in y/n’s room and I’ll let you two know when dinner is ready.”

“Mo-Mom!” Panic rose to your face and it was obvious Jungkook’s cheeks were just as pink as yours. Your mother raised an eyebrow and you sighed in defeat. “Okay..okay, this way, Jungkook.”

Great. Just great, This was going exactly the way you wanted it to.

↠↞

“Wow.” Jungkook trailed behind you with his hands in his pockets.

Your walls were splashed with a pastel lavender color and a few framed photos. A cluster of stuffed animals guarded your bed that was pushed at the corner of your room next to a window. There were fairy lights strung along your bed frame and around the window sill.

Your work desk was cluttered with papers, textbooks, and containers for all of your stationery needs. Just above your desk was a white board and a cork board with multiple polaroids and developed photos tacked to it. Beside your desk was a small bookshelf that carried books, some with cracked spines and withering edges. On top were framed photos, a snow globe, and a self-painted vase with a few fake flowers in them.

Even if you didn’t use much makeup, you still had a vanity that was setup near your closet. Jennie took the liberty to recommend a few makeup products that would suit your taste such as lip gloss, eyeliner, and a few eyebrow products; she purposely left some of her own makeup there for her benefit and yours too. You barely left the house with makeup, but there were rare occasions where you made the effort to do so.

“Sorry for the mess.” You rushed towards your desk to quickly tidy up. “Take any seat.”

Jungkook waited for you to settle yourself down at the head of your bed while he sat down on your desk chair. “I like your room. It feels almost nostalgic in a way.” He scanned the photos on your cork board and even on your bookshelf. “Is this your dad?”

He rolled over to the shelf and picked up a bright pink picture frame that had scuffs around the corners. The frame held a photo of you and your father from one of your birthdays. There was icing smeared all over both of your faces and you were smiling from ear to ear.

“Yeah. That was from my sixth birthday.” Even if the photo was far from you, you knew every single detail of it.

Jungkook held the frame and examined it in silence. You leaned over and watched as he cradled the frame in his fingertips. He grazed over the photo and settled it back on the shelf.

“I’m sorry, y/n. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you and your mom.”

You smiled at the back of his head. “Lighten up, Jeon. Sure, we miss him like crazy but we’re doing fine. I’m sure my dad is sitting on a reclining chair in heaven with a cup of coffee in one hand smiling down on me and my mom.”

Jungkook chuckled, still not looking in your direction. He kept his attention to the pictures on your cork board.

“Wow, you and Jennie have been friends forever, huh?” He stood up from the chair to take a better look at the photos.

“Yup! We’ve been sisters since kindergarten.” You beamed with pride. “Do you have anyone like that in your life?”

Jungkook hummed and stared at your photos a little longer. “Not exactly a friend, but my brother and I are really close. I would consider him my best friend.”

It occurred to you that you knew very little about Jungkook. You knew he had a brother who was two years older than Jungkook and you also knew his parents worked in the same office building but with different positions. This prompted you to ask a few questions about himself, nothing too personal, just enough to come off as friendly rather than an interrogator.

You learned that, just like you, Jungkook lived in the same house all his life. He and his brother played soccer together in elementary school, but Jungkook quit in the eighth grade while his brother continued thus granting him a soccer scholarship. His parents never forced college onto either of them, but still encouraged them to do their best in whatever studies or work field they decided to do.

The Jungkook sitting across from you was a completely different person. He wore a content facial expression and carried gentleness in his eyes. From what you observed, he was a social butterfly. Jungkook never hesitated to talk to people, be playful with them, and always made friends with everyone. The Jungkook in front of you was calm and collected, maybe because he was in an unfamiliar setting, but you enjoyed this version of him.

“You seem to cherish a lot of things.” He spun in your chair to take another glance around your room.

“Mhm. Having all of the good memories surrounding me makes me feel comfortable. It’s difficult for me to get out of my comfort zone, so my room is my safe haven.” You explained.

Jungkook turned his back to you again. “I see.”

“Hey,” your mother stood at your door frame. “Dinner’s ready.”

↠↞

Please. Please. Please.

You sat in your chair desperately hoping that your mother wasn’t going to do anything to embarrass you. Even if Jungkook wasn’t really your boyfriend, being embarrassed in front of a friend was already bad enough.

“Just eat up, okay Jungkook?” Your mother placed a large bowl of the beef stir-fry in the middle of the table. “I usually make it spicy, but I wasn’t sure if you like spicy food or not.”

Jungkook laughed while pouring a heaping amount of the stir-fry over his plate of rice. “I actually can’t handle spicy food that well, auntie. Thank you.”

Your mother returned to the table with a small bowl of sauce specifically for you to pour over your food. As you dressed up your meal with a dark red sauce that easily tickled your nose, Jungkook stared at your plate with wide eyes.

“Want to try a piece?” You asked.

“No...thank you.”

“Scared?” You teased with a smirk.

Jungkook squinted at you with lasers in his eyes. You held up a sliver of beef and a slice of a green bell pepper that was slathered in the spicy sauce with your fork. He leaned in about half way, clearly hesitating, but you heard him say shit under his breath and closed his lips around your utensil.

“Y/n.” Your mother sighed.

“What? He’ll be fine, mom.” You chuckled.

He chewed slowly, nodding his head as he let the flavors settle onto his taste buds. He glanced at your mother with a small smile and then turned to you with the same lasers in his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fi—” Before finishing his sentence, Jungkook put his head down and coughed harshly into his t-shirt. He then scrambled to reach for his glass of water to guzzle it down with streaks of water rolling down his chin.

“See, mom. He’s just fine.” You retreated into the kitchen only to return with a small spoonful of sugar. “Here, Jungkook. This helps better than water.”

First, you fed him a piece of your dinner and now you were feeding him sugar. You never fed him anything since you’ve known him and it all had to happen in front of your mother. It was such a coupley gesture and it genuinely shocked you.

“Honey…” your mother sighed.

“No, it's okay, auntie.” Jungkook coughed. “I’m fine, really.”

The two of you shared a quiet moment of eye contact before breaking out into a broken fit of laughter. It was weird. This was a situation that could easily make you uncomfortable, but you felt at ease. It was banter between friends and you had to admit, you enjoyed every second of it.

Dinner went a lot better than you expected however, your mother did bring up a few stories about how you cried easily as a child and that until now, you can’t watch The Titanic without bursting in tears. You facepalmed a few times wishing you could hide underneath the table, but Jungkook continued to smile at you, assuring you that he was having a grand time.

Jungkook complimented your mother’s tiny garden out front and mentioned that his own mother grows her own herbs; this was something you didn’t know. He even promised to bring a couple of herb seeds for your mother to plant some time.

You tried to avoid the thought, but Jungkook was doing a great job at being your fake boyfriend. It kind of terrified you because of how well he was getting along with your mother. This was dangerous because he wasn’t your real boyfriend and from your past experience with Sehun, you didn’t want your mother to get attached to Jungkook.

You looked over at Jungkook who was aiding your mother in putting the dishes in the sink. They were having a mild conversation about school and if you were a good tutor. It was a lovely sight to see; the way Jungkook smiled politely and chuckled nervously.

“Ah, mom, Auntie Eunbin is calling.” You walked into the kitchen with her cellphone in one hand and the rest of the dishes in the other.

“Oh, okay. Sorry you two, I’m going to have to take this call.” Your mother swapped her phone in your hand with the dish sponge and fled into the backyard; you assumed your auntie was calling to ask about your mother’s potted plants.

“My mom is probably gonna ask you to stay to have some ice cream, so be prepared.” You snickered and hovered over the sink.

“Can I stay?” Jungkook questioned.

“Yeah it’s fine. I hope you like fudge brownie ice cream, Jeon.” You poured dish soap onto the sponge and squeezed it a few times to get it nice and lathered. Just before you could even start scrubbing, Jungkook stole the sponge out of your hand and gently nudged you to the side with his hip.

“I’ll take this, thank you very much.” Jungkook said smugly.

“No, no, no, no. I don’t think so.” You tried to reach for the sponge, but Jungkook was at an advantage with his larger built body frame. “Jungkook, you’re a guest!”

“Exactly! So let me show my gratitude by doing the dishes.” He flug some of the soap suds at you and this triggered you to scoff and wipe the left over soap residue on his cheek.

For a good minute, you and Jungkook were attacking each other with soap and water, completely forgetting about the true objective: washing the damn dishes.

“Ahh! Jungk—”

In the blink of an eye, Jungkook encircled your wrist in his hand and had you caged against the kitchen counter. He leaned it and your breath was caught in your throat. Streaks of the soapy water were still visible on his face and you couldn’t help but look right into his eyes.

“Uh—umm…” you stammered.

“Y/n.” He breathed. “I got this.”

The bass of his voice shook you and you had to fight the blush that was rising to your cheeks.

“Oh...kay…” your voice came out as a whisper and you could feel your chest tighten.

Jungkook let go of your wrist and reeled himself away from you. The hand that was once around your wrist was now on top of your head and there was a beaming smile plastered on his face. “Perfect! It worked!”

You blinked a few times as you allowed yourself to get pushed off to the side. Jungkook casually began to wash the dishes and smiled at you one more time.

“It worked? It—?! Jeon, you asshole!” You laughed and grabbed onto his shirt, shaking him side to side.

It was weird.

You never imagined a day in your life where you’d be standing in your kitchen smiling and joking around with Jeon Jungkook. It didn’t feel strange or unfamiliar, it was like you two had been friends for a while.

So weird.

↠↞

“You know what sounds great right now? Watching The Titanic.” Jungkook quipped.

You nudged your knee against Jungkook’s and ate a spoonful of ice cream.

Just as you predicted, your mother invited Jungkook to stay a little longer to enjoy a scoop or two of ice cream. He eagerly agreed which led the two of you to sit side by side on the sofa watching a true crime series on the television.

Instead of a scoop or two, Jungkook had two mugfuls of ice cream and as tempting as it was to eat more, he refused. You ended up feeding him some of your share because why the fuck not, you’ve been hand feeding him the entire night might as well keep the ball rolling.

“I can’t believe my mom mentioned that.” You groaned and held a spoonful of ice cream to Jungkook’s mouth.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He swallowed. “Hell, I still cry watching A Walk to Remember—”

Jungkook froze and tilted his gaze towards you, hoping to not make eye contact but you were already gawking at him.

“I mean—”

“You cry when you watch A Wal—”

“I didn’t say anything.”

You let out a teasing chuckle. “Well, well, I know what we’re going to watch next time.”

Jungkook swiftly grabbed the mug out of your hands and sulked into the couch cushions.

��If we’re watching A Walk to Remember, then we’re also watching The Titanic.” Now it was his turn to offer you a scoop of your own ice cream. It was a risky deal, but you agreed regardless. As much as you didn’t want to show him your crying face, the desire to see what he looked like when he cried was stronger.

You probably said okay, let’s get back to work after this episode about three times. All of your papers were still sprawled across the table and the true crime series was still playing. At this point, the project was already long forgotten.

At the next commercial, Jungkook stretched out his limbs and let out a strangled whine.

“Whew, I haven’t been this full with good food in a while.” He leaned over to the side and rested a hand on his stomach.

“Oh yeah, I forgot! I hope this didn’t ruin your diet.” You collected the mugs to leave them soaking in the sink.

“It’s alright. I’ve been juggling between the meals and snacks you gave me with other smaller meals, so a dinner like this won’t hurt me too bad.” He explained. “The lettuce wraps and roasted sweet potatoes are my favorite by the way.”

You joined him back on the couch and crossed your legs. “I’ll make you more next time.”

“No, y/n. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“It’s fine.” You smiled. “I had a lot of fun making it. I don’t cook much anyway, so I felt like a chef.”

Jungkook smiled at you and inched a bit closer to you. “Okay, well let’s both go to the supermarket together next time so I can pay for the ingredients at least. I don’t want you to spend your money.”

You definitely judged Jungkook too quickly.

He was a sweet and courteous guy. You probably just didn’t trust handsome faces, especially ones who were as social as Jungkook. He also became easy to talk to and someone you could joke around with. Besides getting a good grade on the history project, a friendship with him was another positive outcome from this fake relationship deal.

“Deal.” You replied.

The true crime episode came back on and both of your attention immediately went back to the television. Your eyes danced along the screen, then down to the cable box.

9:31

Holy shit. It’s already this late?!

“Hey, Jungkook.” He turned to you. “What time do you have to be home?”

He then looked over at the cable box and then back at his phone.

“Oh shit. I didn’t even realize it was this late already.” He chuckled. “Uh, I should be heading home.”

Huh?

For a second, you felt… disappointed?

“I’ll help you clean up first. We did quite the number to your living room.” Jungkook laughed again.

You both began to tidy up the living room in silence, probably because the two of you were still trying to watch the true crime episode.

“I’ll walk you out.” You smiled at him.

After letting your mother know that Jungkook was going to leave, they said their goodbyes, and Jungkook followed you out your front door.

“It’s cold as fuck out here.” Jungkook shivered. “You should’ve just stayed inside, y/n.”

You shook your head. “No can do. I have to make sure I see my guests out.”

Jungkook nodded his head and unlocked his car, tossing his back in the passenger seat.

No matter what the weather or situation was, you always made sure to walk your guests out to be sure that they made it into their cars safely.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask,” you began. “Do you always open the car doors for people? Cuz’ I always have to walk my guests out. Is it the same thing?”

Jungkook closed the door and leaned on his car. He crossed his arms and gave it some thought. “Yeah, I guess it’s sort of like that. When I was a kid, my dad used to always tell me and my brother to open the car door for our mom because it was something ‘a man should do.’” He explained and you smiled a little imagining the sixth grade version of Jungkook opening the car door for his mother. “As I grew up, I guess it just stuck with me. I only do it with girls though, my guy friends know how to get in a car.”

