#dream: *suspiciously silent and sipping tea* | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wardenparker · 2 years

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Killer Writing - chapter 3

Dave York x plus size female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

After divorcing Carol so she could marry her soulmate, Dave York threw himself into his work. There is no way he could have predicted that the unexpected collateral damage on an op would turn out to be his soulmate. Now all he can do is keep you safe, and try his best to get you to not hate him as the two of you try to navigate a blooming relationship that started out with threats and a mean right hook.

Rating: Mature Word Count: 6.8k Warnings: *Blanket content warning for self-esteem, self-image, and weight issues.* Mentions of family member deaths and domestic abuse, soft Dave deserves a warning all his own. Blink and you miss it masturbation reference, a ton of awkward flirting, cheeky bit of nudity (m), things are starting to heat up. Summary: As their time together marches forward, the soulmates are starting to get to know each other a little better. Dave steps out of his comfort zone to make a grand gesture and you start to open up a bit more. Notes: Our love letter to our fellow tumblrinas continues to grow! Dreaming is what it’s all about, my darlings - and in soulmate aus those dreams can come true. Soft Dave is a dreamboat for the ages.

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4 ~ Ch 5 ~ Ch 6 ~ Ch 7

You woke up the next morning smelling him - after a bit of good natured bickering you had agreed to take the bed like he originally offered, and the smell of him lingered in his pillows and sheets in a way that was completely overwhelming in a beautiful sort of way. You had showered and dressed quickly, throwing on a blouse and jeans with your slippers to walk around the apartment without your feet turning to icicles. Dave had already put on a kettle of water for your tea and gave you some teasing grief about your breakfast cereal, but the morning was mostly calm. You managed to even forget for a little while that you were hiding for your life.

The afternoon was silent, like the morning of the day before. He worked and you read, but this time you curled into the corner of his couch without much fear. There was still a lot to learn about him - namely the things that would upset him or cross some invisible line - but your mug of tea on a coaster on the coffee table and bare feet tucked under a blanket on the couch were safe enough. At some point around sunset he emerged, looking tired and annoyed. “Hey,” you murmur, not wanting to startle him if he looked over and had forgotten you were there.

“Hey.” He brings his hand up to rub his temple, the bureaucratic bullshit that went with his job always managed to give him a headache. He shuffles towards the kitchen for another cup of coffee. “Enjoying your book?” He asks, opening the cabinet and grabbing a clean mug.

“It’s my favorite.” You wave the paperback in the air a little even though he’s too far away to see it unless he has some kind of supervision.

“What’s it about?” He lifts a brow even as he is pouring the coffee and waits to see where your reading habits run.

“1930s gothic romance. Inexperienced young woman falling in love with a mysterious older man who is possibly a murderer and definitely has lots of secrets.” You rattle off the synopsis you give anyone who asks, only realizing belatedly that it sounds very suspiciously close to a weird description of the two of you, even if you aren’t that much younger than him.

“Hmmmm.” He doesn’t comment on it, instead taking a sip of his coffee and sighing. The knock on the door doesn’t startle him and he doesn’t move. “Will you get the door?” He asks, seemingly content to drink his coffee.

“Will I—?” You look at him like he has four heads. Aren’t you supposed to be hiding? Like no one can know you’re here hiding? But he doesn’t seem bothered at all, so you put down your book and pad over to the door in confusion.

There’s no one at the door. He had left very specific instructions that the delivery was to be left at the door. So he knew that you wouldn’t be seen when you opened it. He doesn’t wait for your reaction, instead he takes his coffee and makes his way back to his office and wonders if you will think his gifts are corny. He had spent way too much time thinking about it in his opinion.

Carefully unlocking the door, you pull it open to find no one there. You look around for a second before finally looking down. On the hall rug in front of the door is an overflowing vase of definitely more than a dozen red roses and a woven basket tied up in coloured cellophane and ribbon. You would have immediately assumed it was dropped off at the wrong apartment, except the tag on the basket says ‘Sweetheart’ and you feel a little mix of mortification and an absolute tightening in your chest that makes you clutch at your sweater reflexively.

You pick both things up, bringing them inside and closing the door behind you, careful to re-engage the locks before carrying the not-at-all little gifts to the kitchen island. You could easily call for him, ask him to come out into the room, but you kind of want to do this alone. Slipping the ribbon, the wrapping falls away easily and the basket inside is overflowing: fat candles, some of them in jars with artistic illustrations of the flowers they're scented for and some deeply coloured to evoke dreamlike romance; a dark brown teddy bear - the colour of his hair, though you doubt he realizes it - with a little felt heart sewn between its paws; and a little square box tied up in another ribbon. Your hands are practically shaking by the time you get to the little box, tears pressing at the back of your eyes at how out of his way Dave has gone for you. Lifting the lid, you're face-to-face with a necklace, its pendent a silver heart accented with a single sparkling rhinestone.

It's almost too much. It is too much. But it's also perfect. You huff at it all, flushing hot, and you can feel the grin splitting your face like a smitten schoolgirl. Taking the necklace out of its box, you're grateful to find that the chain is long enough for you to wear comfortably and you pull the teddy bear out to set down against the vase of flowers before going down the hall.

"Hey," your voice is soft when you knock on the open door frame to his office. "Um...so..." What do you even say? Thank you doesn't seem like enough. And he obviously didn't have to do it, so there's no need to point that out. Instead you let yourself keep grinning and shove your hands into your pants like you always do when you're nervous or embarrassed. "I–I...it's beautiful," you tell him when you can form a full sentence. "Thank you."

His eyes linger on the chain, surprised that you’ve already put it on, but happy you have. “You’re welcome.” He murmurs quietly. “It looks nice on you.” He tells you, nodding towards the necklace.

"I don't normally wear necklaces," you admit, leaving out that the reason is because you can hardly ever find ones with chains long enough for you to wear comfortably. "But I think I'll keep this one on for a while." You honestly have no intention of taking it off. Especially not with the tingling, vibrating way you feel right now.

He grins, amazed that after everything he can be this thrilled that you like a necklace that he had picked out. “Good. Diamonds are a girl's best friend according to all the commercials.”

Your hand flies up to the necklace, surprise painted on your face and you know you look like a deer in headlights. You had assumed it was a rhinestone. Glass or cubic zirconia at absolute most. Of course not. It's actually a diamond. You almost shake your head. Apparently Dave York didn't do things by half. "Do you want to watch a movie with dinner again?" It's a meek suggestion, after the extraordinary gesture he's just made, but you want him to know that you want to spend time with him.

He nods, the headache retreating and the nervous energy dissipated now that he knows he didn’t overstep. “That sounds good. Whatever you have on the stove smells amazing.” He compliments, his stomach rumbling slightly as it reminds him that he hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

"Beef stew." You shrug a little. "Family recipe...I thought it would be nice since it's been so cold lately." You'd gotten it started and just basked in the familiar smell while you read, thankfully he was enjoying it as well. "Hopefully you like it."

He groans and nods. “You didn’t happen to get any of those frozen yeast rolls when you ordered the groceries, did you?” He couldn’t remember and the idea of dipping hot rolls into stew was making his mouth water.

"You can't have beef stew without warm bread," you inform him as though it were some kind of ancient wisdom. It was odd to see which things lined up between you and which things were very different.

“That’s a fact.” Dave agrees. “Despite having to run more miles, it’s worth every fucking bite.”

"At the risk of sounding too Florence Henderson, dinner will be ready in half an hour." You offer him a smile, fingers still toying with the chain around your neck. "Unless you have a lot more work to do?"

“I’m done.” He closes his laptop and pushes back from his desk. “Do you have a movie in mind?” He asks as he comes around the furniture and walks towards you. “Any favorites that you saw on the list?”

He had shown you his hard drive full of movies last night and you had been surprised to note a few romances in amongst the mostly fantasy and sci-fi options with a few classic action movies. His taste in period films was actually amazing, and there were some good mysteries in there as well. "Murder on the Orient Express?" You suggest, not wanting to go with anything loud or jarring when the tone for the night was starting out sweet and even, you had to admit it, romantic. But going all the way to a love story seemed like pushing it too much.

“Whatever you want.” He pauses and sends you a teasing grin. “Added Hallmark to my streaming channels. It seemed like you’d like it and Lifetime.”

Part of you wants to bury your head in the sand so he won't see the absolute mortification on your face about how right he is, but the other part can't get enough of how sweet he is. This man is the antithesis of his job. It's an amazing juxtaposition. "I'm not going to force you into love stories every night," you tell him, trying for teasing, but you mean it.

“I don’t mind the sweet stuff.” He admits, his turn to look slightly embarrassed. “Reminds me of the good in the world when I normally see the worst.”

"Then tomorrow I'm picking out a very cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie," you tease, grinning a little at the way he blushes. It's incredibly cute and you don't mind admitting it. "It's almost Christmas anyway. It's seasonally appropriate."

He frowns at the mention of Christmas. “You haven’t mentioned family.” He says quietly.

"You haven't either. It didn't seem relevant." You step into his office for the first time, dropping down in the chair on the other side of his desk. "It's just me and my dad." He's easy to talk to, and you wonder again if it's the soulmate connection or if it's something else. "My mom died when I was a kid."

He nods. “I wish I could tell you that you could call him, but it’s safer that you don’t. Just in case.” He knows this is hard for you, being here and having no control over your life. “They don’t think anyone is looking for you, but we need to be certain. Word of your boss’s death isn’t public yet.”

"Okay." You assumed you wouldn't be able to call, but it didn't make it hurt less. Dad would worry. And if he didn't hear from you, he would start to raise hell. "I just...wish I could send him a card or something. He'd be the one to file a missing person's report, if anyone even notices I'm gone."

“If he starts calling your phone a lot, I’ll get a burner you can use.” Dave promises. He knows that you are completely unused to this kind of thing, going weeks without talking to someone you care about.

"Thanks," you nod, knowing it's still a little risky. "What about you?"

“Family?” Dave asks, and you nod. “Gone. Dad died when I was a kid. Firefighter, killed in the line of duty. Mom remarried but the fucker was evil.” His brows push together and he scowls. “He beat her to death after I left for boot camp. Couldn’t convince her to leave him.”

"Shit...I'm so sorry..." You wish you hadn't asked, only so he wouldn't have to live through telling you and thinking about it all over again. Grasping at something - anything - that might make him feel better, you offer him the most supportive expression you can. "If you want...we could do something? Even if I'm not still here." Christmas is just over two weeks away, and you had no idea what would happen between now and then, but the way you felt right now? You would be glad to celebrate with your soulmate.

“It’s okay.” He sees the horror on your face at finding out his mom was gone. Knows that you are probably beating yourself up for mentioning it, even though you had every right to know. “That’s – I know you will want to see your dad. It’s okay. I normally spend Christmas working on something that doesn’t make me feel like I’m a complete monster.”

Huffing slightly, your fingers pick at each other in your lap and your head tilts a little while you try to figure out why he's saying no. After the delivery to the front door twenty minutes ago, you don't think he doesn't like you - or that his compliments are sarcastic or cruel jokes. You don't want to force him to do anything, obviously, but he deserves to know you're not just being polite. "I can't also want to spend some of Christmas with my soulmate?"

It’s his turn to look away, staring at the bookshelf and his ears turning red. “I – I have plans.” He admits. “I volunteer at the VFW serving meals to vets with nowhere to go. Delivering meals to those that can’t leave their houses.” He doesn’t know why he’s embarrassed to admit that, it’s a good thing. But it’s not something he advertises. Knowing that, like a lot of them, he feels abandoned too. By life, by the government, so he tries to atone for some of his sins.

The way your chest clenches a little feels suspiciously like heartache. Like the urge to go over and wrap your arms around this man and promise him that he's not alone anymore. It's obvious that he's lonely, at least to you, and you wish you could alleviate some of that since you're only one room over. "My point," you keep looking at him, waiting for him to turn back to you but he doesn't. "Is that...the way I feel about you right now...I'd like to continue getting to know you. Spend time with you when I'm not hiding for my life. It doesn't matter if it's Christmas, or New Years, or just any random day."

His shoulders relax a little, spine slumping and he’s glad you didn’t give him some ‘I’m so proud of you’ bullshit like anyone else might have. “I’d like that.” He says, turning back to you only after he’s back in control of his emotions and his face is set. “When you aren’t hiding for your life. Although, laying around reading and writing sounds like a vacation for you.” He tells you with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. “You can always add kidnapping to your stories.”

"It's not exactly how I would have chosen to take time off," you mumble, but it's with a sheepish smile. If left to your own devices, you would never take a break at all. Except for your friends on the internet and seeing you dad once in a while, there was no one else to spend time with. You had always been too introverted to do drinks out with any of the women at the lab. "But the company is good. And the possibility of a little inspiration." Like maybe actually being able to write accurately about a fucking kiss for the first time ever.

He lifts a brow at that comment. “What? Planning on writing a book about the fascinating life of an assassin?”

"I write romances, Dave." It was the most accurate way to describe the hundreds of pages of fanfic you had produced as an adult - as if it hadn't been obvious enough that that was the entire focus of your life. "There's enough inspiration on that kitchen island out there to last me a long time."

“Romances.” He toys with the word, not bringing up the obvious flaw that he saw in the situation. If you had no experience, how could you accurately write about it? Although pleasure sizzled in his gut from your admittance that what he had done was romantic. “Can I read some of them?”

Oh. You have to quickly spin through the rolodex of your fandoms to see if there was anything you could show him that wasn't obviously fan fiction, figuring he would find the entire idea to be immature even though that was a bullshit argument that you had had with anonymous strangers so many times you could win it with your eyes closed. "Sure," you nod, landing on a few things you had written recently that were alternate universes of stories he probably wouldn't recognize. "If you want to. Except..." you want to evaporate into yourself, but you're not ashamed of the words you've written. It's just embarrassing to admit out loud. "They're not exactly...PG rated."

He snorts, shaking his head. “God I hope not.” He jokes. “I’ll fall asleep.” He shoots you an amused look. “I watch porn for Christ’s sake. I’ve been married. Carol used to read….what the fuck was it? 50 Shades of Black or some shit like that.” He chuckles. “Although she would never admit to her Captain America fan fiction addiction.”

"Grey," you correct immediately, even though you've never even read them. The last part of what he said is much more important. "She...your wife...read fanfic?" The terrible, horrible panic in your stomach that he may have already read some of your stuff makes you clamp your mouth shut nervously. Your Marvel phase was very early on, but it was definitely all Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter.

Dave nods. “Yeah, after the first movie came out, she fell into that pit.” He grins. “Practically threw her phone when I caught her reading one day. But I don’t judge. It’s whatever gets you off.” He shrugs, wondering why women are always so sensitive about it. “No different than the bullshit stories men come up with how they had this wild night with this hot chick. Totally full of shit, but if you can jerk off to it, whatever.” He tilts his head. “I guess men are just more visual where women are more mental.”

The kitchen timer is your angel of mercy, loudly alerting you that the stew is done cooking and you practically leap out of your chair. "Dinner," you explain needlessly. He knows what a damn kitchen timer is for. "I'll go preheat the oven for the rolls..." You practically flee his office, the idea that his ex-wife might have read your shit depending on which sites she used mixed with exactly how hard you were trying to keep yourself from imagining him masturbating meant you needed to go clear your head.

“Hmm.” He grins at your back. The way that you practically flee makes him wonder if he had hit a nerve. He follows you out slowly, watching you move around in the kitchen nervously. “So I take it your stories are fan fiction too?”

You huff, letting the cabinet you were searching in for a baking sheet clap closed as you throw him a pout. "Maybe." It's actually relieving, that he's aware of it as a genre and doesn't seem to care, but you still feel caught at the same time.

“Cool.” He leans against the island and watches you. “Most of that shit is better than published authors.”

"Yeah?" It's even more surprising to hear him praise it in a way that makes it obvious he's read some. You open the next cabinet over and pull out the baking sheet you've been searching for before looking back at him curiously. "What have you read?"

“I’ve read some Black Widow stories.” He admits, totally unashamed. You snort at the obvious answer and he chuckles. “There was this one story, fuck– it was dark but kind of fucking hot. Set around the darker porn industry. Where the girl was kidnapped and forced into making movies but fell for the men who had chosen her. She was their ‘pet’ and they were possessive of her.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know what that might say, but the psychoanalysis of that would be interesting.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, putting the tray of rolls together and popping it into the oven. "None of my stuff is that kinky," you admit, though you're sure he's not surprised. "Sorry to disappoint."

“Well damn.” He teases, giving you a small wink. “Maybe later on they will be.”

You're not fast enough to cover the small squeak-like noise that comes out of your mouth and you quickly turn away again to wash your hands and grab the hand towel hanging off the oven handle. "Who knows," you mumble into the candle you've just picked up to smell.

He chuckles at your reaction. “Okay,” he gives you a dramatic sigh, “I’ll be good.” Deciding to leave you alone, he walks over to the couch to flop down with a sigh. “You can set the candles around the apartment and light them if you want.”

It occurs to you that you don't actually want to discourage him, even though he has the ability to make you want to melt through the floor when he teases you like that. It's fun. And it's...honestly kind of hot when you're not busy being mortified. You reset the kitchen timer, pull the stew off the burner, and grab one of the more lightly scented candles to carry into the living room. Setting it on the coffee table, you sit down next to him carefully. "You gotta ease me into it," you tell him quietly. "I can write flirting, but I have no idea how to do it in real life."

Dave moves his feet so you have more room and chuckles. “Sweetheart, that is obvious.” He tells you, not unkindly, just teasing you some more. “I’m sorry if I’m too blunt for you. It’s just the way that I am but I have dialed it back for you sake already. But, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He tells you sincerely. “It's been awhile since I’ve flirted with someone and it’s different with you.”

"This is the dialed back version?" Your eyebrows raise up in surprise but you have to chuckle at that. Of course it is. Dave is blunt. In everything. "I know I'm not what you expected for a soulmate. Or wanted. Just give me time, okay? I'll get there." You know what different means. You've heard you're different enough times in your life to know it's not a compliment. But it is what it is. He's not everything you thought your soulmate would be and you're not what he expected, either. You would both have to accept that.

He cocks his head at you. “You keep saying that you aren’t what I expected or wanted. Why?” He is genuinely confused about that. “You’re smart, kind - I mean, you didn’t kick me in the balls. Which I thank you for. You are creative, considerate and sexy.” He ticks off. “What am I missing?”

You scrub one hand over your cheek, deciding to leave the issue of your body image aside since he didn't seem to mind having a bigger girl around. "The decision I made..." your voice trails off and your eyes train down at your knees so you don't have to see it on his face that you're right. "I thought it was the right one to make but now that I've met you and I know you a little...you shouldn't be stuck with someone who has no idea what they're doing. You're...well...experienced. And I don't want you to feel beholden to teaching me, or anything like that. I never thought about the fact that my decision to wait would affect my soulmate so directly."

Dave’s eyes widen and he can’t help but laugh. Your head jerks up and he holds his hands up when he sees the hurt look in your eyes. “Sweetheart, you obviously don’t have a fucking clue what you are talking about.” He sits up and doesn’t let you shift away, inching closer to you. “Other men, sure, they might have an issue with you not being experienced but I don’t.” He admits, his dark eyes gazing into yours. “Fuck– I love the idea of watching you experience things for the first time. Deciding what you like, what you don’t.” He makes a small noise, close to a moan. “If you decided you want to be with me, I’d be the happiest fucking teacher you’d ever had in your life.”

"I don't have a fucking clue," you agree, but the flush of heat through your body can't deny how badly you want to learn. How you do want him to be the one to teach you. And that fucking noise he made is doing things to you that you didn't know noises could do. "Which makes my fanfic career ironic at best...and my approach to pretty much everything in life incredibly awkward."

“Awkward is fine.” Dave tells you. “Awkward happens. Life is like sex, it’s messy, it’s honestly not as delicate and pretty as people make it out to be.” He shakes his head. “As long as you don’t fart in my face when I’m going down on you like my high school girlfriend did, we are good.”

You cover your face with both hands, mostly to stifle the laughter, but also to hide the sigh of relief. Dave is blunt. But Dave is nice. And...frankly Dave is pretty fucking hot. So his method of comforting you is actually pretty effective. "I'll do my best," you promise him, letting yourself giggle out loud.

He laughs with you, admitting now that it was funny, although his seventeen-year-old self hadn’t thought so at the time. “Just don’t get inside your own head. You are beautiful and any man would be lucky to have you.”

"If you say so." You nod slightly, not wanting to have that conversation right now. In the highly unlikely event that you ever did end up without clothing on around him, you could just shut off the light. The thing was, though, that as far as you were concerned it wouldn't be any man. It would be him. Because you hadn't made this promise to yourself almost 20 years ago just to throw it out the window now. You don't say so, not wanting to pressure him, and your fingers come up to toy with your new necklace again.

“We have to work on your self confidence.” Dave tells you, leaning back against the sofa cushions and watching you fidget. “Who’s the fucker that told you that you aren’t gorgeous? I’ll knock his fucking teeth in.”

"Turn on the tv," you shrug, pushing in on yourself a little harder. "You don't have to be a genius to know that anyone over a size 6 isn't worth looking at."

“That’s not true at all.” Dave argues, frowning at you. “Yeah there’s that stereotypical skinny chick who’s ‘hot’.” He actually makes the air quotes with his fingers. “But her tits are fake, her thighs hurt when they are wrapped around your waist, she can’t take a good fucking, and worst…..she won’t eat wings and drink beer with you.”

“That’s what’s worst?” Shaking your head at him is going to become a habit.

Dave grins. “’I’ll just have a salad, thanks.’.” He mimics a female voice. “That’s just a sin. Man shall not live on rabbit food alone.”

“Fine.” You roll your eyes at him, smiling, feeling the warmth of him beside you and sinking into it happily. “But I do like salad, for the record.”

“And that’s fine.” He agrees, pushing his sock clad foot up under your thigh and nudging you with a victorious grin. “But not all the time. Sometimes, you just have to have some cake.”

The kitchen timer sounds again, and you wish you could just lean over and kiss him casually on your way into the kitchen. It feels…almost normal. Like you’re supposed to be here instead of hiding out. “Dinner,” you push yourself off the couch and resist the urge to reach for him.

“I’ll turn on the movie and grab our drinks.” Dave offers, sitting up and wishing that the conversation had continued a little longer. He enjoyed it, it has been a long time since he has been this honest. You didn’t seem to weigh his every word to see if he was being truthful or not. Unless he was mistaken, you had seemingly accepted his job and weren’t holding it against him. It was nice. He had never told Carol what he did, never subjecting her to the knowledge but the fates had determined his soulmate would know everything.

At this point you had already forgotten what you had agreed to watch, forgotten what you’d talked about drinking, and barely even remembered what you were eating even though you were the one that cooked it. You just had this shaken instinct to want to be next to him. Your soulmate connection. In this moment you weren’t even sure if you wanted that myth to be real, or if you wanted to believe he liked you for you, not just because of your marks. You toss the rolls into a basket, ladle out two bowls of stew, and grab flatware to join him back on the couch where he has already put down napkins next to two glasses of scotch. Right. You smile. The scotch.

Dave starts the movie and picks up his bowl of stew and inhales the aroma, moaning in appreciation. “God this is going to be good. I can already tell.” He looks over at you with a smile. “Thank you sweetheart.”

“Welcome,” you fluster, not even bothering to hide it, and sit back to focus on the tv while you eat. He’s sitting a lot closer to you tonight and it’s distracting as hell. You might have to write a little tomorrow. A good snuggle session on the couch for your characters to work through how much you want to curl into his side.

Your stew is delicious. Dave doesn’t even bother to hide how much he likes it, moaning when he tastes it and breaking up a roll to sop up the juice. “Jesus.” He groans, finally finished after going back for a second bowl. “I’m going to have to roll my ass to the bathroom to brush my teeth tonight.”

“Am I supposed to apologize?” When he settles back on the couch he’s an inch closer to you, and you’re practically buzzing. “Because I’m not going to.”

“No.” Dave moans slightly and unbuttons his jeans, enjoying the inch of extra room for his overly full stomach. “I’m just bitching because I have the self control of a gnat.”

You swallow thickly the second his hands go near his jeans, focusing your eyes squarely on the second half of the movie. “I’ll make something healthy tomorrow,” you promise. “Even it out.”

He grumbles at that but nods. “Okay. Rabbit food tomorrow.”

“I didn’t say rabbit food, I just said healthy.” You nudge him, giggling when he makes an oof noise even though you know there’s no chance you could hurt him.

“Isn’t it the same thing?” He asks, enjoying the sound of your giggle. Now that he’s full, he’s getting sleepy. Rolling his head to the side and looking at you with heavy eyes.

“No,” you shake your head at him, the movie forgotten when you turn your head to see his own hanging close. Close enough to make your heart rabbit in your chest and you try not just jump ahead of yourself. “You’ll see. Just trust me.”

“I trust you.” He agrees. Sighing slightly, his eyes start to flutter, wanting to close. He fights to keep them open but it only takes another fifteen seconds before he’s asleep, body relaxing into the sofa.

You’d be lying if you claimed not to be disappointed, feeling dumb for thinking he might kiss you, but you let him sleep. Cleaning up quietly, you get the dishes into the washer, leftovers put away, and spread the spare blanket on the sofa over him before you grab your teddy bear and sneak silently into his room to sleep.

******

He can’t believe he fell asleep. Shaking his head as he gets out of the shower, he reaches for his towel. He didn’t think you would run. No, you had proven you wouldn’t because he had given you plenty of opportunity to. More than he would give anyone else because you are his soulmate, but he honestly thought you were staying because you know you are safe with him. However, he hadn’t realized he felt comfortable enough around you to fall asleep before you did. With Carol, it had been years before he would fall asleep before her, even then he would wake at every little sound. You had cleaned up from dinner and covered him with a blanket before leaving to go sleep in his bed.

Walking through the bedroom to get in the shower, his shower, he had smiled when he saw you sleeping. Sprawled out in his bed with your arms curled around the teddy bear that he had gotten you. The scene was innocent and yet sexy enough, your leg pushed out from under the covers and your plain cotton panties in full view, that he had to bite his lip when he jerked off, smothering his moan when he came in the shower.

******

It was good to not have nightmares tonight. Last night had been hard to handle, nightmares about that morning keeping you from getting good rest.

Last night, your dreams were far different. Curled into Dave’s side on the couch. Apple picking. Scouring the liquor store for a particular bottle of something and teasing each other. Falling asleep next to him - another thing you had never done with anyone before. You wake up from the dream gently, the sound of the shower dragging you into wakefulness without realizing what it really is. Floating in that space between dream and awake, you almost don’t even realize your eyes are opening when he emerges from the bathroom, damp and bare with only a towel wrapped around his waist. You clamp your eyes shut, desperate not to stare and desperately hoping he didn’t notice you’re awake. He’s fucking beautiful and you’re holding your damn breath against the pillow so you don’t make a sound in reaction to find this out. Broad, strong shoulders with just a dusting of hair on his chest and a trail of it leading down under the towel that makes you clench around nothing, soaking your panties almost instantly. Just a hint of softness at the middle and muscled everywhere, you know you’re going to spend the rest of eternity wondering what’s under that towel. Well damn…

Dave pads quietly through the bedroom, softly opening the drawers to pull out a pair of boxers. He turns to see that you are still buried in your pillow before he drops the towel and starts pulling on his underwear.

Oh dear god. You should not have peaked. Absolutely not have peaked. How can such a tiny ass look that good? If he turns even a little you're so screwed...

He opens another drawer and pulls out a t-shirt, now completely aware that you are awake. He had noticed your breathing had changed from when you were asleep when he came into the bedroom. Another pair of sweats are pulled on since he’s still in the house with you. Bending down to pick up his towel, he doesn’t turn towards the bed, instead heading to the door. “Glad you enjoyed the show, sweetheart. Your tea will be ready when you get done squirming in embarrassment.” He tells you before he walks out, pulling the door shut behind him.

This is how I die. You sink into the mattress in mortification, eyes pinched shut and face shoved into the pillow trying to pretend that didn't just happen. Dead of embarrassment. Ambushed by sexy soulmate after shower. You might as well face the music, since it's day three of two weeks together, but dragging yourself out of his bed might be the most embarrassed you've ever been in your life - and that has some serious competitors. You pull on your lounge pants and throw your worn hoodie over the t-shirt you slept in, figuring you'll shower after breakfast. Slipping into the bathroom to brush your hair and teeth, you take a minute to breathe before you shuffle out into the kitchen as the single most flustered person on the planet.

Dave chuckles when he catches sight of your mortified face. Turning back to the stove to put the kettle back on it to cool down after pouring your cup. “That took about twenty minutes less than I expected.” He admits before he sets the tea in front of the bowl of cereal he’s already poured for you.

"The longer I stay in there and pretend you didn't catch me, the more awkward it gets," you mumble, sitting down at the island and trying not to smile too widely at the way he's set out your breakfast.

“If it makes you feel better, I was definitely looking at your ass before I got in the shower.” He says easily, taking another sip of his coffee and waiting for his bagel to pop up out of the toaster.

