#but that he felt the need to bring it up now has me all in my head that it was more of a it's never going to be you vibe

[actiniumwrites]

hii may i request a hurt/comfort scenario with kazuha and alhaitham where reader feels insecure about their looks >< no need to specify what they feel insecure about specifically but they just don’t think they’re pretty enough for charac !!!

worthy

synopsis: you don’t feel good enough for them. they beg to differ.

characters: kazuha, alhaitham x gn!reader (separate)

warnings: hurt/comfort, angst to fluff, insecurity, crying, some humor, not proofread

notes: thanks for the request, anon! hopefully you enjoy this, i really liked how kazuha’s turned out. alhaitham was so difficult to write for this prompt though 🥲

Kazuha:

You don’t know when it started. When, one day, your brain decided to make the shift from feeling the luckiest in the world to feeling utterly trapped. Maybe it was the way people looked at him, or maybe it was the way you never felt deserving of him in the first place, but either way, it didn’t matter.

It started in little things. Most days it just consisted of you wallowing in your reflection anytime you caught a glimpse of it. A passing moment of painful recollection that makes you feel less than deserving of him.

“Are you alright?” your boyfriend blurts out randomly. It isn’t like him, you think. Kazuha has never been the type of person to waste his words so suddenly without thought. His words are usually sugar coated and flow gently in the wind so as to not evoke harsh emotions.

The question makes you visibly pause. Quietly, you clasp your hands together to stop them from the inevitable shaking. Your shoulders seem to droop a little further and he hates the way your bottom lip dips into a depressing tremble.

“I’m sorry,” you exhale defeatedly, bringing a shaky hand up to cover your mouth.

“What for? I don’t believe you’ve done anything wrong,” his gentle white brows furrow. You hate how concerned he looks. Couldn’t he just be angry for once? At least then you wouldn’t feel so insane.

You bury your face in your hands, trying to shield yourself from not only him, but the entire world. It constantly feels like you have prying eyes on you, tearing apart each and every feature on your body. And, just as you predicted earlier, the tears you’ve become long acquainted with begin to make their way to the forefront of your eyes until they’re too heavy to hold.

Kazuha gently pushes your hands aside, instinctively placing them in your lap so he could wipe away your sadness. Still, you hang your head against your aching chest and let the pain seep out through your voice, “Don’t you hate it? The way I look? Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Bother me? No. Of course not. I love everything about you. I could gaze into a thousand sunsets and the view still wouldn’t be as alluring as you are. There is no amount of stars in the beaming night sky or the deep red of fresh autumn leaves that could compare to you. Every time my hand aches to write a piece of poetry, it longs to write about you.”

You bashfully look away, trying to hide the smile appearing through your frown as you gaze out into the field next to you. Tenderly, Kazuha tilts your face back toward his as his ruby red eyes stare intensely into yours. You look back and forth between them before laughing quietly through your tears.

He hums proudly, shaking your shoulder a bit before leaning in to place a quick kiss to your lips, “and don’t try to deny it. You know every word I speak is nothing but the truth. I would never lie to you, honestly.”

Your eyes soften as you look at him, understanding now that your boyfriend is right. You’ve read his writing enough to know that whatever Kazuha found to hold truly beautiful was indeed actually beautiful. Because, in a world full of subjectivity, his word is like the law.

Alhaitham:

Alhaitham is practically flawless in all ways. It’s something you’ve realized long before you began dating him — began being friends, even. Aside from his harsh personality, he’s handsome, intelligent, a good leader, and so much more.

It makes you question why he’s even with you. Most of the time, you only joke about it with him and sometimes he even laughs about it. But there are the times where it isn’t just a passing comment or silly thought in the back of your mind, but rather, a growing virus that spreads a dangerous, lingering toxin throughout your body.

“Is something the matter?” Alhaitham nudges your shoulder quietly from beside you. He’s nice enough not to embarrass you in front of the group, shockingly. Despite being his partner, he didn’t often spare you of his “cruelties.”

Your eyes snap to his and out of the faraway place of insecure thoughts you were trapped in for a moment. Silently, you nod and return to listening to the group of people presenting a project to Alhaitham for approval at the Akademiya. His eyes continue to linger on you for a second, not buying any lies you might make up to make it seem like you’re okay. As apathetic as he may be, Alhaitham has indeed found a place in his heart to care about you.

But you can’t help but feel insecure as you watch them. All of them are so attractive and everyone in the room looks so drawn to them, eager to get a word in after. It makes you wonder what Alhaitham even sees in you. A man like himself, he could have anyone in the world.

“I could.”

“What?” your head snaps to him in terror, whispering a little too harshly, “did I say that out loud?”

“No. I can read minds, so I know what you’re thinking,” your boyfriend says blankly. You stare at him in sheer panic before the tiniest of smiles breaks out on his face, “I was joking.”

You frown and shove him ever so slightly away from you, “Yeah, well you sure have a funny way of showing it.”

Alhaitham takes one step closer to you than he had before, assuming the position he was in before you pushed him away. Only this time, he gently loops his arm with yours, something he only does when he feels a little more like showing affection. He isn’t the most physically affectionate, but you know what he means by it.

“I’m serious. I know that look on your face,” he whispers from next to you before turning to actually face you, “I could have anyone in the world, so why do you think I chose you?”

“Out of pity? I mean, look around us. I’m not exactly the best looking here,” you mumble, attempting to fight off the growing lump in your throat. So maybe Alhaitham isn’t so perfect, because you sure as hell hate the way he shows comfort.

He sighs irritated, “No, you idiot. Pity is a form of emotion I’ve never felt for anyone, not even you. You’re above the rest of them, so don’t doubt it for a second. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be standing here with you right now.”

“You’re so mean, you know? You don’t have to put other people down just to make me feel better,” you say, fighting a smile. He really should’ve taken a class on human emotion back in his scholar days.

Alhaitham turns away from you now, facing the presenters and ignoring your defense against his words, “I only speak truthfully. You are the only person in all of Teyvat that I want. You can choose to believe it or not, but that’s factual information.”

He’s right. Alhaitham hates lying because he sees no point in it. It’s something he’s told you a thousand times, maybe even more.

“Will you say it then?”

You still don’t believe him anyway.

He quirks a brow, “Say what?”

You hold onto his arm a little tighter, afraid he might slip away from you. That bit of doubt still lingering in your mind, “That you think I’m…you know…?”

Alhaitham sighs but gives in regardless. Staring you dead in the eyes with no room for any semblance of a lie, he whispers quietly, “Yes, I think you’re the prettiest person in all of Teyvat.”

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact fanfiction #kazuha #kazuha x reader #kazuha x y/n #kazuha x you #kaedehara kazuha x y/n #kaedehara kazuha x you #kaedehara kazuha x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham x you #alhaitham x reader #alhaitham x y/n

[astralis-ortus]

beyond forever and eternity

✱ husband!bc x fem!reader

— love cannot survive on luck alone.

w.count → 0.8k genre → fluff warning → chan referred to as chris, quite the amount of kisses, mild cussing, and the usual very ew-you're-so-in-love behavior. also, reader is addressed as wifey twice! a.n → based on this request! but friends, i think you need to stop me from all this domestic chan thing because i!! am!! dying!! from!! all!! the!! cuteness!!ㅠ /j

the past year had felt like the best time of your life.

sure, the first 6 months were filled with one heck of an emotional rollercoaster—a bunch of final wedding preparations, taking care of all the confusing legal papers, making sure your new home with chris was up to both your expectations, and actually having the wedding within the span of 180 days made you wonder if everything was real.

the latter part of the year is when your new reality starts to sink in. some days, it happened when you woke up next to a softly snoring chris—curls as messy as a bird’s nest, yet you couldn’t help but tread your fingers through those dark locks. some others, it happened when you watch his back while he showed off his newly acquired cooking skill, giggling away while chris convinces you—though it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself—that eveything’s going exactly to plan.

other days, however, it happens simply when you caught a glance of the stack of beautiful silver bands on your ring finger, gleaming softly under the light of your cozy living room. you’d then look at your husband sitting next to you, faint crease decorating his forehead as his gaze focuses on a project he’d been working on for the past hour or so. you’d gently bring your finger to tap on those crease, immediately erasing its existence as chris shifted his focus towards you, gaze softening along the appearance of his dimpled smile.

being married to chris had felt like coming home—like he has always been everything you’ve been looking for and more.

“has it started?”

chris’ soft voice along with the warmth of his arm snaking around your waist swiftly snapped you out of your trance, gaze returning to your husband’s smile. you silently shook your head, instead wrapping your arms around his waist and gave into his warmth while allowing a content sigh to slip past your lips. “wasn’t paying attention, honestly,” you admitted, to which he immediately returned with chuckle.

“you’re sleepy?” he gently planted his lips on your forehead while running his palm on your side. “wanna call it a night?”

“no!” you whined, lips pursing in protest. “i’m not sleepy. besides, it’s only like 2 minutes till new year, and i want to spend the first seconds awake with my husband,” you playfully emphasized—and there it was. the rosy bloom across his face quietly surfaces despite chris’ attempt to play it cool, and it never fails to amuse you.

guess it won’t be hard for you to bet that you’ll never be the only one in love in this relationship.

“gosh, wifey,” looking at you with a scrunched nose, chris finally let the adoration bubbling in his chest win when he playfully ruffles your hair—which, of course, earns a string of protests from you, “do you really love me that much?”

“think so,” you stuck out your tongue, eyes twinkling as you decide to further tease your now-red-as-a-tomato husband. “i think i love you so so so much to the point i might pass out. i mean, how can i not? you’re charming, you’re adorable, you’re handsome, you’re hot as fuck—how do you expect me not to? i’m just—“

you haven’t been paying attention—but again, how could you? your gaze had been fixated on chris’ beautiful features, taking notes on every minuscule scar and freckles painted across his blooming face; but as the plush of his lips shuts off your rambling ones, warm hands cradling your equally warm cheeks,

you could hear the fireworks within you harmonize with the colorful blasts outside the window of your hotel room.

you know you’re lucky—despite believing in the concept of soulmates, you know there are universes where your path with chris’ remains as distant, separated parallel lines. you know that nurturing your relationship with chris will have its ups and downs. you know what you have now with chris will forever be both unbreakable and fragile,

and you’re determined to turn your every day with chris as special as it could be.

“happy new year, wifey,” he mumbled quietly, lips fixed into a smile as it grazed against yours when he finally pulled away. pads of fingers tucking the stray strands off your face, chris followed the kisses across your face—on your forehead, your closed eyelids, your rosy cheeks, your soft jaw, before he returned his lips home onto yours.

“thank you for staying with me—for promising­ your forever to me, and i’m looking forward to spending my eternity with you,” with a smile apparent on his lips, his gaze were soft as he tenderly peered into your glossy ones.

“i love you—more than words could ever explain.”

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

#stray kids fluff #skz fluff #bang chan fluff #stray kids drabbles #skz drabbles #bang chan drabbles #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #bang chan imagines #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #bang chan scenarios #stray kids au #skz au #bang chan au #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #bang chan fanfic #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #bang chan x reader #stray kids x you #skz x you #bang chan x you #stray kids #skz #bang chan #isa's fics

[dark-frosted-heart]

He Doesn't Know That I Turned into an Animal - Roger Barel (Part 1)

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. None of my translations are proofread until a day after posting

(Mm…I should get up and get ready)

It’s been a while since I had a free day. It was such a nice day, perfect for going out.

…And then I felt something squirming about on my butt.

(Huh? There’s something weird about my body…)

Feeling uneasy, I got out of bed and the moment I looked in the mirror, any morning drowsiness left disappeared.

Kate: Arf…arf?! (Wha…What the?!)

In the mirror was an adorable golden-brown corgi with round eyes. 

What I felt moving on my butt earlier was a short corgi tail.

(I’m a dog?! What do I do…Am I dreaming?!)

(I need to get help…!)

--

(I’m out in the hall now, but who do I go to…?)

Liam: Huh? It’s an adorable little doggie! What’s it doing here?

Harrison: Did someone bring it here…?

Kate: Woof! Woofwoof! (Liam! Harrison!)

Glad to see the two, I rushed over to them.

Liam: Wow, it’s so friendly and cute. I wonder if it’s lost?

Harrison: It’s a corgi, right? Roger’s “Ale”* is also a corgi.

Liam: …Then I wonder if this pup’s Roger’s corgi? Let’s ask. Are you Roger’s?

Liam crouched down to meet my gaze.

Kate: Arf…arf! (No…I’m Kate!)

Liam: Hm. Sorry, I don’t understand, I don’t speak dog.

Harrison: …Then why’d you even ask?

(I’ve really turned into a dog…)

It’s not due to Alfons’ power or a dream…

(How did this happen…?)

Harrison: For now, let’s bring it to Roger.

--

Liam: Roger, you here~?

Roger: What, you get hurt again?

When Roger turned around and saw me in Liam’s arms…his eyes widened with surprise.

Roger: You…!

(Maybe Roger realizes that it’s me?!)

Roger: You’re soooooo cuuuuuute!

Roger smiled widely and began petting me everywhere.

Roger: Who’s a good dog? You are!

(So aggressive…!)

Roger: You’re so cute…Can I give you a kiss?

Kate: Grrrr (Ab-so-lute-ly not!!)

Roger: No? Then can I smell you?

(What kind of compromise is that?!)

In my confusion, Roger buried his face in the neck and took a big whiff.

Roger: Ahh…the smell of dogs…! The best medicine out there!

(I’ve never seen Roger like this before…)

Roger: Phew… So, who’s dog is this?

Liam: I thought the little one was yours. It’s not?

Roger: Nope, not ours. We don’t have a lot of dogs. So…Are you lost~? You poor thing~

With a smile…No, with a lovestruck look on his face, Roger started petting me again.

He was probably concerned about me being a lost dog…but petting was his priority.

(This is my first time seeing Roger be so affectionate with a dog, and it surprised me at first. But now…I don’t know…)

(It feels so good getting pet…)

Liam: Ah, the doggie’s wagging its tail! Looks like it likes Roger.

Roger: Oh…you like me? Haha, you’re so cute!

He suddenly lifted me out of Liam’s arms.

Maybe it’s because he’s so used to handling dogs, but the way he picked me up gave a sense of stability and security.

Roger: Hmm…

Kate: …?

Roger: You don’t have any, so you’re a girl.

Kate: Yip! (Don’t look!)

Roger: Oops, sorry.

(Even though I’m a dog, I can’t believe you looked at my butt…)

(It somehow feels like I lost something important…)

Roger: Don’t look so down. I won’t do it again.

Harrison: So, can you look after the dog, Roger? We got a mission.

Roger: With a dog this cute, I can take care of countless of them. Oh, that’s right. Have you seen the lil’ lady? I wanted her to help out with an experiment, but she wasn’t in the dining room at breakfast.

Harrison: Nope, haven’t seen her.

Liam: She has the day off so she’ls probably sleeping in?

Roger: Then I’ll let her sleep.

Kate: Arf arf! Arf arf! (I’m right here! Here!)

Roger: I know. We gotta find your owner today, don’t we?

(You didn’t understand me at all…!)

--

And so Roger went around asking everyone in Crown about the corgi.

But I’m not a lost dog, so there’s no owner to find…

Roger: If no one knows you, then you must’ve wandered in from outside.

Kate: Awoo…(It’s not that…)

Roger: I’ll find your owner so cheer up.

Roger patted my head as if to make me feel better.

(Ugh…I really can’t resist this feeling…!)

My short tail started wagging and Roger smiled at the sight.

Roger: You’re getting used to me now. Will you let me kiss you soon?

Kate: Grrr! (No!)

Roger: Not yet…Well, a girl’s kiss should be saved for a prince, shouldn’t it?

(I wonder if Roger’s being so romantic because he’s talking to a dog…)

Roger: Well, since you’re from outside, there’s someone I want you to meet. Be a good girl and wait for a moment?

Kate: Arf! (Got it!)

Roger: Oh, a nice response.

Roger petted me, attached a collar around my neck, tied a leash to the stair railing, and left.

A while later…

Roger: Sorry for the wait.

Kate: Arf! Arf…(Welcome back! Ro…ger…)

???: Arf! Aarf! (Who’re you? Never seen you before!)

When Roger came back, he brought a corgi with him.

The corgi circled me in excitement.

Kate: A-arf…?! (The dog’s talking…?!)

???: Arf? Arf! (What’re you talking about? You’re a dog too!)

(That’s right, since I’m a dog now, I understand dogs…)

Roger: This guy’s Ale, my family’s dog.

Ale: Arf! Woof?! (I’m Ale! What’s your name?)

Kate: …Arf (...I’m Kate)

Ale: Woof! (Nice to meet you!)

Roger: Ale’s got a habit of circling around any dog or person he meets for the first time. I brought him over from my folks’ place to have him check if you’re from around here… But it looks like it’s the first time you two are meeting. So…you’re not from around here. This is bad.

Roger scratched his head and sighed.

Roger: Nah, can’t give up now. Let’s go on a walk. Dogs know how to find their way home. Maybe you’ll remember on a walk.

--

Thinking I was a lost dog, Roger took me out on a dog walking route.

Of course, Ale was with us.

Roger: Anything ring a bell?

Kate: Awoo…(No…)

(I’m making trouble for Roger by looking for a nonexistent owner…)

(I need to work on making him understand that I’m Kate…!)

(And to do that…)

Roger: What’s up? If you’re running off like that, then…Do you know where your home is?

Kate: Arf! (Yes!)

As I ran down the road in this body of mine, Roger naturally followed after.

Ale: Woof woof! (I’m not gonna let you get away!)

And so, we arrived at—

Roger: …Crown castle?

(This is my home…so please realize that it’s me, Roger!)

Roger: The fact that we came back here…You really don’t know how to get home, do you?

(He still doesn’t get it…)

Ale: Woof woof! (I’m hungry after all that running!)

Roger: Can’t do anything else now… I’m sure you’re beat after today, so I’ll take you back to Crown.

--

Roger: Time to eat. You two, “stay”.

Roger left Ale and I in the dining room and headed to the kitchen.

(What will he prepare for us? Not human food, right?)

Ale: Woof woof! (Roger’s great at cooking!)

Ale sounded very proud when talking about Roger.

(Roger must’ve doted on him a lot while Ale was growing up…)

Ale: Woof? (You can’t eat until Roger gives you the ‘okay’, got it?) Arf! (That’s how you show respect to the cook!)

Kate: A-arf! (G-got it!)

Roger: Sorry for the wait. I made you two dinner.

(Roger’s cooking? T-this is…!)

He brought out plates of stewed meat and vegetables chopped into small pieces.

(It smells good...Looks delicious)

Ale: Awoo! (Come on, come on!)

Ale jumped around Roger’s feet as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

Roger: Haha, calm down Ale. I’m bringing you down to the infirmary first.

--

Roger: Sit, wait… Okay, go ahead!

At Roger’s signal, we started eating.

(I never thought this would be how I’d try Roger’s cooking…)

(It’s dog food, but it’s really food)

I was so mentally exhausted and the delicious food prepared with care filled my body.

Ale: Woof? Woof? (You haven’t finished your food. Need help?)

Having already finished his food, Ale nudged my plate with his nose.

Roger: Come on, Ale. You already ate.

Roger pulled Ale away, allowing me to finish my food in peace.

Kate: Arf (Thank you for the food)

Roger: You ate well. I’m glad you have an appetite. Now let’s clean this up and then…

Victor: Roger! Do you have a moment?

Victor came down to the infirmary and called out ot Roger with a serious look on his face.

Roger: Yeah. …You two be good and wait, okay?

After Roger and Victor left the basement, Ale started talking to me.

Ale: Woof woof! (Roger’s a great guy and a great cook!)

Kate: Arf (You’re right. I was surprised by how delicious it was)

Ale: Arf. Arf! (Right? Roger’s amazing!)

Ale sat proudly as if talking about himself.

Ale: Arf! Arf! (Oh! Let me tell you about the time I met Roger!)

~~ Flashback in Ale’s POV ~~

—It was when I was a small puppy.

Before meeting Roger, I lived with another man.

(I’m so hungry… It feels like I haven’t eaten in a while…)

Puppy: Awoo…(Hey, hey, is there food?)

I nudged at the man lying on the bed with my nose. But he didn’t move a muscle.

(Haven’t you been sleeping for the past few days? Why?)

(You’re cold. I guess I’ll warm you up!)

Avoiding the bottles of alcohol littered around the room, I jumped onto the bed and snuggled the man.

He usually got mad at me when I got on the bed with my dirty paws, but he didn’t say anything today.

(Hey, wake up already)

(If you’re so bored every day that you can only drink, then I’ll play with you)

How much time’s passed?

Just as I was about to pass out from starvation, someone pounded on the door.

Roger: It’s Roger! You there?! Don’t be so pessimistic about your life. I’m cursed like you— 

—Anyway, let me explain in person! If you’re pretending you’re out, I’m kicking down your door!

After shouting, there was a crack and the door broke, allowing a man with glasses to come in.

Puppy: Arf arf! (Who’re you!)

I circled around the man with glasses.

It’s a habit I still have, circling new people and dogs as a precaution.

Roger: A dog…? You’re so thin. Where’s your owner…

The man with glasses looked up at the bed and gasped.

Puppy: Arf! Arf! (He’s been sleeping forever! Wake him up!)

Roger: Ah, damn it! I was too late… If I came sooner, I might’ve been able to stop him…

Puppy: … Awoo…? (Do you mean he might not wake up again…?)

Roger: Sorry I couldn’t save your owner…

~~ Flashback end ~~

Ale: Arf (And that’s how Roger and I met)

(It happened like that…)

Ale: Woof… (My previous owner stopped moving on his bed on the night of a thunderstorm) Arf! (I’m still scared of thunder so Roger covers my ears!)

Kate: Arf (That’s kind of him)

Ale: Arf? Woof! (Right? If you know Roger’s good points, then you’re a good guy!)

After that, Roger returned to the infirmary. 

Roger: Oh? You two are getting along well already? That’s good.

(...Huh? Why do you look so down, Roger?)

(What did Victor say?)

Ale: Woof woof! (This girl’s a good one, so I want her to be your wife!)

Kate: Yip!? (What are you talking about, Ale!?)

Ale: Arf! Arf! (Wife! Wife!)

I frantically chased after Ale who was spouting nonsense.

