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goonification · 3 years

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yungi smut

[18+] Mingi gets hard before stages and has no idea why. Neither does Yunho but he’s happy to help.

The fast-paced voice of a MC echoed through the hallways over a loudspeaker to introduce the lineup for the night’s show. No one was listening too carefully though to the tinny voice, as the livestream usually only acted as a reminder that, in the same building, the Music Bank stage was soon to be lively with performances for the next 90 minutes. It wasn’t uncommon for the muffled sounds of the host to be overshadowed by the busy chatter of stressed out staff and excited idols, donning various elaborate and colourful outfits.

It was less than an hour until Ateez were supposed to be rounded up and ushered to the wings of the stage, prepared to give the nth performance of their most recent comeback.

While most idols we’re counting down the minutes to their upcoming stages, Mingi was rushing back to his group’s green room, hoping to god it was empty.

He scuttled through the crowds, politely bowing at passing staff and tucking behind ongoing interviews to not draw attention to himself. A lanky, 6ft man with a hand on his crotch lumbering through the background of someone’s acrostic poem segment would be bound to draw the wrong kind of online attention.

Hand grasping the doorknob of their assigned green room with relief, the sounds of the hallways were snuffed with the thick door shutting behind him.

He gave the space a quick once-over, falling at ease when he found it seemingly empty. With the room barren of members or staff, Mingi pressed his back to the door as a makeshift lock and shamelessly dropped his pants below his waist.

This wasn’t an uncommon scenario.

There are plenty of different ways that the human body can react to a stressful situation. Some people overthink to the point of a headache. Others have physical reactions, like shaking or sweating. Some people even feel faint or collapse.

However, Song Mingi got boners. Plain and simple. He doesn’t know why it happens. Often, he doesn’t even know when it’ll happen.

The regularity of stage fright had faded away to a fear of the past. With the exception of the occasional special stage, Mingi typically didn’t get stressed out over every individual performance but, for some godforsaken reason, his body seemed to know what a pre-show countdown sounded like and reacted regardless.

Nervous or not, popping a semi backstage was a shamefully familiar feeling for Mingi. He was well aware that there had been a couple of fancams where his half-hard cock made far more of an appearance than he wanted and, determined to not repeat history if he could help it, intended to try de-escalating his problem before stepping foot on stage this time.

Mingi looked down at his dick, standing fully upright.

It was mocking him.

Frustrated at his situation, Mingi furrowed his brow, scowling at his penis before feeling grateful that no one saw him do that. Nothing like a healthy dose of random horniness to cloud every crevice of his brain with a layer of fog, stopping him from thinking rationally.

He collected his composure with a deep breath, using his knees to pinning his pants at his mid-thigh in case someone entered unexpectedly, and got to work.

A large hand wrapped around the proportionately large shaft and began to pump, so quickly in fact that his whole body lurched forward at the sudden relief. It wasn’t long before his knees instinctively spread and baggy pants fell to his ankles. There was no use picking them back up. Not a minute could be wasted. The door behind him could open at any second. With his very noticeable presence missing, someone was bound to be looking for him to reunite him with his members.

Mingi didn’t know how much time he had. A few drops of spit and a dab of precum was all he could gather as lube, forcing him to slow down his pace to avoid discomfort. Mingi whined. He knew this wouldn’t take long at all if he was back in the dorms with his usual creamy lotion or the constant flow of a soapy shower to keep his length slick.

He could practically hear the threat of a ticking clock in his head. The bustling sounds of people on the other side of the door weren’t helping. The MC’s voice echoed again, saying something about a commercial break, probably the first of several. He was desperate to fix his problem fast and would need to try something different.

A shaky second hand joined the first, holding it steady as his hips took on the task instead. The closed tunnel of his fist stopped the air from drying away his precious moisture, allowing for a more comfortable friction than before.

“Ah-” Mingi couldn’t stop the escape of a single low moan as he fucked his hand, balls slapping against his curled fingers and stretched wrist with each thrust.

It felt good, definitely better. But he was still too distracted. While his new technique was undoubtedly more successful than the first, his brain was still going a mile a minute with the looming reminder of the risk he was taking. His hands were shaking, needing to readjust their grip every few seconds.

Mingi didn’t want to cry; he had just had his makeup done. Yet, still, every shaky slip of his hands was contributing to a growing frustration.

It was becoming more difficult to keep quiet. Mingi was being assaulted with the buildup of both dull pleasure and throbbing pain and needed some way to express it. Small grunts were turning into breathy moans, low and long, to try to keep the sounds contained in the room.

Suddenly, even through welling tears, his eyes caught sight of a slight movement caught in one of the dressing room mirrors. What Mingi assumed were just piles of jackets on a couch began to shift, before he noticed the pant legs of a stage outfit, matching the one Mingi was currently “wearing”, donned on a long set of legs. A pair of large boots stuck upright off the end of the couch.

“You’re terrible at staying quiet.” Yunho’s familiar voice spoke out from under the pile before he threw a heavy jacket off of his head, exposing his tired face in the reflection of the mirror. He was basically eye-level with Mingi’s cock.

“Ah, what the fuck!” Mingi shouted, trying and failing to pull up his pants. In that moment, he silently cursed the stylists for always putting him in the baggiest outfits. He repeated his expletive of choice. “What the fuck were you doing under there?”

Yunho squinted tightly, shaking his head as his eyesight adjusted to the harsh fluorescent light of the room. “I had a headache and couldn’t find the light switch.”

“Oh.” Mingi stood dumbfounded and beet-red. Yunho was as giant as he was and it wasn’t like he was exactly hidden. He mentally scolded himself for not checking the room better before fully exposing himself, accidentally baring his entire cock and balls to his friend.

“I knew you were horny earlier!” Yunho exclaimed, like it was his own personal victory for guessing correctly. “You were all bouncy and quiet during stage rehearsal. Kinda like before you take your extra long showers. Always before the stages too, huh? Why is that?”

Mingi shrugged. He didn’t know what to say. He especially didn’t know that Yunho was so attentive to his behaviour. It made him think back to every time he busted what he thought was a secret nut but maybe he wasn’t so private after all.

It was a lot of information to take in with his pants around his ankles. He had so many questions. Mingi started with an easy one. “Why didn’t you say anything when I came in here? I would’ve stopped.”

“Honestly, I thought you were here to get me.” Yunho was fixing his hair at the mirror, composing himself while stealing occasional glances of Mingi’s cock in the reflection. “At least, until I heard you all -” He mocked the deep timbre of Mingi’s voice and moaned comically. Painfully to Mingi, even the unflattering imitation made his exposed dick twitch. He hoped to god Yunho was too busy laughing at him to tell.

Noticing the shift in posture, Yunho offered some comfort, not wanting his friend to feel too embarrassed. “I didn’t mind. Really.”

“But why did you scare me like that?” Mingi’s embarrassment shifted to anger. Yunho’s logic wasn’t making any sense and Mingi still didn’t have a plan for how he was going to get his dick down.

Yunho avoided the question. “How long until we go on?”

“Huh?” Without context, the request went right over Mingi’s head.

“Fine, I’ll look for myself.” Yunho raised an eyebrow before checking a nearby phone. “Forty seven minutes until our stage? That’s tons of time.”

The tension on Mingi’s face unwravled with a small ounce of relief. The events of what felt like hours of pure frustration likely took place over a mere thirty seconds. He just needed to be reminded.

Still, the reality was that Mingi was rock hard and not as alone as he thought. As one problem disappeared, another became even more prominent. Yunho made his way towards Mingi and the door, hopefully to leave the room, and pretend he saw nothing.

Even in that best case scenario, Mingi wasn’t sure if he could ever recover from the mortification of what just happened.

Wanting to drop the hint and give Yunho better access to the door, Mingi shifted to the side, movement restricted from the pants still pooled around his legs and too ashamed to pick them up.

However, Yunho didn’t turn towards the door. He instead turned his attention towards Mingi, who had backed himself into a corner. They were uncomfortably close considering the fact that Mingi’s lower half was fully nude.

Yunho smiled stupidly as though the confusion on Mingi’s face was unwarranted. “What? You were struggling to get off, right?”

“Yes...” Mingi admitted, still confused over what exactly his friend was doing. “It was that obvious?”

“Believe me, I know what it sounds like when you’re getting off. What I just heard sounded like a struggle to me.” Yunho never broke eye contact with Mingi. There was a glint of joy in his eyes as he explained his thought process, while never actually revealing his intentions.

Everything he said only raised even more questions. So many that Mingi didn’t have the brain capacity to sort through. Right now, he was more curious why Yunho had him cornered in their dressing room.

“Mingi,” Yunho uttered his name as though he was scolding him with endearment. Telling him off for being so apparently stupid even thought Mingi thought his confusion was very much justified. “Do you want me to help you?”

Yunho wanted to jerk him off? Mingi thought he had heard wrong.

On first thought, it would fix both problems at once and still leave time to spare, even if the idea of his friend touching his dick would leave Mingi with a whole new slew of questions to plague him until they got back to their dorms. That is, if Yunho would even want to talk about it.

Mingi was getting ahead of himself. He needed to answer the question first.

He kept thinking, pushing through his stress and arousal to conduct a clear thought. Yunho was handsome. He was always clean and smelled good, and liked holding hands with Mingi. Though his qualifications were sparse, Mingi was almost surprised at just how unopposed he was to the idea of Yunho helping him cum. After all, that’s all it would be, right? A friend helping out a friend.

“C’mon, you’ll feel so much better afterwards. I don’t like seeing you in pain.” Yunho pouted as he got closer to Mingi’s face. He was being sweet. Buttering the other boy up without knowing that it wouldn’t even take any convincing to get him to agree.

If only Mingi could answer the damn question. All he could muster up was the confidence for a moment of warm eye contact and a gentle nod.

It was signal enough for Yunho, who leaned in for a hesitant kiss. Mingi’s puffy lips were already parted and set to lock with his own. As they brushed against each other, Yunho’s tongue peaked out, sliding over Mingi’s bottom lip and making him shudder before dipping inside his gaped mouth.

The gap between them closed even further when the fabric of Yunho’s pant leg accidentally brushed over Mingi’s hard cock, which was poking out and occupying most of the space between them. Mingi moaned into Yunho’s mouth, a gentle reminder that they had a goal to achieve.

“Mmm. No more,” Yunho sighed with regret. He pulled back as Mingi stupidly chased his lips in a daze. “We need to be quick, remember?”

“But you don’t need to see your hands to jerk me off.” Mingi pouted comically, trying to convince him to return to their greedy kiss. He didn’t expect to enjoy kissing Yunho that much and was wondering if it could turn into a hobby of theirs.

Yunho simply chuckled, obviously knowing more than Mingi about his plans for his mouth. After a breathy “huh?” Yunho took the cue to drop to the floor.

Mingi froze. He was expecting a steady hand to help jerk him to completion at the most but this was so much more. The sight of Yunho on his knees, locked upright so he could keep his face raised inches from Mingi’s cock was making his head throb in more ways than one.

He watched as Yunho’s eyes darted around, carefully examining every inch of him as fast as possible. If he knew Yunho was going to be that close and personal with his junk, Mingi would have shaved that morning.

“I knew you were big but, damn.” Yunho’s vision stayed locked on to Mingi’s shaft. His eyes were wide and his lips were parted. He looked just as needy as he felt.

“I mean, you don’t have to go d-” Mingi couldn’t even provide an alternative, let alone finish his sentence before Yunho’s tongue was curling itself around his head, soaking his cock with a sudden warmth. Mingi’s hand flew to the wall, then his thigh and, finally, Yunho's hair, needing to grab a fistful of something to keep him steady.

Yunho tilted his chin, relaxing into Mingi’s touch and exposing the length of his neck towards the ceiling. Still, he stayed connected via his tongue. Mingi gulped loudly at the sight of Yunho’s throat swallowing, which was suddenly looking very empty to him.

The soft stimulation prompted beads of creamy white to escape from Mingi’s cock, directly onto the flat surface of Yunho’s tongue. He moaned at the taste and vibrations surrounded Mingi’s stirring cock head. Embarrassingly and against his will, Mingi pushed forward a bit, cock sliding across Yunho’s tongue and spreading the pre-cum all over the wet muscle.

“Sorry.” Mingi sheepishly apologized as he returned his hips to where they were before but, to his surprise, Yunho bobbed his head. He artificially repeated the motion over and over until the entirety of the cock’s head was trapped inside Yunho’s mouth. His tongue was running indulgent laps as it circled the pulsing tip.

Mingi was a panting mess. He wasn’t sure if he should speak. Should he tell Yunho how it felt? Would that be too much?

It was then that Yunho’s gaze flickered up to make eye contact with Mingi. His eyes were glossy as though he was stuck in that moment. Mingi’s stomach did a flip at the sight. He was waiting for Mingi’s approval.

“It feels good, you know?” Mingi whispered as the fist in Yunho’s hair released to scratch at his scalp. Mingi didn’t exactly sound confident but Yunho could tell the words were genuine considering how the other boy was falling apart above him. The upper half of Yunho’s face lit up with a would-be smile at the praise.

Meanwhile, his mouth stayed open wide, lips surrounding Mingi’s cock with a gentle suction, before pushing forward slowly. Yunho didn’t look away, not even once, as Mingi watched his cock disappear inch by inch inside his friend's mouth.

“Jesus, Yunho...” He hissed as more of his shaft was coated with the slippery friction from Yunho’s spit.

Yunho was only two inches from fully swallowing Mingi’s cock before he came to a halt. As he paused, he shifted with discomfort on his knees. The breathing from his nose became more erratic, puffs of warm air bouncing off of Mingi’s pelvis. It was clear he had reached his limit. Even while he couldn’t get Mingi’s dick all the way down, his determination was admirable. Cute, even. It was especially impressive considering Mingi presumed it was Yunho’s first time doing this.

Mingi dropped his hand to fall behind Yunho’s ear, rubbing his neck with a long thumb. Not experienced with dominant dirty talk, he merely offered a simple smile to let him know it was okay to retreat.

When Yunho began to pull back, Mingi caught sight of a bulge in his throat deflating as his dick reappeared. The thought of being that deep inside any of Yunho’s holes made him shudder with excitement.

Less than a second of the cold dressing room air had cruelly returned before Mingi’s dick was throbbing with need again. The shaft was a reddened, slobbery mess as Yunho cupped him against his hands before returning his mouth to the leaking tip.

Now, when Yunho bobbed down on the cock, his movements were more confident, knowing his limits and puffing up with pride over his abilities. Once he reached the checkpoint, he twisted two slippery hands over the base to make up the difference, fully covering Mingi’s large cock in one way or another.

This time, when Yunho pulled back, he tried sucking in his cheeks. He was so concentrated on making Mingi feel good, eyebrows furrowed in a way Mingi would’ve thought was adorable had the air not been just knocked out of his lungs by the new sensation of suction inside Yunho’s mouth.

Yunho never let the tip leave his lips before taking the entire shaft deep into his mouth again, producing extra spit only to suck it up again when he pulled back. It was clear he was enjoying himself discovering his newfound talent.

Not as much as Mingi was enjoying himself.

The feeling was unlike anything Mingi had ever experienced. Yunho’s mouth was like being surrounded by an always-moving, sopping-wet warmth. The boy on his knees took the term ‘sucking’ dick very literally. Wet and sloppy sounds echoed through the tiny room as Yunho slurped at his cock.

Mingi was fully collapsed against the wall at this point, fighting gravity to keep himself standing. His moans were deep, guttural and spurring Yunho to move even faster, knowing that Mingi must be close.

He was. Mingi was seconds away from cumming and already panicking over where he was going to finish. As pretty as he would be covered in streaks of white, Yunho was already in his stage clothes and makeup, ruling out that option. Alternatively, it wasn’t like Mingi could just leave a puddle of his release on the green room floor. The clock was ticking and Mingi didn’t have any alternatives left.

Yunho, more intuitive than Mingi was aware of, must’ve sensed his panic. He looked up at Mingi as though he was trying to tell him something, eventually slowing his neck’s momentum to a standstill and grabbed his attention.

As Mingi’s eyes were full of panic, Yunho eased his fears with a small nod of approval, motions mostly restricted by his throat accommodating the deep curve of Mingi’s cock. Yunho’s eyes were glistening with tears but dark with determination. He was ready to let Mingi take over.

Mingi whimpered, clawing at the wall as he realized what Yunho was telling him.

“In your mouth? Are you sure?”

A gurgle escaped from the back of Yunho’s throat as he pushed his limits even further, allowing the cock to sit the deepest it had been. Despite his gagging, his actions were entirely permissive, knowing he wouldn’t have to endure the pain for long before Mingi would finish.

Dormant hips sprung into motion, sliding back at first and dragging his cock along the inside of Yunho’s mouth. Strings of thick saliva followed the path, dripping from Yunho’s bruised lips. Carelessly, Mingi’s ass hit the wall with a thud with how roughly he fucked backwards, making Yunho wince in preparation for him to return.

When his hips snapped forward, it wasn’t as bad as Yunho expected. Sure, Mingi was rough in his desperation but the slickness of collected spit gave the cock a smooth re-entrance past Yunho’s lips, into his mouth, and down into his raw throat. Yunho couldn’t help but moan as he felt himself loosen up to accommodate, hoping that the sound got concealed beneath the low sounds of Mingi’s own pleasure.

Mingi fucked his willing mouth again and again, inching just a little deeper each time whether he knew it or not.

“Yunho. Feels good.” Mingi grunted out, unable to conceive proper sentences as his vision was flashing white with fast growing pleasure. “So good. Fuck.”

With the added motion of Mingi’s thrusts, those final two inches that he couldn’t quite conquer seemed like a task from forever ago, Yunho’s throat gladly opening itself up to accommodate until Mingi’s cock was buried completely. It wasn’t long until his nose was bumping against a set of abs.

Ready to be emptied, Mingi’s heavy balls smacked against Yunho’s chin with each greedy snap of his hips. It should’ve been humiliating but Yunho found himself arching into the motions. It felt good to have Mingi use him.

Yunho kept his needy gaze up at Mingi, watching the way his mouth fell agape and the muscles in his jaw clenched. His chest was heaving as he got closer and closer to completion. The sight inspired Yunho to work through the increasing soreness to help Mingi succumb to his pleasure.

“Ah!” Mingi yelled loudly and abruptly, followed by several softer stutters. His hips suddenly began to jerk in a rhythmless pattern he couldn’t quite control and then the first hot spurt of cum splashed against the back of Yunho’s throat. The second erupted into the cavern of his mouth as Mingi fell back further, shaking with pleasure.

Yunho hollowed his cheeks, not allowing Mingi to retreat any more and trapping the twitching cock inside his mouth. He sucked deeply and used the rest of his energy to relax the entire length of his throat and milk Mingi’s shaft until he was empty.

Mingi’s head fell back in awe as Yunho’s tongue lapped every last drop of cum that emerged from the hole on his tip. He was going above and beyond at this point, the aftershocks of Mingi’s orgasm already starting to subside.

“You can stop if you want.” Mingi’s voice was shaky, hoping Yunho wouldn’t take him up on the offer. The gentle warmth felt nice against his softening cock, easing him back to reality gradually instead of all at once.

“Mm, I probably should, shouldn’t I?” Yunho croaked out against his dick, giving the tip one final kiss before letting it fall limp against Mingi’s thigh.

They paused for a brief moment to catch their breath. Mingi dropped a hand to Yunho’s shoulder, giving it a soft massage as a thanks. “Are you okay?”

Yunho tried to answer but, at first, the words got caught on their way out. Clearing his throat, Yunho choked out a laugh at the discovery of how raw his throat was. “It’s a good thing I didn’t plan to sing live tonight.”

