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tongue-like-a-razor · 2 years

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Faking It | Part VI

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x F!Reader

AHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE YOU GUYS!! This chapter took a lot out of me for some reason, but I'm pretty content with where we're at. Hope you like it!

PS. You will like it.

PPS. I promise you, you will like it XD

Summary: Fake dating your friend, Bradley Bradshaw - what could possibly go wrong? Your sister is getting married and you need a date. You enlist Bradley's help and the rest is history.

CW: swearing, minor angst, FLUFFITY FLUFF

Start from the beginning: Part I

“Chicken is good,” Bradley says to his dinner plate.

Across the table, your aunt makes an enthusiastic sound in agreement and continues chewing.

“Delicious,” you respond curtly.

Bradley looks over at you, so you turn your head to meet his gaze. “Yours is better, darling,” he says, feigning a cordial tone, but you can see past the charade. He’s just as angry with you as you are with him.

“Her mushroom stuffed chicken is divine,” your mother chimes in.

“It’s her specialty,” Bradley says, quoting a line from the notes you’d given him to prepare for the weekend because, obviously, he’s never had your mushroom stuffed chicken. He presses his lips together although the smile he aims at you is acerbic.

You try your best not to roll your eyes at him.

“Does Bradley cook?” your aunt asks, watching the two of you with interest.

You glance at her in alarm, unsure how to respond since you don’t know the answer. You could make something up; nobody would know any better, but somehow that seems more dishonest than pretending he’s your boyfriend.

“I do, actually,” Bradley intervenes. You look at him gratefully and he returns your gaze with a slight nod. “Y/N is particularly fond of my shepherd’s pie.”

Your mother cringes at Bradley. “Y/N hates ground meat. She won’t even eat burgers.”

Bradley stares at your mother, speechless for a moment, while you try to keep your composure despite the rapidly encroaching panic.

“It’s uh… vegetarian,” he says quickly.

“Vegetarian shepherd’s pie?” your aunt asks. “Never heard of such a thing.”

“Mm-hm.” You start to nod vigorously. “It’s so good.”

“What do you make it with?” your mother asks and everybody at the table seems farcically fascinated with the concept of vegetarian shepherd’s pie.

You feel like the air is being sucked from your lungs as you watch Bradley purse his lips while he stalls. “Bradley, I totally forgot to bring my shawl from the chalet and I’m cold,” you say.

Bradley raises his eyebrows at you and you know exactly what he’s thinking: that it’s about a million degrees in this place. “Here.” He starts shrugging off his suit jacket and you nearly groan because he must know that you’re not actually cold.

You give him a pointed look as he starts to drape the jacket over your shoulders. “I’d really prefer my shawl,” you say, trying to keep the severity out of your tone.

“Oh, don’t make him go all the way back to the rooms, Y/N,” your aunt says sympathetically. Then, she adds, “He still has to tell us about this shepherd’s pie. I wouldn’t mind grabbing the recipe.” She beams at him.

“It’s uh,” Bradley says, “exactly like the one with meat. Except, you know, without it.” Bradley responds uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“There’s got to be more to it.” Your mother narrows her eyes. “Is it a secret?”

“What? No, of course not!” Bradley chuckles. Then, he says, “Oh! I love this song!” He jumps up from his chair. “Come on, Y/N. Let’s dance!”

You stare at him in horror, trying to determine exactly what song is playing over the hum of dinner conversation. The dance floor is empty because everyone is still eating. “I’m actually not a huge fan of” –

But Bradley doesn’t let you finish the sentence because he grabs your hand and pulls you out of your seat so quickly that his jacket flies off your shoulders.

“Don’t you worry,” your grandmother says, leaning down to pick up the jacket and hanging it over the back of your chair. “Go have fun, you two.”

You let out a sigh as Bradley drags you out into the middle of the dance floor, already grooving to the music as he walks. Now that you’re closer to the speakers, you recognize the song that apparently Bradley loves.

He tugs on your hand, forcing you to turn toward him, and you catch his eyes sweeping over your face before meeting your gaze. He lifts your hand, drawing you closer while taking you by the waist. He’s shimmying his shoulders to the beat, his lips curling into a smirk when you start to move your hips reluctantly.

When the chorus kicks in, Bradley starts to sing along. “Ooh baby, I love your way.” His voice is a little raspy and a lot sexy. You feel the now familiar turbulence wreak havoc on your organs, but Bradley continues his serenade, completely unaware of just exactly what it’s doing to you.

You feel your scowl dissolve as Bradley tries to engage you in the dancing by moving your arms around. You start to laugh when he twists you this way and that as he sings at the top of his lungs. Before long, you forget exactly why you’ve been upset with him, and your irritation seems hardly relevant at all, especially considering the lengths to which he’s going in order to keep up appearances.

Bradley extends his arm out and spins you before bringing you flush against his body. Your hips align with his and the two of you sway together from side to side, his hand clutching yours to his chest as he sings, “I wanna tell you I love your way, everyday. I wanna be with you night and day.”

When the next song comes on, other guests begin to step out onto the dance floor. “Might be safer to just stay out here,” he says, shrugging.

You nod. “Chicken wasn’t very good anyway,” you say, thinking of your half-finished dinnerplate.

He laughs. “Here’s hoping the cake will be chocolate,” he says, already dancing to the next song.

You chuckle, starting to move more freely to the upbeat music.

Bradley smiles at you appreciatively, grabbing your hand to swing you to the side while you grin, admiring his dancing skills. The DJ is playing all the old classics and you are both thoroughly enjoying the familiar melodies.

Several songs in, when the two of you are moderately out of breath, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You turn to see your sister’s smiling face. She leans in to whisper in your ear, “You guys look super cute together!”

The words send a bittersweet ripple through you because, on the one hand, it means your ruse has been a success but, on the other, it’s all a farce. Your feelings toward Bradley might be genuine, but Bradley is here as your friend. And he’s faking the rest of it. Nevertheless, you shoot your sister a wide grin, grateful for her support.

A few minutes later, Aly shows up to claim her dance with Bradley. You step aside and watch on as Bradley takes the girl’s hands and starts twirling her around with a giant smile on his face. He seems pleased that she’s remembered to find him. You laugh when he picks her up and swings her, feet first, on either side of his body. Aly is giggling merrily and, as he sets her back down, Bradley glances up at you briefly, giving you a lopsided grin and a wink.

The night seems to fly by as you and Bradley spend the majority of it on the dance floor. When your sister goes to do the bouquet toss, your mother pushes you into the throng of single women gathering eagerly behind the bride. You eye your mother crossly but, when you catch the amused smirk on Bradley’s face, you suddenly want to catch the damn bouquet.

The battle for the flying flowers is unexpectedly aggressive. There is a lot more elbowing than you’d expect, as well as a fair amount of shoving, kicking, and toe stomping. But, for some reason, you are determined to win. You end up catching the bouquet despite the numerous hands obstructing your view, and you turn back to your table and do a little victory dance as you walk back toward Bradley. He laughs at you, shaking his head.

“You’re such a goof,” he mutters in a low voice as you approach him, but the expression he wears is something reminiscent of fondness.

You drop your eyes because his gaze makes you blush. “Your turn,” you say in a sing-song voice, and he passes a hand over your stomach as he proceeds to join the rest of the bachelors awaiting the toss of the garter.

Your aunt cozies up to you as you watch Bradley approach the group of men on the floor. “I like him,” she says.

You turn to her in surprise.

“Don’t look so shocked,” she says. “I think he’s perfect for you.”

“More perfect than Steven?” you ask pointedly.

“Eh,” your aunt shrugs. “I never cared for Steven.”

“But he’s a doctor!” you exclaim in mock outrage, trying to emulate your mother’s tone when she’d learned of your decision to break up.

Your aunt chuckles. “Steven is a pompous ass.”

“Can you tell my mother that?”

Your aunt turns to face you. “I’ve never seen you look at Steven the way you look at Bradley.”

You bite your lip, wondering if she might also have noticed the way Bradley looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. But you can’t ask her that, so you turn back to observe the garter toss in silence.

You see that Steven has stepped into the crowd where he and Bradley promptly exchange menacing glares with one another. Bradley then turns his head to glance back at you over his shoulder. You wave at him just as the groom throws the garter and, by the time Bradley looks back, Steven jumps up to grab it.

You hold your breath as Steven dangles the garter in front of Bradley’s face and, for a moment, Bradley looks like he might punch him for being an idiot. But then Bradley lets out a long breath and turns to walk back toward you with a scowl.

“What does it mean?” he asks as he approaches you.

“Well,” you say. “Obviously it means that Steven and I are meant to be and that we’ll be getting married and having a bunch of babies.”

Bradley watches you impassively. “You’re funny,” he says. You smile at him mildly and he steps closer, wrapping his arm around you. “He’ll have to get past me first,” he mutters, and his words inspire yet another flutter in your gut that leaves you feeling buzzed.

But the sensation is interrupted by Steven’s arrogant drawl. “Shall we?” he says, and you turn to see him standing right behind you. “They’re waiting for us.”

You narrow your eyes at him as Bradley’s grip tightens on your hip. “Who’s waiting for us?”

“It’s customary for the woman who catches the bouquet and the man who catches the garter to dance,” your aunt says with a grimace.

You blink at her defeatedly and then glance up worriedly at Bradley. He lifts an eyebrow and squints his eyes, his hold loosening around your waist. “It’s just a dance,” he says, seeing the discomfort on your face. “Don’t let him get to you.”

You nod, releasing a wavering sigh, and turn toward Steven. “Let’s get this over with,” you say.

Steven grins at you. “That’s the spirit,” he says, taking your hand to lead you out onto the now empty dance floor. He glances over his shoulder as the two of you make your way to the center, a faint smirk materializing on his face when his eyes lock on Bradley.

Steven places his hand on your side and pulls you closer when the song starts. As the two of you slowly rotate, you can see Bradley watching you from the sidelines, a hard expression coloring his features.

Steven brings you into an embrace. “Feels like old times,” he says.

“Not really,” you respond coldly, trying to regain some space between your bodies.

“Don’t tell me you’re serious about this aviator,” he says.

You glance up at him indignantly. “Of course, I’m serious about him. I wouldn’t have brought him to my sister’s wedding if I weren’t.”

He chuckles. “You forget that I know you very well,” he says.

You swallow, wondering what he’s getting at.

Steven eyes you with a devious smirk. “He’s not your boyfriend,” he says.

“Excuse me?” you say, offended and anxious in equal measure.

He chuckles. “Sure, maybe he’s a friend,” he says, shrugging. “But that dude is not dating you.”

“What are you talking about?” You want to ask how he could tell, but you don’t want to give anything away.

“The closest you have gotten to each other is a quick hug here and there. You look like you’re afraid to touch him,” he says. “So, the question is, why did you feel the need to bring him? You didn’t know I’d be here, so it wasn’t to make me jealous.”

“You’ve got it wrong,” you scoff.

He raises his eyebrows. “It’s your mom, isn’t it? She’s pushing you to start dating again. She’s always been a big fan of mine.”

You roll your eyes. “Stop talking, Steven.”

Steven brings his face closer to yours. “Making me jealous is just an added benefit, isn’t it? Well, I’m here to tell you that it worked. Even if you aren’t actually dating the guy.”

“I couldn’t care less how you feel about my relationship,” you respond, gritting your teeth.

Steven chuckles. “‘Relationship’,” he repeats, using his right hand to make air quotes.

You’re seething so much that your head starts to hurt and, just as you’re about to walk away from him, you feel a soft touch along your shoulder blade. Bradley steps around you, giving Steven an icy look. “I can take over from here, Steven,” he says casually, as if interrupting a traditional slow dance in front of an audience is regularly scheduled programming.

Steven stares at him in astonishment, completely lost for words. Bradley doesn’t wait for him to respond; he takes your hand out of Steven’s and leads you away.

You raise your eyebrows as Steven stands alone in the middle of the floor, looking around awkwardly. Meanwhile, you feel Bradley’s hand slide up your waist and pull you in, swaying you gently to the music. You gulp as Steven glares at you before turning on his heel and making his way toward your table, where your aunt and mother are standing and watching the action unfold.

“Bradley,” you say quietly.

“Hm?”

You glance up at him anxiously. “He knows,” you say. “Steven knows.”

“Knows what?” he asks.

You bite your lip. “That you’re not really my boyfriend. That all of this is fake.”

Bradley makes a skeptical face. “Did you tell him?”

“Of course not! He guessed.”

Bradley chuckles. “How?”

You shrug. “Apparently, we’re not affectionate enough.”

Bradley narrows his eyes, one corner of his mouth curling upward slightly. “What are you proposing?”

“I’m not proposing anything! I’m saying, the jig is up and we’re fucked,” you whisper feverishly. “Oh god, he’s talking to my mother. He’s going to tell her!”

Bradley lets out a slow sigh and pulls you a tad closer. “Hey,” he says. “There’s nothing to tell. Remember what I said? Don’t let him get to you.”

You glance up into Bradley’s eyes and, for a single moment, the background fades into nonexistence and your troubles with Steven seem a million miles away. But then, you shift back to reality, suddenly aware of the entire room watching you dance with your supposed boyfriend whom you can’t even kiss him.

As if on cue, Bradley says in a low voice, “You know, there is a way we can be more convincing as a couple.”

You stare at him for a moment while he watches you carefully, probably analyzing your reaction. His gaze drops down to your lips and you instinctively crane your neck before you can stop yourself. Bradley’s eyebrows twitch as a mystified expression passes fleetingly over his features. You note the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallows uneasily; the rapid rise and fall of his chest as his face nears yours.

“What do you think?” he mutters, so close now that the tip of his nose brushes against the tip of yours.

There’s so much commotion in your chest, you feel like your ribs might rupture trying to keep it contained. “Uh,” you breathe, not confident you can articulate a more complex sound. You hope that his question is rhetorical in nature and that he’s not actually expecting a response.

Bradley steps about a millimeter closer, the hand he kept on your hip now sliding slowly up your side. You can feel his fingers clasp around your bent elbow, lingering there for a moment before trailing up your arm, its trace along your bare skin electric.

You let your lips part when you feel the heat of his breath as it mixes with yours, your slow dance coming to a near standstill as the two of you waver in uncertainty. You know that kissing Bradley Bradshaw will be the ultimate annihilation of whatever chance you might have had at restoring a platonic friendship with him once the weekend is over. Perhaps not for Bradley, but certainly for you. You also know that kissing Bradley Bradshaw is the best method of proving the authenticity of your relationship to your mother and Steven.

But before you can continue to contemplate the risk-reward ratio of kissing him, you feel Bradley’s bottom lip skim over your top one, and you could swear that your body might shatter upon impact. If Bradley, by some chance, determines to kiss you kiss you, you might not survive it. But despite the ever-present possibility that you may die if you were to actually lock lips with Bradley Bradshaw, you are now convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are willing – nay, aching – to hazard it.

And just as you begin to wonder whether Bradley is on the same page, his mouth closes around yours. For a moment, neither of you breathes, giving you ample opportunity to acknowledge the fact that you aren’t dead but, on the contrary, extremely alive. You are submerged in sensation, baffled by how many things in your body can feel.

And then Bradley breathes out forcefully, taking a step into you, his arm curving around your back to keep you steady as he presses his body against yours. His lips begin to move, inviting yours into a desperate, delirious dance.

You let your hand travel up his chest and behind his neck, your fingers grazing his skin as he leans closer. Meanwhile, his hand is suddenly in your hair, contending with the mass of bobby pins as he attempts to rake his fingers right through. Instead, he resolves to grip a chunk of it by your ear, interrupting the kiss for a moment to let out a low chuckle against your mouth. At that, you slide your hand to the back of his head, pushing him toward you again.

Bradley resumes kissing you eagerly, both his hands now arriving on either side of your face, his thumbs brushing tenderly over your cheeks.

Somewhere beyond, one song ends and another begins. There is movement on the outside, some shuffling, and you finally open your eyes just as your glorious kiss comes to a conclusion.

Bradley rests his forehead on yours, breathing heavily into the small space between your faces while neither of you dare to say a word.

There are others on the dance floor now. Dancing, laughing, not paying the two of you the slightest bit of attention. And why would they? You’ve just done what any normal couple would do. Nobody knows how the moment transported you, how it has altered you.

Then, Bradley speaks. “Do you think they’ll miss us?”

“What?” you breathe, your foreheads still together as you watch his mouth move.

He bites into his lip. “If we leave now,” he says. “Will they notice we’re gone?”

Your heart starts to hammer once again. “What about the cake?” you ask.

“The cake?” he says, and you feel the skin of his forehead wrinkle as he furrows his brows.

“What if it’s chocolate?” you ask.

Bradley’s mouth curls into an amused smile. “Could be diamond for all I care.”

“That would be tough on the teeth.” You make a grimace to lighten the mood but, on the inside, you’re crumbling. Bradley wants to leave. He wants to leave so he isn’t forced to kiss you again.

Bradley lets out a steady sigh and takes a step toward you, the movement bringing your bodies together. You close your eyes because you’re far too close to see anything meaningful anymore anyway. “I could give a fuck about the cake, Y/N,” he says hoarsely.

Read Part VII

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I will try my best to tag the rest of this list in the comments! Might take a while bc I can only tag 5 at a time, so I might finish tagging in the morning. If I don't get to you, I'm sorry!

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diejager · 5 months

Note

My deep dark desire for a distillery au wherein each force is a competing distillery and you yeet an expert taster reader in there who is in charge of judging each whisky and ranking them. Either they are pulling out all the stops on your tour and treating you like a princess or doing the opposite and threatening you to rank them the highest :')

Mhairi, I am the worse person to ask about whiskey, my parents have delicious smelling ones, fruity and spicy ones, but taste wise? I gag like there’s no tomorrow, especially gin!! I hate gin. The only thing I can stomach so far is sweet, coffee and cream flavoured Baileys Irish Cream. (I know there’s Irish whiskey in it, but it’s only 17% compared to the 40% of any other whiskeys)

Eau De Vie Cw: Alcohol drinking, whiskey taste, tell me if I missed any.

Whisky had always been your favourite, your little secret that you shared with your closest friends alone —your penchent for judging whiskeys and bourbons alone, managing to include rum and brandy in rare occasions. So when you were approached by a known figure in the Whiskey industry that acted as the face for many distilleries across the world, you couldn’t turn down the offer when you were given so much in a simple deal.

You were responsible to drink and rank many popular brands by taste and smell alone, the only person delegated to become the judge. You were given the privilege of taking home a bottle of each brand after this competition, another reason to accept it. So you signed the contract without a second of hesitation, shaking her hand to conclude the deal before she left you squirming with excitement in your office home.

