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charmercharm3r · 1 year

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Synopsis: Felix and his not-so-oral fixation.

warnings: smut, explicit sexual content, genderneutral!reader, oral (both receiving), cum eating, dumbification, praising, tiniest microscopic of degradation, sprinkled in fluff, aftercare, he's whipped.

Not a fixation, but not not a fixation Felix has with your mouth. It’s more like an obsessive appreciation, is the nicest way to put it. Don’t get him wrong, he’s more than in love with everything about you. However, there’s a certain desire that hits him in tidal waves when he catches you playing with your straw in your mouth a little too long, or poking at the inside of your cheek with your tongue.

When the two of you finally became intimate, it became clear he adored blowjobs. It was intimate and sexy watching you going down on him, playing with him like he was a lollipop. It turned him on even more realizing how much you enjoyed it as well, almost as much as he did.

Watching porn together wasn’t because of boredom in the bedroom, not at all. If anything, it was a way to feel closer, explore new things together and reach new highs.

One particular night, cuddled up in bed in nothing but undergarments and scrolling through the hub, you came across a video that piqued Felix’s interest more than the others. A short clip of a man and a woman, she on her knees and him standing above her with something that looked like a fleshlight in his hand. But then he stuck it in her mouth and unfolded it, the shape of a vulva outlining a slit to replicate a vagina. It made Felix quite literally stop breathing for a few moments. You instantly understood what it was meant to do, make it easy and rough. The subtle reaction from him, eyes going slightly wider and mouth parting, you gave him a sensual peck on the cheek and excused yourself to the bathroom, taking your phone with you.

As soon as you locked yourself away, you looked for something similar that the man used on the woman. Wouldn’t it be so wonderful to surprise him with it?

Oh, it was one hell of a present.

The toy had come in much quicker than anticipated, three days exactly. Had you accidentally pressed express shipping? Who knows? But you were excited, nonetheless.

Bless him, Felix had come home after a rather stressful day and you couldn’t have thanked the heavens more for that. You did feel a little bad that you were happy about the weight on his shoulders, but it was only for tonight. Because this was the perfect way to break in the treat you had for him.

He closed the bathroom door with a little more force than necessary and emerged fifteen minutes later fully washed up. He didn’t look physically tired, probably more mentally telling by the way he carried himself to the bed and all but threw himself on his stomach at your side.

Putting your phone aside, you rolled over to face him, raking your nails gently up and down his naked back. “Tired?” You ask, voice just above a whisper.

“Yes and no,” Felix groaned into the pillow. Giggling, you leaned over and kissed the back of his neck, moving your hand into his hair to scratch his scalp. He loved that, groans turning into a sweet hum. That was more than an indication that he wasn’t wanting to sleep any time soon.

Pulling away for a moment to reach into your bedside table, you found the small box the toy came in. Holding it in front of him, “too tired to give this a test run?”

Felix lifted his head from the pillow and turned onto his side, taking the box from your hands. His eyes went wider than you’d ever seen, shooting up and sitting up in seriousness. Cocking an eyebrow at you, Felix picked it up. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

With a charming smirk, “maybe once or twice.”

“Make it three, I fucking love you.” He came in guns blazing, connecting your lips together with a fervor you’ve never felt from him. The thumping of the cardboard box on the floor was followed by him pushing your body back into the bed with his, caging you against the mattress. Tongues anywhere and everywhere, Felix didn’t start slow.

There were times where he wanted nothing but slow. This was not one of those times. His hands fondled anything and everything he could while also getting rid of your nightwear. When Felix’s free hand came back up to your neck and gently wrapped around, you knew what kind of mood he was in. He was a roll of the dice, not usually falling to either category of submissive or dominant. However, Felix sometimes got too eager for his own good. The headspace he was in now was desperate, but demanding. You could feel it in his grip around your throat and rippling down towards between your legs.

He’d bitten your bottom lip particularly hard, drawing a moan that borderlined a yelp. Though, he knew you liked the slight pain, not bothering to stop or slow down. You blindly reached for the nightstand again for the bottle of lube, slamming down on the table a bit harder than you meant to. The loud bang made Felix jump in surprise, keeping your lip between his teeth as he pulled away with a sudden darkening aura.

“In a rush, sweetheart?” He glared down at you with something of a smirk across his lips, red and swollen. Messy hair and glowing cheeks, Felix was pink in the face with excitement, which only made you even more aroused.

When you didn’t answer him, he tightened his handle on your neck. “Just wanna make you feel good,” you answered honestly.

It made him gleam, showing off his pearly teeth in adoration. “My baby, you’re so cute.” Felix let go of your neck to pinch your cheek rather harshly, making you whine and try to swat his hand away. He only chuckled tauntingly before pushing off the bed to stand.

He didn’t have to say anything for you to get into position, one you knew quite well. Felix even tossed one of the decorative throw pillows at you for knee support. At the foot of the bed, you settled on your knees in front of him, focused on him and only him, waiting for his first move.

Roll of the dice. Felix towered over you, cupping your cheek he earlier pinched, so lovingly, endearingly. His touch was soft and unrushed as he stared deeply into your glassy eyes.

“Four. I love you.”

Toy in hand, he brought it up to your eye level to catch your attention. You unconsciously lick your lips in anticipation for what’s to come. Felix messed around with the rubber toy for a few seconds, testing its stretchiness by taking some lube onto his fingers and pushing them through the mock slit. Seeing his fingers poking out the other end, scissoring and spreading it wide, shot sparks down your spine.

“You look excited. Do you mind if I use you for a bit, pretty?”

“Please.” It sounded like you were weeping more than anything else.

“Eager to please tonight, are we? Adorable.” Felix tilted his head at you before taking the toy into both hands. “Think this will fit? Looks a bit big for you, baby.” You nodded rapidly, growing impatient. He only smiled smugly.

Felix muttered an, “okay, okay,” and proceeded. He did the same as what the man in the video did, flipping it inside out to reveal the part that would be placed in your mouth.

“Open.” You followed the command seamlessly. Felix inserted the rubber mouthpiece, now a squishy and wet barrier between your teeth. Next, he unfolded the rest. It cupped over the entirety of your lips. The feeling was foreign, hoping that poking around and sticking your tongue through the opening his fingers were previously playing with would invite Felix to move faster.

And when the tip of your tongue pushed past the entrance on his side, Felix dropped his underwear so quickly you didn’t even notice he was pumping his dick, hard and throbbing. But then the slick on his fingers made the sound wet, your mouth watering from being pried open.

“You’re going to take everything I give you, right pretty? You’ll be happy with what I choose to give.” A whimper escaped you in response. “Yeah, you will. So cute when you wanna be good.”

Felix squirted the bottle of lube into the palm of his hands again, spreading it over his aching dick and the slit of the toy. You could just barely feel the warmth of his fingers through the rubber. Cock bouncing against his stomach as he did so, the tip was a fiery red, the same as his lips, and precum leaking.

Just as you were about to make another sound to urge him, Felix pressed the tip of his cock to the toy’s entrance and spread the whiteness around. Your eyes crossed to watch as he did, a deep groan rumbling within his chest. When he finally pushed into it, you turned your gaze to his face, already watching you. Felix’s stare jumped back and forth between where your bodies connected and your watering eyes, big and begging for more.

He held the contact for a second too long, making you moan and send vibrations through him. Felix’s hips reflexively bucked into your mouth, pushing his pelvis flush against you. The tip of his cock hit the back of your throat and forced a lewd gag to rumble into his skin. Hand tangled into your hair and pushed you impossibly deeper against him, struggling to breathe through your nose. You didn’t mind, though, already more than pleased with his reaction.

“Five. Love you and your warm mouth,” the words slipped from Felix almost strained, like he was winded. He felt every contraction of your throat around his cock, felt your tongue swirling around anywhere and everywhere, messy and drooling.

This was already a much nicer experience for giving head. The rubber was a gentler replacement for covering your teeth instead of your lips, which would usually get rubber raw and become painful. This was comfortable, enjoyable.

Felix’s head fell back as he pulled his cock out entirely, giving you an excited smirk and stuffing himself back in. The pace may have been on the slower side, but it was nowhere near cautionary. Every pull out was followed by a rough shove in, again and again. You could feel the drool dripping down your chin, trying to suck in harder to make it stop, only to be cut off by his dick. You gave up on trying to control the drool, but still sucked him in with every chance.

Both his hands came behind your head, guiding you to lean back against the edge of the bed. You were unable to escape now, not that you would even try. Hearing him growing louder and louder made you feel not only aroused to the max, but proud.

He didn’t hold back once you were pinned down, hunching over you and onto the bed on his forearms, knees resting on either side of your head. A few messy thrusts into your mouth just to test your comfortability, Felix reached down for your hand. He guided it upwards towards his balls, “make yourself useful.”

The loudest whimper was muffled even against the rubber barrier, shivers erupting through him. Along with your magical hands massaging his balls and the warm, tight enclosure of your throat, he was on cloud nine. Then you whined again.

“You love this, don’t you? You love when I treat you like just a hole.” Felix began to move his hips again, the sound of skin on skin on rubber bouncing off the walls of the bedroom.

You could only moan to say, “yes, I love it.” Every time you made a noise or ran your fingers over one spot, Felix would physically react and push his cock even deeper down your throat. The tip of his dick would hit your uvula so consistently at this point that you’d almost gotten used to the feeling of gagging. But it didn’t stop your body from reacting anyways.

When you squeezed his balls just a bit firmer, sucked just a bit harder and flattened your tongue, his entire body violently shuddered and sheathed himself completely in your mouth. Warmth immediately flooded your throat and the bitter-salty taste of his release coated your tongue. Felix didn’t pull out, holding your nose pressed to this skin as you struggled to breathe. You tried to swallow what he delivered but you failed and suckled him in just that bit more. Felix whined as he finished and moved to pull out, crying louder when you tried to hold his cock in your mouth and falling from the rubber with a lewd pop.

A mix of drool and cum dribbled down your chin and neck, some even spread to your cheeks and under your nose somehow. Felix stumbled back and fell onto his knees in front of you, out of breath. You didn’t make a move to take the toy out of your mouth.

He did that for you, intently watching the string of mixed fluids connecting your swollen lips and the mouthpiece. Chest heaving and eyes drooping tiredly, you tried to sit up straight and proper by placing your hands on your thighs. Felix chuckled at your enthusiasm. It was endearing, it made his heart feel so heavy that he couldn’t help but lean in to kiss you. He could taste himself, not that he cared as he led the kiss, he could feel your exhaustion.

In one more sinful gesture, Felix messily tongued at the fluids around the corners of your mouth and chin, scooping it up only to push it back into your mouth. You took it happily, weakly sucking his tongue to get what you could. Another line of wetness strung your mouths together as he pulled away.

“Don’t waste. Swallow.” You did as told, sticking your tongue out to show task completion. Felix took you into his arms, cradling you and laying kisses to your neck.

You wanted to fall asleep, still in some sort of dazed limbo. He didn’t let you, lifting you from the floor and placing you gently onto the bed. Being off your knees was relieving, a sigh falling from your now sore lips.

“So sweet. Want a reward for being so good for me?” Felix’s voice felt distant, but still sultry. It enticed you to nod tiredly and blindly reach out for him. Feeling his hands take yours was grounding as he peppered soft kisses down your body.

“Sleepy, baby?” He murmured into your belly. Your eyes were threatening to shut, but you found the energy to nod again. “Want me to keep going?” Another weak nod. “Okay, sweetheart. You just lay pretty and enjoy, okay?” His permission to not have to lift a finger let your eyes finally shut, squeezing his hands one last time before giving into the feeling of his body heat.

You didn’t realize the extent to which you were truly turned on. Felix only kissed around your sex and you were shivering against the sheets. Exhaustion took over your body as you melted into him and the mattress. What you didn’t realize was your mind drifted off entirely for a few moments, white noise of obscene licking and suckling the perfect space for you to relax. He was warm and gentle with you, slowly hitting every wonderful spot that made you fall back to earth much sooner than either of you anticipated. Your orgasm struck you like a meteor, arching into his mouth and nails digging into the tops of his hands while heat flushed every inch of your skin. Felix kept his pace steady and helped you joyride through it until all that filled the room was heavy breathing.

Unable to open your eyes, you heard bits and pieces of your boyfriend’s praises. He kissed the insides of your thighs and your belly, saying something about cleaning up before you were left cold in the middle of your bed.

Not missing a beat, he returned a minute later with a wet wipe. First wiping your face then your lower region, all done with sweet words that filled your heart to the brim. Felix forced you to sit up for a second to take a sip of water, then maneuvered you to lay beneath the covers, entangling his limbs with yours.

Your back to his chest, he pressed one more adorning kiss to your cheek. “Six.”

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hyunbunlix · 4 months

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Rejuvenation [resurrectionist!Felix]

Characters: Felix, fem!OC Rating: A/O for Adults Only Content Warnings/Tags: mentions/depictions of war/battle, death in battle, depictions of grief, pain as fuel for magic, resurrection/reincarnation, anthro/bestial characters, explicit sexual content, dirty talk, hickeys, switch Felix, blowjob, fingering (f. receiving), p in v, multiple female orgasms, raw male orgasm, cockwarming Word Count: 11,688 Summary: When Felix’s beloved is killed in the war between chimaera and seraphim, he gleans her soul and swears to build her a new body as close to her old one as possible. As the years pass and Felix is tasked with creating hulking, fearsome chimaera for the war effort, the materials to bring his beloved back are scarce. Finally, he manages to work himself to the bone and bring her back to life . . . only to be barely recognizable himself when she returns. Note: Based on the world of Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor.

Once upon a time, a sphinx lost his wings, but those wings were not the ones he wept for.

Felix always felt a sense of dread when the chimaera went into battle with the angels. Whether the chimaera won or lost the day, there would always be warriors among them—friends, neighbors, loved ones—who were slain.

As the resurrectionist, it was Felix’s job to stay in reserve and glean the souls of the slain. He wasn’t the only one able to glean, of course—anyone with the right materials could—but their losses had been so heavy recently that they couldn’t currently spare a soldier to lay in wait for the fighting to be done. Ergo, here he was, tucked back in the trees and wishing he could cover his feline ears, which were presently picking up the battle in sickening detail.

If Felix died, so too would the chimaera. He was the last line keeping his kind from being wiped off the face of the planet by the seraphim, who sought to rule it all. He was a capable fighter, of course—most of them were; they had to be—but his task was more important than that, and so he had to remain safe at any cost.

His ears swiveled, alerting him to the angel sneaking up on him. Felix whirled around, shouldering his way past the soldier’s guard, past his sword, cutting him down swiftly with his deer horn knives. He moved on quickly after that, finding a new place to hide, and bide, and wait for the fighting to end.

After years of listening to his friends fight and die, one might think Felix would be used to this by now. But oh, how he wasn’t. Never could he be. He was the sort that could never harden his heart to suffering no matter how many times he had to witness it.

So he waited, and he prayed, and he hoped that when his friends died, it would be swift so they would not suffer.

When the hours of fighting were over, Felix could not tell if they had won or lost. If they had won, it had been at a terrible cost, because, alongside him, only three chimaera were left standing.

Felix’s blood turned to ice.

“No,” he whispered. One of his comrades, a massive goat-serpent, pointed toward the hill from which he’d just come. It was Felix’s job to glean them all, but his comrades knew him well, and knew who he would need to glean first.

“She’s there,” the ram said. “They ambushed her.”

Felix took off, leaving the ground in wingless flight, the result of magic he’d stolen long ago. He shot up and over the hill, and sure enough, amongst a platoon of fallen angels with extinguished wings lay his love, pooled in blood, both hers and others.

It was a blur after that. Habit took over as he lit the incense that would guide her soul, and opened the thurible that would hold it tight. He could feel her in the air, the shape of her soul as it left her body, as it twisted through the ether and finally curled up inside the thurible. He twisted the metal sphere shut, put it in his bag, and went to do the same for the rest of his fallen comrades. He couldn’t mourn here, not when each and every fallen soul was on a timer, and he was the only thing that would save them from evanescence.

He couldn’t mourn here, but when he gleaned the others, it was with silent tears streaming down his face.

Only when he and his few remaining living comrades, laden with thuribles, flew back to the relative safety of their citadel, only when Felix was alone in his workshop with nothing for company but a pile of thuribles, did he break. He held her thurible to his chest and sobbed bitterly, because he was the resurrectionist, and he knew how long it would be before he saw her again.

Felix was in charge of keeping the tide of the war from drowning the chimaera. He had a list of priority resurrections in accordance with the request of the generals, knew who he had to bring back first and in what form to keep them all fighting. Because the chimaera’s numbers were reduced with each conflict, every resurrection had to count for two or three angels. As a result, he had no choice but to build behemoth bodies that were all wings, claws, and goring horns rather than the beautiful, graceful, natural bodies of born chimaera, which ordinarily came in all shapes and sizes.

It was a fate they had all accepted, a fate necessary to avoid their own extinction. Through the materials of magic and metal and gemstones and teeth, they could be reborn through strange alchemy. Felix, too, had been reborn this way once, though it was before things had grown so dire, before the previous resurrectionist had died and evanesced. In his first life, Felix had been a sphinx, but when he’d come back, the only parts of his original self that remained were his feline ears, retractable claws, and sharp teeth. His predecessor told him this was because their circumstances were grave, and they needed someone able to go into the neighboring world, among humans, and buy, barter, or steal the materials they needed for the war. All Felix needed was a hat or a hood, and humans didn’t so much as glance his way.

Felix remembered how disorienting it had been to wake up without his wings, without his feline legs and tail. Learning to balance again had been no small task, and he hated that he had to put such strain on his comrades now. Though, they’d been doing this long enough now that most of them were growing accustomed to being hulking creatures of nightmare.

Most, but not all.

Felix’s love had still been in her original body, lithe and elegant and strong, the most beautiful creature Felix had ever seen. He’d met her after his resurrection, after his natural body had been lost, and despite his relative lack of animal features, she had taken an interest in him. Where others whispered or mocked, saying his body looked naked and alien and unadorned, she told him how beautiful she thought he was, and how taken with him. After such a hard life, Felix’s heart had had no resistance to her, and he’d fallen quickly.

He would not be able to bring her back for quite some time. Officially, this was because she was not very high on the list of priority, but frankly, had Felix had all the right materials on hand, he would have forsaken that rule. What could the war counsel do? Fire him? He was the only creature still alive who knew the delicate alchemy of resurrection.

But he didn’t have all the right materials. This was to be her first time coming back to life, and Felix wanted to make the process as easy on her as possible. Not just any vessel, any body, would do. He needed her to come back as close to the way she had been as possible.

And he couldn’t do that when his priority was monsters, nightmares, the huge bodies that depleted his stores and sent him scouring the human world for new materials. He couldn’t put her back together when his first priority was keeping them all alive, when he needed to make sure she even had a home to come back to.

So he brought the others back, a little at a time, but as the weeks passed, his beloved’s thurible remained untouched on his bedside table. Weeks turned to months, and his heartsickness grew. Every time he was close, every time he had set aside nearly enough of the right materials to build her new body, they would take losses again, and he would be forced to raid that secret store.

For the greater good. For the war. For the chimaera. For all of them.

All of them, it seemed, except him, and except her.

Every so often, when he felt so low that surely there could be no further down to fall, he would open her thurible just a tiny bit, just enough for the impression of her soul to rub up against his in the ether for the barest moment. He couldn’t leave it open for long, or her soul would escape and dissipate, but these small moments, these little reprieves, were some of the only instances that kept him going.

Though, if one were to judge only by the way he cried after, one might think the ritual did more harm than good.

It had been more than a year.

Felix worked himself to the bone to keep them afloat. His time was evenly split between his world, Eretz, and the world of humans, Earth. On Eretz, all his time was spent in gleanings and resurrections. On Earth, all his time was spent scouring the globe for teeth, both animal and human, and metallic ores and gemstones to infuse the bodies with, giving them strength, durability, and dexterity.

Every day, the chimaera became more and more the monsters the angels claimed they were, and it was Felix’s fault. But what else could he do? What else could he fucking do? Let them all go extinct? Let the angels wipe them off the face of the planet?

Several times, he got low enough to consider bringing his beloved back in one of those monstrous bodies. It didn’t matter to him; he would love her in any form, no matter how frightful. But then the selfishness of that plan caught up with him; dropping her into a random, unfamiliar body with extremities she wasn’t used to, dimensions she couldn’t control. At that rate, she’d probably just get killed again. The chimaera had come so far from what they’d once been, and unlike the other soldiers and assassins, she had not experienced the series of gradual resurrections that, in a way, eased the process, becoming more bestial with each evolution.

No. He couldn’t do that to her. He wouldn’t.

So he kept stashing away her materials, the reptile fangs that would replicate her lovely, durable scales, the tiny bat’s teeth that would give her new wings, the spiral-horned antelope’s incisors that would twin her old horns, and human teeth for everything else. He even planned to use diamonds, ensuring she would be as strong and beautiful as he remembered.

And yet, again and again, he was forced to borrow from her unmade body to fuel their fucking war.

Felix had been happy once. Even as the resurrectionist, he’d had no shortage of smiles, sunny even when they were tinged with melancholy. But under the strain of endless death, under the toll of endless pain to fuel his magic, and without her presence by his side to make it all bearable, his spirit withered.

He kept doing what needed to be done, but it was by rote. He did what he was told because thinking itself was taxing now. He kept the chimaera alive and felt very little in the way of pride or even relief at doing so.

They were losing, and part of him wished it would just end already, no matter how badly.

It had been two years without her.

Finally, after his most recent excursion to the human world, he’d been able to snap up the last teeth he needed. Upon his return to the citadel, he promptly shut himself in his workshop and barred the door. He often worked with urgency, but this time especially he was not to be disturbed.

Mostly because this was not at all what he was supposed to be doing with his time and resources, and he was terrified that someone might burst in and force him to stop.

Meticulously, he threaded the necklace that represented her body in perfect configuration. If he didn’t take care, her animal aspects might manifest in the wrong places and render the whole process moot. He knew exactly what to do, he’d done it countless times, and yet, in his nervous fervor, he checked the string of teeth and gems and metal beads multiple times to make sure it was perfect.

After that, it was time for the conjuring.

The conjuring was always by far the worst part. The price for magic was pain, and bringing a body from concept into existence required a steady stream. Sometimes soldiers, especially injured ones, would contribute their pain to the cause, a terrible tithe to help keep them all going. Today, in order to keep this a secret until it had already been done and could not be taken back, he could be afforded no such assistance.

Felix stripped off his shirt and affixed four sets of screw clamps to his arms, two for each. On his upper arms, they viced painfully around his triceps; on his forearms, they ground between his radius and ulna bones. The pain was, as always, a hum in his body, impossible to ignore. He would bruise heavily from this.

He didn’t care.

He directed his pain through the necklace in his hands, his own pain forming a harmony with that of the creatures whose bodies these teeth had once come from. Death was its own kind of resonant pain, so even teeth taken from bodies already expired held magic within. It was a careful calculus, to take pain and death and turn it into a new vessel for life.

When the necklace was gone from his hands, he knew it was done. He turned around and saw the body, bereft of cloth or covering, lying on his secondary work table. Felix heaved a sigh as he beheld it, and then moved to loosen the clamps from his arms and put them away. Sure enough, his new bruises were already blooming.