Mingi giggled at the half-joke before yanking up his oversized pants, needing both hands to hold the flowy fabric up so they wouldn’t fall again. Kindly, Yunho helped him tuck the now satisfied cock away before zipping up his fly.

“You know you might have less of a problem if you just wore underwear?” Yunho poked roughly at the downsized but still prominent bulge in Mingi’s pants.

“But it’s uncomfy.” Mingi whined, clearly more willing to go the lengths of jerking off before a performance rather than just wear another layer. Tired and needing to conserve his energy, Yunho rolled his eyes and found another spare phone to check the time. He clicked on the homescreen with little care for the fact that one of their fellow member’s phones was currently being contaminated with Mingi’s dick particles.

“Was that really only ten minutes?” Yunho’s eyes widened at the screen and Mingi went red in the cheeks. “Guess I’m pretty good at that, huh?”

“Yeah. You could say that…” Mingi nodded, getting shy again as the realization set in that his best friend’s lips were just around his cock and they were already back to business as usual. That is, if they didn’t count how disheveled they both looked from the aftermath. Mingi ruffled his hair back to look as close as possible to how the stylists left it.

Not having too much time to dwell on what their new experience meant for their friendship, a loud knock on the door made both boys jump out of their skin. The knock was only a warning as the hinges creaked and the door swung wide, trapping Mingi behind it.

Panicked and then relieved, Mingi stumbled against a plastic knob on the wall, the room falling into darkness just in time for someone to enter the doorway.

“Yunho, are you in here?” Hongjoong’s voice carried through the small room until he saw Yunho by the mirror, hopefully only looking like he woke up from the best nap of his life and nothing else. Definitely nothing else…

“Hey, what are you doing in the dark?” Luckily, he couldn’t see Mingi. His voice continued. “And why are you on my phone?”

Mingi cringed when Hongjoong snatched the phone back and placed it on the counter. He thankfully had no idea where Yunho’s hands had just been and he would probably never find out.

“Just checking the time.” Yunho replied nonchalantly, rubbing at his jaw.

“Yes, we’re on soon!” Hongjoong sounded excited. Enthusiastic about even the task of coraling up his fellow members for their performance. He seemed too distracted to notice Yunho dabbing away at his lips to clean himself off.

He patted Yunho on the back for encouragement before turning to leave out the open door. “Can you find Mingi on your way back too? We don’t know where he is.”

“Sure thing, Hyung!” Yunho did a goofy salute, playing the clueless role with ease as he bid Hongjoong farewell out of the room. The door slammed shut, leaving both Yunho and Mingi in the pitch dark.

“Hey Yunho,” Mingi whispered loudly, as though the darkness would make it harder to hear.

“Hm?” Yunho’s boots squeaked as he turned to face the voice.

“I think I found the light switch.”

#my hand slipped or something idk!!!#ateez fic #ateez smut #yungi #mingi x yunho #yunho x mingi #mingi #yunho

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vemuabhi · 3 years

Text

Wish Over a Fountain

Hello this was inspired by @daonepiece art. I am linking it here (click) I had so much fun writing this. I hope you like it.

Crocodile X Reader

Word count : 3K

Warning: none. Its fluff

Likes/Votes, comments are really appreciated.

"I really want a boyfriend", you thought as you looked at the annoying couple walking on the street. Actually they weren't annoying but... you were just feeling grumpy at that moment.

You were sitting on the bench which was beside the fountain, in the park.

Remembering the myth that your friend told you about, you placed your hand in your pocket and took out a coin. Gripping the coin in your hand you walked towards the well. You closed your eyes tightly and wished.

'I want a responsible and a nice guy to be my boyfriend please', you thought before throwing the coin in the fountain.

A month passed by with absolutely nothing happening and you forgot about that fountain wish. But there was an arrival of a new boss, who apparently bought your company.

You sat down and opened your laptop. "Sir Crocodile", you typed and started to research who your boss was. As soon as you saw his pictures, your eyes opened wide. He was absolutely stunning. Very handsome.

You read about him and saw that he was a millionaire. 'I was living under a rock I guess', you thought as you read about him more.

On the day of arrival, everyone held bouquets and champagne. But you on the other hand, held the brown wooden box, which looked neat and classy.

The boss entered and everyone gave presents to him and he took them with a small smile, while he gave them to his secretary.

Hurriedly he went to his room as his secretary followed him with all the gifts in his hand.

Along with everyone you started to resume your work. Then unexpectedly, the phone on your desk rang. It was none other than the secretary who called you to come into the boss's cabin.

Nervously fiddling with your sleeves you entered the cabin of Sir Crocodile.

He had a the huge pile of gifts, yours included, beside his desk as he kept checking the paperwork. 'Already in work mode huh... must be a workaholic', you thought.

"I believe you are Y/N", he spoke and you took your attention position. He didn't even glance at you.

"Yes sir. Its me"

"Okay. I've already read most of the employees works and now Im thinking of speaking to you", he said as he looked into his drawer.

"Okay sir. So what can I do for you", you didn't know what the hell was going on or why he called you. Your palms started to sweat like crazy.

"I looked at yours and I found that...", he stopped and looked in another drawer. Trying to find something. The tension was going to roof level for you. But you maintain your calm.

"Sir, are you looking for something?", you asked as he looked at you for the first time.

"Ah, its nothing... I was just checking for my Cigar", he said running his hand through his hair.

"Oh. Pardon me sir. I think, you would like this", you said as you walked towards the gifts and took the brown wooden box in your hands, while his gaze stayed on you.

You turned towards him and gave him the box. He placed the paper in his hand down and took the box. He careful analysed it and opened it. It had cigars, which he liked.

He smiled as he looked at it. He took one cigar and thanked you. Placing the cigar in between his lips, he lit it using his golden coloured lighter. You didn't know if it was actual gold or not.

He looked at you again and said, "Like I was saying, I really liked your work" Giving you a peace of mind.

"Thankyou sir", you said with a smile.

"I want to ask you something", he took a puff and continued, "I want to know if there are any problematic clients. I wanna get rid of them as soon as possible", he ended.

"Oh. If you are asking about clients like that, we do have so many sir. Each group has some of them"

"Is that so... I want to you to, collect the list and get it to me", he ordered.

"Sure sir. I'll get you the list. So when do you want me to get it for you", you asked for which he replied with a simple tomorrow.

A few days passed and the new boss was actually wonderful. He got rid of the problematic clients and got new clients in their place. For which everyone was very grateful.

You slowly developed a crush on your handsome boss and tried to work harder taking him as the inspiration.

One night everyone left except for you. You wanted to finish the presentation and then leave. So you stayed back and made it. Little did you knew that the boss was also there.

"Y/N", you almost jumped up because of the sudden appearance of your boss beside you. He wasn't wearing his coat like usual, instead he had it over his shoulder as his fingers neatly held it from falling down. His hair which was usually set back, was now a bit messy. He was looking younger with his hair on his forehead. 'Damn. He is looking fine'

"Oh my! Sir you are here, I didn't know that", you said as you tried to calm your fast beating of your heart.

"Yeah. So... why are you still here? Its already 12", he said looking a bit worried as his fingers ran through his hair to set them back again like usual.

"What the hell?", you stopped admiring your boss. Looking at the time it was indeed 12. This means you missed your last train. The prices of cab are so high and you really hated to take a cab. Now as it was 12, the prices would make your wallet cry.

"Oh no... god", you sighed and slumped back in your chair.

"Why were you here?", he gained your attention once again.

"I was making this Presentation for tomorrow's meeting. So I kinda stayed back and worked on it", you showed him the file you were working on.

"You could have made it tomorrow", he said but he curiously leaned in to get a clear view of it. Looking at it carefully he placed his hand on the mouse to scroll calmly.

But you were freaking out. There was three reasons for that. One being what he'd say about your work, two that you had to sleep in the office and three him being close to you.

He was not touching you, had appropriate space, but still you could notice his cologne mixed with a slight sent of cigar. It felt... comforting and soothing for some reason.

"Y/N", his voice made you to come back to reality.

You looked at the screen. He pointed some mistakes which needed to be solved before presenting. You quickly realised what was wrong and began to correct it. He pulled a chair from the side and sat on it while you worked. He guided you on how to change some points.

Soon you two didn't even realise, but its already been an hour. After it was done he ruffled your hair and said, "Well done. I really like it".

"Thankyou for helping me sir", you blushed at his compliment. He got up from the chair and placed his coat on his hand.

"How are you going home?"

"I actually am thinking of staying in the office or else", you sighed and continued, "take a cab".

Both the options are horrible but the second was even more terrible.

He exhaled and said, "follow me", with that he started walking. You hurriedly got up and walked behind him.

"What happened sir. If you don't like it I'll not stay in the office", he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at you.

"Its not because I don't like it. Its because its really uncomfortable to sleep here", he said and walked again.

"Then, I'll take a ca-"

"Just come with me", he interrupted you and you just followed him.

He walked towards his car and said, "come with me. You can stay at my house"

"Oh no. I don't want to be a burden"

"Your house if far. Thats why you are having second opinions about going in a cab. And its... really late. Its not that safe. So you are coming with me", he didn't even look at you and walked towards his car.

Yes he was right. You didn't want to take a cab home. And you didn't want to stay in office either.

You remember the last time you stayed there. The eerie silence made you half scared to death. But you still fell asleep. And saved money for cab.

You shook off those thoughts and went ahead and sat in the car. The car was well maintained. It looked like it was brand new. The jet black colour made it even more elegant while the golden coloured handles gave it a royal elegance. The seats were super comfy and the car was really cool.

There was absolutely no traffic and the ride was super smooth. The night lights seemed so beautiful. The ride was silent but it wasn't awkward. You looked out the window to see the beauty of the city. It was calm and seemed really pretty.

In 15 minutes, the car reached a high class building. The car was parked and you both got down. Crocodile lead you to a apartment door. He typed a number on the number lock and opened the door.

Entering the room you were met with a very elegant and beautiful house. The house was absolutely lovely. The tiles were cream colored and the walls were grey in color.

"Get in", he commanded and you obliged. As soon as you both got near the couch suddenly a big dog jumped on Crocodile. Crocodile chuckled as he started to pet the dog. That was beautiful. You thought it was a sight to see but then another dog came and then another... and another... and... in total there were 6 dogs.

6 dogs of totally different breeds just snuggled with crocodile. He patted every dog and then turned to look at you.

"Sorry to intrude sir but, I never knew you liked dogs", you said with a smile. His cheeks turned pink as he cleared his throat.

""You can use the 3rd room to sleep for the night", he said and you bowed.

'Was he flustered just now?', you thought as you went to the room assigned as crocodile kept the dogs busy, but a pug started to follow you.

You opened the door and saw that it was a huge room. It had the same grey Aesthetic to it but it was beautiful. The bed was neat and had white covers on it.

You removed your coat and hanged it on the coat hanger. You walked towards the curtain and opened it, only to see a stunning night view of the city.

The big door which was also a way to enter the balcony was very clean as if no one never touched it. Or someone cleaned it spot less. There was no way you could afford a place as beautiful and classy like this.

Then a bark made you to come back to reality. You turned and saw a small pug with big bright eyes staring at you. It was so adorable. You said hi to it and closed the curtains. You patted its head and then the dog left the room. You began to remove your belt and placed it on the desk beside the bed and plopped on the soft bed. It was so fluffy and amazing.

As soon as you closed your eyes, you fell asleep. The next morning, you woke up to something which felt like water on your cheeks. You opened your eyes to the same pug giving you morning kisses. Apparently you forgot to close the door and it came back. You chuckled and took him your arms. You looked at the time and it said it was 7am.

With the dog in your arms you left the room, only to find Crocodile on the couch with some dogs sleeping on him and other just roaming around the couch. He still was wearing the same clothes as yesterday as you.

You noticed how long and slender his legs were. The pug in your hands jumped and ran towards the couch and jumped onto Crocodile and slept on him.

You almost stopped a nosebleed because that was freaking adorable. Another dog started to lick crocodiles face and he woke up.

He woke up and patted its head lovingly. He turned his head to the side which faced you. His eyes opened wide with his cheeks turning 10X times red.

"Wha- What are you looking at? Go and get ready. We need to leave", he said which made you to run and do what he ordered.

You knew he said it because he was embarrassed as you saw him like that.

You quickly took a bath and again wore the same clothes before getting out.

You found Mr. Crocodile wearing a new suit and coat. With the dogs still playing around the house. You approached him and he looked at you and didn't say anything for few seconds. He actually thought you'd wear his clothes in the closet like the other people who come over. But you didn't.

But then instructed you to follow him. He took his keys and walked. Then suddenly the pug tugged on your jeans and you noticed it. You patted his head and waved bye to him. But as you were walking again it suddenly walked before you in a dangerous position. You managed yourself from stepping on the pug but you you couldn't help but to fall as now you lost your balence. You had your boss before you. He turned to look at you but it was too late.

You fell on top of him. You immediately got up and stuttered an apology.

He got up and dusted his suit but didn't scold you. "Its fine. Just be careful", he said as he walked towards the door and opened it. With a slight blush on his cheeks. You walked with him and towards the car and got into it.

"Not a word about what happened with the dogs", he said with his cheeks still pink.

"My lips are sealed", you said earning a sigh in return.

After reaching the office, your team gave the presentation of the project to your superiors and Sir Crocodile. Who already saw this already. But still listened to you.

The project was approved which really made your team very happy.

That evening your team went for celebrating the success of the project. You all drank, ate food and went home in a cab.

The next day, you woke up, with feeling the kisses of a dog on your cheek. You smiled and patted its head.

Looking at the room, it was the spacious and big bedroom in which you slept yesterday. Was yesterday repeating again? You didn't knew but you went to the living room to see if your boss was on the couch. He wasn't. So it wasn't yesterday.

"Maybe a dream", you thought and pinched your cheek very harshly. But the pain you felt was real and this was real. Why the hell did you again end up in your boss's apartment?

"Its not a dream you idiot", you heard a horse voice say to you.

Turning around you saw your boss in the coming to the living room with a coffee.

"Sir why am I in your house again?", you asked him as he approached you. The pug jumped from your hands and walked towards the couch.

Handing the cup to you, he sighed, "So you don't remember. Just like I thought", he said and walked towards the couch. You followed him.

"You were so drunk that, you called me, your boss instead of a cab and told me to pick you up from that bar", he ended.

'Should I dig a hole and die already?', you thought as you mentally slapped yourself.

"As your house was quite far away and I thought it would be best to bring you to here", he said sipping his coffee.

"Im really sorry for bothering you sir. Im so embarrassed", you said as you covered your face with your free hand.

"Just make sure that you won't drink till you lose your senses"

"Okay sir"

"Now drink the coffee before it gets cold"

"Thankyou", you said as you sipped the coffee.

You looked at the time and it was already 11 am. "OMG! Its already 11", you said but he calmly said, "Its Saturday"

You managed to embarrass yourself, Again...

But still, you received a smile from sir crocodile. It was enough for you.

Crocodile thought about the previous night when he carried you to his car as you spoke gibberish.

"You idiot. Don't ever drink like this. You are lucky because Im a good person", he said to you even though you didn't listen.

He was about to start the car then you said, "Hey man, I need to tell you something about my boss", you leaned closer to him.

He curiously listen to you on what you were about to say. "My boss he is so inspiring and is supportive of his employees. He is a good person", he smiled at what you said and you continued, "I have a crush on him and he has sexy legs. I don't know why I didn't notice them", you said and dosed off, leaving Crocodile blushing a red shade of crocodile. He leaned back in his seat and covered his face with one of his hands while the other stayed on the steering wheel.

"No one made me get flustered like you did", he said because he knew you were also sleeping.

Little did you know that the same day you wished for a boyfriend, he witnessed you wishing it.

XOXOXOXO

i hope you liked this. Crocodile fluff was so fun to write. I absolutely enjoyed writing for it.

Like/Vote, comment, Share/reblog if you like it.

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inliar · 3 years

Text

timing

word count: 5.3k

jinhwan x reader

you have the uncanny knack of running into kim jinhwan exactly when he needs it. he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued.

a/n: support ikon on kingdom!

the first time you meet him, it’s at your friend’s debut stage. once upon a time, you and your friend, yerin, had been trainees together in a decently small company. but while her skills only grew over time, morphing into something fascinating and breathtaking that deserved to be shown to the world, yours had stagnated. it wasn’t for lack of effort – you had put just as many hours into dance and vocal lessons as the others – but it was, probably, for lack of passion.

at some point, you had stopped emphasizing with your fellow trainee’s heartfelt speeches on their dreams of debuting, and it was around then that you realized you weren’t meant to be an idol in the same way they were. it was alright, though, because if anyone out of the two of you deserved to debut, it was her. you’d never felt any regret after terminating your short trainee agreement with your label.

but your friendship had never ceased, and you’d kept in regular contact with yerin, as well as the other trainees set to debut in the rookie group. you often took to reminding them to eat their meals, or to take breaks in between lessons, because you’d experienced first-hand how thoroughly unchecked passions can blind a person to their obvious needs.

finally, their efforts had culminated into a debut, and you wouldn’t miss their first stage for the world. their manager, minseo (who, in a different timeline, might have been your manager as well) was kind enough to let you visit them face-to-face in their waiting room for the music program.

“nervous?” you ask, taking in yerin’s brightly-coloured romper and her bleached, curled, strands of hair. it’s such a far departure from the tracksuits and messy ponytail you’d often seen her sporting during early morning dance practices, but it somehow suits her better than anything else you’d ever seen her wear.

“excited.” she responds instead, with a frightening degree of certainty. it must be nice, you think, to have something you want so desperately and unfalteringly. but watching your best friend get to live out her dreams is almost just as nice.

you nod, feeling the corners of your lips quirk up. “have i ever told you how proud i am of you?” you say, lightheartedly, suppressing the urge to ruffle your hand over her well-styled hair.

“no, but since it’s coming from you, i know you mean it.” she says with such sincerity that you feel an unexpected surge of pride lodge itself into your chest.

you clear your throat. this won’t do. she hasn’t even performed yet and you’re already turning into a sentimental mess. “i’m going to go get myself something to drink,” you say, excusing yourself. “do you want anything?”

her eyes brighten. “ooh, can i have an orange soda?” she asks, before pausing and turning around. “wait, manager-nim, am i allowed to drink soda before a stage?”

minseo tears her eyes away from her phone and straightens up. “as long as it’s not something that will rapidly stain your teeth, it should be fine. are you thirsty? do you need me to get you something?”

you pipe up. “oh, it’s fine, i can get it. you should stay with the group, unni, you’re the manager.” then, you raise your voice and direct it towards the rest of the girls. “hey, guys, i’m getting yerin a drink from the vending machine. does anyone else want anything?”

“oh, can i have a canned coffee?” you hear one of the members – jiyoung’s – voice ask.

“me too!” hyemin’s voice adds.

“vitamin water, please!” mirae’s voice calls.

you tally the drinks up in your head. two canned coffees, an orange soda, and vitamin water. you hold up an ‘okay’ sign with your hand and nod. jiyoung jokingly salutes in return.

“can i pay you back?” minseo offers, pulling out a credit card that most definitely won’t work on the rickety vending machines you’d seen on your way to the waiting room.

you shake your head dismissively. “it’s just a couple of drinks, and besides, i have a ton of coins i need to get rid of. you can buy me a meal later, yeah?” you offer, and minseo nods. “at this rate, i’ll have to hire you as my assistant.” she jokes, lightheartedly, and you smile. you wouldn’t mind that at all.

you recite the list of drinks to yourself as you make it out of their waiting room and towards the vending machine. two canned coffees, an orange soda, and vitamin water. two canned coffees, an orange soda, and vitamin water. two ca—

thud.

the small sound shakes you out of your mantra and, instinctively, you turn towards the noise. judging by the obvious frustration radiating from the person in front of you and his relative position to the vending machine, you figure he just kicked the poor thing.