Roger: Haha, are you playing tag? It’s nice to see you so full of energy.

(Right now I’m glad Roger doesn’t understand dog…)

Roger: For now… Let’s go take a bath.

*Roger’s dog’s name is written as エール, which I’m translating as “Ale”

#ikemen villains #ikevil #ikevil jp #ikevil translations #roger barel #ikevil roger

[hwaslayer]

favorite things | pmylm drabble (jyh)

⇢ favorite things - drabble one // ft. the pmylm couple

summary: yunho's been having a rough time adjusting to the 'real world' and gets upset when he can't have the person he needs the most right away.

words: 2.8k

warnings: cussing/mature language, jealousy/insecurities, yuyu is upset and doesn't really know how to control his feelings rn cause he is just a tired boy 😭, a small lil fight, the awkward silent treatment, yuyu and yeo talk thru his feelings for a bit, kissing/making out, sorry if i missed anything i quickly whipped the rest of this in bed lol

a/n: whipped this baby up because i just felt the need to and i missed my babies!! (+ this lil IG inspo hehe) more drabbles to come 🫶🏼 love you in slow motion update this weekend annnnd i’m gonna have to push back the fallen angel hwa fic cause im all over the place 🥹 but we’ll do better!! lol stay tuned!!

Yunho has entered the real world and he is exhausted. When his mom used to joke about living and working in this so-called real world, he used to think it was just a thing to keep him on his toes, shake him up a little bit.

Nope, that shit was all real.

And he hates it.

He hates it because it's the one thing that brings another fight to the table for your relationship. Ultimately, Yunho knows all he has to do is adjust and he'll be fine in the long run. Both of you will be fine in the long run.

But today, that feels like a stretch and he is short of patience. Unusually short of patience than usual. He knows you don't mean any harm but for some odd reason, today he feels like the world is going to swallow him alive and everything is triggering.

The first thing is the fact that he has to stay a bit later than usual to finish up a project he had been working on. He was hoping to rush home and spend some time with you before you were off to practice for the evening, spending 2-3 hours with your friends and the group.

That didn't happen.

So, when he gets home and you've already texted him saying you've left with a sad, crying face, he's bummed. He gets himself comfortable anyway, heating up a cup of ramen since he's not too hungry. Maybe he'll get some food with you when you're out— it's one of his favorite things to do.

Now, the second thing that makes him a little more irked is the fact that 2-3 hours go by and you haven't texted. He knows practice can run long, but it's also a little unusual for you to not keep him updated. You finally do a bit past 8pm with a quick:

you: hi baby, sorry! practice was a bit busy, i was caught up during breaks. i'll be home soon then i'll come over after i shower, okay? wait for me (: we should go on a food run! hehe

yunho: sounds good, love. i'll be here.

It closes to 9pm and Yunho isn't hungry anymore. The cup of ramen will do since there seems to be a dim chance of getting food with you, especially when you tell him you'll be over in a quick second but you’re still nowhere to be found. Yunho charges to the door anyway and is hoping to greet you when he swings the door open. Instead, he's greeted with you laughing and giggling with Hyunjin downstairs in the lot as he hands you a bag of to-go food.

Let's set the record straight— Yunho loves your friends. He knows he can trust them, and he knows they're all genuinely good people. He's always been happy you had a good group of people around you.

It's just today, he really, really missed you. After a long ass day. And he knows you [and Hyunjin] mean no harm in your actions, but he can't help but feel a tad bit insecure [and slightly jealous] that you aren't rushing over to see him after not being with him all day. He knows he can blame this on the fact that he's exhausted and a little short on patience. God knows he really did try to keep it cool and brush it off.

He couldn't help it.

Yunho shuts the door again, leaving it unlocked for whenever you feel ready to come upstairs and hang out with him. He sits on his computer chair, irritated, and throws on a game to distract himself momentarily. Maybe it'll help ease whatever he's feeling,

But, nope.

It doesn't.

Because when you walk in, you're still yelling out to Hyunjin and whoever before you shut the door, place the food on the counter and walk into his room. You throw your arms around him from behind and Yunho lets out a small, audible sigh. That was already alarming enough for you, but you still dip your head to the side and try to grab his attention.

"Hi." You place a quick, chaste quick to his cheek, but Yunho doesn't move.

"Hey."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Is all he says plainly. "I was just waiting for you."

"I know, but Hyunjin stopped by to give us food—"

"I thought we were gonna grab food together?"

"Oh." You frown because it completely slipped your mind, or else, you would've left the food at your own apartment to save it for tomorrow instead. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't think he was gonna swing by with food. We all left each other earlier without any plans of—"

"It's okay." He taps your arms as a signal for you to let go of him. "You should go eat."

"We can share, there's more than enough—"

"All good." It's petty of Yunho, he knows. For him, it's the fact that you told him you wanted to go on a food run after practice. Another small, but meaningful thing you two did often. He doesn't blame Hyunjin for anything at all, no. There was no way of preventing that, and who the fuck was he to make you reject food from a friend?

He just wished he could take you to get food. Watch you order your favorites and do your happy dance in his passenger's seat. It's another one of his favorite things.

"Yunho." You slowly step aside and sit on his bed, your appetite all of a sudden gone from how distant your boyfriend is being. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's fine."

"Is it really? Because something feels off and I wanna know what I did so I can fix it."

"It's nothing, Y/N." You almost flinch at the way he calls you your name instead of his cute endearing nicknames. It throws you off guard so much that you resort to a flimsy, broken:

"Okay." It's barely above a whisper. You stand to head back out to the kitchen, quietly eating a bit of Hyunjin's extra to-go thai food before setting some aside in a tupperware for Yunho and placing it in the fridge. The rest of the night goes.. like that.

In silence. With weird tension.

You hate it.

You wish you could just fix whatever you did wrong, or that Yunho would tell you no matter how 'silly' it may sound. He's always been so good with communicating, even during small disagreements, you weren't sure why he was avoiding it this time around.

You quietly get ready for bed, brushing your teeth and flossing before changing out of your sweats and hoodie to Yunho's shirt. You pad into the room, slipping yourself deep under the sheets and pull up some vlogs on Youtube that you need to catch up on.

"Tired?" Yunho asks from his computer chair, still playing his game.

"Mhm." You look at him, hoping he'd come over to kiss you, cuddle you. Shut off the computer and lay next to you, show you any kind of affection. He doesn't budge, though. You feel your bottom lip trembling, your heart slowly cracking in various places. You have to take a breath to prevent yourself from crying, and Yunho can feel it. He can feel your gaze on him, he can tell you're seconds away from crying. So, Yunho stands and shuts off his computer. But, he starts to head out to the living room and you're on the verge of breaking down. His way of avoiding the issue and getting more upset was to shut down. Deflect.

This wasn't like Yunho at all so you knew something was wrong; something was that bothersome to him.

"Baby." You call for him softly, and he just looks at you. You can tell he's conflicted between keeping this up and dropping it entirely, but it doesn't seem to be enough. It's not enough for him to drop it because his expression doesn't change. He still seems cold, distant. Tired. Unlike the Yunho you're so, so used to seeing and having.

"I'm just tired. Go to sleep."

"Where are you going?"

"The living room."

"Let me come with you."

"Y/N. Please go to sleep. I told you nothing was wrong." You watch the way his jaw slightly ticks before brushing you off completely and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. A loud sigh escapes his lips as he treads to the couch and plops onto it, leaning his head back onto the edge. He shuts his eyes, giving himself some time to sort through his feelings because what the fuck, Jeong Yunho?

He knows this is much needed, though. He needed to step away for a second to regroup. He doesn't want to unintentionally hurt you by saying or doing things that he doesn't mean. He's tired, and he's acting like a fucking baby because he just wanted you at so many points today— yet, the universe just didn't let him have you. That wasn't your fault.

None of this was your fault.

He needed to do better. Just because he was exhausted, didn't mean he had to act this way towards you.

"Yo." Yeosang walks through the door, dropping his duffle bag to the floor as he steps out of his shoes. "You good?" He furrows his brows at the sight of Yunho just resting his head back with his eyes shut close.

"Mhm."

"Where's Y/N?"

"In the room." Odd, Yeosang thinks. It's not like you two to be separated like this. It's pretty obvious Yunho is bothered by something and that you've probably gotten into a small fight over it. Yeosang isn't one to meddle much, especially when it's not his business to. But, he is concerned seeing his roommate like this. It's probably one of the rare times he ever sees Yunho upset.

"You sure everything's okay? I'm not really used to seeing you sitting out in the living room in silence like this." Yunho lets out a tiny chuckle that's barely audible, but he finally turns to Yeosang and purses his lips.

"I guess. Just exhausted lately."

"I bet. You've been working your ass off." Yeosang looks into the fridge before stepping away with a cold water bottle and heading towards Yunho. "Y/N put some food in there for you, by the way."

"Did she?"

"Yeah. It has a little sticky note on top." Of course you did, why wouldn’t you? You always thought about Yunho no matter what.

"Fuck."

"What?"'

"I've been such a dick to her tonight."

"What'd you do?"

"It's so stupid." Yunho begins to explain how his day has just been all over the place— from work, to staying late and not being able to see you before practice, no updates until 3+ hours after practice, looking forward to a food run that didn't end up happening because of Hyunjin. All Yeosang can do is laugh a bit and shake his head.

"Dude, we all have bad days. It's inevitable. You're still adjusting so don't be so hard on yourself. It's hard going from a routine you were so used to, especially with Y/N. Then, having to switch it up and play tetris with your time. It's not easy. But also, I'm sure Y/N has been feeling the same way. She's just doing what she can to support you first and foremost. She'd never hurt you intentionally, and I know she'd always choose you in the end." Yunho's head drops as he leans onto his knees and sighs again.

"Fuck, you're right. I don't know why today was so difficult. I guess it all piled on for me and I didn't know how to sort through it."

"All good. Shit happens." Yeosang shrugs. "Anyway. I'm gonna head to bed. You should probably do the same. I know she's probably waiting for you."

"Thanks." Yeo gives him a little dap before he's off to get comfy and end his day. Yunho stays on the couch for a few more minutes before he brushes his teeth and washes up for bed. He stands in the bathroom for a few more seconds before gaining the courage to finally talk to you about everything that's been going on today. When he walks in, you're still bundled under the sheets, but your phone is against the wall and a video is playing. He can hear you sniffling through the video though, and he knows you've been crying.

God dammit, Yunho.

"Baby?" You hear Yunho softly call your name as he slips into bed and wraps his arms around you.

"Mhm?" You respond, still facing away from him.

"Can we talk?" You sigh and exit the video, locking your phone before turning towards Yunho and setting your phone onto the table.

"Don't force yourself if you aren't ready to."

"I am, and I'm sorry." He looks at you with those puppy dog eyes and it instantly feels like you have your loving, incredibly sweet and attentive boyfriend back.

"What happened?"

"I don't really know. To be honest, I don't have that great of an explanation. I was just tired and I was really looking forward to seeing you before practice. I couldn't see you then because of work, so I was even more excited to see you after practice and to go on our run together. But, you came later and the whole thing with Hyunjin—" He pauses and shakes his head. "It was so stupid and childish of me. I didn't need to act that way, and I'm so sorry I was such a dick to you over that." You cup his cheek and caress the surface with your thumb.

"You should've just told me, babe."

"It's so dumb, though?" He furrows his brows, mainly at himself.

"Nothing is dumb. Whatever hurts you, hurts me. We're in this together, remember? We're on the same team. I just need you to communicate and be honest, like you always tell me. Okay? I'll do anything to fix it and make it better. I'm your safe space like you are mine."

"I know." He leans into your touch before placing a soft kiss to your palm. "I'll do better."

"We have our bad days and that's okay. It won't make me love you any less. Tell me if you need space or if you need anything from me. I want you to be happy and comfortable."

"I know."

"Okay. And I'm sorry about the food run. I promise I'll keep my end of it next time."

"Wasn't your fault, baby. Nothing could have prevented that." You give him a tiny, toothless smile before kissing the tip of his nose.

"Are we okay?" He nods.

"I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.” He repeats before leaning in to peck you on the lips. He holds the kiss before parting and looking you in the eye, brushing the hair away from your face. He dips in for another kiss— this time, it's deeper. More passionate. His hand comes down to the small of your back as he presses against you, slipping his tongue in to fight for dominance against yours. The kiss is so full of love and neediness, but there's no push or pressure to make anything out of it.

So, Yunho continues to kiss you. Pushing up against you ever so slightly while parting from your lips to leave a trail across your jaw.

Your chin.

Your neck.

Back up to your lips.

He loves the way you softly sigh in content, listening to him repeatedly whisper 'I love you' against your lips. Into your neck. Across your jaw. He loves the way you gently bite onto his bottom lip as a way of asking for more. He loves the way your fingers tug on the ends of his hair, the way you press your lips against his cheek, forehead, nose. The way you caress his cheeks and never let him go.

It's amongst the many on his list of favorite things.

He continues to coo you and praise you in between kisses throughout the night, smiling while hearing your giggles and smothering you with more kisses until you find yourself getting sleepy. He holds you close and sings a soft lullaby, playing with your hair as you drift off to sleep with the cutest smile on your face. He can’t help but admire you, fighting the exhaustion that’s been hitting him all week for a little longer. He fights it until he can’t anymore but fuck it, it’s all worth it.

Because sitting at the very top of his favorites list is you.

⇢ permanent taglist: @asjkdk @bintificreads @interweab @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs

#yunho fanfic #yunho series #jeong yunho series #jeong yunho fanfic #ateez series #ateez x reader #ateez #yunho #jeong yunho #yunho x reader #jeong yunho x reader #ateez imagines #kpop imagines #yunho fluff #jeong yunho fluff #hwaslayer: project make you love me

[deyisacherry]

wow

wooow, SO i just saw a post and

okay

have we been watching the same show?

dear lord, i think saying that moon replaced sun with solar it's completely exaggerated, and saying that he doesn't care about sun, and wouldn't care this much if sun died is just ABSURD

i wanna make it clear, i am NOT defending Moon's actions and words right now cause i'm mAD AF, but that's another topic

Moon doesn't care about Sun? He doesn't act to show that? REALLY?

cause all i've seen is moon worrying over and over and over again about his brother

HE CARES for him.

he cares SO MUCH that he even overthinked the things that he told to Earth in therapy, he was WORRIED for him, cause he FEARS he's going to lose him by the slightest thing

cause he almost lost him

when Sun used star power HE CARED.

he was dead worried about him, MAY I NEED TO REMIND HIS WORDS OF PURE PAIN TO EVEN THINK TO LOSE HIM LIKE THAT?

CAUSE THAT WENT HARD

when he was about to kill Eclipse, he SWORE to him that if Sun was dead when he came back, he would go and kill every single one of the evil Eclipses that exist in other dimensions (he's been having these violent thoughts to protect his family from the start and even if they won't fix anything it shows that he CARES)

He was worried about Sun when he saw the state he was in when he came back

HE WORRIED WHEN SUN WAS IN THE RUIN DIMENSION AND SNAPPED AT NOTHING (THE BLOODMOON HALLUCINATIONS) AND HE EVEN WENT TO HUG HIM T W I C E

THAT'S NOT CARING????

HE WAS WORRIED AND ANGRY AT RUIN WHEN HE KIDNAPPED HIM! EVEN WHEN HE FELT BETRAYED BY SUN LYING TO HIM ABOUT THE STAR POWER HE WENT FOR HIM

AND DEAR GOD, DIDN'T WE ALL HEAR THE WAY HE SCREAMED HIS LUNGS OUT WHEN ECLIPSE TOLD HIM THAT RUIN WAS WITH SUN????

and even then people come and say he doesn't care about Sun and wouldn't care this much if he dies? nuh uh, i'm not having any of that, im sorry, but NO

and about Lunar and Earth

i think people are forgetting he LITERALLY woke up NOT KNOWING LUNAR, the old Moon didn't get to know he died, and New Moon couldn't get attatched to him before he died cause he woke up AFTER that, AND they had the hope of Lunar being rebuilt

Earth? She didn't even die and Moon was ANGRY AS HELL when he found out what Bloodmoon did and HE ALSO WENT FOR REVENGE on them, HE ALSO got mad when he knew that Bloodmoon hurted Lunar

IF SUN DIES?

jesus

if he is like this with Solar's dead

if he is going insane

HE WOULD GET EVEN WORSE.

all i can think it's him breaking down once and for all, and A LOT OF OTHER TERRIBLE THINGS CAUSE YEAH

SUN IS THE LIGHT OF HIS LIFE

HE IS THE FIRST PERSON HE GOT TO KNOW AND GET MEMORIES FROM WHEN HE WOKE UP, HE'S EVERYTHING TO HIM, HE'S HIS BROTHER!!!

moon would be

DEVASTASTED, MORE THAN HE IS NOW, IF SUN DIES

IF EARTH DIES, IF LUNAR DIES

HE HAS REPEATED OVER AND OVER THAT HE DOESN'T WANT ANY OTHER FAMILY MEMBER DYING AND HE MEANS IT

HE. CARES.

and damn i'm sorry if i sound aggresive but i'm SO TIRED of people saying that Moon never cares

and i clearify again, I DO NOT JUSTIFY HIS ACTIONS FROM THESE DAYS, IT ANGERS ME, AND HE SAID TERRIBLE THINGS AND I HOPE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE GETS TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE'S DOING THIS WRONG, CAUSE I RATHER JUST BE SAD THAT SOLAR WON'T BE BACK THAN SEEING HIM DO SOMETHING IDIOTIC TO BRING HIM BACK AND THEN GETTING AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS

#tsams #sams #sun and moon show #the sun and moon show #moon tsams #moon sams

[rafesapologist]

the setback ─ rafe cameron; part twelve

summary: it's been two years since your departure from the outer banks and rafe cameron has seemingly convinced himself that he can go on with his life as if you never happened, except now more than ever his addiction is at an all time high. whether he was snorting lines of cocaine at wild parties or drowning himself in alcohol to numb the pain, rafe couldn't escape the memories of you. despite his efforts to bury his feelings, your absence lingered like a shadow, haunting him at every turn. meanwhile, you've been navigating life outside the outer banks, trying to carve out a new path for yourself. but no matter how far you've traveled, the memories of rafe cameron still linger in your heart, leaving you with a sense of unfinished business. as you find yourself facing new challenges and opportunities, you can't help but wonder if fate will eventually bring you back to the place where it all began.

warnings: swearing, fighting, sort of drowning ??, mentions of alcohol use

author's note: cue the bridge of 'strangers' by ethel cain

You felt the weight of Rafe's footsteps closing in behind you, his urgent calls slicing through the rainy night air. With every step he took, your resolve wavered, torn between the desire to keep running and the need to confront the turmoil swirling inside you.

But as his pleas grew more desperate, something in you snapped. You couldn't bear to hear any more, to face the reality of what you had just witnessed. So, with a heavy heart and trembling hands, you stopped in your tracks and turned to face him.

Rafe skidded to a halt just a few feet away, his breath ragged and his expression a mix of desperation and remorse. Raindrops clung to his disheveled hair and streamed down his face, mirroring the turmoil in his eyes.

"Y/n, please," he gasped between breaths, his voice raw with emotion. "I need you to listen to me."

"I came here because I broke up with JJ! Okay?" The words spilled from your lips, laced with frustration and anguish. "I broke up with him for you. But apparently, that was another stupid fucking mistake of mine, because you still want your cake and to eat it too!"

Your voice cracked with emotion, the torrent of feelings threatening to consume you whole. You shoved him back, your palms trembling with the force of your despair. The distance between you stretched like an unbridgeable chasm, a stark reminder of the fractures in your once-unbreakable bond.

Rafe staggered back, his eyes wide with disbelief and remorse. Raindrops glistened on his lashes, mingling with the sheen of regret that clouded his gaze. He reached out, a desperate plea in his outstretched hand, but you recoiled, your heart aching with a pain too profound to bear.

Your voice wavered with raw emotion, each word a dagger thrust into the heart of your despair. Tears blurred your vision, but you refused to look away, your gaze locked with Rafe's as you bared your soul to him.

"And I'm a fucking idiot, I guess, for even coming back here in the first place!" The words tumbled from your lips, laced with self-recrimination and regret. Your chest heaved with the weight of your confession, the ache of your fractured heart laid bare for all to see.

You struggled to maintain your composure, the anguish clawing at your throat as you fought to keep the tears at bay. But the pain was too great, the memories too potent, and soon, your resolve crumbled beneath the weight of your sorrow.

"I get it. I fucked up. I ruined your trust and I lied to you," you continued, your voice trembling with the weight of your admission. "But at least I didn't..." You choked on your words, the bitterness rising like bile in your throat, "I didn't lie when I said that I loved you." Your finger quivered as you pointed it accusingly at Rafe, the gesture a tangible manifestation of your anguish and frustration. In that moment, you laid bare your heart, your vulnerability a testament to the depth of your feelings for him.

But as the rain continued to fall, washing away the remnants of your shattered resolve, you knew that the wounds inflicted upon your fragile bond may never fully heal. And as you stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills, you couldn't help but wonder if love alone was enough to bridge the chasm that now yawned between you and Rafe.

Rafe's voice cut through the storm like a beacon of clarity, his words a plea wrapped in desperation and longing. The rain poured down around you, a relentless torrent that mirrored the tumult of your emotions as you stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills.

His grip on your wrist was firm, a tangible anchor in the tempest of your despair. You could feel the warmth of his touch seeping into your skin, a silent reassurance amidst the chaos that raged within your heart.

"I spent two years thinking I'd never see you again," Rafe's voice wavered with emotion, each word a testament to the depth of his longing, "and you think that I'd ruin my chances with you the second I got you back?"

You recoiled slightly at the force of his words, the sting of betrayal still fresh in your mind. "Then why is she here, Rafe?" Your voice wavered with a mix of anger and hurt, the turmoil of your emotions bubbling to the surface.

Rafe's shoulders slumped in defeat, his gaze falling to the ground as he ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. "Because, y/n!" His voice rose with frustration, a raw edge creeping into his tone. "I called her over because I was trying to break up with her!"

The words hung between you like a heavy fog, thick with tension and unresolved emotions. As you stood there, grappling with the weight of his confession, you couldn't help but feel the ground shift beneath your feet, uncertainty clouding your thoughts as you struggled to make sense of it all.

