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#and whoever else Toast introduces
lilliancdoodles · 2 months
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Human 'pups' from @tastytoastz's Fitpac Merfolk AU Life is like the Ocean it goes up and down!
Click for better quality, design notes below the cut!
Master post of all designs for this fic
Richas: - I had to change his pose, it was killing me seeing such an active kid standing like a toy solider. - Hat and boots based on his mooshroom hat. I went into detail about my ideas on how Richas got the boots in an ask to Toast, but tldr: He would just refuse to wear shoes, until either Felps or Pac found the mooshroom boots and now they have trouble getting him to take them off. - Shirt is a swim shirt, it's a little bit big, but Richas despised the one that was a tight fit so they got him one a size bigger. - His shorts are swim trunks, they just have pockets and I have no idea what he uses them for but I assume it's just anything he can get his hands on an will fit in the pockets. 9/10 he forgets to empty his pockets before going swimming. Em: - Cat boots at Toasts suggestion - I found this adorable swim suit and I thought it was perfect. I made it tan to match her signs and pink accents. - Pancake decal on the suit, i mean I feel like it's self explanatory. - The rest of her is based off of my own design of her, fluffy twin tails with white/pink bangs to match with Bagi and Niki (and Mouse if shes one of her moms in this fic) Em suit inspo:
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seospicybin · 1 month
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TOO HOT TO HANDLE.
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PART III
Hyunjin x reader. (s)
Too Hot To Handle Masterlist
Synopsis: You and Hyunjin become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (14k words)
Author's note: Feel free to vent in my inbox once you finished reading it :)
LANA: In order to test how committed my guests are to the process, I call for help from my former retreat guests: Felix, Chris, and Avery. Their mission is to entice them to find out if they're capable of following the rules outside the retreat.
-
Everyone is going around exchanging hugs and cheek kisses while telling each other's names.
You only remember it now, the name of the girl, it's Avery and she looks like a Malibu Barbie with an Australian accent.
When it's your turn to hug Chris, you have to actively tell your brain to stay calm and not think about how you have a secret crush on him.
"Chris," he introduces himself, opening his arm for a friendly hug.
It's a good thing that he's not shirtless or else, you'd be drooling by now but those big biceps are quite distracting.
"Hi, Chris," you manage to sound coy saying it.
You catch a whiff of his perfume as you exchange a hug and Gosh, he smells amazing. You're staggering as you walk backward to be with everyone else.
"The three of you are Australians," Edie innocently says.
"We' are Australia's sexiest export since... ever," Felix jokingly says then breaks into laughter.
Even his laugh is so attractive, It's sonorous and infectious, inviting you to laugh along with him.
"We came back because we learned so much on the previous seasons that we came to pass the lesson on to you," Avery says, then she glances at the guys standing on each side of her, "Right, guys?"
Felix puts his hand against his waist and puts all of his weight to one side like he's striking a pose in a photo shoot.
"Well, yeah," he says with his nose scrunched, "but also we came here to show you guys how to have fun!"
Chris pops open the bottle of champagne on cue, sending the content spurting out of it and he hurriedly takes a chug to stop it from spilling.
It's unfair how Chris can easily make you feel the slightest bit hot and bothered, just standing there with that wine dripping down his chin. You lick your lips while imagining licking the wine on his veiny neck.
Realizing that you're in the presence of other people, you hurriedly snap yourself out of it.
"Wait, wait, it's not fair that there's three of us and five of them," Avery says while adorably crossing her arms in front of her.
Felix puts his arm around her and brightly smiles, "Don't worry, we'll make it even," he says.
Your head starts looking around the boat, anticipating something and perhaps, anyone's arrival based on what Felix said.
"Give a warm welcome to the two new arrivals!" Avery cheerily announces.
With Lana, it can't be just a boat party, you can tell that she threw this party for certain purposes other than to introduce the new arrivals.
It's wise that you keep cautious with whatever you're doing at this party. You don't want to mess with either Lana or the money, and you surely don't want to mess it up with Hyunjin.
The new arrivals are looking hot and heavy, ready to fuck everybody. The girl is a gorgeous blonde with big, blue eyes named Emile and the guy is a Brazilian man with a chest tattoo, Gustav.
With Chris tirelessly filling the glass and Felix distributing it to everyone, they make sure everyone holds a drink in their hands and is ready for a toast.
"Cheers!" Everyone says in unison, raising their champagne flutes in the air before taking a sip of it.
Things get crazy whenever alcohol is involved so to be safe, you moderately drink your wine and sip as little as possible.
"Okay now we each choose someone to do a body shot with," Felix suggests an icebreaker to fully kickstart the party.
Avery is the one who enthusiastically welcomed that idea and she starts looking for someone to do it with. The boys must be buzzing and whoever gets chosen, he's lucky as hell.
"You," Avery says, pointing in your direction.
You look to the side at Edouard and elbow his side to make him aware of this one-of-a-kind offer.
"No. You," Avery says, talking to you.
Aghast, you unconsciously point at yourself and ask her back to confirm, "Me?"
Avery laughs at the way you reacted, "Come here, my darling," she puts away her drink, then holds her hand out at you.
Half disoriented, you reach for her hand and she makes you sit on the wooden floor with colorful cushions strewn around for people to lay about.
"Now, lay down," she instructs you.
Somehow, you find yourself obeying her words and putting yourself in a compromising position. You rest your head on your pillow and try to stay calm even though everyone is looking at you.
Avery grabs a glass of shot in her hand and she puts all of her hair away on one shoulder, she smiles as she lifts the shot before dripping it onto your chest.
"Oh, my gosh!" You shakily gasp the second the liquid makes contact with your skin, making you shiver from the cold.
But that's the least of the things you should be surprised by. Avery then leans down while keeping her hair down on her shoulder and drinks the puddle of alcohol gathered on the valley of your breasts.
Avery lands a long lick down your front, her tongue feels slick and hot on your skin, making you grip the cushion and try so hard not to squeal.
She seems to enjoy doing it and everyone else can only watch it with envy in their eyes. The laugh she lets out as she lifts her head confirms it.
"Now that's how you start a party!" Edouard says.
Without having to look, you know you're flustered and your hands fly to cover your face, embarrassed. Also, you must admit it gets you a little aroused as well and the party has only started.
-
YOU: In the middle of the sea, on a boat with these sexy, horny people and plenty of booze... [exhales] That's the recipe for chaos.
-
Hyunjin's head is all over the place. He can't stay still and when he finally does, all sorts of thoughts go through his head and they're all not helping him relax.
And he can't help but wonder is this how you felt when he was going on that date with Saskia?
He'll take it as his karma then but he's not the only one feeling restless, the others who are in couples are going through the same things but have different ways of handling it.
Andy, however, is not taking it well. He's going through five stages of grief around the villa.
"When I went on that date with Edie she made it clear that she only wanted to be friends and that she wanted to connect with someone else," Andy croons while tugging his blond hair.
Hyunjin nods to let him know that he's listening to his rant but has nothing to respond to that.
"I think it'll be good for her to connect with someone else," he says with a nonchalant shrug.
That would be nice of him to think so because Hyunjin could never think that way, he wants you to be happy but God, he'd hate to lose you to someone else.
Andy plops onto the lounger next to him and roughly runs his hands through his hair.
"I've already detached myself from her and I feel bad for still wanting to be with her," he grumbles.
"We've all been there," Hyunjin says, trying to sympathize with him.
Hyunjin almost forgot about that part where Andy broke up with Edie. Even though they're no longer a couple now, you can just detach yourself from people but the feelings, they're pretty much still intact.
It's even harder in the villa because the person is there and you have to deal with it face to face.
God, Hyunjin hopes he doesn't need to go through that much pain.
-
HYUNJIN: [Breathing deeply]
-
The boat party is in full swing.
Felix is making sure everyone's glass is filled, Avery is floating around with her wide, bright smile and Chris is playing some party music on his small DJ set-up.
So far so good, no one has broken the rules yet but 'yet' is the keyword here, you get the feeling that it's only about time until someone caves in, and when that happens, it will trigger a chain reaction.
You decide to sit this one out and watch the party from the side, avoiding any potential risk that would lead you to break the rules.
You're quietly sipping your wine while sitting against the big cushion and enjoying the nice, warm sea breeze when the temptation comes over to you carrying a bottle of champagne.
It's hard not to smile whenever he's around and he's smiling at you.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Chris asks.
"Not at all," you reply, scooting a little to the side to make space for him.
"Let me refill it for you," he says, offering to fill your glass with more wine.
In return, you take the bottle from him and fill his glass for him, having a toast to finally have a sip together. He's sitting so close to you, that you can feel your arms brushing together from the slightest of movement.
He looks out at the view of the sun that is slowly sinking into the horizon and delightfully sighs. Then he turns his head at you and asks you something that you're not ready to answer.
"Would you kiss anyone here?"
Well, there is someone you would like to kiss but he's off-limits.
"Oh, I would love to but uh..." you break into a laugh as your eyes meet his.
Chris licks his lips after sipping his wine, "Are you worried about the rules?"
Not the main reason why but yeah, that's one of the reasons. You chuckle and answer, "I've spent a lot of money already."
He cracks a laugh and his dimples appear on his cheeks, "Been there, done that."
As someone who went through this before, you're sure he knows how it felt because there's no other reason why he laughed.
"So, tell me about this guy you've spent a lot of money with," he asks.
You contemplate for a moment how much can you tell but since he's someone from outside of this retreat and went through the same thing, maybe he can give you some insights.
"Well, he kind of messed up a while ago actually," you share with him.
"Ouch!" He exclaims.
"But I found myself still liking him despite all of that," you continue, sipping your wine in between sentences, "It's actually scared me because I think I've lost my head a little."
It's been gnawing inside you, how you doubt Hyunjin will be the right one for you as you get haunted by this fear that he'll make the same mistake again.
Chris holds his drink in the other hand and slightly turns his body to face you, "Maybe losing your head means you're maybe in your heart," he warmly tells you.
You smile hearing his words and you really wish they're true, you're having this doubt because you want this to be something genuine.
"That's what I hope," he adds with a smile.
"Thank you, Chris," you sincerely tell him, clinking your glass with him for another toast.
When you said it's only about time, well, the time is here. As you look around for another bottle of wine, you see Edie and the new guy going at each other's faces like animals in heat.
But that's the least of your worries. When you turn your head the other way, you see Edouard doing body shots on Saskia.
It's not only about the money now, but also loyalty and friendships. You drain your wine glass empty and gasp, "We're fucked!"
-
YOU: They forgot everything! They forgot about the purpose, forgot about Lana, forgot about everyone.
-
Hyunjin can hardly think of anything when you haven't returned on dinnertime. He barely eats his food, he tries shoving a few spoonfuls but has a hard time swallowing them down.
"I'm not hungry," he says, pushing the plate away from him.
"Your plate is still full," Frida says, her voice tinted with concern.
He reclines in his seat and sighs, "I'm too tense."
"I know how you feel," Vic says as she's also waiting for Edouard to return.
Andy pats his shoulder and with a mouth full of food says, "At least you're not worrying someone who doesn't want to be with you."
Well, that's a way to look at the brighter side of things.
The longer you're away from him, the more he worries and his worries affect other people in the vicinity as well. However, there's one person in particular who is having fun in this situation.
"If Edouard kissed someone, would you be pissed?" Diego asks Vic who's sitting cross-legged on the single sofa on the terrace.
"Depends on who he did it with," she answers while picking at her nails.
"If he kissed Saskia, would you be pissed?"
"Very," she answers without a beat.
That gets Hyunjin more alerted, because what if you kissed someone? You know, like out of curiosity? Speaking of experience, he almost did it once with Saskia.
"Do you think they might do something?" Hyunjin nervously asks.
"What do you think?" Diego tosses the question at Vic.
"If I know him like I think I do, I think he won't kiss anyone," she diplomatically answers.
Hyunjin doesn't know how she's doing it but he must admire Vic's patience and calmness in handling this.
"They won't do anything," Andy says, perhaps still stuck in the denial phase.
"If I were with someone here and I went there, and people started kissing each other, I'd probably do it," Diego is here to fuel more gas into the fire.
Frida grabs him by the knee and makes him listen to her, "It is something that I won't do to you because not only it would affect us, but also my friendship with her."
That seems to work on putting some sense into Diego and makes him stop talking altogether.
Hyunjin always thinks highly of you, he knows you wouldn't throw away what the two of you have built together, and that gets him a little hopeful.
"I bet my ass they're doing stuff," Vic remarks out of the blue.
Hyunjin doesn't expect this change of mood, she seems to have reached her limit and can't keep her composure anymore.
Andy sighs and leans back on the sofa, playing with the cushion on his lap, twirling it in the air a couple of times.
"There's a lot at stake today. Relationships, friendships, the house, the money..." he pauses to turn his head to the side to look at Vic, "...Vic's ass."
Everyone laughs at that and it helps to lighten up the mood, the only one who doesn't take it well is Vic.
"Fuck you!" She curses while laughing, hurling a cushion at Andy.
-
HYUNJIN: I hope for the best. But I also expect for the worst [blows air]
-
"Okay, honestly, but there is one person I'd like to kiss here," you suddenly share.
That gets Chris' eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Yeah. Who is it?"
You look him right in the eyes and answer, "I'm looking right at him."
He closes his eyes and grins, from the way his ear reddening you can tell he gets shy from what you said which is why you said that in the first place. That, and because of alcohol.
"But I know you're engaged and all," you quickly add.
He grins wider, and he looks so cute and shy like that, if he weren't off-limits, your head would definitely take a hard turn.
"I may be bad but I'm not that bad," you further explain, giggling along with him.
"So, not because of the guy you broke rules with?"
That catches you off guard and you laugh in embarrassment, "Well, yeah, that too."
"In that order?" He asks again, bumping his shoulder against you.
"Exactly in that order. You then him," you jokingly say.
This time, his cheeks get all red and his dimples sunken deeper into his cheeks as he keeps grinning.
"Guys, let's swim!" Felix shouts at both of you.
To be honest, you feel comfortable sharing the space with Chris and want to stay in it a bit longer. You shake your head and kindly refuse his offer.
"No, I'm good," you tell him.
The screams and squeals of the girls jumping into the water startle you, more so, because they ditch their bikinis.
"Oh, come on!" Felix grumbles, coming over to you and taking you by the hand.
"You're coming too," he shouts at Chris.
He's forcing you to get up and join him, taking you by the end of the edge of the deck. Since everyone is going in anyway, you have no option but to follow suit but decide to keep your bikini on.
"Wait, wait, I have to take this..." you tell him, untying the outerwear you're wearing.
"I'll help you," Chris says, helping you to take it off of you.
You're shivering as his hands brush the skin on your back but it's nothing compared to when he's taking his top off. You don't think this moment will come but here you are, looking at his body in its glory with the golden rays of the sun hitting him just right.
Impatient, Felix gets ahead and jumps into the sea while shouting some gibberish words out loud.
"Do it together, yeah?" He offers.
"Yeah, okay," you nervous answers.
He holds his hand out at you and you take it without hesitating, he counts from three, and on one, you both jump into the water together.
Everyone is having fun, you see Pablo is going at it with the new girl and Edie is simply having the time of her life. She squeal when she finally acknowledges your presence, waddling her way to you and clinging to you.
"Did you see me kissing him?" she whines,
"You mean sucking his soul out?" You joke.
"I didn't know how many times I kissed him," she whines again, putting her hands around you.
"Don't worry. Lana will know," you tell her.
For this once, you don't want to think of the money. You let yourself enjoy it, this moment and the company you're with, and also the beautiful view of the sunset.
-
YOU: I must admit, I had a lot of fun. I really needed that party.
-
Everyone is already waiting in the cabana for your return from the boat party.
You don't know why you're nervous, maybe it's coming from knowing everything that happened at the boat party and you came back with your hair and bikini damp from swimming.
Since there's no space left, you take the remaining spot that is on the far end of the sofa, sitting far away from Hyunjin.
Lana chimes in not long after everyone has settled down.
"Welcome back," She greets everyone who just came back from the boat party, "And welcome to the two new arrivals."
No one seems to realize the new additions to the retreat until Lana mentions them.
"Thank you, Lana," Emilie says with a smile.
"To test your growth, I prepared a party on a boat with the illustrious presence of some of my former retreat guests: Felix, Avery, and Chris," Lana informs.
Frida reacts with a loud gasp, "Really?"
"Yeah. It was so nice to meet them," Edie answers.
"You had no idea. It was awesome," Saskia adds, making her more envious.
"Damn!" Andy quietly curses next to Hyunjin.
Which makes you glance at Hyunjin and he seems a little tense, his jaws are all clenched yet it makes him more attractive.
"As soon as you left for the party, your friends had to choose whether or not to bet on your loyalty to the principles of the retreat."
A scoff slips out of you because your guess is right, you're not new to Lana's hidden agenda, the boat party was a test and you may not broken any rules but you failed nonetheless.
"We can double the prize money you know," Diego says, "All you had to do was to not break any rules."
"Oh, no..." Saskia cringes.
"What did you bet?" You ask, feeling a little anxious if they choose to bet all of the money.
"We bet to put our trust in you," Andy answers.
And that's where you failed, you could have prevented anyone from breaking the rules but you let them happen.
-
YOU: I never thought that they would bet double, that we weren't going to do anything.
-
Hyunjin is nervous, anxious even but when he finally sees you coming, he feels so relieved. Now that you're back, a new question pops in his head: did you break any rules?
His faith wavers a little as he notices that your bikini is damp and so is your hair, and you sit on the far end of the sofa. He doesn't even dare to ask and waits for someone else to do it for him.
"It's a good time to tell us if you broke any rules," Andy says, taking the role to ask the big question.
Edie's hand raised in the air and the sheer smile on Andy's face falters, "I broke the rules. I kissed Gustav," she admits right away.
"We kissed, yes," the new guy, Gustav, confirms with a sly grin.
"I thought the rules didn't apply outside the retreat," Edie innocently says in an effort to defend her rule break.
"Felix and Chris, and uh... Avery, they were encouraging us to break rules, saying that Lana wasn't there," Saskia delivers a weak argument.
Hyunjin is getting more tense with every detail of the boat party getting exposed in this heated argument.
"We held back at first," Edie calmly remarks.
"But you did give in," Remy says, easily diminishing her remark.
"I regret to inform you that many rule breaks were detected," Lana spoils another detail.
"I thought it was only the two of you," Marie says, pointing at Edie and Gustav, "Was there someone else?"
Hyunjin looks around and deeply hopes that he doesn't see your hand raised in the air, he sees Pablo's hand instead.
"Emilie and I kissed," he admits a little too late.
"They threw away kisses," Andy sighs while pinching the bridge of his nose in distress.
Pablo tries to throw the blame back at Edie, "She kissed a lot."
"Everyone did body shots," Edie reveals another detail and her hand flies in your direction.
"I only did one body shot," you defend yourself, "And I don't think that counts."
Hyunjin is fine with body shots, he has done it a couple of times during parties but his concern is who you did it with.
"We also went skinny dipping," Edouard reveals another thing.
And now skinny dipping? He's so wrong to think that you won't do anything, he slumps in his seat, disappointed.
Frida groans out loud, also slumping in her seat.
"Lana, give us the bill!" Diego says, no longer enjoying this.
"Fuck! It's going to be bad, it's double," Andy says in distress.
It takes Lana a moment to calculate the rule breaks and finally comes up with the final result, "All of these rule breaks have cost the group $72,000."
A minute passes in eerie silence as everyone tries to process how much money have lost at that boat party. There were only five people invited and yet they were capable of spending that much money.
"It must have been awesome being there," Marie sneers with a scowl.
"Of course it was," Pablo unapologetically says, being insensitive to his surroundings.
"The prize fund now stands at $60,000," Lana updates the current prize fund.
There's not much money left and with the new guest, he can't guarantee that it'll stay on that amount for long.
"You have the opportunity to develop and learn to connect. Don't take the process for granted," Lana concludes the session with a warning.
-
HYUNJIN: We are paying the price for something that wasn't our fault. All I can do is laugh.
-
It's close to bedtime and you head straight to the dressing room to take a quick shower and put on a pair of comfortable clothes of camisole and white shorts.
You're not purposely avoiding Hyunjin because at some point you'll have to talk to him, you merely give yourself and him some time to process what happened at the cabana earlier.
As you're doing your skincare routine, you see him entering the dressing room with an apparent scowl on his face and you take this as a cue to talk to him.
As he walks past your chair, you grab him by the hand and look up at him, "Hey, let's talk."
He rather seems reluctant to your invite but you don't want to wait anymore, it's a great time to have a talk since the two of you are alone in the dressing room.
You pat the chair next to you where Edie usually sits, "Come, sit here!"
He obeys you without saying anything, sitting facing you and letting you hold his hand on his lap. You have told everything about the boat party but you know you have to assure him that there's nothing else happened other than that.
"What happened at the boat party, I've already said everything that I did. I only did a body shot and nothing else," you tell him, keeping your tone soft and calm.
He gets quiet for a moment and it's his turn to speak so you wait for him to say anything, rubbing the back of his hand with your thumb.
He slightly slumps on the chair, sending his long legs spreading open in front of you and you know it's not the time for it but you feel tempted to tease him.
"We were all talking about all of you and the things you probably do there," he says.
You let go of his hand and rest your hand on his thigh all the while your eyes are looking at him, "Yeah?"
"I said if it were me, I wouldn't do that because one, out of respect for you and what we have."
Based on experience, you doubt that his act would match his words but you give him the chance to finish his talk.
"Two, for the group," he continues.
He makes it sound like you are this selfish person who does things as she pleases and you don't care about him at all when in fact, you did nothing on that boat party except for that one bodyshot with Avery.
"It wasn't intentional, someone chose to do it with me," you tell him the reason why you did it, not because you wanted to.
"I'm just—" he abruptly stops talking as if he has a change of mind in the middle of a sentence.
"I know what I feel for you and it's just that I can't act like that I'm okay with what you did," he explains.
You retract your hand off of him and grip the edge of your chair, "I told you, I only did one body shot and nothing else."
"You wouldn't like it if I did it," he hastily replies, almost losing himself there as he gives you an intense glare.
You hate to sleep without resolving it but it's obvious that he's angry so it's best to give him time to cool down and you can talk it all out with clear heads the next day.
-
YOU: He almost kissed another girl on a date and what makes him think that he won't do anything at that boat party? [Scoffs]
-
It's when you wake up that you realize that some people were switching beds last night.
Vic is sleeping with Marie while Edouard sleeps with Andy so you guess she already knew about what happened between Edouard and Saskia. At least, she knew it from Edouard himself and not from someone else.
As for you, you're not going into the talk yet. You still cuddle him and give him a morning kiss, you treat him like usual to let him know that nothing changed between you and him. This is just another thing you need to overcome together and deep down, you know you will.
The morning continues with a mumbling mess that is Vic at the breakfast table.
"I'm only going to try again if he can actually win me over," she says, stirring the scrambled egg on her plate with a fork.
You don't have the energy to deal with drama first thing in the morning so you decide not to meddle and risk saying things that upset her more.
"Then let him win you over," Marie from two chairs over tells her.
"I don't think he understands that he really needs to do the work to win me back," Vic grumbles again, dropping her fork onto her plate.
"So tell him," Marie coyly responds.
Vic sighs and runs her hands through his dark long hair, "But I know I'm never going to work things out with Saskia."
You know it's better not to stay away from it but you can't help it when your friends are going against each other, especially over a boy.
You put down your cutlery and look at Vic, "Vic, I think that you're a grown woman, and whether you want to or not, you should work things out with her."
She subtly rolls her eyes in response, not taking your words when it's possible to do so if one of them is open to reconciliation.
"You could figure this out together," you assure her.
"I am not going to talk to this girl. If she wants to talk to me which she won't then I'll talk to her. But she won't," Vic says with her nostrils flaring in anger.
It's obvious that Vic is not open to reconciliation, moreover, it's tricky considering that she has stubbornness in her. Then there's nothing left to do but tell her which side you're taking and it's neither.
"I just want you to understand that I love you and I also like talking to her. I don't want you to think that I'm two-faced," you carefully explain not avoid getting your words twisted.
"I just want everything to be fine because I like you both a lot," you add.
In the afternoon, Lana called everyone to the cabana as usual and she prepared something for everyone there. There's a TV with the word 'Cinelana' on the screen.
"Cinelana?" Edie says in genuine confusion.
Marie puts all of her hair to the side before taking a seat, "Will it be...?" She wildly guessed with a raised eyebrow.
Not long after everyone has taken their seats, the melodic chime comes and the cone lights up to signify Lana's arrival.
"Hello, everyone."
"Hi, Lana!" Everyone replies in unison.
"How are you?" Lana asks.
"Poor," Frida shortly replies.
"Broke and scared," Saskia answers.
To be honest, you feel more scared than broke. Maybe it's coming from knowing that you didn't contribute to that money deduction.
"From what I can see from your behavior, some forms of physical contact can be more sexual than those prohibited at the retreat," Lana says.
You have a feeling that she's about to expose everyone with this Cinelana and that's what you're scared of.
"But it's better to show than tell."
-
YOU: I have no problem showing everything that happened. Showing the thing I did is fine by me. But when it comes to the others, I don't know.
-
"I want you to see yourselves through my eyes."
The ones who went to the boat party seem to be nervous and everyone pretty much knows what Lana is about to show. Hyunjin can only hope that he doesn't see what he doesn't want to see.
"What is she going to show?" Diego curiously asks.
"Is there popcorn?" Marie casually asks.
"May the first session of Cinelana begin," Lana announces.
Cinelana starts with them having a big toast and from there, things escalate quickly, everyone reacts with a lot of gasps and squeals, cheering when they catch someone doing the rule break.
Hyunjin's heart skips a beat when you come on the screen, a girl pours a drink onto your chest and proceeds to drink it straight from it. He sees that you cover your face with your hands, looking flustered.
He feels a little jealous but not the kind that makes him angry, It's the kind that makes him envy. It's even crazier that he doesn't which one he should be more jealous of, the girl who did the body shot on you or you.
"Calm down. This is just the beginning," you tell everyone.
It suddenly turns quiet when the footage of Saskia and Edouard doing body shots on each other. Hyunjin can't help but look to the side, at Vic who looks uncomfortable and displeased with what she's seeing.
Thankfully, the attention is shifted to Edie who's devouring the new guy with ferocious kisses that get everyone hysterically screaming.
"Wow. Edie!" Diego clicks his tongue at her.
The movie ends with them going into the sea naked and Hyunjin is relieved to see that you told the truth to him, in fact, he should be proud that you stick to the principles even though everyone around you doing the opposite.
"And that's why we're poor," Marie comments as the screen turns dark.
Lana chimes once more, "What do you think about the movie?"
"I liked it, Lana," Pablo jokingly says.
"Do you think this behavior is fair to the group? Would anyone act differently?" Lana asks.
That seems to make everyone turn quiet again, offending the ones who went to the boat party. He turns to the side and sees that you open your mouth to speak.
"For me personally, when I got on that boat, that's when it stopped making sense to me. I realize that I would much rather be here than be there," you say.
You turn your head at him and smile, an unexpected gesture that makes him feel touched. All of a sudden, he doesn't know why he's mad in the first place, you've told him the truth and that should be enough for him.
"I think I'd have acted differently if I knew how much it would affect some people here," Edouard adds with a defeated look on his face.
"Now is the time to think about how are you going to move forward. I really hope you try harder," Lana says.
In other words, Lana demands everyone to do better from this moment on. Hyunjin figures that he should do better too in building this connection with you, he doubted you when he should have trusted you just like you trust him.
"That's all for today," Lana concludes the session.
Now is the time to pick up the conversation from last night. He takes you to the firepit to get some privacy so the two of you can talk comfortably.
"So, what do you think?" You ask, folding your legs on the sofa facing him.
Hyunjin cracks a smile and answers, "I can't even be mad at that. That was so hot."
You burst out laughing and playfully hit his chest, he catches your hand to stop you, pulling you onto his lap. He looks up at you and brushes your hair to the side, "I think I was made because you were gone the whole day," he honestly admits.
A smile rises on your face, "You missed me?"
"So much," he shamelessly answers.
"You're so into me, mmh?" You ask, putting your forehead against his.
"I'm so into you," he shortly replies, ignoring how stupid he sounded.
"Me too," you tell him with your hand cupping his jaw, "I'm so into you."
It's one of those moments that Hyunjin wishes he could freely kiss you just to prove his words to you with actions and it stresses him that he can't do that.
As if you read his mind, you land a soft kiss on his nose to compensate for not being able to kiss his lips and smile when you pull away. It doesn't quite satisfy his needs but it's enough to make his heart pitter-pattering inside his chest.
"We're even now," he jokingly says.
You hit his chest again a little harder this time, "Excuse me? This was different!" You strongly disagree.
He laughs and pulls you closer, what he did that time with Saskia is far worse than someone doing a body shot on you. He nods and immediately agrees with you.
"Okay, okay, but you owe me a body shot," he says, trying to get something out of it.
"That's fair," you agree to it.
-
HYUNJIN: My honest reaction? I liked the movie. It's better than I thought [chuckles]
-
The drama between Vic, Edouard, and Saskia continues onto the next day.
It gets even messier when the girls are doing makeup in the dressing room, it was a nice and quiet afternoon until Vic starts a fight, unprovoked.
"Do you think Edouard was hitting on her?" She asks you, fully aware that Saskia is there on the opposite side of the vanity table, curling her hair in peace.
Hearing that she is being indirectly addressed, Saskia puts down her curling iron and looks at Vic.
"No, he wasn't hitting on me, Vic. It's not like that," she tells him.
Vic acts nonchalantly, she continues putting foundation on her face as she talks, "Then what was it like?"
"He wasn't hitting on me and I wasn't hitting on him either," Saskia remarks.
"If you were hitting on him, then I have a problem with that," Vic argues more instead of dropping the conversation there.
"You think I hit on him? For God's sake, Victoria, don't be silly!" Saskia says with a sarcastic scoff.
The fact that Saskia addresses Vic by her full name only means that she has struck her nerves.
"No, I mean it," Vic keeps arguing.
You hate to get caught in the middle of the conflict so does everyone else on the vanity table but to meddle in is not the best option either.
'Yeah, keep believing that men are so honest. Men always talk their way out of things and the woman is the slut, the woman is the whore," Saskia says, still managing to curl her hair despite being in the middle of an argument.
Vic roughly puts down her makeup brush onto the table with a clang, "But if you led him on—"
Saskia cuts her off to defend herself, "Everyone was drinking, and when you drink—"
And Vic cuts her off midsentence in return, "You led him to believe you wanted him."
Saskia scoffs again and stops doing things altogether, "Oh, so you mean I can't drink? I can't get excited. I can't have fun at a party?"