“are you alright?” you ask, tentatively, and the person in question turns to face you.

oh. it’s kim jinhwan. from ikon.

you try your hardest to suppress a smile. yerin loves ikon. she’d be so jealous to know that you ran into one of the members today, and in such an innocuous way at that.

“yes, sorry.” jinhwan offers, looking almost sheepish. “the machine stole my money, and-”

almost on cue, you hear a voice call out in the distance. “hurry up, hyung! you said it’d only take a few minutes!”

jinhwan’s expression instantly sours, and you nod in understanding. “what did you try to get, sunbaenim?” you ask politely, turning towards the machine and scanning its contents.

“just an energy drink. but i guess i’ll be fine without it.” he explains, trying a little too hard to sound lighthearted and unbothered.

you identify the drink in question and punch in its code. after feeding your coins into the machine, you watch as the suddenly functional appliance pushes the energy drink out of its row and into the bottom of the machine.

squatting, you grab the drink and hold it out. “please, take this.” you offer as you stand up, suddenly noticing how heavily the foundation under his eyes is applied. you inwardly frown. he must really need the boost. “it’s the one you wanted, right?”

he doesn’t take it, instead opting to stare at it instead. “i couldn’t, i don’t have any more change on me right now.” he says, despite eyeing the drink longingly.

“hyung! we have to go!” the voice from before calls out again, insistently. he turns towards the voice before turning back to you, conflicted. you put on what you hope is a reassuring smile before pushing the drink with a little more force into his hands. instinctively, he takes it.

“please don’t worry about it, it’s just a drink. good luck with your stage, sunbaenim!” you cheer, gently.

he looks at the drink, then looks at you, then glances behind him at what you presume to be his waiting room before looking at you again.

“jinhwan hyung!” the voice demands with an intimidating undercurrent of finality, leaving no more room to stall. you tilt your head towards it meaningfully.

“i.. thank you.” he finally says, tightly, before turning around and running away. satisfied, you turn towards the vending machine. what did your friends ask for? right, two canned coffees, an orange soda, and vitamin water. you punch the drink codes in, methodically inserting all of your loose change you had been trying to get rid of for so long, and add an extra coffee in for minseo for good measure. if she’s going to make good on her dinner promise, and you know she will, she should get a little something in return.

(you would have gotten her something even if you didn't coerce her into buying you food. a part of you thrives at the feeling of taking care of others, and you dimly wonder if that means anything.)

the next time you meet him is yet another case of being in the right place at the right time, for lack of a better phrase.

you’d spent a good portion of your school days active as a trainee. so, when you’d eventually exited the entertainment industry, you were strikingly behind all the other students your age in the cruelly competitive system that was korea’s education system. you were planning on taking a gap year to figure out exactly what you wanted to do with the rest of your life (which was generally frowned upon, as students were expected to naturally know these things), but minseo had saved you from that fate. “since the girls have been getting a little bigger recently, i’ve been given the permission and the budget to hire an assistant manager.” she had explained through a spontaneous phone call, her voice crackling over the receiver as you shifted your cellphone to your other ear. “if i can trust anyone to care for them the way that i do, it’s you.”

“will it be okay?” you had asked, not against the proposition but not wanting to get her in trouble. “i have no managerial experience, and i’m in the same age range as the members. i don’t want the company to come off as unprofessional.”

she had reassured you that you wouldn’t be working on anything that she wouldn’t teach you to do first, and that, as long as you didn’t boast about your age, it would be fine. “i was allowed to write the hiring criteria, and if you just happen to be the perfect candidate, then so be it.” she had said, and you could almost imagine the conspiratorial wink she would have shot in your direction if you were talking face to face.

and so your reentrance to the entertainment industry had begun; except this time, you were on the other, more secluded, side of the stage. you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t considered being a manager before; you’ve always been the type to take care of others, and when minseo had joked about taking you on as an assistant before, a secret part of you had taken it a little too close to heart. but you had never actually expected her words to become a reality.

the job isn’t too hard to pick up. you’re assigned a lot of small yet useful tasks, like calling the salons and confirming hair appointment times, or writing the minutes for meetings about comeback concepts. sometimes, your only role for the day is simply coaxing minseo unni into stopping and taking a lunch break. you’re busy, for sure, but not yet at the juggling-octopus level of the senior manager, who is somehow able to coordinate every other task and responsibility that involves the group simultaneously and all without fail. while you just have to confirm the things she’s already set up, she has to do all the preparation work. you’ve seen her meticulously arrange and assign each member’s schedules, all the while keeping an eye on album sales and concert venues and security payroll and feedback from their vocal or dance instructors. just by looking at her essay of a to-do list that’s propped up on her desk, you understand why the company gave her the permission to hire an assistant.

the most important responsibility she had given you, however, was to be the first line of contact with the members of the group. “you know them better than i do, so i think you’d do a better job of helping them out. they’re not too fussy, so it shouldn’t be too hard to work with them? just keep an eye on the members, and check on them every now and then. of course, let me know if you need any extra help.” a very harried minseo had told you, while on hold with the videography company who, annoyingly, hadn’t confirmed what time they were coming in tomorrow to film the dance video for the group’s upcoming comeback.

“yes, of course.” you had replied, fully intending to not do just that. you were going to avoid adding any responsibilities to minseo unni’s workload at all costs.

there wasn’t much that you needed to do. occasionally, you needed to get the members drinks or snacks while they were in their waiting rooms before music show performances, or make sure that they checked in with you before they went out anywhere. to help with this, you had gotten into the habit of carrying a backpack with you at all times, fully stocked with the necessities: an assortment of the member’s favourite snacks, an epipen for hyemin’s peanut allergy tucked in a small first aid kit, extra hair elastics, pads and tampons, and various sets of phone chargers.

“you’re already, like, one of those overprepared asian mothers that carries everything in her massive purse, and you’re barely an adult.” yerin had snickered one day while you reorganized your bag in their dorm.

you had grinned, teasingly pushing her away. “it’s this overprepared asian mother that has your precious pocky at hand, so watch it.” you’d warned, shaking the snack box in the air.

“don’t shake it!” yerin had yelped, cradling the cookie sticks protectively against her chest. “you’ll break them.”

it was the last week of promotions for the group’s third mini album, and you had just finished supervising the stage hands as they finished setting up the stage. satisfied, you grab your backpack from the chair it was lounging on, thank them for their hard work, and beeline for the exit, wondering if you can run into the girls before they get called down for their pre-stage interview.

“—ust going to have to wait, we don’t have any on hand right now.” you hear a gruff sounding voice say, and subconsciously, you look towards the source of the noise.

just across the hallway from you is what appears to be a very tall manager and a very short idol, judging from the casual apparel the taller is wearing and the shiny, glittery jacket the shorter one has on. the one in the glittery jacket is clutching at his shoulder in obvious discomfort.

“how long do you think it will take?” the shorter asks, letting go of his shoulder and rolling it back, and you’d recognize that voice anywhere. yerin had recently been studying his stage habits by watching his fancams on repeat, and at this point, his voice was engraved in the back of your mind. it’s jinhwan, again. (“i can’t believe you got to meet jinhwan sunbae before i did,” yerin had pouted when you had told her about your previous encounter. “but why did you call him sunbae? he’s not technically your senior anymore.”

“so i used to be a trainee, and old habits die hard. sue me.” you had defended yourself, protectively, before making a mental note to stop doing that.)

“i’m not sure. i’m not supposed to leave the shooting site, and no one else has answered my calls yet. do you think you’ll be able to do the stage without a patch?” the manager asks.

the idol who you now recognize as jinhwan winces, and you take that as your cue to dig through your bag. after finding what you’re looking for, you take a nervous breath and walk towards the pair.

“hello,” you greet tentatively, bowing. the two of them turn to face you, and politely bow back. you don’t miss the way jinhwan’s face grimaces ever so slightly as he does so.

“i’m really sorry if i’m being invasive, but i happened to hear what was going on.” you start. at that, you offer him the pair of pain-relief patches you were clutching securely with both of your hands. “please, take these.”

the two of them pause, taking a second to read the upside-down text on the packaging. in hindsight, you probably should have held it so the text was facing them. “won’t you need them?” the manager asks, eventually looking back up at you.

you shake your head in denial, eyes wide. “no, no. i always have extras in my bag. besides, the ones my members use most often are the ankle patches, so i won’t miss these.” you explain, taking a short, meaningful glance at jinhwan’s shoulder before pushing the packages into his manager’s hands.

he takes them. “thank you,” he says, gratefully, and you smile.

“yes, of course.” you reply, taking another quick glance at jinhwan. he’s staring at you, expression carefully blank, but, upon making eye contact. he bows his head. “thank you,” he says as well, and you pause. there’s something in his tone that sounds off, but you can’t quite pinpoint what it is.

you don’t have time to stand there and think about it, though, because your group is going to get called down for their interview any minute now. and while you don’t technically have to be there, minseo said that it would be a good idea for you to monitor them. “just so you can get used to your job,” she had said, and you agreed. it would be entirely selfish to back out on that now, just to stand and meaninglessly analyze a person you had no connections with.

“i … have to go now.” you begin, tentatively, ignoring the pressing feeling in the pit of your stomach thats begging you to stay and figure out what feels so wrong. “good luck on your stage, sunb- i mean! jinhwan-ssi, and i hope your shoulder feels better.”

you bow, reflexively, trying your best not to make a weird face out of embarrassment, and jinhwan bows back. “thank you, again.” he reiterates, and you turn to leave.

it’s only after you’re absolutely sure that you’re out of their line of view before you let yourself cringe. sunbae? you tried to call him sunbae? you really, really, need to get out of that habit. what kind of interaction was that?

‘but is he okay?’ a smaller, more insistent, voice in the back of your head asks, and you frown. you don’t know.

in between your last memorable encounter and the next one, you see him a few times. your group passes by him in a few music programs, you run into their group at a hair appointment, and a few other miscellaneous encounters as such naturally occur. but you never interact. as a manager, it’s not your job to play buddy-buddy with other idol groups, especially if they’re not even in your company. you’ve always done a very good job of staying out of the spotlight, and, as a manager, most people don’t spare you a glance. jinhwan doesn’t even look in your direction.

you’d be lying if you said you weren’t disappointed.

the third time you meet him is not, for once, at a music program. you’re in hapjeong-dong, meaning to visit a friend who’d recently moved into the area. but she’d last-minute changed her housewarming party time to a dinner party instead of a lunch meetup. by the time you’d got the memo, you were already halfway across seoul on the subway. since you hadn’t eaten anything yet, and you no longer had lunch plans, your first stop is at the first ramen shop you see after you exit the terminal.

“i’m afraid we’re a little full at the moment, ma’am, and the only seats available are at the counter. will that be alright?” the hostess asks, smiling warmly.

“yes, that’s great.” you say, and you let her escort you to the counter and hand you a menu. you prop up your purse and your housewarming gift on the chair next to you before taking it, thanking her.

as you’re flipping through the menu, mentally calculating how much more you’ll be able to spend this month, you hear the tinkling of the bell at the front door signalling another customer. a cursory glance around the relatively full counter area lets you know that there’s only one seat left, and you’re hogging it with your bags. you quickly take them off the only available chair and bend down to set them on the ground below your feet.

“... and here you go, sir, i’ll be back with a menu shortly.” the bubbly hostess says, smiling politely at the customer whose face you haven’t seen yet. you straighten up, taking a quick look at the hostess and the customer before turning back to look at your menu.

“yes, thank you,” the customer says, and you freeze. you must be hearing things. there is no way that you are eating lunch next to kim jinhwan in a random restaurant.

the customer sits down next to you, and you shoot another quick look at the man who is taking off his mask. who is most definitely kim jinhwan.

do you … do you say anything? idols deserve to eat in peace, so should you pretend not to recognize him? but won’t sitting in a stony, awkward silence as you eat next to each other be even worse? you contemplate burying yourself in your phone for the entire meal, before realizing that you left it in your purse. and there’s no feasible way that you can grab it without having to scoot back your chair, get off the stool to open your bag, and sit back up on it again.

unfortunately for you, he looks in your direction as you’re gaping at him, panic-struck. the resulting eye contact is unbearably awkward on your end, but he looks at you as if he’s trying to remember who you are.

“pardon me, but are you the one who … with the pain-relief patch?” he asks, gesturing slightly with his hands as he sits dodwn. it’s vague and awkward, and if he did that to anyone else they’d be very confused, but you know exactly what he means.

you blush a little. there’s nothing else you can say now. “yes, uh, i think that was me.”

“and … the vending machine?” he ventures.

your eyes widen a little at that. that was so many months ago. he still remembers? “the energy drink, right? that was also me. hello, jinhwan-ssi.” you offer, tentatively, bowing your head slightly. at this point, there’s no use pretending you don’t know his name. he bows his head in return.

“may i ask for your name?” jinhwan asks, tentatively.

“oh, ah, i’m ______.” you respond. “it’s nice to meet you, officially.”

jinhwan nods in agreement, seemingly taking in all the new information for a few seconds. after a short pause, he continues. “do you also work in the entertainment industry?” he asks, slowly.

“yes, i’m an assistant manager for kyubie, a new girlgroup at AB entertainment,” you introduce yourself. it still feels a little strange to say that title out loud. assistant manager. you’re an assistant manager.

“ah, i see.” jinhwan says, smiling a little as he processes the information, and you politely smile back. a part of you wants to help him carry this conversation out, but the other, more dominant part of you is just as socially awkward as he looks like he feels and is absolutely incapable of doing such a thing.

“you look quite young for a manager,” he offers, as an odd semblance of a compliment, and you take it in stride.

“i get that a lot! i actually used to be a trainee at AB, but i ended up becoming a manager inst!—ead …” you start, mouth running itself as it struggles to fill the awkward silence, before you register what you just said.

“i, uh, i wasn’t supposed to say that.” you mutter, loudly enough so its audible but quietly enough to express your regret.

jinhwan, for what it’s worth, only looks placidly amused. “don’t worry, i won’t say a word,” he assures you. he doesn’t ask for any more details or for an elaboration on why it would be a secret. you’re grateful for that.

“thank you,” you say, trying not to let the relief show itself too heavily in your tone. if he notices it, he doesn’t say a word.

“i should be thanking you. for the drink and for the pain-relief patches, before. i don’t think i could have done my stage without either.” he assures you, kindly. “i didn’t get to thank you properly before.”

you shake your head in denial. “no, no, don’t worry about it. i get what it’s like to always be running low on time. and you did say thank you! i didn’t feel underappreciated, or ignored, or anything like that.” you explain, letting out your first real smile since the beginning of the conversation.

(you miss the way his eyes linger on it for a beat too long.)

“i’m glad that you think that, then,” jinhwan says, faintly, as the hostess comes back with his menu that he barely even scans before ordering. you, too, order, ignoring the meaningful glances she’s throwing at the two of you. that’s a misunderstanding that can be resolved in the unlikely chance it becomes an issue.

“so,” jinhwan starts, “tell me about your group.”

and you’re gone.

conversation flows surprisingly easily once the two of you find your common ground. as a manager and as a friend, you have a lot to tell him about your members and how they act. “one of them, my friend, actually, she’s a really big fan of yours.” you mention, offhandedly. you’ve gone long past the point where you’re trying to filter yourself.

“is that so?” he asks, calmly, and you grin.

“yeah. she was really jealous when i told her that i met you before,” you laugh, “and she’ll probably be a little bit jealous that i met you again today.”

“what about you?” he asks, and then looks a little bit startled. almost as if he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“i’m sorry?” you ask, despite knowing perfectly well what he’d meant to say. you do your best to not blush.

jinhwan, having seemingly decided to just go with it, smiles. “are you a fan of mine, too?” he asks, and oh, your cheeks are not supposed to feel this hot.

“i, uh—” you flounder, trying to think of a way to answer this professionally, before a strangely brave crevice of your mind tells you to be honest.

“before? i don’t know. but now? probably.” you admit, which is good enough for jinhwan.

he doesn’t push it (probably because you looked like a tomato just then and he wants to save your blood pressure), and instead steers the conversation back to your life as a manager and his funny anecdotes in the entertainment industry. for someone who is so soft spoken and looked so thoroughly awkward when you first met, he tries incredibly hard to keep the conversation flowing and comfortable. you’re half in awe at his easy going nature.

you eat slowly once you get your food, selfishly wanting the conversation to last longer, but eventually there are no more noodles left in your plate and half of the lunchtime rush has already cleared out. jinhwan excuses himself to pay, asking you to watch his jacket, and you grab your purse and your housewarming gift from the floor while you wait. your phone tells you that it’s been nearly two hours since you entered the restaurant, and you must have suddenly forgotten how to read time, because there’s no possible way you had spent that long talking with jinhwan.

he eventually comes back. he puts his mask on and grabs his jacket from the back of his chair, and you take that as your cue to head to the payment counter. “i’m here to pay for my order,” you say, pulling out your wallet, and the checkout man shakes his head.

“you’re already paid for,” he explains, and you frown. “pardon me?” you ask, unsure if you heard him right.

“the gentleman who sat next to you has already paid for your meal,” he clarifies, and you stand there for a moment.

“are— are you sure?” you ask, confusedly. the checkout man nods. “here’s the purchase receipt if you want to be sure.”

the sound of the front door bell tinkling draws your attention, and you turn to see jinhwan’s figure leave the shop. “thank you!” you exclaim hurriedly to the counter, mindlessly stuffing the receipt in your left pocket before booking it out of there.

by the time you get to the outside of the shop, jinhwan is a good ten meters away. “jinh—!” you start, and then stop. yelling an idol’s name in public is most definitely not a good idea.

you’ve never been the most active, but you run after him anyway. thankfully, he’s not making an effort to run away from you, because you wouldn’t be able to catch up with him then.

eventually, you catch up with him as he’s waiting for a pedestrian walkway to turn green. “jinhwan-ssi!” you call, furtively, and the man in question turns around to face you.

" ______.” he says, curiously. “what are you doing here?”

“you paid for my meal.” you state, and he looks at you like it’s obvious.

“yes, i did.” he says, frowning a little. the pedestrian walkway turns green. he doesn’t make any effort to move.

“can i pay you back?” you ask, hand instinctively going towards your wallet in your right pocket.

he laughs a little at that. “why would you pay me back? this is my thank you for the favours you did for me.”

“you don’t have to pay me back! i did those things because i could. besides, a vending machine drink and a pain-relief patch costs much less than a meal.” you argue.

“then, consider it like i’m doing this because i can.” he counters, and its very hard to object to your own logic.

“can i at least buy you coffee or something as thanks?” you ask, as the pedestrian walkway turns red once more.

at this, jinhwan pauses, before he sighs. “i have vocal practice in half an hour, so i can’t right now. but—” he continues, seeing the look of disappointment you already knew was on your face, “did you get the receipt from the checkout guy?”

“the what?” you ask, confused.

his face pales. “oh no, did you not take it?” he asks, suddenly looking scared, and you remember mindlessly snatching the receipt from the checkout man’s hands. you clumsily pat through your pockets a little before pulling a slip of paper out from your left pocket. “no, i have it,” you say, holding it up, “but why?”

jinhwan sighs. “turn it over,” he says, and you do.

in pen, a phone number is scribbled over the back of the receipt. “jinhwan,” it says in neatly printed letters next to it, and you fight back the urge to smile. you probably do a terrible job of it, too.