You looked at him with your eyes wide, taken aback by his testament. Part of you felt confused, wondering how something allegedly so simple could get so mixed up, while the other half of you wasn't ready to let your guard down.

"Why would you do that, Rafe?" you asked, your voice betraying a mixture of disbelief and vulnerability. You searched his eyes for some semblance of truth amidst the chaos of conflicting emotions, hoping to find a shred of sincerity in his explanation.

You looked at him, the rain cascading down around you, each drop adding to the tension in the air. His expression was raw, his frustration evident in the way his brows furrowed and his jaw tensed. Despite the anger simmering beneath the surface, there was a vulnerability in his eyes that mirrored your own.

Rafe took a step closer, his hand still gripping your wrist gently, as if he feared you might slip away if he let go. His voice was strained, laced with desperation and sincerity as he tried to explain himself.

"I called her over because I realized that I couldn't be with her, not when my heart was still with you," he admitted, his words hanging in the air like a confession. "not when you're standing right in front of me for the first time in years after thinking I had lost you for good."

His admission echoed in the space between you, carrying the weight of years of separation and longing. You felt the weight of his words settle over you, the realization dawning that perhaps there was more to his actions than met the eye.

For a moment, the world around you seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you standing in the midst of the storm once again. The rain continued to pour, a relentless backdrop to the emotions swirling between you.

"I… I didn't know," you confessed softly, your voice barely audible over the sound of the rain. "I didn't know you felt that strongly."

There was a vulnerability in your admission, a crack in the armor you had built around yourself. You had spent so long trying to convince yourself that you were over him, that seeing him again wouldn't affect you. But now, faced with the truth of his feelings, you couldn't deny the lingering ache in your own heart.

His words pierced through the walls you'd built around your heart, making you realize how deeply you still cared for him. The rain pelted down harder, soaking you both to the bone, but neither of you seemed to notice. You were lost in the intensity of the moment, the world around you fading into the background.

Rafe's eyes, filled with anguish and sincerity, bore into yours as he pointed to his chest, his voice breaking. "I have never once stopped loving you," he confessed, each word laced with a raw, painful honesty. "I-I was miserable here without you, y/n." His voice broke as he frantically pointed his pointer finger into his chest, expressing his dismay.

You felt your own chest tighten with emotion, the tears mixing with the rain on your face. "Rafe," you began, your voice trembling as you reached out to him, "I… I didn't know. I thought you had moved on. I thought I was just a part of your past."

He shook his head vehemently, taking a step closer to you, his hand reaching out to gently cup your cheek. "You were never just a part of my past," he whispered, his thumb brushing away a tear. "You are my everything. I thought about you every single day, wishing things had been different."

Your breath hitched at his touch, the familiar warmth of his hand bringing back a flood of memories. "I never stopped loving you either," you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "But I was scared, Rafe. Scared of getting hurt again and hurting you. I was afraid to come back here and be faced with what happened between us."

Rafe's expression softened, his thumb continuing to caress your cheek. "I know, y/n. I know I hurt you before, we hurt each other, but I swear, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me."

There was desperation in his eyes as he stared down at you, ignoring the droplets of rain that fell down his face. His mouth stayed agape as he breathed heavily, his emotions weighing down on him as he waited for your reply. "We have to stop hurting each other, Rafe," you said, your voice trembling with a mix of determination and vulnerability.

Rafe's expression softened, and he nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving yours. "I know," he replied, his voice thick with emotion. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. I want to be the person who makes you happy, the person you can trust. I-I can do that, y/n."

You took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on you. "It's not going to be easy," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. "Not everyone is gonna agree with us being together."

Rafe's eyes softened, and he nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of your words. "I know," he replied, his voice steady. "But I don't care what they think. This is about us, not them."

"I'm scared, Rafe. My friends are the only family I've had my entire life," you averted your gaze to the ground, taking in a deep breath. The weight of your words hung in the air, a confession of the fear that gripped your heart.

Rafe squeezed your hand gently, his thumb brushing soothing circles on your skin. "I understand," he said softly, his voice filled with empathy. "But you don't have to choose between them and me. We'll find a way to make this work."

You looked up at him, searching his eyes for reassurance. "What if they can't accept us? What if I lose them?"

Rafe's expression was earnest, his gaze unwavering. "If they really care about you, they'll understand eventually. It might take time, but they'll see how much we mean to each other."

"But what about you?" you asked, peering up at him.

"What about me?" he replied, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I mean, you aren't a huge fan of my friends either," you said, your voice tinged with worry. "How are you going to handle that?"

Rafe sighed, running a hand through his wet hair. "Yeah. I'm not their biggest fan, and they're definitely not mine. But if being with you means I have to make some type of peace with them, then I'll try. For you."

You bit your lip, feeling a mix of relief and concern. "It won't be easy, Rafe. They're protective of me, and they have every reason to be wary of you."

"I know," Rafe admitted, his voice steady. "But I'm willing to put in the effort. I just need them to see that I've changed, and that I care about you."

Just as the tension had settled and you and Rafe stood there, gazing at each other with a resolution easing your worry, Sophia emerged from the house, her arms crossed and her expression stormy. The rain had begun to pour more heavily, each drop like a drumbeat on the roof and the ground around you. "What the hell is going on here?" she demanded, her voice slicing through the rain-soaked air like a knife.

You turned to face her, your heart sinking at the sight of her anger and confusion. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, flicking between you and Rafe as if trying to piece together a puzzle that didn’t make sense. Rafe stepped forward, his posture tense but resolute. "Sophia, I told you to wait in the house," he said, his voice strained with the weight of the situation.

"I don't care," she shot back, her voice trembling with hurt and frustration. "So, what's this? Are you two messing around behind my back or something?"

You swallowed hard, the rain mingling with the tears you hadn’t realized had started to fall. "Sophia, this is complicated," you began, your voice almost drowned out by the downpour. "Rafe and I... we have a lot of history."

"History?" she echoed, incredulous and bitter. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Rafe had a subtle glare on his face at Sophia's remark, feeling a sense of defensiveness over you. You were perfectly capable of handling your own, that he knew, but this was his mess to begin with, and he wasn't going to let her get to you so easily. "Knock it off, Soph. Don't go starting shit," he said, his tone firm and unwavering.

Sophia's eyes flashed with anger, her arms tightening around her body as if to protect herself from the emotional storm that was brewing. "Starting shit? Really, Rafe? You're the one who is supposed to be with me, not her."

You felt a pang of guilt at her words but stood your ground, meeting her gaze with as much strength as you could muster. "Sophia, I didn't come here to cause problems. I just needed to talk to Rafe."

Sophia let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Talk? Really? You waltz back into town and expect everything to just fall into place?"

"Sophia, I said cut it out. We can talk in a minute," Rafe insisted, his voice firm but edged with frustration.

Sophia's eyes narrowed, her stance rigid with defiance. "No, Rafe. You need to get this little bitch out of here or else."

"Or else what?" you asked, stepping forward, your voice steady despite the tension radiating from Sophia.

She crossed her arms tightly, her gaze flickering between you and Rafe. "Or else I make sure everyone knows what kind of person you really are. You think you can just come back here and ruin everything? Rafe is with me." Sophia's words sliced through the tension like a knife, her voice dripping with venomous intent. You felt a surge of frustration and disbelief rising within you, but you forced yourself to stay calm, meeting her gaze squarely.

"Do whatever you want, Sophia. I didn't come back here to play games with you, so get over yourself," you retorted, your voice firm and unwavering.

Sophia's words dripped with venom as she leveled her gaze at you, her tone laced with a vindictive edge. "Just wait and see, y/n. I'll make you choke on your words."

Rafe's voice cut through the tension like a sharp blade, his tone laced with frustration and authority, "Just go away, Sophia! I'm not dealing with your shit right now!"

His words echoed in the empty space around you, the force behind them enough to make Sophia falter for a moment. She recoiled slightly, her features contorting into a mixture of shock and indignation, her eyes blazing with defiance. For a brief moment, it seemed as though she might retort, but the steel in Rafe's gaze made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't tolerate any further defiance.

With a resentful glare, Sophia finally relented, shooting one last venomous look at you before turning on her heel and storming off. The sound of her footsteps echoed angrily on the wet pavement as she disappeared from sight, leaving behind a palpable sense of relief in her wake.

As Sophia vanished into the distance, the tension in the air began to dissipate, replaced by a heavy silence broken only by the soft patter of raindrops against the ground. Rafe's shoulders slumped slightly as he let out a heavy sigh, the weight of the confrontation evident in the weary lines of his face.

Turning back to you, his gaze softened, filled with a mixture of gratitude and apology. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that," he said, his voice tinged with regret. "She's... she's not easy to handle."

"it's okay," you shook your head as you ran a hand through your hair, "i should get going. this has been the longest night ever and i'm tired."

Rafe's shoulders slumped slightly, a mix of emotions flickering across his face. "Yeah, I guess we both need some rest," he replied, stepping closer to you. His hand extended tentatively, as if he wanted to offer comfort, but he hesitated, eventually letting it fall back to his side. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

As Rafe's lips touched your hair, a shiver ran down your spine, but not from the cold rain. It was a bittersweet moment, filled with tenderness and longing. You closed your eyes, allowing yourself to savor the fleeting warmth before pulling away reluctantly. "Goodnight, Rafe," you whispered, your voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

Days had passed since your altercation with Sophia at Rafe's house, yet your mind still played over the events incessantly, haunted by her threats and what weight they held. You managed to keep your distance from JJ in attempts to make the breakup easier on him, since it definitely wasn’t easy going through a breakup with someone you basically live with. You kept yourself busy with chores around the house and visiting Sarah whenever you felt the weight of the situation pressing too hard on your shoulders.

Each time you caught sight of JJ in the Chateau, your heart twisted with guilt and sadness. His once bright and carefree demeanor seemed clouded with a hint of bitterness, and you couldn’t help but feel responsible for the change. It hurt you deeply to see him this way, knowing that your choices had contributed to his pain.

You kept yourself busy and out of JJ's way, spending most of your time either in your room or spending time solely with Kiara and Sarah instead. Aside from a few awkward encounters, things were civil between you and JJ, although he had yet to have any idea that you were in contact with Rafe, which would've waged an even bigger war than you could handle.

One evening, Kiara came bursting into your room while you and Sarah were binge-watching some dumb reality TV show. She had a giant grin on her face, her excitement practically radiating off her.

"Guys, what would you say if I suggested we go to a pool party?" she smirked, her statement causing both you and Sarah to sit up straight.

"Whose?" you asked, intrigued by her sudden enthusiasm.

"Some touron I met at the Wreck today," Kiara replied, her grin widening. "Apparently, his family owns this huge vacation house he hosts parties at every summer."

Sarah's eyes lit up with excitement. "A pool party sounds like just what we need! We've been cooped up here way too long."

You felt a flicker of excitement too, though it was tinged with apprehension. "Do you think it'll be fun? I mean, it's not like we know anyone there."

"That's the best part," Kiara said, plopping down on the bed next to you. "It's a chance to meet new people, have some fun, and maybe forget about all the drama for a while. Come on, we could all use a break."

Sarah nudged you playfully. "She's right. Plus, it'll be good for you to get out and enjoy yourself. You've been through a lot lately."

You sighed, considering their words. The idea of a carefree night sounded appealing, especially after everything that had happened with JJ and Rafe. Maybe a pool party was exactly what you needed to clear your head and have a little fun.

"Okay," you finally agreed, a small smile tugging at your lips. "Let's do it."

"Yes!" Kiara exclaimed, jumping up with excitement. "It's going to be awesome. Trust me."

The three of you spent the next hour getting ready, picking out your best swimsuits and summer outfits. Kiara helped you choose a flattering bikini, and Sarah lent you a cute cover-up. You all spent time perfecting your looks, experimenting with different hairstyles and makeup.

You stood in front of your mirror with a newfound sense of confidence, admiring your reflection. The dark red string bikini hugged your curves perfectly, and the two low ponytails on each side added a playful touch to your look. As you observed yourself, you couldn't help but wonder for a moment what Rafe would think if he saw you right now. The thought of him seeing you like this, rather than random men at some party, sent a shiver down your spine.

You turned slightly, checking out your outfit from different angles, feeling both bold and a little nervous. The bikini was daring, more revealing than anything you’d worn in a while, and the ponytails gave you a youthful, carefree appearance. It was exactly the look you needed for tonight—a night where you intended to leave all your worries behind and just have fun.

"Looking good," Kiara's voice broke through your thoughts. She stood in the doorway, already dressed in a vibrant blue swimsuit that complemented her tan. "I'd definitely hit on you if I was a dude."

You chuckled, feeling a blush creep up your cheeks. "Thanks, Kie. I needed that."

"Seriously, though," she continued, stepping into the room and giving you an approving once-over. "You look amazing. Ready to turn some heads tonight?"

"I hope so," you replied, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. "I just... I hope I can have fun and forget about everything for a while."

Kiara nodded understandingly. "That's the plan. Now, let's go make some memories."

Sarah popped her head in the door, her eyes widening with approval as she took in your outfit. "Damn, y/n! You look incredible. We’re definitely going to turn heads tonight."

"Thanks, Sarah," you said, feeling a surge of confidence. "Let's get going!"

The three of you left the room, chatting excitedly about the party and what you hoped to experience. As you arrived at the vacation house, the sound of music and laughter filled the air, much louder than you had anticipated. The house was even more impressive than Kiara had described, with a sprawling backyard, a sparkling pool, and twinkling lights hanging from the trees. The party was already in full swing, with people mingling, dancing, and lounging by the pool.

"Wow," Sarah breathed, taking it all in. "This place is incredible."

You found a table near the pool and placed your things down, feeling the energy of the party wash over you. The music was loud, the air was warm, and for the first time in a while, you felt a sense of freedom.

"Hey, you wanna get a drink?" Kiara asked, nudging you playfully.

"Sure," you replied, following her to the bar set up on the patio. You ordered a fruity cocktail and took a sip, savoring the sweet and tangy flavors.

"It's hot, I'm gonna get in the pool!" Sarah yelled to both of you over the music, her enthusiasm cutting through the night. She took off running, wasting no time before diving into the lit-up pool a few feet away. Her laughter mingled with the splashes as she joined the others already swimming.

"She's wild," Kiara chuckled, shaking her head. "I don't think even John B can tame her."

You laughed, watching Sarah splash around. "Yeah, she's got a spirit that's hard to pin down."

Kiara nudged you playfully. "What about you? Are you going to join her or stay here and keep me company?"

You considered Kiara's question for a moment, debating between another drink or getting into the pool. The cool water looked inviting, but you felt like you needed a bit more time to settle in and get comfortable with the party's atmosphere. Besides, a little more liquid courage couldn't hurt.

"I think I'll grab another drink first," you decided with a grin.

Kiara nodded, her eyes twinkling. "Good call. Let's get something strong!"

You both made your way to the other bar set up in a corner of the yard. It was a makeshift setup, but it was stocked with an impressive variety of drinks. The bartender, a guy around your age with a friendly smile, greeted you as you approached.

"What can I get for you ladies?" he asked, wiping down the counter.

Kiara leaned in, eyeing the selection. "Two margaritas, please. Extra strong."

You chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, extra strong sounds good."

As the bartender mixed your drinks, you glanced around, taking in the scene. The party was in full swing, with people dancing, chatting, and laughing. The air was filled with the scent of chlorine from the pool, mixed with the aroma of grilled food from a nearby barbecue. Strings of fairy lights twinkled above, casting a warm glow over everything.

The bartender handed you your drinks, and you took a sip, savoring the tart, refreshing flavor. "Perfect," you said, raising your glass to Kiara.

"To a night of fun and forgetting all our worries," Kiara toasted, clinking her glass against yours.

You both took long sips, the alcohol warming you from the inside out. As you chatted with Kiara, you felt the tension of the past few days start to melt away. It was good to be surrounded by friends, to let loose and enjoy the moment.

Just as you were starting to relax, your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out and saw a text from Rafe: "Can we talk?"

Your heart skipped a beat. You hadn't seen or spoken to Rafe since the confrontation with Sophia, and you were still processing everything that had happened. But part of you was also eager to hear what he had to say.

Kiara noticed the change in your expression. "Everything okay?"

You brushed off Kiara's concern and maintained your composure, not wanting her to worry. "It's nothing, just my boss texting me about work," you said with a reassuring smile. Kiara gave you a curious look but didn't press further, allowing you to keep your thoughts to yourself.

Once you were sure she had bought your story, you quickly typed a reply to Rafe, asking, "What's up?" and hit send. The party continued to buzz around you, with music thumping and people laughing, but your mind was now focused on your phone.

Your heart skipped a beat as Rafe's message popped up on your screen almost immediately.

"I saw you were here at the party. I need to see you." You read it over, feeling a rush of emotions flooding through you. Despite the lively atmosphere of the party, you suddenly felt a wave of nervousness wash over you.

You quickly glanced around, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to you. Kiara was engaged in conversation with a group of people across the pool, and Sarah was nowhere in sight. Taking a deep breath, you typed out a response to Rafe: "Okay, where are you?"

His reply came almost immediately: "By the keg near the pool."

Your pulse quickened as you read the message. Without another thought, you excused yourself from the conversation with Kiara, making up some excuse about needing some fresh air.

Your heart raced as you walked around the yard, your eyes scanning the lively scene for the keg by the pool. The lump in your throat tightened with each step, the thought of being face-to-face with Rafe for the first time in days overwhelming your senses. You knew you couldn't hide from him forever, and brushing your feelings away wasn't an option anymore.

The music thumped in the background, a heavy bass line that seemed to sync with your racing heartbeat. The partygoers were lost in their own worlds, laughter and chatter filling the air, but your mind was solely focused on Rafe. You needed to confront your emotions, no matter how daunting the prospect seemed.

As you approached the pool, you spotted the keg, a small group gathered around it. You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for the inevitable encounter. The pool's surface shimmered under the party lights, creating a surreal, almost dreamlike atmosphere. You grabbed a plastic cup, filled it with beer, and took a long sip, hoping to calm your nerves.

Just then, you felt a presence beside you. Turning slightly, you saw Rafe standing there, his expression unreadable. The air seemed to thicken around you, the noise of the party fading into the background as your eyes locked onto his.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice barely audible over the music.

"Hey," you replied, trying to keep your voice steady despite the tumultuous emotions swirling inside you.

Rafe took a step closer, his gaze intense. "I had no idea you'd be here. Who'd you come with?"

You took a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves as you met Rafe's gaze. His presence was overwhelming, and the intensity in his eyes sent a shiver down your spine. You could feel the weight of his question, and for a moment, the noise of the party seemed to fade into the background.

"I came with Kiara and Sarah," you replied, your voice steady but quiet. "I guess Kiara met this guy while she was working the Wreck and he invited her, so she asked us to come."

Rafe nodded, his expression softening slightly, though there was still a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "I didn't expect to see you here," he admitted, his voice low. "I thought these parties weren't your thing."

You shrugged, trying to play it off casually despite the pounding of your heart. "They're not, really. But I needed a distraction." You glanced around, avoiding his gaze. "Things have been... complicated."

Rafe nodded, his eyes tauntingly flickering back and forth between yours as he observed the features of your face intently. "I get it," he swallowed hard, his jaw clenching for a mere second. "I just... really needed to see you. I haven't heard from you since the other day."

You felt a pang of guilt as you heard the raw vulnerability in his voice. "I'm sorry, Rafe. It's not you.. It's just been hard dealing with the whole JJ thing."

Rafe took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "I understand. I just... I can't stand the thought of losing you again."

You glanced down at your hands, twisting them nervously. "It's just so complicated. With JJ, with Sophia, with everything."

Rafe stepped closer, his fingers gently brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. The contact sent a shiver down your spine, your skin tingling where he touched you. "I know it's complicated. But you don't have to worry about anything. I—I've got this thing figured out."

You looked up at him, your eyes searching his face for any sign of uncertainty. "How can you be so sure?" you asked, your voice wavering.

Rafe's hand lingered on your cheek, his thumb tracing a gentle path along your skin. "Because I know what I want," he said firmly. "And I want you. I've spent too much time regretting what happened between us to let anything come between us now."

The sincerity in his voice made your heart ache. You wanted to believe him, to trust that he had everything under control, but the events of the past few days had left you feeling vulnerable and uncertain. "It's just... Sophia made some threats. I don't want to make things harder for you."

Rafe's jaw tightened at the mention of Sophia. "I'll handle Sophia," he said, his voice resolute. "She doesn't get to decide our future, and she sure as hell isn't going to lay a hand on you."

You nodded slowly, feeling a mix of relief and apprehension. "I just don't want to cause more problems."

"You're not causing problems," Rafe insisted, his eyes locking onto yours with a fierce determination. "We're in this together. Nobody is gonna do shit to you, I promise."

His words, filled with conviction, sent a surge of warmth through you. You looked up at him, your eyes searching his face, trying to gauge just how much he meant it. The intensity in his gaze left little doubt.

"But what about Sophia?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper. "She seemed pretty determined to make trouble."

Rafe shook his head, a determined set to his jaw. "I'll handle Sophia. She doesn't get to decide how this goes. This is between you and me."

You nodded, but before you could respond, you heard an unfortunately familiar voice come up from behind Rafe. "Rafe! Come on, we're doing shots." You saw a tall blond boy approach, his presence cutting through the moment you were sharing with Rafe. It was Topper.

You rolled your eyes, glaring up at him with annoyance evident on your face. "Oh hey, y/n," Topper greeted, a smirk playing on his lips. "Didn't think I'd see you here."

"Topper," you replied curtly, crossing your arms. "Always a pleasure."

Rafe sighed, clearly frustrated by the interruption. "Top, not now," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "We're kind of in the middle of something."

Topper raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of you. "Middle of what? You know what, never mind," he shrugged, not really waiting for an answer. "We're about to do shots by the pool. You coming or what?"

You looked over at Rafe with a shrug. "You should go. I need to see Sarah and Kiara before they think I got lost anyways. I'll catch you before I leave."

Rafe hesitated, his eyes searching yours for a moment longer before he nodded. "Alright, but don't forget. We still need to talk."

"I won't forget," you promised, offering him a small smile.

As Rafe turned to rejoin Topper by the pool, you took a deep breath and made your way through the crowd, searching for Sarah and Kiara. The party was in full swing, the music loud and the air thick with laughter and chatter. It didn't take long to spot Sarah, her blonde hair glistening under the colorful lights as she danced by the pool.

