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#new chapter out sorry for the delay
vicsbasement · 1 month
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can't wait to soar (charlos, model!actor au)
chapter 1 - something we can build
chapter 2 - hey i'm just like you (a little messed up and blue)
chapter 3 - we could be so good
chapter 4 - a wandering heart
chapter 5 - chapter 44
Lewis didn't deserve a coward, but Carlos couldn't pretend to be something he was not.
A flashback to the past, where we see the beginning and the end of Lewis and Carlos' relationship. Note: the rating went up a notch so mind the new rating and tags!
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ceilidho · 5 days
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take me home, country road
[ao3]
You have nothing on your person apart from a hastily packed suitcase and the dress you came into town wearing, on the run from trouble back home. Too bad John's missing a bride that matches your description. Or: the 1800s (mistaken) mail order bride au (chapter 11)
first chapter >> last chapter
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Your heart could very well have stopped beating and you’d be none the wiser.
By now, you’ve experienced fear in all its varietals. The stomach churning and the latent, the languid; the swift moving silverfish slipping out of your grasp. The monstrous rising beast of it the day you turned around to find the master of the house turning the lock on the door and trapping you in with him. Then the delayed panic in the aftermath of bringing the bust down over his head and hearing his skull crack under its weight, the blood pooling around his body, almost aureole-like. Pondering the miraculous like, well, isn’t that just the devil of it. A halo for a man intent on your ruin.
 The fear washing over you now is entirely new though. Like a rapid exhalation. Of course you were right all along . Right to expect the devil showing up on your doorstep. The weeks of silence had imbued you with a sense of confidence. An arrogant, undeserved confidence that whispered in your ear to let your guard down. 
But you know now that the world is not large enough to hide in. It is a wasteland of false prophets and false directions. There are no second chances.
The only consolation is the silence from the man behind the counter as he studies the warrant. You imagine him standing there giving it a good once over, his face maybe scrunching up as it calls to mind the woman that just walked through his door. You wonder if they thought to add a sketch of your likeness, whether there’ll be a woman on the warrant that looks an awful lot like you. 
You stay put behind the shelf though, not risking so much as a peep. 
“Any information you might have would be much obliged,” Graves says, trying to coax an answer out.
After a few more seconds, the shop attendant answers with a rueful, “Can’t say I have, sir. You want me to leave this with the sheriff?”
Graves breathes out through his nose in frustration. “Now, are you positive about that? Take a closer look—I don’t mind waitin’ a bit longer for you to sift through your memories. I’m sure a town as big as this must get passersby from time to time.”
“No. I’m sorry, sir, but I’m certain. Never seen a woman fitting this description or name. Couldn’t even tell you the last time we had a stranger come through town and stay longer than a day.”
“I see.” It’s hard to tell whether Graves takes him at his word or not. The aura of menace that the man exudes suggests that anything said to him might rouse his suspicions. That they’ve already been roused, in fact. It makes even you second guess the man behind the counter, wondering if perhaps he knows and simply stays his tongue. 
“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Still want me to pass this along to the sheriff?”
The floorboards creak under his feet when Graves takes a step back. “If you don’t mind. Been having the darndest time tryin’ to track down the man and, frankly, I’ve got other obligations. I do appreciate your time though.”
You stay hidden behind the shelf, listening to the sound of the spurs on his boots rattling as he leaves. The chime on the door jingles when it slams shut. You flinch at the sound. For a minute after his departure, you wonder if the door will burst back open and he’ll come crashing in, heading straight for the back to haul you out by your hair.  
A minute passes and nothing happens. The floor beneath you still feels like it might give out at any moment.
When you take your first step, the nausea comes rushing up. 
“Mrs. Price,” the shop attendant says, perking up at the sight of you coming out from behind the shelf. “I forgot you were still here.”
You feel like an automaton or a ball-jointed doll, your movements stiff as you approach him. Morbidly curious as to what you’ll see on the warrant spread out on the counter separating the two of you. When you look down, your breath comes shuddering out. 
The sketch on the paper does bear a passing resemblance to you, but only if you squint. Nothing that anyone could point to and claim with certainty that it depicts you. Underneath the sketch, you balk when you see your real name. It’s jarring to even look at. Though you’ve gone most of your life answering to it, the past few weeks have disabused you of any connection to it. Now, you feel permeable, malleable—a substance that has been reshaped into something new. That girl on the warrant is gone now. Done and dusted. So detached from memory that even the sketch of her depicts someone else, proves false. 
Still, you’re shaken by how close he’d gotten. Supposing Graves had come in while you’d been within sight. Supposing he’d looked you in the eye and asked you directly, and you’d stuttered under his sharklike gaze and drawn further scrutiny. You almost can’t believe how close it’d grazed you. The sharp edge of fate like a blade now sheathed again. 
“Would you mind taking this to the sheriff?” he asks, not realizing the gift he’s given you. “I’m a bit tied up minding the shop.”
You nod wordlessly and take the folded up warrant from him.
It burns red hot in your hands when you step outside. You glance around nervously, unsure as to whether Graves had stuck around to question more people. You wouldn’t be surprised if he were still within earshot. 
You waver in the street with the folded piece of paper tucked in your hands. A horse pulling along a cart laden with firewood creaks as it passes, rousing you from the trance you’d fallen into. You flinch, raising a hand to shield your eyes from the sun. It’s blinding suddenly. A clear sky, the clouds long since taken away by the wind. 
John could be anywhere at this time of day. Despite the fear curdling in your belly, you can’t help the knee jerk reaction to go to him. That’s precisely what you don’t want to do though. You don’t want to be around the county sheriff on the day a bounty hunter came into town looking for you. 
A crow sitting on the roof of a building across the street caws and flaps its wings, taking off into the sky. 
You want to be anywhere but in town waiting anxiously for John to come find you. You don’t want to lay eyes on him and see that he’s found you out. The thought of John finding out about the man you killed back east is beyond contemplation. It nearly has you keeling over in the middle of the street. You can hardly bear the thought. How could you bear to live a moment beyond that, withering under his disapproval? His contempt? 
You don’t think you can.
Every shadow fills you with dread. A barmaid comes out to toss a bucket of dirty water in the alley and you flinch like you’ve been caught. You keep your head down as you walk, eyes straight on the ground. Someone calls out your fake name and you ignore them. 
Your instinct, as usual, is to run. Abscond from the scene of the crime. Even if the thought hurts. Even though you’d let yourself begin to hope that the times of trouble had passed you by. That perhaps you could’ve made a home out here in the middle of nowhere. You should have known that those dreams were just that. You should have known better than to want. These days, it is dangerous to long for anything.
It’s better if you fade from memory like a bad dream, you think when you spot Buttercup fixed to the post outside the sheriff’s office. Better if they think of you with a bad taste in their mouth and nothing more. A girl that came and stole their sheriff’s heart and his horse and then vanished into the night. 
When one of her black eyes fixes on you, you still in your advance. A horse can’t possibly read your intentions, but you feel like she does somehow. Like she knows you intend to take her and flee. She shifts, hooves coming up and back down, and you swallow the saliva pooling in your mouth suddenly, nerves taking on. You won’t let yourself be ruled by them though. There are bigger things to fear.  
“Come on, Buttercup,” you whisper, hesitating before smoothing your hand down her nose. You flinch when she nickers. “I just—I need you to help me, okay?”
It’s an outrageously bad idea. Even to you that’s obvious. You don’t have nearly enough experience riding solo or even with John trailing behind you on another horse to help offer correction if you falter on your own. You’re blinded by fear though, practically shaking as you undo Buttercup’s lead from the post outside the sheriff’s office. 
You’re clumsy trying to hoist yourself up onto her without John to boost you up and hold you steady. It takes a couple of tries before you manage to swing your leg over, and you curse under your breath when your dress bunches up around your waist, exposing the bare flesh of your legs. There aren’t many people roaming the street, fortunately for you.
Buttercup resists at first when you tug lightly on the reins to guide her away. She stomps her foot when you try again, giving a light whinny. Panic seizes you, a coil in your belly. You’ve only ever ridden her before with John at your side; you wonder if she’ll even listen to you in his absence or if even she can tell you’re about to do something foolish and wants nothing to do with it. 
“Please, girl,” you beg. “I promise—I’ll figure out some way to get you back.”
On the third attempt, she finally listens. The way she abruptly breaks into a fast trot nearly sends you toppling over. You catch yourself by clutching the horn, tight enough that your knuckles ache. Your forehead breaks out in a nervous sweat. Buttercup covers ground fast, and without John sitting behind you like a silent sentinel, you feel control slip out of your slippery hands, clammy with sweat too. 
“Whoa, girl,” you breathe, trying to calm her by stroking a hand down her neck. 
It does precious little to calm her down. You remember something John once said about animals smelling fear. They know it like your name. 
You lose control of her fast. Almost in the blink of an eye, you go from steering Buttercup towards John’s house to holding on for dear life. Your body rocks with hers and you’re forced to tighten your thighs around her midsection when she breaks into a gallop, your hands still clinging tight to the reins. Her hooves kick up dust and dirt in her haste, sending it flying behind you. 
“Slow down!” you shout, but the words are swept away by the wind, already behind you. 
Not once have you ever ridden a horse at this speed. Your direction seems like more of a suggestion to Buttercup, and not one she’s inclined to take. The town rapidly vanishes behind you, the vegetation sparse for the first few hundred yards, arid scrubland scorched by the sun and fed off of by the horses and mules coming in and out of town. The sun beats down hot on your head, no hat to shield you from the heat.
You can’t imagine you would’ve been able to hold it down though, you think wildly, mind still in a flurry of panic. It would’ve flown right off ages before. 
Your breath comes out in hitched pants as you clutch with all your might to the horn of the saddle, your hands soon transferring to her mane for better purchase. Buttercup moves like a rogue wave beneath you, like something sailors only speak about in hushed whispers. She takes a wide arc around John’s property, heading towards the mountains instead, and no amount of trying to steer her with your legs seems to work. 
Your head whips back to watch the house pass, the dark shape of it sailing past you, and it nearly causes you to lose your balance. Looking back in front of you only makes it worse. Panic courses through you when you stare ahead only for the world in front of you to spin. Bile creeps up your throat. You swallow it back, but only just.
The half-formulated plan you’d had in mind is long gone. All you can focus on now is remaining astride the horse beating dirt under you. Any thought of bringing her to a halt dissipates. Even the thought of escape evaporates into thin air. 
Only when you feel Buttercup slow to a trot do you peel open your eyes. The breath you let out as you look around is short, panic still churning in your guts.
Over the weeks since John married you and took you home, he’s taken you through the mountains a fair few times, familiarizing you with the land to the best of his abilities in such a short amount of time. But the wilderness stretches far and the terrain beyond John’s homestead is rough, treacherous. 
When you look around, you realize that you don’t recognize this part of the mountainside. 
The trail Buttercup takes you down is cut haphazard into the landscape—a crude, handmade path, not one seared into the ground from frequent travel. It feels distinctly wilder than where you’ve been before. Your head swivels around as you try to look for something that might jog your memory. The striated mountainside tells you nothing. The trees out this deep into the mountains are thicker and older, gnarled root systems bursting up from the earth and coiling around the nearby rocks like snakes winding around their prey. 
You sit up a bit straighter, still shaking when you rub your hand down Buttercup’s neck. “You know where we are, girl?”
She puffs out a breath.
That tells you nothing, but she keeps going down the same path deeper into the woods. No amount of squeezing your thighs or patting her neck gets her to stop. You should be thankful that she’s at least no longer sprinting, that you can actually sit up and catch your breath now, but the fear from earlier is but a paltry shadow compared to that which is brewing in you now. 
Every crick and snapping twig makes your head spin round. You stare intensely past the treeline, searching for the barest hint of motion. You don’t know much about these parts, but you know that this is no place for a woman by her lonesome. Even a man on his own out here might feel jumpy. This far out of the way, only cougars and bears take refuge, and the odd band of outlaws making camp for the night and taking advantage of the relative isolation this far out west. 
“Come on, girl, we can’t be out here,” you whisper, leaning closer to Buttercup to hopefully muffle your voice. Even as low as you speak, it still seems to echo.
You don’t know where you’re meant to go though. In the flurry of panic that had come over you at Graves’ arrival, you’d bolted without thought. Without a compass or map, you’re as good as lost in the unsettled land deep in the mountains. 
As that reality dawns on you, you realize that you haven’t had a drink of water in quite some time. 
An hour must pass with Buttercup stubbornly refusing to listen to your commands to turn back. Maybe longer. She resists even when you pull on the reins. In truth, you don’t blame her. Your commands come feeble, no strength behind them. The fear of being bucked off her back makes you soft. John would be gruff, unyielding—you can’t imagine him giving into fear.
That somehow upsets you even more. You can’t help but wish more than anything that he were here with you. 
The temperature drops as the sun begins to set. Without the sun beating down on you, you shiver in the cold air. There’s nothing to keep you warm other than the clothes on your back. Your lips smack when you part them, parched after hours without water. You haven’t stumbled across a river or stream in the hours since starting down this path.
Then, from behind you, you hear it. 
The name that isn’t yours. You don’t catch it at first until it comes again, louder this time. When you look over your shoulder and down the path behind you, John’s furious face stares back at you, his lips worked into a flat line. 
The way you gasp must spook Buttercup, because she abruptly breaks into a gallop, forcing you to hunker down and hold on. You want desperately to look back, torn between relief and distress, but you stare ahead instead. 
The black horse he rides gains on you fast, legs pumping beneath its massive body. It’s not a horse you’ve seen before. Maybe borrowed in his haste to chase after you. You don’t let yourself digest that thought though, too concerned with remaining astride. 
Despite its size, it collapses the distance between you two quickly, nearly on you now. Instinct has you leaning into Buttercup, trying to get as low as possible and let the air glide around you. Her gallop quickens into a sprint. You’re just holding on now, facing straight ahead, no chance of being more than a passenger on this trip. 
John shouts at you from your rear to bring Buttercup to a stop. You squeeze your lips together instead of shouting back that you can’t. If you open your mouth, you think your stomach will come straight out. 
Your body jostles around on top of your horse, on the verge of slipping off with every passing second. When she takes a turn too quickly down a trail leading up into the mountains and you slide a bit to one side on the saddle, only your foot in the stirrup catching you, your heart stops. Fear is ice inverted; poured over you. It drenches you in another layer of sweat that dries rapidly in the air whipping around you. 
Hot and cold. The ground seems to come towards you every time Buttercup’s legs kick up. Always on the verge of falling and breaking every bone in your body. You suck your tongue to the roof of your mouth so it doesn’t get caught between your clacking teeth and bitten right off. 
“Pull up on the reins!” John roars over the cacophony of stomping hooves. 
A glance to your right finds him close enough to graze with your fingertips. Your heart jumps in your chest.
“Pull up!” he shouts again, but all you can do is stare uncomprehendingly. 
You don’t know if he can see the terror in your eyes. It must be splayed clean across your face. He has to see the way his words mean nothing to you. Your panic effaces any meaning; all you hear is noise and anger pouring from his mouth, and trampled dirt and labored breath. 
When his horse pulls up alongside yours, he gets close enough to lean over and snatch the reins out of your hands. He pulls firm, tugging Buttercup’s head back until she almost rears up and you scream, hands fisting in her mane. 
Your body lurches forward when she comes back down, slumped over the saddle horn. It digs hard into your stomach. There’ll be a bruise there come morning, but nothing like the bruises that’ll bloom between your thighs. Even now the ache radiates down your body. You look up at the sound of John’s breath panting out like a bull, and he glares down at you with undisguised fury, the angriest you’ve ever seen him. 
“What in the blazes were you thinkin’?” he booms. Even the horse he sits astride shakes its head at the sound. “There’s nothing out here but outlaws and predators!”
The hand fisted in Buttercup’s reins pulls her closer, and he guides both horses into a slow trot and then to a stop. You can feel the way Buttercup’s ribs expand and contract under your legs. 
“Stop it— don’t touch me!” you snap when he reaches for you, smacking his hand away.
“Darlin’, if you get off that damned horse—” John warns, but you’re already swinging your leg over the saddle as the words come out of his mouth. 
You almost trip over the stirrup when you slide off Buttercup’s back and take off on foot. You fist the skirt of your dress in both hands to lift it as you run, letting it swish around you with the force of your strides. A curse and grunt come from back behind you. The sound of John’s boots hitting the dirt is loud, and when he chases after you, his boots pound into the earth.  
It’s a desperate last move, but all you can think is that you’d rather be anywhere else but in his arms. You’d rather take your chances with the wolves and bears in the woods, or with the bandits and brigands on the trails leading to the next town. 
You barely make it past the next tree before he barrels into you and takes you both to the ground, the world spinning as you fall down. He angles his body to take the brunt of the impact, but you still cry out when your hip hits the ground hard. The way he pulls you into his chest just barely keeps your head from slamming into a rock. 
“Goddamn it, woman,” John spits. “Where d’ya think you’re even going? There ain’t nowhere to run out here!”
Your head spins. When you open your mouth, all you can taste is rust and salt, sweat dripping off your upper lip. You can feel the heat of his chest against your back and he doesn’t give you a chance to gather your bearings before hauling you to your feet, tugging both of your arms behind your back. 
“Let me go!” you scream, trying to wrestle out of his hold to no avail. 
You know he doesn’t understand, but you can’t help the way you try to fight your way out of his hold. There’s no explanation that’ll make sense to him other than the truth, which you clamp tight in your chest. There's no telling if he already knows, if maybe Graves finally tracked him down or if someone else brought their suspicions to his attention, but you won't go spilling the truth yourself. 
He’s a solid mass behind you, breath labored from hours spent tracking you. You wonder if he noticed mere moments after you took Buttercup and left or whether he came back to the sheriff’s office only to find the two of you gone. 
John holds your wrists in one big hand at the small of your back and gives you a mean shake. “I don’t know what’s got you so riled up, but you better fix this attitude of yours and explain yourself before we get home or so help me God, I’ll take my belt to your ass.”
The mention of him belting your backside makes your hands go clammy, but you must have abandoned your common sense a mile back because your mouth keeps running. “I’ll gut you like a pig if you touch a hair on my head!” 
“We’ll just see about that,” he grunts, and you can hear the raw edged smirk in his voice and the anger behind it. 
When he leads you stumbling towards the horses waiting in the middle of the trail, you realize that capture had always been an inevitability in your mind. Maybe it even comes as a relief to know that the jig is up. 
You just hadn’t realized that it would be someone else hauling you back by your hair.
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haystarlight · 3 months
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What if mlp characters had Tumblr
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🌟 smartypants Follow
I have a princess conference in the morning but that won't stop me from staying up till 3 am on AO3. Mama needs her bedtime stories
🐉 ogres&oubliettesenthusiast Follow
OP go to sleep or I will eat your crown
2,008 notes
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🎈 smilesmilesmile Follow
All of you are like "would you fuck your clone?" hypothetically but, in practice, clones are too dumb to give consent and that's the real reason why I didn't sleep with any of my clones when I had the chance
🎈 totally-not-a-clone Follow
OP you still have a chance
10,000 notes
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✨ great&powerful Follow
It's always "take off the evil amulet! it's corrupting your mind!" and never "oh! you look so pretty in your new amulet!"
✨ great&powerful Follow
Celestia forbid ladies do anything
102 notes
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😏 sexiestvillaintournament Follow
🦋 Id-like-to-be-a-tree Follow
Um, would you guys please stop voting for my boyfriend?
🌪️ whatfunisthereinmakingsense Follow
I take it as a compliment
🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow
I am offended
500,467 notes
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🍎 cmc-omc Follow
Y'all know how some families got a gay cousin and all 'em other cousins are straight? Well mah family's the opposite. Ah don't even think we got a straight cousin!
🍎 cmc-omc Follow
Mah sister says we have to assimilate other ponies into our family so the family name don't die out. She would do numbers here
5,667 notes
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🌈 20%cooler Follow
GUYS I'M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYS
I've just been on the hospital (again) cause I got zapped by lightning (again)
But I promise I'll update my Daring Do/Reader fic as soon as I can! Thanks for the patience, love you guys!
🌟 smartypants Follow
It's okay, take your time! I'll just reread the old chapters in the meantime
🐉 ogre&oubliettesenthusiast Follow
NO!!! YOU WILL GO TO SLEEP!!!
120 notes
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💎 chicunique&maginifique Follow
"how are you so good at fashion" well you'd be an expert in fashion too if you'd spent 20 years in the closet
🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow
My sister in Celestia that closet was made of glass
20,354 notes
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🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow
Nothing like coming back from exhile just to find your bedroom was replaced by a whole ass forest
Some people have no respect for others belongings
☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow
I don't control the growing of the magical forest, bitch
🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow
Rude
☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow
Don't think I forgot about that time in 500 B.E. that you stole my ice cream
200 notes
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🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow
You can't hurt me I have mommy AND daddy issues I'm unstoppable
🌈 20%cooler Follow
OP do you need me to adopt you
🛴 the-agender-acrobat Follow
I would love that actually
1,554 notes
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💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow
*levitates my cat out of the way so I can use the sewing machine, which I need for my job*
my cat: YOU LIFT OPALESCENCE?!?!???! YOU LIFT HER WITH YOUR WICKED SORCERY?!??!!!! YOU ASSERT CONTROL OVER HER WITH YOUR MAGIC?!?!??! OHHHHH!!! MOTHER IS EVIL!!!!!
🔔 professional-theatre-filly Follow
I agree with the cat
1,827,654 notes
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🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow
Girlfriend is out of town all week so I'm gonna dye my mane and tail green
💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow
WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING
🥕 Carrot-TOPING Follow
She's all my self control
364, 245 notes
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🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow
Back in my day we tagged our fanfiction properly. There's a difference between / and & you rufians
☀️ cake.by.the.ocean Follow
Shut up old lady
🌘 I-have-loved-you-for-a-thousand-years Follow
YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME
30,150 notes
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🩵 girlboss Follow
Sure, sex is great but does *your* husband help you check all your shipping fanfiction for grammar errors? Didn't think so
💎 chicunique&magnifique Follow
She's everything, he's just Ken
🛡️ malewife Follow
Happy to be of service 🫡
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vendetta-if · 2 months
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Chapter 7 + Ash Hangout Public Update is now live! 🎉
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The Chapter 7 and Ash Hangout update is finally here 🔥😁 I'm sorry for the slight delay, I had something urgent to attend to today and I just got home and I just basically went straight to my computer to upload this update.
Finally, we are starting to get into the ROs' first hangout sessions. Of course, to start us off, we'll have Ash's hangout session 😁This update adds around 31K of new words, bringing the total word count so far to around 356,701K words!
Anyway, this update also brings quite a lot of changes in the coding, especially for the skip chapter function, so I'm going to strongly suggest you guys play with clean save, either from the beginning or using the skip chapter function.
I have recently added another skip-chapter checkpoint, which is Chapter 3 in addition to the already existing one on Chapter 6. There is also now an autosave function at the beginning of every chapter starting on Chapter 2, so you'll be able to replay any chapter you're currently reading and try out different options in that chapter.
Anyway, enough of the technicalities.
Here's what you can expect in this update:
The set up to the ROs'  first hangout sessions
Ash's first hangout session
Go down the memory lane and see snippets of MC's most cherished memories.
Some more Viktor 😔
A mix of angst, wholesome, and even potential fluff 🤭
🔥🧡😉
Ash/Rin poly route is not yet ready for this hangout and it's still work-in-progress 🙏
New stuff added to previous chapters:
Added autosave/reload function for Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, and Chapter 5.
Added another skip-chapter point to Chapter 3, in addition to the already existing Chapter 6.
Also, little news that I'm going to make a post of tomorrow, I'm about to open both the Side Story and Spicy Side Story ideas and suggestions for this month on both Patreon and Ko-Fi, so if you're interested in supporting me while also getting some exclusive stuff, please do consider checking out my pages and subscribing 💖
I hope you guys enjoy the update! Oh, and also, feel free to send asks about the new update, but I'll probably hold off on answering them until a few days have passed to make sure a lot of readers already have the chance to check out the update and not accidentally spoil them 😊
[DEMO] | [PATREON] | [KO-FI] | [DISCORD] | [COG FORUM]
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infamous-if · 1 month
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So sorry for the delay! ! My VS Code program wasn't calibrated with CSIDE and in the indentions basically messed up. The prologue coding is so wonky that honestly if I do anything I end up fucking up 2839393 lines of code. If you've been following a while, you're probably well aware of much hatred for the prologue's coding lmao but we live and we learn.
Storyline wise, not much has changed. Scenes are largely the same, since I'm pretty happy with what I wrote a year ago. For this rewrite, I focused mainly on the big things like choices that will impact the rest of the story and O's gender selection. Some new things include:
you can now play with Orion or Oriana Quinn
you can now express if the band went through a musical rebrand after seven and what the old genre was (which will come up later).
you can now choose whether mc "changed" after seven and what change that was (there's 4, technically 2, options and a "default" vague option, im open to more options since I wanted to do this but couldn't really think of any believable ones beyond the four).
new mc personality: attached vs detached. your mc can have an extra attachment to the band for obvious reasons, or can feel the opposite.
coordinating outfits can now be exclusive to the band members. your mc can be the unique unicorn of the group since they're the lead singer (this is definitely not gonna bite them in the ass later)
adding to that, your mc's reason for fame can be due to wanting to keep the band together.
a new flavor text feeling about seven is now added which is basically "idk how I feel" instead of hating or loving them, you can just make it that MC's feelings for them is just a big question mark. REALISM!
stat changes: stern/playful -- same thing as humorous/serious I just wanted words that encompassed a wider range of behavior Leader/follower - whether mc takes on the leader role or not camaraderie - a band stat that measures the trust/morale/closeness of the band
u can probably see where im going with the stats huh....
smaller changes include:
more choices and options
prose changes + dialogue additions and expanded/ added scenes
The beta testers have not touched this yet, as I wanted to bring it out to collect some last suggestions, ideas from Patrons. Of course, as always, if you do catch errors, please let me know.
My main concern for errors: O's pronouns. It was a long process but I may have missed a few pronouns here and there. Please let me know if you catch any <3
PROLOGUE: 93K WORDS (for context, the old prologue and chapter 1 were 92k together. The prologue is a tiny bit inflated but :))) 
I will make a post about beta testers soon. I've been quiet on that front because I've been just prioritizing getting this out first.
Now available for Band tier! (6$)
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omegasmileyface · 20 days
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im so fucked up. theres a scene in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (the sequel to hitchhikers guide) where zaphod is rummaging through the ruins of a long-destroyed city on a lifeless, abandoned planet, looking for a way off, and he stumbles upon the crumbling remains of a spaceport, and miraculously one of the crafts is still intact, and there's still a quiet hum of power going into it from a connected cable, and it's making a quiet noise. so he rigs up a makeshift stethoscope and listens, and there's a PA system saying something like "we are very sorry for the delay. we are currently waiting for a restocking on lemon-soaked towlettes, for your hygienic and culinary pleasure. in the meantime, we will be serving coffee and biscuits on the deck." and he finds the remains of the arrivals/deparetures board, translates the dates and does a little math, and discovers the delay has been 900 years. spooky, yeah? but he goes on the ship, hoping he can get it flying, and it's perfectly well-functioning and an android flight attendant comes out and tries to force him to sit in the seating area, continuing to apologize for the delay. and when he gets to the seating area, every seat has a person in it. long-haired, long-nailed, and completely silent, but very much alive. and another android comes out with a tray of coffee and cookies, and all of the people wake up and start screaming in agony as she gives them their snacks. zaphod is terrified, so he runs to the control deck and locks the door behind him, and he finds the autopilot computer, which repeatedly tells him to return to the seating area, and he eventually convinces it to talk to him. "have you seen the planet?" he says, or something to that general effect. "there's no civilization! you're not GETTING a lemon-soaked napkin shipment!" and the autopilot says "the most likely path to us receiving our shipment is to wait until another civilization develops on the planet and they can deliver it. so we have put the passengers in suspended animation, and we wake them up once a year for coffee." and then? and then zaphod's friend who he was looking for shows up and the plot carries on and they don't say another word about the ship (at least, as far as i know from my place a couple chapters later). thats it. some classic Space Horror Of Grand Proportions, a doctor who plot, a twilight zone plot, an scp article, an asimov short story— that, when a ship ran out of a luxury amenity and didn't get it fulfilled quickly, the autopilot ai decided that, regardless of plentiful fuel and safety, the ideal way to deal with the situation is to suspend the lives of all of the passengers, waking them up once a year, until a new civilization could evolve around them to produce napkins— and it takes up about two pages total before being put aside completely!