He got up to examine the body. It was as close to her original one as it could possibly be without being wholly exact. After all, the animal aspects of natural-born chimaera on Eretz were not exactly alike to the animals on Earth. Felix’s love had been a dragon woman in her natural life, and this new body was as close a match as he could possibly make.

Even now, changed though she was, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever beheld.

Now that he’d confirmed the body an acceptable vessel, he went to retrieve her thurible and a cone of incense. The scent was thick and earthy, a combination of her favorite herbs and flowers, concentrated. There was no scientific need for the particular scent, as just about anything that left a strong trail on the air would do the job; he simply wanted to welcome her back to the world as thoughtfully as possible.

He placed the incense on the body’s forehead and lit it, and once the smoke had curled upward and begun to hang in the air, he opened the thurible.

As before, he could feel her soul—her gentle, remarkable soul—but unlike before, there was no danger in it escaping the thurible and vanishing. Now, it would simply follow the trail left by the incense smoke down and into the body, becoming whole.

He almost held his breath while he waited, but he already felt so close to passing out that he had to force himself to breathe. When her eyes fluttered open, his breath did catch, tears welling in his eyes. She sat up slowly, glancing around the room.

“Where . . . ?” she murmured, and her voice was so nearly a perfect replica of what he remembered that the tears did fall then. Slowly, she brought her eyes to him, and for a moment, there was nothing like recognition in her eyes.

“Love . . . ?” he asked softly, willing his voice not to shake yet feeling not an ounce of embarrassment when it did not obey. Her eyes sparked then and went over his form again, and her mouth parted with a surprised little gasp.

“Felix?” she whispered, and Felix couldn’t choke back the sob that came in response. She swung her legs over the side of the table and opened her arms for him; he pressed close to her and bawled.

Felix was not as she remembered him. His features were sharper, gaunter. He looked exhausted. His hair hung lank in its ponytail and desperately needed a trim; there were deep, dark circles under his reddened eyes. Worst of all, perhaps, was how skinny he’d gotten, little more than bones and the flesh stretched across them, on full display thanks to his lack of shirt. And the bruises. So dark and awful that they would no doubt turn into welts.

He was still her Felix, and yet, he was changed, too.

She held him close while he cried, pulling the tie out of his ponytail and running her fingers through his hair. She was still completely naked from her resurrection, but she felt no embarrassment in it. This man had seen her natural flesh naked countless times, and he had built this new body from scratch; there was not a person alive that she felt had more right to behold her like this.

When he’d finally managed to calm himself, he pulled back to just stare at her. “I was so scared,” he said. “I thought I’d fucked something up, that you didn’t remember me, that maybe I’d opened your thurible one too many times and lost part of your soul somehow . . .”

She smiled gently, touching his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. He looked immediately confused.

“Did you think I would let you just stay dead?” he asked, sounding mortified. She shook her head quickly.

“No, that’s not it. I mean, I’m thankful for new life, yes, but that’s not what I was referring to. Thank you for visiting me in my thurible,” she clarified.

For whatever reason, that pulled another soft sob from him.

“I couldn’t help myself,” he said miserably. “I just missed you so much.”

“How long has it been?” she asked. There was no way to gauge time in the stasis of a thurible, and while the changes in Felix attested that time certainly had passed, she had no concept of how much.

“Two years and eleven days,” he said. She looked at him, wide-eyed.

“You counted?” she asked, incredulous. He nodded.

“How could I not?” he said in return. She shrugged helplessly. He took a step back from her and offered his hands to help her down from the table. She held to him for a moment while she found her footing, careful to mind his bruises.

“How do you feel?” he asked, taking on a professional cant despite the tear tracks still on his face. “Any disorientation? Anything that feels wrong?”

She took a step back from him. She tested her arms and legs with some basic motions, then swung her tail back and forth. She rolled her neck, her head appropriately weighted by horns. Finally, she fanned her wings wide, careful not to knock anything over.

“It all seems to be in working order,” she said, taking a deep breath in and out. “Truly, thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, then, after a beat, he seemed to realize she was still naked and he himself half-naked. “Oh, gods.”

He went quickly to the other side of the room and brought her some basic tail-friendly breeches and a halter-style tunic to put on. Then, flushing, he hurried to put his own shirt back on.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “After the conjuring, I was so focused on getting this done that I completely forgot. I didn’t mean to . . . I mean, it wasn’t supposed to feel like an ambush or something. I don’t . . . I mean . . . Fuck.”

She had known Felix long enough, had witnessed the battle between his brain and his mouth enough times to understand what he was trying to get at but couldn’t quite bring himself to say. After he’d pulled his shirt back on, she stepped close to him and tipped his head just right to kiss him.

“I will never complain about seeing your body, or about you seeing mine,” she said, and his face burned a shade hotter. She stepped back from him then and set about getting dressed. As she was tying the strings to her breeches, pounding started at the door.

“What are you doing in there, resurrectionist?” bellowed a commanding voice. Felix’s eyes narrowed, feline and hateful, his posture ramrod straight. “You were supposed to be working on Qworom today, yet I have his thurible right here!”

“You should know,” Felix muttered quietly to her, “that I wasn’t supposed to do this.”

She cocked her head in question, her expression creased into suspicion and discontent, but she didn’t have time to ask what, exactly, he meant by that before he’d already gone and removed the crossbar from the door, allowing it to burst open.

A hulking chimaera bulled through, and she had the immediate impression that he would have simply broken the door down had it remained obstructed. He was certainly large enough to make it happen. He was a harsh-looking creature, part bear, part bull, part lion, if lions had manes made out of reptilian points. He was terrible, but beautiful in a certain way, too, and she recognized the body immediately as Felix’s work.

“General Torza,” Felix acknowledged, his voice carefully neutral. She regarded the general with surprise; she remembered what he’d looked like two years ago, and he bore only the faintest resemblance to that form now. She saw Felix’s feline ears twitch backward toward flattening; was he ashamed to let her see what the chimaera had become, what he had made them? Was he eaten alive with guilt over his inability to find a more elegant solution to their extinction?

She ached to reach for his hand, to make him know that none of that was true, but refrained. General Torza was looking at her with something like astonished disgust, and she knew she would have to play the next few minutes very carefully.

“What is that?” Torza demanded of Felix, gesturing at her like she was the most offensive piece of furniture to ever exist. She resisted the urge to bristle.

“A revenant,” Felix answered blandly. Revenant was the general term for a chimaera soldier who had come back from the dead at least once.

“And why does it look like that? You know what we do here, boy, and that does not fit the strategy,” the general snarled.

“She,” Felix snapped, all his sharpest teeth on display as he furiously hissed the word, showing his first inflection of true emotion during the encounter. Torza snorted in indignation.

“She,” he replied mockingly. “This is not the time to be crafting your own personal plaything. I need soldiers, boy. Monsters that will strike terror into our enemies and rend them in two with their bare hands. Not this.”

Felix’s face was flushed with rage now, his ears pinned back. It was an emotion he so rarely displayed, and she laid a hand on his shoulder. Instantly he fizzled out, turning his head to look at her like he was lost and she was true north.

“Actually, sir,” she said to the general, picking her words carefully, “Felix didn’t bring me here to fight.”

“So you��re useless,” Torza growled.

“No, sir,” she answered. “I’m here to help him. This work takes its toll and goes much faster with assistance. I’m sure you’ll recall that his predecessor had three helpers, four if you count Felix during his apprenticeship. If we’re to turn the tide of this war, you can’t rely on one soul to rescue all others.”

Torza regarded her for a time, then turned his eyes back on Felix. “Is this true?”

“It is,” Felix answered, regaining himself. “I needed help. Things will be easier now, and if something were to happen to me, well . . . All wouldn’t be lost.”

Torza gave a sharp exhale that put his bovine side fully on display, part snort and part grunt. He held out Qworom’s thurible. “Then I expect this one done by the end of the day,” he said. It was a minor concession, but it would do.

“Of course,” Felix answered, accepting the silver vessel. The general turned and stormed his way out the door, which Felix promptly closed and barred again. He leaned back against it, his posture sagging. “Thank you. For thinking so quickly. You shouldn’t have needed to deal with a confrontation so soon after waking up. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, shaking her head to wave it away. Then she gestured to the thurible in his hand. “I suppose we had better get to work, or else I’ll be a liar.”

He gave a soft huff that was almost a chuckle. “I suppose so,” he said, and went back over to his work table.

Felix moved through the steps of the resurrection process, offering a truncated explanation as he went along. There would be more time later to instruct her in detail, but right then, with such a tight deadline, there wasn’t enough.

He explained the teeth, the way you had to listen to each one to understand its essence, understand whether it was the correct part for the whole they were trying to assemble. He explained the configuration as he strung it, why which parts went where and what they corresponded to.

Finally, with the necklace completed, it was time for the conjuring. He blanched when she held out her arms to him. This part, she was already familiar with. Every chimaera close to the war effort was.

“What are you doing?” he asked as though he didn’t already know. He knew, of course, but his mind refused the possibility outright.

“I want to tithe,” she said. He shook his head immediately.

“No,” he answered. Her expression creased into a frown, and his heart constricted.

“But I saw your arms earlier. It would be easier on you if I just—”

“No,” he repeated. How could he make her understand? “I can’t . . . I can’t be the reason you get hurt. I can’t. You might spare me some physical pain, but my heart can’t take it.”

Her expression softened, sadness and love on her face. He wanted to curl up against her, but the work wasn’t finished yet.

“All right,” she relented.

He did allow her to help him set the clamps, which would at the very least speed up the process a bit, especially once the conjuring was complete. Pain was required, they both understood that, but she made it clear that she didn’t want him in it any longer than necessary. After the conjuring was finished, she swiftly loosened the clamps from his arms, and though she did her best not to, Felix caught her frowning. He’d instructed her to tighten the clamps directly onto the bruises that had already been there—the quickest and easiest source of pain.

Felix put his shirt back on while she fetched the incense and thurible, carefully setting them up just the way he instructed. Then she lit the incense and opened the thurible, funneling Qworom into his ugliest body yet.

Guilt, yes. Shame, yes. Felix prayed they would all live long enough for him to put them back into the bodies that matched their souls.

After walking Qworom through a quick set of physical litmus tests—which, all throughout, the soldier kept tossing confused and almost suspicious looks at the dragon woman—Felix sent the soldier on his way. He couldn’t shake the sudden uneasy feeling in his stomach.

“When was the last time you ate, Felix?” she asked once it was just the two of them again.

“I don’t know, last night, maybe,” he answered. Her eyebrows drew together in concern.

“You don’t even know for sure?”

He shrugged.

“Well, I’m hungry, and you should eat, too. Is the mess hall still where I remember?” she said, and he could tell she was fighting very hard to downplay her worry for him.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Great. Let’s go.”

Going to the mess hall didn’t make Felix feel any better. The second they entered, chimaera started whispering. Most of those eating in the hall currently were hulking revenants, but there were also cooks and caretakers, chimaera of standard proportion, some of them even in their original flesh. It took a lot more than soldiers to keep the citadel running, after all.

For a moment, Felix hoped that perhaps his beloved would blend in with the others whose trade wasn’t war. If that was his goal, though, he probably shouldn’t have walked in with her. Then again, any such illusion would have been pretty much shattered once anyone witnessed the dark eye-shaped brands in each of her palms—the mark of a revenant.

Worse, perhaps, were the individuals who had a long memory, and who paid enough attention to remember who this dragon woman was, and, more critically, who she had been to Felix before her death.

With his feline ears, very little escaped his notice, and so he heard all the little comments and jabs. “I suppose one would get lonely up in that tower.” “I wonder if he changed anything, brought her back exactly to his taste.” Those sorts of things were bad enough, but there were worse ones. “Why would he waste resources on her?” “She wasn’t on the list. Has he stopped believing in the cause? Are we losing that badly?”

Felix half wished he could cover his ears, but that would be far too obvious a concession. Now of all times, he could not afford to look weak-willed in front of his comrades.

They retrieved their rations and went to sit and eat. Her expression was unreadable; her hearing wasn’t quite as good as Felix’s, but she had clearly picked up on enough of the talk to be at least somewhat on her guard. They ate in silence, and just when Felix thought they might get through this unharassed, a passerby dumped their cup of grasswine down the back of her body.

She didn’t react beyond the instant flaring of her wings. Another person might have taken it for an instinctual reaction, but Felix knew her and saw her face when she did it, and understood that she had opened her wings to block off the walkway between their table and the one behind her, forcing the culprit to either stay put or try to bull their way past.

To Felix's surprise, they didn't move while she shook out her wings and slowly got to her feet.

"I haven't heard an apology yet," she sighed. "I can only take that to mean you aren't sorry."

As she folded her wings enough to turn around and face the careless aggressor, Felix recognized him as Narium, a horse-aspect chimaera with the proportions and affect of a minotaur. He was based on a Percheron, and at least twice as wide as the dragon woman. Under the table, Felix's hands inched toward the deer horn knives that he never left his workshop without.

He was tired of living in a world where everyone, whether enemy or ally, felt like a threat.

“My deepest apologies,” Narium said in a mocking tone. “I must have tripped on that lizard tail of yours.”

The end of said tail flicked in irritation.

Narium, for all his equine features, had reptilian eyes, and he was carefully sizing up the dragon woman now. He was likely weighing his chances against her, thinking he would come out on top since she was unarmed. As far as Felix knew, the two of them had never served together, so Narium would have no reason to know that so long as she had her horns and tail, she was not without a weapon.

Felix had just moved to get up, to intervene, to make himself a target instead if he had to, when Narium swung his massive fist. From the angle of the strike, he didn’t look to be aiming for her body at all; he wanted to break her left wing, to leave her shattered on the ground.

She was faster, as expected of her smaller size, and she leapt into the air, out of reach, before the strike could connect. Her wings beat powerfully, sending silverware skidding and stray vegetables rolling off of plates.

“There’s no reason for this,” she called down. Narium, too, had wings, but due to his hulking size and the limitations of mechanical leverage, they were huge and therefore ineffectual in the mess hall.

“Your cowardice is reason enough,” he snorted, stomping one large hoof. “Running away where I can’t pursue you. Come outside where the fight will be fair.”

“Contrary to popular belief,” she said tersely, “the point of a solider is not to die needlessly. I would hate to make more work for Felix.”

Narium turned his gaze on the resurrectionist then, and he looked furious. “Did you really make your pet strong enough to kill me?”

The insult rattled through Felix. As though she would ever consent to being anyone’s pet. He itched to draw his blades, which was unusual for him; his first instinct had ever been to defuse rather than escalate. As always, though, the rules were different when it came to protecting those he loved.

Before he could act on either impulse, however, General Torza plowed his way through the mess hall and banded his powerful hand around the horse-chimaera’s arm, yanking him in close so that he had the soldier’s full attention.

“That,” Torza said lowly, nodding his horned head up at the dragon woman, “is our new resurrectionist in training. Pray your soul never passes through her hands, or you might wind up a toad next time.”

Narium snorted again, seemingly more frustrated now, but lumbered away after one final glower in Felix’s direction.

“I understand any jealousy you might feel,” Torza said, raising his voice to address the whole hall. “We all miss the forms we were born with, and the vessels that replicated them most closely. But we exist in our current forms to best serve one goal: Our survival. For some of us, that means monstrous bodies to strike fear into the hearts of our foes as we overcome them. For others, it means a quick, dexterous form to better glean our souls and synthesize our new bodies. If you harm those responsible for your resurrection, you will be dooming your own future at best, and our entire race at worst.”

He paused for a long moment, letting his words sink in. There were no objections.

“As you were,” he said finally, and the majority of the gathered chimaera went back to their meals. Felix, still frozen where he stood in front of his table, met eyes with the general and hoped his expression conveyed his gratitude. Torza inclined his head slightly, then turned away to fetch his own food.

Rather than come back down to the floor as Felix expected, his love glided over to the nearest window and let herself outside. Felix had the fleeting impression of a butterfly once trapped.

He did the only thing he could think to do, the only thing he had any desire to do. He followed her.

When he caught up, she was sitting atop one of the citadel’s turrets. In the past, it had been used to hold prisoners. Now, though, it was basically empty. Taking prisoners hadn’t been part of their strategy for some time. The sun was rapidly setting around it, making her a shadow limned in orange.

He touched down beside her but hesitated to sit. “May I join you?” he asked first. She nodded, and he sat, his feet dangling over the side with hers.

It was quiet for a few beats until he broke it again. “I’m sorry,” he said. She glanced at him.

“You didn’t start that fight,” she replied. “The one who owes me an apology is Narium, but that’s never going to happen.”

“Not for that,” he said softly. “I mean for bringing you back at the wrong time. For provoking whispers and stares and even violence. They’re going to treat you differently because I brought you back differently, and I wasn’t supposed to. It couldn’t be more obvious that you’re my favorite, and it’s not fair to them, or to you.”

“To me?” she asked. “How do you figure?”

“Because I brought you back in this form during a time when I knew they wouldn’t accept you,” he said, his voice growing a bit louder, frustrated by his own lack of foresight. “I had some idea what the consequences would be, but I didn’t let myself dwell on it. It seemed so small a thing next to the weight of continuing to live in a world without you. Now you’re stuck with me, doing my terrible work with me, when I don’t even know if that’s a burden you want to bear, or if you even want to be near me at all anymore, let alone in the same way you were before your death. It’s been less than a day, and nothing has gone the way it should.”

She surprised him by reaching for his hand.

“I think one thing has,” she said. He dared to meet her eyes.

“What?”

“I’m with you,” she said simply. “That’s the way it always should be.”

His eyes widened a bit, and he found himself searching for any indication that she was lying, that she was only saying so to spare his feelings.

“You know you don’t have to say that,” he deferred softly. “It’s enough for me that you’re alive and in the world again. It’s enough for me that I get to see you, and know that you’re all right. You don’t . . . Things don’t have to be the way they were between us before. I won’t hold you to it.”

“The only thing that could make me go,” she said softly, “is if you can look me in my eyes and tell me honestly that you don’t love me anymore.”

He exhaled, long and slow, and shook his head. “That will never happen,” he said, his heart so full he thought it might burst.

“Then I will never leave you for any reason besides death,” she said. “Simple.”

Gently, like he feared she might vanish as though a figment, he laid his hand on her neck, turning her face just the slightest bit more with his thumb against her jaw. He searched her eyes again for doubts, for regrets, and found none. After that, he kissed her. She squeezed the hand in hers as she kissed him back, and though it had been two agonizing years, her mouth felt just as familiar as he remembered; when she parted her lips for him, she tasted the same.

He moved closer to her on the ledge, draping his thigh over hers to erase as much negative space as possible, his hand shifting to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, to make his hunger known. Her tongue grazed his; his teeth brushed her lip; her free hand moved to his thigh. He moaned, a sound he hadn’t made since she’d been killed.

She pulled back just a little, just enough to look at him while he flushed, panting to get his breath back.

“I missed you,” he said meekly, as though it wasn’t brutally obvious. It made her smile, though, and that was what mattered.

When she leaned to press her lips to his again, her stomach protested, causing her to break away with a laugh. Felix echoed the sound, low and a little raw from disuse.

“How about this,” he said, toying with the end of a lock of her hair, “you head back to my workshop, and I’ll bring up a plate to replace the one you were forced to abandon?”

“Only if you bring one for yourself, as well,” she said, giving him a knowing look. He sighed and rolled his eyes, but couldn’t smother his smile.

“Deal.”

That night, Felix had his best sleep in years. Not only did his love all but force him to retire at a reasonable hour, but he refused to let her bunk in the barracks after what had happened in the mess.

Instead, she piled into his bed with him, her new body remembering all the old postures they used to use to accommodate her wings. Pressed against her warm body, his back to her front, Felix’s thoughts tended not to race quite so badly. It was an effect she still had.

The end result was that he fell asleep more quickly, lulled into unconsciousness by the sound of her breath, and stayed asleep longer, his body perfectly at peace beside hers.

She woke before him. Not by choice, but because someone at the main door to his workshop seemed very keen about getting inside.

Loathe to wake him at all, she shook his shoulder as gently as she could, softly calling his name. He groaned, pressing nearer to her, his face against her skin.

“I’m sorry, love,” she murmured, gently running her fingers along one of his softly-furred feline ears. “Someone’s at your door, and they sound rather insistent.”

He stilled, one ear swiveling as he listened for a moment, and upon confirming the validity of her statement he sighed, uncurling his body from hers and stretching. He’d deemed his shirt unnecessary to sleep in, and though he was still both far too thin and far too bruised for her taste, she couldn’t help admiring him.

They both got up and dressed appropriately before going to the door.

Predictably, General Torza was on the other side, dropping off the thuribles of his top-priority soldiers. Felix accepted them, each one labeled by a piece of parchment affixed to the thurible by a bit of wire, and they got to work.

Such were their days for the foreseeable future. She learned better each day how to be the most help to Felix. There were still things only he could do, such as the delicate magic of conjuring, but she was able to help with every menial step along the way. Molding incense, setting teeth and gemstones into metal anchors so they could be more easily strung, fetching him things as he needed them including food and water. She was pleased to see that over the weeks, he gained a little weight back, and General Torza too was happy that the pace of resurrections had increased.

But the one thing Felix still refused to let her do was tithe. Occasionally, other chimaera, especially those who had been wounded in combat, came to offer their pain to the process. All other times, though, the burden fell to Felix.

Once, when she felt she couldn’t bear the sight of him affixing a clamp to his already bruised arm, she reached reflexively for him, and he jerked away.

“If you would just let me—” she tried to say.

“No,” he said, raising his voice the slightest bit, something he rarely did, especially towards her. “Don’t ask me again. Ever. All right?”

She’d nodded stiffly, and, unable to watch him do it that time, flown out the window to wait perched on the roof until it was done.

She had not brought it up again since. Now, she simply tried not to look while he conjured, to busy herself with other things in an attempt not to notice. She could always hear the way his breathing changed in relief when it was over, though, and always she was there to hand him a cool compress or two to help soothe the pain.

They’d been working side by side for about a month, a well-oiled mechanical rhythm to their process. The other chimaera seemed far less angry about her existence now that they were being reunited with friends and loved ones more often. Since Felix had been able to exceed what had previously been his maximum pace, he’d been allowed to bring individuals back who weren’t strictly soldiers, creating reunions for others much like he had for the two of them. This had the added benefit of encouraging more individuals to tithe. It was a lot easier to accept what Felix had done once others got to experience that same joy.

And yet, things weren’t exactly the same between the two of them, either. The stress of catching up with the resurrections had left him little time for anything other than work and taking care of his physical form as best he could. They’d been companionable, of course, but outside of sharing the occasional kiss and sleeping in the same bed, the affection between them wasn’t what it had once been.

She supposed that’s what she got for being dead for two years.

One evening, though, after an exceptionally productive day, they went to eat dinner in the mess, and Felix kept tossing her weird looks across the table for nearly the whole meal. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and asked, “What is it?”

He hesitated for a moment, looking abruptly shy, then said, “I’m tired of being cooped up in the citadel. I’m thinking about flying to the lake tonight.”

“Moonwing Lake?” she asked. She assumed, since it was the largest lake within easy travel distance of the citadel, especially if one flew there, something they both knew from experience. Felix nodded.

“I’m not supposed to go anywhere without an escort—I’m ‘too valuable’—so I wanted to ask if you’d like to come with me,” he said. He was entirely nonchalant about it, except for the way his eyes left hers for a moment—skating down her neck and then darting away entirely.