You were flown from your city to a calm part of the Scottish countryside, a chalet overlooking the Scottish highlands and its green beauty. This was the quaint house you would temporarily live in with the rest of the team orchestrating this friendly competition, leaving the connecting house up the cliff side to the different distilleries. From what you’ve heard, Kate Laswell - Kate you called her after a few meetings that had fully bloomed into a friendship of alcohol connoissoir - the participating teams were the British company 141 - who in coalition to Chimera and the ULF - would represent their alliance, the American Shadows, the multi-national KorTac and the Russian brewery Konni. They were all popular brands distilling whiskey and brandy in their own countries, creating a plethora of tastes and sensations that would explode on your tongue after a few sips.

You were ecstatic, your mouth salivating at the simple thought of tasting the finest whiskeys from around the world, but you had a few days to rest and tour the side of Scotland you were shipped to. What you expected to be calm and mild-mannered men and women from their side of the world to meet and eat with refined etiquette, was shattered the second you peered through the door after walking down the connecting path from your chalet to their house.

They were loud, rambunctious in the very sense of it, loud and jovial, hurling insults and hissing out jeers at one another. It was a dogfight between brewers, like cats and dogs. You felt like a stranger, gawking at the group hurling words at one another until it all stopped, the open living room falling in silence when they heard you drop your bag on the polished wood. You’ve never seen humans move so fast until the second after the silence, scrambling to clean the room up and wooing you with their compliments and sweet pleasantries to appease you.

They gave you a tour of the house, the rich wine cellar that was open to you whenever you wanted a drink, the wooden patio that had it’s own lounge and bar, and the various rooms in the mansion-like chalet. They all vied for your attention, ripping one another’s throat to have a second of your attention, kissing up to you with sweet compliments and even sweeter praises.

The Brits - well, three English and one Scott - were a good mix of mature and zealousness, low voices and near-overwhelming figures with their broad shoulders and stocky mass. They came with other people to represent their company: Farah and her devoted Alex from ULF, and the crude Nikolai and Krueger from Chimera.

The Shadows were American, the most American you’ve ever seen, energetic and determined to win you over, and the CEO, a man with a southern accent and a seductive smirk, swiping you off your feet with pet names that made you fluster.

KorTac had as many accents as they had people of different countries, both men and women skilled in multiple languages and conversing so fluently that you started to question if you were on the same planet.

Konni was rough on the edges, their leading figure as scheming as he was gentlemanly, his thin lips letting out the most vicious praises to have you squirming under his dark gaze and unmoving determination for the win.

Days later, you met them at the compound farther down the road, away from the beauty of the coast and cliff, a long table exposing their finest to you. Poured in a cups, one with ice and another without, they were left for you to decide which would win the prize for both straight and on the rocks. Today was the day you would nominate one as the best, standing higher than everyone else without bias despite the times they rendered you a flustered mess and made you unendingly grateful for their help.

Your pallet exploded with flavour every time you sipped on a different brand, eyes rolling to the back of your head with the deliciousness of every bottle. 141 brought three bottles of their aged whiskey: a smoky Scotch Whisky made in the same Highlands you were tasting it, the bitter spiciness of rye whiskey from the American branch of the ULF - credits to Alex for introducing it - and the woody and fruity aroma of Chimera’s whiskey. Shadows had brought - unsurprisingly - their most popular types of whiskey to the table: Bourbon made in their own distillery in Kentucky, a sweet and mellow sub-type of their first one and the smooth flavour of their wheat whiskey. KorTac had a large variety to it’s collection: a floral tasting whiskey that outmatched Hibiki Harmony, a nutty sensation of a bottle made in Ireland and the rich and peaty on of a danish-made bottle. And finally, three Russian bottles from the biggest distillery in Russia: a sweet and smoky bottle, a second one with rich malt and honey, and a third focusing on aroma with it’s spicy odour and fruity taste.

They were all so delicious, if you had these bottles when you working at the bar, mixing concoctions for paying clients, you would’ve been overjoyed, but those days were long gone, your priority standing elsewhere than fulfilling your dream. Truthfully, you didn’t know who to give the medal, the flavours so vast and unique. Perhaps they wouldn’t mind if you took a second or third sip just to be sure.

Part 2

Taglist: @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @havoc973 @im-making-an-effort @daisychainsinknots @0alk0msan @danielle143 @dont-mind-me-just-existing-sadly @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @kaelysia @notspiders @velvetsoulweaver @petwifed @aldis-nuts @randominstake

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probably-writing-x · 1 year

Text

Tread Lightly

Summary: It was never a good idea for two pogues to date, it was something you’d agreed on for years. But sometimes it was just impossible to avoid… especially when it came to you and JJ.

Warnings: Sexual references, cursing

Author’s Note: Just a little idea that came to me, I’ve been struggling to find inspiration to write the requests in my inbox so hopefully y’all can be patient with me <3 Thanks for the love as always xoxo

“Alright, you versus a bear, who’s winning?” You point towards John B, your beer almost spilling in your hand.

“Are you kidding? A literal bear? I wouldn’t stand a chance,” John B scoffs, reaching forward to take another drink from the cooler.

You were all dispersed around the grass outside of the Chalet - Pope and Kie sat on one of the tree stumps, John B on old garden chairs and JJ on the floor with his back against one of the trees.

“What kind of bear are we talking about?” Pope questions, “Because polar bear isn’t even worth talking about. Then again, I don’t think you’d win against any bear.”

“You guys have no faith in yourselves,” JJ pushes himself to stand up, “You just have to do that thing you know where you like…” He widens his stance and stretches his arms up high, beer still held in one of his hands, “And then you just sort of-“

“JJ you couldn’t beat a bear in a fight!” Kie interjects, “You would be dead in seconds.”

“You literally fell out of bed the other day because you thought you felt a fly in your ear!” You point out and all eyes look up to see you.

“When did that happen?” Pope half-laughs, his brows furrowing a little.

“The other day,” You clear your throat, trying to fight back the heat rising to your cheeks, “When we all stayed here. He jumped up and it woke me up, you know, because I was on the couch.”

They seem to believe you for long enough that the conversation diverts, but JJ’s eyes remain on you, a smirk tugging at his lips. You widen your eyes at him quickly but he just smiles at you more, shaking his head and taking a sip of his beer.

~~~

“Well look who can’t be trusted to keep a secret!”

The voice makes you jump back to reality - looking up from where you were sat perched on a wall waiting for that specific voice to arrive. It was the perfect spot, far enough away from the Chalet but close enough that it didn’t take long for you to meet. Today, you’d left first so now were sat waiting for JJ to meet you. When you look up, he is grinning at you, his hair messy over his head.

“I recovered it, actually,” You roll your eyes at him, “I can’t believe I said it, I wasn’t even thinking.”

JJ laughs and comes to stand in front of you, his hands resting on your legs, “I don’t think they suspected anything.”

You shake your head, looking down at him from your position on the wall.

“Ready to go home?” He smiles, stretching out his hands for you to take.

You hop down in front of him and he moves his hands to your waist to catch you, you just stumbling into his chest a little as he steadies you on your feet.

“Hi,” JJ smiles down at you.

“Hi.”

He laces his fingers with yours and the two of you walk down the lane towards your house, one only a short way away from John B’s house. But you’d take the longer way back so that nobody saw the two of you, obviously.

“How long do you think we can keep this up without them knowing?” JJ asks, glancing over his shoulder into the dark as he waits for you to open the door.

“I have no idea,” You shake your head, “But we have to at least try to.”

“Oh yeah this’ll just be boring when everybody knows about it,” JJ jokes, gripping your waist as the front door closes behind you.

He spins you around and you grip onto the front of his t-shirt, pulling him with you, “Boring huh?”

JJ laughs, stumbling to catch up with you as the pair of you tumble into the bedroom.

~~~

The following morning, you wake up to the sound of a phone buzzing repeatedly, stopping momentarily and then ringing again.

“JJ that’s your phone,” You grumble, nudging at his side as he was asleep beside you.

He groans and stretches beside you, his eyes still shut.

“JJ,” You push his arms off you, “Where the hell is your phone?”

He stretches his arms up and lifts the comforter off from both of you, looking underneath. When it’s not there, he stretches an arm over the side of the bed and pats around on the floor, finding his discarded shorts and pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s Pope,” JJ grumbles, swiping to answer the call, “What do you want Pope?”

You can just about hear his words on the other end of the line as he raises his voice, “Where the hell are you? You said you’d help out with my Dad today! I’ve just come by your house and you’re not home.”

JJ looks at you and widens his eyes, mouthing a ‘shit’ before turning back to the phone, “Shit, sorry man, I completely forgot. I-“

He pauses and looks around the room as if an excuse is going to pop up out of nowhere.

“I hooked up with this girl last night who’s here on holiday,” He grimaces at the lie, “I just lost track of time and she’s still asleep and I can’t get out.”

“You’re an idiot,” Pope returns, lessening in his stress on the other end of the phone, “Just get here when you can, my Dad’s stressed as hell.”

“I got you, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” JJ nods, “I’ll leave now.”

“Oh, and Kie asked if you’d heard from (Y/N),” Pope cuts in quickly, “Apparently she’s texted her a bunch this morning but hasn’t heard anything.”

JJ looks at you and gestures towards your phone, “No, I haven’t spoken to her. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

They hang up shortly after and you glance over the texts from Kie in your phone - one asking you to call her to give her an excuse to leave home, another saying the surf was good so the two of you should go out, another saying that she’d be worried if she didn’t hear from you by twelve because you’re always up early.

“God they don’t make it easy to avoid them,” JJ jokes, pushing his arm underneath you to pull you into him, “I’m sure they can wait five more minutes.”

“Five minutes? Pope sounded like he was about to blow a blood vessel if you kept him waiting any longer.”

JJ laughs and pulls you over so that you’re on top of him, dipping his head to kiss your neck, “He can wait fifteen, twenty, maybe thirty minutes…”

~~~

By the end of the day, the group of you are all on the boat out on the water. The sun’s setting, the water is flat, and it’s only you guys for as far as you can see. You and Kie are leaning against one side of the boat as she rolls a blunt up between her fingers, the boys sat opposite you.

“So JJ, tell us about this girl,” Pope encourages, nudging his friend in the side.

“Wh- what girl?” JJ clears his throat, shifting in his seat.

“The girl you were with this morning,” Pope frowns, “How did you even meet her? We were at John B’s until at least twelve.”

JJ shifts again, “Yeah, well, I just met her on my way home, we got talking, what else do you need to know?”

“There was someone on vacation in the cut?” John B scoffs, “Was she lost?”

“No-“ JJ flushes red, “No it was just-“

“Are you hiding something from us Jayj?” Kie raises her brows, sitting forward a little, “There’s something you’re not telling us. Who is this girl?”

He moves again in his seat and scratches the back of his neck, “Cut it out, you weirdos. I don’t have to tell you anything, so stop asking.”

The three of them all exchanges looks between each other and you but you just shrug your shoulders as if dismissing the topic. And, eventually, they dismiss it too, all looking at him a little more suspiciously than before. You drink a few more drink, pass around the blunt from Kie and try to convince Pope that one puff wouldn’t do anything to him. It’s still a warm evening when the sun has set and so you and Kie convince the boys to dive into the water with you.

You strip down to your bikini and catch eyes with JJ as he watches you, his gaze trailing up and down your body. He notices you looking at him and his cheeks go red, a smirk hovering over his lips. With that, you step onto the edge of the boat and dive over, your arms stretching in front of you to hit the water first, driving you underneath the surface. When you come up, Kie and John B have jumped in too, John B shaking the water from his hair so that it sprays in every direction.

“Come on guys, don’t be boring,” You encourage, paddling with your arms to push yourself back in the water, looking up and Pope and JJ on the deck.

JJ looks down at you and smirks, like he is watching the way you move, diving in close to you so that the water splashes in your direction. You drag your hands over your hair to pull it away from your face, stretching your neck up as you do.

“Holy shit (Y/N) what’s that?” Kie exclaims, grabbing your wrist before you can move it or cover anything.

Hers, and the boys’, eyes are all focused on the purple blotchy patch on your neck - a mark courtesy of JJ from the night before, or from this morning, you couldn’t remember which one.

“I did-“ You pause, “It’s nothing.”

“That’s not nothing, that’s a hickey!” Kie laughs, “Who are you not telling us about?”

“Nobody! Nothing!” You shake your head, pulling your hair back around to the front of your shoulders so that it covers the mark again, “You guys are way too nosey today.”

“Yeah at least someone agrees with me,” JJ scoffs, “Seriously guys, leave her alone.”

Pope looks and JJ and frowns, “Are you kidding? You’d normally be straight on this, why wouldn’t you want to know who this guy is?”

JJ shrugs, “Well, if you ask (Y/N) about her guy you’re going to want to know about my girl so it’s not worth it. Leave it out, virgins. Find your own people to be interested in.”

They make a few more comments about how you two were just as bad as each other, and Pope makes a joke about how it’s like their parents are both having affairs at the same time, and John B reminds them that JJ and you would likely be the most unconventional parents ever. But, thankfully, it relieves their attention away from you.

You all swim for a while as the sky darkens, illuminating with stars overhead as the sun disappears. Eventually, Pope, Kie and John B each end up back on the boat, all three of them laying down to stare up at the stars. Pope points out constellations and Kiara tells him when he’s wrong. JJ swims over to you from behind, where the two of you are close to the boat, and wraps his arms around you.

“JJ,” You hiss, glancing up to make sure you’re hidden under the stretch of the boat deck pointing out over the top of you.

“Shhhh,” He mumbles, his head dipping to your ear, breath fanning hot over your skin, “They’re not looking.”

JJ moves to your neck and shoulder and kisses the skin, and you find yourself leaning into his touch.

“I’ve missed you today,” His words are practically inaudible, so close to your skin that you’re certain he would mark them into you if he could.

You bring up a hand and run it through his hair, wet under your touch as you hum in agreement, “Tonight?”

“Tonight,” He smirks, kissing your skin once again before pulling away, “Alright, fuckers, I’m getting cold, let’s get going.”

Eventually, all of you end up back at Kie’s after she says that her parents are out. JJ makes a short attempt at coming up with an excuse but it is dismissed quickly when they say he never has other plans without them. So you and him reluctantly agree to go with the rest of the group, and now you’re all sat sprawled across the couches with a film on that you weren’t exactly paying attention to. JJ was sat next to you on the two-person couch as the other three were on the bigger couch adjacent. Kie reaches back and pulls a blanket from the back of the sofa, putting it over the three of them, and JJ takes it as opportunity to do the same, his hand resting on your thigh as soon as the blanket is over both of you. You look at him with raised eyebrows but he is yet to tear his eyes away from the screen, though a smirk now covers his lips. You place your hand over his but don’t make any effort to move it. He runs his thumb over the skin, like it felt so comfortable to have you under his touch.

The other three are completely oblivious, caught up in the film and their growing fatigue. You wonder now what they’d really think, if they saw you together, if they knew you were the ones occupying so much of each others’ time. If they knew how much of a secret this whole thing had been - would they laugh and tell you that it was stupid for you to ever hide it? But it wasn’t worth the risk, was it?

“Hey,” JJ squeezes your thigh lightly, “Should we get going?”

You nod tiredly and fight the urge to rest your head on his shoulder.

“I think we’re going to head home,” JJ comments to the other three, “Well, I’ll walk (Y/N) home and then I’ll go to mine, obviously.”

John B frowns at his friend, “I can walk (Y/N) home, she’s closer to my place anyway.”

“Nah, that’s okay, I like the walk,” JJ smiles, standing up and stretching his arms back, “It’s not far.”

The other three exchange glances between each other before Kie says, “Why are you being so weird recently?”

“Weird? We’re not being weird. You’re weird,” JJ shakes his head, stopping himself by chewing the inside of his cheek.

“Right… because that wasn’t weird,” Pope returns, looking at JJ as if some kind of alien was stood in front of him, “Seriously, man, are you ill or something?”

“We’re going now,” You encourage, “See you guys tomorrow.”

You know they’re talking about you as you go, questioning what the hell was going on. But you don’t care to think about it for too long. JJ’s hand finds yours as soon as you turn the corner out of Kie’s driveway and he squeezes some reassurance back to you - whether they knew or not, this wasn’t going anywhere.

~~~

The following morning, you and JJ wake up to no alarm, stay in bed until eleven, eventually bicker over who was going to make breakfast until you realise that you actually didn’t have any food in the house. He grumbles and groans before finally agreeing to go to the shop for you, telling you he’d go if you agreed to cook. You settle on the agreement and he tugs on his clothes to change, half of his belongings now migrating to your house since he spent so much time here.

“Alright I’ll be back in twenty minutes babe I-“ JJ’s voice cuts off instantly as he opens the front door.

He’s met with the sight of John B, Pope and Kiara all sat on your porch, looking up at him with the same ‘explain yourself’ expressions on their faces.

“Um, (Y/N)?” He calls back his hand settling on the door like he’s still deciding between stepping outside or just shutting the door and never coming out again.

“What did you forget your-“ You pause too as soon as you see them, your eyes glowing with the same panic that his did.

“Alright,” John B folds his arms over his chest, “I think you guys have some stuff you need to tell us, you know, just a few things.”

“Yeah, you know, it’s funny actually,” JJ lets out a half laugh and scratches the back of his neck, “So I walked (Y/N) home last night and then I went to go back to mine but I actually ended up staying, no reason really, well, there was obviously a reason, why wouldn’t there be a reason? And that reason was that-“

“Because we’ve been seeing each other,” You interject, releasing a breath you didn’t realise you’d been holding.

He glances down at you like he’s misheard, incapable of hiding the smile that starts to grow on his features.

“You two have-“ Kie gestures between the two of you, “Are you serious?”

JJ looks at you again and grins, turning back to the group, “Yeah, um, for a couple months now.”

“Fucking hell,” John B laughs.

“So that’s why you’ve been so happy,” Pope hits JJ’s arm, “It’s because of (Y/N).”

JJ smiles and glances down at Pope, pressing his tongue to the inside of his bottom lip to stop himself from smiling so widely, “Yeah, yeah, it is.”

“You know you guys are stupid, right?” Kie stands up, “You could’ve told us!”

She hugs you tightly, whispering in your ear that she was happy for you before squeezing JJ’s shoulder.

“Yeah, seriously, you didn’t need to keep it a secret for months,” John B shakes his head, “We came up with much worse theories about what was going on.”

“I don’t think I want to know those theories,” You laugh and JJ reaches out an arm for you to tuck yourself into his side, his hand dropping to rest around your waist.

“Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up,” Pope smiles, “But, whilst we were eavesdropping, I heard something about breakfast?”

475 notes · View notes

skzhua · 1 year

Text

His Damn Sleeveless Shirt

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Han Jisung x Female!Reader

Genre: Fluff, strangers-to-lovers, lowkey enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, one bed trope.

Word Count: 11,518

Warnings: Some swearing, suggestive, mentions of sex, drinking, a glimpse of predebut Han.

