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#on the other hand i’m kinda enjoying slow burn so far
baby-yongbok · 3 months
Text
Call me, baby
Hwang Hyunjin x Fem!Reader
♡ Genre - Smut, slow(ish) and then boom porn - Strangers to lovers (non-idol)
♡ Word Count: 7.6k
♡ Summary: Welcome to Rockstar tattoo and piercing, where giving a beautiful stranger and eyebrow piercing can lead to the best fuck of your life.
♡ A/N: I started this as soon as photo's of Hyunjin with that damned eyebrow piercing came out. I am EXHAUSTED the horny took over, I'm ruined and now maybe you are too. 😭 I wanted to have this be a bit of a slow burn type of thing just so there could be some build up and longing ya know? I don't usually draw things out this long but I wanted to give it a shot. 💕Please enjoy it, I worked hard and I'd love to hear feedback. I also only lightly edited it for right now, I'll look over it again later! Gosh I'm exhausted. + reader is depicted as chubby/plus size and is a POC ♡
♡ Warnings: Pain slut Hyunjin, Descriptive piercing process, Biting, Hair pulling, Appearances by Lee Know, unprotected sex (safe sex is good. be safe ya'll) Oral (f&m receiving), nipple play (kinda? & not for too long + reader has nipple piercings)
✧ Masterlist ✧
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“Hey, man. Welcome to Rockstar tattoo and piercing whatcha lookin for tonight?” Minho, your ex and fellow co-owner of the shop asks as that familiar jingle rings through the empty shop. You’re too busy cleaning up your space to listen in on what the new customer wants. You’re sure that it’s something simple since it’s close to midnight and all that gets done this late are simple piercings and tattoos that people will regret in the morning.   
“Baby, you got a customer up front.” Minho calls as he makes his way over to his station. The name prompts a fake gag and an award winning eye roll as you move across your station
“Do not call me that, ew.” The echo of Minho’s chuckle makes him sound closer than he is as he rounds the corner of the wall dividing your spaces. You’re a two person crew so you get to spend every second that you’re in this shop with your ex which wouldn’t be so bad if he and his new girlfriend weren’t all over each other every chance that they got. You love the girl and they’re a much better match than the two of you ever were but it’s been so long since you’ve been with someone that you feel like they’re just teasing you at this point.
“You used to love that.” With folded arms he leans against your side of the wall and you turn to him with a hand on your hip while the other one is full of supplies.
“And I used to love you.” He hisses, holding a hand over his heart with faux pain in his eyes. 
“Ouch.” You throw an empty ink cap at him and you both laugh. “Well since you don’t love me I’ll be right back.” He walks over to the front desk, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair and heading out to the front of the shop.
“Where the hell are you going?” You whine, running up behind him. He turns to face you with that mischievous glint in his eyes. Does he really need to go get his dick wet right now? 
“Seriously, Min!” He laughs at your incredulous scoff as he throws on his jacket. “If I’m not back in an hour, close up for me, yeah?” With a quick wink and a smirk he rushes out of the door before you even have a chance to protest. You know that he’ll be back, he always comes back but you still want to give him a piece of your mind. You flip him off as you watch him pass the large front window and he kisses back at you. You love that you two had a clean break but god does he get on your nerves. 
“Asshole.” You mumble under your breath as you look down at the form on the counter. “Hyunjin?” 
You hear shuffling in the very far corner of the waiting area as you flip through his paperwork. 
“That’s me.” You smile down at the clipboard once you hear his voice, at least he’s not some rude wasted guy. “You can come with me.” 
When you look up your jaw nearly hits the counter, is beautiful even the right word to describe this man? You don’t usually have a type but if you had to pick one it would be the man standing right in front of you. “ Uh, hey my name’s Y/n, I’ll be piercing you tonight and it uh-”
Gosh, his eye contact is intense, how does he do that? “It says here that you wanna get a horizontal eyebrow piercing?”
“Right.” He shakes his head as he rocks back and forth on his heels and you nod. 
“Awesome, it should be pretty quick, let’s do this.” You unlock the swing door and allow him back into your station. You decide to close the privacy curtain that separates your space from the rest of the shop since the chances of anyone else coming in is close to zero, you’re not as accessible as the shops close to town so this is the quiet hour for you.
Hyunjin watches as you start collecting the supplies that you’ll need. You move carefully, making sure that everything is just how you like it. “Have you been doing this for a long time?” You hadn’t even noticed the way that he seems to be nearly looking over your shoulder this entire time.
“Long enough.” He smiles at your shy laugh as you pick a marker from your cup. “We’ve owned this place for about three years.” 
“You and your boyfriend?” You scowl at his words, pulling a chuckle from his chest. “I guess he’s not your boyfriend.”
“He’s my ex, we already bought this place when we broke up so I couldn’t escape him.” A dramatic sigh follows your statement as you motion for him to sit down on the chair in front of you. “We're friends now, best friends, but I am a single girl.”
Hyunjin cocks his brow, causing you to accidently draw a line across his eyelid. “Sorry about that.” He chuckles and you smile at the soft sound. 
“It’s alright.” You clean him up and the feeling of his gaze burning into you makes you smirk. You’re more than used to clients staring at you, there are some that will try to make an ungraceful pass at you while they’re at it but for some reason having Hyunjin stare at you so intensely is welcomed? Maybe because he’s cute. That definitely helps. “Ready?”
“Ready.” You mark him perfectly this time and point him towards the mirror to check if he likes the placement. “Perfect.”
“Awesome let’s stick ya then.” You motion him towards your reclined chair and he gracefully fills the spot with his tall frame. “You’re not scared of needles are you?”
“Not at all.” The smirk on his face as he stares up at the ceiling catches you off guard. You’ve never seen anyone smile at the thought of getting stabbed before. You wipe your hands and snap on your gloves before moving in front of your rolling tray where all of your supplies are set up. “Did it hurt when you got yours?”
“Nope, but that’s probably because I did it myself.” You grab your scissor clamp and move next to Hyunjin. “Okay, so, the steps are to clamp the site, pierce it, feed the jewelry through and then you’re out of here.”
“Sounds easy enough, go ahead.” You nod leaning over him gently. This is the first time in all of your years as a piercing artist that you’ve felt self conscious about the deep V cut of your shirt. You usually couldn’t care less but right now you’re almost hyper aware of the way that you’re presenting yourself to the man in front of you. You’re also hyper aware of the way that he’s staring right at the lacey red of your bra that’s peeking out, or is it the studs of your nipple piercing pressing against your tight cotton shirt that’s caught his attention? Either way, the way that he’s staring is causing something that you haven’t felt in awhile to stir deep in your stomach.
“Gonna clamp you now, it shouldn’t hurt but just take a deep breath anyway.” You whisper as you turn his head a bit to get a better look at the piercing site. Now he’s really got a good view. He’s perfectly still as you clamp him and you praise him for every little thing that he does right, he seems to take a liking to that since every time something sweet comes out of your mouth he hums with contentment. 
“Ready for the stick?”
“Go ahead.” He licks his lips while his gaze is still trained on your chest and you can’t help but to push your thighs together. He seemed to have noticed since a ghost of a smile adorned his lips right after. 
“Breath in.” He follows your instruction and you position the needle right at the mark only pushing a bit to prepare him. “And out.” He was an easy stick, it went in perfectly. It was smooth and quick and he definitely hissed a moan when you did it. You stay in place, leaning over him with the plastic needle still in. 
“Everything good?” The sound of his moan rang through your ears as you avoided eye contact with him. He hums a confirmation, his eyes are shut now and his bottom lip is between his teeth. Good god. Did he not notice or does he just not care? Does he have a thing for pain? “I’m going to uh- feed the jewelry through.” 
You move his head a bit, trying to find the best position for the light to hit him. Why is the lighting so shitty all of the sudden? “Everything alright?” There’s a slight chuckle in his voice and you sigh.
“Yeah I just can’t get a good light right now. It’s like my damn shadow moved in the way.” You move a bit back and forth but nothing is comfortable enough. “Can I like… could you just move your hip over a bit?” He does as you ask immediately and you swiftly prop your knee up on the chair. 
“Thanks, that's so much better.” You grab the jewelry, and wedge it into the plastic needle for the feed through. “You’ll feel a bit of pressure, it might sting okay?”
“Mmhmm.” Just as you’re about to move the needle you feel the soft brush of his fingers on your inner thigh. That had to be an accident right? Do you want it to be an accident? Not really.
“One, two, go.” You slowly feed the jewelry through and this time a soft grunt leaves his lips but that’s not all. You freeze when you feel it, glancing down at Hyunjin while his eyes are still closed and his fingers grip the flesh of your inner thigh. “Good?”
“Great.” It’s a miracle that you didn’t moan at the feeling of him grabbing you but you decide to thank whatever higher power saved you instead of thinking about what if’s. One thing’s clear though; he definitely has a thing for pain.
“Let me just -” You reach over to your rolling tray and his grip on your thigh loosens but he doesn’t let go. “- Just gotta put the ball on the end.” You secure his jewelry, screwing on the end and wiping it down with bactine. 
“Done.” He sighs but he doesn’t move. You look down at him, expecting him to say something, but he stays silent. You take a deep breath, trying to ignore the electricity that having his hand inches away from your heat is causing. “Wanna look at it?”
He nods, finally moving his hand, now maybe you can breathe normally. You both move at the same time but he sits up much slower than expected. “Feeling good?” Hyunjin hums as he adjusts his pants and makes his way over to the mirror, leaning in to get a good look at the new accessory. 
“So good.” Yup, he has a pain kink. It’s confirmed.
Once you’ve cleaned up all the immediate things and rid yourself of your gloves you move over towards him slowly. Usually you’d make small talk but you don’t feel too capable of doing that with the way that your core is pulsing with need at the moment. 
You watch as he studies the piercing. You should be looking at it too but you can’t focus on anything but the sharp beauty of his features and the way that his wine red hair falls against his temples and compliments the blush running up his neck. As much as you try to stop yourself you can’t help but indulge in taking him in further. You can’t help but to let your gaze run down the length of his strong arm and admire the way that his black sweats are hanging from his hips. Your eyes linger on the hem of his pants for a second too long and that’s when you notice it. Right below the perfect bow of his drawstrings is a delicious bulge that you desperately want to show attention to. Your tongue darts out, licking at the corner of your mouth a bit as you eye him. Snap out of it, come on.
“Think I should get a tattoo there?” Your eyes snap to his reflection but he’s already looking at you. Fuck, did he catch you staring? Of course he did, it was so obvious. “I’ve been thinking about it.” 
His smile makes you feel like you could explode at any second but you decide to try a bit harder to contain yourself. “I think that could be hot.” Fuck, no no no, why did you say that.
“Hot? You think so?” He cocks his eyebrow just like he did earlier but this time the gold stud adorning his thick brow makes a shiver run up your spine and sends a spark to your clit. He was already hot without the piercing but now it’s just unfair.
“Uh yeah, I do.” Before you can try to turn around and make your escape from further embarrassing yourself he turns to you. 
“Would you do it?” His eyes are focused on yours and for some reason you can’t find it in you to look away. 
“Do…your hip tattoo?” He nods and you shift your weight as you imagine the process. Could you even stand to be that close to his dick? You’re standing in front of him right now and you feel like you could combust from the eye contact. Surely you’ll melt if you end up having to stare at his hard dick for hours while he gets off on the pain of your needle for a second time. 
“I would.” Your answer leaves your lips in a half whisper before you can even think about it but the smile that pulls at his lips makes you forget your prior argument. “Just let me know when.”
“Do you have a card?” 
“Up front, I’ll give it to you with your care instructions.” You find yourself glancing down one more time before attempting to blink away all of your horny thoughts. As much as you want to fall to your knees and relieve him of his pain induced hard on you have to keep it professional, even if you were just caught staring at his dick print. “You paid when you came in, right?”
Quickly, you make your way around him to open your curtain and lead him to the counter. “Yeah I did.” You can feel him close behind you as you unlock the swing door to let him out.
“But you did such a great job.” The slam of the small door behind him makes you jump a bit but his following question is what really did it. “Do you take tips? Or could I give you more than that?”
You choke a bit on your inhale but at the same time there couldn’t possibly be a hint of oxygen left in your body with the way that he’s looking at you with his arms crossed and leaning on the counter. Your brain isn’t working anymore, it’s completely smooth as you stare back at Hyunjin’s cool smile. Hell, if he’s offering you’re going to take it.
Just as you’re about to calculate your own suggestive reply that familiar jingle echoes off the walls and your gaze lands on none-other than your godforsaken ex. He eyes you as you stand behind the counter with red cheeks and your palms spread and pressing into the desk. 
“All good?” He looks between you and Hyunjin with raised brows. You force a smile as you frantically scan the desk for the care instruction packet. 
“Yup, all good.” The sigh that follows your sentence is less than convincing but Minho lets it slide in the name of trusting you. You turn your attention back to Hyunjin who’s eyes were already on you. “So here are the care instructions. Don’t change it for about two months and uh, just make sure to keep it clean and um yeah everything that you need to know is in here.”
He takes the packet, brushing his fingers against yours in the process. Hopefully the way that you shivered wasn’t too obvious. Are you really that down bad? Usually you’re witty and flirty, you tend to have a pretty smart mouth with customers but as soon as you saw Hyunjin all of that went right out the window. 
“Your card.” He nods towards the display on the desk and you quickly grab one for him.
“It has the shop number and my instagram on there. If you want to contact me directly, Instagram is the best way to do it but I’m here almost everyday. If I’m not coming in, I'll post it on my story.” He flips the card between his fingers allowing you to get a good look at what you wish were still grabbing at the tender flesh of your thighs. Your focus breaks when he rubs the card between his fingers and a second one falls to the counter. “Oh, must’ve given you two by accident.”
“So I’ll message you.” Standing straight he slips the card into his pocket. “If I have any questions.” He takes a step back, taking you in one more time. 
“Yeah, I’ll answer as fast as I can.” 
“Baby, did you use the last of the caps?” Minho calls from the storage room and the scoff that follows makes Hyunjin laugh. 
“Stop calling me that for goodness sake.” With the flash of a quick smile and mumbled goodnight you leave Hyunjin at the front and head over to your annoying cock blocking ex. Once you get to him you see him leaning against the storage room door with his eyes on his phone screen. “I thought you were looking for caps.”
“Nah, figured that you needed me to save you. That guy should’ve been gone already.” Did he seriously just ruin any chance that you had at getting laid tonight? And by a man as hot as Hyunjin at that. 
“We were talking.”
“You don’t do small talk.” Minho’s pinched brows earns him an eye roll as you head over to your station. “So he wasn’t bothering you?”
“Far from it.” The way that you’re aggressively cleaning your tray gives Minho all the hints he needs but it would be out of character for him to just drop the topic.  
"Then what was he doing?" Minho asks in his teasing tone that you’ve grown to be more than familiar with. You pause and sigh as your mind lingers on the feel of Hyunjin’s fingers gripping you and the sounds he made with each hint of pain. 
"He was trying to make me interested." 
“Was it working?” The silence that followed his question spoke louder than any words could. “His number is on the form ya know.”
“Just lock up, Minho. I’m not breaking any privacy laws just so I can get fucked.” He throws his hands up in surrender, backing away and heading to the front. You close your eyes, taking a deep breath to try and contain the many emotions running through you. You should’ve been on your game tonight but Hyunjin just threw you off. You haven’t been that attracted to anyone in so long that all of your skills went right out the window as soon as he looked at you. Maybe he’ll message you? Ask you a question or two and then ask you out. What if he doesn’t? What if Minho scared him off and you never hear from him again?
“Baby.” 
“Lee Minho, stop calling me -” You pause when you turn to him, looking down at the card he’s offering you between his fingers. “What?” He extends his arm to you further, earning his third eye roll of the day as you snatch the cardstock away from him.
“It’s my card.” You shrug at him.
“Turn it over.” Your pulse picks up a bit once you notice the red ink on the back of the card. Hyunjin’s name and number is written in pretty symbols right across the middle with a small note. ‘Call me, baby.’
“I’ll stop calling you that now.” 
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Sleep didn't come easy last night but you sure did at the thought of Hyunjin. It doesn't help that you texted him immediately and he didn't waste a second before replying to you. Your night was spent getting to know him a bit as your mind danced on the idea of him fucking you into your mattress. The amount of time that you pretended that your fingers were his slender ones while you answered one of his questions is actually award winning. The taping of your cum covered fingers against your screen went on until you tired yourself out and fell asleep while waiting for his next text. 
“Going out.” Minho looked up from the sketch book in front of him just in time to watch as you grabbed your jacket from the chair next to his. 
“Did ‘baby’ call?” For the first time in a while you find yourself smiling and unbothered by his teasing. “She's smiling, did you finally catch a dick.”
“I'll let you know in a couple of hours.” The look on Minho’s face isn't one that you see often but it's your absolute favorite. “I'll be back, baby.”
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You barely got to knock twice before the door to Hyunjin’s apartment swung open. He looks just as good if not better than he did last night and the fact that you’ve gotten to know him a bit better over text for the past couple of hours makes you feel like a college student sneaking into someone's dorm after curfew. It’s safe to say that you have a big fat crush now.
“Hey, nice piercing.” He pulls you into a quick hug before ushering you further into his place. Your eyes wander across his walls, taking in every detail. He really is the artsy type. 
“Thanks, some girl did it for me last night.” He watches you take in his space with hungry eyes, no matter how much he tells himself that he just met you and that he wants to take it slow he can’t seem to pace himself. The amount of times that he came into his fist last night just thinking of how pretty your nipple piercings must be and how your thighs would wrap perfectly around him is insane. Unfortunately, the orgasms didn’t put out the fire that burned for you deep in his stomach, it only made the flame bigger.
“Oh yeah?” You face him as you peel your jacket off slowly, letting it slide off of your shoulders and down your arms so gracefully that he couldn’t possibly ignore it. “Was she hot?”
His eyes fix on the fabric stretching tight against your chest, how dare you call that a shirt. It’s keeping little to nothing to the imagination but he can’t say that he’s mad at it. “So fucking hot, I couldn’t stop staring at her.”
Your jacket finds a home on the arm of his couch while you check out the paintings on his living room wall. The stretched canvas and sheets of beautifully stained paper are littered all over the ivory wall, serving as the only real means of decoration in this area of the room. “Do you think that she noticed?”
The energy around you turns electric as he steps up behind you, just close enough not to touch you. “I hope that she did.” 
“Why?” Your breathing is slow and shallow as your eyes run across the colors of the paintings on the wall. You’re not really taking in the beauty of the art anymore, you’re more concerned with the masterpiece standing behind you and what he’ll say next.
“So that she doesn’t feel surprised when I say -” He leans into you, fiddling with one of the paintings and pressing himself lightly into your back. A blistering heat washes over you at the feel of him against you. It’s so much more than you imagined it to be. “- That I think that she’s beautiful.”
He reaches for another painting, stepping forward just a bit to be closer to you. “And that as much as I want to take it slow and get to know her -” He slowly retracts his hand, stepping back and breaking all contact. You sigh, swallowing hard as you hang on each of his words. “I just can’t go another second without knowing what she feels like.”
You turn your head to the side, catching a glimpse of his burning gaze as he stares down at you. His dark eyes are undressing you before he even gets the chance to touch you. Something like you did to him yesterday. “I think that she’d feel the same way.” It’s a bit of a challenge but you manage to hold eye contact with him as you turn your body to face him.
“You think she’d let me touch her?” Eyes, lips, chest and repeat. That’s the pattern that his gaze follows while he waits for your answer. 
“I think she wants you to, so so badly.” His eyes meet yours and his hands are on you in an instant, grabbing at the plush of your waist and pushing you against the wall of art work behind you. 
“Thank god.” He whispers against your lips before attaching them in desperate hunger. The sound of paper and canvas falling to the floor is merely background noise in the heat of the moment.
He’s soft and sweet like honey, his touch is like satin against your skin and your head is fuzzy. Holy fuck. He swallows the moan that escapes you as you welcome his tongue into your mouth, offering his own sinful sounds as a counter. His hands are grabbing at the exposed skin of your stomach while he pushes your shirt up to expose more of you. Your hands fist the fabric of his shirt, you want him closer. You need him closer. He pulls away abruptly, staring down at you panting and flushed. He takes a step back and you take a step forward. 
“Think she’ll let me fuck her?” He continues to step back from you and you match each move that he makes. Your hands find the bottom hem of your shirt and you pull the fabric over your head, revealing your flimsy lace bra to him. A hiss falls from his lips as he falls back into his couch. Sitting with his legs spread and ready for you, the perfect seat. 
“You better fuck her.” Once you climb onto his lap his lips are back on yours in an instant. The kiss is hungry, desirous, passionate. It’s everything that you knew it would be and more. His palms rest on your breasts, kneading the flesh and flicking at the heart studs of your nipple piercings. A shiver runs over you at the feeling and Hyunjin smiles against you at the reaction.
“Sensitive?” He mumbles, following with a kiss and you nod with a deep moan. “Fuck.” He pushes your breast together, jiggling them in his palms while he watches with his bottom lip between his teeth. 
“I wanted to see these so badly last night.” You knew he was staring. “Wanted to run my tongue over these pretty little studs.” 
“What’s stopping you now?” You grind your hips into him, milking a choked moan from his throat. He’s so hard underneath you, his sweat pants are doing little to restrain his pulsing cock from pressing into your needy core but even that bit of pressure is not enough to satiate your hunger. His fingers peel down the lace of your bra and you watch as his tongue dips out of his mouth and swirls the silver jewelry. “Hyunjin.” 
He hums, content with the way that his name sounds falling from your pretty lips, it’s then that you remember last night. Praise and pain, those are his things right? Let’s test it out.
The feeling of his tongue laving over your sensitive peak breaks you out of your thoughts and fogs your mind all over again. He shows both of your breasts equal attention, wetting your nipples with long drags of his tongue followed by a skillful swirl of the muscle around your shiny silver bars. “ So good, oh my god.” He hums, sucking a bit harder at the sound of your sweet words. 
Your fingers lace through the wine red strands of his hair, scratching and rubbing at his scalp for a bit until he grazes his teeth over the sensitive peak of your nipple. You’re pulling at his roots before you can even process it but the pornographic moan that escapes him as he falls into your touch makes you happy that you did it.
“A pain slut?” Matching smirks paint your faces but his is quickly swept away when you bring your other hand up through his roots and pull again. “I knew it.” You grind into him, the moans escaping him are making you hungry for friction all over again. 
His hands grasp your hips, gripping you so tightly that you’re sure there will be beautiful bruises there in the morning. “What gave me away?” His eyes stay on yours as you hold his head back by his hair. Yesterday his gaze was blinding but tonight you find it easier to handle the heat that it causes to rise on the surface of your skin. You’re okay with going blind if he’s the last thing that you see. 
“Hm.” His eyes flutter shut at the feeling of your lips ghosting over his pulse “Maybe it was the way you moaned when I stuck you.” Sloppy kisses and small nibbles of his milky flesh draws a moan similar to the one that’s been playing in your head all night to leave his blushed lips.
“Or the way that you grabbed my thigh.” Your teeth sink into the flesh of his neck and the sound that he makes in response is nearly enough to make you cum on the spot. “Or how hard you were when I was finished.”
“Do that again.” So biting is his favorite, huh? 
“Say please.” 
“Please, do that again. Bite me, harder. Please let me feel that again.” He’s begging? You’ve never been with a man who was willing to do that. A mumbled praise makes his cock twitch against you as one of his hands slips down to your ass, gripping the cheek firmly but not squeezing. Your teeth sink into his neck again, a deep guttural groan escapes him while his fingers dig into the soft flesh of your ass through your jeans. “Oh, baby.”
You pull away at the feeling of a warm spot beneath you. When you look down at your clothed cores the sticky wet spot presents itself to you. He came just from you biting him and he's still hard. No fucking way.
“You made a mess.” A familiar darkness falls upon his gaze and now it's your turn to moan from the grip he has on your hair. “Clean it up for me, angel.”
You crawl backwards off of his lap, lowering down onto your knees as his grip in your hair ensures that your eyes stay on his. He shimmies his pants down with his free hand, your eye contact falters for just a second so that you can steal a glance at his cock. He’s bigger than you thought he’d be, long and curved ever so slightly. The angry red tip is glistening with cum in the low light, you run your tongue along your lips at the thought of sucking him clean. 
“One day you’ll give me a pretty tattoo right here, won’t you?” He pulls your hair towards him, controlling your head so that you lean into his hip. You plant a sloppy kiss against his skin, nipping and licking like a desperate puppy. His cock twitches at the feel of your lips on the newly discovered patch of skin. “I’ll be hard as a rock with your pretty face so close to my cock.” He moves your head over just enough for you to lick up some of the cum from his flawless thigh. 
“You think you could do it? Think you could be that close to my cock and not put me in your mouth?” Little does he know that you’ve already thought about it and the answer is no. Hell no, absolutely not. “Maybe it would be me who loses control.”
He yanks back on your hair, lifting your head back up to meet his gaze. He brings his bent pointer finger to your chin and runs his thumb down your swollen lips. “I have a feeling that I’ll be addicted to this mouth.” His eyebrow piercing catches the light as he stares down at you and you can’t help but to feel turned on by the fact that you did that to him. You’re responsible for that pretty stud on this pretty man. 
“Let’s see if I’m right.” You open your mouth eagerly once he sits back and guides you over to his waiting cock. A hiss escapes him once you take him to the hilt, swallowing around him with watery eyes. He marvels at the way your pretty lips stretch around him, taking every single inch of him until his tip makes your throat bulge and your mouth water. You bob your head, licking and sucking him clean. The taste of his cum is so sweet, so perfect, maybe you’re just insanely horny or maybe he’s your new favorite candy. The only thing you’ll have a craving for from this point on. 
“That throat is taking me so well.” The vibration of your hum makes Hyunjin bite his lip as he watches you. You bring your hands up to his naked thighs and claw your nails lightly down the exposed skin. His cock twitches in your mouth and your pussy throbs at the feeling of it. You’re a big fan of foreplay, it’s super important and fun and everything but you would do anything to skip all of this and simply feel Hyunjin’s cock sink into your dripping pussy. “This is what you wanted yesterday isn’t it? This is what you wanted when you were staring at my dick?”
The deep rasp of his voice as he asks such filthy questions makes you press your thighs together, Hyunjin moves his foot in between your knees. Kicking your legs apart and taking away the relief you were chasing.
“Need me now?” Your desperate gaze up at him is all the answer that he needs. He lets go of your hair and you slowly come up off of his cock, swirling your tongue around the tip a bit and releasing him with a string of spit still connecting you. He offers you his hand to help you up off of your knees before dropping to his own right in front of you. 
With a burning gaze on your naked stomach he unbuttons your jeans and slowly drags them over the curve of your hips. His eyes scan every inch of newly exposed skin, leaving sweet soft kisses against the silky skin of your thighs. He takes a deep breath before pulling your panties down, his hands lingering against your bare skin as he admires your body. He leans in and places a soft kiss against your exposed center once you step out of your panties. What was supposed to be a simple kiss turned into a few kitten licks against your clit which then quickly evolved into long drags of his tongue through your folds while he palms your ass. 
“Hyun- Hyunjin holy fuck.” Your fingers thread into his dark strands again, lightly pulling at his roots and milking moans from him. “Please fuck me. Please just fuck me I want to feel you.”
“Gotta get you ready.” He spits onto your clit, watching it drip down your lips a bit before catching with his tongue and spreading it over your folds. “I need my girl dripping around my cock.”
His lips wrap around your clit and you throw your head back in a silent scream before looking down at him. His eyes are closed as he laps at your pussy, sucking and licking like his life depends on it. You admire the shimmer of his fresh piercing as you watch him, pathetic whimpers falling from you as he dangles your orgasm in front of your face. You’ve been thinking about him for hours and now you’ve finally got him. You get to cum on his tongue and watch him slurp up every drip of your essence.
“I’m gonna cum, oh my god.” Your grip on his hair tightens and he hisses against you. He swirls his skilled tongue around your swollen clit a couple of times and you can feel the blistering heat setting all over your body. You’re so close, it’s so good and then he pulls away.
“Hyun-” Your whine is cut off by the soft yet aggressive feeling of his lips on yours.
“I want you to cum on my cock.” The taste of your pussy on his tongue distracts you from the feeling of him guiding you to the couch. He pushes you down, watching you with a smirk as he pushes his damp hair out of his face. You watch as he pulls his shirt over his head, balling it up and using it to dap at the sweat on his forehead before throwing it to the side with the rest of your clothes. “Do me a favor.”
His fingers dig into your plush waist as he positions you. He props his knee on the soft cushion,  lining himself up with your entrance and teasing your sopping folds with his leaky tip. “Anything.” You fist the pillow right above you, placing it under your head to get a bit more comfortable. 
“Call me baby.” He slips into you before you can even reply to him, stretching you out so deliciously and filling up your gushing pussy until his tip kisses your cervix. The moan that echoes through his apartment is high pitched and airy, your lungs burn from the electricity charged air as you cry out for him, gripping at the couch cushions as you try to ground yourself.
“Baby.” The first time that his hips snap into you his jaw clenches and his eyes roll to the back of his head. His imagination barely did you justice last night, his fist is nothing compared to the way that your pussy is clenching around him. The ungodly squelches of his cock plunging into you sends shivers down his spine. 
“Fuck, you’re heaven.” He coos, the rasp in his voice makes your pussy clench around him as he presses your thighs back towards your chest. Hyunjin picks up the pace, snapping into you with unholy force. 
It’s been so long since you’ve felt anything but your own fingers and it’s been even longer since you’ve been fucked this good. Not even Minho can top this and he was the best fuck you ever had. The mascara stained tears running down your cheeks translates all of that to Hyunjin without you having to say a word, it’s not like you could say anything but his name even if you wanted to. Your orgasm creeps up on you again, dangling in front of you like bait for a fish.
“Hyun - Hyunjin please don’t stop. Gonna cum gonna -” You cry out as he slams into you, filling you to the hilt and staying as still as possible. “Please please, ‘s so close please.”
“Not yet, baby.” he beckons you with two fingers, motioning for you to sit up. He helps you up, shifting your position so that you’re on top of him. You clench around him at the movement and he hisses at the tight feel of you. He’s close too but he wants you to fall apart on top of him. He wants to see you fall apart up close so that he can fuck his fist to the memory of it for days after.
 “Ride me, come on.” A firm slap to your ass makes your hips buck into him as you start to move along his length. 
You’re fucked out, chasing your pleasure desperately on top of a pretty man with a pretty cock. He wraps his arms around you, hugging you against his chest when he suddenly starts fucking up into you. He’s impossibly deep and you find yourself gasping for air against his shoulder. Moans and grunts fill the hot air as you fuck each other. For each thrust into you, you grind down on his cock, keeping him deliciously deep in your cunt. Your teeth mindlessly graze over the slope of his shoulder before you bite down into him. Bite, lick, suck. That’s the pattern you follow, over and over again. Making him sing for you as his fingers caress your spine. 
“Come on, you can do it harder than that.” He gasps when you accept his challenge, biting into him with a bruising force. His thrusts become more erratic as he nears his climax but he’s determined to let you soak his cock before he pulls out. “Look at me, baby.”
He leans back into the sofa and his hand moves between your bodies once your eyes meet his. His middle and pointer finger rubs circles into your clit while he ruts up into you “Yes yes, yes ‘s so good.” 
“You like my cock, pretty girl?” The fog in your brain is so thick that you can’t help but to babble as your orgasm climbs up your spine for the third time tonight.
“Love it. Love cock, you -you’re cock. Hyunjin, ‘m gonna cum o-on your cock.” He thought that you were breathtaking before but watching you cock drunk and fucked out while you’re bouncing on his dick might be his favorite way to see you. 
“Go ahead, cum on my cock.” With a few more sloppy thrusts your body trembles against him as you come undone on top of him. He fucks you through it, keeping his fingers pressed against your clit as you squirm on top of him. Your vision goes white and there’s a ringing in your ears that blocks out every word of praise that falls from Hyunjin’s lips. The only thing that you can register is the pressure of his cock as he simultaneously abuses your cervix and clit. 
“Hyun- fuck fuckfuck. So much. Too much.” Once you find the strength to open your eyes you're met with Hyunjin smiling up at you with pinched brows. “You can take it.”
“Pull my hair, baby.” Your trembling hands find their way along the familiar path of his scalp seconds after his request. Pulling at his roots with a delicious force that makes Hyunjin’s eyes roll back as he licks his lips.
“Oh fuck, you’re gonna make me cum.” Moans and whines fall from you nonstop as he fucks into your swollen and sensitive cunt, the wet sound of your arosual where Hyunjin’s cock disappears into you echoes off the walls until he stops, breath hitching in his throat. “Come here.”
His hand is in your hair before you can protest, lifting you off of him and onto your knees. Your cunt feels so empty without him inside of you. “Gonna let me cum on those pretty tits?”
“Yeah, yeah please. Wan' your cum, baby.” He throws his head back, pumping his slick cock in front of your face while you mindlessly slur praises for him. “You’re so fucking pretty, please let me have it. Please, I wan' Jinnie’s cum.” 
“Baby, baby, cumming. I’m fucking cumming.” You both watch as thick ropes of his cum paints your breasts. Dripping over your nipples and the shiny studs just how Hyunjin pictured it last night. “Shit.” 
Your panting fills the room as you both take a second to come down from your high. Hyunjin offers you his hand, helping you up from your knees and catching you when you stumble a bit with a chuckle. “Let me clean you up so you can lie down.” He sits you on the couch, grabbing his sweats and pulling them on before making his way to the bathroom for a wet cloth. 
You blink a couple of times, trying your best to adjust to the light around you. It’s dim but everything seemed darker in your fucked out haze. You settle against the armrest of the sofa, smiling like an idiot while the pulsing of your clit reminds you of everything that just happened. Who would’ve thought that an eyebrow piercing could lead you to having the best fuck of your life. Just as you allow your eyes to flutter shut you feel a heavy vibration under you. With a groan you lift yourself up and search for the source. It’s your jacket, it must be your phone. Oh my gosh, Minho! You sit up with all the strength that you can muster, unlocking your phone and checking your messages. 
“Everything alright?” Hyunjin questions as he kneels in front of you with a warm cloth in hand.
“Yup, just fine.” You grin down at your screen before pushing your phone to the side and allowing Hyunjin to wipe you clean.
From Minho: Knew you weren’t coming back.  
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1K notes · View notes
sicbaby · 10 months
Text
Keep Quiet
ethan landry x fem!reader
contents: 18+ smut, established relationship, subby!virgin!ethan, dom!reader, handjob, public (kinda?) sex
authors note: hi!! this is my first time posting smut publicly so i’m nervous… i’m also hella rusty with writing so i hope it’s not too bad lol. hope u guys like it!! <3
It was movie night tonight at Sam and Tara’s. The whole gang would be there, except for Sam and Danny, as they had chosen to go out on a date. You had just started dating Ethan a few months prior to now, upon meeting him at the beginning of the school year when Chad introduced the two of you. He was the perfect boyfriend. smart, tall, handsome.., a bit awkward, but you loved that about him.
Everyone was sleeping over that night, and you decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to finally make a move on Ethan. He’s a virgin, and although you two are a couple, he still gets super nervous around you and definitely isn’t confident enough to make the first move. You think it’s cute, though. He’d do anything for you.
Movie night was just beginning a little after 8 pm on a cold and windy Friday night. Chad and Tara were putting together snacks in the kitchen, Mindy and Anika were at the dinner table, and you and Ethan were sat on the couch. Soon enough, the other couples had joined you in the living room. Mindy and Anika took their place all the way at the other end of the couch, while Tara and Chad opted for the floor. This left you and Ethan in a secluded corner far away from the other couples. perfect, you thought.
Tara was picking the movie tonight, and she put on the horror movie, It Follows. you silently roll your eyes at your best friend. You’ve seen this movie countless times… so you knew you were going to get bored, quickly. Nevertheless, you watched silently as Tara turned off all of the lights in the apartment, leaving the TV as the only source of light. You snuggled up to Ethan, his arm wrapped around the back of the couch, around your shoulders. You rest your head on his shoulder, and he smiles at you sweetly before turning his attention back to the TV.
It’s about 20 minutes into the movie when you really start getting bored. You let out a loud sigh, though it doesn’t catch Ethan’s attention. You and Ethan are covered by a blanket, and an idea pops into your head. Something that will surely reverse your boredom. You place your small hand on Ethan’s thigh, a little higher than normal. This catches his attention.
“You okay?” He asks, his voice a quiet whisper.
“Mhm!” You hum back, happily.
He just smiles at you and returns back to the movie.
You have a devilish grin on your face as you start slowing caressing Ethan’s thigh. Ethan’s breathing speeds up slightly, and his eyes dart to where your hand would be under the blanket for only a moment before he turns back to the movie. He leans against you a little more, and pulls you closer. He smiles again.
“What? Not enjoying the movie?” he whispers, his breath tickling your ear.
This seems to rile you up a bit, seeing how innocent your boyfriend was, and how close he had gotten to you. You just smile back at him, and scoot even closer, if possible, your fingers now beginning to crawl up towards his clothed crotch.
Ethan’s breathing accelerates again with every passing second, but he says nothing about it. His heart speeds up as he senses your hand getting closer and closer, and he feels his face burning red with embarrassment. He blushes as his breathing gets heavier yet, his eyes fixed to the screen. His lips brush against the top of your head as he breathes heavily.
You reach the top of his thigh, staying there for a moment, before boldly cupping his hard dick with your entire hand. Ethan gasps and shifts in his seat with a shocked expression.
“What… what are you doing?” he whispers.
“You can’t- we can’t-… do this right now…” He blushes brightly, pulling his hands up to cover his face in embarrassment and shyness.
“Maybe later… we can…” He blushes even further than before. He can’t bring himself to say it, but it’s very clear what he’s implying.
“Oh. Well, why not now? Aren’t you in the mood, baby?” you whisper. “It Follows doesn’t turn you on?” You tease.