She felt she grasped the meaning of the invitation without him expressly needing to say it.

“That sounds nice,” she answered. “As long as we’re back by morning, of course.”

“Of course,” he echoed. “Always more work to be done.”

“Always,” she repeated back to him. “All the more reason to let off a little steam every once in a while.”

He gave her a pointed look, a look she remembered well from before her death, and knew for certain she had not misread the situation. “My thoughts exactly,” he said, and the tone of his voice, a purr so low in his vocal register that she would not have caught it if she weren’t so close to him, kicked off butterflies in her stomach.

“Glad that’s settled,” she answered, unable to help the airy, breathless quality in her voice. Felix smiled, an edge to the expression that put all his sharpest teeth on display.

She knew she’d feel those teeth before the day was out, and the butterfly feeling spread to places other than her stomach.

Though only one of them had wings, they were both swift fliers. They took off for the lake after dinner, Felix’s silent, wingless flight alongside her strong wingbeats. They couldn’t fly too close together thanks to her wingspan, but it would be clear to anyone who looked up that they were indeed flying together.

It was a temperate summer’s eve, the perfect time to go swimming in a lake that had been warmed by the sun all day. When they landed on solid ground again, she folded her wings, her tail flicking eagerly. The two moons were rising—one full and one a sliver—their reflections playing on the water.

Felix dropped the pack he’d been carrying—containing towels and snacks—and then tugged his shirt up and over his head. She watched him closely, marveling at every bit of his lean, strong form. It wasn’t unusual even now for her to see his bare torso at least once a day, but every time she saw him gave her pause like it was the very first. It was as though he’d been perfectly molded to attract her. She supposed she had the previous resurrectionist to thank for that.

In kind, she loosened the ties at her neck and hips that kept her shirt on, letting the article fall away, leaving her top half as bare as his. Like her, he couldn’t keep from staring, his lips parting slightly as he drank her in, his eyes widened like he couldn’t quite believe what he was being shown. Just as easily, she slipped out of her pants and walked into the water, leaving him to gape after her on the shore.

“Oh, come on,” she teased. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.”

“It isn’t,” he agreed, his voice sounding the slightest bit strained, “but it has been a long time.”

She turned back in time to see him strip, too, and despite his previous surprise, there was nothing stilted or nervous in his motions. He met eyes with her a few times, as though to make sure he still had her attention, then waded into the water after her. Despite most of his body being widely considered plain, she thought he was the most beautiful being to ever walk their world. The last month had been kind to him, and as he approached her, he looked every bit as lithe and strong as she remembered.

When he stood face to face with her, the water up to their hips, he raised his hands, trailing them up the line of her body, her waist, the sides of her chest, then further, his left hand tracing the line of her right horn while his right hand moved from her left shoulder to her wing-arm. Her wings stirred, an involuntary reaction to his touch not just there but everywhere, and she watched his eyes, his wide, dark pupils, the way he watched every move of hers as though in rapture.

“I missed you,” he said, his voice so low it invited a shiver in her. He’d said those words dozens of times since her resurrection, but she was well aware that they meant something different this time. It was not her presence as a whole he spoke of now; his words implied her carnality and his yearning for it to match with his.

In answer, she pressed her hungry mouth to his. His hands went back to her waist, perching as perfectly as they ever had, drawing her bare body flush with his. He kissed her like he was starved, like he might devour her, and she welcomed it. Their tongues skimmed, and he moaned into her mouth. She grazed his lower lip with her teeth—a taunt, a plea—and he nipped hers in return, pulling a breathless sound from her.

Once her lips felt sufficiently marked by his, she pulled back and moved to his jaw, his neck. She kept drawing those throaty moans from him, and when she dragged her tongue up the column of his neck, he made his most ragged sound yet, his hips flinching into hers. She clamped her mouth to his right trapezius muscle, sucking a mark into his skin, and the flinching turned into bucking, an intentioned effort at chasing any friction he could get.

“This is why we came here, isn’t it?” she asked, needing to be sure beyond a shadow of a doubt before she actually touched him. He nodded, his ponytail coming loose, making him look all the more disheveled, all the more in need.

“Yes,” he gasped out. “Needed you. Needed to be with you away from prying ears.”

She kissed him again, one of her hands feeling for him in the water, finding him already mostly hard. He made a deep, strangled sound against her mouth while she explored the shape of him, wrapped her hand around him, her grip fitting him exactly the way she remembered.

“Are we going to have to come all the way out here whenever we want to do this?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice. He flushed but shook his head.

“No, I just . . . I wanted our new first time to be special,” he said. She smiled, all hints of jest melting away. “I missed you,” he said again, and it was like he’d put his entire soul into the words, so bared was his longing.

She put her hands on his hips, gently guiding him back a few steps into shallower water. Then she settled onto her knees, trailing kisses on his body all the way down.

Until she was at eye level with his hardness.

She looked up at him for permission; he was still pink in the face, but he swallowed hard and nodded. She put her tongue out, licked along the underside of his shaft, and he shuddered. His fingers wrapped around one of her horns, and she knew instantly that it was for the sake of his own stability rather than any kind of bid for control.

Determined to savor, she took him slowly into her mouth, a little at a time. He tasted of lake water and salt, and every sound he made, deep in his throat and escaping as though unbidden, let her enjoy her work even more. Stasis had been kind to her; with the exception of those little moments of awareness—awareness of him—time hadn’t touched her mind or her heart. Not as it had touched Felix. The way she took him now—softly, ardently, wholly—was her apology for the loneliness he had endured.

Finally, when he could take no more, he did use the hand on her horn for control, holding her back and keeping her from sinking his cock back into her mouth. She looked up at him, saw the fight for self-control on his face, the edge of delirium in his eyes, and hummed in question. He groaned again and pulled her all the way back by her horn, forcing her to release his length, sloppy with spit and pre-cum, from her mouth.

“We didn’t come here just for me,” he said, his voice scraped raw, low, near the bottom of his vocal register. She shivered to hear it.

“You know I wouldn’t put your cock in my mouth if I didn’t like it,” she answered, but stood up out of the water all the same. He watched the rivulets drip down her form with more attention than strictly necessary.

“I know,” he said, “but I want so much more than that.” He swallowed hard, vulnerable, and added, “It’s been so long. This body has only ever known you.”

Her eyes widened a little, staring. He held her gaze so earnestly, so honestly, that she couldn’t question him further.

She knew, of course, that in his sphinx body he’d had other lovers. But after his resurrection into his current body, she had been the first one to lie with him. Up until her death, she had been the only one. Now here he was, telling her he’d waited, denied himself physical comfort for two long years waiting for her?

“Felix,” she breathed, bewildered. “You didn’t have to do that. I wouldn’t have held you to that. I wouldn’t have asked that of you.”

“I couldn’t imagine being with someone else,” he said. “So I just didn’t.”

She kissed him again, and when they broke apart, he took her hand and led her back to the shore. He spread one of their towels on the bank, and laid her on her back. She let him guide her body, let him look, let herself be plied when he spread her legs open and settled between them. He didn’t enter her, not yet, but pressed his hardened length against her abdomen. She shuddered.

She could wait. Her waiting was nothing compared to his.

He lowered his face to her neck, his lips eager on her skin, kissing over and over. He trailed up her sensitive flesh, making her squirm under him, until he came to her ear, his teeth skimming the lobe, which made her whimper.

“I want to see if you’re still sensitive in all the spots I remember,” he said, voice scraped low, making her shudder again, and her next sound was a moan while she nodded her agreement, her eager permission. He moved his mouth back to her neck, a soft scrape of his teeth against it before he clamped his mouth to her skin and sucked in a mark to match the one she’d given him. Then his mouth traveled lower, dragging over her collarbones. He licked and kissed his way down, and just when she thought he was going to put his mouth on one of her breasts, he pulled back.

She groaned and fidgeted in frustration. There was faint amusement on his face when she met his eyes.

“Open,” he instructed, and she did as requested, opening her mouth and putting her tongue out just enough to shield her bottom row of teeth. He put his right middle and ring fingers in her mouth, and she closed her lips around them. She held his eyes while she began giving his fingers the same treatment she’d given his cock just minutes ago, and reveled in the way he moaned, his hardness twitching in either remembrance or need. She hummed, pleased with herself, the sound muffled thanks to her full mouth.

He sighed as he lowered his mouth again, picking up where he’d left off and going right for her breast this time, lapping his tongue repeatedly over her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. She whined around his fingers but didn’t let them go. He kept up his ministrations until she felt she couldn’t take it anymore, and then he moved to the other breast. Her whining was all but incessant now, and he pulled his fingers out of her mouth, letting her be as loud as he wished.

Which, once she found out why he’d taken his fingers back, was pretty damn loud.

He sheathed his damp fingers inside her, and she was already wet enough that he met no resistance. She moaned, arching as he immediately curled his fingers forward, pumping them just right to hit the spot inside her that made her writhe. He was watching her so closely that she flushed. She knew him well, had been with him so many times, but she’d never received a look quite like that one before. He looked like he wanted to pounce on her, and it was taking every bit of his self-control to draw this out instead.

So, naturally, she decided to make that ten times harder for him to do.

It was the dab of stickiness on her stomach that gave her the idea, which meant it was actually his fault. But feeling his tip leaking on her like that, looking down and seeing it, too, she couldn’t help reaching for him again, jerking him quickly. The sound he made then was almost a growl, his eyes going unfocused for a moment before he gritted his teeth.

“You want me to last, don’t you?” he chided. She smiled innocently, and he sighed raggedly.

“Maybe,” she said sweetly.

“Then don’t do that,” he said.

“Maybe I have an agenda.”

“Which is?”

“Making this unbearable so you hurry up and put your cock inside me already.”

“Fuck,” he snarled under his breath, and then, to her shock, pulled his fingers out of her and lay down next to her. “Well, come on, then.”

“You’re going to make me do the work?” she asked, pretending to complain, though she was already in motion, lining herself up above him while he held his cock in perfect position for her.

“I already told you,” he ground out while she slid down onto his length, unable to tear his eyes away from the point of contact, “I want to see if you’re still sensitive to the same things. I seem to recall that this is one of the best ways to get you to orgasm on me.”

She shuddered, both because of his words and because of the way he fit as perfectly inside her as she remembered. As far as she understood, the art of resurrection was just that—an art, and therefore inexact. Rarely did chimaera end up with an exact replica of their old bodies. Though, she supposed, few people knew the resurrectionist as intimately as she did, and vice versa.

“You have a good memory,” she sighed, both in response to his words and her own thought. Then she leaned down to kiss him, all the while working her cunt slowly up and down his cock.

He moaned into her mouth, unable to keep silent for more than a second. She hummed in response, but unlike him, she wasn’t purposely holding herself back. She wanted to savor, to draw him out as long as she could.

“You can hold out for me, can’t you?” she murmured. “You aren’t going to finish too quickly, are you?”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” he answered. “I don’t care. I just need you. I don’t care how.”

She bit his lip lightly. Felix had always been a generous and thorough lover, and she was happy to find the last two years hadn’t changed that.

“Good,” she breathed, sitting back up and rocking on his cock more soundly, “because I want to come all over that cock, and then I want you to wring every last drop out of me until you can’t take it anymore and make the biggest mess of all.”

He nodded eagerly, gripping her hips hard while he stared up at her. Every time she dropped down on him, he pulled, too, making sure every thrust was felt acutely by both of them.

“I can do that,” he groaned. “I want to do that. I want you to get so fucking slick that I don’t even have to think about restraint while I fuck you.”

She nodded too, picking up her page. “Want that. Want you to take out all your pent-up feelings on me.”

“I will,” he moaned, moving his hands to squeeze her chest now, making her whimper, her hips stuttering for a moment. “I’ll show you just how badly I missed you,” he promised.

She put her elbows down by his head, rutting back hard on him, shallow whines accompanying every motion. His moans were deep, so close to her ears.

“Please, please, Felix, I’m so close,” she whimpered. His hands clamped back down on her hips, keeping up the punishing rhythm she’d set even when she faltered.

“That’s it, that’s it, love,” he said, his voice so low, every syllable an aid to her. “Let me feel that sweet cunt coming all over my cock.”

She broke. For a moment, her body locked up, her eyes squeezing shut, and then she was shuddering on top of him, moaning his name and a hearty combination of swears. His hands kept guiding her hips, less brutally now, ensuring they both got every bit of possible pleasure from her orgasm, prolonging on her end and teasing on his.

“That’s it,” he praised, “gods, I’ve missed you so much.”

She nodded deliriously, panting while she came down from her high. She met his eyes again, saw the perfect combination of adoration and lust in them, and ground herself down on his cock again. He groaned, and she clamped her lips down around another whine.

“More,” she said, and he nodded. He coaxed her hips up off of him and guided her onto her back again. She opened her wings wide, laying all of her body—his work—out beneath him. His eyes roved over her every feature, and the sigh it prompted was long, like she hollowed him out entirely.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, positioning himself between her legs and tapping her entrance with his cockhead several times in quick succession, a sticky slap accompanying each one. She moaned and squirmed, hating and loving the teasing all at once. “Good thing you’re all mine, hm?”

She nodded eagerly. “All yours. Forever.”

“Good girl,” he praised, then entered her again. She fisted her hands into the towel under her, her hips shifting up to get as close to his as possible while she whined. She was already so sensitive that his every motion in her was acutely felt. His moans were deep and ragged as he picked a rhythm, and he wasn’t slow or gentle about it. Just like he’d said before, she was plenty slick, letting him abandon any semblance of self-control. He fucked her like mating with her was his only directive on this planet.

He pinned one of her thighs back with his hand, using the other for balance above her, pounding into her hard and fast. She didn’t know where to look. There was his face, a frown of concentration and need, his lips parted while he moaned again and again. There was his musculature, pronounced all along his chest and abdomen while he put all his physicality into fucking her rough, chasing that high. And then, of course, there was his cock, glistening and sticky where it sank into her again and again. He was entirely mesmerizing.

She put her hands out, trailing his body, feeling every dip and ridge of muscle at work. That drew a different sound from him, sighing deeply like he was the most blessed creature alive to have her attention.

“More,” she urged again, her greed plain in her voice. The challenge flashed dark in his eyes, and he pinned both her knees back, shifting himself further over her in the process so that his hips thrust down instead of forward, hitting her deep and hard with the force of gravity on his side.

“Yes, yes, that’s it, don’t you dare stop,” she said, her words tripping over themselves with little thought behind them.

“Yeah?” he said, his turn to goad now. “That greedy cunt gonna come for me again?”

“Yes,” she whined. “So close, please, Felix, please.”

“That’s right, love,” he purred. “Show me what that pretty cunt can do.”

Her moans were high and loud when her second orgasm tore through her, unable to make herself shut up. He moaned, too, the sound filled with both pleasure and pride.

“That’s my girl,” he praised. “So good for me. And so fucking sexy, too.”

She couldn’t answer him intelligibly, whining wordlessly instead. He let one of her legs go, but hooked the other one over his shoulder, straightening up on his knees and resuming his hard, fast rhythm. She knew him well, knew that when he fucked like that he was close to meeting his end. His hair was in his eyes, and he ran a rough hand through it to push it back.

“I’m not the only sexy one here,” she whined. “You’ve always been so fucking beautiful.”

Her words seemed to shatter his fervor for a moment, and his eyes snapped wide, sweet and full of love, as he met her gaze. His thrusts didn’t slow, but he leaned over her to kiss her, pressing her thigh into her body in the process. She moaned into his mouth. He broke their kiss with a surprised noise.

“Fuck, I’m gonna—”

It was so like him for kissing to be his last straw. His lips parted as he came hard inside her, every pump of warmth from his cock punctuated by a thrust of his hips. His moans were deep and throaty, his eyes shut tight against the sensation as he spread hotly inside her. He was so fucking gorgeous that it made her dizzy.

After he’d finished, he stayed propped over her, breathing hard while his senses came back to him. She rubbed his back, feeling his heart hammering from his efforts. He put her leg back down, then pulled back enough to just look at her, and she looked back.

“I love you so much, Felix,” she said softly, pushing his hair out of his face and tucking as much as she could behind his soft ears. “Don’t you ever forget it.”

“I could never,” he said, his voice gentle but a little hoarse from how noisy he’d been before, “because I love you just as much.”

They lay tangled together while he softened, and only after that did he remove his length from her. He helped her up, and they went back into the lake to gulp mouthfuls of water and let their bodies rinse naturally. After swimming leisurely for a bit, they got out and Felix produced the snacks he’d brought. They lounged about on the towels together, neither of them bothering to put their clothes back on.

“Do you want to head back after this?” she asked him, licking a trail of fruit juice from her finger. She caught the way Felix watched her tongue work with singular attention.

“What’s your hurry?” he asked softly, dragging his gaze back to her face. “We won’t be missed till morning.”

She gave him a sly, lazy smile. “And how are you going to entertain me until morning, hm? What if I fall asleep on you?”

“By all means,” he answered, his mouth pulling into a matching smile, “fall asleep on me as much as you’d like.”

At that, she climbed back over him, slipping his soft length inside her. He flushed; he clearly hadn’t expected her to call his bluff so soon. As she stared down at him with a satisfied expression, she felt his cock twitch inside her, the beginnings of a new erection.

“Ah,” she said, poorly feigning surprise, “I see.”

It was a very long night for them, indeed.

#kpop smut #stray kids smut #skz smut #felix smut #felix x oc #felix oneshot

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chiskz · 1 year

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game called healthy friendship (CHICHI & FELIX)

𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞: march 2023

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: ~600

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: felix and ichi always had special connection.

♡𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @alyszaen , @smh-anon , @neohyxn , @stealanity , @alixnsuperstxr , @kimcheon-sa , @hafsa-hoofsa-heefs , @qtnoaly

《 ♡ 》

Tomorrow will certainly be busy with preparations for the comeback. But today? Today they managed to return home in the late afternoon, which gave them some time to themselves.

Chichi, however, didn't quite know what to do with herself. Her back pain, caused by the fall at the airport, was getting worse, but of course she had no intention of telling anyone about it. However, she wasn't irresponsible and wasn't going to overload herself... This time at least. She gave up the extra gym for a while. It was her main way of spending time, so without it, she had nothing to do. She decided to take a walk around the dorm, but didn't expect to find anyone, hearing the prevailing silence. Her fears were allayed, however, by the intense sound of a computer mouse coming from Felix's room. She knocked quickly 2 times, then knocked twice with intervals - this was their signal, which they had established when Chichi had a period in her life where she was plagued by nightmares. Then she would knock on the door to his room and simply walk in, only to fall asleep at his side a moment later without a problem.

She quietly swung the door open and just as quietly sat down on his bed. Felix was just playing one of his favorite games. All in all, Chichi could expect that he would use the extra free time to catch up on his game. Ichi was not a person without knowledge of them - she herself played League of Legends and Overwatch, but mostly in the position of healer or some other position not requiring direct confrontation with the opponent. Such situations stressed her out enough that she couldn't use the buttons properly.

She took one of Felix's many pillows in her lap and waited politely for him to finish the round and give her at least a little attentiveness - at this point, he probably didn't even realize she was here at all. Felix finished the game a moment later, pulling off his headphones and putting them back on the desk. He glanced at Ichi and smiled warmly. He was already without makeup, his hair disheveled from wearing headphones and a loose, slightly rumpled T-shirt. Chichi as soon as she noticed his now clearly visible freckles smiled broadly.

"Are you bored?" Asked Felix leaning his head against his hand and his elbow against the desk.

There was no irritation in the question, which only made Chichi feel even more comfortable. She nodded, hugging the Mario game-inspired pillow a little tighter. Felix glanced at his computer, then typed something on the keyboard. Moments later, one of his favorite ASMRs managed to be heard from his computer-connected speakers. He took the small remote control lying next to the keyboard and changed the color of the LED lights to a very dark blue, then got up from his chair and joined Chichi on the bed, leaning his back against the bedside wall and stretching out his legs lazily. A second warm smile sent toward the eldest member only reassured her in what he meant.

Chichi put the pillow back in its place and curled up at Felix's side, with her head on his legs. She smiled softly, closing her eyes. The smell of Felix, the surroundings of his room, his warm smile and the thread of understanding that grew stronger every day despite not exchanging a single word at times.... All this made Chichi feel at home. He was her home.

Neither of them realized how quickly they managed to fall asleep this way - when they were with each other and their hearts found a common rhythm, insomnia seemed to be non-existent.

《 ♡ 》

#stray kids 9th member #kpop addition #kpop added member #kpop oc #stray kids oc #idol oc #stray kids female oc #stray kids added member #stray kids addition #stray kids female addition #felix x oc #skz x oc #skz imagines #skz drabbles #felix imagines

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causeilikelix · 22 days

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'Cause I Like You - Chapter Fourteen - Dance Practice

↳ Pairing: Felix x OC / Hyunjin x OC

↳ Genre: Romance, comedy, smut (eventual), slow burn, enemies (idiots) to friends (idiots) to lovers (probably still idiots), high school au, college au, non-idol au

↳ See Chapter One for summery and blanket warnings

↳ Chapter warnings: Nothing specific, some sexual tension, a lot of girl talk, some creepy vibes...

↳ Read on my A03: Here

↳ Notes: Sorry this took so long! Had a mental break down. Here we are. Going forward there is a character in here who shares the same name and general appearance as a certain beloved idol. This character does not resemble him in real life, this is just a character depiction who needed a name, please don't be mad lol

<- Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fifteen ->

“HYUNJIN-AH, WHAT AM I going to do?” Eunbyeol lamented, throwing herself onto the black vinyl floor of the dance practice room. “How is it that of all people I just had to be paired with the one person I hate the most?”

“You hate Felix? Wait... you know Felix?” Hyunjin blinked in surprise as he plugged his phone into the sound system to play music so they could warm up.

“As if you told me that you knew him!”

“It never came up.” Hyunjin shrugged.

“I guess I didn’t say anything either, but like come on! How could you not talk about your other friends with me?” Eunbyeol lifted her head off the floor to look up at him. “Are we not best friends anymore?”

“What?” Hyunjin turned to her with a gasp, his hand reaching up to clutch his heart. “How dare you even suggest that! My own best friend assumes I don’t devote all of my waking time to her!”

“I don’t know man, you’re the one not telling me about your other friends.” Eunbyeol rolled her eyes and set her head back down on the floor and ignoring Hyunjin’s drama. “It’s not like I enjoy talking about the person I hated in high school.”

“You hated him?” Hyunjin quirked an eyebrow up at her. He pretended like his gaze didn’t instinctively linger on her legs for a few extra seconds before turning back to his phone. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who hates Felix.”

“Really? I’m the only one?” Eunbyeol groaned, covering her face with her hands.

“I think so, Byeol-ah. He’s pretty popular in all of his friend groups and extracurriculars and stuff. Whatever he did or whoever he was in high school, it certainly can’t be that bad.”

“Honestly, I’m over it. He just gives off the wrong vibe, you know? I can’t believe I have to spend all this fucking time with him and hold his hand or look into his eyes or some shit.”

“You have to hold his hand?” Hyunjin perked up at this and tossed another glance over his shoulder. He hoped his tone of voice didn’t give away his alarm. He didn’t like the idea of some other guy holding hands with Eunbyeol properly before he could.

“Unless you can find something else to do that isn’t as fucking miserable with your partner, whatever his name is-”

“Dowoon.”

