#of all people. It's stupid. The whole fight was stupid and none of it matters because the love of his life might be fucking
Text
married firstprince au set 10ish years in the future where alex is a victim of an assassination attempt while him and henry are apart and the absolutely heartstopping, bone crushing fear when henry gets the call........ bonus points if they were in the middle of a fight at the time............. hold on. i'm throwing up on myself....
#GOD. Everyone shut up okay just shut up#Henry just doing his thing minding his business#fighting the everlooming stress of the fact that it's been six days since he's seen his husband#and the last time he saw him they were hurling biting words and insults at each other#(something they agreed to never do since they got married)#and he's already not sleeping because he can't sleep without Alex#so he's a bit miserable.#But then Shaan comes to him one morning and he KNOWS#The minute he looks at his face he feels his heart fucking drop down to his stomach#and he's just like 'tell me he's not dead. tell me'#and Shaan is like 'he's not but it's bad. We need to go'#So the whole flight Henry's just sat there torturing himself over every horrible word he's ever said to ALEX#of all people. It's stupid. The whole fight was stupid and none of it matters because the love of his life might be fucking#dead by the time he gets to the hospital. Anyways. Alex is in surgery again when he gets there#and he has to wait another EIGHT hours just for a doctor to come out and tell him Alex is fine it was touch and go for a minute there#but he really doesn't hear anything beyond 'Alex is fine.'#Anyways when Henry sees his husband he crawls into bed beside him (careful not to hurt him of course) and just holds him#(and cries softly because he's just had the worst twenty-four hours of his life)#and he's still holding him when Alex wakes up and the first words out of his mouth are 'hey baby' and that's when Henry really loses it#Alex drifts back off to sleep (not without mumbling a sleepy apology and an I love you)#but when he wakes up#they talk and Alex is just like 'I was so fucking scared I would hurt you the way your dad did' and Henry is like#'what do you mean sweetheart?' and Alex is like 'i don't want you to know the pain of losing me i don't want to do that to you'#which nearly sends them BOTH over the edge and it's all very tender and sweet.#Anyways then they make out and fall asleep together in the hospital bed#and it's the best sleep Henry has had in days.#the end#future wips#fandom: rwrb
39 notes
·
View notes
Text
Frat!Rafe has his target locked in and it's shy!reader (pt. 2)
part one / part three
Writer's note: And then here it is: part two. Can you believe it? Obviously it's not the last. I would really like to hear your thoughts and ideas on this. I have some of my own, already typed out a little bit too but still struggling to choose exactly what way I really think works best. Love y'all and thank you for your support xxx rafebaby
After your "moment" with Rafe, you decided to lock yourself in your room all weekend. Hoping it would all pass by as a bad dream. But it didn’t pass by. No matter how hard you wanted to forget about it all, memories of him and you and what happened, repeated itself in your head over and over and over again. You felt ridiculous.
This was Rafe Cameron, for heaven's sake – a guy who had every girl swooning over him. You had nothing against him, but this was literally stupid. It's as if he planted a parasite in your brain, and the parasite is him and now you're kind of doomed to have these feelings that you don't really want yourself having.
So as Monday comes around, you have a hard time convincing yourself to get out of the house to go to the first class of the week. It also happens to be the only day of the week none of your friends are in your class. But Rafe is.
Normally that wouldn’t mean a whole lot to you, but today it has your anxiety peaking. You're afraid to see him, afraid of him seeing you, afraid of embarrassment and probable rumors already being spread around campus. Maybe someone took pictures, maybe they recorded it. Not that you deem yourself so incredibly interesting but stories including campus royalty like Rafe spread like wildfire. Yet missing education for a boy and as a result of a game of ‘spin the bottle’ is something you can not justify to yourself.
You walk into the lecture hall a few minutes before the start of the class, head facing downwards, avoiding any kind of interaction. You're greeted by the professor who is already setting up her presentation. You look up at her briefly and smile before you turn to the room to find yourself a seat, but are shocked to see Rafe Cameron sitting in the back staring straight at you.
Shit.
You immediately break eye contact and nervously sit yourself down in the first seat closest to you Front row. With nervous hands, you manage to get your laptop out of your bag and start it up. Automatic pilot takes over and helps you find the document from the previous lecture, but you can hear the beat of your heart in between your ears, knowing he's behind you.
Maybe you should just apologize to him after class, you think. It was kind of rude to have done what you did, was it not? After all, he never did anything wrong. Only, you have no clue what is going through his head. You've heard about him getting into fights, him dealing, him threatening other people.... But you actually didn't know him at all, so, you know, maybe he would just be happy if you just cleared the air. You're sure he could be nice, you felt it in his touch, in his pace…
Your face flushes red as the memory pops into your head again. Quickly but subtly you take a careful look over your shoulder, wary of Rafe being able to read your mind. As soon as you lay your eyes on him, his head turns into your direction, his eyes following just a bit slower.
The teacher starts her class. “Welcome class!” You snap your head to her. “Today, we’ll follow up on the chapter we started on last week, chapter 9. We left of at page 67 in the textbook…” She goes on.
You are definitely not going to talk to him. After class, you are just gonna leave this room as fast as possible. He's too intimidating. Too scary.
Too handsome.
No, fuck, stop.
During the rest of the period, you find yourself dipping in and out of attention for the lecture, struggling to take notes as time drags on slowly.
When the professor finally concludes the lecture and wishes the class a good rest of the week, everyone hastily starts packing their belongings, eager to escape the confinement of the dusty room. Yet, nobody is as eager as you. The people passing by make it difficult to leave your spot. To them you are more or less invisible. Not to Rafe though. He follows your every move as Topper walks beside him, going on and on about the troubles of his latest relationship troubles. It was always the same with him.
“I don’t know what she wants, man. Whatever I do, I always seem to do the wrong thing. One minute we’re being all lovey dovey, the next, she says she needs space.”
Rafe’s completely unbothered. Unlike himself, Topper is a total doormat. The wait-and-see type of guy. Rafe however likes to go after what he wants. And so, without any announcements, he leaves Topper behind, following you at a covert distance. “Hey dude! Where are you going?” Topper tries to catch up with him again, but Rafe strides on. “See you later, Top!” He exclaims unentertained with his head acing his target. You’re too jittery to notice, so busy to get out fast. He can tell, but he won’t have it. This time he won’t let you get away that easily.
➤ taglist: here
#rafe cameron x reader#rafe x reader#rafe cameron#drew starkey#rafe outer banks#rafe obx#rafe cameron imagine#obx x reader
725 notes
·
View notes
Text
Killer Instinct
× Playlist ×
“Beomgyu knows better than to get himself involved in that shady fight club you always warn him about— but he never listens to you, and despite how much you beg him to leave that place alone, you don’t find yourself to be too surprised when he starts bringing those same people you warned him about to you.”
MMA Fighter! Taehyun x fem!reader
Genre: underground fight club! au, mma fighter!taehyun, enemies to lovers, thriller/action, angst, smut
Word count: 37.4K
Warnings: general violence. (This is an mma au; fighting, blood, injuries, etc.) illegal activities (underground clubs, gambling, etc) older!mc (3 years gap), use of the word “noona”, talks about family issues, single parenting, tae is a little bitch, weapons, (knives, guns), stabbing, cigarette smoking, mc is also a bitch (they’re mean to each other), medical inaccuracies probably sksjsj, a bit of jealousy… mentions of bullying, mentions of power imbalance & manipulation, alcohol consumption, mentions of death & coping, mma inaccuracies bc i am not a professional!!
Smut warnings: dom!tae, sub!mc, mc is slightly bratty, manhandling, breast play, marking, biting, oral (f. rec), bro is a pussy fiend, (service top!tae? maybe?) hair pulling, scratching, unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, creampie(s)
Notes: i’ve worked on this stupid story for so long that i don’t even want to look at it anymore. (/hj.) another warning that idk anything abt mma, so there are definitely inaccuracies! features literally the whole idol industry,,, they're scattered like easter eggs.
The air is thick and foggy; Taehyun can already feel the sweat beginning to form on his brow the moment he enters, pushed around like a rag-doll from the full capacity of the room. No one bothers to spare him a glance— he’s a nobody, a clueless figure that’s given away from the sheer curiosity that breaks through his eyes. The poor boy is forced to hold in a cough as someone proceeds to blow cigarette smoke in his face; he hears a few mocking chuckles around him.
None of that matters, though. The flickering, weak lights overhead manage to spotlight his objective perfectly, his eyes lighting up with wonder as he feels a grin threatening to spread on his face; before him, two unknown men stand in a ring.
Taehyun’s muscles twitch in attention— his mind is racing, imagining himself in their place as he watches the two slowly circle each other, wondering what he would do if he were in their place; even from here, Taehyun can see the hungry look on one of the men’s faces, a bloody grin stuck on his face as he keeps his hands up and close— his hair is tied up and out of his face as he stares his opponent down.
It’s tense, wild even, as he finally swings, landing a punch to the other man’s stomach as the crowd around the ring roars— in approval or dread, he isn’t sure entirely. It’s a mixture of everything, men and women alike gesturing wildly as their screams blend in with the crowd; all to form a violent audience, closing in hysterically on the ring in hopes of getting a good view.
Taehyun feels adrenaline coursing through him— it’s contagious.
He fights the urge to try and push through, curious to see what might be going on as a sudden unanimous roar sweeps through the crowd. His eyes dart wildly, watching people celebrate, clapping each other on the backs as they cheer; others don't share the feeling, upset or even angry as he finds people being held back from trying to get on the ring— security is quick to put an end to it, though.
And as he slowly watches the crowd scatter, he sees the same man from before circling the ring, bloody and bruised as he walks back to the referee; his arm is thrust up by the official as his supporters cheer in victory. Eyes scanning the room, his eyes briefly land on Taehyun’s before he’s back to gloating, proud despite the clear beating he took himself.
Taehyun can feel his ambitious heart beat faster— he doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but he wants to be up there next.
The buzz of it all is quick to calm down; it’s as though nothing happened, and he notices the way the unconscious man gets picked up and carried towards an infirmary— taking in his condition, Taehyun shudders, trying to shake it off before he looks for his target.
“‘scuse me,” Taehyun says, voice rough and as confident as he can get it to be— he hopes the referee can’t see through his act of bravery. The man barely spares him a glance before he nods, seemingly able to see what he’s here for— the small quirk of his lips is more mocking than anything to Taehyun.
“What do you want, kid,” the unamused tone of the man before him isn’t very encouraging— for a moment, Taehyun almost feels foolish for stepping inside such a foreign ground without proper connections; he’s quick to push the feeling away, much too used to the patronizing looks he gets for being a newcomer.
“Get me in the ring,” he can’t seem unsure now— if anything, any ounce of hesitation will get him denied immediately. Taehyun is demanding, jaw clenched and gaze hard as he stares at the older man before him; his eyes narrow at the younger’s words, and for a second Taehyun wonders if he took the wrong approach.
“You got money to bet?” The older man’s words only bring excitement to Taehyun— he can’t hold back his eager nod, ignoring the man’s amused chuckles as he reaches into his duffle bag; carefully, he pulls out a thick wad of cash, allowing it to peek slightly out of his bag as he glances back up at the referee— judging by the smug look on his face, Taehyun is sure that what he’s brought is more than enough.
“Good boy,” the referee whistles, but Taehyun chooses to ignore his blatant mockery as he tucks the envelope back in.
“Jin,” the man introduces himself, offering his hand out in the introduction— Taehyun takes it, the smooth leather of Jin’s black gloves stained with blood as he holds the younger’s hand tightly; he tries to pretend that he doesn’t notice the blood smudge onto his skin, attempting to wipe it off without being noticed. “Let’s go get you on the registry, I’ll see if I can find another newbie for you.”
“Taehyun,” he says, following obediently as Jin weaves through the crowd effortlessly. Taehyun, however, isn’t as lucky, struggling to keep up as everyone seemingly goes out of their way to get in his path— it isn’t long before Taehyun resorts to pushing roughly through the faceless people.
“Newbie? I don’t—“ Taehyun grunts as someone shoulder checks him, turning to the side roughly as he attempts to keep his sight on Jin; slowly, he’s able to catch up, “Don’t put me up against a newbie.”
The curious glance Jin spares is enough for Taehyun to get the confidence to continue.
“Put me up with someone experienced— all or nothing.”
Jin can’t control the laugh that escapes him at the younger’s words; his head is thrown back, briefly catching the attention of those around him as he stops before the bar. Leaning against the wooden counter, Jin’s act quickly becomes unamusing to Taehyun as he’s forced to watch as the older man attempts to regain his composure. When he does, Taehyun can feel his jaw tick— pure mockery fills Jin’s eyes.
“You even know how to fight, kid?” Taehyun says nothing, afraid of what might come out if he chooses to open his mouth. But his steely gaze is enough for Jin, who reluctantly holds his hands up in surrender—he can tell there’s still a reluctance in the man to take him seriously.
“Fine, I’ll give you your money’s worth,” Jin mutters, glancing back at the black duffle bag that remains secured at Taehyun’s side, “from the amount you showed me, I’m sure I could get The Bear’s attention.”
“The Bear?” Taehyun echoed, frowning at the name. Jin only scoffs, rolling his eyes at the title.
“I know. Stupid, isn’t it? Whatever sticks, I guess,” the referee grumbled, clearly displeased at the thought of having to announce any ridiculous names— clearing his throat, Jin squared his shoulders as he shot Taehyun a smug smile.
“The one who just won— that’s The Bear,” Jin explains, narrowing his eyes as he gauged Taehyun’s expression, “I saw you staring— you stick out badly— and I know you wanna have a go at him.”
Solemnly, Taehyun nods— Jin only sighs at that.
“Of course,” he runs a hand through his hair, seemingly unfazed by the uncleanliness of his gloves, “everyone does.”
Taehyun wondered if Jin berated every newcomer like this— he wouldn’t put it past the referee, quite honestly. It hadn’t been long since they met, but this short amount of time had Taehyun wondering if the older man even wanted to be a part of this place; slowly, a fire lights in Jin’s eyes, leaving Taehyun confused as he watches the man let out a cruel laugh; his eyes were no longer on Taehyun’s, but instead at a very distant point behind him— one glance over his shoulder and he was able to see victor from before approaching— The Bear.
“Cocky, faceless fighters like you,” Jin calls out, bringing Taehyun’s attention back as the younger’s eyes meet his— something is threatening within them, and Taehyun wished that he didn’t feel a sense of danger lick up his body as a grin overtook the referee’s face, “I love watching them get put in their place.”
Taehyun was unable to say anything to that— Jin’s expression seemed to light up as he pushed himself off the bar, his gloved hand slapping on Taehyun’s shoulder, startling the boy as he felt himself turned around forcefully— any angry comments died on his tongue as Jin pulled him into his side, walking forward as he called out a foreign name: Beomgyu.
“Beomgyu!” Jin calls out, grinning wildly as he forces Taehyun to follow along. Like before, Taehyun is turned into nothing but a rag-doll, fighting back the urge to shake him off as they approach the man— he can feel the curious stares of the patrons dig into him, and Taehyun begins to wonder what he got himself into as Seokjin’s fingers dig into his shoulder— almost as though he were preventing him from running away.
One look at the man before him has Taehyun’s nerves on fire— were they really going to let him fight like this? The man before him is bruised and bloody, refusing to stop at the infirmary as he shrugs on his coat; slowly, a grin overtakes his features, a slight wince stopping him as his cut lip reopens— Taehyun can hear the man curse under his breath.
“Who’s this?” Though Beomgyu’s eyes remain on Taehyun’s, he’s not truly talking to the newcomer; Jin is quick to respond, shaking the young boy teasingly as he laughs.
“Taehyun,” Jin says, patting the boy’s shoulder as he glances at him, “says he wants to have a go at you.”
Beomgyu quirks a brow at that— he’s clearly amused, letting out a soft huff as he’s crossing his arms over his bare torso; Taehyun can already spot dark bruises forming in certain spots, his thin and reddened fingers tapping at his bicep impatiently as he surveys Taehyun.
“I don’t know,” Beomgyu drawls, tilting his head as though he were in thought, “I don’t wanna scare the poor kid off by giving him a good beating.”
This, Taehyun decides, is about all he can put up with; shrugging Jin’s hand off his shoulder, he scoffs, stepping forward and coming face to face with Beomgyu— the man isn’t even much taller than him, and he seems to be around his age too— yet the arrogance pours off him in waves, looking at Taehyun as though he were lesser than him— yet, he hasn’t seen what Taehyun can do.
Beomgyu doesn’t seem phased by any of this; it’s like the smug look on his face is permanent, his head held high as Taehyun takes a moment to survey him. The air is tense as the patrons at the bar become aware of what’s happening before them; it isn’t long before they’re all taunting either Taehyun or Beomgyu, encouraging them to fight in hopes that they’ll get another show.
“If anything, I should be the one worried for you,” Taehyun mutters, a fake look of sympathy crossing his face at the thought, his voice patronizing as he continues, “I wouldn’t wanna ruin your pretty face.”
A pause. Beomgyu’s jaw clenches, his eyes narrowing as he fights back the smile that itches to show; shaking his head, he scoffs, enjoying the way Taehyun’s fiery gaze seems to burn into his skin. He sighs— it’s long and labored, his head thrown back as he shakes his bangs out of his face— then he reaches out, clapping Taehyun on his shoulder as he looks at Jin, nodding in approval.
“Get us in the next best slot,” Beomgyu says, and the spectators seem to grow more excited with his every word. Glancing back at Taehyun, he smiles; it’s mischievous and sly, but Taehyun doesn’t allow it to get to him as he stands his ground. “I need to freshen up.”
The room is buzzing with energy as everyone seems to spread out, watching Beomgyu disappear into the locker room before they begin to bet on the results; Taehyun grimaces at the number of people who are already betting against him.
“Seems like you bit off more than you can chew,” Jin whispers, leaning in as he bumps against Taehyun playfully. “You got twenty minutes; pray if you need to.”
Taehyun grits his teeth as Seokjin walks back to the bar, leaning in towards the bartender as they talk, glancing back at Taehyun before they’re laughing and nodding— it doesn’t take a genius to guess what they’re talking about. Readjusting the strap of his duffle bag, Taehyun has no choice but to make his way into the locker room; he just hopes The Bear can save his temper for the match.
It wasn’t as though he wanted to provoke the man— if anything, it was the last thing he wanted to do. But, it wasn’t long before Taehyun realized that being nice wouldn’t get him anywhere; luckily for him, he didn’t truly mind.
The locker room is small, just as Taehyun expected; the lighting is dim and there isn’t much room to move due to the benches that line the walkways— Taehyun frowns at the inconvenient layout. At the end of the wall to his left, he finds a doorway to another room— he catches a glimpse of showers and bathroom stalls; the water runs on that side of the room, and Taehyun can already guess who might be behind the flimsy wall that separates them. Sighing, Taehyun looks for the nearest empty locker.
The sound of running water fills Taehyun’s head, blocking out everything else as he begins to think— attempting to remember all the moves Beomgyu used, trying to decipher his fighting style; his mind raced with different possibilities he could use to counter him.
“Hey,” Taehyun is ripped out of his reverie at the firm voice, his head snapping up at the realization that they were talking to him; turning around, he’s unfazed to find The Bear staring at him blankly.
“First time in the cage?” He asks, tilting his head as he surveys Taehyun curiously. Taehyun shakes his head in response, watching as Beomgyu only nods thoughtfully at that. It’s clear he took a moment to patch himself up, but it’s still strange to Taehyun that he’s willing to go for another match so soon— his cockiness only fuels Taehyun further.
“It sure does look like it.” Beomgyu doesn’t bother lingering around— he’s ready, clapping Taehyun on the shoulder before he’s walking away, heading back out as he spares Taehyun one last apathetic glance. “Don’t get your hopes up too much, ‘kay? I’ll even go easy on you.”
Taehyun says nothing. He can feel his jaw clench, trying his best to bite back another comment as he watches the older man exit the locker room; His fists tighten, the feeling of his hands tightening over the material of his wraps allowing him to calm down as he takes a steady breath. Sighing, his head is tilted back, eyes surveying the dim room for a clock— it isn’t long before he spots it above the doorway, calculating how much time he has left to prepare.
Ten minutes.
That’s more than enough for him.
⊹⊹⊹
The cage is freshly cleaned. It reeks of cleaner and is scuffed and old under Taehyun’s feet. He has no interest in hearing about the fight that went on before his— the bored mumblings of the spectators were enough for him to tune everything out. The seating area wasn’t that big, but it was enough for the people that were more than ready to gamble and waste away from alcohol as they watched; it didn’t take a genius to know that the regulations in the place weren’t very strict.
There’s someone new standing in the cage— a commentator, Taehyun realizes. He looks like he could be a fighter himself, but the fire in his eyes seems to be curated more for the thrill of commentating every detail of the fights before him. Words spill rapidly from his mouth, but Taehyun can’t bring himself to tune in; his bright platinum hair is glowing, even under the flickering lights, and the commentator’s names manages to slip through the walls of Taehyun’s concentration— Taeyong, with his co-commentator, Jeno.
It’s clear they’re here to do nothing more than build up tension, making useless comments that make the audience cheer or roar with disapproval. Taeyong is gesturing wildly, pointing to the fighter’s separate corners as he seems to be talking about them; Taehyun can feel the searing stares of the people around him.
Beomgyu stands across from him, his hair pulled back and his face gone dead as he stares at Taehyun— he doesn’t look away for a second. His hands are left at his sides, fingers clenching around his wraps as he tilts his head side to side; Taehyun hears the faint crack of his bones, even from where he stands. He frowns, beginning to feel antsy the longer the commentators take— from the corner of his eye, he sees Jin enter the ring, nodding to Taeyong and Jeno as they shake hands.
Taehyun takes a slow breath, jaw clenching as he feels his teeth bite into his mouth guard. He can feel his impatience growing the longer he stares at The Bear, watching as the man before him only smiles mischievously at him; he’s pacing around his side, eyes pinned to Taehyun as though he were a predator ready to strike.
The Bear’s eyes light up the moment the two commentators exit the ring.
Their voices still ring out through the speakers, spewing random things about the scene as Jin beckons the two to approach him.
“I want a clean, fair fight.” Jin begins, reaching out to clasp the two’s shoulders, “You know the rules. Protect yourself at all times, touch gloves if you want to.”
A beat passes as Jin glances at the two fighters— Taehyun does nothing; Beomgyu only grins at that.
Sighing, Jin backs away from the two, clapping his hands before he points back to their respective sides.
“Back to your corners,” Jin yells, huffing as he backs away, mumbling under his breath as he does so, “let’s get this over with.”
Taehyun’s hands come up instinctively, eyes narrowing as he waits for the familiar sound of the bell. Beomgyu does the same, his stance opening as an undeniable smile graces his lips; if Taehyun didn’t know better, he’d almost think this was nothing but a game to him.
His body tenses the moment the bell rings throughout the room, his mind racing as he watches Beomgyu begin to make his way to him.
Nothing happens at first; they circle each other, Taehyun’s feet pacing quickly around the cage as he waits for a good opening. The useless chatter of the commentators threatens to break his concentration, but he knows better than to pay attention to anything other than the man before him.
Beomgyu throws the first punch. A sharp jab is directed toward his head, but it doesn’t land as Taehyun sharply moves away. Everything changes in an instant; the moment Beomgyu puts his arm out is the moment Taehyun begins to look for a weakness. It’s a rapid flow of punches and dodges, the commentators making a fuss over everything as nothing connects properly.
Beomgyu’s punches are strong; Taehyun’s forearms ache at the impact, jumping back the moment Beomgyu attempts to land a kick— a liver shot, Taehyun realizes with a small smile.
The two boys are equally matched, and it isn’t long before the crowd catches onto that fact— suddenly the fight has become more interesting, and Taehyun can sense everyone’s eyes on them as he watches Beomgyu prep for another kick, the minuscule mistake of his rear hand coming down giving Taehyun the perfect opening.
Taehyun’s body twists violently, his right hand swinging around as he aims for Beomgyu’s head; the impact sends the crowd roaring.
He feels his fist come in contact with a wound from his previous fight, his brow splitting back open as Beomgyu winces at the feeling— he wobbles slightly from the shock, his eye squinting as blood begins to trickle down.
“You motherfucker,” Beomgyu’s lips read, snarling at Taehyun as his guard seems to be raised. His arms immediately come back up, protecting his head as another of Taehyun’s punches threatens to connect. With his body exposed, Taehyun is unable to stop the kick that shoots straight at him, at the same spot as before; He feels his vision blur for a second as his breath is knocked out of him.
Beomgyu is coming back for more as the last counts for the round are yelled out. Jabs and kicks are exchanged in rapid fire, and it’s all lost in a blur of motion as the two attempt to weaken the other— the bell rings, signaling the end of the round.
Back in his corner, Taehyun is surprised to find that Beomgyu has no coach. He’s just like him, forced to tend to his wounds and think of a new strategy on his own; Taehyun is surprised The Bear was able to land such strong hits with his vision impaired so badly.
Beomgyu is a ruthless fighter; he has technique and experience, and it seems that all mercy will fly out the window the moment he catches his opponent in a vulnerable spot— Taehyun just needs to make sure to not give him the opportunity.
“Ready?” Jin’s strong yell breaks through both of the fighter’s minds, and it isn’t long before Taehyun finds himself back in the center of the ring, adjusting his mouthpiece as he doesn’t bother paying attention to Jin’s rambles.
“Knock ‘em out Bear, get this over with,” it’s the only thing that catches Taehyun’s attention, the sharp glare he sends to Jin doing nothing as he’s told to go back to his corner— though he doesn’t miss the smug look that Beomgyu sends him.
The new round is immediate; there’s a fire in Taehyun’s eyes, his body pumping with adrenaline as he immediately approaches Beomgyu, unsurprised to find that he does the same. His breathing is slightly labored as the exhaustion from the last round seems to be catching up to him, but Taehyun doesn’t let the feeling deter him as Beomgyu attempts to deliver another kick; Taehyun counters it with one of his own.
Nothing seems to land properly; it’s beginning to frustrate Taehyun, but he knows not to let the feeling linger too long— he’s found himself cornered, and it isn’t long before he’s wrapped up in a clinch; The Bear’s limbs constrict his, tightening around him as he attempts to wrestle him to the ground, his punches directing jabs to his ribs and face— one connects roughly against his nose, and he can already feel the familiar liquid dripping out. It’s painful, but Taehyun doesn’t let the feeling overwhelm him as he tries to break the other’s hold on him.
Though he finds himself on the floor, he’s able to break away from The Bear’s grapple, shaking himself off as he backs away, attempting to reassess the situation before him.
Something shifts in his opponent.
Time is running out in the round, and they both seem to realize this as punches are delivered in a more rapid fire. Taehyun hates to think it, but The Bear’s technique is good as his hits begin to fly before him, struggling to keep up as he delivers a few of his own.
One lands against the side of Beomgyu’s head; it manages to break his concentration, the hook breaking through him as it connects harshly to the man’s jaw. Taehyun can already feel his body moving before he realizes, his body seemingly moving on its own like instinct. Beomgyu manages to get a jab of his own, but it does nothing against the next punch that has him stumbling back, his vision spinning as Taehyun continues to go after him, preparing for one final move.
A roundhouse kick— straight to his liver, stunning the man as he feels his body begin to scream at him from the impact, leaving Taehyun stumbling from his horrible footing. He’s only able to get a few more punches out before Beomgyu’s falling, the referee screaming at Taehyun to back away from him the moment he falls back.
Adrenaline fills Taehyun’s body the moment he processes everything.
The crowd roars at the spectacle; Taehyun doesn’t realize what he’s doing as he roams before Beomgyu— his wounds sting and his skin is red and bruised as he grins, teeth gritting against his mouthpiece as he smiles, not bothering to wipe away the blood that drips down from his wounds— the cage is stained with it, a mark of his territory as adrenaline courses through his veins; his eyes scan over the crowd, filled with people who were set on him losing— he can only laugh at the sight.
“Get up,” Jin yells at Beomgyu, attempting to break through the noise as he pats his cheek, “can you get up?”
Beomgyu’s nod is slow and defeated. He’s sitting up and leaning against the cage as the bell tolls like a deadly gong around him. Peering through his heavy lids, he sees Taehyun’s celebration, in a condition no better than his as he’s stumbling to the center to meet Jin.
“Impressive,” Jin admits quietly, and just like he’s seen before, his hand is thrust up as the audience cheers wildly, the proud grin taking energy from Taehyun as his posture slouches slightly.
Despite looking down at him, Jin looks surprised— impressed, even. The thought makes Taehyun smile as he tilts his head back, squinting at the bright lights that are hot on his skin, a long exhale leaving him as he laughs once more; he was just getting started.
⊹⊹⊹
Taehyun’s head feels as though it’s been split open; he doesn’t really remember what happened after his win.
He can’t bring himself to move, a deep sigh escaping him as he winces at the bright lights above him; the cot he lays on is stiff, the uncomfortable paper beneath him crinkling as he attempts to get slightly comfortable— his face is stiff with bandages.
Another fight seems to be going on outside; the annoying ramblings of the commentators seem to seep into where he is. Taehyun is too tired to linger around, so he attempts to put the last of his energy into sitting up properly— his thoughts are interrupted by the loud footsteps that approach the room.
“Beomgyu!” The voice is angry, growling with frustration as the door swings open. Taehyun attempts to look up at the sound, but it’s futile as the curtain around his cot obscures his view.
“Beomgyu, you fucker!” Taehyun winces— his head is throbbing at the intrusion, and his eyes shut tightly in hopes that the newcomer will shut up soon. “You little snake, you’re dead meat!”
“Can you please quiet down?” The voice that was once taunting and dripping with confidence is now gruff and tired— Taehyun can recognize that voice anywhere, and suddenly, his urge to leave is only amplified.
“Jesus, I don’t get why you always come here screaming like that,” Beomgyu says, exhaustion sowed in his voice, “It’s not like it’ll change anything.”
“Fuck! Look at you!” The woman pushes past all his irritated comments, and Taehyun hears both protests from Beomgyu and the crinkling of paper, “I can’t believe you, how the hell am I gonna explain this to your mother? You know she hates it when you sneak over here!”
“Chill with that, I can handle myself just fine,” Beomgyu scoffs, “You should be more worried about the other guy, anyway— gave him a good beating.”
Taehyun scoffs at that.
“The other guy?” The woman says, and before Taehyun can prepare himself, he hears footsteps approaching where he lays— the curtain is ripped away without warning, and Taehyun hisses at the lights that shine in his eyes.
“Holy shit!”
He’s not sure if he should be offended by that, but Taehyun keeps his eyes shut in hopes that the woman will simply turn her attention back to Beomgyu; he’s surprised to feel her approaching him more.
“Jesus Christ,” she mumbles, observing Taehyun as though he were a spectacle; Taehyun takes a deep breath, hoping that his patience doesn’t run out soon, “Beomgyu, you prick!”
“Hey,” Taehyun grumbles, brows twitching in frustration as he screws his eyes shut, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t scream in my ear.”
“Oh shit,” The woman jumps back at his words— almost as though she hadn’t expected him to be awake. One look at his angry expression has her quieting down, whispering a soft apology before she’s turning back to Beomgyu.
“You little snake,” she hisses, whispering angrily as she crosses her arms on her chest angrily, “you were supposed to come help unload the delivery today! You were the only strong one available that day, so imagine your mother’s surprise when you’re nowhere in sight!”
Peeking through his lids, Taehyun is able to catch a glimpse of the woman stomping over to Beomgyu, slapping his arm roughly as he yelps in response; the sight is almost amusing.
“I had to lie my ass off and say you were fucking studying!” Another rough smack is delivered to his arm, as though her mentioning the incident brings back pure rage, “Of course she didn’t believe me at first! So I volunteered to do it myself! My arms are so sore, you fucker!”
“Don’t seem sore to me,” Beomgyu grumbles, rubbing his bicep as he scoots away from the violent woman. “I’ll make it up to you, ___. I promise.”
The woman, ___, only shakes her head in disappointment. Turning back around, she stalks her way back to Taehyun.
“Sorry about his recklessness,” she says, and Taehyun’s eyes only widen as she bows in apology— he sits up, wincing as he awkwardly attempts to shake her off. Standing straight, she huffs, hands folded neatly in front of her as she sends him a polite smile.
“___,” she introduces, fishing in her pocket for something; a business card, he realizes. “Feel free to stop by for a meal— on the house. I promise we don’t condone that one’s behavior,” Beomgyu quietly dismisses her, saying that he’s not that different from me; his words don’t seem to reach her.
The card is cool and smooth in his fingers, and Taehyun nods softly as he watches her bow again; then she’s walking back to Beomgyu, sending him a sickly sweet smile as she leans in.
“Two hours. You better be back for the dinner rush. Or else,” wordlessly, she brings up a fist, slamming it into her open palm in a clear threat. Beomgyu gulps, the action not as subtle as he wished as he nods nervously. Straightening up, she smiles, ruffling Beomgyu’s hair before she leaves— it isn’t until then that Beomgyu clears his throat, calling after her hurriedly.
“Hey,” He yells, pointing at her accusingly— yet she doesn’t turn back around once, his words falling on deaf ears as they watch her retreat, “Stop giving out free meals like that, you’ll go broke doing this shit!”
Swiftly, she flicks him off.
Then, she’s gone.
Taehyun has to stifle a laugh as Beomgyu huffs in bewilderment, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide it the moment Beomgyu sends him a killer glare. From the corner of his eye, Beomgyu runs his hand through his hair desperately, cursing quietly to himself as he stares at the doorway, then glances back up at the clock— it’s silent save for the quiet mutterings of the man next to him.
The door opens again, and Jin walks inside.
“___ just left?” He asks, leaning against the doorway as he looks expectantly at Beomgyu; he nods, a frustrated look on his face at the very mention of the woman. Jin groans, shaking his head as he lets out a deep sigh.
“Damn. I promised Jungkook I’d try to make her stay a while.” Beomgyu sneers at that, throwing his pillow at the referee as Jin dodges it with ease, a squeaky laugh escaping him before he throws it back at the younger man.
“Tell him to go find her at that damn restaurant if he’s so interested,” Beomgyu snarls, rolling his eyes at Jin’s amused reaction. Laying back down, he pulls the curtains back around his cot, his voice muffled as he calls out, “And you better not be thinking about going for that free meal, newbie.”
It becomes Taehyun’s turn to sneer.
⊹⊹⊹
Beomgyu is dead meat.
It’s the only thought that runs through your mind, glaring at the cutting board beneath you as vegetables fly through your hands. All the background noise dies as you allow yourself to think, glancing back at the clock in hopes that the next hour will pass by quickly.
You’re not sure what led him to involve himself so deeply in that strange underground MMA club. It was dangerous and untrustworthy— you and his mother made sure to drill that into his head the first time you caught him messing around.
Even so, it seems as though your efforts only fall short in the end. No matter how much you team up with his mother, telling him that he should consider taking up the business in the future, or god forbid, actually focus on college, it always ends up in him shrugging you off dumbly, or waving you off as he tells you not to worry— he knows what he’s doing.