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bitterie-sweetie · 2 months
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Fake it til you make it
Pairing: Jeonghan x reader Genre: fluff, fake dating WC: 6.5k Warnings: alcohol A/N: yes it's about vday buuut it's actually for @syuperseventeen's bdayyy!!! surprise surprise! happy birthday nat, i hope this year is even better and filled with many things to look forward to <3
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Your Valentine’s date with Jeonghan is coming up and yet the only thing on your mind is how to break up with him. Of course breaking up with someone is difficult, but you’d argue that what’s more difficult is breaking up with someone you never even dated.
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Jeonghan is a prankster. 
Growing up, you’d often be on the receiving end of his pranks at school. Third grade “initiation” had you drenched in water after he told you to pin a cup against the wall with a straw, and in ninth grade you had tears streaming down your face after eating an entire scoop of wasabi—not the matcha ice cream he said it was. Then there was the time he did something to make your first crush hate you, which, in hindsight, was a good thing because the guy turned out to be a total asshole. 
It wasn’t Jeonghan’s fault entirely when you were too willing to fall for his pranks because being the target of a prank meant having his attention, and that’s something that you wanted. Jeonghan had a way of making everyone feel special, and his attention was a limelight that you never wanted to step out of. 
Honestly, you might’ve kept up with it if he kept going. But then that fateful day came and it was like you were suddenly on his side, working with him instead of being the victim to his antics, and you’d say that that’s what has kept the two of you together after all these years. 
Well, at least until now.
“Hey,” you greet in a rush, looking around the table at everyone and seeing that you’re truly the last one to arrive. Usually, you’d give that place to Lee Chan; he’s the most popular of your friend group and almost always has a prior appointment to your meetups. “Sorry I’m late. My train was delayed and—oh, did you already order for me?” 
Jeonghan slides a sealed bubble tea across the table and sets it in front of your seat—the one empty chair right beside him, no less. When you glance at him questioningly he shrugs and tilts his head towards the crowd at the front. “The line was too long so I ordered yours with mine. Hope you’re feeling like your usual today.” 
Indeed, the sticker on the cup shows that it’s your go-to order. “Aw, that’s so sweet of you. Thanks, babe.” 
Today’s meet up with your friend group is the first of the year and it’s also the first time you’re seeing everyone since Chan’s wedding… including Jeonghan. You would’ve spent Christmas and New Year’s with him had he not cancelled on you, and now that bit of distance has manifested into a larger uncertainty for you over the past while. Even now, the ‘babe’ seemed to come out awkwardly, sticking to your throat.
“Wow, you guys are actually disgusting. I hope you know that.” Seungkwan makes a face at you, and beside him, Soonyoung nods a few times in agreement. 
You plaster on a smile. “It’s okay to just say you’re jealous.” 
The only response you get is an eye-roll from Soonyoung, and then everyone moves on, thankfully. Mingyu asks you what you’ve been up to so you talk about your recent promotion at work and some new habits you’ve started in the new year, and when you sense that the conversation is starting to approach the territory of your future with Jeonghan, you gently steer it towards Chan. After all, he’s the one that got married just a few months ago, and you know he would never miss the chance to talk about his amazing honeymoon and how great this new chapter of his life is going.
There is truly nothing like adult friendships and its quarterly updates. 
Once there’s a bit of a lull in the conversation, Jeonghan turns to you. “What are you doing this week?” 
“Oh, this week?” Your heart speeds up tenfold at the uncertainty of what might come next. “Hmm well, it’s Valentine’s Day.” 
“Yeah, exactly.” He nods and much to your relief, there’s a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. “So I’ll see you for our date then?” 
“Of course, babe.” 
“Can’t you guys do this somewhere else?” Soonyoung says as he stares daggers in your direction. You totally understand and sympathize with that though; today you’re turning up the sweetness more than usual to compensate for the distance you actually feel, unfortunately at the expense of your friends.
Jeonghan completely ignores Soonyoung’s complaint and doesn’t even look his way. “That’s good,” he says, leaning back in his seat and almost looking relieved at your answer. “I was afraid my darling might not have time for me anymore.”
“What? No way. Did you have anything in mind for our date?” 
“Hmm, yes but it’s a surprise. I’ll text you the details later.” 
“Well, uh, I have to run,” Chan says, slowly getting up from his seat. The rest of you hardly bat an eye, having gotten too used to his busy schedule. “It was nice seeing everyone. You guys should come over for my housewarming once everything is set up.” 
Mingyu stands up too. “Oh, I actually have to go too; got a dinner with Wonwoo later.” 
…On second thought, perhaps you overcompensated a bit too much with the cringe. Soonyoung and Seungkwan leave soon after getting a call from their roommate, Seokmin, and then it’s just you and Jeonghan at the table. Still seated side by side, your arm occasionally brushing against his. 
“How have you really been?” he asks in a low voice. 
“Decent, I guess, despite the winter blues and all. It’s pretty much what I said earlier.” You shrug when he remains silent. “Why do you ask? Do I look depressed or something?”   
“No,” he shakes his head with a laugh, “not depressed, exactly, but I wanted to see if you’re as sad as I am about not seeing each other in so long.” Then he leans in a bit closer, as if to whisper a secret. “I missed you, darling.”
It’s times like this when you feel like he’s toeing the line. There’s a small smile lingering on his lips and a softer look in his eyes, not at all like the overdone sweetness to the point of sarcasm from before, but you can never tell if he really means what he says or if this is just part of the act. 
Regardless, it makes your face feel hot and it makes you unable to look directly at him. 
“Oh… yeah,” you say, trying to make a quick recovery. “It’s too bad we missed out on the holidays but at least we get Valentine’s Day.” 
“Yup, that’s exactly why I have something special in mind for that day. I want to make it up to you, darling.” 
You give him a smile and then go to take a sip of your drink, and that’s pretty much the end of the conversation. Despite saying he misses you, it’s interesting how he doesn’t explain why he bailed on the holidays in the first place, and you don’t know whether you should ask about it at this point.
Or if you should even be curious about such a thing. 
Jeonghan pulls you out of your thoughts with a brush of his hand on yours. “It’s getting dark. Let’s head out?” 
You agree and then let him hold your hand, lace his fingers with yours, and then lead you out of the shop. He doesn’t let go until you cross the parking lot and get to his car. It’s strange, you think. You can’t seem to recall the last time the two of you held hands so naturally like this especially when there’s no one else around. 
In fact, when the two of you are alone, the sickening sweetness is always toned down but not completely dropped. Now, Jeonghan’s smiles are softer around the edges like they’re less exaggerated, less of a performance, and when he calls you darling, his voice is quieter and isn’t at all coated in the sticky honey you’re used to. When he hugs you goodbye at your door, it’s a loose hug and almost has a degree of uncertainty. 
Jeonghan steps back but lingers just for a second. “I’ll see you in a few days for our date, darling.”
“Of course,” you put on a smile, “I can’t wait, babe.” 
He waits until you get into your building before giving a little wave and then heading on his way. 
After you close the door behind you and collapse onto your bed, you heave a sigh and finally let the smile slip from your lips. So there would be a Valentine’s date this year after all; the anticipation makes your heart speed up the slightest but at the same time makes you all the more anxious. You thought that he really would end things today, and if not, that you should be the one to do so. But seeing him after so long, feeling the way the warmth of his touch lingers on your skin, basking in the brightness of his smiles, you simply couldn’t utter those words. 
Perhaps Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the right time to do it either, or maybe your date won’t end up happening for whatever reason. You know that this is something you have to do, but the question is how exactly would you go about doing it? Because there is one major problem. 
You’re not dating Jeonghan at all. 
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One moment in high school is what started this whole thing.
It was eleventh grade drama class—which Jeonghan thought would be fun to take as an elective—that resulted in the two of you being cast in the school play. Although neither of you landed a role that was remotely close to important, Jeonghan decided to have fun with it and improvise during your one minute of screen time and that somehow turned your insignificant cameos into a beautiful romance that had the audience rooting for you. 
And that very moment somehow managed to embed itself so deeply in your relationship with Jeonghan that it became a long running joke to this day. 
Today you’re sitting across from Soonyoung and Seungkwan again, with Mingyu beside you this time. Almost an exact replica of last week’s meetup, but Chan already has plans and Jeonghan is very obviously missing—something Soonyoung points out immediately.
“Wow, no Jeonghan today?” he says loudly even before the hostess is out of earshot. The people at the two tables nearby glance in your direction and you start to regret coming here at all. “We really won this one. Y/N, we should do this more often.” 
You definitely should not. “Um, yeah. Totally.” 
Last week’s meeting with your friends is what gave you the idea to consult with them about your situation. You first suggested the idea to Mingyu, and then used the prospect of free food to get Soonyoung and Seungkwan to come out, and naturally, Chan is busy so it ends up being the four of you at brunch. Which is better on your wallet, you think. You get the feeling that this quarterly meetup can totally happen more often if you were to make this offer every time. 
As for what you’re about to ask… well, truthfully, you still don’t know if you should even do it. You’ve gone so many years without saying a word that it’d simply be odd to ask now, plus you would run the risk of making everything weird. But if you don’t do it, you would only end up making it weird anyway because how much longer can you go on pretending?
Besides, it’s not only you and Jeonghan who are prolonging this inside joke for way longer than it should’ve lasted. All of your friends should be in on it if they treat the two of you like a couple too. 
The waiter comes by to take your orders, and you try not to wince at the entire list that comes out of Soonyoung and Seungkwan’s mouths. Mingyu gets the least, seemingly knowing that something is up if the worried glances he throws your way is anything to go by. 
Once the waiter leaves, that’s when the small talk stops and all eyes turn to you.
“So what did you want to talk about?” Soonyoung asks with a goofy grin. “Since Jeonghan’s not here, does that mean you need help with Valentine’s Day plans or something?” 
Beside him, Seungkwan has the complete opposite expression as he eyes you warily between sips of his americano.
You take a huge swig of water like it’s liquid courage, and then go for it. “This is going to sound weird…” you start, trying not to notice the way Seungkwan tenses up as if bracing for your words, “but I wanted to ask you guys what my relationship with Jeonghan is.” 
Silence. Complete, dead silence. 
Soonyoung freezes like he’s in a photograph while Seungkwan’s hand holding his americano hangs in mid air as a drop of the drink dribbles down the side of his lip. 
“Sorry, what?” It’s Soonyoung who recovers first. “I think I heard that wrong.” 
You shake your head. “Just tell me.” 
“You’re asking us what your relationship with your own boyfriend is?” 
“Boyfriend—exactly!” You have to hold back all the thoughts you have on the topic. “Yeah, that’s what I mean. So you think he’s my boyfriend? That we’re dating?” 
Soonyoung frowns but it’s Seungkwan who answers, exasperated. “Y/N, what are you trying to say here? Are you trying to say you guys broke up? Or do you think we don’t know you well enough and this is a test? Can you say whatever it is directly—” 
“Jeonghan and I aren’t together.”
There, you said it. Your biggest secret is out.
It should make you relieved to finally let out the secret you’ve been harbouring for years or it should at least alleviate some of the weight on your chest, but it doesn’t. The silence in the wake of your confession only closes in on you and makes it all the more suffocating.
“Any—anymore?”
“No. We were never together.”
The bit of silence from earlier repeats itself. Maybe you should become a speaker or presenter with your ability to draw such reactions from a crowd.
Seungkwan noisily sets down his drink and then leans forward with a frown. He’s still in denial, that much is obvious, and he narrows his eyes as he asks, “Is this a joke? A hidden camera? Are you trying to prank us like Jeonghan—”
“No, I’m completely serious. It’s really not what it seems, and this is why I’m asking you guys what you see us as because at this point I don’t even know the answer myself.” 
With a deep breath, you tell them the truth about this entire thing.
You tell them about the high school play and your impromptu acting, and how that led for the two of you to become the famous couple at school afterwards. Sure, it might’ve been a good thing because that meant your acting was believable. But to two people who were interested in just about anything except love at that age, it was annoying and gross. 
After the show when the shippers wouldn’t stop, the two of you decided to do what you do best—pull a prank. You spent that Valentine’s Day together as a joke and acted extra disgusting to mock couples while making fun of how stupid people were to believe whatever you showed them. In twelfth grade, the two of you did the same for Valentine’s Day and then even went to prom together as a joke. 
In recent years, however, the annual joke of a Valentine’s Day date has turned into his Christmas and your Lunar New Year, his cousin’s graduation, your coworker’s housewarming, and Lee Chan’s wedding. It’s made you on a texting basis with his sister and it’s made him familiar with all your favourite food spots and go-to orders. It’s turned him into someone who’s simultaneously as distant as an acquaintance yet closer than a best friend. 
And so, here you are, living an entire lie because you and Jeonghan had the whole world fooled.
“That’s insane,” Soonyoung says when you finally finish the story, unable to look your way and instead, stares into his drink with how mind blown he is.
Seungkwan, on the other hand, remains a bit skeptical. “Okay, but then what was with all that PDA?All the kissing? Is this some sort of situationship?” 
“Oh, um.” Immediately you can feel your cheeks heating up. You didn’t think this far at all but now it seems like the entire truth will have to come out. “All of it was fake. We’ve… never actually kissed.” 
That drama class has taught you more than you needed to know about manipulating angles and the audience’s perception, and Jeonghan is very good at it. Your fake kisses were often just a trick of the angle or occasionally using the thumb trick, and having seen the evidence captured in photos over the years, you know how convincing it can look.
Now, it’s embarrassing to admit for reasons you never would’ve imagined. Admitting to pulling a childish prank like this is one thing, but the realization that you and Jeonghan have faked it for so long without ever once making it real has you feeling almost dejected.
“I always knew Jeonghan was crazy but I didn’t know he’d be *this* crazy.” Soonyoung now has his head in his hands and is staring off into space. “This is the most insane story I’ve ever heard. I’m not sure if I should be happy for you or sad.” 
You give a wry smile. “Yeah, well, I get why you would think we were together though. You met us in college and wouldn’t have known about what happened in the past so I guess there would never be a reason to question it.” 
Beside you, Mingyu clears his throat and you turn to look at him. He’s been so quiet throughout your story that you were too busy focusing on the reactions of the other two, but looking at him now, his reaction is entirely different. Mingyu isn’t as surprised as he is concerned. “Actually, Y/N, a few years ago…” he says hesitantly, “there was a time when I asked him if you were actually dating.” 
“You did? What did he say?”
“He didn’t deny it.”
“Well, we all know how he loves to be ambiguous and leave things a mystery.”
Mingyu shakes his head. “No—see, that’s what I thought too, but it was different that time. At first he didn’t deny it, but when I pushed a bit more, he said that you’re dating. In actual words and with the most serious look I’ve ever seen on his face.” 
This is news to you. You always assumed that they were all in on the joke and would’ve never guessed that anyone actually asked Jeonghan, but the fact that he answered that way is all the more baffling. 
“I don’t get it. Why would he tell you that?” 
“Yeah, so,” Soonyoung says, “from then on we all thought that was fully confirmed, and he never said or implied otherwise.” 
“Right…”
Mingyu nudges you gently. “Y/N, are you telling us about this now because you’re planning on stopping the act? Has it been bothering you? Or did something happen?” 
“Is that why you wanted to tell us today?” Soonyoung lets out a dramatic gasp and leans all the back in his chair, hands over his mouth. “Don’t tell me—are you going to stop the act because you have a crush on someone?”
“What? No, definitely not. It’s not that, it’s—” 
Here’s the next part of your big secret being revealed, something you weren’t entirely ready for but you tell yourself that this needs to happen. 
It’s because of your feelings for Jeonghan. Your very real, very genuine feelings that have nothing to do with this prank.
Truthfully, you can’t pinpoint when you started feeling this way, much like you’re not sure how this joke was able to stick around for so long. It could be the most recent development—when your friend tried to convince you to hop on a dating app, all you could think about was how wrong it felt because you already had Jeonghan. Or maybe it was the Valentine’s Day just before college graduation when he leaned in so closely you thought he was going to kiss you, for real this time, and then only realizing much later that you were disappointed that it wasn’t real. 
Or perhaps it started way back, to the time he asked you to prom—he said he didn’t have a date only for you to later find out he’d already rejected two promposals from other people. All for your fake relationship, supposedly.
And now, for you, what has started as a harmless prank has turned into something much more than that over the years. 
Everyone looks like they're at a loss for words after that part, and even Soonyoung has lost his enthusiasm after hearing it. “Shit, that’s…” he starts. “Okay, yeah, I’m definitely sad for you.” 
Seungkwan and Mingyu have similar sentiments but you wave them off, eager to lighten the mood again after such heavy topics. The food on the table has been long finished and you’re beginning to feel like you’re overstaying your welcome when there’s a crowd waiting at the front of the restaurant. “It’s fine, it’s whatever. I just wanted to get this off my chest today so that I can figure things out before I see him in a few days.” 
A while later, you finish paying and then all head out together. 
The conversation continues to replay itself in your head, and you realize there is one thing you’re curious about. You turn to Mingyu. “By the way—Mingyu, why *did* you ask Jeonghan if we were actually dating?”
Mingyu stops mid-stride and freezes like a deer in headlights, clearly not expecting your question at all. “I—um, I was asking for a friend.” 
“A friend?”
“Yeah, Chan.” He nods a few times in a row. “I thought Chan had a crush on you and I was trying to help him out.”
Strange, seeing as you’ve probably interacted with Chan the least among your friend group. He’s simply too booked and busy to hang out with you, and has been all throughout your college years together. 
Oh, and he’s married.
“Like, before he met his wife?” you ask.
Soonyoung starts to cough furiously from where he is a few steps ahead while Mingyu’s cheeks redden the slightest bit. 
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You vaguely remember the first time the two of you did this, and how it wasn’t anything like how it’s going now. 
Tonight is the night you’re supposed to go on your date with Jeonghan, and you’ve been buzzing with nerves since the night before. You have no idea what to expect for tonight since all he told you about it was to show up at his apartment, and that in itself was slightly concerning as you’ve never been to his home before nor has he been so secretive about any plans. Usually the two of you would be going to a casual place or would have the schedule shared ahead of time if it was a more formal event that needed preparation. 
Jeonghan buzzes you in when you arrive and before you can say you’ll wait for him in the lobby, he tells you to go up to his unit. Again, a bit strange. You do as he asks though, and then even go to knock on the door when there’s no sign of him coming out.
When he opens the door and steps aside, that’s when everything clicks—you’re not here so that he can get his car and take you to your date location. This *is* the date location.
Beyond the doorway, you can see that his apartment is completely decorated. Rose petals line the sides of the hall and lead to the dining table, covered in a deep red tablecloth and perfectly set for your meal. Beside it, a large bouquet of roses rests at the center of the sideboard surrounded by a row of flickering candles which light up the space.
Even without knowing what his home normally looks like, it’s obvious that all this would’ve taken a lot of effort to set up.
“Jeonghan, why did you prepare all this?”
He gives you a dazzling smile. “Because my darling deserves the best, of course. I told you I was going to make it up to you for cancelling Christmas.” 
“Babe, that’s too sweet of you. You really didn’t have to.” You try to return his smile but it doesn’t come easy when this whole situation is overwhelming. Then you let him take your coat and then guide you to the dining table where everything is set up. 
Only when you’re seated do you realize that his response doesn’t answer your question at all. 
The scent of the roses fill the room and looking at them gives you a pang in your heart. This is what the two of you used to make fun of—these big, romantic gestures, and the couples that willingly eat them up. Now it’s as if the tables have turned and you don’t know what to think. 
If this were in public, in front of your friends or other people, you would’ve said that it was another funny gesture that Jeonghan put up for the sake of making them cringe. Because the two of you were the perfect joking, prankster couple, right? 
Now that it’s just you and him here, it confuses you as to why he’s going to such lengths for a joke when it’s something that no one else would see, when there’s no audience to watch his performance. 
You watch as Jeonghan busies himself in the kitchen, serving the food that he’s prepared and pouring the wine into glasses while glancing your way every once in a while. He looks pleased, you note, and he should be if he got his space to look this beautiful. But you can sense that there’s something else too, almost like a nervousness that sits on his shoulder every time he breezes past you and makes eye contact for the briefest second.
After everything is ready, he finally takes a seat across from you and the dinner begins.
Making small talk is easy at first; you comment on your surprise at this type of date, talk about how cold it’s been lately and how it sucks that your company is forcing you to go back into the office. You ask him how his holiday went and how his family has been, and mention how cute his sister’s new puppy is after seeing a post about it on her social media. 
You know you’re just delaying the inevitable. Somehow you get the feeling he knows it too, judging by the way his answers are shorter than usual and how your conversation feels so superficial. So this time after there’s a lull in the conversation, you decide to go for it.
"Jeonghan, um…"
"Hmm?" He looks at you and waits for you to continue, but you don't. Or rather, you can't. "Ah, you're going to comment on how good this is, right?" he says instead, as if supplying you with a way out.
You're all too eager to grab onto it. "Wow, you read my mind." An enthusiastic nod, a slight look of surprise. "It's amazing. Did you make all this yourself?"
Jeonghan shakes his head and then follows up with a sheepish smile. "Partly. The rest is store bought."
Another nod, and then it just ends there again. Seated in this spot with the soft lighting of flickering candles cast against the wall and the heat of Jeonghan's gaze on you, the feeling of discomfort only grows. It's hard to remember what the two of you were like before, during the days when everything seemed so silly–when each move was a clearly defined act between two actors and the world was your stage. And most importantly, when each smile he showed you didn't send your stomach into somersaults or your mind into a loop of second guessing. 
The air is so heavy and stifling that you grab your glass and down a large gulp of the wine. At least when you're drinking, you wouldn’t have to speak, whether that might be responding to him in a way that gives away all of your thoughts, or completely spilling them out yourself. Maybe the alcohol will also drown out some of your anxieties and–
"Hey, slow down." Jeonghan glances at you with worry. "We have all night."
You set the glass down, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Right, sorry. This wine is just so good."
Yet another lie, but what's one more at this point? The wine is much too sour and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You would've much preferred a soda or bubble tea, and drinking something fancy like this during such a fancy occasion makes you feel like you're pretending to be someone you're not.
Which is exactly what you're doing, isn't it? You've been living a lie this entire time.
You briefly wonder if Jeonghan feels the same way—the two of you have never properly spent time alone in complete privacy, and to have your first time be in such a formal atmosphere must feel strange. But if he's uncomfortable, he makes no sign of showing it. Or maybe he's always been the better actor of the two of you.
“You know, since you mentioned seasonal depression, I was thinking that for Christmas this year we should go somewhere. Somewhere warm and sunny to get away from the cold.”
“Oh, this year?” you repeat stupidly when you can’t quite believe what you’re hearing. Jeonghan wants to continue this thing? And here you were, thinking that he was about to end it at any moment for the past few months. “Um, yeah. That would be nice.” 
“Or it could be a fall trip. Your parents have been wanting to go see the leaves change colour, right?” 
There’s no hint of sarcasm on his face and no playful twinkle in his eye, and even though no one can read him very well, you know enough to tell that he’s being serious. You also know that what he’s saying makes no sense at all.
“Right, yeah. They’ve been wanting to do that.” 
“Y/N, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” you reply automatically, and then reach for another long gulp of your drink. “Yup, all good.”
Jeonghan frowns, a tiny crease appearing between his brows. “Are you sure? If you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.” 
It’s strange, the way he looks at you. Jeonghan, who dances around questions and deflects easily with humour and only shows people what he wants them to see, now has worry filling his eyes as he waits for you to continue. As if he *knows*.
You doubt Soonyoung and Seungkwan would have spilled your secret so easily, but there’s a great possibility that the two of them would be unable to act normal around him after what they learned, and unintentionally hint at the truth. Then there’s the other possibility that Jeonghan knew way before any of this. Because maybe he—
No, you don’t want to think about that.
“It’s just that,” you say, having to force yourself to pause and slow down your thoughts before something terrible comes spewing out. A slow inhale, a shaky exhale. “Why are we here, Jeonghan?”
His frown deepens, but now it’s turned into confusion. “What do you mean?”
“What are we doing? This date has been nice, but I’m just very confused over why you put so much effort into this when there’s no one else around to see it. Weren’t we doing all of this as a joke? As a prank? Pretending to be a couple so that we can fool the world since that’s exactly what they wanted to see, but joke’s on them because we’re not?” 
Jeonghan watches you silently with an unreadable look on his face. “Is that how you feel?”
“’Well, yes, because isn’t that the truth? And now, we’ve been doing so much together that it doesn’t feel like a joke anymore. How can it be when your mom is offering to give me homemade side dishes? Or—or when Chan’s wife was there, smiling at us on her wedding day like she wished we’d be just as happy as they are?” You pause to look at him and then proceed to look away. “How long are we going to continue lying to the world? Because I can’t stand the guilt.”
The last part of that may be true, but it’s not the full truth. 
“Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have to keep doing this.”
“W—what?” You stare at him, dumbfounded. 
Jeonghan sighs deeply and then meets your eyes, but then quickly looks away. “Yeah, we should’ve left this in high school. The joke has kind of gotten old, hasn’t it?” 
You have no idea what he means by any of that, but it feels like you’re better off not knowing. The tension in the air is thick, and even when you imagined your fake breakup hundreds of times in your head, this is not something you could have predicted. It’s as you’re on a precipice, and one wrong move will delete all those years, all that time you spent with him. 
And the worst part is that you don’t even want to break up.
“Jeonghan, look. I know all of this is supposed to be a joke, but why is it that it feels like you really do care?” One last deep breath before you make the jump. “And why is it that I *want* you to care?” 
That has him stunned for a second, so much that the expression is obvious on his face in a way that almost never happens. 
“Wait, what? I do care. No, I get that we started all this for fun back then, but that’s not how I feel about it now. Everything we’ve done is real—trust me, I wouldn’t have brought you to my family if that wasn’t the case. And I never thought I was lying to them. It’s exaggerated, yes, and much too dramatic, but I’m not a good enough actor where all that can be based on a complete lie.” 
You braced yourself for the final blow, only to be completely confused over his words. “What are you saying?” 
“Y/N, it’s always been real to me. All of it.” 
“But—but I thought you wanted to stop all this when you cancelled our plans for Christmas. Why did you do that?”
Jeonghan opens his mouth a little but then closes it again. “Do you remember last year at Chan’s wedding when you caught the bouquet?” 
You nod but don’t hide your confusion about where this is going.
“After you caught it, everyone was looking at you… and then at me. It was like they all expected us to be next, because well,” he shrugs, “everyone thought we were together. And that’s when I realized that this is more than simply feeling like it’s real. We were turning it into something real.”
“So you called off Christmas because you wanted to stop doing this? Because you hated how it was becoming real?” 
“No,” Jeonghan shakes his head. “The opposite. I was afraid of how much I liked that it felt real. That day at the wedding, I—I wanted to kiss you for real, Y/N. Not have to fake it.” 
“Oh…”
“If we did meet up for Christmas, I don’t know what might’ve happened. I thought it was safer to stay away for a bit and gather my thoughts.” He hesitates slightly and you can see the pained smile he has on. “But one day into the holidays and I was already regretting my decision.” 
You don’t know what to say to that. Your mind is hardly listening anymore when it keeps on repeating Jeonghan’s words like a broken record, screaming to you that it’s real, that all of it is real. That you’re not the only one who’s been feeling this way, and that you won’t need to stage a fake breakup for your fake relationship. 
“Are you okay?” he asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.
“I’m just—are you sure all this is real? Jeonghan, are you being serious?”
He breaks into a tender smile. “Don’t you remember? I already answered you back then, Y/N.”
“What do you mean?” 
