#I want to live in a city where there is enough space to actually walk without meeting anyone if we don't feel like it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

koostattoos · 4 months

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➳ There’s Only Me When There’s You || j.jk

~ Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

~ Genre: slight enemies to lovers, high school au, fluff, MAJOR angst, first love, young love (Inspired by 2000's film A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks)

~ Summary: Being new was tough. Starting out in a new school and new town without any idea where to go or any friends was tougher. When coming across Jungkook and his friends, school hadn't got any easier. When you get paired with Jungkook for a project your life becomes hell, or was it heaven?

~ Warnings: MAJOR character death, a fight happens, mentions of a hospital, mentions of blood, fluff, fluff, fluff! 190811!jungkook (iykyk), jk’s lowkey an asshole but he’s actually the sweetest, they’re so incredibly adorable i’m sobbing, use of petnames (mostly baby)

~ word count: 15.1k

• currently playing: star by colde

a/n: this is pure fiction. pls don’t discern the characters in the story to them irl! happy reading! 🫶🏼

This past summer your family moved to a new city. Yongsan was small, that’s what you liked about it. But your family wanted to get away from the big bustling city of Seoul. They thought it’d be better for you. Moving was exciting to you. Being in a new place and all. The house they had bought was small, it had two bedrooms, with a bathroom, and a big enough living space for the three of you.

The people in the neighborhood were nice. They welcomed you with fresh food and some plants to plant in the mini greenhouse next to the yard. It was very thoughtful of them. Tomorrow is your first day at your new school. You were going into your senior year. They say it’s supposed to be one of the most exciting times in high school.

After you finish unpacking your things you walk into the living room where your dad was sitting. He was on the phone talking with the moving people to figure out where the rest of your stuff was. And your mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner. You decide to take yourself out of the house and explore the small town you now call home.

Making sure your parents knew where you were, you turn your head around the corner of the kitchen and call for your mom.

“I’m gonna go out and look around town, is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Just be careful. Don’t go too far and be back before the sun goes down.” she tells you

Nodding your head, you turn to put your shoes on and make sure you have your phone with you. The air outside was nice. It was still mid-summer but the weather around this time seemed to cool down.

When you walk into the village you meet a lot of nice people. Mrs. Kim was the first person you met. “Hi honey. Are you new around here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face around here”. She ran one of the local restaurants.

“No, I’ve actually moved here a few days ago. My family and I live nearby. I just wanted to come in and see what was around here. So, I know somewhat my way around.” you explain to her. She nods her head and gasps as an idea pops up into her head.

“Well, if you ever need anything, please stop by. I’ll be glad to help” she says to you with a sweet smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Kim. I’ll keep that in mind. Have a good night” you smile at her and walk away to explore more of the village. There wasn’t much to do. There were a few bookstores you had walked past and a few other markets. Deciding to head back home you text your mom that you were on your way. Without looking at where you were going you bumped into a firm chest. When you look up, you’re met with a teenage boy. His hair was a bit of a mess but still maintained. He was actually rather cute.

Before you could say anything, he says, “Are you okay?” you pause for a minute trying to collect your thoughts. He looks blankly at you waiting for you to respond. Finally, after staring at him for what felt like an eternity, you answer him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry for bumping into you” you bow your head slightly to him as you apologize.

“It’s alright. Are you new around here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before” you respond the same way you answered to Mrs. Kim. You tell him that you had just moved here a few days ago with your family. He nods his head and excuses himself. But not before he introduces himself.

“I’m Jungkook by the way.” He has a faint smile on his lips. You tell him your name. “It’s nice to meet you, Jungkook” he nodded and slowly started to walk away. “It was nice to meet you too” Finally, you both bid goodbye to each other and you make your way back home.

Jungkook and his friends were out tonight. There was a bridge near one of the old farms, no one was allowed near there, yet they all agreed to meet up. Taehyung brought along his girlfriend and her friends. Their other friend Jimin decided to tag along with them.

Jungkook came up late (as usual) and Taehyung walks up and grabs his best friend by the nape of his neck playfully. “Where the hell have you been. We were all waiting for you” he says

“Don’t worry about it, I’m here now, aren’t I?”

Taehyung laughs at him. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Does anyone have the drinks?” Jimin walks up next to them and pulls out a case of Soju from the trunk of his car and places it next to him. Taehyung’s girlfriend, Ara, holds him by his waist and asks Jimin to pass her a drink. Her friend, Sooha, hasn’t taken her eyes off Jungkook since he got there. He walks over to Jimin and grabs a bottle for himself. As he stands next to Jimin, Sooha makes her way to the case and takes one. She ‘tries’ to open the bottle but fails. She pouts her lips and looks up to Jungkook “Can you open this for me Jungkookie”

He looks down at her and grabs the bottle from her hand and opens it for her.

“Who’s jumping first?”

Jimin speaks up “I think you should Kook. Since you were late, you should make up for it” Taking a swig of his drink Jungkook shrugs his shoulders and places his down. He takes off his pants and his black t-shirt. He stands on top of the bridge and flips everyone off.

Then, he jumps backwards into the river full of water. And yells at the top of his lungs

“Fuck all of you!”

With all the noise they were making a farmer flashed a light towards them.

“Hey! Who’s over there! You shouldn’t be here! He yells at them.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Jungkook says under his breath swimming back to where his clothes were.

“Hurry get in the car!” Taehyung urges his girlfriend.

Everyone fled and Jungkook was left to fend for himself.

“Is that you Jeon!” the man says

“Fuck” he runs for his car and speeds off.

The next morning, Jungkook walks out of his room into the living room. His mom was already in the kitchen.

“I heard what you did last night Jungkook” she says with a stern voice

“Why do you always get yourself stuck in these situations! I mean this is the third time already and school has just barely started a couple weeks ago! You are so irresponsible. And you know what ever since you started hanging out with that boy Taehyung, that’s all you’ve been doing is getting in trouble” she yells at him in disappointment.

“You’re hanging out with the wrong crowd here Jungkookie, you need to find new people to hang out with” she shakes her head at him and walks away.

He sits there thinking about what his mother said.

~ You wake up to your alarm blaring in your ear. Today was your first day at your new school. The feeling of anxiety kept you up at night and you barely had any sleep. The clock read 7:00 a.m. When you walk out of your room, you’re hit with the smell of breakfast. Walking into the living room your father is nowhere to be seen. Your mom had told you that he went out to find a job locally.

“So how do you feel about being at a new school?”

Registering her question in your sleepy state you make up a smile and answer her. “I’m nervous, I’ll be fine though” she nods her head at you and goes to make her morning coffee.

Done with breakfast you walk over to your bathroom to clean yourself up. You haven’t bothered with makeup since freshman year. It only made your face feel gunky with the number of products you used to feel pretty.

Your outfit was simple. It was a soft pink cardigan with a white skirt matching it. You tied your hair up into a half ponytail. Leaning down to pick up your backpack from your floor; you make your way to the front door and tell your mom goodbye.

“I love you, I’ll be back soon mom”

“Okay, I love you too honey. Have a good day at school.” she tells you.

The school was only a five-minute walk from your house.

“Yo, check out her sweater,” Jimin says

You were wearing a pastel-colored cardigan with flowers on it. It was a bit beat up because you’ve worn it so many times. But you still liked to wear it.

“Yeah I think I wore it when I was nine” Sooha chuckles

They see you walk past them with a few books in your hand and hardly any idea where to go.

“Um excuse me, do you know where the front office is?” You ask one of them. You hadn’t noticed Jungkook, but he pays attention to you.

Taehyung speaks up and laughs “It’s down that way” he points into a direction. You nod you head at him “Cute sweater” Sooha says sarcastically. Not reading her sarcasm you tell her “Thank you” and make your way over to the office. When you’re out of sight they all begin to laugh. Jungkook with a faint smile painted on his lips.

“Jungkook to the principal's office, Jungkook to the principal's office” is heard over the intercom. Groaning, he makes his way over to the front of the school where he’s needed. He knocks on the door and Mr. Kang holds his hand up and tells him to wait outside as he finishes up talking to another student.

A few minutes pass by and when the student walks out the principle motions his hand for Jungkook to come in. He walks through the door and shuts it.

“So, Mr. Jeon, I’ve heard from your mother you’re causing trouble again? I thought we spoke of this.”

Jungkook doesn’t say anything. He sits in silence and only waits for Mr. Kang to continue.

“I also couldn’t help but notice your grades have slipped during last year’s final exam. And ever since school started a few weeks ago you already have such low grades.” Sitting in the chair in front of Mr. Kang’s desk he slouches, shakes his head, and laughs in disbelief.

“Your absences and tardies have affected you severely. You haven’t always been like this Jungkook. I think it’s time for you to seek out new friends and join a new crowd.” Mr. Kang places his hands over his desk and continues.

“From now on, you will stay after school to be tutored and I have asked the clean-up committee if they are able to let you work to help clean up around the school on the days you don’t have tutoring. I expect you to follow my instructions. If not, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear Mr. Jeon”

Sighing in defeat, he nods.

“Yes, Mr. Kang”

“Good. Now get out of my office and get to class”

When you got to the front office. They gave you your schedule for your classes for this year. When you walk out of the office you bump into someone. You don’t get to catch a glimpse of who the person was as they continued walking and didn’t bother to say sorry. Brushing it off, one of the student aids in the office is instructed to show you around campus.

After the tour was done you walk to the first class of the day. Botany. Plants always caught your interest when you were younger. You always wanted to see the cherry blossom trees. They were looked beautiful no matter what time of the year it was.

As you walk into class all eyes were on you. You slowly make your way to the front and the techer finally notices you.

“Ah, you must be our new student. I’m Mr. Jung. Do you mind introducing yourself?”

“Well, I’m from Seoul, and I’ve moved here only a couple of days ago. I hope you treat me kindly” you say to the class.

When you say your name a certain person’s ears perk up. Jungkook looks to the head of the class and remembers you from the day before. The girl who bumped into him. Next to him he hears his friend, Taehyung, make a comment about you. “She looks” he pauses “Like a loser” he laughs quietly next to Jungkook. He disagrees strongly, but he laughs along with his friend.

When you make your way over to your seat. Taehyung pushes his foot in front of you and you trip and almost land on your knees. If it weren’t for the desks next to you. Your face turns beet red out of embarrassment. The whole class starts to laugh at you. Quietly making your way to your seat, you sit down and take your things out of your backpack.

“Alright everyone quiet down. Let’s start with today’s lesson”

Completely blocking out what the teacher says you only think about when today was going to end.

During lunch you sat by yourself. You had tried talking to some of the kids in your class, but they only said a few words to you before walking away. You shook it off and thought maybe you could find someone to talk to tomorrow. As you take your food out, you don’t notice a group of people walking to the table you’re sitting at. When you look up you see the boy who had tripped you earlier. You also take notice of the boy you bumped into yesterday.

“Oh, hi Jungkook! I didn’t know you went here” you say to him. But the boy in front of him looks confused at him. There was girl next to Jungkook. She gave you a disgusted look as you spoke.

“Kook, you know her?” he points at you. You have a look of confusion on your face as well. What you’re not prepared for was the boy’s response.

“I don’t, I don’t know how she knows my name” he only shrugs. This has you extremely confused.

“Alright weirdo looks like you have no friends. Now I know why” The boy you had yet to know the name of walks away. But before Jungkook could follow his group he looks back at you for a second, then he makes his way.

After school you decide to take a walk into town. You stop by Mrs. Kim’s and hang out there and talk to her. You felt you needed to take on a small job to help boost your family a little bit. So, you bring it up to her. “Mrs. Kim?” you say “Yes, dear”

“I was wondering if you were hiring? I want to help out my family. We're not really doing the best right now and I wanted to see if I could do a small job for you?” you ask hoping she would say yes.

“That’s so sweet of you” she places a hand over her chest

“Of course, I can get you something to do here. Can you start tomorrow after school?” she asks

“Yes!” With that you make your way back home.

~ It was getting close to the end of school. Your plan was to go straight to Mrs. Kim’s place so you could officially start your new job. But, of course, your plan had to be messed up in some way. Because when you make your way to the front of the school to go on your way. You run into Jungkook’s friend group. You try your best to ignore them, but their yelling of your name stopped you in your tracks.

Taehyung walks up to you. He only stands in front of you before he speaks up.

“Look new girl, this is a scary world we live in. But I think it’d be best if you kept your distance from other people. You know, since you’re new and all. Some kids find it a little weird when you know their name when they’ve never spoken to you. Okay?” he says in a mocking tone. Jungkook stands there and watches it all happen. They walk away. But the girl that gave you a look earlier bumps into your shoulder.

“Oops!” she says as she walks over to Jungkook’s side and locks her arm with his. What you don’t notice when you turn back around is that he removes her arm from his and takes a different route from the others.

It’s been almost a week since you started at your new school. You still hadn’t made any progress with making new friends. You didn’t mind though. You liked to keep to yourself anyway. What threw you off still was the way Jungkook had denied that he knew you. And the way he looked at you every time you walked into class.

Everything about him confused you. When you walk into class today, he does the same thing. He looks at you but when you look back at him, he looks away. The boy you had now learned his name was Taehyung only looked at you as if you were some weird creature. You sat down at your desk in the back of the class and waited for class to start. Mr. Jung started the lesson and started to explain what he had planned. “Okay class, today I have a partner project planned” he says.

“You all have to make a presentation and I will provide you with a plant. You must discuss and explain how the operation of a plant affects our environment. This will be due by the end of this month. Any questions?”

Taehyung raises his hand “Yes, Mr. Kim”

“Will we get to pick our partners?” he asks

“I have already assigned partners so; no, you do not get to choose who you work with.”

“Dammit” he says under his breath

I have put your names up on the sheet I put in the front of the room. Please look at it as you make your out at the end of class”

You weren’t too worried about who you’d be partnered with. You just hoped you hadn’t gotten paired with Taehyung or any of his group. When you walk up to the sheet of paper you read your name next to Jeon Jungkook.

Spending the majority of your time at Mrs. Kim’s washing a few dishes here and there. You decide to work on part of your assignment for Mr. Jung’s class. As you took your things out of your bag you heard the beeping sound of someone entering the restaurant.

A drink is placed on your table. You look up to see it was Jungkook.

“Hi” he says quietly

Ignoring him you go back to what you were doing. Sighing, he sits down at your table and puts a hand over your book. Looking up at him with an annoyed look on your face you puff out air from your nose with furrowed brows.

“Do I know you?” you say in a sarcastic voice

He scoffs at you and looks down at the floor. His elbow is resting on the table while the other is laid in his lap. “C’mon now don’t be like that”. He can’t be serious. After acting like he had no clue who you were and letting his friends treat you like trash he wants to act like you’re in the wrong.

Furious, you pick up your things and try to walk out of the restaurant. Before you can make it out of the door you feel a hand tug on your arm. You stop in your tracks, and you hear Jungkook open his mouth to speak. Yet, nothing comes out. Turning around to face him and raise your eyebrows at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Look, I came here so we could work on our project. I got you as my partner and I can’t fail this project.”

Deciding not to be petty you oblige. You shake your head and walk back to the table you were sitting at.

During the middle of working on your project Jungkook speaks up.

“Um, look. You’re smart right? Do you think you can tutor me after school?” he asks out of the blue. You look up at him with a surprised look on your face. Should you really do this? After how he’s treated you? You think for a moment before you reply.

“Okay” you tell him. There’s too much hate in this world. You take the nicer route and agree with him.

He smiles.

“Okay, great. What days are you available?” he asks. You begin to plan out the days you would tutor Jungkook and the days you’d be working with Mrs. Kim. This is more than you thought you’d take on. But if you power through, you would be okay.

You told Jungkook you were available on the weekends and some days of the week. It was Saturday. You told him to meet you at the library at 8:00 a.m. The library opened an hour earlier than that, so you decided to show up a little earlier than planned to catch up on some of your other class assignments.

When you look at the clock again it reads 8:17. He was late. Not having his phone number, you weren’t able to text him. It’s not when you hear the silent panting of someone coming up behind you that you begin to place your things back on the table.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I woke up late and I completely forgot to set an alarm”

You look down to the table and audibly sigh

“It’s okay, let’s just start on this so you don’t have to be here as long as you should be”

Finally caught up with his breath, he closes his mouth and stares at you. He takes his seat next to you and pulls out his textbooks. The book you had placed on the table had some loose papers in it. One of them being something for your eyes only. It fell on the floor, and you hadn’t noticed. Jungkook leans to pick it up. The only word he read at the top of the paper was ‘List’. Realizing what he had in his hand you snatch the paper from his hold.

“What is that” he asks. “It’s a list of things I’d wish to do in my life” he nods his head and looks back down to his paper. “What’s so bad on the list that you grabbed it out of my hand like that?” You clear your throat and answer him. “There’s nothing bad, they’re just some things I’d like to do with the time that I have” Before he can ask what you mean you clap your hands quietly. “Let’s just start studying”

Without pushing any further, he agrees.

The next day at school you walk in and see Jungkook again. He’s standing with his friends by his locker. That same girl that bumped into you is standing next to him. You walk towards them. When you get closer, they’re all laughing at something you didn’t hear. You move your attention to Jungkook. “Jungkook, are we still on for Saturday?” you ask him. He looks around at his friends. They’re laughing at what you just said.

He has a faint smile on his lips. He looks back up at you and says, “You wish”. You’re once again left, confused. You walk away and hear them all laughing again. “Oooh that’s gotta hurt.” Taehyung said. His arm wrapped around his girlfriend he starts laughing into his neck.

~ Jungkook was on a late-night drive. There was a small garden just past the school library. Nobody went there except for old people and sometimes the gardeners to take care of the plants. “What the hell” he sees you make your way over to the entrance of the garden. He rolls his window down and yells out your name.

You turn around scared half to death at the loud voice that just called your name. When you see Jungkook you continue your way over to the garden.

“Hey! Wait!”. The engine of his car is turned off and you hear the slam of his door. He’s running up to you and you’ve slowed down your pace.

“What are you doing out here so late? And why are you by yourself, there’s weird people out at this hour”

“Well, that wouldn’t be a problem because according to your friends I’m placed under that category”

You begin to make your way over to the flowers. There was a magnolia tree with a wooden bench underneath. Taking a seat under the tree some of the flowers fell off the stem and landed on the bench. Jungkook takes his seat next to you and looks up at the sky. Tonight was quiet. The rustling of the wind against the leaves of the tree is soothing.

“Are you ever gonna tell me about that list?”

You turn your head to him “Why would I? And why do you suddenly have any interest in me? What is it to you?”

“I just want to be your friend; I know it’s been tough for you ever since you got her-” you cut him off before he can continue his sentence. “What the hell do you know? I’ve been treated like shit since I got to the school and it’s because of your friends.”

He’s left speechless. His intention was never to make you feel like this. The reason why he acted like that is because his friends acted like that. Jungkook and Taehyung have always been friends. He would always follow Taehyung’s lead. They did everything together. Their friend group only expanded with the added years.

He looks down in shame. Feeling guilty for the way he’s been treating you. You break the silence and switch to another topic.

“That list” you say. This catches his attention as he looks up slowly and waits for you to continue.

“I made it a few years ago. I want to try and fulfill it as much as I can” you smile down at your lap. Thinking about possibly doing the million things you wrote down on that piece of paper. “I want to visit a forest of cherry blossom trees. I’ve always had a fascination with them. They look so pretty, it’s a shame that they only bloom once out of the whole year. They don’t live that long. Just to experience them once would be amazing.”

Jungkook sits and listens. “You’re really into mother nature. Huh?” he says. “It’s really great, how the Earth becomes so beautiful with the plants that surround us.” You smile at that. Looking around at the flowers planted in the grounds of the garden. You could talk endlessly about them.

And you do that night with Jungkook.

Out of nowhere in the comfort of the silence between you two he brings it up again.

“What else is on that list? What’s the first one you have written down?” he asks curiously. You look down at your lap and smile.

“That’s classified information Jeon Jungkook” you look up at him. Laughing and nodding his head he puts his hands up in the air.

“Alright fine, then, what else is on there?”

“Hmm” you think for a second.

“I wanna experience love. The way they put it in movies. I want to experience that love so bad.” you sigh

Jungkook looks at you and listens. “Another thing on that list is to learn how to cook. My mother makes it look so easy” you chuckle.

“Okay what’s one more thing on there” he asks

“I want to get a tattoo”

The list went on and on and he sat there listening to you the whole night.

Jungkook hears rustling in the bushes behind him. He brushes it off and looks at you as you speak about your passion for nature.

Today was Jungkook’s birthday. It was also Saturday. You scheduled today to help tutor him. When he walks up to your front gate, he knocks on it and waits for someone to open it. Not expecting your father to open it, he gives Jungkook a glare.

“What do you want and what are you doing here?” he says in a low voice. He’s heard a few words about the Jeon boy. The boy was a troublemaker. He didn’t do good in school, and he had nothing going for him except for being popular. Your father was skeptical, but when he hears you walk up to the gate, he settles down a bit, guard still put up high.

“Dad, it’s okay. I invited him over; I told him I’d help him with his studies.”

He looks over at you with confusion written all over his face. “Why are you doing that sweetheart? This boy is bad news” he points his finger at Jungkook, and he rolls his eyes.

“Because Dad, there’s too much hate going around in this world. I think giving him a second chance is greater than having no chances at all.” you kiss him on the cheeks and only slightly agrees with you. You walk back to the house and wait for Jungkook to walk in.

But your father stops him in his tracks. “Listen, if you try or do anything stupid with her, I’m kicking your ass. You understand?” Jungkook looks up at him and nods. He makes his way over to you quickly trying to ignore your father’s stare.

~ When he enters your house, it’s filled with plants everywhere. A few boxes are left to be unpacked but the house is mostly filled. Entering your room, you have flowers decorating the walls of your room. Your window is open and looks out to a tiny garden in your backyard.

The books spread around your floor are open to different pages about math. Jungkook had been struggling in it and considering your already high grade in calculus he should be in good hands.

“I heard around school that it’s your birthday today. I stopped by Mrs. Kim’s and got you this.” You walk over to your kitchen and pull out a plastic bag. It was a bowl of miyeokguk. The seaweed soup that your mother cooks for you for your birthday every year. He looks up at you and smiles.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Well it is your birthday. Everybody deserves something on their special day” you say cheerfully.

Sighing you look down at the books on your floor and say, “Let’s get started shall we?”

“You’ll never believe what I saw the other night” Sooha says. She pulls out her phone to show everyone what she was talking about. It was a picture of you and Jungkook sitting at the garden talking. “What the hell is he doing sitting and talking with her?” Taehyung laughs. “Yeah, I thought JK didn’t know her” Jimin says.

“Yeah well looks like their best friends” Sooha pauses.

“I have an idea” Ara says with a smirk on her face.

“Come inside”

She takes them to her room and opens her laptop. She pulls up an old picture of you from your old school. She had to do some digging to find it. The picture was of you at a dance. You had your makeup and hair done. And you were wearing a long silky blue dress. Ara clicks on it and begins planning out her idea. She crops your body out of the picture and pastes it onto a picture with a bed with red satin sheets on it.

“This is gonna be so good” she chuckles

~ Sitting in the library, you have a book in your hand about cherry blossom trees. It explains so much about things you hadn’t known about them, and your head is so deep into the book you don’t realize Jungkook pulling out a chair next to you. You look up to see him looking at you.

“What are you reading?” You pull the book up close to his face so he can read it. “Ahh, the encyclopedia of the cherry blossom tree. Have you read anything more interesting about it?”

“I read that they symbolize the beauty of both life and death. Spring is when they bloom and it’s the start of a new life. This is what I love so much about them, they have such beautiful meanings to them”

“Hmm, that is really interesting” Jungkook says.

You put your book down and furrow your brows at him. “What do you want Jeon, were in public you know? Someone can see you sitting here.” He scoffs and shakes his head. “Is it so hard to believe that I want to be friends with you? Maybe even something more, possibly? Why do you think I’ve spent so much time with you lately?” he raises his eyebrows at you this time. Trying to read your expression. You stare into his eyes and try to process the words that just came out of his mouth.

After pausing, Jungkook leans in. His face close to yours, lips almost touching. His forehead leans against yours and he smiles. Jungkook closes his eyes and places a hand over your cheek. “I’ll see you after school tomorrow, okay?” he says under his breath.

Taking a deep breath, you nod your head.

During lunch the next day, you walked out of class to make your way to the roof of the school, where you always hung out, but you see Sooha from the corner of your eye. She walks up to you and places a hand on your arm.

She calls out your name. “Hey, look. I need your help with something. Could you follow me to the courtyard please?” she asks in a soft tone.

“Sure, but what for?”

“Ugh enough with the questions already! Just follow me, it’ll be super quick.”

“Um okay”

As you make your way down the halls and to the exit of the building, you walk down the steps into the courtyard space where everyone was. When you get there, it becomes silent. All eyes are on you. Then, Jimin bursts out laughing. Taehyung is clutching his stomach because of how hard he’s laughing. Everyone has their phone in their hand, and they all point at it. “Oh?” Sooha says. She picks up Ara’s phone and shows it to you.

“Is this you?” When you look at the phone, it’s a picture of you. It’s the picture from your junior year at your dance. Your body was laid on a red bed. Your clothes were edited to make it seem like you weren’t wearing anything. The text above the picture said ‘___ The Slut?’

You feel a burning sensation behind your eyes. Your vision starts to become blurry. With everyone laughing at you; you turn around too embarrassed to be in front of anyone. But when you try to make it to the exit of the courtyard you bump into someone. You look up and you see Jungkook. “Hey, what’s wrong” he moves your hair out of your face and holds you cups your cheeks. He wipes your tears with his thumb.

You hold on to his wrist and push him away. You run out, wishing the ground would swallow you whole.

“Wait!” Jungkook yells after you. He turned around to see what had happened while he was gone.

“What the hell did you do Sooha” he says furiously. He clenches his jaw and balls his hands up into a fist. Taehyung makes his way over to him with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What JK? It was just a little bit of fun, what the fuck is wrong with you. You haven’t been hanging out with your real friends. You’re always spending time with the slut” he laughs.

The amount of hate Jungkook feels in his blood right now is too much to handle. He’s never felt this angry towards someone. He rushes toward Taehyung and punches him on the cheek.

“Jungkook!” Ara screams at him. Jungkook repeatedly hits him until he’s physically tired. Jimin reaches Jungkook’s shirt and pulls him away. “Enough man. He’s bleeding all over the place! Calm the fuck down!” It’s Jimin’s turn to yell, but he doesn’t care. All he cares about right now is finding you.

He rushes his way out of the courtyard and runs in the direction he saw you walk away in.

Finally spotting you in the front of the school he runs after you.

“Hey!” he calls your name softly. After catching up to you he places his hands on your cheeks again.

“What did they do? Huh? I swear to God, I’ll fucking hurt them even more if you tell me what’s wrong” Tears are streaming down your face. Seeing you cry makes him feel an ache in his chest. Jungkook tries his best to wipe them away. When you see his knuckles, they’re covered in blood. “Are you okay?” you ask him.

“Baby, I’m fine. It’s you that I’m worried about right now.”

You turn in his hold, but he refuses to let you walk away from him. He holds you by your arms and makes you look into his eyes. He quietly says your name. “Tell me what happened” he says in a low voice. You look up at him and completely break down.

He pulls you in closer to his chest and wraps his arms around you gently. “They embarrassed me. So bad, I can’t do this right now.” you cry into his neck. He kisses the crown of your head and then your forehead. “I’m here, baby.” he says to you. Stroking the back of your head as you weep in his arms.

Jungkook drove you home that day. After he parked in front of your house, he walked you to the front gate. Walking side by side you turn to face him. “Thank you for today, Jungkook. I don’t know how I’d repay you” you tell him. He looks down at you and smiles. “You don’t need to repay me, as long as you’re okay then I’m okay. Alright?”

Nodding your head up at him you realize just how close your faces are. He looks down to your lips and back up to your eyes. His head leaning in slowly, hands placed lightly on your hips. Then, the buzzer of the gate opens and reveals your father.

Standing, patiently he waited for you to come back inside the house. “Say goodnight to Mr. Jeon, sweetheart” he tells you. You look back to Jungkook and place a gentle hand on his cheek. “Goodnight” you say sweetly to him. He smiles down at you and says the same thing. After watching you walk through the doors of your house Jungkook looks at your dad. “Goodnight, sir.” He walks away and gets into his car.

Later that night your phone starts to buzz with an incoming call. Picking up the phone you read the name. ‘Jungkook’ pops up on the screen and you slide the answer button. “Hey, what are you doing up so late?” you ask him with a tired voice. “I could ask you the same thing; I wasn’t sure if you’d even answer.” His heartbeat picks up at the thought of you in bed with drowsy eyes and cute pajamas on. “I just wanted to check in to see how you were doing” you chuckled at him. Butterflies erupt in your stomach thinking about him caring this much about you.