You’re on autopilot as you sift through the countless orders, the small open layout of the kitchen allowing you to peek at the entrance from time to time—all in false hopes of seeing the young boy you always pestered.
Two years isn’t much of a difference, but god, Beomgyu made it feel like it was sometimes. Most of the time you felt more like an older sister than an employee at his mother’s restaurant— it wasn’t your fault the man was quite the nuisance, your schedule becoming much more consistent and forcing you to see him practically all the time, and it wasn’t long before you found yourself wrapped up in the Choi family's personal lives.
Five minutes. You think to yourself, gritting your teeth as the next hour passes, you’ll give him five more minutes.
The next five minutes pass seamlessly.
Honestly, was two hours not enough? You get that Beomgyu was very particular about his appearance despite his interest, but two hours was more than enough for a person to patch themselves up and come back home. You attempted to not let your frustration show, averting your eyes the moment Ms. Choi appears in your peripheral vision, mumbling in curiosity about where her son might be.
Another five minutes pass— then, thirty. The restaurant is beginning to fill up as it always does, and you’re trying to hone your concentration in hopes that your undying rage won’t seep through your face. The sound of the bell ringing breaks through your thoughts, and you look up automatically to greet the new customer.
Your grip on your knife tightens.
“He—“ Ms. Choi gulps, her jaw dropping at the sight as she turns frantically to you. Taking in your expression she sighs, exasperated as she rubs at her face in frustration. “He wasn’t studying, was he?”
Making eye contact with Beomgyu, you allow your muscle memory to take over, cutting through the vegetables effortlessly as you grit your teeth, not looking away from him for a second.
“No ma’am.”
His mother is speechless as she scoffs in frustration, cursing at her son under her breath before she’s taking off her apron— you don’t bother glancing back at the younger boy as you turn back to your cooking, the sounds of the Choi’s hushed bickering reaching your ears as they go to the back.
It takes a while before Beomgyu emerges, patched up and pouting as walks up behind you.
“Where do you want me,” he says, petulant with his tone as he glances at the workers around him; they barely spare him a glance, all too used to his behaviors as they focus on their orders instead. You hum in thought, looking up from your stove as you survey the area— like always, Beomgyu has managed to sneak in toward the end of the rush hour; it’s not like you’re short-staffed in the kitchen, either.
“Go bus tables,” you say, rolling your eyes at the way Beomgyu whines at your words. He’s as annoying as ever, pulling at your sleeves in an attempt to get your attention as you refuse to look at him; shrugging him off, you hear him groan behind you.
“You never let me help in the kitchen,” he protests, and it takes all the strength within you to not turn around and smack him.
“If you arrived an hour earlier, you would’ve,” you hiss, waving him off, you walk past him as he opens his mouth to protest more, “get to work.”
His mumbles and whines still reach your ears as he exits the kitchen— and it only takes one sharp glare from you to shut him up. For the rest of your shift, all you can think is how spoiled this boy remains— he doesn’t know how lucky he is, watching as his mother finally grows soft on him, shooing him back to their home to rest as he meekly nods at her words, putting an act of weakness as he immediately leaves his position— but the smug smile he adorns as he hangs up his apron doesn’t go unnoticed by you.
Sighing, you glance back at the clock— two more hours, then you close.
⊹⊹⊹
“You’re still here?”
You refuse to respond to that— instead, you grit your teeth, scrubbing at a stain on the bar as you continue to pre-close. Beomgyu sighs, sitting at the bar as he leans on the counter, seemingly paying no mind to the damp wood that comes in contact with his sleeves. He’s desperate to get your attention, calling your name out softly as you continue to ignore him.
“Are you closing today? Why is it just you?”
“Sent everyone home. They helped enough.”
If the place remained as empty as it is now, the only thing you would need to do is clean the floors and machines— which takes little to no effort for you. Beomgyu shakes his head at your words, sitting up straight as he folds his hands in his lap.
“I’ll help,” his words are immediately met with a scoff from you, his brows furrowing as he watches you shake your head in amusement— you only laugh more as he softly questions why you’re laughing.
“Help?” You say, tilting your head as you finally look at him. Throwing the wet towel on the counter, you scoff, crossing your arms over your chest as you take a step back.
“I asked for your help— three hours ago. Yet you still chose to be a brat and go back upstairs the moment your mother pitied you. You—“ cutting yourself off, you sigh, shaking your head before you’re picking the wet towel back off, turning your back to him, “I hope you realize how much she spoils you.”
A twinge of embarrassment threatens to consume you due to your outburst, for the silence that follows after is entirely unexpected— usually, Beomgyu never knows when to shut his mouth. Then again, he never really knew what to say when the topic of his parent arose; he was afraid of saying something insensitive to you, you suppose.
Yet you refuse to be the one to cave in— you refuse to even make eye contact with him, walking out of the kitchen area as you go to wipe down tables; it’s then that the small bell above the restaurant door rings.
Mentally, you sigh— there was less than an hour left; nevertheless, you plaster on a cheery smile, straightening as you glance behind you and to the new customer; stiffening, you wince as you try to not let your surprise show through.
“Welcome,” you grit out, meeting eyes with the same man Beomgyu had beaten to a pulp a couple of hours ago— yet he seems perfectly fine, patched up and unphased as he sends you a somber nod, your worries that he’d be another bitter fighter that tracked Beomgyu down dispelled.
“You—!” Beomgyu is back to his awfully rambunctious self in a split second, twisted around in his seat as he sends the man by the entrance a sour look. “I told you not to come here!”
Taehyun pays no mind to the dirty looks Beomgyu sends him— if anything, he smiles, ever so casual in his demeanor as he goes to sit down; next to Beomgyu, of course.
“This place any good?” He asks, his voice gruff as he leans into Beomgyu cheekily, “you seem really eager to keep it hidden.”
“You kidding? You’re at the hottest spot in town,” Beomgyu scoffs, puffing his chest out as he leers at Taehyun “I doubt you’ve never heard of this place.”
Their conversation becomes nothing but a muffled mess to you. Their tension is unending as they converse, their eyes filled with a fire that suggests that they might just forget about the food and fight here and now— which is why you step in, not wanting to clean up after any more messes as you take Taehyun’s order.
At some point, you find yourself tuning back into their conversation— their rivalry is ridiculous, the tension rolling off in waves as you take a breath; Turning around, you go to place Taehyun’s order in front of him, reluctant to meet his eyes as you go to leave.
“Hope I didn’t scare you off today,” Beomgyu goads, ever the instigator as he rests his chin in his hand cheekily, “but then again, you did ask for it.”
Taehyun scoffs— it’s enough for you to turn back around, watching from afar in fear that Beomgyu will try to take things too far.
“Don’t act like you left the ring all perfect,” Taehyun tilts his head, brows furrowing as he inspects Beomgyu, “Remind me, who was it that won?”
You bite back a laugh at that, surprised to hear the results of the fight— it’s easy to do when Beomgyu is sitting up, a clear fire lighting in his eyes as he leans closer to Taehyun; his food remains untouched. You’re tense, watching carefully and waiting for a switch to flip inside Beomgyu; the last thing you want is for his mother to come down and find him in the middle of another fight.
Instead, Beomgyu smiles; it’s a small twitch of his lips at first, his mind clearly telling him to fight it off before it overtakes him, a bewildered laugh escaping him before he’s clapping Taehyun on the shoulder, the action so rough and sudden that Taehyun is flinching from his touch. Beomgyu doesn’t say anything, lost in his thoughts as he continues to laugh— you’re unsure if he’s getting ready to throw a punch or not.
“You…” Beomgyu grins, letting go of Taehyun with a sigh. He shakes his head, huffing in amusement before he continues, “I like you, you’ve got ambition.”
“The ring’s closed tomorrow, but it’s available for training. I’ve been needing a new sparring partner,” Beomgyu trails off, and Taehyun is quick to catch on as he frowns.
“Tomorrow?” Beomgyu nods in confirmation. It’s silent, and you’re making your way back to them as Taehyun seems to ponder it.
“You won’t be free tomorrow Beomgyu,” you say, grabbing his attention as you send him a warning smile, “You’re helping with a catering order, remember?”
Beomgyu, shameless like always, only tilts his head in innocence.
“Really? I don’t recall you telling me about it,” Beomgyu ponders, pouting slightly as you glare at him, “plus, I was told you would be fully staffed tomorrow— if anything, I remember my mother suggesting you give some people a day off.”
You have no patience to deal with his sly ways— your jaw clenches as you suppress the urge to jump at him from across the counter, crossing your arms over your chest as you raise a brow in disbelief.
“If you need help, you could always keep those people on standby,” you’re unsure of what annoys you more— Beomgyu’s smug look, or Taehyun, who has finally decided to eat his food as he watches the two of you, clearly amused by what’s happening before him as he doesn’t even attempt to hide his smile.
“Good idea,” you grit out, leaning toward the younger man as you smile, “I should let your mother know you’ll be out tomorrow then; I’m sure she’ll be wondering where you went off to.”
“You know, for a mere worker, you sure are involved in our personal lives.” Beomgyu’s words are hissed out and sting like acid as your eyes widen, gritting your teeth together as you watch Beomgyu sit back in realization— as though he didn’t know what he said until now.
“You’re right. Sorry,” you say, a gritted smile on your face as you go to fetch a takeout container; returning, you place it in front of Taehyun, ignoring his curious gaze as you send him a patient smile.
“We closed fifteen minutes ago; sorry, but you can take the food with you if you’d like— on me. I’ll be back, if you need anything let him know,” jerking your head to Beomgyu, you ignore his attempts to call your attention back to him as you bow politely, quick to excuse yourself to the bathroom in a weak attempt to soothe your hurt and anger.
The restaurant is quiet save for the soft ticking of a clock that hangs above them; a sound of warning as Taehyun glances subtly at the man next to him— whether Beomgyu picks up on it or not is beyond him. He’s frowning, bottom lip chewed and tugged at as he stares at the doorway which you disappeared through, a hand running repeatedly through his hair as he lets out a soft curse.
“What was that about?” Taehyun asks— whether or not he’s crossing a boundary, he’s unsure— but he does know that he truly doesn’t care enough to gauge the older man’s reaction. He’s quick to finish his food, surprised by the quality of it as he peeks at Beomgyu from the corner of his eye; watching the way Beomgyu seems to ponder whether or not to talk, inevitably giving in as he lets out a heavy sigh.
“I fucked up. Said something I shouldn’t have,” standing up, Beomgyu slides the stool he sat on back in, shaking his head as he goes to turn off the blaring open sign— he’s quiet, lost in thought as he carries out the usual closing duties.
“My offer is still open, by the way,” Beomgyu calls out, and before Taehyun can say anything, he clicks his tongue in frustration, “I doubt she’ll wanna see me tomorrow.”
Taehyun says nothing. Beomgyu doesn’t bother trying to convince him, muttering out a tired one p.m under his breath, unable to help the way his eyes travel back to the hallway you disappeared to now and then— it isn’t long before Taehyun is bidding goodbye, the offer left out in the open as Beomgyu is forced to sit with his own thoughts, ignoring the way his muscles ache or his wounds throb whenever he performs a certain task.
It takes a while before you come back out— you refuse to look at Beomgyu as the two of you clean in silence, your face left blank and cold as Beomgyu fails to decipher what you might be thinking; even though he wishes nothing more than to take back what he said, he finds his words stuck in his throat every time he looks at you.
You don’t bother saying goodbye when you leave.
⊹⊹⊹
“Were you lying when you said you’ve been in the cage before?”
Taehyun rolls his eyes at the older man's words, a scoff escaping him as he chooses not to answer. Beomgyu watches with amusement as the man before him looks away, neck tilting side to side as he feels it crack with ease. The air is hot and there isn’t much light coming in from the small windows atop the room, cracked open to let the cool wintry air inside. Yet it doesn’t seem to help a lot, the two men in the cage weathered down and sweaty from hours of sparring.
“You’re quite annoying, you know,” Taehyun grumbles, wiping away his sweat before he begins to stretch, preparing for another round as he looks back to Beomgyu— he seems unfazed by his comment, a smug grin overtaking him as he mimics his stretching.
“So I’ve been told,” Beomgyu pouts, straightening up as he waits for Taehyun to approach, “how long have you been doing this?”
Beomgyu has his own guesses as Taehyun throws a careless jab— he’s tired, not putting any effort into his movements as he dodges Beomgyu’s own hits with ease.
“Little over two years. It’s been nothing but a hobby until recently though,” Taehyun admits, stepping back as he puts his arms down, “didn’t know this place was a thing.”
“It’s been running for four years, actually,” Beomgyu says, sighing as he lowers his guard as well; he takes this time to rest, feeling the way his body is beginning to ache from the activity, “Jin and a couple others started it for fun. It’s only recently that things turned serious.”
Taehyun thinks of the referee— and his clear bias with Beomgyu— and frowns, realizing that the very same man he met yesterday was the owner of the building. Shaking his head, he sighs— then jumps back at the unexpected jab Beomgyu sends to him in warning.
He has no time to complain; his arms immediately come up for defense as Beomgyu seems to have regained his energy, a mischievous smile plastered on his face as he lands a hook on Taehyun— he groans at the feeling, stumbling back as he attempts to regain his composure.
Before he can regain stability, he’s pulled into another clinch— Beomgyu’s got him good, unable to keep his balance as Beomgyu pulls him into a tight chokehold; He’s trapped, unable to get away as he’s forced to tap out.
“You know, I’ve noticed quite a few things about the way you fight,” Beomgyu says, ignoring the way Taehyun gives him a pointed glare, “you give all your energy in the first round— you need to be able to conserve your energy, you know.”
Though all Taehyun does is roll his eyes, he secretly takes note of the older man’s comment; he noticed Beomgyu had been giving him pointers the entire time, and he would be a fool to not take advice from the club’s toughest fighter— Taehyun’s pride could only stretch so far.
Silently, they decide to take a break; there was no use in practicing if neither of them had the energy to throw a proper punch. Exiting the cage, Taehyun lets out a groan as he immediately takes a seat at one of the benches before him— annoyingly, his water bottle is empty again, and he’s forced to trudge to the only water fountain in the building that’s been placed all the way by the entrance; he grimaces at the thought of having to drink water from such a rusty old thing, but the dehydrated scratch of his throat isn’t giving him much of an option.
Taehyun isn’t too phased when the doors slam open; there have been a few other fighters that have come in while they were sparring, so he figures this must be another regular as he keeps his eyes on the water fountain— it isn’t until he hears haste footsteps and lows cursing that he looks up in curiosity.
“Of course he would be here,” you’re as irritated as always as you push past Taehyun without much more of a glance, your brows knitted together in annoyance as you make a beeline to the cage— Taehyun gets the privilege of getting front seats to the scene as he leans back in amusement, taking a sip of his cool water before grimacing at the taste.
“Hey!” You yell, jumping up on the outskirts of the cage and glaring at Beomgyu, who has the audacity to look up at you with puppy eyes as he lays spread out in the center of the ring, “do you always have to be here? Why don’t you go do normal things for once?”
Taehyun can hear you grumbling something about the long drive and shady district, but it’s left an unintelligible mess as he watches Beomgyu sit up, wincing slightly in the process.
“You knew I was gonna be here,” is all he says, ticking his head side to side as loud cracks ring throughout the empty building, “plus you’re acting like you couldn’t have called.”
You can’t seem to control the bewildered laugh that escapes you at his words, eyes widening as you jump back down from your place; crossing your arms, you sit down at a bench, jaw clenched as you shoot Beomgyu a lethal glare.
“You think I didn’t try?” You ask, crossing your legs as you tap at your bicep in annoyance, “your phone is always in the damn locker room!”
“Alright, whatever!” Beomgyu says, throwing his hands up in defeat, “what do you need now.”
“Two of our workers called off. Your mother wants you to come back and help with the catering order,” you say, your gaze cold as you watch Beomgyu begin to whine at you, giving you excuses that you don’t bother to listen to as you shake your head.
“Listen to your mother and go. Quick,” you say, not wanting to linger any longer as you stand up, leaving without so much as a goodbye as you’re rushing back out again.
“Yeah, listen to your mother,” Taehyun teases, raising a brow as you snap your head towards him, delivering a cold glare that only makes Taehyun grin, much to your annoyance; he can hear you muttering curses under your breath as you slam the doors open, the sound of your rambling only amusing Taehyun further as he makes his way back to Beomgyu.
“Crazy how you let yourself get pushed around like that,” Taehyun knows he’s only instigating, but it’s amusing to watch the older man get worked up as he simply huffs in annoyance, cursing under his breath in the same manner you did— he can see where Beomgyu gets his short temper from.
“I don’t.” he snaps, but the way he’s already beginning to pack up says otherwise; there’s defeat in all his actions as he becomes sluggish, trudging to the locker room where he reluctantly begins to change, “come back here tomorrow, same time— I need to show you something.”
Beomgyu leaves shortly afterward— the annoyance in his mood has yet to go away as he glances back at the ring one last time, watching solemnly as Taehyun continues to shadow box without him. For a second, he almost considers dropping his responsibilities and going for another round, but your fiery and threatening voice echoes in his head, allowing him to finally leave as a shiver goes through his body.
⊹⊹⊹
“Stupid workers… making me clean up after their mess…” Beomgyu thinks he might go insane if he has to pack another to-go tray filled with the same order, his mind fried and his hands on auto-pilot as he watches you busily cook out of the corner of his eye. You’re as stone-cold and intimidating as always, sending Beomgyu a sharp glare every time you catch him slacking off— it’s eerie, the way you can almost sense it, never giving Beomgyu a break as you stress the fact that you need to have the order done by the next thirty minutes.
He’s almost done, so he doesn’t feel as rushed as you do— then again, you may just be on edge due to the fact that you’ve been pulling the weight of the two workers that called off as well as your regular tasks; the sight is enough to have Beomgyu irritated once more.
You work way too hard for your own good; it’s a fact that Beomgyu always calls you out on, but you’re always just as quick to dismiss it as you shake your head in denial, telling him that he’s overreacting. Yet, as he watches you now, stressed and irritated, he can practically feel himself biting his tongue to prevent calling you out on it.
The catering order is finished with ease; Beomgyu can feel a weight lift off him the moment a delivery person takes the order from him— the same can be said for you— and he’s almost ready to leave when his eyes catch sight of a new patron that walks in.
The place has calmed down a bit, so it’s relatively empty— meaning, there should be no reason for Beomgyu to linger around anymore. Yet, he can’t help but be nosy and stay as he watches Jungkook beeline towards you, confident and handsome as always as he sends you a beaming smile.
“Didn’t think I’d see you here,” you remark sarcastically, leaning against the bar counter as you match Jungkook’s mischievous grin, “the usual?”
“You know me so well,” Jungkook coos, and the exchange is enough to have Beomgyu straightening up— he’s never seen Jungkook at the restaurant before, let alone the two of you talking so casually to each other.
Neither of you seem to catch Beomgyu’s analytic stare, much too caught up in your own world to notice anything around you; even the new customer that comes in through the door, trudging over to the bar as he sits a few seats away from Jungkook— Beomgyu is the first to notice as he quickly makes his way over.
“The hell are you doing here?”
The smile Taehyun sends is pure evil as he leans on the bar, crossing his arms and tilting his head as he raises a brow at Beomgyu’s pointed question.
“Here to eat, what else?” Beomgyu says nothing in response, his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed as he takes Taehyun’s order, “and if you’re done eavesdropping on their conversations over there, I’d like to know what you were talking about earlier— I’m not exactly free tomorrow.”
The man’s words are enough to have Beomgyu standing straight, sending Taehyun a glare as he grits his teeth at the comment. “Am not.”
“Come on, be slick about it at least,” Taehyun sighs, eyeing the two of you from the corner of his eye, watching as you continue to converse with the customer— it takes a moment, but Taehyun is able to recognize the patron as he looks back at Beomgyu, pointing their way as he asks, “the hell is the bartender from the club doing here?”
“That’s Jungkook,” Beomgyu mutters, putting his notepad away as stops to watch the two of you carefully for a second, “and that’s what I’m wondering myself. It’s clearly not to eat.”
“Yeah, who gives a fuck,” Taehyun grumbles, watching as Beomgyu reaches in his pocket for a piece of paper— pausing, he takes a second to examine Beomgyu, biting his lip as he fights back a smile, “hey, you jealous?”
“Shut up,” Beomgyu groans, rolling his eyes as he turns his back to you, jaw clenched as he narrows his eyes at Taehyun, who’s only left smiling in return, “she’s basically family, don’t even assume shit.”
“Not what you said last time I was here,” Taehyun’s words have Beomgyu pausing entirely, forced to take a second to breathe as he takes in the younger man before him.
“You’re an instigating little bitch, huh?” Is all Beomgyu can utter, watching as Taehyun simply laughs at his words, clearly unaffected by Beomgyu’s anger, “you better keep your mouth shut if you wanna stay in here.”
“Alright, do your thing,” Taehyun sighs, putting his hands up in defeat. A moment passes, and Taehyun huffs out a laugh, his eyes falling to the piece of paper Beomgyu pushes forward before he continues, “This better be good.”
Beomgyu watches as Taehyun begins to scan the paper, turning away so he can put the younger’s order in as he does. Once finished, he pauses, leaning against the wall as he waits for Taehyun to finish—Taehyun can practically feel the said man’s stare burn into his skin as he reads the information carefully, eyes widening as takes it all in; looking up, he finds Beomgyu’s eyes effortlessly.
Folding the paper back up carefully, Beomgyu makes his way back over, surprised you haven’t swooped in and asked what’s going on yet; hurriedly, he gets tries to get his point across, leaning in close to Taehyun and sending him an excited smile as he watches Taehyun open his mouth to ask questions immediately.
“How did you find this?” He asks, searching Beomgyu’s eyes as he watches the older man take the flier back, running his fingers over the creases in an absentminded attempt to smooth them out, “who gave you this?”
“Old friend of mine.” Beomgyu says, leaning back as he watches Taehyun do the same, crossing his arms as he watches Beomgyu with scrutinized eyes, “thought you’d be interested in this.”
“You’re inviting me? Letting me in on this?” Taehyun asks, frown only deepening as Beomgyu nods innocently, “what makes you think I won’t just win the tournament and take the prize money for myself?”
“That is a possibility,” Beomgyu hums, “but that’s also what makes it fun.”
“The hell is this? FightX?” Beomgyu can’t help the way he jumps as you appear behind him, looking over him as you reach to grab the flier from his hands. Beomgyu, in a weak attempt to distract you, attempts to call Jungkook over, trying to snatch the flier back while doing so; his attempts fail miserably as he watches the way your eyes grow wide.
“Are you kidding me?” You say, taking the flier and tucking it away in your own pocket smoothly. Beomgyu only sighs, used to your antics as Taehyun can only watch with an amused look in his eyes, ever as eager to poke the bear as he finds your anger intriguing.
“Beomgyu, I swear to god that if I see or hear anything about you in that FightX club, I’ll kill you myself.” Your hands are tense as you cross them over your chest, giving Beomgyu a pointed glare as you continue, “I don’t care about you going to Seokjin’s little place— but if you even try to go to that tournament—”
“Hey, relax, won’t you? You wouldn’t even know what goes on in a place like that,” Taehyun’s words are enough to have your eyes widening, mouth parting in surprise as you slowly turn to the man; beside you, Beomgyu shakes his head in warning, sending Taehyun a warning glare as he mouths the words shut the fuck up.
“What did you just say to me?” You ask incredually, leaning forward and against the counter as you examine Taehyun carefully; the man is nothing more than amused as he smiles innocently at you, standing his ground as he tilts his head like a puppy, “who are you, anyway?”
“Someone who knows way more about what goes on in that club than you,” he says softly, a tired tsk leaving him as he takes in the twitch of your brows, watching the way you try to keep your expression neutral, “you don’t need to worry about what Beomgyu does in his personal time.”
You’re left speechless as you press your tongue against your cheek, huffing out a bewildered laugh as you take a step back; glancing at Beomgyu, you narrow your eyes at him, watching as he simply attempts to diffuse the situation with stuttered excuses and a nervous laugh, his behavior changing drastically under your heated gaze.
“I warned you.” is all you say, not bothering to regard Taehyun at all as glare at Beomgyu, turning on your heel as you hear a coworker call your name for your help.
“What the hell man?” Beomgyu whispers, turning to Taehyun with wide eyes; the man simply shrugs, unphased by the tension as he sighs tiredly. Mind muddled with everything that just happened, he’s quick to find himself untying his apron; he’s done what you’ve asked, and he doubts that you’ll be able to force him to stick around now— especially after the confrontation you just had.
“FightX? Yo, you’re not planning on going, are you?” Jungkook is slow to the scene as he takes a seat next to Taehyun, recognizing him as the new fighter from a while ago as he nods to him in greeting; turning to Beomgyu, he raises a brow as he waits for him to respond.
“I don’t know. The prize money’s no joke,” Beomgyu admits, holding onto his apron as he narrows his eyes at Jungkook, who’s only shaking his head in dismay.
“The prize money is like that for a good reason,” Jungkook warns, nudging Taehyun as he tells him to listen as well, “that place is dangerous. Both the fighters and the patrons are something else, and if you don’t have connections to the right people…”
The way Jungkook trails off is enough to give the two younger men a gist of what he means, the troubled look in his eyes disappearing as he watches you pass by— his signature smile is back as he pats Taehyun on the back, sending Beomgyu a look before he’s standing up, ready to go to where you’re at now.
“Use your brain for once and think this one through, yeah? And you,” Jungkook says, nudging Taehyun before he leaves, “stop putting our most valuable asset in danger.”
The way Jungkook goes to you is reminiscent of a puppy, the two men watching as he goes back to shamelessly flirt with you— you seem unphased, rolling your eyes as you try to hide your smile of amusement all the while.
“Think this through,” Taehyun chimes in, bringing Beomgyu’s attention back to him, “you seem to have connections— plus, I think it’d be fun.”
The offer becomes more tempting as Beomgyu recalls the prize money that comes along with the win, and Beomgyu is left with more uncertainty than expected as he thinks back to the warnings that came along with it.
⊹⊹⊹
Beomgyu hasn’t been home today.
He’s never home, really, so the fact should be no surprise to you. But there’s something about today that leaves you on edge, your leg bouncing under the table as you hide your unease with a shaky smile.
“You’re such a hard worker,” Beomgyu’s mother sighs, pouring you a cup of coffee as she makes her way back to where you sit at the dinner table, “I can’t thank you enough for what you do.”
“I should be the one thanking you,” you say, taking the warm mug from her, trying to hide your shaking hands as you cup the dish tightly, “For giving me this opportunity. For giving me a home.”
The Choi family was the only reason you were still alive and healthy; if it weren’t for them, you’d probably still be on the streets, dependent on the money that came from shady clubs filled with dangerous people.
That was the only reason you met Beomgyu— you had just finished a fight of your own as you stumbled out of the infirmary, barely patched up as they began the men’s lightweight division fights; you only wanted to stay and bet on the fight before you before you left with the rest of your earnings, curious as to how the match before you would end.
To say the crowd loved it was an understatement; they were sick people, and the moment they realized that one of the most experienced lightweight fighters was currently pitted against a scrawny sixteen-year-old boy, the betting pool practically tripled within seconds.
You‘ve never seen him before; it was clear to you that he was new within seconds of watching him in the cage, from his unsure missteps, to the way his arms didn’t come down from his head for a second, wide eyes watching carefully for any opening available.
He got beat and knocked out within minutes; the match had been more of a joke to those watching than an actual fight. His injuries were nothing to laugh at however, the cage floor littered with his blood as nurses rushed out of the infirmary for him, picking him up and carrying him away as the patrons around you remained unphased at the sight— you still remember wincing as you took in the state his opponent left him in.
It was a general consensus within the ring that those more experienced shouldn’t be too harsh on newbies— simply out of respect for one’s opponent. But respect didn’t exist in such a place— if anything, respect wasn’t even earned after countless grueling matches in a place like FightX; it didn’t matter if you were good, the only thing that mattered was the number of wins under your belt and how much cash you walked out of the place with— which is why the patrons of such a club knew better than to mess with you.
This was no place for a child, you remembered thinking to yourself, scoffing at the way people continued to berate and talk about the loser of the previous match. Rolling your eyes, you figured it was better to leave now than to stick around and have shady people try to strike up deals with you— wanting to become your manager, to move you further up the ladder, to share profits with you.
It usually wasn’t a problem for you to leave; if anything, regulars knew better than to get in your way after you’ve had your fill of fights— but it had been different that day, left to push your way through as a commotion began to form at the entrance.
“Woah, who the hell is this?” The speakers above you were booming with the commentator’s sneering remarks, the current fight before them no longer a priority as the screams of a woman tore through the crowd.
“Please, please tell me he’s here,” the ruckus was beginning to become more of a headache to you than anything, pushing through the heaps of people in an attempt to get past the dramatic scene and back home— “home” consisting of a random motel that was cheap enough for this week’s earnings— only to pause once you were able to take in the woman’s helpless state.
This was someone’s mother, you realize, raising a brow as you take in the way her eyes are wide with fear and worry, brimming with tears as she attempts to put on a brave front. The mocking commentary of the men continue to boom over the speakers as those around the older woman ignore her or tell her to get lost, not bothering to listen to her words as they immediately turned their backs to her.
The boy’s mother. You realize, taking a deep breath before you walk toward the woman, grabbing onto her bicep tightly in order to gain her attention. She seemed more than ready to brush off your grip and fight to stay, but upon taking in your solemn appearance, she paused, her mouth parting as she no-doubt became ready to ask the same question she had been asking everyone else.
“Your son is over here,” you sigh out, tugging her along wordlessly— at your claim, she quickly follows, asking endless questions that you can’t even seem to keep up with.
“Tall, scrawny, long hair?” You ask, glancing back at her to catch her nodding incredually, “around sixteen?”
Once again, she nods, her gesture only making you sigh once more as you ignore the pressing stares of those around you.
“Yeah, he’s this way,” you say, finally arriving at the infirmary as you’re left to scan all the cots around you; his mother seems to spot him first, exclaiming loudly before she leaves your side to run to him.
The sight is enough to have you clenching your jaw as you lean against the doorway, arms crossed defensively over your chest as you watch the boy’s mother cry and scold the barely conscious boy. It was clear she cared for him, and the sight was foreign to you as you found yourself frozen in one place, forcing yourself to spectate a scene that you knew you’d never experience for yourself.
You stuck around to help the woman take her son home, listening quietly as she turned to scold the boy, huffing once in a while as she observed the way you effortlessly helped him walk with an arm thrown over your shoulder— the patrons around you were wise enough to keep their comments to themselves as they flinched at the hard glares you gave them.
“Don’t come back here kid,” you remembered telling him, dropping him in the passenger’s seat of his mothers car, rolling your eyes as he incoherently attempted to argue with you, “this place is too dangerous for someone like you.”
“And you?” His mother’s words had been enough to snap you out of your dazed state; looking up, you had been surprised to see his mother staring at you with the same concern in her gaze, her head tilting as she scanned your bruised skin and tired face, “will you be alright here?”
Her concern had been unexpected— so much so that you couldn’t help the way you laughed softly at her words, shaking your head as you ignored the strangely warm feeling that bloomed within you from her concern.
“I know how to handle myself here,” you told her, jaw clenching as you watched the way she remained unconvinced. Slowly, you watched her reach in her jacket pockets, fishing around for something until she finally found it, a small ah, escaping her mouth before she finally offered you the object with polite hands; you stared at the business card she handed you, unsure of what to do until you finally accepted it after a pause.
“Thank you so much for your help today,” she says, bowing gratefully as she looks at you with a kind smile, “if you’re ever hungry, you can always stop by. On the house.”
The laminated card feels smooth under your fingers as you absentmindedly accept her offer, unsure of how to react to her kindness as she thanks you again; you try to ignore the way her eyes are coated with concern and pity, the emotions within you nothing but bitter as you watch her drive away.
Shoving her card into your jacket pocket, you sigh, turning on your heels and walking back to the cheap motel that you knew was too shady to stay at for too long. If you win another match tomorrow, you might be able to stay at the better motel just a few blocks over.
The thought was promising as you made your way back, your muscles aching and your stomach growling as you inevitably thought back to the free meal that boy’s mother promised you.
Maybe tomorrow, you thought, pulling the card back out of your pocket to examine it, you should treat yourself after tomorrow’s fight.
⊹⊹⊹
Your life had taken a surprising turn after that day— now you found yourself here, sitting in the home of the Choi family, welcomed as always and reformed of your ways of fighting— you only wish the same could be said for Beomgyu.
“So,” you say, clearing your throat as you try to get the nerves out of your tone, “Where’s Beomgyu at?”
“Oh,” she sighs, slumping down in the chair across from you as she takes a sip from her cup of coffee, “God, I don’t even know— he left really early today, didn’t even bother to let me know— he hasn’t been back since.”
The news was odd to you; it was late already, but Beomgyu wasn’t the type to be up in the mornings, much less make any plans. You took a second to process her words, nodding absentmindedly as you took another sip from your drink— the flier you took from him seems to be weighing your pocket down now more than ever.
He wouldn’t, the more forgiving part of you thought, he knows better than to go off to a place like that.
But the more skeptical part of you knew better; Beomgyu was always one to be swayed easily, and with that new sparring partner of his, your trust in him only seemed to dwindle more and more.
Taehyun had only proved himself to be a danger to Beomgyu— especially if he was so eager to get himself into a place like FightX.
Your thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the sound of a phone ringing echoed throughout the room; blinking wildly, you allow Ms. Choi to excuse herself as she leaves to answer the phone— you take this chance to take the flier out of your pocket, unfolding it carefully as your fingers smooth over the wrinkles.
Reading it carefully, your eyes widen, biting at your lip as you feel your heart beginning to beat faster.
It was tonight.
And it started two hours ago.
You don’t give much of an explanation to Ms. Choi as you’re standing abruptly, making your way to where she stands at the kitchen to say goodbye— you can see the confusion and concern swim in her eyes at your suddenness, but you hope that the bright, carefree smile you send her is enough to soothe her as you apologize for leaving early.
It’s scary how easy it is for you to make your way to that club— despite it being years since you last stepped inside, you can still feel instinct take over as you’re speeding off to the tournament.
If Beomgyu’s still alive by the time you get there, you’ll kill him yourself.
Clenching your jaw, you pray that there are no cops around as you speed through the empty streets, your only priority clouding your mind as you run past a few red lights.
And his little friend too.
⊹⊹⊹
Beomgyu’s body feels like it’s been set alight with anxiety.
He’s pacing around the locker room, attempting to control his breathing as he focuses on his next opponent; on his fighting style, on how to beat him.
He’s been in this position many times— it’s like second nature to him, only the new setting seems to be affecting him more than he expected. It’s not like he’s never branched out to other underground fighting tournaments before; he’s been all around the city and even outside of it, trusting Seokjin’s judgment as he made a name for himself through it— in a way, Seokjin had almost been like a manager to him.