Summary: When Seungmin suggests a little holiday trip with his school friends that you have never met, you don’t hesitate to turn his offer down. Of course, he insists and you give in. Thinking it would be the worst vacation, you soon realize it’s not as bad when Han Jisung is around.

A/N: This took me forever and I’m shitty with writing good endings so bear with me please... I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did when writing it!

You hated winter, really. The cold, the dirty snow on the roads, the storms, the ice... all of it. It wasn't always like this, you used to love it. So much that your father had made it a tradition to go ice skating with hot choco every holiday season. However, ever since you moved out of your parents' house to live on your own, the city made the season feel like a nightmare. You truly hated it. Somehow, the only aspect that you still appreciated was the hot choco.

If it wasn't for Seungmin, you would have never agreed to come on this trip. "It'll be fun" he had said in a cheerful voice, making you want to punch him in the face. Fun? Nothing was fun in going to a secluded chalet up north, where it is colder, with his girlfriend and some others friends of his major that you did not know at all, and didn't plan to meet. He was only inviting you because the reservation had to have eight people, and they were one person short. Out of all his friends, it had to be you? It took a lot of convincing for his part, but you ended accepting his invitation.

"I'll make sure we stock enough hot choco for the entire week, I promise." he jumped excitedly after you had confirmed you were tagging along.

"You better." you had replied harshly. "Who's coming anyway?"

"You don't know them, we only met in the beginning of the semester. Chayoung is coming, of course." he smiled, thinking of his new girlfriend. "And three others from my class with their partners."

You raised your eyebrow. "Don't you think it's weird leaving for an entire week with people you don't know so well?"

At your remark, he clapped his hands together, making you jump, and pointed to your direction with both his hands. "Which is why I'm asking my favourite person to come in case I end up locked in a cabin in the middle of the woods."

"Sweet..."

And sweet, it was. With your luggage by your front door, Seungmin and Chayoung were already at your place to prepare some last minute things before leaving for the trip. You liked the girl, but to be honest, she was clueless enough to believe you were going to have some bonding time together. It’s not like you absolutely despised her, but she had her moments when the only thing you wanted to do was put duck tape on her mouth. If she wasn’t squealing in excitement, she was whining or complaining about everything and nothing. Seungmin wasn't dumb, he knew how much your introverted self hated meeting new people, and he knew this was a good opportunity for you to get out of your shell.

“Alright, everything’s ready. We just need to wait for Chan to pick us up.” Seungmin said after closing up his bag.

“Chan?” you asked at the mention of the new name.

“Yeah, he’s the music department representative.”

You nodded and he joined Chayoung on the couch in front of you, slouching his arm around her. She snuggled into his arm, making you shift your gaze somewhere else, feeling a bit uneasy at the affection of the couple. It’s not that you minded it much, you simply didn’t like seeing PDA, especially in your home. But mostly, you kind of envied them. Sure, you loved being alone and not having to deal with relationship problems, but you still had some longing for having a lover. Who doesn’t, really?

Luckily, you didn’t have to handle their couple talk for long when Seungmin’s phone rang with Chan on the other end of the line, saying he had just pulled in front of your apartment building. When you arrived downstairs, you were greeted by a fit man all dressed in black. He was handsome, to say the least, and you couldn’t help but check him out.

“Hi!” he greeted. “I assume you are Y/N, right?”

“That’s me.” you responded in a small voice. “Chan?”

He smiled and lead you all outside where a minibus was parked in front of the door. You tried to make out the figures through the window and you noticed most of them were men. Great. Not only did you not like making friends, but you could not speak to boys for the life of you, except for Seungmin who has always been around since childhood.

“I got this for the trip so the three hours on the road would be comfortable enough.” Chan explained while helping Chayoung putting her bags in the luggage space. “You can go in, I’ll join you later.” he told the three of you off.

You did as he said and the couple got into the bus first, you following behind. Once you got in, new faces were now staring at you for a few seconds, before going back to talking with each other. As for your friends, they already sat together at the back, leaving you no choice but to take a seat next to a guy in front of them. He had a bucket hat on with his earphones plugged into his ears as his eyes were closed. You assumed he was sleeping, so you didn’t bother with greeting him. You turned around to face Seungmin and he only smiled at you.

“That’s Han.” he whispered as he pointed to the boy sitting next to you. “That’s Felix and Changbin, they’re together. And behind the driver’s seat, that’s Chan’s girlfriend, Naeun.” he kept pointing and some of the faces turned to you to wave, one of them being the so-called Felix,

“Hi!” he smiled brightly and you bowed slightly as a response. “Thank you for coming with us. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to make the reservation.” You nodded your head briefly, not wanting to make the conversation. “Don’t worry, we’ll have fun! I’m always happy to make new friends.”

When he noticed you were not going to answer, he turned to Seungmin in confusion and the latter shrugged. “She’ll warm up eventually. Let’s say she’s the female version of Jisung.”

Felix made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth and smiled at you once more. “You’ll have fun, I promise.”

Sighing, you repositioned yourself onto the seat and turned to look out the window. You jumped when your face met your seat neighbour’s one. Freaking out on his side too, he jumped back, moving closer to the window.

“Sorry.” he mumbled and dropped his stare on his lap while putting his earphones back in his ears that were, you noticed, already turning red.

This is going to be a long ride, you thought.

“I really need to go, though.” Han whined to Chan.

Turns out, Han is very loud and annoying when he gets comfortable enough, which was now the case after nearly three hours. He was being very careful around you since it was the first time he ever saw you, but as time passed, he was getting more outgoing with the others. For them, it seemed like it was a normal thing, but for you, it was hell. Not to mention, he had been yelling for the past 20 minutes, asking Chan to stop so he could go pee. To be honest, you had to go as well, but you weren’t going to bother the rest of the group like this.

“We’ll be there soon, can it wait? We’re literally in the middle of nowhere.” Chan sighed for the nth time.

“NO!” Han yelled next to you, making you wince. “It’s an emergency, I swear.”

The older man ignored him and kept on driving. To be fair, you were about ten minutes away from the chalet so he could wait. That didn’t change the fact he kept on whining, moving his leg up and down as a sign he really had to go. Your patience had finally reached its peak and you looked over to glare at Jisung. When he noticed you, he gave you a shy smile and looked away towards the window. Great, he was still avoiding you.

“Excuse me.” you finally spoke which brought back his attention to you. “Can you stop moving your leg, please?”

He bowed, murmuring some sort of apology and stopped before putting, again, his earphones on.

“Damn, he never listens to us and there he is..." Seungmin exclaimed.

"He doesn't know her, of course he's gonna listen." Chayoung rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised he even spoke to you, Y/N."

You ignored them and resumed to whatever you were doing on your phone. No offense to Jisung, but you really didn't give a damn about the man, who had mainly annoyed you throughout the ride with his whining and back and forth with Chan. You were never quick to judge, but he did leave a very bad impression.

Not so long after, you finally arrived at the chalet. Needless to say, you were impressed by the size of the place. You swore you could fit your apartment five times in this. The whole structure was made of wood logs with nice lampposts around. It had two levels, plus a basement. On the side, you could make out something that resembled a jacuzzi. The whole place was luxurious, which almost made you glad you came along, but also intimidated. Never in your life would you have allowed yourself to get to experience this kind of luxury. Looking around, you spotted Chan pulling out everyone's travel bags from the bus, so you went ahead and grabbed yours. Only, there was another hand whose grip was onto the bag's handle. Looking up, you met eyes with your bus buddy.

"That's mine." you spat out.

"Actually, no." he said while pulling the bag to him. "This is my bag. Look."

He turned it on the side for you to see a little quokka plush attached to it. So childish... Nonetheless, you let go of the bag and looked around to find yours, identical to the man's. Once you did, you followed the others, who were already inside.

"This place is huge!" Naeun exclaimed. "Shotgun on the master bedroom!"

On cue, she kicked off her boots and ran upstairs with Chan following behind as he laughed at his girlfriend's behaviour. Changbin and Felix were next to pick their room, walking down the hallway of the first floor, while Seungmin dragged Chayoung with him to follow the two men. Han was nowhere to be found, to which you were almost glad. You didn't mind having any room in the house, as long as you had a bed where you could sleep at night.

Assuming one was going to be free anyway due to the size of the place, you walked around in search of a bathroom. You opened one of the doors and found some sort of office room. You closed it back and walked a bit further until you spotted a door where a bathroom sign was displayed. When you turned knob of the door, you heard the loudest scream you've ever witnessed so far. Jumping at the sound, you put your hands on your ears and peeked inside the room, looking for what had caused such a cacophony. You regretted immediately when you saw Jisung, sitting on the pot, eyes wide open and face as red as a tomato. A normal person would leave and apologize, right? Yeah, well apparently, you weren't normal enough because you froze in place and kept staring at the poor guy.

"Y/N, do you mind?" he let out with a desperate tone, which woke you up from whatever trance you were in.

You shook your head in disgust before backing out and closing the door behind you. You were still in shock from the sight that you stayed in place next to the bathroom, replaying the scene in your mind. Your face heated up at the thought and you wanted to bury yourself alive from the embarrassment. It didn't take long for Jisung to finish his business, when the door opened after a minute or so. When he spotted you, his face got red once more.

"You can go now..." he said rapidly before taking off somewhere else, anywhere, as long as you wouldn't be there.

You went and did your thing, and ran to Seungmin's room right afterwards. You took the time to knock on the door this time, and Chayoung happily opened the door.

"Y/N! Did you find a room, yet?" she asked, but you ignored her and fell flat onto their bed, where Seungmin was already sitting.

"Woah, there. Are you good?" he asked, and only got a groan from you as an answer. "I assume this means no..."

You lifted your head up and stared at him. "When I told you I don't know how to live with people, I meant it. Now, I have to be in the same house as the guy I just interrupted while he was pooping."

Seungmin's eyes went wide. "What the fuck? Y/N, we just got here."

"I know."

"And you walked into the bathroom while someone was already in there?" he held in a laughter.

"I just told you, yes." you cried, and Chayoung sat next to you to pat your back, trying to give you some reassurance.

"Who was it?" she asked. "If it's Felix or Changbin, then it's all good! They won't care, for real."

You shook your head. "It was Han..."

That was it for Seungmin, he couldn't stop himself from laughing any longer, much to your displeasure. You could only take one of his pillows and bury yourself in it, while your friend kept mocking you.

"You should have taken a picture." he said in-between his laughs.

"Seungmin!" the girl slapped him, before putting her hand on your shoulder. "It's fine, I swear. It's not like Jisung was going to socialize with you much to begin with. If anything, he's probably more embarrassed than you are considering the fact you saw... well, you know."

You made a disgusted face and shivered at the thought. "I did not see anything, gosh..."

You got up from the bed and headed out of their room, as they were clearly not helping you feeling better about the situation. Picking up your bag at the entrance, you walked upstairs to find yourself a room. The first one you found was already occupied by Chan and Naeun, so you continued your way. The next one was more of playroom, as there was a pool table in the middle, with a little bar in the corner. It was a very vast room, so it took most the floor's place. That left one last room with its bathroom at the end of the hallway. You walked in and dropped your bag next to the nightstand.

"Are you being for real?" you heard a now much familiar voice.

Looking up, you spotted Jisung standing at the entrance of the room, leaning on the doorframe. He had his luggage with him, as well as the same bag you mistook for yours slouched on his shoulder. You found no emotion on his face other than pure anger from the sight of you.

"I picked this room, Han." you said firmly, determined to let him know you weren't giving up your spot.

He scoffed and put his bags on the chair that was standing in the corner of the room. "This is the last room available. I already checked in the basement, where it's pretty much just a huge ass theater-like room, and the first floor only has an office room and a bathroom. But you saw that one already." he deadpanned.

It was your turn to scoff. "You do realize we have a huge problem."

"Yeah, sharing a room with a stranger who saw my butt not even ten minutes ago." he deadpanned again.

You rolled your eyes before motioning next to you. "There's only one bed here, idiot."

His eyes went wide open and he shook his head. "No way I am sharing a bed with you, perv."

You grunted in frustration. "I already apologized."

He gave you a look. "Did you really?"

"Not directly... Anyway, you're the one who's been bothering me nonstop during the ride."

"Bothering you? Woman, I had my music plugged in most of time and I didn't even give you one look." he defended.

"Explain your constant complaints, then." you said, your voice starting to raise.

From your argument, Chan had now appeared next to Jisung with a confused look plastered on his face. "Woah, what's happening here?" It took him two seconds to notice the only bed standing in front of him. "Oh, I see."

"I thought you said there was enough space for everyone." Han glared at his friend.

"It said eight people. And, I mean, we are eight people." he shrugged. "One of you could take the couch downstairs?"

"Dude, you know I need to have my own room." Han complained, again.

"As if I don't need it either." you rolled your eyes.

Chan sighed loudly, passing a hand through his curly hair as a sign of his small stress. "I mean, it is a king bed. Both of you can fit in just fine without feeling stuck, you know. Plus, you have a personal bathroom so it's not that bad." he said, trying to help you out.

You scoffed. "Not happening."

"Then be my guest and sleep on the couch." Jisung smiled sarcastically, while gesturing the way out.

"I was here first, I keep the room."

He sighed, visibly troubled. "Look, I really can't sleep downstairs."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm being serious. I kind of.. um..." he started, but stopped as his cheeks turned pink.

"Jisung sleeps shirtless." Chan finished for him. “Which isn’t much of an issue if he just wears a shirt, but whatever.”

Your face deadpanned at the man. He wasn't being arrogant, he was just too embarrassed to tell you of his sleeping habits, and too shy to let the entirety of the house see his naked ass. And you were not in for sleeping in the same bed with a shirtless stranger. Feeling defeated, your shoulders dropped.

"Fine, I'll sleep on the couch... but if I want to take a nap or whatever, I can come here." you said, pointing your finger at Jisung and he nodded his head rapidly.

With that being said, you left out a groan and left the room. You were so going to kill Seungmin after this trip. Spending a week in a house full of strangers in the middle of nowhere during winter was bad enough, you had to be sleeping on a hard couch... This was worse than you could have imagined.

Nobody knew to cook except Naeun and Felix. You automatically attributed them the title of cooks for the week, promising them to take turns with doing the dishes. For tonight, they made a hot noodle soup in order to warm up from the cold weather. Big place meant a lot of heating was needed, and the electricity wasn't strong enough, so you had to walk around with at least a hoodie on.

"I saw snowshoes in the closet. We could go for a walk tomorrow." Chan suggested as he took a bite of his food.

Everyone nodded to the idea around the table, except for you. Seungmin noticed and poked your side to grab your attention.

"You don't have to come, you know?"

You smiled at him, thankful he was being a minimum nice to you. You did feel bad of not participating, but they knew you didn’t even want to be with them in the first place. No offense was taken. Plus, winter activities were the worst.

Dinner went on normally as everyone was chatting and laughing. Surprisingly, Jisung had not said a single word since the moment he sat on his chair. Probably because he had to sit right in front of you and was doing everything in his power to avoid your gaze. You gladly copied his action, still feeling annoyed by the fact you gave him up the room.

Once dinner was over, Felix suggested for everyone to watch a Christmas movie, even though the holidays had already passed. It took no time for Seungmin to set up everything downstairs and connect the TV with his Netflix account.

“Can we get a snack or something?” Changbin asked while his boyfriend cuddled into his arms. “I’m hungry.”

His statement gained some weird stares from the others, since you had just finished eating. “Make yourself some.” Han rolled his eyes.

“I would but I’m kind of busy here.” he replied while motioning Felix’s position.

“I can go make some popcorn.” you shrugged as you got up, earning a wide small from Changbin. “Anybody else wants something?”

Chayoung asked for some juice, while Felix asked you to bring his candies he had stocked in his bag. With a nod, you went upstairs and started pulling out the popcorn bags from the box of food Chan and Naeun had packed. Plopping them into the microwave, you headed to Felix’s room to get his candies. When the popcorn was ready, you put it into a few bowls and grabbed the sweets to bring downstairs. Once you had distributed everything, you sat down back in your seat and brought a blanket over your body to warm yourself up. You noticed Jisung was no longer here, but you didn’t bother asking. He was probably already in bed.

“My juice?” Chayoung asked with a pout.

“Oh shit. Sorry, I forgot.” you apologized, getting up immediately to go back to the kitchen.

You ran up the stairs so fast, you didn’t notice someone was about to walk downstairs. Inevitably, you ran into each other. Closing your eyes, you waited for the impact with the ground, but it never came. Instead, you felt a strong grip on your waist as you held onto the person’s arm (that was, admittedly, very firm).

“Jeez, are you always this clumsy?”

Your eyes shot open when you realized you had, once again, embarrassed yourself in front of Han Jisung. You immediately detached yourself from him and noticed he had changed into a sleeveless black shirt with sweatpants. So that’s what he went to do, but a sleeveless shirt during winter? This boy was odd.

“Aren’t you cold wearing that?” you let your thoughts speak out, and he chuckled.

“Really? You could just thank me, you know?” he smiled with a hint of bitterness, ending it with a loud scoff.

“Well, if you stop scoffing at me every two seconds, maybe I will.” you argued and he sighed in disbelief.

“I quite literally just saved you from a concussion and you can’t be a bit thankful? I’m starting to wonder why Seungmin thought it was a good idea inviting you.”

With that, he left you there as he went back downstairs. You would never admit it, but his words did hurt. Sure, you had no intention in making friends, but it didn’t mean you wanted to make enemies either. And clearly, the week was beginning just fine for you. With a grunt, you went to get Chayoung’s juice as you tried to forget your little encounter.

When you came back, Han was back in his seat while talking with Seungmin who had, by now, finished setting up the film. You gave Chayoung her drink and dropped onto your seat next to Naeun. She gave you a questioning look as she noticed you didn’t look well, but didn’t ask, thankfully.

The movie wasn’t good. It was your typical Christmas story where the girl who had a tragic past meets a charming young wealthy man who was known to be an ass to everyone, but she managed to warm his heart, and they declared their love on Christmas day. You noticed how Felix seemed to enjoy it, as well as Chayoung. For your part, you were starting to get sleepy as the movie was nearing its end.

“Why did you choose this, exactly?” Seungmin asked Felix in a disgusted tone.

“It’s cute!” Felix answered. “It has the Christmas spirit and, you have to admit, cheesy stories are always good even when they’re not.”

When the credits finally rolled, Chan got up and turned off the TV, which caused Felix and Chayoung to complain. “Alright, bed time now.”

“There’s an after credit scene, though.” Felix pouted.

“Okay, but everyone looks dead here. It’s late already.” Chan pointed to the clock that indicated midnight. “We have a big day tomorrow, so let’s rest, okay?”

“As if you’re going to sleep anyway.” Changbin laughed while poking at Felix for him to get up.

