#pls watch it was so meaningful

[grandlinedreams]

|| i regret nothing I need Cooper Howard viscerally both pre and post Ghoulification

|| notes: semi Canon compliant, spoiler-ish for end of s1, semi-shifting pov, Lucy is adorable but baby girl you will be chewed up and spat out pls grow more spine, Dogmeat has never done anything wrong ever, godbless Cooper having a southern accent bc that's my accent, yeah, gonna do a sequel to this and a prequel on Coop and reader's first meeting, ok bye

|| warnings: weapons supplier!reader, couple of allusions to cannibalism, reader is not specifically gendered, NSFW ㅡ fingering/touching

“Where are we going?”

Not for the first time today, or even the last week, Cooper questions why he's letting the Vaultie (“Lucy,” she informs him primly, “my name is Lucy.”) tag along. The dog, at least, is a good, reliable companion. Dogmeat trots dutifully at his side, her tail wagging as he stops to glare at Lucy.

“Supplies, Vaultie,” he tells her, relishes the flicker of annoyance in her eyes. “Need supplies or we'll both be knee deep in shit.” He pauses. “More than we already are.” 

She mumbles something he doesn't care to catch as he resumes walking, rolling his eyes as he adjusts his hat. He knows he could stand to be a little more sympathetic with the bombshell she's still dealing with, but he can't bring himself to ㅡ not when his daughter might still be alive out there, somewhere. (And his ex-wife, who he's pointedly trying to not think about too much.) 

Lucy is blessedly quiet for a good while, all the way until they get closer to where they're going. Cooper doesn't need that piece of shit vault-tec device on her arm to know where he is, but Lucy says it anyways.

“It's a town,” she mumbles at the cluster of ramshackle buildings, surrounded by the clustering of trees so much like Filly ㅡ but isn't. “Is thisㅡ”

“Yes,” he answers, “now shut it and walk.”

Lucy huffs. “I don't know if you've realized neither of us have means to pay for anything,” she protests, “but the general rule ofㅡ” 

“Vaultie.” If looks could kill, she'd be six feet under. He's never had much patience, but she’s already reached the bottom of it and keeps digging. “Shut the fuck up about your goddamn rules. If you haven't noticed, nobody up here gives a damn about playing by what's wrong and what's right.” He gives her a meaningful look. “Now if you don't want me to leave your ass to whatever comes along next, you'll be quiet and let me handle it.” 

Lucy's mouth shuts with an audible click, and Cooper turns on his heel to resume walking, Dogmeat at his heels. 

Like Filly, the center of buildings bustle with the day to day of so many others, the cacophony of animal sounds along with chatter ㅡ Cooper spares Lucy a brief glance to watch her struggle to keep up and scoffs to himself, shaking his head as he continues.

He knows where he's going, a little shop shoved between two others, narrow but deeper than the other two, because he's been here before. Several times, actually. Which accounts for the familiarity with which he strolls over the threshold and leaves Lucy and Dogmeat to follow. 

There's the jingle of what might be a bell over Lucy's head when she follows, blinking at the interior. Neat and tidy, or at least as much as can pass for such things on the surface ㅡ rows of weapons and other assorted things on shelves and stands. 

Lucy watches The Ghoul rap his fist on the counter. “I know you're here,” he calls, “you never leave this damn place!”

She expects whoever it is to come scuttling out with the tone of voice he uses and being as accustomed to his rougher attitude, and she listens to the clatter of something further in the shop.

“If that's your greeting nowadays,” comes the answer, “you can fuck off.” 

To Lucy’s surprise, The Ghoul husks a laugh instead of offering another threat. Footsteps approach, and Lucy blinks at the person who rounds the corner. 

“You,” you accuse, finger almost into his chest, “thought I told you I was done dealing with you if you couldn't work on your manners.” 

Lucy stares, and watches as you turn towards her and raise an eyebrow, eyeing her with unrestrained curiosity, then at Dogmeat. “A vaultie and a dog,” you say, then glance back at The Ghoul. “So, taking in strays, huh?”

The Ghoul grimaces. “Guess so.” He clears his throat. “Need supplies again, sweetheart.”

“Figured as much,” you say, arms folding across your chest. Lucy decides she likes you, because you're standing up to him ㅡ and he's letting you. “Take it you have no way of paying, again.”

Lucy wants to tell The Ghoul I told you so, because he can shit on all her little rules all he likes but the surface still deals in keeping the scales balanced. You have to eat too, so it's fair that you're expecting payment in the nonexistent caps they have. The Ghoul, on the other hand, tries a different route. 

“Oh come on now sugar,” The Ghoul wheedles, tone almost what could be considered as sweet. Playing at a gentleman for the way he leans against the cobbled together counter, even goes as far as to take his hat off and place it down. “Don't be like that.”

“Don't you sugar me,” you counter with an attitude that honestly startles Lucy for both the lack of genuine bite or answering hostility from The Ghoul. This isn't the first time you've met, she realizes, and is also quietly a little horrified to register that this almost sounds like flirting. “You're a pain in the ass, you know that?”

The Ghoul almost grins. “At least I'm consistent. Besides, you know you miss me when I'm gone.” 

You snort, pressing your lips together to hide a smile. Lucy feels a tiny bit uncomfortable with the atmosphere, like she's watching something she shouldn't be privy to. 

“Yeah, yeah,” you answer, bustling around to shove several fabric wrapped packs into his chest and giving him a meaningful look. “You owe me.” 

It's definitely flirting now, Lucy notes as The Ghoul's face lights up in a way that's still entirely human, tracking your movements with something far softer than anything she's ever seen from him. 

The turn towards her and head jerk to her and Dogmeat is as clear as dismissal as she's ever seen, to make herself scarce ㅡ so she does, but not before she catches the peripheral glimpse of the way you let him reach for you, almost melting into him for the way he moves to undoubtedly murmur something. 

That something is not the sweet words of a long time lover, but it's probably about as close as you're going to get with things the way they are.

 

“Anyone causin’ you trouble lately?” 

You roll your eyes. “Besides you?” He gives you a look, and you shake your head. “No, and even if there was, you know I can handle myself.” You turn to throw him a teasing look over your shoulder. “Don't tell me you're getting soft on me, old man.” 

It's Cooper's turn to snort, even as he moves to follow you. There's a sort of peace to watching you sort through boxes of shell casings and bottles of powder, letting his gaze drift over your body. 

When you turn, he doesn't even bother to hide the way he's watching you, and you arch an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothin’,” he returns. “Can't I admire you?”

You roll your eyes. “I'm too expensive for you, Cooper.” It's a playful taunt, one that incites a little flare of something in his eyes as he approaches, the jingle of his spurs as he comes to loom over you, cages you in against the shelves of “inventory”. 

“Really now,” he drawls, leans in, eyes predatory dark. A lifetime ago, you might have been scared. But the wastelands made no qualms about beating fear out of people just as quick as it snuffed out life all together. “Here I was thinkin’ I might get a discount.” He reaches, thumbs at your bottom lip with his gloved digit. “What's the askin’ price, sweetheart?” 

This close, he smells like the wastelands and sunbaked leather, with a little bit of blood ㅡ but you don't mind. Never have, not sure you ever will. Not when it comes to him, anyways.

He's a dangerous man. A man with a reputation that's well-earned, spoken in hushed whispers and anything but nice. But you let him slot a leg between yours, lean in, press his lips to your hair. You smell like gunpowder and hot metal, grease stained fingertips and more than a couple bruises and scars for your efforts. 

Sometimes Cooper contends with the idea he might need you just as much as he needs that chem that keeps him sane. Admits it here and there, quietly to himself when he wanders in, squashes it down that he makes the trips sometimes just to make sure you're still alive. Not like he'd know if you were, till he sees you. Not sure what he'd do if he someday came up and found you gone. No note, no goodbye ㅡ quick and quiet, the cruelty of the wastelands.  

“Didn't answer my question, darlin’.” He mumbles, lips to your cheeks now. Soft skin, kept carefully with rationed doses of radaway and a healthy heap of keeping your cute little self out of business that doesn't involve you. “Come on, I asked you real nicely.” 

You hook your fingers in the loops of his belt, pull him closer. He can feel the jump of your heartbeat under his lips, now at your jawline. A soft, shaky inhale. Selfishly, he wants to keep you. Steal you away, greedy to keep you for himself. Hates the idea of whatever scum that rolls in that you have to deal with on your own. You can handle yourself, he knows that. 

Doesn't stop that little piece of him that's still truly Cooper Howard from worrying. But he knows better than to think he can protect you, because he can't. So he does what he can.

Your skin is soft under his teeth, forgiving to the nip of them, the blooming blossom of pink that reminds him of strawberries. The noise you make is just as sweet, and he wonders if you'd taste like that, too. 

“I'm waiting,” he prompts between little nips, mouth curving against your flesh when you grip at him tighter. There's a lot he could do to you, and not a lot you wouldn't let him. “Don't tell me this big ol’ cat’s got your tongue, little songbird.” 

Your lips part, and he expects either a sparky response or a soft plea for what this is tilting towards, partaking of something far softer than anything he's used to nowadays ㅡ  but you’ve always had a taste for throwing him for a loop, and you do it now. 

“Take me with you.” 

That snaps him out of his little hazy, touch-greedy daze, enough that he pulls away to look at you properly. “Repeat that?”

“You heard me.” You tug at the loops of his belt, eyes steely, expression firm. “Take me with you. Tired of this shitty little outpost. Figure it's time to move before I get myself into trouble I can't get out of.”

Cooper laughs. “Think you're runnin’ straight into that fire by askin’ what you're askin’, sweet thing.” A warning and a plea, mixed mish-mash in his words. Part of him wants you to stay here. Concrete, much as it can be, where he knows where you are. Other part says it'd be easier to watch your back if he saw it all the time. 

“That's not an answer, Cooper.” 

He snorts, softens at the edges again, a little sadder as he reaches to stroke your jawline, leans to bump his forehead to yours ㅡ radiation warm against radaway cold. “Wanna make sure you know what you're asking for, darlin’. I ain't your babysitter. Got my own shit to do.”

“I know.” There's that fire in your voice, the kind he loves and hates at the same time. “Wasn't asking for you to babysit me.” 

He swallows roughly. Lets his hands drift up your sides, tug at the tuck of your shirt, underneath to drag sun-worn leather against the soft skin of your abdomen. Relishes the way you shiver, leaning into his touch. “Can't promise nothin’, you know that.” 

Your smile promises the same kind of heartbreak his own words do, the kind rooted in the reality that the world doesn't deal in any absolute but death, and sure as shit won't give happy endings. Not anymore. “I know.” 

Cooper can't think of what to say to that, at least anything he's ready to, so he kisses you. Your lips are too soft against his, the warmth of your mouth reigniting that greedy, needy, human thing inside him. He pulls, digs his fingers into your soft, pliant skin, and he takes.

Takes what you willingly give him, hand over hand with nothing but that pretty little smile of yours. He muffles your gasp as he wedges his leg a little firmer, coaxes the part of your legs with a rough husk of, “just like that, dollface,” and delights too much in the sound of you moaning for him.

Hushed, quiet enough that there's no reason for Dogmeat or Lucy to come back yet (he doesn't know what they're up to nor does he really fuckin’ care at the moment), he lets himself indulge in the pleasure of your body against his. The sweet little sounds, half-gasped as he mouths at your neck, hitched to something almost like music as his hands wander. 

Pauses long enough to bite at the tip of his glove and tug, one then two, the bare, radiation scarred wander of his fingers over your body. It's selfish, the way he covets every little twitch and jump of your muscles, the choked gasp as he guides you into rocking against his leg. 

“You're so sweet for me, sugar,” he coos, syrupy as he picks you apart meticulously, piece by piece. Fingers still far too good at what they do when he replaces his leg with the press of them against you, remnants of a past life for how well he gets you to whimper his name. “Like ambrosia.” 

His fingers stroke, deceptively gentle, working over your slick, too-hot, achy skin until you’re panting and gripping at him, pleading for a relief only he can give you. And that’s exactly how he wants you, where all you can see and think of is him. 

The expression you make when he finally lets you come might truly be the most beautiful thing he’s seen in a very long time. Headier than the Jet, dizzying and making him swear as he jerks his clothed hips against yours, breath sharp in his chest. 

“Gonna be the death of me, I swear.” He bites at your neck, digs a little harder, scrapes his canines into your sweet, yielding flesh. He could devour you, take bite after sweet, sweet bite and actually test that theory about the strawberries. Crack the cage of your rib, feast on that beating yolk of heart that thumps so hard in your chest. 

“Gonna let me do it, sweet thing?” He rumbles against your ear. “Let me have it all?” 

Your eyes flash, lips pretty and swollen as they part to answer ㅡ and the bark of that damn mutt ruins it all. At least it's a warning for you both, because he's stepping back and letting you fix yourself with surprising speed as Lucy and Dogmeat return, an expectant look on the fuckin’ vaultie's face. 

“Well? Got what you need?"

Cooper snorts, tracks you instead of answering as you press your hand to his for a second, gone around the corner. Lucy frowns when you return, pistol strapped at your hip and a bandolier slung over your shoulder like his, broad pack strapped to your back. Like you planned for this.

And you did, he notes, but it hadn't been contingent on his agreement. Idly, he notes he never did answer you, not really. But he just hums, then turns towards Lucy, who looks between the two of you, confused. 

“Yeah,” he finally answers, “got what I need.”

#ㅡmine. #fallout series #fallout x reader #cooper howard x reader #the ghoul x reader

[changsdoll]

jisung with a breeding kink IM FERAL HJSSHJSSH

like… just imagine… pls hear me out

him just bending you over??? whispering FILTHY things into your ears??? watching his cum drip out of you???😖😖😖 i’m going insane

han + breeding kink !

he definitely gets lost mentally when he's pushed deep inside you and is struggling not to cum early. he (+ chan, changbin), is definitely the type to want to be more meaningful if he were to get you pregnant, probably aiming for missionary, but he gets so crazy when you're wrapped around him, he'd have to switch it up eventually.

each and every time, he's taking you from behind, your faced smushed into the pillows with little air, as he grips on your wrists to hold your arms behind you.

he's definitely a body worshipper when it comes to having a breeding kink. he'd whisper into your ear, making you go even weaker at the limbs, "you'd look so pretty with my babies inside you," as he's making sure every stroke scratches that special spot every time, giving your a suffocating, yet euphoric feeling.

whether or not you want kids or not doesn't matter, but he's want to make sure you feel as cherished as possible, leaving kisses down your neck once he flips you over and has your hands above your head, complimenting your figure and how soft your skin is every chance he gets. he's definitely the type so give you forehead kisses, and whisper sweet things beside your ear, "I love how well you take me, you're doing so great..~"

his favorite part is at the end when before he can pull out to cum on the outside, you'd lock your legs around him and hold him close to you, letting him fully creampie inside of you, your nails leaving light scratch marks on his back. his cum would spill out of you as he pulls himself from your cunt, and he'd use his fingers to push it back in.

#skz smut #stray kids smut #kpop smut #skz fanfic #stray kids fanfic #han jisung smut #han smut #jisung smut #skz x reader #han jisung x you #han jisung x reader #han jisung x y/n #stray kids x reader #stray kids x you #stray kids x y/n #skz x you #skz x y/n #bangchan smut #changbin smut #hyunjin smut #seungmin smut #lee know smut #jeongin smut #felix smut #changsdoll

[desperate-gay]

can i request you write a leah fic based on the song constellations by jade lemac

Constellations

Leah Williamson x fem!reader

SMUT 18+

Leah Williamson has a reputation for sleeping around. People use more harsh terms to describe her, but that feels wrong since you know her. Well, you don’t know her; you play alongside her for the England national team and Arsenal. Once in a while, you both have a conversation, but nothing too deep.

Although, recently, the blonde has been approaching you more and more. Whether it was on the pitch during training, in the locker room, or even at team get-togethers.

You’d think she’d want to get to know more about you before flirting with you constantly, but hey, she’s got that reputation for a reason. She sees what she wants, and she goes for what she wants, and most of the time, she gets what she wants.

Now, of course, you find Leah attractive; anyone with eyes should. That doesn’t mean you’re just going to bend over for her. You never liked the idea of having one-night stands with one of your teammates and going back to training the next day like nothing happened. You also never liked the idea of sleeping around with anyone. It’s exhausting to invite someone into your bed just so they can fuck you and leave the same night.

You have always wanted a meaningful, loving relationship. Sure, you had your fair share in the past, but those obviously all ended up in the dump. None of which made you feel exhilarated. And the fact that the player on the team now wants to get into your pants is quite annoying.

Keira and Lucy always warn Leah to stay away from you. You’re the sunshine of the group that never fails to make someone smile. They didn’t want her to take that spark away from you. Alessia and Ella always glare at the defender’s attempts to flirt with you. You three are considered the gigglers of the lionesses. You guys are usually never seen without one another unless you are with your favorite person in the whole world, Esme Morgan.

If you aren’t with Tooney or Lessi, you are most definitely with the smiley gal. The two of you have the brightest smiles and most infectious laughs ever. Both are the kindest beings anyone could meet on this earth, plus, to mention, you two basically grew up together.

So when Esme found out what was happening, her usual chippy personality turned bitter. She knows Leah’s intentions, and she doesn’t want that anywhere near you. People may call her particularly protective over you, but she just doesn’t want to see you hurt is all.

When you noticed her attitude switch whenever the flirtatious blonde approached you, you assured her there was nothing to worry about.

—

Practice has just ended, so everyone is getting changed in the locker room. You are pulling your shirt over your head when you hear someone approaching you.

“You looked quite fit out there, darling.”

You whip around and see the one person who has enough confidence to say something like that with no hesitation.

“Thank you.” You say, looking down bashfully, never really knowing how to take compliments. The taller girl notices the red that starts to appear at the tip of your ears and smirks to herself.

She places her right hand on your hip before leaning in close to your ear. “You always look fit, my dear.” She whispers before moving your body to the side to walk past you. Your eyes follow her path with your mouth slightly open.

Ella, Alessia, Lucy, and Esme all watch the interaction happen with clenched jaws and piercing eyes. Keira doesn’t have the heart to be angry at her best friend, but she does sigh and look down to continue packing her kit. Leah can feel multiple eyes trailing her, but she doesn’t let it bother her. Overall, it’s your choice what happens between you two, not theirs.

Once you’re done with changing, Esme offers you a ride home so she can hang out and steal your ice cream. You, of course, accept her offer, wanting to spend more time with your best friend. When you get into her car, you plug in your phone to the aux cord and play your guy’s playlist in the background.

“Besides stealing all of my food, what do you plan on doing when we get to my home?”

She hums as a sign she’s trying to think of an answer. “I’m not sure yet; I haven’t gotten that far.” You scoff at her teasing smile and quickly return it.

As you pull into the parking space in front of your loft, you notice a man standing on concrete with a bouquet of multiple different flowers, looking confused. You and Esme step out of the car, and you make your way towards the stranger.

“Excuse me, sir. Do you need help with anything?” The young man gives a clumsy smile and nods his head.

“You don’t by chance know a ughh, Y/n Y/l/n around here, do you?”

"Umm, that, ironically, would be me.” Your face scrunches up in confusion, while Esme’s does the same. The man gently hands you the flowers, saying someone sent them to you.

“You just have to sign here, please, to let the company know you’ve received your flowers in perfect condition.” He exaggerates as you fake solute, asking the blonde next to you to hold the flowers. You sign the paper and say a quick goodbye before moving up a few steps to your front door to unlock it.

“Who in the world sent flowers to you?” She teases, taking her shoes off and handing you the flowers. You place your nose right over the flowers to smell them.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” All you do is shrug your shoulders before moving around to look for a vase. You set the flowers in the center of the table and go to join Esme on the sofa. She grabs the remote and puts on Modern Family. You look over and notice a sour expression on her face. Reaching over, you poke her cheek to make her look over at you. “What’s up, Ez?”

“I bet I know who sent the flowers.” She grumbles with her arms crossed, still looking at the television. After thinking about it briefly, you finally understand who she’s referring to. She wouldn’t have that familiar scowl for just anybody.

“Hey, even if it was her, there’s no need to worry about anything. She sleeps around, and that’s something I don’t like, remember?” She turns her head towards you and has a semi-sad expression.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I see the way you blush around her.” Her voice is soft, along with her facial features. You reach over and grab her hand to squeeze it.

“I know you don’t, and I love that about you. Yes, I find Leah attractive, but she doesn’t want anything serious, and I’m not putting myself in that situation.” Esme nods in understanding, and you both turn your attention back to the show in comfortable silence.

—

“Did you see the gift I sent you?”

You’re on the pitch stretching before training starts when Leah comes over to you. You sigh and stand up to turn towards her. "Yes, I did; they were beautiful, but I’m still trying to figure out why I got them.”

“Because a beautiful girl deserves beautiful things.” She smiles without breaking eye contact. You playfully roll your eyes at her and bend down to touch your toes.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.”

It’s silent for a minute before the taller girl blurts, “Go on a date with me tonight.”

You quickly straighten your posture and give her all your attention. Your eyebrows furrowed at the demand. “Pardon?”

“Let me take you out tonight. I know just the place.” She notices your hesitation, so she places a hand on your waist. “C’mon, dinner and maybe some sex?”

You scoff at her forward statement and start to walk away. “No.”

“Fine, just sex.” She follows after you. No one is near you two, so no one can hear what’s happening. You stop and turn around.

“How about just dinner?”

“Ehhhh.”

“Then no.”

You move to continue to walk away before her hand reaches out to grip your wrist. “Okay, okay. Just dinner.”

—

It turns out you and Leah only live about two blocks from one another, so when it’s time to pick you up, she decides to walk over. The place she has made reservations for is right across the street from your place. Leah let you know beforehand that the place you’ll be eating at isn’t too fancy, so just dress casually.

You’re finishing up the last minor touches on your makeup when you hear a knock at your door. Quickly, you grab your purse, phone, and keys and rush to open the door. Leah looks over, smiling, and offers you her hand to take once you lock the door. She’s wearing a white dress shirt along with tan baggy jeans, while you wear black leggings with a light blue tank top.

The date overall goes great. When you get seated, Leah being the gentlewoman she is, pulls out your seat for you and pushes you in. You both get to know each other better and laugh at the random stories you tell each other.

Your arm is hooked on Leah’s as you both laugh and walk towards your home. You stop right before you reach your stairs and look at her with a smile. “I had a lot of fun tonight, thank you.” The keys dangle in your hand, and then Leah reaches and steals them for you.

“Let me help you with your flowers.” She smiles smugly, keeping the keys behind her shoulder.

“No, we just met tonight.”

“We have known each other for years. We play for the same teams.” Your faces are close together as you giggle.

“We might play together, but that doesn’t mean we know each other. Tonight was our first step in actually getting to know one another.”

“C’mon.” She leans even closer, trying to tempt you. Your eyes wander at her face before you pull back slightly.

“You can’t come up.” You say with all the willpower you have left. She sure knows how to get a girl to swoon. “You have to woo me first.”

You dramatically flip your hair, making the taller girl laugh at your antics. Her laughter dies down, and she places her hand on the small of your back to pull you closer. “I can definitely woo you if you let me up.”

You laugh again and press your hands to her chest. “I don’t want this to be a one-night thing.” You whisper while looking her in the eyes. Pecking her cheek, you take quick action to grab your keys and run up the stairs. Once you unlock your door, you turn your attention to the starstruck girl. “Goodnight, Leah.”

—

Surprisingly, Leah asks you on a second date the day after. Esme doesn’t like the sound of it, but she can’t control what you do, so she just accepts it.

Once again, Leah picks you up from your house, and you both walk to the unknown destination of your date. She said it’s about a 20-minute walk before getting you. On arrival, you see a bright neon sign saying arcade.

“You didn’t.” You excitedly say and smile at the blonde.

“Are you ready to get your butt beat?”

Through the date, you both challenge each other in multiple games like air hockey, racing games, etc. So when it comes down to your tiebreaker, Leah challenges you in one last game of basketball. You both put the tokens in and press the button to play against each other and once the buzzer tells you to go, you both start making shots left and right. Leah looks over and grabs one of your basketballs to palm it and hold it in the air.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” You look at the score and see she has a few more points than you. The taller girl smirks as you try to reach for the ball that's in her hand. With her other free hand, she pushes against your back to pull you closer to her, and she leans down, pressing her lips against yours. You’re shocked at the quick action, but you stop trying for the ball that’s above your head and wrap your arms around her neck.

You pull away when the whistle signals the game is done. Both of your guy’s eyes remain on the other’s lips, still a little hazed from the kiss.

“I win.” She whispers, making you wonder if she's talking about the game or you.

—

The next date is a simple stroll downtown, visiting all the little stores. Your hands stay interlocked while walking up and down the streets.

In one of the buildings you go into, you see a photo booth and beg Leah to go with you. After a few seconds of you pleading, she finally says yes and lets you drag her to the curtain-covered box. The first photo you take is just one of you guys smiling at the camera. The second one is both of you sticking your tongues out and crossing your eyes. The third is a little blurry because of the two of you laughing and moving to hunch over. Then the fourth and final photo contains both of you gazing at each other with loving looks in your eyes. Soon after the last photo is taken, you both lean in for a feverish kiss.

You grab the photo strip from the outside of the booth and smile at the photos. You start to complain that there’s only one strip, but she insists you take it, knowing you want it the most.

After an hour or two more of exploring the town, she walks you up your stairs to your front door. Your hands softly grab the back of her neck and pull her in for a sweet kiss. When you pull away, she chases after your lips with a whine, causing you to giggle. You place one final peck on her lips and whisper, “Goodnight, Leah.”

—

Looking in the mirror, you put on your earrings and step back to look at your dress. It’s a scarlet red dress that hugs your body just right. The back of it cuts low to the lower part of your back, and the front shows the perfect amount of cleavage. The necklace that hangs from your neck fits perfectly with it. Smoothing out the fabric, you hear the familiar rhythm of the knock on your door.

Leah stands there in all her glory in a gray, sleeveless pantsuit. The outfit shows off her toned arms and collarbones perfectly. You let out a breath you don’t know you’re holding, and take her awaiting hand. She presses a kiss to your fingertips and says, “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

You blush at the name and also compliment her back. She walks you towards an unfamiliar car and opens the passenger door for you.

“I figured we should drive this time. I’m sure it won’t be comfortable walking in those shoes.” She points at your short heels. It makes you realize that for all of your dates, you always walked to your destination. You smile at her consideration for your comfort and get in the car. While she drives, she places her hand on your knee and rubs her thumb up and down.

When she pulls up to the fancy restaurant, she rushes to your side of the car and opens the door for you, holding her other hand out for you to grab to help you get out. Walking in, you hear soft orchestral music playing through the building, along with people’s conversations merging and the echoing of silverware clinking together. It wasn’t loud; it was quite relaxing. Leah and you approach the podium with a girl standing behind it with a smile on her face. Leah’s hand stays at the small of your back to guide you and also just to feel you.

“Hello, what can I help you with tonight?” The host asks in a sweet tone.

“Hi, I made a reservation.”

“Sure! Under what name would that be?” The girl taps on the touch screen in front of her to check for the name.

“Leah Williamson.” The blonde nods softly at the host.

“Great! Now if you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you to your seats.” Leah smiles and keeps her hand on your back as you follow the girl. She pulls out your chair for you, just like she did on your first date. “The waiter will be here to take your orders shortly.” The host smiles at the two of you and makes her way back to the front.

You both ordered your desired dishes along with some dessert to share. You’re both laughing when a random girl comes over and places her hand on Leah’s shoulder, making you frown at the action. The blonde turns over and sees a semi-familiar face.

“Hey Leah, I haven’t seen you since that crazy night at the club.” The random girl continues to rub one of her hands up and down Leah’s shoulder as if you weren’t there. Leah just politely smiles and greets her. The girl tries to continue a conversation when you pick up two of your empty dishes and hand them to her.

“Thank you so much; the food was amazing.” Leah turns her head at you with a smile as the random girl gives you a strange look, but walks away with the dishes anyway. You grab your glass of wine and slowly sip it while staring at the walking figure, but you’re interrupted by the laughter coming from across the table.

“What was that?” She chuckles, and you give her a knowing look. She shakes her head with a soft smile displayed on her lips.

—

Once Leah pulls up to the sidewalk of your home, she walks you up to your door and pulls you in for a kiss. It’s not very long, but she backs away and places a kiss on your knuckles. The blonde moves down one stair and turns to walk away, but gets stopped by your hand continuing to grip hers. Her eyes meet yours as you nod your head towards the house.

“Why don’t you come in for a drink? Their wine wasn’t all that good.” Leah nods her head and smiles while you drag her inside.

You both were already tipsy from the restaurant, so adding more alcohol to your systems is like adding fuel to a fire. Hands are roaming each other’s bodies whenever you can, and you both feel just as fuzzy-headed. Music plays on your surround system around the house while both of you find comfortable positions across from each other on the couch, and Leah leans over and brushes a string of hair behind your ear.

“You look absolutely stunnin’ right now. Cheeks all rosy, hair a little messy. So beautiful.” She whispers toward the end because she’s too busy leaning in. Her lips lightly brush against yours, allowing you to pull away if needed. You maneuver yourself forward, pressing your lips together with more force, which makes the blonde smile slightly. Hands fall to your waist and start to pull you in even closer.

“You’re really good at that.” You breathlessly whisper, keeping your hands on her shoulders as she keeps hers on your hips. Your eyes flutter close when the defender moves her nose to touch yours, teasing her lips at the side of your mouth.

“I know I am.” That cocky personality comes back stronger than ever, so before you can scold her, she slams her lips back on yours and glides her tongue into your mouth, causing you to gasp, which allows her to push her tongue even further. She bites down on your bottom lip and pulls it, tugging it toward her before letting it go with a pop. You kiss down her jawline, eventually even further to her neck. Her hands find a place on your ass and guide you to start rocking your hips a little, encouraging you to keep sucking at her sweet spot.

She abruptly stands up with her hands remaining in their initial place, holding you up with her with your legs wrapped around her waist. “Where’s your bedroom?” She asks, breath ghosting of your face.

“Down the hall, last door on the right.”

You attach your lips back to hers as she blindly makes her way to your bedroom, trying not to crash into anything. Once she steps foot into the room, her foot kicks your door closed, and she pins you against it. The music can still be heard from the speakers, making the mood even hotter. The taste of wine can still be found in both of your mouths as you make out against the wooden door.

“How are you so good-looking all the time?” Leah mutters, moving over to your bed and placing you on the soft sheets.

“How are you so good-looking all the time?” You counter back, sitting up so you're face-to-face with the other girl. Her finger slips under one of the straps of your dress, slowly pulling it down while peppering kisses down your shoulder. She repeats the action on the opposite side and drags your dress down your body, still trailing kisses along with it. Once it’s off, she throws it somewhere on the floor and takes quick action to unclip your strapless bra. “It’s unfair that you’re still dressed and I’m not.”

“Well, you’re the one who’s about to get fucked into this mattress.” She rasps, plunging her lips to your neck to start sucking and biting at the flesh. Your hips buck into hers when she finds the perfect spot and nibbles on it. Her hands make work of your breasts, making you jump at the cold feeling of her rings on your warmed-up skin.

Finally, her fingers make it to the waistband of your pants, and she pulls them down as her lips kiss right above the fabric as it’s getting dragged away. Your breath hitches in anticipation as she flings the fabric to meet your dress on the floor.

“Let me take this off, at least.” Your fingers fiddle with the buttons on her top and begin to undo them. Her eyes gaze at yours as you look up at her.

“You look so good under me, baby.” Her voice lowers almost to the point where you can’t hear her. She shrugs off her top and steps out of her pants, so she is only in her underwear. The palms of her hands meet the inner of your thighs, spreading them so she can get a better look. “You’re soaking wet. Did I do this to you?”

You nod your head with a whine, wanting the blonde to do something to relieve your needs.

“Words, doll.”

“Yes, yes, you did this to me, and I need you to do something about it. Please.”

She chuckles at your desperation and kisses your stomach, then your thighs, and finally the place you need her the most. Her tongue draws a line up your slit before sucking on your clit. Your hips buck subconsciously, but Leah puts an end to it when her hands reach your waist and force you down onto the bed. You bite your lip so you don’t make a sound. This makes the blonde stop and raise her head.

“Don’t bite your lip. I want to hear exactly how I make you feel.” She states seductively, returning to her position, lapping up your arousal, and sucking on your bud. The sound of your moans bouncing off the walls, along with music from the living room, sparks the girl up more. Your hand digs into her hair, and your hips start to rock against her face when she moves faster, allowing the buildup in the pit of your stomach to get bigger. Your moans become more frequent and a little louder, showing Leah that you’re close. She pulls away for a split second to whisper, “Cum for me, doll.”

Your back arches further and further off the bed the closer you get; eventually, the coil snaps, making your body shutter and muscles tense, allowing your body to return to its first resting position. Leah’s tongue slowly continues to place soft licks, helping you get all the way through your orgasm. Your hand makes its way to her cheek and urges her to move up by you. Her chin glistens in your arousal, and she drags her thumb over it to wipe it off, then places her thumb in her mouth.

“You taste so sweet.” Your arms wrap around her neck to pull her down and kiss her. As her tongue makes its way into your mouth, you can taste the mixture of alcohol and you.

Right away, her fingertips drag down your stomach and then down to your heat. Testing the waters, she rubs her fingers over your clit which causes your legs to twitch since you’re still a little sensitive.

“Are you going to continue being my good girl?”

“Yes.”

Her smirk widens at your obedience, and as a reward, her fingers dip into your dripping hole, making you gasp at the sensation. Without warning, she plunges two digits into you, chuckling at your whimpers and moans. Her lips make their way back to yours, swallowing all of your little noises.

After a minute or two, her fingers brush against your g-spot and her lips start sucking on your pulse point, leaving a hickey. Your moans grow louder at the repeating strokes that hit your spot perfectly. Compared to your orgasm, this one feels way more intense.

“I can feel you tighten around my fingers, darling. You’re already gonna cum again?”

This time you can’t respond; you’re too breathless, and the whines spilling out of your mouth constantly don’t give you any time to answer her. Your vision becomes spotty, and you feel wetness covering the insides of your thighs. Your orgasm crashes over you but lasts longer than anyone you’ve ever had.

Without your knowledge, Leah pulls away and looks at you with her jaw hanging open. When you finally come down from your high, you meet her gaze with a questioning look. A smug smile takes over her features, which makes you even more confused.

“You soaked the sheets and my arm, doll.”

Your eyes trail down, and you see a big wet patch on the mattress and the blonde's arm soaked. Feeling embarrassed, you cover your face with your hands and fall back against the pillows with a groan. Leah wipes her arm against the sheet you will definitely be washing later.

Leah lays beside you and grabs your wrists to move them from your face. She leans over and pecks your forehead, your chin, both of your cheeks, your nose, and then finally, your lips. Her eyes light up when she sees you smile at her gesture. You’re both lying together for a few minutes before Leah stands up and grabs her shirt.

“What are you doing?” You sit up with your arms holding you.

“Uhh, I’ve got a couple of errands to run in the morning, so I’ve gotta get home.” Her fingers work at one of the buttons of her shirt, and she keeps her head down.

You sigh before saying, “I know you have a reputation for sleeping around, and I know it’s a mess, but you don’t need to hide. You can let me in. So you can either get into bed at the count of three or you can walk out that door and never talk to me again.”

Her fingers stop buttoning up her shirt, and she finally looks at you.

“Three.”

Still in the same spot.

“Two.”

Only moves one step forward.

“One.” You pull your comforter down, patting the spot she was previously in. She quickly takes her top off and lays down next to you. You turn to your side so Leah can wrap her arms around you. Her nose nuzzles into your neck, and she hears you mumble, “I knew you had a soft side.”

The taller girl realizes she enjoys having a body next to her, especially one she’s grown to really like, but then it hits her. She’s never done this. This isn’t who she is. Multiple thoughts race through her head while you sleep soundly right next to her. She slowly removes her arms, making sure you don’t stir, which, luckily for her, you don’t. Quickly, she stands up, gets dressed, and rushes out the door.

—

The sun peeks through the curtains, waking you up. You smile and turn around, only to be met with empty sheets. Sitting up, you look on the ground and see all of Leah’s clothes missing.

The feeling of embarrassment floods your veins as you pull your blanket up to cover your chest. You feel stupid that you actually believed Leah would fall for you. You feel used, as if she just took you on those dates just to have sex with you. And you feel ashamed. Ashamed, you didn’t listen to any of the warnings thrown your way by your best friends.

Tears begin to trail down your cheeks before you even realize it. I guess you’re just not lovable for the Leah Williamson.

#leah williamson x reader #leah williamson smut #woso x reader #woso smut #leah williamson #woso #lgbtq

[sungbeam]

nonidol!kim sunwoo x f!reader

you never thought your humble, little podcast would ever touch somebody's soul like it did one kim sunwoo's.

▷ genre, warnings. s2f2l, mutual pining/crushing, college au, fluff, minor angst, humor, comfort, swearing, i actually know very little about anything going on w their majors tbh LOL 💀, uhh sunwoo's a simp but wbk, the outline of sunwoo's abs but if u read too fast u will miss it, kissing, low-key miscommunication trope (im sorry i hate those too), rip sorry yangyang, uhm they're kinda cute i *guess* :/, if there r typos then whoops i don't like editing !!

▷ word count. 28.7k help TT

this is the fifth installment of the love in unity series! this fic can be read as a standalone, but there will be references to the main plotline and all other yns will be referred to as _!yn. ALSO, the second episode specifically has a direct reference to a scene from flight risk, but the rest of the fic won't need any other outside context!

a/n: for @justalildumpling and her chopsticks <3 i dragged myself out of writer's block, pls reblog :'))

EPISODE ONE (PILOT): RHAPSODY… LIKE THE BOHEMIAN ONE?

THERE was something about general education requirement courses that felt too much like a university scam. Why was it required to learn more about things that wouldn’t help one’s chosen career path in the long run? Sunwoo hadn't necessarily been thrilled when he wasn't able to get one of the lower level English classes to fill his requirement, but the 300-level literature class had so far turned out to be… actually interesting. Well, the literature itself was interesting enough. The professor?... Not so much.

There was one thing about this class that he could safely say kept him sane though. And it was more so a person than a thing.