You grab Vic's hand to stop her from keeping going and escalate things further, filling the room with palpable animosity. You don't want to be seen as taking anyone's side but no one is trying to stop them from coming at each other and turning it into a whole fight.
Looking around for help, you have no one to turn to but the cone perched on the shelf in the dressing room. Before you can ask for help, she chimes in.
Things are getting out of hand that Lana has to intervene, she gathers the three in the bedroom to talk and hopefully, they get to work it out together.
Since there's a party tonight, you continue doing your makeup with the rest of the girls while hoping for the best outcome for the three of them.
You still feel a little tense from being caught in the middle of conflict and Hyunjin seems to notice it. He comes from behind you, putting all of your hair away to the side so he can kiss your neck.
With his hand wrapped around your neck to keep you still, he gently sucking on the skin. You're squealing as he keeps placing ticklish kisses along your shoulder blade.
"Oh, I'm jealous," says the new girl, Emilie.
Somehow, it feels good to know that your relationship is making someone jealous. Hyunjin places another kiss on your cheek before leaving for the bathroom.
"Let's be a throuple," Emilie says as she sits on Saskia's chair.
"A sincere relationship with three people," she explains as if you don't know what it means.
You almost broke up with him when you knew he almost kissed another girl and what makes her think that you'll be okay sharing Hyunjin with her? You give her a pass because she's new so you awkwardly chuckle in response.
-
YOU: Back off, girl. I'm not into this throuple business.
-
It's a real party when everyone is getting along well and having fun.
The talk seems to be a success with Vic looking so much better, she's back to her chipper mood and she's dancing with Edouard. On the other hand, you sense that things between her and Saskia are not doing that well but at least, they're staying civil to each other now.
Putting drama aside, you and Hyunjin are doing better than ever. You trust each other more now and your connection is getting stronger, the next plan is to show true growth in your relationship to earn a green light.
Hyunjin hoists you against his body until your feet are off the ground, you hurriedly cling to him by putting your arms around his shoulders and your legs around his waist.
"Is this how we're going to do it?" You jokingly ask with a sly grin on your face and your hand massages the nape of his neck.
"In front of everybody? Yeah, that's the idea," he playfully responds.
The fun time has to end with Lana being a party pooper as usual. Everyone knows what to do when the chime comes, heading to the cabana like animals about to get slaughtered. Considering that she crashed the party, she'd better have some good news for the group.
"Hi, Lana. Do you have another movie?" Diego jokingly asks.
"Do you want her to show yours?" Edie pokes fun at him.
Lana skips the casual greeting and goes straight into the talk, you hate whenever that happens because it means she's not pleased with something. But everyone has been behaving well, especially after that huge blow to the prize money at the boat party.
"I see how you talk a lot about finding a connection but I also see that some of you do little about it," Lana says.
There's still hope that this going to turn out well and you cling to that hope.
"Connecting is not necessarily trying to be a couple, but opening up to the process and being aware that mistakes are part of any learning process."
Everyone stays quiet, no one is saying anything but intently listening to what Lana says to know where this talk leads.
"Getting it wrong is one thing. Giving up on the process is another. And that can no longer continue to happen here on my retreat."
"Y-yeah?" Edie stammers, sensing that Lana is onto something, something unpleasant.
"I detected some of you have a lack of interest in new connections. Therefore I need to continue my work here without the presence of some people."
It's only a minute ago you thought about how you need to show growth in your relationship and now you're worried that you haven't done enough. Your hand immediately grabs Hyunjin's as you close your eyes, anxious.
"Two of you must leave the retreat tonight," Lana announces.
-
YOU: And we thought we'd get good news [exhales]
-
The tension in the room heightens as Lana is about to announce the two people being sent home tonight.
Hyunjin is nervous and so is everyone because, at this point, it could be anyone. Lana sees everything and he admits that he hasn't shown enough progress which puts him at risk of leaving the retreat.
"One of you has spoken many times about being a closed-off person, and couldn't see how the retreat would change that," Lana explains the reason why she chose this person.
Hyunjin can think of someone who fits that description, he turns his head to the side where Marie is sitting and she kind of guesses who it is as well.
"The second person I'm eliminating tried opening up to the process at first but it seems that they lost focus on the purpose of the retreat," Lana gives another explanation on the reason why she sent home the second person.
For this one, Hyunjin can't tell who it is but he prays inside that it's not him. He hopes that Lana gives him so more time to continue building this connection with you.
"Therefore, their stay at this retreat has come to an end."
He slowly inhales air and quietly lets it out while continuously wishing that Lana would not call his name.
"Exiting the retreat tonight are..."
He sees no one is feeling safe either because no one wants to go home yet.
"...Pablo and Marie."
He feels relieved that it's not him but it doesn't make him feel good either knowing that someone else has to go. He gets up from his seat to give Pablo and Marie a farewell hug for he found friendship in them.
"Pablo and Marie, it's time for you to leave the retreat," Lana orders.
Everyone standing up to send them off with a wave goodbye and sending well wishes their way.
Tonight started fun and it turned into the opposite in a flip of a switch, but that's life, we never know what's going to happen next.
What Hyunjin knows is that he's grateful that he's still here. He rests his head on your neck as the two of you lie on the bed still dressed in your party costumes, he puts his arm across your chest and pulls you close.
"I'm happy we still have each other," he softly whispers to you.
You endearingly brush his head and place a sweet peck on his forehead, "Me too, baby."
Lana has given him more time in the retreat when it could have been him going home tonight and for that, he feels grateful because he's not ready to go, he can't even imagine himself leaving you.
-
HYUNJIN: It's been hard, but at the same time, I... understand the situation.
-
This morning is the same as like other morning in the retreat.
The lights are on as a wake-up call for everyone at the same time every day. You wake up and see Hyunjin the moment you open your eyes, you give him a morning kiss on the cheek.
You run your hand through his hair and softly greet him, "Morning, baby."
He smiles in response and mumbles, "Morning."
He takes your hand, puts it around him, and leans in to make a trail of kisses on your inner arm, continuing it to your shoulder and neck.
"Morning, fam!" Edie cheerfully greets everyone in the room who is still stuck in their beds.
"It's crazy that sometimes I can see this mole of yours and sometimes I don't," you say in bewilderment as your index finger poked the faint mole under his left eye.
He closes his eyes and blissfully smiles at you, "Want to hear something crazier?"
"Yeah. What?"
"You're getting sexier and sexier every day," he answers while squeezing the flesh on your waist.
"Ouch!" You yelp in pain but that only encourages him to tighten his hold around you.
It's a peaceful morning until someone recognizes what is missing in this room.
"Wait, where's Lana?" Frida asks.
You scramble to turn on the bed to see the cone is missing from its usual place, she usually sits prettily on the small round table in the corner of the room but she's not there.
"Shit! Lana's gone," Edie says, her mouth stays open.
You exchange a glance with Hyunjin but he's also befuddled with Lana's sudden disappearance, well, a staff probably took the cone away while we were asleep but there must be a reason they're doing it.
"We're always in a throuple with her so it's weird Lana is not here when we wake up," Saskia says while cuddling with Remy on their bed.
"She's out on a date with Siri," Andy jokingly says with a satisfied laugh.
"Maybe Lana prepared breakfast for us," Diego wildly guesses, "she's in the kitchen being Lana Ramsey."
Everyone laughs at that one but it starts to get serious when everyone is getting their breakfast and Lana is not there, Andy goes to check the cabana just in case someone misplaced her.
"She's not there either," Andy returns with an answer.
"Do we have to find her?" Gustav confoundedly asks, not knowing what to do since he's still new in this retreat.
"Just don't make us dig sand to find her, please?" Edie grumbles, getting flashbacks from that first day we arrived at the villa.
"Do you think Lana's disappearance is good or bad for us?" Edouard asks, curious about what everyone thinks of it.
"Maybe she needs some time alone, guys," Saskia coyly says with a glass of orange juice in her hand.
Everyone comes up with various theories about Lana's disappearance and they react differently to it, some are nervous, a few are excited and the rest are a mix of both.
"Oh no, she's not here either," Emilie whines as she looks around searching for the cone in the dressing room.
"Maybe she's tired of us?" Frida coyly says, plopping onto her usual seat at the vanity table.
Vic hands you a bottle of sunspray and turns her back to you, "As long as she doesn't take the money with her, I'm cool," she says.
You turn on your chair to help her spray her backside evenly and make sure you don't miss a spot, you've been doing a very good job at it considering that her skin remains pale while everyone else has gotten tan lines.
"I think Lana is watching us from afar you know when you leave kids by themselves to see if they're going to misbehave or not?" Saskia comes up with another theory.
Her theory is the most plausible one, it's Lana we're talking about, just because she isn't there doesn't mean she's not watching. She wasn't there during the boat party yet she knew everything that happened.
"She probably sitting in the control room laughing at us right now," Edie jokes.
However, the scariest part of this is not the disappearance but what will happen with Lana not around to keep everyone's behavior?
-
YOU: This can't be good. She's just gone like that?
-
Wait, is everything allowed now?
With Lana disappearing this can only mean that the rules no longer exist as well and that gets Hyunjin excited. He's been good all these times so he thinks he deserves, at least, a little something for his good behavior.
"Lana is gone. The rules are off," Hyunjin mutters as he styles his hair next to Diego in the bathroom.
Diego chuckles and sprays some hairspray into his hair, "I don't know, man, I think that's a bad idea," he disagrees with him.
"Why don't we kiss to test the water?" Hyunjin boldly suggests.
Diego shoves him to the side in reaction to his crazy idea, he gets it that he's been careful with Frida ever since they got the green light. He then leaves the bathroom only for Edouard to come and take his spot.
"Lana's gone. What does that mean?"
Hyunjin's question is not merely a question, it's a test to find out which side Edouard is on: the side that wants to break the rules or the other side that thinks Lana is still watching.
"There's no rule, bro. Know what I mean?" Edouard says with a devilish grin as he combs his hair to the back.
This is the energy that Hyunjin seeks from someone and he feels more confident now knowing he's sharing the same brainwave with someone in this retreat, an accomplice to his mischief.
"Bro, I'm definitely breaking the rules tonight," Hyunjin boldly remarks with a wild, wide grin.
"Been holding it in for so long," Edouard says in continuation of Hyunjin's remark.
"This is going to be a mad night!" Hyunjin concludes with a wicked grin on his face. He raises both hands in the air at Edouard and claps their hands together for double high fives.
Tonight, Hyunjin wants to do a lot of things with you and he'll make sure that it's going to happen.
-
HYUNJIN: My plan for tonight is to give her the best night of her life [smirks]
-
"As soon as I found out Lana's gone, everything I learned from the retreat has gone out of the window," Vic openly admits.
The dressing room is buzzing and the girls are exceptionally energized tonight, maybe it's the fact that the cock-blocker is nowhere in sight. Vic's words are true, it feels like everyone is back to their default settings and forgot about the purpose of the retreat.
"Okay, but out of all of the boys, who is most likely to break the rules tonight?" Emilie curiously asks while swinging her mascara wand in the air.
"Pfft... I hope it's Edouard," Vic mumbles.
Edie smacks her lips together then places her hand on your forehand, "To be honest, I think it's Hyunjin," she says, sticking her face at you.
"Oh, yeah," Saskia agrees with an exclamation mark drawn on her face.
Frida chuckles and glares at you, "You better be satisfied tonight 'cause if you ain't, girl..."
"You'll be satisfied tonight," Edie teases you with a sing-song tone while shaking your shoulders.
Their assumption is only making you nervous because of how it comes close to the truth. Hyunjin is and has been ogling at you. Not that he never ogled at you before, he does it more often today and it's not hard to read his mind when he's acting like that the whole day.
Hyunjin chooses the firepit to spend some alone time with you, he makes you sit on his lap even though the sofa could fit seven people. You don't have to second guess everything, you know exactly what he's trying to do.
"Are you alright?" He asks, splaying the hand resting on the small of your back.
"I'm feeling good, babe," you reply with a convincing smile and hope it's enough to hide how nervous you are inside.
His other hand rubs down your thigh and plays with the hem of your skirt, all the while he's putting on this gaze that is soft yet intense and lustful.
"You look very, very cute," he compliments.
He touches the strap of your top and then your hair, "Cute dress, cute smile, cute everything."
Wow! He really is trying hard to win you over and put that sweet mouth to use, and you need to toughen up more.
"Thanks. You look gorgeous," you compliment back.
Hyunjin is wearing a plain white shirts and leaves the top three buttons open, exposing his firm chest muscles and soft skin, inviting you to touch.
Instead of giving in to your intrusive thoughts, you start buttoning his shirts.
"Why are you buttoning up my shirts?" He asks while chuckling.
"So you don't get cold," you simply answer with a suppressed laugh.
He ends up unbuttoning them again and parts the opening of his shirt wider to entice you more. You look away to keep your composure and look back at him when get yourself under control.
But Hyunjin steps up his game, he mixes his sweet words with some physical touches, weakening your defense system with each passing second.
He brushes your hair to the side and holds it there, "You know I never thought I'd meet somebody like you. You're such a lovely person," he mutters to you.
You reach for his hand and put it down, you're holding it on your lap after.
"That's very sweet of you," you reply with a smile.
He brings your hand to his mouth and then places a soft kiss on your knuckles, reminding you of how plush his lips are.
If this keeps going, you don't know how long you can restrain yourself.
-
YOU: I'm not sure if Lana's testing us, but I'm going to try really hard to not break the rules.
-
Hyunjin knows which side you're in.
You don't want to break rules while Hyunjin is doing exactly the opposite of that. He can see your defense is up, you're a little rigid, you're being cautious with everything you do, and trying so hard not to fall to his charms.
It's a good thing that Hyunjin has a lot of charms and a strong will to crack your defense. He did it once, he just needs to do it again, except that he needs to do it better this time.
He swipes his thumb across your lips and does it carefully to not smudge your lipstick.
"I miss kissing you," he says in his low, sultry voice, "I want to feel those soft lips again."
You nervously chuckle and slip your hand into the hair on the back of his head, "We've known each other better and I don't think we need to put pressure on ourselves to do anything," you tell him.
Hyunjin drops his other hand to your leg, resting it on the back of your thigh and lightly rubbing the skin with his thumb.
"We could do something," he says with a low laugh, "We can break the rules tonight. Like... why waste the opportunity?"
You chuckle again, tilting your head to the side, away from him to put a safe space between you and him. But, he only needs to close that safe space so he leans in.
"A little kiss, come on," he sweetly whispers.
You cup his jaw and fondly smile at him, "I'm rather suspicious that this is actually a test," you say.
He playfully pinches the skin on the back of your thigh and seductively smiles, "Just a bit of fun. No one will find out," he assures you.
He gets a move on by planting kisses on your neck, fluttering little kisses that he's sure make you tingling inside. He puts his hand on the nape of your neck so he can angle your head as he pleases.
He tilts your head to the side and presses his mouth to your ear, "You're so special to me."
He notices that you're slowly lowering your guard down, your eyes are fluttering shut and your hand helplessly gripping the front of his shirt. All it takes is a bit more of his charm.
"You're my special, special, special," he places a kiss along your jaw every time he repeats that one word.
"Special girl," he murmurs for the last time and then he crashes his lips against you
There is no way you will say no to his kiss, not when he kisses you so passionately, lathering your lips with his, soft on soft, slowly and tenderly.
He pries open your mouth with his tongue to taste you more, he uses his teeth to gently bite your lips and puts his hand in the right place to gain access to deepen the kiss.
You break the kiss first and immediately gasp for air, the next thing you do is wipe the lipstick mark around his mouth.
"Does the color look good on me?" He playfully asks.
"Yeah," you shortly reply.
"Put some more then," he teases.
This is only the first rule break of many and it's already a success.
-
HYUNJIN: Told you, Hwang Hyunjin always gets what he wants [nonchalantly shrugs]
-
Now that he's already got what he wants, you hope it's enough for him.
Honestly, you didn't know how you also needed that until he kissed you. You stay in the firepit while everyone else is starting to turn in for the night and the two of you are the only ones still outside.
He brushes your hair, putting it away from your face, and holds your head in his hands like you're a fragile object.
"Should we do something else?" He jokingly asks.
Gosh. You hope he's not seriously asking to do more than a kiss. You pretend to not hear it and take his hands in yours.
"It's getting late," you tell him with a pout and half-shut eyes, showing him that you're getting drowsy even though you're not.
He gently rubs your chin and softly asks, "Want to head inside?"
You nod and smile, "Mm-hmm."
It's a relief that Hyunjin stops trying, you feel like you can properly breathe now as you get off his lap. He gets up from the sofa too and leads the way back to the villa.
You may have failed not breaking the rules but you've tried your best to show some restraint until Hyunjin stops by the terrace and turns his head to the side.
"Want to check the suite first?" He asks.
You nervously chuckle and jokingly ask, "Is it even open?"
Your words only encourage him to take you there and check it. You deeply wish the suite is locked or else, you don't have any other reasons not to get in there with him.
To your dismay, the suite is unlocked.
Hyunjin opens the door and lets you in first. The suite looks exactly like the last time you've seen it, except, there's no chilled champagne, no rose petals on the bed and it's dim with no lit candles in sight.
He closes the door behind him and then goes straight to the bed, sitting on the end of the bed with his legs spreading open.
You're nervous to even get close to him, afraid of what it would lead to. You stand in between his legs, not sure what to do in this enclosed space with him.
Hyunjin puts his hands on each side of your waist and pulls you close, he then buries his head in your chest. You both stay like that for a moment with you softly scratching his head.
He then lifts his head and looks up at you, "I want it to do it," he straightforwardly says.
He loops his arms around your waist and closes the gap between your bodies, "Do you want to do it?"
You don't want to be a hypocrite by saying no when the truth is you want it, you want it so bad that you don't want to resist anymore.
"I do," you honestly answer.
"But it's a big decision," you add with a thin smile.
With Hyunjin, you know you want more than just casually dating each other, you want this to be a genuine relationship, and in a genuine relationship, having sex means taking a step further into a more established relationship.
"You know how I feel about you so let me show you that," he says.
He slightly rises from the bed just to place a kiss on your jaw, "I'm only waiting for you to say the word," he says.
The moment you step into the suite, you know that you've made up your mind and honestly, you're tired of pretending like you can resist him.
You take a deep breath and hold his head in your face, you look into his eyes to seek assurance that you're ready for the next step.
Instead of using words, you plant your lips on him and let your kisses answer it for you.
-
YOU: How am I going to resist Hyunjin?
-
Hyunjin wastes not another second, he takes your top off, exposing your half-naked body to him and he gladly buries his head in between your breasts. He takes one into his mouth while the other one is being fondled by his big hand with his fingers circling your nipple.
"Baby, be gentle, please?" You whine when he accidentally sucks too harder.
He keeps your words in mind but sometimes his body won't obey his commands, it's like it has a mind of its own, a mind that is so hungry for you and only knows a lot of ways to devour you.
He lifts your leg, making you straddle him to satisfy his need for closeness. He crashes his lips against yours again and again yet, can't get enough of it.
Without him knowing, you manage to undo all of the buttons on his shirt and he helps by getting rid of it for you, hurriedly tosses it aside so he can hold you again.
"You never cease to amaze me, baby," he tells you before roughly leaning in to kiss you again.
It's quiet in the room except for the sounds of his lips placing kisses all over you. Your skirt is all hunched up around your waist, your hands are cupping your breasts and Hyunjin keeps going down south, continuing the trail of kisses to your feet.
He then kneels on the bed and looks down at you, his dark lustful eyes traveling down your body, making him realize that you still have your skirt on.
He tugs his fingers on the waistband of your skirt and softly he says, "Raise your hips for me, baby."
You obey right away, raising your hips high enough to let Hyunjin pull your skirt down and off your legs, leaving you with nothing but lacy underwear, the fabric is so thin he can see through it, the thing that endlessly tantalizes him.
He grabs both of your legs, holding them close to his chest before parting them open. He turns his head to the side, bringing your ankle close to his mouth to kiss it. He doesn't stop there, the kisses continue to your inner thighs.
Hyunjin doesn't bother to remove it first, he dives right into your clothed cunt, his greedy mouth full of your flesh and your underwear soaked wet from his saliva.
He's enjoying, enjoying it so much that he puts your underwear to the side so he can taste you better, his slick tongue and his soft lips drenched in your wetness.
He can hear you moaning but it's somewhat muffled, he pulls away for a moment and looks at you between your legs.
"Moan louder for me, baby. I can't hear you with my head between your thighs."
Well, the only way he can make you moan louder is by pushing the right button. He adds his fingers to the combination, giving you the utmost pleasure by moving them in sync.
You keep arching your back and grinding at his mouth, enough to tell him that he only needs to continue his delightful assault to get you to your release.
"Baby, oh..." your voice cracks as your eyes screwed shut, overwhelmed with pleasure.
He kisses your inner thigh as he watches your cunt soaking wet with a mix of your essence and his saliva, but it's your gushing hole that makes him impatient to be inside you.
"Why are you so good with your mouth?" You ask in awe, half panting from all the moaning.
Well, Hyunjin takes pride in his prowess at giving head and it gives a boost of confidence to show you what else he's good at. He pulls the duvet until it covers both of your bodies so as to not expose yourselves to the cameras installed in the room.
Under the cover, he manages to take your underwear off without looking and plays with your bundle of nerves after, feeling it swelling and pulsating under his touch.
"I'm good with my hands too," he says.
You shyly smile and pull him for a kiss, but you show him you want the other thing. You put your hand inside his jeans and his boxer altogether, easily finding his hard cock and wrapping your hand around it.
"So hard. So big," you breathlessly murmur against his lips.
"So ready to be inside you," he finishes your sentence.
You crack a laugh and peck his lips, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
It's good to know he's not the only one being impatient here, but first, he has to get rid of his jeans and put
"Give me a minute to get a condom on," he gives you a peck before rolling to the side of the bed.
He sits on the edge of the bed, rummaging through the small drawers on the bedside table to find a condom, and then takes his jeans off. He unwraps the foil wrapper and carefully rolls the rubber down his length, it's not hard to do so when he's fully erect and it's all because of you.
Once he makes sure he properly put the condom on, he climbs onto the bed and gets under the duvet with you, arms instantly wrapped around you.
The only fear that still lingers in him is that he won't last long considering that he's been refrained from any sexual activities for these past couple weeks. What if he cum the second he put himself inside you? He wants to make the first time having sex with you a special moment, not a humiliating one.
"I want to do it with you," you tell him out of the blue.
It's as if you heard his mind, you assure him that this is what you and there's no pressure whatsoever, you merely want to do it with him.
"And I want to do it with you," he says back with a soft smile on his small face.
You put your hands around his neck and pull him for a kiss, "Let's do it together."
In that moment, Hyunjin gets hit by the realization that everything else doesn't matter. What matters is this moment with you.
He kisses you, fueling himself for what he's about to do next, and while brushing your hair to the side, he says, "I'm going in, yeah?"
You nod with a smile, permitting him to enter the most sacred part of your body.
It's tricky to keep the duvet from sliding off of him as he kneels on the bed again, he then takes your legs and parts them open. He starts by repeatedly rubbing his length against your slit, using your bodily fluid as a lubricant.
With the reminder to be gentle, he uses his tip to tease your entrance before slowly easing himself inside, little by little. You're breathlessly moaning as you keep taking his length so well that Hyunjin can only watch as his cock disappeared into you with your mouth agape.
The only time his eyes stray away from your cunt is to see you moaning with your eyes closed and your hands squeezing your breasts.
A moan slips past his mouth when he is fully sheathed inside your warm, velvety walls and he's not ashamed of it. He keeps groaning as the pleasure of being inside you gets to him, sending his brain close to short-circuit.
He glides his hand up your front and holds the hand cupping your left breast, "Do you see that, baby?"
Hyunjin is eyeing his cock fully buried inside you to the hilt, the image is being imprinted in the back of his head as he thinks out loud.
"I look so perfect inside you, don't you think?"
You nod in a way that is innocent but arousing at the same time which reminds him of how much he wants to ruin you.
He rubs his hand up and down your inner thigh, admiring the view of your body and how it's connected with him.
"You feel so good," he lowly mutters.
He glides his hand up to your chest and kneads on your breast, "I think I need a moment."
Hyunjin takes a minute to adjust himself inside you, how good it feels to be wrapped in your warmth, tight walls, and the way you clench and unclench around him in the slightest of movement.
He kisses you hard and deep to finally start moving and feeling his cock launches deeper and deeper for every thrust into you.
He keeps kissing you and when he's not, moans keep spilling out of your mouth, and calling his name in between those moans. Your bodies eventually move in sync and work together to chase that release.
When Hyunjin finally snaps, he has a moment of clarity. He couldn't believe that he managed to not do it the last time he was here, he had that much restraint in him but now, all bets are off and he's fully aware that it's his biggest gamble yet.
-
HYUNJIN: Best believe, I'm going all in tonight.
-
The next morning, Lana is still no-show.
You know she'll be back at some point but you feel a little relieved that she hasn't, you don't want to deal with that yet. You still want to live in this bubble together with Hyunjin.
"Good morning, angel baby," he sweetly whispers into your ear as he spoons you from behind.
You giggle as he places ticklish kisses on your bare shoulder and neck. He holds you close as he rests his head in the crook of your neck to get a little extra sleep.
The two of you returned late from the suite and sneaked into the bedroom while everyone else had fallen asleep. You see that no one is suspecting anything but Lana's sinister disappearance.
"Lana, girl, how long are you going to hide?" Frida asks while twisting her curly hair and securing it with a hair claw.
Thinking about Lana gets you a little uneasy, you break away from Hyunjin's hold and sit on the bed, offering your lap to let him rest his head on.
He gladly does that, resting his head on your lap and putting your hand in his hair, asking you to play with his dark, silky locks.
"Lana is not running away with our money, right?" Andy asks in a panic.
It's funny that he puts a sense of ownership over it when it's no one's money in the first place, and Lana has the right to run away with the money if she wants to.
"Did anyone break the rules last night though?" Diego asks around, scanning the room with his eyes.
Everyone is playing innocent, shaking their heads or completely ignoring the question like you and Hyunjin did. Avoiding it doesn't mean you're not free of guilt, it's there and it's pooling in the pit of your stomach, making you feel faint.
After lunch, you share the hammock with Hyunjin, simply enjoying each other's presence and the beautiful view of the sea.
"Last night felt like a dream," he says out of the blue.
You get butterflies whenever you recall moments from last night and you find yourself smiling like a fool, "Yeah."
The memories are still fresh in your brain, you remember every detail from the way he looked at you, touched you, kissed you, where he put his hand on your body, and oh... just everything.
He puts his arm around you and puts his head against yours, "I didn't regret doing it with you. It was special to me," he tells you.
"You made me feel special," you sincerely tell him because that's what he made you feel last night: nothing less than special.
"Last night, we took a big step in our relationship," he says.
You nod in agreement.
"Whatever happens, we're in it together," he says, pressing a kiss on your temple.
Of course, he knows that you need comfort and assurance, that's why he said those words. You gently hold his jaw and place a tender kiss on his cheek.
"We're in it together," you repeat his words back to him with a smile.
Hyunjin is right, whatever happens, you shouldn't be afraid because you're not alone, you're in it together with him.
When you walk back to the villa, Andy comes running toward the two of you, his blond hair bouncing on his head.
"What's going on?" You ask him.
"It's Lana. She's back," Andy answers.
-
YOU: I knew it was all too good to be true [exhales]
-
"Anxiety is back, my friend," Edouard shouts as he takes a seat on the curved sofa.
No shit. Your legs are shaking, your hands are sweating and you press your lips together so that it forms a thin line on your face. Even with Hyunjin sitting next to you, you can't seem to relax.
"Even though my conscience is clear, I'm tense," Frida says then lets out a sigh.
The cone is there on the table and she's quietly glaring at you. When she chimes, you almost jump on your seat.
Everyone is gasping in response to her return, even though you know no one is expecting she will be back this soon.
"Hello, everyone," Lana starts with her usual greeting.
"Hi, Lana," you weakly reply with your knee bouncing against the floor.
"Yesterday, I disappeared from the villa to test how you would behave when left to your own devices. Just as you will be in the real world after my retreat," Lana explains.
You do not like where this is going but you have nowhere to go either, you have to face the music.
"Despite my absence, my sensors kept monitoring your every move," Lana further reveals.
"I knew it!" Diego exclaims, triumphantly fisting the air.
Emilie shakes her head and sighs, "It was all too good to be true.
Your guess is not off the mark either, you were right that this was all just a test from Lana and you clearly failed.
"I am very disappointed to report that there were several breaches of the rules," Lana informs.
This is where the witch hunt begins, everyone is looking at each other and trying to spot any guilty faces. Somehow, you manage to keep a straight face despite your heart beating out of your chest.
"Anyone want to start?" Diego asks.
You see Remy and Saskia are glancing at each other and then she turns her head to face everyone again.
"We had a kiss," Saskia comes clean.
"We had a chat, we got carried on. Just once, I swear," Remy explains the details and ends it with a sincere apology.
"There was another breach of the rules," Lana will not stop exposing the rule breakers until they come out with the truth.
Remy and Saskia had it easy because it was their first time breaking the rule and it was only just a kiss. You can't compare it to what you've done with Hyunjin.
"We also kissed, Edouard and I," Vic immediately admits, not holding back from telling everyone about it.
"I just thought that the rules were off," Edouard coyly explains, but the grin on his face tells otherwise.
"Told you, Lana was watching the whole time," Andy tells him.
"I'm sorry," Edouard quickly apologizes to end the conversation.
"The prize fund now stands at $48,000," Lana updates the current amount of prize money.
Everyone must think that's the end of it, that no one else breaking the rules and losing $12,000 is the worst anyone could have done to the prize fund.
You hate to break it to them but they haven't heard the worst of it, you look at Hyunjin and he's pinching at his lower lip which is something he does whenever he's nervous.
"However, there was an additional, serious breach of the rules," Lana further reveals.
-
YOU: I don't know what's coming but Hyunjin and I might be in some trouble.
-
Hyunjin knows he's got to be a big boy and owns up to his mistake. Also, he can't stand seeing you all tense and anxious next to him.
Before it gets messy and uncomfortable for everyone, he leans forward in his seat and starts talking.
"Last night, we... uh," Hyunjin couldn't find any words that would help him soften the blow.
He takes a deep breath and tries again, "Last night we took a step further—"
He gets cut off as everyone else starts groaning in response, knowing the rest of the sentence without him needing to finish it. A few of them seem to have expected this to happen and most of them are disappointed in him.
"This is all my fault, I messed up and I do feel bad," he sincerely says.
He looks at everyone, each and every one of them eye to eye, then with all of his heart, he apologizes.
"I'm sorry," he earnestly says.
"You yet again failed to show any form of restraint and broke the ultimate rule of my retreat, sexual intercourse," Lana says.