“text me when you’re free, and we can do coffee sometime, yeah?” jinhwan offers. you can’t see his face well because of his mask, but the tips of his ears are red. it’s stupidly endearing.

“i will,” you promise, because how could you say no to that?

the walkway light turns green once again. jinhwan waves as he crosses the street, and you wave as you stay behind. its only after you’re absolutely, positively sure that he’s out of sight that you let yourself grin, burying your too-hot face into your hands.

if you just played your cards right, you have a date with kim jinhwan.

(you text him the very same day, and make plans for coffee the next week.

you treat him to crepe cakes and lattes, and he pouts, claiming that the crepes were too much and now he just has to take you out to make up for it.

before you can tell him that no, it’s fine, it’s your treat, he has movie tickets for two booked and emailed to your account.

you agree to go, but only if you get to buy the popcorn.)

#ikon #jinhwan #kim jinhwan #jay #ikon jinhwan #ikon jay #ikon fanfic #jinhwan fanfic #jinhwan x reader #writing

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silky-stories · 3 years

Text

Just a Bad Day (Corpse and Friends/Reader)

Genre: Light angst, Fluff, sort of Platonic but you could take it otherwise

Words: 1628

Related Songs: PETIT BISCUIT - Sunset Lover https://youtu.be/wuCK-oiE3rM ZYAN, Sia - Dusk till Dawn | slowed https://youtu.be/7LLKAL6ERDA

Summary: (Y/n) has a bad day and her friends are suspicious

Disclaimer/s: Depressive episode, slight anxiety, big sad :(

Notes: I left out what it was that made the Reader upset so you can let it be whatever you want :)

———————————————————————

"(Y/n) you're fine, you don't even have your webcam on today, you'll be okay." Rae teased you softly, getting a couple chuckles from the few people that had joined the Among Us lobby a bit early.

She had overheard your quiet mentions of being nervous and having your webcam off, both due to the fact that you had a bit of a hectic day and didn't have time to make yourself presentable. It didn't bug you that she responded with a joking tone, she wasn't aware of the tear streaks that framed your cheeks and red, puffy eyes you just couldn't hide with the high quality camera you have. She didn't know, no one knew, how were you supposed to be mad about that?

"Ha ha, yeah... guess you're right." You plastered the most fake smile you've ever made to your face to at least make it sound like you were happy. Thankfully, it seemed to work as the conversation moved on without you.

Less fortunately, your fans were a little more perceptive, although you should have expected that considering that some of them watched you on a daily basis. Your chat was filled with near exclusively kind remarks, from a modest 'Are you alright?' to full on paragraphs that passed by a bit too fast for you to get through more than the first few words. You muted yourself in the discord chat so only your audience could hear you, reassuring them that you were fine, no matter how much your broken tone betrayed you. It didn't work as well as you wanted, but that wasn't their fault.

Soon enough the whole gang was together and ready for the game to start, they sounded excited. It was nice to hear that your bad mood hadn't leeched onto your friends, that was the last thing you needed right now.

A deep sigh came from your mouth as you saw the red lettering fade in and off of your screen, "Dammit..." You weren't ready for an imposter game, you were sort of hoping that you could go a whole stream without one actually. Even worse, Corpse was your partner, which meant you'd end up dragging him down with you.

The game began, the layout of the Skeld loading in and the colourful avatars of your friends scattering to do their assigned tasks. You did yourself a favour and didn't move right away, giving yourself a second to take a deep breath and at least attempt to put some effort into doing a good stream. Your fans deserved it, they were all so nice and had been so supportive, they didn't need to be worried about you.

Unfortunately, when you did move, your partner had unknowingly sabotaged the reactor the second before you did anything, making it look a lot like you sabotaged it yourself. It wouldn't have been a problem if Toast hadn't been passing by the second you did. You went to kill him, but since you were both right next to the emergency button, there wasn't anything you could do in time.

The pit of anxiety in your stomach only grew as the animation flashed across your screen, you didn't even know how you were going to defend yourself. As the voting screen came up you only felt worse, no one had even died yet, so you were going to be the first one out on the first game. Great.

"So (Y/n), did you just sabotage reactor?" Toast piped up the second he had the chance.

You were silent as everyone did their played up reactions for the camera, trying to use that time to think of something. It didn't work to say the least.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Your words didn't sound even slightly convincing, not to mention the tired tone of voice you couldn't seem to get rid of that did nothing for you.

Before Toast could get too far into his rebuttal, which didn't really matter after your lame defence, your partner piped up.

"Hey Toast, was anyone else near you guys?" His low tone said nothing of his intentions, you were jealous.

"No, it was just the two of us in cafeteria." He responded, not sure where Corpse was going with this.

"So, technically speaking, it could have been you and nobody would have seen it except for (Y/n)?"

The gasps that followed in response to the new idea were small, but promising nonetheless, even if they were more as a joke than an actual response. It was because of that fact that you were so surprised when the vote ended up being skipped, only two people actually voting for you, one of them being Toast.

You felt a twinge of relief, maybe you could still win this, maybe you could actually have a good night to make up for the terrible day you had.

...

It hadn't even been a minute when you accidentally killed Toast in front of Poki and Jack.

As the meeting started, you tried to say something but you just couldn't seem to get any words in by the time everyone had voted except for you.

"So (Y/n) first and then Corpse?"

You didn't even know what to say.

"C'mon (Y/n), just vote, it'll all be over soon."

What was there to say?

"(Y/n)?"

Why were you taking this so hard?

You quietly clicked on the checkmark to vote for yourself as fresh tears began to spill over your cheeks. You hadn't said anything during the meeting and, seeing as your avatar was now floating through space, you wouldn't be able to say anything now. Useless...

Your chat was going crazy now, flooded with concerns and kind affirmations directed towards you. Your gaze drifted over them mindlessly, not taking anything in, it just looked like a big white blur.

By the time you shook yourself from your dazed state, Corpse's avatar was just finishing it's trip across the screen, floating hopelessly through space as yours had mere minutes ago.

The defeat screen only hammered in how stupid your mistake was as it came and went, just as everything else had without any input from you. The conversation picked back up quickly, jokes and teases were exchanged, you couldn't even make out what they were saying until the attention was put on you.

"You okay (Y/n)? Not feeling too into it today?" Toast's remark was clearly a joke, just a little jab to get a chuckle like usual.

Unfortunately, you weren't feeling like usual tonight.

"No..."

It was almost pitiful how broken and sad that one word came out. Your voice had even cracked as you spoke, you figured you must have been just depressing to listen to. If you weren't downright embarrassing you probably seemed like a child for not keeping it together like the others did when they were upset.

Surprisingly enough though, that's not what happened.

"Wait really? Crap I'm sorry."

"Oh no, are you okay?"

"Do you wanna stop playing?"

It was stupid, but for the first time that day you felt okay crying. So you did.

"I'm sorry... thank you..." you mumbled, using your sleeves to wipe your tears, "I just had a really bad day, but I... I still wanna play with you guys I just..."

Damn it, what did you do to deserve friends that cared so much about you?

"I know what to do." Rae spoke up, her grin shining through in her tone, "Group hug!"

Her avatar ran over to yours, nestling herself beside you in a sort of makeshift hug. Everyone else followed suit shortly after, and soon enough you were in the middle of a little circle, fitting perfectly in the middle.

A small sob-like laugh broke free from your lips, "Damnit, you guys are the worst." You joked with a smile, chuckling at the childish but heartfelt display.

The night only got better from there, and even though you weren't at your best, everyone was even nicer than usual and it helped to turn that bad day into a pretty enjoyable night.

After about an hour you decided to stop your stream, deciding to cut it short for the sake of your mental health.

"Yeah I think I'm gonna get going too." Your farewells seemed to spark a response from someone else.

"You too Corpse?" Jack piped up, somewhat confused as he hadn't mentioned anything earlier about doing a shorter stream.

"Yeah, I got some stuff to do, don't worry I'll still be playing with you guys on Friday."

"Alright, well see ya both later!"

"G'night!"

"Have a good sleep!"

"Feel better soon (Y/n)!"

You sighed gently as you disconnected from the discord call and the Among Us server, leaving your audience with the usual 'Stream Starting Soon' screen that you didn't feel like changing.

"Well, that's about it for tonight." You spoke, taking a minute to read the chat silently before continuing, "Thank you guys for all the support, I know I didn't say much tonight but I read a lot of what you were saying, it's really appreciated."

A buzz came from your phone, you picked it up and smiled at what you saw.

Corpse

[ hey, wanna talk? ]

You said your goodbyes to your chat and shut off the stream, grabbing your phone and heading straight to your room. You hadn't even made it to your door by the time you were dialling your friend's number. Flopping down onto your bed, you put your phone on speakerphone and felt a warmth fill your body as a familiar voice filled your room.

"Hey."

"Hey." You responded, turning to your phone even though neither of you could see each other.

You supposed today wasn't so bad after all.

#corpse #corpse husband #corpse huband x reader #corpse x reader #x reader #self insert #angst #fluff #my writing #me when writing anything: :( but also :)#oneshot

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prince-toffee · 3 years

Text

Villains

Part One

Hordak’s heavy steps echoed across the hallways as he marched alongside four rows of his personal guards, his most skilled and deadliest warriors, two rows on his left and two on his right. In their hands they firmly gripped stun-batons and stun-staffs. Hordak himself had no weapon except for his own bare hands, enhanced by his exo-skeleton armour, plating coating his chest, cables coiled around his thin weak arms, like a secondary thick layer of muscles, and metal boots enhancing his speed. The symbol of the red wings of the vampire were painted onto every armour of every soldier of the Horde.

The reason why Hordak had gathered his guard and set off to the Black Garnet Chamber was because of an act of treachery, and betrayal. Shadow Weaver had taken up the sword against him, so to speak. The clone lord had employed the sorceress for her professional and prideful knowledge of magic arts and his own lack of such knowledge. He was far more of a man of science, he knew things about space and machinery no one else on Etheria did. Well maybe one person did, this Entrapta seemed to be more of Hordak’s speed. He did not know much about the Princess of Dryl, but she seemed bright, she was a rare blessing among the people of the planet he was trapped on. She was a scientist, a true scientist, very little of those on Etheria. Her language he could understand. She was the only person that could hold a proper conversation with him, that was something he quite enjoyed, even though they had only spoken once or twice.

She was one of the hostages Shadow Weaver was holding in the chamber room. The other hostages frozen in place by her dark magic included both Force-Captain Scorpia, recently assigned to that division for her professional expertise to help increase efficiency, and Force-Captain Catra to whom the ex-Scorpion-Princess was assigned to as Catra seemed easily distracted, unfocused, and strangely obsessed with her archenemy. Hordak remembered appointing the Magicat the new Force-Captain, it was in their first interaction. He remembered Shadow Weaver dragged her ward into his throne room hopeing to embarrass and berate and insult her, Hordak didn’t care about such pettiness. From what he understood they were one Force-Captain down, as one of Weaver’s wards had deserted the Horde. So he simply appointed the second best fitting candidate, the records and grades claimed that even though Catra was the most absent and late person on the team, when she decided to show up she showed she was skilled in combat, strategy-crafting, leading, and thinking outside the box. She seemed right for the pick.

Hordak always had a sneaking suspicion that there would come a day when Shadow Weaver would try to betray him, but he had hoped that their promise of mutual destruction would have prevented the either from crossing the line. Weaver needed to leech off of other sources to survive, she usually resorted to people in her earlier days before bowing in front of the Horde and Hordak, afterwards she only needed the Garnet. Hordak had given Entrapta the go-ahead to study and use the Garnet in any way she wished as her experiments seemed to increase the overall efficiency of the Horde. Shadow Weaver didn’t like that. She choose to fight back.

Hordak and his soldiers reached the door leading to the Garnet Chamber. The young general reached out with his claw hand, his greyish-blue talon pressed a green button, waiting for the button to instruct the metallic door to slide up. Before the door itself could open up the metal slab burst open and peeled back like a banana, a black and crimson shadow claw grabbed him. It’s own talons tightened around him forcing out a scream from him. And he was yanked inward into the chamber, he fell onto the cold floor, or at least it should have been cold, but it was getting hotter, no doubt due to the electrical magic expelled by the dark sorceress.

He growled. Before he could get up onto his own two feet the darkness latched onto him, flinging him up into the ceiling, forcing him to crash against various wiring and cables that dislodged and fell down with him. He began to breath heavily as pain shot throw his body.

The troops moved forward to engage, but were frozen by Weaver’s magic almost immediately, like the two Force-Captains and Princess on the side, all simply looked on in fear as the Mysticore witch overpowered the Lord of the Horde. Tendrils of magic wrapping around his frame, tightening and crushing both him and his suit. He got a few good hits off on the woman, one punch braking a shadow construct, the second punch making contact with the witch and the impact threw her across the room. He knocked the wind out of her, that slowed her down as she tried to catch her breath. Bent over, eyes down, hands on her knees, she didn’t see another fist flying in her direction. The hit shattered her mask, pieces of the mask, spit and a single red droplet flew into the opposite direction of the punch. Luckily all the teeth were intact. That got her real angry.

The dark woman drew back her arm, a small black sphere appeared a few centimetres above her palm, red veins of electricity crackled around her hand and the sphere grew to the size of a bowling ball in seconds. And from it shot out a beam of black that hit Hordak directly in his chest. The pain and sensation it inflicted apon Hordak was indescribable, cold like the vacuum of space, while simultaneously burning like being in a whirlwind of a wildfire. He was pushed up against a wall and the dark beam kept him in place, the black mass spread across his body like a thick dense clay. The cold and the burning spread with it. His deep screams and yells increased in volume. Pain like a thousand knives stabbing his nerves.

“We had a deal! You stay out of my way and I stay out of yours! Simple! The Garnet is mine! No one else will touch it!” The black and red mass coiled and spiked, Hordak screamed so much he ran out of breath. “Watch! All of you!” Shadow Weaver turned to the guard troopers and the trio. “Watch as your leader and ‘Lord’ is defenceless, the conqueror conquered!” The clone general attempted to struggle against her hold, but it was all for nothing. The witch noticed the movement and had enough of this, she clamped her fist closed, tightening around the sphere, stabbing her fingers into it, and then flicked them out from the sphere. Like manipulating a voodoo doll, the black mass tore Hordak’s armour apart like plastic. “You were told to fear the Hordak, made believe that he was powerful, terrifying, a demon among men! And yet, all a lie! Look at him, your frail, weak, and sick ‘Lord’! This is the liar and fraud under whom you kneeled! Reject, banish this pretender! And pledge your loyalty to me!... or else.” She turned to Hordak for the finale time, and she blasted him out of the room through the wall, outside.

The soldiers were freed, and they quickly kneeled to the Shadow Weaver, very obviously out of fear. Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta did so as well. And Hordak, several metres outside and below the point from which he was launched. His last moments of consciousness were that of the hole he was pushed through, a crowd gathering around him and a faint chant, “All Hail The Shadow Weaver.” And then the darkness took over.

“And how’d you make it out of The Fright Zone? All the way here? To BrightMoon?”

“That, I entirely do not know. I remember passing in and out of consciousness I... they must’ve dragged me out of my fortress and threw me out into the desert, to let the elements claim me. There one of your scouting groups found me, correct?” The trapped clone looked past the She-Ra at the BrightMoon’s angel Queen. Angella confirmed the latter half of the story, past that she had no idea. The moment the lilac skinned, feather winged, immortal Queen was given the report that some of her woman somehow managed to capture her nemesis and the leader of the Evil Horde, that moment ranked as one of the strangest in her life. She practically leaped off her golden throne and sprinted through the halls to the front of the castle. And true enough, there he was, bleeding and chained.

Hordak was thrown into the castle prison, or so they called it, but where the clone expected cold metal bars, hard floor, greys and other dull colours, and small claustrophobic spaces. Instead he was greeted with bright pinks and purples, soft pillows and blankets and armchair. He was confused. The only aspect of the location that suggested its own true function and purpose was the thin transparent glass-like, curtain, veil-like force field, a pretty rainbow effect coated the structure.

He did not know what to think of the ‘cell’. It was... nice. Even though the Queen acted like it wasn’t. He was pretty sure that the room was some sort of guest room, it looked too nice for a basement, but that was BrightMoon, they probably have storage rooms larger and grander than most rooms in The Fright Zone. “It is a prison!” The angel Queen argued. After the Queen’s long elaborate speech about how Hordak was a monster and the Horde was an evil unparalleled by anything in BrightMoon’s history, and how he should have been ashamed of his actions and that if she was like him she would’ve killed him where he stood, after all that the She-Ra entered.

“It’s just Adora.”

“Very well, She-Ra Adora.”

“Ugh.”

She massaged her templates, her very brief irritation was cut even shorter by a sharp ‘HA’ that escaped from the snickering Glimmer. “The Mighty Evil Lord Hordak, King of Horrors, the Baron of Bedlam, and the Master of Mayhem? Really? I’m kinda disappointed. You were our greatest enemy? Hahaha, can you even do one push-up? Let me guess Weaver uses your arms to pick broccoli out of her teeth? HA!” Hordak’s face remained blank, unphased, and unamused.

None of them noticed his pupils shifted as they were covered by crimson red lens, and they shifted to Adora. Curiously the She-Ra didn’t engage or enjoy the roast, even the stoic Queen and the Head-Sorceress both held cheeky smiles, but not this Adora. Her eyes remained fixed on him.

The difference between Adora and everyone else in that room was the fact that she was from the Horde. Adora had been with the Alliance for almost a year, it was only a few months ago she was still living in The Fright Zone, studying war under the symbol of the Horde. For most of her life she perceived Hordak as their leader, as a strong, righteous hero, a saint who sought to quell chaos in the world and install control, order, and peace. Adora and all the other cadets all their lives looked up to Hordak. To look down on him now didn’t come to her naturally. All her life she wanted to impress him and now she was told to insult him.

“Could you leave us?” Adora’s genuine and semi-serious question shocked everyone in the room. Glimmer was the first to argue, and was the most vocal about it. The Princess of BrightMoon found the request outrageous. Even Angella attempted to oppose her choice, placed a hand on her shoulder, told her Hordak was a manipulator and a conqueror, he could try to trick her. When she realised there was no dissuading the young woman she let off. She ended with telling the young She-Ra to be careful. Angella motioned for Casta and Glimmer to move out of the room.

Glimmer was the last individual to leave, she turned around and she stuck her tongue out, “You better watch yourself toothpick-arms! If you touch a single hair on her hair-!”

“I got this Glim! Thanks!” Adora interjected, giving her a thumbs up. Glimmer squinted and walked backwards out of the room. And so Adora and Hordak were the only ones left. A tense silence filled the room. Neither really knowing what to say. Hordak didn’t know why he suddenly felt so uncomfortable, perhaps it was the look the girl gave him. She looked... disapproving, or disappointed. “The war could be over soon. At least that’s what all the others think, but if what you say is true, when I think the end of the war is further away than ever... You know, I don’t know if you know, but I was her ward, I think I was her pet, her favourite. It was hard to tell with her twisted version of ‘love’ if you could call it that. She certainly put everyone else down around me.”

“She certainly felt, in her mind, that you were ‘special’ in some way. She said so when I returned to The Fright Zone with you, and you two met for the fist time. Therefore I can definitely see that sort of favouritism forming.”