The discussion classroom wasn't terribly full as he strolled through the door with his hoodie thrown over his dark brown curls and headphones, a pretty voice flowing through the ear pieces as he took his usual seat to the side of the room.

"...and we're back! Hope you all enjoyed this week's song recommendation. It's been a favorite of mine ever since my dad introduced it to me when I was a kid. An absolute road trip banger—"

Sunwoo's eyes flickered up to see that the TA for the discussion wasn't yet here, but he lowered the volume on his headset slightly in case.

"—kudos to all the songwriters out there. Writing relevant stuff that transcends time is hard, man. I can't even make meaningful conversation with my graduate student supervisor."

A small smile curled the corners of his lips upward. Just as he anticipated the segment on the host geeking out about her favorite oldies music picks, he heard instead—

"I can't even make meaningful conversation with my other grad student supervisors, you know?"

Wait a minute. Confusion flickered across Sunwoo's face as he checked and lifted one of his headphone ears. That can't be right…

Somebody sat down in the seat beside him, almost startling him because he had his back to the door. It was you, the pretty second-year who he had met on the first day of this discussion a few weeks ago. But he was peering at you now in a whole new light as a smile lingered on your face from your conversation with the class’s TA.

When you felt his eyes on you, you flashed him a bright grin. “Hey, Sunwoo.”

He cleared his throat, fumbling to turn his headphones off and follow your lead in taking out the materials needed for today’s discussion. “Oh, hey, Yn.” It occurred to him just how creepy he was probably being just then…just watching you. But the thoughts in his brain were flying around like mosquitoes around his head—had he been hearing things?

“What’d you think of the reading?” You asked him pleasantly.

The reading from the past week had been the first third of a novel called The Stranger, a version translated from its original written in French. Sunwoo sucked in a breath, grimacing, “It’s not my favorite,” he drawled. “I have no idea what the point of his character is, to be honest.”

You pursed your lips and nodded your head. “Yeah, he’s a little… flat,” you chuckled.

“Is this supposed to tie into the theory that professor was talking about last week?” He asked then, in an effort to actively shift his brain’s focus away from your awfully familiar voice and sayings, and to the present.

“Something about how he doesn’t fit societal standards. I think it’s existentialism and nihilism. Well, at least I think it is.”

Huh. Interesting. Sunwoo gave a little bob of his head, and this was just when the TA turned everyone’s attention to a class discussion about the novel. He definitely hadn’t thought of those terms specifically when reading, but at the same time, he did understand where you were getting that sentiment from. He just couldn’t articulate his view of literature quite as well as you could. That had made you somewhat intimidating to him in the beginning, besides your very cute smile, but he was hoping he could learn something from you nonetheless.

You weren’t even a literature major, he realized as he listened to you offer your thoughts to the group. It was cool, though—you were cool.

— ✶

The Songbird Station was a podcast, radio-esque show that Sunwoo had discovered over summer break, a few weeks ago. The podcast was hosted by an anonymous host who dubbed herself “DJ Dove.” She definitely didn’t mind talking about a few of her personal life experiences; it was easy to simply bar the names and identities. Sunwoo had binged all two seasons so far of the podcast, happily tuning in as a silent listener and admirer of hers for awhile, and he had always wondered where she went to school or who she was, but it hadn’t invaded his thoughts like this before.

Sunwoo laid in his bed the day after the literature discussion, his hands resting on his stomach and his expression turned up toward the violet-red LED-lit ceiling of his room. His phone sat on the edge of his nightstand as it played a playlist of songs that Dove had recommended to her listeners—or well, he wondered if he could safely assume that what he heard yesterday was correct, and that you were DJ Dove.

It would make sense, he thought. You were a sound and music production major, had great taste in music (from the brief conversations you struck up with him while in class), and you literally said the exact same thing that Dove had said over the podcast. It couldn’t have just been a coincidence. And now that he thought about it, your voice really did sound a lot like DJ Dove’s. There was a sort of friendly warmth to both of your voices, and—and—

Knock, knock— “Aye, Sunwoo! I'm going to Juyeon's place now. Are you sure you don't wanna come with?"

Oh, right. He had nearly forgotten that Eric had planned to head over to their new mutual friend's apartment tonight to watch a sports game. Juyeon was a friend of a friend of a friend—the connections ran long in their friend circle, he supposed. Sunwoo stole a peak at his phone screen for the time and his joints ached at the sight of 8:53 on the face. His face screwed up as he replied to his friend and roommate, “Nah, I think I'm still just gonna chill here tonight.”

He grabbed his phone fully off the nightstand this time and turned onto his side.

“Oh, okay. Don't burn the apartment down and don't steal my ramen!”

Sunwoo squished his face down into his pillow, raising his voice slightly since his words would probably be muffled, "I'm not going to steal your ramen!" This guy.

He heard Eric grumble something under his breath from the other side of the door, followed by the sound of footsteps moving farther away from his room. When he heard the front door close, he let out a breath and turned back to his phone. To his surprise, he had managed to absentmindedly navigate away from the playlist screen and to the Songbird Station homepage, filled with a collection of all of your links. One of these links was for listeners to submit song recommendations or ask questions, and most of the time, they were all anonymous with their own little nicknames.

He had never fully considered doing it… but that didn’t mean he hadn’t ever partially thought about it. He definitely imagined becoming one of Dove’s more frequent anonymous submitters and becoming friends with her—on a level that one could consider oneself friends between two anonymous users, at least.

But up until now, he hadn’t thought that he could do it. Well, because Dove was Dove; he was one of hundreds of listeners.

“But she’s Yn,” he thought aloud to himself, turning back onto his back to speak to the ceiling, as if the layer of plaster above his head could possibly give him a viable answer. “There’s probably a reason she doesn’t use her actual name,” he pondered further, expression contorted into deep contemplation. “This feels wrong!” He groaned.

There was at least one person he could count on to deal with his bullshit.

sunwoo’s phone: yes or no

tree rat: no

“Well, screw you, too,” Sunwoo huffed as he swiped out of his and Changmin’s text chain. Out of all the times Changmin said “no” randomly, it had to be this time.

It didn’t matter much anyway though. Sunwoo went back to the links page and clicked on the anonymous submissions. He was met with a customized greeting page from the hostess herself, as she thanked her listeners and asked what they’d like to contribute to the show.

Sunwoo moved to sit up against his headboard as he racked his brain for something to say. He had tons to say, but the first message had to be perfect, right?

“It’s fine,” he said out loud, thumbs flying over the keyboard to type out the first thing that came to mind. After all, it was completely anonymous, so it wasn’t like she would—or you would—even know it was him.

He probably read over his little paragraph about a hundred times before attempting to figure out an anonymous name to sign off with. He hugged his knee to his chest when he couldn’t come up with something cool, charming, or unique. Maybe he would stay completely unknown for now. Maybe he wouldn’t even have the courage to submit another message after this one anyway!—

"Rhapsody," he said aloud. Rhapsody was a cool word. Rhapsody anon? Was that who he would sign as?

He did the most logical course of action: look up the word. He asked the internet for its most basic definition, then somehow ended up in the rabbit hole of etymology of the word rhapsody. It described one who stitched verses or songs together—something of the sort. It sounded cool, at least.

It would have to do… and even if you—or DJ Dove—thought it was stupid, no one would know it was him.

Before he could psych himself out of it, Sunwoo pushed the submit button and launched his phone away from him onto the bed like it was explosive. There was something thrilling about anonymous submissions, but incredibly anxiety-inducing, as well. He could only hope that you would be pleased to read it.

— ✶

It was Wednesday when the next episode of the podcast dropped, and Sunwoo was swift to don his headphones on his way out the door of the apartment. The walk to campus was a good fifteen or so minutes, which would get him about a quarter of the way through the episode, but usually the line in the campus cafe was long, so he had plenty of time to listen.

“Welcome to Songbird Station! I’m your host, DJ Dove, and today, I went to my Groupon singing lesson and realized that I think my teacher is having an affair with her neighbor…?”

Sunwoo let out a snortish laugh, covering his mouth with his hoodie sleeve in slight embarrassment as he passed by somebody else going in the opposite direction. Usually, there would be anonymous submissions sprinkled throughout the episode, most of them having to be diverted to later episodes because they were song recommendations. Sunwoo wasn’t super optimistic about his chances of being featured in this episode, but a guy could dream, couldn’t he?

The sky was a pleasant shade of crystalline blue, even as the seasons shifted from summer to fall. There was a slight breeze wafting through the air that brought in the telltale autumnal chill.

"...and luckily the rest was history. My voice was completely dead and my throat is still a little sore, haha, so we'll do a couple more anonymous submissions and recommendations today! This is supposedly a radio show-esque podcast, after all. This one's from a new friend—Rhapsody Anon!"

Sunwoo nearly tripped over the flat sidewalk and sent a nervous smile to the other person waiting at the stoplight with him. Did you just say what he thought you said?

There came a soft laugh from you. "Ooh, like Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen? Such a classic, by the way. Rhapsody says: Hi Dove! Hoping you're doing alright and that songwriting is going well. I'm a relatively new listener but a fan from first listen—awh, wait… that's kind of like love at first sight but for the voice version, isn't it?"

He reddened. The crosswalk turned green.

"Anyways, that's really sweet; thanks so much—there's a bit more of the message that I'll post on my story later so we can save time, but Rhapsody, thank you for tuning in and interacting with me. Your message sounded so heartfelt to me? I dunno," you chuckled and he swore he could hear the smile in your voice, "maybe I'm a little biased 'cause I love your song rec, too. Speaking of which, Rhapsody recommends Painkiller by Ruel! An immaculate choice, if I do say so myself…"

Sunwoo couldn't help but smile to himself at your warm reception of his anonymous submission. He wished he could have gotten your full reaction to his entire message, but he understood that you needed to account for all the other things you had planned.

Even so, an acknowledgement from you would have been enough. He hadn't thought it was possible, but he thought he just became even more attached to this DJ Dove persona.

EPISODE TWO: I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY.

three months later.

THE curtains in Sunwoo's room were yanked open, the sound of metal rings against the metal bar scratched at his eardrums and made him grimace. It definitely did not help the pounding in his cranium, and—wait, was he in jeans? There was a disgusting after taste in his mouth, something akin to alcohol, and when he lifted his hand to rub his eyes, he felt dried tear tracks on his skin.

Eric stood at the foot of his bed with a scowl and his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm mad at you."

Sunwoo smooshed his face into his pillow in a sorry attempt to hide his eyes from the blinding overcast sky outside. "What's new?" He babbled incoherently.

It seemed his friend and roommate was not pleased with his answer and moved to tower over Sunwoo right beside him. "You couldn't have waited ten minutes before barging in? I was so close to kissing her!"

"Huh? What the hell are you…" Sunwoo's voice trailed off as the events of last night were slowly coming back to him.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Ugh. He remembered making plans to go to some singles party with Changmin and Chanhee, and that Eric was bringing EC!Yn over to woo her or something… yeah, he got all that. So why did Sunwoo drink so much and why couldn't he…

The notification… the tweet…

Oh no.

The emotions from last night came rushing back to him like the tide to shore. Horror contorted his face as his brain raced to string pieces of last night together. He released a groan as he brought both hands up to his face. "Oh my god," he muttered into his palms.

The distinct feeling of devastation and disappointment sank into his gut. No wonder he had thrown all caution to the wind last night and gotten himself drunk off his face.

"How bad?" He asked.

Eric still had his arms crossed. "You cried on EC!Yn like a whale and asked why women were perfect and why you couldn't have this one girl." By the drone of Eric's voice, he hadn't been pleased or amused by last night's events. Whoops.

"I'm—"

"You are going to be forever alone, by the way."

Sunwoo dropped his hands from his face and leveled a scowl up at Eric. Now, that he remembered saying, too. Unfortunately. "Hey! I'm still tender from last night."

Eric's smile was sarcastic and he said nothing as he made his exit from Sunwoo's room and left the hungover man to fend for himself. Left to his own devices, Sunwoo pushed out a harsh exhale as he stared up at the ceiling.

He remembered receiving the notification from the Songbird Station Twitter account and excusing himself to go to the bathroom to hear your voice memo. And when he'd finally found an empty bathroom and played it back, he learned a devastating piece of information.

Guys, I went on a date… updates in the next episode. That was what you had said, essentially—you, Yn Ln, the girl Sunwoo had met in his literature course last quarter and whom he had figured out was the anonymous host of the podcast Songbird Station under the pseudonym DJ Dove.

And he had gotten drunk over the fact that you'd gone out on a date, and said date hadn't been him.

"Dude," he said out loud to himself.

He couldn't believe he had gotten so off his rocker by this news. It wasn't like he knew you or liked you or—well, maybe he had grown an affection for you over the span of time he listened to your podcast and interacted with you via his own pseudonym, Rhapsody Anonymous.

But he was just another fan to you, and you would never know his identity.

A guy could dream though, right?

A thought suddenly occurred to him as he rolled over to go through the copious amounts of notifications on his phone he had. There were lots of messages in his group chat with Chanhee and Changmin that he would deal with later, lots of social media notifications, emails, and…

Wednesday. Today was Wednesday.

Sunwoo cursed. You were definitely uploading the episode today then.

He bit his lip as he sorted through the notifications to find one about the podcast. Sure enough, there it was: I Went On A Date? was the title, and he pretended like that didn't make him want to play Lany's Valentine's Day on loop—

The bedroom door opened and Eric poked his head into the room. "I made hangover soup."

Sunwoo blinked in surprise. "Oh. Thanks, man."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Eric mumbled, shifting on his feet. "Seriously, don't mention it."

— ✶

For the next couple of days, Sunwoo left the notification at the top of his phone, pretending like it wasn’t there. It had worked for about five minutes, but the remainder of time he was stubborn, he allowed his imagination to get the better of him. Although he no longer needed to take a literature course, he found himself deeply considering the vague title you had provided. Well, what could you mean by that question mark at the end? Had it not gone well? There was no way it could have, since your tone didn’t really scream “OH MY GOD I WENT ON A DATE!!!” (not that Sunwoo had imagined what he would have acted like post-date with someone like you or anything…). He didn’t even know who you had gone on a date with, and that made his stomach churn.

The curiosity devoured him alive over the two days he managed to torture himself with his overthinking. No one knew he listened to the Songbird Station podcast, and he planned to keep it that way. It would be the absolute death of him if any of his friends found out.

By Saturday morning, Sunwoo had had enough of his own stubbornness and caved. He donned his headphones, grabbed his bag, and headed out the door to do some work in a cafe located on the Ave. There was one that his friend Jacob had recommended to the group awhile back, and Sunwoo hadn’t looked back since.

As he tuned into the episode, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, shivering against the cold, winter winds. February weather was a doozy, and a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate sounded so very sexy right this moment.

“Welcome to Songbird Station! I’m your host, DJ Dove, and you’re probably wondering what the title of this episode even means, or why I sent that weird, cryptic voice message the other night.”

The traffic light turned green, and Sunwoo began to cross the road, the coffee shop in sight. His hands were beginning to get clammy in his pockets.

“Don’t riot, but friends, it means exactly what it says—” As you exhaled out a breathy kind of laugh, Sunwoo inhaled sharply.

“Helpful,” he muttered under his breath as he pushed into the warmth of the coffee shop. He shook the cold out of his body before hopping into the line to order.

“ —I did actually land myself a date yesterday. Honestly, I’m not really much of a dater; I never really had time with it over the past years because I would, uh… well, I would rather stay in and do music, y’know?”

The corners of Sunwoo’s lips curled up into a smile. Maybe he had been nervous before about this episode’s topic of choice, but he should have had more faith in you. Rather than speak about the date the entire episode, you always managed to worm in a discussion about your passions, and that was the kind of talk that had first gotten Sunwoo hooked. There was something so attractive about hearing or witnessing a person gush about their passions and ambitions—the way their eyes lit up, their posture righted itself, how they smiled so big that one could hear it in their tone of voice.

He was happy that you went out on a date, because you deserved to meet someone who treated you as special as you were. You were a good person, and it wasn’t fair that he was being so salty about it, especially when he was too chicken to—

“Sunwoo?”

His soul practically fell out of his body. “Shit—” He swore, yanking his headphones down with eyes as wide as the earphones. He whirled around to greet you with a flushed face, red like the old Christmas decorations still hanging up from the crown moldings.

You were standing right behind him with a mildly amused look on your face, your lips pressed into a smile and eyes crinkled in absolute delight. You were similarly bundled up like he was to no doubt shield you from the cold on your way here. “Sorry I scared you! I probably should have, like, tapped your shoulder or something, huh?”

Sunwoo let out a nervous laugh and cupped the back of his neck, the skin there warm to the touch. “Oh, uh, no problem at all. I just kinda…”

“Get scared easy?” You offered.

He huffed with a sheepish sort of smile. “No, no that’s not it. I—I just wasn’t expecting you, that’s all.” Inwardly, he winced. The fact that he was listening to your voice in his ears, and you just happened to say his name at the same time and appear in the same exact coffee shop as him. Weren’t there fifteen of these places on the block? There was no way you just happened to choose this one at this moment.

You chuckled, playing along. “Ah, I see, I see. We haven’t seen each other since fall quarter though. How have you been?”

You and Sunwoo inched up with the line, so the two of you now stood side by side. Sunwoo was trying everything he could to calm the racing of his heart. Play it cool, dude. “I’ve been okay…ish,” he grimaced, re-thinking his answer. “You know winter quarter is always the worst.”

“For sure,” you replied. “It’s so cold and dreary—nobody wants to leave their apartments, especially me,” you joked.

Sunwoo was about to chime in on how he could totally relate to that, when you popped the question: “And then there’s Valentine’s Day. Crazy how it never seems to rain on Valentine’s Day, though, so people can go out. Did you do anything for it?”

Sirens commenced their screeching in his head. WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO! Don’t let her know how much of a loser you were! He coughed, reaching up to scratch his head. “Uh, nothing special in particular, if that’s what you mean. A couple of my friends and I just went to this singles party.” Would that give you the wrong idea? Probably not, right? Why was he so bad at this, he thought, wasn’t he supposed to be a communications major?

You inched up in line. “Oh, that’s cool. I think I went to one in freshman year at my old uni,” you said.

Before he could stop himself, he said, “I almost forgot you transferred this year.” He knew that one from the podcast when you talked about the struggles of being a transfer student and having to almost “redo” your entire first year experience, social-wise. But you had also told him that when you and he had worked together in your shared class last quarter; it was just that the two of you didn’t really talk much about your old university much after that.

“It’s okay,” you smiled, nudging his arm with yours as a gesture for him to order first. “Not many people remember.”

Sunwoo wanted to protest, maybe to reassure you that it wasn’t that easy to forget something like that, but he was forced to switch gears and order his hot beverage first before he could say anything else to you. After he said goodbye to five more dollars, he stepped aside and made his way over to the pick-up counter to wait for you and his drink.

When you were done, you sidled up beside him, hands tucked into the folds of your coat.

Come on, say something, his inner voice chided. “So, uh, how was your Valentine’s Day?”

He immediately regretted it. Out of everything he could have asked, he had to go with the one topic he really didn’t want to hear about. However, it had been one of the logical progressions of the conversation, and who knew? Perhaps it wouldn’t lead to him feeling like he’d been shot down with lightning? (Was he being a little dramatic? Yes. Did it matter? Not when no one was going to hear him, no.)

You let out a small laugh and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “It was okay,” you replied.

It was… it was okay? What was he supposed to do with that answer—

“I mean,” you continued with a smile that looked more like a grimace, “it was—fine! It was fine. Uhm…”

Sunwoo’s thoughts came to a slow, teetering stop. Worry began seeping into the cracks of his brain as new scenarios formed. “Hey, if you’re uncomfortable talking about it, then we don’t have to talk about it.” All of the nerves and envy from before was becoming something softer in concern for your response.

“No! No, it’s okay. I promise,” you reassured him. The look you gave him was earnest, and he felt the fist tucked into his pocket gradually relax a bit. “It’s just weird putting it into words, y’know? I kind of chickened out of talking to my friends about it, and even to—” You stopped yourself short, and he could see you backpedaling in your brain. “Anyways, it just felt weird? I think it would have been a really nice night if I actually saw him in that light. But at the same time, I kind of want to try and give it a chance. Does that make sense?”

He nodded, tension falling out of his shoulders. “It does. I mean, sometimes there’s just no spark, y’know?” He added. “I was just worried he did something to make you uncomfortable or something.”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. You don’t have to worry.”

“Okay, that’s good,” he murmured, licking his lips. “I’m just curious—” he piped up, “—and you don’t have to tell me, but who did you go out with?”

One of the baristas from behind the counter called your names, and the two of you both stepped forward. Sunwoo took a long stride to get there before you, and handed you your cup for you.

You murmured a “thanks” to him first before stirring in a packet of sugar. “Liu Yangyang. Do you know him?”

Did he? Yangyang was one of the people Sunwoo recognized from not only around campus, but as a person who made music online, too. Even if Yangyang was in the same year as him, Sunwoo always admired the man’s flow and way with words. It made so much sense that Yangyang would pursue you, someone equally talented and charismatic, especially if the two of you were the same major.

A tightening sensation creeped into Sunwoo’s chest as he marinated on the revelation further. If you couldn’t see someone like Yangyang in a romantic light, then where did that put himself?

As Sunwoo let his intrusive thoughts get the best of him, you finished preparing your coffee.

“I’ve gotta run now,” you told him with a soft-cornered grin. “It was nice seeing you, Sunwoo.”

Sunwoo managed a smile back at you, head bobbing in some semblance of a nod, before you were exiting the shop. He stood there for a moment to gather his wits, his thoughts, and his dignity.

“Did that really just happen?” He muttered to himself. He took his coffee with him to find an empty table and retrieved his study materials from his bag. Technically, he didn’t even have to listen to the rest of the podcast, but… who was he kidding?

EPISODE THREE: HEART TO HEART

“YOU’RE coming with me to the practice rooms, right?” Ji Changmin trailed behind Sunwoo as the two of them shouldered into Sunwoo and Eric's shared apartment with their bags and leftovers from today's lunch. It had been about a week and a half since he had bumped into you at that café and he had been feeling over the interaction since.

Sunwoo popped open the refrigerator while his friend perched on one of the breakfast bar stools, his duffle bag dumped at his feet. "Uh, yeah. 'Course, hyung," he said, shifting some groceries from JC!Yn around to make space for his white plastic container.

A thought occurred to him, and he groaned. "But you're gonna have to go first—without me," he clarified. He grabbed the carton of orange juice out to pour himself a glass, facing his friend's curious look.

Changmin's brows furrowed. "Wait, why not?"

It was a reasonable question, as it went against Sunwoo's normal pattern of behavior. Usually, Sunwoo would tag along with Changmin to the practice rooms at the back of the performing arts building. Changmin was a dance major, and with the highly anticipated winter dance showcase just around the corner, it was important that he got that practice in. Plus, with Eric out of town for an away game, Sunwoo was left alone in the apartment, which wasn't exactly his favorite thing. He would much rather go out and be around other people… unless there was something else occupying him.

Today, that certain occupation came in the form of your first live podcast session, something you were trying out. It was just going to be a live audio stream, so you could stay anonymous with your pseudonym, and answer people's submissions live. You had been advertising it for the past week, having excluded the weekly podcast in order to prepare for today.

Sunwoo was excited as you were and wanted to support you and be one of the people tuning in live. This was important to him, and he had even gone so far as to plan out his day.

"I just have something I need to turn in before the day ends," he said easily, shoulders lifting in a half-hearted shrug. He lifted the glass of orange juice to his mouth for a languid gulp.

Changmin made a teasing noise of disappointment. "Aye, you know if Chanhee were here he'd be on your ass, right?" He chuckled, the dimple of his smile pressing into his cheek.

Sunwoo pouted when he lowered the glass. "If Chanhee or JC!Yn were here, I wouldn't have admitted to procrastination. I have self-preservation skills."

"And you don't think I'd be on your ass?" Changmin gasped dramatically with a hand pressed to his chest.

With tongue in cheek, Sunwoo grinned amusedly. He shook his head, adjusting the hood pulled over him. "Hyung, you can't ding me for procrastination when you procrastinate religiously. Remember that one time you had to beg Professor Ka—"

"Yah! Nobody asked for specifics!"

Sunwoo's chuckle turned into nervous laughter as Changmin reached across the island with a claw-shaped hand. "Ah! No! You stay away—go practice!"

Changmin snickered. "Chicken."

Soon after, Changmin indeed took his leave to head over to the performing arts hall. Sunwoo drained the juice in his cup and refilled it before making a beeline for his bedroom.

The livestream was projected to last for an hour, about the length of a usual episode, but you did say the timing wasn't set in stone. Sunwoo set himself up at his desk, signing into the platform you always used. Over the past couple of months he was Rhapsody, he'd become one of your regulars, suggesting new and old songs from his music library, talking about his day or week or something the last podcast had reminded him of. He liked to think that the two of you were friends—parasocially.

A guy could dream, right?

He was on his phone when the waiting room faded and became a split screen: one half with a sketched sign that read "ON AIR: COMING TO YOU LIVE!" with a little dove in headphones, and the other half was a live chat feed that people who were tuned in could use. There was both a public and private feature, and Sunwoo kept his on the public chat, unafraid of what a bunch of other people behind anonymous names and screens could do to scare him.

"Oh! Woah, I think that worked," came your voice, loud and clear, through his laptop speakers.

He smiled to himself, reaching over to settle his fingers on his keyboard. A tingling feeling bubbled up inside him, starting from his toes and rocketing up through his chest. He could actually talk to you in real time today.

You clapped lightly on the other side, relief pouring through your voice. "Thank god. I'm supposed to be good with some computer programs, but this livestream feature is kind of new. How're we doing, everyone? It seems…" A couple clicks from your end, "... We've got some more people rolling in. I'll give it a couple minutes, but let me know who we've got here today! It's so cool seeing you guys live!"

Sunwoo was swift to type out a greeting message: Dovey hi!! He paired it with a little, hand-waving emoji.

The small gasp of delight from you had him giggling to himself. "Oh my god, Rhapsody! Hi, best friend, welcome in! We might actually be able to hold a conversation for once," you chuckled.

rhapsody anonymous: yeah fs haha

rhapsody anonymous: did u have a good week? it felt weird without an ep from u 🤧

"Oh! Yeah, haha, sorry about that—”

He rushed to type as you continued with answering his question: No no! Don’t worry, I don’t blame you or anything lol it’s just something I look forward to every week.

“...Ah,” you said after skimming over his message. “Understood—and aw, I’m glad it’s something you look forward to every week. That makes me really happy to hear… oh! It looks like the numbers are becoming a little stagnant, so I’m gonna get started. Hi, everyone! Welcome to the live edition of Songbird Station. I’m your host…”

— ✶

An hour later, Sunwoo ended up seated at the kitchen counter, drinking orange juice straight out of the nearly-depleted carton, while the livestream continued on. The whole experience had been one of a kind, and by the way you were able to seamlessly speak and engage with your audience for the entire time made Sunwoo feel warm and fuzzy. He was glad this was working out for you.

There was a gradual lull in conversation, however, and you were just wrapping up your last topic to bring your first livestream to an organic stop.

“...wanna thank you all for being here, of course. 57 people listening to my voice for over an hour is kind of crazy, but this was a lot of fun!...”

Sunwoo was just about to start typing up a message to you when his phone buzzed on the counter beside his laptop. He startled, fumbling with the device and grumbling under his breath until he saw who it was and picked up the call.

“Hyung?” He squeezed the phone between his ear and shoulder, attempting to finish his private message to you. I was wondering if I could…|

Changmin’s voice came out breathy and panting like he had just finished a run-through. “Hey, are you done with your assignment yet?”

I was wondering if I could hang back for…| “Huh?” Why couldn’t he multitask, for god’s sake? I was wondering if I could hang back for a minute? If it’s weird though, then it’s no problem…|

No, that wasn’t weird, right? Totally not. He pressed the 'enter' key, satisfied with the message.

“What were you saying?” Sunwoo asked and picked up the phone with his hand. His eyes flickered back to his laptop screen to find that you had sent him a private message back.

Changmin let out a grumbling sigh. “I was just thinking—”

“Uh oh,” Sunwoo joked.

He could hear his friend’s eye roll from here. “When you get here Kim Sunwoo…”

“Okay, okay, okay!” He chuckled as he read your message and silently punched the air in celebration. “What do you want? I was in the middle of something.”

“Rude! And I was calling you because I was thinking about you,” Changmin huffed. “Anyway, I was just going over some of the movement for Juyeon and my ‘Light a Flame’ duet, right? And I came up with this combo that would be perfect for three people—”

Sunwoo sucked in a breath. “Oh, nonono!”

“But!”

“No!” Sunwoo protested. “Hyung, you know that I don’t… y’know, I can’t dance up there with you and Juyeon hyung! That’s way too much pressure; you’re both so good at dance.” He pressed his finger against the edge of the counter and began mindlessly dragging it along the surface. There had originally been plans of Sunwoo joining Changmin and Juyeon’s dance partnership for this year’s winter showcase performance, but Sunwoo backed out. The winter showcase was far too large of an event for Sunwoo could even fathom participating in, let alone dancing with two of the best dancers he knew. There was just no way.

Changmin sighed from the other end. He’d heard this argument before and he’d argued against this argument plenty of times. “Okay, fine. See you in how long?”

Sunwoo placed his phone onto the counter again so he could tell you that he was still here and hadn’t just left you hanging. “Uh, give me like, thirty minutes.”

“Alright. I better see your ass here in thirty minutes, Sunwoo.”

“Yeah, I know. See ya, hyung.” He hung up then, shoulders sagging slightly from the conversation. It wasn’t like he had to participate in the winter showcase—he was no dance major, nor was he a dance minor. He technically hadn’t even decided on a minor, and had only been focusing on getting this degree finished. Whether or not he had chosen a minor yet was not his parents’ favorite discussion when they visited him, but… it would get done when he had the energy to. He didn’t want to bring up the idea of a dance minor—he saw what it did to Changmin and his parents’ relationship and—well, it was just better this way, for now.

Having finished with his phone call, Sunwoo returned his focus to you, where, god bless, you were still waiting for him in the livestream room.

rhapsody anonymous: omg i’m SO sorry!! >< a friend of mine just called and turns out i am awful at multitasking

“No worries,” you laughed. “I figured that was the case. Everything okay, Rhaps?”

The corners of his mouth curled up at the thoughtful ask. Even when the two of you had been classmates, you were new to the school, but still made him feel like the two of you had known each other for longer than simply a few weeks. It only made sense that you were the host of this podcast, the very thing that had been his source of comfort as of late.

rhapsody anon: yeah nothing really serious lol

rhapsody anon: i just have this friend who’s doing the winter showcase and i was supposed to go to the practice room with him

rhapsody anon: actually, i was going to dance and perform w him too but ig i kind of chickened out

He didn’t know why he was telling you all of this; this wasn’t even what he originally intended to talk to you about.

He heard you make a soft sound of understanding. You shifted in your seat. “I see… the winter showcase is a big event though, as I’ve heard from peers and friends. It's probably really intimidating to even perform in the pre-show, you know? Are you a dance student, by chance?”

rhapsody anon: i’m not, but i’ve taken the intro to hiphop course my freshman year and i usually dance for fun w my friend

rhapsody anon: i think i’ve just always been kind of insecure in my abilities to keep up w him?

“Is he a dance major?”

rhapsody anon: he is

Sunwoo leaned back from the laptop and took his hands off the keyboard. He settled his chin onto his folded arms as he listened to your reply.

“Well, I don’t think you should compare yourself to a dance major, right, Rhaps? I mean, it’s not fair to expect more from yourself when he’s clearly had more experience. And if you enjoy dancing, then I don’t see what the harm in trying to perform or even just being satisfied with private practice sessions is!” You paused for a second to gather your thoughts. “What I’m saying is… is that, I can understand where you might feel insecure, and that’s normal, y’know? And if you’re feeling a little unprepared for this year, there’s always future opportunities.”

Sunwoo peered up at his screen as if he could see you on the other side, speaking to him. He sat up to type out a response. Thanks for hearing me out, it’s nice to feel validated. Sorry this kind of took a downer tone haha it wasn’t my intention, I swear!

You giggled and he swore he was smiling a little too wide now. “No worries, really! I’m glad I could be of help, even if it’s to make sure that you know your feelings are valid. If I’m being honest, one of the few reasons why I even started this podcast thing was to kind of just put my experiences out there in search of validity.” You sighed, “I dunno. It’s a story for another time. I am curious, though, as to why you originally wanted to hang out with me after the others left.”

Oh, right. Sunwoo bit his lip.

rhapsody anonymous: this isn’t really a song rec, but ig it kind of is… i feel like superstar by taylor swift reminds me of u

He held his breath after he pressed the ‘enter’ key.

“Oh…” your voice was soft in surprise, and it made something like giddiness spike in his chest. “That’s really sweet, Rhaps. I… I’m not sure what to say, but thank you. Genuinely.”

rhapsody anonymous: u don’t have to say anything!! really haha ur work and ur words have touched a lot of people

“Even you?”

rhapsody anonymous: esp me

And even after you and he had said goodbye to one another and logged off; even after he was well out of the apartment and on his way to campus, that giddy feeling in his chest still hadn’t left him.

EPISODE FOUR: SHOT THROUGH THE HEART! [AND WE’RE ALL IN PAIN]

DEAD week was not typically something Sunwoo had to worry about, as fortunate as that sounded. There were, obviously, classes that made his stomach queasy and made him feel like the world was crumbling into Hot Cheeto dust, but his classes this quarter had been merciful to say the least. The week before finals week was always something that could be visibly observed on campus: students either manifesting like zombies or zooming around to claim seats in the library; grades rising and falling like the housing market; and snacks and coffee being more commonly consumed than any other moment of the quarter.

It was always a hot pile of shit, no matter the student or major.

“Someone just needs to tell Ouyang to chill!”

“Uh-huh.”

“For sure.”

“—it’s not like we’re the root of all of his problems! I’m just trying to graduate!” Eric halted in the middle of the hallway, causing Sunwoo, whose face was nose-deep in his phone screen, to ram into the baseball player’s back.

“Ow!” He hissed, furiously rubbing the place at his forehead that had collided with the nape of Eric’s neck.

“You’re not paying attention,” said Eric, flatly. He turned to Jacob, who also wasn’t paying attention. “Hyung!”

Jacob’s head lifted from where he was busy smiling down at some orange cat video. “What? Nacho’s learning the periodic table—” He flipped his phone around to show Eric, his face immediately lighting up as he forgot about why he was even mad in the first place.

The three of them were currently in the front half of the performing arts building, heading inwards from the main hall to the backstage area where a couple of their friends were already hanging out. Sunwoo had bumped into Jacob and Eric on his way from one of the campus libraries, and with nothing else better to do (than to study), he tagged along to go find someone to bother. (Jacob and Eric were both STEM majors though, which was weird to Sunwoo since… well, shouldn’t they be bunkered up somewhere trying to survive this quarter’s dead week? Anyways…)

Sunwoo sighed and brushed past his two friends to venture deeper into the building. He could already hear somebody’s music blasting from the sound booth as they rehearsed onstage. Over the past several weeks, everyone had been busy preparing for the winter showcase happening at the end of finals week, right before spring break. Ever since Sunwoo’s talk with you over livestream, he had felt a little better about not joining Changmin and Juyeon on stage this year. Plus, from what he could tell when he watched them practice, they already looked pretty much perfect with just the two of them.

Though, there would always be a part of him that wished he really had the courage to go up there and show the audience what he was made of.

Sunwoo wandered into the main auditorium with his hands tucked into his pockets and the doors closing softly behind him. There was indeed a group practicing their number on the stage at the moment. He could even make out the shapes moving from behind the curtains in the wings as other tech members and dancers rushed to and fro to get to where they needed to. Somewhere in that mass of chaos were his friends.

A familiar voice had him lifting his head toward the sound booth. His eyes widened when he recognized you standing in the booth with Bang Chan, one of the more prominent sound and lighting directors working here at the performing arts center. However, it looked like you were leaving, your hands clumsily wrestling with the zipper on your bag while you continued your conversation with Chan, and while attempting to walk backwards out of the sound booth.

Oh my god, you were going to trip on something if he didn’t help—

Both Sunwoo and Chan pounced toward you as the thought occurred to both of them at the same time.

“Yn, careful!” Sunwoo yelled, as he dove for your phone.

Chan steadied you at the bicep, and you hugged your bag to your chest with a flustered grin. “Oops?”

Chan ruffled your hair as he let you go, nodding his hello to Sunwoo, then ducking back into the booth. You stepped out into the main room and shut the door behind you. “Thanks,” you said to him sheepishly, accepting your phone from him.

The two of you naturally fell into step with one another and Sunwoo let you lead him back out towards the main entrance again. “I didn’t know you worked behind the scenes here,” he told you, cupping the back of his head. If he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall hearing about it from your podcast either. “This is the second time I’ve seen you here,” he chuckled.

You stopped for a minute in the middle of the hallway to get a hold of your things. You had to hike your knee up to properly zip your backpack before hauling it over your shoulder. “Oh, that’s right! Just a couple days ago you were here with your friends, right?”

He gave a bashful sort of grin. He had been here a couple days ago when he came to bother Changmin, and ended up hanging out backstage while Hyunjae’s best friend hosted auditions for her play. It was then that he had seen you hustling about with the Lee Jihoon about lights. He’d been caught so off-guard by seeing you; it was a miracle he managed to even get Changmin to forget about that whole interaction. “Yeah, sorry I was kind of… weird. I didn’t expect you, that's all.”

“Lots of surprise run-ins with us, huh,” you teased, the side of your arm bumping with his as you walked.

Us.

“It’s nice to see you more often though.”

You nodded. “The feeling’s mutual, Sunwoo. Thanks for warning me earlier; I’m usually more careful with my stuff, especially when I’ve got special cargo.” As you said this, you reached back to pat your backpack affectionately.

Sunwoo lifted a brow, opening the door for you as the two of you stepped out into the lobby. “Oh? What kind of special cargo?”

The smile on your face widened. “It’s, uhm, a recording mic, actually! I’ve been coming by to intern around the tech side of things here, and Chan and Jihoon give me some tips about music production, too.” You trailed off, an idea taking hold in your head, and that wide beam from just seconds ago became this shy, little thing. “Hey… would you maybe be up to listening to something of mine? I mean, it’s kind of a weird request, but your music taste from first quarter was top notch—”

“Yes,” Sunwoo said, without even waiting for you to finish your rambling.