“I’m doing just fine Jungkook, stop worrying so much. How’s your hand?” you say. You couldn’t help but think about what happened after you left the courtyard. Did he fight someone?

“It’s been better”

“What happened back there? Did you punch someone?” You ask, curious to know what had gone on. He sighs over the phone. He takes a deep breath before answering you. “Look, don’t worry about it alright? Knowing that your fine is enough for right now.”

He looks up at the clock on his dresser and reads the time. It’s getting late and he feels bad for keeping you up at such an hour. “You should head to bed, it’s getting late.” Nodding your head, you agree with him. “You’re right, goodnight Jungkook.”

“Before you go” he says and takes a moment to collect his thoughts and come up with something to say.

“Um do you wanna, maybe, go out with me tomorrow?” He waits for you to answer.

“I don’t think I can.” you tell him. His mood completely drops. His shoulders deflate as he tries to think of what to say next.

“Oh”

It’s silent for a moment.

“Do you have something already planned for tomorrow or” he stops

“I can’t date” you say softly, smiling even though he can’t see you.

“I see” he says lost in thought.

“Uh, you better get to sleep. I'm sorry for keeping you up”

You laugh lightly. “Goodnight, Jungkook” you say for the last time.

“Goodnight, sweetheart”

~ Jungkook has tried his hardest to build up the courage to talk to your parents and get their blessing. He’s been spending a lot more time with you lately. Meeting you after school and walking to the garden together. Jungkook also, hasn’t built up the courage to confess how he feels about you.

It’s driving him absolutely insane. But there was no way you hadn’t noticed it by now. He was so obvious. He always called you by petnames or he was always being touchy with you.

One of the days he spent with you in the garden he brought a blanket and some food. Walking over to your usual meet up spot he sees you already sitting on the bench. Looking up at the leaves as they slowly fall. It was nearing the end of summer and fall was beginning to show itself.

He couldn’t help but look at the way you sat there. Looking so effortlessly beautiful, you took his breath away. Walking up to you, you look up to see him with a bag and a basket clad in his hands. Your face lights up at the sight of him.

Jungkook made you feel things you’ve never felt before, almost like you were sitting by a fireplace on a warm winter night, or cuddling in your blanket when the weather is rainy and gloomy outside. When he enters a room, your whole world completely lights up.

The same goes for him. He can’t stop thinking about you whether it’s day or night. It’s every hour of the day that you occupy his mind. He’s so deeply infatuated with you it almost makes him sick with love.

“Hi, baby,” he says. The petname makes your heart stop beating for a minute. You smile up at him and greet him back. “Hi,” you say with a sweet voice. He bends down to kiss your forehead and places the things down on the floor.

Sneaking around behind your parents’ backs didn’t feel good but risking it all for him was worth it. “I brought a blanket and some food for us.” You giggle at his thoughtfulness. “Hmm, is today a special day or what?” you ask him. Feeling giddy as ever. “Nothing special, just felt like doing it” he shrugs his shoulders as he sets everything up.

Moving down to the blanket laid over the grass you straighten out your white skirt and sit down. He sets the basket up next. Laying the food out for you, when he’s done, he moves to sit behind you and moves you, so you’re settled between his legs. Jungkook wraps his arms around your waist, kisses your temple, and simply breathes in the air around you.

Sinking into his touch, you feel like you’re on clouds. The feeling he sets in you is magical. You so badly want to lay your lips on his soft ones, the thought of it makes your heart do flips. Jungkook could easily be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

Today was the day. The day that Jeon Jungkook finally found the courage to ask your parents for their blessing. He's scared shitless of what their answer could be. He’s praying that he gets a positive answer from them so he can finally give you something that you deserve. Taking a deep breath, he reaches the front of your gate once again.

You were out today; you had told him you wanted to explore more of the town and spend some time with Mrs. Kim. He found this the perfect opportunity to come to your house and ask what he’s been dying to ask. He knocks on the gate to get your father’s attention. When the gate opens he’s met with your father and mother.

Eyes flickering up and down at the boy. His heart is racing. Remembering what he was here for, he clears his throat and says, “Mr. and Mrs. __, I’d like to ask your permission to take your daughter out. I know she’s not allowed to date. But she deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and shown the love that she’s always desired for” he waits patiently for their response.

They turn their heads to each other and close the gate. A strong rush of dissapointment washes over him as he starts to make his way back to his car. Heartbeat picking up he hears the rustling of the gate reopening and he hears your father yell for his name. “Mr. Jeon.”

Jungkook turns his body so he’s facing your parents. “Yes, sir,” he says in a strong voice. “We will let you take our daughter out, only if you promise us you will never hurt her. And promise her you will fulfill her needs.” Elated, is what Jungkook feels. He feels like he’s on top of the world right now. A smile appears on his lips and falls to his knees and bows down to them. Not caring that his clothes are getting dirty.

“I promise you both, I will take care of her.” he says.

It’s the next day, you sat in Jungkook’s car still in disbelief that he got your parent’s blessing. “I can’t believe you did that for me” you look over at him with a fond smile. He places his hand over yours and brings it to his lips. “Baby, you don’t understand how long it took me to bring myself to them. I practically begged them.” he chuckles. He pulled a bag out from behind your seat.

"What is it?"

"Open it up and see" he smiles

When you open the bag you see a pastel blue cardigan with butterflies and flowers decorating the hem of it.

"Oh, Jungkook you didn't have to"

"But I wanted to. I saw it and thought it'd look pretty on you" too shy to look at you he looks down at his lap and played with his hands

He planned out the perfect day for you. He couldn’t wait to spend it with you.

Getting out of the car Jungkook made reservations for a restaurant that was way out of his budget. He had a little help from his mom and made sure to pay her back every cent. He holds your hand in his and guides you to your table. Pulling your chair out, he takes his own seat and scans over the menu.

“Anything catch your eye? Order whatever you want” he tells you.

Lips curling at the corners of your mouth you read through the different selections.

~ Dinner was amazing. The waiter came to pick up your plates and Jungkook took you to an empty parking lot. “What are we doing?” Looking around and see no one in sight. “You said you wanted a tattoo, right?” From the front compartment of his car, he pulls out the fake tattoos you used to use when you were little. From the corner of his eye, he sees the biggest smile grow on your face.

“Which one do you want?” scanning through the different types of tattoos.

“Pick one for me” you tell him.

He picked a cherry. Looking up at you he sees stars twinkle in your eyes as you look at him. “Where do you want it?” You pull down the neck of your sweater and show a bit of your chest. Right above your heart. Jungkook tears the tattoo out and gets a towel that was lying in his car and a water bottle. He dabs it over the tattoo where he placed it on over your heart. Pulling the paper back the print of the cherry is laying on your skin.

He rubs his finger over it gently and looks at you. Averting your gaze, you start to feel nervous. Only Jungkook can make you feel like this.

~ Jungkook wouldn’t tell you your next destination. He told you it would be quite a drive. So, you laid your head back and took a small nap. Jungkook placed his hand over your thigh and drove you to wherever he was taking you.

It wasn’t until you opened your eyes; you saw a big white arch away. It was surrounded by cherry blossom trees. Jungkook looks over at your face. Smiling the biggest smile, you unbuckle your seatbelt and open the car door. Running up to the entrance you jump up and down giggling.

Jungkook walking slowly with his hands in his pocket he watches you.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! There’s so pretty!” you almost feel tears start to build up in your eyes. You can’t believe Jungkook drove all this way. He walks up next to you and tangles his hand in yours. “You wanna go see it?” he says, lips turned up into a smile. Nodding your head eagerly, you practically drag him over.

Slowing down your pace you look around at the beautiful trees. The white and pinkish leaves fall into your hair. There’s a bridge that you stop at. In the middle of it, Jungkook places a hand on your cheek and turns your attention to him. You look up at him with those eyes. Eyes that he absolutely adores. He says your name softly and pulls you closer to you. “Do you like it? I tried so hard looking for them.” he tells you.

“Jungkook, this is like, a dream come true. I can’t believe you did this, thank you so much.” You pull him in for a hug and dig your face into his neck. His hold around you tight as he closes his eyes and soaks in the moment.

When you pull away your faces are close, lips to point they’re basically touching. He cups your cheeks with his hand and says, “I need to tell you something” you hum in response. He takes a deep breath in and finally spits out what he’s been holding in for a while.

“I love you” your heart stops.

You look into his eyes and scan his face. Looking at the little mole under his lip. And the scar that grazes his upper cheek.

“Can I kiss you?” you ask him

He only nods and slowly pulls your face closer to his. Noses brushing softly against each other. Your lips graze each other softly. Then, he slots them together. Connecting them. You feel a rush of blood go to your head. Your cheeks are warm and flushed with red. The sounds around you are the streaming water beneath your feet, the rustling wind against the leaves. And birds chirping in the trees.

The leaves are falling on top of you. This moment couldn’t be any more perfect.

On the drive home Jungkook held your hand the whole way there. Music played softly in the background and the windows rolled down to let in a gentle breeze.

When you arrive at the gate of your house, he parks his car in the same spot that he does every time he visits. Walking up to the front your hand is warm in his. You stop and turn to him. “So, what does that make us?” you ask smiling up at him.

“Well, I thought it was kinda obvious. You just want me to say it, huh?” He laughs at you. Nodding your head, you wait for him to say what you want to hear. “That makes you my girlfriend” he wraps his arms around your neck and gives your nose a little peck. You scrunch up your nose smile. You’ve been smiling the whole day your face is starting to hurt.

“Then you’re my boyfriend” you giggle. He leans in and places his lips on yours. He smiles into the kiss, and you can feel it against your lips. The gate opens and reveals your father. Who has been waiting for you to come home. “Oh, hi dad” you say. “Honey, why don’t you come inside. It’s getting late and it’s cold” You sigh and turn back to Jungkook.

“Bye” you place a peck on his lips. “Goodnight, baby.” he says and looks up at your father and walks back to his car. Once you’re on the other side of the gate your dad stops you for a moment. “Have you told him?” Smile dropping you look down to the floor.

“Not yet”

“Don’t make this harder for him or for yourself sweetheart”

“I love him dad and he love me. I’ll get there eventually”

~ At school, you’re walking hand in hand with your boyfriend. Walking past his (ex) friends, they all have their eyes on you. Sooha has an irritated look on her face. But walking past them made you feel more confident in yourself. Being with Jungkook like this made you confident.

Walking into the library you and Jungkook take a seat by the window and just sit in comfortable silence. Your legs are over his on the small couch and you’re reading your books about cherry blossoms again. That day that he took you to see the cherry blossoms, he had kept a pedal that fell from the tree and kept it in a glass container. It’s a day he’ll never forget. It’s the day he got to tell his lover that he loved her and made her his. He’s so eternally grateful to whatever god that sent you to him.

He was on his phone when he suddenly broke the silence.

“Baby?” He calls for your attention.

You hum in response, and he continues. “You wanna come over after school today? My mom said she wanted to meet you. You don’t have to if you're not ready or comfortable yet though. I was just suggesting” he says it as the words spill out of his mouth faster than you can comprehend.

You laugh at his cuteness. Thinking over about how meeting his mom would go. It would be lovely if you got to meet the person that made Jungkook the person he is today.

“Yeah, sure. That’d be great. Just tell me what time and I’ll be there.” you say softly. A wave of relief washes over him. He was worried you’d be too scared to reject him. “Alright” he pauses for a moment. “Okay, I’ll pick you up at six then?” Your lips curl up, delighted to finally meet his family. You nod your head in response and continue with your book.

Jungkook places his hand over your thigh and looks down at his phone again.

~ Looking at yourself in the mirror, you fix your hair one last time and touch up your makeup. You wanted to make yourself presentable in front of Jungkook’s mom. It’s not that you were scared of meeting her, you scared of what she might think of you. Straighten out your dress one last time your thoughts are broken by the doorbell ringing.

When you leave your room you see your mom answer the door. “Oh hi, Jungkook are you here to pick up ___?” Letting him in he walks past her and waits by the door for you. “Yeah, we're going back to my place. We're just gonna eat dinner there.” He explains. “Ah okay, well have fun. I’ll go grab her and tell her you’re here” she says. Before she can move, you emerge from the corner of your room and Jungkook sets his eyes on you. He smiles at you and pulls you in by your waist to hug you. “Hi, baby,” he says, feeling giddy at the thought of you. Telling your mom goodnight and that you’ll be back soon; Jungkook guides you with a hand on your back towards his car. He opens the door for you like the gentleman he is and walks around the car to get into the driver’s seat.

When you stop at a red light the silence between you two is broken by him. “How are you feeling?” he asks you. To be completely honest you were scared shitless. Afraid of what she might think of you. Afraid that she thinks you’re not enough for her son. Afraid that you’ll give off the wrong impression. Jungkook cuts off your thoughts by placing a kiss on your wrist.

“Baby?”

Coming back to reality you giggle softly. “Sorry, um.” You take a moment to collect your thoughts. “To be honest with you. I’m terrified.” You speak about your insecurities. Thinking about meeting his mother. You know you fully agreed to this earlier. But the drive to his house has become surreal to you now.

“She’ll love you I promise. But no matter what, if she doesn’t like you; know that I love you okay? Never forget that.” Calming your mind down, you nod your head and settle in silence for the rest of the car ride.

Jungkook walks around the car again to open your door. You thank him and look at his house. It wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t too small. It was the perfect size. Walking up to the front door, he unlocks it, and your heart picks up once again. You walk through the door and investigate the living room.

His little brother is sitting on the couch watching TV. His youngest sister was sitting on the floor watching whatever her brother was. Jungkook was the eldest out of the three. His siblings being much younger. You walk into the living room and Jungkook yells out to his siblings. “Guys, turn off the TV for a minute. I want you to meet someone.”

They both turn to look at you and you smile down at them. “This is my girlfriend, ___. This is Jungwoo and Jungha.” Cute. All of their names start the same way, you think. Jungha walks up to you. She seems to only be around four years-old and Jungwoo looks to be about seven. “It’s nice to meet you both” you softly smile at them.

Jungha tugs on your sleeve and looks up at you. “Are you a princess?” she asks. Your heart melts at the sweet little voice. “She’s not a princess! She’s not wearing a crown!” Jungwoo exclaims from where he sat. You giggle at them, and then you hear footsteps come up from behind you.

Turning around you see Jungkook’s mother. You’re a nervous wreck when you first see her face. You politely bow to her and greet her.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Mrs. Jeon”

“Oh, honey please stand up.” She motions for you to stand straight

“No need for formalities, I hope you’re hungry. I made a lot of food tonight!” She smiles at you and walks back to the kitchen.

Okay, this isn’t going as badly as you thought it’d go. You walk back to the living room with Jungkook to chat some more with his siblings. You sit down on the floor and Jungkook sits behind you on the couch. “So, Jungha. How old are you?” you ask the little girl.

She looks up from her toys and holds up four fingers in front of your face “I’m four!” Her small voice makes your chest ache from how cute she is. She goes back to her dolls and plays with them again. You turn your attention to Jungwoo and start a conversation with him.

“What about you Jungwoo?” you ask him. “I turned eight last month” You were only off by a year. This time he asks you a question. “Why are you with my brother? He’s annoying and he never lets me in his room” he pouts with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, I think Jungkook is amazing. You should cut him some slack. I’m sure he’s a great brother!” you tell him. Jungkook leans down and kisses the crown of your head as he looks at the TV. Your arms are laid in your lap and his are wrapped around your neck.

“Yeah, cut me some slack. I try my best!” he says to his younger brother.

“I guess” Jungwoo rolls his eyes. You laugh at him and advert your eyes to the youngest one in the room again. She looks up at you and places a doll in your lap. “Will you play with me? You can be the princess!”

You happily oblige and play with her until dinner is ready.

At the table, Jungkook’s mother places the food around it. “Wow, Mrs. Jeon this looks amazing. Thank you so much for having me over” you say to her. She smiles back at her as she puts food on the little ones’ plates. “It’s no problem sweetie. Now please tell me more about yourself! All I hear from Jungkook is ‘my girlfriend is amazing’ and ‘I can’t wait for you to meet her’." She giggles. Hearing this makes your heart swoon. He talks about you like that?

“Well, um. I’m new to town. My parents and I moved here just this summer.” you say.

“Oh! How exciting! Where did you move from?”

“Seoul, my parents wanted to get away from the city and thought it was better to move to some place smaller.” Talking about Seoul makes you miss it. Seoul is the place you grew up in. You didn’t have many friends over there, but you still managed to have some.

“Well, Yongsan is small, but everyone knows everyone and it’s a great community all around.” She reassures you.

Thinking back on your school experience you highly doubt that it’s great at all. You only smile at her. As the night goes on, embarrassing childhood stories about Jungkook may have slipped out here and there. Spending your time with them was refreshing. You adored his family. This is something you wished for in the future.

On the way back to your house the car is silent. You think back to the events of tonight and reminisce.

“So, how do you feel now?” Jungkook says

“I feel content with tonight. I love your family. They’re so adorable. I wish I could come over a lot more often.” you say with a small smile on your lips.

“Well, you can. Come over as much as you want, baby” He looks over at you and you nod. Your smile slightly fading.

At the garden, Jungkook told you to meet him there after school. He told you he had a surprise. On your way over you pass by Sooha. Not caring about the way, she looked at you, you make your way over to your lover. He stood over the magnolia tree with a cover over the bench.

Eyebrows furrowed you walk over to him and hug him. You tilt your head so you’re now looking up at him. He places his soft lips against yours and pulls something out of his bag.

It’s the cherry blossom pedal that he kept from the day that he took you to go see them. You gasp, looking at what occupied his hand. “What is this?” you question. “It’s a pedal from the cherry blossoms I took you to see.” Those butterflies in your stomach bloom from within once again. You feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazing boyfriend.

Jungkook has given you love that you’ve never experienced before. You want to thank whoever sent him to you forever. Grabbing the pedal, you hold it close to your chest. “Thank you honey,” you say under your breath and connect your lips together. Every touch of his lip is like a spark of electricity. You can never get enough of it.

“I also did something else” He takes a hold of the cloth that was covering. On the bench, there’s a gold tag right in the middle. The engraving read ‘I love you for all eternity –J' you stand there, at a loss for words. He got this done for you? You start to feel tears burn at your waterline. Everyone in the world deserved a Jungkook. Wiping the tears from your eyes you rush into him and wrap your arms around his neck.

“I can’t believe you did this” you muffle into his chest. He wraps his arms around your waist and digs his face into the crook of your neck.

“Do you like it?” looking down at you.

“I fucking love it Jeon Jungkook” you laugh and kiss his lips again. This time the kiss lasts longer. Lips moving against each other with so much passion; moving slowly together. You’ve never been happier.

Jungkook sat at his desk in his room and his mom walked through his door. “Honey?” She catches his attention. He hums in response.

“I was cleaning out your room and I found this sitting on your dresser. I swear I wasn’t snooping but I was reading and” she pauses and opens it up. Jungkook wasn’t mad at her. He just sits and sighs as he waits for his mom to read what he wrote down.

“It says study hard enough to get into college. Okay, reasonable, next one says read the encyclopedia of cherry blossom trees. The last one says, major in Botany? Since when were you into plants and nature?”

Jungkook walks up to her and rips the paper from her hand. “It’s a list I wrote up in the middle of the night the other day. ___ is my inspiration behind it.” He says with a fond smile.

She’s never seen her son this happy and in love before. It’s truly the sweetest thing she’s ever seen. Such young love between the two. Her son’s happiness makes her a whole lot happier.

One day, Jungkook gets a sudden call from you. He hasn’t been with you in the past few days due to you being away for some reason. He never questioned it, not wanting to push you to your limits. Over the phone you tell him that you needed to tell him something.

You told him to meet you at your spot at around 8:00. It was usually dark by then and he was getting worried about you being there by yourself as you waited for him. When he pulls up next to the parking lot near the garden, he hurriedly makes his way over to you. You were sitting on the bench waiting for your boyfriend to show up.

“Hey, baby, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he says in a soft voice. He takes your hand in his and pulls you closer to him. Jungkook looks at your face and notices your red puffy eyes. Have you been crying? Getting even more worried, he cups your cheeks, so your head is tilted towards him.

“Hey, whatever it is we’ll get through it, alright? Please, tell me what the hell is going on” he weeps, Jungkook can feel his hands start to shake. Were you going to break up with him? Were you moving again? All these questions build up in Jungkook’s mind and he can’t stop thinking about the worst. Until it comes. You look down and a tear drops into your lap. The soft sniffles that come from you make his heart sink. He pulls you closer to him and you sob into his shoulders.

“I should’ve told you this sooner” you say quietly

“Tell me what, baby? What should you have told me?” He starts to panic. He’s completely clueless of what you’re trying to tell him.

And then.

It spills from your mouth.

“I’m sick” Jungkook’s world stops to a halt.

“Okay, let’s take you home and you’ll feel better”

“No, Jungkook.” you pause

“I’m sick”

“No, you can’t be sick, y-you're perfect. That’s not possible.”

You try to contain your tears, but they keep falling.

“That’s why I haven’t seen you for the past few days. I was at the hospital for my checkup. I have a heart condition and it doesn’t allow my blood to flow correctly and it restricts me from doing a lot of things. I’ve had it since I was ten. This means I’d have to stay home and at the hospital a lot more.”

Jungkook couldn’t hold it in anymore. He felt mad. He felt mad at the world. This couldn’t be happening

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” His voice raises an octive

“Because! This!” you point your hand between the both of you.

“Because we were doing so good. This was going so well. I didn’t want to tell you because it would ruin things.” You stand up from the bench. And turn your back on him. “I’m sorry” you say under your breath. You run in the direction of your house. Jungkook doesn’t let his tears loose until he’s back in his car. He feels furious. Not at you but at the situation.

“Fuck!” He punches his steering wheel and sobs into his hand. He’s never felt so helpless.

Jungkook needed time to think about what had just happened in the last few hours. How could you not have told him sooner? He feels guilty for not knowing. He’s made you do so many things not knowing the risk he’s putting you in. He was out on a drive, no location in mind. He continued down the road mindlessly.

He doesn’t realize where he’s at until he stops the car. He’s in front of the cherry blossom trees. Maybe being here was good for him. There was a store right next to the exhibition. They had everything cherry blossom related. He walks through the entrance of the store and scans around.

There was a man standing behind the counter. He watches as the young boy walks through his store looking around. “Hey, you” he says. Jungkook turns his head to him and walks to the counter. “Are you looking for something?” Jungkook pauses and looks at the wall behind the man. There were pictures of cherry blossoms all over. He notices a plant behind him. He lifts his finger and points at and asks, “What is that?”. The man turns around and carries the plant to his counter.

“This is a cherry blossom plant” Without hesitation Jungkook pulls his wallet out and makes an exchange with the man.

On the way back to Yongsan, you were all that occupied Jungkook’s mind. He was worried like crazy about you. The thought of you sitting in bed not being able to do anything causes an ache in your chest. From now on, he promises that he’ll stay by your side for all eternity. He prays to the gods above to keep you down here with him until you grow old.

He promises to take care of you until he can’t anymore.

You’re sitting in your bed reading a book. The clouds have covered the sky, and the air is a bit cold. All your medication is set next to your bedside table. Jungkook drove all the way to your house after visiting the cherry blossom tree. He stood under the arch of your door and knocked on the door twice.

You look up from your book and he walks over to you. The sight he sees is making his stomach turn. You don’t deserve to live your life like this. You were still so young. You had your whole life ahead of you. Jungkook sits at the edge of your bed and holds your hand. He brings it up to his lips and kisses the back of it. He leans in to kiss your forehead and then your nose.

Leaning his forehead against yours he speaks in a quiet tone. “Hi, honey. How are you feeling?” Trying to keep the mood positive you smile at him and say, “I’m doing great how about you?” He knows when you’re lying. But he only laughs and response to your question. “I’m doing good, baby.” he pauses for a moment. “I, um, I bought you something.” You look at him curiously. “What did you get me?”

You tug the blanket away from your lap and you sit up properly. Jungkook holds your hands and carefully pulls you up. He brings you over to your window that looks out to the garden in your backyard. You see a little plant growing from the soil.

It was a cherry blossom tree.

Your heart swells with love as you realize what he has done for you, once again. You turn your body to him to engulf him in a hug. Burying your face into his neck, his scent brings you such comfort. You wish you could keep that scent with you forever. You place your hands over his cheeks and lock your lips with his. “Thank you, for everything. I love you so much.” Pecking his lips again. You’ve never been so full of love in your life.

~ Today’s weather matched perfectly with today’s events. Your doctor told you it would be best if you got out and took in some fresh air. You spent your time with Jungkook in the garden and talked for hours. He brought you so many snacks and a blanket like he did all those months ago. You sat cuddled in front of him as he rested his back against the bench. His head rested against yours as you spent your time talking about anything.

Jungkook brings up your list again.

“Are you ever gonna tell me about number one?” he says into your ear. You giggle as you think about it.

“Alright, I guess I have to tell you" You playfully roll your eyes. Jungkook pinches your waist and you burst out laughing.

“Okay! Okay! Do want to know or not!” you say

“Fine, I’ll stop. So, tell me”

“The very first thing I put on that list is for something I need to do after.” It becomes silent. Jungkook thinks for a moment, letting your words sink in.

After?

There shouldn’t be an after. Life wasn’t fair to you. That’s all Jungkook knew.

“And what is that baby?” he pulls you closer to his chest. Afraid that you’d disappear if he didn’t hold you tight enough.

“I want to become a butterfly. I want my wings to grow strong and healthy so I’m free. I want you to look for me. I’ll show you so many signs that I’m with you. Always.” You turn in his arms and place a delicate hand over his heart. Jungkook can’t help the stinging sensation he feels in the back of his eyes. He pulls you in for a soft kiss.

Lips moving slowly against one another. He can’t imagine his life without you in it. He’s not ready to let you go.

You entangle your fingers in his slightly curly hair. You kiss the corners of his mouth and then his nose. You look at the tiny mole just under his nose. Cute.

“You know I love you, right?” you say to him. The tears that fall from his eyes fall to his chin. You reach up and wipe them away. He takes hold of your wrist and kisses your palm.

You’re going to be alright.

With him by your side.

Jungkook was out in the yard of his house watching his siblings play as his mom was getting dinner ready. He hears a car approach his driveway. It’s Jimin. He stands up from the step to his front door and walks over to his car. Jimin closes the door, and he walks up to Jungkook.

His little siblings yelling at each other in their own little world. Jimin walks past them and smiles. He looks up at Jungkook and pats him on the back. Jimin and Jungkook were always closer than he and Taehyung. They basically grew up together. “I heard about __, I’m sorry” He looks down at his shoes and places his hands in his pockets “It must’ve been hard hearing that” Jungkook scoffs. Knowing that he has, who knows how much time with you is literally tearing him up inside. “Yeah, I mean I’m trying to spend as much time with her as I can, you know. Being without her right now is just killing me,” he says in a low voice.

“Look, she’s going to get better. Stop thinking about the worst, just enjoy what you have right now, and don’t think about what could happen or what could’ve been. She needs you right now and you need to be strong for her. She’d trying her best for you.” he says softly. Jimin was always that friend you could go to for anything. He was one of Jungkook’s comfort people.

“You’re right. Yeah, sorry. This is just so much information for me to take in. I can’t lose her, man” With a heavy heart Jungkook tries his hardest to not break down. Especially in front of his siblings. They’ve grown attached to you after you’ve visited them so many times.

They’re always asking for you or wondering how you’re doing. It’s the sweetest thing. Jimin ended up staying for dinner. He hadn’t been over since the fight with Taehyung. He’s just glad that he has his best friend back.

Jungkook’s never been this worried in his life. He’s called you multiple times and has sent over a hundred texts in the last hour. You haven’t responded to him at all. He decided to make the drive to your house to see what was going on. When he got there, he could’ve sworn his heart stopped beating; there were ambulence trucks parked outside of your house. He rushed over to investigate what was going on.

He saw your father sitting on the doorstep of the house, with his head in his hands, hanging low.

“Jungkook” he says

“What happened? Where is she? In a panicked voice Jungkook walks into your house and looks for you. You’re nowhere to be seen.

“They took her to the hospital. She was outside watering the plants and she collapsed. They said her heart is in critical condition.” Jungkook storms out of the house and speeds his way to the hospital. No way in hell is he letting you stay by yourself right now.

He speeds through traffic lights, not caring if he gets caught. He needs to see you, now.

~ He pushes through people to get to the front desk. “Excuse me do you have ___ ___ here. She was admitted not too long ago” he frantically asks the lady. She types into her computer and searches for your name.