Ethan lets out a breathy laugh. He doesn’t seem upset by your teasing. “I mean… it has its moments…” He blushes again, his eyes still fixed to the screen. “Not that I need to tell you about that kind of stuff, right?” He glances at you from out of the corner of his eye again, growing nervous. “Maybe that’s what I’ll do tonight…” He mutters, “You know, when the- when the movie is over…” Ethan implies that he doesn’t want you to continue your sinful actions in front of your friends, but that won’t stop you.
“Yeah, let’s do that. but for now I wanna have my fun…” you whisper. At that, you remove your hand from his hard on and slowly unzip his jeans with your index finger.
“Are you… are you gonna do what I think you’re going to do?” He says sheepishly, a slight nervous laugh escaping his lips. His face is still bright red, and he can feel how hot and hard he is right now.
“Hmm?” You hum back, playing dumb.
“…Do you want to do… that?” He whispers, a dumbfounded look on his face. He looks back at you, in a trance. He couldn’t believe it. Yes, you’re his girlfriend, but you’re also the hottest girl he’s ever laid eyes on.. and you? You! You wanted to jerk him off, right then and there? He was in heaven. As he looks into your eyes for a moment, he watches you nod.
“You do?” He says excitedly, sounding incredibly sincere as his heart races.
You giggle at how eager he is, but stop yourself for a second.
“You have to promise to be quiet, though, baby. You don’t want them to hear us, do you?” You nod to where your friends are sitting, looking deep into Ethan’s puppy dog eyes.
“Yeah... that’s right.” He gets serious, but you can see in his eyes how excited he is.. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it quiet.” He says quietly, pulling himself a little closer.
After fully unzipping his jeans, you place your hand over his boxers, feeling him for just a moment. Ethan’s breath hitches at your touch, feeling more of you due to the thin layer left over his cock. His eyes start to roll back in his head, and you barely even touched him yet.
“O-Oh shit…” He says quietly, barely audible over the loud movie. He lets out a soft moan, biting his lip as he tries to contain his excitement.
You giggle again. “Shhh, baby.” You whisper as you start moving your fingers over his clothed dick, feeling his length.
Ethan tries not to make any noise, but he keeps letting out soft, barely audible noises, his body burning red. His entire body is tensing up, and he can feel how painfully hard he is. “Mm…” He moans quietly. You quickly shoot him a warning glance.
“I can’t help it, I’m sorry…” He says sheepishly.
You ignore his moaning this time, and gasp as you feel a wet spot on his boxers.
“Look at that… so wet already. That’s so cute.” You tease him.
“S-Shut up!” He mutters under his breath, desperation growing on his face. “S-Stop teasing me!” His words are shaky with anticipation, and he starts rocking in his seat, trying to create some friction against your hand.
It feels good for him at first, and then you stop moving your hand altogether, which causes Ethan to really work for his pleasure now. His breath hitches again, and he whimpers louder than he meant to. He looks over at you, worried. He catches you smiling at him mischievously.
“You’re so… mean..” he whispers, biting his lip to try and stifle his moan. “Please..” He begins to beg.
You start to feel bad for the poor boy. You didn’t want to tease him too much, knowing that this is the first time anyone other than himself has touched him like this. So, you reach into the hole in his boxers and pull out his long, hard cock. You can’t see it under the blanket, but you can feel the veins running up and down his length, making you grow wet just by touching him. You start to slowly move your hand up and down his hard cock, finally giving him the pleasure he was so desperate for.
“Oh…” His voice is weak, and he can feel the heat building inside him. ”Oh, that feels so…good.” He whimpers again as actual tears begin to form in his eyes. He doesn’t seem to notice, as he’s completely distracted by what’s happening.
You want to please him so bad at this point, but you can’t help but tease him one last time. You reach the tip of his cock and give it a hard squeeze.
Ethan jumps and bites his lip, trying to hide a loud moan but ultimately failing.
“W-What was that for!?... You’re so mean…” He says again, more tears threatening to slip out. He looks down at his hands, which were shaking slightly from what was happening. “Please… we’re going to get caught!” He begs quietly, glancing around. He takes in a deep breath to try and steady himself. “I-I don’t know if I can keep quiet…”
You giggle even more, you really are evil.
“Well you’re gonna have to keep quiet. ‘Cause I want you to cum… right here, right now.”
Ethan takes a deep breath, his face turning bright red. You start to stroke him again, a little bit faster, spreading his wetness all over his long cock.
“M-mm…” This makes his breathing become heavy again, his heart racing at an incredible pace. He takes in another long breath. For a moment, he wonders whether he should tell you to stop for good. Instead, he lets out a soft moan. “Please…” He doesn’t even know what’s he’s begging for at this point.
You continue stroking him fast and hard, paying extra attention to his swollen head, squeezing it every now and then.
Ethan lets out a soft cry this time, his breath shaking. His eyes are rolled back in his head. He can feel his mind starting to go blank, and his vision starts to grow fuzzy.
“Oh, y/n…” He mutters.
“Yes, baby?” you respond back.
Ethan’s heart is beating out of his chest. He tries and fails to form words. He bites his bottom lip in anticipation, unable to express anything except soft moans in response, his face burning bright red.
As he is unable to respond, you assume he must be close to reaching his high.
“Are you close, e?”
The words catch in his throat, but he nods quietly. “Yeah…” He whines silently, his body shaking even more. His breath grows heavier.
“Oh, god… keep going… please…” He whispers, his voice barely audible. He tries once again to steady himself, but fails.
“Come on sweet boy, cum for me. Cum all over my hand, e.” You urge him on, keeping a steady, fast pace.
Ethan shakes his head, tears starting to form in his eyes again.
“N-no… I can’t…” He mutters silently, changing his mind once he realizes he won’t be able to keep quiet once he reaches his orgasm, it feels too good now… his face is burning bright red in embarrassment. He looks down from the ceiling, his breathing getting louder and the heat building until he’s practically shaking.
“I-I... I... I can’t…” He says, a small whine escaping his lips. “I can’t do it... not now…” He mutters, biting his lip. “Later, though. I promise…” He mutters again, wiping away his tears. “Not now…”
You don’t know how nobody has noticed a crying, shaking Ethan on the other side of the couch, but if you two have gotten this far, you sure as hell aren’t stopping now. You grit your teeth a little, starting to squeeze his cock even harder.
“Yes, now!” you whisper-yell.
Ethan gasps, his hands balling up into fists as his breathing is uncontrollable.
“You-you have to stop…” He says quietly this time, his head rolling all over the place.
“I-I can’t hold it in…” He begs, his muscles shaking from the effort.
“Please, y/n… I can’t do it…” He whines, a pleading tone to his voice.
“Stop…” He whines, his face bright red. “I can’t..” His voice breaks slightly.
You feel bad again as tears start to stream down his face. Your poor boy, it’s way too much for him, but you know he’ll feel so good once he finally releases.
“Let go, baby… Come on… Let go for me, sweet boy. Don’t you wanna make me happy?” You pout.
Ethan’s eyes fix onto you, a look of absolute terror in his eyes.
“Y-Yes! Yes, I do…” He practically yells, the panic very visibly evident in his voice. He wants to be a good boy for you. His hands are shaking, and the heat is building up inside him. A soft whimper escapes his lips, and he can feel himself losing control.
“I…” He whines, his voice cracking slightly as he speaks, his entire body tensing up.
“I think I... I think I’m gonna…” He mutters, his face burning bright red.
Suddenly, hot spurts of cum shoot out of his poor, aching and abused cock. Little whimpers and moans fall from his pretty pink lips uncontrollably.
“Nghh- Fuck…. Holy shit… Haa…” You watch his face contort in pleasure and continue stroking him through his high, a lot slower now.
“Good boy…” You say once he slowly comes down, knowing he can hear you properly now.
Ethan’s face is bright red, and he lets out an astonished groan. His head slumps down in embarrassment, and he takes a few deep breaths. He shakes a little as he tries to calm himself.
“Oh, my god… that felt incredible…” He whispers, his heart rate starting to slow down.
“Thank you…” He mutters, resting his head against your shoulder. His face is still red, but he looks a little bit more calm than he did a moment ago.
“How… how can I ever repay you?”
You smile, thinking it’s sweet that he immediately thought of you and your pleasure.
“You can repay me later, sweet boy.” You say as you remove your hand from his now soft cock. You bring your hand to your face, and lick his spent off of your fingers.
Ethan’s eyes grow wide when he sees you licking your fingers and he gasps. He waits until you’re done before speaking again.
“I… I uh… I can’t believe you just did that…” He says sheepish, blushing brightly. “You’re disgusting…” He says, but he doesn’t sound like he means it. He laughs again.
“And evil…” He mutters with a grin.
“I can’t wait to see what else you’ll make me do…” He whispers, biting his lip, the poor boy got hard again just by seeing you lick his cum off of your fingers.
“Oh… just you wait, baby.”
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taevbears · 3 months
Text
To Be Loved - 04
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There may be something there that wasn't there before.
⤑ pairing: namjoon x reader (a bit of reader x ot7) ⤑ genre: hybrid au, romance, hurt/comfort ⤑ rating: 18+ ⤑ word count: 6.7k ⤑ warnings: the boys are still kinda mean and very guarded around the reader, slow burn, very brief mentions of toxic relationships and bullying, mentions of physical abuse, implied violence, Epik High name drop lol, cliffhanger ending ⤑ note: first post of 2024! hope you guys had a great start to the new year. this story is just about wrapping up now, but i'm also ready to move onto new projects that i want to release this year. hope you guys enjoy, and comments/reblogs are greatly appreciated! :)
Chapters 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 (End)
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When it rains, your life is at a standstill. Time moves so slowly, so seamlessly, the days start to blur together. The grey skies, the endless rain, the muddy roads, and the thick fog that surrounds the gloomy forest. They are a constant that you can’t escape from.
The old manor, tucked away in the deep forest – far from any traveling paths and roads – appears to be stuck in time. And you feel like you’re stuck with it.
How long has it been since you arrived at the manor? A few days? A week? Two weeks?
With a sigh, you look away from the water gently knocking against your window and muster the courage to get out of bed. Cold air strikes you once you’ve come out of your blanket cocoon, and you try not to shudder as you walk barefoot around your bedroom.
By now, you’ve memorized what parts of the floor creak loudly, and you’re careful to avoid those areas, only crossing them slowly and quietly if necessary. Still, even if you’ve successfully finished your morning routine without a sound, he waits by your door.
“Little human, are you sure you’re not afraid of us?”
You catch your breath, but only for a second. Every morning, the bear hybrid waits in front of your bedroom as you’re waking up with a grumpy but determined look on his face. As if he absolutely refuses to go to bed until you answer his question.
“Good morning,” you start, blinking at him as you calm yourself down. He arches an eyebrow at you. “No, I’m not afraid of you.”
Taehyung holds your gaze, reading your face, looking for any subtle tell that you’re not being honest with him. You steel yourself as best as you can under the intensity of his stare, focusing on one of the moles on his pretty face.
Then, when satisfied, he nods his head. His mouth forms into a straight line, making his cheeks rise a bit in what you think might be a smile. Then, he saunters off down the hallway without another word.
You release the breath you’ve been holding.
The first time Taehyung did this was the morning after Namjoon showed you his private garden in the greenhouse. He scared the shit out of you, leaning against the doorframe as soon as you opened the door, just like when you had first met him. And he seemed to doubt you when you had stuttered out that you, in fact, don’t find him to be terrifying.
“I should get used to this,” you mumble to yourself, closing the door behind you.
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Breakfast seems to depend on who is awake to make it. Sometimes, Seokjin is up in the early morning and has already started cooking by the time you and the other hybrids come down the stairs. Sometimes, Yoongi already has it prepared before his nocturnal instincts kick in and makes him want to sleep all day. Sometimes, it’s Hoseok and Jimin in the kitchen together, but one of them dances and entertains the other, riling up contagious giggles and distractions from the task at hand.
“Can I help with anything?” you offer when you see the two together.
Hoseok visibly flinches when he hears your voice, still a bit nervous when you’re around. But at least he doesn’t avoid you anymore. It’s as if he’s accepted that you’re inevitably stuck with each other. At least, until the storm passes.
“No, no, you’re a guest,” Jimin reminds you, flapping his black wing to shoo you away. “Just pull up a chair and relax. We’ll have this ready shortly.”
With that said, the two turn back to their tasks. Jimin tends to the fish he’s frying over a pan and Hoseok diligently cuts some vegetables. No resumed laughter or conversations while you awkwardly linger with uncertainty.
You know they mean well. You know that Namjoon had talked to them about treating you nicely while you’re staying with them. But you’re starting to feel like a burden. Restless. Useless. They don’t let you lift a finger with any of the house chores, even if you want to help out to show your consideration and appreciation.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind,” you try again.
Jimin’s shoulders tense a bit. You think he’s starting to get irritated. He doesn’t look at you as he repeats, “It’s fine. You’re a guest.”
It’s not until after you leave the kitchen when you hear their voices chatting again.
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If anyone were to look for you, they’d find you in the old manor’s library.
There, they’d see you uncovering the written secrets and adventures within its vast collections of stories. You spend most of your day there, wrestling with a blanket as you switch from one comfortable position to another on the large sofa, so engulfed with your book that you don’t pay attention to anything else.
Not the way that time fleetingly drifts from morning to the late afternoon.
Not the way the sound of rain and the rumble of thunder begin to lull you to sleep.
Not the pair of glowing eyes that catches you napping mid-story, blanket slipping off you and onto the floor.
The next thing you know, you wake up to find that the book you’ve been reading has been placed on the table, the corner of the page turned to hold your place. The blanket that was partially covering you is now completely pulled over you, snuggly tucking you in beneath its warmth.
Someone was taking care of you while you were asleep. But as you look around, you see no one else in the room.
Sometimes, Jungkook drags you out of the library and brings you into the gaming room instead. There are a variety of board games, puzzles, and video games to play together, and all of them are addictively fun. No doubt, this is easily one of Jungkook’s favorite parts of the manor.
It also happens to be Seokjin’s favorite spot as well.
You see the wolf hybrid sitting straight on the couch, face stoic as he mutters under his breath, thick eyebrows drawn together in concentration as his fingers rapidly fidgets with the buttons and joysticks of the controller. His pointy ears twitch slightly when he hears you and Jungkook come in, but he doesn’t look away from the screen, too focused on what his character is doing.
Jungkook pulls out a puzzle for you two to do together, dumping all the tiny pieces onto the table. The two of you work in relative silence to put it together, but a question keeps lingering in your mind.
“Hey Jungkook, have you been tucking me in when I nap?”
From your peripheral vision, Seokjin’s ear swivels toward you. The movement of his hands still as a red flush starts to color the back of his neck.
“No,” he replies, a bit surprised. “Why?”
You frown a little. If not Jungkook, then who?
“No reason.”
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On the rare occasion you’re not in the library or with Jungkook, you find yourself wanting to stretch out your legs and wander around the old manor.
There’s a timeless charm about it all. You imagine the previous owners lived like kings and queens here, throwing extravagant and lavish parties and banquets. An orchestra of music lively plays from the grand ballroom, and an incredible feast is on display with the finest plates and utensils. You imagine the guests dressed in their best suits and ball gowns, a variety of rich colors filling into the manor to dance the night away.
As you explore bits of the manor, you feel a pair of eyes watch you from the shadows. The same pair of resentful, glowing eyes that have been quietly observing you ever since you found yourself here.
You can always tell when he’s nearby. The room gets quieter. You become self-aware of each breath you take, the way your body tenses under the penetrating gaze, of the nervous flutter in your heart as every fiber of your being tells you to run.
And usually, you would. The moment you feel the discomfort crawling beneath your skin, you listen to your instincts and walk right back out of the room you entered.
But today, you face the shadows of the room. The panther hybrid that silently eyes you in the darkness.
You told Taehyung this morning that you weren’t afraid of them, right? And cutting through this room is the fastest way to get to where you want to go.
With a brave face, you lower your gaze from the panther and bow slightly in greeting. “Hello, Yoongi. I’m just passing through.”
In the darkness, the pair of eyes widens a bit. It’s the first time you’ve talked to him since you arrived at the manor. The first time you even acknowledged him.
Had your gaze lingered a little longer, perhaps you would’ve seen it. But you briskly walk across the room to exit, muttering an apology beneath your breath for disturbing him.
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By evening, after leisure activities and daily housework around the manor are done, everyone is gathered for dinner. Each night is something a little different: hot stews and soups, rice bowls and stir-fry with vegetables and protein, marinated meat and seafood. There’s always plenty of side dishes as well, and always something to satiate each of the hybrid's cravings for certain food.
For the first few nights, there’s still an awkward tension in the air as you and Jungkook sit with the pack. Everyone's a little quieter, shifting glances with each other in wordless conversations. You feel like the elephant in the room, hard to be unnoticed and yet something no one really wants to address.
Except Namjoon.
Across the table, Namjoon would ask you how your day was, looking at you as if you’re the only person in the room with him. He’d ask about the books you read that day, what your favorite parts are, if you’ve seen the movie adaptation. And one of the hybrids – namely Jimin, Taehyung, or Jungkook – would comment how they didn’t realize there was a book version and ask about the differences from the original.
If you mentioned a game with Jungkook that you played that day, Namjoon would proudly state that he’s quite good at puzzles and riddles, and challenges you to a round next time. And the other hybrids – Seokjin, Yoongi, and Hoseok this time – would roll their eyes and grumble about how he is undefeated.
Even if you tell him that you slept most of the day and did absolutely nothing productive, Namjoon would still smile and tell you that rest is important. That he’s happy you feel comfortable sleeping well in the manor. He’d ask you if you had any good dreams, and listen to them even if it’s just the most mundane thing you could barely remember.
And you can’t help but think about how Kangdae never asks you questions like this.
Kangdae never bothered to ask about your day, how you’ve been, what you’re up to. So much of your relationship with him revolved around what he wants, what his plans are. It didn’t matter how you felt about them, as long as he got his way.
Yet, Namjoon seems to want to know everything about you. Your hobbies, your interests, what you like to do throughout the day, what you dream of.
It’s… different from what you’re used to. But it’s not entirely unwelcome either.
Like Taehyung, Namjoon has a question to ask you. Every night after dinner, as the other hybrids begin to clear away their plates and put their leftovers away, Namjoon comes up to you and inquires, “Would you like to spend the evening with me?”
Shyly, as your heart seems to flutter each time he does, you answer, “Of course.”
Stuck in the manor, and with the ongoing storm still strong, your options are rather limited. 
Sometimes, he takes you to his greenhouse again where you can see the slow progress of his little garden. Sometimes, you’d take him up on his challenge and try to beat him in a puzzle or game. Sometimes, it’s a quiet evening where the two of you are reading books side by side, or watching a movie until you end up falling asleep, and you’d wake to find his arm protectively around you, holding you close. Sometimes, the night is full of laughter and chatter as the two of you share a bottle of wine by the fireplace and talk for hours about life, music, art, and whatever comes to mind, and realizing that he’s such an easy person to talk to.
Despite the circumstances, you enjoy hanging out with him. A lot more than you ever thought you would.
There’s something sweet and kind about Namjoon. He’s incredibly smart and humble, his down-to-earth personality helps him see the beauty of life, art, and passion in ways that are almost philosophical. He has very admirable traits that unveils the more you get to know him, yet he still keeps his certain secrets close to his heart about what creature he is and where he goes when he isn’t in the manor. Admittedly, he has many physical traits that you find attractive as well, from the deep dimples on his cheeks whenever he smiles to the bulge of muscles in his arms and chest.
It feels strange and new, a feeling you’ve never felt with anyone before. A feeling that you can’t quite place whenever you feel Namjoon’s pretty eyes on you or when he’d accidentally brush his hand against yours.
While the days seem to move slowly, almost in a standstill, time flies quickly when you’re with Namjoon. Before you know it, hours passed, and he is already escorting you to your room in the east wing.
“Good night, Namjoon,” you tell him once you’re inside the room, leaning against the doorway as you face him.
“Sweet dreams,” he replies, smiling at you in a way that makes his eyes form crescents and the dimples stretch along his cheek with his grin.
There’s a moment that lingers. One that feels like the night has ended too soon, and this is a chance for either of you to say something more. To not let the moment pass.
Just as he’s beginning to walk away, you call out to him. “Namjoon?”
“Yes?”
Would you like to spend the evening with me?
The bold question nearly comes out of your mouth, and you feel your face heat up when you realize what you’re about to ask him. Instead, you merely say, “Thank you. I had a nice time with you.”
His face softens a bit as he tells you, “Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
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Another day rises, gloomy as always. But for once, you don’t let the constant rain damper your spirits.
Perhaps it’s because you’ve been here a little while now. Perhaps it’s also because you have no idea when the rain will let you go. Perhaps it’s because you simply want to change things up from the dark and dreary. But if you’re going to be stuck in a manor with a bunch of hybrids, you might as well make the most of it. Right?
“Good morning, Taehyung,” you greet him the moment you open your bedroom door. He looks taken aback, as if you wouldn’t suspect he’d come to your door like he does every morning. “How’ve you been?”
“Fine.” He blinks at you, still confused. Maybe even a bit suspicious. The sleepiness that’s usually on his face isn’t present this time. “Are you all right?”
“I am,” you reply easily, giving him a polite, friendly smile. You’re about to head down for breakfast when you turn to face the bear hybrid again. “Thanks for always checking on me, by the way.”
Taehyung smiles a little to himself. He’s still a bit guarded around you, just as all the other hybrids. But to both of you, it’s a small start to change. “Sure. No problem.”
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In the kitchen, you hear Hoseok and Jimin before you even see them. The two of them are in charge of breakfast again, singing a song they both know and shaking their hips as they stir and cut.
“Need any help?” you offer again, still in a good mood after talking to Taehyung.
Jimin barely glances at you. “We got it. Don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?” you try again. “I can make a decent kimchi fried rice.”
“It’s true,” your number one supporter – Jungkook – pipes up, seemingly summoned by the chance to readily defend your honor and your cooking. “I tried it. It’s so good.”
You smile fondly at the bunny hybrid, and without thinking, you begin to pet his back affectionately. A mistake you instantly regret.
At your touch, Jungkook immediately tenses. His eyes are scared wide as he stares back at you, and you quickly draw your hand back.
Stupid, you scold yourself. His owner was physically abusive. Of course he wouldn’t feel comfortable with you just touching him. “I-I’m so sorry, Jungkook. I didn’t— I should’ve realized—”
“No, no, it’s okay,” he insists, his voice soft. “It feels nice. I’m just… not used to it.”
Hoseok and Jimin are quiet as they watch the exchange between you two. All three hybrids note the guilt and distress on your face, and sense that you genuinely feel bad. Even as Jungkook takes your hands and brings them to his face and chest, trying to cheer you up, claiming that he knows that you won’t ever hurt him.
You’d never hurt any of them.
In fact, in the days that you and Jungkook have been in the manor, it’s clear that the two of you at least care about each other. From the little things like when you ask him how he slept the night before, or when Jungkook shares some of his food with you. To the obvious things like when Jungkook’s eyes would sparkle with fondness whenever he talks about you, or how you’re always looking out for him even when you seem busy reading a book.
Perhaps there’s some truth in Jungkook’s story from the first dinner together. Perhaps you aren’t like the other humans after all.
It makes you rather odd, peculiar to the rest of the hybrids. A beauty, but a funny girl.
Jimin ruffles his feathers a bit, as if he seems a bit confused about something. Then, after a bit of hesitation, he asks, “You said you can cook kimchi fried rice? What else can you make?”
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It isn’t long until the kitchen fills with the aromas of your meal. You’ve been here long enough to know what each of them prefer as well, and with the three hybrids helping you finish making breakfast, you can’t help but feel proud of the abundance set on the table before you.
“Enjoy the meal, guys. I’ll see if the others want to join us,” you decide as the three hybrids already take their seats around the table. They nod their heads and express their appreciation, but the hunger in their eyes makes them impatient as they start to fill their plates with food.
By that time, Taehyung is probably fast asleep and you don’t want to bother him. You’re trusting that Jimin or Hoseok would save some food for him later. You also don’t have any idea where Namjoon would be, but you suspect that Seokjin would be in the gaming room like he usually is.
Just as you’re crossing the threshold leading to the gaming room, you feel him.
Eyes watching you from the shadows.
Normally, this is when you run. When your fight-or-flight instincts kick in and you turn back from the room as quickly as you entered. When you’d flee to another room as if he’d chase you out.
This time, you try to address the guarded presence in the room.
“Yoongi?”
There’s no answer. But if you were to see him, you’d see his ear twitch at the sound of his name. The gaze feels more intense, making your skin crawl, but you don’t let it scare you.
“I helped Hoseok and Jimin with breakfast today,” you continue and wait to see if he’d respond back. He doesn’t. Still, you meekly add on, “I wasn’t sure what you like. We saved some for you and the others. If you try it, I hope you like it.”
You take the following silence as your cue to leave, scurrying across to get into the game room. You feel uncertain if engaging in small talk with the leopard hybrid will change his impression of you at all.
Until later on, when you return to the kitchen, you see that his share is missing from their refrigerator. And Taehyung and Seokjin are sitting together eating their shares.
“Jimin told me that you made this,” the bear hybrid says when he sees you. “It’s good, right Seokjin-hyung?”
The wolf hybrid chokes a little in surprise, as if he’s just finding out now that the food he’s eating was made by you. It’s nearly devoured, but Seokjin coolly replies, “It’s not bad.”
You smile a little at this, feeling a bit proud of yourself. “Then, I’ll make something more delicious for you guys next time.”
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“It’s nice what you did for everyone,” Namjoon tells you later that day, after dinner and during another evening date with him. He pours you a glass of whiskey, and you smile and take it from him. Congratulations are in order for finally getting the other hybrids to warm up to you.
“It’s the least I could do,” you tell him honestly, taking a sip and letting the liquor burn your throat a little. You grimace a bit, swirling the golden liquid in your glass. “You’ve all been nothing but kind to me.”
Your eyes are fixed on the alcohol, but you can see Namjoon staring at you from your peripheral vision. It’s such a softened look, almost endeared. You try to tell yourself the warmth on your face is from the whiskey and nothing else.
“I hope this means you’ll consider staying after the rain,” he nearly whispers. He doesn’t hide that you’re more than welcomed to. That, for whatever reason, he wants you to stay with him for a long time.
Perhaps a few days ago, you’d easily decline. You didn’t want to burden any of them for overstaying. You didn’t think it was even possible to be amicable with them.
But today proved you wrong. Today felt like a change to something new. Something that just wasn’t there before.
You take another sip of the whiskey and state, “I’ll think about it.”
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Staying in the manor has been on your mind lately.
Day by day, it feels like time continues to move too slowly. The rain seems to come and go now, but it’s still too dangerous for you to leave the old manor on the chance that the storm will pick up again soon. Or that you might end up getting lost in the dense woods. Or any other excuse that seems like a bad idea to leave.
So, you stay.
You stay until Taehyung no longer questions if you’re afraid of them every morning.
It’s become a routine at this point.
Every day, the sleepy, handsome face of the bear hybrid is the first thing you see when you open the door to your bedroom. “Good morning, little human. How did you sleep?”
And you smile back at him, genuinely happy to see him. “Morning, Taehyung. I slept fine, thanks for asking.”
“That’s good,” he responds, nodding a bit to himself before he starts to head to his room. You’re not sure how long he waits for you to wake up, or why he still insists on checking on you before he turns in for bed, but you appreciate the gesture nonetheless.
“I hope you sleep well,” you tell him before he goes. And Taehyung just looks back at you and smiles.
You stay until Jimin no longer sees you as a guest in his home.
To your insistence, Jimin starts to see you helping around the manor more. Without anyone asking, he sees that you’d fix snacks for everyone in the afternoon, cutting up fruits or spreading tuna mix on crackers. He sees you dusting around the east corridor on days when it rains, tending to Namjoon’s flowers as they begin to bloom and grow, and folding laundry with Jungkook.
You’re really starting to make yourself at home here.
Jimin preens his black feathers, neatly fixing his wing as you’re sweeping around with a broom and dustpan. He doesn’t think you’re even paying attention to him until he hears you murmur, “They’re so pretty.”
“What is?”
“Your feathers,” you tell him with a shy smile. “They’re a really unique color.”
“Oh.” He feels his chest puff up a bit, swelling with happiness. In the shelter he ran away from, and even the lake where he was born, he was always the odd one out – the ugly duckling of the group. Hearing you compliment him makes his heart stir as he quietly mutters, “Thank you.”
You stay as Hoseok begins to realize you’re not a threat to them.
It takes a while, but slowly, eventually, Hoseok no longer flinches or looks at you with terror when you’re near him. Where he even tries to make small talk with you at the dinner table, or when he’s with another hybrid. Seeing how gentle you are with Jungkook – and these days, to the others – seems to assure him that you’re not an enemy to him or his pack.
At the library, Hoseok sees you and Jungkook together. It isn’t unusual to find you here, but Jungkook must’ve wanted to spend time with you.
In his bunny form, Jungkook falls asleep on your lap. His little body is comfortably stretched out as you absently scratch his head and behind his ears, and then massage his back. He’s practically melting at your touch, whiskers twitching with content.
Jungkook is completely safe with you. Despite his past with his previous owner and the horrors he had to face before he met you, he’s let his guard down with you.
Perhaps that’s why Hoseok finally musters up the courage to approach you. “I saw the movie for this, but I think I like the book better so far.”
You look up at him and smile. “Oh, that’s a good one! I like the book better too.”
He returns your smile, still a bit nervous, but eventually, he sits next to you. Neither of you say a word as you quietly read your books together. But the implication of it all, the wordless comfort of being around each other’s presence, is more than enough.
You stay as Yoongi starts to respond back to you.
Shortly after you and Hoseok spend the afternoon reading together, the leopard hybrid jumps down and reveals himself before you. He regards you with cautious eyes still, and you’re frozen in your spot, not sure what to expect.
Then, as if he’s the nervous one, he breaks eye contact with you. “I didn’t know you listened to Epik High.”
You blink at him, but then remember you’re wearing their merch shirt. “Oh, I do! I went to their concert a couple years ago!”
He looks surprised. “I didn’t take you as the type to listen to hip-hop.”
You smirk a little at his reaction. “Namjoon didn’t tell you? I met him when he was still an underground rapper.”
You stay as Seokjin shows you a different side to him.
On the day when it was so cold that the rain turned into snow, you and Jungkook decided to have a snowball fight in the courtyard. The other hybrids could hear you screaming and laughing from inside the manor as the bunny hybrid chases you around, cackling like a madman as he carries mounds of snow in his hand. 
When you see Jimin and Taehyung, you run to them for help, trying to hide behind them. The two look a little unsure of what to do until you peek out from behind Taehyung and hurl a snowball at Jungkook’s shoulder.
Hoseok laughs at the three of you split up with Jimin and Taehyung catching on quick. Yoongi and Namjoon watch by the doorway with amusement as you play with the youngest hybrids.
But as Seokjin watches, his tail is wagging and his pointed ears are perked with interest. His big eyes follow the snowballs being thrown, and his body lunges a bit, as if ready to catch them before he forcibly stops himself.
Hoseok notices and bends down to gather the snow on the ground, forming them into a ball. “Hyung, let’s show these kids how it’s done.”
You’re a bit startled when you come face to face with the wolf hybrid, not expecting him to join the fight. He’s in his wolf form, bigger than any dog you’ve encountered, and much more intimidating had it not been for the playful way Seokjin stretches out his front paws and raises his butt, wagging his tail as he eyes the ball of snow in your hands. When you throw it, Seokjin immediately takes off and bites the snow in midair, ruining your surprise attack.
Jungkook laughs when he sees this. “Wow, Jin-hyung, you’re so mean!”
And then gets hit in the face with a snowball by Hoseok.
You stay because Namjoon asks you to.
An awful flu has you bedridden for a couple weeks after the big snowball fight. Despite how many extra blankets are over your body, you’re still shivering beneath them. You’re coughing and sneezing until your chest and throat aches and you can’t breathe properly through your nose. All you can eat are liquids because solid food makes you nauseous.
Jungkook is so worried about you, he’s standing by your bedside with tears in his eyes, telling you not to die on him.
And you, a blob beneath several blankets – voice hoarse and completely congested, feeling like this illness has you fighting through hell and back – try to assure him as best as you can that you’ll be fine.
Surprisingly, all the hybrids step up to take care of you.
Seokjin cooks you chicken noodle soup, Yoongi brews you ginger tea with honey and lemon, Taehyung leaves plenty of water by your nightstand to keep you hydrated, Hoseok often places a cool, damp washcloth on your burning forehead to reduce your fever, Jungkook makes sure your bed is comfortable by adding on more blankets and pillows from his bed to yours, and Jimin shoos away the other hybrids when they want to check on you so you could rest properly.
At some point, Namjoon must have gone into your room as well.
After dozing off, you open your eyes to see a smerlado flower on your nightstand, resting on top of a book and a note. In Namjoon’s handwriting, he writes that he just finished reading the book and thought you’d like it. And as you flip open the pages, you see sticky notes and tabs of Namjoon’s thoughts and comments as he was reading through it.
Your mood instantly lifts as you read through them, smiling and laughing at some, itching to add your own thoughts into others. You keep hoping to turn the page and see another comment from him, even if it’s just a note that says to remind him about a particular paragraph later since he has more to say than what he could write. And only part-way through the story, you ask Jimin to get you a pen and some paper so you could write Namjoon back.
For a little while, it goes on like this. Little handwritten letters shared between you and Namjoon, especially when it still hurts to talk and you keep sleeping on and off all day. It becomes one of the things you look forward to the most, receiving a letter from him, even more so than the book he pairs with it to keep you entertained while you’re in bed.
The rain has stopped. The snow has stopped. And honestly, once you recover from this flu, you could technically leave the manor and the hybrids behind. Night falls and the moon is so bright. The stars look beautiful without the clouds masking their lights.
“What are you thinking about?” Namjoon quietly asks, visiting you for the evening as he always does. Even when you’re sick in bed, he’s adamant about courting you. He reads your notes, and you watch the dimples on his cheeks form when he comes across something funny or endearing. He brings you tea, flowers, more books, and puzzles, but spends most of his evenings just talking to you. Even as you doze off, he watches over you, comfortable with your presence as you feel his fingers linger by your face and lips.
Tonight, as you look at him, you think he looks handsome under the moonlight. Tall, strong, and the indigo colors of his eyes look magical as his gaze falls on you.
“The storm stopped, but…” you trail off, a wave of emotion hitting you so suddenly. You think about how the hybrids are just starting to warm up to you, how Jungkook is right at home here, how this was your goal from the very start and you can’t imagine parting ways from any of them now.
Namjoon doesn’t need you to finish your sentence. His hand finds yours, warm and big, yet it holds yours so gently. “Then stay. This is your home now, too.”
You decide to stay because you want to.
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Six months have passed since you and Jungkook first arrived at the old manor. Dinners have been livelier after the snowball fight. The hybrids have gotten used to you being around, regarding you with warm smiles whenever they see you. 
And you feel safe when you’re with them. You feel at home.
On a clear and starry night, after Yoongi casually mentions that the old owners of the manor seemed to have hosted balls and parties long ago, you and the hybrids decide to dress up and throw your own party for fun. Remnants of this are found in the attic, the servant quarters, and even the grand ballroom itself.
It’s in a closet where you find a beautiful ball gown. It feels like it’s been made for you the way it perfectly fits your body, the shade of yellow complimenting your skin tone, and the exquisite details that make the dress sparkle. There’s a giddiness in you as you go all out, fixing your hair and makeup for the first time in ages.
When Jungkook first sees you, his mouth falls open in surprise.
You start to feel a bit self-conscious when he doesn’t say anything. “I look silly, don’t I?”
“No! Not at all!” he quickly assures you with a laugh. “You look beautiful.”
As you wait in the east wing, Jungkook hops off ahead to inform the others that you’re ready. Music begins to play from the ballroom, and you take a deep breath in.
Tonight, you feel nervous, and you’re not entirely sure why. Every night, for the past six months, you’ve spent your evenings after dinner with Namjoon.
This time, it shouldn’t feel any different, except it does.
Careful of the steps, you slowly make your descent down the stairs. Once you’re at the middle landing, that’s when you see him.
Namjoon is also dressed up tonight, but he looks like a prince straight out of a fairytale story. As he steps down the stairs from the west wing to meet you, he stares at you in awe. Then, with a charming smile, he extends his arm toward you and asks, “Shall we?”
You smile back shyly and wrap your arm around his. Then, together, the two of you walk down the rest of the steps that lead to the ballroom.
It’s enchanting, the way the chandeliers glow and sparkle above you. Yoongi is on the piano and Taehyung on the violin. Seokjin and Jungkook are dancing together, giggling and goofing around, and Hoseok and Jimin are sitting together with an open bottle of champagne shared between them. 
You feel their gazes on you and Namjoon the moment you two enter. Even Yoongi and Taehyung momentarily stop playing as they look at you.
“Don’t mind them,” Namjoon whispers when he sees that you’re getting a little anxious from the attention. He takes one of your hands in his as his other hand holds your waist. “Just keep your eyes on me.”
Hoseok waves for the music to start again, and a romantic tune fills the ballroom. You and Namjoon start to dance together. It’s a bit clumsy at first. Namjoon winces every time he nearly steps on your feet and mumbles embarrassed apologies. But you smile and assure him that it’s okay, almost feeling like no one else is in the room except you and him.
After a while, Yoongi changes it from live music to songs from his playlist, still keeping the romantic atmosphere as Taehyung and Jimin dance together, and Hoseok stares at the leopard hybrid with eyes begging for a dance as well. You’d think Jungkook would want to cut in to dance with you at one point, but he still seems to be having fun with Seokjin and they copy each other’s silly dance moves.
“I’m going to step out for some fresh air,” you tell Namjoon, and he nods his head, saying he’ll go with you.