You paused, and he rejoiced in the pure delight on your face. “Really? That’s—this is great. Wait, I’m so excited! We’ll need to find a private place to listen, but—”

“Oh my gosh, Yn?”

Coming in from the front lobby doors was none other than Han Jisung, a fellow second-year whom Sunwoo was familiar with. He was bundled in a massive, puffy cream jacket with his head shoved into a beanie, and his nose was reddened from the cold. Jisung tucked the earbuds in his ears away into their case, waddling over to you both with the joy of a baby penguin. “And Sunwoo! Woah, it’s so cool to see you, man. What’s up?”

Sunwoo clasped his hand in his. “S’cool to see you, too, dude. Yn and I were just on our way out.”

Jisung moved over to you and pulled you in for an affectionate side hug. “Oh, well, that’s nice to hear,” he snickered, wagging his eyebrows at you while you sent him a pointed look.

Wonder what that was all about…

“Anyways,” continued Jisung, “I just came by to bother Channie-hyung. Is he in the box?”

You bobbed your head in affirmation. “Yup. There isn’t anyone else with him right now, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of space for you to bug him.”

“Nice,” he grinned. As he walked away in the direction from which you and Sunwoo came, he sent a wave. “See you both around!”

“Bye!” Both you and Sunwoo called back before resuming your walk out the front entrance.

“So how do you—” The two of you laughed when you both started talking at the same time, saying the same thing. Sunwoo gestured toward you, insisting that you ask the question first. You did: “So how do you know Jisung?”

Sunwoo snorted at the memory. “I, uh, saw him in the hall once and smacked his ass, then asked for his number.”

You had to stop to double over in laughter, clutching your stomach while Sunwoo looked on in flustered amusement. Your face had heated up considerably, and you barely managed to follow him down the steps toward the bus stop. “You what?” You asked, once you could get out anything other than wheezes.

He chuckled, shrugging. “Okay, well, I actually know him from this music summer camp we both went to in high school. I didn’t realize he came to this uni until I saw him last year and… well, made my presence known to him.”

You clapped your hands together and collapsed onto the bus bench. “I was gonna say—that’s one hell of a hello.”

“It’s a true story,” he insisted.

“Oh, I believe you.”

The two of you shared a laugh for a moment and Sunwoo took a seat beside you, his knee bouncing up and down as you waited for the bus to come by. He nudged your shoulder with his. “So what about you then? How do you know Han?”

“Hm? Ah, I just know him ‘cause we share the same major-ish. I’m sound and music production, and he’s just a general music major,” you explained. “We also share a composition class, as well as a writing course. Did you know the guy is a fantastic poet?”

Sunwoo’s eyebrows arched upward. “I would not be surprised; the guy’s an ace.”

“Totally agree.” You fidgeted with your phone between your hands. “He was also one of my first friends here after I transferred. He’s kind of shy, but he’s one of the good eggs you can meet.”

A nod. He glanced over at you, his eyes breathing in the far away look on your face. “Yeah, he is. But hey, at least you got to befriend him then, hm? Maybe some things are just meant to be.”

You met his gaze and Sunwoo felt his heart stutter into a gallop. “Yeah,” you murmured, “I think so, too.”

— ✶

You and Sunwoo ended up in one of the booths of the restaurants on the Avenue. It was a cozy, little hole in the wall with soup that tasted like home and made your belly feel warm and content. You had set up shop at your table, your laptop with the audio file pulled up and your wired earbuds plugged in. You had to power all of your will into not showing Sunwoo how nervous you were for him to listen to this—your fingers shook slightly even as you passed him both of your earbuds.

In an attempt to pass off as cool, calm and totally collected, you brought your glass of water to your mouth to sip on. You'd thought to order food first, then let Sunwoo listen to the file.

"Let me know if you can't hear anything," you blurted out just before he put the buds in.

He paused, then smiled. "I got it," he assured you warmly.

Once the buds were fitted and the song started playing, you could only wait and watch to gauge his reaction.

At first, his eyes widened a smidge. Then he slowly began nodding to the beat, eyes falling closed as he soaked in the electric guitar chords mixed in that Jisung helped you out with. You watched him lean back in his seat… saw the smile bloom on his face, wide like a flower opening its petals to greet the brilliant sun.

And that beautiful smile… oh, he was so pretty when he smiled.

It was a couple minutes later that his eyelids finally fluttered open, and yet that smile on his face remained ingrained there. He passed you your earbuds as you awaited the verdict. "Girl, you've got pipes," he said with emphasis, his face screwed up in an expression one could only describe as appreciative. "Like—oh my god, I want that bridge tattooed on my forehead," he groaned and leaned forward to bury his face in his palms.

Your heart could fly, soar, literally ascend to fucking space! You smiled, big and wide, as you wrapped up the wire chords around three fingers. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?" He perked up, then melted to the table as he mumbled into his hoodie sleeve, "I could kis…" You didn't catch the end bit of his sentence as his voice dissipated into the fabric of his shirt.

"What'd you say?"

When he lifted his head, his cheekbones had flushed a shade of rose gold. He cupped the back of his neck with a nervous laugh, "Nothing! It was nothing. I just—I just love it, Yn. Really, I mean it. I'm not just saying that because we're friends—"

"Ah, so we're friends?" You jested, even as your heart skipped like a pebble across the surface of a lake.

Sunwoo blinked, lips pursed. "We're not friends?"

"No, I'm only kidding!" You said and leaned your cheek against your fist. "Your reaction was cute though."

You swore something shuddered across his face, but you didn't have much time to analyze it when you felt a presence make himself clear at the head of the table.

Yangyang appeared in a warm-looking jacket and scarf, his eyes flickering curiously between you and Sunwoo. You suddenly felt an anxious spike in your chest at the thought of what this might have looked like to him. That was, until he saw the laptop, of course. You saw the relief in his shoulders, the ease in which he smiled now. "Hey Yn-ie, didn't know you'd be here."

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Sunwoo scratch his jawline, then scoot forward and offer his hand to Yangyang. "Hey, I'm Sunwoo. You're Yangyang, aren't you?"

Yangyang clasped Sunwoo's hand good naturedly with a typical gummy smile. "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you."

"I was just showing him the project," you said next, drawing both of the boys' attention to you.

"Ah," your friend nodded. "How'd you like it, Sunwoo?"

Sunwoo lit up. "It was—incredible. I don't even know how to describe it, y'know? If it was on my Spotify, it'd probably be on my Wrapped."

There went your heart, goodness. You and Sunwoo locked eyes across the table, and you wished you could convey how much his words meant to you by just a look.

"Totally agree," Yangyang nodded. "My Yn-ie's got a gift and she knows how to use it." He gave your head a gentle pat, and heat rose to your cheeks from the bombardment of attention. It hit you subtly, an epiphany—

Yangyang cleared his throat then and returned his hand to his side. "Anyways, I'll leave you two to it. I'll talk to you later?" He asked you as he was already taking a step backward.

—the heat wasn't for him. It simply wasn't.

"Yeah! I'll shoot you a text later," you promised. You realized then that you had barely even spoken to Yangyang since your Valentine's Day date ended several weeks ago. There had just been a lot of mixed feelings churning around in your head that needed time to be sorted out. (And it was currently being resolved.) With a slight inward grimace, you turned your focus back to the guy you'd brought here in the first place.

Sunwoo slid your laptop over to your side of the table. "Soooo… you and Yangyang, huh?" He laughed, and you weren't certain, but it sounded a bit unsteady.

You played with the hem of your sweater sleeve. "I mean, kind of? Not really? We went on that date a while back, if you remember, but that's about it."

He leaned in. "Yeah, I remember."

"Yeah, and we also haven't had time to really properly talk since?" You winced. "I guess it's not really as bad as I make it sound. It's just that, we've pretty much known each other since primary school. He had just moved from Taiwan, and we were pretty good friends. And he would move back and forth between here and this one town in Germany, but we would always—" you made a vague gesture, "—find each other? Is that the word?"

You let out a breathy sort of laugh. "I'm sorry, I dunno why I'm telling you my history with this guy. It's stupid."

Sunwoo frowned and shook his head. "It's not stupid, Yn."

You inhaled, then chewed on your cheek. "It's just that I always feel like people don't really stick around, at least for me. But Yangyang… he's been one of the few constants in my life, and I'm really grateful for that."

"I'm sensing there's a 'but' with this."

You indulged him. "But I'm starting to think that maybe I can't really see him as that kind of constant, if that makes sense." Your brows furrowed in thought. The boat you were on rocked roughly with the waves, the water turbulent and unsteady, as if at any moment it could throw you off. But you were used to the rocking, and you weren't sure why you should be so used to it. Settling for Yangyang even though you were beginning to realize that he probably wasn't The One? That was like staying docked in a home port you'd grown used to when you yearned for the horizon.

You heard Sunwoo crack his knuckles, and perhaps there really was a certain sheen to his eyes then. "I don't want to put words in your mouth," he drawled carefully, "and I can't imagine how exactly you feel and I don't know your whole story. But it has to be hard when it feels like, I don't know, like people are moving on without you." The earnestness in his eyes made his dark brown eyes deeper and richer. "And maybe it's comfortable with Yangyang and you want to try with him because you know that you two will always somehow find each other again."

"You kind of put what I was thinking into coherent sentences there," you mused, the corners of your lips curling upward.

Sunwoo reflected your expression. "That's good to hear, because I was pretty sure I sounded arrogant."

You laughed then, shaking your head. "No, I appreciated that. And you got it right." Breathing a sigh, you saw a waiter coming by to drop off the food the two of you had ordered. "I think it's just taken me some time with myself and with—with other people to make me realize it."

He glanced up with thanks as the waiter passed you your meals, and you swore you saw his hand make a move to reach for yours across the table. But he stopped short, and instead, helped move your hot bowl of soup over to you. "You never know," he said sheepishly, "The One could be right under your nose."

— ✶

eric 🤨: dude where did u go??? cobie hyung and i looked up and u disappeared into thin air

eric 🤨: omg jisung said u went somewhere w a GIRL??? IS THIS THE GIRL U WERE GETTING ALL DRUNK AND SAD ABT 👀

sunwoo’s phone: YAH!!! OH MY GOD STFU

eric 🤨: no.

EPISODE FIVE: LOTS OF THINGS BLOOM IN SPRING

“SO her name is DJ Dove?”

Sunwoo made a face around his toothbrush as he spat the frothy white into the sink bowl. “For the millionth time, yes.” Through the mirror, Sunwoo watched Eric’s face as his roommate perched himself atop the kitchen counter and went quiet, his face pensive. After coming home to Eric’s confrontation, Sunwoo promised to explain it all in the morning to him.

It was unfortunately the morning, meaning Sunwoo had spent the past hour bringing Eric up to speed on his nonexistent love life. Fortunately, it was also a Wednesday morning, which meant you had just posted your newest episode of the podcast, and Sunwoo could force Eric to listen to it with him. A part of him was tense at the thought of no longer “gatekeeping” his little secret that he had kept for the past several months, but this was Eric, one of his best friends. Maybe this would lift a weight off of Sunwoo’s chest by finally telling someone.

“...I’m still in the thrall of dead week,” your voice blasted from the speaker of Sunwoo’s phone at high volume, “and it’s come to my attention that next quarter will probably be a lot for me. I guess this is me forewarning you all that I might be late with some episodes because I’ve got this new internship thing.”

Sunwoo dunked his face into the sink bowl as he splashed water over his lathered foam cleanser. “She’s talking about her internship at the performing arts center.”

“How do you—never mind, forget I asked.”

Sunwoo patted his face dry, then opened the medicine cabinet for all of the skincare products he used to start off the day.

“...It’s been awhile since I’ve recommended something myself, so today, do enjoy ‘gone too long’ by lullaboy with me.” The song began a few seconds after you queued it up, and the apartment was then filled with muted vocals and strings.

Sunwoo straightened. He and Eric went quiet for a while as they both let the song sink in. Sunwoo continued to slather sunscreen on his face and neck, and Eric had started up the stove to make a batch of ramen for the both of them.

A peculiar sensation draped itself over Sunwoo’s shoulders, a blanket of something that wasn’t quite calm and wasn’t quite jittery. He didn’t know how to pinpoint or label the weird tightness in his chest. The song was strangely intimate, as almost all the music Sunwoo listened to was, but when it came from another person, it was always a whole new level of intimate. Whenever someone recommended a song, it was a way to view a piece of them—perhaps not a large piece, but a piece nonetheless. If eyes were the windows to the soul, then music was the viewfinder.

Maybe he missed you. But that didn’t make sense—it… it couldn’t make sense. He saw you yesterday, and he was listening to you now. How could he miss you?

“She has good taste,” Eric murmured as the song faded out.

Sunwoo nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah. She does.”

“...Hopefully when you miss me you’ll play that song,” he heard you say in a lighthearted tone, even though he felt almost like the complete opposite. “On that note, Rhaps sent in a message asking about the dance showcase coming up! ‘Are you planning on going, and if so, any acts you’re looking forward to? Isn’t it crazy that we could be sitting next to each other and never even know?’ —”

Eric perked up, his head peering over his shoulder to look at Sunwoo as he came out of the bathroom to join Eric in the kitchen. “That’s you? Rhaps?”

“Rhapsody Anonymous,” Sunwoo corrected. “And don’t judge me!” He added with a pointed look, finger jabbing in Eric’s direction.

Eric shook his head with a giddy sort of grin. “I didn’t say anything.”

For a moment, the two boys went quiet with only your voice and the sounds of the stove keeping them company.

A thought occurred to Eric though, and he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “Does it ever feel like lying?” He asked and gestured for Sunwoo to grab a couple of bowls from the cabinet.

Sunwoo walked over with the soup bowls, then leaned his hip against the counter next to Eric. “Does what feel like lying?”

“Hiding that you know it’s her.”

Well… Sunwoo idly scratched his jaw. “I guess I never thought about it like that,” he said. All this time, he’d figured it was probably better that he didn’t bring it up to you. After all, you used a pseudonym for a reason and didn’t show your face. Maybe this was just supposed to be your secret passion project that you used as a safe space. He didn’t want to burst your bubble by confronting you with that information. How would he even go about doing it? Oh hey, by the way, I’ve known that you’re this podcast host DJ Dove for a very long time? That probably had ‘awkward’ written all over it.

Eric passed him a pointed glance. “Something to think about then.”

— ✶

Finals week had come and gone, a hurricane of destruction in its own right. But when the storm passed, it gave way to the beautiful cherry blossoms blooming in the quad. As per university tradition, the quad was filled to the brim with students, staff, and tourists alike gathering to pose in the falling pink petals that marked the coming of Spring Break. This was no different for Sunwoo’s friend group who was dragged out to the event by none other than Choi Chanhee. In an effort to appease his friend in some aspect, Sunwoo had come dressed in something decently presentable: black cargo pants, blue denim jacket, and his face fitted in a pair of dark frames (that were definitely not just frames or missing the lenses…).

He shoved his hands into his pockets after taking a peak at the time on his watch. The group had been here for about ten minutes thus far, and half of them had already split off with their significant others to take their own rounds about the quad. They weren't the only ones—in fact, there were probably as many couples as there were people taking grad photos and cosplay photos.

And wait, someone had come in their wedding dress—nothing spelled out Sunwoo's singleness more potently than a couple getting married.

He took a panoramic glance and accidentally watched another couple go in for a kiss. He looked away with a slight frown, blowing a curl out of his eyes. "I hate this more than Valentine's Day," he grumbled.

From beside him, Kevin Moon sighed as he tested a shot with his camera and had to adjust the settings for the right exposure. "You're telling me." When he raised his camera up again, he immediately had to bring it back down with a deadpan expression, "At least on Valentine's Day, people won't photobomb you."

As the group's self-proclaimed Dad, Lee Sangyeon, summoned the attention of the boys who were present for a partial group photo. Sunwoo smiled for it, then returned to his frown. Chanhee had his camera held up as he attempted to take a selfie shot since he had been staking out this one tree trunk that a group of people had just left. Sunwoo had to admire the way Chanhee wordlessly swooped in like a vulture over a dead carcass.

"Aye, Kim Sunwoo," Chanhee exclaimed and beckoned Sunwoo over with a curl of his two fingers. Chanhee's head scanned the immediate area and his nose wrinkled when he realized he was missing someone. "Where did Changmin go? He was literally right… ah."

Chanhee's voice trailed off and a sly, little grin when he located the man in question. "Look."

Sunwoo followed Chanhee's gaze across the field to where he was sneaking up behind a familiar person. Sunwoo had met this girl twice, once when he and Changmin had gone looking for Jacob and the other when he went with Changmin to go see her for moral support. Both times, strangely, had been at the lab. Huh, did she even go home…?

But then Sunwoo observed the way Changmin and CM!Yn looked at each other. Though Sunwoo had seen Changmin's eyes light up before, this was a different sort of twinkle, something softer. There had always been a cloud hanging over Changmin when it came to this girl, always some kind of bittersweetness that held him back. It made a smile crawl onto his lips at the sight of Changmin so happy.

"Wah," Chanhee murmured in awe. "They really mended their relationship well, don't you think?"

Sunwoo pursed his lips with an indulgent nod. "Yeah, I'd think so."

His friend sighed. "Oh, well. Looks like it's just us two then."

Sunwoo stepped forward and took Chanhee's phone from him, swiftly changing it to the forward facing camera. Chanhee struck a few poses beneath the blush pink trees as he soaked in the golden hour sunlight streaking across the lawn. Eventually, Sunwoo turned the camera back around to take shots of both himself and Chanhee.

He adjusted the phone so that the selfie mode could capture both of them when he spotted Chanhee scuttling back over toward him with a pile of pink petals collected in his palms.

Sunwoo's eyes went wide and he leapt backward away from his grinning friend. "Hyung, come on, let's talk about this."

Chanhee cackled and inched forward still. His hair was the exact same color as the flowers cupped in his palms. "Sunwoo-ah," he sang, "I think your hair needs a bit of color."

"I just did my hair this morning!" He whined and pleaded desperately. The last thing he needed was to be plucking stray petals from his curls later tonight. When Chanhee still wouldn't quit, adrenaline began to pump through Sunwoo's veins in anticipation for what he needed to do next. "Chanhee hyung! We can be civil about this."

"Civility is overrated!"

Just as Chanhee pounced, Sunwoo swerved on the ball of his foot and made a mad dash toward the other side of the quad. Chanhee's giggles filled the late afternoon air like the twinkling of bells, and though it was probably an amusing sight for onlookers, Sunwoo was running for his life.

Sunwoo pumped his legs furiously as he weaved in between people standing and taking their pictures, screaming out apologies for photobombing them as he went. And when he nearly tripped over someone's dog, he managed to lock eyes with yours.

You. Oh my god, you were here.

He had little time to fully comprehend what he was about to do, but he made a beeline for you.

"Sunwoo, hey—oh!"

Sunwoo grabbed your shoulders and careened himself behind you, his face partially hidden behind yours. "I'm sorry, but—" he screeched, "—he's threatening to ruin my hair!"

Chanhee laughed as he stopped in front of you and Sunwoo. His pale cheeks were dusted with the color of the flowers in the air. "Ah, well, hello. This isn't very gentlemanly of you, Sunwoo. Who's this?" He threw Sunwoo a look over your shoulder.

Fuck. He hadn't thought this one through.

Sunwoo laughed sheepishly and let go of your shoulders to clasp the back of his neck. It was only then he realized you were wearing a delicate, pastel sundress with cherry blossoms littered in your own hair. A gentle breeze wafted by and through your skirt and brushed back a few strands of your hair too.

Pretty…

"This is," he stammered, snapping out of his daze, "Yn. Yn-ie, this is one of my close friends, Chanhee."

"It's nice to meet you," Chanhee said with a warm smile and slight bow of his head.

You gave a little wave. "Nice to meet you, too, despite the circumstances."

"I would wave back," Chanhee gestured with his hand of flowers, "but this is a nice pile, don't you think?"

To your credit, you played along. You laughed, "I totally agree. It definitely should not be wasted on giving me a wave. Though, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to get back at Sunwoo." You turned your head and cocked a brow at him, to which he smiled back boyishly.

Chanhee considered you again for a moment. "I like your style. I guess I'll just… leave you to it then," he drawled and sent Sunwoo very pointed glances with his eyes toward you. Something about the way Chanhee's eyes narrowed minutely made Sunwoo want to hide behind you again.

Chanhee whistled a merry tune as he went on his way, leaving you and Sunwoo to your own devices as he probably went to go find his next victim.

"I'm so sorry about that," Sunwoo lamented as soon as Chanhee was out of ear shot. "I did not mean to make you a human shield."

You chuckled. "It's okay, dude, really. Definitely didn't think I'd find anyone I knew in this mess, so it's nice seeing you out here."

Sunwoo gave you yet another once over and felt heat crawl up the column of his neck. "I—you look really pretty," he said, gesturing to your outfit.

"Oh, thank you," you chirped. "You clean up quite well yourself."

The two of you shared a smile then and for a second, Sunwoo's mouth went dry and no words leapt from his tongue. They all remained lodged in his throat where his heartbeat went pitter-patter.

He cleared his throat, breaking eye contact with you for a moment.

You made a vague nod toward one of the open benches lining the perimeter of the quad, an invitation. "Wanna come sit with me?"

"Do I?" Yes. The answer was yes.

When you and Sunwoo were seated side by side, centimeters separating your arms and legs from touching the other, his heart still had not settled. The adrenaline, in fact, also had her to dissipate. With wide eyes, he soaked everything in.

"Did you go to the winter showcase on Friday night?" He blurted, turning to you.

You met his gaze. "I did. It was such a cool experience, especially since it was my first time. Did you?"

He nodded, locking his lips. "I did, yeah," he murmured. "I had a couple friends performing, so we all went to cheer them on. It's always a really great time though; I'm glad you got to go."

"Oh, that's nice. I always find dancers so impressive," you said with a wistful gleam in your eyes. "Do you dance?"

He found himself fidgeting with Chanhee's phone that he still held onto in his lap. "A little," he admitted bashfully. "I took an intro to hip-hop class last year, and I sometimes dance with my friends. Just—not in public," he said.

For a second, something flickered across your face. But he must have been dreaming because it was gone as quickly as it came.

"So music and dance? You're a multi-talented threat, Sunwoo."

"Aw, not really," he giggled. He wanted to hide his burning face in the collar of his jacket, but there was something about you that also made him unafraid to show you this side of him. Actually, you made this side of him come out. He wasn't usually so terribly shy, always tumbling over his words and doing diction cartwheels… communications major, his ass. "What about you? You're literally a musical genius. You should be on my Spotify Wrapped, Yn."

This time, he could relish in making you flustered. "Aye, you can't say that and expect me not to wanna…" You lost your own words, biting your tongue.

He didn't know what got into him, but he leaned forward closer to you. "Expect you not to what?" He asked lowly, teasingly.

Your breath hitched in your throat, and he swore his own rapidly-beating organ was going to come flying out of his chest.

"Expect me not to—steal your glasses!" With a high-pitched squeal, you snatched the lensless frames from right off his nose.

Sunwoo gasped in scandal, diving to grab them back, but you had already stood up from the bench. "Yah! Those were expensive frames!"

Your face lit up as you donned them. "You'll have to take it off my face then!"

"Bet!" And he lurched after you as you took off into the setting sun.

Your voices echoed across the quad: "Jisuuuuuung! Jisung, save me!"

"Jisung can't save you when he's scared of me!"

EPISODE SIX: AND THE MUSES ARE OFF!

"IT'S not a date!"

"It's a date!"

"It's not a date!" Sunwoo stopped abruptly in the middle of his living room where he had been wearing a hole in the wood floors from pacing. He whirled on his sock-clad heels to face his sofa of judges, Changmin and Chanhee. Eric was out with his girlfriend watching the newest action movie that had come out over Spring Break. "She would say if it was a date, right?"

Chanhee smacked his palm against his forehead with a puff of air. Changmin, however, leaned back on the couch with a ponderous look on his face and rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "She probably would. She seems like she has more balls than you."

"Hey!"

Changmin grinned. "Just saying." He then leaned down to pick up his duffle bag sitting at his feet. "I've gotta run now, but let me know how it goes."

Sunwoo leveled a scowl at him as he passed by to go to the door. "I hope CM!Yn trips you in the practice room."

"Into her arms!" He hollered back, which was swiftly followed by the front door slamming shut.

While Changmin was headed out to meet CM!Yn at the practice room for her first time returning to dance after three years, Sunwoo and Chanhee were left to prepare Sunwoo for today's agenda. Yesterday, you and he had traded numbers, to which you had immediately asked if he'd wanted to hang out with you some more over Spring Break. The answer had been as easy as counting to three.

Now the only problem was to not freak out over it.

"You're picking up lunch, aren't you?" Chanhee asked as he shoved Sunwoo into the bathroom.

Sunwoo nodded shallowly and picked up his round brush and blow-dryer. "Mhm. I'm meeting her at the performing arts building, and we're gonna take the metro up to Lake Anchor. Ever been up there?"

Chanhee fixed the collar of Sunwoo's white button-up, then snatched the brush and blowdryer out of his hands to do it for him. "Nope. Heard it's nice up there though."

"Yeah," Sunwoo muttered, nearly dropping the serum bottle in his hands. "She said her friend Sieun recommended it."

"Ah."

It wouldn't have felt like a date as much if Sunwoo hadn't searched up Lake Anchor when you'd texted him about it last night. The place was gorgeous, a certified calendar-worthy landscape with purple mountain majesties in the back and shores lined with emerald green hills and willow trees. It didn't help that the Reddit pages all deemed it a "couple's picnic spot you can't miss." Oh, he wasn't going to miss it, all right.

Thirty minutes later, he found himself outside the doors to the performing arts center where you said you were currently taking a tech lesson from Bang Chan. He had a paper bag of snacks and sandwiches from the local convenience store in one hand and the other tucked away into his pocket.

He wondered if he could go in and see you, but he'd already texted you he was waiting outside, and you'd replied you were on your way out.

Just as he was about to go sit on one of the benches, one of the doors at the entrance opened. You emerged out into the late spring morning with the breeze in your hair, a tote bag slung over one shoulder, and a ukulele case hanging from the other. You smiled wide at him and waved.

Sunwoo's lips parted into a grin. "Hi. I got us snacks," he said and lifted the brown bag in his hand.

"Sunwoo, you didn't have to," you pursed your lips fondly, adjusting your bag straps.

"I wanted to." The two of you fell into step in the direction of the closest metro station. It would be a short walk from here into the university Avenue, and down a block to the station. Everything was conveniently placed in the name of accessibility. "Plus, I didn't really eat breakfast," he admitted.

"Me neither." You cupped half your face with your palm. "Aish. I always forget I have, like, yogurt in the fridge, y'know?"

Sunwoo chuckled. "Yeah, I get that. My roommate and I always forget that we have groceries in the fridge because we always see the ramen packets on the counter instead. How was the lesson with Chan?"

The two of you stopped at the intersection to wait for the light. You hugged your ukulele to your chest. "It was good! He's always really helpful and knowledgeable—and patient," you mused. "I hope you don't mind me bringing my uke along though. I thought it would be a nice form of entertainment once we got up to the lake."

"I'm not entertaining enough for you," he gasped melodramatically, jutting his bottom lip out in a pout.

You laughed, and the sound made him break his pout and smile. "I thought I would be the entertaining one for once. D'you know how to play?"

The crosswalk sign turned on for you, and you both made your way across.

"I know some guitar," Sunwoo answered, "but just the basics. They teach you a bit at summer music camp." As he walked by your side, he felt his hand brush against the back of yours. "My hyung—Jacob—he plays guitar pretty well. He's good at singing, too, like you."

He caught your smile from the corner of his eye.

"He did it to woo his girlfriend," he jested, sticking his tongue in his cheek when he remembered how JC!Yn brought him and Haknyeon up to speed last quarter about her love life antics.

You chuckled. "That's a shame you know the trick," you said with an impish twinkle in your eyes, "because that was exactly my plan."

Sunwoo came to a screeching halt in the middle of the walkway, and when you realized he was still staring wide-eyed at the sidewalk, you let out a laugh and went back to drag him along to the station.

— ✶

The view was something out of a magazine, the kind that took one's breath away. You and Sunwoo had claimed the shade beneath a willow tree and settled down across from each other with the brown paper bag flattened out to display the feast he had purchased. There were other small groups of people around, as well, all of whom seemed to have the same ideas as you two as they soaked up sun, read books and napped in the shade, and picnicked along the grassy shoreline. There was even a small booth a mile down the bank that rented out swan-shaped paddle boats and canoes for people to take out onto the water.

You and Sunwoo had pretty much demolished all of the goodies he brought with him. The conversation had been flowing, simple and organic, and you felt at peace—that was the best way to describe it. Maybe it was the location, the circumstance, the company, or all three.

You picked up your ukulele from where it laid in its case by your side. "Any suggestions?" You queried, taking the instrument out and checking that it was in tune.

Sunwoo brushed his hands of crumbs and braced his palms on the grass behind him. It was the visual of him in that white shirt, his sleeves rolled up and collarbone exposed, jawline clean and sharp as he gazed out at the view that made your heart race again. "Hmm," he hummed, "what did you first learn on it?"

"I think I taught myself Lemonade by Jeremy Passion," you said to him and scoured your brain for the right chords. You strummed a G-flat minor, and when it sounded about right, you shifted to B, until you managed to jog your memory of all four chords.

He watched you with softened eyes, his knees pulled up to his chest now as he leaned his cheek onto the tops of his knees. "That's a good song," he murmured.

"Do you know the lyrics?"

He chuckled, shaking his head and flicking his wrist. "Oh, no, no. I don't sing."

"Doesn't sound like you can't," you quipped back with a teasing tilt in your smile. You swayed a little as you played the tune over and over again. "A little shy, are we?"

You could see the smile peeking from his lips even when he tried to hide it in his arms. "I don't sing a lot."

"If I sang the first verse, would you join me in the chorus?" You offered as a compromise. You wouldn't push after this if he still refused, but there was a part of you that felt like you needed to hear this beautiful man sing for you.

He balked for a second, toeing at the dirt. Then, "Okay. I'll join in at the chorus."

A smile bloomed on your face. "Excellent."

You were a little shaky going in yourself. Though you had definitely practiced this song more times than you could count, performing it for someone else was always like playing it for the first time. And you wanted Sunwoo to enjoy it, and to be impressed by you. You wanted to do well for him and to be able to encourage him.

As he said he would, you heard him join in at the chorus—softly, at first, until he was the main vocal and you could bolster him with the harmony.

His eyes met yours, all smiles, as the song continued on. The ending verse… dear god, you could fall over from pure giddiness at the way he nailed the runs and you could do a little showing off with your strumming. Shivers, just plain shivers.

"She's exactly what… I need," he crooned, fingers playing absentmindedly with a strand of grass.

You let the vibrations of the strings linger in the spring air for a moment. It was like the two of you were encased in this bubble all by yourselves; and it was beautiful. It was perfect.

"I knew you could sing," you said to him. "I just had a feeling."

He hung his head, but the smile on his face could not be suppressed. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For encouraging me," he shook his head. "Believing in me."

You pursed your lips together thoughtfully and you wished you could pick his brain without risking total invasion. "Do people not believe in you often?" You asked quietly, shifting to move yourself around the pile of rolled-up trash and to sit next to him.

He followed your lead, scooting himself next to you until you were no longer opposite, but adjacent. "Not people, just me, I think."

"Ah." You could empathize.

He gave a shallow nod. "Do you ever get scared of making a mistake so you don't—I dunno—go for it? And then you end up thinking that maybe not taking that risk was the mistake?"

You set your ukulele down in the case beside you and mirrored his position, arms looped around your legs. "I do. All the time actually, and it's a scary feeling."

"Yeah," he exhaled. "Sometimes I wish I had just gone into music, full-on. I mean, a communication major is useful and all, but there are times when I wonder where I would have been if I had nurtured that passion."

His words resonated within you. There was a reason why you transferred to this university and decided to leave your original plan behind. You had gone into college with an intent to major in Computer Science, but less than a year in, it had become abundantly clear to you how unhappy you were. Leaving wasn't just a choice, it had been a need.

You turned to look at Sunwoo and you felt your chest tug toward him. You bumped his leg with your knee. "You still have time," you said. "It's not too late to still see where that goes."

But you knew the conflict that warred in his head; you knew it all too well because you had experienced it firsthand. It was much more complicated than simply chasing after one's dreams. There was obligations, expectations, fears, and physical obstacles that made the situation more complex than it seemed at first glance. You didn't know his family situation, didn't know the whole story of why he hadn't taken his summer music camp experiences and translated it into his current college career.

You didn't know it all… but you wanted to. You wanted to know everything about him.

"You said you don't have a minor figured out yet, right?" You asked suddenly, an idea coming to you.

He hummed. "Yeah."

"Well, why don't you choose music as your minor?" When he didn't answer right away, you added, "You obviously don't have to decide right this second—it's just something to think about."

(It seemed he had a lot he needed to think about lately.)

Sunwoo rose up and leaned back onto his palms again. When he turned to look at you, a sense of calm had come over him this time. "I really appreciate you."

You broke into a smile. "I appreciate you, too."

"No, really," he laughed, then bit his lip. "I'm sorry for screwing the mood—"

"You're not! Really," you insisted. "I don't mind. I like having meaningful conversations with people who mean a lot to me."

He didn't even have to say anything, because there was this look, one you simply could not ignore. It made your stomach feel like it was swarmed with butterflies and that you were walking on air. It was like watching him smile while listening to the song you wrote, like walking out of the performing arts center to see him waiting for you. He didn't have to say anything because you knew—you had to. There simply could not be any other explanation, right?

EPISODE SEVEN: WHAT IF SOULS FEEL FAMILIAR FOR A REASON?

YOU had been keeping a secret.

"So what you're saying is that you know that he knows, but he doesn't know that you know that he knows?"

You nodded, arms crossed. "Yeah, pretty much."

Jisung made a face and rested his temple against his palm. "My brain hurts."

From where she was perched on a stool, Park Sieun reached over and patted Jisung's nest of hair. "It is a little confusing. Why don't you just confront him about it?"

"I don't know," you huffed and fell back against the wall. The three of you were holed up in one of the private studios on campus. There weren't many buildings opened since it was still Spring Break, but many of the performing arts facilities were. Jisung had offered for you and Sieun to meet him in the room he had snagged and had been currently occupying in order to bust out as much creative energy as possible. (Newsflash, it was not going well, hence, yours and Sieun's invitations.) Studio rooms were pretty much soundproof, so they were good for those in the music programs who wanted a private space to practice or record things.

You had just brought them up to speed on your latest outing with a certain Kim Sunwoo up to Lake Anchor, as Sieun had so graciously suggested to you the other day. After your outing, however, you'd come to one very solid conclusion.

Well, and there was the matter of The Anonymous Situation.

Just this morning, you had opened your inbox to find another submission from one of your regular anonymous listeners whom you affectionately nicknamed Rhaps. Rhapsody Anonymous had begun to pop up in your inbox just last quarter, and it wasn't until recently that you figured out who it was. At first, it seemed completely implausible for Sunwoo to be the face behind the name, because there was no way out of a whole internet of people that he had managed to stumble across your podcast.

To make matters more complex, you had an inkling that he also knew that you were the host of Songbird Station. He had sent you something along the lines of: "Hey Dovey! I stumbled across this song recently that I haven't heard in awhile. It's called Lemonade, and I realize that I've only actually heard the ukulele vers. LOL anyways, I hope you're not too busy this Spring Break and that you've had time to relax. I've always wondered though… have you ever met someone who feels familiar to you? Not like in a 'I've reunited with you after five years' kind of familiar, but like… something more like kindred spirits……"

The whole message had the same amount of sweetness he always used to contact and interact with you, but the recommendation of the song Lemonade simply could not be a mere coincidence. You just couldn't accept that.

You had pondered this for a long time—the possibility of confronting him about his anonymous persona. And of course, there were several things that held you back from doing so. "I mean," you began, pushing off from the wall to slowly pace the little room available, "I don't want to scare him, y'know? Like I'm sure there's a reason why he goes by a pseudonym like I do, and I don't want to burst that bubble.

"Plus," you continued, "what if I'm just thinking about this all wrong? What if I've read the signs completely out of proportion and he's not actually Rhapsody Anonymous? That would just be embarrassing."

You stopped in front of your friends with your hands positioned on your hips and your head quirked to the side in thought.

"Would it really be so bad if you brought it up, like, even subtly?" Sieun asked you, her pink-tinted lips pursed slightly.

Jisung piped up, too, "Yeah, Sunwoo's a pretty cool guy. And based on what I've seen between the two of you and what you've told us, I don't think he would laugh at you or anything."

"I don't think he would laugh at me either," you confessed. "It's just kinda scary."

The two murmured their agreement. Though Sieun was your trio's only extrovert, you actually had no idea how you'd come to be decently close friends with these two. You chalked it up to all frequenting similar social circles. The music program was always a good way to make friends, and you were glad that it had yet to fail you, even in college.

Sieun made a vague gesture with her hand. "I think you should try, though. I'm sure you'll find a way to slide it in," she chuckled.

Jisung snorted. "I have never seen that man so flustered in his life."

"Yeah, he has to be whipped for you, Yn-ie."

A cough from the boy in the room. "Not like you're any more whipped than he is."

"Han Jisung!" You reprimanded, heat swarming to your cheeks.

He broke into a boyish grin, eyes wide and alight like a chipmunk. "What? Don't give me the government name; you know it's true!"

Even Sieun was laughing behind her oh-so delicately placed hand. "He's got a point."

You sighed, wrinkling your nose. "I came for support, not a call out."

"Are those not the same things—AH, I'M SORRY DON'T WHACK ME—!"

— ✶

There was a place on the Avenue with the best lime soda, as Sunwoo had claimed, when the two of you coordinated to get lunch together. Because you had chosen the place of your last hangout, you'd insisted that he chose a place this time. By his texts, he had seemed pleasantly surprised to be hanging out again so soon, and while your nerves were high in anticipation for the coming conversation, you also couldn't wait to spend time with him some more.