You laughed. “I guess it’s kind of like me then.”

A gust of cold wind blew and you rubbed your arms.

“Well, thanks for coming over, Jeon. Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” He smiled.

Jungkook stood there for a moment and honestly, you were hoping he was going to get inside his car soon because he was right, it was cold as fuck outside. He lifted an arm and tugged you by your forearm to have you flush against his body. He enveloped you in a hug and it caught you completely off guard. Your hands were pressed against his car, hesitating to return the gesture, but eventually you circled your arms around his torso.

“You know, y/n, you mentioned in your room that you find it hard to leave your comfort zone and I really can’t thank you enough for being my fake girlfriend.” He said softly. “We both got out of serious relationships and getting to know you a little better, I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for you to go from holding hands with Sehun to me all of a sudden.”

You blinked a few times.

Now this was out of the blue.

“It—It was probably harder for you. You dated Chaeyoung for like three years.” You explained into his chest.

“Heh… I guess you’re right.” He gently rubbed your back. “But, really, thank you for doing this for me. It was selfish of me to ask and I hope you’re not going to hate me after it’s all over.”

You laughed thinking about how you gained a new friendship with Jungkook. “I won’t. You’re a good guy, Jungkook.”

Silence filled the air once again and you were thankful that your face was buried in Jungkook’s chest. You didn’t dare look into his eyes.

“S’warm….” you hummed.

It didn’t occur to you that you said that out loud until Jungkook chuckled and hugged you tighter.

“I told you to stay inside.” He let you go and gently nudged you to walk back up your driveway.

“I’ll be fine.” You laughed, watching him get into his car. “Drive safe!”

Jungkook waved at you, gesturing you to go inside but you countered, waving him off so he can drive off first. This went on for a while until he finally gave in, starting his car. You stood in your driveway just until his car disappeared from your line of sight. Just as fast as he left, you sprinted into your house and pressed your back against the front door.

The noise of the television filled the room but you paid it no mind. If you had to be honest with yourself, at the beginning, you thought of just discarding Jungkook as an acquaintance overall once this whole facade was over. You imagined your life going back to the way it used to be: undisturbed, going at one pace, and staying focused on yourself and school. This was the plan. You thought you had it set in stone.

Now, you weren’t sure if you were ready to leave this temporary chaotic lifestyle anytime soon. But just because Jungkook wasn’t going to be your fake boyfriend anymore didn’t mean anything else had to change. You still had a new bond with him and once it was all over, that new friendship was going to remain.

You dipped your head and blankly stared at the wooden floor.

“I guess leaving my comfort zone once in a while isn’t always a bad thing.”

♡ rae jagi

#bangtan boys #bts #bts fanfic #jungkook #jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook #bts fluff #jungkook fluff #fake relationship au #deadline #20200221 #babykookie #rae writes

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cupcake-michaela · 4 years

Text

At a Crossroads- Chapter 1

Belle can already feel her head start to throb as she walks into First Order Tattooing to start her day. She tried willing it away as she unlocked the front door, flipping on the lights as she walked through the building to the back office. She currently handles all of the books and ordering, because the Maker knows that Ben and his band of morons would never be able to do it on their own. She didn't plan for things to turn out this way, she used to work with her mom in Government during the war. She handled the delivery of Top Secret instructions, of course that was back before Snoke was defeated and his Army disintegrated. If she were to be completely honest, she doesn't even remember what the war was fought over. She just knew she wanted out before it destroyed everything, everyone, she loved. So that's how she ended up at First Order Tattooing. She had met a man, fell in love, failed at that, so she ran away.

Belle sighed, looking at the paperwork that Ben had yet again failed to sign. Shaking her head she put all the papers that needed his signature together, hoping to catch him before his first client. Setting them aside, she settled in to start her day. While she handled mainly paperwork, she was also trained, and highly skilled, at piercings. She and Gwen handled most of the piercings, while Ben, Hux, and Jannah took care of the tattooing. There used to be a few others who worked with them, but they usually didn't stay long. They were a tight knit group and it was hard to break in. Jannah could attest to that. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was dating Finn, she probably never would have stuck around like she did. After their break up, Jannah stuck around on principle. Finn was the one at fault. He was the traitor.

The sound of the door bell brought her out of the thoughts. Moving back to the front of the building, Belle caught sight of her brothers shaggy dark hair, and a flash of bright blonde. "Yeah. I can do that Phas." She heard him telling Gwen, who was going by Phasma this week.

"Do what?" She asked, looking them both over. Ben was wearing all black as per usual, but a short sleeve shirt that showed the tattoos lining his arms, while Gwen, sorry Phasma, was wearing black leather pants that accentuated her long legs perfectly, topped with a pretty, maroon top that was more straps than anything else.

"I have this piece I want done, and you know your brothers a god with a tattoo gun, so I asked him if he'd be able to do it." Phasma told her, pulling the picture up on her phone.

"That he is." Belle said, thinking about the piece on her back that he did for her. Turning to Ben she handed him the papers, "Sign these so I can get them sent out. I'm tried of having to chase you down to get a signature."

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes, signing the forms.

"Oh, also if all of your accounts are open under the name Kylo Ren, then that's how you should sign your name dumbass." She said, thinking about the conversation with the electric company.

"Hey," he said, turning to her and kissing her on the forehead, "Chill. Things are fine. You stress out way too much."

"And you don't?" Gwen asked, from where she was looking out the window. "Oh, did you here that Maz sold the thrift store?"

"She did?" Ben asked, glancing at Belle.

Belle shrugged. "She said something about it the last time I was at mom's for dinner."

Ben grunted in response, not happy that Belle still went to family dinners. He himself quit a long time ago, having had a falling out with his dad. He only showed up at his parents house if his mom tracked him down and forced him now. Belle only went if she knew that HE wasn't going to be there. He didn't understand why his sister still put herself through the family drama. "Who cares. As long as they leave us alone, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Who knows, maybe one of the new owners is a cute guy?" Gwen said shrugging as Hux walked though the door causing the bell to go off again.

"Well if you're talking about our new neighbors then you are not going to be happy." Hux said in his usual uptight tone. For a dude who worked in a tattoo shop you'd think he wouldn't be so uptight, but here we are.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, handing the signed papers back to Belle, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I saw your mother walk in with the traitor and some girl." Hux said, the distaste clear in his voice.

Ben and Belle shared a look. "Our mother?"

"Why would she be with Finn?" Belle asked, moving to look out the window. Sure enough, her car sat out front of the building next door.

"Well, why don't you go ask her?" Gwen asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean after all, someone is going to have to go talk to them eventually. We do share internet and parking with Maz. Should probably find out if that's still happening, or if we should change the wifi password."

"Fuck." Ben muttered, looking at Belle. "Please don't make me."

Belle crossed her arms. "If I have to go, so do you."

"Belle, if I see him I'm going to hit him."

"Then we'll deal with the girl. I'm not going by myself Ben."

It was clear to everyone in the room that Belle had won this particular fight. Since he'd changed his name to Kylo Ren, she didn't call him Ben in public anymore. Not unless she was extremely upset, or wasn't taking his shit. If his name came out, he usually did what ever if was that she asked, mainly to keep her from getting too upset. He may seem like this angsty emo kid with anger management problems, but when if came to his twin he'd do anything to keep her safe and happy. It had caused problems in some of his previous relationships with how close he and Belle were. They didn't understand that no matter what happens, he knew she was the one he could count on, just as he was for her. Even if they had no one, they'd have each other.