“Yes, we do. She’s in room seven.”

“Thank you”

Slowing down his pace he scans through the different doors. Being here makes his stomach sick. You’re supposed to be in bed at home. With him. Not in a hospital with sick patients all over the place.

When he finally finds your room, he looks through the small window of the door. Your eyes are closed. He walks through the door, slowly as he approaches your bed. Your skin is pale, and they have you hooked to an oxygen tank. Jungkook makes his way to the side of your bed, and he breaks down sobbing. His hands shake as he takes your hand into his. Your skin is cold. Not like how he’s used to; he brings it to his lips and tries to warm them up with his breath.

The motion wakes you up. You crack your eyes open slowly and meet Jungkook’s gaze. You place your hands on top of Jungkook’s hair, comforting him. His eyes are puffy from how much he’s crying. He cried on the way to the hospital just thinking about your condition.

“Hi, honey” your voice comes out week. You slightly furrow your eyebrows as you take in his features.

“Why are you crying?” Your hand making its way down to his cheek to wipe away his tears. He laughs quietly and looks down at the bed.

“I’m glad you’re doing okay. I should’ve brought you something, but I was in a hurry. I was so worried about you I wasn’t thinking properly.” he says with guilt laced in his voice. He should’ve been there with you.

“Baby, stop beating yourself up, there’s nothing you could’ve done to prevent me from ending up in here. I’m okay. See?” you make silly moves, and this gets him to smile even bigger. He leans over to kiss your forehead.

“Don’t scare me like that again, okay?”

“I promise”

Jungkook came to visit you every day. They still told you they needed to run some more tests on you to monitor your condition. Until then you were stuck in the small hospital bed. Jungkook would stop by before and after school until it became late into the night. He brought you snacks, plushies, some of your clothes, and stories that happened to him at school or about Jungha and Jungwoo.

You missed them so much. You haven’t seen them in weeks and Jungkook tells you that they keep asking for you. He also told you they prayed that you would soon get better so you could play with them again. The thought makes your heart melt.

Jungkook has never left your side since the day you got admitted. He waits day and night for you to come back home to him.

The TV was playing as you read your book (that Jungkook brought you) and he sits in the chair next to you as he’s on a call with his siblings. His hand is placed over your thigh, and he rubs back and forth gently.

“I wanna say hi to __” you here Jungha’s voice. You peek your head from the corner of the screen, and she screams loudly out of joy.

“Hi Jungha” you say softly with a smile spread across your face. She lets go of the phone and all you see is the ceiling. In the background you can hear her running around giggling. Her little face appears on the screen again and she yells “Hi __! I miss you sooooo much. Please come back soon!”

With a fond smile you look at her and say “I’ll try very hard to come back healthy for you sweetie. Make sure you listen to your mom and Jungkook while I’m away” you tell her.

“I always do! I’m a big girl!”

You laugh at her silly antics. Saying goodbye to her Jungkook hangs up the phone and looks at you. You return to your book and feel Jungkook’s stare on the side of your face.

Laughing, you look at him with confusion on your face.

“What?” you say softly.

He takes several minutes before he speaks.

“Marry me”

This takes you completely off guard. He wants you to marry him? There’s a warmth that spreads across your chest as you try to comprehend what just came out of his mouth.

“What?” it comes out as a whisper.

“Marry me __” he says in all seriousness. He’s never been so sure of something until he met you. You were his everything. He wanted to spend his life with you.

A small smile appears on your lips.

“Okay” His heartbeat picks up at your answer. He’s never loved someone as much as he loved you. He had already asked for your parents' blessing, and they surprisingly agreed.

He was finally able to spend the rest of forever with you.

~ They finally discharged you for one day. Having to beg and beg for them to let you out, they finally gave in.

Today was a cool spring day. The flowers are starting to bloom wildly, and the trees finally have their color back after the winter season. You and Jungkook planned everything over the course of two weeks. You wanted to have something small. The place you both chose was a little greenhouse chapel not too far from where you lived.

Your mother helped with your makeup and hair. The dress you wore was hers. It was an off the shoulder plain dress. You didn’t want anything too fancy, but nothing too little. It was perfect.

As you wait to walk down the aisle you see everyone sitting in their seats. Mrs. Kim was sitting with her husband near the front where the altar was. Jimin was sitting with Jungha and Junwoo with their mother. Your father had his armed hooked with yours as he waited to walk you down the aisle. The bouquet of flowers clads in your hand you hear the music begin to play. The song ’Try Again’ starts to play in a ballad.

At the end of the aisle, you see Jungkook. His hair is long enough to touch his eyebrows and his hands are crossed over his front. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears as he sees you standing there. You looked gorgeous in your dress. Walking down the aisle you see Jungha and Junwoo peek behind the chairs as they see you. Jungha has a huge smile on her face as she finally gets to see you.

You smile at both of them and turn your head back to your lover. Your dad places your hand into Jungkook’s and returns to his seat next to your mother. Jungkook had tears building up behind his eyes. He can’t believe he’s marrying the love of his life today.

“You may now be seated as we begin the ceremony of these two” everybody takes their seats, and the room becomes quiet.

“Now, let’s begin.” He clears his throat.

You look over to Jungkook and he mouths the words ‘I love you’ and you mouth them back.

“Do you Jungkook take ___ to be your wife?”

“I do”

“And do you ___ take Jungkook to be your husband.”

“May I have the rings please” Jungwoo emerges from his seat and walks up to the two of you. The pastor bends down slightly to take them from his hand. “Thank you” he smiles at him.

He cutely runs back to his seat and places his hands in his lap.

“Repeat after me Jungkook. I Jungkook”

“I Jungkook”

“Take you ___, to be my wife”

He repeats after him. He says the same thing to you. He gives each of you your rings and tells you to place them on one another’s finger.

“I know pronounce you husband and wife; you may now kiss the bride”

Jungkook pulls you in by your waist and kisses you deeply. You feel a smile spread across your face as you kiss your husband.

This was the happiest day of your life.

3 years later

Jungkook was sitting under the magnolia tree you used to meet up at. He had a piece of paper and a pen in his hand. He spent most of his days here thinking. His favorite time of the day is when he gets to spend his time at your spot talking to you. The pen hits the piece of paper he holds in his hand and he begins to write

My baby,

It’s been a long year once again without you by my side. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about you. You're always on my mind, I’ve started classes and learned a lot of new things about flowers and nature. Now I see why you loved them so much. The tree outside of your house has grown a lot more. The pretty white leaves you loved so much are starting to show. I hope you're doing well. I miss you. I miss you so much it hurts. I wish every day that you would come back to me. I miss hearing your laugh, I miss your smile, I miss your beautiful face that lights any room you walk into, and most of all I miss hearing your beating heart next to mine

Jungha started school recently. She said that she would make you a painting whenever she felt sad, and I’d put it them next to my desk. I have a drawer full of them now. I told her that you would come in at night to check up on us and you’d plant kisses so light that she doesn’t feel them when she’s sleeping. She asks and talks about you a lot every day. Sometimes I run out of things to say to her. and just tell her that you’ll be back with us one day. But i can’t lie to her. I think she misses you as much as I do Jungwoo’s doing pretty well too. We’ve gotten closer these past few years. He misses you a whole lot too. We all do. Everyone is doing well; I hope you’re resting well now. Sometimes I dream that you're next to me. Telling me that everything is going to be okay.

And I think it will be. Everything will be okay as long as you’re close to me.

I love you, baby.

Jungkook looks up and sees a beautiful bright blue butterfly land on top of the paper. It flies away and a smile spreads across his face

Everything will be okay

a/n: AHHH IM CRYING. gosh writing this was such a rollercoaster. the fluff was too much for me to handle 😣. i hope you guys enjoyed this one. this was my favorite to write bc it’s after my favorite movie!! i hope i didn’t make yall cry 😭. ughhh i love their story so much.

#jungkook #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts #jungkook fanfic #jungkook oneshot #bts au #bts fic

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ncteez · 1 year

Text

Give & Take (l.s)

It’s not weird that you and your roommate do certain things that others would consider, um, strange. It’s not weird because you don’t make it weird, and he certainly doesn’t go out of his way to make a big deal either.

or the one where you and your roommate masturbate together casually until it becomes not so casual, and maybe neither of you can do it at this point without wanting more.

ao3 | m.list | reblog to give seokmin a boner

minors dni!!

WORDCOUNT― 6.6k

PAIRING― seokmin x afab reader

CONTENT― roommate au, roommates to lovers

NOTE― This is dedicated to @onlyseokmins and that’s all I have to say about this. (i’m a liar i actually want this man so bad so here’s my need for him in fic form and also a direct attack on elv.) not proof read.

smut tags under cut::

smut tags― big dick seokmin, mutual masturbation, pining, desperate stuff i guess, pretending he’s fucking you instead of his hand, just the tip moment, unprotected sex, he pulls out bc he’s polite. ~

Moving in with Seokmin was a no-brainer. Both of you were freshly graduated from the same college and starting new jobs in the same city hours away from home. Seeing a familiar face in a city of bustling businesses and loud streets was a welcome comfort for you, living with that familiar face only made it easier.

It wouldn’t be a lie to say that back during the college days, you and Seokmin weren’t close. Not until your senior year together that the two of you somehow met in the middle with a single class despite the drastically different majors. He took it as an elective, yours was the last “easy” class to get through before graduation, because maybe your advisor fucked up and never told you it was necessary to take, and maybe you were a little mad about it.

You became less mad as you helped Seokmin through his struggles. An elective for him was a career for you, so it was easy to walk him through it. You grew close within the stress of senior year so of course, when you found out he was moving to the same city that you’re moving to, you instantly jumped into action in trying to convince him to save money by living together with you.

It’s a big city, and while you both had jobs lined up, it’s not like the pay was enough for one person to afford an apartment in the heart of the city. Thankfully, he didn’t need to be swayed and it only took a few weeks for the two of you to head out and explore the apartments offered, landing on one that leaves an equal distance both of you would need to travel to work. One that only costs some seven hundred and fifty dollars a month each (a hefty amount for just one person.)

By now, it’s been about six months since the two of you settled here in the heart of a great city. Work has been going smoothly despite the tired nights when the two of you meet up outside (because somehow you both clock out at the same time too) and decide on whether you want to walk to a shop for dinner or fight over who is gonna put the nuggets in the oven this time.

Things were normal for the most part, you think, regarding roommates anyway. There is one thing that’s changed though. Not your fondness of him, not even the way you look at him when he’s being annoying and loud while singing in the shower.

It started about two months into living in this space with him. He must have lost track of the time that day because he knew your schedule then and still knows it now like the back of his hand. He took the day off, feigning sickness after a long Sunday of doing absolutely nothing and wanting to extend it just a bit longer through the following Monday. You worked that day, of course, you did. You came home on time as you always did too, except this time you didn’t come home to him in his room or cooking dinner.

It was a weird kind of rush, wondering how the fuck this could be happening as you stood at your doorway to find him exposing more of himself than you ever expected or wanted to see at the time. There, on the couch was your dope of a roommate, legs spread wide and length in hand. On the tv played nothing, but his phone was propped on his thigh as he stared down at it with deep sighs.

You were frozen at that moment, watching him and feeling your cheeks warm up. You didn’t know if you should turn to leave, make a noise so he stops, or just watch. Somehow, you found yourself not wanting to disturb him. Was it because you liked what you saw? At the time, you would have said absolutely not. But seeing how it is now, it’s more common than not to see him orgasm, it’s kind of laughable.

On that day, he must have felt someone watching him because mid-stroke he looked up at you and fumbled his pants back over his length. Muffling apologies with raspy whispers, skin glistening on his forehead indicating he must’ve been at it for a while, and you were just standing there silent.

That night, you laid in your bed wondering why you couldn’t get that image out of your head. Seeing him like that wasn’t something you ever thought about despite how handsome he is. He’s your friend, he’s your roommate. You can’t stop thinking now though, about how big he is in all of his entirety. From his height to his– yeah.

It went on like that for about two weeks. You, not able to get that image out of your head and him, acting as normal as ever as if it never happened. It wasn’t until the end of that two-week time span that you realized you enjoyed it. Like you would have liked to have seen him finish.

It swam in your brain for a while, wondering if you should bring it up or if you should push past it and find some guy to meet up with just to work out the horny energy, after all, it’s not like you know anyone in this city well enough to have an intimate relationship with. No one besides Seokmin anyway. Dilemmas, dilemmas.

Not so much a dilemma though, to your pleasure. It’s brought up one night on a Saturday as the two of you say at the kitchen table complaining about work. Minutes passed, then an hour passed and he suggested having a drink to wind down. You accepted, sipping the alcohol he so proudly made for you.

It felt warm in the apartment by that point, but you didn’t mind as you found your brain falling back to that image of him. You thought he might be wearing the same shirt that we was wearing that day, which is kind of detrimental for your fogging brain. But, he brings it up.

“You know, you’ve been kind of weird since that day.” He commented, running his fingers along the rim of his glass. “I really did lose track of time, and I can’t stop feeling embarrassed by it.”

You could see a softer side of him at that moment. Out of how long you’ve known him by now, never once have you seen him embarrassed.

“About that,” You started, not able to look him in the eye. “I was shocked but–”

The way he looked at you at that moment was difficult to process. It was new ground for both of you.

“I think I liked it?”

The tip-toeing around each other didn’t last as long as you expected it to. After the talk you had with him on that Saturday night, somehow the two of you ended up doing the very thing that had you in a rut in the first place.

You got to watch him in full, working himself up until he suggested you join, that maybe he’d be into it too. Saying that he felt weird being the only one, though he didn’t mind that you were watching. You don’t know what got into you that night, maybe it was the alcohol, but you did join him. A full five feet away from each other but shamelessly watching hand movements until orgasm. You noted him holding off too, until you got there. It was an interesting dynamic, truly.

And now, six months into living with him, it’s become a normal occurrence. After every hard day at work, “wanna get off with me?”, after every long movie session or board game loss, “wanna watch each other come?”, to the point that now it’s nearing every day. Any self-fuck session became a shared one.

Sometimes he even texts you from his room late at night. It’s like you know his jerk-off schedule more than your own work schedule by now. Sometimes, you don’t even touch yourself but instead, enjoy watching him get there with a little help from you, taking off your shirt or spreading your legs. It’s become a thing. And somehow, it’s not as weird as it should be.

“You got plans this weekend?” Seokmin bellows through a yawn from his room after hearing your alarm go off.

“Since when do I ever have plans?” You say through your own yawn after pulling yourself out of the bed. You tiptoe the few feet from your door to his, leaning against it and scratching the back of your neck. “Why?”

He stretches loud and obnoxiously before rolling over and planting his face into his pillows.

“Wanna skip out on work today?”

You step into his room, throwing yourself on top of him with a tired groan.

“Yeah,” You sigh out, closing your eyes and fully aware that you could go back to sleep right now despite this uncomfortable position over your roommate. “but why?”

His voice is muffled more by the pillows when he answers you, mostly because your body weight is pressing him further down. He fights to turn his head away from the pillow, takes in a deep breath from the brief smothering, and smiles.

“I dunno, we haven’t really had a chance to go out and explore the city much outside of furniture and grocery shopping.”

You realize that he’s right. You’ve heard talk of the malls in this area, of the theme parks, the museums. There’s so much to do here, and neither of you have really attempted to do any of it.

“Starting today, because we are going to skip work,” He narrows his eyes as he lifts his body up and forces you to roll off of him. “You are going to skip, right?”

You nod, waiting for him to continue what he was originally going to say.

“We should go out and explore. Rent is paid already, fridge is full, I saved up a bit so we could go do some stuff.”

It flies right past your head. You don’t even stop to think that he saved up to do this with you, and instead you simply nod with a smile before hopping off of him and rolling off of the bed to your feet.

“Guess I should call my boss.” You shrug, starting to leave the room.

“Wanna sleep a little more first? Kind of dumb to skip out on work and not sleep in.”

You nod again, yawning and looking down at your phone to search for your workplace number. Thankfully, after calling, there was no issue with you skipping work today. After all, you haven’t really missed a single day since you started (unlike some people: seokmin.)

Friday was eventful, the two of you walked to all of the shops closest to your apartment, stepping into a cafe and having some coffee, then went to a pristine shopping district and scoffed together at the price of a pair of socks.

By the time you got home, you were just as tired as you would have been coming home from work, and he was still bouncing on his feet. Drinks, dinner, sleep.

No casual masturbation that day.

On Saturday, it started much the same except this time the two of you went to a mall. Why he kept insisting on buying you cute panties and matching bras? You know the answer. You’re kind of part of his porn collection now, and he is part of yours too. Maybe he considered it a little too hard when you also suggested he get a cute pair of panties to wear. He didn’t though, and instead bought you like six too-expensive sets of lingerie. Each color to match whatever horny brain he’s in, you assume.

That night, the two of you ate at a restaurant and took a taxi back home. Sitting beside him on the couch, a question started floating in your brain and by now you knew better than to keep these kinds of things to yourself given the dynamic you have with him.

“You know, you’re buying me all of this sexy stuff–”

“I am, yeah.” He smiles proudly, eyes crinkling as his eyes shoot to the bag on the kitchen table.

“Why aren’t you just going out to meet someone instead of settling with jerking off all the time?”

He doesn’t even hesitate.

“That’s a lot of work, why would I do that when you’re right here?”

Why would he do that if you’re here?

“Why, you getting bored of me?” He jokes, leaning against you and nudging your shoulder. “Should I have bought those panties to spice it up a bit?”

God, it’s so weird how normal this is. No touching each other, only looking. Desperate looking at that, searing eyes, extremely hot orgasms, wobbling legs, and then sleeping alone. Would it really be so strange at this point to want to touch him? To want to spice it up not with panties, but with the act of actually feeling how warm he is?

“Oh no.” He pauses, eyes widening. “You actually wanted me to wear those?”

“No!” You laugh, though it would’ve maybe awoken something in you, you’re not sure. “I just figured you know, it’s not like you wouldn’t be able to go get laid.”

He stares are you before throwing out another joke.

“I know that.” He laughs, turning to face you. “It’s not like it would be hard for you either. Why aren’t you out and about instead of sitting in front of me and touching yourself?”

You freeze at his words, realizing that so many times it’s been silent sessions together save for moaning. He’s never actually said those words to you, never dirty talked, never crossed an invisible line while it happened.

“Would you prefer I go find someone else?” You avoid the feeling in your gut right now only briefly, staring him down.

“No, I’d honestly prefer you touch yourself for me and only me.”

Oh. Oh fucking no.

“That’s all you need to be satisfied?”

He smiles proudly again, eyes flicking back over to the bag and you shake your head at him.

“We need to wash those before I wear them so you’re gonna have to deal with the boring panties I wore today, I guess.”

He nods, already following suit on the regular list of things he does when this happens.

It’s always so quiet, and never did it bother you until now. Watching him do nothing but grab his length and squeeze it until it starts to harden. Eyes on you as you do your own version of working yourself up, hand down your waist band and simply touching and rubbing until you feel the first sensation of your gut flipping.

“Seokmin.” You start, looking at him through narrow eyes. This is enough for you, but…is it?

“Hm?” He responds, eyes focused on the movement under your shorts.

“Can you talk a little bit this time?”

He smiles, chuckling a bit at you for the question.

“Oh, you’re into that?” He says almost in a mocking tone, but it sends a little wave of heat through his body to have you asking for more of him in some way. “I can’t promise I won’t say something stupid though.”

You shake your head, running your fingers up your folds and stopping at your clit.

“I don’t care what you say, I just really like your voice right now.”

Another pause from him as you watch him adjust his almost fully erect length under his pants.

“Only right now?” He asks, trailing his fingers gently along the underside of his length and turning his body back to where his back is against the couch cushions.

“No, I mean, I like your voice all the time but you never say much when we do this–” You admit, watching him intently like you always do, feeling the clock tick up to the point you know he’s going to pull it out and start sighing.

“Alright, does this mean I can ask for something too?”

You quirk a brow at that but quickly nod in anticipation because finally, this is going somewhere past just watching.

“Can we like, um–” He blushes mid-question, turning his face to look at you with all of his shame showing plainly. “Can we do it in an actual position for once?”

You can’t tell if your mind is playing tricks on you or if he’s actually wanting to pretend he’s fucking you by suggesting that. Immediately you fumble with the button on your shorts to get them off.

“Yeah, Oh–” You stop yourself from sounding too excited. “I mean, like, what position?”

“Can I be on top?” He blurts, pulling his hand away from his length and once again looking at you and the way your fingers remain on the hem of your shorts, preparing to take them off.

The image alone in your head of that is enough to want exactly what he wants, if not more. The illusion of him fucking you while you fuck yourself? You really couldn’t ask for more than that at this moment, though that could be argued if you think too hard about it.

“Deal.”

The second you say that word, he’s jumping up and practically tearing his pants off of him. His eagerness is as loud and obnoxious as always, you can even hear a small “fuck yeah” whispered to himself when he does it. All is well and good until he’s tugging your shorts down for you.

Never has he taken your clothes off for you. The intimacy is flowing through you, but you’re not sure if he is feeling the same way about it. He’s probably just eager to try something new tonight rather than the usual.

Your shorts are off faster than you’d normally take them off and you’re kind of chuckling about his blatant desperation until he hovers over you and positions himself where he wants to be.

Now…now he’s intimidating. With both knees on the couch, your legs bent at the knees and resting on his hips. That doesn’t even matter to you right now, because you haven’t seen his face this close before. You haven’t felt his hips against your legs before, outside of when you flop down on each other during a tired morning to wake the other up. You’ve never felt your stomach flip like this over him.

And when his eyes leave that spot between your legs to meet your own with his same dopey smile, it’s like you melt into a puddle instantly and you’re wanting so much more than just this. You hold back though, finally pulling your eyes from his and looking between his legs.

You knew his cock was big but you’ve also never seen it this close to your body. It’s like, big big. Thick too, and never did you notice just how huge it is because his hands are equally huge, and wrap around it perfectly. To him, it’s a perfectly accurate cock for a man so tall and broad, but damn.

It’s a bit embarrassing that all it took was for him to hover over you with his cock out to have you forgetting that you asked for him to talk through it. You’re in danger. Extreme danger with him like this and eager to talk this time. It starts so fast, so casually, and you’re still spinning internally just to grasp what you’re feeling right now.

“Good?”

That all he fucking says to start, settling into his position fully and grasping himself. Honestly, his cock is only a few inches above your core and you can feel the heat from it.

You nod, curling in on yourself a bit and he takes note of it because you’re never fucking shy.

“Too much?” He asks, watching you shake your head in response. “God, thank fuck. Because you look so good right now.”

Spinning.

“You can let go of me now though, I can see how wet you are already.” He continues, chuckling at the way your arms grip his shoulders.

You didn’t even fucking notice that you instantly started clinging to him. Especially with the fact that you didn’t expect him to talk to you like this. The two of you haven’t even started yet and he’s already got you on the verge of insanity.

You’re quick to pull your arms back and lift your shirt up over your chest before slowly trailing your hand down.

“Match my pace, okay? It’ll feel better.” He instructs, blatantly making a point so it does look and feel like he’s actually fucking you, all movements matching, sounds matching, lust matching.

You nod again, silently, eyes now focusing on his cock because if you look at his face right now you might just buckle and start crying over how insanely hot he is.

He lets out a short chuckle at your silence, he’s used to that and didn’t take issue with it at all until you asked him to talk. He hopes you talk back at some point, but for now he leaves it alone as he starts stroking.

Precum is leaking already just from seeing you beneath him like this, bra covering your chest, panties covering your pussy– but it’s enough to get him going. He would feel selfish to ask for more unless you offer it first. He’s got you where he’s always wanted you since this whole thing started.

You watch his hands, slipping your fingers under your panties and sliding them through your folds at the same pace, shivering only slightly at the feeling at you watch him.

This pace works for a few minutes, but you note his grip grows tighter on himself and you hear his breath stutter in a sigh when he does it. You wonder what that feels like for him, and you wonder what he’s thinking about as he does it. You move your fingers to your clit at that point, pressing in and releasing your own sigh of relief.

He watches you, eyes shooting to your face and studying the way you close your eyes to really feel it.

“Look at you,” he coos, trying to talk like you asked him to. “feels better when I’m here, right?”

You half open your eyes with a crooked smile, because of course it feels better when he’s with you. Even if he’s not touching you, even if he’s not the one doing it.

“So pretty when you do this, you know–” He continues, praising you and falling into the words easier than he expected. “I think I fell in love with watching you from the second you spread your legs for me.”

You can’t. You can’t look at him when he’s talking to you, it’s a lot. It does something, it does a lot of something to you, so you focus on his cock and the way he starts pressing his hips into the circle his fingers create rather than pumping himself. He’s slow with it, lazily moving his hips back, forward, then back again.

At that moment, you slide your fingers down and tease at your entrance, dipping a finger in easily and releasing a sigh. You can’t imagine this one finger will mimic what he could do to you, but you settle.

“That’s it,” he says as he watches, hanging his head and knowing exactly what you’re doing with your fingers. “Can I see?”

You don’t respond and instead use your other hand to hook your panties to the side, revealing your finger sliding into you at the pace he’s sliding into his palm.

The sigh he lets out begins to form into a moan at the end as he watches, wetting his lips and furrowing his brows. He keeps his hips steady despite obsessing over the fact that you’re fucking yourself at the same pace for illusion’s sake.

“Put in another.” He instructs, watching you do just that and release another sigh. He’s becoming frustrated with the situation though, knowing for a fact that he could do better for you. Knowing that if you’d just suggest it, he would instantly be giving in. “Is that even enough for you?”

Your eyes shoot open and go straight to his face, which is staring down intently at the way your fingers fuck you open.

“Not always.” You admit, shooting your gaze back down to his cock and the way his grip tightens around it. “Is that enough for you?” You follow up, pointing to his hand with your head.

“Not always…” he mimics you, and then it’s silent as the two of you accept the fact that this has to be enough right now.

And it stays like that for a while. To the point that his hips are relentlessly fucking into his palm, causing his knuckles to bump your clit every few seconds, and you’ve buried in a third finger trying your best to pretend it’s him.

It’s both too much and not enough. Too much in the fact that he’s all over you, and too little in the fact that he’s right there and not in you. Your fingers aren’t enough when his cock is right there, his words aren’t enough when he’s not muffling that voice with your lips, and you can’t imagine he’s not feeling frustrated with the situation. All of the puzzle pieces are in front of you and neither of you are putting in the effort other than organizing them. You’re not snapping them together, you’re just on the fucking edge of the situation you want.

Does he want it? Is it too much to ask? Is it–Oh.

“Can I–” he starts, cutting himself off with a sharp breath because of the way you clearly are trying to reach deeper inside of yourself in pace with his long thrusts.

“Yes.” You don’t even know what he’s asking, and to be fair you don’t think you give a shit. Whatever he wants to do, please, just do it.

And he does without a second thought, releasing his grip and pulling at your wrist to slip your fingers out of yourself. Then, he presses his cock directly between your holds, holding it down as he picks up the pace again and thrusts up.

It’s not what you were expecting, but then again you should have known he wasn’t asking to fuck you. This is good though, feeling his cock sliding between your lips, head bumping your clit. The warmth, the heaviness, the way his length is so thick that all you can do is try to not feel empty while it’s sliding through your arousal.

He’s more focused now than he was before, nearly letting out a sob rather than a moan at the feeling of your pussy against the underside of his cock. It's like he’s getting everything he needs and nothing at the same time, but the image of your eyes staring down at it too was enough for him to know you like it too. You like it enough.

When you let out a moan, trailing your hands up to your chest and releasing your tits from the bra, he only grinds faster against you, pressing down harder on his cock to create a tight space between your pussy and his palm. He stares at your tits, and then at your lips, and then back down at the way your pussy lips spread around his cock as he slides through them.

Another hidden sob pretending to be a moan, and then he’s leaning closer to your face.

“If I kiss you, would you be mad?”

You instantly strain your neck to connect your lips with his, and he falls into it all too easily. You can feel him speed up his thrusts, and you can feel his desperate tongue. It takes you a moment to realize this is your first kiss, and it’s while his cock is getting off against you.

Its more than you could have asked for, honestly, but you’re going to ask for more because as you kiss him, well, all you can think of is how this looks outside of your position. It definitely looks like he’s fucking you. The image that you can’t even see in full is arousing you beyond belief as you kiss him, and when he pulls back for a breath, you take that short moment to spill your thoughts.

“Just a little.” You groan blankly, squeezing your breast in your hand and using your other hand to push his cock away from you. “Just–”

He stops, out of breath, trying and failing to comprehend what you’re trying to say.

“Just what?” He groans, grabbing his cock and pumping it much like he normally would.

“A little, just put it in a little bit.”