You met outside the storefront of a Vietnamese restaurant that you'd only seen in passing, and had yet to try. You glanced up from your phone just as Sunwoo came up from down the road toward you, dressed in jeans and a bomber jacket.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting," he said as he swung the door open for you.

You and he ducked inside. "It's no worries," you assured him. "Hope you're not sick of me just yet."

You saw that boyish grin of his as he caught your eyes and signaled the waiter for a table for two. "Never."

When the two of you were seated, your eyes greedily took in the options laid out on the menu. There were just far too many appetizing items—maybe you should have scouted out the menu beforehand.

"Any favorites?" You queried from over the rim of your menu.

Sunwoo was slinging his shoulder bag over his head as you asked this. "Oh, uh, I've been hooked on their shrimp banh xeo ever since my friend Haknyeon introduced me to it. It's like a Vietnamese crepe with stir fried vegetables and a protein. But I think in general, everything is pretty good here."

You hummed. "Mmh, sounds good. And you said the lime soda is really good, too?"

He nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, for sure. That stuff is addicting."

You took his word for it, and soon, the two of you had finished ordering your lunch for the day. A part of you wished you didn't have to disturb the pleasantness of this one-on-one lunch date (was this a date?) with Sunwoo by bringing up the podcast, but what if by clearing the air, it would make your relationship stronger? (Or, it could end in a fiery, hot pile of shit!)

Either way, you would try to get to it as organically as possible.

"So I wanted to talk to you about something." Yes, because this is totally organic, Yn… You grabbed your cup of lime soda and played absentmindedly with the straw.

You gauged his reaction carefully. He perked up. "You—you wanted to talk to me about something?" He parroted, pointing his finger back at himself. "That's not usually good."

"Sorry, no, it's not bad!" You promised. On the way here, you had come up with about a dozen ways to go about this, but at the end of the day, there would only be a yes or no answer. "Do you, by chance, happen to listen to podcasts?"

There was that flicker of recognition over his face, and for a second, he reminded you of something like a puppy with how wide his eyes were. "Uhh," he drawled, scratching his head and feigning nonchalance, "I mean, sometimes. Like casually."

"This might sound weird—"

"Uh-huh."

"—but are you Rhapsody Anonymous?"

If sweat could be animated, that was what you imagined to be dripping down the side of Sunwoo’s face at this moment. He seemed to be figuring out a way to reply. “Would you believe me if I asked you what a Rhapsody Anonymous is?”

“No, not really.”

“What’s a podcast?”

You huffed. “Sunwoo—”

“Okay,” he relented, slumping over slightly. He seemed nervous, in a way, eyes looking anywhere but you, twirling his straw between his thumb and index finger, his foot tapping furiously against the linoleum floor. “I’m sorry! I didn’t really want to bring up the podcast to you because I thought that you enjoyed the anonymity, y’know?” He told you with an apologetic wince. “And I really liked listening to the show, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to interact with you anonymously, as well, and over time, I thought we’d kinda become friends.”

He peered up at you nervously, and guilt wormed its way into the trenches of your gut. From what it seemed, he must have really thought that you would react negatively to him knowing your podcast-hosting side show.

“We are friends,” you finally said and scooped a lock of hair out of your face. “I’m not like, mad, or anything; it was more of me trying to figure out why you felt so familiar to me. And I’m really honored that you liked my podcast enough to want to interact with me there. It means a lot.”

With your small smile, Sunwoo’s posture flooded with relief. “So you’re not mad that I figured out your identity?”

“Definitely not,” you shook your head. “If anything, I’m relieved. I’ve been wondering about your identity for a while now.”

The corners of Sunwoo’s mouth lifted. “That’s… that’s cool. This is really cool,” he said. He let out a sigh, leaning back to slump in his chair with a dramatic expression of anguish on his face. “You have no idea how much it’s been eating me up inside, Dovey! Like how do you balance your two identities? It takes so much energy for me to make sure I keep them separate.”

“I can tell; you weren’t exactly the most inconspicuous,” you teased.

He sat up. “What do you—”

“Well, you kind of told me things in person that you’ve told to me on anonymous, and vice versa.” You recalled to him the two main instances that gave him away to you. It was amusing to see the way he grew increasingly more flustered as you kept talking about it, but you realized that this was probably incredibly painful for him to hear.

Sunwoo had his head in his hands by the time you were done. “I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot.”

He shifted slightly so that his cheek rested against one palm. “And to think that I was being all slick and secretive,” he pouted, scrunching up his nose. “You know, I always thought about being friends with you in real life. That one time that I told you about that one Taylor Swift song that reminded me of you?”

“Superstar?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” He meditated on that thought while sipping his drink. “It just felt right. Like you were far away but also right there in my ear. Does that make sense?”

You knew what the song was about; you could recite the lyrics by heart, and the fact that he associated that song with you… It sent your heart a-flutter. “It does.”

He jolted up so suddenly you nearly fell out of your seat with him. “Not that I’m desperately in love with you or anything,” he added quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth as fast as he mentally skimmed through the lyrics again and again. His cheeks were tinged with pink, and you were sure that your neck looked as hot as it felt.

You pretended your heart didn’t drop to the pit of your stomach when he said that. You laughed along with him, though you weren’t sure why it sounded like it did. “Oh, right, right. I didn’t think that; don’t worry.” All the butterflies in your stomach drooped.

Sunwoo scrambled to find the right words. “I just mean that I always felt like some average Joe, and you were…” He gestured to you helplessly, “you.”

Your heart couldn’t help but give a sharp pang at that.

“And how could I ever be anything more to you than just another listener in your stats, y’know?”

You never thought that you would have ever given off that kind of vibe toward listeners, or come to mean that much to any members of your audience. It had seemed simply impossible for you to ever become large enough to evoke that kind of feeling in people—a popstar to their fans. You folded your arms over the table and leaned toward him. “Sunwoo, you were never just another listener. You made yourself known to me and you made me feel like I wasn’t alone.”

He slowly met your eyes, and you sat up straighter, reaching toward the paper straw wrapper to fidget with. “I originally started this podcast because I needed a place to talk. After feeling like people were always moving on without me, I was trying to search for validation, and I found that in podcasting. I figured that maybe… if I was feeling these things, then there had to be someone out there who was feeling them, too.

“And the song recommendation and music talk was always a nice bonus,” you added. “I had people send in anonymous submissions, but never as frequently as you did, and it made me feel like I was reaching somebody. Not just a random hit every so often, but somebody.”

Sunwoo’s eyes shone in the artificial lighting inside the restaurant, and outside your little bubble, you barely registered the noises around you. It was just you and Sunwoo in this moment in time and space. He swallowed. “You’re really cool, you know that?”

You grabbed your cup of lime soda and softly knocked it against his. “That’s all you, superstar.”

— ✶

Lunch had progressed much smoother after you had confronted Sunwoo, to say the least. You were convinced, however, that you had to meet this Haknyeon character he kept telling you about. He was the one to recommend the Vietnamese restaurant, and he was going to be your new favorite person. (Sorry, Sunwoo.)

When both you and Sunwoo had finished up with lunch, you didn’t want to cut your time with him short and asked him if he’d ever been up to the Farmer’s Market north of the Ave.

“There’s a Farmer’s Market over there?” His mouth gaped as he let you lead him a couple blocks north.

You grinned, tipping your head up to the sky to soak in the last bits of sunlight before it was about to be blanketed over by gray clouds. “Yeah! It’s really neat. They’ve got one going every week, I think.”

The walk up was an easy one as it was a straight shot from the restaurant to the intersection where white picket fences were set up to barricade the street for vendors to set up in. Pop-up tents of different colors and sizes lined either side of the street as people milled about going from vendor to vendor. This had been one of the few gems you’d found when you transferred here, and though you didn’t often visit, you tried to buy at least a couple things to support the local businesses. The fruit here tasted much better than the ones in-stores, anyway.

You and Sunwoo slipped past the fences and into the throng of people, and you watched his face light up in awe as he took in the sights and smells. There were people selling beaded bracelets and art, farmers tossing blueberries into kids’ mouths… it was a lively slice of community here.

“Wow, this is incredible,” he said, but suddenly stopped short. “Oh my god, they’re selling melon pops, Yn-ie!” He pointed out a stand a little further down the way that he had peered over a few heads for. He grabbed your hand and pulled you along with him. “Come on! I’ll treat you to one.”

It wasn’t like you were going to refuse him.

Within another few minutes, you and Sunwoo had both acquired one melon popsicle each. It was adorable to see him bouncing along on the balls of his feet like a kid on Christmas morning as he lapped up the light green juice dripping down the side of the frozen treat.

“—look how pretty those sunflowers are!” He gasped at one of the stands to your left selling bundles of different flowers.

An idea popped into your head, and you scurried over to the booth and traded a two dollar bill for one of the baby sunflowers. You whirled around to where Sunwoo stood and waited for you. “Stand still,” you said while reaching up to tuck the flower behind his ear.

Before he could comprehend what was happening, you pulled out your phone and snapped a quick picture of him.

Sunwoo’s eyes had gone wide, his cheekbones the same color as the roses in the bundles behind you. “What… just happened,” he asked, blinking, then came over to poke your shoulder to get your attention. He peered over at your phone screen to see that you were setting the photo you took as his new contact photo. He let out a hum, “Wow.”

“It’s cute.” You let him see the picture.

He narrowed his eyes at the screen before finally giving it a nod of approval. “Okay, good enough.”

You scoffed, lightly hitting his arm with the back of your hand. “Good enough? I think it’s perfect.” You finished off the rest of your melon pop and tossed the stick in a nearby trash bin.

(If you’d looked up from your phone at that moment, you would have seen the utter bliss on Sunwoo’s face after hearing you compliment a picture of him and calling it “perfect.” To him, absolutely nothing could ruin this day, this moment, this year for him—!)

One raindrop fell onto your phone screen, followed by another, and another, and ano--

(He should not have spoken so soon.)

“It’s raining,” you observed dumbly, reaching a palm out to feel the pitter-patter of the sky’s tears on your skin. Others around you were beginning to notice, too, either huddling under their nearest tent or the overhangs of establishments lined on the sidewalk.

You figured somebody must have pissed the weather off because the rain only began to drum harder against the world.

"Well, shit," you laughed and patted Sunwoo on the back of his shoulder to move him toward the side of the road. "Let's find shelter!"

The two of you joined the crowd as you scrambled past the tents and up onto the sidewalks. Some people simply went into the shops themselves, but you and Sunwoo took a moment to stare out at the once-clear sky. Strange how springtime weather worked.

Sunwoo finished off his popsicle and found a trash bin to toss the stick into. He ran a hand through his dampened locks, then dragged that same palm down his face. "D'you like a little rain, dove?"

The nickname caught you off-guard for a second, but not as badly as seeing the soft-cornered smile on his face.

You cleared your throat. "I don't mind it. How about you?"

He made a frown at the sky as if he could reprimand nature for crashing the date—wait, this wasn't a date, was it? "It would have been nice if the weather report was accurate for once, but a little walk in the rain never hurt anybody."

You voiced your agreement. The next course of action you both decided on was making the long trek home in the rain together. You tried to stay out of the shower as best as you could, but there definitely weren't enough overhangs to get you home completely dry.

At one of the intersections, Sunwoo looked over at you through his dripping wet bangs. "You don't have a jacket."

On instinct, you glanced down at your bare arms, only clad in a T-shirt. "Oh, I guess I don't," you mused.

"Here—" he shouldered off the black bomber jacket and draped it over your shoulders.

"Sunwoo, I can't—"

"Yes, you can," he laughed and shook his head out. The light turned green to cross, and he wrapped an arm around you to keep you steady along the rain-slicked street.

The jacket and arm around you were both warm, but you had a feeling that even without the jacket, his arm would have been more than enough.

When you'd made it to your apartment complex and bursted into the front lobby, you and Sunwoo practically stood in your own self-made puddles. You took the jacket off from around your shoulders and shook it out; it was a shoddy attempt to get the water out, but at least the material was semi-waterproof on the outside.

"Here you…" Your throat went dry as you made to hand his jacket back to him and zeroed in on the way his wet, white T-shirt stuck flush against his skin. There was no other way to describe it but as see through, and there was no way in hell you were going to be able to erase that defined stomach from your mind. "...Go."

You coughed as you looked away, and he accepted his jacket back with a low "Thanks."

When he zipped his jacket up, you nodded toward the elevator. "Do you wanna come up and dry off before you go out? You can totally borrow my umbrella if you want, too."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. My apartment's not far, I swear."

"Ah, alright. Get home safe then." You paused, then added, "Text me once you get back?"

Sunwoo flashed you a smile, and man, if you could engrave that smile, the wet hair, into your brain… "Promise. I'll see you soon, superstar."

He reached over and ruffled your hair, then ducked out of your apartment into the rain. Just before he was out of your sight, he turned back and waved at you through the front windows.

You let out an exhale once he had disappeared. A fuzzy feeling lingered in your chest, your smile never leaving your face. You were so far gone.

EPISODE EIGHT: SWERVE LIKE A CHICKEN

ALTHOUGH Spring Break had swept through the university faster than it came, Sunwoo could still say he felt like he was riding on Cloud 9. The beginning of the quarter was easily a more relaxed part of the term, but Spring quarter itself was a whole other nightmare in itself. Everyone around him was beginning to wake up from their break-dazed slumbers to clamber their asses back into uncomfortable lecture chairs and study rooms.

It was the first Tuesday back from Spring Break when he found out you were going to be in a practice room alone for a while, working on a new project. This intel had been courtesy of one Han Jisung, who had been texting Sunwoo off and on about a track he had been mixing with Chan.

han !!: yeah just left cuz my brain was feelin super fried 🤣 dunno how ynies still there

sunwoo's phone: oh fr?? she's still over there?

han !!: yuh bro that's what i just said

han !!: r u gonna do anything abt it 👀😳

sunwoo's phone: i have no clue what ur talking abt

han !!: okay bye chicken

sunwoo's phone: u did not just call me chicken.

han !!: 🐓🐓🐓

Sunwoo walked out of his room and stood in the middle of the apartment, staring blankly at the back of Eric's head. His roommate was seated on the couch setting up a movie, and when he sensed someone was staring at him, he began to say, "Baby!—wait a minute."

Eric made a face. "Never mind, it's just you."

Sunwoo scoffed and flopped onto the opposite end of the couch. "Rude! Before EC!Yn, I used to be your one and only."

"That's actually so incorrect—"

"Do you boys ever not cat-fight?" EC!Yn mused as she came out from the bathroom and found a seat between Eric and Sunwoo. Eric instantly curled an arm around her and pulled her into his side.

Sunwoo considered this with a frown. Why was he so single? "You're lucky I tolerate your boyfriend, EC!Yn," said Sunwoo as he folded his arms over his chest and sunk into the shadows of his hoodie.

"I'm glad you've come to like me more than your own best friend," she drawled in jest. "What's got you in the dumps, my friend?"

Eric perked up, pressing the play button on the TV remote to start the movie. "Oh yeah! You were in such a good mood this morning."

A grumble from the lump of hoodie. "It's nothing."

A moment of silence passed. Then, "He misses Yn."

"I think so, too."

"Do you think if we texted her to text him, he would at least smile?"

"Oh, I think I found her Instagram the other day—"

Sunwoo peered out of his hoodie with narrowed eyes. "I can hear you guys, you know that, right?"

Both Eric and his partner shot him impish grins, delighted that their very obvious conversation brought him out of silence. The thought forced a smile onto Sunwoo's face anyway. Eric's baseball game had been canceled today because the team who they were going up against this week had internal problems (something about an affair between coaches and players—it was complicated). Thus, Eric had decided to fill his afternoon with an impromptu movie session with his girlfriend. Sunwoo was invited by roommate obligation.

There were definitely more productive things that Sunwoo could have been doing (finding a minor, finding a job, finding the answers to his cognitive psych homework, etcetera), but watching… Wait, what were they even watching?

EC!Yn reached over and nudged his shoulder with her knuckles. "Hey, Earth to Kim Sunwoo."

He shook out of his daze. "Huh? Oh, sorry." He sighed, pulling out his phone. "Jisung just told me that Yn's at the practice room working still."

"Still?"

"Yeah," he bobbed his head. "They've been there ever since they finished their composition class this morning."

Eric lowered the volume on the TV. "Dude, you should go keep her company."

Sunwoo's eyes shot open as he began mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. "I don’t wanna bother her; she probably doesn’t wanna be bothered if she’s been working for so long.” The thought had crossed his mind to head over to the practice rooms right now and sit in for a session, but he had shut his own idea down almost immediately. Would you appreciate him going to bug you or would you mind him just going to sit with you and enjoy your presence?

“I was thinking the exact opposite,” said EC!Yn, “I mean, whenever Eric comes over unannounced to come sit with me at the dorm, I appreciate it all the time.”

Eric cooed. “Aw, you do?”

Sunwoo blinked and was suddenly glad he was staring down at his phone and not the couple on the couch next to him. But he glanced up to catch EC!Yn’s eyes. “Do you really think she wouldn’t mind?”

When Eric tucked his face into her neck, she idly scratched his head. “Oh, definitely. I think it’ll be a nice surprise, considering she probably feels the same about you, based on what you’ve already told us.”

“You’re right!” Sunwoo shot up off the couch, but halted. “Wait, she what?”

Eric snorted. “She said that Yn probably feels the same about you, which, if I’m being honest, I can’t believe—”

Sunwoo dashed into his room to grab his wallet and keys. “Nobody asked you!”

— ✶

Coffee. You liked coffee, right?

Sunwoo couldn't quite think straight with the giddy anticipation bubbling in his stomach and up his chest as he balanced twin cups of iced americano in his hands. Taking the bus to the School of Music would have been less effort on his legs, but waiting for it simply did not sit with the amount of energy currently carrying him down the street and up the stairs and across the quad like a madman.

People were probably eyeing him weirdly, but he was trying to come up with things to say to you. Preferably, these things were smooth and not strange fragments that weren't properly strung together. He wanted to look put together, to sound put together.

He was probably going to look frazzled, though, from half-running a mile uphill, but that was okay—he was excited to see you.

The School of Music stood right across from the School of Art building, the twin towers looming above the quad stairs. With school back in session, there were plenty of people milling about the entrance, and somebody graciously opened the door for Sunwoo so he didn't have to awkwardly balance his coffees and risk spilling them to get inside. He hadn't often visited this building, but he had been in here before to visit friends and upperclassmen. Though the architecture was grander, it still had the homey feeling of a high school band room, some place music students could call home.

Sunwoo navigated himself toward the practice rooms in the back hallways, murmuring "excuse me"s and apologies as he sidestepped string bassists and bassoons and snare drums. (He could've sworn there was a whole drum kit in one of these; it was strange seeing someone carrying around a single snare… huh.)

He reached the corridor to turn right into the practice hall when he froze, diving back behind the wall.

"—wait, Yangyang—"

Something in him sunk deep into the pit of his stomach, an anchor to the sea floor. He watched you launch out of your practice room and into Yangyang's arms, both of you hugging each other closely. He had his arms wrapped around you and his cheek against the crown of your head.

Sunwoo couldn't hear what you were saying to each other—if you were saying anything at all.

And you didn't let go. Not yet, at least.

When you did finally let go, the two of you were beaming at each other. It was near impossible to make out what kind of emotion was there from so far away, but Sunwoo couldn't look anymore when Yangyang leaned in towards you—

Sunwoo pressed himself against the wall he was peering around.

Oh.

He struggled to swallow; there was a large lump sitting in his throat that he had to wrestle down.

Disappointment—yeah, that was disappointment.

Before you or Yangyang could come down this way, Sunwoo retraced his steps from where he came until he was back outside. He sucked in a breath, mind abuzz.

He set down the cups of iced coffee, now perspiring, on a ledge nearby, so he could pull out his phone.

It rang twice. "Yo."

"Are you practicing right now?" Sunwoo asked, leaning his body against the railing. His free hand held his face as his brain replayed the events he had just witnessed. Did that mean what he thought he meant? You were totally allowed to see other people—the two of you weren't exclusive—but goddamn, did that hurt to think about.

Was he too late? Had he chickened out so long that you decided to move on, or was he never in the running in the first place?

He heard a bit of shuffling from the other side, then a sigh from Changmin. "Now I'm not. What's up?"

"I'm coming over."

A pause. "...Okay, see you soon."

EPISODE NINE: [YELLS.]

THERE was something different in the air and you could taste it. Not literally, of course, but you figured your paranoia had manifested strong enough within you to be able to sniff these kinds of things out. "These things" referred to the slight difference in the way you interacted with Sunwoo, or rather, how Sunwoo interacted with you.

You turned your phone off again, having checked it for what felt like the fifth time in the past two minutes. Usually, he replied relatively fast, but for the past week or so, he'd been a little more delayed. He didn't text dry, which was a relief, but there was something off about it. You couldn't articulate it too well—it was just a gut feeling.

"Oy, phone away, Yn," Sieun ordered, snapping her fingers and holding her hand out across the table.

You sent her a look, but reluctantly handed your phone over to her. "But—"

"No buts!" She tutted. She hid your phone within the confines of her purse before promptly returning to the warm bowl of biang biang noodles in front of her. "The more you check your phone, the sadder of a sap you look."

"Thanks," you deadpanned, but followed her lead and picked up your chopsticks to eat your food.

The two of you were seated in, arguably, the best Chinese restaurant on the Avenue. It had become a fast favorite of yours when you first transferred, saved for the long days and weeks when you needed something like spice to make you feel anything other than sad. Sieun had suggested coming down here for dinner rather than staying in and eating another round of instant ramen. It was something she knew would cheer you up easily, and so far, it was only half working.

You reached for your water, only to realize it was practically empty.

As if she could read your mind, the waitress taking care of your table appeared at your side and filled your water up for you.

"Oh, thank you!" Your eyes glanced over at her name tag—HN!Yn—and met her kind eyes.

"Of course. Anything else I can get you two?" She asked cheerily, swiftly filling up Sieun's cup, as well, with practiced grace. "Food's good?"

Both you and Sieun nodded your heads vigorously, especially since both of your mouths were now full and you couldn't speak. She seemed to get the idea and hustled over to a nearby table to tend to them. How waiters and waitresses always knew when you had food in your mouth, you could never figure out. It was always absolutely awful timing, but you supposed the skill was akin to Starbucks workers butchering name spellings.

When you finally swallowed your bite, you chased it with a gulp of water. "I don't think I did anything wrong," you said to your friend, pushing around the saucy rice in your bowl with the tips of your chopsticks.

Sieun covered her mouth. "I don't think so either," she replied, eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe he's just busy? It could be that he got a job or something, or school work is piling up."

You frowned. You thought he would have let you know he was going to be a bit busier, but at the same time, he didn't owe you anything. You just worried about him and hoped he wasn't overworking himself. It didn't help that you missed hanging out with him; it didn't feel like it used to between you just last week.

From behind you, you heard the door to the restaurant open and close with a loud smack! The door to the restaurant was awfully loud when it closed, unless it was carefully done. Something about the angle at which it was constructed, or something like that.

Sieun's brows flew up. "Speak of the devil," she muttered with her food pushed into her cheek.

"Hm?" You hummed and twisted around in your seat to see who she was referring to.

Oh. Well, she definitely wasn't wrong, per se.

Coming in through the door himself was Kim Sunwoo, as well as a few of his own friends, you guessed. You recognized one of them as Ji Changmin, one of the dancers from the winter showcase. Besides those two, there were four others, too—three other boys and a girl. You didn't recognize any of them, but you saw the way your waitress greeted them and squeezed one of the boys' hands.

You and Sunwoo made eye contact, and you shot him a small smile, lifting your fingers in a wave.

He seemed surprised to see you, and you didn't fault him for that. His wave was slight and smile shy, but you couldn't figure out why he ducked his head and didn't come by and say hi.

They're being seated for dinner, Yn. It's okay. Chill a little.

You turned back in your seat to face Sieun and your food again.

"Hey, cheer up, girl." Sieun's smile was sympathetic as she caught your attention. You hadn't even noticed how your posture noticeably slumped after that interaction—if one could even call it that. "Don't let this ruin your dinner, okay?"

You sighed out of your nose, testing your chopsticks over the rim of your bowl. "You're right. I don't know, Eun. It feels like we regressed? Is he avoiding me? Am I overthinking this?"

"I'm not sure, hon," she told you. "It'll be okay, though. I promise. Are you ready for the check?"

You nodded, reaching for your napkin to wipe your mouth.

Sieun lifted her hand and caught your waitress's attention, then made a motion for the bill. HN!Yn was quick to bring it over and set the little black tray with the receipt onto the edge of your table. In her hands she held a small device to input your method of payment.

"Are we splitting the bill today, ladies?" She asked you, eyes flickering between you both.

"Yeah, evenly split would be great, please," you told her.

Sieun leaned over to peer at the receipt as you reached into your bag to grab your card. Her face contorted into confusion, and she ran her finger over a line as if reading over it again carefully. "Oh, uhm, excuse me. It says we get a discount—not that I'm complaining! But…"

HN!Yn smiled. "Ah, you're friends with Sunwoo, right? That's what he told me, at least. I always give my partner and his friends my Friends & Family discount, so don't worry about it. I appreciate your integrity though."

You and Sieun exchanged wide-eyed glances, blinking, then turned to peer over at where Sunwoo's friend group sat. One of the boys sitting next to him whacked his arm to get his attention, nodding toward your table.

Sunwoo looked up.

Your head tilted to the side and you mouthed a "thank you?" to him, unsure of why he went out of his way to help you out.

He only nodded before ducking his head again. Huh. You'd have to thank him properly later.

HN!Yn was quick to help you and Sieun box your meals and finish paying. Before long, you tucked your arm around Sieun's to push out into the cool evening—not without glancing back at Sunwoo's table first.

— ✶

"She looks sad. Why is she sad?" Sunwoo sulked, lying atop his folded arms on the table and staring at you through the space between Haknyeon and JC!Yn.

You were the last person he thought he'd see when he and his friends walked into Haknyeon's favorite Chinese restaurant. You and your friend were pretty much wrapping up dinner when they'd come in, and he was quite literally startled by your presence. He'd been walking around on eggshells, he felt, all because of this stupid situation he'd forced himself into.

It was stupid. Yeah… it was stupid.

Changmin delivered a light whack to the back of Sunwoo's head. "You're dumb."

Sunwoo sat up and cupped the back of his head, leveling a glare at his friend. "Hello?"

"He's not exactly wrong," said Chanhee from the other side of him as he texted someone on his phone.

Sunwoo pressed his lips together and looked across the table from him at JC!Yn in a silent cry for help. The woman could only lift her shoulders half-heartedly. That meant that she agreed with them… great.

Eric snapped his wooden chopsticks apart and began using either stick to smooth the other for splinters. "We're saying you're dumb because you're doing this to yourself and to her unnecessarily."

Sunwoo huffed. "That's because you guys weren't there to see it happen! They're totally together—or at least, close." It still felt awful to think about. It felt like there was a hole in his chest left empty after considering the possibility that he was too late. He didn't want to get hurt.

"You can still talk to her like you used to, Sunwoo-ah," Haknyeon chimed in. "Even if they were—and I'm not saying they are—together, there's still a healthy amount of space where you can dwell as her friend."

HN!Yn appeared at the head of the table with a tray of water, and everyone pitched in to pass the cups down. "Thanks, guys," she said, tucking the tray under her arm. "Are you guys ready to order?" The question was directed towards the rest of the table, but Sunwoo saw the way her eyes lingered on Haknyeon and how Haknyeon's smile shifted to something that Sunwoo was sure was only for her.

It made him feel strange again.

The group, as usual, trusted Haknyeon's choices in dishes and let him take the reins in deciding what they ate tonight. Once HN!Yn had headed off into the kitchen to deliver their order, conversation resumed swiftly.

"I think you're just scared, Sunwoo," JC!Yn said to him over the rim of her glass of water.

Murmurs of agreement resounded from all around the table. Sunwoo's jaw fell open. "I—I am not scared. What would I be scared of?"

"The truth! Oooh," Eric pursed his lips and wiggled his fingers in Sunwoo's direction.

Sunwoo promptly smacked Eric's hand away.

"If you weren't scared of the truth," said Haknyeon, as he propped his elbows onto the table, "you would have gone up to her in that hallway."

"Didn't she tell you that she didn't see Yangyang that way anyways?" Chanhee chimed in. He was still going at it texting whoever it was on his phone.

"But she also said she wanted to give it a second chance," Sunwoo corrected.

Changmin scratched behind his ear and grabbed sauce trays from the end of the table to pass down to everyone else. "That was before she started hanging out with you some more. What is your point?"

They all made excellent points, he thought. That afternoon he'd seen you and Yangyang, he'd gone to meet Changmin in one of the dance practice rooms. After that, he'd gone home to yell into his pillow until his throat burned. Eric had muttered something about Sunwoo being dramatic and summoned JC!Yn over to the apartment to deal with him.

Sunwoo had just been bummed. He didn't even know if bummed was a strong enough word.

"I'm just scared of getting hurt, I guess," he finally admitted, meekly.

The table quieted to allow him room to speak his mind, and even Chanhee put his phone away to give him his full attention now. It wasn't often Sunwoo wore his heart on his sleeve like this, and it wasn't easy either. For anyone. Admitting to his fears in the middle of a Chinese restaurant while five of one's friends listened in was intimidating, but it was comforting to know that these friends he kept would find a way to support him. Even if he was being stupid, their tough love was out of desire to look out for him.

When he was done, Changmin clasped a warm hand on his shoulder and his dimple pressed into his cheek. "Sunwoo-yah, I think that you second guess yourself too much and you know that. You're self aware enough to know that you make the mistake of not going for what or who you want."

Sunwoo stared at an impurity in the table. What Changmin was saying hit the nail on the head—it was what happened with the dance showcase, too, and now he was about to let it ruin a friendship he had with a person he cared very much about.

"My advice," Changmin continued, "is to talk to her about what you saw and clarify it. I know it's… I know it's scary thinking you're gonna get hurt again, but I think you'll feel a lot better afterward."

EPISODE TEN: SUPERSTAR, I'M NOT TOO FAR

your phone: hey thanks for the fnf discount last night! sorry i didn't thank u properly before, but yeah, really appreciate it :')

sunshine (sunwoo): it was no problem, dw abt it!

your phone: btw is everything okay? u seem a bit distant lately and i wanted to make sure u were doing alright

sunshine (sunwoo): ah yeah, im sorry :( there's just been some things on my mind

You shot Sunwoo a quick text back to let him know you were here if he wanted anyone to talk to. His text had just come in after you'd sent him a reply in the early evening.

"Yn-ah. Still on your phone, I see?"

You jolted and shoved your device into the pocket of your jeans, smiling sheepishly as Lee Jihoon power-walked into the backstage area with a pen behind his ear and a clipboard in hand. "Hi, Jihoon!" You squeaked.

He lifted his eyebrows at you, motioning for you to come follow him. Since everyone was back from Spring Break, the work for the play being performed was kicked into high gear. Jihoon was a graduate student at the university and a director of the stage here; adding the fact that he majored in the same thing you did also made him one of your favorite mentors ever. The back hallways were bustling with costumes, props and other assorted technicians while most of the actors were either in the main backstage area or onstage proper with the play director, HJ!Yn.

You followed swiftly after him and weaved through the people littered about the corridors. "I finished synching the panel back here with the projector in the box," you told him, "though, it's weird that it was ever undone in the first place." You frowned. There had been a lot of strange things happening in the theater lately.

Jihoon gave you a curt nod and set you up in front of one of the house lights panels located in the hallway leading right out to the audience. He pointed at it with the back of his pen. "Yeah, some funky shit's been happening around here," he sighed. "You were here the other night when the speakers were acting weird, right?"

You nodded and let him guide you through navigating this backup panel. "I was. You and Chan seemed really stressed."

"We were," he said, adjusting his cap. "We really do need some more funding to update our equipment—careful, that knob is really sensitive. Good, nice work."

Once you and Jihoon had successfully finished with this panel, you lingered in the hallway for a moment. Normally, you would switch back and forth between shadowing either Chan or Jihoon, and tonight was with the latter. He was going through a couple forms on his clipboard—he must have been reading through them while working tonight.

"You seem distracted tonight, Yn-ie," he said. "Is everything okay?"

Despite being one of the busiest and hardest workers here, Jihoon was also one of the most observant, still. You leaned against the wall next to him, toeing at the floor. "Boys are stupid, right?"

Without hesitation or looking up from his clipboard, he replied, "As a boy, I can confirm."

That made you sputter out a laugh, and you saw him glance up and flash you a smile. When you couldn't find something else to say, he went forth. "I don't know the whole situation, and you don't have to tell me anything. But we guys are a little—" he made a gesture with his hands and wrinkled his nose, "—blind. You probably know that already, but dudes are dumbasses, and sometimes when feelings get in the way, they want to run for the hills.

"But if you think he's worth it, then reach out and be forward with him. And if he cares about you, he'll reach out and be honest," he finished. He let you settle with that thought, let it marinate in your brain to give you something to think about. (As if you didn't have a lot to think about already.)

You pressed your lips together with a slow nod. "Thanks Jihoon."

"Anytime, Yn-ie." He nodded back toward the direction you both had come from. "Let's go back that way, yeah? We've got some more housekeeping to take care of."

— ✶

Sunwoo was in trouble.

"...I thought I'd recommend a song that's been on my mind. I've actually been listening to quite a few Taylor Swift songs recently, especially since she's re-recording all her albums! So here's 'Superstar' from Fearless, Taylor's Version."

He had put your most recent podcast episode on full volume while he made himself dinner. It had been a long day today, and so his automatic thought was to listen to you. But now that he was getting into the meat of the episode, he was quickly coming to realize how much trouble he was in. You were playing the song, and it was a direct call out to him to wake the fuck up.

As the song faded to a close, your voice came back on.

"Actually, I was recommended the song by someone I know," you said in the mellow tone you'd been in for the entire episode so far. "I guess I'm just confused and I was wondering if they really meant what they said."

Sunwoo nearly dropped the egg in his hand onto the kitchen floor. Guilt swirled around in the bubbles of the soup in the pot and he frowned down at the rich, creamy liquid.

He sighed, tapping the egg against the counter and cracking its innards into the pot. "Of course, I really meant it," he said as if you could hear him. He wished he had the guts to tell you everything that was going on in his head… As his soup boiled away, he leaned against the empty counter to wait, cradling his head in his hands, groaning. "You're being unfair, Sunwoo."

"...This one's from Peony! They say: almost didn't realize Rhaps Anon wasn't in the last episode until the very end when we hadn't gotten a rec from them. Hope they're doing okay!" Ah, so you weren't the only one who noticed his brief absence. Your sigh filled the apartment, though, he heard the way you tried to force some kind of cheeriness into it. "Yeah, I hope they're doing okay too. But Rhaps'll be back! Let's all wish them well. Fighting!—"

Oh, man. Now he felt even worse.

He really needed to talk to you. Oh god, he really needed to talk to you. If not to confess, then to clear the air and assure you that all was okay on his end. He was just being a coward, and he knew that well enough now.

When his dinner had finished, Sunwoo turned the flame off and headed for his phone on the opposite counter. He lowered the volume as he went in and pulled up his text thread with you.

sunwoo's phone: hey,, i know ur probs busy w the play this week, but is there a possibility for me to see you sometime soon? i wanted to talk to u abt something

He gnawed on his bottom lip as he awaited your answer, until he realized you were probably working. That made him drop his phone and return to his dinner—maybe he just needed to not look, so his anxiety wasn't so high—

His phone buzzed and he bolted back over.

superstar 💫: i think i'll prob have some time saturday morning

EPISODE ELEVEN: [SOMEONE'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU, LOSERS.]

YOU asked Sunwoo if he'd like to tag along with you as you did some grocery shopping before rehearsal on Saturday morning. His answer had been automatic, and you both agreed to meet each other at the bus stop to ride down to the larger supermarket down the hill together. Even as you stood at the corner of your street waiting for him beneath the overhang, you were trying to come up with possible things he was going to say to you. You had figured, when he’d texted you Wednesday night, that perhaps the best way to go about this would be to make this casual. Hence, why you were forcing yourself to go grocery shopping a day earlier than you usually did.

Casual, in this case, called for “you don’t have stare me in the eyes the entire time,” and to be frank, you were a little too nervous for that kind of setting anyway.

You tugged the edges of your cardigan over you as you heard your name being called from the opposing street. Sunwoo was bounding his way over to you with his arm raised in greeting. You returned the gesture with a soft smile. “Hey.”

He stopped by you, shoving his hands into the pockets of his gray jacket. “Hi,” he said, licking his lips. “Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.”

The bus slowed to a halt in front of your stop, and the two of you retrieved your transportation cards to board. “You say that like I wouldn’t have agreed,” you chuckled and tapped your card, Sunwoo following suit.

The two of you managed to find a pair of empty seats near the second half of the vehicle where the exit was for an easy departure when you reached the foot of the hill. But for now, you tucked your bag onto your lap and settled into the window seat, while Sunwoo occupied the one next to you.

You turned your head to gaze out the window and watch the world blur by as you did. The Avenue streets were a tad narrower than most around the university, so the bus traveled as efficiently as it could from stop to stop before turning the block to make its descent. It was technically still morning, and though it was spring, the sky had decided to blanket the sunshine with gray clouds to form an atmosphere that reminded you distinctly of the past winter quarter. Except, instead of thin, empty branches, the streets and walkways were encased in darkening green leaves and falling pink petals, a nod to the short-lived cherry blossom season. From the corner of your eye, you saw Sunwoo’s foot start to tap against the ground like Thumper the Rabbit, and you wondered for the millionth time what was going on in that pretty head of his.

“I don’t really understand,” you found yourself saying—his head swiveled—and you turned to look at him, “did I do something wrong?”

Sunwoo stammered, "What? No, it wasn't you! It wasn't your fault at all—I was just—" he sighed, grimacing to himself. "I was just being stupid. And I know that sounds super vague, but the short answer is that I was being stupid and scared and insecure."

Your brows furrowed and you felt the bus come to a gentle stop at the foot of the hill. "Scared and insecure? What's going on; is everything okay?"

You both got up to make a quick exit off the bus and began making the short walk from the bus station into the outdoor shopping center.

There was a jittery bounce to Sunwoo's steps as well as a tension in his shoulders. "Last week," he began, "Jisung told me that he'd just left you at the practice room and that you were probably going to be there awhile."