Hyunjin didn't think that it would hit him this hard, he may have said he did not regret what he did last night but he regretted acting so selfishly.
"There was $48,000 in the prize fund but because of your numerous rule breaks last night, your prize fund is now at $0," Lana finally drops the shocking news.
There's no money left in the pot anymore and it is all his fault, he understands if everyone is disappointed in him or even hates him for it. He deserves it.
"The prize fund is at $0. However, there will be more tests and opportunities to replenish the prize fund," Lana suddenly shares uplifting news.
It's very rare for her to share good news after bad ones and the mood turns a little lighter, everyone is cheering and applauding for the good news.
"Yes, Lana!" Diego exclaims while clapping his hands together.
"Now I need everyone on their best behavior!" Frida scolds everyone.
But as we all know, happiness is fleeting because Lana hasn't finished with the announcement yet.
"But not for all of you."
Everyone knows what that means and it means she's going to send someone home. He hates to admit it but he has a feeling that Lana is going to send you and him out of here.
"Oh, my days!" Edie whines, fanning her face as she gets red all over from holding her tears.
"No, please, Lana," Saskia hopelessly begs at the cone.
His thought somehow manifests into reality as Lana calls both of your names and his heart drops to his stomach.
"Please stand up!" Lana orders.
Hyunjin can't even feel the ground beneath him as he gets up from the sofa and takes a stand, he puts his arm around you and holds you close, providing you comfort even though he knows you're just as anxious as him.
"As a couple, you have broken the most rules but one of you has shown more disregard for the rules than the other. And that person will be going home," Lana announces.
"Oh, my god," Edie whines again, burying her face in her hands.
"The person leaving the retreat is..."
Deep down, Hyunjin knows that Lana is sending him home, he looks at you and holds you tighter. He can see that you know that he knows.
"...Hyunjin."
-
HYUNJIN: At the end of the day, you can only point one finger and that's at me.
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sortyourlifeoutmate · 20 days
Text
So I caught sight of a front page today - The Times, I think - and on it I spied an article something along the lines of "UK faces hung parliament at next election, Sunak warns."
Bollocks. Complete and utter bollocks.
Rishi you cunt, only in your wettest fucking dreams would there be a hung parliament at the next election. You, buddy, are getting annihilated.
(I am entirely aware that this is a scare tactic of theirs (one they've used before, no less) but that just makes it annoying and how blatantly nonsense it is this time just makes it insulting. No, guys, no. Not even feasible this time. 'Labour in the pocket of the SNP' was a reach last time, and this time it's farcical, no.)
Like, later I probed the issue a little further as regards recent local elections and yada yada and most of that was merely just icing on a cake that you could see coming a mile off. The only real takeaways were:
A) Reform is splitting the Tory vote (Jesus, talk about two slices of bread in a shit sandwich) and B) People were generally voting for whoever was going to beat the Tories.
So basically your own base is split, and everyone else hates your fucking guts. A hung parliament this does not make. Everyone wants you gone. You are toast, shitbirds.
Nothing would amuse me more than seeing, after all of your voter-id-law-introducing, boundary-redrawing scumbag tactics you losing spectacularly anyway.
What kind of pathetic sack of dicks would you have to be to stack the deck in your favour and still eat shit?
A Tory, as it turns out! Who could have guessed?!
Hung parliament! You're having a laugh, Rishi!
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mumms-the-word · 2 months
Text
A Macabre Masquerade - Ch. 5
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Ch. 5 - Mirrors
Characters: Tavs (multiple), Gale, Astarion, Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Halsin, Minthara + other OCs Plot: One year after defeating the Netherbrain and saving the city, Dani and Gale receive a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ball. The invitation specifically invites them to participate as the Heroes of Baldur's Gate. However, when they get there, they soon realize they aren't the only Heroes of Baldur's Gate that got invited. A/N: Long wait between chapters—my bad! But it's time for the gang to split up and for us to see a few of the secrets that might lay in store in Lord Aubron Dormire's estate...
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | BG3 Masterlist | AO3
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“Gods-damned devils,” Wyll muttered under his breath.
The masked servant was gone again, the swirl of ash leaving behind nothing but the smell of brimstone. Dani and her cohort were left standing in the foyer with a small crowd of masked onlookers watching them and murmuring quietly to one another. Though the servant had introduced the seven of them as the heroes, the other attendees didn’t seem interested in fawning over them or even speaking to them. Only staring, like they were animals in a cage at the circus.
Normally, Dani would prefer nobles not fawning over her, but here in the Upper City it was just…odd. Every time she tried to meet someone’s eyes they looked away just in time, turning their heads to murmur something behind their fans or to sip from a flute of champagne. One by one they seemed to float from the room, disappearing into other rooms, one or two of them casting lingering glances over their shoulders as they left.
“Is it just me,” Astarion said, “or does anyone else feel like the main course at a feast, rather than the guests of honor?”
“We could always leave?” Karlach suggested. Several of them turned to look at the doors behind them, but to no one’s real surprise, the doors swung shut. The sound of a bolt sliding home was answer enough for Karlach’s question.
“A trap.” Lae’zel folded her arms. “How predictable.”
“Could be worse,” Dani offered.
“True,” Shadowheart said, “It can’t be worse than that time Dani got trapped in that lamp in Sorcerous Sundries.”
“Hey!” 
Wyll chuckled. “Or that time we all fell victim to those skulls and poltergeists in Lady Jannath’s estate?”
“Oh gods, don’t remind me,” Karlach groaned. “I think I still have bruises from getting thrown down from the top landing.”
“Yes, all right, we’ve established that it could be worse,” Dani said, holding up her hands in surrender to her friends’ teasing. “But we’re here now. Might as well split up and see what we can figure out. Or split up and enjoy the party. Let’s see…” 
She put a finger to her chin, looking around the foyer and the doors that led to other rooms beyond. A few masked stragglers still lingered in the corners of the room or above them on the second-story landing, gazing down at them behind masks shaped like goats, wolves, and cats, or full-faced white masks with red-painted lips and glittering swirls, or jester smiles and tragic theatre frowns. The foyer itself was richly furnished, with lush red carpets leading up the stairs and polished mahogany console tables supporting delicate porcelain vases. More banners, drapes, and glimmering fairy lights decorated the room to match the outside facade and there were fresh sprays of flowers and greenery in all of the vases. There were several large mirrors in the room as well, reflecting the attendees and giving the slight illusion that the room was bigger than it was. Lord Dormire, whoever he was, certainly didn’t lack for funds.
She could hear music drifting down from a room upstairs, accompanied by rhythmic steps and chatter. A ballroom, no doubt, or a room big enough to be used as one. Mouth-watering scents wafted over from somewhere on the current floor, scents of spiced, roasted meats and thick, rich sauces, of grilled vegetables, buttery toasted bread, heady wines, and fried treats. If she followed her nose, she was sure to find a heavy-laden table filled with delectable bites to eat. And hopefully a fountain of wine to match. Meanwhile, conversation in a nearby room to the left seemed bright and rich, with the occasional exclamation or cheer to suggest games or entertainments taking place. 
Aubron Dormire appeared to have thought of everything for his little party. Food, music, dancing, games, and entertainment. The only thing missing was the host himself.
“All right,” Dani said, a slow smile stealing over her lips. “Here’s the plan.”
The others glanced among themselves, some smiling, some looking a little resigned, but all six of them gathered closer. A year apart hadn’t dampened their ability to see when Dani had something like a heist in mind. This would be nothing like absconding with half of the high security vault treasures from inside the Counting House, or sneaking into Gortash’s room during his coronation to throw all of his furniture over the battlements and down into the Chionthar below, but it would at least be about as fun.
Dani lowered her voice. “Astarion, I want you to mingle and keep your ears and eyes open. Pick some locks, sneak into some rooms. See if you can find this Aubron Dormire before he finds us.”
“I’d be delighted, my dear,” Astarion said, his smirk matching his beguiling mask’s devilish expression. “Perhaps I’ll even find a little nibble for myself.”
“Shadowheart, Lae’zel, see what kind of entertainment our host has organized in the next room. Maybe we’ll get some hints about what kinds of traps to expect.”
“And here I was hoping to investigate the wine cellars,” Shadowheart sighed. “Ah well. I’ll grab a couple glasses on my way over.”
“Let us hope this lordling’s ‘entertainment’ proves interesting,” Lae’zel said. Her expression suggested that nothing Dormire had planned would be interesting to her, yet her eyes strayed in the direction of cheering nonetheless.
“Karlach—”
Karlach squeezed her eyes shut and clenched both of her hands into fists like she was a young child wishing on a star. “Please say the food, please say the food, please say the food—”
Dani laughed. “All right, all right. Karlach, you and Wyll investigate the food. You deserve a good meal after another six months in Avernus.”
Karlach pumped her fist with a hissed “Yes!” 
“But watch out for poisons! You never know.”
“We’ll make sure to taste test everything, just to be safe,” Wyll said, smiling. “I’d hate for any of you to fall prey to any poisons.”
“Which just leaves you and me, love,” Gale said, smoothing a hand up her back. His fingers and palm slipped beneath her gold-feathered wrap to brush her bare skin where the back of her dress dripped dangerously low, very nearly to her tail. “Where would you have me?”
“Where else, darling?” Dani asked, tilting her head with a coy wink. “Right by my side, as always.”
She leaned over for a kiss, careful not to bump the beaks of their masks together, ignoring Lae’zel’s soft chk and Karlach’s little aww. When she pulled away, she gave everyone else a nod. 
“Meet back up in the ballroom upstairs in an hour,” she said, “but if anything crazy happens before then, you kn—” 
She faltered, about to suggest they all knew what to do. But that had been a year ago, when they all had tadpoles in their heads and could communicate effortlessly by linking their minds together. That had been their go-to foolproof plan with every heist and battle and adventure she’d planned or they’d fallen into with her. Now, they didn’t have that luxury. Sending spells had replaced her telepathic links with others, but sending spells took time. For one tiny moment, a pang of longing gripped her chest. Not for the impending doom of turning into a mind-flayer, of course, but it was clear that their adventuring tonight would be very different than the adventuring days of over a year ago. She felt suddenly nostalgic for it.
She tried to push aside the odd tangle of emotions and focus. “If anything crazy happens, then…”
“Er, yell really loud?” Karlach suggested.
Dani supposed that was the best they could do. They were all trapped in one building, after all. It wasn’t like they would be miles away from each other. “Sure. Or come up with some kind of big noise or signal. We all know how to think on our feet.”
The plan officially made, everyone broke off and headed for their respective areas. Astarion wandered over to a small cluster of masked guests, while Shadowheart and Lae’zel slipped into a room off to the left and Wyll and Karlach disappeared in search of food. Gale offered Dani his arm and gestured with his other hand to the rest of the foyer.
“Where to now, my love?” he asked.
Dani took his arm with a smile. His touch instantly steadied her and grounded her back in the moment. “Let’s just wander around. I want to get a good idea of the layout of this place.” 
Entrances, potential exits, which rooms led into the next, keeping her eyes peeled for hidden doors, secret levers, sneaky little buttons and the like; she wanted to know where all of it was so that the minute things turned sideways—and they would turn sideways, it wouldn’t be an adventure with Dani otherwise—she wouldn’t find herself with her back against the wall with nowhere to go.
So they wandered, walking a slow circuit through the first floor of the manor. The rooms seemed to be arranged in a loop, beginning and ending in the foyer—it was almost too easy to map out in her head. Heading counter-clockwise, they stepped first into the dining room, with its tables pushed against the far wall, practically groaning under the weight of dozens of succulent dishes.
Though Dani longed to try at least one little bite, they let Wyll and Karlach handle the food for the moment and continued through to a sitting room, where masked guests sat at card tables, gossiping over their cards, the air thick with cigar and pipe smoke. They passed quickly through that room too, neither of them a fan of the smoke, only to find themselves in a room full of hunting trophies, mounted weapons, and taxidermied creatures. Several guests lingered here, too, holding quiet conversations beneath the shaggy chins of minotaurs and the boney heads of hellsboars.
The room was an odd assortment of creatures and weapons that looked as though they'd never even kissed flesh in any way before, let alone felled mighty beasts. Yet the creatures in the room looked genuine, or at least realistic enough to fool her. Of all the things in the room, she was a little surprised to see the head of an illithid mind flayer mounted on one wall, its beady glass eyes a little too reminiscent of the Emperor for her liking.
She wondered what the old squid was doing these days. 
“Is Lord Dormire a hunter, do you think?” she asked, cocking her head to examine the head of a dilophosaurus that was mounted at about eye level on the wall. “Or did he just buy all of this to seem more impressive than he is?”
“Impossible to say, without having met the man,” Gale said. “I’m more interested in all the mirrors he has.”
“Mirrors?” 
“Haven’t you noticed?” He gestured to one wall, where a tall, wide mirror took up a third of the space. “There’s been a large mirror in every room. Sometimes more than one.”
“So? Perhaps Dormire is a vain man. He wouldn’t be the only vain patriar we’ve ever met.”
Even so, she let go of Gale’s arm to approach the mirror, tilting her head to examine her reflection. Her golden bird mask wasn’t going anywhere, that was certain, but she didn’t want to look ruffled or disheveled when this Lord Dormire finally made his appearance. She twisted a bit of her blue-dyed hair idly around one finger to restore some of its curl, her eyes roving over the reflections of mounted swords and stuffed creature heads behind her. Over the dim murmur of conversation, she thought she heard a familiar voice.
“Well, this is…grotesque. So many of nature’s creations left unable to return to the earth. What a waste. Let us move on, my heart. This room is not for me.”
She blinked, certain that it was Halsin’s voice she heard. She glanced at the reflection, eyes flicking from guest to guest until they landed on an exceptionally tall wood elf in an elaborate wood mask carved to look like tree bark and branches. At his side was a slim half-elven woman with auburn hair and a pale green dress, her mask an elegant variation of his. Dani whirled, a ready smile on her face—Halsin had told her he wouldn’t be attending this masquerade—only to find that corner of the room empty.
She blinked. She was certain…
She looked back at the mirror, but the image of Halsin and the auburn-haired woman was gone. The corner was as empty in the reflection as it was in the room itself. Nothing to see except dead, stuffed creatures and pristine swords and crossbows.
“Dani?” Gale stepped into view of the mirror, looking at her curiously.
“I thought I saw…” She trailed off, feeling suddenly uncertain. The room bore no signs of the former Archdruid, either in the reflection of the mirror or physically around them. She shook her head. “Nevermind. Trick of the light, I think.”
He looked at her with concern, his mask doing little to hide his thoughts. He gently ran his fingertips down her arm. A steady touch to remind her that he was there. “Are you all right? No ill effects from the mask, I hope.”
She shook her head again. “No. Just an over-active imagination. You know me.” She gave him a smile to ease his worries and took his arm again. “Come on, let’s find another room. This one is giving me the creeps. Too many fake eyes.”
She glanced back at the mirror as they left it behind, but it looked like any old mirror. Not even a hint of magic to suggest it was anything sinister.
The next room was a kind of art gallery, with paintings of various figures, landscapes, and still life scenes hanging from floor to ceiling. Now that Gale had pointed it out, she noticed two large mirrors in this room as well, one centered over an empty fireplace mantel and the other filling nearly a third of the wall opposite from Dani. As with other rooms, masked guests lingered here as well, casting half-interested gazes their way before returning to their conversations or examining the portraits. Dani felt like she was at the pre-party before the actual party, the way these guests were behaving. Everyone just waiting and watching.
She ignored them, since they were content to ignore her, and scanned the portraits and walls for any signs of buttons, hidden doors, or levers. “See anything interesting?”
“Not unless you count that obviously fake Fevras portrait as something ‘interesting,’” Gale said. “How many times have we seen that exact same portrait of that girl?”
“Too many times. I hope he isn't here tonight. If you see him, cast invisibility on me immediately.” 
A burst of colorful light followed by applause and laughter in the next room caught both their attention. They exchanged curious looks, all thoughts about Oskar Fevras and his more eccentric habits forgotten. 
“Sounds like the next room is where all the action is happening,” she said. 
“So it would seem. Shall we check it out?”
She shrugged. “You go take a sneak peak. I want to see if I can find any secrets in this room. Out of all the rooms we’ve been in, this room looks like the one most likely to have a cheeky little safe or something.”
Gale chuckled. It was far from the first time Dani had found or broken into a safe hidden behind a well-placed portrait. “Very well. I won’t be long.”
He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but with her mask in the way, settled for a kiss on her jawline. She grinned and gave him a little push toward the doorway.
"Go on before I change my mind," she teased. He flashed her a smile of his own before turning away.
As he crossed the room to peer through the open doorway into the next room, Dani walked around the edges of the small gallery, glancing at various paintings. She paused briefly before the mirror over the mantel, but it seemed like an average mirror. Nothing out of the ordinary. She pursed her lips and continued on. 
Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to the larger mirror that took up part of the far wall. A couple of masked guests entered through the doorway behind her, the one that led through to the trophy room, their movements reflected by the mirror. Though their reflections laughed, their heads thrown back, Dani didn’t hear a sound. She turned her head to look for them in the room, only to find no one at all near that doorway.
One trick of the light was strange. Twice was just suspicious. 
Abandoning her search for secrets behind paintings, she crossed immediately to the other mirror. As she neared, a guest in a golden butterfly mask seemed to appear from nowhere, stepping into her path. Dani stopped short, nearly stumbling, to avoid a collision. 
“Oh—sorry, I didn’t—”
She stopped, realizing too late that she wasn’t talking to a guest—but to a reflection of a guest. The mirror was closer than she realized. She paused, staring, as the guest looked back at her.
She was beautiful, whoever she was. A lithe half-elven woman with pale blonde hair styled in an intricate braided bun. She looked every bit the noble patriar type that lived in this part of the Upper City with her slightly upturned nose and glossy, plump lips. Her dress was made with expensive green velvet, embroidered with golden thread along the bodice and in a simple, yet elegant emblems down the high-waisted skirt. Her arms were bare but she bore a drape of green satiny fabric from her shoulders down to the floor. Her face registered a flicker of surprise to see Dani.
If indeed she did see Dani.
Dani couldn’t look away. She was standing in front of a mirror—she knew she was. Yet instead of facing her own reflection, she was facing a total stranger. She raised a hand uncertainly to touch her own shoulder, as if she might not find golden feathers from Gale’s enchanted wrap there, but smooth green fabric instead. The figure in the mirror mimicked her motions exactly. As if they moved as one.
“What in the hells...” Dani whispered, watching the stranger’s lips form the words in the mirror. What the hells was going on?
She saw Gale approaching from behind her in the reflection. In the mirror, he wore an elaborate green and gold embroidered coat with golden tassels, matching the outfit of the woman in the reflection. Instead of an owl mask, his face was covered with a lion mask burnished in bronze and gold. She saw him reach out to her—to the stranger—in the mirror, yet she still jumped when she felt his touch on her arm.
“My love?”
She turned to look at him, her heart in her throat. No lion mask. No green finery. Instead she was facing Gale as he was two minutes ago in his sculpted owl mask, his clothing once more the midnight blue brocade and purple silk that he had worn ever since they changed into their finery for the evening scarcely an hour or two before.
He stared at her, frowning with concern. “Dani. Are you all right? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I...” She looked back at the mirror, fully expecting to see the elven woman in green and gold again.
But it was her own reflection she faced. An image of a blue-skinned tiefling in a deep blue gown and a wrap of golden, metallic feathers, looking spooked behind her songbird mask. No signs of the stranger at all.
The mirror was just a mirror once more.
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amerrierworld · 3 years
Text
You’ve Caught Me
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for the request: Can you do an Au where Debbie flirts and seduces reader with witty and bratty banter, but then becomes a softy and takes care of the reader?
Summary: Everything is going perfectly until Debbie encounters you on a bad day.
Characters: Debbie x gn!reader, mentions of other friends and the crew
Word Count: 1.5k
Warnings: moping/uncertainty in the second half~
A drink appeared in front of you from the bartender. It was brightly coloured with a slice of fruit on top. Ice clinked as it was set down on the bar. You frowned in confusion.
“I’m sorry, but I didn't order this.”
“It’s from the lady by the window seat.”
You looked over and saw a brunette making eye contact with you. She sent you a bright smile, and toasted you with her glass. There was a small party of women sitting by the window with her, a few of them eyeing your interaction with the brunette. A blonde next to her nudged her with her elbow.
Then your own friends that you were with whistled and nudged you as well once you had all seen what the lady looks like. You took a sip of the freshly delivered drink, feeling the burn of alcohol and a sweet aftertaste. It was quite delicious, honestly.
You turned back to the brunette who looked at you expectantly, and you smiled and nodded, with a toast of the drink. She winked back, and then the both of you focused back on your respective friend groups, feeling giddiness crowd your emotions from the fleeting glance you had just shared.
-
“Hey, doll. You nearly forgot your purse.”
You looked to see the smokey-eyed brunette standing behind you, with your purse in her hand. You must have left it at your bar seat when you got up to leave to meet your friends at the door.
“Oh,” you frowned, the alcohol you already had making you a bit drowsy. “Thanks.”
You checked everything in your purse, confident that nothing was missing, and all your change was still there. The brunette hadn’t moved from her spot.
“What, do you want a reward or something?” you asked. She smirked a little.
“No, I’ve already got one.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that then?”
“An excuse to talk to you.”
Well alright, you weren’t expecting that. You allowed yourself to look the woman up and down as you thought about your reply. She was dressed very stylishly, with long brown hair that curled and fell in all the right places. Her nails were short, which was a very welcomed discovery. 
“Okay then, now you have the chance to talk to me,” you said, alcohol making you bolder than usual. “What do you have to say?”
She fully grinned this time and looked back around the bar as she spoke, “I would ask you to join me for a drink but I think you’ve already had your fill. How about some late take-out instead? On me.”
You contemplated, before saying, “I’d take the chance to go out with a hot stranger any day if I wasn’t a bit too drunk right now. Sorry.”
“Fair enough,” she replied. Then, “You think I’m hot?”
Oh, crap. Did you say that?
“Hmm.. I suppose I get very honest when I’m tipsy,” you answered. She chuckled this time, and you felt warm, and not because of the alcohol in your blood. 
“Yes, quite. Should I call you a cab?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got my friends here, and one of them is the DD. We’re headed to a small party, if you’d like to come?”
She quirked an eyebrow, not expecting another offer from your end. She looked at the front doors, where your gaggle of friends were eyeing you and whispering with gleeful smirks on their faces.
The stranger leaned forward, so much so that her perfume filled your senses and wisps of brown hair brushed your face,
“A bit early to go introducing me to your friends, don’t you think?”
You barked out a laugh as she pulled back again. “Oh, you wish. None of them would probably remember you by the time the hangover hits.”
She looked down at her phone for a moment and then back at you, as if she was waiting to put in her own passcode.
“What’s your code, honey?”
You frowned. Your code? But... wait. 
She was holding your phone, having nicked it from your pocket when she was so close.
“Hey!”
“Just wanna make sure you have my number. Don’t worry, I don’t steal from people I like.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Well, I said I liked you, didn’t I?”
You wordlessly put in your code for her, and she added herself to your contacts list as Hot Stranger. She smiled successfully as she handed you your phone, but a slight blush had creeped up on her cheeks.
“Careful with that. You never know who might steal it.”
You grinned and had a fleeting thought if she meant your phone or your heart. You pushed the sickeningly romantic thought away and quickly waved goodbye before hurrying back to your entourage.
-
Turns out Debbie was an unwavering flirt, in the beginning. She always managed to catch you off guard, and didn’t hesitate to compliment you when she felt like it. 
“You know other people would think you’re being way too forward, you know?”
“Does it bother you, doll?”
You sheepishly shook your head. You liked the devotion and attention, honestly. Who wouldn't? Debbie was incredible to you. On dates, through text and, yes, in bed as well. 
It all seemed like paradise. 
And then there was a shift. The expected but dreaded shift in any relationship.
One night, the both of you were put to the test. There was a knock on your door, and you grumbled under your breath, preparing to yell at whoever was stupid enough to show up at your place. It was super late, you had been busy, and if anything else came up now you’d blow your top off.
“Hey?” Debbie said, her chipper expression fading away at your stormy gaze when you opened the door. 
“Oh, it’s you,” you said, turning around and leaving the door open without another word. Startled, Debbie carefully stepped inside, watching you disappear into the kitchen.
“Why are you here?”
Debbie scoffed a little, “do you not want me here all of a sudden? How flattering.”
“No, of course not,” you grumbled as you grabbed a bottle of wine. Debbie came to stand just outside the kitchen, watching you as she took off her coat. 
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Hey, now. Don’t lie to me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” you snapped. “Have some alcohol and just leave it, okay?”
You lifted one of the wine glasses to your mouth and were prepared to drink a mouthful. Then a firm hand gripped the base of it and pulled it down, spilling a bit of wine down your hand and on the kitchen floor.
Debbie’s eyes were glittering dangerously at you, and you relented in letting here take the glass away. She set it down on the counter.
“Don’t I even get a hello?”
Your eyes cast down to the floor and you muttered an apology. Debbie grasped your hand and squeezed your fingers reassuringly. 
“What’s the matter?” she asked again. Your shoulders slumped this time, and you glanced at your intertwined hands.
“I’ve had a shit day,” you grumbled. You hadn’t encountered a bad mood like this with your girlfriend yet, and in the back of your mind you worried about her reaction. “I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep properly. There’s so much crap to do. It’s been so busy and I hate it.”
Debbie nodded slowly as you talked on for a bit about the things that were irritating you and how annoyed you were by everything. She noticed the bags under your eyes and the firmness of your upper lip.
“Have you eaten?” she asked after you had finished. You half-shrugged. You had some take-out, that counts right? The last full meal you had was when she took you to that restaurant last weekend. 
She tutted at your non verbal response. The next few moments she rummaged through your fridge and whatever food you had lying around. 
Almost immediately after there was a plate of food under your nose.
“I didn’t know you knew how to cook,” you commented.
“You learn to fend for yourself,” she replied, grabbing your wine glass from earlier and taking a swig.
“Hey, that was mine.” She blew you a kiss. It calmed you somewhat.
“Want me to stay the night?” she asked as she cleaned up your kitchen and washed the dishes. This was the first time that she asked, because usually she would stay the night regardless of anything else.
“Do you not want to?” you asked, interpreting her question as uncertainty on her end.
“What? No, of course not, baby. I’m asking because I want to make sure you want me around.”
“Of course I want you around. I always want you around,” you confessed. 
Debbie helped in tidying up your place, which mostly just consisted of her doing the work and you sitting at the table, still numb. She eventually pulled you up to your feet to get you in pj’s and then to crash immediately on the couch, curled around you. 
“You can turn on the tv if you need some white noise,” she suggested. It was a good idea, but the bright lights were distracting you from sleeping. So instead you turned over and burrowed into Debbie’s hold, her skin warm and soft. Now it really was paradise.
A/N: finally getting through super ancient requests yes i am here and yes i am slow :)
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its-me-im-coraline · 3 years
Text
Shy // Headcannons
words // around 900
warnings // none
author's note // this is a little short but I genuinely couldn't come up a lot. im sorry im just having some bad mental health days. also im sorry to the 2 people on the tag list lol for forgetting to tag them on the last fic, lol. if anyone wants to be tagged let me know, if you just want to chat about maneskin and little scenarios I'm thinking of maybe having a "sleepover" once a week where instead of posting longer fics I can simply reply to asks with mini scenarios? let me know if you like that idea cause i would loooove it
request // yes, here
summary // the band with a shy (or socially anxious) s/o
Damiano David
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we all know this man is all over the place
in a good way of course
he is confident, outspoken and just out there in general
although a paradox he would be perfect with a shy person
he draws the attention to him when you need him to take it away from you
but he gives you all his attention when you need it
he would be really comforting to a shy s/o
“Do you want to get out of here? Is it too crowded? it is too crowded, omg. come on, lets go”
is always there to make interactions with people easier
“so, this is my partner, y/n. They are great.”
will introduce you to someone really proudly and would not leave even for a second unless he saw you had gotten comfortable around that person
will literally hold off going to the restroom if he sees you’re still shy around whoever you two speak to.
“Damiano, just go! It’s fine”
this is funny, don’t judge me
has no problem doing all the talking for you
“You want me to order for you? no problem. Yes, hi, could we please get-”
in general, damiano is literally there to do the s o c i a l i z i n g for you when you need him to
Victoria De Angelis
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vic is also the type of person that would quickly cover up for your shyness
will not even ask if you want her to order for you, she already knows
“Have you decided what you want, babe? oh, great.”
casually waits for the waiter before ordering for both of you
i feel victoria is a little more “pushy” and let me explain this
she will not force you to socialize but she will push you to familiarize yourself with crowded places
will always be with you of course
“Come on baby, I know it is crowded, but I am here, ok?”
has a plan on how you guys will go about if she has to introduce you to someone
it’s not that she will not do the socializing for you if she has to but she will be there to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone regarding it.
not too much, and never alone, but just enough to make you more comfortable around new faces
like she will make phone calls for you, the ordering for you and all but under other circumstances she pushes you to work on the shyness a bit
Thomas Raggi
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I feel like thomas is equally as shy so the game is played between the mood you guys have that day
when the one is having a “shy-er” day (lol) the other will do the phone calls and what not
“thomas, call over the waiter, we need to pay so we can leave”
“why don’t you? they are in your peripheral view”
“cause i did it last time thom! now call over the waiter!”
“y/n!”
“Is everything ok? Anything else I can get you two?”
“Y-yes. the check please”
embarrassing
generally tho you two tend to kind of ‘give strength’ to each other when you have to do something like that.
like holding hands and giving each other encouraging words before having to interact with someone
lol my friends and I do exactly that!
although I see Thomas being a little sneaky sometimes and just avoiding to do something until you are fed up and you have to
oooops
Ethan Torchio
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now, although ethan is my personal favorite I would hate this so much (as a shy person myself)
he isn’t very shy exactly, just introverted
he also just has this vibe to him
daddy™ lol
that is just like yeah he can surely do the socializing for you but he is just not going to
Is he going to be an ass about it? no
Is he going to leave you alone to do it? no
but he will not make a phone call for you or order for you
unless he sees that it is stressing you out too much
“no, y/n, you can do it. I believe in you.”
he is going to be encouraging about it, not forceful and disrespectful
if he sees that you feel very pressured that day he’ll shut up and do it for you
like i can see him being next to you while you have to make a call, the phone on speaker and holding your hand for moral support
lol idk but I just don’t see him taking over
he wants to help you be calmer, but he also wants to help you working around the shyness
tag list: @bieberhoodforever @tabi-toast
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cxsmicmyeon · 3 years
Text
HAPPY NEW YEAR , OSH [M]
oh sehun x fem! reader
IN WHICH you're forced to go to your best friend's giant new year's eve party, only to hit it off with someone who equally doesn't want to be there.
genre: college au! fluff and smut (toward the end) word count: 5.0k warnings: stupid jokes, swearing, sexual content, dirty talk, cunnilingus
author's note: MOODBOARD MADE BY ME. I DON'T OWN THE IMAGES, I ONLY OWN MY EDITING. also this is cross-posted from ao3 (i wrote it back in january for the new year lol). feedback and notes are greatly appreciated <3
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Ugh.