"Hey! There you are," Sarah called out when she saw you, waving you over. "We were starting to wonder where you went."

Kiara, standing beside Sarah with a drink in hand, gave you a knowing look. "Yeah, you disappeared on us. Everything okay?"

You nodded, forcing a smile as you joined them. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just work stuff."

Sarah arched an eyebrow, clearly not buying it but choosing not to press the issue. "Well, we're glad you're back. Come on, let's dance!"

As Sarah pulled you onto the makeshift dance floor, Kiara gave you a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "If you need to talk, we're here," she said softly, her eyes full of understanding.

You nodded gratefully, allowing yourself to get lost in the music for a while. It was a welcome distraction, the beat of the music and the energy of the party temporarily pushing aside the turmoil in your mind.

After a few songs, you excused yourself to get another drink. As you made your way to the keg, you couldn't help but glance around, wondering where Rafe was and what he was doing. The thought of your earlier conversation lingered in your mind, and you knew that talking to him later was inevitable.

You reached the keg and got a drink, taking a moment to compose yourself. As you took a sip, you felt a presence beside you. Turning, you were met with the face of the last person you wanted to see—Sophia. Shock registered on your face as you took in the sight of her standing there, her expression unreadable.

"Sophia," you said, your voice betraying your surprise and confusion.

She looked at you with a mix of amusement and disdain. "What, surprised to see me here?" she asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves. "What do you want, Sophia?"

She took a step closer, invading your personal space. "I want you to know that I'm not backing down," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Rafe might be playing his little games, but I'm not going to let you waltz back into his life and mess things up."

You felt a surge of anger rise within you. "This isn't a game to me, Sophia. I care about Rafe. This isn't about winning or losing."

Sophia scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're so naive. Do you really think you can just come back here and everything will be fine? Rafe's moved on. Maybe you should too."

You clenched your jaw, trying to keep your composure. "You don't know anything about what Rafe and I have been through."

"Maybe not," she admitted with a smirk. "But I do know that I'm not going anywhere. So you'd better watch your back."

You furrowed your brows at her, scoffing with unamusement. "I'm not doing this with you, Sophia. I don't care about whatever scheme you have planned in your head. I have bigger things to worry about than your stupid shit—"

Before you could finish your sentence, you felt a force shove you backwards, and before you knew it, you were submerged underwater. The shock of the cold water took your breath away, and you instinctively swallowed a large gulp of water, panic flooding your senses. You flailed, struggling to find the surface, but the initial shock had disoriented you.

The sounds of the party were muted, distorted by the water around you. Your lungs burned as you kicked and pushed, desperately trying to reach the surface. Just as you came in and out of consciousness, you suddenly felt as if you were floating out of the water, lifted up in the arms of someone unknown as your vision was completely blacked out and hazy.

Your senses were disoriented, the once vibrant lights of the party now mere blurs in the darkness. The muffled sounds of laughter and music faded into a distant hum as you felt yourself being carried away from the chaos. The cold air stung your wet skin, but the strong, steady arms around you provided a strange sense of comfort amidst the confusion.

As the hands pressed urgently against your chest, you struggled to focus, the sounds around you muffled and distant. The voice calling out to you seemed to echo in your ears, but you couldn't quite grasp onto it.

You felt yourself slipping further into darkness, the sensation of drowning still haunting your senses. Panic surged through you as you tried to respond, but your body felt heavy and unresponsive.

Suddenly, a sharp intake of breath pierced the fog in your mind, followed by the urgent sound of footsteps approaching. Through the haze, you saw blurry figures leaning over you, their features distorted.

"Y/n, hey, hey. Stay with me, alright? C'mon!" The voice was urgent, tinged with desperation. It sounded familiar, a lifeline in the suffocating darkness.

Rafe's voice cut through the confusion like a blade, sharp with anger and urgency. "Who the fuck did this?" he demanded, his tone commanding attention as he scanned the crowd, his gaze piercing through the chaos. You felt a surge of relief at his presence, his strong hand gripping yours tightly as if to reassure you of his protective stance. Through the haze of your mind, you strained to focus on his words, the anger in his voice resonating deep within you.

As the onlookers murmured in response to Rafe's question, his grip on your hand tightened, his eyes blazing with a fierce determination. You could sense the fury simmering beneath his calm exterior, a storm waiting to be unleashed upon whoever was responsible for your distress.

With effort, you managed to muster the strength to speak, your voice trembling with the weight of your accusation. "Sophia," you managed to croak out, the name heavy on your tongue as you met Rafe's gaze with a mix of frustration and defiance.

Rafe's expression darkened at the mention of her name, his jaw clenched in barely contained rage. "I'll deal with her," he vowed, his voice a low growl that brooked no argument.

Rafe's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Sophia behind him, her smug expression etched into his mind like a brand. "You did this!" he bellowed, his accusation slicing through the air like a blade. His gaze bore into Sophia's, a mixture of fury and disbelief burning in his eyes.

Sophia's smirk only widened as she shrugged nonchalantly, taking a casual sip of her drink. "Oops, clumsy me," she taunted, her voice laced with sarcasm as she feigned innocence.

The veins in Rafe's neck bulged with fury, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His entire body quivered with suppressed rage, the intensity of his anger palpable in the air around him. "Don't you dare fucking touch her ever again," he spat, his voice low and dangerous. "Matter of fact, don't even come near her or I'll make this whole island hell for you."

His words hung in the air like a threat, each syllable dripping with the promise of retribution. The ferocity in his gaze bore into Sophia, leaving no room for doubt that he meant every word he said. Sophia's smirk faltered, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her features as she recoiled slightly from Rafe's simmering rage. For a brief moment, the facade of arrogance crumbled, revealing the underlying fear beneath.

But just as quickly, Sophia regained her composure, masking her unease with a defiant glare. "C'mon, Rafe," she retorted, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her bravado. "You don't need that dirty pogue weighing you down for the rest of your life. she doesn't even have a family for fuck sake!" Her words cut through the air like a knife, each syllable laced with venom. Her attempt to undermine you was evident in the contemptuous tone of her voice, but beneath the surface bravado, there was a hint of insecurity.

Rafe's jaw tightened at her words, his fists clenching even harder at his sides as he turned to face her. "Don't you dare talk about her like that," he growled, his voice low and menacing. "She's worth more than you ever wish you could be." His words echoed with a fierce protectiveness, a stark contrast to the venom in Sophia's tone. The intensity of his gaze bore into her, daring her to challenge him further.

But Sophia recoiled, her facade of confidence faltering in the face of Rafe's unwavering resolve. For a moment, she was silenced by his unwavering defense of you, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her features before she masked it with a defiant sneer.

"How could you choose her, Rafe? She left you! I was there when she wasn't, remember? I was there for you, asshole!" Sophia's voice rose in pitch, her frustration and bitterness palpable in every word. Her attempt to discredit you and manipulate Rafe's emotions was evident in the desperation of her tone, but her words only served to further ignite the fire within him.

Rafe turned to face Sophia once more, his expression hardened with resolve. "Yeah, and if she never left I would've never been with you. I will always choose her." His words cut through the tension like a knife, his resolve unwavering as he reaffirmed his loyalty to you. The weight of his declaration hung heavily in the air, a testament to the depth of his feelings and the strength of your connection.

Sophia flinched, her front crumbling as his words pierced through her defenses. In that moment, she realized that she was fighting a losing battle, her attempts to sway Rafe futile against the unwavering bond he shared with you.

Sophia's hands clenched into fists at her sides, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. She looked at Rafe with a mix of hurt and anger, her eyes flashing with betrayal. "You promised me, Rafe," she accused, her voice trembling with emotion. "You said we were in this together, that you loved me."

But Rafe's expression remained resolute, his jaw set in determination. "I know what I said, Sophia," he replied evenly, his voice steady despite the turmoil around them. "But things have changed. I can't keep pretending that this is what I want."

Sophia's tears spilled over, her resolve crumbling as she stared at Rafe with desperate pleading. "Please, Rafe," she begged, her voice choked with emotion. "Don't do this to me. Don't leave me."

But Rafe stood his ground, his gaze unwavering as he gently shook his head. "No, Soph," he said softly, his tone filled with regret. "But I have to do what's right for me."

Sophia's tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked around the party, her face a mix of embarrassment and shame. Disbelief was etched across her features, her mouth agape as she blinked rapidly, trying to process the situation. "Okay," she nodded slowly, her voice breaking with a sniffle. "Yeah. That's fine, it's not like I wasted two years of my life on you or anything."

Rafe's expression softened, guilt flickering in his eyes as he took in the depth of her hurt. "Sophia, I never meant for it to end like this," he said, his voice low and remorseful. "I did care about you, but I can't keep lying to myself or to you."

Sophia shook her head, tears still flowing. "Just... go to her, Rafe," she said bitterly, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "You always will anyway."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs as she pushed through the crowd. Rafe watched her go, a mix of relief and sadness washing over him. He then turned his attention back to you, where you lay on the concrete, his heart aching with the need to make sure you were okay.

"Hey," he whispered, kneeling beside you again, his voice tender and filled with concern. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

You nodded weakly, your vision slowly clearing as you looked up at him. The party around you seemed distant, the sounds muffled as you focused on Rafe's face. "I'm okay," you managed to say, your voice hoarse from the ordeal.

Rafe let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, relief flooding through him. "I'm so sorry, y/n," he murmured, gently brushing a strand of wet hair from your face. "I should have been there sooner."

You gave him a small, tired smile, reaching up to touch his hand. "It's okay, Rafe," you said softly. "It's not your fault."

Rafe's eyes softened, his worry evident as he gently helped you sit up. The sounds of the party seemed distant, muted by the intensity of the moment. He sighed, running a hand through his wet hair, clearly struggling with his emotions.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said, his voice thick with relief. "I was so scared when I saw you go under."

You nodded, still feeling the aftershocks of what had just happened. "I'm okay now," you reassured him, squeezing his hand gently.

Rafe helped you to your feet, keeping a protective arm around you as you stood. You could see the concern in his eyes, mixed with a fierce determination to keep you safe.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again," he vowed, his voice steady and resolute.

Before you could respond, you looked up to see Kiara and Sarah standing in front of you, their faces ridden with shock and concern. Sarah's eyes flickered between you and Kiara, who was clearly piecing things together. Although your mind was still a bit foggy, your heart fell into your stomach as Kiara's confusion turned to suspicion.

"Rafe, what are you doing here?" Kiara asked disgustedly, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

Rafe's protective stance didn't waver. He looked directly at Kiara, his expression a mix of defensiveness and sincerity. "I was here for the party, Kiara. I didn't know y/n would be here," he replied, his voice firm.

Kiara's eyes narrowed as she looked between the two of you, trying to make sense of the situation. "And why are you with him, y/n?" she demanded, her voice tinged with a mixture of betrayal and concern.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady yourself and find the right words. "Kie, it's not like that. He was just helping me—"

"And you let him?" Kiara interrupted, her voice rising in disbelief and hurt. Her arms were still tightly folded across her chest, and her eyes bore into you with an intensity that made you flinch.

Sarah, sensing the rising tension, placed a hand on Kiara's arm. "Let's not do this here," she suggested gently. "Y/n needs to rest. We can talk about this later."

Kiara shoved Sarah's hand off, her attention locked back on you. "No. Why would you even talk to him, y/n? After everything he has done to us? To John B?" Her words hit you like a punch to the gut, the weight of the situation crashing down on you. You could see the hurt and betrayal in Kiara's eyes, and it made your heart ache.

"Kie, it's not that simple," you tried to explain, your voice wavering. "I've been through a lot with Rafe, and we both have things we need to work through. It's complicated."

Kiara's eyes flashed with anger. "Complicated? He's caused so much pain for all of us. You know that better than anyone."

Rafe rolled his eyes, scoffing at Kiara's attitude. "I haven't done shit to you, Kie. And besides, this has nothing to do with you."

Kiara bristled at his words, her jaw clenched in frustration. "Everything has to do with me when it involves my friends," she shot back, her tone sharp. "And last I checked, you've caused plenty of trouble for us."

Rafe shook his head, frustration evident in his voice. "You're holding onto shit that happened two years ago, Kie!"

"Well, it still affects us, Rafe! John B's life is ruined because of you!" Kiara shot back, her tone sharp with accusation.

Your heart raced as you struggled to find the right words to explain the situation, your mind racing with a hundred different thoughts at once. "I know it does, Kiara, but..." you started, your voice trailing off as you searched for the right words to defend yourself.

"But what, y/n?" Kiara's tone was laced with disappointment and frustration. "How could you even think about associating with him after everything he's done? Is that why you broke up with JJ?"

The weight of her accusation hung heavy in the air, and you felt the heat of embarrassment rise to your cheeks as you struggled to find a response. "No, Kiara, it's not like that," you protested, your voice tinged with desperation.

Kiara's expression softened slightly at your words, but her disappointment was still evident in her eyes. "I just... I can't believe you, y/n," she said softly, her voice tinged with sadness as she turned away from you.

"Kie please—" You stared, but before you could finish, Kiara stormed off past you. Sarah shot you a sympathetic "I'm sorry this is happening" look at you before chasing after her. You stood there, the weight of Kiara's words heavy on your heart as you watched her storm off into the crowd. Sarah's sympathetic look only added to the guilt gnawing at your insides, leaving you feeling utterly alone in the midst of the lively party.

Rafe's presence beside you was a small comfort, but even he couldn't chase away the nagging doubts and regrets swirling in your mind. You turned to him, opening your mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, you stood in silence, staring off into the distance as the chaos of the party continued around you.

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

taglist: @rrosiitas, @champomiel, @vadinaleme, @kys4-20, @gills-lounge, @allsmilesreally7, @sublimepenguinpeach-blog, @sp00ky-spr1te, @bibliophilewednesday, @haroldpotterson, @i-love-rafe, @ellesalazar, @calmoistorm, @abundantxadorations, @fals3-g0d, @gillybear17, @oiiviagrande, @hockeybabe87,

@augustlikesdeath, @wpdailyminimeta, @palmwinemami, @loxleys-blog, @ikisscline, @flyestvenustrap, @ilovesteveharrngton, @ijustwanttoreadlols, @fastlovela, @wickedlovely121, @fals3-g0d, @givemylovetoall, @lucfics, @briefwinnerpersonaturtle, @maybankslover, @peachy4u2, @hockeybabe87, @yeosxxx, @zizouu23, @h34rtsformilli, @maybankslover, @yawnzshit, @rubixgsworld, @tsumudoll, @nosebeers, @literatureluster

#rafe cameron #drew starkey #rafe cameron x reader #obx #outer banks #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe angst #rafe cameron imagine #jj maybank x reader #rafe fic #rafe x reader #rafe obx #rafe outer banks #rafe cameron imagines #obx rafe cameron #rafe imagine #rafe x y/n #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x pogue!reader

[ganondoodle]

Will Zelda abolish the monarchy in your TotK rewrite?

HM

she will not turn to the camera and say "i am abolishing monarchy" (since that needs to be said these days ..) but in a way its kinda meant to be like .. the opposite of the canon totk messaging?

like, fictional monarchy in itself isnt like the root of all evil, its the ideology that goes with it? i like fictional monarchy stuff and other races got them too so i wouldnt say its a clear -this is bad- thing

i do want to turn the whole idea of "hyrules royalty and its ruling is always good and just and anyone against it is automatically labeled as evil" upside down .. or more like, let it go further, rauru in the rewrite is .. similar to the canon one, thats kinda the point, hes the good and just king that wants to unite all nations in peace and wants to get rid of any "evil" be it monsters or someone threatening his 'peace'

but then you think about it, his idea of 'peace' is very specific, not everyone might want to be under his control, not everyone might have joined willingly and just bc theres someone opposing him does not have to mean they are some evil demon, all this talk might have been deliberate manipulation of history, he says hes invited a nation to join under his rule? he makes it sound like it was a nice offering like bringing a piece of cake to a neighbour, but it could be anything, he has those magical nuclear power pebbles, multiple, even just having them has an effect on others, he can say he would only use them for good, but that can be a lie, and more importantly, you dont know what his idea of 'good' is he can say he would never use it to hurt people, but what if he declares others to not BE people in his eyes he wants to bring about a world of light with no shadow to be found, rebuild a glorious kingdom of the past, there will be no shadow to hide in, there will be no place he is not, as he is the light, the king of light, and he knows whats best for all in his eternal, holy kingdom of light

.. most of this isnt even non-canon, it just gets presented as he says it, a one note fact, and you are supposed to agree- so really im just rewriting that part to be more overtly how it felt like to ME, and turnign the second half into opposing that bc hey, this might not be cool actually

im really jsut cranking raurus actions and ideals up just a tiny bit, and show more directly that its the behavoir of an imperialist king of all

so really its more like .. teaching her the lesson of how easy it is to fall into that line of thinking, how you need to consider .. maybe blindly following old traditions isnt always good, consider other perspectives, be careful bc she could have gone into that direction too (like she literally does in the canon totk end ..) and in a way she already has, but afterwards (in the rewrite) she can work against that, she could be rauru and has to decide and work against it

i know that isnt a clear answer, this whole idea is a little hmm to me bc TO ME canon totk already reads like that, and i want to work against it, bc in canon it goes unchallenged, and alot of people ... alot of people..., just go along with it seemingly not even beign able to see how its all suspicious-

in the end, i want it to be a careful but hopeful vibe of, zelda as a scientist, a historian, interested in alot of fields, being able to change something, a shift in perspective, like lady eboshi in princess monokoe saying at the end that they will start anew, now building good town- its not garanteed, zelda is still in a position of power, but she doesnt have to rebuild it like it was, people might still refer to her as princess and have high respect for her, but after being so deceived by rauru, being on the opposing side to almost the exact idea they once had, it has humbled them and can pave the way for a better future

ganondorfs spirit at the end moving on after finally being able to take out rauru, even if it meant to help out those hed see as being in the prime spot to become jsut like rauru, over the course of the second half all of them learning of each other, now more confident these younglings of a world thats long changed and not his anymore being able to build something better, and years after the ordeal theres news of a male gerudo having been born

(i know that idea goes agaisnt what made up his character for alot of the other games (though rewrite totk gan is still a different one from the old games), like his eternal problem of not being able to move on and refusing to die, and im sure theres lots of not the bestest thigns in my writing of it all too, but so far, its what i have been imagining, and unfortnately i am a sucker for those types of cliché endings-

it doesnt have to mean the next games would be going up against the gods or soemthing, though i do like that, but i felt like its a nice end for botws world, and much less uncomfortable than the canon totk end, theres no refounding of the kingdom, no swears of fealty, just young people working to rebuild the world into something better after it was almost wiped out, the kingdom already fell in botw, and the world kept on turning, i see no reason why it shouldnt be able to keep doing it)

#ganondoodles answers #zelda #ganondoodles rewrites totk #i am so good at giving clear answers to simple questions you guys

[seokmattchuus]

Breaking Point - Seok Matthew

"You've known each other for so long, aren't you sick of spending so much time together?" Gyuvin raised a brow as you and Matthew entered his frat house together. "I've never seen either of you on your own. Is it like, Stockholm syndrome or something?" His eyes narrowed as he tried to think it through.

"Do you think I want to keep this one around?" Matthew raised his own brow, his index finger moving to point at you. "I tried to get her to date in high school to get her off my back but none of the relationships lasted a month." He scoffed.

You rolled your eyes at the statement.

"Says the one who didn't even date." You scoffed. "Not that you had a choice, anyways."

"It's not my fault I got hot after graduation." He turned to look at you. He was always sensitive about being a late bloomer.

"Oh, you had a minor glow up and now you think you're hot." You turned to him. "You could be in an Airheads commercial with how big your head's gotten."

Gyuvin stared at the both of you, his eyes switching back and forth as you argued.

"Y/n. Matthew." He started. "If either of you need to get laid, that can be arranged."

"Please." Matthew laughed. "She gets attached too easily to have one-night stands."

You let out a scoff of disbelief at his words.

"As if you could please anyone here." You started. "You were a virgin for so long, I would bet money that you don't even know what the clit is."

"You two just got here, god damn." Gyuvin looked between the both of you in disbelief. "Are you best friends or siblings??"

"As if I'd-" You started but Ricky came up.

"I've never seen anyone walk into a party and stay by the door." He laughed. "You two look like you could use a break from each other." He said before handing you a cup and putting a hand on your lower waist.

A move that didn't go unnoticed by Matthew, his eyes locked on Ricky's hand.

And Matthew's move not going unnoticed by Gyuvin.

"He started it!" You whined as you took the cup, letting Ricky lead you through the building. "He's always talking shit."

"Anything piss him off lately?" Ricky said as he led you to a couch.

You rolled your eyes before bringing the cup to your lips, a mix of strawberry rum and sprite greeting your tastebuds.

"You always make my favorite." You smiled at him.

"I heard you come in. I figured you could use it." He laughed.

"But he's had a stick up his ass all week." You sighed. "You know how Hanbin asked Haneul to set us up? Well Matthew was fine with it at first, but after our third unofficial date, he's been trying to get me to ghost him." You rolled your eyes. "You know he even took my phone on 'accident' the other day? He had it for the whole day after our class!" Your voice was getting louder as you felt yourself getting worked up. "It's childish!"

"Sounds like you could use another drink." Ricky laughed as his eyes shifted towards the door. "But I think he has his reasons."

Your eyes followed his to see Matthew arguing with Hanbin before walking away. You'd be lying if you said you didn't notice the girl next to him but it's not like you were dating. The two of you were still talking. And casually meeting up.

Friends with benefits if you will.

"I don't care if he has reasons." You scoffed. "For someone who used to be a little bitch, he's sure gotten obnoxiously ballsy."

"Matthew? A little bitch?" Ricky smirked in amusement. "I don't see it." He shook his head with a laugh, finally bringing his cup to his lips.

"Dude." You shook your head, your eyes widening. "He used to be scared of bugs." You started. "If he even heard someone talking about a horror movie, he had to leave because it was getting to him." You chuckled.

"Oh! And there was one time where we had a field trip in high school," You paused to take another sip of your drink. "Someone he was rooming with snuck in alcohol and you know what that boy did?" You held back a snort. "He was so scared of getting in trouble that he texted his mom." You emphasized the last three words. "She called the teachers and of course, they got in trouble, but who snitches like that?" You narrowed your eyes at the gall past Matthew had.