“Sorry?”

“My partner. His name is Dowoon.”

“Right, sorry, Dowoon... then maybe I can get out of all the shit I have to do with Felix. I looked over the list and like ninety percent of them are all things I want to do with you!”

Hyunjin didn’t respond while he scrolled through his playlist for the perfect song to warm up to. He kept quiet mostly to conceal the blush burning in his cheeks. Eunbyeol stared at the ceiling fan over her head spinning in lazy circles. She doubted very much that it would do anything for the airflow. After a few more minutes of silence an upbeat, peppy song filled the room. Eunbyeol groaned and threw her arm over her eyes, hoping for a few more seconds of peace before the work began.

Hyunjin made his way over to where his friend laid on the floor and crouched next to her. Eunbyeol’s breathing remained slow and steady and for a moment he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. It wouldn’t be the first time. Hyunjin reached out and gently poked her forearm. She didn’t move. Next he poked the palm of her hand, then her shoulder.

“Byeol-ah, come on.” Hyunjin whined, poking her shoulder a few times in rapid succession. Eunbyeol could practically see his lower lip stuck out into a pout. “We have to stretch.”

“No! I want to take a nap.” Eunbyeol protested, turning her head away from him.

Hyunjin poked her a few more times on her shoulder before venturing lower to her waist. There, he focused his efforts on tickling the exposed skin where her sports tank had ridden up. Eunbyeol shrieked and tried to roll away from him but Hyunjin’s slim yet muscular form hoved over her, tickling her relentlessly. Any attempts to escape his grip would be futile had she even tried. He poked his fingers to her sides and tugged on her arm, trying to pull it away from her eyes. None of his attempts seemed to work.

“Come on, get up!” Hyunjin urged, continuing to poke and tickle any and all exposed skin. He couldn’t help the grin that rose onto his lips from watching her wiggle around underneath him. “We have to get to work!”

“Jinnie, no! Stop!” Eunbyeol’s breath heaved from her exertions. Hyunjin immediately pulled his hands away. He sat down next to her and laughed as he watched her fight for breath. She laid there for a few more minutes with her arm slung over her eyes.

“Alright, let’s go.” Hyunjin rose to his feet and waited for her to respond. After a moment, he decided to take things into his own hands.

Eunbyeol thought for a second he’d given up or had started stretching without her. However, only seconds later Hyunjin grabbed her hand and pulled, urging her to get up. She didn’t move for a few seconds before sighing and letting her feet find the ground. Hyunjin pulled her up easily with one hand until they stood facing one another while the music played behind them.

Instantly, Eunbyeol let out a soft gasp at the sudden proximity. Hyunjin gazed down at her, his eyes wide with the same realization. His large hand enveloped hers comfortably with their palms pressed together warmly. It certainly was not a secret that Hwang Hyunjin was hot. Hyunjin’s features were soft and boyish, almost pixie-like. His black hair looked soft and Eunbyeol’s fingers itched to run through his long, thick strands. They were currently pulled back by a deep burgundy ribbon, keeping all of the flyaways out of his face. Though his soft face was sharply contrasted with a few angles in his jaw and cheekbones, Eunbyeol could imagine him as a baby. His plush mouth, however, was definitely not baby-like and she did not think about what it would feel like on hers. Not at all. Not even a little bit. She didn’t think of her best friend as anything other than just that: her best friend.

Not at all.

Hyunjin suddenly cleared his throat and dropped her hand. Right away all of the atmosphere in the room disappeared. Or maybe it was Eunbyeol’s throat closing. Either way, Hyunjin turned towards the mirrors and began to tilt his head from side to side, exposing his neck to her. Eunbyeol took a shameless moment to stare at him and wondered why the hell she couldn’t grow a goddamn backbone and just tell him. In the end, she didn’t want to ruin a good thing. She followed his lead and tilted her head back and forth in time with his.

“Have you come up with some songs for our first duet assignment in a couple weeks?” Eunbyeol inquired innocently, hoping to cover up any and all traces of the last few minutes.

“What do you take me for?” Hyunjin scoffed as he began to roll his neck in slow circles. Eunbyeol followed his lead. Hyunjin reached into the pocket of his sweats and produced a carefully folded piece of notebook paper and passed it to her without missing a beat.

“Have I ever told you that you’re the best partner of all time?” Eunbyeol carefully unfolded the page to peer at the list. “You also have impeccable music taste.”

“What can I say?” Hyunjin made a huge show of tossing his imaginary hair over his shoulder. “I’m the greatest.”

“Oh, I don’t know about ‘Senorita’. I think everyone else will want to do that song, too.”

“I know, but don’t you remember that night we went out to Starcatcher a few weeks ago? That song came on and I swear to god even Minho was salivating watching us. I think we could make it so unique.”

“I love the song and all, but I don’t know about doing our assignment on it. We could choreograph our own if you want, though.” Eunbyeol offered him a sly smile in the mirror as they raised their arms over their head before bending over in half. Even though he only saw it for a second, Hyunjin caught on anyway.

“You just want to be in another one of my videos for YouTube.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes so hard, Eunbyeol could practically see them rolling to the back of his skull.

“Come on, don’t you remember how many views you got when we posted our duet of ‘Best Friend’? Everyone loved our choreography!”

“You just want the portfolio addition. I see right through you, Cha Eunbyeol.”

“As if you don’t! C’mon, I got like a thousand new subscribers overnight. Not to mention, my TikTok following skyrocketed.” Eunbyeol slowly straightened her spine and they gracefully moved into the next stretch.

“Okay, before we decide on that, I want to know your ideas for our duet project.” Hyunjin huffed decidedly.

A smirk rose onto Eunbyeol’s lips and she briefly abandoned stretching one of her arms to reach into the side pocket of her leggings for her own folded piece of paper. She reached out with that hand and slipped the page between Hyunjin’s backwardly outstretched hand. His long fingers curled around the paper immediately and he quickly unfolded it before bending back into the stretch. He hummed and mused over her song choices for a few seconds before immediately standing up straight and turning to her with a mock-hurt expression written on his features. His lips parted into an ‘O’ and his hand found its place on his ever-wronged heart.

“You bitch, you want to do ‘Senorita’, too! Why are you being such a hardass?” Hyunjin’s fake scowl made a giggle bubble up in Eunbyeol’s throat. Hyunjin could insult her all day long every day and she would know that he didn’t mean a single word.

“Because...” Eunbyeol shifted into their next stretch and he was quick to copy her. “It’s fun to be mean to you.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

He didn’t.

As far as Eunbyeol was concerned, he was probably the best thing that could have possibly happened to her during her freshman year intro dance class. They met on the very first day of class and hit it off like they’d been friends for years. With Hyunjin, everything was easy. Dancing came to him like he was born to do it and with how skilled he was already Eunbyeol could easily believe it. They weren’t dance partners at first, since most of their first semester focused on basic steps and theory. In fact, they weren’t partners properly until their second semester.

Eunbyeol never once in her life thought that sparks flying was a real thing. Perfect chemistry with someone else simply didn’t exist and she was sure that she would never experience it. At least, not until she danced with Hyunjin. It was like he knew each and every one of her movements several counts before she actually did it. It’s not like they were improv pros or anything (the bruise on Hyunjin’s left foot from where Eunbyeol stepped it all semester was proof enough of that), but they grew to learn each other’s dancing styles quickly. With all the time they spent together practicing, it wasn’t long before they started spending time outside of the studio. Aside from Jiho, Eunbyeol was sure she’d never clicked with another person quite as well as she clicked with him.

The pair stretched for a few more minutes while the music cycled through whatever playlist Hyunjin put on. Eunbyeol sighed happily as her muscles tensed and relaxed into each new stretch. Sometimes, the stretches at the beginning and end of practice were the best parts. Nothing was more relaxing than releasing all of that pent-up tension. Hyunjin glanced over at her and grinned. Nothing was quite as healing as dancing with your best friend. How did she get so lucky?

“Alright,” Eunbyeol stretched her arms over her head as Hyunjin made his way over to his phone to turn the music off. “What ideas do you have? I don’t remember everything we did.”

“It’s not my fault you had that fifth drink and can’t remember!” Hyunjin teased. “But I was thinking of something along the same vein as that one cover that May J Lee did. Like one of us does the first verse and chorus, the other does the second, and then we combine them. The idea is to show how our dance styles complement each other right?”

“Right, I agree, but I think we should combine on the second chorus. Here’s what I’m thinking... let’s choreograph the chorus so our moves could be stand-alone for the first chorus and build from there. I had an idea for the second eight-count, you know the part when he sings...”

Eunbyeol and Hyunjin jumped right into choreographing. As Hyunjin showed her his ideas, some of that drunken night at Starcatcher came back to her. Not all of it, but just enough to get what he was saying. It wasn’t long before they found an easy rhythm, moving with one another easily as if they’d been doing this for years. Hyunjin effortlessly countered her every move and even predicted her almost stepping on his foot (again) and jumped out of the way just in time.

She watched their bodies move in the mirror and it was almost surreal. Hyunjin’s eyes were glued to the mirror, watching as a routine came to life before him. Eunbyeol also couldn’t believe it. No matter how many times she and Hyunjin worked together, Eunbyeol had to be reminded every time just how talented he was. Hyunjin’s long limbs were completely under his control from the very tips of his strong hands to his toes. He towered several inches over her, which made their dynamic all that much more interesting. Somehow she wondered how he walked around because his legs were slim and sometimes she wondered if he even had a waist. However, due to his active lifestyle his muscles were firm to the touch so he wasn’t about to wither away anytime soon. Hyunjin didn’t need the ego boost, so Eunbyeol kept her thoughts about his physique to herself.

The pair experimented with different moves for so long that she forgot to check the time. A common instance, seeing as the texts building up from Jiho weren’t as alarmed as they used to be when she and Hyunjin first started doing this. For now, Eunbyeol’s phone sat forgotten on top of her backpack. The clock over the door counted the minutes away. The sun dipped slightly lower in the sky, casting a golden glow over the campus and long shadows stretching over the ground. Eunbyeol and Hyunjin kept their eyes on their reflections in the mirror as they danced and created.

After a while, Hyunjin bounded over to his phone to turn on the song before hurrying back to her to try their new choreography with the music again. They hoped that their timing would be right this time. Their thin workout clothes clung to their skin. Eunbyeol pretended not to notice his glistening skin when he made his way back over and took his natural place by her side. He counted their steps under his breath as they danced, just to make sure both of them were on time. After only a few hours it was far from perfect but on its way to something beautiful.

Even after all that time, the pair only came up with the first half of the chorus but as soon as they came to a stop, with Hyunjin behind her with both hands on her waist, a wide smile lit up his face. His eyes turned into little crescent moons and Eunbyeol couldn’t stop herself from turning in his grasp and throwing her arms around his neck. Hyunjin’s hands were quick to move from her waist to wrap around her torso and pull her into him. They ignored the stickiness of their sweaty skin and damp clothes in favor of hugging. She didn’t even mind that his long black hair stuck to him and droplets of sweat fell onto her shoulders. Eunbyeol giggled brightly when Hyunjin lifted her feet off the ground.

“This looks so good already, Jinnie! We’re gonna get a good grade for sure.”

“That’s all I am to you? A good grade?” Hyunjin lowered her feet to the ground but didn’t let her go.

“Yes, but you’re the best grade.” Eunbyeol smiled innocently up at him and he threw his head back and laughed, bringing a hand up to ruffle her hair a little bit.

“I can accept this. You wanna go get bubble tea?” Hyunjin offered.

“Do I ever! I’m starving, too. We should probably record this first and then do our ending stretches, though.”

“Come on, let’s just go!” Hyunjin whined, his face dropping into a pout. He stuck his lip out at her and she almost caved.

“We have to record it so we can remember it! Also, you’ll just whine at me when you wake up all sore tomorrow.”

“Always the voice of reason.” He rolled his eyes dramatically before releasing her from his grip. His hands grazed over her back and to her waist before dropping off her completely. “Whose phone should we use?”

“We can use mine.” Eunbyeol dropped her grip from around him and started for her phone but a voice from the door stopped her in her tracks.

“I could record it for you!”

Her heart stopped in her chest and she gasped, turning to catch a glance at who might have spoken. Park Jimin, a senior in the dance major, leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. A smile stretched across his soft features and he tilted his head at her. He stared at her openly, almost not even seeing Hyunjin until his protective hand came up to cover her shoulder. Eunbyeol relaxed, seeing it was just her friend who was the TA for her dance theory class last semester.

“Ah, Jimin-sunbae, you scared me!” Eunbyeol smiled politely. Hyunjin squeezed her shoulder but she brushed him off. “That’s nice of you but we can take care of it.”

“I thought you didn’t bring your phone stand with you to school today.” Jimin reminded her.

“Oh, I’m sure I did...” Eunbyeol made her way over to her backpack and duffle bag to dig through her stuff. She unzipped her duffle bag to rummage around, finding her ballet shoes, another change of activewear, binding tape, her foot roller for her arches, a circle light but no... phone stand. “I could have sworn I packed it this morning.”

“It’s okay, I can hold your phone and record you guys. I have pretty steady hands. You looked great!” Jimin stepped into the room, keeping his eyes on Eunbyeol and stretching out his hand for her phone.

“We can take care of it ourselves.” Hyunjin spoke, but Jimin waited for Eunbyeol’s approval.

“Oh sure, thank you!” Eunbyeol, thoroughly persuaded, opened the camera app and passed him her phone. “I really appreciate it.”

“Byeol-ah, we can just prop it up on the barre.” Hyunjin suggested.

“Come on, it’ll just take a second. Go start the music.”

“I...” Hyunjin watched Jimin out of the corner of his eye as he moved to stand in the front of the room, holding the camera up to gauge lighting. “Fine. But make sure to bring your stand tomorrow, yeah?”

“I will!” Eunbyeol promised before heading to the center of the room to take her spot. Hyunjin rolled his eyes and made his way over to his phone to set up the music. “Thank you, Jimin-sunbae!”

“Always happy to help out a friend.” He paused a second, glancing over at Hyunjin before continuing. “Are you coming to the welcoming party for the freshman?”

“When is that? I haven’t been to the common room this semester yet.”

“We have some conflicts for the next couple of weekends but it’ll be on the third week of the semester on a Friday. Can you make it?” A hopeful glance flashed across Jimin’s face but it was gone moments later.

“In three weeks? Strange time to have a party. Don’t we usually do them the first week of school? I don’t know yet, but I'll have to see what Hyunjin is doing.” Eunbyeol looked over at Hyunjin.

“Oh, I think he’s going to be in Daegu that weekend for a showcase. I thought you were going to go to that, too, but I looked at the list and didn’t see your name.” Jimin’s easy smile returned, spanning across his young features. “We had to postpone it because something happened at the restaurant we usually go to so we couldn’t get a reservation for a couple weeks. I dunno, someone was saying something about a fire?”

“Oh... I’m not sure I’m going to go if he’s not. I’ll have to let you know.”

“Sure! Just let me know. I hope you’ll be able to make it.”

Eunbyeol’s muscles suddenly relaxed when Hyunjin signaled for Jimin to start recording. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d gotten. She figured she’d just been dancing for too long. Hyunjin hurried to Eunbyeol’s side to start the choreography. They got into position and waited for the second chorus to begin. Eunbyeol watched herself in the mirror, trying to focus on that and not the camera trained or Hyunjin’s hand snaking along her waist from behind. She tried especially hard not to focus on the blush creeping up the back of her neck or her thighs clenching in anticipation. Hyunjin often affected her like this and she figured that it was part of why they were so good together... as dance partners.

When the chorus started, the pair of them started to dance, falling into it and into each other easily. Even though they’d only just started working on the choreography, her body remembered it as if it was as easy as breathing. Hyunjin’s body rolled and swayed with hers and she found that she didn’t need to watch the mirror anymore, she only needed to watch him. The moment their eyes connected, Eunbyeol’s knees almost gave out but Hyunjin’s hands were on her waist to guide her into the next move before she knew it. His eyes bore into her intensely, letting the message of the song shimmer in them. His lips parted slightly and Eunbyeol had to look away from him, faking a sudden need to check her movements in the mirror.

Eunbyeol’s eyes found Jimin’s immediately and her lips parted in shock. She’d forgotten that he was even there. Something about dancing with Hyunjin made the outside world slip away. Her heart skipped a beat to find that Jimin was already staring at her. Hyunjin’s grip on her waist tightened the moment their choreography ended. The song continued playing over the speakers but Hyunjin made no move to let go of her. Jimin’s smile stretched over his face once more when the song ended and he tapped on the screen of her phone to end the recording.

“Great job guys! You choreographed all of that in just a few hours?” Jimin stepped forward to hand Eunbyeol’s phone back to her, but Hyunjin took it instead.

“Yeah, we did.” Hyunjin responded on behalf of Eunbyeol.

“That’s incredible! I can’t wait to see the finished result!” Jimin shot Eunbyeol a wink and she responded with a weak smile. Hyunjin’s grip on her tightened for another second before he had to move away to pause the song. Jimin took the opportunity to close in. “Listen... I knew you were good, but not that good! I’m impressed.”

“Thanks.” Eunbyeol managed, her gaze drifted past him to where Hyunjin stood in the corner, messing with his phone.

“So, listen. For the last couple years I’ve been interning at Hybe Entertainment and I’m pretty sure they’re gonna offer me a job when I graduate because they like me so much. I was thinking... You really have a lot of talent. If you wanted, I could get you an internship there. I could talk to my manager and get your resume through if you apply.”

“Sorry, Hybe?” Eunbyeol’s eyes widened and her already pounding heart began to hurt, remembering him talking about it during class last semester. The prestigious company produced so many of the top idols in the Kpop industry and their choreography was notorious for being difficult. Their backup dancers often went on to be in other idol groups or get other good jobs in the industry. Except... “I didn’t know they accepted women into the company?”

“Well, maybe not female trainees, but they would accept you onto the dance team to at least be a backup dancer. Even if it’s not what you do forever, Hybe would look really good on your resume.” Jimin wiggled his eyebrows.

“Really?” Eunbyeol raised an eyebrow at him incredulously. “You could get me an internship?”

“I could. It would be so easy.”

“That would be incredible! I mean... I don’t know if I could fit it in between my job and school but it would be so amazing.” Eunbyeol grinned in spite of herself, her mind swirling with images of working in such a high-profile company. It almost sounded too good to be true.

“Come on, just apply and give it a shot. I’ll pull some strings and get you a spot, hm?” Jimin urged with a wink.

“You could seriously do that?”

“Of course! They’re recruiting interns right now, so you have a good chance. Think about it and let me know, yeah?” Jimin reached out and patted her shoulder. “I’ll see you later! Text me about dinner, okay?”

“I will!” Eunbyeol waved as he started towards the door. He shot her one more wink before slinking out of the practice room.

“What the hell did he want?” Hyunjin asked immediately, his voice filling the room a little too loudly.

“He was just being nice, Jinnie.” Eunbyeol sighed, getting in position in front of the mirror to do their post-dance stretches. “He wants me to apply for an internship at Hybe.”

“You mean his internship that he never shuts up about?” Hyunjin rolled his eyes and started his playlist and joined her to stretch. “And he wants you to join?”

“Yeah, he says I’m talented enough to get in! Isn’t that crazy?” Eunbyeol grinned. “I think it would be so cool to at least audition there, don’t you? Hey, we could apply together! They’re hiring interns right now!”

“I’d rather walk over a pit of hot coals than audition for Hybe, to be honest.”

“Really? Is it really that bad?”

“Not necessarily, just not my ideal company, that’s all.” Hyunjin shrugged as they started to roll their necks in circles.

“Alright, then I’ll look into applying myself!” Eunbyeol’s heart fluttered as she spoke. Hyunjin shot her a grin.

“Hey, guys,” a new voice came from the door but neither of the dancers budged. Eunbyeol glanced up to see one of the seniors in the major but she wasn’t too close to him. Luckily, Hyunjin knew him well.

“Yeah, Minho-hyung, what is it?” Hyunjin kept looking at the mirror and not at the cat-eyed senior at the door.

“Are you guys almost done? My studio time starts in less than ten minutes.”

“Yeah, we’re doing our closing stretches. You’re welcome to join us if you want.” Hyunjin offered.

Eunbyeol glanced over at their senior, who was still in his street clothes with his dance bag slung over his shoulder. His arms were crossed over his chest and he rolled his eyes and Hyunjin’s answer. His face was set and stoic. For a second, Eunbyeol worried he was upset. Instead, he waved a hand dismissively.

“I still have to change. You guys better be gone by the time I come back.”

With that, Minho turned away from the door and disappeared from their line of sight. Eunbyeol glanced back at the mirror, where Hyunjin was looking at her instead of where Minho-sunbae had just disappeared.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?”

Hyunjin glanced over at her as the gears turned in her head for a second. Then, her eyes lit up and she turned to him with a glint in her eye that made his heart flip flop in his chest. Even with her hair messy from dancing and reeking of sweat, she looked beautiful and like the only person he wanted to spend his day with. She opened her mouth to speak and he said it with her.

“Ddeokbokki.”

~!~!~!~!~!~

“HYUNJIN-AH, WHY ARE you late again?” Chan didn’t even glance up from his computer when Hyunjin entered the studio and crashed heavily onto the brown leather sofa along the back wall.

Chan, a music production major and a year or two ahead of Hyunjin and everyone else in their friend group, kept his eyes glued to his computer and barely acknowledged Hyunjin until he sat down. He pulled one of his earphones off his ear so he could hear both Hyunjin and Minho, who was in the recording booth and singing a new song that Chan wrote. Hyunjin hauled himself off the couch and made his way to where Chan sat and found a few pages of sheet music with his name written along the top. He took it and returned to his seat, sinking into the cool fabric.

“Dance practice went over again.” His usual excuse, and it was usually true. Chan, however, was too smart.

“You went to dinner with Miss Dance Partner again?” Chan finally glanced over his shoulder to smile at his friend. Hyunjin fought back a smile, but he couldn’t keep it at bay for long.

“Yeah.”

“Ooooh, Hyunjinnie is in loooove!” Changbin, the shortest of the group and a music technology junior, cooed from his place in his beanbag chair in the corner. Hyunjin coughed dramatically and turned his face away so the other boys couldn’t see the flush warming his cheeks.

“I’m gonna have to have a talk with this girl and lecture her on letting you go early so we can record.” Chan shook his head, but judging from the smile on his face, Hyunjin figured he didn’t really mean it.

“Yeah, you still have to introduce us, don’t think I’ve forgotten! From the videos on YoutTube, your dance partner looks hot as fuck and its a crime to keep that from me!” Changbin thrust an accusing finger at Hyunjin.

“I know, I know!” Hyunjin raised his hands in defense. “I asked her to tag along today but she got a message from her acting partner and got into a bad mood, so she went home instead.”

“Her acting partner? Wait, you didn’t get to be her partner? I’m surprised the planet is still spinning!”

“Yeah, she was late to class. She was listening to that radio show she likes so much.” Hyunjin rolled her eyes at the thought and suddenly found himself glad that the host couldn’t hear him. “So, she got paired with someone she didn’t like and I got paired with some kid named Dowoon.”

“How will you ever survive this semester without her as your theater partner!” Changbin lamented and threw his head back, covering his eyes with his arm. “I shall begin arranging your funeral promptly.”