“...Wait... when ‘you’ first brought me back to The Fright Zone? D- Do you know where I come from?!” That exclamation gave Hordak pause. He wasn’t sure how to approach the subject, he was trained in the art of war, to combat opponents on battlefields of any kind, he could withstand the void of space, and his mind altered to form battle strategies and tactics in milliseconds, of course all of those enhancements have been long lost because of his defect. But this, he was not prepared for. He adjusted his position on the soft fluffy armchair, no matter how he moved he felt his backside sink into it. He awkwardly cleared his voice, that unintentionally brought Adora’s focus back onto him.

“I... well... yes... I” Hordak was not a liar. In fact Hordak himself had no concept of lying, he didn’t know how to, the clone was loyalty personified. It was figuratively and literally beaten into him. So he had to be careful about what he revealed, he may have been truthful, but he wasn’t stupid, arguably. He didn’t want to show all his cards. So he choose to keep his portal secret, same with his origin. So as he replied he choose to leave some key information out, “I was the one who found you, my personal computer picked up an anomaly, a strange, powerful energy surge.” Hordak noticed Adora’s eyes widened, her mouth was gradually opening wider and wider, as she began to lean forward in captivation. “And, uhm, [clears throat] at the time I was not sure what I found, I did not know what you were. But in the middle of a field of quadrant PT5-5-03 in the west region of The Elder Forest, there I found a crying infant and that was you. And so I brought you back with me to The Fright Zone. I had no use for you, and the noises you were making were causing my anxiety levels to rise so I handed you to Shadow Weaver, my Minister of Magicks.”

Adora’s face betrayed the fact that she was disappointed, and the story was quite anti-climatic sooner than her raised volume did. “That’s it?! Not that I wanted you to, but I was expecting you to have stolen me from like a cradle or something. I kinda hoped you’d know where I came from.”

“I do not... I... am sorry?” That was true. He did not. Hordak’s confusion was apparent, he didn’t know how to react to the hero’s theory. And so they stood and sat there for a moment longer, neither saying anything. In that quiet moment Adora realised that the bat lord wasn’t... scary. I mean it was ‘Hordak’, so the name itself was scarier than the actual man, as all her life the name was taught to the cadets as a monstrous horror entity, ‘Hordak’ was a King who sat on top a throne of skulls and he ate hearts and everything died around his step, he had two heads, and he breathed fire. That was ‘Hordak’.

But the man that sat uncomfortably in front of her was no such thing, he wasn’t ‘Hordak’, not ‘The Hordak’ she was told to believe in, all those cadet scary stories they all told each other all kind of seemed non-sensical now, she had to admit. The man she was looking at was thin, slim, in a not healthy way. He looked like a skeleton, like a weak breeze could push him over. He himself looked weak and fragile, sickly even. Now she was getting worried just scanning over him, she thought maybe she should’ve offered him like some mint tea or warm towels or... or something.

“You’re nothing like what we expected.”

Hordak raised his brow ridge, “How do you mean?” He didn’t know why he asked, he shouldn’t have asked.

“I- no offense, but, uh, I thought you’d be a bit scarier, you know ‘a horror of biblical proportions’ something like that?”

“Sorry to disappoint.” He replied awkwardly.

“Yeah, no, no, it’s cool.” She scratched the back of her neck, “Soooo uh... oh did you say you didn’t know ‘what’ I was? I mean I haven’t ever seen your species around, in The Fright Zone or any kingdom I’ve been to while with the Alliance. Do your species n- eh, how do I not make this sound weird, not have babies? Do you guys grow out of cabbages or are delivered by storks, hehehe?” Her attempt at humour flopped as she noticed he didn’t seem to get it.

His eyes darted around the room as if he was thinking of how to articulate something, ”No we... people like me... we are not children, we are in this state all our lives, from gaining consciousness to death.”

“So where do you come from?”

“...That is enough. Leave me.” That was a shame, Adora thought they were getting somewhere, but the cold and the lack of emotion returned. He dropped the eye contact, he stared down at the floor, he turned into a statue, no slight motion betraying the fact he was a real person. Adora tried to start up the conversation again few times, to no avail. Hordak revealed too much already. So Adora left the room.

#hordak #shadow weaver #entrapta #adora #part two coming soon

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otomes-and-tears · 3 years

Text

♦ Scholar gives in to the urge to brush Tegan's hair with their fingers ♦

► tags/warnings: -

► words: 492

► A/N: Can you guys tell that I’m a Tegan simp?

► Masterlist

It was no secret that Scholar adored Tegan.

He was a hot mess in the best sense of the word and scholar couldn’t help but love him for it. He was kind, caring and his awkwardness was endearing. But even with all his qualities, there was something about him that annoyed them deeply.

His hair.

Not that was anything particularly wrong with it. The striking red colour that he and his sister shared was lovely and his curls seemed soft and shiny. Even though his hair was always a bit messy, there was some charm in its chaotic appearance. No, what annoyed them was how lately there was always hair blocking out his eyes, and how he never seemed to bother with getting the strands out of the way.

It was eating them away from the inside.

It was something so small, they couldn’t understand why it made them so irrevocably angry.

It was only a matter of time before they snapped.

And it happened on a warm afternoon.

They were both sitting in the outdoor cafeteria, the only two people remaining from their assigned group.

Scholar had just finished their portion of the assignment and kept themselves busy by scrolling mindlessly through their social media. It was not like they had anything better to do anyway and keeping Tegan company was something they were always happy to do.

Tegan was mostly quiet too, the sounds of his typing filling the silence between them. It was nice. The day was warm and pleasant, they were alone with him and not terribly stressed for once.

Scholar would’ve considered it to be a perfect day except...

He had hair blocking his eyes again.

“Your hair.”

Scholar started, putting their phone down and half laying on top of the table, watching him attentively.

“What about it?”

He paused his typing momentarily, looking up at Scholar with slight worry in his eyes.

“It’s getting a bit long.”

“Yeah. I guess...”

He eyed them suspiciously for a second before resuming his typing, albeit slower than before.

Scholar knew they had to do something about it— about that damned fringe that kept blocking out his eyes.

Staring at it clearly hadn’t willed it to move and drawing attention to it hadn’t done much of anything, so they had to resort to drastic measures.

It wasn’t about Scholar wanting an excuse to touch his hair.

Nope.

No way it was that.

They leaned towards him, gently brushing his hair out of his eyes. Their fingertips touching his forehead for just a second too long before they pulled away with a smile.

“There you go!”

Tegan watched them, his eyes wide in surprise and his face turning a lovely shade of red, as it usually did when Scholar attempted to flirt with him.

Or gave him compliments.

Or touched him.

Or did anything, really.

It was one of the little things that made their heart swell with love for him.

#bee's writing #bee writing fluff #tegan novak #sweet elite #se tegan #sweet elite fanfiction #tegan sweet elite

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elendiliel · 2 years

Text

Aliit Ori’shya Tal’din

This is partly a smallish follow-up to my fic mini-series Rescue Mission, Old Friends, New Foes and Best Laid Plans, and partly a controlled rant about some clone-related topics. I hope it makes a modicum of sense even on its own.

---

Wolffe just happens to be in the hangar when the shuttle comes in to land. Everyone in the Rebellion knows Phantom II, companion shuttle to the Ghost, although she looks a bit odd with her artwork covered. Not as odd at first sight, perhaps, as the four people who stroll down the landing ramp, arm in arm, chatting and laughing. Three men in Imperial armour and a woman in a matching lieutenant’s uniform – just a good copy, Wolffe knows. A newcomer to the Alliance might have raised the alarm, but nobody does. Because everyone knows, or knows of, at least three of the little group, and can guess at the identity of the fourth. Their faces are the main giveaway. The men all share one face, not just with one another but with Wolffe himself. And while the woman’s face is carefully made up, her hair dyed brilliant white (and now cascading down her back and trying its best to tie her arms directly to her head), she’s removed the coloured lenses that previously hid her distinctive golden-brown eyes, and the cap that concealed her more distinctive ears. Most tellingly of all, a lightsabre hangs from her belt, a long cylinder of durasteel and copper, its carbon fibre and silicone grip worn down by decades of use. Three clones and a Jedi. Four-fifths of Lightning Squadron, to be exact.

Even without the visual cues, Wolffe would have known that these four aren’t Imps. No officer of the Empire laughs so readily and with such pure joy in her heart. No buckethead speaks with the accent of Tipoca City’s human children, not any longer. If he half-closed his eyes, Wolffe could imagine that the last twenty years haven’t happened. Without the helmets, the stormtrooper gear his brothers still wear bears a striking resemblance to unpainted clone armour – though that was pretty rare by the end of the war, except among the shiniest of shinies. Painting your armour, or finding someone to help you with it if that wasn’t where your gifts lay, was one of the first things you did when you were assigned to a unit, along with picking a name if you hadn’t done so already. And the woman still moves with the mixture of grace and controlled strength characteristic of her Order, when she can get away with it. The glide and snap of Mando’a, the post-victory exhilaration practically radiating off the returning soldiers – Wolffe might as well be watching a strike team coming back from a mission in the Clone Wars, Seppies beaten, clankers no longer clanking, lives, most importantly, saved.

That last part, at least, is almost certainly true. One life, in any case. One of the three brothers now heading for the hangar exit is Sergeant Torrent, Generation One clone, veteran of Geonosis (both battles), ex-212th Attack Battalion – and double agent within the Imperial army ever since Order 66. Twenty years, Wolffe marvels. Twenty years with no-one realising where his true allegiances lay, or catching him stealing and sending intel, or noticing that he wasn’t ageing as fast as other clones (the reason for that, medical droid AZI-345211896246498721347 or AZI-3 for short, is now bobbing behind his organic friends). Twenty years separated from his closest brothers and the woman he loves (or so Wolffe guesses, based on their body language and hints dropped by Rex and Cody). Twenty years living with the knowledge that he had hurt that same woman, and would have killed her had his inhibitor chip still been intact.

Wolffe knows, intellectually, that the chips are the reason he initially believed that the Jedi were traitors. It makes sense. Why else would he have thought such a thing of even his buir? But without Rex’s visceral, bone-deep knowledge that those so-called safeguards were anything but (one of his best friends died in his arms trying to warn him), or the Bad Batch’s alleged defects, or even the strangely positive side-effects of Gregor’s multiple knocks to the head, it’s still hard for him to accept that he was, at any point, not in full control of himself. At one level, he still thinks he’s always been in control. When you’re legally property, even the illusion of being your own master is valuable. The General would have understood.

So does this general. As Helli Abbasa, Jedi Knight and head of Lightning Squadron, nears his position, he throws her a textbook salute, which she returns with careless flamboyance. The exchange is a ritual between them now, part genuine mark of mutual respect, part running joke. When he first arrived at the old Rebellion base after Lothal (well, where else was he going to go? Gregor had marched far away, Rex would never abandon the fight again and he didn’t want to return to Seelos alone), he’d greeted her with her old rank, and she’d made it clear that that was no longer appropriate – or welcome. She tolerates it from him, Rex and her teammates Fives and Spark (though they usually use her old squad nickname, Hel), but anyone else trying to treat her like a soldier usually ends up skewered by the Abbasa Glare, which most definitely deserves the capital letter. They don’t repeat the offence. Wolffe, though, still uses the title by which he first knew her, or more accurately knew of her, a vague feminine shape in blue, white and red-brown darting about the place, always on some errand or other, the subject of plenty of stories almost too wild to be true. Lightning Squadron never ran with the Wolfpack. But she knew of him as well, enough to greet him warmly and with sympathy over his brother’s death when they first met properly. They play dejarik together (he always wins; she can’t plan more than two moves ahead for the life of her), and chat about times past and times yet to come, when they’re both on base long enough. She was the one to introduce him to his dalyc vod Omega, a second, secret (allegedly) unaltered Fett clone now with the Rebellion, who really can give her ori’vod a run for his credits at the holochess table. Not that he minds a bit.

“Su cuy’gar, General Abbasa,” he says to the jetii commander now. The Mando’a greeting – literally, “you’re still alive” – is curiously appropriate when given to a returning warrior. Or perhaps not, considering Mandalore’s history.

“Greetings, Commander Wolffe.” Abbasa’s always blended formal words with rather less formal expressions and tones of voice. She’s happy to be back and to see her friends again, and still buzzing from a clearly successful rescue operation. Torrent’s luck finally ran out a short while ago, and his unofficial unit provided a much-needed extraction. Apparently the confrontation between Abbasa and Senator Mothma over the mission itself and her participation in it was quite something. But she won, and has obviously pulled it off. “Captain Rex.” She bows to both officers; Wolffe hadn’t even realised his brother had arrived, but the hangar is pretty noisy.

“Any trouble?”, Rex asks offhandedly.

“Just a little. Vader happened to be there.” Abbasa hesitates before naming the Sith. There’s something she wants to say, a secret she wants to tell, but she decides against doing so. Wolffe doesn’t press her. It’s not fair on her and won’t end well for him. “I held him back long enough for the others to get clear and come back for me. He recognised me, but,” she smiles up at Torrent, “that’s less of a problem now.” Torrent reported her execution at his hands the day Order 66 was declared. Proof of her survival would have been a death sentence for him while he was in the army, but not any more.

“Good to have you back, Torrent.” Rex switches his attention to his brother, a protégé of his best friend Cody and a former member of his legion. Wolffe doesn’t know Torrent, doesn’t know his set of the little tells that clones use to distinguish one another; had he not known the details of Lightning Squadron’s mission, he’d have thought he was looking at one of the last generation of clones commissioned before the Empire broke ties with Kamino. Torrent only seems about forty, and Rex and Wolffe sixty-odd, even though they’re all Generation Ones. Whatever AZI-3 came up with to help him stay in the army seems to have worked a treat.

“Good to be back, sir,” the brother in question responds. He doesn’t have time to say more before someone calls his squad over for debriefing. Wolffe watches them go, AZI-3 and a Rodian woman – Ganodi, one of Abbasa’s cadets (sorry, padawans) and the mission pilot – trailing behind, unable to shake the feeling of being displaced in time.

“Nice to see the family back together,” Rex comments. He’s always been a bit more grounded, even when his plans have seemed pretty wild, but Wolffe thinks he might be struggling with the same feelings.

“Yes, it is,” Wolffe replies. Because that’s what that team is, despite all differences of rank, calling, even species. A family. Aliit ori’shya tal’din indeed.

---

Mando’a glossary:

Aliit ori’shya tal’din: family is more than blood.

Buir: father (or mother, as appropriate).

Dalyc vod: hopefully an acceptable way of translating “sister” without relying on context. Vod can refer to a sibling of either gender; dalyc is “female”.

Ori’vod: big brother (although Omega may technically be older than Wolffe; I try not to think about it too much).

Jetii: Jedi (singular).

Canon may eventually declare whether or not Omega does join the Rebellion, but I think it’s a fairly safe bet that she would, or at least be associated with it.

#star wars #the clone wars #star wars rebels #wolffe #commander wolffe #original jedi character #jedi oc #rex #captain rex #original clone characters #clone trooper oc #fanfic

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captaindodson · 3 years

Text

7AM confessions (t.h oneshot)

Synopsis: You just finished working a graveyard shift at your summer job. Just as you’re about to get into your car to leave to sleep the weekend away, a familiar face appears to confront you on what happened.

Paring: Tom Holland x Gender Neutral!Reader

Word Count: 2.4k+

Warnings: Angsty (?), Swearings??

Once your apple watch displayed 7 AM you knew the long week you had was finally over. The assembly line filled with car parts ready for inspection remain still and untouched as everyone switches off with the next group of shift workers who are already coming onto the floor. Luckly, its Friday, so you get to sleep the weekend away and reset your sleep schedule for your last week of shifts before the fall semester starts. You tidy up your small station and when you think you’ve done enough you turn around to leave and then you see your co-worker/work friend Raj approaching. You both wear matching white hard hats, blue gloves, white jackets, dark blue work pants, and brown steal toed boots.

“Hey, how was this morning,” Raj stops a few feet away and raises his hand to fist bump and you happily reciprocate before sliding your hands into your jacket pockets.

“It wasn’t a bad night, Lauren didn’t come in tonight cause she was sick with a stomach bug. Oh I did finally registered for my university courses during my break, and I got so lucky with my extra circulars.The moment I went to register there was only one spot left for the ones I wanted.”

Raj just nods and glances around the work station, inspecting to see you cleaned it to his standard. You notice his wandering eyes but you aren’t bothered by it. You’ve been in that position where you have to work a long eight hours on your feet and the person before you at your assigned station leaves it a mess and you’re stuck cleaning it for the first hour of your shift. So after he finishes inspecting he meets your eyes and nods in approval.

“Oh shit really? I should probably do that sooner rather than later. I’ve been going to university for three years and I almost always forget every time to register on time,” He replies.

“Don’t you have your final research seminar and reading seminar this year? I thought certain classes had a small capacity?”

“Oh. Well guess what I’m doing during my lunch break,”

You lightly laugh at him as the sound of a warning buzzer echoing through the factory floor goes off. You look around and see that most, if not all of your night shift people are already off the floor and you take this as your cue to leave.

“Anyway, talk to you later Raj,” he gives you small smile in response and steps around you to get started. You make your way off the floor and to your designated locker, providing some of the people from dayshift a warm smile as you walk past them.

You walk through a pair of white double doors which leads into a a bright baby blue hallway which eventually guides you to where the designated bathrooms are with the lockers. When you get to the end of the hall you turn left and head into the female washroom where the you’re met with an empty room. Usually, when everyone’s shift ends they’re rushing to get out (and you’re no exception). You would normally find yourself squeezing by people and dodging elbows trying to get to your locker but today is different. Staying behind for an extra few minutes to talk actually lets you take your time for once. By taking your time it also means the parking lot won’t be backed up as usual and you can drive home without any major delay to sleep your weekend away. That’s the only thing you have to look foreward to, your bed because there is no one at home, no roomates, no pets, no boyfriends, no nothing. The place you were at two months ago was totally different from where you are now. You lived abroad in London with your then boyfriend for six months until you broke it off because you were lost.

You had to get out because your identity slowly became tightly intertwined with the person you were with. Everything revolved around them and their job and you were going no where in life. Your dreams were pushed to the back of your mind as you stayed in fancy hotel suites, alone waiting for your ex-boyfriend to come back from an exhausted day on set to only desperately try to keep his eyes open when you two watched a movie or went out for a night on the town.

He really did try his best to make your time with him exciting even if he was burn out from working all day. He made small dates in your hotel room feel magical. He had your hotel room decorated in fairy lights and planned a romantic dinner looking over the city you two stayed in. He made love to you in the early hours of the morning to the organy rays of the morning sun. Or another time, when he wasn’t allowed to leave the hotel at all, he took you to the hotel roof to slow dance under the stars to music playing from that headphones you two shared. You’d pay a million dollars to experience these small moments over and over again.

Over a weekend back in London by yourself while Tom had to catch a flight last minute to do film re-shoots in LA, you decided to have a self-care night. After lighting some candles, ordering take-out, dimming the lights, and scrolling through Netflix to finally find a good-feel show, you finally sit comfortably on the couch and relax. You found a generic rom-com from the 2000’s that looked mildly interesting and even if the plot wasn’t any good you could still get a good laugh about it.

As the movie progresses and the main character struggles to choose between a boy and her dream job you find your mind slowly loosing focus with what is happening on the screen and reflecting it back into your own life. After a few seconds pondering you realize something, had no idea what you wanted to do. You were in your early twenties, you were doing school part-time online with a program you liked but you spent most of your time with Tom. Traveling to country to country to join him while he filmed, staying in hotel rooms waiting for him, sometime visiting set when you were allowed too, it was truly an exciting and calming lifestyle.