“You asked me if I’d be your darling, even if thousands of miles may separate us, even if—” 
“—if the paths we walk may crumble,” you finish off. “Or something like that. I actually have no idea what we said back then.”
Those were the lines in the play that you did back in high school, the very lines that the two of you conjured out of thin air one day and the very moment that started this whole thing. 
“Yeah, that,” he says softly.
“Hmm, so, babe,” you put on your usual mockingly sweet tone, repeating the line that you said on stage many years ago, “are you going to kiss me?” 
Jeonghan holds back a smile like he can’t contain his happiness, and follows with his line without missing a beat. “If that’s what my darling wants.”
The smile only widens when he gets up from his seat and you go to meet him halfway, and it’s the last thing you see when he leans in closer and closer. Jeonghan gently slides his thumb between his lips and yours as he closes the distance, like how it was done the very first time, but this time you can feel it as he slowly moves it away. 
Then you’re kissing him, actually kissing him for real for the first time. His lips are soft and warm, and the bit of hesitance between you seems to completely melt away as you wrap your arms around him and he pulls you closer. You let yourself drown in his scent, the warmth of his touch, and the loud pounding of your heart now that you no longer have to be paying attention to the reactions of the people around you. Nothing else matters anymore, all that matters is what you have now.
You spend the rest of the night catching up, whether that’d be stories over the years of shared memories, or creating new memories to make up for the lost time. He tells you he loves you and that the trip suggestions were very much real, and the two of you laugh over how you’ve become the exact couple you once mocked. It’s easy to understand them now though, you think as Jeonghan gives you a sleepy smile as you’re cuddled up on the couch.
“Oh yeah, I wanted to ask something,” you say, and he looks at you in alarm at your abruptness. “Why did you tell Mingyu that we were together?”
Jeonghan stays silent for a bit, narrowing his eyes as if having difficulty recalling what you’re talking about. Then he finally answers. “Oh that?” He chuckles. “That was because I didn’t want him to think he had a chance with you.”
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rmsrkive · 4 months
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unconditionally (05) — jung hoseok
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summary: for the past three, almost four years, it has only been you and your twins after having been abandoned by your ex-boyfriend. you expected it to remain that way for the rest of your lives until one day you accidentally run into one of his bandmates at the park
pairings: ex-boyfriend/baby daddy!hoseok x f. reader (exes to lovers)
warnings: none
a/n: sorry for the delay in uploading! finals took up all of my time and energy for the past month :,) this is definitely not the best chapter i’ve written so please have low expectations
rating: pg-13
word count: 5637
taglist: @darkphoenix5037 @mushroom-main @partyparty-yah @persnyako @violetpenguinkris @loveforred @thedarkeside @coffeewanderer @inlovewithallmusic @deejay08 @cryinginmyroomsposts @ilikekpop-c @aloverga @as-hs-blog @bangtanlovesk @mintchocoss @hopeonysus @smoltika @jjkluver7 @earth2joon @ayoo-bangtan @honsoolgloss @nochuel @addictedtohobi @renoirgoh @btsfluffsworld @scuzmunkie @bellamuerte1987 @strawbi-reads @secfir @missmischief1408 @savage-aespa @anqelws @mixedfandxms
masterlist
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Maybe you were a narcissistic self-centered person but sometimes you felt like the universe was out to get you, that it was targeting specifically you in hopes of making you miserable. You first came to this conclusion after Hoseok broke up with you and left you to have two children all on your own. You came to this conclusion again after your parents disowned you for being pregnant with Hoseok's children. They always hated Hoseok and his field of work so it was no surprise to you that they cut you out of their lives after you broke the news to them that you were a single mother. Add carrying twins and working for nine months, giving birth alone, spending sleepless nights for months on end, randomly meeting Jungkook, running into his bandmates in a parking garage, Hoseok confronting you at your cafe and threatening to take you to court, and Seokjin texting you out of the blue into the mix and surely, everybody would come to the same conclusion that the universe was out to get you.
You were set up for failure since the start.
"Oh, you've got to be joking." You mumbled under your breath, staring at the message that sat on your phone screen.
The texts seemed to be mocking you as you reread what Seokjin said over and over again. It had been over twelve hours since you received the messages yet you were scared to even think of a response. You weren't entirely sure whether you believed his words or not but he seemed quite sincere in his apology. You debated on telling Eunae what was happening but knew she would tell you just to block him and quite frankly, you didn't know if you wanted to do that.
"Eomma, up."
Jaehee shook your arm, effectively shaking you of your thoughts as well as she stared up at you with doe eyes. You stared down at her, still unable to get over the fact that she was Hoseok's twin. Sometimes it was difficult for you to look at her when she resembled your ex-boyfriend so much but her stark contrast in personality reminded you that they weren't all that similar. You smiled at her before scooping her up in your arms. She immediately wrapped her arms around your neck to hold onto your hair as she rested her chin on your shoulder. Grabbing onto your hair was an attachment she had since she was born; it was as if holding onto it gave her a sense of security despite already being wrapped up tightly in your arms.
"Why are you up so early, baby?" You cooed, brushing her hair with your hand gently.
She responded with a deep sigh, making you hold in a laugh that was on the verge of eruption.
"You're three, what's got you sighing like a forty-year-old office worker with a 9-5 job?" You asked.
Jaehee giggled as if she understood what you were saying, turning her head to press her cheek against your shoulder instead. You took a seat at the dining table with her in your arms, rocking side to side gently. The two of you basked in the sunlight that was shining through your kitchen window, enjoying the warmth it was providing. You were sure Jaehee fell back asleep and was ready to tuck her back into bed when her tiny voice startled you.
"Eomma?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Do I have an appa?"
"What?"
You froze at the unexpected question, shocked that Jaehee even understood the concept that she and Jaeyoung were supposed to have two parents. They had been too young in the past to realize you were the only one raising them and that they were fatherless but you knew they would ask about Hoseok one day. What you didn't know was how soon they would catch on and how quickly they would ask you why they didn't have a father. You supposed you should've better prepared yourself for this moment as children were much more perceptive than you realized but you couldn't have predicted that Jaehee would ask the whereabouts of her father at seven in the morning.
"Do I have an appa? Everybody at daycare has appa. What about me and Jae-Jae?"
Jaehee stared at you with big and round eyes, demanding an explanation. You gulped, scared that you were going to say the wrong thing before you cleared your throat.
"Appa is busy working right now. He's far away but he misses you and Jaeyoungie so much." You hoped the big smile on your face would convince her and that the conversation would be dropped.
Much to your dismay, however, Jaehee kept asking questions. "Can I see appa? Or can appa come home?"
Your stomach twisted at the question and you felt your heart dropping. You shook your head slowly, tears burning your eyes upon seeing the disappointment that filled her eyes. She frowned but nodded her head nonetheless.
"We can go see appa when he's not busy." You lied, plastering another smile on your face. "I'll ask him when we can go visit him, okay?"
"Okay!" Jaehee clapped her hands eagerly. "I'm hungry."
You turned on Pororo for her while you made her breakfast, allowing yourself to reflect on the conversation you just had with her. It didn't occur to you that the twins would notice the other kids at their daycare being dropped off and/or picked up by both of their parents daily. Whenever you went to pick them up, they were both so engrossed in playing with their friends that you assumed they never noticed who was coming to pick up the other children. It was your fault for not realizing exactly how perceptive they were and also your fault for not sitting them down earlier to talk about Hoseok.
For the rest of the morning, you felt sick and couldn't take your mind off of the conversation with Jaehee. You mentally cursed Hoseok for leaving you in such a difficult situation; he was able to live a comfortable life for the past four years, making his name known globally while remaining oblivious to the struggles you had to face while raising the twins. Why did it have to be you who had to explain why Jaehee and Jaeyoung grew up in a single-parent household? How was it fair that he lived a wonderful life watching his career skyrocket while you were struggling to make ends meet with two children?
You were always grateful and blessed to have Jaehee and Jaeyoung in your life. Even after the countless problems you faced since your pregnancy, you would do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant that they would be your children; they were truly the best thing that ever happened to you despite the circumstances you were under. But sometimes you couldn't help but feel resentment toward Hoseok for putting you in a helpless situation while he remained a deadbeat dad.
Once you dropped them off at daycare, you finally opened the message that Seokjin sent you the night before. You avoided opening it after reading it from your notifications but now you felt like it was your obligation to reply. Making amends with Seokjin was the first step to rebuilding your relationship with Hoseok. As much as you didn't want him back in your life, you also didn't want to deprive the twins of their father, especially since they were getting older. Even if Hoseok didn't deserve to be back in your life.
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Seokjin shrieked in delight as your name popped up on his phone screen. He repeatedly kissed the device, ready to cry tears of joy over the fact that you replied to his messages. He got weird looks from the other HYBE artists, who were trying to work out in the gym in peace but he ignored them. None of them said a word, deciding that pretending as if they didn't see their senior act like a complete fool was the best thing to do.
Hi Seokjin-ssi, thank you for reaching out to me. I really appreciate that you want to take time out of your busy schedule to meet up. I think it would be best if I try to match your free time since you are considerably busier than I am. Please let me know when you are free and I will adjust my time accordingly
Quite honestly, it wasn't the response Seokjin hoped for. Of course, he was joyful that you even replied to him and agreed to meet in the first place but the way you were treating him like a business partner pricked at his heart. You didn't even have to call him 'Seokjin-ssi'!
Regardless, he quickly answered your text, hastily spewing out random days and times that he may be available within the next week. He wasn't entirely sure if all the times he listed were in his actual free time but he was willing to cancel or reschedule anything if it meant that he could see you. You replied with a few dates, asking him to choose which one was the best for him.
"What's got you so excited, hyung?"
Seokjin looked up to see Jungkook at the gym entrance, staring at him weirdly. The older man straightened up, realizing he was blocking the way, and quickly stepped aside. He cleared his throat, smiling brightly. "Hi, Jungkookie. Y/N responded to my text."
"What? Really?"
Of course, Jungkook was the only other person besides Yoongi who knew about Seokjin reaching out to you. The maknae was more eager than either of his hyungs and constantly pestered Seokjin about it regularly. He snatched Seokjin’s phone much to the protest of the eldest, easily pushing him back with one hand. He began typing away much to the latter’s dismay, his squawking shrieks disturbing the other artists. By now, most of their juniors were watching them curiously, some amused by the situation while others were annoyed.
“Give me my phone back, Jeon Jungkook!” Seokjin screeched, smacking him harshly in the shoulder.
Jungkook ignored his hyung and quickly typed out a response, before tossing the phone back to Seokjin. "I did the hard work for you, you're welcome."
Seokjin shot him a deadly glare, snatching his phone away with a scoff. "I don't need you to do the 'hard work' for me, you brat. I already had a response planned out for when she answered me!"
"It was probably something overly pushy. You get like that when you're excited." Jungkook shrugged. "Did you know that?"
Instead of answering him, Seokjin looked down at his phone to see what the maknae sent. He supposed he couldn't be angry because the message wasn't all that bad. It was polite, respectful, and went straight to the point. The only issue was that Jungkook scheduled to meet up with you at the same time he planned to meet his brother and his nephew. Perhaps Seokjin should have been more careful about which dates he picked because one thing he was reluctant about was missing any opportunity to see his nephew. Jungkook happened to pick the one day where both he and his brother were available to meet up for dinner. Seokjin mentally cursed Jungkook before pulling up Seokjung's phone number, ready to apologize profusely for dipping last minute. As much as he loved his brother and nephew, talking to you and apologizing was much more important than grabbing lunch with them. Seokjung would understand, wouldn't he?
"Fuck you, Jeon Jungkook."
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You felt like throwing up. As you pulled down the blinds of your cafe to give you and Seokjin some privacy from prying eyes, you could feel your nerves bubbling up inside of you. The stick of mint gum you popped in your mouth in hopes that the mint would ease your nausea did nothing. Even as he walked into the cafe with a wide smile on his face and a handful of gifts for you and the twins, you couldn't find your nerves easing in any sort of way. You requested that Seokjin meet at your cafe just in case somebody caught a photo of you talking over dinner and kickstarted rumors. The last thing you needed was for the media and Bangtan's fans to rip you apart for even breathing the same air as the Kim Seokjin. Maybe asking him to enter through the back door was a bit much but you would rather be safe than sorry.
"I hope you still like mulhoe." You set down a bowl in front of him, alongside other banchan that you think would go well with the cold fish soup.
You never intended to cook a full meal for Seokjin and planned on having takeout but the only way you could settle your nerves the slightest bit was by cooking. Now your feet were swollen and your hands hurt for a man you had ill feeling towards.
"Of course, I love mulhoe. It's still my favorite." He looked up at you with a smile before bowing his head. "Thanks, Y/N. You didn't have to go out of your way to make this for me."
"Oh trust me, I didn't want to." You mumbled underneath your breath.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
The two of you ate in silence, occasionally making small talk with Seokjin asking you questions. It was without a doubt awkward considering the circumstances that your friendship ended under but nonetheless, Seokjin was happy to be in your presence again. Truthfully, he had been thinking about you a lot recently and heavily considered reaching out to you behind Hoseok's back. Luckily, Jungkook made things far more easier by taking Bam on a walk to a park where he usually never went to.
"Can I be honest with you?" Seokjin asked.
You looked up from your bowl of mulhoe with wide eyes, feeling the cold broth run down your chin. You quickly wiped yourself off with a napkin before asking, "Out of nowhere?"
"I think it's best if we address the elephant in the room."
"Go on."
Seokjin pressed his lips together, his eyes flitting back and forth nervously as he tried to string together a coherent sentence. He was bracing himself for the rejection he was inevitably going to face which made talking about your breakup with Hoseok all the more difficult.
"I just want you to know that I never believed that you cheated on Hoseok and never sided with him after the breakup. I always had a feeling he was acting rashly upon finding out about your pregnancy and was speaking out of anger but I didn't do anything about it because he's my best friend. It wasn't right of me to side with him and cut you off so abruptly but I want you to know that I never wanted to. It was a messy situation and I definitely should have stood up for you so things could have turned out differently. I know what I say now isn't going to change or undo everything you went through but I wanted you to know I still care about you and never stopped. I'm sorry for not being a better friend, Y/N. I'm sorry for ending our friendship without a second thought and not bothering to hear your side of the breakup. I wish I protected you from all of the struggles you went through so you could've had at least one shoulder to lean on. I still love you like a younger sister and I hope that one day you'll forgive me, even if I have to apologize every day for the rest of my life."
The chopsticks you were holding onto fell out of your grasp as you stared at Seokjin in silence. An overwhelming range of emotions washed over you, ranging from hurt to disbelief, from anger to relief. You waited for four years to hear the apology you desperately wanted but now that you heard it, you didn't know what to make of it. You continued to stare at Seokjin in silence, who continued to stare back at you with equal intensity. The rim of his eyes was red as they began welling up with tears, sending a surge of anger through you. How dare he cry when he was the one who left you behind?
"You never sided with Hoseok?" You asked, your voice booming around the empty cafe. "You're telling me that I spent all of these years thinking you hated me only to learn that you've never felt that way?"
"I'm sorry, Y/N, I really am. Please forgive me." Seokjin pleaded. "I wanted to tell Hoseok that he was wrong and that he ended your relationship too quickly but I couldn't take your side. It would have started way too many issues and the last thing anybody wanted was for our management team to get involved. I never meant to hurt you and I'm so sorry that you did. I regret not standing up for you back then and I always will."
"It's not about taking sides, Seokjin." You snarled. "It was never about that and you know that. How dare you minimize it to only that?"
Seokjin tried to explain himself but you immediately cut him off, unwilling to hear more of what he had to say.
"I was left to raise two kids on my own without any ounce of support. My parents disowned me because Hoseok got me pregnant, I was kicked out of the apartment I shared with him, I had to work for eight months while I was pregnant so I could afford to get by during my maternity leave but you want to make this about taking sides. The only thing I wanted was for at least one of you to hear me out but apparently, even that was too much to ask for. Why did I have to be punished for a mistake that me and Hoseok made? How is that fair for me?"
You couldn't stop the stream of tears that fell down your face even though you didn't want to show him the extent of how much he hurt you. Your shoulders shook violently as you sobbed into your hands, the initial hurt and betrayal you felt when Hoseok broke up with you washing over you once again. Endless apologies fell from Seokjin's lips as he cried with you, begging for forgiveness mixing in with his cries.
"I'm sorry, Y/N. I'm so so sorry. I wish things went differently and I tell myself every day that I should've handled the situation better and should have reached out to you way earlier. I'm sorry for brushing away the fact that you were not only Hoseok's girlfriend but one of my best friends. I'll do whatever I can and whatever you want me to to make up for it. Please forgive me."
Quite frankly, you weren't sure how much longer you could hold a grudge against Seokjin or if you even wanted to be angry at him anymore. The hurt of him leaving you without an explanation would always linger but who were you to put the blame on him when Hoseok was the reason why he ghosted you in the first place?
“I hope you know I’m not letting you off easy. You have a lot to make up for, Seokjin.” You whispered.
Seokjin reached across the table to entangle his hand with yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I'll do whatever it takes."
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You woke up feeling miserable the next morning. Your eyes were red and swollen and you felt as if you didn’t get a wink of sleep. Luckily for you, Seungkwan and Joshua (who graciously agreed to watch them last minute) put the twins to sleep by the time you came back so you immediately collapsed into bed after washing up for the night. Even after getting a full eight hours of sleep, you were exhausted, both mentally and physically.
After countless more apologies from Seokjin, the two of you found a middle ground and decided to begin rebuilding your friendship. Although you weren't too keen on letting him back into your life so quickly, you felt like you had nothing else to lose. If your friendship with him didn't work out, then it didn't work out. You lost him once so it wouldn't hurt if you lost him again, especially now that you had a support system behind you.
"Can you believe it's only eleven in the morning? We have another six hours before we close." Sohee sighed, leaning her head against the counter as she watched people pass by the cafe.
"Don't remind me." Taewoo sighed, taking a seat on the stool beside her.
You rolled your eyes, shaking your head at your employees. "You guys are like this every day. Why not take a day off when I offer you one?"
"And leave our sajangnim to fend for herself?" Taewoo asked. "No way."
You scowled at the name, swatting at him with the rag you were using to wipe off the dust from the display case. "I told you to stop calling me that."
"If we had at least one interesting thing happen a day then I wouldn't be complaining. But the only thing that happens is somebody dropping their drink and I have to mop it up."
"Delivery for Y/L/N Y/N?"
You looked up from the display case, peeking your head over to see who was calling your name. A young man was holding a large bouquet of flowers in his hands, immediately piquing your interest. You waved to the delivery man with a smile, who happily handed you the bouquet. Sohee and Taewoo eyed the bouquet of flowers in interest before sharing a look.
"Have a nice day, ma'am and I hope you enjoy your flowers!"
"Thank you!"
"I've spoken too soon." Sohee mused. "Something interesting is happening. Our sajangnim seems to have an admirer."
You were pleasantly surprised to receive a bouquet of flowers and you couldn't remember the last time you were given one. You admired the blue and purple hydrangeas, happy that whoever sent you the flowers sent you hypoallergenic ones. Not many people knew you were allergic to flowers because of the pollen so you supposed they were from one of your friends. You picked up the card that was attached to the bottom of the bouquet, reading the message that was inscribed on it.
To the most wonderful girl I know, I hope you still love hydrangeas just as much as you used to. I'll keep fighting for you as long as you'll let me. You'll always have a special place in my heart — Hoseok
"Damn you, Jung Hoseok." You mumbled underneath your breath, slamming the card back onto the counter. "Of course, I still love hydrangeas. Does he really think I would stop liking my favorite flowers because of him?"
"Who did you get those flowers from, noona?" Taewoo asked, trying to peer at the name on the card.
Your finger was hiding Hoseok's name much to his dismay. The last thing you needed was for your employees to learn that you were receiving flowers from a BTS member (who also happened to be your ex-boyfriend and baby daddy) when your relationship with him had never been public knowledge. While the media and fans suspected Hoseok was in a relationship with someone, they never had enough evidence to prove their theory to be correct and they had no clue who you were. The two of you and BigHit did an excellent job at hiding your relationship.
"Just an old friend." You waved off his question. "An early birthday gift."
Sohee nodded her head disappointedly. "Right, your birthday is coming up soon."
"Gosh, don’t sound too excited, Yeon Sohee.”
You brought the bouquet into the backroom where you kept your belongings. You placed it neatly next to your purse, admiring the beautiful colors for a moment before shaking your head.
“Snap out of it, Y/N. It’s just a bouquet of flowers given by the most vile man to ever walk this planet.” You lightly smacked yourself in the face to snap yourself out of the reverie you had fallen into.
You would be lying if you said that it didn’t remind you of all the times Hoseok would surprise you with a bouquet of hydrangeas. Even before either of you dated, Hoseok would gift you flowers on special occasions. After you began dating, he would bring you a new bouquet of hydrangeas whenever the old flowers died out. Your apartment was always full of beautiful and colorful flowers no matter what time of year it was. It was heart-wrenching to see, to say the least.
Full transparency, you expected Hoseok to drop the situation after your fight with him a week ago but it seemed like he was adamant about making amends with you. Sending you a bouquet of flowers barely moved your cold heart towards him but he was ready to pull out all of the tricks up his sleeve to win you over.
And possibly win you back.
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“Geez, when I said to invite a few people, I didn’t think it would mean the whole group.” You muttered, stepping inside to let everybody in.
When you invited Seungcheol and Eunae over for dinner, you told Seungcheol that if any of the other members were free, they were more than welcome to join as well. What you didn't expect was to see Chan standing at your door with a wide grin on his face with the rest of the Seventeen members sporting the same goofy smile as him in the back.
"Samchon?" Jaehee waddled over to the door, smiling up at her uncle.
“I’m hurt, noona. Do you not want us here?” Chan sniffed, brushing past you to snatch Jaehee off of the ground.
“At least a warning would have been nice.”
You returned to the kitchen to finish making the tteokbokki you had just started while the rest of the Seventeen members filed into your apartment. They brought various dishes for dinner, ranging from bossam to fried chicken. You profusely thanked them for bringing over an abundance of food, grateful that they were able to pull something together last minute.
"What the hell is this?"
Eunae snatched the bouquet of flowers that were sitting on your countertop, staring it closely. Seungcheol immediately joined her, his chest pressed against her back as they observed the flowers closely. They tried to look for any indication of who might've sent it but there wasn't even the slightest bit of a hint of where you got it from.
"Who are you getting flowers from, Y/L/N Y/N?" Eunae eyed you suspiciously, glancing between you and the bouquet as if the person who gave you them would appear.
"Are you back in the dating scene after four long years? About time that you do. You're turning into a hag." Seungcheol piped up.
You scowled and glared at him, beginning to chop the onion that was on the cutting board more aggressively. "Insult me again and I'll dice your dick like this onion."
Mingyu whistled lowly, "Damn, I don't think she's kidding, hyung."
“You’re one to talk, Seungcheol hyung. You’re the same age as her.” Seungkwan rolled his eyes.
"Who gives a fuck about Seungcheol hyung's age and dick? Who gave you those flowers, noona?" Soonyoung demanded,
You were beginning to regret inviting everybody over for dinner. You cursed your past self for not having a quiet night with the twins and allowing for the dinner to be an open invite. Quite honestly, you were surprised that Seungcheol and Eunae didn't invite even more people over.
"Hoseok gave them to me." You mumbled.
"What?" Seokmin scrunched his eyebrows. "We can't hear you."
"Hoseok gave them to me." You repeated yourself, raising your voice so loudly that it silenced everybody in the living room and kitchen. Your face flushed before you opened the fridge to grab shredded mozzarella cheese. "I got a delivery earlier today and it was from Hoseok."
Eunae dropped the bouquet of flowers back on the countertop, her face reflecting that of disgust. Seungcheol was making the same face as her much to your amusement but it quickly dissipated when they both shot you a glare. You nervously chuckled, facing the stove instead as you dumped cheese over half of the tteokbokki.
"Why is he giving you flowers, Y/N?" Jeonghan raised his eyebrows, thoroughly entertained by what was happening.
"He's trying to get back on good terms with me." You muttered, placing the lid over the pan to help the cheese melt faster.
"What?" Eunae demanded. "Speak up and stop mumbling. You're not a child."
Irritation shot through you at her harsh tone to which you snapped back, "He sent flowers to me because he's trying to get back on good terms with me. Not that it's anybody's business."
Seungcheol frowned at your rude tone. "Watch it, Y/N. She was just asking."
"And you guys don't need to know every bit of information about me. Who cares who I got flowers from and who cares about why Hoseok gave them to me? I would've told you guys eventually." You replied.
Joshua placed his hand on your shoulder, giving you a concerned look. "Are you okay, Y/N?"
You normally weren't an agitated and snappy person but for some reason, you were on edge ever since Hoseok sent the flowers. As nice as they were, you were still weary of him and held ill feelings. It was wrong of you to let your irritation out on Eunae but her remark rubbed you the wrong way. "I'm fine. Can you take out the drinks from the fridge?"
He didn't seem convinced but nodded his head nonetheless. Eunae narrowed her eyes at you, mentally making a note to talk to you once everybody else left your apartment. You avoided her intense stare, opting to take the tteokbokki off of the stove and place it next to the rest of the food that was brought by the others.
"Dang, Hoseok sunbaenim must have spent a lot of money on this bouquet of flowers," Jun observed, taking the hydrangeas out of the vase. "You could take somebody out with these."
Soonyoung yanked them out of his hands with a frown. "He has a lot of audacity sending you flowers have all of that bullshit he spewed at you."
"I mean at least he's trying now." Minghao pointed out. "He could've chosen to continue on with his life without Y/N and the twins."
"He should've tried earlier." Seungkwan rolled his eyes, placing the flowers in the vase. "He's ruining our agenda."
"Agenda? What agenda?"
Seungkwan's eyes widened at Joshua's question, nervously chuckling after realizing nobody was going to back him up. "Oh, nothing."
Mingyu subtly elbowed him while you sent him a glare. You quickly switched the topic by asking Joshua to take Jaehee and Jaeyoung to wash their hands in the bathroom.
"Sorry, noona." Seungkwan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
You sighed, "It's okay, Kwannie. It happens."
"He really is ruining our agenda, you know." Seokmin piped up. "Hong Y/N is never going to happen at this rate."
His comment caused several weird looks from the rest of the members who had not a single clue about the 'Hong Y/N' agenda. You swatted at his shoulder, harshly shushing him but that didn't stop the others from being nosy.
"The what?" Jeonghan looked thoroughly amused by the conversation. "Do Y/N and Shua like each other or something?"
"No!" You exclaimed loudly. "They're just being annoying."
"Don't think you think Y/N and Joshua go well together? They would make a great couple." Seungcheol grinned.
Vernon nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, they would make a pretty good couple now that you mention it."
Your mouth fell open, feeling betrayed that he agreed with them. You never thought that Vernon out of all people would enable such ridiculous behavior from the other members but you supposed that he was also a mystery a lot of the time. "Stop encouraging them. It's ridiculous."
"What's so ridiculous about love?" Soonyoung asked dramatically.
You scoffed. "There is no love between us other than platonic love. Besides, you guys are forgetting that Haerin exists. She's visiting him next week because she finally got enough days off from work to take a longer trip."
"That doesn't mean we can't still root for you guys." Mingyu argued.
"Have some respect for her. She's known Josh way longer than I have and she actually likes him. He should be in a relationship with someone who has feelings for him. Crazy concept, right?"
Seokmin booed, giving you a double thumbs down. "You're so lame, Y/N."
"How about the rest of you go and find yourself a girlfriend before worrying about other people?" You snapped.
Eunae whistled, "Damn, she got you guys there. Thirteen members but only one has been in a committed relationship while the rest of you can't keep a partner for more than a month. That's tough."
"Oh shut up, Eunae."
"Please, just drop it. I don't want to talk about me and Joshua."
Your best friend narrowed her eyes at you, making it clear that the two of you would talk after everybody went home for dinner. You avoided her gaze, choosing to set up the remainder of the food instead. Joshua returned with the twins with a soaked sweatshirt, looking unamused. You stifled a laugh and handed him a plate as a way to say sorry for the mess your children caused.