“Shut up, Changbin-hyung, seriously. It’s not that bad. I’m disappointed but it is what it is.”

“Very mature for someone who literally was drunk crying a few weeks ago about how much you liked her.”

“Hey! I thought we agreed not to talk about that!” Hyunjin sat up, searching his immediate vicinity for something to chuck at Changbin. He found a random crumpled receipt stuck between the cushions and used that. Changbin didn’t even flinch when it bounced harmlessly off his bicep.

“Our lovesick Hyunjinnie is so cute!” Changbin’s smile made Hyunjin dive back into the cushions for something else to throw. “I mean, I agree. She looked cute in that dress on Jeongin’s Outfit of the Day Intsa post. What, that blue dress?”

“She did.” Hyunjin paused, his lip sticking out in a pout. He paused. “And the dress was pink.”

“Guys, come on. At least look at the sheet music I spent all night notating for you?” Chan muttered over his shoulder.

The two younger boys apologized to the eldest and turned their attention onto the music. The song that Chan had written was, as usual, incredible. Hyunjin was always so flattered that Chan, Changbin, and Jisung liked to include his voice in their songs. He thought he was a better dancer than a singer, but since he started working with Chan and the others on their musical endeavors his voice had improved so much. This time, it looked like Hyunjin would be rapping more than singing and he wasn’t complaining.

Eventually, Chan okayed Minho to leave the studio and the boy inside took off his headphones and made his way into the room. Minho was older than Hyunjin by a year or so and he often had a hard resting-face that made him look consistently angry. The later into the day it got and the more tired he became, the more his resting-bitch-face unnerved Hyunjin to no end. Which is why the moment Minho’s tired eyes landed on the spot where Hyunjin sat on the couch he sprang to sit on the other side. Minho wasn’t exactly mean or rude, especially not to Hyunjin, but he never wanted to be on the receiving end of his anger. He’d seen it once before and he never wanted to see it again.

Minho collapsed onto the couch and lolled his head back and closed his eyes. It wasn’t terribly late in the day, but he’d been up since before dawn and he was looking forward to resting. Hyunjin admired Minho for many reasons, including the fact that he was double majoring in dance and music production. Because of that, Hyunjin was inspired to double major himself. Despite the exhausting schedule, he was glad that he could indulge his two greatest talents and hobbies.

When Hyunjin wasn’t in the dance studio with Eunbyeol, he spent the rest of his time in the art studio covered in paint from head to toe. Even now he knew he needed to shower and wash his hair well because he accidentally got some blue in it earlier. As long as images and colors and art left his fingertips, he didn’t care what medium he used. Pencils, oils, markers, Hyunjin loved it all.

“Hyunjin-ah...” Minho’s tired voice came from the other side of the couch. “Will you pass me my water?”

“Sure, Hyung.” Hyunjin glanced around and found Minho’s distinctive yellow water bottle on the floor under the coffee table. He passed it to his friend wordlessly.

“Is Felix here with the coffee yet? I’m exhausted.” Minho let out a long yawn and didn’t open his eyes to take a drink of his water.

“Do you see any coffee?” Changbin’s eyes were also starting to droop. “Felix and Jisung have been gone for almost an hour. I’m gonna kill them.”

“Jisung has been trapped in this studio since lunch. I’m jealous that he’s even getting a break.” Chan spoke up from his place at the computer. He lowered his headphones to rest around his neck.

“Why don’t you take one, Hyung?” Minho suggested. “Hyunjin needs a little more time to look over the music before his turn in the studio, right? For the love of all that is holy, go take a walk. Use the bathroom. Step out into the sun for a few seconds before it sets completely. Touch some grass.”

“Touch some grass-” Chan muttered along with Minho, “You know I’d love to do that but-”

“The work comes first. Got it, got it.”

“Once Hyunjin and Felix have their turns in the studio then I can finally finish piecing this song together.” Chan explained.

“Wait, Seungmin and Jeongin have already been here?” Changmin looked up from his sheet music. “I didn’t see them today.”

“Yeah, we popped into the studio last night for two hours or so. Seungmin really only needed one take but we took three of them. He was really adamant.” Chan chuckled at the thought, clicking through a few pages and pulling up his recording. “This was his first take.”

Seungmin’s airy, romantic voice filled the studio. The raw vocals filled the room and Hyunjin’s eyes widened at the sound. Seungmin, as usual, was a powerhouse. He sang the words beautifully and without a single error. Even his breathing sounded perfect. He only had a few lines, so the recording was over too quickly. Once it ended, all of the boys applauded even though no one was there to hear them.

“Jeez, and he wanted two more takes?” Minho gasped out.

“He wanted four but I made him go home.” Chan grinned.

“Where did we find this kid, again?” Changnbin’s question was rhetorical but Chan answered anyway.

“He was part of Jisung’s friend group in high school. Pretty much all of Jisung’s friends are just as talented.”

“You say that as if we’re not all friends now.” Hyunjin chuckled, smiling fondly at the thought of the friendships he had with each of the younger boys, including Felix.

“I know, I know. We won’t be friends for much longer though if Jisung and Felix don’t get here soon with that coffee and my refresher. I’m dying here.” Chan sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, letting it take all of his weight. “I’m gonna call him.”

Chan grabbed his phone from the desk and called Jisung. The boys sat in silence, listening to the phone ring for a few seconds. Jisung didn’t answer, so Chan called him again all while muttering profanities under his breath. Once again, no answer.

Hyunjin took the opportunity to check and see if Felix had texted him. His phone screen lit up when he pressed the button and he had to fight a smile at the sight of his background picture. It was a simple one that he’d taken with Eunbyeol several months ago during cherry blossom season. They’d walked through the park for hours, drinking coffee, snacking on candy, and taking hundreds of pictures together. In this one, she smiled brightly up at the camera and Hyunjin had his chin atop the crown of her head with an equally bright smile on his face. Even though it had been months, he didn’t have the heart to change it. She looked so pretty.

He had to shake his head to look at his phone properly, but it didn’t matter because Felix hadn’t texted him since this morning, apologizing for being late to class. Hyunjin shot him a quick ‘Where the fuck are you?’ text before checking his other notifications. Felix may not have texted him however, his other best friend had. Judging from the time stamp, she hadn’t even made it home yet before texting him. He cursed himself for not checking his phone earlier, but he responded eagerly to her message. He knew they’d see each other the next afternoon, but he missed her already.

“Chan-hyung, quit blowing up my phone!” Jisung’s loud, whiny voice filled the studio as he pushed into the room with his hands weighed down with drink carriers. “God, I know I’m popular but even popular people need a break sometimes.”

“What is he talking about?” Changbin rolled his eyes.

“Well,” Felix followed Jisung into the room, also carrying a drink carrier in each hand. “First, I was talking his ear off, then he was on the phone with his girlfriend for over half an hour, then Chan-hyung was calling him while he was still on the phone... I think he’s overwhelmed.”

“The coffee was taking forever!” Changbin argued. “I mean, look! Chan is almost asleep and Minho is practically dead! Is that what you want? To kill Minho-hyung?”

“Relax, it wasn’t my fault!” Jisung argued back with a huff. “The cafe was already busy and then we had to order six coffees. My poor coworkers. Didn’t inspire me enough to jump behind the counter, though.”

“I can vouch for him.” Felix offered, setting his drink carriers on the coffee table and sliding into the space on the couch between Hyunjin and Minho.

“You’re not innocent in this either!” Jisung pointed an accusatory finger at the boy, who cowered behind Hyunjin’s lean form. “You wouldn’t shut up about that girl! What are we? In a K-drama? In high school? Get it together!”

“‘That girl’?” Changbin’s ears perked up at the mere mention of some gossip. “Do tell!”

“Please, don’t make me listen again! Put me out of my misery!” Jisung wailed, throwing himself into a beanbag chair next to Changbin as dramatically as possible, careful not to spill any coffee. “That's all he talked about for like thirty minutes. I thought we were done with her!”

“Who?” Hyunjin’s curiosity got the best of him.

“Um, well...” Felix’s freckled cheeks were suddenly tinged a shade darker and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Remember that night we all got drunk and I cried about never seeing my first love again?”

“I think I blacked out, but go on.” Minho encouraged.

“The night Hyunjin cried about his crush? How could I forget?” Changbin cackled.

“Well, I thought I would never see her again because I thought she went to medical school. Except she didn’t. She's here!”

“What?” Hyunjin blinked in surprise. “Wow, that’s incredible! What a small world! How did you find out?”

“Honestly, it’s miraculous.” Felix sat forward to grab his coffee from the table. Chan’s eyes widened as he watched the younger boy take a drink, but hung onto his every word regardless. Felix on coffee was always a sight to see. “We’re taking a class together.”

“Wait, really?” Chan lifted an eyebrow.

“Not only that, but there’s a pairs project over the course of the entire semester!” Felix began to bounce. First, it was just one of his legs. Then both of his legs. Before Hyunjin knew it, it was like Felix’s entire body was actually vibrating right before his eyes. “And I’m her partner!”

“Disgusting.” Jisung wrinkled his nose. “I don’t get why you’re so excited when she rejected you in high school and blatantly ignored you during senior year.”

“Wait, she rejected you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get rejected.” Hyunjin blinked in surprise, but something ugly settled in the pit of his stomach. He witnessed everything in class but he hadn’t heard Felix’s side of the story.

“Yeah...” Felix sighed sadly for a moment before perking right back up. “I know, I feel crazy for being so excited about it.”

“She treated you like crap.” Jisung rolled his eyes.

“I know! And I thought I was going to hate being in this class with her, but I just texted her earlier to ask her when she wants to meet up to look at scenes to do together or figure out the rest of the assignment. But... like... wow...” Felix paused to take another sip of his coffee. “The second I got a text back from her... like, is my heart supposed to be beating this fast?”

Hyunjin really didn’t like where this was going.

“You’re drinking coffee.” Minho deadpanned.

“I know, but like... is it weird that I’m looking forward to it?”

“Yes!” Jisung exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. “You’re absolutely batshit crazy! You heard Jiho! She thinks you’re crazy, too!”

“Jiho knows her, too?” Chan blinked in surprise. Normally, talking about girls wasn’t his favorite subject, but Hyunjin figured he was using this as an excuse not to stare at his computer for a bit.

“Yeah, she’s Jiho’s roommate.” Jisung waved off the question as if the answer was obvious. “So like, if Jiho says you’re crazy to see her best friend of five goddamn years, then you’re insane. Chan-hyung, call the nearest insane asylum! We’re losing him!”

“God, you and Hyunjin are both girl-crazy.” Changbin rolled his eyes. “You’ve both got heart-eyes for girls who are completely unattainable.”

“Hey, Hyunjin’s at least got a pretty good chance with his girl.” Jisung muttered exasperatedly. It was Hyunjin’s turn to blush at the phrasing. He liked the sound of that... his girl. “They’re actually friends.”

“That’s true but...” Felix paused and Hyunjin’s heart stopped beating in his chest. “In the class, we have to do a trust exercise each week. We have to work together all semester! That’s something, right?”

“Lee Felix, I am putting the asylum on speed dial!” Jisung made a huge show of holding his phone up while he searched for a phone number. “Chan-hyung, I can’t fucking listen to this right now. Set me up, I’m gonna record my verse again.”

With that, Jisung stood and disappeared into the recording studio. Chan flashed Felix a grin before turning back to his computer to set things up to record for Jisung. Hyunjin watched his friend retreat. On one hand, he wanted to know what this girl did to Felix but on the other hand he was happy not knowing a thing. If Hyunjin was right in his suspicions, things were about to get really awkward.

Despite sitting up and away from him, Felix’s leg pressed firmly into Hyunjin’s. Felix’s hands clenched and released, desperate to hold onto something or someone. Minho, an unsuspecting victim, jumped when Felix grabbed his knee and squeezed. At this rate, Hyunjin expected Felix to simply vibrate out of his clothes. Felix, when they first met, was generally extroverted and excited about everything. When Hyunjin bought him tickets to a Twice concert, Felix had collapsed in tears and he jumped and danced through the entire concert without stopping. When their group of friends took a weekend in Jeju over the summer break, Hyunjin wondered if Felix’s face hurt from smiling so much. Excited Felix was a force to be reckoned with. But this... this level of anxiety and excitement was like nothing Hyunjin had ever seen before.

When Felix’s phone vibrated in his lap, he practically leapt through the ceiling. Minho cussed under his breath at the sudden jolt and Hyunjin jerked away so as not to be hit with a stray elbow. Felix’s hands shook as he tapped the screen and he let out an audible groan when he saw the notification. Hyunjin pulled his lip between his teeth and pretended not to steal a glance at his friend’s phone. Playing the part of a concerned friend, Hyunjin leaned forward and slung an arm around Felix’s shoulders. Felix gratefully leaned into him as he read the text. Hyunjin’s eyes glanced over the screen and found his worst fear to be true.

[Pretty Eunbyeol: Fine, whatever, I have maybe an hour after class on Tuesday. Don’t wait up.]

Hyunjin tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Felix’s eyes were wide with wonder as he stared down at his phone. Hyunjin glanced at his own phone when it lit up from a text from the very girl they were talking about. From the very girl texting Felix now.

Felix’s first love.

Hyunjin tried to find solace in the fact that most of the time first loves never worked out, but it wasn’t as reassuring as he’d hoped. Because, at this rate, he’d be shooting himself in the foot. He wasn’t sure he’d ever cared for anyone the way he cared for Eunbyeol. What if she was his first love, too?

“How do I respond to that?” Felix glanced around him at the boys in search of any advice.

“Hate to break it to you, but you don’t.” Changbin shrugged, taking a long sip from his iced americano. “Wait until next week and text her the morning of to confirm the plans. That’s the next move.”

“But-” Felix’s eyes shimmered with hope but Changbin wasn’t having it.

“No! No buts. Jisung literally just told you that she doesn’t like you. And you have to respect that, yeah? Leave her alone.”

Felix pouted and turned back to his phone screen. The exchange between him and Eunbyeol was short, under five lines of text, but it was the most they’d ever been in direct contact like this. Now he actually had physical proof that they’d spoken. He shook his head and stuck his phone back into his pocket. It was like he was a teenager all over again. His heart pounded in his ears and his mouth went dry at the thought of seeing her.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, leaned back on the couch and strategically angled his phone so Felix couldn’t see. He opened the extensive conversation between him and Eunbyeol and smiled when he saw her newest text to him. It was short, sweet, to the point, and made Hyunjin’s heart explode with butterflies. As he scanned the words over and over again, his anxiety about Felix liking her reduced a little. It didn’t matter that they had history or that Felix had feelings. The only thing that mattered was that Eunbyeol’s attention was on him.

[Partner in Crime: Hyunjinnie~ I miss you! Come over tomorrow after practice?]

Hyunjin agreed to those plans without hesitation, figuring he could cancel anything he might have had. A small smile crept onto his lips and he had a feeling that good things were in store.

After all, at the end of the day, she was his partner.

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kpopandbookschild · 8 months

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Fanfic idea #1

ok so Stray Kids fanfiction, based off the oddinary trailor/era, w/ Felix and Hyunjin and reader/oc love triangle, kind of a mythology au? Felix as life, Hyunjin as death, other members as other things like that (wisdom, sickness, time, etc..) ...

yes?

#fanfic idea #Stray kids #fanfiction #Felix #Hyunjin #Lee Felix #Hwang Hyunjin #(y/n)#oc #reader #stray kids x reader #stray kids x oc #Felix x reader #Felix x oc #Hyunjin x reader #Hyunjin x oc #mythology au

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sungielvr · 9 months

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Nervous Young Inhumans

1장

Warning - smoking, weed, mention of anxiety and depression, talk about not wanting to live anymore

w.c. 1064

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Seoyoon's day began as it usually did – with a joint in hand, her morning ritual on the bedroom balcony. The wisps of smoke curled around her, creating a cocoon of tranquility as she savored the moment. It was her way of finding peace, at least for a while, before facing the world that seemed to follow her everywhere.

Once she was finished she headed back into her room where she continued to get ready for her first class. She wasn't to sure why she chose a class so damn early in the morning. perhaps she just needed that reason to wake up in the morning.

Once Seoyoon made her way onto campus she made a b-line straight for the library where she could be alone. Because although they were in college the bullies seemed to still follow her.

She was surprised when she saw a squirrel like boy sitting in her usual seat. She found him absolutely adorable and that kind of pissed her off.

Seoyoon was way too shy to tell someone they were in her seat so instead she opted for sitting at a table across from her regular one. A little more out in the open than she was comfortable with but what can you do.

Breaking the silence, Jisung invited her to share the table, revealing his kind-hearted nature. Blushing and stuttering, Seoyoon introduced herself and cautiously took a seat across from him.

"Oh! Um are you sure I don't want to be a bother" Seoyoon spoke so quietly that if the library wasn't already silent he would have never heard her.

"Of course I don't mind, I'm Jisung by the way" He giggled to her, she thought that giggle was the most cutest and addicting thing she's ever heard.

" I'm Seoyoon, Park Seoyoon" She almost stabbed herself after hearing herself stutter. Putting her laptop as a makeshift barrier, yet her attention kept drifting back to Jisung.

Instead of going onto her laptop to study like she should be doing she instead opened up twitter...

Seoyoon occasionally looked up to see what Jisung was up to. At one point she was nearly immersed into her staring till he cleared his throat. she let out a small squeak which made him chuckle slightly.

"I'm so sorry, that was so creepy! I swear I was just lost in spaced," she easily lied. Her face was bright red and her heart pounded slightly. It was at the moment she wished her attempt last month worked.

Before she could get lost in her dark thoughts Jisung spoke up.

"Hey class is about to start... we both have economics, right? Why don't we walk together? It can give us time to chat more" He spoke with the sweetest smile ever, it was almost as if he genuinely wanted to hang out with her. But who would want to hang out with the quiet girl who was too rude to acknowledge the people around her. That's what everyone told the 19 year old.

"Yeah I'd Love to" She replied with the kindest smile she could muster yet if you knew the girl close enough you'd know right away it was slightly awkward.

On the way to class Jisung noticed Seoyoon pulled her hat a little more over her face and walked slouched almost as if to seem smaller. He knew this poster all too well, Seoyoon was anxious. He decided to start conversion with her in hopes to get her mind off of whatever was eating at her.

"Hey Seoyoon, what's your major? I realized I never asked you." He ever so gently pulled on her sweater sleeve to get her attention. She looked up at him with slightly panicked eyes trying to piece together an answer.

"Oh, um um I major in music theory and minor in psychology, weird mix I know" She very softly laughed. Jisung nearly grinned when he realized talking to her worked; she was now focused on him, not the thoughts tearing her beautiful brain up.

" I major in music theory too.. hence why we share the class" He ever so awkwardly chuckled after, because even though he was leading the conversation he was still the same old awkward Jisung.

They were now inside the class and both had decided to sit next to each other.

Jisung bravely asked for Seoyoon's Instagram and number, expressing his genuine desire to stay friends beyond that day.

"Um, is it okay if I get your Instagram and or your number? I'd like to continue being friends after today" She couldn't believe her ears; someone wanted to be friends with her, the quiet girl who had always been misunderstood.

"Yeah! it's p-k dot s-y-n!" She spelled out for Jisung as he typed it into his phone. She pulled out her phone as she got the notification of him following her. She followed back immediately, also saving his number in her phone

hanji has started following you.

She looked up at him with a big smile to find he was already looking at her with a fond look, She tilted her head to the side with her eyebrows furrowed,

"what.."

"Nothing, I just like your smile"

She felt her face burst into the hottest flames imaginable, she looked down at her sleeve and started playing with the hem hoping he wouldn't see the effect he had on her.

A few seconds later the professor walked in and Seoyoon had gone into work mode. It's funny for someone who doesn't try in anything she surely does pay attention in class.

After class Sooyeon bid Jisung goodbye both promising to meet in the library again the following day.

Back home in her apartment, Seoyoon allowed herself to release all her anxieties and emotions in tears.

She made her way to her room, still slightly shaking. She sat in front of her mirror and laughed,

"You're so fucked up in the head Park Seoyoon. You make me sick." She laughed once again but there was no humor behind the laugh.

Sung imessage (1)

She faced the harsh truth of her inner struggles but found comfort in the thought of meeting Jisung again the next day.

Lying in bed with mixed emotions, Seoyoon realized how much she enjoyed talking to Jisung, how he made her feel seen and appreciated. The memory of his chubby cheeks brought a smile to her face as she drifted off to sleep, looking forward to the next meeting with the boy who had unexpectedly brightened her day.

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neonpaperlanterns · 11 months

Text

Addicted to this Chapter two

Chapter two: Upon First Contact

[Part One] [Part Three]

So things hadn’t turned out exactly how Felix expected. She didn’t act in the way he had desired or how he had grown used to. It was frustrating. It was annoying. It was… It was intriguing.

What was the saying? No plan survives initial contact with the enemy?

Yeah sure that sounds right. Probably. He has never had this problem before. Everything he does always goes perfectly. Always.

But here he is. Outside of Charlie’s office once again ready with a different idea. Okay so maybe it’s just like the first idea. But this time it’s a new injury and this time no one got the drop on him. He was just being so damn heroic and took a knife to the shoulder for some rando New Republic soldier.

They had sung his praise. Telling him if there was anything they could do to repay him just let them know.

Ah to be appreciated.

Now he just needed the good doctor to appreciate him as well. Which he knew she would because he just let himself get stabbed. He deserved to be fawned over by that pretty little medic.

But when he was helped into her office by that starry eyed drone he was met with a less than impressed stare.

Alright so this was off to not the best start but he could recover.

“You got hurt again.” Charlie sounded tired as she cleaned the wound. He wanted to tell himself that she was concerned about him but really she just seemed disappointed.

“I would expect someone like you to be more careful.” Felix winced as she carefully began to stitch his skin back together. Really he envied Locus sometimes. He got to work with the ones with the advanced armor and medical equipment. While he was stuck in a dingy hole with nothing better than needle and thread.

Though he was sure Locus didn’t have a one Doctor Charlotte Rose so really he had the better end of the deal.

“Well I couldn’t just let…” He paused, who was that person again? They probably told him their name but he just couldn’t be bothered to remember.

“Evans?” Charlie supplied as she began working on the front of his shoulder. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. It was adorable to see her so focused.

“Yeah Evans. I couldn’t just let him get hurt.” Her eyes darted up and he was given another fleeting glance of being everything to her.

God he was going to chase this feeling.

“I suppose.” She was frowning as she cut off the excess thread. He watched as she placed the slightly bloodied needle on a metal tray and peeled off her gloves. She had long slim fingers with faint scars littering her left hand.

He wanted to touch them.

“Alright you’re all patched up. Come back in about two weeks and I will remove the stitches. Until then please go easy on your shoulder.” She was turned away from him washing her hands. She was so very thorough, it was cute. Sliding up to her side he leaned against the counter and cocked an eyebrow.

“And what if I come back sooner?” Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose as she walked away from him. A heavy sigh left her as her shoulders slumped.

“Are you planning on getting injured again?” She settled into her chair behind the desk and rested her head in her hands. She looked tired and like she didn’t want him here. Which couldn’t possibly be true. He was just seeing things.

“No but-” She cut him off with another sigh.

“Felix if you are not in need of medical assistance then do not waste my time.” He felt his stomach drop to the floor. Waste her time? He was not wasting her time. He was elevating it! His mere presence gave the lessers hope that there would be a better tomorrow. How could he possibly be wasting her time?