Even though you believed you finally found the guy that you could spend the rest of your life with, a second family you got along with, a place you could see yourself settling down in, you didn’t have anything for yourself. When you thought you of trying to return to in-class schooling with a larger course load and renting a place for the semester and trying to sustain a long-distant relationship with someone in the limelight, it just stressed you out. You knew it wouldn’t be easy and just seeing how deflated Tom looked when he returned to you after working, you knew the relationship would push him to his limits.

Even after initiate moments you realized how tired and over worked he was. The look in his eyes when he had to leave for work the next morning couldn’t go unnoticed. You felt your heart squeezing itself and your breathing became heavier. You would never want to cause Tom any pain on your behalf, and you can’t continue to drag your feet with your education because you felt like you . So, you did what you did best, shut someone out and leave. You made up lie about how this relationship wasn’t working on your end, broke it off and flew back to the town where you had been attending school online. Scrambling enough money together to buy a used car and a small studio apartment and apply to as many jobs as you could. You got lucky, that when you were applying that a car factory needed more summer students and they were paying their workers a decent living wage and you just jumped on it. The job helped you get settled but it also helped ignore the small amount of regret you felt. It is too late to turn around now and now you must live with your choices.

You shake yourself out of a daze you didn’t realize clouded your mind, and it seems your feet have carried you to the front of your small grey locker. It looks like what all typical high school lockers look except half the size. You raise your hand to the lock to do one full twist to the right, one full twist to the left, and half a twist to the right again and my the lock pops off with a light pull.

You reach in to collect your phone, black spring jacket, dark blue water bottle, then you reach into your jacket pocket to fish out your car keys. You hum in satisfaction when you feel the cool metal of your keys in your pocket. You drape your jacket over your arm as you shut the locker quietly and slide the lock over the hook and push it shut. You proceed to continue to follow the baby blue hallways until you’ve reached the double glass doors of the exit. You push open the glass door and is met with a cool morning breeze also paired with a peach colored sky.

You make your way across the concrete of the parking lot, following the line of different coloured cars parked next to each other, eyes wandering at the different licence plates, soaking up the calmness of the morning sun until you stop dead in your tracks. You look up to see someone leaning on the hood of your car. This person is dressed in some blue jeans, a black hoodie, dark red hat, and it seems they’re just casually looking down and scrolling through their phone unaware of your presence a couple feet away. You think for a minute before speaking, should you just walk back inside and get someone to confront this guy or should you just do it yourself? I mean it is your car in a private parking lot, someone will hear you scream right? After a few seconds go by you just say fuck as the longer you stand here the less time you get to spend sleeping.

“Ah hem, excuse me you’re leaning on my car. Can you please get off,”

You keep your distance and tightly grip your waterbottle. Just so you have a head start if you need run back into the factory or even defend yourself. Their fingers stop scrolling, but their gaze is still facing downwards, hood and hat hiding their features.

“Uh hello, you need to get out of this parking lot its a private. Ill call security if you don’t move, ”

You shallow nervously as the figure stays still, unresponsive. When it seems like this figure is just going to continue to ignore you they stand up abruptly causing you to jump.

“Hi Y/N,’ An english accent comes out from the hood and your expression changes from fear to dread in seconds. Heart still pumping fast in your chest and you feel yourself getting even more nervous.

“What are you doing here, Tom”, You cross your arms the best you can and start staring at your feet to avoid eye contact.

“Can’t I come visit my girlfriend after she finishes work,” Tom questions as his foots steps get louder as they get closer.

“I am not your girlfriend remember. Besides the point, how do you even know where to find me. I haven’t talked to you in two months.”

‘You left without a much of explanation. You said when I came home from LA that this was over because you couldn’t handle this relationship, it stressed you out to much. I thought everything was going good mutually good in all aspects of the relationship, but I guess I was wrong. After months of trying to unravel what I could have possible done wrong, I just had to find you and get the truth of why you left,”

He ignores your question as he bends his knees to try and get a look at your face. Your mind almost speeds up, unable to come up with a good enough half-assed response, you mouth blurts out the truth without much thought.

“I love that you’re able to pursue your dreams, and god Tom I wouldn’t want you to do anything to compromise that. But I want to be able to pursue my dreams too Tom. The only way I can do that is if I leave and doing a long-distant relationship hardly ever works out for anybody! I don’t want you wearing yourself out because of me and being long-distance was going to tear you apart,”

You sniffle away the tears building up in your eyes while focusing on the curves on the concrete.

“Darling, why didn’t you just talk to me? I would and do understand if you want to pursue something on your own. I would never want to settle for anything less. “

He reaches out a finger to find a place under your chin to lift your head gently so your eyes will meet. You glossy eyes meet his soft, gentle brown eyes and that alone makes you want to cry. You never meant to cause pain to reach those eyes, you just thought you were doing yourselves a favour.

“Baby, we could’ve done this together you know that. We would’ve never survived our first year together if we didn’t talk stuff out. Trying to make a relationship work with a person I’ve loved since our first date is worth the endless amount of stress life causes. Y/N, my darling, I would do anything to make you happy but also stay in my arms forever,”

His soft tone makes your knees weak and that is when the dam of tears breaks from your eyes and they flow down your cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I-I just thought I was doing the right thing for both of us. I was watching a movie and I started stressing my sell-out and just thinking for myself .I’m sorry I put you through this, I know I can’t turn back time, but please forgive me for causing you any pain because my love for you got me all fucked up, “ You say trying wipe away the salty tears dripping down your face.

“I’m not mad nor am I upset with you. I’m just glad I can have you back in my life again.”

Tom smiles even bright as he pulls lightly on the hand he has a hold of to drag your body over to his. He embraces you into his warmth and your body curls into him and all you can think is there is no place you’d rather be.

“Now, why don’t we go back to your place and catch up on some sleep huh? Then you can give me tour around your new place and make up for lost time,”

He hums into your hair as you pull back from his embrace to look up, wiping your eyes with your sleeve to look at Tom more clearly.

“Yeah, I’d like that”.

#tom holland imagine #tom holland angst #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagines #tom holland drabble #dodson writing #Tom Holland x gender neutral reader #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fanfiction

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nijah-wolff-xiv · 3 years

Text

Layers of a Wolff

one: outside layer

[Name:] "Nijah Wolff."

[Hair Style & colour:] "Kept short for work purposes and uh, black."

[Eye Color:] "Green."

[Height:] "Five fulms, eight ilms."

[Style:] "Anything that isn't baggy or can get caught on things. I'm not one for jewelry and accessories while working. Leather is typically a preferred choice with small bits of armor."

[Best Physical Feature:] "I've been told it's my charming smile and outward confidence."

two: inner layer

[Fears:] "Not sure, I guess I'll get back to you on that."

[Guilty Pleasure:] "I don't feel guilty for partaking in the pleasures in life. I do what I want and I take what I want -- within some measure of reason, of course."

[Biggest Pet Peeve:] "I have quite a few. Let's just narrow it down to people in general. People are my pet peeve. Stupidity probably being the biggest."

[Ambition for the Future:] "Several. I was to accomplish quite a few more assignments and well, see what else falls into my lap other than a pretty little blonde."

three: thoughts

[First Thought When Waking Up:] "Depends if I wake up alone. Solo? A shower and coffee then off to the company estate to see what assignments came through for that day. I enjoy getting the first pick, the key is to get there before everyone else."

[What You Think About the Most:] "Mostly guns, assignments and my plans to execute them all accordingly. While on assignments that have me away from home, I guess I think about... important people. Family, I suppose? Yeah, we'll call them that."

[What You Think About Before Bed:] "Dessert. I'm not fond of sweets but I make some exceptions."

[Your Best Quality Is:] "Dedicated, truthful, loyal -- I have quite a few, most which can double as a fault too I'm sure."

four: what’s better

[Single or Group Dates?] "Dates? No thank you."

[To be Loved or to be Respected?] "Once upon a time I'd say respect but I also don't give a shit who respects or doesn't respect me. Having love -- well I guess I'd choose that over respect so long as it is coming from the right person."

[Beauty or Brains?] "Pretty is great but I need some intelligence behind a face. I really can't deal with someone who acts braindead, no matter how great their lips are."

[Cats or Dogs?] "Red pandas. That's not up for debate."

five: do you…

[Lie?] "When necessary. Everyone lies at least once in their life and I've never presented myself to be a do-good angel."

[Believe in Yourself?] "Always. If I don't, who else will."

[Believe in Love?] "...Next question."

[Want Someone?] "You don't want what you already have, so...no."

six: have you ever…

[Been on Stage?] "No."

[Done Drugs?] "Yes."

[Changed Yourself to Fit In Somewhere?] "When a job calls for it, yes and frequently."

seven: favorite

[Favorite Color:] "Black, red and darker shades of brown if it's leather."

[Favorite Food:] "Stew and just about any sort of broiled meats."

[Favorite Game:] "Cards but Triple Triad is fine too."

eight: age

[When Your Next Birthday Will Be:] "Ah yes that dreaded question. 7th Sun of the 2nd Umbral Moon."

[How Old Will You Be?] "28."

[Age You Lost Your Virginity:] "Does being with a woman count? Er fuck, um I think I was nearly 18."

[Does Age Matter?] "Yes. There are boundaries."

nine: in a partner

[Best Personality:] "Adventurous, willing to try new things and dive right in. Can't be too self-inward and closed off or completely incapable of compromise."

[Best Eye Colour:] "Who knows, eyes are just eyes but in the past few months I've taken a liking to blue. Some varying shades of blue are growing on me."

[Best Hair Colour:] "Never had a preference and I've just about dealt with them all. Brunettes, redheads....blondes."

[Best Thing to do With a Partner:] She gave a wolfish grin and combed her fingers back through her bangs that hung over her eyes, completely avoiding the question.

ten: finish the sentence

[I Love…] "guns and shooting things."

[I Feel…] "like being with her forever."

[I Hide…] "my knives and guns in drawers like a fucking squirrel. Dawn calls them kitchen-guns"

[I Miss…] "The desert heat -- on some days. The way it cools off in the evenings and the smell of the firepit."

[I Wish…] "I had better role models. I'm just curious if I would have turned out to be a different person even though I like who I am."

Tagged By: @osric-slater-ffxiv

Tagging: @dawn-aethwyn - @kanekuran - @blissfulxiv - @reiyah-ffxiv - @shadows-of-fate - @vivah-valentini - @ricard-blythe-ffxiv - @charm-in-spades - @pirates-and-necromancers - @demetrius-dotharl - @elibraddock - @jorandalkitor - @jump-n-dive - And anyone else who wishes to hop in and do this too!

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blue-lothus · 3 years

Text

Breathe

Summary: It was a misunderstanding, really. But because of it, Akira found himself banished to work at the ship of the terrible captain Kamoshida. But before he could start serving his time, he met a merman, and somehow got both of them thrown in the brig, with a death sentence on their heads.

Or, how Akira saved a merman, got a best friend, fell in love a little bit, and went on an adventure.

Or how it’s @grapeflavoredorange ‘s birthday, and I wanted to write something nice for this amazing person, who wrote amazing things for my favorite pairing. I took the idea from one of our conversations, about how in the sims 4 a mermaid’s kiss gives you the ability to breathe underwater for a few hours.

It was an odd day, the atmosphere felt charged and unnatural. It was raining softly, but the grey clouds were dense, looming over his head. A young man with a mop of rebellious black hair sat at the bay, passively watching the horizon, and the sea.

The rain started to fall harder, and that was the only thing that made him move from his spot.

Akira wasn’t really sure how he even ended up there. The last weeks of his life felt like a bad dream, all disconnect feelings and sudden events that made no sense at all.

How did he end up convicted and then condemned to serve his time on a poacher’s ship?

A year on the sea, for a boy who should have just continued his family business and run a farm.

He sighed under the small shelter he found from the rain.

There was movement in the water, something bright and golden flashing quickly and then vanishing. Gone almost as soon as it appeared, a flash of colour in the white haze of the copious rain. It was pouring at this point, and it was impossible to tell what was that, from where he stood.

Akira had always been too curious for his own good.

He approached, silent as a cat, and leaned over the wooden plates of the pier. For his absolute shock, he found someone staring back at him.

It was beautiful. It looked like a he. His hair was golden and unnatural. But his eyes were a gentle brown, almost human, if his teeth weren’t so sharp. If his hair wasn’t so odd. There weren’t any humanoid creatures around these parts of the ocean, except for merfolk.

This one was surely pretty enough to be one of them. And then, the fact that he was still swimming in that weather was surely proof that he wasn’t afraid of drowning. It was just… a weird place to see one of them. They usually hid from humans, since they started being hunted.

“What were you doing so close to the ship- wait, sorry. You probably have no idea what I’m saying.” Akira shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It was a well known fact that merfolk didn’t speak human language.

The creature frowned, seemingly deeply offended.

“I’m not dumb. I can speak your dumb language.”

“I didn’t- I mean…” Akira blinked, startled. The creature sounded a bit strange, but he was fluent enough.

“You can stop the bullshit, ok? Kamoshida knows I can speak, and anyone from his crew knows it too.”

“I don’t even know this Kamoshida person. I’m not a poacher. I just got assigned here today.”

The aggression immediately left those brown eyes.

“Oh. I guess it makes sense then.” The blond looked around, swimming in place. “I was just passing by and saw his ship and I thought of throwing some rocks at this stupid thing so it might stall him a bit.”

Akira leaned closer, trying to hear the blond through the thunderous noise of the rain splattering hard around them.

Later, Akira would want to smack himself in the head for being so stupid. It should be so obvious what was going to happen. But they were both distracted, and the rain was too loud to allow them to hear fickle things like footsteps. Akira just noticed when something blocked the partial daylight, a shadow just behind him.

“Who do we have here?”

It was a man’s voice, but Akira didn’t recognize it. The blond, however, seemed to do. His brown eyes got wide, and he immediately yelled:

“It’s Kamoshida, run!”

Akira did turn to run away, but he was a bit too late for that, and the blunt handle of a saber came down hard on his head.

He was too dizzy to see how the merman stopped a second too long when it heard him crying out.

He did hear a pained scream not long after, and then something heavy being brought on board of the ship, still trashing.

“This damned monster, now I finally got him.” Akira heard, and he felt his chest tight with worry. Of course. The captain hunted merfolk. He noticed the hat, and the nicer clothes. Kamoshida was the name of the captain of the ship he had been assigned to.

Kamoshida’s eyes turned to him. “And of course this scum here would turn out to be a mutineer. I knew he was bad news, when my friend asked me for him to join this crew.” And Akira was fairly certain Kamoshida wasn’t ever going to give him a chance.

“I was invited to an important event at the next port so I’ll wait to hand you over to the authorities in the next town.” Kamoshida went on, and Akira’s head was pounding already, and he wished he wasn’t so dizzy otherwise he’d have decked the captain’s stupid face just to get him to shut up.

“And you… I might already have a buyer in potential. If you live that long that is.”

It was clearly a petty vengeance coming from a pitiful man who cared more about humiliating others than he could care about money. He cared about having power over others, and he’d enjoy watching them squirm in place.

Akira was thrown in the brig, and heard the lock clicking heavily. He cursed under his breath, looking around.

There was a metal container there, filled with water and fixed to the floor with screws. It was occupied, unfortunately.

The merman he saw earlier looked in agony, his breathing shallow and fast. The harpoon had caught him by a few inches, and had been torn free of him as he struggled. What remained was an open wound on the side of his tail, ragged edges bleeding a startling red blood.

His scales were a gentle shade of gold. It seemed to gleam faintly in an ethereal way even under the dim light. It was this bit heartbreaking to see something this beautiful with a wound like that.

“I just wanna help.” He held his hands up, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.

The creature bared its teeth, snarling. He had very sharp teeth, indeed. Clearly made to tear flesh.

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to calm himself down, because if the merman was going to survive, Akira would have to do something to help. Kamoshida would clearly enjoy watching the specimen die slowly.

Akira reached a hand out.

The merman snapped his mouth, threatening a vicious bite.

The venom was known to paralyze its victim in a few seconds. Painful. Probably deadly, but as far as Akira knew merfolk liked to eat its food while it was still alive, so no one really knew if the venom was fatal.

Those who bought merfolk as exotic pets usually had them muzzled most of the time. Sedated when not. Some pulled off all of their teeth and used it as decoration.

A few tried to get rid of their vocal chords, because they hated the shrills merfolk made.

“C’mon, we need to get that treated. You don’t wanna give Kamoshida the satisfaction of actually killing you.”

That earned him a startled blink from the merman, followed by a resentful glare pointed at the door, where he last saw the captain.

“You’re right.” He seemed to deflate, and allowed Akira to come closer.

“So… if you don’t wanna hunt merfolk, why are you here?” The blond asked in a voice that trembled in pain, but he was bravely pretending otherwise.

Akira found himself telling it all. Maybe because it was the first friendly contact he had since he got arrested. Maybe because the blond made him feel oddly at ease. But as Akira tried his best to stop the bleeding using his own shirt, he started talking about before.

His tale had the merit of distracting the merman from the pain. When the blood stopped overflowing, and as he finished tying off the cloth around the wound, the blond was entirely caught up with the story.

“That’s horrible! It wasn’t fair. I can’t believe they did that to you. And now you got caught up with Kamoshida’s shit.”

Akira blinked, feeling a curious pressure on his throat. It was the first time anyone told him that. It was the first time anyone really looked at him after he was labeled a criminal.

But it made some sense, that another one that was seen as inherently evil and wicked would understand him. They both knew what humans could do to those they deemed too different.

“So… I’m guessing you’ve met Kamoshida personally before this.” Akira was curious about the merman’s reaction at seeing the man, and the disgust in his face at just uttering his name.

“Yeah. He kinda got me once already. He almost caught me and a group of my friends. But I stayed behind and gave them the alarm, and Kamoshida caught me and broke my tail. Sent me back just so all the others would see what happened to those who tried to save one another. He’s trying to divide us, so he can have an easier time catching us.” And he had already broken that one specimen, it wouldn’t be worth that much in the market. But it’d kept the others afraid enough.

“That’s... that’s horrible,” Akira breathed out.

The merman fell silent, and it was just then that Akira noticed how quiet everything was. The late afternoon had probably turned into night without him realizing it. The ship was rocking slightly, a bit differently from when they were at the shore. With a pang of anxiety, Akira realized they had set sail.

There was no way out, and the ship was silent as a tomb as the night grew late. Akira was glad for having company.

Until the next port at least. And then the merman would be sold off, and Akira would be handed over to the authorities and arrested.

They had little to occupy their days, but they had each other, at least. Theyplayed games, and talked, about nothing and everything.

“What do you miss the most, from back home?” Akira asked, one day.

“My mom. You?”

“I don’t think I have anything to go back to.”

Over the days, Akira learned that his new friend’s name was a couple of whistles he had no idea on how to pronounce. He was feeling a bit self conscious about his inability to say it, but the blond looked very frustrated as well as he tried saying his own name.

“Air is so weird,” the merman complained, trying saying his name again and just ended up producing some hisses.

Since he couldn’t tell his proper name out of the water, the blond insisted on Akira suggesting some human names that would fit him. He got into his head that it’d be cool to have another name. He was also extremely picky, and wanted something that sounded cool enough, and that had a relevant meaning.

After many names were discarded, one day, he settled on one.

“Ryuji. I like the sound of that. And I like that it was a warrior’s name. Ok, I’m Ryuji!”

Ryuji had a lot of scars. As if he had cut his back hitting his back on a sharp rock. A slightly crooked finger. A cut next to his eyebrow. Akira had expected for merfolk to have smooth and unblemished skin, but Ryuji wasn’t like that.

Akira wondered why he couldn’t find the blond any less pretty because of that. It was probably the smile. Ryuji had a beautiful smile, and a cute laugh.