But he hasn’t been here in years; six years, to be exact. He can still feel the danger that looms through these walls, feeling more trapped than anything as memories of his first match come to mind— a primal fear is prominent in every single one.
Beomgyu is much more different than he was six years ago— both in muscle and mentality, he knows how to handle himself in such a shady place. Yet, he can’t help but remember your warnings, his brows furrowing as he feels his heart pound a little harder against his chest.
“You overthinking things again?” Beomgyu’s spiraling train of thought is interrupted as he snaps his head over to the doorway, meeting eyes with Taehyun who sports a bright smile, much more relaxed and excited than he is.
“Can’t help it,” Beomgyu admits, sighing heavily as he turns to stretch instead, “new territory.”
“Thought you had connections to this place?” Taehyun asks, tilting his head as he listens to Beomgyu explain that while it is true, he still isn’t experienced with this club.
“Don’t think about it too much,” Taehyun says, making his way over as he sits at the bench near Beomgyu, “the bracket looks easy today.”
The plan was simple; make it to the end of the bracket, where Beomgyu and Taehyun would inevitably have to fight each other— the earnings would be split between the two after.
Just makes the odds of earning the prize money higher, Beomgyu had explained once Taehyun began questioning his motives, that way, both of us win, and get experience out of it.
The prize money was already so grand that even half of it seemed more than enough for Beomgyu— and of course, the thought of returning to such a place and finally winning a grand tournament was thrilling to Beomgyu.
The things he could do with the prize money were endless— he already had a few ideas in mind, thinking back to his hardworking mother and how much she struggled to raise him on her own while still managing her restaurant. Then he thought about you, of the hard times he gave you, knowing how much you feared him going through the same things you did, of turning to a life dependent on fighting and gambling.
“Hey hey, focus,” Beomgyu is blinking rapidly as Taehyun claps in front of his face, laughing at the way the older man managed to zone out once more, “you’re up in three minutes, you should prepare yourself.”
Beomgyu is nodding absentmindedly as he watches Taehyun exit, still feeling nerves creeping up his system as he wonders if this is all such a good idea; then his name is called, and the referee pops in to ask if he’s ready.
“Yeah,” Beomgyu finds himself saying, feeling as though he’s lost control of his body as he’s walking out of the dimly lit locker room, “lets go.”
⊹⊹⊹
“Hey, I know we haven’t talked in a while but— yeah, no need to remind me,” your voice is low and your footsteps are echoing as you walk through puddles, the smell of rain still lingering in the air as you weave your way through dark alley— the feeling is oddly reminiscent as you find yourself laughing along with your old friend on the phone.
“No, it’s serious stuff,” you sigh, turning the corner as you find the place you’ve been dreading to step inside of. A small shop meets you, the lights off and the gates closed around the windows— the unassuming shop makes your stomach churn with dread, approaching it slowly before you’re walking around its perimeter.
“You’ll never guess where I’m back at right now— yup, the very one,” your friend’s incredulous laugh booms over the line as you let out some bitter chuckles yourself, rounding towards the back as you see a deep, ominous stairwell; faintly, you can hear the brutish screams and commentary leaking through, the sound only beginning to worsen as time passes; the sound has a deep sigh leaving you as you begin the long descend into the basement.
“Listen, I need you and your men to be here on standby— I’m serious, you think I’d joke about this stuff?” You finally reach the bottom as you pause at the very last step, staring at the metal door that’s left at the end of the corridor.
“Thanks. I’ll call you if I need you to come in,” you say, bidding your goodbye before you’re finally hanging up, tucking your phone in your back pocket before you’re taking a final, deep breath.
Hopefully I won’t. You mutter, reaching forward before you’re finally opening the heavy, metal door.
⊹⊹⊹
Beomgyu feels dizzy.
The bracket looks easy today, Taehyun’s voice echoes in his head as he rests against the ring’s ropes, the layout different to what he’s used to as he takes a moment to recollect himself.
Easy— the fuck was Taehyun talking about? Beomgyu feels left out as he watches his opponent talk with his coach, discussing strategies and glancing back at Beomgyu, who’s left on his own as he takes the opportunity to stretch.
He just needed to beat the man across from him, then he was officially in the finals. The thought was the only thing that soothed him as he scanned the crowd for Taehyun, finally finding him right at the front; he was just as tired and beat as Beomgyu was, but the encouraging smile he sent Beomgyu managed to keep him on his feet a little longer— the prize money loomed over his head as he watched the referee call the next round, the fighter before Beomgyu gritting his teeth against his mouthpiece as his coach yelled at him to knock Beomgyu out.
His opponent became predictable fairly quickly— Beomgyu’s arms came up to his head for defense as the man attempted to jab at him, only to slide down to his sides and squeeze as his opponent attempted to land a hook to his side; at his liver, to be exact.
Chenle, Beomgyu remembers the commentators announce, his name was Chenle.
He looked to be around his age, if not younger. The man before him was energetic and strong, but seemed to get too excited during the rounds; it seemed as though he only came into the ring with one tactic in mind, and remained persistent to knock his opponent out in one specific way— it seemed he targeted Beomgyu with liver shots.
His punch was quite lethal— Beomgyu would know, because he fell victim to his attack in the first round. If anything, he still feels as though his mind is all muddled as he shifts away, avoiding the man’s attempt to get him cornered before he’s throwing a few quick punches himself.
It doesn’t take long before Beomgyu is able to turn the match around, however. Chenle seems to be very poor in adapting to an opponent’s fighting style, and Beomgyu is quickly able to pull him into a chokehold that has him tapping out within seconds— without his hooks, Chenle was practically useless.
All this fighting had taken a toll on Beomgyu— he’s sure it showed as well, panting like a dog as the referee thrust his hand into the air, the commentators announcing him as the winner over the speakers: The Bear wins again.
Beomgyu could see why you attempted to dissuade him from going to such a place as he takes in everyone’s reactions— the good, the bad, and the dangerous. From the corner of his eye, he can see Chenle stumbling back to his coach, the two clearly bitter and angry as they whisper plans to each other— Beomgyu shivers involuntarily as their glares land on him, his gut telling him that they’re up to no good as the referee finally lets go of his wrist, quick to exit the ring and get as far from them as possible.
“Hey, we made it,” Taehyun grins, clapping Beomgyu on the shoulder as he laughs with joy— only to apologize as Beomgyu winces, his hand coming off in a second, “Our fight’s in thirty minutes, go rest and clean up— I don’t wanna have to go easy on you now.”
Absentmindedly, Beomgyu nods, ducking his head and making his way back to the locker room as he tries to ignore the stares of those around him— he can practically feel his body become alight with nerves by the time he’s back in the dark locker room, his heart pounding and his hands shaking as he begins to wonder if all your warnings have made him paranoid.
It must be the adrenaline, he thinks to himself, undoing his hand wraps and wincing as he stretches his cramped muscles, yeah. adrenaline.
He can’t help the way he groans as he makes his way to the bathroom area— all this fighting has taken a heavy toll on him, and he quickly finds that he’s already begun to sprout plenty of injuries and bruises as he finds his reflection in the mirror; his eyes remain downcast as he goes to wash his hands, sighing as the cool water splashes against his skin.
“I’m telling you, you were great!” Beomgyu can’t help but hear the conversation that begins to leak into the locker room, frowning at the way the second person begins to complain and yell angrily— the sound is enough to have Beomgyu on guard, straightening up slowly as he quickly turns the sink off.
“No, I wasn’t great— I fucking lost!” He jumps at the sound of something striking hard against the lockers— Beomgyu can feel his stomach sink with dread as he realizes that it must be Chenle that walked in— he’s able to recognize his voice fairly quickly.
“I know, I know— It’s odd, really, you weren’t supposed to have…” Beomgyu feels like he’s unable to breathe as the manager walks into sight, locking eyes with him through the reflection in an instant as he immediately stops talking; Chenle’s irritated what? Is enough to have Beomgyu snapping out of his daze, turning around as he watches the boy’s manager let out an exasperated laugh.
“Hey,” Chenle begins, spotting Beomgyu as he quickly makes his way to him— Beomgyu remains silent, his eyes narrowed coldly as he tries to make a point that he’s not intimidated, “what the hell was that about back there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Beomgyu mutters, watching as Chenle scoffs, turning away for a second to compose himself.
“The match,” Chenle clarifies, enunciating each syllable as though Beomgyu were incapable of understanding, “you were supposed to throw it.”
The words are definitely news to Beomgyu; he’s sure it shows on his face, because Chenle only seems to grow angrier by the second, Beomgyu’s silence only irritating him more as he runs a stressed hand through his hair.
“Don’t act fuckin stupid,” Chenle spits out, pushing Beomgyu’s chest and taking him by surprise as he stumbles back into the sink, “We had our deal. Give me back the money I gave you.”
“You have the wrong person,” Beomgyu says slowly, attempting to remain calm as he briefly looks over Chenle’s shoulder, and at the exit behind the two; he had two options: fight— which Chenle seemed more than ready to do— or stay out of trouble and run. The second option seemed very tempting at the moment.
“I didn’t make any deal with you.”
This seems enough to set Chenle off, more than ready to throw a punch before he’s interrupted by his manager; the man’s sharp Chenle is enough to have the two men looking back, over to where his manager leans against the wall, arms crossed as he stares at Beomgyu carefully.
“You,” the man says carefully, nodding at Beomgyu as he raises a brow questioningly, “what’s your name?”
“Beomgyu,” he replies gruffly, watching as the manager only becomes more confused by his response.
“Who sent you here?”
“Hey man, what’s the hold up, our fight started two minutes ago and people are already calling a forfeit—“ Taehyun pauses at the sight of the scene before him, taking a second to compose himself before he’s sending a cold glare to Chenle’s manager, “what’re you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” the man replies, pushing himself off the wall before he’s shoving his hands into his pants pockets, “now that I think about it, you two weren’t on the original roster we agreed to.”
“The hell are you talking about?” It’s clear that the situation has begun to annoy Taehyun, who remains unphased as the manager begins to walk towards him, “We were invited to the tournament.”
“Oh yeah? By who?” The man asks quietly, tilting his head as he waits expectantly for Taehyun to answer.
“Choi Yeonjun,” Beomgyu says, the name foreign to Taehyun’s ears as he gauges the men’s reactions, the two of them watching Beomgyu with a scrutinizing gaze— what he sees does nothing to soothe his nerves.
“Choi Yeonjun?” It seems as though that was not the answer either of them were looking for, the older man beginning to walk towards Taehyun, cornering him against the wall as Beomgyu attempts to step in— the warning glare Chenle sends him has him stilling for a second.
“That little rat sent you two? He still has the courage to try and involve himself here?” Something isn’t right— Beomgyu feels as though his body is on fire, buzzing with adrenaline as he watches the man’s tone drop dangerously— he’s reaching towards his jacket, the sight alarming as Beomgyu decides to divert his attention before it’s too late.
His attempt to take down Chenle works fairly easy— at least, that’s what Beomgyu thinks initially, able to take Chenle by surprise with a punch to the face before the boy is recovering; he’s more than ready to take back any of Chenle’s hits, only that’s not what the younger man seems to have in mind as he reaches into his jacket pocket instead.
Beomgyu isn’t given much time to react before Chenle is tackling him into the wall, his head banging harshly against it before he feels himself grow paralyzed with shock and pain— the knife Chenle drives into Beomgyu’s stomach is quickly plunged out, the younger man’s manager pulling him back with a scolding tsk and a harsh pull of his collar.
“Shit,” he can hear Taehyun exclaim, running to Beomgyu’s side in an instant as he attempts to add pressure to the wound; Beomgyu is still in shock as he groans at the feeling, a shuddering breath escaping him as he watches his blood run down his skin and stain his shorts.
“Chenle, let’s go,” the manager hisses, tugging Chenle along and hiding the weapon before either Beomgyu or Taehyun are able to process it.
Beomgyu feels as though he’s swimming underwater with how disoriented he feels, the quiet apologies Taehyun lets out over and over falling onto deaf ears as the noise outside only grows louder.
“We need to take you to the hospital man, shit,” Taehyun says, doing his best to carry Beomgyu with him as they make their way out— he knows better than to try and trust anyone in this place to treat him.
“What’s this?” Taehyun is already rolling his eyes at the sight of a new person blocking their path, more than ready to curse them out and push them out of the way before he realizes who it is; Choi Minho, the club owner, simply smiles down at them, inspecting the two men before him before his cold gaze stops upon Beomgyu.
“Playing dirty already?” His lack of urgency has Taehyun’s stomach churning with dread, wondering what the fuck he’s gotten himself into as the owner of the club only stops to laugh at his own joke.
Taehyun’s guilt and fear for his friend seems to cloud his reasoning; without another thought, he’s pushing past Minho, trying to find his way over to the exit before he quickly realizes that he’s managed to bring all the attention to him.
The crowd goes wild at the sight of Beomgyu’s injury; they’re crowding around the three, attempting to instigate a fight and bet money as their eyes light up with bloodlust— the sight has Taehyun shivering as he stumbles forward in uncertainty, avoiding a woman that attempts to grab out to Beomgyu in the process.
The sight was terrifying; Minho could only watch in satisfaction behind them, crossing his arms in amusement as he watched Taehyun try to push through the packed crowds of people; his hold on Beomgyu was slipping, and he’s sure he’s left a trail of blood by now as his ears begin to ache, trying his best to ignore the catcalls and insults that are thrown at him; both to try and instigate and annoy him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Minho calls after them, following behind as people almost seem to clear a path for him; in turn, the people on the other end seem to grow bolder, blocking his path and eager to witness conflict as Taehyun begins to yell at them to move.
“We still need to discuss your connections to this place,” Minho says, his eyes darkening as he meets Taehyun’s heated gaze, “Choi Yeonjun, was it?”
It’s no use; the crowd is getting handsy, pushing Taehyun back towards Minho in order to see the drama unfold. Beomgyu can only cling tighter to Taehyun, groaning in pain as the adrenaline slowly begins to wear off.
Choi Yeonjun, what the fuck did you do, Taehyun is practically ready to spit in Minho’s face from the anger that courses through him, but the fear that Beomgyu may bleed out on him keeps his senses on high alert as he tries to formulate a plan to escape.
His chance to escape comes in the form of five gunshots that boom through the room— each causing more panic than the last, the people around him bigger cowards than they let on as they immediately fall to the floor or scramble for cover.
Taehyun is startled but remains alert, his head whipping around and meeting the eyes of someone who was more than used to coming to unorthodox places to wrangle Beomgyu out of danger.
He doesn’t think he’s ever seen you angrier as you point a gun towards the ceiling, your jaw clenched and your face confronted into a nasty glare as rubble falls around you.
“Get down,” you seethe, sweeping your gun through the area as you watch everyone cower at the sight, eyes pointed at those who try to get back up to escape, “I said get the fuck down!”
The place seems to grow still the moment you put your finger back on the trigger, the startled yelps of those hiding the only thing that you can hear as you begin to walk forward; your gaze only darkens more at the sight of Beomgyu slumped in Taehyun’s arms.
“___, so nice to see you back here,” Minho smiles, attempting to charm you with an innocent tilt of his head, “What brings you to this place?”
“Let them go, Minho,” you warn, raising your gun towards him as he simply puts his hands up in surrender— yet, the mischievous smile and his unphased body language tell you otherwise.
“And why should I?” He asks carefully, eyes flickering over to where Beomgyu barely remains standing, Taehyun attempting to put all his strength into stopping the blood flow of his wound, “They wronged me, and I simply want answers.”
“Bullshit,” you spit out, jerking your arm as you bring your gun to aim at his head instead, “I have Agust and his men outside. Let them go if you know what’s good for you.”
The sudden name seems to be enough for Minho to falter, his smile wavering for a second before he’s letting out a deep sigh; rolling his eyes, he takes a moment to think before he’s looking over to Taehyun and Beomgyu.
“Go.”
Taehyun doesn’t need to be told twice; he’s making his way over to you without hesitation, struggling to step over the cowering bodies as Beomgyu clings to him like a ragdoll— you’re immediately pulling the two behind you before you’re jerking your head back to the exit, walking backwards as you keep your gun aimed at Minho in warning.
“You’ll be back soon,” Minho grins, his eyes alight with something mischievous and dangerous as he lets his arms down slowly, “just you wait.”
Your free hand reaches for the heavy metal door, your eyes narrowing at his words as he waits for you to say something; in response, you spit at him, slamming the door behind you before you’re ushering Taehyun to hurry up.
“I fucking told you, I can’t fucking believe this,” you mutter under your breath, shoving the gun in your back pocket before you’re taking Beomgyu from Taehyun, slinging his arm over your shoulder as you spot Taehyun staggering behind in exhaustion.
“Hurry up before I leave your ass here!” You yell, now at the top of the stairs as you meet eyes with the one person you now owed your life to.
“Shit, you really weren’t messing around,” Yoongi says, his eyes widening as he takes sight of the unconscious man you carry with you. With a snap, his men take him from your arms, carrying him over to the backseat of Yoongi’s car before he’s gesturing for you to get in, Taehyun following close behind.
“We need to get him to the hospital, now,” you stress, unsure of how much Beomgyu was bleeding out before you got there; from his pale sweaty skin and slow, shuddering breaths, you know it’s best to act fast and ask questions later.
“Don’t need to tell me twice,” is all Yoongi says, gesturing towards his men as they all begin to scatter, more than ready to speed off into the streets as he yells at Taehyun to put pressure on Beomgyu’s wound.
Pressed against the seat, you can’t ignore the way your head aches and your eyes sting with the threat of tears, unsure of what you’ll tell Beomgyu’s mother the moment he gets checked in the hospital.
Silently, you reach over to Yoongi, grabbing his hand as you let out a soft thank you. In turn, he squeezes your hand in reassurance, his foot pressing down on the gas pedal as he takes in the anxiety that rolls off you in waves.
⊹⊹⊹
The hospital is cold and unwelcoming.
You’re in the waiting room, unable to stop yourself from pacing as Yoongi remains by your side; Taehyun lingers nearby, his gaze downcast and glued to the floor from the moment Beomgyu was taken away by paramedics.
Your fingers dig into your arms as you sigh for the upteenth time; your gaze falls on Taehyun, your jaw clenching as you take him in— his head is downcast and he remains hunched over in his seat, his elbows propped on his knees as he hangs his head. But even from there, your eyes are able to look over the way his clothes are drenched with blood, his knuckles turning white as he clasps his hands together tightly.
“Excuse me, are you Choi Beomgyu’s guardian?” The three of you are quick to turn at the meek nurse that approaches you, her hands folded politely as you take initiative to step towards her; nodding, you watch as she sighs, her face unreadable under the medical mask she wears.
“I’m sorry to inform you that Choi Beomgyu’s wound was quite severe, and he lost a significant amount of blood.” You can feel Yoongi grasp at your arm as you exhale slowly, feeling yourself become unstable as your mouth falls open in disbelief, “We were able to stop the bleeding, but we’ve noticed that his wound has shown signs of infection; due to this, his condition is still critical— He is currently in the intensive care unit, and we are doing everything we can to stabilize him; Unfortunately, only immediate family can visit at this time.”
She lingers for a moment as she waits for you to say something, but you’re only able to muster enough energy to nod politely, ripping your arm out of Yoongi’s grasp before you’re stumbling outside— the said man is hot on your trail as he keeps a close eye on you, his quiet presence enough reassurance that he’s there if you need him.
Your hands are shaking horribly as you shove them in your pockets; your head hurts, and you feel sick to your stomach as you lean against the hospital walls, your head banging softly against the concrete wall as your pockets fish for something to distract you; Yoongi is quick to guess as he reaches into his own jacket, pulling out a cigarette and placing it in between your lips before he’s lighting it for you.
“He’ll be okay,” Yoongi reassures you, watching with narrowed eyes as you take a slow drag from the cigarette, “he’s a strong kid— in good hands, too.”
“I know he’ll be okay,” you grit out, sighing softly as you watch the smoke escape from your lips and disappear into the night sky, “he has to be.”
Your worries don’t lie entirely on his health; his recovery will be slow and tedious, but you’ll do anything if it ensures Beomgyu’s safety— the problem, however, lies on how much it’ll cost to ensure his recovery.
With the treatments and antibiotics the doctors were currently giving Beomgyu, you’re sure Ms. Choi would break down at the sight of the bill; running a restaurant on her own can only do so much, and you’re sure as hell not blind to the reasons as to why Beomgyu took up fighting in the first place, witness to the way he would leave his prize money before her in hopes that it would take care of the monthly bills.
A prize from the tournament at FightX would’ve been enough to have Ms. Choi closing the restaurant for a while and going on vacation— Beomgyu’s motivations slowly start clicking together in your head as you scoff, taking another drag from the cigarette in your hand as you feel the way your head begins to ache; the last thing you’ll do is have Ms. Choi worry about the bills.
“His mother,” Yoongi starts softly, interrupting your thoughts as he practically reads your mind, “are you gonna tell her?”
You take a moment before you answer, watching as Yoongi leans against the wall next to you patiently; flicking the ashes off your cigarette, you bite your lip, frowning in frustration as you sigh slowly.
“I have to,” you say, your mind already wracking for ways you could deliver the news to his mother, “she’s already worried enough as it is.”
Pulling your phone out, you turn it on to show Yoongi your screen; an onslaught of missed calls and text messages greet you, all from Beomgyu’s mother as you wince at the escalation of the contents— all of them asking if you’re alright, if you know where Beomgyu might have run off to.
“She’s already onto me,” you laugh softly, though it feels more forced than anything as you watch your screen light up again, her contact name taking over the screen as you take a second to look at it; with one last drag from your cigarette, you exhale, accepting the call as you drop the item and grind it into the ground, wincing slightly as Ms. Choi’s alarmed voice fills your ears.
“Yes Ms. Choi, I’ve found him.” You look beyond exhausted as Taehyun watches from afar, only able to hear your soft voice as you continue to reassure his mother— the guilt that was plaguing Taehyun’s mind only comes back stronger as he watches you deliver the awaited news tensely, the words awkward in your mouth as you visibly flinch— only to quickly tell Beomgyu’s mother that he’s safe and there’s nothing to worry about.
“We’re still here. I’ll wait for you, don’t worry.” Your voice is soft and calming as you speak, a stark contrast to what Taehyun saw earlier— he shivers at the thought, eyes widening slightly as they meet yours— stiffening, he can’t help how tense he feels as you gesture for him to come to him.
It’s silent as Taehyun walks to you; tucking your phone into your back pocket, your eyes narrow at the sight of Taehyun walking towards you, as though his tail were tucked in between his legs as he refuses to meet your gaze. The sight is enough to have you angered again as you cross your arms, pushing yourself off the wall as you dig your fingers into your biceps, teeth gritting as you attempt to keep your voice steady as you speak.
“What the hell happened back there? How did this all start?” You ask, your gaze intense as Taehyun forces himself to meet it; you look beyond furious as you wait for him to respond, Yoongi surveying carefully over your shoulder, the sight oddly intimidating as Taehyun begins to recount everything that happened.
“The match was rigged— you weren’t even supposed to be there,” you conclude, looking over your shoulder to see Yoongi agreeing, “who was invited there?”
“It was me,” Taehyun says, not an ounce of hesitation in his answer as he watches your eyes widen at the news, “It was all my idea, I thought it’d give us a bigger chance to win the prize money— I… I was the one who got the invite.”
Taehyun isn’t entirely sure as to why he just took all the blame for Beomgyu; maybe it was his guilty conscience, or the way that he knew if he told the truth, Beomgyu would be in more trouble than he already was— yet a small part of him seems to regret it as he watches the way your eyes widen, unable to stop yourself as Taehyun’s head jerks to the side— his cheek stings at the impact of your palm, but he doesn’t find himself to be angered by it as he remains silent.
“This— this is all your fault?” You say, incredulous as you begin to pace again— whether it’s to hold yourself back from hitting Taehyun again or to process everything, he isn’t sure— “Do you have any idea the shit you just got us involved in?”
From the way Taehyun stares at you, his brows furrowed in concern, it’s clear the answer is no.
“Do you know how much it’ll cost for Beomgyu’s treatment? He could’ve fucking died!” The fact that Beomgyu still stepped foot in the underground club despite knowing the dangers of it isn’t lost on you— if anything, it angers you more, feeling as though he took everything you told him and went through as a joke, teeth gritting together at the thought of it, “his mother can’t afford something like this, do you realize how terrified she is to hear her son is in the ICU?”
“The money from the tournament,” Taehyun interrupts, watching the way you pause in your steps before he continues, “we can just use that— it’s more than enough.”
You remain silent— all you can do is stare at Taehyun for a second, eyes narrowing at him before you shake your head; bitterly, you smile, tilting your head as you cross your arms defensively once more.
“Did you finish the tournament?” You ask, watching as Taehyun slowly shakes his head, “did you win?”
“No— it was just me and Beomgyu left anyway—”
“Did you win?” You repeat, your voice much more stern as you take a step closer to Taehyun; he can feel his heart sinking as he takes in your close proximity, your expression serious as he feels the realization dawn on him as well, “did you stay in the cage, did you hear them announce you as the winner?”
You both know the answer to your question; Taehyun’s voice is barely above a whisper as he speaks.
“No.”
“No,” you echo, hands falling to your sides, the burst of emotions from earlier taking a toll on you and leaving your voice quiet and tired as you continue, “They might as well call it a forfeit from your part.”
“The prize money is still their’s, and they’ll even hold another tournament while they’re at it.”
Backing away, you glance at Yoongi before gesturing for him to give you another cigarette; the lighter is the only thing that illuminates your face for a second, your eyes tired and angry as they flicker back up to meet Taehyun’s.
“Unless you want to go back and win it, you’re no use here.”
You refuse to talk to Taehyun any further as you turn your back to him; the smoke that escapes from your figure is oddly soothing as Taehyun lingers by your side, lost in thought as he leans against the wall; feeling a set of eyes searing into his skin, he looks up, meeting Yoongi’s curious gaze, watching as he tilts his head before he finally speaks to the younger man.
“Who sent you that invitation?” Yoongi asks, burying his hands into his jacket pockets as he watches Taehyun intently— the said man pauses, mind thinking back to the name Beomgyu mentioned before he’s uttering it quietly, unsure of himself as he avoids Yoongi’s gaze.
“Choi Yeonjun.” Taehyun is surprised to find both of you reacting, watching as your shoulders shake with quiet laughter, head turning to Yoongi who simply sends you a knowing look; the two of you shake your heads in dismay, leaving Taehyun to wonder if he said the wrong name as he watches Yoongi let out a deep sigh.
“That explains it,” Yoongi mutters, taking the cigarette from your hands before he’s taking a drag of it himself; he’s blowing the smoke out to the side before he finally decides to give Taehyun more context, the sight of the man staring at him bringing him amusement as his lips twinge into a small smile.
“You and Yeonjun, were you guys close?” Taehyun slowly shakes his head at the question, making Yoongi scoff— he wonders why the older man seems to be making such a big deal about this person, but the heavy feeling in his gut tells him it’s nothing good, “Makes sense— thought you had a death wish or something.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Taehyun asks, tired of being left out in the dark from the way Yoongi refuses to give proper context; he can’t help the way he straightens slightly as you turn back around to face him, your gaze still full of anger as you glare at Taehyun.
“That invitation was a setup,” you begin, brow raising at the way Taehyun’s mouth falls open in surprise, “Choi Yeonjun was exposed as a rat years ago; he was working with police to try and get the club shutdown, greedy for money— didn’t exactly end well for him.”
It all seems to make sense now; the hostility whenever either boys mentioned the man, the danger it wound them up in— Taehyun tries to keep a straight face at the news, but it’s difficult to do as you grow quiet, surveying Taehyun carefully as you take a step closer to him; then another, and another until you’re eerily close to him, attempting to analyze everything about him before you’re tutting softly.
“But why he would send an invite to you, I have no idea— let alone how he got a spot in the bracket— what’d he tell you, anyway?” your questions are enough to have Taehyun gulping softly; hell, how was he supposed to know any of this? Yet, as far as you were concerned, Taehyun was the only one who was in contact with the man.
“Nothing much,” Taehyun replies, hoping you can’t see through his lies as he stares straight into your eyes, “it came in the mail— just told me he secured two spots.”
“Think about it,” Yoongi says, diverting your attention away from Taehyun for a second— he can feel himself relax slightly, free from your intense gaze as you turn to look at your friend, “Why else would he try to get involved with FightX again? And through other fighters, on top of that.”
“He might be trying to get back in the scene,” you say, seemingly coming to a conclusion before Taehyun can as your face lightens up; first, with confusion, then with amusement as a smile tugs at your lips. Turning back to Taehyun, you can’t help but laugh slightly in disbelief, “The prize money probably wasn’t going to be yours to begin with.”
Still a rat, hmm, you mutter, the smile on your face contradictory to the way you bite your lip in irritation; the laugh you let out isn’t very convincing either, and Yoongi can only roll his eyes at your antics as he’s leaning against the wall once more, taking a slow drag from the cigarette in his hand before he’s flicking off the ash absentmindedly.
“How do you know all this?” Taehyun asks, the question hitting him suddenly as he takes a good look at the people before him; a restaurant worker and a man who seemed to be involved in shadier things than he let on— his curiosity laid more on you, taking in the way you seemed unphased by his question, “who are you guys?”
That’s enough for you and Yoongi to share a bewildered look; it takes a second before you’re both laughing, amused at his words as you allow Yoongi to answer.
“Kid, you’re looking at the two old champions of FightX,” Yoongi smiles, eyes creasing as Taehyun takes notice of the scar that runs through one of them, “We’re the only fucking reason that club survived for so long.”
Taehyun’s look of bewilderment is the only thing to have you cracking a genuine smile; rolling your eyes, you huff as his eyes land on you, observing you for a moment before he frowns in confusion.
“You’re a fighter?” Taehyun asks, watching as the two of you nod without hesitation, “Makes sense.”
“Alright you little prick,” you seethe, eye twitching at his witty comment, “I know you have a smart fucking mouth, but I still can’t get used to it.”
You feel as though you might show Taehyun some of your moves when he simply cracks an innocent smile at you— only to stop, the sound of hurried steps and the loud yell of your name making the three of you turn towards the sound.
Ah, you hear Yoongi mumble behind you, dropping his cigarette and snuffing it out before Ms. Choi can pick up on it; the tense smiles the two of you sport quickly has Taehyun doing the same, shuffling back until he’s covered behind Yoongi— from the corner of your eye, you see the younger man cross his arms awkwardly, attempting to cover his blood-soaked clothes as he keeps his head ducked down.
Ms. Choi is a wreck; you’re able to pick up on it easily, the light that leaks out from within highlighting her features that are soaked with worry and stress; her face is pulled into a frown and her eyes threaten to leak with tears as she stumbles to a stop before you.
Her expression is unreadable; you’re unsure of how she might react or what she might do, but you wouldn’t blame her if she lashed out any of her anger on you— jolting, you’re taken aback by the way she practically leaps on you, arms caging you in a bone crushing hug as she buries her head into your shoulder— the sounds of her sniffles are enough to have you snapping out of your frozen state, arms coming up to hold the woman tightly in return.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she mutters, her hands gripping onto your clothes at the reminder, “I’m so glad he’s alive.”
“He’s safe, Ms. Choi. He’s okay, he’ll recover in no time,” your reassurance is soft and endless as you pat her back, allowing her to cry freely into your arms as you give her a moment to recollect herself— sniffing, she pulls away, wiping at her eyes before her gaze falls on Yoongi.
“Ma’am,” Yoongi nods, his face tense as he awaits for her to say something; his face mirrors your own as he’s pulled into a hug, eyes widening and posture stiffening before he slowly returns the gesture.
“Thank you for bringing my son back to me,” she says, pulling away before she reaches up to cup Yoongi’s face; she takes him in, smiling tenderly as she adds, “I’m happy to see you’ve been well.”
Yoongi smiles at her comment; he’s surprised to see that she still remembers him, times spent visiting you at work and pestering you coming to mind as he lets out a soft laugh.
“They said only immediate family is allowed to visit at this time,” you mutter softly, taking her attention as she turns to face you, “We’ll wait out here for you.”
Taking your hands, she nods; you can see how apologetic she is as she takes a moment to smile reassuringly, telling you that she’ll let you know how he’s doing before she disappears inside— watching her figure retreat, you can’t help but frown after a moment, wondering if she’ll be alright on her own.
“Fuck,” you sigh, the reality of it all hitting you again as you tilt your head back defeatedly; staring at the night sky, you bury your hands into your pockets, fighting the emotions that threaten to spill over as you speak, “How the fuck am I supposed to handle all this now.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Yoongi says, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder as he becomes quick to reassure you, “I can help you out, I know some people.”
“No Yoongi,” you quickly say, shrugging off his shoulder as you send him a stern look, “I don’t want you to get involved in any shady stuff over this— I got this, you don’t need to worry.”
Your argument continues to go back and forth for a while— Taehyun feels insanely awkward as he’s forced to watch, unsure of what to do as he wonders if it’s just best to sneak away and go back inside— after what seems like ten minutes, he realizes he’s had enough as he goes to butt in.
“Let’s just win that stupid thing back,” Taehyun blurts out, stopping the both of you in your tracks as you slowly turn to look at him, “you said they’d probably hold another tournament, no? We’ll just win it back through there.”
“Are you—?” you cut yourself off as you place a hand over your mouth, running it down in frustration before you’re starting again, “You were invited to that place by Choi Yeonjun, a fucking rat. You really think they’d just let you waltz back in and join?”
“Minho—” Taehyun says, pausing for a moment as he frowns, thinking back to what the owner of the place said, “You’ll be back soon. That’s what he said, no?”
“He wants us to come back,” Yoongi realizes, glancing at you as he watches the way your jaw clenches in annoyance, “He knew we’d be back for that damn prize.”
“And what better way to draw in gamblers than with a match after tonight’s show,” you continue, your mind racing with ideas before you’re finally looking back at Taehyun, “But what, how are we supposed to arrange something like this? You seriously think we can just walk in and have a civilized conversation?”
⊹⊹⊹
“Are you fucking insane?”
Taehyun’s hushed scolding is enough to have you rolling your eyes, unphased by his reaction as you tug your shirt over your jeans more; shrugging your jacket on, you nod back at Yoongi, who only returns the gesture after he’s zipped his own coat up; you can barely feel the gun that’s tucked into your waistband, but Taehyun is determined to not allow you to forget about it as his eyes fall onto it’s hiding spot every three seconds.
“It’s rude to stare,” you mumble, slapping Taehyun’s shoulder and forcing him to turn back around; you allow Yoongi to lead the way through the busy streets, the bright alleyways and busy shops entirely inconspicuous as you make your way to a familiar store, entirely empty except for the owner that attends it.
There are no customers when you enter; The store is packed with products and is poorly lit, and it’s oddly quiet as you walk around; making your way around the aisles swiftly, it almost feels like muscle memory before you’re stopping at the checkout— narrowing your eyes, you’re not surprised to find Minho sitting on a stool behind the register, not bothering to look up from the book he reads as he adjusts his thin wired glasses slightly— leaning on the counter, you clear your throat, raising a brow as you tap your fingers rhythmically on the surface.