"Dinner's ready. Come help yourselves."
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neptuneiris · 5 months
Text
Behind the Scenes (03/05)
Behind the Negotiation
pairing: actor!aemond × fem!reader
summary: knowing that you can't run away from your past forever, you receive unexpected visitors in your home that make you fear for your son's future.
word counter: 8.9k
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warnings: angst, arguments, language,mention of abortion.
guys, I'm sorry for the delay, with this chapter a lot of unexpected things came across my way, but I've finally finished it and I'm satisfied with the result, although I'm not sure if you will like it, it might bore you but I don't know, please let me know :)
without more to say, enjoy it and thanks for all the support, really! let me know your comments too, I'll be waiting for them!
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You still remember it all too well.
You remember how you accepted Aemond's terms, the terms of his agent Criston and also of his entire team.
You agreed to keep the existence of your child a secret, to hide in the shadows with him and to keep a low profile until it was "safe" for Aemond's career to publicly and legally acknowledge the baby.
But you only accepted to take that worry off everyone's mind and especially his, so you could run away. Although the reality is that you were scared.
At first, Aemond's power, influence and connections kept you paralyzed, thinking about the consequences of breaking all ties with him.
And running away from him, disappearing from his life along with your son was a decision you had to make carefully and then had to live with in fear and dread of being found someday.
And the fear of possible legal reprisals for your escape and uncertainty about the consequences were present at every turn. But you did everything to live in freedom, not to destroy Aemond's career and to protect your son from all public exposure.
You always knew that Aemond with his celebrity status possesses power, not only in the entertainment industry, but also in the media and social sphere, that was obvious, just like any other celebrity.
So finding you could be as easy as snapping his fingers.
So to prevent Aemond from tracking your movements so he could find you, you began by discarding any means of transportation that could be easily monitored or tracked.
You avoided airports and bus terminals, opting instead for small train stations and local buses, always paying with cash. You left King's Landing and the entire state, going all the way to the Iron Islands.
In Pike, with the money you had left over, you were able to rent a room to yourself in a cheap hotel, then quickly began to look around for a job in the surrounding area in search of an opportunity that could provide you with support and stability.
You knew you couldn't get a job like the one you had before, on a recording set with a big salary. So downtown, you found a job at a beauty salon.
Not only does she own a beauty salon, she also owns a few small apartments in the city and offered you one of them at a lower price, considering you were just starting out with a new job.
The owner of the place, Becca Waters, a kind and understanding woman, saw potential and also the need in you.
Knowing your condition and that you practically came to live in a place where you knew nothing and no one, she also offered you a place to live and be safe.
Mrs. Waters became a fundamental support for you, providing guidance, encouragement, flexibility and stability in your financial need and also in your pregnancy.
With her you felt completely safe and supported at a time when you needed it most. After all you had gone through to get here, leaving your life behind and pregnant, she was your reward.
But still nothing was easy after that.
Your pregnancy process was a roller coaster of emotions, challenges and moments. Facing motherhood as a single mom was an overwhelming reality.
On the one hand, even though the baby was unplanned, you were excited to know that you would soon be holding him in your arms, but on the other hand, you also felt fear and anxiety at the responsibility of raising a child alone with no knowledge of anything really.
The first few months of pregnancy were especially difficult.
You experienced pain, symptoms and discomforts that you had no idea about and had to endure, as well as a slight state of depression and anxiety about dealing with all of this on your own.
But through it all, Becca was your pillar of support at all times, who became your confidant, giving you comfort and encouragement in difficult times. And she was the one who helped you throughout your pregnancy and also the one who was by your side when you gave birth to your child.
And even though you didn't want to, being in a very vulnerable state, you couldn't help but feel lonely and miss Aemond, just as you missed everything you once used to be.
But remembering everything that happened the last time you saw him, even though the feeling disappeared, you also couldn't help but start crying.
And to protect yourself emotionally, you decided to stay away from news about Aemond.
You avoided social media and any content that could remind you of your past with him. Your determination was great to be able to raise your child alone, without relying on Aemond's presence or acknowledgement.
And the day your son finally came into the world, it was a moment of joy and wonder that could not be compared to any other moment in life, filling your heart with indescribable happiness.
However, the birth also brought with it a torrent of new worries and challenges.
Childbirth was exhausting and intense. Nothing you've ever experienced before. And in the days that followed, the constant care of the newborn, the lack of sleep and the adjustment to your new life were heavy challenges that pushed you to the limit many times.
But in spite of that, every smile, every little gesture of your son filled your world with immense love, as well as Mrs. James' help in guiding you in practical aspects of motherhood increased your unwavering determination to go forward for him, being your driving force.
Although also the arrival of your son into the world increased your fear in you.
The fear that Aemond and his team might find you and take your son away from you was a constant worry. But despite this, there were moments of uncertainty when you thought too much about it.
You wondered why Aemond would bother looking for you and your child. Clearly the baby was a risk to his career and he didn't even want to support you from the start, only accepting it later because that was your decision.
You knew he wouldn't but you were still afraid.
Would Aemond really seek you out after he initially supported the idea of abortion?
Would he really seek you out after he supported your decision even if he didn't want to but in the shadows, avoiding any public acknowledgement and hiding you and your son?
But just when you had gotten used to it, had found stability with a job and a permanent refuge in the beauty salon with Mrs. Waters, a few months after the birth of your son, Mrs. Waters was forced to close the salon due to unforeseen financial problems.
That place that had been your refuge and where you found support and friendship, suddenly disappeared, leaving you with a feeling of emptiness, uncertainty and nostalgia.
Mrs. Waters would have to leave town and although you didn't want to, you also decided to do the same, convinced that you would be safer with your son in a place you knew well, avoiding at all times the places you used to go with Aemond and where you knew you could meet him.
So after looking for a job, with your resume and previous excellent references, in the city where the entire film industry resides, you got a job as a makeup artist in a different recording studio than the one you had worked in before.
There was no way you could meet Aemond, or so you thought.
Previously the TV network was BBC, now it was HBO for whom you would be working on a new TV show, so you really had nothing to worry about, especially since the pay was very good and you could survive just fine on that for you and your child.
But right on your first day of work, life decided to surprise you.
And now you are here, in your new apartment where you were planning to live temporarily until you find a better one, but now with you running away on your first day it means definite dismissal for sure, so you have no idea how you are going to pay for a better one or how you are going to pay for this one next month so you won't get kicked to the street.
But you can't even think straight as you are still shaking, your emotions are running high, you have no idea what really happened, it was all very fast between talking and remembering the past.
And the only thing that gives you some peace in the midst of your own thoughts and everything you're feeling, are the sounds of Aenar's toys and babbling in the living room, playing on the floor and touching everything he can.
His silver hair shines from the sunlight coming through the windows and he giggles as his colorful toys bump into each other, showing a world of happiness and innocent curiosity, completely filling your heart but you still feel that sharp ache in your chest.
You move towards him with a soft sigh and take a seat next to him, keeping a small genuine smile on your lips but with some melancholy, when he starts showing you all his toys and asks you between babbling and giggles to play with him.
You move the toys back and forth, ask him questions in honeyed tones and he laughs, making you laugh too, but you continue with the tumult of your overwhelming thoughts.
You think about what you will do now, that you should probably look for a job at a new beauty salon, which is what you should have done as soon as you got back, find a subtle job instead of going back to what you were doing before so suddenly.
However the paycheck was what made you take it and you need it too much, so you'll have to look for other alternatives.
You find yourself thinking about it when you suddenly hear the sound of the door completely interrupting your thoughts and also your game with Aenar.
You look towards the entrance, confused, with a strange feeling growing in your chest, immediately giving you a bad feeling. For who would come knocking at your door?
No one knows you're back… except Aemond.
Oh Gods.
The thought makes you paralyzed, feeling your whole body tense up, your heart starts beating fast and fear invades you completely.
Could it be him?
You wonder, struggling to stay calm, even though there's no way he could have figured out so quickly where you're living.
Or has he?
The thought leaves you completely paralyzed, with a mixture of anxiety and fear flowing inside you.
The knocking on the door becomes more insistent and you carefully get up and leave Aenar still amused in his game on the floor, then walk towards the door feeling a lump in your throat and a growing uneasiness.
You reach for the doorknob and as you turn it to open, your heart skips a beat when you find Aemond's agent standing in front of you, Criston Cole.
A trace of surprise and confusion flashes across your face, feeling your body tighten further and the fear linger.
How did he know where you were?
What is he doing here?
Criston returns you a serious but understanding look, beginning to feel the tension between the two of you, while you feel the fear invade you again because of the old memories and being him one of the main reasons why you decided to run away.
His mere presence triggers a series of emotions that take you by surprise. With no trace of Aemond or anyone else around you, yet your mind races.
Nervousness invades every fiber of your being, while your heart beats faster and stronger than usual. A sense of discomfort invades you and you also feel alert, afraid, unable to control it.
"Y/N."
He pronounces your name with a slight nod. His tone tries to be reassuring, but confusion and bewilderment wash over you.
You say nothing for a few seconds, feeling unable to speak and unable to formulate any words, barely trying at that moment to process the situation. Anxiety creeps through your chest, as he gives you and respects your space, aware of your unease.
"I understand that you're surprised by my visit and I don't want to make you uncomfortable, I really don't. But we need to talk."
The confusion inside you increases and so does the fear, to watch him completely bewildered and on the verge of collapse.
"H-how—
You try to ask with your voice cracking in the midst of all your emotions, but he interrupts you in response, knowing what you're going to ask.
"My team," he lets you know, "They handled finding you."
He tells you seriously and with that touch of professionalism in his tone, but his response only surprises and puzzles you more, to which Criston notices.
You feel the questions pile up in your head, but you barely manage to articulate a word, besides all the emotions you're feeling, fear mainly.
"Aemond informed us of your return," he adds, "After he didn't find you again, he asked us to look for you," he tells you calmly, trying to make his eyes convey an attempt at empathy for you.
But you don't believe that one bit. Not after what happened the last time you saw him and his entire team.
You feel a surge of vulnerability wash over you, leaving you suddenly helpless before him. You don't have the slightest idea how you will be able to cope with that situation, how to get away from them again now that they have found you, especially him.
"What have you really come for?" you question, not hiding your distrust.
Criston keeps a serene attitude and look, seeking to soften the tension, but notices your demeanor and posture, of fear and alertness altogether.
"Just to talk," he tells you softly, "Believe me the last thing I want and Aemond too is to cause you trouble. We just want to talk and nothing more," he explains, but you are having none of it, "He was going to come himself, but he had to film some scenes. But he'll come as soon as he can."
This just adds more weight to the anxiety and nervousness you're already feeling, so it triggers an alert in you that makes you feel completely freaked out, definitely not wanting that.
"No," you try to retort with a firm tone, but your vulnerability shows in your trembling voice and nervous expression, "Please leave."
Concern flashes across Criston's face for an instant, unconsciously taking a step towards you.
"Y/N–
"Please," you plead, "Just go away and don't come back, none of you, not even him."
"Y/N, please, just let me—
"No," you interrupt him again, more desperate than before, "Please," you repeat.
The atmosphere is filled with a silence full of tension, where your words, full of desperation and longing to get away from the situation, float in the air, also asking for urgent distance and tranquility.
And Criston lets out a sigh.
"Just a few minutes," he says, struggling to find some control in the situation, "Just-let us talk to you, Aemond and me."
"If it's to talk about his career and his son, I'm not interested," you say firmly, but your trembling voice gives away your emotions, "We've talked about that before," you say with some bitterness and sadness in your tone, "You can go now. I don't plan on staying anyway."
Without having let go of the door frame, you try to close the door, ending all of this, but he instantly speaks again, stopping you.
"Please Y/N, Aemond is very worried and wishes to speak with you," he insists, "He hasn't been the same since you left, you should know that," he adds in a persuasive tone.
You let out a snort in disbelief and with some bitterness, as you look away from his gaze for a moment.
"I highly doubt that."
"Y/N—
The sound of Aenar's innocent laughter while playing with his toys catches Criston's attention, stopping his words, who unconsciously catches a glimpse inside your living room where Aenar is playing and also catches a glimpse of his small figure on the floor with his characteristic silver hair.
This immediately triggers your concern and increases your protective mode and you quickly close the door a little behind you, blocking his view, while your heart is pounding.
This is what you meant.
You don't want anything bad to happen to your son, in any way. And you will do anything to protect him, because they decided everything except to protect you and now you will not allow them to intervene in your son's life now that they know he is here.
"Y/N," he calls to you in a softer voice, watching you completely intently and desperately asking you with his gaze for a moment.
"Please don't," you plead with him, at the point of collapsing from worry and frustration.
Again you enter the apartment as you hold the door frame tightly to close it, but Criston stops you again.
"You must understand the gravity of what happened," he tells you seriously, "Your disappearance put Aemond's relationship with his son in danger. There are legal implications for you to consider, such as custody," he says and your heart flips, "I can explain all of this to you and resolve it in the best way possible," he looks at you in insistence, "But only if you let me in so we can talk."
And there they are again. Your greatest fears.
The word 'custody' repeats over and over in your mind, like a loop, causing you greater fear, worry and pressure than before, the gravity of the situation and the looming legal implications being clear.
The air weighs on you, heavy with uncertainty and intense tension, as well as you are overcome with the urge to cry because of your doubts and fear.
"Wh-what-" you try to speak in a whisper, your voice cracking and your heart in a fist, "Custody?" you repeat under your breath.
Criston watches you with some pity and understanding, then lowers his gaze, lets out a sigh and watches you with that sympathy and also a little expectant.
"May I come in?"
Try one more time and maybe it's because of his words that your mind is in a state of alarm that makes you recognize that you can't run away again or else things will get worse. And you don't want that. You are afraid for yourself and Aenar.
Feeling more of your anxiety, you finally allow him to enter and Criston at this thanks you with his gaze and moves carefully, noticing your visible discomfort and also your fear, not wanting to alter you any further with absolutely nothing.
And once the door closes, you immediately stand in front of Aenar with a weak and vulnerable posture trying to look strong, this catching his attention and feeling something warm in his chest at the presence of the little one.
But he also knows exactly why you react this way and he doesn't blame you for it, much less does it bother him because he understands you.
"I'm very honest when I tell you that we really don't want to create more trouble, Y/N," he tells you in a soft tone, "Aemond…. he really is very worried. And since he is my client, we don't want any legal implications or further conflict."
You try to keep your composure, but your thoughts are a storm of confused emotions. The very idea of dealing with legal issues, especially regarding your son, is overwhelming to you.
"Why now?" you ask in a trembling voice, your gaze searching for answers, "All this… why?"
Criston exhales slowly, trying to find the right words.
"The situation has changed, basically since you left. Aemond was wrong at the time and I admit I was too, so now he's willing to acknowledge your son, in every way possible."
You can't help but look incredulous and bitter once again.
"It's already too late for that, don't you think?" you ask him in a bitter tone.
Criston looks down for a moment, his expression one of compassion and understanding towards your perspective.
"Yes, we know," he nods to you, "And that's why we're here, trying to keep all this from becoming a bigger problem. But please Y/N, understand that Aemond doesn't want to hurt you or cause you any more trouble than he's already caused."
"And until now you say that?" you inquire sad, worried, fearful and indignant, "That's what I needed to hear before when I was scared, because I was scared too Criston, not just Aemond," you let him know, with tears in the corners of your eyes, "But you treated me like a problem you needed to get rid of, you and him."
Criston listens to your words with a gesture in his eyes that reflects the heaviness of the situation, just as you see shame and regret wash over him, suddenly seeing him as the vulnerable one and you as the strong one compared to years ago, the roles reversing for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Y/N. We didn't mean to make you feel that way," he says in a regret-laden tone.
"Sorry doesn't change anything," you say, fighting back tears.
You watch him with your hard stare and sad eyes, feeling several tears fall down your cheeks, making you remember once again.
And once again without letting it drown you, you force yourself to push those memories away, all your moments of uncertainty, fear and pain, to brush your tears away from your cheeks with a strong look of determination.
"I will accept any legal consequences if there are any," you say suddenly, trying to keep your composure, "If there are legal actions, I'm willing to face them. But for now, I just want to be left alone, please."
"Y/N," Criston calls you cautiously, "I just want you to understand that we want to do the right thing now. And what we want to do is find a solution that works for you and for Aemond regarding him," he points to Aenar with his gaze behind you, "Something that guarantees your privacy while not damaging his public image."
Then all the effect of his words completely disappear on you.
You feel a surge of frustration, annoyance and despair at the realization that still the main concern remains Aemond's career.
"Do you still think about his career?" you ask with disappointment and resentment in your tone.
"Y/N—
"The most important thing here is my son," you stand strong, "But he seems to be only one aspect of Aemond's image, doesn't he?"
"Even after all this time that has passed, Aemond's career is more successful and even promising than before, that is something that neither you, him nor I should forget, let alone ignore," he tries to explain to you, "Aemond wants to fix things but his career must also be contemplated, please understand this Y/N."
"Then why do you say you want to do things the right way now if that is not true?" you inquire.
"Yes it is true," he clarifies, "But within all of this, his career must still be contemplated."
You shake your head in disbelief, unable to believe it.
"You say a lot of things Criston, but it's clear what matters most to you," you say with no emotion in your voice, "And sure, why shouldn't his career matter most to you? After all… you don't know what it's like to get pregnant, without support and go through the whole process by yourself, and then raise a child on your own, without the support of his father."
"I don't mean to—
"Please go away," you plead once more and this again alerts him.
"Y/N—
He tries to speak but the sound of the door echoes throughout the living room, drawing your full attention and Criston's as well.
The atmosphere again becomes heavier than before, as well as all your confidence disappears, already knowing who it is and you are confirmed by the fact that the person behind the door knocks more insistently, sounding desperate.
With your fearful gaze and your whole body tense, you quickly move towards Aenar, who is still playing completely oblivious to everything that is happening on the floor and you take him in your arms with haste but also care.
You hold him tightly against your body, as a way to protect him from everything outside and also from all people especially while trying to contain all your emotions.
And Criston, who also knows who it is, rushes to the door to open it.
And there on the doorway, the figure of Aemond comes into view, with all the desperation and longing in his gaze, the worry and anguish too, as you muster the courage to be able to look him in the eye again, holding Aenar a little more firmly against your chest.
But your son's body is visible to the eye and that's what makes Aemond completely paralyzed at the sight of you with his son in your arms.
Surprise is completely reflected in his whole look, immediately followed by a bunch of emotions that start to pile up in his whole being and want to come out, as he feels his whole body tense up and a feeling in his stomach invades him.
This leaves him and you in a state of momentary restlessness, where time seems to stand still and the silence is too loud. You, with your gaze fixed on him, try to keep your composure with a mixture of fear, insecurity and some determination to protect your son at all costs.
It didn't take long for Aemond's surprise to turn into a moment of awe and a surge of overwhelming emotions. The mere sight of you with his child in your arms triggers disbelief, pent-up longing and a feeling of suppressed joy.
"Y/N," Aemond calls your name in a whisper, his tone laden with surprise and visible regret, where his gaze can't tear away from you and Aenar.
You say nothing, just watch him back without saying anything, with all your emotions reflecting in your eyes.
The moment is just the three of you, so Criston turns away completely, not interfering and saying absolutely nothing, while you continue in your protective mode and Aemond is still processing this whole moment.
With excitement clashing against the surprise in his eyes, he tries to process the reality of having his son before him for the first time.
He searches for the right words to speak, but his stuck mind won't let him, nor will the lump in his throat and stomach as he continues to watch the scene in front of him; you with his son in your arms.
He tries to say something, but his lips barely half open and the words won't come out, feeling his heart beating too fast and hard.
And you with your gaze full of expectation, fear and caution, Aemond finally looks at you again, aware of all the emotional charge you feel, just like him, as well as your fear and distrust after everything that happened.
"C-can… can I come closer?"
He finally asks cautiously, his voice with a tone of longing and nervousness barely contained.
You hesitate at that moment.
Feeling the weight of the situation and the emotions that are triggered at that moment, despite everything, you feel very vulnerable and you also feel his vulnerability, also that longing to touch Aenar and hold him.
And despite the way he acted with you almost two years ago and also the way Criston and all his team treated you, you don't feel able to be as cruel as they were with you back then.
You don't want to be like them and also aware that this day would come sooner or later, you watch Aenar for a moment, leave a soft kiss on his forehead and again watch Aemond, then nod in his direction with a barely perceptible gesture.
You allow Aemond your closeness and he with extreme care begins to approach you slowly, as if fearing that a sudden movement could fade the magical and longing moment.
Aemond's heartbeat echoes in your ears as he finally stands in front of your son.
Aenar, completely oblivious to everything, senses the nearness of someone else and raises his curious gaze to Aemond, watching him with those bright blue eyes.
And upon seeing that man with the same hair color as his own, his eyes light up with a gleam of curiosity, lightly waving his arms and also his body.
With his teary eye, he watches you for a moment, to again focus on Aenar and with a mixture of excitement and awe, he extends one of his trembling hands towards his small, delicate face.
And when the touch of his fingers against his soft skin of his cheek makes itself felt, Aemond feels an unfamiliar sensation invade him completely.
A sad but honest smile full of melancholy appears on his lips as he gently and carefully traces his face, running his hand up to his silver hair, gazing intently into those blue eyes just like his own as Aenar watches him with that playful innocence but also just as curious as his own.
You, unsure of exactly what to feel or think, watch as he carefully reaches out both arms and begins to hold his body, feeling the warmth and weight of his small body now resting in his arms.
That unfamiliar, overwhelming feeling from before comes over him even more strongly as he holds his son for the first time, when Aenar lifts one of his hands and touches his left cheek, where his scar is.
The emotion makes his breath hitch as he struggles to hold back the tears of restrained happiness that will come at any moment.
It was a moment he had imagined countless times, but had never believed possible until this instant.
Aenar, captivated by the newness and warmth in the arms of Aemond, his father, laughs innocently, his eyes dazzling a happiness as he notices the familiarity in that new face above him. And at his gesture, Aemond lets out a choked laugh, completely captivated by him.
And unable to contain himself any longer, the first sob escapes his throat and the tears fall, instantly pulling his son's face to his chest, embracing him with gentleness and that security that makes him feel so vulnerable when Aenar settles perfectly in his arms.
Guilt, sadness, joy, emotion, everything invades him in that moment.
And he lets out more tears for the comfort that Aenar gives him in his arms, that feeling of protection and even… love, that makes him feel even more vulnerable.
And you are still there, close to them but giving Aemond his space, watching everything attentively with your heart in a fist and feeling sensations you had not felt before at the scene, with tears also wanting to slide down your cheeks.
After a few more seconds, Aemond slurps his nose and looks over Aenar's small shoulder at you with all the vulnerability in his gaze.
"I-I know I don't deserve this," he says with his voice cracking, trying to control himself but he can't.
And he is about to say something else but you watching his expression, a mixture of regret and deep sadness, you step forward to speak.
"In spite of everything, he deserves to know his father," you murmur with your trembling voice and teary eyes, "Aenar deserves this," you assure him, accepting it as you watch the scene of the two of them.
Aemond nods, unable to articulate words, still feeling the lump in his throat, his face reflecting pain, regret and a sadness you have never seen in him before, as his tears continue to fall as he embraces his son.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, unable to contain the emotion, turning to him and to you. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know how to face it…how to be there."
Silence again settles throughout the apartment, only being filled by Aemond's soft crying, as you silently weep and continue to watch the two of them.
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A few minutes have passed since Aemond and your son met for the first time.
Aenar laughs with delight as Aemond plays with him with one of his toys. They are both immersed in a little world of fun where it's just the two of them, surrounded by Legos blocks, small plastic cars and puppets.
You watch everything, or almost everything, without interfering and giving them both their space, watching your son enjoy a special moment that on another occasion, could have been a daily routine with a different life.
Criston doesn't say or do anything either, he at all times stands in the corner watching the whole interaction, letting Aemond have his moment with his son, genuinely feeling happy for him.
And even though the scene makes you feel warm in your heart, being a scene you longed for before, you still still feel insecure, afraid and overwhelmed by this whole situation.
This doesn't really change anything. You have only given Aemond the opportunity to meet his son because your son deserves it, nothing more.
Inside you are still just as scared and in expectation that at any moment this whole 'beautiful' moment will fade away. And that's exactly what happens when you hear Criston's voice all over the living room.
"I wouldn't want to ruin the moment, truly," he says seriously and honestly, "But it's important that we talk about all this so we can resolve it properly."
This immediately catches your attention and also Aemond's, with whom you exchange a quick glance, again feeling your whole body tremble and out of the same nervousness you are overcome with the impulse to take your son in your arms to feel safe.
"It is important that we talk about the child, about what you are going to do now," he turns to Aemond, "Custody is important and all that goes with it."
"I don't understand why you keep talking about custody," you look at him nervously and annoyed, "I alone have cared for and raised Aenar all this time."
"I know this is complicated and sudden, Y/N," Criston tells you, "But we need to approach this whole thing responsibly."
"Responsibility?" you repeat incredulously, "What responsibility are you exactly talking about?"
"Y/N," Aemond immediately interjects, "Listen to me, please," he gets up from the floor leaving Aenar playing alone and walks towards you, "It's not my intention to take our son away from you, truly. But we must make sure we have legal rights to be in his life," he explains to you, "You were the one who ran away, who disappeared without a word. I didn't know what happened to you."
You look at him uncomprehendingly, with your hurt and desperate gaze.
"You talk about custody and rights when in the beginning that was the last thing on your mind, Aemond," you observe him incredulously, "And you keep reproaching me for running away when you know perfectly well that I did it so I could live and so I wouldn't ruin your career, which was all you were thinking about."
Regret again invades Aemond's face, as the atmosphere becomes denser, full of mixed emotions where fear and anger resurfaces with everything else.
Any trace of calm and peace, has ceased to exist, only being perceived by Aenar, who continues oblivious and innocent to all this in his games.
"I-I…" Aemond tries to speak, "I'm sorry for everything, Y/N. But back then...
His sentence hangs in suspense, not knowing what else to say, trying to find the right words without wanting to generate more tension, but that's what he involuntarily does.
"Back then," you repeat, your emotions running high, "Back then you were too busy taking care of your public image, supporting the idea of an abortion without consulting me, then supporting the idea of hiding me and my child as if we were a problem, which in fact we were and as if it was my only option, leaving me with no alternatives," you express with frustration and pain marked in every word.
Regret remains in Aemond's facial expressions, looking visibly affected by your words, grief-stricken and with a regret throughout his body that affirms to him that you are absolutely right, each word being like a dagger straight to his heart.
"Y-you don't know how much I regret and blame myself for all of that, Y/N," he tells you with vulnerability in his tone, "And I know I don't deserve it, any of this, not even that you allowed me to meet him and that I'm now in the same place as him," he says with regret, "But I want to find a solution that works for both of us," he whispers sadly.
The room is again consumed by silence, except for the sound of Aenar's toy movements, which is what catches Aemond's attention for a moment to smile a little more melancholy.
The situation becomes increasingly complex as your emotions continue to run high between anger and sadness, with the memory of past times still latent, but also with the uncertainty of the future.
And Criston, trying to keep calm, intervenes again.
"I understand that you both have different perspectives on what happened. But now we need to think about the future, of your son," he says seriously, "It's not just about custody, it's about finding a way to strike a fair balance, but… thinking about your career too, Aemond."
You let out a disbelieving, ironic snort again, shaking your head.
"His career,'" you repeat with a bitter tone, your voice a mixture of sarcasm and disappointment.
Aemond, watching you sadly and remorsefully, speaks in a calm but regret-laden voice.
"I don't want you to look at this that way, Y/N—
"That's just the way I see it," you interrupt him, serious and sad, "This is exactly why I left. This is why when I saw you again, I decided to run away again," you say hurt, "Now that you've met him, you want to be in his life, but you still prefer to hide us. This kind of life is the one you wanted to give us at the beginning and now you still do too."
Your revelations Aemond had already heard, but at that moment, again that sharp pain in his chest becomes present, as well as guilt, remorse and regret at seeing your sad face with such honest words.