Chan ignored his friend and joined Naeun who was already leaving to go to bed. Soon, everyone followed behind and you stopped by the living room to unpack your belongings. Only then, you came to the realization you had left them in the room upstairs. You cried out in annoyance as you fell onto the couch. Seungmin, who had come to check on you, laughed at the sight.

“I assume things went well today?” he joked.

“Shut the fuck up, Kim Seungmin. I hate you so much right now, you have no idea.” you said, furious, but he didn’t take you seriously.

“It’s not that bad, the couch looks comfortable.”

You glared at him. “It’s not, believe me. Why do I have to be a good person and leave the soft bed for the jerk?”

Seungmin frowned at your words. “Jerk? Jisung, a jerk? He can be annoying, fine, but he’s anything but a jerk.”

With a sigh, you told him about the incident in the stairs. About how he had said he didn’t understand why you were invited and how it actually hurt.

“Jisung is Jisung. He tends to have a big ego up his ass, but he’ll warm up to you eventually. Only if you’re nice, though, because you really should have thanked him, you know?”

You rolled your eyes. “Right, as if. I would’ve rather have broken bones.”

Ignoring your comment, Seungmin got up and started to help you set up a bed-like couch, somehow comfortable enough for you to sleep in. He put as many pillows as he could and even brought a blanket from his room for you to stay warm. Once he was done, he analyzed you and gave you a confused look.

“You’re sleeping in your day clothes?” he asked.

“My stuff is in Han’s room, forgot to bring it with me.” you said, a bit embarrassed. “Could you get my bag for me, please?” you pleaded and Seungmin answered by shaking his head.

“Chayoung’s waiting for cuddles, and take this as an opportunity to actually apologize to him.” he suggested, not letting you answer as he already left the living room.

You pondered for a while, wondering if you should get your things or not. A night without brushing your teeth can’t be bad, right? No, your breath stank from the amount of candies you had stolen from Felix. Maybe someone had a spare toothbrush. But who would you ask when it was already one o’clock and everyone was asleep? It took everything in you to put your pride aside and walk up the stairs, on your way to knock at Jisung’s door. You knocked quietly for the first time, and there was no answer. You knocked again, a bit louder, and you heard a small “coming.” from the other side of the door. Once it opened, you saw Jisung half asleep, hair all fluffy and barefaced. Most importantly, you saw his shirtless figure and widened your eyes at the sight. With the small amount of light coming from the outside lampposts, you could make out the defined lines of his abs, as well as how his features were incredibly attractive. Those thoughts were soon interrupted when he had finally noticed you were the one who had knocked on his door.

“Y/N, what the hell!” he let out, closing the door in your face soon after. “Can you not invade my privacy like this? I thought it was Chan knocking.”

You rolled your eyes at his behaviour. “Maybe you could have just put on a shirt before opening the door.” you nagged, hiding the fact you had just checked him out.

You heard some shuffling from inside, and you tilted your head in confusion. Not so long after, the door opened again and Jisung had a hoodie on, his hair even fluffier than earlier. Why did he look so damn cute like this?

“What do you want?” he asked.

You coughed in awkwardness. “I left my bag here.”

He let out a discouraged sigh before stepping aside to let you in. You didn’t miss the mess he had already made, although the fact you had arrived at the house not even twelve hours prior. Men... When you went to pick it up, Jisung stopped you and you looked at him, confused.

“My bag. Yours is there.” he pointed next to the nightstand.

Surprisingly, he hadn’t touched your things and let it be just right where you left it. “Thanks.” you nodded to him before grabbing your bag.

“Anything else?” he asked and you paused, thinking about what Seungmin had told you.

Taking a deep breath, you spoke. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier. I should have thanked you instead of lashing out onto you like that.”

Visibly surprised, Jisung nodded nonetheless, accepting your apology. “And I suppose I should say I’m sorry as well for saying Seungmin shouldn’t have invited you. I’m not good with new people, I’m sorry.”

You smiled at his words. “Me neither. To be fair, I didn’t even want to come here in the first place.”

“I know.” he replied.

There was a silence between you too. Despite the fact it was rather awkward, it somehow felt comfortable. It was weird, you couldn’t quite point out exactly what was this strange tension between the two of you.

“I’ll head to bed. Thanks.” you smiled awkwardly.

“Right.” he coughed. “Good night.”

And you left his room.

Naeun was a morning person, you learned. While you barely had any sleep, she looked as if she just had a boost of serotonin. Lovely, she was, but too joyful for someone who had just woken up. Chan seemed to be in the same state as you, seeing his eyes were still puffy from the tiredness. So, that was the perk of sleeping in the common room; waking up when the first person does.

“Do you want some coffee?” Naeun asked you, while you were still processing the fact it was the next day.

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

You rubbed your hands on your eyes to wake yourself up. Once you got used to the light, you saw how everyone had already got up. While Naeun was busy making coffee for everyone, Chan and Felix were making pancakes and bacon for breakfast. The sight of the food was enough to make your belly rumble. You sat at the table, greeting Seungmin who had Chayoung leaning on his shoulder, still sleepy.

"Someone's not a morning person." Seungmin said to you.

"I'd say the same for your girlfriend." you nodded your head towards her. "Did you two sleep okay?"

"Let's say I warmed her up last night... that explains why she is so exhausted." Seungmin laughed, but you made a disgusted face, not wanting to know any more details about their intimate relationship.

Turning away from him, you came face to face with Jisung, tiredness accross his face. His hair was still messy, and he had put on his sleeveless shirt back on, making his arm muscles more prominent. While this kind of clothing doesn't keep anyone warm enough, it did make your face heat up. The boy looked good with no effort. He did notice you staring, and frankly, he liked the attention. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Good morning." he mouthed to you with a smile.

As you were about to answer, Felix interrupted you. "The bacon's ready! Pancakes should be done in a minute. Anyone wants some?" he asked while showing the plate.

Everyone served themselves and once everything was settled, you didn't waste another second to dig into your pancake. As you kept eating, your habit of stuffing the food into your cheeks seemed to have grabbed Changbin's attention.

"Hey!" he exclaimed and you looked at him curiously. "You're like Han! She's a quokka too." he pointed to your cheeks.

You looked in front of you and Jisung's expression was almost identical to yours. His cheeks were puffed due to the food he stored and he was munching like a squirrel. Now you understood why he carried a quokka plush with him. The others expressed surprise from the similarity and your sank into your chair in embarrassment, Jisung visibly doing the same.

"You stuff food in your cheeks too?" Han asked in a quiet tone, once the others had resumed to their previous conversations.

You nodded your head, swallowing the bite you just had taken. "I've always done this, it seems normal to me." you shrugged, taking another piece of bacon.

"Me too." he smiled and continued to eat.

You kept to yourself for the rest of the breakfast. It went on smoothly with everyone complimenting the meal to Chan and Felix. Like previously planned, Changbin and Seungmin went on to do the dishes while the rest of you started to get ready for the day. Knowing you wouldn't go outside today, you picked cropped shirt with a knitted cardigan to put over that you matched with a pair of jeans and big winter socks. When you came back to the living room, you saw that your 'bed' was already cleared up and was back to being a normal couch. Naeun and Chayoung were already seated, leaving you a spot. You joined them and looked around in confusion.

"Did you two clean up the couch?" you interrupted their conversation.

"No." Chayoung answered. "Seungmin and Han did."

Han? Weird... you thought. "Oh, okay."

"What do you think about trying out the jacuzzi after our walk?" Naeun prompted. "You know, just the girlies."

"Oh gosh, yes that sounds great!" Chayoung answered excitedly. "We'll have some girl talk 'cause, girls, I've got some complaining to do." she huffed.

"About Seungmin?" you frowned. "I thought you two were doing great."

"We are! But you know, still some things here and there." she sighed.

"I get you, Chan's amazing but some of his habits just get on my nerves." Naeun complained.

"You know I can hear you." Chan yelled from the other side of the room where him and the boys had gathered.

Naeun rolled her eyes jokingly and turned to you. "How about you, Y/N?"

"What about me?"

"Anyone in your life?" she nudged your arm and you shook your head.

"I thought I saw you on campus hanging out with the new kid." Chayoung pitched in the conversation.

"Jeongin? No, he's nice but not my type, and I was only showing him around. Besides, I don't have time for dating, anyway."

Chayoung put her hand on your shoulder and shook her head violently in disapproval. "Everyone has time for dating, you're just not putting yourself out there. How about Jisung?" she suggested and you coughed in shock.

"Han's nowhere close to someone I would even be interested in." you scoffed, knowing you were totally in denial.

Because, come on. Jisung is 100% your type. Handsome, not too tall (because you'd want to be with someone you could actually kiss without having to break your neck), has a fit body and doe-like eyes. Not even just his physical appearance, but the sweet guy you were slowly starting to see was also getting your interest. However, you would never say this to anyone. You never really told anyone when you've had crushes, it was safer this way.

"You could try. I mean, you're spending the day with him, so take the opportunity." Naeun winked.

"Sorry what?"

She didn't have the time to answer when Chan announced they were ready to leave.

"You'll have fun, don't worry." Chayoung smiled before the girls got up to join the others at the front door.

They put on their winter suits and didn't take long before leaving, telling you and Jisung to have a good day. Still confused, you looked over the kitchen counter when the man was serving himself a glass of water.

"Weren't you going with them?" you asked as you walked to the other side of the counter.

"I have some work to do." he simply answered before walking towards the staircase.

"Work?"

He stopped on his track and sighed. "Yeah, work. You know, the thing you do so you can earn money and shit?"

"I know what work is, I'm not an idiot. It's just weird you have to work during a vacation."

He turned to face you and sighed again. "It's not work technically, just a hobby I hope I can turn into an actual career. Done with the questions?" he lifted an eyebrow.

"Damn, relax." You held up your hands in defense. "I was just wondering."

He walked closer to you until he reached the stool next to the counter. He sat down and pulled the other chair for you to sit as well. Reluctantly, you sat down and stared at him, confused.

"Sorry. Again, not good with people." he breathed out in a shy chuckle. "If we're gonna spend the whole day in the same house, how about we try to get along?" he suggested.

Tilting your head to the side, you thought for a moment. You had planned to do nothing else but watch a drama or something and enjoy the day alone to blast some music. However, a certain person had to decide to stay in as well and ruin your plans. So what else were you going to do anyway?

"Alright."

He blinked a few times, surprised by your response. "Okay then. Um... I suck at this so..."

You let out a laugh and nodded in agreement. "I can see that. I'll start then. How did you meet Seungmin?"

You knew this was a dumb question since you knew already, but you weren't any better than him to find subjects to talk about.

"We both major in music. The work I do is actually a song I've been making. So, you know, trying to make a career out of music." he explained. "How about you? I never heard of you until Seungmin told us you were coming here."

"Our mothers are close friends, we grew up together." you said, keeping it short.

"Ah."

A silence settled between the two of you while Jisung took a sip once in a while. He played around with his glass, pursing his lips at the awkwardness. Seeing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, you got up from your seat and looked towards Jisung, who got startled from your sudden movement.

"Well, good talk." you said before walking away.

“Wait.” he stopped you by grabbing your wrist. “Do you like Ghibli films?”

Deciding there was nothing else to do, you agreed on watching My Neighbor Totoro on the big screen downstairs. You installed yourself comfortably on the couch and began to watch the movie in silence, neither of you commenting on it. Nothing needed to be said, anyway, since you were so focused on the TV. Well, he was at least. Jisung had started the movie in a proper position, leaving some distance between the two of you. As he got more relaxed with the story moving forward, he sprawled himself more, resulting in his knee touching yours. You could have moved away, but you didn’t. First of all, you were too embarrassed to do so for some reason. Second of all, he seemed so focused on the film that you didn’t want to break it, so you stayed still. Attempting to distract yourself, you tried to ignore the physical contact by concentrating on the movie. Eventually, it worked and you had totally forgot about it. That didn’t last long. Not even ten minutes later, you felt something drop on your legs. Startled, you looked down and saw that Jisung had fallen asleep. From the looks of it, he definitely needed the rest, so you let him be. He didn’t bother much, anyway.

When the movie had finally ended, you nudged the man in order to wake him up. He blinked a few times while stretching out his arms, only to come to the realization that he had fallen asleep on you. Immediately, he jumped away from you, in shock.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you wake me up? Did I snore? Gosh...” he rambled, panicking and you laughed at his behaviour.

“It’s no problem, really. I thought you might have needed that nap.” you smiled and he thanked you shyly.

As the credits were still rolling, silence took over again. This time, however, it didn’t feel as heavy as earlier, but Han soon broke it off. “So, um... How about I show you some of my demos? I was about to go work on it, and a second opinion might be helpful actually.” he suggested.

Surprised at his offer, you nodded happily and he smiled in return before leading you to his room. He invited you to sit next to him on the bed, telling you to make yourself comfortable. While he opened his laptop, looking for his songs, you took the opportunity to look around. His room was still messy, but cleaner than the day before. This time, you could actually make out the floor among the clothes, recognizing his outfit he wore yesterday and other pieces of clothing. Just by looking at them, you took note in your mind that he had a good sense of style.

“Okay.” Jisung breathed out, grabbing your attention. “I have a few, actually. Do you want to listen to one in particular.?” he asked, turning the laptop towards you.

You scooted closer to him so you could read the titles. He had a lot, it was fascinating. “Alien?” you read out loud, right before goosebumps took over your body, making you regret picking out a crop top, considering the temperature was very low in the basement.

Jisung noticed and furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “You know, you can use the covers, they’re very warm.” he said and you didn’t hesitate to cover yourself.

He was right, they were extremely warm, much more than your blankets you had on the couch. Satisfied, you smiled happily, making Jisung awe at the sight. You were cute.

“So?” you interrupted his thoughts. “What is this Alien about?”

“Right.”

He took out his headphones and didn’t bother giving them to you, putting them on your head for you. You didn’t question it and stayed still for him to place them correctly. You took the moment to admire his features in the daylight. If you thought he was handsome when you saw him last night, he was breathtaking during the day. From his chocolate eyes, to his plump lips, you took in his features properly. You noticed the mole on his cheek, which only added to his attractiveness. As he was about to finish with placing the headphones, he bit his upper lips in concentration, which you thought was adorable. Once he was done, he smiled in satisfaction before going back on his laptop to open the file. You exhaled a breath you didn’t know you were holding, trying to get a grip of yourself from what you were thinking just then.

“I’m not a professional yet, so they’re not masterpieces. Don’t hesitate to give me feedback, though. Even if you think it might be mean.” he warned and you nodded.

He took a deep breath and clicked on the play button. Right away, your ears met a soft melody. You were surprised, as you didn’t expect this to be Han’s music style. Once he started singing, you almost gasped in surprise. He didn’t look like it, but his voice was soft, melodic, but most importantly, it was powerful. It was only when the rapping started that you were now speechless. He had talent, and he knew how to use it. After taking in his vocals once more, you focused on making out the lyrics, and it almost hurt on how much they hit home. Did he write them himself? Was it how he was feeling? You almost felt hurt from them, holding back a tear that could come out at any moment. Too immersed into the track, you almost forgot where you were until the song ended. You didn’t say anything. Frankly, you did NOT know what to say.

“So?” Jisung said expectantly, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“How can you say this is not a masterpiece? Han, this is amazing, really. I have no words.” you breathed out, still in shock from how beautiful it was.

He mumbled a thank you in shyness, before coming closer to you. Your breath cut when he brought his hands to the headphones, who were still sitting onto your ears. Again, you couldn’t help but examine his face. How was his skin so clear and perfect? You had to ask him what was his skin care routine, it was unfair how clean it was. As he was about to take his headset back, he stopped his motion and stared back at you instead. You didn’t miss the red coming up his ears, nor did you miss his small glance at your lips. You were incredibly close, you could feel his breath on your face.

“I-” he murmured.

At this moment, you heard a yelp coming from the doorway making you jump away from each other, Jisung bringing the headphones along with him. Looking for the source of the noise, you saw it was Naeun.

“Sorry to interrupt, I was only coming to say that we’re back and that, Y/N, we’re going in the jacuzzi if you still want to come with us.” she paused and looked towards Jisung. “Or not. As you wish, really.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few. Let me change first.” you answered and, with that, she left the two of you.

Turning around, you saw that Jisung had gotten up from the bed and was putting his laptop back into his case. “I’m guessing you’ll be going now.” he laughed out, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I guess so.” you said, getting up as well. As you were heading out, you stopped on your track and turned around to him. “By the way, I’m being serious when I say your song is beautiful, I love it. You’re very talented.” you complimented before taking off, leaving the poor man a blushing mess.

You hurried to change into your bathing suit and walked outside to see that the girls were already in the water. It was freezing cold, but the steam coming from the hot tub encouraged you to join the others. As you approached, you listened to Naeun’s talking, telling Chayoung all about your moment with Han.

“And you didn’t kiss him?” Chayoung exclaimed in frustration, now addressing you. “What were you thinking? You missed out, woman.” she splashed towards you, and you could only glare at Naeun.

“To be honest, I think they would have if I didn’t walk in.” Naeun said in a disappointed tone, resulting to you shaking your head furiously.

“I told you this morning, I wouldn’t date him.”

“Y/N, you were under his bed sheets. Don’t tell me you weren’t about to fuck right there.” she deadpanned.

“Wait, y’all fucked?” Chayoung questioned cluelessly.

You rolled your eyes at their assumptions. “I was cold and he told me I could use to covers to heat myself up. End of the story.”

“He’s staring right now.” Naeun nodded towards the window, and immediately, you did a one-eighty only to find no one, making the girls laugh.

You gave her a death glare. “I hate you both.”

This had become your routine for the week: waking up early from Naeun’s joyful morning singing as she served you coffee, spending the day with Jisung while the others went out to go do whatever outside activity they had planned. Your days with Jisung were simple: watching something, then going to his room for him to make you listen to his tracks he wasn’t sure of, sometimes staying with him longer just for the fun of it. In the end, you would always have with some bonding time with the girls and a movie night with the whole group. You would never tell this to Seungmin, but you were actually happy you managed to make some new friends. He would let out a “I told you so.” and your pride wasn’t in for this kind of comment. If he was ever going to ask you, you would simply answer it was forced and not by your will.

As for you and Jisung, the pair of you grew closer extremely quickly. You learned more about him such as his family, how he became friends with the others, his studying time in Malaysia... The more you spent time with him, the more you realized how similar you were despite being so different. That included how introverted the both of you were, your love for chocolate and how you preferred staying in instead of going out. When you went to his room while he was working, it was comfortable enough. You would be on your phone and he would occasionally ask about your opinion. He had gotten the habit of always making sure you were warm enough, while you always checked with him if he had gotten the right amount of sleep. You also learned how touchy he actually was, which was surprising enough. If he wasn’t hugging Chan, he would either be back hugging Changbin or chase Seungmin for a cuddle. With you, however, it was more subtle at first. He started with small gestures, like side hugs and slight accidental skin ship. As the week went by, it has transformed into full on cuddling during the movie nights, which didn’t go unnoticed by Seungmin. He had questioned you a few times about it, but you always found an excuse to change the subject. You were never one for physical contact, but with him, you didn’t mind at all.