“A win is only official after it is announced by the referee; if both fighters fail to present themselves in the ring, the match is invalid.” Minho doesn’t bother to look up from his book as he speaks; carefully, he reaches to fold the page he’s on, pressing his fingers on the dog-ear meticulously before he’s shutting the book gingerly; placing it on the counter, he finally looks up, smiling sweetly as he does so.
“But you already know that, don’t you?”
“You’re holding another tournament, aren’t you,” you say, the words coming out as a statement rather than a question.
“Perhaps.”
“We want in,” you can see the way Minho processes your words, his eyes scanning from you to Yoongi before his smile is growing a bit wider; catching onto his thought process, you’re quick to shake your head, reaching behind you and pulling Taehyun roughly as you ignore the way he stumbles forward.
“I mean him. Just him.”
Minho’s smile wavers a little— you can practically see the dollar signs in his eyes decrease slightly, but his expression is still amused as he quickly recalls who the fighter in front of him is; narrowing his eyes, Minho hums, oddly docile as he looks back at you.
“Fine,” to say that it’s unnerving to watch Minho agree so easily is an understatement; you’re sharing a confused look with Yoongi as you watch the way Minho stands from his seat, rounding the counter before he begins to walk away— glancing back at you, he nods to the exit, telling you to follow him before he continues walking.
Before you can think too hard on it, you’re tugging the two men along; anything to make sure he doesn’t disappear from your sight, you think, but you can’t help but pat yourself down slightly in search of your gun the moment you see where you’re headed.
“Relax, it’s empty right now,” Minho hums, swinging the door wide open and allowing you to see, smiling in amusement as he takes in the way you remain a few steps back, “I’ve decided that a tournament is just too simple.”
“After the glorious show you put on last night, I knew my patrons would love to see more of your people,” Minho continues, a satisfied look flashing through his features as the three of you finally make your way to his level, peeking through the door cautiously, “and what better way than to skip the bracket and give the public what they want?”
There’s a single person inside; you’re on guard as you watch them, the dull lights of the place barely allowing you to see them as you squint your eyes; He’s practicing, you realize, watching as he uses the punch bag before him diligently, his sounds of effort reaching you as he continues.
“One v. One match,” Minho smiles, glancing into the door to see what the man inside is up to; the four of you watch as he does a spin kick, the force from it sending the punching bag flying to the side, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the empty area as you wince at the sight.
The man lets out a huff of exhaustion after; he’s backing up, shaking his body as he steps into the light that emits from a window behind him— pushing his hair back, you’re able to take in his features, your eyes widening as you realize who it is that currently stands before you.
“Your fighter versus mine— The Cobra.”
The Cobra— otherwise known as Park Jongseong— or rather, Minho’s last apprentice before you left.
“The best of the best, no?” Minho continues, his gaze meeting your own as he smiles knowingly, “you win this, you win everything— no questions asked, no… attacks, on my part.”
You can already hear Yoongi’s thoughts behind you; this is dangerous, this is a horrible, insane idea.
And you agree— you agree wholeheartedly, hesitating to respond as you take another moment to observe The Cobra— yet it seems as though you’ve taken too long, lost deep in your own thoughts as you fail to account for another, stupid variable.
“Deal,” Taehyun butts in, leaving you speechless as you’re forced to watch the way he shakes Minho’s hand casually; the older man can only laugh at the action, grinning from ear to ear as his eyes meet yours— his smile only widens more as he takes in your baffled expression.
You find yourself speechless— even when you go back up to discuss the rules and terms of the fight, speechless when Yoongi reluctantly agrees, and speechless when you walk out of the inconspicuous store, your hands clutching tightly onto the paper given to you with the specific details of the match.
You’re only able to muster up the courage to look at Taehyun once you’ve gotten back in the car safely; he meets your gaze after a moment, brows furrowing as he finds himself annoyed with your dumbstruck expression.
“What the hell do you want?”
This stupid boy has no idea what he just got himself into.
⊹⊹⊹
“Three weeks,” you say, pacing back and forth as you find yourself in the last place you would ever want to be; Seokjin’s small fight club is no match to the basement of FightX, but it’s enough for you to train in as you choose to look past the dimly lit area, the natural light that leaks in from the small windows above the only thing that allows you to see properly— Taehyun watches you impatiently, stretching his muscles as he stands by the training equipment in attention, wanting nothing more than to get started already.
“For the next three weeks, you’ll throw away any plans you’ve made— I expect to see you here everyday for training.”
”Wait, you’re training me?” Taehyun interjects, watching the way you narrow your eyes at him in warning— he looks back to where Yoongi sits, slumped over in his chair as he smiles lazily the moment their eyes meet— then he looks back at you, biting his lip before he continues, “Why not him?”
“Because you want to get trained by the best, no?” Yoongi calls out, already able to see the way you bristle at Taehyun’s comment; the said boy nods, lips pressed together as he takes a moment to observe you again, “Then she’ll be training you. Now watch your mouth before you sweet trainer here decides enough is enough.”
“But the restaurant,” Taehyun backtracks, realizing how his comment may have come off as he speaks, “Won’t you be busy?”
“Winning that tournament is more important,” you say, not missing a beat as you begin to stretch, “Especially since you agreed to fight The Cobra, of all people.”
“Seriously, why is that a big deal?” Taehyun huffs, rolling his eyes as you signal for him to continue stretching, “the dude can’t be that dangerous.”
“That dude has been in the ring for years,” Yoongi says, catching Taehyun’s attention as he pauses in his movements, “Much longer than you, to be sure.”
“Meaning,” you continue, sighing in dismay at the thought of your next words, “He’s been trained by Minho himself.”
“And us.”
The sudden revelation is enough to have Taehyun tensing; stomach sinking, he seems to realize why you were so hesitant to agree to this arrangement.
“Anything we teach you, Park Jongseong has already mastered,” you say, putting on focus mitts before you gesture for Taehyun to come closer, “That’s where you come in— I’ve been praying that you’d be a decent fighter, hoping you’d have some skills of your own we could hone in on.”
Taehyun frowns at your words— you aren’t exactly the most encouraging person he’s met, and he can even feel his confidence dwindling as he stands before you, pausing as he watches you put up your mitted hands— a moment passes and you’re rolling your eyes, scoffing at the way Taehyun seems to be hesitant before you.
“What are you waiting for?” you scold, your tough voice enough for the man to snap out of his daze; his expression is unreadable as you watch a shift in his form, his hesitation quickly being wiped off as he takes a step toward you— his stance is shifting, and you watch with delight as his eyes turn dangerous, honing in on your mitts as he brings his fists up.
Let’s see what you got.
⊹⊹⊹
“Again.”
For once, Taehyun begins to realize the consequences of his actions.
His body is on fire; he feels as though all his strength has escaped him, pushing his hair back for the upteenth time as he winces at the sweat that coats it— you remain unphased, and Taehyun wonders for a second if you have unlimited stamina as you raise your brow at him expectantly.
His body has yet to become accustomed to this new schedule. He’s gotten used to seeing you every day, reviewing techniques and giving him pointers before you’re giving him a thorough workout; tonight, you’ve decided to focus on his kicks, bringing up many different fighting styles and forcing him to practice on the punching bag that hangs in a nearby corner.
“Come on, can’t we just take a break? I’ve been at this for—“
“I said again,” you interrupt, glaring at the way Taehyun sends you an irritated look; Taehyun has grown used to your intimidation tactics after spending more time with you than should be considered normal, your once terrifying anger nothing more than something Taehyun has to put up with as he sighs— he still knows better than to go against you, though.
And so, he does exactly what you taught him— though it’s sloppy, and he knows he’ll get an earful as he executes the kick weakly— though, he personally blames your refusal to give him a proper break for his actions.
“Have you not been paying attention to anything I’ve been saying?” you ask, exasperated as you make your way to him; standing next to him, you gesture for him to step aside, getting in front of the punching bag yourself before you’re getting into the proper stance.
“I need you to remember to swing your hips; like this,” stepping forward with your right foot, you extend your left leg slowly, twisting your hips along with the motion as you freeze, gesturing to your hips, “If you don’t, your kick won’t be as powerful; you need to put your whole body into it, not just your leg.”
Stepping back, you demonstrate again, pushing through the rest of the kick as you listen to the thud that echoes from your move— Taehyun can’t help the way his eyes widen as he watches the punching bag swing back and forth, analyzing your form before another thought is popping into his head.
“That kick,” Taehyun mumbles, switching spots with you as he begins to envision what you just did, trying to get his body to recreate it before he pauses, “Beomgyu did that— he used that move all the time.”
“Yeah? Glad he finally got it right,” you sigh, unfazed by his words as you cross your arms, smiling in amusement— Taehyun turns to look at you, frowning in confusion as you practically read his mind, “Hey, if I can’t stop that idiot from sneaking off to this place, I might as well make sure he doesn’t die.”
The laugh you let out after is tense and bittersweet; Beomgyu was doing much better now, but he remained in the hospital due to complications from the infection of his wound— you were given the news that he would most likely need physical therapy as well, the sound of it only motivating you to work harder after you watched the way Ms. Choi paled with the news.
“He almost knocked you out with it? Holy shit,” you laugh, incredulous as Taehyun tells you the details of his first encounter with the boy— the proud smile that spreads across your face catches Taehyun off guard, your eyes twinkling with delight as you gesture back to the punching bag. “Don’t you wanna get as good as him? Come on, show me you’re not all talk.”
The sudden comparison to Beomgyu has Taehyun bristling with annoyance, rolling his eyes as he reluctantly follows your words— a strange, nagging feeling manifests within his mind, telling him to prove himself and dispel all your worries about him as a fighter— it motivates him, taking a deep breath before he’s getting into the proper stance; closing his eyes, he envisions his body following the same movement path you did, eyes zeroing in on the punching bag before him as he finally executes the kick.
“There we go,” you hiss, an excited grin spreading on your face as you listen to the impact of Taehyun’s kick— though it’s too early for the said man to celebrate, his eyes lighting up for a second before you’re back to pester him for pointers.
“You need to stay light on your feet,” you remind him, rolling your eyes at the way he tries to interfere with your comment, telling you that it’s because I’m exhausted, “Do you think Jongseong will care if you’re tired? You think he’s gonna go easy on you if you start bitching at him the way you are now?”
“There’s no need for you to be such a bitch, either,” Taehyun sneers, getting back into stance as he watches the way you remain unfazed by his comment.
“Maybe I’ll start being nice once you prove to be useful.” you mutter, and Taehyun swears the anger that courses through him fuels his kick as he feels his body twisting with energy— so much energy that he’s losing his footing, the impact that booms from his move much louder than his previous attempts as he stumbles back— from the corner of his eyes, he sees the way your eyes widen slightly at the sight.
“Not bad,” you say, tilting your head as you study Taehyun for a second; he’s exhausted and soaked with sweat, his eyes filled with pure anger and frustration you might just think he’ll fight you instead— the thought is enough to have you stifling a laugh, your lips twitching slightly before you’re snapping back to reality.
“You need to practice your balance if you’re gonna use your body like that,” humming softly, you think for a second, brows furrowing as you continue, “if anything, you should try some spinning hook kicks— that could improve your balance great—”
“You’re here again?” the voice that yells out from the entrance has you startled for a second, turning around before you’re groaning in frustration; you’re leaving Taehyun’s side immediately as you go to the source of the sound— Seokjin seems to be just as annoyed as you are, turning on the rest of the lights with an irritated look on his face.
“You know why we’re here, Seokjin,” you say, yet the reminder of your reasoning doesn’t seem to be enough for the man, watching as he shakes his head in disapproval.
“You know I have a club to run, right?” it’s clear you’ve given up as you mutter a yeah yeah, softly, pouting like a child to the older man, “I can’t have this place running while you’re training that poor kid to death.”
“My regimen has results.” you say defensively, glaring at Seokjin, who simply puts up his hands in defeat, unphased by your attitude as he glances back at Taehyun.
“He looks like he’s about to pass out.”
Following Seokjin’s line of sight, you find yourself wincing; it seems that you’ve only now gotten a good look at the man, watching the way he’s already slumped down at the bench nearby, his chest heaving with shallow breaths and his eyes fluttering as he holds onto his water bottle tightly— frowning, you listen to the way Seokjin quietly asks you how long have you been in here today? your mind going back to the hours you’ve spent cooped inside this building— not to mention day after day.
“Go back to opening this place,” you sigh, rolling your eyes at the way Seokjin smiles triumphantly— the guilt you feel is odd as you approach Taehyun, standing by awkwardly as you watch the way he doesn’t even acknowledge you, much too tired to even open his eyes.
“Hey. Don’t pass out on me,” you say, slapping Taehyun’s bicep and watching as he startles awake— his eyes meet yours, wincing at the sudden increase of light as he squints up at you.
“We’re done for today. Let’s go,” you mutter, unsure of what else to do as you give Taehyun a helping hand; he observes it for a moment, oddly skeptical before he finally takes it— his skin is surprisingly soft for having the hands of a fighter, though you try not to let it show on your face as you help him up; the groan of exertion he lets out isn’t lost on you, and you’re surprised to find yourself feeling bad for doing this to him.
A pitch black night greets you the moment you’re exiting the building, yelling one last goodbye to Seokjin before you’re closing the door behind you— you can hear Taehyun softly grumble about having to climb way too many stairs, and you can only let out a huff in amusement before you’re linking an arm with him for support.
“Come on tiger, don’t let a set of stairs knock you out,” you mock, ignoring his angered rebuttals that he can barely slur out— you’ve really done a number on him today, you realize, the witty man beside you reduced to nothing more than a slumped figure as he continues to complain under his breath, leaving you unfazed the moment he tries to complain about your routines again.
“Don’t make me regret what I’m about to do for you,” is all you say in response, leading him to your car as you ignore his protests that he just wants to go home, “It’s been hours since you’ve eaten— come on, let’s go see Beomgyu, I bet he’s going insane from the hospital food.”
You’re not sure if it’s the sound of food or the mention of Beomgyu that has Taehyun perking up with interest, but you’re rolling your eyes at him nonetheless as you’re starting your car; driving towards Ms. Choi’s restaurant, you’re guessing it’s the former as Taehyun tells you that all he wants at the moment is some simple ramen.
The drive is calming— Taehyun doesn’t seem as annoying to you anymore, but a glance at him makes you realize it’s only because he’s knocked out in your passenger’s seat, completely silent save for his occasional shifting to get more comfortable.
Now this is a side of him you like.
⊹⊹⊹
Seokjin’s words seem to have affected you more than you’d like to admit.
At least, they definitely have if it’s enough to have Taehyun staring at you as though you’ve gone mad, feeling a strange heat rush to your cheeks as you press your lips together awkwardly.
“Are you messing with me?”
“No. Unless you want to go back to the usual,” you snap, and Taehyun can only put his hands up in surrender as he bows his head down; your proposal to have a rest day feels odd to Taehyun, even more so when you’ve already managed to drag the man all the way to the club.
“What’re we even doing here then?”
“There’s less than a week left before the match,” you sigh, feeling your phone buzz in your back pocket as you pause to check the message— you feel your shoulders slump with relief as you’re answering, glancing up at Taehyun, who was already watching you curiously.
“While you have shown improvement in your techniques, there’s still more you could improve on,” your sentence is interrupted as the sound of the door opens, the two of you turning to see who might be coming in— while Taehyun fully expected Jin to burst inside and start complaining, he’s surprised to find something else.
“I don’t want your body to wear out on me, so I’ll tone down the intensity of your routines as the final day approaches,” you continue, unfazed by the people that begin to approach— Yoongi is casual as he sends the two of you a wave, the woman next to him sending you a cheery nod before her gaze is falling on Taehyun.
“And we’ll work on your fighting IQ instead.”
One glance at Taehyun is enough to tell you that he has yet to connect the dots; you’re gesturing for the woman next to Yoongi to step forward, bringing her to your side before you’re introducing her— Taehyun notes that the two of you must be good friends, if the way she clings to you happily is enough of a sign.
“This is Sooyoung,” you say, and the woman next to you— Sooyoung— simply smiles, her eyes creasing and her face lighting up as she sends Taehyun a friendly wave, “Sooyoung, Taehyun.”
“So he’s the reckless boy you were telling me about?” Sooyoung asks, tinted lips pursing as she stares Taehyun down— the nickname is enough to have Taehyun’s gaze hardening, sending the woman a harsh look that only makes her laugh— the woman’s bubbly attitude feels far more patronizing than genuine as she tilts her head like a puppy.
“I do see potential,” she murmurs, lost in thought for a second before she’s snapping out of it— turning to Yoongi, she practically bounces over to him, and it isn’t until then that Taehyun takes in the duffle bag that the man carried in with him.
“The locker rooms are back there, right?” Sooyoung asks, looking at you expectantly before you’re sending her a nod of confirmation. Cool. Be right back! she says, skipping away with the duffle bag, her long dark hair swaying behind her as Taehyun’s mouth falls open at his words.
“Is she— am I fighting her?” Taehyun breathes out, a bit skeptical as he looks at you in bewilderment. All he gets in return is the usual roll of your eyes, unable to hold back your laugh at his stupidity.
“No dumbass,” You say, reaching up for the zipper of your jacket before you’re tugging it down— it isn’t until you’re shedding the layer off that Taehyun takes in your appearance, your hair tied back and your face turning serious as you begin stretching— he takes note of your hands, wrapped tightly in the wraps he always uses as his brows are jumping up in realization— catching his reaction, you smile.
“I am.”
Sooyoung is skipping out of the locker room moments later; it’s hard to not notice her, especially with her bright trunks and wraps that match the rest of her outfit— a bright green, the hair tie that keeps her hair up the exact same color as she makes her way to the cage.
“You’ll be my coach for this. I’ll only follow your instructions, so you better not get me fucked up,” you explain, joining Sooyoung by the cage before you’re turning back— Taehyun has yet to follow you, his brows furrowed as he waits for you to tell him you’re joking; instead, you’re left unamused as you cross your arms, hissing for him to hurry up and get over here.
“How is this supposed to help?” Taehyun asks, his gaze following you as you make your way inside; he’s never seen you like this, and though he hates to admit it, you’ve definitely piqued his interest.
“Seriously, are you always like this?” Is all you can say, looking down at Taehyun from where you stand within the cage— Taehyun remains silent, choosing to hold his tongue for once as he simply stares at you in response.
“You’ve never seen The Cobra fight. You don’t know what moves he’ll pull or how to counter them,” you begin, glancing back to the opposite corner; Sooyoung is crouched down in it, speaking to Yoongi through the fence as they throw the occasional look back at you, “You need to learn how to analyze your opponent— their tells, fighting style, go-to moves— everything.”
“Yoongi is coaching Joy in this match; the next match, he’ll be coaching me.” Taehyun finally seems to understand as he looks at Sooyoung— or Joy, as you called her, the strange nickname not going unnoticed by him as he furrows his brows at the sound of it. Yoongi coached Jongseong— so did you.
Through this match, he’ll get to take a peek into his opponents mind, no matter how miniscule.
After a minute of discussion, you finally decide to start the first round; Taehyun is oddly anxious as he watches you, your footsteps careful and calculated as you watch Joy, eyes narrowed and dark as you keep your guard up— the said man’s advice runs through your head, knowing you warned him you’d mostly be using his tips as you circle Joy carefully.
Taehyun realizes why Sooyoung is called Joy; he almost feels unnerved looking at her, the carefree smile and relaxed body language entirely enticing, a perfect trap to lure someone into lowering their guard— but Taehyun knows better than to think lowly of anyone you decide to bring in, her light steps and playful jabs enough to tell him that she’s definitely more calculative than she lets on.
Taehyun’s advice gets you a solid punch to the face and a painful kick to the stomach— it hurts like hell and makes you want to fight properly, but the need to allow Taehyun to improve on his own is nagging as you take the injuries and trudge over after the round is over, eyes pointed at him as though to say now what?
“Don’t look at me like that,” Taehyun hisses, annoyed at the way you already seem to be losing— he knows you can fight, yet the results of the round say otherwise as you stare at him expectantly, enough of a reminder that you currently put all strategies into his hands.
“Okay, okay,” he sighs, glancing back at the corner Joy and Yoongi currently converse in, “It’s clear that she enjoys taunting you. A lot.”
Taehyun seems to be talking more to himself than anything, thinking back to what he saw as he continues rambling, “But she seems to have this tell— every time she’s going to strike, she smiles a bit— which is fucking creepy— it’s barely there but I’ve noticed it, especially in her eyes.”
His comments have you both impressed and amused; it had taken you quite some time to figure out Joy’s tell when you first met her, so to watch as Taehyun thoroughly breaks down her fighting style is enough to have you listening to him intently.
“I think she’s aware of it too, because her rear hand always comes a little closer to her face when she does it—” the one-minute timer is up as Yoongi calls you back to the center of the ring, and you’re looking at Taehyun expectantly for one last comment— with his train of thought interrupted, he stumbles over his words, giving up after a moment before he’s waving you off.
“Just watch her tells. Oh, and avoid her kicks, that looked like it hurt.”
The way you scoff mockingly isn’t lost on Taehyun— but before he can call you out on it, you’re off, the next round starting as Taehyun watches you carefully.
Joy’s tell has become much more obvious to him; it only takes a moment, but he’s able to see every small habit and go-to that Joy has, his mind racing with strategies as he quickly realizes you’re doing the same. Joy is a predictable fighter to you— granted, she was your sparring partner for years— and with Taehyun’s new discovery, you allow yourself to exploit what you know of her and use it to your advantage.
You’re able to turn the match around with ease— Taehyun isn’t able to fight the way his eyes slowly begin to stray, away from Joy and to you, observing the way you remain focused, your moves precise and strong as he even finds himself wincing at times.
After a moment, Taehyun realizes that he’s seeing you in a new light— literally and figuratively, the spotlights suddenly turned on as someone new walks in— it highlights your features perfectly, and Taehyun is able to see your expression crystal clear, watching as your focus is shattered and you’re looking over at the entrance; the small moment of distraction costs you greatly, and Joy is able to land a punch straight to your nose before you’re falling down.
You’re placed into a tight chokehold seconds after, still disoriented from the punch as you reluctantly tap out— gasping for air, you’re quickly turning back to the entrance, glaring daggers at Jungkook, who simply smiles at you sheepishly.
“Sorry, sorry,” he says, cheeks reddening slightly from the sudden attention, “we’re just getting ready to open soon— you looked really cool though, ___.”
A moment passes before you’re laughing softly at his comment— Taehyun can’t help but wonder what might be going on between you two as Joy pulls you up, calling an early end to the match before you’re both exiting the cage.
“That was super fun,” Sooyoung hums, watching as you can only agree reluctantly; she coos at your disgruntled state, patting your head and laughing cutely as she apologizes for her harsh blows; turning to Taehyun, her smile widens, and Taehyun is impressed to find a bruise forming on her jawline as she speaks.
“___ told me you figured out my tells,” she pouts, her tone playful as she crosses her arms, “I seriously thought I finally got past those. Well done.”
Taehyun feels oddly embarrassed as he nods.
“Let’s continue where we left off tomorrow,” you say, glancing over to where Jungkook busies himself at the bar, ignoring the way all of you seem to observe him for a second before you continue, “Looks like you’re not that useless after all.”
“I think he’ll be okay!” Sooyoung says, a bright smile on her face as she looks at Taehyun happily, “I mean, if you keep going the way you are, you’ll definitely survive!”
The way you and Yoongi snicker makes Taehyun’s jaw clench, rolling his eyes at the way they all constantly patronize him— his lack of response is enough to have Sooyoung apologizing softly, saying that she just loves to tease.
“We should go,” you say, throwing your jacket back on and zipping it up all the way, “they’re opening soon, and I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t wanna be in a place like this any longer.”
Yoongi and Sooyoung agree— they mumble something along the lines of “brings back too many memories,” the words making Taehyun raise a brow as he begins to wonder just how many people you knew from that club.
Taehyun feels awkward as he watches them leave— it’s just you and him, and he’s forced to stand around awkwardly as he watches you gather your things, reluctant to leave you for reasons he can’t seem to think of.
“___, you’re not staying?” Jungkook’s soft pout is a stark contrast to the rest of him, decked in full black and piercings that shine under the lights— Taehyun wonders if the bartender is secretly a fighter as well, the muscle that bulges from his arm not remotely subtle, even under the sleeves of his shirt.
“Nah, I’m too tired. I took a good beating ‘cause of you,'' you say, watching as Jungkook only smiles sheepishly. Your body feels sore and you’re more than ready to go home and rest, but the way Jungkook continues to give you puppy eyes suggests that you might have to fight him off too.
“I can patch you up,” he says, and you’re rolling your eyes at the way he flutters his eyes at you, “I haven’t seen you in so long— you’re never at the restaurant, you know.”
“Well, I am kinda busy,” you say, nodding softly at Taehyun who, to your surprise, is still at your side.
Jungkook remains silent for a second. His eyes leave yours as they inspect Taehyun, analyzing the man who simply huffs and crosses his arms in annoyance. Meeting his eyes, Taehyun refuses to back down, raising a brow as he waits for Jungkook to say something to him.
“Aren’t you tired of being around him all the time?” Jungkook finally speaks, clearly set on ignoring Taehyun as he turns back to you— his smile is seemingly innocent as he leans against the counter, ignoring his duties as he continues to try to get you to stay, “I can bet you I’m more fun to be around than him.”
“Noona,” Taehyun says, his voice stern and clear as speaks. This time, you both turn to him; your shock is clear on your face, eyes wide and confused as your brows knit together, wondering where the sudden formality appeared from.
“We should go. This place is opening soon,” he says, watching as your mouth opens in an attempt to respond— though you can’t seem to figure out what to say, and Taehyun is quick to roll his eyes and go ahead— with one last glance at Jungkook, you bid him goodbye, feeling oddly tense as you follow Taehyun outside.
“Shit,” he hears you say, though he doesn’t pay any mind to it as he stands outside— the smell of rain lingers in the air, the city alight and busy even after dark hours— from behind him, he can still hear you mumbling to yourself, your words incoherent and irritated to his ears.
“You know, if you wanted to stay with that guy you could’ve—“ he’s stopped short by the sight of you, brows furrowed together and a sleeve pressed firmly to your nose as you curse under your breath— though the blood that ran out of your nose still clings to your chin, and you have yet to wipe it off as you continue to complain about the issue quietly, digging in your bag as you ignore Taehyun.
“Hey, you don’t happen to have tissues, do you—?”
The answer is a definite no. Taehyun can feel himself acting on impulse— maybe it was because the sight made him cringe, or maybe he was looking out for your safety— but next thing he knows, he’s tugging you along, away from the hidden building and straight to the convenience store a block away.
“Wait, where are we even going?” You ask, unable to put up much of a fight as you focus on keeping the bleeding under control. Taehyun doesn’t answer, and when you attempt to tug your arm out of his grip, all you get in response is the feeling of his fingers tightening around you.
“Tissues,” Taehyun mumbles, tugging you into the store without a second thought.
You feel oddly awkward around him— you’re not used to seeing him like this— he’s quiet, serious and not the same person that’s always trying to piss you off with some ridiculous comment. Instead, he’s oddly tentative, and you find yourself sitting at the table placed outside as you watch him rummage through the bag, pulling out one thing after another as you sit there, pressing the tissue he gave you a bit firmer to your nose.
“This wasn’t necessary, you know,” you say quietly, eyes narrowing as you observe him carefully— despite your constant reassurance that you didn’t want him to spend on you, you currently watch him eat his instant noodles in silence, your own still covered up and warm while the two of you wait for your nose bleed to die down— though you pretend otherwise, you notice the way he glances at you every other second to see how you’re doing, offering to pour you a bit of soju that you decline with a soft scoff.
“A ‘thank you’ would suffice,” he comments, his words muffled through a mouthful of noodles— he ignores your scolding to not talk with his mouth full, clicking your tongue in annoyance as you only get a roll of his eyes in return.
“Yeah…. thanks,” you mutter, barely audible as you take the tissue away from your nose slowly— Taehyun is mid-bite as he freezes, eyes darting up to observe you— and you smile slightly, relieved to feel that your nose bleed is finally gone.
“Ugh, that was so annoying,” you grumble, wiping at your face for any blood that’s still there; you’re fussing quietly to yourself, unable to notice as Taehyun begins to rummage through his plastic bag once more, finally finding his desired item before he throws it at you, the small packet landing right in front of you unceremoniously.
“Here,” is all he says, avoiding any more eye-contact as he goes back to eating, the ramen disappearing within seconds from how quickly he eats.
An odd silence falls between you; the ‘thank you’ you let out is barely audible, your demeanor awkward as you open the packet of wet wipes he tossed at you— he simply nods at you in response, and you find yourself feeling tense as you watch him sit back in his seat, shameless in the way he stares you down, clear in thought as he presses his lips together.
“Back at the club,” you begin awkwardly, folding the wet tissue in your hands as you speak, “you called me “noona”— the hell was that about? You’re not one for formalities.”
“But you’re older, aren’t you?” Taehyun says, oddly unfazed by your sudden line of questioning, “Thought I might as well start, if we’re spending so much time together.”
“Not even Beomgyu calls me that,” you say, bristling at the way he quotes Jungkook— you feel oddly flustered by the sudden title, even more so when Taehyun simply looks up at you after a moment— his eyes are wide and innocent as he observes you, and slowly, he breaks out into a soft smile.
“I’m just being polite,” he says, straightening in his seat as he tilts his head, “Noona.”
“Enough of that,” you bark out, gritting your teeth at the way he only grins at your response, “We need to talk strategy— your fight’s a few days away.”
“Right, right,” Taehyun says, chopsticks circling the inside of his bowl as pauses, thinking back to the man he only got a glimpse of in FightX, “Jongseong— what’s he like?”
The sudden question has you sitting back in your chair, deep in thought as you think back to Jongseong— The Cobra, or the scrawny thirteen-year-old boy that stumbled into Minho’s convenience store by what you thought was an accident.
“Can you teach me how to fight?” He had asked you, eyes wide and innocent as he stared up at you, a mere sixteen-year-old that worked at Minho’s store as a side hustle. You remembered pretending as though you had no idea what he was talking about, laughing off the way his curious gaze drifted over the pain patches on your shoulders and your bruised knuckles.
“Where’s your mother?” You remembered asking, incredulous at the way he refused to leave or buy anything; instead, he insisted that you teach him to fight, gluing his feet to the floor despite the fact that you chose to ignore any questions he had about you and your secret hobbies.
“Don’t know,” he admitted casually, and it wasn’t until then that you noticed his roughed up appearance, his face dirtied and bruised, and his hair filled with dirt and twigs, “she doesn’t come home until night time. I’m alone right now.”
“What… happened to your face?” You asked him, leaning on the counter to get a closer look; you remember reaching over to rid his hair of the dirt, watching as he scrunched his face and slapped your hand off in reaction— the sight of him was an eerie mirror of your own before you found Minho, your brows furrowing at the tough front this kid seemed to put up.
“Some stupid kids at my school,” he brushed you off, running a hand through his hair as he felt the dirtiness of it with a wince; looking back at you, he took in your concerned expression, frowning at the sight as he leaned against the counter.
“You know,” he says, raising a brow at the way you study his injuries, “If you’re that worried, why don’t you teach me how to fight?”
His proposition caught your attention— his words were reminiscent of your own, years ago, when you stumbled upon Minho’s small club by accident, a sad attempt to find asylum— and suddenly, you found yourself thinking it through.
“Okay. But just for self-defense.”
“So you practically raised him,” Taehyun says, the very thought of it making you shiver as you shake your head no, your eye twitching at his words, “No? Well, you did train him, right?”
“Well, he trained for a good two years. Yoongi and I trained him for a while since everyone was too busy to deal with another newbie, and Minho…” sighing, you go to open your own instant noodles, now cooled and a bit soggy as you wince slightly at the sight, “Minho had the idea to throw him in the ring after he reached fifteen.”
You still remember his first fight— you remember being strictly against it the moment Minho proposed it, sudden and instant as he quickly escorted Jongseong away from you; you, being freshly out of a match, barely had any energy to fight back properly.
“This isn’t what he wants. This is too dangerous, Minho,” you remembered telling him, trying to reason with him despite the roaring spectators drowning your voice out. You remembered how Jongseong looked under Minho’s arm; small, skittish and tense, his eyes flicking around the cage in attempts to familiarize himself with the layout as Minho’s fingers only dug deeper into his shoulder.
“Of course it’s what he wants,” Minho responded, always quick to leave you helpless with the way he towered over you, a Cheshire smile on his lips as his eyes twinkled with a dangerous delight, “Don’t you remember how you were in your first fight? Could barely throw a punch.”
Before you could argue, Minho continued.
“You know he has potential. What, afraid he’ll steal the spotlight from you and Yoongi?” Jongseong’s eyes flickered to you then— and in that moment, you realized just how long Minho seemed to have prepared him for this moment, the deep breath he took stabilizing him momentarily as Minho leaned down to speak quietly in his ear.
“Do you know how much money you could make from today’s match?” Minho had told Jongseong sweetly, and the two of them looked over to the other side of the cage, where his opponent waited for him, “It’s your first match— but I’ve given you an easy kill, I know you’ll win.”
An easy kill— that was definitely one way to describe Jongseong’s victory. You watched first hand as the fear drained from Jongseong’s face, replaced with a dangerous gaze that you had never seen before; you watched as he threw perfect jabs, calculated and lethal as he landed hook after hook on his opponent.
Even now, you can’t help but feel surprised at how protective you got over him— especially when he was sent flying with a kick to the stomach, crashing against the ground and leaving you tense as you watched the way he didn’t move.
At the memory, you laugh softly— your eyes flicker up to Taehyun’s, your tone grim as you speak.
“That was his winning move.”
His opponent got sloppy— he let his guard down, approaching Jongseong so casually that the punch he got to the jaw was definitely deserved— and though his body crashed to the floor and Jongseong was able to get the higher ground, he didn’t stop.
“He doesn’t care if you’re down. He doesn’t care if he’s won,” you grit out, your appetite lost as you stare down at your cold food, the memory of Jongseong landing hit after hit to his weakened opponent making you frown.
You still remember the look in his eyes as the referee tore him off his opponent; wild and hungry, still lusting for blood as he attempted to shake the authority figure off. Even when his eyes met yours, horrified at the person Jongseong transformed into, he didn’t care, his grin only widening as the referee announced his name, the audience going wild at the way his arm was thrust up in victory.
The spectacle of his lethal fighting style earned him his special nickname; Minho’s triumphant smile left a sick feeling in your stomach, forced to listen to the way the announcers paraded around Jongseong like a killer animal.
After that day, you watched Jongseong grow into the person he is today; cold, calculated, and borderline murderous.
“Every time I look at him, I’m reminded of the kid who came to me looking to learn self-defense,” you chuckle dryly, frowning at the memory, “Then I remember who he’s become, and I can’t help but feel responsible for it.”