HOW!

“Excuse me?” His voice came out oddly quiet as he approached her.

“I have more important things to deal with than you.” Oh that was harsh. That was uncalled for. That was just utterly untrue. He was important, he was the only reason this rebellion is managing anything.

He was fucking important.

Felix paused in his approach as he saw fear flicker across Charlie’s face. He tilted his head to the side as he watched her try and collect herself.

“Leave.” Her voice came out shaky. Well wasn’t that just adorable. He had to control his expression. While he had to say Charlie looked good all wide eyed and afraid he didn’t want that. He wanted her to look at him as if he was the answer to every question and doubt she ever had.

When he had her worshiping him on her knees he would play with that fear but not right now.

Letting out a sigh of his own he turned his gaze to the ground. Swallowing thickly he ran his hand through his hair.

“Okay I’ll leave.” He spoke as softly as he could muster. Glancing back up at her he blinked a few times. His eyes became glassy as he hurried out of the infirmary. He will give her a few days, let her racing heart calm before he comes back. He’s sure when she has had time to think about what she has done she’ll feel guilty. He’s done so much for this lost cause, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.

So he just had to work a little harder. Which was fine. Felix didn’t mind the challenge.

#red vs blue #rvb #rvb felix #original female character #felix x oc #stab wounds #manipulation #i am having so much fun with this #obsessives behaviors #massive ego #felix thinks it's kinda cute when Charlie is afraid #that's not normal my man

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hxtwasabi · 2 years

Photo

Not even the gods above can separate the two of us

Iris Maya Kim (Red Moon) x Lee Feliz (SKZ)

Imagens do Pinterest, créditos a eles e quem os fez

Créditos do manip a yungbokie (instagram), ryulix (instagram), uryeji e zoy

Leia a fanfic AQUI

#moodboard #fanfic #stray kids moodboard #fanfic moodboard #oc gg #felix x oc #fanfics #spirit fanfics #edits #meus

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kyomaakuma7 · 9 months

Note

Teehee❤️❤️ you should draw my silly oc with Felix 😍😍😍( if you want too ofc<3333)

You guys are so silly <3 hope y’all love a king and happy life! Felix with his big gf is one of my favs.

It does seem however that Felix has quite the thing for rabbits. Hmmm… he’s got a type! And thankfully it’s not Kitty.

There isn’t really much more to say. So, enjoy >:]

#felix #felix the cat #quest felix #felix x oc #bendy #bendy and boris in the inky mystery #bendy and boris the quest for the ink machine #bendy the demon #bendy the little devil darling #quest for the ink machine #cuphead #inky mystery #bendy and the ink machine #quest cuphead #InkyMystery #requests #art requests

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strayflowersstarsandlove · 23 days

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Texting bf!skz "I'm going to eat you" 😋

I'm not sure what this is sometimes I just look at their sweet faces and go like aaahng mentally cause COME ON they look so ✨biteable✨

🖤hyung line🖤

🖤 maknae line 🖤

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hyunbunlix · 11 months

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Promises [waterbender!Felix]

Characters: Felix (Yongbok), older fem!OC Rating: A/O for Adults Only (violence, swearing, sexual content) Content Warnings/Tags: generational/family trauma, anxiety attack, inexperienced Felix, sub-leaning Felix, fingering (f. receiving), p in v, riding, dirty talk, raw orgasm Word Count: 6,866 Summary: As heir to the title of the Northern Water Tribe's Chief, Yongbok has always been pressured to live his life as it has been set out for him. When he's tutored by a general sent on a northern delegation, Yongbok starts to wonder if the path he's been given is the wrong one after all.

Ever since the war ended, the Northern Water Tribe had made a dedicated effort to rejoin the rest of the world and end its isolationist policies. In the last generation, their efforts had been richly rewarded by both a stronger relationship with the sister tribe at the South Pole and a hearty alliance with the Earth Kingdom. As such, the Northern Water Tribe was preparing to host a summit between the three in its capital city of Agna Qel’a. Yong Bok, as the son of the Northern Chief, had a whole list of responsibilities to get through before their guests’ arrival.

Once those official duties were complete, his father had insisted Yong Bok receive instruction from a general the Southern Tribe had sent to the Earth Kingdom years ago. Yong Bok’s father was convinced his son wasn’t tough enough, that he had no killer instinct, and in the event of any future conflict, the Northern Tribe would need a strong leader. The war was still near enough in people’s memories that a good offense felt like the best defense.

Yong Bok wasn’t sure he wanted a killer instinct, though, nor was he sure he wanted to lead the Northern Water Tribe. He wasn’t sure he wanted to lead anything for that matter. He just wanted to be. He had a gentler style of waterbending that none of the northern masters seemed able to break him of.

He forgot all that for a moment, though, when he was introduced to the general just inside of the water gate system that protected the city. She was not at all what he’d expected. A woman, for starters, and not too much older than him, either. She wore a combination of regalia from the Southern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom in a display of the alliance’s solidarity, and when she bowed respectfully to Yong Bok and his father, Yong Bok instantly felt weird about it, like perhaps he should bow to her instead.

His father didn’t seem terribly happy. He still held to quite a few of the old ways, and he likely hadn’t been expecting a woman to instruct his son.

But what could he say or do now? The chief wasn’t prepared to offend such a powerful member of the alliance.

“He’s in good hands, I assure you,” the general was saying when Yong Bok finally spaced back in after a good twenty seconds lost in thought. She was looking right at him now, and Yong Bok’s eyes went a little wide with panic. He hadn’t been staring, had he? She smiled at him, clearly amused.

“I thank you for taking the time out of your busy delegation to instruct my son,” the chief said, and Yong Bok forced himself to smile a little, hoping it didn’t look as strained as he felt.

“It’ll be my pleasure, I’m sure,” she said to the chief, then turned her full attention on Yong Bok. “I look forward to starting tomorrow morning,” she said to him. He nodded, forcing himself not to clear his throat or swallow conspicuously. The last thing he needed was to look nervous.

“I’ll work hard,” he said, an answer that would no doubt placate both the general and his father. Then, without thinking, he added, “You’ll be attending the reception this evening, right?”

“I will,” she said, grinning. “Maybe we’ll talk then, too.” She then bowed to the chief one final time, who dismissed her.

As she made her retreat, Yong Bok could feel his father’s glare drilling a hole into the side of his head. He hesitantly turned to look at him.

“Don’t get any ideas,” his father ground out. Yong Bok blinked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said. The chief stared at him, unreadable.

“Good,” he said finally. “See that it stays that way. You have your breeding to think about.”

Yong Bok fought to keep a straight face. He hated thinking about the path his future would take, so he usually just didn’t. His parents were already breathing down his neck to marry someone they approved of (they’d given him a list and everything), since he was in his twenties, which was, in their eyes, plenty old enough to be thinking about things like “securing lineage” and “ensuring heirs to the tribe’s legacy.”

Basically the worst things Yong Bok could imagine when he wasn’t sure he even wanted to be in this lineage to begin with. He didn’t feel right just leaving it to his sister either, though . . .

“Right,” Yong Bok said weakly, trying not to show the pure relief on his face when he was dismissed. A few hours to himself before the reception feast would help re-center him.

He made a beeline for the Spirit Oasis. Yong Bok wasn’t the most religious person in the world, but it was always peaceful there, and rarely populated given how sacred it was. It was a great place to hide under the guise of meditation and communion with the spirit world.

To his surprise, the general was already present, sitting, calm and poised, before the koi pond that housed the ocean and moon spirits in their eternal circular dance.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said when she turned to glance at him over her shoulder. “I can leave, if you want.”

She smiled gently to him and patted the grass beside her. “No, it’s all right. I was just saying hello. I’ve never been up here before, and it felt right to pay my respects.”

After only a moment of minor hesitation, Yong Bok decided to take her up on it, approaching and sitting to her right. “You don’t have anything like this in the south?”

“We don’t,” she confirmed. “It’s a much rougher, less ‘civilized’ way of life down there. Though, I’ve lived in the Earth Kingdom for years, so I’ve grown used to a different standard of living. I’m not built for the cold quite as much as I once was.”

Yong Bok was suddenly acutely aware of the foot of space between them, and the mild desire to close it. Despite the frigid nature of the rest of the North Pole, the spirit oasis was surprisingly temperate.

“If you need extra furs, let me know. We’d be terrible hosts if we let you freeze to death,” he said. She laughed softly.

“I appreciate that,” she said, then lapsed into comfortable silence with him, their collective attention on the pond and the koi-shaped spirits inside it. Several minutes passed before she spoke again.

“Forgive me if it’s an uncomfortable question, but I figured we would happen upon it eventually,” she said. “Why does your father think you need my help? Surely you have brilliant instructors up here.”

“We do,” he said, “but none of them have been able to break me of my . . . my nature.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, taking her attention from the pond to place it solely on him. It felt nice.

“I can waterbend offensively all right, but I’ve always preferred to defend, and especially to heal. My father hates it. He thinks it’s unbecoming in a man, let alone a leader. He thinks if I don’t prove to be a strong leader, then I’ll make the tribe a target during any future conflicts. I know he means well, but . . . It’s a lot to handle. I don’t like the pressure.”

“There’s more than one way to be strong,” she said, and Yong Bok gave a wan smile.

“I wish he saw it that way,” he said.

“Perhaps we can change his mind. We have a month together, don’t we? Let’s see what we can do,” she said, and to Yong Bok’s ears, it sounded like a promise.

Over the next month, practice with the general was grueling but rewarding. She trained him in all three aspects he’d mentioned, but put extra emphasis on his healing capabilities, which he excelled at. He’d always had a natural aptitude for it, but his father had refused his instruction in it. Everything Yong Bok knew he’d had to figure out for himself. Now, with proper technical instruction, he excelled more quickly than he could have imagined.

But as the month drew to a close, dread coiled in Yong Bok’s core. And not because of the combat demonstration he would have to put on in front of his father. Rather, Yong Bok could think of no punishment worse than losing the person who had believed in him the most his entire life.

He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the general.

On the third to last day, Yong Bok went to sit in the spirit oasis, and prayed the general would come find him.

He could recognize her footsteps as she approached, and he said a silent thank you to the ocean and moon spirits.

“Bbokie? May I join you?”

The tips of his ears flushed pink. She’d been calling him that in private for about two weeks now, and he adored it.

“Of course,” he said, and she sat to his left. She let the silence stretch until Yong Bok deigned to break it.

“Can I say something selfish?”

“Sure,” she said, glancing sidelong at him. Yong Bok kept his gaze on the pond, lest he lose his courage.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said. “And I know you have to, that it isn’t possible for you to stay, but . . . You’re the person I’ve felt closest to in a long, long time, and I don’t want to lose you.”

Her hand rested on his arm, and he finally dared to peer at her. Her face was serious, and a little sad.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. Yong Bok turned his face away.

“You shouldn’t be. Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with.”

“No,” she said, and reached to touch his cheek, to turn his face back to hers, but Yong Bok only registered the harmless intent after the fact. His immediate reaction was to flinch the instant she made contact.

She withdrew her hand like one or both of them had been burned, and Yong Bok looked at her with huge eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t have, I should have asked first. Are you all right?”

She thought it was her fault, that he’d been reacting to her that way. No, no. He couldn’t let his brokenness ruin this, too.

He reached for both her hands—warm and un-gloved thanks to the temperature of the spirit oasis—and placed them on his cheeks. She watched him carefully, and he held her eyes, pleading with her to understand.

“It’s not you,” he said softly, willing his voice not to shatter. “It will never be because of you. Please believe me.”

“Yong Bok,” she murmured, her face crumpling into something like grief, but not pity. He didn’t want that, and she’d sensed it as she’d sensed so many other things about him.

“Please,” he breathed. “Don’t go.”

“I can’t stay,” she said, and she sounded so raw, like that fact hurt her too, that Yong Bok just . . . broke.

With tears welling in his eyes, he leaned in to kiss her. When she kissed him back, the tears fell, and he didn’t try to keep them in.

She broke the kiss and let him cry into her neck, her hands rubbing nonsense patterns against his back.

When he finally started to calm down, she said, “Maybe there’s a way.”

“What is it?” he asked, not yet ready to remove himself from the cocoon of her embrace.

“Maybe, if you impress your father during your combat demonstration, we can convince him to let you come with me for practical training. I can’t stay, but maybe you can come with me.”

“I’ll try anything at this point,” he said, not minding how pathetic he sounded in that moment. “I . . . I don’t think I can go back to the way things were . . .”

“Then we’ll try,” she said, a gentle smile touching her lips. Yong Bok couldn’t help it—he leaned in to kiss her again, though he was softer and quicker with it this time.

“What were you going to say, before?” he asked. Before my meltdown was what he meant, and he was grateful she didn’t make him say it.

“I was going to say that I don’t want you to hide your feelings from me. I want you to be able to say and be and feel whatever you want when you’re with me. I want to listen. I want to know you as well as I’m able. You’re not the only one who feels so understood when we’re together,” she said. Yong Bok relaxed into her words, leaning his shoulder against hers.

“I already knew I didn’t want to lose you,” he said quietly, “but now I feel like I can’t.”

“Even if you have to stay, I’ll write to you. I’ll try my hardest to be on every delegation up here. I won’t forget you,” she said. Even as the promise touched him, his dread wouldn’t go away.

“It won’t be enough,” he murmured. “I know what I want now, what I need, and anything less won’t be enough.”

“I understand,” she said. Then, after a moment of hesitation, “Forgive me if this is presumptuous, if I’ve got this all wrong, but I’ve never really wanted to be in a long-distance relationship, either. If we’re forced to be apart, I think it’s probably best you find someone else.”

“That wasn’t presumptuous, and I don’t want someone else. It’s only been a month, and I know that’s not a lot of time, but I want to try. I want to build something on my own, and if it fails then so be it but at least I tried,” he said, impassioned now. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted something so badly. Most of the time, he felt like he was pushing against the goals of others, rather than toward his own.

“Then try we will,” she said, and that felt like a promise, too.

For the first time in his life, Yong Bok didn’t feel out of place on the frozen battle pitch. With ice and snow all around them, there was no shortage of material to bend with.

Nor was there a shortage of eyes looking for his mistakes.

Yong Bok tried to shut that out and focus only on the general, standing opposite him on the pitch. They bowed to one another, then turned and walked to opposite ends.

Their fight began, and it felt more like a dance than anything else. They opened with a series of water whips, coming dangerously close to one another. Yong Bok kept pace with the general, and the second he started to fall behind, he switched styles.

One of the things the general had taught him was how to waterbend like an earthbender. It had seemed counterintuitive at first, until the general had pointed out that all the ground in the North Pole was just ice. After that, it had been a matter of memorizing the new forms.

Now, Yong Bok stomped his left foot into the ground and raised both arms, palms facing down to the ground. A wall of ice shot up before him, protecting him from the general’s final water whip.

In another snappy motion, Yong Bok stomped his right foot onto the ground behind him and jammed both palms against his ice wall, cold instantly biting into his palms. Some earthbenders were able to detect and follow vibrations in the earth to track their opponents without use of their sight, and the general had taught Yong Bok to do the same with ice. Once he got a read on her location, he started punching the ice wall in alternating strikes, sending spikes of ice flying out of the wall and toward her. Defense and offense, all at once.

The entire process took only a few seconds, but Yong Bok was hyperaware of their audience gasping in surprise at the mixed form. He tried not to feel too proud of himself; after all, this had been the general’s technique first, so naturally, she knew how to counter it. Just as he expected, a pillar of ice shot out of the ground on the opposite side of the wall and sent the general vaulting over it, raining needles of ice down at him. With one bladed, backward motion of his arms, Yong Bok blocked them with a canopy of ice from his wall, which he then fired at her in sharp sheets as she landed. She pivoted, cutting through each one in turn with her water whip and sending them skidding and sticking into the icy ground. After firing the last sheet, Yong Bok rushed her.

He had never particularly liked close combat, but he had improved, and that was what they were trying to demonstrate. He held his own for about a minute of grappling and quick strikes, until he took an elbow to the face. It wasn’t a blow nearly as devastating as it would have been in a real fight, but it did hurt, and it was enough to split skin and make him bleed.

Instinct kicked in then, and Yong Bok bent his blood into one single needle and threw it at her. Either she wasn’t expecting it or his aim was too true, but instead of blocking or dodging like he expected, the projectile tore a hole directly through her left ear. She stared at him, stunned, her hand clapped to the side of her head.

With his heart in his throat, Yong Bok was aware of only two things: He had wounded the person he cared for most, and his father was applauding him for it.

The moment of fog passed and Yong Bok rushed to the general’s side as she took a knee, still staring at him. He could register no emotion in her gaze.

“Fuck, fuck, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he said as he got to her, wanting to reach out and touch her but suddenly too afraid. She took a shaky breath in and out.

“Don’t be sorry,” she whispered, “just fix it.”

The words settled. This was a combat demonstration. This, here, in front of everyone, would show his capability as a combat medic.

She had let him hit her.

She lowered her hand from her bleeding, punctured ear, and Yong Bok immediately bent the clean, clear water out of the flask he always wore. He could have used any of the ice and water already around them, but he had no idea what could be floating around in that, and he wasn’t trying to give her an infection.

The water collected around his right hand, which he gingerly raised to her ear. The water moved to encompass her ear, too, linking him to her wound. He could feel every bit of the puncture then, and sense the way her body wanted to fix it, the way it would heal over time. He and the water simply coaxed that process to the present, drawing her skin and cartilage back together. He pulled his hand away, the water around it pink with her blood now. Her ear, though, looked good as new with only a mild scar to show that anything had gone wrong in the first place. Yong Bok bent the water back into his flask to be disposed of properly later.

They both got to their feet, and bowed to one another.

“Thank you for my instruction,” Yong Bok said. When they straightened, the barest hint of a smile pulled at her lips, and relief shot through him.

He fought the urge to look at his father, fearing the scowl he would find there. The rest of their crowd was applauding, but he doubted his father would be so easily impressed by mercy.

The general didn’t really get nervous anymore. After military operations and political delegations, it took a lot to rattle her. But it would be a lie to say that preparing to speak with the chief of the Northern Water Tribe didn’t make her feel something. Not because she feared any repercussions to herself, but because the way she conducted herself here, now, would have direct repercussions for Yong Bok.

She chose to do it at the farewell feast, one day before her delegation was to depart. After the food and speeches but before the libations had flowed too freely. She asked to speak with him privately and forced herself not to look at Yong Bok, seated to the chief’s left, as she did. The chief didn’t look too happy about it, but he couldn’t say no to her in front of this many people if he wanted to save face. He had to at least hear her out.

“Good,” he said in response to her request, surprising her. “I think we have much to speak about.”

They removed themselves, retreating to one of the meeting rooms scattered about the palace.

“This is about my son, isn’t it?” the chief asked, sounding neither happy nor unhappy.

“It is,” she said.

“Good. Because I have questions for you. Such as, during your demonstration, why was his first instinct to heal a blow he dealt, rather than finish the fight?”

“Because it was a demonstration, sir. We wanted to show everything he can do,” she said. He scowled.

“You were well aware that I didn’t want him to learn any more healing,” he said. She fought the urge to say or do something highly disrespectful.

“I was,” she agreed. “But that wasn’t what he wanted. I spoke with him, and we decided it was best to give him a more well-rounded education. He’s a wonderful waterbender, and has great potential as an all-rounder. It would be a shame to keep him back when he would make such a great combat medic. That is what he wanted to show you.”

“And yet,” the chief said, “it is not what I wanted to see.”

“His offensive capabilities were top-notch. I don’t see why you’re upset when the results plainly spoke for themselves,” the general said, growing a bit frustrated now. “There’s nothing wrong with being able to do it all.”

“Perhaps not,” the chief said, “but we have other people for that. If my son is to rule over this tribe, then he must be a paragon of strength.”

“And yet, at no point during my time with him did I register him as weak,” she said.

“Then perhaps you were the wrong person to teach him.”

There it was. The finishing blow. She hadn’t even asked her question and already she had gotten her answer. She bowed her head and shoulders to him, and stood.

“Perhaps I was,” she said and made her exit without being dismissed. She stormed through the banquet hall, needing to get out. Those in her detachment that knew her well did not try to stop her once they saw the look on her face, and, instead, offered to cover for her.

As she made her way out, she looked for Yong Bok, only to find his eyes already on her. He looked stricken, and there was nothing she could do to solve it.

She went to the spirit oasis and prayed to the spirits for temperance, for hope. She had done all she could, and it was not enough.

Not even a full hour passed before Yong Bok, too, came to the oasis.

“What did he say to you?” Yong Bok asked, his voice panicked. The general stood and turned toward him; he stood in the middle of one of the bridges that led into the oasis, as though afraid to get any closer.

“He said I was the wrong teacher for you,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

Yong Bok swallowed hard. His coat was undone in the warmth of the oasis, showing the high-necked thermal layer he always wore underneath, dark grey today. It didn’t matter. She shouldn’t have been looking.

“He pulled me aside after you left,” Yong Bok said, sounding like he couldn’t breathe. “He said he’s tired of waiting on me. He’s forbidden me from healing, and he’s chosen my spouse for me. He said that if I won’t do what needs to be done, then he will.”

She stared at him and felt like she’d been delivered an exceptionally hard kick to the sternum. She couldn’t make herself speak.

“He’s probably making the marriage announcement right now. Everyone will know. I won’t be able to go back on it or get out of it, or—”

He was starting to hyperventilate now, and that was what finally spurred her to action, hurrying onto the bridge with him, pushing his fur coat all the way off him so he wouldn’t overheat as he sank to his knees.

“Breathe, Yong Bok, breathe,” she said, gently cupping the back of his head and coaxing him to bow it forward to alleviate the dizziness that came from an attack like this. He adopted the posture, and she stroked his hair while he fought to pull in air.

“It’s over,” he managed to get out. “It’s all over.”

“Nothing is over, Yong Bok,” she said.

“He won’t listen!” he said, his voice pitching toward breaking.

“Then make him,” she said. He took a few more gulps of air, then raised his head to look at her. Gods above and below, even in the throes of despair he was breathtaking. She leaned in to kiss his forehead. “This is your life, Yong Bok. No one can make you do anything. You might feel like you have to do this—for him, for your family, for the tribe—but no one can make you. The world won’t stop spinning if you refuse. Actions have consequences, but so does inaction.”

Silence stretched for a few beats while Yong Bok steadied his breathing. When he looked at her again, he seemed surer of himself, like some of her words had had an effect. She started to move away, to give him space, but he grabbed her hand so she couldn’t and placed it on his chest. She looked at him in confusion, feeling almost ashamed of herself for being so acutely aware of his musculature beneath his shirt. The damnable thing was just so tight.

Then he spoke again, and she could have sworn she’d had a brain aneurysm.

“Ruin me,” he said. She stared at him, eyebrows raised, mouth agape.

“I beg your pardon?” she said.

“Take me, here, now, before the ocean and moon spirits. Become one with me. Ruin me for any other union. Ruin me for anyone but you,” he said.

Her ears were still ringing, and that seemed a lot like sacrilege, but he was looking at her with such certainty, and his voice sounded like that, and damn her traitorous body she was already wet.

“You mean it,” she said, as much a question to him as a realization on her part. He nodded.

“Ruin me. Please.”