"Fine, let's go visit the traitor." Ben said, moving to the door. "We're not fucking sharing internet anymore."

~~~

"Stay calm." Belle told him as they stood outside of the door to the antiques shop. "We're just here to talk to them about parking, and let them know that they will need their own Internet."

"I know."

"We're not here to fight. With Finn or mom."

"I know."

"Ben, I'm serious." Belle said, grabbing her brother to face her. "I'm not here to make an already bad situation worse. We still have to tell Jannah before..."

"Tell me what?" A voice asked from behind her.

Belle turned around and came face to face with Jannah. She was wearing a First Order Tattooing t-shirt over shorts, her hair and make-up done the same way she does is everyday, wild like her. She looked happy. It took a long time after she and Finn split for her to even smile without the help of alcohol and here he was again to fuck up her life.

"Ben, why don't you go ahead inside while I catch Jannah up?" Belle asked, turning back to her brother, ignoring the face he made at her. "I'll be right behind you."

"Ben huh?" Jannah asked, as Ben walked into the shop. "What's going on?"

"So, I'm not going to beat around the bush." Belle told her friend. "You deserve to know what's going on, and you deserve to hear it from us."

"B. Whats going on?"

"Maz sold the antiques store." Belle said, watching the confusion cloud her friends face. "To Finn."

Jannah's expression went from confused to cold in an instant. "Oh. Well good for him I guess."

"Jannah..." Belle said, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. She let her hand fall as Jannah took a step back to avoid the touch.

"I'm going to go to work." She said, turning her back to Belle.

Belle sighed watching her friend walk into the tattoo parlor. 'My head is starting to throb again.' She thought, just as she heard yelling coming from the antiques shop. Belle sighed again, walking into the shop to see her brother and a pretty brunette screaming at each other. Finn was standing beside the girl looking just as angry, while her mother sat in one of the chairs the store sold. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the door. This was going to take a while.

"You're going to call the cops on me?" Ben asked sarcastically. "I'm not afraid of you little girl. You're nothing but a little scavenger. At least I know how to run a fucking business."

"What a dirty tattoo parlor in the middle of nowhere? I'm real impressed." The girl snapped back, the accent startling Belle.

Belle opened her mouth to say something as the back door opened and there stood the one man she never wanted to see again. Poe Dameron.

#Michaela's At a Crossroads #Poe Dameron #poe dameron fic #poe dameron smut #star wars #star wars fic #I love this man

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maddie-grove · 5 years

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Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up: May/June

PLAYLIST

“How Do You Do” by Mouth and MacNeal (Once Ghosted, Twice Shy)

“Up the Wolves” by the Mountain Goats (Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey)

“The Daughters” by Little Big Town (Lady Rogue)

“9 to 5″ by Dolly Parton (Lady Notorious)

“Let the Little Girl Dance” by Billy Bland (What a Wallflower Wants)

“Poison Arrow” by ABC (Give Me Your Hand)

“Marie-Jeanne” by Joe Dassin (Never Mind)

“Mississippi” by the Dixie Chicks (An Unconditional Freedom)

“Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind (Bad News)

“Honky Cat” by Elton John (Simple Jess)

“A Weekend in the Country” from A Little Night Music (Some Hope)

“Picture Book” by the Kinks (Mother’s Milk)

“A Place in the Sun” by Stevie Wonder (At Last)

“She’s in Love with the Boy” by Trisha Yearwood (A Dance with Danger)

“Little Hollywood Girl” by the Everly Brothers (Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood)

BEST OF THE BI-MONTH

An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole (2019): Daniel Cumberland, a free black man from New England, had his faith in justice and certainty in the world shattered when he was abducted and sold into slavery. Now rescued, he does what he can as a spy for the pro-Union Loyal League, but he has a lot of rage and trauma that nobody knows what to do with, least of all himself. Then a new spy joins the organization: Janeta Sanchez, a mixed-race Cuban-Floridian lady pulled in too many directions by her white Confederate family and now in desperate straits. Once again, Alyssa Cole has produced a book that’s not only a compelling romance but a fascinating historical novel. Daniel and Janeta are both complex, involving characters with a great dynamic, plus Cole provides a great perspective on less-discussed aspects of the Civil War.

WORST OF THE BI-MONTH

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole (2019): Likotsi Adele, personal assistant to the prince of Thesolo, came to New York City a year ago for work and had what was supposed to be a casual affair with Fabiola, a gorgeous fledgling fashion designer. Just when her feelings were getting involved, though, Fabiola cut things off with no explanation. Now back in NYC on vacation, Likotsi runs into Fabiola, who proposes that they go on a date for old time’s sake. Although it’s technically the worst of the month, this novella is by no means bad; on the contrary, it’s very cute and sweet, with a pretty sexy love scene near the end. It just suffers from common romance novella pitfalls, mainly a dearth of conflict and some pacing problems.

REST OF THE BI-MONTH

Never Mind (1992), Bad News (1992), Some Hope (1994), Mother’s Milk (2005), and At Last (2011) by Edward St. Aubyn: Across five novellas, Patrick Melrose, son of an aristocratic non-practicing doctor and a charity-minded heiress, struggles with the legacy of his father’s sadistic abuse and his mother’s elaborately cultivated helplessness to intervene. The series follows him from early childhood (Never Mind) to drug-addled early adulthood (Bad News, Some Hope) to slightly more functional middle age (Mother’s Milk, At Last). I’ve never read such enjoyable fiction about the boredom and exhaustion of dealing with trauma and addiction, but St. Aubyn manages it with sharp characterization, whistling-in-the-dark humor, and a great sense of setting. I didn’t like all the novellas equally--Bad News has too many scenes about doing large amounts of heroin for my personal taste, and Some Hope sometimes loses track of its many characters--but, taken together, they’re magnificent.

Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood by Karina Longworth (2018): Using the life and career of billionaire/producer/aviator/womanizer Howard Hughes, Longworth (the podcast host of You Must Remember This) looks at Hollywood from the silent era to the waning days of the studio system. I love You Must Remember This, and this book exhibits all the strengths of the podcasts: the compelling style, the evenhanded consideration of evidence from multiple sources, and the use of film analysis to examine what was happening in the culture at the time. Longworth’s portrait of Hughes is also refreshingly non-sensational; he comes across as a juvenile reactionary with a little vision, too much money, and some pitiable mental health problems, rather than a genius or a boogeyman.

Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi (1996): Althea Winsloe, an Ozark widow in the early twentieth century, is determined to remain unmarried and look after her three-year-old son by herself, despite the disapproval of her close-knit community. Still needing help on her farm, she hires Jesse Best, regarded as “simple” because of a cognitive disability stemming from a childhood brain injury. As they work together, Althea realizes that Jesse has depths that few people bother to see. I was a little concerned when I began this romance; the hero has serious, life-altering issues with mental processing, which I thought might create a troubling power dynamic between him and the heroine. Instead, Morsi contributes something really valuable by showing how society ignores the autonomy and complexity of people with disabilities. She also does a great job of showing how a close-knit community can be both claustrophobic and supportive. Finally, I enjoyed the journey of a gay side character (the song’s for him!).

Lady Notorious by Theresa Romain (2019): When George, Lord Northbrook, discovers that his father is part of a tontine whose members have started dying at an alarmingly fast rate, he enlists the help of Cassandra Benton, an unofficial Bow Street Runner, to investigate the possible murders while pretending to be his scandalous cousin. Already friends, they grow attracted to each other during this charade, but they come from different worlds and each have a complicated family thing going on. This is a thoroughly likable romance with a fun plot; I especially enjoyed how George’s efforts to care for his emotionally distant parents mirrored Cassandra’s struggles to let go of her codependent relationship with her twin brother.

Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1996): Fifteen-year-old Tish Bonner doesn’t have much time for school; with an absent father, a troubled mother, and an eight-year-old brother she feels responsible for, she’s too busy trying to hold things together at home. When her father makes an unwelcome return, though, she finds an outlet in the journal assigned by a nice young English teacher who promises not to read entries marked DO NOT READ. I first read this YA novel in middle school, and it struck me as particularly unvarnished, both then and as an adult. Teens in horrible situations are common in the genre, but Tish’s matter-of-fact presentation the day-to-day of dealing with sexual harassment at work and total parental abandonment at home really brings out the utter bleakness. I love Tish, whose ultimate acceptance of her inability to handle everything alone is as brave as her desperate efforts to keep everything together.

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott (2018): Kit Owens, a talented chemist from humble beginnings, is shocked when former classmate Diane Fleming comes to work in her lab. Although Diane was the one who inspired her to reach beyond community college, she also burdened Kit with a horrible secret...and now they’re in competition to work on a prestigious new grant. I love Megan Abbott as a writer; she has a very sensory-based way of describing things that makes everything palpable. While I didn’t love this book as much as The Fever, it has a delightfully twisted plot and female characters who are “bad” in a realistic (or, at least, a humanely portrayed) way. I did probably like Diane more than I was supposed to; like Lady Audley before her, she should maybe go to jail but she’s still awesome.

A Dance with Danger by Jeannie Lin (2015): In Tang Dynasty China, Jin-mei, daughter of a magistrate, finds herself in a compromising position with Yang, her father’s old associate and sworn enemy of a local warlord. Their mutual attraction makes the ensuing wedding a more pleasant fate than either expected, but Yang disappears mysteriously before the marriage can be consummated. Heartbroken and very suspicious, Jin-mei refuses to give him up for dead. This is a fun adventure-romance with a wonderfully spooky atmosphere, although the ending is a little rushed.

Lady Rogue by Theresa Romain (2018): After her sub-par art-dealer husband apparently committed suicide, Lady Isabel Morrow grew close to and had a fling with Officer Callum Jenks, a Bow Street Runner. Now she’s discovered that her husband sold his customers forged works, and she needs to (awkwardly) enlist Callum’s help in replacing them with the real ones. This is a solid Regency romance, mostly thanks to the fun burglary plot. Isabel and Callum’s relationship, while perfectly pleasant, is rather static; they obviously like and respect each other, but just need a little time to reconcile themselves to the not-onerous-to-them social costs of a cross-class marriage. There’s also a real bummer of a development involving a minor character at the end. I’m not averse to bummers, but it felt out of place here.

What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale (2014): Stranded at a strange inn after a failed elopement attempt, secretly traumatized spinster Penelope Payton finds a friend in the striking Lord Castleton...but is he who he says he is? Absolutely not, but he’s pretty cool regardless. This is a sweet, heartfelt Regency romance with endearing leads and great messages, but it’s pretty sloppily written, and that detracted from my enjoyment somewhat.

#books #reading #theme: i'm not one of those people who goes around having fun

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wannawrite · 7 years

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Welcome To My Highschool

who: Wanna One's Park Woojin genre: 🌸 type: bullet point blog navigator.

ps: you guys should check out @alliwannado-w1‘s HS! AU too! Euiwoong | Hyungseob

• HS! AU • how Park Woojin would be like in high school i'm kinda bad at high school related scenarios but I'll give it a go! thanks for requesting, anon! also I love ‘Welcome to my Hollywood’ so much Daehwi is so talented God bless. Bless Donghyun, bless Youngmin, bless Woojin. - Admin L

• woojin is that student who is kind of in between ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ • ho ho ho get ready for some two months early Christmas scenarios • even though I haven’t really done Fall/Halloween ones • request box is open btw ;) • Woojin definitely isn’t the brightness student or the nicest person - but only because he is shy around strangers • but there’s no way he’s the ‘student/classmate from hell’ • if he is tardy, it isn’t out of ill intention you know • he genuinely overslept that day because he was studying hard for his mathematics exam • fell asleep in class only because he was coming down with the flu and felt awful • genuinely tries his best to be an angelic student, though he can be a savage • but really, he never has bad intentions • Woojin’s grades aren’t the best and he doesn’t really have a ‘best subject’ • it’s more like no failures but Bs - Cs across the board • no worries! he’s always improving! • focuses well in class and always takes notes even if they’re somewhat messy • but it’s the aesthetic messy • probably runs a popular studygram that not even his best friends know about • that classmate you don’t really talk to but wouldn’t hesitate to help him with math problems or notes because he seems so nice and innocent • a reliable friend you can depend on for notes • the classmate who will allow you to borrow his headphones if you ask • nicely • Woojin is also the resident dance king • in fact, the dance club only exists because of him • okay so this is where he gets a tad bit more naughty • the reason is kind of because he started a dance battle with a Senior, Noh Taehyun in the cafeteria • and the principal came to break it up but he saw the talent in the two dancers and was like ‘holy shit we actually have talent here we need a dance club’ • and now Woojin is the vice-president of the dance club • Taehyun is the president but he’s graduating soon :( • remember when they had disputes at first doshakdjd • lowkey the both of them are a little competitive with each other but that’s okay because they both know their limits • no joke, woojin is really talented we all know that • is one of the head choreographers despite being a Sophomore and forms majority of the dances • leads the club really well and Taehyun is assured that the legacy will continue even after he graduates • shies away from signing up for competitions and only writes other members names • even though he knows he’s good enough, he is hesitant • but Eunki always secretly scribbles his name down before sending the list in • all the talent is in Brand New High School - College dance team tbh • they won :”) • but really, who wouldn’t expect them to • Taehyun treated all of them to barbecue after • they eat well all the time • during dance practice, he’s that crazy guy who can’t seem to sit still • he just loves dancing okay • reversal charms, no one expected him to be so loud, sarcastic - to a certain extent, or even outspoken • likes to take random videos of dance practices • ‘hey, guys! this is a dance practice in the life of Woojin, welcome back!’ • his Snapchat story and IG story is always filled with those vlog style videos • ‘ah yes, here we have Seongwoo hyung working really hard’ • ‘ohhh, Jung Jung hyung, why aren’t you sweating as much as me? Did you not put in your best effort?’ • tbh it’s like a crack video even though he’s serious about it • will voice out his ideas for choreography openly but not rudely • no one saw this Woojin coming • Woojin is that kind of guy who keeps his circle small and the space in his heart smaller • like he knows a lot of people and has mutual acquaintances but it isn’t like they’re close • like Seniors, Juniors in the dance club • only has a couple of tight-knit friends but they’re also graduating soon • someone save him, please • *drum rolls* • the Avengers are here! • he’s that guy who is in a really popular, like really popular clique • everyone calls them the ‘Avengers’ • originally, he wasn’t in that line-up but Ha Sungwoon fell for his dance charms and invited him to sit with them for lunch one day • the rest is history, all of them are like brothers now • naturally, Woojin is pretty popular himself but he never realises it ??? • that kind of popularity that lands him a ton of roses, chocolates, teddy bears and cards on Valentine’s Day • his hyungs tease him about it 24/7 • sometimes other students wonder how he got into Avengers because before that, they have never heard of him • he’s just shy and somewhat socially awkward so he didn’t really approach too many people in his class • the quiet guy who only voices out his opinions from time to time in clique meetings • then again, the guy who can beat anyone at a dance/rap battle • once, a Senior challenged him to a diss track battle during lunch • Taehyun and Youngmin were like ‘hell no do you want death?’ • ‘from Woojin’s fans or from his rap?’ • ‘....both probably but mainly his diss track’ • SOMEONE WENT TO STEAL A FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR THE BATTLE I KID YOU NOT • Haknyeon nearly fainted and Jihoon’s mouth couldn’t close properly • I realise he covers his mouth in a cute manner no offence • I’m not saying Taehyun recorded Woojin’s rap and then choreographed a dance for it but that’s exactly what I’m saying • Daehwi knew he made a good decision adding Woojin to the Avengers • he’s nearly as trickass as Jinyoung • totally the type to secretly want to participate in high school Sports Day races but is too scared • whines about it to his friends absent-mindedly so Samuel pens ‘Park Woojin’ on the sign-up sheet • is nearly killed by Woojin when he found out - through an email in his school inbox • you know, his thing for flipping people over • Samuel doesn’t regret it though because Woojin is hella athletic and won that race for their team • cue celebration and lots of tears • dad smiles from a lot of the Seniors watching • Dongho’s smile makes me cry it’s beautiful • then on the other team we have Sungwoon throwing his cap to the ground out of frustration right after losing • ‘okay, I just want to know who wrote my name down for the race against Woojin. All of you know my legs are much shorter than his’ he demands, holding up the sheet of paper that had his name written next to Woojin’s • Ong just subtly slips away, ‘oh wow my water bottle is full! I need to water the grass and refill it!’ • it’s safe to say Sungwoon was chasing Ong around the track for a solid hour • the Avengers volunteer to help set-up for this year’s Fall Formal, Woojin isn’t super sure of what he should do • ‘uh, just help to add ideas and so on’ one of the main committee members tells him • gets frustrated because he feels like he isn’t helping as much as the rest of his friends are • thinks about talking Daehwi out of volunteering • what does he like? what can he show? • ding! *lightbulb* • dance • decides to propose a song and a dance that he can choreograph + involves the dance team • gets really excited and starts SMILING a lot • his smile is adorable I love his snaggletooth so much • immediately, the whole planning committee cheers up with that one smile and outburst of ideas from him • Woojin has that effect • his ‘sexy baby, oh my lady’ during the dance was kind of uncalled for but everyone loved it • now the committee is begging him to join the planning committee full-time as they have never achieved such a positive response before • definitely contributes a significant amount of ideas and thoughts to planning even if he doesn’t know much • always gives his 110% for any class projects, other student battle to have him in their group • ‘scissors paper stone! I win! I can ask Woojin to join us now!’ • but ask nicely when it comes to him • Woojin is also that student who can yell at you for 12 hours straight but can also keep quiet for 12 hours • at first, he was that shy new kid who melted into lockers in the corridor and who no one really paid attention too • even getting bossed around by some of the Seniors • but as time goes on, he discovers his potential and abilities • such as playing pranks on his older friends, embracing his goofy side and messing around • ah yes he once got up and danced on a cafeteria table • Youngmin still has that video on his phone btw • and of course, he got to know more good-natured and trustworthy friends • with a little help, he gained confidence and is now loved and appreciated by the entire student body • his high school years are some of the best • not exactly his Hollywood but one of the more enjoyable things of teenage years

#Admin L #wanna one #wanna one scenarios #produce 101 #produce 101 scenarios #yoon jisung #ha sungwoon #hwang minhyun #ong seongwoo #kang daniel #kim jaehwan #park woojin #park jihoon #bae jinyoung #lee daehwi #lai guanlin

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jiminsa · 7 years

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His Throne [KNJ] | 03 final

Genre: smut, angst, fluff

Word Count: 6,094

Summary: You, a maid for the royal family, have sex with the irresistible prince Kim Namjoon on his throne.

A/N: if you listen closely you can hear me ugly sobbing, it’s finally finished! Sorry it took so long, but as promised to a follower, I’m posting Namjoon first! Also sorry it’s not as fluffy/happy as y’all had hoped. I really can’t do fluff (PCs to Vikttoria16)

Parts: 01 | 02 | 03

You shuffled between tables, wiping them clean of the drunken mistakes the village’s fustian knights left behind. You were so tired of working at the local inn, but it was the only way you could afford to adequately support yourself.

It’d been two months since you left the palace to find work elsewhere, and not a day’s gone by where you haven’t thought of Namjoon. Sometimes you wish you could go back. You left behind so much more than the love of your life; you left your friends, your integrity, your home. It was hard on you having to adjust to your new environment, all alone, with no one to support you the way Namjoon always silently did.

But then you think of Namjoon with Jisoo… It just wasn’t worth it to you to stay in the palace knowing you came so close to something only to let it slip away without a fight. That constant reminder would tauntingly dangle in front of you every time you made their bed or cooked their breakfast.

You had to leave, for your sake and for his. Without saying a word to anyone, you disappeared from the palace and into the night. You figured there was no point in telling anyone; it's not like Namjoon would've stopped you if you'd said anything anyway. You weren't sure what you were going to do after you left, you just knew you couldn’t take anymore of the suffering of watching Namjoon care for someone that wasn't you.

Luckily for you, not long after you arrived at the barren town, the inn’s owner was kind enough to give you a job as a maid and server for the pub connected to the inn. She even allowed you to live in one of the inn’s old storage rooms. It wasn’t much different from the room you stayed in at the palace, so it was comforting in a sense. You could easily cry yourself to sleep on the pile of blankets you called a bed, just like in the palace. It was almost like home.

A month after arriving at the inn, you began to feel very fatigue. You brushed it off as a symptom of overworking yourself at the pub, but what could you do when it was your only source of income? So you continued working until you started feeling nauseous in the early mornings in addition to your weariness. That’s when you realized, you were pregnant. You told Sumi, the innkeeper, about your pregnancy because you felt scared and alone. How were you supposed to raise a child on your own? The worst part was your baby would grow up without ever knowing their father.

It was then that Sumi became like a mother to you. She listened to your problems, soothed your aching heart with warm hugs, and loved you like no other. You trusted her more than you've ever trusted anybody before. Not even a month after you met, you felt comfortable enough with her to tell her about your relationship with the crowned prince. You knew she'd keep your secret safe, and it felt liberating to finally be able to tell someone that you loved Kim Namjoon.

And that he loved you, too.

After you finished cleaning off the tables and sweeping the floor, you grabbed one of the many candles that lit the pub and disappeared behind the bar. It was around midnight, ten minutes past closing, and about time you locked up the entrance of the pub. You searched the shelves under the bar and shuffled around old rags trying to find the key. Usually it hangs on a hook under the countertop, but of course you forgot to put it there after you opened this morning.

Sumi always berated you for your carelessness - you were always misplacing things. You never did that at the palace. Then again, you were mainly in charge of cleaning and cooking, not watching over small dumb keys. The lack of light didn't help. No matter how many candles or lanterns you lit, the pub would never be bright enough for you.

Eventually you noticed the key at the back of the shelf behind a glass mug. You probably shoved it back there on accident after putting a cup back.

As you reached for the key, you heard the door of the pub open and then shut with a loud thud.

Oh, great, you thought. Probably another drunk.

There were too many occasions in which you had to chase out a drunkard - some nice, others not so much. You really hoped it was just someone asking for directions or the innkeeper coming to tell you to hurry up. You mentally prepared yourself to meet the unidentified stranger.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized as you stood up, “but we’re closed.”

The stranger jumped at your voice, his back turned to you. Finally, he turned around and faced you. You immediately recognized his face; he was one of the pub’s regulars.

He greeted you with a smile. “Uh, hi.”

By his steady voice and somewhat calm composure, you assumed he wasn't drunk. He looked like he was around your age, maybe a couple of years older. His hair was dark brown and laid flat against his forehead.

He scratched the back of his head and knitted his brows together as he took a step towards you. “I don't know if you remember me, but I was here earlier today…”

“Yeah,” you said. “I remember.”

The sheepish grin he bared widened. “Well, my name's Taehyung, and I was - uh - I wanted to ask you this earlier but timing wasn’t right. You were so busy getting people their orders and stuff. I didn’t wanna bother you. But I was kinda wondering if… you’d wanna go out sometime?”

You couldn't help but smile and let out a small chuckle. He came all this way, this late at night, to ask you out. His rambling gave away his nervousness which you found cute.

That thought suddenly left you as it sunk in just what he was asking. It'd only been two months since you left the palace. You weren't sure if you were ready to start seeing other people. You wanted to move on because you were so tired of crying over a married man that you'd probably never see again, but wasn't two months too soon?

When you didn't say anything, Taehyung cleared his throat. “We could just get something to eat? Doesn't have to be anything serious.” He tried to convince you to say yes.

“I don't know…” you responded.

“Just one date.” Taehyung motioned the number one with his pointer finger and took another step closer to you. “And then if you don't think we could be anything serious, we can just be friends.”

Would this be a good idea? You asked yourself. You knew you'd never get over Namjoon if you just stayed at the inn and worked, but you didn’t want to go out with this guy just to help yourself get over someone. Taehyung didn’t deserve that.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think...” your voice trailed off. You wanted to tell him no, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say it. He seemed so nice; he was always smiling and laughing when he’d drink with his friends at the pub. He had a cute smile that was hard to forget.

If it weren't for Namjoon, you probably would've said okay without a second thought.

Taehyung’s smile faltered slightly, and you immediately felt bad and wanted to take back your rejection.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” his smile was back, only not as bright as before. “If you ever change your mind, just let me know.”

Taehyung turned around to leave.

Would one date really be that bad? He did say it’d be enough. Who knows, I might actually have fun. You debated with yourself some more, still unsure if you wanted to go or not.

You thought about Namjoon again. He would have wanted you to go. He would want you to move on and be happy. You could hear his voice in the back of your mind, and you could see his dimpled smile, the one you loved so much, form as he’d say, “Come on, Princess, this guy could be your new prince.” You could hear him telling you it wasn't like you to be so hesitant.

As Taehyung neared the door, you senselessly called out to him, “Wait!”

With his hand on the doorknob, Taehyung turned around to look at you. You didn't know what you wanted to say, but you knew you didn't want him to leave.

Stepping out from behind the bar, you tentatively walked towards him. Your hands were balled into fists by your sides, you clenched and unclenched them, nervously. “Uh, I change my mind. I'll take you up on that offer.” You gnawed on the inside of your cheek, hoping you weren't going to regret this decision.

That familiar smile was back again, and Taehyung's eyes lit up, “Really?”

You smiled gently and nodded your head, “Yeah, but you gotta keep your word. If I just want to be friends then we'll just be friends. Okay?”

Taehyung nodded his head vigorously, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. “Of course! Are you free later today?”

It was Sunday, so you knew the pub would be closed today. Sumi didn’t believe in drinking on the day of the lord, so that was the one day out of the week the pub didn’t open. “Yeah, I am. The pub will be closed, so I’ll be at the inn next door.”

“Okay, great!” Taehyung said, his excitement evident in his scrunched eyes and wide smile. “I’ll come pick you up around noon.” Taehyung gave you one last look before leaving you alone in the dimly lit room.

You really hoped the Namjoon in your head lead you to make the right decision.

After you locked the pub up last night, you made your way to the inn where you found Sumi, warming you up some leftover dinner. You told her about your date with Taehyung and how you'd be gone - you assumed - for most of the day.

Sumi was elated to hear you were trying to move on, but the motherly part of her was still worried you were forcing yourself too soon. She kept reminding you that you weren’t obligated to go on this date and that you could leave in the middle of it if you felt like you needed to. You wanted to be annoyed by her nagging, but all you could do was appreciate her concerns.

Once Sumi was finished nagging you, she began to ask you what Taehyung was like since she had no idea who he was. There was only so much you could say since you didn’t really know Taehyung either, but you did know he had the sweetest smile. Of course, it was nothing compared to Namjoon’s, but it did make your heart flutter just the tiniest bit. You told Sumi he was a brown eyed cutie with soft features that reminded you of a puppy dog.

The more Sumi talked about the date, the more excited and anxious you became for it. You’ve never been on a date before - never went through the process of picking out an outfit, anticipating what you're gonna do on the date, or wondered if this could be the guy. So, your nerves were kicking into high gear as the date neared.

It was almost noon, about an hour till, and you were all ready for your date. You did your hair and wore your nicest dress; it was Sumi’s dress when she was younger, and she was nice enough to give it to you since you didn't have any clothes other than the ones you wore on your back the day you two met.

As you stood in the inn’s kitchen, you kept having to drink water to calm yourself. You were getting so anxious.

What if he’s the one? The one that'll take your breath away even more than Namjoon ever could. The one you can actually grow old with. The one that'll make you forget Namjoon. Although you found that highly unlikely, you couldn't help but wonder.

What if he isn't the one? What if he just makes you miss Namjoon even more? You've never loved anyone like you loved Namjoon.

Your thoughts were boundless and slightly irrational for just one date, but having to bounce back from a love that meant the world to you was scary. You didn't know what was scarier, the thought of never finding love again or actually moving on from the one who taught you how to love.

You were in the middle of downing your fourth glass of water, pondering if it was too late to cancel the date, when Sumi walked into the kitchen. She eyed you, admiring how beautiful you looked in her old dress. It reminded her of when she was young and lively.

Sumi smiled gently as she said, “Taehyung's here!”