“When I met Beomgyu through that god-forsaken club, I was reminded of Jongseong,” the sudden revelation has Taehyun listening intently, leaning in to watch as your eyes drift off to the city around you, foggy and reminiscent as you tell him your story.
“For some reason, I thought that maybe this time, I could prevent him from becoming a monster,” you mutter, leaning your chin into your palm as you sigh, “Though, I don’t think I like this outcome either.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Taehyun quickly interjects, and he flinches slightly at the way your eyes flicker back to meet his, regarding him for a moment before you smile.
“I know. It was yours.”
He’s not sure how to respond to that; he’s not sure if he should, unsure of what he should say or do as you stare him down silently— after a second, you’re breaking out into a soft laugh, tired and broken up as you wince from the feeling of your bruised ribs.
“I’m just fuckin with you,” you say, sitting up at you take in the way Taehyun visibly relaxes, “You didn’t force Beomgyu to do anything. It was all out of his free will.”
“And I kinda know that you lied about the whole thing being your idea.”
Your confession has Taehyun looking like a deer in headlights— it’s enough to make you laugh, easing the tense mood as he asks you how you knew.
“I had my suspicions from the very beginning,” you say, pausing for a second before you add cheekily, “And, Beomgyu told me.”
“Ah,” he mumbles, biting his lip as he tries to smile at you, “Sorry I lied.”
“Don’t be. It’s interesting that you chose to cover for him,” you say, returning the awkward smile as you add, “I should be the one sorry. For slapping the shit out of you.”
The two of you laugh— though, it’s a bit tense, and a silence falls between you two after.
“You… met Beomgyu? At that club?” He asks after a moment, watching the way you nod without hesitation.
“Yeah. He was sixteen, I made sure to kick him out and warn him once I saw how his worried mother came looking for him. And it worked, for like two years. Then…”
“Then Jin’s club opened.”
You raise a brow at his words, pausing in surprise before you’re nodding slowly.
“Yeah, then Seokjin’s club opened,” you repeat slowly, frowning at the way he already knew, “Beomgyu found himself involved there, and it wasn’t long before his mother came to FightX looking for him. Jin’s club wasn’t as shady— I mean, compared to FightX, that place was like a church. I knew I didn’t have much to worry about, but I still decided to train him for a while… just to be safe.”
Taehyun sees the way your eyes are filled with nostalgia, a soft smile forming on your face from the memories.
“That’s kinda how I ended up where I am now. I could only drag Beomgyu back to his house so many times before his mother started treating me like family too,” meeting Taehyun’s gaze, you’re surprised to see him listening to you intently— it has you tensing slightly, not realizing how much you’ve revealed about yourself until now.
“So,” you start, clearing your throat awkwardly from the way Taehyun’s gaze sears into you intensely, “What’s your story? How’d you end up in this scene?”
“Oh, it’s nothing interesting,” Taehyun waves you off, though you refuse to be the only one delving into their personal life as you press Taehyun for details, “Seriously, it’s pretty normal.”
“Well, tell me anyways,” you say softly, tilting your head as you send Taehyun a challenging look, “Might as well get to know each other, if we’re spending so much time together.”
The way he laughs softly at your mocking comment is slightly contagious— and though you pretend otherwise, you notice the bittersweet look on his face as he reaches for the bottle of soju, pouring himself a shot for the first time in a while before he offers you one; with a slight laugh, you accept it.
“I got into mma with a friend of mine— gave me lessons, sparred with each other, all that fancy stuff. We were really close, and getting into this hobby together only made us closer,” he laughed softly at his words, his mind filled with memories as he stared down at the table, “And now… Well. He’s not around anymore. Passed away less than a year ago.”
You frown softly at the way he pours himself another shot— the grief on his face is still fresh, you realize, his gaze hardening as he places the shot cup back down.
“Without him, I felt… lost. I didn’t really know what to do with myself— after a while, I mostly felt angry.” His finger traces around the rim of the cup, slow and steady as he takes a moment to pause, “I hated that feeling. So, I tried finding the next best outlet, and found a few underground clubs. That’s how I met Beomgyu.”
The air is tense from his story; you’ve never been the best at comforting, so you find yourself unsure of what to do. After a moment, Taehyun laughs, taking in your tense expression with amusement, and it’s only then that your eyes fall onto the dimple that digs into his cheeks cutely.
“God, I’m sure he’d go nuts if he knew the shit I got myself into,” he says, running a hand through his hair as he shakes his head, “I’m not sure if he’d want to stop the fight or get front row seats— hell, probably the latter.”
Taehyun is quick to pick up on the glint of amusement in your eyes— he’s just as quick to reach for the soju bottle and pour the two of you another shot, the air much lighter than it was a moment ago as you watch him give you a bright smile, the sight unusual for you as you find yourself giving him an unsure one in return.
“We only have three days left,” Taehyun says, bringing his glass up, watching the way you shake your head in amusement, “Let’s keep up the hard work, noona.”
“Don’t call me that.” You grimace, clinking your glass with his before you’re both downing the liquid—though you can’t help the slight smile that tugs at your lips in amusement, watching as Taehyun slowly becomes more open with you as you let him finish the bottle— I have to drive, idiot, you told him with a sneer, pushing the bottle back to him when he pouted that he shouldn’t be drinking alone.
Taehyun is oddly light—and lightweight— though, not light enough for you to be tugging along back to your car, grimacing at the way he stumbles and knocks into you drunkenly.
“Noona,” he said to you, his words slow as he smiled at the way you snapped at him to not call you that, “Noona, you think I’ll win?”
“Fuck, I hope so,” you grumble, finding your car in the now-filled abandoned parking lot that was close to Jin’s, “It would be a huge fucking waste of time if you didn’t.”
“Okay then,” Taehyun pouts, pushing you away from him and walking off to his own car, only for you to tug him back to your own as you tell him he shouldn’t drive like this, “Why would I wanna be stuck in the car with someone who acts like such a bitch?”
“I act like a bitch because I care,” you bark, opening the car door and shoving him carelessly, only to watch as he turns back to look at you with that same, stupid, patronizing smile.
“If you say so,” he says, his cheeks a bit flushed as he leans back towards you, “Nooooo...na.”
Your reaction is immediate— he feels as though the punch you land on his arm is enough to sober him, rubbing the sore area with a drunken pout.
“Get in the damn car.”
⊹⊹⊹
You currently stand outside FightX. There’s an hour left before the match.
You pace around in worry, unable to stand still as you hear the ruckus of the club and it’s awaiting patrons inside. Your brows are knitted in a deep frown and you can’t fight the way you bite your lip anxiously as you walk around in restless circles, over and over as you’re left in deep thought.
“Stop that, you’re making me dizzy,” a voice calls out, snapping you out of your daze as you watch Taehyun walk up with a leisurely smile on his face— the sight is almost unnerving, his mood a complete opposite from yours as you watch him adjust the strap of his bag on his shoulder, taking a moment before he’s standing before you.
“Aren’t you nervous?” You ask, watching as he simply shakes his head without hesitation, “you’d be stupid not to be— although, that does make sense…”
“Hey,” he says, lips pressed into a line as he frowns at you, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t degrade me before the match. You’re messing up my concentration.”
“Right. Of course,” you huff out, looking away and missing the way that Taehyun smiles, taking in your jittery figure with amusement— his expression is immediately dropping the moment you look back at him, and he’s mentally cursing at himself for suddenly being so weird.
“Are you gonna make me workout before the match or something? Why are we here so early?” He asks, tilting his head and taking in your attire slowly; it’s not what you wear when you train him, but it’s still light and athletic as he raises a brow at your apparel, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to wear my energy out just yet.”
“I’m not making you do anything, I just needed you to be here so you could get into the right mindset.” you say, and your response is enough to leave Taehyun silent as he stares at you; it’s odd, and you find yourself unnerved by his analytic stare. “What? What’s wrong with you now?”
“Are you worried?” He asks, his question sudden as he takes a step toward you— startled, you try your best to remain unfazed, resisting the urge to take a step back as you take in his sudden proximity.
“Worried? About what?” You say, your responses much too curt to seem natural; mentally, you’re cursing at yourself for feeling so odd, unable to hide what you’re thinking as well as you usually are— especially under Taehyun’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Worried…. That I’ll lose?” He says, leaning in slightly to get a better look at your face; you refuse to pull away, looking into his eyes and keeping your expresion blank despite how close he is— his scent is invading your senses, oddly alluring as you finally get a good look at the man before you, “Or… no.”
Another pause. You don’t know what Taehyun might say next, but judging by the way his lips twitch with the hint of a smile, you know you won’t like it.
“Maybe… worried I’ll get hurt?”
Your eye twitches.
“Hmm. Okay,” he says, quick to catch your small reaction as he backs away, a smug smile on his face— you frown, wondering what he might be insinuating as you send him an incredulous look.
“Okay? Okay what?” You say, watching as Taehyun chooses to remain silent— his sudden refusal to speak to you has you far more annoyed than you’d like, slapping his arm and telling him to look at you, irked by the way he deliberately ignores your request and looks around in wonder, “Okay what? Of course I’m concerned!”
Your sudden confession has Taehyun’s gaze snapping back to yours.
“If The Cobra takes you out, we lose. And if we lose,” you pause, taking in Taehyun’s expression— he’s bewildered, mouth slightly parted as he listens to your irritated words— “If we lose… seriously, will you stop looking at me like that?”
“If we lose…” he repeats slowly, and your frown only deepens in response, “You said we.”
“Yeah…?”
“You’re… coaching me?”
“No, I’m getting front row seats and betting against you,” you scoff, rolling your eyes and smacking Taehyun’s bicep in annoyance, “Yes, I’m coaching you. Wouldn’t be here wasting my time if I wasn’t.”
The way Taehyun’s eyes are sparkling under the lights is slightly creepy— you don’t think you’ve even seen such a genuine expression on him before, and you can only take a step back in uncertainty as Taehyun smiles at you; a genuine, soft smile.
“Right, it’s just…” he pauses, clearing his throat before he’s reaching towards you to return the hit you gave him moments ago— though it’s a bit stiff, and you’re raising a brow at the action as you watch Taehyun carefully, “Haven’t had a coach in a while.”
Oh.
You’re sure the thought shows on your face, the reminder of Taehyun’s past life coming back to the forefront of your mind with a slight pang of guilt— though Taehyun doesn’t let you dwell on it, making fun of your face and prodding at you with enough annoying comments that you have to meditating to not slap the shit out of him.
“If you don’t shut up, I’ll beat you before your match even starts,” you hiss, your threat enough of an incentive to get him off your back, “Yoongi and Sooyoung are coming as well. We’ll wait for them before we go in.”
“Are they really?” Taehyun asks, and you simply nod in response— the thought of Sooyoung watching him fight wasn’t exactly pleasant, and he finds himself thinking back to the nickname you gave her in the ring, “Joy… what an odd name. Did you ever get a title back here? I don’t think you ever mentioned it.”
“Because I didn’t have one,” you huff, rolling your eyes at the way he seems surprised by that, “My name was enough intimidation for them.”
Wowww, Taehyun cooed, the patronizing gesture enough to have you reaching to smack him on instinct— though it seems as though your move was too predictable for him, flinching out of the way with ease and continuing to send you that stupid smug smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he continued to try and provoke you.
“If you two are done with this weird tension, we’d like to go in now,” the look Yoongi sends you is enough to have your face heating up with embarrassment, unsure of what he might mean with his words as you shake your head in annoyance— grabbing Taehyun’s elbow, you lead him down the steps, watching as Yoongi and Sooyoung follow behind with teasing eyes.
“Yoongi, did you have to bring your men along? It’s already crowded enough in there as it is,” you groan, your head beginning to ache at the sight of the packed club— Yoongi simply scoffs, telling you better safe than sorry as he gestures for the two of you to go inside.
“Go find Minho,” Yoongi nudges you, and you nod firmly at his words, “Make sure to let him know we are also here.”
If you insist, you mumble, ready to go off before you feel Sooyoung grab onto your elbow, tugging you back to get your attention— the moment your eyes meet, she sends you a bright smile, pairing it with a thumbs up as she squeezes your arm in reassurance.
“You got this!” She says, letting you go and watching as you weave through the crowd with Taehyun in tow.
“You think we’ll win?” Yoongi mutters in Sooyoung’s ear, watching the way her smile tenses a bit.
“I prayed a little yesterday.”
⊹⊹⊹
“…from what I remember, he’s very straightforward; very serious— spends a good couple of minutes gauging what kind of fighter you are before he strikes. I need you to be careful during this match, okay? Fight with your brain, not just your fists.”
You’ve been talking Taehyun’s ear off for an impressively long time. Taehyun didn’t think it was possible to see you like this, restless and fidgety as you followed him into the locker to give him a pep talk. There was ten minutes left before the fight.
“Relax, I got this,” Taehyun says, and he’s greeted with an unamused look of yours in return, “I didn’t watch you and Joy beat the hell out of each other for nothing, you know.”
The mention of your matches with Sooyoung is enough to have you cringing; while it was good for Taehyun to get a grasp of what you and Yoongi might’ve taught Jongseong and vice-versa, it wasn’t as good to leave sore after each training day you spent with him.
“Can’t believe I did that,” you mutter to yourself, leaning against the lockers behind you in dismay. Though by the way you can hear Taehyun laugh at you mockingly, you know he picked up on it as well.
“You care more than you let on, noona,” he smiles, your eye twitching at the name; you have yet to get used to this sudden formality, and Taehyun is clearly taking advantage of it, judging by the way his smile only widens with your every reaction.
“Noona?” The source of the voice is from someone you’d never forget; both you and Taehyun are looking over at the entrance in an instant, and you can feel your eyes widen as you take in the way Jongseong stands there, much more grown than the last time you saw him.
“Oh. Hi,” you grit out awkwardly, cringing at how tense you sound.
“Hi? Is that all you have to say?” He asks, walking toward you without hesitation; his hair is black and slicked back neatly, a stark contrast to the messy brown hair he could never bother to style when he was younger, “it’s been three years, you disappeared without a trace!”
You’re not sure what he’s going to do as he approaches you in a hurry— hug you, maybe— because he pauses, taking in the sight of Taehyun sitting in front of you, his eyes narrowing as he takes a moment to take the man in.
“You’re…” he pauses, brows furrowing as he goes deep in thought for a second, “Taehyun.”
Taehyun’s name falls from his lips with pure disdain; Jongseong is looking between you and him, his face dropping with disappointment as everything begins to click together in his mind.
“I was hoping Minho was lying,” Jongseong mutters, taking a step back from you as he meets your eyes; he no longer holds the same, wide and nostalgic gaze that greeted you when you first saw him. Instead, it’s cold and scathing, a reflection of the dangerous man you’re preparing Taehyun to face in the ring.
“You’re coaching him, then?” He asks, and all you can do is nod as you take in the anger in his eyes, wondering what lies Minho has been feeding him to look at Taehyun with such hatred, “I see.”
He’s backing away from you. You feel as though you’re losing him all over again as you watch his eyes turn to you, filled with nothing but restless anger as he sends you a vicious smile.
“Try not to lose another one, noona,” he says, feigning a pout as he takes in the way your jaw clenches at his words. His eyes flicker over to Taehyun, pleased to find that his jab seems to have affected him, as well, “Good luck. You’ll definitely need it.”
He lets out a bitter laugh, waving you off before he’s out of sight. It’s quiet, and you’re unsure of what to say now that it’s just the two of you. Sighing, you look back at Taehyun, only to see that his eyes were already on you.
You gulp.
Taehyun has never looked this angry; his jaw is clenched and his brows are furrowed as he leans forward, elbows resting on his thighs as he jerks his head side to side— the cracks of his neck have you wincing, though you don’t think he cares, his lips pressing together for a moment before he breaks out into a breathy laugh.
His eyes flicker back up to meet yours, a smile spreading across his face, fangs dangerous as he bites his lip in a failed attempt to suppress it.
“I can’t wait to fuck him up.”
⊹⊹⊹
The place is packed.
It’s deafening as you make your way to the cage, Taehyun stuck to your side as the patrons make a path for you; you try not to tense at the feeling of Taehyun’s hand on your waist, pulling you in and keeping you away from the men that stare at you with a disgusting hunger.
Their excitement is deafening. It makes your head pound and your concentration waver, jolting into Taehyun from the way people try to reach out for you— the call of your name by old regulars isn’t lost on you, but you try to grit your teeth and ignore it.
“They’re here for you,” Taehyun muses quietly, leaning into you so you can hear him. You scoff, shaking your head as you finally reach the cage’s entrance; Jongseong is already inside, waiting.
“They’re here for you,” you say, watching as Taehyun unzips his jacket and hands it to you; he grins at that, and you’re scolding him to put in his mouthpiece so he can’t come up with a stupid comeback.
“Go get ‘em tiger,” you grin, watching as Taehyun can only shake his head in amusement. Your eyes flicker back to where Jeongseong stands, chatting idly with his own coach— your expression turns grim at the sight of Minho giving him tips with a bright smile.
Your hands are warm as you reach out to Taehyun; grabbing both sides of his face, cradling his jaw as you’re pulling him in towards you boldly— he’s slightly caught off guard by your action, eyes widening as he’s forced to remain silently and stare at you stupidly.
“Light on your feet. Be calm. Preserve your energy,” you say to him, repeating all the tips you’ve given him through three curt sentences. He nods, and you nod along with him, slightly amused at the sight of him.
“You got this. I believe in you.”
You’re pushing him into the cage after that.
The floor is scuffed and old. It’s nothing in comparison to Jin’s pristine cage, and Taehyun is finally beginning to take it all in as he looks out, the club packed and rowdy as he scans through the crowd; he spots Yoongi and Sooyoung, the two giving him a nod and a thumbs up the moment their eyes meet.
“Tonight’s match looks quite interesting,” a voice booms out, and Taehyun looks over to the commentator’s table, able to recognize the two faces that beam back at him in excitement— Taemin and Kibum, if he remembers right.
“Not only is it winner-takes-all, but we also seem to have a legend in our midst— if not, two,” Taemin’s smile is ear to ear as the crowd grows louder, and Taehyun is able to spot you shrinking slightly from the sudden attention.
“The king and queen of FightX— sound familiar?” If the crowd’s reaction is any indication of their answer, then Taehyun would say yes. Kibum’s laugh echoes around the cage, and Taehyun feels overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.
“Not only that, but apparently she’s coaching this guy too!” Taemin and Kibum are off in their own world as they chatter, and Taehyun can’t help but wonder when the theatrics will end and the match will start.
“Minho even seems to have stepped up for today— the best of the best, hmm?”
Minho is more than willing to indulge in all the fanfare; in the ring, Jongseong only rolls his eyes, clearly as impatient as Taehyun.
“Oooh, now now, we should probably stop,” Kibum grins, nudging Taemin playfully, “It looks like our fighters are getting restless.”
“Right, we should probably get on with it,” Taemin agrees, though the way they both continue to talk says otherwise, “This is what you all came to see, right?!”
More cheers.
Taehyun has begun drowning everyone out at this point. Even when the referee steps inside and gestures for the two to come to him, he can’t bring himself to listen. Instead, he focuses, his eyes never straying from the man before him.
The Cobra seems to be just as concentrated as him. His gaze is dangerous and he’s restless as he shifts in front of Taehyun, lips twitching into a smile as the referee asks them to be courteous, to touch gloves.
Neither of them move.
Three rounds, he hears the referee remind them— then he’s stepping back, gauging their reactions before the loud bell rings out, signaling that the fight has begun.
Jongseong moves immediately— but he doesn’t strike, and Taehyun’s eyes narrow at the way he remains in a low stance, swaying slightly as he remains on guard; his constant movement makes it difficult for Taehyun to hit him, and he’s left unamused at the way Jongseong seems to taunt and bluff with a mocking smile.
He throws out meaningless jabs, not bothering to hit him properly as he continues to grin and mess around. This behavior is a strong contrast to the characteristics you warned him of; He keeps his fists close to his face, a complete opposite of Jongseong, who’s body remains relaxed.
Usually, Taehyun would see this as a weakness; he’s left unguarded, goading the audience that only seems to yell at Taehyun to do something— to take the bait. If anything, the way Jongseong smiles through his mouthpiece is enough to remind him of Sooyoung; confident, skilled, quick and agile enough that he can afford to keep his body open as a bluff.
Taehyun throws a left hook as a test. Immediately, Jongseong is jumping back, dodging it and putting his hands up with such speed that Taehyun could’ve missed it if he blinked. Jongseong’s eyes narrow, and it seems as though he’s realized that Taehyun has caught on to his show tactics.
There’s no room to play around anymore. Jongseong seems to have thrown out any tactics to bait Taehyun, choosing to throw punch after punch instead, a slight form of bait on its own.
Taehyun could fight back. He could retaliate to the blows on his forearms and sides, could try to land a few kicks on the man before him and try to injure him. But he would also waste all his energy in the first round, potentially leaving him vulnerable to The Cobra’s attacks in later rounds. It’s clear that’s what he wants— Taehyun throws a punch here and there to make it seem as though he’s falling into the trap, but your words to preserve his energy ring out in his head all the while.
The action to remain on defense makes Taehyun look like a coward. But he doesn’t really mind, especially with the way Jongseong grows cocky, a confident smile broad on his face as he lets his guard down slightly, laughing along to the scathing comments the audience throws at him.
His rear hand falters for a second. And in that second, Taehyun is able to deliver a right hook, his padded fist colliding with Jongseong’s jaw and sending him stumbling off, the people roaring and drowning out the sound of the commentator’s ramblings.
One minute on the clock, will he be able to get another hit in?! Taehyun is effortless to drown out Kibum’s cries, stepping back the moment Jeongseong is back on his feet— for a moment, the two circle each other, and Taehyun can see the way his opponent’s eyes scan him, mind rapidly thinking of a way to counter his most recent blow.
Kibum is audibly disappointed at the sound of the first round ending. How uneventful, he mourns, and Taehyun is happy to see that you’ve made it into the cage, Minho trailing behind you as you both get a minute to talk.
“Fuck, good job, that was a good hit,” you immediately say, grabbing Taehyun’s wrist and dragging him to your corner. His mouth is sore as he takes his mouthpiece out, taking slow drinks of the water bottle you hand him as he listens to you.
“He’s a lot more different now. Still agile, but it looks like he likes playing with his food now,” you say, wiping off the sweet that’s gathered on Taehyun’s skin gently; he feels oddly tense at the action, your tender gesture making his heart beat a little faster as he wonders instead if he’s finally beginning to get nervous from the match.
“He definitely knows you’re not one to play with now, but it’s still good to feed into it sometimes,” you pause, your hand stilling on his chest, the thin towel the only barrier between you as you look up at him sternly, “I know I said to preserve more energy, but get more hits out. He has really good stamina.”
Taehyun tries to sear your words into his head as the referee calls for them to get ready for the next round, the two of you exchanging a reassuring look before you’re off.
Like last time, Jongseong doesn’t seem too keen on being friendly before the match.
Taehyun takes your advice quite seriously— though Jongseong is also able to get more hits on him this way, his bottom lip cracking open after a particularly rough punch. Jongseong, Taehyun realizes, mostly fights with his upper body. He’s quick on his feet and dodges hits easily, but Taehyun has yet to be pinned down or hit with a kick— he tries to keep this knowledge to himself, the next five minutes uneventful as the round ends without any memorable hits.
Could it be that The Cobra has met his match? Taemin mused into the mic, grinning at the way the crowd only booed in response. Ignore that, you muttered in his ear, rolling your eyes at the way the two commentators were still just as annoying as you remembered.
“He only punches,” Taehyun comments, his brows furrowing as he looks over to Jongseong’s corner, “No kicks, clinches, anything. It’s odd.”
“Because he’s saving it for the last round,” you tell him, reaching up to brush the hair from his forehead— you’re serious, trying your best to hide the worry on your face as you warn him, “I’m telling you— he likes to play with his food. Be extra careful, I’m sure he’ll try pulling something new on you.”
The referee calls the break to an end. Pressing your lips together, and you’re nodding as you step back to leave.
“Go all in now. Everything you got, now’s the time to use it.”
The way Minho laughs as you meet him at the cage entrance has you scoffing; Taehyun can see the older man talking to you, though he’s unable to try and see what he’s saying as the referee calls the fighters to the center.
“Last round,” he reminds, placing a hand on both their shoulders, “Clean, fair fight, okay?”
Jongseong nods— then, he reaches forward, offering his gloves to Taehyun.
The slight twitch of his lips is mischievous. Slowly, Taehyun does the same; their gloves touch softly, the commentators quick to point it out as the match begins.
Jeongseong throws a punch instantly.
It’s like a switch has been flipped in his mind. His eyes are filled with eager bloodlust and alight with adrenaline, throwing hit after hit at Taehyun with no signs of stopping. All Taehyun can do is defend himself, unable to get an opening as he’s forced to take the blows Jongseong delivers.
Taehyun thinks he might have an opening the moment the man backs up, hands going down and leaving him unguarded for a second— but as Taehyun throws out a punch, he’s met with a harsh kick to his side, shocking him and knocking him off balance as Jongseong quickly uses it to his advantage.
He’s disoriented with how quickly Jongseong wraps around him; limbs tangled, arms around his neck in such a strong chokehold that Taehyun can already feel his head pounding. Is he gonna tap out? He can hear the commentators asking, forcing him to grit his teeth and throw punches at Jeongseong’s head and sides in an attempt to throw him off.
It seems to work; he’s somehow landed a punch directly to his nose, and the man behind him is stunted by the blow, his hold faltering and giving Taehyun the opening he needed to escape.
Quick to get up, Taehyun slowly catches his breath. Two minutes on the clock! He hears them yell. Jongseong has yet to get up, the blood dripping from his nose making his eyes widen in shock, watching as he struggles to stumble to his feet, still disoriented from the blow.
Jongseong’s eyes meet Taehyun’s; he’s tired, a panting mess and reflection of him as he slowly makes his way to Taehyun, stumbling slightly and heavy on his feet as he winces— an easy finish. For a second, Taehyun can feel himself relax, the tension in his body releasing as he watches Jongseong carefully.
Jongseong takes in Taehyun’s shift instantly— Taehyun is jumping back before he can process it, eyes widening at the way Jongseong aimed a right hook for him, the swing of his arm ripping through the air as he stumbles slightly from the lack of impact.
Then, he’s knocked back.
Taehyun can barely process the way his body moved with such acute precision, spinning and twisting just as you taught him as he lands with no problem, the feeling of him colliding right into Jongseong oddly instinctual; he watches as the man jolts from the impact, his body stiffening and his eyes rolling back as he can only fall from the impact to his body— to his head.
The sound of his body colliding against the floor is loud, Jongseong’s face blank as he simply lays there, eyelids flickering and mind swimming in and out of consciousness as the referee runs to him.
After a moment, the winner is declared.
Taehyun is unable to process anything— the sounds of the audience roaring, the feeling of his arm being thrust into the air, the sight of Jongseong lying on the ground still— he doesn’t process anything, eyes drifting around and looking for one thing like habit.
There you are, face alight with joy as you cheer furiously.
Taehyun laughs slightly— it’s a bit pained, and he winces at the feeling of his sore body, the referee finally letting go of his hand as he stumbles out towards the exit, and straight towards you, pulling his mouth guard out with a wince.
“You did it!” You grin, your voice clear as day, even through the bewildered chatter of the rest as you wave him over. “Fuck, you really did it!”
Taehyun thinks you might hit him again, like you always do; instead, he feels you grab his face, your own alight with euphoria as you tug him into you and crash your lips against his— he barely has enough time to process things before you’re pulling away, your expression sobering as you take in what you just did.
“Hey!” Yoongi calls out, attempting to weave through the crowd as you turn around to the source of the distraction, “Find Minho, make sure he doesn’t try to slip away!”
“Right,” you respond, turning back to look at Taehyun— he’s left frozen and bewildered as he looks at you, mouth slightly agape as you feel a heat rush to your face.
He attempts to call after you, but you’re slipping away before he can get you to stay.
He can still feel the ghost of your lips against his.
⊹⊹⊹
“You guys are insane,” Beomgyu huffs, laying back in his bed with a slight wince, “My mother would be mortified if she found out what you did to get this money.”
“It’s a shame we had to get it at all,” you say, glaring at Beomgyu and watching as he shrinks under your gaze, muttering a quiet sorry, sorry in response. Sighing, you shake your head, taking in Beomgyu’s condition with a smile, “you know, after all these expenses, I think we might just have a bit left over.”
“We could go on a trip,” Beomgyu says without hesitation, and you shake your head in amusement.
“Focus on getting better first,” you scold, smiling at the way Beomgyu lets out a yes ma’am! In response, “I need to go. Visiting hours are over.”
“I’m supposed to get discharged in two days, don’t forget me!” He calls out, and you choose to ignore it as you exit, stopping in your tracks as you close the door behind you softly.
The last thing you expected was to see Taehyun waiting for you, patched up and changed as he leaned against the wall.
“Hey,” you smile, albeit a bit awkward— he says nothing, and you clear your throat, nodding back to the room behind you nervously, “Visiting hours are over. Uhm, maybe come back tomorrow?”
“I’m not here to see him,” he says, raising a brow at the way you only send him a confused look, “I’m here to see you.”
“And what could you possibly want from me?” Your steps are brisk as you begin to walk back to the exit; Taehyun is just as quick behind you, trying to get your attention to no avail.
���What do you mean what could I possibly want? You’re not one to act stupid, noona,” he says, hot on your trail as you finally make it outside.
You know he’s right— and yet, you feel terribly awkward about it, refusing to look back at him as you begin to wonder where you could have parked, wandering around the quiet lot— you’re a few feet away from your car when Taehyun grabs your arm, stopping you in your tracks and turning you around harshly, his eyes angry as he looks at you.
“You kissed me.”
“What?” You say, trying to shake his hold off as you look up at him with shining, innocent eyes, your right one twitching for a second, “What is this, some kind of adrenaline-induced hallucination? Don’t be weird.”
“Hallucination—” he’s in disbelief as he begins cornering you, your back pressing flat against the driver’s door as he practically towers over you, his free hand planted by your head and caging you in, “The way you felt against me felt very real.”
You gulp. This was weird— this was new, something that you definitely had not accounted for, because as you stare at Taehyun, his gaze intense and his face inches away from yours, you can’t help but feel your face heat up.
“It’s— it meant nothing,” you stutter out, heart pounding at the way he very clearly doesn’t believe you, “I wasn’t even thinking, I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”
“It meant nothing?” He whispers, his voice low and breathy as he leans in even closer; your eyes are shutting from how close he is, able to feel his breath fan across your cheeks as he lets out a soft laugh, “If it meant nothing, then why have you been avoiding me?”
“I haven’t been—”
“I don’t appreciate you lying to me, noona.”
You’re silent. Your breaths are shaky, lips parted as you wait for him to say something.
After a second, his lips press against yours.
For a second, it’s gentle; unsure, waiting for you to pull away and tell him to leave you alone— instead, you let out a breathy sigh, your lips beginning to move against his.
The moment you reciprocate is the moment he loses control. His hands are coming up to your face, cupping your jaw tenderly and tilting your head up to him, his lips needy and messy as he pries your mouth open, tongue prodding at your mouth before he’s pulling away to sink his teeth into your soft lips— the pained whine you let out has his mind reeling.
You’re breathless and dazed by the time he finally pulls away— you think you can feel your knees go weak at the sight of a string of saliva connecting between the two of you, watching as he smiles at you cruelly, his gaze dark and hazed as his thumb runs across your bottom lip fondly.
“I won just for you,” he breathes out, eyes darkening from the way your tongue runs across the pad of his finger mindlessly.
“Don’t you think I deserve a reward for working so hard?”
⊹⊹⊹
Taehyun’s apartment is nice— well, at least you think. You didn’t really get a chance to get a good look at it.
However, you can confidently say that his bed is nice— you practically sink into the soft mattress, the once neatly done sheets beneath you now a mess from the way you’re squirming under Taehyun.
All he’s done is kiss you— yet, you feel so terribly fucked out and needy, unable to keep your hands off him for even a second, your fingers weaved into his hair and tugging as you feel him moan into your mouth.
“Even now you’re so fucking mean,” he hisses, feeling the way your nails rake down his back; leaving a red trail against his skin, his shirt discarded long ago as he currently worked to get you to do the same. “Shit, I just got out of a match, noona.”
“Shit, you’re right,” you pant, and Taehyun frowns above you as you begin to pull away, “poor baby is too hurt to fuck—”
“I didn’t say that,” he groans, and you’re surprised by the way he takes a hold of your shoulders and pushes you back down into the mattress firmly. He takes this moment to tug your shirt up, throwing it in some random direction before he’s smiling at the sight of you, “Fuck, you have such a smart mouth.”
“Guess it rubbed off,” you say, your words wavering pathetically mid-way, all from the feeling of Taehyun biting and sucking at your neck ruthlessly while his hands came up to feel your breasts, slipping under the fabric and circling your nipples teasingly.
“Yeah? I taught you that?” He asks, nipping at your skin and taking off your bra with swift hands, “Maybe I should teach you how to be good for me then.”
You’re unable to gather your thoughts and bite back— his mouth is sucking at your nipples messily, tongue making a show of it as he groans at the feeling and traces shapes on your skin, too focused on the messy teasing to notice the moment his hand slips past your waistband and cups your pussy.
“Fuck, you’re so sweet for me noona,” he sighs, middle finger running up and down your slit teasingly, feeling the way you practically soak through your panties, “This wet for me already?”
“Don’t let it get to your head,” you grumble, mouth falling open at the way he begins prodding your entrance teasingly, pushing into your hole then going to circle your clit slowly over the fabric.
Taehyun laughs. The way you refuse to submit to him isn’t surprising in the slightest, watching as you refuse to give him reactions with dark eyes, trained carefully onto your face as he feels you get wetter from his motions, taking in what works and what doesn’t simply from the way your face reacts— even if you try to hide it, much to his annoyance.
“What’s wrong noona? Don’t you feel good?” He asks you quietly, his hands already dragging your pants off agonizingly slowly, biting his lip to suppress the smile that threatens to break through, far too amused by this strong front you seem to put up, “I’ll do better then, don’t worry.”
Taehyun is sinking down to his stomach before you can process anything, hands running along your thighs teasingly before they’re hooking under your knees— lifting them up, pressing them against your stomach, able to look down at your glistening pussy with ease.
You’re scrambling to hold on to something the moment he gets his mouth on you— he’s pressing you into the mattress, willing to control the way your hips jump as he presses his tongue flat against your slit, drinking up your wetness and teasing the tip of his tongue along your fluttering hole. The moans you let out are pathetic and embarrassing, your face heating up as you begin to squirm the moment Taehyun wraps his lips around your clit, face buried in your pussy and hair soft tickling against your thighs as he eats you out.
The sounds are enough to make you cover your face— Taehyun is shameless as he eats you out, slurping and sucking and moaning against your cunt loudly— it’s almost as though he were doing it on purpose.