That was the only word that came to mind as you navigated your way through the banquet hall. You grumbled to yourself as you adjusted your dress for the fifteenth time that night, resulting in your clutch dropping onto the floor. You resisted the urge to shout an expletive as you bent to pick the small bag up, which only resulted in your dress moving to that stupid spot that you didn't want it to go. A soft 'God' slipped from your lips as you adjusted your dress once again, this time gripping your clutch tightly in your right hand. Once you were contented, you resumed your trek to the venue you tried hopelessly to avoid.
Tonight was your best friend's annual New Year's Eve extravaganza. Normally you'd be a bit more willing to attend, as these parties were usually limited to 20-30 people in either her parent's house or your shared apartment, but apparently she found the need to rent out an entire fucking rooftop penthouse room filled to the brim with alcohol, hors d'oeuvres and packed with every single student that went to your college. 
To put it rather bluntly, you hated the party scene that came with college. The thought of being at some fraternity with obnoxiously loud music shaking the entire house, an entire mass of sweaty drunk people doing God knows what and random couples eating each other's faces off was unappealing to be a part of. Maybe it sounds rather prudish, but you highly preferred nights in with a bottle of wine on your coffee table and Netflix queued up on the next episode of your favorite show or your laptop open to continue writing your novel over an en masse of horny and drunk people shoving you around the living room of someone's house.
Your best friend, on the other hand, lived for partying. Every Saturday night not spent studying, she'd beg you to come to the party her boyfriend or classmate was having. And after your declination and 'Don't have too much fun!" she'd return the next morning with a giant hangover with (on some occasions) hickeys on her neck that looked like vampire bites. By now, you were used to her drunk texts at 3 am and having to hold up her hair every time she puked her guts out. And these were reasons that simply fueled your hatred for large parties.
New Year's Eve was your only exception for large parties (mostly). Back in high school, her parents allowed her to invite you and a few classmates over for what they called a 'New Year's Sleepover.' You liked those well enough simply because they were rather small, you knew everyone there and you even got to steal a drink of champagne from the wine closet. As you entered college, the past two parties became a tad more crowded but were still bearable in your eyes. But this year, the New Year's Eve of your junior year, took the cake. Exams were a lot more rigorous this year and to celebrate everyone getting through it, your idiot of a best friend used practically all of her savings to rent out the largest rooftop venue in your area for what she called 'the New Year's party that'll fuck any other party in the ass.' She sent invites to the entire student body (which, naturally, 95% of them RSVP'ed to). While you tried your best to stop her, she persisted. And when you begged her to let you stay at home, she persisted yet again. So here you were, bracing yourself for a night of... honestly you had no clue.
You stopped in front of the entrance of the large room, your breath hitching in your throat. The music was from a genre you weren't familiar with, the bar was blocked by a large crowd and your best friend was nowhere to be seen. Slightly turning around from the disaster waiting to happen, you took in a deep breath before turning back and entering. 
The stench of champagne and sweat immediately made you recoil and question your decision for even coming. You internally scoffed as you shifted through the crowd to find your best friend. You softly muttered 'excuse me' to every person you passed (or accidentally shoved) as you begged whoever was in the sky that your best friend was near. You struck gold when you saw her sprawled out on a loveseat surrounded by her boyfriend and others you didn't know by name. You pushed through a few more people before stopping in front of the group. Your best friend turned around immediately and let out a loud squeal.
"Heyyy!" she slurred as she threw her arm around you. You rolled your eyes as a smile etched itself onto your face, knowing she was already drunk as hell.
"Hiiii..." you responded, replicating her energy. She let out a loud howl of laughter as she led you to a small table next to the sofa. She picked up a plastic flute filled with champagne and practically shoved it in your hand. You laughed as she grabbed a red plastic cup from her boyfriend's hand.
"A toast, to the New Year!" she bellowed as she clinked your glass and her cup together.
"Happy New Year!" You responded. She snickered as she led you to sit down on the sofa. 
"Hey (Y/N), Happy New Year!" 
"You too, Baekhyun." You clinked your glass with your best friend's boyfriend's glass and took a sip of the fizzy drink. You let out a breath you were unaware you were holding in as the familiar taste of champagne washed over your tastebuds. Even if you were dreading tonight, you couldn't deny the free food and drinks being made available.
Quickly you were introduced and re-introduced to a bunch of Baekhyun's friends. They were nice enough, sure, but you found their energy to be a bit much (especially paired with the excess of alcohol that they all consumed). Luckily, you gave the group the excuse that you needed another drink and left them to their own accords. 
After taking a second flute of champagne from the bar, you found yourself wandering onto the balcony. Luckily for you, it was completely deserted. With a small smile, you shut the sliding door and wandered toward the metal railing, slowly sipping your champagne. Setting the plastic flute and your clutch down on a nearby table, you readjusted your dress (yes, again) and slipped your heels off, sighing in relief that your feet were finally free from those restrictive shoes. You felt a chill down your spine as your feet touched the bare ground, stepping a couple of times in place to help adjust to the temperature. You took the champagne glass from off of the table and lifted it to your lips, taking another sip as you looked out into the night sky. 
You took a deep breath as you finally felt yourself relax. The music from inside the venue was muffled a great deal and the cold temperature the winter night brought was a comforting contrast to the heat from inside the building coupled with the crowd of sweaty college students. The sky was thankfully clear from any clouds, so you were able to enjoy the comforting presence that the waning gibbous moon coupled with the scattered stars brought. Taking another sip of your champagne, you took a few steps until you felt the cold metal of the railing. You leaned slightly forward as you continued looking and admiring the sky, feeling surprisingly at peace considering your location. 
Soon enough you realized that someone else has also decided to leave the party, as you heard the music grow louder then muffled again. You turned to see a tall man around your age typing quickly on his phone with a red plastic cup in his other hand. A tall, attractive man at that.
He wore a simple oversized gray hoodie coupled with a pair of blue jeans. His jet black hair appeared tousled underneath his dark beanie, and suddenly you felt a tad overdressed. You couldn't help but ogle at how his brows furrowed in concentration as he continued looking down at his phone, how eerily well-defined his jawline was- wait, scratch that- how his entire face was well-defined. You couldn't help but mutter 'damn...' to yourself as you looked away for a second to gather your thoughts. When you looked over at him again, he was staring in your direction. Immediately you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks as he walked a little closer to you.
"Hi, sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting your vibe or anything." he said softly. 
"Oh, don't worry about it, you're good. 'S long as you're not loud or annoying." you joked in response. He let out a short laugh as he downed the rest of his drink, placing the empty cup next to your clutch. You took a small sip of your champagne and turned back to look at the sky. Absentmindedly, you placed the glass down onto the balcony, not realizing that the bars were too narrow to support the bottom of the glass. You looked down in utter shock as the glass made its descent down the building. You covered your mouth with your hands when the glass shattered before your eyes on the ground below. Turning around you saw the man pursing his lips together in an attempt to hold back a laugh. When he looked back at you, you couldn't help but let out a loud giggle. He doubled down with laughter at the event, which only made you laugh harder. 
"Jesus fucking Christ, how tragic." you chuckled. The man covered his mouth to try and conceal his louder waves of laughter; the sound intensifying your own laughter. Eventually, you let out a loud sigh in an attempt to calm yourself down. The man coughed into his elbow and cleared his throat, effectively calming himself down.
"You want another one of those?" he asked, pointing to the mess of glass shards and wasted champagne well below them.
"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though," you responded with a smile. He nodded, looking around the area for a second. "Huh, it's clear you don't wanna be here either."
He let out a playful scoff as he stretched his arms. "How'd you know?"
"'Cause you're out here with some random ass girl you don't even know when you could be among that sweaty-ass crowd of other people you don't even know." you deadpanned. He chuckled at your joke, which made you smile a bit as a result.
"I'm Sehun, by the way." he said, holding his hand out in front of you.
"(Y/N), nice to meet you." You replied, shaking his hand. You felt your heart skip a beat at the contact; his hands were slightly calloused but surprisingly soft at the same time. You unconsciously squeezed his hand before pulling away, tucking a stray hair behind your ear as you blushed slightly.
"So... how'd you get invited to this? I think like every student was invited." Sehun inquired.
"Oh, my best friend actually was the one who invited everyone. Obviously I had to show up 'cause she is my best friend. Even if I loathe the idea of hundreds of loud, drunk college kids gathered in one giant venue with music I don't even like to listen to. But it's cool, though. 'Least there's a balcony out here for some peace and quiet," you explained. "How about you?"
"I came with my brother. One of his friends I believe is dating your best friend? So, obviously, he insisted I come with." he responded.
You let out a short laugh at his response. "Baekhyun is her boyfriend."
"Right... Yeah, they're pretty close."
"Oh sick, I may know him. What's his name?"
"Jongin."
"Oh, Jongin! Yeah, I know him. He's pretty nice." Sehun nodded, looking down at his feet.
"Yeah, a lot of people know him. Obviously. He's so popular. He's so handsome. Loads of girls and guys wanna get into his pants 'cause he's such a good dancer. Everyone loves Jongin. Meanwhile, when people find out we're related, they always ask 'Oh you're so quiet! You're so different from Jongin!' Well sorry I don't party 24/7 and actually study a lot so I can get my degree!" Sehun ranted. You were stunned at his sudden anger. A soft expression made its way onto your face as you wanted nothing but to quell his fury.
"I'm so sorry, I know that's a lot to unload on a complete stranger. I'll go back in now." Sehun began to make his way back inside before you grabbed his arm, stopping his movement. He turned around with a shocked expression present on his face.
"Shh. Don't worry about it at all. I get your frustration, honestly. I know what it's like to get those comments. It fucking sucks, I know. But can I say something? I've known Jongin for a few months and you for like a half-hour and wanna know something? I feel a lot more comfortable around you than him. Again, he's a good guy and all, but a little much at times. I vibe better with more reserved people honestly." you reassured, giving his arm a small squeeze before letting go. His face lit up at your comment. A grin etched itself on his face as he walked back to his previous spot.
"So. Who is Sehun 'I-Don't-Know-Your-Last-Name-So-Fuck-This-Bit-Isn't-Gonna-Work?' You do go to ISU, right?" you asked, grinning.
"It's Oh. And yes, I do go to ISU." Sehun responded.
"Okay, hi Sehun Oh. I'm (Y/N) (L/N). And holy shit we go to the same school! How come we've never run into each other?" 
"Hi, (Y/N) (L/N). Also, I'm a chem major, is your major different?"
"Oh, no wonder! My major's secondary English education. Science is on the opposite side of campus, right?"
"Yeah. We should totally hang out sometime. Well, when we're not escaping a large ass party." You let out a giggle at his quip, which caused him to blush and rub the back of his neck.
"I'd like that a lot," You gave him a warm smile, resulting in a warm blush spreading across your face. Sehun smiled sheepishly in return, looking down at his feet again.
"So... uh... wait, shit. I'm not good with small talk, sorry." he rambled, folding his hands together while twiddling his thumbs.
"Don't worry, neither am I. Uh... I dunno... Wait, I got it. What do you do besides studying since you don't like to party 24/7 like the icon you are?" You and Sehun began giggling softly as he put his hands on his hips.
"Well, I actually dance. Jongin and I have been taking lessons since we were kids. And, uh... my friend Chanyeol and I composed a couple of songs together for his music class a while back. And I made up choreography for one of them." 
You felt your jaw drop at Sehun's answer. "You dance and make music? That's so fucking sick! You literally became 10 times cooler than you already are. Uh, not that you weren't cool to begin with... but, uh, making music and dancing is hard! Honestly, kudos to you." 
"Thanks," he said, grinning sheepishly. "How 'bout you?"
"Well... I read a lot, I write a lot, I'm finishing up my second novel, uh... that's it, I guess. Well, besides studying."
"Hold on. You've written a whole novel? You're calling me 'the cool one' when you wrote a novel? And you have another one in progress? You're amazing," You swore you were going to faint. "Now you have to show me." 
"Do I have to?" you pouted.
"Pleeeeaseeeee? Please, please, please?" Sehun whined.
"Hm... I have a proposition for you. Show me your choreography and your song and maybe I'll let you read a few chapters of my first novel."
"Deal." 
"Well damn, okay. Show me the song first."
Sehun nodded and took his phone out of his pocket. He spent a few seconds typing and scrolling before setting it down on the table.
"Uh, it's called 'We Young,'" Sehun stated quickly before tapping the middle of his phone screen. He backed up from the table and straightened himself out. You focused your attention on him as the song began playing from his phone. You let out a soft 'ooh,' immediately being intrigued and fascinated by the melody of the piano and the drum beats chosen. As you heard Sehun sing from the phone, he closed his eyes and felt himself get lost in his dance.
Your jaw dropped at the sight. Watching the way his fluid movements intricately matched the rhythm of his song was like watching a flurry of snow getting caught in a gust of wind. His passion for the craft was full-on displayed right in front of you. Every single movement he made perfectly encapsulated the message of his song. The way he bobbed his head for a few seconds before jumping straight into the chorus while mouthing the lyrics kept your attention. You simply couldn't look away.
'God, the way he moves his hips. I so wouldn't mind him moving those hips against my-'
You shook your head at your thoughts. Sure, Sehun was nice. And really hot. And also really easy to talk to. But would he be comfortable with doing anything with you? You did not want to push anything onto him, even if it meant you had to repress any thoughts you had about him maybe fucking you against the railing like the world was going to end. Or feeling those large hands cup your breast and rub your clit simultaneously. Maybe.
Before you knew it, Sehun stopped his dance and paused the song. "So... what did you think?" Sehun's voice snapped you out of your trance, feeling yourself blush due to your inappropriate thoughts. You shook your head lightly and turned to face him.
"What did I think? What did I think? Holy shit, that was... that was amazing! You are so fucking talented, it's unreal!" you exclaimed while clapping your hands softly. He grinned at your response, happy that you liked the song and dance.
"Okay, (Y/N)'s novel time! Yay!" he cheered. You playfully rolled your eyes as you opened up your clutch to take your phone out. You unlocked it and pulled up Google Docs, opening up your manuscript to show him.
"So this is the final manuscript of my first novel, titled 'Neckties and Rosé'. It's a cheesy, romantic, sexy, angsty mess of an office romance. Or, to put it lightly, angstier and sexier Jim and Pam from 'The Office.'" you explained. Sehun nodded and giddily took the phone out of your hands.
He began to dramatically read the prologue of the book. As he read, you were alternating between laughing hysterically at the various voices he gave the different characters and whining due to his teasing of the actions of the characters. You also noticed that he was enjoying himself thoroughly, much to your delight. You felt as if you were around one of your closest friends rather than a complete stranger at the moment, sharing similar humor and personality traits. 
"'While Cordelia angrily slammed her car door, she swore she saw Rocky throw her a cocky smirk through the rearview mirror, which only added fuel to the dumpster fire that was her hazed state of mind.' And that concludes the prologue of 'Neckties and Rosé.'" Sehun announced, locking your phone and handing it back to you.
"So... whaddya think?" you asked shyly, looking down at your feet.
"(Y/N)... that was so fucking great! It sounded like you've been writing for like a thousand years rather than it being your first novel. Damn, you're amazing. Please send me it when you can, I wanna read the rest!" he praised, grinning at you. You couldn't help but return his smile, a jovial feeling igniting inside. 
After a beat, you turned your phone on to look at the time: 11:59 PM.
"Oh shit, it's almost midnight!" you exclaimed, showing Sehun the time. 
"Oh, wow. I honestly thought it was still 10-ish." 
Soon enough, you began to hear the crowd inside count down from thirty, signaling the close arrival of the New Year. You bashfully looked at Sehun as you began twiddling your fingers together.
"Can I say something?" you questioned, earning a nod from the dark-haired male. "I... I've never had a New Year's kiss."
"Um, me neither, actually."
"D-d'you want to... I mean, if you're comfortable of course."
"Uh, yeah, sure. I kind of wanted to ask earlier, but I wasn't sure if you'd want to kiss me."
"Trust me, I would be honored to kiss you." You walked closer to Sehun until your bodies were centimeters apart. 
"Three!"
You blushed as Sehun wrapped his toned arms around your waist. A jolt of electricity pulsed through your body at the contact, causing you to put your hands on the back of his neck.
"Two!"
He gave you a small smile as you stood on your tippy-toes, mentally preparing yourself for what was about to happen.
"One!"
You closed your eyes as you slowly leaned in for the kiss.
"Happy New Year!"
The moment your lips touched his, you swore you could feel fireworks going off inside of you. The scent of his musky cologne filled your nose as you kissed back with equal fervor. Sehun let out a groan as you entangled your fingers through his dark locks. His hand snaked down your back and cupped a handful of your ass, causing you to moan in his mouth. He took the opportunity to bite your lip lightly and put his tongue in your mouth. You cupped his cheek and pressed yourself even closer to him, practically getting drunk on the scent of his cologne and the subtle taste of beer on his lips.
"Yooo! Get some, (Y/N) and Sehun!"
You regrettably pulled away from Sehun as you turned to the door separating the balcony and the inside of the venue. You saw a drunk Baekhyun being held up by your equally tipsy best friend and one of his taller friends, also with the boys you recognized from earlier in the night. You felt yourself turn red as you buried your face in your hands. 
"Girlie, no worries! Get some tonight! Lord knows ya need it!" your best friend slurred before letting out a loud hiccup. 
"Same goes for you, Sehun!" another one of Baekhyun's friends jeered, earning a soft 'Ugh' from the taller male next to you. The boys began laughing and teasing Sehun as you collected your shoes and clutch, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.
"You wanna get out of here?" You heard Sehun whisper in your ear, sending a chill down your spine. 
"God, yes." 
The boys and your best friend erupted into whoops and cheers as Sehun took your hand into his and led you back inside of the banquet hall. He held you close as you pushed past the larger crowd of drunk college students. Luckily you successfully left the venue unscathed and made your way to the elevator, out of breath and silently giggling.
"Wait, fuck. I don't have my car with me." you muttered as you followed Sehun inside of the elevator.
"I have mine, don't worry." Sehun responded before capturing your lips again. You uttered a soft moan as you pressed him against the back wall of the elevator. He broke the kiss to bury his face in the crook of your neck. 
"God, I could take you right here baby. You're so fucking hot." he mused, nipping at your neck. You whimpered in pleasure as he sucked your sweet spot and palmed your ass until the doors of the elevator opened. He took your hand into his and led you out of the shaft, out of the building and to his car.
It took every fiber of your being to resist shoving Sehun into the backseat of his car and fucking him right there. He insisted on taking you to his apartment for, in his words, 'a lot more privacy.' The ride over to his place was silent yet filled to the brim with sexual tension. As he drove, you held back a moan as he placed his big hand on your thigh and almost ordered to stop the car as his fingers slowly yet surely moved toward your clothed core.
As soon as you entered the apartment, his lips were immediately on yours again. He slipped his tongue into your mouth as he hoisted your legs up so you could wrap them around his waist. Impressed by his strength and flexibility, you cupped his cheeks in the palms of your hands and deepened the kiss.
He brought you into his bedroom and slammed the door before laying you down onto his bed. He looked at you with hooded eyes as he pulled his hoodie off and discarded it to the side. You reached your hands under his t-shirt, feeling the smooth outline of his abs before pulling it over his head. You ogled at how his chest shone under the moonlight, indistinctly licking your lips as you put your hair back. He wrapped his arms around you, leaving butterfly kisses along your neck and jawline as he unzipped your dress.
You shifted away from Sehun to slide your dress down your legs and toss it across the room. His eyes flew down to your braless chest, a small smirk toying with his features. 
“No bra? You’re a naughty girl, aren’t you?” A smart remark got stuck on your tongue as he latched his lips onto your left breast. He swirled his tongue around your nipple as he brought his hand to your other breast, massaging it gently. You threw your head back in absolute bliss. How were you getting this wet from him simply touching you?
Sehun laid you down on the bed, giving you a lingering kiss before pulling your panties down your legs. 
“Wet for me already, hm?” Sehun hummed as he grazed a finger down your folds. He let out a contented hum as he lowered himself down between your legs, spreading your thighs apart while licking your arousal off his finger. 
“Oh God, Sehun!” you moaned out as he slid his tongue between your folds. He eagerly began licking your dripping cunt, groaning softly as he tasted you for the first time. You fisted a handful of his jet black hair as he alternated between sucking on your clit and lapping your juices like a man starved.
"You taste so fucking good," he cooed, the vibration of his voice between your legs sending a jolt of electricity down to your center. You felt your orgasm creep closer and closer the more he ate you out.
"S-Sehun, I'm gonna..." you cried out. Right as you were on the cusp of coming all over Sehun's beautiful face, he stopped his ministrations and looked back up at you, his mouth dripping with your arousal. You whined as he wiped your juices off of his chin, slipping his digits into his mouth. Your jaw dropped at the sight; here this gorgeous man was, licking your arousal off his long fingers. It drove you bonkers. 
"Shh, you're not gonna cum unless it's all over my cock. I want your pretty cunt wrapped around me as you cum, got that baby?" You nodded with a whine as Sehun walked over to his bedside drawer. He opened it and took out a condom, ridding himself of his pants and boxer briefs as he walked back to you.
"Mmmh, hurry up, I need you inside of me," you croaked, watching Sehun stroke his half-hard cock, eliciting another moan. He tossed you the golden package, which you happily ripped open.
"So needy," he scoffed. You stuck your tongue out at him while you rolled the condom onto his cock, palming him swiftly. He hissed as he aligned himself to your entrance, wrapping his arms around you. "Ready?"
"Just fuck me already."
With a click of his tongue, Sehun quickly pushed himself inside of you. You gasped as he filled you, blissfully stretching your walls in the most perfect way. Never have you had a partner who made you feel this good, made you feel so full. Your eyes shut in pure pleasure as he began to move. His thrusts started off slow but gradually picked up the pace; each movement filled with utmost care. He cradled you as if you were made of porcelain, wanting nothing more than to make you feel as good as possible.
"Christ, (Y/N), you're so fucking tight. So pretty wrapped around my cock." 
"Fuck," You felt yourself being brought back to the brink of your orgasm as he continued his languid thrusts inside you. "Sehun, I'm close."
He hummed as his thrusts became sloppier, feeling his own orgasm coming close as well. You opened your eyes to see Sehun's face contorted in pleasure as he moved inside of you. The sight made you come undone, your body clenching around his cock as you felt juts of white-hot pleasure seep from your center to his cock. His movements became sloppier and sloppier before he filled the condom with his own release, grunting loudly at the sensation.
You breathed heavily as you came down from your high. Sehun pulled out of you and stood to dispose of the condom as you relished in what just happened. You turned to see him bringing a box of tissues over to you, almost swooning at the sight.
"Thank you," you hummed as he cleaned you up. He nodded, placing a chaste kiss onto your sweaty forehead before disposing of the tissues. He took your panties and one of his t-shirts from off the floor and handed both articles of clothing to you. You thanked him silently as you pulled the material over your head, relishing in how the shirt smelled just like him. 
He climbed into bed after putting on a fresh set of boxers, beckoning you to come closer to him. You sighed in contentment as he cuddled close to you, feeling your eyes close as soon as he wrapped the duvet around the both of you.
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knockknockchicagopd · 3 years
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❛ BLACK JACKET WITH WHITE LETTERS ❜
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❚❙ REQUEST BY ANON: Would I be able to request prompt 16 “You're mine. I don't share”. With Hank voight where they go to one of those police events and she works in his unit and they are a couple with her being younger and they dont have to be in police uniform so she wears a really nice dress and as he introduces her and talks to other people he knows, some of the men check her out and try flirt with her and he notices. Could there be a bit of smut if not that's cool to ❤❤
❚❙ HANK VOIGHT MASTERLIST.
❚❙ WORDS: about 3k.
❚❙ Warnings: swearing, unprotected sex.
❚❙ A/N: this writing hasn’t been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I’m sorry about that. If you find a description about body or a word out of place, or something that makes you feel uncomfortable / unrepresented, let me know by a private message and I will change it delighted.
❚❙ GIF credits: to my amazing @sonsofeorl.
❚❙ General tag list: @melblacc @rebelwrites @skyofficialxx @sesamepancakes @scarletsoldierrr @mondefantastique @that-chick212 @enbyamaro @inlovewith3 @ocetevasgirl @destynelseclipsa @miahelen @jadakiss13 @mcgreads @graniairish @teller258316 @i-love-scott-mccall @tclaerh. Hank Voight tag list: @sophie-writes. If you wanna be added to my tag list, send my a message! ⚡
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Fortunately, it's been a quiet day, otherwise, you couldn't deal with a Districts event like the Commanders call them. A meeting that reunites every officer, inspector, detective, and whoever who wears ‘the blue uniform’; including special agents from the FBI. These last ones are the kind of man who pushes you out of your good mood with all that quackery about serving the whole country, the unlimited resources, the missions. Every time you hear a fed talking about how passionate and exciting their jobs are, you just want to punch their faces. Mostly, they're behind a desk while cops like you are protecting the streets of Chicago in the firing line. But, as Burgess and Upton said, it's time to have some fun. And anything else.
Since you don't have to wear that horrible uniform you use at official events, you have chosen a breathtaking black silk dress that fits your anatomy to perfection, falling from your chest, with a spaghetti strap neckline, to your ankles. And a pair of skyscraper highlights on the same color, with the small difference that the heels are tremendously golden. Your back is almost bare, being crossed by four fine strips, knowing it's going to give Hank some trouble. Oh, you're going to have so much fun tonight. You are very sure.
The soft make-up delights your cute, but lethal, outfit on point ready to leave Kim's house accompanied by your friends. You've arranged to meet at the party with the rest of the Unit since your future husband and Antonio needed to be from the start of the event, which means the three of you are going to earn more than some gazes by assisting alone, with no male figures by your sides. As if you need some kind of protection. Men (...).
Stepping out from your car and giving the keys to the parking attendant, who seems he's having a heart attack after watching you walk with so much cockiness and sensuality, you come into the party. The look you exchange with Kim and Hailey as soon as you check the reaction of the assistants, makes you draw a triumphant smile while raising your chin in some kind of greeting. You aren't going to stop now, leading your steps straight to your partners. Ruzek chokes on champagne with his eyes over Burgess, while Hank looks at you over the edge of his glass of bourbon taking a sip.
“You should work like that every day”. Antonio opines welcoming the three of you in his arms.
“I second that, brother”. Jay quickly adds making a toast with his cup of red wine.
“Bet you'd be the one who wouldn't work”. Hailey replies palming his chest, making you giggle.
In the meantime they continue arguing about the dress code, a strong arm gets placed around your lower back to push you somewhat closer, letting his hand fall over your hipbone. You know exactly what it means. Hank isn't the kind of jealous man, who needs to mark his territory like a dog. But you know that sometimes he feels insecure because of the age gap. He trusts you blindly, that's a fact, but he's human; he has fears and you understand it. Putting your left hand on the back of his neck, you caress his scalp almost unnoticeably, tilting your head to leave a gentle kiss on his cheek earning a satisfied grin from him.
“You look really beautiful tonight”. He whispers, watching you sideways as if it's a secret between you two.
“Thank you, Sergeant. I always try to do my best”.
Hank chuckles against his glass about to have a last sip till emptying it. Taking it from his hand, you pull yourself away to go to the bar and ask for two more drinks. You're thirsty and too sober to be a Friday night. Checking some emails on your phone while the bartender serves your order, you can't help but listen to some backtalk about your career. A couple of suited men combed as politicians and wrapped on a strong scent that throws your stomach. You try to ignore them until they're close enough from your position to offer you a hand in a formal greeting.
“Johnson and Derrick. FBI”.
The blonde one looks like a senior official, while the other looks like a newbie. Turning towards both, you come into the forced polite mood to stretch his hand firmly.
“(Y/L/N), Intelligence Unit, gentlemen. A pleasure”.
“The pleasure is ours, detective”.
“Special agent”. You correct him inevitably, even if it sounds arrogant.
“Special agent, of course”. Johnson replies with a nod of his chin. “I've read your file lately. I have no words to describe it. Graduated with excellent grades in Yale, two years in the Army, another undercover in a Cartel… And you also know how to fly a helicopter”.
“If you weren't from the FBI, I could think you've been stalking me like one of your serial killers, sir”. The sarcasm in your tone of voice earns your Unit's attention, very focused on the conversation between the feds and you.
“Who catches a monster without becoming one, right?”
The man introduces a hand under his jacket to offer you his business card. But you don't take it, just looking at it for a second before raising your eyes towards his.
“In your academy shows you to have the big balls to disrespect a Sergeant or a Chief, by trying to steal their officers in front of their faces? Because mine shows us to serve and protect the citizens”.
His gesture changes suddenly in a sight, hearing some chuckles behind you coming from Hailey and Kim. Raising both eyebrows as you don't get any reply back, you just nod before grabbing the two drinks you have asked for when they interrupted you. Coming back to your friends, you can't help but wrinkle your nose in a gesture of disgust earning more giggles from your partners. But it doesn't seem funny for Hank, who you know he's killing them in thousands of ways inside his head.
As the night passes, you notice Agent Johnson's eyes on you with no shame, starting to make you feel uncomfortable. Although you would be delighted to embarrass him in front of everyone, he has had enough from you. But this doesn't end there. Excusing yourself, you step to the terrace almost emptied to have some fresh air, knowing he's going to follow you. Maybe, to insist a little more. He was so interested in recruiting you to miss the chance.
And as you thought, he's that predictable. You don't turn because of his steps coming closer, but because he pretends to clear his throat to claim your attention. Crossing your arms over your chest, you tilt your head to a side feigning curiosity with a forced smile showing up on your lips.
“I would like to apologize for my behavior. In my profession isn't habitual to find agents of your characteristics”.
“For sure, sir. It doesn't matter”.
“You could have an extraordinary career in the FBI”.
“I already have it where I am. I don't need schedules, cheap suits, and an earpiece to succeed”.
“I understand your relationship interferes in your decision, but you do—”.
“I'm sorry, you said what? Did you…? Oh, god, I can't fucking believe it”. You can't help but laugh shaking your head. “I don't have any relationship as soon as I wear my badge, sir. And you are starting to cross a line you don't want to cross. Believe me”.
“Ma'am, don't misunderstand my words, nor my intentions. I just think ma—”.