For your last night at the chalet, Chan took the time to go buy all sorts of alcohol. With Changbin having some experience as a bartender in the past, he took the initiative to make you more cocktails than needed, plus some fancy shots. Chayoung's tolerance was low. The girl had only drank two cocktails and was already passed out, having Seungmin as a support. Felix and Han had found a nice spot to hang out in the living room. They were having the time of their life, laughing about whatever topics they were exchanging about. As for your case, you stuck to Naeun who was clinging onto Chan next to the kitchen counter, while Changbin was cleaning up the mess he had made by spilling one of the drinks. The latter decided to drink reasonably in order to watch over the others in case something might happen. While you were staring at Han who was still laughing out loud, Chan seemed to have noticed how you kept glancing at his direction.

"You two have become insanely close this past week." he said, taking a sip from his drink. "You've basically been attached by the hips."

"I don't know what you're referring to." you played dumb.

"Don't act like you weren’t cuddling when watching the movie last night." Naeun gave you a look before she took another shot, and you ignored her comment.

"Talking about him, look who's here." Changbin said and you followed his gaze to spot Jisung and Felix joining you.

Felix was still laughing uncontrollably as he walked to Changbin to give him a big back hug. Jisung walked to you, sitting on the stool next to you, and didn't hesitate to put his hand comfortably on your thigh. The contact sent a shiver down your spine and you stiffened. He acted as if he had done nothing by giving one of his infamous gentle smiles.

"Hey." Jisung said happily to you.

"Hey." you smiled back. "You look so drunk, how much did you actually drink?" you laughed.

"Not much. I would say no more than two and a half drinks, though I will try out Changbin's shots for sure." He didn't loose a second to get the said-shots in front of him, examining them to determine which one he was going to test out first. "You don't look so tipsy."

"Yeah." you chuckled. "I'm still on my first drink." you held up your glass. "I'll probably try a shot later, too."

"Not happening." you heard Seungmin exclaim from behind you and you grunted at his comment. "I told your mom I'll be watching you, so I am watching you." he said, taking the seat on your other side.

"I'm an adult, I can drink if I want to." you argued. "Where's Chayoung, anyway?" you asked as you saw no sign of her.

"I failed watching over her, and now she passed out. I can't wait to see her tomorrow morning." he breathed out, before stealing one of Han's shots to chug it, making you stare at him in disbelief.

"Dude, that's so unfair." you whined and he sighed.

"Fine, you get three shots, and then you're done. We both know what happened last time you drank more than that."

Happily, you took a shot and winced at the strong taste. Jisung gave you a small squeeze on your thigh as a sign of support, but it only made your mind go crazier than it already was. Thus, you took another one.

"What happened last time?" Chan asked curiously, earning a dark look from Seungmin.

"You don't want to know."

As the small talk kept going, Naeun exhaled in boredom, unimpressed at how inactive the night was despite the amount of alcohol that was already consumed. She took the matter into her own hands and stole the bottle of tequila from Changbin, serving some to everyone. "How about we play a game?" she prompted and Seungmin huffed in annoyance.

"We're too old for that, baby." Chan told her but she shook her head.

"You can never be too old for a game of truth or drink." she said happily while distributing the drinks. "What could go wrong, anyway?"

Well, in fact, things went wrong pretty quickly. Barely an hour into the game, and the girl was already sleeping on Chan's shoulder, while Felix and Seungmin could barely speak out clear words. Concluding this was enough for tonight, you and Jisung helped Changbin cleaning up the place. While he and Jisung were bringing Chan and Naeun upstairs, you guided the two other men to their rooms safely. Once back to the kitchen, Changbin waved you good night, thanking you for the help, and then walked to join his boyfriend. That left you and Jisung. Looking at your bed-like couch, you walked to it and tried to make it somehow warmer. The weather had gotten even worse and it would be a lie if you said that you weren't ice cold the night prior. Still, you were about to install yourself into your thin blankets, but were stopped when Jisung took your hand.

"Sleep in my room tonight."

You stared at him for a moment, processing what he had just said. "What?"

"Please." he insisted. "You know you're going to freeze tonight and my room is warm enough. I'll leave you enough space on the bed, I promise."

He wasn't wrong, his room was the warmest in the house. It wasn't the first time Jisung suggested for you to sleep in his room. In fact, it was the fifth time already. You had refused each single one of them, not because you didn't want to, but because you were afraid of what would happen. Although you felt at ease around him, you also felt an insane urge to grab him by his cheeks and kiss him. Nevertheless, you liked how the friendship had blossomed, and you certainly had no intention of ruining it. This strange tension between you was better than embarrassing yourself by making a wrong move. However, you knew he was right and, maybe, this was going to be your last moment with him since you haven't talked about keeping in touch once the vacation was over. You only live once, don’t you?

"Okay." you said in a whisper and Jisung smiled, leading you upstairs as his hand still had a firm grip onto yours.

For once, he had cleaned up around as there was no more clothes on the floor. He kind of had to, you were to leave the next day. He even did the bed, folding the sheets and placing the pillows nicely.

"Since when do you actually clean?" you laughed jokingly.

He muttered an insult under his breath, starting to pull out his sweatpants from his bag. That's when you froze, realizing what sleeping in the same bed as Jisung meant. By now, you had completely forgotten that the man sleeps with no shirt on. He mumbled a small "I'll be back." and left to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Great. You tried to shook it off your mind by slipping under the covers messily due to your drunk state, attempting to find a comfortable position to sleep, but it didn’t do anything. You could only have a flashback from that time you had seen his toned abs in the dark. It didn't take long for Jisung to get changed. Once you spotted him, you sighed in relief seeing that he had put another one of his sleeveless shirts on. Even if it still made him look insanely hot, it was better than forcing yourself to ignore how ripped he was. He noticed you staring and gave you a smile.

"Disappointed?" he joked and you blushed massively.

"Shut up." you huffed and turned around to face the other side.

He joined you in the bed, laughing at your reaction. "I'm kidding. I thought you would prefer it if I kept things safe."

The alcohol still in your system, you couldn't think properly before speaking. "As if those arms weren't enough."

Han, startled by your bold answer, didn’t reply back. He checked his biceps in confusion. He had stopped working out a while ago, so it did surprise him that you pointed out his arms. Was he still fit enough? Suddenly, he became very much self-aware about his appearance. He started to wonder if he should go back to the gym. Not because you had commented on his muscles, of course not. Or maybe. He had always envied Chan and Changbin for their built figures and had tried many times to keep up with them, but he couldn’t due to putting his entire free time into making tracks.

“Jisung?” he heard you whisper, calling him by his first name for the first time.

He hummed for you to continue, but instead you shivered. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“It’s alright. I’m cold, that’s all.”

He didn’t figure out how you were cold, while it felt for him like he was heating up by wearing close to nothing. He debated whether he should help you get warmer or leave you be. With another shiver traveling your body, the choice became obvious for him. Therefore, he shifted closer to you, putting his arm over your body protectively.

“Is it okay?” he asked, just in case you felt uncomfortable.

You snuggled into him even more and turned around to face him, your noses almost touching. You studied his face for the nth time this week, and kept finding more endearing features of his. You found it absolutely cute how his eyebrows knitted together when he would be confused, just like now. It didn’t take long, though, before it was his turn to observe you carefully. Instinctively, he brought his hand up the side of your face. Usually, he would retract his hand right away and apologize, but remember that he was still drunk. He couldn’t take his eyes of you while rubbing his thumb softly across your cheek.

“You don’t realize how fucking beautiful you are.” he whispered, his eyes still focused on the softness of your skin, before he met yours.

Not knowing how to react, you blushed even more than you already were. “Says the handsome boy here.” you huffed, as-a-matter-of-factly.

Han smiled widely at your compliment; it looked more like a flirty smirk. The shy boy you got to know had been replaced by the most confident man you had encountered in your life. All it took was alcohol to give him a push.

“You think I’m handsome, yeah?” he teased.

“I thought that was obvious.”

You had barely finished your sentence when his grip on your waist got tighter, being wrong for thinking you couldn’t be any closer than you already were. You yelped at his move while he kept fixing on your lips. Biting his upper one, he was debating whether he should stop himself, or let it loose. No matter what his decision was going to be, he knew he had already crossed the very thin line you had between friendship and something more.

“May I?” he whispered, as his lips were already barely a millimeter away from yours.

“Since you asked so nicely.” you joked, resulting to Jisung letting out an annoyed scoff.

“You’re a pain in the butt.” he exhaled.

After what had seemed like forever, his tender lips finally reached your own, embracing you into a soft kiss. Just like him, it was delicate and careful. It was exactly how you had imagined it, and yet, so different. The amount of electricity you felt traveling your figure was unexpected and you liked it. Wanting more of it, you put your arm around his neck in order to pull him into a deeper kiss. Surprised by your motion, he let a groan leave his mouth, trying to follow how your lips moved. While his hands were roaming across your waist and stomach, slowly making their way under your shirt, you opened your mouth slightly to allow him slipping his tongue. Your breaths were uneasy as the eagerness was getting more intense. All the tension that had been building up over the past few days was being released in a matter of seconds, and it was passionate. Only then it would have been even more perfect if Jisung hadn’t pulled away from your lips, earning a whine from you.

“I get you’re needy, but I need to breathe.” he laughed, as he kept pampering your face with small kisses. He stopped and move slightly away from you, still rubbing his thumb on the skin of your jawline. “As much as I want you right now, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Hearing the words come out of his mouth, your grin dropped as it got replaced by a scared look. “What do you mean?”

“Hey, I’m not saying I’m regretting this.” he hurried to explain, placing a kiss on your forehead in reassurance. “I’m saying we should stop for tonight until it gets more... intimate.” he trailed off.

“What’s stopping you?” you pouted and his heart melted at the sight.

“We’re still drunk and it’s late already. Plus, I’d like to take you on a proper date first.” he explained in a gentle tone while playing with your hair.

You kept silent for a moment, thinking about what he had said. While a part of you was craving for more, his reasoning did make a lot of sense. How he thought about things made you feel like he was taking you seriously, and not just doing this to sleep with you before leaving you as if you were nothing.

“Okay.” you whispered, and he smiled. “But I get to choose where and when.”

“As you wish, baby.” he grinned, pulling you into a kiss one more time.

You had woken up frantically the next morning when you saw a shirtless Jisung laying down next you, while the bottom of your pyjamas were no longer on your body, but on the floor instead. You had little to no recollection of what had happened the previous night, other than some glimpses here and there. You didn’t remember confessing to Jisung, neither did you recall a moment where he did so. However, you could make out an image of the two of you kissing intensely on the bed, as well as your needy behaviour. You wanted to cry out in embarrassment. How did you let yourself go so easily? Trying to reassure yourself by thinking everything is fine, you quietly sat up, slowly getting out of the covers. The motion was stopped by Jisung’s loud yawn, making you freeze in panic. He turned his body around, exposing more of his skin, and took you by the waist to bring you close to him. You let out a small gasp at his gesture, which seemingly woke him up. His eyes squinted from the sunlight, but he smiled brigthly once he had made out your face.

“Good morning, baby.” he whispered, while still grinning like an idiot.

“Um... hey.” you replied awkwardly. “Just making sure, nothing happened last night, right?”

Jisung pulled away from you and gave you an unsure look. “Wait, you don’t remember?” Feeling bad, you shook your head in response. “You forgot our kiss?”

“No, that I remember, but I can’t recall us doing, you know...”

This made Han laugh, finding it cute how you confused you were. “That’s because we didn’t do it, idiot. I asked you out tho, and you said yes. I just hope you still mean it.” he said, taking your hand in his.

You blinked a few times, trying to remember it. “Last night me was being bold, I see.” you joked, causing him to laugh again. “I do like you a lot. However, I’m not sure I should be dating.”

“Why? If you say some shit like ‘I don’t deserve it.’ or ‘You’ll find someone better’, you’re even more stupid than I thought.” he huffed.

“Okay, I won’t say it.” you shrugged and he pouted, bring you closer to him.

“I like you a lot too, and I really wanna take you out once we’re back home.”

You melted at his words and, hesitantly, pecked his lips. That was enough of an answer for him.

You had to leave the house before 11am, so you didn’t take long to get up from bed (secretly admiring Jisung’s form... again) and changing into more appropriate clothes, before joining the others in the kitchen. Naeun had already served everyone cereals and most of the things were packed. You greeted the others and walked to the counter to make yourself a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, you were chatting with Felix when Jisung had joined the lot, placing his hand on your hip to give you a peck, and going on with his morning. The freckled boy had stopped talking by now, only staring at you in pure shock.

“What the fuck.” he exclaimed.

“Oh my god!” Chayoung yelled out, having seen the scene as well. “You slept with Jisung.”

Thanks to her, the rest of the group was now staring at you and Han, flooding you with questions and comments such as ‘I called it.’

Seungmin didn’t react much, but he walked to you with a stern look on his face. “Your mom is going to be either ecstatic you have a boyfriend for once, or kill you for your behaviour.” You slapped his arms in annoyance, and he laughed as he broke character. “I’m just glad you ended up having fun. And Han?”

Jisung, who was still busy with eating, turned his attention to his friend. ”Yes, what?”

“You hurt her, and you’re dead.”

Jisung nodded his head rapidly, fear accross his face. Seungmin, satisfied with the response, told you two to hurry so you can leave and went to help out Changbin with the luggage.

“So, am I your boyfriend?” Han asked cheekily, bringing you into an embrace.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to take me out on a proper date first?” you quoted him and he looked at you in shock.

“You DO remember last night!”

You laughed and leaned onto him. “Just a little.” you mumbled and kissed him softly. “I’ll go to the bathroom, and then we can join the others?”

He smirked. “Can I be the one interrupting you, this time?”

taglist: @lenilla15 | @muddy-waters | @nanaspalette | @nattisbored

#stray kids #stray kids x reader #han jisung #han jisung x reader #stray kids han #stray kids fanfic #han jisung fluff #stray kids fluff

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summerongrand · 2 months

Text

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by the wonderful and talented Lana @cfr749. She’s a gifted writer and has 19 works with a WHOPPING 354,235 words on Ao3!!!!!! She’s a gem, a fandom OG (I think), and began writing Chenford since before they were canon. I like to read an author’s fics in chronological order and am reading hers this way. There’s a charm about reading pre-canon works in this fandom because it’s like time traveling and seeing a shipper’s heart through their writing and their belief in this ship that may or may not come true. And Lana on top of all of that has a way of combining words in a way that tugs at the essence of human emotion. Go read her fics!!!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? I’m honored to be recognized as a fic writer despite having zero works on Ao3. Lana was incredibly thoughtful to tag me and I *think* it’s because she saw some tags where I mentioned that I write fic. Noticing small things like that is one of the many reasons why she is an awesome human being.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? Currently 0. In total, I have around 80,000 words that I haven’t shared yet.

3. What fandoms do you write for? The Rookie.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I’ll use this space to preview 5 fics in various stages of planning:

1. Psych professor Lucy and student Tim. Tim is married and Lucy’s in a relationship, so Chenford will be riding down Angst Avenue for a while … even as they ride their s/o’s.

2. Psych professor Lucy and student Tim. A companion story to the first.

3. Tim meeting Lucy’s grandma. There are a few OCs in this one including Lucy’s grandma. This is planned as a one-shot with potential for more chapters. I’m currently “face casting” Lucy’s grandma, so if anyone has suggestions, feel free to send them my way.

4. Soulmates AU. I have five separate Google docs with five separate ideas of how I want to write this. I’m leaning towards writing this from a historic angle where there’s a huge geographic separation between Lucy and Tim.

5. Found family goes on vacation. Patrice or the Thorsen family owns a huge resort up in the mountains (because of course they do). Our favorites spend a few days of fun up there. Thinking of writing Chenford as either having a secret relationship or in a pre-relationship. I just returned from a vacation in the mountains and this was in no way inspired by that. Nope.

5. Do you respond to comments?

If someone takes the time to comment on my stories, I definitely will reply.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

My fics will always end happy because Lucy Chen deserves for Tim Bradford to give her the world.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Psych professor Lucy/student Tim is the only one that has an ending so far. But dunno yet if I’ll keep that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, because I currently don’t have any fics on Ao3.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Psych professor Lucy/student Tim is my first fic in over 20 years and first foray into smut. They just wanna bang … their s/o’s and each other.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

As a kid, I wrote a fic where S Club 7, BSB, NSync, Britney, Christina, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, O-Town, A*Teens, etc. all stayed in a hugeass chalet and performed sets. BSB and NSync kept throwing shade and snowballs at each other.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Chenford!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I started writing psych professor Lucy/student Tim over six months ago and I honestly don’t ever want to finish writing that fic. But that's also partly why I haven't shared it yet. The story keeps evolving which makes the front end still a work in progress.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can’t comment on my strengths as a fic writer because I haven’t gotten any feedback on my fics in over 20 years. But I can comment on my strengths/weaknesses as a writer: I’ve been told that I write very colloquially/conversationally and this was, until recently, seen as a strength by people smarter than me giving me honest feedback.

I also try to incorporate real experiences into my fics. This takes research, talking to people, listening to their experiences, etc. but it's so worth doing. For example, when Colin O’Neil (Mel’s bro) drinks, his face turns tomato red. He wrote about it in an Instagram post. Same thing happens to Melissa and to a lot of other East Asians but there are ways to circumvent redness with pills and such. So yeah, with that tidbit in mind, there's a scene in one of my fics where Tim clocks Lucy’s tomato red flush after a night of drinking.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Not writing enough details (see what I did there?)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Haven’t written dialogue in another language but I’m not against it either. I know enough Spanish to be comfortable writing in it without butchering it. I'm so game for Lucy to speak Chinese to Tim and Chenford kids, but I don’t know if I can pull it off. I can try though!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

S Club 7.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Professor Lucy/student Tim.

Thanks again for the tag, Lana!

I'm tagging @onlyforchenford (because I'm an instigator and would love to read her fics), @poppypickle, @goodgirlssayiloveyoutoo @rememberthismomentx, @lovemesomechenford, @randomlittleimp, and @sailorslut111 (apologies if y'all have already done this and I missed it)!

#tim bradford loves lucy chen #chenford fanfic #chenford fanfiction #chenford fic #writers ask game #fanfic #fanfiction #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #the rookie #tucy #tim x lucy #my asks #chenford fics #summer's fics

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piratefishmama · 10 months

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Fake it till you make it | Part 4

‘Boundaries’ were harder to settle on than they'd expected them to be. Eddie didn’t seem to want to put anything on the “strictly no” list. Even when Steve suggested sex should be on there Eddie just wiggled his brows and claimed a week in a cabin with him might change things.