"All I want is to come to an agreement, Y/N, please—
"You're not going to hide us," you interrupt him firmly.
"Aemond," he calls him seriously.
"No, that's not my intention—
He insists desperately but Criston intervenes.
"Don't," Aemond interrupts him instantly, turning serious and with an annoyed expression towards him, "We can't hide the truth anymore, Criston. Things must change."
"Look, I understand that this is difficult for you," he begins in a serious and cautious tone, "But still, we must consider the consequences. There's a lot at stake here, your career," he reminds him, "You have numerous job offers. Your show on HBO is the most famous show on the platform and the most watched show on television so far. How do you think people are going to react when they find out about your son?"
The room sinks into another silence, as you watch him with your hard, sad face, frustration, annoyance and irritation inside you, watching as Criston continues to treat your son like he's a problem.
And it hurts you.
Because Aemond doesn't even say anything.
"We can find a way to handle all this without putting at risk everything you have achieved, Aemond. And if you get a share of the custody, your son will be under your protection without harming your image," he proposes with an insistent look, seeking his approval.
You look away again, completely incredulous and with helplessness all over you.
It's not Aemond, it's Criston.
It is he who continues to manipulate Aemond to prioritize his career over his son, so that everything revolves around public image and fame, diverting attention from the well-being of your son.
And what can you really do there?
He is his agent, the person who has positioned him where he is now, making him famous, relevant, telling him what roles to take in movies or TV shows that are going to ensure one more success to his career.
"If you listen to him…" you begin to say in his direction with a trembling but firm tone, "If you do what he tells you, I swear I won't care what I have to do, even go into debt to get a good lawyer," you warn, "I will fight for the custody of Aenar and when I get it, I assure you that you will never see him again, ever."
Your words slip from your lips with a determination that completely surprises Aemond, surprise and concern visible on his face, watching you hurt for a moment, his mind a complete mess.
But it is not he who speaks, but Criston who takes the floor once more.
"If that's what you want, Y/N… that's fine," he tells you seriously, his gaze cold and calculating. "But let me warn you, we're trying to come to an agreement—
"The two of you or you specifically?" you snap at him.
"That doesn't matter, Aemond is my client and my job is to secure and protect his career," he tells you seriously, "And if you'd rather take this to fighting for full custody of Aenar, then so be it," he nods at you, "But I assure you, you're going to end up losing."
"That's enough."
Finally, Aemond's voice rises from where he stands, aimed directly at Criston, with a serious, hard stare that reveals a newfound determination.
"We are talking about our son, an issue that concerns her and me, this has nothing to do with you," he declares, his tone firm and his posture defiant.
"Your career has to do with me," he clarifies to her also serious, "You must think about what you are going to sacrifice. Your future, your career, the opportunities that await you-
"I said that's enough," he spits back at her, serious and annoyed, watching him with a hard stare, taking Criston by surprise.
And before he can say anything else, there is another knock on the door, drawing your full attention and making you feel completely alert, especially when Criston is the one who again goes to open the door, as if he knows exactly who it is.
And as you open the door, just like that day, Aemond's publicist, an assistant and the PR people enter your apartment.
Surprise flashes all over your face, watching with your eyes wide open the unexpected arrival of that group of people, whose intentions are not good.
"Thank you for coming," Criston tells them as he closes the door behind him.
"Of course."
Their eyes flick to you for a moment and then focus on Aenar, watching them back with curiosity in their gaze, while you feel confusion and fear completely take over you.
Despair, fear, your future, Aenar, everything mixes together in a horrible way that makes you want to vomit, letting out a couple of tears to quickly turn to your son and hold him in your arm, turning your back to them and starting to cry silently.
And Aemond, seeing your reaction, equally as surprised as you, quickly turns to Criston, his gaze full of confusion and annoyance.
"What is this? Why have you called them?" he inquires with his voice full of restrained anger.
And Criston, unabashed and uncaring of his actions, responds with a calm but calculated determination.
"We are not going before a jury to settle this, Aemond, it will be a waste of time and she will cause us more trouble," he says regardless, "This is necessary for your career, to address this whole issue strategically to protect your image, whether she likes it or not."
Aemond's expression transforms to one of frustration and helplessness.
But before he can intervene, his entire team begins to act.
"We need to establish an immediate plan, now," Criston says.
"Will the strategy be to minimize the impact on the media?" asks the publicity man.
"No, I want it hidden," Criston clarifies, "The approach must be careful and calculated. The priority is Aemond's reputation and career."
"I suggest we limit the exposure of Y/N and the child in public."
"We could create an alternative narrative to deflect attention by highlighting Aemond's professional accomplishments and minimizing the focus on his personal life."
"This must be handled with discretion. We cannot allow this situation to interfere with Aemond's career opportunities," Criston says firmly.
And so your entire living room fills with the sound of all those voices, each voice contributing ideas to control the situation, the problems, Aenar and you.
The tension intensifies, as everyone meticulously plans how to run the public narrative, completely ignoring Aemond's and your personal needs and concerns.
Tears slip down your cheeks silently as you hug Aenar tightly to your chest. This instantly catches the attention of Aemond, who steps worriedly towards you, placing his hand on your shoulder, positioning himself in front of you, but you abruptly pull away from him, watching him with an expression of pain and anguish amidst your tears and suffering face.
"Y/N—
"Why are you doing this? Why are you allowing this?" you ask in your broken, desperate voice.
"No, I swear to you I had no idea that he—
"I left, Aemond," you remind him with your voice cracking, "I left to save your career. And everything was fine, with you and me, our lives," you sob, "Why did you ask Criston to find me? Why do you care and insist on saying you want to be in our lives, when your career is still the most important thing?"
Pain and confusion echo in your words, lingering in the mind of Aemond, who in his gaze reflects a mixture of guilt, bewilderment, pain and sadness.
But everything hurts him more the moment you turn away from him, with a defeated gesture, turning your back to him and your whole body trembling in fear, Aenar in your arms being what gives you strength not to fall apart at that moment.
"We can prepare official statements to control the leaking information to minimize any negative impact on his public reputation."
"Rest assured that we need to maintain full control of this situation. We cannot allow any details to slip out," Aemond hears Criston's voice.
And that's when something snaps inside him.
Every repressed feeling bursts out in a whirlwind of emotions that were fighting to get out, your worry, the anger at himself and the guilt that invades him.
Everything explodes and ignites into a fury that he can no longer contain, seeing your state, causing him anger and feeling completely guilty.
Because everything is in fact his fault.
So without waiting a second longer, he walks to the center of the living room and with a hard, serious, completely annoyed look on his face and with his jaw clenched, he acts.
"Get out of here, all of you, now!" he exclaims, instantly drawing everyone's attention and yours as well.
For an instant everyone watches him and nothing else, slightly surprised and expectant, Criston too, unmoving and doing nothing, causing you a wave of despair.
"I said everyone out!" he exclaims in a firm voice and his gaze full of determination.
And it's only then that one by one the team finally leaves your apartment, except for Criston.
"What are you doing?" he inquires with a touch of disbelief in his tone, challenging Aemond.
"You get out of here too."
He orders him annoyed and with irritation, his voice charged with a frustration that has already reached its limit.
"Aemond, this is important, you can't just—
"I need to talk to Y/N alone," he interrupts her with his tone in a mixture of anger and determination, "I'm warning you, Criston. If you ever do anything else again without consulting me and interfering with this, I'm going to seriously consider firing you, which is what I should have done long ago," he shoots back at him with his defiant stare.
The pulse of the room beats with unbearable intensity as Aemond and Criston hold a duel of intense stares. However, in the face of Aemond's firmness, Criston finally resigns himself with a serious, annoyed look, full of frustration and resignation.
And finally he heads for the door, his footsteps sounding in the room as he leaves the apartment.
Aemond watches him leave with a mixture of relief and exhaustion, no longer feeling his shoulders tense. The silence expands once more as soon as the door closes and he turns to you with a gaze filled with a quiet, worried intensity.
The silence lingers for a few moments longer, a dense atmosphere charged with unspoken emotions. When he takes a step toward you, hesitantly.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs, his voice ringing with sincerity and regret, "What happened, my insistence… none of this was my intention, much less to cause you pain and hurt you," he admits with his vulnerability again reflected.
And even though it's just you and him in your apartment, your fear lingers.
"P-please don't take my son from me," you plead between sobs, your voice filled with anguish and fear.
Aemond's heart contracts in suffering and worry at your words, his gaze instantly reflecting it.
"What? No, no, Y/N… that is not what I want to do, it is not my intention to take our son from you."
He tells you instantly insistent but in a serene and sincere voice, taking a few more steps towards you, placing himself in front of you, trying to reassure you. But tears continue to slide down your cheeks.
"This is why I left, so I wouldn't cause you any more trouble, so I could live and keep our son safe," you repeat with your voice cracking.
"I know, Y/N, I know," he tells you sympathetically and with a soft tone, "And you don't know how much I hate myself for having been the cause of you deciding to leave, for having hurt you so much to the point of having made that decision," he says sincerely, his eye beginning to tear up, "And this is not just about him, about our son," he tries to explain, "Yes, it is important, but it is also about us," he speaks with a longing, "Since you left, I never stopped thinking about you, and I-I...
He hesitates, unable to fully express his feelings, as he stands in front of you and wants to hold you, you and your son, as he faces his deepest emotions, feeling a tear run down his cheek and looks at you with all the sincerity and pain in his gaze.
"I love you," he finally says, in a completely vulnerable whisper, trembling, lowering his gaze, unable to look you in the eye, "Despite everything, despite my mistakes, despite my work, despite everything that happened…. I-I still love you," he declares in a whisper laden with longing and regret, "And our son too."
His words get stuck in your mind.
With your heart clenched by the surge of emotions, your eyes watch him back with a mixture of surprise, pain and longing. Aemond's sincerity and vulnerability... it's all too much and makes you feel completely helpless, definitely not expecting that.
You can't speak, your words get stuck in your throat, your heart fluttering with the intensity of the moment, your surprise.
And Aemond completely understands your silence.
"I understand that you don't love me anymore and that you can't love me again, I also understand that things can't go back to the way they used to be because of my job. But please… don't keep running away," he pleads quietly, "We won't fight over custody, there will be no legal repercussions, I'm not going to do any of that," he assures you, "Just…" he lets out a long breath, "Just get back to work and let's face this together."
He proposes with his voice full of fragile but hopeful determination, unexpectedly causing you to feel a relief and a warm feeling in your chest.
"I just want Aenar to be okay and let's consider his well-being as the most important thing," you say quietly, while Aemond listens attentively with his face full of longing, regret and understanding, "But we need time and patience. Also that no one else interferes."
Aemond nods, with a slightly more relieved expression, but keeping in mind that there is much to resolve, to heal and to build.
"I understand that and… I'm willing to do whatever it takes… for him and for you," he says sincerely.
You nod too, as silence takes over again, but this time it is permeated with a shared understanding and a determination to face whatever is necessary for Aenar's well-being.
And finally after so much, you feel calm and fortunately, this time with the support of Aemond, who hesitantly leaves a gentle kiss on your forehead and another on Aenar's forehead, taking him back into his arms.
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@anehkael
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astroph1les · 3 months
Text
this love [h.c] | chapter four
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summary: after the events of last night, you’re living in bliss with hazel: sharing secret kisses and gentle touches. you and hazel try a few new things. when isabel catches the two of you, an unsettling realization comes into play.
pairing: hazel callahan x fem!reader
contains: a lot of affection, blushy adorable sapphics, smut — fingering (r! receiving), discussions about homophobia, inexperienced! reader, knight! hazel is forever going to be the death of me.
word count: 6.1K
a/n: first post of the new year! i’m so incredibly sorry for the delay for this guys. life has been so insanely weird lately and i missed writing my sweet girls <3 new year’s resolution to try and post a lot more for yall. enjoy my loves ♥︎
‘this love’ masterlist
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Time is sacred.
You never paid attention to time until Hazel. It either froze or went by entirely too fast when you were with her. Especially now that your relationship with her was anything but professional. Yes, of course, you were both extremely careful with how you acted towards one another when Isabel or any of the guards were around. Keeping your distance but stealing longing glances until you rounded a corner where there wasn’t a soul in sight and kissed until you couldn’t breathe.
The first week of being with her like this was indescribable. You never knew you could experience this amount of happiness within yourself. Though it took a few days for you both to become comfortable with yourselves.
The first day was on edge. You awoke that next morning to Hazel’s perfectly sculpted face pressed into your velvety pillows to match your title as royalty. As you stared at her cupid's bow, an uncomfortable amount of guilt settled within you.
What would your mother think? What would Isabel think? What would the kingdom think if they found out the princess was in fact more different than they thought. That was you were a sapphic and would not want to be wed to a prince, but instead a woman that was a knight.
You were afraid. Heart-aching, soul-crushing, overwhelmingly afraid for the future.
But the moment Hazel opened her eyes and sent you a tired smile in your direction, you felt a wave of relief flush over you.
“Morning, princess,” Hazel spoke through a stretch and a yawn.
“Morning,” you reply shyly as you brushed your tousled hair out of your face.
“Are you okay?” Hazel hesitantly raised a hand to caress your puffy cheeks from your well-rested slumber.
You can’t help but lean your cheek into her warm yet slightly calloused palm.
“Yeah. I’m just thinking.” You respond truthfully to her question.
Hazel caressed the apple of your cheeks, watching as the beam from the windows highlighted the back of your head to reveal your frizzy hairs. A bright angelic halo of sorts.
“About last night?”
You nod as it was true but there was so much more. Your half-truths were weighing on your chest uncomfortably.
“What happens now?” You question as you’ve never experienced anything of the sort.
Hazel shakes her head as she continues to caress the side of your cheek.
“Let’s just stay in the moment. It’s gentle here with you, princess.” Hazel whispers with nothing but kindness in her voice.
You simply smile tiredly and inch yourself more into her if that was even possible. You could feel her abdomen pressing into your own through the thin material of her shirt. Your arms are close to your chest as she continues to caress your face with delicacy.
A beat passed before you heard a soft knock at your bedroom door. You sat up with a jolt at the noise, practically snapping your neck to look at Hazel who, too, had a panicked expression on her face.
“Who is it?” You call out as you run a hand over your frizzy bed hair.
“Isabel! Remember? You wanted to talk about Hazel this morning.?” Isabel’s confused and muffled voice flowed through the door.
No. You, in fact, had not remembered. You were too busy kissing and snuggling Hazel.
Hazel mouthed to you with a cocky smile on her face; “me?”
You silently shush her with a playful shove to her shoulder as you shake your head. Hazel placed a kiss on your shoulder as she chuckled quietly at your embarrassed flushed cheeks.
“Isabel, can you meet me in the dining room? I’m not… presentable at the moment.” You nervously laugh, fiddling with a loose strand on your elegant covers.
Another beat of deafening silence.
“Alright. How long will you be?” Isabel sounded extremely hesitant from behind the door.
Guilt settled in your gut. You were going to tell her eventually. Maybe. You weren't sure if it was worth the risk. Yes, Isabel had never once showed you any sort of aggression or hatred towards anything but you never knew how someone could be when you revealed that you were, in fact, a sapphic.
“Only ten minutes. I promise.” You assure her, glancing at Hazel who seemed a bit weary.
“I'll be in the dining room then,” Isabel borderline mumbles through the door.
Once you heard her footsteps recede past your bedroom and down the lengthy hallway, you let out a sigh of relief. One of your hands pressed over your rapid-beating heart to try and relax your anxious thoughts. Hazel was about to tease you about how you were going to be talking about her with Isabel but as soon as she noticed your shaking hands, it was no longer amusing.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Hazel’s voice whispers as she notices how hard your breathing became. Her hand gently caresses at the side of your face.
“I-I don’t know what I’m going to tell her, Hazel. She’d—“
“You don’t have to tell her anything if you don’t want to. She is not obligated to know, princess.” Hazel assured you.
You shook your head before replying; “she’s my friend. I trust her.”
“I understand. If you wish to tell her, that is okay with me but,” Hazel licked her lips as she paused her words to try and find the right ones. “Are you going to be okay with it? With any sort of reaction that could happen after you tell her; bad or good?”
Yes, for the good. No; for the bad. Your mind was flipping back and forth. You were about ninety percent certain that Isabel would be okay with you and you and Hazel’s relationship. That small percentage of the gut-wrenching possibility that she could despise you forever was holding you back from saying ‘yes’.
“I won't tell her. Yet, at least.” You said simply.
“And that’s okay.” Hazel’s gentle tone reassured your buzzing anxiety.
You nod slowly, a smile spreading onto your face. Hazel’s lips curled as well, leaning forward to kiss your cheek softly.
After reluctantly getting out of the bed, though Hazel’s lips were a painful temptation, you met up with Isabel in the dining room for breakfast. Linda and Nina cooked you and Isabel eggs with slices of bread on the side with a few choices of homemade jams from the fruits growing in the garden.
Hazel had to have been in the knights quarters by now as you kissed her goodbye before making your way to lie to your only friend. Isabel had already begun spreading the blueberry jam onto the wheat bread with an excited look on her face.
“What happened in the garden?” Isabel questioned.
“Um, well,” you start as you pick at your over-easy eggs to try and remember what you and Hazel had come up with, “we kind of got into an argument about why she was upset with me. We talked it out and now we’re all good. I think we’re closer now because of it.”
Yeah, her tongue in your mouth ‘close’.
Isabel nodded along before tilting her head with furrowed brows. “What exactly did you two talk about?”
“It was nothing really. We’re okay now is all that matters.” You emphasized to the honey haired beauty.
Isabel seemed to not really believe what you were saying and you were internally panicking and hoped that she would move on. Thankfully, she just nodded and continued to eat brunch with you. She moved on to tell you that she enjoyed seeing her family so much that she was hoping to be able to leave the palace on her own to stay with them for a few more days.
“Bel, oh my god. Of course,” your eyes soften at her beaming eyes.
God, it was eating at you how you could lie to someone as incredibly sweet as she was.
“Okay,” she said through giddy laughter as she took a bite of her slice of bread, “I’ll pack clothing for the trip after breakfast. Thank you so much.”
“What did I tell you about the ‘thank you’s?” You raised your eyebrows at her, pointing at her with a fork.
“I know, I know. I just…” Isabel sighed as she looked like she was stuck on her words. Her eyes were following all across your features and it caused you to mess with your flyaway hairs subconsciously.
“What?” You let out a soft chuckle, avoiding her eyes.
“You seem brighter today.” Isabel admits with a sweet smile.
Another stab to the heart. This really wasn’t going to be easy on you, was it?
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A few days followed and you grew more and more comfortable with being this intimate with the charming knight. The kisses were heavier and the touches lingered for longer.
This beautiful morning, you forced yourself to get up from the safe space of the soft bed and got ready for the day. Hazel strangely enough kept her distance from you as you got ready on your own. Isabel was still in town with her family so the palace was eerily empty; other than the knights, of course.
You brushed it off as this was probably just as new to her as it was to you. Two women being intimate like this wasn’t unheard of but it was drastically shamed upon. The thought of the two of you being exposed to the public struck an inexplicable amount of fear through you.
As you slipped on the dress, you watched her through the mirror as she stood up from the bed. You tensed up as her hands reached out to carefully tug on the ropes of the corset in the back. You sucked in a deep breath Hazel’s fingers grazed against the bare skin of your back.
“Is this okay?” Hazel’s whispers.
You simply nod, a very obvious blush on your cheeks as she ties the corset portion off to secure the fabric onto your body. Hazel traces the stitching before retracting her hands to smile at you through the mirror.
“You are beautiful, princess.” Her tone was genuine as her eyes fell to the sage green material of your corset portion of your dress.
“You are a charmer, Hazel,” you reply, trying to hide how much that lifted your spirit.
Hazel chuckled at your deflection of her compliment as she already knew how you were.
“And you are stubborn.” Hazel leaned forward to place a feather-soft kiss onto the crook of your neck.
The gesture caused the faintest of gasps to leave your lips before turning around to face her fully. You were met with her deep blue eyes staring into your own, a glint that was unrecognizable in hers.
“Would you teach me how to fight?” You change the subject, somehow suddenly remembering that she was a trained knight.
Hazel’s eyes narrowed for a moment in thought as you lean forward to scrunch up your nose in her face. Hazel copied your actions which caused you to smile adoringly at her.
“I think you could already put up a good fight so…” Hazel cleared her throat and jerked her head towards your bedroom doors. “Let’s go and test that theory, princess.”
You couldn’t believe she agreed so quickly. You had no experience whatsoever in any other kind of combat. The only thing you knew how to expertly do was disassociate when your parents scolded you.
“Wait, really? You’ll teach me?” You beamed excitedly at her words.
“Of course. Whatever my princess wants,” her tone deepened ever so slightly that caused shivers to run down your spine.
Hazel motioned towards the bedroom doors with a small smile as you hadn’t responded to her comment. All you could do was reciprocate the smile as you followed behind Hazel as she tugged open the door for you. She stood to the side with perfect posture as you walked past her, a soft ‘thank you’ leaving your lips.
You haven’t gotten any new news on how your parents were doing or if they had even arrived in the new country yet. You didn't care as much as you should but there wasn’t an ounce of guilt within you. You haven’t enjoyed yourself in such a long time and it was all thanks to Hazel. Oh, and of course your parents' obsession with giving you away to some random prince.
“What do you want to learn first?” Hazel questions as she walks side by side with you as you make your way to the back of the palace. “There’s sword fighting, hand-to-hand, archery— well that’s considered hunting more than anything but a skill nonetheless.”
“Well, what do you think I could be good at?” You ask curiously.
Sometimes you hated how you couldn't be inside of Hazel’s mind to see what she thought of you. When she looked at you, it seemed a lot more gentle than saying your parents were too. It intrigued you more than anything.
Hazel looked over at you with a smug smile before shaking her head. Damn her private thoughts.
“What?” You press with her a confused chuckle.
“How about we start with hand to hand combat, princess, yeah?” She completely dodged your question.
You would’ve minded a lot more but the way she tilted her head when she spoke to you made your head cloud with desire. You blush and nod at her suggestion. You followed her to the training area designated for the knights just outside of their quarters, eyeing the wooden set up of the swords.
There were a few bow and arrows and targets that were carved into wooden boards. Bow and arrows were more for hunting as you were told by your mother and father.
“How do we start?” You question as you stare out at the open area of grass.
“Before we start, we have to discuss the one ground rule.” Hazel cleared her throat, turning to you with a more serious expression. “The second you feel any sort of uncomfort or fear, you tell me immediately. Do not hesitate. I mean it, princess. It’s my job to protect you and make sure you’re okay.”
“I thought the job my father gave you was to keep me in line because I’m ‘stubborn’.” You quip with a cheeky grin.
“Well, he hasn’t been wrong about that, has he?” Hazel’s eyebrows rose at you.
You remained silent as you knew she got you there. Your stubbornness was evident in this very moment.
“Now, tell me you’ll say if you don’t want to do this anymore. Even if it's mid-fight, you tell me.” Hazel’s eyes bore into your own, your face heating up from the intensity of her deep blue gaze.
You nod, biting back your cheeky attitude to show you were serious about this as well.
“No. Words, princess.” Hazel shook her head.
“Yes, I will tell you.” You suck in a deep breath as you straighten your back.
“Good.”
Was it normal to be aroused by a voice? You asked yourself as she gently yet sternly spoke to you. You felt like you were going insane by wanting to have her instruct you how to do anything and everything.
Now being early summer, beads of sweat were forming at your hairline. Your hair was already into a singular ponytail, being held back by a piece of ribbon that was the same color as your corset portion of your dress. Your everyday dress clung tightly to your body, the flowy sleeves sending a breeze to up your arms with every movement. Hazel had half of her short hair tied up, the look suiting her quite well. You were afraid you would be distracted and get accidentally punched in the face.
“Now, when in combat, a lot of the time your opponent will try to throw you off guard but it's usually some form of punch,” Hazel explained as she slowly circled you.
“Okay, how do I do that?” You turn your head to follow her body.
“Do what?” Hazel blinked.
“Throw a proper punch.” Your eyes are wide with curiosity.
Hazel stopped her circling right in front of you with a soft smile.
“Hold your fists up for me, princess. Like this.”
Hazel demonstrated what your stance should be. You imitate her position, holding your fists straight outwards. She shook her head at you before reaching forward to adjust your arms so that your elbows were bent.
“There we go.” Her voice is calm before she holds up her palms. “Now take a hit at my hand. I need to see how hard you—“
You throw your fist forward to her palm with all the strength you can muster as she is still talking to you. Hazel stops talking to wince at your blow, shaking her hand out to ease the sting that followed throughout her palm and wrist.
You gasp and cover your mouth with both of your hands, muttering out soft apologies quickly. Your own knuckles burned slightly but all you could think about was how you hurt Hazel.
Hazel then chuckled as she shook her head as well, still shaking her hand. “That was good, princess. You are a lot stronger than you look. Hit me again.”
You froze as you noticed her pale cheeks were now slightly flushed as her smile grew. You take position once again as you throw the punch again to her other open palm. Hazel was tense as she urged you to throw the punch again and again and again.
Each blow felt… like a relief. All the pent-up annoyance and anger that was towards your parents for the past 20 years were being let out at the moment.
“You know, you could’ve been a knight if not a princess,” Hazel spoke up as she was finally giving her palms a rest from your slight aggression.
Your chest was panting softly as you too needed a small break, tilting your head at Hazel. A proud smile settled on Hazel’s face which caused you to reciprocate with a tight-lipped grin.
“Really?” You shut one eye as the sun’s rays beamed onto your heated skin, slightly blinding you.
“With your strength, princess, absolutely.” Hazel leaned closer to you, leaning forward to kiss your cheek.
Your initial reaction was to look around for anyone but you were still within your own walls of the palace. Just you and her able to enjoy each other's touch. Once this realization settled in, you carefully placed your lips onto hers; a ghost of a kiss even. You tested the waters to see if she even wanted to kiss you when you were all sweaty and out in broad daylight.
Hazel chased yours when you tried to pull away, her hands settling on your waist. It was a careless idea. You wanted to be careless as long as you could feel her lips on you.
“What are you doing to me?” Hazel pulls away to ghost her nose over yours.
Her words were desperate, begging for you.
“Distracting my opponent.” You reply as you allow your palms to rest on hers that were on your waist. They slid up her arms to her biceps to grab onto the muscle lightly.
“You're a vixen, princess.” Hazel lets out a pained sigh before grabbing onto your waist tighter to lock her lips with yours.
The word echoed in your mind. You had only heard it a few times within the literature you read. A vixen was a fierce and sexually attractive woman. Hazel had just admitted that she had thought about you in a sexual manner.
You had merely read about arousing actions. It was rare to find intense and erotic scenes in the fiction you read but when you stumbled upon a few pages of it, you felt ashamed to be absorbing something like that. All of it was centered around a man and a woman.
“Do you want to go to the library?” You hum as you back up slowly from Hazel.
Her brows furrow at your suggestion, having not expected you to say ‘library’ of all places. Her demeanor switched as she knew the library was one of your favorite places in the palace; next to the garden and your bedroom.
“Are we done with practicing for the day?” Hazel questioned but she was taking gradual steps towards your backing away figure.
“I just want a little more… privacy, if that’s okay?”
Which had been code for ‘I want to devour you with no one around’. Hazel’s eyes eyed you up and down with only desire and admiration. Your panting chest and cheeky smile caused her to follow you without a doubt in her mind.
After all, you are her princess.
“You’re a little minx, you know that?” Hazel shook her head as she pointed at you with a smile just as giddy as your own.
You didn't deny her words but instead only continued to back away until you were speed-walking towards the library’s outside doors. Hazel was hot on your feet, a smitten chuckle leaving your lips as her hands chased after your waist. You let out soft giggles at her grip as you tug one of the door handles open to reveal the shelves of dusting books.
There in the far right, away from any big windows of sorts was a red velvet couch with gold lining. You eyed it curiously, waiting patiently for your knight. Hazel shut the door behind you as she peered out the window at the open field to make sure there was no one in the surrounding areas.