“Taehyun, Taehyun, fuuuck…!” You can’t control your mouth— the sound of his name coming from your lips is enough to make Taehyun moan more against your pussy, cock rutting into the mattress below him as he listens to the sounds you make intently, smiling against your cunt at the sight of you finally breaking under him.
You feel dizzy— the way Taehyun fucks you with his tongue has you whining stupidly, his hand leaving your leg and coming to circle your clit as he continues to fuck you— after a moment, he decides he’s had enough of your squirming under him, his hands reaching to cup your ass before he’s pulling you back into him; your legs are falling over his shoulders, and his face is pressed against your pussy as he grants you no escape.
His grip is bruising on your skin; your thighs close around his head, but he pays no mind to it as he continues to lick at your pussy, gathering your arousal on his tongue before he’s looking back up at you with innocent round eyes, showing it off to you and forcing you to watch as he lets it drip back onto your cunt.
It’s all so messy and overwhelming; you don’t even register the moment you cum on his tongue, your mind going blank and your body relaxing under his hold as he lets you ride out your orgasm, his tongue eager to lick up your release as he lets out soft hums against your cunt.
“Taehyun,” you whimper out weakly, fingers weaving into his hair and tugging at it in order to get him to stop his ministrations— you can hear him complaining to you softly as he refuses to give in, the soft whine of his name only making him want to give you another orgasm— you have to tug harder on his hair to pull him from you, his lips and chin shining with your arousal as he smiles coyly at your reaction; his tongue darts out to lick his lips, wiping at his chin before he’s coming back up to hover over you.
“What happened baby? Just wanted to make you feel good,” He tuts softly, grinning at the way you struggle to come down from your bliss. You don’t seem to realize the moment he’s become completely bare, the feeling of his cock poking at your inner thighs making your snap back to reality, feeling the tip smudge his precum all over your skin as he leans down to kiss you; it’s slow and messy, and he’s eager to push you lips apart and allow you to taste yourself, cradling your jaw as you feel him smile against your lips.
“Why don’t you be quiet for a second? I like you more that way.” the way he frowns at your words has you breaking out into a teasing smile, running your fingers through his hair as you laugh softly— though it quickly falters the moment you feel him rubbing against your slit, his tip running up and down and catching on your clit as your body jolts from the sensation.
“Noona, do you hate me?” He pouts at you, watching as you fail to formulate proper words from the way his tip prods at your entrance, teasingly beginning to stretch you before he pulls out. This continues for a moment, and it’s clear he’s waiting for a response you clearly refuse to give him; frowning, he continues his motions, slowly rutting against your pussy as he looks down at you with sharp eyes, watching as you whine at him to stop teasing— he shakes his head, telling you to answer him, his voice sharp and low as he tightens his grip on your hips, fingers digging into your flesh in a way that has you stuttering your response out weakly.
“N—no.”
“Then why are you so mean to me?” He continues, tilting his head as he finally pushes the tip in; he watches your expression carefully, drinking up the way your brows furrow and your eyes become glossy.
“I… your reactions are cute,” you admit, clenching around Taehyun tightly and watching the way he hisses at the feeling.
“Yeah? They’re cute?” He repeats, straightening up and kneeling as he looks down at you. Your fucked out expression could make Taehyun come on the spot, but instead he grabs a hold of your waist, settling in between your legs and pulling you in close to him.
He’s inside you with one swift push; the yelp you let out is embarrassing and you’re quickly slapping a hand over your mouth, eyes fluttering at the sensation of Taehyun fully inside you, thick and twitching wildly. Taehyun takes your hand away immediately; his fingers are lacing with yours, and he’s smiling sweetly as he looks down at you.
“I think your reactions are cute too,” he’s moving after that, his thrusts slow and deep as he waits for you to adjust to his size. You’re holding tightly onto him as moans and whines fall from you, the sounds only fueling Taehyun further as he slowly begins to fuck you faster.
“Feels nice, noona?” He groans, eyes trained on the way your tits bounce with his every thrust. The way you refuse to admit to him how good he’s making you feel has him rolling his eyes, letting go of your hand and gripping your hips before he’s bringing you back into him, bottoming out and rolling his hips slowly into your cunt as he feels the way you tighten around him, his cock taking in every flutter of your walls around him as he lets out pleased sighs.
“What, too embarrassed to admit that it’s me making you feel good?” He asks, biting his lip as he concentrates on not coming too soon from the way you squeeze him, “You didn’t seem embarrassed when you kissed me in front of all those people earlier.”
“It was in the heat of the moment…” you answer back pitifully, unable to hide the way you can barely speak from the way he fucks you.
“Hmm, okay. If you say so,” he hums, and you’re not given room to fight back as he goes back to fucking you— careless, pulling you back into him, enjoying your sounds with a wicked smile, unable to take his eyes off you for a moment.
The moment his hand slips to rub circles on your clit, you feel your mind go blank— the sounds you make has Taehyun cursing under his breath, the feeling of your walls clenching around him and sucking him in driving him mad as he gets a hold of your thighs, pressing them against your body and putting you into a mating press as he continues to fuck you.
“Tae— Taehyun, ah, please,” you whine out, left defenseless to the way his hips slam against yours, losing his pace and letting out soft groans as he feels himself coming at the sound of your whines of his name— his cum is barely able to stay inside with the way he continues fucking you, cock rutting into your sensitive pussy as you whine at him to slow down.
“Wanna see you do that again,” he mumbles, eyes flicking up to gauge your expression, “Like, a few more times.”
Your pussy tightens around him in response, and he has to bite his lip to suppress the moan that bubbled up his throat. After a second, he’s slowly fucking you again, feeling his cock harden inside you from the sight of his cum escaping you with every thrust.
You don’t know how many times he makes you cum after that— you might’ve blacked out halfway through, Taehyun’s obsession with making you come undone leaving you filled with cum and undeniably sore— he’s insatiable, leaving you a mess under him as you let him use you how he’d like, manhandling you into all sorts of positions as he continues to groan about how good you feel, reassuring you just one more, with your every whine, yet lying each time.
You’re only able to think straight once you’ve found yourself pulled into Taehyun’s chest— the rise and fall of your bodies is relaxing, and you don’t even remember Taehyun cleaning the both of you up as you lie under his covers, the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around you very much welcomed.
“So, did this also mean nothing to you?” Taehyun mumbles into the crown of your head, nuzzling into your scent as he struggles to stay awake.
“No. This definitely meant something,” you say, equally as tired as you burrow further into the warmth of his chest. You can hear the deep rumble of his chuckles above you, his hands running across your back soothingly as he speaks.
“And what did it mean?”
A pause. You think you both know what it means, but you won’t give him the satisfaction as you nip at his skin teasingly.
“Means you’re okay, I guess.”
You refuse to admit that Taehyun has you wrapped around his finger— though it’s definitely reciprocated by the way Taehyun laughs at your comment, pulling you in even closer still and cooing jokingly that you looove me, hmm?
God, even now, he was insufferable.
But you kinda liked that about him.
#txt fanfic#txt fanfiction#txt imagines#txt oneshots#txt ff#txt angst#txt fluff#taehyun x reader#taehyun x you#taehyun x y/n#taehyun ff#taehyun imagines#taehyun oneshot#txt smut#txt hard hours#txt hard thoughts#taehyun smut
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
where they would take you for a date
pairings: ot5xafab!reader
warnings: none, pure fluff, taehyun's might be a littleeee suggestive toward the end.
YEONJUN – market date
loves to spoil you, and what better way to do it than to go out shopping?
he takes you to a large market with various small stands containing everything from food to clothes, jewelry, furniture, flowers and perfumes.
lets you pick anything and everything you want.
will buy anything your eyes linger on for a little too long without you having to ask.
a big fan of getting matching things for the two of you, whether it be clothes or accessories, he wants it all.
The small town square is crowded with people as they all move around the various small stands. Latched on to your boyfriend’s side, Yeonjun swiftly maneuvers you through the crowd. His arms are already filled with bags full of clothes and jewelry as well as a bouquet of flowers that he had insisted on getting you, his words, “you like pink, these are pink, i’m getting them for you”.
A particularly small stand appears in front of you, the small table is filled with pearly bracelets and necklaces, glinting in the sun they immediately catch your attention. An elderly woman appears to be running the stand and she looks up as the two of you approach her. Giving you a warm welcome as Yeonjun goes on to make small talk with her while you look through the wide range of jewelry she had to offer. It always amazed you how easy and naturally your boyfriend could connect with people, it was something you greatly admired him for.
Your hands graze along a section of chunkier bracelets, they were decorated with pink gems in all shades. Yeonjun is quick to notice your gaze, “you want em’?” he asks, already bringing out his wallet. You shake your head, “I… I don’t know yet, I mean I like them..” you say somewhat hesitantly, he had already spent so much on you today. “They are pretty indeed”, the elderly lady said, “they would suit you well”. Your boyfriend is quick to agree and you consider it for a moment before nodding, “alright..”.
Your gaze wanders over a couple of earrings along with a few necklaces, not going unnoticed by Yeonjun who is quick to point at them and ask their price. The woman chuckles “you might as well buy your lady the whole table at this rate”, Yeonjun raises his eyebrows, “that’s possible?” You’re quick to give his shoulder a slap, “don’t be ridiculous”. You end up getting a pair of flower earrings along with matching necklaces as well. On the way back your boyfriend complains about you not letting him go through with buying the whole table of jewellery to which you make him know that he’s utterly stupid sometimes, though you still love him.
SOOBIN – movie date
very much a classic type of guy, so he takes you to the movies at least once a month.
he’s not always talkative and much prefers to sit in a comfortable silence with you as you enjoy a movie together.
100% pretends to yawn so that he can swing an arm around your shoulders, will continue to do this no matter how long you guys have dated.
plays with your hair and feeds you popcorn.
steals glances at you whenever he thinks you’re not looking, probably misses half the movie because he’s so busy staring at you.
Popcorn and drink in hand the two of you make your way down the aisles of the movie theater. Finding your usual favorite seats somewhere in the middle. Not even halfway through the commercials and half of your popcorn is gone. “You won’t have anything left for the movie if you keep that up”, Soobin comments, earning him a sharp glare from you. Your boyfriend clears his throat as he rubs the back of his neck, “I- I’ll go get us some more of course..” You smile and give his cheek a quick peck, “thank you, baby”.
It’s about five minutes into the movie when Soobin realizes it’s a horror movie you’ve gotten him to watch with you. The first jumpscare has him practically flying out of his seat and you have to fight to hold back the laugh threatening to consume you. “I thought you said it was an.. an action movie!” he exclaims and you roll your eyes, “well…it sort of has action in it”. Soobin shakes his head, “this is not the kind of action I can stomach”, he says, you glance over at him and he looks almost as if he’s about to throw up, you do feel a little bad.
Trying to soothe the damage you’ve caused you occasionally pretend to jump at the most obvious scares. Hiding your face in your boyfriend’s neck as you pull him closer. The small smile on Soobin’s face when you hug yourself closer to him makes it all worth it though. His long fingers thread through your hair softly as he makes small disgusted comments about the gore of the movie. You think it’s funny how different tastes the two of you have when it comes to movies, one thing you share though, the love for the cinematic experience. Despite the movie having his stomach almost turn on itself Soobin would’ve sat through a hundred movies like this one as long as he had you by his side.
BEOMGYU – guitar date
beomgyu prefers to stay in rather than going out while he shows you the music he’s been working on.
invites you over to his place, you guys order food and eat it on his bed before he brings out his guitar.
plays everything from your favorite songs to short chords of pieces he’s made for you.
might teach you how to play a string or two if you ask.
on rare occasions he sings to you as well.
Dressed in pajamas you sit on your boyfriend’s bed as a soft tune fills the room. Beomgyu sits in front of you, guitar propped up on one of his knees as his fingers graze along the strings. His hair falls down over his face as he concentrates on the instrument in front of him, quietly humming along. The gentle song makes you drowsy and you struggle to keep your eyes open.
Laying down on the mattress you look up at your boyfriend who gives you a puzzled look. “..keep playing..”, you mumble as your eyes flutter closed. Beomgyu chuckles above you as he readjusts his fingers on the guitar, playing a different song this time. You don’t recognize the melody, it’s pleasant, slow, calm but filled with something you can’t entirely place. “This is a new one..” you say without opening your eyes. Beomgyu hums, “it’s a lullaby”.
You open one of your eyes to squint up at him, “a lullaby?” you ask. He nods as he keeps playing, “you always seem to get so sleepy when I play, thought I’d make you an actual lullaby then”. His words make your heart flutter as you close your eyes, “it’s perfect”, you whisper. Beomgyu smiles as he keeps on playing, “it doesn’t have any lyrics yet…” he says as the melody slowly comes to an end.
You glance up at him, “I’m sure they’ll come to you, your mind is extraordinary”, you smile as your boyfriend gives you a shy look. He shakes his head, “I was thinkin’..” he says as he runs a hand through his hair, “we could maybe do them together?” he grins down at you, “I mean it’s your song too after all”. Unable to help the blush that makes its way to your face you nod, “I would like that”, you play with the guitar strings lightly, “and I’ll expect you to sing it to me every night”. Beomgyu’s hand finds your hair as he fiddles with the soft strands, “every night for as long as you want me to”, he agrees.
TAEHYUN ─ cooking date
this man knows how to cook, will definitely want to show off his skills to you.
has you watch him while he prepares food.
you ask him somewhat silly questions about what he's doing but he gladly answers them.
lets you taste everything as he cooks, one hand under the spoon to catch anything that spills as he feeds you the spoonful.
will cook anything you ask him to.
Propped up neatly on the countertop you watch closely as your boyfriend cooks dinner for the two of you. Earlier you'd suggested just ordering in something to eat but Taehyun insisted that he cooked for you. You certainly didn't mind, your boyfriend was a great chef and getting to watch the way his arms flexed slightly as he flipped the meat in the pan.. ─ well it was certainly a bonus.
"What's that for?" you ask as he adds an odd looking green plant to the meat. "Rosemary", Taehyun says, focused on the food in front of him, he cuts off another piece and hands it to you, "smell it". You do as he says, nose scrunching up at the distinct smell. Taehyun chuckles at your reaction, "it enhances the flavor of the steak", he explains as he turns his attention to the sauce cooking on the stove next to the pan.
You nod and the sweet aroma that soon fills the kitchen makes your stomach rumble. "How much longer?" you whine, your hunger getting to you. Taehyun dismisses your tone, "five more minutes or so", he turns off the stove and sets the sauce aside, giving it a few more stirs. He brings out a spoon and scoops up a bit of sauce on it, bringing it to your lips, "taste it".
The sauce tastes heavenly and you nod encouragingly as you swallow, "it's perfect! … can we eat now..?" your boyfriend nods and you swing yourself off the counter. Quickly setting the table, not forgetting to light a small candle, "oh by the way, dessert is on me", you say, Taehyun turns to look at you as he raises an eyebrow, "really? and what would that be?" Giggling, you walk up to him and give his cheek a quick peck, "that's for you to find out".
HUENINGKAI ─ arcade date
he loves gaming, him going to an arcade would be like bringing a kid to a candy store.
would want to bring you so he could show off to you.
showing you how to play certain games, you on his lap as he guides you through the game.
he would probably let you win too, anything to see you smile.
wins plushies for you (and himself, this man has an obsession with them).
Hueningkai practically drags you through the large glass doors and into the arcade hall. “Come on now”, he giggles as the two of you make your way through endless game stations. You groan involuntarily as you let your boyfriend pull you down by a car game, it had a driver's seat, a steering wheel accompanied by pedals on the floor. “Alright, I’ll show you how to play and then you’ll have a go, okay?” he smiles, already paying to get the game up and going. You weren’t exactly a fan of video games but you did your best to show interest in your boyfriend's hobbies.
You watch as Huening plays, he’s good you’ll give him that, one hand on the wheel as he skillfully maneuvers past the other cars. When he’s won he turns to look at you with a grin and you feel yourself smiling. “Your turn”, he says as he pulls you onto his lap without warning. “Huening”, you whine, “I don’t know…I’m not good at..”, your boyfriend cuts you off with a quick kiss to your lips. “You’ll do fine, just keep your eyes on the game, hands on the wheel and I’ll control the pedals, yeah?”
It turns out you’re not completely hopeless, with your boyfriend's hand on your waist and the other on top of yours on the wheel, you manage a third place. Huening is quick to praise you with kisses which you accept with a giggle. The two of you play various games and your boyfriend flaunts his talents as he manages to not only win you some chocolate but a fluffy penguin plushie. You hug the plushie tightly, as you make your way toward the exit, “I think I’ll name him Huening Junior”, you say, earning a chuckle from your boyfriend, “whatever my girlfriend wants”.
→ want to get notified whenever a new dream is published? join my TAGLIST ★
all rights reserved ─ @beomiracles 2024
#txt#txt fanfic#choi beomgyu#kang taehyun#choi yeonjun#choi soobin#huening kai#txt post#txt fluff#txt x reader#beomgyu x reader#taehyun x reader#soobin x reader#yeonjun x reader#hueningkai x reader#beomiracles soft thoughts ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁#beomiracles ₊˚⊹ ᰔ
302 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fuck it, I'm throwing my hat on the ring about the Emil announcing Nate from Fallout 4 is the bystander Soldier in the Fallout 1 opener.
First and foremost, it was a stupid thing to say. As he backtracks to later, the conceit of Fallout's protags is they are supposed to be anyone (and that issue is precisely why some people hate the extensive prewar character background given to you in Fallout 4). For the lead writer to pull a JK Rowling (why would you do that? None of those went over well) is such a major marketing misstep that it wouldn't surprise me if Emil gets reprimanded for it before we even get into the implication of what he said.
Emil your voice is as good as God when it comes to the canon. You can't just say shit like that and expect it to go well. Especially considering the implications.
Speaking of the implications, I'm not mad about Nate being a war criminal. It's a coloring I actually would welcome if the games discussed concepts like Capitalism, Racism, and War in any meaningful way anymore. And if Emil also didn't say this.
Fallout's canon is rooted in reality. That is part of its whole thing. It's fun to do goofy shit like becoming the Silver Shroud and having a make believe superhero fight with the Mechanist or write a woman obsessed with Nuka Cola so much she traverses two games to basically kidnap the CEO's cryogenically preserved head so she can talk to him for all eternity, but the setting is very much rooted in reality.
You aren't dealing with fictional countries, you aren't dealing with fictional races, you aren't dealing with fictional hypotheticals. That is The Elder Scrolls job. You are dealing with actual countries, actual racism, actual history, and actual fucking politics. You have to be mindful of what you are doing and saying. You can't just do things because it's an interesting plot device without first thinking about the implications.
Fallout's world is a heightened version of our own, a path we seem to stumble towards with ever passing year unless we do something about it. It fucking sucks. I'm sure writing it feels like prophesizing the future and eats your soul a bit. It would mine. But that doesn't mean Fallout can just take a sharp left in terms of story and reality and get away with it.
To have Nate be the bystander Soldier and then meet him when he has a very good thing going for him (an expensive house during an inflation crisis, a robot butler, he gets into a vault for free for fucks sake) very much speaks to life rewarding him for his crimes. There is no hatred in his words when he looks at the flag of the country that made him kill innocents. His speech is speaks of remorse for leaving his family and the cycle of war, it does not speak of the horrors. Of watching you comrades bleed out in the Anchorage snow. Of the scream of shells overhead. Of the fear in civilians eyes as your buddy puts a bullet between them.
You all have to see how it looks like the man is fine with what he had to do during the war, right?
Not interacting with these concepts enough paints a picture of apathy and acceptance. In this day and age where being keeping the government honest and responsible for their actions is so important, that isn't going to slide without it being EXTREMELY purposeful, which it is not. It's tone deaf and lazy.
I respect a lot of what Emil has done in the past, but I am not above keeping him culpable when he has something so delicate in his hands. I hope this situation is what he needed to get his head on straight, or is the light bulb moment where he realizes he needs to pass the torch onwards. There is no shame in subject matter becoming too much as time goes on. There is shame in letting a previously critical series become the very thing it was criticizing.
He is going to keep getting dragged until he realizes that or he manages to convince the fans to be complicit in the degradation of setting. In doing so he is going to lose Bethesda most of its biggest fans who well and truly love the series and what it stands for.
But that's just my take, and I'm just a kid who studies polisci and history and can't shield myself from the inherent horror of nuclear war no matter how much I try.
War really never changes
#fallout#fallout 4#fo4#fallout new vegas#fallout 3#fallout 2#fallout tv series#fallout tv show#emil pagliarulo#bethesda
104 notes
·
View notes
Text
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ || Not even close
Bullykim minji x F!reader
A/n: ...hyein is kinda mean here..New jeans and aespa are the popular groups at school, Danielle and haerin are caught kissing but ignore that...mean girls vibes??? Minji is not SO bully, i think she is just popular
Warnings: kiss, swear words, light sexual mentions...nothing exaggerated
God, you had no idea what you were doing here, you would kill Yujin for this, she is annoying, she knows that you are just a student who studies more than should, is tormented daily by the popular people and even made you come to this stupid party, and even had the audacity to leave you alone to go kiss wonyoung.
You may be feeling cold sweat when you saw people kissing, and almost eating each other if that's not a euphemism, it was terrifying and to make matters worse you didn't have wifi... it was pathetic to take your useless phone and scroll through the gallery while scrolling through old photos that you should delete
until you see everyone at the party looking to the left, some looked terrified while others had a sparkle in their eyes, and others pretended not to see whoever the person was there anyway.
and when you look, it was who you thought, one of the two most popular groups at school, they were terrifying, they went out to parties and the youngest of the group was a terror...she threw water at people while they were going to the bathroom and that made you and your poor group of nerdy girls have their bladders full and scared, and it wasn't just out of fear, she stole your lunch every day, and made a rumor that you had sex with one of your friends, how the rumor disappeared you didn't know, but that was none of your business
you might feel tense when you see Kang haerin, the school princess, who made fun of the newbies and you didn't go to waste, she said you smelled on your first day there, by her side Marsh Danielle, the whole school thought they were dating but if rumors spread, you felt sorry for what would happen, She was kind and almost never made fun of people, but she wasn't innocent.
They looked around while her hands were clasped tightly, behind her arrived Kim minji on Hyein's side, god..you could feel the atmosphere getting heavy, .when hyein came parading everyone who was minimally without fame averted their eyes, going back to talking while the crowd of girls who thought they were popular surrounded her
You broke out of your trance when you saw Minji looking deep into your eyes, she was the one you avoided the most, she always tried to make friends with you, when she was stealing the materials you were a new girl and she saw you there, you mentally cursed when a probing smile appeared and she said "oh..do you want to help me here?" slowly with a tone that she is obviously mocking you, after that she acted like your friend, when she was with Giselle in the hallway she whistled at you and you could hear provocative laughter that made you feel like burying your head in a hole and never leave again, In the refectory she decided to sit next to you and made all the popular girls sit with you, you looked like a rabbit in the middle of all the wolves, even those younger than you scared you
They talked about scaring newbies and told you who they were going to disturb or make rumors about, and you just stayed quiet as you glanced sideways from the cold food to the group they were talking to normally as if you were part of it, it was terrifying.
You feel yourself blush when you see Minji looking at you and quickly look away from your phone as the familiar feeling of discomfort crosses your chest, you sigh as you mentally curse yourself.
As if celestial gods are listening, Hanni pulls Minji into a crowd of popular girls, namely Chaewon, Jennifer, Yeojin and Yuna, leaving you alone on the couch
After uncomfortable minutes, your eyes went from kissing couples, to fighting couples, now your eyes looked tired, the flashing lights of the party hurt your head and you felt your body melting into the sofa, you look at a small table with only alcoholic drinks. , and you even thought about getting it if Yuna and Minnie hadn't kept guard over the best drinks, you didn't know whether to face your fear and take the damn drink or just stay there until your friend willingly STOP devouring poor, poor wonyoung shamelessly , you really weren't in the mood to see this, it wasn't appropriate for your sober eyes
the more time passed the more you felt bad, mentally deciding after humiliating yourself so much and thinking of the best responses to humiliate yujin you finally decide to get up, uncomfortably you get up from the sofa and walk awkwardly towards the seas of dancing bodies to get your drink, as you tried to pass by the sweaty bodies, stinking hair, people laughing and more drunk than anything about to vomit you finally reached your destination, a table with good drinks, a pile of red glasses were thrown across it, you see yuna and minnie laughing and clearly making fun of someone and you stay as far away as you can from them, you take one of the glasses and put the drink in it which doesn't look so good, but that's what you had, when you were going to drink the liquid in the glass you feel a tall person bumps your glass, causing all the purple drink to fall onto your skirt and shirt
".im so Sorry..." a mockingly matter-of-fact voice reaches your ears and you can feel yourself blushing as you look up, looking at hyein. " You should watch where you're going" a voice is heard behind you, recognized as Hanni voice
you could feel yourself blushing, the feeling of discomfort filling your chest and you stumble over your words.
you look at your stained blouse and finally say something after a few embarrassing seconds "it wasn't my intent-" " obviously it wasn't" hyein interrupts "You can just clean the shirt...it's not a designer brand" hanni says behind and pulls hyein away from you, while you wonder how you're going to pass in the sea of dirty people, that would ruin 0.001% of your popularity
you had to choose between staying here like an idiot or going to the bathroom and calling yujin until her cell phone died, the second option seemed better but you knew you didn't have the courage, grabbing another glass of drink and praying to a thousand angels that you wouldn't get dirty again you drank the drink faster than you thought
the alcohol getting into your head and for a second you see everything blurred, feeling strangely better, when the drink ends you mentally curse, but you don't have the strength to get up, Seeing all the people around you seems like a blur to you, you don't know if it's because your eyes are hurting from the flashing lights, if the alcohol is coming in and flooding your mind or if you're simply tired, but then your eyes focus on one person. whose hair has the same cut as yujin, it could only be her you think
putting your phone in your pocket and getting up, almost falling again, looking around to make sure no one saw you, follow the path towards the person, the closer you get the further away the person gets, and like magic the person is not there. the only paths being the party entrance and the bathroom, you can only guess that she went to the bathroom, if it really is yujin, look for wonyoung
You stagger, cursing yourself for borrowing Miyeon's heels, arriving at the bathroom entrance you see Danielle and Haerin kissing? danielle had a glass of a strange drink in her hand, with her arm stretched over haerin's shoulder, they seemed too in love to see you there, and you were grateful because if they had seen you it wouldn't have been good, the people there seemed the same. the most drunk at the party, they were eating, some taking off their shoes and others with their faces full of lipstick, diverting your attention from the people you go back to looking for yujin
as everything was so good you bump into someone who had MORE drinks in their hand, and the person instinctively puts their hand on your waist, you're so drunk you don't realize it "Are you okay?" the person comes close to your ear whispering because of the loud music
then you realize it's Kim minji, damn it. She looked more attractive than when you saw her from afar, her outfit seemed to suit her and her lips looked pretty. and for minutes you forgot that she asked you a question, your forehead wrinkles slightly and your grip gets tighter "Hey, are you listening to me? you're all dirty..let's clean up" she murmurs and you come out of your trance, A shade of pink splashes across your cheeks and you wave softly, waiting for her to let you go, but she doesn't, walking through the party towards a place that no one can enter, the people around her looking at you and not even hiding their murmurs.
when you enter the room first she closes the door quickly "hm the owner of the party is my friend... I mean he's ugly, but he has good parties so I talk to him" she blurts out as she goes to a place in a closet "there's an outfit from one of my friends, you must know her" she murmurs and takes out what looks like a very expensive outfit and gives it to you "this looks horrible but it's the only thing there" she says without looking at you Still, you can't even think and feel ashamed for having to say that you can't put it and she finally looks at you, raising an eyebrow "I understand" she murmurs, coming closer to you and untying your heels, her eyes narrowing "can you really walk with this?" she murmurs and you just babble things "Jesus, how many glasses did you drink? Did you come to this party alone? You look like a child" she lets out a sigh and takes the top part of the set, taking off your current wet clothes, leaving you in just your bra , you blush and look away anywhere but at the girl in front of you, she puts the shirt on you and nods to herself "that looks much better" She lifts you up and grabs your waist tighter "I think I'd better take you to my dorm today" she says keeping Miyeon's heels somewhere, you know you should tell her to take care of it, Miyeon would kill you but you can't say anything
"i don't know.." you say slurred and she doesn't even bother answering "you prefer to be alone at this party? you don't seem to have a brain right now" she says directly as her eyebrows arch gently pulling you by the arm towards the party, a spike of energy welling up in your veins and you grab her hand "dance with me please?" you say in her ear and she tenses up “here?” she says, clearly not wanting people to use you for seeing you with her, especially dancing, she always refused to dance with people "they're drunk.." you say slurred and pull her onto the dance floor giving a smile, you don't even You need to ask for space, people just leave so Minji can have space
You looks at her while you dance, giving a smile and taking her hand, unconsciously Minji puts her hands on your waist and you, drunk without thinking, wrap your arms around her neck and start moving, while you join the crowd, after a time minji leans her head towards your right ear and murmurs "You know you're lucky" she says and you can feel her smile even without looking, her fingers twitch on your waist "ah?.. why?" "I would have left you at the party, but you know, why not?" she says
" I guess that's why you're popular" you blurt out, Minji smiles and bites her lower lip, trying not to smile "oh..yeah?" she says her face getting closer "yeah what?" you murmur "yeah it's true" She leans her face close, her breath touching your face, you swear you could feel her lips "what are you doing?" you say shakily and feel her fingers tighten more "nothing" she says in a sigh " I'm just looking at you" Minji mutters, squinting softly at the flashing lights, and as if the world was blurry your mind went blank, Minji's lips being the only ones on your mind, you were probably drugged, just one glass and you did things on impulse
so as a glimpse you capture minji's lips on yours, without letting the girl know if anyone would see, the worst that would happen is that she would push you and everyone at the party would take a photo, but then minji pulls your waist and takes your body for more close, closing your eyes and opening your lips inviting you to enter
You would never do this soberly, especially with someone as popular as Minji, but after the kiss flowed those thoughts flew out of your head.
the more you kissed her, the more the kiss became aggressive, and minji pulled you to a place in the bathroom "let's get out of here" she murmurs between your lips, not even caring about the lack of breath
pulling you against a wall in the hallway of the not very busy bathroom, she holds you against him again, kissing you, the kisses going down to your neck while she caressed your arm
until you heard the voice of someone familiar "She's got to be joking! where did she go" and you could clearly hear that it was New Jeans, probably looking for Minji, but it seems like you were the only one who noticed, even though you were drunk
"Minji..hey” you mumble trying to push her away but she just mumbles in agreement, so you push her away and she looks at you, looking disoriented "what happened?" Minji says breathlessly as her cheeks make a perfect match with her lips, covered with your red lipstick.
before you can respond Hanni arrives in front of you and Minji while in the background Hyein and Danielle are arguing about some topic and Haerin is focused on the ceiling
" What's going on?" Hanni asks hesitantly and raises an eyebrow.
"nothing" you and minji say at the same time, your lips and minji's matching, and the position of you two doesn't match that excuse, hanni frowns and crosses her arms "okay" she says slowly then hyein comes forward "Unnie! let's go" hyein says approaching with a pout "danielle is drunk!" she stops in front of minji and then with a click she notices you there "what is she doing here..." she asks a question, which doesn't seem like a question so much "is that my shirt?" she exclaims and her eyebrows visibly furrow "hanni tell minji to leave?" she crosses her arms and hanni looks at minji, not even needing to speak minji moves away and bites her lower lip "see you tomorrow" she moves away slightly
hyein continues complaining to danielle about nonsense and haerin continues looking into space, now staring at her own glass of drink as the girls left and she stood there, then she jumps slightly
" Pretend nothing happened here, I'll give you your shirt back later" Minji continues talking
"MINJI" The girls say in unison with bored expressions "bye" Minji says embarrassed and runs towards the group infiltrating the middle
"hey! But Miyeon's high heels.."
Fuck.. she will kill me
#kim minji imagines#kim minji smut#kim minji x reader#new jeans imagine#newjeans scenarios#newjeans x reader#newjeans minji#new jeans headers#new jeans imagines#newjeans imagines
93 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Riddles Whore
The whole school sat in the great hall watching as the new first years got sorted into there houses most of them were Gryffindor’s no surprise there I’m a Hufflepuff which it’s not like aren’t any Hufflepuffs there are just a lot more Gryffindors.
I don’t talk to many people only three one being my brother Cedric Diggory Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter I just don’t like the people they hang out with like Hermione and Ron they seem like nice people but they’re just not for me.
I always had told Luna and Cedric everything including the fat that I have liked Tom and Mattheo Riddle since I first saw them In first year we’re in Fifth year now and I don’t plane on every telling them I don’t know what they would do with that information and I don’t plane on finding out either.
All of the first years were sorted and everyone started eating well everyone but me I couldn’t focus on food I was to busy staring at the Riddle brothers as they talked to their friends and ate. Their friend group consists of Lorenzo Berkshire, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zambi they are the most feared group in Hogwarts they are also considered the most dangerous.
Lorenzo Berkshire, he’s the nicest person in the group but don’t let the niceness foul you he loves to get into fights just like Theodore and Mattheo it’s like they are all drawn to it or something.
Draco Malfoy he’s the one that gets what he wants when he wants it not like they all don’t but Draco always wins with what ever it is and Blaise is always they’re along side him no matter what just like Tom they stick together through thick and thin like they’re own little family.
I didn’t notice how long I had been staring till I saw them getting up and felt Luna start shaking me. “Are you ever going to tell them instead of just staining at them from afar?” “Why would I do that like they even no my name Luna I never leave my dorm for anything other than classes and to go to the great hall to eat but never do.”
Luna and I decided just to leave the great hall and go to our dorm we were laughing at the fact that Cedric had tripped over nothing and face planted when I ran into someone which led to me falling backwards and then not moving a muscle. I looked up to see who it was and it was none other than Mattheo Riddle. My heart stopped when I noticed he was looking down at me.“I am so sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going“
I looked at the person beside him who was just laughing at me and it was Theodore Nott he hated all ‘dirty blooded people that weren’t pure blood like me.’ “Do you really think that he would talk to someone like you maybe you should watch where you’re going next time half-blood.”
I don’t know what came over me I got off the floor and smacked Theodore across the face before I knew what I had done he slammed my head into the wall beside where we were standing causing my head to be cut open and me to drop to the ground. “Do you know who I am cause I don’t think you do if you did you wouldn’t be so stupid as to hit one of the most feared people in Hogwarts.” I couldn’t hear much but I knew that wasn’t Theodore speaking it was Mattheo he was the one that slammed my head into the wall. Before I knew it everything was black.
I woke up a month later in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey told me I had to return to my lessons which I didn’t want to since the groups of Slytherins were in all of my classes well at least one of them was but I knew it would be hell it was only 7:15 so I still had time to go to the great hall and find Luna I was walked to the great hall and everything was fine until I stepped through the doors everyone was staring at me everyone but the group of Slytherins. I heard all of the whispering about what had happened and that’s when I felt a new pair of eyes watching me I turned my head to the Slytherin table where I saw Mattheo Riddle staring at me with a smirk on his lips he had a new cut along the bridge of his nose which only made me more attracted to him if it were possible.