While the party continues inside, the two of you enter the balcony where the cold, night air hits your skin and makes you shiver. You feel his hand on the small of your back, rubbing you gently to keep you warm. And it works. You feel the heat on your face as the peaceful, beautiful night surrounds you two.
There’s a serious look in his eyes, as if he’s contemplating something, before he asks you, “Are you happy here? With me?”
“I am,” you reply honestly. You can’t thank Namjoon enough for taking you and Jungkook in that night of the storm, despite almost hurting one of his packmates. You can imagine a life without him and the other hybrids now either.
“Do you ever think about going back?”
“Sometimes,” you admit. You miss your family, and every now and then, you wonder how they’re doing. How much has changed in that small, provincial town since you left. You even think about Kangdae sometimes, though you’re certain he must be with another girl. They must all think you’re long gone by now. “I don’t think I will, though. I like being with you. And the others, of course.”
Namjoon smiles gently. “Then, I’m glad you stayed.”
“Me too.” You mean it, too. Your eyes meet Namjoon’s, and you can’t help but think of how pretty they are. How attractive he is. How you’re so tempted to just move a little closer and just—
“I have a confession to make.”
You feel your heart race. ��What is it?”
“I think – I knew – from the moment I met you,” Namjoon begins, his voice soft. The strokes of his thumb on your back feel more intimate as his gaze falls on your lips. “You’re the one. You’re my—”
A commotion interrupts from below.
You hear Seokjin barking and snarling angrily, followed by the deep, rumbling growls from Taehyung and Yoongi. Voices are shouting. People you don’t recognize.
Everything seems to move in slow motion as you and Namjoon look over the balcony to see flashlights waving in the premise of the manor. Some of the hybrids are out there in their animal forms, warning the group of intruders to back away.
“Namjoon,” Hoseok interrupts, coming to the balcony with urgency in his eyes. “It’s the humans. They’re—”
A gunshot fires.
Your blood runs cold as the deadly sound rings in your ear.
And, to your horror, you hear a voice that you do recognize, shouting your name.
“Babe, I know you’re there!” Kangdae yells, looking up at you from where he stands. “Come down here and say hello! Or I’ll shoot your darling pets one by one.”
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Thank you for reading ♡ Comments & reviews are greatly appreciated!
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276 notes · View notes
erule · 3 months
Text
Nothing you can take | c.s.
Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x fem!reader
Summary: you and Sejanus make a bet involving you and Coriolanus, that you’ll have to become a couple in order to get some money from him, but everything changes when the two of you fall in love for each other for real.  
Warnings: fake dating AU, (kinda) enemies to lovers, bet to fall in love trope (if I can call it like that), sunshine x grumpy/black cat x golden retriever trope, light violence and mention of blood, romance, comedy (I think), (probably) slow burn, fluff, angst
Word count: every chapter of the series will have a different amount of words 
A/N: hi! Here we go with my first Coriolanus story!! I don’t know if Coriolanus is OOC here, because I watched the movie like one month ago and I still have to read the book, but I did my best to make him similar to the character I saw. Anyway this is a fanfiction, so please don’t be mad at me if he’ll be, I’ll probably need him to be for the storyline. I apologize to the people in the tags, because I’m really late with the upload, but I’ve been really busy in the past few weeks. Anyway, I hope you like it. Enjoy! X 
Tag list: @meeksity, @mxacegrey, @astess, @jasmineee05. 
Masterlist
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Prologue – Don’t fall in love with me 
“Coriolanus Snow? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. What’s the matter, Y/N? You think you can’t make him fall in love with you?” Sejanus asks with a grin. 
“Oh no, I was just thinking about the amount of money you’re gonna give me when I’ll win”.
“Don’t, he’s not easy”.
“A challenge, uh? Even better!” You exclaim. “Now excuse me, but I have to go. Before your last drink, watch me sing and put under my spell mister Coriolanus Snow”.
“Careful, Y/N. You don’t wan’t to fall in love, right? People say he’s got a very cute pair of blue eyes”.
“I prefer the color green as my money, Sejanus. Prepare to lose”.
“I think you don’t know what’s coming for you, Y/N”.
You run to the stage, your place in the world, where you can finally give free scope to your passion: singing. Singing has always made you feel free, but tonight, perhaps due to the tension of the challenge, you feel a constriction in your chest. You and a little tipsy Sejanus have agreed on a bet against Coriolanus, but you have a better idea to win: you will tell him everything immediately, in order to pretend to be together for a while, so Sejanus will pay you and you will split the money with Coriolanus. No one will be fooled in the end, right? And then everyone knows that he needs that money too, so he certainly won't suffer from it. While you taste the victory on the tip of your tongue, the words escape your mouth. You apologize to the audience and your gaze falls right on Coriolanus, who isn't paying you the slightest attention, while he's drinking a beer on the sidelines, his Peacekeeper uniform making his eyes as blue as the tide stand out. Sure, Sejanus was right, but that doesn't change anything: a pair of light eyes isn't enough to make you fall in love.
Coriolanus Snow goes to the Academy, he dresses well, but that doesn't mean he's rich, far from it. You, on the other hand, were kicked out of the Academy because you didn't like their behavior, which is why Sejanus is your best friend. You always had the feeling that Coriolanus liked to follow the rules, but in reality he probably preferred to have control, power or money more than a conscience. That's why he's never been kicked out and you've never particularly bonded. It's not that you're greedy, no, it's just that you need money for your family and if a stupid bet can get it easily, then you will do anything to earn it, since the pub doesn't pay you enough for your fantastic shows. And anyway, Coriolanus is certainly an attractive guy, which isn't a bad thing.
“This song is dedicated to all the handsome blue-eyed boys here,” you announce, then grin, while some of your fellow soldiers make fun of Coriolanus and he finally notices your presence. “This song is called Nothing you can take from me and I dedicate it to my old school friend, Coriolanus Snow. Come say hello to me later, Coryo!” You exclaim with a wink and notice his gaze shift to you. For a second, just one, you feel a shiver run down your spine. You would never have believed that playing with fire could make you feel so cold.
Your song makes everyone present dance, everyone except him obviously, who continues to stare at you coldly, without smiling or saying a word, like a marble statue and this almost scares you. It also happened at the Academy, but there you didn't pay attention to it, also because there was no need to win his attention, but here there is a lot of money at stake and you need it desperately.
You descend onto the stage with a feline leap, you leave your guitar aside, while a roar of applause and compliments accompanies you behind the scenes, hoping that Coriolanus will follow you. The door closes behind you, but when you turn around, no one is there. Well, no big deal, it means you'll go look for it later or tomorrow at the latest, there's no rush anyway. But you feel observed and this sensation worries you a lot: it's as if you have someone behind your back.
"Well?"
You turn around, surprised that he's there. Up close he's taller than you remember and you can see his blonde hair well, even though it's shaved. His arms are crossed as he looks you up and down, but without eyeballing you, just a look of pure curiosity painted on his face. So why do you feel like a hunted animal?
“Coryo”.
"Do not call me that. You asked me to come here, right? You asked for my attention in front of everyone. I'm here now. What, the cat got your tongue?” He asks you, a crooked smile somewhere between amused and mischievous that gives a sinister light to his face. He has enough charm to seem like the Devil.
“Don't get any illusions, it's just a game”.
“I don't like playing and you don't like winning, as far as I know.”
“Those games are abominable and I think you know it too, since you're here, right?” You ask him. His smile fades and inside you rejoice, because you know you've hit the mark.
“Speak quickly, Y/N, the rooster crows early in the morning.”
“I have a proposition for you,” you tell him, getting dangerously close to him. He doesn't take a step back, but you see him on guard, almost as if he expects to be stabbed at any moment. “I bet Sejanus that I would make you fall in love with me,” you reveal to him and he smiles wickedly. “I only did it because he promised me money in return and my family needs it. I'm telling you this because I think we could pretend to be together for a while so he'll think we're really in love. In the end, I will split the money with you, since you need it as much as I do,” you explain to him.
For a moment, he observes you, perhaps because he is trying to understand whether you are sincere or not, then he nods, his face serious.
“You know, maybe I was wrong about you: you like winning as much as I do.”
“I wouldn't play if it wasn't for a serious reason. We both know that Sejanus pays and well."
“But he's your friend, right? I wonder why he is doing all this."
“Maybe he's just bored.”
“Perhaps,” Coriolanus repeats, thoughtfully. “Anyway, Tigris must never know. I only ask for this in return,” he says and you offer him your hand.
"Deal".
“And try not to fall in love with me, Y/N. Unlike many others, I don't like playing. You wouldn't survive."
“There's no danger, Coriolanus,” you say, shaking his hand.
Now you feel less sure: why do you feel like you've just sealed a pact with the Devil?
214 notes · View notes
no-nameno-face · 11 months
Text
Auburn Thoughts (Pt.3) WITH AUDIO
Pairing: Reader x Ellie Williams
Summary:  After a messy ending to the party, Ellie takes you home. With the influence of liquid courage, you invite her up to your dorm room.
Warnings: NSFW, 18+ ONLY, minors do not interact. You will be blocked. sub!reader, dom!ellie, Mentions of Alcohol, Drunk!R, Jealousy, kissing, grinding, masturbation (kinda), Praise kink, minor pain kink, boob play (R!receiving), 
Author's Notes: slow burns are harddddd. But hey, I made it to part 3 before I let anything progress too far!!! Does that still qualify as a slow burn? Not sure. So pumped to be adding an audio to this series! I love making them sooo much its stupid. lmfao. This is just the beginning of Ellie and Readers.. Experiences. I'm excited to develop their relationship further. Hope you enjoy and have fun matching the audio to the story!&lt;;3 (I put in the story when the audio clip applies)
Part 2
Part 4
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“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep up with her.
“I'm taking you home.” 
______________________________________________________________
I look back to the house, still trying to catch up with her “I need to let my friend know! She's gonna be worried.” I call to her, wrapping my arms around myself. The liquor wasn't warm enough to beat the chill of the night.
“Then she shouldnt have left you alone, wasted, at a fucking frat party!” She turns around a black bullet bike parked on the street, I catch up to her, stopping.
“Ellie, I can't” nodding my chin at the bike. She pulls the helmet off of the back.
“You can,” she hands it to me. “And you will.” Stern eyes. She goes back to her bike and swings her leg widely over the seat. My stomach tightens, I absorb her movements. She sits with one hand on the handlebars, the other on her thigh. “Helmet.” she commands, redirecting my thoughts.  Pulling it on, I walk to the side of the bike nervously. She pushes up on the seat making room for me behind her. I'm suddenly too aware of the short skirt I'm wearing. Thinking about it riding up my thighs, pushed up against her. Fuck, I’m thankful for the helmet hiding my raging blush. 
I look around to make sure no one's watching, Ellie’s looking straight ahead. I swing my leg over the seat and slide into place behind her. My chest to her back, my thighs behind hers. Pressed against her. I feel her tense against me. 
“Is this okay?” I feathered my hands around her waist. I feel her draw in a deep breath against me.
“Tighter.” she instructs. Warmth grows in my belly and swells into my thighs, despite the icy night and my exposed legs. I adjust myself and tighten my arms around her waist. She hesitates at this. “Where’s your place?” she breathes, turning her head slightly, looking at me over her shoulder.
“Um, I'm in the Mountain Side Dorms. Across from the Anderson Building.” 
“Got it.” she looks back to her handles, starting the bike. It roars alive, vibrating beneath us. I lift my legs and they settle in their place, she pushes off and gasses the bike. I find myself ducking into her back with the sudden motion, squeezing my arms and legs a bit tighter around her. After a moment of adjustment, I lift my head and look around. I watch the street lights streaming past us in ribbons. We are going fast, little to no traffic on the road at this time of night. The cold air is exhilarating, tantalizing on my skin, stealing the breath from my lips. My consciousness shifts down our bodies, memorizing the feel of her on me.
______________________________________________________________
She pulls around the front of my building and slows, planting her feet on the asphalt. Swinging my leg over the bike, I turn away from her to pull my skirt back down past my hips it had gathered on. I look over my shoulder in time to see her eyes traveling over my legs. 
She looks away quickly, hand going to the back of her neck rubbing it hard, looking down. Caught. I bite at my smirk beneath the helmet.
“You need to be more careful,” she says flatly, without looking at me. Setting the kickstand with her foot, her hips swing over the bike smoothly, experienced. Hands rubbing sweat on her thighs. I pull the helmet off, shaking my hair out, flyaways resting against my face. 
“I'm fine Ellie. It's not a big deal, nothing happened.”
“I’m fuckin’ serious” she looks at me intensely. I shy away beneath her gaze
“Yeah, I hear you. I’ll be more careful.” I step on a pebble at my feet, rolling it under my shoe. A silence settles between us. 
“Do you need help getting to your room?”
“Why? Looking for an invitation?” I look at her, the edges of my mouth turning up slightly, hoping to break the tension a bit. She shakes her head at her shoes.
“Fuck man,” eyes raise to mine, a small smile painting her lips. “you're hard to stay mad at.” our locked eyes fill the silence in my ears with an electric buzz.
“Let me walk you to the door.” she says, taking the helmet from my hands and setting it on the back of the bike. I don't protest. I bend over taking my heels off and hooking them in my hand. She looks at me, raising one scarred brow.
“My feet hurt!” I roll my eyes at her stare and start walking. I'm a bit steadier on my feet now after the sobering cold winds, although still a bit looser than normal.  She matches my pace, shoving her hands in her pockets. My mind drifts to my body flush against her. Her hair blowing in the wind, whipping my helmet. I think about my hands around her. “Tighter.” My hands tighten against my shoes and purse at the thought of her command. We reach the door and I scan my fob hearing the lock click, pulling the door open. 
“Alright, well..” she looks at the bottom of the open door. “Go get some rest.” she says, straightening herself, shifting her eyes to me. 
“I will.” I give her a soft smile. “Thank you for the ride.” I brush a hair out of my face with the back of my hand occupied by my purse. “I appreciate it.” 
“Yeah, of course.” She responds smoothly with a small nod. 
I think about her hardened voice from the bathroom, her hand slamming on the door, her anger towards that guy. How is this the same girl? She turns on her heels and begins walking back to her bike.
“Ellie.” It escapes my mouth before I can stop to think about what I’m doing. She turns her head to look at me. I look at the door then back to her. “Do you wanna,” I drift off, not sure how to ask casually.
“Wanna what?” she says, crooking her head to the side, the shadow of a smile on her lips. My eyes drift as I blow out a puff of air, my breath a cloud in the cold. Images rush me, her leading hand on my waist, her leaning over me on the bathroom counter. I imagine her sitting on my bed. I imagine her taking off my- My eyes shoot up, meeting green. Decided. 
“Do you wanna come up?”
She smiles and bites at her lip. My heart leaps. “I guess I wouldn't mind,” She swings her leg around, turning dramatically. My tongue presses into my teeth. She saunters towards me, eyes on me until she passes into the lobby. She looks around the expansive room. “Damn, this place is nice.” She approaches a table opposite of the elevators. It's got a random modern sculpture centered on it. She pokes at it.
“Don't break anything.” I say as I push the button. 
“Don't tempt me.”
The elevator slides open, she follows me in. I press 5, her eyes follow my hand. She leans against the railing as the doors close. I feel the air around us shift as the space closes in, charged. I notice her breathing change. Does she feel it too? I avoid looking at her. My hands start trembling ever so slightly.
Ding. 
Stepping out, I take a quiet deep breath. “Lead the way.” she prompts, looking at me with curious eyes. I walk, trying to think of something to say but blanking. I stop at my door, 528. Fumbling with my keys I realize the trembling in them has intensified. I know she sees it too. Finally, my key slides in and clicks the lock open. I open the door and walk in holding it behind me so she can follow. 
“Welcome to my humble abode.” My attempt at humor, trying to disguise the nervousness in my voice. I toss my shoes and purse on the ground next to the door. I take off my jacket, I feel eyes on my back as I do. I hook it on the rack, walking further into my room. Tossing a sideways glance at the mirror in the entryway as I walk by I see her trailing me, watching my every step. I feel goose bumos dance up my spine. I walk over to the dresser in front of my bed and pull open a drawer. I hear the bed creak behind me. 
“Your place is cute, it's cozy in here.” I fight the urge to turn and stare at her, on my bed. 
“Thanks.” I respond, a smile in my voice as I grabbed a pair of sweats and a tank top from the drawer and finally turn to see her. Exactly how I pictured it, with the addition of some clothing she was lacking in my mind. Shoes kicked off next to the bed, leaned against my headboard casually, ankles crossed. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks.  “I’m gonna go change” I say pointing my thumb to the bathroom, following it with my body. 
I close the door behind me, and look in the mirror with wide eyes. “WHAT THE FUCK” I mouth to my reflection, gaping at myself. I push my back into the door. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What am I doing?! Shit, I need to hurry, she’s waiting for me. She’s waiting for me. I start pulling my top and skirt off, stumbling. I pull on the gray sweats and shrug on the white tank top. I take my hair out of the pony tail and ruffle it with my fingers. It’s messy, cute.. ish. I spritz some perfume on my collar bones and dab my wrists against it. I look at the ceiling and take a deep breath. I can do this, we are just hanging out. No expectations. I look at myself one last time and open the door. 
I find Ellie thumbing through the book that was on my nightstand. I walk to the other side of the bed, sitting stiffly, crossing my legs and clasping my hands in my lap. She looks more comfortable in my room than I am. I look at the ceiling light, unsure where to rest my eyes.
“So, who was that girl?” her voice rasps. I look at her, she's still gazing over the pages. 
“Chloe. We met freshman year. She’s basically my only friend out here.” I let out a small chuckle, looking at my hands. 
“Friends don't dance like that.” She shoots me a sideways glance. 
“Drunk friends do.” I suggest, meeting her eyes. She shrugs her shoulders and looks back to the book. “Who’s Cat?” I push back. Her name feels sour in my mouth, but I need to know. She sucks at her teeth ever so slightly.
“My ex,” she says as she turns the page. My heart pangs at the idea of Ellie and another girl. Touching. Kissing. Fucking. 
“Ex’s dont flirt like that.” 
“Drunk ex’s do.” she turns her head to me with amused eyes. 
“But she's your... I mean.. You guys dated!” I say passionately. “That's different than just a friend.” I say, raising my eyebrows. A beat of silence passes us, before she sets the book back on the table.
“Why do you care so much?” She asks, pushing up onto propped arms, leaning into the conversation. Her eyes narrow. “Why does it matter if she was flirting with me?” 
“Why do you care about my friend?” I lean in, mirroring her movements. “Why does it matter that we were dancing?” her eyes darken a bit, what thoughts are she hiding behind them?
A hot and heavy fog sets over us like a weighted blanket. Her chin tilts, observant. I worry she can read my eyes better than I can read hers. My eyes are hungry. Famished. tired of watching her legs beneath her canvas. Wanting them tangled with my own. Sick of watching her hands paint, aching to have them explore every inch of my body. Wanting to taste her skin, and have her taste mine. Craving her to want me as badly as I want her. 
[START OF AUDIO] 
With a breath heavy on her chest, eyes drift to my lips. “Tell me.” then up to meet mine, dark green. 
 Stare burning into me, she leans in closer. “Tell me why it matters to you.” I see it. The same hunger. 
“Ellie..” I breathe. 
That's all she needs to hear. 
Her lips crash into my own, a lightning strike. Tongue racing to explore my mouth, mine matches her journey. Her breath is hot on my face. Strong hands wrap around my cheeks as she pulls me deeper into her. I sit up on my knees, reaching. Her hands shift to my hips pulling me forcefully to straddle her lap. I let out a small sound against her lips when my cunt hits her jeans through my pants, her fingers digging into me as a response.
I drag my hips against her, hard. This time she lets out a sound. There's a primal response in my body at her needy moan, vibrating my lips. I can't wrap my head around what's happening, lost in the moment. Lost in her. She guides my hips in a steady rhythm over her, pushing down and into me. My hands bury in her hair as my wetness swells. Yes, yes, yes. 
I want her. I want more of her. I want to feel her skin, I want to lick it, bite it, drag my nails over it. Mark it as mine. Leave a lasting memory of this so I can be reminded that this isn't just a dream. So she can be reminded of me.
My hands reach blindly beneath me struggling with the buttons of her shirt. “I wanna s’you” I mumble against her mouth. I feel her smile into my lips before wrapping hands around my waist, pausing my rhythm against her to throw me onto my back across the bed. Knee parting my legs as I fall into the mattress. Her lips leave mine, I open my eyes at her, desperate. Starving. 
“So eager.” She sits up, kneeling above me. A god at her altar. She unbuttons her flannel slowly. Eyes carving shapes into my body beneath her. She shrugs her top layer off. My eyes travel down her body, a black form fitted tank top blanketed the skin I so desired. Her muscular arms exposed for the first time, your eyes pirouette down them, tracing her veins, landing on the tattoo covering her right forearm. I squeeze my leg around her thigh, bucking my hips once subconsciously at the sight of this new revealed territory. She looks me in the eyes, piercing me with hooded green.  
“come on, don't stop now.” she says pushing her knee into me, my mouth drops in a sweet sound and my eyes roll back as I start grinding against her. “hmm,” she sighs. “That's right. Look at me” she demands. I do. She reaches above her head grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling it off over her head in one smooth motion. Tossing it to the side, left in a black sports bra. I keep my rhythm on her knee, feeling myself soaking through the thong under my sweats. Small whimpers escaping my lips with each thrust. Her abs on display, toned. Hard. I wonder what they would feel like under me.
“You have no idea how long I've wanted this… wanted you.” she says, watching me pleasure myself on her thigh. Her hand and eyes find the bottom of my shirt, she slides her fingers under it, across my stomach looking up to me. Curious eyes.
“Can I?” she almost begs.
I give a small nod, eyes begging her to touch me, lips parted. Panting.
Both her hands slide up my stomach beneath my shirt, slowly. Too slowly. She's savoring this. My pussy pulses against her. Her eyes follow the outline of her hands under my shirt as she traces the underwire of my bra gently. Chills rise on my skin. She pulls her hands back down my stomach gripping the hem of my shirt and looks at me, I raise my arms as she peels it off of me and tosses it in the pile of clothes accumulating next to my bed. Her eyes hover on my chest. She whispers a quiet “fuck” as her hands follow the black bra around my sides. I arch my back to give her access. She unclasps it with a twist of her fingers and she breathes a moan in anticipation. She reaches to my shoulders, finger tips grazing my skin. She pulls the straps down slowly so they are slack. My chest rises and falls with trembling breaths. She leans down and plants a line of kisses on my collar bone, my head rolls to the side opening myself up to her. Her lips trace soft kisses and a tender tongue up my neck to the spot right behind my ear. 
Then she bites, hands tearing off my bra under her. 
I let out an urgent gasp, my hand grabbing at her hair. Legs contracting around her thigh. Greedy hands squeeze around my newly revealed flesh. She moans into my neck before sucking the bite mark, a stab of pain thrills me. I can't contain the moans of pleasure spilling from my mouth now.
“You like that?” Her voice is like a dream behind the curtain of pleasure I'm lost in. I manage to nod.
“Use your words.” she kneads my boobs firmly, my head still thrown back. Her hand grabs my chin and angles so I have to meet her eyes. 
“Say it.” She demands. looking over my exposed chest. Lust palpable in her eyes. When i dont answer she flicks a finger over my nipple. I heave at the sensation.
“Your.. your hands” I manage to get out between moans. She smiles at me, a mischievous grin. 
“That's my good girl,” she lets go of my jaw and dips down, taking my breast in her mouth, kneading the other. My response fills the room.
Her good girl.
 I look down at her. She’s already looking up to me with hooded eyes, she nips at me, I call her name into the air. Eyes rolling. She shoves her knee against my core, rubbing hard into me. I pulse against her as I rock into it. 
Her tongue is insistent on my nipple, moaning into it. Wetness from her mouth dripping down my flesh, her lips shiny on me. 
My stomach tightens, a stretched elastic close to snapping. My breathing picks up pace, and my sounds grow frantic. “Ellie.. Ellie.. I'm gonna..” she lifts off of my chest, hovering over me. Pushing harder against my clit she looks into my eyes, bouncing between them. Absorbing my every expression. 
“Yeah?” enthusiastic green. 
“Cum for me baby.”
Her words are my undoing and I unravel around her thigh. Hands gripping sheets, white knuckles. All I see is her. Her. My back arches as she grinds into me riding my wave of euphoria, my cunt throbbing against her. Her name rolling off my tongue, I can't say it enough.
Ellie. Ellie. Ellie.
[END OF AUDIO]
980 notes · View notes
scribblemetae · 8 months
Text
Yes, Miss | Hyunjin Smut | Part 1
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Website Tagline:  ‘Virgin boy with years of backed up cum pleasures himself for you, come watch my live videos and teach me how to fuck’
Description/Summary:  It wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know this was going to happen, how were you to know the person behind the videos you used to get off to was none other than your favourite straight A student Hwang Hyunjin. How would you ever look at the boy with thick black glasses properly again?
Genre: Nerd!Hyunjin, Teacher!Reader, Student!Hyunjin, Taboo but fully legal relationship.
Word count: 9k
Main warnings: general teacher student naughty business, Hyunjin got a Miss!Kink, Cam!boy Hyunjin, Desperate Hyunjin. Masturbation (f) and (m), Mutual Masturbation (Kinda?) Slow burn but also not a slow burn lmao
A/N : Re-post from my Stray Kids story, I do love writing about cam boys! I might write more members as cam boys
He drove you wild, you were here panting hard on your bed sheets as you watched him stroke his cock into his camera. You’re not sure when you became a slave to his live shows, you never expected to become a regular viewer of anybody on the website, only signing up to relieve a bit of stress every now and then. However, since the first video of his you watched, when he was talking about how desperate he was to fuck you with his virgin cock, you were stuck on him. You even went as far as signing up to the website to get notifications for when he would be going live.
A virgin cam boy with a sweet voice and a perfect looking cock, how could you not live for that?. There was something so hot about the idea of him being completely innocent and untouched, yet here getting off for anybody to see.
His viewership seemed small, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing, it meant not as many annoying messages popping up during live streams when he would say something in need of an answer. He always interacted with his viewers, pretending to be their boyfriend who was to scared to fuck so jacked off just for them, he was delectable. He had said the virgin thing wasn't just a character and was actually true and that made you mouth water for him, he seemed so sweet when he would talk to views before and after lives.
Right now he was the complete antithesis of sweet, hand wrapped around his hard cock as he layed back on his bed, face out of screen as always, filth leaving his lips as he helped his viewers reach their highs. 
“Fuck, I’m so backed up with cum, wanna cum for you so bad.” You were right there with him, fingers deep inside your cunt as you thrusted inside at the same pace he stroked his cock. You watch him as he sits up slightly reading some of the comments panting. “Yeah, yeah I’ll fuck you soon, promise I’ll let you take my virginity soon but for now just enjoy watching me baby.” he continued stroking himself, breathing getting heavier and heavier as you got close to the edge, deep voice turning whimpery. “You’ll have to teach me how to fuck, teach me what to do -shit- cum with me, please cum with me.” The perfect blend of dominant and submissive, you couldn’t help but do exactly what he asked and cum at the same time as him.
When you’d finished your session you were damp and warm but the last thing you wanted to do was move, your shower would have to wait till morning before you go to work. For now all you wanted to do was roll over and fall asleep.
It was only 8am and you’d already had it this morning. Mondays were always pretty bad but this one was worse, all the professors and teachers had to come in an hour early to discuss work plans and for the last half an hour your boss has just gone in on you all for your students' grades. It's not like they were bad, in fact your college was one of the best in the area but he just wanted them to be better. He’d taken your can do attitude and good mood and slammed it into the ground. Today was going to be a long day 
“Correct Hyunjin, does anybody else have any ideas or are we just going to leave it to our fellow classmen over here to answer everything for us?”
You were in the last lesson for the day and your mood had gone from bad to worse. looking around the room at your class and everybody was silent, looking at you with vacant stares, eyes barely open. Mondays were always the same. The majority of your class turned up but most of them were nursing hangovers and dealing with their own sleep depravity. It was times like these you wanted to bang your head against the table. When you swapped over to teaching college students you thought things would be easier, these are young adults who have decided to come to your class, they’ve purposely come to study and learn and yet most of the time it was like trying to get blood from a stone. Days like this always reminded you that in reality they are just young adults that only came to college for the promise of good parties and sex.
As much as your students could drive you mad you did have a select few that would sit at the front, always turn up on time and always engaged with your lessons but that was 4 out of about 30. Yun-hee, Felix, Sunny and Hyunjin, they always made your lessons slightly bearable but you knew everybody else relied on them to get the answers correct so they could just jot it down on their laptops and be on their way. You weren’t blind to it, you could see right through them all, it wasn't long ago you were in college doing the exact same thing. People always relied on the nerdy kids who sat at the front and tried their hardest to get them through.
You rolled your eyes as you turned to face the projector screen trying not to let everybody see your clear annoyance with them, if you thought your last few lessons were bad you had another thing coming. You continued through the next 45 minutes and you were getting nothing from them. Hyunjin and Sunny answered most if not all the questions of class, obviously looking golden in your eyes, but nerdy in the eyes of their piers. The phrase ‘Fucking nerd’ was flung out while Hyunjin answered a particularly hard question, forcing you to remove the foul mouthed ass-hole from the lesson.
You always felt bad for Hyunjin, you noticed that he was picked on a lot and never really stood up for himself, in fact all four of your best students got it pretty rough from the others. You thought bullying would calm down slightly in a college environment compared to the pre-school you taught in beforehand but you were wrong, people were meaner here and if there's one thing you couldn’t stand it was an asshole bully. You shook your head reminding yourself this wasn’t the place to be cussing out your students and looked at the time on your laptop. You still had another 5 minutes to go but you really didn't see the point in continuing considering that for the last 15 you’d just had everybody work in pairs and study the subject. So, you did what all mature, respectable professors do. “Okay guys we’re gonna finish the lesson 5 minuets early, i'll see you all tomorrow”. You know you probably shouldn't have but it was your last lesson of the day and you were just ready to get home and relax.
As the class were packing their books away and you were doing the same, you feel a knock against the table and turn to see that Hyunjin had accidentally walked into it while approaching you, he softly rubs his elbow as he whispers out an “owch.”
“Hyunjin, are you okay?” You reach over touching his arm making sure that he didn’t hurt himself too badly. He just nods at you slowly with a small smile on his face. “I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed the lesson today.” Everything he did was awkward, you noted as he put his hand out as if he was going to shake yours before slowly pulling it back realising that would be a weird thing to do.
“Thank you Hyunjin, your input on the subject matters are always impressive to say the least.” He blushed at your compliment looking down. It was only as the conversation went silent that you noticed all your other students had left, but Hyunjin was still gripping his bag to his chest as he stood in front of you. “Is there something else you need Hyunjin?”  He went wide eyed at your question, almost as if you’d caught him doing something he shouldn't. “I, No, Miss, your shirt looks really pretty.” 
As you took a second to think about his words he had already started to leave, face bright red in embarrassment but the sound of slapping on the floor makes you whip your head around to where he was laying on the floor. God, he was so clumsy. You run over to him trying to help him up but he looks mortified as you grab his hand and some of the stuff he had dropped. “Hyunjin, you have to be more careful.” He looks like he hit his knee pretty badly as he stands up hopping a little bit waiting for the pain to go down “I know, I'm sorry Noona, I mean, Miss Y/L/N.”
You slowly start handing over his things, a book, a flask and a medium sized green pouch that felt heavier than it should. He was quick to grab them off you as you handed them back, ears still red from embarrassment. “Don’t be sorry Hyunjin, just be careful. You know these kids will do anything that they can to find a weakness in you.” 
You didn’t have to elaborate on any of it, he understood exactly what you meant looking down toward the floor unsure of how to answer. You really did make him nervous, butterflies appearing in his tummy every time he was in the same room as you. “You need to stick up for yourself, be more confident, you're such a bright kid Hyunjin” your hand was on his arm now and he nearly flinched back at the feeling of you words flowing through him. “I’m not a kid, Miss Y/L/N.” You take a deep breath and do your best to say no more, not wanting to offend him in any way. It must be hard when people are so cruel to him on a daily basis. “I know Hyunjin, that's not what I meant”  
He was quick to remove himself from the room after that, shrugging a small goodbye as he walked out on you, leaving you to finish up your day ‘Well that was different’ you thought to yourself as you went back to packing everything away. Something seemed so different about Hyunjin lately and you couldn’t put your finger on it. He was still excelling at classes and still dressing the same way. He still had the same friends and did the same things and yet you could tell there was something on his mind. All you could do was shrug it off and hope for the best for him.
It didn’t take long for you to get all your things together finally and leave the classroom. As you walk down the hallway rushing to get to your car but your name booms down the hallway. Your boss, the man in charge of the school, was shouting you and you hoped to god this could be over quickly so you could just go home. You turned around and smiled at him, maybe you just dropped something.
“Have you handed in all your lesson plans for the next few months''. You couldn’t help but look at him confused, you’ve never really had to go over your plans with him before, this was a college not a pre-school. When you didn't answer he made sure to bark back at you. “___, If you’re not prepared for lessons its no wonder your students are failing” before you could even babble out your defence and make him aware that only 8% of your students actually were failing he continued to berate you in the hallways “You weren’t hired to bring the university down, you were hired because of your remarkable ideas that quite frankly I'm yet to see any of”
You wanted to shout and scream, this being the second time you’d been spoken to like this by him today but you knew it would get you nowhere. This was just the way he was, it was nothing personal, he was just an absolute dick. It was only when you looked around that you saw Hyunjin in the hallway standing by his locker listening into the conversation. You thought everybody had hurried off but knowing there were still people around you felt embarrassed. You didn’t let it show though, or at least you tried not to, smiling at him and looking straight back to your boss missing the uneasy smile he threw back at you. 
You opened your mouth ready to defend yourself but were cut off by him shouting the name of another teacher and you quickly took your chance to leave the conversation. You felt bad for whoever he was about to scream at but at the same time you had taken your share and just wanted to leave 
The drive home was easy, luckily for you. Every traffic light was green and the roads were pretty clear much to your surprise. You managed to make it home much quicker than you usually would. As you slammed your car door a little bit harder than you probably should have you walked up to your door, unlocking it and breathing a little bit easier as you walked into your living room.
After you made yourself food, sat down with a glass of wine and finished up all your jobs, that you finally slumped on the couch not letting the stress from the day dissipate in any way when you sit there replaying everything you could have done better in your head. All the annoyances big and small start to eat away at you until your head starts pounding, when you phone pings your glad there's finally going to be something to knock you out of it when you grab it quickly from beside you. 
You thought it would be a text message, a notification from a game you could mindlessly play until you had to go to sleep, or even a reminder that you set for something you’d obviously forgotten but no it was none of them, the little notification was from SKZCamboys.net, ‘babyboy has gone live’ you immediately bit your bottom lip reading his tagline that pops up every time along with the notification ‘Virgin boy with years of backed up cum pleasures himself for you, come watch my live videos and teach me how to fuck’.
He never goes live on a weekday, only every showing his face, or should you say body, on a Sunday night getting everybody ready for the week ahead of them. To say you were wet immediately just from the surprise of seeing the notification would have been an understatement. You wasted no time grabbing your laptop and rushing to your bedroom thanking the heavens that today of all days he decided to spring a surprise live on everybody
As you open your laptop you're quick to position yourself on your bed, laying down and setting everything up ready to wash away the annoyance the best way you knew how. As soon as you log into your laptop account the notification letting you know he's gone live pops up and you click it, way more eager than usual. You had no shame in masturbating but you did have a little shame at doing it so eagerly. 
There he was, kneeling in front of his camera, slacks on but shirtless. You never got to see his face, you could only imagine how handsome he looked, if only he would tip his camera up a little bit more to help your imagination. Fuck, just seeing him like this was starting to get you wet. 
“I’ll wait until I have a few more views to start, for now we can just have some fun talking.” His voice was sweet like honey, something familiar and safe about it but you knew you’d never heard a voice quite like it, you’d remember the way the vibrations of the deep timber would shake your heart. You can see him reading the comments that are already rushing on the side of the stream, you wish you could click them away but it was the only negative of this website. You always had to see them there next to his perfect body. 
Suddenly his voice turns timid as he reads out one of the comments ‘What do you have instore for us today H? Why the surprise live’ H was his pseudonym, a stage name if you will, he never gave out his real name much to your dismay. You’d do anything to moan it out for him. 
As you saw him covering his body you could see him slowly getting in to character, he pretended to be shy and innocent but theres no way somebody who was willing to get his cock out on camera really was, but still, the show he put on always worked for you.
“I’m sorry about being so abrupt, I know usually we wait till a Saturday to have fun but, I really wanted to touch you today, I know you’ve had such a hard day today I just wanna help you get rid of all that stress”
You gasped at his words, a whimper slightly following it. V had a storyline in his videos, one that you were a slave to. He was your virgin boyfriend. You’re not sure when you started watching his videos but each one you’ve watched was a continuation of the last, usually basing them on the premise that you were his girlfriend, watching him get off because he was to scared to fuck.
"The more time we spend together, the more we talk and get to know each other, the more I wanna be dirty with you." Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, its like he was speaking directly to you. His hands were starting to stroke over his body and you couldn’t help but picture them as your own. As his fingers danced around his skin your eyes raked down his body noticing the hard on that was pressing against the thin material of his pants and your mouth started to water slightly. You couldn’t help but slide your hand down your pants, laying them on top of your panties and slowly starting to rub, trying to warm yourself up a little bit ready for him.
“No, no, baby, stop.” His voice was winey and it stopped your movements “Don't touch yourself yet please, I wanna do it for you remember? I wanna do all the touching.” This was something you loved about watching him, he could read all his viewers like a book, he knew exactly what he was doing and he loved to tease with it.
“Please, just let me enjoy your body tonight, i’ve got so fucking much backed up cum to give you, just let me have my way with you.” As always you followed along and did as he said, restraining from touching yourself and biting your bottom lip frustrated that you couldn’t start without him. 