His face is on fire as his hand halts on his leaking cock. Did he hear you wrong? He’s watching your hands squeeze against your chest, he sees your eyes avoiding him, he can still taste your lips on his, and your pussy is just below his cock, pulsing around nothing. Is he reading you wrong?

“Just a little bit…” he repeats what you ask for, looking down at you and placing a hand on your thigh, spreading his fingers out wide. “You’re asking me to fuck you, just a little bit?”

God, the words. So few words but also so many words.

“Yes.”

He leans down inches from your face and you can feel his cock fall back to your folds at the moment, you shiver unintentionally.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to do that and then you end up regretting it.”

He told himself time and time again during these sessions with you that he would instantly jump for the opportunity to fuck you, but now that he’s faced with it– he doesn’t know what the fuck to do with himself aside from asking for confirmation as many times as he can until he believes you really want it.

“Just,” You still avoid his eyes and the way they’re staring through you. “Please.”

He nods in an unsure way at first before pulling back and holding his length in his hand again.

“Just a little bit, right?” He tries to confirm, and you nod.

With a deep breath, pounding heart, and spinning thoughts, he aligns himself with you and doesn’t know how to comprehend the feeling of slipping into you. So he simply…doesn’t.

You can feel the intense stretch instantly, the feeling you’ve been searching for making you shiver and nearly writhe beneath him. Just an inch, it’s all you need, he doesn’t have to do any more than that. You don’t need more, you have self-control, right?

“Oh, fuck,” he groans as your pussy envelops the head of his cock. He can feel the pulsing inside of you massage against it, he can feel the wetness, the fucking warmth. “Fuck, fuck.”

It’s all he can say, honestly, speechless at your silence of the act. The way your mouth falls open in a silent moan only urges him to give you short, single inch thrusts despite the wetness you offer making it difficult to not accidentally slide further in.

“So thick,” You whine out in a broken and desperate voice.

It causes him to have to take in a deep breath and hold it. Good lord, he’s fighting so many demons right now not to plunge into you and take whatever he can get.

“A little more,” you urge him, wiggling your hips and sucking him in against his own movements. He doesn’t mind it, nor does he mind the embarrassing sound he lets out at the feeling.

Now, he can thrust another inch in, stretching you open a little more, shocked that the three fingers you used before didn’t seem to come close to preparing you for this. He can feel how tight your walls are around him, and again, the demons.

He lets out another embarrassing sound when he looks down, seeing only a quarter of his cock inside of you. He, once again, holds himself back from pushing in more. He could go so deep, but he can’t.

“Little more?” He asks meekly, reaching a hand out to your cheek in the hope that you’d let him. He won’t ask again. Just, if he can get half of his cock in you, it would be plenty. It would be enough, he would be satisfied.

“Or,” you groan at the adjustment around him, knowing full well that by asking him to put the tip in that you’d want so much more. It’s fun thinking you can control yourself, but it’s more fun losing that control with another person. You’re both controlling the need to fuck and be fucked solely because you don’t know if the other wants it. But god, he’s already inside of you, isn’t it fucking obvious?!

“You could just fuck me.”

Say no more, with those words it’s like his hips act of their own will and he’s slowly sliding into you in full. Relishing in the way your pussy spread out to make room, cooing over the feeling of himself going deeper, deeper, and fucking deeper into you.

“Finally.” He breathes out in relief when he bottoms out, leaning forward yet again to lay his lips against your forehead. “Felt like I’ve waited so long.”

You’re silent as you adjust to what you can consider the biggest cock you’ve ever taken. The searing pain isn’t much compared to the arousal of his admittance of wanting this only after getting inside of you.

All you can offer him is a moan when you try to respond with your own witty sex talk, but he sends him spiraling somehow further than he already had gone. His hips stuttering in their planted spot as he lets you adjust, moaning in response to your moan. His lips kissing all over your face now, feeling in this moment that you’re his, and this feeling is shared, and that only your pussy could massage him this way simply because he’s inside of you. It’s overwhelming, all of the feelings hitting at once.

From physical feelings to emotional ones, it comes with such a harsh hit to him that all he can do is flutter those kisses to as much skin his lips can reach. Feeling your eyelashes on his cheek when he kisses the corner of your mouth, to feeling that corner of your mouth open in a yelp when he finally starts to move his hips back. Sliding out of you only a little bit before pressing back in again, deep and lazy.

“Good?” He asks, much like he did before. “So good.” He answers for both of you immediately after, keeping that lazy pace as he leans on his elbows on either side of your head.

“Wrap your legs around me?” He follows up, already so comfortable speaking through your silence that it feels natural, especially when you do just as he asks.

In wrapping your legs around him, he’s able to adjust his body from the position he’s been stuck in this whole time. Now, he can be on his knees with you curled under him, clinging to him like a koala as he uses the back of the couch to support his balance.

There, he’s able to pick up pace, there he’s able to see what you look like when you’re being fucked. There, he can see what you look like when he’s the one doing it. And he might be spiraling, but he feels more sane than he ever has in this moment, watching your lips and feeling you squeeze around him.

It’s no wonder he felt no interest in finding someone else. He was more satisfied jerking on in front of you than he had ever been actually inside of another person. Now though, it’s insane to think he was satisfied because he’s changed his mind. Why would he find someone else when you act like this?

Why would he put himself through the possibility of you going out and doing the same thing with someone else?

For you, there are no thoughts, just Seokmin. You’d laugh right now if it weren’t for the fact that each thrust forces a desperate and wet sound out of your throat. You’d laugh harder if it weren’t for the fact that you don’t even need to rub your clit to get yourself there.

He easily hits that soft spot inside of you, time and time again as his lips travel over repeated areas until landing on your mouth.

You kiss him harder than before, now trying to move your hips despite the difficulty of being under him. You try to meet him halfway now that he’s sliding nearly his entire cock out before slamming back into you. Emptying you and filling you up time and time again as if to remind you of the few moments before when you felt him for the first time.

Repeatedly you think you’re about to come, and repeatedly you hold off until he whispers.

“I know that face, you’re holding back.”

It’s so fucking surreal knowing that he knows this without ever actually fucking you before now. He knows what you look like when you come, he knows how you like to be touched after watching you so many times. He knows where you sleep, knows what your favorite foods are, and showers in the same bathroom as you.

You let go, thinking of only him and this moment you’re sharing. You don’t worry if it’ll ever happen again, because you know it will if he lets it. You’re not in control of this anymore, nor of yourself.

“Pretty, like always.” He compliments when you make that familiar face of release, pumping into you faster now just to feel the gush of wet he’s seen leave your body time and time again. “Prettier now, though.” He corrects himself, feeling just what he was expecting as your body releases the tension all at once.

The wet sounds somehow become wetter as he thrusts, still fluttering those kisses across your face to the point that you’re either numbed to it or tingling because of it. And only after he knows you’re finished does he pull out, fucking against his hand so aggressively that you’re more aware now than before that he always lets you finish first if not at the same time.

Except now, if he were to finish at the same time, he’d be filling you up so that there’s no question about the worry that comes after it. Despite knowing you’re on birth control, despite knowing you’re both clean because neither of you have fucked another person in half a year–

You watch with drowsy eyes as he releases strings of thick, white seed against both your pussy and stomach. Your panties, ruined and forgotten as they strain at the crease of your thigh. You whimper at the sight, so in love with the way it feels hitting you for some reason. So endeared with the way he pulled out despite knowing in his head that it would have been fine if he stayed.

When he flops down over you, ignoring the mess between your bodies, you’ve never felt so close to him. You don’t think you ever want to feel further from him, actually.

It’s the start of something else now, you’re not sure what, but it’s a given.

The start of something new came in the form of his room turning into a guest room for a new roommate.

That roommate has yet to be found, but it’s an excuse to sleep next to him every night. No titles have been claimed but they’re definitely been given. Just a day after that happened, you caught him slipping and calling you his girlfriend. He figured that since you didn’t correct him, it must be true.

Yeah, it must be.

#seokmin smut #seventeen smut #lee seokmin smut #dokyeom smut #dk smut #svt smut

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eleventhdoctorsangel · 8 months

Text

Never wanted you to hate me

I’ve spent most of my life with the pirate hunter known as Roronoa Zoro. I owe him with my life. He saved me. Ever since then I’ve been helping him. I often will get used as bait to help with the latest bounty Zoro is hunting. But never am I ever at risk of any harm. Zoro always makes sure of that. There been a few times where he actually came close to killing a few guys that he wasn’t hunting because they either touched me or hurt me.

Now we got roped into helping this kid who is very determined on becoming king of the pirates and finding the one piece. Both Zoro and I were trying to rest while Nami was still working on getting the safe open. Unlike Luffy we are giving her space and quiet to work. We have a bet going to see how long it is before she throws him overboard. Finally I heard the sound of it clicking open. I could hear Zoro getting up. “Let me know if there is anything interesting enough for me to get up will you please.” I said. “Or I can drag you.” Zoro said. “Yeah you and I both know that you won’t.” I said. “Whatever.” Zoro said as he squeezed my hips making me laugh a little. “Hate you.” I said. “No you don’t.” Zoro said. “The night is not over yet.” I said.

I could hear Nami let out a frustration sigh. What did Luffy do now. I sat up to the three of them walking in. “The seas are divided into four quadrants. East blue, North blue, West, South. This strip of land that circles the globe is called the red line and this band across is the grand line. A treacherous stretch of ocean with bigger islands, bigger cities, bigger pirates. Flush with riches and ripe for the picking.” Nami said. “And that’s where we’re going to find the one piece.” Luffy said. “I’ve taken out a lot of pirates looking for that thing. What is it? Like a big diamond or something?” Zoro said. “It’s Gold Roger’s treasure. He hid it somewhere in the grand line. All in one piece.” Luffy said. “If you believe the story. I could say the same thing without proof you’re just going off a story.” I said. “See she gets it. It’s a myth. The reason no one’s found it in 22 years is that it doesn’t exist.” Nami said. “Can’t wait to see the look on the two of yours faces when we find it.” Luffy said. “Alright if we find it I’ll eat your hat.” I said. The look on Luffy’s face was priceless. “Kidding. I know that hat means a lot to you.” I said as an explosion went off causing me to jump a little. “Is that the marines?” Zoro asked. “How did they find us?” Nami asked. We all walked out to see a red cloud above us. “This smoke smells weird.” Luffy said. As I started to breathe in the smoke I started to get lightheaded. I leaned against the side of the ship. I fell to my knees then it all went black.

No one’s POV

The smoke was clean as the pirate clown buggy and the crew of freaks climbed onto the small ship. Three of the four people were outside while the fourth was inside. Two males and two females. Buggy walked over to one of the girls. She was laying on her side some of her hair was covering her face. Buggy bent down and gently brushed the hair from her face. “You want us to put her with the others?” One of the crew members asked. “No I have a special role for her. No one is allowed to harm her if any of you so as much pluck a hair from her head even if it’s by accident you’re dead.” Buggy said as he picked up the girl from the ground and started to carry her off the ship. He carried her onto his ship taking her to his living quarters and gently laid her down on his bed.

Buggy went to grab a special outfit that he had been saving. He went to get a female crew member to get her changed. He could be a monster but he’s not that much of a monster. But he did stand outside of the room to make sure that none of the other male crew members tried to look. It was only a few minutes later that the female crew member left. He walked back into his room and over to the girl. “I have to admit that this outfit looks cuter on you than I thought it would have.” Buggy said tracing a hand down the side of her face.

End of No One’s POV

I could feel someone poking me. “Come on now wakey wakey.” The voice said. “Luffy stop poking me.” I said swatting the hand away. “Sorry but I’m not Luffy. Now come on and open your eyes I would like to see what color eyes you have.” The voice said. I groan as I moved my head away. “Come on now I don’t want to have to get mad but I will if you don’t open your eyes.” The voice said. I opened my eyes to see a clown holding me close to him I let out a gasp as I tried to get away but he held on to my upper arms in a very tight grip. “Now don’t you have some beautiful eyes.” He said grabbing me by the chin. I looked around for the others but I couldn’t see them. “Looking for your friends. Don’t worry you’re see them in a few minutes. I just decided that you should have a special role in todays show.” He said. “If you hurt me my friend will kill you.” I said. Which only made him laugh. “Kill me. Your friend can try but they will be the one who ends up dead.” He said. At the same time I started to hear circus music. “Come on now the fans await.” He said as he started to pull me with him.

That when I glanced down and saw that I wasn’t wearing my normal clothes but now a revealing circus outfit. With this guy and how handys he’s being if Zoro gets one look at him Zoro will kill this guy if they didn’t take Zoro swords from him. I could hear the crowd yelling but it sounded off. Like they were being forced to. “Great they messed this up again. I wanted you’re first introduction to go perfect.” He said. I just forced a smile as he pulled me along with him. “No. No, no, no, no. Stop clapping! No.” He said as we started to walk in the ring. I was focusing on trying not to trip with how much my legs were shaking. “It’s all wrong.” He said stepping in the ring using one arm to pick me up by the waist. I look around to see if I could see the others and thankfully I finally could. Just like I guessed I could see the rage in Zoros eyes. Both Nami and Luffy had to put their arms out to keep Zoro from storming over. I shook my head slightly at him to let him know that now wasn’t the best time to attack. “The spotlight was late. You completely missed our entrance.” He said as he motioned for the spotlight to be put on us. It was very quickly put on us. “And where oh where was the dancing lion?” He asked as we walked over to a guy in a lion costume. Which made the guy look away in fear. “Hey I know you. I saw your wanted poster in Shells Town. You’re the clown guy. Um uh binky right?” Luff said. “Buggy. Buggy the clown. Buggy the flashy fool. Buggy the genius jester.” Buggy said as pulled me along closer to the others. “Wow. You have a lot of names. I bet everyone in the east blue knows who you are.” Luffy said. I heard everyone gasp and the hold he had on me was let go. “What did you just say?” Buggy asked. “Just that everyone knows who you are.” Luffy said again.

Buggy rushed over to Luffy grabbing him by the face. “Nose! Are you making fun of my nose?” Buggy asked. “Well I wasn’t. But now that you mention it is that thing for real?” Luffy said as he raised a hand to touch Buggy’s nose. Which Buggy was quick to slap away. “What’s real is I’ve been scheming for months to steal that map from old axe hand moron.” Buggy said pushing Luffy away. He looked to Nami to see if she caught his joke. “Only to find out that I was upstaged by four little nobodies who stole it from right under my no. No! It’s in my head now.” Buggy said letting out a groan. I put my hand to my mouth trying not to laugh. “Hey! I’m not a nobody. I’m Monkey D Luffy. And I will be king of the pirates.” Luffy said. Which made Buggy start to laugh. “Oh! Now that’s funny.” Buggy said. Which made the crowd nervous laugh again but Buggy motioned them to stop. “My bounty poster graces the marquee of every marine outpost for miles. And my menagerie of outcasts and freaks is the most dreaded pirate crew the east blue has ever known.. Expect her. I hope you don’t mind if I take her off your hands because I would like to keep her. I am destined to find the one piece. And when I do. I will be king and she will be my queen.” Buggy said as he looked at me. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes as I looked over to the others. “No you wont cause I’m gonna find it first.” Luffy said. “You? Don’t make me laugh.” Buggy said. The crowd started to laugh. “I said don’t make me laugh!” Buggy said as he turned to look at them. “Alright listen up. I’m Roronoa Zoro. Drop your weapons now, give me the girl back and I may let you live.” Zoro said as he walked closer to Buggy. Which then made Buggy grab me pulling me into him laughing. “Ladies and gentlemen we have a celebrity in our midst. Too bad I hate sharing the spotlight.” Buggy said putting his chin on my shoulder. As again the spotlight was put back on the two of us. “Now maybe we should skip right to the finale.” Buggy said pulling out four knives holding them close to my face. I tried to get away but that only worsen his grip. “My freaks put quite a bit of rehearsal time into this little abduction. And if I can’t reward them with that map I supposed I’ll have to offer them a pound of flesh instead.” Buggy said. I started to think about what he just said. I knew that the pound of flesh wouldn’t come from me since he seems dead set on keeping me.

That’s when Nami stepped up. “Wait. Wait. What if I have something else to offer you? Something more valuable than the map? What if I give you a new freak for your crew? A rare talent. The most spectacular act in all the East Blue. Beside you of course.” Nami said. “Go on.” Buggy said. Nami quickly yanked off Luffy hat throwing high in the air. Which made Luffy stretch his arm to grab it. But as Buggy was distracted his grip on me was loosened. I took that as my chance to try to get away. I tried to run to Zoro but Buggy caught my wrist pulling me back to him. “Try that again sweetheart and I’m afraid I might have to hurt.” Buggy said. “You touch her and I will kill you where you stand.” Zoro said. Buggy looked at him and laughed as he dragged me away.

“Now if I let you go do you promise to behave.” Buggy said. “Yes I promise.” I said. “Good girl.” Buggy said pinching my cheek. Buggy pulled an orange from his pocket and started peeling it with one of the knives and started to eat it. Two members of his crew dragged Nami back as she tried to escape by revealing Luffy’s powers. “What did you do to their town? You destroyed everything!” Nami said. “Not everything. I let ‘em keep their hands.” Buggy said. As the crowd clapped. “Okay. Here end the theatrics. I know one of you three has my map and I’m gonna get it back. What was it you said rubber boy? That it was in a safe place? Don’t look so surprised. I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere. So please make our guest uncomfortable in the green room.” Buggy said. I watched as Zoro and Nami were dragged away but Luffy wasn’t. “I am gonna have a chat with my stretchy new pal.” Buggy said laughing. Luffy looked over to me. “Don’t look at her. She’s not part of your crew anymore now is she.” Buggy said. “I just want to know if she is okay.” Luffy said. “She’s fine aren’t you sweetheart.” Buggy said. “I want to hear it from her.” Luffy said. I was honestly scared to answer what if Buggy hurts me if I do. I looked over to Buggy who smiled. “Well aren’t you a good girl. Looking to you’re future king for approver to answer. Go ahead.” Buggy said. “I’m okay Luffy they or Buggy haven’t hurt me.” I said. “See I told you she was fine. Now where were we.” Buggy said.

I watched as they put Luffy on a rack and made a poor town person stretch Luffy out. The more Luffy was stretched out he began to scream laugh. I wonder how far he could actually stretch guess I might find out. “I want you to think of this like an artistic exercise because pain leads to art. And art reveals truth. But there’s only one truth I need from this exercise. Where is my map.” Buggy asked as he walked over to Luffy. “Truthfully? I’m.. I’m kind of hungry. Don’t circuses have cotton candy?” Luffy asked. I let out a sigh. Not the time Luffy. Buggy laughed then let out a groan. “What could you possibly need that map for anyways? You won’t last five minutes in the grand line.” Buggy said. “I already told you. I’m gonna be king of the pir.” Luffy said. “Boring! Let’s go another ten feet.” Buggy said. The town person did as he was told. “You can stretch me all you want. I can do this all day.” Luffy said. “I’m not asking the right questions. We need to go deeper get you out of your comfort zone. What makes a boy want to grow up to be King of the pirates? Who are you trying to impress? A lost love? An absent parent? Or was it someone that you worshiped? A false idol. That’s it.” Buggy said and yanked off Luffy hat. “Hey give me back my hat!” Luffy yelled. Buggy walked over and placed Luffy hat on my head. I could see Luffy relax a little since I was now wearing his hat. “I used to know a pirate that wore a hat just like this. Red haired Shanks.” Buggy said. “You knew Shank’s?” Luffy asked. “Ginger? Three scars left eye?” Buggy asked motioning to his left eye. So they both knew the same guy. “We served together on a pirate crew when we were about your age. For a time I even thought we were friends. Until he betrayed me. Just like all the others. He wanted to keep ME out of the spotlight! He wanted to keep my star from shining too brightly! Is that what he did to you rubber boy? Did shanks betray you too?” Buggy said. “Don’t talk about him that way.” Luffy said. “Ah. Now we are finally getting to the truth. Stretch him until he breaks.” Buggy said. “Please don’t make me do this.” The town person begged. “I invite you to take part in the splendor that is my show and this is how you repay me? With a no?” Buggy said. “You’ve destroyed our town. Made us your prisoners. Isn’t that enough?” The town person said. “Well maybe you’d prefer it If I threw one of your constituents on the rank instead.” Buggy said as he walked to the crowd. No no no. Quick think of something. “Wait!” I yelled. Which made Buggy stopped. “Yes.” Buggy said as he looked at me. “Pirates like to claim their treasure right?” I said. “Go on.” Buggy said putting a hand under his chin. “You said yourself that I belong to you now therefor I’m technically your treasure right. Don’t you have to claim me so no one else can take me away from you.” I said. “I like were this is going.” Buggy said. “Then do it right now. Carve your initial on me. If I don’t make a sound then you have to promise that you won’t have any of these towns people. But if I do.” I said but couldn’t finished the last sentence. Buggy seemed to think about it for a minute. “Alright fine I agree to your terms now come here.” Buggy said motioning for me to come to him. “Y/n don’t.” Luffy said. “Shut up!” Buggy said. “It’s okay Luffy.” I said as I walked over to Buggy.

When I got over to Buggy he pulled out a knife and started lightly tracing it around my body. “Where oh where should I leave my initial. Oh I know.” Buggy has he moved the knife to my upper right breast. But before he started he kiss me right there. “Now remember sweetheart not a sound because if you don’t someone is about to get tall fast.” Buggy said. “Just do it.” I said. As Buggy carved his initial on me I bit my lip to stop me from crying out in pain. If we get out of this Zoro will definitely make his death a slow and painful one. It only took a couple of minutes before Buggy was done. “Well well sweetheart you managed to do it. But how about next I claim you in a different way.” Buggy said he put a cloth on the wound to prevent blood from getting on the outfit then putting an arm around my waist pulling me into him. “Boogie I’m warning you.” Luffy said. “It’s Buggy! And you’re warning me? Now that’s a laugh. I said that’s a laugh.” Buggy said. As the crowd forced a laugh. Then Luffy managed to free himself. As Luffy got up he glared at Buggy. “Put her down.” Luffy said. “But why? She’s having such great time. Aren’t you sweetheart?” Buggy said grabbing my face. But what he did next shocked and scared me. He kissed me on the lips. It only lasted a few seconds before he pulled away. “Yes. The best Buggy. I never want to leave you Buggy.” Buggy said trying to inmate my voice. The Luffy stretched back his arm. “Gum Gum pistol!” Luffy yelled and punched off Buggy’s head. I let out a terrified scream as I could see that there was no blood and worst of all Buggy’s body was still moving. Buggy’s head landed on a woman’s lap in the crowd which caused more screaming. “Hi. Well well well looks like we have something else in common.” Buggy said as his head returned back to his body. “You ate a devils fruit?” Luffy asked. “The chop chop fruit. So you can slice me and you dice me but I’ll always put myself back together again.” Buggy said as he stripped himself of the coat he wearing. He gently put it around my shoulders. Then I watched as he chopped himself into six different pieces then went back to normal. “Want to see what else I can do?” Buggy asked as he made a motion to his hand. His hand was gone but it tapped Luffy on the shoulder squeezing another bomb like thing that the same kind of smoke from earlier came out. His detached hand punched Luffy in the face and flipped him off. “Luffy.” I said as I tried to rush to his side but Buggy stopped me. “I don’t think so sweetheart. My crew will take care of him.” Buggy said. “What are you going to do to him?” I asked. “I’m going to put him in my tank of doom.” Buggy said.

*Meanwhile with Zoro and Nami*

“So are you and her together?” Nami asked as she was working on picking the lock on the cage she was being kept in. “No we’re not. We’re not together like that.” Zoro said. “Then what’s the deal between you two. I mean I saw the way you acted when we saw that clown had his hands on her. You were ready to kill him on sight. You might say you don’t care about her but your actions when she’s in danger say a different story.” Nami said. “I never said I don’t care about her. Don’t ever say I don’t care about her again. Just because I don’t care about her in that way doesn’t mean I will never care about her.” Zoro said. “Alright fine geez. Then what’s the story between you two?” Nami said. “She reminds me of a friend I used to know. I couldn’t save or protect my friend back then but I can do that for her.” Zoro said. “That surprisely sweet coming from you.” Nami said. “Shut up.” Zoro said. Right then the two of them heard a terrified scream coming from Y/n. Which made Zoro immediately went back to trying to break the ropes. “Hurry the hell up now.” Zoro said. “Yeah.” Nami said as she started to work quicker and picking the lock.

*Back to Y/n*

I watched as Luffy was put in a tank as water slowly filled the tank then I saw seaweed. “Is this seawater?” I asked. “Why yes it is sweetheart. You see if you eat a devil’s fruit you might gain a power like yours truly and rubber boy here but just a few splashes of seawater will take that all of that away.” Buggy said. “Oh.” I said. Come on Luffy wake back up please. I don’t want to deal with him by myself. Yes the towns people are still watching but what if he tries something their too afraid of him to stop him and I don’t know where Zoro and Nami were taken to or if anything happened to them. But I could feel him looking at me. “What?” I asked as I looked to the ground. “You’re scared of me aren’t you sweetheart.” Buggy said. “I’m not scared of you.” I said. “Then how come you won’t look at me.” Buggy said. “You kidnapped me and my friends, you destroyed these people’s town and you’re now holding them against their will. You hurt Luffy. I don’t know what you’re doing to Zoro and Nami they could be dead for all I know.” I said. “Well their not dead.” Buggy said. “How can I believe you. I haven’t got any proof that you would tell me the truth.” I said. “But you did forget to mention that.” Buggy said motioning to where the cloth was. “I did that because I didn’t want you to hurt anyone.” I said. Then I could see Luffy start to wake up. “Looks like Luffy is waking up.” I said. Buggy kissed the side of my head but I couldn’t help but smile just a little. “Do my eyes deceive me or did I see a little smile.” Buggy said. “Just go.” I said but Buggy took Luffy hat off my head taking it with him. I watched as Luffy tried to break the glass but failed. “Don’t bother. It’s seawater. Hardly seems fair. All those wonderful powers rendered useless from a few splashes. Of course you could always give me my map. If you don’t want to die alone in this tank.” Buggy said walking over to the tank and kneeled in front of it. “My crew.” Luffy said. “Your crew? You means the ones that abandoned you? Just like Shanks did. I did that make you sad?” Buggy said. “They will come back for us.” Luffy said as he looked at me. “No one’s coming for you. I already made myself clear about her. She stays with me. Your only chance is to turn over that map and if you do I may have a very special place on my crew just for you. Think about how happy she’ll be to at least have someone she already knows and she won’t have to be around all new people. Ain’t that right sweetheart.” Buggy said tossing Luffy’s hat to the side. I watched as Luffy struggled to get up as Buggy copied his movement. “Never.” Luffy said. “Why not!” Buggy yelled and hit the tank then grabbed his hand in pain. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Which made Buggy glare at me. I just smirked and flipped him off. “You’re an outcast just like the rest of us. A freak, scorned and abandoned! Join me and you can serve the man who will become the king of the pirates. When I have that map I will find the one piece and then everyone will know my name. And they’ll love me.” Buggy said but he at end he looked at me. “You can’t make people or her love you. Just like you can’t make them smile. I’ll never give you that map.” Luffy said. “Well then I guess it’s curtains for you.” Buggy said walking back over to the tank. “No wait Buggy please don’t.” I said standing in front of him. “I’m getting sick of you interfering in my show.” Buggy said as he roughly pushed me away. I landed on my side roughly making me cry out in pain. I looked and saw more water pouring into the tank at a faster rate.

Buggy walked away from the tank and went to pick up Luffy hat pulling a piece of straw from it. “Don’t touch my hat!” Luffy yelled. “What was that? I. I couldn’t hear you over all the drowning.” Buggy said. I slowly got up as I did my side started to hurt. I now saw that Luffy was under the water now. “You want out? You know the price you have to pay.” Buggy said. Luffy smiled and tapped on the glass. I turned around and saw Nami as she threw her staff towards the tank making it crack. If she was okay then Zoro is too then we can leave and I will never have to see Buggy again. The tank started to break more as Buggy looked around. “Where are my freaks!” Buggy said. Then I saw Zoro. “They’re not coming.” Zoro said. “Zoro.” I said as I ran towards him but I felt a hand grab me pulling me back. This fucking clown. “Did I say you can leave me.” Buggy said roughly yanking me around. “I don’t fucking care. I don’t want to spend a single fucking second longer near you.” I said fighting his grip. I heard the glass break and went the amount of water that came from the tank it knocked both of us off our feet. But it was seawater so it should have the same effect on Buggy.