You nodded, grabbing a basket at the front of the grocery store. That rang a bell for sure. It had been a very long day in the practice room, so you weren't quite sure what direction this was going in yet.

"Well, I wanted to go surprise you and come hang out with you. You know, like, to keep you company." He started scouring the opposite shelf to you in the dried foods aisle, his eyes nervously darting from the BUY ONE, GET ONE pasta noodles deal signs, to your person. "And when I got there, I saw you and Yangyang."

Me and Yangyang…? Oh, me and Yangyang.

It was like a lightbulb went off in your head, and you stopped pretending to look at the overpriced vermicelli noodles on the shelf behind you.

"And you guys were hugging and close and stuff—and by all means! I—I have no problem with that, of course," he added quickly, "I mean, you guys are really close… friends? And I just saw him lean toward you and left because I… I got the message." The latter portion was delivered in a defeated tone as he looked on toward you helplessly and sorrowfully. It was how Sieun described you Tuesday night when you'd seen Sunwoo at the restaurant: a sad sap.

You both stopped moving down the aisle to face each other. In the white, fluorescent supermarket lights, his hair hung in his eyes like his head in embarrassment. You were going to let him finish.

He cupped the back of his head, suddenly feeling so bare before you despite not being physically naked at all. "I thought some space might distinguish or extinguish my feelings for you," he continued, nose wrinkling and lip curling in a wince. "Clearly it didn't help, and I think overall, I realized I wasn't being fair to you—as a friend. And that I was also being the biggest fucking loser ever."

Wait, you were still reeling from the mentions about feelings—

Before you could even address the aforementioned, you had to make something clear first. You felt the corners of your lips lift. "Sunwoo, me and Yangyang really are just friends." At the confused, puppy-dog look in his eyes, you explained further, "That day, Yangyang came by and I made it clear to him that I just saw him as a friend. I felt really awful for feeling like I'd led him on and was going to lose his friendship."

Sunwoo's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, and he struggled to come up with the response he wanted. "So… so when he was leaning in toward you…"

"He leaned in and flicked my nose, then almost gave me a nosebleed," you chuckled. You'd given him a very appropriate flick to the forehead after that.

His eyes widened at that. "Well shit. Are you okay?" He asked, and you saw his smile slowly begin to make its appearance, the sun peeking through an overcast sky.

"Yeah, perfectly fine," you dismissed with a flick of your hand. "Especially now. But yeah, we're just friends."

There was a surge of relief in his tense shoulders. "Oh, okay."

He trailed after you as you continued to make your way down this aisle in particular to pick up the things that were on your shopping list.

At one point, he coughed, handing you the jar of red peppers you were reaching for. "So no hard feelings, right? I promise it will be totally back to normal!"

"Normal, as in back to before?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah! To be honest, Dovey, I was just kind of scared that I had lost my chance after waiting so long. I don't know. And I realized that I was just scared to face that fact."

You gauged his reaction and your own heart thundered in your chest. "Scared to face the fact that you'd lost your chance with me?"

"Well, yeah. I—" He stopped and froze like a deer in headlights. And in any other circumstance, you would have been laughing, but he seemed so distraught by what he just admitted to that you tried hard to suppress your amusement. Tried. "I just said that aloud, huh."

Nodding, you grinned fondly. "You did."

He smiled, cute and flustered, cheeks tinted pink. "You're always too easy a person to talk to," he muttered.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I would've said something sooner…" He began.

Something jumped to attention in your brain. Oh no. "Was I giving you mixed signals?" You pursed your lips like you'd just gotten into something sour. "'Cause I swore I thought my attraction to you was clear. And, like, the thing where I totally began rethinking my thoughts about Yangyang when you came into the picture—"

"Wow, so Changmin was right?" Sunwoo made a face, holding his hand against his forehead. "That's crazy."

"Crazy good or…?"

He chuckled, and you couldn't help but admire the twinkle in his eyes as he did. "Crazy so good."

"I don't think people actually say that."

He whined, "Yah, you can't already be clowning me. Not when I just confessed that I like you."

That made you sober up, but you couldn't say the same for your heart rate. Man, your BPM alone could probably power a bullet train… "I like you, too. I hope that's clear."

There you two stood in the middle of the dried foods aisle with twin smiles glowing on your faces, soft and shared. You didn't know what the BOGO pasta was doing, but it was definitely adding to the atmosphere. You had intended for running errands to distract you from whatever Sunwoo had wanted to talk to you about, but clearly that was not the case—it would have never worked like that. You would be damned to have missed something like this. Not with him.

Perhaps he had made a mistake—he was now apologizing and clarifying and trying. You could hear Jihoon's words of wisdom ring loud and clear in your head. There was something perfectly fine about how this turned out.

"No more mixed signals?"

"No more mixed signals," he agreed.

— ✶

The remainder of your errand run with Sunwoo had gone smoothly, and soon, you were both seated side by side once more on the bus up to the University District. Sunwoo had gotten a couple things for his fridge, too, and so you both sat with your grocery bags by each other and your fingers grazing the other. Ever since you had clarified your position with Sunwoo a little over an hour ago, you had been feeling much lighter, your heart skipping for a different reason. You were back to feeling the giddy excitement you always had around him, and especially since you knew he saw you in exactly the same way.

The two of you shared a laugh as you stepped off the bus and onto your block, grocery bags in hand.

“—I’m being completely serious! Apparently I was just snot-nosed wailing into her shirt about being single and forever alone,” Sunwoo guffawed, grinning wide at you as you both stopped to the side of the walkway. “And Eric was pissed, oh my god.”

“I mean, you just kiss-blocked him; kind of understandable,” you mused.

Sunwoo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Aye, I know. He’s a good guy though. Total loser, but a good loser. He made me hangover soup the next day.”

You let out a laugh, walking slowly with him down toward the entrance of your apartment complex. "That was sweet of him."

He snorted, "A little out of character, but yeah."

"You know," you piped up, "when I was applying and eventually interviewing for the position with Chan and Jihoon, I had no idea what either of them looked like. So I accidentally—woah, shi—"

Somebody coming down the sidewalk toward you crashed into your shoulder and sent you careening toward the sidewalk. Sunwoo swore as you let out a squeak—his arm looping around your waist and hauling you against him to steady you.

He lifted his head in the direction of the person with a glower on his face. "Hey! Dude, watch where you're going!"

"Thanks," you said sheepishly.

He turned to fix you with a smile, and you saw the moment he realized the position you were both in: you pressed firmly up against the side of his body, his arm wrapped around you, your faces so close to one another… He released his hold on you, neck burning as he cupped the back of it. "Heh, yeah. It's no problem. People should just really watch where they're going."

You coughed and nodded your head. "Yeah, for sure."

The pair of you were now in front of your apartment complex once more, reluctant to say goodbye. You wondered if he would ask to spend more time with you, but you had a feeling that he wouldn't want to intrude on your time any longer. It wasn't like he was intruding to you, but it was just a feeling you had about him. He wanted to respect your time.

And, well, you both had groceries to put away.

"So I'll uh, talk to you soon then?" You asked him, holding your grocery bags in front of you.

He peered at you through his lashes. "Definitely."

"This morning turned out way better than I thought it would, to be honest."

"Yeah no, same here," he echoed. "I'm just glad you actually gave me another chance."

You reached over and gave his shoulder a playful punch. "How could I not? I've always believed in you."

That seemed to ignite something inside of him. He jutted his bottom lip out and whined, "Oh my god, you can't just say that! You're so—wah."

You giggled, watching him squirm like he was being jolted by electricity. "Hey man, sometimes you've gotta be straightforward."

"Yeah, I know." He sobered slightly and took a step forward. Your heart clambered around in your chest and rattled your ribcage. There was this look in his eyes that made you glance at his lips—his perfect, plush, pink lips.

You held still, held your whole fucking breath, as he turned his head and kissed your cheek. It was feather-light, barely there, and yet, all the heat in your body seemed to rush to that single spot in a millisecond.

When he pulled away, his voice was soft. "How's that for straightforward?"

EPISODE TWELVE: ONE LOVE SONG CAN'T CONVEY HOW I FEEL FOR YOU, SO HERE'S TWENTY—

SUNWOO imagined that he looked as cartoonish as any man in love could. There had to be hearts in eyes, hearts around his head, hearts on a glittery pink trail that carried him everywhere he went. He giggled to himself as he fished his house keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door to let himself in.

"Oh my god. We've properly lost him."

With a loud, war-like AHHH!, Sunwoo yelped and nearly dropped his groceries, struggling to hold the bags to his chest as he pressed himself against the back of the front door. His apartment filled with high-pitched cackles of delight.

Though his heart was going through about a million cartwheels a second, he managed to force the fear from his eyes as embarrassment flooded his system. He flared his nostrils, frowning and tipping his head against the door. "I hate you guys!"

"You should hate Eric for giving JC!Yn your apartment key," Changmin wheezed, slapping his hands together and rolling around on the living room carpet as he pointed and laughed at Sunwoo's absolute misery. "You should've seen your face!"

Chanhee was on the couch with his legs curled up into his chest as he had his phone out, recording the entire thing. "This one's going in the drunk Sunwoo folder."

"Yah, I'm not even drunk!"

Chanhee shrugged. "It's become your general meme folder now. We should probably rename it."

Sunwoo whipped his head toward JC!Yn, who was seated on the opposite end of the couch with an amused smile on her face. "Noona! Are you just gonna let them bully me like this?"

Her smile widened. "Sorry, Sunwoo, but we didn't think you would miss us completely when you came in."

He let out a loud groan, fragging himself over to the kitchen so he could set the grocery bags on the counter and begin to unload them. "What're you guys doing here anyways? Isn't it Saturday morning? Where's Kei?" He asked, unloading a carton of juice from the bag and slotting it into the fridge.

Kei was JC!Yn's roommate, and the two girls always went on a grocery shopping date every Saturday morning with Changmin and Chanhee. They often made Changmin drive since he had the biggest car, and grocery shopping was an exclusive event that only the four of them were allowed to partake in. Eric, Sunwoo, and even Jacob had expressed distaste at that elitism. One of these days, they were bound to let someone else join… right?

But regardless, that always meant that Saturday mornings were occupied for them. So why were three-quarters of the group currently invading Sunwoo's apartment?

Changmin sat up from his place on the floor and fixed Sunwoo with a grin that made him nervous. "We dropped her off at their place, and we did go shopping this morning, but you'll never guess the curious thing we witnessed while we were there." His giggles sent a doom-like shiver down Sunwoo's spine.

Then it clicked.

Sunwoo abruptly stopped taking dried noodle packages out of the grocery bag. "You're kidding."

A snort from Chanhee. "Oh, you wish."

Sunwoo bashed his head against his sweater-covered palms. "No."

"Yes!" Changmin shrieked.

"I didn't know you guys went to that supermarket!" Sunwoo wailed, throwing his head back toward the ceiling. "You guys saw us?"

JC!Yn rested her chin against her arm as she leaned over the back of the couch to face him. "We heard you, too. I'm glad you decided to own up to your chicken-ness. See? Wasn't so scary after all."

Well, he couldn't exactly agree with that. But he also couldn't disagree with it. He'd been so scared he was about to lose your friendship then for being so insecure for no reason. A simple clarifying question could have saved the both of you so much strife. But the conversation also reaped rewards: your mutual confessions.

He sulked and didn't say anything.

"It was cute though, Sunwoo-ah," said Chanhee with a teasing lilt to his smile.

"And also," Changmin cut in, "what do you mean 'so Changmin was right? That's crazy?!'"

Sunwoo snorted. "Now that, I have nothing to say to."

"So what's the deal now?" JC!Yn asked. "Are you two dating now or…?"

Oh. Another long pause, then— "Oh my god, you didn't ask her out?"

"Hey! Listen!" Sunwoo yelled in an attempt to defend himself.

"We're listening." Chanhee folded his arms over his chest with a less than impressed look on his face. He scoffed. "I can't believe you pull."

"Shut up!"

"He hasn't even asked her out yet—how can he pull?" Changmin quipped back with frenzied gesticulations.

Sunwoo groaned as he flopped over the counter. He couldn't believe he was having such a good morning, and now he was being berated once more for his stupidity. How could he not ask you out? It was right there! The opportunity had presented itself a multitude of times, and yet, why was he still here, dateless?

Then there came the thought of how to go about this. There was a part of him who thought that just asking you was probably fine. But the other part remembered how much he liked you—so texting was simply not an option. It had to have some pizzazz, a bit of oomph, to it.

"We can see the gears turning in your head, Sunwoo," said JC!Yn. "What's on your mind, bub?"

Sunwoo looked up from where he had smattered himself onto the kitchen counter like a pancake. "I have no rizz."

Chanhee coughed. "Well, that's not news."

Sunwoo sent him a scowl. "How should I ask her out? I kind of want it to be special, you know?"

"Hmm." JC!Yn pursed her lips, tapping her chin in thought. "The other day, I was talking to Sangyeon about music or something or other, and he showed me the playlist he'd made his girlfriend—"

"His fake girlfriend," Changmin corrected with a little smirk.

She rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure Lee Sangyeon is not sad enough to make fake playlists for his fake girlfriend." It was a known inside joke amongst the friend group that Sangyeon had a "secret girlfriend" stashed away somewhere. A few of them liked to joke that she either didn't actually exist or that he kept her locked in his laundry machine or something. Mostly, though, they just wanted to know if he actually was single or not. What was the point of keeping her a secret anyway?

The slight change in victim brought Sunwoo's mood up. "What about the playlist, noona?"

She blinked, turning her attention back to her original train of thought. "Oh, right. What if you made her one of those cute, romantic playlists?"

The four of them exchanged glances with one another. It was a silent form of communication, one that had one uniform thought running through the wire.

— ✶

You'd received a text from Sunwoo about thirty minutes ago asking if he could stop by your apartment to drop off something of yours. Apparently, in the madness of the checkout aisle at the grocery store, he had accidentally "stolen" one of your cans of chicken noodle soup.

You hadn't bought chicken noodle soup though.

This was why you now anxiously awaited his arrival for the real reason he wanted to stop by. You had literally just seen him about an hour or two ago, but you'd be lying if you said you were happy at the prospect of seeing him again so soon. Your cheek still seared from his kiss.

As if he could read your thoughts, you heard a loud series of knocks at the door.

"Coming!" You called, hustling over from your living space area and over to the door.

After peeking through the peephole, you definitely saw Sunwoo, but what he was holding was nowhere near the likeness of a can of chicken noodle soup.

In a hurry, you ripped the door open, lips parted at the bundle of bright colored blooms in his hands. Sunflowers and carnations and lilies and roses—

He peered out sheepishly from behind the bouquet with his other hand occupied by his open phone. "Hi," he peeped.

"Hey," you exhaled, a grin fighting its way onto your face.

"If I made you a playlist, would you go out with me?"

You blinked, heartbeat rocketing into high gear. "Sunwoo," you started with a disbelieving laugh, "you don't have to—"

His thumb lowered onto a button on his phone. "Whoopsies, already did it."

Right on cue, you heard your phone buzz from your pocket. Curious, you withdrew it and opened the text message from him with a link to a Spotify playlist entitled: "One love song can't convey how I feel for you, so here's twenty."

You could have melted into a puddle of ooey-gooey goodness. "Sunwoo," you lamented, smiling way too wide now.

He beamed back at you. "What do you say?"

You shook your head, throwing your arms around him as he laughed and hugged you back. "You're so cute. Yes, I'll go out with you."

He gave you a little, warm squeeze. "Oh, thank god. I thought I was gonna die from anticipation."

You laughed and smiled into his shoulder. When you pulled away, your hand gently reached for the side of his face. "What if I kissed you right now?"

His eyes widened a smidge. "What if you wha--"

You cut him off and pressed your lips to his briefly, then pulled back.

"Wait, wait. Come back here," he murmured, chasing after you and crushing his mouth against yours. And it was perfect. Everything was perfect. The feel of his lips, the smell of his cologne, the firmness of his shoulders beneath your grip and the perfect pressure as you both sealed the deal with a kiss.

The two of you pulled away at the same time with labored breaths, foreheads meshed together as you caught your breath.

"You're not gonna turn this into a podcast episode, are you?" He asked, voice low and raspy, yet laced in a playful tonic.

You teased him right back. "As long as it doesn't end poorly."

He chuckled, and you could feel the vibrations of his laugh against your lips. "Then I guess I'll just have to make it the best date ever."

"Don't worry," you said with a cheeky hand on his chest, "I believe in you."

With a laugh, he grazed his lips over yours again. "Thanks, superstar."

a/n: hihi!! thanks so much for reading <3 if you enjoyed, i would deeply appreciate a comment, reblog, or an ask to tell me what u thought about it! much love, onto kevin's !!

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @sodafy @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @justalildumpling @jaerisdiction @hibernatinghamster @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @kflixnet

#kflixnet #bjnet #deoboyznet #the boyz x reader #kim sunwoo x reader #sunwoo x reader #the boyz drabble #the boyz oneshot #the boyz fluff #the boyz scenario #the boyz imagines #kim sunwoo scenarios #kim sunwoo drabbles #kim sunwoo oneshots #kim sunwoo imagines #kim sunwoo fluff #sunwoo imagines #sunwoo drabbles #sunwoo fluff #sunwoo oneshots

[essentiallyleaf]

Ya know what , I'll give you an idea

As a commercial pilot how bout a kink "plane sex"

And pls write Rosé with this kink

day 15. body worship. with. rosé.

1268 words.

tags.

kinktober ‘23, idol x male reader, body worship, lots of kissing and licking, feet stuff, abs stuff, oral sex, fingering, squirting, minor plane stuff, the dialogue just goes places idk, hold onto your suspension of disbelief for dear life, blasphemy(?).

notes.

this is barely even related to the ask, isn’t it? sorry, icyphilosopher, i really am (thank you so much for the inspiration though). well, my excuse is i watched Queen & Slim (it was alright, the soundtrack might be the best part. that and Daniel Kaluuya) and felt like crime today.

The private jet has barely taken off when Rosé starts taking her clothes off, starting from the black heels, then proceeding with the black cropped blazer, the high-waisted black shorts, along with the belt and the chains attached to them, the polka dot black shirt, and finishing with the black stockings and her black underwear. She puts them all in a black trash bag and throws herself on the beige leather sofa face first, completely naked.

“Fuck this ‘No fires on the plane’ rule.” She complains into the beige pillow.

“I mean, if you want to burn them now and cause a fire, making the jet collapse on itself and getting us buried on the bottom of the northern Pacific, go ahead.” You reply nonchalantly as you take a sip of vodka while sitting cross-legged on one of the beige armchairs.

“Honestly, compared to the prospect of a ten-hour flight with you, that doesn’t even sound that bad”

It’s Rosé’s habit to burn clothes, phones, cars, (people,) anything that can be linked to her in a meaningful way, after every job. This time it was a fairly straightforward drug trade with this Yakuza syndicate in Osaka: give the talcum powder, take the money, go home. The road was somewhat bumpy and a couple heads had to pop, but what can you do. Oh, and the getting naked in front of you part, that was a thing way before you two started fucking.

You stand up from your seat and duck next to the couch as she turns her head towards you. Start caressing her smooth, long blonde hair as you admire her graceful features. How could such a cold, brutal criminal look so angelic?

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Leave no trace.” She recites her mantra matter-of-factly.

“You think someone’s on our trail?”

You lay on top of her and start kissing her shoulders, from the left, then move her hair to kiss her neck, to the right, and back a couple times.

“Someone’s always on your trail.” Your kisses start heading down her back, each a little wetter than the previous. “You know how it always ends with people like us, right?”

You think you hear Rosé’s voice break for a split second, but you could be wrong. Place your hands on her shoulders and start slowly making little circles with your thumbs as you keep traveling down.

“We get greedy and scared and die sad and alone?”

“We always trust one person too many”

As your trail of kisses gets to her lower back, right above the curve of her ass, you flip her body around. Bend her legs on her chest, then start massaging each foot with one of your hands, going from the middle of her soles, to her heels, to the balls of her feet, untangling her muscle fibers all the way through. You hear her humming in the meantime.

“So? Would you stop living your life for that?”

“I would try my best not to end my life because of that.” You bring her feet to your mouth and start pecking her toes, then travel down the inside of her feet and up again kissing her soles. “Plus, it gives me a sense of peace, of liberation”

“Ashes to ashes?”

“In that analogy, I would be… God?”

Take a long lick from her heel to the ball of her foot, ending by wrapping your lips around her big toe and licking all around it.

“Do you feel like one?”

“I don’t think God sees himself like we see him” She moves her other foot towards your mouth to signal you to switch, which you do, as your hands reach towards her small breasts and start softly playing with her rosy nipples. “Powerful men need people to adore them to feel immortal. Immortals don’t need our attention to be powerful”

“You think God is a woman?”

“I think God is a depressed fuck.”

You let out a chuckle. Then lower her knees again and place yourself between them to start kissing and licking her wonderful, sculpted abs. Your right hand almost instinctively starts lightly rubbing her already wet outer lips, your left grabbing her plump asscheek.

“What a short couple billion years alone in the button room could do to ya”

“But honestly, working on the wrong side of the law… I think it’s hard not to feel like one” She starts panting a little in between words.

“Ego?” Your mouth slowly travels down her lower stomach while your fingers play with her nub.

“Just, pure facts. I could kill a man that crosses my path at any time, and I have. Mmmmh. We just, own their lives. The decision to let them live on, or to end them, right then and there. It’s all ours. Yeahh- How do you not feel all-powerful when you have that?”

It becomes hard for her to complete a sentence without any moans in between.

“Does it matter?”

“W-What?”

Rosé’s focus is probably directed away from the conversation, and towards the feeling of your fingers opening her lips wide and your tongue taking one long lick from the bottom of her slit up to her sensitive clit.

“I don’t know them. Are decisions over the lives of people you don’t care about even worth making?”

You take several shorter licks around her slit, side to side, up and down, once in a while penetrating her hole slightly.

“What do y-youh care about?”

As her moans become longer and more frequent, her sentences become simpler and shorter.

“Right now, taking my money home”

Your tongue digs deep into her pussy, you try to reach every corner and crevice of her heat with it, and her whimpers tell you you’re doing a pretty good job at it.

“And th-en, what?”

Your mouth detaches from her right as she sounds like she’s going to give in. You get on your knees and pause for a second, looking at the empty floor of the plane. 

“...I don’t know, a legacy?”

“Villains have no legacy, they only leave bloody paper and hate behind them”

You get back down to face her, staring right down Rosé’s deep brown orbs. Your fingers return to her lower lips, and two of them make their way into her slippery walls, drawing a loud groan off of her. You start pumping in and out of her at an ever increasing pace.

“Love. I want someone to come back home to, to be there, waiting for me, to heal my wounds.” She’s now moaning right in your face, her pitch getting higher and higher, signaling her impending high, but her eyes are wide open and locked on yours. “To be able to spend time with, in silence, without it feeling awkward, not needing to worry about the future, just looking at her in the eyes, and, being in love.”

A few final pumps and Rosé starts repeatedly contracting around you, a stream of unholy water covering your entire hand and wrist in a profane coating, only a deep, tongue-filled kiss muting her screams as she finally can’t keep her eyes open anymore. You close yours with her as her arms wrap around your neck. The kiss lasts far longer than the already lengthy while she takes to recover from her strong orgasm. As both of you stare into each other’s pupils again, you’re the first to talk.

“How do you know when you’ve found what you’re looking for?”

“I don’t know. I think I’ll start from, looking at the junk I’ve collected on my way, before burning it”

-

footnotes.

god is a journey. progressively, leaf.

#kinktober #kinktober 2023 #girl group smut #idol smut #female idol smut #kpop fanfic #kpop smut #idol x reader #idol x male reader #blackpink #rosé #rose #blackpink smut #rose smut #rosé smut #blackpink rose smut #blackpink rosé smut

[archie-sunshine]

I’d like to nominate the sketch of KF Thundercracker and his dragon being stopped by the faeries!

eee yes yes! pls be nice this is my first time writing actual faeformers stuff but here you go

“What do you MEAN it happened again!!?”

Thundercracker cringed, massaging his temples as Starscream shrieked down their trine bond. “I mean, it happened again, obviously.” 

“That’s no excuse!! You know better than to fly over fae woodland, what am I supposed to do with this!?” Starscream hissed furiously. 

Thundercracker groaned and sat up, gazing at his wyvern as he rolled in the patch of moss he’d crashed into in his haste to meet with his new friend. The little blue fairy twinkled and flitted joyously around his face, burbling with joyful rings as Nemuri playfully nipped at the air in an attempt to catch them.

“Well I suppose you’re going to have to come to terms with me being late today.” Thundercracker said bluntly. Nemuri rumbled and rolled onto his front, cooing at the fairy as they plastered themselves over his snout with a twinkling laugh. 

“ARE YOU KIDDING M-“ Thundercracker cut himself off from the bond before Starscream could continue to shout, leveraging himself off the ground with a hand on his shortsword’s pommel. 

“Alright, alright.” Thundercracker raised its voice a bit. He surpressed a flinch as the fae turned their attention to him with a curious look. “I’m gonna need my wyvern back, please.” 

The fairy climbed up Nemuri’s nose, standing on his snout with a beaming grin. 

Thundercracker raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna let me take him?” He asked cautiously.

The fae nodded, gently lifting off his wyvern’s face with a buzz of their wings. Thundercracker sighed in relief, wandering over to his saddle and beginning to climb aboard. “Thank you-“ He started, before the fae flitted up to him and perched on his shoulder with a meaningful twinkle. “Oh what now?!” he grumbled, cocking his head at the little thing.

The fairy twinkled again, settling themselves in between his collar and pauldron, leaning up against the whistlevents of his armour. They flung a hand out, gesturing for him to continue mounting the dragon.

“NO. You aren’t coming with me.” Thundercracker said firmly, settling himself on the wyvern and frowning at the offending critter. 

The fairy twinkled in shock, eyes big and pleading. 

“It’s not safe where I’m going, little… thing, please, it’s better for you if you stay here! You’ve got-“ Thundercracker glanced around, suddenly recognizing the telltale glow of other sprites watching from the clearings edge. “You’ve got plenty of friends and things to do out here, huh? Go- Go do those things instead.”

The fairy shook their head, crossing their arms. Thundercracker sighed, gritting his teeth and tipping his head back in frustration. 

“I don’t wanna have to grab you, you know i don’t want to.” He huffed, giving them a look and menacingly wiggling his fingers at them. The fae put their hands over their mouth in what looked like mock fear, before bouncing up to their feet and patting his index finger. He swiveled his hand around with his palm up, and they climbed aboard, flopping despondently onto their side and twinkling in what sounded like joking cries for help. The other fae in the woods returned with laughter at their friends hilarious joke. 

Thundercracker sighed as the fairy stood up to their feet with a snicker. “Yeah, yeah, youre a regular court jester, pal.” He rolled his eyes. “Alright, are you gonna fly home now?”

The fae nodded, and thundercracker was about to open his mouth to thank them when they held up a finger, then tapped their cheek.

“What? What now?” Thundercracker whined. The fairy pointed more insistently at their cheek, leaning it up towards- Oh.

“Really?” He sighed. They nodded again, eagerly. With a final fed up groan, Thundercracker leaned in, laying a careful peck on the fae’s cheek. His lips were so huge in comparison he practically kissed their whole head, but it seemed to satisfy them, as they leapt up off Thundercracker’s palm with a joyous tweet, returned the kiss on his cheek, and fluttered away. 

Thundercracker sighed again, waving at the gathered crowd of sprites. “Alright, you all take care now, and STOP bugging the wyvern’s, alright? We got places to be.” He called out, taking the reins in his hands and nudging Nemuri’s sides with his boots. With a rumbling purr, Nemuri unfurled his wings, and with one powerful beat, the two were off on the wind.

#archie answers #transformers #my art #my requests #knightformers #faeformers #thundercracker #my fic #ficlet frenzy

[urwhorecrux]

hi! could you pls do hp boys headcanons for spending their birthday with them💗 thankss

⋆ ˚⁀➷ ₊˚⊹⋆ 𝗛𝗣 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 - 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥.

ft. harry potter, ron weasley, cedric diggory, neville longbottom, & draco malfoy.

warnings. fluff, mentions of death?

a/n. these r short but rn im working on an actual fic :o

masterlist. / my prefrences. / ask me something <3

— 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

growing up he didn't get many gifts and overall the whole day was never about him, so this day wasn't always his favorite until he got to hogwarts. even then- he still didn't see the importance of it.

over the summer he stayed with the weasley's, you were able to spend much more time with him there as molly insisted you were always welcomed.

you woke next to him, softly running your fingers through his mess of fluffy hair. "Happy birthday love" you smiled, pressing a soft kiss against his lips as his eyes softly locked with yours.

you woke him up with breakfast in bed, along with leaving small little gifts everywhere he went. at one point he almost insisted you're gifts were to much for him, but you knew it was your day to spoil him and make him feel truly special.

— 𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘

though it landed on a school day, you still managed to shift your attention completely toward him. you spent the morning alone together in the kitchens, having a private breakfast made by the elves.

you walked happily together to all your classes, spending as much time as possible between classes, and at lunch settling down together by the black lake.

you convinced fred and george to set up a small common room party after school along with a towered cake made by the elves.

— 𝐂𝐄𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐘

you wake him with breakfast in bed, something simple yet so meaningful to him. you both spend the day in bed, nuzzling into each other's necks as you whisper little loving words.

later through the day, you take him through the city, where you spend the day in the park watching everything around you, and later in the night a dinner in downtown.

— 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘

though you spent the day at his manor around his family, it was still one of the best things you could ever ask for. he loved seeing you over the breaks and loved it even more when you visited him.

you surprised him with a small silver locket, one with his favorite picture of you both inside.

— 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐌

you both agreed to meet somewhere where you'd find peaceful, yet not to crowded. with that, you both agreed to meet at a small town, which was surrounded with gardens and small cafes.

throughout the day you held each other closely while roaming through the town, imagining an ideal life for the two of you here.

#harry potter #harry potter fluff #harry james potter #harry potter oneshot #cedric diggory x reader #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter moodboard #Harry Potter x reader #harry potter preferences #harry potter imagine #hp imagine #hp fanfic

[diaryofanidiot]

The Neverland Curse

Chapter One

Summary: MC is on the receiving end of a strong curse. They've been reverted back to a child until they can earn a meaningful memory from each of those they care about. It's up to the Demon Brothers & Co. to care for them until then.

Cw: Cursing, verbal fighting, yelling, anxious thoughts, small Bible mention

Chapter list Prologue <1> 2 3 4 5

(Not proof-read. Pls notify me of any mistakes 🙏🏻)

I gripped Solomon's hand tightly as we approached the giant house. He told me I had been there before, but just as my brain struggled to place his name, it struggled to pull any memories of this place to the surface.

"Do you remember this? It's called the House of Lamentation."

I frowned and shook my head slowly. "I don't know..." I couldn't help the whine that seeped into my voice. I didn't like this feeling.

He knelt down and straightened my uniform that, while it had luckily shrunk too, was still really baggy. The rough fabric did little to help my emotionally fuzzy state.

"That's alright, small one." He smiled warmly at me, "we'll have you feeling better in no time."

My breath hitched as he picked me up, my feet leaving the ground in one quick motion. I looked at the big house with wide eyes. Everything was dark, including the storm clouds that lingered over the top of the roof. I thought the walk to get here though the forest of dead trees was scary, but this was way worse.

Solomon rubbed the back of my head as I gripped his uniform jacket for comfort and hid my head in his shoulder.

He gripped the large knocker on the door and told me to cover my ears. I listened. From the force of his arm, 3 loud knocks boomed. I slowly uncovered my ears as I heard scrambling footsteps.

"COMIN'! HOLD YER HORSES!"

The door opened to another white-haired man, disheveled from running to the door. He looked at Solomon through his orange tinted sunglasses.

"You said there was something wrong with (MC)??" He asked, panicked. "Wait... who's the kid?"

I hid my face into Solomons shoulder once more as I was now the topic of conversation.

"(MC)?" Solomon pulled on my chin with his finger to get me to look at him. "Everything's alright. No need to be shy."

Sunglasses Man stared in shock, jaw agape and eyes unblinking. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO (MC)?!"

I jumped from the sudden yelling and felt tears start to well up in my eyes. Why was he mad? Did I do something wrong?

As I aggressively wiped the tears that began falling, I noticed a taller man approach the doorway as well. He was quizzically silent for a moment before speaking.

"That's (MC)?"

"Yes, Beel." Solomon bounced me lightly on his hip in an effort to soothe me. "Their memories seemed to have reverted back to childhood just like their body. I don't think they remember much about the Devildom."

Sunglasses Man looked hurt, but the one he called Beel smiled sympathetically and reached out a hand toward me. His hand was warm on my shoulder in comparison to how cold I was from being outside. It broke me out of my emotional state, and I reached out, wanting to be transferred to him.

"Ouch. Replaced already." Solomon chuckled, handing me off to Beel. I didn't pay him attention. I just wanted to be warm.

"You have some explaining to do."

"Calm down, Mammon. Just get everyone in one place and I'll explain what I know so far." I watched from over Beel's shoulder as Solomon pushed past into the doorway. The one he called Mammon rolled his eyes and messed with his phone.

"Fine. Told everyone to meet us in the dinin' room. Cmon."

I looked around each room with wide eyes. It was like a castle! I couldn't help but feel the want to run around and explore. I began to push away from Beel, squirming to be let down. He placed me down, but as I was about to run off, his finger hooked into the back of my shirt collar, holding me in reach.

"Don't leave yet." His voice was noticeably deep and calm. "We gotta wait here."

I frowned at this.

"But I wanna exploooree," I whined. It wasn't fair. Everything was so pretty, and I wanted to go look around. I looked up at the tall man, and the look he was giving was enough to make me go quiet.

I glanced to my side at the sight of movement in the corner of my eye. Sunglasses ma- er, Mammon... was pacing around and biting his nail. I didn't know why til the door swung open and the clicking of shoes reached my ears.

Instinctively, I hid behind Beel; suddenly gripped with nervousness. His hand rested on top of my hair, ruffling it reassuringly. I peeked around his leg to see a dark-haired man with a serious expression on his face.

Scary.

"What's this 'emergency' meeting for, Mammon?"

Mammon scratched the back of his head, stumbling with his words as four others walked into the dining room, watching the scene unfold.

Solomon interrupted. "It's MC." He said, stepping next to Mammon. "I found them in the library and -"

The intimidating man glowered. "Where are they?"

I felt Beel's hand on my back, gently pushing me in front of him. I tried to return to my hiding spot behind him, but the scary man's eyes met mine before I could. His eyes widened in surprise, and I squeaked in fear.

"Solomon, explain."

I looked around at the others while their voices faded in the background. Why was everyone looking at me? I couldn't remember any of them, but they all knew my name. What was up with that?

"Hey (MC)" a strawberry blond man knelt beside me. He looked as nice as he smelled. "Do you remember who I am?"

I shook my head, still clutching the leg of Beel's pants.

"My name's Asmodeus." He smiled at me warmly. "This all must be pretty confusing, huh?"

"Asmodi- As-" Another big name. This is frustrating.

He chuckled and poked in between my scrunched eyebrows. "You can call me what you want, sweetie. You're gonna give yourself wrinkles, frowning like that."

I giggled at his joke, but the sound of my laughter grabbed everyone else's attention; much to my dismay. The purple haired guy's eyes started tearing up, and he shook with excitement.

"Levi, contain yourself..." Beel warned. Too late.

Levi rushed over and lifted me in the air before hugging and swinging me around rapidly. "THAT WAS SO MOE! DO IT AGAIN MC! PRETTY PLEAASSEEE??"

Overwhelmed at the sudden movement, I screamed. Who can blame me? Stranger danger, right?

I felt myself yanked from his arms by another. I clung to whoever it was, waiting for the dizziness to fade. What just happened...

"Levi, you scared them. Don't you realize how disoriented this whole situation must be to (MC)? They don't remember who we are, got that?"

This guy was new, too. I looked up at whoever was holding me. It was the blond guy who was reading a book when walking in. Despite not wanting to be held by another new person, I clung to my savior, who rescued me from being smothered.

Before I knew it, an argument had started. My name was thrown around a few times, throwing my attention around everywhere. I whimpered and pressed my hands to my ears.

"QUIET!" A single voice boomed over the other's, silencing them all. The dark-haired man glared at anyone who tried to speak, shutting them all up thoroughly. The heels of his shoes clicked against the hard floor as he walked over to me.

"(MC)? Could you look at me?"

I hesitated before meeting his eyes. They looked more sympathetic now.

"What all do you remember? It's important that you think back."

I frowned in concentration and thought about Solomon in the library with me. "Soo- Mon said I could go home..."

I heard a chuckle at my botched pronunciation of the name and shyly moved closer to the one holding me.

"No, (MC), before that. Do you remember anything about what you were doing before that?"

I shook my head. Too many questions. I wanted this to be over with.

"Okay, something easier." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you remember any of our names?"

I nodded happily, and he looked relieved. "That's Soo-man, That's Bee, That's Azzy, and that's Sunglasses man- I mean, Maman." I pointed at each, respectively. All I received in return was a pained look.

"MAMAN?!" Mammon shrieked indignantly before flopping onto the floor in defeat. "The human is officially broken."

"Mammon, calm yourself." Solomon smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take the book with me and work towards figuring out how to reverse the curse."

"I need to notify Diavolo. Satan, I trust you can handle them?"

My eyes widened. Satan? I looked at him and couldn't resist poking his cheek. "Your name is like the bad guy in the bible."

His face went blank, and he drew a sharp breath. I don't think he liked that very much. He drew his lips into a sharp, irritated smile and nodded. "I got this, Lucifer."

My jaw dropped at that, and I looked at the dark-haired man. "You're also -" Satan clamped a hand over my mouth before I could finish.

"Human mythology is the bane of my existence." He growled. Lucifer gave him a sympathetic smirk and walked off, phone in hand. In the meantime, I was given a rundown of everyone's name. Each one of them being harder and harder for my small mind to pronounce.

Beelzebub seemed to sense my frustration and walked into the neighboring kitchen for a short time. He returned with a small bowl in hand and showed it to me.

"Are you hungry?" I looked into the bowl and saw strawberries a dark shade of red with black stems. They definitely looked like strawberries...