Your eyes widen slightly and you busy yourself with milk for your tea and cereal, not having any idea how to react to that. It's good, you suppose, that he finds you attractive. Since the universe stuck him with you. But also the last time someone saw you sleeping like that was your college roommate, so the difference between her and him is a big one.

Dave chuckles again before the bagels pop up. Pulling them out and hissing a curse when he burns his finger, he shoves it in his mouth to suck on while he moves to the fridge to grab the cream cheese. He pulls his finger out of his mouth when he gets back to his plate and opens the container to start spreading the chive and onion spread on his breakfast. “Eventually I’ll get you to enjoy the compliments.” He tells you conversationally. “I think it’s a good thing that I had to jerk off because I saw the pink flowered panties you are wearing. Don’t you?”

"You...?" You shove your spoon into your cereal bowl and drop your face into your hands, feeling exactly how hot your face is turning. You're not brave enough to actually look up at him, but shake your head in your hands and blow out a long breath on a whisper. "Ooooh my..."

He smirks, putting the cream cheese back up and grabbing his plate and coffee cup, he walks around the island and leans in to whisper in your ear. “Write that in one of your stories, sweetheart. The hard-hearted assassin hopelessly attracted to the innocent bystander and his desires get the best of him.” He pulls away and kisses the side of your head as if it’s something he’s done everyday for years. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Turning on his heel, he disappears down the hall.

"Oh my fucking god," you mumble at yourself, groaning as you dig your spoon back into your cereal. It would be completely useless to deny how much you want him at this point, with your fingers wisping over the bit of your skin that his lips just touched and wishing like hell it had been a real kiss. You would just have to get through this day being continually mortified and tamping down the insistent need to get yourself off. Somehow you feel like you'd be even more embarrassed if you did that, which makes no sense whatsoever.

In his office Dave wonders what you are doing. Are you frozen in mortification? Did he go too far? His tendency to be blunt could be to his detriment if he wasn’t careful. But damned if he didn’t want you. He had poked around your laptop before giving it to you, figuring out your site where you post your stories and had no intention of actually working. No, the morning was going to be spent reading what you had written and getting a better insight into what his pretty, inexperienced soulmate wanted.

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics

KW: @evyiione @graphitegator @bruxasolta @missredherring @writeforfandoms @sj-draws00 @whiskeyshoneybee @randeerenae

My Masterlist!

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Dave York #Dave York x reader #Dave York x you #Dave York x female reader #plus size reader #Equalizer 2 #soulmate au #suburban murder daddy #dave york pit

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shivada-jade · 3 years

Text

codename: vind

older sibling!reader

characters: diluc, kaeya ➡ mentions: adelinde, crepus, la signora warning(s): alcohol consumption, swearing, and because for some reason, older siblings tend to be shorter than younger siblings. iDK WHY but ugh, yeah you're shorter than diluc and kaeya bc you're the older sibling. ik, i hate it too

like, i wanna be a tall 6'2 woman

diluc's 5'10 so u can still be tall in the story.. just not 5'11 😢 sorry over 5'10 folks

➡ WRITTEN BEFORE 2.1 so uhh :D

notes: platonic w diluc and kaeya, duh bc ur the older sibling. sibling love!!! sibling love !! woop woop !

"Dad, I'm home!" You bellow out to the house, waving a polite hello to Adelinde who looked shocked to see you. You kick off your shoes and slide your way to the long table in the living room, swiftly grabbing an apple before heading upstairs.

Your hands graze the railings and make your way up to find your dad. Upon reaching the last flight of steps, you were suspicious with how the place was very quiet. Granted, your younger brothers are now adults, but it still felt too quiet. Maybe you expected to see your brothers playing a game of chess, maybe bickering and fencing. You were hoping to see your family after being away.

You were a part of the Fatui under the Mondstadt branch. It was and at the same time wasn't a choice to be roped into the Fatui. You got roped into the wrong group of friends and found yourself blackmailed by the infamous group.

You didn't want to join. You didn't want any of it. You've been disconnected from the world. Wiped out from the face of Earth. No one gave information to you, you couldn't learn anything about what's happening currently. The most you could do was send letters, but even those were difficult to send out. You had to do it in secrecy or you'd be in trouble.

Love, the better sibling,

[Y/N]

Or another common send off is:

Please write back soon,

[Y/N]

And your family never failed to send back letters. They asked what you're doing, where you are and how are you, still you never told them your occupation, fearful of what they would think and where your loyalties lie, so you told them you were working under an adventurer.

It's for the greater good. You remember trying to convince yourself.

You're a horrible person.

You were sixteen then. Your younger brothers were twelve. It's been 10 long years since you last saw them, and 6 years since you last received a letter back. You miss them dearly. You often wondered what sorts of adventures they did without you.

But why are you wondering about this? You knew what they did: you knew everything that happened.

You're living under a heavy burden.

"Dad?" You call out again. Maids and wine makers look aghast when they see you, and they're on the verge of fainting when you call out to your father.

Stop the act.

It's strange how the letters were suddenly cut off. The last letter you received was from Kaeya, telling you how you needed to come home straight away. You tried to, but the Fatui prevented you from doing so. A lady called La Signora supervised you directly to make sure you didn't leave.

You know...

Adelinde brushes the dust off her uniform and hurries up the stairs to catch up to you, "Dear, is that you [Y/N?]"

"Did you forget me that easily? I'm offended Miss Adelinde," you chided, but the teasing look in your eyes give Adelinde relief to know you aren't actually offended. "Miss, where's dad?"

You're sickening.

Adelinde takes one look at you and squeezes your shoulders with a smile, "I'm afraid that's not for me to say. Master Diluc should be able to-"

"Oh, where's Diluc and Kaeya?" You ponder, and the corners of your lips curl upwards. "Those two were always attached to the hip. Where are they now? Horseback riding at the vineyard? Ha! I-"

You glance at Adelinde's watery eyes and stop your babbling. "What's wrong Miss Adelinde?" You reach for her hands on your shoulders and hold them. "Ah, has father been making you work too hard? I can request him to lessen your load."

Adelinde shakes her head no. "You don't have a clue, do you? Oh," she sighs. "Please, rest yourself by the fireplace. I'll prepare tea for you." She rests her hands back at her side and scurries to the kitchen.

You frown, unsure why she's jumpy, but you follow her request and sit by the fireplace. The crackle of the fire contrasts the tense air you feel when maids brush past you, offering tea Adelinde made. You thank them, gently blowing on the drink.

After taking a sip, you place it down with a pinky to lessen the noise it makes on the table. You hear the door open, and the choruses of maids greeting someone.

"Welcome home, Master Diluc," you hear and other voices saying, "We've prepared a meal for you and your sibling, would you like to rest yourself?"

You peek from your chair, he obviously hadn't realized you yet.

Diluc's lips make a thin line and shrugs off his jacket, "Why is Kaeya visiting. Isn't he supposed to do his knightly duties?"

You have no clue why he says it like that. The venom in his voice sends a shiver down your spine. You decide this is your cue to give him a warm welcome. You stand from your seat, and open your arms in a grand gesture and waltz to your brother. "Diluc! It's been a while huh?"

You clearly see him tense hearing your voice. His head snapped to your direction with his mouth parted. The maids respectively take their leave, bowing before they do so.

Diluc looks you up and down, still not believing you're there, like you're just his imagination. His hand slowly reaches out to you as if you're a dream.

Your feet lead you closer and you grasp him tightly in an embrace.

He freezes, but slowly relaxes in your hug, reluctantly bringing up his own arms to wrap around you. You feel his grip tightening, and you feel his shake out silent sobs. His face buries in your neck, letting tears fall on your clothes.

You soothe his back, and press a kiss on his hair. "I'm home, Diluc."

He trembles, pushing himself away to look at you clearly. Why hadn't you come home earlier? He wanted to vent, he wanted to yell, shout, he wanted to know how much he missed you in your absence.

He clears his throat and coughs in his fist. "You should have told me about your arrival," he adjusts the gloves on his hands, and looks to the floor like he did when he admitted he accidentally broke your toy when you were 10.

After these years, he still looks up to you as his older sibling. Not a thing has changed.

But you couldn't help but notice one thing. You knew Diluc and Kaeya had matured, you knew they would grow taller, but shit, now Diluc's taller than you.

"I sent a letter a month ago," you began. "It should have been sent to your office in the Favonius Headquarters? That's where I send my mail after you told me about your promotion to Cavalry Captain."

You squish his cheeks with both your hands. "Because I know you're a workaholic and only respond to letters that mean business, so that's where I sent it off to. You never write back, neither does Kaeya," you pause, thinking for a moment. "Neither does dad. Tell me he hasn't gotten sick that he couldn't respond to my letters."

Diluc lifts your hands off his face and frowns. He doesn't know how to break the news to you- not when you look so excited to be home and tell of your adventures to your family, so he asks, "Did you eat yet?"

You note the frown on his face. "'What's got you grumpy," you prod. "I need to find dad first. Told him in the first letter I gave him, I'd give the first gem I find."

Diluc watches you leave him to go to Crepus' room on the second floor. He hears the thuds on the floor and the opening of the door, but does nothing to stop you. You left with a smile, and you come back confused.

"Why is dad's room empty?"

How cruel.

...

Kaeya hums, passing by Flora's shop and purchasing a Calla Lily for the sake of it. He is well aware of the Fatui that stand by corners. Whispers of the wind give him intel, and so does alcohol apparently. He leans on a wall right outside Angel's Share, watching two Fatui members drink some of the tavern's strongest alcohol, imported from Snezhnaya.

"That damn," the one with the red and black mask hiccups, lifting a mug with foam overflowing. "Damn brat's gonna snitch on us to the Knights- *hiCC* boss lady wou- *HicC* would have our heads!"

Thankfully, their more responsible Fatui friend takes the mug and switches it with their drink, water. "You're the one who let Vindicta out of your sight when you know their frequencies to escape. This is all on you, buckaroo."

One of the Fatui escaped? How peculiar.

Kaeya hums, in steady strides he shows himself to the Fatui and takes a seat from another table and sits in front of the two. "My, my, my. If it isn't the wonderful Fatui," he divuldges. He twirls his Calla Lily around his fingers, amused with the Fatui's reactions.

Their mouths drop, knowing who he is and they hastily clean themselves up by sitting straight and wiping away the alcohol from their faces. "Good evening, sir."

"Evening to you too," he places the flower behind the person's ear, flustering them. "Well? Drink up. Everything you order will be on me."

The Fatui look at each other, skeptical with Kaeya's kindness, but the drunken one accepts the offer. Kaeya celebrates in the inside as he slowly gains Fatui intel.

Though, the second Fatui whom he dubbed the "Responsible One," took a while for them to take a sip. Turns out, they couldn't handle alcohol, that's why they avoided drinking it.

"So, my dear friends," he slides a coin on the table and stares both of them down. "A mora for your thoughts? I couldn't help but notice the tense of your shoulders when you first arrived here."

Responsible One raises their mug drunkenly, and gives a pointed look, "You... you know too much. How?..." They stare at their friend and whisper shout, "Don't tell him about Vind or-" They fail to continue their sentence and pass out on the table.

Kaeya feigns a surprised face and looks at Fatui number 2, "Who exactly is Vind? I'm sure you don't mean the storm watcher up at the cliff." He coats his voice with sugar, and it seems Fatui friend fell for his kindness.

"The damn brat," they spit out before hiccupping again. "Recruited them, fed them, saw potential, gave a home, and they escaped."

Kaeya nods and pushes another bottle of wine to the Fatui's direction, urging them to continue.

"Was supposed to be one of the Agents to spy on the *hiCc* to spy on the Ragnvindr family, because *HicC* Vind was one of the best there is. They were about to be promoted Harbinger after an assignment *hiCCUpp* but then Big Boss Lady said 'End the Ragnvindr legacy,' Vindicta left without a word. They escaped."

The Fatui downs another bottle of wine. "But judging from Boss Lady's reaction, Vind did the job: killed him and placed the blame on the Knights."

The Calvary Captain knits his brows and places his hands in front of him. It laced themselves and he watches the Fatui person empty out his wine.

"I'd be careful of what you say if I were you." His lone eye glints dangerously.

"End the legacy?" Kaeya frowns. "Can I ask..." He couldn't ask why or the Fatui would stop talking to him. "Can I ask when your beloved spy did their job?"

The Fatui waves a hand, "Six years ago. After they killed that damn aristocrat's father, they tried escaping. Big Boss supervised them under their watch. 'Potential' the Harbingers always say, but I don't see the potential in them if they don't have loyalties under the Fatui. A wild card, really."

They lay their cheek on the table. The temperature drops quite dangerously. Kaeya's diamond eye glints with coldness before it turns back to warmth.

"Rumours have it," the Fatui sighs, playing with his empty mug. "The training Vindicta went through is rougher, so we were hoping they would tie their loyalties to us. We let them explore once, and they escaped under my watch. Maybe it was their assignment to leave, maybe it's not, because Boss Lady was okay with it, she said 'Vindicta will always return in our hands.' when they first escaped, and surely enough they do return. But either way, I'm fucked for letting them go missing the third time of the week."

Kaeya laughs with no soul and quickly ends the lovely 'conversation.' He pushes himself from the table and stands, "Thank you for chatting with me, it's been interesting." He tucks in the chair and glances at the two Fatui dozing, or close to dozing off.

He swiftly turns away, scoffing when he's out of sight from people. Vindicta is a dangerous card. Not even the Fatui know where their loyalties side.

Vindicta. How peculiar indeed.

One of the best Fatui, which probably meant they were payed well with respect and mora, but why are they labeled as an escapee when they always return? With someone as dangerous as a Harbinger, who do they side with- the Fatui or something else?

Kaeya has a lot of questions.

...

Diluc sits on a cushioned chair and hunches over, resting his chin on his hands, thinking.

Always thinking.

The once lit fireplace is soaked with water he splashed over. The scent of burnt wood wafts nearby. The light chatter of maids go through one ear and leave the other.

How long had it been since he last saw you?

Eternity is his answer. It's been eternity since he last saw you.

He lets out a long sigh, throwing his head back and running a hand through his untied locks.

Too much thinking for today. Diluc groans in frustration and sits back up. He turns his head slightly, seeing you in the corner of his eyes taking out boxes of things you owned from 10 years before.

It doesn't make sense to him. Why come back so suddenly after years of not seeing you? Though, you claim you sent him letters, he never got them because he closed himself off from the Knights.

"Diluc," you set down a small picture of a family portrait you took out from hiding behind many books.

You are taking this oddly well.

You're taking this too well, in fact.

This raises a red flag for Diluc. He told you the fall out of your family, how he quit the Knights, but still you're going around the place like nothing had happened.

Don't you feel any rage? Or even sadness?

He sees too many red flags and hates it- from the way you can hide things like Kaeya so easily, to the way you just suddenly appear back in his life. It feels weird. It's not easy to let someone that in quick, yet you're still his role model, so it's okay, right?

He's always looked up to you when he was younger. You never were at a loss of words and stood up for him. You were the person he can turn to when something wrong happens, but what were you doing for yourself to be gone for so long? Adventuring Teyvat could not have taken ten whole years. Where did you even stay?

"Diluc," you crouch in front of him and talk to him as if he were six again. "I'm okay, okay?"

Diluc takes a shaky breath and sits up straight. His posture resembling a king's. "I have an idea, and I would like you to help me."

You look at him in awe. The realization settles in: Diluc has grown, and you're still stuck trying to make up the past.

"And what do I help you with?"

"Finding who's responsible for father's death."

notes: had this in my drafts for a long time and i was like "wait where was i going with this..." until BAM i have the idea again so im gonna continue it

(part 2)

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader

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shushiyuii · 3 years

Note

Ok I really been wanting to see Giant dream and Tiny Tommy vore fluff. Just some fluff and noms. Ans Maybe another where it is Giant Dream and Tiny SBI Fluff and noms also. It is wired I am sorry. Saw you asking for requests.

I did the first one! (Also sorry for the lack of uploads today, been really busy.)

Warnings: Soft vore, mention of rough past, slight dehumanization?

Words: 1.4K+

The god and The Strange Boy

The temperature of the room was almost unimaginable, he had no idea how he had coped with it for so long within that prison, the now outside fresh air feeling foreign, cold. It was a strange sensation, but a welcome one.

He wondered how everybody was doing, how things had changed within his time within the prison. In his opinion it was an unfair sentence, it wasn’t his fault how things had changed within the SMP, it wasn’t him that should’ve been held responsible.

It should’ve been them.

He remembered how he’d get visited by him in the prison, he was almost scared. Asking for advice on what to do, he wanted so badly to hold him close to his chest and comfort him, but the prison’s containment prevented him from doing so.

At first, the exile. He hated him, wanted to kill him. But, in his exile he came to understand the boy and his beginnings, the boy had opened up to him, so he comforted him and even opened up himself.

Dream didn’t have a good past, he was known as a monster back in the day, he’d changed when he met Sapnap and George but reverted to his old ways somewhat when the whole L’manburg started happening.

But this boy. Tommy. He thought the boy acted on selfish decisions, was arrogant or worse but that wasn’t the actual Tommy. To some extent, yes but if you really knew him as Ranboo or Tubbo did. He was definitely someone else.

Whenever you see this side of Tommy, it’s mainly a defence mechanism. Because the boy had a rough past himself. One that neither found family knew of, Tubbo and Ranboo only knew parts of this past. But to say the boy had it rough, he really did.

He wasn’t sure why Tommy ran away from exile; he was there for the boy. He thought maybe he scared him. Or the loneliness? Whatever it was he didn’t know but in the meantime, he wanted L’manburg gone. So he teamed up with two others are known as Philza and Technoblade to destroy it.

In the remains of L’manburg, that’s where he saw the boy again. Looking betrayed but all of them. When in reality, all they wanted to do was protect him. Dream, as much as this ancient god didn’t want to admit but, he saw this kid as his own.

Afterwards, Techno and Phil returned to their home in the Antarctic, being the blood god and the angel of death. They had similar titles as Dream. But as for Dream, he was punished by other’s, held in prison to what many saw as home.

He hated the place but put up with it with the visits of Tommy, he had apologised for running and began to talk to Dream how he used to.

Tommy was in no way a god, he was mortal. Small compared to many others. He was a mortal adopted by the gods, taken in to be one of their own.

When in reality, he was left to survive as a plaything for these gods.

Dream saw him as no such thing, and as much as Techno and Phil hated to admit it they cared for the boy as well. Despite not being there as much for him as Dream. They had a reputation to maintain.

Now, with his newfound freedom, he was looking for his brother. It had been a while since his last visit, and he had no clue where the boy had gone.

He looked and looked, no one had a clue as to where Tommy’s current location was. It was just known he wasn’t at his dirt hole as much as he once was.

He questioned everyone he came across; he didn’t find anything suspicious until…

Until he ran into the God of bees and the God of portals. Ranboo and Tubbo.

When asked, they acted suspiciously different, as if they were trying to hide something from them.

And he was correct, when followed he found that these gods had founded a new place to call home, one off the knowledge of others. Much like the Antarctic. It was called Snowchester.

The three had founded a mortal son that they wished to hide. And with it, Tommy was there. He found him.

Tommy pulled on leaves about twice his size, trying to uproot what seemed to be potatoes in the cold winter snow. “Tommy?”, he asked whilst standing beside a nearby tree.

The boy jumped out of his mind for a moment before turning to Dream, “DREAMM! MY MANN! Wassup?!”. He said enthusiastically but Dream could see that he had frightened him.

He laughed and smiled, then approaching the boy. “I’m good, out of prison now. I’ve seen you’ve been doing good with yourself”. Dream then held out his hand to the floor, allowing Tommy to stand on as he sat down near the tree.

“Yeah, been working where I can and stuff, sorry bout not visiting”, “It’s fine Tommy”. “How’d you even find me anyways?”. “Followed Tubbo and stuff”.

“They’re gonna be pissed!”. Tommy laughed, “They won’t be, not when they realise, I mean no harm”. “That may be the case with Ranboo, not so much Tubbo, he’s not only the God of Bees y’know”.

Dream nodded in understanding. And then there was a moment of peace between the two, “It’s weird honestly?”, Tommy looked up at Dream. “How we both get along? Don’t you find it odd?”.

“Well Dream, I’m pretty sure it’s because of how great I am! I am Tommyinnit after all!”. Dream smirked from under his mask and put a fingertip to Tommy’s hair and ruffled it playfully.

Tommy’s expression turned from happy to silent grief as he looked away from Dream, “Hey Dream?”, “Yes, Tommy?”, “Am I ever going to be able to go home?”.

A thing about the god realm is that if humans were to cross the barrier, they’d never be able to return. They’d be at the mercy of the gods.

Dream looked down at Tommy and moved his finger to gently rub the boy’s back, making the answer clear. He’d been told it many a time, but he knew the boy couldn’t help but cling onto hope of going home. He couldn’t blame him.

The two sat in the comforting silence for a while longer, until the cold winds started to pick up, it didn’t affect himself, but it did affect Tommy. The boy was shivering now with no shelter for him nearby. He’d freeze soon enough.

Tommy looked up to Dream, seeming to know the plan already. Dream moved Tommy to his lap as he used his hands to unclip his mask, when the mask was removed it revealed a scarred face with his eyes black with glowing green pupils. A sight nobody usually saw.

He then picked up Tommy and brought the boy closer towards his face, where he breathed and covered the boy in warmth, Tommy clung to him. He opened his mouth to reveal a multitude of sharp fangs.

But that didn’t stop Tommy from stepping in himself, Dream using his tongue to make sure the boy didn’t trip or anything, once Tommy was safely in his mouth, he closed it. And moved his tongue to taste at Tommy.

He purred slightly as he felt the taste of Strawberries and a mix of other things, Tommy laughing every time he and the tongue crossed paths.

Once he deemed the boy ready for decent, he titled his head back and swallowed.

He traced the boy’s descent with his finger, and slowly felt Tommy drop into his stomach, safely tucked away. He rubbed there for a moment, feeling Tommy move and shift into a comfortable position.

He signed in relief when he felt the boy tiredly put his hands to rub at the stomach walls and fall asleep. He must’ve been tired from all the work he’d be doing.

He began the journey of finding a place for the night but was stopped when he heard the yell of his name. “DREAM!”.

He turned and saw the god of Explosives, Tubbo. Who seemed ready to explode and a slightly angry Ranboo, he seemed conflicted about something? He drew out his sword for a fight.

Later, they were all sitting by the fireplace, covered in injuries. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”, Tubbo spoke in a sassy way as he sipped on his tea. Dream had a hand covering his stomach as he looked to Tubbo, “Well, it doesn’t matter now. You all are now under my protection.”.

#mcyt g/t #mcytg/t #dsmp g/t #tw vore #giant!dream #giant!ranboo #giant!phil #giant!techno #giant!tubbo #tiny!tommy #shushi's writings

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unknowncountrygirl · 3 years

Text

Drunken Confession: Ben

Jae arrived in his typical outlandish behavior, wielding two large bottles of Fire Whiskey.

“Look alive boys, our Thursday night just got a lot more interesting!”

“Where did-” Charlie started but waved his hand, “you know what, never mind, I don't want to know.”

“I got cups in my trunk! Gather round boys, it's going to be a good night! Hope you don't have anywhere to go early in the morning.” He summoned his and Murphy's side tables and put them back to back to make a small table in the middle of the room. He then placed the two, rather large bottles on the tables, and went to dig in his trunk.

“This is?” Orion questioned, picking up one of the bottles.

“Irish brewed Firewhiskey, aged in barrels for years. It's the good stuff.” Jae mentioned, placing a array of cups on the table.

“You and I have different ideas of what good stuff is.” Murphy eyed the amber liquid that Orion was sloshing around.

Charlie got off his bed and walked over, looking at the small shot glasses.

“So... You brought it for us all to try?” He asked innocently.

“I have something actually more interesting in mind.” Jae said slyly. “Unless you are all a bunch of softies.”

“Hardly.” Ben replied deadpanned, picking up the second bottle to crack it open, and began to pour it into the glasses, filling them to the top. “What were you thinking Jae?”

“We've all known one another years now, lets get to know each other a little bit better.”

“This is your way of just trying to get information from us that you can blackmail us with later.” Murphy looked up at Jae, feeling very suspicious of him. Jae said nothing, just smiled slyly and took his shot before pouring himself another.

“Take a drink if you have ever used a unregulated potion, I'll go first.” He took a large gulp of the amber liquid. Ben lifted an eyebrow, but played along and poured himself a drink before taking a drink. Charlie, Orion, and Murphy simply nodded as they were handed their own drinks, not touching the liquid to their lips.

“Take a drink if you've ever... Seen a dragon?” Charlie tried. Jae, Ben, and Charlie took long sips.

“You are going to have to include something that we have done.” Murphy almost pouted with a smile on his lips. “Like if you've been voted most dashing Quidditch Commentator.” It was silly, but an excuse to take a drink himself.

About 20 questions, some laughter, light conversation, and the entire first bottle of Fire Whiskey, most of the boys were starting to feel the effects. Ben and Jae held their liquor the best, more then likely because this was not either one's first time drinking underage. Charlie and Murphy were about one drink away from being completely gassed, and Orion was one away from finding world peace.

“Oh, I've got a good one.” Jae slurred slightly. “Take a drink if you've ever had a crush-” All the boys lifted their drinks, but Jae finished his thought, “on Iris!” They all laughed lightly, but the laughter died out when all five of the boys continued to take a shot.

Murphy and Charlie almost immediately sobered up, and Ben froze like a statue.

“Soooo, we have all had dreams of Iris Rosewood?” Orion clarified.

“Is that a question we are suppose to drink to?” Murphy questioned, looking down into his glass.

“More clarification, perhaps I shall word it this way...” Orion drawled, “if you have a crush on Iris.”

Again, the room fell silent as all five boys took another shot.

A couple of the cleared their throats, Jae coughed into his hand. It had become incredibly awkward, incredibly fast.

“This is uncomfortable.” Charlie broke the silence.

“You all may have crushes on her... But I've loved her.” Ben admitted, swirling his Firewhiskey in his cup. “We have been through too much, and she's been there every step of the way for me.” The other boys stopped murmuring and looked at him. “She brought color and vibrancy into my world and I repaid her by hurting her. Hell, all I ever wanted to do is make sure no one ever hurt her and I think by doing that I've been the one to hurt her the most.” He stated more to himself then anyone else in the room. “I think I've done so much damage that no matter how much I love her, what hope I ever had that she could reciprocate is gone. It died when Rowan did.” The air in the room when from light and jovial to heavy and dark in just a few sentences. “I'm going for a walk.”

“If you get caught after curfew-”

“What? Get detention?” Ben stood, grabbed a jacket of his that had been on the end of his bed and left the dormitory.

His foggy mind supplied that going to the Forbidden Forest was a good idea, and he headed that way. Thunder boomed and lightning popped overhead and he thought briefly about heading back but he continued.

Half way down to the forbidden forest, the sky opened up and let down a torrential rain like Hogwarts had not seen in a very long time. Ben hated getting caught in the rain and made a beeline for Hagrid's hut, hoping the half giant wouldn't mind if he waited out the storm in his house. In about twenty steps he was pushing the door open and going inside.

It was dry and he pulled his wool sweater off and shook his hair to remove excess moisture.

“Hagrid?” He called, but there was no light on and Fang lifted his head up to give him a look. He figured Hagrid must not have been there and walked over to the fireplace and put some logs in a pile to start a fire. He ran his hand over the mantle feeling for matches or anything, but decided to cast a simple spell to ignite the wood. There was instant warmth in the hut as he held his hands out, warming his fingers.

The door to the hut opened, and he turned, his wand at the ready to see a figure in the doorway that was far to small to be Hagrid.

“Ben?” The voice called, before stepping into the light of the fire.

“Iris?” He asked, sliding his wand up his sleeve. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was looking for Moondew for growth potion, I need it for my Herbology project and Snape is being greedy.” Iris explained as she peeled her wet rain slicker off and hung it on the coat rack. “What are you doing out here? Isn't it past curfew?” Ben opened his mouth to tell her, she cut him off. “Never mind.”

“What?” “You'll just say something snarky and I've had a good day, so we'll just leave it alone.” Iris stated as she took out the little jar from her bag and inspected her Moondew leaves. He was about to remark that he wouldn't have done that, but that in itself would just prove her right.

She placed the small corked bottle on the table and stepped over to the fire.

“Where's Hagrid?” He asked.

“He's presenting at the Ministry about Thestrals. He won't be back until tomorrow I think.” She informed him, holding her hands out to the fire, a content look on her face. “Fancy a snack? I know where Hagrid keeps his tea, and I have some chocolate and orange scone in my bag.”

“Why do you have scones with you?”

“I wasn't sure how long I'd have to look for the Moondew, so I brought something to eat with me. Plus sometimes I have to bribe Fang to come with me.” She explained as she went to collect the tea he had stashed on a shelf and get the kettle ready over the fire. Ben felt himself blink rather hard, the effects of the Fire Whiskey starting to turn on him. He was suddenly very hot, and the room was a bit spinny.

He had already shed his sweater, and unbuttoned his collared shirt before he made to sit down on the rug in front of the fire. In hindsight, he should have sat farther from the fire, but he honestly wondered if he would even be able to make it to the chair without spilling himself on the floor anyway. Iris was also Head Girl, if she found out he had been drinking she would either have to report him or deal with it herself and he didn't want to incur her wrath.