Steve found that hilarious enough to laugh at (much to Eddie's adorable pout) but also too fair to disagree with.

They were two healthy, queer, adult men! What was a little consensual nookie between fake boyfriends?

Plus he couldn’t tell if Eddie was joking or not so he put that on the mental ‘maybe a boundary’ list that may or may not be tested.

Steve wasn’t about to completely rule it out either! He had a healthy libido and Eddie wasn’t unattractive. He… actually was pretty damn attractive.

Nice eyes, nice hair, nice lips, nice voice, nice han— anyway, they had a whole week together in a romantic chalet, pretending to date.

Anything could happen. Especially if they didn’t rule anything out. And ruling it out only made it seem more exciting, like it was dangerous. Best to just not rule it out.

“What about kissing?” Steve pondered aloud, a small frown on his brow

“If I’m not ruling out sex, Harrington, I think kissing should be fi—"

“No, dumbass, not ruling it out, I mean… it’s gotta seem like a thing we normally do right? An you gotta stop calling me Harrington, it’s Steve. Boyfriends don’t call each other by their last names.”

“I’ll have a mental list of pet names prepared before the day ends, don’t you worry, Stevie, but what do you suggest? Are you thinking we should practice?” Eddie leaned forward a grin stretching on his lips that almost seemed predatory, like he was expecting Steve to stumble through a rebuttal, expecting him to back down or to apologise, but no, Steve wasn’t some simpering maiden who’d bashfully turn him down.

Steve was an experienced ladies man with a reputation for being… for lack of a better term, a bit of a hometown slut.

Even if he had no practical experience with men, that didn’t stop him from exuding confidence as he moved onto his haunches and crossed the very short distance between them, forcing that mischievous little shit right back into his spot as Steve basically climbed from his hands and knees into Eddie’s lap, watching in satisfaction as all that mischief just kind of…

Drained from his face.

Drained and replaced with wide-eyed rosy cheeked surprise, his hands extended out either side of himself to avoid touching Steve’s body. Adorable.

“Maybe we should.”

“Ah—uhm—heh—y-yeah I mean—m-maybe not here though, yeah?” He talked a good game, he put on a damn fine front, but Eddie Munson wasn’t exactly swimming in cock. Wasn’t even paddling. Or wading the cock waters.

No he was mainly just suffering in queer silence on dry land with just good ol leftie and a few skin mags to make himself feel better. Although the image of Steve Harrington in his lap? Oh yeah that’d do him for a few months.

Sad that it ended so fast though, with Steve backing his perfectly plush ass right back into his seat quickly after, holding his hands up in mock surrender, accepting the stuttered rejection like a champ.

“Wherever you feel comfiest, man, but I suggest we figure that shit out fast, we don’t have long before this trip an you’ll have to meet them before we go so we’re going to have to be comfortable with each other, especially if it’s an environment where we have no excuse to not be comfortable.” If they were in public? Absolutely they’d have many excuses readily available.

The chalet? Not public. In fact it was quite big, the only reason he was so sure his parents would bring someone for him was because it was big enough that they could do their own thing for hours without crossing paths. Sure the bedrooms were close to each other but there were other rooms to fuck around in.

Damn thing had two Jacuzzi’s and a sauna. Not to mention a home cinema to fool around in.

They’d be hoping that he’d spend some easily obtained alone time with this mystery person. God he’d be being pimped out by his parents. How had his life come to this?

“You want me to meet them before we go?” He was just expecting to turn up on the day and be ‘Steve’s new boyfriend’ that they’d never met and would just have to accept would be in attendance. In that scenario he assumed Steve would just get the okay from them to have him come and that be that but—

Clearly his imagination was not even remotely true to real life. “Uhh… yeah, they’ll wanna know who they’re spending a week with, Eddie, c’mon, fake dating starts like… now…”

“So can I charge you from now?”

“Dude that’d be double—”

“Aren’t you rich?”

“I work minimum wage at Family Video for crying out loud, no I’m not rich. My parents are rich, I make enough to keep the lights on and keep my fridge stocked while they’re away. C’mon man… I can do a week, I have savings that’ll cover a week but two weeks? That’s fourteen-hundred, dude, I can’t—” Two weeks was stretching things uncomfortably far. Like… going into debt kind of far. He couldn’t ask his parents for money because they’d wanna know what it was for and for him to get a receipt and Eddie didn’t do receipts. Or refunds. “I might actually starve.”

“… Fine.” He almost argued, you live in a McMansion Steve, I live in a trailer park, but then… Steve did actually work at Family Video, wouldn’t just do that if he didn’t have to, who’s to say his parents paid for anything for him? Who’s to say they didn’t pull the ‘you’re an adult now, son, we’ll let you live here but you have to pull your own weight’ shtick parents were apparently so fond of? God what if they made him pay rent?

Eddie really didn’t know anything about the Harringtons.

Steve clearly didn’t go to college, so… maybe his dad wouldn’t hire him for a role he wasn’t qualified for? Unlikely but not impossible if recent discoveries concerning Steve Harrington were to be used as a reference point. Couldn't assume anything about him. “Fine?”

“Yeah, fine. How about, instead… we stick with my original rate an call it a flat seven hundred, fifty per day, an we start now? We can head to the trailer park an figure shit out there, deduct today so it’s only six fifty cause we’re brainstorming. My uncle may be home, but he should be asleep now. He works nights. We should be fine… unless you wanna head to yours and go in blind, take a ‘we’re figuring things out together awkwardly’ approach to it?” That’d track, he could do awkward, he could probab—

“Nah, they’d never think I was awkward at dating, even though you are a guy.” Of course they wouldn’t. Their lady killer son would never be awkward about dating… he wasn’t either, that was the kicker. He’d got all the way up in Eddie’s business not five minutes ago and looked comfortable doing it, like he actually would have practiced kissing in the back of Eddie’s beat up old van.

Holy shit he could have been making out with Steve Harrington in the back of his van.

He said not here, yeah?

What the shit was his problem?!

Was he actually completely insane?

He was going to be a virgin forever.

“You good there, Ed?”

“Huh?” He squeaked. Eddie Munson did not squeak, but yet, there he was. Squeakin away. “Oh! Y-yeah yeah, just coming to an abrupt unfortunate conclusion, yep, I am a-ok completely and totally oooone-hundreeeeeee— okay I came to a very real realisation that I could have been basically making out with you for ‘practice’ in the back of my van in the bushes where nobody could interrupt us and that could have gone anywhere cause it’s comfy back here yet i decided to tell you ‘not here, yeah?’ like a perma-virgin so— yeah.”

“Jeez… maybe you could pull off the awkward boyfriend thing.”

“…So about that fourteen hundred.”

Part 6

#PirateWrites #FakeItTillYouMakeItFiclet #Steddie #No Upside Down AU #they're gonna be FIIIIINNEE

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tongue-like-a-razor · 2 years

Text

Faking It | Part V

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x F!Reader

And thus continues my ode to all the tropes that ever troped XD Wanna hear something funny? I have this story saved in my one-shots folder. Like, what was I thinking??

Anyway, thank you so much for following this meandering tale. I still can't believe the epic support and love you guys have given me and this story <3 I appreciate you more than you know!

Summary: Fake dating your friend, Bradley Bradshaw - what could possibly go wrong? Your sister is getting married and you need a date. You enlist Bradley's help and the rest is history.

CW: swearing, some angst (y'all knew it was coming)

Start from the beginning: Part I

You open your eyes the following morning to find Bradley’s arm draped over your body, his fingers wrapped around your hand near your chest. You hold your breath, lest you wake him before you can fully appreciate the moment. You close your eyes for a minute, imagining that all of it is real.

Before the minute is up, however, Bradley begins to stir. You decide to keep your eyes closed, curious as to how he will react upon waking in an embrace with you. You feel his body shift behind you, his head lifting slowly off the pillow. He doesn’t withdraw his arm just yet and you can feel his breath warming the tip of your ear as he rests his head briefly over yours. His fingers tighten around your hand for a split second before he releases it and drags his arm away, his hand lightly skimming the exposed skin under the hem of your shirt as he rolls onto his back. Meanwhile, you nearly convulse at the absolute upheaval of your entire nervous system as your body grapples with the chaos ignited by his fleeting touch.

You turn around slowly to see him covering his face with his hands and your heart sinks. He’s clearly mortified and possibly regretting the entire endeavor. He must know that you like him. He must see right through you. And then it hits you. You were drunk last night. Had you done something that might have given you away? Other than convincing him to share a bed with you and cuddle you to sleep? You think you might be sick.

You sit straight up, wincing at the pounding in your head, and slip out of the bed without so much as uttering a good morning to the man who’s been spooning you all night. You rush into the bathroom, hurriedly locking the door behind you, as if Bradley might try to barge in. You start running cold water over your face, trying desperately to remember every single thing that happened the previous night.

Bradley had seemed fed up with Steven, but that was likely for show. Bradley had helped remove your shoes, but that was likely because you would’ve otherwise ended up with your face in the sand. Similarly, carrying you when you had expressed some ridiculous phobia of crocodiles? That was likely an attempt to get you home before you did something stupid. You cringe, looking up at your grimace in the mirror.

When you step out of the bathroom, Bradley is already dressed. He looks over at you with an apprehensive expression. “You up for some breakfast?” he asks.

“Uh, I’m actually going to head over to my sister’s chalet,” you say quickly, gathering your things. “All the bridesmaids are getting ready there.”

“You should eat something,” he says.

Your eyes meet his across the room. “I’m sure they’re going to have a platter of sandwiches or something.”

Bradley looks like he might have something else to add but ultimately seems to reconsider. “I guess I’ll see you later,” he says.

You give him a tight smile. “That’s the plan,” you respond, heading for the door.

…

You spend the morning in a daze. Your sister is getting married and you can hardly think of anything other than Bradley Bradshaw. Once or twice, this realization infuriates you, but then you blissfully revert to daydreaming about his captivating grin and his expressive eyes and his beautifully sculpted shoulders.

By the time the ceremony rolls around, you’re frighteningly untethered from reality, and you desperately try to focus on the task at hand. You take a deep breath, grounding yourself before taking the final step off the stone staircase onto the perfectly manicured lawn, clutching your bridesmaid’s bouquet to your chest. You haven’t seen Bradley since that morning and your nerves are shot with the anticipation of what the day might have in store. Your thoughts that morning may have all revolved around Bradley’s shoulders but, if you’re going to make it through the rest of the weekend, you’ll have to feign indifference toward him, romantically speaking – while pretending that he is the love of your life. It can’t be as complicated as it sounds. You take several more breaths, concentrating all your efforts on your walk toward the altar without letting your heels sink into the soft ground.

Your eyes scan the chairs briefly but you see no sign of Bradley’s wavy, brown hair. You take your place next to the other bridesmaids, turning to the collection of lawn chairs in front of the flowered trellis. You’re still searching for Bradley in the crowd when the flower girl skips up the aisle sprinkling handfuls of rose petals over the freshly cut turf. When you can’t locate him, you start to worry that perhaps he’s changed his mind about attending. The thought upsets you because the least he could have done was talk to you beforehand so that his absence wouldn’t catch you off guard.

You’re still annoyed when your gaze lands on a particularly handsome face that’s smirking up at you from the assembled guests. You stare at him for a moment, shocked that you didn’t recognize him sooner. He’s wearing a light-colored suit and his hair is slightly more gelled than usual but, other than that, he’s the same old Bradley. Except, you’ve never seen him in formal attire before. And he looks good.

You give him a smile, playing the part of the enamored girlfriend despite the turmoil in your gut at having left things unsettled that morning. You look away from him so as not to give him an opportunity to perceive the discomfort on your face. In doing so, however, your eyes settle on Steven instead. He grins at you broadly, wiggling his eyebrows. You feel sick to your stomach and promptly look away just as your sister makes her way down the aisle in her blindingly white gown. Behind her slender form, you notice that Bradley is glaring at Steven.

You smile inwardly at Bradley’s transparent animosity toward him. Your ex-boyfriend certainly deserves it but, what’s more, it’s a pleasant feeling having Bradley in your corner against enemy number one.

When the ceremony comes to an end and all the guests rise as the wedding party heads back up the aisle, Bradley gives you a slight nod as you walk by which sends a fluttering sensation throughout your insides. You quicken your pace, racing after the happy couple as if you plan to outrun them, completely forgetting about the grass versus heels situation. Your left foot sinks into the ground and you nearly lose a shoe as you stumble forward.

Just as you’re about to fall face first into the greenest grass you’ve ever seen, Bradley hops out of his row and grabs your arm, sliding his hand around your waist to steady you. It all happens so quickly that you’re still visibly shaken as you straighten your back.

“You okay?” he asks, his face hovering far too close to yours as he leans forward to look at you.

“I think so,” you breathe. “Good catch,” you add.

He smirks with one side of his mouth. “You are too, babe,” he replies.

You stare at him for a moment, trying to decipher how much of the current scenario is an act, and you decide that Bradley Bradshaw has missed his chance at a seriously successful career in acting.

“Shall we?” he asks, holding his arm out for you. “I hear it’s cocktail hour.”

You try to calm your overwrought nerves and glance up at him with a guarded smile. After all, you need to convince your mother – and Steven – that you’re in a happy relationship, and you can’t do that by avoiding poor Bradley’s gaze all evening. It’s not his fault he’s hot as fuck. “Let’s do this,” you say, sliding your arm through his as the rest of the guests begin to make their way toward the patio where the servers are already walking around with platters brimming with ridiculously small, and unnervingly unrecognizable, food.

…

“You look good,” Bradley says casually as he reaches to take a miniscule quiche off a circulating platter.

You swallow a large chunk of stuffed mushroom, praying you don’t choke on it before you could respond. “You’re not so bad yourself, Bradshaw.”

He grins, popping the quiche into his mouth.

You meet his gaze and nearly lose yourself in his eyes when you feel a violent tug on your dress. You look down to see your niece smiling up at you. She continues pulling on your dress even though she’s already captured your attention and you have to pry her little hands off the chiffon skirt before the material disintegrates in her iron grip. “Aly, Aly, what’s up?” you ask hurriedly.

“Is this the pilot?” she asks with a sly smile on her face as she turns to look up at Bradley.

Bradley grins at the little girl. “Hey, how’d you know?” he exclaims.

Aly giggles. “I guessed,” she admits.

“Good guess,” Bradley says, winking at her.

“How big is your airplane?” Aly asks excitedly.

Bradley lifts his eyes to look at you as you bite into your bottom lip to keep from laughing.

“Size doesn’t really matter, little girl,” Bradley says.

A small chuckle escapes your mouth despite your efforts to contain it and Bradley shoots you a pointed look.

“What matters,” Bradley continues, “is how you use it.”

“Use it?” Aly looks at him with furrowed brows.

“Fly it!” Bradley corrects himself. “How you fly it.”

You put a hand to your mouth, trying to hold in your laughter.

“In any case,” Bradley says. “My plane is quite large as far as planes go.”

You squeeze your eyes shut and turn away, because looking at Bradley will certainly compromise your poker face.

“What’s so funny, auntie?” Aly yanks on your dress again.

You turn to look at her with tears in your eyes from the strain of withholding your laughter.

“Yeah, auntie,” Bradley chimes in. “What’s so funny?”

“I am not laughing,” you say with a giant smile.

Bradley chuckles, shaking his head. “Get your mind out of the gutter, auntie,” he says, and the rough quality of his deep voice makes the statement sound ridiculously sexy, nudging your mind in precisely the opposite direction.

“Yeah, auntie,” Aly agrees. “Get your mind out of the udder.”

At that, you burst out laughing. Grabbing Bradley’s shoulder – the very one you’d been fantasizing about for the better part of the day – you try to steady yourself while attempting to stifle your own amusement. Bradley chuckles while his hand slides around you and rubs your arm absently as you try to breathe through your hysterics.

Aly squeezes in between the two of you, peeking up at you with a grimace. “You’re really happy today, auntie,” she says.

Bradley’s hand stops stroking your arm and his embrace briefly tightens around you.

“Well,” you say, wiping your eyes and straightening your back. “It is my sister’s wedding day. Happiest day of my life.”

Aly eyes you skeptically while Bradley’s hand falls back to his side as you slowly move away.

Bradley looks down at the girl. “You ever heard of the Super-Hornet, Aly?” he asks.

Aly glances up at him with wide eyes and shakes her head.

“Tell you what,” he says, crouching down so that his face is level with hers. “You tell your auntie that she’s going to have to let you borrow me for a dance so that I can tell you all about it.”

You chuckle lightly as Aly glances up at you with a couple of round, excited eyes. “I suppose I can lend him for one dance,” you say.

The girl runs off cheerfully and Bradley rises, his eyes settling on yours as a smile spreads on his face. “Look at you being so generous,” he says.

You shrug. “What kind of person would I be if I refused to share with a child?”

He laughs, his eyes still holding your gaze as he licks his lips. “So,” he says after a moment. “You left in a hurry this morning.”

Your giddy mood instantly deflates and, as you contend with a sudden and rather debilitating panic attack that derails your plans for an uneventful evening, the space between the two of you becomes fraught with tension. “I was running late,” you say dismissively, turning away from him to try and locate another server distributing appetizers.

“I saw your sister at breakfast,” he says.

You shoot him a horrified look. “Oh no!” you exclaim. “Was she wondering why we weren’t together?”

“Probably,” he says. “But that wasn’t really my point.”

“Fuck,” you groan. “She’s going to tell my mom. And my mom’s already on my case. And” –

“Why’d you lie?” he asks.

You glance up at him. “I didn’t lie. I had no idea my sister would still be having breakfast.”

“Your sister said you weren’t supposed to show up till noon.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Why are you interrogating my sister?” you ask crossly.

Bradley watches you levelly. “My bad,” he says after a short period of silence. “I thought we could be adults about this.” He pushes off the banister and heads across the terrace toward the bar.

You let out a frustrated sigh and shake your head. Of course, Bradley would choose the most crucial event of the entire weekend to pick a fight with you. You stomp off in the opposite direction, grabbing a flute of champagne from one of the trays as you go.

…

“Trouble in paradise?”

You look up from your drink to see Steven eyeing Bradley, who is standing on his own at the stone barrier separating the terrace and the grassy slope that slants toward the lake below. He’s looking out at the water with an impassive expression on his face. “Not now, Steven,” you say tiredly.

Steven leans into the high-top table you’re standing at. “I think now is the perfect time, baby,” he says.

You roll your eyes. “Please don’t call me that.”

“Look,” Steven says, sliding closer to you along the curve of the table. “It’s clear to me that this Bradley guy – that he’s just a rebound…”

Steven continues talking but you’ve stopped listening. You’re watching Bradley finally turn around and look at you. Even from a distance, you can see the subtle shift in his features when he notices whom you’re conversing with. Bradley sets his jaw and starts towards you.