Buggy’s grip on me loosened enough for me to get away from him. I look to see Luffy coughing up the map. I had to grabbed it before Buggy. I got up and rushed over grabbing it. But I was yanked to the ground and Buggy climbed on top of me. “Thanks sweetheart. Because you got me my map I can forgive that little outburst of yours.” Buggy said as he took the map from me. “Screw you.” I said. “Well since your friend is back to watch that sounds like a great idea.” Buggy said pulling me up from the ground. Buggy looked between me and the map laughing and then buried his face in my neck. Both Nami and Zoro walked towards us. “You want a piece of me? Let’s see what you got. You better move sweetheart I would hate for you to get hurt.” Buggy said as he let me go. I rushed over to Luffy. “Are you okay?” I asked as I helped him up. “I’ll be fine. What about you?” Luffy asked. “I just want to leave and never have to see this clown again.” I said. “No.” Luffy said quietly. I looked to see Nami and Zoro being knocked to the side as Buggy put himself back together looking towards the two of us as Luffy pushed me behind him. “Ah. Would you look at that? Somebody escaped my tank of doom. Well I’ll be back to finish you off. Right after I tear apart your sad excuse for a crew.” Buggy said laughing. “You can dump seawater on me and I’ll let it slide. But don’t you ever threaten or hurt my friends” Luffy said as he punched Buggy in the stomach causing a piece to fly off then return making Buggy wink at us. “I’ll find the map can you handle him.” I whispered to Luffy. “Go.” Luffy whispered back. I slowly made my way out from behind him as Buggy pulled out knives. “So you want die first? Be my guest.” Buggy said as he pulled himself apart. I got down until I was out of danger. “Chop chop cannon!” Buggy yelled as the pieces started to fly towards Luffy. I started to quickly look around for the map. “Hey.” A voice said quietly. I looked to see a boy point just off to the side at the map. “Thanks kid.” I said rushing over to grab it. “Nami! The crates!” Luffy yelled. I ran to the other side of the ring helping trap pieces of Buggy in crates. I smiled when I saw Zoro stab pieces of Buggy.

With help from Nami all that was left of Buggy was his feet, hands and his head. “What have you done to me?” Buggy asked. “Cut you down to size.” Luffy said. Honestly Buggy really looked funny. “The one piece will never be yours. You’re just a sad lonely little boy wearing another man’s hat!” Buggy said. “I know exactly who I am. I’m Monkey D. Luffy. And I’m going to be king of the pirates.” Luffy said stretching both arms back. I couldn’t help but smile. “Gum Gum.” Luffy yelled. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! No no no! Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait” Buggy yelled. “Bazooka!” Luffy yelled launching the rest of Buggy out of the big top.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I ran over and hugged Luffy. Luffy hugged me back. “Found the map.” I said as I handed it to him as Nami and Zoro walked over to us. I pretty much launched myself into Zoro arms as he held me close to him. “Are you okay?” Zoro said into my ear. “I will be.” I said. “Let’s get out of this clown show.” Zoro said as he let me go and started to walk me out. But stopped when Luffy put a hand on his shoulder. “Still one more thing we have to do.” Luffy said as we looked to the towns people. We start to get the people unchained. After I unchained the boy that pointed out the map he hugged me. I smiled and hugged him back.

As a thank you from preventing Buggy from harming them they managed to find me a changed of clothes so I didn’t have to wear the outfit that Buggy had me wear. They also tried to give us a little food but Luffy refused to take it. I was the first one to go back to the ship as started getting things ready to leave. I waved back to the towns people as we sailed away. I knew I should talk with Zoro about what happened to me but I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet. I sat near the front of the ship as I watched Nami fix Luffy hat. “Almost finished.” Nami said. Then she hands him his hat back. “You fixed it. Thanks.” Luffy said with a smile. “Well you said it was your treasure right?” Nami said then walked away. “Is every day gonna be this crazy with you?” Zoro asked. “Shanks always said that if the path to what you want seems too easy then you’re on the wrong path.” Luffy said. “I really like that.” I said. “This shanks guy sounds all right.” Zoro said. Luffy came over to stand on the railing of the front of the ship. “Next stop the grand line.” Luffy said as he pointed out to the open sea. I smiled as I shook my head. Zoro motioned me to come over to him. “Wish me luck Luffy.” I said as I got up. “He’s not mad with you if that’s what you’re thinking he was just really worried about you.” Luffy said. I smiled then walked over to Zoro sitting next to him.

“What to tell me how you got that.” Zoro said. “You saw that?” I asked. Zoro nodded. “He wanted to hurt one of the towns people I wasn’t going to let him do that. They were innocent Zoro. I know that you might have been okay with something like that but I’m not like you. I rather it be me that got hurt before one of them.” I said. “It was still a very stupid thing for you to do.” Zoro said. “He kissed me too.” I said. “I’m definitely killing that fucking clown next time I see him.” Zoro said. I laughed and put my head on his shoulder. “Did you he do anything else to you. I heard you scream.” Zoro said. “Oh that was when we saw that he has similar powers to Luffy. He punched off his head while he still had a grip on me but I didn’t get hurt.” I said. “Not going to lie it was creepy seeing it for the first time. Anything else?” Zoro said. I bit my lip as tears filled my eyes. “What is it? You know that what ever it is that I will never be upset or angry at you.” Zoro said. “I know. After he craved his initial on me he said wanted to claim me in that way.” I said as could feel him tense up. Then he went quiet. “Please don’t go quiet on me. You know I hate when you do that.” I said as I picked my head up to look at him. “I promise to you that next time we see that clown I will kill him.” Zoro said. I threw my arms around his shoulders as I buried my face in next as I started to cry. “It’s okay I got you. You’re safe.” Zoro said as he held me close to him holding me as I cried.

For the rest of the day Zoro didn’t want me to leave his sight even though we on the ship and couldn’t really go anywhere. “You should try to get some rest.” Zoro said. “I’m okay right now.” I said. “I wasn’t asking.” Zoro said. “Alright fine I’m going.” I said as I got up going inside laying down. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep. I tossed and turned for what seems like forever before I finally managed to fall asleep.

#buggy the clown imagine #buggy x reader #buggy imagine #opla buggy imagine #opla buggy x reader #opla buggy #kelsee's works #do not reblog unless it's from me

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miguelhugger2099 · 1 month

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You Know Where to Find Me

Summary: Miguel is from another planet, fascinated by the stars and nothing else. On Earth, he learns the water might be interesting. A/N: this is so niche i can't find any alien miguel fanart Alien!Miguel x Mermaid!Reader, Fluff, No Warnings

Humanity loved space, so much so they spent trillions just to find other living sentient creatures just like them. After generations and some centuries, Humanity had managed contact with aliens!

Quickly, and by the grace of the universe, humans and aliens had begun to coexist. It was often that humans would visit the aliens home and aliens to visit Earth.

Miguel wanted to visit Earth. He loved space as well. A little alien mind that adored the stars and always felt that he was meant for greater things. It’s not that he didn’t love his home planet, but he couldn’t wait to learn and even live with other aliens!

So when he arrived, he did everything he could to learn about Earths space program. Another highlight was that his planets astronomy was still a few centuries behind, so going to Earth was the best choice—and the only one.

Miguel had gotten along with everyone—his bright mind and leadership skills made everyone admire him! His curiosity knew no bounds! In fact, he grew fond of teaching others about space. So in his spare time, he’d work at a planetarium in Nueva York—one of the only cities in the world that held the largest building that was dedicated to the study of space.

Despite his unusual appearance, small antennas on the crown of his head and no pupils—his eyes shaded a soft red— his people looked “human enough” for them to be integrated into human society without any problems. He supposed he got lucky—he didn’t like to think of how humanity might’ve reacted to something stranger. Luckily his sharp ears could be hidden behind his curls and his little lisp from his fangs was deemed cute to others—which he’s on the fence about.

He had heard of a new exhibit opening up after a certain discovery humans found within the Earths ocean. Miguel had basically tuned out whatever his colleagues chatted about, especially if it had nothing to do with whatever he was interested in.

However, to his horror, when he passed by the new exhibit during its construction he had found a human body in the tank of water. He hurried out to find security or to call an ambulance—something—to help the poor soul that had fallen underwater. If he knew anything about humans, it’s that they couldn’t breath underwater!

A colleague had seen Miguel’s frantic behavior while shaking a security officer to call for help. The sight was amusing since Miguel was taller than the average human man.

His vacant red eyes found hers. “Jess!” Jessica walked up to them with worry.

“What’s going on?”

Miguel breathed in deeply. “There’s—there’s a human! In—in the—they fell!”

“Fell where?” She asked, her tone becoming serious.

“By the new exhibit! I don’t know how they got there but they fell—I think—and they had their eyes closed!”

Jess became more alert. Civilians weren’t allowed in that section yet and the construction guys weren’t stupid enough to not be able to swim out of a tank.

“Show me.”

Jessica had a bit of a hard time keeping up with Miguel, his long legs taking giant strides while his antennas curled and his ears turned downwards.

Miguel shows her the tank. “Here!”

Inside was definitely what seemed like a human woman passed out in the water. But Jess instead sighed in relief. She places her hand on her chest and laughs which makes Miguel’s antennas curl even more, making it look like a rams horns and his skin turns pinkish.

“What?”

Jess giggles after calming down. She taps the glass with her knuckle and falls out your name.

The ‘human’ inside was actually you. Your eyes opened and you give Jess a pointed look. You swam up to the top of the tank which gives Miguel a better look at the tail that was hidden behind a giant sheet of cloth.

You popped up at the top and leaned on the railing with a glare at Jessica. “I told you not to tap the glass!”

Jessica gives you a grin. “Sorry. One of us thought you were a human drowning so I just wanted to show him that was not that case and to pay attention more to our meetings.”

Miguel’s skin turns a darker shade of red, his antennas uncurling and flops in front of his forehead. Your eyes meet his and he feels the embarrassment running through him.

Not only had he embarrassed himself during his job—but in front of something pretty like you. He glanced between your eyes and your tail, gulping down his nerves and placing his hands behind his back.

“Sorry.” He mumbled out.

“Miguel, this is our first volunteer for our new exhibition. Since the discovery of mermaids and mermen, this gal,” She places a hand on the glass with a mention of your name. “…is now a part of introducing humanity to the wonders of the sea.”

“I’m a party animal.” You tell Miguel, resting your cheek on your arm with a smile.

“She’s joking.” Jessica says but he can only stare at you, engraving your smile in his memory.

“Now that we know a human isn’t drowning, can you go back to work?” Jessica pats his shoulder as he makes her exit. Miguel turns to see her leave and looks back to see you still staring at him.

“You’re not human.” You observe.

“I’m not.” Miguel clears his throat and approaches your tank slowly. “I’m from Retha. A neighboring planet a couple light years away.”

You him in thought, pretending to know what light years are.

“Didn’t expect to see another alien here.” You splash your tail, a few droplets hitting the ground.

Miguel tilts his head, one antenna following him. “Alien? But aren’t you from Earth? Just…in the sea?”

You shrug, hanging your arm out. “I’m in a tank, aren’t I? I’ll never be considered like the humans.”

Miguel watches your dive back in the water to rehydrate yourself before popping back up.

“Miguel. My name is Miguel.” He says, placing a hand on the tank and looking up at you. You smile and dive back in the tank so you can be face to face. You place your hand on the tank where his hand was at. He knows your name, you don’t need to repeat it.

You watch as he turns his head, a soft muffle of talking and you assume he’s heading back to work. He gives you another glance and you puff out a small bubble of air to make a heart in the water and waving him goodbye. His cheeks flush red and he nods, turning away and leaving.

He feels interested in learning about the water this time around. His curiosity knows no bounds.

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel x reader #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x you #miguel spiderman #miguel spiderverse #miguel ohara #spiderman 2099 #miguel x you #miguel x y/n #spiderman 2099 x reader #spiderman 2099 x you #miguel o'hara imagine

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misc-obeyme · 5 months

Text

Lesson 36 spoilers below, including the locked lesson & hard lesson...

Sorry it's a little screenshot heavy but there was a lot happening in this lesson and I was having a lot of feelings. I think I screenshotted my way through the whole thing lol.

SO. MUCH. LORE.

We got so much lore!??!?!

Things I'm freaking out about:

Mephisto's whole lecture about the underworld and its rings

the fact that trains were seen as commoner's transportation 'cause they were used by demons who couldn't fly

SOLOMON (as if he wasn't hot enough) walking through all the rings of the underworld

Solomon just kinda laughing about it and then agreeing that it's really just a tourist attraction now???? THAT'S THE UNDERWORLD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

He talks about the city of Dis which is straight up from the Divine Comedy. Does this mean Dante has been their resource all along?! That could explain Diavolo's Italian name...

Because he also talks about Minos who also made an appearance in the Divine Comedy... I'm just sayin!!

They said they're taking Lucifer to Cocytus?!? (Which is also in... you guessed it, the Divine Comedy. Where it's stated to be the home of traitors.)

Isn't that the same thing as the River of Lamentation?!?!

What're they gonna do, drown him???

Okay okay my list should have ended several bullet points ago.

(Though on that last one, if they're going full Dante, then they'll bury him in ice instead.)

ANYWAY.

Mephisto buying all those sweets for his little brother was the cutest thing ever. He needs to stop being precious. I was resisting so well and then he had to go and be a good brother and also be concerned about MC and ask if they were all right and yeah he's annoying but it's kind of endearing too....????

This whole part where he was just asking MC questions & worrying about them being hurt. STOP THAT. This is exactly the kind of thing I live for, you're doing on purpose, aren't you??

You are not supposed to care!

I warned you before to stop making me like you...

THAT'S IT. HE'S A KEEPER.

Also do you think that when they say commoners are demons that can't fly... are they saying that demons with wings are the only ones that can be nobles? Or are they saying demons with enough power to fly whether that's with wings or not? Because isn't Barbatos actually like a duke or something? Are you really gonna tell me that guy is a commoner? Even if he does work as a butler... maybe it doesn't count 'cause he can portal himself around?

But also! We know Mephisto is a noble so does this mean his demon form has wings? I thought for sure they were going to go with a tail.

BUT ALSO ALSO do the bros not count? They should all be nobles, but they clearly aren't, but they also aren't commoners? Maybe they're neither 'cause they're fallen angels? And we know three of them have tails, so...? I'M CONFUSED ABOUT HOW THIS WORKS.

Okay, sorry I'm getting off on a bit of a tangent here. There's just so much info that we suddenly got in this lesson about the world! And while I've been wanting more such stuff, I was hoping it would clarify some things not make things more confusing.

So anyway, there's a whole lot of underworld which they've mentioned before but only briefly, so it was cool to get more info on that!

Don't worry, Luci. MC has to travel through time as well as space and I don't think a trip through the underworld is going to cut it. I like it when you compliment Solomon, though.

I don't know how to tell you guys that the idea of Solomon walking through the underworld and laughing about it later makes me insane. So I'm just telling you straight out. I'm insane about it.

Are we still talking about the underworld? Because when I hear "tourist attraction" I tend to think of things like the world's largest ball of twine, not playing chess with Minos, Judge of the Damned.

That whole phone conversation with him was just so good. I know I recently wrote a whole post about him being sus and he still is because it's him, but do not misunderstand me because I love that man. I love his cute little laugh that he always does.

Then again, he's clearly terrible at lying. Good at just not saying stuff maybe, but lying directly? I'm not so sure...

So anyway, Lucifer's gonna be executed, huh? I like how both he and Mephi were like nope Diavolo is gonna fix this. They have such unwavering faith in him, it's precious.

Also, I LOVED THIS ENTIRE PART.

Lucifer saying he knows? He knows, but this is home now for him and his brothers? And then MEPHISTO coming right back with then you should understand why MC wants to go home??

I was not expecting Mephistopheles to understand and be concerned about MC wanting to go home like that. It wasn't something like yeah you should go home you're a human and don't belong here. He didn't say anything like that at all. It was just immediately like you must miss your family. Mephisto confirmed family man!

HARD LESSON: Solomon was being a complete menace. He locked Lucifer's brothers in a room??? What's he gonna make them do!? Eat his cooking?? No, he gives his cooking to people because he loves them and wants to make them happy. So it can't be that. My mind... it goes to dangerous places... why did they have to cut off the lesson without telling us what Solomon's intentions were??

...

I wouldn't mind being locked in that room with them all, though.

Please take this selection of screenshots of him being insufferable with that cute lil smile on his face.

To be fair, he's not wrong... it was pretty funny.

I CAN'T.

Also in the LOCKED LESSON: Barbatos my true love. This whole interaction was amazing. Simeon and Luke are so cute. Diavolo clearly doesn't know Lucifer super well yet and it's so adorable watching him figure it out. And now he's all like Barbatos how can I fix this? And Barb is just like sorry it's too late. LOL he's so strict.

Dadbatos mode activated.

Luke my sweet baby angel, never change!

Diavolo's sad face is so cute, I don't know how Barb ever manages to resist it. I'd just give in to everything he ever wanted all the time. I also love how he is straight up calling Barb mean lol.

They both look so serious. Cut him some slack, Barb!

And lastly, I only wish to leave you with this:

Everybody knows nobody can make tea as good as Barbatos does. Not even Lucifer.

Don't be angry, Luci. You're no Barbatos, but I'm sure your tea is delicious.

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idkfitememate · 4 months

Note

I have another brainrot that suddenly came. You know those crabs in Fontaine? Pick any kind and have an interaction with Wrio or Freminette. Like Freminette is casually diving and he meet this someone unique crab. Or Wrio checking out the pipe inhus territory and meeting this odd crab that has different colors from the usual ones.

Or maybe that stingray

Go wild 🫶

-🌾

Hehehe I gots an idea ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

He wasn’t supposed to go this deep.

That was the only thing on Freminette’s mind. He was a diver, that was true. But he usually stayed in the Sunlight Zone, only occasionally dipping into the Twilight Zone.

Somehow, today, he had fallen into the Midnight Zone. Where things larger than any beast he may have seen lived and thrived.

But as much as he hated it… he was curious.

Would anything even want to interact with him? The Twilight Zone was pretty much untouched by human hands. Untainted. Pure. The things that lived down here probably have never seen anything like him. Could probably not even comprehend something like him.

So as much as he was scared, Freminette was also excited.

He allowed himself to drift through the seemingly endless sea, dark water surrounding him on all sides. He didn’t dare turn on a light, in case it might attract something he couldn’t fend off. It was cool, and silent.

That was, until something large swam beneath him.

The current it created actually propelled him forward. He gripped onto the line that kept him connected to the surface.

He watched the shadow move away into the distance before circling around back to him.

Suddenly light emitted from its back as it swam closer, pulling up in front of him.

It began to make rounds and fear began to creep into the boys bones. Should pull on his line so he can be taken back up? Should he find a way to fight? What would his siblings do?.. What would Father want him to do?..

As he thought, the beast pulled its way in front of him.

He was met with the pupil of an eye stalk that was much taller and wider than him.

You both stared at each other, then finally shook your body, lighting yourself up fully.

Eight long legs descended into the depths below, with two large claws that wrapped around in a wide circle, around him. One claw being larger than the other.

You looked like a bigger, beefier and taller version of the Emperor of Fire and Iron. With a large imposing crown and all.

Your limbs were thicker than if you lined up three Monsieur Neuvillette’s and three Wriothesley’s side by side. Your larger claw looked like it could open enough to snap the uppermost part of the Fortress of Meropide.

Your glow was bright as you shuffled back, raising up to see him better.

If anything you looked like a walking city.

Freminette stared in wonder at you, swimming forward. Seeing this, you took a few steps forward towards him. He placed a hand on your head, right between your eyes.

“…Hello..?” His voice echoed through the space. The small crackle of the microphone on his suit echoing after.

He sat in silence. But only for a moment.

“… H… E… L… L… O…”

Freminette had just made an amazing discovery.

I like this idea. Like a lot. Imagine Freminette finding a way to bring you up, and Fontaine is faced with a Nation sized crab lmao ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

#asks <3 #anon <3 #🌾 anon <3 #Deep Sea Crab!Creator

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kiriska · 4 months

Text

I originally made this zine back in October. There was no particular impetus for it except I think I’ve just been low key constantly thinking about ghost bikes since I learned about them some years ago.

I rewrote some parts of this a few times and I’m still not happy with it, but it feels kind of pointless to keep fiddling with it. There’s too much I want to say and 8 pages isn’t enough.

Saying that drivers “choose” vehicular manslaughter sounds aggressive. I know (most) drivers don’t intend to do harm, but it doesn’t actually matter what their intentions are if someone gets hurt or is killed. Maybe drivers aren’t “choosing” to kill, but they are choosing to get gigantic vehicles and to go fast enough to kill.

Most recent cyclist deaths in the Seattle area have been on common biking routes, though none of them have bike lanes (Seward Park Ave, Spokane St, Marine View Dr). I’ve biked on all of these, some of them very frequently. It sucks passing by each time and knowing someone died there, and that it could’ve been avoided.

Basically everyone I know who bikes has been hit by a car at some point. A friend was hit while in a crosswalk a few months ago. (In a similar incident, a 13-year old kid was killed in a crosswalk last year.) Thankfully, no one I know has died yet. It does sort of feel inevitable though.

Recently, a car ran a red light and hit a bus. The bus was forced onto the sidewalk, where it killed a pedestrian. I walked by on my way home with groceries 5 minutes after this happened. Couldda been me. Everyone is a pedestrian at some point, but so many people avoid living life as a pedestrian. They drive everywhere and are only ever on foot within a building. My high school was one (1) mile from my house, but I had to drive to get there because of the 6-lane highway between us.

The problem is complicated. I mostly blame infrastructure, but that’s not easy to fix. We designed and built whole cities around cars and left no space for people, and that can’t be corrected without a lot of money and political will. We need roads that are “inconvenient” for cars and drivers. Ones that are narrower and have speed bumps and “traffic calming” devices slow drivers down by design, without relying on speed limit compliance or enforcement.

Seattle is cramped as hell and there aren’t sidewalks in a lot of places. But in order to build sidewalks and bike lanes, we need to take away space from cars, and hell gets raised every time anyone even suggests taking away parking, much less an entire travel lane. Lots of people depend on cars, but that’s never going to change without cities investing in the alternatives.

Buses and transit can become reliable. Bikes offer a lot of the same freedom and personal autonomy as cars. “No one wants to bike in the rain/cold/hills/etc” and yet Seattle has such a robust cycling community, both in commuters and recreational cyclists. “You can’t haul groceries/supplies/kids/dogs/etc by bike,” and yet so many people do.

And if people don’t feel safe on bikes, it’s just because of all the cars.

RIP Steve Hulsman, who was killed at the intersection of Marine View Dr and 46th Ave, the intersection in the photos, on December 21st.

#zines #bikes

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howlingmod · 1 year

Text

Are you bored yet?

summary ; human/actors au again ... reader is a local clay worker that Wally may or may not like just a teeny bit. meetcute coric ..

notes ; they/them used for reader , not proof read and just a teeeny tiny bit rushed (i am sleepy) . glass breaks but there is no violence or anything ..

wc - 2k

He really should’ve been more careful, looking back on it now.

Yes, it’d been a while since he’d gotten that vase and set it down, but, really, for walking past it every single day, he should’ve realized how precariously it sat on the table. He should’ve realized that sooner or later, he was going to be too tired to remember to give it some space when he walked back into his apartment. Unfortunately, however, he did not in fact realize that in time. And so, he is tragically faced with the terrible fate of going and buying a new vase. Perhaps this time, he will not place it so precariously. Perhaps this time he will buy a thicker one that has less chances of shattering into one-thousand tiny pieces in the dark at around 10pm on a Thursday. He had much to think about in his journey of replacement.

Luckily, for as long as he’d had the vase, he could still vaguely recall where he’d gotten it from. It was some pottery store he’d randomly passed by once just outside of the city, curiousity (and fatigue, if he remembers right, it’d been an eventful day and he was still too jittery to lay down quite yet) getting the better of him when he’d noticed it. The owners were nice enough, an older couple who he could recall telling him long-winded stories about anything tangentially related to what he’d been looking at. Plates with flowers painted on them prompted a story about some unidentified, gorgeous plants one of them had seen around a river long ago. A cup with an oceanic color-scheme had prompted a tale of a seagull one of their previous coworkers would feed bits and pieces of bread to on their break. So on, so forth. Long winded for anyone passing through, but pleasant for someone just tired enough to want white noise and easy, one-sided conversation.

Getting into his car, he wondered if they’d have any stories to tell him this time. He would likely be better conversation this time, now that he was less exhausted from being around other people for a long, exciting period of time and more tired from waking up at some time before 11am on a rare free day. He found himself gathering excitment somewhere in his chest, bubbling up in fondness at the idea of this little trip. Sure, it was just a silly little thing to be excited over, but it was nice to have a break from monotony, wasn’t it?

It was a nice day out, too. The breeze forgiving and the sun sociable in the sky, bright rays easily negotiated to peace with sunglasses. It’d been a while since he’d ventured out of the city. Sure, it’s not as though he lived in the heart of it, but it was still different to see the buildings like miniatures from afar. It was a nice break from the towering skyscrapers and heavy traffic. Especially the traffic, actually. He’d never been good with handling bad drivers.

There wasn’t anyone else in the parking lot, only one or two other cars there, likely the owner’s or someone in a closeby building’s. There were a few other businesses dotted around in the area, some strip mall closeby and a park on the way there. He was likely just early, there probably aren’t many people stopping to buy pottery at 9am.

The inside of the store was quiet enough, music playing softly enough you had to pay attention to the murmurs to pick up on it. The lights shone on everything, not blindingly as much as it was in gentle awareness of everything. As his eyes refocused, he could’ve sworn he seen a vague shape duck into a doorway near the back of the store. Before he could properly investigate his suspicions, his attention was drawn away.

“Well, I was wondering when the resident celebrity was coming back!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, turning to face his company. “I hope I’m not intruding, it seems I’m rather early this time.”

The older woman he recognized from his previous visit smiled and shook her head, “Much earlier, I’m glad to see the cold night didn’t drag you in this time.”

He returned the smile, pushing his hands into his pants pockets as he replied, “Oh no, I was actually coming to look and see if you had any new vases in.”

She’d lit up at his words, straightening up with intent to lead him off, “Of course! We’ve got plenty of new ones in since last time, I’m sure we can find one to your liking.”

“-turns out, that hammering I thought I’d heard from the neighbors had just been a big woodpecker all along!”

He’d smiled fondly, “Ah! You don’t see many of those around here, do you?” He was careful to keep a good grip on the vase in his hands, decorated in an intricate scene of a forest dotted with various birds. From the minute details on every pine needle and carved indents on certain elements, he could only imagine how long it’d taken to make.

“No, no you don’t,” she’d laughed, shaking her head as she looked back to the shelf filled to the brim with other, equally eye-catching vases. He’d studied the one in his hands a moment longer, carefully tracing over the carving of texture in a tree before perking up at a new sound.

A soft ‘clink’ had snapped him out of his thoughts. Initially, he’d figured the old woman had picked up a new piece to show him, but found she was still studying the selection herself. He’d turned around quickly, curious to see if anyone else had stopped in, but the store was empty. That was when his eyes caught that doorway again, vaguely making out the shape of shelving in the darkened hall. On that shelving sat one vase, darkness obscuring the pattern of it.

“Why put that one piece there?”

The woman had snapped out of her own thoughts, looking back at him momentarily before following his gaze to the pot patiently sitting in the shade. Upon noticing the object of his attention, she’d smiled once more and turned back to him, “Our resident potter puts their finished work there so we can price it and set it out.”

That had caught his attention. “Resident?”

“Oh yes! While we do get a fair amount from other sources, just as fair an amount is homemade,” she hummed, “Would you like to meet them?”

He’d readjusted his hold on the vase again, not wanting to risk another work in his excitement, “If that wouldn’t be a bother.”

She shook her head, “I’m sure it’ll be quite alright, chances are they would appreciate the conversation, artist-to-artist.”

Before he could offer any sort of further fret, she’d started off towards the hall, leaving him to stand awkwardly with the glassware on his lonesome. He’d glanced at the large cardinal on the surface of the piece one final time before hurriedly (and carefully) placing it back on the shelf, jumping to catch up.

It was far darker back here than it had been in the main area of the store. Combined with the noticable increase in temperature, however, it was more comfortable than you would’ve imagined. Through the shade he could pick out calenders, notes and other miscellanious papers littered along walls and desks. Half-dirtied rags were scattered on shelves, various bottles standing not far from them nor the different tools lying about. Before he could even try and dissect what their uses would be by simple observing and guessing, the woman spoke up again.

“I hope you don’t mind some company, (Name),” she chimed, speaking just a tad louder to properly catch attention in all the visual noise.

With that, he’d finally noticed the figure standing in front of a tall table near the middle of the room, turning their head to look towards her. Their eyes flicked to him momentarily in what he could only assume was surprise. They’d straightened up from their hunched over position, wiping their hands off on a dirtied apron as they walked around the table and towards the pair.