He twisted his neck, feeling a pop that seemed to relax him as Iris held out a plate with the scones on it. He took a bite,

“these are really good. Did the house elves make this?”

“Oh no, I've made friends with Pits, he let me make some yesterday down in the kitchens.” Iris explained as she tenderly added the tea into a pot and poured the hot water into the hilariously floral teapot that Hagrid had.

“You could make friends with a dung beetle.” He joked, only partially. She laughed lightly.

They sat in silence for a while before the tea was ready and he watched as Iris poured the tea into two mix matched floral cups and handed him one. He reached for the cream and noticed that Iris blew on hers and drank it straight. It was a new little tidbit of information for him to lock away.

“Do you remember back in 2nd year, you wouldn't go up into the astronomy tower so we turned the artifact rooms ceiling into the night sky?” Iris asked suddenly.

“What made you think about that?” Ben asked as he looked over at her. She shrugged.

“We had tea and scones then, remember?” She gestured at the scones with her teacup. “I just... I like that memory.” Iris admitted.

“Back when I was afraid to even-”

“Would you just shut up!” Iris snapped, clacking her teacup loudly against the saucer. “It's a memory that makes me smile, and that I enjoy, why do you constantly try and belittle things that make me happy? Are you that full of bitterness anymore that you won't let anyone enjoy something as simple as a memory?”

“You're defensive tonight, what has you so wound up?” He snapped back just as angrily.

“I'm defensive?” Iris shouted, standing up to tower over Ben, ready for a fight that had been brewing for weeks. “You're the one that can't even let me relive a memory from when we were twelve without you belittling it!”

“I don't like reliving those memories, it was when I was weak-”

“It was when you were kind.” Iris cut in dangerously. He placed his hands on the floor and hoped that he could stand without falling over. He stood on his feet and looked down at her, truly looked at her for what felt like the first time in weeks.

Iris used to have this childlike innocence about her, with her round baby face, porcelain skin, blue eyes that were wide open for the world. He wasn't exactly sure when the last time he took the time to study her, more then likely before Rowan died, and it looked like everything she had experienced had finally caught up with her.

It was only a matter of time, one can only keep loading the camels back before something as simple as a napkin will break their back. He wondered when it was that Iris had finally broke, and wondered if anyone had even noticed. Iris was the unbreakable, she was the epitome of what people wanted to be, of course people thought she was sturdy as stone. They had taken her for granted.

Hell, he had.

Her lips were almost always in a natural smile, now seemed to be downturned in nature. Her eyes, those were what had grabbed him when he first made eye contact with her because he had never seen eyes that were just that blue, had always been bright and happy. Now, they looked like the good china that people put away for safe keeping, dust piling on it where you can see the color, its just muted. Everything about her seemed muted. Her skin, her hair, she was a soul with the weight of a Kingdom on her shoulders. There was more expectations on her at seventeen then that of twenty people.

Ben felt regret in his belly, and he couldn't keep up this conversation. He knew she was far too close and one push would send her over that edge. He had done enough to push her there, he wasn't going to be the one that pushed her to the breaking point.

“I'm not going to have this conversation.” He shook his head, beginning to button up the few buttons he had loosened earlier. Rain be damned, if he had to get soaked to get away from her and let her cool down, he would. He was just about to walk to the door when Iris called,

“You want to know what I think?” Iris told him firmly, it was not really a question but a thinly veiled declaration masquerading as a question. “I think that you're still terrified.”

That stopped him in his tracks. His hand hovered over the door knob, and the rational part of his brain that would have told him to walk away was flooded by Firewhiskey. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” She was not going down this time, and she was not going to be ignored. “You are still the terrified Muggleborn you always were, only it's the fear that people will still see you as that person.”

“I am not-”

“I can see it in your eyes! You may be able to fool everyone else, but you can't fool me.” She pointed at herself. “I know you better then anyone, Benjamin Copper!” It was a fact that was mildly terrifying, and he hated to admit that. “It's a different type of terror, but it's still there and it still controls you down to your core-”

“No it doesn't! I'm a not that person anymore!” He shouted at her. It wasn't the first time he had raised his voice at her, but it felt much different then the times before. Because she had struck a nerve.

He wasn't the one in control anymore.

His delicate control that he had been clinging to since after the buried vault was quickly disinigrating in his hands and he was scrambling to keep it.

“You haven't become brave, you've become cruel!” Iris told him. He could almost see it like an actual image in his mind, she was taking a sledge hammer to his carefully constructed statue of power, bravery and control. Others had chipped away at it, but Iris had come in and went for the Achilles heel that only she seemed to know existed. “Your trauma is what navigates every single decision you have made! Every decision has been made in fear from the moment you stepped into Hogwarts!” Another critical hit, cracks that could never be fixed started to grow threatening to topple over all of himself.

“That's not true!” He yelled back at her, as though he was trying to convince himself.

“Really? Give me an example.” She dared him.

Her attack seemed to stop because she had chipped away and found the one part of his bravery that wasn't an act. That one tiny part of himself that had been bright and true since the beginning.

The part that she overlooked.

Because it was her.

“You.” He stated simply. Iris jumped a bit at the declaration, clearly not seeing his answer coming. “You terrified me. You were loud, outspoken, brave, already good at magic and dueling, you came from a pure blood family, and you were attractive. What wasn't intimidating about you? Especially to a muggleborn like me?” It was his turn to talk and he was going to seize the opportunity, as it seemed he had shocked her into silence in the middle of a fight. “But I approached you first, remember that? I thanked you for standing up to Merula. My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, I felt like I was going to vomit, yet I rejected that fear to talk to you because there was something about you that felt like a damn gravitational pull!” He took a step closer to her and she held her ground, starring up at him. Her eyes were still alight with fire but there was something else there, a vulnerability that he had seen in her eyes too often since the buried vault. “From brooms and books, to time in the artifact room, I cared about you more then I cared about anyone else, so much so that I went with you to the buried vault! Despite the fact that I thought I would die, I went because I cared more about you then I did myself!”

Iris's lips were in a tight line, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she shook her head.

“Ben don't.” She warned, almost knowing where he was going.

“You're right, every decision I have made has been in fear... The biggest fear I have above all others-”

“Ben stop!”

There was no stopping now. He had regained the control.

“The fear that some how, in some horrible way that I can't control, that you will be hurt or die because you put everyone ahead of yourself in the most reckless and honorable ways!” He felt like he had become a new man, and that he had become braver in the years since the buried vault, but the fire whiskey in his veins was a form of liquid courage that he was sure no potion could replicate. His thought process was interrupted by stinging on his cheek.

Iris had slapped him. ��

“Don't you dare say it.” She warned, her voice like ice. “Not after the way you have treated me-”

“I love you!” He wanted to shout it at her, hoping that if he yelled louder then her that she would realize he was being truthful, but all it would do is prove her point that he had just became cruel. She closed her eyes, and he watched a her fight within herself, her fingers curled into fists and he was worried for a moment that she was going to deck him. “Iris.” He reached out and placed a hand over her curled fist, “I love you.”

She shook her head but made no effort to pull away from him. They had went to war with one another and now both stood in front of their dismantled battlements.

Iris was the first to move, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his sternum.

“I miss you, Ben.” Iris almost sobbed. His hands let go of her fists, and wrapped protectively around her back, holding her tightly. He lowered his head, his nose resting on the top of her head and breathed deeply.

He had finally admitted it, and said it out loud, given it a sense of being. He felt like a weight had been lifted, and he didn't know he had been carrying it around with him.

“I'll work on being less cruel, and more kind again.” He promised her.

“I'll accept that.” Her hands that had been balled up and resting against him opened and she laid her palms and fingers out flat against his chest, before moving them up to wrap around his neck and pull him into a hug. She had to stand on her tip toes in order to get her chin to rest on his shoulders. “Remember when I used to be taller then you?” There was a lightness in her voice that he had missed, and he smiled.

“Yeah, now you're short.” He joked.

“You're no giant yourself.”

“At least I'm taller then you.”

“Everyone is, except for Professor Flitwick.”

“Even that's pretty close.” He laughed and she tapped the back of his head with her hand. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, and smiled gently, placing the hand that had previously slapped him delicately on his face.

“I'm sorry I slapped you.”

“I'm just surprised it took you this long to slap me.” He told her honestly. “I'm sorry that I've hurt you, and I'm going to endever to do better.” Iris nodded and wrapped her arms around him again and listened to how fast his heart was beating, and smiled, knowing hers was beating just as fast.

He had not expected his drunken evening walk to end like this.

#hphm ben copper #hphm ben #hphm fanfiction #hphm jacobs sibling #hphm imagine #ben copper #ben copper x jacobs sibling #ben copper imagine #ben copper x mc

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delu-jean · 3 years

Text

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

(Jean x fem!/reader) -> Angst -> 4.7k

Notes: Sorry for updating a lot later than expected! Here’s chapter eleven, and twelve will be out as soon as I write it. Hope you enjoy!

Ⅹ > Ⅻ

During the night, you had no dreams or nightmares. It was simply peaceful, calming, and warm. Having him beside you (though he was on the floor) gave you the utmost comfort. He was really here with you, resting to the side, while you did the same. Such a feeling that was yearned for, had finally found its way back to you. The first night in what seemed like forever where you actually slept through calmly.

You woke up the next day to see the sun peer in. Through the crack of your blinds, highlighting the walls of your cozy room. The birds, though silent, remained present as the wind rustled quietly. Jean lay on the floor. His hand still clung onto yours from the night before. His grip felt secure and gentle when holding yours. His hair laced over the pillows, as his body was barely covered by the sheets. Only now did you realize how much of a mover he was. Though that was the case, he still miraculously held you through the night. Without causing any discomfort whatsoever.

You wanted to sit in this moment for a tad longer, but knew you would have to ready you both for the day ahead. You tried to slip out of his hand, but to your failed attempt, he gripped even tighter. He really wasn’t going to make this easy. You tried yet again, using your other hand to assist. Regardless, his one hand and few fingers kept you grounded. You thought that was the end of things, but he then pulled you in. Locking you in a tight embrace. You shook your head, both flustered and disappointed. You needed to get away from him, yet here he was, keeping you captive.

“Jean...Jean I need to get up-”

“Not again...no...never,” he mumbled.

It seemed as if he was sleep talking. If he was conscious, he probably would’ve laughed at you by now. You were sad to hear such words. He had gone through so much trauma to the point he couldn’t let go of you.

“I’m not leaving...not yet at least...so Jean, don’t worry and please let me go,” you cupped his cheek as it sank into your touch. His head now leaning towards you, and his face at a closer range. Smiling at the reaction, you then heard a knock coming from outside.

“Hm...I have to go now,” he seemed less tense than earlier. It must’ve been because of your words since he actually let you go. You got up, put yourself in a cardigan, and quickly tied your hair. Maybe this time it was actually Reiner, for goodness sake you would now need to leave a candle there. Just in case next time, it’s a crazy psycho and not Jean.

You opened the door, ready to attack if it was anyone threatening. Though hesitant, you let your guard down, opening the door even wider.

“Ah Y/n! Long time no see,” you stared at the woman, flowers in one hand, while treats in the other.

“Alexandra, what are you doing here?” you smiled shocked.

Alexandra was also a person from the military. An Eldian soldier who commanded her own squad. Though your rank was a tad higher than her’s, she was never too far from you. You both conversed here and there. Though you weren’t as close to her as you were with the warrior unit, you were both mutually acquainted. Enjoying each other’s company from time to time.

“I just came to drop by. If you’re busy, I can come sometime later today,” you didn’t want to be rude and reject her. Even though Jean was over, you assumed that if he had heard someone else (other than you) in the house, that he would keep quiet.

“No no no, I insist. Come in, I’m free,” you led her inside for her to then place the gifts on the table. Now that you thought about it, this was the second time she had been to your house. That being said, you were surprised she still had this place memorized. Not only that, but you were surprised she had come out of the blue. Did she have something important to share, what drove her to come?

“Curious are we?” she laughed as your eyes widened, embarrassed.

“Of course not-”

“Haha, you’re not a very good liar Y/n~”

“I guess you’re right about that,” you grinned as you started to prepare tea. She was just such a lady, and plus, tea complimented any situation. So why not make some now?

“Hm lovely. Earl Grey if I’m correct?”

“Haha, yes you are,” you then placed a cup down. Pouring the tea as she patiently waited. Crossing her legs and setting the treats she brought across the table.

“I’m sorry I’ve come so early in the morning, it’s just that my squad is going to be shipped out sometime tomorrow...so I wanted to say my goodbyes before then.”

“What do you mean? I know you’ll come back,” you smiled as she followed hesitantly.

“Yeah...of course I will,” you then set the teapot down, as she took a sip.

“Hey so...I heard that someone might be getting married,” you start to drink your tea, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Who?”

“Who else but you,” you choked on the beverage, wondering as to how she would know such a thing. You then tried to play things cool, hoping the subject would slowly avert.

“I’m still not understanding?-”

“You and Reiner silly. It’s been going around everywhere...didn’t you know?”

“No...I...I didn’t know that others knew?...”

“Ahh I see. Well, from what I know, the town seems content with such a proposal. The ladies have been talking about what kind of future you both might have, even with the limited time. Not only that, but Reiner’s mother seems ecstatic with both the arrangements, and attention being given,” you then bite down on your tongue. Never would you have thought things would escalate so quickly. Rumors that weren’t even confirmed, yet spread like wildfire. She then placed her cup down, grabbing one of the deserts to munch, and then covered her mouth. She spoke, trying to keep her manners while also enjoying the treat.

“So, have you prepared a wedding dress, did he give you a ring yet, or are you both going to wait for the day of?”

“No...I haven’t been given a ring, nor have I gotten anything.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah…”

“Hm...well okay. Let me ask you a different question.”

“Of course, whenever you’re ready,” she then finished, and took a sip. Eyeing you as you sat uncomfortable, not sure what her next approach would be.

“You do like him, don’t you?”

“Um...well...I...I would say-”

“You know, I’ve always thought the both of you were...how do I say it, cute. Very cute actually.”

“I’m sorry, what?” you laughed a little, thinking she was being sarcastic. Whereas she was being quite serious.

“You two have always seemed so close. You both respect each other, take the time to have one on ones, you also put in the effort to see each other’s families, and just...so much more. You’ve always seemed like a couple, or, couple goals to say the least. Not only that, but you seem to genuinely care for each other. You give words of affirmation, and he gives you acts of genuine affection.”

“How would you know such a thing?” your brow cocked as she sighed.

“My dear, it’s called observation. Speaking of observing, you can’t deny that Reiner is very attractive.”

“I-”

“I mean, he’s a total catch. He’s a very good looking gentleman. One that actually takes care of his hygiene. He’s presentable most of the time, and treats you like the lady you are. Giving you the respect which you deserve. Very attractive in my opinion. Chivalrous, yet understanding of a lady’s worth.”

“I agree with that,” though your feelings for Reiner were platonic, what she stated was...somewhat true. Just disclude the whole “wanting to kill you,” along with the “using you as a way to cope,” and vice versa.

“So you do like him?” she asked as you sat there, not sure about what your response would be.

“Well…” a question then sprung in your head. You put your cup down, to then eye her yourself as she locked her gaze. Awaiting for whatever your answer would be.

“Alexandra what if...what if there was someone else?”

“Someone better looking than Reiner?”

“I...I guess so,” you chuckled as she stared at you in shock.

“No way...did you get with Porco? Wow...you surprise me the more I get to know you-”

“Wait a minute, you think Porco is more charming than Reiner?” You cut her midway through, baffled to say the least. Now you were the person in shock as she smiled cockishly. Proud of such a statement.

“Well...yes...yes I do,” she said shamelessly as you now laughed.

“Wait, but why? I’m genuinely curious,” you said, obviously having a different opinion.

“First of all, his undercut is both sharp and clean. Not only that, but the dirty blonde really suits him. His build is nice, along with the fashion he portrays. Though not too out of the ordinary, you can tell he puts in the effort to look his best.

The energy he gives off is adventurous, dark, and mysterious, you know? But at the same time, he also seems like a gentleman. One who’s misunderstood, yet has a soft interior. His eyes seem to hide an excruciating pain, yet his smile is one full of brightness, and laughter,” you were surprised about how philosophical, and passionate she was when describing Porco...Porco of all people. No offense to him, but you would never see him in such light.

Regardless, she seemed proud to say such a statement, as she then asked you:

“And you? Just what about Reiner intrigues you? I understand for some reasons, but more than Porco?” you nodded to then state:

“I can’t guarantee my description will be a full fledged english essay. But oh well, here it goes,” she listened intrigued, ready to hear your rebuttal.

“Well, he does have a beard. Though Zeke’s is fuller, Reiner’s compliments his face structure. He has a very um...broad build, the blonde suits him well, and over all, is a very sweet person. Compared to Porco, I would say he has a much more timid nature. Don’t get me wrong, he can speak his mind, but is a little more sensitive when doing so. That being the case, I feel as if he’s more relatable. Though, I may be saying this because I’ve known him for longer, outside of Marely of course, I just think he’s the better option-”

“The better option, so he is an option. Meaning that you feel attracted to him. Leading to the conclusion that you like him,” she grinned maliciously as you panicked.

“Um well...I wouldn’t say that…”

“Interesting...but my point still stands haha. If you ever need someone to help you prepare for the occasion...if I come back...I’ll be sure to aid you.”

“Of course,” she then stood up, placing the flowers in a vase. Grabbing her bag, her coat, her hat, standing before you.

“But before I go, just who is this other person?...Are you really seeing someone?”

“I…” you weren’t sure what to say to her, as the hesitation rang in your voice.

“No...I just wanted to know what your thoughts would be,” You know you should have told her yes, but you just couldn’t. You didn’t want to add any more fuel to the fire, and if you couldn’t even tell the warriors, telling someone else shouldn’t have been an option.

“I see, well...farewell Y/n. Let us meet again, and if not here...somewhere else…”

“Yes, of course,” you smiled happily as the door then shut.

You were glad that one, she came to visit you, and two, that things were now over. You sat in your seat, stretching out your arms to hear another knock. Except this time, it was coming from behind you. Your head then flung backwards, your smile growing even wider as your chair tilted.

“Good morning handsome~”

“Good morning beautiful, how are you?”

“Greater than ever, how about you? Did you sleep well?”

“Magnificent. Also yeah, I did sleep well...surprisingly,” you both laughed a little, as you then got up, placing breakfast for the both of you. Though a little full from the meeting before, you still wanted to enjoy a meal with Jean. After all, it had been so long since the last time you did. And plus, that was during your time as a cadet. You weren’t able to enjoy such a feast in the morning.

You both ate in silence. Both of you trying to enjoy the food, and each other’s company. Letting the peace around settle in. Once you had finished both eating, and cleaning up after yourselves, you then decided to speak, asking:

“Did you hear the conversation I had earlier? I’m assuming you probably woke up because of it,” you didn’t ask how much he heard. You instead wanted to see how much he did hear from the man himself. He put the cloth he was holding down. Similar to you, he wanted to see if you’d tell him anything from the conversation. So he asked:

“Was there anything important I should be informed about regarding it?”

“No…” you lied guiltily, but you didn’t know how to handle it otherwise. He then decided to hint you with what he knew, by saying:

“Hm...Is Reiner really your type? Do I have to buff it up, go blonde, and grow a stache?” he then touched his face as you laughed. Both out of silliness, and nervousness. You felt worried knowing he heard that much of your conversation. Meaning, he knew you hadn’t denied Alexandra even once.

“Haha no! I love you just the way you areeee!”

He then looked at the ground, leading him to stand up.

“If that’s the case,” he leaned against the wall, staring at you intensely.

“No? Y/n, why did you say no?” you sighed in defeat, seeing that he most definitely was on your tail.

“I can’t tell her I’m dating a ‘devil’ from Paradis,” you said, trying to make an excuse.

“You wouldn’t have needed to tell her that...just saying yes should’ve been a good enough answer. You didn’t have to say no.”

“I know…”

“Then why did you?..”

“I just...I’m not even sure myself-”

“About this...us?...” he stopped himself while clenching his fist. Though he was annoyed, he didn’t want to push that onto you. He knew you cared about your relationship, and plus, it sounded petty for him to say.

“Never mind...it’s not a big deal.”

“I see…” you agreed, still feeling guilty as he then asked:

“You’re not planning on marrying him...right?”

“Hm,” you think to yourself. Though your mind had run blank, he certainly did not as it ran with rage. Seeing you hesitate when the answer should have been obvious. He just couldn’t handle it, along with his sense of inferiority. Though he had matured, there were still times where acted otherwise. This being one of them.

“I can’t believe you didn’t say no, almost immediately-”

“You know I won’t Jean…”

“Then why didn’t you tell off your friend? You didn’t deny the proposal, or your affection for him.”

Jean wasn’t jealous, rather, frustrated. Frustrated that you weren’t using your words (yet again), nor telling him any of your thoughts. It's like watching a movie with no audio, he wasn’t able to understand your actions even when seeing them. Without any coordination, communication would never reach his side of the spectrum.

He scrunched his eyebrows, and pinched the bridge between them. Though that was the case, he was trying to be patient with you. After all, this was something new and he didn’t want you to feel pressured. Nor did he want you to feel like it was completely your fault. Even if it was, he wouldn’t have known unless you told him so.

“Look Y/n...I really don’t want to fight, especially over something like this. But in order for me to understand things, even if it does hurt my feelings, I need to understand your thought process. That way, I’m able to clear up any misunderstandings. You tend to keep your mouth shut, and that’s not something that we need as of right now. You know how I feel, now it’s your turn,” you were still hesitant, feeling pressured as he approached you. He looked into your eyes. His stare was desperate, yet understanding. Patting your head as you gazed upwards.

“I’m sorry for acting like that...but you know...your actions do hurt me, especially when I don’t know where you’re coming from. So can you please...try to explain?” he pouted as you sighed, ready to convey how you felt. He seemed excited seeing that you were somewhat ready, feeling like a proud father...which was something he didn’t feel often (having both Connie and Sasha). It was a weird metaphor, but the only one which could describe the moment.

“I wasn’t sure if I should tell her. Although I do trust her, it could get out. You never know. Plus, I didn’t want to deny the proposal yet. I still need to talk things out with Reiner, and his mother” he seemed a bit disappointed, leading you to then hug him.

“But I can promise you, it’s something that won’t happen. I love you, and you alone,” he then wrapped his arms around, returning the favour. Him hovering over your top half, as you hugged his torso, still in your seat.

“I see...thanks for that but...I think I’ll still go blonde-”

“NO! I like your brown hair, it’s cute!”

“Cute eh? I guess I’ll keep it then,” Him then smirking at the ego boost, as you sat flushed.

“I love your hair as well.”

---

After breakfast, you both decided to make plans. Heading out for a walk in the park, wanting to spend more time together. If anything, you could conclude it as being a date. You went out for lunch, and strolled together while conversing. Though walking was a great thing, so was sitting. That being the case, you both sat on a bench. Hands intertwined, feet swinging, and him calmly humming. Moments had passed in such comfort for him to ask:

“What’s happened in your life? Well, other than becoming part of the military, and all of the boring stuff.”

“Nothing much, how about you? What’s been happening in yours?”

“Ah...I can’t say too much about that,” he nervously said, as you backed off, understanding it wasn’t something to be said aloud. You both then sat awkwardly, only for you to ask something that you had been curious about.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? After I left...the truth if possible,” you knew Jean was a truthful person, you trusted him, but you also knew he would sugar coat things to make you feel better. That being the case, you wanted honesty. No matter what. Afterall, you deserved to hear such criticism if needed. It was the least you could do to attone.

“I guess I’ll start off lightly. Um...we did find the cellar, the one which Eren’s father resided in. We also took back Shiganshina, though now mainly used for military purposes...I think. Not only that, but your horse has been doing fine.”

“Violet? How about Buchwald?”

“Yeah, him too. They’re pretty good friends in my opinion,” he looked at you to see that you weren’t content. It seemed as if you wanted to know more, rather than being shielded by the lightness in his words. Since you could make your own decisions, so could he. Deciding that he would tell you instead of keeping you from things. Things that you honestly...deserved to know.

“After you died...I barely slept. I couldn’t eat, train, or even walk for that matter. I was pretty malnourished during that time, refusing to have a meal. I did that feeling guilty that you couldn’t have it with me. You passed and yet I still lived?...it didn’t seem fair no matter what was said. I was pretty grumpy as well. Angry, sad, and confused. Not knowing what to do.

When Marco died, instead of mourning, I instead used it as a way to motivate me. To push myself even further for humanity, so that his death wouldn’t go in vain. But with your death...I couldn’t even. It was too painful to even bring up. Thinking of it as my motivation, seemed both coward like, and sickening.

Everyone else was pretty moody as well. Not sure how to approach such rogue behaviour from me, nor how to accept your death. Even though I made the biggest ordeal, they still mourned. However, even though that was the case, what matters is that you’re alive now. We’ve also talked things through, and now I’m here...with you,” he grasped your hand, smiling softly. The guilt that now built in your stomach, remind you of the pain you put him through. Not only that, but the anguish which held him captive for so many years. Though you put him in such a position...he was still willing to forgive you?

You stared at him. His eyes broken, yet also...in the process of healing. Although you couldn’t change the past, maybe you could alter the present, concluding in a better future for you both. You smiled as his thumb caressed your knuckles, loving the warmth. You sat there for a second, to then ask:

“Tell me...is Berthold alive?...in Paradis?” he then stopped, as he looked at the ground. You understood the answer, based on the actions given.

“How did he die?”

“Armin...ate him-”

“What? That’s only possible if-”

“We had spinal fluid? I know,” you sat there spooked. Just now finding out Paradis had such information, climbing up the latter as you spoke. They’d probably catch up to your wits eventually. Though that was the case, and you could have worried even more, you decided against it. Knowing this wasn’t the time to.

Instead, you decided to focus on Bertholdt. He was really gone...though you assumed it would have been better than being held captive, it still hurt. He must have felt so much pain going through that. Not only did he get eaten, but he was alone. None of you were there to help, nor witness such a sight. It saddened you as your eyes teared. The sweetest person, the only person who didn’t want to fight, was finally taken out of it in such a brutal way.

Jean saw the distress that struck across you, as he then wiped your tears. Trying to console you the best way he could. He knew what it felt like to lose a friend, heck he even thought he lost you. It was a process that hurt a lot...but one that would come to pass.

“What about everyone else?...”

“Hm...everyone is fine...especially Sasha and Connie. Those two are still as lively as ever,” he smiled as you followed suit.

“I’m glad they’re still the hooligans they were.”

“Yeah…me too.”

“How did you get here?...and why are you here?” you asked, genuinely wanting to know.

“Shh...it’s a secret,” he joked, obviously trying to avoid the question. After he answered, you could feel the tension in the air. One not wanting to tell the other everything just yet. You both trusted each other...yet felt as if your intentions...were something to keep behind closed doors…. For now at least.

Jean then sighed, gripping onto your hand even tighter. He, along with you, tried breaking the ice. Him with his actions, and you with your words. Though it felt a little awkward, you still wanted to carry out your conversation.

“You know, even though I tried pushing things aside...after leaving...I could never get over the departure. Separating from you, our comrades, and the place that made me feel...happy...normal...and well...loved,” grinning he then draped his arm over you. Your hand then grabbed his which lay on your chest, both intertwining whilst you both were even closer.

“Also...I’m surprised you didn’t move on. Especially after all of that time,” his expression then changed into a curious one.

“What do you mean?”

“Well...you thought I died. Not only that, but you're quite the ladies man. So I wouldn’t see you having much to...any difficulty actually.”

“I could never Y/n...though it sounds childish, you were my first love. I couldn’t imagine leaving you for someone else, even if you had passed. I would’ve died an old stallion,” he dramatically said as you burst out laughing. He loved seeing the face you’d make when you were happy. How lovely the corner of your lips would lift, the way your eyes crinkled, as your brows lifted the slightest bit. He was glad he could see such a sight, and that he was the cause behind it.

“Who said you won't, ya horse!”

“HEY! I’M NOT ONE!” laughter continued to fill the atmosphere. Both you and him adding your humor to the mood. Laying your head on his chest, and moving in closer.

“You know, if we ever do part ways...don’t feel bad, okay?” you stated.

“What do you mean?”

“It can apply to anything but...I mean death to be more specific. You never know what will happen in the midst of battle.”

“Hm...I guess so”

“But, the guilt will live with me forever. No matter what because...I just love you that much,” you smile to yourself and nod.

“I too, love you just as much...Jean. And I always will.”

---

While you two were enjoying your moment, being yourselves, cherishing each other’s presence, Zeke was not having any of it. He didn’t hate the sight of you being with someone else, it was just that...he thought your priorities lay elsewhere. Both in loyalty, and worth ethically. That being the case, he decided to do the only logical thing. Crash. The. Party.

So, he crept behind the both of you, clawed his hands, and placed them on your shoulders screaming:

“BOO!”

“WHAT THE HECK!” you then smacked his arm, quickly squirming away from Jean.