"When he told me about still getting in trouble, I told him they at least should have drank it." You scoffed before taking another sip. "Like, you did it to not get in trouble and you still did. Might as well have had fun."

Ricky kept his eyes on you, and you weren't sure if he just didn't believe you or if he was thinking back on Matthew's behavior to see if he ever caught him slipping up.

Either way, the anger from before was fading and you were finally starting to enjoy yourself.

-

You hadn't seen Matthew since Ricky pointed him out and you were starting to forget you even came with him.

Until Ricky led you to the outside table group that Matthew was a part of.

"We're playing 'truth or drink'." Gyuvin gave a boyish smile. He was clearly a few drinks in. "You can sit here by me and Ricky." He motioned his arm to the chairs next to him. "If it's okay with Matt, of course." He smirked towards him as if saying something.

Matthew rolled his eyes for what you would call the billionth time today.

"It's not like he owns me." You mumbled bitterly as you sat next to Gyuvin, Ricky taking the spot next to you and throwing an arm over your shoulder. "Plus, I used to beat him up in high school." You said as you gave Ricky your cup to refill. "He knows better."

"Oh~~" The crowd around you teased and you looked towards Matthew who was less than amused.

-

As the game went on, there had been a bunch of answers to questions you never wanted to ask. But of course, the questions got better the more you got into it.

"Y/n!" An adorable blonde whose name you couldn't remember. You swore it was something with 'Chae', or maybe 'Na', but your brain was too fuzzy to remember. "You've been talking about how different Matt used to be." She started with a drunken giggle. "What's something that hasn't changed about him?"

Matthew's head turned towards you to shoot you a glare, but you didn't give him a chance to get to you.

"He's terrified of bugs." You held back a laugh as you thought about a time in fifth grade. "Any kind of bug. Big, small, wings, you name it, he'-"

A hand came up to cover your mouth and you turned to see Matthew himself leaning over the chair that Gyuvin was previously in. You gave him some sort of half-glare, half-pout, your hand coming up to drag his hand away.

It didn't work of course.

"Let her finish!" The girl who asked whined.

"Yeah, don't get on her bad side." Ricky laughed with a smirk. "She might beat you up again."

"It was this huge moth that flew into class, and I freaked out." Matthew said flatly, his hand still firm against your mouth.

You narrowed your eyes at him. He was lying of course, and as the only person around who knew him that well, you couldn't let these people be lied to.

You bit his hand and he pulled away almost immediately.

"No!" You yelled out as soon as his hand was away. "It was a butterfly!" You started laughed at the memory. "A fucking butterfly!!"

The table filled with laughter, but you couldn't bring yourself to stop there. After the week Matthew put you through, you could call things even after this.

"He screamed so loud, and he wouldn't stop until the teacher caught it and opened the window to let it out!" You leaned back onto Ricky's shoulder as you started to shake with laughter. The image of little Matthew screaming and pointing at the butterfly seemed so much funnier after a few drinks.

Everyone else seemed to be in an amused shock at the stark contrast from young Matthew to the person he was today. But Matthew couldn't keep the scowl off his face.

You had gotten yourself so lost in another question that you missed Ricky motioning to Matthew for something.

"Isn't it time to get you home?" Ricky shook the shoulder you were on to get your attention. "Aren't your roommates gonna worry?"

You whined at the thought.

"They left me." You pouted up at him. "They're out camping this weekend." You pushed yourself off his shoulder just to fall all the way to the other side.

Onto Matthew.

"Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" He said, annoyance taking over as he tried to get you to sit up.

"It's not like I was trying to lean on you." You gave him a scowl, or at least the best you could muster. "Gyuvin's supposed to be there, anyways."

"Yeah, you're done." He said, before grabbing your phone and standing up. "Let's get you home."

You looked to Ricky for help.

"I can't help you there, princess." He shrugged. "I don't even know where you live."

You were about to respond when you felt Matthew grab your arm to pull you up. When you lost your balance, he put your arm over his, sighing when you pulled away and stumbled again.

"Just hold on, please." He groaned. "If you fall, you're going to cry and I'm never going to let you live it down."

"I'm not even that drunk." You mumbled. "I can just go home with Ricky."

You knew what the answer to that would be, but you were petty at heart, and you were going to make this the worst possible situation for him.

"You sure your boyfriend would appreciate that?" He raised a brow.

"I don't have a boyfriend." You came back, your head held high.

"That's not what you were saying about H-"

You immediately found your footing as you forced your hand over his mouth.

"I swear on every higher power out there that I will kill you if you finish that sentence." You narrowed your eyes at him.

In true best friend fashion, Matthew responded by biting your hand so you'd pull away.

Payback was big between the both of you.

"My silence can be bought." He smiled bitterly at you before motioning with his arms for you to go before him. "Get to stepping."

-

You had spent most of the walk back to your place in silence. You didn't want to be the first to talk, and Matthew wasn't over your dramatic retelling of the butterfly story.

You didn't mind it though, after a week full of his yapping, you weren't that interested in getting him started again.

"You do have your key on you, right?" He said as you both approached the door. "Last thing we need is to get locked out."

"Do you have, like, zero faith in me?" You turned to ask him as you slid your hand into the tiny pocket of your shorts, pulling out a single key.

"Do you not own something to put the key on?" Matthew questioned as if you were insane.

"In this outfit?" You asked as if it was the dumbest statement on earth. "It would stick out and look gross." You frowned, trying, and failing, to stick the key in properly.

"You always look gross." He mumbled before taking the key from you and easily sliding it in to unlock the door.

"The rest of the keychain is right there." You mumbled as you walked past him and flopped onto the couch, the alcohol in your system starting to set in.

He rolled his eyes before reattaching the key onto the ring before turning back to you.

"You could just give me your keys next time, y'know?" His hands were gently trying to slide your shoes off without pulling too hard. "I have pockets that aren't two millimeters deep."

"That would require talking to you." You sighed, pulling your leg back to help him get the shoes off. "You haven't been the easiest to do that with."

He'd never minded when you dated people, and of course, he's yet to have anything more than a one-night stand with anyone so you never had the chance to care. But you never minded his sexcapades. You were happy, in fact. He was finally comfortable enough in his own skin to talk to women. How could you hate that? But the back and forth between being supportive of your situationships and then being upset was messing with you.

Hanbin wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was definitely the most committed he'd been in attempting to sabotage.

The first time it happened was about two years ago. You had just started college and someone from class had asked you out to coffee. Matthew insisted on hiding out to make sure he wasn't a creep, and you couldn't believe him. Nor talk him out of it.

When the guy did turn out to be a creep, you didn't hear the end of it.

"I told you so."

"What do you think would have happened if I wasn't there?"

"Can't you just say, 'thank you' and move on?"

That marked the beginning of Matthew's wishy-washy behavior towards your love life.

You'd be thankful if he wasn't such a dick about it.

"Don't tell me you passed out on me." He spoke up after putting your shoes away. You must have been too busy in your thoughts to realize he got the other one off. "I can't let you fall asleep on the couch, you're gonna kill me."

When he saw you were awake, he tilted his head.

"What's on your mind?" He asked. "You're not saying something bitchy."

You tiredly rolled your eyes.

"I'd say you're on my mind but your ego's too big for that."

"There she is." He smiled before reaching a hand out. "Let me get you to bed and you can cuss me out all you want."

"I'd rather fight you." You crossed your arms and rolled over to face the back of the couch so he couldn't help you up. "I'll sleep here. You sleep on the bed."

"You'd lose." He started before trying to roll you back over. "And remember the last time I let you sleep on the couch? You blamed me for the kink in your neck for a week."

You continued fighting him, wanting nothing more than for him to just go to bed in the other room. If you looked at him, you were scared you'd let everything out.

"I'm drunk, you know. The more you shake me, I might throw up on you."

"Nothing you haven't done before."

His response was quick and for some reason, it pissed you off more.

"Do you have an answer for everything?" You turned towards him.

And just your luck.

You turned at the same time that he pulled you.

Leading your face to end right in front of his.

It wasn't your intention, but you couldn't speak. You could only offer a small hiccup.

The silence felt suffocating as you both stared at each other. No words. No sounds.

Just another hiccup.

"I'm no better than Hanbin if I do what I want to right now." He whispered but his voice was mildly strained, as if he was holding himself back.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but the sudden closeness threw you off. You couldn't think, you couldn't speak, and you barely managed to hear what he just said.

Barely.

"This is your last chance to pick between the bed and the couch." He said, his voice just above a whisper this time. "Because I'll take the bed and lock you out."

You quickly slid out from under him and gave a small 'night' as you rushed to your room and closed the door. You barely made it to the bed before you dragged your hands down your face.

What the fuck was that?

Who the fuck were you?

And what the fuck did he mean by that?

You quickly threw on some sleeping clothes and got into bed. You were slightly dizzy but now that you were laying down, all you had to do was close your eyes and hope what he said was just the alcohol talking.

-

When your eyes opened your room was still dark. You sighed in relief as that meant it was still night.

Your throat was dry, and you weighed the possibilities of Matthew still being awake and you dying of thirst. You patted around for your phone and cringed when you saw the bright "4:57" flash across your screen.

It was highly possible he was awake.

But you also felt like a dry sponge.

Fuck it.

You slowly opened the door and tried to move as quietly as possible.

"Matthew?" You called out in a whisper, hoping he wouldn't answer. "You awake?"

When there was no answer, you quickened your pace.

As you slowly opened the fridge door, the last words he said to you lingered in your head. You didn't know if you imagined it or not, but there was no harm in venting to deaf ears, right?

"What did you mean by what you said earlier?" You whispered as you grabbed a water bottle and closed the door, sliding down it to sit on the floor. "Why do you give me mixed signals all the time?" Your voice was quieter this time, as if his dream self would hear you.

It was the most cliché thing around and you hated it. 'Best friends to lovers', 'childhood friends to lovers', 'friends who secretly love each other', and of course the 'unrequited love towards your best friend' trope.

The thought alone made you gag. They were the oldest in the book.

You had to be better than that, right?

Right?

You couldn't pinpoint exactly when your feelings towards him strayed away from platonic, but what you did know was that he wasn't making it any easier.

"Y/n?" He sleepily called out and you moved to sit behind the counter.

Wait.

This was your place.

Why were you hiding?

"Just getting some water." You spoke before clearing your throat. "Go back to bed."

You closed your eyes at how stupid the situation was. Could you be anymore cliché?

"It's like, five in the morning?" He sounded closer and you thought about booking it back to your room. "Why are you on the floor?"

You looked up and he was rubbing his eyes. Even in the dark you could see his messy hair and you felt your heart jump.

"Floor time?" You tried.

"Floor time?" He repeated, standing in the same spot as his eyes continued to adjust. "That's evening activities, not early morning."

You tried your best to bring out the feisty so you looked normal to him.

"I was dizzy from drinking, can't I sit on my own floor?"

"Do you just hate me or something?" He said. "Or did you hear what I said last night?" He scoffed. "Is this your way of drawing a line?"

Shit.

"What are you talking about?" You said as you got up and put some space between you. "I didn't hear anything."

"Liar." He took a step. "You heard me."

You took a step back.

"I think you're still drunk." You tried. "Talk to me when you're sober." You moved to push past him, but he moved in front of you.

"You drank more than me last night and you know it."

"Don't." You started. "It's not my fault you don't know how to have fun." You tried to walk around him and failed again.

"There's no one here to impress with your little tough act so just drop it." He said. "Let's just talk about what I said."

"Tough act?" You stepped back. "I've always had more balls than you and you know it." You crossed your arms. "Mr. Butterfly phobia."

Even in the dark you could see him roll his eyes.

"Do I still look like the kid you met in second grade?" He took a step towards you, and you took one back. "Do you really still see me as that same kid?" He took another step, as did you, the corner of the table stopping you. "Because I don't see you that way." He took a final step before his eyes traveled lower. "Especially in those fucking shorts."

You quickly stared up at him.

"If you're fucking with me, it isn't funny." Your voice shook as you spoke. You moved to walk past him, but he placed his arms on either side of you, caging you in.

"I'm not fucking with you." He said lowly. "And I heard you earlier." He said.

"I didn't say anything." You weren't one to give in so easily, especially when it didn't benefit you. "Hanbin wants to meet for lunch. If I want any chance at looking decent I need more sleep." You were lying out of your ass but you hoped it would work.

You moved to push his arm but it wasn't moving.

"Hanbin?" His voice was an angry kind of low. "Do you even know what he thinks about you?"

He didn't give you a chance to respond before continuing.

"Do you know how much shit Hanbin's been talking about you? And how much I've had to try and save your feelings by getting you to leave him alone?" He pushed himself off the table. "Sugarcoating this whole situation so you wouldn't be left crying over some fuckface who can't keep his dick to himself?"

You were about to respond when he continued.

"She's so easy." He mocked with air-quotes. "A few outings, a couple fucks, a gift here and there. Now she thinks I'm a changed man." He went on, acting out what you assumed to be Hanbin's exact movements.

He wasn't looking at you as he got caught up in his feelings and you were glad. Even in the dark, you were sure he'd be able to make out your expressions. Your own feelings were coming up and if he wasn't in front of you, you'd have run back to your room.

"She's so stupid." He said the word like it hurt to come out. "Can you believe she thinks I'd actually date her? Why give up my roster for her of all people?"

"You can stop now." You grit your teeth, tears threatening to spill. You didn't expect much out of Hanbin, but hearing what he had to say about you hurt more than it should have.

"I know better?" He repeated your statement from before as he ran his tongue along the inside of his lip, his jaw tensing as he leaned back in. "And what do I know exactly, y/n?" He paused. "That I'm always right and that you never want to listen?"

"But you know better?" He changed his tone, still copying your statements from before. "Just what do you know?"

"I know that you're a dick." You started, gathering all the strength in you to push past him. "And that you are just as bad as Hanbin."

You didn't wait to hear a response before you rushed back to your room and locked the door.

-

You thought falling back asleep would refresh your mind but all you did was toss and turn until the sun finished setting. It didn't help that your head had started to hurt.

You sighed as you pulled your blankets off and sat up, the pain in your head intensifying slightly. You made your way to your restroom, and quickly grabbed the bottle of pain reliever before turning the faucet on to scoop some water with your hand. You quickly popped the pill in and threw your head back. Your first attempt left you gagging, everything but the pill going down. Your second attempt was more successful.

You sighed as you were left with the unpleasant taste. You knew you'd be fucked if you didn't wash it out, but you also knew you'd be fucked if Matthew kept up his attitude from before.

You reluctantly made your way out of the room.

"One would think we live together with how often you're here." You mumbled as he sat at your table eating a bagel. You would have grabbed one, too, if the bag wasn't so close to him. You settled on some juice.

It wasn't out of the norm for him to take care of you the day after you drank, but of all the days, you really wished he'd just go home.

"People already think we're dating." He mumbled back. "It would make sense to them if we lived together." He said before getting up.

"With how much we fight, people think we're siblings." You corrected, more to yourself. "No couple acts like we do."

"Well, most couples already know the other person likes them." He said flatly.

"What's that supposed t-"

"You know exactly what I mean." He cut you off. "How many times are we going to go back and forth like this?" He sighed as he looked towards you. "You know I like you."

The silence settled and you knew you should have been jumping at the chance to say something but part of this just felt like some sick joke.

"You even asked about mixed signals that I tried to clear up and you ran away." He continued his rant. "If you don't want me just fucking say that."

The silence took over again and you wanted to kick yourself. You wanted to tell him his shitty way of clearing things wasn't the move he thought it was. You wanted to tell him that him pretty much calling you an idiot wasn't going to get him anywhere. But the words just weren't coming out.

Why was this so difficult?

"Fine. You want me gone?" He said as he stood up. "I'm going."

You bit your tongue as you watched him grab his stuff before heading to the door. He reached for the knob.

Fuck it.

"And if I do still see you as the same kid I met in elementary?" You called out, feeling a minor surge of victory as his arm fell. "It's not like you've ever acted like anything other than that."

You could hear him scoff but he didn't turn around.

"I mean, you bicker like one." You said. "You beat around the bush like one."

"And you don't?" He said, his back still facing you. "You refuse to listen like one." He started his own list as he finally turned towards you. "And if you're left to your own devices, you get in trouble."

"I may not listen but at least I can say things with my chest." You admitted. "You can't be upset that I don't see you as a man when you've never acted like one."

He dropped his stuff where he was standing, his jaw tensing as he watched you.

"Look who's beating around the bush now."

He took a step.

"This is your way of trying to get me to do something, isn't it?"

Another step.

He was nowhere near you, but the act still made you back up. Talk about déjà vu, but this was different with the lights on.

"I've barely taken two steps towards you, and you can't even handle that." He scoffed. "Maybe I don't 'act like a man' around you because you can't handle it."

Your eyes narrowed at him.

"I can." You challenged. "Hanbin can attest to that." You let a smirk form on your lips as you watched his reaction. Sure, he was a dick, but you meant what you said. And you weren't going to pass up a chance to throw something back at Matthew. "Just admit you're not man enough to act on it."

You were fully aware your words were not matching your actions, but you couldn't back down. This is how your arguments always went.

Faking it 'til you make it.

"Then come here." He motioned with his finger.

You watched as he flicked his finger, and you felt your legs stiffen.

"I'll act on it if you do." He said simply. "I'm scared if I take another step you might stumble." He smirked.

His mocking tone urged you to walk forward, even if everything inside of you screamed to stay still. Every step was a different statement running through your mind.

There's no going back if you do this.

Your relationship won't be the same.

Can you handle losing him if things go south?

The second you were in front of him, though, the way his smirk grew had your mind going blank. His hand reached up to your face, his index finger raising your chin so you were looking up at him.

He leaned in slowly, his thumb moving to rest on your chin and keep you in place.

Your heartbeat was in your ears as his lips finally pressed against yours. It didn't take long for you to kiss him back, your hand coming up to hold onto the wrist of the hand that was supporting your chin.

You could feel him smirk against you before pulling away.

"How's that for beating around the bush?" He whispered as his lips hovered above yours, eye contact never breaking as the hand that was holding your chin moved to the back of your neck. Your hand sliding towards his forearm with the new position.

"Am I supposed to believe a tiny kiss is 'doing something'?" You batted your lashes. "Is this as manly as you get?"

"All you ever do is talk shit, you know that, right?" He smirked as he took a step forward, his other hand coming around to catch you when you backed up.

"It's my specialty." You fought the urge to stumble on your words. "Don't act like you don't love it."

He pulled you closer and the warmth that you met forced a gasp from you.

"Wanna see just how much I love it?" He whispered as his hand traveled to your lower back.

You didn't trust your voice this time. All you could give him was a nod.

"Look at how much better it is when you just listen." He said as he dipped his head down to press a kiss to your jaw, his head nudging yours to the side so he could continue to your neck. "If you spent less time fighting me, I could spend more time making you feel good."

You felt a shiver run down your spine when he kissed a certain spot and you felt him smirk before biting lightly. Your hand that was resting on his arm was now tightening around it.

You wanted to say something but the feeling of his hand that was resting behind you moving under your shirt made you forget what you were going to say.

"Can I touch you?" He whispered, his hand inching closer to your breasts.

You nodded and he stopped. He pulled away and looked down at you.

"Say it."

You could feel your face heat up as the words got stuck in your throat.

"What happened to saying things with your chest, hm?" He hummed, clearly amused at how quickly you seemed to forget your little speech. "Or were you just trying to get me upset?" He gave you a mocking pout.

"You're just a brat." He said, his hand slowly inching back up, the side of his thumb grazing the side of your breast, but not fully touching you. "Acting like you don't want someone who'll just do whatever they want with you." His hand moved under your breast, keeping the same small distance.

Your mind was fuzzy as his hand traveled across your chest to the opposite side. You wanted to admit it, but you were more focused on trying to arch into his touch, a move that he couldn't help but laugh at.

"Even now you're still trying to beat around the bush." He smirked as he pulled his hand away, reveling in how your face fell. "Admit it and I'll give you what you want."

You watched as he moved to lean against the back of the couch. He used his arms for support, and you couldn't help but marvel at the way they flexed.

"And you won't use it against me?" Your voice was smaller than before and you nearly cringed at yourself.

"Not in front of others." He gave you a smirk. "Can't have anyone else thinking you'll act like this for them."

The comment had you trying to hit his shoulder in retaliation but he was quick to grab it.

"I'd play nice while I'm playing nice." He looked down at you.

The way his hand gripped your wrist had you swallowing hard.

"And if I don't want to?" Your voice was still small, but he had to respect your will to keep up the act.

"We can chill like this and stare at each other all day." He smiled sweetly.

The hand that was holding your wrist pulled you into him again.

"We can stay," He paused, his free hand grabbing your other wrist and pinning them both in his hand. "Right. Here." He cocked his head to the side with an innocent smile.

You were holding eye contact more out of spite this time and his hand was back on you, but over your clothes this time.

"Y'know." He started, never breaking eye contact with you as his hands were more committed this time. That damned smile coming back when your body reacted. "I always figured you'd be all bark, no bite." His fingers softly ran over your nipple, and you let out a sigh. "I just thought you'd be begging by now." He said before lightly pinching it.

Your hands instinctively moved, but he kept them in place.

"I also thought you'd be feistier." He chuckled. "But you must really want something if you're not fighting like you usually do." His hand moved to give your other nipple attention. "I bet you want nothing more than for me to bend you over this couch." His words were emphasized with a harsher pinch, and you were embarrassed by the moan that slipped out of you.

He was barely touching you and your legs were already squeezing together.

"You'd like that wouldn't you, baby?" He smiled, his hands pulling your wrists so you were back to being right in front of him. "Just say the word."

You licked your lips before parting them, but as his gaze was more intense, you froze.

"Come on, pretty girl." He coaxed, his hand moving to pet your hair. "Tell me how much of a brat you are." His finger ran over your cheek. "How you talked all that shit just to rile me up." He whispered as he ran his finger over your lower lip. "Tell me how bad you want me."

He was talking so sweetly that you couldn't hold back anymore.

"Please," You whimpered. "Stop teasing."

"You know how to make me stop." He said simply. "Be a good girl and tell me what I wanna hear."