“Nobody asked you to think, Johnson”.
Raising your eyes over his shoulders, you can see your boyfriend sipping his glass of whisky, joining the talk as he tries to keep calm. You know Hank to perfection. If he wasn't your boss, he would have punched him already.
“If you continue pissing off my agent, we're gonna have a problem”.
The man just nods, alternating his gaze between the two of you. Seems that he has admitted his defeat.
“Beautiful and lethal. You're a son of a bitch with so much luck, Voight. Take care of this diamond. Or she will end up wearing a blue jacket with yellow letters”.
“Uh-huh”. He replies as you continue remaining silent.
Passing your boss away back to the party, leaving you alone, you can't hide the proud smile that turns your gesture into a funnier one. Taking short steps towards him, you steal the glass from his hand to drink from it under his attentive brown eyes.
“Blue isn't my color. Not at all. I'm more into black”. You whisper referring to the jackets you are used to wearing in the Chicago department.
“Hm…”
“Imagine having your badge hanging from your neck all day like a collar. Do I look like a dog? I prefer to have it on my belt. And I'm already used to the disgusting watered coffee we make in the twenty-one”. As you continue giving him more reasons, your forefinger traces a path up from his chest to his nape. “And I have so much fun driving my Dodge all around Chicago”.
“Anything else you wanna add?”
“Hm… no. Actually, not. That's all, sir”. You reply puckering your lips, pulling yourself away some inches with a playful aura wrapping you both.
“Now lemme tell you something here”. Hank says then, leaning over your ear. “You're mine, I don't share”.
His voice and his characteristic raspy voice gives you some chills down your spine bone. Biting your bottom lip unconsciously while he stands up, you know the party is over for you and it's time to go home. Holding your hand and taking back his glass of whisky, you walk inside to say your goodbyes before leaving the fancy place straight to the underground parking. You are not going to lie saying you don't love his dominant mood when the occasion demands it.
As soon as you reach your car, you can notice sideways Hank making sure you're totally alone. He doesn't usually take risks of being seen in public too lovey-dovey, but it's not about it this time and you can't wait for him to go ahead with his intentions. Of course, he doesn't make you wait for too long to push your back to the copilot door, attacking your neck in the meantime his hands grab your hips stealing you a low gasp. Hank makes himself between your legs, urging you to surround his waist with one of them to close the distance that separates you, feeling the need he has to mark his territory, as rarely he shows.
“Take me home”. You almost beg closing your eyes as his teeth are nailed on your most sensitive spot, earning a soft grunt that vibrates your body.
“I'm gonna take you here, sweetheart. Any problem?”
“Hell, no, sergeant”.
“Get in the car. Now”.
You don't complain, taking it as an order when he takes two steps back releasing your body and opening the back door for you. And the next minute passes too fast, rolling up your dress as Hank undoes his belt and unzips his pants. In just a sigh he's deep-buried between your legs. It's the first time you take this kind of risk, almost in public, and the horniness it produces is driving you crazy. With your lips almost touching the others, you moan uninhibited every time his hands on your lower back urge you to keep swinging your hips, sitting on his lap.
The way his eyes memorize every gesture drawn on your face has you breathless. It's a sensation you can't describe. Hank has some kind of power over you that you haven't experienced before, even if you think you're indomitable he always manages to make whatever he wants with you. And you know it. You let him do it. Just like right now, marking his territory with desirous bites and wet kisses all around your exposed throat. The most visible part of your body. He doesn't need to prove anything. He isn't the kind of man who needs to call out any other man who dares to lay his eyes on you. Everybody in this damn city knows you're more than his pupil and they're too scared to say hi, although there's always an exception to the rule. In this case, the FBI agents acting like carrion birds.
The mist clouds the windows, as the heat concentrated on your bodies makes you sweat slightly. Hank takes the control turning you under his body against the seat in a position that puts you to see the stars. Every move of his pelvis is accurate, hitting your g-spot, satisfied with how good his name sounds getting drowned between pleased moans once and again. With every push to your body, his dick is dug deeper through your tight wetness making him grunt into your ear, feeling more delighted than never before. And everything is because of the way you had to reply to that FBI agent in front of everyone, showing him how clear you have your preferences; not only because of your relationship, as Johnson pointed out. But because everybody in Chicago is aware that there's no better boss in law enforcement. There's no better Unit than the Intelligence one from the police department of your hometown.
As your legs get wrapped around his waist to pull him closer, one of his arms surrounds your middle back while his free hand flies straight to your throat. Keeping your eyes closed, the suffocating sensation within your lower belly continues growing with every thrust that steals the air from your lungs and races your heart over its possibilities. You're close. So close that your mind is a total blank, just focused on the way only he can make you feel. So good, so desired, so full of life. He knows it, he takes it in advantage. And he enjoys it more than anything.
“Oh, fuck…” Hank got you almost in tears because of the pleasure, traveling your hands to the back of his neck, nailing your nails there. “God… I'm gonna… Fuck, Hank, don't stop, please… Don't stop”.
“I won't, my love… Not till you give me what I want”.
His voice always plays dirty with your mind. The way he has to drag every syllable on his tongue with that husky voice that puts you to tremble, as he continues burying his hard dick inside you with no mercy, speeding up as soon as he feels your legs clung to his body slightly shaking. Because of the fewer insecurities he has about your relationship, he feels proud whenever he makes you reach that sweet sensation of the orgasm taking control of your anatomy. He doesn't care if he has to use his hands, his tongue… whatever. It's not only about sex between the two of you, of course not. But making you cum screaming out his name is an every-day-goal.
And you don't make him wait for too long, arching your back when a lash of heat hits your spine and the grenade inside your lower belly explodes. Your gasps fill up your car, while he continues fucking you harder than seconds before not showing any compassion to your exhausted body, looking for your lips to devours them desperately. His tongue starts a fight for dominance, winning over yours like every single time, in the meantime his fingers grips tightly your throat. Instinctively, you swing your hips in sync, provoking every move to go deeper among your shaky legs.
Hank can't hold it anymore, digging his cock to the limits of your guts, almost hitting your soul with a last strong lung. His warm seed fills you up completely, keeping pushing his body against yours, pressing both to the seat with his hands now placed on the headrest. It feels like a whole set of fireworks. Your moans complement his delighted growls to perfection.
“Don't move, please”. You beg with a thin voice thread, at the same time he rests his forehead on yours.
The two of you can barely breathe, trying to recover after an intense session of your favorite cardio workout. From nowhere, you can't help but giggle in unison. You can't believe you just fucked inside your car and with the risk of being caught in the act. A sergeant and one of his special agents. Even if it's your free night and you're in an established relationship, he's still your boss.
“I would miss working with you”.
“Huh?”
“If I get the FBI's offer”. You mumble, leaving clumsy kisses all around his face. “You're the best cop Chicago has”.
“You don't have to butter me up for a second round”.
Shaking your head briefly and laughing, you caress his scalp so gently as he sinks his face into your sweaty neck.
“Now you said so… maybe I have the fantasy of being bent over your desk”.
“Maybe?”
“Yeah, just… maybe”.
“Then maybe I could bring you to my office, before going home. There's some paperwork to attend to”.
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bqstqnbruin · 3 years
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Rinks and rouxes
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Ok we’re ignoring so many things here as we normally do when I drop a fic. So first, we’re ignoring the fact that the plural of roux is roux and not rouxes like I have in the title because it sounds weird with English. We’re ignoring typos because no matter how many times I try to catch them all, I never do. We’re ignoring that this is being posted at like three am as well. And then there has to be something else that I’m forgetting but whatever.
This is the longest fic I’ve written as a one off fic so I hope you like this! This is for the lovely @slapshot-to-the-heart​ for the @hockeynetwork​ winter gift exchange (sorry I didn’t get this to you sooner but I was a mess this semester with grad school oop).
Enjoy!
_________________________
You were excited for the first few days in a while where you didn’t have to wake up to an alarm. A few mornings to sleep in, the sunshine pouring in through the windows, Quinn’s snoring filling the room in the bed next to yours. The boys had rented a cabin for New Years, having a rare few days off before and after the holiday to mess around somewhere outside of Vancouver. 
You were not expecting to be woken up three mornings in a row to a smoke alarm sounding in the kitchen because whoever made breakfast burnt something again. 
You sit up, groaning, rubbing your eyes. “Do you think they caught something on fire or do you think we can risk staying in bed?” 
Quinn sits up with a yawn, shaking his head. Before he can say anything, the alarm stops, yelling coming from the kitchen. “I think we should stay up here in case someone gets killed. Don’t wanna be a witness.”
The two of you laugh, the yells getting louder from the kitchen as the smoke alarm sounds again. “You guys make so much money and yet you insist on almost burning the house down every meal,” you say, watching Quinn get out of his bed, no shirt on. You tried not to stare at your best friend, but, fuck, seeing every inch of his torso just there, you were failing hard at not looking.
You grew up with Brock, getting introduced to his teammates shortly after moving to Vancouver for school, hitting it off with Quinn incredibly fast. To say that you had a crush on him was probably an understatement, falling hard and falling fast for the boy no matter how much you were convinced he didn’t feel the same about you. You figured whatever feelings you had would pass eventually. 
But that was three years ago. The feelings had not faded. 
And now, the two of you were sharing a room in this cabin, praying that what you smelled was not an actual fire coming from the kitchen. And he was just there, walking around your room without a shirt. 
“Y/N?” Quinn calls from the bathroom, pulling you out of whatever fantasy you were about to dive into. 
“Sorry, what?” 
“Who do you think burnt the food this time?” 
You laugh, trying to remember who the guys decided was cooking that morning, your mind completely forgetting about whatever thirsty feelings you had coming on with Quinn right there. “I think Jake was supposed to do something but Elias didn’t trust him.” 
“I wouldn’t trust either of them to make us food.” he says, a cocky tone dripping in his voice.
“You act like you could do better when we both know you set off the alarm the first morning,” you chirp back, earning a scoff from him. 
His phone starts buzzing on the nightstand between your beds, nearly falling off the small table. “Want me to get that?” 
“Yeah, what is it?” Quinn yells over the water running from the sink.
You pick up the phone, your heart dropping immediately. “You have a new match! From Tinder!” you say, fake cheeriness dripping in your tone. “I didn’t know you were on Tinder?” 
You hear him laugh, the water shutting off. “The guys thought I seemed lonely so they made me an account. It’s not like I ever use it.” 
“Hm. See. Here’s the thing,” you start, handing him his phone as he approaches, plopping down on your bed to probably look at the new match, “You don’t get matches on Tinder unless you both swipe right, which means you had to have been using it.” He shrugs, not looking up from his phone. “I didn’t know you just wanted hook ups,” you let out, trying to hide the pain in your voice with a teasing tone. If he wanted to hook up, that would mean he wasn’t interested in a relationship, which meant he didn’t like you the way you like him. Why were you even thinking about that? Why were you letting yourself spiral?
“I do not. And before you say, ‘well that’s what Tinder is for,’ because I know you and I know that was going to be the next thing out of your mouth,” Quinn says, a smirk on his face as you roll your eyes at him, slightly blushing because he was right, “I definitely want a relationship but the boys thought this would be a good start.” You swear you saw his eyes flick down to your lips for a moment, leaning in ever so slightly. You had to be imagining this, your still crush on him causing you to make things up in your mind. 
“Quinn! Y/N!” interrupts you from the other side of your thankfully locked door, as you  practically launch yourself off your bed to see Brock on the other side. “I didn’t interrupt anything did I?” he asks, a stupid smirk on your face causing heat to run to your cheeks.
“No,” you say, even though you were sure your face was giving everything away. 
“We made breakfast,” he says, moving aside and gesturing for the two of you to join what sounded like the rest of the team down in the kitchen. 
“Are you sure about that? The smoke alarm says otherwise,” Quinn chirps, throwing a shirt on as he takes your hand and pushes past Brock. You could hear the sharp inhale that came from Brock, knowing that you would be hearing about this later. You can’t help but smile as the boys start to chirp each other, your heart racing until Quinn drops your hand, the smell of pancakes and burnt toast hitting your nose as soon as the three of you get to the kitchen. “So who fucked up this morning?” Quinn asks, trying to find plates for the two of you.
“Jake,” the guys chorus, forcing a laugh out of you and Quinn while you watch the teammate in question turn bright red.
“It’s not my fault!” he tries to defend himself.
“You didn’t even just burn it, you caught it on fire,” Thatcher yells through a mouthful of what you hoped was not the toast. 
“Do you even see any food for us to eat?” you whisper to Quinn, trying to look over the boys shoulders for anything that seemed edible. 
Quinn shakes his head, rolling his eyes as the boys continue. “Well whose idea was it to have me make toast?” Jake asks.
“We thought you were smart enough to use the toaster and not hold the bread over the open flame on the stove,” Petey mumbles, you and Quinn trying to hold back your laughter. 
“So, where is the food that Y/N and I can eat?” Quinn asks, trying to get the boys’ attention.
“I think we ate it all,” Brock says, a smirk on his face.
“Then why did you come get us?” you ask him, clearly annoyed with him.
“We had to make sure you weren’t doing anything inappropriate behind that locked door of yours,” Brock says, the rest of the guys acting like children at the thought.
Quinn scoffs, walking towards the stairs, “Ok, one, no one talks like that, two, Y/N and I are going out for breakfast, anyone who wants to come, be ready in the next 15 minutes.” 
You watch him leave, praying that someone else would get up to go get ready. “Looks like you’ve gotta go get ready for your breakfast date with your boy,” Brock teases, the boys now laughing at you. You hated that your feelings for Quinn were no secret. At least, it seems like it was known to everyone but him, but why did that matter?
“It is not a date,” you start, only to hear Jake yell, “yes it is,” behind you. You turn to him, pointing at him. “Remember that I played soccer growing up so I can kick you really hard if I have to,” you start, the smirk on his face changing to slight terror, “so if burning that toast didn’t kill you, I can.” 
You turn on your heels to go get ready, even more nervous about going out with Quinn since Brock had to go and call it a date when Jake yells, “I didn’t mean to burn the toast!” 
“You still did it, though,” you yell down, shutting the door behind you. You were panicked now, completely freaking out. As much as you told yourself it wasn’t a date, Brock’s annoying voice still rang through your ears, ‘your breakfast date with your boy.’ Fuck Brock. You start to change, realizing that Quinn could come out of the bathroom at any minute and see you half naked, more panic washing over you. You set your phone on the bed, grabbing clothes and try to figure out where to change. “Hey, Q? Can I get in the bathroom to change?” 
He opens the door, no shirt on yet again. This was not fair. You weren’t even sure how you ended up having to share a room with him in the first place, let alone what you did to have him walk around shirtless every day. You practically run into the bathroom before you can do something stupid, shutting the door and leaning against it. You let out a deep sigh, saying, “Fuck,” in the breath, cursing who evers idea it was the bring you here and put you in this room instead of in one with Brock, or in one all on your own. 
You shake your head of the thoughts of whatever he was doing out there. He was your friend, just like Brock was. Nothing more, nothing less. And you needed to be ready soon if you wanted to get breakfast since the idiots downstairs burned any semblance of what would be edible. You try to force any thoughts of Quinn from your mind, pulling on leggings and a sweater.
“Hey, Y/N?” you hear Quinn call, “You’re getting texts.”
You open the door, starting to brush your teeth as you call to him, “You know my passcode, who are they from?”
“Brock.” 
You stop brushing, terror and an urge to murder him rushing through you. “What do they say?” you ask him, thankful you had your toothbrush in your mouth to cover up the anger that would otherwise be taking over your tone.
“‘We all know you two are going to date,’” he reads, “and ‘If you don’t kiss him tonight, I will.’” You were officially going to kill Brock. “Who are you going to date?”
You position yourself so you can see his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. He was almost pouting, his eyebrows knit together in frustration. He wasn’t mad about those texts, was he? He didn’t know they were about him, right? “Uh, just this guy Brock and I know from home. He was joking about inviting him here tonight,” you lie to him, hoping he would buy it. He nods, scrunching his face up. “You know he’s not coming, right? I mean, he’d have to get here from Minnesota.” 
He nods again, handing you your phone as you come out of the bathroom, letting you send a quick death threat text to Brock. “You ready?”
“Just need a coat,” you tell him. He takes your hand, leading you back down the stairs. You had to pass the kitchen to get out to the cars, passing the guys with your hand in Quinn’s. 
Quinn stops without warning, you crashing into him in surprise. The guys gaze went to your hand in his, pretty much ignoring his words as he said, “So is anyone coming with us?” No one says anything, Brocks mouth falling open as he readjusts his hand in yours, clearly holding it tighter. The look on his face told you that you would not be living this down, forcing a mental note to turn your phone off as soon as you get in the car. “Awesome, text us if you need anything,” Quinn says, dragging you over to the door. 
“Ok, your mood changed,” you point out, putting on your coat and practically running to catch up with Quinn at the car. 
“No, it didn’t,” he snaps, getting in the car. You climb into the passenger seat next to him, looking at him stare at the steering wheel in front of him. He turns to look at you, his mouth in a thin line, “The boys are just annoying me lately, I don’t know.” You cock your eyebrow, telling him that you didn’t believe him. “Ok, fine,” he says, starting the car up, “They made me get on Tinder when I have no reason being on it and seeing Brock’s texts to you made me think about the texts they send to me about-” he rambles, cutting himself off. He looks out the window, turning his attention to the road in front of you.
“About who?” you ask. The boys wouldn’t tell him that you liked him, would they? They would have no reason to be trying to egg him on about asking you out, right? Then again, if Brock would do that to you, who’s to say that he wouldn’t also do it to his teammates who he easily had a closer relationship with and spent more time with. 
“About the girls on Tinder,” he breathes out, you also letting the breath you had no idea you were holding in. Part of you wished he said you. At least that way you could get a read on what he thought about the idea of you two being together. If it was disgust then you could put the whole crush to rest. 
“I mean, if it’s Brock, just point out that the only women in his life are his dogs, me, and his family,” you try to reassure him, pulling a laugh from his lips. “But he would also probably say that he’s fine with it, so you might have to think of something better.” 
Quinn nods, a small smile on his face. You just wanted to know what was really going on inside his head, because what he told you was definitely not it. It’s not like you could pressure him about it, though. He wouldn’t answer you if you tried to get more out of him, so what was the point? The two of you drive the rest of the way in silence, finally finding a diner that you could find a parking spot in front of and walk in. At this point, both of you were starving, already praying that they had the classic breakfast food you could order as soon as the server would come over to you. 
You were seated in a booth by the window, looking out across the street to a small pond that was now covered with ice thanks to the cold Vancouver winter. It had to be thick enough to withstand the weight, because you could see a who you assumed to be a father with his two little girls skating around on the ice. They looked like they were showing him some sort of figuring skating routine, the smaller girl raising her hands over her head in a ‘ta-da’ fashion, the dad lifting her off the ice and into the air, spinning her around before kissing her cheek and putting her back down to chase her sister. You couldn’t help but smile, completely forgetting about the menu in front of you. 
“What are you thinking about?” Quinn asks, reaching across the table to touch your hand. 
You barely even notice the warmth of his hand on yours, for some reason feeling all too comfortable by his touch, but you were lost in the memory and thoughts the scene on the pond had brought up. “Have you ever seen the movie ‘Holiday in Handcuffs’ with Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart?”
“Nope,” he says, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word, a smile on his face as he gets ready to listen to you.
“So, it is your classic tale of Stockholm Syndrome,” you say, both of you laughing, “But basically, she kidnaps him to impress her parents that she has this great boyfriend compared to her perfect brother and sister and they fall in love. There’s this one scene where they’re standing out on the back porch and she’s talking about how one Christmas Eve she had this big figure skating recital but it got cancelled because of a snow storm, so her dad made a rink in the backyard so she could perform it for them. Mario Lopez’s character surprises her the next morning by making an ice rink so they could skate around together.” 
You look over at Quinn, not even realizing that you had been watching the dad and his daughters the entire time. He had this soft smile on his face, for a moment forgetting that you two were out in public until the waitress came over to take your order. 
“Tell me more about this ice rink,” he asks you once she leaves. 
All you can really do is shrug. “I don’t know. Him making the ice rink just seemed like such a romantic gesture. If a guy did that for me, I think I would melt,” you tell him. 
“Just like the ice would,” Quinn jokes, leaning back as the waitress comes with your food.
“I hated that. I hated that so much,” you joke, both of you laughing as your phone buzzes on the table, interrupting whatever moment may or may not have been there. You sigh, seeing Brock’s name pop up yet again. He had to get tired of this constant teasing about you and Quinn at some point, right?
“Brock again?”
You throw your head back, letting out a groan that you hoped only Quinn could hear. “Since Jake burnt the toast this morning, he is now no longer allowed to make dinner tonight.”
“Tell them to order something then, we can pick it up?” 
“Nope. Brock told the guys about the mac and cheese that I used to make when we were in high school and now they all want it. Something tells me there is virtually nothing in that house that lends itself to being mac and cheese.” Brock keeps sending more and more texts about how your ‘date’ is going with all the hand holding you two had to be doing, prompting none other than an eye roll from you as you shove your phone in your coat pocket. “So now I need to get to the store at some point.”
Quinn looks at the window, watching the father pick up his daughters and carry them to his car. He smiles, turning back to you, “When we’re done, do you think Brock can take you? I have to take care of something.”
“Uh, sure?” you say in response, texting Brock to pick you up from the diner. Quinn’s mood shifted, becoming much more animated than he had been earlier. He kept looking between you and the frozen pond, the smile never leaving his face. 
He doesn’t stop talking the rest of breakfast, paying and leaving as soon as Brock pulls up to take you to the store. “So how was the date?” Brock smirks as soon as your door is closed, watching Quinn practically sprint to his car and drive off. 
“If you keep this up then you aren’t going to see the New Year,” you threaten. 
“We all know you two are going to get together, we just don’t know why you haven’t acted on it.”
“What was at the house from the recipe I sent you?” you ask him, praying that he’ll drop the subject.
“Nothing and you aren’t dodging this subject.” 
“You don’t even have milk?” 
“You saw what breakfast was this morning. And since you won’t admit the obvious here, we have a plan for tonight.” 
Nothing good could come of those words. You knew Brock well enough to know that any plan he came up with would end in disaster. And his teammates were just an extension of his idiocy. “Please don’t. If you love me at all you will not do anything,” you beg him.
“I never said I was going to do anything,” he teases. You glare at him, only resulting in him laughing at you as he pulls into a grocery store. 
You let out a deep breath, knowing today was going to be a long day. “Get flour and salt and then whatever else you guys want for food. You’re paying,” you tell him, practically running into the store just to get away from him. There was no way you were going to spend the entire time being heckled about the crush you didn’t want to have in the first place. It’s not like it was reciprocated, anyway. You could feel your phone buzzing in your pocket, dreading what Brock was texting you. ‘Do me a favor: grab your favorite wine and those sugar cookies you like.’ came from Jake. 
You would be lying if you said you weren’t surprised it came from him instead of Quinn, but who were you to judge? ‘Can I ask why?’
‘Just want to make tonight special ;)’ 
Don’t like that. 
You shake it off, debating on even getting what he asked you for. Why would Jake ask you to get your favorite stuff? That seemed so out of character for him, at least in his interactions with you. You grab what you need for the mac and cheese, not even sure how much you should make considering how many boys were there in the house. You wander off to find Brock, praying that he actually got what you need. “This is not where you find flour.” He turns around, holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers, including the wine and cookies Jake had texted you to grab. “When I said flour this is not what I meant. What are you doing?”
“Jake wanted me to make sure I got these for you,” he tells you, handing them over to you.
You stare at him for a minute, your face scrunched. This had to be part of whatever scheme they were planning to get you and Quinn together. No part of you wanted their meddling, but you knew that the more you tried to fight it, the worse it was going to end up for you. “How long would I be in jail if I just killed you all?” 
“A few life sentences depending on how many murders you committed,” he shrugs, walking away from you. 
You didn’t even want to talk to him at this point, pissed off at the fact that they were all scheming against your wishes. You grab what you need, including some stuff for baking, figuring the longer you kept yourself busy, the less likely you were to to harm the idiots you were spending time with. 
“You bought apple cider and cream cheese for mac and cheese?” Brock questions, holding up the gallon at check out.
“Apple cider no, one of the cream cheeses, yes. You wanted me to make mac and cheese, let me make mac and cheese. I was gonna make apple cider cupcakes for everyone.” 
The two of you get back to the house, which was strangely quiet considering how many of the guys were there. You start getting to work on the cupcakes, figuring it was too early to start dinner. You get out everything the real owners of the house had to bake with, figuring that you could focus on this instead of whatever bullshit was going to face you that night. 
You get lost in baking, measuring and mixing when you hear footsteps coming down the stairs. You didn’t care who it was, as long as it wasn’t Brock.
“Need help?”
You look up to see Jake leaning against the counter, his head resting in his hand. “After you caught the toast on fire this morning, I don’t think so.” 
The two of you laugh, falling into a conversation. Of all of Brock’s teammates, you probably had spent the least amount of time with Jake. It was nice; he was weirdly easy to talk to, somewhat flirty if you were reading him right. If he was showing interest in you when Quinn wasn’t, who cared? 
“Can I at least help with the frosting? I can’t burn that,” he begs, coming up right next to you. He juts out his bottom lip, batting his eyes as you stand there with the bowl, knowing that you didn’t want to whip the frosting yourself. 
You let out a deep sigh, handing him the whisk, “Fine. Get the cream cheese soft and then add in that vanilla and the powdered sugar.” He gets to work, you hopping up to sit on the counter next to him while the cupcakes are in the oven. “Why did you ask me to get my favorite stuff at the store?” 
He shrugs, a smirk on his face while he continues to whip the cream cheese. “You put up with us teasing you about Quinn so I figured you could use something that you enjoyed.” You can’t help but smile at his words, not even getting the chance to say anything before he continues, “So who are you kissing tonight?”
“What?”
“It’s New Years Eve. Who are you kissing at midnight?” 
You sit up a little straighter at his question, not even thinking about it before. “I don’t know.”
Jake stops whisking, the sound of another set of footsteps coming down the stairs. “Would you mind if I kissed you then?” You sit there for a moment, shocked. He knew you liked Quinn, right? You start to stammer out an answer, none of it coherent when he turns his attention from you to whoever just came into the kitchen. “Unless there was someone else Y/N should be kissing tonight, Quinn?” 
You twist around to see Quinn turning red, looking at you sitting so close to Jake, your leg obviously touching his side with the way you were twisted. “I don’t know why you would be asking me that,” he seethes, going over to the now beeping oven. “Want me to take these out?”
You nod, hopping off the counter to check if they were done, putting the first batch on top of the stove to cool, the next batch in to bake. “So, Y/N. You and me kissing at midnight, then?” 
You stand up, your back towards both of them. If Quinn had wanted to kiss you, then he would have said something. “I guess so, Jake,” you say, going back over to him to help him with the frosting. 
Quinn stands there, not sure what to do. There was no way you could be kissing his teammate tonight. He opens his phone, storming off before you could get the chance to ask him what was wrong. 
Jake eventually leaves you once the cupcakes are done, leaving you to start the mac and cheese the boys wanted. You start making the roux when you hear the front door slam, someone’s overly obnoxious laugh floating through the house. Whoever it was came into the kitchen, startling you while you were starting the melt down the cubes of cream cheese.
“Hi!” comes from behind you, an overly peppy high pitched voice, a skinny redhead appearing in the doorway. “I’m Katie!” 
You had no idea who this was, looking past her to see Quinn behind the two of you, nervous and practically shaking. “She’s my date for tonight.” 
“Oh!” you let out, turning the burner down and putting down the whisk. “I had no idea you were bringing a date! I’m Y/N,” you tell her, feeling less and less bad about agreeing to kiss Jake tonight. 
“What are you doing?” she asks, practically on top of you. 
“Making the roux for the mac and cheese tonight.”
“Rue? I thought that was when you made someone regret something. You know, like in iCarly?”
You turn to her, doing everything in your power to not burst out laughing at her reference. You swear you could hear Quinn muttering something under his breath, his head in his hands as he leaned against the counter. “That’s r-u-e, I’m making a r-o-u-x. It’s the base for the cheese part of mac and cheese.” She cocks her head to the side, looking between you and the pot on the stove. “You know, I think some of the guys are out on the porch with some beer, you should go join them,” you suggest. 
“Ok!’ she says, bouncing away. 
You turn to Quinn, your eyes wide and a mocking smile covering your face. “Well she’s just adorable. Where did you find her?” You knew you were being petty, but no part of you cared.
“Tinder,” Quinn mumbles. 
“Come here,” you tell him, handing him a spoon to start stirring the pasta. “Why did you find a date all of a sudden?” 
“Well who am I supposed to kiss at midnight now that you’re kissing Jake?” he snaps, some of the pasta water flying away from you.
“Brock?” you joke, earning a scoff from him. “Who did you intend on kissing? Me?”
He stares at the pot of water, shaking his head, “I guess I’m not now.” He puts the spoon down, leaving you stunned at the stove while he goes out with the rest of the guys. There was no way he wanted to kiss you that night. You couldn’t believe it. There was no way. You shake off the thought, finishing up the mac and cheese as the guys start coming in to ask where the food was. 
Everyone sits around the table like they were this morning, Katie talking everyone’s ear off about something you weren’t paying attention to. Elias was sitting right next to her, looking like he was plotting her murder with every passing second. If she went missing that night, he was the first one you were going to blame. 
“Hey,” Jake nudges you in the shoulder, taking you away from the trance you set yourself into, “You ok?”
“Yeah, just kinda tired. Someone woke me up with the smoke alarm again,” you tease, pulling a laugh from him. “I think I’m just going to go up stairs to mine and Quinn’s room.” You get up, Jake the only one seeming to notice that you were leaving the rest of the group. 
You must have actually fallen asleep, awaken by someone pounding on the other side of the door. “It’s open,” you say, fumbling around to turn on the light. 
Quinn opens the door slowly, poking his head in like he was afraid to see you. “It’s almost midnight. Are you gonna join?”
You nod, getting up to follow him down the stairs. The two of you reach the door to the backyard, Quinn stopping in front of you, bending down to grab the pair of ice skates that were by the door. “You’ll need these,” he smiles, taking your hand.
“What is this?” you ask when he opens the door, the guys playing a pick up game on a sheet of ice on the lawn. 
“You said you thought it was romantic when a guy made his girl an ice rink in her back yard. So I made one for you,” he says, looking down at his feet, his face turning red.
“What? I have so many questions.”
He laughs, sitting down to put his own pair of skates on, you following suit. “Katie is with Jake right now, probably doing things that we don’t want to know about. Turns out the guys used Jake as a ploy to get me to finally ask you out, so when I figured that out, I asked Katie over so Jake could have someone to occupy him.”