“Heh, good morning to you as well, Y/n. Now, who’s this we have here?” Before you could respond, Jean sighed, extending his hand. He knew that if he let you talk, you would be put in another awkward position.

“My name is...John. A friend of Y/n,” you wheezed internally. He just had to pick the most generic name, one which sounded like his own. Zeke grabbed his hand, and shook it.

“Ah...nice to meet you John. Anyways, Y/n...Reiner has been looking for you all morning. His face seemed urgent, so I think you should go see him,” though Jean wasn’t pleased, with both Zeke, and the fact you had to leave (him for Reiner), he approved of the notion with a small nod.

“I’ll see you later, Je-John.”

“Yeah...same here,” he then walked the other direction, leaving both you and Zeke to walk towards HQ.

“Were you lying, about Reiner?” hand in his pocket, as the other smoked up a storm.

---

“No, I wasn’t. He actually was looking for you.”

“I see.”

“Also Y/n, just for the record, know that I’m not dumb, nor oblivious. I know what stunt you two were pulling off, trying to lie to me, tch,” he said, clearly annoyed. You inhaled the smoke of cigarettes. Not sure what to tell him. But you were also...laughing a bit. Actually enjoying his reaction since you’ve never seen Zeke so frustrated out of work.

“I see I’ve upset you?”

“Whatever you rascal. How long have you been with him?” he smiled as your hands clasped.

“We really are just friends. I met him at a pub, nothing much has happened between us, nor will anything in general,” he sighed as his tone became a lot firmer. Though he didn’t believe you, he still had something to say.

“You need to be more careful. If it were someone else who had seen, even more rumors would've been speculated, you know that? Plus, friendship or not, know where your priorities stand,” you choked on your saliva, trying to cough as his words caught you by surprise.

Before he could say anything more, the gates to HQ then opened for the both of you to see...Reiner...running as fast as he could.

“Reiner?...”

“Y/n! You’re here!”

“Yeah...I am….”

“I need you, let’s go,” he then dragged you elsewhere as Zeke stomped on his cigarette.

“You may need her...but does she actually need you...Reiner?”

Ⅹ > Ⅻ

36 notes · View notes

ppangjae · 4 years

Text

ordinary people | j.jaehyun

Summary | Jaehyun’s parents are coming home for Christmas and he may have made the biggest mistake of telling them he has a ‘girlfriend’. Insert you, his best friend, who so happens to be the only girl he knows and trusts. You, on the other hand, would have never expected Jaehyun to show up at your door at two in the morning with nothing but a proposition; to be his fake girlfriend. And man, are you in big trouble.

Genre | fluff, angst, slow burn, fake dating!au + friends to lovers!au + ceo!jaehyun (because why TF not??)

Word Count | 18.3k+ words (oof almost made it to the estimated count of ~20k)

Warnings | lots of bickering!

author’s note: it’s finally here! this took longer than i had initially thought, but i’m just glad that it’s done. this is literally the first one shot on this blog, so let’s make it official :-)

It's an early Sunday morning when Jung Jaehyun shows up at your door. There's an unusual feeling in your gut for he shows up in casual clothing. His usual business attire is replaced with a loose black hoodie and a pair of jeans. He also shows up with a lopsided smile spread across his lips, a smile that you know so well and what it truly meant. But you're too tired to even bother.

"Hey," he greets you, and you lean against the door-frame to look up at him with a questioning gaze. "Can I come in?"

You glare at him. "It better be worth my time, Jaehyun. It's two in the morning and do you know what my eyes are begging me to do? Yes, that's right, sleep."

"I won't take too much of your time, I promise." He reassures you and you squint your eyes at him before moving aside to let him in.

He makes his way inside your apartment, entering into your small living room to take a seat on your couch. At this point, the sleep in your eyes have been rubbed away and you begin to notice his unusual behavior. You raise an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Wait, first of all, why are looking at me like that?" You question while folding your arms.

He scratches the back of his neck, confessing, "I may have made a big mistake."

"You jeopardized your company?" You blurt out with eyes wide like saucers. Now you're really awake. Jaehyun panics, vigorously shaking his head.

"What? No! Of course I wouldn't do that! My parents would kill me!" He exclaims and you sigh with relief. "Just listen to me first, now would you?"

You take this as an opportunity to take a seat beside him. As he watches you get comfortable on the couch with him, he winces to himself. Once he tells you what he's done, he knows for a fact that you'll be cussing him out.

"My parents are coming home for Christmas," he begins and your face softens.

"Aw, that's so sweet of them, you get to spend Christmas together—"

"And I may have told them that I have a girlfriend." He interrupts you. The both of you stare at each other for a couple of seconds before you let out a snort.

"But—But you don't have a girlfriend." You stifle a giggle, but when he lets out a frustrated groan, you burst out into laughter.

He whines, begging you to stop laughing at him. "It's not funny!"

Your laughter dies down and you grow confused. "Wait, but why are you telling me this now? You could've told me this through text—"

It then hits you. You eat up your words and stop mid-sentence. Jaehyun looks at you with a nervous smile. His hands are clammy and sweaty out of nervousness.

"That's the problem. First of all, I don't have a girlfriend. Second of all, I told my parents that I have a girlfriend. And last but not the least—"

"They're coming home for Christmas and they want to meet your supposed girlfriend." You finish it off for him, and he claps his hands together.

"Bingo!" He exclaims until he falls hesitantly silent. He glances at you sheepishly. "So, do you want to be my fake girlfriend?"

"Huh? No!" You get up from the couch, looking down at him as if he's gone insane. "Do you think they're going to believe you? They know me as your best friend, your childhood best friend, and not as your girlfriend!"

"But you're the only one I trust!" He pouts. You shake your head. "Come on, Y/N, it'll only be for a couple of weeks—"

"No." You cut him off. "Find someone else, Jaehyun. They're not going to believe you—"

"Y/N, please?" He begs you with those puppy eyes and you tear your eyes away from him. Those eyes always get the best of you, but this time, you're not going to let them work its magic. "Please?"

"Jung Yoonoh," you raise an eyebrow. You shake your head. He frowns. Whenever you call him by his name, he knows that you're serious. "No. It's final."

He sighs in defeat. "Okay, fine, I understand. I guess I'll just make something up somehow."

"Yes, you sure will." You fold your arms. "Besides, it shouldn't be that hard finding someone, right? You're a CEO, shouldn't be hard. Ask your secretary, I'm sure she'll say yes without hesitation."

He whines while you try to push him out the door. As he digs his socked feet to the floor, the force of you pushing him is causing him to slide across the whole apartment.

"You say that like it's the easiest thing to do."

"Trust me, it'll be easy finding someone." You finally push him towards the door. With defeat, he opens the door and steps out of your apartment himself. He turns around to face you and give you those same puppy eyes. You shake your head for the nth time. "I'm not going to give in, Jaehyun."

As the door begins to close on him, he starts sputtering out offers. Offers such as doing your laundry for a whole year, paying your groceries for a year, and the list goes on and on. You shake your head but he doesn't give up. He starts getting down on his knees and you can't help but break out into a smile. He pouts cutely, but your smile immediately vanishes from your face.

"You'll figure something out, Jaehyun. But I'm sorry, it's a no from me."

“He asked you to be his what?”

Johnny looks at you with shock and you almost choke on your own spit. It takes a couple of seconds for him to let it sink in, but when it does, he places his face in his hands. He’s not sure if he should feel shocked or confused, but it was definitely something in between those two emotions.

At first, Johnny thought that you had asked to meet up at a cafe to catch up on each other’s lives. But he didn’t expect this. Never this.

“Yeah, shocking, I know.” You chuckle, raising your hot, steaming cup of tea to take a sip.

Ironic. The only tea that Johnny’s sipping on is the fact that Jung Jaehyun had asked you to pretend to be his girlfriend. The idea itself had two red warning lights flashing right at him.

“But are you going to do it?” He asks. “Will you be his fake girlfriend for the holidays?”

“Nope.” You pop the ‘p’, and he frowns. You tilt your head, not expecting that reaction from him. “But why do you look sad? Did you want me to do it?”

“Would it be bad if I said yes?” He grins and you send him a death glare. He raises his hands up in defense.

“You know my feelings for him. You’re the only one that knows.” You lean your back against the chair to look out the window. You let out a sigh. “And that’s exactly why I chose not to do it.”

Johnny flashes you a sad smile before shoving the last piece of his muffin into his mouth. You tear your gaze away from the window to look back at him. “I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes, Y/N.”

“Being his fake girlfriend is the closest thing to being his real girlfriend. And with the feelings I have for him—I know that it’s not a good idea.” You shake your head in dismay. “I’m afraid that I’ll only end up hurting myself. All my dreams and what ifs would happen and come true, and I’ll mistake them for being real when they’re not.”

“But have you considered the fact that doing it will give you the chance to tell him how you truly feel for him?”

The question makes you stop. You glance at Johnny. He can see the gears turning in your head. You look down and stare at your cup of tea to contemplate.

For almost half of your existence, you’ve been pining after your best friend. Jung Jaehyun, your childhood best friend that has struck the chords of your heart. But these harbored feelings you have for him remain harbored. It’s all because you can’t bring yourself to confessing. Sometimes you’d get peaks of confidence and courage, where it almost pushes you to confess. But what holds you back is the feeling of doubt, and those spikes of courage and confidence vanish away. You’re Jaehyun’s best friend, and there’s absolutely no way that he sees you as more than that.

But Johnny has a point. If this gave you the opportunity to tell Jaehyun how you truly feel for him, then things might work out. It was killing two birds with one stone; Jaehyun’s parents will believe the act you both pull off and you’ll finally confess your feelings. But why did you feel afraid? Why do you feel like something is holding you back?

“I can’t do it.” You shrug off your thoughts. “His parents won’t believe that I’m his girlfriend. Jaehyun will only embarrass himself.”

“I don’t think so,” Johnny mumbles.

“What makes you think that?”

“If I were Jaehyun’s parents, I’d love it if his girlfriend ended up being his childhood best friend.” He shrugs his shoulders. “In fact, it makes it more believable.”

“How?”

“Because you both know each other inside out. You both share the same tastes, hobbies, everything. You’re best friends for a reason, Y/N. No, you’re practically soulmates. His parents would be more comfortable and relieved knowing that you’re his girlfriend.” He explains and you fall silent.

The both of you sit in the booth in silence. The cafe is busy and noisy with baristas working espresso machines and customers loudly chattering away.

Johnny had valid points. At the same time, images of Jaehyun’s puppy eyes start flooding your mind. You were starting to feel nothing but guilt. But you also had valid reasons. One, you don’t want to do anything that goes outside the best friend barrier because it’ll only hurt you. Two, you’re his best friend and not his girlfriend. And three, he could just find someone else to do it, it was simple.

But why was this starting to bother you? Why was this making you think everything over for the second time?”

“Listen, Y/N, this is what I think you should do.” He places his hand over yours, giving you a reassuring look. “Try it out. It’ll only be for a couple of weeks. Besides, you’re the only one Jaehyun knows and trusts. This will help him. It shouldn’t do much harm, right?”

“But what if I ended up telling him? And what if I only get hurt in the end?”

He flashes you a small smile. “The last thing Jaehyun would want is to hurt you.”

You both stare at each other. He looks at you with hope and you look back at him with doubt. You sigh, retreating your hand from his.

“Fine. I’ll do it. But only because I feel guilty!”

And boy, were you in huge trouble.

"Look who we have here."

You glare at Jaehyun. It was your turn to show up at the door of his mansion. But this time, you were a bit more considerate than he was and showed up at a more appropriate time. Jaehyun moves aside to let you into his mansion.

"I'm not going to be here for long," you frown. "I just wanted to tell you something."

“You don't want to come inside and have a cup of coffee?" He grins.

"Jaehyun, I really don't have the time to make jokes—"

"Maybe have a snack?" He teases.

"Jaehyun," you whine.

"Alright, fine." He smiles, gesturing for you to continue. You let out a huff of breath, squinting your eyes at him.

"I'll do it." You mutter. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Do what?"

"I'll be your fake girlfriend." You say just a bit more louder than a mutter. He leans in.

"Sorry, what was that?" He teases as a smirk appears on his lips. Oh, how you wish you could wipe that smirk off his face.

"I said," you begin before pinching his cheeks. "I'll be your fake girlfriend!"

He groans in pain, grabbing your wrists and prying your hands away from his face. He looks at you like a child who got his present earlier before Christmas. You're immediately caught off guard when he pulls you into an embrace. The beat of your heart momentarily slows down before it picks up its pace.

The moment is cut short when Jaehyun's phone starts to ring. The two of you pull away from the hug and he fishes his phone from his pocket. He quickly excuses himself to answer the phone call while gesturing for you to come into his mansion.

As you step inside, you look around Jaehyun's mansion. There's a large chandelier hanging from the high ceiling made out of marble. On the walls going up the staircase are pictures of Jaehyun as a child, and Jaehyun with his parents. Along with the pictures are shelves carrying awards Jaehyun had won at school.

You smile to yourself. Although Jaehyun is dripping in luxury and riches, he's never been poisoned by it. He's still the same Jaehyun you met when you were still a kid. He's still the same Jaehyun who is humble and grateful for his blessings.

You snap out of your thoughts when you hear Jaehyun calling out your name. Turning towards him, it looks like he's just got done with his phone call.

"You came at the right time." He smiles. "I need you to pack your bags."

"Pack my bags?" He hums in reply. "Why? For what?"

"We're flying out to Milan at six," he says it as if it was nothing to him. You stare at him, mouth agape in shock. He notices that you haven't budged a bit. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you just tell me to pack my things because we're going to Milan in a couple of hours?" You ask, pinching yourself to make sure you're not dreaming.

He looks at you funnily before teasing, "I didn't stutter, did I?"

"How—You know what? I'm not even gonna bother asking."

You've always dreamt of living lavish. You've dreamt of riding luxury cars and wearing limited edition pieces. You've dreamt of paying off your student debt with one transaction. But it was just a dream to you only because you knew it would take a lot for it to happen. Jaehyun was a living example. He was raised by parents who were running the country's top cosmetics business. When Jaehyun turned eighteen, his parents had put their full trust in him and enrolled him in a business program. After hardwork and dedication, Jaehyun had eventually graduated (with high honours!) and took over the business. It didn't take much longer until he became the CEO of the family business. And now, Jaehyun's living the dream.

"I wonder how it feels to buy two airplane tickets out on a whim," you say softly as you and Jaehyun stroll up at a lounge.

Jaehyun takes off his shades and shoves them into the front pocket of his jean jacket. "It wasn't an impulsive purchase, alright?"

"Well, you did just tell me to pack my things out of nowhere because of a flight I'm suddenly boarding." You wave it off. "No biggie, right?"

He chuckles. "It's for a business trip, Y/N."

"Ah, I see." You nod your head. "Now that explains everything."

"I brought you along because my parents might be there," he explains. "But I'm not fully sure. I brought you just in case they do show up."

"Is that why you asked me to pack my best dress?"

"Bingo." He fist bumps you.

As the two of you settle down on one of the leather couches in the lounge, you place your feet on your luggage. Leaning against the couch, you glance at Jaehyun. He's looking at something on his phone before placing it down on his lap.

"I should give you a break down of the plan," he suggests. "My parents are coming home a week before Christmas and will stay until the second week of January."

"That long?" He nods his head.

"Yes, so I need you to keep this act up with me until they go back to America." He adds.

"When they arrive, what's the story we tell them?" You question.

“What do you have in mind?"

"I guess we'll just keep it simple and say we had feelings for each other for a long time but never got around to confessing." You suggest and he seems to agree.

"And then wing the rest of the details?"

"Correct." You answer. "We'll be able to wing it, right?"

He smiles. "Right."

"But you are aware that we have to be convincing to them, right?" You raise an eyebrow. "And what I mean is that we have to, you know, show them that we're 'in love' with each other."

"We hug each other whenever we see each other. I can hold your hand, no biggie. Unless you have an issue—"

"But we also have to, you know—"

"Kiss? On the lips?" He cuts you off. "I have no problems with kissing you. No strings attached, right?"

There's something about his words that make you feel heartbroken. Just a little. No strings attached. It made you feel sad but it was a good reminder of who you are to Jaehyun. You're his best friend for life and his fake girlfriend for a couple of weeks. Everything that happens during this fake relationship isn't real. No strings attached.

"Right." You muster up a smile. "No strings attached."

The plane lands two hours later. The flight attendant directs you to what seems like a different section on the plane. You start to wonder. But then again, this was Jaehyun, always out on a whim. The flight attendant directs you towards the section for first class passengers. You can't help but look at everything in awe. The both of you arrive at your assigned seats and you look at Jaehyun with excitement and shock. He could only look at you amusedly.

"First class?" You say excitedly and he nods.

"Only for the best," he chuckles as he takes off his jean jacket to settle down in his seat.

As you take a seat, you start fiddling with the buttons on the arm rest before a flight attendant approaches you. You look up at the flight attendant and she offers you a glass of red wine. Taking the glass of wine, you turn towards Jaehyun to catch his attention, only to find him already looking at you.

"Are you trying to get drunk during the flight?" He teases.

"Sorry, this is all new to me." You chuckle, placing the glass of wine down onto the table you pulled out for yourself.

"Well, our flight is a couple of hours, so make yourself comfortable." He insists. "However, I just want to remind you of what's planned right when we land."

You take a sip of your wine. "What's happening when we land?"

"A good friend of mine from Dior will be picking us up at the restaurant. She tailored my suit for the business conference we're attending and I told her that I got a last-minute plus one." He explains. "She has a couple of dresses she wants you to try out."

"But the dress that I brought is good enough, no?"

"It could be used as a backup." He replies. "Besides, Marcella really wants to meet the woman that supposedly stole my heart."

"Stop being greasy."

"I'm not."

"Alright. But are you sure you're not spending too much? On me, specifically?" You frown, completely doubtful.

He gives you a warm smile. "There's nothing for you to worry about. You're my best friend, and you doing this for me is more than enough."

You mirror his smile. He grabs his glass of wine while you grab yours, clinking your glasses together as a kickoff to what's about to start and what's about to go down this holiday season.

"Let's kick some ass, babe."

Waiting for you at the airport is a woman draped in everything Dior. She exerted nothing but high class and riches, standing out from everyone else at the pick-up terminal. You couldn't help but gawk at her, wondering how you could gain the confidence she had. She wore a seat of black shades indoors, and slung over her shoulder was cute little purse. Once she spots Jaehyun, she adjusts her shades a bit lower down the bridge of her nose. She smirks.

"Marcella, long time no see!" Jaehyun exclaims.

You assume her name is Marcella. When her eyes land on you, your first instinct is to shy away. She smiles at you, flashing her perfectly white teeth. She pulls Jaehyun in for a hug and pecks him on the cheek. Once she pulls away, she extends her arms to you.

"Is this the special girl you can't seem to stop talking about?" She teases Jaehyun and you fail to notice how Jaehyun's ears turn a light pink. "I've been dying to meet you, Y/N! From what Jae tells me about you, I have a feeling that we'll be the best of friends."

The two of you hug and when you pull away, you turn towards Jaehyun. "You talk a whole lot about me behind my back, huh?"

Marcella winks at you. "He sure does. Now, let's get going. We don't have much time left before the business convention. I want you both to look sickening."

And with the snap of her fingers, two bodyguards randomly show up at your side. You slightly flinch when a buff man dressed up in a suit suddenly appears on your right. Looking up at Jaehyun, you can't help but look at him incredulously when he shows no reaction, as if it was normal.

You decide to look straight forward, fixating your gaze on Marcella. She walks with poise, her heels clicking against the floor and her hips swaying back and forth with every step she took.

Suddenly, you feel a warm hand grab yours and you almost stumble on your own two feet. Glancing down, you could see Jaehyun gently holding onto your hand. You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling to wide. And how you wish your cheeks weren't a light shade of red because of it.

While you're too busy trying to steady the beat of your heart, Jaehyun's completely distracted by the blush beginning to form on your cheeks.

"Babe, everything alright?" You look up at Jaehyun. He looks at you with genuine concern.

You're not sure if it's the way your hand fits perfectly in Jaehyun's or if just holding hands with him felt effortless, but all you knew was that you were definitely in big trouble. The way he calls you babe feels different this time, no matter how many times he's playfully called you that throughout your friendship.

You stutter, "I-I'm doing alright."

The three of you are escorted to a black SUV with tinted windows. As Marcella hops into the car, she rides shotgun while you and Jaehyun sit together in the back. There's not much interaction or conversation at the beginning of the car ride. You guess it could be because you're still flustered or because Jaehyun's still holding your hand. Marcella looks at the both of you through the rear-view mirror and a smile starts to form on her lips.

"I have a ton of options for you, Y/N." Marcella decides to start a conversation. "When Jaehyun told me he was bringing his girlfriend along, I got too excited and started pulling out my favourite dresses."

"Wow, you're showing a lot of favouritism." Jaehyun frowns. "You got Y/N a ton of dresses to choose from, and yet you only gave me one option. You didn't even let me decide whether I liked it or not!"

Marcella chuckles. "That's because I already know which style suits you best. For Y/N, however, I wasn't quite sure what she liked, so I went ahead and started picking for her."

"As long as she looks beautiful," Jaehyun says softly, and you feel his thumb gently caress the back of your hand. "She already is beautiful anyways."

"Just trust me on this one, Jaehyun. I'll work my magic."

The black SUV parks in front of the grand Galleria Victorio Emanuele II. As you look out the window, you can’t help but gasp. The shopping area did not look like a mall whatsoever. It looked like a tall museum with a long strip down the middle for shoppers and tourists to walk through. But it didn’t stop there. The floors were tiled and the lights were all sorts of bright and dim, giving off a romantic vibe. As you all got off the car, your eyes start to wander off into the farthest distances. But somehow, your eyes stop to stare at a sweet couple who are sharing a cup of gelato.

Marcella leads the way into the shopping area with you and Jaehyun following behind. The bodyguards are too busy scanning the area to even notice you playfully hitting Jaehyun in the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” He hisses, and you look at him with wide eyes.

“Jaehyun, I don’t want you spending so much on me—”

“I want to.” He cuts you off, rubbing the area you had hit. “You’re already doing so much for me, and this is the only way I could pay you back.”

“But—”

“Y/N, once we get to the shop, there will be one of the tailors who will dress you up. To make you feel more comfortable, I’ll be in the fitting room if you need my help.” Marcella looks over her shoulder. She smiles at you.

The reaction you have when you reach the shop is not much different than when you had got out of the car. The shop was huge with three floors of endless clothing. Christian Dior. You had never once thought or imagined that you’d be wearing a known brand. But this was Jaehyun’s life, this is considered normal to him. You look up at Jaehyun, who flashes you a reassuring smile. He places his hand on the small of your back, guiding you as you head into the shop.

Marcella offers you her hand and you gladfully take it. Before you even know it, you’re being dragged down a corridor and through some curtains. There are two female tailors waiting for your arrival, and once you’re in their sight, they welcome you. As the tailors take you to the fitting room to try on the first dress, Marcella can’t help but watch how adorable you are.

“Here’s dress number one, Miss Y/N.” One of the tailors shows you a dress hung up against the full-body mirror. “I’ll let you put it on alone and then I’ll zip it up for you. Just let me know when you’re done.”

“I—Alright,” you say sheepishly.

The tailor shuts the door behind her and leaves you all alone. You turn towards the mirror to stare at the dress that’s been hung up for you. It’s a black dress that’s covered in sequins. You touch it gently, afraid that with the slightest touch, it’ll rip apart. You carefully put on the dress to the best of your ability, for it was quite long that it hit the tiled floors. Once the dress is on your body, you call out for the tailor to come back into the fitting room to zip you up.

You’re surprised when Marcella comes into the fitting room instead. There’s something about Marcella’s presence that makes your tensed up body to relax. Maybe it’s her warm and welcoming smile that’s telling you that everything will be alright, and that all you have to do is relax. She had some sort of vibe similar to that of Cinderella’s fairy godmother.

As she’s zipping you up, she asks, “I’m guessing you don’t like this one.”

You look at her through the full-body mirror with surprise. “How’d you know?”

“You look quite stiff in this dress, almost like you feel uncomfortable.” She replies.

“Well,” you begin to explain, “it’s more because of the fact that I feel like I’m being spoiled.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You feel like you’re being spoiled by Jaehyun?”

You slowly nod your head. “I feel bad.”

“First of all,” she says as you hear her zip up the zipper on the dress. “You shouldn’t feel spoiled. When Jaehyun called me yesterday, he asked me to get the best dresses Dior had and I asked him why. Do you know what he said?”

The dress is zipped up. She gently places her hands on your shoulders. You look at her with a questioning gaze.

“He said that you’re irreplaceable and very special to him. He only wants the best for you, for his girlfriend.” She smiles. You feel your heart skip a beat. “And mind you, he didn’t tell me that you were his girlfriend. But by how he spoke about you and how he looks after you, I already knew. I already knew that the woman Jaehyun’s talking about is someone really special.”

“He’s special to me,” you say softly and the smile on Marcella’s face gets wider. “But I feel like I don’t deserve any of this. The last thing I want is for him to spend so much on me, and yet here he is, going the extra mile.”

She laughs. She has a nice laugh, you note, for it rings beautifully in your ears. You can tell that she is someone you can trust. “That’s the Jaehyun we know. He always goes the extra mile. But don’t feel bad for letting him do all of this for you because he genuinely wants the best for you.”

“I’ll try not to.” You say softly.

“You won’t try to not feel bad. You will not feel bad whatsoever.” She reassures you. “Let your boyfriend spoil you once in a while. Now, shall we show him the dress?”

You feel more relaxed with her reassurance. She helps you walk out of the room because the dress is extremely long. The two tailors grab the ends of the dress so help you walk easier. Marcella draws the curtains and you find Jaehyun sitting down on one of the couches. He looks up from his cellphone and his eyes meet yours. His eyes squint.

“Yeah, I don’t like it. It looks like Y/N doesn’t like it either.” He says with much confidence and conviction. It was almost as if he had read your mind.

“Hm,” Marcella hums softly as she begins to look deep in thought. You awkwardly stand in front of Jaehyun with the tailors still holding at the ends of your dress as Marcella starts scanning her eyes around the shop.

“Is there something wrong, Marcella?” You ask and she lets out a soft ‘aha!’.

“I think I know what dress you should wear.” Marcella grins, and she suddenly disappears into the shop.

You look over your shoulder to see the tailors sharing the same look of confusion. You look back at Jaehyun who only shrugs his shoulders.

“Miss Y/N, shall we head back to the fitting room to take off the dress?” One of the tailors insists and you nod your head. They help you back into the fitting room to get the dress off.

Marcella comes back to the fitting room with a dress covered in a plastic garment bag. The tailors excuse themselves and let Marcella work her magic. You watch her with curiosity as she hangs up the dress against the full-body mirror. As she slowly takes off the garment back, the dress is revealed to you and you can’t help but gasp. The dress is beautiful.

“I did say that I chose dresses for you prior to our first meet, but I think this dress is the one.” She explains, heading towards your side to look at the dress. She looks at you and smiles when you don’t utter a single word. “I’m guessing you like it.”

It’s a navy blue dress with a corset bodice, but it flows out in tulle fabric. Scattered all over the skirt of the dress are constellations and cosmic designs. It gave off a feeling of floating in the sky or in outer space. It looked magical.

“I’ll let you put it on and I’ll zip you up.” She insists and leaves the fitting room all to yourself.

You stare at the dress. You had never seen a dress like this, and so you assume that it was one of a kind. You carefully put on the dress, and once it’s on, you stare at your reflection in the mirror. You couldn’t believe that the woman standing in front of the mirror was you. A price tag on the dress catches you eye, but you decide to not spare it a single glance because you knew you’d regret doing it. On cue, Marcella knocks on the door and you let her in.

She zips you up and grins. “I think Jaehyun will love it.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

And so when she finally zips you up, she guides you out of the room. The tailors each grab your hand to help you walk. As Marcella draws the curtain, you notice Jaehyun’s busy talking to someone on the phone. He’s pacing back and forth in front of the couch, running a hand through his hair. You hug yourself, feeling a bit insecure and awkward standing in front of Jaehyun. Marcella clears her throat and Jaehyun quickly ends the phone call. He shoves his phone into his pocket and looks up at you.

When Jaehyun finally sees you, he can’t help but feel his mouth slightly fall open in shock. There’s something about the way you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and the way you look at him with those curious doe eyes that make his heart soften. You’ve always dressed up for family gatherings and blind dates, but this was different. You’re dressed up for him. He suddenly has a want of having you dress up for him from now on, because with the way you look perfect and beautiful in front of him right now, it unexpectedly makes his heart beat slow and still. It strikes a chord in his heart. To him, you look so perfect that he’s afraid that with one mistake, he’ll lose you forever.

You continue to stand there awkwardly and expectantly, waiting for his final decision.

“It looks perfect,” he breathes out, “you look perfect.”

“How’s everything moving along?”

You look at Johnny with horror. His pixelated face lags for a bit until you hear a choppy version of his laugh. Johnny’s wifi had been cut off and he had to get to the local cafe to be able to video chat with you. You’re assuming that the cafe’s wifi was nothing but utter shit. But you speak too soon when his pixelated face starts to get clearer and his voice stops cutting off.