"I want you." You broke. "I want you so bad, please." You whimpered, hands tugging against his hold. "If I'd known you were like this, I'd never have acted up, I swear."

"'Like this'?" He quoted with a raised brow. "And what am I like, pretty girl?"

"Matthew, please." You whined and tugged against his hold again, but he only pulled you impossibly closer.

"What did I say about playing nice?" His voice was lower and you wanted nothing more than to take back everything you said in the past twenty-four hours.

"I didn't think you'd.." You trailed off, suddenly feeling small under his gaze. "Act like this." You swallowed. "...I thought you'd just give me what I want."

"Good girl." He smiled sweetly. "Now apologize for making this harder than it needed to be."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Tell me you want me." He licked his lips. "I'll give in if you tell me one more time." He smirked. "You just sound so pretty asking for me."

All trace amounts of shame that were in you were long gone as you practically begged him to do something.

He was quick to pull you back in for a kiss, his hand releasing your wrist and opting to rest on your ass before giving a harsh squeeze, your moan acting as encouragement. He moved the both of you around the sofa so he could sit, and you happily straddled his lap and hovered, wanting nothing more than for his hands to have room to do whatever they wanted. Your hands grabbed the sides of his face, the need to just touch him taking over.

It was as if he were making up for lost time the way his hands roamed over you before slipping into your pajama shorts from one of the leg holes, the action coaxing a gasp from you.

His fingers slowly slipped under your panties, and he moaned as he slid his fingers towards your clit.

He wanted to make a comment about how wet you were from the bare minimum. He wanted to ask why you were so needy. He wanted to pull away and make a comment about how right you were that he didn't know what a clit was just to make you squirm. He wanted to tell you to beg him to touch you. But the way you sounded was too good for him to want to interrupt. He could talk his shit later.

He was slow and steady with circling your clit as if you weren't nearly dripping. You were sure he could slide into you completely and you'd be more than fine.

"Don't tease." You whispered, your head dropping onto his shoulder.

"Making sure you can take me is teasing?" He chuckled, his finger moving to slide into you. "The last thing you need to bark about it how much you can take." His tone was serious, but you really couldn't handle the foreplay.

"Matthew, I damn near came untouched from you holding me still, just fuck m-" You were cut off as a moan was ripped from you when he roughly inserted two more fingers.

"I told you to play nice twice already." He growled, his hand coming up to grab your hair and make you look at him, the sight of you with your mouth hanging open making him twitch in his pants. "I don't ask three times."

Your legs tried to close but you fucked yourself over when you climbed over his lap.

"You're going to cum from this, then apologize." He told you sternly, his fingers alternating from fast pumps to slow. "If it's a good apology, I'll fuck you like you so desperately want me to." His eyes were back on you. "Is that understood?"

You nodded, but the way his thumb ran over your clit had the words spilling out of you.

"Yes, sir." You whined as the title came out, your eyes screwing shut in partial embarrassment. It was the last thing you wanted him to know.

"And here I thought you were a 'daddy' kinda girl." He smirked as his hold on your hair moved you so he could lean in and press more kisses against your neck, leaving small bites when he felt like it.

"Matthew, please, I'-"

"Ask sir for permission." You could feel him smirk against your neck and you couldn't help but clench. "If you cum without permission, I won't fuck you at all."

"Please, sir, can I cum?" You were glad he couldn't see you. You knew the way the tears were welling your eyes that he'd never let you live it down. "I need to cum, sir, so bad."

And just like that, your luck ran out as he pulled away to look at you.

"Look at me when you cum." His thumb was back on your clit and your body twitched. "If you close your eyes, I'm leaving."

You reluctantly opened your eyes. You didn't need to be told twice if it meant you could let go, your eyes nearly closing from the pleasure. You managed to keep them at a questionable squint, and you hoped Matthew would be okay with it.

As he slid his fingers out of you, your body fell completely onto him. The rough hand in your hair was now softly petting as you tried to catch your beath.

"Now where's that apology?" He said softly when he felt you calm down.

"I'm sorry for not being nice." You'd be ashamed of yourself if he didn't just fuck you up with his fingers alone. Maybe he deserved some sincerity. "I won't make you repeat yourself again, sir."

"Hmm," He hummed as he pretended to think on it. "Do you think you deserved to cum so quickly?"

"No, sir." You shook your head. "Thank you for letting me."

You were starting to fear the heat on your face was now permanent. How were you supposed to move on from this? The idea of maintaining a friendship was gone, but how were you supposed to even look at him after this?

"Do you still want me to bend you over the couch or would you rather stay right here?"

You whined against him at the way he phrased it.

"You'll call me 'sir' but I can't ask where you want it?" He laughed his usual laugh and your heart fluttered. "Come on," He moved you off of him and took his shirt off. "We can do missionary and you can stare at me all you want."

It was your turn to laugh.

"As much as I'd love more eye contact," You chuckled. "I'll take my chances over the couch."

"Don't blame me if you fall off." He smirked.

"Are you saying you'd let me fall?" You gave him your best puppy dog eyes. "That's not very nice, sir."

Instead of words, he grabbed you and pushed you over the back of the couch, your knees steady against the back of the sofa. You were glad to not be looking at him, but something about not knowing what he'd do first was getting to you.

You lightly flinched when your felt his hands at your waist, his hands hooking both your shorts and underwear into his grasp before he pulled them down.

"As much as I'd love to just push them to the side, I don't want to ruin such cute pajamas." You couldn't see him licking his lips as the pieces of clothing landed on your knees.

He ran his hands over your legs, his eyes trained on how goosebumps trailed behind his touch.

"Do you know how many times I thought about this?" He whispered as he took in the scene in front of him. It was more to himself, and he wasn't expecting an answer, but when you spoke up, he couldn't contain himself.

"Don't hold back, then." You whispered. "I'm all yours right now."

You felt a sharp slap on your ass and you hissed.

"You're all mine from now on." He said before slapping the opposite cheek.

The words had you clenching around nothing. You wanted nothing more than to ask him to fuck you, but you were scared he'd get upset again.

"Say it." He said, the sound of his pants shifting filling the silence after the question.

"I'm yours, sir." You repeated. "Always."

You felt him move behind you and place a hand on your back. It wasn't long before you felt him run himself along your folds, the pressure on your clit making your hips buck.

It didn't take long until you felt him teasingly slip himself inside just to pull out, then repeat, pushing himself deeper and deeper with every thrust.

"Fuck," He groaned once he bottomed out, the hand on your back balling into a fist.

"Please," You moaned as you clenched around him. "Matthew, I need you."

The desperation in your voice as you said his name was enough to pull him from his thoughts.

"I'll take it that we really can't go back from this." He groaned as his hands moved to grip your hips for support.

"You're literally inside me, why are you bringing this up," You whined as you gripped the sofa. He would bring up the most irrelevant shit.

"Because -fuck- I need to know this isn't a one-time thing." His voice was strained.

Of all the times to get emotional.

"It will be if you don't shut up." You bit back a moan when his hips sped up. "I'm trying to enjoy this." Your hand reached behind you and without asking, he was quick to hold on.

The interaction was enough to make your stomach tighten, and it wasn't long before you opened you mouth in a failed attempt to ask for permission to let go. He could feel you getting closer and spoke up for you.

"You don't have to, y/n." He ran his finger over your hand. "Just let go."

The gesture had your legs shaking and it confused you. You weren't one to come undone from gentleness in bed. Yet, here you were, Matthew's name falling off your lips as you tried to catch your breath. When he groaned your name as he came, you swore you could cum again on the spot.

When you both calmed down, he slowly pulled out and wrapped his hands around you to pull you off the back of the couch. He moved the both of you so you were laying down, but you moved so you were on his side instead of his chest.

There was a strange silence that took over and you started to wonder if he was regretting it. There was nothing wrong with crossing the line, but what if the realization took over that he couldn't uncross the line? Sure, he mentioned it, but what if that was a heat-of-the-moment thing to say?

As if he read your mind, he spoke up.

"Tell me this wasn't a one-time thing." He looked down at you while his thumb ran lines over your hip.

Maybe it wasn't a heat-of-the-moment type thing.

"Do you think I'd embarrass myself for a one-night stand?" You raised a brow. "After everything you made me say, it better not be a one-time thing."

"And just how did you embarrass yourself?" He chuckled. "The begging? The tears? Screaming my name?"

"You wish I screamed your name." You rolled your eyes. "Be nice or I'm locking you out."

"You'd let me back in." He challenged.

"You sure about that?" You raised a brow.

"Of course, I am." He smirked.

"You listen to me so well."

#i don't know what this is and we're not going to talk about it. okay? okay. cool. moving on. #birfday haphapp to my bby mattchuu <33 #seok matthew #seok matthew imagines #seok matthew scenarios #seok matthew smut #matthew #matthew imagines #matthew scenarios #matthew smut #zerobaseone #zerobaseone imagines #zerobaseone scenarios #zerobaseone smut #zb1 #zb1 imagines #zb1 scenarios #zb1 smut #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop smut #mine

[vickyvicarious]

Quincey being the rejected one who does admit he feels "darkness" from the rejection but being the one who calls for "Art" (showing how close they are) and also saying they need to drag "Jack" along... signing with "always" being his... And Arthur replying "count me in any time". Their friendship has strong foundations from the start!

Quincey is fabulous here.

First, he makes his proposal tailored to his dynamic with Lucy (the initial "hitch up alongside of me"). When he sees she isn't taking him seriously, he clarifies himself. But he's aware of her feelings and recognizes that he's upsetting her because she can't reciprocate. So he stops himself, and gives her an out without making her bring it up first. As a bonus, this also confirms to him that his friend's feelings for her are returned. He takes the news excellently: he's open about his sadness but also very clear that he is not upset with her at all. In fact, he's happy to be her friend no matter what.

Then, he does the same thing with the other two men. He doesn't hide the fact that he's sad. That's only to be expected; of course he is sad that the woman he wants to marry doesn't feel the same. But his feelings being returned isn't the most important thing to him. His top priority is the various people he loves being happy. So he tells Lucy he supports her, he tells Arthur he's happy for him.

He invokes their good times together in the past to Arthur and tells him, 'this will be just like that.' He calls him by a nickname (and Jack too), emphasizes the "always" of their connection. He's making it super clear that even though he's sad now, nothing about their relationship is going to be ruined by this.

And Arthur returns in kind! His own "every time" to match Quincey's "always" - the "count me in" a clear agreement that he wants this friendship very much. He even signs his telegram using the same nickname! As the one who was accepted, I doubt he would have felt comfortable making the first move to reach out right away, so Quincey stepping in to do so was really really awesome.

They are such good friends, and are intentional about maintaining that friendship too.

#dracula daily #quincey morris #arthur holmwood #jack.... also wants the friendship to continue but his coping mechanism is to withdraw so they have to seek him out and invite him #suitor squad #anonymous #replies

[softboynick]

wip wednesday - 5/29/2024

hello my loves. here i am back at it again with my @aroyallybigbangrwrb. it's chugging along, and i can confidently say that it is almost done. thank you @onthewaytosomewhere @tailsbeth-writes @henryspearl for the tags! appreciate you all always!! <333

here's an extra-long snippet from It's all in my head (I fuck up again and again) because i love you:

The moment a palace aide announces Alex’s arrival, Henry races out of his room. He skids to a stop when he sees him, standing underneath the archway of the foyer, his broad shoulders and big presence taking up space, and Henry has never been more in love. 

Alex is here. He’s here. 

Alex meets him halfway up the stairs, and they collide into each other like a massive supernova exploding throughout the entire cosmos. They sink down, arms wrapped around each other in a tangle of limbs, and neither of them can tell where Alex stops and Henry begins. 

“Alex,” Henry whispers, burying his face into the crook of his neck as the tension seeps from his shoulders. “Oh, my god. You’re here. You’re here.” He clings onto him, his fingers digging into his jacket, and drags him closer. A sob shatters his resolve when he feels a pair of lips press to the crown of his head. 

“I told you I would be,” Alex murmurs, his voice a familiar rumble that lights him up in every possible way. A soft, giddy laugh tumbles from his lips, the sound absolutely overflowing with happiness. “God, baby, I can’t believe I’m holding you right now. It feels like a dream.” He hugs him even tighter.

Henry’s lips curl into a smile, and he presses them into his skin, warm and so very real against his mouth. “Not a dream.” He pulls back, just far enough so he can take in Alex’s face up close. He brings his hands up to his cheeks, simply holding him. “Definitely not a dream.”

Not wanting to waste another moment, he leans in close to capture Alex’s lips with his own, his yellow rose come to life. Quickly, the kiss deepens, and Alex matches in his fervor as their lips part and tongues explore, tasting each other and making up for the time they’ve spent apart. Henry buries his fingers into Alex’s hair and grasps at his soft curls, a desperation underlining pure desire, delayed by months and months of separation. He only pulls away from the kiss when he remembers that he needs to breathe, and breathe, he does. 

He rests his forehead against Alex’s, and their eyes slip shut as they inhale each other’s air, slow and deep. His lungs feel full and complete for the first time in months, and he can’t think of anything else to say but:

“I love you.” 

His eyes begin to water now that the truth has finally broken free from the cage of his heart, a heart he once thought could never love again after his father’s passing. It had been broken, shattered beyond belief, but this American boy wrestled his way into his chest, past his dilapidated soul, and put his heart back together again, piece by piece. The bundle of letters tucked away in his bedside table is a testimony to that. 

As he stares into Alex’s eyes and gets himself lost in those pools of honey and whiskey, he has never felt happier. Alex stares back, surprise and then pure, unadulterated glee appears on his face. 

“You fucking beat me to it,” Alex says, and Henry tosses his head back and laughs.

----

tagging: @henrysfox @taste-thewaste @eusuntgratie @captainjunglegym @bigassbowlingballhead

@firstprincehornyramblings @priincebutt @tinyarmedtrex @anincompletelist @wordsofhoneydew

@bitbybitwrites @itsmaybitheway @luainthewild @sheepywritesfics @duchessdepolignaca03

@lfg1986-2 @anchor-bird-94 @heysweetheart-writes

#wip wednesday

[604to647]

Marine Attraction

4.3K / Detective Tim Rockford x fem!reader

Summary: When a stakeout at the aquarium does not go as planned, Detective Tim Rockford must interview all the aquarium visitors, including you.

Warnings: Fluff! Meet cute! Maybe a dirty thought or two that reader really should not be having about a (hot) man just trying to do his job 🤭 Made up Merge Mansion lore. One cute nickname because it’s me (won’t spoil).

A/N: This was written for @mermaidgirl30’s Ocean Challenge – thank you for hosting a lovely event.  Please see #Jamie’s Ocean Challenge for all the wonderful works! I’ve noticed that as of late, some of the authors that I look up to and consider mainstays in this community since I started lurking 2+ years ago have wanted to leave, needed to take breaks from the fandom or felt disconnected from the community.  This story is for you, about stepping away when you need to and maybe rediscovering how something old can still bring you joy. Xoxo, love you all.

Fishy dividers by @saradika-graphics 🥰

You’re not really sure how this happened.

You’ve been feeling a bit off, as of late.  Nothing was wrong, per say - your job is fine, your friends are dear, your life leaves you grateful.  It’s just that you feel… untethered.  Like you should be doing something more?  Work is fulfilling enough – you achieve and excel.  Friends and family make for wonderful company, but your social battery isn’t infinite and as much as enjoy your get-togethers, they can leave you drained.  Even some of your solitary pursuits, cooking, watching tv, scrolling through social media don’t seem to be as satisfying as they used to be – you consume, but you don’t create.

On a whim, you decide to take the day off work (the first in who knows how long?) and go somewhere you’ve always loved: the aquarium.  You’ve been visiting this aquarium since you were a child – something about the gentle hum of the tanks and the darkness that’s illuminated only by the glow of the exhibits has always relaxed you.  You’re going to go specifically to take photos.  Photography used to be a casual hobby of yours; you were even featured on local news blogs and had your photos chosen for a gallery showing once – but as life got busier and your other endeavours required more of your time and energy, it had fallen by the wayside.   It’s been forever since you took a photo walk or even a picture that wasn’t for capturing a moment rather than a snapshot.  You’re actually getting excited about shooting photos again.

It had been a serene couple of hours spent watching your unhurried fish friends and the silent watery dances of the marine plants that shared their abodes.  The aquarium is playing host to a few young families and two eager fieldtrips, but otherwise, you’ve had the place nearly to yourself.  Able to loiter so you can try different lenses and play with the lighting of your shots, or wait as long as you want in order for a mixed rainbow hue of fish to swim into frame, the morning had passed quietly and contently.

But now you sit in the children’s play area, the last of today’s aquarium visitors, waiting for your turn to be questioned by the police. 

---

Detective Tim Rockford is not really sure how this happened.

It had been a simple enough stakeout operation.  He and his team had received a tip a few days ago that there would be a handoff taking place at the aquarium today: an exchange of money between one of Grandma Ursula’s henchmen and a mystery player whose identity has eluded Tim for the entirety of this case thus far.  Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect Mr. Pie (so nicknamed by the squad for the Bolton Berry pies he consumed) to show up himself, but Tim held out hope that whomever they nabbed today would provide the break in the case that he so desperately needs.

Only, Grandma’s man had come and gone and none of the six men, Tim included, posted at the various vantage points and exits had seen a damn thing.  At some point between spotting their target enter the aquarium with a briefcase in hand, they had lost track of him and picked up his movements again only when he was already leaving the gift shop, empty handed.  How was it possible they couldn’t account for what happened in the aquarium?  Did the meeting with Mr. Pie occur?  Or was the briefcase stashed somewhere?  Tim presses the heels of his palms to his eyes and grimaces – the operation had been an utter failure. 

Not only did they not get what they came for, but now the remainder of the day was completely shot.  What had followed once the police realized just how out of depth they were, was a complete shut down of the aquarium with all visitors locked in and needing to be interviewed before they could leave.  Even the elementary school trips of thirty children.  Each.  After giving instruction to the additional LAPD support he called in to search the aquarium top to bottom for the missing case, Tim had settled in for a long afternoon of what he expected to be fruitless Q&As.

As he wearily enters the kids play area once again (an officer more considerate than he had suggested that given the number of children being held, it might be the best place to have everyone wait), Tim sees only one witness left to interview: you.  He had noticed you earlier, each time he came in to select another interviewee, in fact – if your pretty features and sweet smile hadn’t caught his attention first, your everlasting patience and kindness would have.  Several times, he spotted you playing patiently with the children – the sound of your melodic voice and gentle laughter floating above the grumblings of the other adults who had also had their days ruined. The sound eased the tense spot in his shoulders where his holster straps had started digging in a little bit.  At first, Tim thought you might be one of the teachers or a field trip chaperone, but then he noticed that you let all the school trips and families with children go ahead of you, and he overheard you tell his fellow officer that you didn’t mind waiting, that it must be much harder for the children.  He was grateful for you and he didn’t even know you.

As Tim approaches, you look up from your phone and shoot him the soft smile that’s been his one bright spot in this disaster of a day, though he thinks it seems a bit more tired than when he first had the pleasure of seeing it earlier this afternoon.

“Is it my turn?” you ask him, still in good spirits despite the circumstances.

“Sorry for the wait, miss.”

“No need to be sorry… Detective?”

“Detective Rockford.  Tim Rockford.  I appreciate that, it’s been… a day.”

You hold out your hand to shake his before repeating his name, then giving him your own.  Tim can’t decide if he likes the way his name rolls off your tongue, or the way your own name floats above the cheer of your voice more. 

“Well, hopefully I can help with… whatever has made it such a day,” you give him a sympathetic smile.

The kind of smile you might offer to him when he comes home after a long hard day.  Damn. He’s in trouble.  Focus, Rockford.

Since you’re his last witness of the day, he offers to conduct the interview right here instead of the stuffy office that the aquarium staff had lent him.  As you acquiesce to his suggestion, you stretch out your arms and legs, arching your back to work out a bit of stiffness from having sat for so long and Tim finds himself admiring your figure in a way that is decidedly not going to help him solve this case.  He tries to cover up his less than professional gaze by stretching himself – it feels good.

After collecting your information and starting with his routine questions, Tim realizes he’s pinning his hopes on you having seen or noticed something today – not only because no one else has, but so he can keep speaking with you.

When it becomes evident that you didn’t, he sighs a heavy sigh of disappointment. 

He hadn’t realized that he’s done so until hears you apologize; quick to reassure you that that you don’t have anything to apologize for, Tim places his large warm hand over yours before he can stop himself.  You gasp softly, you think only to yourself, but Tim hears the sweet noise and smirks a little – it’s nice to know he’s not the only one who’s been affected.  When he notices that you don’t move your hand away,  he lets himself revel in the feel of your soft, small hand under his for a beat longer before he removes it and somewhat begrudgingly starts to wrap up the interview.

---

Fuck. This fucking detective.  Rockford.  Tim Rockford.

Even his name is hot. 

You had noticed him earlier, of course – how could you not?  He was a hulking presence, impossibly broad and tall, and he carried himself with the authority and gravitas of a man in charge.  During the earlier hours of your wait, you had been preoccupied with helping entertain some of the young children in the waiting area who were restless with boredom, not sure why their promised day of aquarium fun had to be ruined by something as trivial as a police matter.

But once you caught sight of Detective Rockford’s handsome profile, it became impossible to not be captivated by the deep richness of his brown eyes or that strong nose that centered his face perfectly.  His grave countenance conveyed the seriousness with which he took his work (that facial scruff screamed he worked too much), but he was quietly calm and his tone gentle with all the witnesses, especially the children.  You couldn’t help but hope it was him every time an officer entered the waiting area. 

Some time between now and the last two times he had come in to call forth witnesses, the detective had lost his suit jacket, strolling in wearing only a gun holster and a white dress shirt that stretched taut over his firm chest and bulging arm muscles; you thought you were going to have to dunk yourself into one of the aquarium tanks to cool off just from the sight of him.

Your heart picks up a little when it’s him who appears when you’re the last one left to be interviewed; silently, you pray to Beyoncé to give you the strength needed to coherently answer the detective’s questions when he asks them in that honey laced baritone of his.

When Tim mirrors your big stretch, you hope you’re discrete enough that he doesn’t catch you staring: his limbs extend fantastically long, arm span wide enough to cast a shadow that reaches across the floor in front of you - he's huge.  After hearing the detective inhale a deep breath, it feels to you as if all of the air has been sucked from the room, leaving you dizzy as you gawk at his hard chest, expanding and pushing up against his crisp dress shirt, held closed only by the strained efforts of a few valiant buttons.