Once she made sure the two of you were okay, she turned to you who was already sitting on the couch waiting for her. You were sitting upright, staring up at her with wanting eyes.
“Can I ask you something, princess?” Hazel hummed as she traced a few spines of the books.
“Uh, yes?” You were confused but tilted your head to look at her side profile.
“Have you ever read erotica before?”
The question stunned you. Your eyes darted across the shelves in a panic as you in fact had read some hot erotica before. It had completely caught you by surprise the dirty words inked on the pages of some unknown romance novel. Yes, it was between a man and woman but the feeling it had given you ached in your lower regions.
“Only a few times, yes, but not many,” you admitted shyly.
“Is it arousing for you?” Hazel asked.
What is she leading up to?
Your nose scrunches up at the memory before replying with: “Not always. I feel the man gets a majority of the pleasure in most of them.”
Hazel merely hummed and nodded as you weren't wrong. However, it was painfully obvious as the ones who had read were in fact written by men. The pages were etched with descriptions of a man's ‘throbbing shaft’ and ‘reddening tip’ that had made your body cower in disgust.
“See, that’s the problem. There aren't many novels targeted for women.” Hazel now was inching over to you. You nod in agreement, still looking up at her with curious eyes. “The men usually treat the women like they’re nothing but a pretty face and something to control.”
”I’m pretty sure that’s most men in real life as well.” You add on, shaking your head.
Hazel now stood right in front of you, reaching a hand out to cup at your jaw gently. The motion made you freeze but allowed the touch with caution. Hazel’s rough thumb grazed over your lower lip, your breath hitching at the feeling.
“Will you let me make you feel good, princess?” Hazel’s voice was barely above a whisper, eyes locking with yours. “Show you what that should feel like?”
You almost responded with, ‘You already make me feel good’, but then you realized she meant like in the erotica: sexually.
“Yes.” You muttered in a trance, tilting your jaw up in hopes she would capture your lips in a kiss.
Just as you had hoped, she leaned downward to kiss you softly, both of her hands cupping the sides of your warmed face. Your palms slid down her arms as you allowed her to use her thumb to dig into your cheeks causing your mouth to open a bit. Her tongue swiped over your bottom one hungrily. The kisses only grew heavier as Hazel was now kneeling down to where you now had to lean yourself to chase her addicting lips.
Hazel pulled away for a moment to stare at your flushed face before attaching her lips to the underside of your jaw. You jump a little in surprise but the feeling of her sucking and tugging at your skin makes goosebumps rise and a wave of arousal flow through you. Your cunt pulsed needily in a way that’s never happened before.
“Hazel,” you whimpered as your hands were sliding up into the lower part of her makeshift half-up hair-do.
“You sound prettier than I ever could imagine, princess,” she mutters on the wet spot on your jaw, excitement rushing through her veins.
This caused you to smile shyly at the compliment, cheeks warming up. Hazel pulls away from the length of your jaw to admire how beautiful you are when you’re so desperate.
“How did you plan on making me feel good, my knight?” You question with a cheeky grin, using one of your hands to trace around her hairline.
But you never failed to make her just as desperate.
“Do you trust me?” Hazel took said hand into her own grasp, raising your hand to place ever so gentle kisses on your sore knuckles.
In a dazed, lust-driven state, you nod eagerly.
“Yes,” you whimpered out.
Hazel let go of your gentle hands to guide her own to the bottom of the skirt portion of your dress. You watch the charming knight with eager eyes to see what she is going to do. Her palms were pressing into the plush of your thighs underneath the skirt, the mystery of what she was planning on doing was driving you insane.
“You’ll tell me if you want me to stop and I will, okay?” Hazel’s warm palms were massaging the skin sensually, leaning down to kiss at your exposed knee.
“I don’t think I’ll want you to,” you admit with a soft chuckle as she kisses just a bit higher past your knee.
Hazel too chuckled but she shook her head: “Even so, you change your mind and you let me know immediately, princess. Okay?”
You nod and mutter an ‘okay’ back. Hazel sucked in a deep breath before inching her hands up to the waistband of the undergarments of your dress. Your breathing grew rapid as she began to tug the material down your thick thighs. Hazel watched your face for any sort of discomfort but you only appeared excited for what was to come.
You lifted your feet to allow her to remove them completely. It was an arousing thought to know you were bare for her underneath the skirt of the dress. You’d only ever worn them with your day-to-day dresses as you found them restricting but didn't want to risk accidentally revealing your bottom to the palace staff.
One of her hands tossed the white cotton shorts to the side as the other was at the crevice of your hip and thigh. Your eyes fluttered as her fingers teased on the outside of your aching lips. Your mouth fell open as she gently parted your legs, a breeze brushing past your wet pussy.
“Can I touch you here?” Hazel’s hands brushed past your pubic bone, just above where you were hoping she would touch the most.
“Please,” you breathed out, adjusting yourself to where you were more towards the edge of the couch.
Hazel hummed as she carefully dragged a single finger through your folds. You were practically dripping with arousal, the noise sending shivers down your spine. Hazel muttered a curse under her breath at the feeling of how warm you were. She switched to two fingers just teasing at your cunt. The obscene sound made her feel like she was the luckiest woman to exist to be touching you like this.
Hazel did something that almost made you moan out loud. She suddenly removed that hand from underneath your dress to take her glistening fingers into her mouth. The knight didn't hold back a moan at the taste, needing more of you. The moan causes your ego to boost to the highest extent and you whine at the loss of her attention.
“I could taste you forever,” Hazel groaned before leaning forward to kiss you passionately.
You whimper against her mouth as you get a hint of your arousal on her lips. It wasn’t as good as Hazel was making it out to be but it only made you wetter at the fact that she audibly moaned at the taste of your cunt.
Hazel’s hands pushed the clothing up your legs to rest right on your upper thighs to sneak one hand underneath the skirt. That same hand made its way to your aching core to slip her middle finger into you. You gasp softly, clenching down on her hand. The feeling was foreign but you strangely couldn't get enough of it.
“Does that feel okay, princess?” Hazel questions.
You hum to confirm with a nod of your head.
“Okay. I’m going to move now and you tell me if you want me to stop,” the blue-eyed knight informs you before placing a kiss on your cheek.
You can’t really focus on speaking at the moment. Hazel’s finger begins to pump slowly in and out of your pussy, the motion sending shocks right to your aching clit. This time the moan that leaves your mouth is loud, followed by a whine that you can’t even begin to describe as other than feral.
As Hazel’s arm began to move forward and back, you were gripping onto her toned shoulders as leverage. There was slight sweat forming at the base of your neck and spine. Before you knew it, your hips were rolling down onto the finger. Hazel encouraged you with soft kisses to your cheeks and jaw.
Hazel then slipped in her ring finger next to the middle inside of your warm walls, watching as your face contorted in pleasure. Your brows were furrowed and your jaw hadn’t picked up since she first touched your hip.
“How’s my princess doing?” Hazel pecked your lips.
“Feels so good.”
“Yeah?” Hazel grinned at you.
You nod, too focused on how amazing her fingers are working into you to smartly comment like you usually would. They curl against a spot inside of you that erupts the loudest moan you’ve ever made to echo inside the library’s walls. Hazel presses her lips to yours eagerly; to both quiet you and kiss you.
Your abdomen was tightening up as her pace quickened. It felt like you had to pee. Were you going to pee on her?
“Hazel, it feels tight right here.” You place a hand over your stomach, panting as you try to explain the strange feeling.
“It’s okay. I got you, princess. Let go and it’s going to feel so good. Just like I said I would make you feel,” Hazel rushed out as her free hand was now rubbing circles across your untouched clit.
You trusted her so you listened to her words and continued to enjoy the intense feeling. The sound of Hazel’s discreet moans only drew you on. You arched your back into her as your head grew fuzzy as an overwhelming amount of pleasure rushed from your lower back to the tips of your toes.
Hazel’s voice was all you could hear, pressing gentle kisses onto every piece of exposed skin. Your chest heaved up and down slowly as you rode your orgasm out. Her words were not clear yet as you were trying to process what had just happened.
“Princess, can you talk to me, please?” Hazel’s hands were sliding your undergarments up your legs for you as you were coming back down from your high.
“You— What was that?” You chuckle as you shake your head, gradually sitting yourself upright.
“A little trick we learned in knight training,” Hazel joked as she kissed your quivering thighs.
You weakly pushed her shoulder but then tugged at the fabric as a silent ‘come here’. Hazel got the hint and leaned down to take your plush lips onto hers. You slowly kissed her with gentle hands caressing at her neck.
Her hands were resting at your hips, humming in a state of bliss with you.
The door opened causing you and Hazel to remove your lips from one another quickly. You attempted to appear as casual as possible but it was no use. You heard a gasp that left from someone’s lips causing you to look up to see Isabel with eyes wide in shock.
“I’m back from… seeing my family. I’ll leave you be, princess.” Isabel tried to back out of the room but you were quick to call out for her.
She never calls you princess. You're more than just the ‘princess’ to her.
“Bel, wait, please don’t go.” You take a step forward, urgency in your voice.
Isabel held her head down and pretended to not hear you, briskly walking out of your bedroom and allowing the door to shut behind her. You looked over at Hazel in a panic, your chest rising and falling at a rapid pace.
“I have to go after her, Hazel.” You give her an apologetic look as you rush out of the room before you can even hear her response.
Isabel wasn’t down the hall as you expected but in fact, right outside the library’s door. She was nervously picking at her fingernails. Her eyes caught your own, widening at the sight of your nervous figure.
Neither of you spoke for a beat, eyes locked one another. You were frozen, afraid if you moved she would take off in a sprint to tell someone about what she saw you and Hazel were doing. The silence was deafening.
“So I guess that’s what you meant by closer,” Isabel finally spoke softly, clearing her throat as she tucked a flyaway back behind her ear.
Her words caused your brows to furrow until you looked at her to see her lips pursed into a smile.
“What?”: is all you’re able to reply with as you’re in shock.
“I always thought you had a liking towards her but definitely not that much of a liking,” Isabel joked once again.
Now, you were extremely confused. She was acting so normal about this. No snarky comments about how what you two were doing was unnatural or disgusting.
All you can do is reach forward to pull her into a hug. Isabel accepted the embrace with open arms as she allowed you to let out a soft cry against her shoulder. It’s been a while since you’ve shed genuine tears, especially around people. It was something that you had forced yourself to repress due to your fear of being seen as pathetic by your parents.
Every shout, every degrading comment, every lecture, every poke at you pricked at your tear ducts every time but you had forced yourself to hold back any sort of weakness. It would only lead to even more ridiculing.
“You don’t hate me?” You question through the sobs.
“You’re happy now. I could tell that day I left how much brighter you looked. That’s all I want for you,” Isabel pulled away to grab onto your hands lovingly, “she does make you happy, right?”
You let out a wet laugh, wiping your hot and damp cheeks with one hand.
“A scary amount.”
Isabel let out a soft laugh as well. Her face twisted into a serious expression, her face softening in a way that you’ve never seen before: fear.
“I am afraid for you two. If anyone in the palace finds out about your relationship, I can almost guarantee they will not be kind.” Isabel’s worried voice tells you and winces as she tells you something that shatters your heart: “I’m sorry to tell you this, too, but your parents are also coming home a month early. They should be here in two weeks. One of the knights that patrols the gates heard from a messenger. He informed me when I arrived back.”
You stare at Isabel not knowing what to say. You weren’t ecstatic. Why would you be? You and Hazel have barely shared a week together and now what could’ve been three months had shrunk to one.
Time is fleeting. Time is a new found enemy.
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hannie-dul-set · 6 months
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HOME FOR THE BITCHLESS [7].
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SYNOPSIS. wherein your friend offers a room for you to crash in while your dorm is being renovated, but fails to mention that your new housemates don’t know how to talk to women (oh, and they also have an ongoing bet about you, too).
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PAIRINGS. choi soobin, choi beomgyu, lee heeseung, park jongseong, sim jaeyun, park sunghoon x female! reader. GENRE. housemates! au, rom-com, sitcom, reverse harem time baby. WARNINGS. the usual amount of swearing and ruining the lives of men, jay goes through an crisis, mentions of hairballs, mc is extra menacing this chapter. WORD COUNT. 3.8k.
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NOTE. here....it is..... this has been long overdue and i'm so sorry AHAHAH but i did say that i'm gonna update this whenever i want. anyhow, this is the jay chapter! and i hope this makes up for the one month long delay! enjoy, please let me know what you think<3
MASTERLIST | NEXT >
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CHAPTER 7 — sexy goth jellyfish.
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YOU DON’T THINK YOU’LL EVER GET SICK OF WAKING UP AND GETTING LULLED BACK TO SLEEP BY THE MOST COMFORTABLE MATTRESS IN THE WORLD. Seriously. You’re considering hoarding it back to your dorm once you leave at the end of the month. 
It’s the best thing about this house. The second best thing is having your breakfast cereal already laid out for you in the kitchen the moment you step downstairs. This princess treatment is going to get you spoiled. 
The odd thing about today, however, is that your usual bowl of Cheerios is nowhere in sight.
You rub your eyes, proceeding to squint at the counter because maybe you just aren’t awake enough yet. But it’s still not there. You look over to the sink. There is no evidence that someone ate your cereal. What happened? Did your cereal robot sleep in today? Did he die? Are you gonna have to make your own bowl of cereal from now on?
“Good morning.”
Sunghoon greets you upon walking into the living room, cereal-less and still groggy. Beomgyu is also there, cross legged on the couch and playing something on his phone. “Good—” you greet back, scratching your hand underneath your shirt with a big yawn, “—morning.” For some reason, Sunghoon suddenly looks scandalized. You ignore it and stretch out your arms above your head with another yawn.
“Please— oh my god, please don’t do that. I can see your un—underwear.”
You pause mid-stretch, arms up in the air, shirt hiking up a little. “What color?” you ask. 
“Grey! Why would you ask me that?!”
“Ooh, correct.” You drop your arms down. “I thought you were kidding. Sorry, my bad.”
You grin and shoot them a peace sign. “Sunghoon, go get the PD&J,” Beomgyu announces, eyes not leaving his phone. Your expression quickly moltens into a glare and a grimace. Dammit, you’ve been careful all this time. You blame your lack of early cereal nutrients for this carelessness.
“I’ll pay later,” you grunt. “Anway, where’s Jay? He didn’t make my cereal today so I’m assuming the worst.”
“Is he your slave?” you hear Beomgyu retort. You’ll deal with him later.
Thankfully, Sunghoon is normal(?) and answers your question promptly. “Out on the deck,” he tells you, and you look over to the open glass doors past your dining setup leading up to the sunlit deck outside. You squint, unable to spot a life form of any sort at first, but after a moment of letting your eyes wander, you finally see it.
Jay is laying flat on the wooden floor, shades on, facing directly at the sun. “What’s up with him?” you ask Sunghoon. There are pieces of paper with unidentifiable contents scattered around the motionless man. You fear he might be actually dead.
“He’s photosynthesizing,” he replies. You should’ve known better than to expect a correct answer.
“He’s not a plant,” you scrunch your nose. “It’s past nine. He’s not getting any more vitamin D at this hour.”
Sunghoon simply shrugs and Beomgyu is still busy yelling profanities at his phone. You sigh. Time to take care of things yourself, so saunter over to Jay’s tanning bed and crouch down near his head, arms crossed. Is he asleep? you furrow your brows and peer down a little closer. His pitch black sunglasses are making it impossible to tell.
“Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen you upside down.”
And he’s alive.
“Hey,” you call out. “What are you doing?”
Jay has his hands symmetrically placed on his abdomen, and he remains unmoving when he opens his mouth to reply. “Brooding,” he says, and you are granted more questions than answers. 
“Don’t people usually do that in the dark?”
“I don’t conform to society’s standards.” Jay sits up, so you lean back. You watch him as he adjusts the shades on his nose bridge, ruffles his hair as if there’s a camera pointed at him, then says, “I’m absolutely fucked. I don’t know what to do.”
Woah, there. Looks like Mr. Easygoing is going through some troubled waters.
“Alright.” You shuffle out of your crouching position, dropping to paneled wood to cross your legs for a more comfortable position. “Lay it on me,” you announce, ready to sunbathe and hear a very very long story.
Jay stares at you. There’s a wrinkle between his brows. 
“Go ahead.” You nod decidedly. 
After another pause, Jay shrugs and sets his head down on your crossed legs, laying back down but with you as his new pillow. That’s not what you meant, but you roll with it. This is an opportunity to braid knots his hair. “So I took a summer class, right,” he starts, and you dig your fingers into the dark strands. “Women’s wear design. Thought It’d be useful for androgynous clothing ideas, but anyway.”
Wow, it’s so soft, you think, finishing a single braid. “And then?”
“Well. For our final project, we need to have a live model to wear our design prototypes. To test their functionality and all. A friend of mine already agreed a few weeks ago, but she suddenly canceled yesterday, so I’m pretty sure I’m fucked.”
His hair slips out of your fingers. The gears in your brain start to churn. “When’s the presentation?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Have you asked someone else?”
“Yeah. I’ve already tried calling everyone I know.”
“And?”
“I ran out of people,” he says. “I’m screwed, right?”
“I feel like there’s more to this.”
A third voice suddenly pops up and you flinch. “Holy shit,” you turn to see Heeseung sitting next to you. He looks like he’s been there for a while and you make your surprise very evident by how wide your eyes are staring at him. Jay props up, also looking at him. “When did you get here?”
Heeseung ignores you. “Jay,” he starts. You’re gonna get back at him for that. “What did you tell Eunmi when you asked for her help for the project?” 
Eunmi is a familiar name. You’re pretty sure she’s the one that stormed out of the house the other day. “I told her that I had a problem and asked if she could do me a favor.
Your brows knit together. Wait a minute. “And what else did you say?”
“I also asked if she didn’t mind taking her clothes off,” he says. “Why?”
Silence sets in. It simmers for a while. You and Heeseung share a look. “Jay,” you call out. He gets off of your lap and sits up, turning to face you. You press your lips together. How do you break it to him? 
“Dude, I’m pretty sure she thought you were asking to hook up.”
You double over and nearly let out a gasp. So the mysophobe isn’t hasn’t completely eroded his social awareness. You are both horrified and impressed, and he’s looking at you like he can hear your thoughts, visibly offended. 
“Heeseung’s right. Girlie probably thought you’d be using your measuring tape for something else outside of measuring.” They both give you a look. Maybe you gave Heeseung too much credit. “What? After measuring her tits and ass, imagine her disappointment when you went off to measure her ankles next.” 
“Well, I’m a fashion major, what did she expect?” 
“I don’t know, maybe some dressmaker-themed BDSM shit!” you huff. “Don’t you know you know anyone else that can model for you?”
“I’m pretty sure all the girls in his contacts have him blocked,” Heeseung says. 
You grunt and lean back, the deck warm on your palms. “Okay. I didn’t want to do this, but—” You sigh. Your shoulders slack, and you run your fingers through your scalp with a deep inhale. Jay and Heeseung nudge themselves closer. You give them three more seconds of suspenseful silence— one…two…three. 
“But we don’t have much of a choice.” 
His dumb sunglasses are still keeping his eyes hidden, but you’re pretty sure Jay is looking at you like you’re the second coming of Christ. On the other hand, Heeseung looks suspicious. You assure them that you’ll take care of, telling Jay to go upstairs and prepare his design prototype in case he needs to make any alterations, and Heeseung follows you to the living room, where Sunghoon and Beomgyu are still lounging around.
They turn their heads the moment you enter. Sunghoon and Heeseung’s eyes are trained on you as you approach Beomgyu, who has now settled down his phone to give you a disgruntled expression— impatient and nervous because, “what the fuck are you up to this time?” he voices out. You spare him an extra second of agony and tell him what you came for.
When the words leave your mouth, Beomgyu nearly chokes on the air.
“I’m sorry, what?” 
His eyes are wide, looking up at you. 
“What did you just say?”
“I asked if you can pretend to be a woman for a day,” you repeat. Beomgyu is looking at you like you’re insane. 
“What the fuck?”
“C’mon!” you exclaim, hopping down on the plush sofa cushion next to him and he jumps and flinches away. There’s a reason why you adore fucking with Beomgyu the most. “It’ll only be for a day! Do it for Jay! Whoa. That rhymes.”
“Why me?!” he shrieks. The reason is he fights back. He makes it all the more satisfying when he inevitably admits defeat. 
“Because you’re arguably the prettiest one of the lot!” You bounce closer, trapping his between the armrest and your enthusiasm to see him in a fucking dress. “Have I ever told you that your eyes are like, really, really pretty? And your facial structure is already so nice and elegant, I really don’t need to do anything with makeup, you’re already perfect!” 
With each word you utter and with each centimeter you lean closer, Beomgyu’s face gets increasingly redder and brighter. “Your— your flattery won’t convince me to fucking cross dress in public, you psychos!” 
Before you can get the chance to say ‘so you don’t mind doing it in private?’ Beomgyu tries pushing you off, but he’s too flustered to put any strength in. The opportunity to grab his wrists and pull him closer simply just presents itself. “C’mon!” you tug him in. “Swallow the toxic masculinity, Beomgyu! I believe in you!”
“No!”
He manages to roll off the sofa and retreat to his room. As Beomgyu’s heavy and hasty footsteps fill the air, the sound growing weaker by the second, you turn over to Sunghoon, who is sitting on the individual seat. He meets your eyes. “No,” he says before you could open your mouth. “Absolutely not.”
Sunghoon doesn’t waste a second to get up and follow Beomgyu’s escape pattern. “Sunghoon! Sunghoon, wait!” you yell after him. When he pads up the stairs, you stop at the bottom of the flight and watch as he scurries up the floor. “Are you upset that you’re the second choice? That doesn’t mean anything! You’re pretty too! I love your nose and your pretty face moles and—”
And he is gone. You turn back. “Well, I tried,” you shrug. Heeseung is wearing an expression you can only describe as severe perturbation. “Soobin and Jake aren’t home. That’s a bummer.” Then again, Jake would probably be down for it, which is no fun. And you can’t risk making Soobin cry again. Your list of crimes is already long enough. Beomgyu has the copy. 
“Of all the solutions you could come up with, I didn't think you’d go for the crossdressing route.”
Heeseung is leaning against the sofa, arms resting on top of its plush back. “Actually, I never even considered it,” he adds. “I thought you’d volunteer to model for him yourself.”
You make your way back to the living area with a yawn. Shrugging, you say, “I am.”
His brows scrunch, eyes narrowed. “Then why did you—” Heeseung stops thinking. He gives you a look of distaste. “You’re pretty evil, you know that?”
A laugh escapes your lips, and you hop on the couch Heeseung is leaning again. He visibly flinches when you do, but he doesn’t move away. So you sit up with your legs still on the sofa, knees sinking into the cushions, and you poke your nose forward so that it nearly bumps into his. 
“What are you—”
You inch your face closer. “It’s not my fault that you guys are easy targets.” You can literally hear his breath getting taken away. You flash him a wide grin. 
“Calm down. I’m moving away, moving away. No need to run.” When you flop back to lie on the sofa, Heeseung’s pink-tinted face is in full view, and he’s trying his best to hide it from you all while still trying to shoot you a glare. At some point he’s going to snap at you, for sure. Until that happens, you’re free to mess with him. “Anyway, I’ll be off to Jay’s secret lair. That is unless you man up and take one for the team, and—”
“Bye.”
Like the other two, Heeseung stomps away. You let out a huff of air. “You’re all weak as shit,” you call out. Maybe one day you’ll get the chance to give one of them a makeover. Maybe one day you can paint their nails and do their eyeliner.
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Jay can’t express just how grateful he is for you.
No, really. He can’t. He tried telling you that he owes you his life when you told him not to worry about it and just go upstairs and prepare his things, but all that jumped out of his mouth is a measly, “you’re so cool,” before leaving you with Heeseung. 
That won’t do it. He’s gonna say thank you and a million more once you show up in the storage room-turned-office-slash-workspace next to his bedroom, and you’re going to be so impressed by his thanking skills. But the feeling is all muffled and fuzzy inside his chest— like a way too stubborn hairball he can’t cough out. So when you knock on his door and take a peek inside the extension of his room, all he can say is, “I made the carpet. Pretty cool, right?”
“Oh!”
Jay watches as you crouch down almost immediately upon his mention, feeling the mishmas of fabric texture with your palms. Your hands are running through a patch of faux fur, stitched to some leftover corduroy. You’re stepping on denim, and in between you and him is a large swab of linen. “Holy shit. This is pretty cool.”
There’s a thump in his chest. He’s pretty sure you’re the first person to say that after the other dozen people that have been here before you.
Then again, Jay’s pretty sure you’re the first for him on a lot of things.
He fears the hairball lodged in his throat just multiplied.
“So.” You pull yourself up from the ground. “What are we doing?”
“Oh,” he blinks. “Let me show you the clothes first. It’s a dress. It may not look like one, but trust me it is a dress—” he quickly explains, walking over to the mannequin in the corner of the room, pulling it out from the corner with a bit of a struggle because the wheels get caught in the stringy fabric of his carpet. “You can try it on, but it’s made with Eunmi’s measurements. Tell me if anything doesn’t fit right so I can alter it.”
“Holy shit,” you breathe out. “Hey, I may make fun of you guys a lot, but this time I’m being serious— this is so cool! What the hell, Jay?”
Well, that was a surprise. He didn’t think you’d like wearing something so avant garde. After Eunmi’s reaction to seeing it, he was pretty sure you’d be hesitant. “This will swallow my entire figure! I’d look like a jellyfish! You know what, I was already disappointed when you suddenly started jotting down my arm width. I’m going home. Don’t call me,” was what she said before storming off. But you’re all ooh’s and aah’s as you dig your nose into the thin sheets of intricately sewn on sheer, black fabric. 
“I was also serious about the carpet. Hold on let me try this on—”
You struggle taking the dress off of the mannequin. Jay helps you out. “You can change in my room.”
“Gotchu,” you shoot him a thumbs up, running off to the door with the dress flowing in your hands. “Don’t you dare peek. I don’t have any more spare change to throw into that stupid jar.”
“What if I pay for you?”
“Great. Door’s unlocked. Open if you have the balls.” Then you close the door with a still thinly open gap. It’s really is easy to talk to you. You don’t give him a weird look after he says a few words. He can hear your swearing slipping out of the crack in the door. Maybe he should have left you to fend for yourself against his admittedly unconventionally constructed dress.
“Need any help?” he asks, hesitantly inching towards the door.
“I can handle it— fuck, wait, where is my neck supposed to—”
After hearing a thump from inside the room, Jay believes he might have to intervene, else it’ll end up with either a torn ligament or a torn three month long project. He lands a knock on the door. “I think you need my help.”
“Give me a minute! I got this!” A minute. He starts counting down from sixty. And mentally counting down in nothing but silence and the occasional profanities from the other room is giving him some time to think. To think about how even though he’s gone through numerous dates, talked to numerous women, but for some reason they never last long. Well, all except you. You and his mother.
He’s lost count of the times he’s been ghosted (a ghost dress does sound like a pretty good idea), but the times they do communicate— they all communicate with a very familiar script:
“Maybe we should start seeing other people.”
Maybe his bonfire joke wasn’t as funny as he thought.
“Hey, Jay, is it supposed to look like this?” you call out before his sixty second countdown is over. “I think I’m wearing it wrong.”
When he opens the room to his door with a creak, his breath hitches in his throat. 
And it’s not the metaphorical hairball that’s been annoying him. Shit. Something about seeing you in a design he’s crafted with his own hands, conjured up with his own brain, is tying all sorts of knots in his stomach. Even when you put your arm in the wrong hole.
“You’re wearing it wrong.” Jay walks up to you next to the bed. The clothes you’ve shedded on in lieu of the dress he made is scattered on his mattress. He swallows hard before laying a discreet hand on your shoulder, tugging on a loose part of the clothing to reveal the armhole.
“Oh! That explains a lot,” you say, slotting in your arm into the correct gap this time. The dress still looks a little off. “I haven’t zipped it up yet. Can you help me?”
He lets out a cough. “Sure.”