Oh no.

They’d opened their mouth to start talking to her, but he couldn’t pick up on any of it. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was focusing on, he just knew that he was particularly distracted by the person in front of him and it wasn’t exactly getting any better the more and more he zoned out. He couldn’t make out every detail perfectly in the low-lighting, but it was enough that he could very, very easily tell this person was very, very attractive.

“-so you’re that one guy on tv?”

“Yes!” He flinched as he snapped out of his thoughts, “Wally Darling, but just Wally is more than fine.”

You’d smiled and for a brief moment he had to hope and pray his wasn’t too dopey and the low light hid the heat in his face as you stuck your hand out. There was a brief moment your smile faltered, as though suddenly realizing something, but it wasn’t a fast enough reaction as he’d snatched up your hand. Your hands were, similarly to the rest of the room, noticably warmer. They were also noticably sticky with clay, some already drying out on your skin as the rest, inevitably, would likely dry to his.

“And could I have the pleasure of knowing your name?” You looked like you were stuck between apologizing for getting the blood of your work on him and introducing yourself, glancing between him and your hands for a few moments. He vaguely realized this was probably a bit long for a handshake. Eventually, you managed a weak smile, righting your grip on his hand, “(Name).”

“That’s a very lovely name,” he stated plainly, hoping you could pick up on the sincerity in his flatter tone, “How long have you been working with ceramics, if you don’t mind my asking?”

You’d perked up at that, seemingly completely forgetting about the handshake (that was still yet to properly break apart, this was definitely not a proper one, anymore) with the topic of your work. “Well, that’s a bit of a difficult question. I’ve been working with clay for a long, long time, but I really only picked it up career wise a year or two ago.”

“Ah! That figures, your work is all very professional looking, it’s very impressive,” he complimented. Sure, he might’ve been laying it on a little thick, but it seemed as though he’d suddenly lost the ability to control his words, them tumbling out before he could even really think about it.

Luckily, you didn’t seem to mind, instead reaching up a hand to rub at the back of your neck. “Well, I don’t think my work is that stellar, but I really appreciate it. It uh- it definitely takes some time, it’s nice to see it goes to good use.”

“It’s nothing, really. If you don’t mind, could I watch for a bit? It’s completely fine if not, I really am just curious to see how you go about it.” Yes, he was definitely pushing his luck a little bit. In his defense, however, he was genuinely curious about how you managed to get all your vases so smooth and pack so many details onto such a small, unconventional canvas. It was just an added bonus that he’d possibly get to find out more about you, that was all! He can’t help the mysterious potter he hadn’t even known existed was not only nice on the eyes but, so far, was nothing short of pleasant.

You’d thought on it a moment, moving the hand at the back of your neck to hang at your jaw absentmindedly, “I suppose that would be fine by me, I can’t promise it’ll be too entertaining though.”

He smiled and shook his head, “Not a problem at all! I’m sure I can find enough entertainment for the both of us, I am an entertainer myself, after all.”

You returned his smile, finally letting go of his hand and breaking off your entirely-professional handshake to turn and head back to your workstation, “Well, make yourself comfortable, then.”

"Oh, trust me, that won't be any problem at all."

#wally darling x reader #welcome home x reader #mod writes #i dont actually know anythign about ceramics i just thought of this While Doing ceramics . sorry to all the clay fans out there ..

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xxsabitoxx · 1 year

Text

Exploring w/ Sanemi

~Sanemi x Reader~

You convinced Sanemi to explore an abandoned building with you

A/N: idk why but I found this idea really funny and couldn’t resist writing it — so enjoy Sanemi getting scared lol

Pink text : you | Green Text: Sanemi

Word count: 1548

Convincing Sanemi to go exploring with you had been a far easier task than you imagined. Ever the risk taker, you had been dying to explore an abandoned factory on the outskirts of your college town. You’d heard countless stories from your peers and figured you needed to experience it for yourself. When you had gone to your boyfriend with your plans, he had one simple thing to ask you.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

You had deflated a bit, though you had expected him to not want to accompany you. So, after some back and forth, a couple of “puppy eyed” pouts and the resolve that you’d simply go by yourself… Sanemi found himself walking up an overgrown path with a flashlight in his hand. “Why couldn’t we do this during the day again?” He pushed a branch out of the way, ducking just as it snapped back into place.

“Cause it’s not as fun when you go during daytime.” He turned to look at you, face morphed into one of disbelief. “Fun.” Was all he could muster, watching as you pointed your own flashlight towards the broken windows of the massive building. Not only was it far out, it was surrounded by a large forest. Which only made the entire thing sketchier. “I wanna get to the roof. I heard the view is amazing.”

“Yeah, when you can actually see what the fuck is around here.” He grimaced as he counted the floors, six stories all together to make it up to that roof. You truly must have lost your mind… then again he wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowing you went out here by yourself. “You’ll be able to see the city, that’s more than enough!” Sanemi’s flashlight brought attention to some…interesting… graffiti. “Yeah… sure.”

This was your typical bummy hangout for people with nothing better to do. Never mind having to worry about the ghosts people claimed lived here… Sanemi was more concerned about fending off squatters and crackheads. You, however, we’re practically euphoric as you found a broken window with enough space to crawl through.

“Perfect! The main entrance is chained up because this place got condemned.” You’re already pushing yourself head first as Sanemi choked “Condemned?! This place got condemned and you want to climb six stories to the fucking roof?” But you had already disappeared inside, he’d be damned if he stayed out here by himself, the snap of a twig off in the distance was enough to have him clamouring through after you.

The inside of the factory was exactly what he expected, nothing but decaying concrete that made it very easy to understand why the place had shut down. Alongside that there was overgrowth from outside, animal droppings and more graffiti. There was also the broken class that he kept having you maneuver you around since you were far too engulfed in finding the staircase that would bring you up.

“Where the hell is it?” You huffed after ten minutes of searching the first floor, seemingly not bothered by the unsettling quiet. The kind of quiet that had Sanemi looking over his shoulder every few seconds, standing just a step behind you in order to keep you in his field of vision while he surveyed for anything that could harm you. “No idea but let’s take it as a sign to fucking go.” The stale air was starting to make his skin crawl.

“Here it is!” Your voice bounced off the walls, going in every direction as Sanemi groaned. “Well, if anyone was waiting to kill us, they know where we are now.” You scoffed, pushing the rusted metal doors open and cringing as they screeched. “Nice… now anyone in a fucking two mile radius knows where we are.” You rolled your eyes, shining your flashlight up the staircase.

“Stop being dramatic, it’s not like we’re in a horror movie.”

“Famous last words. Now we’re gonna die.”

“You really think some serial killer is hanging out around this abandoned factory? He’d have a slow ass job considering we’re probably the first two to be here in a couple weeks.”

You chuckled softly as you began taking the stairs, they were solid concrete so you hoped they’d be stable enough to get you where you wanted to go. “We’ll be his lucky break.” You turned around to shine your flashlight on him. “Took you a second to come up with that one, huh?” A quick “shut up” promptly followed.

Six flights of stairs later and you had only made it to the third floor. “Halfway! I wanna check this floor out though.” Sanemi stopped mid-step. “What could you possibly need to look for on this floor? Crack needles? Squirrel shit? More concrete?” You snorted as you pushed the rusty door open, using your flashlight to survey the area. “As much as I’d love to find some crack needles, I wanted to see the view since I noticed all the windows were completely broken on this floor.”

As if to prove your point, a cool gust of air ruffled his hair. For a moment, he didn’t feel the need to complain, especially when the stale air was no longer clinging to his skin. “Only you would find interest in that.” He moved past you, never in his life had he actually desired fresh air, crossing the space in long strides and practically sticking his whole head out of what used to be a window. “Me? Look at you!” You moved to enter the room, stopping when you heard faint footsteps.

“Sanemi…” you shine your light around the area, almost positive the footsteps were coming from the floor below. But it never hurts to make sure. “Yeah?” He pulled himself back inside, heart thumping wildly when he saw the look on your face. “I…I swear I heard footsteps.” Sanemi blinked, “I swear to god if you’re making fun of me…” but then he heard them too. “Oh…fuck you why did you make us come here! I told you!”

You couldn’t help but laugh, despite your own fear. “I thought you came along to protect me?” Your laughter continued quietly as you moved back out of the room and towards the staircase. If anyone was actually in the building, you’d hear them better from out there. “I did but you caught me off guard.” Sanemi was whispering now, crossing the room once more in long strides to keep you close.

You were both silent, waiting quietly in order to listen. “We’re not getting to that roof.” He mumbled softly, clicking off his flashlight a moment later. “Fine, but you’ll take me back here during the day to see the view…” you turned your light off as well, it would be much easier to locate you both if you had flashlights on, as if asking them to come get you. “…deal.”

You weren't exactly sure how long you had both sat there in silence, waiting to hear footsteps that would probably never come. “Should we…make our way back down?” You clicked your flashlight on, looking at Sanemi as you did. “Might as well…” He seemed hesitant, which made you laugh again. “My nearly six foot tall, beefcake of a boyfriend is scared.” That seemed to snap him back into reality.

“I’ll use you as bait.”

“Wow! I see how it is… ya know what…”

Your fear had fizzled away, “I’m gonna go to the roof.” before Sanemi could fight you on it, you took off up the next flight of stairs. “W-wait! What the fuck!?” But you were already gone, feet echoing as you rounded to the next flight. It only took a second but Sanemi was running up after you. “Besides!” You called out, your voice echoing all around you. “If someone really is in here, we can just toss them off the roof!”

“Oh yeah… a fool proof plan.” Sarcasm clung to every word as he chased you, the only way he could see you was the light of your flashlight bouncing around ahead of him. An additional six flights of stairs later you were walking straight out to the roof. “Oh wow!” You couldn’t believe the view, it was even better than what people described. “Y-you’re insane.” He huffed as he finally stood beside you.

“Yet, you still followed me up here.”

“You’re lucky it’s because I love you.”

“Aweee…”

You laughed, hooking your arm in his. “At least we’ll die together if those footsteps weren’t an animal.” Sanemi rolled his eyes, not willing to admit that the view was actually worth the initial terror. Though he still stood by the fact that it would be much better in the daylight. “I guess that’s true.” He pulled you closer, resting his cheek on the top of your head.

You stood in silence for a bit, admiring the scenery before you. “I’m not doing this again though.” You laughed, unable to contain yourself at his continued stubbornness. “You said we could come back in the daytime.” Sanemi snorted, “yeah that was before you took off.” Fair enough, though you knew he’d come along anyways if you said you were going.

“Now… let’s just hope your tires aren’t slashed when we get back.”

“Why would you even speak that into the universe?”

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cxsmicbaby · 10 months

Text

little bit - 2

CHAPTER TWO OF A SERIES

chapter 01

pairing : miguel o’hara x fem!reader

warnings : mild description of blood/injury; cursing throughout. enjoy :) dm if you wanna be added to the taglist!

word count : 3.5k

miguel gets hurt during a mission. he doesn’t want your help, but you give it anyway. things get a little bit heated.

𓆩༺🕷༻𓆪

If I had it my way, I would never go home. It all just feels so stale, and boring. After getting a taste of something like the Spider Society, it’s difficult to return to a place where half the city hates you.

Truly, that’s not even why I don’t like coming back. I mean, that’s apart of it, but there’s a far more real, physical problem that makes me dread walking through the portal today; the man waiting for me on the other side.

Strange is not a bad guy. Sure, he’s got his quirks, but at his core he is just as determined to help people as I am. It’s just that he’s become a bit insufferable since I joined Miguel and the others; insufferable, like I cannot stand to be around him for longer than 10 minutes before feeling like I’m going to implode. But I can’t spend time on my Earth without reporting back to him, because if I don’t do it myself he’ll just find me, anyhow.

“Look who decided to show up.” I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my tongue, feeling irritation already brewing in my chest. Taking a deep breath, I turn to face the doctor. He’s wearing a grey robe—a normal one, not a magic one—pajama pants, and slippers. It’s 3pm.

“Can you get off my case, just this once? I had to deal with something.” I certainly did. Hobie and I spent the entire morning and early afternoon scrubbing away at the damage we did on Monday, despite objections from the other spiders. I was right, everyone thinks the lobby is too sterile. But of course, Miguel knows best.

“Something? Is that something tall and annoying?”

“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself, Strange. You’re not that tall.”

He stares at me like he’s going to start laughing, and then he just sighs, walking past me. “Come on, let’s get this over with. I have something to do later.”

“Something? Is that something... a lady?”

The doctor scoffs, waving his hand to tell me how stupid he thinks I sound. To be fair, that wasn’t as good as his, but I couldn’t think of anything else. But he doesn’t say no, so I assume that this is his way of letting me know he’s going on a date later. Even though Strange and I have our differences, we’ve known each other for long enough that I can be happy for something like that—his last date was more than a year ago, and it ended with a slap and a suit soaked in red wine, so I can only hope this one goes better.

“You’ve been gone for longer this time,” he says, as we enter his study. For a man that claims to be so uninterested in material goods, he seems to have spared no expense in the decor of his living space. Sure, the sanctum was already pretty lavish, but I know for a fact that some of the shiny objects I’m currently looking at were not in here last time.

“It’s fine. It’s different for the others ‘cause a lot of them don’t have other heroes, but we’ve got the Avengers! The city doesn’t really need me that much,” I counter, taking a seat in one of the plush burgundy chairs. The cushion sinks a little under my weight, just enough to be comfortable. I need to invest in some better furniture for my apartment, because this is the best chair I’ve ever sat in.

Strange shakes his head, and takes a seat by his desk across from me. “It’s not about that. People are noticing that you’re gone, you know. And not just civilians.”

My eyebrows raise. “That’s ominous. Who’re we talking about here?”

“Tony, for one. God, that guy is irritating. I’m starting to wonder whether I should just tell him, so he stops calling.”

It takes all my willpower not to remind him just how similar he is to Stark, but to be fair, Tony annoys me more than Strange ever has. It baffles me how some of the other spiders actually work with that guy. Maybe he’s cooler in their universes.

“Just tell them I’m on vacation or something. That’s normal, right? Even heroes take vacations,” I suddenly feel like I can’t sit anymore, so I stand and start to fiddle with the things on his desk. A heavy blue sphere that looks like crystal catches my eye, and I pick it up without asking, turning it around in my hands. I can see my own reflection.

“Yeah, but not without saying anything. And put that down. It’s my paperweight.”

I look up at him to see he’s being entirely serious, and I regretfully do as he says. What an extravagant paper weight.

“So, what am I supposed to do? Get on Jimmy Fallon and announce my temporary retirement?”

Strange takes the paperweight from the place I’ve left it and starts turning it around in his hands. Asshole. “Just don’t spend as much time there as you do. You need to balance it, or else this isn’t gonna work.”

It sounds like he’s trying to tell me what to do. That’s an issue of his; always trying to be in charge of everyone and everything around him. I used to fall in line with that, but I have two control freaks in my life now and the newest one doesn’t really leave room for anyone else.

“Listen, Doc, everything’s gonna be fine. If Stark gets too nosy, I’ll just come back and make something up. You have more important things to worry about than where I am, and I have more important things to worry about than you,” I fire back, narrowing my eyes slightly as I watch for his reaction. He doesn’t seem fazed by my defiance; he’s more amused. Doesn’t matter—it’s time to get out of here and get what I really came back for anyhow. (Boba. The Spider Society has every drink imaginable in the cafeteria except boba.)

“Alright. You do what you want, but just be careful. You’re messing with things beyond your understanding, you know. Even beyond mine.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

Before he can launch into a rant about how this is very much not a ‘whatever’ situation, my watch vibrates. I think that it’s probably my empanada alarm—I set one so I can bring Miguel food everyday at the same time, because I noticed that if I bring it after or before he gets too busy to eat it. But it’s not. It’s from Jessica, and she only calls when there’s something serious going on. I almost feel guilty for thinking that this is the perfect escape from this tedious conversation.

“See ya, Strange. Duty calls.”

And just like that, I’m gone, barreling through a wormhole on my way back to my new home. I think it’s pretty much gotten to that point, anyhow. I’ve probably slept in my apartment on Earth-72 like 3 times since I joined up.

When I step out, I’m greeted by more chaos than usual, which is saying something. The room is filled with panicked shouts and spider-people running in every direction; including up and down. Hobie is nowhere to be found, and neither is Miguel, or Jessica. A chill runs down my spine. Something is wrong.

I see Ben talking frantically to someone else and I rush over, beginning to panic a bit myself. “Ben, what happened? Is everyone okay?”

He grimaces. “Miguel, Hobie, and Jessica went to take care of an anomaly. It turned out to be worse than they thought it’d be, and we sent back up, but nobody’s come back yet. They’re all dead, man. They’re all gone...” When he trails off, his eyes unfocus and his eyebrows furrow, obviously getting lost in his melodramatic bullshit once again.

My heart is steadily climbing up my throat. For the first time, I find myself unable to sit through this with him, because for the first time, it’s actually scaring me. “Shut up and tell me where they went.”

He doesn’t even time to come up with something dumb to say before the room is suddenly lit up in oranges and pinks, swirling for just a moment before they collapse in on themselves, and out come just the people I was panicked for. First comes Hobie, and despite a slight limp he seems just fine. Then Jessica, with no physical wounds, but a look on her face that tells me the worst is yet to come.

And then Miguel pours out, almost collapsing onto the floor before he clutches his stomach, forcing himself to stay upright. I can see a dark patch of what I assume to be blood on his right ribcage, and though his mask is on I can tell his face is twisted in pain. My hands almost reach out, as if I could grab him from my distance, but I settle instead for an expression that must look like I just witnessed yet another tragic family death.

“What the hell happened?” I say, quickly walking over to the three. Spiders that must’ve been sent as backup exit the portal quickly after, all groaning and sporting some sort of injury. Jessica’s eyes go hard and she pins me down.

“You should’ve been here. We needed you,” she scolds. Every time she talks to me this way I always feel like a little kid, despite our ages not being too far apart. Guilt chews away at me the longer I stand there, trying not to turn my attention to Miguel and the way he’s trying to hide how badly he’s hurt.

“Give her a rest, she’s been workin’ hard. We got it done, didn’t we?” Hobie chimes in, his voice slightly strained. I wonder just how badly this fight went for everyone to have gotten hurt; the need for any backup at all is startling, seeing as usually it only takes one of us to finish an anomaly off.

“With a lot more collateral damage than there needed to be. Someone take Miguel to the infirmary, he’s banged up bad.”

I turn to him, but he’s already started stalking off.

“I’m fine,” he calls, but I can hear the weakness in his voice; it’s lacking that dominance, that certain tone of his that makes you want to obey every word he says. So I follow behind him.

“Miguel, let me help. I promise I’ll be gentle.”

“No.” It comes out as more of a whimper, which I’m sure was not his intent. I swallow at the way my stomach flutters and continue to walk by his side, unsure of where he thinks he’s going. There’s no way he’s going back to work like this. For god’s sake, he still has his mask on, so he must not really be going anywhere. He’s just trying to get away so he can wallow in his suffering and refuse all help. I won’t let him, not today. If I can stand up to Strange, I can stand up to him.

I move so that I’m blocking his path, and cross my arms in front of my chest, hoping to hide my heavy, nervous breathing.

“I’m not asking, I’m telling. You need medical attention, but if you won’t let a professional help you, I’m going to.”

Miguel studies me. I can tell he is, even though he still has his mask on. His eyes narrow and his posture slumps just the slightest bit, like he’s given up. For just a moment, a thick tension hangs in the air, pressing hard on my chest, but then Miguel inhales deeply and breaks the spell. He doesn’t say a word; he only nods, and pushes past me. This is professional. This is me helping a friend. Me helping my boss. So I should treat it as such. Right?

𓆩༺🕷༻𓆪

Miguel wishes he let himself bleed out.

That would be preferable to the situation he has put himself in instead, he thinks, as he watches your face. He’s seated on a chair in his room, his suit peeled down to his feet so you can have access to all his cuts and bruises. He has imagined himself like this with you so many times; you nestled between his thighs, your fingers dancing across his abdomen as you carefully sew his gash shut. In his mind, it’s always led to more sinful activities, and those images are playing on a loop behind his eyes as he watches you. He swallows hard. He remembers a few nights ago when he let himself get off to the thought of you, and he almost recoils from your touch.

“Does it hurt?” you ask, glancing up at him with so soft a gaze he feels like he’s going to melt into a puddle at your feet.

“No.” Miguel figures that speaking plainly will aid him through this, because if he lets you hear but a tremble in his voice he’s sure you’ll know.

You’ll know that his heavy, labored breaths are not because of pain or exhaustion, and that his grip on the arm of the chair is not to brace for each movement of the needle. You’ll know that he’s thinking about how pretty you look on your knees. You’ll know that he wants nothing more than to grab you by the shoulders and kiss you, hard, to slip his tongue into your parted mouth and squeeze all the softest parts of you.

“Ok,” you say, smiling. “Tell me if it does. I can be gentler.”

He’s not sure you can.

It’s torturous, how slow you’re going. You don’t want him to feel pain at your hands, the idea of which pokes worryingly at his heart, but Miguel thinks if he sits here with you for any longer he’s going to lose his mind.

“Did you guys, uh...” you trail off, some semblance of guilt clouding your pretty face. “Did you guys actually need me?”

Oh. You’re ashamed that you weren’t there. Miguel will not tell you this, but he’s glad you weren’t there. If you got hurt like he did he would have ripped the anomaly apart with his bare hands. And that would be a little hard to play off as just normal boss duties.

“No,” he starts, and you brighten up for a moment before your expression sinks once more. He didn’t mean it like that. “If you were there you would’ve just gotten hurt like the rest. You would’ve gotten in the way.”

Why, oh why, did he say that? It’s not even true. From an objective standpoint, you being there would have helped them immensely. Even Miguel acknowledges that you are one of the most talented spider-people he has recruited—though, the only person he acknowledges it to is himself.

“Oh,” you say, your voice soft and quiet. The sound makes his chest ache.

Miguel wants to say something more, but he stops himself.

You sew him up in silence, which he thought would help, but now he can only focus on your breaths that fan over his bare skin, and your tongue that is poking against the corner of your lips as you concentrate. He feels his cock ache just the slightest bit and his eyes go wide, realizing that the worst possible thing that could happen right now is very, very close to happening. This needs to be over, now.

“That’s enough.” Miguel tries not to sound panicked, but he’s sure some of it slips through the cracks. You pause and look up at him with confusion.

“I’m almost finished. Just sit tight, it’ll be over soon.”

You move to continue, and in his fear he pushes your hands away. “Don’t. I told you, I don’t want your fucking help.”

He can see you’re hurt by that. God, what a fucking mess this is. The last thing he ever wants is to hurt you but it seems in order to keep himself from you, that’s what he has to do. The day you find out about the perverted, disgusting ways he thinks of you is the day he will disappear forever. He would sacrifice anything to keep that from happening.

“I don’t understand. Why do you hate me so much? God, why do you hate everyone? All we ever do is try to help you.” You back away from him, still on your knees, and your hands fall frustratedly to your sides. Miguel is surprised by this reaction, because he’s so used to you letting everything he says slide right off your back. But he’s gone too far now, he can see that. Your eyes are shiny and your forehead creased in defeat.

He can’t say anything, because if he does words will come out that he needs to stay hidden. So Miguel just watches you with eyes he’s sure are hard and cold, and he sees your face fall even further, your tongue poking at the inside of your cheek as a bitter laugh escapes you.

“Fine. Do it yourself.”

You toss the needle onto the table with the rest of the supplies and stand, moving to leave. And this is what Miguel wants, right? He wants you gone. But he betrays himself, because before you can even reach the door, he finds words bubbling in his throat and he’s unable to stop them.

“Wait. Don’t... you can stay.” It doesn’t even sound like his voice. He sounds weak, weathered by a raging storm that refuses to let up. You pause, but you don’t turn, crossing your arms in front of you as you sway from side to side. And Miguel’s body is aching to reach for you, to tell you the truth. That he is so infuriatingly infatuated with you that the very idea of you leaving makes him twitch.

“I’m...” it feels like his throat is constricting, trying not to let the words out. “I’m sorry. That was... unnecessary.”

You still don’t move, and Miguel’s sure you’re going to leave anyway. But then you do turn, and the smile on your face is so wide that he panics for a second that he’s said something more exciting than what he really has.

“It was mean. But, I accept your apology. Thank you, Miguel.” You’ve said his name hundreds of times before, but this time he feels a surge of something strange in his chest; but not like before, in the shower, or when you were between his thighs, staring up at him. Something stronger than that. Something scarier.

He swallows hard. “You can, uh. You can finish up now.”

You’re between his thighs again. One of your hands is flat against his stomach, keeping the skin taut, the other sewing away, your elbow resting on his thigh. His chest is heaving again. But he’ll fight it, if it means you’ll smile. You’re still smiling.

“Does it hurt?” you ask, glancing up at him again.

Miguel sighs sharply. “A little bit.” You smile a little harder.

“Sorry. I’ll be gentler.”

Again, he’s not sure you could.

𓆩༺🕷༻𓆪

CHAPTER THREE

#miguel x reader #miguel spiderverse #miguel o'hara #miguel x you #spiderman #spider-man 2099 #spiderverse #smut #miguel smut #spiderman smut #miguel ohara #peter parker smut #marvel #marvel smut #x reader #spiderman x you #spiderman x reader #miguel x fem #fem!reader

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koostattoos · 4 months

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➳ There’s Only Me When There’s You || j.jk

~ Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

~ Genre: slight enemies to lovers, high school au, fluff, MAJOR angst, first love, young love (Inspired by 2000's film A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks)

~ Warnings: MAJOR character death, a fight happens, mentions of a hospital, mentions of blood, fluff, fluff, fluff! 190811!jungkook (iykyk), they’re so incredibly adorable i’m crying, use of petnames (mostly baby)

~ teaser word count: 684

full fic here!

Making sure your parents knew where you were, you turn your head around the corner of the kitchen and call for your mom.

“I’m gonna go out and look around town, is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Just be careful. Don’t go too far and be back before the sun goes down.” she tells you

Nodding your head, you turn to put your shoes on and make sure you have your phone with you. The air outside was nice. It was still mid-summer but the weather around this time seemed to cool down.

“Well, if you ever need anything, please stop by. I’ll be glad to help” she says to you with a sweet smile.

#jungkook #bts jungkook #bts #jeon jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #jungkook fanfic #jungkook oneshot

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fryingpan1234567 · 1 year

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yeah, more of these…

Batboys x reader feat. living together bc I don’t see enough headcanons about that (in some you’re a super and in some you’re not)

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dick Grayson/ Nightwing

We’re imagining a Matt Murdock style Manhattan apartment, with entire walls made of murky glass, limited amount of walls within the place, very nice. It’s in Blüdhaven (:

There are two bedrooms. The two of you live in the smaller one and the master is for superhero stuff

All your tech, suits, files, medical, all that

The ceiling in your room is glass!!