“What?” You almost choked on your water. “But the date's not for another hour, I'm not prepared!” You thought back to what Taehyung said and remembered he told you around noon, not at noon. You stood next to the island in the middle of the kitchen and placed your glass on it. Your grip on the cup was tight as you looked to Sumi. Nervousness settled into the creases of your furrowed brows.

Sumi chuckled. “I found him standing in front of the inn, he asked about you. He really did look like a puppy - a lost one.”

“What'd he say?” You inquired.

“Just asked if I knew ya, and I told him I did and to wait in the check-in area. You can still cancel, you know?”

You knew that, but it'd be rude to have him come all this way only to cancel last minute, right? No, it wouldn't be rude, but it wouldn't feel right. It's just one date. Just two people hanging out, getting something to eat. It's not like he was expecting you to fall in love with him today.

“No, it's fine. I'm dressed. I'll go.” You released your grip on the cup and inhaled deeply. You gave Sumi a smile and thanked her for notifying you that Taehyung was here.

He's not gonna propose for goodness sake, stop being so nervous, you told yourself.

You gathered your courage and made your way to the inn’s lobby where you saw him sitting on one of the couches, his back turned to you.

“Hey, sorry I made you wait,” you released a shaky chuckle. “I wasn't expecting you to be so early.”

When he stood up and looked at you, your heart dropped. Your eyes widened and your breath caught in your throat because that wasn’t Taehyung waiting for you. “Namjoon?”

He looked tired and worn out, but his eyes lit up the second they met yours. Your name dripped from his lips like honey, all sweet and loving, as he took a step towards you. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Namjoon smiled, and his oh-so-familiar dimples made your heart flip.

Namjoon wore the clothes of royalty, but they were slightly tattered and dirtied - evidence of his quest to find you.

Seeing Namjoon brought back all these painful feelings and made nostalgia bubble in your stomach. It took everything in you not to reach out and touch him or hold him, tell him how much you’ve missed him, how much you still love him. You didn’t need him here to make you lose your will to move on.

The fact that Namjoon was here was surreal. You’d always fantasized about him coming to find you, but you never expected it to actually happen.

“What are you doing here?” You asked as you took a step back. Your heart was racing and your palms sweaty. You flattened them on your sides to rid them of the claminess.

You always thought if you saw Namjoon again, you’d run straight into his arms and never let go. But now that he’s really here, your legs felt like lead, heavy and immobile. There was an anchor in the pit of your stomach keeping you from embracing the love of your life. You were paralyzed to your very core.

The tone in your voice made the sparkle in Namjoon’s eyes die out, and his dimpled smile disappeared without a trace. “I came to see you.”

The weak part of you melted at his words, but you quickly regained your composure. He’s married, you reminded yourself. “Does Jisoo know you’re here?”

You were so conflicted with your feelings. You wanted to be happy he was here for God knows what reason, but the practical - and slightly cynical - side of you kept screaming for you to disregard your feelings because if you don't and succumb to them, then you'll be left vulnerable and susceptible to being hurt again. Seeing him brought forth a rush of feelings that you’ve been trying to lock up for months now. The gates have opened, the dam broken, and your feelings were like a unyielding flood trying to drown you.

“No,” Namjoon sighed. He dropped his head and stared at his feet. Namjoon thought you’d be overjoyed to see him. Then again, he did show up out of the blue with no warning whatsoever. He never stopped to consider for even a second that you wouldn’t want to see him. “I… ended things with her.”

Namjoon lifted his head and searched your eyes, looking for some kind of reaction.

Your mouth fell open in shock. You wondered for a second if you heard him correctly. Did Namjoon really just say he “ended things” with the princess of a neighboring country? “Ended things” with his wife.

“What are you talking about?” You questioned. “Nothing’s as simple as ending things, Namjoon… Are you saying you got divorced?”

“Not exactly,” he responded. “I told the king about us…”

As soon as Namjoon muttered those words, it felt as if the ground that was keeping you steady suddenly crumbled from beneath you, and you were falling. The rush of adrenaline that consumed your every nerve wasn’t exhilarating in the slightest, it made your hairs stand on end and your heart clench.

“Namjoon,” you whispered. “You didn’t.”

What exactly did he tell the king? “Hey I’ve been screwing one of the maids for the past couple of years.” That’s the only way you could have imagined the scene to go down.

“I told him I love you,” he continued. “Told him I can’t be with Jisoo, and that I want to marry you.”

Before you could even digest the fact that Namjoon just said he wanted to marry you, he continued.

“He told me to never bring divorce or you up ever again, especially not in front of Jisoo, or he’d disown me. He said that this was the path chosen for me since birth, and that he’s given me everything I’ve ever wanted, and I didn’t deserve to ask for more.”

You couldn’t help but agree with what the king was saying. This was the path chosen for him. He’s a prince for goodness sake. It’s his duty to help bring our country and neighboring countries together in any way possible. Even if that meant marrying somebody he doesn’t love because someday he’s going to be king, and he needs to learn how to sacrifice his happiness for the sake of this country.

Besides, what did he think he’d get out of telling the king? Did he really think that just because he says he wants to marry you that his parents would allow him to sever ties with Jisoo so soon after their marriage? For a maid no less? Even if they were okay with him divorcing Jisoo, they wouldn’t let him do it to be with a maid. Perhaps someone of royalty, but never a maid.

That thought saddened you, but this was your reality.

“So I left,” Namjoon’s husky voice pulled you out of your reverie.

“You should go back,” you found yourself whispering in a soft voice. He can’t just leave the palace as if there won’t be any consequences. How typical of a prince to assume he can do whatever he wants. “Namjoon, this isn’t right. You were born to be king. You deserve a lavish lifestyle in the palace where you belong. You wouldn’t survive a day in a commoners shoes.”

What would happen to Jisoo? How would this affect our country's relationship with hers? Who will be king now? So many questions ran through your mind as you wondered what would happen if Namjoon did stay. Of course, Namjoon’s younger brother Jimin could always take the throne, but he was considerably younger than Namjoon. He was only sixteen years old. It’d be a long time before he could become king.

Namjoon walked towards you, his face hard. “No amount of riches could keep me away from you. I deserve to choose how I live my life, and I choose to live it with you.”

“Namjoon…” It’s not like you genuinely wanted him to go back, but you knew what was right, and him staying with you wasn’t. He has a duty to uphold.

“If I can’t be with you, then I don’t want to be with anyone.” He hesitantly reached up before slowly cupping your face in his large hands. They were warm and felt like home. He was thankful you didn’t withdraw from his touch like he thought you would. He knew how much he’s hurt you, and he was so worried the damage was irreversible.

“But you don’t get to choose.” You looked into Namjoon’s pleading eyes, they were dark and solemn. You never would have thought you’d have to reject Namjoon, but here you were, saying no to a man practically begging you take him. Oh, how you wanted to take him.

You reached up and engulfed Namjoon’s hands in yours. You gave them a light squeeze before removing them from your face, watching as his face fell with despair. You took two step backwards, bringing some distance between you two. It made it so much easier to reject him when you couldn’t feel his warmth and imagine yourself wrapped up in his arms. Tears brimmed your eyes, but you smiled at him.

“Y/N,” his voice trembled.

“Go back, Namjoon. Go back to where you belong, and live the life that you should. You could be happy with Jisoo if you tried.”

“I left everything for you.” Namjoon huffed. “Do you really think they’d take me back after what I did to be with you? I walked out on the royal family; no one even knows where I am, Y/N. They’ve probably disowned me already.”

You considered Namjoon’s words for a second. No way they’d disown him that easily. Surely they’d take him back. At least that’s what you hoped.

You opened your mouth to assure Namjoon they’d accept him without hesitation, but he cut you off.

“I won’t go back.” His voice was firm. Namjoon took a step towards you, closing the space you’d just created. “I love you, and I know you love me, too.”

Everything around you stood still. This was the first time Namjoon’s ever directly told you he loves you. He’s said he loved you, he’s said he told his father he loves you, but he’s never told you face to face, out loud, “I love you.” It nearly broke your entire resolve to send Namjoon back. You were too taken aback to retaliate, so Namjoon continued without giving you a second to completely compose yourself.

“You don’t want me to go back, and you know it. Don’t give me some bullshit lie that being a prince is what I deserve, and the palace is where I belong. We both know that’s not true; I belong with you wherever that may be.

“We could be happy together. I don’t care about this country, I don’t care about money, and I sure as hell don’t care about Jisoo or what the king and queen think. I love you Y/N, and I want to be with you. I want to live with you and wake up to you every morning and go to sleep to you every night. I want to get married and have kids with you. I’ll work day in and day out to give you everything you deserve. Stop putting me before yourself because you deserve to be happy, too, and I know that you’d be happy with me.”

I want to have kids with you. You immediately thought about the child you were carrying. If Namjoon stayed, your child wouldn’t be fatherless, and you could actually tell Namjoon that he’s going to have a kid. Of course you wanted to live with him, raise your kid with him, and you had no doubt in your mind that you’d be happy with Namjoon. The thought was so deliciously tempting that the more you entertained it, the more your resolve seemed to dissipate.

You imagined Namjoon as a dad, taking care of y’alls little baby and playing with them. You pictured yourself growing old with him and watching as that child turned into an adult and started to love like you and Namjoon did.

Instinctively, your hand rested on your belly. The tears that were welling in your eyes earlier finally spilled over. A soft sob fell past your parted lips. You bit your bottom lip to keep it from trembling and allowing more whimpers to escape. You looked down at your small baby bump. You gripped your dress and let the cloth bunch up in your clenched hand.

Would it be wrong of you to change your mind and ask him to stay? You wanted that - you wanted that happy ending, and by God did you deserve it. Namjoon was right, you deserve to be happy. You were hardly ever selfish or voiced your wants and needs. Would it really be so bad for you to let yourself have this one thing even if it meant getting in the way of Namjoon’s life?

Suddenly, you found yourself searching for reasons for him to stay. He wanted to be with you. You didn’t force him to come find you or leave his family behind. He did that all on his own. Who are you to say no to that? You should be grateful and accept him with open arms.

“What?” Namjoon asked when he noticed your tears and your hand on your stomach. He wondered for a second if you were in physical pain. Concern laced his words as he asked you again, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m,” you choked out, “I’m pregnant.”

A second or two passed and suddenly you were in Namjoon’s arms. He held you tight against himself. You could hear his heart hammering inside his chest. Namjoon rested his chin on your head, trying to find the right words to say.

He was so caught off guard. He didn’t want to insult you, but he had to ask. “Is it m-”

“Yes it’s yours, you idiot.” You answered without him having to finish his question. Your tears stained his shirt as you buried your face further into his chest.

Namjoon thought about the last time you two had sex. You must have been at least two months along. He immediately felt bad thinking about how scared you must have been when you found out all alone. He was a little bitter because he knew, if he’d never came to see you, he would have never known about his own child. But that wasn’t important at the moment. What was important was you were so obviously shaken, and all he wanted to do was console you.

“I can’t go now, Y/N,” Namjoon lifted his chin from your head and leaned back so he could look you in your eyes. His thumbs wiped away the tears streaming down your face. You stared into his brown eyes, they were soft and inviting. “You need me as much as I need you. I can help you raise the baby. You don’t have to do this alone. Jimin can be king, Jisoo can find some other prince from some other country, but you’ll never find another man that will love this baby as much as I would.”

With each passing word, Namjoon continued to tear your resolve to shreds. There was hardly any piece of you left that was convinced he should go back to the palace. You were overcome with a sudden desire to keep Namjoon all to yourself. Screw what was right.

“But-”

“Sh,” Namjoon silenced you. “No ‘buts’. I’ve let you go once, and I’m not doing it again.”

Namjoon leaned down and kissed you. It was a soft affectionate kiss filled with love, there was no urgency to it. You simply melted into him, and that was it. There was no turning back; he’d won you over. As Namjoon deepened the kiss, he pulled you close into a loose hug. His hands rested on your waist, intimately. You snaked your arms around his neck and clasped your hands together.

Your heart was pounding loud and clear, and you were sure Namjoon could hear it, too. After what felt like an eternity, you broke the kiss, your eyes still closed.

It still hadn’t quite registered that you and Namjoon are finally going to get your happy ending. You knew there were going to bumps and obstacles along the way, and you might have to fight to stay together, but you knew it would be worth it in the long run. Finally, all the suffering would come to an end because Namjoon was yours.

“I love you,” you whispered.

“I love you, too.”

“And then what happened Mommy?” Your daughter asked. You sat perched on a rickety old rocking chair that Namjoon tried to make for you not long before Nayeon was born. She was seated at your feet, her legs crisscrossed, her chin resting on her clasped hands, and her eyes gleaming.

You’d just finished telling Nayeon the story of how you and Namjoon got together and how Namjoon so bravely left his home and family to be with you. You weren’t afraid to mention he was the prince because you knew if Nayeon mentioned it to any other kid, they’d think it was a simple story.

In fact, your story had spread throughout the country. You were the protagonist of the great love that overcame societal differences. Your story inspired young women everywhere and helped them realize that, if meant to be, love was boundless and could overcome anything.

You picked Nayeon up and placed her on your lap, and her arms naturally wrapped tightly around your shoulders. “And then you came along,” you booped her cute button nose.

“So if daddy was a prince and soon to be king, does that make me a princess?” She inquired, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Every six year old dreams of being a princess, but in Nayeon’s case, she was one.

You chuckled as you said, “I guess it does.”

The grin on Nayeon’s face only grew wider; she couldn’t wait to boast to her friends that she was a real life princess.

You pushed a strand of her long dark hair out of her eyes. They reminded you so much of Namjoon’s, slanted towards the end but bright and wide with wonder and so full of curiosity. She was compassionate and understanding, very intelligent, too. She took so much after her dad. Although Namjoon likes to argue she took all those traits from you.

“Then does that mean the baby inside you will be a princess, too?”

“Who knows?” You smiled. “Maybe they’ll be a prince.”

Your daughter placed a small hand on your round belly and jumped when the baby kicked. She giggled endlessly, and it was music to your ears. You gave her a tight squeeze and proceeded to smother her in kisses and tell her how much you love her.

Eventually, she asked you to continue with the story, so you did.