“It’s been… rough.” You let out a sigh.

As you take a sip of your freshly made cup of coffee, you watch the busy streets from the comfort of a restaurant patio. Jaehyun had decided to fight his jet lag and sleep in to catch up with Italy’s time. You, on the other hand, had trouble sleeping because all you’ve been thinking about was how Jaehyun stared at you in that dress.

“I can tell.” Johnny smirks. “Has anything spicy happened?”

“Well, other than the fact that Jaehyun spoiled me with a Dior dress, nothing else has been spicier.” You reply.

“Wait.” Johnny’s eyes round in shock. “Dior? Christian Dior?”

“You heard it right.” You purse your lips into a tight line. “Trust me, I reacted the same way.”

“He’s really grabbing every opportunity to spoil you, huh?”

“But that’s not the issue,” you shake your head.

“Then what’s the issue?”

“Johnny, when I wore that dress yesterday, the look he gave me… I may be overlooking and overthinking about it but,” you bite your lip. “I don’t know. I should probably stop overthinking it.”

“Listen, Y/N,” Johnny says. “Don’t overanalyze, overthink, and overlook. Just enjoy the moment. You’re doing this as Jaehyun’s best friend. You’re also doing this for the sake of your own feelings.”

“Is it too late to back out?”

“It’s too late to back out. You’re not going to just let Jaehyun give back a Christian Dior dress, right?” Johnny chuckles. “I don’t even think they do refunds. Do they?”

“This is stressing me out.” You groan.

“Just do it for you and Jaehyun. Killing two birds with one stone, remember?” Johnny reminds you and you slowly nod your head.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You mumble. “No overanalyzing, overlooking, or overthinking. This is for Jaehyun, and for me, if I get the courage to tell him how I feel.”

“There’s the fighting spirit I’ve been looking for!” He exclaims. “Anyways, I have to go, Y/N. The wifi here in the cafe has its good days and bad days. I also promised Haechan to join him and play video games.”

“Alright,” you pout. “I’ll text you if anything happens, okay?”

“And I’ll text you back as soon as I can, just like how I always do.” He reassures you.

Right on cue, the video chat gets choppy and laggy, forcing you to end the chat. You let out another frustrated sigh, folding your arms and leaning against the chair. A pigeon takes a seat right behind the patio fence, and it grabs your attention. You frown, bending over to get closer to the pigeon.

“Hey little guy, do you know what I should do?” You ask the pigeon.

The pigeon only stares at you before flying away. You pout, grabbing your cup of coffee to take a sip. You try to occupy your thoughts but before you even try, you hear someone clear their throat. Looking up, you see a man standing right in front of you. He’s quite the looker. He has a distinct set of eyes that seem to be piercing right through your soul. He has such strong features that it makes you do a double take.

“I was wondering what a lovely lady like you would be frowning on an early morning like this.”

Your eyes slightly widen. Taken aback, you tilt your head in confusion. “Are you talking to me?”

He scans around the patio before shrugging his shoulders. “You’re the only lady here, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Sorry, but may I ask who you are?” You question.

He extends his arm. “Nam Joohyuk. And you are?”

“Y/N.” You shake his hand briefly before gently retreating it away from him.

“Do you mind if I join you for breakfast?” He asks and you shrug your shoulders.

“Sure. I don’t mind. I was just about to finish my breakfast anyway.” You insist.

He takes the seat right across from you. You’re not quite sure what this man’s intentions are, but he doesn’t seem harmful. He calls for a waiter and orders a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a small cup of cappuccino. You look away from him before he catches you staring. You fixate your gaze on the local shops down the street, wondering if you should check them out before you fly out in a couple of days.

“You didn’t really answer my question,” he breaks the silence.

“What question?”

“What’s a lovely lady like you frowning on an early morning?” He asks.

You chuckle. “It’s a long story. Quite complicated too, actually. I don’t think you’d be interested.”

“But I’m interested in you,” he says slyly and you furrow your eyebrows.

“You’re very blunt with your words,” you say softly. “Shouldn’t you be afraid of me? You barely know me. You’ve only known me for five minutes and you only know my name.”

“I could say the same thing to you.” He shrugs his shoulders.

You fold your arms.

“Is it bad to tell someone that they look beautiful? Is it bad to join a beautiful stranger for breakfast?” He tests and you smirk.

“Fine. Have it your way, I guess.” You say softly, avoiding his gaze.

“Well, Miss Y/N, I just wanted to let you know that I find you very beautiful. I couldn’t help but approach you and maybe get to know you more.” He explains.

You decide to call for the waiter, but before you could, someone catches your eye. Jaehyun’s standing near the door leading back into the restaurant. He’s shooting daggers at the guy seated across from you. You feel your palms start to sweat.

“Waiter!” You exclaim, and your voice seems to break Jaehyun’s gaze on the guy. The waiter approaches you and you discreetly ask for the bill. When the waiter excuses herself to grab the bill, you begin to gather your things.

“Leaving me already?” Joohyuk frowns. “If so, can I maybe just get your number—”

“My girlfriend does not want to give you her number.”

You freeze up in your seat. Jaehyun’s voice sounds cold, and when you look up at him, you can’t help but notice how you can’t even recognize him. He’s glaring at Joohyuk. Joohyuk almost chokes on air before glancing at you. You raise an eyebrow at Joohyuk.

“Jung Jaehyun,” Joohyuk smirks. “Long time no see.”

You eyebrows knit together in sudden confusion. They knew each other? Jaehyun’s hands clench up into fists and you quickly finish gathering your things to avoid causing a scene.

“Indeed, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.” Jaehyun says. “I was even hoping that it’d be the last.”

“You really scored yourself a beautiful girlfriend,” Joohyuk folds his arms. “But are you sure that you’re not making her happy? I couldn’t help but approach her because she looked quite… sad.”

Jaehyun looks at you for a moment and you avoid his gaze. “Stay out of this. My girlfriend and I are dating happily with good intentions. The last thing I would want is for men like you to hit on her.”

“I’ll stay out of it. But only until she finally leaves you.” Joohyuk shrugs his shoulders.

Jaehyun gently grabs your hand and tugs on it. As you both leave the restaurant, Jaehyun hands the waiter a couple of bills to pay for your breakfast. You can’t help but feel a bit guilty and humiliated, not finding the voice to defend your best friend in front of a stranger.

“Are you okay? Did he say anything bad to you?” Jaehyun asks with concern when you both reach the elevator. You shake your head.

“I just feel bad for not defending you,” you mumble. “I’m sorry. I was going to leave him, I swear, but he was just—”

“Persistent?” You nod your head. He scoffs. “That’s Nam Joohyuk for you.”

“You both know each other?”

“He’s the next CEO of a competing company.” He confesses. “He has a way with his words, and he always tries to get whatever I have. It’s quite annoying, actually, and it’s all because he’s persistent. He never gives up.”

“He’s going to be at that business convention for sure.” He hums in reply. “I’m sorry, Jae. I had no idea who he was—”

“Don’t worry about it.” He cuts you off, flashing you a small, reassuring smile. “As long as he didn’t hurt you and say anything to hurt you.”

As the elevator reaches the floor your room is at, the both of you step out into the hallway. Jaehyun lets go of your hand and leads the way to the room. You can’t help but think. Why was Jaehyun staring at Joohyuk like that? Why was he getting angry?

There’s a sudden peak of courage and confidence, the familiar emotion peaks that you get when you think it’s the perfect time to confess. You guess it’s because of the way Jaehyun got overprotective of you, how he held your hand, and even how he stared at you in that dress.

And when you couldn’t help it no longer, you call out for Jaehyun. “Jaehyun?”

But when he turns around those peaks of courage and confidence disappear from the look on his face. The anger and jealousy that was once on his face moments ago had vanished. The warmth of his hand on yours had run cold. The deep stare he had given you when you were in that dress was nothing but a result of your overthinking and overanalyzing. Jaehyun doesn’t love you how you love him.

“Yeah?”

He truly doesn’t see you that way. And it makes you feel sick.

“Nothing.”

The business convention approaches faster than you think. Marcella arrives at the hotel room you and Jaehyun shared to help you put on the dress. She even arrives with a team to do your makeup and hair. Marcella doesn’t dare to tell you but she notices how quiet you’ve gotten since the last time she had seen you. It seemed like you had some troubling thoughts you were hesitant to share. But she didn’t want to intrude.

“You look beautiful,” Marcella says once everything is done.

“Do I?” You say softly. You say it more to yourself. Marcella frowns.

“Y/N, are you doing alright? You’ve been quiet since I got here and I can’t help but feel concerned.” She asks. “Did something happen between you and Jaehyun?”

You muster up a smile. “Nothing happened. I guess I’m just really tired.”

Marcella pats your back. “Well, you know that you can trust me with anything. So if anything happens, just know, I’m just digits away. I’ll drop everything to talk to you.”

You can’t help but chuckle. Marcella’s just like Johnny. Somehow, you wish the both of them could meet because they’ll absolutely become best friends. Best friends. Just like you and Jaehyun. Your smile falters.

“I called a chauffeur to pick the both of you up. It’s on me. I don’t want any complaints. I just want you both to arrive at the venue safely.” Marcella announces.

“Marcella, can I ask you something?” You ask.

She gestures for you to continue. But with the gaze she’s giving you, you almost tell her the truth. But you wouldn’t dare do that. The show hasn’t even started.

“My friend is in a complicated situation.” You begin. “She’s in love with her best friend, but she doesn’t know what to do. Heck, she doesn’t even know if her best friend loves her back, in that way.”

“Do you want to know something?” You nod your head. “When Jaehyun told me that he’s in love, I was ecstatic. When he told me that he’s in love with his best friend, I was excited. But when he told me that his best friend ended up being his girlfriend, I felt nothing but happiness.”

“He told you that?” She smiles.

“My fiance and I, we were two lonely people who decided to give love a shot.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But there’s always that one person, the one that got away. To me, the one that got away was my best friend.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She smiles as she reminisces her past. “I was so in love with my best friend, but because I pined after him for most of my life, I lost the opportunity. He fell in love with someone else. Sometimes, I wonder if things would’ve been different if I had just told him.”

“Do you miss him?” You ask out of curiosity.

“I do. But not in that way.” She replies. “I’m happily in love with my fiance. And so, to help your friend out, I would tell her to confess before it’s too late. Don’t be like me. In fact, she should be like you and Jaehyun! I’m happy that the woman Jaehyun’s in love with is his best friend. You really make him happy.”

Someone knocks on the door. The both of you turn towards the door to see Jaehyun popping in his head. A smile creeps up on your face, signalling him to come into the hotel room. He walks in wearing a navy blue suit, and his hair gelled and pushed back. He looked like a prince.

“Perfect timing,” Marcella clasps her hands together after checking her phone. “Your chauffeur is here.”

The both of you find yourselves seated in a black SUV with the chauffeur. On the way to the venue, Jaehyun replies to a couple of emails on his phone while you look out the window. As you pass by, you can’t help but admire the beautiful houses and shopping strips. Jaehyun looks at you briefly with a faint smile spread across his lips.

Turns out that Jaehyun’s parents aren’t attending the business convention, leaving one less problem for the both of you to stress out over. However, potential business partners are attending the event, therefore you and Jaehyun had made sure to look polished and perfect so that this fake relationship wouldn’t slip through.

“Do you think they’ll like me?”

Jaehyun tears his gaze from the screen of his phone to look at you. You’re still looking out the window. He purses his lips into a tight line. His eyes fall upon your hand, and he has the sudden urge to hold it.

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know,” you shrug your shoulders. “I guess it’s just my insecurities getting the best of me again.”

“Listen, you look beautiful. To me, at least, and that’s all that matters.” He reassures you.

“You’re only saying that because you’re my best friend.” You chuckle as you turn to look at him. He shakes his head, looking at you seriously.

“They’ll love you,” he says.

The SUV pulls up in front of the venue, and the men suited up at the valet open the doors, escorting you out of the car. Jaehyun walks over to your side, grabbing your hand in his. You’re already used to the feeling of Jaehyun’s hand in yours, so you’re not caught off guard anymore.

Everything about the event screamed money and riches. People were dressed up in luxury brands, whether it be statement dresses or all-black suits. It was a crowd that you weren’t used to, and you immediately feel yourself tense up. Jaehyun seems to notice how quiet you’ve gotten, and he gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. You look up at him and he smiles at you.

“Is there anything you would like to drink, Mr. Jung?” One of the waiters asks, holding up a tray with an assortment of alcoholic drinks. Jaehyun looks at you.

“Is there anything you would like to drink?” He asks and you shake your head. Jaehyun glances at the waiter. “We’ll have two glasses of water for now, thank you.”

The waiter hands the two of you a glass of water. You clear your throat, your eyes scanning through the venue. Everyone looked beautiful and handsome. The aura each individual had was enough to tell you that they’re from rich families and backgrounds. Jaehyun being one of them. But Jaehyun was different from the rest. He built up his future with the help of his parents, and he’s been nothing but grateful.

“Where are the potential business partners?” You ask Jaehyun in a soft tone. He looks around the venue, before spotting them. He points at two people standing near a stand-up table.

“Those are the Park’s,” he says. “We’ve always wanted to form some sort of connection with them. But they were the ones that reached out to us first.”

“That’s nice, I guess they really want to become partners.”

“Do you want to meet them with me?” He questions.

You stare at him with wide eyes. “I—”

“They’ll love you.” He reassures you. “Stop worrying.”

You look at him hesitantly before he grabs your hand. He leads you towards the Park’s, and once you reach them, they smile at the two of you.

“Jung Jaehyun!” One of them exclaims, shaking his hand before pulling him into a hug.

“Mr. Park, it’s nice seeing you here.” Jaehyun greets Mr. Park. The woman standing next to Mr. Park is assumingly his wife. “Mrs. Park, it’s nice to see you here as well. It’s unfortunate that Jinyoung couldn’t attend, I was hoping to catch up with him.”

“Jinyoung was quite devastated when a business matter came up, he had wanted to see you as well!” Mrs. Park says. “I was also looking forward to meeting your parents, but it’s sad that they had to stay back. But I see that you’ve brought yourself a lovely plus one.”

Jaehyun glances at you. You smile at the Park’s. “This is my girlfriend, Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. You are so beautiful!” Mrs. Park hugs you briefly. “The two of you look great together. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, right, Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun chuckles. “Yes, that’s right.”

The night has arrived, and the business event is almost finished. Jaehyun was dragged farther into the venue to talk to other CEOs and business partners, leaving you all alone at the bar. Your eyes search for him, until you spot him talking to a woman. She looks somewhat near your age, and she’s quite beautiful that you stare at her longer than you should. She’s wearing a long, red dress with a long slit exposing one of her legs. The dress is sleeveless, exposing her prominent collarbones. She looked model-worthy, like someone you would see pictured in a fashion magazine.

She leans in to whisper something to Jaehyun, and the both of them share a laugh together. You squint your eyes at her. Before you could shoot a glare her way, you stop yourself. That’s right. You’re not his girlfriend. You have no right to be jealous.

“What’s a lovely woman like you sitting all alone at a bar?”

You inwardly groan, turning around to see Joohyuk approaching you. He takes a seat next to you at the bar, ordering himself a glass of red wine. You grab your shot glass and take the shot, bottoms up. Joohyuk places his chin on his hand and stares at you.

“I see that your boyfriend left you here all alone,” Joohyuk says. “He seems to be busy with Minyoung.”

“Her name’s Minyoung?” You question, the alcohol in your system starting to act up. Joohyuk looks at you with surprise.

“You don’t know who Minyoung is?” You shake your head. “But you’re his girlfriend, you should know who Minyoung is. Or should I say, who Minyoung is to Jaehyun.”

“Is this another one of your mind games, Joohyuk?” You scoff. “What do you want from me?”

“This is not a mind game.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I’m just surprised you don’t know anything about Minyoung.”

“Jaehyun loves me and I love him.” You lie. “We are happily dating.”

“If you love him, you shouldn’t be letting a past-lover like Minyoung stand so close to your boyfriend like that.” Joohyuk tests you.

You look past Joohyuk’s shoulder to see Jaehyun and Minyoung still talking to each other. You scoff, turning towards the bartender and ordering another round of shots.

“Poor little Y/N,” he cocks his head to the side while looking at you. “You should be careful of Minyoung, you know that, right? She’s Jaehyun’s past-lover, but they never really dated. She rejected him. But now it seems that she can’t accept the fact that he’s taken.”

“Taken by me,” you say before slamming down an empty shot glass. “Thank you for your concern, Joohyuk. But I know Jaehyun wouldn’t do anything bad to me.”

Jaehyun winces when Minyoung places her hand on his shoulder. She’s clearly flirting with him. He tries to fight the urge to push her hand off of his shoulder.

“I had no idea that you were taken, Jae.” Minyoung purses her lips into a tight line. “Did you get impatient enough to stop waiting for me?”

“I don’t love you that way anymore, Minyoung.” He confesses. “We were young. You rejected me. I found someone else.”

“But wouldn’t it be nice if you just dropped your girlfriend for me instead? You’ll not only get me but a share of my company as well.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But with your girlfriend, you’ll have her and nothing else good for your business.”

“I was simply talking to you to offer a business proposal that’ll benefit your declining business. But I guess I’m just a bit too nice.” Jaehyun pushes her hand off his shoulder and she looks quite taken aback. “Nice catching up with you, Minyoung. I wish you all the best.”

“Wait, Jaehyun!”

But it’s too late. Jaehyun’s already turning around to head back to you. He stops in his tracks when he sees you and Joohyuk talking to each other at the bar. Joohyuk’s hand is inches away from yours, and Joohyuk’s leaning in closer to you. You look quite tipsy, and Jaehyun spots several empty shot glasses right in front of you.

As he makes his way towards you, Joohyuk spots him and smirks. “Your knight in shining armor is here to save you.”

You glance at Jaehyun. Your face goes blank when Jaehyun pushes Joohyuk aside. He grabs your hand and pulls you away from Joohyuk.

“Jaehyun, I feel sick.” You say softly.

Jaehyun stops and turns towards you. “I don’t want you near him. Did you notice how he was looking at you? How he was staring at you? I didn’t like it, Y/N.”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I had no idea.”

His angered face softens. He sighs. He definitely has a weak spot for you. There’s something that pushes him to lean in and press his lips against yours. He cups your cheeks with his hands and deepens the kiss. Your lips are soft, and they taste sweet. Before he can take the kiss further than intended, he stops himself and pulls away. You look at him with tired eyes, but surprisingly, you’re smiling.

The faint taste of strawberries and raspberries lingers on his lips.

“Let’s go home.”

Jaehyun carries you from the lobby to the hotel room you shared. You’re dozing off but you still had a little bit of willpower to keep your eyes open. The alcohol was definitely kicking in, and everything was starting to get blurry. But all you could seem to focus on is your close proximity to Jaehyun and his scent.

He smelled like fresh laundry, like he was fresh out of the drying machine. Jaehyun carried you like he was folding a snowflake, almost like if he made one mistake, you’d crumble up and disappear. He couldn’t deny how the hairs on his neck stood up all because you were so close to him.

As you reach your hotel room, Jaehyun struggles to open the door, but when he does, he kicks off his shoes and heads straight to the bed. You’re mumbling words underneath your breath and Jaehyun can’t seem to make out what you’re saying. He gently places you down onto the bed, but he suddenly falls on top of you when you don’t seem to unlatch your arms that were wrapped around his neck.

His face is inches away from yours. You’re too drunk and tipsy to even notice that his lips are centimetres away from yours and how he’s literally all up in your face. But Jaehyun is sober and completely aware of what was going on. He’s so close to you that he can count your eyelashes one by one.

His heart is beating fast that he’s afraid it’ll beat out of his chest. Your eyes flutter shut and he can’t help but stare at how beautiful you look. His eyes stare at your closed eyes, then they continue to trail down your face. His gaze stops at your plump lips, and he immediately remembers the kiss you both shared a couple of hours ago. He bites his lip.

Suddenly, your eyes flutter open and his eyes widen in response. He scurries to get up from you but he stops when your hands cup his cheeks. You stare at him through hooded eyes.

“Jaehyun,” you whisper, “you should smile more.”

“Y/N, you should go get some sleep, you’re starting to talk funny—”

“When you smile, your eyes twinkle. It’s like I can see the stars in your eyes.” You smile, caressing his cheeks. “You should smile more. It’s charming.”

He knows that his ears are red, but he doesn’t care. Eventually, you knock out. Jaehyun moves you on the bed and tucks you underneath the blankets. He decides to take the couch for the night.

However, he doesn’t expect to hear the words that come out of your mouth when you turn off the lights.

“Goodnight, Jaehyun. I love you.”

The car ride to the airport is silent. Marcella stares at you and Jaehyun with concern. You’re still a bit hungover from all the shots you had last night. Jaehyun’s occupying himself by answering new emails from his phone. You woke up that morning with a huge headache and an empty hotel room. You found Jaehyun standing outside on the balcony, looking up at the clouds as they pass by. There was something bugging him, you assume, because ever since you woke up he didn’t even bother talking to you. Did something bad happen last night? You couldn’t remember.

The airplane ride going back to Seoul is just as silent. Jaehyun finally breaks the silence and explains to you that he’ll be busy typing up some contracts and documents. You respect him and opt to catch up on your novel during the flight, but something was still bugging you. Was it the troubled look Jaehyun had on his face? The frown he had on? Or maybe it was the way Jaehyun left his in-flight meal untouched?

You couldn’t remember anything from last night except for one thing; the kiss. The kiss you both shared never seems to leave your mind and it was the first thing you remembered the moment you woke up this morning. The feeling of Jaehyun’s lips seem to linger on yours a bit longer than it should. At this point, you’re glad that Jaehyun’s busy with work because you weren’t sure if you could be able to talk to him, maybe even look him straight in the eye.

However, what you don’t expect is entering Jaehyun’s mansion only to see two extra pairs of shoes at the door. You and Jaehyun share a look for the first time after hours of silence.

“Surprise!”

The both of you flinch when Jaehyun’s parents jump out of the corridor. Jaehyun’s mother is the first one to realize that Jaehyun brought you, his childhood best friend, home. And when she realizes it, her eyes go wide like saucers. His father, however, can only grin when it all starts to add up from him.

“When did you guys get here?” Jaehyun asks, completely confused.

“We didn’t attend the business event so that we could settle into your place before you both get home.” Jaehyun’s father replies. “Your mother cooked up a huge dinner because she had a feeling you’d be bringing your girlfriend home with you.”

“Y/N?” Jaehyun’s mother trails off, staring at you with eyes formed into beautiful crescents.

“Yes, mother.” Jaehyun musters up a smile that causes his dimples to pop out. “My girlfriend, Y/N.”

The four of you stand like that for a moment. Jaehyun’s mother stares at you like a trophy that Jaehyun had won. From the look on her face, you bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing. Maybe tricking Jaehyun’s parents into thinking that your his girlfriend is easier than you thought.

“Oh, that’s right!” Jaehyun’s mother snaps out of her trance and exclaims. “Let’s eat dinner! I’m sure the in-flight meals weren’t pleasant so I cooked you guys a hearty meal.”

“You didn’t have to, mother.” Jaehyun says and his mother slaps him in the arm.

“I wanted to,” she winks at you. “Besides, this dinner will be much more special because your girlfriend is here to join us. Right, Y/N?”

You clear your throat. “Yes, Mrs. Jung.”

She waves it off. “Just call me mother, Y/N.”

Before you could look at Jaehyun, his mother starts dragging you into the kitchen. Jaehyun smiles to himself when he sees you start to internally panic. Maybe having you pretend to be his girlfriend was a good idea, he thought. His parents believed him when he told him that he had a girlfriend, but he didn’t expect them to believe that his girlfriend ended up being you.

It almost seems too real, and there was that small chunk inside of him that wishes it was.

“Son, let me help you with the luggage.” His father insists and Jaehyun takes up the offer.

The both of them head up to his room to unpack his things, along with yours. His father places Jaehyun’s clothes back into its usual spot in the closet. Jaehyun places your things into one of the newly bought dressers he got specifically for you.

“When did you decide to give it a shot?” Jaehyun’s father asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Y/N.” Jaehyun’s father answers. “You know, I always had a feeling that Y/N saw you as more than a childhood best friend.”

Jaehyun stops, looking over his shoulder. His father’s busy placing clothes into the closet to notice that Jaehyun’s looking at him. “Really?”

“Really.” He chuckles. “I guess it was how she looked after you, and whenever she looked at you, it felt… different.”

Jaehyun smiles. “Well, I guess that’s one of the many reasons why I decided to date her.”

“You can tell she really cares about you, Jaehyun. I wonder how she felt when she found out that you had the same feelings for her.”

“I guess you’ll find out during dinner.”

You and Jaehyun’s mother are busy setting up the dining table. Every now and then, you would see Jaehyun’s mother admiring you from the corner of your eye. All your life, Jaehyun’s mother had treated you the same, never different. It was like she knew of your feelings for her son. You guess you could say that mothers always know best. And you liked it that way, where no words had to be said because she just knew.

How you wish that could be same when it came to Jaehyun.

“You know, when Jaehyun told me that he had a girlfriend, I was so excited to meet her. Jaehyun’s not really good at the dating department. My husband and I were so worried that he’d never get married.” She says as she places down a bowl of rice onto the dining table. “But I knew that if he did fall in love, it would be with someone he’s sure of.”

You chuckle. “I didn’t expect it to be me.”

“Oh, I expected it to be you, sweetheart.” She pats your back. “If Jaehyun were to ever settle down and date someone, it would definitely be someone he knew, like a friend.”

“You think he’s the type to fall in love with his best friend?” She hums in reply.

“I know so. When your parents and I watched the both of you grow up together, we’d always joke about how you two might end up together since you’re both always stuck together like glue.” She laughs. “And even though you’re quite shy, I could read you like a book, sweetheart.”

“Am I that obvious?” You whisper and she nods.

“When you both matured, I started to notice that you were beginning to act different around him. It resembled me when I started falling in love with Jaehyun’s husband.”

Jaehyun and his father interrupt the conversation you both had when they stroll into the dining room. The conversation is cut short and Jaehyun’s mother mumbles something along the lines of continuing the chat later on. As the four of you take your seats at the dining table, you glance at Jaehyun and flash him a smile. He smiles back and you feel your heart swell.

“I’m happy to spend the holidays with all of you,” Jaehyun’s mother cheers. “It makes me reminisce all the times Y/N and her parents would come over to have dinner together.”

“We’ll be having more of that from now on, that’s for sure.” Jaehyun’s father adds.

“Cheers.” Jaehyun chuckles and the four of you clink your glasses of wine and champagne.

The dinner is filled with many laughs and chatter. It was similar to that of a family reunion where everyone was catching up on each other’s lives and what they have planned for the future. But in this case, it was more of an interrogation, specifically towards you.

“So, who was the one who confessed first?”

You and Jaehyun unexpectedly pointed at each other, before your eyes widened with panic. Jaehyun clears his throat. “Y/N, it was definitely you who confessed first, was it not?”

“It was you!” You playfully argue back.

He scoffs. “It wasn’t me. It was you!”

“Fine, I’ll just say that it was me to make you feel better about yourself.” You roll your eyes at him and he sticks out his tongue at you.

“When did you realize it, Y/N?”

You glance at Jaehyun’s father. He looks at you with curiosity and you let your eyes wander. Your eyes stop to fixate on your plate. You set your cutlery down onto the table.

“I guess I realized that I love Jaehyun when I realized that it may be too late.” You say softly, courageously looking at Jaehyun. He’s staring back at you with those soft eyes. “He makes me feel special, like I’m the luckiest girl in the world. He always made me feel special.”

“Great. Honey, where’s my money?”

“What money?” Jaehyun asks confusedly.

Jaehyun’s father fishes out a couple of bills and hands it over to her husband. “I can’t believe you were right all along. They sure ended up together.”

“You guys made a bet on us?” Jaehyun looks shocked.

“We’re just joking.” Jaehyun’s mother laughs while her husband hands her back the bills. “We all had a feeling you’d end up together anyway.”

Jaehyun washes up before heading to bed. He stares at his reflection in the mirror, with his eyes trailing down to his lips. Throughout the whole flight, he couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss you both shared and the words you said to him before knocking out. He couldn’t stop wondering whether you remembered any of what had happened, and he wishes you didn’t.

But then he remembers how Joohyuk stared at you that night. It seems to haunt him more than it should. He remembers how angry he felt, how overprotective he suddenly got over you, and to him, it was quite unusual. The last time he felt this way was with Minyoung, and it was slowly starting to terrify him.

Memories of you standing in front of him in that beautiful Dior dress, seeing you chatting with Joohyuk at the restaurant’s patio from the balcony in your room, and the smile you gave him after he kissed you fill his mind. It was all starting to make sense. But maybe it’s the idea of being in a fake relationship with you that’s making him feel this way and making him think it’s real.

His thoughts are cut short when he hears a knock at the door. He quickly wipes his face and runs his hands through his hair before stepping out. You’re standing outside of the bathroom, holding a face towel and your toiletries.