“All right,” she breathed. They got to their feet and finished crossing the bridge. Yong Bok laid out his coat on the grass by hers, softening the ground as much as they could in this situation. They sat down together, looking over the koi pond, a long moment of silent reverence for the ever-circling spirits.

“May our union be blessed,” she said to them, words that Yong Bok echoed a moment later. Then she turned to him, and their mouths collided, hungry. She went for his shirt right away, dragging it off him to get to the toned, taut body underneath, a body that she quickly tipped back onto their coats, exploring with her hands and mouth.

“You’re so gorgeous, Yong Bok,” she said, pausing to glance up at him. His face was already flushed, his eyes dark with want. She stroked her hands slowly down his torso one more time, enjoying the warmth and strength of him even as she became acutely aware of the growing bulge in his pants. She reached to graze it with her fingers, and he bit his lip.

“Can I tell you something embarrassing?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse, which only made it more alluring.

“Of course,” she said, cupping the shape of him through his pants while holding eye contact with him.

“I’ve never done this before.”

She stared at him. “I find that very hard to believe,” she said. He gave a tiny, breathless chuckle.

“Why’s that?”

“Because you’re sweet, funny, hard-working, beautiful . . . I can’t imagine people not wanting to be with you,” she said honestly. His smile was shy now.

“Thank you, but regardless, my parents were more than enough of a deterrent. Nobody wanted to displease them with their choices, including me. Everyone I’ve ever liked has been intimidated by them. Everyone but you,” he said, his vulnerability and infatuation naked on his face. She leaned over him to kiss him again, gentle at first, though it quickly degenerated into that same deep-rooted need.

“Yong Bok, are you sure about this?” she murmured against his lips. He nodded, his nose bumping hers.

“I am.”

They weren’t in love, not exactly. But he was plainly infatuated with her, and she cared deeply for him, and even if they didn’t work out as a couple she would have done anything to keep him happy and in her life.

“All right,” she said, and slipped her hand into his pants. His eyes snapped open, locking with hers, a soft gasp escaping his lips as she stroked him skin to skin. He bit his lip anew, groaning softly as she fit her hand around him, rubbing him up and down with more friction.

“Feels good,” he groaned. She gave an airy chuckle.

“That is the goal,” she said. Then, after a pause, “Let’s make this a little fairer, shall we?”

“What do you—? Oh.”

Rather than pulling her shirt all the way off, she simply pulled the front hem over her head and behind her neck. That way, she could show her body to him without pulling her hand away from his length. If that wasn’t enough, she pulled the soft band of fabric that served as bust support down under her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed. Yong Bok stared like she’d just revealed a classical art piece to him.

“Spirits save me, you’re so beautiful,” he said, reaching to run his hands along her waist. “Is it all right if I . . . ?”

“Yes, you can touch me, Yong Bok. Anywhere you want. It’s only fair,” she said, giving his hardness an extra little squeeze. It twitched against her hand, and he fidgeted with a groan.

“Yes, fairness,” he said. “Definitely at the forefront of my mind right now.”

She laughed softly, watching his face as he reached to cup her chest, the way his attention was split between his task and watching her face for reactions. He eventually worked out that she liked it best when he kneaded her breasts in his hands, or when he ran his thumbs back and forth over her peaked nipples.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore, and with a firmer grip on his cock, she started to jerk him off while leaning forward to put her breasts in his face. Yong Bok immediately opened his mouth and sucked on her breast, running his tongue over the nipple, even experimenting with the barest graze of his teeth to see if she liked it. Her answering moan said she did.

His own moans were muffled by her chest until he couldn’t stand it anymore, breaking the seal of his mouth and saying, “Stop. Please. I don’t want to finish like that.”

Instantly, she withdrew her hand from his pants, feeling quite satisfied by the sticky smear of pre-cum on her palm. “You’re a messy one, hm?”

He nodded, looking at first her hand and then her face, his expression folding into desperate need when she lolled her tongue out and licked the stickiness off her hand.

He surprised her then by pushing his own waistband down, freeing his cock in the process and allowing her a good first look at it. She’d already been certain about wanting to be with him, but now there wasn’t a single shadow of a doubt.

Yong Bok wasn’t a tall man. His musculature was lithe, and there wasn’t any part of his body that could be considered bulky. He was all lean lines and sharp angles from the square of his shoulders to the cut of his jaw.

That must have been because his cock had been blessed with all the girth the rest of his body didn’t have. He was about average in length, but thick, and her core gave a greedy pulse at the thought of how he would fit.

“Yong Bok,” she said, a slight teasing note in her voice. “You and I are going to have a very good time together.”

She moved away from his legs and helped him get his pants and boots all the way off, leaving him completely naked on their spread coats. Despite his protestations to her earlier, his hand was around his cock again, pumping slowly as he watched her get out of her clothes, too, enraptured by the process.

“Yes,” he answered belatedly, his voice scraped low with need, “we certainly are.”

She sank to her knees beside him. “Give me your hand,” she said, and he obediently offered his free left hand. He watched her, still slowly stroking his hardness, as she arranged his hand the way she wanted it and slipped his middle and ring fingers inside of her. She sighed softly, and coaxed his hand into motions complementing the fidgeting of her hips.

“Curl them forward a little— Ugh, yes, Yong Bok, like that.”

“Do you think you could finish from just that?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Probably,” she said, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. “Once you get the hang of it.”

“You make it sound like we’ll be doing this again,” he said, his voice making plain that he very much wanted to. She moved then, his fingers still stroking inside her, to straddle his thighs.

“You asked me to ruin you for anyone else,” she said, shooing his hand away from his cock so she could take control of it again. “Of course we’ll be doing this again.”

“You’re not just doing this help me, are you?” he said, another groan escaping him as she stroked his length in long, slow motions. “You wanted it as badly as I did.”

“What gave it away? My words? My actions? Or the wet all over your hand?” she purred. He looked down at his left hand then, his fingers still sunk inside her core. He gave a long exhale that left her no choice but to focus on his teeth and hope he might put them on her.

“All of it,” he answered.

“You didn’t think I could look at you every day for a month and not want to be with you, did you? Watching you working hard, sweating, those damn thermals leaving almost nothing to my imagination?” she said, lightly running her nails down his torso, clavicle to abdomen. He shuddered under her. “I told you before, Yong Bok: You’re gorgeous. And anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Then have me,” he said, patience clearly frayed. “Stop talking about it and take me. Make it official. Before the ocean and moon spirits, the whole damn spirit world, make me yours.”

She couldn’t say no to a request like that.

In one fluid motion, she drew his fingers out of her, pinned both his wrists to the ground, and began rubbing her slick core over his length, drenching him, mixing her wetness and his pre-cum. He moaned, pressing his hips up, trying to increase the friction, and that’s when it happened—he slid inside her hands-free.

The noise he made then was animal, his eyes fluttering shut as she pushed her hips back, settling him completely inside her. She smiled down at him, twining her fingers with his against their furs.

“Good so far?” she asked softly. His eyes opened to find hers as he nodded, his expression already bleary with pleasure and what she might have called adoration if she didn’t know better.

“Very good,” he sighed, his eyes growing a little unfocused as she glided up and down his length. She took it easy on him to begin with, a steady rhythm that got them used to the size and shape of each other.

“Not to be that person,” she teased softly, “but I do believe this is what we might call a perfect fit.”

“It feels—and looks—pretty perfect to me,” he said, presently unable to tear his gaze away from the sight of his cock sinking inside her again and again.

“Do you want me to come on your cock, Yong Bok?” she purred, unable to help herself. He nodded eagerly.

“Of course I do,” he ground out. “Want to know what you feel like.”

“It’s not going to take much, not with the way you’re filling me,” she praised. “But you have to promise me something.”

“Anything,” he said. She bit her lip to suppress a grin, dropping an exceptionally firm stroke of her core down his cock, making him groan, his eyes losing focus for a moment.

“After I orgasm all over you, I need you to trade places with me and fuck me senseless,” she said. He moaned again, the sound tapering into a whine. She released his wrists, but began to speed up her hips a little.

“If I can even last that fucking long,” he said, flushed. “You might get me first.”

She clicked her tongue, pretending to be disappointed, but really she was elated. It made her feel good to know that he wasn’t too nervous to come, that he was comfortable enough to finish with her.

“Is that so?” she teased. “You feel so good you’re not going to last? My cunt’s so good to you that you just have to fill it up?”

A hard throb went through his length from base to tip, accompanied by a throaty groan.

“Uh-huh,” he managed. “Wanna fill it with my cum so bad.”

“Very well,” she said, “I’ll do all the work this time. But you have to promise me that next time, you’re going to fuck me until I can’t see straight, hm?”

“I promise,” he gasped.

“Good boy,” she said, and stopped holding back. She planted her hands on the fabric beneath them and rutted against him, as desperate for her own orgasm as she was to make him break. His hands went to her hips, not interfering, merely anchoring himself to her. His eyes fluttered over her every feature while they still could, before it became too difficult for him to focus. She moved one hand to his chest, trying to gauge his body by the tension in his muscles, knowing they would start to seize as he got close.

She needn’t have worried. Her orgasm barreled into her, forcing her eyes to shut and her back to bow, her nails digging into his chest. She moaned wordlessly at first, though it quickly shifted into mindlessly whining his name. Yong Bok, to his credit, kept part of his promise by driving his hips up into her, fucking her through her high while chasing his own. Gods, she hadn’t had an orgasm rip through her this intensely in months.

And now Yong Bok was all hers, to do with as she pleased.

As a sliver of awareness came back to her, she met his eyes, noting the way he, too, couldn’t keep quiet, the way his chest had gone taut under her hand.

“Noona, noona, please,” he begged. She picked up the same rhythm she’d held before she climaxed, pounding down on him without mercy. The pitch of his voice changed mid-moan, breaking into a guttural, animal sound as his eyes rolled back in his head. She could feel the first hot spurt of his cum, his orgasm seizing his body, making him shudder. She stopped moving then, preferring to sit all the way down on his length, to hold him all the way inside her while he filled her with his warmth.

His moans were panted now, his eyes finally opening to focus on the point where their bodies met. He reached for her head, pulling her down for an open-mouthed kiss that ended with him biting down on her lower lip. She gasped softly, her core fluttering around his now-spent cock. He moaned again.

“I’m yours now,” he said against her mouth. “Nothing’s going to take me away. I won’t let it.”

“Nor will I,” she said, opening her eyes to look into his. “I promise.”

#kpop smut #stray kids smut #skz smut #felix smut #felix x oc #felix oneshot

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moonit3 · 6 months

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CAUGHT AT THE MOMENT

➥ warnings/notices: yandere,kissing, gn! reader, smut, nsfw, handjob, amab! reader, afab! reader, mentioned stalking, reader is aware of Felix’s behavior and is into it, nudity, teasing, university setting, both reader and yandere are senior, reader has slept with other people prior, rough fingering (afab part),

➥ yandere! student council president x gn! reader

➥ synopsis: felix caught you trying to steal the exams answers and decided to take advantage of it.

➥ a/n: this was supposed to be released earlier this week, but i got a little concerned in how to write a amab and afab reader, so i had to do a little research (mostly reading smut and other stuff) in an attempt to make at least good to people read it. so please be patient with me if this one isn’t good, enjoy.

➥ felix could feel his heart pounding when he caught inside one of the professors’ office trying to steal the exam’s answers. your hands move away from the drawers when he steps inside, already speaking how wrong is your actions and you don’t even try to create a lie to escape this situation, knowing it will be in vain to pretend to be innocent. so you ask max in what he wants to not tell anyone about it.

———————

“anything?” he repeated the words that you said before. his lips turn into a smile with the possibilities of what he could ask you to do.

“anything you want, perv.” you replied, standing in front of him and seeing how he hides a part of his blush behind his hands when you accuse him of being a pervert. “come on, max. im not an idiot, i see you staring at me during classes and sometimes following me after periods.”

he stares at you in silence. how long have you known about it? how long have you notice him following you after classes? and why didn’t you told the police or the college about it? despite wanting to question you about it, felix knows that isn’t the best moment to do so.

with felix too lost in his thoughts, you sigh and wonder of the things he is thinking of doing with you. knowing that felix is responsible for stealing your clothes last months and also the one who left roses at your bed, it’s possible that he will do something to help with his pleasure and you aren’t bothered by it. by the complete opposite, you are excited to see how far he is willing to take things furthers. you are into that.

and he finally speaks, “then how about you take off your shorts and underwear?” the courage in his voice is evident and the way felix puts his hands on your belt makes things even exciting. “if you do that, then i won’t snitch you to the council.”

that’s a side of max you never expected to see and you want to see it more. “just that? you don’t want me to do anything else?” he unbelted and zipped down the bottom part of your uniform, revealing your black underwear to his eyes. “don’t you want me to show off more?”

felix puts his hand underneath your underwear, feeling how warm you are getting just by his touch alone. aren’t you supposed be a good student of the academy? you are know as the flower of the campus, someone delicate and naive to any forbidden actions, but here you are. letting him touching your sensitive area like it’s a normal thing to do.

———————

if you are amab!

with his free hand, he removes your underwear, taking a view of your cock and how is already leaking from the tip, not to say how his hand can barely hold your length. you are a big one compared to felix, would you even fit on him if he asked?

“you seems surprised, president. haven’t you saw a dick before?” you whispers to him, noticing how red he has become just for seeing your member. felix has saw many types of cock in the videos he watched during his free time from working at the council and even masturbated to it, but yours are completely different, it’s real and he is holding it. “you can give it a try if you want.”

what? felix recompense himself, but not enough to let it go away from your member. he raise his head to stare at your eyes, full of lust and the smile on your face says all, you have been planning to be catch and fallen into your trap so easy. he doesn’t say anything, nothing comes out of his lips as felix put his hand on your knees and remove his eyes away from yours to stare at your thing. it’s begging it to be touch, licked and even tasted it, so he will do it just for you.

his hand began rubbing your cock slowly and the expressions on your face are becoming lewd by his touches on the head of your cock. there is already cum failing from the top, reaching felix’s fingertips and he couldn’t help, but lick it. tasting how sweet you are compared to what he imagined at first, aren’t you perfect?

“f-felix!” your moans became louder as he continues to increase speed on his hands, making you do noises you never expected to do ever under someone’s touches. it’s too much! but you have to hold it, you can’t just come over because felix is the one touching you! it would be embarrassing. “keep going!”

he obeys your orders, going faster and faster with his hands around your shaft. felix wants to see you melting under his touch, make your body completely dependent of his hands only. to make your body start squirm when you see next time during classes, make you become his own little toy for free use.

“a-ah…felix! oh god..oh god!” a loud moan took over the room as you finally came to his hand, your fluids ruins both your shirt and his sleeves, not to say that his face is also wet from your cum, now he looks even handsome than usual. and you can barely stand up or speak, you wasted your voice with those screams and moans to impress felix.

seeing how pleasured you have become by his hands, felix doesn’t lose the opportunity to take a photo of your now wasted body after coming through his touch. a grin is on his face as he admires your new form, the proud student who is the perfect person has become and entire messy by his fingers only.

———————

if you are afab!

with his free hand, he removes your underwear, taking a view of your clit and how is already leaking from his touch alone, not to say how his hand can barely make you a mess from just a finger alone teasing you. your hip are already shaking without nothing inside you.

“you look quite surprised, president.” your thighs are what he can’t take his eyes off, too fascinated by your body and already imagine how easily he could just hold both of them while making you his forever, would you accept it if he dares to ask it? “haven’t you saw a pussy before? or are you just shy?”

felix kneel down between your legs, not daring to move away his glance away from your [e/c] eyes, admiring how it resembles the most expensive jewelry of humanity. “it’s my first seeing one personally, [name].” he uses his fingertips to feel your clit, then slowly put one inside you, “but i will try my best to help you.”

with a finger inside, he began feeling your spongy walls and touching anything he can reach, he is making you feel so good! unlike others who only do this to prepare you for the next part, felix is doing it slowly. holding your hips with his free hand, not letting your trembling move you away from him til he is done with you.

“can you feel it, [name]?” lewd sounds are covering the entire room, both the sounds that your pussy are making when felix’s adds another finger inside you and your moans that are increasing every second. what a lovely view. “you look so precious like this, i bet some people would do anything to see you this way.”

“hmm!” you can feel your thighs getting wet when he puts another finger inside you, not caring to go slowly nor gentle as felix knows that you like it rough, he have heard of the rumors coming from the superiors. and like he expected, your body began reacting even more with his finger reaching deepest as possible.

“you are enjoying it.” he continues to go fast with his fingers inside and not a single coherent words comes out of your lips. just moans (it’s music to his ears!) and whimpers (why are you holding it back? there is no one here!), aren’t such a good pet for him? taking three whole fingers without any problems nor caring about the world outside this room, you are completely focusing in getting pleasure from him. that’s why you moan so loud when it finally came.

seeing how ruined you’ve become just for fingering you is a blessing, if he managed to make you come this amount just for that, imagine when he does the whole thing! that would be a scene he can’t wait to happen. next time, he will bring you to his place to take things even further.

@moonit3 writings

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causeilikelix · 1 year

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Chapter Twelve - Houston, Felix Has One Problem

↳ Pairing: Felix x OC / Hyunjin x OC (later)

↳ Genre: Romance, comedy, smut (eventual), slow burn, enemies (idiots) to friends (idiots) to lovers (probably still idiots), high school au, college au, non-idol au

↳ See Chapter One for summery and blanket warnings

↳ Chapter warnings: Perv Felix (if you squint), poor guy can't catch a break, I think that's it?

↳ Read on my A03: Here

↳ Notes: Sorry this took so long! School, work, you get it!

<- Chapter Eleven - Chapter Thirteen ->

THE GOLDEN SUN shone down on the gaggle of exhausted teenagers as they stood in the middle of the park at six-thirty in the goddamn morning. Eunbyeol found herself regretting asking Jisung for help with the project because that meant they had to follow his schedule. He insisted that sunrise would get them the best lighting, and now that they were in position along the river Eunbyeol could sort of understand. She’d tried desperately to talk him out of it, but Jisung put his foot down. Something about wanting to make his girl look as good as possible.

The girls stayed over at Jiho’s parent’s house so they could wake up at four-thirty in the morning to do hair and makeup for the shoot. Despite Jiho and Jisung’s relationship staying strong, she shot daggers at him through her eyes as he, Felix, and Seungmin set up the lights and the camera. Eunbyeol wondered if the makeup they all had on hid the dark circles under their eyes or if it would be obvious in the video how exhausted they all were.

After the party, Jisung kept to his promise and sat with Eunbyeol and Jiho at lunch for a couple of weeks and joined them for study sessions so he and Eunbyeol could brainstorm ideas for the video. Seungmin occasionally joined them for brainstorming sessions, but he mostly lurked in the massive group chat with all ten of them in it. Jeongin, while he couldn’t come to help until later in the day, proved himself to be an active member in the creative process since he insisted on tagging along for a few study sessions. He even went location scouting with them a few times and helped them choose the spot by the river. He planned on joining them later with another camera so they could split up to get individual shots of the girls.

Thankfully, Felix kept himself out of it as much as he could and Eunbyeol appreciated it. He didn’t help with the creative process and he never responded directly to her in the group chat. After everything that happened at the party, Felix could barely make eye contact with her. Not that she necessarily wanted to make eye contact with him, but he was right about one thing. Neither of them had any idea what was going on between them, so Eunbyeol did the only thing she knew how and withdrew as much as she could from the situation. The air between them before the competition had been practically electric, both of them eager to take the other one down. After everything that happened between them, Felix opted to keep his distance.

Some things hadn’t changed. The only words shared between them directly were mostly in class, polite formalities or academic discussions when they were forced into groups to talk about the subject being discussed in class. Eunbyeol didn’t know how to talk to him for some reason and he couldn’t seem to find the words either. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he said to her in the bedroom, about deciding what they were. She hadn’t expected it to be so difficult to come up with an answer.

Eunbyeol watched him as he checked the lighting in the camera and waved Jisung over to double check it. The two boys talked between themselves for a minute, murmuring quietly. Their words were drowned out by the chilly morning wind, but Eunbyeol figured it was mostly technical speak anyway. She watched as Felix’s plush mouth moved as he spoke. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, practically tasting the remainder of peach soju she’d tasted all those weeks ago.

Eunbyeol shook her head, snapping her head back into the present and sighing heavily when she remembered all of the reasons he made her blood boil. Eunbyeol had to remember that she didn��t like him for a reason. She didn’t like him because... he was completely and utterly confusing. Her eyes narrowed at the thought. Eunbyeol could say for certain that she didn’t like the way he talked, and his laugh was like nails down a chalkboard to her ears, and his smile made her want to gag. Thankfully, today would be the only day for the rest of the summer where she would have to deal with him. Oh, the things she put up with for Jiho.

“Who’s fucking idea was this?” Chohui muttered from where she sat on the ground as they waited for the boys to finish rigging the lights.

“I promise if we get a couple of decent shots in this lighting then we can take a coffee break, okay?” Jisung murmured from behind the camera where he and Felix were peering carefully at the screen. “Seungmin-ah, see if you can make the left light a little dimmer. We want to get them mostly in the sun.”

“Got it.” Seungmin hurried obediently to adjust the light.

“Also I think we need to make their backwash light a little bit brighter, so they don’t disappear into the background.” Felix added.

“Where did you guys even get these lights?” Ah Joong glanced around at the three small but powerful LED lights perched on tripods and positioned strategically around the area.

“This, my friend, is what it looks like when...” Jisung paused to lean back and survey the scene in front of him, peering between the girls and the display on the camera, “... the arts are funded. Felix, what do you think?”

“I think...” Felix looked closer at the camera for a few seconds. “I think this looks great and we need to get going.”

“Alright, perfect. Places!” Jisung called. “I hope you girls stretched this morning.”

“What do you take us for? Amateurs?” Ah Joong smirked playfully as she made her way to her starting position.

“Are you ready? Seungmin-ah, cue the music!” Jisung lifted his finger in the air and pressed a button on the camera. “Action!”

Seungmin pressed a button on his phone and the song immediately began to play through the portable speaker placed strategically out of shot. The girls slipped into action easily, playing to the camera as if they did this sort of thing every day. Jisung kept his eyes on the camera to make sure everyone stayed in frame but Felix found his eyes drawn towards their expert movements. He cleared his throat when the girls started into the first chorus and he looked away, suddenly cursing himself for agreeing to help on this dumb project. He already had to deal with the awkwardness between him and Eunbyeol in class, not to mention the awkward third-wheeling when he hung out with Jiho and Jisung. On top of that, it was difficult to fully participate in the group friendship in the group chat with all of them in it. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing and have Eunbyeol snap at him in public, so to speak.

The distance between them was unfortunately necessary. When he woke up that morning to find her essentially in his arms with her hand on him, his heart nearly pounded out of his chest. In the morning light with sleep softening her features, she looked dazzling. Her eyelashes fanned perfectly across her face and her hair was soft under his fingertips. He’d dreamt about waking up next to her for months and he could hardly believe his luck. Felix knew she hated the idea of sleeping next to him, but for a moment it almost was like he could live in a fantasy world where they could be comfortable together. To wake up with her within reach was something he’d only ever dreamed of. Why did he have to want more?