“…but I’m here now,” you hear Steven’s voice frighteningly close to your ear and you flinch, backing away.

Steven is giving you a smirk that he probably thinks is irresistible and perhaps, once upon a time, it had been for you. You’re about to tell him off when Bradley walks around the table from behind, forcing his way in between you and Steven. “I’m getting tired of finding you near my girlfriend,” he says, the antagonism palpable in his tone.

Steven appears annoyed that his advances have been cut short. “We were just having a chat,” he replies.

Bradley gives his head a slight shake. “Plenty of other people here to chat with,” he says tersely.

Steven lets out a scathing laugh and glances at you. “Y/N, since when do you let your boyfriends decide who you get to talk to?”

You’re about to bite back when Bradley takes a step toward Steven, lowering his face so that he could stare him down at close proximity. “I’ll tell you what,” he says in a low voice. “I see you bothering her again, and you and I? We’re going to have a chat. And, believe me, you’re not going to like what I have to say.”

Steven takes a step back uncomfortably, glancing between you and Bradley with a begrudging expression. “I’ll see you later, Y/N,” he calls to you before turning and walking away.

Bradley shakes his head at him heatedly before turning to face you. You don’t meet his gaze, still upset with him for losing his temper and stalking off earlier, leaving you to navigate cocktail hour on your own.

Bradley doesn’t say anything either, so the two of you just stand in silence, refusing to look at one another.

Then, Bradley says, “Your mother’s on her way over.”

“Great,” you grumble, letting out an irritated sigh. You look up at Bradley with a sour expression. “Can you just pretend to be happy to be here?” you say, although the acidity in your voice is a far cry from the pleading and begging you’d done only a couple of days ago. You realize that you’re taking him and the favor he’s doing you for granted, but you’re far too mad to apologize for it now.

Bradley gives you a stony look and shifts his jaw. “Can you?” he asks flatly.

You bring a hand to your face and close your eyes, trying to reset your emotions. But it’s too late; your mother’s condescending tone makes you bristle. “You two seem to be enjoying the party,” she says with a hint of irony.

You glance up at Bradley worriedly to find that he’s already watching you. You wish you’d never asked him to come. There is no way the two of you could convince your extremely attentive mother that you are in love when you can barely stand to look at one another. At the same time, it’s not like you can come clean about the whole thing now; you’ll appear even more unhinged than your mother has already deemed you to be.

“Your gracious daughter here was just trying to convince me not to throw Steven into the lake,” Bradley says, apparently channeling his anger toward you into a jealous boyfriend persona.

You mother visibly stiffens. “This is a formal event,” she says sternly, giving him a horrified look. “There will be no such altercations.”

Bradley lets out a contemptuous chuckle, sticking his hands into his pockets before balling them up into fists. “That’ll be up to Steven, ma’am.”

Read Part VI

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lovelytsunoda · 2 years

Text

what makes you beautiful // daniel ricciardo

summary: as contract season approaches and his future with mclaren isn’t so clear any more, daniel retreats to the austrian alps for some soul searching, where he meets a jaded woman who was left at the altar and decided to weather her honeymoon alone.

pairing: daniel ricciardo x fem!reader

warnings: y/n is super cynical about love, mentions of sex, reader left at the altar, plot worthy of an adam sandler movie. gets pretty steamy (read daniel taking off readers old engagement ring with his teeth) but there’s no smut.

authors notes: it’s bittersweet tk be finishing the one direction series, but I cannot wait to bring you the katy perry series, kicked off by my debut george fic, teenage dream.

also fuk zak brown and his american ass, they never deserved daniel in the first place.

kitzbühel, austria. day zero.

“what’s a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?”

he didn’t know why he said it, the driver cringing internally as soon as the words left his mouth.

the woman turned to look at him, fractured segments of moonlight dancing over her hair as the breeze blew tendrils in her face. her delicate fingers clutched a half full glass of red wine, and daniel would have to be stupid to not see the ruby engagement ring on her hand.

which again begged the question: what was she doing outside, alone?

“drowning my sorrows and self pity on expensive wine.”

can’t fault her for that, danny thought to himself as he recalled his own reasons for retreating into the austrian alps.

“as good a reason as any. can I join you?” the australian asked, gesturing towards the chalets wicker patio set. tyrol was typically a winter destination for all the skiing one could accomplish, so the chalet was quieter in the summer months.

it was just what daniel needed.

the woman laughed, wrapping her slender fingers around the neck of the wine bottle, hefting it out of the plastic ice bucket. it was more than half full.

“can’t drink this all by myself now, can I?”

the two sat next to each other on the well-loved furniture, unaware of the hustle and bustle occurring inside the chalet as the last of the night owls danced away to nineties club music that shook the log cabin walls.

“my father always said that a problem shared is a problem halved.” the woman remarked offhandedly, filling an extra wine glass for daniel. “penny for your thoughts?”

where to begin? especially since the media coverage of his mclaren contract woes was so prominent in the mainstream media, if he had finally met someone who wasn’t going to recognize his face he didn’t want to throw that away so easily.

“I still have another year on my work contract, but my boss just gave it to somebody else. he’s trying to force me out with an exit clause.”

“shit.”

“right, now you.”

she sighed, taking a sip from her wineglass. “seems pretty personal to tell to somebody who doesn’t know my name.”

“then tell me.” the mclaren driver encouraged “I’m daniel.”

“y/n” she answered quietly after a moment of hesitation. “this was supposed to be my honeymoon. he left me at the altar.”

daniel choked on his wine. “shit! that kind of outweighs my shit, makes it sound insignificant”

“no, don’t worry. we all have our issues and they all affect us differently. it wasn’t derek’s fault, I should have warned him that my family was crazy before they all flew in for the wedding. he got cold feet and left me there the night before.”

“he sounds like a dick.”

y/n sighed. “he’s not. he was just scared, I think. forever didn’t mean the same thing to him as it does to me.” she looked at her hands, at the small ruby on her ring finger. “is it stupid of me to keep wearing the ring?”

danny shook his head rapidly. “no, it’s not stupid. if anything, it means you still believe in love.”

“that’s a comforting thought. it’s gonna hurt tomorrow once all of the pre-planned couples activities start and I have to do them alone.”

“don’t do them alone.” some part of daniels soul aches for the jaded, cynical woman sitting next to him. the woman that thought she finally found the person she could spend her life with only to have it yanked away. “I’ll go with you. it’s not like I really planned ahead, and I could do with the distraction.”

maybe it was the wine. maybe she was desperate.

but letting daniel ricciardo be her fake newlywed husband for three weeks would end up being the best decision she ever made.

“yeah, okay. let’s see if you can last all three weeks. I hope you’re a good actor.”

day one.

y/n was waiting in the chalet lobby, fully prepared to have to weather the guided horseback tour in her own. she was slightly hungover and ready to throw in the metaphorical towel.

and then she saw him.

she just happened to catch the movement out of the corner of her eye, the last person she expected emerging from the elevator to come and join her by the glass doors where she had been waiting for the tour guide.

“you came?”

“psh, of course I did.” daniel grinned. “wouldn’t make my mother too happy to know that I abandoned a maiden in need.”

y/n rolled her eyes. “it’s just a stupid horseback tour. it’s a big group of people, I’m sure nobody would have noticed I was here alone.”

“come on sweetheart. that’s no fun.”

“sacred I’ll kick your ass?”

y/n laughed, catching the attention of everybody in the lobby, as well as daniels semi-hard cock. okay, so maybe the fact that y/n was ducking beautiful was part of the reason he had suggested helping in the first place.

“please, I took ten years of horseback riding lesssons.”

“and I grew up on a farm. your point?”

“touché. I think this is gonna be fun, don’t you agree, honey?”

daniel chuckled at the coy grin on y/n’s face as she said it, he could feel himself falling but couldn’t care less about stopping it.

he had three weeks before he had to think about his problems, and spending that time with a beautiful woman couldn’t hurt.

“now you’re laying it on a little thick.” he whispered, mouth close to her cheek so that it looked like he was giving her a kiss.

y/n could feel her heart rate pick up as soon as the driver leaned in, a feeling she thought she’d never feel again after derek.

and it scared her so much.

day five.

she thought she could handle it, thought she could go through with the couples activities alone, and then with daniel.

she thought she was over derek diamandis and his stupid face.

all it took was one visit to the chocolatiers to make her burst out into tears again when the tour concluded and the jovial austrian chocolate maker unveiled the heart shaped box, with the collection of luxury chocolates and caramels and everything in between, pink letters on each candy spelling out ‘congrats mr. & mrs. diamandis’.

as soon as she saw the box, y/n ran off into the street with tears streaming from her eyes, leaving a sputtering daniel to try and explain to the chocolatier that he had done nothing wrong, and that his ‘wife’ was just feeling overwhelmed and emotional.

which was true, just not in the sense that daniel was attempting to make it come across as.

“hey,” daniels soft australian drawl calmed y/n down, slowed her racing heart.

she always had found aussie accents sexy as fuck.

“are you okay? you kind of fell apart on me back there.”

y/n shook her head. “I thought I could do it but I was wrong. I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have tried to do this all without derek and his stupid soft boy face.”

she was taken aback at what daniel did next, with the australian pulling her in for a hug, allowing her tears to stain his alexisonfire shirt as she cried in his arms. there was something intimate about the way that he stroked her hair and held her close, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances.

and that’s because there was. it had only been five days, but the lines were already starting to blur between friends and someone that daniel could see himself with.

and good lord did that scare him.

day seven.

“you never actually said what you did for a living. actually, you know more about me than I do about you.”

daniel’s blood ran cold. he knew this moment would come, the moment he gave up his anonymity the goddess sitting across from him.

until she saw him differently.

“promise it won’t change the way you see me?” the aussie started, hesitation in his voice.

y/n chuckled “what, are you a male stripper or something? all magic mike and shit?”

daniel laughed, hearty and boisterous, sending shivers down y/n’s spine. “no. not yet, at least. if this contract falls through, that might be my fall back.”

“would that really be so bad with a body like yours.” she was wine drunk and didn’t know what she was saying, instantly wishing she could take the words back before things became awkward.

“I’m actually a formula one driver, and I have been since I was eighteen years old.”

the table was silent.

“are you being serious right now?”

“deadly. my current team is trying to replace me with the f2 champion from a few years ago. he seems like a good kid, but mclaren have honestly been treating me like shit all year. I thought I was safe, but I don’t know any more.”

“well fuck.”

“hey, that’s daniel ricciardo!” one of the restaurant patrons shouted, starting an avalanche of people to come running over to the couples’ table.

the chalets main restaurant was small on a good day, but during the crowded dinner time, even two or three people coming over to ask danny for a picture or an autograph felt like too much. daniel could feel his chest tightening with anxiety, doing his best to answer a few questions about his contract with mclaren and taking a few reluctant pictures before y/n finally snapped out of her stupor.

“babe,” she said loudly enough that the crowd beginning to come could hear. “I’m starting to get a migraine, can you walk me back to the room.”

at first, daniel was confused. she had seemed fine mere moments ago. but when he looked over and saw her mouth the words ‘play along’, the metaphorical lights went on in his brain.

“of course, darlin.” he drawled, getting to his feet and making a show out of helping y/n up from the table “sorry, guys. I’d love to stay and talk with you all,” not totally a lie “but my wife is feeling ill and I have to be with her right now, so I’ll see you guys around, yeah?”

once they were in the elevator and on their way up to y/n’s room, she raised her eyebrows.

“my wife is ill’? laying it on a little thick there lover boy.”

daniel managed a sly grin. “all I wanted was for them to leave us alone. I guess I did get a little carried away there, didn’t I?”

“it’s okay.” y/n giggled, reaching for his hand as they left the elevator “we still had to hold up my charade, and maybe you’ll be in the news for something other than contract news this time. on second thought, maybe don’t become a stripper. you’d get mauled on your first day.”

Daniel groaned “there’s no way I can explain this one to my PR manager. he’s gonna kill me.”

“he’s gonna have to go through me first.” y/n couldn’t win the smile off her face as she dropped daniel’s hand, extracting the room key from her clutch purse. “well, this is me.”

there was no mistaking the wistfulness in her tone as she knew this was where she and the driver needed to part ways.

“this last week has been incredible, daniel. how can I ever thank you enough for stepping up? it’s meant so much to me.”

daniel hesitated, moving half a step closer, attentive to every minuscule movement that y/n’s body made, the breath she sucked in when he moved closer.

“there is one thing.”

“and what’s that?” there was merely an inch of space between their bodies, laboured breathing filling the air as they stood there, too afraid to move.

too afraid to speak.

“kiss me.”

y/n certainly didn’t need to be told twice, fingers grasping desperately for daniels shirt, lips tangling with his as he took the room key out of her hand, clumsily opening the door as they both stumbled messily inside.

danny kicked the door closed behind them, not breaking away from y/n for a second as he steered their bodies towards the king sized bed, barely even registering that this was the honeymoon suite, where y/n should have been relaxing while derek diamandis made sweet love to her.

and now he got to do that instead, fingernails leaving scratch marks on his skin as y/n tore his shirt buttons open, one button flying off somewhere in the distance, her little white dress bunched up over her thighs when she landed, legs on either side of the mclaren driver.

“daniel, please..” she whined, the angelic sound going directly to the drivers cock, springing to attention in his tight white chinos.

“tell me what you need, baby. I’m right here.” he said softly, placing gentl kisses along her collarbone, relishing in every small movement she made under his touch.

“please, danny, I need you to touch me.”

his lust-filled gaze softened as he ran his fingertips over her soft cheek, tilting her head towards him as he kissed her deeply, moaning into the kiss as one of her hands tangled in her hair.

“I am going to treat you like the fucking goddess that you are. derek diamandis never deserved you in the first place.” his voice was husky as he took her hand in his, staring at the ruby ring.

he didn’t even think before dipping his head down and sliding his mouth over the finger, withdrawing the ring between his lips before spitting it out on the sheets.

“that was so fucking hot.” y/n breathed underneath him, breath hitching as she searched for friction between her thighs.

“well, you don’t need that wankers ring any more now, do you.”

“not one bit. now fucking get between my legs before I have to do this myself.”

“ah, sweetheart, we’re just getting started.”

days eight to fourteen.

y/n y/l/n was falling in love again, something that she never thought would happen after she had to cancel the wedding.

and it was like a total dream to fall in love the way she did, with an incredible man in one of the most beautiful countries she had ever seen.

the days following the night that they spent together were a whirlwind of hikes, couples massages, romantic dinners and nights spent between satin sheets.

but her favourite parts were the mornings that she spent on the balcony with daniel, wearing the plush terry cloth bathrobes from the chalet, mugs of warm drinks in their hands as they snuggled into each other to watch the sun rise.

she felt truly at peace, something she never thought she would feel again with another man.

she was sitting on daniels lap, his hand slipping inside the bathrobe to rub calming circles over the skin on her side as he pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her head.

“have you decided what to do about mclaren?” she asked softly, not wanting to pry.

“I asked zak to buy out my contract. I’m not gonna stay until the end of next season. but I don’t know where to go from there.”

“then we figure it out together.” y/n said softly, bringing daniels knuckles to her lips before snuggling back into his side, one finger gently tracing the beautiful inked tattoos on his arm.

“come to belgium with me.”

“what?” y/n sat up a little straighter, palm on daniel’s chest. “I still have a week of the pseudo honeymoon.”

“you can bail. wouldn’t you rather be at race weekend than here alone? I’ve enjoyed these last few weeks so much, and I don’t want that to end because I have to go back to mclaren.”

y/n was quiet, thinking it over in her head. but at the same time, what did she have to lose? she’d be going back home to an empty apartment, an unworn wedding dress and a table of wedding gifts she’s eventually have to open.

fuck it.

“I’ll do it. I’ll come to belgium with you. they probably already think we’re married, do you think we can keep the charade going a little longer?”

“hell yeah. I can’t wait to get you and my boss in the same room.”

“god, I’m gonna give that man and his fucking american ass a scolding into next week.”

daniel grinned, kissing her gently on the lips.

“I’m so happy that I met you.”

and he hoped deep down, that maybe someday she would be mrs ricciardo for real.

#lovelytsunodas one direction series #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x y/n #daniel ricciardo #formula one x reader #f1 imagine

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mxlfoydraco · 1 year

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hey! pretty new to the fandom and I’m looking for some specific fic that I cannot find through the tags on ao3. so I’m hoping you would be the place to ask, if not no worries <3 so I’m looking for drarry fic where they are at least 30 years old. like that's it, I just really love when they're older and find each other. if you happen to to know any good ones id love to hear. hope you have a good day!

I think they are 30 and/or over 30 in these but also the cut off can be iffy so be nice to me and nod along if there's a late 20s or sth in the mix

Make Me a Headline (I Want to Be That Bold) by @dictacontrion (31k)

Draco never expected to see Harry doing that again. Especially with someone else, in a grainy photograph that's landed on his desk one Monday morning.

Pocket Full of Starlights (Never Let It Fade Away) by @femmequixotic and @noeeon (46k)

When Scorpius Malfoy and Jamie Potter meet at Quidditch camp, they take an instant dislike to each other. Then they discover their lives are more connected than they could possibly imagine.

A Private Reason for This by @femmequixotic (92k)

When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn't expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, endangering not only his case, but also his heart.

The One You Feed by @sweet-s0rr0w (10k)

Draco's been a werewolf for almost twenty years now, and he's an expert in helping new werewolves adapt to the change. He's seen it all before - or so he thinks, until his newest client, a recently turned Harry Potter, arrives on his doorstep.

Paper Rings by @lettersbyelise (50k)

When Harry’s in need of a divorce lawyer, he has no choice but to turn to the best in the trade. Draco Malfoy’s reputation for discretion is flawless, and his track record for winning cases is close to perfect. But he’s also ruthless, passionate, and as infuriating as ever, and the brief relationship he and Harry had in Eighth Year still feels painfully fresh despite two decades spent apart. What Harry and Draco used to be is all in the past. And surely they can work together in these new, emotionally charged circumstances without falling in love all over again… can’t they?

Number Seven by sara_holmes (253k)

Harry already has small children, an ex-wife, annoying colleagues and an international crime ring to deal with. So when Draco Malfoy reappears after eight years AWOL in France, of course Harry is going to leave him well alone… Right?

Turn by Saras_Girl (306k)

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

Blood and Fire by @lqtraintracks (44k)

Harry has spent the last twelve years in Romania, not returning to England as often as he knows he should. It's complicated. But when Ginny asks him to be her best man and help her plan her wedding, he can't say no. Having a reckoning with his choices, with himself, won't be easy. To say nothing of seeing Draco again.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl (114k)

Professor Malfoy’s world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

Historians by @oknowkiss (29k)

It’s the Dumbledore’s Army Reunion Holiday, and Harry’s found himself in hot water with his friends once again, after telling them he has a boyfriend he definitely does not have. In an attempt to fix things, he’s made it his colleague on Level Nine, Draco Malfoy’s problem too. Featuring a ski chalet in Switzerland, a pair of bunk beds, and an agreement that should’ve been simple, were it not for all the bloody feelings getting in the way.