The world continued to turn after you and Namjoon decided to stay together. Everything really fell into place. It turns out the neighboring country was secretly planning to assassinate the entire royal family with Jisoo as their perpetrator, so she was executed, and the relationship with her country hasn’t been the same since. For awhile, we were in war with them, but once Jimin became king he put an end to it. He realized it was only wasting rations and hurting civilians who were losing loved ones in a stalemate war. If it weren’t for the war, however, you were positive the royal family would’ve sought out Namjoon and forced him back into the palace to be king.

Namjoon never went back to the palace. You two stayed at the inn for a couple of months. You were too weak to work yourself, so Namjoon took on your shifts at the pub and the inn. With a little help from Sumi, eventually you accumulated enough money to buy your own home and finally get married. It wasn’t a big wedding, but it was perfect in your book because Namjoon was the groom, and that’s all you’ve ever dreamed about.

After you moved, you still visited Sumi often, especially since she was Nayeon’s godmother, and even started working at the pub again when Nayeon turned three.

“What about the guy you were supposed to go on a date with?” Your daughter cocked her head to the side and pulled her eyebrows together, curious.

The corners of your mouth twitched up slightly. You rocked the chair back and forth and hugged Nayeon to your chest. “We became very good friends.”

You thought back to the moment Taehyung walked into the inn’s lobby, looking for you, only to find you crying in Namjoon’s arms. You were so upset that you forgot all about him and apologized profusely for having to cancel the date and any further offers he’d want to make.

Taehyung was no fool; he easily read the atmosphere and assured you he was okay. He told you he wished he’d gotten there sooner, but timing really just wasn’t right for him when it came to you. You remember the chuckle that escaped his lips as you both thought back to his incessant rambling on how he wanted to ask you out sooner.

You always wondered what would have happened if he did.

Suddenly, Namjoon walked through the front door, pulling your attention away from your thoughts. Your daughter perked up, immediately leaving your lap to hug him. She truly was a daddy’s girl, even though she claimed to love both of you equally.

“Daddy!” She squealed.

Namjoon effortlessly picked your daughter up and pulled her into to a tight hug. “Hey, Buttercup.”

He was dressed in casual work clothes, a white short sleeved shirt tucked into his pants. Ever since Namjoon started working, he’s grown more robust, his hands bared calluses from working to support your family, and he genuinely seemed happy. You never thought he’d make it this far.

“Mommy told me I’m a princess!” Nayeon smiled a toothy grin. Namjoon looked to you with a raised eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.

You shrugged your shoulders and smiled slyly at him.

He turned his attention back to the squirming daughter in his arms. “That you are!”

“I’m daddy’s princess, right?” Nayeon asked in a sugary sweet voice. She wrapped her arms around Namjoon’s neck and waited for an answer.

“Sorry, Buttercup,” Namjoon smiled, setting her down onto the ground. He strode towards you and rested one of his hands on the armrest of the rocking chair and the other on your stomach. His hand caressed you as he smiled thinking about the little baby boy or girl inside that would soon be entering your lives. He leaned down till his face was merely inches from yours. “But that spot’s been reserved for your mom for a long time now.”

He kissed you, smiling against your lips. With his eyes closed he pulled away, and when he opened them, he admired you like he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. “I told you you’ll always be my princess.”

382 notes · View notes

floofsta-x · 7 years

Text

Rise Before the Fall, Pt. 2

parts;; One | Two (you are here) | Three (coming soon)

genre;; Science fiction, fandom – Pacific Rim!AU

pairing;; Jooheon x I.M [Jookyun, Rapper Line]; mentions of Hyungnu and Minhyungnu

⚠️ warnings;; bucketloads of angst, depression caused by terminal illness, fluff, SMUT !!!

words;; 8614 (8.6k)

title;; The final track of the Pacific Rim OST, Drift – Blake Perlman & RZA

“…Jooheonie, I’m dying.”

This news made Jooheon jump, and a numb feeling overwhelmed him. Eyes snapping open as wide as they could go, he glanced over at Changkyun, sullen and sulking. “Dying? Who told you that?”

The younger boy chuckled, a low, mirthless sound that didn’t help Jooheon’s mood at all. “Well–no one, but Kihyun might as well have told me.” He sighed before continuing, “I have a tumor about the size of a tangerine in the back of my head. Though we don't know yet, he’s pretty sure that it’s malignant, given its placement and that it’s growing.”

A large part of the older ranger didn’t want to believe this was happening. Though he heard and understood, and his brow was already wrinkling in worry, he didn't yet grasp the depth of what Changkyun was saying. His mind was too busy trying to make something else out of it. “Malignant…that means cancer?”

Changkyun nodded sadly, kicking at the water below.

Jooheon’s felt his hope slip away, mind racing. It took all he had to not blubber too badly. “B–but, how? And you're so calm about it! You’re only twenty-one–why–why is this happening to you of all people?”

“Kihyun told me that I had the tumor before I joined the PPDC, perhaps even before that. It could have been benign at the earliest stages. But cancer cells started growing when I got exposed to radioactivity–”

“From Blind Rhythm’s nuclear core.”

“Exactly.”

Jooheon choked. Though he was holding it together on the outside, inside he was a mess, angry and sad and scared all at the same time. It was silly, but the thought flashed through his head that he was more terrified by this news than he was at the thought of fighting kaiju. He just didn’t think about the potential negative consequences of stepping into a Jaeger. Now his co-pilot and best friend was sick, potentially dying, not because of the monster but because of the warrior. “...Surgery?”

“Kihyun told me that it’s too close to my spinal column to operate on. Um, it’s also probably stage three or four at this point…too late to do anything about it now.”

"Well–I mean come on, there’s gotta be an option for chemotherapy, radiation, something, right? What did he say about that?”

Changkyun dropped his head in shame and turned away. “I–I told him that I didn’t want to do anything about it.”

A rush of red-hot anger coursed through Jooheon. Mainly, it was at himself. He should have made Changkyun go to the doctor before; seen the signs; spent more time with him. Of course, he was being stubborn, too, and that made the older boy worried and livid. “You refused treatment? Why did you do such a fucking stupid thing? You’d never run from a Kaiju, so why are you running from being sick?”

Changkyun cut into the conversation with as much intensity as he could muster amongst his pain. He was one of the few people who didn’t wilt at Jooheon’s scary demeanor. Many more important and more brave people did. “That’s just it, if I went ahead with treatment, I wouldn’t be able to do what I want to with the rest of my life.”

“And what might that be, smarty-pants? What could possibly be so important that you leave yourself in pain and shorten your life? Don't make stupid decisions, Changkyunie–”

Then the younger boy was pulling close, and a soft pair of lips pressed into Jooheon's, silencing him. It was a desperate gesture, almost like how a dry, parched man kissed water. Wrinkles appeared between Kyun's eyebrows as they knit together, and he pulled nervously on his hyung's sleeve. The moment seemed long, but almost as quickly as it happened, it ended. They both flushed deep red as they pulled away.

Jooheon came away with his system shocked into silence, and he sat there for a moment, flabbergasted and slack-jawed. So that was why he had always sensed deep love and adoration from Changkyun in the drift; before now, it wasn’t particularly obvious who it was for. Eventually, the corners of his mouth tipped up. “Seriously?”

“W--well, yeah.” Changkyun dropped his gaze. “Forgive me. I’m sorry.”

“Wait, wait. Hold on a second. Don’t go apologizing yet.”

This time, Kyun was the one who glanced up to find lips waiting. They shared a brief kiss, outside hands finding each other, fingers weaving together.

“We can spend the rest of your life together.” Jooheon whispered at last, brushing his thumb down Changkyun’s palm. A smile engulfed the younger boy's face, the likes of which Jooheon hadn’t seen for many, many months. It made his heart flutter. “Just tell me why you don’t want more time.”

“Because–I want to keep fighting alongside you, too. I know that nothing makes you happier than being in Blind Rhythm, though those freaky kaiju are scary as shit. If I start treatment, I’ll be too weak. I’ve been managing pain fine. I can take it if it means I pilot a few more missions.”

For the second time that night, the older ranger was at a total loss for words. It felt selfish to want to keep pushing themselves into the fray, with this fresh knowledge of Changkyun’s condition. Yet, if that was what his best friend really desired, he wouldn’t argue. Kyun had to make his own choices, and Jooheon would respect them, whatever they were. Also, he was right. If everyone knew that he was being treated for cancer, no one would let him near the Jaeger. So, in the end, not knowing what else to do, Jooheon simply nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat.

Changkyun leaned his head against his best friend’s shoulder, a content sigh escaping his lips. “I love you, Jooheonie. If I would have known you felt the same way, I would have told you long ago. I really hope that this isn’t a dream.”

“You should kiss me again, then, and maybe we’ll find out.”

Shy, excited smiles spread across their faces, and Changkyun did. There, on the dock, the two relished in the taste of each other. Arms snaked around shoulders and waists. When they opened their eyes again, they were still close, under the moonlight. Jooheon pulled Changkyun into his lap, nuzzling into his best friend's neck. One hand on his hyung’s thigh, the other around his shoulders, the younger boy was content as well. For a while, they sat there tangled together, not speaking but always understanding.

Then Changkyun yawned. Of course Jooheon noticed and stroked his back. "Time to get you into bed, huh?”

At Kyun's sleepy nod, Jooheon carefully backed up from the edge of the dock and with a heave, picked them both up. Changkyun gave a gasp of surprise, tensing his hold on his co-pilot’s shoulders. Momentarily, Jooheon put him back on his feet.

While they were still there, close, fingers intertwined, Changkyun asked lowly: "Jooheonie, would you come to bed with me tonight? I’ve been having trouble sleeping, and I’d love your warmth."

"Whatever you'd like, my prince." Of course this made the younger boy blush.

Then they walked back to the compound, side by side. If anyone noticed them stealing swift, tender glances and smiling bashfully at each other, no one said anything.

Soon it was back in the familiarity of their shared room. As the door closed behind them, they were once more up in each other's arms. They felt like they had to make up for lost time, and yet both didn't want to rush anything. It was just slow making out for a while, until they parted to climb into pajamas. For Jooheon, that was simply shedding his shirt and shoes. Changkyun had some shorts and a tee shirt he preferred; both had been the elder's at one point. (Often, when Jooheon had clothing he didn't want anymore, Changkyun took it. Secretly, he liked wearing hand-me-downs. It made him feel closer to his hyung.)

Trying to fit into the small bottom bunk together was a mess. There were a lot of chuckles and more kisses before they found a comfortable spot. Changkyun was grateful that he was slightly smaller, since Jooheon's thickness took up a lot of room. In the end, the latter snuggled into the former's back, and they fell asleep, content. Pressed together closely, it was easy to forget about everything beyond their four walls. Also, that terrible diagnosis that weighed them down.

The next morning, Jooheon woke up to find himself the only one in bed, but not alone. Changkyun sat right by on the floor, back to the mattress, leaning up against the bedframe. Curious, the older ranger slid himself to the edge and watched him in silence.

A Game Boy Color lay at Kyunie's side, ported into his laptop via an adapter. It was his own personal console, but the game cartridge inside wasn't. With skilled, deft fingers he furiously typed out lengths of code. These were unintelligible to Jooheon's brain, but they clearly meant something to Changkyun. Every once in a while, the younger boy would go and check the game, and a texture or an event would change.

Changkyun concentrating had always been one of Jooheon's favorite things. There was the little scrunch between his eyebrows, which never failed to be cute. Another telltale sign was his mouth pressed flat into a line, which made his dimples appear prominently. If Jooheon hadn't known that it was not a good idea to interrupt him, he would have been planting kisses on those cheeks.

Finally Changkyun let out a long breath, setting aside the computer and stretching. Jooheon took that moment to run his hand through his boyfriend's locks. “Good morning, Kyunie.”

“Good morning.”

“You feeling alright?”

“No. Still waiting for the damn painkillers to kick in though. Should be any minute now.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” Jooheon frowned with worry, and wrapping his arms around Changkyun's neck, rubbed his chest. The small, soothing circles had the younger ranger's breathing slowing in no time. "Hm, what are you doing with that?" Jooheon asked, gesturing to the tech work.

"Reprogramming the cartridge. Hopefully after I'm done, the game will be better quality and a bit harder. The original is one of my big brother's favorites. It'll be a bit of a birthday present." Changkyun smiled, satisfied.

Of course it would be something for his family. Jooheon’s heart grew five sizes and yet started to ache. Sometimes he wished that he could be half the man his co-pilot was. Changkyun was a sensitive and thoughtful kid. He loved doing nice things for people, especially his family, whom he had always been close to, in particular his mother.

The older, taller ranger, on the other hand--the only one he had left was his dad, who he hadn't spoken to in years. They had a falling out right before Jooheon joined the military, and been in an extreme state of estrangement ever since. Jooheon considered his friends in the shatterdome to be his family, though. That was better than nothing, anyway, hey?

He almost didn't catch it when Changkyun said, under his breath, "Would it be too much to ask if we can visit my family before--before, you know--?"

Jooheon sighed at what he was implying. Before you die. “I don’t see why not. We’ll just have to request some time off.”

At this, the most precious grin grew on the younger ranger’s face. Weak for that bright smile, a matching one enveloped the older ranger's as well. Still stroking Changkyun's hair, Jooheon purred, “Kyunie, how about a date tonight, hmm? If you’re feeling up to it, of course.”

“What kind of date? It better not be like what Wonho put Kihyun through the other day.” The ibuprofen must be kicking in; Changkyun was regaining his usual, playfully snarky attitude. He craned his neck around to gaze at Jooheon.

“Oh, Gods. What did Hoseok do to that poor guy?”

“Took him to a build-your-own stuffed animal shop.”

“Hey--! That’s not too bad. Some of those places are kind of nice, and I think it’d be romantic to make one for your other and exchange them at the end--”

Changkyun smacked Jooheon on the arm. “This was the one downtown, the pink one. Kihyunie said that there were a million little girls in there when they were.”

“Oh. Well, I bet he enjoyed it more than he let on. Are those two actually dating yet?”

“In the doctor’s own words, ‘After that, I’m sticking to being his lover, not his boyfriend’.”

Ah, man. Jooheon chuckled and shook his head. “Well, you have nothing like that to fear from me. Right now I’m trying to decide where I should take you for dinner. What do you think? Does the Rio sound alright to you?”

“Of course.” The Rio was a wonderful restaurant, expensive but an incredible experience. You had to make a reservation as well as dress up in fancy suits and ties, but it was all worth it for the world class food and service.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Jooheon ruffled Changkyun’s hair again. “Ok, I need to hit the KWOON for a while. Better get up and around.” As he climbed out of bed, their lips brushed for a moment in a quick kiss before the older boy was off to the bathroom.

Later, after their day was over and everything had settled down, they headed out, hand in hand, dressed to the nines. Jooheon was in his best black silk suit and Changkyun in tweed. Upon first seeing each other like that, Jooheon’s jaw had slackened, eyes widening. An involuntary damn had escaped, too.

(“Do I look that good?” Changkyun had glanced up from his phone, smirking. Then he had proceeded to make a face so meme-worthy that Jooheon couldn’t help but break out into raucous laughter.