I tried to ignore everyone’s comments all throughout the great hall and once Professor Dumbledore announced that it was time to go to our first class of the day I was so relieved. I had Defense Against the Dark Arts first I loved this class but it always seemed to have a new teacher through the year and like I predicted we had a new teachers his name is Professor Slughorn he seems nice. “Okay class I will be giving you a new seething arrangement today.” He pointed to every desk and read off the names “Draco Malfoy with Blaise Zambi, Tom Riddle with Lorenzo Berkshire, Theodore Nott with Pansy Parkensin, and lastly Mattheo Riddle and Hope Diggory.” Okay I hate this professor already. I watched as Mattheo scoffed but sat down and so I headed to my seat as the whole class stared at us till Mattheo finally got sick of it and yelled at them to turn around before he killed them all.
I didn’t listen to Slughorn one bit throughout the whole lesson I was to busy watching Mattheo write the assignment down I watched as he smoked a cigarette again but the way he held it was mesmerizing I couldn’t focus on anything else. I got knocked out of my thoughts when Slughorn said this “I want you all to work together with your table parter ti get to now each other better so you both must write a five page essay about each other and hand it in by the end of next week.” I couldn’t believe it I had to work together with a Riddle I might as well take my chances with the creatures of the forbidden forest at least then I have a better chance at surviving.
“Since we have to work together you can come to my dorm at ten tonight the only other person that will be there is Tom and I’m not stepping foot into your stupid house.” “Wow and just to think I thought you couldn’t get anymore self centered than you already are.” “I can still slake you against a wall again and don’t think I won’t.” “Yeah you could but then you would fail this assignment so good luck with that one Riddle.” I walked away before he could say another word my heart was already beating so fast I didn’t need it to actually beat out of my chest.
it was 9:58 and I started heading to Riddles dorm scared to see what would happen if I said something wrong to either of them. “Oh well look who decided to show up and not late this time.” “Can we just get this over with already it’s bad enough I have to work with you on something we don’t need to talk more than we have to.” Matthew didn’t lie the only other person here is Tom not like it helps though.
Riddle started and we were pretty close to being done with the project till he asked me a personal question. “Are you a virgin?” “W-w-what?” I didn’t know how to react to that question. “I said are. You. A. Virgin.” He already knew the answer to it he just wanted to see if I would actually answer it honestly. “Yeah I am. Happy now.” “Very your turn to ask the question.” “Who was the first person you fucked.” “So we’re actually doing there okay. It was Hailey Greengrass.” “Wow of course it was.” “Whats that supposed to mean?” “Nothing your turn.” “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” He just really wanted to get to me didn’t he. “No I haven’t.” “Have you ever even kissed anyone .” “You already asked your question Riddle.” “Yeah well I’m asking another one. Have you. Ever. Kissed. Anyone. Before?” “No okay I’ve never dated anyone never kissed anyone, never touched myself and I’m still a virgin happy now.”
I hear laughter from the other side of the room it was Tom I forgot he was here shit why did I say all those things. “Are you hearing this Tom.” “How could I not Mattheo when she’s screaming like a little whore for you.” “I’m not a little whore let alone his.” They both looked at me and just smirked at each other what were they planing.” If you you really want to know then why don’t you ask Tom or I.” “Y-y-you can hear what I’m thinking?” “All the time we hear everything including what you think in the great hall when you’re staring at us from your table never eating just staring.”
I had just stopped breathing at this point they heard what I was thinking in every class every meal even when Mattheo had almost killed me they heard me everyone I thought about them Fuck. “Now no don’t be so shy we can still hear what you think why not just say what you want you little whore.” “I’m not a whore.” “That’s it.” Before I had time to react Tom had thrown me on Mattheo’s bed hard it kind of hurt. My face was in the pillows and tom and used so stupid ass spell to take off all of my cloths but my panties and handcuffed my hands to the top of the bed. “Look at how wet she is Mattheo bet it’s just because we called her a whore.” “I already said I’m not a whore.”
I couldn’t hold still until I felt someone smack my ass really hard that it brought tears to my eyes. “Stop moving you whore or you’re gonna regret it.” “I already told you Tom I’m not a whore.” And I kept trying to to move trying the most important word there since Mattheo had grabbed my hips keeping them pinned to the mattress keeping me from moving. “I warned you, you little whore.” I couldn’t think before I felt Tom start spanking me really hard and they only got harder and harder than the last until the point that I was literally crying into Mattheo’s pillows.
Tom took off my panties just to keep on spanking me even harder than when I had them on I couldn’t stop crying at all it hurt to much to think about anything else even the way Mattheo’s hands felt on my waist. I was so lost in the pain of Tom soaking my ass that I didn’t realize when he had started spanking my clit making me cry out in pain which only brought him pleasure.”Are you sure you’re not a whore for us Hope your naked and chained to a bed crying while we hold you down.”
I couldn’t answer when I felt Tom slip three fingers into me all at once and Mattheo started leaving hickeys all over my neck looking for my sweat spot and and when he heard my breath hitch he bit down harder making sure to leave a darker mark making me moan which got both boys to laugh and Tom started moving his fingers faster inside of me making this strange feeling come in the lower part of my stomach and it started to hurt and when Mattheo saw my face he leaned down to my ear and told me . “Come on Hope let go for Tom be a good whore for us.” I looked up at him and saw this twinkle in his eyes that put me over the edge as I moaned really loudly I don’t know what got into me but I kissed Mattheo as I moaned his and Toms names trying to get over the euphoric feeling I just had but it was impossible when Tom don’t stop moving his fingers only going faster.
“Tom it hurts please stop.” “Aw is the little whore hurt well to bad because I’m far from done with you.” I looked up at Mattheo through my tear filled eyes. “Daddy please make it stop it’s hurts.” Tom chuckled I hadn’t realized what I had said I was lost in the pleasure I had right know. “Daddy is it you really are a little whore.” I couldn’t defend myself anymore I couldn’t control the tears that fell with each trust of toms fingers and the almost inhumane pace he had set.
I guess I hadn’t noticed till I looked to my side to see Mattheo naked he was hard and huge to be bad to be 12 inches long and I wanted him . “If you want me just ask luv it’s not that hard.” “Please daddy I wanna taste you please.” “What do you think Tom should I give her what she wants?” “Why not I’m tiered of hearing her sobbing anyways.” They talked about me as if I wasn’t even there. I opened my mouth ready to take mattheo but once he was about five inches inside my mouth I can for the second time on Toms fingers with a loud cry that was barely muffled by Mattheo’s cock so Mattheo grabbed the back of my head and slammed the rest of him inside of my mouth while Tom only picked up the pace of his fingers making me cry even more and not with pleasure but with pain now. I was struggling to breath with Mattheo down my throat and he started to notice when I closed my eyes as if I was about to pass out so he let go of my hair and let me take a breath.
“I want you inside of me Mattheo please.” I couldn’t stop crying and begging it was like they were just making me do it. “I already am princess.” I shook my head not knowing how to say I want him to take my virginity. “That’s what you want me to take your virginity all you have to do is ask.” It was hard to talk with Tom still fingering me really fucking hard that it hurt his fingers kept hitting my good spot every time “Please Mattheo pleASE.” I couldn’t say anymore before I had cum for the fourth time and my legs were shaking but Tom just kept on going. “Please Mattheo please take my virginity please please please let me be your good little whore please.” I said it more as a whisper than anything but it got Tom to still his fingers inside of me and it gave me a break to finally catch my breath.
“You want daddy to take your virginity and be a good whore them you have to be good.” “I will I will i will I promise just please let me have you both inside of me please I need you both.” I don’t know what came over me but I knew I need them both not one but both at the same time I needed it they’re like a drug that I can’t stop taking and I don’t want to either. “You want us both then say where you want us to be whore.” I was still crying from the overstimulation. “I wan, I want Tom to take my ass and Mattheo to take my pussy please daddy’s pretty please I need you both.” Tom turned me over and uncuffed my hands from the top of the bed so he could see my face.
“Look at the little whore crying and begging for us isn’t she cute Mattheo.” “Yes she is brother. I think we should give her what she wants now.” I could barely make out they’re words when they both started pushing into me at the same time and I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt cause it did a lot and I think Mattheo’s started to see that when him and Tom were both about half way inside of me they both stopped so Mattheo could make sure I was okay. “Are you okay Hope.” I was to far gone to answer with words so I just shook my head and put my face back to the crook of Mattheo’s neck and cried again but not from pain from the pleasure they brought me when they both had bottomed out inside of me.
Mattheo laughed when he felt my mouth fall open to form and ‘o’ shape when he and Tom were fully inside me it’s the best feeling I have ever felt in my life and I get enough of it. It was amazing. They both started moving at the perfect pace when one slammed into me the other pulled out and both at the Sam fast and brutal pace that had me moaning louder than I was before.”look at her falling apart for us like the pathetic whore she is Mattheo.” “Come on Tom we both know that you’ve never had a girl take you as good as Hope is right know. The having a civilized conversation as if I wasn’t even in the room let alone In between then. They both saw how I was holding onto Mattheo’s shoulders since I was already close to cuming for the fifth time tonight and they both grounded because of how tight if a grip my walls had on them now. “I didn’t think she could get any more tight and then she did.” “I know right Tom it’s unbelievable.” Just hearing they’re voices made me cum again with the loudest moan yet.
They were both groaning and Mattheo moaned or that’s what I heard before I felt both of them still inside of me and cum at the same time making me cum for the seventh time and hopefully the last. They both just layer there Tom on top of me and me on Mattheo we all are breathing heavy till Tom pulled out then immediately put his fingers back inside of me working his cum back into means Mattheo’s did the same moments after making me start to cry with how much it hurt because it didn’t even take five seconds for me to cum for the eighth time and all I saw was white and then it all when dark.
493 notes
·
View notes
Note
Can you do Zosanlu x male reader. Fluff/Smut
hi!! i don't think i'd be able to write the smut part very well lol but i definitely think i can do fluff so here you go!! (also i made it gender neutral since it was just very fluffy lol)
ft. luffy, zoro, sanji x gn!reader
set-up: idk, just vibes my lord; hope you feast well
warnings: hints of a polyamorous relationship; other than that, none. just soothe your soul with these headcannons bby <3
- if the strawhat crew is notorious for something, it's taking care of each other with their entire blood and soul (other than being famous for being the most powerful idiots at sea)
- atleast that's the first thing you noticed
- they would fight like dogs over the last piece of meat but good lord, a merchant once annoyed nami and refused to haggle and luffy almost snapped his neck
"GUM GUM IM GONNA PULL A GUN OUT BITCH"
"luFFY ITS NOT THAT SERIOUS"
- bestest boy ever
- anyways, ever since you have (reluctantly) joined the crew, you cannot help but notice how protective the crew gets everytime there's even a tinge of threat
- but what you can notice more is how three certain men are at your disposal at the drop of a hat
- it's nothing out of the blue, luffy is always ready to die for his friends but with you, his stares last longer and his smiles are more frequent (didnt think that was humanly possible). clingy as he is with everyone, his hands always seem to find your figure no matter what
- sanji's a flirt with every living being in sight yet everytime he's serving you something, his fingers lightly skim over you. sometimes it's as faint as the brushing of fingers and other times it's a blatant, lingering touch on the small of your back
- zoro's the most obvious tho, he thinks nobody catches on but boy what the fuck, stop making heart eyes at the dinner table. you once said something smart, strategizing to take down a warlord and you're sure you heard him mutter "is this love?" under his breath
- back to the point, they are insanely protective
- did lead to you yelling at them at one point and storming into your room
- but you had to come out cause you were hungry and sanji baked your favourite cookies (fuck him and his stupid beautiful fucking face ugh)
- they all steal you away to spend time with you, luffy's hogging you, telling you stories he heard from ussop; sanji's taking you away every 5 minutes to tell him if the food looks/tastes/smells okay and zoro really thinks he needs someone to check if his form is alright (flexing not-so-subtly)
- they love to buy you stuff whenever you guys dock on an island, luffy (obviously) gets something to eat, sanji buys you a perfume that reminds you of him and zoro bought you a knife cause you "are really weak, you should train more sometimes. if you want, i can teach you."
- one time you got sick and the entire crew was SWEATING OKAY these people were at you day and night, babying you as if you weren't a whole ass grown person
- you cannot help but love these fuckers
- aaah idk head empty, just wholesome thoughts of them <3
a/n: idk if i did this justice, but i hope you liked it even a little bit! (also, i was confused if you wanted it altogether or with all three but separately, eitherways i hope this is good enough!)
#one piece#one piece x reader#roronoa zoro#vinsmoke sanji#monkey d luffy#opla#op#one piece fluff#one piece headcanons#op headcanons#roronoa zoro x reader#sanji x reader#vinsmoke sanji x reader#luffy x reader#zosanlu#monster trio#zoro hcs#sanji hcs#luffy hcs#strawhat pirates
180 notes
·
View notes
Text
Beta squad reacting to someone in the production team yelling at you.
Warnings : None
Niko Omilana -
⇒He'd go quiet. If he was talking to someone while this incident took place, he'd immediately drop the topic and just stand there in silence. It could come off as a bit rude, yes. But he is not letting a rando yell at you without a valid point.
⇒Niko wouldn't say anything to the guy while he'd be yelling at you. Oh no no no. He's not the one to create a scene. He's gonna approach the guy after he was done.
⇒He'd walk up to you, kiss your forehead and tell you to wait with the others while he motions the guy to come near him with a snap of his fingers.
⇒Niko would make it very clear that the stunt the production guy pulled was extremely stupid and that you had the power to completely put him out in the streets, jobless with his tail between his legs. All it would take was one well placed phone call.
⇒Don't be shocked when he comes to you apologizing and begging for a second chance. After all a certain person made him realise just how idiotic it is to shout at you, his superior.
Sharky -
⇒Sharky would step in the argument almost immediately, trying to make sense of the situation. He'd politely ask the guy to calm down and explain the situation to him properly. I mean there's nothing wrong with cleaning the air.
⇒He'd take control of the situation pretty nicely, I think he'd later approach both you and the guy separately if it was a mild disagreement.
⇒However, if it was something serious. Sharky would make his disappointment towards the production crew very known. After all he's known them for years and the least he can expect of them is to behave infront of you.
⇒He'd try to keep a cool head throughout the whole mishap, but would undoubtedly tell the guy to apologise to you. Sharky wouldn't necessarily hold a high ground like Niko, but he would do his level best to solve the matter.
⇒Later that day, he'd rub soothing circles on the back of your hand telling you stories of when he got mistreated by other people until they clocked the power difference. Overall he'd take a comforting stance for you rather than get all defensive against others.
Aj Shabeel -
⇒Now things do a 180 when it's with Aj. In this case, he had royally fucked up and someway or the other... All the blame fell upon your shoulder.
⇒Multiple people from production would demand explanations and some would even start raising their voice to express their opinions up until Aj steps into the room.
⇒Rather surprisingly, Aj shows immense maturity. He apologises profusely for the mixup and tells everyone that fighting will only get them so far. At the far end everyone was on the same side of the boat. Going against one another would be a penalizing strategy.
⇒When everyone leaves you and Aj to be, grumbling an apology or two to you, your boyfriend jogs up to you and hugs you tight. He kisses your forehead and tells you how sorry he was that you were their main target even though it was him at fault. You stroke his cheek with the back of your hand and tell him to forget all about it. It's not like he could've foreseen the turn of events.
⇒Buys you your favorite snacks when you two are on the way home. Poor Aj felt extremely guilty for putting you in a situation like that.
Kenny -
⇒Kenny grabs a hold of the situation and moves closer to you, ready to intervene if necessary, his focus solely on ensuring your safety and well-being.
⇒He addresses the situation directly, calmly asking the person to lower their tone and treat you with respect, his tone firm conveying a clear message of dominance. He'd try masking his rage by putting his hands in his pockets or grinding his teeth.
⇒Kenny establishes boundaries, making it clear that he won't tolerate anyone disrespecting you or raising their voice inappropriately, his words leaving no room for misunderstanding.
⇒If the argument escalates, Kenny raises his own voice, trying to get through the guy and perhaps teach him professionalism in the workplace. After the guy walks away, Kenny would pull you close for a kiss and curse the don under his breath.
Chunkz -
⇒Chunkz, having been in the industry for a considerable amount of time, understands the intricate balance of maintaining relationships with the production crew. With this in mind, he approaches the situation fully geared up, aiming to find a resolution that benefits both sides.
⇒After all, the invaluable role of the production crew is ensuring the success of their videos. Chunkz tries to highlight the importance of mutual respect and understanding. He knows that nurturing positive relationships with the crew is crucial for future collaborations and success.
⇒In the heat of the moment, Chunkz swiftly assesses the escalating tension and decides to diffuse the situation gracefully. Rather than engaging in confrontation, he deftly maneuvers to divert attention, suggesting a change of scenery to allow everyone to cool off and regain composure.
⇒Chunkz smoothly transitions the conversation, making light-hearted excuses to whisk you and the iritated crew member away to a quieter corner of the studio.
⇒Throughout the whole thing, Chunkz remains a calming presence, offering reassurance and support to both you and the crew member. His actions back up his ability to navigate challenging situations with grace and empathy, creating the best situation for everyone.
#betasquad#niko omilana#sharky#chunkz#king kenny#ajshabeel#betasquad x reader#uk youtubers#niko omilana x reader#sharky x reader#aj shabeel x reader#king kenny x reader#chunkz x reader#ukyt
90 notes
·
View notes
Text
Never mentioned this and this might sound insane but I'm starting to think this so let me know:
I believe that Miguel didn't mean THIS as an offensive move.
I think THIS happens with every Spider-person intro.
Spider Society is Cultish - but not in the way you may think.
[A MEDIUM HYPOTHESIS post about what the fuck was up with that huge mob that no one reacted to at all.]
So a lot of people have mentioned in the past about these hundreds of people surrounding Miles.
Miguel gives Miles the standard intro - explaining the multiverse and it's connections.
He asks Lyla to do 'the thing' - and none of the information is tailored to Miles. So we know this presentation is a routine thing. The 'explainy' thing Miguel shows to recruits in general.
Then at the end, suddenly 100s of Spider-people come from seemingly nowhere, surrounding Miles. They don't move or speak. But for some reason they're all there and they came from nowhere.
Originally I believed this was to intimidate or trap Miles. But then I realized
Hobie isn't reacting.
To me, Hobie is more reliable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy character in the scene.
We can assume he wasn't in the conversation with Peter and Gwen - so if this was a planned, sudden, offensive move, he wouldn't know about it.
If Miguel suddenly had people surround Miles without explanation, as an offensive move,
I feel like Hobie would have reacted.
At this point we've established in this moment, Hobie's #1 goal is keeping Miles safe. No matter what.
So 100s of Spider-people surround them in a group - but when we look at him, he's not surprised. He's still relaxed, his focus still on Miguel and not the new additions in the room.
He doesn't even really look at the other people. He doesn't wonder where they've come from and he isn't confronting Miguel for summoning them.
But instead, he doesn't. Nobody reacts. He lets the scene play out.
If this was actually an offensive move:
Then why is Hobie not reacting? Why is Gwen not surprised or nervous?
From what we know of his character, I feel like if this were a sudden offensive move, Hobie would NOT have let Miles handle the situation himself.
Hobie is down for fighting hundreds of people - if anything he's the only Spiderman talented at taking down large battalions of armed people (hoards of cops).
But instead he hangs back, letting Miles handle the situation, because he doesn't consider the hundreds of people a threat (until after Miles breaks out).
So why are they here? And why isn't Hobie reacting/alarmed/angry?
Why is everyone so calm about this mob?
Because I think they're supposed to be there. I think it's apart of the intro speech.
I know that may sound a little stupid. But.. in the context of what Miguel is trying to actually do, I believe it. And arguably it makes the whole thing worse.
I believe the reason Hobie didn't react is because - it happened to him. That's what they do.
They give you the speech about the multiverse, they show you all the nodes, and the corresponding tragedies -
And then they bring a group of Spider-people to surround and comfort you.
That's fucking creepy.
As a new recruit it would be an effective tool at assimilation.
To have everything explained to you, to be shown your own tragedies and trauma, to be shown others tragedies and trauma -
And then have those people come from the wings at the very end. To hug you and say 'We understand you! You're one of us now!'
Like an initiation. To bring you to your most vulnerable emotionally - and then present you with people who can 'understand'.
Is it bizarre? Yes. But it's it what cults do.... Yeah.
One of the mainstays and foundations of cults are rituals - initiations, welcomings, and inductions.
And closeness between members, a sense of community and vulnerability is one of the first things cults seek to sow within new recruits.
I think Hobie isn't reacting, because it's happened to him before.
I believed that like Miles, Hobie was shown the explainy' thingy, Miguel explained 'Everything' to him, and then at the end, Miguel brought in dozens of people to offer comfort - or to share their stories.
Hobie, Gwen, and Peter were only there because they know Miles/were already with him.
But for someone like Gwen, or a reason recruit, they'd be given this explainer alone most likely. Just them, Miguel, Lyla, and maybe Jess.
So it kinda makes sense that Miguel would have other people come in at the end to vouch for him/share their experiences.
Now, we know Hobie. When Miguel is showing Hobie's past events, Hobie minimizes it and tries to brush it off. Hobie would probably see these people his time around and be like 'pisss offffffff'
But!! I will say, this crowd could also be used for a double purpose - which I think Miguel would know. But from his reaction, no one has tried running before. He seemed genuinely surprised. So I think it's primary function is comfort/initiation ritual.
Do I think Miguel is purposely doing this to manipulate recruits?
Nah.
I don't think he's doing it with the intention of brainwashing. Miguel believes he's being completely reasonable, so brainwashing wouldn't be necessary in his eyes.
Miguel thinks if he can explain it enough, they'll understand (that is, until he accidentally let it slip about the two days thing and even then he continues trying to explain it further).
I think he does this with the intention of building comradery in a fast way, not understanding that just because HE is fine sharing his trauma and showing it to other people over and over again, doesn't mean everyone else does.
He show people a hologram of his daughter dying in his arms then looks at you like
UMMM SIR???? I JUST GOT HERE. IDEK YOU. IMAGINE HOBIE REACTING TO THAT
Miguel genuinely doesn't understand that's not how you get over shit.
He doesn't understand that because HE likes to overshare and show you his daughter dying (even though reliving said trauma takes a visible toll on him)
- doesn't mean everyone wants to see that, or talk about that, then hug all Kumbaya.
[Miguel be like ayo u mind if I experienced a deep sense of derealization as I relive one of the worst moments in my entire life in 3rd person then continue like everything is okay iight cool]
I don't think he's doing it maliciously. I think as a traumatized person himself he doesn't understand that... What he's doing isn't therapeutic as he thinks it is.
But because in his eyes, doing this would help the recruit understand and bring people together, he'd do it.
(In my eyes).
But that's still cultish. VERY CULTISH.
Having 100s of strangers surround a teen to intimidate them is weird.
Having 100s of strangers surround a teen to offer them comfort at their most vunerable in an attempt to get them to sympathize with your cause and willfully give up their own free choice is WEIRDER.
THAT'S WEIRD AS FUCK. AND CULTS DO THAT.
that makes me MAD UNCOMFORTABLE thinking about it.
'Sorry ur dad is gonna die. Group hug?'
Miguel..... Stop employing teenagers. Matter of fact stop talking to teens. Stop talking to other people's kids all together wtf really wtf
But that's just a hypothesis. And this is one I'm very curious and still thinking about really.
But I always questioned the same things - Where did they come from? Why is no one reacting? Why is HOBIE not reacting? How did they know to be there? What was Miguel trying to do?
I feel like the answer 'They're there to scare Miles,' left me with more questions like
'Why is no one reacting? Why is HOBIE in specific, not reacting? Or rather, why is he not visibly surprised?'
But my hypothesis is that
They were there since he started the explainer thingy. There's a door for them to get in, because this is routine. They probably get paged every time he does the intro.
No one is reacting because this is routine. Gwen and Hobie have both had this happen to them, and the crowd is there for a purpose of some sort. Either crowd control, comfort, initiation, or all three.
But what do you think? I'm still baking this one in the dome so to speak.
Why do you think Hobie and Gwen didn't react? What do you think the crowd is there for/how did they get in?
Is this copium, or are you picking up what I'm putting down cause I am SO CURIOUS about this I've ALWAYS QUESTIONED WHY THE HELL WHERE THEY THERE AND IF THIS IS A THREAT WHY ISN'T HOBIE KICKING MIGUEL'S ASS
#spiderman#atsv#marvel#no proofread ever normalize not listening to yourself#spider man#hobie brown#across the spiderverse#spider punk#peter parker#Gwen Stacy#peter b. parker#peter b#Miles morales#spiderpunk#miguel o'hara#miguel ohara#spiderman2099#spiderman 2099
293 notes
·
View notes
Note
Okay but a vanless eddie walks across hawkins to cuddle his best girl while she recovers from a leg injury.
Basically, she can't come to him, but he'll be damned if he's kept from her.
Toootally not because my busted leg is taking too long to heal and i am frustrated.
Hey! Thanks so much for the request! So sorry to hear about your leg and I wish you a speedy recovery!
Word count: 1,725
Eddie x fem!reader
CW: none!
Eddie stood in front of his van, trying his hardest to make the damn thing work, but after hours and hours of trying to fix it, he decided to throw in the towel. He slammed the hood closed and turned to face his trailer, throwing his wrench to the side and running his hands over his face in frustration, causing the soot from under the hood to get all over it.
He just wanted to see you and now he was without a vehicle. He was sure that he could ask Steve for a ride but there was no way he was going to do that. First of all, he hated being in the passenger seat, and he also hated how Steve drove. He was too careful and Eddie liked to drive fast.
Eddie couldn’t help how anxious he was to see you. He had gotten the call that you had broken your leg and needed to be there with you. He needed to give you cuddles and all the kisses you wanted because you deserved them.
So, Eddie did the only thing he could think of. He walked. He took the teddy bear he had gotten for you and he walked all the way across town to get to you.
He was tired and he wasn’t wearing the right shoes and it was hot in the direct sunlight, but he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was seeing your bright smile when he showed up at your door.
Eddie wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he got to Family Video, trying not to look like a mess when he stepped inside. The hadn’t realized how hot it was until he stepped into the nice air conditioned building.
Steve was at the counter, sorting through some VHS tapes while Robin was on the phone with a customer. The place was pretty empty for a Friday and Eddie was grateful he wouldn’t have to wait in line after he got what he needed.
He headed towards the romantic comedy section, looking for your favorite one. He didn’t care what people thought, he liked watching the genre with you. The whole idea of watching people’s love stories always warmed his heart. Maybe it was because he was happy with you. So happy that he didn’t mind walking across town just to see you.
He grabbed the movie and a few of your favorite snacks along with a bottle of water for himself. He put everything on the counter, clutching the bear to his chest so he wouldn’t lose it and watched Steve ring him up. Steve eyed the bear and Eddie didn’t miss the look he gave. It wasn’t quite judgmental, but he was definitely suspicious.
“Who’s your friend,” Steve asked as he scanned the items, an amused smirk on his face.
“It’s for y/n,” Eddie told him, clutching the bear tighter to his chest.
“Right,” Steve nodded, putting the items into a paper bag. Steve had always been rooting for you and Eddie to get together and he’d have been lying if he said he didn’t play a little part in your getting together. “I saw her yesterday. She’s doing really good. She misses you, though.”
Eddie tried his best to fight off the smile on his face. He loved hearing those kinds of things, especially when they came from your own mouth. The words sounding so pretty when they fell from your lips.
“She does?” He bit his lip to hold back a a stupid smile.
“Of course she does,” Steve gave Eddie a pointed look. “You’re her boyfriend.”
“That’s right,” Eddie replied, holding his head high. Eddie wasn’t proud about most things but being your boyfriend was definitely one of them. He’d tell anyone who was listen, especially after a few drinks.
Steve told Eddie his total and he threw some crumpled up bills onto the counter that were put in the register. Steve eyed the metal head and couldn’t help but notice now sweaty and out of breath he was.
“Why are you all sweaty?” He tried his best to not sound judgmental since he genuinely cared.
“My car broke down.” Steve couldn’t believe Eddie had walked all the way to Family Video and had every intention of walking to your house. That had to be miles.
“Ah, so that explains the soot on your face.”
Eddie took the bottom of his shirt and rubbed it on his face to wipe away the soot. He couldn’t see you looking like that.
“You’re good,” Steve told him, holding his thumb up.
Eddie took his things and exited the store, just ready to finally get to you. He was hot and uncomfortable since the sweat was making his clothes stick to him, but that was the least of his worries.
You looked around your bedroom at all of the get well soon cards and other gifts that had been given to you when you had broken your leg and maybe too many had been from your boyfriend. He had been there for you every step of the way. He had even driven you home from the hospital and carried you up the stairs to your room.
You felt so lucky to have someone like him. Someone who was so sweet and cared for you in a way that no one ever had before. He’d bring you flowers and your favorite takeout after a long day and you’d eat it together, nothing but smiles as you talked about your days.
He’d drive you anywhere you asked him to despite the fact that you had your bike, which had been the whole reason why your leg was broken. You had fallen off it while trying to get Eddie’s and thankfully someone had seen you on the side of the road and had called an ambulance. You were grateful that it hadn’t been more serious.
Your bedroom door had burst open and there was Eddie, all sweaty, clutching a teddy bear to his chest with one hand and holding a brown paper bag in the other. He dropped both things to the floor and threw himself onto your bed, making sure not to hurt you.
He grabbed onto you, burying his face into your neck, pressing soft kisses to it. His arms snaked around your waist, pulling you even closer to you. One of your hands ran through his hair and the other went to his back, rubbing circles along it.
“I missed you,” he mumbled into your neck, giving it one more kiss before pulling back to look at you. You always somehow got prettier every time he saw you and he almost thought it was unfair. He didn’t care if you had just woken up or if you had been wearing a full face of makeup, he still thought you were the prettiest girl in Hawkins.
“I missed you too,” you replied, your hand still messing with his hair. “Missed your cuddles.”
“Well, what do you think I’m here for?” He laid next to you, pulling you into his arms, pressing a kiss to your temple.
“Well, you took long enough,” you rolled your eyes, your words having no actually heat. “You called me at almost noon and it’s now,” you paused, looking at the digital clock on the desk next to you. “Almost four.”
“Sorry, honey,” he looked up at you. “My van broke down so I walked.” Your eyes widened at his words and he knew exactly what you were going to say. You were always worrying too much about him.
“You walked here?” You sat up a little more, Eddie not moving as you did so. “Eddie that’s at least five miles.” He thought it was cute that you were concerned. He was fine but he wasn’t opposed to letting you baby him. He loved when you took care of him.
“So?” He needed the exercise and wanted to see you. He was just killing two birds with one stone.
“First of all, you’re not wearing the correct clothing or the right shoes. And you should have at least put your hair up.”
“I love when you worry about me.” He pressed his lips to yours in a lingering kiss. He was hoping that it would make you forget about being mad at him. It always did when you were having your little arguments like this.
“At least take your jacket off,” you told him and you didn’t miss the smirk forming on his lips. “You have to be burning up.”
“Oh, trying to undress me, hm?” He wiggled his eyebrows and you pushed him off you. He took off his jacket like you asked but did it slowly to catch your eye.
You couldn’t help but be hypnotized by watching him, your eyes moving to his shirt. He had cut the sleeves off it so it showed off his arms. You admired them, the tattoos and the muscles that he had been a product of him getting a job at the mechanic.
As soon as his jacket was off, it was thrown to the side and he pressed his lips to yours, longer this time. Just as you were getting into it, he pulled away and pulled you right back into his arms, smothering your face in soft kisses. You let out a bunch of giggles and that was music to his ears. His favorite sound in the whole world.
“Eds,” you managed to get out through your giggles.
“Yes, honey?” That name always made you melt. The way it just rolled off his tongue Ike it was second nature. He favored that nickname over your actual one and you loved it. Eating up the term of endearment every time he said.
“Please.” More giggles escaped you and you could feel hiccups coming on so you had to put the fun to a halt.
“Sorry. Just love to hear your laugh, sweetheart. You’ve been so sad and I’m just trying to cheer you up.” He had seen how not yourself you had been since you had gotten your cast on and he just wanted to do whatever he could to make you feel better.
“Then do something that won’t give the hiccups.”
“Oh, I can think of a few things,” he smirked and dove in for another kiss.
137 notes
·
View notes
Text
Types of sex [Radioapple, Appleradio]
A03 link
Up until being with Lucifer, Alastor only knew about sex like a transaction at the absolute best. Something you do because it will give you something in return or something expected by another party. If there is not an actual motive for it, it's completely worthless and irrelevant to the rest of his life.
After Lucifer enters his bed, he starts learning about all the different kinds of sex there are.
The lazy sex in which he wakes up to a morning wood already poking him from behind and Lucifer whispers if he can use his ass or thighs to relieve himself, and he says yes, the build slowly making him grind back. He doesn't always finish or touches himself, but it feels nice all the same.
The quick and messy sex of the "I have to have you right now, right here, or I will go insane" variety that is like a whole hurricane trapped in a jar, contained to this one moment in which he truly could not care about the rest of the world. His head is still spinning when he has to try to fix his clothing.
The passionate and full of hands everywhere sex that turns into slow and full of soft kisses sex that burn his skin all the same.
The slow one sex that speeds up to the point he has to grab to the head of the bed and leaves his legs useless, his body electrified as every blood vessel is fighting to come down to a normal rythm.
The casual sex in the afternoon when they have nothing else better to do, so might as well do this, usually with some giggles involved because Lucifer keeps saying he looks so pretty like that and he has to hide his face on the shoulder of the fallen angel.
The "we had a fight and I am still a bit mad, but I mostly just want to be around you and that somehow turned into this" sex that no matter how many times does he play it on his mind, he can never understand how it happened. They don't remember either why they were fighting in the first place or decide it wasn't worth it anyway.
The failed sex that seemed to be going there, but then something happens. A problem with the hotel, people needing their attention, Lucifer deciding to talk about something and he won't stop, so Alastor stays on his lap and listens. The little touches and kisses that don't leave him feeling like he is actually missing anything.
The continuation of the failure sex that always feels like a relief and a secret promise that, even if the world does keep existing and demanding attention, this is also important.
The foreplay that very well could be sex with how good it feels and he is later shocked to realize that it wasn't technically sex.
The sex where Lucifer fills his ears with soft words of encouragement, compliments, little secrets about how he thought about him during the day, and doesn't shut up except for kissing, making him feel small and vulnerable in a way that he has no idea how to properly understand, so when they do reach the sex there is an element of comfort there, because this at least he can handle.
The ridiculous and silly sex, because they both can't be serious for too long, so someone makes a stupid joke or something goes wrong and they giggled about it like two idiots while their bodies are still connected. The snort of Lucifer just makes him laugh even more. This one never feels like a failure, even if none of them finishes and the mood changes entirely.