“You want to ask me out?” you ask, not hiding the smile on your face.
“Oh, you are so oblivious,” he groans, a smile on his face, as well. “Of course I do.” 
He picks you up to step on the ice, off to the side where the guys weren’t playing. Brock gets the puck past Thatcher, his hands in the air in celebration when Elias yells, “15 seconds!” 
The guys start counting down to the new year, your heart racing with each second as Quinn’s hands wrap around your waist. “Would you rather have me or Jake?”
“Ten! Nine! Eight!”
“You really have to ask?”
“Seven! Six! Five!”
“Yes.”
“Four! Three! Two!”
You can’t help but roll your eyes, Quinn’s face centimeters from yours, your foreheads pressed against each other. “You.”
“One!” the guys around you yell once Quinn’s lips connect with yours, everything around you melting away. 
“Happy new year, Y/N,” he whispers once he pulls away, stealing another quick kiss before the guys can pull you away from each other.
“Happy new year, Quinn.” 
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The Light Behind Their Eyes
It’s been a long-time headcanon of mine that the songs of Conventional Weapons exist in the universe of Dangers Days. And I’m sure you can guess which one this fic concerns... After a few terrible weeks for the rebels, there’s a special guest on Dr Death’s radio show, and they’ve got a very special message for the Zones.
It's been a bad few weeks in the Zones.
It began almost three weeks ago, when Dr D announced over the airwaves that Jet Star and the Kobra Kid got themselves dusted. Since then, it's been almost every night; killjoy names no one you know has ever heard of being given their two words on the evening 'cast. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W sightings are more frequent, and claps happen every few hours. BLI seems to finally be cracking down on the desert rebels like they once promised they would, and it's leaving crews down members and everyone losing hope. Some say 'Destroya and the Pheonix Witch have abandoned us', but you try to hold out hope. Destroya protects the droids foremost, and only heaven knows if they're currently having as bad a time as the 'joys. As for the Pheonix Witch... Supposed sightings have dried up, but you're not surprised. With all the dustings lately, she must be busy. Whispers throughout the desert say they can hear the ghosts of the passed killjoys shouting out in the static, singing their songs long into the night in a spiritual procession through the sand wastes. A parade of death, like a cemetery drive on the move. It's a depressing thought, but it holds up to reason. The mailbox is full.
You're alone tonight; you needed some air. The campfire's been burning for hours, and though it could attract some less than wanted attention, it's a put it out or go inside kind of night. Next to it sits an empty can of Power Pup (it's been tasting worse recently) and your radio. It blares some old Mad Gear song, which Dr D introduced as a "favourite of our Fab Four" when it started. His intros have been weirdly short these past few hours. You sit back and try to enjoy the last thirty seconds or so of the song. The sun set hours ago, and the stars are out. You wonder if the old dust trails about ghosted 'joys becoming stars are true.
"Alright, children," Dr Death's nightly greeting sounds out into the night air. "The lights are out, and the party's over. But before I go, I've got one more treat for you." In the background, while he talks, you hear the strained tones of an acoustic guitar being tuned. That gets your attention. Guitars - electric ones - are common at Zone concerts, but since they're so quiet, no one plays acoustic guitars. The only other time you've ever heard one was when you came across a half-broken thing with your crew in the burnt-out shell of an old building. No one could figure out how to make it sound anything but rusty. "I've got an old friend with a pretty shiny piece of junk here, and they'd like to play you a song. Let's just say, you won't get this at none o' your Mad Gear shows. Sing yourselves to sleep tumbleweeds, and don't let the static swallow you up. Goodnight." There's a moment of quiet as whoever shuffles towards the microphone, and you hit the 'record' button on your radio just as Dr D softly utters: "S'all your's Party." The archaic tape recorder splutters and whirrs to life, wheezing from disuse before the little crimson light blinks on, just as whoever it is in the Dr's studio starts to strum gently. You sit back again as they begin to sing:
"So long to all my friends, / Every one of them met tragic ends."
Somewhere in the second line, their voice breaks and Dr D murmurs something you don't catch. Their playing isn't amazing, but the guitar seems to almost be crying its notes, surrounding them in emotion, though maybe that's just you. These past weeks have been harsh, and you haven't heard something so gentle in a long time.
"With every passing day, / I'd be lying if I didn't say / That I miss them all tonight / And if they only knew what I would say,"
Something about the lyrics makes you want to go get your crew and hold them tight, protect them from the elements and BLInd and whatever's out there in the static to be afeared of. Everyone in the desert knows someone who's recently joined the parade of the dead, whether they were your best mate or the chilly weirdo you got into a fight over PP prices with at Tommy's. You wonder if the singer has lost someone recently too.
"If I could be with you tonight, / I would sing you to sleep / Never let them take the light behind your eyes / One day I'll lose this fight / As we fade in the dark / Just remember you will always burn as bright."
The desert seems to grow still around you, as even the wind stops to listen to the melody of the 'joy on the radio. Who is that? You recognise their voice somewhat: you've heard them in the background of Dr Death's broadcasts before, and any voice on the radio that isn't one of the DJs or Cherri Cola gets your attention. Right before they started singing Dr D called them Party... You wrack your brain for any Killjoys with Party in the name, and the only one that comes to mind is Party Poison, of the Fab Four. Could it be them? Dr D said before that last Mad Gear song that it was a "favourite of our Fab Four", and the loss of Party's friend and brother was the beginning of this awful few weeks for all the Zones so... it could make sense. Then again, maybe it isn't.
"Be strong and hold my hand, / Time it comes for us, you'll understand / We'll say goodbye today, / And I'm sorry how it ends this way, / If you promise not to cry, / Then I'll tell you just what I would say-"
Their voice grows stronger, more sure of themself as they sing, though they break again a little on "promise not to cry". As they get louder, someone (presumably Dr D) starts drumming using his desk, and the wind around you picks back up, whipping sand into a frenzy and nearly dousing your campfire early. You can hear something far away in the desert; the wind is moaning, and the sky responds.
"If I could be with you tonight, / I would sing you to sleep / Never let them take the light behind your eyes / I'll fail and lose this fight / Never fade in the dark / Just remember you will always burn as bright."
The passion behind their words sounds like a promise. The wind intensifies; the desert itself is howling, the sand puts your campfire out and leaves you alone in the noisy silence. Your empty Power Pup can is scooped up by the wind and tossed away, clanging against something on the way down, the sound like mournful crying. Without the firelight, the stars that suddenly fill the once-empty expanse above grow brighter to compensate. You shuffle closer to your radio and turn it up slightly, and hear the song of a defiant killjoy join the cacophonous fray:
"The light behind your eyes. / The light behind your- / Sometimes we must grow stronger and / You can't be stronger in the dark. / When I'm here, no longer / You must be stronger and-"
As the singing 'joy enters the bridge, something appears in the sandstorm. People: killjoys, running, dancing, singing in unheard voices, laughing to jokes never heard. Their colours are brighter than the stars, their smiles wider than the Zones. They are walking as one, up and down the dunes, a heaving mass of people celebrating, firing rayguns into the dark, toasting Power Pup like it doesn't taste like dog food. Someone else appears before you as you grab your radio and hold it tight, lest the wind carries it off. You look up to see her dark cloak, her halo of violet light, her mask staring back. As the sandstorm rages and the wind tears at you like needles, it snatches at the top of your head, taking your mask as it rests there. It flies away towards her at speed, and she catches it in an outstretched hand. The dancing 'joys shine brighter for a moment, and something in the pit of your stomach makes you feel weightless. You start to rise to your feet, but she steps forward, her hand reaching towards your own.
"If I could be with you tonight, / I would sing you to sleep / Never let them take the light behind your eyes / I failed and lost this fight / Never fade in the dark / Just remember you will always burn as bright. / The light behind your eyes."
The Pheonix Witch stands before your trembling form and presses your mask back into your shaking hand. She steps away, and you feel lightheaded, the dancing lights burning too bright, a hundred stars leaping skyward. She turns and walks towards the procession of ghosted killjoys, leaving you once again alone in the sand. The colours of the procession fade to greys and blacks, and then altogether. The Witch disappears, and you see your vision blur with tears. You slump sideways and lie there in the desert, at the centre of a sandstorm, radio clutched to your heart, mask scrunched in one hand. You vaguely hear the singer repeat the last line "The light behind your eyes” again, and again, and again, like a lullaby into the night.
When you wake, it's all white noise. At some point the tape recorder stopped - you're not sure how, as your radio is still clutched to your chest. Your mask is still in hand. You shake off the sand that's piled around you.
The sandstorm. You check for grazes, but nothing hurts. It's freezing, you realise, and still hours away from sunrise, or alarm clock radiation, as one of your crew likes to call it. You better get inside before you die of hypothermia or something. You turn off the radio and head into the building in which your crew are sleeping.
Somewhere in the desert, a crow caws.
---
Taglist: @chaoticemopigeon @antikalvinclub (remember this thing?!)
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sisterspooky1013 · 3 years
Text
Damsels, Chapter Four: First Day
By SisterSpooky1013 / Read Previous chapters here
Rated E / Tagging @today-in-fic
Angel leads Scully out of Ricky’s office and back down the hall, pointing to various doors.
“Here are the customer bathrooms, we don’t use these. That’s the exit to the lobby, but we have our own door in the back. Through here is the floor.”
Angel makes no mention of the other, unmarked doors in the hall. She pushes the “Enter Here to be Dominated” door open and they walk into a large room with the floors and ceiling painted black. To the left, there's a long bar that covers nearly the entire wall with at least twenty stools butting up to it. Directly across from the bar on the right wall, there’s a small round stage with a gold pole erected in the center. A shallow counter, just wide enough to set a cup, runs along the entire perimeter of the stage with chairs neatly pushed in against it. A mental image of herself on the stage while men look on flashes in her mind and she shakes her head gently, forcing it away. Along the back wall are several small partitions; little rooms constructed out of dark red curtains that are currently pinned open to reveal a loveseat and table in each one. The rest of the room is filled with small black tables and chairs, and can probably seat upwards of 100 people. Angel leads Scully to the left, approaching the bar.
“Back here is the bar, obviously, and this is Queenie, our lead bartender. Queenie, this is Diane, Ricky just hired her,” Angel continues.
A tall Asian woman stands from behind the counter holding a case of Jack Daniels. She has wide, round eyes and a diamond-cut chin, her full lips painted dark red and her black hair tied into a high bun.
“Hey,” she replies, “is Diane your stage name? You’re getting soft, Angel,” she teases, casting Angel a flirtatious smile.
“Oh, no, we actually haven’t gotten that far yet,” Angel replies before turning to Scully, resting one elbow on the bar top. “So while you’re waitressing, you’ll talk to Queenie a lot. She can make any drink under the sun. Tip her out twenty percent of whatever you make.”
Scully nods and wishes she had something to write all this down. Between the new terminology and rules, she's already getting confused and is bound to make a mistake. Angel leads her to the other side of the room and climbs gingerly up onto the stage.
“This is the stage, duh, and this is the pole. We call him Paul, the pin to make it spin or stationary is down here,” she leans and points to a small pin at the base of the pole.
“Oh!” Scully exclaims, “I guess never realized the pole spins.”
“Common misconception,” Angel goes on, wrapping her knee and elbow around the pole and spinning a couple slow rotations as she speaks. “But that’s why you don’t want to put oil or anything slippery on your legs or arms. You need to be able to get a good grip, especially while the pole is spinning. We’ll talk more about that later, come up here.”
Scully baulks and looks around, but climbs onto a chair, then the drink rail before finally getting to the stage itself. The room looks even bigger from up here.
“So, just from a Bird's Eye view up here,” Angel continues, “those seats against the wall back there at the end of the bar we call the rock section. Dudes just grab a seat and order a soda and then nurse it all night. Never pay for dances, never come to the tip rail, nothin’. Just sit there like a damn rock. It can be a fun challenge when you’re waitressing to try to get them to buy more drinks, if you’re into that kind of thing.”
“Tip rail?” Scully asks, sensing that this will be something she has to do a lot.
“Right, these seats right here,” Angel points to the seats that are lined up along the perimeter of the stage, “are the tip rail. You have to sit here or be close to it in order to tip stage dances, hence the name. Something else you’ll hear is doing a mini-lap, which is just when you let a guy at the tip rail motorboat you or put his face in your ass or whatever. Usually you’d do that when they give you a really fat tip.”
“I thought Ricky said the men aren’t allowed to touch you?” Scully clarifies, subconsciously rounding her shoulders and crossing her arms protectively.
“Ah, important distinction. WE can touch THEM, but they can’t touch us. So like, I can rub my tits on a guy's face, but if he grabs them, he’s toast. There are some limits to that I’ll tell you about later, but you can’t give a good lap dance without touching so we definitely touch, it’s just always us who does it, not them.”
Scully is impressed by the degree to which Ricky seems to embrace the “women in control” model, but she’s curious to see whether it’s all talk.
“So that middle part with lots of small tables,” Angel is now pointing to the middle of the room, in front of the rock section, “that’s usually where the whales sit, like Mr. Keane. They’re too classy to sit at the rail but you can still see pretty good from there. And lastly, over there,” she now points to her right to the small curtained rooms, “those are the VIP rooms. We’ll talk more about those later too when we talk about the rules, but they’re basically where customers can take a girl for a private dance.”
Scully feels a pit in her stomach. No matter what rules they have in place, there is no way she can be safe behind a curtain with a man who is paying to access her body. Her distress is interrupted by music suddenly pouring from the speakers at an obscene volume, making them both jump. It cuts off as quickly as it started, and Angel turns to look at a small raised booth behind and to the right of the stage.
“What the fuck, Ben?!” she shouts, raising her arms in an angry gesture.
“Sorry, Angel, my bad!” A thin Asian man with a narrow face and a goatee waves down to them apologetically.
“That’s Ben, the DJ. He’s not usually so obnoxious,” Angel says to Scully, then turns and shouts up to Ben. “This is the new girl, Diane!”
“What the fuck kind of stage name is Diane?” He calls back down. “Also, hi, I’m Ben,” he adds, waving again. Scully smiles warmly and waves back.
“We haven’t picked her name yet!” Angel shouts back. “We really need to pick your name, girl, this is getting old fast,” she says to Scully.
“Um, this may be a strange question,” Scully starts, “but, is everyone who works here Asian?”
Angel looks off into space for a moment, lost in thought. “No, but everyone here right now is, huh?! That’s a weird coincidence. Anyway, Asian is a big group. Denny out front is Samoan, which is actually Pacific Islander. Queenie is Vietnamese, and Ben is Japanese. And Ricky is white as fuck,” she bursts into a fit of giggles at her own joke.
“And what about you?” Scully asks her.
Angel turns and starts to walk away from her, casting a coy glance over her shoulder. “I’m whoever you want me to be, Baby,” she says with a flirty lilt in her voice, before adding “come on, I’ll show you the back.”
“The back,” accessible by a door just behind the stage, is a long hallway with restrooms, a staff locker room, a break room with a kitchen, and a dressing room for the dancers.
“So, I’m gonna show you the dancer’s room now, just so you have an idea what you’re working towards, but just FYI that they really don’t let the waitresses come back here. After this I’d keep your ass out if you don’t want to get torn a new one,” Angel advises her.
The dancer’s room is modest in size with mirrored stations set up along two walls and a small bank of four more in the middle of the room. Each station is slightly different, but most have a makeup kit, hair products, and a box that locks with a code to store cash tips. Three of the stations sit empty. Along the back wall are four doors, and along the left wall is a double-height clothes rack full of straps, sequins, lace, and mesh of all colors. While the floor had smelled like cleaner on top of stale beer and sweat, the dancer’s room is sweet and perfumed with hints of vanilla and cinnamon.
“What’s through those doors?” Scully asks casually.
“The second one on the left will take you outside, that’s the one we can use to come and go without having to go by the customers,” Angel answers. “There’s another one of those at the end of the hall out there you can use while you’re waitressing. The door on the far right is a single stall bathroom. The other ones are storage or something, I don’t know. They’re locked.”
Scully gives no reaction to this information but makes a mental note of it for later. After they look at the general staff locker room and the kitchen, Angel plops down at a table near the fridge and Scully follows suit, taking the seat across from her.
“So, before we go grab lunch, let’s figure out your stage name so we can introduce you to people properly,” Angel begins. “There’s kind of a tradition here that your stage name starts with the same first letter as your real name. I don’t know why, and people will say it’s not a ‘rule’ per se, but if you don’t do it it will probably seem weird.”
“What’s your real name, if that’s okay to ask?” Scully inquires nervously. Not having real names will make this whole investigation a lot harder.
“Oh no, it’s fine. They aren’t a secret or anything, we just don’t like the customers to know our real names. My name is Ann. So Ann/Angel, both A’s. Queenie’s real name is Quyen. You can ask any of the girls and they’ll tell you their real name if you want. Except maybe Lexie, she’s a stuck up bitch. So I’ll just tell you now, her real name is Leanne.”
Scully laughs good-naturedly, though she has the passing thought that a lot of people may describe her as a stuck up bitch too.
“So, something that starts with a D, what suits your fancy?” Angel asks. Seeing the worried look on Scully’s face, she makes some suggestions. “You could go with a classic, like Diamond. Something a little more stereotypical like Destiny. Oh, what about Desiree, that’s really pretty, and it suits you.”
Scully considers it for a moment. Who she’d really like to be is Dana, on her way home from this insanity. Given that isn’t an available option, Desiree isn’t so bad.
“Yeah, I think I like that,” she says with a shy smile.
“Great, can I call you Desi?” Angel asks excitedly.
“Sure,” Scully responds, and then follows a very spirited Angel out into the afternoon sunlight in search of something to eat.
They end up at a little Mexican restaurant a short walk from the club. It’s the kind of hole in the wall place that only locals know exists, with tacky pink paint on the booths and dusty Cinco De Mayo flags criss-crossing the ceiling.
“So, Angel, how’d you end up working at Damsels?” Scully asks as she drags a tortilla chip through the watery salsa. She’s highly motivated to solve this case and get the hell out of here, so there’s no sense in wasting time.
“Oh, I just met Ricky through mutual friends and he told me about his club. I was a dancer at a total shithole before, so coming here was such a huge relief.” She stabs at the ice in her drink with a straw, breaking it up into smaller pieces.
“Are you working towards something else, or is there something else you’re hoping to do?” Scully asks next.
“I might ask you the same, Desi,” Angel returns with a slight cock of her head, and Scully realizes that was a rude question.
“Sorry, I guess I still have a lot to learn about the social nuances of this job.”
Angel shakes her head dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a question you get asked a lot as a dancer, as you’ll find out. Everyone thinks you’re just stopping here on the way to something better, something more legit. God forbid your life plan is to show your ass for cash, right? I mean, that is true for some of the girls; Tibet is getting her masters and Magenta has a day job as a therapist, but I honestly just like it.”
Scully is more careful with the wording on her next question. “What do you like about it?”
“Well,” Angel takes a bite of a chip and chews thoughtfully, “I grew up with really judgmental, uptight parents who basically made me feel like I was dirty and disgusting for existing, and for being female. I was always really ashamed of my body and when men looked at me, I thought I was doing something wrong to bring it on myself. After I moved out, my friend took me to a strip club and I was totally blown away by the confidence the women had with their bodies. Men were looking at them, but not like they were gross and sinful, just like they were…beautiful. And they looked so powerful up there commanding all that attention. And I just wanted to be up there like that, celebrating my body and deciding what happened with and to it. And here I am.”
Scully sits quietly, absorbing an answer that she wasn’t expecting to hear. She thinks about her own upbringing and the “good girls don’t” mentality that tainted her early sexual exploration. Even as a fully grown adult in consensual, committed relationships, she couldn’t shake the underlying guilt that she was worldly and sinful for desiring and having sex outside of marriage. It bleeds over into her relationship with Mulder, she knows. She can accept any physical attention he bestows upon her, and in fact wants it desperately, but for her to initiate it would mean…something. Something she isn’t ready to admit, even to herself.
Angel speaks again, interrupting her thought. “What about you, Desi, what brings you here? I showed you mine, you show me yours…or whatever.”
“Oh,” Scully says, scrambling to bring her cover story forward. “Um, I, uh, I got divorced recently, or I’m legally separated, anyway. I just got my own place after living with my husband for seven years and I haven’t really worked that whole time, I just supported his work. So, I don’t really have any marketable skills.”
Angel smiles. “Shoot, that ass is a marketable skill, girl! Those titties are hella marketable.”
Scully blushes, unused to anyone talking about her that way, and is surprised by how flattered she feels by such a crass compliment. Their server arrives and sets their plates down, and Angel’s demeanor shifts a bit as they dig into their meal.
“Okay, so down to the nitty gritty. Like I said, there are rules for us as dancers, and for waitresses too. Ricky mentioned his feelings about heroin and meth, right?”
“Yep, that will not be an issue,” Scully says confidently, spearing a bell pepper with her fork.
“Good, so also don’t get, like, super drunk or super high while on shift. A little to take the edge off is okay, but a drunk stripper is just pathetic. Like I said, the men can’t touch us, but it’s okay for us to touch them, EXCEPT we do NOT do extras at Damsels. No hand jobs, no blow jobs, and definitely no fucking, not even in VIP. Not in their car outside, not behind the dumpster, it’s a very hard and fast rule, no pun intended. Ricky will fire even his best girl in a heartbeat if he finds out she’s doing extras. Oh, and no kissing.”
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vivianweasley · 4 years
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Love, George (George Weasley X Reader)
Prompt: This is for @weasleysflowr​‘s 300 writing challenge! “Can I tell you a secret” and “just shut up and kiss me”.
Summary: You have always loved Michael Corner but now he’s getting married and you are the bridesmaid. As cliche as it sounds, you just wanted someone to save you from this mess. Fake dating.
Pairing: George Weasley X Fem!Reader
Warnings: a tiny bit of angst with Michael, alcohol use, mention of underage drinking
Word count: 2K
A/N: Did I just write another unrequited love bridesmaid story? Yes, but this idea is stuck in my mind for a long time. The inspiration is from the first scene of the movie Love, Rosie! GIF is from the movie too and credit goes to whoever owns it. Anyways, hope you guys would like it:)
Please do NOT repost or translate my work on another site without permission! Thank you! Reblogs and comments are always welcome!
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You were sitting at Michael Corner’s wedding and your brain was a foggy mess, but you were next to give a toast. The logical side of you told you to look at your notes one last time, but the emotional side of you just wanted to hide in a hole in the ground and pretend like you never existed.
Michael was your best friend. You’ve known each other since the first year at Hogwarts. And like all cliches, you were the person who has always secretly loved their best friend. 
You thought maybe one day he would finally realize that the person meant for him was right beside him. But now he’s getting married and you, his best friend, became the bridesmaid. 
Why were you the bridesmaid? Didn’t the bride have any friends? But you knew, you could complain and make fun of the bride all you want and in the end, she still has everything you’ve ever wanted.
It was your turn to give a toast now. You stood up and cleared your throat, “I’ve known Michael since the first year at Hogwarts. It feels like it was only yesterday that Michael got stuck on the moving stairs and almost missed the first class. Oh, or when the Weasley twins dumped blue paint on him during fourth year. Can’t believe that he’s getting married today. Merlin, I sound like his mum.”
The guests laughed and the Weasley twins cheered at the mention of their prank. You laughed along and continued, “And I should probably say something nice about Michael too. Michael Corner was the funniest, most interesting, and most amazing person I’ve ever known.”
The guests cheered again in agreement and you waited for the waves of cheering to die out, “I just wanted to say that the bride is really lucky. And I wish you guys all the best with all my heart. Congratulations Michael, and I will always love you...” you looked at his eyes one last time, those ocean eyes, “cause we’re best friends.”
The crowd was clapping and cheering, but you couldn’t hear anything. You just sat there, staring blankly at the crowd. This was the end, was it? Before the wedding began, you fantasized about so many scenarios. Like in a soup opera where you would run up there and object. Or like in a romantic comedy where he finally realized that you were the one he has always loved.
But nothing crazy happened in the reality and to be honest, you were glad.
“Y/N, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m always here.” Cho was there with you in the restroom. She knew about your crush on Michael and was always there to support you when you prepared for the wedding.
“No, I’m not going to cry.” You sighed, “But I really do hope that maybe, I could suddenly have a tall and handsome boyfriend, and then I could walk out of the wedding feeling less defeated.”
When you two were leaving the restroom, you bumped into a tall man. You looked up and recognized that it was George Weasley.
You became friends with the Weasley twins right after they dumped blue paint on  Michael. You guys would hangout together sometimes and you joined Dumbledore’s Army with them, so you could tell the twins apart. But after they left Hogwarts, you guys barely contacted each other and would probably only see each other at Hogwarts reunion dinners or some old classmates’ weddings.
“George?”
“I’m sorry Y/N, didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But I believe I heard you said that you need a tall and handsome boyfriend?”
You were embarrassed that he heard your silly talk, but you still managed to reply calmly, “Yea, are you gonna introduce me to someone?”
“That someone is standing right in front of you! See, I’m tall,” he raised his hand to emphasize his height, “and I’m handsome!” He winked at you.
“George, I was only joking...”
“Yea, joking. Someone told me I’m quite good at that.” He grinned at you, “I can pretend to be your tall and handsome boyfriend and make Corner jealous!”
You laughed at his remarks, but the reality slapped you in your face. You lowered your head, feeling defeated again, “But he won’t...”
“Well, at least you could still use some fun now. Consider this as a light-hearted prank! ” He cupped your face and lifted your head.
At this moment, you felt like the playful and happy you came back. You turned back to look at Cho. She nodded at you, reassuring you that this idea was not completely dumb, so you finally held out your hand, “Well then, shall we, darling?”
He chuckled and held your hand, “Let’s go, darling!”
Your plan went well. Not long after you left the restrooms, you and George ran into Michael. He looked surprised seeing you holding hands with George, “Y/N, you two?”
Before you could say anything, George answered the question for you, “Y/N is my girlfriend!”
Michael was looking at you now and you couldn’t quite understand his expression. Putting aside all of your unrealistic daydreams and wishful thinking, he was probably just surprised.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Erm....I was busy preparing for your wedding and I just kinda forgot.” Your left hand was tugging nervously on the hem of your dress now, but you were still impressed that you could lie so smoothly even under this kind of situation.
“Yeah Corner, my girlfriend was so busy preparing for your wedding, she didn’t even have enough time for me! You should really thank her mate,” George added.
Now Michael was looking sorry as he said, “I didn’t know...Thank you, Y/N.”
To you, this “Thank you” sounded like the closure for your unrequited love that lasted for years. “It’s alright,” you replied softly.
“I need to go get a drink. Congratulations mate!” George pulled you away before you started to zone out. 
After returning to your table, George just sat on the empty seat next to you. The owner of this seat, Terry was probably already drinking the night away somewhere. You glanced around. Everyone looked so happy, making you a misfit. 
George noticed you were zoning out again, “I’m guessing that you don’t want to stay here anymore. How about we sneak out right now?”
You nodded. Yes please.
He held your hand. You thought he was going to apparate you into somewhere else, but he just held your hand and ran out of the wedding. Just like a muggle movie.
Surrounding the wedding venue was a grassland and some small hills. You and George finally stopped running at the highest hill and something came over you. The presence of George just made you comfortable doing crazy silly things that you usually didn’t have the courage to do. You took off your high heels, “I always wanted to try this.” And without hesitating, you rolled off the hill.
George was probably shocked by your sudden action. But he wasn’t shocked for long, because you soon felt someone rolling off the hill, too.
You didn’t even have the time to stand up or move away as George just landed on you. You looked at each other and started laughing. You were both in formal clothings, but you were also both covered in dirt and grass. This was probably the first time in weeks that you were laughing wholeheartedly, not like back at the wedding, when you could only call what you were doing a mere action of pulling the corners of your lips upwards.
“Aren’t you full of surprises.” George laughed as he gently pushed away the hair and grass on your face.
You were speechless for a moment. You were lying on the grass and George was still on top of you. You stared into his deep brown eyes with the breathtaking starry night sky as the background, and memories from fourth year started to come back.
At that time, the Weasley twins were very popular. Well, they were always popular, but you only got to know them during your fourth year. That year and fifth year were the only two years that Michael wasn’t really occupying your mind.
They were older, Gryffindor beaters, and legendary pranksters. It was impossible for you to not notice them. Especially George. He kept appearing in front of you, asking you if their new pranks ideas could work. You didn’t know when did this happened exactly, but he did eventually claim a place in your heart.
Maybe you were a little bit drunk. Maybe it was because the stars were mesmerizing tonight, but you confessed, “Actually, I have more surprises for you. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Oh yea? What is it?”
“It was a long time ago and it’s quite funny actually, but I had a crush on you back at school.” You were blushing, but you hoped that he couldn’t see it.
“Let me guess, was it the year of the Triwizard Tournament?”
You sat up as you were shocked and he sat up with you. “How did you know?”
He chuckled, “You probably don’t remember much about this, but do you remember the night of the Yule Ball? You were so drunk, but you couldn’t find your friends?”
The memories you thought were long gone began to resurface. Your friend group went to the Yule Ball together that year and Michael was also part of it. You still remembered you telling yourself that technically you could still say that you went to the dance with Michael.
That night, someone sneaked a bottle of firewhisky into the dance and you ended up getting drunk. Your friends were probably wasted too since when you finally regained a tiny sense of conscious, they all disappeared. You searched the hallways, with your arms leaning against the walls, trying to find some support. You called their names, but no one answered.
You remembered now. The last person you could remember from that night was George Weasley.
The loss of memory was making you anxious. You started to pull your hair nervously when you asked, “Merlin, what did I do that night??”
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal, “Not much. You told me that you fancy me and you kissed me.”
Your brain went blank. You did what??
He continued, ignoring how you were losing it right now, “Earlier tonight, I heard you say that Michael was the funniest, most interesting, and most amazing person you’ve ever met? If I remembered correctly, you told me the exact same thing that night. Do you say that to everyone? I’m hurt. Thought my feelings were reciprocated that time. Turns out to be a lie...”
He was still ranting, but you only managed to hear one thing he said. He thought his feelings were reciprocated? Did that mean at that time, he fancied you too? To be honest, if Fred and George didn’t leave Hogwarts that early, maybe the person that you loved for years wouldn’t be Michael anymore. Suddenly, you felt like you just wasted all of these years and all of the heartbreaks.
“So...do you still have feelings for me now?” You felt stupid immediately after your words left your mouth. That was years ago and you were asking about it now?
“Why did you think I wanted to be your fake boyfriend today?”
It was sudden and you still wasn’t sure what you were thinking, but you just kissed him, smashing your lips together.
He was shocked for sure, but soon a smirk appeared on his lips, “What’s with you and all these sudden kisses, Y/L/N?” He then pulled you in and kissed you back. This time properly and with more passion, as if you were both trying to make up for all those lost years.