You feel bad that you have to answer in the negative to Detective Rockford’s questions.  Unfortunately, you hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary during your visit, too engrossed in your own photo taking, and you don’t remember seeing the man in the picture that he shows you.  You can tell that Tim tries hard not to show his disappointment and wish very much that you could please him, be the one to wipe the weary look off his face and the release the tension from his hunched-up shoulders.  Maybe please him in other ways, as well.  You have a feeling that praise from one Detective Tim Rockford would have you dripping wet and clenching around nothing embarrassingly quick. 

GIRL. GET IT TOGETHER.  For all you know, a serious crime took place here today!

You apologize.  Outwardly, for your inability to help him with his case, and inwardly, for the dirty thoughts that are wholly inappropriate to have about a complete stranger who is just, very competently, doing his job.

To try and put you at ease, Tim relaxes his handsome face and hopes to reassure you when he gently pats your hand; instead, a jolt of electricity shoots through you and you warm all over from his touch.  Maybe it’s your imagination but Detective Rockford seemingly lets his bear paw of hand linger over yours for a bit longer than he needs to, and you think you spy his plush lips curve up slightly at the corners when you gasp.  You might just melt off this bench right now.

“Oh, one last thing, did you take any pictures at the aquarium today?”

You nod, but are suddenly shy as you anticipate the Detective’s next question.  Tim nods at you matter of fact, “Good.  Could you please show me?  I just need to look through them quickly to see if there’s anything in the background that might be useful.”

He holds his hand out, not really expecting any resistance - you’ve been nothing but perfectly cooperative so far.  But when his hand remains empty, he looks over to find you adorably chewing your bottom lip while gripping your phone tightly with both hands, making no motion to hand it over.  For one ridiculous moment he panics, Are you Mr. Pie?!  He shakes his head slightly to rid himself of that ludicrous thought, and waits patiently for you to tell him what you’re remunerating on.

“It’s just that there are a lot of pictures..,” you start, “… and a lot of them are kind of duplicates…”

You know you’re being deliberately vague – sighing in resignation, you decide it’s best to just rip the band aid off.  Unlocking your phone, you go to your camera roll and filter to today’s library before handing over your phone without meeting the detective’s gaze.  Out of the corner of your eye, you see Tim scroll slowly through hundreds of photos of the aquarium’s exhibits; you attempt to avoid meeting his eye by focusing on how your phone looks inexplicably small in his big, rough hand.

“That’s… a lot,” Tim finally says when he reaches the bottom of the roll.

When you look up, you expect to see maybe a cringed look or even a mocking expression on the detective’s handsome face, but instead you find the massive man looking at you with a gentle curiosity, maybe even holding himself a little smaller in an attempt to not intimidate you.  It doesn’t seem to matter that you don’t really know him, you suddenly feel comfortable enough to tell Detective Tim Rockford this very personal thing about yourself – he might look like he's perfectly cast as the 'bad cop' in interrogations, but you have a feeling he’s got just as good of a track record playing 'good cop'.

“An old hobby of mine was… I guess they call it iPhoneography? Using apps to mimic traditional camera captures?  I used to love it, actually.  Selecting the different lenses and choosing different exposures, then seeing how the images would developed – of course, with the phone, you wouldn’t have to take it in and wait for a week or anything, it would be processed digitally in a matter of seconds.  But… editing apps are so common place nowadays, and most social media platforms have built in filters and effects - iPhoneography has sort of fallen out of favour,” you explain.  Tim is nodding along - he doesn’t really know what you’re talking about, he has three apps on his phone that he uses regularly (Weather, Candy Crush, and the app from the City that reminds him when to put out his garbage bins); the rest of the apps on his phone were preinstalled and he can’t figure out how to delete them.  But he encourages you to go on.

“In fact, I haven’t really gone out to shoot in years.  But lately… I’ve sort of wanted to get back into it?  I came to the aquarium today to fire up the old camera, so to speak.  That’s why there’s so many – a lot of the pictures are just of the same frame but where I was trying out different lenses or exposure options.  I’m not, like, super obsessed with fish or anything,” you finish up quickly, hoping you haven’t made a complete fool of yourself.

Tim hands you back your phone, still open to today’s photos, and smiles, “Why don’t you tell me about what you shot today?”

“Really?” you look up, surprised.

“Really,” Tim tries to convey his genuine interest via his eyes, and is instantly rewarded by a smile on your face that could light up the room.  It’s certainly lighting him up.

And so, you tell Detective Tim Rockford all about the photos you took today.  You swipe through your pictures and show him how the different lenses affect the lighting, exposure, saturation and even colour tinting of the resulting photo.  You proudly tell him about how you had to switch up your technique and settings when shooting the tanks where the marine animals or plants thrived primarily in the dark or relied on bioluminescent light.  You laugh, mainly at yourself, when you tell him about how long you stayed at certain attractions, waiting for a particular school of fish to swim perfectly into frame.

Tim thinks your laughter is the loveliest sound he’s ever heard.

You tell him your favourite sea creatures to photograph are the jelly fish because they’re so weird and they move with such alien grace, unpredictable yet seemingly purposeful, and that’s why there are more pictures of them than any other animal in your camera roll.

Tim finds himself enchanted watching you get more and more animated and excited as you go through the pictures you took today; while your eyes are peeled to your screen, he admires how they twinkle and the way your mouth slopes upwards, grinning wide even as you talk non-stop about your long-forgotten hobby.  Your pretty face is aglow.  He thinks he could listen to you talk about the things that bring you joy forever.

He lets you talk for an hour.  You don’t even realize until you get to the last photo (a school of clown fish weaving between the tentacles of their anemone home) and glance up at the time at the top of the screen, “…oh my gosh!  I’m so sorry!! I’ve prattled on for so long, I’m sure none of this was helpful at all!”

Tim won’t have any of that, “Don’t be sorry.  You had fun.  I’m glad you had some fun today… before I ruined it by sequestering you here in this waiting area for the entire afternoon.”

You shyly look at his apologetic face, “I’m having fun now.”

Tim can feel his ears warm and is sure they’re pink at the tips.  Darn, you’re sweet.  He distracts himself by flipping to a brand-new page in his notebook, “Me too.”  You feel your heart expand at his soft confession.

“Now, I have some good news and some bad news.”

You look at him expectantly with an innocent, doe-eyed expression that Tim thinks might be one of the most dangerous things he’s ever encountered in all his years on the force, “The good news is that I think you’re a very, very good photographer.  It’s clear you enjoy it and there isn’t a single photo you showed me today that isn’t obviously a labour of love.  I think you should get back into it if you can.  The way you were talking about your photos today, I don’t think I’ve seen that much joy on someone’s face in… I don’t know how long.  I’m grateful you shared that with me.”

You’re speechless.  His words are so, so kind… and exactly what you needed to hear today.  You’re filled with tremendous gratitude and fondness for Detective Tim Rockford.

“… the bad news is, I spotted the reflection of our man in the shadows on the glass in some of your photos, and I’m so very sorry but I’m going to have to confiscate your phone,” Tim could not be more truly sorry.

After the initial shock of being told you’re losing your phone for a few days, you quickly recover and tell Tim that you’re genuinely glad you could help.  You give him your email and use your phone to send off a message to a few of your group chats regarding how you can be reached for the next few days before dropping your phone into the evidence bag Tim produces.  Under different circumstances, you might be upset at this turn of events, but the expression on Detective Tim Rockford's face is more than enough to make the minor inconvenience worth it – he looks invigorated, energized.  Clearly, this is what he loves doing.

Walking you to the aquarium exit, Tim apologizes and thanks you again before seeing you out.  Right before the door closes behind you, you turn and see him already rushing off to brief his team, your plastic covered phone clutched in his hand and an excited grin on his face.  After the kindness and patience the detective has shown you today, you’re glad to have played a small role in putting that smile on his face.

True to his word, you receive an email from [email protected] just a few days later, letting you know your phone is ready for pick-up.  When Detective Rockford meets you in the precinct lobby, you have to suck in your breath – he’s even more handsome than you remember, and you’ve been spending nearly every waking minute over the past few days picturing his strong jawline, soulful eyes, and that charming facial scruff you’d give anything to run your fingers through.  He’s jacketless again, just another pressed white dress shirt that his broad frame threatens to rip through, bordered by those leather holsters that make you want to swallow your tongue.

As Tim takes you to Evidence so you can sign out your phone, he tries to chat amiably and not cast too many obvious and admiring glances your way; you’re all warmth and serenity in this place that he only ever associates with being loud, bustling and cold.  He simultaneously never wants you to leave and wishes to sweep you far away and keep you only for himself, distanced safely from this place where his every day is synonymous with darkness and mystery.

When you’re once again outside, Tim leans against the frame of the precinct’s front doors and you look up at him from one step down, hopeful, “Did I help?”

Yes.  You help more than you know, Tim thinks, having been unable to get your incandescent smile out of his mind since he last parted from you; finding that it’s become the image that grounds him during his long grueling hours.  Instead, he says, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“Oh no – not this again,” you grin.

Tim smiles back, emboldened by your cheery demeanor, “The good news is that a lot of your photos and what the tech guys called… um.. meta data?  A lot of it helped generate some good leads that we’re now following.”

“Oh!  That’s wonderful!  I’m so glad, Detective Rockford!”

“Tim.  Please call me, Tim.”

“I don’t know, I kind of like calling you Detective,” you tease, good naturedly.

Tim should not feel his pants tighten at this, “The bad news is, because your photos had so much useful information, there is a very good chance they will be used as evidence if this case ever goes to trial.  I don’t think you will need to testify, as you yourself didn’t see anything, and that meta data gives us the info on when and where the photos were taken.  But even so… it means I can’t ask you out until the case is over.”

“Oh no,” you’re disappointed, but somewhat mollified that Tim has just basically asked you out without asking you out.  “That is bad news indeed.”

Tim looks around to make sure no one is looking before he reaches out with his hand and gently strokes your cheek with the back of two of his thick fingers just once, whispering, “I’ve never wanted to put a case to bed more.”

You can’t let the joke pass you by, “The case?  The case is what you want to put to bed?”

The booming laugh that shakes Detective Tim Rockford’s entire torso reaches all the way to his eyes, crinkling them in the most adorable way.  It’s staggering the difference it makes – he looks 10 years younger, you think. 

He’s needed this.  A really good laugh.  He’s needed it more than he realized.  He’s needed you.  He looks at your impish grin, so proud of yourself for pulling this sound from him, a sound so rare that it’s become almost foreign to his own ears; Tim hopes he’s able to convey his gratitude for you with the way his eyes have brightened, flecked with gold and mirth. 

He thinks you just might understand him perfectly. 

When you lift up on your toes to brush your lips softly against his scruffy cheek for a goodbye kiss, he whispers low in your ear, “I’ll call you, Shutterbug.” 

A promise.

7 months later

The Grandma Ursula case has taken the nation by storm.  The TV in your workplace breakroom is permanently dialed to the court case broadcast so no one misses a minute of the scandalous proceedings, a single interview with those involved in the case, or any legal and criminal analysts’ commentary.  For someone who is billed as the Lead Investigator, Tim makes shockingly few appearances onscreen, but you feel a little thrill go through you whenever you catch a glimpse of his striking figure in the background of a news broadcast about the case, or when you see him standing stoically behind the head prosecutor while the latter debriefs the press from the steps of the court house.

You gaze dreamily at his face while the press shouts out what everyone (your friends, colleagues, the public) all want to know:

How many aliases does Grandma Ursula really have?

Can we even call it the Bolton Mansion anymore?

Why that particular number of pies?

You’ll be honest, you’re just as interested in the case as everyone else, but you have one pressing question that you know no one else is asking: Will he call when it’s over?

You’re in a departmental meeting when the verdict is read.  It takes you forever to get back to your desk, caught up in everyone’s excited chatter about the ruling, but when you finally sit down and pull out your phone from your drawer, it’s to the best outcome you could have hoped for from the Grandma Ursula case.  Positively beaming, you reread the text message sent from an unknown number only two minutes after the verdict was announced: Hey Shutterbug, take any good photos lately?

End note: The iPhoneography aspect of this fic is a bit self indulgent; some might know that this Tumblr used to be a photo blog before it became my writing blog. Just like reader, it's something I used to enjoy a lot but I haven't opened those camera apps in years - maybe I'll get back into it one day! In the meantime, yes - the aquarium photos in the moodboard are by yours truly 🤭

#Jamie's Ocean Challenge #Tim Rockford #Tim Rockford fic #Tim Rockford fanfiction #Tim Rockford x reader #Tim Rockford x you #tim rockford x f!reader #pedro pascal characters fanfiction #pedro pascal characters

[samptlay]

To My Sweetheart Who Carries A Wounded Heart Ch. 11

Series Masterlist, Chapter 1 🤍, Chapter 2 🖤, Chapter 3 🤍, Chapter 4🖤, Chapter 5🤍, Chapter 6🖤, Chapter 7🤍, Blade & Reader's Relationship, Chapter 8🖤, Chapter 9🤍, Chapter 10 🖤

Special Thanks to @msun1c0rn @uhfhfhfhf @klemen-time @delulu-val @skyl8ver @ssecylia @xdrin & ALL of my taglist. I love you all so much 💕

Donuts? The delicious creamy-filled cloud of fluffiness that has you head over heels in love the first time you tried them over 20 years ago? And who would believe that they would show up at your doorstep being carried by your soulmate? Maybe you were exaggerating by calling him that but you two understood each other more than anyone else could. Looking up from the pink box you were staring at for too long, you’re met with crimson eyes pouring into your own, a small smile on the man’s face.

“Do those happen to be for me?” You smile back, opening the door wider to let Ren inside to which he happily accepts the invitation and heads inside before you close the door behind him and take the box from his hands as he removes his slides. “You know I don’t like sugar, so they aren’t for me.” He chuckles while hanging up his keys before you both go to the kitchen.

You set down the box of Sweet Haven on the counter while Ren invites himself to your fridge and grabs a can of root beer, knowing he doesn’t even have to ask since you specifically buy a whole pack for the fridge for him and only him to drink when he comes over. Levi enjoys alcohol and keeps a lot in the house while Ren finds it displeasing, and with how much he comes over, you didn’t want your friend to have anything to sip on during his (often, though not too many since you’re married and it would seem inappropriate) visits.

Just the thought of you going out of your way to buy things for the time you two spend together makes him want to latch onto your body and never let go, and Ren’s sure you wouldn’t mind that much. It’s not his fault you decide to do all this but like you always say, it’s the little things that count.

When he turned around and leaned against the fridge while opening the can, he couldn't help but observe your eyes lighting up at the sweets when you opened the box. Ren found it enduring. Since the box was yours, either way, you just stuffed one in your mouth while turning to him.

“Thanks for being here right now, and for bringing these. I needed company and I have no idea where Levi is.” At your husband's name, you could visibly see Ren's expression harden a bit, and it would have made you giggle any other day but you weren't in the mood for humor and he didn't look as sarcastic as usual.

“So he left you alone on this day, without even letting you know?” You swore you could almost see a blood vessel on his body pop, and immediately felt the need to soothe his concerns. “Right now is hard for both of us, I don't blame him so please call down, he’s dealing with this in his way.”

There you go again, always defending him even though he can see the hurt in your eyes. Ren was about to open his mouth to call him out himself and let you know that you deserve better, (Quite literally, he wasn't going to boost himself but inform you of how he should be here.) However, you opened your mouth again before he could.

“Though, I… He asked for some space from me yesterday night and I didn't want that. I want to be anything but alone right now. You know I don't like distance, I hate it. He should know that I would want to stick together as well, so why..? Do you think he's starting to resent me? Do you think he blames all of this on me? He-”

You fall silent once you look up to see Ren in front of you, one thumb wiping away the tears that have formed in your eyes, oblivious to you. His other arm was unoccupied, made its way to your waist, and held you tight against his chest. He was offering you comfort and you couldn't be more grateful.

“...It wasn't your fault. I'm aware of what you might be thinking right now but believe me. Don't beat yourself up over this it's him, his fault-”

It's all Ren can say at the moment, and he so desperately wished he could say more but his mind was blank if it was any other thought concerning you. Yet you didn't defend or deny what he said, proving it to be true in his eyes. He couldn't stand seeing you like this, your tears were so foreign to him and they broke his heart.

You can feel his broad muscles flex as he still keeps one arm around your waist as he reaches across the counter, grabs a tissue, and slowly brings it to your face, as if not to alarm you. It makes you warm inside, the fact that he's always been so gentle with you. Even as he wipes all the tears away you can feel he's doing it gingerly.

However, it wasn't warm enough for you. You still can't stand touching your stomach without almost gagging, you still can't think about the life lost, your very baby lost at your own hands. Ren knows his warmth isn't enough either when he feels and sees you trembling in his arms and the streams down your cheeks seem never-ending so he sighs and places the tissue down and replaces it in his hand, cradling your face back and forth.

It made you smile a little bit and you were about to apologize for embarrassing yourself like this but only a choked sob came out. You drop your head to his shoulder and everything that's been building up since yesterday pours out of your soul. You knew Ren wasn't judging, you knew he would never think of you negatively in any way and he knew you needed him right now.

~

After Ren had carried you to your living room and warmed you up into a blanket, he put on your favorite show and sat beside you. He wasn't reaching out to touch you, though it took everything in him to hold back from doing so every time he heard a sniffle from you.

He wanted to hold you, he really did and Ren knew you wouldn't deny him even if you felt guilty, but the thing is you're still a married woman. So for now he'll settle with being the one to comfort you as you grieve. After an hour, he can hear your soft breath hitting his neck. He recognizes the pattern in your breathing and doesn't even need to look down to know you're asleep. He'll carry you to your bed in a moment and stay in the guest room until you wake up and the two of you could talk again. Ren just has a feeling your husband won’t be showing up any time soon.

~

A/N: I'm backk! School's done and I have a lot of time on my hands so expect more updates, at MAX every two weeks (keyword, MAX) I'm sorry for the wait, thank you all for the encouragement to keep writing, otherwise I believe the hiatus would have lasted longer. I love you all. Also, I want to give a special thanks to a bunch of my taglist for always supporting my work and for the encouragement I got from them. They don't realize how much I adore them.

Taglist:

@uhfhfhfhf @xdrin @msun1c0rn @umi-adxhira @lovingnahida @strrawb3rrysh0rtcak3 @ssecylia @skyl8ver @immahuman @meowmeowraven @01234 @markexplanation @esthelily @dawnofazrael @chickenalfredo4life @eccaza @jun-xiu @klemen-time @delulu-val @everi-eve @cluelesstoeverything @strangersomeone @lapinaenmicoche @alwayslegendarymoon

Borders by @cafekitsune

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #fem reader #blade x reader #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #ao3

[soapywankenopy]

SDV car headcannons

[this gets pretty specific because i've had way too much time to think about it]

1. Harvey

Harvey drives an old, beat-up red Ford Ranger. It's a standard transmission, and the clutch is super finicky, so when he tries to drive other cars, he has a bad habit of shoving in the clutch too hard (or if it's an automatic, slamming on the break, thinking it's the clutch). It was a gift from his parents when he started med school. It was old when they bought it, but Harvey does his best to maintain it. He's not a "truck guy," but he changes his own oil and keeps it running well. He would like to buy a Subaru because "they're very safe cars," but he doesn't use his truck a lot as it is, so he doesn't see a need to get a new car.

2. Leah

Leah drives a silver Subaru Baja. You can not convince me otherwise. She views cars as a necessary evil. It wasn't really all that useful in the city, but she's glad to have it now that she lives in Pelican town. It's well-loved, and it's pretty beat-up, but Leah says it works fine for what she needs it for.

3. Shane

He drives a 1999 Ford Taurus in that weird pinky-gold color. It smells like pizza and pepper poppers, and there are feathers in the backseat. Sometimes, he'll let Jas sit on his lap in the driver's seat and let her steer while he works the pedals. Mayor Lewis caught them once and was not happy. Shane does it anyway because it makes Jas happy.

4. Sebastian

He drives a motorcycle, lol. I admittedly do not know very much about motorcycles, but it looks like a blue Kawasaki Vulcan to me, but idk. (If you know more about motorcycles, feel free to give your two cents)

5. Sam

Sam does not have his own car, but he frequently borrows the family van. It's a silver 2003 Honda Oddysey. The van lands him with driver duty for the band and their equipment.

6. Elliott

Elliott disagrees with cars ideologically. He had a grey 2004 Mitsubishi Outlander that he inherited from his aunt. He sold it before he moved to Pelican town. He thinks it's more romantic to walk everywhere, but if you ask him why he walks everywhere, he'll say, "Because of the environment."

7. Penny

Penny doesn't drive. Pam tried a million times to teach her, but Penny just doesn't want to. She doesn't trust herself with such heavy machinery.

8. Maru

Maru does not have a car but will borrow Robin's work truck if she needs to. Sebastian definitely taught her how to ride a motorcycle. One of her many ongoing projects is a custom bike for Sebastian. Demetrius was very insistant that she learned to drive stick.

9. Abigail

Abigail does not know how to drive. Pierre was too busy, and Caroline never felt the need to teach her. She's happy to explore by foot, so it doesn't really bother her.

10 & 11. Emily & Haley

Their parents bought them a 2012 light green Toyota Prius to share. Haley thinks it's cute and Emily likes that it's a hybrid. Haley says eventually she might buy a blue Volkswagen Bug.

12. Alex

Alex doesn't drive and it's a sore subject for him. Don't bring it up. He might end up crying. He's always said that he would want a green Dodge Charger as soon as he learns to drive.

I have more headcannons about the other characters, so I may put them in another post

#sdv headcanons #sdv #stardew #stardew valley #sdv harvey #sdv leah #sdv shane #sdv sam #sdv elliott #sdv penny #sdv maru #sdv sebastian #sdv haley #sdv emily #sdv alex #sdv abigail #why was i thinking about this? idk man #many thanks to my friend for helping out with some of these

[milliesfishes]

Hi!!! I love ur writing! I was wondering if u could write when for some reason reader and billy break up but maybe its a misunderstanding or he did something but they break up but end up getting back together? No rush!!

you and billy break up (then get back together) fem reader x billy the kid warning: reader has loss of appetite/has a hard time eating for a period of time

Billy knew that it was hard to be with him.