You couldn’t see it from his lips, but you could see the bouncing of his Adam's apple as he chuckled slightly dropping his innocent character, enjoying what he was doing to his viewers. Comments popping up at the side of his stream asking him to start, begging him to really let them take his virginity.
“You’re all so excited about getting to fuck me, so many juicy pussys ready to let me have there way with them” he moved his had down and grasps his cock groaning slightly “Makes me so fucking hard thinking about it.” As he started to palm himself the pure version of himself makes his appearance again “but, I don’t know if im ready for that just yet, you don’t mind waiting for me do you baby? Just a little longer, I promise I wont make you wait to much longer but tonight I just wanna lick, just wanna stroke and touch you till you’re Cumming for me, is that okay, baby?”
You look around at the background of his live, trying to distract yourself knowing that if you look at him any longer you won't be able to help but start touching yourself out of pure desperation. His bed sheets had math equations on them, different trophies across his wall for academic achievements. You eyes wondered slightly over his body again but this time you weren’t looking at his chest, you noticed a bruise on his elbow and all you wanted to do was kiss it better. While your eyes dances around his bedroom and you mind fluttered with all the ways you’d like to take care of him you managed to change your position so you were up against your headboard, clothes completely removed and your laptop was in between your feet that were now spread out in front of you.
“Lets see who we have joining today, who's going to let this desperate little tongue explore them tonight” The soft stuttering of his words were in huge contrast with the things he was saying making your brain melt and he pulls you back to attention when he starts reading the names of some of his views and your pussy throbs when he calls out your user name ‘Missy/n’. Yeah, you knew it wasn’t exactly original but when you signed up to the website you never thought you'd become a regular viewer of anybody. “Will you let me please you tonight Missy/n? You’re always so silent on my streams”
Shit, he was addressing you, calling you out essentially. His viewership was so small he could remember his regular viewers, sometimes addressing them by the name they asked and talk to them while he streamed. It looked like tonight it was your turn. “Do you like being called Miss, y/n? Does my girlfriend like being called miss? I can do that if you just talk to me baby” Your pussy was dripping at his words, you had to clench your fists in order to stop from touching yourself. You could see other comments on the side begging for his attention, asking him to talk to them since you were clearly too shy. They weren’t wrong. You never interacted, and clearly he has noticed that.
“You always watch my streams but never join in on the fun” He slowly starts pulling on the waistband of his slacks and his cock pops out into view. He's so big and hard, he has one of the prettiest cocks you’ve ever seen and you verbally moan out loud. “We had so much fun last night, I know you where there, you can tell me anything remember, I'm a good boyfriend I'll do whatever you want” he pushed his hand into his pants and you heard a gasp from off camera “Please, Missy/n, please tell me what you like so I can make tonight all about you”
The fact he was directing this to you makes your brain vibrate, all sense being thrown out the window as your pussy clenches around nothing, needing to feel something. You type up your reply, talking to him for the first time, it's strange how nervous it makes you but you need him to start, your stomach is starting to hurt with want. You want to sound sexy but don’t want to embarrass yourself 
You settled with something simple 'Call me Miss, H, I really like that' and hoped to God he would keep going, You’d never felt as nervous as you did pressing the enter button on your keypad. “Fuck yes, Tonight's all about you miss, its all for you”
Waking you up felt great, the laptop was pushed to the end of the bed as you sat up and rubbed your eyes starting to stretch for a second before starting to panic.
No alarm?
You searched your bed quickly looking for your phone, throwing the covers and the pillows around untill you eventually found it hidden underneath the laptop at the end of your bed.
8:35. Shit.
You had 25 minuets to get dressed ready and at work. You let out a frustrated 'fuck' As you flipped your house around trying to find everything you needed. You were lucky you put all your clothes on the right way round at this point.
Your hair was thrown up quickly and your face was bare, you'd have to skip the make-up for today. You threw your laptop in your bag and hauled ass to your car making sure you're there as quick as the speed limit would let you.
You were lucky, every light turned green and the roads were practically empty meaning you were only late to your first class by 5 minutes.
As you ran through the door you were quick to apologize to your students, not that any of them were really paying attention to you. You were in such a rush you barely had a grip on your laptop case and bags while they were slipping down your arms.
"Do you-" you feel your bags slipping lower and lower as you hear Hyunjins voice and his hand reaching out to help you "-do you need a hand Miss?" He was always so sweet. His black hair was tied back and his big blue jumper looked nearly too big for him as he grabbed your laptop bag off your arm allowing you to reposition your other bag on your shoulder.
"Thank you Hyunjin" you give him a smile and shouted out to the rest if your class "You guys talk amongst yourself for a second while I set up"
Both you and Hyunjin walked to your desk and placed all your stuff on there "There-erm-what" as you looked up to your side Hyunjin was still standing over you struggling with his words. You couldn't tell what he was saying over the noise of a nearly full lecture hall talking amongst themselves though "Hyunjin, are you okay?"
He looked surprised at you addressing him and shook his head as he was released from whatever daydream he was in. His cheeks and ears looked slightly flushed as he opened his mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come out.
"Do you want to help me set up?" You weren't sure why he was always so nervous around you, but you tried to help him out wherever you could. You assumed it was because you were his teacher. You weren’t much older than him, but old enough that you held the authority, besides, no matter what your age difference you were the person who held his grades in your hands. He was twenty one years old and he could do whatever he wanted in his life, as long as you gave him the grades to achieve it.
You tried to sound as casual as possible as you directed him to the chair at your desk and asked him to set up the laptop and your google documents, maybe if you were slightly less formal with him he would calm down a little when he was around you. As you pulled everything out of your bag that you needed you heard another whack as Hyunjin rubs his elbow sitting on the chair at the other side of it. That's the second time he's hit his elbow on your desk, he's so clumsy. So much so that in another few seconds you heard a crashing of your laptop and another bang on the table from Hyunjins direction. 
As you look over, your laptop is on the floor and Hyunjin looks shocked. In a second he was rushing to pick everything up as he almost groveled to you “Im sorry, i'm so sorry, wait-”
You can hear everybody in the background starting to turn and talk about what was going on at the front and you feel that frazzled Hyunjin even more. He was clamoring around the desk and the floor trying to pick up everything that had been dropped. You moved around the desk and dropped to your knees trying to help him, as he scrambled, you were trying to help him by grabbing things calmly. The whole class was starting to get louder and you could hear people laughing at him and you were starting to get frustrated. 
“It's okay Hyunjin, don’t worry” but as you grabbed your laptop he seemed to get even more stressed out grabbing it at the same time as you almost as if he was trying to pull it out of your hands. When you looked down at the screen, you realized why. 
The screen was lit up glowing on SKZCamboys.net. All the air felt like it was punched out of your stomach. You must have forgotten to exit everything when you rushed this morning and now both of you were staring at the screen that was on H’s profile. Thumbnail of the video finished and paused on the screen of his cock in hand, with cum all over it. 
There was no explaining this away, you slammed the laptop closed and started to apologise but before you could, the laughing from the class was getting louder “You’re such a fucking loser” - “Look at him stairing at her! Hyunjin wants to fuck the tutor everybody” - You heard laughing coming from all different directions and you could see the mortification coming from Hyunjins face. 
He was quick to react, pulling his body from the floor and running towards the door. You shouted his name but you knew there was no quick fix to this. All this had done was added fuel to the fire of Hyunjin getting bullied and honestly all you wanted to do was hit your head on the table. 
As you managed to pull yourself off the floor ready to scold your students there was a knocking on your classroom door, the entire off you class were silent and that could only mean one thing.
"What's going on here miss Y/L/N" there he is again, the bane of your job. "Sir we just had a small mishap, it's nothing I can't ha-" he interjected before you could say anything. "Small mishap? You have a student running out of your classroom, your entire class shouting about and all your lesson notes seem to be scattered onto the floor"
You took a deep breath before you could answer him. You needed to compose yourself "I can assure you Sir, it's not what it looks like"
"Not what it looks like? So you haven't completely lost control of your class?" Before you could say anything he was walking towards your desk with fury in his eyes "take the rest of the week off miss y/l/n, i'll deal with you on Monday"
You were shocked to say the least, you were standing there in the middle of your classroom and he had the audacity to send you home? As if you were a student yourself. You shook your head, surely he was just being dramatic "Sir, I don't think that's necessary"
"Oh Miss y/l/n I think it's very necessary. In fact, make it two weeks, now collect your things and head home"
You didn't say anything. You felt embarrassed. The entire time this was happening your class was watching over your shoulder in silence. They all looked as surprised as you as you awkwardly bent down to pick up the rest of your papers and packed all your things away. Your exit from the room felt shameful. Your head was hung low as there were no words exchanged, the only sound was the clicking of your heels on the hardwood floor.
As you left and closed the door behind you, you leaned against it hitting the back of your head on it. There was nothing you could do. You weren't the first tutor he'd sent home but if you were honest, you were the first one he'd sent for a legitimate reason. You had lost control of everything going on back there.
That's when you remembered what had happened with Hyunjin. Oh God, you needed to make things right with him, for him. You wondered where he'd run off to, unsure where to even start. How do you make that up to somebody. Nobody wants to see the porn their teacher gets off to, especially not somebody as sweet and nieve as Hyunjin. Not to mention unintentionally embarrassing in front of the class, if he hadn't seen what was on your screen he wouldn't have dropped anything and nobody would have thought anything of it.
The walk to your car was slightly defeated. Head hug low, ignoring everybody who you walked past and slumping yourself into your front seat. As you pulled your phone out to check any notifications you saw the email the university had sent you.
Dear Y/N,
This email is to confirm your suspension from USTRAY University with immediate effect. This will be a 12 day suspension period and you will be due to return on Monday 1st of May.
In the meantime if you have any queries please take them up with your HR representative.
You may still be asked to contact students via email if any on-going work issues present themselves but in these cases you will be paid for your time.
On your return date you will have an investigation to look into the details of your suspension, the out-come of this meeting could rage anywhere between no further action taken to a disciplinary hearing.
We hope you are in good health and we look forward to seeing you soon.
USTAY University 
you rolled your eyes and threw your head back in defeat, the one thing this university had going for it was that it was efficient, you weren't even off the grounds and you already had your suspension email. As you drive home you play the email over and over in your head.
__________________________
You weren't really sure what to do with yourself. You'd been at home for two hours, sat watching TV twiddling your tumble idoly while thinking of how to be productive. Your situation was shit to say the least but you wanted to at least do something with the forced time off. 
You'd been almost in a trance for the last hour, bored and watching TV only managing to snap out of it when your phone rang next to you.
You didn't even look at it when you pulled it up to your ear to speak to whoever dared interrupt you wallowing. "Hello"
"Oh Hi _____ it's Chris"
Why would Chris be calling you? He was one of the music studies tutors at your uni, you'd only talked to him a handful of times so he's not somebody you thought would call to discuss your current situation. "Oh yeah, Hi Chris what's up?"
"First of all I'm really sorry about what happened, you're a great tutor you didn't deserve that, the man has lost his mind I swear" after a few seconds and a small thank you from you he continued "what I actually called to ask you about was Hyunjin"
Oh god, did he tell everybody what had happened. You're sure you'd lose your job straight away if the other tutors thought you were watching porn in your lessons. 
"He didn't come to his second class today and he's never ever missed a class and the somebody told me what happened in your lesson and it all made a little more sense"
You nodded your head as he spoke but you weren't entirely sure why he was telling you this. You knew what had gone on and you'd do anything you could to help Hyunjin out but you weren't allowed back in the uni and he knew that.
"I was wondering if you could reach out to him?" His suggestion left you feeling a little bit of dread, it made sense if you were Chris, to have you be the one to reach out to him. Everything happened in your class and you had always had a soft spot for him but if he knew what Hyunjin saw, what it was that caused the situation then he'd know that your probably the last person that Hyunjin wants to talk to right now.
"You're his favorite tutor, I always over hear him talking about you to Felix in my lessons, maybe if you just gave him an email for an update and a 'How's it going' chat, you know, I don't want him to start missing lessons, I wouldn't ask cos I know your technically not getting paid but" he finished his sentence without actually finishing it. 
You knew you'd have to speak to him, as it stands he was still technically one of your students so you'd have to approach him eventually, maybe it would be easier to do it over email.
"Yeah, yeah okay sure I'll see what I can do"
Before you'd even amended to finish your sentence Chris was thanking you from the other end "just keep me updated on anything that happened, and again, I'm really sorry about all this. He really is a dick sometimes"
You huffed out a small laugh to him and agreed before putting the phone down getting ready to send an email over to Hyunjin.
Where would you even start? How do you talk about something like this to somebody who struggles even talking to you. As you open up your emails on your phone and start what you were sure was going to be the most over thought out email of your life you noticed a notification at the top left of your phone
Babyboy has gone live.
You knew you shouldn't, you knew you had other things going on in your life that were way more important than you getting your rocks off and yet something made you click on it. You weren't working, you weren't getting paid to message him and as much as you wanted to help him the temptation of watching the man that always helps make you cum. Still, there was a small hint of guilt that washed over you, okay, maybe just a sneak peak and then you’ll get back to the email.
As you clicked on the notification and the video started playing you saw that he was already talking to people. Your volume was down and as you turned it up what he was saying was already turning you on 
“Will you fuck me today? I know you want me so bad, i'm ready, please” You were shocked, immediately immersed attention fully on him as his needy voice left your phone speakers. You could pull your eyes away and your body was getting hot. 
“You’re here, fuck you’re here. Fuck me, please” As he speaks he pulls into frame a small looking green bag, it almost looked like a pencil case but a bit bigger and with a bit more weight to it. It looked familiar but before you could even care to think about it he started to pull out its contents. 
Your mouth started watering as you saw the fleshlight. You were biting your bottom lip as he started pushing his finger inside it groaning out loud. What made him take this turn with his videos, you were sure he’d never actually get this far, only ever teasing his audience, but now you have this you weren't sure you’d ever be able to think about anything else. 
“Can’t wait to feel your pussy, been waiting for so long” as he talked you sat further back on your sofa and quickly pushed your hands into your jeans and underwear and started to rub yourself. You couldn’t control yourself when it came to the faceless man, when you felt how wet you were you pushed a finger inside of your hole and let out a soft but long gasp as you felt some of your tension running away from you. 
As he pulled his finger out of the toy he moved it further up in the frame, dipping his face down slightly as his tongue connected to the fake pussy. You immediately clenched around your fingers, this is the most you’d ever seen of him and he was licking a fleshlight, you couldn't help but imagine he was on the floor in front of you, tongue licking inside your slit as your eyes rolled to the back of your head. 
“Taste so good Miss, fuck I want more” The use of the word Miss made your eyes open and what you saw on your phone threw you through a loop. You pulled your fingers away from your body bringing them up to cover your mouth that was open in shock.
You could see his jaw, his tongue had pushed into the fleshlight and now his mouth and lips and jaw were in view as he tongued the toy, but that wasn’t what surprised you. 
Hyunjin.
You’d recognise him anywhere. Your pussy was still leaking and it felt so wrong. After all this time it was Hyunjin on the other end of the camera? His tongue was so deep inside the toy and you could hear his moans, watching his jaw move tentatively as he kissed around the lips bathing the toy in his saliva.
It took everything in you, every ounce of moral to exit the window on your phone and place it down on your sofa. Your eyes were closed as you tried to take deep breaths and forget about it but when you did you pictured him again, the vision of his tongue between your legs, pushing it deep inside of you as your legs quivered around his head.
You couldn’t help but jump up off the sofa, clapping your hands to the front of your body and to the back, pacing around trying to do anything that could get the picture out of your head. It was wrong, the thought of it shouldn’t make your body squirm and your pussy clench the way it was.
You’d never thought of him like this, you’d always noted that he was good looking, it was the main reason you thought the boys all picked on him, jealous that he was attractive and smart, a lethal combination.  But, untill now, never once had you thought about him sexually.
Your phone once again goes off, a notification sound ringing around the room.
Perfect a distraction.
It was a text from Chris
"Thanks for getting in contact with him, I'm sure he'll be grateful for it. Just if you can make sure you message him soon and then send me any updates or just CC me in on the email"
Okay maybe not.
What the hell were you supposed to do? There was no way you could CC Chris in on the email. What would happen if Hyunjin replied and mentioned what happened, in fact, maybe it wasn't a good idea to email him at all. You needed to get some distance. You were having the most inappropriate thoughts about him.
You typed back a quick reply to Chris with the perfect excuse.
"Hey Chris, I've just tried emailing him but sadly I'm having no luck with my Internet connection on my phone and due to my laptop being dropped today I'm unable to try on there until it's repaired. You may have to try and contact him yourself, Sorry for all the hassle"
Okay so you lied through your front teeth but that was the best option out of all the ones you could think of at the moment. This would allow you time before you got back to work to deal with this all in your head 
"Oh that's fine I'll send you over his phone number, maybe just giving him a call would be easier anyways, it's a bit more personal, just let me know how it goes. Thanks again"
Sure enough in the next text Chris sent you over his number and you were near rolling your eyes. 
He was right, a phone call would be much more personal and you wanted to avoid that the best you could. Could you get away with texting him? No, that's far too informal and awkward. 
You couldn't help but let out a loud grunt of annoyance. Fuck it, just call him and get it over with. It's not like he knows what your thinking, this is just as casual as it would have been before you found out. It's only different on your end of things.
You planned out how it was going to go in your head, looking at your phone weighing out the possible opening lines and options you could take 
"Hi Hyunjin it's Miss __, I was just calling to talk about what happened today in class" maybe? No, wait, this opens up the possibility for him to talk about your laptop "Hi Hyunjin, I'm just calling about you missing your lessons today" Nope, that kinda feels too accusatory. You didn't want him to feel at fault. "Hi hyunjin, I just wanted to call to make sure you were okay after today, Professor Bang said you'd not been in for your next class?
That felt better, you weren't accusing him of anything and you didn't give him too much time to talk about the incident, more leading it towards the missing off classes than anything else.
You must have paced around the loving room for a good half an hour before you hyped yourself up enough for the call, anybody watching would have thought you were getting ready for an Olympic run. You'd managed to straighten up your living room, make yourself and drink and do the dishes all until you had nothing left to procrastinate over.
Your heartbeat had slowed down in the half an hour avoidance but as soon as you picked up your phone again you could feel it increasing. You dialed in his number and took a deep breath, it was going to be fine.
Well, it would have been fine if he didn't answer his phone so quickly, throwing you off completely. 
"Hello"
How did you never recognise his voice? Without a face attached all you could hear was the man you watch on the other end of your computer screen. It was different when he was there in front of you though, when he was there his voice was soft and stuttered, unsure of what to say next. When you watch him on camera, although his voice was still soft, there was a confidence that made the two personalities indistinguishable from one another.
"Oh, Hi Hyunjin? It's ___, oh I mean. It's Miss ___"
Shit, now you were the stumbling idiot.
"Oh, Hi Miss, how're you? I mean, what makes you call?"
Okay, so not just you, you were both stumbling idiots. Come on, you just had to get this over with. Just ask him how he's doing and convince him to go back to classes tomorrow.
“Oh well, one of your tutors, Professor Bang? He called me and said you’d missed your lesson with him, I was just wanting to make sure you were okay, it's not like you to miss a lesson.”
You were honest and straight to the point, that's exactly what had happened. He didn't exactly seem happy with your reasoning though as his voice sounded slightly dejected in his reply
“Oh”
You weren’t exactly sure where to run with that without talking a little bit more, the only problem with talking more about it was you knew that inevitably you’d have to bring it up, you’d have to mention the one thing you really really wanted to avoid
“Oh? Are you okay Hyunjin?-” You tried to think of a way to address it but your voice was reluctant “-I know-” Ugh, here you go. “-I know what happened in lesson must have been so weird for you and i'm so sorry for that, I didn't mean for you to see that”
You released a deep breath at the end of your sentence, it felt good being able to say it, just getting it out in the open. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal after all. It was porn, and you were both adults regardless of Hyunjins innocent seeming nature, besides, he really wasn't as innocent as he seemed evidently. 
“Its, its okay Miss, I’d never judge you for it, its more of a complement than anything”
Good? Why would seeing your porn make him feel…. Wait. It takes all of a second for you to realize what you were looking at when he saw your laptop. It was one of his videos, he knew you’d been watching him. Your eyes widen as realization slaps you right across the face. You can’t believe it. How could you ever live that down, this was worse than you could imagine. This was more than just him simply knowing you watch porn. He knew you watched him, he knew you watched him before you even did.
“Oh My God, Hyunjin, i've just realized”
You couldn’t believe it took you now to figure it out. He must really have thought you were a pervert. You needed him to know that it wasn’t something you did intentionally. You must have sounded so frantic as you tried to convince him
His voice though, was a lot calmer, very soft and shy with a hint of confidence that you’d only ever seen in his videos 
“And now you’re calling me up just to check on me, you must really like me Miss”
Wait, that voice, that is the voice he puts on in his videos. Did he really think you did this on purpose. How could you have possibly known it was him? He never once showed his face until today, not once did he mention his name or anything.
“Hyunjin, you have to know I had no idea it was you. I never would have if I’d have known” 
You managed to calm yourself down slightly but you were still bewildered, the most shocking part was that he wasn’t shocked. You thought he'd be embarrassed when he found out that, essentially, his teacher was watching his porn videos. Instead, it seemed to give him a confidence that you’d never seen in person before.
“Oh, so, you don’t like me?”
Why did he sound so disappointed? You could almost hear the pout that you were certain was on his lips right now. It's not that you don’t like him, it's that you can’t view him in the way you unintentionally have been. How is he not understanding what you’re saying?
“Hyunjin that's not what I mean, i'm your tutor, anything else would be ridiculously inappropriate”
Your voice was stern with him, you weren't tripping over your words anymore. Sure, you may still accidentally be thinking of his tongue licking up and down a sex toy but at least you weren’t verbalising that to him.
“You’re barely older than me”
Again with the sulking, everytime you try to explain yourself he seems upset and offended. He wanted you to like him.
“Hyunjin, do you, do you like me?”
You didn’t feel like you were reaching with your question, in fact you thought it had become pretty obvious after the conversation you’d just had, and apparently Hyunjin thought the same.
“You mean you didn’t know before now?”
God, his voice was so soft and coy. Wait, no, not soft and coy. This is wrong. You shouldn't love the way it sounds when he says it. 
“Hyunjin, you can’t say these things”
Saying it outloud almost made you believe it, made you believe that you didn't want to hear these words coming out of his mouth. Morally and realistically you didn’t but in the back of your head lived a fantasy. A fantasy that only became a thing when you watched his stupid live stream. Him and you, together. Apparently you weren’t the only one with that fantasy either.
“But I've wanted to say them for so long, I always try and compliment you but it always comes out so…-” You could feel his frustration, his voice was no longer pouty and more frustrated “-So wrong, it's so hard to look into your eyes and not get lost”
You fear hearing these words coming from his mouth and you're scared it's for different reasons that it should be. He was turning you on. You were already affected by what had happened earlier and now hearing him say things like this, it was sending tingles through your body
“Hyunjin”
You try to stop him but he just keeps talking.
“I know you would never look at me twice, I'm not some hot, popular older guy, but you do watch me, you care about me right?”
Of course you cared about him, you cared about him so much that you’d always treat him slightly differently, it broke your heart that even in this situation he was talking down on himself. His confidence once displayed was wearing down with your rejection.
“Hyunjin we can’t have this conversation anymore”
Just because you felt bad for him didn’t mean you could let this continue though. You couldn’t let him keep talking. You were scared he would convince himself further that this was okay. You were scared he would convince you.
There was silence, you couldn’t think of the right thing to say and there was no way he was going to lead the conversation.  The tension was so high as the both of you were lost for words. 
“Do you?-” Finally, he was talking. It was still stuttering and slightly unsure but at least he was attempting because at this point you had no idea what to say “-do you ever join in?”
You ended the call. You had no idea what else you could do. You couldn’t answer him, you had no idea what the right thing to say was. You’ve never heard him speak like this, not to you anyways. You were just so surprised that he had this side of him. Filming videos of yourself was one thing, yes one very surprising and unexpected thing for him to do, but to have that same confidence when talking to a real person, that's something you never thought you’d see in Hyunjin. 
What happened to the cute boy who wore oversized jumpers, baggy jeans and stuttered when he spoke
226 notes · View notes
stargirlfics · 1 year
Text
The Gentleman
Alfred Pennyworth x Black Dancer!Reader
Series Summary: Two chance encounters turn into something quite unexpected the longer you spend around a certain Englishman
Warnings: 18+ ONLY, set after the events of The Batman film, age gap - reader is mid/late 20’s or 30’s (up to your preference), mentions of stalking/being followed, mutual pining, fluff, slow burn kinda vibe this chapter
Word Count: 6.2k
Note: The first chapter is finally here! Andy Serkis as Alfred lives rent free in my head tbh and this idea has been too, I’m having so much fun writing it and I hope you enjoy it also!
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Gotham’s misty autumn air felt cool against your cheeks, your heels clicking against the pavement as you set a brisk pace, the city beginning to wake, morning sun just barely cutting through the cloudy skies.
Fatigue crowded at the edges of your eyes, it had been a long night and you looked forward to a warm shower and your bed, hoping to finally rest.
 Rehearsals began later today for you and some of the other girls at the Iceberg Lounge and you knew your window to get some proper rest was entirely too narrow but you’d just have to manage. 
You’d have been home hours ago if you had just kept your mouth shut. 
He didn’t like when the girls got smart with him but his sleazy ego was far too big and you had scoffed at his comments about how this city was gonna be his one day soon, earning you the honor of doing all the club’s closing duties and bar clean up for the night. 
It had been amusing in the moment but you knew it was more than true that Oz had his fingers in many a shady pocket, a chill running through your chest at the thought of him having any kind of control over the city. 
His reputation as a gangster was no secret. 
Especially in the near year it had been since all those chilling riddles, the murders, since the unraveling of lies about the elite in Gotham and that terrible flood. The element had shifted, had given an opportunity for men like Cobblepot to step into the spotlight. 
But despite that, life was just starting to have some semblance of stability again. 
The temporary repairs made to the sea wall were undergoing construction for something more permanent, the last few neighborhoods that had been underwater were salvaged and being rebuilt, the displaced finally starting to find their footing again. 
Not everything was whole again but things were certainly on the mend. 
You pulled your coat tighter around yourself, debating on whether it was worth it to wait the extra ten minutes for your favorite café to open or just head straight for the subway home, your train of thought abruptly ended by the quick pace of heavy footsteps rushing closer from behind you, a sense of dread spiking you instinctively. 
It didn’t take you long to feel sure you were being followed, trying and failing to keep your breathing even as you gave a discreet glance to your side, fear numbing your cheeks at the hulking figure of a man creeping close behind you in your peripheral. 
The pace of your own steps picked up as you settled on the best course of action. 
Closer in distance to where you were now was the subway entrance but you didn’t take comfort in being followed underground a little too long before all the platforms would fill with people headed to work. 
The café would take you a couple minutes more to get to but there was always a line outside the building this time of morning and you felt safer knowing whoever was following you probably wouldn’t try anything with a handful of witnesses around.
It looked like you were getting a coffee after all. 
Adrenaline and a sense of panicked determination pushed your feet to carry you faster, still glancing to your side every minute to gauge how far away this person was, preparing to start running should he get too close for comfort. He was already too close for comfort as it was.
Winding around a couple streets later, you took a deep breath as the familiar coffee spot came into view, a tinge of relief easing the tension in your stomach at the line of people formed by the doors just as you thought there would be. 
And then, just a few feet ahead, you spotted a man getting out of a sleek Audi, rounding the back of the car, and stepping up onto the sidewalk in the direction of the café, his back turned as he stopped to pay the meter. 
A sudden idea sprang to mind and you didn’t give yourself any time to hesitate before you were going through with it.  
“Hi, honey! So sorry I’m late,” you called out loudly, rushing towards the man and before he could even turn, you slid in front of him, your back to the car, him in front of you, creating a kind of barrier. 
“Please play along,” you whispered anxiously, your arms thrown around his shoulders. 
The man was understandably bewildered by this but also quickly recognized the scared, wild-eyed look on your face and was reaching out to wrap an arm around your waist seconds later.
It was strange. You were shaky and scared and in the arms of a complete stranger but his calm breathing and the way his hand on the small of your back held you steady made you want to pull him closer. 
You refrained, not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable than he probably already was and instead, focused on your stalker, relief extinguishing the panic when he picked up pace and ran off, your grip releasing when he slinked around the corner of the building. 
“I’m so sorry about that. I was being followed for a couple of blocks and didn’t know what else to do, I-” 
You took a step back, the words rushing from your mouth before you were truly getting a good look at the man before you, taking him in until your eyes reached his face and it took all but two seconds to recognize who he was.
Alfred Pennyworth. 
You’d never seen him in person, just in photos or in the news whenever the occasional story about Wayne Enterprises or the anniversary of the Wayne’s deaths were talked about, stunned to be in a situation like this with Bruce Wayne’s butler? Bodyguard? Guardian? 
You’d always gotten the impression he was a little more than just the family butler. 
The cane in his hand, the scar splitting his left brow, and the one framing his left eye gave you indication enough. 
“Oh, that’s quite alright, miss. Are you hurt at all?” his tone was concerned but gentle, with a voice like syrup, accented and smooth, leaving you scrambling to reply as his eyes scanned you hastily 
“N-no, thankfully, just a little scared. But I’m okay, I appreciate this, truly. I’m so sorry to have bothered you!” 
You felt awkward still standing in front of him, your brain running a mile a minute, picking up things you hadn’t noticed in your rush to explain yourself. 
The hint of cologne on his collar, the perfectly trimmed cut of his beard, and neat style of his hair, the salt and pepper color of both, the glint of gold from the watch around his wrist, and his sharp and tailored attire. 
Oh. 
He was handsome. Attractive in a refined way, the way an older man like himself seemed to possess. Classy, suave, smooth. 
“Not to worry, you weren’t a bother at all. I’m glad you’re okay, I can only imagine that must have been very frightening. Can I hail you a cab or walk you somewhere safe?” 
The offer had you stopping in your tracks, a little stunned by his lack of annoyance, there was only genuine concern, in his tone, in the soft blue of his eyes.
As if sensing your urge to protest out of inconvenience on his behalf he gave you a comforting smile, “The least I could do is make sure you’re on your way safely.” 
There was that word again, “safe”, the exact word to describe how you felt standing next to him despite being strangers. 
Given what had just happened you knew you should have your guard up a little more but you couldn’t help considering his offer for a moment and ultimately decided to accept. 
“I’ll take a cab then, thank you, really I can’t thank you enough.”
“No need, miss, it’s my pleasure.” 
You stayed close as he waited with you, sneaking glances at him while he searched for any taxis close by, catching one a few minutes later. 
A shy smile wound its way to your lips at how he effortlessly guided you to the taxi cab when it stopped by the curb, not missing a beat to open the door for you, heat warming your cheeks at the gesture. 
One more thank you was said and his kind response was given, waiting until you were tucked inside the car before he shut the door, his figure lingering just a moment longer in your peripheral as you gave your address to the driver. 
You resisted the urge to look back at him as the car peeled forward, unsure why you felt a touch reluctant to leave him behind but you were already replaying the interaction in your head, a little giddy by how much of a gentleman Mr. Pennyworth had been towards you. 
The drive home was one spent lost in thought. 
Limbs restless with the edge of adrenaline the last ten minutes had given you, anxious about the man who had followed you and what might have happened if you were still out on the street, and simultaneously comforted thinking of the very attractive man who’d been there right in the nick of time. 
Trying to make sense of it in the moment was only proving to make the base of your head throb, only knowing one thing for certain, you’d need to be extra careful and aware of your surroundings going forward. 
Sleep had been elusive, your mind exhausted but unable to slow down as you counted down the few hours you had left before you needed to head back to The Iceberg, finally drifting off when you shut your eyes and pictured the dance you knew by heart now, imagining your body’s movements, everything slowing down till you felt drowsy enough to slip into a comfortable sleep. 
The consequence of your morning being thrown off like it had been was running late for your rehearsal slot, cursing at yourself when you heard the familiar piano notes of the scales intended to get your feet and body warmed up for the day. 
Eyes trained on the scuffed flooring, you slipped into the large studio, hoping to jump into the barre warmup with the rest of the girls without being noticed but it was too late. 
You’d looked up for a mere second and caught the disapproving look of your dance instructor, mouthing a “sorry” to her before slipping on your favorite pair of well worn heels and taking your place at the barre.
Madame Olena Efanova made dancing a dream. 
She never shared much of herself with the girls she taught but you all felt close to her anyways, starry eyed and hungry for the chance to dance her choreography. 
It was her that kept you all coming back despite the oppressive environment the club could have, despite being under Cobblepot’s thumb. 
You and everyone else working at the club had quickly come to loathe and fear him, you knew of his reputation as a gangster and didn’t particularly enjoy the shady business he conducted with many of the men that came to watch “his girls” dance at the new and improved Iceberg Lounge.
In the wake of the original being all but washed away in the flood, Oz sought to build himself up out of the ruins. 
44 Below was now hidden in plain sight, the new, more intimate location and jazzy burlesque feel to The Iceberg acting as a convincing front for the real back room deals. Drugs, guns, money, you name it. 
Madame Olena was the club’s saving grace. She made it feel important, real, something more than just lingerie and sexy dances and cabaret strip teases. 
There was conditioning, countless rehearsals, costumes, sets built, each girl got their own routine to showcase, it was a full production that wouldn’t be what it was without her attention to detail and encouragement of the passion you all had for dancing.
And maybe most importantly of all she was the only one standing in between you all and Oz, protecting you and teaching you to survive him, to survive Gotham in general. 
Your posture straightened and you focused on making graceful transitions between foot positions, relieved when she gave you an understanding look. She had, after all, been the one trying to convince Oz not to punish you for laughing at him last night.  
Maybe you’d ask to speak with her after you practiced your routine, tell her about this morning, about being followed and not knowing who or why it happened, she’d have kind words for you without a doubt. 
For now, you focused on making the prettiest lines with your arms, dipping into a plie and coming back up slow and controlled. Classical training couldn’t be beat. 
The second time you would run into Alfred was barely a week after your first encounter, on an ordinary and particularly chilly Friday night. 
Picking up an extra shift at your sometimes second job hadn’t been the plan but another dancer friend of yours needed the extra hands for drink services and you’d agreed to spend your evening at The Magpie helping out. 
Something about an investor dinner for Gotham’s Symphonic Orchestra and their partners; you hadn’t been too concerned with the details, satisfied with the extra money it would bring and opportunity to catch up with your friend. 
The lush wine red of The Magpie’s interior design and color scheme was always a favorite of yours, appreciative of the more intimate vibe of the place despite it being a higher end restaurant and bar, even if you’re weren’t getting paid you’d still have come by in your best attire just to be in the space. 
Kiera greeted you warmly at one of the employee entrances, sharing a laugh at how you’d worn the same dress, a tried and true pick that paired exceptionally well with the dark hue of both your skin tones, of course you were just that in sync with each other.
It had been like that when you had first met too, she was one of the newer girls at the club then just as you were but you think maybe she saw a lot of herself in you and stuck by your side, a quiet friendship forming almost instantly. 
There wasn’t much time to talk before you were both hurried along to the upper level of the building with the balcony terrace that overlooked the city, an impressive bar centered in the middle of the wide space, clusters of plush love seats and tables filled the rest of the space, replicating the same distinguished and intimate feel of the restaurant below. 
You just barely caught a glance at the table assignments before you were ushered off to the bar, but you were almost positive you had spotted his name on the reservation list. 
It was a touch alarming, being acutely aware of your heartbeat thudding against your ribcage, stomach flipping at the fact that you’d be in the same space tonight. It sounded silly you knew that, feeling a little foolish that part of you reasoned he wouldn’t recognize you while another part secretly hoped he did. 
You were sure you weren’t even a blip on his radar, you couldn’t allow yourself to think he would remember the brief interaction between you that day but even so, butterflies tickled your skin at the thought of bumping into him again. 
So to put it to rest, you made a deal with yourself, not to expect anything from him, you’d act like you’d never met and that would be that but try as you might, your heart was still thudding as you maneuvered the platter of dazzling champagne flutes through the room. 
Cheerful conversation could be heard as you got closer to the section you were covering, hands gripping the gold platter extra tight when you spotted him, unable to keep your eyes from searching.
Alfred Pennyworth looked even better than you remembered, a polite smile gracing his features, hair styled neatly back, a charcoal gray suit tailored perfectly on his frame, a matching tie with bronze accented thread stood out from the crisp white of his dress shirt underneath, the familiar gold of his wrist watch catching the light, almost like a beacon. 
You were going to drop the platter if you weren’t careful, forcing yourself to pull it together as you stopped in front of his table, two other men sat on either side of him. 
The conversation they were having lulled once you approached, carefully setting down the drinks in front of them, going through your old bottle service training, presenting everything neatly.
But your eyes were keen to wander again, catching his fingers coming into view as he reached for the champagne glass, cataloging the attractive build of his hands before you were looking at his face, one single second of eye contact made before he was looking away and then looking back in a double take. 
A flicker of recognition flashed across his face, his attention snagged on you still, lagging behind while the two men next to him continued with their conversation after thanking you. 
Too scared to peek at him again, you backed away, fleeing for the bar to keep yourself busy, your brain going a mile a minute with thoughts and far too many emotions to count. 
You knew you couldn’t hide forever, couldn’t mistake that he recognized you and that you’d have to come around again to collect their glasses and offer more but you were so taken by surprise that you weren’t sure what to do as you grabbed the next platter and made your way to the next table, focusing on the group’s drink requests before you made for the bar again. 
Eventually, you got enough courage to venture back to his table, a chilled bottle of Moët and Chandon in hand, but was disappointed to see Alfred missing from his seat. 