“I know I slept on the couch when we were at the hotel but,” he gulps nervously. “My parents might barge into the room and I don’t want them seeing us sleeping apart.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I have no problems sleeping next to you,” you mumble shyly before clearing your throat. “Unless, you feel uncomfortable…”

“I’m fine with it.” He says softly as he moves aside to allow you to use the bathroom.

You let out a soft chuckle. “Okay. I’ll go wash up now.”

He watches you as you quickly shut the door. He hears the shower turn on and he lets out a huff of breath. He trudges his way towards the bed, placing his phone onto the bedside table. He draws the curtains and opens the door to step out onto the balcony.

The moon is shining beautifully tonight, he notes to himself. He rests his hands onto the railings of the balcony, staring up at the stars that are scattered across the sky. He laughs to himself, to him, you are like the moon. You are unique, and you shine brighter than the rest. But you’re far from reach, and all he wants is to be closer to you.

He doesn’t realize that he’s been out on the balcony for a long time until he hears the shower turn off. You step out of the bathroom after changing into a comfortable set of clothes, spotting Jaehyun standing outside on the balcony. You grab your robe and throw it on, heading out to join him.

“Mind if I join?” You ask. He looks over his shoulder and smiles.

You accompany him out on the balcony, looking up at the sky. He tears his gaze from the moon to glance at you. To you, he was easy to read. He was an open book. But to him, you’re hard to read. With one glance, he can’t seem to make out what you’re thinking in that beautiful mind of yours.

“Stop staring at me, I know I look cute.” He snorts, looking away from you.

“Funny how my parents believed it.” You raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect them to.”

“Me either.” You shove your hands into the pockets of your robe. “But I guess they do.”

“Do you perhaps,” he says before falling silent. “Do you happen to remember what happened the night of the business event?”

You know that your face pales, but you quickly shake your head. “No, not really. I had a lot of shots that night, so everything’s a blur.”

“Ah, I see.” He nods his head.

“Is there something I should remember?” You question.

He turns to look at you. You’re looking up at him with a questioning look. The beat of his heart seems to speed up, and his palms grow sweaty. The both of you stare at each other underneath the moonlight. And although you had lied about not remembering the kiss, the silence you both share is enough to tell the truth.

“Will this make you remember?”

Before you could utter a reply, Jaehyun’s hands cup your cheeks and he leans in to kiss you. Your eyes widen with surprise before fluttering shut. His lips taste like peppermint, you think to yourself as you wrap your arms around his waist. He leans in closer to deepen the kiss, and you allow entrance for his tongue to graze yours. Before the kiss grows more passionate than it is already, you gently place your hands on his chest and push him away.

When you both pull away from the kiss, you can’t bring yourself to look at him. He scratches the back of his neck and looks everywhere but you. You’re both breathless from the kiss.

This is wrong. You’re both best friends. You love him and he doesn’t. You’re letting your feelings get ahead of itself, and he’s just a victim of getting caught up in it.

“Sorry.” You both say at the same time.

He clears his throat, his fingers reaching up to touch his lips. You hug your body, before biting your lip.

“I’ll go to bed first,” you say softly. “Good night, Jaehyun.”

He doesn’t answer, and you take it as your cue to head back inside. When you shut the door behind you, you gently touch your lips. Jaehyun looks up to stare at the moon, and he chuckles bitterly.

You lied. You remember what happened that night.

But why did you lie to him?

You wake up the next morning alone. The kiss you shared with Jaehyun gives you a throbbing headache. You groan, rubbing at your temples before deciding to get out of bed. As you head downstairs to the kitchen, you spot Jaehyun and his father leaving the mansion. Jaehyun doesn’t spare you a single glance before heading out. You sigh.

Heading into the kitchen, you see Jaehyun’s mother cooking breakfast. When she realizes you’re in the room with her, she smiles widely at you. “Good morning, sweetheart! Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes.” No, you didn’t. “But I woke up with a headache. Do you happen to know where the painkillers are?”

“Oh, poor thing. I’ll get you them right now. Do you mind watching the pan for a quick second?”

“Sure, mother.” You insist as you take over and continue to fry the bacon for her. She disappears for a moment before coming back with a glass of water and a pill. “Thank you.”

Jaehyun’s mother looks at you with concern as you take the pill. The look on her face makes you tear up a little, because you were starting to feel guilty. You and Jaehyun aren’t dating, and you can’t imagine the look on her face if you tell her the truth. You can’t tell her the truth, but the way she looks after you like a daughter-in-law almost makes you do it. She doesn’t deserve any of this.

“Do you know where Jaehyun and his father went?” You ask and she nods her head.

“They went to grab some groceries before the stores close tonight.” She replies and that’s when you realize that it’s Christmas Eve. “Do you want to help me cook dinner tonight?”

“That would be lovely,” you smile.

She places the bacon onto a plate with a sunny-side up egg and potato wedges. She hands you the plate of breakfast and you look at her confusedly. “Jaehyun told me that you would wake up soon and asked me to cook breakfast for you while he goes out with his father.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” You shake your head.

“Stop worrying. I wanted to. Besides, I had nothing else to do.” She laughs.

You glance down at the plate, feeling your eyes tear up again.

“Thank you, mother.” You whisper and she gently pats your shoulder.

You eat everything on that plate out of appreciation for her. This was the first time someone cooked you a meal after you moved out of your house to live on your own, and the gesture itself made you grateful.

“Mother, do you happen to know who Minyoung is?” You ask out of nowhere.

She replies, “Minyoung was Jaehyun’s first love.”

You hum in reply.

“What made you suddenly ask that?” She chuckles.

You shrug your shoulders. “They were talking to each other at the business event.”

“Minyoung is a quirky girl. She was raised by two lovely parents who ran a successful business. When Jaehyun met Minyoung, I had a feeling that he really liked her, and I was right.”

“But she rejected him.” She frowns.

“Minyoung and Jaehyun were close friends, but not as close as the two of you. Jaehyun saw her as more than a close friend, but to her, he was just another business agreement. When she turned nineteen, her parents set her up on an arranged marriage. Jaehyun was devastated.”

You try to remember how Minyoung looked that night, and you don’t recall seeing a silver band on her fourth finger.

“Minyoung rejected him and told him that arranged marriage or not, she only saw him as a friend. As for the arranged marriage, it fell through. Minyoung threatened her parents that she’ll tell the press about the arranged marriage if they didn’t let her live her life on her own decisions.” Jaehyun’s mother explains with dismay before taking a sip of her cup of coffee.

“She is beautiful,” you state, and she agrees with you.

“What I saw in Jaehyun was what I saw in you. While he pined after Minyoung, you pined after him.” She grins. “When Jaehyun got rejected, I was dying to tell him that there’s always been someone waiting for him. That someone was a beautiful young lady who’s always bickering with him, always standing beside him if it wasn’t Johnny, always there for him.”

She places her hand on top of yours and you smile.

“But I guess at the time, Jaehyun didn’t realize that that someone was you.”

“I know that it’s quite unfortunate that we have to leave earlier than expected.”

You glance at Jaehyun’s mother who’s getting her makeup done. The original plan was that Jaehyun’s parents would be here for the holidays and go back to America in the middle of January. But due to circumstances related to the business, they have to fly back to America right after New Year’s Day. When Jaehyun’s parents broke the news out to the both of you, you both could feel nothing but relief. Once they’re gone, everything between the two of you goes back to normal and the fake relationship will be nothing but the past.

“I know, I really wanted to spend more time with you.” You say softly.

To your surprise, there was another business event happening tonight. You smile to yourself when you remember Jaehyun falling down to his knees, begging you to do him one last favour. And so here you were, getting your hair and makeup done with his mother before the event.

“This event is going to be quite interesting,” she sighs. “The Park’s and the Kim’s will be there.”

“The Kim’s?”

“Minyoung and her family will be there.” She replies. “Not quite sure why, but I suppose the Park’s had brought them along because they’re business partners.”

“Maybe they want to propose a business merge?” You assume and she shakes her head.

“We can definitely merge with the Park’s, I have no problem working with them. But with the Kim’s? I’m not sure about that.” She says with a face filled with distaste.

“Ah, I see.” You mumble.

“The idea of the Kim’s being at the event bothers me, but I’m not sure why.” She says, deep in thought. The makeup artist pulls up two shades of lipstick and asks her to choose one. As she points to the coral-shade lipstick, she glances at you. “Doesn’t it bother you too?”

“I feel slightly suspicious,” you reply. She hums in agreement.

As both of your makeup finishes up, you head towards the bedroom you and Jaehyun shared. As you walk in, you stop in your tracks when you see a box sitting on top of the bed. Your eyes read the label, and then widen like saucers when they read ‘Dior’. You shake your head to yourself, Jaehyun spoils you too much.

Opening the box, you see a white dress. In the box is another small box, and when you open it, it reveals a beautiful set of Chanel earrings. As you carefully take out the white dress, a note is stuck to the bottom of the box. You set the dress aside and pull out the note.

When I saw this dress, I thought that you’d look beautiful in it. As always. -Jaehyun

You stare at the dress and the guilt slowly starts to build up. You don’t deserve any of this. This wasn’t right. Once this act is done, Jaehyun would have to return the dress and the earrings. Once this act is done, all of your clothes will be packed away in your luggage. Once this act is done, Jaehyun will be dropping you off at your house. Once this act is done, you’ll be back to best friends.

Why did you agree to this?

The night is still young and the Park’s arrive on time. The event turns out to be a reservation at a small event room, all three families are set to be seated at a long dining table. The Kim’s have yet to arrive, but as expected, they always arrive “fashionably late”.

As per usual, Jaehyun looks stunning. He looks like a prince that’s ready to settle down and rule a whole kingdom. This time around, he’s dressed up in a black suit, tailored perfectly to his body proportions. As for you, you were dressed up in a white dress. The dress stops right at your feet, and the material is quite light that it flows effortlessly down your legs. It has a long slit that shows cleavage up to the middle of your thigh.

“Miss Y/N, you look beautiful like always.” Mrs. Park greets you with a peck on the cheek. You smile and feel an arm wrap around your waist. You’re used to the feeling of Jaehyun’s arms around you, so this type of affection doesn’t surprise you anymore.

“Thank you, Mrs. Park.” You giggle. Jaehyun rubs circles around the small of your back and you can feel yourself slightly shiver at the gesture.

You look up at Jaehyun to find him already looking at you. He leans in to kiss your cheek. You feel your cheeks heat up. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” you mumble. “You look great yourself.”

“The Kim’s are arriving in a couple of minutes,” Jaehyun’s father announces just as he finishes up a phone call. He nods his head at Jaehyun. “Jaehyun, do you mind waiting for them outside? We wouldn’t want them getting lost on the way.”

“Sure,” Jaehyun says and his arm leaves your waist. You suddenly feel empty.

As Jaehyun heads out, there’s a small voice inside of you yelling for you to accompany him. You feel troubled, until you feel Jaehyun’s mother gently pat your shoulder.

“Why don’t you go with Jaehyun?” Jaehyun’s mother insists, and it’s almost like she had read your mind. You nod your head and quickly catch up to Jaehyun.

The both of you stand at the entrance, waiting for some sort of luxury car to pull up. Soon enough, there’s a set of bright headlights that fall into your line of sight. Before the car pulls up, Jaehyun’s phone starts to ring.

“I’ll be quick. It’s an important phone call,” he says softly, before excusing himself. Out of panic, you start to follow him because you don’t want to greet the Kim’s all alone. You’ve never met them personally. Heck, you don’t even know how they look like.

But as you’re following Jaehyun, you hear a car pull up to the entrance and quiet chatter. You stop in your tracks, looking over your shoulder to see Minyoung get out of the car along with her parents. She looks suspicious, you note to yourself. Her parents huddle around her and start talking to her in soft voices. You slowly walk up to a post and hide behind it to not make yourself seen.

“Remember, we came here to merge with the Jung’s, alright?”

“You did tell us that you’re interested in Jaehyun. This is your opportunity to make that happen.”

“That’s easy to do. Once I tell Jaehyun everything, he’ll leave that poor little girl for me instead.”

You frown. There’s a sudden urge for you to come out from hiding and get into a fight with them. But there’s that insecurity that you have within you that tells you that you’re nothing compared to Minyoung. What you do won’t be enough anyway. She had the power, the looks, and the money.

As you hear them start to head inside the venue, you can hear Jaehyun greet them and guide them inside. You successfully come out of hiding and follow a couple metres behind them. Minyoung stares at Jaehyun with much conviction. She looks like a sly cat, suspicious and mysterious. She’s here for one thing and she will do everything in her power to get it.

“Ah, the Kim’s are here!” Jaehyun’s mother exclaims, hugging each one of them. As she hugs Minyoung, you can only softly snort to yourself when Minyoung hugs her a bit too tight. Jaehyun’s mother slightly pushes her away. “Seems like you missed me a lot, Minyoung.”

“Oh, I sure did, mother.” She smiles. If you weren’t so obvious, you would be shooting daggers at her at this moment.

Jaehyun’s mother seems to wince at how Minyoung calls her, but shrugs it off as she catches up with Minyoung’s parents.

“Shall we have dinner first?” Jaehyun insists and everyone agrees.

Everyone sits around the dining table and starts digging into their food. You watch each one of them as they speak, noticing how they speak with such grace and passion for their work. As for Jaehyun, you can’t help but admire how professional he looked when he spoke. There’s a special glint in his eyes that show how much he loves what he does. It was like being a CEO of a company was his fate. You can’t help but feel out of place sitting at a table with a bunch of business people.

Jaehyun seems to notice how you’ve gone quiet. You feel someone’s hand grab yours from under the table and you slightly flinch in your seat. Glancing under the table, you relax when you see Jaehyun’s fingers interlock with yours. You look at him and he gives you a reassuring smile.

“Miss Y/N, you never really told us about what you do.” Mrs. Kim says, and she looks at you suspiciously. You knew what she had planned up her sleeve. “Do you run a business?”

You clear your throat and set your cutlery down onto the table. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t run a business. I graduated with a degree in human biology. I’m currently focused on research with a couple of colleagues that I graduated with.”

“Interesting.” Minyoung squints her eyes at you. “I wonder how Jaehyun seems to take interest in you. Aren’t your conversations a bit different? Jaehyun talks about business and you talk about… science. Isn’t it conflicting?”

“Well, they were both best friends before they dated so I’m sure having conversations with each other aren’t difficult.” Jaehyun’s mother butts in.

“Once your research is done, what are your next plans?” It was now Mr. Kim’s turn to interrogate you. You feel quite uneasy at the sudden attention that’s been focused on you, and Jaehyun could tell.

“Once we publish the research papers, we’re all going to venture off and do more research. The world is revolving and technology is improving, Mr. Kim. There are still more things in the world that we have yet to discover.” You say with passion and determination. “Don’t you think so, Mr. Kim?”

He looks quite taken aback. “Y-Yes, I think very much so, Miss Y/N.”

“Conversations with her are quite interesting,” Jaehyun butts in. “I love how she has such a positive outlook on the world around us. She’s doing much more for the world than you’ll ever know. I guess that’s why I love her so much.”

You share a look with Jaehyun and his parents and they seem to pick up what’s going on. Jaehyun sets his things aside and gets up. “Everything alright?”

He smiles at you. “I’ll have to excuse myself. I’ll be right back, just have to use the washroom.”

The conversation about you cuts short and the attention is soon directed to the Park’s. As you’re continuing to eat your meal and listen in on the conversation, you could see Minyoung slowly get up from her seat.

“Excuse me,” she announces. “I’ll use the washroom really quickly.”

You shove a forkful of mushrooms into your mouth as you suspiciously watch her head out of the room. Once she’s out of sight, you glance at Jaehyun’s mother who nods her head. She reads your mind yet again. You get up from your seat and everyone looks at you.

“Sorry, excuse me. I’ll be back, I’ll thank the chef for cooking us a great meal tonight.”

Everyone smiles at you before you head out of the room. As you head towards the washrooms, you stop walking when you hear Minyoung giggle. You furrow your eyebrows, following the sound of her laughter. It leads you to another room. You spot the washrooms that are on the opposite end of the corridor. You frown.

Her laughter seems to get louder and louder, until you find yourself standing in front of a door. You bite your lip to contain your anger when you hear Jaehyun mumbling something you can barely make out. You barge into the room and you can’t help but gasp.

Jaehyun’s sitting on a small couch and Minyoung’s sitting on his lap. She’s inches away from kissing him. You can’t help but laugh to yourself. Jaehyun didn’t even bother pushing her off of him. When they hear you laugh, they glance at you in shock.

“Sorry, I thought this was the washroom.” You chuckle, shaking your head in disbelief. “I guess I’ll leave you two some privacy unless you two want me to cause a scene.”

“Y/N, I can explain—”

“You don’t need to.” You cut Jaehyun off. “I suggest you leave, Minyoung, before I tell everyone what you had just planned on doing.”

She smirks, rolling her eyes at you. She shows no shame as she leaves the room, bumping your shoulder while she’s at it. You glance at Jaehyun with disbelief.

“Y/N, I’m sorry—”

“You don’t need to say sorry to me.” You shake your head. “We’re not dating, right? This is all just an act, right?”

“I had no idea what she was trying to do—”

“And yet you let her sit on your lap? Unbelievable, Jae!” You feel tears start to well up in your eyes. “You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?”

“I’m not.”

You scoff. “You know, throughout this whole thing, I found it difficult to be around you. I don’t even know why I agreed to this in the first place. And then when your parents came, I started to feel guilty because we were putting on a show for them. But then I started to feel bad for myself, because I didn’t think I would stoop this low for you to realize something, to realize that the feelings that I have for you are different.”

“What feelings, Y/N? We’re not dating—”

“And that’s it! That’s the problem! We’re not dating!” You yell. “I’d always forget that this is fake because a part of me felt that this was real. But what you did just now just showed me how much of a fool you are, Jae. While you’re still in love with a woman who only wants your money, you’re hurting someone else in the process of it all. And that someone doesn’t want your money, she just wants you.”

Jaehyun can only fall silent in shock. It was all starting to add up for him. You watch him as he starts to consume your words and realize what they truly meant. He frustratingly runs his fingers through his hair. He’s at a loss for words. You’re in love with him. He’s not sure when you started feeling this way for him, but it was all starting to make sense.

“Y/N, I’m sorry.” That’s all he could manage to say.

You sigh. “I’m sorry too, Jae, because I don’t think I can do this much longer. I’m sure you can figure out an explanation to tell your parents.”

“Y/N—”

“And I guess I should say sorry to myself for falling in love with you, because even though I knew that you didn’t feel the same way, I still tried. I gave it a chance because of that small sliver of hope.”

Being heartbroken is a mess. It’s a mess that you never asked for. But maybe you deserved it. You’ve run out of tears and you’ve run out of energy to be sad. Scattered all over your bed are used up Kleenex tissues and empty Kleenex boxes. Your phone never seems to stop ringing, but you don’t even bother looking at it. Johnny has tried reaching out to you, but you can’t bring yourself to facing him. You’re not even sure what day it is, because you’ve spent so much time crying yourself to sleep and forcing yourself to get out of bed. You wondered if Jaehyun felt the same, but you could only laugh at yourself. He was probably doing just fine.

No, it’s not just a ‘maybe you deserved it’. You did deserve it. You deserved to get your heart broken. You had set this all up for failure, and you were stupid enough to think that you’d get the benefit of the doubt.

But it’s too late to blame yourself now. You have no choice but to move on. Jaehyun probably got together with Minyoung. This was what he wanted, right?

Your thoughts are cut short when you hear someone knock on the door. You force yourself out of bed for the first time this week, trudging towards the door. Looking through the peephole to see who it is, you feel your heart stop when you see Jaehyun’s mother standing outside.

You hesitate. You ponder whether you should pretend like no one’s home until she goes away or actually letting her into your home. You decide to open the door.

Jaehyun’s mother looks at you in shock and sadness. “Y/N?”

“Hi, mother.” You say in a soft voice. “Would you like to come in?”

She makes herself comfortable in your home, seeing little bits and pieces of your childhood that you brought along with you when you moved out. She stops and looks at a framed picture of you and Jaehyun on his seventh birthday hung up on the wall.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush but,” she says as she averts her gaze away from the picture. “Jaehyun told me everything.”

“I’m sorry,” you say barely above a whisper. You’re surprised that she’s not mad at you. You’re more surprised that she’s grinning at you.

“It’s okay.” She mumbles. “I just wanted to see if you were doing alright.”

“Well, honestly, I feel devastated.” You shrug your shoulders. “But I guess that’s just how things were supposed to end up. I’m so sorry for what we’ve done, we truly didn’t mean it. Jaehyun just wanted you to be happy for him, so I guess this whole ‘relationship’ gone way out of hand.”

“He explained why he did it and apologized. I’m not mad.” She reassures you. “I kind of wished that it was real. But when Jaehyun told me the truth, I couldn’t help but wonder how you were feeling.”

“I’m holding up fine. I guess with time, I’ll be alright, and things will go back to normal.” She’s aching to reach out to you, because the bags underneath your eyes tell her a different story. “Is Jaehyun doing alright?”

“This is why I admire you,” she smiles. “You’re selfless. You think about others than yourself.”

You can’t seem to say anything to that. She can’t seem to understand how horrible you must feel. “How’d you know that I was in love with Jaehyun?”

“I could see it, Y/N.” She replies. “You look at him like he’s your world. In your eyes, I see nothing but love… but also fear. I think it must be because you’re afraid to tell him how you truly feel. You fear that once you tell him, you’ll end up losing him forever.”

“I guess the heart never lies.” You chuckle.

“I’m not in the right place to tell you whether Jaehyun returns the same feelings or not but,” she sighs, “if he doesn’t feel the same way, then he’s truly missing out on someone special.”

“I don’t want to lose him.”

“I know you don’t. But just give him some time, and maybe it’ll be enough for him to recollect his thoughts and realize things.” She suggests. “In the meantime, rest well, alright, Y/N? For me, and for Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun’s been a mess since the dinner with the Park’s and Kim’s. He’s been cooped up in his room almost everyday. The only time he would come out of his room would be for his meals. He explained and told the truth to his parents, and he was glad that they didn’t get mad at him. His parents had left for America the day before, and now he’s left all alone in his mansion.

Every night, he would step out onto the balcony and stare up at the moon. It was the closest thing he could have that resembles you. Your words echo in his mind, haunting him.

After washing up before going to bed, he turns on some music before stepping out onto the balcony. The moon is covered by clouds tonight, but he could still see it shine peacefully. He can’t stop thinking about you.

He’s not sure about his feelings for you, but what he’s sure of is that you’re someone different than the rest. You’re someone special and he can’t afford losing you. He’s aware that his heart beats differently whenever you’re around. He’s aware that you see him in a different light, and that it’s been this way for almost all your life.

He’s sure that he doesn’t deserve you. But he feels a little selfish. He wants to have you all to himself. He can’t seem to bear the thought of you belonging to someone else. Even the imagination of you standing at the altar with someone else makes him feel sick.

“Am I too late?” He thinks aloud, looking at the moon as if it had an answer for him.

But his phone buzzes in his pocket, and his phone itself has an answer to his thoughts.

y/n (10:43 pm): can we meet up?

The river flows peacefully, flowing at its own pace. It’s gloomy outside with the wind a bit chillier than usual. You hug yourself, bracing the chilly wind that breezes by. A couple passes by, and you can’t help but stare at them. They’re holding hands until the man places their interlocked hands into his pocket. You inwardly sigh.

From afar, you can hear faint footsteps get louder and louder, crunching dried, fallen leaves. You look over your shoulder to see Jaehyun approaching you. He has two cups of warm coffee. You smile when he arrives. He hands you your drink and you mumble a soft ‘thanks’ before he sits next to you.

The both of you sit against a tree in silence. After Jaehyun’s mother dropped by to talk to you, you figured that the best way to resolve this is to be lighter about it. This whole situation was planned for failure, and the both of you let your emotions get the best of it. Things got out of hand.

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun breaks the silence.

“Me too.” You purse your lips into a tight line. “I shouldn’t have left everything on you like that.��

“And I shouldn’t have dismissed your emotions like it was nothing,” he adds. “Your emotions are valid, you know? It was rude of me to brush it off like it was nothing.”

“I accept your apology.” You smile.

“I accept yours as well, even though you shouldn’t be apologizing. You did nothing wrong.” He glances at you and he feels blinded by your smile. His heart skips a beat. “But do you mind hearing me out?”

You look at him confusedly. “Is there anything else to explain?”

He tears his gaze away from you to look at the river. You stare at him, waiting for him to continue. “That night when we came back from the business event in Milan, I knew that you would remember the kiss we shared. But I also knew that you wouldn’t remember the words you said to me before you knocked out.”

“What did I say?” You question.

“You said you loved me,” he replies softly. You feel your cheeks flush. “It made me wonder. When Joohyuk stared at you like that, I didn’t feel good about it. I saw you and Joohyuk at the restaurant patio from our hotel room, and it forced me to get out of bed.”

“I don’t like Joohyuk that way.” You chuckle. “Trust me.”

“I know, but it looked like he liked you.” He shrugs his shoulders. “And I hated it. But I disregarded my feelings because I thought, why would I feel this way? You’re just my best friend. But then I remembered seeing you in that dress for the first time, and it was like time had stopped. It was like it was just the two of us in that room.”

You feel yourself slowly smile. Where was this going?

“And then I realized that I never told you about Minyoung. I wondered why you never knew, and why I never bothered to tell you. I remembered the night I told Minyoung my feelings for her and coming home after being rejected only to find you sitting on the couch with Chinese takeout. It was funny that out of all days to confess, I confessed to her on my birthday.”

He glances at you and you both chuckle. Out of nowhere, Jaehyun grabs your hand in his.

“When I saw that picture of you and I on my seventh birthday up on your wall, I wondered, why would you keep such a photo?” He says. “And when my parents started talking about how they knew we’d end up together and when my father told me that he always had a feeling that you saw me as more than a friend, it was all starting to make sense.”

“But then how about when I caught you and Minyoung?”

He grimaces. “Minyoung told me that her parents were planning on setting her up for another marriage, but they gave her freedom of choice. She chose me. It made me realize that I was just a business transaction to her, as if my confession for her didn’t matter. I said no, because you and I were together, and something inside of me was dying for those words to be true.”

“But she almost kissed you?” He hums in reply.

“When I said no, she forced herself on me, and then you came in.” He explains. “It was all just bad timing.”

“Minyoung will really go out of her way to get something she wants, huh?” You frown and Jaehyun shrugs his shoulders.

“It’s okay, she can’t have me.” He smiles. “I’m all yours.”

“Since when?” You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t remember you confessing to me.”

“Did I not just confess to you right now?” He pouts.

You look away from him to hide the grin spreading across your lips. “Did you not? I don’t know, I might have to hear it again.”

“Y/N,” he whines.

“Okay, I’m just playing with you.” You glance at him. “But maybe I really want to hear it again.”

The both of you stare at each other. Jaehyun feels time slow down and his heartbeat pick up. You were easy to read now. Your soft brown eyes show nothing but love and warmth the moment he looks into them. A faint smile replaces the grin on your face when you see your own reflection in Jaehyun’s eyes.

“I’m in love with you,” he whispers. “I think I’ve been in love with you for the longest time, but was too blind to see it.”

“Yeah,” you pinch his cheeks. “You might need to get a pair of glasses to fix that.”

“You’re not going to say it back?”

“Say what, back?” You tease and he pouts.

“I take it back, then—”

“Fine!” You cut him off. “I’m in love with you, Jae. I’ve been in love with you since we were seven, since your seventh birthday, to be exact. That’s why I have that photo up on my wall.”

“Really?”

You smile. “Really.”

One year later…

“Quick! He’s arriving in five minutes!”

Jaehyun’s mother scurries around the kitchen with a pot filled with kimchi stew while Jaehyun’s father washes up the last set of dirty dishes. The mansion has been empty for the past week because Jaehyun had been travelling to several business events. His parents had decided to arrive home earlier than Jaehyun was informed off, to surprise him just like last year.

“He said he would be home by seven! It’s only five!”

“Maybe his flight landed earlier? I don’t know!”

The both of them are scurrying around the dining table, making sure everything is set up perfectly. They set up three plates and glasses along with three pairs of cutlery just for the family. The dining table is colourful with several dishes Jaehyun’s mother had cooked for him.

Five minutes soon become ten seconds and the both of them are fixing up the Christmas tree. Soon enough, there’s a knock at the door. The both of them glance at each other and let out a huff of breath. As they both head towards the door, Jaehyun’s mother dusts off her apron before opening it. His parents could only stare in shock.

“Welcome home—”

“Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. Meet my girlfriend, Y/N.”

author’s note: it’s finally done! ahhhh!! after so much interruptions, it’s finally done. i’m just happy that it’s done. i’m so sorry for having you wait for so long. but here it is :-) i hope you liked it and i wish you a happy new year!

i’m also wondering if i should do a drabble game where i post a list of AUs, prompts, and genres for you to choose from and i’ll write something short in return. what do you think?

let me know what you think! comments, feedback, questions? hmu!