Akira had never heard him singing, and he wondered if it was true their voice could put spells on people. His breathless laughter seemed to have a similar effect.

On that day, Ryuji started on the measly breakfast Kamoshida deemed to offer the prisoners, namely, a portion of fish.

“So… does your kind eat humans?” Akira asked, while he was gently washing the wound with what he could spare of the small supply of fresh water they were offered. Fortunately, merfolk seemed to have a much better time recovering from wounds, because it didn’t look infected. Could it be the seawater? Akira had so many questions. It was partially because he had never met a merman before, but it was also a lot just because he wanted to get to know Ryuji better.

The blond hummed as he acknowledged his question. Akira wondered if he should’ve started from another topic. He didn’t mean to sound judgemental. He really should try to improve his social skills...

“Some of us do,” Ryuji answered easily, seemingly unbothered by Akira’s bluntness. “Well, we’re all carnivores, and we are kinda similar to fishes, and humans, but we’re not those things. We wouldn’t eat another merfolk, but humans and fishes ain’t merfolk,” he reasoned. “Oh, but I’ve never eaten a human.”

He was born and raised on that specific part of the ocean, where hunting merfolk was pretty common, so it wasn’t really worth it to any of them to go after humans while in their original form. But they still learned human language so they could trick sailors into thinking they didn’t capture a mermaid, it was just that drunk lad over there who thought he saw a fishtail but he was wrong can’t you see my human legs and how I speak? Please let me go. “That’s kinda those poachers’ fault, tho.”

Akira looked thoughtful, but not afraid, and he didn’t stop treating his wound. Ryuji felt a swell of affection for that boy, so human and fragile, but so daring. So reckless. He’d probably try to befriend anything partially capable of understanding his words. And get his kind hand bitten by the creature. Mangled beyond recognition. Ryuji felt an uncomfortable twinge in his chest.

“I’d never eat you, tho.”

Akira tilted his head, apparently surprised.

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s like if you had a friendly... what do you guys eat for meat?”

“Fish as well. Duck. Pig. Rabbits.”

“Well imagine you had a fish as a pet. Or this pig you said. You think of it as your friend right? You wouldn’t eat it. You wouldn’t wanna.”

Akira huffed a laugh.

“What?! I’m being serious here, y’know?”

“Thanks.”

“What the hell…” he said, but he was laughing too, and Akira felt his heart beating a little too fast inside his chest.

At night, the chilly wind from outside passed through the gaps of the wood, dropping the temperature to an uncomfortable amount. Ryuji ran colder anyway, used to the water temperature of that region, so it took him a few nights to notice Akira wasn’t fairing very well. He woke up in the middle of the night to a small wound.

Akira’s naked torso shuddered as he drew in a breath. His shirt was being used as a makeshift bandage for the merman’s injured tail, and his ragged pants were made of a cheap and too thin fabric.

Ryuji gets out of the water then, lying down next to Akira.

“Will you be okay out of the water?”

Ryuji startled a little at hearing Akira’s voice, not having expected him to still be awake at that hour. But he supposed it was hard to fall asleep when he was that cold.

“If it dries up, after half an hour or so, my tail just changes into legs and I look like a human. I only need a few minutes in the water for it to come back, though.” The blond shrugged, coming closer and blocking a bit of the wind. “I’ve heard not all merfolk can do that, but our species around here can. My grandma says back in the day we used that to charm humans and trick them into falling in love with us. But I don’t know if it’s true.”

Akira considered the concept for a while, then made the very important math that soon enough Ryuji would be naked. Human naked. Of course Ryuji was kind of naked before, but that was different. Akira considered his options. Under his pants he was still using loose shorts as underwear. He could perfectly do without his pants, since his shorts came down to almost his knees. It wasn’t that proper, but who was he trying to impress anyway? It was more important not to have his attractive friend walking around naked.

“What you doing?” Ryuji curiously asked as he saw Akira getting up and taking off his pants.

“You can wear this when you get your legs. I-it can get a bit cold when you have legs,” he said, even if it was an excuse.

Ryuji shrugged, but seemed to believe his words, and kept the clothing in his hands.

They stayed close together, Ryuji trying to trap in a bit of Akira’s body heat. He’d probably be more comfortable in the water, which made Akira feel a bit guilty.

If the blond could make it to water, he could get away. Merfolk could swim miles, and too fast for any ship to pursue if they started running away, which was why they were mostly caught by using traps and other underhanded methods.

“What if I thought of a way to return you to the sea?” Akira asked quietly. “I could make a distraction and buy you a few minutes to swim away.”

Ryuji hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about, but then again, he trusted Akira.

“... I don’t think I’d get very far.”

“Why not?” Akira asked softly.

You know you can tell me anything.

Ryuji knew it. It felt a bit shameful anyway.

What’s a merman worth if he cannot even swim properly?

“I’m not… I mean, I can still swim, but I’m really slow. After… Kamoshida broke my tail, I couldn’t swim as before. I’m slow and I tire easily,” he admitted, looking away, missing the crushed look on Akira’s eyes as he realized the extent of the damage Kamoshida had inflicted on his friend. “Sometimes I think I should give up on the sea.”

“But you love it, right?”

Ryuji wasn’t used to anyone being able to look at him and… see him. It was incredibly nice, even if it made his heart hurt a little.

“Yeah, I do.”

They were silent for a few more minutes. The tiniest window on the opposite side of their cell allowed for a stream of moonlight. Akira contemplated it for a bit, until he heard Ryuji hissing, and he turned to look.

His hair was still messy and spiky, but it was tinted a common black, and his teeth were rounded and human. His canines still looked a little too sharp, but it was mostly imperceptible.

Akira very firmly didn’t look down.

Ryuji noticed him staring at his face, and he half smiled, making a valiant effort into putting on that piece of clothing Akira offered. It felt weird on his skin. He put one leg in one hole, and the other in the other hole, and pulled the cloth up. Then, he tied again the bandage around his newly formed leg. The wound looked more gruesome on his human skin, located somewhere close to his shin.

“So… how do I look?” he asked as he finished putting on the ragged clothing, and dressing his wound on his leg.

“You look like a thug.”

“Hey!”

Akira huffed a laugh, and Ryuji laughed back.

He took a moment to look at Akira’s eyes, the gentle curve of his nose, the pale pink of his lips. Ryuji’s heart did a funny thing in his chest when he did that last thing. Akira wetted his lips after a moment, and Ryuji looked away as quick as he could, his heart jackrabbiting against his ribs.

When he thought he had escaped that weird feeling in his chest, Akira’s deep and smooth voice sounded again, and Ryuji’s heart continued racing. It started doing that lately, when Akira did or said some things.

“I barely know how to swim,” Akira offered with a shrug. “I mean, I don’t think I’d drown if I fell in the water, but I wouldn’t last much there.” He could dog paddle and that was about it. Did it work? Yes, but that surely as hell wasn’t meant to be done for more than a couple of minutes.

Swimming wasn’t something he was expecting to need in his life, since his parents owned a farm, but then again since when his life went according to the plan?

Ryuji perked up at the information, though.

“I could teach you! You may need it someday! It’s… everything is so heavy outside of the water. You can’t go up, you have always to walk on the stupid ground and it’s…” He just couldn’t find words to tell. “Swimming is just the best thing. And the fastest you go, the better it feels. It can be useful even when you go back home.”

“I’d like that.” Akira’s gaze was far away, and he sounded oddly melancholic.

“Yeah… anyway, after we get out of here, we could travel the world together.”

“You… Will you want to stay with me? Even after you’re free to go?”

“‘Course. We’re friends, and I think it’d be awesome to go on an adventure, and help people on our way.” And he would have a chance to finally feel worthy, and to make his mom proud of him.

And there was no one else he’d rather go with on an adventure than with Akira. The realization hit him all at once.

“You’re my friend. And… Y’know how I told ya swimming made me feel? Being with you is kinda the same. I feel free.”

Ryuji aimed a bright smile at him, and Akira felt his heart skipping a beat, tripping over while doing something it should know how to do.

“I know a mermaid,” Ryuji continued, excited about the idea of their new adventure. “She’s travelled to other seas, she might know her way around. After we break out of here, maybe at the next stop for supplies, we could ask her for directions and then when Kamoshida notices we escaped, we’ll be far from his stupid ship.”

Akira nodded, thoughtfully.

“Sounds good.”

“Awesome! Then we have a plan.”

It was the thinnest skeleton of a plan, but it was enough for them. They could always wing it from there.

The day their lives really started to change started off as any other. Ryuji was restlessly sitting on his small container of water as he told stories about his life in the sea. Akira had started teaching him how to properly walk on two legs, in exchange of being taught on how to swim at the next chance they got. They had just stopped their training when they heard a commotion outside.

And then a small tuxedo cat gets thrown in the brig with them, screeching bloody murder. One of the poachers used one side of a manacle to put around its neck, and chained it to the wall just outside their cell. The crewmate looked warily at the animal, and threw the keys inside, hoping that the monster the captain caught would dissuade the cat from trying to get to the keys. Akira found it particularly odd, that anyone would put that much effort into capturing a cat. And found it even more odd that the crewmate somehow thought the cat could escape if he got the key.

The cat screamed well after the crewmate left, and it needed a minute before noticing there were more people in the room.

“Woah! A huge tuna! Looks yummy…” the cat actually talked.

“Gah! Aki, what is that thing?!”

Ryuji grabbed Akira’s arm, hiding slightly behind him and glaring at the newcomer. Just in case- he had never seen this cat thing before, but apparently it thought he was food because he had a fish tail- the blond leapt off the container, hoping to get his legs back soon.

“Huh… a cat. But I’ve never seen a talking cat before.”

“And I’ve never seen a talking tuna before.”

“Cat, stop saying my friend looks like a tuna.” Akira didn’t know enough about fish to tell, but Ryuji’s tail didn’t look like a tuna's tail.

“I’m not a cat and I have a proper name.” The cat tried to stand a little taller, but the metal of the manacles was suffocating him a bit. “I’m Morgana.”

They blinked at him. Akira knew he should have started to expect the unexpected since he befriended a merman, but seeing a talking cat was still weird.

“So… will you two let me out? Please, I can help you two as well!”

Ryuji hesitated.

“I dunno… Should we trust him, Aki?”

The cat looked quite miserable, and Akira pondered his options. He hated to see how they trapped such a small animal, and if the cat was imprisoned like them, he probably was an enemy of Kamoshida. Something in his guts told him it was an important decision, and that he kind of knew what he would be choosing from the start.

He really hoped he didn’t regret that choice.

He freed the cat, who took his time to stretch its lean spine and flex his legs. But, true to his word, Morgana leapt up and started trying to pick the keys to their cell from the hook where they hung. He had to insist for a few minutes, but he eventually got them and picked it up with his mouth, treading to their cell.

“There! It wasn’t a bad deal, was it?” He preened, while Akira made a quick job of opening the cell.

“But now what, cat?” Ryuji sullenly asked.

“There’s a storm coming pretty soon, you dumbasses. I’ve been roaming this ship since we left the port, I know the crewmate’s schedules, so we can sneak around them. And then you two can swim to the shore, we’re not that far away, but they won’t notice you’re gone, and they wouldn’t go after you in this weather.”

“What about you?”

“I still have some business here, but I can get out when we reach land. I can hide, I just got caught this time because the stupid captain got up at night out of nowhere…”

“Whaddya think, Aki?”

“Well, I think it’s the better shot we’ll have. I think we can manage to swim, if we’re that close to land. You can swim as slow as you need, and I won’t have to swim a big distance, I think it’s doable. After that, we can hide for a bit, and then go after your friend and ask for directions, and then we’ll see what happens.”

Ryuji nodded, and they all waited until he got his legs again and dressed up, and then they were on the run.

They parted ways with the cat somewhere along a corridor, with instructions about how to get on the deck.

The storm was fierce, having picked up in a matter of minutes, and Akira barely managed to keep upright as the ship lurched to the side. They emerged from below deck to the howling wind and thundering skies. Ryuji faltered, his leg still hurting from the wound, and from using muscles he wasn’t used to.

When the blond crashed into a few crates, they swayed to the side and slid downstairs just to crash into a door. The captain’s door, by the look of it, but they were sprinting on the slippery wood of the deck and running for their lives.

But of course, they weren’t alone above deck.

“They’re running away!”

The storm was sending huge waves that were washing over the wooden floor, tilting the ship in absurd angles, making it absolutely impossible to run. Akira froze in place, and whirled around to look at any possible weapons. Maybe if he took down that group of sailors, before anyone else noticed, on the off chance no one heard the alarm over the roaring of the storm-

It was then that Kamoshida showed up.

“Shoot them!”

Ryuji collided against his side, and the world tilted off its axis as they plunged into the water.

Akira tried to keep his head above the crashing waves, but he only managed to swallow an entire mouthful of seawater. As another wave passed above his head, his body was thrown to the side.

As he tried to swim up, he realized he couldn’t tell up from down even with his eyes wide open. The water was too deep and his lungs burned for air. Everything was salty water that burned his eyes and constricted his lungs from the outside.

The stormy sea at night was every bit as terrifying as he had heard about, and he was lost.

Ryuji’s voice was forming a series of shrills and clickings but everything was drowned out by the roaring in his ears.

Akira shook his head desperatedly, not understanding a single sound out of Ryuji’s mouth, his lungs spasming as he couldn’t hold his breath anymore.

His panic was suddenly cut off by soft lips on his mouth, strong hands framing his face gently. His heart swelled, and it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

It was entirely like a breath of air.

Akira instinctively closed his eyes and let himself savour it, feeling a sudden rush of life running down his whole body.

There was a gentle thumb caressing his cheek, and suddenly Akira forgot entirely about menial things like air. His hands cradled the hands on his face, and he kissed back because he had sort of been wanting to do that for weeks.

It felt absolutely amazing.

They pulled apart, and Akira remembered again he was still underwater.

Ryuji’s lips mouthed human words for him, gesticulating his meaning.

Breathe.

Akira realised then and there that he really trusted Ryuji with his life. He tried to breathe.

It was the weirdest sensation ever. He shouldn’t be able to do that. But somehow as the water rushed into his mouth, his lungs stopped hurting as if he had taken a breath of fresh air.

Ryuji pulled him along, swimming slower than ever with his still human legs, away from the ship. After a minute or two, he got his tail back, and then he started to swim more easily. He brought them away from the eye of the storm, and away from Kamoshida, deciding to take the longer way to the shore, just in case.

They slowly made their way back to the surface, and when they emerged, Akira immediately turned to look at the merman. He felt a lot conscious of the fact that Ryuji’s strong arms were keeping him afloat. They were also really close, and Akira felt his cheeks flushing.

“W-what? How did I…?” It was raining softly over their heads, but he barely noticed.

How am I alive?

“A-a mermaid kiss can make you able to breathe underwater for some hours.”

“O-oh.” So Ryuji was just trying to help. Akira felt oddly disappointed. “Thanks.”

“A-anytime?” As soon as the words left his lips- that felt like they were still tingling with the kiss- Ryuji realised how much he meant it.

“Really?”

And Ryuji wondered if he imagined the small spark of hope in Akira’s voice. On the off chance he had been right, he decided to push it a little bit.

“Yeah. I liked it.”

Akira’s lips curled into a small smile, but he looked a little embarrassed, a blush still high on his cheeks.

“... You know, I think I’m still feeling a little out of breath.”

“For real?!” Ryuji blinked, confused. It should have worked! Maybe he didn’t kiss him right?

Akira huffed a laugh.

“No.”

“Then what- oh. Oh.” Realization dawned on him all at once, and Ryuji felt his heart soaring.

“Ok?” Akira asked.

Ryuji excitedly jumped him, and his kiss tasted like the sea.

Akira couldn’t stop himself from smiling throughout that kiss and the next one, and the next one.

If they kept that up, he’d have enough in him to spend his whole life living in the sea and never come up for air ever again.

27 notes · View notes

almost-correct-bnha-quotes · 4 years

Text

Soft spot|Bakugou×Reader

Requested: Nope!

Warnings: Nah

A/N: It's 12 AM on a Wednesday and this idea popped up.

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At first, he treated you like everyone else. In his eyes, you were nothing but another extra, as he called you. But things changed after you made the simple gesture of standing up for him, after some older students began attacking him verbally. He never thanked you, but the manner in which he treated you had subtly changed since then. While he cursed other people and called them names, he seemed to avoid saying certain things to you.

Seeing the tolerating relationship between you two, people began suspecting something even more was between you. On several occasions, you were even asked if you were his girlfriend. Hell, even Deku asked you about it.

To be honest with yourself, he was attractive, and he definitely had the brains. The only thing that pushed you off, however, was his rather pompous personality. Things were, however, about to take a turn on a Thursday afternoon.

'Alright, y'all,' Aizawa said, during one of the homeroom hours he held for the 1-A students, 'I prepared an assignment that's due next week. You will have to work with someone and make a presentation of three minutes on how the Hero system can improve its security. You cannot choose with who you work. You can be as creative as you want, but keep in mind that you must have a PowerPoint that holds all the information that you'll present us.'

You sighed, just as the rest of the 1-A students. It was a pity- you had a particular strong friendship with Momo, reason for which you hoped that you could work with her.

'I put all your names in a bag, right here,' Aizawa pointed at a black, small, leather bag on his desk, 'Half of you will pick out a piece of paper with a name on it. Whosoever name you got, that's the person you'll work with. All clear?'

'Yes, sensei.' The group of students answered, in unison.

'Good.' Aizawa nodded, as he picked a random piece of paper out of the bag, 'Let's see... Momo, come take a paper.'

Momo did as she was asked to- she walked to the front desk and took a piece of paper out of the bag. Please let it be me, please let it be me., you thought.

'Ashido Mina.'

You pursed your lips. Not this time, you guessed. Momo looked at you and smiled softly. As she passed by your seat, she whispered a quick apology. You weren't mad at her. You didn't need her apology. You were very much aware that it was beyond her control to choose who she was working with that time.

Seeing how you wouldn't be working with your favourite person in that class, you scanned your classmates, looking for other good options you'd have. Deku could be a great person to work with, due to his knowledge over heroes and his persona, maybe Tsuyu would be nice too... Bakugou. He had his knowledge on heroes and the hero system, but seeing how the amount of patience within him was equal to a peppercorn, you doubted how well he's work with anyone.

Aizawa took another piece of paper out of the bag. 'Bakugou.'

The blonde boy stood up and walked proud fully towards the desk. He put his hand inside the bag and took a few moments to mix all pieces of papers inside, before eventually taking one out. He looked at the name on his paper and let his face visibly drop. He didn't have the smallest ounce of anger on his face, but he did seem... frustrated, in a way. You almost wanted to laugh. It was Deku, wasn't it?

'Bakugou,' Aizawa said coldly, 'Who is it?'

Bakugou looked at the man irritated, regaining his composure. 'Y/N.'

You felt your entire body cool off as everyone looked at you. Really...? Did... Did I just jinx it?

'So... Bakugou and Y/N,' Aizawa repeated as he wrote it on a piece of paper, 'Got it.'

'Don't say it like that.' Bakugou mumbled as he walked back to his seat.

By the end of the class, everyone had a partner. As everyone walked out class, you tried catching up to Bakugou. Finally reaching him on the hallway, you put your hand on his shoulder for a moment, as a request for your presence to be acknowledged.

'Hey, are you free this-' You began, only to freeze at the look he gave you.

He turned his head to you with a ice-cold look. He brushed off your hand off his shoulder without saying a word.

'What?' You asked.

'Leave me alone.' He demanded, coldly.

You weren't the type of person to give up so easily, but something in his tone and eyes made you rethink your choices. You shook your head.