You definitely shouldn’t be looking for him, definitely shouldn’t be slipping away when you saw a quiet moment to catch him alone once you spotted him out on the balcony, but it was already happening. 
Now that the sun had fully set the wind had a sharper bite to it, your arms wrapping around yourself in a hug as you adjusted to the temper drop and weaved past the other guests strolling the terrace to meet Alfred at the stone balcony ledge. 
“Hi, Mr. Pennyworth? I don’t know if you remember me but I feel like we keep bumping into each other,” you approached slowly, trying to keep your teeth from chattering. 
“I do remember you, I’m happy to see you’re doing well, I hope you haven’t had any more trouble from that stalker, and please, just call me, Alfred.” his hands had been clasped behind his back until now, his right hand jutting forward to shake yours. 
“N-no, no more trouble thankfully. I still really appreciate you looking out for me in that moment.” your lashes fluttered at the firm grip of his hand, how the other one came up to press against the back of your palm too. 
“As I told you then, it was the least I could do. And oh my, you must be so cold out here! Here, allow me, please,” his brows furrowed as he took in the way you shivered, shrugging off his thick wool coat and holding it open, helping you slide your arms into the sleeves. 
He wasn’t helping the already smoldering crush you’d developed and this by far topped the list of things he’d done so far to make you interested in him. 
You thanked him and gave him your name after he asked, the two of you laughing at how you’d met twice now and he didn’t even know your name. 
The sound of his rich, deep accent speaking the syllables of your name made you shiver again but this time for an entirely different reason, the cold no longer much of a concern as you conversed with him a bit, learning he was here on behalf of a Wayne Foundation initiative with the Orchestra, that he loved classical music and probably would have been here regardless of it being a business venture. 
You learned one of the men he’d been sitting at the table with was Lucius Fox, his business partner at Wayne Enterprises who’d suggested he come tonight and you were silently thanking Mr. Fox for doing so, content to talk to him all night if you could. 
He asked about you too, and you explained that you were here as a favor to a friend, that you were a dancer but had also been working in the Gotham nightlife scene for awhile and could make a mean dry apple martini, the two of you falling into an easy rhythm with each other until a voice from the balcony doors called your attention. 
“Alfred, they’d like to go over some additional plans for the project…we need your input.” Mr. Fox called out from the balcony entrance to which Alfred let him know he’d be back inside in a minute.
“Thank you for being lovely company, I regret I have to cut things short.” his sympathetic smile and warm compliment made your heart flutter. 
“Of course, I understand! I have to get back to the bar soon anyways but it was nice to see you again too.” 
He was already walking away when you realized something.
“Oh! I still have your coat!” you tried to call out to him but it was too late, wind cutting across your words and the French doors shutting behind him all at once. 
You hummed to yourself, weighing your options as you looked out over the twinkling lights and inky black sky of the city again, wondering if it was completely selfish to keep the coat for a little while longer.
It felt special, more than just a nice gesture, maybe you were reading too much into it but the way his hands had lingered on your arms wasn’t something you could shake. 
The cold and the sneaking suspicion Kiera was looking for you had you hurrying back inside, reminding yourself to find him at the end of the night and give the coat back, and maybe, if you were brave enough, ask to see him again. 
Maybe that was too bold, and could you afford to believe meeting him a second time had been more than just coincidence? You weren’t sure and that thought was even further complicated when the later evening hours rolled in and you couldn’t find him or Mr. Fox, realizing he must have left earlier than you thought he would. 
You didn’t bother putting your own coat back on as you headed home later, happy to be wrapped up in something that was his. You wondered if he would come back to the restaurant in search of it, wondered if you should have left it there in case he did but you had decided to indulge this bit of desire, promising to take good care of the expensive material until you found a way to return it to him. 
The question of how that might happen coming to you in the shape of a little black business card in the coat pocket, his name and contact information engraved in the center in curled silver lettering. 
-
Wayne Enterprises was an intimidating building even from afar, impressive and sleek, looming over everything near it, but now that you knew he was in there somewhere, your opinions had shifted. 
Less looming and more enticing.
The intimidation was still very much there, however, nerves rising now that you were inside and asking to meet with Alfred Pennyworth, the man that had been in your thoughts all weekend, the man who’s coat you were here to return. 
The very coat you had draped over your arms, concealing your restless fingers as you gave your name to the lobby secretary and waited while they rang Alfred’s office number. 
You hoped you hadn’t interrupted him at a bad time, it was a Monday morning after all and you felt a little anxious knowing you just showed up without an appointment, you knew he was probably busy but thought dropping by would come off as less earnest, less thought out, not giving away just how much you’d actually thought about being near him again. 
Your worries weren’t given any more time to swirl around, the secretary confirming you’d be seen by him right away, feet slow and careful not to stumble as you were directed towards a set of elevators and given a floor number. 
The journey up to his office was spent reminding yourself that it wasn’t stupid to be doing this, wasn’t silly to try and follow a feeling, to follow the cues of something you thought might be there. 
What was the point if you didn’t try? 
Soon enough, the elevator came to a stop, dinging open with a bright chime. There were only a few offices on this floor, the one directly in front of you was where you’d been directed to go, only having to take a few steps forward before you were knocking softly on the dark wooden door. 
It wasn’t too long before it swung open and there he was…his rolled up sleeves making his forearms the first thing you notice. 
God, you wished he didn’t look so handsome all the time. The simple waistcoat and slacks he had on made you feel a little underdressed, in awe of how he always looked so put together, so classy. 
He spoke your name sweetly and ushered you inside his office, “Come in please, it’s nice to see you again!” that familiar feeling of safety and warmth easing the nerves you felt about all the ways you were different from him, why this might have been a stupid idea. 
His words were cheerful, nothing in his tone or body language suggested you were inconveniencing him and that made you feel relieved. 
Elegant described him perfectly but it could have also be used to describe his office space, the decor a mix of modern and gothic, dark stains of wood and furniture to match, ornate bookshelves lined the wall behind a massive oak desk in the middle of the room, the spines of hundreds of beautiful books filled the shelves, making you smile. Of course he was a reader.
His desk was littered with papers and pens, a stack of books, binders, a laptop open and an empty tea mug to the side. It all fit what you had pictured. 
“Thank you, I know this is unexpected but I…well I'm sure you’ve been missing your coat. That night at The Magpie, you left it with me, I hope it’s okay that I came here, I found one of your business cards in the pocket and thought I’d return it to you.” 
Your words were careful, gauging his reaction, pleased when he nodded and took the coat from your outstretched hand, moving to hang it up on the rack near the door. 
“That’s very kind of you, I had been missing it actually, it’s an old favorite of mine. I appreciate that.” he moved then to stand at his desk, tidying up the papers as you inched closer. 
A rich brown chaise and matching ottoman occupied the space to the right of his desk, the room still feeling cozy despite the large space. He had filled it with paintings and antiques, resembling something a little out of an art museum. 
“Yeah! It’s no problem, I appreciate you for lending it to me, I was going to return it that night but I think you left before I could.” you fiddled with the strap of your purse, happy to just watch him move around his space.
“Ah yes, I admit I did have to leave in a hurry that night and totally forgot about it, but I knew it was in safe hands,” he smiled at you then, the brightness of it reaching all the way to his eyes. 
You returned it, falling a little quiet as he spoke to you again, telling you to make yourself comfortable, watching for a second as he picked up the stack of books to return them to their proper shelves, and you, moving for the two armchairs angled towards one another in front of his desk, leaning against the back of one. 
Now was your chance to say something, deciding not to shy away from showing your interest this time.
“Hey, can I…ask you something?”
“Of course, ask away.” he glanced back at you as he found the right spot for the remaining book in his hand.
“That night. Did you only give me your coat because I was cold?” 
He faced you now, the edges of his mouth twitched up into a smile for the slightest second. Your breaths coming short and shallow as he took a couple steps closer to you. 
“No. Not only because of that. You were freezing and it’s what any decent man should have done but…yes, there was another reason.” 
You hoped he couldn’t hear the way your heart was beating in your chest as he grew silent, pushing the ball into your court now, your eyes searching his own for a moment before you found your words. 
“Well, then I have to admit something too. It was hard making the decision to come here to give it back.”
“Oh, how so?”
“I just knew it would probably be the last time I’d run into you ever again.” 
The words left your lips in a hushed whisper, your chest tight as he maneuvered even closer to where you were still leaning against the armchair. 
“Hm, then I guess this was meant to be. The other reason I had for giving you my coat was because I hoped it would mean it wouldn’t be the last time I’d run into you again too. That’s a part of the truth.”  
Your breath hitched in your throat as he took another step closer. Just a mere foot away from you now.
“What if I wanted to hear the whole truth?” 
“I’d tell you that I haven’t quite been able to stop thinking about you since the morning we met. Then, I’d say that what I really wanted to do that night on the balcony was kiss you.”
Flustered at the way he was looking at you, the words had been slow to process in your brain, only registering when your gaze caught the slightest lick of his lips. 
He was confirming that he was just as interested as you were and it felt so genuine.
“So what’s stopping you now?” 
“Is that what you’d like, love? For me to kiss you?”
Your sharp little intake of breath wasn’t missed, his eyes crinkling as he chuckled at your reaction to the pet name. The new tenderness in his voice made you lose your words entirely, only a simple nod gave him your answer. 
He approached slowly, closing the distance between your bodies with a single step forward, still giving you time to back out and you appreciated that he wanted your permission but there wasn’t anything you were more sure of than knowing you wanted this, right now. 
The tilt up of your head sealed your answer as his own dipped to meet you, your eyes closing as his lips captured yours, warm, soft, sure. 
Alfred felt solid and steady, your hands coming up to rest against his broad chest as he kissed you, the soft press of his lips turning a touch deeper, more eager when you leaned into him, a soft passion echoing in the way a warm hand came up to cup your chin, keeping you close to him.
You never wanted him to stop, getting pulled into a dreamy haze as you kissed, but your already racing heartbeat surged higher in alarm at the sudden woosh of the office door opening, your mind almost too foggy to react but Alfred was already pulling away from your mouth, taking a step back as Bruce Wayne came into view.
“Hey, Alfred I had a question for you about the-oh….” the younger man had just looked up from the papers in his hand in time to see the two of you pull away from each other. 
The way his eyes bounced back and forth between you and Alfred made you cringe inwardly, mortified that you’d been caught kissing by one of the most famous figures in the city, and caught with his butler at that. 
Alfred cleared his throat and turned to address him, explaining who you were and that you’d dropped by to return something of his he’d lost. 
If it were anybody else you were sure the seamless way he maneuvered into explaining would have worked but Mr. Wayne didn’t look convinced…a similar twitch of a smile forming in amusement before he was back to being unreadable, apologizing for coming in unannounced. 
Your eyes flit about for anywhere else to look, glancing at your phone quickly to see the time. Damn it. You needed to leave, there was a show tonight and you were cutting it very close to time.
“I didn’t realize the hour, I really should get going but thank you for making time in your schedule to meet.” the words came out more rushed than you wanted them to but there wasn’t any time to really explain your haste in departing despite the obvious interruption. 
“Of course yes, I was more than happy to.” came Alfred’s even response, an understanding in his eyes that put any worries at ease that he’d taken your move to leave so quickly the wrong way. 
Gathering yourself, you made for the door, giving Mr. Wayne a polite nod of acknowledgment on your way out, still a little frazzled by his presence and a touch annoyed at his interruption. 
You wish there had been more time to talk to Alfred, to see where else the kiss could have gone, to stop tiptoeing around the words you really wanted to say and ask up front if you could see each other again, but the little note with your phone number written on it tucked into the inside breast pocket of his coat would have to suffice as an invitation to continue this, whatever this was, thankful you’d slipped it in there before coming. 
You weren’t quite ready for the encounters you had thus far to fade into memories just yet. 
Alfred walked you to the door, opening his mouth to say something before stopping short, watching the way you turned back to face him, gesturing to the pocket of his coat just inches away from you, hoping he’d catch on before you turned forward again, walking away. 
Giddy laughter broke free from your chest as soon as you were alone in the elevator, almost unable to believe what had just happened. That kiss still fresh on your mind, your lips still warm, buzzing at being against his. 
It was his move to make now.
-
Distracted was an understatement as the rest of the day continued on, a sense of anticipation filling you that was one part to do with being on stage tonight and another part to do with Alfred. 
Hopeful that he’d call, that he’d want to see you again, trying not to listen to the tiny twinge of doubt as the night ticked by. 
It was right after the show that your phone trilled suddenly at your vanity, you almost missed the ringtone from all the chatter of the crowded dressing room, but caught it on the fourth ring, rushing to slide into your robe before you slipped outside to the alley round back. 
“Hello?!” your voice full of baited excitement. 
“Good evening, love. It’s me, Alfred. I found your note and I hope you know that I have been thinking about that kiss the entire day.”
“Me too,” you giggled, unable to stop the rush you felt at being called “love” again, at the smoothness of his voice over the phone, right next to your ear, biting the nail of your thumb as you found your words. “But I think maybe our kiss was cut way too short.” 
“Oh I very much agree,” his own happy chuckle came after, “I didn’t get the chance earlier but if we hadn’t been interrupted I was going to ask if you’d like to go out with me this weekend, if you are free that is and comfortable with that.” 
You had to keep from blurting out your answer as he continued, “I want to take you out to dinner, to do this properly, you deserve that.” 
His last words made you burn to kiss him a million times more. The thoughtfulness had you melting.
“I would love that, thank you. I’m free Saturday evening.”
“Perfect I’ll pick you up then.”
“Goodnight, Alfred,” you could practically hear the smile in his voice and hoped he could do the same with yours. 
The frigid air did nothing to tamper your high spirits as he let you know he’d be in touch again with details about the date, reluctantly letting you go with a wistful, and comforting goodbye.
“Goodnight, love.”
It was soon, maybe too soon but you couldn’t help the feeling already settling deep in your bones that maybe he was right, that maybe this was meant to be after all.
---------------
A/N: Ahh well here we are! I know this was a longer length fic to start off the series but really couldn’t resist writing out all of what I envisioned in my head so I hope that translated smoothly here! 
Please let me know what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts and predictions, anything and everything!
Thank you so much for reading and big big thanks to @eupheme​ @squidlywiddly87​ and @thaddeuscranes​ for being my sisters in ✨ Dilfred✨ arms lol and inspiring me and encouraging me to write this series!
some tags, no pressure! @flamingdisputes​ @aislupu​ @kneelforloki​ @pipsqueakkitten​ 
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obitohno · 2 years
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among the amaryllis | 01
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levi ackerman x reader
synopsis ⤸
every week, you secretly leave flowers by levi’s door in the hope to eventually woo him. unfortunately, your plan fails horribly, as levi suffers with hay-fever and thinks that someone is pranking him.
chapters ⤸
៚ contents
next ᝰ
themes ⤸
fem! reader, 18+, flower shop au, army veteran! levi, florist! reader, unrequited love, pining, mutual pining, secret admirer, fluff, slow burn, angst, smut, wet dreams, handjobs, fingering, oral sex, mutual masturbation, levi suffers with ocd, reader is short
word count ⤸
5.5k (semi-edited)
a/n ⤸
so, i originally posted this on ao3, but i never got around to finishing it, so bc i’m slowly publishing my works onto here, i thought that this would encourage me to get back to updating this one. this is also the first (n currently, only) aot fic that i've written so far, n i’m kinda crying bc of the plot bc i want my own secret admirer, ugh. anyways, i hope that you enjoy this ♡
reblogs are appreciated ~
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one:
it all starts with a handful of freshly-picked daisies. 
it’s saturday, and as it is also early july, it means that the sun is high up in the sky, even well after the nineteenth hour. levi is returning home from a late dinner with both hange and erwin, the former completely unaware that their short, dark haired friend isn’t at all focused on their chattering, as he’s currently more bothered about the sweat that is gathering on the nape of his neck. he swipes at it with the back of his hand, unable to hide his grimace of disgust as he wipes the same hand on the thigh of his trousers. his pace is rushed and he’s bothered enough that he blows air from between his lips to move his hair back from his face. hange continues to talk to erwin about something levi has no interest in listening to, and so when his place of residency appears around the next corner, his pace immediately quickens. 
however, it appears that he lacks any form of luck, as just as he’s crossing over the road, hand already shovelling into the back pocket of his dress pants for his keys, there’s a shrill bleep that comes from hange’s direction. 
levi is annoyed by the interruption, because he doesn’t have to look up to know that hange’s mouth has already split into one of what levi likes to call their ‘shit-eating’ grins. he does, however, meet erwin’s gaze, the towering blonde regarding him with an amused, yet small smile, and levi’s can’t stop his eyes from narrowing at the sight. 
‘what?’ he barks, voice gruff enough to portray his irritation, worsened by a wave of hot air that billows across his face. his features screw into an expression that erwin can only describe as comical, dark brows pinching together as he reaches to wipe at the line of sweat that is now trickling down the curve of his cheek. his lips part to voice his complaint, but hange beats him to it, unceremoniously shoving their mobile phone in front of his face. he all but slaps it away from his line of sight, reprimanding his friend with a, ‘stop that, shit-face.’ 
hange’s grin, totally unperturbed, only widens, ‘guess what?’ 
levi huffs, head already turning his head away as he continues his mission to return home as soon as possible. it is erwin who asks, ‘what?’
‘aw! you’re supposed to guess, erwin!’ hange protests, hands thrown into the air. they then pause to push their glasses further up their nose, only for the metal frame to immediately slide back to their original position, aided by the slickness that clings to the surface of hange’s face. 
levi grunts, ‘you going to tell us or what?’ 
hange releases a gleeful laugh that makes levi’s nose crinkle again, with disapproval this time. he knows that laugh: hange is plotting something, which, from what he’s learnt from past experiences over the years they’ve been friends, levi knows it’ll most likely end in disaster. 
‘no,’ he says before hange can reveal their news, which only induces another groan of protest. 
‘c’mon, levi! eren and the others are—!’
‘i said no,’ levi is angrily throwing open the iron gate that leads the short pebbled path to the front door of his home, stomping his way toward the front step. ‘absolutely no way in hell am i—’
he is cut off by hange’s arm curling around his neck, pulling him into a head-lock. he grunts, body engulfed by hange’s stifling body heat, and his fingers clamp around their wrist before they can reach for his hair. ‘it’s just a few drinks, levi!’ they squeeze tighter, and erwin watches with blatant amusement, leaning with his elbow propped against the stoned garden wall. ‘they’ve already started without us—we can’t let the kids show us up; we mustn’t let them out-drink us!’ 
levi’s hands dart out to shove them away.
hange stumbles backwards, but their grip remains solid, and so levi wavers on the spot as his body has no choice but to follow hange’s, his legs staggering to regain balance whilst still hunched over. 
‘i’m not letting go until you say yes.’ 
‘no.’ 
‘c’mon!’ 
‘no.’ 
‘it’ll be fun—erwin, tell him it’ll be fun.’ 
‘it’ll be fun.’
that shit-headed traitor, levi thinks as he attempts to wriggle himself free a second time. erwin is still watching, knowing grin widening as his blue eyes dart to meet hange’s, and the two share a look above levi’s head. he scowls down at the ground, and squirms again. 
and then hange’s mobile beeps a second time. somehow, they shift until they’re holding levi with just one arm—a fact that renders levi’s mood into a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue as he witnesses another trickle of sweat actually dripping to the floor—and uses their free hand to check their mobile phone for any new text messages. 
‘if levi tries to say no,’ hange reads aloud in a voice that sounds far too happy for levi’s liking, ‘then tell him that—’
they proceed to read out your name, along with the knowledge that you will also be joining the group on their night out. 
levi immediately stills, hand still curled tightly around hange’s left wrist. erwin cranes his neck to see the look on his friend’s face, but levi’s features are hidden by a dark curtain of hair that is due a trim any day now. the shorter man is quiet now, and when he does speak, his voice is so low that his words are unintelligible. 
‘what was that?’ hange makes a show of cupping their ear with their free hand. 
and with a sudden bout of new strength, levi succeeds in shoving them away with a rough push. hange gushes out a loud bark of laughter at the sight of his flushed cheeks, although erwin can’t tell if it’s due to the heat or because he’s embarrassed. levi’s hair is mussed, falling messily into his eyes as the corners of his mouth pull down into a frown.
‘one,’ he huffs, scowl aimed at the both of them as he then jabs a finger toward hange, who teases by raising their hands in mock surrender. levi starts toward the front door, keys still clasped tightly in the palm of his hand. 
hange follows, grinning, ‘one what?’ 
erwin watches the back of levi’s head tilt towards the sky, as if he’s muttering a silent prayer, and he, himself, can only shake his own head full of blonde hair at hange’s antics. 
levi turns his head to glare at hange from over his shoulder. ‘one drink—and i mean one fucking drink,’ he seethes. he stomps up to the front step and shoves the key into the lock. ‘i’ll be ready in an hour.’ and then he’s hauling the door open and before either of them can follow him inside, he’s slamming it shut behind him. they listen to the key locking shut, and when hange turns to erwin, there’s a look of satisfaction plastered to their features.
they both exit the front garden, the iron gate squeaking shut behind them and hange strains to throw an arm across erwin’s shoulder. he allows them to lead the way back down the street, toward his own house, as he lives much closer. hange hums happily, still sporting that silly smile of theirs. 
‘what are you plotting?’ erwin looks at them pointedly. 
‘who? me? how dare you?’ hange is laughing. ‘i would never plot anything behind our dear little levi’s back—that’s totally not my style at all.’ 
erwin pats the top of hange’s head, turning his own away as he glances both left and right before crossing over the road, his eyes glimmering as the corners of his mouth tilt upward. 
‘just don’t upset him too much, will you?’
the gasp that escapes hange’s mouth is both exaggerated and drawn out. ‘i am offended, erwin. really. do you have no faith in me at all?’ 
he chuckles, but just as he’s about to answer, he is easily distracted by the familiar sight of your form lingering outside of the only flower-shop in town. you’ve moved a table to sit out in the sunshine, and you’re too busy sorting through an arrangement of sunflowers to notice the pair of them heading towards you. hange is quick to make sure that you notice them, however, and bellows your name so loudly that they gain the attention of a few passer-by’s, who peer at you curiously. you return hange’s enthusiastic greeting with one of your own, and when the two are within arm’s reach, you’re sharing an embrace with hange, wheezing out a laugh when their arms circle around your shoulders tightly. you manage a soft ‘hello’ in erwin’s direction when he waves at you politely, eyes gleaming with mirth. 
when hange finally releases you, there’s a content tilting to your mouth as you guide your friends to the table, clearing a little space by placing one of the boxes of flowers by your feet. your hair is braided back from your face, loose strands dampened and curled from contact with the sweat that has formed under your hairline. they fall to frame your face, and when erwin glances at your cheeks, there’s a golden glow that gives away the fact that you’ve obviously sat in the sun for too long. the bridge of your nose is also slightly burnt, and hange coos at the reddened skin despite the embarrassed ducking of your head. 
‘we’ll not stay long,’ erwin promises as he takes a seat beside hange, whom is already gushing about their plans. 
‘so, we’ve decided that we’re going bar-hopping tonight,’ they announce, and by the small circle that your mouth forms, erwin surmises that this isn’t what you were expecting to hear.
‘we?’ he teases, nudging his shoulder against hange’s, who returns the gesture with a nudge of their own, sporting yet another excited grin. 
you continue to pick through the delivery of sunflowers, looking for the best looking petals, long fingers easily flickering through the stems until you’ve formed a decent enough bunch. ‘bar-hopping?’ you muse as you begin to tie the bouquet together with a length of red ribbon. ‘i thought we were just going for a quiet drink or something.’ 
hange leans an elbow on the tabletop, narrowly missing the bundle that you’ve just put together. you eye your friend warily, quickly snatching the bouquet from their reach. ‘now, now,’ hange sings your name, placing a hand on the top of your head. my little, short friend,’ hange sighs dramatically. 
‘levi’s shorter,’ you grumble in a futile attempt to defend your own honour, even though you know that what you’re saying is false. somewhere along the short few months since your introduction to the ever-extending group of friends, it’s become a running joke to constantly point out that you and levi are amongst the shortest. you’ve never really understood the reasoning why—although you do suspect that the others simply do it just because levi reacts in such a hostile manner—but just a mere inch separates the two of you, something he’s always quick to remind you of whenever he decides that you’re getting on his nerves. which, as of late, seems to be almost every time you come across one another. 
hange acts if they haven’t heard you, ‘eren wants to get absolutely wasted, so we’re going to help him.’ 
you hum to yourself, already forming yet another bouquet. ‘mikasa?’
both erwin and hange answer at the same time with an affirmative, ‘mikasa.’ 
you click your tongue, disapproving. just a few years older than the pair, you’ve come to care for the both of them as equally as the other. however, their on-again, off-again relationship is hard to keep up with—you have no doubts that the pair will someday grow old and wrinkly together, but right now, it seems that the pair are breaking up more often than not. that being said, you also have suspicions that by the end of the evening, the two will be back together again. 
‘alright,’ you are quick to agree to hange’s plans. in truth, you had originally planned to have a drink or two, but it’s been so long since you last went all out just for the sake of getting drunk, and so the prospect excites you more than you care to admit out loud. 
however, it must have shown on your face, as hange is reaching a hand to pinch at your cheek, ‘aw! isn’t she cute, erwin? see!? levi should take a leaf out of your book—he was so grumpy about coming.’ 
‘he was?’ you can’t help but perk up at the mention of his name, not noticing the knowing look that hange aims towards erwin. the blonde can’t help but also spare a small smile at the blush that is now blossoming across your cheeks. 
it’s hardly a secret that you harbour feelings towards the one and only levi ackerman. it’s just a small crush, you tell yourself, and on most days, you manage to pretend that it doesn’t hurt at all when you look at him and realise that the sentiment will never be mutual. so when hange’s smile broadens in a way that it looks almost uncomfortable, you don’t really understand why they’re looking at you like that. 
‘he was,’ erwin confirms with a small nod, picking at the stems that you’ve decided aren’t up to standard. 
‘yeah,’ hange starts, taking the time to push their glasses further up their nose again. and again, they slide back down to their original position. they huff, pushing their hair back from their sweaty face. ‘’kay, i’ve got to take a shower before we head out, because i think i can actually smell myself now.’ they then proceed to make a show of lifting each arm to sniff underneath, and you can only hide your amused giggle as erwin stands abruptly, hand reaching out to yank on the back of hange’s shirt until they’re also standing. erwin throws a farewell over his shoulder as he pulls a waving hange after him. just as they’re disappearing around the corner, hange yells your name loud enough that you’re pretty sure the entire street hears them. ‘wear something pretty! see you in an hour!’ 
and then they’re gone, dragged behind the wall after a scolding erwin. 
you smile after them, shaking your head as you then decide that if you’re going to meet them within the hour, then you should close up shop whilst you still have the time. It doesn’t take long to clean the mess from the table, and then you’re carefully manoeuvring the finished bouquets into the small building, placing each one in their very own glass vase, complete with brightly coloured wrapping paper. you then heave the remaining boxes inside, stacking them in the storage room behind the counter before locking it shut. 
the shop floor is a small space, even smaller than your own living room. but you like the fact that the trinkets that you’ve collected over the years—along with the photographs of distant family, friends, and even one of your childhood pet rabbit—decorate the little space that isn’t filled by some sort of greenery. on the right side of the shop, stand shelving units that are stacked as high as the ceiling. they display many a flower that are already in full bloom, and opposing them, on the far left is a glass cabinet that contains bulbs and seeds for every fruit, vegetable and flower thinkable. by the front door, there is a large bay window, where customers are permitted to sit for consultations where you sometimes aid them in their purchases, or where the neighbourhood children come to sit and draw the seemingly endless array of flower heads of all shapes, sizes and colours. on the wall behind the counter, you’ve accumulated an impressive collection of drawings and paintings over the years, and you like to think that these are the little things that make your little shop—amaryllis—a place you can proudly call yours. 
and when you’re locking up, preparing to return home to ready yourself for your much needed night out, you can’t help but spare a wistful smile as you turn the key in the lock. 
It’s small, but it’s home. 
four hours later, and it’s safe to say that levi is in yet another of his foul moods. when he’d first arrived at eren’s apartment, he’d instantly snapped at the host upon discovering the knowledge that they planned to travel to not one, but multiple bars. the thought of being exposed to a place where so many people will be gathering to get absolutely fucking hammered—as eren had cheered, already tipsy long before anyone had even arrived—like the filthy, stinking pigs they are, as levi had put it, is enough to form a scowl on his features that is yet to disappear, even an hour after they’d arrived at their final destination. 
upon arriving at titans, his mood has somehow worsened significantly, and he’s currently sat at the end of the booth, miles more sober than anyone else. the little shits—all noticeably taller than himself, as jean had made the mistake of pointing out (he’d received a painful kick to the shin for that comment)—were all somehow managing to remain in some form of upright position. most have joined the dance floor, you included; levi’s eyes had followed your every move ever since you’d arrived significantly later than everyone else. he can’t even remember the excuse you’d babbled once you’d flown through eren’s front door, dressed in a little black dress than hange had made a huge fuss about. levi doesn’t admit that flushing of your cheeks under hange’s attentions had been, dare he think, cute. but because he has a terrible habit of running his mouth before he stops to think whenever you’re within the vicinity—and because he’d loathed the way jean had glanced at your legs for a second far too long—he’d snapped something about your dress being too fucking short. your smile had faltered, and he’d almost swallowed his pride to apologise, but before he could, you’d simply turned away, forcing a bewildered-looking armin into a conversation instead. but he hadn’t missed the way you’d been tugging at the hem of your dress since then, and each time he catches you doing so, he has a hard time admitting, even to himself, that he feels a tad guilty. 
you’ve loosened your hair from your usual braid, and levi thinks that this is the first time he’s seen you like this. it’s definitely a sight for sore eyes, not that he’ll ever tell you—or anyone for that matter, especially hange, that godforsaken, shit-faced blabber mouth. his eyes lazily drag over your entire form, and you are blissfully oblivious to him doing so, downing what he guesses to be your fifth cocktail of the night. you’d compromised with sasha, and had managed to weasel your way out of risking a pair of ridiculously high stilettos, and instead, had settled with a pair of heeled sandals, the heel just an inch tall. it means, that just for tonight, the two of you are the exact same height, not that levi is really thinking about that sort of thing as he’s too busy pretending that he’s not staring at the sway of your hips as you join jean, historia and ymir in a group dance. and he’s definitely not paying attention to the stupidly upbeat song, the base so loud that he swears he can feel it vibrating in his teeth. 
the remainder of the group is scattered about the club; mikasa had barged in on the group a couple of hours ago, and no-one has seen eren since. levi suspects that it’s the last they’ll see of the couple for the remainder of the night, as he’d caught them sneaking off to the bathroom stalls just minutes after they’d arrived—connie and sasha also disappearing in a similar fashion not too long after—disgusting, he thinks as he takes a long sip of his whiskey.
even erwin, located on the other side of the booth, has a pink tinge that stains the tips of his ears, and whenever he lowers his head to listen to a blushing armin stammering away in his ear, his eyes struggling to remain open. armin, tipsy from whatever cider he’s been consuming since they started drinking, is talking the most levi has ever seen him, despite the fact that he can’t make out the blonde’s words as he chatters away to the older man. 
you, at least, seem to be enjoying the company of your friends, and the four of you are engaged in some sort of dance that levi doesn’t recognise. there’s a healthy glow to your natural skin tone that has been kissed by the sun—despite the slight pinking of sunburn on the tip of your nose—and you’re currently sporting the biggest grin he thinks he’s ever seen on your face. jean leans to say something into your ear, and you laugh so loudly that levi somehow manages to hear it over the music from where he’s sat. connie and sasha soon rejoin the group, staggering around so clumsily that they almost send a man flying as they duck under the tray of drinks he’s carrying, narrowly skipping out of the way. and from somewhere levi doesn’t care to find out, both reiner and bertolt suddenly appear, too. he watches for a while, sipping on his drink until he eventually tips the rest of it down his throat, quickly ordering another round of drinks, and as he waits, he suddenly feels a weight leaning against his shoulder. 
he turns his head to see hange’s temple pressed to his shoulder, so far gone that their glasses are somehow missing. were they even wearing their glasses when they left eren’s apartment? he can’t remember. 
‘oi, shit-face, where’s your specs?’ he raises a hand to gently rap the back of his knuckles against hange’s cheek. all he receives is a garbled sentence that he can’t make out from over the music, hange’s arm slumping around his waist as they decide that he makes an acceptable pillow. he, however, does not, and so he huffs, annoyed, and tries to shake them awake. either he’s being ignored, or hange really is that much of a deadweight when they drink, because no matter how many times he yanks on a long strand of chocolate coloured hair, or flicks the tip of his middle finger against hange’s forehead, they still don’t budge. 
he gives up, expelling a long sigh. the next round of drinks arrive, and he’s sure it’s a sight; him, bored out of his mind and nursing his whiskey with an unconscious hange clinging to him. luckily, now that it’s almost midnight, it’s not so hot outside, but hange’s body heat—along with the humidity caused by so many bodies in one place—is enough to form yet another sweat under the back of his dress shirt. it’s annoying—he’s already showered and washed his hair twice today, and he’s sure as hell that he’s going to take another before he goes to bed later on, whenever that may be. it doesn’t take long for the palms of his hands to become clammy enough that he can’t resist the urge to wash his skin any longer. and so he shifts his body so that he can lean hange against the back of the booth, their left cheek smushed against the cool leather. it takes some heaving, because he’s forgotten just how heavy hange is, and by the time he’s made sure that they won’t face-plant the floor, his shirt feels like a second skin as it clings to his torso. he grimaces, running a hand through sweat-slick hair, and spares erwin a nod as his blue eyed friend manages to tear his gaze from armin long enough to acknowledge the fact that levi is heading for the bathroom. 
along the way, he’s downright disgusted at the sight of eren at the end of the hallway, mikasa’s legs wrapped tightly around his waist, his hands cupping the curve of her backside in order to hold her against the wall as he sloppily thrusts into her. she clings to his shoulders, and when she lifts her head to gasp against eren’s neck, her eyes open just enough to spot levi and she starts, eyes widening. 
‘what in the fuck—go do that shit at home, yeager,’ levi spits from over his shoulder, chin tilting as he literally turns his nose up at them. he’s sure they’re not the only couple who are partaking in the same act of an alcohol-induced fuck in the middle of a club, but it’s still enough to make levi sneer, repulsed. 
he’s already pushing open the bathroom door and disappearing inside when eren yelps a loud, ‘shit, shit, shit,’ as he scrambles to tug his jeans back over his hips.
inside the bathroom, levi is dubious of just how clean the taps are, so he makes quick work of scrubbing his hands as best he can. he doubts the automatic soap dispenser is as hygienic as it’s supposed to be, and he already knows that he’s going to be rewashing his hands as soon as he gets home, but for now, it’ll have to do. luckily, he appears to be the only person using the bathroom, so he makes sure to scrub between each finger, around each fingernail, over the tops of his hands and across the palms. he repeats this twice before rinsing and because he doesn’t trust the hand-dryer either, he waves his hands in the air until they feel at least somewhat dry. 
he isn’t sure how long he’s taken, but it’s obviously long enough because when he returns to the booth, erwin is guiding armin from his seat. 
‘where you going?’ levi demands, shouting over the music as his hand clamps around erwin’s free wrist in order to tug him down to his height. 
‘everyone’s gone home!’ erwin struggles to yell over the music, his words slurring. levi’s eyes immediately dart to the dance-floor, where he sees that erwin is telling the truth, the others now nowhere in sight.
he didn’t think he’d been washing his hands for that long.
erwin is now leading armin from the booth, ‘am taking armin home,’ he jabs a thumb over his shoulder, toward a now conscious hange, ‘hange says they’re staying at yours.’ 
the sigh that levi releases is so deep that he feels his entire body slump without an ounce of energy to even argue. he bids some form of farewell to erwin and a very red-faced armin, and watches them weave through the remainder of the crowd before they reach the exit. left eye twitching with irritation, levi turns to hange and reaches for them, hauling them to their feet without so much as a warning. 
‘woah!’ hange bellows dramatically, arms flailing as they catch their balance by gripping a fistful of levi’s hair. he grits his teeth and he doesn’t bother with being gentle as he starts to drag hange toward the exit, but his friend is suddenly uncharacteristically sluggish on their feet, and their journey to the door takes far too long for his liking. along the way, he keeps an eye out in case he bumps into you again, but it’s clear that you’ve left with the others, as he’s sure he’d spot you amongst the crowd if you hadn’t. he briefly wonders if you’ve gone home with jean, but that line of thought is quickly quashed down before he can feel the beginnings of vexation settling into the pit of his stomach. 
the journey to his home is quiet, save for the dragging of hange’s shoes against the concrete, and levi is relieved that summer nights are much cooler than the daytime as a gentle breeze manages to billow under the surface of his shirt. it cools the sweat that’s built along the length of his spine, and by the time he’s hauling hange’s wavering body past the small iron gate and into his front garden, he’s feeling less irritable. 
however, just as he’s stomping his way up to his front door, his fingers digging for his keys for the second time tonight, he pauses. because on his doorstep, there is a small, white napkin with his name scribbled, in ink, across the front. 