Because he wanted more, he had to keep his distance. Because even though kissing her with fire made him warm in all the right places, the moment he kept going back to was after the kiss when he held her in his arms. Because, for that moment they spent together in each other’s embrace, Felix crossed a threshold from which he couldn’t return. He couldn’t take being her punching bag anymore. It hurt more to know that their feelings for one another were complete polar opposites. She hated him and he... liked her a lot, to say the least.

The song ended before he knew it and Jisung waited for a few seconds as they looked into the camera intensely. Finally, he pressed a button and called:

“Cut!” Jisung applauded and Felix and Seungmin joined him. “You girls did great!”

“Oh, thank god.” Chohui sighed, relaxing her shoulders immediately. “That dance is exhausting.”

“Was that good? Did we get the only shot we needed?” Jiho clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend.

“Unfortunately not. We’ll need to shoot a second take for the establishing shot anyway, but I don’t know if this one is any good” Jisung frowned at the camera and waved Jiho and Eunbyeol over. “Come watch this and tell me if you see it.”

“Damn. Okay. Take five, get some water.” Eunbyeol called to the others and followed Jiho behind the camera to watch. “Was it the lighting?”

“No, the lighting looks great. I’m a genius in that regard. Just watch.” Jisung pressed play and the girls crowded closer to get a good look.

With that, Felix made himself scarce. The other girls were all scattered around the area, sitting on the ground or by a nearby bench. Unfortunately, several large bags of various equipment and other supplies took up the bench itself so there wasn’t enough room for anyone to actually sit on it. A large blue cooler sat next to the bench and Felix flipped open the lid and plunged his hand into the ice. Felix rummaged around for a few minutes until his hands were loaded with four bottles of sports drinks. He nudged the cooler closed with his elbow and made his rounds, distributing the electrolyte-rich drink to each girl.

“You’re a life-saver.” Ah Joong thanked him as she took one from his hands.

“It’s the least I could do.” Felix grinned and passed the last one to Minjeong.

“I think you’re a lot sweeter than some people realize.” Ah Joong glanced in the direction of the camera pointedly, but Felix pretended not to understand.

“Really, I’m just glad I can help out! I know how important this is to Jisung.”

“Come on, it literally took him blackmailing you to get you to do this. You really must want your crush to stay secret.”

“I would have done it anyway. Honestly, I’m glad that I have such close friends here in Korea. I was worried I would be an outcast because my Korean isn’t great.” Felix admitted slowly.

“It’s surprising you’re not closer to Eunbyeol, then. I know she lived in Australia for a few years and is fluent in English. She should have been someone who was easy to relate to.” Ah Joong mused. “You two have a lot in common.”

“Yeah, I thought so too at first. Turns out we don’t have as much in common as you’d think. She’s never been that interested in talking to me anyway.” Felix shrugged.

“Admittedly, I’ve not been talking to you because of your rivalry with her, but you’re not as bad as she makes you out to be.” Ah Joong admitted, lowering her voice to a whisper in case the girl in question could hear them.

“If Jiho and Jisung keep dating, I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot more often.” Felix grinned.

“By the looks of things, I don’t think those two have any intentions of breaking up anytime soon. They’ve been long overdue.”

“Jisung told me he used to like Eunbyeol, so I’m glad that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.” Felix whispered with a grin.

“Oh, that was ages ago. Eunbyeol wasn’t into him at all so his crush fizzled out pretty quick. He still cares about her and all, obviously, but he’s clearly more obsessed with Jiho.”

“I swear...” Felix laughed. “If I have to sit through one more rant about how perfect Jiho is, I’ll rip my hair out. Jisung talks about her all the time. I’m a little jealous, honestly. I wish someone would talk about me like that.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. I’m so tired of hearing about it, but I’m happy for them. You know, I’ve been meaning to ask-” Ah Joong started.

“Girls!” Eunbyeol called the group. “Let’s run it again, okay? There was someone in the background of the shot the whole time but they’re gone now. Let’s go!”

“The grind never stops.” Ah Joong groaned, setting her bottle aside and holding her hands out for Felix. He gripped her arm instinctively and helped her rise to her feet. “It was nice talking to you, we should do this again sometime.”

“Likewise.” Felix nodded.

Felix made his way back to the camera where Jisung was messing with the focus settings. The girls got into position and Seungmin checked all the lights. Felix’s eyes drifted past the camera against his will and his gaze fell on Eunbyeol as naturally as if he was looking towards the light. Her eyes seemed to twinkle in the morning glow, but he also figured it came from the bright smile on her face as she talked with Jiho about something. Jiho whispered something into her ear and Eunbyeol laughed out loud, the sound carrying around the area as clear as a bell. Felix’s heart leapt into his heart and he shook his head and turned his attention back to the camera.

Once the girls were set, Jisung called action and Seungmin pressed play on the song. The dance began and Felix averted his gaze on purpose. After how the dance affected him the first time, he had no desire to deal with that... issue again. Felix wasn’t confident in his ability to conceal it as well with the others around and no immediate access to privacy. However, he admitted that he wasn’t sure he would even encounter that problem again considering how Eunbyeol acted around him these days.

It wasn’t that his feelings were gone. In fact, even being here to help Eunbyeol made his heart climb into his throat. It was torture enough to sit behind her each day. He watched her laugh and talk with Jiho and Jisung and pretend, for the most part, that he didn’t even exist. He watched Eunbyeol chew a piece of strawberry bubblegum in third hour every day and apply chapstick before the start of each class. Felix wanted to join the conversion, or ask for a piece of gum, or offer her a new tube of chapstick when she ran out. Instead, however, he waited passively. He could see the gears turning behind her eyes whenever she looked at him. Felix didn’t know what was worse: having a negative relationship with her or not having one at all. He wondered if she had the same dilemma.

The dance progressed and the sun climbed a fraction higher into the sky. Felix glanced up as the golden rays peeked over the building and added an amber wash to the scene. Jisung’s lips pursed but he didn’t call for the end of the shot. Felix focused on the expressions of the girls, who didn’t seem to blink at the appearance of a new light source. Felix knew that one shot with consistent lighting was vital to the editing process, but he had to admit that the ever-rising sun added a flare of the dramatic.

Eunbyeol flipped her hair with the choreography and the light hit it just right. Her thick black hair suddenly glowed with golden highlights for a split second, but it was enough. Under the golden touch of the sun her skin seemed to glow. Her eyes sparkled with intensity and reflected the burning heat from above. Felix’s fingers curled into fists and his nails dug into his palms. His heart rate increased as he watched her and he had to focus very hard on keeping his breathing steady. He pressed two of his fingers to his jugular. He should have been less surprised to feel just how quickly his heart raced. At this rate, he could give Formula 1 drivers a run for their money.

Eunbyeol danced like she’d injected the music straight into her veins. Just like the first time he saw her dance on stage, she moved as if it was second nature to her. Despite the intensity in her eyes, something in them and Felix knew instantly just how happy it made her. Even with Felix’s presence it didn’t stop her from enjoying herself. Somehow, in spite of himself, a smile crept onto Felix’s lips. Something about watching Eunbyeol in her element made his heart swell. He didn’t know what she was thinking about him or their relationship or anything but the more he looked at her the more he realized that it didn’t matter.

All Felix really wanted was to be the cause of her smile. He wanted to walk in the classroom each morning and for her to smile when she saw him and hold her hand when they walked to lunch. He wanted so much more, but at this moment he only wanted her to let him be around. At least for right now Felix could be satisfied with just... being around her. His mind and his heart told him two completely different things and Felix found himself compelled to listen to his heart today.

“And... cut!” Jisung’s sharp voice abruptly cut through Felix’s thoughts. “That take was so much better!”

“Did you see the way the light hit us?” Ah Joong squealed and the rest of the girls immediately erupted into conversation, talking between themselves about things to improve during their next run.

“Get that stupid smile off your face.” Seungmin elbowed Felix in the ribs and he jumped, not realizing that the other boy had materialized next to him. “Even she will figure it out at this rate if you’re too obvious.”

“What?” Felix blinked in surprise. His face immediately fell. He hadn’t realized he was smiling.

“Don’t play dumb, idiot.” Seungmin slung an innocent arm over Felix’s shoulders. “You like Eunbyeol and it's disgusting.”

“I... excuse me? No, I don’t-”

“Give it up.” Jisung cut in with a roll of his eyes. “We’ve known since you saw her making out with Younghyun that day.”

“Come on, I’d be stupid to like her. ”

“You’re not subtle. Like. At all. I simply refuse to pretend like I don’t know any longer. Also, you know I know this so I have no idea what’s wrong with you.”

“Shit...” Felix muttered under his breath, there was no point in denying it anymore. “You’re not going to tell Jiho, are you?”

“Well I’m not going to deny it if she asks, but it’s not like we sit around talking about you all the time so I don’t know if it’ll come up.” Jisung shrugged and Felix could feel the blood draining out of his face.

��Wait, is that why you dared me to kiss her in the closet?” Felix gawked at his friend as everything fell into place.

“No, I dared you to kiss her because I thought it would be funny to see you with another black eye!” Jisung exclaimed with a dramatic laugh before dropping the act and rolling his eyes. “Why the fuck do you think I did it?”

“So did you?” Seungmin leaned in. “Did you kiss her?”

“The other option was to tell her I thought she was hot.” Felix scoffed. “I wasn’t about to do either of those things. I have no desire to be punched again. That was not fun.”

“Come on, did you do it?” Jisung peered at him pointedly.

“I can confidently say that I’ve still only kissed one person since I got to Korea.” Felix cleared his throat, hoping that the others wouldn’t catch on. He wasn’t lying.

“You drive me crazy.” Jisung rolled his eyes. “You’re obsessed with this girl and you didn’t take the opportunity to tell her you liked her or kiss her or anything? I swear, you’re gonna be the death of me. Hey, Eunbyeol-ah! Come watch this shot!”

“Ah, be right there!” Eunbyeol’s clear voice cut through the morning air and Felix immediately had to make himself scarce. “Girls, we will have to do it one more time to make sure we get some actual consistent lighting but then if we do that run well we can focus on more specific parts. That way we can conserve energy a bit since we’ll have to do another runthrough or two at school later.”

“Thank god.” Ah Joong heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t know how many times I can run this thing.”

“Jisung-ah, show me.” Eunbyeol made her way to the other side of the camera and Felix made his way back over to the pile of their bags on the bench to get a water bottle of his own.

For a few minutes, the girls sat around and sipped their sports drinks and Felix and Seungmin made small talk while Eunbyeol and Jisung watched the video. Jiho ventured over to watch as well at some point. The girls shared smiles when they got to the part where the sun hit them just right. On one hand, Felix could hardly wait to see the finished product but on the other he wasn’t sure he would survive the video. Thankfully, he didn’t think he would be part of the editing process, so he wouldn’t have to watch it over and over again. He wasn’t sure he could take it.

Eventually, Eunbyeol had the girls reset for one final take. Felix returned to Jisung’s side to help supervise the camera. The three boys made some last minute adjustments to the artificial lighting before starting another take. Jisung approved the lighting before cueing Seungmin with the song once more.

“Action!”

Despite being tired already, the girls put everything they had into one last shot. Eunbyeol stared at the camera intensely and Felix cleared his throat. Somehow, as he looked at the camera, it was as if she was staring right at him. Her eyes darkened with charisma and something inside him stirred. He swallowed thickly as he watched her. Somehow, the intensity of the dance got to him just like the first time he saw it. Just like her performance on stage, Eunbyeol looked cool and professional and she stared into the camera like she wanted someone on the other side.

Since he first saw her perform, she’d looked at him very similarly a couple of times. Once in the closet (which he did because he wanted to and not because of Jisung’s stupid dare) and a second time in the bedroom they had to share. When Felix touched her again, he could see the conflict in her eyes. Her emotions weren’t as enormous as they were in the closet but he could still see how she craved his touch, just like he’d craved hers. She’d leaned closer to him and her pupils dilated when he said all that shit about kissing her again. Eunbyeol’s body warmed under his touch and he’d wanted so badly to kiss her until the sun came up. He hadn’t actually expected anything to happen. While he might have slept with her if she’d gone with it, it was never his end goal, but he knew that she never would. Somehow, just the thought that at one point she did want him made his body react in an unholy way.

He didn’t need to be a genius to see that she didn’t feel that way anymore. The way that she’d looked at him the next morning was enough for him to tell. It didn’t help that now she practically looked right through him. Watching the camera as she stared into the lens seemed to be the only way for her to look at him. Felix would have to be okay with it for now.

“Cut!” Jisung once again cut through Felix’s thoughts and he was glad for it. Felix wasn’t going to last much longer.

Eunbyeol’s face broke out into a smile and Felix’s breath hitched. She finally called for everyone to take a break while she and Jisung worked out which scenes they wanted to shoot next. Felix picked up what she said mostly from context clues. He could barely hear a word from her mouth as he watched her talk to the others. She ran her hands through her hair in order to soothe it and Felix had to tear his eyes away to focus on something else.

“You’re so fucked, dude.” Seungmin laughed as he watched Felix become overly invested in the stray thread on his shirt.

“Shut up! Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Don’t you?” Seungmin teased and nudged him with his shoulder.

“Fuck off.”

“Fuck her.”

“Seungmin-ah!” Felix gasped as if he’d been shot. “Don’t be disgusting, I can’t do that.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Seungmin wiggled his eyebrows.

“What?” Felix sputtered incoherently.

“You both are so stupid. She certainly hasn’t been looking at me all morning like she wants to fuck my brains out, and it’s not Jisung either. So, that just leaves you. She’s been making eyes at you all morning.”

“No, she hasn’t. There’s no way. The last time we talked, she practically slammed the door on my ass. She wants nothing to do with me, and the feeling is starting to be mutual.”

“Please, you're in way too deep for that, Lix-yah.” Jisung spoke up, finally tearing his eyes away from the camera. “I think you need to talk to her.”

“Excuse me? Do you want to find my body washed up on the riverbank in a few weeks?” Felix’s jaw dropped.

“No. I want you and Eunbyeol to either fuck it out or do something, anything, to ease this awful tension between you. Now, I don’t know what all has gone on between you guys but I really think it’s time you two talked about it.” Jisung folded his arms over his chest pointedly. “I think I speak for all ten of us when I say this, too.”

“He does.” Seungmin chimed in.

Felix glanced over at the group of girls, who were sitting on the grass off to the side of the path where they were filming. They sat around dabbing sweat from their faces and sipping at sports drinks. Eunbyeol peered down at a folder where Felix could only assume she had the filming schedule propped open. He could practically see her mind at work as she mentally went over the dance in her head, as if she hadn’t just gone through it three times in real life. Felix could see her processing notes for the others and things she wanted to talk to Jisung about. She leaned over slightly as she produced a pen from under the folder and wrote a note in the margins. Eunbyeol’s hair fell across her face and she lifted her hand to push it behind her ear. Felix swallowed.

“I wouldn’t even know what to say.” Felix turned back to his friends.

“I dunno, maybe tell her how you feel?” Jisung suggested with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

“I... I can’t do that. Our feelings for each other are polar opposites.”

“Then tell her what you want from her. Or, from your relationship I should say, and try to find a common ground.” Seungmin offered. For a moment, Felix wondered when his friends got so mature.

“For some reason, this isn’t helping.” Felix dropped his head into his hands. He pressed his palms onto his closed eyelids and watched the colored lightshow of stress flash in the dark. “She means a lot to me and I don’t know what to do. If I were to tell her how I really feel... god, I don’t even want to imagine the look of disgust on her face.”

“Eunbyeol means a lot to you, huh?” Jisung mused. “Look man, since you’ve gotten here she’s been nothing but horrible to you. Granted, you haven’t been great back to her, but it’s not like anything healthy could possibly happen right now.”

“She does mean a lot to me...” Felix trailed off, wondering if he could safely tell Jisung and Seungmin the one thing Eunbyeol didn’t want anyone to know. Would it help if they knew how they met? “Honestly... she and I...”

“You did kiss! I knew it!” Seungmin exclaimed and Felix jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

“Shut up!” Felix hissed. “No! Nevermind, this is ridiculous. I don’t feel like talking about this with you anymore.”

“Come on, come on. Surely things between you and Eunbyeol aren’t that bad, are they? Surely you can have a conversation with her?”

“No. There’s no way. I wouldn’t even know what to say. Besides, she’s so difficult to talk to. She’s so stubborn and annoying. She absolutely refuses to see reason and-”

“Eunbyeol-ah!” Jisung cried suddenly, glancing pointedly over Felix’s shoulder. Felix’s entire body tensed. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Do you want to watch the last shot we took?”

“Sure, I’ll take a look. But I wanted to go over the schedule with you and see which shots you think should take priority right now. We’ve got a couple hours before Jeongin shows up and I wanna make sure we’re on track.” Eunbyeol explained. She shoved past Felix, knocking their shoulders roughly as she passed. Felix started to protest, but she kept her nose buried in the document she was looking at.

“See?” Felix mouthed at Seungmin, who could only shrug.

“Sure, sure. I’d love to talk with you. However, I need to take a little break and run over to the cafe to use the bathroom real quick. Then we can get right to it!” Jisung smiled innocently. “Besides, I think Felix had something he wanted to talk about.”

“He does?” Eunbyeol glanced over her shoulder at Felix for a second. “What, does he want to stick his big nose in and meddle with our project?”

“No, I don’t think that’s it at all.” Jisung kept his innocent smile plastered on his face, ignoring Felix as he tried desperately to signal that this was a terrible idea.

Felix drew a line across his throat, crossed his hands over each other to make an X, mouthed warnings and expletives, but nothing deterred Han Jisung when he set his mind to something. Jisung grabbed Seungmin’s arm and loudly claimed they were making a bathroom trip if anyone else wanted to go. A couple of the girls heard the announcement and chimed in with their interest.

“Don’t take too long!” Eunbyeol gave in, crossing her arms over her chest. “We don’t wanna get behind schedule. We only have today to shoot this thing.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

Jisung dropped into an overly deep, exaggerated bow before grabbing Seungmin’s arm and started across the park towards the coffee shop they’d passed on the way in. A few of the girls jumped up to follow the boys, leaving Felix and Eunbyeol standing together on the path with only Ah Joong and Minjeong sitting on the grass a few feet away.

Eunbyeol stood there on the path, eyeing Felix down. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him. He wanted to shrink away and find someplace to hide. Felix wondered how she could make him feel so small. His mind raced a million miles an hour, wondering just what he was supposed to say. He wondered if he could just bullshit something about the shot, or the dance, or the lighting, or literally anything. However, he came up completely empty. His jaw opened and closed a few times, unable to come up with anything.

“You look like an idiot.” Eunbyeol rolled her eyes. “What could you possibly have to say to me right now?”

“Look, I... was thinking that...” Felix paused in a desperate attempt to hold off the conversation a little longer.

“Just spit it out. What do you want?”

“I want... to know what you thought about what we talked about last time?” Felix blurted, speaking so quickly that it came out sounding more like one word.

“You mean what we are?” Her blunt words knocked the breath out of him and all he could do was nod. “As much as I would love to sit here and deliberate the exact nature of our relationship, I don’t have the time or the energy to talk about it with you right now. Besides, I don’t think you’ll be a fan of the answer.”

“The answer? You mean, you’ve known what you want for a while and you didn’t tell me?”

“Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I thought I was telling you. I’ve been keeping my distance and only talking to you when necessary.” Eunbyeol shrugged nonchalantly but the action shoved an ice pick directly into his heart. “Felix, let’s be honest here. You and I? We’re not friends. I don’t think we ever have been, so why should we start now?”

“So instead you want to keep fighting with me?”

“Now look at who's making assumptions without any prior evidence. No, Felix. I don’t want to keep fighting with you. I want exactly the same thing I wanted on the first day you arrived at school. I don’t want to be involved with you or associated with you, and I don’t want anyone to know about what happened in Australia.” Every word out of her mouth was another jab of the pick deeper into his chest.

“You want nothing to do with me?”

“As if I haven’t made that perfectly clear for almost an entire year!” Eunbyeol exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “You have been obnoxious and annoying and I’m not interested in any sort of relationship with you.”

“But... wait, I...” Felix opened his mouth as if to tell her of the feelings in his chest, but the words wouldn’t come out. Perhaps it was for the better.

“I’m tired. So I’m willing to be cordial with you for the sake of doing our work at school. Plus your best friend is dating my best friend and I don’t see that ending any time soon, but I want as little of a relationship as possible.” Eunbyeol’s hands landed on her hips. She watched him sort through everything in his head. “Why is this such a surprise to you?”

“Because I thought that...” Felix started, but the words died on his tongue. Eunbyeol waited with surprising patience for a few minutes. “You mean... everything that’s happened over the last year hasn’t changed your mind? Not even a little bit?”

“Was it supposed to change my mind?” Eunbyeol blinked in surprise.

“What? I mean, no!” Felix blurted. “No! I just mean that even in just the last six months we’ve-”

“I know what we’ve done, you don’t have to remind me.”

“You’ve made it very clear that you need to be reminded sometimes!”

“I don’t need reminding now! I know what happened and I’m beginning to think that you think it meant something.” Eunbyeol’s cold stare knocked the air out of his lungs.

Felix’s feet seemed to sway and teeter under him, as if he was precariously balanced on the top of a steep and crumbling staircase and the only thing keeping him from falling backwards was Eunbyeol’s grip on his shirt. It’s like he was desperately seeking traction and only balanced on his tiptoes. Felix couldn’t seem to grasp onto her. Any time he reached for her, his fingers passed through her like smoke. He wasn’t sure if Eunbyeol had ever been tangible. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that all the times she’d been in his arms had been fleeting. He wanted to feel her in the circle of his arms and touch her skin, but she always stood away from him.

Maybe that’s all he would ever get.

“It didn’t-” Felix started to ask, but he decided against the words he wanted to ask. Now was not the time to be vulnerable. He cleared his throat, praying that he would have some strength in his voice. “If anything, I wondered if you thought it all meant something. In any case, it’s not like it was completely meaningless, but I wasn’t expecting to date you.”

“Ha!” Eunbyeol’s loud laugh made the other girls glance up from their phones to see what the matter was. “At least we’re on the same page about one thing; Lee Felix, I will never want to date you.”

Fuck.

Felix’s tumble from the top stair was just as devastating, if not more so, than his fall off the cliff and into his feelings for her. Eunbyeol let go of the fabric of his t-shirt and let him go. He knew he’d never have her, but for some reason the reality of it left him breathless. He fell free, untethered to anything and without knowing where or when he would land. Smoke billowed around him as he tumbled through the darkness. His heart crumbled to dust and he grasped for it mindlessly, but each grain slipped through his fingers and disappeared into the void.

He’d known this truth all along, but something about hearing it directly from her lips made it all the more overwhelming. White noise crashed in his ears like the waves of the ocean, and Felix dreaded the thought that he would never be able to cross over that expanse to get to her. Eunbyeol would always be worlds away.

I know you feel that way, but I don’t. I like you.

Eunbyeol-ah, you mean too much to me to just stop. I want to explore more with you. Please.

We never even tried to go at it normally, like friends. Can’t we give that a try?

Felix’s mind swirled with words he wanted to say to her, but she didn’t want to hear any of them. She would never hear him. So, instead, he said something he knew she would hear.

“Don’t worry. I’ll never want to date you either.”

~!~!~!~!~!~

A/N: Congrats! You've reached the end of the first arc! The second arc has a lot more action and more characters we all love and adore (like the rest of SKZ lol). STAY Tuned!

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