“Not anymore.” The older boy waited for Changkyun’s dimples to appear before he hooked an arm around his waist and wrapped him in a close hug. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Ah, I love you. And yes, you look that good.”)

For some reason, ever since he suggested the Rio that morning, Jooheon had become determined to make Changkyun feel a true prince for one night. It even happened that somehow, he had convinced Marshal Hyunwoo to lend him the Maserati. That in itself was a miracle, as the Marshal was normally very protective of his slick sports car. Jooheon had a feeling that the only reason he had agreed was because of Changkyun. Perhaps, also, the underlying urgency of the request.

Even for Jooheon, a thrill seeker, it took some time to get used to. So, he had taken it out for a street spin earlier in the day. The sheer power of the car was daunting at first. The older boy felt plain and out of place in the fancy set of wheels. He had to constantly remind himself to relax and resist the urge to speed and clam up at the low purr of the engine.

Now, as streetlamps flashed by, Jooheon couldn’t help but look over at Changkyun every once in a while. He really did seem like royalty tonight, legs crossed neatly over one another in the passenger’s seat. One hand draped lazily over the console, while the other propped his chin up as he stared out the window. Besides his sharp suit, he had parted and styled up his hair a little, which truly was a beautiful sight. Jooheon kept feeling flashes of pride at having him all to himself.

The Rio was a fancier affair than anything they had ever done together. Jooheon felt out of place. He was honestly more of a burger and pizza joint or street Jajangmyeon vendor guy, himself. Changkyun seemed comfortable, however, so the older boy did his best to seem at ease as well. A valet was waiting to take the car as they stepped out, and Jooheon hesitantly handed over the keys. He probably had nothing to fear, but if something happened to the high-dollar vehicle, Hyunwoo would have his ass.

He went to meet Changkyun, who was waiting on the other side of the car, and together they wandered inside. It was hard, but they knew they needed to resist the urge to hold hands, at least for now. They still had a public image to maintain, even if they didn’t have much time. Jooheon flashed his ID to the person at the counter to prove that he really was who he said. Then the waiter led them over to a private booth (one of the many perks of being a protector of the city) and took their order.

Once he had left, Jooheon reached across the table and took Changkyun’s hand, lacing their fingers together. He was really trying not to think of anything except the evening, and how good Changkyun looked in his suit. Honestly, it was harder than he figured it would be. He found a question slipping out of his mouth that he had intended to ask later, but that somehow had overtaken him.

“Baby, I hate to potentially spoil a worry free night, but I was wondering. Do you have anything that you absolutely have to do or experience before the cancer claims you? Other than visit your family, that is?”

“Jooheon--no night from here until the end is going to be worry free.”

The older boy’s eyebrows knit together in determination. “Well, I’m going to try as hard as I can. If I had the whole world, I’d give it all away so that I could see you happy for a moment of time.”

Changkyun’s face fell, and he nodded curtly. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” His lungs filled with a single, deep breath. When he rubbed his eye, the side of his hand got coated with wet, which he quickly wiped on his pant leg. “As for my bucket list, um--I haven’t really thought of anything yet. But I’ll think about it, ok?”

“Of course. Just say the word, and I can get it arranged.”

“For both of us?”

“If at all possible.” Jooheon smiled and rubbed his thumb gently across Changkyun’s knuckles, then brought it up to his lips to give it a kiss. The corners of the younger boy’s mouth tipped up at this, and he glowed, shy again suddenly. He rested his head in his folded palm, eyes trained on a painting above their heads. That faraway look he had in the car earlier clouded his eyes.

A moment of silence passed. Then, unexpectedly, Changkyun brightened, gaze snapping back to Jooheon’s. The older ranger almost instantly knew that he was in trouble as the most mischievous smile crossed his boyfriend's face. “Hey, what if I wanted find out once and for all if H.One and the Marshal are in cahoots?”

Not this again. Was he always going to bring it up? Seriously, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Jooheon guffawed and leaned back in the chair. Yes, 514-H and the Marshal’s strange schedule were vastly interesting. It didn’t mean that he was hiding something as big as romancing a wanted criminal, though. “You know that I borrowed Hyunwoo’s Maserati, right?”

“Really? I totally thought that you had your own.” Kyunie rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am perfectly aware.”

“I've already spent my favors. How would I ask him something like that anyway? Just casually hand him his keys back and be like, ‘Oh yeah, Marshal, Changkyun wants to know if you’ve ever fucked the most wanted man in South Korea.’ Um, no. You’re the one who desperately wants to know, ask him yourself.”

Changkyun’s bottom lip poked out. He was good at using his still slightly wet eyes to his advantage. “Jooheonie, but--I’m a wittle baby, waah--”

“Jesus Christ, you can still pilot a Jaeger. Asking a simple question is not out of your capabilities either.” Jooheon went to shoot Changkyun a snide look across the table. However, he abruptly froze at the playful smile that greeted him. “--what?”

“You’re so handsome when you’re annoyed.” The younger boy's eyes flashed with lust. From the moment he saw it, Jooheon knew that it was a dangerous gaze. Butterflies exploded in his stomach, and he had to fight back a blush. Slowly, another familiar feeling took over, as well--his own desire. Keeping his composure was hard now, as his resolve and self control melted fast.

“You’re just saying that to get me to ask for you.”

“Nope. I’m serious. I like seeing your face when you’ve had enough of me and my supposed H.woo bullshit.”

The fuck? Where had the kind, caring boyfriend of just a few seconds ago gone? More than that, what was up with this ugly conversation? “Did--did you just give them a couple name?”

“Not just. They had one a long time ago, actually. Isn’t it cute? H.woo?”

“No, not at all. Changkyun, you’re always coming up with these things, and it’s so stupid, yeah it’s bullshit. You totally don’t get it.”

With every frustrated word that flew from Jooheon’s mouth, Changkyun’s eyes were getting darker. It was infuriating to no end--but also a huge turn-on. "Fuck.” his already-low voice had somehow dropped three octaves. “You’re so hot.”

Five minutes later, the waiter came back, food in hand, to find a twenty-five dollar tip and an empty table.

Changkyun practically pulled them through the front doors of the restaurant and up the ramp to the parking garage. Jooheon could barely keep up, and it didn't help that he was suddenly weak in the knees. Somehow, he managed to muscle his way past to claim the keys to the Maserati. The valet didn't question or act disappointed in their all-too-brief stay. He simply started to lead them toward where he had parked the car.

They were just at the bottom of the stairs, through the doorway to the lowest, premium parking level, when Changkyun grinned and swung around suddenly. Right there, in public, feet behind the clueless valet--he grabbed Jooheon by the shirt collar and pulled him in for a hungry kiss. That wasn't all, though, because he also unashamedly groped him. Jooheon was helpless against the moan that left his mouth. The flush pink of Changkyun’s lips stopped it for the most part.

“Hm, I suspected, baby,” Changkyun murmured hotly into his ear and pressed their hips together. The older ranger felt something against his thigh. “Don’t worry. I’m just as hard as you are.”

“Fuck--Kyunie--” But Changkyun was moving on, catching up to the valet.

Then Jooheon saw a flash of silver and black, and his eyes snapped open when he realized what had just also happened: Changkyun had stolen the keys to the car out of his pants pocket. Incredulity ripped through him. Really, where had this side come from? He hadn’t seen it before, even when Kyun was drunk. Jooheon wouldn’t easily admit it, but he found it to be kind of refreshing.

Not like the younger boy wasn’t right. He was already whipped and dripping for him.

“I told Hyunwoo that I’d drive!” Jooheon tried to protest as he caught up.

“Well he doesn’t have to know, now does he?” The look Changkyun gave him made it dangerously clear that argue any more would be futile. So, admitting defeat for the moment, Jooheon walked to the passenger’s seat of the sports car and slid in. As soon as Changkyun closed his door, the Maserati roared to life, and he threw the shift into reverse. The valet barely had time to get out of the way before the car peeled out of the lot.

The younger boy was a good driver, though reckless. This powerful ride was a treat he had no doubt wanted to experience. At the rate they were going, and how they swung around corners at crazy speeds, honestly it was a miracle they didn't see any cops. Halfway through the ride Jooheon realized that they definitely weren’t heading in the direction of base. “Kyun--”

Cue another wilt-inducing, dangerous glance. They had been in each other’s heads enough for the older boy to know what it meant: don't question me, I know what I'm doing.

Finally Changkyun took a turn-off. A few more twisting streets later, they arrived at what the older ranger could only guess was their destination. It was a small but quaint motel, with paint fading off the shutters to the rooms and a roof that needed re-shingling. Some cars sat in the lot, but for the most part everything was quiet and empty. Jooheon shot Changkyun an inquisitive glance, but he didn’t answer, of course. Almost immediately, Kyun headed for the parking spot in front of door number twenty-six, on the end of the row.

At this point, they didn’t give a single fuck if anyone was watching in the dim glow of the moon. So, as soon as they were out of the Maserati and could make physical contact, they were all over each other. Changkyun pulled them to the door to the room and took a key out of his pocket. Fiddling with the knob, soon he had it open and they were falling into the dark room. The door barely had a chance to close behind them before their shoes were off, and lips locked together. Tongues danced and curled without hesitation. They were both already so needy, and it drove them on.

Now the power balance shifted, and Jooheon’s dominant side came full force to the surface. He could feel the tingles of expectation run down the younger boy's spine as he pressed him against the wall by the doorframe. Mercilessly, Jooheon bucked his hips up into him. “You think you can get away with being a pain in the ass tonight, huh? Telling me I’m sexy when I’m pissed off at you? Teasing me in front of that poor valet, stealing the keys to the car?” His mouth roamed from Changkyun’s lips, to his jaw and neck, sucking hickeys in the younger’s tender skin.

“I--I’m sorry,” Kyun gasped, involuntarily squeezing Jooheon closer. “I’ve been half-hard for you all night. I wasn’t sure h--how much longer I’d be able to keep my hands off--in the Rio--fuck, you’re so hot when you’re angry.” The older boy felt trembling but soft hands slide his suit coat off, and fumble with the buttons on his shirt. If this had been anyone else, he might have stopped Changkyun, and been a bit more domineering. However, he had a soft spot in his heart for his boyfriend, and so allowed it. He even flexed his shoulders to help get rid of the uncomfortable, starched cotton top once and for all.

Then Changkyun's wandering fingers were all over, exploring Jooheon's well-knit, muscular torso. Goosebumps rose in their wake. Almost without realizing it, the older ranger compensated by pushing his tongue deeper in his best friend’s mouth. The attention made the flame in his breast burn hotter. Within minutes, Changkyun was in the same state, half-naked and vulnerable.

Jooheon carried him tenderly over to the king bed, laying him down and straddling him. Changkyun placed a hand on his boyfriend's abs, but Jooheon grabbed his wrist before he could do anything else. More specifically, undo the button of his dress pants.

But, with his other hand, the older boy undid Changkyun's belt and popped the clasp of his trousers. Kissing down the length of his body, he hooked his fingers in the waistband of his underwear and smoothly pulled the cloth clean off.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other naked before, but Jooheon was always taken aback by the size of his co-pilot’s cock. It was especially impressive now as it sprung up, red, hard, and leaking. Jooheon took the needy length in his hand with a little grin of victory. Using his thumb to collect and slick down precum, he started to pump. One glance back up told him everything he needed to know. Changkyun’s adam’s apple bobbed, head thrown back.

“Damn, I don’t even have to have you in my mouth to get you to come undone.”

“Ah--but please, w--would you do it?” Changkyun managed to gasp. “God, do you have any idea how many times I’ve dreamed about having those pretty lips of yours wrapped around my cock?”

“Wow. You’re naughtier than I thought.” Jooheon smirked and slowed down, but honestly it took all he had. His mouth was already starting to water and God, his dick--he was so hard, too.

“Don’t--” Changkyun started to complain, but the older ranger cut him off with a tut.

“Now now, patience is a virtue, hm?” With that, he let Changkyun’s hard length flop against his belly, and crawled back up to kiss him again. Guiding the younger boy’s hands down, he allowed him to undress him the rest of the way. This left both nearly naked in front of each other.

Jooheon’s manhood wasn’t quite as long as his boyfriend’s, but had similar girth, perhaps even more. Changkyun took hold, and Jooheon bucked into his hand, doing most of the work himself. “Fuck, Changkyun, you’re sin.”

“And you--ah--you make me go crazy.”

They remained there for a long while, Kyun thrusting into the air too, by second nature, as he helped his best friend get off. Little, sloppy pools of warm precum formed on the younger’s belly, as his own mingled with Jooheon’s. By now their lips were swollen from so many kisses, and red and purple hickeys lined their necks. Jooheon was enjoying his boyfriend’s touch so much that for a while he forgot about everything else.

But then Changkyun asked hesitantly, “Baby--when can I have that blowjob--? You never told me no.”

“I'll give it to you now, if you’ll let me dictate what happens after that.” Changkyun nodded vigorously. Jooheon remembered his confession earlier and shivered with anticipation. “Ok, edge of the bed then.”

They both immediately switched position. Jooheon crawled down onto his knees, on the floor, and Changkyun obeyed the older boy's wishes, legs hanging off the mattress. This let Jooheon have access to Kyun’s cock without much strain. Somehow, his length was even more red and angry than before.

“I’m sorry, baby, let me take care of that.” Jooheon drew the saliva in his mouth onto his tongue. Taking Changkyun in hand he gave him a nice, wet lick up the front side, following the main vein, balls to tip. The younger boy shuddered in pleasure, hands gripping the bedsheets as Jooheon pumped a couple times, to spread the moisture around, and finally took him in his mouth.

“Fuuck,” Changkyun groaned, goosebumps breaking out on his skin. That low voice had always made Jooheon weak, and now it was especially deep. When he glanced up, he found that Kyun was watching him with a dark light in his eyes, and that he was biting his lip. One of his hands came down to bury itself in Jooheon’s hair.

Jooheon had to forcibly restrain Changkyun from humping his mouth as he bobbed up and down. It was enough as it was to try to get more in without the help of Changkyun's hips. Like a true pro, the older boy stroked the vein and tip with his tongue on every pass. Soon enough Changkyun was a panting mess, beads of sweat slicking his hair and feeling like he was about to explode. “J--Jooheonie--”

With a final twist of his hips, Changkyun was cumming. The force finally overpowered Jooheon’s grip. At the moment's notice, somehow Jooheon managed to relax. The whole of the younger's length pushed into his mouth. Sticky, salty white semen flowed down his throat. He might have flinched, but he didn't pull away. The feeling of his swallowing sent shivers back through Changkyun's body.

Finally, when Jooheon couldn’t take the burning lack of oxygen anymore and his boyfriend seemed to be out of cum, he pulled off, lips parting from Changkyun’s tip with a lewd, wet pop.

But Jooheon was still hard, and Changkyun had promised him that he could call the shots now. He got up, growling, unfazed by Changkyun’s fresh load in his stomach. Out of his pants, which were still around his knees, Jooheon pulled lube and a condom. Then he shed them the rest of the way. For a moment, Changkyun stared at this new development.