‘huh?’ hange slurs, head lolling until it thumps against his. levi isn’t paying any mind, as his gaze is still glued to the offending napkin, his feet daring to only step closer once he’s managed to sit hange on the stone wall that separates his garden from his neighbour’s. torso hunched in a position that looks uncomfortable, hange manages to ask, eyes closed, ‘why’d we stop?’
levi ignores his friend in favour of crouching before his front step, his fingers inching out toward the napkin. upon closer inspection, he realises that the napkin is actually wrapped around something, and after staring at the ink that has blotched into the texture of the paper, he eventually picks it up. hange makes a noise between a snort and a laugh from behind him, but he doesn’t acknowledge the sound as he flicks open the napkin to reveal…
daisies?
for a long moment, levi stares at the flowers, downright confused and if he so admits, offended. his neck straightens and through narrowed eyes, he looks from left to right, as if waiting for someone to pop out of the bushes and yell ‘surprise!’. he doesn’t realise that hange is watching him, bleary eyed due to the fact that their glasses are still nowhere to be found, but still grinning nonetheless. 
meanwhile, levi returns his stare to the daisies, his index finger stroking over the tiny, white petals, a crease appearing between his eyebrows as he brings them closer to his face, eyes scanning for any clues as to who may have left them behind.
what is most peculiar about this, he thinks, is that the roots have been left intact, as if the flowers were freshly plucked from the ground. this only confuses levi more. 
he isn’t stupid enough to assume that someone has intentionally left him a bundle of flowers as a romantic gesture, so he spends the next few minutes trying to wrack his brain for the list of morons that would’ve done this to annoy him. 
armin is too nice to pull something as silly as a childish prank, plus, levi has spent majority of tonight watching him hand all over erwin, so he’s immediately out of the question. jean, he doubts is smart enough to pull out daises out by the root—the idiot would definitely just snap the stalks in half, so it’s also not him. connie and eren are both spoken for, so levi also highly doubts that they’d taken a detour on their way home to drop off some flowers at his door. neither reiner, nor bertolt know where he lives, and hange is sat right behind him, so that leaves… you. 
no. 
levi immediately throws that thought away, because one, he doesn’t even know who you left with—if it’s any of the above, then that, alone, pulls you out of the running—and two, you’re a fucking florist, for god’s sake. you wouldn’t be so stupid to leave behind something so painfully obvious.
no. no. it can’t be you. 
maybe it was just a mistake, and whoever it was had left them at the wrong door?
he looks from right to left, this time, and still, his brain comes up with nothing. and then, for an unknown reason to him, to hange, and to anyone else within a two mile radius, he brings to flowers to his nose, and inhales. there’s a faint sweetness clinging to the petals, masked by the stench of freshly cut grass. it’s a pleasant scent, but upon realising what he’s just done makes levi’s eyes widen almost comically, and from where they sit, hange has to stifle a laugh into the crook of their elbow. luckily, levi is busy with all but throwing the offending flowers to the floor, glaring down at them with a newfound dislike. 
the familiar tickling of his nostrils makes his nose crinkle in a lame attempt to prevent what is inevitable, and he sneezes, head lurching forward with the unexpected force. he sniffs thickly, the noise wet with mucus, which is already forming a headache between his eyebrows. his chest heaves and his eyes are already watering, and he struggles to resist the tempting urge to rub them. he manages to turn his head to hange, who is now staring at him, seemingly sobered up enough to peer at him as if fascinated by his allergies. 
levi’s lips part, but before he can speak, his nose is tingling once more, and he releases four consecutive sneezes, the gesture quickly followed by a pained groan. when he manages to lift his head, it’s to glare at the discarded stems, the petals scattered across the concrete. 
‘what the fuck?’ 
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thehistoriangirl · 1 month
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Without Compromise [1]
I said the first one had smut, but I lied KDJDJKF it was getting too long so... the smut will be in the next part! For now I can only serve contained horniness 😌 Hope you like it!
Viktor x Fem! Reader-------3.5K-----SFW
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[ M A S T E R L I S T ]
-> Next
Synopsis:Viktor had never enjoyed any snobby party held in the luxurious districts around the Academy, though he can't deny this one is rather... peculiar. Still, when accompanying Jayce to another boring celebration ends with him stuck in an awkward situation when a stranger wanders inside the lab asking for him, he can´t help but comply with the unpredictable threads of a mockeing fate--how else would he, from all the assisting guests, be inside in this mess?
Chapter Summary: When you bump into Viktor at a snobby Valentine's thematic party, his boring night turns into a more interesting path.
Tags: | Blind Date | One Night Stand goes wrong -> | Matchmaking Shenenigans | Strangers to Lovers | Friends with Benefits | Slow Burn kinda? | They got the horny for each other |
Taglist: @blissfulip @ihopeinevergetsoberr
This has been such a terrible idea. And, sadly, the thought only completely dawned on Viktor when the gates of the gigantic hall closed, illuminating the room with the flicking golden hues of at least a hundred candles, painting the whole ambiance of pinks, whites, and reds from all the roses hung in arches.
He was trapped. First manipulated by Jayce’s puppy eyes begging him to accompany him to this snobby party, even when Viktor had retorted that such celebration was for “renown bachelorettes and bachelors”, which he wasn’t—as much as Jayce wished to argue with him.
Co-creator of Hextech or not, he was still a man from the Undercity. Out of place here.
He was a ride too far from home, too.
Humming, he thought that perhaps he could tell Jayce his feet were aching now that almost all the tiny tables were occupied by couples trying to hit it off in the name of the celebration. But if only he could see where Jayce could be.
Viktor sighed, knowing how ridiculous he sounded; both for his whining and for his inability to find Jayce’s gigantic figure among the crowd.
“Try to have some fun, Vik!” He cheered, patting his shoulder as he put a glass of amber liquor on his free hand. “I’m going to go greet the hostess Mrs. Laviz for her thoughtfulness. I’ll be back in no time.”
Well, Jayce was a terrible liar, which could only be because he meant to return promptly but was caught by other guests on his way back.
Of course, he would be, Viktor tapped the still-full glass of alcohol. Who knew how many people were trying to end the night paired with Piltover's Golden Boy? After all, wasn't this party for that?
He had felt panic once one of the butlers slid a card to scribble his name on it, another empty line to write, at the end of the night, the name of any other attendant whom he would like to have an arranged date.
The feeling subsided once he tore the card by the middle, stuffing it in the depths of his coat's inner pocket. But now it was just annoyance prickling in the center of his brow where he couldn't reach well enough with the stupid mask he was forced to wear.
Who would he like to date? Surely no one assisting at a party like this—Valentine’s the perfect excuse to, as usual, tie the comradery between the riches of the city so their power couldn’t slip out their grasp once their heirs dared to choose any other path than the one already drawn for them.
Viktor would've been disappointed if it weren't for how frivolous they were, passing him by almost knocking his cane over and bumping over his slender frame without even apologizing.
Despite Jayce’s fancy birthday gift—a tailored suit Viktor promised to wear in formal events rather than his (cleaner) working clothes—it had been two times another person had told him to fetch him a drink.
Maybe it was the mask, dull and black against the ones decorated with gems and gold thread; crafted to mimic animals and magical creatures with long beaks or curved horns, some even showing animalistic sharp teeth poking from their smiley mouth.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, we deserve to have some fun!”Jayce told him in a dozen different forms of speeches on their way to the hall.
Well, for Viktor was just a normal Wednesday.
And what was he supposed to do for fun at these parties, anyway? Besides breaking the so-demanded decorum these people boast to have.
He could see shadowy corners shifting from afar, bodies tangled improperly on the dance floor. A reason why the music was never-ending, was so the shyer guests couldn't hear the lewd noises surely floating in the air.
Ah, to be carefree. Privilege Viktor perhaps never had, and hasn’t still.
He walked toward a balcony, wishing for some privacy to take the mask off and wipe his face from the sweat making the silk stick to his skin, from his nose up to his brow.
Contrary to the boiling cauldron of the hall, outside a gentle breeze characteristic from the end of winter entered his clothes. And still, not a bench in sight against the perfectly aligned pots of flowers that seemed not to fit in the crystal greenhouse shining silver against the moonlight Viktor could see in the middle of the mazy garden.
Perhaps he should go there.
Turning around, he didn’t see the figure approaching, the hurried steps muffled by the music making Viktor’s head pound. The figure bumped into him, the handle of his cane that was hooked on his crossed elbows falling to the ground as Viktor tried to steady himself, not before his drink poured all over a flowery dress.
Sračka, he muttered between his teeth once the action had seeped in. As if the night couldn’t get any better.
Well, at least he’d be kicked out quickly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you said, the words stolen from his lips. Your hands froze over the now-soaked bodice of your dress. At least it wasn’t wine, but the liquor had some pieces of ice that had slipped inside the corset, which took a shiver out of you, skin covered in goosebumps.
Gathering your skirts, you prepared to lean down to give him his cane, though, from the reduced peripheral vision of your stupid butterfly-shaped mask, you did not see that he had done the same. Quickly following, you heard the hollow-like sound of his head bonking yours.
“Ow.” This time you retreated, rubbing your head without caring that your hair would resemble a bird's nest for the rest of the night. "I'm so sorry," you repeated, like an idiot—and oh, you felt like one. Despite you were wearing a mask, your voice didn't do much to hide your embarrassment which the way it cracked at the end.
Viktor took you in between the daze of his pounding head.
You were dressed like a flower fairy; pinks and blues and reds decorating your skirt, leaving petals whenever you went. The light, yet long skirt didn’t shelter well enough from the chilly air, with the high slit on your left leg, the deep V cut on your back, and the thin strap on your right shoulder.
All confused and soaked, and yet, Viktor’s curiosity picked for your unexpected kindness.
You didn’t seem to care about the dress, though, only minding for the goosebumps running down your bare skin. If Viktor had asked why, you’d told him that the colors being so pale and delicate, the bodice to be cut like a corset. You knew this dress wasn't meant for your tastes, but rather, for Lord Sylvester. The ones your parents would kill for you to marry.
Luckily, Sylvester was too occupied surrounded by other people to notice you walking away even when your parents had sent him a letter in which you expressed your desire to dance with him. Which was a total lie, of course.
"Don't worry about it," the man said, his tone hidden by the complete mask he was wearing. You shrunk because of course, you had annoyed him. It was a miracle he wasn't screaming at you. Now, with all masks on, people could be rude and daring all in the same night, knowing that any action done today wouldn't have consequences. "It’s me who should be sorry. I ruined your dress.”
“Huh?” You looked at his hand disappearing inside his pocket to retrieve a napkin. His hands hovered over yours. “Oh! That’s not needed. It was me who bumped into you…”
He gestured to the stain over your dress, making the petals of the sewn flowers stick flat against the silk. “Take it. At least to dry it a little. You could get sick.”
You smiled under your butterfly-shaped mask, fingertips touching briefly as you touched the thin cotton fabric. “Thank you, sir.”
“There’s no need for such titles tonight,” he answered, the black mask making his yellow-like eyes shine like pieces of gold. It almost sounded like he was smiling.
“I’m—, uh… then what should I call you?”
“What would you like to call me, Miss?” he chuckled. “Or perhaps I should call you Miss Fairy?”
You giggled, feeling heat pooling up your face. “What about Mr. Shadow?” you said, pointing at his full black mask and the long coat flapping against the wind.
“Suitable,” Viktor said, looking over his shoulder to see a man approaching, his presence parting the crowd without any word. The man looked at him, green eyes flashing with contempt.
“Darling,” the man said, his hand posing over your shoulder. “I lost you for a second. Are you ready to dance, lovely?”
Viktor lurked nearby, like the nickname you had bestowed with.
Only your gaze acknowledged him, your bottom lip protruding in an adorable pout.  He was impressed by how expressive your eyes could be, compared to the rest of the people he had met in events like these who ought to have every emotion restrained.
He arched an eyebrow. Well, he had nothing better to do.
"Excuse me," Viktor chimed in, tapping his cane against the marble floor as if he were knocking on a door. "Miss Fairy owes me a drink.” Paying no mind to the Piltovan man hovering nearby, Viktor extended his gloved hand toward you. “And then perhaps we shall dance? I would be honored to enjoy your company tonight.”
“I’m afraid she asked me for a dance first—” Sylvester said, his lion mask shining obnoxiously bright from the jewels and molten gold.
“I would love to dance with you, Mr. Shadow,” you interrupted him, clutching the napkin in one hand while sliding the other one in Viktor's, feeling the warmness of his fingers tangling in a graceful, almost lazy motion around the back of your hand.
Viktor was presented with the priceless opportunity of annoying a snobby man without consequences, even if it was just for a couple of hours. And perhaps this wasn’t what Jayce was referring to about having fun.
But for him, now, it was at least interesting.
With a fluid motion, Viktor pulled you closer, smelling the fruity essence of your perfume and the impressive softness of your silk skirt. “First, perhaps a drink?”
You nodded, looking up at him with the best dreamy eyes you could muster.
Viktor would like to be more impressed, but he was used to seeing Piltovans wear masks as they needed—and you’d be no different. Though he was intrigued as to what would happen next if he decided to follow your game.
Sylvester glared at him, calling your name with gritted teeth. The sound prickled Viktor’s ears with unnecessary focus.
"We'll see each other some other time," you told him, and your demeanor let Viktor know that you were certain this answer would create problems for you. And yet still, you continued with the charade.
He couldn't stop from thinking if in the end he'll be painted as the villain, as the wicked man who sought to seduce you.
Viktor stopped himself from being the picture of the dashing Casanova he considered to be, if only for a fleeting moment, as this mask kept on his face; yet, he decided to tuck his free hand inside the pocket of his pants instead of guiding you by the arm.
The bar was overflowing with both people and drinks, thick clouds of smoke exhaled by pipes and thick cigars that made his eyes water. You dipped between the enthusiastic assistants, asking the bartender for the same drink that now soaked the front of your dress and Viktor’s borrowed napkin you were now fiddling between your fingers.
Between the cacophony of the animated chat around you two, Viktor only caught the lonely request of his drink being remade, not any other sign you were asking one to have the excuse of lounging with him a little longer.
Viktor stepped closer, sensing the gaze of someone at his back. His golden eyes swept across the moving landscape of people dancing, and of course, it couldn’t be another one that the rather snobbish Loverboy from earlier.
You seemed to have forgotten about him, but Viktor still had his mind turned upon the plans you'd surely planned out in your head—all the guests in this place surely had crafted one, if not, why were you here?
Viktor considered you, with the elegant hairdo and the daring dress. He hummed. Perhaps you were playing mouse and cat with that man? Though it appeared that you had bumped into him because you were running away.
“Aren’t you going to have one for yourself?” he said once the bartender slid a glass of the same golden liquid across from the bar into your hands, to then pass it onto his. “Excuse me,” Viktor called the bartender before he could get too far away. “Have something,” he told you, leaning against the bar while hooking his cane’s handle on its edge. “Let me enjoy your company, Miss Fairy. In case you’re also planning to run away—I can offer my help.”
“Are you also trying to get out of this party?" you said, trying to stifle a laugh. "Aren't you here for someone?"
You asked for your drink, fruity and savory. Viktor looked at the mix with an arched eyebrow, observing you sipping it with ease, the way the glass’ rim got stained with your lipstick, and the way the flicking candelabra suspended over the bartender's table made your lips shine with the wetness of the drink.
You caught him observing. “Do you want a taste?” You raised the half-empty drink toward him, the essence of mango and pineapple welcomed against the pungent odor of smoke. “It’s probably too sweet for you, but, um, if you’re curious.”
“Fret not, Miss Fairy. I have a sweet tooth,” he answered, taking a sip. The tangy taste of the acid pineapple and the sweet mango combined with the strong aftertaste of the liquor surprised him. “It’s delicious.”
You beamed at him. “Right? I prefer cocktails like these instead of plain liquor,” you explained. “It’s too bitter for me.”
Well, for his credit, you sure seemed to be sweet from inside and out. Of course, just a theory.
Viktor would have left the drink you asked for him, only that in his mind it was a rude action to do. But now he craved something sweeter—and yet, Viktor gulped down the whole thing, ignoring the sensation of burning down his throat.
“Don’t take offense, Miss Fairy,” he started. “May I ask why that man for earlier is watching us like a hawk? It’s been a while since he started.”
You looked from the corner of your eye where Viktor’s gaze directed you, sighing. "I guess Sylvester thinks we're married—” you stopped, laughing at seeing Viktor’s posture going stiff. “We’re not even engaged, but it is.” Your shoulders sagged after you shrugged, fingers playing with the rim of the glass. “Our parents had expected it ever since we moved across the street from them. Before Sylvester's father inherited their family's business they became wealthy. I guess my parents look it like an escape.”
“And you?” Viktor surprised himself asking. “How do you look at this whole situation?”
Your gaze fixated on the table fleetingly met his before pulling away, if it was due to shame or if the sudden jolt rippling across Viktor’s body was also traveling in yours, he didn’t dare to ask again.
"I… I'd rather not talk about such… grim things at a party," you smiled, or at least, you tried to, lips still firmly pressed together. “This is supposed to celebrate love, isn’t not?” Humming to the current piece played by the orchestra, your fingers tapped the bar’s mahogany. “Mr. Shadow?” you insisted at his silence.
“Eh, I don’t think someone can find love in a place like this. With all due respect, Miss Fairy,” Viktor started, thankful that the mask could cover most of his blush. "To me, this seems like a choreographed dance where everyone knows whom they may end up once the sun rises again."
“Then, with whom are you going to end up tonight?" you asked.
“Pardon?”
“Well, you said everyone is here seeking a purpose, so, what’s yours, Mr. Shadow?”
“A bit early to get philosophical, don’t you think?” he joked, and he did make you laugh, but you still looked expectantly, not distracted at all. Defeated under the power of your gaze, Viktor chuckled awkwardly. “With no one, Miss Fairy. I came here accompanying a friend, but I’m not looking for… eh, anything.”
You kept silent for a while, so much that Viktor thought for a moment that he'd said something wrong.
“Allow me to be your dance partner,” he added once the pause had extended for too long.
You snapped your gaze from the bottom of your empty glass toward him. “Hmm?”
"It would be suspicious if Mr. Sylvester doesn't see us dance as we promised, don't you think?"
“I can deal with it later,” you assured. “You don’t need to dance with me.” Why those words made him feel as if someone had punched him in the chest?
“I insist,” Viktor smiled. “I meant those words, Miss Fairy. I'll treasure your company tonight if you'd like to share it with me.”
You smiled sheepishly, fingers taking his. Even with the black gloves Viktor wore, he could feel the warmth of your skin seep into his, from his hand to everywhere your body brushed his as you stood in a corner of the dance floor, his hand fitting perfectly in the curve of your waist.
“Eh,” he said once the music started, your skirt brushing his legs as you swayed against him.
This was a bad idea—Viktor’s second bad idea of the night, which was astounding. He couldn’t keep stiff as a board, with you gently guiding him through the movements. But you were too close; you smelled like jasmines and strawberries, elegant and so, so sweet. Your lips probably still tasted like the fruity cocktail. And the fleeting brush of his fingertips over the exposed curve of your lower back was making him lose the rhythm.
“Hmm?” you responded, your hand tickling the rebel locks of hair at the base of his neck. Looking at him, your eyes seemed brighter than the chandelier and the dozens of candles illuminating this party.
This was a terrible idea. And both the mask and the alcohol gave him enough bravery to do it.
“Please forgive me,” Viktor said, dipping his head to give you the softest kiss, with barely the brush of your lips against his.
First, you froze, and Viktor was already tripping to push himself afar, but your hand gripped his shoulder to stop him from pulling away, your lips pliant and exquisite against his once you leaned closer to deepen the kiss, the savor of pastries and cocktails mixed in your tongue playing against his.
In any other normal circumstance, Viktor would’ve felt ashamed for such an indecorous sight in a public place, but this wasn’t the norm. His face was hidden, and you were just the perfect combination of sweet and daring—a dangerous mix, he’d admit.
Besides, the thought of that man, Sylvester, seeing you and him tangled in such a passionate kiss made his chest bloom with a stroked ego.
And speaking of stroking…
“Miss Fairy,” he muttered, surprised with how his voice had become ragged and husky from just a simple kiss. Your lipstick was smeared all over your chin, and Viktor knew he’d be in a similar situation. “I… we need to stop…”
“Why?” you said, guiding him out the dancefloor. “I want you. Do you want me?”
“Miss… we don’t even know each other…”
“You know what I’m talking about,” you said, taking his napkin to wipe his lips clean and then doing the same with yours, letting them plump and pleading for more. “Only for tonight.”
Viktor stood in front of you, frozen like a statue. Though his mind was running with a thousand thoughts, a thousand possibilities of the future, and yet only two paths ahead of him tonight.
He could refuse and walk away. You’d never seen him again—or even if you did, you would never known it was him. He could walk away and forget your taste and your essence, the sound of your voice and your loving touches while dancing.
Or he could allow himself to have a slip of his impeccable manners, to succumb to the same guilty pleasures everyone in here seemed to indulge themselves right now.
He wasn’t looking for love—he’d be a fool for thinking such a thing in a place, in a party like this. And the lust and passion between you two was undeniable.
Only for tonight.
You could be from each other only for tonight. So Viktor allowed himself to ponder, to imagine, how would it be like to see what was concealed under your dress, the new sounds he could elicit from your enticing lips. The new dance you could both participate in.
Only for tonight. And tomorrow? Viktor could figure it out later, once the sun came out again.
“Show me, Miss Fairy,” he said, grabbing the handle of his cane as he leaned down to steal another kiss from your lips. “Only for tonight.”
Lemme know if you wish to be tagged in the next parts! 💛😸
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helenofjupiter · 4 months
Text
assigning taylor swift songs to bridgerton couples (part 1)
with explanations that no one asked for (proceed with caution)
part 2 for e, f, g and h
so i’ve been going kinda crazy about bridgerton the past few weeks, i read (and reread) all eight books and at some point while reading i couldn't stop trying to find taylor songs in my mind which would fit each couple. so i chose two songs for every pair, some of these have actual thought behind them, others are mostly based on vibes. i hope you enjoy this unhinged tangent <3
anthony & kate - i was actually reading gregory’s book when this completely genius thought hit me - treacherous IS the kanthony song. i mean it starts with “put your lips close to mine as long as they don’t touch”. insert a picture of any one of the hundred times they almost kissed in the show. even the build up of the song reminds me so much of the slow burn we had in the series. also lyrics like “i hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay” (anthony being “what?? no!!! you can’t go back to india. wtf do you mean you’re not staying once edwina marries???”),  “and all we are is skin and bone trained to get along forever going with the flow but you're friction” through the lens of kanthony i see this line as them just constantly aggravating each other.
the second song for them is dancing with our hands tied. i hadn’t thought about this song in a criminally long time. oh boy. (i also just now realised how long this post is gonna be) “i, i loved you in secret, first sight, yeah we love without reason” i’m sorry but these dumb bitches were in love since that first fateful early morning horse ride you can’t convince me otherwise. “people started talking, putting us through our paces // but we were dancing, dancing with our hands tied, hands tied” this screams when they got caught and were forced to marry in the book. their hands were tied - they had no other choice but to marry but they were dancing because they actually did love each other (awww). other than that there are two lines that sort of go hand in hand - “i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us” and “i'm a mess, but i'm the mess that you wanted” in my head this is from anthony’s perspective. him dealing with his fear of morality and losing kate and while kate does have the eldest daughter syndrome, anthony is the bigger mess of a person in the relationship.
benedict & sophie - enchanted is a no brainer, it needs no explanation. now for their second song i picked the lakes. this resides in the vibes category. listening to this i can’t help but imagine benophie living an artsy quiet life in my cottage. i’m actually interested to see how their living situation will play out in the show because i feel in the books benedict wasn’t as involved in the ton. i guess it’s just a bit hard for me to envision show!ben being so chill about moving to some place in the middle of nowhere. 
colin & penelope - of course, dress. i listened to this on repeat while reading the whole book in one sitting. honestly a marvellous experience, can’t recommend enough . for the second song i had to go looking, had to travel far like colin one might say. and once i arrived in the long forgotten country of taylor’s debut album i found a piece of music so clearly polin coded that it’s baffling this fandom isn’t talking about it. the song in question is  i’m only me when i’m with you. it feels silly to explain this one because being from taylor’s early career the lyrics aren’t terribly clever so let’s focus on the chorus. “i'm only up when you're not down, don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground” some people want colin to be just ken in the show but i actually really liked how they both have a career in writing at the end of the book (penelope better had published the book she started writing). “the other half i'm only trying to let you know that what i feel is true and i'm only me when i'm with you” you can’t tell me this isn’t colin telling penelope she is beautiful over and over again and how much he loves him because he was a fool not to realise it sooner. while in the book penelope feeling like she is truly confident and herself around colin, i think in the show this line works from colin’s side just as well. 
daphne & simon - while most of the fandom has crowned wildest dreams as the saphne anthem (taylor’s version), i just couldn’t get behind it. yes, they used the song in their season but in my mind it just does not embody their relationship. firstly, the great war, i mean the first line “my knuckles were bruised like violets”. simon… boxing… you see the connection, right? okay, i promise it gets (even) better. “and maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt. telling me to punish you for things you never did” in case of simon, he was hanging on to his hate towards his father and refusing to have kids with daphne, punishing her while it wasn’t her fault what had happened to him as a child. “somewhere in the haze, got a sense i’d been betrayed” i hate this part of their stroy (i do not condone daphne’s actions) yet i can so clearly picture simon still partly on his high of pleasure but starting to realise what daphne had done to him. i think i like this as their song because well they both were all kinds of wrong in this situation and at the end of the song it’s acknowledged “there's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair” and still it has a happy ending just like saphne. their second song was hard to find and i’m not a hundred percent sure about it but a present to you so it goes…  “all eyes on us, you make everyone disappear” - season 1, episode 1 “stare into my eyes”. i felt i needed to give them a sexy song and i do feel like it matches their sexual tension but this one is definitely up for debate.
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lvrsmg · 1 year
Text
something there pt. 2
pairing: assassin!mingi x assassin trainee!reader (gender not specified)
part one : here !
part three : here !
theme: angst, kinda crack for like 2 seconds, fluffy ish
word count: 3.8K
cw: huge mentions of blood!! description of a bullet wound & cleaning/healing of it, major character is shot, injury, swearing, slow burn that hurts
lowercase intended!
a/n: part two to something there! i left it on a cliffhanger so there will be a part 3!! also i know nothing about cleaning bullet wounds and stuff so please don’t attack me for this 😭😭 feel free to leave feedback, requests and comments! enjoy!
~~
warmth encompassed you when you opened your eyes. everything felt muted and soft, nothing like the usual piercing cold that you would wake up to. you shifted slightly to sit up, but soon realised mingi’s face was resting behind you, slow and even breaths landing against your neck. goosebumps raised along your skin in response.
you just barely managed to shift to face the said man, staring at his close face. his lush lips parted just barely, brown eyes hidden by his eyelids, soft blush dusting along his cheeks- he was beautiful. he looked rested and soft, gentle without the knot between his brows to take away his calmness. 
you stayed like this for some time, just watching him, your hands hesitantly resting on his chest, feeling every inhale and exhale that filled him. you matched your breaths to his, the slow rhythm was easy to follow, you felt warm like this. mingi felt like warmth.
you didn’t realise you had drifted back to sleep again even after you were already in your dreams.
then, mingi woke up.
he opened his eyes to the sight of you, and his heart tightened in the best way. he stared at you the same way you had stared at him, with nothing but awe at how perfect you looked even when you were sleeping. 
he was able to see every perfect detail on your face, he was so close. you were so close. he felt lucky- possessive even- to be able to see you in such a vulnerable state. that he got to see you first thing in the morning, and no one else.
he couldn’t help it when his hand came up to brush away a piece of hair that had fallen across your forehead, the movement making you shift and hum, wiggling closer to mingi and continuing your slow breath pattern. 
mingi blushed, a tight lump forming in his chest.
he could still see your face clearly from how close you were. 
he spotted the flutter of your eyelashes and the twitch of the corner of your lips, but you were still asleep. he basked in the gentle heat you radiated, not daring to look away.
but then came a harsh knock.
“room service!” the voice was screeching, making your eyes shoot open, and mingi jump in his skin.
“god,” you muttered under your breath, rubbing your eyes. you let your hands fall and look at mingi, who was also calming himself down.
your eyes met after a minute, both of you registering the lack of proximity.
a beat passed. then another. you two didn’t look away, both continuing staring at each other, taking in each speck of colour in each other's eyes, as if memorising the tiny details.
mingi dared to let his eyes flicker downwards to your lips.
one breath in, one breath out.
your heart skipped a beat, your eyes also jumping from his lips and back to his eyes.
one breath in, one breath out.
mingi took a bold lean in towards you, stopping halfway to look into your eyes again.
one breath in, one breath out.
you looked back into his eyes, your head just barely nodding.
breath in, breath out. 
mingi’s eyes fluttered shut, as did yours, there was less than a centimetre between you two, his smell was overwhelming your senses, your noses were touching, his head raising to tilt sideways to slot right against you, your lips barely brushed against each other, you felt so close but so far.
“if you don’t come get your clothes i’m taking them back!” the voice was like nails on a chalkboard. you jolted to sit upright in surprise, and mingi sprung out of the bed at an alarming rate.
he stumbled over to the door, pulling the door open without checking, silently taking the uniforms from the woman, shutting the door in her face and locking it. 
your hand came up to touch your lips slightly, mingi’s went up and rubbed his eyebrows.
a minute passed, at least.
silence echoed through the hotel room.
mingi stood by the door, you sat in the bed.
the silence was unbearable, embarrassment burning in both your chests.
he finally walked over, placing your uniform down on the armchair, then walking off into the washroom.
the lock clicked.
your shoulders fell as you let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding in.
‘what the hell are you doing?’ you scolded yourself in your head, a slight groan falling from your lips. you heard the shower begin to run, and you dragged yourself out of bed to pull your uniform on, tucking your sleeping clothes away into mingi’s bag.
mingi let the water run over his face. he didn’t even need to shower. he just needed to cleanse himself of the embarrassment.
‘why would you do that? would she have really kissed me? what would’ve happened after?’ a thousand thoughts ran through his head, still swarming around even when he stepped out of the shower, drying himself off and pulling on his uniform.
he paused for a moment too long in front of the bathroom door, not ready to face the tension between you and him. but he couldn’t hide forever.
the bathroom door finally swung open, but you refused to look up at him, keeping your eyes glued to your phone, and the text message that hongjoong had sent to the group chat.
6:02 AM
hongjoong: i’ll send the address of the building you two r going to tdy
hongjoong: just go in and bring me the file labelled q334t9, they should be in the boss’ computer
hongjoong: i want a clean job. leave no traces or hints that you two were there. wait on the roof and seonghwa will come pick u up
hongjoong: [attachment : 1 google maps location]
y/n: can i have a gun
hongjoong: no
mingi: we’ll see you soon
you glanced up at mingi, who was looking down at his phone, swinging the bag across his back at the same time.
as silently as you could, you slunk past him into the bathroom, locking the door and splashing your face with cold water. you gently slapped your cheeks.
“wake up y/n. don’t do things like this,” you whispered to your reflection, staring into your own eyes before sighing and hanging your head down.
mingi’s phone went off when you were in the bathroom.
he opened the message, his eyes skimming the text.
6:07 AM
hongjoong: don’t let her do stupid shit
mingi: i’ll try my best
hongjoong: seriously mingi. she doesn’t have a gun for a reason. she can’t be trusted
mingi: ok. i’ll make sure she doesn’t pull anything
hongjoong: don’t disappoint me
mingi shut his phone off, sighing. 
he was the one pulling bullshit- trying to kiss you. what was he thinking? 
but then again, you leaned into him too, didn’t you? so it wasn’t entirely his fault.
“we’re adults. even if we kissed it wouldn’t lead to anything, right? it’s not like we’d kiss more often, or leave the assassin job field and settle down and find normal jobs, and there’s no way we would have a little family and-”
mingi got knocked out of his thoughts when you left the bathroom, clearing your throat.
“don’t do that shit.” he told himself in his head, rubbing his eyes a bit.
“we should go now,” mingi’s voice followed your cough, “we have places to be.”
you nodded walking over to the door, mingi following you out with his bags. you kept your shoes on this time, which mingi noticed. he noticed how you had pulled your hair back today, instead of wearing it down. he noticed how you looked more awake today than yesterday, and how your hand instinctively went down to touch the empty thigh holster on your right leg. 
he hated himself for that. for focusing on the minute details that didn’t matter. that meant he cared- and he definitely didn’t care.
definitely.
the two of you went down to the lobby, deafening silence following you even out of the elevator, where mingi returned the room keys.
stepping out into the early morning streets of the city, you glanced around at how empty it was, sighing in slight annoyance.
“how’re we supposed to get a taxi?” you thought out loud, muttering.
mingi glanced at you.
“we aren’t getting a taxi. we’re taking a car.” his voice was curt. you furrowed your brows a bit, looking around for the said car, the only one in sight was a black bmw m4. 
you looked back at mingi, but to your surprise he wasn’t there.
“wha-?” you looked around, wondering where he could’ve disappeared to in such a short amount of time.
 a minute or two passed before he was walking out of the lobby a second time, adjusting his vest.
you tilted your head a bit in confusion.
“where did you g-?” your question was cut off when mingi held up the car keys as if explaining.
“got the keys,” he clarified, striding over to the car. 
you exhaled slowly. nothing like stealing a car at 6:00 in the morning, right? 
the two of you made your way to the car, both of you going to the drivers side.
mingi looked at you. 
you looked at mingi.
tension dissipated for a moment.
“i’ll drive,” you spoke, holding your hands out, waiting for him to place the keys in your hands.
“no. i got the keys from the receptionist, i’m driving,” he countered, closing his fist around the keys. “hongjoong doesn’t trust you with a gun, so why the hell would he let you drive.”
“just let me, mingi. you don’t want to make this into a bigger issue than it is.” you popped your hip a bit, crossing one of your arms and shaking the hand that was extended. “hurry up.”
“no.” mingi moved to open the door, but you slid in front of the handle, blocking it from him.
“y/n, move.” he glared down at you.
“no. give me the keys.” you stood your ground.
mingi sighed again, a slight groan emitting from his lips.
“fucking move, y/n. i don’t want to make this a big deal.” mingi looked around, the receptionist would’ve probably already called the cops by now.
“make me.” you challenge, not breaking eye contact. 
mingi raised his eyebrows a bit, looking down at you. a sliver of worry passed through you, he wouldn’t actually force you to move, right?
wrong.
a yelp escaped you when he hoisted you up, throwing you over his built shoulder, the wind slightly knocking out of you. his hand splayed against your waist and thigh, which you were painfully aware of.
how was he so strong?
“mingi!” you yelled, kicking your legs, “what the hell- put me down!”
“make me.” he mimicked your words. you groaned in frustration, helplessly wriggling and punching his insanely muscular back.
you were thrown into the backseat of the car- not even the passenger seat, mind you- the seatbelt was already across you, locked in.
“you jerk.” your hand came down hard against mingi’s shoulder while he pulled out of the car, and you were wincing from the contact. he was as hard as a rock.
police sirens began to sound, far too loud, just as mingi ducked into the driver's seat.
“shit,” he cursed under his breath while starting the car, “look what the fuck you’ve done.”
“me?? you’re the one who stole a car!” you yelled. you should be the one driving, not him. mingi shifted the gears, driving forward fast, making your back press against the backseat.
the police cars caught up fast, obviously, and mingi groaned silently. 
a car chase in the morning is just what he needed.
mingi swerved the car, turning down random roads, trying to catch the police off guard, but they knew the town better than either of you.
on top of the stress, you kept screaming at him from the back seat.
“turn right!”
“bank left here- go!”
“they’re getting closer!”
“speed up, mingi! you’re only going 120!”
“they’re literally right behind us!”
all your yells and orders only made mingi more mad.
“shut up and sit down!” he interrupted your yells, pressing a bit harder on the gas.
“i am sitting! you’re going too fucking slow!” mingi’s attempt flew out of the window, because you did not cease, mingi tried to tune out your voice. 
but both of you were launched even further into panic when the police cars pulled up to the drivers side of the car. the window was open- why was it open?
your eyes widened, as did mingi’s, as a gun was pointed at the open window of your car, and time slowed for a moment.
the gun fired, the bullet flying towards the window, hitting the brim of the window before flying inside the car
mingi felt the bullet, the impact was lessened from hitting the side of the window, but it hit him.
he let out a grunt of pain, his hand coming up to grasp his arm.
“son of a bitch.” he hissed, looking at the policeman, who was still pointing the gun.
mingi’s senses were lowered from the pain, and when he caught sight of the gun being reloaded, he wasn’t able to swerve the car.
you, however, didn’t waste a split second in unbuckling your belt and climbing into the front seat, easily manoeuvring yourself into mingi’s lap and swerving the car out of the way, the bullet hitting the side door.
“what the fuck-” mingi spoke at you, looking in the rearview mirror beyond your head, seeing the police car was behind you instead of beside.
“this is why i should’ve driven.” you gritted out, sliding lower down his lap to reach the gas pedal, pressing your foot down hard, the engine roaring in response. 
mingi shut his eyes in pain when you turned the car around a sharp corner, and his wound hit against the car door.
with the speed you were going at, the policemen had to take a second to catch up again, but by the time they were up, you had gotten your hands on mingi’s gun.
“keep driving at this speed!” you told mingi, who could only register your voice at this moment. he followed as you told, pressing his foot on the pedal and bringing his free hand to the steering wheel.
you stuck your head out of the window, squinting your eyes to focus on the car. you loaded the gun, aiming at the wheels of the police car.
with two shots, you shot out the front two wheels easily, and the police car slowed, you and mingi speeding away. 
just like that.
it was that easy.
you let out a breath, ducking back into the car, kicking mingi’s foot off the gas and removing his hands from the wheels and stabilising the car.
the only noise that followed was your fast breaths, and the whistle of wind through the open window.
you pulled the little button to close the window, keeping your eyes on the road.
the two of you drove like that for maybe 3 more minutes, before you had successfully left the city and began driving along the countryside. you pulled over to the side of the road, inhaling and stopping the car.
mingi’s breath was slightly battered.
you opened the car door, getting out and opening the back door to take the first aid kit out of mingi’s bag.
“sit on the hood of the car, mingi.” you told mingi, who silently complied, blood slowly seeping through the hand against his wound. he stumbled out of the car, walking around and sitting against it. you, meanwhile, brought and opened the first aid kit while mingi removed his hand from the wound.
you winced while cutting his sleeve open to access the wound better. the bullet wound wasn't deep, which you could tell. you could see the glint of the butt of the bullet through the blood, earning a grimace from you.