Take a Sad Song (And Make it Better) by @femmequixotic (48k)

The last thing Harry wants is to lose his kids.

Albus Getting Married by @violetclarity(6k)

Albus and Scorpius are getting married, and they’ve put Harry and Draco in charge of the reception. Which is fine with Harry. Really, it is. He’s not holding on to childhood grudges anymore...but he can’t stop thinking about that one kiss. And dating your son’s fiancé’s father is really, really not on.

The Wonder of You by @ladderofyears (72k)

A Family Man AU. In the year 2000, Harry left Draco behind in London, intent on America and Quidditch fame and never looked back. Thirteen years later, Harry gets the opportunity to see what his life could have been like, had his life unravelled in a different way. Nothing in Harry’s world is the same, but Harry soon comes to realise that fatherhood, marriage and the biggest, laziest Crup in Hogsmeade add to up a life he enjoys more than he could ever have imagined.

The Man Who Lived by @e-sebastian (253k)

Draco breaks a cup, and one thing leads to another. A story of redemption, tattoos, dreams, mistakes, green eyes, long conversations, and copious amounts of coffee.

Set in New York twelve years after the war.

Burn the Witch by @lettersbyelise (95k)

When Harry Potter is sent in to investigate Draco Malfoy’s successful potions company, posing as Draco’s bodyguard, he doesn’t know the case will launch a series of events that will change his life — and Draco’s.

A story about choices, scars, Chopin piano pieces, and finding all kinds of love in the most unexpected places.

Are You Mine? series by gracerene (91k)

A trilogy of fics set in an Epilogue-Compliant Harry Potter 'Verse, with various accompanying time-stamps and one-shots. Fics are in chronological order.

*They are first together younger and then get back together later

Shibboleths by @lol-zeitgeistic (109k)

Muggle Immersion co-Professor Harry Potter spends his days hanging with his son, reading to his “dog,” teaching magical kids about the internet with his cousin Dudley, and irritating Snape’s portrait. He’s understandably annoyed when his cosy life is interrupted by the Headmistress hiring on Draco Malfoy to be Hogwarts’ new Ancient Magical Cultures and Spellcasting professor. But then the explosion happens, and it turns out they’ll all need Malfoy’s knowledge if they want the magical world to survive. The one with the scary things and Professor Dudley.

when by now and tree by leaf by @aibidil (46k)

When Scorpius Malfoy is saying goodbye to his dying mother, he doesn't expect to hear her confess, "Your father slept with another man and became pregnant with you." Grappling with his grief and his identity, Scorpius sets out to discover his other father, who it turns out has a lighting-shaped scar and no idea that Scorpius exists.

When Times are Dire by @aibidil (130k)

Magical Britain is screwed, and it’s once again up to Harry to save it. This time, by marrying Draco Malfoy.

Father of the Bride by November Snowflake (29k)

Harry’s little girl is getting married, and the identity of her chosen suitor is about to open up a world of complications—for better and for worse.

Harry Potter and the Great Cat Caper by @kbrick (78k)

Harry's lonely in the aftermath of his divorce. Except for the weekends that he has the kids, Harry's cooking gourmet meals for one in his big, empty farmhouse, with only his seven cats for company. Until, that is, Harry finds Al and Lily playing with Scorpius Malfoy in the front yard, and learns that Draco Malfoy is his closest wizarding neighbor. Oh, and also, Harry's favorite cat is stolen (multiple times!) by someone who had the audacity to put a sparkly pink collar on her, with a nametag that reads "Plumeria Seraphin Snugglybug". These things (Malfoy and the cat-snatching) may or may not be related. Featuring: a cat-loving Harry who loves to cook, has playdates with Pansy Parkinson, and tends to rap when he's wasted, and good-dad Draco Malfoy who's still a prat, albeit an irritatingly attractive and charming one. Also featuring: a slew of adorable children, a stolen cat named Stormy, copious amounts of sexual tension, divorce betting pools, amoral yet charismatic Slytherins, peeping-tom Harry, foot massages given while under the influence, Harry's first time with a bloke, and did I mention cats?

More Than That by joosetta (10k)

This is a story about two 52 year old men who refuse to age gracefully.

Harry Potter and the elusive day off by @fuckyoupbk (71k)

Auror Potter needs a fucking break. He is wiped. He is exhausted. He probably didn't intend to put himself into a magical coma but these things happen. And who cares, really? He is comfortable in a house where he has hidden away all the shit he can't deal with. Guaritore Christopher Black is an exceptional psychiatrist with a specialisation in sleep disorders. He is also Draco Malfoy in a Glamour. Minister Hermione Granger knows the dangers and the complications, but she needs her best friend back.

And, On The Other Side, A Welcoming Voice by @blamebrampton (38k)

For twenty years, the official history has told readers that Harry Potter died at the Battle of Hogwarts. The next edition is going to require some significant revisions.

Shine, Even in the Darkness by @raitala (41k)

Harry hasn’t seen Draco for over fifteen years, but now he’s showing up everywhere and Harry is sort of weirdly attracted to him, but that can’t be right?

Across the Multiverse by @hsvh-hp (108k)

Thirteen years after the war, Draco Malfoy is quite happily tucked away in the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable. When an Auror disappears through a broken Vanishing Cabinet, it presents the perfect opportunity for Draco's research to finally graduate beyond theory. Unfortunately, Harry Potter will also be along for the ride.

I Do Not Love You by Writ_and_romance (228k)

In 2013, a carefully-designed Obliviation leaves Harry reconfiguring his life and identity without any memories of true love; an act that’s essentially erased Draco Malfoy from his mind despite a wedding band and shared home. In 2000, Draco had expected Pansy’s relationship with Luna to bring the Gryffindors a bit closer to his orbit of quiet, carefully pacifistic existence, but he never expected to navigate such a transparent embrace into a unit of family, friendship, and love. A mystery, two love stories, and a reminder that learning to love never has an end date.

The Strongest Affinity by @eidheann (17k)

Trouble finding a wand for Scorpius leads Harry and Draco to something they never imagined. Career Choices: Harry: Wandmaker; Draco: Single Father/Hermit

The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things by @writcraft (63k)

Harry has terrific friends, an amazing girlfriend and his job as Head Auror enables him to work on challenging cases and Ministry reform. He just wishes he could work out why he’s been so out of sorts. When Draco Malfoy is arrested for gross indecency, Harry’s comfortable life begins to unravel. He’s forced to decide if it’s worth risking everything for love in a world where following his heart is a criminal offence.

The Kisses Don’t Count, If No One Else Knows by oldenuf2nb (41k)

Minister for Magic Harry Potter does not love his job. The one bright point in his life is his secret relationship with Quidditch Super Star Draco Malfoy. When they're 'outed' by a peeping tom with a camera, Harry has to decide what's really important.

The Stars Have Courage by @fantalfart (85k)

Draco waited five long years to watch his husband wake up from a coma. He's not ready to meet a Harry with no memory of anything that happened after he died at The Battle of Hogwarts, twelve years ago.

Dwelling on Dreams by @the-sinking-ship (135k)

Draco thought he could avoid Potter for the duration of his brief return to England. He’d stick to his schedule and be back home in Paris, where he belonged, in a few short months. No trouble at all. He had plenty to occupy him, what with the opening of the London branch of his successful apothecary, his innovative research, drinks with Pansy, a backlog of unread potions periodicals. Except Head Auror Potter is everywhere — in Draco’s chair, at his door, in his dreams. All six feet of motorbike-riding, combat-boot-wearing, sex-hair-sporting Saviour of the World packed into one unfairly fetching uniform. Potter won’t leave Draco the bloody hell alone, won’t let him breathe, let him forget, let him sleep. Because no matter how fast Draco Malfoy runs, Harry Potter is always hot on his heels.

#drarry #drarry fic rec #drarry fic recs #drarry reclist #30 and over #draco malfoy #harry potter #drarry recs #drarry fic

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simplegenius042 · 5 months

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A very late WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @g0dspeeed @adelaidedrubman @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat and @cassietrn

Tagging @strangefable @carlosoliveiraa @shallow-gravy @minilev @wrathfulrook @josephslittledeputy @nightbloodbix @derelictheretic @deputyash @deputy-morgan-malone @inafieldofdaisies @ec-10 @ladyoriza @vampireninjabunnies-blog @voidika @onehornedbeast @thewanderer-000 @softtidesworld @snake-in-the-garden @corvosattano @henbased @neverthesameneveranother @chazz-anova and @strafethesesinners

Here are three WIPs, each from Far Cry The Silver Chronicles, A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore and Life, Despair & Monsters. Read below the cut.

TW: Harsh and heavy cursing, mentioned/implied character and general death of NPCs (either it be a time loop or a cybernetic homicidal monster around nine or ten feet tall and very pissed off). Implied mentioned sexual content, mentions of abuse and fantastical racism (against ghouls, Jericho leave Gob alone!). Mentioned prostitution and fantasies of murder (illegal but understandable).

First WIP is for the time loop/"Groundhog Day" FC5 AU fic called You're Almost Like Family where the Seeds are stuck in a, well, time loop. And whenever Silva (or the Seeds themselves) die, well, the days are reset. Funniest part is, none of the Seeds know that they are all in a loop, just their individual selves. Snippet below:

[John] slammed the entrance to his chalet shut, causing the blonde figure sorting his papers in his lounge to jump. The documents slipped out of her hands as she stood up with a hand to a holster, only to calm down when she realized it was him.

Noticing that the reports laid scattered on the floor, Nadi gave him a stink eye, gesturing to the papers.

John would have been apologetic if he simply didn't have time for this. Ironic given the predicament he was stuck in.

Sooner or later, the Deputy is going to end up dead, and he'll be back at square one... again.

The thought reignited his frustration, but he reigned in enough to examine his number two.

Nadi was a loyal member of the project, more faithful than Jacob's hound, and while they did butt heads sometimes, he was grateful for her presence and for her strategic input. Admittedly, John knew that without her, the Deputy would have gotten to him sooner rather than later.

I would have preferred not to have to had died to appreciate it.

"Once you finish with those, come meet me upstairs in my bedroom. There's something I need to discuss with you," John ordered smoothly, making his way to the stairs.

He didn't notice the confusion etched on the blonde's face, for John was already making his way up the stairs to his room.

It's times like these I wish I could have a shot of tequila, he thought to himself, walking over to the open bedroom window and closing it shut, pulling the lock down.

Next, he grabbed a torch light and shined it at the closet. Hearing nothing, he walked towards it and opened the doors. Empty.

Finally, John turned off his torch, knelt down, and swiftly rolled it harshly under the bed. Hearing no grunts, he looked under.

She's not under there... good.

John exhaled a huff of air, and sat on the edge of his bed as he put his hands over his face.

It was exhausting. Though John knew by the end of today, or the next two if he was lucky, the Deputy would be killed by something or another and he would be back at square one, he really needed to figure out how to reach out to her, without being shot.

Going to her too early leaves her shooting first and questioning the morality of it never, and trying to go to her late only ends up with her being killed by whoever it is she seems to have evoked the wrath of. Not that he thinks she doesn't entirely deserve it.

He needed guidance, and from his last conversation with Joseph, his brother seemed content with sitting by and letting God do his work.

And he tried. To wait it out. To let God do His work. But if the sign that John seemed to be getting was that leaving the Deputy to her own accord only leads to her death, and back to the morning of Joseph's arrest.

And it wasn't like Jacob, or worse, Faith, were going to be helpful.

John had figured out quickly that his intervention was needed for the Deputy to even get through another day. And while the Father may not have understood what he told him, John deduced that this was a test from God.

A test against his sloth. A test towards his patience. A test meant to prove that John was worthy of entering Eden. And what better way than to save the life and soul of another? Especially one as sinful and wrathful as the Deputy?

Which is why he waits for the only other faithful member of the project, his trustworthy second-in-command.

A knock on the door shifted his thoughts to the matter at hand, and he made his way to the door.

Opening it, Nadi stood there, the blond looking at him with expecting brown eyes.

John pulled her inside, earning a yelp from the young woman, and closed the door behind her.

Here's a WIP for a collection of short fics from different character perspectives throughout my Fallout fic series A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore. It is still under heavy editing, but I've got a good grasp on where to take it. Snippet below:

In the five of the twenty four hours she's been awake, Nova had expected more-or-less the same day as before.

Walking around and offering her body to anyone who came into the saloon had not been a life she pictured for herself as a little girl, but it was one that paid well.

Well, it would have been if Moriarty didn't continue to take a cut of her and Gob's pay any time a customer gave them a generous donation.

That and the amount of times Moriarty had utilized her services with no intention of paying her, but she supposed it was a better alternative to being kicked out of Megaton. Given Moriarty still had that power.

She drew in the smoke from her cigarette, and surveyed from her post as Gob gave another orange bottle of whiskey to Jericho, the ex-raider sneering at the ghoul, his disgust evident all over his face.

Thankfully he didn't make a scene, slamming the small bag of caps on the counter as he left through the door.

Gob stared at the bag, string noose tied tightly around the bag, not immediately grabbing it. Nova could take a guess that Gob was lamenting over the debts that he owed Moriarty. Debts both the prostitute and the ghoul bartender wordlessly knew their boss was unlikely to pay.

Gob snapped out of it though, giving a miserable sigh, and dragging the bag away from the counter for Moriarty to pocket later, turning his attention to the damn radio that never seemed to play at the right time.

It pained Nova to see Gob like this. He was a real sweetheart with shitty luck, and she knew that the only upsides in his life were the hope of one day paying off his debts, however unlikely that was, and the Gravity News Radio host screaming out "fighting the good fight", whatever that entailed.

She was also painfully well aware of his crush on her.

Though she never had minded his appearance to the point she'd hang out with him in public, given how much she knows the ghoul is actually a decent guy, she had her limits, which was rare given her current standing under Moriarty.

She hoped he could find some semblance of happiness, whether that be with a person or a life long after Moriarty was rotting in the ground. But it wouldn't be with her.

If things were different though...

Nova looked away from Gob, shaking the thought away. It didn't matter on the what ifs, right now she had a job to perform.

She could ponder a different time.

Just as Gob began to smack the radio, a risky action given Moriarty's repeated threats on treating his property harshly, the saloon door creaked open, and Nova spotted two teens enter. One male, the other female. Both wearing what appeared to be blue jumpsuits with the numbers "101" imprinted in yellow on their backs.

Nova eyed them both. The young man was of average build, short auburn hair cut neatly with a few strands springing out from the harshness of the wasteland most likely, and light brown eyes on the lookout for anyone and anything.

The young woman on the other hand had dark hair tied in a pony tail, was a little chubbier than her counterpart, and her hazel eyes were more focused, trying to narrow down a specific person.

They glanced back to the door, whispering amongst themselves, though not too quiet that she couldn't catch their words.

Amongst the harsh gravel Gob spat out at the poor radio, and the chatter amongst the patrons, Nova could decipher the words "here" "back outside" and "think she'll stay?" in hushed voices.

And finally Jennifer putting murder on her mind to the back burner as she remembers to drop, duck and cover my WIP of Sonya's Push. Snippet below:

Breathing heavily as she pushed her way through the audience as they gazed upon the newest arena fight between beasties, the bruises formed from her fight with Malvolio's bitch protesting against her movements.

The blonde looked back to the closed elevator door on the other side, paranoid that Malvolio's Beastie would burst through at any moment.

The speed of it had been abnormal, disappearing in a blink and being nothing more than a flicker of movement when it had slid down to the hall. The movement of its tail daggers swift and deadly, like her own claws. The red in its one eye, more robotic than flesh.

Why had Dicko approved such a thing? It barely counted as a beastie with the mass of metal it was made of! Jennifer huffed, and around the arena, looking pass the patrons in search of Dicko.

Her blue eyes spotted the Englishman on a lower circle, himself seated down on his VIP sofa that she once shared with him, disheveled but celebrating his escape with a glass of disgusting champagne, like the pig hadn't just left her to die to that one-eyed mech of a beast. As if the reason it was free in the first place wasn't because he allowed his creep of a "buddy" onto his premises, or the fact Sir Enigma might be a fucking alien in addition to a Darwinist with no care for the fact "handing control" did not mean "releasing the Beastie from its brainwashing bullshit".

She felt the razor claws pushing through her fingertips as she glared at the man from across the arena, anger and betrayal clouding her mind.

Those fantasies of killing him while in his bed resurfaced, and she oh so wanted to enact them now, with the sofa as an acceptable exception.

She wanted to get her claws through his throat before the Beastie could make its way down to the arena. She tried to move pass the cheering audience, making her way around to the other side to get to the stairs.

However much she tried though, a block of people just refused to move aside, and she was tempted to slice her way through if it weren't for the guards.

Ding!

...Or the faint noise of the elevator door that echoed throughout the arena, deaf to everyone but her.

Frozen in place as she looked back, trying to get a glimpse of the beast that would no doubt tear them apart.

She pushed people aside to get a solid look. Enough people disbanded to show the doors opening to reveal the empty box of the elevator.

Jennifer's face scrunched in confusion, mouth gaping open and shut, lips stinging as the cut on her upper lip made contact with her bottom one. She desperately searched for any sign of the beast, the monster made of steel, the relentless creature that stalked and hunted her not moments ago.

Upon still seeing nothing, she let out a mirthless laugh as she turned her back to the elevator, shaking her head as she focused her attention on Dicko once more, the man a ring below talking with one of his guards.

It was with this focus that she noticed a... shift on the stone barriers that kept the audience at bay.

Large spots on the stone cracked, small dusts of powder dropping down as an unseen pressure was placed on the stone. She saw more of this dust from the next ring up, and then the next, and the next.

Up and up and further up until it stopped at the final ring. Then dust slowly dropped down from the roof, unbeknownst to the audience too invested on the violence happening between the two wild beasties below them. Not that the fight between those Beasties were anything special unlike what she saw from her hunter mere hours ago.

Jennifer felt some familiarity with this, words exchanged to her by the madman who released the Apex from its prison, a far too fond explanation on how the creature could "rush so fast it would be merely a flicker to the human eye!"

"...Or match its environment to disappear right before you," Malvolio explained, grinning at her with all his teeth.

Jennifer's eyes widened as she barely registered the outline of the beast that had adjusted its steel to uncloak itself while hanging from dark and dank ceiling. Red optic looking down to the cheers in the rings and the Beasties fighting under it.

She saw the tail split in three, and immediately followed her gut by making distance from the open space of the barriers.

She had just dropped flat onto the floor to curl up and cover her head when the she heard the wind and patron's necks crack in one simultaneous whoosh.

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