"They're blood strawberries. They're good, (MC)" To show me, he took one a popped it in his mouth. I hesitantly followed suit. The juiced dripped down my chin as a grin broke out on my face.

"Yummy!"

Satan placed me into one of the dining room chairs, and the bowl was placed in front of me. The man next to me, Belphie, I think, peeked open an eye from the movement going on next to him. He smiled lazily at me.

I picked up a Blood Strawberry and held it out to him. "Wan one?"

He accepted it with a chuckle and ate it before going back to sleep. He seemed nice. The door slammed open, and I jumped, knocking the rest of my strawberries to the floor. Lucifer walked in with an air of authority.

"Diavolo is on his way. Best behavior, everyone."

I gulped. Who was that and why did Lucifer seem so serious about it? Diavolo must be scary..

#chapter one is finished ^-^ #hope you all enjoyed #dm to be added to a taglist #obey me #omswd #obey me agere #agere fic #obey me shall we date

[theragethatisdesire]

hello, me again 🙋‍♀️ not an anon but here to bother you on your fight 🥰

can you tell me what you think the boys would be like if they were jealous? any and all boys i just wanna hear ur thoughts

TIFF I DRAFTED THIS WHOLE THING OUT ON THE PLANE ON MY POS PHONE AND THEN IT NEVER POSTED. i literally JUST noticed and i am so frustrated, i'm sorry i literally didn't even realize!! but i never tire of talking about our boys so pls enjoy <3333

nsfw below the cut; jean, eren, and levi included

Eren

so eren to me is sort of a cocky little shit, but he's also a brat

if you're talking to a guy in the bar a little too much, eren's 100% charging right up to interrupt the conversation, throw his arm around your shoulders, figure out exactly what's going on here

but honestly? i think eren knows how much you love him and doesn't worry about you being attracted to others, he's just demanding when it comes to your attention

what makes him really jealous is when you start reading game of thrones alongside armin, and while eren's not unfamiliar with the premise of the books, he never could have imagined how intricate they are

intricate enough for you to be glued to your novel and your phone intermittently, surfacing from the pages with a squeal "oh my god i HAVE to text armin!" "armin's going to freak out!"

before he knows it, he's coming home to find you and armin, annotated novels spread on the coffee table, debating character arcs and laughing over funny moments

it confuses him at first. you love him, and he loves that you're friends with his friends, would never try to deny you a meaningful friendship, he knows that's all it is

eren's not a reader. too time consuming, too slow. but he wants to make your eyes light up like that, wants to hear you ramble on and on about your theories

he tries to get you into his story-based video games, but all he gets is a polite level of interest

when you finally confront him about acting like a fucking weirdo every time armin gets brought up, eren confesses, and it breaks your heart

"i mean, i know i'm not as smart as you or armin, but we could find something like that to do together, right? you just seem so into it..."

when you show him the tv show, eren's immediately hooked, and you stay up together for weeks on end binging it, eren watching you explain the differences between book and show with hearts in his eyes <333

Jean

jean is an egotistical maniac, you know it, he knows it

as your boyfriend, jean's never going to be one to throw a fit over the attention you get in the bar, in fact, he encourages it

it gets him off knowing that you're the girl everyone wants, that no one can take their eyes off of, and that you're going to go home with him and beg for him to fuck you

but if you're not his girlfriend? completely different story

when his roommate, eren, brings home his new girlfriend, jean is shocked

you're so...sweet. polite, beautiful, funny. what are you doing with eren? and not him?

jean has a case of the roommates-hot-girlfriend-itis, and he's got it bad

before he knows it, he's setting his alarm early, padding out into the kitchen where he knows you'll be making your coffee before work while eren snores in the other room

he's not shy about it either, openly flirting with you, teasing you about your messy hair, your tiny sleep shorts

he loves the way you blush when he says "you cold or something?", glancing meaningfully at your peaked nipples showing through your tank top

but you never falter, your eyes are only for eren. it drives jean insane.

he's going to the gym every day now, trying to work off this excess anger trying to get bigger and stronger so you can't help but notice him

he'd never admit it, but he listens in on you and eren late at night, imagining your breathy moans are for him

when he finds a pair of your panties in the dryer, he pockets them, treasures them

and when he finds you at a coffee shop in tears, a breakup text from eren on your phone? he has to hide his grin

jean may be a bad friend, but he'll make a great rebound

Levi

you're levi's, but he knows you're not supposed to be

he's still your captain, your immediate superior, and while that's exceedingly hot in the sheets, it's stifling outside the walls of your bedroom

he can't help but glance at you longingly across the cafeteria, watch your nose scrunch in that cute way it does when you laugh and when you cum

and when you brush a hand absentmindedly against miche's? bat your eyes up at hange, make them blush? levi knows you're doing it on purpose

he knows you well enough to know you can't help but antagonize him

he knows you belong to him, and you know you belong to him, but they can't know, and that's the problem. levi can't claim you in public, so he has to overcompensate when you finally sneak into his quarters at the end of the day, twiddling your fingers in anticipation

"can't believe you," he huffs, bending you over his desk, "thought i trained you better than that"

he did, you both know it, but you're a greedy, insatiable little thing, and you're good at riling levi up to get what you want

"don't know what you're-- ah! what you're talking about" you lie, gasping when he lands a sharp smack to your clit

"of course you do, you fucking brat," levi's not feeling as playful as you were earlier today, the hot lick of envy at the top of his throat "making those fuck me eyes at erwin earlier? you wanted me to see you, didn't you? whoring yourself out like you're not going to be begging me to let you cum later?"

your response is muffled by your panties in your mouth

"no excuses. beg all you want, but the only way this cunt-- my cunt-- is cumming tonight is if you admit it. admit you're mine, admit you can't get off with anyone else. you're mine."

and oh, do you cave. you're babbling apologies into the fabric in no time, tears streaming down your face

and once you're both shaking and spent, levi pulls you into his arms, cuddles you against his chest

he can't claim you in public, not as things stand with you on his squad, but for now, having you curled against him will have to be enough

THIS WAS SUCH A BLAST thanks for submitting tiff all my love <3

#rage.rambles #tiff.moot #levi x reader #eren x reader #jean x reader #aot headcanons #aot x reader hc #eren jaeger x reader #jean kirstein x reader #levi ackerman x reader #eren jaeger headcanons #jean kirchstein headcanons #levi ackerman headcanons #ask games

[jelliessoap]

RANDOM COD HCS YUP

possible nsfw so to be safe mdni

these r so crappy but oh whale

price loves margaritaville by jimmy buffett

bear. hugs.

he’s so warm i just know it.

probably a really good cook, understands spices and knows how to season his food. (thank god)

knows how to call, text, use voice to text search, and take pictures on his phone. thats it.

loves your tummy. kisses it, lays his head on it, covers it with love bites

scratch his facial hair!!!

hes so bear coded

long naps when he has free time. snores like a mf

love, darling, sweetheart are his go tos

has really professional contact names. firm believer he would have you saved as ‘wife.’

👍 user

he doesn’t like dogs bc he basically is one

please play with his hair to get him to genuinely relax for a second (pet him)

ass man and isn’t shy about it.

literally uses it as a pillow 99 percent of the time and will not let you get up

i truly believe he’d call his s/o ‘dolly’

he can barbecue well but don’t ask him to use the oven. you learned the hard way.

begs you to watch football with him. even if you don’t understand, he just wants you to be witness to all of his ref calls.

likes to ramble to you.

loves sharks.

NOT AS COLD HEARTED AS YOU GUYS MAKE HIM SEEM 😒😒

remembers the little things. you’ll be rambling to him about anything and everything and mention a snack you tried once and liked but never found again. you better believe you’ll find it in the pantry a week later

the best when you’re on your period bc he knows when to stfu. also gives massages and will buy you whatever you’re craving.

you made him try a period cramp simulator once bc he said it “couldn’t be that bad” early on in your relationship. needless to say he never opened his mouth like that again

silent support type. he’s just not good at finding the right words to comfort you sometimes but he’ll go above and beyond to show you he cares.

protective in a “well if you’re gonna do that stupid thing im doing it with you.”

hold him pls.

secretly loves being little spoon

cool calm and collected most of the time.

hugs you from behind.

please don’t let him anywhere NEAR the kitchen.

sassy

has new beef with rudy every other week, says he can’t stand him and then they’re bffs again a few hours later

surprisingly romantic.

i can see him as a fancy expensive dinner out kinda guy but i think he’d lean more towards a home cooked meal with candles and your favorite flowers arranged in a bouquet on the table.

another really good cook. i believe this man would make some bomb ass birria

teases a lot.

if you don’t know spanish get ready to learn

DANCES WITH YOU!!

kiss his jaw and he’ll do whatever you want

finds strength and perseverance attractive

shows you OFF.

this man loves HARD and he’s in it for the long run.

said i love you first.

expect a ring and a little family of your own.

babe is top of his vocabulary when he’s with you

“love you babe” “babe have you seen…” “babe where are you?” “c’mere babe”

accidentally called price babe once and actually wanted to evaporate into thin air

“mornin babe.” “wha-.” and gaz has already left to go take a long walk off a short bridge before price could even process

scared of bugs a hundred percent. squeals like a little girl and runs away begging you to get it away.

he’s so sweet honestly just wants to see you smile

remembers even the smallest things about you

the best gift giver bc they’re always so personal and meaningful

loves winter but only when he’s with you bc it gives him an excuse to hold you all day

tried to surprise you with dinner once and never cooked again. you were both perfectly fine with that

will always do the dishes and clean up for you

neck kisser

loves to grab your waist

will listen to you talk about your interests or even just your day for hours

if any cod man whimpers its him

#i love them #cod #call of duty #cod mw2 #cod modern warfare #cod headcanons #cod mw2 headcanons #john price #soap cod #soap mactavish #gaz cod #gaz garrick #ghost #ghost cod #simon ghost riley #x reader #headcanon #headcanons #alejandro vargas

[pedroslass]

all yours baby.

authors note: um. it’s time !

pedro pascal x female reader

warnings: 18+ pls if ur not 18 click awayy! smut, givin gawk gawk 3000, riding, the use of daddy, female penetration.

summary: pedro came back from filming, and you could not keep your feelings contained.

-

looking into the mirror you smiled at your appearance, wearing a beautiful blue dress, ankle high socks, some light natural makeup and your beautiful locks were kept down. today, was the big day. after 3 months of your boyfriend being away from for filming his new show, he was finally on his way back to your shared apartment. you wanted to look your best for him, it’s been so long.

walking out the bedroom, almost perfectly, you heard the doorbell. your smile instantly grew, swiftly making your way to the door, checking your appearance once again, you took in a deep breath. placing your hand on the doorknob you opened it.

a beautiful man stood at the door, holding a bouquet of pink tulips. your favourite.

“hey baby! look what i gotcha” pedro stood there, a proud smile on his face. you admired him, his hair messy, beard freshly shaved, a scarf was draped over his shoulders. he was so gorgeous to you, he was the only man that made you feel the way you do.

“oh my god, pedro you didn’t have to” you said wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. his hand resting on you back, he kissed your head. “i wanted to, i missed you amour” smiling, you lifted your head back up to look at him. he used his free hand to cup your face and lean in. kissing you. god, he missed your lips. he loves your lips, always have.

“i missed you too pedro. so much.” he smiled, kissing your forehead once more. you pulled him into the apartment, showing him the meal you had prepared for him. he handed the flowers to you “oh baby, this is beautiful! you didn’t have to” you giggled.

you placed the flowers into the vase, filling it up with some water first. you walked over to the little table and pulled out a chair for him “take a seat handsome” he smirked at you “thank you, ma lady” he said in a funny accent. laughing, you took a seat in-front of him.

*time skip. i’m lazy 😍*

you both laid in bed, cuddling. his hand roamed your body, brushing over you. you kissed his cheek as you sat up “ayy, where you goin?” pedro said, missing the warmth of you body pressed against his. “i’m just gonna go get ready for bed” he nodded sitting up too.

you got up, walking to the bathroom. pedro followed behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist as you began doing your skincare and oral care. he kissed where ever he could, your cheek, neck, shoulder. everywhere. “you are so beautiful baby” you smiled leaning your head into his shoulder.

“thank you amour” pedro, unfortunately, released his arms. having to do his own routine. brushing his teeth and putting some moisturiser on his face. you watched him in the mirror, once he finished you grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the bed.

he sat on the edge of the bed, you stood in front of him. your hands resting on his shoulders “i’m glad your back” you spoke softly, he smiled. placing his hands on your hips, he pulled you onto his lap. straddling him you moved your arms to around his neck.

you both leaned in, kissing each other. lips moving in sync. his hands roamed your body. you hands made their way through his gorgeous locks, he let out a small groan as you tugged on a strand. you both happened to pull away for a breath of fresh air “you have no idea how much i have missed you baby, every morning every night, i thought about you. the way you make me feel when you smile at me, your beautiful eyes looking at me, im so lucky to have you” his words made you smile “i love you so much pedro, i really mean it. you are honestly the best thing that has happened to me darling” he smiled. leaning in to kiss you once again, the kiss was a lot more passionate, it was more meaningful.

“take this off” pedro said, tugging on the strap of your dress, you obliged, you pulled the bow undone that hugged your neck keeping the dress up. the front fell down, you then pulled the thin fabric over your head, exposing your body.

god he loved every inch, every small scar told a story, the natural tiger stripes along your thighs were so godly to him. he loved running his hands over them, he loved the collection of freckles running across your nose, cheekbones, and a few along your arms. he found it cute, after all freckles are a sign of beauty.

“your turn” tugging the hem of his shirt, he understood. in one swift motion his shirt was off. “lay down baby” you crawled off his lap, finding a position between the pillows. you smirked, watching as he stood up and unbuttoned his jeans. you moved to your knees, getting a little closer to him. he watched every one of your movements, you looked at the obvious bulge he had, then glanced up at him. making sure he was definitely okay with this.

he nodded, his hand cupping your cheek. you dipped a little lower, making sure you head was at the right level. you palmed him through his boxers, looking up at him. his eyes were already on yours, you lowered them. pulling his cock out, you bit your lip. giggling a little as you saw your man’s eyebrows furrow.

you stuck out your tongue, coating the tip in your saliva. you moved deeper, taking more in. your hand dealt with the rest that you couldn’t fit. you bobbed your head up and down “fuckk, keep going baby” he moaned, you pulled away slapping his cock on your tongue, you kissed his balls, massaging them in your hand. you went deeper, as deep as you could. slightly gagging.

pedro places his hands on the back of your head and began fucking your face. “oh shit. god your so perfect, you do so good baby” he praised; a moan escaped from your mouth. he pulled out, looking down are your face. your eyes were glossy, lips plumped up, cheeks red. you looked so beautiful.

“turn around, ass up. do it for me” you smiled up at the man, you turned around arching you back, you swayed your hips a little. teasing him. he wrapped his finger around the band of your panties, sliding them down your thighs. “tell me to stop if you need to” he whispered to you. you nodded.

pedro took in the sight, you were completely wet. he teased your entrance. he slapped his tip against you, hands roaming your butt. “pedro please..stop teasing” you begged. he squeezed your hip “say it again. properly”

“god just please fuck me daddy” you cried out, and with that he pushed himself into you. his thrusts were slow, but went deep. it felt amazing, letting small moans escape from your lips. “faster please” you said barely audible, “louder” he said flat; slapping your butt. “faster! daddy please” he listened, his pace now perfect. a beautiful moan left your body, pedro himself let a groan escape. “jesus..fuck” you threw your hand behind your back hoping for it to connect with pedros. he grabbed it. pulling you up. your back was against his chest.

“oh fuck! just like that, yes yes” you hand flew to your clit, rubbing it in the way you liked. he kissed your neck, peppering you with small kisses. your eyes rolled; pedro grinned, loving that he made you completely crumble in his arms. “you like that baby? you missed this? the way i fucked you, hm? fuckk” his words made you feel like you literally just entered heaven, that familiar feeling arose in the pit of your stomach “pedro im gonna come” you whispered into his ear. he smiled, he slowed his thrust. you whined “no no, please i was so close”

“when you come i want you on top of me” he said, moving to sit on the bed “c’mere. sit” you crawled on top of him. legs straddling his. you lifted your hips up, and he inserted himself. you scrunched your eyes shut, the feeling was beautiful.

he placed his hands on your hips and started you off bouncing on him. he watched deeply as your breasts went in unison with your body, his hands moved to them. one hand squeezed the hard nipple, his other helped him guide the nipple into his mouth. he sucked on it, making you cry out even more. “shit! i’m gonna come! please daddy” you begged.

“you come when i say” he spoke, using his hands to help you move your hips. pedro then felt the feeling. you were near enough screaming, profanities spilled from you mouth along with his name. “come baby. come for me” pedro explained, he released, you following in suit. you felt the warmness fill you up.

pedros hand came up to caress your cheek “you did perfect baby, like always. i love you” you smiled, kissing him sweetly. you slid off him, laying down. “lemme grab a towel” you watched as he walked to the bathroom. grabbing a small flannel “this okay?” he checked with you before coming back to the bedroom. you nodded with a smile. he made his way back to you. he sat next to you, wiping you down.

you loved how caring he was, the aftercare he showed you was brillant and you loved it. the small things count so much.

“wanna sleep sweetheart?” he asked you softly, as he grabbed the covers and placed them around the both of your you yawed as he did so “i’ll take that as a yes” he said with a cute smile. he kissed your sweet lips “goodnight my love” he said softly, wrapping his arm around you. “goodnight gorgeous, i love you” he kissed your forehead “i love you too”

—

CUTE AH ENDING

#joel miller #pedro pascal imagines #cute #pedro pascal #smut #fluff #i love you

[moronkombat]

i can’t remember if I’ve sent this ask already but geras nsfw alphabet pls 🫣

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Aftercare is incredibly important to Geras. He is a large man and he makes sure that you are alright an not too bruised from your time together. He will often dote on his partner during aftercare

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Geras' favorite part on himself would have to be his chest. If you were to ask him why, he wouldn't give a precise answer. He merely admires its prowess and how warm it becomes when his partner touches it

Geras finds all of his partner attractive so he would be unable to pick and would insist that all of you is a perfection crafted by the gods

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Geras has no preference of where he finishes. He is happy with being able to be intimate with you and is happy that you have welcomed him into your life

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

At times, Geras wishes someone would take control of him. He does not wish to be submissive but to be able to marvel at his partner's beauty and grace while they dominate him

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Geras is experienced in the sense he has endless knowledge of all things and that includes sex. He puts that knowledge to good use

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Geras' favorite position is cowgirl or any position where his partner is on top. He prefers these because he prefers to watch and admire his partner while having sex

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Geras takes intimacy seriously and is never goofy during sex. He would find it disrespectful to his partner and so he is always very serious with his romantic intentions

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Geras is almost completely hairless except for his eyebrows. His body is smooth and clean shaven naturally so he has never really thought it looking any other way

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Geras is exceptionally romantic during intimacy. It is very important for him to express his love for his partner through actions and words

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

It is actually a very rare occurrence. He does not masturbate at all really, preferring to experience the urge of sex with his partner rather than indulge himself

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Body Worship- Geras will praise and honor his partner's body. You are perfection in human form and he will tell you that again and again until his words run dry

Overstimulation- Geras enjoys overstimulating his partner because, for him, he can pour all his love out for you. He will continue to pleasure his partner because it’s exciting and he wants you to feel pleasure over and over again

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Under the stars and during the night. He finds it much more symbolic and meaningful when making love to you under the cover of night that is so beautifully lit by the moon and stars

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Geras is turned on by his partner's beauty and appearance. You are simply gorgeous and when he looks upon you, he cannot help but feel desire

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Deception and cruelty. A partner who carries these traits will not be able to remain in Geras' arms for long as he finds these traits to be unattractive

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Geras' preference for oral is definitely giving it. He relishes in pleasuring you and making you feel completely satisfied. The focus is on your pleasure and release

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Slow and sensual. An evening with Geras is one of love making and passionate and he doesn't want it to be rushed at all

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Not a big fan of quickies and does not often partake in them. He feels it doesn't give him enough time to truly explore and feel his partner

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Geras will experiment with his lover to an extent but will avoid engaging in activates related to bringing his partner pain

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Geras can go multiple rounds in one day and prefers to do that. He wants his partner fully loved and sated

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Does not own any toys but would be open to using them in the bedroom should his partner ask. It may even add to the excitement of sex after all

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Geras is fair with you as his focus is on your pleasure, not his. If you are teased then you are not being pleased and that simply will not do at all

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Relatively quiet safe for words of praise and encouragement. That he is very vocal with

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

During sex Geras will sometimes spontaneously bring you to places all over the world. It is sudden and unexpected but magically to see the sky moving to quickly and the stars whirling together

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Geras is large and in charge. He recognizes is rather large size in both stature and intimate length. He isn't boastful or proud about it but is cautious as to not hurt you

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Geras' sex drive is relatively moderate. Although he desires his partner, he does not always act upon those desires. Instead he will wait for another time to express them

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Rarely falls asleep after sex if at all. His partner is often very spent after sex and so Geras cradles them until the dawn and the day starts anew

#mortal kombat #mk1 2023 #mortal kombat fanworks #mortal kombat headcanons #mk1 #mortal kombat x reader #geras mk #mk geras #geras x reader

[lizzie-is-here]

lonely is a man without love

part iv- the hunt

“the moon in me finds the sky in you” - dikshasuman

summary: you and steven do a little bit of grave robbing. oh yeah, marc’s there too.

wordcount: 3.6k

warnings: language, violence, red room talk, idk

a/n: yall i’m so sorry i dropped off the planet for a bit 💀 there’s been a lot going on like i’m in a situationship now w a friend from high school who moved to my college this semester, i finished my finals early, i see taylor swift tomorrow, i’m back home, but ANYWAY i hope y’all enjoy and pls forgive me ik it’s been 3 weeks 😭 love y’all

taglist: @thefictionalgemini @ravenz-hope @undiscl0sed-d3sir3s @iateall-yourcookies @disregardedplant @sunflowers-4 @yellowumbrelllaaaa @bagsy-not-it @local-mr-frog @thescarletredwitch @jupitersmoon167 @creamecafe @stevenknightmarc @theluciansystem @kingtwhiddleston @spider-biter @mxltifxnd0m @sgt-morgan @no-dont-be-suspicious @onzayhe @namorslit @i-cant-write-for-shit @vainillasmil157 @doublevirgogirl

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Hijacking a car is the easiest part.

Driving with a pounding headache isn’t that bad either.

On the other hand, watching Marc fling off his shirt is very hard.

“How did Harrow know those things about me?” you ask, averting your eyes back to the road. “He saw right through me.”

“He’s just trying to mess with you. You know, he’s trying to get in your mind,” Marc says. “No, don’t let him do that. He’s got this idea that he can see the ‘true nature’ of people or some baloney like that.”

He starts putting on a new shirt, and you can’t help but feel a little disappointed as he continues. “If that were true, I don’t think he’d have a bunch of homicidal maniacs as his disciples, would he?”

You tap the steering wheel. “But he knew.”

Marc’s face twists with sympathy. “I know.” He raises a hand to pat your shoulder, but he thinks twice and sets it on the headrest instead. “But he’s just manipulating you. Weaponizing your past.”

You glance at his hand.

“… You can touch me, you know?” It comes out a bit awkward, but meaningful nonetheless.

He gives you a small smile and rests it on your shoulder, a light chill going up your body. You didn’t receive a friendly touch in your life until the Red Room fell, and the first time Nat hugged you after a team dinner you had sobbed your heart out.

It had become your love language, in a way. You may be picky with who touches you, but every passing graze means the world.

And the weight of his hand grounding you feels nice. So you sniffle a bit before nodding sharply.

“Thank you.” Marc doesn’t take his hand back. You don’t want him to. “What did he tell you? I kind of zoned out.”

He shrugs and begins working a knot in your shoulder. “Nothing much. ‘You’re unlovable’ and ‘You’re a monster’. It’s all the same with him.”

You can hear the underlying hurt in his tone, but don’t bring it up.

After a few seconds, you pipe up, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Have I told you about the time I jumped off the collapsing sky base for the Red Room without a parachute?”

———————————————————————

Pulling off into some sand dunes, you drive across the sandy terrain in hopes of finding a place to put this tattered cloth together.

Under the light from the headlights, you and Marc lay out the fabric on the hood of the car and start trying to piece it together.

“Try that,” he says, passing you a triangle.

Working in tandem, you make little progress. It’s like a puzzle with no directions. It’s frustrating to come to so many dead ends, and it’s starting to grate on Marc.

“I’m not getting any whole constellations, it’s just little pieces and fragments.” He slams his hands on the car and walks to the side.

“Marc,” you begin cautiously. “I think we may need Steven. I know you don’t want to, but he understands all of this. We need to give him a shot or we’ll be out here all night.”

Suddenly atop the car, Khonshu chuckles. “I summon the gods, you summon the worm. He won’t return the body.”

“Why do you feel the need to do that?” you grumble, heart rate slowing after the bird practically jumpscared you.

Marc grabs the side mirror before ripping it off and gathering the strips of cloth.

“What is it with you and mirrors?” you ask.

He pauses his irritated work and points to the broken mirror.

“I see Steven in reflections. Figure he’ll be happy about this.” He holds up the cloth.

Sighing, he walks away. “Alright,” he says. “Go ahead. You’re in.”

You can see the change before you hear the British accent.

Steven crouches down in the sand, ripping tape and assembling the scraps faster than you or Marc ever could have. You step closer, unsure of how he feels about you. You did lie about your job to him.

“Steven?” you ask, sitting down next to him. He looks up, momentarily taken aback. He stares for a bit, different from Marc’s half-lidded gaze. His eyes are wide, taking in every detail.

Well, every detail of you. But you don’t know that.

“Egyptians invented modern navigation,” he explains. “There’s not a lot of landmarks in the desert. So, they came up with a way to get about using the sun and stars. It’s bloody genius, innit?”

He holds up his work. A star.

You carefully take it, marveling at the cohesive map.

“Oh, woah, that’s amazing.” Steven blushes a bit at your words, but it goes unseen in the dark. “What do we do with it?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but if… Oh wait, hang on a minute.” He holds it up to the light. “You see that? You see those little pinpricks there? That’s a constellation.”

You nod. “Orion. We should be able to triangulate the stars into coordinates, right? Let me scan it.” With your phone, you pass over the star, letting it pick up the image.

“Well, um, actually… Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.” That much is revealed when nothing turns up. “Yeah, you see, Senfu marked that tomb, like 2,00 years ago. And stars drift over time. Not much as far as stars go, but it could mean the difference between us searching miles away from where we’re supposed to be looking.”

You pick up his insinuation. “So unless we know what the sky looked like on that date…”

“We’re buggered,” Steven finishes.

The god appears ahead of you, a warning before he speaks. “I remember that night. I remember every night.”

When he makes no movement, you and Steven begrudgingly head up the dune to meet him.

“I can turn back the night sky, but it will come at a cost.”

“Doesn’t it always,” you sigh.

He nods to Steven. “I cannot do it alone. Steven, when the gods imprison me, tell Marc to free me.”

Steven is wrapped in the same suit from before a few seconds later, eyes glowing. As the god raises his hand, he begins swiping it through the air. Steven mimics Khonshu’s motions, and before long, you gasp aloud.

The sky is spinning, whirling past as trails of stars blur together. The moon is little but glowing white dots, rapidly switching phases.

You’ve never seen something so beautiful.

“This is the night,” Khonshu says as the spinning stops, freezing the spiraling constellations on the night you were looking for.

“This is surprisingly painful,” Steven shouts.

You hurry to grab your phone, scanning the stars.

“I know, I’m sorry! But it’s working,” you call.

Khonshu collapses to his knees as Steven says, “I can feel my energy leaving me.” The head cover disappears as he loses control of the night sky. He reaches up again, holding it long enough for you to finish scanning.

“I got it! 29 degrees north, 25 east.” Steven collapses, and you tuck your phone away to hold him.

He crawls to you, coughing and trying to control his racing breaths. You help him stand, but it doesn’t do much. He faints as soon as you let go, falling face-first on the sand.

“Steven!” you shout.

“Hey, Steven?” No response. “Marc? Come on, idiots. Where are you? Marc, come on.”

You keep trying until you give up and start dragging the poor man across the sand, but it doesn’t last for long.

Headlights blind you as a car speeds toward the two of you. Shortly followed by gunfire.

“Shit, why do you have to be so heavy?” you grunt. “Oh my god, fine.” Reaching the top, you toss the body over the hill rather unceremoniously, racing down and hopping in the car.

The other car circles you as you duck down, grabbing any weapons you can find. The men step out and start inspecting Steven/Marc, and you take the opportunity to sneak out.

Striking up a flare, the red glow immediately catches their attention.

You hear them yelling before they make a sharp turn and start shooting again. You drop the flare and run around the other side, readying another.

Just as the truck pulls to a stop by the van, you run out, tossing the flaming signal onto the top of the bed, where there was plenty of ammunition just waiting to be exploded. It doesn’t take long for the fuse to spark.

It’s safe to say that you receive a small firework show, and both bodies tumble out with no sign of getting back up anytime soon. If at all.

When you turn around, you immediately shriek.

“OH MY GOD!”

Steven stares back at you, now completely fine and a bit confused.

“…What?” he asks.

You shove him lightly. “Don’t scare me like that, Иисус Христос [Jesus Christ]. I could’ve thrown a flare at you.”

Steven meekly apologizes and your anger dissipates, so you wave to the car.

“C’mon. We’d better get going if we’re going to catch up to Harrow.”

———————————————————————

By the time you’re almost at the tomb, the sun has begun to rise.

“We can’t lose more time,” you grumble finally, breaking the silence. “Harrow must be headed back to this tomb.”

You bite your lip, weighing your words on your tongue. “Listen, if he’s there, we’ll need Marc.”

“No,” Steven says.

You blink. “No?”

He shakes his head. “No. See, the thing is, we made a deal, Marc and I, that when he was done with Khonshu, he would disappear for good.”

Steven glances to the mirror where you figure Marc is yelling at him.

‘But that deal didn’t involve you getting (Y/N) and us killed. That’s not gonna fly with me.’

“You made a deal?” you ask, unaware of the words of the other alter. “That he would just, never come back? Never eat, sleep, live? I understand this is a complicated situation, but both of you belong in your body equally. Besides, that would mean he would also completely disappear from my life.” You add the last bit much quieter.

“What do you mean?”

You hesitate, gripping the wheel. “Yeah, well, the guy’s kinda grown on me. Both of you have.”

‘Steven, you’re gonna make her upset, stop. Give me the body.’

“Even if he would want to ‘lone wolf’ this whole thing,” you continue, waving your hand. “I’ve been there before, and I’m not going to let you dive into a suicide mission alone.”

Ignoring the frustrated man in the mirror, Steven nods. “Yep, it’s just you and me, and the open road.” You brake hard, stifling your amusement as he jolts forward.

“We’re gonna go on foot,” you say, more of an order than a suggestion. He agrees readily, and both of you trek through the narrow path to your destination.

The shadows are a welcome relief from the heat, yet every sound has you tense. Every bit of movement could be a sniper. Every crevice could hide a hitman.

“There.” You point down to a camp. “It looks like they’re already inside, so we need to find another way to beat them to- What’s its name?”

“Uh, Ammit. She eats dead people’s souls.”

“Great. Let’s check the camp.”

Steven heads into a tent, rifling through the belongings. It’s going well, at least until a glass table reflects Marc instead of himself.

‘You look scared.’

“I’m not.”

‘You should be.’ Marc gives a wry grin that’s barely visible on the glass. ‘Without Khonshu, there’s no more suit, no more healing, no more power.’

Steven shines a flashlight directly into his eyes and blinks away the dancing spots. “Yeah, and no more you. I thought. It’s what you said, innit? But believing anything that comes out of your mouth just shows what a plonker I am.”

‘Look, I wish I could just disappear, I really do. But unfortunately, I’m still here. If you’re gonna go through with this, you gotta be smart.’ Marc hesitates a bit. ‘For (Y/N)’s sake. I’ve been in situations like this before.’

Steven shrugs. “So have I. It’s the same body, innit? It’s in there somewhere. Muscle memory and all that.” Marc rolls his eyes from the desk.

‘Yeah, I’m not sure it works that way. Just-’

“Oh, whatever,” Steven huffs, cutting him off.

‘I’m here,’ Marc calls, voice permanently in Steven’s head, even as he tries to walk away. ‘You’re not alone.’

“I know I’m not alone! I know I’m bloody not alone, I’ve got (Y/N). She’s got my back.”

Marc’s snide response shocks both of them. ‘Oh, are you in love?’ he calls. ‘You’re gonna get all of us killed.’

“And you don’t love her?” Steven snaps back, stomping down his flustered-ness to prod at the other man. “Look, I appreciate your concern, mate, I really do. But we’ve got it from here.”

As he eagerly hurries out of the tent, Marc yells from a mirror.

‘If you touch her, I swear to you, Steven. I swear, I’ll throw us off a cliff!’

Meanwhile, searching the camp, you freeze when something catches your eye. A bloodied tool, but not something modern. It’s old as fuck, from what you can tell. But the blood is fresh. Like someone stole this from the tomb and stabbed the nearest person with little regard to the trail they’d leave.

Blood covers the nearby crates. Only more reason to get out of the open.

Charging up your Widow Bites, you head to the entry point where Steven is waiting. You quickly start putting on his harness, trying to ignore how close you are by constantly glancing over your shoulder.

“I have to say, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” he excitedly whispers. “The adventure, I mean.” Not surprising. His love for Egyptology makes this basically the most dangerous yet exciting field study ever.

You smile. “Yeah. We want what we’ve never had.” Tightening the buckles, you can’t help but notice his breath ghosting over your cheek. “You know, family, freedom. Relationships…”

There’s a moment of connection. Your eyes meet and you don’t look away.

He’d be really easy to kiss. You know he would be. And a part of you really wants to. But not right now.

You cough a bit and look away, grabbing some gloves as you clip his harness on the rope.

“I will go down first,” you manage, voice quieter than usual. “Before I belay.”

“Yeah, of course,” Steven says. “What’s belay?”

You chuckle and wordlessly drop, reaching the bottom with little issue. What you don’t see is Marc summoning enough control to punch Steven directly in the face, partially for almost kissing you and partially for not doing it.

Underground, the oppressive heat finally relents and you let out a puff of air.

Grabbing your flashlight, you scan the room and run a finger along the dirt atop the sphinx hidden in the dark.

Before you know it, you’ve traced the signature hourglass of the Red Room.

“Shit,” you whisper. Before you can focus on it for too long, shouting from behind you causes you to whip around.

Steven tumbles down the entrance, falling flat on his back with a grunt. You help him up, dusting him off a bit.

“There you go,” you chuckle.

He blushes a bit. “I kinda wish you hadn’t seen that.” You shrug, smiling.

He glances up, eyes widening. “Oh, wow, look at you…” It’s your turn to blush now, almost giggling at the feeling in your chest before you notice that he’s looking at the sphinx, not you.

“Oh, yeah. They really are… gorgeous, aren’t they?” You’re staring at Steven as you speak. “They’re just, they’ve been standing guard for centuries.”

He nods excitedly. “Right! Look, I just- If they sprang to life right now and asked me a riddle for passage, I’d be thrilled. I’d shit myself,” he adds, “but I’d be thrilled.”

“Did… did you do this?” Steven asks, pointing to the hourglass drawing.

Reluctantly, you nod.

“Force of habit… the… The Red Room protocol was to leave the emblem wherever we went. A subtle reminder that Dreykov’s power went beyond borders.” You gesture to the symbol. “A reminder that he was all-powerful.”

You chuckle ruefully, pointing to the symbol. “Even without the pheromone lock, without his agents, he’s still controlling me.”

Steven notices the way you’re voice has quieted, how your usually-relaxed posture has slumped in on itself.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, as if the stone sphinx can hear him.

In an instant, you’re brushing it off.

“Yeah. No, it’s fine, really,” you say, confident once more and hurriedly striding down the dark hallway.

The path twists and turns, disorienting you until you freeze in a small room.

“It’s a maze,” you huff.

Steven can’t help his quip. “It’s a-maze-ing.”

“No,” you snort before pointing around. “Like, there are six paths.”

The man behind you starts muttering to himself as you scan the room. A familiar smell lingers in the air, one you would know anywhere, even if it is hidden by the smell of sand and dust.

Gunpowder.

A few bullet shells lie in the sand.

“What were they shooting at?” you whisper. No one else should be here except Harrow’s dig team.

Steven begins tracing on the center table, much like you had. When you notice a shape forming, you step closer to inspect it.

“This whole structure is the Eye of Horus,” he says. “Look at that. It’s the royal symbol, protection in the afterlife.”

You nod, keeping up with the research you’d done. “But, the resources needed…” The epiphany hits you. “Ammit’s final avatar was a pharaoh.”

“Woah, a bloody pharaoh,” Steven gasps.

“So, do you think this is a map?” you ask, not wanting to disturb the drawing.

“Right. The Eye of Horus is also the eye of the mind, yeah? Representing the six senses, six points. The eyebrow denotes thoughts. Pupil, sight, obviously.”

He continues pointing about the shape. “This point here is, uh, hearing. Smell, touch. And this long line ending in a spiral, is the tongue.”

“An avatar would be Ammit’s voice,” you mutter.

Both of you turn to the corresponding tunnel at once, heading down it together. It ends in an open room, still very musty smelling but less claustrophobic than the previous areas.

You explore for only a few seconds before Steven’s gagging.

“Oh my- Oh my god, is that fresh blood?” he manages. “Isn’t that little chunks of meaty bits?”

You nod in affirmation, really hoping he doesn’t hurl. That’s when you notice canopic jars, very full of organs and coated in very fresh blood. It hasn’t even crusted.

Another bloodied tool lies on the operating table.

You’d read about doctors and sorcerers buried with a pharaoh to protect him from intruders, but this? Checking down the exit hallway, you only see a thick trail of blood.

“Okay, okay,” you hiss, glancing up to the secondary level. “Steven, there might be a way out up there, go check.”

He clambers up with a bit of help from you, wood creaking and echoing around the stone walls.

“So, according to the ancient texts, Ammit should be bound to an ushabti, a little stone statue thingy.” You let him geek out a bit before gunfire stops your heart right in its tracks.