He knew that being the sweetheart of an outlaw had more than its fair share of difficulties. People talked about such a sweet girl being with such a hardened man, and it took a toll on you. You weren't ashamed to be seen with him in public, but he was always keeping an eye out, wary of the judgmental stares and not so subtle whispers.

Because he knew he didn't deserve you. You were such an angel to him, a sweetheart in every sense of the word. So, he doted on you, spoiled you the best he could. With kisses, cuddles, sweet words, little gifts he'd bring you from the places he came and went. Because he loved you, more than anything. And he was overly concerned with what he thought you needed to have.

Which is why he'd come to the conclusion he was at now, standing in front of you in a dimly lit barn, hat literally in hand.

You were crying, your eyes hopeless as you looked up at him. He felt awful seeing you like this, felt awful that he'd made you cry when you hadn't even done anything wrong.

"I’m sorry baby,” he whispered, his expression somber.

“Why?” you asked quietly, tears pouring down your cheeks. “What happened…what did I do-“

“Nothing.” He cut you off, dropping his hat and going to you. His hands came to your cheeks. “You didn’t do a damn thing wrong. You’re perfect, angel.”

“Then why?” Your words were pathetic in tone, desperate.

He sighed, looking down at you sadly. “I ain’t no good for ya darlin’.”

“I don’t care,” you pleaded, holding his wrists. “I love you. I don’t wanna live without you.”

“Baby…” he tilted his head, eyes somber. “I love ya too. Love ya more than my guns. But I can’t do this to ya…’s hard on ya.”

“No it’s not,” you insisted.

“Ya don’t know what you’re sayin’ darlin’,” he shook his head, the weight of all he’d seen in his voice. “One ‘o these days they’re gonna find me ‘n string me up by the neck from the nearest tree. Your heart’s too pure. Can’t put ya through that.”

“There’s no guarantee of that,” you pleaded, tugging on his shirt. “Billy.”

“Sweetheart…” he shook his head firmly and you could see he wasn’t budging.

And so you dissolved into tears.

“‘M sorry baby…’m so sorry,” he brought you to his chest, pressing your face to his chest. “Baby.”

You shook your head, pulling away from his arms, not wanting him to comfort you, not wanting him to see you like this. “Do-on’t.” Your voice broke in the middle of the word, collapsing in a sob.

Billy looked helpless. “Sweetheart?”

You shook your head, turning your back, folding your arms around yourself and whispering, “Just go.”

He felt a little stab in his chest. Unable to do anything else, he nodded, picking up his hat. Before he shut the door behind him, he said, “I’m sorry. I love you.”

And then he was gone.

You pined for him. The only thing you could think of was Billy. Your mood was noticed by your father, who was confused at it. You were usually so happy and vibrant. He didn’t know you’d been seeing Billy of course, or anything that had transpired between you two.

After about three weeks of this, your father sent you out with a few of your friends. He gave you a little money, telling you to get something nice. You knew he was trying to make you smile, so you did, albeit a little sadly.

Your friends were lively, chattering eagerly as they walked arm in arm with you. They were trying to cheer you up, you knew, but you remained solemn, forcing smiles to make them feel better.

They went inside a shop, and you lingered outside, hoping they wouldn’t notice. Luckily for you, they didn’t, and you breathed a sigh of relief.

You leaned against the wall, your head resting against the wood as you looked out at the square. It was bustling as usual, with people coming and going all over the place. You were numb to the energy of it all, a cloudy haze coming over you as you simply watched.

In the three weeks since he'd ended things you hadn't heard a wink from him. You'd avoided town as not to see him, and all but barricaded yourself in your bedroom. You figured the distance would make it easier, but in truth it only made you miss him more.

You didn't sleep. You were hardly eating. It was a miserable existence, missing him.

Looking back at the shop door, you wondered what on earth was taking your friends so long. Or maybe they'd only been in a few minutes. Time was irrelevant to you these days.

"Darlin'?"

Your head turned, and there he was. Tall dark and handsome. Gun at his hip. He looked concerned, but you'd grown so used to that look on people's faces that you hardly batted an eye.

"Billy." You offered him a tired smile.

He looked just short of stunned. You knew you didn't look well, but by the look on his face you would have guessed you were close to death. "Ya doin' okay?"

Shrugging unhelpfully, you said, "Fine."

Billy raised an eyebrow. "Ya look a long way from fine, pretty."

You pursed your lips and shook your head tiredly. "I don't know what you want me to say." Reaching your hand up, your fingers found the end of your hair, pulled into a loose braid. "It's been hard."

"'S been hard f'me too," he said softly, looking as though he wanted to reach for you. "Sweetheart...I'm gonna ask ya 'gain 'n this time you're gonna be straight with me. Are ya doin' okay?"

It was no feat to see that you weren't, but you felt as though he could see the extent of it. He'd always been able to see you so clearly. Billy had only said a few words to you for the first time in weeks, and yet his presence disarmed you. You bit your bottom lip, not wanting to cry in front of him. You'd already done so much crying. So instead of speaking, you simply shook your head.

"Thought so," he said gruffly, moving closer to you. He lifted your chin to look into your eyes, studying your face. "You been eatin' at all honey? Sleepin'?"

Your silence told him everything he needed to know. Instead of waiting for a verbal answer, he nodded and held out his other hand. "C'mon, we're gonna go get ya somethin' to eat."

"No," you shook your head, drawing back from him. "It's okay Billy. I don't..." You didn't want to be a burden. For some reason it embarrassed you, having to be taken care of like a child. Having to be coaxed to eat. It all made you feel unexplainably guilty.

Billy knew his girl, knew you well enough to understand you didn't want to be coddled. At least, not right now. So instead, he kept his hand held out for you. "Why don't we go for a walk, hm? Just you and me."

You hesitated, looking at his hand. It was tempting. You'd missed him so much. On the other hand, he was the one who'd hurt you. Besides, "I can't leave my friends."

"I'll have ya back soon. It'll be alright," he reassured you.

When you looked up at him, his eyes were so earnest, so caring. He nodded, giving you a small smile of encouragement and flexing his hand.

So, you took his hand, and let him guide you. He kissed your fingers, and the two of you walked side by side outside of town. You knew where he was taking you- your special place for when you were feeling overwhelmed or upset. It was the top of a hill, where a tree growing peaches sprouted tall and wide.

Billy sat you down, and set himself beside you, leaning against the trunk. His hand was still holding yours. He looked over at you, just watching you for a moment. Then he ventured to speak. "How've ya been?"

You knew you couldn't lie to him. "It's been really hard," you whispered, looking at the ground.

His brows were knitted, eyes soft as he looked at you like you were disappearing. "You haven't been eatin', have ya?"

Shaking your head, you refused to look at him. Though your appetite had disappeared not of your own volition, you still felt ashamed.

"We gotta get ya somethin'," he squeezed your hand. "Can't have ya wastin' away."

"I can't," you nearly choked out. "I haven't been hungry for so long."

Billy exhaled softly, nodding. Then he looked up at the tree, at the heavy fruit hanging from the branches. "Could ya eat one of these, honey?"

You shrugged hopelessly. He stood up briefly, picking a peach from a low branch. Sitting down beside you, he held it out. "Try it."

The peach was perfect; plump and round and rosy. Any other time it would have tempted you, but you could only stare at it now, willing yourself to want it.

Seeing that you weren't going to just eat it on your own, Billy took a bite himself. "We'll share it. Just try a bite f' me, yeah? It's good."

You looked from him to the peach, your mind running. Maybe just a bite wouldn't hurt? So hesitantly, you took the peach and held it up, looking at him again.

He nodded, giving you a smile. "Go on pretty."

Your teeth sunk into the peach; the juice sweet on your tongue. The fuzzy skin was a comforting texture, and you swallowed your bite. Almost as soon as you did, your stomach growled lightly, accepting the bite and wanting more. Your eyes filled with tears, and one slipped down your cheek.

Immediately, Billy gathered you in his arms, hugging you close and kissing your hair. "Atta girl...ya did so good...know that was hard...'m so proud of ya..."

You turned in his arms, burrowing into his chest, where you knew it was safe. You'd missed everything about this, missed everything about him.

He rocked you back and forth. "Ya think ya can do another for me? Just a little bite?" Billy took the peach from you and took his own bite.

Nodding, you sat up and did as he asked. The two of you passed the peach back and forth, until there was nothing, but a pit left. You stayed in his arms long after you were done, just savoring the feeling of his arms around you.

He kissed your forehead, arms around your collarbone holding you against his chest. You whispered, "I missed you so bad."

"I know," he breathed, his cheek on the top of your head. "Missed ya too."

The truth of that statement hung in the air. You were both miserable without each other. And you knew he wanted you back, but his thoughts about himself were holding him back.

"I don't care if you think you're going to hurt me," you turned a little to look at him. "You're not a bad man."

He shook his head, exasperated. "Baby-"

"Would a bad man be holding me?" you asked, cutting him off before he could say what you knew he was going to say. "Would a bad man have cared that I haven't eaten or slept very much?"

Billy was quiet, just looking down at you. Finally, he said, "Guess not."

"No. A bad man wouldn't," you said quietly.

He sighed, shaking his head, but a tiny smile found its way to his lips. "You're a stubborn girl."

"I wish you wouldn't make me be," you countered, and he laughed lightly. Then your face turned serious. "Don't you ever do what you did again. I missed you so bad...it was like I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry angel," he said softly, his hand finding its way to your hair. "Second I left I knew I shouldn'ta done it. Been hurtin' too. Need my baby."

You nodded, turning in his arms so your stomachs were pressed together, your arms wrapping around him. He cuddled you close, holding you late into the afternoon. Right then he knew leaving you would hurt you worse than anything he thought he'd bring your way. So right then he vowed to focus on what he had control over. He couldn't manage whether or not a bounty was on his head, but he could choose to keep you close.

#billy the kid #billy the kid fanfiction #billy the kid x reader #billy the kid x you #william h bonney x reader #william h bonney fanfiction #william h bonney x you #william h bonney imagines #billy the kid 2022 #billy the kid imagines #billy the kid fluff #milliesfishes billy

[sirludox]

please tell me all about your zosan pony verse i love them!

Oh my god it would be an honour! I'll start off by mentioning that the reason I chose Sanji as a pegasus was I see his more flamboyant personality fitting that better and i just could not imagine a horse wielding 3 swords without some sort of help so I tinkered how unicorn magic works slightly with it being more closely related to mental and physical strength rather than just being a sort of cheat code haha! Also it was fun imagining a more brutish unicorn compared to the usual elegance of one! Zoro did in fact lose his horn with his first meeting of Mihawk! I was debating making him lose it when he lost his eye but I felt like him dedicating himself even more to training and meditation to make up for what he's lost fit better with it occurring much earlier on than randomly off screen like his eye. Sanji also witnessing him lose his horn yet still declare his loyalty and never losing a fight again would push Sanji to join the crew since he cant fly Sanji, like I said, can't fly mostly related to a) the deformed genes from the poison and b) his wings were bound down when he was a kid by Judge while he was imprisoned much like how he had the helmet on. While their growth wasn't affected, having no prior training on top of the messed up genes means as much as he can do with "flying" is gliding off of tall places or high up but even then that's limited. His "sky walk" is still done with his legs like in the original, so while he can technically "fly", he can't feel the wind between his wings like he normally should for having wings and so he often enjoys spreading his wings out on windy days to ease the desire of "freedom"! He uses his wings primarily as he would hands now, using them to carry food and dishes out and express emotions with them, and absolutely hates having them constricted (it begins to freak him out slightly). Sanji then learnt to use his legs (mostly his back ones) for fighting from Zeff (whom im still debating lost a leg or a wing) and the rest is history! These two still bicker and are the exact same as they are in the original, just with the bonus addition of them bonding over them missing their core "features" of their kind, a broken horn and useless wings. They never ever bring these aspects up in a way to offend/insult the other, as they know they're both rather sensitive topics, but they both use what they've lost to their advantage and dont let any of it hold them back Some more unique quirks they have now are:

Sanji preens/grooms his feathers a LOT and takes a lot of care with them. These days (20's), he's allowed Zoro to preen him when he can't from injuries, and Zoro is good with it/surprisingly gentle after learning from Kuina

Unicorns usually rub/touch horns gently in a comforting manner between family or extremely close (wink wink) others, and butting heads/clashing is more aggressive (which is why zosan often bump heads when arguing). As a trade off for the preening Sanji will often gently touch his head to Zoro's as thanks, or when he's in a particularly bad spot (be it physically or mentally) as a way to comfort him without words being needed to be said. Sanji doesn't know the more romantic connotations of it <3

Sanji tends to "fluff up" during preening as subconsciously finding it extremely relaxing and pleasing and Zoro pokes fun at him for it a little but not too much to avoid scaring him away

40 year old Zosan here has Sanji much more comfortable asking Zoro for a preen or "demanding for it" and Zoro finds it "so annoying" but does it anyway (theyre grossly in love)

Sanji will tease Zoro for being so "brute" as a unicorn, and Zoro teases Sanji for being a "dumb peacock"

Sorry for so much of a ramble haha they're just so much fun to work with, and included a couple sketches to kind of go along with things and explore other characters! If you (or anyone) has any other questions I'll be happy to answer ❤️ (sorry if some of this doesnt make sense haha)

#one piece #op #roronoa zoro #zoro #black leg sanji #sanji #zosan

[ih21506]

Can you do a fic where the reader meets Sam as a teenager in high school, they fall in love, but Sam has to leave? I don't know but I would really like to read something like that :)

| Teenage Heartbreak |

GIF: @jus-clowning-around

Pairing(s): Teen!Sam Winchester X Teen! Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff / Angst

Warning(s): heartbreak, kissing, mention of arguments.

A/N: I love this idea, and I’ve loved writing it. I was also thinking of doing a second part to this where Sam and reader meet again, years later, so when you’ve read this let me know if that’s something you’d like to see.

——————————————————

The 10th Grade class was settled and seated into their first lesson of the day, the teacher was about to start speaking, then the classroom door opened and in walked boy.

“I think I’m supposed to be in here?” The boy said and the teacher checked a piece of paper on her desk.

“What’s your name?”

“Sam Winchester, Ma’am,”

The teacher confirmed that this Sam Winchester was supposed to be in this classroom, then told him to sit in the empty chair next to you.

“Hi, I’m-” Sam began to say to you but you cut him off.

“I know, I was also in the classroom a minute ago when you said your name,” You said, Sam opened his mouth as if he was about to speak but then he closed it again, “I’m Y/n,”.

You stuck your hand out towards him, and he shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sam said with a small smile.

“So where’d you move from?” You asked Sam as the two of you walked down the school hallway.

“Nowhere really, my family moves all over the place, never stay in one place for long,” He explained and your brows scrunched together.

“Doesn’t it get lonely? Moving all the time?” You questioned and Sam shrugged his shoulders.

“Not really, I guess I’m just used to it by now,” Sam told you, the two of you then arrived at your locker.

“Am I right when saying you’ll need to catch up with the school work?”

“You are,”

“Well…” You picked up a pen, and tore some paper out of one of your books, then wrote down your address, “Come over after school, I’ll help you,”

—

“You didn’t,” You smiled and Sam nodded his head.

“Yep, you should have seen how angry our father was when he found my brother and I,” Sam said to you.

It was another night of you and Sam studying together, you sat up with your legs crossed and Sam laid on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. By now Sam was pretty caught up with school, m you just used studying as an excuse to hang out.

“What about your mom? You don’t talk about her much,” You asked, curiosity getting the better of you.

“My- um… My mom died when I was a baby,” Sam said and now you felt bad for bringing it up.

“Sam I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-” You began speaking but Sam cut you off, placing his hand on yours.

“It’s ok, really. Like I said, she died when I was a baby, so…” He told you.

Looking down at your hands, you lifted yours with Sam’s, interlocking your fingers, and Sam followed your actions.

You looked from your hands and back to Sam, for a moment the both of you sat in a comfortable silence, then he pushed himself up and pressed his lips against yours.

“Y/n! I’m going to the store, do you need anything?!” Your mom called from downstairs, making you and Sam pull apart.

“No!” You yelled back. The sound of the front door opening and closing soon followed, then you and Sam laughed.

“Let’s go out somewhere tomorrow, somewhere nice, I’ll pick you up,” Sam said and a smile formed on your lips.

“Like a date?”

“Yeah, a date,”

—

Your first date with Sam was perfect, he was perfect, and there have been many more since.

This being one of them… The two of you had a blanket laid out in the park grass with a picnic basket sat close by. Sam sat with his hands placed behind him, propping himself up, while you laid with your head in his lap as you read your book, occasionally sharing random facts with him.

“I got you something,” Sam suddenly said as he reached into his pocket. You sat up on your knees and Sam pulled out a small square box, handing it to you.

“What is it?” You asked, and Sam laughed at you.

“Open it and you’ll see, won’t you?”

Rolling your eyes at him playfully, you pulled off the lid, which revealed a simple silver chain that had a star pendent, with a small opal crystal in the middle of it, attached to the chain.

You had always been fascinated with stars, astrology, and things like that, something Sam was well aware of, which made you love the necklace even more.

“Sam, I love it, thank you,” You spoke as you carefully pulled the necklace out of the box, “Help me put it on?”

“Yea, of course,” Sam sat up fully and took the necklace, then you turned around and held up your hair so it wouldn’t get in the way.

When Sam fastened the clasp, the thin chain fell perfectly around your neck.

You turned around and hugged Sam, his left arm wrapped around your waist while he used his other to prop himself up again. Pulling your head back, you kissed Sam and he happily kissed you back.

“Y/n I-” Sam began to speak, but then an unknown voice came from behind you, cutting Sam off.

“Isn’t this adorable,”. You turned your head and was about to say to something to this stranger, but then Sam spoke first making you quickly realise the guy wasn’t a stranger.

“Dean? What the hell are you doing here?!” Sam asked, sounding irritated.

“Dad and I just got back from our… work trip. Imagine my surprise when I found out my baby brother has a girlfriend,” This Dean said with a smirk, then Sam turned to you.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll be back in just a minute,” Sam told you, then he was up on his feet and dragging his brother away.

From what you could see, the two were arguing, so to preoccupy yourself, you picked your book back up and began ‘reading’ it, occasionally looking up to glance at Sam and Dean.

Eventually, Sam returned back to you and sat in his previous position, so you placed your book back down.

“Is everything okay?” You asked, concern written all over your face.

“Everything’s more than okay,” Sam told you, with a small smile.

“M’kay, if you say so,” You hummed, Sam then pulled you back towards him by your waist and you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“I do say so,” He said back, his eyes flicked down to your lips for a moment before they moved back up to your eyes and he whispered, “I love you,”

You were slightly taken aback by his words, but once they sunk in and you had processed them in your head, a smile formed on your lips.

“I love you too,”

—

Sam seemed a little off recently, from what he tells you after showing up on yours and your mothers doorstep most evenings, he’s been getting into a lot of arguments with his father.

He never specified what they were about, but they seemed bad. And thankfully your mom was quite fond of Sam so she didn’t mind him being around so much…

Tonight was another one of those nights, around an hour ago, Sam showed up and now the two of you laid in your room. The two of you had fallen into a comfortable silence, you laid on your back and Sam had his head resting on your chest while you played with his hair.

“My dad’s moving us to another town, most likely another state.” Sam told you, breaking the silence, and you took a deep breath.

“When?” You asked, and Sam was hesitant to answer.

“Tomorrow morning…” He said and you sat up.

“What? How long have you known about this?”

“Two weeks, it’s why I’ve been in so many arguments with him, I’ve been trying to stop it,”

“Sam, we can still stay in touch there are ways of doing that, why do you sound like it’s impossible to do that?” You said to Sam and he sat up this time.

“We move a lot, this is probably the longest we’ve stayed in one place, we never go to the same place twice, and there’s times where I’m not able to talk to people outside of my family for weeks, a whole month sometimes,” Sam explained and you were in shock.

“Jesus Christ Sam, you sound like your on the run or something!” You said in disbelief, and Sam sighed in defeat.

“It’s just my dads work… I’m sorry,” Sam kissed your cheek before he got up from your bed and headed towards the door.

Tears flooded your eyes as you watched Sam walk away. When he got to your bedroom door and was about to leave you quickly got off your bed and practically ran after him.

“Sam, wait,” You spoke, he turned around and you placed your hands on his cheeks, “Do you have to go home tonight?”

“I can be picked up in the morning,” He told you, and you placed your lips on his.

“Stay tonight…”

The next morning came too fast for your liking, one minute you was laid in bed with your head on Sam chest while he held you, and the next Sam was being called downstairs by your mother telling him his brother was here.

When you got to the bottom of the stairs, you hugged Sam for a good two minutes before he placed a kiss on your forehead.

Neither of you could bring yourselves to say a last goodbye, and before either of you had a chance to second guess yourselves and say something, Sam walked past his brother and out of the door.

“Y/n, I’m sorry we have to leave like this,” Dean said to you as he stepped out onto the porch.

“I hope whatever it is your father does for work, is worth it to him, because all it does is hurt Sam,” You said then closed the front door.

Turning around, you saw your mom stood with a sympathetic look on her face before you broke down in tears.

“Oh c’mere, sweetheart,” She told you and you walked into her arms.

“It hurts mom,” You cried as it felt like your heart shattered into a million pieces.

Outside, Sam sat in the back of the impala, his eyes fixated on the neighbourhood outside as tears threatened to fall down his cheeks.

“Sammy you good?” Dean asked as he sat next to their father in the front.

“Yeah… amazing,” Sam said, his voice void of any enthusiasm or emotion.

“Don’t worry kid, you’ll find someone just as good as her,” John said as he started the engine.

Dean looked back at his younger brother for a moment, guilt settling in his chest as the impala began to move.

A tear escaped down Sam’s cheek, as the silent suffering of heart break overwhelmed him.

He hoped that he could feel okay eventually, but he also hoped his father was wrong. Sam truly believed there would never be anyone as good to him and as perfect as you was…

——————————————————

#dean winchester #sam winchester #sam winchester x y/n #sam winchester x you #sam winchester x reader #spn #spnfandom #supernatural #fluff #angst #sad ending