Ah, what is going on with him? He’s been sleeping in this same room for nearly a year now, but for some reason the air right now is arid and stuffy and it’s making his head spin. Jay turns you around, a hand on your hip, and zips up the dress that suddenly feels like fire. That doesn’t make sense. It’s supposed to mimic water. Why the hell are his palms burning? 
The moment the dress is secured, you quickly look into the mirror. “What...what do you think?” he asks hesitantly. Maybe you don’t like it as much anymore now that it’s on you. Maybe the dress is also burning you. Maybe this design is a failure after all— and he feels that fear being confirmed when your back is turned towards him, and you spend a good minute looking at yourself in the mirror in silence. 
Dammit. The damned hairball is back in his lungs.
“I feel…” you start talking. His heart is pounding. Holy shit, he’s never felt this nervous before. “I feel like a sexy goth jellyfish. This is crazy. I love it.”
And just like that, air starts flowing back into his chest.
“Exactly!” 
He grabs you by the arm, spinning you around so he can look at you, and the dress fabric flitters along in the air. “Whoa!” you squeak out. He steadies you by the arms. You look at him, wide eyed.
Jay breath’s are bated. The sunglasses he’s got perched on his nose this entire time got crooked from the rush, falling down to the tip of his nose, revealing a look on his eyes that he didn’t know he was capable of making. “You get me,” he breathes out. “You totally get me.”
Something swirls inside the confines of his room. It’s dark. The only light coming in is from the crack into his office and the warm bedside lamp you turned on.
The both of you stay like this for a moment. Until there’s a knock on his door and a voice rips through all of the tension.
“Okay, fine!” 
It’s Beomgyu’s voice entering the room along with the sound of the door swinging open. 
Creak!
“Fucking fine, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it as long as—”
It’s not just him. Heeseung and Sunghoon are also there, squeezed between the frame of his now open door. “Oh,” someone says out loud. He’s unsure who. “Oh.”
Somehow, Jay isn’t feeling your arms anymore. He blinks, and you’re not in front of him anymore. He turns his head and sees you in between him and the three other guys outside. “Are you ready to become a sexy jellyfish, Beomgyu?” you taunt, moving further away from him by the second. 
Beomgyu looks at him. Then you. Then keeps his eyes on you. “I never said anything. I’m gonna go—”
“C’mon! Don’t I look great? You’d look just as— no, maybe even prettier than me if you wear— wait!”
And just like that you and his dress project run away from the room. Sunghoon’s head whips back and forth between him and wherever you’ve run off to before going after you and Beomgyu as well. Heeseung stays, albeit out the door. “So, did it go well?” he asks. Jay is still staring at the spot where you’d left.
“It went well,” he replies. “I think I’m gonna get a good grade.”
Well that’s not the only conclusion he’s come up with after all that. In spite of the loud noises, the yelling outside, and the threat of his dress getting ripped apart in the crossfire, he’s sure of two things. He is not only sure that he’s gonna ace this final summer project— Jay is sure that he might have just half fallen in love with you, too.
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HOME FOR THE BITCHLESS. © hannie-dul-set, 2023.
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iicheeze · 1 year
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IDIOT GAMER
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SUMMARY || in which, a sassy and bitter househusband, and his beloved, idiotic streamer of a lover got married! what a lovely occasion. now, for the married life in a newer, and bigger apartment.
PAIRINGS || Househusband Scaramouche x Gaming Streamer GN Reader
GENRE || Fluff, Smut (not confirmed u thirsty ppl), Rom-Com (romantic comedy)
AU || Modern
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INTRODUCING || the newly-wedded couple, bowl-cut's family, idiot's ugly bootiful family, annoying lovely neighbors!, streamer's streamer friends
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CHAPTER I — new tenants to Teyvat Apartments
CHAPTER II — not so husband material 😭
CHAPTER III — minecraft with hubby moochie 😇‼️ and the sidekicks ig
CHAPTER IV — cooking mama with [name] 🤭🥰
CHAPTER V — elden ring stream no death real not clickbait 😱‼️
CHAPTER VI — Fan Meetup except everything goes wrong 😦
CHAPTER VII — how to househusband by scaraboobs
CHAPTER VII — DO NOT STALK 😡😡😡
CHAPTER VII — collab with chef xiao 🤭🥳
CHAPTER VIII — tell me ur a paparazzi without telling me ur a paparazzi
CHAPTER IX — how to be a good lover to ur husband's lesbian mothers without looking like an otaku loser
CHAPTER X — massive cucumber 🥒
MORE TO COME !
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SERIES STARTS AT MARCH 31TH, 2023
(UPDATE) SERIES STARTS AT ??????
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AUTHOR'S NOTE || SCARANATION UR VOICES HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME AND HERE IS THE MASTERLIST OF IDIOT GAMER
The Ero Mangaka aka Editor Kaveh x Ero Mangaka GN Reader will come out once the first chapter of Idiot Gamer comes out so
yes 🥰
Taglist is open btw
ALSO SORRY ITS BEEN DELAYED IM VERY BUSY LATELY 😭
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redrose10 · 3 months
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Here is Chapter 12! Sorry for the delay. I am feeling better, but I am still a little behind so I’m hoping the next chapter can be posted in a few days. We’re getting closer to the end!
Yoongi X Female Reader. CEO/Arranged Marriage AU
Summary: You were selected to marry the wayward CEO/Billionaire/Heir, Min Yoongi. You went into it with an open mind and heart determined to try and make it work. Yoongi on the other hand had no intention of ever letting you in let alone allowing himself to fall in love with you. Slowly you start to associate the smell of cinnamon and vanilla with the feelings of hurt and sorrow.
Word count: 2,053
Warnings: (May get updated as chapters progress): Arranged marriage, cheating/infidelity, hints of smut (Probably won’t get very explicit but we’ll see how it goes), Sexual Assault, Brief mentions of death, Reader grew up an orphan, General Angst, Swearing
Tag List: @gimeow @kam9404 @viankiss @baechugff @gaby-93 @kayleefriedchicken @igot7fairlyoddparents @jalexad @drrookie
Yoongi was too stunned to move or even speak. You on the other hand were impatient and wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Already with your shoes and coat on you walked back over to Yoongi jingling his keys in front of him, “Come on. Let’s get going.” When he still didn’t move you slammed the keys down in front of him, “Now Yoongi!”
He instantly jumped up and hustled after you. He had to admit he was really really starting to love this new take charge no bullshit Y/N.
Once in the car you punched in the address that Namjoon sent you and Yoongi began the drive over.
“What exactly did Namjoon say?”, he asked finally breaking the silence.
“I’ll let him explain everything, but I think that Suri used him to try and get to me so that she could have you.” Yoongi tried to comprehend, but you didn’t even give him the chance to ask for clarification.
“I just don’t understand what her problem is. Is it really worth ruining so many lives to keep you? I mean no offense Yoongi. You are really attractive and you can be nice when you want to be and you do have money, but aren’t there any other rich idiots she can chase after?”
Yoongi looked over at you with his brows furrowed. He wanted to take offense but you were right in a way so he knew it was best to let that one go. Instead he chose to focus on you calling him attractive instead bringing a slight tint of pink to his cheeks. He knew himself that he was attractive, but something about hearing you say it did something to him.
The two of you arrived at your destination and hastily made your way to the front door knocking several times. A few minutes went by before the door swung open revealing a somber Namjoon. He invited you both in offering some drinks before taking a seat on the couch. You and Yoongi sat across from him.
“Thank you both for coming here. Suri doesn’t know this address so there’s no way she could possibly show up. I wanted to make sure of that.”, he said clearing his throat.
“No problem. I think you should start from the beginning to catch Yoongi up on everything that happened and then we can go from there.”
He nodded, “Okay so I guess I’ll just get right to it then. The first time I met Suri was several months ago. I was leaving your place after one of our lessons and she was waiting for Yoongi out in the hallway. We talked a little and that was it. I met her a few more times in similar situations and each time we’d talk a little more. Then this one time Yoongi and Suri were coming back from doing you know what while I had just spent the evening comforting Y/N.”
Yoongi rolled his eyes, “Oh please. If you were so innocent in all this we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“Yeah well if you weren’t a womanizing cheating asshole then none of this would’ve happened to begin with.”, Namjoon spat back.
“Both of you stop it. This isn’t the time to act like children’.”, you shouted feeling overwhelmed by their bickering.
Namjoon and Yoongi glared at each other before continuing, “Sorry Y/N, you are right. Anyways, Suri asked if I wanted to grab drinks that night. I didn’t but I wanted to find out more about what Yoongi was up to with her so I agreed. After a few too many drink I let it slip that I was starting to develop feelings for Y/N but she told me that she would never cheat and wasn’t able to leave Yoongi. Suri told me that she had a way to make it so that Y/N wouldn’t want anything to do with Yoongi outside of what was required of her. At the time I thought she was genuinely trying to help me, but looking back it was clear she was just using me to get Yoongi for herself. She started asking me for information about the two of you that she could use. That’s how she knew about the cologne that Y/N had made. She knew that the two of you were going up to the cabin so she really increased the amount of texts she sent hoping that Y/N would come across it. She knew that Y/N was going to be at the charity auction and got Hwan involved.”
“Wait, wait, wait, so did you know that Hwan was going to come after me at the auction?”, you asked feeling hurt that he would possibly put you in danger like that.
“Uhh kind of. He was supposed to just say some creepy stuff to you and then I’d swoop in and chase him off so you’d feel safe with me and be upset with Yoongi for not being there for you. But he wasn’t supposed to follow you outside or actually touch you. He took it too far and then I couldn’t find you anywhere in the building. I know it was a really dumb idea and I don’t know what we were thinking.”
You scoffed, “Yeah you think? Thank God Yoongi was there to save me unlike you. I can’t believe you Namjoon!”
“You’re right Y/N and I’m sorry.”
What about the baby situation?”, you asked after taking a breath and wanting to move this long
“So a while ago she came up with this crazy plan to get pregnant by Yoongi. She really thought that was the key to force him to stay with her. I told her that was taking it way too far, but she didn’t care. She stopped her birth control, but never said anything about it. She would complain constantly that Yoongi refused to touch her without a condom. She came up with this ridiculous idea to have another guy get her pregnant and then say the baby was Yoongi’s. I told her she was fucking nuts and that would never work. I was getting to the point I wanted nothing to do with her or this plan. But I honestly didn’t think she would go through with it. Then one night she came over to my place really upset. She said she had just left Yoongi’s office and he had once again told her that their relationship was over. He was going to work on his marriage and that started with cutting her out of his life. He even had security remove her from the building when she wouldn’t leave. She seemed pretty devastated. I felt kind of bad for her, but honestly I was more relieved that she wouldn’t be able to go through with this crazy pregnancy plan. I asked her if she wanted a drink and one drink turned into two and then three and so on. Well one too many drinks later we ended up in my bed together. The next month she told me she was pregnant and was going to tell Yoongi the baby was his. We both knew I was the father based on the last time she had slept with anyone else and I wasn’t going to let her take the baby away from me. Then when we were at the police station she showed me the sonogram and that she was going to tell Jin about it. I got upset and told her that I wouldn’t let her take my baby away from me and if she told Jin about it then I would tell you both about her whole entire plan. So when I found out from Hwan that she went through with it after I had left I decided to call you.”
Your head was spinning round and round. You felt like you were in some kind of weird soap opera. You looked over and Yoongi looked just as shocked as you felt. “Surely she won’t let you get away with this that easily. What is going to happen to you?”, you asked turning your attention back to Namjoon.
“Well I’m definitely going to loose my job since I work for Hwan’s company now.”, he chuckled.
“But I don’t even care any more. There’s an innocent baby involved and I’m not going to let her continue this mess.”
He reached to the side table next to him and grabbed a brown folder. He handed it over to you before leaning back into the couch, “In this folder is everything you’d need to use against her. Copies of texts, emails, voicemail transcripts. There’s a copy of the prenatal dna test we had done that shows the baby is mine.”
Yoongi took the folder and began flipping through the papers humming and letting go of a sigh everytime he saw something interesting.
“I mean this is great and all, but there’s still the issue of the mixtape.”, you said.
“There is no tape.”, Namjoon spoke.
Yoongi and yourself both looked over at him with wide eyes.
“What?!,” you said in unison.
“Yeah she told me all about that and how she wished she still had a copy of it because it seemed to be the only thing that really scared you. Apparently there was a big data breach at her dads label a couple years ago. Some hackers got in trying to access account information. They had no choice but to wipe every system completely clean loosing a ton of music and other files. For some reason they didn’t have any backups. She said the label almost went bankrupt until they debuted that girl group. You know, Old Jeans or New Beans or something like that.”
You lightly chucked at his lack of pop culture knowledge.
He continued, “But yeah there is no tape. She’s been lying to you about it for years.”
Carefully you peaked over at Yoongi. His face was so red he almost looked purple. He was gripping the folder so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Slowly you reached over trying to not startle him and grasped his hand into yours.
“Umm so what do we do now? We can’t just tell her to stop it. If she’s willing to go through all of this there is no way she’s going to just backdown easily.”, you asked.
The three of you sat in silence for a while pondering your next move.
“I have an idea.”, Yoongi finally spoke before getting up. He extended a hand out to you and you accepted following after him towards the door.
Namjoon followed closely behind. “Thank you for coming clean Namjoon but I think we should take a break in our friendship.”, you said before walking off towards the car.
Yoongi walked just outside the doorframe before turning back to Namjoon.
“I’ll handle it from here. Thank you for providing us with the documents.”
“Sure if you need anything else just let me know.”
Yoongi went to walk down the few stairs leading to the walkway before turning around and making his way back up using his hand to stop the door just before it closed.
“Oh and Namjoon.”
The door swung back open and he gestured for Yoongi to continue.
“Stay the fuck away from my wife.”
He turned and walked back down the steps and over to his car where you were already waiting. Gently he placed the folder in the backseat before putting the car in reverse.
He was silent on the drive back to his place and you didn’t want to push him. Once he parked the two of you sat in the car for a while. Yoongi nervously drummed on the steering wheel.
“Hey are you okay?”, you asked concerned with his lack of emotion.
“Yeah I guess I just can’t believe I’ve been so stressed about this stupid mixtape when it didn’t even matter. I thought I’d feel relieved, but I’m just having a hard time processing it.”
“So what is your plan? How do you know it’ll work and not make things worse?”, you asked reaching over for his hand.
He chuckled before looking over at you with a smirk, “Oh it’ll work Y/N. But uh you are definitely not going to like it.”
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Text
Memories IV
Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Fem!Reader
Warnings: angst, amnesia
Summary: You had your memory wiped after a messed-up mission. All that you remember is your childhood and fragmented glimpses of your teenage and adult years. Poor Simon, your would-be hubby, is left to pick up the pieces when you can't even recall his existence.
Words: 3.6k
A/N: Hey there! Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I know the fandom has been going through a tough time lately, and I just wanted to remind you to take care of yourself, especially your mental health. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. Stay strong! ❤️
part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4
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The blood-red sun sank slowly below the horizon, casting an amber glow over the world. The sky was a tapestry of oranges and purples, fading into blue and black as night began to creep in. You stood at the entrance of your home, feeling strange tingles in your chest as you paused on the threshold. Simon was behind you, his tall frame blocking out what little light remained outside and casting a long shadow across the front hall.
“Welcome home,” he said softly, breaking the silence.
You stood there, unable to move. You felt like your limbs were made of lead and rooted to the spot. Your mind was a tempest of emotions; you were grateful to be free from the hospital walls, but deep down, terror lurked. Nervous anticipation rose inside as you feared what truth lay ahead about yourself that could shatter the delicate mirrors of your own reflection.
Simon seemed to sense your hesitation and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.
“You alright, love?” he asked, concern in his voice.
You nodded slowly, staring into his dark eyes, feeling a sense of gratitude towards him. Simon had been by your side every step of the way, watching as you slowly pieced your life back together. He had been there for every physical therapy session, every doctor’s appointment, every setback and triumph.
He had remained a constant in your life, a source of strength and support when you needed it most.
You slowly turned to face him as Simon’s hand remained on your shoulder. You looked up at his face, illuminated by the dim light coming from the living room, and took in his sharp features. His jawline was chiselled, and his eyes were piercing, exuding a sense of confidence and ease that you found reassuring. You felt a sudden urge to lean in and kiss him, to feel his lips on yours and forget about the world outside. But instead, you stepped back and shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts.
“I’m okay, thank you. It’s just strange... being back,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper.
Simon nodded in understanding, his hand still on your shoulder, and gestured for you to follow him into the living room. You walked past him, feeling the warmth of his skin against your own, and took in your surroundings.
After months in the sterile hospital room, everything felt surreal now that you finally got to come home. The world outside looked different as if it had changed in some way while you were confined to the hospital bed. You felt a sense of trepidation as you took in the sights and sounds of the city around you. It was all so overwhelming, so unfamiliar. You didn’t know how to navigate this new world without your memories. But as you stepped inside the house, a sense of comfort washed over you. The scent of lavender furniture polish wafted from within the house, helping to ease the tension in your body.
Simon placed your bags down with a thud like an anchor being dropped from his shoulders. He seemed to sense your unease and gently steered you towards the living room. The familiar surroundings filled you with warmth and peace, and for a brief moment, everything felt just right.
The living room was bathed in soft light, its walls lined with framed photos and paintings, some of which seemed vaguely familiar. You began to explore them, feeling an odd mixture of surprise and recognition as your gaze swept across each face in turn. Some were of Simon and you together, others were friends you had no recollection of. Yet still, something about them made your heart feel warm.
As you studied the photographs, Simon watched quietly as if waiting for you to come to some realisation. But the memories remained just beyond your reach. You could almost taste the bittersweet nostalgia on your lips, yet nothing solid materialised.
You could feel his eyes on you, but you didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, you let your fingers brush over the frames, tracing the outlines of the people in the photographs as if trying to remember them.
You stopped at one picture, a group photo of Simon, you, and several others at what appeared to be a night of celebrations. Everyone was smiling and laughing, their faces filled with joy. You looked at each person in the photo, trying to place them in your memory, but nothing came to mind.
“Who are they?” you asked, pointing to the group in the photograph.
Simon came over to stand beside you, his arm brushing against yours. “These are your teammates— our teammates. The ones who’ve got your back in the field and in the mess. They’re family.”
You shook your head, “I don’t remember them,” you said with a hint of frustration. 
Simon placed a hand on your back, rubbing it soothingly. “It’s, uh, it’s alright, love. You’ll remember soon enough. Take your time. It’ll come to you, alright? So no need to be too anxious.”
But will I really? You wondered silently to yourself.
With a sigh, you turned away from the wall and towards Simon with an uncertain smile.
You noticed that he had changed out of his usual hoodie and was wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt, looking more put-together than usual, as if he was trying to impress you. The tattoos on his forearm peeked out from under the sleeves of his jacket, adding to his edgy persona.
He frantically spent the day before scrubbing and scouring the house until it shone in perfect preparation for your long-awaited arrival. He felt like a nervous teenager on his first date, desperate to make a good impression. But he knew that this was different. This was about making you feel at home, helping you regain a sense of familiarity in a world that had become so foreign.
You turned to look at another photo, this time of Simon and you with a dog. The memories suddenly came flooding back, and your eyes lit up as you remembered the dog’s name.
“That’s Riley!” you exclaimed, feeling a slight sense of victory in finally remembering something.
“Riley! Here, boy!” you called.
But there was no barking, no sound of paws running across the floor. The house was eerily silent, save for the sound of your own breathing.
Simon’s expression turned grave as he looked at you, his hand still resting on your back.
“No, that, uh...Love,” Simon he said softly.” He... He passed, somethin’ like years ago.”
Your heart sank at Simon’s words, and tears threatened to spill from your eyes. You felt a sense of overwhelming loss, as if a part of you had died with the dog. You tried to remember the last time you had seen Riley. Still, the memory was elusive, like a dream that faded upon waking.
Simon saw the tears in your eyes and stepped forward to wrap you in a tight hug. You breathed him in, the smell of his cologne mixed with something else, something comforting like home.
You attempt to grasp at Riley’s memory, but your mind is foggy, and all you can recall is a faint trace of his affection. The anguish seizes you as you try to imagine the days spent together, playing fetch in the park and snuggling up on the couch, but all that remains are empty spots in your heart and mind. Burying your face in Simon’s chest, a harsh truth crashed down on you: You couldn’t even grieve properly because you didn’t remember the moments that connected you and Riley.
Simon’s stomach churned with guilt as he watched you suffer the same agony of Riley’s loss all over again. He had been so busy trying to make everything perfect for your return that he failed to factor in how hard it would be for you to come to terms with what had been taken away. Yet, despite the sorrow and regret, a glimmer of optimism flickered in his chest that perhaps you’d find the strength to remember even more. But for now, Simon knew you needed space and time to come to terms with everything that had happened.
As the two of you stood there in silence, lost in your thoughts, Simon’s grip on you tightened, and he pressed his lips to your forehead.
You could feel the warmth of his breath on your skin, and it calmed the storm raging inside you.
When Simon finally pulled away, he gave you a small, sad smile. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t wanna spring that on you.”
You shook your head, feeling the weight of the loss. “It’s okay,” you said. It wasn’t.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No, not now,”
Simon nodded, his gaze softening. “Alright... listen ‘ere, love. You have been eatin’ those crappy hospital meals. You wanna get something new in your body and your system, yeah?” he said gently as his fingers brushed against yours in a comforting gesture.” I’ll cook somethin’ proper. You’re gonna love it.”
You nodded in agreement, not having the energy to argue. It had been a while since you’d had a home-cooked meal, and the hospital food left a lot to be desired. You followed Simon into the kitchen, taking in the warm, cozy space. It was small but had everything you needed, including a small dining table and chairs. The countertops were cluttered with various kitchen appliances and utensils, but everything was clean and tidy.
Simon rummaged through the fridge and pantry, his eyes scanning the shelves for something to cook.
As he gathered the ingredients for a simple pasta dish, you watched him move around the kitchen with ease. There was something about the way he moved, with such grace and purpose, that made you feel drawn to him. He was like a force of nature, unstoppable and relentless in his pursuit of whatever he wanted.
You noticed how his muscles rippled beneath his shirt as he chopped vegetables, and you couldn’t help but feel a flutter of attraction in your chest. You almost felt guilty for feeling this way about a man you didn’t remember. You knew you two were engaged, but it felt strange to be drawn to someone you had no recollection of. Being with Simon felt familiar, like coming home even though you couldn’t remember why. It was as if your body recognised him before your mind did.
The hospital breakdown was a pivotal moment in your relationship, and it seemed you two had struck a deal.
And yet, even though your memory didn’t seem any clearer, there was still a sense that your outlook had changed.
You seemed more vulnerable, more reliant on him for comfort and guidance. The barriers and walls you used to keep him away with were crumbling, and the two of you were starting to form a real connection.
This is progress, Simon told himself, hopefully. This is an improvement.
Simon felt both terrified and excited by this newfound closeness. He was scared to get too close too soon, scared of the pain of rejection if your memory did return and you chose not to stay with him. But at the same time, he could feel himself falling even deeper in love with every passing moment.
He wanted to give you some space, but his heart ached for yours.
You wished there was some way to go back in time and remember who you used to be together—but there just wasn’t. You didn’t know how to be the person Simon remembered, and that scared you. You wanted more than anything to make him happy, but it felt like no matter what you did or said, it wouldn’t be enough for him.
After dinner, he showed you the bedroom. The room was simple but elegant, with a queen-sized bed in the centre and a large window overlooking the backyard. The walls were painted a soft blue, and the bedding was white and fluffy, inviting you to sink in and drift off to sleep.
“I...I don’t want to take your bed.”
Simon smiled warmly at you. “It’s our bed, alright?” he said, his hand reaching out to take yours. “I ain’t gonna fight you over who needs to sleep where. I have a couch; lemme sleep on it.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” you said, looking up at him with a small smile. “Are you sure you don’t mind sleeping on the couch?”
Simon shook his head, his hand still holding yours. “Look, love. We’re both tired here. I want to take care of ya and make sure you’re comfortable. So, you don’t gotta fight, and I ain’t gonna be arguing, or I’m gonna have to tie you down, and force a sleep mask over your eyes, yeah?”
“Okay, Okay,” you laughed. “Thank you,” you said softly.
Simon leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. “Alright, you rest up. I’ll see ya in the morning,” he said before turning to leave the room. 
You watched him go, feeling a sense of longing wash over you. You wished you could remember what it was like to be with him, to feel his touch and his love.
Laying in bed, the day’s events replayed in your mind like a movie reel. The memory of Riley’s passing still weighed heavily on your heart. Still, there was something else tugging at the edges of your consciousness. It was like watching a horror movie with the sound turned down low; you could sense fear and trepidation from the dimly lit scenes playing out before you, but you couldn’t make out any details.
Your heart raced as you tried to piece together the fragments of this unknown memory, but it slipped away as quickly as it came, leaving you even more frightened than before.
You tried to sleep, but deep in your chest, you felt the beginnings of fear build. You turned over and over again in bed, growing more agitated by the minute. The shadows on the wall from the lamp beside it stretched out like malevolent spirits that wanted nothing more than for you to be afraid. Nothing to see here, they would say as they writhed and clawed at you with their formless hands, almost touching you before receding back into the darkness. Your feet move slowly through the darkness. The floor is cold under your feet as you step lightly through this unfamiliar place that once was your house.
“Damn it,” you said, the fear in your voice palpable in the silent room. You reached for the lamp on the bedside table, flicking it on and flooding the room with light. The shadows scattered, leaving nothing but the familiar sight of the bedroom. You took deep breaths, trying to steady your racing heart.
It was just a nightmare, you told yourself. It’s just a silly, irrational fear.
But deep down, you knew it was more than that. Something was lurking in your subconscious that you couldn’t quite grasp but knew was there. Something that made your skin crawl and your heart race.
You got out of bed, your feet hitting the cool hardwood floor.
Your feet move slowly through the darkness, the floor creaking beneath your weight. You move towards the door, your hand reaching out to grasp the doorknob. As you turn it, the door swings open with a low groan, revealing the dark hallway beyond.
Your heart thunders as you take the first step into the hallway. The darkness seems to encroach on you, swallowing up the light from the bedroom. You take another step forward, your eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. You could hear the light snoring coming from Simon on the couch, but it didn’t bring you any comfort.
You couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something lurking in the darkness waiting for you.
The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, the darkness consuming everything in its path. You felt like you were walking through a nightmare, one that you couldn’t escape from. You tried to call out for Simon, but your voice was hoarse and barely audible.
Suddenly, you heard a sound from down the hallway. It was faint, but it was there. A soft whisper, calling out your name.
Your heart leapt into your throat. You couldn’t see anything, but you could feel a presence in the darkness. You could feel its breath on your neck, its fingers brushing against your skin.
You turned around and ran towards the couch where Simon was sleeping when you saw a figure emerge from the shadows. It was a woman, her face twisted in a grotesque grin.
You could feel your feet sinking into the ground as if the floor was swallowing you whole.
You tried to scream, but the darkness choked your voice. Your heart pounded in your chest, and you were sure it would burst out of your ribcage. And then, suddenly, the darkness lifted, like a veil being lifted from your eyes.
Just a dream, a nightmare that left you gasping for breath as you sat in bed. Your heart still raced, and your skin was slick with sweat.
You looked around the room, relieved to see that it was just a dream. But the feeling of terror lingered, its tendrils wrapping around your heart and refusing to let go.
You slid out of the bed, your bare feet brushing against the cool wooden floor. The air was thick with a sense of dread, and you needed to shake it off.
You moved quietly to the living room, past the vase of flowers on the table, their petals soft and pliable beneath your fingers.
Simon lay asleep on the couch near the window, bathed in moonlight that filtered through the blinds. You approached him, hovering over his still form like a guardian angel. The outline of his face was sharp yet softened by shadows; you could see the rise and fall of his chest under the comforter he had kicked off while sleeping. As you considered waking him, his eyes fluttered open.
“you good?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep and concern.
You jumped, startled by his sudden awakening.
“Oh, I’m... nothing,” you said, trying to sound casual. “I just couldn’t sleep and wanted to come out here for a bit.”