“Harrow,” you say, just loud enough for Steven to hear.

“What are they shooting at?”

You don’t have time to respond when a sickening clicking sound comes from right outside the door.

“Hide. Hide,” Steven calls.

With nowhere to go, you duck down by the table.

The clicking grows ever closer until you spot something, mangled and grotesque, tossing a barely-alive digger onto the stone surface.

The stabbing and squelching sound that follows is enough for you to know that some more jars are about to be filled.

In all honesty, you’ve heard worse, so you silently exhale and try to stay as still as possible.

That plan gets shot the moment you shift and bump a jar.

Wincing, you silently shift away from the table, steadying your breathing as the clicking grows more aggressive. From Steven’s hiding spot, a loud creak rises up and the creature -whatever is it is- jumps atop the table to search for the source of the sound.

You can hear it start climbing the wall, fighting to get to Steven. And that just won’t do.

With a click of a button, you fire off an electrical blast from your gauntlets. It stuns the mummified man, who falls to the table.

Steven shouts with a force you’ve never heard from him and topples a shelf, effectively crushing it.

“I squished it. I squished it,” he whispers.

“Yes,” you say, forcing an encouraging tone. “You definitely squished it, now come on.”

He clambers down the ledge with no semblance of grace, and you take his hand, rushing through the hallway to want you hope will be your destination.

As you’re stepping across shattered stones, a grin finally forms on your face.

This is it. The walls are lined with hieroglyphs, gilded statues line the chamber.

And a sarcophagus lies in the center, water surrounding it.

“Oh, my days,” Steven whispers. “First ones in. Tomb fit for a pharaoh. Thutmose II, Nefertiti, it’s gotta be one of the big ones.”

You point to the sarcophagus, eyes narrowing.

“Steven?”

“Yeah?”

“Those aren’t hieroglyphs. That’s…”

You speak at the same time. “Macedonian.”

He mutters to himself, inspecting the writing. Thoughts spilling out as his mouth races to keep up with his mind.

“I think we’re looking at the long-lost tomb of Alexander the Great,” he concludes. You understand why he’s excited, but a part of you also knows that now is not the time. Not when you’re in a time crunch.

Setting your hands on the lid, you nod for Steven to join you.

“Everything inside me is, like, screaming not to open this thing,” he says nervously.

“Well, it’s either us or Harrow. Your pick.” You know it’s a bit unfair, but it works.

He sets his hands by yours, bracing himself.

You raise a brow. “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

#marvel #marvel x reader #x reader #avengers #moon knight system #moon knight #moon knight x reader #moon knight tv #moon knight x fem!reader #moon boys #steven grant x you #steven grant x reader #steven grant #steven grant x fem!reader #steven grant moon knight #marc spector x reader #marc spector #marc spector x fem!reader #marc spector moon knight

[clementine-writes-things]

Roommates - E.N

(this takes place BEFORE he becomes the riddler. I wanted to write what I thought he would have been like before, so here ya go. metal head, introverted, smoker, emo Edward. lmao. also, I watched Little Miss Sunshine and fucking loved it, highly recommend. ALSO, i realize that it's very unrealistic for a small apartment to have two bedrooms EACH with their own bathrooms, but SHUT UP I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THAT <3 so pls ignore that in this fic)

Summary: Edward Nashton: a quiet, reserved, heavy metal loving introvert. Y/n: a friendly, outgoing, hyper extrovert. Very different personalities. Though, opposites do attract.

Word Count: 10,797 (guys, what is happening to my fanfics, they are getting so long...is this a good thing?)

Content Warning: Smut, explicit language, hinting of r*pe, hinting of drugging a drink, knife, penetration, corruption kink, virgin!reader, daddy kink (brief), kind of stupid!Reader (that's mean to say but true), dom!Edward, Edward being a HUGE 'simp' for y/n, sub!Reader, praising, ed guides y/n through sex, gentle sex that turns rough later on, fingering, oral fem receiving, aftercare. (There might be grammar mistakes cuz I'm reading this over at 1:30 am, so please cut me some slack I have class in the morning lol. Hopefully the errors aren't too bad. If so, I'm sorry pookies <3 I promise the fic is still good!)

Songs For Inspo:

Kunst - KMFDM

Custer - Slipknot

Sweating Bullets - Megadeth (my FAVORITE metal band, Dave Mustaine ik ur like over 60 but we can figure something out, please u were so hot in the 80's and u still are plssssss...)

Bounce! - System Of A Down (love them sm)

Revenga - System Of A Down (one of my fav songs by them)

Freak On a Leash - Korn (yoNatooRADatEDotRAndat - John Davis in his songs)

Chop Chop Slide - Insane Clown Posse (edward would SO listen to them, not listening to any other opinions. also this song is so funny like its the cupid shuffle but violent.)

Heavy Metal Lover - Lady Gaga

Eddie My Love - The Chordettes

Vacation Bible School - Ayesha Erotica

Daddy AF - Slayyyter (Edward is so daddy AF guys, i don't think u understand fr like i want this man to *censored*)

(picturing Edward Nashton as a metalhead is hot to me and I feel like it is EXTREMELY accurate for his character. Like, he's an introverted lunatic...he definitely loves metal. This is now a personal headcanon of mine.)

~Read Below Cut~

~

"Oh, you precious thing..." Edward cooed, reaching down and stroking her hair.

Y/n looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He chuckled, trailing his hand away from her hair and down to her chin. Gently, he pulled at y/n's bottom lip with his thumb. Y/n squeezed her thighs together.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" He asked sweetly, a hint of desire lacing his tone.

Y/n whimpered, breathing heavily. She didn't even know how to respond to his question. It was so bold and blunt, something that he was able to be with ease. But y/n had a hard time with that, unable to get her thoughts out fully. She nodded, lips forming a pitiful pout as she looked up at him. Edward bent back down to her level, grabbing her leg gently and lifting it up. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her shin, over her knee, and up to the bottom of her thigh. Y/n shivered at the feeling of his lips against her skin.

"Yeah? You want me to fuck you, angel? I need to hear you say it."

"Y-Yes, Eddie, please..." She whined.

He smiled, looking up into her eyes as he planted another kiss on her knee. Edward's eyes were glazed with adoration and love, lust only a small part of the glint. He desired y/n, yes, that was a fact. But, he didn't want her in an animalistic way, no not at all. He so badly wanted to pop her cherry gently, showing her how much he loved her with his body. There was plenty of time for more rough and kinky acts in the future, but you didn't get another chance at your first time. And Edward wanted y/n's first time to be loving, caring, fun, meaningful, and passionate.

"I'll give it to you angel, I promise. I'm going to show you what sex is, what it means, and I'll show you how much I love you through it."

~

-3 months before-

~

Edward heard a knock at the door just barely through the music he had playing. Groaning, he got up from his desk in his bedroom, walking out into the living room. His hair was a mess, black streaks scattered throughout his hair due to a crappy dye job he did. A lit cigarette hung from in between his lips as he opened the door. Grabbing the cig, he held it between his pointer and middle finger. Before him was a young girl, maybe a year younger than him, with a bunch of boxes and a single suitcase. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hi! I'm your new roommate! Y/n L/n! We talked over the phone, remember!?" She exclaimed, reaching out and shaking his hand rapidly.

Edward instantly grimaced.

"Oh, how could I forget..." He mumbled.

"These are all my things, is it ok if I come in?" She asked politely, a bright smile on her face.

"Um, yeah. Do you want help carrying your stuff in?" He begrudgingly asked, putting out his cigarette on the ashtray near the door.

"Oh, that would be so nice! Thank you!" Y/n beamed.

Edward started to bring in some boxes, moving them to the spare bedroom. Y/n grabbed a box as well, looking around the apartment. She didn't like that he smoked inside, but she felt better when she noticed he had a window open. She really appreciated that. With a bounce in her step, y/n brought back boxes to her new room. The metal music that Edward was listening to was still playing in the back, fairly loudly.

"You have the same music taste as my dad!" She commented, smiling.

Edward froze in place, box in hand as he looked at her. His face was blank, only a look of confusion in his eyes. Y/n felt herself blush and quickly got back to moving things to her room. Edward rolled his eyes as he placed the last box on her bed. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking at the contents scattered all over the floor.

"You've got a lot of clothes..." He stated.

"They aren't all clothes!" She laughed, finding it amusing that he thought that.

"Then what the hell do you have in these boxes?" He asked, regretting it instantly, because he truthfully did not care.

Y/n looked around for something to open up a cardboard box with. She looked at the desk in her room, smiling when she saw a pencil. Grabbing it, she stabbed it through the tape and Edward flinched, taking a step back. Y/n ripped the tape away with help from the hole she punched in it. She picked it up and angled it slightly so Edward could see the contents. He opened it up, looking inside and raising an eyebrow, glancing back up at y/n. Pulling out a picture, he looked at it and laughed.

"A bunch of cartoon horses?" He asked.

"It's the Mane 6 from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, thank you very much!" She huffed.

"Alright then, well I'm going to leave. Have fun unpacking the things you stole from an 8 year old." He commented before leaving her room.

"That's so rude!"

~

The two of them instantly recognized how different their personalities were. It was a little jarring at first, living with someone who was the complete opposite of them. But, Edward tried to keep to himself a lot. However, y/n found herself becoming more and more interest in Edward. She definitely had a type...

Tall.

Metalhead.

Slightly scary/intimidating.

Looks a little bit homeless.

He checked off all the requirements on y/n's list....

~

-2 weeks after moving in-

~

Y/n's room was fully decorated and furnished. The bed that was already in the room now had pink and white bedsheets with lace on the ends. A bunch of fairly lights were strung about the room and she had all her posters hung up. Shelves were lined with stuffed animals, figurines, and candles. Y/n's room smelled like fruit punch and flowers, if that made any sense. Her room was so cozy and homey, just how she wanted it. Though, most people would say it was too cheery and bubbly for a bedroom. And, those people were dead wrong in y/n's opinion. Y/n was currently listening to music and dancing in her room on top of the fluffy pastel pink rug she had. She was wearing a pair of black leggings that flared at the bottom and a hot pink spaghetti strap tank top. Underneath that she was wearing a white lacy bra. Edward was at work today, so she wasn't worried about the music being too loud.

"Sometimes I wonder if you still wanna fuck me..." She giggled to the lyrics, spinning out of her room.

The white socks she wore caused her to slid across the tiled floor of the kitchen. She swayed her hips back and forth, dancing to the fairly erotic song that was playing. Opening the pantry door, she grabbed a box of cheez-its. Y/n took a bowl from one of the cabinets and poured some of the crackers in. She put the box away and started to snack on the cheez-its. The sound of the front door opening was drowned out by the loud music. Y/n was dancing away, oblivious to the fact that Edward was watching her dance as he put away his keys and coat.

'Well, it's fine because I'm a whore'

'And I sleep with guys just for fun and drugs'

Y/n was still swaying her hips around, jumping up and down slightly. Edward chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets, one of which had a chain dangling next to it. Y/n turned around eyes closed as she sang the lyrics, opening slightly at the end.

"Vacation Bible Schoooo..." She froze, hands in the air.

"Hey." He said, eyes heavy and tired.

The music continued playing in the background, causing Edward to smile slightly. Y/n let her hands fall to her sides, a blush on her face. She cleared her throat, grabbing a cheez-it.

"Hello Edward, nice day outside, right?" She asked, placing the cheez-it in her mouth.

"Yeah, really good day to listen to bimbo music in my kitchen." He commented.

"Shut up."

~

The two roommates had grown tolerable of the other after some time. Y/n was still absolutely obsessed with Edward, finding his mysterious and intimidating nature addicting. Every time he was near her or talked to her, she felt her stomach do backflips. And, Edward was no idiot. He knew how she felt. He was a genius, for sure, but it didn't take a genius to know how y/n felt about him. He didn't want to act on it just yet, even though he felt himself getting feelings for her as well. But, he did enjoy purposefully teasing her. It was a fun little game for him.

~

-1 month after moving in-

~

It was around 10 in the morning and y/n sat on the couch, bundled up in blankets. She was as snug as a bug in a rug. It was her day off from work, and she didn't really have much planned. Because of this, she decided that she would watch a bunch of Pixar movies, starting with Cars. Cars was one of those movies that y/n could watch over and over and never get tired of.

"Where is it...?" Edward mumbled.

Y/n realized that she forgot to tell Edward that she had the day off. It aligned well with his work schedule, as he didn't work today either. She wanted to ask him if he wanted to watch Pixar movies with her. Though, she figured that he would say no, in classic Edward fashion. Y/n looked to her right, ready to ask Edward, but her face flushed instantly. Edward stood in the living room, looking around with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was completely naked, other than the towel of course. His hair was slightly dry, though still damp in most places. Y/n couldn't see his eyes that well because his hair hung in his face, covering most of his face up. Edward looked up, not really reacting when he saw y/n.

"Oh, hey y/n. Aren't you supposed to be at work?" He asked, hand gripping his towel.

"U-Um, today is m-my day off. I meant t-to tell you, but I fo-forgot..." She stuttered.

Edward took in her flustered appearance, knowing the affect he had over her. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, getting it out of his face. Y/n watched with her eyes wide as he continued to walk around the living room.

"Have you seen my shirt? The uh...the...oh the Slayer shirt." He asked.

Edward looked towards y/n, mouth forming an 'o' as he saw the shirt resting on the top of the couch behind her. He walked over, leaning down slowly, making sure to get as close to y/n as possible. Based on how stiff she became, Edward could tell that he was definitely doing a good job at teasing her.

"Here it is. Oh, are you watching Cars? That's a good move. Mind if I watch it with you?" He asked, voice coarse from smoking a cigarette earlier.

"Oh, u-um, sure yeah. I was g-gonna ask you that actually." She mumbled.

"Alright, well I'm going to get changed. I'll be back."

~

Over the next few months, y/n and Edward's attraction to each other grew stronger. Y/n would follow Edward around like a dog after it's owner, and it was extremely apparent to him. One night, y/n decided she would go out to a party with her friends from work. Not wanting to be alone, even though she knew most of the people, she invites Edward.

~

-2 months after moving in-

~

Y/n knocked on Edward's bedroom door, a System Of A Down song playing loudly on his speakers. Shuffling was heard from behind the door, and then the music was turned down, but not too much. The door swung open to reveal Edward, who leaned against the doorframe. He had a very slightly cropped black tank top on with the skull from Megadeth on it, a few small holes ripped in it. His jeans were washed out and a chain dangled from one of his pockets. Y/n could see his happy trail above his belt, and she felt her breath hitch. Edward pushed his glasses up, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Oh, um...I'm going to a a work friend's party tonight. Just a few drinks and music, stuff like that. I was wondering if you uh, if you might wanna go with me?" She asked, fidgeting with her hands as she looked at the floor.

Edward smirked, noticing how shy y/n was at the moment. It was clear that she desperately wanted him to go with her. He usually didn't like parties, but he couldn't say no to her face. Not when she looked so small in front of him, so needy for his presence at all times. It fed his ego for sure, but it was also nice to be wanted.

"Is there a dress code or some shit?" He asked.

"N-No, I don't think so? If there is then she never mentioned it."

"Ok, then this is what I'm wearing." He said.

"So, does that mean you're coming?" Y/n asked, excitement lacing her voice.

"Sure. I don't have any other plans."

"Yay! I'm going to go get ready right now! We need to leave in 30 minutes!" Y/n squealed, running to her room.

Edward watched her, closing the door to his bedroom a few seconds after. He turned the music off, knowing that they would be leaving soon. Opening his closet, he looked for a jacket to wear over his tank top. Grunting, he grabbed the first one he saw, which was denim. He had patches sewn on it, each from different bands he listened to. He also sewed a bunch of green question marks into it. Shrugging, he slid the jacket on and grabbed a pack of smokes from off his nightstand. His lighter was already in his pocket, so he grabbed his pocket knife and put it in his back pocket. You could never be too safe in Gotham. Even he knew that. As he walked out of his bedroom and closed the door behind him, he wondered about what he just agreed to. If y/n's friends were anything like her, then he would have a headache within the first 5 minutes. Sighing, he grabbed his wallet from off of the table next to the front door and put it in his other front pocket. He could hear music from y/n's room as the shower cut off. A couple seconds later he could hear the hairdryer. Y/n usually liked to take her time getting ready, but if there was a time limit then she could get ready extremely fast. She always liked to be early to everything, which was a good thing. Edward was the same way.

"Can't even drink while I'm there..." He mumbled, realizing that should be prepared to be the designated driver.

After about 10 minutes, y/n came out of her bedroom. She had on a lacy spaghetti strap tank top, it was a soft purple in color. Her pants were ripped denim shorts, which was a good choice since it was summer in Gotham. Y/n's hair was let down, wavy in some places and curly in others, chaotic but cute, just like her. Underneath her hair was a white ribbon that tied into a quaint bow on the top of her head, off-centered on purpose so it wasn't so symmetrical. Blush adorned her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Her eyelashes were accentuated with mascara, a glittery eyeshadow with no color covered her eyelids. Y/n's lips were plumped up with a shiny pink lip-gloss. Edward felt heat rush to his face, and he quickly looked away.

"Ok! I'm done! Just gotta get shoes on!" Y/n cheered, rushing to the door.

Edward stood up, watching her as she bent over and slid on light blue converse. The shoes had tiny gems on the edges, and stickers on the top of it. He remembered when she customized them. He walked in the living room one night to see her hunched over them, it was really amusing. Clearing his throat, he slid his combat boots on. Y/n grabbed her purse and Edward grabbed his car keys.

"You're gonna have to tell me the directions." He said.

"Oh, are you driving?"

"I was hoping we could take my car."

"Aw, but I wanna take my car..." Y/n pouted.

He grunted, closing his eyes shut. Mumbling under his breath he pinched the bridge of his nose. Edward let out a sigh and placed his keys back on the table.

"Ffffine."

"Yay!"

-

Edward was slumped in the passenger seat of y/n's soft pink mini cooper. The interior was light brown leather, and it smelled just like her room, like fruit punch. Tiny little stuffed animals, beanie babies, and squishmallows were in her backseat. One beanie baby, which was a unicorn, was in the corner of her dashboard, in front of Edward. Y/n giggled, turning into the driveway of her friends house. She got out of the car quickly, shutting the door behind her. Edward got out too, hitting his head on the roof of the inside of the car. Wincing, he cursed under his breath. Once he was out he closed the door, hearing y/n lock the door shortly after.

"Your car makes me stick out like a sore thumb." He said.

"Yep! I know! Now, let's go!" Y/n said, skipping to the front door.

Edward shoved his hands in his pockets, following y/n slowly. The only reason he agreed to coming was to make sure y/n was safe. He hated going to parties, and he didn't even know the people, so it was even worse. But, it's hard to say no when y/n gives him puppy dog eyes. Stepping up on the front porch, y/n knocked rapidly on the door, ringing the doorbell twice after. Edward chuckled softly, standing behind her. When the door opened, y/n was practically bouncing in place.

"Oh, y/n! Hey! I was worried you weren't coming!" Her friend said.

"Sorry, Emily, we got stuck in traffic." Y/n said, gesturing to Edward.

Emily looked behind y/n, looking Edward up and down. He looked ominous towering over behind y/n. His eyes were tired and he smelled like leather and pine.

"Oh, you'll have to introduce everyone to him. Me included. But, please, come in! It's really hot outside. We've got AC in here." Emily said, moving aside so they could walk in.

"Thanks Emmy!" Y/n walked inside, Edward following close behind.

With how close Edward was following y/n, you'd think that he'd be scared to leave her side. But, he wasn't. Not even close. He didn't look like a lost puppy, he looked like a rabid attack dog that would maul someone if they breathed a little too hard. He was like a bodyguard following y/n around. Everyone looked towards y/n, smiling when they saw her. At work, y/n was considered the nicest and friendliest person. But, that also led to people taking advantage of her. Asking her to cover shifts, stay late, and even do other peoples jobs. Edward knew about all of this, because y/n would tell him about it. It was sad that she didn't realize it was manipulation. This was partially another reason that Edward came: to make sure that y/n wasn't coerced into doing something for someone. He didn't want to see her come home 3 hours past when her shift ended for the 3rd time this week.

"Hey girl! Oh, who's Mr. Tall, scary, and hostile?" A girl asked.

Edward looked at her, his face emotionless and dull. The girl looked away quickly, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. Y/n smiled as everyone gathered around, it wasn't that many people, maybe 10 people. That was without including her and Edward. Emily was there as well. Placing her hands on Edward's shoulder, y/n shook him lightly, not getting a reaction from him. A few people chuckled, causing Edward to grunt lightly.

"This is my roommate, Edward! I'd be living on the streets without him!"

"Oh, THAT Edward! Y/n talks about you all the time at work!" One guy said, taking a sip of his drink.

Edward smirked slightly, letting it fall as quickly as it appeared. Y/n awkwardly laughed, brushing the comment off.

"Uh, where's the drinks at? I'm parched!" She asked.

"In the kitchen, and outside we have music playing, we have a pool too. Though, I forgot to mention that to everyone. So, only go for a swim if you're ok with not having a change of clothes." Emily laughed.

"I already know someone is going to get so drunk they jump in. And, it won't be me. Maybe." Y/n smiled.

Emily turned to Edward.

"Do you want a drink, Edward?" She asked.

"I'll take a Coke." Was all he said.

"I'll get it for ya!" Y/n smiled, going to the kitchen.

Some people in the house made their way outside, other's sat on the couch in the living room and talked. Edward leaned against the wall that connected to the banister of the staircase. He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched y/n in the kitchen, ignoring basically everyone around him.

"So, what's it like living with y/n?" Emily asked.

Edward raised an eyebrow, breaking eye contact with y/n to look at the fairly tall woman. He shrugged, sighing as he looked up at the ceiling.

"It was jarring at first, she's pretty hyper. But, I'm getting used to it." He replied simply.

"Well, Adam was right earlier. She does talk about you a lot. Don't tell her I said that though." She laughed.

"Uh huh." He mumbled.

Emily took this as a sign to walk away, which Edward greatly appreciated. He was not one for socializing. Hence, why he doesn't like parties. Shortly after, y/n came back from the kitchen. She gave Edward a can of Coke, and took a sip of the drink she got.

"What did you get?" He asked.

"Margarita. Well, a poorly made one. But, a margarita nonetheless." She replied, giggling.

"Alright."

"You wanna go outside?" Y/n asked.

"Sure, I need a smoke anyways." He grunted.

The two of them walked outside, Edward glaring at some of her coworkers as they did so. His glasses caught the reflection of the moon, and he leaned against the outside of the house. Placing his coke down on the porch banister, he pulled out a cigarette. With it between his lips, he lit the end of it and took a drag. He blew smoke to his left, making sure it was going away from the backdoor, not wanting to get smoke inside the host's house. Watching y/n, he noticed her talking to a few people, coworkers no doubt. The sound of crickets and frogs in the summer night comforted Edward and made him feel relaxed. Taking another drag, he blew it to his side again. Y/n had already drank her entire margarita. She came back to the patio and looked at Edward, pointing at her drink.

"Gonna get another!" She said.

He nodded curtly, confused as to why she told him. He wasn't in charge of her. She could do what she wanted. He took another puff from his cigarette. The two guys that y/n was talking to approached him. He raised an eyebrow, looking up at them from his hunched over posture.

"Yeah?" He asked, voice hoarse.

"You're y/n's roommate?" One guy asked.

"Last time I checked." He answered.

"Can you do us a solid?" The other one asked.

Edward didn't answer, only looked at them. The guy on the left elbowed the guy on the right softly, chuckling. Ed took another drag from his cigarette.

"Is she a good fuck?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, she seems like she'd open her legs for a good price." The other commented.

Edward's eyes narrowed as he finished his drag, blowing the smoke directly at them. He mumbled under his breath, something about how gross they were. The two men coughed, trying to wave away the smoke. Edward straightened his posture, fixing his glasses that were slightly crooked.

"What the fuck, man?" One guy asked.

"That was a dick move!" The other said.

Edward put his cigarette out on the bottom of his boots. He glanced to his left and saw an ashtray on the banister. He dropped the cigarette in there. Noticing he had a few ashes on the tips of his fingers, he brushed them off on the shirts of the two guys.

"Mhm." He grunted, walking away from them and going inside.

Edward didn't bother saying anything to the two men, it would be a waste of his breath. But, he did know that he didn't want y/n to be anywhere near those cretins. He went to the kitchen, seeing y/n pour herself another margarita. Walking up to her, Edward tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, take a huge gulp of her drink, smiling wide at him after.

"Hi Eddie!" She giggled.

"How many drinks have you had?"

"Well...th-this is my 4th one..." She hiccupped.

"I see. Well, I think it's getting late. We should head back home." He said.

Just as he said that, one of y/n's coworkers walked up to the kitchen counter. She leaned over, propping her elbows up and letting her cleavage show. Edward looked at her and rolled his eyes, looking back at y/n.

"Hey girly~ tell me about your friend here. He seems interesting." She winked at him.

"Oh! W-Well-"

"I'm not interested." He replied curtly.

The girl scoffed, standing up. She mumbled under her breath.

'Prick.'

Edward looked back at y/n, seeing that she was absolutely wasted. He sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. The two men from early walked in and Edward glared at them. Leading y/n to the living room, he whispered down in her ear discreetly.

"We need to leave, ok? I'll tell you why when we get in your car."

She nodded, unsure of why Edward wanted to leave so bad. But, after living with him for a little over 2 months, she trusted him. Y/n glanced over her shoulder and saw two guys staring at her. She looked back at Edward and he nodded subtly. Y/n took this as a signal to say bye to her coworkers.

"H-Hey guysss, it's g-getting late. I think weee're gonna go hooome." She said, smiling drunkenly.

"Aw, already? It's only been an hour since you got here! Stay longer, you're always the life of the party!" One girl with a braid said.

Edward squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, knowing how easily she was influenced by her coworkers. She fidgeted with the hem of her tank top, drinking the rest of her margarita. She shook her head.

"N-No, sorry..."

"Ok, well, before you leave, do you think you can cover a shift for me this weekend? I know you don't work weekends, but I have a concert to go to and I really don't want to miss it." A guy said.

"Well, I-I sup-pose..."

Y/n looked up at Edward, seeing that he was watching the two guys in the kitchen. They were eyeing up y/n, and y/n finally noticed that. She shook her head.

"No, I can't. We-We're leaving nowww, bye everyone." She slurred.

Before anyone could say anything, Edward made sure y/n had her purse on her and they left the living room. He guided her to the front door, watching the two guys as he opened up the door for her. He quickly followed her, closing the door and helping her go down the steps. Edward opened up the passenger door for her, making sure she buckled herself in. He groaned before getting in the driver seat of the pastel pink mini cooper. He felt like a giant in the vehicle.

"Who were those two guys?" He asked, buckling up and backing out of the driveway.

"J-Josh and Aaron..." She stuttered.

"Don't ever talk to them at work. Don't ever accept anything from them and do your best to not work a shift alone with them." He demanded, his tone serious and instructive.

Y/n nodded.

"W-Why?" She asked.

Edward sighed, gripping the steering wheel as he put the blinker on. He turned left and glanced quickly at y/n.

"They asked me a very disgusting question about you. And then they made a gross comment on you." He said.

"Like w-what?" She asked.

Edward scoffed, stopping at a red light.

"Well, one of them asked me if you were a good fuck. And then the other one said that you seemed like you'd open your legs up for a good price." He said through gritted teeth.

Y/n went quiet, giggling drunkenly. Edward didn't understand why she found it amusing. But, he assumed that she was just drunk and laughing it off. Deep down, it probably made her very uncomfortable.

"I've n-never even fucked anyone bef-fore." She hiccupped.

Edward found this comment surprising. He figured a beautiful girl like her would have had plenty of sexual encounters. But, here he was, being proved wrong. Still, he shrugged and turned onto their block.

"Don't let them know that. Knowing how creepy they are, they'll probably find a way to twist that and sexualize you in ways no one ever should. They seem like the kind of people to fantasize about...taking advantage of you..." He said, shuddering at the thought, the words feeling like poison on his tongue.

Y/n mumbled to herself, staring out the window. Edward sighed, pulling into the parking garage of their apartment building. Parking the car, he got out and closed his door. Walking around the car, he opened up y/n's door and helped her get out. She groaned, the salt from the rim of her margarita cup stuck to the corners of her lips. Edward huffed, letting y/n hold onto his arm for stability. She was absolutely hammered. It was clear that she could not hold her drink well. Locking the car, Edward put the keys in his pocket and helped y/n up the stairs. When they reached their apartment, Edward unlocked the door and opened it up. Y/n went straight for the bathroom and Edward heard her gag over the toilet. Sliding off his boots, he hung his denim jacket up and picked up y/n's shoes that she removed when running to the bathroom. He walked to the kitchen, grabbing a sticky note from off the counter and picked up the pen next to it. Scribbling something down, he slapped the note onto the door of the fridge.

'Josh/Aaron=shit'

He grinned, proud of the little reminder he posted up. When the two of them needed to remember something, or communicate with the other, they would leave post-it notes on the fridge. It was usually used to let the other know if there was no milk left, or if a certain food was theirs. But, this worked good too. Edward walked to the bathroom, knocking on the door. Y/n didn't respond, but he heard a flush. The faucet of the sink ran for a little while, and then the door opened up. Y/n's mascara ran down her face slightly.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah...just wanna go to bed..." She mumbled, tears forming in her eyes.

Edward watched as she went to her bedroom, about to turn around to go to his own. Her meek voice caused him to stop, looking back towards her.

"Th-thank you for getting me out of there. I d-don't know why I hang out with those people..." She sniffled.

"Don't thank me, y/n. That's the whole reason I went."

"What reason?"

Edward grinned, pulling out the pocket knife he had in his back pocket. Y/n's eyes widened slightly and she blushed subtly. She felt butterflies in her stomach at the sight.

"To make sure you were safe."

~

After that incident, y/n felt safer with Edward than she had ever felt with anyone else in her life. Her fascination with Edward turned into full love. Edward felt love towards y/n as well, feeling the urge to protect her at all times. What started off as two roommates finding each other annoying, had evolved into love and adoration. One night, Edward notices how shy y/n is around him. She tells him that she has feelings for him, and he listens to every word of it.

~

-3 months after moving in-

~

Y/n sighed, a pen and paper on her desk as she sketched away. She couldn't get his eyes out of her head. His dark, tired, mysterious eyes that hid behind his messy bangs. She giggled as she remembered seeing him in only a towel, recalling how it made her stomach do backflips. A knock at her door snapped her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn down the music that played from her speaker. It was her playlist she listened to when she was in a really happy mood, so basically, it was music that Edward wouldn't listen to. She looked in the mirror, making sure her hair was cute. She was wearing a peachy color oversized t-shirt that she got from a thrift store. It ended just in the middle of her thighs, hiding the cream colored panties she was wearing. Opening the door, she looked up at Edward who stood before her. A dark olive green tank top covered his chest, his arms on display, and a pair of flannel pants hid his legs away. The black socks he wore contrasted heavily against her pink ones.

"Hey, Eddie. D-Do you need something? Is my music too loud?" She asked, feeling sheepish.

"Huh? Oh, no it's not. Uh, I was wondering if you had anything to eat yet? I haven't had something to eat, so I figured I'd just order some pizza or some shit." He said, stretching his arms upwards, revealing his happy trail.

Y/n's eyes trailed down slightly, but quickly flicked back up to his own. She shook her head, clearing her throat. Edward tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Uh, no. I haven't had anything to eat yet. P-Pizza sounds good." She stuttered, trying to hide the notebook that she was drawing by blocking it from his vision.

Edward noticed how awkward she was being, and decided to make it worse, just for fun. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked in y/n's room. Sitting down on her bed, he was careful not to sit on any stuffed animals. Last time he did that she nearly ripped his face off. Y/n shyly sat back at her desk, trying to ignore the fact that he was ordering food in her room. However, she took advantage of this and took occasional glances at his eyes, using them as references to get a more accurate drawing of his eyes. Edward watched as she scribbled away, placing the order over the phone. Once it was placed, he hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. Getting up from the bed, he walked over and looked over y/n's shoulder.

"They said it'll be at least 15 minutes." He briefly explained.

Y/n flinched when she realized he was behind her. Frozen in place, she watched in terror as Edward picked up the notebook, looking at the sketches of his eyes. He chuckled, placing the notebook back down.

"Those are pretty good, you really captured how tired I look all the time." He said, being serious about his compliment.

"Th-Thank you..." She stuttered.

Her heart felt like it was about to burst with him standing behind her. Slowly, she turned around in the chair and stood up. Edward watched as she walked to her bed, picking up a hello kitty plush and fidgeting with it. She looked nervous, and Edward had a good idea as to why. Y/n sat on the edge of her bed, watching as Edward leaned against the wall that was directly in front of her.

"Um, E-Edward?" She asked.

"Uh huh?"

"There's something I need to tell you..."

He nodded, grabbing y/n's chair from her desk. Pulling it towards him, he sat in it, getting close to her. She felt her heart race, the moment feeling intimate with him being in front of her. Letting out a shaky breath, y/n fidgeted with the plush in her lap.

"W-When I first moved in with you...I was really skeptical..." She started.

He listened intently, spreading his legs slightly as he leaned back into the chair. Y/n swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling dry. His presence was enough to make y/n feel anxious.

"But, I c-couldn't help but notice that I had f-feelings...for you..." She mumbled.

"Oh really?" He asked, not surprised at all.

"Y-Yeah...I think I...I think I love you...Edward..."

He nodded, his glasses glinting from the fairy lights that were hung in y/n's room. She anxiously awaited his response. Her eyes stayed on him as he stood up, pushing the chair back to where he got it from. Taking a few steps, he stood directly in front of y/n. Sighing, he knelt down, looking up at her as he gently held her hands in his.

"I know you love me, y/n. I've known for a while. I've felt the same." He said, rubbing over her knuckles with his thumbs.

Y/n's eyes widened and she felt heat rush to her cheeks. She was stunned by his gentle demeanor, not used to it. He was usually gruff and blunt. Sure, he could be nice and caring every now and then, but this time he was being vulnerable.

"You mean..."

"Yes, y/n. I love you, too." He reassured, kissing her hand.

Y/n gasped softly, unable to comprehend what was happening before her. She watched as he reached his hand up slowly, cupping the side of her face in his palm. He hummed to himself, the music that played softly in the background providing a nice ambience, even if it was y/n's hyperpop music.

"I don't know how else to ask you, y/n, so I'll just say it." He said, sitting up, meeting her eye line.

"Will you be my girlfriend? I probably made that sound like we're in middle school, but whatever." He chuckled.

Y/n nodded frantically.

Edward smiled, looking down at her lips. Brushing his thumb over them, he sighed. Y/n looked at his as well, wondering how they would feel against hers.

"May I kiss you?" He asked.

"Yes, please."

Leaning in, he tilted his head slightly. His lips met with y/n's in a soft embrace. His hand held the sides of her face gently as y/n's slithered around his neck. She sighed in delight as he pulled away, completely enamored with his entire being.

"You're so heavenly, y/n. My angel on earth." He cooed, dimples showing as he smiled.

"Oh, Edward..." Y/n giggled.

"Why don't you and I go watch a movie while we wait for the pizza, hm?" He asked.

"That sounds good. What movie?" Y/n asked, grabbing Edward's hand as he helped her up.

Y/n tossed the hello kitty plush back on the bed. Turning off the music that was playing, she followed her boyfriend out of the room. Edward thought for a moment, running a hand through his hair. As they walked, y/n caught whiff of his scent and nearly melted. She hated the smell of smoke, but when it came from Edward mixed with pine, leather, and green tea, she couldn't resist.

"Let's watch a horror movie, is that ok with you?"

Y/n nodded.

"I love horror movies, I had a huge crush on Stu Macher for a long time. Still kinda do..."

"Oh, you're one of those girls." He winked.

Y/n blushed, sticking her tongue out at him. The two of them sat down on the couch, the only light in the room coming from the fairy lights that y/n convinced Edward to hang on the wall behind the T.V. Y/n snuggled against his chest, feeling him sigh under her touch. He rested his hand on her thigh as he wrapped his around around her. Y/n watched as Edward put on Friday The 13th. As the movie played, y/n giggled, the feeling vibrating through Edward's chest.

"What's so funny, squirt?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just can't believe we're dating now. I'm just super happy!"

"I'm happy too, angel." He cooed, kissing the top of her head.

A knock on the door made them both look away from the T.V. Edward got up, letting y/n stay on the couch. He smiled as he saw her watching the movie from the corner of his eye as he opened the door. Flipping through his wallet, he pulled out 15 dollars, 10 dollars for the pizza and 5 as a tip. He always tipped people who worked in customer service. Edward was a really friendly person, but he looked like he could rip your throat out. So, the pizza delivery guy was quick to leave. He looked at y/n and faked a surprised face as he showed her the pizza, y/n giggled and got up from the couch. Edward placed the box on the kitchen table.

"Go ahead and start eating, I'm gonna get some water. Do you want some?" He asked.

"Oh, yes please!"

Edward poured two glasses of water, bringing them back to the table and placing them down. He looked at the T.V and chuckled, looking at y/n as she took a bite of pizza.

"Honestly, if I was a killer and I saw a naked woman in the woods, I'd run away. Do you know how awkward that would be? Like, 'Hey, I know you're basically naked but I kinda wanna kill you...so...you ok with that?' Like, how do you handle that?" He asked.

"Yeah, you're right! That's so weird. I don't care who you are, if you see a naked person in the woods, you're gonna be a little thrown off." She agreed.

The two of them continued to watch the movie, eating their pizza as they did so. Edward stole occasional glances at y/n, smiling every time she laughed or reacted to the movie. Every thing she did made his heart swell. Once he finished eating and y/n finished eating, Edward cleaned up their mess, even though y/n offered to do it. The movie came to an end as Edward finished cleaning up, and y/n gave him a kiss on the cheek. He repeated the gesture, saying good night before he walked to his room. Y/n grabbed his hand, frowning as she looked at him. He chuckled and tilted his head to the side.

"What's wrong, angel?"

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To bed...?"

"Well, um, can you sleep with me tonight?" She mumbled sheepishly.

Edward smirked, nodding as he embraced her in a hug. Y/n smiled and pulled away, running to her room quickly. Humming to himself, Edward turned off all the lights that were still on, turning the T.V off as well. He did a double check of all the windows of the apartment and the front door, making sure they were closed and locked up.