“okay,” you spoke in an exhale, “bite into this.” you handed mingi a pair of wrapped gloves.
“no i’m- i’m fine. just pull it out.” mingi did his best to act tough, and you sighed. you placed the gloves in his lap in case he changed his mind- you didn’t have time to argue with him.
opening the little bottle of alcohol, you took a breath.
“it’s going to hurt, but you can do it, okay?” you reassured the man, who nodded, shutting his eyes.
gentle but firmly, you held his arm down to try to prevent him from flinching, all while standing between his legs. you knew you couldn’t hold him down, but you could do your best. then- slowly- you began to pour the alcohol on the wound, dabbing softly with a clean small towel to help in cleaning the blood.
mingi shut his eyes tighter, his free hand came up to grab your arm, squeezing, but not unbearably.
“i’m sorry,” you whispered, and mingi nodded, his eyes still shut, bottom lip held tight between his teeth, almost drawing blood.
you acted quick when the wound was easier for you to access, grabbing the medical tweezers and gripping the butt of the bullet. you could tell mingi wanted to move, but his self control was strong.
it wasn’t difficult to remove the bullet since it didn’t go deep, it was still at the surface. you pulled it out of him, throwing it onto the ground and soaking the previous towel with more alcohol, then pressing it against the slight flow of blood.
mingi’s eyes filled with tears from the pain.
“it’s almost over, i’m so sorry,” you continued to whisper to him, your hand instinctively going up to caress his hair and whip his stray tears while applying pressure to the wound.
you finally removed the towel when the blood flow slowed. letting your hand fall from his hair to his chest, waiting for him to open his eyes.
when he did, his brown eyes met yours, a breath falling from his lips.
“i just need to stitch you up, you’ll be good after that.” your voice was quiet, and he just nodded again. no words came from either of you after.
you were silent when you stitched his wound closed, which mingi tolerated much better. he watched your face while you did so, still in a pained haze. 
you wrapped his arm in gauze, making sure it was secure against his arm. you didn’t take so long with this, pulling away after around 10 minutes to put everything away.
“here,” you handed him his extra shirt from his bag, “change into this under your vest, okay?” mingi nodded again.
you nodded as well, beginning your walk to the back of the car to put the kit away.
“y/n,” his gravelled voice stopped you in your tracks, making you turn around.
“can you help?” he lifted the shirt with his good arm slightly, to which your cheeks burned, but you nodded.
in complete silence, you unzipped his bullet vest and gear, sliding it off his arm as gently as you could. you fished the scissors from the first aid kit again, cutting down the middle and the back of his shirt to pull it off without him having to lift his arms.
mingi was quiet, moving as you made him, letting you help him. you watched his face, where he held eye contact with you. 
with an incredible softness, you pulled the neck of his shirt over his head, and gently manoeuvred his arm through each hole. mingi didn’t feel pain. 
he was numb from seeing you. 
all he could see was you.
all he could feel was you.
when his shirt was finally on, you pulled his vest back on as well, and stepped away from him, but your hand lingered, holding his fingers.
“are you- are you okay?” you asked in a small voice, eyes filled with worry and your voice dripping with concern. mingi kept his eyes trained to your fingers holding his.
“i’m okay.” his voice was stable, and he basked in the affection he felt from you. “are you?”
“i’m okay.” you echoed his words, nodding as well, watching his face.
mingi slotted his fingers between yours, still not looking at your face.
“mingi,” you whispered, daring to step closer to him. your hand raised to his jaw line, cupping it and lightly forcing his gaze up to you.
“are you really?” you prodded further, and he could swear his heart skipped a beat.
he couldn’t form words, just nodding, the feeling of one of your hands in his and the other across his cheek took all the pain away.
another beat passed, neither of you looked away for some time, just thankful that you were both alive and okay. mingi’s thumb caressed over the back of your hand.
“i’m okay,” he whispered, even though you hadn’t asked that time.
“me too.” your voice was also hushed.
‘kiss her,’ mingi’s mind was screaming at him, and he listened.
sitting up straighter, he wrapped his left hand around the wrist of your hand on his jaw.
you let your lips part, feeling him pull you closer from your intertwined hands.
the proximity was non-existent again. both of you lingered a second longer, wondering if fate would stop you again.
but it didn’t. and mingi had hope.
“y/n, can i-” his speech was cut short from a car zooming by, the roar of the engine startling you both.
you jumped, blinking rapidly and letting your hand fall from his cheek. his hand remained around your wrist, not letting go of you in either hand.
he didn’t want to pull away.
“mingi,” you breathed out, and he blinked as well this time.
you prayed he wouldn’t stop, that he would pull you in and just kiss you.
but, of course, he didn’t.
“yeah- we should get going, we have a mission to carry out.” mingi stood up off the hood of the car, letting go of you.
you stepped back, nodding slightly, but then realising what he said.
“i don’t think you’re fit to carry that out, mingi, we should just tell hongjoong-”
“no.” mingi’s quick answer caught you off guard. “we don’t have to tell hongjoong. come on, you can drive.”
mingi got into the passenger's seat first, fastening his belt. you took a moment to breathe, before ducking into the driver's seat and starting the car.
you assumed the tension would go away again, just like earlier today.
“here we go then.” you exhaled, pressing on the gas and taking off while mingi put the address in the gps system.
despite your worry for mingi, you knew it was supposed to be a mission without combat, and you prayed it would be done without a fight.
but then again, it always ended in a fight.
always.
~~
94 notes · View notes
thesmutalorian · 3 months
Note
Yeah  they made the feral predator way too hot. The credits came on and I immediately went to Ao3 like “let’s see what the girlies have to say about thissssss” 🤭 I saw the original predator almost a decade ago and as much as I liked it, never would of guessed I’d be here now 🙂
 the ooman shit kills me, like why do they have these scary ass aliens saying such silly shit I’m gonna die. 
Turns ouuuuut, I actually have more to sayyyyy, but you don’t have to respond: I feel bad bc I don’t have an Ao3 account so I can never comment, but Gorl if I did, id have a whole essay for every chapter, including reaction images 😤. Ik you aren’t currently writing from Ta'Kesh’s POV (which is perfectly fine lol), but I really appreciated how you did so. The predator POV is so fun to read, they’re just so damn cold and pragmatic and just ALIEN yk? (Ta’kesh makes me laugh bc he’s such a lil psycho lol). At least when done right I think. The dynamic you have set up is really interesting, like I love a good slow burn enemies to friends to lovers, but the cultural differences and species hierarchy sets it up for some really fascinating (JUICY) interactions/character development. I was unfortunate enough to come upon your story very early, there aren’t many other fics that hold up to the standard you set! (Have you read The Devil You Know? One of the only other quality fics I’ve found that seems to accurately portray that sort of dynamic- 10/10 recommend). 
But anyway, the arrogance, the entitlement, just the cold bluntness makes predator fic so engaging to me. When you take a person with that deeply ingrained of a mindset (that’s another aspect I love, the question of whether or not yautjas are innately “predatory” or if it’s largely due to cultural upbringing) and force them to interact with with someone they deem inferior in a way they never have had to before (and there was only ONE BED heheh) I’m eating that shit up with 2 hands like GOOD SOUP!!😤😤😤
 I appreciate it even more with a quality OC and I like Charlie a lot. I really struggle with reader/you fics bc beyond me just being like “lol I would not do that”, I like having an established character to root for :). She has an interesting past that you’ve managed to portray in an appealing and unostentatious way. Reminds me of Rust cohle from True Detective.  I like that she’s very brave, but not to the point of ridiculousness lol. She has her moments where she’s able to act courageously in order to try to survive, but still gets intimidated/scared (extremely valid) sometimes with the big ass scary aliens. Do you have anyone in mind for how she looks?
Some highlights so far:
Greatly enjoyed ta’kesh’s cringe fail lake venture where Charlie showed his ass up while he fucking stands in the background looking like a drowned ass rat ahahah but watching her Commit Violence like 👀
Idk why but aliens using bidets is so fucking funny to me
Kinda living for ta’kesh being a dork and talking to his cat all the time hehe
let me see what the girlies have to sayyyyy 👏🏼 absolutely the correct response. my friend and I stand by that alien v predator could've been entirely more romantic if they were brave enough but 🤪 no cause literallyyyyy when I read ooman I hear it in a baby voice and I canNOT take it seriously, like bless those authors truly but whoever started the ooman precedent.... I just wanna talk 🧍🏻‍♀️ and girly pop ofc I'm gonna respond you took the time to let me know how you feel and I /love/ interaction okay (I think there's a way to comment anon on ao3 with like a guest account or name or something but maybe I'm wrong idk) but either way you take the time I want to show my appreciation
I stopped his POV just cause I felt like I was backtracking and I'm already so slow (rip sorry) but I really do want to come back to it in the future just to have fun revealing his inner workings (cause sometimes I be writing things and giggling like pookie is such a brat and then I remember y'all can't hear the goofy ass voices in my head and you only know the story I show you) but yes yes their differences are gonna play out in so many ways that I just can't wait for 😇 AND YES IVE READ FRIGGY one of the few I made it all the way through and then had to literally have a whole moment to process that there wasn't a second part 😗😗 sick I tell you, sick,, but I completely understand the not being able to read FPOV or self insert because of the "ummm I would never" --- because that's EXACTLY how I started writing 💀😭 I was chatting w my friend and we were like ok but isn't it kinda weird how fast some of these fmc just like... accept the whole ass murder crab men? also--- how do they survive well in space and from there Charlie was born ahahahHA I was like ok but what if I made it realistic for bits (as realistic as scifi can be) and then asked people to suspend their disbelief for the fun bits like the space pond and the tail n shit 🤭🤭
I have a whole board of art for ta'kesh but I've never really stopped to think about Charlie 🧐🧐
YES DROWNED RAT IS SOOOOO RIGHT mans really does have an ego, which, like rightfully earned? but also... must be checked whenever author feels he needs it (all the time 😇)
the bidet was me being like what is something that isn't necessarily commonplace, but feels bougie enough that an advanced society would have it regularly around.... ah yes.... Bidet.
ta'kesh is a cat girl, confirmed
I promise to bring you more good soup in the future 🍲
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aastarions · 2 years
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stay gold [chapter four]
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Pairing: Zhongli x Female!Reader
Series Tags: Eventual Smut (18+), Kinda Slow Burn, Reader has a Backstory/Lore, Heavy Liyue Lore, Lots of Fluff, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Reader uses She/Her Pronouns
Word Count: 6,800+
A/N: I honestly wasn’t sure when I’d end up finishing this chapter, but I somehow managed to find a huge burst of writing motivation this weekend and took full advantage of it! It’s scary how each chapter keeps getting longer and longer, I don’t know if that’ll keep happening but >.< yeah, thank you for all the support for this series so far, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think 💕
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To My Dearest Child,
I beg of you, please come home. Come home so we can talk and come to an agreement together. You cannot just run away from your responsibilities, to both this family and to your nation.
But, if there is a compromise that the both of us can reach after a much needed discussion, I am willing to budge on some things. Just please come home.
Your mother was always best with words, not me, but I’m trying my best in her absence. If you need assistance in returning home from Liyue, please inform me as soon as you can and I will prepare the proper arrangements.
I hope to hear from you soon.
-Dad
The impulsive urge to tear the letter to shreds – into a thousand tiny, unrecognizable pieces crosses your mind initially. With great reluctance, you abstain. Rather you allow it to drift from your fingertips onto the hardwood floor, hands reaching up to frantically swipe away the tears that have begun to accumulate along your lower lash line.
It’s not fair – those are the first words that come to mind as you burrow yourself beneath the few blankets that once hung along the back of your small couch. You didn’t ask for such a heavy burden to be draped upon your shoulders, weighing you down like an anchor constrained to your body from the beginning of your teenage years to now.
The minutes tick by yet you continue to idle on the couch, knees dragged up to your chest as you contemplate your eventual response. Seconds slow into minutes while you remain cooped up in your tangled web of thoughts, unsure how much time has actually passed since you returned home and read the letter.
You know that eventually a formal response would have been demanded of you, as if running away to a different nation entirely wasn’t enough of a message. Though, you can’t deny the small part of you that wants to return home. That wants to rid yourself of the guilt that’s plagued you since you first stepped foot on the docks of Liyue Harbor.
That wants to fulfill the duty you were raised to uphold.
Coming from one of the two royal families of Fontaine, you’ve spent a large majority of your life within the confines of your family’s estate. Almost like a castle atop a hill, looking over the rather expansive village of Petrichor from quite a distance.
Being a member of such a prestigious and wealthy family, there were expectations set upon you from the moment you could walk, talk, read, write – a reputation to live up to in the eyes of the people. As you flourished, well, more like stumbled, into your teenage years those duties only increased tenfold.
It wasn’t until you reached adulthood that the ridiculously large estate began to suffocate you.
More and more you yearned for a life free of prying eyes of the public, free of expectations and royal duties. The years kept passing – you watched those you went to private school with get married, bear children, decide their own paths for their future with melancholic jealousy coursing through your veins.
So when you were brought into your father’s office one stormy afternoon to receive quite literally the second worst news of your life, you decided to finally do something about it.
You spent two weeks straight researching the other six regions of Teyvat, the prosperous nation of Liyue catching your eye and your memory – bedtime stories your father used to tell you as a child of the beautiful mountains and waterfalls of his hometown.
It took every ounce of mora you had accumulated from years of birthdays and holidays, along with a few connections due to your status, but you were on the fastest ship to Liyue Harbor without as much as a farewell to the life you were leaving behind. Only a short, vague letter to reassure your father that you hadn’t been kidnapped or something of the sorts.
Sure, adjusting to an entirely new routine with freedom you had only dreamt of was overwhelming at the start, lonely even. You’re fully convinced that if you hadn’t bumped into Zhongli a little over a week ago, you might already be on the first ship back home.
He’s shown you nothing but hospitality and kindness in the short span of time you’ve known the dark-haired history buff. From the moment he helped you find your way to Wanwen Bookhouse to your Kamera lessons in Yujing Terrace, to yank the stem of your budding friendship out so prematurely would fill you with an intense amount of regret.
There’s still so much you want to learn, both of this nation and of him – your unrelenting desire for a life free of royal constraints has not been quelled just yet.
With all that in mind, you peel yourself out of the cocoon of blankets and head towards your small desk in the corner of the living room. Grabbing your stationary, you begin to write your response, though it’s anything but decisive.
After many, many scrapped sheets of paper, the letter you wind up sealing into an envelope is short and straight to the point: similar to the one you left behind so many weeks ago.
Dad,
I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to come home just yet. I hope you can respect that.
I’ll write to you again in approximately a month’s time on whether or not I’ve come to a decision.
Please give everyone my best regards.
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As it turns out, a month is not nearly enough time for you to make a decision that holds so much bearing on your future, you think as you stare blankly at the equally empty sheet of paper before you. The start of a headache festers in your skull as you try to conjure up what to possibly write down, words failing you when you need them the most.
For the past few weeks, the last thing on your mind has been what your decision will ultimately be.
Instead you’ve been spending a majority of your time outside of work with the enigmatic funeral consultant himself. Whether the two of you are meandering through Liyue Harbor, fetching a cheap bite to eat at one of the many dining areas along said harbor, or simply lounging in his office with the occasional Hu Tao – Zhongli has quickly cemented himself a permanent spot in your once lonely days.
Which makes writing this letter in front of you increasingly difficult, even worse than it had been a month prior. The tall pile of crumpled up attempts on the cusp of spilling from the bin from the past few days is evidence of such.
You take a swift glance over to the clock that hangs crookedly on your wall, eyes widening at the unexpected time that it presents. With only fifteen minutes before your morning shift begins, it’s safe to assume you’ll be late if you continue to dwell on this letter for much longer.
“Guess it’s gonna have to wait again…” You mutter to yourself, lifting yourself out of the chair and heading straight towards your closet in search of some fresh, comfortable attire. Emphasis on comfort given your anticipated plans for the late afternoon and early evening.
There’s less than five minutes remaining by the time you slug a rather weighted backpack over your shoulders, bolting out the door but mindful enough not to trip down the steep staircase in your haste. You say your usual greetings to Chen the Sharp and Dongsheng as they get prepared for the morning rush of customers just before finally waltzing down the stone path towards the docks.
There’s only less than a minute remaining when you finally reach your destination, an apology already rolling off your tongue as you step into Kai’s Teashop. Only it’s drowned out by the early crowd of customers as they wait to place their orders. Some with understanding patience and others, not so much.
By the time your belongings are stashed in the back and your apron is slung over your frame, ready for the shift ahead of you, the letter has long since slipped from your memory. Instead, your mind is quickly consumed with a myriad of coffee and tea orders ranging from a simple espresso to a milk tea with three servings of cocoa, two servings of caramel, and exactly five ice cubes.
The slew of sailors, merchants, and Liyue citizens alike tends to dwindle the closer and closer the sun reaches its highest point of the day, a relief to both yourself and your co-worker who announces that they’re heading for a much needed break.
As they promptly exit the shop, you start on washing the dishes that have been tossed haphazardly aside during the morning rush. There’s only two customers still lingering inside the building, regulars that often keep to themselves while enjoying their beverage.
It’s at this time that two very familiar faces make their way into the shop, a small grin tugging at your lips – your mood is instantly lifted by their presence.
“Good morning!” Hu Tao says with her usual heightened enthusiasm, “I think…it’s still morning, right?”
Both you and Zhongli glance over at the clock, replying in sync, “For another two minutes, yes.”
“Oh! How did your meeting go this morning?” You remember the two of them discussing a potentially huge partnership all weekend, a high ranking member of the militia from Natlan who had sent a letter to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor wanting to discuss a possible deal.
“It went great!”
“It did not.” Zhongli corrects Hu Tao almost immediately, “The deal nearly dissipated before we even had the chance to discuss it when the Director made a mockery of–”
“–I think what truly matters is that in the end, a deal was made! With tensions rising in Natlan, the last thing they need to worry about is where to rest their fallen soldiers! That’s where we come in!”
How morbid, you can’t help but think to yourself. Death has never been an easy topic for you, but you can agree that Hu Tao makes somewhat of a point, albeit potentially insensitive, but a point nonetheless.
“Well, at least it all worked out, yeah?” You say while finishing up the last of the dishes. As you wipe your damp hands on the nearest towel, the sound of the entry doors opening drags your attention to a pair of women who’ve just walked in.
The one with a Hydro vision adorning her chain necklace speaks up first, a sort of nostalgic glee in her tone, “I saw the sign outside was promoting boba milk tea, do you still have some available?”
“Oh sure, what flavor and size did you want?” After taking both her and the woman at her side’s orders, you head to the back of the shop to get the freshly prepared tapioca pearls from their heated container.
An Inazuma speciality, yet your boss was able to pull some strings with some suppliers overseas to have boba imported regularly to Liyue Harbor. They had initially arrived yesterday, but after some trial and error on preparing them, Mr. Kai wasted no time in creating promotional boards and a brand new menu to include the gooey, round pearls.
Heading back to the front, you overhear the tail end of their conversation, “...it’s been so long since I’ve been back home to Inazuma, I forgot how much I missed the boba! I know you’ll like it too, trust me.”
You hand the two of them their drinks and ring them up for the purchase, wishing them a great rest of their day as they promptly exit the shop. When you turn to face your two friends once more, on the cusp of asking them if they’d like to order anything, Hu Tao seems to have her mind already set.
“Can I try that…what did they call it, boba milk tea?” She asks with wide, curious eyes, “Surprise me with the flavor though!”
“Of course, do you want to try it too, Zhongli?”
Zhongli appears to think it over for a brief moment, “It couldn’t hurt to try something new, sure.”
“Got it, I'll be right back!” You excitedly head for the back of the shop once more.
For Hu Tao’s drink, you end up preparing a fragrant violetgrass milk tea with a small serving of boba that lingers at the bottom of the cup. For Zhongli’s drink, you keep it rather simple with an oolong milk tea, again with a spoonful of boba mixed in.
You return to the front only to find Hu Tao giggling rather maniacally while Zhongli’s narrowed gaze burns a hole through the side of her head. Though his expression instantly softens when he picks up on your presence, clearing his throat as if to catch his boss’ attention, too.
“Here ya go!” Handing each of them a glass and a straw, you excitedly anticipate their reactions to the Inazuman speciality, “Let me know what you think.”
When Hu Tao takes her first sip she manages to immediately capture a few pearls, seemingly unphased by the sudden solid in what appears to be a liquid beverage. On the other hand, Zhongli’s reaction is entirely unexpected.
He doesn’t experience the bubbles in the first long sip, but the second has his eyes widening in surprise before he seems to nearly choke – a short series of coughs escaping from him as he holds the drink far from his mouth. Your initial concern is fortunately washed over with relief when he’s quick to recompose himself, tugging at the knot of his tie with a slight shake of his head.
“Don’t be dramatic!” Hu Tao claps a hand to his back, “They’re pretty good, right?”
“I have not had the opportunity to taste them yet, in case you hadn’t noticed.” Zhongli quips in a rare sarcastic manner before cautiously taking a third sip of the drink.
His eyes appear to light up as he carefully chews on the gooey tapioca, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before providing his final verdict, “The texture is rather…unique, but I find the taste to be quite enjoyable. The milk tea is delightfully refreshing as well, making for an overall delectable beverage.”
The both of you then glance over to Hu Tao for her opinion, surprised to see her glass nearly empty. She takes one more long sip before stating a simple, “It’s yummy!”
“Thank you for the splendid treat,” Zhongli sends his ever gentle smile your way and suddenly the room feels a few degrees warmer than it had been only seconds prior, “however, the Director and I have a few more obligations to fulfill in the coming hours, what time shall you and I convene later this afternoon?”
You don’t get the chance to answer before Hu Tao interrupts, “Oh? Where are the two of you going, hm?”
“We will be hiking up Mt. Tianheng to witness the meteor showers this evening.”
You nod in agreement – out of the many books you’ve read through this past month, one regarding celestial phenomena documented throughout Liyue history stuck out to you the most. Specifically, the tales of certain occasions where meteor showers decorate the twilight sky in a multitude of bright, albeit quick stripes. An occurrence that can only be witnessed once every five to seven years in Liyue according to a historian whose name you’ve already forgotten.
Needless to say, after countless research on the next anticipated showers, behold your surprise when it turns out the next one is expected to occur today. Having discovered this a little over a week ago, you were quick to bring it up to Zhongli with excess zeal, given he had been the one to recommend the novel to you in the first place.
That’s when the two of you made plans to hike Mt. Tianheng together on the day of and get an unobstructed view of the entire celestial event. To say you’re excited would be a huge understatement.
“How cute!” Hu Tao says animatedly, “I’ve heard that it’s good luck to wish on those.”
“You’re thinking of shooting stars, a little different.” You correct her.
Rolling her eyes, she responds with, “Either way, I hope the two of you have fun! Not too much fun though, if you know what I–”
“We will be taking our leave now,” Zhongli sends another pointed look in his boss’ direction before addressing you, “I will return around four, if that works best for you.”
“Perfect, I finish at four today so we can head straight for the trail once you’re here.” You also remember that you need to prepare the sandwiches you had decided to make as a light dinner atop the mountain. Given the excessive amount of walking planned, a heavy meal would only do more harm than good.
Just as you’re thinking of where to go on your break to gather the ingredients needed, Zhongli and Hu Tao bid their farewells to you and make for the funeral parlor for their scheduled meetings.
On the other hand, you wait for your coworker to return from their lunch to take your own. There’s an extra hop in your step as you walk through the lower half of Liyue Harbor, an extra sense of glee in your tone while speaking to a few merchants.
With your thoughts consumed with anticipation for the afternoon ahead, the last thing you’re worried about is the empty letter that remains on your desk back home.
Although it does manage to cross your mind for a brief, fleeting moment near the end of your shift. You’re tucking the freshly made sandwiches into your bag in the back of the shop when the thought strikes you like a phantom – a manifestation of your indecision – emerging from the shadows. Looming over your shoulder waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
You shake your head, hoping in turn it’ll dispel the less than welcome thoughts from your mind. It feels rather silly to let something as mundane as writing a letter have such an affect on you, but it’s the finality of your choice that gives this simple sheet of paper such a profound meaning.
Much to your delight, the sound of the entry doors chiming at exactly four on the dot drags your focus back to the present. The sound of Zhongli speaking with your coworker erases the letter from the top of your memory altogether and swiftly replaces it with your earlier anticipation.
With your backpack now slung over your shoulders, you return to the front of the teashop and nod at the dark-haired funeral consultant who’s just glanced over at you, “You’re punctual as always.”
“Indeed,” he nods in return, “Are you ready for our excursion?”
“More than ready.” You’re unable to mask your own giddiness, sending a large smile in his direction while making your way to his side – one that crinkles your eyes and rounds your cheekbones.
Zhongli’s usual stoic composure melts away as he returns your grin, a dusty pink settling over the curve of his nose as he gestures towards the front doors to begin your afternoon adventures, “After you, then.”
Minutes later and the two of you are making decent progress towards the mountain that looms over Liyue Harbor, almost like a guardian of the prosperous city. Though it doesn’t take long for you to reach the bridge near your apartment, effectively leaving the harbor once you’ve crossed it, there’s still quite a ways to go before you’re at your destination.
As evident by the way you’re already winded after the second long set of wooden steps that make up bits and pieces of the trail. Your attempts to even your labored breaths are for naught as Zhongli halts in front of you, effectively allowing you a moment of respite.
“Allow me to take this burden off your shoulders,” he turns and reaches for the strap of your backpack, hooking a single gloved finger beneath the leather fabric, “though if you feel you’re unable to continue, I may know of another spot–”
“No! No, I can do it…but if you don’t mind taking the backpack…”
Letting out a soft chuckle, he waits until you’ve turned your back to him to grab the bag off of you entirely, slinging it over his own shoulders as though its weight is equivalent to a mere feather. You’re aware that you don’t have the best upper body strength, but watching him trek onwards so easily has you slightly gawking at his hidden strength. What else do you have yet to learn of this dark-haired funeral consultant?
He continues to exude his physical prowess the further and further the both of you head up the mountain – from his steady breathing to his lack of perspiration, you ogle at him from a few yards behind in both awe and envy. Despite how easy this seems to be for Zhongli, though, he remains attentive to you and your frequent breaks.
Just when you think your legs are going to cave beneath you at any second, you reach a small plateau with what appears to be the perfect location to get comfortable for the evening ahead. Zhongli appears to have the same idea, deterring from the path and heading for the large tree that lingers on this flat section of the mountain by its lonesome.
You manage to remain standing long enough to grab the blanket stashed in your bag, lying it over the grass directly next to the trunk of the tree before practically throwing yourself onto the gentle fabric in exhaustion. Taking a much more gentle approach, Zhongli slowly seats himself at your side after lying your bag down near the tree.
“My legs feel like jelly…” You bemoan, eyes slowly falling shut for just a moment as you embrace the cool breeze that whips across your frame from this altitude.
Zhongli hums in amusement before saying, “I did offer on multiple occasions for us to travel a less inclined path, but you insisted otherwise, quite adamantly if I recall correctly.”
“But it was worth it!” Slowly sitting up, you rest your weight on your arms that remain outstretched behind you, “We got the best seats in the house with this view!”
“I suppose we do.” He agrees.
The view before you is in fact rather breathtaking – not literally like hiking up to this point had been – but a view one can only stare at in complete awe. Streaks of pink and blue decorate the sky, slowly fading down into the rich gold of the sun as it sets beneath the ocean’s horizon.
Although it’s still bright enough for those to see where they’re going, some businesses down at the harbor have already set flames to their street lanterns. You eagerly anticipate the view once darkness engulfs the evening and the lights truly start to shine throughout the beautiful city.
Glancing over at Zhongli, it appears he’s staring just as fondly over Liyue as you were, though there’s definitely an extra sense of admiration in his gentle gaze. Almost like a sense of pride for the nation he’s lived in his entire life.
The thought of this gaze being transferred onto you crosses your mind for a split second, a fleeting intrusive thought that has you shaking your head to dispel it just as fast as it had arrived. Friends wouldn’t stare at one another like that, after all.
You quickly return your train of thoughts to the love Zhongli quite obviously holds for Liyue. It reminds you of the way you used to stare with amazement and wonder every time you’d go to the capital in Fontaine. Before you can dwell too much on that, your stomach rumbles both abruptly and loudly.
Zhongli turns to you as you fumble through your bag in search of the sandwiches you prepared only hours earlier, thankful they didn’t get squished from the journey as you lay them down on the blanket.
“Are you hungry?” You ask, wanting to be polite before you devour at least one, if not two of the prepared sandwiches.
He shrugs, “Maybe just a tad, what options do you have?”
“Well, there’s matsutake and meat, egg and cheese, grilled tiger fish–”
The look of disgust that etches onto his features at the mention of seafood has your interest immediately piqued, “You don’t like fish?”
“No,” Zhongli’s remarks bluntly, “ I have encountered enough sea creatures to satiate me for the rest of my life. I need not be reminded of them while trying to enjoy a meal.”
You try so hard not to burst into laughter at the thought of the man before you having a vendetta of sorts against fish, but your cackles eventually echo through the evening while you clutch your stomach in desperate need of air.
“Sorry, sorry–” your apology is followed by one more bout of giggles, “I just…what kind of personal problems could you possibly have with fish?”
The number one fish hater in all of Teyvat can’t help but let out a small laugh himself, “It is…a rather long tale, perhaps I can tell it to you sometime in the future.”
He settles on the matsutake sandwich instead while you happily munch on the others you had prepared, a comfortable silence falling between the two of you as you eat.
Just as you finish eating, Zhongli breaks the silence, asking, “How have you gotten accustomed to life here in Liyue so far, if you don’t mind me asking? I believe it has been slightly over two months since you arrived, correct?”
“Yeah, I think so.” You agree, “In the beginning it was hard, I didn’t really have anyone to talk to outside of my coworkers so more often than not I would get really homesick...”
“I can only imagine the difficulties one faces when uprooting their entire life.” He offers you a sincere smile, almost as though he’s encouraging you to continue if you feel comfortable doing so, which you do.
“If you and I didn’t meet…I think I would have moved back home already, despite what’s waiting for me there…”
This revelation – this entryway into your enigmatic past – intrigues the man at your side as he gently pushes further, “In the time we’ve known each other, you’ve spoken sparingly of your life in Fontaine. Please do tell me if I’m overstepping any boundaries, but is there a particular reason you stray from talking about it?”
With that, the dam bursts so easily; the concrete that once held strong tumbling down into the river of your future as you tell Zhongli all about your royal past in Fontaine.
You start with your family name and its generations of wealth from successful agricultural developments hundreds of years ago, how the eldest child was always expected to maintain this success. But your mother had wanted something different for you, she had wanted you to be able to decide your own future – she often told you as a child this much. She promised that she would make great changes while continuing to uphold the family’s core traditions.
So when you lost your mother at the age of eight to a terrible illness, your father had no choice but to take on the burdens himself. A man originating from Liyue, he spent months locked away in his study learning all he could from your family’s archive of journals in order to take over your mother’s duties.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough, but you only learned of this well into your adulthood. The day that your father brought you into his office to tell you that in order for peace to remain within the walls of your large estate, a marriage between you and the eldest son of the Blanchet family would have to take place.
The Blanchet family accrued its immense wealth through fleeting luck in the mining industry, but they were always yearning for more, to cement their name as the wealthiest in all of Fontaine. With your family in the way of that, they took advantage of your father’s growing struggles and offered a solution: combining your families into one with a marriage.
You continue to tell Zhongli how this was your last straw, that you couldn’t imagine throwing your autonomy away like that. So you did the only thing you could possibly think of. You ran away.
“It’s been about three months now since I found out about the arranged marriage and my father wrote to me about a month ago, asking me to come home.” Against your will, tears begin to build at your lower lash line, “I haven’t been able to give him an answer, even though I don’t want to go through with it, I feel like I’m obligated to.”
“One cannot be forced to consent to a contract they were not present for, so you hold no obligation to fulfill what your father and this other family decided upon without your prior knowledge.” He speaks so matter-of-factly, his values that mirror the Geo Archon you’ve learned so much about bleeding through his speech.
You don’t even realize that a lone tear has slipped down your cheek until a gloved thumb reaches over and swipes it away, followed by his smooth, honey-like voice reassuring you further, “I have full faith that there must be another way to restore your family’s success without the need for a loveless marriage.”
“Maybe…”
There’s a million thoughts racing through your mind, but you struggle to form cohesive sentences that express exactly how you’re feeling. The only thing that does manage to slip past your lips is an apology.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the night or make it awkward by dumping my family problems onto you, I’d like to just forget about it for now, if that’s alright.”
“Nonsense.” Zhongli smiles warmly in your direction. “It was me who brought it up in the first place, I apologize if I upset you in any way.”
You shake your head adamantly, staring off into the darkened evening before you, “No it…actually felt nice to talk about my feelings, for once, so thank you for listening.”
“As I’ve told you once before, whenever you require a listening ear, I am always happy to oblige.”
You start to wonder what you could have possibly done in a past life to be blessed with the friendship that has flourished between you and Zhongli, what God you might have appealed to. There’s only so much time for you to dwell on that when a streak of green suddenly soars along the stars – the first meteor of the night.
“Did you see that, Zhongli?!” Your once forlorn expression is so quickly swapped with one of admiration as you point towards the meteors flashing through the sky. He acknowledges you with a low hum, gaze also transfixed on the celestial phenomena before him.
For now, the two of you watch in silence.
Something compels you though, after a while longer, to glance over at the dark-haired male beside you. When you do, you’re surprised to see he’s already begun to meet your eyes. His own golden pair shine brightly under the moonlight’s glimmer, once again reminding you of the purest Cor Lapis.
Nothing is spoken between the both of you for what feels like hours, though you’re certain it's only been maybe half a minute. Zhongli is the first to break the silence and eye contact when his gaze trails over your head, “There's…”
He leans over, outstretching his arm until he seems to capture something above you. When he draws his arm back you catch sight of a geo crystal-fly that’s taken purchase on the top of his hand.
“Most of them avoid human contact,” you say in fascination, “are you like…a crystal-fly whisperer or something.”
Zhongli tries, but struggles, to maintain his laughter at your comment. He’s careful not to frighten the small creature, examining its lopsided stature, “This one appears to have a damaged wing, which might explain its docile nature.”
“Is there anything we can do to help ‘em?”
“Unfortunately, I’m unaware of any medical procedures regarding crystal-flies,” he sighs, setting the little thing down onto the blanket. “However, these creatures have no natural predators, but are often snatched by humans for their crystal cores. It is but a natural course of life for them.”
Before either of you can intervene, the geo crystal-fly flutters its wings and begins to fly off into the night, albeit with a slight wobble in its patterns. As you watch the small creature soar out of eyesight, you catch notice of the moon and its placement in the night sky. It was getting pretty late.
“I think now’s a good time to head back to the harbor, as nice as being up here is…” you slowly lift yourself up from the blanket, stretching your muscles with a low groan from having sat for so long.
Zhongli follows suit, helping you pack everything into the bag, “I hope you found that the meteor shower lived up to your expectations.”
“It did!” You allow him to shrug the backpack over his shoulders once more, easing the burden from your own, “Thank you…for tonight, Zhongli. For being such a great friend, coming up here with me, listening to me ramble on about my silly problems…”
“There is no need to thank me, as I recall the saying, that’s what friends are for.”
If a man like Zhongli is this attentive and kind with his friends, you can only imagine the dedication he would put into a romantic relationship. The thought crosses your mind just as the two of you begin to descend the mountain, and this time you can’t just get rid of it with a simple shake of your head.
There’s no denying that he’s more than conventionally attractive – it just so happened to be one of the first things you noticed when you bumped into him all those weeks ago. His good looks paired with his gentleman-ly attitude has you surprised that he is in fact, very much single.
It’s not like you’ll be the one to change that status, though, given all that is going on with your personal life, your familial burdens. Most of all, it’s not like you’d actually want to risk this perfectly good friendship for something more…at least, you’re still trying to convince yourself of that.
You try to shift your focus back to the trail ahead, not wanting to snag yourself on any stray branches whether it be ones lined across the dirt or hanging low from the trees above. But of course, it's when you’re actively trying to avoid tripping that you manage to trip down one of the more narrow sets of stairs near the bottom of the trail.
Just as your eyes frantically shut in anticipation for the harsh fall, they reopen just as fast when a sudden warmth envelopes your entire frame. It’s not a person, though, but rather strips of gold rapidly circling your body, a shield of sorts. Zhongli had long since whipped around to face you, one palm outstretched in your direction as he controls the elemental force.
You allow this shield to aid you upright, watching it vanish when Zhongli drops his arm back to his side. Seconds later and he’s next to you, checking for potential injuries you could have sustained.
“Are you alright?” He asks, voice laced with worry.
“Yeah, yeah, my foot though…I think I twisted it…” A hiss passes your lips when you make any attempt to apply pressure on your left leg, “Was that your vision that you used?”
“My vision– oh, yes, but we have more pressing matters to address.” He wraps a secure arm at your upper middle, allowing you to drape one of your own arms over the back of his shoulders, “Will you be able to walk with my assistance, or shall I carry you the rest of the way?”
You want to protest his suggestion of carrying you, but the dull throb emitting from your ankle has you reluctantly muttering out, “I don’t think I can walk the rest of the way…but–”
A squeal is ripped from your throat when you're suddenly scooped into Zhongli’s arms, throwing both of your own around his neck as he draws you close to his chest. He continues the trek downwards with ease, as though you weigh no more than a mere pebble.
“Have you always been this strong?” You ask incredulously, witnessing no falter of his breath or perspiration on his forehead.
“I was rather…rowdy in my youth, you could say,” Zhongli chuckles, “I’m much stronger than I may appear outwardly to most people, my…vision also helps.”
On one hand, you could count all of the people you have met back home who adorn a vision. It had never been something you aspired to receive, but it’s difficult not to admit how much fun it must be to be able to manipulate your designated element at your will.