Simon frowned, his eyes dark with concern.
“C’mere,” he said, lifting the edge of the comforter. You hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was a good idea, but the weight of loneliness was too much to bear. As you nestled closer, his arms wound around you, and the press of his chest at your back reassured you that everything would be alright. His breath on the nape of your neck mingled with the scent of lavender fabric softener, and his heartbeat against your spine slowed to match your own. His touch calmed your racing mind until all that remained were the gentle brushstrokes of his fingertips along your arm.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice gentle in the darkened room.
You hesitated, not wanting to burden him with your fears, but then decided to tell him. “I had a nightmare,” you said softly, feeling embarrassed.
“You want to-?”
“No,” you stopped him. You didn’t want to talk about it, not wanting to relive the terror of the nightmare.
He didn’t push it. “Okay... If you have that nightmare again, I’ll kick that thing’s arse, I will. Now, close your eyes. You need your sleep, darlin’.” his voice was low and soothing.
You couldn’t help but giggle at his protectiveness and felt a sense of security as he pulled you closer to him.
“Sweet dreams, okay? And close those eyes of yours, dear,” he murmured, kissing your head.
You smiled, and soon, with the warmth of his body next to yours, you fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
The next morning, you woke up to the sound of a shushed argument coming from the front door. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and sat up, groggy and disoriented.
You got up from the couch and walked towards the front door, your bare feet padding against the hardwood floor. As you got closer, you could hear the muffled voices growing louder.
You hesitated for a moment, wondering if you should interfere, but curiosity got the better of you. Slowly, you pushed the door open, and sunlight streamed through the opening, flooding the dark living room.
“Go away. Now.” Simon said, his voice ringing with anger, “I swear to bloody god, I’ll break your fakin’ nose.”
He was a silhouette in the murky morning light, feet planted firmly as he stood before an unfamiliar figure. His shoulders were tense, and a single bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck. His face was concealed by the usual black balaclava that melded seamlessly into his dark clothing.
The other man seemed taken aback by Simon’s outburst. Still, he quickly regained his composure and stepped forward, revealing himself in the dim light.
“C’mon, I just want to see ‘er”.
The Scottish lilt pierced through the thick silence like a knife, sending a shiver down your spine.
Like an electric shock, you felt a sudden jolt of energy as images of the past suddenly emerged from the fog of amnesia. Images, sounds, and conversations flooded your mind as fragments of memories all clicked into place, and you remembered him.
“Soap?”
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Tags: @8sy-errah8 @yyiikes @spencerreidisbae123 @oranoyaora @sae1kie @originaldeerhottub @cr4shposts @caramlizedtomatoes  @ilovehyperfixating @ghostlythots  @dotcie
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back2bluesidex · 8 months
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Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Chapter 1 (18+)
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Pairing: Model, ex-boyfriend!Jungkook X Child psychologist, Fem!Reader X Lawyer, Single Dad!Hoseok. 
Summary: Jungkook stripped your emotions naked, left you bare in the chilly wind of despair and self-doubt with an unending heartache. You tried your hardest to move on from him, to live for yourself but failed miserably. Each night you had to come back to your empty home where memories and broken dreams were scattered all around the floor, until one day a little angel and her unbelievably beautiful father came into your life. Finally, when you find yourself healing, maybe falling too, Jungkook had to show up! Again!
Theme: Angst, pining, heartbreak, break-up, SMUT (MDNI)
Warnings: lots of crying, reader is broken, she is suffering so bad, a flashback explicit sex scene, big-dick Jungkook, kind of size kink, he hits it from behind, shower sex, unprotected sex (wrap it up), creampie, Jung Hoseok enters the scene, he is so attractive that you might faint, subtle and flirty Hoseok, an adorable little girl, Namjoon makes an appearance.
It's not really mentioned but just so you know, Hoseok and reader has a slight age gap like 5 years. (which is not at all an age gap to me because my first boyfriend was 8 years older than me. haha. you didn't just read that.)
Word count: 4.2k
Taglist requests are closed.
Minors and karens are not allowed in this blog
A/N: First chapter is here. I wrote 4k+ words for a single fic and that's unbelievable. Anyway, I hope you guys like it, and I hope it's worth the wait.
Main Masterlist
Chapters:- 
Prologue/Masterpost || Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 - Finale
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“Reaching in 10 minutes” 
That’s what Jungkook texted you half an hour ago. 
It’s nothing new. He has always been late to your every date, every plan, every meetup. What is new is the lack of explanations and excuses following his delayed arrivals. He only apologizes and you hardly hear any sincerity in his atonements. 
You sigh, staring out of the huge window of the private cabin. 
Jungkook can’t meet you at your (supposed to be shared) home due to his “privacy” issues. So, you had to reserve this private cabin of an over-expensive continental restaurant. It’s funny how all of these feel so formal. It feels as if you are meeting one of your wealthy clients and not your boyfriend. This is how far Jungkook has drifted from you. 
Your feet bounce on the floor, reminding you that you are indeed very nervous. 
It’s a “leap of faith” situation for you today. If it works out then everything will start afresh, if it doesn’t… you will have to fall and break without having any idea on how to mend yourself. 
“Sorry. I’m late.” Jungkook’s muffled voice rings behind your ear. 
You were so lost in your thoughts, or fear, that you didn’t even hear him entering the cabin. 
He heads towards the seat opposite of yours, without any further greetings, any kiss or even a hug… not even a single glance.
“As if it’s the first time.” you scoff. Jungkook chuckles nervously, removing his mask and snapback. 
“Let’s order something. Heard their soy sauce chicken is a hit-” 
“Y/N, I can’t stay for long. Can you make it quick?” Jungkook cuts off your words. His tone is so curt, so foreign that you doubt if it’s actually him underneath his skin or not. 
“Jungkook… What's wrong? Why are you making things so formal? For fuck’s sake it’s me. Your so-called girlfriend.” Your voice quivers but you scream nonetheless. 
“Y/N! Quit being dramatic and lower your voice. We are not at home.” Jungkook hisses, teeth gritting, eyes narrowing. 
“Home? You mean the apartment you left because your agency said it’s risky to share a space with your girlfriend of three years? The same place you refused to meet at because paparazzi are keeping tabs on you as you are rumored to be dating someone else?” you reply with the same ferocity. 
Jungkook closes his eyes and rubs his face with both of his palms. Taking a sharp inhale, he says, “Can you please tell me why we are here? I don’t think you called me all the way here just so we can fight?”  
You roll your eyes, less in sarcasm, more in an attempt to make your tears disappear.
You sit straight as if being prepared for the sword that is going to pierce through your heart, “Jungkook, do you.. do you love me?” 
Jungkook visibly stiffens. His eyes go wide as if someone has asked him to jump off of the building. You see him collecting himself and clearing his throat only to lie, “O-Of course I do. But suddenly why?” 
Even though you want to believe his words, you know those are as hollow as his eyes and maybe his heart as well. 
“Then..” you pause, reaching for your purse. Pulling out the pitch black velvet box, you look at him. Jungkook’s eyes are wide again, filled with horror and confusion. He probably knows what you are doing and he does not seem to be the least bit happy.  
You stand up from your seat and round the table to reach Jungkook, “don’t you think it’s the high time we get engaged? It’s been three years since we started dating, our families approve of each other and” you pause, being unsure of whether you should say it, “and we have always wanted a future together.” You open the box for him to see, a tight-lipped smile lingers on your face only to punctuate your proposal.
Jungkook looks up at you with his big, doe, mystical eyes and then looks down on the ring you have spent a fortune on. Your heart hammers in your chest, but it is not the flattering kind. Your heart races in a fear that you are not ready to face yet.
Jungkook’s face falls and he looks away from you. He plays with his fingers and avoids any kind of eye contact with you. You stand there like a doll made of steel, staring at him holding the ring. 
“Y/N. This is not- I can’t. I mean, this is so sudden. I am at the peak of my career and I can’t think of getting engaged or married at this point of life.” he runs a hand though his dark hair out of frustration, “Why are you rushing everything like this?” Jungkook’s eyes are still trained on the table, not on you. 
“Because I am afraid, Jungkook. I am afraid you might leave me behind if I don’t try to hold onto you now.” you finally let your tears fall. Uncontrollable sobs leave your mouth. 
Jungkook whips his head towards you and then stands up slowly. He holds you by your arms and opens his mouth to say something, “Y/N. I-”
“But I guess it’s too late now. You were long gone. You were gone far before the day you were seen with her. I should have understood Jungkook. I should have…” you run out of breath but still continue, “now please answer me honestly, you love her. Don’t you?” 
Jungkook starts avoiding your eyes again. His grip on your arms loosens and you somehow know the answer already. 
“I never cheated on you, Y/N. I never lied to you.” He offers with eyes shut tightly. 
“But you never told me the full truth either.” your voice comes out weak. 
Jungkook remains silent for a while and then he continues with a frail voice, “That night. I mean, the photo that went viral, I was sending her back to her hotel. She flew all the way to the States to confess to me.” This is a new revelation to you, since you never really demanded any explanation from him. Honestly, you didn’t have the guts to face the truth. Rather you decided to try one last time. And that is what brings you here, defeated and rejected with a truck load of pain burdening you down. 
“And? What did you say?” you press on, being determined to end your suffering today even if it means you will have to return home with a broken relationship and a broken heart.  
“Nothing.” Jungkook gulps.
“You could not say no because you feel the same and you could not say yes because you still had me, is that right?” You know you awfully sound like you are in a session with one of your patients but you don’t care. You need to get to the root of this unbearable pain and cut it off for once and for all. 
Jungkook nods. Even though his eyes are hidden from yours, you know, those are full of guilt and shame but not a single speck of love and affection for you. 
You close your eyes, let the tears fall unbound, shut the box tight and take two steps back from your soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. 
“I know this is a stupid question but I- I’m just confirming” another sob leaves your mouth unintentionally, “do you want to break up? With me?” 
Jungkook pinches the bridge of his nose. He is probably finding a way to say yes without having to hurt you more than you can bear. 
“Y/N..” he murmurs. This is most likely the last time you are hearing him call you by your name. 
“Jungkook, please, just yes or no.” You take another step away from him.  
“Yes.” Jungkook breathes out. His eyes are still shut tight. 
Even though you knew what his answer would be, it still hurts much more than it did in your imagination. 
You feel as if your head is underwater, you can’t breathe, can’t fight, can’t scream. You need to be saved but the person you want to reach out to is the same person who pushed you into this unfathomable water. 
Your vision gets blurry with tears again, you can’t see Jungkook anymore. And you guess it’s better that way. 
“Okay. That's all I think. That’s all for our three years of history. I hope you lead a happier life from now on. Goodbye….. Jungkook.” and with that you left without waiting for him to say anything. You left him and a part of yourself with him. 
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You are again sitting at your dining table, holding your phone tightly in your hand. You are again re-reading a headline just like you did a month and two days ago. You are again trying not to cry but you are failing miserably. 
“Calvin Kline fame Jeon Jungkook confirms the rumors by kissing rumored girlfriend actress Han Jiwon at a club downtown - The agency is yet to provide a statement.” 
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It's cruel, how you have to wake up exactly at 7 in the morning despite crying for the better part of the night. 
It's even more cruel, how your vacation application (which you have been pursuing for more than a week now) was declined harshly because there's a "priority client" and you, arguably the most competent child psychologist of the clinic, have to take over the case. 
You reach for your phone and turn off the alarm. 
Opening your eyes, you stare at the ceiling blankly. It's been two weeks since you last saw Jungkook at the restaurant. It's been two weeks since your relationship came to an end. And it's been four months since you are sleeping on your own but you still crave for his warmth beside you. 
Love can be a funny thing. At one moment it's fulfilling you, injecting your heart with a sickening sweetness and at another one it's ripping off your urge to continue living, it's stuffing you with insecurity and self doubts that you hardly knew the existence of. 
You wonder what Jungkook is doing now. Is he sleeping by himself or is he waking up beside Jiwon? Is he kissing her shoulders softly like he used to do to you or is he hovering above her, spreading her legs and inserting his large shaft inside. 
Your thoughts are shaken off with the vibrating sound of your phone. 
It's Miseon. The receptionist of The Mindscope ( the clinic you work for) and probably the only person you can call a friend in this entire world. 
"Morning." You greet.
"Hey. Heard that your application was declined?" Miseon chrips from the other side of the line. 
"Yeah. For some priority clients. Kim asshole Namjoon will be deep-fried in burning oil in a giant ass frying pan in hell." You grumble.
"So you are coming back to work today I guess." 
"Yes I have to."
"Will you be okay tho?" You can hear concern in your friend's voice. She's the only person apart from your family to know about your and Jungkook's relationship. So, she called you immediately after seeing the tabloids twelve days ago. You cried on her shoulder when she visited you. 
"Yeah. I guess. I have to start doing the actual work anyway. My eyes are in pain for the prolonged hours I spent staring at Microsoft Word for these two weeks. Ugh. Now I hate documentation even more." 
Miseon chuckles, “Okay, see you at the clinic then.” 
“Yeah. see you.” 
You drag yourself out of the bed and head towards the washroom. If this is a new start, then you better accept it. 
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As soon as the warm soothing water touches your body, memories come rushing back, flooding your mind with despair in the process. 
“Jungkook… I’m gonna get late” you whine, head tilting back with pleasure. 
Jungkook’s hand snakes around your waist, fingers reach for your sensitive bundle of nerves. 
“Five minutes won’t hurt, baby.” he whispers in your ear as his index and middle finger draw slow circles on your wet clit. 
His other hand teases one of your wet nipples, twisting and tugging it as harshly as he wants. 
A pool of slick gushes out of your hole making jungkook groan at the feeling. He dips his middle finger in your hole and collects some of your wetness, he then uses that to rub more smooth circles on your clit. 
You choke on thin air, moaning his name again and again you start to roll your hip on his naked cock. 
His giant cock fits perfectly along your ass crack, as if it was made to fit inside you. 
You roll your hips harder to elicit a reaction from your boyfriend. 
“Such a dirty girl, huh? All for me.” Jungkook’s husky voice pierce through your sober mind and you find yourself dazed with love and pleasure. 
Jungkook increases the pace of his fingers and you get more and more wet each passing second. 
“Kook.. I- I need you.” you manage to breathe out. 
“Don’t be vague, Y/N. Tell me what you exactly need.” Jungkook replies smugly. 
“I need your giant cock to ruin my pussy, daddy.” you reply, squeezing the tit that has been deprived of your boyfriend’s attention.
“Whatever my baby says.” and with that jungkook slips inside you in one go. You barely get any chance to adjust because he starts moving right away. 
He fucks you slow. His fingers never stop teasing your clit and soon you two reach your climax. He fills you with his cum and you coat his cock with yours. 
“Let’s get cleaned now, hm?” Jungkook places a kiss on your shoulder as he turns on the shower. 
Your back slides down the shower wall. You shake violently as loud sobs leave your throat one after another. 
“You are so cruel, Jungkook. You are so fucking cruel.” you scream. Your throat hurts but your heart hurts even more. 
You should have read the signs. When he kept on talking about Jiwon, aka his new friend from the agency, you should have perceived that shine in his eyes. 
You should have confronted him more when he said he would have a drink with her after his shoot. 
You should have asked his whereabouts when he ignored your calls and texts because he visited her in one of her drama sets. 
You should have done a lot of things but most importantly, you should have loved him a little less and loved yourself a little more. 
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Counselee Information: - Name: Jung Sua Age: 7 (seven) Gender: Female (F) Guardian: Jung Hoseok  Relationship with the guardian: Father of the counselee  Reasons behind seeking help:  1. Changes in behavior  2. Quieter and more reserved than before 3. Frequent nightmares  4. Mild panic attacks 
“So, what do you think?” Namjoon questions, leaning on the plush chair, placed at the end of your table. 
“Nothing complicated. You could have handled it yourself. There was absolutely no need of rejecting my vacation applications again and again.” you spat, being very unimpressed with the dimpled smirk on your boss’ face. 
“Oh my god. What’s wrong?” he dramatically leans forward. Placing a hand on his chest, Namjoon continues, “I thought you will be in a better mood after two weeks of work from home. But you seem even more annoyed than before.” 
“For your information, I asked for a damn holiday not work from home aka  prolonged hours of documentation. I really need some time off, Namjoon. I am not kidding.” Your voice sounds so defeated that Namjoon has to sit straight. 
A serious expression takes over his features as he replies, “I know, Y/N. You are definitely not the type to take leaves for fun. But I am helpless here. The client has asked for you personally. He has done his own research and concluded that you can help his daughter better than everyone else in this clinic. I could not do anything.” 
You nod understanding his point of view. 
You are always more than ready to help these little, innocent souls out. It pains you to see these babies experiencing something as horrific as panic attacks. 
But this time you need therapy more than anyone else under your radar. Even though your exterior doesn’t show the unbearable pain your interior is going through, you still need some solace. You are really unwilling to work at this moment and you doubt if you can help anyone else when you are not mentally fit yourself.  
But you hardly have a choice. And maybe, just maybe, you will get a chance of distracting yourself from Jungkook's thoughts. Maybe you will be able to take a breather. Maybe you will heal in the process. Maybe? 
“The appointment is at 11 am, right?” You ask the man sitting right in front of you.
“Yes,” he answers. 
“It’s 10:49 already. Get out and let me prepare myself.” you mutter, closing your eyes and leaning back on your chair. 
“Okay okay. Don’t be so aggressive.” Namjoon chuckles before leaving you alone in the cabin. 
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You go through Jung Sua's records once more to verify if there's a health condition you should be aware of. But there isn't anything. 
Just when you close the file, a knock rings on the cabin door. 
You sit straight. Ready to welcome a new friend. 
Yuna, your assistant, knocks once more before pushing the door slowly. She walks in first and then holds the door open for the guests. 
And the cutest seven years old, you have ever seen, walks inside. She's so small that she can be easily mistaken for a five year old. Her chubby cheeks and immaculately done pigtails makes her look like a doll. 
You almost coo at the sight. 
Even though you mostly work with kids, for the past year you were working with only teenagers. It's been long since you had the pleasure to serve yourself for a kid less than ten years old, let alone a seven year one. 
"Hello there, Miss Sua. How are you doing?" You say in a jovial voice, trudging towards the baby. 
Sua tenses a bit and looks behind her, looking for shelter from her father. He stands right behind Sua, offering her to hold one of his hands. Sua takes that readily.
You come forward and sit on your knees to maintain an eye level with your new friend. 
"Don't worry. I'm your new friend. My name is Y/N." You offer her your hand. She hesitates a bit and then looks at her father for confirmation.
You follow her cue and tilt your head up to take a look at the father of your counselee.
Only if you weren't the embodiment of damsel of distress these days, you could very well have a love at first sight. 
The man flaunts a pair of incredibly beautiful yet intimidating eyes, a chiseled jaw that can cut you into pieces, perfectly styled dark hair that falls on his face, and a pair of heart shaped lips which enhances the overall beauty of his face. The fitted dress pants and the black dress shirt give hints of the lithe, well-structured body that lies inside. 
He smiles at you, you do the same. And then you feel a softer, smaller hand wrapping up your fingertips lightly. 
Her cuteness makes you giggle. 
You stand up, taking her hand on yours, you start walking towards a cozier corner of your cabin, where you usually counsel kids. Her father follows you closely behind. 
There's a small and round glass table along with three chairs. One is meant for you and two others are meant for the counselees and their guardians. 
You turn towards Sua’s father. Smiling a little and you say “You need to take the seat first, so that she can be assured it is safe here.” 
“Sure” he replies. His voice is smooth and light, a contrast to his dark and manly features. 
He sits down on the bigger chair and pats on the smaller one, “come on Sua, com ‘ere.” 
Sua leaves your hand and wiggles towards her dad. She easily plops down on her seat. 
“Yuna, can you prepare the game room please?” You ask your assistant.
“Sure, Y/N” She says before closing the door as you get comfortable in your own chair. 
Sua regards you with her big, round doe eyes. She looks at you so intensely as if you have grown two horns in your head. 
You chuckle a bit, “Sua, don’t you like your new friend? Don’t you like me?” 
Sua stays silent. 
“Sua is very friendly. I am sure she will like Y/N very soon. Isn’t it, baby?” Sua’s father chimes in, squeezing one of her little hands with his bigger, rougher ones. 
You are so accustomed to your patients and their guardians to address you as “doctor”, that you had to take a moment after your name rolled out of Mr. Jung’s mouth. 
The change is welcomed anyway. 
You divert your eyes from Sua to him, only to find him smiling at you warmly. You mirror his smile. His smile is so damn gorgeous that you can’t help but feel contaminated with it. 
“Sua, what do you like to play the most?” you focus on Sua again.
“Mario kart” she replies briefly, staring down at her feet. 
“Okay. That's a great game. But what would you like to play outside? For example with your classmates during lunchtime?” You place your next question. 
“My classmates don’t play with me.” She was quick with her answer. 
Your smile drops instantly and you already start mapping out all the possible sources of the issues she is facing. 
Nodding to yourself in understanding, you proceed, “Okay, let’s not talk about games anymore. You tell me what you like more, oranges or mangoes?”
“Mangoes.” she replies. 
“Okay” standing up from your seat, you walk towards your table and call Yuna. She comes within a few seconds. 
You instruct her to take Sua to the game room and treat her to some delicious mango juice. Even though Sua hesitates for a bit, her father’s encouragement works really well. 
As soon as Sua leaves the room, you find yourself quite nervous under the intimidating gaze of Mr. Jung. 
This setting is nothing new. You have been into one-on-one conversations with your counselees’ parents for more times than you can count. But none of them were as young and attractive as Mr. Jung. 
You inhale a long breath before continuing, “so, Mr. Jung, since when did you start noticing these changes in Sua?” 
“Almost a month ago. I can’t pinpoint an exact date but she has gradually become very quiet over this last month. She used to be very chatty. She used to tell me every little thing in detail about her day, her friends, what she had for lunch, what colors she used in drawings and so on. Now-a-days her answers have become vague and insignificant.” Mr. Jung sighs.
“Hmm. and the nightmares?” you ask, scribbling on the ipad. 
“Around the same time. She woke up at 2 in the morning, ran to my room crying and breathing heavily. She didn’t tell me what it was about but kept on saying she was afraid. The same thing happened two more times.” He completes. 
“Umm. The next question might be a little personal but the information is required for future counsellings. I ask for your understanding.” you sit straight. He nods. 
“You said she came running to you when she had nightmares. Hence, I assume you were alone in the room. What about Sua’s mother?” 
“I am a single dad, Doctor. Sua’s mother and I were in a casual relationship when she conceived with Sua unexpectedly. Both of us were just starting our careers so it was tough for us to think of getting married. On the top of that we didn’t like each other enough to proceed with that option. So, we decided to co-parent. But…” he pauses, takes in a long breath and then continues, “she disappeared after giving birth. She left a note behind as an apology, saying that she is not ready to be a mother, asking me not to contact her anymore. My mother and sister helped me in raising Sua so beautifully. They are the only ones to become something close to a mother figure for her. That’s all.” 
You feel something warm flooding in your chest. You don’t know what it is, it can be respect, can be sympathy, can be even admiration for this man who you don’t even know properly. 
A genuine smile takes over your face as you mutter, “You have done a great job Mr. Jung. You have raised a beautiful daughter all by yourself. You have worked hard.” 
Mr, Jung’s dark eyes flood with some emotions you can’t quite name. He stares at you intensely, so much so that you feel he is reading you inside out. You can’t help but stare back at him. 
“Call me Hoseok. So that I can call you by your name too. Is that okay, Y/N?” his voice is deeper than earlier, his smile is lopsided, more like a smirk. 
You find yourself easily smiling along with him, something that has been quite tough for you to do for the past few months. 
“Sure. Hoseok.” Your reply comes out without any further thought.   
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Text
When The World Is Free: Epilogue - Peace Ever After
MASTERPOST PREV | NEXT
Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader, WW2 AU.
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Warnings: None… the fluffiest fluff that ever fluffed. Also, our pair have some news for the world.
Word Count: 0.7k
Author’s Note: Multi-chapter fic based on a request by the lovely @amillcitygirl . Please see the masterpost for a synopsis of this story. This is the neat little bow I wanted to wrap this fic up with. I hope you have enjoyed this story; it's been a pleasure to write. Thank you for reading, and many thanks as always to @colettebronte for beta reading. Enjoy!
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Wiltshire, UK, 8th May 1945
Benedict’s arm is curled securely around your back as you dance together, Vera Lynn warbling from the wireless in the corner of your living room.
There'll be bluebirds over, The white cliffs of Dover, Tomorrow, just you wait and see…
His breath is warm on your hairline as you sway gently. A spontaneous, uplifting and tender moment to celebrate the end of the war. A lightness in your heart that this dreadful era is finally over and the overwhelming gratitude that all your loved ones have survived. This dance is also a peaceful, romantic interlude from the whirlwind your lives have become in the last few weeks. 
There'll be love and laughter, And peace ever after, Tomorrow…
The shrill ring of the telephone echoing from the hallway of your cottage interrupts your reverie.
“Ignore it,” Benedict whispers in your ear.
“But we just had it installed! It’s only our third call. How exciting!” You lean back and shoot him your best pleading face, and he sighs and, with an affectionate eye roll, gestures for you to go answer it.
You rush over and pick up the heavy bakelite receiver, a crackle on the line that is an operator.
“Overseas call for the Bridgertons from Madam DuLac,” the operator announces primly.
“Oh wonderful, yes, please put her through!” you enthuse.
“Salut y/n!” comes that familiar voice from the past after a short delay.
“Solene! It’s so wonderful to hear from you! How are you? How’s Paris?”
Benedict walks over at the mention of her name, hovering nearby to partially eavesdrop.
“I am wonderful. Paris is finally free and as beautiful as ever. On this monumental day, I wanted to check on the lovebirds who didn’t invite me to their wedding,” she jibes good-naturedly.
You can’t help but giggle. “We are very well, and yet again, sorry.” 
“Tu connais, there is one way you can remedy this,” she singsongs.
“Name it.”
“Your daughter shall be Solene oui? At least a middle name.”
You laugh heartily, then shoot Benedict a sultry look that makes his brow crease, intrigued.
“Why don’t you nag my husband about that?” you challenge lightly as he draws nearer.
He crowds into your back and takes the receiver from your hand, tilting it between you so you can both hear.
“What is my darling wife roping me into now?” he inquires dryly.
“Giving her a daughter that must be named Solene…” your ex-landlady chimes cheekily.
“Is she now?” his voice drops to a throatier register that immediately has you flustered. “And what is wrong with the son I just gave her?” he queries casually as he raises a flirtatious eyebrow at you.
“Vous avez un bebe?!?” Solene gasps. “Felicitations!!” 
“Oui!” You grin happily as Benedict's lips ghost over your temple lovingly. “We were about to send out telegrams with the news. Louis Jerome Bridgerton,” you pronounce proudly. “He is three weeks old, and he is our whole world…” your sigh so contented as you lean into your husband's attention.
“You named him after my brother-in-law?” Solene protests with mock indignance. “Then I definitely get the middle name for the girl!” 
“It was after the man who married us,” Benedict points out laconically before conceding, “who, yes, coincidentally is also your brother in law…” 
“And I shall expect a visit when petit Louis is a little older to see the wonders of Paris,” she hints unsubtly.
“Of course! His first trip will be to the Louvre,” your husband pronounces. “It was the very first place his parents went on a date, after all,” he adds, shooting you that trademark lopsided grin.
You elbow him mildly. “That was not a date!”
“It was for me, mon amour….” he side-eyes you heatedly. It makes you want to drag him upstairs and start on those daughter plans immediately.
“I should go and make my next call… to your sister and Phillip indeed; I just wanted to wish you a very happy Victory Day!” Solene interrupts your amorous moment.
“Et toi aussi,” you both answer in unison.
“Vive la France! Vive L’Angleterre! We won mes amis! Le monde est libre!”
You and Benedict’s eyes meet, a poignant moment, as the call disconnects.
“The world is free indeed,” he echoes softly, putting down the phone and sweeping you into his arms for a stirring kiss.
FIN
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