“So did I actually become your ‘tall and handsome boyfriend’?”
“Maybe, if you could just shut up and kiss me.”
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moonlightlullaby · 3 years
Text
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Joining the call, we’re welcomed by the amigops, Brooke, Karl and Bretman.
“So, everyone, this is my older brother, Dylan!” 
“What’s up, guys? Nice to meet y’all!” variations of hi’s and hello’s hit our ears all at once.
“Hey, Dylan!” Karl chimes after them “Good to see- well, talk to you again, man!” 
“Oh yeah! Thanks for helping us the other day.” Corpse sounds much more relaxed now - I mean, eveyone does… Bottom line is that streaming, however authentic and open you are with your viewers, does put a strain on you, so hearing everyone - myself included - more loose doesn’t really come as a surprise.
“Yeah, wish I could’ve done more. It sucks that you still lost.”
“Hey!” I elbow his side, causing him to dramatically gasp and fake cry and everyone in the call to laugh.
“Yeah, about that, you shouldn’t mention it around Alex. He’s still super bitter about it.” I giggle at Karl’s remark and, on cue, none other than Alex joins the voicechat.
We keep chatting as more people join us, introducing themselves to my brother - and Dave to both of us since it’s our first interaction ever. I’m really intrigued to see how he plays.
Dyl and I have decided to megazord today and play as one - not without some whining from Alex. He’s claimed it would be unfair and disproportional - even though no one else seemed even slightly bothered by it - and has only agreed with it after I’d exposed my brother’s pathetic skills in among us - earning me a glare and a light punch from Dyl - and reminded him of how much better a victory would feel knowing he didn’t trick eight people, but nine.
With Tina’s arrival, we all agree on who will be playing the first round and get the game started. CREWMATE flashes on the screen. Alright, let’s try and stay alive.
Yeah, that didn’t work out. 
For some reason - read: lack of functioning braincellls -, Dyl wanted to do simon says first and, since the universe loves screwing us over, of course Ludwig would walk in and shoot our astronaut just as we’re about to finish the task - after having already failed twice, may I add. Both of us just stop and stare - I, at the ceiling; Dyl, at the white little guy flopped over - before we burst into laughter. 
“Of course this would happen!” he shakes his head and, being his persistent self, opens the task to start all over.
And just in case you’ve ever doubted Murphy’s law, you should definitely reconsider it because guess what happens next: right before Dyl presses the last button, an emergency meeting is called. 
“Alright, fuckers, who did it? Who would hurt my baby girl Y/N like this?” although I feel very honored to see Brooke defending me with so much passion, I can’t contain the giggles that escape my mouth at the contrast between how threatening and intimidating she’s trying to sound and how she actually sounds.
The meeting is not productive at all. No one is sussed and everyone skips. “Don’t worry, D and missy Y/N, we’ll get whoever had the audacity to do this. I promise!” Sweet, Bret, sweet!
When “No one was ejected. (Skipped)” takes over the screen, a low, soft sound fills my ears. However, by the time my brain catches up, the sound’s stopped. Corpse was humming ‘cheater’! Yes, the infamous 2008 nightmare of a song I was stupid enough to share with him!
“Did you show him?” my wide-eyed brother whispers to me. I immediately shush him while muting ourselves at the speed of light. “Dylan!” I whisper-shout, turning to face him. This asshole is smirking! 
I narrow my eyes and furrow my brows, mentally throwing daggers at him and setting his body on fire. I open my mouth, but, before any sound can leave it, a notification pops up: a private message from the one and only boyinaband. A glance at my brother tells me his mind is somewhere else already as he pets Fiyero - I mean, our family’s never been known for our impeccable attention; who would’ve expected it to be any different now? -, so I open his message.
hey, y/n!
don’t mean to make things awkward at all, but i’d like to thank you for whatever you’ve told corpse
yk, he tends to shut off when things get hard, but he reached out the other day for help and company
so thanks
Why is he-? How does he-? What-? I’m…
Has Corpse said anything about me to Dave? Why would he do that? 
No, no... No, Dave might have just guessed it since Corpse and I are constantly talking
...right? 
Yes, yes, it has to be it.
oh also, it’s great getting to meet you and play with you!
you’re really cool indeed :)
Y/N: oh there’s nothing to thank me for, really
but i’m really glad we’ve met too!
i love your content btw and you’re funny af
Dave: thx! 
so it’s lud and...?
he killed me so gracefully idk how to feel
Y/N: jshdfgjhdgfkwfgjewv
fuck idk either
Speaking of imposters, all of our tasks are yet to be done, I should get back to them.
After that round - in which, by the way, Brooke was the other imposter and carried the entire thing after Lud vented in front of Tina, wasn’t able to catch her and got ejected -, the afternoon went on pretty smoothly.
Dylan and I arguing every 2 minutes about what strategy we should follow and ending up with a no-strategy approach. Friends killing - and being killed by - friends, lying to friends, throwing friends under the bus… you know, very friendly things. Dylan and Bretman basically ignoring everyone else and isolating themselves in their own bubble for half of the time. Everyone just vibing to miscellaneous tunes - from Dolly Parton to Wilbur Soot, from CORPSE to BLACKPINK -, and chatting, laughing and having a good time as Toast had proposed.
Without the distraction of an audience and the pressure of being funny or 666 IQ, I got to actually talk to and learn more about Leslie, Dave - who (I was right) is a sweetheart and with whom I hit it off instantly -, Sean, Toast himself and, well, pretty much everyone. 
It’s so crazy how, in a little over one month, you can connect so much with these many people! Some who were complete strangers to you until then and others who you already admired and looked up to… and now, you can call them all your friends. It’s insane!
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🐝 bee-girls are ruining my life 🐝
chapter 12: what friends do
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A/N: Hi! I wasn’t sure if I’d post today, but, quite frankly, writing’s the only thing I can get myself to do lately and knowing that there are some people out there who want to read what I have to offer really warms my heart 🤍 Sorry for the sappiness and for any typos heheh See you on tuesday hopefully!
Taglist: @callmemaeve-y @victoria-a567 @the-thighs-of-betrayal @tclegane  @hydrate-tion @neenieweenie @clubfairy @cherry-piee @summerbbygirl @officiallyunofficialperson @a-dot-dev @that-chick212​ @bellomi-clarke
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hermannsthumb · 3 years
Note
If you’re still doing summer prompts, could you do graduation for newmann?
15. Graduation
from (the very old) summer prompts meme here
enjoy some awkward pre-canon jaeger academy ~ROOMMATES~!! also I am pretty sure this message/prompt is from at least a year ago (if not TWO) but it was only today that I really thought about what I wanted to write for it and wrote in like a FRENZY. content warning for alcohol (no like intoxication tho)
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It was hardly to be expected that Newton would be mature over the whole thing, but Hermann finds himself in a perpetual state of agitation the final weeks of their enrollment at the Jaeger Academy anyway. Newton was very young, Hermann knows, when he graduated from university (at least he was young the first time he graduated), and he can only assume the man took it rather hard that he didn’t get to have the proper send-off he thought he deserved—all-night parties with kegerators and beer pong, one-dollar shots at dive bars, trips to the seaside with classmates. One wasn’t likely to invite someone who’d barely breached his teens and still had braces to those sorts of things, after all. It’s the only reason Hermann can think of as to why Newton has spent the month—the whole month—popping open champagne at all hours and organizing spin-the-bottle in the base rec room and generally being a great bloody nuisance to everyone they have the misfortune of sharing their graduating class with. Over-compensation is what it is.
Having Newton as his bunkmate adds a special level of unbearableness to it all. At least—and Hermann does thank the stars above for this—tomorrow marks the end of a very miserable month. A very miserable two years.
“Everyone is going to be there,” Newton says. He’s wearing an oversized pair of neon sunglasses over his regular glasses, for some reason, those abhorrently dated kind with the slatted lenses, and dangling from his left hand are two bottles of pink champagne. A bag of plastic cups dangles in the other. “Everyone. Not even just the k-scientists—the techs, the ranger trainees, the—”
“That all sounds very thrilling,” Hermann says, hefting a stack of button-ups into a cardboard box he’s labeled Clothing – Gottlieb. “You’re aware, I assume, that we’re meant to be moving out tomorrow, and you’ve not touched anything on your side of the room?”
“Dude, I have sooo much time,” Newton says. Hermann realizes now the seal on one of the champagne bottles is broken—which might explain some of Newton’s suspiciously carefree mood. “Besides, I barely even have that much shit here.”
This is patently untrue. Newton’s clothing is overflowing from his dresser; manga and monster action figures and vinyl records clutter up every inch of its top surface; there’s laundry under his bed, on his bed, his guitar picks on Hermann’s bedside table, dirty mugs on his own, half-finished reports and articles scattered over his desk… “Fine,” Hermann says. “But I haven’t finished, at any rate, so I won’t be joining you.”
Newton flops down next to him on his bed; the stopper on the opened champagne bottle wobbles dangerously, and Hermann moves quickly to push it in more firmly so he doesn’t have to add a load of bed linens to his To-Do list. “I think you need to unwind, roomie,” Newton says, grinning up at him. Both pairs of his glasses have slipped off his nose and onto Hermann’s bedspread. “We’ll have all day tomorrow after the dumb ceremony to pack, and you haven’t taken a break in, like, seven years. You’ve earned one.”
Hermann doesn’t want to take a break, or at least not in the way Newton is suggesting. Hermann wants to finish packing up his half of the room, then his designated workspace in the large k-science laboratory, and then take a shower to wash himself of the experience of being Newton Geiszler’s roommate and labmate for two years too many. Noticing his reticence, Newton adds, pleadingly, “Come for one hour? Just to do two shots with me? One shot?” He blinks, half-blind without his glasses, as if trying to discern whether or not Hermann looks likely to give in. “No shots? C’mon, Hermann, you owe me.”
“Owe you?” Hermann says, frowning.
Newton nudges him with the stack of plastic cups. “Y’know—for the sake of your ol’ penpal,” he says.
The reference to their letter-writing days jars Hermann, and despite his best efforts not to show it to Newton, his hand trembles as he deposits an unopened pack of white socks into his laundry box. He thinks it may be the first time either of them have brought it up in the entirety of their time at the Academy. It’s certainly the first time either of them have admitted to even the slightest notion of a shared history since—a week into their first year here, at an ice-breaking event for their kaiju-science peers—Newton had rolled his eyes exaggeratedly when someone attempted to introduce him to Hermann and said “Yeah, Dr. Gottlieb and I go wayyyy back.” Hermann did not admit so at the time, but the use of the honorific in place of his first name had been unexpectedly wounding—ridiculous of him, considering he made a point of referring to Newton in precisely the same way. Perhaps that little slip of the tongue had been why they were assigned as roommates scarcely a week later. An assumed friendship.
Hermann picks up Newton’s thick eyeglasses and carefully slips them back onto Newton’s upside-down face. Newton wrinkles his nose when Hermann’s thumb accidentally brushes against its tip. “I just don’t like parties very much, Newton,” he says. He’s not sure when Dr. Geiszler became Newton to him, or rather, became Newton to him again.
“Then we can do something together here,” Newton says.
He sits up and pushes the sealed champagne bottle at Hermann’s chest. “This is for you, anyway. Graduation present. Bury the hatchet, you know—odds are pretty fucking high we’re never gonna see each other again, so there’s no use hating each other forever.”
In spite of his better judgement, Hermann takes the champagne bottle. One drink won’t hurt him. And anyway, it might be a little relaxing—so long as it’s one drink only, because he still has an entire two years’ worth of research to pack away in his laboratory desk. “Do you know where you’re being assigned already, then?” he says. He was under the impression they wouldn’t find out until after the ceremony tomorrow—bit last minute, he supposes, but it’s not as if they’re making their own travel arrangements, and nearly all of their colleagues have already brought their families along with them to the Academy base.
“Nah,” Newton says, “but I wrote down a lot on my request form.” He motions for Hermann to hand him back the bottle, and he begins unscrewing the wire holding down the cork. “Tokyo—Peru—" He moves the bottle away from the bed as he pops it open with a grunt of effort, and a small bit of foam spills to the cement floor. Hermann grits his teeth and tries not to worry about cleaning it up later. “—Los Angeles. I worked on one of my PhDs in California, you know, a few weeks one July. Sea sponges. I learned how to scuba dive, I loved it—I think that’s one of the first things I’m gonna do if—once this is all over.”
He looks strangely maudlin as Hermann pours himself some champagne into one of the plastic cups and suffers through a sip. Too sweet. Hermann’s never liked sweet wines—bloody awful hangovers the next day, if one isn’t careful.
“Their entire ecosystem would be destroyed now, I guess,” Newton says. “Kaiju blue poisoning.”
“Whose?” Hermann says.
“The sea sponges’,” Newton says.
Hermann sips more of the champagne so he won’t have to respond. “I requested Anchorage,” he offers. Among plenty others, but he knows Newton will get a kick out of ribbing him for the dreary Alaskan climate. It seems to work—Newton lights up at once with a loud snort.
“Of course you did, ya weirdo,” he says. “Have fun freezing your ass off.” He takes a sip right from his bottle, then holds it out to Hermann. “Well, Hermann—you were an annoying lab partner, an even more annoying roommate, but a decent penpal, and I’m—well, I’m not gonna miss you, but I guess I can’t say I hate everything about you. Good luck with the jaegers. Good luck to whoever gets stuck with you next, actually, yikes, don’t envy them! Here’s to never seeing each other again.”
Hermann rolls his eyes, but knocks his plastic cup against Newton’s bottle. “Best of luck to you, as well,” he says. “And here’s to—well, surviving.”
“That’s cheerful,” Newton says.
They drink to their toast. Down the hall, someone puts on loud music to a chorus of equally loud cheers. Hermann reckons that’ll be Newton’s party. “You ought to head over there,” he says, turning briefly to glance at their door, which Newton has left cracked open. “Otherwise, they’ll miss—”
Newton kisses him.
Hermann doesn’t necessarily kiss back, but he doesn’t push Newton away, either. He’s more bewildered than anything. He might’ve expected this sort of thing to happen years ago—years, and years ago, before that dreadful first meeting in some dingy little Berlin coffee shop, back when a new letter from Dr. Geiszler slipped through his mail slot could make his heart thud like nothing else—but they’ve hardly been anything to each other but colleagues these past two years. Not even quite colleagues—that implies a civility they don’t possess. Professional academic rivals. He was under the impression that the man hated him, that the data when they underwent standard tests for drift compatibility was merely a fluke.
His empty cup falls from his hand and clatters to the floor. Newton slides a hand up Hermann’s jaw and keeps kissing him; he makes a small, needy noise into Hermann’s mouth.
“Newton,” Hermann finally mumbles. “What are you doing?”
Newton pulls back. A brilliant red flush is creeping steadily across his face, and he opens and closes his mouth a few times before anything comes out. “Oh, shit,” he says. “I didn’t mean—”
He stumbles to his feet. “Shit, dude, I’m sorry, I like—”
“Newton?” Hermann repeats. He feels about as dazed as Newton looks; he’s not quite sure what he’s meant to say. His lips are tingling from the kiss. “I—?”
“I’m gonna go to the party,” Newton stammers. “Sorry, dude, I—misread signals? I guess? Um—” He steps on Hermann’s forgotten cup and skids slightly, catching and righting himself on one of Hermann’s bed posts. The movement knocks Hermann’s cane (hooked there) to the floor, and Newton must bend down twice before he succeeds in picking it up. “Just—um—okay, bye.”
Hermann stares at the door for a long time after Newton leaves. Tomorrow marks the end of their two years cohabitating and working together—as Newton said, odds are high their paths will never cross again. Hermann had been counting down the days to their graduation in a little calendar he keeps pinned neatly to his wall, daydreaming endlessly of the first thing he would do once he was free from the suffocating cloud of Newton Geiszler’s presence—daydreaming of the like-minded non-Geiszlerian colleagues he would meet at his Shatterdome assignment, of a neat and orderly laboratory devoid of kaiju residue over every communal surface, of his own living quarters. He should be excited. He should be ecstatic.
Hermann touches his mouth and feels nothing but strange sort of hollowness in his chest—a black hole enveloping all else.
---
He doesn’t see Newton until their graduation ceremony the next day, an affair made all the more awkward by the seating chart’s alphabetical arrangement ensuring Drs. Geiszler and Gottlieb will be knocking elbows for the full two hours. Newton is late by nearly twenty minutes, and rushes in with badly unkempt hair and a backwards tie: Hermann has a feeling he’d been lurking outside their quarters and waiting for Hermann to leave before he dared dart in to get himself ready. He wonders where Newton spent the night. He wonders why he even cares. Likely passed out on the rec room floor after the party, judging from the confetti stuck to his left cheek—or perhaps he’d finally made a move on the fellow kaiju-biologist Hermann recalls him extolling the physicality of on more than one occasion, and spent the night with him—or perhaps he did neither, and merely wandered the base for hours, sleep evading him as it’d so entirely evaded Hermann. They don’t acknowledge each other for the whole of the ceremony.
Hermann is summoned to the office of the jaeger science program head (a severe woman with short hair) later that evening, shortly after he finishes taping up his very last box of papers in the vacant laboratory. He’s handed a small manila folder containing the details of his Shatterdome assignment: Hong Kong, as it turns out. One of his requests. “Since you and Dr. Newton Geiszler have displayed a strong work ethic when partnered together,” the woman begins, “as well as a very high level of drift compatibility—”
Hermann’s eyes snap up from his folder to her face.
“—we’ll be assigning him to Hong Kong’s kaiju science division along with you, under the assumption that together you will only continue to produce positive results.”
“Pardon?” Hermann says, weakly.
Newton has finished boxing up a majority of his belongings when Hermann drags himself through the door to their quarters an hour later. He glances at Hermann briefly, embarrassedly, and says, in a small voice, “Hey, Hermann.”
“Newton,” Hermann says.
He walks over and sits down heavily atop the pile of sheets on his stripped bed. Something pokes at his thigh, and he sets aside his cane to fumble through the sheet bundle to discover what: Newton’s forgotten neon shuttered shades. The sight of them sends his stomach twisting up in knots. “Oh, hey,” Newton says, as he wraps a Godzilla action figure with bubble wrap. He nods at the manila envelope clenched between Hermann’s fingers. “Where are they shipping you off to? I’m going to Hong Kong—should be cool. I’ve never been before.” He places the little Godzilla in a carboard box. Newt - Junk! the side says in purple Sharpie. “My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon—you’re right, I definitely should’ve started packing earlier, I have no idea how I’m gonna get this all done by then.”
Hermann stares at Newton in poorly-concealed amazement as he continues to ramble on about how to pack up his instruments and whether or not they’ll let him bring his first-ever kaiju sample with him (he’s attached to it, even though he knows it’s technically the academy’s property, but maybe he can find a way to smuggle it out in his checked bags or something). Does he not know? Did they not tell him? How could they let this fall on Hermann? “Newton,” he says, slowly. “I’ve been assigned to Hong Kong, too.”
Newton freezes. “No fucking way,” he says.
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pradaksj · 4 years
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7 Rings | 03
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♛ pairing: taehyung/reader
♛ genre: richboy!taehyung | blackmailer!reader | infiltration au | eventual smut | angst | fluff 
♛ rating: mature
♛ word count: 7,000+ 
♛ warnings for this chapter : light descriptions of anxious behavior (but nothing intense)
♛ summary: In desperate need of money, you and your best friend come up with a plan to infiltrate one of Seoul’s richest families, the Kim family. The plan was simple, garner some money and disappear, but of course things don’t always go as planned. Especially not with someone like Kim Taehyung.
━ ❝ Whoever said money can't solve your problems, must not have had enough money to solve 'em.❞
♛ chapter index/masterlist || series masterlist
Chapters⇢ 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08
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Present Day: Thursday Morning.
This was not supposed to happen, no, no, no. This was not what was planned, rehearsed, nor memorized. No, no, no!
You anticipate for him to scream, to snap at you and tell you off in front of everyone. It seemed fitting for someone like him to do, it’s what you expected.
You could feel all eyes on you, the venue itself had gone deaf silent, almost as if everyone else was holding their breath along with you, waiting to see your demise. You couldn’t blame them, you had spilled your drink on one of the most prestigious guests here, and though it wasn’t as if the world was going to end because of this, to you it felt like it. Your “mission” was going to end before it could even start.
Panic immediately overwhelms you. This was not at all how this was supposed to go. You wanted, no, you needed words to come out of your mouth, to say something, anything, but you couldn’t. Your mouth was completely frozen in place, and all you could do at the moment was stare at the big blob of red on his white buttoned up shirt, to which you were at fault for. Slowly you watch his mouth open, your mind immediately beginning to think the worst, but what comes out of his mouth completely surprises you.
He laughs.
The formation of a boxy smile takes its place on his face, his eyes now crinkling out of sheer laughter, and his hand now covering a portion of his face.
“I really didn’t mean to do that, oh my—” you finally blurt out, quickly grabbing a napkin and beginning to uselessly blot onto the already bleeding stain, but almost immediately feeling a hand grab at yours, stopping you from what you were doing.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he reassures, slowly pushing your hand away from his shirt.
You immediately shake your head, your words now faltering in cohesion, “No it’s not, I r-really didn’t mean to do that, I just—”
“And I’m telling you it’s okay,” he repeats himself, “I think you’ve done the most interesting thing around here in a very long time,” he whispers, sticking his hand out for you to shake, “I’m Taehyung,” he introduces himself, as if you didn’t know who he was.
The words themselves come out exactly like how Yuna would imitate during “rehearsal”. Though his voice was of course much deeper, almost reminding you of silk, seductive in it’s own way. You finally look up to see him, to actually see him face to face, immediately feeling your face get red.
It surprised you really, you had seen Kim Taehyung a countless number of times on TV, on several gossip blog headlines, posters, magazine covers, and an endless number of promotional advertisements all across Korea, but wow did they do him no justice. The man was truly stunning, and with every passing second you made eye contact with him, you could see why he was South Korea’s most sought out person.
From the sharp facial features, to the slightly sun-kissed skin that seemed to have its own natural glow, and his (what you assumed was permed) black softly-waved hair, made him in every way … dangerous. Kim Taehyung was dangerous, and you knew it. And it was important that you remembered that, because if you didn’t then things were not going to go as planned and quickly at that.
It took you, what felt like a whole hour, to finally process that his hand had been stuck out for who knows how long. “Get a grip of yourself y/n,” you thought to yourself, the only reason you were so nervous was because you knew what your intentions being here were, no one else here did.
“Don’t panic, breathe, recuperate, and adapt,” Yuna’s words rang in your head, as it was what she’d emphasize you do, just in case something went wrong or unplanned, “You are someone confident, you are someone poised, and most importantly you are someone rich,” she’d scold you, practically drilling the words into your head. You just hadn’t expected that you were going to have to use her advice this early on. “You got this,” you silently whisper to yourself, just breathe.
And so just as you saw him beginning to pull his hand back, you quickly grabbed it and began to shake it in return, “I’m y/n,” you nervously grin, “I’m so sorry about that, I just—” you faintly pause, “I guess you can say I just get shy around people I don’t know and well I just got so nervous,” you embarrassingly ramble on, pushing your hair behind your ear.
“Like I said it’s fine, really,” he says, looking down at the stain which for the most part was no longer as wet as before, now only damp in moisture, “It’s just a shirt really,” he chuckles.
“I know, but still,” you reiterate. You silently take a look around the venue. People had seemed to have quickly forgotten about what had transpired, going back to their regular day to day conversations without a care in the world, “It’s just that I’m new around here and well I just want to make a good impression on people,” you explain, your words clearly catching his attention.
“Oh, where are you from?” he harmlessly asks, genuine curiosity emitted from his tone.
“I’m from—”
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The Day Before: Wednesday Evening.
“The United States?—No, No! Seoul! No! Uh—” you immediately feel the squirts of ice cold water on your face from Yuna’s plastic spray bottle, the twentieth time today.
“Wrong!” she scolds, spritzing you one more time for the heck of it causing Hoseok to burst out in fits laughter, for again, the twentieth time today.
You dramatically let out a huff of air in irritation, as well as pouting and crossing your arms in annoyance, “How many times do we have to go over this y/n!” Yuna screeches, grabbing her metal pointer stick, and harshly hitting the cheap whiteboard covered in red messy scribbles that you two bought the night before, “You’re from Seoul, but you moved with your rich old family to the states a couple of years ago, and you’re back here on vacation for the next ten weeks because you were “homesick”, which explains why he’s never seen you before in his life!” she explains, “What’s not clicking?” she says, now tapping her forehead with her index finger.
“You don’t have to be so mean about it,” you sneered.
“Well y/n! We can’t afford any mistakes, and it’s very important you know the basics because the moment he catches you in a lie, all bets are off on that money,” she sighs, her face now softening, “I know that right now you may think I’m being a bitch right now, but trust me, you’ll thank me later,” she snaps her head towards Hoseok’s direction, who for the past hour had been doing nothing but devouring snacks while watching the two of you bicker, “Am I right or wrong?” she asks, causing him to raise his hands as a way of saying he wanted no part in this.
You squint your eyes at him, “Maybe if we had more time, I’d be less strict about all this, but time is on the essence! Ten weeks will go by in the blink of an eye,” she adds, causing you to grunt because sadly she had a point, “So back to the top!” she yells, her facial expression going back to being firm, “Where are you from?”
You roll your eyes, “I’m from—”
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Present Day
“Seoul, but you’ve stayed in the states, huh? That’s really cool, I’ve only been to LA and New York a couple of times for certain events… so what was your experience like over there?” he asks, taking a sip from his mimosa.
You don’t hesitate to answer, the response ingrained in your brain, “It was really nice, though I found myself being homesick quite often if we’re being honest,” he nods his head.  
“Ah, yeah I completely get where you’re coming from, I—” he catches himself mid-sentence, shaking his head, as if disappointed with himself, “There’s just no place like Seoul huh,” he says instead, to which you nod in agreement.
You proceed in planting the seed to Yuna’s plan, “I have to go back in a couple of weeks though, I still have a year left to go for my bachelor’s, and well I’m really just here for visits sake,” you explain, your nerves slowly withering away. The more you spoke, the more natural things were beginning to feel, smooth and easy like melted butter on toast.
And in a way you weren’t entirely lying. You were going to have to leave at some point, you did have a year left in school, and technically you were just a temporary visitor in this whole world of the rich. Of course, there were some major differences between the truth and what you were leading him on to believe, but at the end of the day this wasn’t going to hurt anyone.
“Oh I see, what are you majoring in?” he politely asks, silently hoping he wasn’t intruding too much. Taehyung for the first time in a very long time, felt nervous. For one thing, you were very pretty, breathtakingly so, he almost felt like a kid with a schoolboy crush. It was quite embarrassing really.
But Taehyung was waiting. He was waiting for you to do something or say something that would confirm that you weren’t the person he’s hoping you to be, that you were in fact a stuck up brat just like the many he’d seen and met before. That you were just like anyone else here who solely cared for numbers, and their own personal riches. It was as if he was anticipating the feeling of disappointment.
“Business, accounting if we’re being specific,” you respond to his question, breaking him from his train of thought, “I’ve always been pretty good with numbers,” you say, “but not enough to become a full on STEM major or anything like that,” you joke, garnering a light chuckle from him, which you could easily tell was completely fake.
Maybe he was right, maybe you were just like the rest of them.
“I see, I see, I just finished my studies recently,” he comments, “I majored in finance though,” he says, which ultimately doesn’t surprise you. Not only because it seemed fitting for someone like him to get a bachelors in that field, but because you basically memorized his Wikipedia page as well. Supposedly having gotten into and graduating from SNU based on his own merit. Though you had your doubts of course, it was probably just best to keep your thoughts to yourself.
What you needed to focus on was getting him to ask you out on a date, considering an awkward silence on both ends had now arisen. A part of you was now severely worried about that date not happening anytime soon. Did you say something wrong? Maybe he wasn’t as interested in you anymore? Business is a pretty boring major, but it’s what Yuna told you to say, and well it is what you were actually majoring in. Maybe you should say something? No, just stick to the script. He isn’t saying anything though….
“Originally I wanted to major in photography,” you blurt out, catching him by surprise, “I was gonna minor in it, but being an accounting major was hard enough as it was, and well family pressure,” you say, your fingers tapping against the surface of the bar, “Nowadays it’s more of a hobby I do, here and there,” you say, curiosity now apparent on his face.
What you were telling him was in fact true, you loved photography, at one point even wanting to make a career out of it, but to become a professional photographer was hard enough as it was. In all honesty, you respected those who had the ability to confidently pursue their dreams. People like Yuna for example, who despite the risk of failing being high, never gave up. It was a risk you were unwilling to take, preferring a secured financial future over the latter.
“I especially like candid photography, there’s just something about it,” you ramble on, “it’s relaxing in a sense, like you learn to be more appreciative of what’s in front of you,” you gush, almost forgetting why you were talking about this topic to begin with.
Taehyung on the other hand looked at you with a grin on his face, finding your babbling amusing to say the least. It was in every way adorable.
“I have these binders at home filled with—” before you could continue on, the sound of a phone ringing interrupts. A look of annoyance now appears on Taehyung’s face, as he begrudgingly took out his phone from his pocket, hesitating to accept the phone call.
“You don’t mind if I—” you quickly nod your head, flashing him a superficial smile, as he momentarily stepped away from the bar.
You quickly took a sigh of relief once he was no longer in view, taking this as an opportunity to take a breather. Personally, you didn’t like this tense feeling, and you could imagine how much more heightened it’d be in these upcoming weeks. “Could it perhaps be … guilt?” you think to yourself, you quickly shake off the idea.
“I’m sorry about that,” you hear his voice, failing to hide the peeved look on his face.
“No, it’s fine, really,” you insist. A pregnant pause now in the air.
“I was hoping—”
“Are you—” both of your cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
“Oh my bad, what were you going to say?” you ask.
“No, you can go first,” he smiles.
“No, no, you go ahead,” you persist.
“You sure?” he asks, to which you nod in return.
“Well I have to go right now, attend to some personal errands and stuff,” he glances down at the stain, “also change out of this shirt,” he jokes, “but um,” he momentarily hesitates, “But I was hoping we could go out some time, grab some coffee or something.” Bingo. Step one, check. “I mean unless you don’t like coffee, I don’t know why I assumed you did, we can always get like smoothies or something, um,” he falters, his hand now scratching the back of his neck. “Hm cute,” you think to yourself.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” you grin, “I was going to say the same thing actually, but yes I would love to get coffee with you, ” you respond.
“Perfect! I was thinking maybe tomorrow evening, around 10AM? I’ll pick you up,” he states, the excitement clearly evident.