“What did I say earlier? Yours off, too.” At this, Changkyun scrambled to push the fabric off his body. “Hands and knees, dirty boy.” Jooheon popped open the top of the small tube and coated his fingers, then climbed back up beside his boyfriend.

Changkyun once again obeyed without hesitation, spreading his legs a little and lifting his ass into the air. As soon as Jooheon touched the cold, slick gel to the rim of his anus, the younger boy inhaled sharply. Then Jooheon stuck a digit in, pushing the lube deeper and dipping in and out. “That feels good, huh?” Despite the older boy’s forceful attitude, the question was thinly veiled care. If Changkyun gave any hint that he was uncomfortable, they would stop.

“Y--yes.”

Adding another digit and giving Changkyun a minute to adjust, Jooheon decided that it was ok to put in his ring finger too. Changkyun shuddered underneath him. Jooheon brushed his prostate once, and that made him fist his hands in the sheets again.

Not too long after that, the older boy murmured, “Ready, baby?”

Changkyun nodded.

Tearing open the condom, Jooheon rolled it on and hoped that his murmured advice would be enough. “Ok. Just relax.” Then he pushed his dick in, slowly, all the while rubbing Changkyun’s hipbones with his hands. “That’s it. Perfect.” Changkyun hummed and sighed at the feeling of his hyung filling him up. Jooheon started to move, and sloppy moans fell from his mouth.

Changkyun swore, gasping. “Babe, I’m so hard again.”

The older boy took great pleasure in that he was wrecking his boyfriend for the second time tonight. “Ah yeah? Then touch yourself for me, dirty boy.”

Shifting his weight as best he could, Changkyun leaned on one side and reaching his newly-freed hand back to tug at his cock. Jooheon was still pounding into his ass, roughly now. The younger boy was so tight around him.

It didn't take long until Jooheon was struggling to hold back an orgasm. “Kyunie, I’m so close...”

“Give it to me.” The beg pierced through the rush of blood in Jooheon’s ears and the sound of their skin slapping together. Changkyun was rutting his hips into his lover now. It was as if he sensed that Jooheon needed help keeping the desperate pace. “Give me all your cum.”

Jooheon’s vision tunneled, then snapped into full scope again. Pleasure ripped through his body like a tidal wave. His dick pulsed against Changkyun’s insides, and he couldn't help but shoot his entire load into the condom. Finally he was falling forward onto his boyfriend's back. Both were panting heavily, spent.

Tiredness overwhelmed them after all that, but Changkyun whined softly. Jooheon couldn't ignore it; he had to finish this--or rather, finish Kyun off. So, the elder ranger summoned his remaining strength. After carefully pulling out and sitting up, he hooked an arm around Changkyun’s waist, bringing him flush to himself. Jooheon left light, dusting kisses along his neck and behind his ear, and reached around with his other hand to help jack him off.

Changkyun fell limp, eyes fluttering shut. Meanwhile, Jooheon murmured sweet nothings in his ear. “You’re so sexy, baby. It makes me proud that you’re all mine.” A small smile grew on the younger boy’s face. “I want you like this so many more times.”

“Me, too.” They met in an open-mouthed, wet, sloppy kiss.

Jooheon could tell when his boyfriend was close, which he was again. “Get your hand up there, Changkyunie.”

The younger sighed at the gentle reminder, and cupped his tip with his right hand. Seconds later, he was spilling there, orgasm touching him again, moans falling out of his mouth. Jooheon’s slow pumps coaxed all the white frothy cum out of him. A few drops fell onto the comforter, settling there on the surface.

Both pilots sat there for a moment, trying to calm their breathing and simply enjoying the lingering warmth. At long last, Changkyun crawled forward, careful not to tip his palm too much. There was a box of tissues sitting on the nightstand, and he grabbed a couple to wipe his hand. Once he had gotten everything, including what had slipped between his fingers, he turned his attention to the bed, mopping up the mess they had made there as well.

Jooheon pulled off the full condom still on his length. In only a few seconds he tied it off and deposited it in a convenient trash can. “If you want, you can shower first, Kyunie.”

The younger boy nodded. “Ok.” They stopped one more time to kiss briefly. Then Changkyun disappeared through the doorway to the bathroom.

Ah, man, this is the dream, Jooheon thought as he got up to wander around the room. He pulled on his briefs before gathering the rest of their clothes, too, folding them as best as he knew how and placing them on the dresser by the TV. Then it was back to the bed, on his back, drumming his fingers on his stomach and listening to the shower run.

One that isn’t going to last.

Immediately, he rebuked the thought. Bullshit. I have the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with him now. Changkyun... the younger boy found solace in his co-pilot, considering him to be a rock amongst the ever-shifting tides of the world. He really wants to be with me, physically, sexually--mentally. That’s the part of it that’s the dream.

It was in that moment that a revelation came over Jooheon. He had been so caught up in asking Changkyun about last wishes and desires, that he hadn’t even thought about his own. Really, the only thing Jooheon wanted was to fight the Kaiju until their end with Changkyun at his side.

Suddenly, he burned with the desire to make that a reality.

Soon enough Changkyun came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was grinning in that cute, mischievous way again, and he didn't hesitate to start teasing his hyung. “Man, you should see it in there. Whoever stays here keeps it fully stocked. There’s three kinds of shampoo in the shower, ibuprofen, even toothbrushes and toothpaste. Maybe if you brush your teeth before you come to bed, your breath won’t reek so bad.”

“Shut up, you know that’s your fault,” Banter game strong as ever, Jooheon jabbed back at him playfully and laughed. “but wait, if you don’t know who uses the room, how did you come across this place?”

"I dunno.” Giving a shrug, the younger boy went over to his pile of clothes and grabbed his boxers. Jooheon trailed his gaze over his boyfriend’s body as he hopped into them. “I found a key on the floor one time, and it looked interesting, so I picked it up. Tried it on doors in the Shatterdome. Didn’t work. So I gave it to a buddy of mine, and he did a little digging. Turns out it was to this room. I can’t explain why or how. I thought I’d keep it just in case I needed it, and look at this. We did.”

“That’s weird. A good find, but weird.” Giving a sigh, the older ranger flexed his shoulders. “So, are you done in there?”

“Yeah.”

The hot water felt so nice against Jooheon’s skin. In choosing a shampoo, it intrigued him that the three bottles were so different. The one he went ahead and used had a manly, musky scent, closest to the one he used every day. For some reason, it made him think of the Marshal, too. The other two were light and cottony and fruity and zesty, respectively; the latter also reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. Jooheon did his best to swirl the extra suds over his body, since there seemed to be no wash in there. Changkyun was right about it being well-stocked, it seemed, except for that.When he was out of the shower, Jooheon decided to take Kyun's advice and brush his teeth. Thank goodness that there was a brush still in the package on top of the mirror. Then he pulled his underwear back on and went to rejoin his boyfriend.

Changkyun wasn't wearing his suit, much to Jooheon's surprise. He looked pretty comfortable in a random pair of jeans and dark tee shirt, busily tapping away on his phone. There was also a set of clothes on the bed next to him. Changkyun gave him a smile as he approached, and patted the jeans and shirt by his side. “So, I was looking through the drawers in here. Just so happens that like in the shower, three people have clothes. One is my size, one is yours, and the third person must be someone tall and lanky.”

Jooheon’s eyebrows went up, and he let out a hum, checking the tag on the jeans. Yes, they were a perfect fit. Changkyun knew him all too well.

“There’s also like, fifteen boxes of condoms and at least ten tubes of lube stashed around here too. And then some sex toys I’ve never even dreamed of before. I wonder what this place is anyway. A love cave?”

“I don't think I'm surprised,” Jooheon said half-absentmindedly as he slid into the outfit and hopped onto the bed next to his boyfriend. “I wonder who though? It’s someone who works at the Shatterdome.”

“Well, of course. But that’s all we have.”

“What was the general location of the key?”

“Well--” Changkyun scratched his chin. “It was kind of in the general vicinity of LOCCENT? I was walking between the bunks and there when I saw it.”

“Weird.”

Conversation died down after that; both pilots were content to hold each other in the darkness, smiling and sighing, a few kisses placed here and there.

And then Changkyun’s stomach grumbled.

It dawned on the older boy that neither of them had touched food since lunch (swallowing Changkyun’s cock and cum did not count), and he sucked in a breath. “Oh my God, we didn’t actually eat at the Rio, did we?”

“Nope, we were a little too eager to get around to something else, I think.” Kyun chuckled.

“You must be starving.”

“There’s a 24-hour burger joint down the street. I’ve heard it’s pretty good. Wanna swing by? On foot, maybe?”

“Sure. Why not?”

As soon as they had slid back into socks and shoes, Jooheon grabbed his wallet, and Changkyun made sure he had his key, they were wandering out into the night.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting at a retro style two-person booth, chowing down on chocolate shakes, thick beef patties on pretzel buns, and some of the best sweet potato fries they swore they had ever had. (At the same time, everything tasted better after sex.)

Jooheon couldn’t stop staring at his boyfriend and co-pilot, thoughts from earlier at the forefront of his mind again. He needed a plan, and support for it. Talking was one of his strong suits, so he wasn’t so worried about the latter. However, he had absolutely no idea about the former. How did one even go about approaching the rift to the Kaiju's world? Would dropping a bomb down it work? Probably not, nothing was that simple. Besides, hadn’t the Pan-Pacific Nations tried that before? If he remembered right, it bounced back and detonated underwater, not even touching the breach. Why? It was almost like--the only things allowed through it were the monsters...

Wait. What if that was the case? It certainly made sense. Now how in the heck would they manage to disguise something, whether Jaeger or bomb, as a Kaiju--?

“...Baby?” Jooheon snapped out of his reverie to find Changkyun’s dark eyes on him. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.” Waving it off, the older boy threw a couple fries in his mouth and sighed, guilty that he had let his mind wander. “I’m sorry that this date hasn’t been quite what we planned.”

“That’s a stupid reason to apologize.” Changkyun reached across the booth and took Jooheon’s hand, rubbing his calloused fingers. “First of all, it’s not solely your fault at all. We’re here because we wanted to be here. If anything, it’s my fault that I--you know, took control.” Of course they weren’t going to speak of it directly; there were others here who could be listening in. “I couldn’t dream of a more perfect date with you. We’ve known each other for so long, been in each other’s heads, and still this is all so new and exciting. I don’t think it’s going to fade for me, either. You make me the happiest, proudest person in the world, Jooheonie.”

A gentle smile spread across Jooheon’s face. “Thank you, Kkungie.”

Once their bellies were full and they had paid, it was back to the motel. They were asleep almost from the moment they crawled under the sheets of the king bed and hit the pillows. Or, at least, Changkyun was. Jooheon wrapped his arms around the younger boy protectively, tangling their legs together, kissing his forehead softly after their murmurs of goodnight.

Jooheon wouldn’t have known it was morning except for the sliver of light that peeked in through the tiny gap in the curtains. He didn't even have noise from outside to let him know a new day was starting. As he laid there and pulled himself together, the events of the night before were fresh on his mind. He also had Changkyun’s head on his chest and hand on his abs to sooth his soul. Though he was barely awake enough to think, with a little smile, he reached over to gently run his hand through the younger boy’s hair. An overwhelming rush of love enveloped him. My Prince. My Baby.

He was content to lay there for a while, measuring out his breaths so that he didn’t wake Kyunie. The gears in his head began to work more efficiently, and the usual wave of aftershock fatigue hit. Jooheon's eyes fluttered shut; they didn't have to get up now. It was fine. No one back at the shatterdome probably even realized that they were still gone. They could stay as long as they wanted. All the better if Changkyun stayed asleep for a couple more hours. Then he'd recharge his energy as much as possible, before he inevitably woke up with one of those blinding headaches.

Jooheon still couldn't believe the news. It felt like it had been weeks since he had learned, but it was only two nights ago. Kkungie had cancer, and his selfish ass had refused to treat it so that he could live the rest of his life hard and fast.

Almost as if he knew Jooheon had been thinking about him, Changkyun stirred and sighed. His breathing picked up a bit as he woke. Before he had even opened his eyes, he rumbled breathily: “Jooheonie?”

“Yes, baby?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“Of course. You still remember when I said I’d be your best friend until the end, in Air Force basic, right? Nothing’s changed.”

Jooheon could feel cheeks bunch against his breast. The corners of his mouth tipped up. He imagined an incredibly sloppy-haired twenty-one year old’s small lips widening into a signature, gigantic smile.

Neither moved for another long minute, yet. They both wanted this captured forever. Nothing could touch them here. It was a moment without distracting noise or unnecessary movement, without the Kaiju out to destroy humankind and the younger boy’s tumor pressing mercilessly into the back of his skull. Not even the ominous fear of death that had both rangers in its grasp could ruin the content moment.

But the ugly, ugly truth was that life had to go on. They walked a fated path, barreling toward some end or another.

Changkyun shifted, pushing himself up and off. Jooheon almost immediately missed his warmth, which was enough of a motivation for him to get up, too. Moving to the edge of the bed, he rubbed his eyes and asked. “Do you think the tenants will mind if we use their stuff in the bathroom again?”

“If they even realize that we’ve been here.” The younger boy was changing back into his rumpled, messy suit, that somehow still made him look good.

“Oh, they will. Do you think room service cleans their clothes for them?”

“Considering that this seems to be a well-kept private love cave, probably yes.” Changkyun had a point. Some very rich people must stay here, if they had a room in a legitimate motel all to themselves, constantly.

Jooheon finally made himself stand up. He headed for the bathroom, pulling a hairbrush through his hair quick. The dash of hairspray he had applied the night before to hold his hair back away from his forehead was still kind of working. He dealt with it as best he could.

As Jooheon slipped past and traded spots with Changkyun in front of the mirror, they shared their first kiss of the day. It hurt the older ranger deeply to know that he only had so many left. Soon he, too, had changed into his suit, and figured with a little cleaning, they would be ready to go back to base.

Tap tap tap.

Both Jooheon and Changkyun turned to look at each other at the firm knock, clearly on their door.

Probably room service, Kyun mouthed and shrugged.

The other boy didn’t believe it though, and shook his head. Something was off. No, they would have said so. He crept to the door, narrowing one eye to glance through the peephole. Changkyun was right behind him, just as curious.

Jooheon inhaled sharply. There, beyond, stood a tall, slender man. He was unmistakeable in appearance. A frown graced his plush lips; the rangers had seen his handsome features in countless mugshots.

H.One.

Holy Shit, Jooheon thought to himself. We’re gonna die.

#monsta x #jookyun #jooheon #lee jooheon #i.m #changkyun #im changkyun #fanfiction #my fanfiction #tw:smut #tw:terminal illness #pacific rim!au #don't worry i'm killing myself too writing this~#I love these boys together ah #Sorry this part's mostly smut #I don't know what came over me honestly ://#I promise I'll be back to the story soon~

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