#jaehyun scenarios #jung jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun blurbs #jaehyun fluff #nct jaehyun scenarios #nct 127 #nct #nct 127 scenarios #nct scenarios #jung yoonoh scenarios #yoonoh scenarios #nct fluff #nct blurbs #nct 127 blurbs #jaehyun

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futurewriter2000 · 3 years

Text

Hearless - pt. 11

A/N: I know I’m late to post this but I’ve been so exhausted from my morning shifts. I genuenly hate morning shifts because I am not a morning person and days pass so quickly. One minute I’m asleep, the next I’m awake at work. Anyways, this is a bit “normal” part- it’s like an intro to a good ass part. Hope you like it.

*Legilimency is the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings. A person who practises this art is known as a Legilimens. *

You couldn’t decide which shirt to put on for breakfast. If you came down in a T-shirt, then they will ask questions but wearing a sweater in summer isn’t the brightest cover up to come up with.

“I can just say I’m cold... or something...” you mumbled to yourself as you tugged the sleeves down your hands and bit your lower lip.

‘I just won’t tell them.’ you told yourself. ‘Just remember what he said to you. Mum and dad already know, so they won’t be a problem but James? He can be such a prick when it comes to my private things.’

---

You walked down the stairs and found Sirius chewing his sandwich toast as he kept reading on the newspapers. “Morning.” he said as he chewed, keeping his eyes on the paper.

“Morning, Sirius.” you smiled, walking into the kitchen and grabbing yourself a cup to make some coffee.

It was a simple process every morning; boil water, add sugar, add coffee, pour into the cup, add milk. - And when you have done all of those things, you smiled to yourself at the scent of the wonderful home-made coffee and sat behind the table.

You looked up and saw him staring with one of his eyebrows quirked up. “What?”

“Are you in a sweater?”

“And here comes yet another marvelous observation, Sherlock Holmes.” you leaned forward, teasing as he rolled back his eyes far back to his head. “Oh yummy.” you reached for his other half of sandwich as he slapped your hand away.

“AH-OI!” he looked at you, all considering serious. “Excuse me, get your own sandwich, lady.”

“Lady?” you scoffed with a laugh. “You owe me, prick. You ate my donuts last time!” you reached again but he took a hold of your wrist and narrowed his eyes at you. “You. Owe. Me.” you narrowed your eyes as well, challenging him into a silent battle of the glares.

He looked away and let go off your wrist. “Fine.” he threw your wrist away and you gave him a triumphant smirk as your hand reached for the sandwich. “I would have given it to you if you asked nicely, though.” he shrugged, taking another bite.

“Since when do we do nice, Sirius?” you smiled, taking in the bit as he laughed.

“That is awfully sad but true.” he said, letting his smile fade as he swallowed the last peace of food in his mouth. He brushed off his palms and leaned back- then back forward to lean on his elbows as he fumbled with his thumbs. He looked at you.... concern this time. “You should have used my sweater to hide the scars, (y/n). The one I gave you that night with the frog sock. It’s nicely thin, breathable for your skin.” he stood up and grabbed his plate to the sink, grabbing a sponge and opening the water.

You sat there, stopped to chew and continue to eat. That last bite was hard to swallow when somebody like Sirius told you something like this. You turned your head over your shoulder and looked at him with wide eyes, almost wanting to scream what had happened to you.

Odd.. this feeling of wanting to confide into somebody about all the things you told yourself you would never in life confide to anybody.

You stood up and grabbed your coffee mug to the sink, leaning on the counter next to him.

He stopped washing the dishes, his heartbeat raising as he slowly looked up at you. You crossed your arms over your chest and let your hand travel to his cheek. Your thumb brushed across his cheek as his eyes sent you a flash of desire.

He blinked a few times, to bring himself back from your touch, shaking his head and scrubbing the plate. “Uh... your boyfriend came over a few nights ago. He gave James a letter to give it to you.”

You let your hand fall back to your chest, hugging your arms. “Yeah.” you smiled, walking back to the table. “I got it.” you pulled your heels on the edge of your chair and hugged them both. “He was going back to France. Said he would be back after graduation- the last summer before he packs up his things and moves there.” you trailed off, staring at the morning sun.

“Moves there?” Sirius came back to the table, wiping off his hands with his cloth.

“Yeah. He decided to live in France, since he was in school most of his life.”

“And you?” he asked, leaning on the chair and staring at you with intense blazing eyes.

“What about me?” you gave him a soft smile.

“Will you move in with him?”

“No.” you laughed. “He wanted me to but I told him we already broke up, so it was useless going back together and moving across the world to France. I don’t even know the language, though I do know some words.” you let out a soft giggle that made Sirius stiffen up.

He shook himself off jealousy. “You two broke up?” he sat back down.

“Yeah. That “first date”- was me telling him we kissed and he was so pissed at me from cheating on him that he broke up with me before storming away.”

“Why would you tell him?”

You shot your head to him in wonder. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I mean, the two of you would still be together. I wouldn’t tell.”

“I didn’t want to be together with somebody when I kissed you, Sirius.” you furrowed your eyebrows at him as he continued to stare with no expression. “Relationship is about trust and loyalty... and truth. I told him because he deserved to know.”

“But it was just a kiss.”

You let out a soft laugh, standing up and walking to the sink. You grabbed a glass from the cabinet and turned on the pipe. “It wasn’t just a kiss to me.” you mumbled, knowing fair well he had heard you clearer than ever.

Your whole chest was burning from the fire your heart caused. It was painfully quiet and it was that same pain that made your eyes focus on the cold water flowing from the pipe.

“I’M COMING IN SO IF YOU TWO ARE SNOGGING PLEASE STOP!” James shouted as he covered his eyes with his hands and walked blindly into the kitchen and peeping through his fingers to see if it was safely innocent for his eyes. “Oh, thank God. Morning.”

“Really, James.” you smiled, walking past him to sit back to the table.

“Might as well make the two of you suffer for that.” he grabbed himself a cup and a teapot, bringing it to the table. “Why are you wearing a sweater? It’s boiling here.”

“Cuz I enjoy sweaters. It’s Britain, James. It’ll get cold sooner or later.” you hugged yourself and continued to watch him sit down and take a sip of his tea. “Plus, mum and dad went on some errands. Said they’d be back soon.”

“Yeah, I know. Dad left me a note on the desk- oh that reminds me.” he turned to Sirius. “He also said we’d have to go get something into town tonight before five. Said it’s urgent and well, who else to trust with urgent things then his eldest son.” James puffed out his chest and winked.

“Pompous brother?” you rolled your eyes as he continued to play his child-like smile on his lips.

“That I am not afraid to admit.”

“Good thing-”

“Blimey!” your father apparated into the room with a few bags in his hands and looked up at his three children.”Morning, you three.” he said as he trotted to the kitchen and placed down some of the bags. “Your dear old mother will never let me come home in less than two bags.” he started to unpack the groceries.

“Hey dad, you’re early.” you said as your father looked over his shoulder and smiled at you.

“I know. Got things done earlier. Your mother, however, ran into that- what’s her name again- Mina?”

“Nina?”

“Yes, her. Her mother and obviously they hopped their way into the tea land.”

“I bet they’re talking about sexy men from Cuba.” James started to tease, making both of you and Sirius laugh. “Nina’s mum is probably telling mum about the man who would be perfect for her.”

“Oh, James, my dear boy.” he walked back to him, tapping his shoulder. “If you ever want that new broom of yours, you’ll be smart enough to shut your mouth.”

“Gee dad. It’s only jokes.” James lifted his hands in defeat and sent Sirius a wink.

“This is for you, deary. Just like you said.” your father trotted to you and placed down two large books. “These two were the most recommended.”

“Thanks dad, you took the books and opened the first one.”

Sirius and James exchanged glances, both furrowing their eyebrows like two identical set of twins. “What is this?”

“Books.”

“Bravo, Sherlock.” Sirius looked at you, giving you an amusing smile before you sent him a smile of your own. He reached for one book in your hands and tore it away as James grabbed the second one and started flipping through it.

“Legilimency”” Sirius felt more confused then ever.

“Dreams interpretation?” James was right behind him.

“Haven’t you told them yet?” your father said from the kitchen.

“Told us what?” James asked.

“I had the weirdest dreams last night.” you rubbed your eyes and looked at both of them. “Like there was Remus in them-”

“Oh, Pads, watch out-” James started to tease meanwhile both you and Sirius rolled your eyes in sync.

“Shut up, James.” you cut in. “It was so odd though- like I was a deer and I had a mouse on my head- like a massive fat mouse.” you started to show with your hands the size of your hands as Sirius and James started to process your words, growing more nervous than ever. “And then there was a big black dog in front of me- really ugly looking.”

“Excuse me?!” Sirius exclaimed, widening his eyes before feeling a slap of James’ hand on top of his mouth. He sent James a glare and James gave him back an apologetic look.

You drew your eyebrows together and gave them a suspicious look. They were acting odder than usual. “Anyhow...” you trailed off, trying to go back to your dreams. “That dog turned into you-” you gestured to Sirius, giving him a teasing smile. “Which explains the ugliness.”

“And then I’m the rude one- really James? You call me the rudest out of here?” Sirius gave James another glare as James laughed nervously.

“And you looked at me and said if we throw Worm into the lake and let him change in mid air so he can do a canon ball... or something???” you laughed, burying your head into your palms and looking back up at their crooked smiles.

“Hahahaha!” James forced a laugh. “Worm... Why would- why would- uh, we- uh call a rat worm? Hahahha!”

“I think... she said mouse, James.” Sirius corrected him.

“MOUSE! Yeah... mouse... that. Not rat... mouse on a stag...”

“I said deer.”

“Well they’re both the same thing..” James started to get a bit offended.

“Then if I would be a deer, I’d be a doe, not a stag.”

James pursed his lips together and breathed hard through the nose. “Alright... doe then. It still doesn’t explain the books.”

“Doesn’t it though?” you stood up to get the books from both of their grasp, which was lot easier despite they were...well, James and Sirius. “I’m looking for a meaning.”

“The dog might be an omen?” your father sat beside you, wiping his hands with a cloth. “Like a ghost, perhaps. I mean, don’t you call Sirius Padfoot, James?” he looked at James as James and Sirius looked at each other with wide eyes. “ In Lancashire they call the black dog many things. From Grim to Padfoot and since Sirius was the one who turned into-”

“WOW DAD!” James boomed throughout the room, clapping his hands and standing up. “That’s a great history lecture but me and Paddy here will go to get ourselves ready for that...uh.... urgent thing you gave us.” he sent both of you finger guns and pulled Sirius to his feet. “Let’s go... Sirius.” he pushed him forward, out of the room, up the stairs and into their room. He locked the door behind him.

James turned to Sirius, who was running his hands through his hair nervously. James waved his hands at him, as if he was screaming at Sirius but in reality only came out in loud whispers. “HOW DOES SHE-”

“DID YOU TELL HER?”

“OF COURSE I DID NOT TELL HER! DID YOU TELL HER?!”

“NO I DID NOT TELL HER!”

“You sure?!”

“Why would I tell her!?!”

“I don’t know, maybe because you fancy her!”

“Prongs, will you stop mentioning that! I didn’t tell her!”

“Then who did-”

“It’s your memory, Prongs! You told her!”

“...” James stood there quiet, like a linden statue, staring at his best friend as his brain tried to process it. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. “OH MY GOD-” he started to punch Sirius from the realiasation. “WHAT IF IT’S A TWIN THING! OH MY- DO YOU THINK WE’RE TELEPATHIC!”

“James...”

“MATE! Mate.. mate..” James smiled broadly at his best friend. “How cool would it be if we are actually those twins that can telepathically communicate-”

“James...”

James slapped his hand on his mouth. “Oh- what if she’s listening to me right now.”

“JAMES!” Sirius took James’ shoulders and shook him. “Calm down, for crying out loud. You’re not telepathic. I think she is- sort of.” he shrugged as James kept watching him. “I think she’s a Legilimen.”

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black imagine #sirius black imagines #james potter #james potter imagine #james potter imagines #marauders #marauders imagine #marauders imagines

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addaellisplaysgames · 3 years

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((Just something inspired by the new Mysteries of the Lost Gold Trailer. Probably not canon-compliant and at least a little OOC. Luke x MC/ Raven x Rosa.))

WC: 1854

His Rosa was scrutinizing something from a market stall when he found her. Luke watched fondly for a while before softly tapping her and taking her hand, careful now to startle her. She rewarded him with a relaxed smile.

“Look, it’s seaweed!” She showed him the hair clip. At first he thought it was a regular poppy flower, carved out of wire and cloth. But as his Rosa had observed, the texture of the flower, the thin carved veins on the surface, and the way it was folded resembled red seaweed with small silk beads for stamens.

“I didn’t even know red seaweed looked so different,” she mused. “It must have taken a lot of effort to carve the flower like that.” She set the hair clip down and turns to him. “Did Adjudicator get in contact with the dealer?”

“Yeah,” Luke replied. “We’ll talk about the details later.” He pinned the hair clip on her, replacing the usual clip. “It’s cute. You should get it.”

“You always say that,” she said, but her cheeks blushed happily from his compliment.

“Well, you’re always cute.”

“You silly….”

“Excuse me storekeep, how much for the hair clip?”

———

Rifle. Check. Scope. Check. Ghille. Check. Wind. Check. Target…in sights.

Luke carefully tracked the man between his crosshairs as they walked to the meeting point. He looked up and could see Libra and Rosa standing a few feet away, calmly keeping the target in position. He hated that she was so close yet so far away, and he hated that she was in danger again. But he was proud of how calm and brave she was even facing off a notorious criminal who called himself the “God of Death.”

Luke returned his eye to the scope. In the National Security Bureau, snipers were sometimes called gods of death themselves, for being able to rain silent death from afar. He preferred his Sherlock Holmes moniker, but if being a God of Death was what it took to take down this criminal, then that’s what he would have to be.

Luke took a deep breath…And fired.

Luke’s heart jolted when the rifle went off. It wasn’t the recoil or even the dulled bang of the gun. It wasn’t even the prospect of killing another human, even if the shot had been lethal. But just as he’d fired, he could have sworn he’d seen a flash of familiar red through the crosshairs.

———

Artem Wing was having a very surreal day. Raven and Rosa flirting over a hair clip was nothing unusual, and neither was arguing with King or even Adjudicator agreeing to this whole ridiculous plan with a creepy smile. But the sunny beaches and clear waters seemed too idyllic to be hiding a gang of murderers. For the legend of gold to be poison…this whole paradisal island was built on poison and blood.

Still, setting the target up for a sniper’s bullet—even if it was simply a tranquilizing bullet—sounded awfully like an assassination to him. Artem was an attorney after all, a pillar of justice and legal operation. Due process wasn’t just a motto, it was a creed he solemnly swore by. But the dealer this time was a confirmed killer, and had already escaped justice multiple times. Taking him down by normal means was simply out of the option. And if Raven was as good as he was confident, if they got the right suspect immediately…then this could be over in one shot.

The meeting and conversation itself seemed to go smoothly. Too smoothly. It was like he was in a dream world, and he didn’t even have to think to say the right words to placate the dealer. As the interaction was wrapping up, his partner suddenly whispered to him. They had the wrong guy. This had been a set up—They had to let Raven know the right target right away before a potential innocent was hurt in the crossfire—

But when that one shot happened. Artem watched in slow motion as the supposed dealer was flung back, clutching his shoulder and screaming in shock. His partner collapsed on the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut. There was blood in her hair.

Next to her laid the tattered remains of the poppy hair clip. The tiny beads scattered like dark red grains of pepper sunk into the pristine sand. The carefully carved red seaweed folds were torn to mangled shreds of cloth, like another life sacrificed before the golden alter of the God of Death.

———

According to the plan, Artem would be doing most of the talking. She glanced around, noting the dealer’s bodyguards around the space.

The dealer seemed nervous, but that wasn’t itself unusual. They were attorneys after all, and anyone would be hesitant to talk to lawyers, regardless of how many times they had gotten away. But she studied how his too-casual crossed arms contradicted the fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves—which were a tad too long for a dealer that could more than afford to have every suit hand-tailored. Yet his head seemed unusually still, as though the hat on it was a crown. Hm…

She kept one ear on the conversation as she studied the bodyguards again surreptitiously. The dealer hesitated. And then she saw one bodyguard shift—his face barely moved, but his neck moved as though he were speaking. He stopped, and the dealer spoke again.

She suddenly remembered how the ex-con had said the dealer was particularly paranoid, and how he continued to avoid capture and death. Calling himself “God of Death”, he seduced his victims with golden poison, and commanded loyalty through fear and an antidote just out of reach. All who voiced complaint would mysteriously vanish….

The conversation was coming to a close. The dealer signaled for his bodyguards to leave, and she knew the way were running out of time. The suspicious bodyguard was turning around to leave, and she noticed he was slightly taller than the dealer. And his shoes—brand new boots, without a scratch.

“This is the wrong man,” she said quietly to Artem. “The real culprit—“

She held her hand up to reveal the decoy, and suspicion and alarm flashed through the fake dealer’s eyes. He dealer grabbed her, pulling her in front of him and shouting for Artem not to move, else he’d snap the pretty girl’s neck. But before anyone could do anything, an invisible force whistled past her head, throwing the fake dealer back. He howled, but all she felt was ringing in her ears and a forceful tug, like someone yanking her braids. The world around her turned black for a moment, and she found herself on the ground, covered in sand.

“The bodyguard!” She called out, pointing. She struggled to move but her legs felt like jelly and her head was spinning like she was thrown into a centrifuge. She tried calling out again, because Artem wasn’t looking—he was kneeling by her side, eyes blown wide with concern and fear. “The bodyguard is the real dealer! He’s getting away!”

The suspicious bodyguard was running without a backwards glance for his decoy, and the groups as quickly collapsing around him. She fought through the throbbing in her head to keep an eye on him. Marius was nearby, she knew, ready to be backup. Her fingers trembled on the phone. “King! The real dealer is reaching the road now, the one on the motorcycle—don’t let him get away!”

———

It was over. Marius had pulled some crazy motor-cross stunts and managed to take down the suspicious bodyguard. The police had arrived to take all involved into custody, and the decoy had joined them once the tranquilizer wore off. As obnoxious as the little brat was, Luke had to give Marius credit for understanding what happened and taking down the target before they could get away.

The real hero though, was perched on the couch talking to him. He handed her a cup of tea, and took the ice pack from her ankle. “Wasn’t this supposed to be for your head? Are you feeling that much better already?” He asked lightly.

Rosa simply nodded, sipping lightly on the tea. Luke had made sure it was cool just enough so she wouldn’t be dangerous even if she did spill it. “The ringing stopped a while ago. I think I twisted my ankle trying to run in the sand though.” She sat up straight. “Are you okay?”

Luke sighed self-deprecatingly. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? You’re the one that nearly got shot.”

She set the tea aside, cupping his cheeks to look her in the eye. “Dr. Ritcher said there doesn’t seem to be any damage, psychological or physical. I guess I was too focused on the case to realize I was nearly shot. You and Artem were the ones that had to watch.”

He nuzzled into her soft touch. “My heart nearly stopped,” he confessed. “He moved so suddenly. I thought I’d accommodated for that, but then I saw you fall….”

“But it was a tranquilizing dart, not a real bullet.”

“But he’s a much bigger person!” Luke exclaimed. “That dose might have been lethal for you. And it wasn’t supposed to be delivered to your head! And then…there was blood in your hair…I’m so sorry.”

His Watson—his brave and clever Watson—was undeterred. She patted him gently as she explained again. “It was just the decoy yanking my hair so suddenly and the sound of the dart so close that startled me. And it was his blood. I’m fine.” She smiled brightly, banishing the dark clouds that had been swirling around his heart with radiant confidence. “I never doubted you’d hit your target precisely. You’re my beloved Sherlock, right?”

He hugged her close, hoping he could shelter her from everything, even himself. “I’m yours.”

———

It had been a few days since they returned to Stellis. The bell of his antique store announced a visitor, and Peanut’s excited chirp announced his girlfriend. “In all the commotion after the case I forgot t give this to you,” she said, approaching the desk. She paused to hold out a finger to Peanut, who landed with a happy trill. “I thought your old keychain could use a well deserved break.”

Luke took the tissue-paper wrapped gift. It was a keychain of a distinctive detective’s hat and pipe, carved out of a seashell and coated in resin. “This was what you had gotten? I thought…I thought you’d gotten yourself a present.”

“A present for you is a present for me, silly,” she replied, entertaining Peanut with a toy. “Do you dislike it?”

“No, it’s amazing,” he said, immediately attaching the keychain to his camera. “Actually, I have a surprise for you too,” Luke said. He set a hair clip in front of her: gentle red cloth and wire, etched to look like red seaweed, but folded like a flower.

“The hair clip! You remade it?”

“Except this time as a rose,” he said shyly.

She pinned it to her hair immediately, twirling to show it off. “How is it?”

“Cute,” he said, wrapping his arms around her gently. “You’re always cute.”

“I think I like this one better,” she murmured against his chest. “You made it for me after all.”

“I do too. Truly, a rose represents you best.”

#tears of themis #luke x mc #luke pearce #artem wing

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glassworkspiderlilies · 3 years

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respite (ver. 2)

Genshin Impact | @albelumiweek 2021 Day 3 | "when was the last time you slept?” | AO3 Summary: “I’m fine,” she repeats softly, as though she can convince herself to believe it if she says it enough times. Notes: same prompt but different timeline! featuring...ever so slightly protective albedo. :3

“I hear you haven’t been sleeping.”

Lumine turns from her restless gardening in her Serenitea Realm, finding Albedo strolling towards her with Paimon floating beside him. She gives her fairy friend a look, and Paimon feigns innocence with extremely low effort by looking to the side and whistling.

Lumine sighs, standing up and brushing dirt off of her hands by clapping them together, keeping her head down.

“I’m fine,” she says, the words unconvincing to everyone involved, “It happens sometimes.”

Albedo raises an eyebrow, then reaches over and gently places his fingers under her chin, tilting her face up. Her eyes are bruised purple underneath; she looks exhausted, and she pinches her lips together at his frown, averting her gaze.

“I’m fine,” she repeats softly, as though she can convince herself to believe it if she says it enough times.

“How long has it been since you last slept?”

She does not answer, and brushes his hand away.

“I am resting,” she says instead, after a while.

“That is not the same,” Albedo replies softly.

She glances at him.

“It’s all I’m capable of right now,” she responds flatly before looking away again.

Albedo and Paimon exchange a look, the former starting to fully understand just how bad the situation is. But knows and is here now, and does not intend to let the situation go unresolved.

“Will you invite me inside?” he asks politely, and Lumine blinks at him, coloring a little at her poor hospitality.

“Yes, of course,” she says hastily, gesturing. “I’m sorry—go ahead and make yourself comfortable. My hands are dirty; I’ll follow in a moment. Paimon knows where everything is.”

The fairy salutes, rushing Albedo inside. He’s been here a few times before, but the layout changes every now and then. It is lightly furnished, the Realm too newly acquired and the Traveler too busy to outfit it more extravagantly. Still—it has very serviceable basics, and Albedo gets to work.

By the time Lumine comes in, he has a pot of tea ready, and she blinks at him.

“What’s this?” she asks somewhat suspiciously as she peeks into the pot.

The liquid is thicker than tea, but has a similar color and smell.

“A draught, to help you sleep,” he says, and Lumine looks up at him. “Without dreams,” he adds.

Her face is unreadable, but she takes the cup he pours for her and sips at it without much hesitation. It’s a little bitterer than standard tea, but she doesn’t mind the flavor. It suits her mood.

Paimon has disappeared, and Lumine knows this is a conspiracy but lets it slide. She is exhausted. Albedo leads Lumine to the plush sofa in front of the fireplace, taking a seat next to her at a polite distance. They are silent for a while, staring into the dancing flames, and Lumine drinks two cups of not-tea in theinterim before she finally speaks.

“I’ve tried sleeping draughts before,” she says quietly, looking at her hands. “They haven’t helped.”

“Ah, but they were not brewed by me,” Albedo replies, and his confidence gets a smile out of her.

“I suppose not,” she relents, but the humor drops from her face quickly. It is another long while before she speaks again. “…Aether…didn’t come home with me. How funny that Madame Ping should gift me this realm after he…”

She trails off, her eyes distant, and though she had said nothing about her most recent adventure upon her return, there is much he can already piece together from her brief admission alone.

“I am at your service, if there is any assistance I can provide you,” he says softly, after the silence has stretched awhile, startling her back into focus.

She stares at him, the directness of her gaze harsh and searching. Her lips twist as though she might lash out, but when her mouth opens, sorrow creeps into her expression instead, and she looks away.

“I thought you found interaction with others a waste of time,” she mutters, though it is a weak deflection after all this time.

It was Albedo Paimon went to for help, after all, and not without good reason. Things between them have not been so cold and distant in a while.

“I’ll not deny it, for most cases,” he says, just a hint of amusement tinting his voice, “But after meeting you, I’d rather spend my time on you than other matters. It’s a unique anomaly.”

She jerks back to stare at him, blinking in surprise.

“I likely know the reason why,” he adds, and he looks satisfied to see her cheeks go slightly pink.

She glares at him without much heat, sipping at her third cup of his not-tea to avoid responding. But then she sighs, her expression complicated again.

“Thank you,” she says simply, and for a moment she looks so fragile that the slightest touch could crumble her.

“…May I try an experiment?” Albedo asks, and Lumine tilts her head at him curiously, nodding her permission.

He scoots closer, gently pressing her head to his shoulder. He then takes her wrist in his hand, his thumb searching out her pulse.

“What…?”

“Shhh. Close your eyes.”

She tries to look up at him, but he merely smiles and covers her eyes. She huffs, but he feels her eyelashes brush his fingers as she does as he says.

“One,” he begins, keeping his voice low, “Two, three…”

Her breathing slows after a few more counts, though he continues for a few extra moments. Once he is certain that she’s fully asleep, he lowers her onto his lap so that she can rest more comfortably.

Paimon reappears shortly after with a rich blue blanket, looking satisfied.

“Thanks,” she says quietly as she spreads it over her, and Albedo inclines his head in acknowledgement before she disappears again.

Albedo looks back down at Lumine and brushes a strand of hair away from her cheek. What she must have gone through, to wear herself down to this point. But if she found her brother once…surely she can do so again. He will help her however he can, though he will need to hear the full story from her eventually.

But even without it…he sits there through the night, making plans in his head, reorganizing and revising until he is satisfied that a handful of them will produce acceptable results. He will discuss them with Lumine when she wakes.

For now, he sits with her, his hands cradling her head, his eyes gleaming in the firelight.

#genshin impact #albelumiweek2021 #albelumi #genshin albedo #genshin lumine #how does one tag for genshin tbh #i feel better about the characterization here but i still feel like i lose it a bit by the end #i digress...

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hoodwinkd1 · 3 years

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Your Eyes Whispered Ch 16

Ch 15 here.

Here it is! The final chapter!! So much love to all of you that have followed along with this story <3

Chapter 16: you are in love. true love.

Reality hit Eris in the face, harder than any bitch slap.

They hadn’t left his chambers for almost an entire day, legs tangled and words whispered over breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tea. Eris was ready to hand over his title and power for the opportunity to spend the rest of life like that, with no interruptions and no one around except for her.

Unfortunately, leaving the Court in the hands of someone random seemed ethically dubious and potentially problematic. Equally unfortunately, his stubborn mate loved her job and actually cared about her students. For both of these reasons, Eris found himself kissing Rhia goodbye on her doorstep just before midnight.

“Two whole days apart,” she teased, drawing patterns on his tunic with her finger. “How will we ever survive.”

Eris ducked to kiss her head. “You shouldn’t joke. I might die.”

He watched her lean against the door frame, remembering that neither of them had gotten enough sleep last night. “I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“I’d feel much better if you simply moved in,” Eris grumbled. They both froze. “Joking. That was definitely a joke.”

“You shouldn’t joke,” Rhia teased. “I might die. Leave, before I drag you upstairs and lock you in my room.”

Eris pouted. “Don’t threaten me with a good time. Good night.”

They exchanged one last kiss, so sweet and gentle that Eris’ heart broke and mended itself as their lips parted.

Although her absence ached, Eris had to admit that a full night of sleep called to him as soon as he winnowed back into his chambers. Rhia brought out so many wonderful qualities in him, but falling asleep during one of the countless meetings tomorrow might not reflect well on his leadership potential.

----

Water dripped from her hair, sliding down between her shoulder blades. Rhia knew she should grab her hair oils, knew she should comb out some of the remaining tangles, or she would regret it in a few hours. But his scent teased her, pulling her from the bathroom and into her bedroom.

Strange how she thought the days apart would drag on forever. She felt like it had only been a moment as her eyes scanned his body, hands behind his head and long legs draped across her bed.

“Take your time, love,” Eris smirked.

Rhia snapped her gaze back to his face. “What?”

Eris moved in a way that heated her blood. He sat up, arms coming down to cross his chest. His eyes flashed in a way that screamed predator, but for once, she was completely fine with being prey. “Stare at me for as a long as you want. I’ll wait patiently for you to finish.”