“Well, thank you for saving me, that shield of yours is pretty handy.” You say while allowing your head to slowly fall onto his shoulder, your forehead nestled against his neck.
Exhaustion has quickly overwhelmed you, a series of soft yawns spilling from your mouth. It’s only now that you hear the slightest hitch of his breath, but you chalk it up to his own tiredness from today’s activities.
You think you could fall asleep just like this and you nearly do, despite the sounds of citizens wandering through the harbor getting louder and louder. Until your eyes flutter open and you realize that you’re only a few feet away from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor – not your apartment.
“Zhongli, this–”
“Apologies, I should have asked you first,” he safely assumes the words that were about to leave your lips, “Will you allow me to examine your leg before you return home? A bandage of sorts may be required to maintain swelling, along with a herbal concoction to remedy any pain.”
You nod, half-expecting him to bring you to his office while he fetches medical supplies from his home. When he takes a slight detour, heading up a set of stairs and down a short hallway, you grow a bit giddy at the thought of being able to finally see his abode.
The first thing your eyes focus on when he carefully opens the front door is…well…nothing. Not that he doesn’t have anything, but rather the amount of knick knacks that take up his dwelling makes it hard to focus on just one thing in particular.
His couch is almost as comfortable as your bed – actually, it might be more comfortable. The way you melt into the plush, satin cushions so easily when Zhongli sets you down carefully onto it, one could easily fall asleep here. He makes sure your injured leg is elevated, your swollen ankle exposed to his gaze for proper examination before promising to return with some supplies shortly.
Almost immediately you yearn for his gentle touch once more, his body heat that radiated off of him and warmed you the rest of the way down Mt. Tianheng. Your mind wanders even farther, imagining how peaceful it would be to fall asleep in his embrace, those strong arms keeping you close to his lean frame all throughout the night.
Far too exhausted to shake the thoughts away this time, you tell yourself that even if you do harbor any sort of silly, short-lived crush for the funeral consultant, you’ll just simply get over it. Besides, how hard could that be?
When Zhongli returns to his living room with a stash of medicinal supplies, he finds you with your eyes heavily shut and on the cusp of falling into a deep slumber. You’re awake just enough to hear him enter with a soft chuckle, to hear the sound of a fabric being unfolded, and finally the feeling of a warm blanket being draped over your figure.
“From just a mere glance, your ankle doesn’t appear to be too swollen…we will check it again in the morning instead, sleep well.” His voice grows further and further away the deeper into sleep you fall until he’s long since retreated to his bedroom.
Your final thoughts of the evening before you’re entirely engulfed in the embrace of slumber is that yeah, getting over a little crush like this can’t be that hard.
You won’t let yourself sabotage the one good thing that’s entered your life since starting anew, especially not when the letter addressed to your father with your final decision – the one that will determine your entire future – remains empty.
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The Demigod From Asgard - Steve Rogers x Reader (Part 9)
Summary: Steve fulfils a promise and ropes you in to help
Word Count: 1.2k
Warnings: Fluff! Painfully slow slow burn!
Dividers by @firefly-graphics​
Series Masterlist / Masterlist
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Chapter 9: Everyone needs a hot lunch
One of the things that had happened since the battle of New York was that there was a lot of merchandise based on the Avengers. You’d seen cereal boxes, t-shirts, dolls.
So far you hadn’t seen many dolls that actually looked like any of the avengers.  It had secretly become a game where if you guys saw a particular bad one you’d send a photo to the others. It was a good excuse to keep in touch.
You and Steve were doing grocery shopping together when you walked down one aisle to find a whole section dedicated to the avengers.
“Oh wow” you mutter the both of you stopping dead in your tracks.
“That is a lot of stuff” Steve says glancing around before pulling his cap down a little further.
“Hey this is kinda cool” you say grabbing a circular lunchbox that had Steve’s shield on one side and Tony’s arc reactor on the other.
“Yeah guess so, this doll on the other hand is not, I don’t scowl like that” Steve says picking up one of the action figures, a very similar scowl on his face
“You’re pulling that face right now” you laugh pointing at him.
He instantly schools his expression shaking his head “was not” he argues.
“Were too, now come on before we get spotted” you laugh.
Steve puts the action figure back grumbling to himself before the two of you move away.
“You know I mentioned about Morita’s grandson is a principal?” Steve asks as you two continue shopping.
“Yeah” you say recalling the time you spent in London.
“Well I got in contact with him, spoke about his grandad. He was killed in battle so he never got to meet him so I was able to tell him stories about his Morita” Steve tells as he grabs something from the shelf and putting it in his cart.
“Oh nice, I bet he really appreciated that” you smile, Steve nodding his head slightly.
“Yeah he then told me about this videos they do for the school to teach them about good hygiene all that, he said he usually get some random actor but he asked if I’d like to do it” Steve explains shrugging his shoulders slightly.
“Oh really? Did you agree to it?” You ask.
“Yeah, I’m filming some of them tomorrow, but I was wondering if you’d come with me?” He asks turning to face you.
“Really?” You ask surprised.
“Yeah, I never really enjoyed it when I had to sell war bonds, so I thought maybe having some company there might make it easier” Steve explains dropping his head suddenly very interested in his shoes.
“Yeah sure, sounds fun and I promise not to tease you too much” you smirk nudging him slightly making him laugh.
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The next day you and Steve were walking into a small studio. When the two of you walked in the entire room fell silent, everyone looked at the two of you awestruck.
“Oh wow, Hi I wasn’t expecting two avengers today” the director says walking over and shaking both Steve’s and your hand.
“Apologies for tagging along, I hope I won’t get in the way” you apologise but the director waves you off.
“Oh no it’s no problem at all, we’re happy to have you” He smiles.
“Where do you want me?” Steve asks clearing his throat quietly.
“Yes, if you just change into your suit then we’ll get started” the director smiles pointing over to a changing room.
“Okay, I’ll be right back” Steve agrees before heading off to change.
Once he was gone the director started asking you different questions about the Avengers and Thor. You couldn’t help but chuckle at his excitement, answering every question the best you could.
A few minutes later Steve reappear now full suited up. The director directed him over to the green screen before finding you a seat where you could watch.
“Okay so Sally here will be holding up cue cards, all you gotta do is look straight into the camera and read the cue cards” the director explained.
Steve nodded his head and he adjusted his helmet “alright just like the USO tours” he says before moving to his mark.
As you watched you couldn’t help but chuckle. You actually had to try really hard to laugh too loudly. You watched as Steve filmed several videos about getting detention, puberty, and eating healthy, all of them incredibly cringeworthy.
You could tell that he was struggling to get through some of them with a straight face. He was currently filming one about eating a hot lunch. He had just finished he sentence when his eyes met yours. Instantly the both of you laughed out loud. Steve apologised for laughing before composing himself, sending a playful glare your way.
“Okay last one we need to do is the gym challenge one” the director says.
“For this one if you could demonstrate each station they need to do that would be great” director explains.
Steve looks over at you and you could see the mischievous look in his eyes. You raise a brow at him wondering what on earth he could be thinking.
“You know what could be a good idea, if we got Y/N to demonstrate them as I explain them?” Steve suggests smirking over at you.
The director turns to you a smile on his face “would you?” He asks excitedly.
You glare over Steve before returning your attention back to the direction shrugging your shoulders slightly.
“Oh I don’t know, I haven’t got my suit” you say.
“What are you talking about? You can make it appear whenever you want” Steve laughs pointing out your lie.
You force a smile standing up from your chair making you Asgardian armour appear. Agreeing to their demands and walking over to join Steve. You jab him in the ribs as you pass him making him laugh.
“You’ll pay for this” you warn him quietly, but he just smirks down at you.
The director shouts action and Steve begins to read off the cue card again, introducing the challenge.
“Our first station is sit ups, my friend Y/N will demonstrate the best practice” Steve says gesturing over to you.
You get down on the floor, beginning to do sit ups while Steve explains how to do sit ups properly. You repeat this with all the different stations. Eventually the director called cut and that it was a wrap.
“Thank you both for doing this, the kids are gonna love it!” The director smiles shaking both your hands again.
“No problem happy to help, it was fun” Steve says smirking down at you.
Once he was changed out of his suit the two of you say goodbye and head out. Once out of earshot you elbowed Steve in ribs glaring up at him slightly.
“I could kill you for doing that” you tell him, unable to keep your laughter at bay.
Steve laughs throwing his head back and clutching his chest “payback for all times you were laughing at me” Steve laughs.
You shake your head at him “you’re lucky that you’re my best friend otherwise you’d be so dead right now” you chuckle pushing him slightly.
Steve just laughs wrapping his arm around your shoulder pulling you back towards him “I’m grateful” he smiles.
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LIKE FOLLOW AND REBLOG!
Series Masterlist / Masterlist
I don’t have a tag list so follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notifications for updates!
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Howdy Howdy
So. 
Here we are. 
Five whole ass years later. 
Anyway, I purged my everything and I’m doing a total reset because I have an actual “plan” for this blog sorta kinda. 
So I’m going to bluntly ask you to follow my Wattpad (XerxesMax19) to see what I’ve been writing and maybe read some of it. 
I write scifi/fantasy exclusively, at various levels of subtlety/intensity. About half of what I write so far is double-dipped as gay romance, and all of my stories so far have some violent element to them at some point. 
Below are what I’ve written and posted so far on Wattpad, along with synopses and potential trigger warnings. Enjoy: (Also y’all are gonna be nice to me because I am not a visual artist, okay, I just needed covers so I did my best)
That World Called Zerigoph (series)
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That World Called Zerigoph is a fantasy trilogy featuring both a slow burning war and a slow burning romance between James Melbourne, linguistic scientist/madman who finds himself on an alien planet, and Maxiaus Xerxes, the current prince of the kingdom of Zerigoph. It’s a story of reluctant identity, survival against political ploys, and choosing when to act on terrifying and dangerous emotions – both romantically and politically. 
There are brutal and graphic depictions of war, slavery/abuse, and mental health issues, as well as characters deeply questioning their various faiths in the face of adversity. 
There are also intimate romantic and sexual scenes throughout the trilogy, most containing some plot-focus. Chapter 37 of book 3 can be skipped entirely, as there is no plot relevancy to the sex. 
Clock Breakers
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Clock Breakers is a time travel scifi story about stopping the end of the world. Freezerburn has a dark history with disrupted time flow. When Nash collects him for a job under an unknown boss, he’s quickly forced to confront his demons while throwing himself through time loop after time loop in a desperate attempt to save the person who needs it the most. 
This book contains themes of survivor’s guilt with passing mentions of suicide and other violent crime. 
There is no intimacy/romance/sex in this book other than a passing reference to a character’s past. 
Bandaids & Pickle Juice
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Bandaids & Pickle Juice is a subtle fantasy story focusing on the sudden relationship between Mark Thompson, a single father, and Jacob Moonwater, a self-proclaimed “bad-boy” who’s hidden past and secret day job draws Mark in. While Jacob is fighting to keep his day job safe from an illegal crime-boss takeover, Mark is fighting to keep his family and new romantic interest safe. 
There are scenes of human brutality and threat to animal well-being in this book, as well as abuse of municipal/police status. There are also scenes of child endangerment. 
There are sexual scenes in this book, both quick and slow burn. There are also passing references and flashbacks to sexual abuse and manipulation. 
Works In Progress:
I am currently working on a story about a group of abnormal orphans trying to survive the growing danger of “speciesism” (functional racism) as they grow into their abilities and powers. 
It so far contains scenes of abuse and endangerment to our child (/young adult) protagonists, as well as many references to the Holocaust. 
There are no sexual scenes in this story, though there are a handful of passing references and remarks. 
I’ll probably post about it once I start uploading, but that may take a hot minute as it’s not done yet and it’ll be a bit to edit what with college and all. 
A Final Note On Trigger Warnings
In the publication descriptions on Wattpad, I list any visual clues that may relate to triggers (chapters marked with asterisks contain sex, etc.). 
I do not have a time frame for the next conversion project, but I am planning on creating alternate versions of the same stories to allow various people more comfortable reading experiences. 
For example, a Lavender Edition would contain toned down (and only necessary) violence, gore, brutality, and sex/romance/intimacy. The plot would be unaffected, but for those with triggers or sensitivities, it could be more comfortable. 
A Rose Petal Edition would eliminate sexual/intimate scenes and replace them with references or quick-cuts (example: “and then they went to bed,” rather than a vivid description of the events at hand.)
Anyway. This was a lot to write. Welcome back, I guess. Or welcome for the first time. I hope you enjoy my stories and characters, and I’m excited to jump start this whole promotion thing again. 
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Chapter LX (“AWWW”)
A/N: So...I’m back, for now! Hello again everybody, I am so sorry for dropping this story out of the blue last year. A combination of work, writer’s block, and some family/personal issues made it kinda tough to sit down and focus on this story. I apologize if this chapter is a little choppy, I used it as an inspiration to crawl back out of my writer’s block, and writing it was a little therapeutic for me. It’s a slow chapter and a bit on the shorter side, but I think it’s a bit of a breather before we get into the last stretch of this story. Speaking of, I probably won’t update again until I have a majority of the remaining chapters written. It shouldn’t be too hard, I already have them planned and outlined, and now all I have to do is write them out. 
As always, thank you so very much for sticking with me throughout this long and drawn-out process. I really appreciate each and every one of you, it’s because of your constant support that I’ve gotten this far in this story to begin with. So thank you and I hope you enjoy the chapter! 
Fandom: Attack on Titan  Pairing: Levi x Mia (OC)  Words: 5.8k 
Warnings: suggestive dialogue, mentions of pregnancy and raising children, mostly fluff all around but Mia is hopeful for having children one day 
Taglist: @omg-lexiloveyou, @tootiredforyourshit3963, @super-peace-fangirl, @mr-robot-x, @unusversuscanicula, @cyborgnate, @saltypancakes 
|LX|
The summer sun was warm against my skin. A soft glow shining through the curtains, bleeding through the sheets around us. I stretched my arm along Levi’s bare chest, eliciting the smallest of hums from his throat. I couldn’t help but smile as he tightened his arms around me, as I buried my face against the crook of his neck.
Morning already? It feels as though I barely got enough sleep…
Still, it was early enough for us to laze around a bit. Neither of us had anywhere to be until later this afternoon, anyway. Maybe we could afford to sleep in, just this once.
Every part of my body felt sore; the muscles in my thighs were still burning from exhaustion, my throat was a little scratchy from screaming his name last night. By the way you were screaming Wolf, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole castle heard you. My face grew warm at the thought, and that’s when Levi shifted himself to smirk at me.
“What is it?” His voice was still raspy from sleep, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.
“Nothing. Just admiring my handsome captain, like I do every morning.”
He didn’t roll his eyes or scoff like I expected him to, just like he’d done every other time I’d called him the h-word. Instead he slid his fingers across my forehead, brushing a few strands of hair from my face, before thumbing the little white scar across my cheek. I hummed as he cradled my face in his hands, lips fluttering over the top of my head.
Of course, his one rule in bed: No kissing before brushing our teeth.
But the bed was so warm, and his arms were so comfortable, that the mere thought of getting out and leaving him was enough to make me grimace. So I snuggled in as close as I could, pressing my face to the planes of his chest and kissing the skin below.
“Someone’s clingy today.”
“You’re one to talk,” I retorted, but my voice was muffled by his chest. “You can’t stand it when I get out of bed before you.”
“Oh, is that why you won’t let me leave?”
As if to test his little theory, he began to inch closer to the edge of the bed, sliding his leg from out of the covers and towards the floor. But I was quick to snatch him back, hooking my leg around his own and keeping him pinned to the bed below.
“Tch, come on, you little shit.” But there was no malice in his tone as he carded his fingers through my messy hair. “I have to piss. And clean up. You should do the same, too.”
“But you’re so warm…”
He groaned again, flopping back down against the pillows. I crawled up the length of his body and held myself over his chest, with my elbow propped up against the side of his head.
“Just a few more minutes, captain.” His jaw tightened as I slid my finger across his collarbone, down his chest and over his abdomen. “You’re too warm and comfortable to let go of just yet.”
“…A few more minutes. But that’s it.”
Of course. I pressed a kiss to his cheek before settling into my usual place, with my head tucked beneath his chin and my palm pressed against his heart.
Already I could start to feel myself dozing off again. It was all so surreal to me—the gentle hum of his breaths, the warmth of his sun-kissed skin against mine, and the soft tug of his fingers in my hair, lazily twisting the strands at my nape. Suddenly I didn’t feel like a soldier of the Survey Corps; soldiers never felt peaceful like this for too long.
Every morning could be like this, after this war is over.
That little voice in the back of my head was already hard at work, whispering forbidden dreams and promises in my ear. I could only press my face against his chest, as the thoughts began to run rampant within my mind.
Imagine waking up next to him like this for the rest of your life, but in a different house. Maybe one somewhere deep in the forests beyond the Walls, away from the rest of the world. Maybe we’ll live in a cottage by a lake or a river, one we’ve built together with our own hands. Maybe we’ll have a barn as well, to keep a few horses close by. And maybe when I wake up one of these mornings, I’ll find Levi’s fingers splayed across my stomach, protecting the child growing inside of me. Our child.
The thought of children made my throat close up. Fuck. I forgot I’d mentioned them to him last night…
Neither of us were ready for that conversation, maybe not for a good few years. We were still soldiers, sworn to protect the remnants of humanity from the Titans, even at the cost of our lives. We couldn’t set aside our duties for a couple of children for ten years at least, or maybe even more. And I refused to give them off to a wet nurse or another couple to raise in our stead. If Levi and I were ever going to have children of our own, we would raise them ourselves, not let another person take over. I couldn’t even bear the thought of handing my child, either a boy like Levi or a girl like myself, over to a stranger I didn’t even know.
It was best to just wait until the Titans were eradicated altogether. Then we could settle in that silly little cottage in the forest. Then we could discuss the topic of children freely. But for now, it was a possibility neither of us dared to speak out loud.
“What is it?”
I brushed my fingers along his collarbone once more. “What’s what?”
“You know what I mean.” Levi groaned as he shifted himself against the pillows; I nearly laughed when I realized the spare pillow was still propped up against what remained of the poor headboard. “What’s bothering you? And don’t say it’s nothing…because I’ll know you’re lying.”
He held me firm against his body, with my chin propped up on his chest and his palms against my shoulders. I sighed, wondering if it was worth it to come clean to him now and bring up my thoughts about our future children—if we even end up having any to begin with.
But I couldn’t get the words out. They were lodged in the back of my throat, keeping me from breathing, from telling him just how I really felt about all of this. They were right there on the tip of my tongue, and yet I couldn’t say them out loud no matter how hard I tried.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want us to retire from the Scouts when this war is over. I want us to get married, to move to a little house far away from everyone else. I want us to have children, as many as we can possibly have. A son, a daughter, whatever you want—it doesn’t matter to me. And maybe we’ll have that tea shop you told me about once, maybe in one of the outer districts close to home. I want us to stay by each other’s sides until the day we take our last breaths, with graying hair and wrinkled skin and our many grandchildren playing at our knees.
But…how could I tell him all of this without scaring him away? If there was one thing I knew about Levi, it was that he liked to take things slowly, to allow himself to adapt and adjust. I couldn’t just dump all of that on him without any warning whatsoever.
Still, I had to say something to him. So I cleared my throat and touched his cheek, tracing down to his jawline as softly as I could.
“…I just wish every day could be like this.”
Soft, quiet, gentle—absolute bliss.
His only answer was a light squeeze against my shoulders—and I had no time to think before he pulled me in close, slotting his lips against my own. Morning breath be damned, I still loved the taste of his mouth.
“I thought you didn’t like kissing first thing in the morning.”
I snickered as he rolled his eyes, before pushing me off his chest and rolling onto his stomach on the bed. His arms curled around the pillows, the sun’s rays spilling across his back. The scratches I’d left last night were still there, pink and tender, stretching along the length of his shoulders. I leaned down to press a few kisses along each one, smirking as I felt him shiver beneath my mouth.
When I was done, I lowered myself across his back and curled a few strands of black hair behind his ear. It was strange, seeing him with messy morning hair, but I loved it all the same.
“Can we sleep in, just for a little bit?” He groaned into the pillow as I pressed my lips to the shell of his ear. “I promise, I’ll make it up to you tonight…”
“With what?” He shifted his head to the side, giving me a half-hearted smirk against the fabric of the pillow. “More scratches on my back with those claws of yours?”
“Well, I could, if you want me to… But I’ll clean them up again, as many times as you want.” Just for good measure, I pressed another line of kisses down the most prominent scratch on his left shoulder—a long red line that burned brighter than all the others.
Neither of us spoke for a while after that, and for a moment I wondered if he was actually going to give into my plea of sleeping in. But then he was pushing himself off the mattress, palms digging into the pillows below. I flopped down on my back at his side, staring up at him as he stretched out his arms and rolled his shoulders back and forth.
“Let me piss first, at least. And I suggest you do the same.”
It was hard not to smile as I watched him disappear into the bathroom, leaving the door open just a little bit. I yawned and curled my arm behind my head, staring up at the ceiling above. With the effects of sleep still lingering, and the warmth of Levi’s touch still against my skin, I closed my eyes and let my mind begin to wander.
Once this war was over, we’d be able to have all the lazy mornings we wanted. Just the two of us, in our little house in the heart of the forest. There was a Forest of Giant Trees just outside Shiganshina’s outer gates, and once we took back Wall Maria maybe we could settle there—that is, unless they didn’t turn it into a tourist attraction like they did with the ones within the Walls.
I thought of the river cutting through the southern half of the Walls, through the center of Shiganshina before leading further into the territory beyond Wall Maria. As far as I knew, none of the Scouts knew where it came to an end. It carried on further and further south, even past the old castle ruins I’d explored on my first expedition beyond the Walls. I remembered staring at it with my mouth agape, watching the water flow south as far as the eye could see, before disappearing into the red horizon. Ever since then, I’d wondered what was at the end of it, and whether or not there were even more rivers in the world beyond our three safe Walls.
Once we win this war, we’ll be able to find out for ourselves. We’ll settle down somewhere, away from everyone else within the Walls; once we start exploring the Walls will surely feel a bit cramped. It’ll just be me and Levi, and our two horses of course, and someday down the line—
Before I knew it, I was pressing my palm to my stomach, splaying my fingers across the scarred skin. And I couldn’t help but frown when all I felt was stillness. Nothing was in there—not yet, at least.
Hold on—what the fuck am I thinking? I groaned into my palms and turned over to lay on my stomach, nails digging into the top of my scalp.
You and Levi aren’t ready for children yet. Hell, you don’t even know if he wants children to begin with! You guys barely talked about it last night, you know. So stop jumping into sad little fantasies of the future.
As much as I hated to say it…the little voice in the back of my mind was right. The thought was nice, something to keep close whenever the future looked bright, but we both knew the truth. Neither of us had time to spare for a child right now. And there was too much at stake right now to start thinking about our retirement from the Scouts, or whether or not we would live together once the Titans were gone. And that alone made my hands begin to tremble.
Sure, we practically lived in each other’s offices at this point, but we were still under the same roof—with roughly a hundred other soldiers living in close proximity with us. Would Levi even be okay with walking away from the base someday to live alone with me? Or did he have other plans to live somewhere else—plans that didn’t include me?
Levi cleared his throat as he finally stepped out of the bathroom, ruffling his messy hair with his fingers. I was quick to slip in after him, catching a whiff of mint from his breath as he leaned in to kiss my forehead. Clean freak already brushed his teeth, huh?
“Make it quick if you want to go back to sleep.” I gasped as he gave my ass a light smack, before making his way towards the messy bed. “I won’t wait forever.”
I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue at him. “Just for that, I’m going to take all the time I want in here!”
“Go ahead, but don’t be surprised when you come back to a cold bed, brat.”
I closed the door with a huff, and even through the running water in the bathroom, I could hear him snickering on the other side.
My mind was still racing as I took care of my business, washing up my face and brushing my teeth with the minty toothpaste he kept on the side of the sink. A million questions flooded my mind about the future: what would happen to us, where we would live, the state of the entire Survey Corps, and everything in between. Of course, there was also the possibility we could never end up living together afterwards, even if we wanted to; for all we knew, one of us could end up dying before then.
I shivered and spat out the toothpaste with a grunt. Stop that. Thinking about it will only get you worked up. Focus on what you have right now in front of you, okay?
And right now, I had a handsome captain waiting for me in bed—all alone, and all mine.
He was still there when I opened the door to the bathroom—of course, I knew he would never leave me—and I wasted no time climbing back into bed and throwing the sheets over our bodies. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, pulling him in as close as possible as his arms found their way around my hips.
“So clingy,” he mumbled against my hair.
“…Just sleepy.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie—I was pretty sleepy, and already I could feel my eyelids drooping as I curled into his chest beneath the covers. I made sure to keep my body almost completely still (no kicking my legs or shifting from side to side), so he wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong with me. We were both too tired to even entertain any ideas of what the future could hold for us. I couldn’t spring this up on him now.
So I kept quiet and snuggled deeper into his chest, the warmth of the sun’s rays and his arms around me lulling me back to sleep.
|~|
When I finally left his room a little over an hour later, the first thing I did was head to the mess hall to check up on my kids. Thankfully they were no longer sleeping on the floor and across the tables, like they had been the night before. Now they were crowded around their usual tables, mumbling to each other over their identical bowls of gruel.
“Never again,” I heard Gretel mutter under her breath, “no more late nights. My head can’t take it…”
I snorted as I gathered my own bowl of gruel from the main counter. If that’s how she’s acting just by staying up late, I’d hate to see what she’s like when she’s hungover. Not that I would ever encourage my cadets to drink (at least, not when they were in my presence, of course).
Which reminded me… I’d have to go check on Mike and Moblit later today. Those two could become insufferable with alcohol in their systems, and while Moblit was usually reserved and had a high tolerance (normally), it was Mike who was the more rambunctious of the two. A bad influence on Moblit, if you ask me.
And sure enough, the two of them were sitting at our usual table, with Nanaba directly across from them. She was rolling her eyes as Mike held his head in his hands, and Moblit leaned too far over the table and smacked his forehead into the book he was currently reading.
“And if you look directly ahead,” she said, smiling as I made my way over to sit next to her, “you’ll see a pair of full-grown men struggling to hold their liquor the morning after. So much for all their big talk, huh?”
“I can handle it just fine, thank you,” Mike groaned into his palms. At least he seems too out of it to tease me about using Levi’s shampoo, like last time. “Those last couple shots killed me, though…”
“Wait…you had even more last night?” My eyes darted back and forth between Mike and Nanaba in between bites of my breakfast. “When was this?”
“After we split up, these two geniuses decided it would be a good idea to break into the whiskey in the cellar and see who could last the longest. And honestly…I’m giving this one to Moblit. Sorry, Mike.”
But neither of them seemed to be interested in the verdict. Moblit was whimpering into the pages of his book, as Mike mumbled a slew of curses under his breath. Poor boys. They would be like this for the rest of the day; I’d seen them both knock back shot after shot together after a particularly successful (and rare) expedition, and they were usually out of it for the next couple days or so. Moblit was always the first to recover, given how much he was already used to drinking during the week. (Working with Hanji every hour of every day could put quite the strain on both your mind and body.) Mike was the one who had to be babied through it all, which gave Nanaba plenty of room for teasing as she took care of him—and despite the occasional complaint, there was no denying both she and Mike loved the extra attention they got from one another.
“On a lighter note,” she continued, turning halfway in her seat to face me, “any plans for later today? Since this one’s going to be out of commission for a while, I’m looking for a new sparring partner.” Mike rolled his eyes at her, only to wince and grip his head once more. “I would ask Lynne or Gelgar, but they’re focusing on their ODM training today. So, you up for it?”
I glanced over at Reggie and Evan, yawning into their hands; at Emily and Murphy, who were dozing off on either side of Eld; and finally at Gretel, and despite putting on a brave face, she was quickly nodding off in her seat above her breakfast.
Looks like Mike isn’t the only one out of commission today. “Sounds like a plan! When do you want to meet up?”
|~|
Once I was finished with a small load of laundry and some extra paperwork lying on my desk, I headed out to meet Nanaba behind the girls’ barracks. By now the sun was at its peak in the sky, beating down hard on the two of us. She met me with a smile, her boots scuffing in the dirt as she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows.
Training with Nanaba was always a mixed bag; I never knew what she would focus on this time around. Sometimes she was stronger, sometimes she was faster. She never did the same thing twice, like myself or Mike did. While I focused on speed and evading attacks, and Mike insisted on pure, unbridled strength in his blows and kicks, Nanaba was always changing it up. It was impressive, how flexible she could be in the field—a good way to keep her opponents guessing, too.
But she was careful about the way she carried herself through our warmups, as well. Never hinting at saving her arm strength for her punches, or slowing down during our laps around the base to conserve her energy. She was someone who put her all into her workouts, and that’s what made her such an exciting partner to train with.
With three laps around the base under our belt, the two of us chose a shady spot at the edge of the meadow to train. The horses were grazing beyond the fences, tails swishing in the breeze, huge noses bumping into each other’s. I could see Ivy and Misty frolicking in the distance, kicking out their legs as though they were foals once more.
I was so enamored with the sight I almost didn’t see Nanaba’s fist aiming for my cheek. I let out a breath as I dodged her attacks, batting her wrists away and slinking to the side when she went for my head.
She’s fighting dirty today. Well, if that’s how she wants to play, then so be it!
Fists pressing into palms, a swift sweep of the leg—in no time the two of us were panting hard, foreheads slick with sweat beneath the cool shade of the trees nearby. She caught my wrist in her hand with a smirk, before tugging me close and bringing her knee up to my stomach. I grit my teeth against the pain, trying my best to break free from her grip, but she only snickered and wrapped her fingers around the collar of my shirt…and suddenly my back was pressed against the dirt, with Nanaba’s knee hovering over my chest.
“…No fair!”
“All’s fair in hand-to-hand combat, my dear.” She shifted herself off of my chest, before plopping down in the dirt beside me. I sat up with a groan, immediately reaching for the pair of canteens resting beside us in the shade. “You’re not as speedy as you usually are—still tuckered out from last night?”
“Fuck off.” I could only hope my blush added to my already-burning face from our workout.
“No, I’m serious.” Her smile was softer as she took a swig of her water, brushing her blond hair away from her forehead. “What’s on your mind?”
And suddenly it was coming back to me, so fast I could barely react: lying side by side with Levi in his bed, drawing lazy circles on his chest, dreaming about a future for the two of us beyond the Walls.
“…Nothing, I’m fine.”
But she was persistent; those bright blue eyes were cutting into my skin, poking, prodding for me to elaborate. Damn it, even without saying anything, she’s still so intimidating.
I wasn’t as close to Nanaba as I was with Hanji, but I still considered her one of my dearest friends. But how often had I actually sat down and talked with her like this? How many conversations did we have without the occasional joke thrown in, or with our fists flying during a training session? Nanaba was never the one I went to when it came to talking about my insecurities, or my dreams and fears of the world around me. It had always been Hanji, and later on Levi. But never Nanaba.
Still, there was a weight on my chest that I couldn’t get rid of, a nagging voice in the back of my head that demanded I talk to someone—and as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t go to either Levi or Hanji this time.
“Come on,” she was leaning against the tree now, her legs crossed at the ankles, “spill already.”
I took another drink from my canteen, fingers trembling against my knees.
“…Do you have any plans…once this is over?”
“Once what is over?”
“You know…this?”
It wasn’t until I gestured to the base around us, to the soldiers training among the trees and the horses grazing in the fields that she seemed to understand. The soles of her boots dug into the dirt, her pointer finger tapping rapidly against the crook of her elbow. I clung to the canteen at my chest, waiting for her to speak.
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it.” She shook her head with a smile, which did little to quell the feeling in my chest. “Maybe I’ll tag along with Mike, if he goes back to his parents’ home up north. I don’t think they’d mind all that much.”
Of course they wouldn’t. Mike’s mother simply loved the company whenever we made the trip to Wall Sina, but there was always that sneaking suspicion that she loved Nanaba just a hair more than the rest of us.
Still, there was a forlorn look in her eye, a soft breath passing through her lips as she leaned further back against the tree. Almost as though she didn’t believe her own words.
“That sounds nice,” I whispered, but her eyes drooped to the ground, where she was scuffing up the dust with the heel of her boot. “…Doesn’t it?”
“I guess you could say that.” Her smile was back, but that look in her eye remained. “Now it’s your turn. What do you plan to do after this?”
Every word I could think of was on the tip of my tongue all at once; every silly dream I’d harbored since I was a child, right up until this morning as I curled up into Levi’s side, nestled comfortably in his bed. My cheeks were burning, my voice no more than a hushed mumble. But Nanaba leaned forward eagerly, urging me to speak up. And I knew better than to hide from those soft blue eyes.
You brought this on yourself, Wolf. So own up to it.
“…I want to marry. Maybe have a kid or two…”
I glanced up at her, waiting for a smug smile or a snarky comment about Levi (I know Hanji would absolutely go for it, but Nanaba had a bit more class than her). Instead she was gazing down at me, drumming her fingers against the crook of her elbow, and nodding along to the sound of my voice.
“That sounds nice, too.”
That sad look in her eye was back again, stronger than ever. And suddenly I was starting to feel a twinge in my chest, a gaping hole stretching itself wider and wider as our conversation began to truly sink in.
The question was hanging between us in the air, too heavy to say out loud. Too terrifying to confront head-on.
Do you really think you’ll live long enough to see the end of this war?
It was a question every soldier had to face at one point or another. From every cadet learning how to wield a pair of swords for the first time, to every veteran silently counting down the days with a smile on his face. There was always that lingering fear in their minds, that little voice that held too much weight to be ignored. That constant reminder of the reality of this world, and how cruel and unjust it could be.
We all had our dreams and goals and fears. Hopes for the future, regrets of the past, promises made to one another when all seemed lost. Little things to tell ourselves to get through the day, even if they consisted of unobtainable dreams we would never be able to reach in our lifetimes.
For Nanaba, it was going back home with Mike. For myself, it was settling down with Levi and having a child.
Sweet dreams to cling onto when all seemed lost, that little flicker of light at the end of the tunnel to help us keep pressing on. But all of that meant nothing when staring down the maw of a Titan, its beady eyes filled with rage.
How many of our comrades had held similar dreams? Dreams of returning to their homes and starting a new life for themselves? And how many of those dreams had died alongside them, at the jaws of the Titans beyond the Walls?
A bitter pill to swallow, but necessary nonetheless. It would be a miracle if we all came out of this war alive. We couldn’t afford to waste time wondering about what the future held for us. The best we could do was make the most out of what we could with our lives now.
I leaned against the tree with a sigh, my shoulder touching Nanaba’s beneath the shade. Across the meadows I could see Murphy and Evan, letting their horses out for a quick run. And close behind was Emily, with Ivy galloping after Misty and Gus as fast as her legs could carry her.
And suddenly it clicked—that was the future we were all fighting for. Not just for the good of humanity, for the safety of the people within the Walls, but for the chance to give those kids a better life.
Reggie, Gretel, Evan, Murphy, Emily—even Eld and Gunther, and Petra, Oluo, and Nifa. And every single one of our fresh-faced recruits, and even the cadets still in training at the southern tip of Wall Rose. Even the littler ones who played in the outer districts, who went to school in the heart of Wall Sina, who still got in trouble with their parents for playing too roughly with their siblings.
Those kids were the ones who mattered the most. The ones that were here and now, living and breathing—the most precious people within these Walls.
Maybe I couldn’t reach my dream of having children of my own in this life. But I could damn well do my best to make sure those kids woke up in the morning, without fear of what was lurking beyond our little haven.
|~|
The weight in my chest had eased up as the day carried on. By the time I retired to my office for the night it was no more than a little lump in my throat—easy to choke down when Levi came to visit me, a stack of paperwork under one arm, and a tray of tea in the other.
Neither of us spoke as we settled into our usual routine: the two of us seated across from each other at my desk, the only sound between us being the scratch of our pens against the parchment.
In a way I was relieved; at least neither of us seemed eager to mention my slip-up last night. It was for the best, anyway. The sooner I stopped thinking about it, the sooner it would leave my mind altogether.
But as I filed my papers away for the night, that strange feeling came back like a raging inferno. I grimaced at the culprit: the box set of books Moblit had gotten me for my birthday last night, resting on the edge of the file cabinet.
Where Mom Lives.
My mother’s favorite books to read as she waited for Dad to come home, curled up against the arm of the couch with her elbow propped up on a stack of pillows. She would always shake her head whenever the three of us would climb into her lap and ask her to read aloud to us. “You’re too young,” she would say, but she would still open the blanket and allow us to come cuddle with her. “You won’t appreciate it until you’re older. Much older than you are now.”
Before I knew it I was standing in front of the file cabinet, staring up at the three books above. Red, bronze, and green, each with fine gold trimming along the edges and spines. The pages were crisp and clean, and yet when I took the first book and opened it up, it still had that soft dusty smell to it.
Just like home, and my throat closed up all over again.
A pair of arms came to rest around my waist, and I bit back a smile as Levi pulled me backwards, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “I hope you’re not planning on keeping those all to yourself.”
“Oh, would you like to read them when I’m finished?”
But he only shook his head, before leading me away from the cabinet, with his arms still around my waist. This time I laughed as he flopped us down on the couch, side by side, with the pillows pressed against my arm. Wordlessly he stole a pillow from the stack, placed it against my lap, and pressed his cheek to the soft fabric. A few seconds passed before he glanced up at me, the slightest trace of annoyance written across his face.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
With another laugh, I leaned down and kissed his forehead, brushing his long bangs out of his beautiful eyes. Then his nose, his cheeks, and finally his lips. And when I was done, I leaned against the cushions of the couch, turned to the first page, and began to read aloud.
And all the while, as selfish as it was, I thought of sharing a new life with him, just the two of us away from the world, with a home of our own and children in our arms.
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