"Eddie, come on! I moved my stuffed animals for you!" She called.

"I'm coming angel, just double checking things." He said, walking to y/n's room.

Stepping inside, he saw that y/n moved all of the stuffed animals on the bed to the corner of her room, all in a pile. However, she did leave a worn out rabbit on the bed, something from her childhood. Edward had to admit, her bed looked extremely cozy with all the fluffy blankets and plump pillows she had. Y/n went into her bathroom, brushing her teeth. Edward forgot about that, and quickly went to his bathroom to do the same. Once he came back, he saw that y/n laid flat across the bed, head hanging off the other side. She was stretching her back out in a comical way. Smirking to himself, Edward crouched down and attacked her thighs with kisses. Y/n shrieked and shot up instantly. Edward looked up at her from his position on the ground, watching her face turn red. The subtle muscles in his arms were flexed from how his arms were propped up. Y/n couldn't help but stare at them, squeezing her thighs together at the sight. Edward noticed and raised an eyebrow, finding the movement to be curious. Testing it, he pushed himself up with his hands, making sure to flex his arms as he did so, and lo and behold, y/n couldn't look away. Chuckling, Edward looked down at her thighs and hummed at how gently she rubbed them together.

"What are you doing there, hun?" He asked.

Y/n looked away, blushing. Firmly, yet softly, Edward moved her chin to force her to look at him. His eyes were soft as he looked into hers, seeing how nervous she was.

"You just...you make me feel hot. And I get..." She trailed.

Edward placed his hands on her thighs, looking up at her for approval. She nodded, breath hitching as he spread her legs slightly. His expression was understanding, knowing that y/n never did anything sexual with someone before. He wasn't sure if she had done anything to herself, she obviously knew about being turned on, so most likely she has.

"...wet?" He finished smoothly.

Y/n nodded, face beet red as she watched him massage her thighs. He planted a kiss on her inner thigh, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. Edward could feel her shiver under his touch and it drove him wild. Standing up slowly, he looked down at her. Her little bambi eyes gazed up in his baggy eyes. He brought his hand down and stroked her hair.

"You make me so...hot and bothered, Eddie. I just...please..." She sighed desperately.

"Oh, you precious thing..." Edward cooed, reaching down and stroking her hair.

Y/n's eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape. He chuckled, trailing his hand away from her hair and down to her chin. Gently, he pulled at y/n's bottom lip with his thumb. Y/n squeezed her thighs together once again.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" He asked sweetly, a hint of desire lacing his tone.

Y/n whimpered, breathing heavily. She didn't even know how to respond to his question. It was so bold and blunt, something that he was able to be with ease. But y/n had a hard time with that, unable to get her thoughts out fully. She nodded, lips forming a pitiful pout. Edward bent back down to her level, grabbing her leg gently and lifting it up. Slowly, he trailed kisses up her shin, over her knee, and up to the bottom of her thigh. Y/n shivered at the feeling of his lips against her skin.

"Yeah? You want me to fuck you, angel? I need to hear you say it."

"Y-Yes, Eddie, please..." She whined.

He smiled, looking up into her eyes as he planted another kiss on her knee. Edward's eyes were glazed with adoration and love, lust only a small part of the glint. He desired y/n, yes, that was a fact. But, he didn't want her in an animalistic way, no not at all. He so badly wanted to pop her cherry gently, showing her how much he loved her with his body. There was plenty of time for more rough and kinky acts in the future, but you didn't get another chance at your first time. And Edward wanted y/n's first time to be loving, caring, fun, meaningful, and passionate.

"I'll give it to you angel, I promise. I'm going to show you what sex is, what it means, and I'll show you how much I love you through it."

Y/n breathed heavily, watching as he stood back up. Glancing out of y/ns room, he looked back at her.

"I need to get something, hun. I'll be right back." He said.

Y/n watched as he left the room, hearing him opening drawers in his own. She took this as an opportunity to catch her breath, even though she figured she'd lose it again within a few minutes. As Edward came back in the room, y/n saw that he had a condom in his hand.

"If I'm going to take your virginity, I'm going to be safe about it." He said.

Y/n smiled at him, appreciating how thoughtful and responsible he was being. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. But, knowing that Edward would be the one popping her cherry, she felt comfortable. Safe. In the right hands.

"Are you sure you want to do this, angel? If it's something you don't want, then I won't do it. I don't need sex from you, I'm happy just being in love with you." He said.

"Y-Yes, Ed. I'm sure. I want this. I want to do this with you." She reassured.

Edward nodded as he placed the condom on the nightstand. In one fluid motion, he removed his tank top, his bare chest on display. Y/n shivered as he let his pants fall to the ground as well. The bulge in his boxers was evident, and it caused her eyes to widen. Sitting down next to her, he patted his lap. Y/n took the invitation gladly, straddling his lap. Edward brushed a piece of hair out of her face, looking deep into her eyes.

"You're so beautiful, you know that?"

Y/n blushed, about to say something before being cut off by Edward's lips. She melted into the kiss, hooking her arms around his neck. His hands trailed down from her shoulders to her lower back. Sliding his hand under her shirt, he rubbed circles into her skin.

"Have you ever been given oral, angel? It's ok if you haven't." He said.

Y/n shook her head.

"Do you want it?"

She nodded quickly, the idea of Edward's lips over her pussy making her whimper softly. He smiled, kissing her forehead before gently flipping her over on her back. Letting her legs hang over the edge of the bed, Edward closed her legs, hooking his thumbs under the fabric of her panties. Y/n sat up, holding his hands in place. Looking up at her, he cooed.

"Honey, I'm not going to judge you. You're perfect just the way you are."

Y/n nodded, releasing her grip on Edward's hands. Propping herself up on her elbows, he watched as Edward pulled her panties off, placing them beside her on the bed. With his palms, he spread open her legs, looking at her center. He let out a shaky breath, kissing her thighs.

"Just like I figured. Perfect." He said.

Leaning forward, Edward let his breath fan against her soaked core. She shivered, hips bucking simply from his breath. Slowly, he let his tongue roll out of his mouth, placing it against her. Y/n moaned and gripped the sheets. Letting her get used to the feeling, he massaged her hips. After a few moments, he licked a stripe in between her folds. When she bucked her hips again, he held her legs down firmly. Edward began to suck at her clit, tongue flicking over it occasionally. He was fluid with his movements, making sure it wasn't too overwhelming for her. Y/n reached down and tugged at Edward's hair, signaling for him to stop. Groaning at the sensation, he pulled away from her legs. His lips glistened with her arousal, wiping it off with his thumb before licking it off. Y/n was panting heavily, face flushed.

"You did so good, angel. How did that feel?" He asked, rubbing her thighs softly.

"S-So good..." She gasped.

"I'm glad, darling. Are you ready for more?" He asked.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded. Her thighs were coated in her slick and Edward's saliva. It served as a lubrication for Edward as he gently slid his finger between her folds, letting it coat his finger with the wetness.

"Ok, I'll be slow. You'll probably feel a small stretch, ok? I'm just going to use one finger." He explained.

"Ok, Eddie. I trust you."

Just like he said, he slowly pushed his pointer finger inside of her. Wanting her to slowly adjust, he only went down to his first knuckle. Y/n whimpered, the sensation a new feeling to her. Edward pushed in to his second knuckle, causing y/n to gasp. After a few more seconds, he slid his entire finger inside her. Y/n's back arched.

"How's that feel? Does it hurt, baby?" He checked.

"N-No, just pressure...so good...m-more?" She asked.

"You want more, are you sure?"

"Yes!" She cried.

Obliging, Edward slid his middle finger inside of her. Y/n yelped, panting as he slowly pumped in and out of her. The pace was slow enough that she could handle it but not too fast to where it hurt. It was perfect, almost like he knew her body inside and out. He smirked.

"Can I do something?" He asked.

Y/n nodded.

Edward stretched his fingers out in a scissoring motion, watching y/n squeal and arch her back. He reveled in the sight of her pleasure, slowly repeating the motion as he pumped inside of her. After she got used to it, he pulled out, laughing at her whines. She grabbed his hand, putting it back between her legs. He pulled it away, shaking his head.

"Angel, don't you want me? Or, are you still not ready for it?" He asked, lifting her shirt up slightly and placing a kiss on her tummy.

"N-No, I want it! 'M just nervous..." She mumbled.

"Aw, pretty girl. I told you I'd be gentle with you. I'm going to take good care of you, I promise you. You just need to trust me, angel."

Y/n nodded.

"Ok, but if I say stop you'll stop right?" She asked.

"Of course, sweetheart."

She smiled, feeling better about what was to come. Edward gently picked her up, placing her head down on her pillow. Reaching over to his side, he grabbed the condom off the nightstand. Y/n grabbed the hem of her shirt, looking up at Edward.

"Only if you want to, y/n." He said.

She nodded, slowly lifting it up over her head. Y/n tossed it to the side. Edward looked down at her as he straddled her lap. His eyes scanned her chest, leaning down and placing kisses over it.

"You're so beautiful, y/n. I mean that." He said, in awe of the woman below him.

Y/n leaned forward, grabbing onto the waistband of Edward's boxers. He smiled at her eagerness. Nodding, he let her pull them down. Her eyes widened as his dick popped out, causing her breath to hitch. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Leaning forward, she opened her mouth. Laughing, Edward pushed her back gently. Sliding his boxers off completely, he dropped them on the ground.

"No, not tonight y/n. Tonight is about you. You're all I care about tonight." He hummed.

She nodded, watching as he opened up the wrapper for the condom. Placing the trash on the night stand, Edward rolled the condom over his dick. He hissed at the contact, twitching in his hand. Y/n shuddered at the thought of it inside of her. But, it also exhilarated her.

"Are you ready, angel? If you've changed your mind, that's perfectly fine."

"Eddie, please, I need you..." She whined.

Shivering, he nodded and lined himself up with her. He propped himself up on his right arm, cupping y/n's face with his left hand. He counted down from 3, making sure y/n wasn't caught off guard. Groaning, he slowly slid inside of her, only pushing the tip inside. Y/n moaned, reaching up and hooking her fingers in his hair.

"Oh, fuck. Angel, you're so tight. A-Are you ok...?" He asked.

Y/n nodded, taking deep breaths.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok. Keep going, j-just slow. I want it all..."

Edward nodded, doing as she said. Slowly, his dick pushed inside her, inch by inch. The feeling of her walls stretching around him made him roll his eyes back, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He whimpered in her ear, lifting y/n up slightly so he could wrap his arms around her. Y/n whined as she felt him twitch inside of her.

"L-Let me know when you want me to move, baby." He panted.

Edward stilled inside of her, kissing her neck delicately. His heart fluttered as he felt her pulse around him. He had had sex with people before, but it never felt meaningful. So, right now, in this moment, Edward felt absolutely enamored with the girl below him. His girlfriend. He wanted to show her how much he loved her, and he wanted it to be exactly what she wanted it to be. He wasn't the type to listen to anyone, but he would do anything y/n asked. He would do anything for his angel.

"E-Eddie...I'm ready, please." She panted.

Edward nodded, slowly pulling back and pushing inside of her. Each thrust was gentle and loving, not wanting to be too harsh with her. Y/n moaned underneath him, tightening around him as he kept a steady pace. Scratching at his back, y/n groaned.

"I want it faster, please!" She pleaded.

Edward knew he was going slow, but he was worried about hurting her. Moaning, he picked up his pace, hips slapping against hers. Y/n continued to moan underneath him, begging and crying for more. She wanted it faster and harder. Propping himself up on both of his hands, he hovered over her.

"Are you sure, angel? I don't want to hurt you."

"Eddie, I'm sure. Please, I wanna cum! Please! I need you so bad, Eddie please..." She whined, her voice desperate and pitiful.

He let out a guttural groan as he reared back and rutted up into her. Edward watched as her eyes rolled back, scratching at his shoulder blades. His mouth opened slightly as he maintained his harsh pace, whimpering at the sound of her moans and whines.

"Oh f-f-fuck!" Y/n cried out.

"Y-You like this? Does it f-feel good, angel?"

"Oh, fuck, yes d-daddy!"

Edward's eyes widened, a pathetic moan leaving his lips. That name sounded so sinful leaving her mouth. It was laced with a sweet honey that Edward couldn't get enough of. Moaning, he grabbed her hips and quickened his pace.

"I-I'm g-gonna...I think I'm..." She gasped.

"That's good, angel. I'll get you there. H-How do you wanna cum, baby?" He asked in between sloppy thrusts.

"M-Mouth..." Was all she said.

Edward pulled out of her, dropping to his knees off the bed. He pulled her close to him, cupping his mouth over her pussy. Lapping hungrily at her core, he buried his tongue inside of her. Y/n moaned, arching her back as she gripped at his hair. Pulling away, Edward put a finger inside of her, curling it inside of her.

"That's it, cum for me baby. You've got it..." He cooed.

As if on command, y/n let out a loud and erotic moan as her orgasm washed over her. She whimpered as Edward swallowed every bit of her climax, not wanting to waste a single drop. It smeared over his face as he buried his face between her thighs. He acted like he hadn't eaten food in weeks, and her arousal was the only sustenance he could get. It went down his throat like a sweet honey and he wanted more and more. But when there was no more, he pulled away, a string of saliva from her pussy attached to his bottom lip. It broke as he stood up and looked down at y/n. The sight of her naked and run through was enough to bring him to his own orgasm. He groaned, bending over and gripping onto the sheets for stability as he pumped his hot load into the condom. Panting, he let it ride out, a shiver running down his spine when it went away. Pulling the condom off, he tied it and tossed it in the waste bin near y/n's night stand. His glasses were fogged up and he was breathing heavily. Using his fingers, he cleared his glasses and leaned down, kissing the top of y/n's head.

"Ok, I'm gonna pick you up now. Is that ok?" He asked.

She nodded, holding out her arms so it was easier for him. Y/n wasn't the only one who was utterly exhausted from the events that played out. Grunting, Edward placed y/n on the counter top in her bathroom. Grabbing a wash cloth, he dampened it and gently wiped away her climax off his face. After that, he cleaned off the arousal and spit that was smeared over her thighs. Once that was done, he left washed his hands. While he did this, he yawned.

"Make sure you go to the bathroom, ok?"

"M'kay, Eddie."

"I'm gonna get you a new pair of underwear. I'll wait in bed for you, angel. I just want to make sure you're taken care of first." He said.

Leaving the bathroom, Edward closed the door behind him. Grabbing his boxers, he put them back on. Yawning, he didn't even bother with trying to find his tank top as he went to y/n's dresser. Opening different drawers, he looked until he found the one with y/n's underwear. He was surprised to see she had lacey panties, but he didn't pick one of those. Looking through, found one pair that looked like it would be the most comfortable. He grabbed y/'s shirt from off the floor and placed them on the bed. He groaned, realizing that he needed to brush his teeth.

"Hey angel, I'm going to brush my teeth again ok?"

"Wow, did I taste that bad?" She joked.

"Haha." He mumbled to himself as he went to his bedroom.

He was quick with brushing his teeth, wanting to get under the covers with y/n. Rinsing his mouth out of the toothpaste, he left his room and came back to y/n's. He was happy to see that she put on the clothes he laid out and got in bed. He closed the bedroom door behind him.

"Do you sleep with those lights on?" He asked, gesturing to the fairy lights that hung around her room.

She nodded. Edward smiled and turned off the main bedroom light, leaving the fairy lights on. Feeling cold, he was quick to get in bed behind y/n, drawing her close to his chest. She turned around, nuzzling into his chest.

"That was amazing, Edward." Y/n smiled.

"I'm really glad I could do that for you, y/n. I wanted it your first time to be special."

"Well, it was. You made me feel so comfortable. You talked me through the whole thing, I really appreciated that. I was super nervous."

"Of course I guided you through it, I wasn't going to leave you in the dark."

"You're so sweet..."

"By the way, no, you did not taste bad. Quite the opposite actually." He hummed.

"Yeah, you were acting like it was a four course meal." She giggled.

"Uh, cause it was. Speaking of, I didn't get any desert. Can I snack on a couple of your fingers? I'll leave you your pinkies." He joked, opening his mouth, about to put her fingers in his mouth.

"What?! No! You weirdo!" She laughed, snatching her hand away from him.

He scoffed, rolling on his back and staring at the ceiling. Crossing his arms over his chest, he mumbled to himself, pretending to be mad. Y/n rolled her eyes, resting her head on his bare chest. Humming, he stroked her hair.

"Fine. I won't eat your fingers. Yet..."

"Mmm, well give me a heads up when you're about to, ok? I'd like to say good bye to them." He said.

"Are you really that attached to your fingers?" He asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? They let me grab things."

"True. That's a good point. Well, how about I just give a you a kiss. I think that'll be a good desert."

"Hmm, I guess that's ok." She giggled.

Edward rolled his eyes as he kissed her gently. Humming to himself, he held her close to him, rubbing her back. She sighed, warmth flooding her body as he embraced her. Both of their eyes grew heavy as they felt comfort in each other's presence.

"I love you, Eddie."

"I love you too, y/n."

~

#writers #fanfic writer #writers of tumblr #fanfic #the riddler #dc universe #paul dano #dano riddler #danonation #paul dano riddler #edward nashton #batman 2022

[pinknightsinmymind]

if you feel like it, could you write more headcanons about ellie? not full fic or one shot, but thoughts about her. like, the types of kisses she gives you or the kind of girlfriend she is

【 ellie williams as a gf hc's 】

a/n: yes yes yes yes 100% i think about ellie way too much for my own good and it rots my brain. since i wrote so much it'll be below the cut lol

she loves to see you in her clothes in fact she even encourages it its just something about it that drives her crazy

she's protective of you and always wants to take care of you and make sure you don't do any of the dangerous or stupid shit she does

i feel like ppl forget how much of a dork she is; she'd tell you all about space and the different facts she's learned, she'd explain the plots of her favorite comics, who the characters are, which ones are her favorites, why she thinks one arc was better than the other, and so on and so forth

i think she loves to chat your ear off about any and everything

she's probably afraid she's annoying, so sometimes you might need to reassure her a little bit

in a modern au she's the type to send you funny memes or videos she finds, probably browses tiktok and twitter a lot

definitely the type to send you a photo of two animals being cute or cuddling together and say "us" because she's just a sap like that

composes songs about you and acts all shy when she shows them to you

DRAWS YOU

you're one of her favorite subjects to draw, and she loves showing you every new piece of you she has

she'd send you song recs ALL the time

listens to lots of indie and shoegaze

pls pls pls for the love of god ask her to teach you how to play guitar bc she'd be so excited to show you and spend the time with you

i think her love languages are quality time, physical touch, and words of affirmation

forgets NOTHING

you know how dads do that thing where you tell them you liked something once and they never forget it? yeah she got that from joel it rubbed off on her

remembers what you wore on your first date, remembers your food orders, memorizes your favorite colors, bands, tv shows, movies, everything

so so caring and sweet

since one of her love languages are physical touch you can expect lots of affection from her

loves cuddling, holding your hand, having her arms around you, she just has to be touching you somehow

flirts a lot (but its not a bad thing) even after you two have started dating

loves kissing you all the time, and will make excuses for it

she needs her good morning kiss, her good night kiss, good luck kisses, goodbye kisses (even if she's only gonna be gone a few hours💀), one bc she missed you, a hello kiss, she will use ANY excuse just to kiss you

but sometimes she won't even bother creating one she'll ask to kiss you just bc

loves having sleep overs and nights in together where you can just cuddle and watch movies or play video games bc she's a huge introvert

the type who will do anything to make sure your comfort isn't disturbed

if you don't like the other side of the bed she switches with you, will let you sit in the last chair at an event (but not before asking if you'd just rather sit in her lap), helps guide you through anything making you scared or anxious

calls you pet names every five minutes. all of them.

love, babe, baby, babygirl, princess, darling, honey, whatever is your favorite she calls you the most

lives to spoil you; pays the bill, buys you gifts, drowns you in affection, you name it

celebrates your birthday like its a holiday

speaking of can you imagine her during the holiday season???

the two of you plan out a couple costume for halloween

the two of you are so cute together it's gross

you're always welcome to spend thanksgiving with her and joel

and christmas?? she gets even more sentimental than usual, and buys you an extremely meaningful gift

the most supporitve, soft, kind, humorous, and sweet gf imaginable just a dream come true

she feels like you really balance her out, and isn't afraid to tell you how much you mean to her or how much she loves you

she makes sure you feel loved and remember that you are loved

can't wait to move in with you and once you two do she feels like she's in heaven everyday

just loves you and cherishes you deeply

overall just THE gf you dream and pray for ugh this girl gets me in my feelings every time she's just so cute and sweet😭😭😭😭

#tlou2 #tlou #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams #ellie the last of us #ellie williams x you #tlou ellie #tlou x reader

[babygirlispunk]

Summer Fling - PART THREE

Pedro Pascal x f!Reader

summary: meaningful words are exchanged and built up tension between you and Pedro is released... kind of.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, dry humping/fucking, fingering.

Word count: 3.8k

A/N: keeping this one sweet and simple, thank you so much to everyone who has commented, shared and liked the last two parts. means so much and motivates me, didn't think I'd be posting three parts within a week 🫶

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The uber ride to his hotel was silent. You both hadn't spoken a single word since you got into the elevator. You weren't sure what was going on in his mind either since you were avoiding eye contact with him, feeling shy at the idea of what is likely to happen when you reached his hotel room. Apparently liquid courage had a time limit because you certainly weren't feeling as bold as before. If anything, your eyes were getting heavy and sleepiness was taking over.

The only thing keeping you conscious right now was Pedro's touch keeping you present in the waking world. The sloppy kisses along your neck in the elevator down, his hand wrapped tight around yours when waiting for the uber, the trail he'd slide up and down with the tips of his fingers along your thigh while in the car, the way he hugged you from behind with one arm while his other hand found its way to the hem of your dress and lifting it so his fingers could ever so gently caress circles on the fabric of underwear as you both watched the numbers on the elevator ascend...

As you stood at his door while he rummaged through his pockets to find the key card, you took out your phone to let Syria know you're okay. You struggled to type as your body starts to feel tired and you were seeing double of the screen.

You: I dint dish. With Ped at hoteel.

Syria: Will u be ok?? I'll come get u if you don't want to sleep with him??

You: of corse i want to sleeep him text you tomoz

Syria: ur drunk as fuck, are you 100% sure??

You: dont cock bock me pls

Syria: be safe baby girl xx

You look back up from your phone and Pedro is waiting for you at the door way, looking concerned.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" You grin back at him for reassurance though he doesn't look convinced.

"You were just typing really slow on your phone... and you're swaying on the spot."

"Oh." you laugh nervously. "Did drink quite a bit."

He cocks his head to the side, frowning. He sighs then taking your hand, he leads you inside. You're hoping he's going to take you the bed but instead he sits you down on a massive couch facing the floor to ceiling windows. While he walks off, you try to take in as much of your surroundings as you could. You realise that he had a studio style room.

As a celebrity you were fully expecting him to have a massive multi room penthouse or something but instead his chosen to stay in something more fitted for one person. Although it was bigger and fancier than something you could afford, and this couch was basically as king single bed in itself, it still felt humble for someone of his status.

Pedro appears in front of you again and hands you a cold water bottle, motioning you to drink it. You do as your told and he kneels in front of you. Watching with a side eye as you sip on the bottle, he's situated himself in front of you and is on his knees. Staring down intently and biting his inner lip. You follow his line of sight and you feel your core pool with arousal realising he's looking at your exposed lacy underwear. Your dress had hitched up your hips, exposing your lower half.

The longer his eyes linger, the wetter your felt yourself get. His eyes are met with yours. He licks his bottom lip, lowers his head and kisses your knee, not losing eye contact.

"Keep drinking the water." he says low and slow.

"Yes sir."

You do so but keep watching him as he places one hand on your calf and uses the other to unzip your boot. Sliding it slowly off your foot and placing it to the side, he moves to your other leg to do the same but slower. You listen as each hook of the zip undoes itself as he pulls it down. This time he raises your leg higher to his chest height, sliding the boot of your foot. You're losing concentration as water starts to spill the sides of your lips and run down your chin and neck.

His eyes had not left you once and you see him take in a deep inhale watching the water drip down you. Placing the Achilles of your foot on his shoulder, he softly places kisses on your leg. Closing the lid of the bottle you chuck it away and lean back into the couch wanting to have a full view of him making his way up your leg. He kisses, licks and nibbles his way down your thigh, beard and stache tickling against your skin, you throw your head back and the room is spinning but you whimper, begging him to hurry up and reach your pussy already.

But he stops.

You stare at the whirling ceiling waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't.

Bringing your head back down, you see him resting his cheek against your thigh, staring at you with those damn puppy eyes.

"What am I going to do with you..." he whispered as if it slipped from his mind out his mouth.

Impatient and slightly annoyed, you reach for his top and pull him to yourself. Kissing him hastily and humming into him, you reach your hand down to his crotch and palm him as desperately as you can through his jeans. He was already hard under your touch and you could really get a grasp of how big he could be, the thought of it increasing your already flooding wetness. You were so ready for him, to take him whole.

As you attempt to undo his pants, fingers struggling to undo his belt buckle, the kiss is broken as he pulls back. You stare at him, mouth open and disoriented, he shakes his head 'no'.

"When you're sober." he says sincerely.

"I am sober!" Your slurred words say otherwise.

"I'm going to change, stay here okay?"

You nod begrudgingly and he gets up onto his feet. As he stands in front of you, his crotch is eye level and you basically drool at the sight of his large bulge, frowning when he walks away.

Waiting for him to change, you get comfortable into the couch, watching night life bustle below. Sparkling lights, honking cars, people walking along the wharf, even the stadium lights where beaming bright into the stars.

Pedro drops himself next to you on the couch and when you look at him, you swear he's teasing you on purpose. He changed his jeans for a pair of sweatpants and of course they're grey. You squint at him for his audacity and he returns the look with a wink and pats his lap.

You lie your head down on his lap, sad that his hard on had gone down. He sweetly moves the hair that's fallen onto your face and tucks it behind your ear. He continues to pat your head, soothing you and building up your sleepiness.

"So what are you doing down under anyways."

"Just having a break. It's cold up north so I thought I would try somewhere different. My brother, Nico, suggested Australia and just went along with it and brought him and a few friends along too."

Thinking back you realised the guy he was talking to at New Year Eve and back at the bar must've been his brother.

"And how are you liking it so far?"

"Well this city reminds me a lot of New York, except hot. And the people are pretty chill for the most part. Nicer too. You guys certainly know how to party, I'll say that. Crazy but in a good way."

"Thanks I think." you laugh.

"I actually went west after the music festival. Gorgeous sites and beaches. Felt like a massive country town despite being a main city, but something... something was pulling me back here."

Pedro moves his hand to your shoulder and strokes your arm. Your mind lingers on his last words. Was it self-centred to think you were that 'something'. That kiss you shared was intense and did hold heavy for you but you couldn't imagine it was enough for him to come back in hopes of finding you in a city of millions. You just had to ask, not directly though.

"So... do you usually bring back women to your place after a night out or..."

You feel his stomach bump against the back of your head as he chuckles.

"No, not really. Its been awhile since the last time I've slept with someone. Been too busy to. I've been working so hard to get where I am but my siblings could see it take a toll on me. They basically held an intervention." You feel him take a deep breath. "Sorry, off track... I do- have slept with people I meet out but only if I really feel like I've connected with them in some way otherwise I just get to know them first."

You feel your heart skip a beat. You didn't expect an answer any deeper then a yes or no, but you were grateful he felt comfortable enough to speak openly like that though it makes you question where you stand on that spectrum of 'connection'. You turn onto your back so you're able to look up at him. His face is solemn, looking out the window but scrunches a smile at you.

"And what happens to these connections?" you ask hesitantly.

"I chicken out and let them go...or they were simply one sided." his voice trails off and he looks away. You clearly had hit a soft spot.

Was this a one sided connection? You obviously were connected to him sexually, he was your celebrity crush and anyone would take that chance. You have probably shared more kisses and touches then you have words but you couldn't think of anyone else who had made you feel this way, an unexplainable pull that has brought you back into his arms by some miracle.

Or you're just majorly overthinking e v e r y t h i n g and were the exception. A simple hook up.

"I have to know..." you wanted to lighten the mood, so you figured you'd tease him a little. "How do you reeeeeally feel about being the internets Daddy?"

He looks down at you, eyebrows raised and amused. You stick your tongue at him to make sure he knows you're playing around.

"It's fun with the fans, not so much when it's all interviewers ask me to get clicks and reactions. So I just play dumb for the most part."

"Understandable. You're handsome but you're also really fucking talented. A shame you weren't recognise earlier."

"A fan are we?" he teases, grabbing your face and squeezing your cheeks into a fishy face.

"Don't act like you didn't know old man." you say through fishy lips.

"Ouch." he uses his valley girl accent and you both giggle.

He leans in for a quick kiss, soft but heavy, making your cheeks flush at the suddenness of it and how loaded it felt. You try to get a read of his face but all you can pick up is a quick flash of anxiousness in his eyes.

"What was that for?"

"Just felt like it." he shrugs. Something was bothering him.

"What's on your mind."

He's eyes become heavy, his mouth is twitching nervously, bending and hyper extending his thumb. Looking through the window, you can tell his mind is running and is contemplating sharing his thoughts. Eyes darting back to you, he takes a deep jagged breath.

"Without trying to sound like a crazy person, before we even kissed, when I saw you for the first time after you bumped me, I just felt something. A pull. I couldn't stop looking at you. Your energy and smile reminded me of someone special to me. We kissed, then you were gone. I tried not to dwell on the feeling and you're so... young, I thought I was being that stereotypical creepy guy... But I found myself back here. Seeing you again was like finding a needle in a haystack, yet there you were, at the bar. Admittedly I was scared to approach you first, I didn't want to come off as some crazy stalker. But I couldn't let you get away this time. You rejected me of course." He chuckles softly remembering how you pass him up. "But I think that pull brought you back to me."

Butterflies erupt in your abdomen, not quite believing what you were hearing. It felt like a camera crew was going to jump out of no where and tell you you're getting punked. Or did you drink so much at the bar you passed out and dreaming this all up?

Pedro desperately searches your face for an answer. "I sound insane don't I?"

You reach out and cup his cheek, caressing it with your thumb. He nuzzles into it, kissing your palm.

He was real. This was real.

"I'm glad you found me." Was all you could say while feelings and words jumbled in your brain not being able to translate it into a coherent deeper sentence.

You both just stare deeply into each others eyes, no words being able to describe the feeling that was being shared between you two. You start yawning and all strength you have left to keep your eyes open is gone. He continues to stroke your head in his lap, whispering a song and lulling you to sleep.

Me complace amarte Disfruto acariciarte y ponerte a dormir Es escalofriante Tenerte de frente, hacerte sonreír...

Eyes slowly open to the view of the dawning city. Sunlight reflecting off building windows and the river. A pair of glasses sitting on the coffee table in front of you. You're still on the couch. As your brain catches up with your body you are able to feel and make sense of your surroundings. It's silent in the room except for the slow breath blowing on the back of your hair.

A warm body is pressed against your backside, legs tangled together. An arm is tucked underneath the crook of your neck, wrapped around your chest while the others is draped over your waist. You listen to the hum of his shallow breath. It seems like he moved some pillows and a blanket from the bed to the couch. You can't help but smile at his kindness and at the fact he didn't ditch you for the bed.

You carefully turn around as to not stir Pedro awake so you can look at him. Hair tousled, face relaxed, he almost looks younger than he is, as if all the worries in his world have left him. Last nights words echo in your head and those butterflies return.

Like instinct, you can't help yourself but kiss the along the ridge of his gorgeous nose. Tickling him, he twitches and scrunches his face. His eyes slowly flutter open, slightly blinded by the light from the window. Blinking away the sleep, he sees you and places a soft kiss on your forehead.

"Sorry." you whisper.

Another small kiss, this time on your nose.

"Good morning Soleada." his voice is husky from sleep, sending a tingling down you and waking your body up from inside. "Hope you don't mind that I stayed on the couch with you."

Dipping your head onto his neck, you give wet kisses to answer him. He groans softly as you make your way up to his ear and nibble it. Slipping your hand underneath his shirt, feeling up his lean back and wrapping your leg over his hip to bring his pelvis closer to yours.

Unlike his jeans you are able to get a better feel from his sweatpants of his cock twitching and growing against the fabric of your underwear.

You whimper while you suck on his ear lobe as you eagerly rub against him, the friction of the fabric building the heat. A hand suddenly slaps onto your ass and you let out a yelp at the sting that is muffled by Pedro's lips crashing onto yours. He didn't waste a second to dive his tongue in your mouth and you opened for him letting your tongue find his.

If the slap wasn't going to bruise, his death grip on your ass certainly would. The pain adding to the arousal, you needed to be closer to him. You use your free hand on his back to fiddle with your underwear trying to get it down without breaking the kiss. Realising you're struggling, Pedro helps you pull them down far enough that you're able to kick them the rest of the way off.

Hitching your leg up, Pedro rolls on to his back bringing you with him now resting on top straddling him, blanket slipping off you two and onto the floor. Now able to put your full weight down on his cock, you roll your hips deep into him and stimulate your clit.

"Fuck." He moans against your lips. "Need t-to get this off n-now."

He swiftly takes his own top off, only just now breaking the kiss then grabs the hem of your dress and pulls it up to get it past your head. You sit up to put your full body on display for him to devour with his eyes as you keep rolling your hips and you admire his sun kissed skin and broad chest and shoulders rising and falling, begging for air. His stomach is plush but still lean. He bites onto his bottom lip, eyes darting at every point of your body.

"So beautiful. God how did I let you go the first time. I could have had all this 2 weeks ago." he says it so breathlessly and sweet you can't help the whine that slips out your mouth. You need to feel every inch of him so bad, reaching for his sweat pants to pull them down but he stops you, gripping tightly around your wrists.

"Keep riding." he growls, eyes intense.

"But-"

"I said, keep riding." the dominance in his voice makes you blush not expecting this part of him but you don't think twice, placing your hands on his chest and harden your glides against the outline of his dick. With the help of his hands on your hips bringing you back and forth, you're able to get a consistent rhythm. Slowly a tightness builds in your lower stomach and you can't hold back the sounds escaping your lips.

"Don't be shy now. I need to hear you beautiful. I need to hear how good you feel."

You do as you're told, letting yourself be more vocal as each roll of your hips brings you higher, watching him through slitted eyes as he looks back and forth from your face and your clit grinding against him. With growing intensity, your arms are getting weaker and your arms begin you shake, losing your momentum. Pedro notices. Sitting up and holding you tight to his body, he swivels his with you around so that his back is resting the back of the couch.

He takes one of your boobs in his mouth and laps his tongue around your nipple, throwing your head back and grabbing his face to bring him closer to your chest.

"Ah! Pedro!" you moan out loud as he nips and bites at your nipple and slips a finger from behind into your pussy making you grind faster.

He pumps his fingers in and out, in and out in rhythm with your rolls, mouth sucking on your tit, your legs are starting to shake. You're so fucking close you can't stop moaning his name, pleading him to get you to the finish line and his hungry growls vibrate along your chest. He sticks in not just one but two more fingers, stretching you wide and massaging your walls inside. You're so wet the pain is pleasurable.

He moves away from your nipple and connects his forehead to your sweaty one, eyes staring deep into each other desperately trying not to close them from aching pleasure. There is so much yearning in his deep coffee eyes, you're almost lost in them if it weren't for his fingers, knuckle deep, each pump getting harder and faster helping you reach the edge of bliss as they hit in just the right spot.

"You feel so good like this beautiful, you're gonna feel so perfect on my cock."

With his sweet words, it sends you over. Your pussy pulses violently around his fingers, hips bucking and your stomach tightens making you keel over and scream out Pedro's name pressing hard against his forehead. Murmurs of your name and praises against your lips, he moves his fingers and rubs circles on your already over stimulated clit prolonging the orgasm, yelping out in pleasure and making stars in your vision as you squeeze your eyes shut tight.

"Good girl." He coos in your ear as the last of your spasms subside.

Shaking and breathless, you hug around his neck and your body slumps into his, feeling the hot touch of his chest and body, still straddling him. He brushes his fingers up and down your back, soothing you with hums as he kisses you on your cheek. You stay seated there in a breathy silence, regaining your energy back while listening to him continue to hum whatever song he was singing last night.

As you're mind comes back to reality, you begin to feel a cool wetness spreading against your inner thighs. You straighten up and look down at Pedro's lap, shuffling a little back to see the stark and massive wet patch on his sweats taking up the whole of his lap.

"Fuck." wide eyed, you meet his eyes and he only looks pleased with himself, a self-gratifying grin plastered across his face accentuating his dimple. Before you can say another words, he has your face cradled in his hands, showering your face with kisses.

"I like seeing and feeling how wet you are for me." He leans back and slides his hand under the elastic of his sweats and you watch him palm himself, letting out small grunts of delight. Your not surprised you can feel yourself getting excited again already, he is just so gorgeous and undeniably sexy in his actions and words. "Soaked right through Soleada."

Practically salivating and wanting to taste yourself on his cock you finger at the elastic of his waistband wanting to rip them off but of course he stops you, tsk tsk-ing at you. You pout in response. When will he let you finally touch him, like actually touch him skin to skin?

"Lets have breakfast and go beach." he says nonchalantly like you aren't butt naked in front of him and he's not soaked with your juices.

"You're kidding me. You get me naked but don't even fuck me? At least let me give you a blowie." you whine exasperated.

"Blowie?" he says imitating your accent.

"Blowjob." you mock back in an American accent.

He laughs out a wheezy laugh and its hard to stay mad at him with how adorable he sounds. Pouty lipped, he brings you in and pecks at your neck, seemingly his favourite spot on you, really not helping the growing arousal building up again deep in you.

"I'll make it worth the wait. I promise."

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check out my recs list for stories written by people with actual talent ♡

A/N: first time ever writing smut, please forgive me if its shit, I'm trying xx (also i do prefer any questions you have or whatever in my ask as this is a second account and it can get confusing ♡)

Tags: @mingeniee @ghostofjoharvelle @str84pedro @reidsog @pedro-pedrito-pascalito

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro pascal x f!reader