“Cheeky,” Rhia replied, a flush blooming from her cheeks and down her neck. She had never been more grateful for her dark skin, hiding the pink tinge that would have jumped out on a face as pale as her beloved’s. “You speak of patience; I’ll just have to test that out.”

She loosened her grip on the towel, letting it fall to the floor.

His reaction did not disappoint. She watched his pupils dilate as his eyes narrowed. Rhia bit her lip at how his pulse raced, one vein in his neck standing out in the most tempting manner.

“Stare as long as you wish.” Rhia took two steps backward, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. “I’ll wait.”

She turned around, making sure he wasn’t deprived of any view, before stepping fully into the bathroom and reaching above the sink for her favorite, lavender scented oil. As her body stretched, she counted to five in her head.

Rhia didn’t even get to three. Eris launched himself from the bed, appearing behind her so quickly she let out a giggle. He caught her eye in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. She took it for the question it was, giving him a quick nod and leaning back into his warmth. There was something so infuriatingly dirty about the feel of his soft pajamas against her naked skin.

Eris raised his hands slowly, letting them drift up and down her sides, raising goosebumps and her heartbeat. At the same time, he dropped his head to press light kisses to her neck, her shoulder, her spine, a million small points on her body.

Rhia set down the bottle of oil preemptively, knowing she was about one kiss from smashing it on the ground in a fit of passion.

“Hold on,” he murmured against her skin. “We can’t have your hair drying out tomorrow, can we?” He snatched it from her, pouring a small amount into his palm.

She groaned at the feeling of his hands in her hair. While his talented fingers felt like heaven, she really would prefer to feel them somewhere else.

“Oh? And where would that be?” Eris asked. She flushed again, realizing she’d spoken out loud. “Tell me what you want.”

Of course Eris was a talker in bed. He never managed to shut up normally, so Rhia should have seen this coming.

She turned in his arms, running her hands up his chest. Letting her lower back rest against the sink, she looked at him and tilted her head to the side in a silent challenge. “Touch me.”

Eris leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips. “I am touching you.” His left hand drifted from her side to her stomach, tracing circles that never landed where she wanted him. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

She sighed against his mouth, savoring the warmth and safety of this moment. There was no fear, no bad memories, nothing dragging her from pleasure. “Lower.”

He complied, circling down to her hips, running his knuckles against them. “Good?”

She was good. Surprisingly good.

Suspiciously good.

“Yes.” She kissed his shoulder, right below his neck. His shirt would have to go soon. “Keep going.”

He moved his hand and ---

Rhia shot up, clutching the sheets around her. No longer in the bathroom, but back in her bed where she’d fallen asleep.

A fucking wet dream. Cauldron, Eris found new ways to make her feel like an adolescent even when he wasn’t around. And now she had to go through the next day and a half thinking about him, missing him even more than before.

-----

“Fuck,” Eris cursed, jumping out of bed and running into his closet. “Fuckity, fucking fuck.”

He was running late. So late that he would have no time to plan out his outfit, brush his hair, eat some damn breakfast, or shower. And as much as he wanted to do all those things, he actually needed that shower right now.

Preferably a cold one.

While he usually prided himself on his body’s exceptionally accurate clock, rarely relying on alarms or servants to wake up on time, his stupid brain had kept him unconscious this morning. All because of a stupid dream.

“You’re a dirty pervert,” Eris growled to himself, grabbing a boring black suit that felt like something Rhysand would wear. Thinking of the Night Court calmed down his burning desire, at least for the moment.

His imagination had played a glorious scene for him, ending with him taking Rhia on the large countertop in his bathroom. Eris shoved the image of her out of his head, head back against the mirror as her back arched towards him, scrambling for some semblance of control as he stalked to his first meeting.

He’d dealt with frustration before, but nothing comparable to this. Eris hadn’t wanted to think about her in that way since their night together. She had set a clear boundary, one that he would never dream of crossing, even in his own head.

Except he literally did dream of crossing it. Eris snarled under his breath as he strode into the chamber, covering up his shame and anger with a mask of disdain. The group of merchants waiting for his arrival had done nothing to earn his ire yet, but the elitist males certainly deserved it.

“My Lord.” One of the eldest Fae at the table, Cephalus, greeted him as the rest of the guests stood and bowed quickly. “I hope you can forgive us for beginning the meal without you.”

Eris couldn’t have cared less about breakfast. “Fine. What business?”

Cephalus waited until Eris sat at the head of the table. “We’ve completed an inventory of the remaining, undamaged farmlands across the territory. While the designated areas for livestock and wheat can produce sufficient levels of product, we have sustained heavy losses in the Eastern regions by the coast.” He paused for a moment.

“Must I sit through an agricultural lesson?” Eris snarked, summoning a mug of coffee. “Get to the point.”

The old Fae held his tongue, although irritation danced across his face. Cephalus nodded to the male sitting directly on his right, someone Eris had never had the displeasure of meeting.

“We’ve created a list of produce that will be affected,” the stranger continued, his voice pitchy with nerves. “As well as other areas that might work as replacements while farmers heal the land.” He held up a long roll of parchment, eyes downcast.

Eris snatched it from him. His eyes scanned the list quickly, groaning internally. Based on the mention of grapes and barley, most of his favorite alcohols were in danger of becoming rare commodities. “Have you spoken with anyone from these towns? Or my Treasury?”

Cephalus leaned forward. “The Treasury has sent over some preliminary budgets that you may review, but I believe are reasonable.” He paused then, tilting his head. “What would we need to speak to the towns about?”

“Taking over their land.” Eris sipped his coffee. Lukewarm. He sent a shiver of flame across the ceramic. “Have you even checked if the land is available?”

The male from earlier finally looked Eris in the eye. “We already checked for any buildings or development. The land is clear.”

He’d heard enough. These merchants were either stupid or simply had their heads shoved up their asses. “Let me rephrase. Until you have explicit permission from the members of the town to use their land and a fair agreement that reinvests profits into whatever they desire, you may not move forward with agricultural efforts.”

Cephalus cleared his throat. “If I may, that process might take too long. The land is currently serving no purpose and--”

Eris held a hand up. “I didn’t ask. Nothing on this list is essential enough to warrant stealing. If you’re worried about timing, make the agreements extremely favorable to the people living there.”

He grabbed the second list, the one with the list of towns, and held it up to the group. “Surely between the seven of you, someone must have travelled to each of these places before. Go back, or invite a representative to meet here.”

The male from before failed to hide his displeasure at Eris’ command, likely anticipating the additional work these negotiations would require. Eris really didn’t care. The merchant class had flourished under Beron’s rule at the expense of the other Autumn citizens, taking what they pleased and enforcing bullshit agreements that stole resources from small villages.

He finished the meeting after addressing some of the others’ concerns, working on a plan to upgrade the Navy’s presence on the Eastern Coast to protect continental traders from various threats.

Gerwin waited for him in the hall outside. He fell in step as Eris took off towards the training rooms, eager to work off the tension that had been building since the moment he woke up.

“Who was that dark-haired male with Cephalus?” Eris asked.

Gerwin glanced over his shoulder. “Jarod something. He claims his father worked with Beron before dying during Am--, during her reign, as the head of several Royal vineyards. Jyn looked into him and a couple other new faces when they claimed leadership roles.”

“So he’s clean?”

Gerwin snorted. “Would you care either way?”

Eris scowled. “He just pisses me off with his elitism. Probably overly pretentious about wine. too.”

“You’re pretentious about wine,” Gerwin remarked. They’d reached the training ring and began to arm themselves for a proper spar.

Eris chuckled, remembering his conversation with Sofi and Rhia a few weeks ago. “Maybe I’ll test his knowledge.”

“Try him for treason if his wines aren’t up to standard.” Gerwin tossed him a practice blade. “Let’s see how that pretentiousness holds up in battle, huh?”

---

Somehow, Rhia survived another night of scandalous dreams and waking up to a frustratingly empty bed. Her mind and body seemed to be at war with one another, pushing her on a nauseating pendulum between wanting Eris and despising physical touch.

Not all physical touch, though. Really, Rhia just wanted to have him in her arms again. She had called herself all sorts of names, a sap, a clinger, a cliché mate. Sofi had laughed, asking if Rhia would let her cynicism get in the way of her heart.

So although it felt fast and Rhia felt pathetic, she resolved to have a conversation with Eris the moment he arrived in her kitchen that night. The conversation. The moment he arrived.

“I’m moving in.”

She probably should’ve started with “hello”. At her words, Eris’ eyes widened and he coughed on air.

Rhia smiled sheepishly, holding her hand out to take his coat. “Sorry. Hello, how was your day?”

“No, no let’s go back a second,” Eris insisted. “What did you say?”

“Give me your coat and let’s sit like civilized Fae.” Rhia held her hand out further, waiting until he complied.

He watched her hang it up as he sat himself at the table. “Is this a tea or a wine conversation?”

“Wine. Definitely wine.”

Eris magicked a bottle onto the table. “I’ve been told I’m a bit pretentious, but I do believe that tonight deserves an especially good bottle. Now please, put me out of my misery and repeat what you said.”

Rhia scrunched her nose. “I think I’d like to move into the palace. Part time, at first.” She waited for those words to sink in, focusing her gaze on the two glasses filled with red liquid.

“And?” Eris prompted.

“And what? Do you approve?”

He laughed. “Of course I approve. I thought I made it very clear that I’d prefer to never leave your side ever again.” They both took a sip, and he continued. “What changed your mind? Are you sure you want to leave this place?”

“It wouldn’t be permanent, not at first.” Rhia swirled the wine, once, twice. “I wouldn’t do that to my students. But I thought about my life, and I want to do something risky for the first time in awhile.” She looked at him, smiling at how much better she felt simply looking at him. “I want to build a life with you, with your people, in the capital.”

“As much as I love to hear that, the burden shouldn’t be entirely on you,” Eris replied. “Just because I’m High Lord--”

Rhia interrupted. “Yes, it should be. But not because you’re High Lord. Eris, you’ve fought and bled for your role, and I see how hard you work now to make this Court a safer place. I want to do that with you.” Her hands shook with emotion as she reached out to take his. “Whatever reason the Cauldron had, I’d like to believe that it made me your mate to help you. I love this town and these people, but it’s not enough for me, not when I know how much good I can do for thousands of others.”

“This Court doesn’t deserve you.” He squeezed her fingers. “I obviously do not deserve you.”

“Eris--”

He held one finger up. “I’m not stupid. I’ll take all the help I can get, especially if it keeps you in my life. I just- I never imagined we could get here.”

She steadfastly ignored the tears that threatened to show. “And where is here?”

“I have a partner.” The wine lay forgotten as he gripped both her hands. “I never thought you would even consider speaking to me, and now you wish to live with me, work with me.”

“And love you,” she added. “Don’t forget that.”

Tears began to fall on both of their faces, but neither moved to wipe them away, unwilling to let go. The moment seemed to echo, across time and space, putting together all the pieces of their relationship that they had spent so long building. All of the truths, all of the sacrifices, all of the pain lined up to form a picture Rhia could now see, like a painting that only made sense once you took a step backwards.

“I accept the bond. I accept you .”

There was no exchanging of food. There was no shift into primal protectiveness. And there was certainly no lust-driven madness.

But there was a bridge. There were golden strings of light and music and joy that pulled her towards him, a stronger pull than gravity.

Eris let out a sigh and a shudder and a wave of warm emotions that Rhia could taste. “I’m going to kiss you now. And possibly never stop.”

As he shoved his chair out of the way, Rhia stood to meet him. As their lips touched, she opened for him completely.

As the bond permanently snapped into place, she let go of her fears that they would never progress physically and she would always remain broken. None of it mattered, not when the cruelest prince of Autumn found a way to love her so fully.

------

thank you for reading!

tag list: @moonbeamfenrys @qamariana

#acotar #eris vanserra #acosf #sjm #idiots in love #eris #autumn court

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my-happy-little-bean · 3 years

Text

The Bookkeeper - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea

pairings: logicality, prinxiety words: 3378 chapter warnings: mild swearing, referenced death (i.e. parents, grandparent) summary: amidst thunder and lightning: an explanation of the past.

[read on ao3] [masterlist]

< previous chapter

—

“I have decided that what you have just told me is impossible.”

Logan’s grandfather laughed. He shifted in his seat on the bed, looking down at a blanket-bundled Logan: nine years old, but older in his head.

“Proof’s in the pudding, Little Einstein,” Roman replied before his grandfather could respond.

“Actually, the proof is right in front of me. It is you. And also, it is not real, because you are not real.”

This time, Roman laughed. Logan’s grandfather sighed, settling into an amused smile.

“I mean, I don’t know what else to tell you, kid.” He tossed a small ball of navy magic back and forth between his palms. Logan watched with a suspicious, but intrigued, look. “You have always told me that I was like magic, so I’m not sure why you’re surprised.”

“Because I thought it was a– a…”

“Figure of speech?” Roman filled in.

“Figure of speech! Yes.” Logan then looked at Roman, realizing who spoke. He narrowed his eyes at him and tried to swat at Roman. “I coulda figured that out myself!”

Roman just laughed again, doing a little somersault in the air to dodge Logan’s hand. Logan’s grandfather patted his shoulder for Roman to sit on.

“Look, kid, I had to tell you eventually,” his grandfather said, a bit more seriously this time. “You don’t know it yet, but I can feel all your powers manifesting early. Too early. Usually a young wizard comes into their powers between the age of twenty and thirty, but you...you are different. I am not sure why, but someone needs to teach you how to control it into something you can use.”

Logan frowned. “Did dad or papa have magic?”

His grandfather blinked. The room was silent for a little while before he hesitantly said, “I never got to find out.”

Logan shrugged, trying to brush off a creeping sadness he didn’t quite understand.

“So what does all this mean?”

His grandfather’s smile grew a bit more.

“It means that we have to start training. And Roman here–” Roman threw some red dust in the air, as if throwing confetti– “is going to help me teach you about your magic.”

“What if I don’t want magic?” Logan huffed. His grandfather paused.

“You like books, don’t you?”

Logan nodded diligently. That seemed about right.

“Well magic manifests itself in the things that bring you joy; the things you know to be true about your life and the direction it follows. Perhaps that is how you have your powers now — your father loved you dearly, after all.”

A twinkle of navy swirled around the rim of his grandfather’s irises. Logan watched in awe, as if he could see a whole universe unfolding in his eyes.

“And so whether you want it or not, magic will always be a part of you,” he finally said, “for as long as you believe in the stories it will tell.”

—

Logan walked down the stairs holding a tray with a porcelain teapot, three tea cups, and cups of sugar and honey. He moved towards Patton, who was sitting in the moss-green armchair in the shop’s seating area next to the window. He felt like a ghost walking through his shop, which was now stripped completely of its secrets.

‘ How is this happening, how is this happening, how...’

“Er, I only had Earl Grey.” Logan set the tray down on the small, circular coffee table and sat across from Patton. He felt the red cushion shift beneath him as he anxiously squirmed, restless, watching as Patton poured himself a cup.

“That’s, uh, fine.” Patton stirred in some honey, distracted by Roman, who had settled on top of the tray and was slowly tipping towards him a cup half-full of sugar. Logan rolled his eyes.

“It’s a copious amount of sugar,” he awkwardly filled in. “I keep telling him that it is unfit for frequent consumption.”

“So you can...see that,” Patton said slowly, still gawking at Roman, who was drinking in sugar and starting to glow bright red.

“Yes. I can see that.”

“So I’m not in some weird dream.”

“No, and I don’t know why Roman would say that. There are many more believable lies. Like drug consumption.”

Patton paled. Roman lifted his head from behind the rim of the cup and glared at Logan.

“Forgive the horrific Fray-kenstein for his monstrous attempts at apologizing for creating a scene,” Roman finally spoke up. “Though in our defense, you did kinda just waltz in here after hours.”

“The door was open! How was I supposed to know that you guys were doing some– some weird book ritual!”

Logan squeezed the bridge of his nose. “It was not a ritual, Patton.”

“Then what was it?!” Patton looked at Logan with frantic, puppy eyes. “What was the– the trees, the leaves, the books, this– this floating thing–”

“Hey! I am not a thing! I’m Roman!”

“I’m sorry,” Patton quickly corrected himself, “what the heck is Roman and what the heck is going on?!”

Logan looked over at Roman, who shrugged helplessly.

“Have you...have you ever read Harry Potter? ”

“Duh.”

“Well it’s...it’s not like that. Well, it sort of is? Why did I say that, such a poor example…”

“ Seriously, Specs?”

“Look, I never had to explain this to anyone before, okay?!”

A hush filled the shop. Patton was still looking at Logan, wide-eyed but now afraid. Even Roman was uncharacteristically quiet.

Logan sighed. He snuck a glance out the window. Slow and steady: pitter, patter, pitter, patter. The world outside Fray and Far Fables spun threads of rain around the various buildings and the streetlamps lining the empty roads. The sound drowned out the sound of his racing heart.

Logan faced Patton, now more earnest than ever.

“I don’t know if I ever told you this, Patton, but after my parents passed, I lived here with my grandfather.”

“He lived in the shop?”

“As do I,” Logan replied promptly, pouring himself a cup. “I inherited this establishment after he too passed away.” He smiled to himself. “He was very fond of the shop. Said it harboured many stories beyond just books. I never thought to ask him what he meant.”

Patton watched intently while Roman, Logan noticed, remained silent.

“Anyway, I lived with my grandfather, and my grandfather loved books. Or, more accurately, he loved stories. It’s where he drew his magic from– the first magic that was born into my family– which is why he opened this shop. He always told me that ‘magic manifested itself in the things that bring you joy’.”

Patton gave him a small smile. “Okay, that’s pretty cute.”

“I suppose so,” Logan hummed. “I am unsure where my parents– well, my father, not my papa– drew magic from, but they passed at around the same time their magic started appearing. Hence, my grandfather theorized that it was passed on to me at an abnormally young age. That fact does not matter as much, though. What matters is that due to many circumstances outside of my understanding, one thing remains constantly known — I have known of magic all my life.”

To demonstrate, Logan grew a small ball of navy sparks in the centre of his palm. Patton’s eyes glowed. Logan caught sight of a wondrous reflection in Patton’s irises.

“Oh that’s nothing ,” Roman finally spoke up. “Logan has always been tame with his magic — let me show you what it’s really for.”

Before Logan could protest, Roman flew off the tray and up into the air in rollercoaster-esque loops, a fiery trail of red magic burning his path into visibility. Patton’s jaw dropped as Roman proceeded to cast spells that lifted nearby books off the shelves one by one. They all danced in the air under Roman’s control as he conducted a hummed melody for the books to waltz to.

Patton giggled as a book circled around his head, red dust flipping idly through its pages. Logan could faintly smell flowers from its pages before it closed. The book promptly returned back to Roman’s array of air-bound books, which danced their way back to the shelves.

When the spectacle ended, Patton clapped and cheered; it was the most relaxed and reassured Patton had looked since walking into the store. Logan couldn’t help but become puzzled as to why that was.

“I suppose that this is the perfect way for me to segue into my next subject,” Logan said, narrowing his eyes at a coy-looking Roman, who sat back in front of his teacup. “Roman and the book nooks.”

“Book nooks,” Patton echoed. He looked down at Roman. “Is that what I had walked into? With– with the forest and stuff?”

“Yessiree, cardigan-clad-clod.” Roman did some jazz hands, red sparks flying from the tips of his fingers. “That’s all me!”

“Partially you,” Patton blurted out. Logan raised an eyebrow at the hesitant correction, and Patton faced him once more, as if looking for confirmation.

“Well, if...if your grandfather drew magic from books and opened this shop, I assume you also draw magic from books too, right? Since you’re also running the shop?”

An unknown pang of guilt and heartache scorched Logan’s chest for a brief moment. He masked it with a shrug.

“I am unaware of where my magic truly comes from,” Logan quietly said. “No one is allowed to tell me, not even Roman; the origin of magic must be stumbled upon, not taught.” He cleared his throat. “But books...that is probably where it comes from, yes.”

Patton frowned, but sipped his tea, motioning at Logan to continue his spiel. Logan nodded, adjusting his tie.

“But yes, most of the book-magic is Roman. Roman has been around since I was younger, and perhaps been around before then.”

“Yup! I have been the Fray’s fantastic familiar since dear ol’ Eric Fray himself.” Roman beamed proudly. “See, when a wizard is born, they attract familiar magic from the astral plane — the place where souls go before descending to other planes. It’s sort of an in-between stop before all the available afterlives.”

“Wowza,” Patton murmured, though Logan could tell he was borderline confused.

“That stuff doesn’t really matter though.” Roman waved his hand dismissively. “In a nutshell, since I was the familiar of Logan’s grandpa, I inherited parts of his magic.”

“And consequently, Roman’s familiar magic hinged on aiding my grandfather in his storytelling via book nooks.”

Roman beamed with pride. “Eric used to call me the bookkeeper.”

Logan nodded, standing up and slowly walking past the shelves lining the walls. He was searching for one book in particular, where was it...

“Book nooks, for lack of a better word, are some sort of portal,” Logan explained, still fishing through each book. “If you were to focus hard enough, Roman could simply transport us into any world a book depicts. Most of the time, however, Roman’s magic will just choose small ‘nooks’ inside the novels– memorable scenes that showcase important themes, significant locations, et cetera– and it will manifest itself into the real world.”

Eventually, he found what he was looking for, letting out a small ‘ah’ as he pulled it off its shelf. He returned back to Patton, book in his lap.

“Take this book, for example. Jule Verene’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea.” Logan smiled warmly at its cover. “It was the first book nooks Roman and my grandfather ever opened for me after I discovered my powers. Roman simply worked his magic under my grandfather’s guidance, and together they re-created the interior of the Nautilus out of my bed. The rest of my room became submerged in water, and suddenly, I was in the ocean.”

“That sounds incredible,” Patton awed.

“Incredible and extravagant,” Logan muttered, though snuck a smile at Roman. “Those two had that in common.”

“So when can I go to a book nook?” Patton suddenly asked. “Like, a proper one! I already have a thousand books in mind– can you do things inside the book nooks? Like paint?”

Logan’s smile fell, which Roman seemingly caught notice of.

“You can’t go inside a book nook,” Roman said pointedly. “Logan is pretty anti-book nook nowadays.”

“But you just–”

“What happened here tonight was an accident,” Logan curtly said. “And I am not ‘anti-book nook’, I just…”

He looked down at Jule Verne’s book in his lap, now almost longingly. His lips remained pressed in a tight frown as he closed his eyes.

“Roman can open the book nooks if he wants, but I simply do not prefer them. And he–” Logan glared at Roman– “respects that preference.”

Roman just shrugged and returned to his cup of sugar.

“Besides, there...well, there is not much reason for them to be open without my grandfather,” Logan finally managed to say. “He got more use out of them than I do. And I...I have other things to focus on.”

“Yeah honestly, I’m surprised it was able to even happen tonight,” Roman added. “Logan’s magic is as dull as his philosophy books.”

Patton blinked. “Wait, it is? Why?”

“He doesn’t use it anymore, I guess?” Roman then looked at Logan with a softer, more pitiful look. “Nowadays, there isn’t much of a reason for it to manifest in the first place.”

Logan remained quiet, almost guilty but with little understanding as to why.

“Well then,” Patton said, clearing the air with an unsteady laugh. “That was a lot to take in.”

“Again, I apologize, Patton, for the mess.” Logan pushed up his glasses, setting his cup down. Back to business. “If we could just forget that this happened, I would–”

“Forget this happened? How– I can’t forget this happened!”

“Yeah, a bit unfair of you to ask,” Roman tagged on.

“As I said earlier, this is the first time someone’s ever found out about this.” Logan felt his jaw tighten. He faced his attention towards Patton once more. “I don’t know what else to tell you, Patton. Magic is real. Books can be real– more than they already are. This obviously has to be a secret–”

“Or does it?”

Logan’s mouth dropped. Roman bit back a smirk.

“Well this just got interesting .”

“What are you insinuating, Patton?” Logan asked slowly, trying to ignore Roman’s smugness.

“I–” Patton sat up straighter– “have an– an ultimatum for you!”

“Oh, you cannot be serious . ”

“In exchange for my secrecy,” Patton declared, “you will let me explore these... book nooks at least– at least once a day!”

“Deal!” Roman cheered, starry-eyed and mouth agape.

“Absolutely not ,” Logan dully said at the same time. He narrowed his eyes at Roman, then at Patton. “If this is your attempt at threatening me, I can assure you, there are other ways to maintain secrecy.”

“Logan!” Roman scolded.

“Okay! Bad approach, bad approach,” Patton laughed nervously, hands in the air. “I’m not trying to threaten you Logan, it’s just…”

Patton glanced at Roman, and then at the book in Logan’s hand.

“Isn’t just a part of you scared of your magic fading for good?”

For a brief moment, Logan was taken back by Patton’s question.

“I…” He shook his head. “The book nooks do not maintain my magic, Patton.”

“But the lack thereof has certainly nulled it!” Patton pointed out. “As you said–” He adopted a very serious tone, as if reciting from a book– “you can’t understand the meaning of things without understanding the implied lack thereof.”

Roman looked at Logan with a shit-eating grin.

“That doesn’t even make sense, Patton,” Logan gritted out, frustrated that it did make sense, a strange amount of it.

“Look, you don’t even have to be here for the book nook if you really don’t want to.” Patton’s eyes widened. An idea seemingly struck his head. “In fact, you don’t even have to be in the shop. ”

Logan’s heart dropped.

“Patton…” he began warningly.

“No, no, hear me out!” More knowingly– and perhaps, more teasingly– he sing-songed, “This could help with your speech!”

Roman’s smile, seemingly for the first time tonight, faltered. Logan clenched his jaw shut, nodding for Patton to continue.

“You’re looking for the purpose of art in a purposeless life, right? But here’s the thing — you haven’t been experiencing its existence in life to begin with!”

“This is already making my brain hurt,” Roman groaned. Logan rolled his eyes as Patton went on.

“So, I am going to change my ultimatum a bit to leave some room for field research .”

Logan, against his will, became intrigued. (He was always intrigued with Patton, damn it all.)

“In typical fantasy style, I am going to send you on one arts-related quest for each day I want to explore a book nook,” Patton explained. “So you’ll go outside of the shop and explore the artistic adventure I send you on, while Roman and I go and explore a book nook! Mess-free, I promise! That way, we both get something we need!”

“I don’t need to go outside, Patton,” Logan grumbled, fully aware of how childish he sounded. “I have books.”

“Lame.” Roman stuck out his tongue at Logan.

“And also untrue,” Patton said, annoyingly fatherly. “Where have books got you so far?”

Roman’s jaw dropped, flying around Logan’s head and screaming a chorus of “ohh!”s and “aww shit!”s, tossing in a “what a burn!” into the kindled flames that was Logan.

“You need experience, Logan,” Patton said with a small smile. “If you think life and art is so meaningless, then go and prove that yourself! Where do you think all these philosophers get their start, anyway?”

For some strange reason, Logan thought of Virgil Aries’ book.

“You can’t study life without living it,” Patton filled in softly. “In the same way, you can’t study art without experiencing it. If you want to know what it means in an...an un-alive life, you need to see it alive first.”

Logan hated to admit it, but Patton’s words drew him closer to an answer than anything he had written in the past week. Even his fingers twitched with navy magic, as if they were some sort of metal detector that found its treasure buried deep, deep within the sandy shores of Logan’s chest, where he knew his magic sat, unused.

He glanced at Roman, who had grown quiet. Still, he stared at Logan with a certain amount of knowing. It was as if Roman was standing at the edge of the ocean beside him, not quite sure if he should take a step in. Logan then glanced over at his stray papers on his counter.

At that moment, Logan knew what he wanted. He wanted to work; he wanted to finish his speech; he wanted his answer .

But there was something in Roman’s knowing eyes and in his heart that knew he wanted more.

“Fine. I concede to these agreements.”

Patton perked up with a bright smile. Even Roman looked surprised.

“Super! I already know the perfect first adventure — I’ll email you the details tonight!” He paused. “What’s your email?”

Logan forced a chuckle. “You can have my phone number instead. Perhaps it’d be easier.”

“Smooth,” Roman muttered, masking it under a cough. Logan glared daggers at him, which only grew his smile.

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow then!” Patton stood up, putting on his hat with a grin. He reached over to enthusiastically shake Logan’s stiff hand. "I bet this'll help you finish your speech in no time!"

"Of course," Logan said, looking over to Roman and awaiting his mutual disbelief. However, Roman remained still and quiet, deep in thought.

Patton continued shaking Logan's hand. “Adventure is out there, my friend! And we’re both going to find it!”

“Sure,” Logan deadpanned, already regretting his decision.

“Bon voyage, gentlemen!” Patton said brightly as he made his way towards the door.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Patton,” Logan called out, one last feeble attempt at salvaging the situation.

Patton stopped at the door and turned back to face Logan.

“ ‘If there were no thunder, men would have little fear of lightning’. ”

“...That barely makes sense here, Patton.”

Patton winked. “Which means it barely does!”

And with that, Patton left the shop, and Logan’s adventure began.

—

next chapter >

#TS Storytime 2021 #gabbie writes things #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #logicality #prinxiety #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan/patton #roman/virgil #logic/morality #creativity/anxiety

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