The doggo is a black German Shepherd with a white patch on his chest that looks like the Nightwing symbol, which is the entire reason you got him. His name is Eagle :D

No matter where you work, the two of you take your lunches together every day and get coffee before work if there’s enough time. You picked this place because it’s close to both your jobs, obvi

As far as decor goes, there are a few high-humidity plants, neutral and blue tones, and cool metal

It’s always humid in your place for the plants, but it’s nice

Rainforest vibes, especially when it’s raining

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jason Todd/ Red Hood

So many books

All the books

Everywhere

Y’all’s live out kind of in the middle of nowhere so it’s easier to retreat and lay low when necessary

Bout an hour out of Gotham

That’s Albus Dumbledore, the Great Dane

Alby for short cause she’s actually a girl but Jay wasn’t budging on that name

Kitty is Angelica

Anyways it’s nice and quiet out there, no city noises or being constantly worried about a stray bomb being thrown in a window

Every goddamn cup or container in your house is a mason jar

Plates and bowls are literally just hammered out sheets of scrap metal

It’s an aesthetic tbh

Plenty of succulents

Anyways the library? Massive

The kitchen? Top of the line

Maybe you two live out in the middle of nowhere, but no way in hell do you pass up the opportunity to abuse Bruce’s money to build a kickass house with all your favorite things

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tim Drake/ Red Robin

Tim wanted to stay close to Bruce, as he is still a Robin

So y’all’s are only like a ten minute drive from the manor

Two doggos!! Rapunzel and Rella. They are both trained service dogs for anxiety and PTSD, for you and Tim both. Damian helped Bruce find them for you when the two of you moved in :DD

You have a smaller apartment, but it’s close to the top of the building and you actually get to see the Gotham sun sometimes

Whenever Rella or Rapunzel knows Tim’s been on his computer too long, or you’re hyperfixated on a case, or neither of you have slept in a while, they’ll drag you away from your work for a walk or a nap or food

Da best guard dogs :3

MOVING AWAY FROM THE DOGS

The house has quite the modern vibe going

Bright colors, cool shapes, sensible uses of space

Yes, the loft king bed is a real thing

Although sometimes you guys end up sleeping in the living room with a blanket fort bc your dogs can’t follow you up the ladder

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Damian Wayne/ Robin

First and foremost: Playdough’s rainbow spots are just dye; she’s fine I promise

Dami brought Titus and Alfred, obviously, but sadly Batcow had to stay at the manor. The condo building owners didn’t like the idea of that; a Great Dane is barely allowed as it is

The other cat is Cookie!! She’s nice but you and Dami tell everyone she’s mean so when they get affection they feel all warm inside [:

Keep in mind these guys are the only permanent ones- you foster all kinds of animals, including more dogs and cats, chinchillas, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, even a bat once

Dami also had to stay close to the manor for Robin purposes. You guys are a few minutes away

There are little weapons and med kits and snacks (human and pet) scattered all over your place

Everything is so dark at your place so bloodstains are less noticable

(Dami tends to stumble through a window at like four in the morning, potentially with stab or gunshot wounds and bleeds all over the place)

If you’re a nurse, the stitching up came easy

If you’re not… you had to learn pretty fast

But hey it’s not all bad you’ve got four emotional support animals and a giant tv to watch Nat Geo on

#dc #headcanon #batboys #batboys x reader #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #tim drake x reader #damian wayne x reader

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secret-engima · 1 year

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*slaps table* hi. This is the post where I talk about, yet again, why Kishi is an idiot when it comes to the implications of his own worldbuilding. Point 1. being that Kishi’s insistence that peacetime is bad for shinobi business is hot garbage and point 2. being the implications of ANBU being Scary even to other shinobi. Because the show makes it clear that ANBU are supposed to be the Scary Ones, the Dark Ones who do messed up stuff. Many fics have already talked about this, but not *too* many I've seen actually explore the implications of what that actually MEANS when put in the context of a society who thinks it's A-okay to give a knives and bombs to literal kids and shoo them off to fight things. Buckle up I’m going to flex my logic center and start talking economics even tho I never studied economics outside casual worldbuilding interest.

Okay to start off with, I’m need to talk about Not Anbu for a hot minute and describe some of the few things we *do* know about Kishi’s “worldbuilding” of the shinobi villages and their history.

1. Literally everyone but Madara the Madman agrees that the villages are a Good Thing that happened, even the missing ninja never breathe a word about wanting to go back to the Warring States Era where everyone was in clans. The implications of this could honestly be it’s own entire rant but I will restrain myself and focus on the topic at hand for now.

2. Konoha and every village barring the trash fire that is pre-Boruto Kiri have a thriving enough economy to be literal *cities* of very decent size and decent quality of life, which the civilians have a major hand in I’m sure, but tellingly the shinobi *make enough income to get by* and seem to do so very easily. I will probably come back to this as I go on.

3. Ninja villages not only have a wide array of mission ranks (which I will also come back to) but they are the ones who set the prices for individual missions, not the employers. This is seen in the infamous Wave mission when the bridge builder fellow lied about the danger of the mission because he *could not afford to pay for a mission above a C-rank*, which I remind you is the second lowest mission ranking in the system.

Alright with those in mind I’m gonna talk about the “peacetime is bad for shinobi” garbage because that does actually relate directly to the worldbuilding implications of ANBU. Just. Just bear with me here and forgive me if this kinda rambles in multiple directions, talking about anything with Kishi makes my braincells run for the hills on a good day.

JUMPING IN WITH THE PEACETIME THING. This is stupid. This is one of the stupidest things to come out of Kishi’s mouth in my opinion barring the existence of the cannibal space aliens. Why? Because despite Kishi’s love of explosions and giant flashy fights shinobi are supposed. To be. STEALTHY. And the vast majority of them now live in villages, which means they need steady income.

Post the unification of the clans into villages, wars actually became too big and messy to be profitable because it’s during peacetime that people have money to spend on hiring ninja. And we see them spend it on incredibly frivolous things when it comes to shinobi. Just look at all the D-ranks we see or are referenced in the shows. Babysitting, pet retrieval, fence painting, carrying shopping bags for civilian ladies, house cleaning, the list goes on. And these pay well enough, are priced high enough by the village, that Might Dai, a single parent, was able to feed, shelter, and clothe both himself and an extremely energetic child while also having time to train himself and his son and walk Gai to and from school. And the price tag for missions only goes up from there. Higher ranked missions pay more according to risk, but peacetime is when people will be able to afford those kinds of missions. *Wartime*, as war is defined in the show post-village creation, are giant, messy affairs where a lot of manpower goes to maintaining front lines and countering enemy action, leaving far *less* manpower and time to take on these kinds of missions, and with the mass destruction of land and resources that these wars cause, people will have less money to throw at having the magic ninja men do things like escort caravans, deal with petty crime, retrieve stolen items, etc. And those examples are just C-rank/B-rank examples. Most wartime missions that we see in the show are actually missions assigned by the village itself, not from an outside client, which means the pay is coming from the Village coffers and not an external source, which can get messy very quickly if they do not have the manpower to take enough missions from outside clients to refill those coffers. Remember that I’m coming back to it later.

Wartime, for village ninja, is loud and messy and ugly. *Peacetime* on the other hand, is the playground of the rich, the powerful, and the *subtle*. Peacetime is when nobles pay top dollar to *flaunt* that they can afford to hire a ninja or three to escort them around in broad daylight regardless of any enemies they’ve made. Peacetime is when nobles have the money to pay for ninja to go in and spy on rivals or steal secrets. Peacetime is when the Daimyo and other elites hire shinobi to escort luxury goods at high risk of theft, to deal with underground human or drug trafficking that is inconveniencing them, or to spy on their neighboring lands for information that will become useful next time they meet up to flex on each other in a “you don’t want to make trouble with me I have and know X”.

More importantly, peacetime is when the *lower* classes can afford to pay for the magic ninja as well. If D-ranks are enough to support a single parent and his child, then C and B ranks are actually going to be the *backbone* of a ninja village’s economy, not the A or S ranks. C and B ranks are going to be the highest pay for the lowest risk, and those will predominantly come from the merchant and working class who have enough spare cash to have someone deal with the wild animals harming their livestock, take out budding trafficking rings and bandit gangs or escort people and goods.

I don’t think I’m emphasizing this one enough. Look at a map of the Elemental Nations, look at the size of those countries. Now we don’t get a lot of info on cities in those countries (because KISHI) but there are bound to be plenty of villages, towns, and cities dotting those countries, and all of them are going to be connected in some way to each other via trade routes and highways. You’re going to have Konoha’s own supply lines and the trade deals they have with their own merchant families bargaining for preferential treatment in exchange for setting up shop in a ninja village on top of all the other merchants from all over the Land of Fire who, during peacetime, have both money and incentive to hire the fire-chucking magic people to ensure *all* of their goods arrive *on time, every time*.

You’re going to have merchants who have supply lines through multiple countries. Glass products from the Land of Wind. Inks, fine paper, and flavored teas from Land of Fire. Fish, oyster, and pearl products from the coast (which is especially high risk in areas near the disaster fire that is Kiri). Each and every country is going to have luxury products or famous higher-quality raw materials (*points at Iwa and their rock obsession, points at every product made out of high quality stone, silver, gold, or iron ore*) that the other countries are all going to want, and consequently you will have merchants that are going to be willing to pay top dollar to ensure those products get where they are meant to go and do so undamaged and in a timely fashion despite bad roads/bad weather/bandits/rogue shinobi hired by a competitor/wild animals/freak acts of the local kami because you forgot to pay tribute to their shrine last week.

The technology of pre-Boruto era is also still stuck in the *horse and wagon* stage, meaning you have caravans of this stuff moving on very strict, long term schedules, which means these are jobs that the village can charge per day or week on the road on top of the base price estimated from the level of risk to the shinobi. You have merchants who are going to give preferential treatment to the village of their home nation if they can, both because you Don’t Insult The Local Fire Breathers/Rock Gougers/Storm Summoners/Etc but also because the villages themselves likely offer discounts for natives of their country, or even contracts that are essentially subscription deals for those who have multiple caravans going out at the same time, multiple times in a year. A “pay this much up front and we will ensure that several shinobi are always on standby to guard one of your caravans” kinda deal. It’s been implied multiple times in the shows that the majority of any shinobi village’s workforce are chuunin and that jounin’s are elite, and C/B-ranks are literally stated in the wiki to be usually given to teams of Chuunin or sometimes two genin teams and their jounin pairing up for a joint operation. Chuunin are going to make their careers on guarding caravans, dealing with bandits, clearing road hazards, etc. If Chuunin are the majority of your workforce, then missions that chuunin can take are going to be, by necessity, the largest cashflow coming into your village.

If a war between two or more countries is happening, all of that gets heavily restricted because of the risk of infiltration, heavily impeded from road destruction and wartime front lines, or straight up *shut down* from lack of money and manpower to take those missions.

Can you see what I’m getting at now when I say Kishi’s peacetime line is stupid.

And here comes another fun aspect of this. Because where the money flows, so does the cultural norms. Now a lot of fics I’ve seen emphasize the child soldier thing and also how D-ranks are very likely a way to acclimate the genin to mission work while also training civilians to see ninja as Friendly Safe Workers who happen to have magic powers and knives. But the thing is, all of that work on acclimating the civilians to view their local shinobi as Safe To Hire is going to go out the window if you remind them too often that these people are literal killers for hire. Merchants are not going to want to hire Infamous Killers because that says to their customers and their potential business partners that they themselves are shady and possibly approve of murder to get their way. Poking at D-ranks briefly, farmers aren’t going to want to hire potentially unhinged murderers to till their fields, and nobody is going to want to hire even the genin to *babysit their kids*.

So.

In order to attract reliable patronage from these low risk, well paying areas, the ninja villages had to *alter their public perception*. Assassination missions, kidnapping missions, extortion missions, all of those over time became short-term gain/long-term loss for the village. So they took them on less and less, and those kinds of missions became increasingly *socially unacceptable* even to the shinobi, because if the village doesn’t approve of it, it’s not a good thing. What assassination/sabotage missions we do see or hear referenced in canon are always, iirc, targeting someone that can the ninja can safely point at and say “this is a bad guy”. High ranking rogue shinobi from other villages or crime lords or despotic warlords being I think the majority (if not the entirety) of the few examples canon gives us. Those are people that, when civilians hear about them being assassinated, the civilians are going to say “good riddance” rather than “oh no!”. And if those missions are the only ones that the common shinobi hear about themselves or take on, then that’s what they are going to associate with those types of missions. A high risk job that is nonetheless seen as Morally Right, even if their moral compass hinges mostly on who is the friend or enemy of their home village.

I could also get into how this has really interesting implications for what the Warring State Era shinobi economics were like and how Hashirama and Madara making Konoha was basically inventing the concept of unionizing but I’m not going to side track to that because finally, FINALLY, we get to the ANBU Are Scary Thing.

Because this. This whole thing about how peacetime is actually where ninja villages make their bread and butter and how the push-pull of being Socially Acceptable for Money turning into Actual Moral Perception is where ANBU’s identity as the Scary Guys comes into play.

Now we don’t know when ANBU was actually founded in Konoha or any other village, but I’m going to ballpark and say it was *after* the First War because of a few key things we know about ANBU.

1. ANBU are Scary.

2. ANBU are known to specifically hunt other ninja (specifically Kiri has a Hunter-nin branch of ANBU but logically every village would have this).

3. ANBU work is extremely psychologically and physically grueling to their members and has a high fatality rate.

4. Whatever ANBU does is considered messed up even by ninja standards. An example that comes to mind is a filler flashback where Gai ends up running into Kakashi on an ANBU mission where Kakashi is basically putting down enemy ninja that are defeated and attempting to surrender and Gai is visibly distressed by this.

The First Shinobi World War likely rocked the Elemental Nations as badly or *worse* than WWI did for the real world, because this was the first time “war” was not defined as two or three noble lords throwing peasants with spears or the occasional ninja at each other or two or three shinobi clans having a protracted blood feud that they could only initiate when they weren’t busy trying to feed their own families. Assuming Konoha has the average number of shinobi clans that can be found in a shinobi village, that means we had somewhere upward of 55 clans from various countries throwing everything they had at each other on open battlefields, destroying large amounts of landscape, and causing shinobi and civilian casualties on a mass scale that even the most fire happy Uchiha could not have achieved on their worst day. This was also after Jinchuuriki became a thing, so this war was the first demonstration of what it’s like to essentially duct tape a nuke to an emotionally volatile child soldier and see what happens when you throw two or more of them into a battlefield.

The economy of the villages and their respective nations would have been in chaos after the war. Entire towns, roads, and bridges are straight up gone, chunks of landscape for miles around have been drastically rewritten, the death toll is high and the missing persons list is even higher and in the wake of this you’re going to have *every* would-be warlord and their grandfather getting uppity and trying to stake a claim on what they can of the wreckage. This includes Rogue Shinobi, likely the first real appearance of Rogue Shinobi in ninja history, at least on this scale. Lots of shinobi are going to be disillusioned from the war, exhausted, more than a few are mentally broken from the traumas, and all the ninja who have no moral compasses and dreams of power are looking at this and deciding “hey, now is a great time to become a warlord”. On top of all this, since most of the wartime missions were assigned by the villages themselves and not an outside client (with *very minimal* cash flow coming from the Daimyo himself since presumably the war was partially his idea, but even the royal coffers are not enough to run a military city the size of Konoha kthanks), the village coffers are likely hanging out somewhere between “Naruto’s childhood allowance” and “I can offer you lint”.

Obviously, these things need to be taken care of pronto, and with the villages scrambling to have the money to rebuild, the Kage in charge are going to be much more willing to take on dirty missions like assassinations, extortion, blackmail, *whatever* just to refill the village coffers. But. The ninja villages still need to keep their social acceptability in order to start getting their C and B ranks back, especially after the war opened everyone’s eyes to how destructive shinobi can really be in large numbers. They cannot afford to be seen killing left and right and the Rogue ninja are a huge stain on their village’s reputation, but openly advertising that “hey, if anyone leaves the village we’ll behead them” really isn’t going to do any favors for keeping the shinobi who are in the same mental space Tsunade was when she got fed up and left Konoha altogether.

And this, I think, is what gave rise to the existence of ANBU. The Kages picking their remaining highly skilled and most loyal followers, putting them in masks so that they cannot be easily identified by civilians, and sent out to quietly complete these high level, socially unacceptable missions. They were sent out to deal with Rogue shinobi and make them disappear without advertising to all the other traumatized village shinobi that their village is “serve or die” rather than the more patriotic “we fight for our home” that they were raised with. They were sent out to perform civilian assassinations, extortion, whatever they were offered in order to shore up the village’s shaky economy of the time and enable the Kage to pay their soldiers.

Then, after the economy stabilized, the ANBU just kinda … never left. Because by then the respective Kage had realized that being able to take on these kinds of missions with high pay and no loss of social acceptability was useful, and in the wake of the First War with everyone being simultaneously paranoid of their neighboring country but also on eggshells to not start another war, the anonymity of ANBU became a convenient way to keep an eye on each other and subtly attempt to sabotage the other when it looked like they were getting too powerful. The next two Great Shinobi Wars only solidified ANBU’s role in the hidden villages for those very same reasons, even though I would argue that they were ultimately a Bad Idea because they put too much power in the hands of the Kage without their village clans being able to hold them responsible, and that’s how we get stuff like Danzo™ and the crimes committed by Danzo™ and the Sandaime against the Uchiha. The existence of ANBU and the ability to “anonymously” jab at each other also just encouraged the animosity between the Great Shinobi Villages, and allowed warmongers (Danzo™) to ensure that an actual peace never fully settled in until the 4th Shinobi War happened.

And the peace post the 4th war, by the way, SHOULD have been a huge boom in the popularity and use of shinobi rather than the detriment that the Boruto manga/anime insists on for like- all the reasons stated in the economics part of this rant as well as the rise of CORPORATIONS that would happily pay a lot for shinobi in a host of different capacities and also people paying for shinobi to pretty please come help rebuild our destroyed homes and farmland with your fancy ninja powers.

It’s also canon that several shinobi retired and went into other professions in the wake of this peace and alliance, such as *acting*, which opens up an entire potential slew of missions geared specifically toward movie producers using their new technologies and their bigger budgets to hire shinobi as stuff like stunt doubles, live special effects artists (need to rehearse but the set isn’t done yet? No problem!! Just hire someone with *genjutsu* to make your actors the ultimate set/stage), *makeup artists* (hey those infiltration skills come in handy in a lot of ways), and more. And that’s just one “modern” profession off the top of my head that would adore having Magic Ninja People available for hire.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of potential peace time jobs and economic implications because again, I only research this stuff in relation to worldbuilding fictional places. But there we go, I have just gone a 3k rant about ninja economics in order to explain why ANBU are Scary. I hope ya’ll enjoyed.

A side note I couldn’t find a good spot for in the actual rant but another factor in the shinobi villages having to change their behavior and seem Socially Acceptable is because of the rise of civilian-born shinobi in their genin/chuunin ranks. Because there’s no way a civilian family is going to *want* their child to become a murderous psychopath. A competent, magic wielding defender of your merchant uncle’s caravans on the other hand…

Other rants I need to do at some point when my braincells aren’t mush are:

1. My personal HCs on Konoha’s orphanage/foster system (aka Hi, Let Me Give You More Reasons To Hate Sarutobi Hiruzen)

2. Ninja Economics Two: Warring States Boogaloo (Edit: now available here!)

3. Why Cannibal Space Ninjas Are The Stupidest Idea of Multiple Stupid Options

4. Boruto Ninja Cults: What Kishi Could’ve Done Instead of the Garbage We Got

5. Genin Corps (Aka Reasons Kishi Could’ve Given for Why No One Thought Kabuto Was Suspicious But Didn’t. Aka Ninja Economics 3 Babyyyyyy)

#Secret Engima Rambles #SE rants #naruto worldbuilding #ninja economics #boruto #taking red string and thumbnails of logic to Kishi's hot nonsense

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lunar-wandering · 1 year

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Strawberry Soda - Chapter 1 - Strawberry Shampoo

Three times Wukong and Macaque shared strawberry scented/flavoured things.

Word Count: 4.4k

Read on Ao3

The final battle against the Lady Bone Demon hadn’t left a single person unscarred.

Which, of course, is why MK made it a point to check in on every person that had been involved. Mei, Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy were easy, he hung out with them all the time!! The host girl had moved cities, but they all kept in touch with her via a little group chat MK had hastily made upon learning the girl would be leaving. After asking Mei, Red Son and his parents had been rather simple to find as well, they happened to be currently staying in one of their spare houses in the city instead of their actual house, which MK was grateful for, he didn’t particularly want to be traversing through the lava filled area where their main house resided every day.

Wukong… kept himself mostly isolated. It wasn’t too bad, they still did training every other day, but MK could sense that Wukong was slowly distancing himself. He wasn’t entirely sure how to approach that subject though, and Wukong had promised to try to be more open with him and the others, so for now MK was letting it be, he’d intervene if Wukong’s isolation started getting really bad.

That just left Macaque.

Initially, MK had simply gone to Macaque’s dojo to try and find him, only to find the place looking almost abandoned. Sure, Macaque’s weapons were still there, but there wasn’t really anything… personal. It didn’t look like anyone had been living there. There hadn’t even been any food in the kitchen! So MK took to simply walking around the general area, calling Macaque’s name.

It usually only took about 3 calls before the monkey would step out of the shadows.

Most of the time, he would look annoyed. Or, well, annoyed up until MK handed him some food that is. He usually vanished as soon as the food was in his hands, not hanging out for long enough for MK to truly get a good read on how he was doing.

Well this time MK was going to put a stop to that.

Before Macaque could take a step back and fall down into the shadows like usual, MK grabbed a hold of his arm. Macaque bristled, yanking his arm out of MK’s grip, and MK let him, giving him his personal space now that he was sure that he had his attention.

“What do you want, kid?” Macaque shifted the take out bag he was carrying so that he could rub his arm where MK had touched him. MK fought against raising an eyebrow at the action, knowing that doing so would likely set Macaque on edge.

“I was wondering if you’d like to eat with me.” MK boosted himself up onto one of the crates surrounding the two of them, sitting down cross-legged as he pulled his own meal out of the second take out bag he had brought.

“I’m not in the mood for picnics, bud.” Macaque said. MK didn’t give him a response, instead just chewing on his noodles. After a minute of silence, Macaque sighed, taking a step forwards and vanishing into the shadows. MK, for a moment, worried that Macaque had simply left, but that worry was assuaged when the monkey stepped out of the shadows to hesitantly sit down beside him. MK gave him a minute, not looking directly at him, until he heard the sound of Macaque taking his own meal out of the bag, and the quiet noises of the other actually eating, at which point he shifted to face him.

He noted, with a faint sense of amusement, that Macaque was using baby chopsticks.

Macaque must’ve sensed that he had noticed, as there was an almost mirage-like shimmer over the utensils, before they appeared to look like normal chopsticks.

MK decided he could save commenting on that for later.

He had more pressing questions after all.

“So…” He started, “Out of curiosity, where are you staying right now?”

“Why do you want to know?” Macaque asked, with a faint hint of venom in his voice.

“Because I can’t keep walking around the downtown area calling your name every time-”

“Then just stop bringing me food, simple. I don’t need it anyways, I don’t even like it.” Despite saying that, Macaque continued to eat his noodles, making the authenticity of his own statement doubtful. MK just gave him a deadpan stare, showing exactly what he thought of Macaque’s fairly obvious lie. Macaque just rolled his eyes in response. “You know where my dojo is, kid.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s fairly obvious you haven’t been living in it. There wasn’t even a single granola bar in your kitchen.”

“In my- what, did you break into my house?”

“Doesn’t matter, since you’re clearly not staying there.”

Macaque let out a huff at that, and they both fell back into silence, MK patiently waiting for Macaque to answer his question, hopefully truthfully.

…It took another five minutes without an answer for him to realize that Macaque was probably hoping that he would just drop it.

This realization was immediately fulfilled as Macaque took the extended period of silence as an opportunity to simply vanish.

It wasn’t until a week later that MK got an answer to his question, in the form of Wukong’s shadow being slightly off.

MK wasn’t sure what had made him notice it. He had just been having a normal conversation with Wukong about his training, when something had just… drawn his attention to the Monkey King’s shadow. At first glance, it looked fine, normal. But something about it was setting off all of the alarms in his brain. Even when he tried to look away, to focus back in on the current conversation, it felt like his attention was being dragged away, back to the shadow.

There was a few minutes where MK just stared, trying to mentally connect the dots on what, exactly, was wrong. Narrowing his eyes, he subtly glanced back and forth between the Monkey King and his shadow, Wukong too focused on rambling about… whatever topic MK had got him rambling about to notice that MK wasn’t truly paying attention. MK lightly scratched the side of his face, thinking-

And then it hit him.

Wukong’s shadow was just slightly out of sync, as though it was copying his actions just slightly after he did them, instead of being perfectly in time with Wukong’s motions.

MK’s mouth dropped as his brain cells finally booted up and connected the dots between the shadow’s strange vibes and a certain, well, shadowy monkey.

And Macaque must’ve realized that he had noticed too- as suddenly the shadow didn’t look like Wukong anymore, instead resembling Macaque as he waved his arms in somewhat of a panic- a near universal sign for “shut up- don’t be obvious- don’t say anything!!!”. MK, admittedly, found that reaction rather funny.

“What are you looking at, kid?” MK jumped as Wukong addressed him, having finally noticed that MK wasn’t paying attention. Macaque jumped too, his shadowy shape changing to once again match Wukong. MK slowly looked back at his mentor, Wukong looking at him with concern and slight suspicion.

Did Wukong not know?

Should… should he tell him?

Please don’t tell him, please don’t tell him.

That thought repeated like a mantra in Macaque’s head as he watched MK have a stare-down with his mentor through his purple laced vision.

He should’ve never risked coming here every day, he should’ve gone back to living in his dojo as soon as he had regained enough power through leeching off of the energy in the air of Flower Fruit Mountain. He wasn’t even sure why he had stayed… it definitely wasn’t because of Wukong. Definitely not. It wasn’t because Wukong looked pretty relaxing in the sunrise and sunset. It wasn’t.

And it certainly wasn’t because Wukong’s smile, normally tinged at the sight of him with anger, taunting, sadness, or worse, guilt, looked beautiful when no-one else was around, the way it used to before… before…

He barely kept his hand from twitching towards his scarf- as much as he was suddenly filled with the anxious desire to chew on it, any movement now would simply bring Wukong’s attention to him. Which, admittedly, was something he’d normally want, but… not like this.

Please not like this.

He wasn’t ready yet.

What it was that Macaque wasn’t ready for, he didn’t know. Or, well, he had an idea, but he didn’t really want to think about it.

Please don’t tell him.

Thankfully, Macaque was spared from the mortifying ordeal of being known, as the kid’s phone rang, and Wukong allowed the kid to vanish inside of the Monkey King’s lil hut to take his call, leaving Wukong standing by himself in silence. Macaque’s ears twitched as he watched his old friend stand perfectly still.

Wukong never stood still. He always had to be moving, whether it was shifting from side to side, twitching his tail, or creating something to fiddle with out of hair, he was always moving. In fact, the only time Macaque had ever seen the Monkey King stand so perfectly still had been-

Had been when he’d been under the Lady Bone Demon’s control.

The icy cold sensation of nervousness swirled in Macaque’s chest, his fur starting to stand on end, unnerved. He could tell that Wukong wasn’t possessed, he knew that, the Lady Bone Demon was gone, and Wukong’s magic still glowed the same comforting peach-gold as always. There was no reason to believe that Wukong was possessed.

So then why was he standing there, perfectly still, eyes unfocused?

It was the ping! of Macaque’s cell phone going off that startled both of them out of their funk, Macaque even letting out a small high pitched squeak at the sudden noise. Almost instantly, he slammed a hand over his mouth, trying to recover, but even that ended up being a mistake, as the movement drew Wukong’s attention to his exact location.

A dark look overcame the Monkey King’s eyes, as his shoulders set into something akin to determined anger as he marched towards the wall his shadow, and the one hiding inside of it, was resting on.

Macaque could’ve moved.

He should’ve moved. He should’ve jumped to another shadow, or teleported away back to his dojo.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he made a, quite frankly, pathetic noise upon being dragged out by his arm, stumbling as he exited the shadows and practically fell against Wukong’s chest. Wukong paused at the sound, the dark look fading to one as confusion as he glanced down at him while Macaque tried to regain his footing, the sound of Wukong’s heartbeat flooding his ears and making it hard to focus. As soon as he felt that he wasn’t going to collapse to the ground, Macaque paused, before looking up, to find that Wukong was staring fiercely down at him.

Despite himself, Macaque instantly broke eye contact as he let out a small, nearly inaudible gasp, regretting it instantly as a small flurry of snowflakes fell out of his mouth.

Wukong blinked, clearly confused as one of the snowflakes landed on his nose, melting instantly upon coming into contact.

“...Snow???” He muttered, tilting his head to the side as he looked Macaque up and down, before slowly, carefully, reaching up one hand to press the back of it against Macaque’s cheek.

Macaque flinched, but the Monkey King didn’t seem to notice as instead, a near sense of panic took over him.

“You’re freezing!!�� And, without any warning or explanation, suddenly Wukong was picking Macaque up, throwing him over his shoulder, and marching off in the direction of- “The hot springs should fix you right up, Liu Er!”

Macaque froze right before he could swing his hand down to punch at Wukong’s back. More snowflakes tumbled out of his mouth as he could sense Wukong slowly begin to tense, even as he kept walking towards the hot springs.

Wukong hadn’t called him Liu Er in centuries.

Wiggling and shifting, absentmindedly noting a weird scent of strawberries as he struggled to adjust himself, he eventually managed to get turned around enough under Wukong’s stone tight arm to get a good look at the Monkey King’s face.

His eyes were just slightly cloudy, a bit unfocused, occasionally clearing up a bit before fading back to that more ‘out of it’ look. Everytime his eyes cleared up a little, hints of flustered pink settled in, something Macaque would normally comment on, teasing the Great Sage over being flustered over such a thing as close contact, but he didn’t dare to comment on it now, not when this situation was so weird.

Not to mention that it was, in fact, highly likely that his ears were glowing a flustered purple underneath of all his own glamours. Yeah, Macaque wasn’t going to risk the karma that comes to hypocrites, thank you very much.