“Yeah, sounds great,” you giggle.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he waves, before turning around and beginning to walk away. But after a couple of seconds he abruptly stops in his tracks and turns back around, causing you to genuinely laugh as you knew why he had stopped.
“I really forgot to ask for your number…” he facepalms himself.
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Thursday Night.
“You had one job!” Yuna dramatically flails her arms around, she and Hoseok now having been filled in on everything that happened this morning.
“And I got it done, didn’t I?” you retort, causing Yuna to roll her eyes, mumbling a sassy “I guess” in return.
“You’re so lucky I don’t have my spraying bottle on me right now,” she jokes around, but a part of her was more likely than not actually serious about it.
“Anyways, I’m surprised he actually ended up going up to me after all,” you mused, “Didn’t think it’d actually work.”
“Well with what I had you wearing, of course he was going to go up to you little miss y/n! A ruched floral dress with a summer straw hat at an all white attire event? Do you have no faith in me woman! Actually no, have some faith in yourself!” she loudly lectures you, playfully hitting the side of your arm. “The bad posture was something you already had experience with on your own merit,” she teases, causing her to start dying of laughter at her own joke.  
You scowl in return, “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny,” you grumble out, subconsciously fixing your posture.
“Anyways, what was the famous Kim Taehyung like? Is he really the heartthrob everyone makes him out to be,” Hoseok chimes in, his chin resting against his hand, eager to know the more about your encounter, “Come on, I need details, not no flimsy recap.”
“Um…” you hesitate with your next choice of words, “he’s um..” how could you describe Taehyung? He certainly wasn’t what you thought he was going to be like, “He’s a,” you pause, the two in front of you now looking at you with eager eyes, “He’s a nice guy… for now at least,” you conclude, surprising both Hoseok and Yuna alike. “I—” you sigh, “I think apart of me, like a very little tiny part is already starting to feel gu—”
“Ah! Don’t you even say it!” Yuna interjects.
“You didn’t let me finish!” you scold, immediately causing Yuna’s mouth to go shut. “Though a small part of me does feel guilty,” you pause, “at the end of the day Kim Taehyung is nothing but a rich boy with a grand old penthouse, flashy cars, and has enough money that could last him for several lifetimes. His father is a multi millionaire tycoon who from what I’ve heard exploits people for his own personal gain. Two sides of the same fucking coin. And so maybe right now he may seem like some nice guy, but it’s probably all an act. I’m not the bad guy here, I know I’m not. And I’ll be damned to let anyone, even if it’s myself, convince me otherwise, not with what I have at stake,” you finish off, staring at the invoices which were held up by magnets on your refrigerator, a reminder of what you were doing all of this for.
Kim Taehyung is nothing more than a pawn in a game of chess, and it was your job to make sure he stayed in that position. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Earlier That Day.
“You called me?” Taehyung enters his father’s office, still feeling aggravated at the sudden interruption from earlier. His father doesn’t even bother to look up from his pile of papers, only making a quick motion at Taehyung to sit down on the arm chair placed across his desk.
The sound of silence filled the room, as his father continued to scribble down who knows what, on his sheets of papers, clearly focused on what was in front of him which only bothered Taehyung more. “Was there a point to all of this?” he thought to himself.
“Yes there is,” his father suddenly said, causing Taehyung to straighten up, not realizing that he must’ve said what he was thinking aloud. He finally looks up to face Taehyung, the stern look he always had on, well placed on his face. He quickly pulls open his drawer and grabs what seems to be a magazine out, smacking it on his desk for Taehyung to see. He sighs, “So you care to explain what this is all about?”
The title, in a big bold yellow colored font, reads, “Kim Taehyung Gets Physical With Paparazzi, Trouble in Paradise?” accompanied by a collage of photos which included Taehyung post physical-assault on the paparazzo and his argument with Sunhi, all painting him as some kind of villain. Taehyung remained silent, instead avoiding eye contact, only causing his father to let out a sardonic laugh, his frustration clearly evident.
“Ah Taehyung,” he starts off, “I feel like we’ve had this conversation many, many, times,” he lets out another sarcastic chuckle, “and I have to say, you had me fooled when you told me you were ready to come back,” he continuously taps his fingers on his desk in a rhythmic pattern.
“You don’t get—”
“I don’t care for the sob stories Taehyung, I really don’t,” he interrupts, finally snapping, “In fact I have staff telling me that is was Sunhi who cheated on you, something along those lines,” he mumbles, “What you do on your free time, or who you’re seeing is really none of my concern,” he pauses, “until it has the potential to affect my business, and the image it upholds,” he clarifies.
“I know,” Taehyung hisses.
“Then those little antics you used to like to pull off shouldn’t be making a return,” he narrows his eyes at his son, “because we all know the results of those,” he harshly reminds him, causing Taehyung to ball his fist in anger, “So I suggest you get a hold of yourself, quickly at that, so that I don’t have to clean up your messes like before,”
“You don’t have to remind me every waking fucking moment,” Taehyung harshly says, getting up from the chair. His father is quick to do the same, the two now facing each other, the desk being their only barrier.
“And who the hell do think you’re talking to like that,” his father spits, “It was me who got you out of that mess that night, hell if it weren’t for me you’d be behind prison bars at this very moment,” Taehyung looks away, his eyes now watering, “You should be nothing but grateful,” Taehyung quickly wipes the tear that uncontrollably rolls down his cheek. The feeling of shame now overshadowing the feeling of anger he originally felt. He attempts to take deep breaths, anything to prevent himself from looking any more like a coward. He didn’t want to cry, no he refused to cry, especially not in front of his father.
“A house made of glass trying to throw brick stones,” his dad scoffs, “Ironic really,” a vile smirk now on his face, “just get out my sight already, consider this a warning,” he concludes before sitting back down and continuing his work, acting as if nothing had happened. Taehyung stood there for what felt like forever, his eyes still brimmed with tears, before silently making his way out into the hall.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry,” he kept telling himself as he made his way down to the lobby, but it was hard. He could feel the lump in his throat waiting to be let out, as well as how his lip would quiver whenever he’d force himself to smile at the several staff members who would politely greet him. It was almost as if he was suffocating.
He unlocked his car door and made his way inside, immediately punching the steering wheel in subdued frustration. He looked at himself from the car mirror, staring at his red puffy eyes, still refusing to allow himself to cry despite being alone. Instead he took more deep breaths, once again tucking away the turmoil he’d been feeling for a very long time back into the depths of his heart.
Turning on the ignition of his car, he made his way out of the building’s parking lot, quickly shaking off what had happened. He had a date to look forward to tomorrow morning, and he wasn’t going to let anyone ruin that.
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Friday Morning.
“Ta da!” Yuna shimmys her hands, proud of the outfit she’s ensembled. She was definitely making use of Mrs. Choi’s closet, “You don’t think this is a little too much?” you question, feeling slightly insecure about what you were wearing, the tan beret on your head slowly becoming crooked. This was definitely better than anything you’d pick on your own for a morning cup of coffee, that was for sure.
“Oh of course not!” Yuna exclaims while quickly fixing your hair,  “Now put this on top of the turtle neck,” she says, passing you a brown plaid double-breasted coat, “and then,” she glances at the two bags in her hands, debating which color would look best before ultimately picking the cream colored cross-bag, “put this over it.”
She claps her hands together, clearly proud of her fashion sense. “The perfect outfit for your date, doesn’t she look so pretty Hobi?” she gushes. Hoseok looks up from his phone, the three of you were now on a nickname basis.
“So she does,” he smiles, “but maybe a black bag might fit the outfit better,” Yuna’s eyebrows quickly furrow.
“Hey leave the fashion to me, computer boy!”  Yuna playfully squints her eyes at him.
“I’m just saying! A white turtleneck and a cream colored bag isn’t the look you think it is.”
“Yeah well,” she puckers her lips like a kid, unable to think of anything to counter with, she instead says, “that uniform you’re wearing is ugly!” causing a dramatic offended look to appear on his face.
“Oh I’ll have you know—”
“Will you two stop with the bickering?” you interrupt him before he could attack in return, “Taehyung is going to get here any moment, and you,” you point at Yuna, “need to start heading to work, while you,” you point to Hoseok, “need to get back to work,” you reaffirm, silencing the two who were now staring at you like lost puppies, “Well what are you waiting for, shoo!” you commanded, your statement coming off a little more harsher than you intended, but you blamed it on your nerves. You couldn’t help it because well, you were indeed very nervous.
“Ah okay, okay. Let us know how it goes!” Yuna says, before dragging Hoseok by the arm and leading eachother out. “And remember to stay calm and collective!” he shouts before being yanked on by Yuna.
You let out a deep breath of air. You hadn’t been on a date in a very long time, and though one could consider this a “fake” date on your part, it was a date nonetheless. You needed to leave a good impression, enough that he'd be willing to take you out again after today.
[From: Taehyung]  
[9:55] Hey, I’m around the corner from the address you texted me :) I should be outside in like 2 mins
[9:55] i'm in the black mercedes benz btw
[To: Taehyung]
[9:55] perfect ☺️ i’ll be out right now then.
You fix your hair one last time, making sure everything looked perfect. “It’s not a date, just two strangers getting coffee together,” you reassure yourself one last time before making your way out.
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The car ride to the coffee shop per se wasn’t awkward, but formal to say the least. Of course, Taehyung didn’t exactly expect you to immediately be talkative once you stepped into the car, but judging by how stiff you remained the whole car ride, and the lack of conversation there was, he also knew that he didn’t want you to feel timid to talk or as if you had to hold yourself back in front of him. He wanted things to feel natural, like how you were when you were talking about photography, where he could tell you were genuinely just being yourself.
Honestly he was used to women usually going out of their way to show off in front of him, or to make themselves seem like someone they weren’t simply to impress him, so this was definitely... different than what he was used to. But for some reason it made him even more curious to get to know you, eager to see what you were hiding behind that brick wall of an exterior you’ve seemed to have set up for yourself. He assumed it was going to take time for you to warm up to him, but the problem was that Taehyung wasn’t much of a patient person to begin with.
“After you,” he says, politely opening the door to the coffee shop for you. You whisper “thank you” to the small, but kind gesture.
The coffee shop in itself was very cute. From the cushioned cream-colored loveseats decorated by pillows you’d find overpriced on Wayfair, to the bright lighting provided by a massive roof skylight, and lastly the wooden bookshelves decorated with a variety of different novels, all which gave the coffee shop a very pleasant home-like feeling to it. If you could describe it in one word it’d be “warm”.
You stood there like a lost child for a moment, unsure of what to order as you studied the menu. They had a variety of drinks, things you were sure you had never even heard of, either that or they just had a fancy way of describing everything in order to boost up the price. “So any idea on what you want?” he asks.
“Um,” honestly you really weren’t much of a coffee drinker, having ordered the same drink at Starbucks for the past several years, “Surprise me,” you awkwardly smile, before making your way (practically running) to a wooden table next to a window view.
You were definitely peeved with yourself because you knew that you needed to stop being so damn quiet because God was that car ride awkward, insufferable almost. But you just weren’t good at this kind of stuff, never had been.
Even during high school when you had gone on your first ever official date, you ended having an utter meltdown in the restroom after your date awkwardly pointed out that you had a piece of spinach stuck in between your teeth, a waitress on break had to comfort you before you could even step out again. Even then you had your mouth glued shut afterward, paranoid about embarrassing yourself again.
And that wasn’t the only embarrassing incident you’ve encountered in past dates, there had been plenty more, but that would take a hefty amount of time to talk about.
Point was, you’d always find yourself acting like a turtle hiding in its shell or like a pufferfish, blurting out the most random and embarrassing things at any given moment. It was always one or the other and it always left you with a humiliating story to tell Yuna, a prime example being accidently spilling your drink on the son of a multimillionaire. You kept anxiously bouncing your leg as you watched him order at the cashier register, thinking of ways to start a conversation.
“I got you a heavenly toffee, it’s an espresso with toffee nut syrup, caramel cream, almond milk, and whipped cream,” he places the drink on the table for you, “I figured you could never go wrong with something sweet,” he smiles.
“Oh wow,” you say, genuinely delighted with his choice, “their mugs are so pretty,” you quietly comment, observing the intricate design on the ceramic mug.
“Yeah it’s definitely one of my favorite coffee shops in the area, I also recommend this one called Seoul’s Magnificent Mocha, they have good drinks as well,” he chuckles, recalling his last visit there.
“Well if I’m being completely honest, I’ve never been too enthusiastic for coffee, but,” you take a sip of the drink in front of you, “I have to say this is really good,” you laugh, pleasantly surprised at the sweetness of the drink, you could hardly even taste the bitterness of the coffee.
“So y/n, tell me a little bit about yourself,” he says while taking a sip of his own coffee.
“Oh well hm—” you try to recall the things Yuna would tell you to say, but with Taehyung intensely staring at you, your mind had gone completely blank, “well,” you felt your face getting red at the pressure you felt, your ears definitely feeling hot, “there’s not much to say really. I’m a pretty boring person,” you let out a very awkward chuckle, looking down in embarrassment.
“Don’t say that,” he says, “we could start off with something simple, like,” he looks up for a moment in thought, “what’s your favorite color?”
“Yellow,” you simply state, no commentary, no “What about yours”, no nothing, Yuna would probably squirt you with her bottle 100 times if she was there. Your brain was having a “we threw out his name” moment from Spongebob. Nothing but fire and chaos going on in there.
“Oh…” he pressed his lips together, slightly disheartened at your lack of enthusiasm. Was there something wrong with him? Maybe he was just badgering too much? Before he could dwell on it too long, the sound of a camera flashing caught both his and your attention.
“Oh no,” you quickly think to yourself, immediately turning away from the window in order to cover your face. Taehyung didn’t bother to question as to why you had turned so quickly because he was quick to do the same. Your reason being was that you couldn’t afford to land on the front cover of a magazine or appear on a gossip channel because the moment your mom saw from her hospital bed, it’d be a wrap for you.
“Damn it,” he groaned, “I thought it’d be too early for them to follow me out here,” he says. Honestly, Taehyung didn’t mind the paparazzi taking pictures of him, at this point he was used to it. But what he didn’t want was to put you in the spotlight with no say on your part, especially knowing how stalkerish the paparazzi could be. The moment they got a clear identity as to who you were, you’d be followed until the end of time, and he would definitely feel guilty for that.
“We gotta get out of here before more of them arrive,” he cursed, “Just don’t look back,” he directs, slowly turning his head back to see if he could spot where the person taking pictures was. “Alright the guy seems to be planted from afar, so I think we can walk out the entrance, just make sure you cover your face with your hand or something or you could use your beret,” he jokes around. “You don’t gotta tell me twice,” you think to yourself.
You nod at his directions, the two of you quickly getting up and putting your mugs away, before speed walking back to the car. You could only cross your fingers that a clear photo of you wasn’t taken.
Taehyung quickly zoomed out of the area, but despite his efforts, everytime he glanced at his rear-view mirror he could spot the black van still following him, which only put him in a bad mood.
“I’m gonna have to drop you off at the back or something, or else you’ll find men always outside your building for the rest of your trip until they find out who exactly are you,” Taehyung scowled, mad at himself for being so careless. You wordlessly nod your head, a little intimidated at how angry he looked.
The car ride back to your place is quiet, nothing different than the car ride to the coffee shop. “I’m sorry,” he exhales once you guys are outside the building, “I should’ve been more careful,” he mutters, internally scolding himself.
You shake your head in disagreement, “Trust me, it’s fine, it’s expected really,” you mumble, your words causing him to feel a slight sting to the heart. Though he didn’t even know you well enough for your words to genuinely hurt, for some reason they did.
“Well I’ll text see you some other time Taehyung,” you formally bow your head, getting out of the car, and quickly walking into Mr. Choi's building, leaving him taken aback by your words. One could say he was looking into your word choice a little too much, but no, he knew exactly what you meant. And so with that he left feeling disheartened.
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“So how’d it go?” Hoseok catches you right as you enter the elevator.
“Horrible, it went horrible,” you state, the elevator doors closing before you could say anything else.
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Saturday Morning.
“Your kimchi came out way too salty,” your mom criticizes, taking a bite of the food you’ve brought, “should've added root vegetable or something,” she shakes her head in dismay. She expects you to fire back with a remark, but instead she watches as you just sit in the hospital chair, eating your food in pout.
Today was your visiting day, and though you tried to hide your dismay at yesterday’s date when talking to your mom, it kept popping up in the back of your mind like an annoying itch. Of course your mom had noticed your odd behavior from the moment you walked in, but for you to be eating in pout meant that whatever it was that was on your mind, must've really been bothering you.
“Now are you gonna care to explain why you’re feeling so down,” she questions, “or are you going to keep sulking in your seat,” she chuckles.
You wrinkle your nose, “It’s nothing ma,” you try deflecting the conversation, your gaze wandering to the TV.  
“Ah so it’s about a boy,” she laughs, causing your head to snap in her direction, a puzzled look now on your face.
“And what makes you so sure?”
She shrugs, “Because I’m your mom and I’ve seen that look many times,” she grabs the remote from the hospital’s bed stand, subsequently turning off the TV, “come on, I’m in cool mom mode now,” she cringely says, causing you to roll your eyes.
“Oh god,” you mumble, loudly sighing before beginning, “so there’s this boy,” you start off.
“I knew it,” she sings, jokingly winking at you.
“I went on a date with him the other day and well I don’t know, I tensed up, you know how I get,” you explain, downwarding your gaze to the floor in shame as you recalled your behavior from the day before.
“Mm,” she hums, sounding unconvinced, “well there must be a reason as to why you got so tensed up, and I’m sure you know why,” she deadpans, her face now becoming stern. So much for being in “cool mom” mode.
“Well I don’t—”
“No, no, no, I’m not accepting your excuses,” she vigorously shakes her head.
You sigh, “I just,” you pause, remembering that you needed to be careful with your words, “I just really want him to like me that’s all.”
“And?”
You groan, “And well I feel like I have to act a certain way or be a certain way in order for him to like me,” you explain, “and I just don’t think I have it in me. I don’t think he’s the type of person to like me, well for me, I guess you can say he’s like the popular kid in those high school movies, you know?” you let out a dry laugh knowing that the situation was much more than that.
“Well can you tell me a little about this boy?” she quieres, grabbing a strand of your hair and beginning to play with it.  
“Well I’m not going to give you details because for all I know we might end up bad,” you say,  making an excuse so that you wouldn't have to give a name, “but this guy, well he’s been told to have a reputation. He’s selfish, he’s reckless, he’s rude, and the only person he cares for is himself,” you rant, your mother now seeming taken aback by your description.
“Is that what people tell you, or is that what you think?” she laughs, “because the way you just said that, it seems like those are your personal feelings about him, and so I can’t help but wonder why you would want to go out with someone like that,” she wonders. “Oh honey, you have no idea why,” you think to yourself.
“Well because that’s what people like him are, that’s what they’ve always proven themselves to be, it’s what—”
“You assume he’s going to be like,” she cuts you off, her tone now dismissive.
“It’s what I know he’s going to be like,” you retaliate, crossing your arms like a little kid, causing her to laugh.
“Oh y/n y/n y/n,” she continues playing with your hair, “I want you to listen to what I have to say, okay? And then once I’m done, you can either take my advice to the heart, or let it go in one ear and out the other, alright?” you hum in response.
“Okay so the first thing I want to talk about,” she clears her throat, “is that it’s wrong of you to make assumptions about this person, or anyone in general.”
“I know but—”
“Ah, what’d I tell you about listening. You didn’t let me finish,” she scolds, gently tugging the strand of hair she was playing with, “I want you to go on another date with him, but open minded this time y/n. No preconceived notions, no overanalyzations of the things he does so that you can make him fit into the mold you’ve made for him, no nothing, and the same goes for you,” she takes a sip of her water bottle, giving you a chance to quickly say something.
“But ma, the girls I’ve seen him date in the past, I’m,” you sigh, “I’m nothing like them,” her eyebrows immediately furrow.
“And who said you had to be anything like them?” she grabs your hand, causing you to quietly stare at her, “but this leads to my second point. No more putting pressure on yourself to be someone you’re not,” she softly nudges your shoulder, “Just give him one genuine chance, just one, and if it’s not meant to be then it’s not meant to be,” she says, finishing her little speech.
“But I want him to like me,” your voice cracks, desperately wanting to replace the word “want” with “need”.
“Hey don’t cry,” she chuckles, quickly pulling you in for a hug, “Trust me y/n, as long as you be yourself, any boy who's lucky enough to get to know you will fall in love. I promise you that.” she softly whispers into your ear. And with her words you could immediately feel the pressure come off your shoulders, the words not only comforting, but hitting home. “Okay so I need you to promise me that the next time you see him, it’ll be a fresh new slate for both him and you, alright? Shake off, whatever you have on your mind, and just enjoy what’s in front of you.”
“Okay,” you breathe out, deciding that your mom was right, things needed to change, and you were going to do just that.
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Saturday Night.
“So how did that coffee date of yours go?” Namjoon mentions, causing Taehyung to frown at the memory.
“If I’m being honest, not that well,” he sighs, pouring himself a glass of whiskey from his alcohol shelf.
Namjoon’s face scrunches in confusion, “Well, what went wrong this time?” he laughs.
Taehyung shrugs, trying his best to seem unfazed, “I don’t know, I guess she just wasn’t that into me,” he comments on you lightly, “Maybe it was for the best, I don’t really have time for another relationship anyway, not with my busy schedule,” he says, taking a sip from his drink.
“Busy schedule, but you had the time to go get coffee immediately the next day after meeting her, with no second thought? Yeah that makes sense,” Namjoon teases, causing Taehyung to roll his eyes.
“Like I said, I don’t know, she just was not budging, it was like speaking to a brick wall the whole time, and I’m sure if the paparazzi hadn’t interrupted it would have remained like that the whole time,” he sneers while pushing his hair back, “which is weird cause I don’t know there was just something about her, I just can’t describe it, but I just know she was holding back.” he explains, causing Namjoon to snort, “But anyways, it’s my fault, I set my expectations too high, thinking I was going to find love at first sight, actually no I blame you for putting those thoughts into my head.”
Namjoon raises his hands in defense, “Hey, all I did was pressure you to go up to her, everything else was your own head’s doing.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right, I’m just gonna be a lone wolf for a —” the sound of a “ding” interrupts Taehyung before he could complete his sentence, and so he checks his phone to see who could’ve texted him.
Namjoon stares at Taehyung who was now intently staring at his phone, looking quite flabbergasted, “Well, what is it?” he questions, a goofy grin now slowly appearing on the wavy haired young man’s face.
“I,” he lets out a chuckle, “I think I’m going on a date tomorrow night,” he faintly blushes, turning his phone to show Namjoon the text he just read, which reads:
[From: y/n]
[9:02 PM] you + me, tomorrow @ 5:30 , Ilsan lake park, i’ll bring what we need.
[9:02 PM] yes or yes?? 😇
[To: y/n]
[9:03 PM] i’ll see you then 😅
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a/n 🧚🏻 : did I mention this is slow burn???? LOL. originally I was going to include date #2 on here because I only want this series to be a max of like 8-10 chapters, butttt I also wanted to update so ... but all the buildup will (hopefully) be worth itttt. the smut is coming soon in other words LMAO. I also took a while to update bc I was trying not to make y/n too annoying and just make the characterization how I pictured it to be, like I needed to establish the generalization she has on the Taehyung but IDK lmk what you think, message me, comment, send an anon, anything is welcome 🤍 
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s1rcus · 3 years
Text
Second Chance (NatDex/Blackhill)
Rating: Teen and up
Words: 1555
Fandoms: Marvel, Stumptown
Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Dex Parios, Original Female Character
Additional tags: Reincarnation, Post-Avengers: Endgame, Reincarnation AU, Stumptown Crossover
Summary:  After Vormir Natasha wakes up in a new world where she has a different name and works as a ballet dancer? She also finds a familiar face she has missed, when her best friend/co-worker, Katya, drags her into a bar on a Friday evening.
Authors note: So this a thing I've been working on pretty much since I watched Stumptown. There's also a little cameo for one of Emily VanCamp's characters because I've been watching the Resident and rewatching Revenge recently.
Story below the cut or in AO3 here
The last thing Natasha can remember was her falling. She rubs her eyes and sits up in a bed, the covers pooling on her lap. A bed? That can't be right. She very much remembers falling to her death to save Clint from doing that.
A phone goes off on the nightstand next to her. She grabs it and realizes it's an alarm she had put on. Dismissing it she gets up and heads towards the bathroom. She's not alarmed by the fact that she clearly knows where it is until the shower is running. Something is very wrong.
She gets out of the shower and dries her hair with a towel and wraps it around herself. She goes to check the mail to see who's apartment this is. Veronika Bobrova is the only name in the few letters that lie in front of the door. She's starting to think she's hit her head or something but then the phone starts to ring again and she goes to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Vera where are you? We're starting in fifteen minutes and there's so much I can do until someone notices you're not here."
And with that voice her life flashes back to her. She is Veronika Bobrova, a ballet dancer. They have rehearsals for shows during daytime and during evenings they teach children. Her class is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings so today was a free evening. She shakes her head to clear her head.
"I'm so sorry. I had put the alarm wrong. I'll be there as quickly as I can. Thank you Katya. I owe you some drinks or something."
"I'm gonna keep that in mind."
She ended the call, got dressed and grabbed a toast on her way out of the door.
-----------------
And Katya did keep it in mind. When Friday evening came she was being dragged across town to a bar she had never even heard of. Bad Alibi was such a weird name for a bar anyway.
Katya sat down at a table and Natasha went to order them a couple shots of vodka. When she got back and was sitting across from Katya, she saw a face she knew she could never forget. It didn't matter what had happened, if she was Natasha or Veronika or whoever she was supposed to be, but that face she could never forget. It was Maria. Somehow she hadn't even thought about how her sacrificing herself to keep Clint with his family and to get everyone else back would affect her. Does that make her a bad girlfriend? It probably doesn't even matter anymore. She's dead. In that world at least.
She must've been staring for a while because Katya speaks up next to her.
"She's actually the reason we're here. She's a PI and I really need help with the Jack situation."
Before Natasha has time to really say anything, Katya has downed the rest of her drinks and is making her way towards the woman who looks like Maria. She comes back with her and sits next to Natasha while the other woman sits across from them.
Veronika had never been this happy she was single, while Natasha was happy that Veronika actually was single. Being single had never been a problem for Natasha, she actually kinda preferred it, but Maria had proven how wrong she was. While Veronika definitely hated being single. That probably shows the difference of how they grew up. Or so at least Natasha thought.
The woman says her name is Dex Parios and she asks Katya to explain her situation to her. Natasha hears none of Katya's explanation, barely registering Katya introducing her as her "emotional support". She just keeps staring at Maria/Dex, whoever she is.
This version is way more laid back as her Maria. She's more like the Maria Natasha got to know. The one who'd watch movies with her and eat popcorn. The one that'd cook her dinner after a long mission. The one who called her grandma every Sunday evening no matter where she was. The one Natasha fell in love with.
After a while it becomes too much and Natasha excuses herself, making her way outside. Without a thought she digs through her purse and pulls out a small carton. When she's holding a lighter on her other hand, she makes a face. Of course Veronika would have a bad habit Natasha couldn't stand. She puts the lighter back into her purse and throws the carton to a bin. Leaning against the wall she takes a deep breath. She needs to get a grip.
"What's going on with you? You've been weird these past few days."
Of course Katya would follow her. She needed a lie, a good one. Because telling her best friend that a couple days ago she woke up and suddenly she has all these memories of another life in her head. A whole new personality that had mostly taken over. Maybe just telling a partial truth would be for the best.
"I quit smoking."
"Oh. Well good for you! I was expecting something totally different. Maybe even something bad."
"What? That I joined a secret agency and killed a bunch of people?"
"Uh, no? That was weirdly specific?"
"Sorry, just a dream I had. How'd it go with the PI?"
"Good. She said she'll contact me when she has something."
Before Natasha even realizes she's speaking, she's said her thoughts out loud. "She's so beautiful."
"Oh?"
Shit. Does Veronika date women? Did Katya know if she does? Natasha tries to start thinking back on the memories she's still trying to figure out but it's still all mixed up with her own memories.
"She didn't really seem your type. Well, mainly she wasn't blonde or rich."
Okay, good. Yes to all of the questions. Wait, blonde and rich? Why is her memory showing her Carter in fancy clothes and why does it hurt? Not really important right now but she does need to figure out her mixed memories.
"Well, you saw those eyes yourself. You tell me they weren't the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen."
"Sure." Couple beats of silence until Katya lets out a breath and continues, "I'm heading home. You wanna share a cab?"
"Oh?" Looking back inside where she could see Maria/Dex. She's got a second chance in this and she has to take it. She shakes her head. "No. I'm good. I think I'm going to try to get her number."
"You know I have her number right or you could just get it online?"
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Natasha smirks.
"Fair enough. Don't have too much fun without me though."
"No promises. I'll see you on Monday."
"See ya."
Natasha watches Katya wave a cab and makes her way inside. She goes to the bar and orders a beer. Not really her choice in drinks but Maria had liked it and she had got used to the taste. Also maybe getting drunk while she's mixing memories isn't a good idea and beer isn't strong enough to get her drunk. She moves to a table with her bottle and sits down. Slowly sipping her drink she keeps her gaze at Maria/Dex. Dex, that's her name and she really should start calling her by that. She isn't Maria, just looks like her (and maybe sometimes acts like her).
It doesn't take too long before Dex catches her watching her. Natasha flashes her a quick smile and shifts her gaze to the table top. Dammit, she's way off her game. This isn't how Veronika did things and her body keeps betraying her by doing small things the way it used to. When she lifts her eyes back up, she sees Dex making her way towards her.
"I was wondering if you'd come back," is all Dex says as she sits on the empty chair across from Natasha.
Being this close to her makes Natasha feel at ease, Maria always had that effect on her, and having a gentle smile on her face feels almost effortless and natural.
"How so?" Natasha responds, tilting her head as she tries to read Dex. It's hard, because she clearly isn't Maria like her brain and heart are telling her. Was she interested in her? Part of her was saying yes, but the other part couldn't get a read on her.
"Someone like you doesn't stare at a person without a reason. Either you're hoping to get something or I have something on my face. And I checked myself in the mirror after your friend left, so I'm pretty sure it's the former."
"Someone like me?" It's a challenge and Natasha knows that Dex knows it too.
"Fuck. I didn't mean it like that. I-"
Natasha smirks at her, "I'm just messing with you. I know what you meant. Let me buy you a beer?"
Dex is smiling now and suddenly Natasha has butterflies in her stomach without a reason. She blames Veronika, but it might also just be her.
"I don't think you buying me a beer at a place where I get them always for free is fair. But how about I'll get you one?"
Maybe she really does have a second chance at this. Natasha smiles at her, "I'd like that.
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