The sex through the radio because fuck phones when Lucifer has to attend some issue in any of the other rings where Alastor isn't allowed to accompany him, so that is the only way for them to communicate. It doesn't really do anything for Alastor, physically at least, but he loves to hear Lucifer moan on the other side while talking about what he imagines doing to Alastor if they could be in the same room. Lucifer's voice was already beautiful, but it was extra lovely then, hoarse and worked up, going deep when he was reaching the climax and in the end saying his name with a low curse that almost felt like a claw running down his spine. The only sound that he wished he could record to repeat it over and over again.
He still doesn't understand why people obsess over sex overall. Alone or with someone else. In his opinion, it's not about sex at all. Lucifer is the real difference and he will the only demon in hell to know about it.
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dating J'onn J'onnz would include:
Fem!Reader or GN!Reader TW: None
A/N: For the sake of my sanity and J’onn’s happiness, Martians are alive and well and these headcanons are based more on the young justice show. The reader is already a member of the justice league in this but maybe I’ll do some civilian headcanons later.
You both started out as pretty good friends but you never thought he’d like you romantically due to cultural differences. For him what you looked like didn’t really matter, your personalities meshed so well he wanted you around all the time.
Despite having an open and honest friendship you kind of tried to bury your feelings from J’onn when you guys would talk telepathically. He did pick up on this though and it bothered him for a while but he didn’t want to pry.
There’s this lingering tension though, you both like each other but one doesn’t want to overstep and the other is afraid of rejection. Other people can pick up on it too but nobody wants to say anything. There’s this romantic undertone with how you guys talk to each other but again nobody says anything. The other members of the league watching you guys interact is basically like this:
J’onn: “Would you like some refreshments after your journey to the watchtower? I’ve prepared some coffee for you.” You: Ah, no thank you I appreciate it! Are you ok? I heard your last fight in Metropolis was tough, I was worried about you. J’onn: And I you, your battle with Grodd caused me some distress but it was well fought. I’m happy you are unharmed.”
Wonder woman, Superman and Shazam standing in the corner like ???🧍♀️🧍♂️🧍???
Things really get shaken up when M’gann makes her debut, she picks up on it as soon as you enter the room thinking you wouldn’t mind(due to your friendship of course). She ends up reaching into that crevice you thought you’d hidden. J’onn is unaware of this for like a second before she just comes out and says it. “Uncle J’onn have you guys started dating yet??” After she says that he’s looking at her like 👁️👄👁️.
You fall out of your chair and M’gann realizes she messed up. Lucky for her she made a swift exit out of the room. You try not to make eye contact but J’onn is looking directly at you.
At this point you both couldn’t put it off anymore and talked it out. You tell him your insecurities and he does the same. His fears about the attraction not being mutual due to the whole alien thing. Fortunately for you guys none of that matters since you’re so sickeningly in love. Now we get to the nitty gritty! The dating!
J’onn does everything in his power to learn Earth customs, especially your own culture, the language, the food. He wants to learn about it all to be closer to you. If english isn’t your native language he does a little brain download of it and speaks it with you. He’ll even prepare your favorite dish despite many, many failed attempts. When you make the same effort to learn about Martian culture it really warms his heart. It’s a rocky road but you get the hang of it, his family loves having you over. They’ll shapeshift into you when you come over and give you one big hug.
You have to awkwardly explain why you’re seeing a new guy every week before J’onn chooses a form he likes. He doesn’t understand why it’d be a problem but he stops for you. It doesn’t matter though since he takes it off when you get home or when you’re among friends. He loves to shapeshifter for you to make you laugh, turning into celebrities or mascots to prank you. You wake up in the morning and open the bathroom door to see Chiitan taking a shower. He’ll even do stupid stuff like long furbys or the fresno nightcrawler.
Fighting together is a breeze, nobody is crazy enough to go after you in the field. And psychic attacks forget it, you can’t beat a martian when it comes to telepathy. People often underestimate how strong J’onn actually is but they do enter the process of fucking around and finding out. He never doubts your ability to protect yourself either but if the need arises and you get overwhelmed he will step in.
You understand J’onn’s feelings more than most, despite constantly being linked to each other’s mind. Like Bruce his body language is subtle, there are certain ways his lips twitch or how he rubs his fingers together. You both have a great understanding of each other’s emotions, it’s so wonderful, he never keeps things from you and is very blunt with his opinions. He feels like it’s insulting to you to use flowery language instead of being honest.
He doesn’t mind PDA, however much you’re comfortable with he’ll do. However he won’t be hanging off of you in public, he will stay within arms reach. He always wants you to know he’s nearby and you’re safe. His love language largely revolves around words of affirmation. J’onn is a great person to vent to since he is a great listener and he’s lived a long life so he’s got some words of wisdom. You need advice? He’s your man and if you don’t he’s a good listener.
You can literally feel how much he loves you, he’ll even show you how he sees you. All colorful and bright like the sun. He’d literally walk through fire for you, his loyalty is unmatched.🗣️🗣️ You always tell him he doesn’t need to but he’ll do it anyway. After the most difficult day of missions and handling Martian and Earth politics, a moment in your arms rejuvenates him. For someone who isn’t super touchy the other thing he loves to do is hold your head in his hands and press your foreheads together. No words are exchanged, you just quietly enjoy each other’s presence.
Thanks for reading! Lemme know what you think. Please like or reblog if you like my stuff.
#~⋆｡°tales from the dreaming#dcau x reader#dc comics headcanons#dc animated imagine#dc comics x reader#dcamu x reader#j'onn j'onzz x reader#j'onn j'onzz#dating headcanons#reader insert
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
A quick analysis of AFO's origin, the world frame of bnha and the core themes of the story :
From reading other people's metas and reading the leaks when they came out, my only solid take about it is that you cannot talk about bnha and the core theme of the perpetuation of violence without understanding how the Hero Society and the hero vs villain culture came to be.
That's what AFO origin is for.
Let's see if I can explain it:
In stories where a group of people suddenly gains powers, you'll always see that authors worry to portray how a change like that would affect the world at the moment. What does it mean that part of the global population now has access to something that others don't? Does that make them "better humans"? Are they superior to the rest and therefore should control them? Are they a danger to society? Should they be repressed or eliminated?
The thing is that powers can be viewed as a metaphor to real life situations we face. People with disabilities deal with the whole stupid idea that they are less than the rest of humanity all the time. You have sexism and racism and a bunch of other problems that at heart are about how to deal with different existences. Should people with certain privileges rule the world? Etc etc etc.
For a second, think of having superpowers as having a ton of money. Those with more money can help others or totally ruin their lives, right? In our world, people with money are directly involved in how justice works. They can corrupt the system or make it work, you know how it is. Yet, people with money are only people. We are all just that. Humans. No matter the amount of privileges, you can't escape your own humanity.
The way a person looks, the amount of money they own, where they are from, how they identify as, none of that makes a person more or less human. Similarly, having powers or the nature of said powers... It doesn't make a person less of a person, you know?
When you apply that logic to superpowers, you get what MHA is trying to say.
AFO lived in these specific conditions that were a result of the violence of his time. He would have ended up bitter anyway, because since he was born he was marked as a threat. When you reject someone like that, when you reject their humanity and you make an enemy out of there, you're not asking for a nice ending. If you teach them that they have to fight for the right to exist, you are asking for a war. It's like that in our world, it's like that in bnha.
What I'm trying to say is that superpowers are just an added variable in the complex equation of human coexistence.
The moment superpowers start to appear, society has to adapt fast. People that are also weapons don't mix well with the world's problems, after all. If you want to prevent mass killings, you need to set a system that rules the allowed behaviors and balances out the board. It's a relief that humanity is both capable of great horrors and wonders, so to every criminal that's set to use their powers for evil, you'll get an individual that wants to use their powers to stop them.
That's how vigilantes were born.
Then comes the legalization of powers and the individuals who use it to protect the system. That is how you get villains (people outside the law) and heroes (people following the law).
Violà. You have the same set of problems with a new feature: quirks.
How does this connect to AFO, you ask?
AFO's origin explains the complexity of the bnha universe, comparing it to our own. It also shows that there is always a context, as in situational factors that contribute to a person being the way that person is.
That doesn't excuse who AFO became, tho. The general rule dictates that we are responsible for our choices and actions in the face of the reality we were presented with. Maybe not while we are kids, because we don't have the maturity to make those choices. However, the moment we become adults, we cannot blame our choices anymore in the world around us. If you have the frame of mind to stop hurting people and you don't, that is on you. You chose to perpetuate the violence.
Of course, simplifications don't do any good and bnha makes that clear too.
A tale of heroes that are always good and villains that are always bad is just that, fiction. When the bnha society started believing that said fiction was their reality, that's when the real struggle of bnha started. Villains and heroes stopped being perceived as such. The dehumanization went both ways. The heroes became untouchable gods and the villains unforgivable demons. The civilians all excused their apathy and lack of action by saying they couldn't do anything in such a world.
People ran away from their responsibility by putting all the weight on the heroes shoulders and ignoring whatever felt uncomfortable or mildly disturbing.
See how quickly we were able to analyze bnha?
That's what I meant when I said at the start that AFO's backstory is crucial to the story frame of the manga. If AFO had been a villain just because, then you'd have a story of evil without reason that would validate the idea of extreme moralities of black and white. Since that's not the case, we got more depth in general.
It all connects to the message Horikoshi is trying to communicate. If you compare bnha to other shonens, you'll get the feeling that they all have something to say about that violence, about the way the world is structured and how people move around it.
It's a basic of storytelling, sure. It's just that now you have the knowledge to properly study bnha, or something like that.
At some point I'll have to reread the manga and pay attention to AFO's origin... That's everything for now, tho. Hope you enjoyed it whdhjsbdjd
#bnha#mha#my hero academia#boku no hero academia#shan's bnha opinions#shan's mha opinions#bnha spoilers#mha spoilers#afo#all for one
41 notes
·
View notes
Text
MAROON - ETHAN LANDRY PT. 4🍷🥀🔪
“The mark they saw on my collarbone. The rust that grew between telephones. The lips I used to call home. So scarlet, it was maroon” - Taylor Swift
Content includes: death, blood, fluff, angst! Idk honestly, just prepare for the worst!
PT. 1 of Maroon | PT. 2 of Maroon | PT. 3 of Maroon |
<3
<3
<3
You shook the nervousness off your body as you waited for Ethan. You'd went home and got ready as quickly as you could, not exactly knowing what time he would be arriving.
You played with the hem of your cardigan, leg bouncing with your mind somewhere else. You couldn't believe you were going out on a date in the middle of this whole situation. You knew it was stupid, and you were right. But you had wasted too many months of your life being scared to care now, when it actually mattered.
"You feeling okay, Y/n?" "I'm better, I guess" Sam rubbed your back in a comforting motion, in reality you knew you should've been the one comforting her. She was the one that had actually been attacked along with Tara, luckily that night you had been too busy crying in your room.
"I should be the one comforting you, none of us are going through it as bad as you are" you glanced back at her and she frowned. "I don't want anymore of you to get hurt, even if it's mentally" she ran her fingers through your hair, finding peace in the feeling of your waves between her fingers.
You heard a knock at the door and jumped up, nervous to see him. "Go, have fun and make sure he's not ghost face for us" you nodded before saying goodbye, opening the door. “Hey…” his face was crinkled in a smile, your heart slightly racing as you stood at the door. “Hi!”
☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~
"Hey! The two newlyweds, come on in! We're just making some food" you smiled, Ethan's arm over your shoulder. "They're not married yet, Chad. Ethan's not good enough for Y/n" you rolled your eyes at Mindy. "She's not wrong..." you blushed, turning away from him before you became a hot mess. "See! He even agreed with me"
She went off to find Chad and Tara, disturbing their tension with more teasing. “Mindy, that is so inappropriate!" you chuckled, looking back at Ethan as he gave you a comforting smile. "Look at you, acting so sweet now" you took his chin into your hands, turning him towards you.
"I'm not acting" you fluffed his hair, turning away as Mindy called you and Sam into the kitchen. "I'll be back" you placed a kiss on his cheek, Anika's mouth open in shock. "You know, we don't have to stay here" "welp, too bad. I insist" you nodded your head. "Safety and numbers"
"This will be so fun, a little slumber party with the fantastic 5" "Fantastic 5?" Sam asked. "Did you just call us that nickname?" Tara raised an eyebrow in disgust. "I sure did, I mean we've been through a lot together, and it's a pretty cool nickname" you stared at Mindy, the both of you equally confused before you laughed. "That's debatable" you added, Tara agreeing. "It's extremely debatable"
"You can't just give yourself a nickname dingus" Mindy teased her brother, a smile on all of your faces. "Oh! Of course I can dingus, because I just did! Fantastic 5 uptop!" He held up his hand for a high-five, being rejected by all of you. "No" "down low" Tara gave him a side eye. "Get that away from me" she shook her head, hiding a smile.
"Please for the love of god Y/n!" You squirmed, Mindy warning you not to do it. "You know, I would actually like a little more respect and support from my fellow members of the fantastic 5" you all groaned, shaking your heads.
"Hey...guys, what the hell?" Anika called, all of you rushing to the living room. You wrapped around the couch, sitting down next to Ethan with your eyes glued to the screen. You watched Sams eyes as they filled with sorrow. She was the main suspect to this whole thing. It didn't make sense to you, the way people thought. She fought for her life and now she has to fight to defend it again.
The video of her attacking the girl from Halloween popped up on the Tv, all of you watching with annoyed expressions. She grabbed the remote, turning the TV off before walking back into the kitchen.
You played with the rings on your fingers, Ethan intertwining your hands before smiling down at you with a reassuring look. You listened to Tara and Sams conversation, your heart feeling guilty about all your opinions about their relationship.
“None of us can relate to what you are experiencing" it's like Tara had stolen the words right out of your mouth. You felt bad for everyone else, of course you did. But your heart ached more for Sam. You knew she did everything in her power to seem strong, but this was just taking over her in a way you'd never seen before. "It's not your fault, and I know I shouldn't care what people think...It just sucks being this hated" she wiped her tears and you couldn't help but now hate what you said about her to Ethan.
"Hey, hey just a reminder. Not a single person in this room hates you. Okay? We have all been through some fucked up shit and we're all coping with it differently" you pulled Ethan over to the table with you, sitting on his lap with his arms around your waist, hugging you tightly. "Look at Y/n! She was so miserable for the longest time till she found someone to be miserable with!" Chad teased and you rolled your eyes. "He's not wrong Sam, we all dealt with it differently, we still are" you moved your eyes back to Ethan, gently swiping away loose curls that covered his eyes.
"We moved here together for one very specific reason...we're a team" you all nodded, Sams eyes tearing up once again. "We are...the fantastic fucking 5" "thank you very much!" Chad high-fiving Mindy excitedly.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom" Ethan looked up at you, getting off his lap before sitting back down in the chair. All of you laughed, smiling as Chad bragged about the newly used nickname. "Say it" "no, I'm not gonna say it" Tara whined. "Come on Tara!" You held your head in your hands, laughing with your friends.
"Ive been sleeping with cute boy from across the hall" your mouth dropped open, "I told you! I told you" you laughed, pointing at chad. "You owe me $20!" "That was a joke!" He shook his head. "Wait you guys made a bet?" Mindy laughed, her hand slammed against the table. "Boom! We fucking knew it" Tara smiled, "I knew it, I knew it" Sam watched in confusion as you all rambled.
"We knew from the day you got that hickey" you teased. “Oh come on Y/n! Look at your neck!” You rolled your eyes. "I see you've been getting it on with my roommate and I respect that, but you will get tired of him eventually" Chads hands were up in defense as you rolled your eyes. "He's not longer a virginnn" Mindy dragged out and you blushed, covering your face.
"You need to tell us everything" Tara added with a hiccuped laugh. "Not to take any credit, but maybe I was the one that gave him some tips" you sunk down on the chair in embarrassment. "Ew Chad!" Mindy hit the back of his head.
"I feel like...we should high five or something" Tara smiled. "The fantastic 5 high five, please" Chad put his hand up and you all intertwined your fingers. "Come on, come on" you smiled. It was a mutual feeling between all of you, that no matter what happened you would all make it out alive, together.
Sam pulled away, a call coming from her phone. "Ah! Look" Tara snatched her phone out of her hand, holding it up high was Danny, aka cute boys contact number. You tossed it around the table, handing it to Mindy with another laugh. "No no no!" Sam shook her head, a poor attempt to get back her phone. "No, Tara no" "hey, soo what are your intentions with my sister?" She joked, Sam taking back the phone before hanging up. "Oh it's fine, I'll call him back later" she grinned, stuffing her phone back in her pocket.
You heard groans coming from the bathroom, your eyebrow cocked as Chad looked at you confused. "You send him a nude while we weren't watching or something?" "What? No" you shook your head, the familiar sound of Ethan's moans filled not only just your ears, but everyone else's too.
"You liar! Or he probably sneaked one while you were fucked out" Mindy winked. "Explains why he's been taking so long in there" Sam added and you rolled your eyes, embarrassed once again. You all heard a chime from your phones, digging into your pocket to be met with a picture.
Your heart dropped once you saw the full image. The sounds weren't from him getting off to you, but instead it was the sounds of his struggling to fight off ghost face. "Ethan...Ethan!" you got out of the chair quickly, everyone running behind you before Chad pulled you back. "Wait! Wait" you could hear his blood curdling screams throughout the whole apartment, pleading and glass breaking as he cried. "No, no no let me go" Chad held you back as you took heavy breaths, Ethan's struggle finally stopping. Tears flooded your eyes, your cries being the only thing heard before it went quiet.
Everyone stood back, heavy breathing with a mix of fear and anticipation as everyone waited. You watched the door through tears, covering your mouth trying to stop. "Run" Ethan's dead corpse pushed Anika down, your eyes bleeding with tears as you watched him collapse on top of her. "Ethan! Ethan!" you ran over to him, Mindy rolling his body off of Anika. He was covered in blood. There was no way he was alive anymore. You felt your heart shatter inside your body, his deep brown eyes with no life left in them.
"Guys come on!" Tara and chad ran out the door. You held onto his arms, tears falling onto his bloody shirt. "Fuck..fucking kill me" you hiccuped, wiping your tears to see the figure of Ghost Face. "God fuck!" Mindy yelped in pain as he sliced her arm, Sam pulling you away again, before you also got stabbed. "Mindy! Jesus Christ" as much as you tried to stop them, tears continued to fall, blurring your vision.
Anika grabbed him by the legs, Ghost face only responding by gripping her neck tightly. You and Sam ran towards the kitchen, looking for any knives you could find. Someone had taken all of them. "Seriously!?" You screamed, taking a stack of glass plates while Sam grabbed the knife block with no other choice.
When you rushed back into the living room Anika was held up against the wall, the knife plunging deep into her stomach and a scream escaping her mouth. The knife dug inside her, twisting and turning before you came up behind him, smashing the plates onto his head. You felt nauseous, triggered by the bloody mess on her stomach.
He got up surprisingly quickly, Sam leading Anika into the bedroom while you pushed Mindy in, ghost face just seconds away from slicing your arm. "Fuck, fuck!" Sam struggled to hold the door close, the clothed figure pounding himself into the door repeatedly.
You could hear Tara's faint screams from outside the apartment, ripping off your cardigan and tightly tying it around Mindys deep wound. You heard the banging stop, your hands applying pressure to Anika's stomach as she continued to bleed out. "Y/n, bathroom door! Hurry" sam whispered, you ran over and closed the door, Ghost Face right in your view once again. "Shit!" You pushed the door shut anyways, blindly directed stabs from the knife trying to hurt you.
You ran backwards, slamming the door to the bathroom shut. You struggled to lock it, blood covered hands making you slip as kicks were shot into the door. You held it shut with your body, Mindy now helping Sam push her dresser in front of the door. You pulled it into you, struggling but you managed. Ghost face just kicking through the door as you pushed the dresser against the wall. All you felt was anxiety, the horrible rush. You could only think about saving yourself and your friends.
You backed away from the dresser, untying Anika's blouse and holding her stomach, she cursed as you tied the wound, hands and arms covered in blood. "Hey!" You replaced Sam as she ran towards the window. You held the dresser back with all your power, feeling ghost face become tired as the kicks got weaker, or so you'd thought.
He pushed his whole body into it, you and Mindy jolting at the sudden movement. "Don't worry! I got you" you silently prayed as you pushed with all your energy, glancing back at Sam and Anika. You watched as Sam pulled in a ladder, your head falling back and your breath short. "You three go first! Mindy, go" "What? No" she shook her head as you pushed back against the dresser, you held it with all your force, trying the best that you could to not get tired. emotionally you were more than exhausted, you could feel yourself start to give up. god, you were losing all hope. But you had survived once and you knew you could do it again.
"We need to hold the door! I'll send Anika next just go!" You looked back at Mindy, tears in both of your eyes as the nobs from the dresser slammed into your skin. "Come on! Come on!" you heard Sam and Danny call out. "Help her on, i got this" "are you sure?" Mindy cried and you nodded. in reality you weren't sure at all. you were strong, but still a bit on the weaker side.
She rushed over, taking Anika into her arms and placing her on the ladder. "Don't Look down Baby, keep going. You got this, keep going" you pushed back the bloody dresser against the knob of the door, your breath unsteady as you almost gave out, pushing it harder with each kick and slam. Its like you were fighting with pure force itself, doing your best to push back with the same amount of power.
Sam words encouraged you as you kept pushing, Anika making it across safely. Your heart was beating faster than it had ever before. Closing your eyes as you talked to yourself, using your back to hold the dresser. Your legs started to give out, Ghost face knife waving around as he slipped his arm in, trying to slice you. "Y/n! Come on Y/n hurry!" You gave the dresser one more shove, the door slamming into ghost faces arm, making him drop the knife. You grabbed it quickly before running towards the window, letting the knife drop below you. blood splattered onto your top, looking down below at the long drop.
The sound of the dresser falling down made you shake as you crawled onto the ladder, Mindy and Sam holding out their arms for you to take. "Y/n...Y/n hurry!" You sobbed as you looked down, the feeling of the ladder started to shake making you sick. Ghost face was taunting you, shaking the ladder roughly as you crossed. "Shit" you cussed as you almost let go.
"Please y/n, please come on" you held onto the steps, the ladder shaking more and more and you persisted, Sam and Mindy dragging you into the apartment.
"We made it, we made it" you sobbed, watching as ghost face walked away from the window. "Fuck! Fuck, Anika" you laid her down on the floor, tying the fabric around her tighter. "Not bad Y/n" she cried and you couldn't help but smile, shaking your head.
"Ethan...what about Ethan?" You stood up, running towards the door. "Y/n, Y/n no come back" Sam followed behind you as loud sirens were heard in the background. You ran back to the apartment, swinging the half shut door open, running over to Ethan, his eyes still opened as he laid there. "E...Ethan don't do this to me" you pulled him into your lap, sobbing into his his arm as you grabbed his hand. He was still warm.
The cuts on his shirt proved he was stabbed more than just a couple times, blood covering his entire chest. You moved away the curls from his face, your thumb gently rubbing his jaw like you had done earlier that day. You placed a small kiss on his lips, finger running over his features for one last time. His body was limp, wet from blood and your tears that sprinkled over his skin. you wanted to take him in, for the last time. all you felt was pain. You weren't hurt, there wasn't even one scar on you. But this hurt more than any wound you had experienced.
"Y/n...y/n we have to go, they have to mark the crime scene" you shook your head as you cried, Ethan's limp hand in yours while the other brushed through his curls. You didn't know you'd end up like this, getting close to someone just for them to get killed. you felt so extra, so dramatic. But no one could blame you. finally, you decided to open up. But it ended in disaster.
"Y/n, please step out of the apartment" you looked up, Officer Bailey and his team entering as they started to mark the crime scene. You felt so dehumanized. You weren't even aloud to sit there and hold him. He was basically pried away from you, from everyone.
"I'm so sorry" your whisper was just barely heard, tracing his lips one last time before placing his head gently back on the ground. Sam pulled you away as she walked you out of the apartment. "Here" she handed you Ethan's Jacket, pulling you into a hug.
"They're taking Anika and Mindy to the hospital" she sighed. "Where's Chad and Tara?" You wiped away your tears but it was no use, more falling than before. "Sam! Sam!" Tara ran into Sams arms, the reminder that you were always alone amongst them flashing right in your face. You finally had someone, and just like that, he was dead.
A/n: i'm crying my poor bb
#ethan landry#fanfic#jack champion#scream#celebrities#ethan landry smut#jack champion x reader#cute#avatar#ethan landry x y/n#jack champion oneshot#jack champion x y/n#jack champion scream#ethan landry x you#ethan landry oneshot#ethan landry x reader#ethan landry imagine#ethan landry fluff#scream franchise#scream vi#scream 2023#ethan landry angst#scream movies#scream 6#scream 2022#scream smut#jack champion angst#idk idk#sam carpenter#tara carpenter
116 notes
·
View notes
Text
【 MAL HIGHSCHOOL AU 】
☢︎ | gender-neutral reader
☢︎ | Total Drama
☢︎ | Mal
You had to survive in a new school.
Which was already draining enough, as you didn't have many friends. because of your lacking social skills.
You didn't really bother anyone and you were just kind of keeping to yourself passively.
It was tolerable, living like that in your previous school.
However that "comfy" style of yours quickly got disrupted when one of the most edgiest boys in your class started picking on you.
Mal, was the name of your new school bully it seems.
A lanky boy with brown bangs covering one of his eye.
"Emo?" You thought, but whatever thoughts you had about him were quickly poisoned by how he acted towards you.
You were used to hear some mean comments about you from your past classmates, so you decided to ignore it at first.
Mal wasn't really fiercely trying to bully you, but if he got a chance, he'd make sure to say some comment about you that'd make your day annoying.
"Wow, Y/N got a insert any grade here" No matter if they were bad or good, he always had something stupid to murmur to himself, but in a way you'd also hear.
"Oh, did you tire yourself out?" He said mockingly, seeing you come out last of the gym. "Careful not to strain anything…"
"Aw, sitting alone?" He looked at you as he passed by, noticing you eat your lunch in some secluded part of the hallway, away from people, sitting on the ground and leaning on the wall.
All you heard were those stupid remarks of his. What was the point of them? Why did he target you??
You usually just ignored him, not wanting to waste your breath on some meaningless banter, but you finally snapped this time.
"I don't see you eating with anyone either." You respond bluntly, pausing your feasting on the sandwich.
He chuckled ambiguously, his smug aura still present. "Oh, I don't need any other company."
You looked at him for a moment, unsure what to say, but he just lingered around you for a few more seconds, before finally going his way after noticing your reaction.
You were so confused by his behavior.
Like, he didn't say any offensive things to you like "you suck." but there was just some- off vibe from him.
Was he trying to piss you off or is he just eccentric?
This question lingered in your mind for some time as his antics continued.
He was also a known troublemaker at school, so that gave you even more reason to be worried about his intentions.
You weren't really a troublemaker, or if you were, you hid it really good. You were never caught.
But Mal was the type to flaunt with his misdemeanors. He was proud of being a pain in the ass for the teachers and probably other students.
You didn't really paid attention to it, but most of the students weren't talking to him. He also wasn't keen on interacting with his classmates.
He only seemed to "pick fights" with you, which had left you with a burning question of why?
But you were also new at the school so maybe there was something else to it and you just had to wait.
And wait you did, until you landed up in detention, with none other than Mal.
You were very baffled the moment you were called for after hours at school, for allegedly misbehaving.
Of course you asked for details and why were you so unjustly taken here.
But all you got for the reasoning behind was that you were very rude to Mal, and he also made a mess in the classroom trying to blame it on you!
At first came confusion. You were rude to Mal how?? Was he really a baby about that last comment you made?
Then anger came. Was he really so petty to trash the whole classroom and then pin it on you?
You tried to explain that you were just eating lunch by yourself when that happened, but since it was a very secluded place and no one (besides Mal) talked to you, there was also no proof of your innocence, besides "he said, she said".
You were about to throw hands until you saw something familiar sitting on the desk at the trashed classroom. It was your pencil case!
Why was it there?
How did he get his hands on it??
He set you up.
He made it look like a perfect crime. You were prone to writing on the desk sometimes, but you immediately wiped it after, so no harm was done. However, your teacher didn't know that.
Your teacher knew Mal was a troublemaker though, so he took his words with a pinch of salt, but because of your newbie status you got dragged into it too.
The teacher didn't bother to check how much at fault you were, so he ultimately decided that you both were gonna spend at least an hour there until the classroom was clean.
The teacher got out of the room, leaving you both in there.
Mal was sitting lazily in one of the chairs. After he noticed you drilling a hole into him with your eyes, he smirked amused and smug.
"What?" He asked, lightly supporting his chin on his hand comfortably.
You waited a few seconds before responding to his disrespectful ask.
"What do you mean 'what?'. The hell, man??" You raised your voice a little at his audacity.
He just looked you up and down, as if very entertained by your reaction.
"Now you don't have to spend your time so alone. You're welcome." You could hear the victory in his voice.
Was he really doing it for his own entertainment?
"I-" You didn't even know what to respond, gaining you some delightfully amused raised eyebrow from him.
"Don't tell me you're not at least slightly happy to see me?" He said, leaving you even more confused. You didn't know whether he was serious at this point or pulling your leg.
"Why would I be??" You spat out without any thinking, making Mal put on slightly dramatic offended expression.
"Oof, ouch. I thought we were getting somewhere." He mocked, looking at your response after his words.
You tilted your head.
He sighed, still keeping a nonchalant and tad arrogant tone.
"You never talk to me, no matter how much I try to gain your attention." He spoke calmly, as if being the one in control of the situation.
"But hey, you spoke to me today." He said, almost proud of his "achievement".
"And what did that do?? You tattled on me to the teacher that I was rude and set me up??" You asked your very valid question.
He chuckled slightly, readjusting himself to an even cockier position on the chair.
"Dear, all I did was make you talk to me. Look at that, whole few minutes and we're already having a conversation." He was a very peculiar man.
You didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed at his smooth replies.
"Well, couldn't you strike up a convo like a normal person, without setting me up for your trap?" You asked, looking at him expectantly.
He held himself off from laughing.
"Refresh your memory, I tried." He said casually.
You stop for a moment to think. It's- true. He did kind of talk to you, but how were you supposed to be sure he wasn't just fucking with you??
"Cat got your tongue, eh? It's okay. I can let it slide." He said before you could come up with a response. He acted as if he was doing you a favor.
"But you were nothing but annoying jerk to me!" You pointed out. Your words might have been a bit over-dramatic, as Mal technically never insulted you.
"Come on, I was a jerk to everyone, so why should you be left out? I just wanted to get your attention and… Well, I'm sure it worked." He said, still nonchalantly as ever, with a bit of proudful undertone.
"Besides, I could be far worse hun. That was me being nice." He said, smirking arrogantly.
"Well then… uh- Sorry?" You said, unsure of your words. You still weren't sure if you were in the wrong here, but it seemed so?
"So- What did you wanna… talk about?" You asked, still a bit in the dark why Mal chose you for a casual conversation.
Mal just looked at you in a somewhat bored expression, but it quickly softened into a light smirk.
"I'll be frank. I'm into you." He said nonchalantly, making your eyes go wider.
"So… Do what you will with that information." He leaned back against his chair a bit more, crossing his arms in front of his chest. A curious and smug expression became apparent on his face.
You didn't know what to respond to that out of the blue admission. Mal knew that, thriving on making people uncomfortable with his bluntness.
"For real?" You mustered a half-assed response, still processing the sudden flow of information.
He squinted his eyes in an amused expression.
"Yeah 'for real'." He confirmed, sizing you up with his gaze.
"And- What… What do you want me to respond to that…?" You asked, looking at him for some guidance. You were still very confused and hesitant about the situation.
"Say that the feelings are mutual, of course." He said, raising his eyebrow in an obvious and entertained way.
You looked at him with an unsure expression. Were you actually the asshole in this situation? What were your feelings towards him, now that he gave you such a hard question to answer?
"Well- What if- What if I don't know??" You responded honestly. You really didn't know what to say. You were a bit upset at how Mal tried to gain your attention, but you couldn't say you weren't a bit curious about how things will go now.
You were still suspicious of him, but now that he did get your attention, you were thinking about things.
You haven't had a boyfriend in forever (or, ever, if you were still single throughout all of your life), so his proposition was intriguing, even if not conventional in the grand scheme of things.
Mal looked away, pretending to be annoyed.
"I get it, I'm just a meanie after all..." He said in a pitiful tone, obviously trying to pull at your heart-strings. He was a good manipulator, after all.
You didn't fall for it, though.
Mal noticed that, so he waited a moment before turning his face back to you. There were no words spoken between you two for a while, until he finally continued.
"Alright then, I'll make you a deal." He looked at you halfly-serious.
You glared back at him expectantly.
"I'll clean up this whole room if you go out with me." He said, looking at you, waiting for your reaction. He had an expression that indicated he was fully assured that you would accept his offer. He didn't want to do it, but it was necessary to gain your trust.
You waited for a moment before replying, thinking about his offer.
You were curious to say yes, but you also felt a bit ripped off on the offer, since it was Mal's mess to deal with in the first place.
"...And if I don't?" You asked, looking at him slightly interested in what he had to say.
"Then I'll leave this whole mess as it is and you'll be stuck here cleaning by yourself." He tried not to smile, proud of himself. What a jerk.
"The teacher locked us both in here, remember? You're also gonna get yelled at." You brought up a valid point.
"You don't get the gist. I don't care to get yelled at. I just did this to spend time with you." He said, as if he had to explain the obvious to you.
You sighed. You were still not entirely convinced, but you also didn't wanna be the bad guy. You finally gave in.
"Fine." You said, rolling your eyes slightly, to at least restore some of your pride. It earned you an amused smirk from him. "...We can go out sometime."
"That's what I wanted to hear." He summed it up, acting arrogantly about being able to persuade you.
He got up from his chair smoothly, heading your way.
"Alright then. How about another arrangement?" He crossed his arms in a slightly cheeky way, yet still remaining composed, with a smug smile on his face.
His body language radiated confidence, and it made you wonder what keeps him so cool all the time??
You looked at him with a raised eyebrow. What more could he want from you?
He took a step closer towards you, to the point where you almost started thinking about the boundaries of your personal space.
His presence was just so- overwhelming.
"I won't get you in trouble next time..."
He raised his hand to touch your chin in a bit patronizing way.
His words almost came out like a sultry whisper, trying to get a reaction out of you.
"If you give me a kiss."
#total drama#total drama x reader#x reader#headcanon#imagine#gn reader#gender neutral reader#mal#td mal#mal x reader#total drama mal x reader#td mal x reader#highschool au#school au
96 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
fletchernetwork
Fletcher Network
skateosaurus
Skateosaurus
zoylo-blog
Zoylo Digihealth Pvt Ltd
avababyyx
Spoil Me
as-series
Untitled