Studying Wukong’s face more, Macaque started to wonder if, just maybe, Wukong was sick. He could feel how warm Wukong was, being carried by him like this. But, Wukong had been right, his nervousness was making him run cold, he had no way of knowing if Wukong simply felt warm because he, himself, was in fact running at a colder temperature.

He sighed, letting it drop for now, as well as accepting he likely wouldn’t be able to escape soon, if the amount of wiggling it took just to get a good look at Wukong’s face was any indication. As he watched the snowflakes that escaped from his mouth tumble to the ground, his eyes widened as he noticed the trail of frost- starting from his position slung over Wukong’s shoulder, and trailing down Wukong’s back to form a small path on the ground from where they had been, to where they were now.

Macaque hadn’t thought he was that nervous. That much frost from the leftovers of the Lady Bone Demon’s magic had only appeared when he’d awoken from a nightmare, terrified for his life, and even then, it didn’t seem like it’d been as much back then as there was right now. Was his magic not properly eating the icy cold foreign magic? He knew it would take a while for it to be gone completely, a few years perhaps, but his magic should’ve made it so there was a lot less of the Lady Bone Demon’s magic at the forefront, especially with the boost he’d gained from Flower Fruit Mountain.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Wukong set him down beside a steaming pool of water. They’d reached the hot springs. Macaque eyed the waters with trepidation, it had been centuries since he’d been in them-

“Take your clothes off.”

“WhAt?!” Macaque whirled around to face Wukong, voice cracking, nearly choking on the snowflakes still falling from his lips. The sound of Macaque’s voice seemed to startle Wukong, some of the fog clearing from his eyes-

Which immediately swirled to a bright, flustered pink, a golden blush alighting upon Wukong’s face and ears as he realized exactly what he had just said.

“I mean- like- wet clothes bad- you- I-” He stammered for a moment, before covering his face with his hands and turning away. “I’m going to go get some shampoo or something, just- get in the water, I’ll be back.”

And with that, Wukong took off, running back towards the direction of his house, the force of his departure leaving a small crack in the ground where he had been standing. Macaque stared at where the Monkey King had once stood for a few moments more, before turning to face the waters again with trepidation. After a beat, he sighed, accepting that if he ran from this the consequences would likely be worse as he slowly shrugged off his clothes. He hesitated for a bit on his scarf, folding it more carefully than everything else, before gently setting his things on a tree branch for safe keeping, adding a small protective spell on top of it just in case any of the tiny monkeys that liked to roam around got any ideas.

Slowly, he dipped one foot into the water, testing to see how warm it was. He hissed a little at the initial temperature, but once his foot sank down below the waters, it felt… honestly perfect. Relaxing, even. Macaque wasted no time in lowering himself the rest of the way down in, leaving a small amount of frost on the edge of the spring that quickly melted when faced with the water’s warm steam. He let out a small relaxed breath, no snowflakes lacing it this time as he felt the cold tightness in his chest slowly relax as his nerves were washed away by the heat. For a brief moment, he forgot where he was, staring up at where stars were slowly starting to show in the sky, simply relishing in the sensation of warmth completely surrounding him.

It was the splash of someone else entering the hot spring that reminded him of where he was, and who, exactly, had brought him here. He glanced over, finding Wukong standing waist deep in the water, holding a shampoo bottle in his mouth, despite his hands being free. He must’ve returned some time ago, long enough to take his own clothes off, and Macaque had no idea how he hadn’t heard the other’s return. As he sat up, he looked Wukong’s body up and down, once again glad for the glamour that kept the blush on his face from being shown. Reaching the other’s face he noticed that Wukong’s eyes had regained some of that hazy look over them- but it cleared a little as soon as he took notice of Macaque’s movement.

He tried to say something, only for it to be hindered by the shampoo bottle. Seemingly only just taking notice that his hands were free, he took it out, tossing it from hand to hand, back and forth, as some kind of restless gesture, repeating himself now that he’d be understandable;

“Let me wash your hair for you.”

Macaque blinked, wondering if he’d misheard him. But no, if the shampoo bottle and the silent stare was any indication, he had not, in fact, misheard. He took a deep breath, looking around, to see if there was any indication that he’d somehow fallen asleep. Maybe he’d even slipped into an alternate dimension? This was- this was weird. Him and Wukong were meant to argue, Wukong was meant to hate him. Why was he acting like this?

Wukong’s eyes were slowly going foggy again the longer Macaque remained silent. Macaque decided if there was one thing, and one thing only that he understood about his situation, it was that he didn’t like that. There was something wrong with the way that Wukong’s eyes were clouding over, something that just being sick or a lack of sleep could not explain.

“...Fine.” He eventually said, hating the words even as they were coming out of his mouth. Wukong’s eyes cleared up again, as his mouth formed a small ‘o’, clearly shocked at Macaque’s decision even though he’d been the one to suggest this stupid idea in the first place. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I didn’t think you’d agree to it.” Wukong muttered, lowly, under his breath, the point of doing so rendered useless by Macaque’s sense of hearing, which Wukong must’ve realized if the way his tail swished back and forth as he glanced off to the side was any indication. Macaque was glad that the rippling of the water prevented his own tail’s movements from being shown.

“...Yeah. Don’t think too much about it.” Macaque said, slouching down so that his mouth was under the water, supposing that, at the very least, like this, if his glamours were to come down at any point during this (highly unlikely but he couldn’t help but be cautious) then at the very least he could explain his blush away as having been from exposure to the heat of the water. Absentmindedly, he noticed Wukong approach, slowly moving to take a seat behind him.

He completely forgot what he had just agreed to up until a hand reached out and gently touched his head.

Macaque gasped, and then choked as a bit of water flooded into his mouth as he shot back up out of his slouched position, coughing. He could feel Wukong’s hand hesitantly pat at his back as he tried to regain his breath.

Still, he was barely given even a moment’s reprieve.

“You’re gonna need to let your glamours down if you want me to wash your hair properly L- Macaque.” The stumble over his name did not go unnoticed. Macaque turned to see as Wukong’s eyebrows creased in concentration. Okay, there was definitely something wrong with the Monkey King, Macaque might’ve been able to let one mistake go, but two? In one night? There was definitely something up.

It took him a few seconds too many to realize what Wukong had actually just said. It was all the time, and, seemingly, permission, Wukong needed to double tap Macaque’s shoulder, and Macaque could feel the waves of magic roll over him as his glamours fell down.

Almost instinctively, his hands shot to cover his ears. A split second later, they moved to cover his face. The sensation of the wind on his ears made him reach to cover them again, but that left his eye-

…Overall, he ended up sitting there, face frozen in shock, hands up and hovering in between his face and his ears, uncertain. Wukong seemed completely unaware of his crisis, and Macaque soon found himself with another crisis on top of his current one as Wukong’s hands gently found their way into his hair, softly massaging the shampoo into it.

(Shockingly, Macaque’s nose was overwhelmed with a strawberry scent, similar to the faint one he had sensed earlier. So this was Wukong’s shampoo? Weird, Macaque would’ve thought he would’ve used a peach scented one).

A surprisingly pleasant shiver ran down Macaque’s spine, and he barely kept himself from leaning back into it. He opted instead for putting the side of his hand in his mouth and lightly biting down, trying desperately to remain aware of where he was and who he was with, while also preventing himself from making any of the embarrassing squeaky chirping sounds that wanted to escape his mouth. Outside of his conflicting emotions, this was… almost nice.

Wukong, on the other hand, as far as Macaque could tell, seemed unphased, humming a small tune that Macaque hadn’t heard played in centuries. Macaque had expected that at the very least Wukong would’ve commented on the way his ears were very obviously glowing, but instead it seemed like the Monkey King had yet to notice the very obvious signs of Macaque’s blush at all. Macaque didn’t want to admit it, but faced with this behaviour… He was starting to get a little worried about Wukong’s well-being.

That worry was completely shoved to the back of his mind when Wukong abruptly and without warning placed a hand on top of Macaque’s head and roughly shoved him under the water. Spluttering, Macaque shot back up, pulling his hair back away from his face so that he could see as he barely managed to keep himself from swallowing more water.

“What was that for?” He wheezed, water flying from his hair with how fast he whipped around to glare at Wukong, only to pause.

Wukong’s eyes were bright pink, a shade Macaque had only seen once before, a long time ago, way back before everything happened. His face and ears were very nearly glowing a bright gold, highlighting the freckles on his face. A rather nice look on him, if Macaque was being completely honest, but Wukong’s expression looked… distressed.

The Monkey King suddenly stood up, and Macaque had to duck to avoid being hit by Wukong’s frantically swishing tail as he walked past him to get out of the hot spring.

“There’s- there’s something I need to do.” Wukong said, voice rather uncharacteristically high pitched as he grabbed his clothes from a nearby rock, not even bothering to dry himself off as he simply slid his outfit back on. “You… enjoy your soak.”

And with that, Wukong hurried off into the darkness of the night, leaving Macaque completely alone. Macaque stared after him for a while, wondering if, maybe, he should follow him, before tossing that notion to the side. He didn’t care. There was no reason to follow him.

But still, he couldn’t stop thinking about- about him. About how just moments ago, his hands had been so gently running through his hair…

Feeling self-conscious, he slid down deeper into the water again, allowing his glamours to slip back on to his form. Looking up at the sky, he did his best to focus only on the water and the stars, and not the fact that now, having shared the same shampoo as him, he most definitely smelled exactly like Wukong, resisting the urge to grab some of his hair and hold it to his face and imagine he was leaning against Wukong himself.

Fifteen minutes later, he forcibly dragged himself out of the water, reluctantly acknowledging that spending any longer within the heated waters would likely be damaging to his health. It wasn’t until after he had dried himself (using a towel resting behind a rock, based on its position and the purple colour, Wukong must’ve left it for him) and was slipping his clothes back on, that his phone fell out of his pocket, and he just barely managed to catch it, opening it up, that he finally saw the text message that had started this whole mess.

It was a singular smiley face.

Sent from MK.

Because of course it was.

(How did he even get this number? Macaque had certainly never given it to him. Had one of the kid’s friends hacked his phone? …Maybe Macaque should invest in better cyber security).

Wukong layed on his bed, facing the ceiling, feeling the water from his fur slowly soak through his clothes and down into his bedsheets and mattress. He’d regret that later, most likely, but for now, he could only focus on one thing, and one thing only- the way Macaque’s hair had fallen down over his shoulders as he ran his fingers through it, the bright glow of his ears shining and mixing with the moonlight reflecting off the water... He hadn’t been able to see the other’s face, but-

Within his haze, he’d almost called Macaque beautiful.

#Monkie Kid #shadowpeach #my writing #fanfic

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aurevell · 5 months

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❄won't mean a thing, dear (if you're not here with me) ❄ Steter | 34k | M

Stiles, who was just about to comment on the blinding glare from the Christmas lights, slowly shuts his mouth. Realization is dawning, and he feels like an idiot not to have seen it coming. “Surprise! Christmas isn’t your thing,” he guesses, resigned. Peter gives him a look like he’s insane to even bring it up. He probably is.

Peter and Stiles’s whole relationship is built on sarcasm and disdain for the world at large. No topic is safe from mockery. (Unfortunately, they may not be on the same page about the holiday season.)

Some days, Stiles is convinced Peter’s only dating him because the guy gets off on pushing buttons. That’s Peter’s main source of amusement. He knows Stiles is never more than a second away from some minor crime at any given moment, and he likes watching Stiles reconsider and bend his already flexible morals. Likes being the one to urge him on.

Some days, Stiles likes to let him.

Some days.

“Yeah, I dunno about this,” Stiles mutters dubiously, peering through the chain-link fence. When he grabs on, squinting for a closer look, the metal is icy against his skin. “It’s kind of a stretch, dude. Even for me.”

“What’s the harm?” Peter inquires, his tone even. Still, Stiles can hear the smirk without looking. “It’s just a peek. Sixty seconds.”

“Psh. Yeah, right. Sixty seconds now, until we actually get in there and look around.”

It’s late, maybe a little past one in the morning, and the two of them have been meandering a slow circuit through the neighborhood around Stiles’s apartment. Which, yeah, is kind of a weird or even suspicious thing to be doing at this hour, depending on who you ask. Dangerous, too, considering the area. But it’s safe enough when one of you is a literal creature of the night and the other knows his way around a curse book.

It’s also kind of a necessity. Late-night walks are sometimes the only thing that helps Stiles nod off when he’s got too many thoughts rattling around in his head. The rhythmic steps, or maybe the familiar neighborhood setting, always calms his nerves somehow. Or else it just burns off his restless energy. Stiles hasn’t psychoanalyzed himself or anything, but it does the trick.

As for Peter’s presence, that’s a semi-recent thing. He used to just pretend to get offended that the sex alone wasn’t enough to tick the right boxes and knock Stiles’s lights out. But it must have gotten boring sitting around indoors and waiting for him to come back, and the guy has never been one for pillow talk anyway, so he’s started tagging along. Plus, he likes fucking with evening joggers who don’t expect to find someone lurking around the corner in the dark. (See? He’s all about the amusement factor.)

Anyway. They’ve paused here by the fence because Stiles has been keeping an eye on this city block for months. Construction has rattled the ground and diverted local traffic forever. Gleaming in its wake is a new building, freshly raised: a mixed-use space, with apartments above and a couple shops at ground level. One of which, the signs promise, is a coffee shop. A coffee shop, and this cannot be emphasized enough, that is only one block away from where Stiles lives. It’s like some beneficent cosmic being decided Stiles Stilinski does deserve nice things, after all. Things like fresh coffee after an all-nighter. Wi-fi when his shitty router kicks out. Maybe even sandwiches and pastries and stuff—he’d sell his soul for decent bear claws within walking distance.

“You did say you wanted to see the inside,” Peter reminds him idly. The building’s been done for weeks, but the fence still blocks half the sidewalk, keeping pedestrians away from the new facade. Even to Stiles’s human nose, the whole area smells pleasantly of sawdust and fresh paint.

“Yeah, but c’mon. I meant when it was finally open. And anyway, can see it fine from here,” Stiles retorts, and it’s kind of true: with the glow of the streetlight behind them, he can make out the gleam of new machinery and the dark shadows of tables and chairs. “Hey. Look, they even have folding windows. For when it’s nice out.”

“Those are nice.” Peter observes. “Easy to break into.”

Stiles tries his best to fight back a grin, because you can’t encourage Peter at times like this. Give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. “Ok, babe, just so we’re clear. We are not breaking—”

“—into your new favorite coffee shop, which you haven’t shut up about for more than five minutes at a time in weeks? I’d think twice about passing on the opportunity. Once they’ve set up their security system, it won’t be as easy.” He hums, as if a thought has just occurred to him. “You know, they probably have all kinds of decor in there. For your sign collection.”

There are a bunch of dark shapes spread out on the walls, some kind of decorations. A few large ones that are probably just menus or something, but smaller ones too. Could be signs, could be art. “I don’t have a—it’s not a collection.”

“It’s eleven signs. What’s that you always say? Two’s a coincidence, three’s a pattern? ‘Eleven’ is probably a collection.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Stiles laughs.

The squeal of bending metal cuts through the quiet. Stiles drags his eyes away from the cafe windows to find Peter peeling up the bottom of the chain link fence, all casual, like it weighs no more than a sheet of paper.

Peter smirks. “It’d be a crime not to.”

“Peter,” Stiles replies, amused, “this is a crime. This is a literal crime.”

“I bet they have those deluxe espresso machines you get so hard for.”

Stiles heaves out a long-suffering sigh, taking in those dark shapes through the window, and pretends to still be thinking about it. He briefly glances around, like anyone else is crazy enough to be out in the cold this time of night, like Peter wouldn’t hear anyone within earshot anyway. Peter lifts the chain-link fence a little higher. An invitation. The same way some boyfriends might hold open a door.

“Alright, fine,” he mutters under his breath. He ignores Peter’s triumphant smirk as he ducks beneath the fence. “Sixty seconds.”

A week and a half later, Cuppa Life Cafe opens to very little fanfare. It’s just a tiny cafe on a tiny street in a tiny town—who cares? But to Stiles, it’s revolutionary.

It’s a shiny new distraction to break up his days. When he’s doing research for his magical consulting clients, when he’s combing through digitized bestiaries for Scott, when he’s delving into police files he one hundred percent did not swipe from his dad, he’s got somewhere to go. No more is he confined to slogging away within the four walls of his cramped and arguably dim apartment (he likes the vibe of his scattered ritual candles, but they don’t always do the trick for him, focus-wise). When he needs a change of pace, he can head downstairs for a three-minute walk to sugar and caffeination and sunlight.

And then there’s Peter, who’s trekked here four times already for dark roast coffees he continually claims are beneath him. Either he’s full of it, or he knows Stiles is more likely to peel away from his work if Peter’s within easy walking distance as well.

Presently, Stiles’s phone chimes with a text from a contact listed as Big Bad Creeperwolf, a label he hasn’t changed since their first meeting. (Anyway, it’s still accurate.) When Stiles checks his messages, there’s a snapshot of the Cuppa Life menu and a text that just reads, Unfortunate.

Stiles stares, squinting and wondering what Peter’s point is, but he can’t work it out. He could text back, or he could grab his current working bestiary from the bed and go around the corner to figure it out.

The place really is cute. They’re clearly going for that modern chic look, with chalkboard menus, lighted glass cases full of Instagram-ready pastries, and graphic art peppered across warm, red-bricked walls. At a glance, you wouldn’t know anything’s missing at all. Stiles only feels a little guilty about nicking his latest sign, inasmuch as he ever feels guilty about nicking anything (and then, you know, returning to the scene of the crime afterward). Look, the display was probably a free one the coffee brand shipped to the cafe as an ad. And Stiles is a regular customer now, and he always tips well, so it’ll probably even out in the end.

Peter’s snagged a table toward the front, right where the late fall sunlight streams in. It’s just barely warm enough that all the windows are folded to the side—they really are a nice touch, even if Peter’s right that they’re easy to sneak through—and when he spots Stiles walking past outside, he glances up with a knowing smirk. Because of course Stiles was going to jump up to visit. Annoying, Stiles thinks, how that one look sends a coil of pleasure into his stomach every time.

“That wasn’t an invitation to drop by,” Peter drawls, typing into his laptop, when Stiles appears at his table.

“Then you shouldn’t have announced your location, babe,” Stiles counters, dumping his book. The pet name slips off his tongue without thought again: he started using it ironically a few weeks back, almost taunting, just to dig at Peter for his condescending little “sweethearts” all the time, and now…

Peter smirks at the face he’s making. “Can’t stop it, can you? Cute.”

“Shut up,” Stiles says without bite. He sinks into the opposite chair, his attention catching on the little cardboard table menu. It’s done up in red, with glittering holly leaves, to cheerily advertise the seasonal specials. “About time! Peppermint hot chocolate?”

“Didn’t you see my text? We’ve gone from pumpkin spice to peppermint season,” Peter informs him, voice dripping with disdain. “It’s all Laura’s been complaining about for days.”

“Is that why you sent it?” Stiles asks distractedly, flipping the menu to check the drinks on the back. “And—wait, what are you even talking about? Peppermint’s the best.”

It’s all the good stuff, he finds: butterscotch caramel coffees, peppermint mochas, gingerbread spice cold brews, s’mores lattes. Man, this place does not disappoint. Stiles must have accidentally done a good deed to deserve it, but hell if he knows what it was.

It’s not until he lowers the menu that he sees Peter’s dismay. Too late, he picks up on the haughty tone, which is Peter’s default whenever they parry insults or dogpile on something they mutually believe to be garbage.

“Is that a joke?” Peter demands. “Peppermint is nature’s mildest poison. Who wants to eat something whose primary flavor is ‘cold?’ The whole place reeks of it now—even you should be able to smell it with that chunk of marble you call a nose. We’re going to have to avoid every cafe in town for the next two months.”

Stiles shakes his head, amused. “Every now and then, I feel really grateful I don’t have all your wolf stuff going on. There are definite downsides to super sniffers. But you’re right about pumpkin spice, I guess—that stuff’s a travesty. RIP to Laura and all the pumpkin spice girls probably crying into their scarves as we speak.”

“You’re a witch, and fall's barely over. Are you even allowed to voice a dislike of pumpkin spice?”

“I’m a spark and you know this. And yeah, I guess they’ll probably revoke my card,” Stiles jokes.

With his stuff now scattered across the table, he heads off to the counter, deliberating over his drink choices. He ends up going with the peppermint mocha, partly because he does, in fact, really love peppermint and needs to carpe diem the fuck out of it while it’s still in season, and partly because he knows it’ll annoy Peter.

Once he grabs his order and gets back to his seat, he takes his first taste while making pointed eye contact with the werewolf. Unfortunately, Peter’s crinkled nose just makes Stiles snort into the drink, and he ends up choking on a puff of whipped cream for his trouble.

“Lovely that I’m only learning now that you enjoy drinking toothpaste,” Peter snarks. He looks almost disgusted, but he’s still wearing the delighted smirk that means he’s back in his element. “What other dealbreakers don’t I know about you?”

“Oh, c’mon,” Stiles coughs, still laughing a little. “Out of all the shit I’ve done, peppermint’s the dealbreaker?”

“I already know about the live theater thing. The—musicals.”

“What, that I’ve witnessed some without fleeing the theater?” Stiles asks, covering his grin with a sip of his drink. It really is good, with just enough peppermint to boost the chocolatey taste of the mocha without being overpowering. “I stand by Heathers, my dude. J.D. is hot. I won’t apologize for that.”

“Sickening. What else do I need to know? Do you put motivational quotes in your email signature? Do you unironically follow astrology? If you’re a secret cryptobro, you’d better tell me before this goes any further.”

Stiles snickers into his drink. “No to all of the above. But if either of us was gonna turn into some condescending asshole trying to peddle something skeevy, it’d probably be you.”

“Excuse you.”

“Speaking of dealbreakers. Met this cute guy earlier today.”

Peter rolls his eyes. “Did you now.”

“You’d better watch out.”

“What’s he look like?”

“Fat. Tan.”

“Tabby?”

“Maybe, but the fur was pretty long. I took pictures. Wanna see?”

He’s grinning: it’s a bluff, of course, and they both know it. Peter just grunts. There are few things the werewolf finds more boring than pictures of small animals. He’s insane that way. Like he would honestly rather pry his own eyes out than witness a cute cat displaying its belly for scratches. Stiles doesn’t even know what to do with him sometimes.

“Keep your beaus to yourself,” Peter replies, returning to his book.

“Your loss.” Stiles pulls his laptop to him, booting it up. “By the way, did I tell you Pudding’s rash is gone? Saw her this morning.”

“If I have to hear another word about cats,” Peter sighs, “and especially a cat’s skin condition, I’ll swear to god I’ll find a way to get you banned from this cafe.”

Stiles mimes zipping his lips and gets back to work, though Peter looks at him with distrust for a full minute before he resumes reading. But while Stiles does sometimes get a perverse sense of enjoyment from Peter’s poor attempts to feign interest in his interests, he’s got shit to do today. Peter’s off the hook. For now.

Harassment has always been one of Stiles’s love languages. At least when it comes to Peter.

The feeling is clearly mutual, though. And Stiles knows Peter well enough to tell he isn’t the type of guy who’d stick around if he were actually offended.

They’ve come a long way since their first meeting, the first formal introduction of their respective packs. Back then, they were all circling each other warily, a prospective alliance built on contract negotiations and polite adherence to ceremony.

Everyone except for Peter. Peter was an immensely egotistical shit the entire time—not that he did or said anything outright insulting, anything to make the McCall pack cut their losses and back out, just things that were right on the cusp. Snarky insinuations. Snubs. He clearly thought them an insignificant pack of amateur shifters, and bitten wolves at that, a term he used with this pitying tone that suggested he wanted to turn up his nose but wouldn’t for propriety’s sake. It rubbed Scott and Isaac the wrong way right off the bat, and even Kira got sour about it. And Kira believes in peace and forgiveness and pixie dust for literally everyone.

Maybe Stiles only found it so funny because he knew how wildly wrong Peter was about them. The McCall pack, after all, is a bad enemy to underestimate and a good ally to have in your back pocket.

And then, somewhere amidst the getting-to-know-yous and the haughty diplomacy, it became clear that sure, Peter may have been sneering and abrasive, but he backed a lot of the same things Stiles championed: an aggressive defense, strong tendencies toward revenge where appropriate, doling out the harshest possible punishments against offending packs. His mean streak, in fact, aligned very neatly with Stiles’s.

For half the alliance negotiations, Stiles found himself arguing beside Peter, who looked delighted at the unexpected support, especially when it was just the two of them against ultra-forgiving alphas who indulged their reasoning but came down firmly on the side of living and letting go and other bullshit.

“Fine,” Peter had said when it was all done. All pleasant and smirking, of course, because he’s always refused to show weakness after a loss. “Well, I’m sure none of us will ever regret this.”

Talia just rolled her eyes with the exasperation of someone who’d borne this kind of barbed statement all her life. And Peter turned and gave Stiles this meaningful look, the first of many designed to invite his judgment as well, as if to say Can you believe this? You and I are the only ones who truly understand.

Stiles was a little bit in love. Even then.

After they all dispersed for friendlier conversation, Stiles sidled up to him, phone held out imperiously. “Give me your number.” At Peter’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Don’t tell me you don’t want the backup. My alpha wasn’t the only one who said the words ‘minor territory breach’ like it’s not an oxymoron.”

It was hard to disagree. And Stiles wasn’t misreading the exasperation: by the time Peter finished entering his contact info, the werewolf had already begun to complain of all the extra work he often put in just for his own peace of mind given Talia’s relaxed policies. There were no known hunters or magical threats in the area—a feat only accomplished because of strict border enforcement, thanks very much—and the Hales were diligent about maintaining alliances with several nearby packs. But you never really knew. The Hale library, Peter added, was brimming with insights on defenses and known threats for that very reason.

Stiles perked up at the magic word. “A private library, huh? So…we’re officially allies now, right? When do I see it?”

Peter’s grin turned sly.

The attraction was clear as day. Even Stiles could read it, and most people’s flirtations went right over his head. Regardless, both of them were reluctant to make a move right away, both of them aware how disastrous the fallout could get for their respective packs if things went south between them. Or at least Stiles was aware of it, and Peter—perennial schemer that he is—must have at least considered it.

But maybe it was inevitable.

On a totally normal day, Stiles showed up uninvited at Peter’s, just to annoy him into loaning out a bestiary, and then they were just—on top of each other. It was the first and only time Stiles understood what people meant when they said they had sex by accident, a phrase he used to think was a stupid excuse people used for not bothering to control their own impulses, but holy shit, it was like someone just flipped a switch: one second they were staring, and the next second Peter’s tongue was down Stiles’s throat and Stiles was so fucking turned on that he was trying to climb him like a tree about it. He could not stop, could not stop for anything, like the only way out was forward, and forward meant tasting every inch of Peter’s skin.

The sex was amazing. Stiles was fucking wrecked. And of course when they came down, they said they should probably not do it again, absolutely never, because of pack reasons. And that they probably should not even mention it to anyone.

But those turned out to be more impulses they couldn’t rein in.

They became a thing. Somehow.

God knows they still rub each other the wrong way: Stiles is and always will be an annoying little shit, and Peter keeps making condescending offers to help broaden the tiny McCall pack—the implication being, again, that they aren’t perfectly fine as they are.

But somewhere along the way, Stiles has realized that all Peter’s stupid negging and random hints about his current location might be construed—if you looked at them through your dealing-with-a-manipulative-prick lens—as indirect attempts to coax Stiles into spending time with him. They’re the efforts of someone who has never bothered to invite anyone anywhere, and isn’t any good at it, and doesn’t even know how to do it without trying to manipulate the person in question into wanting it.

And now? Well. Peter’s never been one for grand, romantic gestures—he’s allergic—but it’s turned out okay. Do they have a relationship the average onlooker would describe as “normal�� or “tender” or even “level-headed”? Hell no. But Stiles feels more comfortable with Peter than he does with just about anyone, and it’s clear Peter feels the same, and that’s enough.

Even now, the silence stretching between them is warm and companionable, with Stiles’s books and notes covering more than his fair share of the little table, and one of Peter’s legs stretched out beneath it to lean against Stiles’s, and the occasional question swapped between them to punctuate the calm.

A while later, after Stiles finishes the peppermint mocha and finds his limbs stiff, he stretches and returns to the front counter. When he comes back, he’s got a plain black coffee to replace Peter’s empty cup and, because he sometimes decides to be a just and merciful boyfriend, one of the gingerbread cold brews for himself instead of the peppermint.

That’s the kind of thing you end up doing when you get a little too invested. Not that Stiles would say it aloud.

Read the rest on AO3

#steter #steter fic #warning in advance that i will be having a little too much fun with this one #this is probably where i will be outing myself as a Christmas Freak #mine

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