'Alright then, mister bad mood. See you later.'

With that, you turned around and walked the other way down the hallway. You could live with a bad opinion on you. Or two, or three. It didn't matter to you much- there would always be people who won't like you, and it was okay. It wasn't even like you and Katsuki had a relationship anywhere near close, so you didn't miss out on much. All you had for each other was a slightly higher tolerance than with most people.

What you didn't know as you walked down the hallway was that Bakugou remained frozen on his spot with pursed lips, watching you get lost in the crowd of students.

'You didn't have to do her like that, you know.' A familiar voice said, next to him.

Bakugou snapped out of his trance and looked at the owner of the voice, only to recognise the relaxed face of a blonde boy in his class who looked at him expectantly.

'I know you have everyone, but-' he continued, but got interrupted mid-sentence.

'Do her like what?' A redhead boy, Kirishima, said with a laugh, 'Don't be stupid, Kaminari. Haven't you seen?'

'See what?' Kaminari frowned, as Bakugou looked at Kirishima in confusion, waiting for a more in-depth explanation.

'Bakugou,' Kirishima said, calmly, 'If you really like Y/N, your current attitude won't help, even if you do your be-'

Once he processed what the boy meant, Bakugou didn't hesitate to silence him through planting a rather violent kick on his head.

'Shut up! Who said I like her?' He yelled in his usual tone.

Kirishima laughed dryly as he rubbed the back of his head. He joked lightly on a different topic, in the hope that he'd change the mood.

As he and the two boys walked down the hallway to their next classroom, Bakugou snorted. Like you. He didn't even know why he tolerated you this much. Your Quirk wasn't anything spectacular, your skills were just a little above average, and he's seen girls who could be considered prettier.

Yet.. that once simple attempt to stand up for him while others took the chance to make him taste his own medicine did catch his attention. It was the first time he felt weak, and it was the first time he felt someone want to be by his side.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly, as you occupied his mind through the rest of the classes. That evening, you were in your own room in the 1-A dormitory, completing an English essay that was due the next day. An unexpected light knock on your door made you jump.

For a moment, you looked at the clock. It was fifteen minutes past eight. Dinner was just an hour and a half or so ago, and most students preferred to be in their own bedrooms at the time, completing their homeworks. Who would bother visiting you?

You walked to the door and opened it curiously. You expected one of your friends to be there to ask you if they could borrow some school supplies or to ask you something regarding schoolwork, but that wasn't the case this time.

'Eh... Bakugou. Hi,' you greeted surprised as the boy looked at you with his typical frown, 'How can I help you?'

'May I come in?' He demanded.

'Of course. Enter.'

You backed away, allowing him to enter before closing the door behind you. While seating yourself back on your desk chair, you watched how he threw himself nonchalantly. on your bed.

'So... what brings you here?' You asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

'Whatcha writing there?' Bakugou raised his head from your pillow, to get a little sight on your desk. 'The English essay? That was really easy.'

You smiled as you continued to write down the rest of the essay. 'Yeah. It's not that hard.'

As you wrote, he didn't say anything. He simply watched you write. You two didn't get any moments to be alone, so you never got to truly know what the other was like when not under the influence of impressing others. He's looked at you before, but he couldn't remain and watch you for too long, in fear of someone noticing. It was in that moment Bakugou truly got to admire you for the first time.

It was then he realised how much he loved the way you looked when concentrating, the little tics you had while focusing, and how well you could use your time without getting distracted. He loved the way you talked, the colour of your eyes, and the way you always looked at things so optimistically. He loved the way how, even if you couldn't do something in that moment, you always pushed your limits to become better. He loved you.

After a while, he got up from your bed and walked behind you, looking at your essay over your shoulder.

'Hey, watch out,' he said as he pointed at a word on your paper, 'You forgot an h after the t.'

You analysed the word before turning at him with a smile. 'Thank you.'

At the sight of your smile, the corners of his mouth rised up inevitably.

'Tch,' he said as he grabbed a small chair and seated himself next to you. 'No need to thank me... loser.'

You smirked. 'Aren't we all losers at something?'

He didn't say anything, but he looked at you with a challenging gaze in his eyes, before resting his head over his arms on your desk. For the next ten minutes, neither of you said anything, except for the occasional moments when Bakugou would correct your mistakes on your paper.

Being honest with yourself, even if you knew that he was smart, you didn't expect him to do so well in theoretical classes. He gave off more of a street-smart aura that had you assuming that he just memorized everything before an exam or test and then let it go once the testing was over.

'There.' You smiled as you arranged your papers who were now full of writing, 'Essay's done. At last.'

Bakugou snorted. 'At last.'

'Thank you for your help, by the way. Is there anything I can help you with in return?'

You locked eyes with him curiously, as he thought. He opened his mouth almost immediately, ready to refuse, but a better idea came to him.

'Are you free this Saturday?' He asked, his smirk not leaving his face.

You felt how your face heated up, resulting in your cheeks turning as red as they could. What is this...?

'Ah... yes. I am. Why?'

'[Insert favourite movie]'s premiere is this Saturday in the cinema, isn't it? I thought you wanted to see that movie.'

Seeing the offer, you couldn't help but laugh. You couldn't say that any of the girls in 1-A were interested in seeing that movie, and you didn't know many people outside your classroom.

'Yes, I do want to see it!' You smiled.

'Then... will you go out with me, Y/N?' He asked.

The confidence he usually presented wasn't there in that moment, and you could easily feel it. You felt how vulnerable he was in that moment as he waited for your answer, and you couldn't understand why. Why would the king of confidence lose his wealth for a girl? Why would a king lose his wealth for a stranger?

'I would love to go out with you, Bakguou.'

You didn't even know why you accepted. You knew how rejecting that he normally was with everyone. Yet... in that moment, it felt different. It always felt a little different, but now the sensation that he might've been more than the hot-blooded demon he was in and outside class.

Bakugou smiled broadly as he got up from your desk. 'This Sautrday at six, then.'

He paused a moment as his eyes lingered a moment from you to your completed essay, and then back to you.

'Good luck with your essay... and everything else.'

'Thanks. You too.'

You watched how he walked to the other side of the room and pressed the doorknob. Just before opening the door, he looked back at you.

'Hey, Y/N?'

'Yeah?'

'Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, Bakugou.'

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lovemychoices · 4 years

Text

The Lost Prince - TRR AU [Epilogue] / TRH : Royal Rhys [Prologue]

After being married for three years and unable to produce an heir, Liam and Riley are about to give up when Liam gets an unexpected news that changes his life forever.

Genre : Romance, Drama

Characters except my OCs belong to Pixelberry, I am just borrowing them

Word count : 2k++

Chapter Summary: 28 years later...

A/N : One stories closes another begins. I’ve decided to put the epilogue of The Lost Prince and prologue for the sequel together because it seems to work.

TRH : ROYAL RHYS, is a sequel set 28 years later from the events of THE LOST PRINCE. Theon and his siblings are all grown up. The OG will still be in the series from time to time but it’s mainly about the kids. 😊

Sorry for any typo’s and grammatical errors. Also this is tagged under long post.

Warning : The sequel will contain mature content in future chapters such as NSFW, Violence and a few triggers which I will mention on the chapter. Only read if you are 18 and above.

Do let me know if you want to be added to the sequel.

28 years later…

Somewhere in Greece.

It was already past noon when he began to slowly flutter his eyes open as the small ray of sunlight peaks through the closed curtains of the hotel room. He slowly lifts his head up as he takes in the surroundings of his luxurious penthouse suit, a few empty shot glasses on the table and a few empty bottles of liquor along with it. Clothes scattered all over the floor and next to him was her, sleeping soundly.

A low grunt escapes him and presses his palms between his forehead. “Fuck, I probably had too much to drink again last night.” He slowly removes the sheets and carefully gets up from bed trying not to wake her up. As soon as his feet touch the floor he reaches for his boxers and pulls them on, gathering the rest of his clothes, getting dressed before leaving the room being careful not to let anyone see him.

“Hey it’s me, meet me at the back.”

Hunter Dominic Rhys was the youngest of the twins and the black sheep of the family. At the age of 3 he was already giving the nanny a field day with his mischief and shenanigans. By the time he was 16 he already had 20 different kingsguard assigned to him eventually breaking his uncle Leo’s record.

He makes his way towards the back entrance of the Hotel. As he enters the black SUV and takes a seat his phone beeps, he takes it out from the pocket of his jacket and reads the text a wide grin forms on his face as he does.

Had fun last night, hope to see you again soon. Xoxo

“Seriously man, I can’t keep covering for you.” The driver on the front seat said, giving Hunter a look between annoyed and worried.

“Common Jackson if there’s one Kingsguard who I know I can trust it’s you.”

“You know this is just going to bite you in the ass if her husband finds out you’ve been screwing with his wife right?” Jackson said with an eyebrow raised.

“Then we’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t..” He answers with a smug look on his face. “We’d better head to the private airstrip. I wouldn’t want to miss my family's Friday night dinner. My mother would never let me hear the end of it.”

Jackson rolls his eyes before putting on his aviators. “If you say so, your royal highness“.

************************

TREND studio, Cordonia.

She stood at the back of the stage, waiting for Ana de Luca to announce her name. She was invited as a special guest today for an interview.

And without further adieu please welcome today's special guess, her royal highness princess Alexandra Rhys of Cordonia.

“That’s my cue.” She murmurs to herself, putting on a perfect smile and adjusting her posture before she saunters out to face the audience and the cameras.

Alexandra Kenna Rhys, the older twin, was the poster child of the Rhys family. While her brother’s were off involving themselves in mischief and her sister rummaging her mother’s closet playing pretend dress up, she would be spending her days at the palace library reading. By the age of 24 she was already a world known author and she’s also known for her philanthropy. Even Theon had his bad press days, but there was never one about Alex. She was always primp and proper for the camera but off cameras Alex had a secret that no one knew about.

Alex approaches the couch and shakes Ana’s hand as they greet each other, they each take a seat shortly after. The sound of the audience cheering slowly dies down and they begin their session.

“Thank you for agreeing to join us today, your highness.”

“The pleasure is all mine Ana. You know I’m always happy to come to your show.” She smiles.

“Firstly I would like to congratulate you on the success of your charity last weekend, I believe you managed to collect a generous amount from the people who attended.” She said and the audience clapped and cheered.

“Thank you Ana, but you know I could have done it without the support of my family and all the other people involved.”

“Humble as always.” Ana said with a smile. “So your recent book the sequel to The Elementalist was a huge success early this year and there were rumours going around recently that you are currently working on a third book. Is that true? Could you give us a little spoiler?”

“Uh well there is definitely a third book on the way, which I’m hoping would be out sometime later next year. Fingers crossed.” She said, crossing her fingers in front of the audience. “It’s going to be the final book and it’s taking place during the group's senior year.”

The audience cheers in excitement.

“That’s great news! I’m sure your fans of the book will be eagerly waiting for the official release.” She said with a smile. “So on to the next question and I’m sure it's something the audience has been dying to know. How are things in the love department so far? You and Jackson Walker have been dating for almost a decade. Are we going to hear any wedding bells soon?”

Alex shifts her position, her body tenses a little but conceals it perfectly before anyone notices. “The two of us have been doing well but you know we each have our busy schedules. I’ve been away a lot on business and he’s been busy handling Hunter. There hasn’t been any talk of wedding bells yet.” She answers with a plastic smile. “But if there was as always you’ll be the first to know.”

The two exchange pleasantries for another twenty minute until it’s finally time for Alex to get off the set. When she gets to the back of the stage she finally feels like she could breathe, a successful charity and an upcoming trilogy but all people were obsessed with was about her love life? She and Jackson agreed on keeping their relationship as private as possible away from the cameras but whenever there was a picture of them taken together it was always perfect, they seemed perfect but were they really?

Hey.. Saw what happened at the interview. Want to meet up tonight and talk about it after dinner?

Alex bit her lip, thinking about what she would reply.

Cant, I need to focus on my next book. Maybe some other time?

“Your highness, the SUV is ready for you.” Her assistant informs her.

“Thank you, Lily.” She said and headed off to get ready for her family’s dinner.

*****************

The Royal Palace - Ellie’s room

Ellie swipes through the racks of Designer gowns sent to her from all the top designers in Europe, she’s trying to choose the perfect gown for her upcoming 21st birthday party.

“So I’ll need two dresses, one for my entrance and the other for when I blow the candles. What do you think of this one for my grand entrance?” She asks pulling out a beautiful Navy blue ball gown with golden embroideries on it.

“It looks pretty.” Was MJ’s answer to every dress she took out and showed him. Ellie frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. “You’ve been saying the same thing to every dress I’ve shown you, how am I supposed to decide like that?”

“I’m a guy Ellie, I don’t have a keen sense of tayes when it comes to haute couture or fashion. All I know is that you’d look stunning in whatever dress you choose.”

“Ugh.. Give me a break MJ.” Viola groans, rolling her eye roll as she struts into the room. “Sorry I’m late dear old mummy had a dog emergency. She tosses a few shopping bags on the settee before rummaging through the rack for a few options, taking them out and laying them on the bed one by one. “Here, these are the ones that would bring out the colour of your eyes the most.”

“You're my lifesaver Viola, you know that right?” She beams, giving Viola a hug before taking a few of the dresses and trying them on in her closet.

“Nice to see someone finally decided to show up.” MJ shrugs at Viola.

Viola gives MJ an eyeroll. “Unlike you, I actually have a social life. Plus didn’t you hear me when I said I had a family emergency?”

“If by social life you mean sleeping around with half the court then hard pass.” MJ claps back, making Viola scowls. In MJ’s defence, he has caught her a few times hooking up with other nobles, most of them already had partners. The last time he caught her was during a party at his uncle Bertrand’s estate, he was on the way to the garden when he saw her coming out from the tool shed looking slightly disheveled and coming out after her was none other than his cousin Bartie.

The disgust on his face when he found out his cousin was hooking up with her when he was engaged to someone else. When MJ confronted Bartie, he said it was a mistake and that it won’t happen again. He made MJ promise not the tell his fiancé and MJ agreed, only because Clara was a nice girl and she didn’t need to get hurt by one mistake.

“So what do you guys think?” Ellie asks as she steps out of the closet and twirls around in her dress. MJ eyes go wide open and his jaw drops. “You look beautiful Ellie.”

“Usually, I don’t agree with MJ but I’ll make an exception for this. You look drop dead gorgeous.” Viola exclaims.

“Really? Thanks, but I’m still putting it in the maybe pile. These dresses are really pretty, I just. I don’t know.”

“Well if there’s nothing you really like, what about the dresses you’ve designed?” MJ suggested. “I’ve seen your sketches Elle, they’re really good.”

“I would be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind. But my mom pulled a lot of strings to get me all these dresses.”

“I’m sure she would understand besides it’s your big day. You should tell her about it during dinner.”

“Then it’s settled, I’ll let my mom know during dinner.” She smiled.

*******************

Castelsarreillan Estate, Cordonia

Theon nods attentively with a forceful smile plastered on his face as he listens to King Eirik endlessly talk about his adventure back in the day.

It was like any normal afternoon for him, attending a diplomatic luncheon that was held at the Castelsarreillan estate. As the crown prince and future king of Cordonia it was his obligation to attend such events but recently for the past year he noticed those obligations were becoming more and more. His parents were becoming less involved and he could start to feel the weight of the crown getting heavier.

“I’m sorry your majesty for the interruption, but there’s some pressing matters that require his royal highnesses attention.” Natalia said, whisking Theon away from the crowd and to the otherside the room. “Thanks for that.” He murmurs into her ear. “I was beginning to think you’d leave me there just hanging. And by the way, thanks again for coming with me on such short notice.”

“Well what are assistants for. Speaking of you should really find your own assistant.” She said, raising an eyebrow at Theon. “I can’t babysit you all the time.”

Theon chuckles. “I’m sure my mom won’t mind if I borrow you for a little longer. Besides, you love babysitting me.” He said, giving her a playful wink.

Natalia chuckles. “Careful now your highness people might talk if they see your flirting with the help.”

Their coversation is cut short by someone who approaches. “Pardon me your highness but the Duke of Krona would like to have a few words with you.”

“Ah. Of course, I’ll be there a bit.” He said, turning to Natalia with his champagne glass raised. “Duty calls. Oh and have the helicopter ready by six, I wouldn’t want to be late for family dinner.”

***********************************

Kings Office, Cordonia.

Liam sat on his leather armchair slightly pushed back, absently swirling the glass of scotch in his hand while staring at the picture of his family on his desk. He had been ruling Cordonia for three decades and during his reign he managed to achieve peace and prosperity in the country like he had always hoped for. But he couldn’t have done without help from the love of his life.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Liam turns his gaze and smiles when he sees his wife standing by the threshold. “No, I was just thinking.” He places his glass on the oakwood desk. “About what?” Riley asks, sauntering towards him then takes a seat on his lap, wrapping one arm on his shoulder.

Liam looks at his wife, taking in the sight of her. The way she smiled and her dimples that showed when she did, even after she started to age she was still beautiful and he was still madly in love with her like he was all those years ago. “I’ve been thinking.”He smiles, tucking the lock of hair that strayed behind her ear. “I’ve had the most peaceful and prosperous rule throughout my reign as king. Granted there were a few imperfect moments. But everyone of them I got through because I had you by my side.”

Riley chuckles. “You give me too much credit love. But you would have been a great king with or without me.”

“Modest as ever.” He said with a smile. “I love you Riley, I know I’ve said it maybe a million times but every word of it is true.”

Riley leans in and kisses her husband on the lips, when she pulls apart she smiles warmly at him. “I love you too Liam but where is this going?” She gives him a questioning look.

“Riley, the both of us. We’ve been through alot together, we faced scandals, threats from our share of enemies, we raised four beautiful children together while running a country.”

Riley chuckles. “How could I forget, but everything was worth it because it made us stronger as a couple.”

“It has my love. But there comes a time in a king’s life when he just wants to be a man and enjoy every moment of his remaining life with his wife.” He takes her hand gently and traces soothing circles. “Liam, are you saying?”

“Riley, love. I have decided to resign as the reigning monarch by the end of this social season. We could finally spend all our days on that private island just you and me. No country to worry about no buzzing press, I really it’s time and Theon, Theon is ready whether he knows it or not. So what do you say my queen? Are you with me?”

“Are you kidding me?” She pauses, her expression serious, it was making Liam a little worried but she quickly changes it into a gleeful smile then kisses her husband on the lips once more. “Liam Rhys, I cannot wait to spend every single day of retirement and have you all to myself.”

Liam chuckles. “You deserve it.”

“We both do.” She adds. “So when do we tell the kids?”

“How about tonight, during our dinner?” He grins.

Riley leans in and kisses her husband one more time. “Sounds like a plan. Now I need to get dinner ready.” She abruptly stands and heads out but not before stopping at the threshold, turning towards her husband once more. “I love you, my King.”

“And I love you, my Queen.”

********

TRR/TRH @charliejane-blog @dcbbw @hopefulmoonobject @cmestrella @pixieferry @lodberg @traeumerinwitzhelden @romanticatheart-posts @gnatbrain @the-soot-sprite @zaffrenotes @texaskitten30 @ao719 @desireepow-1986 @emceesynonymroll @jessiembruno @kinkykingliam @jlpplays1 @annekebbphotography @thecordoniandiaries @rainbowsinthestorm @cordonianroyalty @lauradowning29 @msjr0119 @janezillow w @heauxplesslydevoted @cordonia-gothqueen @kacie-0156 @bebepac @queenjilian @sanchita012 @iaminlovewithtrr

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